tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:58:46 +0000Ranting semi-incoherently about the grievances of everyday life.http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (swmand4)Blogger152125Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily Rotationtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4862868975655001076Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:23:00 +00002009-09-16T12:56:52.964-07:00Unity QuestAwenLane MichelBookAnik BoseWhat happens when a man, controlled by an all-encompassing career, begins to realize that his life is unraveling? When his dreams of an ancient symbol tell him that the parts of his life are disjointed? To resolve this conflict, he must find a way to bring the parts of himself into a united whole. This is the plot of Unity Quest, a book my father recently finished writing and publishing with a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/vnhXoyTyZpg/unity-quest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/vnhXoyTyZpg" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/09/unity-quest.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4582299149162318371Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:37:00 +00002009-09-16T12:27:38.440-07:00JokeI'll try to sum it up by first telling you about the folks I work with:First, there is this supermodel wanna-be chick. Yeah, okay, she is pretty hot, but she is completely useless. The girl is constantly fixing her hair or putting on makeup. She is extremely self-centered and has never once considered the needs or wants of anyone but herself. She is as dumb as a box of rocks, and I still find it http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/_HRpdeRd4iY/my-job-is-so-fucking-terrible.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/_HRpdeRd4iY" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-job-is-so-fucking-terrible.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-7577768079159245485Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:03:00 +00002009-09-02T19:04:26.108-07:00YouTubeX-wing AllianceAzzameenStar WarsThe 5th chapter of the video game X-wing Alliance. The Rebels receive alliance-coded messages from somewhere in the Empire. They mount several missions based on the information fed to them via this source. It is later revealed that the source is an Imperial officer who wishes to defect, and there is a spy amongst the Rebel fleet. Click the arrows on the left and right to proceed to the next http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/X3BYsa_oYEY/x-wing-alliance-over-fence.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/X3BYsa_oYEY" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/09/x-wing-alliance-over-fence.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4139845957932777370Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:38:00 +00002009-08-25T17:41:34.238-07:00YouTubeX-wing AllianceAzzameenStar WarsThe 4th chapter of my play-through of the video game X-wing Alliance. The Empire is building new TIE fighter prototypes that are unmanned and more powerful than current generation craft. The Rebel fleet must discover the source of these new starfighters, and destroy it. Click the arrows on the left and right to proceed to the next mission/cutscene.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/VnNM06faivM/x-wing-alliance-secret-weapons-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/VnNM06faivM" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/08/x-wing-alliance-secret-weapons-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-1029982784349776132Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:21:00 +00002009-08-23T01:23:41.579-07:00JokeA woman meets a man in a bar. They talk; they connect; they end up leaving together. They get back to his place, and as he shows her around his apartment, she notices that one wall of his bedroom is completely filled with soft, sweet, cuddly teddy bears. There are three shelves in the bedroom, with hundreds and hundreds of cute, cuddly teddy bears carefully placed in rows, covering the entire http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/j5EVTZrEoIg/sensitive-man.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/j5EVTZrEoIg" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/08/sensitive-man.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-7416793596529681164Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:30:00 +00002009-08-20T23:32:45.612-07:00YouTubeX-wing AllianceVideo gamesAzzameenStar WarsThis is the third chapter of my X-wing Alliance play-through. In these seven missions, the Rebels conducts strike missions against Admiral Holtz and the Star Destroyer Corrupter. After successfully taking down the sensor net, the Rebel fleet jumps to safety without being followed. The mission you fly to recover the probe droid can be annoying since another ship steals the probe. You have to shoothttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/EO2vPn4b6Zk/x-wing-alliance-clearing-way.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/EO2vPn4b6Zk" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/08/x-wing-alliance-clearing-way.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-2360181761549467246Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:36:00 +00002009-08-20T23:20:20.458-07:00YouTubeX-wing AllianceVideo gamesAzzameenStar WarsThis is part two of my X-wing Alliance play-through. In this chapter, "Ace" Azzameen proves he is capable of piloting a starfighter. These two missions are essentially starfighter training missions. The first one is extremely frustrating since you fly a Y-wing (worst Rebel craft) and have to take on two troop transports. I was playing on easy and it took me 17 tries and a strange glitch to pass http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/DfH1hJOv34w/x-wing-alliance-joining-rebellion.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/DfH1hJOv34w" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/08/x-wing-alliance-joining-rebellion.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-5896455701647480154Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +00002009-08-19T11:38:13.874-07:00YouTubeX-wing AllianceVideo gamesAzzameenStar WarsI have recently decided to record a playthrough of the Star Wars video game X-wing Alliance. After many, many hours of researching and testing video rendering methods to find the best one, I have begun the process of recording every mission in the game. This is a tedious process, and I thought it best to play on easy so that the missions go quickly. I toyed with the idea of including the mission http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/SqgqAl1sa5E/x-wing-alliance-prologue-family.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/SqgqAl1sa5E" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/08/x-wing-alliance-prologue-family.