tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64532659509655109942010-10-28T17:10:16.865+01:00Mikes Ramblings.News, Reviews and Previews of all things Tech and Gaming.. And <strike>occasionally</strike>.. <b>usually</b> a little something off topic...Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-47717079173926172382010-10-28T17:07:00.001+01:002010-10-28T17:10:16.882+01:002010-10-28T17:10:16.882+01:00Nokia N8 TV ad - It's not technology, it's what you do with it.This is one of them ads that comes along every once in a while that I don't mind watching.<br />
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<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zULDfSS7h20?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zULDfSS7h20?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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Can somebody let me know whether that kickflip/skate scoring technology exists?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-4771707917392617238?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-38007585807387085952010-10-27T17:46:00.002+01:002010-10-28T00:23:33.548+01:002010-10-28T00:23:33.548+01:00Kid Breaks Leg at BlizzconI'm sure for those of you that have been following this years Blizzcon with a keen eye will have already seen this, but for those of you that haven't.. this is a pretty boss way to break a leg.. I guess.<br />
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<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zkE2BTjYFGQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zkE2BTjYFGQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-3800758580738708595?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-73516091154187403892010-10-26T20:53:00.005+01:002010-10-26T20:59:59.942+01:002010-10-26T20:59:59.942+01:00Hypes StoreA few weeks ago a good friend of mine and his friend opened <i><u><a href="http://hypes.biz/">hypes.biz</a></u></i>. They have spent sometime preparing it for launch and tweaking it since. The site sells coding, e-books and all sorts. You can find a lot of the website in English and German. The site is totally legitimate and all of the e-goods sold on the site are entirely legal. If you would like to get involved, purchase a service or would like to make a request, then head over there and sign up. (You must be logged in to view products.)<br />
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You too can sell your own e-books or closely held tips here for anything from increasing web traffic to starting your own business for a small charge.<br />
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You can buy almost any online service on here, just ask on the forums for what you are looking for, chances are these guys can do it. Need some coding? Got it covered. Need a website? Got it covered.<br />
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Anything sold by the admins will always be 100% legitimate and working, however with users selling items too you need to be cautious, common sense is usually the best trick here. Most products are reviewed and will be reviewed at request if possible, trusted and well rated sellers gain reputation points, so you know who you can trust.<br />
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A current hot seller is their spreading guide, for only €20 you can learn the best ways to advertise your website, video or other message and increase traffic for free with a full length tutorial explaining everything you need. This is a very robust guide and can be used for tons of uses!<br />
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Besides from the guides one of the coolest products by far is the 100's of legitimate CD keys they have in stock for all kinds of software, lost your CD key? Don't re-buy the software, buy your own personal, legitimate key for a fraction of the price! (All these keys are legitimate, not key gens etc.)<br />
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You can even use the forums as your own platform to advertise your products, and for €3 a month you can have your thread pinned to ensure maximum exposure - which of course means more potential sales! Win-Win situation.<br />
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Already services are flying out of the window, so hop on it now and check if there is anything you need. The site is in the process of adding various payment methods.<br />
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As always, read the rules and terms of service when you sign up, remember that certain products may have their own specified disclaimers and simply not all products can be guaranteed, so just don't be stupid.<br />
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Have fun and I hope you all have time to check this out, don't hesitate to lap up the full potential this website can bring you!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-7351609115418740389?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-62427877277933117792010-10-26T05:57:00.012+01:002010-10-26T06:35:48.730+01:002010-10-26T06:35:48.730+01:00My Absense ExplainedFirst off, I apologise for leaving you all without a post for so long, and secondly.. Well I'll get onto that in a moment.<br />
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This weekend I've been busy with a few things, shopping, spending time with the girlfriend and the usual lifely tasks. However the free time I had around these was quickly eaten up by a little plague (or my new love, rather) that bit me a few days ago. This plague is <a href="http://www.minecraft.net/"><b><u>MINECRAFT</u></b></a>... Never.. Ever.. EVER play this game. And by this of course I mean play it, play it now, oh god play it so bad.<br />
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What is Minecraft I hear you say? Well for those of you actually reading this, (because you're not playing Minecraft..) In which case I'll assume you live under a virtual rock or oh say.. Are a normal human being. Let me give you a quick explanation with a little fan-made trailer I found:<br />
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<object height="340" width="520"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FaMTedT6P0I?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FaMTedT6P0I?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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(I could post tons of these, but in the side video's you'll find endless supplies of Minecraft wonder to discover for yourself.. Infact I'll leave you with 1 other video, this time full of <strike>pant-crapping pixelated terror. Don't watch it, don't research it, don't do it, look away now, close this window and never look back. ARE YOU LISTENING TO WHAT I'M SAYING TO YOU?!</strike> <b>Cuteness,</b> below.<br />
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This cute little pixel-art world is the creation of the Swedish now E-God <i>"Notch" </i>and is currently in its Alpha stage. The landscape is rendered completely new each time you start the game, the general idea is to craft and survive. Oh and if you're worried about the scale of the game being small.. The game can render an area the size of 8 times the surface of planet earth, and every time its completely new and random.<br />
