You be my Peach, I’ll be your Mario.
I’ll pick you up in my kart,
Hope you dont mind sharing the seat.
We’ll cruise down rainbow road,
While exchanging body heat.

I’ll capture your bunker,
with strategic use of force.
Send wave after wave,
Until you come for me,
Then my siege tank will respond

There’s plenty of time
While I research the nuke
But when my launch is detected
It will be all over your base

My sword is large,
Controlled with precession and flow.
My materia is yours,
How I long to share your life force.
You are my final fantasy

Have an erotic nerd poem you want to share? Send it to me here and I might post it up. <3

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Though this is an issue much more severe than any one game can reflect, many of you have asked for my thoughts on this story as a female gamer. For quite some time there has been an uproar over the plans Blizzard had to force WoW players to post as themselves (using their “real life” names) in the WoW forums. Just a few days ago Blizzard announced that they would no longer be implementing this plan. Here are my thoughts thoughts this:

While I have not played WoW for years, once you are inside of the World of Warcraft, it gets inside of you (no, not like that . It is fun, addicting, frustrating…and you can get lost in it. Part of its appeal is defined by the “R” in MMORPG. You have the ability, the privilege even, to take on the role of a character completely unlike yourself. Or, if you so choose, to take on the role of a character completely like yourself. Or only a little.

But, the key is, you are NOT yourself. You’re someone else.

I was a high-level Rogue Gnome named Ludith, among other things. If I had decided it, I could have hidden myself completely behind my character. No one would have known who I was. No one needed to know I was even female in real life.

So the appeal of such life-like games is not just in the fun of the game mechanics, but in the allure of anonymous connections with strangers, of being whoever I want to be, without the cares, worries, and history that comes with “real life.” This environment is like a bright fluorescent light at night, drawing, among others, socially-awkward gamers and people with low self-esteem like so many moths, gnats, and mosquitoes.

Anonymity can be helpful in some ways. Sometimes this allows for people to create bonds with others that they might not otherwise be able to create. The soft aura of the monitor screen acts as a protective shield. People are accustomed to sharing emotions, information…more of themselves than they might otherwise be.

While I am Nixie Pixel here, it may surprise you to know that it isn’t my real name.  =p I get to share with you some of myself and my life while still keeping my work (as this has become my full-time job) and personal life separate. One reason I chose to do so is because I am a gamer. My experience with gamers online has been very positive for the most part, but occasionally while playing a game that is normally played by mostly male gamers, such as “hardcore” shooters like Gears of War 2 or Modern Warfare 2, I experience the ugly side of online gaming.

I had always known that online gaming was full of “unintentional bigots.” People who use the term “gay” as a perjorative, or particularly hateful racial or ethnic slurs, or say offensive things simply because of gender.

Perhaps they do this because they expect it to hurt and they need to vent anger, perhaps out of simple familiarity with the term and habit, perhaps for other reasons. But the shield of the monitor or television also protects those who seem to take out the aggressions of their personal life on other gamers from the consequences of their actions. The soft, soothing glow of the monitor seems to be akin to waving a flag in front of a bull, for them.

As an aside, to some extent this is true of the Linux community as well. I have personal experience with this, and perhaps the same reasons that cause gamers to feel good about personally challenging others are also true of Linux users who feel the need to make offensive remarks about operating system choice, gender, computing habits, or even choice of distribution.

Whether someone takes an unhealthy obsession with another too far, or simply wants to cause (emotional) pain and anguish, the Internet is a wonderful place for the anti-social among us.

And competitive games seem to be among their favorite feeding grounds. Instead of celebrating a shared passion, in a group of people who have often (especially in the past) been ostracized for their choice of hobby, the culture of gaming (and of the geek/computing and Linux communities, to some extent) seems to encourage division based on differences.

Women who take part in these communities are familiar with hiding personal details. Many choose to represent themselves as genderless, or even male, to avoid the problems that those who are more open tend to face. Many of my peers choose pseudonyms to avoid people who want to pry too much into our personal lives, and for both men and women I know, online stalking has turned into real-life stalking.

Women are particularly at risk for this. I try to connect with the people who watch my videos as best I can, sharing my personality, and perhaps a bit of my knowledge. Because these communities are predominately male, and many people drawn to computing or games have suffered at the hands of their peers for being different, some may feel that they will always be misunderstood by females, and so may be particularly drawn to someone like myself, who also grew up suffering for the same reasons. Sometimes people assume familiarity or a personal connection to an extreme.

I sympathize with the WoW players who spoke out against Blizzard for their decision. I can only imagine what it would have been like for celebrities who play WoW such as Mila Kunis or Felicia Day. I am very happy for all players that Blizzard has reversed their course of action and decided not to require people to use their real names to post. I know that the intention was to reduce trolling in the forums, and this is indeed a worthy goal, but there must be better ways to do that. The separation of character and person is a huge part of roleplaying, and for the sanity (and sometimes even protection) of many players.

