July 2007

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Facebook’d.

29 July, 2007 in Normal by Justin | No comments

I recently caved in and signed up with another one of those social networking sites. This one would be Facebook.

For some reason, when I started using Facebook, toying with its features, and figuring out how to get it to work, I started to understand why people actually USE these social networks. It provides people with a convenient, easy way to reach someone, no matter how much their email address changes, and no matter how far they move. Phone number’s changed? Update your account so your friends will know!

The other networks I’ve tried — The now spam-riddled Orkut, and the utter mess that is MySpace — don’t really relate that kind of ideal to users very well. They just seem to emphasize the wrong parts of a social network, and basically have caved in on themselves. Orkut’s just a dead star, but MySpace is more like a black hole, sucking more and more people in to its nigh-inescapable depths.

When I signed up for Facebook with the sole intent of adding Robert Scoble, I was thinking, “Meh, something else to abandon and never visit again.”
I tried out the system there, searching for old classmates, checking out these Facebook Applications, and other things. I found that it was easy to use, and rather intuitive. I then found Facebook Mobile. Facebook Mobile lets me actually keep up with people via text messages. In fact, I’m keeping up with a former coworker via Facebook now because it’s easy to do — I get a text message letting me know he’s said something, and I can reply immediately to that text message.

Even better is that I can use Facebook Applications to add things to one spot. Since I use Flickr, Last.fm, and Twitter, I can use apps to integrate my data in the same spot, making my Facebook page a hub for activity.

One of these days, I’ll keep up with the lot of you all, with your social networks, and stuff. :)
Do feel free to find me on Facebook as Justin Hobley. Tell me who you are, and I’ll add you. :)

[tags]Facebook, Social Networking, MySpace[/tags]

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Insomnia means…

28 July, 2007 in Boredom, Normal by Justin | No comments

I have to leave for work in six hours. I can’t seem to sleep.

Instead, I’ve Rickrolled, Tayrolled, sought out lulz over the internet, Looked at my Nintendo DS, PLAYED my Nintendo DS, and still can’t get over sleep hill here.

I’m tempted to get up and go eat some spaghetti, since I never did eat my dinner when I came in, opting for a lighter bowl of cereal to try to get by on.

I’d like some barbecue ribs at the moment, though. I miss having mom and dad’s barbecue a lot right now. :( It’s just not the same going to a chain restaurant, where they ‘barbecue’ ribs and serve ‘em, after being used to putting the meat on the grill, watching it sizzle and burn.

Why do I like the taste of burnt flesh, anyway?
Maybe because it soothes something in me?
I’m an anti-vegetarian’s best friend — gimme a medium rare steak. :o

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Flickr Vs. WordPress (SVN): What’s wrong?

26 July, 2007 in Uncategorized by Justin | 2 comments

I’ve noticed lately that whenever I attempt to blog a photo by phone, the post to this blog here fails. It’s getting annoying, despite everything I’ve tried to make it work.

I’ve tried release versions of WordPress. I’ve tried CVS versions. I am trying SVN versions. None of them get the blog posting on the first try, and that’s just totally annoying!
I’m just not sure who to point the blame at, though, because it might be my fault for mostly using CVS and SVN for WordPress, however, I haven’t tried on a non-SVN blog hosted on this domain.

I just wish I had a better way to make sure I could send an image from my Sprint phone and make sure it posts over to this weblog.

I’m also open for suggestions on how to fix my image blogging issue.

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Breakfast of Champions.

26 July, 2007 in Normal by Xial Lunashine, via Flickr | No comments

I eat the weirdest things for breakfast sometimes.

While you all are eating eggs, sausage, and grits, I’m eating Yan Yan and drinking lychee juice, which is far more delicious than you. :9

Unfortunately, Yan Yan usually gives me heartburn, which is odd for a cookie which can be dipped in frosting. Speaking of the cookies, I’ve been buying Yan Yan latelyl just to see if I can get a specific cookie out of the bunch. Until then, be happy with the “Fox — Beware of Lies” cookie. :)

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Gears of Wow.

18 July, 2007 in Uncategorized by Justin | No comments

So, the other day, I was sitting around with the guys, playing Xbox360.

They talked me into trying out one of those shooters with them, despite my relatively firm stance about first/third person shooters and consoles (I don’t like them to be together, bob. They should not touch~). It was this game called Gears of War.

When I started playing, I was a bit unsteady with the controls, because I’m used to having omnidirectional aiming in one hand, using the mouse. It took a little to get used to the sticks, since I can’t whip around to kill nearly as fast on the controller AND retain my fine aim that I’m used to.

