http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php Oddworld Forums - A community for all Oddworld fans to gather and speak about Oddworld related discussions en Mon, 12 May 2008 05:45:25 GMT vBulletin 5 http://www.oddworldforums.net/images/misc/native/rss.jpg http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=368 Mon, 12 May 2008 01:40:50 GMT Tired, exhausted, tarnished, fed up. I can consider myself damn lucky if I manage to pass 4 exams before summer break. Maybe I'll get my vacation then, or maybe not.

Do. not. want. to. study. all. summer. like. last. year. again.

Gah, these 5 years best be worth it.
Мајко и оче, и вама ће доћи болја времена. ]]> Killy http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=368 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=367 Sun, 11 May 2008 18:28:08 GMT A friend of mine and I have been gradually coming up with comic book ideas, and obviously one of my characters uses the name Kastere. It's not self insertion, it's just a name I like.

So, Kastere: Originally a sidekick of 'The Englishman' (This greatest Super hero of all time in our canon) until it was found that TE was a HUGE communist supporter and he was more or less alienated by the masses and in turn went crazy and turned into a 'hate gas' that caused a bunch of important government officials to go crazy and cause roughly a hundred million deaths. Kastere was right beside the englishman when this happened, and was brought back by the gods who'd offered The Englishman omnipotence in order to stop him. Unfortunately he fails and dissappears for a few years only to come back with a new body and new abilities.

Kastere has an infinite digestive tract and can devour and compress any substance into anything else (Such as eating a planet and turning it into a puppy). He can stretch and morph his arms and legs into anything he chooses, he is indestructable, but can still be 'killed' until he regains concsiousness. KAstere also can shoot lasers out of his eyes. Red lasers. similar to Cyclops' but he can change it from 'Rips someone in half' to 'pushes someone back'.

At his peak strength, Kastere can eat a solar system and expand it into an entire universe and keep multiplying and dividing this into an infinite dynamo of with which he can mold our iniverse as he see's fit.

He cannot transcend into a higher being nor can he reproduce, but he is more or less immortal and CAN rip a hole in space time to travel to a dimension with gods.

No, we haven't made the setting the DC or Marvel universes, this is a place all on its own.

And Yes, I acknowledge just how much of a power fag I am, but all the villains and shit are equally if not more powerful. ]]> Kastere http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=367 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=366 Sun, 11 May 2008 16:12:24 GMT I've been on medical leave from work since the last blog entry.

Why?

The title explains it all.


We had some meth addict pop in after being beaten savagely by some police. After he tried to steal their car.

So, yeah. Junkie is cuffed to the stretcher, both wrists and ankles, so his mobility is a little...Hindered.

We're still not really sure how he did it, but all of the sudden his right wrist is out of the cuff, and he's flailing his arm like a lunatic. I'm one of the biggest nurses on staff, so I leaned over the stretcher from the left side to make some sort of heroic grab for his wrist, and unfortunately, he grabs mine. He then brings my forearm to his mouth, and bites.

Oh, how he bit. Not only did he draw blood...He removed skin. A lot of it. And a bit of meat.

So yeah. Had to get a series of emergency injections, as well as an HIV test. Then I was sent home.

Sadly, I became ill. Turns out the junkies mouth was so full of disgusting bacteria that I developed an uber-infection in my arm. My arm turned a lovely shade of crimson. Well, not my whole arm. Just a six inch radius around the bite.

Then I got feverish. Despite working in the medical field, going to the hospital terrifies me, so I put it off for as long as possible. So long, in fact, that I started calling in sick to work.

Ultimately they asked what sort of ailment I was claiming, and I told them about the infection. They actually sent an ambulance for me, free of charge, and put me up in a quarantined room for twelve days.

My arm is better. They didn't have to lop it off.

I felt stupid. ]]> Disgruntled Intern http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=366 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=365 Sun, 11 May 2008 03:50:11 GMT Ever notice how some things seem a little...different at 5am? How little bumps and creaks seem to be slightly...louder? How the chavs outside your window seem a little more...menacing? How the way the world works seems a little...simpler? How ideas you would never consider in a million years... Ever notice how some things seem a little...different at 5am?

