OK, its pretty bad when you have to start over before you even start . The original goal of the project was to be a combination of bent aluminum sheets and square tube that were machine screwed together. My first foray into bending showed me that I needed to modify the actual tool used to do the bending – the humble 16″ Harbor Freight bending brake. Using my newly acquired drill press, I proceeded to secure (2) grade 8 bolts with suitable washers and nuts. Doing so precluded the use of the c-clamps which thought were the cause of my prior bending mishap:

SFF 2009

165 Photos

 

This whole project started out as a simple hardware update from an aging Athlon X2 gaming system, to a modern Intel based gaming system. I had been very interested in trying my hand at computer “modding” and was originally hoping to make do with a smallish air-cooled tower. That became an i7 based tower. That became an i7 SFF computer. That became a liquid-cooled i7 SFF computer…

So, it snowballed out of control, and I found myself learning Sketchup and contemplating a custom built computer with a totally unique layout. Never mind that I didn’t have a workshop. Never mind that I didn’t have the first clue at working with metal, liquid cooling a computer or even having the basic tools I would need. I was a man on a mission and the idea of this small little computer filled many a spare moment.

I think the site has a bit more professional feel, but I will likely tweak it forever. I should actually have some computer modding articles soon as I have started work on my own scratch build. Stay tuned.

Recently the set of headphones that came with my 3G iPhone (my second iPhone, I also had the Edge version) started to fail. I live nowhere close to an Apple retail store. What to do? Well it just so happens that Apple has a very painless way to request service for iPhones with their online service assistant. After providing them my serial number and CC info (just in case I decided to keep an extra set of headsets ), they sent out a replacement set of ‘phones.

Pretty normal right? Well the difference comes in that I received my replacement set of headphones via priority FedEx! Less than 24 hours after submitting the problem, its solved. Apple also provides a pre-paid method to ship my dying headphones back to them.

Good show, Apple.

Pretty obvious how I spent the past few days eh?

After watching the Wolverine flick Thurs/Fri night, I decided to see if I could get my claws hands on a PS3 version of the tie-in video game which is cleverly named “X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Uncaged Edition”. Normally I stay as far away as I can from video games that try to tie in a movie. The reason is simple – the vast majority are absolute poo. In this case, I had seen a review about the game intimating that the game designers were true fans and that the game carried a Mature rating. So, after not being wowed by the film (I still liked it), why not give the game a chance?

Glad I did. This game totally throws away any pretense about the character that the movies have shown us. Wolverine is a bad-ass, and the developers knew that’s what I wanted to play as. The game’s rating is not a gimmick either. Unlike the un-bloody film, this game is extremely violent (notice I didn’t say excessive). When you have the ability to finish someone off by ripping off his arm and beating him to death with it (not kidding), well, the game deserves an adult audience. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great depiction of the character – before he was an X-Man, he was an assassin. If you are a parent considering this game as good choice for your own little mutant, look carefully at the game play videos online. In fact, I am struggling hard to come up with a game I have played that is as brutal as this.

While the game play  is mostly hack and slash type moves, there are some elements of stealth and simple puzzle solving. The pacing is fast, the attack moves are varied and there are systems in place for upgrading your character. You are also able to unlock bonus modes in which you fight yourself for rights to wear other costume choices. Damage is dealt with in a way that makes sense. Wolverine can, of course, heal himself quickly, but you actually get to see skin and muscle torn away to reveal his vital organs and skeleton. What’s cool about this is you also get to watch it grow back. Neat.

I have only 2 main problems with the game. The first can be summed up in one word – repetition. When fighting with most of the characters, it never really got boring to lunge from bad guy to bad guy, serving up whatever sort of death I wanted to deal. This is easy when hacking up sword-wielding ninjas, but got a bit harder with machine gun toting soldiers. Even with the healing ability, you can easily get torn up against overwhelming odds. The problem starts when dealing with boss fights. They aren’t hard, but they are very samey. Not only does the game have one-on-ones with same bosses again and again, different bosses have the same weaknesses. That’s called “grinding” and it started to get a little stale.

The other issue is one of opinion but this game screams for an open sand-box type enviroment. I kept thinking about Altair in Assassin’s Creed and wishing I had the same flexibility with Wolverine. With his feral sense, you already have a guidance system and that type of play would allow for using stealth and environmental elements more seemlessly. Perhaps the next version Raven?

All-in-all, this game is alot of fun. You really feel like you are Wolverine and the main issues I had with the movie are completely wiped from my mind after an evening slicing soldiers in half.  However, I usually only buy new games if I can see a good repay value. Here, I don’t think I would keep going back in, just to slay guys in single story mode.  I would rate it a rent, perhaps even purchase used. If you need a number, I would give it a 7.5 of 10.

It’s about time I posted something here – after all I am paying for the privilege

Funny how with all the other movie reviewing sites out there, and this site’s supposed intent in being a tech-blog, I choose my first post to be a movie related one . Well, I like movies and have a certain soft spot for the comic-book based ones, so I guess it isn’t that strange.

So, today the movie in question is the much-hyped X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I (and my movie-loving sister) decided to give this movie “midnight-showing” status. Which of course means seeing the movie with the most receptive and somehow equally critical crowd – the hard core fans (or insomniacs). As with movies I know I am going to see in the theater, I tend to stay away from other reviews until I have actually seen the movie myself, but I did get a few early hints that this wouldn’t be another Ironman or Dark Knight.

To be blunt, this movie is not in that league. Sorry if that dashes the hardcore fans hopes, but there is no other way to say it. It isn’t the actors that make this movie less than what it could have been either. Hugh Jackman is quite good with the material he is given as Logan/Wolverine. Liev Schriber makes a compelling, brooding Victor/Sabretooth, and so on. All the actors, in fact, are good choices. I was very happy with the choice of Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool when I first heard about it and wasn’t disappointed with the performance – merely the length of it.

It’s this small example that really shows the underlying problem of this film. I feel as though they tried to pack too much story into this movie. Very little supporting actor character development is done. To be fair, this is a story about Wolverine, but you never really get feel the more complex parts of his character either. The parts of the tale that deal with his childhood and growing up are EXTREMELY short and leave undeveloped story arches (and really, when are we coming back to this story in another movie?). I would have much preferred to see Wolverine’s back story (one that was a long-time coming even in the comics) revealed as flashbacks to give more substance, rather than linearly and as a prologue.

The other main issues I have is that dealing with the violence. Wolverine is a guy with indestructible metal claws (6, if you are counting). He is powerfully strong and has 150 years of experience in fighting technique. He has a mutant healing factor that can bring him back from nearly anything, so there isn’t much that rattles him. You would think that with those abilies and the baddies he has to fight, there would be some blood, right? Wrong. In fact, despite telling the audience he is “coming for blood” there is none to be found (I actually noticed it twice, but would give away plot points if I went into detail – neither were inflicted by adamantium). I am not asking for a Kill Bill blood-fest, but some realism would be nice and the lack of it started to become distracting.

So, should you see it? Yes. Despite my complaints, the movie is fun and enjoyable. There are things that are handled quite well, such as the tie-ins with the rest of the Marvel universe and the general charactizations of the other players. Should you see it in a theater? Maybe, but I could make a strong argument to wait for the inevitable Blu-Ray/DVD release.

The site is dedicated to all things technical and gadget oriented that I feel like chatting about.  I intend on keeping the comment sections intact (assuming anyone even looks at the site besides myself).

This will also be a place where I can collate personal projects (likely computer or automotive oriented) for a wider distribution.

Thanks for stopping by!