But, I plowed forward like a trooper, and my first experience on ‘Insane’ settings impressed the guys.

Apparently, I’m good at: Getting to objectives without dying, Tossing the grenades, Conserving ammunition, Finding answers to puzzles that I’ve never seen.

I didn’t have to be picked up by my partner (the only way to get up when facing death in the form of a large red gear plastered in the middle of your screen is to be tagged by your partner. It encourages you to communicate with the partner to get things done) very often, though I did have to help one of the other partners up off the ground a lot.

Jason was pretty good with this, but Zeke is a bit death-prone.
Both of them communicate their part of the plan with me well, and I try to do just as much in return (eg: I told Zeke not to move until I exclaimed that “I am the Light” in one level, because traveling in darkness will almost immediately kill you, instead of letting you face death), but it’s kinda different for me to actually be playing a shooter in a cooperative mode.

Still, I was actually impressed by the game play, and the need for tactics, dodging, wall-crawling, crouching, and overall just staying alive.

It’s like, we’ve come so far since Unreal Tournament, Doom, and Duke Nukem 3D.

I’m gonna miss my shield belt, though.

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Online Gaming, FTW!

12 July, 2007 in Uncategorized by Justin | No comments

Even though I officially left my constantly paid status in Anarchy Online a while back (I do renew the subscription for a month, every few months, simply because I can’t bear to let go of Araiya so easily), I still like to play online games.

I think I’m strange in my methodology of playing them. I seem to like to go online to usually play in an area by myself. I don’t like to share with anyone else that often, unless the benefit to myself is greater than playing alone (eg: teaming with someone to be able to deal greater damage to greater enemies, to gain extra experience, such as when fighting Hecklers in Anarchy Online’s Elysium region).

I think it’s because online content can change on a whim, and the trade marketing can fluctuate on a heartbeat. There’s almost something new every time I play some games online, and that keeps me playing.

Fallen Sword, for example, is a game I just started playing recently, thanks to a coworker who talked me into it.
I’m getting into it more and more as a substitute for Kingdom of Loathing, since I need to do something after my 200 turns burns off. :)
While Fallen Sword is fairly simple to play, it has enough of my interest to keep going to see what’s there. I’m finally getting some experience, and earning a few of their bonus currency, called “Fallen Sword Points“.
* Note: Both of the Fallen Sword links will earn me a few of their points if you were to sign up with the game.

I can’t neglect my old favorite, Kingdom of Loathing. I like the constant potshots at various things, and enjoy laughing at the pain of others. The entire game is dirty jokes and poking fun at various things, as well as some genuine humor.

I also like to play Nowhere Else and Beyond, but it’s a little rough on my laptop to play it, or anything else, lately. ;(

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A polyglot, I’m not.

10 July, 2007 in Uncategorized by Justin | No comments

As a kid, I’ve had this fascination with languages of the world around me.

I once tried to take basic Spanish and French classes in the same year — I was in third grade. That act alone showed me an appreciation for people who have command of more than one language, because that year showed me how hard it is to learn a language solely by hearing it OR seeing it.

While checking my email accounts (goodness, I have many of them), I stumbled across a link where one can, for Free: Learn English with audio.
Given that English is my native language, I was inclined to toy around with the site, to see just how well it was done.

The home page is essentially bare, save for one Google AdWords box, and the flash object containing the flash cards (no pun intended), which I find to be a very good idea. Nothing says “Learn English” better than a gigantic flash ad for Verizon High Speed FiOS, right?

The Flash box on the page has five labels. Four languages are supported on a path to learn English: Spanish, French, Russian, and Hebrew. There is a standalone label that gives only the English, with no transliterations or translations of words to English, as well as the aforementioned language labels, whose contents come complete with a transliteration of the way the word sounds, as well as the audible enunciation of the words.

For example, I chose French.
For appliances, I see what we call a Stereo in English:
Stereo, sti’(r)io, chaîne stéréo
The first is the English spelling. The second is a transliteration of how we say it in English, and the last is the (familiar) French way of saying the same object. If I clicked on it, I’d hear the “sti’(r)io” as the enunciation.

It’s a pretty healthy way to teach the basics of words, though I admit, I don’t miss conjugating verbs with these cards (simply because I hated conjugating être in my French classes). :)

I can see how having a free resource to begin learning English as a Second Language from would be so useful. :)

[tags]ESL, English as a Second Language, Polyglot, Linguistics, Learn English, Contributors[/tags]

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