Your Mom Lied: 5 Common Body Myths Debunked

Three cheers for sugar !.

Saudi Arabia Bans Red Roses

This is just plain ridiculous, I mean I know the US has a mock separation of church and state but this is just insane. Cheers to America on this one.

Why I illegaly download music

In a bizarre twist of legal ramblings, it would seem that the digital music industry wants royalties paid to songwriters to be lowered to 8% of the wholesale revenue, despite the obvious fact that without the songs these guys write they would have no business whatsoever.

It was surprising to see the margin request hit 8% when I was already rather disgusted with an apparently generous presumption that this rate was currently somewhere around 30%.

Hurray for not owning the rights to the music YOU make.

I learn not to be surpised by stuff like this

Government ftw

It seems wearing heels has some rather Awesome side effects

Heels + you = better orgasm?

You Play Video Games for a Living?

***This is my third article for the school newspaper to be published next week, it was a bit rushed due to some poor communication, but i think it turned out decent for writing it all in one day. enjoy***

It was not long ago when kids would eagerly race home from school to jump on the couch and play Super Mario Brothers. They would dream of a perfect world where they could play all day long, leaving their “rl” (rl is “leetspeak” (online slang) for real life) worries behind to save the Princess; who to this day remains a rather lubricious figure from my childhood. How great would it be to play games for a living!? Live your entire life as a Lazy Sunday skit? Well this kind of wishful thinking has become a reality. Welcome to the world of E-Sports.

E-Sport is the word which has come to collectively represent the world of competitive online and offline gaming. Playing video games is not just a hobby anymore, it’s a full on legitimate sport. With multinational corporations literally pouring money into online and offline tournaments, this hobby just got a very real facelift.

The world of E-Sports is an extremely cutthroat, competitive industry with sponsorships and contracts just like any rl sport. Watching a “professional gamer” playing his reigning game of choice is nearly unrecognizable to a group of friends cheerfully playing Wii. Top tier player’s travel around the world to compete in tournaments from South Korea to Sweden. These Cyber Athletes train for eight hours or more per day, mastering the game; increasing their skills and “strats” (slang for strategy).

While anybody can hop online and play these games, most never take it to the competitive level. Real competition begins when you join a clan or a guild. You usually join a clan to bring a much more competitive and social aspect to the game. By joining a clan you gain the ability to play in scrimmages and matches versus other clans. There are various online leagues and ladders in which your team can sign up and compete in. Arguably the most popular for high level competition would be CAL or Cyber Athlete Amateur league. This is where the big boys play for hard earned respect and low level prizes. If you do really in CAL and move up to the Invite division, the next step is attending a LAN to have a try at offline competition for your chance at the prize pot. The prizes are currently averaging anywhere from $30 thousand to $1 million. A LAN (local area network) party is when a group of people get together and hook their computers up to duke it out in their favorite games and file share. This can be as small as a few friends staying up all night in their garage, to ten thousand people in a warehouse surrounded by sponsors and industry officials.

Lan’s have come a long way since the days of dialup. Now there are Fortune 500 companies such Intel throwing their own Lan parties to promote product lines. Although many gamers dislike some of these corporate lans, the shear amount of shwag given away will draw in even the most discerning of gamers. Some of the more notable competitive lans would be Quakecon, World Series of Video Games (WSVG) and the Cyber Professional League (CPL). Quakecon would be the Woodstock of lan parties. One of the very first large scale tournaments, it has been around for over a decade. The other two were built from the ground up to tailor to two parties: sponsors and professional gamers. These lan’s would be the number one stop for an amateur gamer looking to test their meddle against the best players in the world.

This is just what a young man by the name of Johnathan Wendel did. Gamers know him as Fatal1ty, which is his infamous gamertag. Fatal1ty went to a lan, won $4,000 and was asked to play for the US team in global lan tournaments. The rest as they say, is history. To say he is the Michael Jordan of E-Sports would be a rash understatement. He’s played nearly every PC game you could compete in and has been a world champion in them all. He makes his living tearing people to shreds in the virtual world and is bought and sold by more companies then Jessica Simpson. At this point he’s more or less his own business entity; with the Fatal1ty moniker on all kinds of computer products including processor fans, motherboards, gaming mice and computer cases. High and low, he is the most established gamer in the world and has amassed over $500,000 dollars from winnings alone. Not bad for playing a silly video game.

Professional gaming is not without its faults however. As the sport continues to evolve, inconsistency plagues the industry. Imagine being a professional basketball player when the rules of the game are suddenly changed; the three point line is moved back 25 feet and now you’re allowed to carry the ball. Then they suddenly change again. Your new goal is to put the ball through the hoop three times in a row and you are not allowed to walk. This is what it is like for a professional gamer trying put together a living. You become accomplished in a game, only to have it dropped from competition for a newer one. You can either call it quits or move to the new game, which in all likelihood you are not as supreme at. You’re also dealing with the fact that most teams will be quick to cut you should they find a better player. Regardless, the world of E-Sports is growing globally each day and the money to be had is beginning to ripen into a tempting dish.

