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Back and Forth
3 min read
Been a long time since I last posted anything here. I wonder if anyone noticed.
Lately I've been dipping in and out of ruts like a repetitive roller coaster. One week, I'll be feeling alright, and the next, I'll be all upset about something, although I usually keep it to myself. (Unless it's tech related, then I'm scrambling to find answers and live help if I can't solve it myself. Usually.)
This week has been sort of a mixture. I've been getting hardly any sleep because of a toothache that won't leave me alone, and the fact that I've gotten back into playing Magic: The Gathering with a local group of friends - and since I'm not supposed to have people at "my" place, I'm frequently out late (midnight or later) dueling or playing video games, or just taking advantage of the closest Internet connection since I still lack one at home.
The drive home is short, but I always want to stay up and work on some sort of project, like cleaning clutter off of my desktop computer's terabyte hard drive (which recently had a whopping 287 MB of free space on the primary partition). I'm usually in bed around 1 or 2 AM, having gotten nary a thing done. Rinse and repeat the next day, with minor variances.
And I'm under pressure, from various sources (myself included), to resume taking classes at the local college. I want to finish, I really do, but it's hard to work up the motivation to reapply when the last three semesters I attended ended in spectacular failure, dropping my GPA to below 2.0 and causing me to lose eligibility for H.O.P.E. I refuse to take out loans, so all I really have left is my own cash and the oddball generous grant (if I apply for any).
And speaking of money, I'm not so hot there either. Over a year has passed since I was "temporarily" hired at a local church as a janitor, and I'm still there. I've almost given up on finding other work because ... well, Cochran's a small town and none of my searches have been successful. Scouting the surrounding counties frightens me for several reasons, not the least of which includes an unreliable car that I don't even actually own, a severe lack of social skills, and a concern for unfamiliarity with varied sorts of work and "normal" work hours (40 hrs. per week when I'm used to a maximum of 15? Yeah, that'll take some adjusting).
Meanwhile, I'm almost done paying for repairs to the car's transmission, but I'm still paying a hospital bill from LAST YEAR in tiny bites. And that toothache? Yeah, I'm probably about to see a dentist about it, but I have concerns for its impact on my financial welfare. I'm dangerously close to going broke, so much so that I would almost rather suffer through the tooth problem than fork up my final Benjamins.
I don't know exactly how I got into this mess, but one thing is certain: it's going to take a LOT of work to get back out.
Lately I've been dipping in and out of ruts like a repetitive roller coaster. One week, I'll be feeling alright, and the next, I'll be all upset about something, although I usually keep it to myself. (Unless it's tech related, then I'm scrambling to find answers and live help if I can't solve it myself. Usually.)
This week has been sort of a mixture. I've been getting hardly any sleep because of a toothache that won't leave me alone, and the fact that I've gotten back into playing Magic: The Gathering with a local group of friends - and since I'm not supposed to have people at "my" place, I'm frequently out late (midnight or later) dueling or playing video games, or just taking advantage of the closest Internet connection since I still lack one at home.
The drive home is short, but I always want to stay up and work on some sort of project, like cleaning clutter off of my desktop computer's terabyte hard drive (which recently had a whopping 287 MB of free space on the primary partition). I'm usually in bed around 1 or 2 AM, having gotten nary a thing done. Rinse and repeat the next day, with minor variances.
And I'm under pressure, from various sources (myself included), to resume taking classes at the local college. I want to finish, I really do, but it's hard to work up the motivation to reapply when the last three semesters I attended ended in spectacular failure, dropping my GPA to below 2.0 and causing me to lose eligibility for H.O.P.E. I refuse to take out loans, so all I really have left is my own cash and the oddball generous grant (if I apply for any).
And speaking of money, I'm not so hot there either. Over a year has passed since I was "temporarily" hired at a local church as a janitor, and I'm still there. I've almost given up on finding other work because ... well, Cochran's a small town and none of my searches have been successful. Scouting the surrounding counties frightens me for several reasons, not the least of which includes an unreliable car that I don't even actually own, a severe lack of social skills, and a concern for unfamiliarity with varied sorts of work and "normal" work hours (40 hrs. per week when I'm used to a maximum of 15? Yeah, that'll take some adjusting).