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I am not the only one loving the creation of this instant indie classic, the game has now been purchased nearly <strong>half a Million</strong> times already. Two corner posts of gaming; <b><u><a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4130&p=1">Steam</a></u></b> and <b><u><a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/07/29/community-heroes-notch-for-minecraft/">PC Gamer magazine</a></u></b> are even feeling the mighty wrath of the Minecraft plague themselves. The latter have all kinds of articles popping up about the game all the time and the man behind the intertubes himself, too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2010/09/PC-Gamer-Minecraft-cover-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2010/09/PC-Gamer-Minecraft-cover-small.jpg" width="440" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PC Gamer magazine are such big fans, they made him a joke magazine cover and sent it to him in the post which he now has framed on his wall!</span></div><br />
I am not being biased when I big this game up, I'm just being honest. If plundering the earth and building all sorts in singleplayer's survival mode till you're eyes bleed or until you FINALLY declare you've had enough of it, then perhaps the multiplayer online Indev mode which allows you to create anything, with unlimited possibilities, with your friends with unlimited possibilities is more to your taste? No.. Oh.. Well I guess you'd rather just grief the hell out of everybody and their precious building projects? Well, you can do that too.<br />
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The possibilities aren't <i>endless </i>as such... well yeah actually, I guess they kind of are if you have the time, resources and required level of <strike>autism</strike> dedication then you can achieve anything in the game. A quick youtube search and you'll know what I mean. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeV0XB-w_yM"><b><u>TNT cannons that fire pigs into space</u></b></a>.. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn2-d5a3r94&feature=related"><b><u>Or a full size replica of the Starship Enterprise</u></b></a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXmSUKrFemc"><b><u>a BIG river</u></b></a>, a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVMhud3dTrA&feature=related"><b><u>music video for your favourite song</u></b></a>. Or maybe even a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWPk5zlKAEM"><b><u>model of The Earth</u></b></a>? Perhaps a big ditch, instead. The list could go on, forever.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">TL;DR:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.livestream.com/filestore/logos/5049be2d-18ad-f86e-2018-1035303846f5-banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="http://www.livestream.com/filestore/logos/5049be2d-18ad-f86e-2018-1035303846f5-banner.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Click to enlarge.)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Its funny because its true. "It's everything" might have been a more appropriate caption, but the brutal truth is even better.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>Also if I forgot to mention it; <b>Get this game. </b>Oh yeah, and it's only €9.95 - for a limited time only. It will be €14.95 once it goes into beta, then €19.95 when it goes into full release, so snag a bargain and start enjoying it now. Although it certainly deserves its full price, and more in my opinion.<br />
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Please, please, please, if you're going to get this game - don't torrent this. This guy deserves all the money he gets for his hard work, and supporting an indie developer like this encourages creativity and originality, rather than re-hashed rubbish like I mentioned in my last post!<br />
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On another note I'm currently on my college 1 week half-term holiday, and as a strange surprise to the way my holidays usually go, I am quite a busy bunny doing all sorts, and this is made 10 fold worse by Minecraft.. I think I'm getting it out of my system now though! At least to a degree ;).<br />
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With a few cool planned days coming up, a Halloween party and some college work I will force myself to chew through, I'm certainly not short of stuff to do. However I will still make sure to pop by and make a few posts when I can.<br />
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Assuming I get my Bigfoot Networks' Killer 2100 sometime soon then you should have a review to read by the end of this week, and if so, then stay tuned to read that.. and if not, read anyway!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-6242787727793311779?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-22740949037379890092010-10-22T03:18:00.005+01:002010-10-22T15:59:58.337+01:002010-10-22T15:59:58.337+01:00Poll Results: Best Shooter Game SeriesSo my poll results have been sat there a while now; I'm certainly not that surprised that <b>Call of Duty</b> came out on top. Without trying to sound too biased or elitist, its pretty much sure around 80% of those votes were casual gamers, probably console gamers at that. CoD4:MW1 and CoD2 however, especially at a competitive level were the shiz, even just to watch.<br />
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Tailing behind in second by only 4 votes was <b>Half-Life</b>, a PC gamer favourite. Many HL1 players are also huge CS 1.6 fans, as this started as a mod for HL1 back in the day. I'm sure they would have smashed its way to the top of the pile with ease had I tied it into 1 option.<br />
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Unsurprisingly the<b> Counter Strike</b> series is up in the top 3, but only at 3rd. If you think you're an FPS gamer, especially from CoD or a similar style game, then try this if you haven't. Bonus points for being a console gamer, I guarantee you will rage and probably quit, whilst blaming the game for being "broken" or too hard.<br />
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Poll Results:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Half Life 33 (20%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Counter Strike 25 (15%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Battlefield 8 (5%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Call of Duty 37 (23%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Quake 8 (5%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Unreal Tournament 7 (4%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>F.E.A.R 0 (0%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Metal Gear Solid 11 (6%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Resident Evil 9 (5%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br />
</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Halo 21 (13%)</i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>*RANT WARNING*</b></span><br />
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In summary Call of Duty is in no way a bad game, I just think its modern incarnations are very much mass-marketed sell outs. Having played every game thoroughly in this top 3, I have a pretty experienced opinion of each. (I mean I've played for 100's of hours, and in the case of HL and especially CS - for 1000's.)<br />
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This may be the die-hard critic coming out in me, but there is just a general lack of quality in 99% of the games hitting the market these days, it's gotten to the point where I rarely even bother to watch the trailer of a game, never-mind even get excited for it. When you've had your hopes crushed time again by game developers who fail to deliver, you very much so become once bitten and twice shy.<br />