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-5626867717288876515Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:39:00 +00002009-08-03T14:56:07.216-07:00Xbox 360Matt HazardEat LeadThe most recent game I've been playing is Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard. I have to say I was skeptical whether or not I would like this game. Every review I read before I rented it pointed to the game having good writing and lack-luster gameplay. The game is about a washed up video game star named Matt Hazard (voiced by Arrested Development's Will Arnett) who must stop a diabolical scheme http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/TUvS__YV3XM/new-game-eat-lead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/TUvS__YV3XM" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-game-eat-lead.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-349121402038979447Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:40:00 +00002009-08-02T15:45:42.139-07:00LucasartsX-Wing vs. Tie FighterX-wing AllianceStar WarsI recently posted about a talk I had with a friend about old video games, and how I felt some nostalgia towards my favorites. In an effort to both fill my time and re-experience these old games, I dusted off X-wing vs. TIE Fighter and its sequel X-wing Alliance. From the start I was taken back to 1997 when I purchased (with the help of my parents) my first joystick and video game. Unfortunately, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/MAhoR9jQp30/star-wars-x-wing-alliance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/MAhoR9jQp30" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/star-wars-x-wing-alliance.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-785317310326587872Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:22:00 +00002009-07-26T23:25:14.994-07:00Google WiFiThis last week or so has been extremely frustrating. I've been visiting family who, in an effort to save some money, canceled their internet service. In lieu of a personal connection, they have been using the free Google WiFi service that is spread throughout the city. Initially I thought this was a brilliant idea. However, I've come to realize this is not the case. Google WiFi is slow and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/6QKB4n2nzN8/google-wifi-sucks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/6QKB4n2nzN8" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-wifi-sucks.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4800885805248031321Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:31:00 +00002009-07-24T13:29:47.542-07:00DexterSHOWTIMEOne of my favorite shows on television right now is, by far, Dexter. From the very first episode of season one, I was hooked. There is something oddly entrancing about the show's plot - a moralistic serial killer who works for the police department. The blend of dark drama, humor, and intrigue is fascinating. I've been waiting for more of the show since the finale of the last season. Luckily, we http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/IgtYcenrvWo/dexter-season-4.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/IgtYcenrvWo" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/dexter-season-4.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-1329838006692737146Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:46:00 +00002009-07-19T17:18:21.534-07:00YouTubeVideosBordersI recently made two upgrades to my blog, both of which took me a few hours to get to work right. The first change was to add an RSS Subscribe button at the bottom of each post. My second change was to add a border around the videos I post, in an effort to keep consistency with the borders around photos. In this second post I am going to show you how to add a border around videos, assuming you usehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/7Ephi4VL6hQ/add-border-to-videos-in-blogger-posts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/7Ephi4VL6hQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/add-border-to-videos-in-blogger-posts.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-5831980386467534552Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:49:00 +00002009-07-16T21:12:28.136-07:00SubscribeRSS ButtonRSS SubscribeI recently made two upgrades to my blog, both of which took me a few hours to get to work right. The first change was to add an RSS Subscribe button at the bottom of each post. My second change was to add a border around the videos I post, in an effort to keep consistency with the borders around photos. In this first post I am going to show you how to add the RSS button at the bottom of each posthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/FDdM0sDAR1E/add-rss-button-to-blogger-posts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/FDdM0sDAR1E" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/add-rss-button-to-blogger-posts.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-7168093127422720729Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:16:00 +00002009-07-16T16:50:59.378-07:00ShaveRazorElectric RazorI tried shaving with a razor blade for the first time this morning. It wasn't as bad as I expected it would be. Up to this point, I've always used an electric razor for the convenience and familiarity of it - an electric razor won't cut you as easily as a traditional razor. I've always heard that a blade will give you a better, closer shave and I thought it would be nice to see if I could avoid http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/-iI_gnHm98I/shaving-with-razor-blade.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/-iI_gnHm98I" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/shaving-with-razor-blade.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4699074327889269724Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:15:00 +00002009-07-15T00:42:30.901-07:00NostalgiaX-Wing vs. Tie FighterChip's ChallengeVideo gamesStar WarsDark ForcesRebel AssaultAn old roommate of mine was in town for this past weekend, and we spent a lot of time chatting about video games. Not surprising since we both love them. Eventually, we got around to talking about games we played as kids. We looked up some videos to reminisce about, and I thought I'd share.The first game I can remember owning was Lucasarts' Star Wars: X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. I saved my allowance http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/kAbcqrEZUC8/video-game-nostalgia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/kAbcqrEZUC8" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-game-nostalgia.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-6150199789821089582Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:42:00 +00002009-07-19T14:43:49.793-07:00Prince of PersiaPrototypeI was just playing some of the side events in Prototype and realized that I haven't yelled this loud at the television since I played Prince of Persia a few months back. There are several things in the game that set me off - poor controls that make the character difficult to control, enemies that swarm you with tanks and shoot so often you have no chance to escape or regain health, and most http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/WW1d_JrpFd4/yelling-at-tv.