DogNose Data Werkz

Happy New Year. The new year made me think of something: backups. So, I tell you, dear reader, please back up your data. How, you ask. Get an external harddrive with USB connector and use Windows’ built-in utility. It’s quite simple and automated.

Do it.

I’m backing up as we speak.

I finally broke down and started using the My Documents folder. I had resisted for many years, but I finally realized that keeping everything in one folder is easier. Even Warlords Battlecry II—yes, I only play two-, make that three-year-old games—puts the save games in My Documents for ease of backup. I just hate doing what the computer tells me to.

Sunday before last (Nov 21) I finished revamping the Green Party of Texas Website. What a relief. This project went much more slowly than BCGP, mostly because it’s a bigger site, and I did more to redesign it.

Before

After

Soon (after finals) I’m going to write a longer description of the project, which I’m sure you’re all dying to read.

Comments welcome.

That’s right. I solved it. Now you try.

Oh, and I’ve made it to level 20 on Tontie ver 1.

Well, it seems this week was a good one for video games. Halo 2 came out last Tuesday, with a record-setting $125 million in first day sales. Rocky and I played it Friday night for about five hours, and I must say it’s quite good. It’s very similar to the first game, which I expected, since the first was so good to begin with. It still has that “console feel” that I wish could somehow go away. I’m so used to pointing with a mouse that using a slow, imprecise thumb stick just doesn’t cut it.

The new features are very cool. My favorites are dual wield, which allows you to use two different weapons at once (and fire them independently), and since Halo is big on having you make choices, duel wield limits you by removing the ability to throw grenades.

The new weapons are pretty cool as well. The game overhauls some of the old weapons, and adds a whole new array of alien ones. The rocket launcher, for example, gains the ability to lock onto targets (great against Banshees). The best new Covenant weapon is sword that the Elites use. Damn, but that sword is sweet.

It’s also really fun to jump onto a passing Ghost glider, punch the pilot, and jump behind the controls. You can do this with most, if not all, vehicles. The Warthog handles better, all the alien vehicles have “boost” jets, and the Banshee can do tricks.

The environment and vehicles are much more interactive (and distructable) as well, which is a welcome addition, although you now have to watch out that your ride doesn’t explode before you reach your destination.

There are more cutscenes and several of them revolve around the Covenant, which makes you sympathize with them a bit, and though the voice acting is good, it seems kind of strange to hear totally human voices coming out of those strange creatures. They should have distorted the voices a bit, like they do with the Covenant grunts.

Overall, me likey.

Half-Life 2 came out today. I bet it’s pretty sweet. I played the first (back in ’98, was it?), and it was really cool. I have a feeling it’s going to get better reviews than DOOM 3. I feel bad for DOOM 3, because DOOM II was so important to gaming (an me), and though the third installment really pushed the bar engine-wise, it didn’t bring in the reviews that it could/should have. I’ll have to wait until I get one of them slick Radeons before I can play either, but it will play them, and it will be good.

Everquest II also came out today. Not that I’m going to be buying that any time soon. Althought I had considered reopening my GS3, make that GS4, account.

Well, it’s a little late, but I just remembered some of the cool anti-Bush and anti-war videos that were released in the lead up to the election, and I thought I should share them. You can find most of these for free at launch.yahoo.com and other sources.

“Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums” by A Perfect Circle is a very cool animated video. Good job, Maynard.

“Imagine” by A Perfect Circle: yes, it’s a cover of John Lennon circa 1971. Now, you may be thinking, why would they do that? And they made it all dark and moody. But that’s why I like it. I can’t stand covers that sound just like the original. A cover should be a different take on a song, which this is. Like Gary Jules’ cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World.”

“Mosh” by Eminem. Thank God we have Eminem on our side!

Enjoy!

Well today was my first performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Josephine. Only 19 to go! It went pretty well except I tripped while running up the stairs after being on stage for all of 4.3 seconds. I didn’t fall, but still. And I didn’t have time to put on my jacket for Potiphar. Sadly that was the only “costume malfunction” of the night.

Anyway, go see it if you want. I’m Potiphar and Zebulon (one of Joseph’s brothers.) Turns out that Potiphar is billed fifth and Missy even says my name during curtain call. Woo. Tickets are $20 or $12 for students. It’s a fun show.

Well, well, dear reader. November 1st marked two whole months since this site launched, and I am pleased with the results.

In September, with just the one email I sent out to friends, I managed to get 120 unique visitors (although about 10 of those were me checking the look of the site on different computers), and 701 visits, which means that most people visited the site six times that month. Google and the other spiders also paid a visit, and DogNose started showing up in the search engines by the end of the month; two people actually found my site through Yahoo! and Google, which I never expected. I managed to think of eight things to post about, which is pretty good.

In October I had 96 unique visitors and a total of 901 visits. I only made two posts, which is well below what I intended, but I kind of forgot about the blog because of school and Web projects. I finally put something in the Web Design section (a tiny PHP library), but I left the picture of Blackie, which was intended to be a placeholder, because I like it. Fifteen people found me from the search engines, which is very cool. Hopefully they found my links useful.

I also had the “honor” of getting my first spam comments. I woke up one morning only to find some Viagra adds posted in the comments section of two of my posts. Later I got some gambling ones. So I had to hold comments in queue and approve each one. I have since blocked the spammer so you’re free to post comments (hint, hint).

The future? I still have some kinks to work out in WordPress, but I am pleased with it overall. I plan on expanding the other sections of the site by adding articles and code snippets where appropriate, but don’t worry, I’ll still work on the non-computer section (i.e. the blog). I hope to post about five to ten times in the month.

Phew. Well, that’s all for now.

Uhg. Not again.

I was actually hoping that Bush would win the popular vote but lose the electoral college. How sweet would that be? Well, I got half of my wish.

I’ve read and heard, both before and after the election, that a lot of the “rewards” from the past four years will be reaped in the next four, so Bush deserves to be in office and bear that.

I truely do hope that Bush doesn’t end up being as bad as 49% of us think he is. “I told you so” isn’t worth losing some of our most precious (Constitutional) rights, racking up a huge debt that I’ll be paying off for much of my life, being drafted, and making the rest of the world dislike and/or hate us (more).

I am a bit worried about the Supreme Court, but only time will tell.

Cheer up. Michael Moore won’t be slitting his wrists any time soon.