I’m not too sure if I have much of a reason to not be writing things here these days. Maybe I just haven’t had as much to say as I used to in the past. Ah well, at least I’m busy preparing for a lot of stuff this weekend, namely Eirtakon, as well as a few other things.

Other than the con, there’s also a bit of work we on the Games Soc committee will be doing to get ready for the BYOPC LAN the weekend after. So the majority of Friday will be spent in the Helix checking out the space that we have (which, rather handily, is known as the space ) and just making sure that everything is running fine. Most important thing is to check the Internet connection and to make sure that all the ports are available for use, as we can’t have people arriving with their machines and then finding that half of the competitors haven’t got all their games and Steam up-to-date. And there may also be a general issue of overall room, but that really does depend all on numbers and whether we get them or not. Still it should be a good weekend, as this is the first LAN we’ll have had where I have an actual decent computer. <3 TheAlmightyBear!

If you’re looking for specs of the machine, apparently Xfire has them.

As for the con itself, I should be there for the whole weekend. I’m definitely going to be there Friday night for the quiz (since I’m around campus that day anyway!), although whether you will see me as Hibiki like you will both other days, I’m still not sure about. But yes, I’ll be there the whole entire weekend, from opening Saturday to closing Sunday. How long I spend in the middle is the real question, although I think one of my friends who lives nearby is loaning me his couch for the night so I don’t have far to go after whatever trip out Saturday night, and I can actually make it in on time Sunday morning

I still have a couple of things I need to do for my cosplay, but for the most part things are done. I say for the most part, because I’m not entirely too sure if I can be bothered to finish it off – and it’s not like I’m going for full-blown accuracy or anything. Then again rushed jobs never hurt people. No sneaky previews still (because I’m not arsed trying to photograph myself), but no recoiling in horror when you do see me. One problem with trying to do a circa ten-year-old kid is that your body’s physiology is much different. Brrr, my legs are cold

One good thing that I did manage to come across yesterday, while in Penneys exchanging down a size for my costume (while the size I had was fine for me personally, it didn’t work too well for the actual costume itself) was in Smyths with a whole bunch of little plastic Pokémon figurine sets going on BOGOF. So, now my con bag is filled with them, just in case people still have no idea who I am. Also, I think Fiona is loaning me her Togepi plushie for the weekend (that she had when she went as Misty for Halloween), which will definitely help! Now, I just wonder whether or not I’m going to make the bear into a Teddiursa or something…

November is going to be fairly busy for me, with things happening nearly every weekend. I’m hoping that it doesn’t detract from my online presence, particularly TF2′ing and Left 4 Dead’ing – and hopefully not keeping me away from writing more shite in this blog and ranting about garbage on Twitter.

Starting this week is the RedBrick Halloween Intersocs Ball thingy. Tbh I’m really not sure what point there is to it other than to go to a bar, get buy one get one free drinks all night, and have an excuse to wear your Halloween costume again. None of which really helps me since I don’t drink, generally go to bars unless they serve good food (like the nuBar!), nor did I have a Haloween costume, since I laid low this year. Well, technically I could go in the costume that I’m planning for…

Eirtakon – the weekend after next. Otaku and other anime, manga, and possibly video game nerds congregating in the Hub to do what we would usually do, parading around pretending to be people we’re not, and making the place smell so bad that everyone will notice it on Monday morning

I’ll hopefully be there for the whole weekend, or at least that’s what my pre-registration ticket is saying to me. I actually found it a little scary that my reference number was number seven, and I’m not even a bigger nerd than some of those who frequent the Eirtaku forums, and IRC channel that I always lurk in when I even get the chance to connect because the server the channel is on doesn’t like so many connections from Redbrick at the same time… No matter what, I’ll be going as Hibiki from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, even if my costume is half-assed and nowhere near as accurate as some people have managed to do.

Please no glomping, as I may be carrying my laptop in that bag, as well as having my DS in one hand playing some Pokémon game, and my internet tablet in the other tweeting my way through the con via LapLan. That is, if they keep LapLan on. They better fucking keep LapLan on, else I’m breaking into either Clubs and Socs or the Mezz and then tweeting my way through.

Then the weekend after that again is the Games Soc BYOPC LAN, which will be the first one I’ll have attended with an actual desktop computer of mine that can actually run Source! Sure, it’s not going to be the most blinged out thing there (I’m looking at you, you Alienware-purchasing knobheads), but at least it’s something half-decent. Don’t expect much tweeting as I’ll be too busy gaming

And finally in the last weekend of the month, several of us from Games Soc are going to Video Games Live. It will be epic. Maybe I’ll se some of you there, provided you’re going on the 29th?

Anyway, I’m off to go source out a supplier of very cheap energy drink, since I’m going to need a hell of a lot of it to keep me awake this month…

I wasn’t sure if Dublin Bus could get any worse than the incident with my travel pass last week, but I guess I thought wrong – seeing as tonight was probably the worst journey back home to Dunboyne from college ever.

So, seeing as I had to leave very quickly this morning and wasn’t able to clean up the kitchen downstairs before I left, I told myself I’d go back home much earlier than normal tonight and get it done, as well as maybe making something for dinner with the random crap lying around in the fridge or freezer. With the aim and intention of getting the 1950 to be home by around nine, I left at around a quarter past seven.

Now while services from DCU to town are plentiful and regular, they still tend to come in a clump. And when those clumps generally mean that you only have twenty minutes to get into town and you have no idea how bad the traffic and/or demand for the bus will be, you have the hard choice of risking it in town, or going through Phibsborough and then hopping on one from there to Cabra where you can meet with the bus you actually want. Which is what I did, since I wanted to actually get back home.

