So I was talking with someone... Let's call him "MisterMan". I just came back from a college class where we were supposed to give presentations on different operating systems and one of them gave a presentation about OS X Leopard... Of course, I knew at least one of them would.

We get all the way through the presentation, and then the typical Apple elitism strikes and there's a video with all the stuff Vista "copied" from Apple. You know... Important stuff like calendar applications and mailing applications and instant search. Yeah. If Apple has to point fingers at Microsoft and say "you copied our calendar!" Then you go right ahead. I didn't know you owned the concept of a calendar, but if you think you do, then by all means, continue thinking that, and if that's all you got on Microsoft as far as copying goes, then I think you're just being whiny.

Anyway, so I told this MisterMan guy that the first thing I noticed about the video was that everyone in that audience was laughing and pointing fingers at how silly and stupid their competition was. That's just typical for Apple... And so this IM conversation ensued:

(9:27:38 PM) GermanShepherd: Microsoft doesn't mock... EVER NOTICE THAT?!
(9:27:46 PM) GermanShepherd: They just do their thing and make their products stand on its own merit.
(9:28:05 PM) MISTERMAN: would you mock if you owned 90% of the world?
(9:28:23 PM) GermanShepherd: would you mock if you owned 5% of the world?
(9:28:35 PM) MISTERMAN: to make myself feel better, yep

Perfect! Just... perfect. Apple's the low-end of the computer market share and they're just trying to make themselves feel big and bad by pointing out all the things Microsoft ripped off of them. (Things like an RSS reader in the bundled internet browser. Aww, poor Apple. Microsoft put an RSS reader in Internet Explorer... They copied your hard work... Did Firefox copy you, too?)

Anyway, this is just one of my random rants.

Oh, oh! I have the perfect set of animals that Apple can use for their next chain of operating systems! They can use birds! Yeah! And they can start with the MOCKINGBIRD, hahaha. Ahem.

So Nintendo Europe goes "hey, you know what, guys? Modification chips are bad."

The people who applied the mods laugh and go "yah sure u cant stop me lol I wanna play Super Paper Mario now and not w8 until Novmember fro it". So they import the game and they play it and... "Hey! My Wii broke! NINTENDO YOU STUPID COMPANY!"

Turns out that there's a firmware update in Super Paper Mario NTSC, and when the people in Europe (who, as you might now, use PAL consoles/TVs, not NTSC consoles/TVs) mod their Wii to get rid of region coding so they can play NTSC games, and then put in Super Paper Mario NTSC into their PAL Wii which was modified (you know, it was modified!) and the game goes "well, okay, this seems to be an NTSC console... let's apply the update!"

But see, the thing is, the guts of a PAL Wii are a little bit different than an NTSC Wii. When the game applied a firmware patch for an NTSC Wii to a PAL Wii, it broke the Wii. It's called "bricking" in the mod community. It's irreversably dead.

Of course, there are a few morons out there who are upset that Nintendo didn't include some sort of checking system to make sure it doesn't update a PAL Wii... Well, uhm... They did. It was the region coding system you disabled so you could play NTSC games. You disabled the very mechanism for checking what version of Wii you had.

Nothing quite makes my day like little kiddies who think they're so awesome to hack their consoles, but totally destroy them in the end... teehee.

I'm at it again... I'm pricing a new computer. A brand new one. Not some half-tech piece of junk. This time, it'll be flawless in every aspect before it's even put together! Summer's around the bend and I have a hankerin' for makin' some money and buying lots of cool stuff. In addition to a computer, I also need to secure funds for an Xbox 360 before Halo 3 comes out, secure funds for whenever Xbox Live decides to bill me again, and buy a Nintendo 64 so I can satisfy my sudden, intense desire to play Perfect Dark. I figure nobody will object to my working in Dad's wood shop once I'm out of school for the summer.

My eBay listing boss guy hasn't been listing anything for nigh on two months, and this is how I get when I'm strapped for cash. I want to go out and get some money made and buy me something nice. I don't like living tight. I'm usually have a good handle on money, but when your job stops... paying... you can't buy what you want/need and that makes me MAD!

So, without further ado, my system:

• 2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Quad

Yeah, man. Four-core processor. I missed the bandwagon when I bought my laptop with a single core. I guess I'm over compensating? Oh, wait until you see what ELSE I have in store for little ol' deprived me!

• Kingston 2GB RAM

Nothing really special here. When I get closer to buying everything, I'll check for latest RAM prices. The motherboard I have picked out supports DDR 1200, and these are only DDR 667. Unfortunately, there aren't many DDR 1200 RAM chips out there, yet, and I haven't even seen 2GB chips which is the only way I'll be able to max out the motherboard with 8GB of system RAM.

• EVGA nVidia nForce 680i SLI A1 Motherboard

Brand new nVidia motherboards that I can't wait to try out. I'll have to do a little more research on these, because I've had some shady dealings with random nVidia manufacturers. I can't remember what's inside my current desktop, but they've been nothing but amazing. I'm pretty sure it's an EVGA-make, but I'll have to open it up to be sure. But I mean, come on! An nVidia motherboard! Best videocard makers... Gotta be one of the best motherboard makers. Designed to work right with nVidia SLI cards!

• EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB PCIExpress 16x

Of course, when would I ever willingly build a PC without my trustworthy nVidia? This is THE current top of the line card, reported at running Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion at a whopping 45 frames per second at the absolute highest video settings possible. I'm shooting for the best of the best here! I'm looking into Dual SLI... That means two of these dudes. However, benchmarks are so promising for just ONE of these things, that I might not need two. Maybe... We'll see!

• ÂÂ BFG Tech ATX 1000W Power Supply

That's right. 1000 watts of power. I was reading SLI reviews for the 8800GTX and they recommended using this card because of it's ample supply of PCIExpress power connectors. It also has a lifetime warranty, which I've never really considered in a power supply before, but seeing as how this is so expensive, and I have bad luck with power supplies, that might be something worth looking into!

• Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA

Mmm, Seagate. I love Seagate. Better yet, I love 320GB Serial ATA!

• Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor

Nothing says "monitor" quite like a Dell. I have personally come to hate their computers. Don't get me wrong! I'd recommend them to whoever's looking for a new computer! They're, in my opinion, the absolute best in basic systems, but for power users like me, I've run into many proprietary roadblocks that prevent me from doing what I want, like video card drivers that HAVE to come from them because the normal nVidia drivers don't recognize the card. I hate the computers for personal reasons, but their monitors are just about flawless in every way possible. I may check into Samsung later, but it's Dell for now.

Current running total with 1 videocard: a paltry $2,445.95! It'll jump to a less than savory $3,005.94 with two GeForce 8800GTX's, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I've been building computers for a very long time now, and I keep learning new and better ways of building them as I build more of them. I have three high-end systems that I've built and the family system is by far my best achievement, simply because everything worked so perfectly when I put it together. I've learned alot and I'm eager to put together a system worthy of the title "Gaming System" that I can use to show off!

But first things first! I NEED a Nintendo 64 and I NEED to buy Pokemon Pearl for my DS. (What?! Shut up. The Pokemon games are probably some of the most ingenious titles created, and with the DS being online, it'll only get better!) Nintendo 64 and Pokemon Pearl... Then I need to pay some credit card bills. Nothing too bad, just random bits of money to toss around, but, like I said, I have no money, so I need to work.

Ooh, GameTap just sent me a message saying "the D'ni Restoration Council has just opened up another new area within the world of Myst Online and it's up to you to discover its secrets." New area, yay!

Wait... this is the third "pod age", isn't it.

Man, as much as I love Cyan, I can't help but be more and more disappointed by how Uru's working out right now... Is there a REASON why there's nothing new and exciting to do? I don't want another pod age! It's almost a gimmick just to make people sign in and see what color the walls are this time. Oh, goody, I can look outside and see animals walking around. Where are the puzzles?

There's nothing to do. Is there anything to do besides mingle with the people of the community who are so... Er. I better stop there!

Waaah! There's no Wii games! I'm sick and tired of Nintendo releasing stupid games on the Virtual Console! I can't even find a Wii in the stores! Nintendo's stupid! If Sony did this, they'd be getting ripped up one side and down the other! Stupid fanboys!

Ahh, the sound of spoiled gamers. Wasn't it only two years ago that everyone was laughing at Nintendo's new controller? "The heck?! A TV controller? Nintendo's insane... Again... It's going to be another GameCube. Nintendo's failed." (Which, I might add, that since Nintendo always makes money on consoles, the GameCube was still a very successful console, if not the most successful as far as profits go. Who cares if you've sold 80 bazillion PS2s if you're losing money on half of them?)

Wasn't it only last year that Nintendo finally rolled back the curtains on everything you ever wanted to know about the Wii and it was the single most popular E3 booth in history? Everyone wanted one, and everyone (mostly) had nothing but praise for it. While Sony was doing everything wrong, Nintendo was doing everything right and everyone was noticing!... Except the game developers and publishers. Remember this!

Wii release day! Lines everywhere... No Wii left anywhere. If you found one, you'd get swarmed by people wanting to buy it for 5 times the retail price. PS3 was the hottest gift for Christmas? Haha, my furry tail it was... After Christmas, PS3s became quite the sight at stores after all the eBay'ers returned their PS3s since they couldn't sell them for extortionate prices. Wii? Still rare... Beyond rare, even. It was impossible to find.

Now, after the initial release, Wiis are STILL impossible to find, but the spoiled gamers are starting to get upset again. "Where's all the cool games we were promised?! We can only play Wii Bowling so many times!! You promised us online gameplay, too!! Where are all the online games?! You lied to us!! There's nothing to do!! I wasted my money!!"

Yes... Maybe you did. If you feel that way, try selling your console on eBay! I'm sure there'll be someone out there who's a bit smarter and less of a brat who'll adore owning one. You see, humanity is impatient. They want everything NOW NOW NOW. Are you still looking for a Wii? Can't find one? Uh-oh, Nintendo MUST be holding back production and making the thing scarce, because that's EXACTLY the thing Nintendo's known for! Because it couldn't be that there's a genuine insatiable desire for something NEW in the gaming industry, and it couldn't be that you're just having a bit of bad luck. No, it's gotta be Nintendo. I keep reading about people who say they're done hunting for Wiis, and they don't want to be waiting in any lines like release day.

