First off, sorry for uploading these on the blogger. I know it fucks up our layout and I will hopefully get my website back up soon so I can have a new photography session. For those that don't know, I just got a new camera...definetely not one of those point/shoot ones, but a camera that resembles a 35mm. It set me back a pretty penny, but so far with these images I am very happy with the outcome. These of course are LQ so please don't judge the camera on these images. All the RAW images are actually about 50X30 inches. Enough to make a decent sized print!

So Aaron, Jen and Shan were nice enough to come to my part of town to eat dinner because they know I'm lazier than shit. It seems they got their money with Guitar Hero, Gunther.net, Wacom Tablets and XBOX360. All the while they let me even photograph them...I hope these photos help capture the fun we had! While checking out these images I learned a lot about my camera and what does and does not work. Hopefully the Disneyland photos will be something special. In the meantime enjoy these!

Madden 360 Style
With the craze of Fantasy Football, Colts undefeated season, the 49ers sucking, but @ times looking promising, I was pretty stoked to get this version of Madden. I had played the same game for regular Xbox and I was pretty disappointed because Madden had just peaked in terms of gameplay.

Pros about the new one:
-Of the course the graphics. The stadiums look great, the field looks awesome, and the player models are spectacular.
-Got rid of any of the "stupid" modes in Madden that don't focus on game play itself.
-The user interface is easy to use and intuitive. The way you call plays now seems easier and more efficient as it shows more plays on the screen.
-The AI seems a bit smarter when it comes to D. I have a hard time scoring 40+ pts against the computer. This could also attribute that I'm using the Niners, but who knows.
-Utilizes Dolby Digital 5.1 - which makes it sound awesome.

Cons:
-No mini-camp. The mini-games were kind of dumb, but I did like the fact that you could progress your players with it.
-No post game stats. This seems like a simple thing to have, but for some reason they got rid of it. All you get to see is the top statistical leaders for the game.
-No way to change camera angles. The gameplay changes a little bit when you hike the ball, but it would be nice to have this basic feature as well.
-No Madden - he may be annoying, but he's a classic. "BooM" "Where'd that truck come from!?" The new announcer isn't very good.
-The controls are a bit funky. There's a button for sprint, hold ball, spin, juke, stiff arm - it's a tough combo of buttons. Moving your QB and doing a pump are used with the same control stick and it must be sensitive because I seem to pump all the time which leads to sacks.
-I haven't gotten this far yet, but they took out scouting of the college players which I thought was kind of cool.

So all in all, it's still a solid game, but this is like the "core xbox 360" where ironically the other console version would be the "premium." I expect next years Madden to include anything missing from the stripped down version.

In the meantime, I will wait anxiously and hoping EA will release a MVP game for 360.

Gift Giving

You gotta love this time of year. For some people it is filled with joy and happiness and for some it is a time of anxiety and wondering if that certain friend is going to get you anything this year...and just what exactly are you going to buy them. So with that being said I will be perfectly clear in who I am giving gifts to. If you feel like buying gifts for other people is a waste of your money then perhaps you would like to skip the stage of life and go straight to hell. Tony will arrange that for you. As for the rest of you fags, I will tell you who I am getting gifts for. This is no way an attempt to make you guilty of not getting me anything. Besides, Steve doesn't get guilty and he only reaps the benefits of Xmas. =)

Bryant - Is getting a gift of some sort. Except for once his gift will be something he needs not exactly what he wants. Haha.

Tony - Has not been around for the holidays in the past couple of years. I have grown fond of Tony even though he sucks at Winning 11 and provides no challenge whatsoever. He will be getting a gift so he can truly enjoy Christmas with us this year.

Andy - I have to get Andy something because he is poor. He is my captain and he deserves something for leading me into battle. I trust and follow his wisdom in the gaming world and it usually keeps me alive. Usually...

Derek - Is also getting a gift. I have it narrowed down to a couple of choices, but no final decision is made just yet.

