My Christmas Present: RROD
posted by Extortioner @ 1:43pm, Wednesday 24 December 2008.
Yep, it's one of those days.
I was quite happy because you know, it's Christmas and all, the season to be jolly.
I'd decided to play some GTA4 so I boot my 360. Everything works fine, it boots and all and then it happened...
The screen went blank and the horrible 3 little red lights appeared on my 360.
If you've seen Revenge of the Sith you'll get me when I say:
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!".
Off course my first reaction was to call Microsoft Support to see if maybe there was something I could do, but no.
The verdict was: busted, you have to send him in.
They'll send me the shipping papers, I have to put my 360 into a generic box (they were quite firm on that), and call UPS to have him picked up.
I heard UPS so I thought "oh, that's not to bad, it won't take that long" but no, when I asked how long it would take, the customer support guy (with an unmistakable dutch accent, but hey, still beats Indian support when you're English/American) told me it would take around 15 business days once they receive it.
15 business days + Christmas/new year's eve means a whole while if you ask me.
Great holiday so far!
On a brighter note I'm finally going to get a new cellphone for my Christmas/birthday (Sony Ericsson G502, google it yourself if you're interested), and I'm turning 20 next week.
Although I don't really consider that as something positive, because it makes you wonder what you've achieved these last 20 years and the verdict is: nothing.
I could become real emo right now and wear black stuff and such, but I'm not like that.
I see this as an opportunity for me to say: "I'm going to make sure I take control of my life, and that in the coming few years I'm going to achieve more than I have the last 20 years!".
That was it for today, quite a rant and such but I just needed to get it off my chest, even if noone actually reads this.
A new beginning
posted by Extortioner @ 12:57pm, Sunday 30 November 2008.
Man, has it really been this long since I updated my blogω
How times can fly when you're busy...
Ok, updates:
- I'm now in my second year at college, and can you believe it that some classes are even more boring than they were last yearω
- Exams are starting again. Wednesday I have Datacommunication, which is actually just CISCO Network Fundamentals. I've already passed my Cisco exam so I'll be getting my certificate soon!
- I started playing WoW again (while I always said I wouldn't), because with all the WoTlK advertising and reviews it was hard to escape the feeling WoW used to give me.
- I'm thinking of adding more features to my blog, and maybe start writing my own blog system in the future (once I get some time to do that).
- Looking for a new theme for this blog as well, kinda getting bored of this default one.
- The Shadys are back up, but I've decided not to join them this time around. I've finally come to terms with it closing and my life's a lot easier for it. It may not seem like it, but a community like that can be quite stressful (Uber and I had lots of chats about the direction we wanted to take the Shadys, and I know he always tried his very best).
Anyway, Good luck UberMensch with the newest iteration of The Shadys.
That's about it for today, expect more updates soon (if I don't forget it...)
Indiana Jones 4
posted by Extortioner @ 8:56pm, Sunday 25 May 2008.
So I went to see the new Indiana Jones this friday (was soo excited :D) and I just loved it.
In my eyes the people that complain about it either:
- Expected too much out of it
- Didn't get the subtle references to the other movies or the series
- Should've gone to see whatever Disney movie is playing
It's easily the third-best in the series (yes, it's still better then the Temple of Doom, which wasn't the worst movie ever but wasn't really what IJ is meant to be) which is saying alot after 19 years of absence.
The best review I've seen online (and most of them are just shit people comparing apples to oranges) is this one, from an IGN user comment by "CaptainWicket":
Wow, I can't remember the last movie that received such mixed reactions.
I'll admit, at first I was slightly disappointed with the ending. But ever since I left the theater after the midnight showing, I've been wanting to see it again, which just shows to me that it will probably have the same level of re-watchability as the originals. The sense of adventure that made the originals so compelling is still there in Kingdom.
Yes, there are a few cheesy/outlandish moments, but didn't all of the originals tooω If you first watched them when you were very young like I did, you may not have realized the unlikelihood of a mine cart flying off the tracks and back on again, or people surviving a freefall from a plane in an inflatable raft. But that's kind of the whole idea; Indy movies are supposed to mimic B-movies of the decades they take place in.
And yes, Kingdom used a little more CG then I would have liked, but at least it didn't go completely overboard like the new Star Wars movies. There were still a lot a real sets and real stunts (I don't know about you, but I wanted to cheer when Indy climbed out of the car window onto the back of a moving motorbike, totally CG-less). Not to mention, some of the special effects in the originals looked equally as cheesy as the CG bits in Kingdom. The lead antagonists getting their head exploded and face melted, although more interesting to watch than CG, still probably elicited some groans from audience members in 1981.
In short, I think Kingdom did all of the important things right, and I can't wait to see it again.