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Spore.. that new game that we should all be enjoying, but turned into something only a few people will like, and others will loathe. Yahtzee, of The Escapist, reviews different video games in his series called “Zero Punctuation.” After you watch it, you’ll understand the reason behind the title and laugh, a lot.

More Spore stuff after the video.

The biggest issue behind Spore’s release was EA(Electronic Arts)’s decision to put DRM on this game. The DRM is an issue because it limits the installation number to 3, for paying customers of this product. This, to the gaming community, is like EA taking a giant gorilla dildo and shoving it up the asses of those that have paid to play this product. It’s insulting, and they wouldn’t stand for it.

Therefore, they took public issue with it, and clobbered Amazon’s review rating:
Spore: Amazon Product Review Page
Fred Benenson’s blog explaining the issue.
Spore comic

… but I have some classmates that are completely retarded. They are morons. I find it to be unsettling. I don’t know how much longer I can sit, shaking my head at their stupidity, before I stand up and scream, “Why are you so stupid?!” It’s coming. One day it will happen.

I can’t be certain if the reason it aggravates me is due to the fact that I am better than them and they feel they are equal in some way, the fact that these are the people I will need to rely on in order to get out of school, of if I’m just some asshole that hates anyone stupid.

Just to clarify, this isn’t just “ignorance” stupid, this is full blown “I don’t understand why I need to breathe” stupid. Every time one of these people ask a stupid question, which is numerous times per day, I come closer to snapping.

Sorry, I just needed to vent.

- Robert

“…worth three points each, so you can get as much as 108 on the test.” – My College Math Professor.

The test was given out at 9:30 a.m. We were given until 11:00 a.m. to take the test. I finished the two-page front/back test in 15 minutes. I’m going to get a 108. Haha. The lab quizzes are harder than that damn thing, and that’s pretty sad. I’m going to get a 100 in this course, a nice birthday present to myself, I think.

- Robert

Today is Computers, Science, and the Internet (CSI). I laugh at the curriculum. I laugh at the claimed nerdiness of the professor(Just because you are a heavy guy and like playing on computers doesn’t make you a nerd). I laugh at this month. I laugh at myself. I can’t stop laughing.

The computer build that I mentioned yesterday is worth 20% of my total course grade. An easy joke of grade. Here is a quote from the “Project Description” PDF:

Scenario:
You have been hired at the fictional company Full Sail Productions. It is your third day on the job. Recording Unit 2 is at a remote location and has lost their editing computer. They are currently gathering sound samples but need to build a replacement to complete their assignment. You have been told to find all the parts from online merchants, so the parts can be shipped directly to Unit 2. The producer requires you to find all of the parts yourself. Unit 2 has sent a list of the minimum specifications that they need the computer to have (included on the back of this sheet). You must have the proposal to the purchasing department ASAP so that the purchasing agent can order the parts and have them shipped directly to Unit 2. The information must to be complete so that the purchasing agent can locate, identify and purchase the parts. Your future with the company may depend on how well you accomplish your first real assignment. Good luck!

Requirements:
Make sure all the components are compatible by matching the specifications. You should have spent some time researching products on different websites this month based on lecture recommendations. Be aware that the least expensive components may not be quality products. You need to optimize the entire computer you build – a powerful computer is more than just a super fast processor. Good places to start shopping are at www.pricewatch.com and www.tomshardware.com – but neither site sells directly, so cite the actual retailer.
• Use the Excel template you created in lab to complete the proposal in a four hour lab
• Use 5 Different websites for “purchases” – include clickable links in your excel document.
• $1200 Maximum budget with shipping and tax where applicable
• Use the specifications list handed out in lab to guide your purchases.

This will be entertaining, to say the least.

- Robert

Today I started College Math. Ughh… That is not a rsponse in disgust of mathematics, that is a response in disgust of the class. To make this a simple explanation: Math comes easy to me. Algebra, easy. Geometry, easy. Trigonometry, easy. Statistics, easy. It isn’t until I get to Calculus that I actually have a challenge.

I’m not trying to be arrogant about this, it’s just true. I’m smart. This class, not so much. I am too smart to be taking this class, and I have an entire month of it. It isn’t even Algebra II, where I might at least enjoy myself with slight complexities in equations. This class is Algebra I, a class I finished in 7th Grade. I asked to clarify, just to understand my impending suffering. So far today we have discussed the Real Number System and Fractions. Golly (I can’t wait to shoot myself)! I even called out the teacher when he was explaining sets and inclusiveness. The most “difficult” part of this class’, aside from me tearing my eyes out, will be “…probably rational expressions.” That was a direct quote.

Tomorrow I will discover how easy my other class will be. It’s subject: Computers, Science, and the Internet. If math is easy for me to figure out, this subject does my work for me. One of the projects… strike that, the Final Project in my “CSI” course: A simulated computer build. If you know me, then you know my reaction to this and are probably laughing as well. $1,500 budget and a requirement of using 5 different sources to purchase parts. <– Fuck that. I’m going to argue that down to two since the Course Director must be a moron: NewEgg & TigerDirect.

This entire month is a buffer to me. The simplest GPA booster since Broadcasting in High School. I’ll update my frustrations after class tomorrow. Boredom has set in.

- Robert

I’ve taken it upon myself to reduce the level of my own boredom over the past few days while school was out. So I went wardriving.

Definition:
Wardriving is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle, using a portable computer or PDA.

I used my MacBook Pro and my Xterra and browsed the various WiFi nets around here. I’m actually using one of them to type this right now. I’ve done this on foot for just a few of the houses right around mine and picked up quite a few. Upon driving the entire neighborhood, I found 99 different networks, and I think I may have missed a few. They are about 50/50, open/secure, but the majority of them were named “linksys” and were open. A few “NETGEAR” networks, and only one “dlink” network was found. A good group of home-network-admins were smart and renamed and secured their network, but so many people are not so tech savvy.

Now I just need to build my own Cantenna…

I plan to incorporate “Wardriving” into one of the stories I am working on. But that’s all you get to hear about that, for now.

- Robert