Operationabletastic!

Well, who called it? I did in fact have problems with my computer. After 5 or so days of wrestling with my system, I found out that my new hard drive was gibbled. It tended to crash whatever was writing to it. Diagnostics, formatters, and, oh, WINDOWS. I'm currently installed on my old drive, and am waiting for a response to my RMA request. No biggie. I was pretty devastated when I started having problems, but I'm over it.

The computer is running and performing GREAT. Whereas I had Call of Duty 2 playing on absolute minimum specs on my old system with a poor framerate, I'm not running it at 1024x768 with full graphics. It runs beutifully, I haven't even noticed a FPS drop in some of the more intense moments. And, the best part... When I tab out and check my performance stats, I'm only using HALF my resources! I dunno how accurate that was, but still... I'm blown away. In the Half-Life 2 stress test, I averaged 120FPS, while it occasionally spiked above 200 and even peaked at 300 near the ending sequence. I'm thrilled.

Happy fragging ahead!!
-Cril

We just had to ask
Maybe some one out of heaven
Would hear us down here

We couldn't bear to stand
How the people leave us waiting
For something up there

Oh, why did you leave?
Why won't you come?
And save us again?

Come back to us spiders
Come uncrush my hand
Let peace and beauty reign
And bring us love again, like you can

Moby - Spiders

Do it wrong, not at all, or do it right...

w00tage! The Wacom artZII tablet arrived this Thursday! It great. Even though it was used, developed to work in DOS and only cost me $100 it has both pressure and tilt functions. It's not quite as sensitive as the Intuos I've used, but this perfect for me. Sure, sometime down the road I plan on buying my own new one, but this will do me just fine for a while to come. I promptly proceeded to 'test' it out over the next two days, and here's the result.

It took me 7 hrs or so to do, painted on top of this Cowboy Bebop scene. Not bad, considering I suck. A 1600x900 version can also be found here for all your crappy wallpaper needs. The shadows at the feet aren't that great, but I'm pleased with the blending of the ground from light to dark. This was my first attempt at drawing decent buildings. It went okay, but I think the shading on the right side is a little too dark or blue or something. This was also my first time painting without a normal colour palette. If I was smart about it, I would've done it in black and white first, so I could avoid messing up my hues and whatnot. Oh well, it was an experience. As for the character himself, I think his neck is too long and his collar is messed up. *Shrugs* Well, the origional wasn't very high quality, so it was hard to go off of. Besides, I'm not even good enough to draw my own pictures, so this'll have to do.

On Friday I had a parcel arrive from home with some needed items. Ah, a second pillow. Now my head can rest at the right height and everything. I also got some baking from home... I'd mentioned it, but I didn't actually expect them to try mailing me food. Oh well, it's all good. You can't beat home-made baking. Especially when you're in a snacking mood.

The computer should hopefully arrive this week, which means nothing but a FORMAT! So, if there aren't any posts for the next little while, I'll be otherwise occupied with my machine. Either reinstalling things I've lost, playing Call of Duty 2 again with decent graphics, or (most likely) I'll be having problems with the machine I can't seem to fix. 'Cuz y'know... That's how it always goes.
-Cril

Gummed up, brain dead and can't decide
you can't pray enough, you can't hide
You can be cool or you can cry
Do it wrong
Not it all
Or do it right

No one owes you, no one's to blame
Save for bad genes or DNA
Ask your conscience the why and how
Do it then
Do it when
But, do it now

Yoko Kanno & The Seatblets - Ask DNA

Incoming!

Argh! In the next week or so, I'm expecting to receive my tablet, a parcel from home, and my NEW COMPUTAR!! The comp is temporarily delayed because the credit card I used got declined... They'll be receiving a call tomorrow to get it straightened out. Oddly enough, though, I'm most excited for my tablet. Sure, the computer is screaming hot and cost me $1500, but there's something about the tablet... I don't know what it is, but getting to use my uncle's was a great experience. It made painting a whole new ballgame...

In other news, my clan got a CS1.6 server! w00t! 209.247.212.139:27015 I'm so glad... It's felt like we haven't had any direction or purpose over the last little while. At least with a pub we'll be able tog et together and play. That's all I need, playing with my clanmates is one of the best things to do.

Anyhoo, someone from my clan community started a thread in which we listed 5 things we're grateful for. Simple topic, but it's not visited enough. Here's what I said:

-----
I'm grateful for being born into a great family. It's an astonishing gift to be part of a group that will do so much for so little when you ask for it.

I'm grateful for humour. Smiles are beautiful things, and in a world where everything seems to be blowing up, falling down, wasted away and ever increasingly desperate, humour is a simple key to escaping our problems and being able to laugh at ourselves.

I'm grateful for music. It keeps my sanity, loses it, and keeps me content inbetween while I'm not quite sure where it's going or headed.

I'm grateful for all other forms of art: Paintings, poems, novels, sketches, rymes, storytelling, calligraphy, abstract, etc. Art is a great force that opens a corridor into the creator's mind. It depitcs things that will stretch us, helps us make new connections, and causes us to redescover our world time and time again in a differant way.

I'm grateful for my weaknesses. Sure, you'll probably hear more people appreciate their strenghths and talents, but I'm more thankful for where I come short. Without weaknesses, life would be pointless - No challenges and nothing to improve. They keep me forever aware of how incredibly mortal, naive and insignificant I am, and help me to value my time here all the more.

And just to break the rules and add a sixth, I'm grateful for you idiots and weirdos in the Friday Night Firefight Clan. No kidding, I wouldn't trade my time with you guys for anything. It's been fun, it's been serious, and it's been downright bizarre. I enjoy every moment of it.
-----
-Cril

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

The moment I let go of it was
The moment I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it was
The moment I touched down

How about no longer being masochistic
How about remembering your divinity
How about unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How about not equating death with stopping

Alanis Morissette - Thank U

Just to check out the late-night record shop...

Well, how 'bout that. I got a blog here so that I can comment on a blog I'm following. He could've made it so that anyone could comment, but noooo... So I signed up, and figured I might as well keep my own blog at the same time for amusement's sake. We'll see where this goes.

In the mean time, this was a pretty good week for the few shows I follow. I really enjoyed Battlestar Galactica's space scene. I love they way the starfighters don't stick to the conventional means of movement (Always flying pointed forward). I was especially impressed with the way their strafing worked, it was much more effective and fun to watch than Star Wars and other such sci-fi battles. Lost was pretty good, Echo had a pretty cool backstory. I'm kind of sick with Charlie's haroin addiction plot, though. I think they've used it enough.
-Cril

I can get a job I can pay the phone bills
I can cut the lawn, cut my hair, cut off my cholesterol
I can work overtime, I can work in a mine
I can do it all for you,
But I don't want to.

Barenaked Ladies - Enid