How little bumps and creaks seem to be slightly...louder?

How the chavs outside your window seem a little more...menacing?

How the way the world works seems a little...simpler?

How ideas you would never consider in a million years suddenly seems like a fantastic solution?

For the last year I have been, rather unhealthily, going to bed at the very late hour of dawn and have noticed a subtle change in the world that seems to persist untill around half eight where the 'normal' people start to venture outside.

This surely cannot be just down to tiredness, I average six hours sleep a night and everything feels fine on days where I go to sleep/wake up early.

So as I'm waiting here, browsing old threads and clicking the refresh button every 5 seconds on DA to find. much to my disgust, another page full of armature Sasuke yaoi I ponder what exactly happens to the human mind at this time of morning, even with such a screwed up body clock as I have.

Any thoughts? ]]> Wings of Fire http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=365 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=364 Sat, 10 May 2008 02:57:35 GMT Image: http://i31.tinypic.com/258b02r.jpg childhood. humble begginings as a photographer. very first Gameboy Camera picture taken: my 7 year old arse. the stamps were nice.

childhood.

humble begginings as a photographer.

very first Gameboy Camera picture taken:

my 7 year old arse. the stamps were nice.






edit: http://www.oddworldforums.net/showth...874#post347874 HAHAHAHAHAHA why do the best threads always get sent to necrum? ]]> Leto http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=364 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=363 Sat, 10 May 2008 02:09:38 GMT I joined LaraRaider's forum, and I don't get replies. I'm waiting to find out if LaraRaider's forum is closed. ]]> MeechShrykull1029 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=363 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=362 Fri, 09 May 2008 10:39:51 GMT Image: http://images.wikia.com/yugioh/images/6/6d/FakeTrapMRD-EN-R.jpg Hobo moonlights as a trading card.

Hobo moonlights as a trading card. ]]> Ghost http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=362 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=361 Thu, 08 May 2008 21:42:37 GMT HAI GUISE I HAS A BLOG DO U LUV ME NOW TEEHEE HAI GUISE I HAS A BLOG DO U LUV ME NOW TEEHEE ]]> Anonyman! http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=361 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=360 Thu, 08 May 2008 03:38:38 GMT My cat weighs 3 KG. If there were 28 clones of her, their combined weight would be the same as what I weigh. How much, in Kilo-Grams, do I weigh? EDIT: Oh yeah, tiny prize for a tiny question. First person to answer correctly gets a single rep point added. Really, piss-easy. :P I wanna see how... My cat weighs 3 KG. If there were 28 clones of her, their combined weight would be the same as what I weigh.

How much, in Kilo-Grams, do I weigh?

EDIT: Oh yeah, tiny prize for a tiny question. First person to answer correctly gets a single rep point added.

Really, piss-easy. :P I wanna see how you guys react, how many get it wrong, and how many of you go "Eh? What's the point of this?" ]]> Dark Hood http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=360 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=359 Tue, 06 May 2008 22:42:21 GMT I am waiting for an Oddworld game to come to PSP in UMD format. That would be cool. I am waiting for an Oddworld game to come to PSP in UMD format. That would be cool. ]]> MeechShrykull1029 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=359 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=358 Tue, 06 May 2008 15:18:20 GMT . . . Using the most unpractical and time consuming way, as always. :P

Me and my mum have been having some trouble with some dickhead kids lately who like to swear at us and enter our garden from the nearby woods (we're getting a fence soon) while throwing stuff at our buildings. I hid once and took their photos, so now the police are interested in finding them 'cause they've been breaking into other people's gardens too.

Since I have the time (kinda) and like walking around the area when I have the opportunity, I also tried following them a couple of times to see where they'd live, so that I'd know where to go if they did any real damage when we were away or so. Unfortunately I keep losing them 'cause they run through other people's gardens and I can't follow them without trespassing.

