Wacky weather fun !

Posted on by Forge77

The last two days have been fun with the weather, Start off the day with a thunderstorm than have a happy tornado warning

Todays Weather is not any better , woke up this morning to the sound of a stream which i put 1 and 1 together to equil 6 , My pool was overflowing.

Today’s fun after getting a coffee and almost loosing my hat is ..

FLASH FLOODING.
514 AM EDT THU JUL 24 2008
URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
FLOOD WATCH…CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
514 AM EDT THU JUL 24 2008

…TORRENTIAL RAINS EXPECTED AGAIN THROUGH THIS EVENING…

.TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL STREAM AHEAD OF A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT
THROUGH THIS EVENING. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS…FAR SOUTHWEST NEW
HAMPSHIRE…AND NORTHERN CONNECTICUT…AS WELL AS RHODE ISLAND AND
MUCH OF EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE
PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN…BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING OR

…FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS EXPANDED THE

* FLOOD WATCH TO INCLUDE PORTIONS OF MASSACHUSETTS…SOUTHERN
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND RHODE ISLAND…INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING
AREAS…IN MASSACHUSETTS…CENTRAL MIDDLESEX MA…EASTERN
ESSEX MA…EASTERN NORFOLK MA…EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA…NORTHERN
BRISTOL MA…SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA…SOUTHERN BRISTOL MA…
SOUTHERN PLYMOUTH MA…SUFFOLK MA…WESTERN ESSEX MA…WESTERN
NORFOLK MA AND WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA. IN SOUTHERN NEW
HAMPSHIRE…EASTERN HILLSBOROUGH NH. IN RHODE ISLAND…BRISTOL
RI…EASTERN KENT RI…NEWPORT RI…NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI…
SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI…WASHINGTON RI AND WESTERN KENT RI.

* THROUGH LATE TONIGHT

* A COLD FRONT MOVING VERY SLOWLY TOWARDS THE WATCH AREA WILL PRODUCE
NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING. SOME OF
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE TORRENTIAL RAINS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES
PER HOUR.

* WIDESPREAD RAINFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED…
BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING. ISOLATED TOTALS UP TO 5 INCHES
ARE POSSIBLE. GIVEN THE POTENTIAL FOR TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS…THE
THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING EXISTS AS WELL… ESPECIALLY IN URBAN
AREAS.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE
FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE
PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.

HAPPY FUN!
HAPPY FUN!

this is gonna be a fun day with storms.

The banking crisis and how it seems to stand now.

Posted on by Forge77

Well right now with banks shuting down because of bank runs , Subprime Mortgages, and Idoits running the whole thing we are currently in an economic clusterfuck. Indy Mac and Fanny mae just got Picked up by the FDIC. I’ve been passively watching other banks and noticed that wacovia bank has lost over 72% of its value in the last 9 months.  My bank which i have a savings account through Has lost over 63% of its value in the same time.

It bothers me that you turn on the news and the financial news says “Everythings great! the housing market is up .5% , when year to date its actually down ALOT! If you go to sites that are out of the US basically you get the message of Hold on to your ass cuz your going for ride

The US needs to stop trying to save the banks and try to save the people. As far as i see it they have been screwing off and making inflation go batshit.

Every time we bail out a bank we are just setting up for a higher fall, every time the Interest rate is cut we are getting higher up. We are going to be up shits creek if we keep on saving banks. Unfortunatly at this time we keep doing this we if a major closure happens that we cant control , we are just going to go into freefall from all the propping up of the econimy , Its better off to slowly Fix the issues at hand , irony has it when i was a kid there was a cartoon that perfectly made sense of inflation . Its like a balloon, for every time you cause inflation the balloon inflates. cause too much inflation and it burst. we need to figure out how to slowly deflate the econimy and defuse the banking crisis. which Rather than gov bail out . they should fix it for themselves.

Sure jobs will be lost, but in the end by not keep bailing them out the landing will not be like jumping off a skyscraper

but overall the banks are to blame on this one. they are the ones that went out and offered dirtcheap mortgages that were effectively poisoned from the start. the ARM… will literaly cost you an arm and leg.

The US gov wants to give money to the banks. Why not do the more sound thing.. give the money to the people to save there houses, or at least give them an option to get out free if they can not prove a sound economic stance.  Its really bad that people loose there houses and yet the banks profit by getting huge bail outs.