Well, ya' must not be wanting one badly enough, I guess. It's your perogative to wait, but right now, you're not going to be able to walk in to Walmart after work and hork one off the shelf... You're going to have to do some research! Learn when a shipment's coming in, how much is coming in, and when they're going on sale! It's EXACTLY like release day out there, and if you're not going to act like it, then you're not going to get one!

Second, lack of games. Every console has a post-launch lull in releases! EVERY... CONSOLE... It's like this is something totally new and unheard of and Nintendo cheated everyone! Well, to have games, you need developers... After the GameCube, developers were leaving Nintendo left and right! When the Wii was announced, they were a little cautious about signing up for a console that might be another unfriendly console for them. You'd've thought that after E3, they would have been begging Nintendo to make games, but some didn't.

Okay, any games that were started early enough to be released for launch were started early enough or rushed so they'd be a launch title! Who in their right mind is going to start making a game before launch and then MISS launch? Maybe some, but I'm betting that not many companies do that. So you have two groups of people: Launch developers, and developers who are waiting to see what happens. Nintendo still launched with the biggest library of launch titles in history, but then everyone else saw how incredibly perfect the Wii was in every aspect and then THEY jumped on to develop! The sad thing is, it takes more than 3 months to make a game! Everyone who finished their launch titles are starting new projects, and everyone who just jumped on the train are starting their projects, too... Result? Lull. For about a year. For every console! It's nothing new... Stop being stupid and blaming Nintendo for it. It's just a natural thing that happens when a new console comes out. After the launch lull, games will start pouring in again, but you have to be patient! That's what you get for being an early adopter! Isn't it fun?!

Third, no online gameplay! Whining about how everyone except the Wii has online gameplay and that Nintendo lied AGAIN to all us poor spoiled gamers about how there'd be plenty of online games. Well, we're getting there! Super Smash Brothers is going to be online, first of all. I'm not sure about any other titles, but that's all I'm ever going to need! I admit that it's kind of disappointing not to see any online games, but the online network was simply not ready at release, and now we're in the post-launch lull and there's no games AT ALL. Patience! Would you rather them have rushed the internet capability and it turn out like Sony's online network? Yeah. I don't think people would've been any more understanding than they are now. Remember! This is Nintendo! They're notorious for getting things done the RIGHT way, and they're willing to postpone releases to get it.

Fourth, no good Virtual Console games. On the contrary, I believe there's some pretty decent games on the VC! Some games I haven't even played before... Why wouldn't I buy them? Maybe you've already played them all, but nobody cares, okay? Now, I'm on the boat that they're maybe a tad bit expensive, but I'm not boycotting Nintendo over it! If I don't have the money, I won't buy anything... But if it's something like Super Mario World, or Ocarina of Time, I'm going to buy it! Nobody's forcing you to buy Virtual Console games, you know... You can go back to your precious emulators with loads of illegal ROMs, but now that there's a way to play these games legally, and on the best emulator of them all, I choose not to be illegal!

Okay! End result: Gamers are spoiled, they want everything now, and they'll blame Nintendo or Microsoft or Sony or anyone they think is responsible for making them wait so long... Boohoo!

So I'm crazy about statistic... I've got Google Analytics and I've got a plugin called ShortStat that tells me all sorts of neato information about where people are clicking links to my sites. I also have Akismet installed to control spam... (Coupled with one-time moderation of comments, there is absolutely NO spam on my site.)

I was looking at all my stats a bit ago and noticed that Akismet was proudly announcing that it had hit the 10,000 mark of how much spam it's blocked... So I decided to put a little counter on the side bar, right under the calendar! Now everyone can gather around and watch the numbers climb higher and higher! Isn't that great?! ...yeah, not really.

I keep reading blogs that talk about how hard it is to keep comment spam under control... Why aren't they using Akismet, HUH? Works fine for me! Zero false positives, and it's literally blocking hundreds of spams a day. Hmm. Makes me wonder how much bandwidth is being used by those durned spambots...

Oh, and I fixed my little "Current Music/Current Mood" plugin, too... So now I can easily tell you which Okami track I happen to be listening to at the time, heheh.

I don't usually make posts of a political nature, but I just had to for this...

I found this article on Slashdot: "An iPod for Every Kid in Michigan"! The good ol' Democrats are apparently trying to pass a bill that will put taxes on SODA and SATELLITE TV (soda tax? come ooon...) to raise 38 million dollars to give every kid in Michigan their very own iPod for "educational purposes"!

The idea is that kids will be able to transmit documents and listen to lectures! Uh-huh, sure. Who will be using their brand new culture icon to listen to teachers talk after school hours? Who wants to bet that this isn't going to work out as intended? Hmm? Anyone?

I admit the Republican party isn't exactly the best choice there is right now, but if there's one thing they don't do, it's raise taxes for stupid crap like this. But, hey! You voted these guys in! Make sure you keep an eye on them or they're going to bleed your bank accounts dry, Michigan.