Kevin - I don't even talk to this fool anymore. However I will probably go into something with Bryant/Andy for your gift. I would make it more personal, but ever since you got a girlie dog and bought a house...you just don't seem like that nigga I knew back in da' hood. =)

Steve - Ahh Steve. To Steve's defense he has ALWAYS said not to get him anything. I completely disobeyed him every year thinking he was bluffing. He wasn't. Haha. But Steve, once again I got you something. This is a gift that might not be the best in the world, but I did put a lot of thought into it.

WILDCARDS (NOT YET BEEN DECIDED)

Jonathan - I say we save our money for this 40K poker tournament we are having. How about we just go out to dinner after a day of card playing. We can buy each other the same amount of chips. Haha. But seriously, let me know if you want to or not want to do the gift giving thing. And I promise that if we say not to get anything for each other...I won't pull a Derek and give you something.

Brian - This fucker one year got everyone and their mom gifts. It was totally unexpected, but a very nice surprise. We then retaliated by giving him a game that we didn't even end up playing that much. Haha. As with Jonathan, let me know if you are getting me a gift. Or you can join in on the poker idea above. What d'ya say? Everyone go to the card room and dominate?

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS. THIS YEAR I WAS REALLY LOOKING AT PEOPLE'S INTERESTS AND ON THE LOOK OUT FOR SHIT THEY NEED. I DIDN'T GO OUT THINKING, "WHAT AM I GOING TO GET THIS PERSON?" IT WAS MORE OF A "OH HEY THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE/ENJOY THAT FOR A XMAS GIFT" AND THEY ARE GETTING SOMETHING FROM ME.

So to say again. This is who I am getting gifts for with the exception of Jonathan and Brian who I haven't found anything for just yet. If you guys get back to me and want to scratch the other off the list then that is fine by me, but only because I haven't found anything just yet for you. So lemme know.

On a more ipmortant note: I'm down with Zhang Ziyi as an actress...but give me a fucking break. CHINKS DO NOT PLAY JAPS. See Tamilyn Tomita can play a chinese person (Joy Luck Club) only becuase she is superior to them. Zhang cannot play a Japanese...even a Japanese slut for that matter because she is inferior. Haha. So who's gonna see the film with me?

I would use the chatter box, but this may be more readable. I know Brendan will blog more on this later, but this is what I'm hearing so far about X-mas. It sounds like there might be some quasi-party gift giving going on.

Seeing the responses from Steve, Kevin, and Tony; talking with Brendan and Derek - it sounds like most people would like to get together for a little shindig -> this may/may not tie into the Annual Horiuchi Dinner (Brendan will provide more details) and may include some poker fun (with special guest Phil Ivey and his 40K). Most likely this would be an after Xmas - Pre New Years type o' deal.

It also sounds like people will be buying gifts for some and not others, which should be fine, since some of us know each other better then others and some just like giving gifts. Can't stop anybody for that! But gift giving among others is not mandatory. Christmas is the season of giving, not the season of "shit that guy bought me something, I better buy him something fast." That's a risk, but if Christmas is truly about giving, it shouldn't even matter, right? =)

Tony's right, where the most important thing for us should be spending the holidays together. With some of us not working and/or going to school, it's pretty much the only time of year where we can all hang out together and possibly see each more then once a weekend, if that. I know I'm a hermit because of work lately, so i'm definitely looking forward to the holidays. This doesn't count for just the Pooky guys either, I know we have some readers out there and I would love to spend the holidays with you (Horiuchis, Shannon, whomever else that reads this darn thing).

Still awaiting to hear from Andy, Jonathan, Farmer B on their thoughts for X-mas and whether they'll be joining us in our gathering. Actually this could include Kevin, but I'm especially looking at Brian on that one.

heading to vegas on dec 19th. You guys are invited as well if you want. Should be fun.

Hi all,
As the X-mas season is drawing near, there have been some informal discussions in terms of how we're handling X-mas gifts for everyone. I've kind of heard mixed reviews on what everyone wants to do, so I was hoping that this blogger would garner some opinions. From what it seems to me, gift giving is kind of a chore that people feel obligated to do and I know us in Pooky don't want to create that kind of atmosphere.

We could do 3 things:
1. Buy gifts as usual for everyone.
2. Not buy gifts and everyone be ok with it.
3. Have like a little gift exchange party of some sort.

