Sunday, December 8, 2013

Random Thoughts - 8 Dec 2013

1.) It's official. Jennifer Lawrence is being added to that list of Hollywood movie stars that I want to sleep with and that I wouldn't mind impregnating/marrying/whatever. She's just so sweet and innocent-looking... I just want to help her bring out her inner bad girl. ;)

2.) Also, I have been observing Jennifer's 'unusual' behavior. A part of me is wondering if she might be somewhere on the Spectrum too. That certainly would make her even more seemingly perfect... Those baby blue eyes of hers are lovely too. [/Swoon]

3.) The 'Redheads I don't want to screw' post was quite the attention-getter. Sooner or later, it will get a sequel... Or two...

4.) It has been snowing all day today from 0800 to 1400 hours. There's anywhere from 6 to 16 inches of snow on the ground, depending on where you take your measurements. Not that it matters because I'm not driving into work tomorrow. I may not even leave post all day.

5.) Posted a shitload of PanterA videos to my FB music group today, as tribute to Dimebag Darrell. On this day in 2004, he was shot by some asshole the Marines should have sent to the nuthouse instead of simply giving him a psych discharge. All the more reason why I'm glad I'm leaving the Army soon. As much as it horrifies me to say it, the DoD is just as inept as ANY other government agency.

6.) Some guy in England is saying his country could have catastrophic winters for the next 30 years. It's often difficult to predict the weather for the next week and you expect me to believe that you can predict the weather for the next 30 years? Did you eat an extra big bowl of Stupid this morning?

7.) Read some editorial from the local newspaper back home in NOLA today about Medicaid expansion and how the Governor refuses to take Federal money. It featured a LOT of BULLSHIT lines but, this one got my attention: "The most important reason to expand Medicaid, of course, is that it is the best way to provide health care coverage to poor Louisianians who are uninsured."

*smh*

No, Dumbass. The best way to help poor Louisiana residents is to get them gainfully employed and making enough money to support themselves. No social problem was ever solved by the Government. All they do is create and/or exacerbate them.

8.) Kanye West is a fuckin' Dumbass. Why? Because, despite his opinions, Rap is NOT the new Rock'N'Roll. I have spoken!

9.) Also, isn't it ironic that a guy who talks/raps about NOT wanting to waste time on gold-diggers both knocked up and is planning to marry Kim Kardashian? Yeah... Like I said, DUMBASS.

10.) The writers for the next Star Trek movie have recently been announced. All I can say to them is DON'T fuck this up, Gentlemen. A lot of Trekkies around the world are depending on you to write a good flick. Also, this is the one that will be released for the 50th Anniversary in 2016 so, it's quite imperative that you NOT mess this one up, okay?!

11.) I tried to special order an album from Epica called 'Requiem for the Indifferent' (and the new Boston album) from the local record store yesterday but, neither were available on vinyl. WTF? The Boston album won't be available on vinyl until December 24th of all days but, that's too far into the future for me to make the order.  Also, I will eventually get the CD's from Amazon. Online is always going to be cheaper than brick-and-mortar stores on those kind of things.

Anyway, here's the video of my favorite song from that Epica album I tried to get...



12.) Yes, I know that Amazon sells LP's too. I have ordered a few from them years ago. The results were mixed. Some of the albums arrived fine and some of them arrived warped and unplayable, forcing me to return them. Not cool.

13.) Hmmm... Looks like Simone Simons (the gorgeous Redhead female lead singer in Epica) has a website/blog... Could be interesting...

- Lord Publius

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Something GOOD about early December...

There is a lot of bad things that happened around this time of year, namely a lot of Rock Stars passing away. (RIP, Dimebag Darrell) However, there are also good things that happened around this time of year. Yesterday, December 6th, marked the 34th Anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

That movie was a bit different from what most audiences expect out of Star Trek. It was (mostly) Hard Science Fiction that was heavily inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke novel 'Rendezvous with Rama.' However, it brought back the franchise in a huge way and made lots of money. Without this SFX-laden head trip of a film (and it's excellent soundtrack), the franchise would not exist today.