So, I arrive in town at just before a quarter to eight, and check the timetable for the 38, which shows one having left town at 1940. Grand so, it’ll be here in about ten minutes, and I can be up at Cabra Cross within another five, meaning I’d only have about a ten minute wait for my 70. Ten to eight – no sign. Probably just slow out. Five to eight – nothing. Eight o’clock – still nothing. OK, maybe he’s just around the corner and I can’t see him and it’s been a torrid night getting out. Five minutes past fucking eight (actually 8:04 to be precise) and he shows up, not even half-full. Right, let’s get on and get the fuck up to the top of the road already. If I’d have known it would have taken so long, I probably would have gotten the 122 that went by about ten minutes ago.

A very slow drive to the top of the road, not helped by a bunch of old ladies (obviously a bingo party) getting on halfway, and we reach Cabra Cross – only to see a bus coming from Stoneybatter-way and going ahead. As I was near the back of the bus, I couldn’t make out the number on the back too well (from far away 39 and 70 do look alike), and was seriously hoping that it was the one I didn’t need. A minute later when we got close to the back – fuckit. It was my 70. The 38 lost those ten minutes to the 70 somehow for some unknown fucking reason on the way to Phibsborough. At least I was hoping that we’d eventually catch up to it while stopped somewhere, or even overtaking it.

Well, that plan got off to a high when the 70 stopped at the next stop up, outside the Navan Road entrance to Coláiste Mhuire (where I used to get on/off the bus to and from Blanchardstown every morning for the last three years of my secondary education) – and was scuppered almost immediately when the guy who got off it flagged down the 38. And it was only made worse and worse, so that by the time the 70 had arrived at the last possible stop I could have changed at – the stop outside St. Brigids GAA Club on the dual-carriageway – we were stuck down the other end, passing by the Phoenix Park racecourse apartments.

So I give the parent a ring asking if she can drop down and pick me up since I’ve no chance of getting back soon – and I get a response saying there’s not a chance of it happening as the place was left in a state and that I should probably just get a taxi back.

Which destined me to at least an hour and a bit wandering around Blanchardstown while I waited for the next 70 to come, which leaves town at twenty past fucking nine. After wandering for said time frame, including getting dinner in KFC since I knew I’d be home late. So, I sit down at the stop at the Blanchardstown Centre at about nine-forty and wait for him to come.

And wait.

And wait some more.

Until at ten past ten, me and two others who had been waiting on it, give up resigned to the fact that the driver was a lazy ass and decided not to to through the Centre, despite that fact that every normal 70 after seven is supposed to go through it since the fucking 270 stops service at seven for some unknown fucking reason, even though it runs all the way through to midnight on Sundays! – and end up splitting a taxi home, which I could have just gotten myself originally, as despite the fact it was split with one of the others in the car, as the other one was only going to Clonee, I ended up paying him full price anyway since myself and the driver were both having a bad night with the maths.

This shit really pisses me off. Really.

Dublin Bus need to get their fucking act together, before I have to write another letter of complaint…

Coming home tonight, I was very nearly not brought home because the driver of the 70 apparently didn’t seem to understand that you only need a photo ID for your Free Travel Pass if you live in Dublin, and not here in Dunboyne over the border in FUCKING CO. MEATH!!!

Here’s a copy of my e-mail of complaint which I have just sent off to the Dublin Bus e-mail that they provide on their website, if you want to have a read at all. It’d be a fucking miracle if they actually respond to it though, let alone do anything about it.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to make a formal complaint to Dublin Bus for the treatment I received from the driver of the 2320hrs departure of the Route 70 bus from Hawkins St. to Dunboyne on the 28th October 2009.

I have a mental disability, and am receiving Disability Allowance, and as such I have received a Free Travel Pass, which entitles me to free travel on your services. On the aforementioned journey, when I attempted to board the bus at Dame St. Ulster Bank stop, I showed my Travel Pass to the driver, ensuring that he noticed it and I proceeded to sit down, when I was called back and asked for my photo pass, which I do not have. After answering that I did not have one because I did not need one, I was told that I was “not going back [to Dunboyne] on this bus you’re not”. After attempting to explain to the driver that the documents that arrived with my Travel Pass specifically stated that I did not need one, I was also told that the pass “is useless without the card”. Only after I briefly showed my Social Welfare card and was rummaging through my wallet to pay the cash fare, I was informed “I said you can go on”.

This experience was distressing and embarrassing for myself, as I have almost never had any issues with utilising my Free Travel Pass on any service from Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, or Iarnród Éireann for the length of time I have had the Pass; and I was also worried that if I was refused travel on the bus, that I would be stuck in town for the night as that particular service is the last service to Dunboyne during the evenings.

After arriving home, I went and searched information regarding the Photo ID for the Free Travel Pass, and I came across the following: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW40/Pages/9DoIneedtoshowevidenceofmyidentity.aspx

In addition, if you live in Dublin, Cork city, Waterford city, Limerick city or Galway city you must also produce a Free Travel Photo ID

As Dunboyne, and thus my address is in Co. Meath, therefore I am not required to possess a Photo ID.

An incident similar to this also occurred within the last month, when a bus inspector boarded the bus I was on and proceeded to check tickets, when I showed him my bus pass, I was also asked for the Photo ID, to which I did also reply that as I am from Co. Meath, I do not require the Photo ID. Only on production of another form of Photo ID was the inspector satisfied.

If the condition is supposed to mean that anyone who lives in the catchment area of Dublin Bus or Bus Éireann city services, then why it is not explicitly mentioned in the condition? Also, why are your members of staff not informed of this fact that passengers from outside of Dublin may not necessarily have Photo IDs for their Free Travel Passes when they don’t need one, and that undue hassle over not having one is unnecessary?