Times are tough… even myself i’ve cut down on coffee =p

Review: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon

Posted on by Forge77

I Picked up Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s dungeon not sure what to expect after buying Dragon Quest Swords , You see Dragon Quest Swords I figured Might be good but instead it turned into a steaming pile of Suck after the first 20 minutes of play realizing that you were stuck on rails, In the Sense of an RPG its not because you are firmly stuck on rails with no real choice of where you can explore. BlueSteel really has the game Pretty much nailed in this review on his site.

As For Final Fantasy fables though its a complete turnaround from DQS , I Started out playing and i was taken back how it reminded me of final fantasy 9. Final Fantasy 9 i personally enjoyed due to the fact you dont get clusterfucked by Cut scene movies, The Story so far seems to be fairly decent but what had caught me as the funniest thing was the dungeons. As i started play around in the dungeons something came to mind a game i used to play.

fatal labyrinth an old yet addictive game on the Sega Genesis it seems all the dungeons are randomized and Loot is randomized, If you die you also loose everything you had, that said its best to use the storage in game. I’ve so far made it through half of the game. Some parts are just outright agravating to the point you want to fire your wiimote out a window, but as Agravating as it can get theres always another path you can go and just go back to the spot your stuck in later.

One of the hardest parts of the game is the “special rules” dungeons.. basically you have any number limitations that makes your life harder than being awake two weeks straight without an ounce of coffee, If you feel like your going to fail a dungeon best thing is to bail out and retry it, because the randomization affords you a luck factor of getting an easier setup.

Overall so far, I really like the game, but due to the content it may fly under the radar for alot of people , Its a great experence so far. also it lends a little nastolgia to old school gaming.  The gameplay effectively nonlinear in a way. but inorder to advance the story you have to play with the story.

The name roguelike  Rpg as everyone calls it is sort of fitting but theres a sence to why stuff is randomized.

but as far as FFFCD Its Definantly worth a buy because the replayability is up there.

StarSucks Closings

Posted on by Forge77


Been too long since i’ve last updated but i caught this little bit in the new, From the boston globe that Starbucks isn’t doing so well.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – One coffee drinker’s bad news is another coffee drinker’s good news, it seems.

Financial woes at Starbucks Corp <SBUX.O>, which is planning to close 600 underperforming U.S. stores, is evoking glee and little sympathy from aficionados who say they resent the coffee shop giant and favor small independent cafes.

Its sad to see coffee places close but as far as starbucks goes.. I cant really give any sympathy myself for this.  There expansion was at breakneck speed and in the end it was there own fault.  I’ve been in Starbucks on Occasion , When theres no other coffee within miles. But you can see why Starbucks fucked up, google maps shows it perfectly.

Like why the hell are there 3 starbucks within 2000 feet of each other. Its like someone went on a bombing run of Providence with Starbucks all in a straight line.

seriously there cant be that many uppity people in providence that need there starbucks that bad. but there way of putting up stores is just bad.

I’d hate to say it but if you look at dunkin donuts its much more logical than starbucks…

Would you pay $15 dollars for a coffee? Not me..

Posted on by Forge77

I have my limits on coffee but $15 dollars is way out of my limit , for that price the coffee better do something like cure diseases. while not as expensive as cat shit coffee its still too damn expensive.

From WFMY News 2 :

Some people in Washington are paying $15 a cup for a rare and expensive cup of coffee.

Advertisement

Vancouver, WA — It’s said to be some of the best coffee in the world, but its $15 a cup price tag may be a bit hard to swallow for some drinkers.

The brew is called Panama Esmerelda is made from a very rare coffee bean. They only get 8 cups of coffee from a half pound bag. And the half pound bag costs $100. The coffee shop in Portland is the only shop in the nation to bid on the expensive coffee beans.

Drinkers say it has a different type of taste that it worth the money.

that last line gets me.. It has a different taste, sure why not have a little crack with your coffee that would have a different taste too..

Games: Guitar ____, Rock_____ (insert random word in blank space)

Posted on by Forge77

First guitar hero… that wasn’t so bad. Than rock band… Now Rock revolution, And so it begins.. the Rock____(fill in blank with something Cool sounding) Wars.

Whats next Rock Philharmonic, *You need 45 Controllers to play, a small loan , your first born and a contract for 3 years. it maybe just me but i have no damn interest in a simulator simulator (your simulating someone simulating playing a song). I just cant stand games that you do not truly play – It would be like playing Unreal Tournament by playing the player that controls the character thats boring as hell. After all doesn’t violate some sort of paradox rule? Just imagine playing Mario brothers by the Guitar hero method .. red red green green and you screaming the whole time GO RIGHT DAMNIT.