Any of the 3 options are ok with me. I don't mind just buying for family this year as most of us have what we want in life in terms of tangible items (Me especially haha). If we don't spend money on each other, I would say maybe we can pull some dinero together and throw a little holiday shindig. Maybe a nice dinner and some cocktails. (haha I guess this could be option 4)

Any opinions?

PS - Brendan, a post will come soon about the new Madden and my thoughts. =) I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seat for that one.

In all this Xbox360 hype and shopping sprees, I think it is time to give a moment of silence for THE man. American-Japanese wouldn't be the same without him...



Mr. Miyagi has waxed on and off for the last time. I still think he should have won that Oscar and Golden Globe for the Karate Kid, but I guess they had to give it to the black people first. So in memory of Pat Morita..here are some quotes from Mr. Miyagi himself...of course I couldn't remember all of these by heart, but after reading them they made me proud to be American-Japanese...yeah...even though he didn't write it. Some are funny and some we can definetely take to heart.

Daniel: You think you could break a log like that?
Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by a tree.

Miyagi: Daniel-san, never put passion before principle. Even if win, you lose.

Daniel: [presenting Miyagi with a rosewood display case, obviously for Miyagi's WW2 medals] I got something for you here... see, it's rosewood. For your medals. I thought it'd be nice to... like, show 'em off or something.
Miyagi: Why, Daniel-san... Thank you for gift. But why show off?
Daniel: Well, you know, winning the Medal of Honor and all... It says something about you. Like, you're brave. And all that stuff.
Miyagi: [puts hand to Daniel's chest] THIS say you brave.
[motions to medal]
Miyagi: This say you LUCKY.
Daniel: Just what did you do to earn this, anyhow?
Miyagi: ...Not important anymore.
Daniel: ...Was it scary for you?
Miyagi: ...Miyagi knees no stop shaking for whole week after.
Daniel: ...Did you have to kill a lot of people or something?
Miyagi: Hai, unfortunately.
Daniel: But they were, like, the enemy... weren't they?
Miyagi: They were also PEOPLE, Danielsan.

[At the cannery. Daniel has ripped his shirt, and almost gotten himself killed, while perfecting Miyagi's "Swinging Drum" maneuver]
Mr. Miyagi: Daniel-san, you all right?
Daniel: Yeah... I'm sorry; that was pretty stupid, wasn't it?
Mr. Miyagi: [with a grim smile] Miyagi say that to father when same thing happen. Father agree, was stupid. Father was right.

Daniel: Hey, what kind of belt do you have?
Miyagi: Canvas. JC Penny. Three ninety-eight. You like?
[laughs]
Daniel: No, I meant...
Miyagi: Daniel-san... karate here.
[he taps his head]
Miyagi: Karate here.
[he taps his heart]
Miyagi: Karate never here
[points to his belt]
Miyagi: Understand?

Daniel: You're the best friend I've ever had.
Miyagi: You pretty okay too.

Miyagi: Now, ready?
Daniel: I guess so.
Miyagi: [sighs] Daniel-san, must talk. Man walk on road. Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk down middle, sooner or later, get squished
[makes squish gesture]
Miyagi: just like grape. Same here. You karate do "yes," or karate do "no." You karate do "guess so,"
[makes squish gesture]
Miyagi: just like grape. Understand?
Daniel: Yeah, I understand.
Miyagi: Now, ready?
Daniel: Yeah, I'm ready.

Daniel: You could have killed him, couldn't you?
Mr. Miyagi: Aiy.
Daniel: Well, Why didn't you?
Mr. Miyagi: Because Daniel, for man with no forgiveness in heart, life worse punishment than death.

Thank you Pat Morita for talking in a memorable Japanese accent that all of white America thought you really had. I know you are in a better place where the flies just stick to hashi like they were shit.

Okay so this post is for Andy and Bryant (although I know Bryant said he couldn't wait in line because A.) He has a life and B.) He has no money at the moment. Both are good reasons and in fact are proof that he is smarter than us.)