Regards,

Chris Daly

I really don’t want to have any of this shit from them, it’s bad enough that the bus service back in the evenings is a load of shite…

So for those of you still don’t yet know how I watch people’s feeds, I utilise IE8 and Windows Live Mail, since I prefer those programs over Mozilla’s offering, and Google’s lack of offline tools to do the same. However, one niggling problem with using those to update my feeds is that sometimes, they just don’t update no matter what the setting for frequency of updating. And even more annoying is that sometimes it’ll just randomly start working again…

To take an example, Friday night I was going to bed and I set my computer (main machine) to go to sleep. Getting up in the morning, I turned it back on again and went through the day not doing much, however I did not notice my feeds updating with new items despite the fact that I know some feeds ALWAYS update during the night. Sure enough none of the feeds had been updated since last night. Now this was perplexing since I have it set so that my feeds update every 15 minutes (I follow a few heavy-duty feeds, mostly involving cats and food porn). Sure enough, with a manual refresh of the feeds they would start updating every 15 minutes again.

So after it happening to me again this morning, I decided to do a bit of investigating. Checking in Scheduled Tasks, I noticed the feed updating task – User_Feed_Synchronization-{whatever} – was there, but was only set to go off once a day, which is odd as I set feeds to update way more often that that. I checked the time associate with it and it was set to trigger off after midnight TONIGHT. Nearly another full day without feed updating.

I edited the task so that after it is triggered it would repeat every hour, and thought all was fine, until I thought that I may need to set the setting in Internet Options to update every hour as well, which I did. However, I then went back to Scheduled Tasks to find that the task had been changed and set to go off in an hour. Going back and changing the update frequency also changed the time the task would trigger at. This I found to be very odd. After a manual refresh of the feeds, I went back to the task again and noticed that it had been changed so that it would trigger again in another 15 minutes. Now it was clear to me what the story was.

Now since this was only really happening with my desktop and not my laptop, since I always put that into Hibernate, rather than sleep, I went and checked it as well. Looking at the task, I can see it still has the same daily trigger as my main machine set to go off at 1am every day, but it also had a one-time trigger set to go off 15 minutes after the last update. Whether it was this one-time trigger that made it go off and update after I turned my computer back on from Hibernate, I’m not sure.

I’m not sure if it’s a fault in the way the sync program sets up the next sync in the scheduled tasks, a fault in the way the task is set to trigger, or just a fault in the fact I put my computer to sleep at night rather than having it run constantly. I do know though, that it’s fucking annoying.

• My main machine runs Windows 7 Professional RTM on 64-bit, with IE8 32-bit, and Windows Live Mail.


• My laptop runs the Windows 7 RC 32-bit, with IE8 and Windows Live Mail.

Hopefully someone in the proper know will read this and provide a better explanation and why it still does this…

One of those stay-at-home days. Probably not good given the multitude of snacks lying around…

• 11.20: a third of a box of Almond Oats and More

We ran out of milk in the house, so I settled for the old-fashioned "eat straight out of the box without paying attention to how much is actually being eaten". Probably not the best of ideas.

• 14.10: a third of a bowl of chilli beans

Leftovers in the fridge. It was a case of eat them or throw them out. I chose the former

• 16.50: Slevin’s – Tiger prawns in a sweet chilli sauce with oriental veg and boiled rice

Yay for going out for lunch! Food was lovely except all the tails were left on the prawns, making for a very crunchy surprise at the beginning. Fucking expensive though, €17

• 23.05: 5 11 14 17 mini jaffa cakes

They were there. I was craving stuff. Poopy

…meh.

• 10.05: 600ml bottle of Lucozade, packet of Wine Gums

Sugar rush to wake me up and keep me going for my morning lecture.

• 13.30: Two portions of €2 special offer chicken wings and potato slices

Lunch. I like value.

• 17.45: Two bottles of special-offer 99c bottles of Coke

Needed sugar and caffeine to stay awake…

• 21.35: Packet of Harvest Fare 33% extra free Chilli Nuts

Snack on the very late bus back home. I’m actually quite glad that the bus was very late, since the 11 from college was really slow getting into town. When I saw the masses of people at the bus stop on Dame St., I had some glimmer of hope, but after almost everyone piled onto the incoming 37, my heart sank again.

Thank fuck the 70 came around a few minutes later!

Consoles and STOCS today. I expect rather an awful lot of junk…

• 11.25: Half a raisin muffin

Mom got one to go with her coffee, since the coffee place in Eurospar were offering coffee and a muffin for €3.50 – which was only 70c more than the coffee itself!

• 12.30: Spicy chicken brown bread sandwich with lettuce, cheese and sweetcorn

On-campus Spar lunch. While expensive, t’was fucking yummy and came with a free bottle of water

• 15.00: Time Out finger, Twix finger, Rowntree’s Randoms; cups of Fanta, Coke, Sprite

Snacks from the refreshments pile at Consoles. It can’t be helped, especially as I’ve technically paid for it until I find Lotta!

• 18.20: Twelve Oreos, Hunky Dorys Cheese and Onion, Kinder Bueno

More STOCS snacks…

• 23.05: Burger King XL Bacon Double Cheeseburger, large fries, large Fanta, medium Onion Rings

I stayed late in STOCS – not by choice, the time completely flew and it was after 9 in a flash – and had to get food in town. Haven’t actually had BK in ages before this, so it was a nice, if very filling and fatty, treat!

Today is a day off from college. That usually means snacking for the entire day. Oh poopy.

• 9.25: Packet of Harvest Fare 33% extra free Chilli Nuts

I have a very weak spot for chilli nuts. I can just sit here all day munching through a bag or two of them and be satisfied. I like peanuts. I like chilli. Together is heaven. At least the Harvest Fare ones are, since it’s the peanut in a chilli shell. Those that are actually just peanuts with a chilli coating are quite a bit spicier and I can’t exactly eat a full bag of them in one shot without some assistance!

• 11.15: Another 1½ bowls of almond Oats and More

Whenever there is epic cereal available, I’ll gladly have breakast everyday – at whatever point in time it happens to be. When there isn’t though, I generally won’t eat.

