HD Advance has arrived!

Well, it got here like last week, but I’ve been neglecting my blog duties   So, I slapped in a Seagate 160GB hard drive into my PS2 and booted up HD Advance; you can hold down any button on the PS2 controller while the disc is booting to place it into server mode, which is the mode you need to be in to transfer ISO files from your PC to the PS2.  So, I started up my copy of hl_dumb and began the process of sending files on over.

Now, the first little annoyance with HD Advance is that you cannot change the default IP address (at least not that I’ve seen).  My home network does not use the 192.168.x.x scheme, so I had to assign a second IP to my PC’s NIC.  Second irritation is that the transfer rate is SLOW; I get about 1Mbps on a 1Gbps network.  WTF?  Even better, the hl_dumb program doesn’t recognize my PS2 hard drive when I connect it directly to the PC, so I’m stuck sending the ISO files over the network, taking an hour to an hour and a half (nearly three hours for Rock Band!) to send files over the line.

But last night, I played several games directly from the hard drive; and the speed was AWESOME!  (See, I even used all caps there!).  The wait times are practically non-existant, which improves gameplay ten fold.  Unfortunately the PS2 doesn’t have a way to reset the device with the remote, so I still have to hit the reset button to restart HD Advance and choose another game, but not having to swap discs is well worth that little bit of effort.

Unfortunately you can’t save your games to the hard drive, which makes sense considering how HD Advance works.  It’s also not hard to fill a hard drive up; I’ve only got about 50GB left and I’ve only copied a few of my many games.  The good thing is that you can simply put in a new hard drive and then swap your hard drives as needed.  For example, put your RPGs on one hard drive and your action games on another, then swap them when you want to switch genres.

I think I’m still going to buy a mod chip, even if it is just for shits and giggles.

Canadian Post Office Sucks

Canada may have awesome ballet, but their post office is horrendous.  I ordered a PS2 boot disc from a company in Canada; the disc is called HD Advance and it allows you to boot up your PS2 and copy your game discs to an internal hard drive for faster play and no more disc swapping.  Of course Sony is all pissy about it, but screw them; my RE4 disc looks pretty bad, so I had to back the thing up or buy a new copy.  So anyway, the post office in Canada gets the city wrong on the package, but the zip code is correct.  My local post office, full of geniuses, hold the package for a week and then ship it back to Canada.

Ok, I’ll be fair, the USPS sucks shit as well.

So I call the Canadian Post Office and what do they tell me?  Well, nothing, since I wasn’t the sender.  So now my package is apparently back in Manitoba and the company wants to bill me $20 for return service.

Actually, everybody sucks right now.  I may just bite the bullet and buy a damn mod chip and create copies of my games from ISO files.  I haven’t soldered in like 20 years.  There are a few that don’t need soldering, and my requirements are actually pretty lax (only need to play backup discs), so maybe one of those will work.

Canada.  Somebody started a country and no one showed up.

This is hysterical

The sad part is that I think this graph is very accurate.

http://graphjam.com/2009/03/05/song-chart-memes-outrageous-statement/

Wolford’s Law

I know this won’t actually take off, but I’m going to give it a shot anyway   I’d like to propose a new eponymous law, Wolford’s Law.  This law states that in any debate over the existence of God, the probability that an argument based on the anthropic principle will be presented increases to one.

It is also assumed that anyone who presents an anthropic argument has already lost the debate.

So, I’m sick…no really!

So, I got a shitty diagnosis last week; it could have been worse, but I was really hoping it would have been better.  I’ve been suffering for more than a year now with chronic back pain.  I didn’t think too much of it, but a few months ago it got so bad that I could barely walk.  So, I bit the bullet and went to a doctor.  I thought that this doctor would be pretty good since he’s a relatively recent graduate of WVU, but turns out he’s one of those alternative medicine freaks and said I should see a chiropractor; uh, yeah, I’d rather do something that works.  He also couldn’t seem to remember that no accident preceded my back pain, it just sorta happened.  I got a prescription for Perkoset, which helped quite a bit (not my hip, however, that still hurt), but it makes me groggy and also insomniatic, terrible combination (think mental blue balls).  Plus, I may feel better, but I’m not better.  Kinda like what “alternative” medicine does via the placebo effect.

So I get x-rays of my back and hip; immediately I get referred to a rheumatologist .  Apparently, my regular doctor saw something that wasn’t expected.  I generally feel better when I move around as opposed to sitting, which isn’t consisten with something such as arthritis, but arthritic changes were noted as was spinal curvature.  So I go off to the rheumatologist last week and get to hear all about what’s likely wrong with me.