Deciding where to get the Xbox360's. I know we started thinking about Target since it was be very close to home and around a lot of restaurants and such...HOWEVER after doing some research I have come up with the following. Perhaps this will help us in making an easier decision about where we wait...well "we" as in you finding the money. Do I hear Andy's Xmas gift coming in the form of currency? =)

So here goes...what I have found out...and it doesn't look like we got it too bad, but definetely enough to make me vomit about how M'soft is handling the situation...

STORE 851 (SANTANA ROW) - 38 PRO / 12 CORE SYSTEMS = 50 TOTAL
STORE 190 (BLOSSOM HILL) - 48 PRO / 14 CORE SYSTEMS = 62 TOTAL
STORE 685 (EL CAMINO) - 30 PRO / 10 CORE SYSTEMS = 40 TOTAL
STORE 142 (MILPITAS) - 54 PRO / 16 CORE SYSTEMS = 70 TOTAL

According to various websites reporting these findings...the give or take number is 5% of what it says on this list.

To give Andy an indication of if this shortage does indeed exist...Best Buy as a huge retailer is only getting 28,000 PROS / 14,000 CORES.

I will call soon to find out if any of these are doing a midnight launch...if that is the case then that actually fucks with our chances of getting one...I hope the price tag is enough to get people to wake up and say, "fuck that...I'm going back to bed." So the question is...if these Best Buys do a midnight launch...just when do you think we need to get out there? And also on a sidenote...it seems that they are handing out tickets, but again I will call to make sure about that. Lemme know what you think Captain.

Oh yeah, real quick...I was cleaning up my video game corner and went ahead and did an audit of my DVD's. So if you have any of these could you please just let me know that you have 'em. I don't need them back right away, but I would like to know where some of them are. AND yes and realize it is my fault for not keeping track of this shit.

BEFORE SUNRISE - I think Steve.
AFTER SUNSET - Steve again.
LADYKILLERS - Jonathan I think, but you might have given it back already.
MALENA - John Ho possibly. I can't think of anyone else that would borrow this.
RINGU - Jennifer (My cousin) I think.
THE STING - This is for sure Steve. =P "I already know how to drink!"
THREE KINGS - This could be Derek. Hell he might still have my Shrek...or Desiree does. Haha.
NINJA SCROLL - Mike I think. Again not sure.

Okay so if you have these titles OR ANY OTHER TITLE please just let me know so I can either A.) Know where they are at or B.) Write them off as losses. (And no Steve you can't say you don't have them so you can keep them.)

Quickly for the record...I have Kiki's Delivery Service from Sydnie and I also have Tae Guk Gi han cha hana ooooooh from Tony.

So you have probably noticed that I changed my icon. Of course this isn't the look of any of my drawings, but I got a little frisky last night while painting. What is that you say? Where are the other people's icons? Well that is one of the perks of being able to draw...you can change your icon whenever you want. So there.

Some quick notes.

Guitar Hero rocks. I'm not good at music games. Hell I'm not good at music in general in terms of finding the beat or whatever you musicians call such things. Steve royally served me up something raw on the game last night. I told him it was because I was spending all fucking day working on his shit that I couldn't work on my guitar skills. He might have fell for it if he didn't come into my room when I was sleeping...especially when I was supposed to be working on his shit. Bottom line: This game is very cool and it is even better if you actually throw away your pride and start actually rocking out. So while Steve had the higher scores...I was getting all the dirty underwear thrown at me. Smelly and satisfactory.

Poker. I'm going to get one thing clear right now. Should I move up stakes? Sure, I do feel confident enough to step up to 6-12 or even 5-10 online. And everyone else thinks that I should move up. Well that is all find and dandy except for the fact that my bankroll won't allow it right now. So you might be asking what happens to all my winnings? Well besides these two brand spanking new monitors being driven by a ultra crazy graphics card...a lot of what I made during college went pretty much to college. Gas. Books. Some tuition. Film fees. Also you only hear about my winnings. It is not that I'm trying to hide the fact that I lose. Shit...who doesn't lose? It's more that I don't work enough hours at Noah's even though I could easily pick up hours. Also I still owe my 'rents money and they are starting to think I won't pay them back ever. I'll write that check soon...hopefully. So the bottom line is that I won't move up until I am squared away with my numbers. Quick Update: Played in a 20 dollar NLHE tournament w/ 240ish players. Finished 35 which cashed.