Also, the scene where Admiral James T. Kirk (and the audience) are introduced to the newly refitted/redesigned Enterprise was one of the most beautiful SFX scenes in cinematic history. So beloved was that one scene that it has been remade by 3D Modelers for years. This one below is the best I have found. Be sure to watch it in full 1080p resolution.









Also, there's this clip from the end of the movie. It shows the Enterprise emerging from the alien craft used by the entity known as V'Ger after it transcends to a higher level of consciousness. (I told you that it was Hard Science Fiction...) As you can see, the movie went out of its way to pay fan service to the Trekkies that worked for 10 years to get the franchise to make a comeback. I'm glad their efforts were successful. I can't imagine life without this franchise.

- Lord Publius

ADDENDUM: Also, on December 6th of 1991, as a tribute to the first movie's release, Paramount Pictures released the 6th film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It was supposed to be the last featuring any members of the TOS crew. It was also the film released for the 25th Anniversary of the franchise.

RF Cables SUCK...

I recently had to get a 2nd AV Cable for a SEGA Dreamcast. I needed it because the 2nd Dreamcast I got during the Thanksgiving Weekend from a local record store came with a damned RF unit instead of the AV cables. Even worse, it was a 3rd Party one from Mad Catz. As Eric Cartman would say, that is really fuckin' weak! (Not to mention a pretty weak audiovisual signal compared to RCA Composite cables...)

Just an FYI here, kiddies. If the system commonly had AV cables of some kind (RCA Composite, RGB, S-Video, HDMI, et al.), include those with the system. RF units are BULLSHIT on anything past the 16-Bit era because modern HDTV's can't natively use them. RF units send out an interlaced signal and ALL HDTV sets are Progressive Scan. While you can get a system with an RF unit/cable to work on HDTV sets (usually by plugging them into the coax input on the back of a VCR/DVR/DVD/Blu-Ray or some other movie playing device) it can also be a huge pain in the ass. Even if the system works, you can forget about using any light guns like the NES Zapper. They used the CRT in an old Tube TV to work. I'm not sure if the same applies to a Super NES Super Scope since that thing came with it's own Infrared Sensor. I'll have to test that some day...

Anyway, as for RF Units...

SEGA

- You're excused on older SEGA systems that rarely had them (Genesis and Saturn) or never had any RCA cables (SG-1000 and Master System) but, there's no excuse with the Dreamcast. Those consoles were packed with AV cables, not crappy RF units. Using an RF cable on a 128-Bit console that was nothing but PURE EXCELLENCE like the Dreamcast should be outlawed.

- That being said, some 3rd Party operations have made RCA cables for the Genesis Model 1, Model 2 and Model 3. I strongly recommend getting them. Amazon sells them cheap.

NINTENDO

- There's also no excuse for ANY Nintendo console, except the NES Top-loader which only has RF Output.

- The 'Toaster Model' NES had AV ports on the side, namely red and yellow RCA plugs. White wasn't included because it's sound output was in Mono. However, using those composite outputs, you can play NES natively on a modern HDTV, minus the Zapper games.

- Super NES, N64 & GameCube all used the same RCA Composite cables. Even if Nintendo no longer makes them, LOTS of 3rd party companies do. They are not hard to find, either. Amazon has them by the boatload.

- The Wii used a different RCA cable and had a custom RGB cable as well. Neither of them are hard to find and are probably still on store shelves since Wii hasn't been discontinued yet.

- The WiiU came packed with an HDMI cable. It can re-use the same AV cables from Wii. I don't care since I use the HDMI cable. :P

Sony Consoles

- Did any of them have an RF unit available? I've never seen one. I don't imagine this being available for anything past PS1. RCA cables for that console are easy to find since the same ones were used on both PS1 & PS2. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Early PS1 consoles had simple RCA outputs that would accept any RCA composite cable with the Red, White & Yellow plugs. Why did Sony change that, besides finding a new way to make money?)