Anyway, to the point (if any of you are still reading this, which I doubt). My mum stumbled upon a Den that they spent ages and put a lot of time and effort into building. Not that it's a bad thing - It's better then sitting on their arses playing games all day. But in the process they destroyed some live trees and they blocked a footpath (which is how she stumbled upon it), essentially damaging some ancient woodland. They also crushed some Bluebells (flowers that are rare in Essex and mostly grow in woodland areas), and it'd of given them somewhere to hide when I chase them from the garden. This pissed us off.



So we thought "Sod 'em, this ain't staying here", grabbed some tools and a wheelbarrow, and set about clearing it.



I've now got a nice pile of firewood thanks to them. :) Hehe. Be nice for the wood stove that Alector resurrected once we get it installed.



So we cleared the pathway 'cause no-one else would've been bothered to do so (they'd of just walked around, crushing more bluebells). Most importantly we "got rid of" all of the wood so they can't re-build it.



And a little message I left for them telling them what they can and can not do (which they'll tear up and ignore, but what the hell). It's signed "Pikey Bastard" 'cause that's what they yell to me when they see me. So I guess that's my new nickname, even though I have a fixed address, don't live illegally in a caravan and don't go around living in random fields, trashing and destroying every single one I leave behind (real gypsies don't do that. It's the 'Pikeys', the trailer trash that give 'em a bad name, but that's another story).

Of course this'll piss them right off. Just 'cause thier parents can't teach them to respect people's property and nature, doesn't mean I can stand by and let them get away with whatever they want.

He who has the last laugh, laughs loudest. :P And gets some free firewood too. :) That'll save me some time later, maybe it'll make up for following them around and failing to find where they live.

I'll bet their reaction will be to enter our garden and try to vandalise our property again, though. Still, thier loss. ]]> Dark Hood http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=358 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=357 Tue, 06 May 2008 07:39:15 GMT So, on the way to school, I was trying to get sleep in the car. All of the sudden, the car jumps up, and it sounds like we ran over a chunk of metal. Well, as it turns out, it was a fifth grader trying to cross the street during a green light. So, called 911, ambulance got there, questioned by... So, on the way to school, I was trying to get sleep in the car.

All of the sudden, the car jumps up, and it sounds like we ran over a chunk of metal.


Well, as it turns out, it was a fifth grader trying to cross the street during a green light.

So, called 911, ambulance got there, questioned by the police, all that.

Well, by the time it was over, school had already started. So, I got to stay home.

Started chatting with a friend about it...

5/5/2008 9:16:55 AM Kelt to Nemo: How was it hit, though?
5/5/2008 9:17:02 AM Nemo to Kelt: ...
5/5/2008 9:17:03 AM Kelt to Nemo: Like, were you guys going a bit fast, or what?
5/5/2008 9:17:13 AM Nemo to Kelt: I leaned out the window, and punched him while we passed.
5/5/2008 9:17:20 AM Kelt to Nemo: xD
5/5/2008 9:17:38 AM Nemo to Kelt: New defination to the term "Hit and run"
5/5/2008 9:17:43 AM Kelt to Nemo: xDDD
5/5/2008 9:17:48 AM Kelt to Nemo: Goddamn.
5/5/2008 9:17:53 AM Kelt to Nemo: That would've been badass. ]]> Nemo http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=357 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=356 Mon, 05 May 2008 17:14:42 GMT Started working on the MO rip 2 days ago. There's alot of work to be done and editing takes quite a while. I've managed to finish the first mix of what seems to be many, though I'm not sure what more the game has in store for me music-wise.

Since I was unable to open the .dls files, and they're sequenced - I'm forced to do a line-in recording of all the samples I can acquire - and then mix them myself. Furthermore, the music is dynamic, so I'll have to record everything every time the music changes, which happens quite often.

Anyway, here's a sample of what it might sound like, though I'll probably end up changing something if I don't like it. This is the 3rd level, called Fuzzle Testing. Unfortunately, it seems to be in mono - some music is, whilst some is in stereo. I can't figure out why, but I know everything's set up correctly, because I'm getting stereo feeds on other tracks. Guess that's just the way it is. Nevertheless, it sounds pretty good;

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ghqzal

It starts off slow, but let it work it's way up to tempo. Let me know what you think, I will appreciate any kind of feedback, so long as it's honest, to the point and constructive.