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It seems some console gamers never learn (or will play any rehashed bull), and it seems its usually PC gamers who become the cynical if not slightly bitter gamers after all this, but with the freedom and variety PC has over console, I suppose we become to expect better - or at least know what is GOOD; most of us have anyway.<br />
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I'm not hopping on the old-school or hate wagon because its the cool or out-there thing to do, it's just how it is from my experience.<br />
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I know this post became more of a rant and about personal opinion rather than the results of this poll; but I suppose thats the point of a blog, and why I conduct such polls. After all, I'm not a newspaper, and I don't have to be unbiased or even fair if I don't want to. Although I do try and keep my posts informative, my own opinion and I at least try to keep it as fair as I can.<br />
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I saw a few comments asking for other series that should have been included, and some that maybe even shouldn't. Although a couple of them I did agree deserved to be in the poll, these were the instant ones that stuck in my mind - and thats for a reason. With the above paragraph in-mind; this is my blog and I'll cry if I want too.<br />
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I just wanted to a gauge an opinion from you all, and thanks for taking time to vote. I should have kept the poll open longer really, but even with the small voting sample - I think that this represents the gaming market today rather accurately. This of course being that there is pockets of what you would call hardcore, die hard or even old school gamers spread out across a whole manner of games, genres and plaftorms. Whilst these have steadily been replaced or pushed out over the years by a pretty generic block of mind-numbed gamers that have reared their heads in recent years. And I'm going to describe these new-age gamers with the coined word "Casual Gamers". Not so much your Gran or Mother playing with their Wii; but more the 13 year olds squeaking into microphones over Xbox Live. Hell, if I was their age maybe I'd have been sucked so easily into this consumer-pit. I'm not saying every console gamer is casual, and not every PC gamer isn't a casual. This just seems to be the general trend, but with brand loyalty and preference to a general platform, some just stick to what they know, and as the saying goes: if it ain't broke don't fix it.<br />
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I won't be surprised at the flames I'll get for people that have bothered to read this far, (hell - this post was just meant to be a short post about the results) but when reading bare in mind that I've tried almost every game genre. I've been from console to console (especially when I was young, and hell I loved them) but over time it seemed I gained a more and more refined taste in what was entertaining, especially as I was treat to some utter gems in gaming over the years - ones that even with crap graphics are still fun to play now (and not just because of the nostalgic value either). It seems a lot of these gems have been lost and are becoming increasingly rarer to find, across the entire game-world in general, not just on one system.<br />
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Haters gunna hate, but maybe I have a niche taste in games, or maybe I'm just hard to please these days - but as far as I can see games just aren't that good even when they're supposedly getting better. With the few exceptions that rear their faces from the litter of runts, they just don't make 'em like they used to.<br />
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I don't claim to be an old-school gamer, as theres plenty of gamers that have been playing much longer than I've even been alive. I'm a 90's child, and even though that makes me young, I'm sure theres plenty that agree with my point of view. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't know whats fun, I suppose that comes with playing games as quickly as you learn to pick up a controller or use a keyboard.<br />
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I'll leave it at that because I'm tired and my keyboard is crying for mercy.. and the fact I probably couldn't cover any more even if I wanted too. Thanks for reading and look out for my future posts, polls and EPIC RANTS, I guess!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-2274094903737989009?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-27623299234187061062010-10-21T08:36:00.006+01:002010-10-22T00:28:33.085+01:002010-10-22T00:28:33.085+01:00Fragmore University<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bigfootnetworks.com/fragmore/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/fragmorelogo145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://bigfootnetworks.com/fragmore/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/fragmorelogo145.jpg" /></a><a href="http://sn106w.snt106.mail.live.com/att/GetAttachment.aspx?tnail=1&messageId=0f41c241-db17-11df-8bda-00215ad9a2ac&Aux=50|0|8CD3D3AF60C32A0||0|0|0|0||&maxwidth=220&maxheight=160&size=Att" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A couple of days ago Bigfoot Networks launched <a href="http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/fragmore/"><b><u>Fragmore University</u></b></a></div><br />
Bigfoot Networks is proud to open the doors of Fragmore University, get online gaming lessons from pro gamers and catch up on other tips, tricks and daily news about online gaming. The posts are updated regularly and actually contain hints and tips to make you a better player in your game.<br />
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</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Play More, Win More, Fragmore!" </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"> To celebrate the launch of Fragmore University, Bigfoot are having a giveaway of games and one of their much coveted network cards.</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First Prize - 4 games of your choice from Steam and a Killer™ 2100 Gaming Network Card;</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Second Prize - 2 games of your choice from Steam and a Killer™ 2100 Gaming Network Card.</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fragmore.bigfootnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/killer2100boxfragmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://fragmore.bigfootnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/killer2100boxfragmore.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Survey ends on November 5th, so fill it out soon by clicking <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2010bfnfallsurveyonlinegamers"><b><u>here</u></b></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Feel free to send them gaming tips for the website to give your team exposure.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-2762329923418706106?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-22051343234628382052010-10-20T18:37:00.004+01:002010-10-21T20:14:53.317+01:002010-10-21T20:14:53.317+01:00Peculiar Package<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shitsenders.com/images/site/shit-senders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://www.shitsenders.com/images/site/shit-senders.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Yeah you read that right.. I stumbled across <a href="http://www.shitsenders.com/"><b><u>this</u></b></a> website an hour or so ago, and as it turns out you can have a lovely brown package shipped pretty much anywhere around the world anonymously.<br />
