August 31, 2004
August 30, 2004
August 26, 2004
GROWL & FreeIpods
I spent a few hours tonight installing and playing with Growl. It's an app for Mac that attempts to provide a consistent notification interface/experience. Nicely included with the source I built from was a perl module for registering notifications with the notification server.
I took it and used it to create a perl script that checked my FreeIpods status.
Screenshot:
Post a comment if you'd like the script and I can post a clean version of it (aka without my username/password).
Growl & Apple Order Status
As a follow-up to my previous script, this one will update you every 10 minutes as to the status of items in an Apple Store order. You only need provide the order number and the shipping zip-code.
Screenshot:
The script is available here.
(You'll need to open it up in your favorite text editor and assign your own order number and zip code. Also, you must have Growl and the Growl perl module installed [found in growl/Bindings/perl/Mac-Growl/])
You'll also noticed my G5 was cancelled then re-attached to the order....long story.
August 14, 2004
GRE
I finally took the time to register for the GRE today. I've been putting it off because I'm really not a fan of standardized tests. The SAT initially kept me out of Carnegie Mellon, but once I went to college somewhere else and 4.0'ed the year with ease, they thought better of their initial decision and let me in.
(Yes, I realize that last paragraph sounds conceited...but I'm bitter...so forgive me.)
Being that I'm looking (I think) to go into some kind of CS masters program, I have a feeling the GRE is going to be weighed pretty heavily. I feel like I'm in high school all over again. :) Hopefully the thesis I'm writing this year before I graduate will also help me case.
Anyone out there have some good recommendations for CS/Artificial Intelligence schools? (Save the staple 3 -- Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, MIT.)
August 11, 2004
The Upcoming Gaming Quarter
Being a bit bored at the moment, I decided to sift through the "Coming Soon" lists for Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox -- holy shit. I've known for a while now that this coming quarter was going to be packed full of killer games, but I hadn't realized how packed. Being blinded by the onslaught of games coming from Nintendo, I haven't even had time to think about the stuff coming for ps2/xbox. Look at these lists:
Gamecube
Pikmin 2 - 8/30
Donkey Konga - 9/27
Paper Mario 2 - 10/11
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - 11/15
Star Fox Armada - 11/29
Xbox
Fable - 9/13
Dead or Alive Ultimate - 10/1
Ultra Bust-A-Move - 10/5
Halo 2 - 11/8
Mech Assault 2: Lone Wolf - (Before 1/2005)
PS2
Gradius V - 9/14
Katamari Damacy - 9/21
Death by Degrees - 10/18
Time Crisis: Crisis Zone - 10/20
Neo Contra - 10/26
Gran Turismo 4 - 11/1
Sega Superstars / Eye Toy - 11/2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - 11/15
Cross-Platform
Silent Hill 4: The Room - 9/7
Burnout 3: Takedown - 9/8
Alien Hominid - 10/19
Goldeneye: Rogue Agent - 11/15
Prince of Persia 2 - 11/16
Splinter Cell 3: Chaos Theory - 11/16
That list isn't even including games that I'm not *that* excited about, but I know tons of others are:
Ace Combat 5, 2 Guilty Gear games, Jak III, Doom III (xbox), Half-Life 2 / Counterstrike Source, Mega Man X8, Ratchet & Clank, Taiko Drum Master, Mortal Kombat: Deception, Black 9, Mega Man X: Command Mission, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection.
Fuck.
That being said, let us not forget that amidst all this, there is going to be a handheld launch -- Nintendo DS. So far there are about 120 games under development, and Nintendo is sure to offer up their usual share of must have launch titles. Rumor is it should be out in time for the day after Thanksgiving shopping craze. That's right, in a month full of titles like Metroid Prime 2, Starfox, Halo 2, MGS3, Prince of Persia 2, Splinter Cell 3...there's going to be a new handheld launched.
I can't remember a quarter like what's about to come in all my days as a gamer. I'm not sure most people even know what's coming...let alone having dealt with that realization yet. That's where I'm at: Realizing I already have $5000 worth of Apple equipment to pay for and that I'm stuck in the middle of the biggest fucking gaming quarter *ever*.
Good thing I have a job on campus this Fall.
August 07, 2004
this guy is so braindead
More proof that Bush lacks higher-level brain functions:
"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people -- and neither do we."
August 06, 2004
August 03, 2004
New Pad
The new mousepad I was forced to buy because optical mice don't work on my desk.
The hexagonal dot-patterns are supposedly designed to make the optical mouse track optimally. Each pattern is unique, and that helps with it orienting itself with respect to how it has moved. I have to say that it works a million times better than a plain old blue-cloth mousepad.