Meanwhile, I'm almost done paying for repairs to the car's transmission, but I'm still paying a hospital bill from LAST YEAR in tiny bites. And that toothache? Yeah, I'm probably about to see a dentist about it, but I have concerns for its impact on my financial welfare. I'm dangerously close to going broke, so much so that I would almost rather suffer through the tooth problem than fork up my final Benjamins.
I don't know exactly how I got into this mess, but one thing is certain: it's going to take a LOT of work to get back out.
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... so yeah, how's it going?
2 min read
Obviously I haven't been on much lately. I mostly visit to read PettyArtist's and land-walker's Nuzlocke comics when they update.
I do have a Google Plus account if anybody's on there. PM for my profile if you're interested; I'm much more active there. My Tumblr's gotten a little attention as well.
I don't draw much. I've decided I'm not that good and I don't have much creativity in me these days anyway. I haven't published any writing since I finished BNAA Case 2, nor have I really worked on any WIPs.
I'm still working as a janitor at a local church. The pay is just enough for me to live off of, but optionals (such as Internet access at home) are out of my price range. I spend a lot of time sitting around after I finish work surfing the Internet, and I don't get home 'till late.
Still don't have an Associate's degree. I took time off last fall and I missed the boat for this spring semester. Maybe next fall I'll be back in college, but I'm not holding my breath.
---- Strife89
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
_______________
I do have a Google Plus account if anybody's on there. PM for my profile if you're interested; I'm much more active there. My Tumblr's gotten a little attention as well.
I don't draw much. I've decided I'm not that good and I don't have much creativity in me these days anyway. I haven't published any writing since I finished BNAA Case 2, nor have I really worked on any WIPs.
I'm still working as a janitor at a local church. The pay is just enough for me to live off of, but optionals (such as Internet access at home) are out of my price range. I spend a lot of time sitting around after I finish work surfing the Internet, and I don't get home 'till late.
Still don't have an Associate's degree. I took time off last fall and I missed the boat for this spring semester. Maybe next fall I'll be back in college, but I'm not holding my breath.
---- Strife89
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
_______________
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Ruby Nuzlocke + Fic
2 min read
I recently finished reading land-walker's Nuzlocke comic, and it gave me several ideas.
What with my sluggishness in getting Brendan Namron: Ace Attorney back into gear, I figure that maybe it's time to do something different, and use a Nuzlocke to tell the story of "my" Brendan's time as a child ... and, of course, a trainer.
BNAA uses Emerald's events as canon, but for personal reasons I'm going to use Ruby for the run. So, not everything will necessarily fit in with BNAA (especially if I write beyond case 2).
It won't be in script format, because everyone seems to hate that anyway. It won't be a comic, because I can't draw well. It will be boring, everyday prose.
And you know what? I think I'm gonna like it.
For now, I will focus on posting it on Fanfiction.net. It can be found through this link (tentative title is Forgotten Ruby).
---- Strife89
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
_______________
Same story, same characters, many versions. All are true. None are the same.
Some are funny. Some, a bore. Some, they say, are so much more.
If you feel inclined to follow my journey, then off we go. It's time to play the game.
One last time.
What with my sluggishness in getting Brendan Namron: Ace Attorney back into gear, I figure that maybe it's time to do something different, and use a Nuzlocke to tell the story of "my" Brendan's time as a child ... and, of course, a trainer.
BNAA uses Emerald's events as canon, but for personal reasons I'm going to use Ruby for the run. So, not everything will necessarily fit in with BNAA (especially if I write beyond case 2).
It won't be in script format, because everyone seems to hate that anyway. It won't be a comic, because I can't draw well. It will be boring, everyday prose.
And you know what? I think I'm gonna like it.
For now, I will focus on posting it on Fanfiction.net. It can be found through this link (tentative title is Forgotten Ruby).
---- Strife89
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
_______________
Same story, same characters, many versions. All are true. None are the same.