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This site allows you to choose from 3 flavours: "Cow dung", "Elephant Crap" and my personal favourite; "Gorilla Shit".<br />
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Available in either a quart or a gallon, they tailor to fit every of your fecal needs! Oh and use responsibly.. yeah, okay.<br />
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Edit: It seems the sites MySQL database is currently down.. :(<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-2205134323462838205?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-58167155505546549182010-10-19T17:20:00.007+01:002010-10-19T17:37:47.191+01:002010-10-19T17:37:47.191+01:00XFX Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition, Limited Edition UnboxingThe most elaborately packaged graphics card ever!<br />
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<embed src="http://www.hardwareclips.com/nuevo/player/nvplayer.swf?config=http://www.hardwareclips.com/nuevo/econfig.php?key=b30aa72ca258a3483cc7" wmode="transparent" width="520" height="340" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /></embed><br />
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This card sports 4GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 4.8GHz and dual Cypress GPUs clocked at 850MHz, 125MHz faster than the reference models. This would be enough for most gamers, but the XFX card takes the 4GB HD 5970 in an entirely new direction. This is because the card uses six Mini-DisplayPorts to add support for up to six monitors using the ATI Eyefinity technology. With 3200 Stream processors to go with it this thing is a beast, however if you fancy buying one then expect to drop around £450-£480 on one here in the UK.<br />
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With the 6XXX series cards around the corner, this would be excessive - and most likely a waste of money, even for the immense horsepower it sports.<br />
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It does however come with a ton of extras, and some people have to have the best of the best ofcourse - so live and let live I guess.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-5816715550554654918?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-11540344389327522312010-10-18T03:30:00.005+01:002010-10-18T13:44:13.712+01:002010-10-18T13:44:13.712+01:00An updateIt's almost as if everybody in the tech world has died.. not a reply to a single email in the past say 4.. or 5 days.. to some things that are a matter of great urgency too!<br />
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On a good note I should have a couple more products to review for you over the next week or two, even with the wall of hush that I'm getting at the minute I found something that made me smile. I was reading through the comments of one of my posts and found a reply from a comment I made a while ago on "<a href="http://hollowgirl53.blogspot.com/">Hollowgirl</a>" a.k.a Samara's blog. She was taking suggestions for what to draw next and I got my very own Squirtle drawn ;o!<br />
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<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ePWf4UQebSI/TLKL0-vPOTI/AAAAAAAAACo/D8D6Wy_3w2A/s1600/squirtle3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ePWf4UQebSI/TLKL0-vPOTI/AAAAAAAAACo/D8D6Wy_3w2A/s400/squirtle3.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">B) </div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanks Samara! <3 (I'd return the favour but I haven't drawn in forever!)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-1154034438932752231?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-62754404037007291732010-10-16T18:13:00.002+01:002010-10-16T18:13:49.625+01:002010-10-16T18:13:49.625+01:00Worst SCII Strat EverYeah this may result in a win.. doesn't stop it being absolutely awful though.<br />
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<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nhLSbEFyPnc?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nhLSbEFyPnc?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-6275440403700729173?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-78686767645621809292010-10-16T00:25:00.002+01:002010-10-16T00:25:51.081+01:002010-10-16T00:25:51.081+01:00Off topicHow hasn't this gone viral yet?..<br />
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<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pkXqDM4nUWE?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pkXqDM4nUWE?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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I don't know why but I had to keep listening.. oh man the laughs!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-7868676764562180929?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-12602700600287315792010-10-15T19:04:00.000+01:002010-10-15T19:04:34.189+01:002010-10-15T19:04:34.189+01:00"A Few Perspectives on OpenOffice.org"<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kzdykNa2IBU?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kzdykNa2IBU?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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So what do you think? Propaganda or a degree of truth?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-1260270060028731579?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-62209183514872238092010-10-15T10:18:00.001+01:002010-10-15T10:43:39.022+01:002010-10-15T10:43:39.022+01:00One of my last shiftsWas planning to put something tech related up this morning, alas I haven't, partly because in the past 20 minutes a stomach destroying cramp has creeped up on me and now I'm close to breathing like I've gone into labor. This wouldn't be too bad but I have work in 40 minutes and I'm considering taking my first day off.. and its one of my last shifts too.<br />
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Not had the greatest start to the day this morning really, had to deal with a couple things that are far from great, but I'm in a positive mood and life is what you make of it, so I WILL enjoy my day.. hopefully. No, wait, I will.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-6220918351487223809?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-27956990941814244602010-10-14T18:02:00.000+01:002010-10-14T18:02:03.641+01:002010-10-14T18:02:03.641+01:00Employee Survey Labels Gadget Maker Foxconn a ‘Prison’<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2009/07/272396681_a36bc1ed4a_b-660x375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2009/07/272396681_a36bc1ed4a_b-660x375.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>"Workers at Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics maker famously known for manufacturing Apple’s iPhone, among other gadgets, used words like “prison” or “cage” to describe working conditions at the factory, according to a recent survey.<br />