- PS3 & PS4 seem to be HDMI-only and that is the way it should be...

ATARI Consoles...

- Sadly, ALL of these came with RF cables and sometimes (bleech!) those damned manual switchboxes. Do yourself a favor and bypass those pieces of junk and get a Coax (Male) to RCA Phono (Female) adapter. That eliminates the switchbox and plugs directly into the Coax port on your old-school Tube TV or the coax input on one of the previously mentioned devices.

- The RF cable is attached to the 2600 & 5200 models so, you won't have to worry about finding them. There are ways of soddering RCA cables onto the motherboard of the 2600 but, I'm not comfortable doing that...

- There are 2 models of the 5200, both with different RF connections. The 1st version has 4 player controller ports and uses a weird proprietary box that screws into the TV's coax port. This thing had both the RF cable and AC adapter plugging into it at once. It didn't take Atari long to put out another model that used a standard arrangement for connecting the RF and AC adapters. Too bad it took them NINE revisions to fix the controllers... And that it was already too late by the time they did...

- The RF cable for the 7800 is detachable. It uses the same one as every console and TV-Compatible computer of the late 1970's and 1980's, including the Atari 2600 redesign known as the '2600jr.'. Get the Coax-to-Phono adapter for this one too.

- Be sure that RF cable that you use on your 7800 is free of corrosion and patina on the copper contacts. That will interfere with the video signal's transmission to the monitor.

- The Jaguar is an oddity in just about every way. The RF cable is no exception. I have no idea if Atari ever sold AV cables for it at any time. The RF unit that comes with it is a bit flaky and can fall apart or fail to function. If that happens, just replace it with a RF unit from the NES. Yes, the gray box with wires that connected your Nintendo Entertainment System to a TV set for decades works on the Atari Jaguar. As crazy as that sounds, it does work. I have done this for myself. The inputs on the back of the console are exactly the same as the NES. Score one for standardized parts! :)

Coleco, INTV, Commodore/Atari 8-Bit/TI-99 computers, et al...

- Same advice as the Atari 7800 console. The cable should be the same. And be sure to get the damned adapter!

- Lord Publius

Friday, December 6, 2013

Today was a pretty good day... For game collecting...

I went down to Play Raven again this afternoon. There was not a single thing on any of my wish lists in the store inventory today, except a Super Advantage joystick for the Super NES. That's good to have, especially if I realize my dream of creating an arcade cabinet that I can put systems into so the games have an old-school arcade feel. That works out especially well for Super NES titles of mine that are arcade classic compilations, fighters or arcade-style shooters. I could use an NES console for that idea as well since I have numerous arcade ports and shooters on that system as well. (Not to mention 2 of the NES Advantage joystick and 3 of the consoles...)  The store's owner has also been talking about getting an arcade machine for the store but, alas, t here has been no progress on that yet. What a shame...

I had also picked up a spare AV cable for SEGA Dreamcast, Super R.C. Pro-Am for Game Boy and Ridge Racer for PS1 as well. The cable was something I needed since the 2nd Dreamcast I got during the Thanksgiving Weekend from the local record store came with a damned RF unit instead of the AV cables. RF units are BULLSHIT on anything past the 16-Bit era. There will soon be a blog post about that and just how much I truly HATE & DESPISE them. Stay tuned.

Beyond that, I hung out at the shop until closing, socializing with the other customers (some I've seen and spoken with before) and the owner, Victor. I seem to be doing that a lot, which is good since I need more socialization anyway. Besides the usual shop and industry talk, we got onto other strange subjects like Pro-Wrestling and even this blog.

