Robots Will Be Our Superiors

I just bought Team Fortress 2 when it was on sale over the weekend on Steam.

There’s no single player mode to train in, no tutorials, no way to get a feel for the game besides going out and doing it.

No kidding – in my very first match I stumbled out into the field and died in somewhere between five and ten seconds.

Having played a little bit longer – this game is awesome.  I suck so badly at it.

It bums me out that Thunderbird doesn’t get as much attention as Firefox.  Thunderbird is often neglected by not only users but also developers/tweakers, as is evidenced by the lack of extensions and themes for the program.  There are more themes for Firefox than you can shake a stick at, and the same goes for extensions.  Thunderbird?  Not so much.

I’ve read a few different blurbs about the fact that TB doesn’t get as much love as FF.  It makes sense given how integral the web browser has become in most people’s lives.  With more and more people using webmail (and by webmail I mean Gmail), the email client just isn’t as important as it used to be.

I blame Gmail.  Once upon a time I could make the claim that I like to “own my emails” by having copies on my computer when I needed them.  Google added offline access and that took care of that.  Even though Google got past that one, I still stand by Thunderbird because I can manage three different emails that I use on a regular basis from one spot.  Convenient.

There’s some good stuff that happens at http://www.spreadthunderbird.com.  (That’s where I got the TB banner that is on my OS page.)  I hope the TB community growth rate takes off with the impending release of Thunderbird 3.  I’ve been using the beta for a while and it’s a solid program.

Even if you use Gmail, check out Thunderbird.  Gmail works great with TB; here’s how to set it up.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

Yesterday I got my processor in the mail (an AMD Atlon X2 64 – 3.0 GHz).  Not big news, I know, but I’m pretty excited to be one step closer with what I could consider to be the more “permanent” hardware.

I did NOT go quad-core.  Just regular old dual-core for me.  I went with dual-core for two reasons – 1) the prices on quad-core processors are still higher than I want to pay right now.  2) Several sites like the Ars Technica system guide say that the advantages of the quad-core setup will not be seen for a while in terms of programs efficiently using all four cores.

What I DID do is go 64-bit.  One could make the argument that, like having a quad-core, the advantages of having a 64-bit system will not be immediately apparent.  I think that argument is less clear cut.  The advantages with regards to processing speed seem to be debatable.  Depending on the benchmarks, 64-bit systems will perform somewhat better than 32-bit, but in just as many it’s kind of a wash.

One way I will be able to benefit from having a 64-bit system, however, is when it comes to system memory.  32-bit systems are limited to 4 GB of RAM.  I believe a system with regular Vista on it will only recognize 3.something GB when 4 is installed.

On a 64-bit system, the sky’s the limit when it comes to RAM. Theoretically, Ultra Mega Super Duper Vista 64-bit Pro supports up to 128 GB of RAM.  Realistically, however, when say that the sky’s the limit I really mean that the motherboard is the limit.  The motherboard will likely be my next purchase, and the one I get will likely support up to 16 GB of RAM.

Also, I will also freely admit that I went 64-bit for the cool factor.  64-bit.  Yeah.

I had this pretty sweet picture right here set as my desktop:

But decided that it would be much cooler if it had a Honda Element instead of a rally car.

I edited the Element in over the rally car, taking out the necessary bits of the rally car to make the image look right.  Someone mentioned that it looked goofy with no driver, so I had a coworker take my picture right quick, and this is what I ended up with:

Classy.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated, but hopefully that will get better soon.  I have finals today and tomorrow, and after that my own little hell of taking three college courses and working a full time job will be complete.  In retrospect, setting up my schedule that way was probably not the smartest idea in the world.  It probably ended up biting me in the rump in the big picture.

Such is life.

I just realized that our SIXTH annual Flag Day party is happening on the SIXTH day of the SIXTH month.  zomg

Reaching Scarlet will be at Mikey’s tomorrow (Saturday) night.  We’ll be playing from 10 to 2.

There’s no cover, so you can show up and have a drink and not feel obligated to hang around if you don’t want to!

Today I was playing the “watch the UPS tracking number” game while I was at work.  What was I waiting for?  The case for the computer I’m going to build, which will henceforth be known as “The Monolith”.  (It is mandatory that the opening to Thus Spake Zarathrustra be played when the computer is mentioned by name.)

Of course, now that I have said case, I get to… sit and look at it.  ‘Cause I ain’t got nothin’ to put inside of it.

Here she be: no blue LEDs, no windows in the side, just cold black steel.