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The workers quoted in the report complained about inhumane schedules requiring regular overtime work, stagnant wages and inflating dorm fees for factory beds, according to Global Post, who has been investigating Asian supply chains. The employee complaints were cited in surveys conducted by roughly 100 academics at China’s top universities.<br />
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“Under the labor and dormitory system, there is great physical, spiritual and spatial repression,” the report said when describing Foxconn’s prison-like working conditions. “An ordinary worker can easily be forced to the edge of collapse.”<br />
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Foxconn’s problems are symptomatic of a widespread issue in Asia, where gadget factories are notorious for committing labor violations, sometimes paying hourly wages of a dollar, firing people without notice and violently abusing employees.<br />
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Foxconn, however, has been under intense scrutiny in the media spotlight in light of a dozen employee suicides that have occurred at the factory this year. In response, Foxconn opened a tour of the factory to journalists and later promised it would work to improve working conditions by implementing wage hikes, among other changes.<br />
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However, the newest survey claims that these promises for improvements have yet to materialize.<br />
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In an e-mail response, Foxconn denied the allegations.<br />
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“Foxconn is certainly not perfect,” Foxconn said in an e-mail statement sent to The Register, “but we take our responsibility to our employees very seriously and we are committed to giving each and every one of our more than 937,000 employees in China a safe and positive working environment and compensation and benefits that are competitive with all of our industry peers.”<br />
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The Hong Kong-based organized Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, or SACOM, which helped conduct the investigation, said it was calling on manufacturers such as Apple, HP and Dell to take responsibility for the tragedy. The three companies said in May that they were in contact with Foxconn to examine the working conditions." <em>Wired.com</em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-2795699094181424460?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-9233809422671073132010-10-14T11:49:00.003+01:002010-10-18T20:34:18.754+01:002010-10-18T20:34:18.754+01:00Chozo the rage wagon<object height="340" width="520"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ncLuJRvt7E0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ncLuJRvt7E0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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An awesome clip of a guy named Chozo playing TF2, I found this last night thanks to <i><u><a href="http://rageism.blogspot.com/">The Rage Blog</a></u></i>. There is a first clip however I much prefer the second one. Enjoy!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-923380942267107313?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-19980534207877824752010-10-13T23:00:00.001+01:002010-10-13T23:00:40.030+01:002010-10-13T23:00:40.030+01:00Tetris BEAST<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AHTO5PxCr98?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AHTO5PxCr98?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
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This guy will take even your mother to school.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-1998053420787782475?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-80642596143946954622010-10-13T19:18:00.007+01:002010-10-13T19:26:27.637+01:002010-10-13T19:26:27.637+01:00Psycotic Gaming quietly closes its doorsLast month unfortunately Psycotic Gaming (for whom I news wrote) shut up shop; it had been fun at times and ofcourse tiring at others. But it was great - being part of an organisation that managed some decent results against Top EU teams such as <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Reason Gaming</span></b>, it was truly a group effort to make it all work.<br />
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Having been established since April it seemed like nowhere but up, even though obviously being a new gaming organisation we were faced with certain difficulties, but seemed to overcome anything that was thrown at us and always came up with new and exciting ideas and luckily caught ourselves some very supportive, possitive and well driven sponsors.<br />
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After disapointing LAN results, multiple and regular roster changes partnered with an eventual lack of internal communication, <i>Dan "Sweetind" Sweet</i><i>ing</i>, the rather dedicated organisation manager decided to call it quits - for now at least.<br />
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This isn't the end however; come November Psycotic Gaming will be re-opening with a refreshing new logo, website design and a new team of staff and players.<br />
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Keep an eye on out on this space for updates as I receive them. I will most likely be working in partnership with Dan in one way or another, I wish him the good luck and all the best as he works to rebuild the organisation - as this guy deserves nothing but the best teams under his banner.<br />
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I wish everyone who had the chance to be part of the team and invested the time and effort that they did (not to mention funding) all the best in the future and a big thank you.<br />
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<div align="center"><i><u><a href="http://www.psycotic.co.uk/">psycotic.co.uk</a></u></i><i> </i><i> </i></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Stay tuned!<br />
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<a href="http://media.steampowered.com/steamcommunity/public/images/avatars/e6/e696837bdf8f6277eab6c1b328a9ebe9598a80f9_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.steampowered.com/steamcommunity/public/images/avatars/e6/e696837bdf8f6277eab6c1b328a9ebe9598a80f9_medium.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Old Logo (Can no longer find a larger one on the net.)</span></i></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://eslgfx.net/gfx/logos/teams/5273000/5273652_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><br />