Pro Wrestling came up because of a few old Wrestling games for NES being traded in today. 3 of them were complete in box. The person who traded in those games (along with 2 Genesis consoles and a LOT of Guitar Hero stuff for PS3) also mentioned a TI-99/4A computer to Victor. That piqued my interest since I recently acquired a small box of cartridge games and programs for that ancient computer. I told that guy that I was quite interested but, Victor gets first right of refusal. After all, it is his store. I don't want any potentially shady deals like when I bought a few Atari Jaguar games from a guy in the store's parking lot out of the trunk of his car. Victor didn't care since he wasn't going to get those games but, it still felt wrong.

As for this blog... Well, this blog became part of the discussion because some people have seen links to it on Play Raven's FB page. They seem to like it, especially when I post something about video games. I have delved int othat subject a lot since it is a special interest of mine. However, it was never the primary focus. In fact, I don't believe there is a primary focus. Does the blog even need one?

Anyway, the 'Redheads I don't wanna screw' post came up... Which I found humorous. They specifically mentioned it as being a surprise and a bit raunchy too. Just wait until you read the sequel, gentlemen. It won't be as raunchy but, it will still be hilariously inappropriate. Violating Taboos and Social Mores is part of what makes Humor funny.

On a final note, I have mulled over going to this game store in Westminster called 'Save Point', just to check them out. I have been told that they are incredibly expensive and that I shouldn't go there with any expectations. I'm not sure I have any but, we shall see. I have done some research on the place and discovered that the owner is a SEGA freak. He may have some of those Genesis games I want but haven't found yet. Also, Victor, don't forget what I said about getting more Atari 7800 games. You know all too well that I'll scoop them up the moment you get them. I'll even provide a list of what I'm looking for in the 7800 & SEGA departments here for easy reference.

Also Victor, next time you have someone come in mentioning that he has an Atari Jaguar, do ANYTHING it takes to convince him to sell. I don't care if you have to rob his ass at gunpoint! After all, you do have a buyer lined up waiting for one. ;)

- Lord Publius

(SHORT) LIST OF WANTED ITEMS

Atari 7800

European-market gamepad controller (They did eventually make it to American shores...)

Alien Brigade
Fatal Run
Ninja Golf
Planet Smashers
Xenophobe

SEGA Genesis

Beavis & Butt-Head (Super NES version is also acceptable.)
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Castlevania Bloodlines
Comix Zone
Cool Spot
Earthworm Jim
Virtua Racing

SEGA Saturn

Alien Trilogy (The PS1 version of this might also be acceptable.)
Radiant Silvergun (RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE Japanese Import)
Saturn Bomberman
SEGA Rally Championship
SEGA Touring Car Championship
Virtua Racing (Assuming the Genesis version cannot be acquired...)

SEGA Dreamcast
Atari Anniversary Edition Redux
Jet Grind Radio
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Looney Tunes: Space Race
Soul Calibur








Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Lesbian Lover’s Quarrel Ended with Ninja Combat...

Source: http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/lesbian-lovers-quarrel-ended-ninja-combat-video/#axzz2mMhIoWRC


I have to admit, this does sound like the set-up for an awesome porn-influenced action movie. I'd probably watch it just for the laughs it would generate...

- Lord Publius

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Redheads that I *don't* want to screw

I had an interesting conversation at work today about Redheads and my obsession with them. The guys asked me which Redhead(s) I don't want to sleep with... and I started coming up with a mental list for a future blog post. There's a few entries on there that might surprise you all too.

So, without further ado, I present my list of Redheads I won't sleep with and the reasons why...

1.) Any Female Redhead friend of mine that is married...

Even if they were swingers or something (and at least one might qualify under a very liberal definition of that term), I still just can't bring myself to do that sort of thing... In my mind, it's just all kinds of wrong. You don't go spelunking in someone else's cave, man. That's just disrespectful.

