.the gpb kids.

Motorcycle + Gravel + Mike = X_x

Posted by Mike - July 29, 2007 at 10:07:13 pm

Actually I think the streaks look kinda cool.

Good thing my dad gave my brother and I handy-dandy toolkits with zip-ties.

Banana Bread

Posted by Jules - July 29, 2007 at 04:07:31 pm

What do you do when you realize your bananas have stepped well over the threshold of spottedness? Bake banana bread, of course.

Supplement with a healthy scoop of ice cream.

Health Insurance

Posted by Jules - July 17, 2007 at 05:07:20 pm

So on the 16th of July, University Health Services sent out a serious toned email stating that the last day to cancel Student Health Insurance (SHIP) *will be* the 15th of July (everyone got that?) or fines would be incurred. This understandably made some people a little confused and concerned. One of the incoming fall graduate students asked our student advisor about whether we have to pay for health insurance ourselves.

To which our student advisor replied:

We cover it. Silly university always sends out vaguely threatening emails. We’ll be paying for that until you graduate.

[Student Advisor]

Hehe… well, at least I thought it was funny. >_>

I took a look at the UHS SHIP web page after the vaguely threatening email was released, and noticed that filing fee students have to pay way more per year (people who are done with all classes and research, and only have their final dissertation/thesis to write). I guess it encourages them to finish quickly.

UCB undergraduates $610 per semester
UCB graduate and international students $805 per semester
Filing Fee Students (out of Bay Area) $1,255 per semester
Filing Fee Students (in Bay Area) $1,510 per semester
Mills undergraduate $1,146 per semester
Mills graduate and international students $1,237 per semester

DiRT-y

Posted by Mike - July 17, 2007 at 09:07:51 am

This is what I feel like when I’m playing DiRT.

Jules can attest. I probably spend more time watching the replays then actually playing the game.

“Hey Jules look look!”

“Huh? Yeah okay…”

“You’re not looking! Great you missed it. Look!”

“Uhhh”

“There goes my wheel!”

“Uh huh…”

My (soon to be) New Camera

Posted by Jules - July 14, 2007 at 09:07:49 pm

Dear Canon PowerShotA40,

You have served me well for over 6 years. In fact, you are still well and kicking in your snappy gray glory. But it is time for me to move on to a smaller and slimmer model- one that I can slip in my pocket and cart around on trips without a large case. The separation may be a difficult one, but I am ready. I hope you are.

With fond memories.
jules.

Top 5 reasons to get a PS3, and why I’m not.

Posted by Mike - July 13, 2007 at 10:07:48 am

My current gaming platforms include the PC, Xbox360 and the Wii, but after watching the Sony press conference and some PS3 stage demos I’ve come up with five strong reasons to get a PS3.

5. Heavenly Sword

4. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

2. Killzone 2

1. LittleBigPlanet

Why I’m not going to get a PS3… yet

One of the big selling points of the Xbox360 for me was Xbox Live. By the time I picked one up for myself, I already knew a lot of people who had it so I was able to start playing with my friends from the get go. I also picked one up for each of my brothers, which helped. Most of the things I’ve heard about the PS3 network have been negative. It’s either hard to connect with your friends to play, or you have to sit in lobbies or other things.

But the games I’ve listed above, except LittleBigPlanet, are all really meant to be played by yourself. So the real roadblock for me is the cost. Not just the cost of the console itself, but the cost of the HDTV that I’d want to get to take advantage of the games and the blu-ray drive. And really, what’s the point of getting a cheap, mid-sized HDTV? When you get an HDTV you have to go all out! And it doesn’t help that I have coworkers and friends with huge HDTV’s and projectors. Jerks.

Waiting for September

Posted by Mike - July 11, 2007 at 09:07:35 pm

It looks like the big gaming month for me is going to be September. Three major games that I’m looking forward to are dropping a week apart from each other.

September 11 - Crysis

I’ll start it off with some gorgeous first-person-shooting action. I know there are people out there who think this will just be eye candy and won’t have good gameplay or a story, but I’m banking on it being more. I think it’ll raise the bar, graphically and gameplay-wise.

September 18 - World in Conflict

I’ve been participating in the multiplayer alphas and betas for this game for a while and I’m excited to see what the single player version has to offer. Another visually stunning game, but this one I know has good gameplay.

September 25 - Halo 3

Despite my better judgement, I’m actually getting excited about this game. I didn’t really play either of the first two installments but online co-op play is a thirst that has only grown more pronounced since Gears of War and Rainbow Six came out.