• 16.40: Cadbury’s Fudge

Went to shop to buy several things that were apparently needed in the house, including more cigarettes for herself. I bought a Fudge while waiting in the checkout queue. Out of the entire €40+ shopping bill, I spent 45c on myself. I’d consider that good, but then again I did end up paying for everything anyway…

• 23.15: Half a bowl of chilli beans with sliced sausages mixed in

Before you ask, no it wasn’t one of those tins that come with the sausages already in it. No, these were actual sausages cooked under the grill mixed in with a normal in of Heinz beans flavoured with an array of spices from the spice cabinet.

Yes, we have an entire fucking cabinet just for spices…

• At some point: Two Three Four SIX packets of Snax

Bought a 6 pack of Snax earlier in Eurospar since they were half price, while I was down there for kitchen roll which had been needed since last night. She gets into a fit when there is anything less than two rolls of the stuff in the press

So, I’ve been getting a few remarks from my mom at home claiming I’m starting to get just a little bit chubby. Claiming I eat too much crap, too much other stuff, and an awful lot of sugar. I don’t think so, since I believe that my body’s metabolism is high enough to deal with everything, which it has been doing for the past few years without any problem.

So, to try and put into perspective whether or not I do eat to much crap, I’ve decided to start a food diary for the next week. I’ll be updating this one throughout the day with what I eat and when.

Those of you with a weak stomach might not want to read on – even though I don’t have any food porn embedded.

• 8.35: 1½ Bowls of Almond Oats and More with low-fat Super milk

My sister bought a box of Honey Oats and More over the weekend at some point, of which I had a bowl. It was epic. I went down to the shop to see if they had any more and more importantly, to see if they had any of the other varieties, particularly the almond one. They did. It was absolutely fucking epic.

Also, I don’t think I can do justice by simply saying a single bowl of cereal, since the bowls I normally use are more related to soup bowls than "normal" bowls…

• 12.50: Footlong Chicken Tikka sub w/cheese, lettuce, onion, peppers and sweet chilli sauce

Sub of the Day. ‘Nuff said. It’s yummy.

• 14.10: 750ml bottle of Lucozade Sport, a packet of Bassett’s Softfruits

To keep me awake during the always fun part of Languages and Computability – the bit about languages itself, taught by the Chinese postgrad whom you can’t understand…

• 18.45: 750ml bottle of Pepsi, two Snickers, packet of Hunky Dorys Scorchers, packet of Hunky Dorys Sour Cream and Onion, packet of Spar mini Choc Chip cookies

STOCS snacks. Don’t judge me, I’m weak

• 22.35: A third of a wok of prawns with noodles and oriental veg in a hoisin and spring onion sauce

Leftovers from dinner the family had earlier which I ate when I arrived home.

So, one of the things I’ve wanted to do for a while was save up enough money to build myself a custom PC. Unfortunately, that was never really able to materialise seeing as how I never had the money to spend on it, for several reasons (be they paying for on-campus accommodation, paying repeat fees, paying other general crap). However, since I found out I didn’t have to pay anything extra for my studies this year (as well as getting money back!), I now have the cash to do my fancy build. Although what to get for my build is a whole different kettle of fish…

So, the overall aim of this is to create a bit of a home media center, consisting mainly of the PC and my 360 (or possibly a new one if I decide not to bother repairing this shit). While it may seem simple though, I have a few plans in mind which make it fairly complex. While I normally like complications, when said complications can dictate what bits I need to buy, then it gets iffy.

So, first off is my build. You can find it on Komplett here. The majority of it is obviously for the computer itself, but the extras are to deal with the fancy bits I’m about to go into excruciating detail over. Because I am that sad, and the fact that I like to go into details. You can kill the tab now if you want, I won’t mind…

…

…

…

Still here? Good.

Some of the main omissions you may be waiting to scold me about would be the keyboard, mouse and monitor – but I’m already sorted for those with my G15, G9, and some crummy 19" widescreen thing with speakers. And I’m good for an OS for the moment since I can get Windows 7 Professional from college via the MSDNAA thingy. Or if all else fails, I still have my USB stick with the RC on it.

Anyway, my main plan is to have the PC and 360 both plugged into the one monitor I have which I can switch between much easier than having to unplug a VGA cable and plug in the other one, which is solved by the video switch. Ironically it seems to be the same type of switch that was used however long ago in the café I used to work in for the one station that had both a PC and the 360 on it… The 360 will go into the monitor’s shitty in-built speakers for the time being, while I can listen to the PC via headphones, or maybe some external speakers. Or something similar.

Here’s where it starts to get a little complicated though. For the purposes of LP’s or gameplay streams, I’d like to be able to send my 360’s output to both my monitor and an input on my computer simultaneously, so that I can play and record at the same time without having to go via the computer per se, and deal with lag and increased response time in-game. For that, I can only assume that I’d need some sort of video/audio splitter, except I have no idea what I’d need to get to sort that out…

With that sorted the mish-mash of VGA and audio cables in the back would look something like this:

• PC VGA cable -> video switch


• 360 VGA cable –> video/audio splitter


• Video/audio splitter video –> video switch


• Video/audio splitter audio –> monitor


• Video/audio splitter video/audio–> PC


• Video switch –> monitor

Also, with the house here in Dunboyne, there are Ethernet ports everywhere to hook into the Magnet fibre line. Except that there is only one port in the room nearby where I want all this stuff to be. Also, I want my PC and 360 to be on the same network so they can sync and do Media Center and all that other shit. As well, I need wireless access for my laptop in the house, y’know, just for the handiness of being able to use it anywhere in the house if needed. Plus the fact my mom likes to keep the wireless key to herself for some unknown reason. Not sure though if a normal router would do, or if I’d need an actual network switch.

All this stuff is confusing me quite a bit, which is why I’m looking for a little clarity and help from people who do know what I’m talking about as to what else I’d need to get to make this dream a reality.

Also, it can’t really be much more expensive than what it already is. I may have a good chunk in the savings account, but I’m not that well off.

Anyone?