Yes, I know married couples are/were supposed to be faithful to each other so that there would be no questions about the parentage of the children born to the woman. Thanks to Maury Povich, I'm also well aware that we have ways of testing the child's DNA and ensuring that a married woman's lover is 100% NOT the father. Either way, I don't care. No married man should ever have to wonder whether or not the kid his wife bore is really his or not. Period.

2.) Christina Hendricks...

Surprised? Don't be. The reason here is the same as #1. She's married. That also keeps me from FAPPING to her too. That can be awfully frustrating since she's the actress that inspired the phrase 'I'll be in my bunk' on that episode of Firefly. And yes, I know she's not a true Ginger. I don't care. She's still hawt and her husband is one lucky son of a bitch.

3.) Lindsay Lohan...

Some guys like drunken slut-whores with a coke habit that can talk them into doing terrible things. Not me. I'd be afraid to tap that ass. There's no telling who (or what) has had all of them holes. There's also no telling what kind of creepy-crawly kinds of nastiness that the CDC hasn't even discovered yet might be slathered all over/taking up residence in her vagina. (Not to mention her mouth and asshole...)

Also, her family is so fucked up that they make the Kardashians look like the Brady Bunch by comparison. I wouldn't touch this broad with an Arab's dick, and those guys are so desperate for pussy that they propose marriage to hookers in German brothels.

4.) The (mostly Lesbian) Porn Star called Jayden Cole (aka Ashley Summers)...

I used to enjoy watching this broad. Then, in an interview, she admitted that she thought Bill Maher was sexy. That shows pretty poor taste since he's ugly and a real ASSHOLE to boot. If her profession wasn't enough to scare me off (and it most likely would since that job would preclude any chance of her being loyal and faithful to me), then her bad taste in Men certainly did the trick.

5.) Any Redhead co-workers of mine in the Army; Past, Present OR Future...

Workplace romances don't work. Ever. I learned that the hard way when I became enamored with (and then pursued) a female friend of mine while serving in Korea. It didn't end well, mostly because she was a psycho... and just not ready for the kind of relationship that I would have wanted. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. Even if the woman isn't the 'typical female soldier' that the Drill Sergeants warned me about in BCT, their sage-like advice still holds true: Stay AWAY from them. They are not the ones you want.

Almost all female soldiers have a LOT of psychological baggage (or will after serving in uniform for a little while) and it's probably not worth the time and effort. I really hate saying that since I know a few who are NOT psycho and would make very good wives and mothers (assuming they aren't already) but, it's not even a big concern anymore. I'm leaving the Army soon and there won't be many military females in the place where I'm going to settle down and start life over.

If this one proves popular enough, I might do a short list of the Redheads that I would like to screw. It should be at least as hilariously offensive as this one.

- Lord Publius

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Random thoughts for 1 Dec 2013

It's been a while since I did a 'Random Thoughts' type of note for a blog or Facebook Note so, here we go...

1.) About Sesame Street... Of all things...


- Yeah... I'm not letting future children of mine watch that crap. The show has been pussified since I watched it as a child in the 1980's.

- Elmo needs to go. Period. His character offers NOTHING of value to the show.

- Cookie Monster doesn't even eat cookies anymore! They have him eating vegetables instead. WTF? There was a reason why Cookie Monster was always trying to get cookies like a Junkie looking for that next hit. It's because HE WAS DESIGNED TO BE A JUNKIE. That way, kids know what a Junkie looks like and who they should avoid. Or, that's my theory anyway...

- I hear they also got rid of the Count. Again, WTF? How are kids going to learn to count numbers now? Pay attention in Pre-K? (You think I'm joking but, I'm not. Have you ever known a child of 4 years or younger to have much of an attention span?)

- No, I don't care if some kids supposedly were afraid of The Count, either. He's just a God-damned puppet! Tell that whiny little bitch of a kid to sack up and learn to deal. In fact, it is NEVER to early to tell kids to sack up and deal. The sooner they learn, the less this world will be able to fuck with them. Better yet, have the Count smack them around a little. I strongly suspect that he was always dressed as a pimp (cane, cape, monocle, et al.) for damned good reason.