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Odds are that you’re tired of hearing about E3. {Why?} Because you know all there is to know about the expo and the games, tech and various other things that surround the convention, right?

Perfect. This video is for you. {Again, why?} I made sure to touch base on the uncommon aspects of the show, specifically to give you a bit of the behind-the-scenes look that is usually only achieved through attending the con personally.

Plus, there’s a political issue going on here, and I can’t help myself.

Bonus video: Watch the fight here.

More of my Booth Babe shots!

So what shall it be, kids? Anti-Political Game Marketing or Pro-commie Promo?

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According to an insurance company’s telephone survey* of more than 2,000 drivers…

30 percent of women have drank and drove.

77 percent of women have crashed their vehicle.

36 percent of woman admitted to verbally abusing another driver.

Gladly I succeed at not fitting into either of the above percentages in real life, but I sure fail at virtual driving. At E3 this year playing DiRT 2 I drove like I was drunk, crashing my vehicle while being verbally abusive to the other drivers! I guess you’ll just have to watch to find out.

NOTE: The above video is ad-supported to help me pay the bills. Don’t want to feed a starving geek? Worry not, click here for my high definition ad-free video, meanie.

*Men Versus Women Drivers – Car Crash Statistics and Survey

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I was very happy to attend (my very first) E3 this year and to experience the new & improved E3 booth babes! In honor of this momentous occasion, I have compiled a short list of my favorite eye candy from this year’s show.

#5. Lovely Latinas promoting Lucha Libre Heroes Del Ring

Stripper boots, skin tight shorts, and short skirts.. where do I sign up?

#4 Ladies of G4

I don’t know where these hotties came from, but the gorgeous one on the right had an accent that buckled my knees.

#3. Nyko Girls

It seems as if every year the Nyko booth is quite popular, and this year was no exception – check out these red-haired vixens!

#2 Buff Babes of UFC Undisputed 2010

There is no dispute about position two, presenting the smoking hot women of the UFC Undisputed 2010 booth for your viewing pleasure.

#1.  Playboy Pin-up Girl – Mafia II

I have always loved the 40’s/50’s, pinup models, gangsters, and Tommy guns, and when you throw in Playboy models, I simply can’t resist.

Honorable mention has to go to the sunbathers at the Atari display outside of the entrance to E3, and the hot zombie chick chained up in the Dead Rising II booth – I have a thing for zombies, and she could eat me any day of the week!  (hardy har har.)

For pictures of E3 booth babes and more, see my flickr page here!

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1. Dead Rising 2

Last year I wrote about how the Electronic Entertainment Expo was bringing back the booth babes, and I am quite happy to say that the trend continued during my visit to E3 this year. Beautiful women (and men!) were to be found in abundance, but none were quite so striking as the lovely zombies of the Dead Rising 2 display at the Capcom booth.

“Zombies?!?” you might say…yes indeed, these scantily-clad, toned, tanned, chained zombies and their equally-attractive handlers put on quite a show. As the hot blonde zombie chick strained to reach me from her cage, presumably to eat me (be still my heart!), hippie zombie lovers began to wander the crowd passing out “free the zombies!” literature. Soon thereafter a riot broke out, with the hippies getting tackled and pinned by macho guards with Abercrombie & Fitch looks.

Speaking of macho guards, my favorite moment came when I tried to ask an attractive “booth hunk” when the next “riot” would be held, since I wanted to get some video of the event. I know that booth babes (and guys too, apparently) aren’t exactly known for, shall we say, being up to date on the products being exhibited, but I never thought things were this bad.. He responded with “uhh…riot?” I proceeded to have to explain to him what the meaning of the word “riot” was.

Eventually our heroine found her answer, no thanks to the fact that apparently one doesn’t need a large vocabulary to earn a living as an actor in LA.

2. Homefront

Picture driving outside the spectacle that is E3, with banners and billboards resplendent across the face of the Los Angeles Convention Center, then coming upon the Staples Center, all decked out in Lakers gold to celebrate the night’s NBA finals game…and then an entire parking lot full of cars flying the North Korean flag.

At first I had no idea what was going on, until I read a sign stating that this was “North Korean Subsidized Parking.” “Could this be true??” I thought to myself. Would Kim Jong-Il be crazy enough to buy out a parking lot in front of the Staples Center as a propaganda tool during the NBA finals? I found out the answer soon enough when I saw, at the end of the parking lot, a huge billboard promoting Homefront, an upcoming FPS put out by Kaos Studios/THQ, regarding the invasion of the USA by North Korea.

The game’s writer John Milius co-wrote Apocalypse Now and wrote Red Dawn, and the game itself looks intriguing. The booth inside the convention was quite impressive; fortified, with lookout towers and guards patrolling raised battlements, pointing their guns at photographers, it made quite a splash. Best of all, we didn’t have to pay for parking throughout the whole convention, so score one for THQ!