Sure its *new* to gaming … NOT SO MUCH, Cue: NES power pad(wait thats more fun).. Dance Dance revolution, Or for that matter any sports game where you Can only play by simulating the seasons. Sure Maybe the first time around its fun but after that i’d see it getting boring as hell.

But what i find Is the silliest fucking thing to this is with the DLC + Need to buy 74 Plastic toy instruments its getting ridiculous. This is all falling into the horrible black hole of your typical EA game.. Rather than improve on the game structure and make it better, Redo the whole came and complicate the fuck out of the Interface and controls, Guitar Hero has your guitar, Rockband has Drums + 2 guitars, Rock Revolution has a Even more complicated 7 button drum set plus who the hell knows what.. Perhaps the Special Kazoo controller, guitar Hero IV not to be outdone will have also a six button drum Annoying taping banging sound kit.

If you have ever walked into a big box store you can normally hear the rock band drum set from across the store and normally you want to kill the person on the drums because they pound away at the things like a Drunken steroid Infused gorilla. Honestly I cant stand this type of game because its a horrid step backwards, Now if the companies making these games would let you plug in a REAL Instrument to the game and actually play the song, I’d likely not have to say a word about this crap. But, Since this crap is turning into a monster its going to be horrid.

This game type is mutating at such a fast rate its getting scary. Rockband I think will have the most room for mutation since its evil EA overlords will probably whip there slaves into making some awful brain feasting zombie game, where in order to run it you must buy the all the options.. Wait there already doing that, Rock band wants you to bend over and take it a little harder with the Light and smoke Stage kit for 99$

Whats next, The Rock Band bender washout years kit, Complete with 9 tons of blow and acid with optional hookers, (Groupies sold separately).

I know these companies want to make a buck, but hell come up with something innovative will ya?

like, why not add some actual gaming to these games, add a part where you have to manage your band, A TRUE career mode. manage the band , or hire a manager that could quite possibly rip you off, fend off fights in the venue? Add some Extreme personalization by having your own true “rock band” by each player that plays has there gamertag(xbox) to each part of the band creating a true (even tho simulated simulated) band – with the possibility of offline gaming where all people don’t have to be there at once. One guy does the guitar part, you get a notification that your “bandmember” has attempted a song and You have to do your part. that would lead to better online multiplayer gaming. with this setup You could have Bands that play against each other and Have a Fame rating or something to that effect. If your “rock band” breaks up you also get a penalty or a bonus depending on how that player was.

(note: Rock Band has a mode like this but it seems more linear, see wiki Entry)

It just gets to me on how a game with such a lack of depth is so popular. Drives me completely nuts when i hear people that say “OH YEAH I CAN PLAY THAT SONG” and you finish the sentence with “on your Console….”. but these games need more depth more options than *Red green yellow yellow etc etc*

with the idea I have… you could have battle of the bands …. rather than single ratings or how many “fans” you have..

Hopefully in the future, these games will not be the clusterfuck they are coming out to be right now by adding all the craptastic accessories and needing them all to “play” the game, and game that requires you to buy stuff thats twice the cost of the game is kind of ridiculous in my opinion. I am sure some people enjoy these games but… till they come up with a saner method, instead of flooding the market with 90 tons of crap your going to forget about after you get bored and Have a load of plastic instruments floating around, I think I’ll stay away from these genre….

Just a side note… Strangely interesting that the publisher is listed as MTV GAMES for most versions of Rock Band at Gamestop.com ..

Makes me wonder if they are trying to hide there name in order to stop people that go “EA SUCKS ASS” which they do in 99% of cases.

101st post =p.

Posted on by Forge77

Wow.. 101 Posts. thats a bit crazy by my standards, and no i did not feel like saying 100th post.. its way too overdone.

Today brought wii out with the original cable thinking I’d have a nightmare setting the thing back up for my monitor. I got home and was pleasantly surprised by the ease that 480P stayed on.

After looking through my games collection i started thinking what the future games I’d be interested in.. And the problem i see with the Wii is the amount of Game Vomit. Game Vomit is what i call it when developers just toss anything they can at a system and call it a game. Unfortunately the Wii has Enough Game Vomit to warrant surgery to reduce the amount of crap that the system intakes. Personally I think it makes the *Nintendo seal of Quality* Look Horrible.