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2.) About auto repairs...

- $626.78 after 15% discount via coupon. That is what it cost me to have my brakes serviced today. Good thing that I save my money for just this sort of occasion, huh? Apparently, there was more issues than just the pads and rotors on the front end needing replacement, like I thought. However, this is the first time I've had to mess with those front brakes since 2006 so, I got my money's worth out of them.

- Better yet, the new ones are some of those 'lifetime' brakes that supposedly outlast the vehicle. I guess we shall see about that one...

- Now that I think of it, I was also probably paying for the convienence of having a good mechanic available on the weekend... And a holiday weekend at that... Whatever. It was worth it just to make sure my vehicle is in top condition. Bad brakes and winter weather conditions in Yankee-land is NOT a good combination. Besides, it's Christmas time. My truck deserves a present for being so good to me this year... And every other year I have had the vehicle. [/Screw Imports!]

- No, I didn't put off these repairs. The brakes didn't start acting/feeling weird until I drove back to my residence from work last Wednesday afternoon.

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3.) About all the new video games I have been acquiring as of late...

- PS3 games are practically being given away on Amazon. When various titles in the God of War franchise are being sold for $20 or less, then you know that the idiots who adopt new consoles early have depressed the market for the older consoles. The same can be applied to other hit PlayStation franchises like Ratchet & Clank and great 3rd party titles like Mortal Kombat. Works for me. Now I get to add those last few PS3 titles I wanted to my collection for next to nothing... I picked a great time to get into PS3. :)

- Got the new Mario game on WiiU. Something tells me that I am about to spend a LOT more time with my WiiU as well. :)

- Got the new Zelda game for 3DS. At the risk of sounding entirely too ghetto for a White Boy, that game is on point, son! The only reason I'm not playing it right now is because my 3DS needs to recharge. That is how good that game is, kids. I damned near drained the battery in my 3DS playing that game earlier today while waiting on my truck.

- Also, I think I might be better at Zelda games than I remembered. I haven't had to look at the game guide I bought for it yet and I've already knocked out several dungeons. This game does give you hints to point you in the right direction but, that hardly matters. The puzzles are still esoteric enough to make you think. I'm glad that I bought this game. VERY glad... :)

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4.) About sometimes easily acquired (and surprisingly legal) POTENTIAL Weapons of Mass Destruction...

- So, I came across this link to a humorous list of 7 things you won't believe are legal on Cracked.com, via their Facebook page. Truthfully, I already knew about some of those things being legal, even if they weren't necessarily desirable. Why would I want to smoke Salvia? I can trip out and go into Lala-land, without having to smoke ANYTHING, at anytime that I want. That is just a part of the awesome beauty of having Asperger's Syndrome.  :)

- Anyway, I thought about the things I'd like to do with the items on that list that would be cool to have, even if I couldn't afford some of them. Namely, I'm lookin' at # 1, 2, 5 & 7. They are must-haves... ESPECIALLY 2 and 7...

- Ah, the beautiful havoc and awesome destruction I could unleash with those items... It just brings a wry smile and a tear of joy to this embittered soldier's face...

- No, I'm NOT planning anything nefarious. Don't start freaking out. I'm just chuckling at the thought of melting a few cars from Toyota (or just about any other import brand, really) with Thermite (1)... Set off by a Flamethrower (7)... After I turned it into a 'Bonnie and Clyde Special' with a freakin' Mini-Gun (2)... And then blast the rest to even smaller pieces with some Tannerite (5).

Combine that with some Pantera and you will have the most METAL YouTube video EVER.

\m/O_O\m/

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And now that this is done, I'm going to take a nap. Like all old people who make the mistake of staying up late the night before, I am VERY tired.

- Lord Publius