commented out

I think I’ve been spoiled by thumbsticks on game controllers. I picked up one those new Nintendo DS handhelds and I’ve found that my hand is actually sore from using the standard directional pad. Therefore, I’m considering a small modification to allow for a removable thumbstick. I’m considering the old stick from the N64, but I’m not sure yet.

In other news, the last of the laptop parts ought to arrive today, so I’ll have a full run-through of that experience within the next few days.

Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow News

That’s right, an editor for Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. This delights me in ways it probably shouldn’t. Furthermore, it’s based on the Unreal Editor, which I’m somewhat familiar with already. Time to start planning.

Check this out: http://www.voodoo.zarovka.com/. This page offers a patch for Doom 3 that’ll get it to run on a Voodoo2 accelerator. I didn’t know Voodoo2 cards even existed anymore, let alone that there would be any need for someone to patch Doom 3 so it could use one! The screenshots on this page were taken, I think, from a machine running dual Voodoo2 cards in SLI mode.

I’ve toyed with the idea before, and after looking around for the past couple of months I’ve decided it’s time to just give in to temptation and put together a laptop. Here are the current specs:

• Asus chassis with a 15.4″ WXGA screen
• Intel Pentium M clocked at 2.0ghz
• ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
• 60 gig Hitachi 7200rpm hard drive. Considering a 5400rpm drive to spare battery life.
• 1 gig of Mushkin 333mhz PC2700 RAM
• Interchangeable 24X/24X/8X/24X DVD+CD-RW Combo
• Asus WL-100G 802.11b/g Wireless PCMCIA Card, because I like to be sure I’m not connected when I don’t want to be.

Total price so far: $1,841
Almost as powerful Dell laptop: $2,193

I think I’m making the right choice in my methods of acquisition.

Just taking a moment to offer a heartfelt thank you to the men and women, both past and present, who have risked life and limb to protect the values and freedoms of this country.

I noticed an ad for this place on the back of the latest issue of PC Gamer: http://www.ige.com

Have you seen this crap? Buy, sell, and trade Massively Multiplayer accounts and currencies. Isn’t this just the sort of stuff that developers request that you not do? It’s even listed in the EULA in many cases. Something about ruining play experiences or some such. I think Greg Dean mentioned this not too long ago over at Real Life Comics. He talked about people affiliated with this company camping certain monster spawn points and such, hoarding this stuff before players could get it.

In other news, I’m the proud owner of a new Saitek Gamer keyboard. That little side keypad is pretty useful, and completely customizable. I jumped back into Freelancer and customized that little thing for all sorts of weapon sets, eliminating the need to pick keys close to my hand on the keyboard, so there’s less confusion this way. The keyboard itself was easy to adjust to, and it has a wrist rest that I actually like. The blue backlight does make gaming in the dark a bit easier, but it’s still something of a novelty much of the time. Luckily, it can be dimmed and turned off. Overall, this little gadget gets the seal of approval, and it’s pretty good for the more-than-casual gamer.

George W. Bush will be our president for yet another four years, and this pleases me. When they announced that Ohio had yet to be accounted for I had flashbacks of the last election, which weren’t made any better by the news that representatives from the Kerry Camp declared that they had lawyers ready to go to demand recounts and add provisionary votes and such. I braced myself for at least a week long trial of recount after recount.

Imagine my surprise, then, when John Kerry announced his concession. Of course, Al Gore had also conceded and then took it back, so I wasn’t about to hold my breath. Senator Kerry, however, is apparently more able to handle things like a man should, with class and dignity, as he went through with his concession speech, admitting that the numbers are what they are, and they weren’t in his favor. He thanked those who supported him, and went on to say that the leader has been chosen and there is no place for a divided nation. He asked that everyone unite together so we can do what must be done as a whole country, and not divided factions.

As I think back to how Gore handled his loss, I would like to commend Senator John Kerry for showing such grace in the face of defeat.

Naturally, I would also like to congratulate President Bush on his reelection.

So, I just got back from doing my part in this monstrosity called the Presidential Election. Having followed this campaign as much as I did, it was an easy choice to cast my lot in with the Bush/Cheney camp.

It’s interesting to note how many people are voting for either candidate because they dislike his opponent, rather than because they agree with his ideals. Today alone, I met a lot of people who chose Kerry because they hated Bush for the war, and plenty others who made their choice based on the “lesser of two evils” premise. Either way, it should be an interesting night tonight, as they tally the votes.

Wow. Halloween sucks. I remember when I used to go trick or treating (the last time was maybe twelve years ago), there weren’t groups of kids, there were crowds. And now? My doorbell rang four or five times; Halloween just isn’t what it used to be, and that’s a damn shame.

There’s not even anything good on TV on Halloween nights anymore! Last year there was a good horror movie on most channels, or a Halloween special, or something. The best things this year were the rerun of last year’s Simpsons’ Tree House Of Horror, and some stuff on the History Channel. What’s the world coming to?