Foodles

So, as it turns out, it's my birthday today. I should really get on the ball about posting here more often..

However, that seems to be hard when there's nothing really worthwhile I can post. **' (Other than work on the Doom RPG.)

Perhaps I can make up some map stuff, improve a bit on that.

Hm... Seems I'm wanting to give more, rather than receive, considering the fact about today..

I'm bored, what kind of map should I make for you? (yes, you) note: I make only Prboom+ compatible maps, no ZDoom, Eternity, etc.

My sweet precious cat Nikki passed on this evening at around 10:55 central time. She had been terminally ill with heart failure and kidney failure for the last 3 or so days, after suffering a stroke that mostly disabled her back legs. She died a natural death, due to heart attack, and we were with her comforting her as much as we could.

I will be working on an online tribute for her, as she was my best friend for 20 years and I loved her like I would my own child. I'll post a link to it here when it is ready.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/703508_391995957550986_1279323672_o.jpg

Very cute kittens indeed.

Well, I suppose I should live up to my title. Last weekend I went out on the town and did some dancing in the nightclub with my cane. Two lovelies started dancing with me a little and as the iron was hot for the striking as it were I came to realize that I had BO. I had forgotten to put on deodorant earlier in the day. So I hoofed it on over to the men's room, took a leak, washed my hands. But then I loaded up my hands with soap and went into the shitter. There I commenced to wash my armpits. But now I was faced with the conundrum of rinsing my armpits. I looked around the pooper-stall and sighed. I flushed the toilet and thought of how kitties are very cleanly animals and only drink the cleanest water. That's why you always see cats drinking from toilet bowls. Besides, the bathroom was busy and there was a towel guy in the bathroom so I couldn't exactly rinse in the sink....

A little later when Gangnam Style came on I asked a pretty girl who was sitting down if she'd like to dance. Shockingly her answer was no. So I gangnam styled it solo.

Later, after leaving the club without any numbers, I saw a super-stretch limo out in front of the club. I asked the pretty girl standing near the limo if she was riding in it and she said no. I decided to see if the door was locked and opened the limo door. It looked nice enough inside, but I closed the door again, figuring I shouldn't draw too much attention. The limo driver, I assume, told me not to touch the car. Shortly after, he opens the door and a bunch of people pile in, including the girl that just told me she wasn't going. I didn't ask if I could join the party. Later, a friendly enough guy asked me how my night was. I told him it was good enough and that I'm glad I didn't stay in line for the other club and had wised up to the fact that it was a gay club (given the number of dudes). He said that's nice, that he was at that club. Maybe halloween weekend will go a little better.

Just learned that the original medical records I would need to enlist in the military -something that has taken me years due to multiple health reasons - have been destroyed by accident. I can no longer enlist, because no reprints were made. There goes me career options...2 years down the toilet.

I'm 23 and still live at home. I don't have a single penny to my name or a job. I am $15,000 in debt, and my only bank account is in the negative. I can't drive my own car because my license has been suspended due to me being unable to pay for repairs. I'm miserable all day, and the only enjoyment I get out of the week is D&D on Sundays...in another state.

I have no career options due to not graduating college, so the only solution is to work at a menial job for whatever hours I can find. Except nobody is hiring in my town.

My family is disappointed in my, even though they don't say it. I can tell. I seal myself away from everyone else in an attempt to hide, and my pathological lying isn't helping.

I don't know what to do anymore. I am at the end of my rope.

There’s been a decision looming over my head for a while now that has me sort of bummed. A year ago, while I was preparing to move out of the house, my mom persuaded (key word) me to adopt two cats from our vet. I wasn’t too keen on the idea since I didn’t feel ready to be a mother, and I wasn’t sure how my money situation would look like. But she kept at me and I eventually caved. Of course, them being absolutely adorable didn’t help matters any.