This is just one of several OW soundtracks I'm working on right now. I'll be upgrading the old rips too, but this'll take quite a while, though I'm very excited about this, because I've always enjoyed ripping Oddworld games. There's a special feel to it all. =) ]]> Killy http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=356 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=355 Sat, 03 May 2008 19:58:54 GMT Just yesterday, me and the wife went to see Snake Davis perform live in Holmfirth. Fantastic saxophonist. Just amazing to see live. His bass player is just about the best their is. Some very difficult bass parts in those songs, and his improvisational skills are excellent. Same goes for the... Just yesterday, me and the wife went to see Snake Davis perform live in Holmfirth. Fantastic saxophonist. Just amazing to see live. His bass player is just about the best their is. Some very difficult bass parts in those songs, and his improvisational skills are excellent. Same goes for the keyboard player. His improvisations really stood out. So did Snake's. I can't really say anything bad about the drummer, as I never properly learnt the drums, so to me he just sounded like any other drummer.

I guess my point is that it was a fantastic night. ]]> OddjobAbe http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=355 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=354 Sat, 03 May 2008 13:35:44 GMT Well, my mum and I where just sitting around and watching TV (as ya do) and saw a Ad for the Wrestling (you know, the whole WWE thing, RAW, and so on) and it was happining at Christchurch, which is only about five or six hours from where we live, so Mum brought them! Yay, now I can see... Well, my mum and I where just sitting around and watching TV (as ya do) and saw a Ad for the Wrestling (you know, the whole WWE thing, RAW, and so on) and it was happining at Christchurch, which is only about five or six hours from where we live, so Mum brought them! Yay, now I can see steriod-pumped men grope each othe up close! Though my fav dudes isn't gonna be there, damnit.
Though there will be dudes like Batista (is that how ya spell it) Kane, Hornswoggle (he isn't a wrestler, though he frequently jumps out and attacks the wrestlers lol) and such.
But we have to get up at 5am or something, though I miss out on three days of school. Right on, though I will have to do alot of homework, but yeah, I can't wait! ]]> skillyaslig http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=354 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=353 Fri, 02 May 2008 13:41:51 GMT I recorded through the microphone input while ripping Oddworld Abe's Exoddus. Well, not all of it, but at least one song is in mono, which is to say - rerip needed. Which is good after all, because I always wanted to rerip Oddysee - not Exoddus though... Guess I'll have to do both.

It's not a problem, seeing as I actually know what I'm doing now and I can avoid these kind of mistakes, but I guess a simple brainfart came in somewhere along the line and I messed up. The Oddysee rerip should be fairly easy, except I need to find myself a copy of the game which at present time, isn't exactly the easiest thing to do.

Exoddus I already have, so no problem there. If anyone has any complaints he/she needs to vent regarding the arrangment of either one of these (i.e. too long tracks, too much ambience etc.) let me know. I'm already aware of some other flaws I've noticed lately, so helping me helps you. Just sucks that I have to rerip Exoddus, it's a slap in the face after all the work I put into doing it the first time.

Oh well, it'll be fun and it'll just get better than the first rip anyway, seeing as they're both well over 2 years old now. I've learned alot since then and editing is a breeze at this point, plus I'm better at finding flaws.

Wish me luck, or something. =/

Oh and also, Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath arrived today. Now, only to find an Xbox... And yeah, if anyone has a good suggestion as to where I might find a copy of AO, do let me know. ]]> Killy http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=353 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=352 Fri, 02 May 2008 00:58:08 GMT Here's a little something for those of you that might be on the lookout for some new music. Who knows, it might surprise you!

