I don't blog much. When I do, it's usually trivial in nature.

• 3Nov 09

  Expletive Maine

  Question 1 in Maine has repealed same-sex marriage.

  I swear, if Obama doesn't end up repealing DOMA, this may be the first time a democrat has been in presidency and not only unable to allow equal rights to same sex couples(as he stated he would attempt to do), but to have numerous high-coverage losses in the equality movement(Prop 8, Maine's Q1, and the upcoming Connecticut and Massachusetts bills that will soon be proposed so as to take advantage of this current momentum).

  Sorry for you Americans out here, but I chalk this up as one reason my country is better than yours. We accept. We may not like some things, but so long as they do not infringe on our rights and freedoms, we let people choose their own destiny. It's called tolerance, and no amount of words or stories can help many areas in the USA in that regard. It also doesn't help when people play on fear and lies to propel people into voting for something they don't truly undeerstand(however, it's people's own fault if they fall for those stupid Yes on 1 ads and their fallacious claims).

  This news, right on the heels of victory as one of my friends was finally cleared in an agonizing court battle that's left him stranded in house curfew for a year and away from his home and friends. Tonight was supposed to be a night to celebrate, instead it just depresses me.

  • Posted Nov 3, 2009 11:44 pm GMT
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• 1Nov 09

  My PC is rather dead

  So I was writing a hueg post when my bro's PC crashed(the one I'm using off and on while I wait for parts to come in or whatnot), so I'll keep it a bit shorter this time. My PC is dead; there are some toasted capacitors on the mobo, and after a long string of part failures in the past, this finally did it in. RIP Lazycakes.

  So I need a new one now. I have money set aside for it, so it's not that huge of a deal, but I'd hoped it woul d last until after xmas because it would be better financially that way. However, it didn't so I suppose I need to do it now.

  I've done some heavy research and have found some parts I really like, but as always, there are some key components I'm not sure of.

  I'll lay out the parts I'm seriously looking at here, with some other ideas in case I need to cut prices:

  PSU:
  A) Seasonic X-650 Gold ($200)
  b) Antec Truepower New 750 ($130)
  c) Corsair TX-750 ($120)

  Graphics Card:
  A) Any Radeon 5770 model ($170-195)
  b) A Radeon 5850 model, but I'd need to cut costs elsewhere ($305-335)
  c) I keep my current undamaged 7600GT for now. ($0)

  RAM:
  A) Mushkin Blackline 4GB(2x2GB) DDR3 1600 ($134)
  b) Gskill 4GB(2x2GB) DDR3 1600 ($93)
  c) Something comparable that I haven't listed that you recommend

  Case:
  A) Antec P183 ($135)
  b) I keep my Antec SLK3800 case and hope it's good enough. ($0)

  HDD:
  A) Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB ($60-70)

  Those parts are solid. I'm aiming for a quiet, efficient machine, that's upgradeable, so those all work. Now, I can, as you can see, keep some current parts and still have it functional...the obvious choice being my case(as wonky as it is, it works).

  I haven't listed processors because that's what I'm stuck on. Do I go AM3 and low-cost as AMD is probably going to support AM3 for a few more years(two, probably), or do I look at Intel's 1366 line that's very very very expensive? I don't think I could take a 1156 chipset simply because they're already being phased out(unless you have proof otherwise).

  So that's the decision I have to make. Do I go for an AMD build, or an Intel build? I'll do some cost comparisons:

  AMD Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE ($180-210)
  AMD Motherboard: MSI 790FX GD70 ($180)

  Intel Processor: Intel Core i7-920 ($310)
  Intel Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R ($210)

  If 1156 is supposed to stick around(and not have incompatible revisions like 1156B and 1156C) then I'll definitely consider that chipset because it looks mighty fine, but as is I think I'll be going AMD for my money's sake.

  So hard to make decisions like this quickly.

  • Posted Nov 1, 2009 11:24 am GMT
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• 29Oct 09

  It's nearly over

  2009, I mean. It's almost November, and that's not awesome at all.

  I mean, hockey has started up again(which is nice), but aside from that, it's spiraling into my least enjoyed season. Days are getting colder and colder and soon there will be snow. Halloween is coming up and while I like seeing my friends who are down to visit, I don't really have a costume and I don't really feel the costuming aspect of the holiday this year. I'll probably pull something cheap or whatever. I just hope no one takes any jabs at me like what happened at scary movie night last week. The last thing I need is to be put on the defense about SRS surgery and how it's just as qualified for provincial funding as numerous other conditions and should not be classified as cosmetic. One person brought it up in the middle of "Thirt33n Ghosts"(or however you spell it) with a small quip and I came off as a jerk defending it while everyone was trying to watch a movie. Twas not too great, that's for sure, although I do hope it wasn't an intentional dig, and was just due to lack of knowledge on the issue.

  This might be the last winter my computer sees, as well. My hard drive(going on 9 years) is vibrating like a hobo on crack, and my PSU is getting overloaded more often lately. It's a beast of a computer, and has lasted me a fair while, but I'd much rather not fork out $1k on a new one. I will if I have to, though, and I'll spend the money to make the computer future proof this time instead of using old technology that will become hard to find and expensive rather quick. DX11 graphics card(probably a 5770), AM3 mobo and CPU(intel's are great too, but more expensive it seems), or whatever. I'll probably do what I had hoped to do last time around, and build a rather silent PC. Wouldn't allow for OCing much but would be worth it in the future.

  I'm still jobless. Did a freelance project two weeks ago, just a small media package(logo, business card, email newsletter) that I did for free. I've been trudging away at my portfolio but I haven't made a lot of progress. Fall has never been my most creative of seasons. I'm still sending resumes out there, but not many places are hiring. Haven't had many interviews. Mayhaps I'll just go for retail and get one of those holiday-rush jobs and hope it sticks, but at the same time i don't want to live where I'm living anymore. Moving closer to Toronto would be cool...Ottawa would be good too.

  At least I'm progressing on my year-ending music list. I figure I'll do a 2009 in review list, and then push out a decade in review by February or something. The real trouble in that one will be reviewing 2000-2003 when I wasn't doing much in the music scene. *shrug*

  Anywho, just a very sleepy morning for me. Haven't been sleeping well and it's definitely been showing in my energy levels and my ability to function.

  A pair of songs to leave you with today, I might blog later. Who knows? Depends on if I go out.

  The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

  ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Isis Unveiled

  Ok, ok, I'll link two more funnier videos. Lightening up the mood

  Nicolas Cage's ridiculous Pachink commercials

  Interesting take on 'Creeping Death'

  Have a good afternoon and evening everyone!

  • Posted Oct 29, 2009 10:03 am GMT
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