Upgrades.

That's a beautiful SIGMA 17-70mm Macro Lens, finally got one.

The Vizio 42" 1080p HD LCDTV

Western Digital 2TB Mirror Edition External HardDrive

Logitech MX Revolution wireless mouse

DE M85A Airsoft Shotgun

F.IRST E.NCOUNTER A.SSAULT R.ECON 2 for 360

The ultraslim Logitech diNovo wireless keyboard

Yep, so those are the upgrades for the first quarter of 2009. Party time.

The Million-Dollar Keyboard

Apparently, since this Logitech diNovo Keyboard is "Temporarily Out of Stock", it would take the sum of $1,019,448.55 to increse their efforts and get that keyboard to you. Amazing. I wonder how the system came up with that number?

Michael & Mary together again!

um, yeah, I'm pretty sure it explains itself.

If you want the cereal box featured atop, I'll be posting an auction in eBay soon, so check back here for the link. :P

Gears of Noir

IN OTHER NEWS:

- I [finally] bought a new external hard drive for my ever-expanding collection of photographs and films.  I bought a 2TB Western Digital Mirror Edition.  The 500GB WD drive is still workin' like a pro, but I wouldn't mind having a 500GB Passport Elite to move around. Yes, lots of space.

- Bought F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, the first one was addictingly intense, so I can't wait for this one to come in, prob around V-Day.

-The "fourty-two inch liquid crystal" should be here by V-Day. hehe it's big :) Just not sure what I'm gonna do with my Samsung "twenty-two inch liquid crystal" yet.

-My M58A shotgun should be here today or tomorrow.

- I got Tinkerbell yesterday.

phew, lotta good (covert) news today

i was beginning to think i'd never get an email with some real good news....and i just had like 3 awesome ones tonight, so i'm really psyched about what is to come.

Like fourty-two inches of liquid crystal...hehe.

very covert though, can't let the surprise out to my woman by any means. :P

codename: Operation: ALPHA

oh boy.

Looks like I'll be getting some awesome packages in the mail this week...hehe. 

Oh, and it looks like AOL finally closed my email account. :(

Yeah, so "lotto@xfaktorfilms.com" is no longer a valid email address, which sucks, but I don't necessarily do film anymore so I guess it's not that bad.

Pip Boy

Look at 'im!

He's pretty cool, doesn't say much, but certainly stands for something and whenever ya look at him, it just makes you wanna do something with a smile on your face. lol.

it's a PipBoy Vault-Tec Bobblehead from Fallout 3 game package

Super.

Super-what?  Yeah, I didn't watch it. Ho-hum drum.  But I can say that it certainly didn't mean my day (or night for that matter) wasn't super, 'cause it was.

Taken, that movie with Liam Neeson that actually came out sometime last year....came out January 30th in theaters... huh?  I don't get it either.

AutoPortrait

Good contrast, and smooth lighting; I like it.

Sony Alpha + 650mm-1300mm lens

Nikonic

Nikon F2 35mm SLR

For my Photography class I needed a 35mm camera, so I asked my photo-centered grandfather and he supplied for me his gem from back in his 35mm days.  A Nikon F2 SLR, but a beauty nonetheless, with a 70-210mm lens.  I'll have fun in his footsteps.

Update Jan.31st: I loaded Kodak iso400 film, and have some 400 B/W for my next roll.  We'll see how this goes.

Seismic Proportions.

