Friday, March 27, 2009--
On this day:
In 2003: I get accepted into Berkeley EECS.
Monday, March 23, 2009--So I came across
this today.
In summary, Joystiq noticed an error called E74 on the Xbox 360 and decided to ask readers if they've seen this error and when. And then they used that data and compiled a graph where it shows 2-3 E74 errors per month, and then starting in about October 2008, the number creeps up until it hits 15 errors in March 2009. And then they use this graph to prove that the E74 error is a "widespread problem" and that it's "been on the rise" in the last 6 month.
W T F Joystiq. This is prolly some of the most irresponsible journalism I've ever seen. You've just lost all your credibility.
Later in the article, they mentioned they contacted Microsoft, who replied that the E74 error is a general hardware failure with no single root cause and that it's unrelated to the infamous Red Ring of Death, and that anyone encountering this error should contact customer support. And Joystiq claims that this is a piss-poor response. And I'm just like, what's wrong with Microsoft's response? You want them to give you some gods damned free money or something? Seriously, WTF?
Saturday, March 21, 2009--So the funny thing about Fallout 3. I've described it as Oblivion with Guns. (Lots of people have.) And while it's somewhat accurate, it should be noted that Fallout 3 is different in that it has a much more interesting setting, much stronger story-telling, and much more developed questlines.
But Fallout 3 is not as customizable, in the sense that there aren't really any real "builds" for Fallout 3 characters. Sure, you can pick different skillsets, but the over results tend to be subtle rather than in dramatic play differences.
As opposed to Oblivion, in which the difference between heavy-armored melee, light-armored melee, archers, and mages, and everything in between is pretty dramatically different. Not to mention that the enchanting and spellmaking mechanics make the game very customizable. That and the mod library for Oblivion is much better than the mod library for Fallout 3. (Either that or Fallout 3 in its natural state is so good I don't want to mod it, while Oblivion is no fun without mods.)
Wanting to experience the customization to the fullest, I decided to start a new playthrough of Oblivion with a mage. She will wear clothing enchanted with enchantments to provide armor without actually wearing armor. The mages do seem kinda overpowered, though, what with being able to creat spells that deal 50 damage.
It's still fun nonetheless.
Friday, March 20, 2009 - Addendum--So you know how I predicted the Battlestar series finale would suck? Well, I was reading up about it the Battlestar wiki (whose link isn't even worth pasting in here), and it seemed very interesting. Then, I talked to Chris and Abhi who recanted not watching the Battlestar series finale and they told me that the episode was nowhere near as interesting as the wiki page described it to be. So yeah, Battlestar series finale was so boringly bad that even reading the wiki page about it was more interesting.
I'm glad I missed it.
Friday, March 20, 2009--As per
yesterday's entry, yesterday was Fred's birthday, but we'd be celebrating it today. So we did.
We went to Gordon Biersch, us and a bunch of fiends. Pics on facebook.
Thursday, March 19, 2009--
Happy Birthday Fred!
But Fred has been busy with the RTE lately, and won't be able to celebrate his birthday today. The good news is, he'll be able to celebrate his birthday tomorrow. So we will.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009--
Happy St. Patty's Day!
Fallout 3. *Fallout 3*
You know how I said I was playing an evil character brandishing a flaming sword. Well, where do you think I'd be getting the flaming sword from. Sure, I could build one of my own. Or I could just kill Vance, leader of The Family, who carries one. And it'd be right up my alley as an evil character.
Unfortunately, Vance is tough as nails, and his entourage is also tough as nails. At my level with my gear, I have no chance of surviving if they swarm me. So I did the next best thing. I used my hunting rifle to snipe them at range with head shots, taking them out one at a time. It took a few tries, but eventually, I was able to whittle them down to a reasonable number that I could handle. And finally, I took down the head vampire himself and took his flaming sword.
Epic.*Fallout 3*
Monday, March 16, 2009--Valkyria Chronicles is starting to bore me. I'll get back to it at some point, because people keep telling me it's a kickass awesome game, so I'll prolly trudge through it until I get to the good part. So far, though, it's still a very standard game. Nothing special about it.
On this day:
In 2007: I meet Chao's friend Feng's friend Bonnie.
In 2006: I break a personal record and stay in lab past midnight (and promptly leave once I realize it's past midnight).
But for now, I'm gonna start a second playthrough of Fallout 3, one in which I play an evil character brandishing a flaming sword. Yeah.