E-Sports are hitting it big. The prize pots are increasing each year and tournaments are now being featured on major television networks. CBS and MTV have both featured professional tournaments with surprising viewership. In South Korea professional gamers are dating models and matches are watched regularly on primetime television. High profile gamers can’t walk down the streets without being recognized and asked for an autograph. They are celebrities with adoring fans.

Many would laugh at this becoming a reality in the US. Well, fifteen years ago the prospect of touring the world to play video games likely would have gotten quite the laugh as well. Keep your eyes peeled for tournaments, as soon enough they will be coming to a television near you. gg.

More information can be found at the following links-

Gamer slang wiki
Youtube video of gaming in South Korea
Video game players score big money in South Korea
My article on gaming terminology

My First and Likely Only Personal Blog Post

I keep this blog more as a news ticker then a "blog". I nearly only post news stories that are politically charged or breaking technology news I find interesting. A place where people can find news that they would otherwise not stumble across in everyday life. I do not post about my life and struggles or whatever as I find my audience would not really be interested. However this post will likely be the only exemption as I have very exciting news regarding my rl.


I have just received an email from Tom Edwards (Managing Editor of MaximumPC) confirming that they would like me to intern for them this summer! I will be moving to South San Francisco and be working part time (as it's not paid and partime) and interning for them this summer; I am floored by the opportunity I achieved ^_^

WARMING: Personal and typical let me tell u my thoughts 'blog' writings follow this disclaimer.

As listed in my bio, this is what I would like to do for a living; write for MaximumPC and become a professional journalist.

For those interested in exactly how I landed this position or why and when I decided to become a journalist one day.... well read on.

I have always been interested in computers and technology, gadgetry, pushing buttons to see what they did and messing with stuff I shouldn't be. I got into college not really knowing what I should study. Computer Science had just about as much math as physics and by my damned genetics I was born to be absolutely HORRIBLE at math; from concepts to simple multiplication. I tried business, but one accounting teacher managed to single handedly stomp all over any interest I had in the major.

It basically hit me one day, no matter what I do in life whether (yes it is probably the wrong weather or whatever but I don't care this is a personal post so AP styling can suck it) it be veterinary school, business, computer repair, no matter what I do for my '9-5' I will always come home and fiddle with computers and tech stuff. I decided I should just do that for a living and be happy with what I do in life. Yeah not hard to realize but the hard part for me was figuring out exactly how to transcribe my interest in computers and gaming into a job, and even b4 that into an educational goal and major.


Well I still have not figured out if I am going to take any extra formal educational classes in computers or not, but after my dad died I had a strong desire to produce, yield, create, stand out. Do SOMETHING that would separate me from the herd, something that people could say i accomplished or created once I died. Not that I showed up to work on time everyday and did my part for capitalism, I mean do something truly unique and create something that I will be remembered by.

I have a very strong interst in music as well so I decided to DJ for the schools radio station KSUN. That went well, but after a continued disagreement with the teacher and actually realizing that the DJ's for professional radio stations do not choose the music they play (call me ignorant but I had no idea this was standard operating procedure for stations to have every second of every day and every song planned out days ahead of time while the DJ is just the voice behind the station, found that out after taking the class) I decided DJing wasn't for me. I still retain an interest in music and will likely take classes to learn to design beats and techno songs sometime.

During the time I was DJing (sophomore year) I always read the Star. I realized that I had a pretty profound amount of thoughts in in my mind that would go along the lines of "GOD only if I could point this bullshit out to everybody, its driving my insane!" it was then I realized I should try to write for the Star. I knew I could not DJ and write at the same time so I decided to stop DJing and try out the Star. At the time only Communications majors and juniors were allowed in the Star newspaper writing class. At the time I had quit business and was still undeclared. I looked into majoring in communications but realized that the deadline for applying to the major had passed. I was a second semester sophomore and would not be able to even take the intro coms class until second semester junior year (assuming I was accepted the following semester.) This would mean if I wanted to graduate with a major in coms I would have to do the coursework for the entire majors' cirriculum (every single required coms class to graduate with a coms degree) in just 3 semesters to stay on track for a 4 year graduation. Well this is damn near impossible (for me).


I had to major in SOMETHING and being as I was getting letters from the school saying I could not register until I declared, I had to decide fast. I chose Sociology. I found the intro class I took in sociology from Elaine Leeder to be thoroughly interesting. Will I end up using the major? I am not sure yet but we shall see, for the time being I am loving the classes and doing well in the major.

After declaring, my next obstacle was getting into the Star class restricted to coms majors. With the help of Casey Pomicpic I was able to talk with he teacher and eventually was let in with one slot left. The following week I had my first article due.

It would be important to note that to this point I have had absolutely no profound writing skills developed nor any upper level training or education in writing (to this day everything I have really learned about writing has been in the Star class). I have never excelled in writing nor ever been the 'oh of course he got an A' type of student in any type of class except Biology. I actually kinda sucked in English in high school but i sucked at most everything in high school due to a lack of motivation. Basically I was nothing special when it came to writing just a normal guy with ambition plans for my future. This ambition drove me to spend nearly 5-6 hours on my first article for the paper that was as I recall around 600 words. (I spent more time on this article then I have on any previous essay including some that were 5 page minimums.) It was rather amazing to see what I was capable of once I actually cared (not to mention the fact my name will be on these words for the entire student body to critique).