The X-SYSTEM as of January 20th consists of:

• Two 10" Cerwin-Vega! 3-way towers
• Two 15" Fisher 3-way floorstanding towers
• Five Zenith surround speakers (to be upgraded)
• One big-nasty 12" Infinity PS212 subwoofer (new this month) wired with digital coax
• Sony STR-DG720 7.1 Digital Receiver/Amplifier (also brand new this month)
• Wired to my XF Machine and 360 by optical cable

~in my efforts to upgrade my entire audio/video system~

I just recently received the subwoofer I ordered from eBay, brand-new:  a 12" INFINITY 400WATT RMS/700W peak power subwoofer.  I must say, I am impressed.  With all of the subs these days going for 400-1000 bucks a pop (a good one will cost you more towards the latter), I did some sifting on eBay and found this gem for less than the previous budget range.  It just made sense.  Otherwise I was going to get an 8" Polk (PSW111) sub for $30 less, running 150watts RMS...but decided this one was worth the 6-day wait (due to a Sunday and MiLK day).  Which it certainly was worth it.

There's the new 12"/400W Infinity subwoofer next to my old Zenith package-sub (8"/120watts)  |The bass port is about 3x as big as the one on the Zenith|

(all i need now is less crap in the room so there's less to rattle. ;)

IN OTHER NEWS:

-My 250GB external hard drive failed. :(

-I attained a plausible Dolby Digital & DTS signal from The Machine to the DG720...finally.

-I updated my 360, and it changed everything around...and added what I highly anticipated- support for my Samsung's native resolution, 1680 x 1050, which is great, so now I'm officially gaming in HD with HD sound.  (It's crossed my mind a few times to invest in a 42" Plasma/LCD tv or a bigger PC monitor)

-Freed up 50 gigs on my internal HDD just by moving my pictures over to The Vault (500gb HDD).

Snow Targets

-taken when we were in TN-

Got my Gamo pellet gun (that I shipped from TN on the 10th) last night.  So, I'm going out today in the snow to have a little fun. @2:25pm

Update@2:45pm: Nope, not goin' out, nevermind. Things, and plans change constantly out here in Jersey, so you can't expect to really stick to anything you're gonna do by yourself, chances are someone else will interfere with it. Oh well. Have a great day, in spite of me please.

12-gauge Buck, 30-06 Win, .22 Rem, .38 Special

.38 Special, Rounds we fired in the S&W .357 Revolver

.30-06 Winchester, Fired in the S&W rifle. Nasty.

Ruger 9mm Automatic Pistol Rifled Barrel.

(before it was cleaned)

5 Days In Tennessee.

Lindsay n' I @Mimi's Restaurant in Knoxville.  This great shot taken (by me) right after we left the airport on Jan 5th. :)

Nuke'em til it snows.

Ryan's restaurant. My restaurant. Buffet was good.

A 12-gauge pump shotgun shell. Buckshot.  I had fun shooting it, but my shoulder's still sore. ;)

Cold, Dry Season

So, I haven't been on here or said anything lately, so if you've been trying to contact me thru online means, sorry.  Use my email please.  I haven't been shooting (my camera) lately, so nothing has gone up on the photo blogs either.  Oh well. I'll have  plenty of shots to put up on my Picasa Web Album from my upcoming trip to Tennessee beginning of next month.

In the time between my posts, I have bought a[nother] PSP, and I think my heart has warmed up towards it again.  Got an 8gig card in it, so I have plenty movies and music on it.  And, I have been buying gifts on eBay lately, so hopefully they'll come in this week...they better.  I have yet to see The Day the Earth Stood Still, but I have the TS file for it....but'll wait to see it in theaters first.

~Also got The Dark Knight in 1080p HD~

Our 5 monthiversary is this Wednesday! Nearly half a year and it feels like longer. Not in a bad way, but in a way that we've had so many great times already, you'd think we've been together longer. And like I said, we'll be taking a trip out to Tennessee this January, for which I am greatly anticipating. :)

My family's Christmas party is coming up this weekend, 4 days earlier than we always used to have it.  I'm really excited because it'll be our first Christmas together.  I love that woman with all of my heart, and look forward to sharing many more Christmases with her.

Blackjack.

So, I turned 21 on Saturday the 15th.  Nearly bought my own birthday cake on the 16th, instead I picked up a pecan pie, and had my little bday "party" later that nite.  Coincidentally, the next picture I took with my Alpha was numbered 2121.

