Beware of Raj

Edumacation, Work and Play (Life Update)

July 27th, 2010 1 Comment

Hello. Haven’t updated for a while but it’s not like I have an exciting life. Actually it’s because I have an idea about something I want to write and never end up doing it. I may have ADD and procrastination is definitely part of my personality. Actually there are quite a few programming/web site related projects I’ve wanted to complete and have barely made a start on them.

I had my first class at college, American Government. It was a summer class so it was short and compact, kinda like your… Ahahaha good one dude! I’m not sure I want to take such a short class again, despite the fact that I got it over pretty quick and still managed an A. It was way too much information to learn in such a short period of time and quite frankly I’m not sure how much of it I’ve really learned. The teacher didn’t give us any quizzes or tests, instead all we had to do was pick a topic and do a presentation on it. I think one of the reasons I liked it, was because the teacher was incredibly easy going and I was told by the girl I was working with not to expect other teachers to be that lenient. I’m both relieved and disappointed!

Last week I had car trouble, perfect timing since I’m also about to lose my job. It’s fixed now though, so I’m back to going from 0 – 60 in the time it takes BP to figure out how to fix a leak. I did have to rent a car though, a Mazda6, which is a really nice car! Doesn’t seem like it would be great on fuel, but certainly fun to drive (wink wink, there was definitely some zoom zoom going on here) whilst still being a nice everyday comfortable cruiser. I wish my dad considered this car before parting his money for a 2010 Chevy Malibu. Whilst both are competent daily drivers, I felt that the Mazda beckoned me to use that pedal on the right as much as I could.

Back to employment… Or rather unemployment, my assignment ends on August 11th. Then in a month there is the possibility of being called back, again. This may or may not happen, it’s never guaranteed, I really hope I don’t have to go back to the same department. It’s nothing to do with the actual department itself, but rather what the managers and director require of that unit. Honestly, I don’t care too much about pay but I don’t feel I am getting paid enough to really care about the requirements they place on us. Long story short, my job involves scheduling medical exams for Social Security claimants. We have to schedule a certain number a day (75) and we have deadlines to complete our lists. This I don’t mind, but we don’t exactly have much to work with. We basically have too many exam requests and not enough doctor’s to schedule with. On top of that, state government doesn’t pay nearly as much as federal government does, so it’s not like the doctor’s have any incentive to make sacrifices for us. On top of that, I have to manage the schedule for about 15 doctor’s and deal with any scheduling issues anyone might have. I get paid $9.50/hour to do this, compared to what my mum does – data entry; entering police report data into a database, which is basically typing stuff out, not having to deal with people for $11/hour. I know which one I’d rather have!

With the way the economy is, I don’t know how optimistic I can be about finding something else. I really should put my Associates degree to use and I intend to pay a visit to my college’s career services center. At the same time I have asked my temp. agency to try and find something for me. One of the reasons I took the job at the Department of Labor is because of the flexible schedule and that’s really the only reason I like it. At this point in time,I will probably accept again unless I can find something better before then. I really hope I do.

If I don’t, I should be okay, I have enough to finish college as long as I don’t spend too much on things I don’t need. Although I don’t have many hobbies, gaming being one of them is quite expensive. I just bought a PS3 in anticipation of Gran Turismo 5 (GT5). I also plan on buying the wheel too and I’ve already preordered the limited collectors edition ($100). Obviously this is a lot to spend on one game and I’m really banking on this game being good. If it isn’t, I will be sorely disappointed! Given the track record (no pun intended?) of the series, it should be pretty good. But given the recent track record of game developers and games these days, there is a huge potential for this to be quite a disappointment. Honestly, if GameTrailers (the only place I trust for reviews now) gives the game the same score (+/- 1%) or better than Forza Motorsport 3 then I’ll be fine. I’m finding it hard to justify any game purchase these days.