The doctor gave me an exam, measuring how far I could bend and such, then talked about my x-ray report.  What was seen was a fusing of my hip bones into one mass and the constriction of my vertebrae; basically my spine is also fusing together, called “bamboo spine” in an effort to make it perhaps feel as if I’m green and saving the planet or something.  It’s a condition called ankylosing spondylitis; it’s genetic, there is no cure, and it is degenerative, meaning it will only get worse with time.

So the treatment for AS is basically the same as for RA: I’m on an NSAID called indomethacin, and already have seen the side-effects.  One of the side effects is the hindrance of the production of prostaglandins, which line my digestive tract and stomach, which can lead to bleeding (peptic) ulcers and perforations.  Nice.  It also makes me dizzy as hell, which is kind’ve fun I guess.  It also can lead to psychosis and other psychiatric problems, turning me into a raving lunatic I guess.  This could actually be even funner come to think of it.  And of course, the NSAIDS help, but they can’t stop this stuff and they can’t kill all of the pain.  My hip still hurts like hell and I’ve some trouble walking.  I went to the mall yesterday and had to stop and sit about half a dozen times.  It was so bad that I couldn’t even stand in front of Victoria’s Secret long enough to get enough mental imagery for an all-night spank fest.   Sad.

So, while things could be much worse, it looks as if I have more problems to look forward to.  AS can lead to kidney problems, heart problems, lung problems, few other things.  Plus, if I understand it correctly, AS is also an autoimmune disease, so I’m more subject to pathogens.  Oh, and it also makes me tired from what I’ve read.

Ok then, rant is officially over.  No more bitching, won’t fix anything.

Stupid bible quote of the week

Jesus doesn’t want you to pray in public; he said so, very clearly.

“Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men….But thou, when thou prayest, enter into the closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret”.

This is from Mathew 6, verses 5 and 6.

Macs: No keyboard needed

This is fucking hilarious.  It’s a spoof, but I think makes a pretty good point.  I’ve no problem with people who enjoy Macs; indeed, the Mac OS has a few features that are pretty useful.  The problem I have with them, however, is that if you want to do anything beyond simple tasks, you’re pretty shit out of luck.  Anyone who knows me will know that I’m a code monkey at heart; I write a LOT of software, usually integration apps to make my software work together.  I’m not much on this new hip style/culture that Apple is trying to push.  It failed before and will fail again.  Ever notice in the Apple ads that they don’t actually mention the price of a Macbook or any of its specs?  There’s a reason; they’re over-priced and full of crappy hardware.  Apple was ass pounded by the IBM revolution for many reasons, one of which was the low cost of hardware and the ubiquity of said hardware; I could get a hard drive from anybody for my PC.  For my Mac, however, I’d have to contact Apple and pay double the price.

So, enjoy:

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

I am a Heathen!

Your morality is 0% in line with that of the bible.

Damn you heathen! Your book learnin’ has done warped your mind. You shall not be invited next time I sacrifice a goat.

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Vaccinations and You

Let’s get something straight, very quickly: vaccinations save lives.  Diseases responsible for the deaths of millions of people have all but become eradicated through vaccinations.  Polio, a disease which will likely kill you (if you do survive, you’re guaranteed to be disfigured), is already known to your immune system; this bacterial assassin is simply not able to even make you sick.

Unfortunately, stupid people such as Jenny “look at my titties” McCarthy and Jim “I was the white guy on In Living Color” Carey have big mouths, out of which poor nothing but ignorance and outright stupidity.  They are convinced that vaccines cause autism.  This has been debunked, of course, but why let a little thing such as evidence get in the way of your pet causes, right?

In a beautiful take down, Dr. David Gorski has illustrated the history of the movement and shows why it is wrong.  I recommend that you read this, memorize it, and then verbally berate any tool who refuses vaccinations for their kids.

My son is vaccinated and the one on the way will also be vaccinated.  Surprise surprise, my son is not autistic; a pain in the ass, but not autistic.

You bitches better STFU!

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

1 Tim. 2:11-14

Courtesy of Richard Dawkin’s site.  This is a lovely little bit of misogyny from the holey beeble.  And I better not see any of you whores comment; if I do I’ll fucking stone you!  GOD LUVS YOU THIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS MUCH!