Some are funny. Some, a bore. Some, they say, are so much more.
If you feel inclined to follow my journey, then off we go. It's time to play the game.
One last time.
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Sonic Colors Review
6 min read
I first posted this on my Tumblr account. 
I called myself "The Noob Reviewer" for it. 
I never really got to play many 3D Sonic games. Borrowed Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2) once and returned it posthaste. Played Sonic Heroes in a store demo once (kinda liked it, but couldn't get used to the controls, plus it was my first time using an Xbox controller). Tried Sonic and the Secret Rings for about five minutes and put it down. And recently, I managed to play a copy of Sonic Unleashed (Wii version), which is okay, but I don't like the Wii Classic Controller control scheme, the load times are a bit much, and there's way too much tedium in there (the werehog stages, the temple thing, etc.) plus the cutscenes were just badly scripted/voiced. Combine this with Sega's reputation for churning out horrible Sonic games over the past near-decade (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, anyone?), and I was ready to just bypass Sonic Colors on the Wii. But just days before its release, I saw a TV spot for it, and decided that maybe I would give it a go.
Upon starting up the game, I expected I'd have to sit through an opening cutscene once I hit New Game, in order to introduce the story and/or some new character. (There is a nice pre-title screen FMV if you want to watch it.) Nope! You get dropped right into stage one with no explanation, just like the old 2D days! :-D I grabbed my Classic Controller and began plowing through (or not, I had to get used to controlling Sonic first!) the stage, getting a little better as I went, and wearing a silly grin on my face the whole time.
The first cutscene showed me a handful of things. 1) New voice actors (and they aren't half bad, although the script is still a little meh). 2) Most of the cutscenes are engine-rendered (it's hard to not notice the sharp edges, compared to the slightly-smoother edges in FMVs). 3) HOLY CRAP THE GRAPHICS ARE GORGEOUS AND THIS IS AN EFFING WII (your mileage may vary depending on your TV, of course).
After that I kept playing. I found that the graphics are gorgeous everywhere and the framerate barely ever suffers. Loading times are nice and quick-ish. The controls are responsive, and the game sometimes gives some button cues to help those who are too busy staring at the scenery. The control scheme for the modes I tried are nice and (for me) easy enough to get used to (I used the Classic Controller in my first session, and the Wii Remote alone in my next; the aforementioned cues are very helpful if you want to try different schemes). The 2D-3D gameplay transitions are smooth and nicely done. The gameplay is fast and fun, with a few slower platforming sections, and (so far) the Wisps' “color powers” gimmick has been pretty low key (the LASER one became a tad annoying, but oh well).
Sonic Colors looks to be a promising experience, not to mention a promising outlook on where Sega might take the franchise. Here's my rundown of notable elements of the game:
Gameplay: 8/10 – While there are a few sections that slow you down, Sonic Colors succeeds very well in creating a fast-moving and very satisfying game to play.
Controls: 9/10 – I tested the Classic Controller and the Wii Remote on its own, and didn't have any problem using either. Sonic acts like he should, when he should, and you even get button cues in case things are going too fast for you or you're busy staring at the wonderful scenery.
Interface: 7/10 – The HUD is handy and doesn't crowd, and the menus are cleanly minimalistic. Loading times are fairly short for the most part.
Graphics: 10/10 – I have heard it said that, on a standard-def TV, the graphics of Sonic Colors are comparable to the average graphics on a PS3 or an Xbox 360. They're not kidding. Even in cutscenes with several close-ups, there is almost zero texture pixelation or other notably “off” visuals. Better still, the framerate rarely has so much as a hiccup.
Audio: 9/10 – Colors sounds wonderful on my setup and sports “the usual” Sonic-game music – which is to say, awesome, catchy music. Voices and sound effects are nicely done, though Robotnik/Eggman's banter during some stages was drowned out by the rest (IIRC that's adjustable though). The latter is not a big deal, but some of what he says made me laugh.