Adam Tensta ft. Sophia Somajo - Before U Know It

Veronica Maggio - Måndagsbarn

Other than that, I've been working on this report which is due Monday. I'm working on a stress-analysis of a bridge using FEA and a nice little program called Trinitas. Sweet stuff, just have a little more to add to the report and hopefully it'll be finished. But now, I need to crawl into bed as the wee hours are sneaking up on me.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend, let me know what you plan on doing. ]]> Killy http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=352 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=351 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:57:54 GMT Yeah, I stopped by for the obligatory 'thanks' in the birthday thread and was suprised by the amount of replies and plees for return.

So I decided to stop being an internet douche and try to be active.

Thank you, my good stranger friends. I feel special since I supposedly 'inspire' you all. ]]> mitsur http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=351 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=350 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:31:09 GMT ...to not read, look at any forum containing hints or infomation nor listen to any of my friends talking about Grand theft auto 4 until I get it this sunday (hopefully) If i keep this pledge nearly everyone on this forum will get my godlike 2 rep points :D ...to not read, look at any forum containing hints or infomation nor listen to any of my friends talking about Grand theft auto 4 until I get it this sunday (hopefully)

If i keep this pledge nearly everyone on this forum will get my godlike 2 rep points :D ]]> Laser http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=350 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=349 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:55:17 GMT I DEMANDS TO HAS TEH WIMMINS. MANY MANY WIMMINS. OR TEH HOST4GES DYES. U HAIV 4 HORUS TO COMPILE. I DEMANDS TO HAS TEH WIMMINS.

MANY MANY WIMMINS.


OR TEH HOST4GES DYES.


U HAIV 4 HORUS TO COMPILE. ]]> Nemo http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=349 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=348 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:56:27 GMT Ummm . . . This is first blog entry, my apologizes if I'm doing this wrong.:)

Well the story begins earlier this year when I met new people to sit by at lunch, they like most of the same things as I did so I wasn't bored as much as I was with my old lunch buddies.

Their was one girl that I talked to more than any of the others. She told me that both her parents were atheist and I assumed she was the same so then I made the biggest mistake of my 9th grade school year, I told her I was atheist too. She gasped and said "Oh my god, I'm gonna save you!" (scariest sentence I ever heard). After that I made her promise not to tell (I live in the bible belt, I wouldn't be surprised it someone killed me for not being a christian).

Not to long ago, she gave me a Christain magazine called "The Book Of Hope" and she asks me everyday "Did you read any of it?" Of course I didn't but I always say, "A little bit" Then every Wednesday she askes me "Want to come to our church?" I always say that my brother has baseball, which isn't a lie, but I don't ever go to that on Wednesdays either.

Then, "our" little group of friends found out that I wasn't a christain by "magic". Now I'm like there little "how fast can you save some one" project. Now from this day until the end of school, they'll hit me over the head with the bible(not literally, I hope), and I've tried not sitting by them in the past, It doesn't work! It gets real annoying when she tells me "I'm going to save you!" everyday

Has any form of this happened to any of you?
Any advice of how to fix this problem with out explosives or being rude?
Any excuses of why I can't make it to church? ]]> Wolfie-Dark Steef http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=348 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=347 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:07:47 GMT ...there was a blog feature on this site. Well, blogging has never really been my thing and I sort of think it's all just a liiiiiittle bit too hyped and trendy these days.

Suddenly, everyone wants to be a writer, a lawyer or a doctor. We'll see where I end up, but I'll try not to rant too much. Maybe just chip in once in a while and post stories, with some pictures and stuff.

Yeah, that sounds good.

But now, I need to sleep. Getting up at 5.30AM, hitting the gym, then off to school for some solid mechanics. Booyah! ]]> Killy http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=347 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=346 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:17:33 GMT I notice not much people are on these forums today. I notice not much people are on these forums today. ]]> MeechShrykull1029 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=346 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=345 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:28:36 GMT I'm currently doing co-op (lol work) at a locally owned Print shop and can't stop pering over the edge of the cubicle and dropping down perfectly vertically for shits and giggles.

