Tuesday, November 08, 2011

"Cruel"

Love this song, it is so infectious. I love how electro it sounds but the chick shreds at appropriate moments. Plus, the song also is pretty pointed to all the bastards in our lives. Enjoy a wonderful song but creepy video:

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Toxins Linked to Gulf War Illnesses

Toxins linked to Gulf War Illnesses... Really? We're just coming to this now? How long did that take 20 years?

"Veterans who served in combat zones took Pyridostigmine Bromide pills, small doses of a nerve agent intended to allow troops to build up resistance in case of a chemical attack."


Yeah can't see anything going wrong with that.


Pyridostigmine Bromide may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, increased peristalsis, increased salivation, increased bronchial secretions, miosis and diaphoresis. Nicotinic side effects are comprised chiefly of muscle cramps, fasciculation and weakness which, through involvement of the muscles of respiration, may lead to death.


"Among support troops, symptoms of illness were most common in personnel who used pesticides on their uniforms or skin, the researchers found."

Unreal...

(Be sure to check out the comments and the bottom of the article)

Monday, September 05, 2011

Merrill's Meadow

I got bored...really fucking bored as you will soon see. After watching a documentary that mentioned Fiddler's Green I decided to write a version for us MI folks. I named it Merrill's Meadow for Poetic reasons and after MG Frank Merrill. Merrill is famous for coming up with the idea for and founding Merrill's Marauders. Besides being a general (literally and figuratively) bad-ass Merrill was a MI officer. So, I thought it more fitting to use him rather than some staff pogue to give a name to the Valhalla for MI soldiers. Any Valhalla with MI soldiers would have A/C, spades, poguie bait, little to no fighting except maybe for some D&D, internet, and perfectly clean/unused weapons.

So here goes Merrill's Meadow by me (copyright haters!). Read it side by side with the inferior "Fiddler's Green" I linked to and give me some suggestions. Fiddler's Green does not mention MI once; fail!

Merrill's Meadow

At the gates of limbo on the way to hell,

In SICPs perfectly in a row

Toil MI soldiers at their field desks,

Putting on dog and pony shows.

And this second purgatory

Is classified “Merrill’s Meadow.”


At this place, denied access to hell,

Are all those friends and foes,

Trying to get in for the AC, coffee,

And internet but ordered, “NO!”

For none but MI soldiers are “READ-ON”

To enter Merrill’s Meadow.


They leave to get the proper DA Forms signed,

Ask Sergeants and officers who might know,

Where and who they must go to find,

Permission or signatures they can show,

To the MI soldiers at the SCIF,

To get a TS/SCI to enter Merrill’s Meadow.


So when a soldier dies and his ghost marches from its grave,

To join its comrades in the world of shadows,

And take his place among those who weren’t saved,

Remember the few things that all who enter hell must know:

That MI Soldiers man the gates of hell and mind what is said,

Your name must be on the access roster and ID must be shown,

And still you are not worthy ‘nuff to proceed

Past the MI soldiers napping at Merrill’s Meadow.









Friday, August 19, 2011

Killzone 3

Back again and this time with a few quick notes on Killzone 3 Multiplayer.

There are currently 7 maps to choose from for a standard death match and game play is set up like Battlefield 2 where there are 5 character classes to choose from and then points are earned for kills or class specific actions. These points get you rank and rank unlocks what's called career unlocks which can be used to upgrade career specific talents. Each class is subdivided into primary and secondary abilities and primary and secondary weapons types.




I like to play the medic so in my case career unlock “revive” will upgrade my ability to heal or by upgrading “triage” I am able to create a bot to cover me while I skirt the battlefield in search of injured teammates to revive. As a side note few people in the games I played actually waited around for medical help before respawning, however I found that a medic with bot assistance can also give a great tactical advantage to your team if forwardly deployed. At its final stage “revive” allows the medic to heal himself essentially respawing in place.

The real fun is in the Warzone game mode, which consists of all game modes in one. At first I thought it meant that I would play a game of deathmatch which would end and then it would be followed by a new game of Capture the flag or Territories as is common in other games such as COD or Halo but surprisingly this is not the case. No sooner does a round of CTF end then your sides’ commander Admiral Orlock / Helghast or Captain Narville/ISA comes over the radio and issues new objectives to achieve and play continues, in Killzone 3 it all happens back to back with no reset! It’s like playing four games in one. I highly suggest this game mode as the standard maps are extended in size and scope to accommodate up to 24 players making you fell like part of a larger more realistic battle.


