A much needed update

Hello everyone and welcome back! I know I know, i havnt been around. But for a good cause. I joined the Utah Army National Guard. I am currently at Fort Gordon in Georgia and am due to finish my training the end of March. And what is my job in the Army you ask? thats right: COMPUTERS! Yes I am learning all about the ins and outs of computers. From configuring routers and servers, to system administration, to gutting computers and putting in new parts and equipment, I have to say, I'm having a blast. I have a hard time with getting in shape, due to hours on end of guild wars and cheezits. But on the the other hand I'm top of my class. So I know how those buff army guru types feel when i'm laggin in a company run and they have to let me catch up, cuz i'm the same way in class. I have to wait for them to... "get it." Needless to say this is the nerd job of the army. You see more combat uniforms signing onto their wow account than doing group physical fitness. More people play magic and DnD than know how to march in formation. Its kinda awesome.

Well while i've been here i've not done much in the way of the nerd. I read lord of the rings. twice... and i play a lot of PSP. OH YEAH!! So i bought a PSP. I LOVE it. At the moment i'm playing Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core. So far its pretty cool. It makes me want to play Final Fantasy 7 again though, thats for sure. *The game mainly focuses around Zack Fair, a 2nd Class SOLDIER, and the events leading up to his destined demise. He meets many of the Final Fantasy VII characters, including Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough, with whom he develops strong bonds. The game's storyline takes the player from the war with the Wutai to the events at Nibelheim, and right up to the time just before the Final Fantasy VII beginning. Some of the missing events or plot holes from Nibelheim and afterwards are explained in the animated feature, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.

I played through and beat God of War: Chains of Olympis as well. That game was really fun. But WAY to short. I beat it in about 6 hours of gameplay. To read about it go here.

I must take my leave. I'll try to get on more often. I know I'll be seeing the new Underworld movie this weekend, so i'll give my review of that.

I leave you with a quote from one of the greats:

"I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code who do they call?
I do HTML for them all
Even made a homepage for my dog."
-Weird Al


* - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_Core_-Final_Fantasy_VII-

Ranting and Raving, but mostly ranting....

Okay, I know I havnt blogged in a bit, but I've been having such a great time working at burger king, I thought I'd share some things to everyone. Here is an example of some of the people we have to put up with on a regular basis at Burger King:



15 things you can do or say, to make our day at the BK that much better:


1) Place your order at the drive thru and change it or add onto it at the window.

2) Really? you're pissed cuz your soda isn't diet after ordering a King sized triple whopper meal with extra mayo, heavy bacon, and a large shake?

3) "What do you have to drink?" Well, let's see... It's under our DRINK section.

4) When I ask you "is that everything for you?" and you say, "yes" and i give you your total, and 3 seconds later you ask for "Another #2 combo meal."

5) You've already been waiting in our drive thru line for 4 minutes, but yet you havn't had time to get out your wallet, and, OH! you don't have enough cash...

6) Not trying to be racist, but if you can't speak english well, please come inside so you can at least point to which meal you would like.

7) We are out of Dr. Pepper. Please, ask me "you're out of Dr. Pepper?!" one more time.

8) Yell at me again you idiot, I dare ya! one more time! just do it! I don't know why people still don't get it... YOU DON'T MESS WITH PEOPLE THAT MAKE YOUR FOOD!!!

9) Okay, do you really need 4 ranch packets for your 4 piece chicken nugget?

10) For the last time sir, THERE ARE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU. We will get you your food in the order it was taken.

11) Does it look like I have time to go to our storage and look for 5 seperate kid's meal's toys?

12) "Well the burger king in Salt Lake does it this way!"

13) "SINCE WHEN DOES A WHOPPER HAVE TOMATOES?!" Since we were burger king... and since the picture of a whopper has tomatoes on it. i know, i know.... its hard to take them off yourself.

14) Pay for your $18 meal with pennies, nickels, and dimes.

15) "Just a sec," and "HELLO?!" are not on our menu.


Well that's that. Have it your way.

Star Trek XI

Well well well. You think I'd be excited about this kind of thing, but in all actuality, I am quite upset. I've always been a Star Trek fan. And I always will be. I have every season of TNG, DS9, and Voyager on my external hard drive. When I first heard about Star Trek XI I was flooded with questions and excitement. And now, 3 months later, I have had some answers but now have MORE questions than before and the excitement is gone.

