piecing it together
Well, Inspy died.
Not exactly. I'm writing this on it right now, but at 1280x1024 resolution on a 17" widescreen display, with Aero disabled. Its GeForce Go 7900 GS, once so formidable, succumbed to the rigorous temperatures of its case and left me with no accelerated video of any kind. In fact, I'm not sure how I'm seeing this right now. Regardless, it became evident that a change was needed.
It's unfortunate, really, because I wasn't done with Inspy. It wasn't feeling overly slow in daily activities, and it could still play most of the games I wanted, on the rare occasions I attempted to play computer games. Really, getting four years of life out of a Dell laptop is an achievement. Of course, my tiny Fujitsu is probably over six years old and still (slowly) going strong, but it doesn't have to play games (anymore). Here's to the good times, Inspy, and your impressive specifications.
Moving on, I decided it was time for a desktop. My needs have changed over the years and I'm now in a position where I need a system that can last reliably for a few years, with the ability to upgrade and not become a paperweight when a component fails or becomes outdated. Builds from HP and Dell are still way overpriced for the inferior stuff they're willing to give you. Besides, building a PC is something I've always been interested in, but never had the courage to undertake. After some fairly exhaustive research, I settled on a budget and list of demands, and set out to fulfill them. And this is what I came up with:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66 GHz, Quad-Core
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB GDDR5, 256-bit (MSI N460GTX Cyclone)
- Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro, LGA 1156, with SATA 6 GB/s and USB 3.0, ATX
- Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB DDR3 1600
- Primary (OS) HD: Intel 40GB X25-V SATA II Solid-State Drive
- Secondary (Storage) HD: Hitachi Deskstar 2TB 7200 RPM
- Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Mid-Tower
- Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W, SLI Certified, 80-Plus Certified
- Disk Drive: Samsung Blu-Ray Combo Drive B083L/BSBP
- Extras: Cooler Master RR-910-HTX3-G1 CPU Cooler, Rosewill RCR-IC001 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader
I don't have a monitor lined up yet, but that's only a small issue. I'm pleased with how this thing is shaping up. Most of the components were ordered through Newegg, and the price ended up just over $1000 after rebates. Most parts have at least a three year warranty. Try getting all that (i.e. powerful GPU and power supply, feature-filled motherboard, SSD, and Blu-Ray) through Dell or HP and you're looking at a pretty absurd mark-up. Oh, and this is all tax-free.
I like reserving the ability to go SLI in the future. Probably by the time Battlefield 3 rolls around, I'll pop in another GTX 460 and have some pretty nice framerates. Now I just need the parts to come in, and I need to find out how to put it all together...
lest we forget
I will never understand baseball's "earned run" rule. Without bothering to look up the actual definition of the rule, I do know that it's meant to protect pitchers from being unfairly blamed for runs that score as the result of errors. It would seem, then, that if a batter hits a ball that is misplayed by the center fielder, and said batter-runner comes around to score on the exact same play, and the official ruling on the play is "a double" and "a two-base error," then the run scored by the batter-runner should be unearned. It was the error, after all, that allowed him to score; a double does not count as a run.
On that note, here's Melky Cabrera of the erratic 2010 Atlanta Braves to demonstrate.
battlefield 3 beta
Oh, well look at this...
EA has announced that if you waste your money by buying the limited edition of the mediocre game that is Medal of Honor, you can get access to the beta for Battlefield 3. That's right - they've told us before that it's coming, but nothing has been said about BF3 for quite some time. And even now they aren't showing a logo or giving any other details, other than that the beta will begin within a year of Medal of Honor's arrival this fall.
What's interesting is the mention that Xbox Live Gold is required to access the beta of BF3, indicating that the game will, once again, not be a PC-exclusive. It remains to be seen if this can be DICE's return to glory after heading further and further from their former success. In my book, if BF3 has a full assortment of vehicles (land/sea/air), massive maps, full squads and squad leaders, commanders, 64 player support, mod support, decent VOIP, a command rose, revive ability, and none of this garbage auto-regenerating health and/or unlimited ammo, then it will be a success...even if they manage to screw it all up somehow.
this one counts
I have to say, I'm only slightly surprised at the United States' 1-0 win over Algeria today. The surprise was not that they ended up winning, but that they didn't allow an early goal. And it wasn't for lack of effort. An Algerian striker whose name is irrelevant had a brilliant chance within the first 15 minutes and ended up hitting the crossbar. That was the turning point, because if that goal had fallen, it would've changed the tone for the entire match. As it was, the team had to know that they had a chance - they had many chances, in fact. There was another disallowed goal for the Americans, this time a missed offsides call, but we already knew that referees are terrible and that it would take at least two real goals to get enough that counted. Leave it to Landon Donovan to provide a goal at nearly the last possible minute; that's how we roll.