Speaking of which, it hasn’t even been a year yet and I haven’t completed Forza 3. I’m going to get on that right now, so, as Clarkson said to Hammond as he drove off in the Maserati (S15, E3) “TOOOOODLOOOOOO!”

Splinter Cell: Conviction – There’s Only One Problem…

May 5th, 2010 2 Comments

… It’s too short! That’s all! This is one of the better games I have played this year! Better than Mass Effect 2 and better than Bad Company’s single payer. I haven’t played the co-op yet, but that’s because I have no friends The co-op is a separate storyline, a prologue actually leading up to the events in the main story. I’ve heard from reviews that it’s good but a little buggy.

I like the Splinter Cell series but I wouldnt really call myself a fan. I finished the first game and played the others but regrettably never finished them. I don’t think there is any other game series that compares and don’t even think about mentioning Metal Gear Solid! It’s nowhere near as good as the Splinter Cell series. The latest installment doesn’t really take the genre anywhere new, but it manages to appeal to both fans and newcomers to both the series and the genre. Very few games can claim that.

If you are new to the series and this is your first time then the storyline won’t make any sense at first, however the game makes good use of cutscenes, great voice acting and scripted scenes to unravel the story. Those familiar with the story will have some questions answered.

The gameplay is a little different from the previous games as it seems more streamlined than before. You don’t get as many fancy gadgets but you do get some pretty cool ones, like the sonar goggles which really help. What hasn’t changed from the previous games is that careful planning and patience are always rewarded.

One of the new features is the “execute” feature. After performing a special move like a melee attack, you get to “mark” targets or enemies. Each weapon has a different number of targets you can mark and some are upgradable to add more. Once you have targets marked, you can perform the execute move at any time. Sam (the character you play as) will then take down all the targets in range in a really cool slow motion way. At first I thought this was gimmicky as it seems unrealistic, but the more you use it, the more you feel like a badass. After all, you can clear an entire room full of enemies in one move. Which its quite an achievement for our main character, since he’s just an old man with no body armor and nothing but a silenced pistol! Targets aren’t limited to just enemies either, objects like explosive barrels can also be used to cause death and destruction.

The cover system is also pretty well done too. Just look at a wall or sandbag or whatever and hold the cover button. You can also move from cover to cover and peek out to take a shot at enemies. The control system is really intuitive too. When hiding behind cover you can wait for an enemy to walk by and them press a button to silently take him out. You can also use the same button to say, pull an enemy out a window when hanging from a ledge.

Hiding behind objects aren’t the only way to be sneaky. Like in the previous games the darkness and shadows are your friends. When you are in the cover of darkness the screen turns black and white. It returns to full color when you get back in the light. This ends up bring incredibly intuitive yet a very simple way of making the player aware of their surroundings.

If you are about to be seen by an enemy an indicator on screen points to the enemy that spotted you. If you are actually discovered the indicator turns from white to red and all of a sudden everyone knows where you are. Most of the time this isn’t preferable but sometimes you can use it to your advantage. For example, if you manage to get away after being spotted a silhouette of your last known position appears and enemies will close in on this position. You could then use it as bait to take them all out. How you do this is up to you.

Sometimes the AI can be a little stupid, walking right by you when they should have seen you, but they are still smart enough to keep you on your toes. In the end it’s all about the experience, if you’re looking for a straight up action game, despite the epic gunfights you might be disappointed. Like I said earlier, the game rewards patience and planning. Even though the game is short, you’ll want to replay it just so you can try the different guns and gadgets or find other ways to get through a level.

This game is definetly worth the money, I’d score it a 9/10.

Why I’ve Given up on Gaming

March 31st, 2010 1 Comment

I am selling my 360 and PC and as many games as I can. I will keep my laptop though. I’m sick of the gaming industry releasing the same mediocre shit, us loyal gamers giving them our money only so they can make the same shit again and we’ll buy it. And so the cycle continues. I’ve decided I don’t want to be a part of this any more.