Story/Cutscenes: 6/10 Most cutscenes are rendered in-engine, and the only way I could tell was because of the sharp(er) edges of the characters in them. See Graphics. Meanwhile, I think the writer(s) try to aim the script at younger players, but most of what I've seen so far has been tolerable. (Sonic Unleashed's script felt about as cheesy as it gets.) The plot's pretty basic from what I can tell, but there are some nifty one-liners in there to give you a chuckle. Plus the voice acting isn't bad.
(If there's an aspect of video games missing from here that you think is important to rate, let me know!)
So in the end, if you're a fan of the Sonic games, this is an excellent title to check out. Sega seems to be finally breaking away from the Polygon Ceiling. Overall Score: 8 out of 10.
---- Strife89
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
I called myself "The Noob Reviewer" for it. I never really got to play many 3D Sonic games. Borrowed Shadow the Hedgehog (PS2) once and returned it posthaste. Played Sonic Heroes in a store demo once (kinda liked it, but couldn't get used to the controls, plus it was my first time using an Xbox controller). Tried Sonic and the Secret Rings for about five minutes and put it down. And recently, I managed to play a copy of Sonic Unleashed (Wii version), which is okay, but I don't like the Wii Classic Controller control scheme, the load times are a bit much, and there's way too much tedium in there (the werehog stages, the temple thing, etc.) plus the cutscenes were just badly scripted/voiced. Combine this with Sega's reputation for churning out horrible Sonic games over the past near-decade (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, anyone?), and I was ready to just bypass Sonic Colors on the Wii. But just days before its release, I saw a TV spot for it, and decided that maybe I would give it a go.
Upon starting up the game, I expected I'd have to sit through an opening cutscene once I hit New Game, in order to introduce the story and/or some new character. (There is a nice pre-title screen FMV if you want to watch it.) Nope! You get dropped right into stage one with no explanation, just like the old 2D days! :-D I grabbed my Classic Controller and began plowing through (or not, I had to get used to controlling Sonic first!) the stage, getting a little better as I went, and wearing a silly grin on my face the whole time.
The first cutscene showed me a handful of things. 1) New voice actors (and they aren't half bad, although the script is still a little meh). 2) Most of the cutscenes are engine-rendered (it's hard to not notice the sharp edges, compared to the slightly-smoother edges in FMVs). 3) HOLY CRAP THE GRAPHICS ARE GORGEOUS AND THIS IS AN EFFING WII (your mileage may vary depending on your TV, of course).
After that I kept playing. I found that the graphics are gorgeous everywhere and the framerate barely ever suffers. Loading times are nice and quick-ish. The controls are responsive, and the game sometimes gives some button cues to help those who are too busy staring at the scenery. The control scheme for the modes I tried are nice and (for me) easy enough to get used to (I used the Classic Controller in my first session, and the Wii Remote alone in my next; the aforementioned cues are very helpful if you want to try different schemes). The 2D-3D gameplay transitions are smooth and nicely done. The gameplay is fast and fun, with a few slower platforming sections, and (so far) the Wisps' “color powers” gimmick has been pretty low key (the LASER one became a tad annoying, but oh well).
Sonic Colors looks to be a promising experience, not to mention a promising outlook on where Sega might take the franchise. Here's my rundown of notable elements of the game:
Gameplay: 8/10 – While there are a few sections that slow you down, Sonic Colors succeeds very well in creating a fast-moving and very satisfying game to play.
Controls: 9/10 – I tested the Classic Controller and the Wii Remote on its own, and didn't have any problem using either. Sonic acts like he should, when he should, and you even get button cues in case things are going too fast for you or you're busy staring at the wonderful scenery.
Interface: 7/10 – The HUD is handy and doesn't crowd, and the menus are cleanly minimalistic. Loading times are fairly short for the most part.
Graphics: 10/10 – I have heard it said that, on a standard-def TV, the graphics of Sonic Colors are comparable to the average graphics on a PS3 or an Xbox 360. They're not kidding. Even in cutscenes with several close-ups, there is almost zero texture pixelation or other notably “off” visuals. Better still, the framerate rarely has so much as a hiccup.