I originally wanted to write something about being back in college over the weekend, but I just didn’t. I had more important things to do, like the Dunboyne motor festival, and having a very secluded life. But yea, first week back in college and this time actually registered rather than just being somehow lost in the system despite me doing everything right on my end.

Although tbh, there’s not really much to talk about. Monday was spent sitting around while the Registry fished me out of the lake somewhere somehow. Tuesday figuring out what I need to do in order to get enough credits to be able to officially complete second year. Wednesday abusing the LapLan. Thursday actually going to an actual lecture. Friday hanging at home since I had nothing. I feel just like a CA1 with the Fridays off, but then again like so much more since I’m a CASE2 and I technically have Tuesdays and Wednesdays free

Although Wednesday is the big technically, since it’s my job to be in college setting up the consoles, seeing as I am Console Ents for the year. I’m just hoping that we eventually manage to sort out a room, after whatever Slowpokes moved the Mezz into the seminar room, thus forcing us to look elsewhere. Made even worse by the fact that at this point in time, all that’s there is a bunch load of spare tables, the center area installed, and a bunch-load more crap just stored there. If you weren’t going to complete it in time, why’d you even fucking start

The Dunboyne motor festival took place last weekend, which I went to for a little bit. I briefly presented myself at the barbeque Saturday night before heading back with Chinese food instead, seeing as I was there by myself in a crowd of about four hundred people enjoying themselves together (since when could you fit so many into Brady’s backyard?!?!), feeling a little awkward and out of place. I missed the bike run on Sunday as I left the house quite late (damn you F1 re-run!), but made it in time for the car run. Managed to record all the cars as they went around Mulvaney’s corner and I really should actually go make that into a video, but that’s for another time when I’m not so busy. Oh, and the bear got a snap with Niall. I’ll definitely have to upload that soon

This week has been really tiring and busy so far. From discovering that the main teacher of Languages and Computability really had said in the first lecture: "I’m your teacher, but I’m a lazy ass, and as such I’m forcing these postgrad slaves to teach you instead while I go sit in my office and torrent the entire Internet while playing Spider Solitaire", or something along those lines, and that one of your teachers is a Chinese postgrad who can barely speak English (snore-fest tbh – needed an insane amount of Lucozade to keep me awake…), and then the madness that were Clubs and Socs days (that’s for another post!), I’m absolutely wrecked. A 10am lecture in the morning doesn’t help, especially as that means I need to be up at about half seven and out on the 8.15am 70A to even have a remote chance of making it.

Also, I want to take this opportunity to bitch about the lack of 70 from town between the 2120 and 2320 each night. I want to be home at a reasonable hour after traditional gaming (and maybe some other stuff) in the evenings, and although the 2120 gets me home around ten, I would prefer a 2220 service to get me home around eleven. While I may not necessarily get it on trad gaming nights, it would be brilliant for lab gaming, film nights or anime nights so I don’t have to up and leave in the middle of something epic… Sake, Dublin Bus, do you ever think of the people in Dunboyne rather than just your profits?

Seems they won.

All that campaigning about how it was such a failure, never destined to win, at least not this year.

Seems the people believed in a change.

And in a drastic turn of fortunes, they’ve gone and done it.

All that downplaying by those against them to try and scare them into losing hasn’t worked as well as expected.

I wonder if their leaders are now no longer at risk of losing their jobs, after this result.

Maybe all of Europe will take heed and note that despite a poor start, you can always come back to win something.

Fucking Pompey…

(In all seriousness though, this was going to be about Lisbon. But then Portsmouth won earlier today, so that changed that!)

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been quietly tolerating the shit that is the fight between the "Yes" and "No" campaigns. I’ve tolerated the countless posters on every single fucking lamppost in the country. I’ve had no qualms tossing the leaflets that drop in the letterbox straight into the recycling bag, I’ve even restrained myself from actually choking the campaigners that wander around trying to talk to people to convince them to vote some way. But when you start forcing me to suffer it by having to sit in traffic for ages because taxi drivers are particularly inclined (amongst other things), now it’s just a piss-take.

Just after arriving in town this morning on the 0830 70A, I walked down to Westmoreland Street to catch the next bus towards Glasnevin. As I was walking down I began to hear a lot of car horns coming from the road from Stephen’s Green, and seeing that it came from taxis, some of which had their taxi thing on top turned lengthways rather than widthways. The honking continued down Westmoreland Street for a couple of minutes before my 19A arrived. Proceeding down O’Connell Street, there was then a bit of a backlog. It could have been attributed as a normal jam, except that the honking was still just as fast as ever, we hadn’t moved in several minutes, and some of the taxi drivers in the main lane had stepped out of their cars.

Seems that they had blocked all three lanes of traffic up at the last junction before Parnell Square, including the bus lane. Now I don’t have any problems with the mindless slobs blocking everyone who shouldn’t really even be driving around all alone in their cars in the city centre, but blocking hundreds of innocent people who are trying to get somewhere on public transport is just a fucking dick move. If we weren’t so far down the street (and our driver wasn’t a dick, not letting anyone off even while we were sitting there not moving), I would have got out and forced whoever it was who was blocking the bus lane to move it. Even if it meant hijacking his car. Seriously, don’t care what you do to piss off the general car drivers in the city, but don’t even dare delaying the buses. I, and many many others need them to get around everywhere, unlike you asses who use your own cars for work. Seriously.

And a good few of them were holding banners and placards mentioning that taxi drivers were against Lisbon. I’m fucking sick of all these demonstrations over a vote. At this rate, I’m now leaning more towards the "write-in" option. So if you are counting the Meath votes and you see one for "I don’t fucking give a shit", that’s probably mine.

So I went down to the mass of limpless bodies that was the Street earlier the morning to try and figure out from the Registry what on earth my situation regarding being a student was. In short, I was basically told that despite that fact I had filled out my R34 form (to repeat), got permission from the programme chair and paid and submitted my fee liability, they never processed by registration because they must have "lost my R34". So apparently I need to re-register to repeat again, which means meeting up with the programme chair again tomorrow.

