The Book of Boter
i'd like to think i talk to the internet, but really i talk to my future self
The Book of Boteri'd like to think i talk to the internet, but really i talk to my future self |
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| About the Book | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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    Links: Press Enter Productions Key Pixel Gathering of Filmers |
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| Feb. 9th, 2010 @ 10:03 am (no subject) | |||
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Current Location: Queensbury, NY
So, Saturday I came up to visit with Steph. We were originally planning on next weekend, going out on Valentine's Day, but she has to work all weekend, so we bumped it up. I took the back way up again; I'll tell you, that route gets more fun to drive every time I take it. Gave me an idea for a video comic, too. I'll have to see if Dad can help me out with this one.Anyway. We went to a great local pizza place near here for lunch on Sunday, then we came back and put together Steph's character for the Mass Effect campaign. She decided to create a vorcha. When I first made it available, Mass Effect 2 hadn't come out yet; I didn't realize that they existed only for cannon fodder. If I was thinking, I would have taken it out... but as soon as I saw her looking at the list of races, I knew she'd pick it. Her character ended up being her typical Steph character, only amplified. We'll see how it plays out. After that, we just watched a lot of Law & Order SVU. Occured to me that a UCF "episode" could be done in that sort of style. The same realization came to me as we finished watching the series Cowboy Bebop. Yesterday we watched Zombieland. I've gotta pick that up on DVD :D It was a lot of fun. We went to Olive Garden last night. Waitress was really nice, amazingly chipper, and her voice was at least an octave too high, but hey, at least being that nice let me be that nice back to her, so everyone was happy. I ended up ordering the exact same thing I ordered the last time I went there, but didn't realize it until it was put in front of me. (The steak was still as amazing, though.) Afterwards we just came back and hung out. Oddly enough, while she was reading aloud one of the longer articles on The Oatmeal, it struck me how soothing her voice is :) I love that girl. Happy pre-Valentine's, Steph. |
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| Feb. 5th, 2010 @ 02:58 pm Updating Jasmine | |||
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| Changed a video card, got more RAM... that's last year, just put through an order to upgrade the processor. This is pretty much a straight copy-paste of the shopping list from a few years ago, except updating to the new components, more for my reference than anything. Eventually I might upgrade the motherboard to fully take advantage of the AM3 socket processor; right now, though, the AM3 processor fits into the AM2 and works, even if not to the fullest. I'll also want to get a second video card, but I want to sell off some of my old stuff first. Said stuff and their (negotiable) asking prices are at the bottom. Hardware Case: Thermaltake Tsunami PRE-EXISTING Motherboard: MSI K9A Platinum PRE-EXISTING Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower W0106RU PRE-EXISTING CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 2.9GHz UPGRADED RAM: mushkin 2 x 1GB DDR2 SDRAM x 2 Heat Sink: Zalman CNPS 9500 AM2 PRE-EXISTING Hard Drive: 2X Western Digital Raptor 74 GB; Western Digital Caviar 1 TB Black PRE-EXISTING; ADDED twice ('08 for $189, '10 for $99) Video Card: Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 4550 512MB UPGRADED Likely to get a second one soon. Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series PRE-EXISTING Optical Drive: LITE-ON DVD+/-R CD-R Combo Drive tons of speed specifications, click link to see PRE-EXISTING Monitor: BenQ FP241VW 24" Widescreen PRE-EXISTING Speakers: Logitech THX 5.1 PRE-EXISTING Keyboard: Eclipse II LED Backlit Keyboard PRE-EXISTING Mouse: Logitech G500 UPGRADED Floppy Drive: Sony Floppy Drive PRE-EXISTING Old parts that I have and am selling: CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.6GHz Asking Price: $50 Includes stock heatsink. Video Card: HIS Hightech ATI Radeon X1950PRO 256MB Asking Price: $40 for both, including CrossFire Bridges. The fan on one is loud, rubbing against the casing. Mouse: Logitech MX518 Getting on in years and clicks, but still works. Asking price: $10 or a Denny's credit Mouse: Saitek Cyborg Mouse Asking Price: $40 Like new, with box and documentation. |
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| Feb. 5th, 2010 @ 01:59 pm (no subject) | |||
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| Found this last time I played my tesla coil playlist, forgot to share it. Justin would like it, I think :D |
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| Feb. 5th, 2010 @ 01:11 pm ME2 and Steph | |||