Do we REALLY need ONE MORE movie about Kirk? He had 7 movies and a tv series. Lets move on please. How about a movie brining all the next generation series together? or one about Janeway? Tell me more about what happened when Voyager got home, or something! Heaven forbid give just us a movie with Capitan Archer and the crew of the original Enterprise. Not ANOTHER movie about Kirk and Spock!

And speaking of Kirk, why hasn't William Shatner been asked to make a camio? Lenord Nemoy was. And of all the people that landed the role of Kirk, we get Chris Pine. Oh? He doesn't sound familiar? Well he should! He's been in such great sci fi and great American classics such as "The Princess Diaries 2" and "Blind Dating." Now I'm not saying that I'm a better pick, or I have and idea for someone better to play the role... but he has not proven himself worthy to play Kirk.

I liked who they picked for Spock though. Zachery Quinto from "Heroes" is a good pick in my book.

Why are Berman and Braga not involved in the production of this movie? They had everything to do with the last 4 star trek films, and the last 3 star trek series, yet they are not involved in this movie in any way.

How many Star Trek: The Original Series landing party members does it take to screw in a light bulb? Only one, but the extra red-shirt will die in the attempt.

Summer Movies to see

Oh man! This summer is going to be AMAZING on the movie front! Heres a list of movies I WANT to see but probably wont cuz I'm poor, lol!



Iron Man - May 2nd

Based on the long-running Marvel comic book series, "Iron Man" tells the story of Tony Stark, the enigmatic heir to the Stark Enterprises fortune. A driven inventor and executive who seems to have it all, Tony is haunted by his dark side. Though he commands his empire by day, by night he secretly becomes "Iron Man," the living embodiment of decades of defense spending and innovation. Strapping on billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art armor and weaponry each night to fight crime, terrorism and corporate espionage, Tony begins to crack under the strain of his fractured lifestyle and must ultimately confront the one enemy he can never beat -- himself.




Speed Racer - May 9th

Based on the classic 1960s series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the big-screen film will follow the adventures of the young race car driver Speed in his quest for glory in his thundering gadget-laden vehicle, Mach 5. The movie will feature other characters from the show, including Speed's family and his mysterious archrival, Racer X.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - May 16th

"Prince Caspian" finds the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Narnia, where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colorful creatures of Narnia in combating an evil villain who prevents the rightful Prince from ruling the land. "Prince Caspian" was first published in 1951, and is the fourth book in the seven-book series written by Lewis.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - May 22nd

Just watch. This looks amazing.



Known Plot Thus Far: In 1957, Indiana Jones is thrust back in action, venturing into the jungles of South America in a race against Soviet agents to find the mystical Crystal Skull.

When last we saw Indy, he was riding off into the sunset in 1989's The Last Crusade, set in 1938 near the start of World War II. The new movie, due this spring, is set at the height of the Cold War in 1957, so the character has aged in real time — 19 years.

He's teaching and having kind of a quiet life. Once the archaeologist is thrust back into danger, the signature Indiana Jones red line tracing across the map will take him to New Mexico, Connecticut, Mexico City and the jungles of Peru.


Get Smart - June 20th

Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). Given little field experience and even less time, Smart--armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm--must thwart the doomsday plans of KAOS head Siegfried (Terance Stamp).

WALL•E - June 27th


You just can't go wrong with Pixar! The year is 2700. WALL•E, a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for. "WALL•E" is the story of one robot's comic adventures as he chases his dream across the galaxy. I can't wait to see this one.



The Dark Knight - July 18th

Again, just watch this one. It looks amazing.





The X-files: I Want To Believe (working title) - July 25th



Now here is a movie I can't WAIT for! In grand "X-Files" manner, the as yet untitled film's storyline is being kept under wraps, known only to top studio brass and the film's principals. This much can be revealed: The supernatural thriller is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show's most acclaimed and beloved episodes, and takes the always-complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions.



The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emporer - Aug 1st

The blockbuster global "Mummy" franchise takes a spellbinding turn as the action shifts to Asia for the next chapter in the adventure series, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). And this time, the O'Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.

Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China's ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O'Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents.

As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force...unless the O'Connells can stop him first. I LOVED the first 2 installments and I can't wait to see this!