There hasn’t been a game that has impressed me since Half Life 2. Since then the gaming industry has been spewing out the same shit over and over again. Sure there are some good titles like Mass Effect 2 and Bad Company 2, but they will never be an epic release like Half Life 2 was. Mass Effect 2 was way too short and Bad Company 2 epically fails at originality.

I’m selling the 360 as well because Forza 3 also fails. It’s just Forza 2 wrapped up in shinier graphics. Like I said, the same mediocre shit. In fact, Turn 10 could actually be the gaming equivalent of Apple – all they did was wrap up an old product in something shinier and called it “new”.

Maybe in a years time or when the next generation of consoles are released I will return to gaming, but for now, I will have to find something else to pass the time.

St. Lucia

January 10th, 2010 No Comments

So I went to St. Lucia for the Christmas holidays and it sucks now that I’m back in Georgia. It was amazing! I really wanted to stay. I am currently uploading my camera pics to Facebook (eugh!) and I am gonna ask my uncle for their camera pics as well.

I did a lot of things whilst I was there. Of course I went to the beach, three times. The first time we went, we climbed a mountain first, then came down for a swim in the ocean, drank and watched the sun set before driving home. The sunset was gorgeous! Another time we had a BBQ/beach party type thing lol. That was fun, I ate a lot and took a swim in the ocean. But the ocean decided when it was time to get out, as the waves got really strong. Again, another beautiful sunset.

We also drove through an active volcano. Well, it was a smelly sulfuric volcano! That was kinda cool. That was the same day we drove around the whole island. Got a tour of the whole place and stopped at different viewing points. Tried the local beer as well. It tasted like… Beer. I have never noticed the difference between different beers.

Christmas day was great! We had a party at our house. My uncle was intent on getting me drunk! Worked though haha. We opened presents in the morning and then prepared the food. Then in the evening it’s a huge party lol. It was fun, I ate and drank a lot lol

We also went to Coconut Bay. It’s a hotel resort type place with swimming pools, a jacuzzi and water slides. That was lots of fun. The water slide scared the shit out of me, since I can’t swim and I’ve never been on one before. Needless to say I enjoyed the adrenaline rush and screamed like a girl on the way down lmao! That was also the first time my family saw me get drunk. The thing is, we had a day pass, which was all inclusive – all the food and drink was free. Yes FREE! So I thought “why the hell not?” and got drunk on like vodka and rum lol. Lunch was free too, they had a restaurant with a buffet and yup, that was all free and eat as much as you like!

I wish I had stayed over into the new year. I had to leave on the 31st . They usually have a beach party and they had a blue moon this year! Didn’t want to take any more days off work which is why I had to come back. Next time I go I’ll book way more time!

I enjoyed myself a lot and really want to go back again some time. Now I just need some money, damnit!

Should I Buy a Nexus One Phone?

January 6th, 2010 No Comments

If you didn’t know already I spent the Christmas holidays in St. Lucia. Despite being somewhat reimbursed by my uncle I still spent quite a bit of money on that trip. If you also didn’t know, the new Google phone, the Nexus One came out yesterday and it looks really good. It’s way better than my phone, the G1, which is now old and slow. Should I decide to buy one, I have two options:

(1) Since it’s on T-Mobile, I can buy it for $180 and extend my contract for another 2 years. My problem with this is that I hate T-Mobile. Their 3G coverage in Georgia is rubbish. I have about another year left on my contract and I’m thinking I should just wait till it runs out before buying something else and just live with my G1.

(2) I could buy the phone unlocked for $529. I know it’s a lot, which is normal for smartphones, but the thing is, I should be able to use my existing SIM card, which means, I wouldn’t have to extend my contract. The thing is, the phone will be GSM compatible, but not CDMA compatible. They are working on making one that will work with Verizon. Ideally I’d like to switch to either Sprint or Verizon. I don’t know what Sprint’s coverage is like, but I know they are cheap. However, Verizon’s coverage is good, but would be the most expensive.