Dagon Age 2



Dragon Age 2 is an action packed role-playing game, set in the world of Dragon Age: Origins but it is not a sequel so much as it is a spinoff of that title. BioWare has streamlined several elements from the first installment and created something familiar but new. The look has been updated as well as combat and dialog options and although the story is not as epic in scope as DAO it’s just as good. You will still have to face off against Dragons, hordes of Darkspawn, and demons to be sure but the real enemies in this installment are not always so obvious.

In Dragon Age 2 you play as Hawke and your story begins with you and your family escaping from Lothering as the Blight closes in. Soon after you and your family will meet some familiar faces that help you escape Fereldon and make your way to the city of Kirkwall, in the Free Marches where you have relatives and the majority of the story takes place. Kirkwall give the impression of being a great city but the arrival of refugees from Fereldon is stretching its resources to their capacity making its citizens less than friendly to the newcomers. But you won’t stay a refugee for long and quickly go about making your fortune in your new home. Along the way you will encounter new companions and new problems as you navigate through political intrigue, a bunch of shipwrecked Qunari, and a little civil war between the Mages and Templers of Kirkwall.



BioWare has once again broken the story down into three acts, each with its own set of quests that will lead you further into the story. Quests are categorized as main, secondary, side, and companion categories. While almost all quests help support the stories overall narrative it’s questing with and for your companions where the game really shines. Unlike DAO where you could effectively buy your companions friendship, in DA2 your companion’s loyalty or rivalry is earned through questing. The choices you make will determine whether they stick with you in the end or ultimately leave your service.

In DA2 Hawke is able to speak which is a major upgrade in my book, it’s that much easier to get into the story because the conversations have a real feeling to them. Conversations are set up with 3 basic forms of inquiry or reply very much in line with BioWare’s Sci-Fi RPG Mass Effect. These options are supplemented with symbols which I think were intended to help convey the tone in which the statement was intended but can be confusing at times. For example a purple diamond response is supposed to be charming and a black star means that you have prior knowledge of this topic due to a previous interaction.

Combat has been simplified from DAO and has become more action oriented. However, unlike before you will have to engage enemies on your own if you want Hawke to attack or perform an action; otherwise he will just stand there. You are still able to switch which party member you are controlling easily and pulling back on the left trigger will still pause the action allowing you to make any necessary changes to your tactics. Speaking of which, there are still customizable tactic slots for each character and I highly recommend using them as your party members will perform most default actions well but with a little tweaking you can control all aspects of the battlefield.



But it’s not all silver coins and pirate girls in Kirkwall. Due to the tight focus of the story there aren’t a lot of places to go in DA2 and by act 2 you will have visited all of them in one form or another. BioWare tries to change your point of entry or limits access to different set pieces but it is a trick that wears thin quickly. The upside to this is resource gathering, which you will need to do in order to craft new potions or poisons. Clearly, after a few trips around Kirkwall and you’ll know where to look. Also only Hawke can wear 99% of any armor you find. While your companion’s armor can be upgraded through purchases at the many venders in Kirkwall or found during companion specific quests, the sheer volume of unusable items seems like a waste. Lastly, unlike its predecessor Dragon Age: Origins in DA2 you are only able to have conversations with your companions during or just after their specific quests. So speaking with your companions actually becomes a quest in itself rather than something you can just do on the fly.

Ultimately this is a great RPG adventure game with a solid character driven story. The improved graphics and character models, along with a fully fleshed out speaking hero set this sequel apart from its predecessor. The sheer amount of choice you have to design your own destiny will keep you coming back for more adventures in Kirkwall well past the 35 hours it takes to finish the game.

Quick tips:
Always bring a rogue - Oddly no quest items will ever be stored in a locked chest but you may find gold or special weapons / armor.

Save frequently – It’s easy to forget to save your game but its best to save before and after a mission. With a 35 hour run time you should save at key points that you may want to go back to later.

Mi casa es su casa – Apparently Hawke has a serious open door policy and there are several times during the game that events will be tripped without warning when you go home. Remember that with the exception of receiving letters all other activities can be done throughout Kirkwall.

Friday, May 20, 2011

WTF?

I know it's been a while but who went fucking nuts and redecorated the place? It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to enter a new post in here. Is it Google's doing? Anyway I thought I'd say hey to everyone..."Hey!"

For those of you, including me, who will remain on Earth after today's Rapture, we should totally meet up since we can take cars that are empty or siphon their gas and homestead a development somewhere. Let's call it Bartertown. For those of you leaving us, have a safe trip and have fun playing board games for all eternity while the rest of us are at the Hukilau!