Honestly, this is fun work, apart from the incompetence of some outside helpers (pissed off Tech support guy who wears lipstick, my bosses son.) ]]> Kastere http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=345 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=344 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:50:42 GMT I have been promoted into the strange, sordid and ever-growing inner-circle of the OWF staff, a self-serving, elitist bunch of despots if I ever saw them. This whole place will soon be mine, beginning with the annexation of Zulag One. Max: join me or be destroyed. I have the majority of the... I have been promoted into the strange, sordid and ever-growing inner-circle of the OWF staff, a self-serving, elitist bunch of despots if I ever saw them.

This whole place will soon be mine, beginning with the annexation of Zulag One. Max: join me or be destroyed. I have the majority of the forumers behind me. What do you have (besides actual power, technical know-how and the backing of the veteran staffers)? ]]> Bullet Magnet http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=344 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=343 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:24:53 GMT There's nothing more boring than talking about your own dreams, but I've never been a very interesting person.

This is a very rare case where the dream ties in with reality. My wife demolished my bar (in my dream). There's the dream part over with.

MY wife plans to demolish my bar (in reality). She won't succeed. She doesn't know that I put her money towards half of it, and if when she demands it back, she won't get it back, as she's very fussy about her money and would not want to see it wasted.

She is a lovely person, but she's a stubborn little sod as well. Fortunately, I might be able to persuade her to enjoy the bar if I allow her to keep water and fruit juice on it, but that cheapens the novelty. I think it's the fact that I haven't shared the alcohol with her yet. I feel the need to keep the bar mine for the rest of the week. What she doesn't know is that I've bought some champagne and hidden it from her. I'll pour her some, and then she's putty. I can convince her that the bar is good, and that she shouldn't take it from me.

I fancy a cocktail. I might go down to the bar and get one.

Sorry, I just had to say that. ]]> OddjobAbe http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=343 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=342 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:25:02 GMT I like that word.

Aaaanyways...I dated someone for nine days, its been three months and I'm still not over the guy o.O. How bad is it? I think if I reproduce, I shall name a daughter Sugar, Acadia or Canberra and maybe a son shall be named Desu if I get really bored. And I can name a dog Superbuh since that's what I call my current dog Badger.

@ whoever set my gender symbol to male: you win xD.

EDIT: The emo disease on the breakup is starting to get on my nerves ><. I don't want people to see me craaaiii. ]]> Zozo the Zrilufet http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=342 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=341 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:09:04 GMT Lately I've been getting back into the art scene a little. The past few weeks have been spent with a lot of sketching, looking at other peoples art to get together a style and asking for peoples help. It's amazing what you can do to your own skills with just a few weeks of practice. What took me ages to get right a few weeks ago is now something I do in an instant without any trouble.
So now that I got sketching somewhat handled, I wanted to take it up a notch and start perfecting my skills in the Photoshopping department. I already have a Wacom tablet which I have used with a lot of my digital drawings, but I felt that wasn't enough. You're still very focused on two things; the screen in front of you and the pen in your hand. It requires some patience to make the two work together and even then it just feels unnatural.

For the past six years I've also occasionally worked on a laptop which, at that time, was awsome because it was an Acer lappy with half a gig of RAM (OMG! :D) and a 60GB harddisk (OMG AGAIN! :D) and only cost a thousand euros which, at that time, was a bargain. But I also have a desktop computer which has seen some large upgrades over the years and I even rebuild it a year ago to fit my needs completely. My desktop has a good 3GB of memory and the disk space recently exceeded 1000GB (1TB ^_^). And believe it or not, I'm using a good 60% of it right now.