The Disneyland trip seems to be coming together. I will send off one more email to confirm the time of departure, where to meet and so on. For all those that are going, thank you for being patient with me. As you can probably tell, I don't organize trips that much because I suck. So stick with me for a little longer...I promise we'll have fun...well...I'll at least have fun.

Ricki put up a picture of her and her girlfriend on Myspace. I was going to write something mean, but then he might look and then I'd be afraid he would see me in a different light. Haha. So if you got time, leave a comment saying she deserves better and that she should listen to Foo Fighters "Best of You" song. Also throw in that she should cut my hair. It's the least she can do since she is getting a dope ass Xmas present this year. (Yeah, we are going to forget about all those other times she cut my hair for free.)

I finshed a half gallon of milk and almost 1 and half boxes of cereal in like 3 meals. Cereal is awesome.

I decided that perhaps after I pay off these screens...it is time to buy a laptop. I would really like to keep this main computer offline as much as possible...except when I use Steam. Other than that I would really like a laptop. I looked online and I probably won't settle for anything less than an Alienware. Of course when I built mine online...it seemed like it would be faster than my dual Xeons. That and the price came out to 4K. I can't really seem myself spending that much on a laptop...well I can...but you know.

Going to Fresno on Sunday. Won't be helping out Shannon since it seems in her desperation and Tony's advertising emails..she has enough people. Besides Steve, Jonathan and I need to get this website done so I can play Guitar Hero and hit up Garden City to extract my revenge on those bastards.

Okay since we are getting into a debate about the Niners, I will say something that we will all agree with.

Jamal Lewis is a bitch.

With that loving statement I will switch gears a bit. My family will be very thankful that you guys all send your best wishes. It truly is a frustrating situation and I'm not even in Fresno. We will stay strong and hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Since I have nothing better to do, I will just write a couple things:

-See our posts again about the 49ers inept offense. Yes they're bad, yes they can't score, but there' s a reason. You can't compare Barlow with Alexander or Westbrook because they're on teams that are more mature on offense and that have proven weapons that defenses need to be aware of. The 49ers have no weapons except maybe Barlow, but his ineffectiveness is partly due to his O-line and lack of any serious threats on offense. So the defense stacks the line with everybody to kill the run and the 49ers have proven week to week that the passing game isn't a threat. Maybe the 49ers just aren't calling the right plays, but once again a team needs the right personnel to run an offensive scheme. This year is a trial year for Mr. Nolan and his O-Coordinator McCarthy to look at their roster, see how they fit the system and adjust next year. I guarantee the 49ers will be noticeably better next year.

-50 million is a lot, but that's not the 49ers fault. The pro market that is out there and the bar that was set last year by Manning setup what market value is for a 1st overall pick QB. Manning last year got 40 - 48 million dollars and as every year the market goes up, so do salaries. That's why T.O. wants a raise because the market for top WR is toppled year to year and he wants to make sure he's on top. You want pro sports to stop paying millions to players that aren't worth it? Tell all the fans to boycott games and make sports revenue go down.

Look at hockey as a good example. Fans weren't coming, revenues sank, therefore players who used to average 10 million a year, now have to settle for 4 - 5 being the top salary. Of course this wasn't planned, but it still paints a picture of what needs to happen.

For the record, I said at best the 49ers could be 8-8, but I had a more realistic vision that they would actually win 4 - 5 games.

Sorry for another post, but sports debates are one of the few in Pooky that I can actually participate in with facts/data to back me up vs. my usual bullshit. =)

As the Horiuchi and the Tazumi family are as close to a 2nd family as a guy could have, keep your head up in these tough times. Things happen for a reason and they will unfold over time.

Now as a real reason for my post...
As a Niner fan, I'm sick of everyone thinking that the 49ers were supposed to return to glory this year. If you've really paid attention to the games, you'll noticed they are 10x's better then they were last year. Does there record reflect it? Not at all.