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| Finished Mass Effect 2 the other night. I was going to stop at 2:30, but figured I'd go through the Omega 4 Mass Relay quickly to check out the area. Little did I know that it'd trigger the final mission, where (no spoilers, as it's been highly publicized) teammates can die... and to keep you from cheating, they don't let you save to re-load. I didn't mind staying up until 4:00 finishing it, it just wasn't expected. Anyhow. Awesome, awesome game. Numerous Crowning Moments of Awesome, where a cutscene starts and then it throws you into... well, no spoilers. But man. So future me knows what I'm talking about, a quote out of context: "That was a joke." Got used to the ammo system. Don't like it in-universe, but in-game I managed to adapt to it. Anyhow. Steph's working the weekend of Valentine's Day, so I bumped up my plans to go see her to be this weekend instead. She was sick when we were playing Diablo last night... hopefully she gets better soon :( |
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| Jan. 31st, 2010 @ 08:17 pm (no subject) | |||
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| Mass Effect 2 conversation between Garrus and Tali, on the Citadel. Garrus: "Remember those conversations we used to have on the elevator? You ever miss those days?" Tali: "No." Garrus: "Remember how we'd always ask you about life on the flotilla?" Tali: "This conversation is over." Garrus: "Come on, tell us about your immune system again." Tali: "I have a shotgun." Garrus: "Maybe later." Yay, making fun of the elevators that everyone hated! (I actually preferred the conversations over the news reports, but ones with Tali were usually... limited. The hit two of her three standard ones.) |
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| Jan. 30th, 2010 @ 06:03 pm (no subject) | |||
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 Tonight's view from behind the counter. Wonky neon reflections and a beautiful sunset, oddly perhaps a bit more vivid on the phone than in real life. You can blame ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} shadicats for encouraging me with her comment in the last entry, instead of, "You need to get a real camera," again :PHelped Jen with some of the moving yesterday. I didn't do too much aside from throwing stuff out. Tonight I'm going to grab a tote from Wal-Mart to put remaining odds, ends, and nick-nacks into. Joe made the comment, and I totally agree, how weird it is how much stuff accumulates over the course of a year, especially considering that more often than not there was really only one of us truly living at the apartment at any one time. Justin's back at work, and February he'll be able to be on for the full day instead of just a few hours. That'll be exciting, as I'll be able to have a bit more flexibility with my hours. Honestly, as long as the store is covered by someone who knows what they're doing, I'm happy. (And I'm also happy because today's been another good day. Not PS3, 360, and Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition good, but still quite good.) |
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| Jan. 30th, 2010 @ 12:00 am (no subject) | |||
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| I don't know why I've been on a photography kick lately. Oh, wait, yeah I do. It's because of reading the Photography thread at SixthSphere. Anyhow. Tonight was gorgeous. The full moon last night was really clear and bright, and I dare say that tonight was even brighter, with the light haze cloud cover spreading the light. No need for high beams - even headlights weren't a huge impact (though I'd still rage at anyone who went without). It was balls-freezingly cold, though >.< Especially when I saw the moon casting light into the garage and laid down in the snow to get this picture:  I called that picture "Weremobile" v.v Work was awesome today. Sold a 60 GB PS3, a 60 GB 360, and the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition, in addition to a decent amount of other games. The last hour was hell because I was so beat... got better once I got food in me, though. Definitely hitting the hay no later than 2 tonight, though. There's a podcast to record tomorrow. Bonus from living at home: 10:45 call time for podcast, I can still get up at 10 like normal instead of 9:30 :D I <3 my job. |
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| Jan. 29th, 2010 @ 04:18 pm (no subject) | |||
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Current Mood:
 sad On January 26th, 2274 Mars days into the mission, NASA declared Spirit a 'stationary research station', expected to stay operational for several more months until the dust buildup on its solar panels forces a final shutdown. This is so sad :( |
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| Jan. 29th, 2010 @ 12:30 pm Mass Effect 2 | |||
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Current Mood:
So, played Diablo with Steph until about 12:30 last night. I'm... not really fond of my necro. The summoning isn't working out, and now there's about ten wasted points that could've gone into Teeth or Bone Spear for direct damage in addition to Amplify Damage and Corpse Explosion. entertainedAnyway. After killing Diablo (actually not as hard as our first time through with the Barbarian and Amazon duo, but not as easy as the second time through with them), I played some Mass Effect 2. And by "some", I mean... well. I started at 1 after getting all of the downloads (Blood Dragon armor, Collector armor, Cerberus... ooh, I've still got the Best Buy preorder codes to put in), and played. There was this perfect, perfect ending spot just after 2:00. Yeah... "Let me look around the ship a bit." 2:20. "Ooh, I can go to the Citadel." 3:00. "Going to the [spoiler preemptively redacted] site should be fun." 3:30. "Let's go to this main mission hub... but I won't get anyone yet! Well, okay, maybe this one guy that I know is from the first one to get another party member than this bitch..." Mission lasted forever. Went to bed at 5:00. Best part was talking to the Scot in engineering (well, there were two of them, to be fair, but he was the more Scottish one) who said, "We're off to kick the Collectors in the daddybags. That's good enough for me." Daddybags. I like it. Edit: Oh, right, I was going to share my impressions. ME2 uses an ammo system instead of the overheat system from the first game. Understandable from game balance, but it really pulls me out - it is such a technological step backwards. Armor collection is simplified - armor is armor, no "Colossus VII" to compare to "Hydra IX". I like that, but I worry that it might have been oversimplified. The interrupt system works great in conversations. "I need to take this guy out, or make sure he doesn't finish his job... ooh, the camera looked at a dangerous looking thing, he tutrned his back, and the Renegade interrupt showed." Zap. Speaking of Renegade, I think that my favorite change is that Renegade moves aren't dick moves - they're just a bit more on the negative side. So far, Bioware has done an excellent job of making Renegade choices just that - Renegade, not Douche. Much better than any of their previous efforts, and certainly better than other morality systems I've seen. Anyway. Apartment tonight to fill up some garbage bags, then probably back for more, unless Steph wants to do some Diablo (e-mail me if you feel like it, hon ).Edit 2: Oh, one more thing. At the end of each mission, it brings you to a score screen, recapping what you did, what money you found, upgrades... The 90s called. They want their feature back. |
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| Jan. 28th, 2010 @ 09:00 pm (no subject) | |||
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Wow, after yesterday's post of the car after the rainy weekend, where it had... well, rained, and washed off my car, it snowed today. And not just what I was fearing - a bit that would get a lot of salt on the road, and then the car - like, epic snowstorm. Sorta bad on the way into work, cleared up, then downright nasty. Took 25 minutes to get home, with a pitstop to try to de-ice my back wiper... and a quick photo op :D   |
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| Jan. 28th, 2010 @ 11:14 am Photo Post - New Desk and Others | |||
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Taken a couple days ago at work (and some slight photo retouching): Taken last night at Gamer's Club. Ten years ago, the yearbook said that it was the beginning of the end. BoterShriek ensues.  And finally... new desk! Forgive the blurriness from the phone.  I love the calendar that Uncle Eric got me, sitting behind the monitor ^.^ Also, I'm sitting a normal distance away from my monitor... it seems too far O.O |
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| Jan. 27th, 2010 @ 01:12 pm Tops Friendly Markets | |||
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| So, Tops bought all of the P&C stores from the bankrupt Penn Traffic. The fate of the Sherrill store is up in the air; if it'll stay open, when exactly it'll transfer from P&C Fresh Market to Tops Friendly Markets, or anything else. I was talking to Cassandra; she won't know how to answer the phone tomorrow. Hope the store stays open. I don't really want to go out to Oneida for groceries. |
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| Jan. 27th, 2010 @ 10:19 am (no subject) | |||
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| Andrew's campaign was last night, first session of Demon Hunters. It takes place a couple years after mine from last spring, but in continuity - he kept one of the NPCs to be a guide of sorts. My character is a bard. He's a Pacifist (d6), meaning that while he won't fight, he'll help others fight. He plays a "banjolin" (half banjo, half mandolin) and helps out other characters. Mostly I was doing offensive buffing, but also helped their defense and even created an illusion once. The character's going to be fun to play, especially since I'm trying to write quick rhymes for each time my character sings. For instance, last night we were fighting vampires in a training simulation. After a song I was using didn't work out well (low range, so only two of three teammates were affected), I started another song (same effects) with: Three valiant warriors Fighting the undead Turning virtual battlefields Holographic red |
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| Jan. 26th, 2010 @ 01:45 pm BITCHES DON'T KNOW BOUT MAH SNUGGIE. | |||
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Current Location: Game Nutz Canastota
This one's for the Bugenis family.Current Mood: amusedCurrent Music: "Feeling Chilled", Melody Sheep (Link, for those on Facebook.) Title is courtesy of Allie's excitement over her birthday gift last year. |
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| Jan. 25th, 2010 @ 01:30 pm Fog and Filming | |||