I’m not pissed that I have to spend another year in college (it’s still a fucking blast) – I’m really just pissed as to the way the Registry handled me last year. Why I have to go through the entire process again is a little annoying, but it is a "formality", and also the course has slightly changed since I originally took it, with the module for Networks having been removed and instead the Computer Architecture module has been made from 5 credits into 10 credits. That’s on top of being told that SE may not be being done anymore. Seriously, WTF?

And the big unknown is the €2500 I paid last year. Where is that now? Will that be put towards my fee liability for this year since it never got used? I can’t afford to pay ever half that amount this year if they don’t carry it forward. And it will almost definitely be more than that since the base registration fee has increased as well.

I’m really hoping for the best case scenario of being able to repeat exactly what’s missing, and my money paid last year goes forward, so I’ll only have to pay around a few hundred to make up the difference. Then I can be a proper student again, no-one will keep asking me what the story is, and the committee’s I’m on will be able to stop pestering me for my situation so we can get on with activities rather than them having to worry about getting a new committee member before Clubs and Socs day…

Apparently I’m back in college next week (or at least I should be). That means, god-forbid, summer is official over. *insert Baby Bear epic sad face here*

I only have a week of freedom left, so I guess I better make the most of it. Kinda.

Obviously the most important part is figuring out what to do for the rest of this week. At the moment it’s been roughly pencilled in as:

• Tuesday: Go to GAME in Blanch (yes, all the way from Fermoy), get ODST.


• Wednesday: ODST


• Thursday: ODST


• Friday: ODST


• Saturday: ODST


• Sunday: Fucking panic because I’ve just realised the place is a tip, and I need to get all my crap back up to Dublin (hopefully Dunboyne – however temporary!) by tomorrow.

All the meanwhile recording, editing, uploading that Let’s Play Pokémon SoulSilver I’m doing. Also scribbled down in that imaginary calendar sort of thing I like to call… well, the Calendar part of Windows Live Mail – is the Dunboyne Motor Festival spirit thing the weekend after next (after being originally pencilled in for this weekend, but while I was up last week I found out that it was pushed back a week). Must go arrange to see if I can meet up with Niall at some point…

As well as that next week should see me properly taking up my tenure as Console Ents for Games Soc for the coming year. I can only hope I don’t screw up shit. I mean it’s not as if the task of getting the consoles and other equipment from the equipment room and bringing them down to whichever room we’ll be stationed in this year (fuck them and that idea to move the Xbox part of the Mezz into the Seminar Room ), as well as making sure rooms are booked, extra equipment is put aside, refreshments are provided, and any possible new games for the year are bought, and clearing away after we’re finished is that much of a taxing job. I mean, I’ve kinda been doing a good bit of it for the past two years despite not actually being on the committee…

Oh, and one more thing that I found as a bit of a shock last week – apparently I am registered to vote as my polling card arrived while I was there. I seriously never remember registering to vote at any point, so unless it was automatically done with all the dealings I’ve had with other governmental bits over the past couple of years, or I’m starting to get a very juvenile case of Alzheimer’s. Either way, I’m still none too pushed to actually go out and vote on this Lisbon referendum thing. Both sides seem to have been doing nothing but mudslinging for the entire campaign. Although when I brought up the subject of my polling card with my mom, she did inform me that I was the only member of the household who was actually going to be able to vote since she never registered. Also, over the summer there had been canvassers calling to the house specifically looking for me, obviously to try and convince me otherwise to vote in some way or another.

Hmmm, this gives me a thought…

Will? Can I come crash down here during all future voting seasons?

So, from time to time on forums I visit, gaming forums in particular, we get asked what our favourite games are, and then in more detail, favourite storylines, favourite levels, and other related crap.

But, since I can never keep tabs on which are my favourite of "x", I’ve decided it’s time for me to sit down and give each weapon I claim to love an honest review, and then grade them based on the scores I give it. As such, here are my Top 20 Video Game Weapons. According to me, anyway.

All of these weapons, I have played the games with which they appear. I have played with the weapon being mentioned in the game. If I haven’t played it, or played with it, it doesn’t appear here. Also, when thinking back about good weapons, I have to actually be able to think "Yea, that was a good weapon" off of the top of my head. No huge list of every single weapon in the game so I can grade and review each and every one. I’m not that sad.

Each weapon is graded based on four factors: Pure Power, namely how much of the enemy I’m disintegrating while using the weapon; Sheer Epicness, how important or bragging-worthy the weapon itself is; Uniqueness, if it’s a completely new thang, or just a rehash of the game old boring gun you get in every game; and Lovability, as in how much I used the weapon at every opportunity and couldn’t put it down until it was either taken from me somehow, or I ran out of ammo.

Without further ado, let’s get to the point.

#20 – Torque Bow – Gears of War 2

One of the more unique weapons in the game, the Torque Bow combines the long range and pure damage of the sniper rifle, with an explosive warhead and a unique delivery system. While it does lack any form of scope, forcing you to rely on the miniscule zoom provided by aiming, some of the sickest shots possible can be pulled off if you use it well, including the odd two-for-one or even more.

Power 8 – Epic 7 – Unique 6 – Love 4

Total 25/40

#19 – Dart Gun – Fallout 3

While most would consider large, powerful weapons to be synonymous with Fallout 3, sometimes it’s one of the smallest guns that can be the most deadly. The Dart Gun is one of the custom weapons you must find schematics for and create out of bits and bobs, but that does not undermine it’s usefulness. First off, it’s a silent weapon, meaning anyone who plays sneakily can make great use of it. While it’s base damage is horribly low, it has a secondary poison effect dealing more damage over the next few seconds to the target. And most importantly of all, a single hit from the gun instantly cripples both of the target’s legs, reducing them to a limp, and in the case of large powerful quick foes like the Deathclaw and Yao Guai – rendering them essentially moot, since you’ve removed their most powerful lunging attacks.