I liked it. This was something I enjoyed doing. I started getting more involved and wanted to learn everything and anything I could about journalism and how the paper was run. In the second semester of the class I was promoted to the editorial board and given the rather exclusive opportunity of having my own column to write for in every paper that would be guaranteed to print.


During this time I had been reading MaximumPC for a few years and could not think of any other magazine I would like to write for. Literally no other magazine. Getting hired by them would be analogous to a high school student being accepted to the one single college they had applied to. It was either their dream college or nothing at all and they had not even looked into any other colleges. (I actually mentioned this analogy in the interview I had with Tom Edwards and Will Smith of Maxpc, whether that is good or bad move on my part u decide).

I received an email survey from the magazine asking for opinion on their new site offering prizes to people who filled it out. Course I filled it out but the surprising part was that I actually won. I was called to come and visit MaximumPC at their FutureUS headquarters in South San Francisco to attend a focus group regarding their new website.

Screw the prizes, (which was a $50 gift certificate to Newegg and a copy of Supreme Commander among random Maxpc shwag) I had literally just won the opportunity to get my foot in the door. I got the meet with none other then Will Smith, the Editor in Chief of the magazine. Although he was primarily focused on my input regarding the website, I was sure to slip in that I was interested in an internship so he would see me in a different light from the get go and I could start to impress. He gave me his card and who to contact regarding an internship.

From this point on everything fell into place just as you would expect. Utilizing my new title at the Star and a generous recommendation from the Star's Manager Chip McAuley (haha I linked his Youtube account where he has some rather interesting videos, hope he doesn't mind) I had a pretty slick resume. I was able to get a lot of experience (legitimate official experience that u can list on a resume and make it look good) in that one semester of writing for the Star and was able to really build a rather appealing resume for MaximumPC. After submitting my resume (which I made about 20 times redoing it over and over and over and over and over again) I got an email back from Tom Edwards saying he would like to schedule an interview. The interview went great, and by now Will knew my name which was awesome to find out.

The rest is history as they say (so far ! )


Wish me luck and look for my name on MaxPC articles soon enough
; )

Apple Releases New iPhone and iTouch

Apple recently announced the release of the new 16gb iPhone and 32gb iTouch. They will both sell for $499.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Date Unvealed

It seems the majority of Vista users will have the option to download Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) starting in Mid-March. It will be an optional download at this time and you will have to do a driver check before you can install it, as they are still having troubles with a few rogue drivers. It will be automatically downloaded for everybody else starting in Mid-April.

DISCLAIMER: SP1 is supposed to fix the bios emulation crack that many people (including myself) have been using to get a free copy of Vista. I will try my best to post any workarounds to this "fix" as I find them. I refuse to pay for a half-assed operating system.

More information can be found here.

Obesity Discrimination Bill Proposed

"A bill that would force some Mississippians to back away from the buffet, or any restaurant, has begun its trip through the 2008 Legislature.

House Bill 282 would prohibit restaurants from serving food to anyone who is obese, based on criteria from the state Department of Health…

A 2007 report put that state’s obesity rate at 30.6 percent - the worst in the nation."

Near 1/4 of Brits Think Winston Churchill is a Myth

In a recent poll more then half of the Britons questioned believed Sherlock Holmes was real and 23 percent thought Winston Churchill was fictional. I cant' imagine what the turnout of a similar poll would be if taken place in America, oh wait, I think I could : 0

Nvidia Plans to Acquire Aegia

In a surprising yet logical decision, Nvidia recently announced their plans to purchase Aegia. Aegia makes hardware and software for ingame physics. Although their PhysX card had nothing short of atrocious adoption after its release over a year ago, their software is currently being used in over 140 games. There is no doubt that in game physics is the future; with destructible environment and fog effects already being implemented in games today. The question is exactly when will it become necessary to have a dedicated physics processor. Or after this acquisition, possibly a hybrid gpu/ppu. It will be interesting to see it play out.

More information can be found here.

The Navy's new 10 Megajoule Rail Gun

The Navy's new toy

* Deliver hypervelocity projectiles at Mach 5 on impact in support of Marines and ground forces.
* Strike within 5 meters of a pinpointed target from distances in excess of 200 nautical miles.
* Maximize damage through kinetic energy from longer range while minimizing risks to crews and ships.

Impressive to say the least @_@

Japan having ejaculation problems

A very interesting story about Japanese men unable to cum when having sex. Sound weird? I would agree, Sound funny? I would agree ^_^

Myspace deletes Atheist/Agnostic groups from its site.. Again

Check out this blip from PCmagazines infamous columnist John C. Devorak blog. It seems Myspace has been continually deleted Atheist and Agnostic groups from its site due to Christain users complaining that the groups were "offensive". At the same time when one of the sites Christian groups was hacked Myspace Tom "personally restored the group". Most interesting : )