3. Virtusphere

Even among the bright lights and gaudy exhibits of E3, the Virtusphere stood out. It looks like a giant hamster ball, and its aim is to provide a more “real” virtual reality experience. I just had to try it and make this video below (and for some reason as I was getting in, cameras started appearing in droves from the crowd!).

In theory the device could work beautifully. As I walked and ran inside the sphere the goggles on my face displayed reactions to the movement of my feet and the gun/controller in my hand. In practice though it left a little to be desired. No matter how fast I moved my character reacted rather slowly, and the controls/display were very clunky. It is likely a proof-of-concept, and a pretty good one at that, but for me to want to get in it and play a game they’ll have to improve the interface, the applications that use it, and the display goggles.

4. All Points Bulletin

Of most any game I saw at E3, I spent the most hands-on time with APB, the upcoming third-person shooter MMO from Realtime Worlds. The game looks and feels a lot like GTA or Crackdown, which it should as David Jones, one of the original GTA and Crackdown team members, is leading the game design. It is set in a fictional modern-day city with a failing government where players choose to be Criminals or thugs hired to enforce the law against the criminals (Enforcers).

I got to meet the Realtime Worlds team at their booth, and I could not have been more impressed. The game, from character and vehicle customization, through blowing up people with bazookas, was enjoyable. They seemed to be succeeding where others have failed by creating a MMO that is evenly balanced between gear and skill. I’m not sure how it will play out over the long run, but my small taste of it was positive. And the RTW guys definitely know how to throw an APB party. I had the pleasure of hanging out with the Suicide Girls (including my girl crush Bob Suicide) at the Bordello; make no mistake, those guys can hang!

5. Project Natal / Kinect

Project Natal has been re-branded as Microsoft’s Kinect, and E3 was plastered with it. There were stages, fishbowls, displays, and monitors, filled with people dancing, singing, exercising, and playing sports. Microsoft Kinect is motion-controlled gaming for the Xbox 360, but unlike the Wii players can interact with objects and games without a controller.

From what I saw the system appears to work rather well. Movements may have to be exaggerated a bit, but the over-exuberant dancers’ motions were replicated on screen as well as could be expected, and sports played out as I imagined they might. I didn’t get a chance to try a hands-on (or hands-off?) session, so I can’t comment on how it feels, but I am definitely looking forward to that in the future!

Speaking of ‘hands on’ — check back often for more poppin’ fresh booth babe photos, game previews and more E3 related goodies!

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Yesterday I joined the Off the Record Radio team for their show on All Digital Radio, and part of my interview was sharing my five favorite E3 moments.

Check out my Interview Here on OTR Radio! (ProTip: Skip forward 10 minutes to avoid the sound quality issues.)

• Artist: DigitalCipher, mcs0083, Rusty J and Swoopina
• Title: Off The Record
• Genre: Pop culture, and current events
• Year: 2010
• Length: 59:00 minutes (27.01 MB)
• Format: Mono 44kHz 64Kbps (CBR)

Special guest Nixie Pixel talks about her experience at E3 and the latest gadgets. MCS goes “GAGA” for Nixie, while surprisingly enough Lindsay Lohan didn’t do anything this week.. BUT of course Al Gore, Michael Jackson’s baby mama, and the nobody celebrity who takes over “Footloose” do not escape the wrath that is Off The Record! EXCLUSIVE CLIP FROM THE TWILIGHT SAGA INCLUDED! If it’s not Off The Record – it’s not Off The Record!

Hope you enjoy it!

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I have been asked several times why I do not refer to Linux as “GNU/Linux,” or “the GNU/Linux operating system,” or some variation thereof. Most of you are well aware of the controversy around using the term “Linux,” but many people who have recently switched or are considering trying Ubuntu, or some other distribution of Linux, are likely confused already, and so this may require a bit of explanation. Wikipedia has a decent, concise article that explains the two sides to this argument: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy

Check out my point of view here on OMG!Ubuntu!

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With the Electronic Entertainment Expo rapidly approaching (in less than a week), I decided to crank up the amount of viewer participation here. You know your voice always counts with me.  

So, I sifted through all your game requests on my blog Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and more to narrow the list down to sizable poll.

Here you have it! Be sure to comment below if you feel like something should be on the list.

UPDATE: The Portal 2 Announcement from Valve was canceled.

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Steve Jobs took center stage today at 10 AM PDT at the World Wide Developers Conference, facing the mass of tech-hungry magazines, newspapers and bloggers alike. For the last two years Apple has revealed their new iPhone at WWDC, so the audience was understandably bustling about the potential unveiling of their rumored 4G Iphone, much like the one that was leaked here:

Find out never-before seen features and tech by reading on to my GT article!

I promise, no security warnings this time

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