Power 2 – Epic 4 – Unique 9 – Love 10

Total 25/40

#18 – Force-a-Nature – Team Fortress 2

How can a humble hunting shotgun be such an insane weapon when in the hands of the Scout? The Force-a-Nature packs a huge wallop at close range, as well as the added effect of a vast amount of knockback, giving it two thumbs up for damage and stopping power. As well as being able to be used to propel yourself even further when jumping around like the crazy sugar-hyped baseball addict you are!

Power 6 – Epic 5 – Unique 4 – Love 10

Total 25/40

#17 – Assault Rifle – Left 4 Dead

Two words – well, actually really it’s just one word – Powershot. Your best friend when it comes to dealing with the Witch, and a great way to knock a huge chunk off of the Tank in a hurry! Other than that, quite frankly, it’s really meh.

Power 4 – Epic 6 – Unique 8 – Love 8

Total 26/40

#16 – Spartan Laser – Halo 3

Normally, lasers aren’t too much trouble. They shoot some red stuff at you and it hurts. Well, let’s instead give a huge over-sized laser to a futuristic super-soldier and let them rain red death down on the masses. Now we’re talking some good laser. Of course, it does have it’s drawbacks of taking an age to charge up, inability to track enemies, as well as instantly becoming the target of all enemy fire as soon as you pick it up,

Power 10 – Epic 7 – Unique 4 – Love 5

Total 26/40

#15 – Blade – Prototype

Sure, it just looks like a big sword coming out of your arm. But when that big sword is capable of cutting through everything, then it becomes interesting. Coupled with making all the other powers look like either complete garbage or only useful in certain situations, and you get my drift!

Power 6 – Epic 8 – Unique 4 – Love 9

Total 27/40

#14 – Silenced G3 – Call of Duty 4

I tell you, a silenced G3 in Call of Duty 4 online playing Hardcore, especially with UAV Jammer and Dead Silence, it one of the most fun ways to play the game. As long as you are a sneaky bastard, like myself, and stay in the corners and out of sight of the enemy, you can have an absolute ball. While it may not be too powerful, the gun is whisper quiet and can take people down in one or two shots. I once remember sitting in a corner on Overgrow hidden by a bush for the whole length of a Hardcore Team Deathmatch game. Sure, I only picked up three kills, but no-one managed to find me at all!

Power 3 – Epic 6 – Unique 8 – Love 10

Total 27/40

#13 – Holy Hand Grenade – Worms

What much else is there to say about it? It’s a big-ass grenade that blows up, taking everyone in the nearby vicinity away with it. Although it does have the tendency to be a grenade, and even a slight miscalculation in your throw can prove very costly.

Power 10 – Epic 8 – Unique 6 – Love 4

Total 28/40

#12 – Malediction – EVE Online

While it’s not a weapon, per se, EVE is a bit more about the ships themselves than the loadouts they have. Built primarily as a tackler, the Malediction is one of the fastest ships in the game, particularly when fitted with a microwarpdrive and the right skill training. Capable of locking down targets, and harass them until larger gang forces arrive, or just chipping away at the enemy for a kill, the Male is one of my favourites. The fact it goes 13.5 AU/s in warp is just the icing on the cake!

Power 5 – Epic 6 – Unique 8 – Love 10

Total 29/40

#11 – Grenade Launcher – Call of Duty 4

While most people would probably shun the inclusion of such a weapon in a list like this, I say one thing – if they put the weapon in the game, balancing it out by making you use your first Perk to get two shots, and those people just know how to use the gun, then they are not idiots noob tubing. Deal with it. Besides, it’s fun running around with Overkill and two launcher guns, so that you get four shots, which is four near-guaranteed kills. Just don’t expect to make friends anytime soon.

Power 8 – Epic 2 – Unique 9 – Love 10

Total 29/40

#10 – Aura Sphere – Pokémon

Again, not exactly a weapon but then again how else are you supposed to fight in the Pokémon games? One of the moves added to the pool in Generation IV was Aura Sphere. A Special-based Fighting-type move that never misses, but unlike all the other guaranteed hit moves, it has a base power of 90 rather than 60. Coupled with the fact that the Pokémon that learn it all have a very high Special Attack stat, and Aura Sphere starts to completely decimate the enemy!

Power 8 – Epic 7 – Unique 6 – Love 9

Total 30/40

#9 – Particle Cannon – Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour

Normally, a beam of particles isn’t all that much of a big deal. How about then you turn them into a cannon. Still no? How about when you get stronger cannons that are built for half the price when you’re the Superweapon General? OK, what about 140 of them? While it may seem like a tame superweapon by most game standards, spamming them is a very effective tactic. Rain pinky-purple death!

Power 7 – Epic 8 – Unique 5 – Love 10

Total 30/40

#8 – Plasma Cutter – Dead Space

Never before has the most basic starting weapon been all you ever need. In Dead Space, the Plasma Cutter is arguably the only gun you need to use to beat the game (going so far as to actually give an achievement for doing so!) as it’s simple shots, be they horizontal or vertical, can make quick work of any enemy you face, particularly when upgraded to the maximum. While each individual shot may not be the best, overall in the right hands, it can be used with deadly efficiency.

Power 4 – Epic 10 – Unique 7 – Love 10

Total 31/40

#7 – Ripper – Dead Space

When it comes to creating as much gore as possible, you’d look to a saw of some sort. That’s where the Ripper comes in. Launching remote saw blades that tear apart and quickly dismember anything that comes your way, you’d be hard pressed to downplay this weapon and weak and unwieldy. Proper aiming makes for quick work of nearby foes, particularly if you are swarmed by many foes at once and want a quick escape. Who needs a saw on a bayonet?