Looks like I'll be spending quite a bit of time at the movies this summer!

My favorite Star Wars Film is....

Empire Strikes Back!!! For those of you who got it right, ummm.... i dunno; good job? haha.

Lately I've been getting back into the Star Wars games "Knights of the Old Republic." I played both of them on xbox when they were released and have been playing them on PC lately.

Knights of the Old Republic actually takes place thousands of years before Star Wars Episode I, though you'll still see many of the same sorts of alien creatures and technology in the game that you probably associate with Star Wars. Blasters, lightsabeters, wookies, and jawas all make appearances. The story begins in the midst of a power struggle between the Republic and the Galactic Sith Empired, an evil imperial power that's encroaching on Republic space. Your character seems to be just another Republic trooper, and at the beginning of the game, you manage to avoid certain death as your spaceship is attacked and destroyed. Your escape pod lands on a world that's been put under quarantine by the Sith, so your first order of business is to find a means of escape, and also to find out what happened to Bastila, a gifted young Jedi who is key to the Republic's war efforts and who also managed to flee your doomed ship. Later, you'll be charged with uncovering the secrets of an ancient relic called the star forge, apparently the key to the Sith's seemingly limitless supply of weaponry.

You'll end up visiting a number of key Star Wars locations, including Kashyyyk, Tatooine, and Korriben. The game's main storyline isn't remarkable and eventually boils down to squaring off against your standard bad guy, but you'll encounter so many great little subplots and characters along the way that this really won't matter. You'll investigate murders, become a bounty hunter, resolve cultural disputes, find a cure for a deadly disease, take sides or play both sides against each other in various ambiguous conflicts, and find out how life really treats both citizens of the Republic and followers of the Sith. There's just a lot to see and do in this game, and I got in a good 40 hours from start to finish, yet you'll never see all that the game has to offer if you finish it only once.

Your main character starts off as a male or female soldier, scout, or scoundrel. The soldier is straightforward but very strong and begins with proficiency with various types of weapons and armor and gains the most vitality points per experience level. The scout is slightly less tough than the soldier but gains more skill points per level, allowing him or her to do such things as repair droids, pick locks, and disarm land mines. The scoundrel is physically the weakest class but can disappear from sight using special cloaking devices and can then inflict great damage if he or she catches a foe unaware. The scoundrel is also best suited to talking his or her way out of situations where the other character classes might have to resort to violence. Your choice of gender also has a bearing on some of the situations.

It's not spoiling anything to point out that you eventually gain access to Jedi powers. In turn, there are three different Jedi classes available, which emphasize either the Jedi's prowess with a lightsaber or his or her Force powers--or a balance of the two. Force powers are basically like magic spells, allowing you to do such things as stun opponents, knock them down, and choke them, as well as heal yourself and use the Force to persuade characters to see things your way. Some powers are inherently light-inclined, while others are dark-inclined, and though Jedi characters may gain access to any Force power as they gain experience levels, powers that match a Jedi's moral alignment can be used at a lower cost in Force points (which steadily recharge, allowing you to use your powers continuously).

The game does a fine job of letting you customize your character and his or her companions. Nine different characters will join you over the course of the adventure, and you'll be able to travel with up to two of them at a time. Most every character has an interesting story to tell that unfolds as you converse with him, her, or it over the course of the game, though some are developed better than others. The most entertaining of the bunch is probably HK-47, who's like a homicidal and slightly insubordinate C-3PO. As you and the others gain levels, you develop your abilities by choosing from a wide variety of skills (repair, stealth, persuasion, and so on) and combat feats (critical strike, two-weapon fighting, toughness, and so on).

Some of the audio is what you'd expect from a Star Wars game, though Knights deserves credit for featuring a mostly original (yet very subdued) soundtrack, which is a nice change of pace from the ubiquitous John Williams score. But the high quality and sheer quantity of the voice acting are exceptional. Alien characters even speak in convincing alien languages, though you'll pick up on the fact that the alien voice-over actually repeats often. Overall, though, the professional voice cast does an excellent job with the material, delivering believable performances, and this really enriches the gameplay experience.

If you are a Star Wars fan or an RPG fan, you must play this game. If you are both then you probably already have. And since 3 people read my blog you probably didn't make it this far. If you did, I commend you.