</i></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-8064259614394695462?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-49540679090668668222010-10-13T00:33:00.012+01:002010-10-28T01:11:18.824+01:002010-10-28T01:11:18.824+01:00Razer Lycosa gaming keyboard | Full length review<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Razer are well known for their gaming peripherals, by some for being somewhat overpriced and by others for being excellent gaming gear. Whether they are just marketed well or worth the money, it’s more a case of personal opinion than fact.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It will be no surprise to you then that any LAN environment you step into will be teaming with Razer keyboards, headsets, mice and mouse mats.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Today I will be seeing whether the Razer Lycosa gaming keyboard is worthy of its position on any gamers desk.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.getright.com.au/v2006ver1/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/56dd4beff73a5ae24b820eca79c833be.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://www.getright.com.au/v2006ver1/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/56dd4beff73a5ae24b820eca79c833be.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Lycosa</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">If you’ve ever owned any Razer product, you’ll know how sleekly they come packaged, and that the hardware its self matches this look too. This rings true with the Lycosa too; with its non-slip rubber keys, smooth material and glossy, expensive looks and backlighting – it looks up to the job.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Functionality</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of the box you cannot deny the Razer Lycosa’s quality look and feel, with some interesting specifications to go with it. Such as 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time – whether this makes a massive difference I am unsure, but gamers always want the edge. I didn’t as such notice anything to any previous keyboards I have used (admittedly it is hard to notice a millisecond or 2 difference).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">However the key travel is almost perfect for me, with the key size being almost directly in-between a laptop key and the classic chunky full-size keys. This, combined with good key spacing and placement, this makes the keyboard really fun and a treat to use, whether you bounce around hammering keys in FPS games such as quake, MMO’s or RTS – even for simple word documents, I’ve never felt as though using it was an arduous or uncomfortable task. It’s always nice to switch to a new keyboard and for typing to feel natural, too – rather than finding the keys are in strange positions and having to re-learn how to type.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ocmodshop.com/images/previews/hardware/razer_products_07/lycosa_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://www.ocmodshop.com/images/previews/hardware/razer_products_07/lycosa_05.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">To improve comfort further, you have the choice of removing the wrist rest – something I felt that the Razer Reclusa really needed. I bought mine second hand and found the large gap between the top of the keyboard and the desk meant you had to literally hover your hands in the air, which after a short amount of time can become uncomfortable, even painful – especially during them long gaming sessions. Thank god they rid this with the Lycosa. A cool little extra you will notice with the Lycosa is it is quite light and extremely thin (15mm high).</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One extremely useful feature is the fully-programmable keys with macro capability; this really shines in MMO’s over FPS’. Most bindings you will ever need to do for most games can be done in the game, however games like World of Warcraft take the needs for key binding to a whole new level, especially in Player VS Player combat and opens up a world of possiblities with a little imagination and practice. Check out the video below for a basic example of macroing on this keyboard. With the use of time delays at your disposal, you could run your entire trash clearing rotation with 1 key at ease.</span><br />
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<object height="340" width="520"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ncbwp9doawA?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ncbwp9doawA?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One thing however I have noticed – which would destroy the rating of this peripheral, however since I know I’m amongst the minority affected then I ease on this slightly. This is the fact that the keyboard randomly locks a key in, by this I mean it thinks a key is being pressed when it isn’t. For instance I’ve been in quite a few Quake Live duels and then I will strafe, or press any key for that matter and every 1 in a million times the key seems as if it is held down. Causing me to strafe into a wall until I unplug the keyboard and plug it back in. This is annoying at casual level of game play, and simply unacceptable at competitive level gaming, especially considering the price of the gear you are paying.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I have discovered that this issue is limited, I am not the only person to complain about this though, I assume it is a batch bug or driver issue but I have plenty of friends with the same keyboard who have never experienced this and play just as much as I do. For me it has ranged from happening 3 times a night to once a month – purely at random. Not fun.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">However since I am reviewing THIS product and not a theoretically perfect working one, I have to take this into account.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Features</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Onto the features – and this keyboard has a ton of them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tech-reviews.co.uk/images/reviews/hardware/lycosa/razerlycosa5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.tech-reviews.co.uk/images/reviews/hardware/lycosa/razerlycosa5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">First off you get the usual driver disk, stickers, and Razer catalogue. Onboard the keyboard itself is a touch screen with all your media controls on, a button to cycle between the backlight options of full, WASD cluster and off. This functions pretty well for the most part, however you can find yourself accidently pressing the wrong key if you’re not careful, along with the fact that if your hands are cold or wet – this thing probably won’t pick you up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh and the panel also has a nice big Razer logo in the middle, holding down your windows key and pressing it disables your windows keys on the fly, so you won’t be accidently tabbing out of your games – an e-life saver.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bartovg.com/images/87_6%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.bartovg.com/images/87_6%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The keyboard also supports anti-ghosting and allows you to press up to 10 keys at once and every key stroke will be recognised, useful for EVERY type of game.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">At the back of the board is also an analog mic and headphone jack, along with a USB jack too if you need it. This is useful for charging your iPod, using a USB headset etc. Pretty useful if you have a short headphone cable, have limited USB ports or simply want to keep your desk tidy and stop trailing cables.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh and if you happen to spill and energy drink or anything under your keys, you can comfortably pop your keys in and out without doing any damage to them. Good to know when you’re forking out a good £50-70 for a keyboard.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The macro software I talked about earlier is extremely robust; check it out below for an Idea of what I’m talking about (This comes with the drivers.)</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tbreak.com/tech/files/RazorLycosa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.tbreak.com/tech/files/RazorLycosa.