Carcassonne

Alright, I know what you’re thinking… those games are all violent. Have no fear! I recently downloaded Carcassonne on XBOX Live.

It’s the video game version of a popular board game that I got hooked on while I was in Seattle visiting Jules’ siblings. We recently purchased the physical version as well. So far I’m 0-1 against Jules. >_<

Other games I’m excited about

Assassin’s Creed

It doesn’t come out until November but this game looks like it could be pretty good. The biggest perk for me would be the parkour-esque roaming of the cities.

Killzone 2

I have to admit that the trailer still looked pretty good, even though it’s been two years since they showed the original pre-rendered version. But not good enough to get a PS3.

Metal Gear Solid 4

The trailer was pretty, don’t know anything about the gameplay, but again, probably not worth getting a PS3 + the entertainment system I’d want to get with it.

E3 2007 is Here!

Posted by Mike - July 10, 2007 at 10:07:48 am

Even though it’s been dramatically reduced in size, E3 is still where all the big news will drop regarding video games. Here are some games that I’m eager to get more info about. Since GameSpot has finally enabled users to embed their video content, I’ll do that here.

Crysis

From the people who brought you FarCry, this game looks absolutely amazing. I’m basically waiting for this game to come out before I upgrade my computer.

Ace Combat 6

I haven’t played a flying game in years, but this one looks like it may be good enough to get me playing again. 16 player online dogfights!

Call of Duty 4

The last Call of Duty left a bad taste. I haven’t even finished it yet. I don’t feel any connection with any of my squadmates or anything. Call of Duty 4 is taking the game in a new direction and bringing the previously WWII specific franchise into modern times. Let’s see what they do with it.

Grand Theft Auto IV

I honestly have never really been into the GTA series. I never really played them to progress in the story. I had a much better time just driving around the city and getting into car crashes. But I did enjoy playing Saints Row and this should theoretically kick that game’s butt all over the place.

The unannounced game

Can’t wait to see what they unveil this year!

Nana, I am Legend, and an Assorted Motely Crew

Posted by Jules - July 8, 2007 at 06:07:20 pm

I have internet at last! Woohooo.. Well, I suppose that I have had internet since Thursday night, but anyhoo, 2 weeks of no internet at home really wears on a person when they are used to getting on every day.

Today, Mike and I stopped by the bookstore and picked up a few things- I picked some Nana manga (which I don’t like nearly as much as Paradise Kiss by the same mangaka, this one being more typically shojo than the other) and Mike picked up I am Legend by Richard Matheson and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, both of which were highly recommended by one of his friends. So we’ve been bumming around my place, reading books, napping, and eating cookies. I already made it through half of I am Legend before Mike wrenched it from me, claiming his turn to read. Apparently he decided I was to read The Road first before I could read I Am Legend. Pffftt… who made him dictator?? Hahah. But really, he was napping and wouldn’t have been reading it anyways, right? Man, and I just got to the exciting part T_T

Picture of the day- Some zucchini pickles I made! Wonder how long it will take to eat them all:

On Lazy IE6 Users

Posted by Mike - July 3, 2007 at 03:07:14 pm

I read an article today about why user adoption of IE6 has tapered off. I like any article that equates IE6 users to MySpace users. Here’s the summary:

My theory of browser adoption is built on the foundation that your typical user is incredibly lazy and hates change. There are really only two factors driving browser adoption.

* Was it the default browser on the system?
* Does it make browsing the Internet suck?

Now, you may think IE6 obviously makes browsing the Internet suck because it doesn’t have tabs and tends to implement CSS and JavaScript poorly. But that’s because if you’re reading this site, you’re probably a designer or developer. Remember: ugly, buggy and slow aren’t enough to make users think it sucks enough to switch (think MySpace and Windows). In hindsight, the best thing to happen to Firefox was probably the rise of file sharing networks, spyware and pop-ups. Basically, everything that made the web suck. Everything that made the web a safer place to browse, made Firefox less relevant and quelled the urgency that made an alternative to IE6 a necessity.

What I find most interesting is that web developers (specifically those of the standards and Web 2.0 variety, which includes myself), were so excited by the Firefox momentum that we were convinced that it was a revolution. We actually thought the masses were starting to believe Internet Explorer was Satan incarnate. Just goes to show that it has to be in your face popups of wangs and cooters to make you download something different.

Source: On the Tenacity of Internet Explorer 6

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