Sunday, March 15, 2009--The Chronicles of the Valkyria. *VC*
So today, I finally beat that gods damned Maximillian uber-tank. This time, I just used my tank for all the heavy lifting. Spending two CPs per action is worth it because the Lancer misses half the time anyway. Also, didn't realize how powerful the Valkyrie was. I almost died because my Engineer was KO'ed and there was no one left to repair my tank. Fortunately, I still beat the mission. Just barely. (The comp would have won if it were smart. All it had to do was keep attacking my gods damned tank. And I woulda been pissed that one simple mistake due to something I had never seen before and could not possible comprehend would cost me victory.)*VC*
Saturday, March 14, 2009--
Happy Pi Day!
(See
previous explanation.)
As previously explained, I would be making a chicken pot pie today. So I did. I took it to Chris's place, where Chris was hosting a Pi Day party. And Chris and Abhi also made pizza pie. So we had a Pi Day party eating pizza and chicken pot pie. I would say that it's an outstanding success. The only problem was that I made too many chicken pot pies. I made two chicken pot pies. I shoulda only made one. Next time, Dwayne. Next time.
Friday, March 13, 2009--You know how I said a few months ago that
Battlestar Galactica this season was awesome? Yeah, I'd like to recant that. Instead of the mutiny lasting for the entire season as I had hoped, it was wrapped up within 2 episodes. Mind you, the mutiny was awesome, but the rest of the season after that has been really really really boring. As in people would spend the first 55 minutes QQing over life sucking, then something would happen in the last 5 minutes that barely justifies the existence of the episode. All in all, a waste of our time for weeks in a row.
Today was the second to last episode of Battlestar (ever, I hope). About 45 minutes into it, we just get so disgusted by how crappy the show has become that we just shut it off and decide never to finish it. (Which isn't that hard, as there's only one episode left, and I predict it will suck.)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009--Today at the gym, I was approached by a gentleman wearing the Pro Club Personal Trainer uniform. He and I had a little chat about various running exercises and various strength exercises. He then asked me if I would like to have some training sessions to build a plan of exercise. I figure, I'm paying for the Pro Club, I might as well take
full advantage of it, so sure, why the hell not!
I have a personal trainer now, apparently.
Monday, March 9, 2009--Pi Day is coming up. (For you foreigners, in America, the convention for writing dates is month/day/year. So March 14 would be written as 3/14. As in 3.14. As in pi. Hence Pi Day. We celebrate it by eating pie. Because pie is a homophone of pi.) And Abhi suggested I should make a meat pie. So chicken pot pie was decided upon. And today, I decided to do a practice run of making chicken pot pie. It took me over 6 hours, but I got a feel for the timing and the ingredients I would need.
Also, it snowed briefly today. I figured that'd be worth mentioning.
Saturday, March 7, 2009--Because my shoes and my watch had been getting a lot of flak for not being fashionable enough, I decided to go by a new watch and new shoes. So I did. Accompanied by Chris and Abhi. The new watch I got was a shiny metal Fossil watch. I was tempted to get one with a blue face, but we decided that the neutral white face was easier to color match with everything else.
As for the shoes, I learned something today. Shoes will always feel tight when you first try them on. It isn't until we break them in do they feel right. Which leads me to the question: if you already know your size, why try shoes on at all? And a return policy that lets you return shoes within 30 days of your purchase (plenty of time to break in new shoes) would be fantastic!
But yeah, I went home with new watch and new shoes in tow. I am slowly climbing the fashion ladder.
Thursday, March 5, 2009--
On this day:
In 2005: My first 3D program.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009--new landspeed record: 105mph
Tuesday, March 3, 2009--
On this day:
In 2007: I beat La Pucelle.
Monday, March 2, 2009--new landspeed record: 100mph
On this day:
In 2003: I buy the Sliver pre-constructed deck.
Sunday, March 1, 2009--Today continues the chronicles of, um, Valkyria Chronicles. *VC*
Today, I played my first difficult mission. There was this one mission where I had to fight Prince/Commander Maximillian in his gods damned uber-tank. I had to replay the mission several times, mainly because the game doesn't really tell me what exactly I need to do in order to beat the gods damned tank, just that the damn thing is nigh-invincible and "must have some kind of weak point".
I have an inkling of an idea of how to beat this guy, but I still need to work out a few details.*VC*