Audio: 9/10 – Colors sounds wonderful on my setup and sports “the usual” Sonic-game music – which is to say, awesome, catchy music. Voices and sound effects are nicely done, though Robotnik/Eggman's banter during some stages was drowned out by the rest (IIRC that's adjustable though). The latter is not a big deal, but some of what he says made me laugh.
Story/Cutscenes: 6/10 Most cutscenes are rendered in-engine, and the only way I could tell was because of the sharp(er) edges of the characters in them. See Graphics. Meanwhile, I think the writer(s) try to aim the script at younger players, but most of what I've seen so far has been tolerable. (Sonic Unleashed's script felt about as cheesy as it gets.) The plot's pretty basic from what I can tell, but there are some nifty one-liners in there to give you a chuckle. Plus the voice acting isn't bad.
(If there's an aspect of video games missing from here that you think is important to rate, let me know!)
So in the end, if you're a fan of the Sonic games, this is an excellent title to check out. Sega seems to be finally breaking away from the Polygon Ceiling. Overall Score: 8 out of 10.
---- Strife89
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
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Thrown A Life Raft
3 min read
A few days after my last journal, my laptop got taken away (to be given to my brother, who's a Senior in high school now), and my job search continued to fail while I remained too timid to leave Cochran. Basically a rotten way to start the month.
A week later, around September 8th, the pastor at a local church called me and offered me a job as a janitor there, no interview required (he knows me). I accepted. $8.25 hourly, up to 15 hours per week. Wayyyyy better than nothing.
As of this evening, things are going okay. I still haven't received a paycheck, and I still have no Internet at home, but I'm hanging in there.
At least I got to take home a few burgers from a football team cookout (hosted by the church!) last Friday; they're delicious.
Right now I'm typing this on a friend's PC, for obvious reasons. I don't get to use a PC with an Internet connection very often, so I try to do a lot on them. I can use my Palm TX to check my e-mail (with the aid of Versamail) and connect to IRC when I'm near a wireless router (thankfully, the church has one!), but Blazer (the web browser) is no Firefox (or even Safari on an iPhone) by a long shot.
As for my fanfic (which nearly everyone seems to have forgotten - assuming they ever remembered it, that is), progress has halted, but I don't want to quit yet. I might start working on it at home again and uploading it at the public library.
Oh, and my birthday's in a few days (Sept. 23). I'll be 21 years old. No, there will not be a drinking party. >.<
Cheers, y'all. Hopefully I'll get another chance to check in soon.
-- Strife89
November 3, 2010
EDIT: I made a Flickr account (cstrife89) and have started uploading some of my photos there, including photos I have posted on this site. This is here to keep the two people that care from worrying that my stuff's being stolen.
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
A week later, around September 8th, the pastor at a local church called me and offered me a job as a janitor there, no interview required (he knows me). I accepted. $8.25 hourly, up to 15 hours per week. Wayyyyy better than nothing.
As of this evening, things are going okay. I still haven't received a paycheck, and I still have no Internet at home, but I'm hanging in there.
At least I got to take home a few burgers from a football team cookout (hosted by the church!) last Friday; they're delicious.
Right now I'm typing this on a friend's PC, for obvious reasons. I don't get to use a PC with an Internet connection very often, so I try to do a lot on them. I can use my Palm TX to check my e-mail (with the aid of Versamail) and connect to IRC when I'm near a wireless router (thankfully, the church has one!), but Blazer (the web browser) is no Firefox (or even Safari on an iPhone) by a long shot.
As for my fanfic (which nearly everyone seems to have forgotten - assuming they ever remembered it, that is), progress has halted, but I don't want to quit yet. I might start working on it at home again and uploading it at the public library.
Oh, and my birthday's in a few days (Sept. 23). I'll be 21 years old. No, there will not be a drinking party. >.<
Cheers, y'all. Hopefully I'll get another chance to check in soon.
-- Strife89
November 3, 2010
EDIT: I made a Flickr account (cstrife89) and have started uploading some of my photos there, including photos I have posted on this site. This is here to keep the two people that care from worrying that my stuff's being stolen.
_____________________________________
Clubs:
Webcam Image by Sap-Green.
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