So needless to say, whenever I got behind my lappy I went from ZOMGSUPERFAST to OHDEARGODFUCKINGSLOW... and since my desktop desk is always cluttered with stuff and not very usefull for having a tablet laying around I decided to do all my art in my bedroom, since I have a desk there too. I would just put old lappy there, throw XP on it, throw Photoshop on there, install the tablet and by the time I'm 30 Photoshop will have finished loading and I can start doing my picture. Obviously old lappy would die under the strain of present day Photoshop versions, it already struggled with Photoshop 6 and later 7. I did not dare install 8 on there, let alone CS2.
Simple solution: Buy a new lappy. Of course I could just have gotten a decent lappy of any make, but as I wanted a new one I thought I might as well get a lappy that would fulfill my artistic needs as well. And that meant getting a Tablet PC. A tablet PC is basically a laptop in every aspect, except that it has a rotatable, pressure sensitive screen which you can then click back as if you closed it, only with the screen facing up. The result you then get is something that resembles a very oversized PDA. It is however ideal for artists as it lets you draw directly on the screen as you would on paper. It eliminates scanning sketches, faded out lines, erasing wrong things and all that crap. I can now sketch on my lappy, color on my lappy and save it on my lappy. It's that awsome.

About a week ago I ordered the Asus R1E, because I <3 Asus and it was one of the few Tablet PC's that had a pressure sensitive screen that implemented Wacom technology instead of 'just a touchscreen'. For it's class it was also fairly priced in my opinion so that was nice as well.
Yesterday I finally got the package in the mail and at first sight I thought it was something else because the box was freaking huge. I really did order just a 13" screen laptop, it's not THAT big. The box was big enough to fit my 19" monitor O_o. But after unpacking it became clear why the box was so big. Next to getting a shitload of manuals, driver CD's, modules (oh yea, this laptop has a modular bay for the CD drive or a second battery), wires and a carrying bag that looked like it came straight from the 70's. On top of that, the laptop itself was packed in 5(!!!) layers of material: The outside box, the inside box, another box, another carrying bag (O_o) and a thin layer of protective coating. Eventually I got it out though and was very pleased with the results.

Next to the regular crap like ten thousand useless programs that are installed on a new lappy and the first startup which took ages, there's another fancy thing about this lappy. It has a fingerprint scanner which allows you to log in to Windows, applications and websites by a simple swipe of your finger. After your print has been accepted the program fills in your username and password and hits enter for you too.
While at first I thought the fingerprint scanner was just another one of those fancy gadgets, I overlooked a very obvious reason for it being there. When you're in tablet mode you have no keyboard. The only way of input is your pen which you can write stuff with on the screen and hope the computer translates your crappy handwriting to the right letters. But filling in a user name and password doing this is quite tedious after you've done it for 5 times and any more just gets annoying. Asus made a very wise choice to put that scanner there because it makes logging in so much easier once it's set up. Even if I do have my laptop in normal mode, a quick swipe of the finger is often faster or more convenient then typing the password manually. If you're really a security freak you can even set it up to ONLY accept fingerprint scans but that's just overkill for a simple home user like me.

In the end it's a very awesome laptop and I look forward to using it more and producing my art on there when I start getting used to the on screen drawing. It might feel more natural then a tablet but it's still a bit different.


The Flying Dutchman
Those remotely interested in sea, sailing and navy history will no doubt know the myth of the Flying Dutchman. Those not so keen on naval history will no doubt know it from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3.
The tale is about a Dutch captain in the time of the VOC (The East Indian Trading Company, on of Holland's most glorious times) who sails the fastest trading ship in the fleet. His success and fortune eventually go to his head and during his trading trips he starts pirating other vessels, only to keep the loot from those ships for him and his crew.
One day, when he and his crew want to set out for another pirating trip, they are prohibited to leave the harbor. No ships are to leave the harbor on easter and on top of that a violent storm was raging over the sea. The captain ignored these rules however and set sail for open sea.

"Storm or not, easter or not, prohibited or not, I will set sail, even to eternity!"

That same night, according to the myth, something terrible happened on board of the ship. Some stories say a plague broke out and the ship was not allowed to dock anywhere. Other stories say they were dragged to the bottom of the ocean by the devil himself, where he doomed the ship to sail until the end of time.
Several sightings of the old 17th century ship have been reported, some dating back as close as 1880. When the unknown ship is hailed, it tries to send messages to persons or ships long since dead and a sighting of The Flying Dutchman is generally believed to be a sign of bad luck, even to this day (although no-one ever saw the ship again after 1880).