In the end I didn’t move out because, sure enough, money got tight. This meant they got to live at home with us, an interesting situation since my grandma is horribly afraid of cats. What we ended up doing is we converted a large storeroom into a room for them, then built a screen door to keep them contained. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Unfortunately, as time has gone on, it’s gotten harder and harder for me to deal with them, and not just because I still don’t feel ready to be a mother for them. Growing up I was extremely allergic to cats. So much, in fact, that spending just 15 minutes with one would lead to my eyes swelling shut. Over the years I got a lot better, thanks in part to allergy shots. But the thing is, I’m finding that I’m still terribly allergic to them. Like, really allergic to them. I can spend quite a lot of time with cats anymore, but living with them is probably exacerbating my asthma, which has been under control for 10 years, and my allergies. The worst is on the weeks I bring them up to sleep with me in my room. I’ll pass the idea by my doctor on Monday, who I have a follow up appointment with (because I got to spend last night in the ER with my asthma!).

So yeah, do I adopt them out to someone else, or do I keep them? I hate to get rid of them since I really do love them, but I also know I can’t keep living like this. If I keep them, not only will I have the expense of their everyday needs, but I’ll also be spending more on allergy medications (I’m now doing a Zyrtec every 12 hours they’re so bad, along with asthma medications) and possibly another round of allergy shots. Plus I’m still not the mother they deserve and I know this.

So... anyone have any insight or suggestions? This is a decision I’m not looking forward to making :(

Let the pants-shitting begin.

Any way you guys would recommend that I play it for maximum scare factor? I don't have headphones or anything like that.

I've gotten two so far from a "Jonathan Vail" at papercut1425@yahoo.com that only consist of one link to a random page, both different. I'm not clicking on them or giving them out because I fear what will infect my computer if I do.

amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/156380011/

Yep, my book has reclaimed the number 1 spot in the Bestsellers in Chess (Kindle, Paid) list. (If you click on the link some time in the future, that might have changed, of course.)

With the huge financial windfall from this, I'll be able to afford, uh, I dunno, a new kettle or something. (Kindle sales are still pretty small.)

The end of 2011 is coming up and I have not touched Doom much this year at all. I think I only created one Doom map for a project that has been in the making for a long time. I have 90% of the project completed I just haven't been mapping much this year due to starting a new job, moving twice, and the amount of good video games that came out this year.

Maybe I'm just being lazy and making excuses. I haven't played anyone's releases either with the exception of Plutonia Revisited which is pretty awesome yet I find to be one of the most difficult releases I've played for a long time.

I will go over some the games I picked up this year. I recommend all of them except Gears of War 3.

Forza 4 -- I've never played any other Forza game and I have never liked racing games. I've never been a fan of racing. I did however pick this game up after playing with a buddy of mine and it turned out to be a blast. I recommend it for anyone who just enjoys playing around with cars. Fun game.

Rage -- I loved Rage. And my thoughts on people today who are my age (I turn 25 in Feb) will probably like this game. People who are younger are probably not going to enjoy it for the simple fact that when I played Wolfenstein 3D I loved it. When I played Doom, I didn't sit there and say "This is like Wolfenstein, oh my God!".

Rage is definitely like other Bethesda games, but I love it. The storyline, the minigames, the racing portion, and of course the First person shooter portion of the game and all of the Easter Eggs throughout the game.

My only complaint is the ending.

Gears of War 3 -- Not a fan. I never played the other two Gears of Wars. I played this for about a week straight and haven't touched it since. I know a lot of people who love the game, but I wouldn't recommend it if you've never touched the first two.

Batman Arkham City -- This game has some of the best animations I have seen in a game. The game is fun. I'm not too big of a fan of the controls since I was hooked to playing Spider-man Shattered Dimensions (I know Marvel and DC are two different entities so I need to stop bitching). I go to use a utility as if I were to swing web in Spider-Man and end up jumping off a building and being ambushed... I'll have this sorted out sooner or later.

Anyway, this is definitely and awesome game with great animation and amazing storylines. I haven't touched the DLC at all... I need to beat the first story before hand.