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge</span></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>C</b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>onclusion</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall this is a great keyboard and at a reasonable price, the media panel works moderately well and the keyboard is responsive and for the most part reliable - and packs all the features you could ever want or find a use for - bar an LCD screen such as the ones on some Logitechs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Unless you are a die-hard fan of your current keyboard or prefer a keyboard such as the Logitech G series then there isn’t much reason to change. However if you’re looking for a comfortable, robust, low-profile and sweet looking keyboard with a ton of macro capabilities, then look no further. It suffers from some batch issues but the chances that you get a faulty one look to be rather slim, especially now as I assume this problem has been ironed out. Buy at your own risk – RMA’s and buyer’s remorse are never fun.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"If you’re looking for a comfortable, robust, low-profile and sweet looking keyboard with a ton of macro capabilities, then look no further."</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>7/10</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Razor | </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #660000;">></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"> ></span></span><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> ></span></span></b></span><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #f1c232;">></span> <span style="color: #f1c232;">></span> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">></span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <span style="color: #93c47d;">-</span> <span style="color: #6aa84f;">-</span> <span style="color: #274e13;">-</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> | Razer </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">+ Endless macro possibilities</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">+ Looks slick</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">+ Packed with features </span></b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">+ Comfortable and lasting</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">- Some production batch issues</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
Price: £54.99-£64.99 on average.</div><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.169417800"><b><u><span style="font-size: x-small;">Full list of specifications.</span></u></b></a></span></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Previous reviews: </span></i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://psycmike.blogspot.com/2010/09/siberia-v1-v2-headset-reviews.html"><u><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Steelseries Siberia Headset V1 & V2</span></b></u></a><br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Please let me know what you thought of this review and the product itself below.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-4954067909066866822?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-28824586684322223482010-10-11T18:15:00.003+01:002010-10-12T20:13:10.814+01:002010-10-12T20:13:10.814+01:00'Cheating' gamer stabbed through headOld news, but news.<br />
<br />
"A Chinese teenager has survived being stabbed through the head with a 14cm blade after being accused of cheating in a computer game.<br />
<br />
Xiao Wei, 16, was playing the online game Counter-Strike at an internet cafe in Mishazi, Jilin province, when he was dragged outside and brutally attacked, the Daily Mail newspaper reports.<br />
<br />
Wei remained conscious throughout the attack and managed to walk to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University with the help of his friend Huang, who had also been stabbed. <br />
<br />
Doctors there said an X-ray showed the blade entering Wei’s right temple and exiting about 1cm above his left temple. <br />
<br />
"His face was covered in blood, but he was still conscious," neurosurgeon Yan Shijun was quoted as saying. <br />
<br />
It took surgeons more than two hours to remove the knife and Wei is now in a stable condition. <br />
<br />
Huang, who suffered injuries to his arm, said he and Wei were attacked after being accused of using a cheat code in Counter-Strike to see through walls. <br />
<br />
"When we were playing games, a group of people from the same cafe came to us, saying we must install some software to win the game — then we had an argument with them," he said. <br />
<br />
"My left arm was stabbed through by them, and when they had gone, I found Xiao Wei was lying on the ground with a knife in his head." <br />
<br />
Dr Yan said he had never seen someone stay conscious after being stabbed through the head."<i> 9 News.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.ninemsn.com.au/resizer.aspx?url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/img/2010/world/2403_xraystab_sp_lg.jpg&width=310" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.ninemsn.com.au/resizer.aspx?url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/img/2010/world/2403_xraystab_sp_lg.jpg&width=310" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-2882458668432222348?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-1938734143052504442010-10-11T03:34:00.001+01:002010-10-11T03:35:58.555+01:002010-10-11T03:35:58.555+01:00Review pushed backDue to me being a little busy, the review of the Razer Lycosa keyboard shaln't be up until tomorrow. A good thing, however, is that my Bigfoot Networks Killer 2100 pro gaming network card for review is getting posted tomorrow.<br />
<br />
In the mean-time, my poll is almost over - so if you haven't voted yet, please do.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-193873414305250444?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-56838881773611019722010-10-10T05:39:00.003+01:002010-10-10T05:47:50.481+01:002010-10-10T05:47:50.481+01:00My weekend has begunWell.. kind of. I finished work, I now have Sunday and most of Monday to enjoy myself and do stuff other than work/college.<br />
<br />
Had a long night at work, was actually fun toward the end of the night but didn't get out until 11pm, was hoping for an 8ish finish. Not a bad way to finish one of your last shifts though, got to have a good laugh and banter with the guys at work whilst cleaning up and not just feeling like a slave the whole time.<br />
<br />
Anyway I came home hoping to put a post up, chill, then bed. Instead I found my internet speed seemingly getting raped, so I restarted my router, same thing. Logged into my router, setup a new network, same thing. Restarted my PC.. same thing.. Spotify works fine.. no browser loads.. can't connect to EA on BF:BC2 which I planned to chill on as a stress reliever instead. Great. So I eventually realised that some how after I messed with my PC one of my LAN connections was fucking the other over (I have 2 plugged into the router from my PC because once every blue moon my PC likes to randomly switch ports.) and all I had to do was disable the second one. So yeah.. not very fun.<br />
<br />
So here I am now, after saying fuck it and playing Bad Company 2 for a good few hours.. its the early hours and I'm absolutely shattered, so it's time for bed and a good sleep. I won't make myself feel bad for making it a GOOD sleep either, I suppose I've earned it after spending most of my waking hours over the last 2 days at work.<br />