I didn't get anything I needed for my birthday.  I wanted to get what I needed. Nope. Too much to ask for, for a 21st birthday.  I could really use a Norelco shaver, as opposed to my Remington.  As far as I'm concerned, Remington should stick to what they're good at: Guns.  Speaking of, I wanted to get a nice SW1911 or MKIV Colt for my birthday, lol. Yeah, okay Ryan.

Post-Apoc

This is one of the first views you see when you leave Vault 101.

A super mutant behemoth, throwback to Resident Evil and Gears of War. This shot taken before I nuked him.

You can "wait" or sleep to change the time at anytime during the game, up to 24hrs...similar to FarCry 2.

a cool menu that rotates between retro film slides.

Fallout 3, a very interesting game, which takes place in post-apocalyptic America grabbed my attention with the first hour of gameplay.  There is so much put into this game that your curiosity my never be filled, even upon completion of it.

It reminds me of Gears of War + Half-Life 2 combined.  The graphics are pretty swell, no where near as much of a cpu-hog as Crysis, or even FarCry 2.

In fact, I was pulling a steady 30fps (outdoors) with Ultra Specs, @1680x1050, and indoors at a fluid 60fps.  Very nice indeed.  

PS:These last three games I bought; FarCry 2, Brothers in Arms: HH, & Fallout 3; have worked pretty awesome (and automatically) with the Xbox 360 Controller.  Nothing like having an awesome comp and playing it like a 360 with wireless controllers, 5.1 sound, and HD visuals, all with free online multiplayer.  Taste it.

FarCry2 Gameplay Update

So, I've been playing it since yesterday, and probably totaled over 5 hours so far. Get this; I've only progressed to 8%.  I must say I am surprised how the tech evolved since Crysis. 

I've seen very minimal loading screens; basically only when I load a checkpoint or take the bus...yes, you can take the bus to different stops on the map...it's ridiculous.

I think I've just spent hours exploring everything and messin' with militia just to have them pissed off and chasing after me, ultimately ending up in me blowing them back [to hell].  This kind of expansive(ness) and interactivity, along with spontaniety reminds me of GTA, I must say.

The game basically has you do a bunch of "jobs" or hits, and thru this you earn connections and reputation, or lose it.  Rough diamonds are the currency medium in the game, which are hidden all over the map in suitcases. (Over 225 cases to find)  There's a gun shop (where you buy arms, thru a computer)

Oh, and burning things is not only the best backup option, but also the worst.  You're in Africa. Everything is dry.  You are low on ammo, so you bust out the rustbucket flamethrower and torch a line of fire between your enemies and you....but end up backing up against a rockwall and the flames close in on you (and your enemies, in both directions).  So it's a great gun when you actually plan on using it instead of using it out of desperation.  Flame on!

This game is great. It incorporates excellent CG graphics and gameplay plus a little Cabela's hunting in Africa. Can it get better?

Yes, that's a gorgeous, fast little dune buggy. Thing friggin' rocks.

the outskirts of the map are blistering dunes, of which you can die of heat exhaustion. lovely.

one huge seamlessly expansive map. incredible.

Specular, HDR, and "God" Ray Lighting are all standard and actually require less than Crysis, so it'll play and look better without eating up your computer.  (Even though I believe the CryEngine 2 is way better than FarCry 2's "Dunia" engine.

Far Cry 2, is finally [legally] here!

I'm enjoying figuring this game out.  Excellent graphics right out of the box.

-Seems like it's completely unrelated to the first one, btw-

I got the Gamestop (holla!) Pre-Order Edition, which includes "over" 3 hours of extra gameplay, and a map of the African world of Far Cry 2.

Running it smoothly and effectively at:

1680 x 1050

Vsync

Very High Settings

DirectX 10

*and to think, I actually considered buying two new graphics cards for this game*

(And no, it is not more of a graphics hog than Crysis)