Elder Scrolls Skyrim -- Definitely my favorite game of the year. Not touching any prior Elder Scrolls game I was in for a real treat when I popped this into my XBox. There a few things that I don't care for, but for most part I've been addicted to this game since I bought it.

I've kind of taken a break from it for December and started playing Black Ops to fill my gaming urge just so I make sure I get all my work done before the end of 2011.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 -- I really enjoy the campaign of this Call of Duty. Probably my favorite Campaign in any Call of Duty game to date.

The multiplayer I like. I like the new game types. I like the new killstreak system. I don't know that I have much more to say about it. I wasn't disappointed with it, I expected a little more to it, but I enjoy it. Black Ops is still my favorite multiplayer and maps.

--

With that said, you can probably see why I haven't made much time for Doom this year. Early on the year I did complete a map like I said and I have played through Doom 2 on the XBox Live and the bonus Map set that came with it (which was a blast).

You can still find my latest map release and my best map to date: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=16244

I hope everyone on Doomworld has a great Christmas and/or holiday!

Oh one last thing, if you haven't heard about SOPA... you should probably look into it.

Keep the nomination thread clean by posting all your other crap here!

No, I'm not involved with the Cacowards in any way. I just saw a need and filled it.

EDIT: Changed the link, as the official Cacowards nomination thread is now in Wads & Mods. John Smith requested that the official thread be kept clear of discussion so I guess this thread is still needed.

So we have a kitten who we "rescued" from the street, and she's a big fan of human food. I find it annoying, my girlfriend finds it adorable. Today the kitten jumps on the table where I'm working and sticks its nose into my plate. I pick it up by the scruff of its neck, so it spazzes and kicks over my coffee. ALL OVER MY LAPTOP.



Tonight: kitten steak.

Just post what you're listening to:
Biosphere - Bose-Einstein condensation

So yea, I've been playing it tonight and it's pretty creepy, not relying on the cliche jump scares but tense psychological stuff and generally unnerving stuff.

What do you guys think about it, and please no spoilers because I'm early on in the game!

I'm not sure how well known this is, but 4 months ago my girlfriend (of 7 months) left the country to go back home to the United Arab Emirates. As she was just here for one year to do a third year of her degree, that makes perfect sense. Now, because we'd gone and gotten really attached we didn't break it off. We were both upset enough at the airport as it was afterall.

We'd worked out a few plans to go and see eachother. Her plan of coming back to do a Master's after earning money for a year has fallen through as she's now serving as her parents' retirement fund along with her sister (apparantly that's how things are done in Indian families). My main hope was to get a Scholarship to the University of Bolton's Ras-Al Khaimah Campus, where I'd spend a year within 80 miles of where she lives in Sharjah.

Just found out today, after what amounts to around 3 whole months of waiting, that I came a close second. I don't think I can accurately decribe how this has made me feel at the moment.

All that time spent staying in touch, all the hard work I've put in and now I've been told I'm just not quite good enough to get a second year with her. Yeah there's a load of other shit to do with the actual scholarship, but the thing is I was almost the ideal candidate for that. Al-fucking-most.


Guess I'll save up for a holiday and get a last week or two with her so we can give up on good terms.

Keep the nomination thread clean by posting all your other crap here!

No, I'm not involved with the Cacowards in any way. I just saw a need and filled it.

EDIT: Changed the link, as the official Cacowards nomination thread is now in Wads & Mods. John Smith requested that the official thread be kept clear of discussion so I guess this thread is still needed.