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| Simple equation: Driving + Fog + E.S. Posthumus = Awesome, relaxing drive. Speaking of fog, filming this past weekend went great. Because of scheduling conflicts, we weren't able to film everything; Saturday was morning-only shooting for the apartment scenes (we were done at noon!) and then fixing up a set for the next day and location scouting. Saturday night, we went to see the show that Lisa was in. She had shown up (after much convincing) sick and only for an hour or so; she went home immediately to conserve energy. We found out why that night - she was playing Essie Carmichael in You Can't Take it With You. She did fantastic, as did the entire cast, and it was a great show to be at. Sunday we filmed the prologoe - exteriors at Devil's Hole and interiors at NDStudios, where we'd set up the day before (in fact, where all interior shooting was that weekend - many thanks to Matt Nardone for letting us use the space). The aforementioned fog came in as we got a great-looking set. My job? To wave a green light around :P But man, did I do it with flair. "Since you aren't looking in this green room, should I shine it on him for some green spill?" "Should he be backlit?" But of course, that wasn't the star of the scene; we had some amazing cast members this weekend. The star this time around was probably Evan, playing a younger version of Good weekend. This week, I'm moving back into my parents' place. Friday night was my last night at the apartment. I got to celebrate with a nice high National Grid bill in the mail today. Buh. |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2010 @ 04:26 pm Twin-engined Hyundai Tiburon Burnout | |||
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| I checked SixthSphere really quick, and they were discussing the idea of putting a second engine in the back of a wagon so it'd have 248 hp and AWD. (Disclaimer: not something I'd ever, ever do.) Someone linked to a video of a Hyundai Tiburon that had the same sort of thing. I'm linking to a video of it, but I'm showing the part that astounded me - one transmission in Drive, one in Reverse, amazing burnout. I don't know if this counts as doing donuts. Maybe donut holes. (Deep link on embedding doesn't work, skip to 1:36 if you don't care about how fast it goes or anything.) Edit: Also, Best Buy just shipped my Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition out :D EEEE |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2010 @ 01:41 pm Papa's Photo | |||
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Current Mood:
A while ago, I put together a concept for some viral marketing for Abstract Messiah. In it, I talked a fair bit about Jazz's father, how important he is to Jazz and to the setting in general. Laz had the idea to take some pictures of Papa, who had given me the train set that we used in UCF, and say that he's Jazz's father (Jared Johnson). floored, pleased, proudI stopped by the house early this morning on the way to work and grabbed a couple, making copies, actually scanning and then printing up at work because the printer at home is crappy for color printing. One is one of him and Grandma from... I want to say the late 70s or 80s, judging my Mom's and Aunt Paula's hairstyles around them, but it might be as late as the early 90s (I don't remember when Mom straightened her hair out). But the one that really got me - that floored me - is the one of Papa from when he was in the service. (I believe that he was an airplane mechanic during WWII, but I'm not sure.)  See it yet? How about now?  |
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| Jan. 21st, 2010 @ 03:39 pm Mass Effect 2 Launch Trailer | |||
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| EEEEEEE!!!!!! Tuesday, man. Actually, preordered from Best Buy, they'll be shipping it to me; our supplier at Game Nutz has been shitty for new games lately >.< BUT. MAN. |
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| Jan. 21st, 2010 @ 10:27 am (no subject) | |||
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| The Heartbreak of an Obi-Wan Haircut Worked ont he Cortex Mass Effect system last night, then... I don't recall, did a bunch of stuff to waste time online. More inventorying when I head into work today. We've got a display case for all of our Game Boy games, so while they were priced by Ron and Jane on Tuesday, I'm putting them all in the system. Filming this weekend! Steph this weekend! Happy Boter this weekend! |
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| Jan. 20th, 2010 @ 03:18 pm (no subject) | |||
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| Last night was the first RPG meeting of the semester. I announced my online Mass Effect campaign based on the Cortex system. Spaz announced his Mass Effect campaign based on the GURPS system. This has to be what girls feel like showing up to a dance and seeing another girl in the same exact dress. Anyhow. Nobody was interested, so I'm still at three players (Andrew, Steph, Dad). If anyone else is interested, let me know - it'll be run online, forum-based, and unlike previous campaigns I've done won't be limited to a semester. If you don't have a Cortex rulebook, let me know and I'll see what I can do. (Oh, hey, is that a free digital copy that came with my copy of the book? How curious.) |
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