Things to note:

• In the media, they have a way more positive outlook then they have had in years. Though they are losing, they don't let that get them down. The last few years under Erickson, they had no passion, no faith, no drive. Nolan has really instilled a better attitude to these dudes.
• The team is essentially the same as last year with the addition of Alex Smith. What rookie has REALLY had success in his first year? You can say Rothlisberger (sp), but who can you name besides him? Marino? That was like 20 years ago, so point being is that QB's aren't usually successful in their first years. Shit, Aikman was winless his first year, Peyton won 1 game in his, so what are you really expecting? Getting rid of Rattay allowed the kid to get some game exposure. We all know Rattay wasn't happy anyway, so it works out for the best for both parties.
  
• Their O-Line is terrible. Look @ David Carr in Texas. Dude, can't do shit because he's getting sacked like 6 - 7 times a game. I think last I heard, he's projected to get sacked 100+ times. No QB can be successful getting hit, having that much pressure and no time to throw.
• A rookie QB is going to have a hard time if there is no running game. Barlow not hitting holes fast enough, OL being bad, and no WR threat = no respect for the passing game, so the Defense constantly puts up 8 - 9 man fronts. Puts a lot of pressure on a rookie QB to try and gain respect with virtually no weapons.
• The 49ers lost their best receiver in Eric Johnson. The dude caught 85ish balls last year and that's huge loss. I think I can count the # of balls the TE's caught this year on both my hands.
  
• Injuries - every team has them. But with a team that has just gotten over the salary cap "hell" that Terry Donahue has put them in, there wasn't really a chance to create depth. So the Niners are signing Joe Shmoe's off the street to play.
  
• For the most part, their Def is getting better week to week. Look @ the number of sacks they're getting, the pressure they're putting on the QBs, and stopping the running game. They were rough around the edges the first few weeks, but you can see week to week they're starting to play together as a team. The last few years, you definitely didn't see this. Bryant Young is playing like a mad man.
  
• They're one of the youngest teams in the league. Look at their veterans - Bryant Young and Johnnie Morton are the only ones that are in double digits in terms of years of service. A team needs more experience before they can get better.
  

I can keep going on and on with why the Niners are bad this year, but that's not the real point. Point A is if you're truly watching the 49ers and watching the nuances, you'll see they're improving. Point B is what were you expecting? If you thought the Niners were a playoff team, then you were smoking something really good. And just because Alex Smith makes a shitload of dinero, doesn't mean he's going to perform well off the bat. Please look at the Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman story because if Alex Smith turns out anything like those 2, I'll take a couple bad years, but once again you have to surround the kid with weapons. Manning has James, Wayne, and Harrison -> Aikman got Smith, Irvin, Novacek, Alvin Harper was good for a time. Alex Smith has an underachiever in Barlow, a #3 WR at best with Brandon Lloyd, and a bunch of no bodies.

To TRUE Niner fans, I say be patient. There were some years where management fucked up the team and it takes some time to repair. We are very spoiled with the teams with had in the 80's and 90's and we take that for granted. I think this is a HUGE problem with Bay Area fans in that we support the teams in the "good," but we do not support them in the bad. Look at the Giants attendance this year as case in point. Warriors and Sharks are the same. Oakland is a anomoly since they've been good and still no one attends.

There is a reason to be optimistic is my case in point. The reality is the Niners are terrible and they should be 0 - 8 right now, so the fact that they're 2-6 shows that there is some light to this season. Keep building, get some free agents and they may have something special. I don't see the Niners being a playoff team for at least 2 more seasons, so get ready for a rocky ride.

Give the kid some slack, look at past history and just know the odds are kind of against the 49ers against Smith being great, but politics and the fact that the draft this year wasn't "that good" made them choose Smith.

Ok, 49er love over....

My family and I got back from Fresno yesterday for a quick day trip. We got off to a late start because I didn't go to bed until about 7ish in the morning. We got to Fresno at around 1:00 I think and I got an awesome surprise of seeing my cousin Nicole. She's been in the ATL chill'n with all the black folk I guess. Anyways it has been a while since I've seen her so it was nice hearing her laugh again. Unfortunately her trip back to California wasn't a vacation.