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/WW1d_JrpFd4" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/yelling-at-tv.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4140889013002505126Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:57:00 +00002009-07-09T12:00:24.609-07:00DreamsToday I'm going to take a break from video games and write a bit about a couple dreams I had this morning. The first dream I had centered on competing with this guy, who I don't recall seeing, for some woman's affection. There really isn't a whole lot I remember about this particular dream except that there was a point system that would add points when one of us did something good. I also http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/B1zOU4HVC5U/wtf-dreams.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/B1zOU4HVC5U" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/wtf-dreams.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-1038076936454239399Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:34:00 +00002009-07-08T14:36:03.540-07:00fallout dlcFalloutfallout 3aliensmothership zetaWhile I'm still finishing Prototype, I figured I'd write a little about the next video game purchase I plan to make. The upcoming downloadable content (DLC) for Fallout 3 is entitled Mothership Zeta, and will feature an alien abduction in the Capital Wasteland. For those of you who have played the game, you may remember coming across a crashed alien ship with a usable alien weapon (arguably one http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/LTkqQ1tN02s/fallout-3-mothership-zeta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/LTkqQ1tN02s" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/fallout-3-mothership-zeta.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-1712559847191581422Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:19:00 +00002009-07-06T12:46:36.185-07:00Mass EffectGrand Theft AutoCrackdownGameFlyAssassin's CreedAlex MercerXbox 360PrototypeLast night I didn't have much to do since I finished watching all of the television series Arrested Development, so I decided to pop in my new Xbox 360 game from GameFly, Prototype. I've played it for a few hours now and have some first impressions to share.The beginning of the game starts at some point in the middle of Alex Mercer's, the main character, story. We get to taste each of the powers http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/qWKuLitZqEA/new-game-prototype.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/qWKuLitZqEA" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-game-prototype.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-7071970835729078630Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:49:00 +00002009-07-03T19:22:51.363-07:00GameFlyXbox 360NetflixvideogamesPrototypeBlockbusterI've been using the video game rental service GameFly on and off again for a few years now, and still don't like parts of it. Shipping is painfully slow, it takes them a ridiculous amount of time to send your next game, and their customer support is not helpful. For all these flaws, you still get to keep a game for as long as you want (once you receive it) at a price much cheaper than a movie http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/Bs1WvMqFglY/thoughts-on-gamefly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/Bs1WvMqFglY" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/thoughts-on-gamefly.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-2689710064520666646Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:23:00 +00002009-07-09T23:26:20.393-07:00Dead RisingMass EffectFalloutAssassin's CreedVideo gamesSplinter CellXbox 360BatmanBad CompanyBioshockModern WarfareLeft 4 DeadMax PayneODSTAlan WakeArmy of TwoAlright, I'll keep this one short and stick to a topic I know. Here's a list of video games I'm excited about (in no particular order) that are coming sometime in the next year and half.Mass Effect 2Alan WakeHalo 3: ODSTAssassin's Creed 2Bioshock 2Batman: Arkham AsylumCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta (DLC)Splinter Cell: ConvictionDead Rising 2Max Payne 3Left 4 Dead 2Army http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/xTMq7MW8J8g/upcoming-games.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/xTMq7MW8J8g" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/upcoming-games.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-7656934293720778290Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:58:00 +00002009-07-15T00:51:41.219-07:00Mass Effectmass effect 2e3Video gamesXbox 360I figured I'd ease back into writing by sharing something I'm very excited about. As some of you may know, the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) took place a few weeks ago. There were several games I was following closely, but none closer than Mass Effect 2. The first Mass Effect game is by far my favorite game on the Xbox 360. I enjoyed it so much that I played it through five times and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/RRBymvxZCT0/mass-effect-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/RRBymvxZCT0" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/07/mass-effect-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-4407840096618288744Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:43:00 +00002009-07-09T23:24:03.095-07:00It's been nearly a full two years since I visited my little blog here. I now find myself on summer break from school, unemployed, bored of wasting time and looking forward to my senior year of college. In order to fill up some of my free time, I've decided to resume posting here. The site has been overhauled with the new layout tools Blogger has implemented, and I'd like to think it's a little http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/gdG6PiWZdVI/two-years.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/gdG6PiWZdVI" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-years.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17701570.post-3686033231104635364Sat, 11 Aug 2007 06:17:00 +00002007-08-10T23:45:02.576-07:00I was making my bed just now and fuming about a particular encounter with someone that happened only minutes ago when I got to thinking. This particular argument was about washing clothes late at night. (It's an efficient use of time!) This other person came out of his room and told me that I had to stop doing laundry after 10pm. Now, I'm not too good at presenting an argument on the fly so the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~3/16MOChuhKtU/conflicted-mind.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (swmand4)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cheese-Wheel/~4/16MOChuhKtU" height="1" width="1"/>http://cheese-wheel.blogspot.com/2007/08/conflicted-mind.html