Power 6 – Epic 9 – Unique 9 – Love 7

Total 31/40

#6 – Gravity Gun – Half-Life 2

It is one of the main signatures of Half-Life. Nothing is more satisfying that killing your enemy with a cardboard box that you picked up with the Gravity Gun and shot straight at their face. Chopping through zombies in Ravenholm with saw blades fired with deadly accuracy is heaven. And it all gets better when infused with dark energy, making it actually useful when there’s no junk around to fire at things any larger than a headcrab!

Power 5 – Epic 10 – Unique 10 – Love 7

Total 32/40

#5 – Homing Rocket Launcher – Crackdown

In Crackdown, there are two types of rocket launcher. The normal, boring one; and the badass homing one. There are many ways that this description can be understated, so I’ll just put it like this: once you find this weapon, you really have no reason to switch to another ever again. It really is that awesome. Especially when you can start using it to juggle things around like cars or dead bodies!

Power 8 – Epic 10 – Unique 6 – Love 10

Total 34/40

#4 – Tesla Cannon – Fallout 3

Yes, it is a big ass cannon that fires a huge electrical burst with high damage. Yes, it is that bad ass. Yes, each shot is powered by a single Electron Charge Cell. And yes, it would be much better if we could use it much, much earlier than the final mission…

Power 10 – Epic 10 – Unique 6 – Love 8

Total 34/40

#3 – Banana Bomb – Worms

It’s soft. It’s squishy. It’s yellow. It’s exploding fruit. What else do you want?!?!

Power 10 – Epic 9 – Unique 7 – Love 10

Total 36/40

#2 – Scoped Gauss Rifle – Fallout 3

Introduced with the Operation: Anchorage expansion, the Scoped Gauss Rifle is one of the best all-round weapons available in the game. With a high damage capability, huge knockback on criticals, and a high zooming scope allowing for great free-aim shots, the Gauss Rifle can easily become your primary and only weapon given you have enough Microfusion Cells! The main drawbacks are the fact that as a completely unique weapon, the only way to repair it is via NPCs, which does cost quite a bit of money. Also, it does become considerably less effective the higher-levelled you are. However, it can still be quite an excellent damage source, even against the toughest of opponents!

Power 8 – Epic 9 – Unique 10 – Love 10

Total 37/40

#1 – Concrete Donkey – Worms

Nothing, and I seriously mean NOTHING can compare to a big huge concrete donkey just dropping from the sky and absolutely decimating everything in it’s path downwards, leaving nothing bug a big huge gaping hole in the landscape. And hopefully a lot of dead worms!

Power 10 – Epic 10 – Unique 10 – Love 10

Total 40/40

Well, there you have it. A run-down of my Top 20 Video Game Weapons. Since there will be more games out in the future with more weapons that I’ll love, I’ll pop up a complete list and update it as necessary. I also hope that you do agree with me somewhat!

The following is a test of epicness. If you can successfully pass this test, then you are perfectly qualified to refer to yourself as “Epic” on the Internet, or at the very least around me. Try it out and see how well you do! Make everyone else you know try it! Seriously!

Test of Epicness

Candidates have two hours with which to complete the test. Candidates must answer four of the six questions. Candidates must have previously filled out form PH41L, giving consent that in the event that they fail, their personal details are published on the Internet, for all to make use of and laugh at the failing candidates.

1. Encompassing standard distribution and chaos theory, calculate the following:
   
   
   
   1. The probability that there will be ten green bottles sitting on any given wall.
   
   
   2. If and when one green bottle will accidentally fall.
   
   
   
   

   For the context of this question, you may substitute: fat sausages sizzling in a pan, one of which goes pop, another of which goes bang; bottles of beer on a wall, one of which is taken down and passed around.



2. Explain the reasoning and mechanics as to why, despite access to several hundred television channels:
   
   
   
   1. There is never anything on to watch when you set an evening aside to relax curled up on the sofa watching the television.
   
   
   2. When there is something interesting on to watch, it is always on a channel you could still get on the most basic subscription package.
   
   
   
   


3. Illustrate using a chart or other graph, your level of surprise when the following events occur on time:
   
   
   
   1. Your train arrives
   
   
   2. Your doctor’s appointment
   
   
   3. Your alarm goes off
   
   
   4. Your overpaid taxes refund goes through
   
   
   5. Your bus arrives
   
   
   6. Your boss arrives at work
   
   
   
   


4. Assuming standard distribution, illustrate on a Venn diagram, those out of a group of 100 gamers who are:
   
   
   
   1. 10 years of age
   
   
   2. American
   
   
   3. Only capable of conversing through expletive language
   
   
   4. 10 years of age, American, and only capable of conversing through expletive language
   
   
   5. Female
   
   
   
   


5. Using Darwin’s theory of evolution, and encompassing the history of evolution of man, explain:
   
   
   
   1. Mary Harney
   
   
   2. Brian Cowen
   
   
   3. Ryan Tubridy
   
   
   4. Bertie Ahern
   
   
   
   


6. In regards to traffic congestion, and utter confusion and frustration of motorists; compare and discuss the “before” and “after” scenarios of the following events:
   
   
   
   1. The Port Tunnel opened
   
   
   2. The M50 toll bridge became “freeflow”
   
   
   3. Work began on converting the M50 off-ramp roundabouts to “freeflow” spaghetti junctions
   
   
   
   

Good luck!

You may or may not have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet on the whole text-based writing front lately. It doesn’t mean that I’ve been completely reclusive and cooped up in a corner in the living room the whole time. I’ve just been really engrossed with playing, recording, and LP’ing Pokémon SoulSilver.

There’s been an awful lot of playing, a lot of editing, rendering and definitely a lot of uploading. On average, each video takes about 12-13 minutes of gameplay, about 20 minutes raw editing, between an hour and a half to two hours of rendering, and depending on where I am and what sort of connection I have, anywhere between seven minutes and four hours to upload to YouTube.

The result is this:

I’ll be back amongst the living soon though, don’t worry! Especially with college starting up again at the end of the month. I really should work on a nice backlog of gameplay in the meantime…