I reckon by the time I decide what I want there will be something else out. Meh.

P.S.: Working on writing a post about St. Lucia

UPDATE: I’ve decided not to buy the phone. I’d have to buy it unlocked to use my SIM card and current plan. Not only that, but I’m not hearing great things about it with T-Mobile’s 3G coverage. The battery life isn’t that great, yet it is to be expected but there are no extended batteries available for purchase yet. May as well wait for my contract to run out before buying something else.

Going to St. Lucia for Christmas

December 10th, 2009 3 Comments

I was thinking about asking T-Mobile how being in another country would affect my phone because in the world we live in today it’s all about being connected. To something. Facebook, friend, place Internet whatever. Then I realized that I’m anti-social and that there are few people that I really care about and that I don’t care what you just ate for lunch.

I’ll admit I’m addicted to e-mail, I will be able to check my e-mail using my uncle’s computer. Though I would rather fully enjoy the serenity of being disconnected whilst in St. Lucia.

Before you say anything as well, because obviously I know you were going to say something, my uncle is paying for some of it – I’m not rich I wouldn’t have gone otherwise.

I would also like to add that Expedia is rubbish. Terrible prices and retards work in customer service. Don’t know why I used them again. If anyone knows any better places to book flights, let me know.

Thoughts on Borderlands, Modern Warfare 2 and Forza Motorsport 3

November 30th, 2009 3 Comments

I bought Borderlands and Modern Warfare 2 on PC and Forza 3 is obviously a 360 exclusive. All three of these games were great, but only one was better than I expected, because I didn’t have high expectations for it anyway Can you guess what it is? Any PC gamer will know!

Well believe it or not, I am actually liking Modern Warfare 2 more than Borderlands! After all the crap I heard about them consolizing the game I figured Borderlands would be the FPS I’d like the most. It [Borderlands] looked like a lot of fun, I mean they really did well to combine both the FPS and RPG elements together and it’s a lot of fun. The problem, well problems are; it’s too short! It took my friends and I a week to finish the main storyline and the ending wasn’t even that good! By the way, I promise no spoilers here just in case someone reads this and haven’t finished the games.

Once you finish the game, it allows you a second playthrough but with harder enemies and better loots. I have wanted to go through this second playthrough, as I haven’t reached the max. level, but still, it would be the same thing over again. Whilst it was fun, I think it would get a bit repetitive.

Another thing was that it didn’t seem like they finished porting it over from the consoles. Yes that’s right, it felt like a console game. At least you could edit the game files to get it to a point where some things could be fixed (like turning off voice, for example) but there were things in there that you couldn’t fix yourself. For example, some of the in game menus were hard to use because instead of letting you click on menu items, you had to scroll to them using the arrow keys! I mean seriously! Why? We have a mouse for a reason! It makes it so much easier.

Back to the second playthrough – I want to do it again, if only just to level up. I don’t feel I have fully explored all the characters and their abilities and also the fact that they are releasing a DLC by the end of the year. Supposedly. It would also cost $10 (even for PC gamers?), which if it does, I don’t think I will want to pay for it, unless my friends get it. I think I’ve already paid enough for games.

As for Modern Warfare 2, well I didn’t have high hopes for it anyway, which is no surprise that it was… Well a surprisingly good game! The singleplayer was way too short, but this seems to be the norm these days. A real shame really, I like a good singleplayer experience and I know Infinity Ward (the developers) can deliver on this. But the main focus with this game was the multiplayer. The co-op missions are brilliant and are a lot of fun! Try it with a friend on Veteran. It’ll be frustrating but fun and rewarding once you complete them. Make sure you use an external voice chat program (I suggest Skype, Ventrilo or TeamSpeak) so that you can communicate with each other. There is no in game voice or chat for the co op and communication is essential for some of the missions, especially if you plan on doing them on Veteran.