My mate and I were driving to get some dinner and he's like "let's check out this new grocery store" so we take a right turn off the main road and follow this plaza drive which goes a bit before getting to an isolated parking lot for this one store, Aldis. It's very hard to see from the main road and the fact that it's set away and by itself was a bit strange. There are only a handful of grocery stores where I live and I know them all pretty well, so I was like.. where'd this new store come from? never heard of it.. weird. We go inside and as we enter we see a poster on the door advertising $23/hr manager position. The aisles are strangely minimalist and there are cardboard boxes everywhere with food in them. There's hardly anyone in the store... no one is at any of the cash registers. A man with a distant, isolated expression on his face pushes a floor cleaner around the store. Fruit is stacked on cardboard boxes. A container of grapes rests haphazardly and half opened. There's hardly anyone in the store (did I mention that already?) The few people there seem a little too ordinary and comfortable in this strange place. Are they really part of the same town? Are they even part of the same universe? I can't tell if I've entered into the future or the past. Even the attractive lady with nice legs seems to have a veil of doldrum about her. The prices seem really low. We go up to one of the referidgerator doors to get some milk and as I pull out a gallon of rBST free whole milk for only $3.19, I see a giant, unlit, cold, industrial and completely empty concrete room behind the minimalist milk shelf. Giant fans are blowing on the far wall facing me.

We get to the check out line and James notices there are no plastic bags. Only empty cardboard boxes near the entrance to the checkout line. We grab some and while I've always been in favor of reusing cardboard boxes to plastic bags, the whole setup feels very cheap. We start asking the checkout girl where the store came from. Apparently it's only been here since December. It's owned by Trader Joes but until recently was only in Germany. I mention that the store has a very temporary feel to it. The cashier gives me a quick look like I'm way out of bounds "temporary..." she odles. I then ask if she thinks the store will be around very long. She's quick with her affirmative response: "Once we open a store, we never close it. We've been opening about two stores per week."

She gives us instructions on how to return our grocery carts. Give a quarter, get a quarter back.. or something. I didn't fully understand the process; was still trying to get my bearings on how we suddenly stepped into the Truman Show.... James isn't able to figure out how to chain up the grocery cart to the rest of the carts. I give it a try--clip in the dangling clip to the one in front, and we go back to my car, very bemused, but eager to get back to the real world.

I have just switched to this layout and it is taking a bit of getting used to although it is supposed to be faster to type with. This was the default layout for typewriters was it not? I heard that they had to switch to Qwerty to slow down typists but it is doing that for me as well although the keys are actually pretty intelligently placed once you start typing with this layout. It grows on you like a mould.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard. More information here. Once you get used to the new layout it is very good to type with, the necessary keys are closer together and since this is said to be a faster way to type, I decided to give it a try. Pullimg out the keys and putting them back in was a heap of fun and gives me a chance to clean out the dirt under the keys. Is anyone else going to join me?

Good info here: http://doomtech.net/wiki/index.php/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

A thread for any guitarists on here to talk about guitars and the playing of them. Electric, acoustic, whatever styles you're into, share your stories, tips and tricks, tell us about your gear, favourite tunings etc. Bassists are welcome, too.


I'm a hobbyist. I've been playing guitar for about four years, on and off. I guess a lack of perseverance and and a lack of money to be able to afford any tutoring means that I can't play certain stuff that I really ought to be able to after the length of time I've been practicing, but I have fun with what I can do. It's not like I'm in competition with anyone, and I'm too old to consider/fantasize about becoming a professional musician so I just enjoy pissing around with stuff.

My equipment leaves much to be desired. A Squier Strat' (currently C#, lowest it will go without modifying it to accommodate super heavy gauge strings), some 15-watt Marshall practice amp and a Digitech distortion pedal. I swear better gear would inspire me to become a player; I'd love to be able to at least afford a really nice amplifier but I have to make do with what I've got. C'est la vie.

So, yeah. Let's go.

So, I received this about a month ago:


I actually didn't open it until last week, but I don't really go on MySpace. Anyway, today at work I receive a call from said idiot, threatening me again, only this time in more detail.

The thing I find amusing about all of this is the fact that he was dumb enough to use his own phone to call my job, and that he was dumb enough to threaten me over the internet, which alone is a felony with a 5 year minimum sentence if I'm correct.

Even more amusing is the fact that he thinks I fucked his wife, which is what apparently started all the threats in the first place. Sad to say buddy, but I'm not interested in the genital warts she gave you. Oh and I don't have either of their numbers, until he called my job today.