So with that, the U.S. went from facing elimination to winning the group, and England held on for their own 1-0 win over Slovenia to take second. But England is still a poor squad overall, despite their individual talent. Still, there would have been a lot of disappointed fans around the world if people had to watch Slovenia get slaughtered in the next round. Now the following rounds of the 2010 World Cup will have a lot to live up to to match this level of excitement.
who cares what happens, as long as it happens
clint dempsey tattoo (source)
I just realized that my hiatus was showing, so I suppose now would be as good a time as any to make World Cup predictions. If only such predictions weren't completely impossible to make with any hint of certainty. Today, a team - and nation - all but assured of their impending victory over the host nation were left stunned, and the two "best" teams in the group could not score a single goal. Yes, Mexico's 1-1 draw with South Africa was quite surprising, and France's 0-0 outing with Uruguay was wholly uninspiring. Tomorrow, the real fun begins, with the biggest match being the USA executing their upset of merry old England.
Since these prognostications are all in good fun, I'm going to go group by group and make up outrageous outcomes, so that I may look back and see just how far off I was. The best foreknowledge I have at my disposal is Pele's recognition of Brazil and Spain as the best two teams, which therefore guarantees that neither team will be taking home the cup.
if you’re going to lose…
...Lose it big.
I think the beauty of being subjected to a no-hitter is that it can really bring a team's offense under inspection, and hopefully elicit some change. As bad as the Braves looked tonight in Ubaldo Jimenez's six-walk no-hitter, there's solace in knowing that Cox and Wren couldn't possibly sit back and say that at least a third of the lineup (namely: Melky, McLouth, and Glaus) are up to league average, or that Terry Pendleton has any clue what he's doing with Atlanta hitters...
...Or could they?
Admittedly, I've seen worse. And Jimenez was throwing some very nasty stuff. Here's a post-game quote from Bobby Cox, regarding Jimenez: "He's hard to hit at."
Well-said, Bobby. Well-said.
over the hype
Well, he's proved that his supporters weren't being foolishly optimistic after all.
The Atlanta Braves' rookie right fielder Jason Heyward has made his big-league debut, in an opening day that saw the Braves best the Cubs 16-5. Some inconsequential stuff also happened, like Lowe continuing to play "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," Escobar driving in 5, and McCann homering. But the big story was Heyward's three-run homer in the first. He also had an RBI single later in the game.
So this is what it comes down to: projections. Everyone knew Heyward would be good, but few had him pegged at being this good. Extrapolating his line of 2/5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, and 1 SO, Heyward's monster 2010 season projects thusly:
.400, 162 HR, 648 RBI, 162 SO
Yes, Heyward is on track to become the first person to hit .400 since Ted Williams batted .406 in 1941. Perhaps more astoundingly, he will more than double Barry Bonds' single-season home run record of 73. And while he will more than triple the current RBI record (Hack Wilson, 191), even his most ardent fans will be upset by his 162 strikeouts and 0 walks. Still, Heyward's contributions will easily outweigh those shortcomings en route to the first of many MVP seasons.
You heard it here first.
thankful at easter
This Easter, we should be thankful for God's provision. Whether "rich" or "poor," all who ask in the Lord's name have their needs fulfilled. The greatest testament to this is a personal one, and I have found this to be true of smaller things (like passing a trying exam) as well as larger ones (like salvation, the purpose of Easter). It can be incredibly difficult to imagine that we are "in good hands," as Allstate would have it, but the proof is often evident. So let's try to enjoy the spring and all of the blessings we've received, instead of fearing for the future. As Jon Foreman points out in his song "Your Love Is Strong":
So why should I worry? Why do I freak out? God knows what I need...You know what I need.
a different perspective
Has anyone else noticed the uncanny resemblance of Motorola's logo to an aerial view of Madonna's cleavage? Once you see it that way, you just may never go back.
who was robot zeus?
Bayern Munich's manager Louis van Gaal had the following to say about Manchester United's goalkeeper:
I always say Van der Sar is a manufactured goalkeeper. He is not so happy when I say it, but there are more natural goalkeepers in the world. Van der Sar has been made into a goalkeeper.
Of course, van Gaal had not yet seen Chelsea's new keeper, or his recognition of "manufactured" goalies would be more astute. It took a special caliber of player to dethrone the venerable Petr Cech from his starting role. 6'7" of solid, shining bronze, "Robot Zeus," as he became known, was an embodiment of perfection. His original ties to Robot Pele are nebulous, but his affiliation with Dieter Sphinxly and Grecian origin remain of little debate.
Although he could sometimes be beaten by less challenging shots, he routinely turned in fantastic saves and rarely got caught flat-footed. He did, however, show a propensity for wandering from his line, and his early days saw opponents seize the advantage of the open net. But with time his might became known, and there was nothing he could not accomplish on the pitch. For those blistering shots seemingly beyond him, some claimed to have seen sparks of lightning issuing from his fingertips and steering the ball off-course.
And when he sallied forth, teams crumbled. In tandem with Robot Pele, the goals pelted the nets. He became the all-time leading goal scorer among goalkeepers in the history of the English Premier League in a matter of two appearances. On top of that, he performed his role admirably, and the preponderance of clean sheets in Chelsea's record could be attributed directly to his influence.
His ascension to Olympus remains a dark day in the storied history of the Blues.