<br />
On the phone front, I think I'm settling on a HTC Desire, however I don't plan to buy a replacement for a little while yet, probably a month or so down the road I'll have to make my decision. I'll be getting it on pay as you go and paying for it outright. Oh and good news the sound on my phone has sprung back to life! Atleast I think.. it's a bit touch and go when it closely resembles a paper cup phone (my phone screen detatched itself from the body, if you missed my post a couple days ago about it.)<br />
<br />
<div align="center">This, now resembles THIS quite closely.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.phonesreview.co.uk/wp-content/phoneimages/2008/07/sony-ericsson-w595-pic-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.phonesreview.co.uk/wp-content/phoneimages/2008/07/sony-ericsson-w595-pic-2.jpg" width="216" /></a><a href="http://static.phonesreview.co.uk/wp-content/phoneimages/2008/07/sony-ericsson-w595-pic-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><img border="0" src="http://uw.physics.wisc.edu/~wonders/telephone1.png" /></div><br />
On the plus side of things I have plenty of spare time over the next couple of days, So I will be putting up a few posts, commenting around a plenty and also putting my Razer Lycosa gaming keyboard review up tomorrow, so be sure to check that out!<br />
<br />
Oh and one last thing, I might have some goodies instore for you in future. You'll just have to wait and see what I mean by that, but if all goes to plan then I'm sure you'll love it.<br />
<br />
Right time for some sleep, g'night!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-5683888177361101972?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-59624204139112468692010-10-09T16:14:00.003+01:002010-10-09T16:17:55.495+01:002010-10-09T16:17:55.495+01:00Phone choicesI've cut my choices down to 5 phones, which are:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/htc-desire-three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/htc-desire-three.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>HTC Desire</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://b4tea.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/htc-wildfire-india1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://b4tea.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/htc-wildfire-india1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"><b>HTC Wildfire</b></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cellphonesignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/se-xperia-x10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.cellphonesignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/se-xperia-x10.jpg" width="167" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Xperia X10 </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reviewzine.com/images/cellphone/samsung-galaxy-s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://www.reviewzine.com/images/cellphone/samsung-galaxy-s.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Samsung Galaxy S </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.glennmagas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/iphone-4g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.glennmagas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/iphone-4g.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> iPhone 4G</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've heard nothing but good things about HTC's, and I would also like something with Android, almost purely for spotify support.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hear Android has plenty of other bonuses, and I also don't particularly fancy getting my balls DRM'd to feck by the iPhone, even though it is quite aluring.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I quite like the look of the Desire and I hear it mentioned alot, so out of the 2 HTC's that would probably be my choice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">However when I came across the Xperia X10, the first thing I noticed was its beautiful looking UI and interface, you have to admit - it does look pretty good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Samsung Galaxy S looks nice, and probably functions well - but I've just never particularly liked their phones. This is another phone I hear good things about, and hence why it is on this list. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Can I get any advice on these phones? What are your opinions and personal experiences? <b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> </b><b> </b></div><div align="center"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-5962420413911246869?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-65611717032632141022010-10-09T10:14:00.001+01:002010-10-09T10:14:47.490+01:002010-10-09T10:14:47.490+01:00Random fact<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q9ftJ6AfpTQ/TK9Ov2qrJGI/AAAAAAAAACo/dGaHgHlElYI/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_q9ftJ6AfpTQ/TK9Ov2qrJGI/AAAAAAAAACo/dGaHgHlElYI/s400/k.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-6561171703263214102?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-12519897070329101562010-10-09T01:56:00.004+01:002010-10-09T02:20:35.350+01:002010-10-09T02:20:35.350+01:00As memorable as Leeroy Jenkins<object width="520" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HtvIYRrgZ04?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HtvIYRrgZ04?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="520" height="340"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Also, good night all!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-1251989707032910156?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6453265950965510994.post-64103086745633746532010-10-08T22:05:00.006+01:002010-10-09T01:59:54.385+01:002010-10-09T01:59:54.385+01:00I Quit I Quit I Quit!So I told my boss I don't wanna waste my weekends there anymore.<br />
<br />
I know some of you would kill for a job, but now that I have multiple sources of income theres just no need for me to work there and the time can be better spent, so you're welcome to go and work there instead. =D<br />
<br />
2 more weeks then I'll be gone from there.<br />
<br />
edit: #1: Those weren't my actual words, and I can make more money in a day through my various other methods than at work. She was perfectly understanding and kay with quitting.<br />
<br />
#2: As much as I like the staff at the restraunt (I was a kitchen porter) The work was just plain SHITE at times. So no thanks.<br />
<br />
3 months ago I was with hardly any income and needed the money, so was glad to get the job. But since I've pondered over quitting for the last 3 weeks or so, and my alternate incomes now heavily out weigh my job wage so it's not worth it.<br />
<br />
Oh and I'm also at college full-time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fkn0wned.com/forum/uploads/1283472023/gallery_1252_2_4054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fkn0wned.com/forum/uploads/1283472023/gallery_1252_2_4054.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A secret message? So what are you all up to?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6453265950965510994-6410308674563374653?l=psycmike.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Slumphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16527156065919971400noreply@blogger.com47