I've always been a big 'fan' of the Flying Dutchman myth and was excited to see the myth in Pirates of the Caribbean. But I was even more excited when I learned that the biggest theme park here in Holland was building a ride based on the myth. I recently got to ride in it and I have to say it's very awesome. They fleshed out the story perfectly. They gave it their own little twist to fill in some of the missing details, but overall they did an awesome job bringing this myth to life. Check out some pictures and the onride video.

Thanks to everyone involved in building De Vliegende Hollander at De Efteling! You did an awsome job! ]]> Havoc http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=341 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=340 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:04:49 GMT I waited at the library busstop instead of the one at the mall today, because the one at the mall was completely full of gangsters in colours (like always), so I though 'fuck that...' and did the 5 min walk to the library busstop. So I get there, then this angry ass balding middle aged man in a white business shirt tucked into black dress pants, complete with skate shoes comes up to me. I'm drinking a V, and he say

Man: You want a smoke?
Me: Nah, I'm good thanks...
Man: Ah fuck! I want a fizzy drink so bad but I don't have the fucking money.
Me: Yeah bad luck. *at this point I put my empty can of V down*
Man: Awww I was stopped by the cops at 1am yesterday!
Me: Yeah? what did you do?
Man: Aww I was drivin at 180kph, it was my first time in a manual, and I drifted round a corner! uhuhuhuhu! nearly hit da curb too! but you know why dey didn't caught me?
Me: Why?
Man: because when they wasn't looking, I just drifted away! uhuhuhuhuhu!
Me: Ahaha... Yeah.
man: and there was this other guy who was following me right, tryin ta copy my moves right? but he was real bad, and he fuckin smashed into the back of a bus! so i was like to him: "haha you dumb cunt! fuckin smash you haha"
me: yeah, haha, what an idiot eh...
man:Awww my like brother always says, if you want something bad enough, just try and you'll get it! And you know what? Now I got four girls running after me! uhuhuhu.***
Me: ahahaha... yes
man: 2 of them are decent, 1 of them are model material, and the other one is fuckin hideous! uhuh. So i was messaging the model one, and I was like 'whats your last name eh?' [hahaha, yeah, girls on the net are into him...] and you know what she say? she was my best mates sister UHUHUHUH
Me: oh yeah, always bad when that happens, aha...
Man: Oh he doesn't really want me going out with her eh!
me: here's my bus, gotta run, seeya man.

fucking lower hutt, turning even more into NZ's Bronx. didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I did a little bit of both.

then I get home, and walked in on my older half blind brother having a tug, to give him a package that arrived for him... he threw out the box, so I looked inside it to see what he had ordered because he acted very nervously when I asked him what he got:

"ScoreExpress:

2 x BREAST SEX DVD $69.90"

and that was my day. holy shit.

***he looked like the ugly blonde student librarian with a whispy beard you always hated in highschool. the only women he could pull are the ones with long enough nether hair he could reach at, commonly called Olga. ]]> Leto http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=340 http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=339 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:37:54 GMT Just got a constructon job done in my house. If you're easily bored, either read the summary at the bottom or hit that back button. I'm going to brag about my bar. Either like it or lump it.

I have finally, after all these years, managed to get a bar built in my house. It's fantastic. I stocked up on cocktails and martinis and store them on a shelf behind the bar which is covered by a red curtain. I also put my vinyl next to it, so I can listen to music while I drink. It's like being in the days that I missed by twenty years. Has a great retro feel.

It cost me more money than I wish to admit. My wife isn't a big fan of it. She's more of a modern person. She wants me to take it down. After all the money and work that went into it, I told her she can get stuffed. I hardly ever get the chance to buy such expensive luxuries.

Seriously. Bars are good. Now I don't have to go out. My friends can get free drinks over here. Though not to often. I don't want to upset the missus.

To make it up to her, I've bought her a laptop. I'm almost fucking broke.


In a nutshell, I got a bar, and I'm happy with it. ]]> OddjobAbe http://www.oddworldforums.net/blog.php?b=339