For those who don't know or who I haven't updated in the past week, my cousin Michael's daughter, has been in the hospital for the past week and half or so. I guess last Sunday she was up in the morning running around the house in good spirits when suddenly she stopped in her tracks and started to have seizures. To make a long story short, she is hooked up to more monitors and tubes than I have ever seen in my life. I've seen older people in the hospital and I hate that, but going into that ICU room really made me dizzy. It's a sight that I hope none of you have to go through. I whispered to her that I'll be thinking about her and I told her to get better soon because she has a huge family that loves her. This is the first time in a long time where I've really choked up. As I walked out of that ICU room I looked back one more time and had a thought that I wanted to share with all of you.

This might come off as an attacking statement to all my friends who I take the time to listen to...but you can bet your ass that I mean myself also.

In these types of situations you almost have no control of what the outcome is. Sometimes you have to wait things out and see what happens. This is both taxing and frustrating and I have the upmost respect for my family in times like these and how we are all able to stay in high spirits. I just wanted you to remember that these are situations that you cannot control...these are situations that you should be frustrated over. DO NOT magnify problems so much that you feel you have no control over anything. Take control of the situations that you can instead of feeling sorry for yourself...because when these types of problems like the one above comes up you will feel like an ass for complaining about stupid shit...that is the thought I had when I looked back at the ICU room. Yeah...I understand that it is all relative...at least until you are put into a similiar predicament that my cousin is in.

Okay so Steve came over to work on his homework. I guess getting a Master's degree is comprised of Winning 11 Soccer and FEAR. When we booted up FEAR we were prompted to download the new update.

Well this update sucks. It froze my computer. It even went as far as to slow down the competition (Half Life 2) by making everything all clunky and flickery. After multiple passes at the options screens trying to get things working right...I came to the realization that it just might be my graphics card. Now I don't know about you...but I spent a lot of money on this graphics card and when something in your computer doesn't work right (especially something like your graphics card) you can't help but not think about it until you get it fixed. So since Steve was here and he was able to clean up my computer before in the past, I let him have a go again at the graphics card so he can continue on his quest to conquer FEAR.

Steve started with the usual HijackThis, Ad-aware and Spybot, but then he went to some other website to check for viruses on my computer. Needless to say I think that I've learned my lesson...and as soon as I get a legit copy of Windows (I'm not saying I'm going legit on everything...who has money for such programs except for Jonathan) I'm going to invest in some protection against online people. In fact when my monitors and graphics card gets paid off...I am going to build a mini tower that is just for online work. Strictly online and nothing else. This computer which cost me a lot of money is going to be offline if all goes well. You might be saying I'm a little paranoid. I mean all you guys have protection and everything is fine...well here you go...



Man...that is a lot of viruses. It isn't funny, but Steve and I couldn't help but giggle like when the girl doctor touched my balls...the only legal prostitution I've ever been a part of...weird how I went in for a cut finger though...enjoy me being naive about internet security.

props to Andy for finding this.



fucking HILARIOUS.

"It's a no-no, and you like it"

LOL!!!!!

Damn, is it already X-mas time?

Give em' if you want to, I'll do the same. No guilt. =)

Perhaps a suggestion would be taking the money we would spend on each other and just throw a party. Dinner party and have people come over for drinks later or something. And with that we could play one of those gift exchange games or something.

Or we take the money we would spend on each and just plan another trip together...

are we exchanging xmas presents this year? what do you guys want? Give me some ideas, otherwise it's cup-a-noodles for everyone.

Not that you might not get cup-a-noodles anyways

I might have lost at soccer tonight to Tony...but who is the real winner? =P

Since I don't have any type of website right now...you guys get nothing put pictures on Pooky. Since no one has complained thus far...I'm going to keep posting pictures whenever it is necessary. So if any of you guys care...

I seriously think my mind is rejuvenated. For the first time in months, I plugged in the tablet and did something with it. This picture might look somewhat familiar...I took it from Eecs's trip. Just a quick painting...1 hour spent on it. And boy did it feel good to paint...=P