So at this point I'm a bit puzzled. Half of me wants to call the FBI, and the other half wants me to see what happens if I just let it be.

Maybe for some the loud obnoxious whine of the lawnmower is a signature sound of summer, but for me I will not miss it. Imagine a world where the only sound going by your window is the whir of blades slicing through the grass. This is the future sound of summer.

I'm doing something I've never done before in my life. I'm playing through Doom 2. UV -FAST and only allowed to save the game at the beginning of each level. I don't really know where most of the traps are in the game, so I've had some hands-in-the-air jaw-open deaths. Just this morning, I cleared MAP13 with two enemies remaining, only to step through a portal and be flash-fried by two cacodemons. I was an idiot not to grab an invulnerability sphere before entering the one unvisited part of the map.

I have to say, the game is superb, ammo balance is crazy good, and the difficulty outstrips any modern game by great distances.

What's up with that?

I've always wondered the psychology behind that. What compels people to want to gain experience and become the highest rank in RPG games or get the highest score in the arcade or best kill to death ratio in online shooters? I know video games are there to be some sort of escapism from the ordeals of real life, but are you really escaping from reality, or are you just playing the game of reality very poorly? People like to play video games where the main character is heroic and strong and agile and overcomes any obstacle. Being the most fearsome fighter, sharpest shooter, stealthy stalker may make you feel awesome in a parallel universe, but whats preventing you from being the best at things in real life?

In my observations, I feel as though video games are a more attractive unit than real life because video games force one to focus on a few simple objectives instead of focusing on some objectives that every individual has to create for themselves in the complete open-endedness of reality. In video games, you acquire the identity of a protagonist. One with a predefined goal, agility, a respected title, no responsibilities, no consequences for their actions, and no ability to feel pain or suffering other than what the video game simulates, usually a flashing screen or a pain animation. Progress is presented to you in the form of rewarding music or exploding text, while life's rewards lie in how you perceive your own abilities.

In videos I see of young adults playing video games, let's say Half Life 2 for example, players start the game and jump around on all the tables like a bobcat with its tail on fire. Every person the player comes in contact with behaves as if not worthy to see the "real Gordan Freeman" as the player proceeds to pick up Chinese take-out boxes off the floor and throw it at their face. The player then jumps on top of trash cans and leaps on top of the heads of authority figures and runs away as they attempt to beat him to a pulp. Every lethal blow to the side of the players head with a police baton is followed by nothing more than a shake of the camera and a flash of red. The same players playing in this fashion would never behave in such a way in public but instead not resist portraying themselves with the audacity of a wild stallion in a video game setting that mildly resembles their own.

Video games tend to make obvious the rewards for doing things correctly to such a lucid extent, that people begin to see less and less the rewards of being good at things in real life. Unless the words "GREAT JOB" appear in front of their face every time they become slightly more experienced in a different field, there's no incentive to do anything.

What I think is missing here is that the keyboard and mouse that controls your hero in whatever game your playing is not the only thing you have control over. Your brain controls you. Question whether video games are your sole source of any motivation to be good at something. If you take a moment, considering yourself a character being watched by a third party, would you make a good video game hero? Do you have any skills or abilities that the average everyman doesn't have? Do you have any speed, agility, coordination, or intelligence that makes your life a video game worth playing? Maybe you should open your eyes once in a while and look at what you're capable of. Do a few pushups once in a while. Learn to play a sport. Eat healthy. Set some goals. Work towards those goals. Video games are not the only things you should be playing.

No picture of an amazing haul this time; I was mostly selling. However, I came across a great used computer for SEVEN DOLLARS.

eMachines T2341
1.9GHz Athlon XP
384MB RAM
40GB HDD
S3 onboard gfx, 32MB shared

I assumed that for $7, something must be wrong with it, though if I could salvage even a few parts from it the money would be well-spent. Imagine my delight when I discovered the fatal issue: one of the RAM sticks is partially unseated. I'm sure the guy who sold it to me thought he was selling junk. Too bad he'll never know I'll be cleaning it up and turning it around for $200.