Now the multiplayer, the main meal of this game. It’s like the first Modern Warfare but better! More guns and attachments, more perks and it’s still a lot of fun. The biggest hitch though is the lack of dedicated servers! I really don’t mind the lobby system, but to have the games hosted on someone’s PC is lame. Especially when their connection goes bad and it has to pick a new host, in the middle of a firefight! It can be really annoying. Left 4 Dead has a similar system, you wait in a lobby and the game finds a suitable server. This way is much better, at least you will end up on a dedicated server. If they did this, instead of having the games hosted on someone’s PC, it would be better. Dedicated servers are one of the things that separate multiplayer gaming on PC and consoles! It’s one of the reasons I believe multiplayer gaming is better on PC!

I don’t mind the player cap. Actually I complained about it in the last game. I don’t like the huge games, they just because a huge chumpfest and have no structure. Especially since it had a broken respawn system (which was brought back in the second game too). I didn’t use lean much either so that doesn’t bother me.

What does however, is the removal of the console and lack of support for mods. It’s what makes PC games better than console games! Just look at a game like Counter-Strike for example, or even Battlefield 2 (think Desert Combat mod for BF1942 ). I have seen however, that some people have hacked the game to allow dedicated servers. I hope there will be some more hackage, it would be interesting to see what people come up with!

As for Forza 3, I think it’s a great game, easily the best racing game out (until GT5?). I like how it appeals to anyone who likes cars. But I still have a few issues with it. I think the developers got lazy! I mean it doesn’t feel like they finished it before they released it. There are some small bugs that need fixing, one I’ve noticed for example, is that you can’t tint the windows of the Range Rover Sport. Not a really big deal, but I bet it’s an easy fix! Also when you paint the rims of some of the racecars, it removes the paint job and makes them plain grey models, even though you didn’t want this! The new cockpit view is nice, I like using it. But they forgot to finish some of them. Some cars, the displays aren’t on and some are?! What gives? Then there’s the gear changes. They may of only added this recently, or only on the race cars, but I’ve noticed when you change gears the driver doesn’t take his hand off the wheel. I know it’s a small issue but it’s the details that count! It’s like they just wanted to release the game, no matter how unfinished. Unfortunately console games aren’t patched as often as PC games. With PC games, a fix is usually released in a couple of days.

There is one major feature missing from the game too. In the multiplayer, you can’t create a public lobby. Unless I am missing something?

Speaking of things missing, I think there should have been some cars they should have included but didn’t. The GT-R for example. Ariel Atom. They include a Dodge Ram but not an SVT Raptor or a Lightning? That doesn’t even make sense! It looks like they have plans to include the 458 Italia as a DLC though. I can’t wait for that! Next they need to include that new Gallardo and the McLaren. Would also love to see the SLS AMG in there too! I could list more cars that I’d like to see (VXR8 Bathurst S!!!) but then I’d be here all day

All things considered, it is a pretty fun game and I really love it. Again a few more tracks would be nice, some of the new ones aren’t that great (the demo track for example). Otherwise this game is easily worth the money. And I got the Limited Collectors Edition Which by the way, it seems makes me entitled to a free car from Turn 10 every now and then. I mean, I planned on buying an RX-8 or a Murcielago but they sent me one. For free. Thanks!

Enough rambling from me now. I will post stuff about Left 4 Dead 2 and Dragon Age some time though. Not soon as I am nowhere near finishing either of these!

P.S. I have three Google Wave invites left.

Hello World!

November 23rd, 2009 10 Comments

I’ve done enough first posts now that I want to try and be original and now I don’t know what to say. I’ve been inspired by my[?] muse (a new favourite word I’ve discovered ) to start blogging again.

I’ve just seen FireFox underline a word in that previous sentence (if you’re clever you’ll find out what it is). An insight into what goes on in my mind lol. Should I be nostalgic (and some would say correct ) and use the British spelling? Or do I use the American version, possibly considering my audience? Excitement ensues!

Anyway, I don’t know what else to write here, but the point is I have! So I’m going to stop now.