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Bio:

What else can I say? I'm not going to give you freaks the life story or location of my residence, because that's not a very interesting topic when it comes to Myspace pages, just the here-and-now. Anyway, currently I'm going to college at Ozarks Technical Community College in pursuit of a Associates of Applied Science degree in an apparently little-known field known as Electronic Media Production. TV, Radio, Video Games, 3D Animation, it entails a lot of stuff. It also plays directly into my two favorite things to do with my time; play with electronics, and create stuff. When it comes to creating stuff, music is primarily my favorite. Any time I load up FLStudio7, chunks of my mind and soul gets digitized and stored in a collection of 1s and 0s. I also enjoy editing video, but the complexities associated with video kind of push me away, and again torward music. Of course, me being a geek, I'm willing to tackle the complexities associated with video. Solving problems and learning are neverending in my case. When it comes to playing with electronics, anything I can get my hands on that has silicon in it is okay by me (and sometimes silicone, if you know what I mean). My primary electronics interest involves anything that was built during the last thirty years, but I also have a soft spot for ancient (as in '40s and '50s) electronics as well. Tube amplifiers are still the best!

Music

Many people assume that since I'm a geek, I must love techno. Actually, that's pretty far from the truth. I like some techno, but since most of it is extremely repetitive, it gets dull to listen to over time. There are some true classics that I listen to that will never get old though, here are some:

Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon

I must have played this album all the way through at least 50 times in my entire life (I'm 20 as of this writing) and it never gets old. Partly because the album is so short (~45 minutes), but mainly because the flow of the album is 100% perfect (and seamless, unless you listen to it on an iPod), from relaxing intros and interludes, to an explosive finish and rather hardcore (for the 70s) explosions in the middle of songs (Money in particular). The amount of sonic experimentation done on this album is mindblowing, and still rather high even comparing to today's bands. It encompasses everything I like about music; evolution, concepts, soft music, jamming interludes, sonic experimentation, a song with an odd time signature, and others. The only people I find that don't like this album are people who stick all of their appreciation into one type of music. The one that loads up their iPod with nothing but one genre (those types are beginning to increase). It's hard to list some of my favorites on this album, but the ones I listen to the most are; Us and Them, Time, Money, Brain Damage, and Eclipse.

As I Lay Dying-An Ocean Between Us

A lot of older people look at me quizzically when I say that this is a classic. To me, a classic is something I will be listening to for a long time, and I can see myself playing this album until I'm in my 60s at least. This is by far the best metalcore album I've ever heard. The high-pitched backing scream is something I can tolerate (even like, in some songs) and the main vocals are just brutal as hell. I'll never grow tired of the guitar riffs in this one, from the brutal backing riffs provided when the lead starts screaming to the carrying passages that transcend between verses and refrains, it's all top-notch. And the album sound quality isn't that bad either, the bass is warm for a metal album, and the treble in the cymbals is almost ear-shattering with earbuds, but sounds really good on a big sound system (my recommended listening environment for any type of music). My favorite track on this album is the song, Within Destruction. To me, it's the perfect blend of metalcore and thrash metal. Not to mention, even though the riffs repeat, it's the good type of repetition, they switch off between riffs at exactly the right times, a lot like the guys in the next album.

The Prodigy-Music for the Jilted Generation

I said I like some techno in the introductory paragraph, this is the some. The Prodigy and the crew of Psykosonik (both solo material and the band material) are pretty much the only two techno bands that I really like, quite simply because they're not repetitive. Now, I do like Downtempo and Ambient techno, but I like those as genres, I don't like a specific artist in those fields. Anyway, The Prodigy is as close to the typical techno that I come close to liking. Like I said above, the riffs are repetitious, but in a good way. The way the typical Prodigy song goes is like this; play drum beat and synth riff A, then drum beat and synth riff B, then mix drum beat A with synth riff B, then play synth riff B with a new drum beat. They mix it up, and I like it. Usually, when I put on a techno channel on XM, they do trance songs. I can't stand trance! It's way too repetitive, and the only riffs they consist of is a main riff and a build-up riff. It's like they set presets on a computer and told the computer how many measures to repeat the pattern. Blagh! Anyway, the song I like the most on this album is Their Law. There are two reasons; one, it's one of the few dance songs I know of that has a killer guitar riff. The second is the bombastic bass! You play this song on a system primarily driven by subwoofers and you will feel you chest cage rattle. Not to mention you'll find it hard to breathe!

Roy Brown-Butcher Pete (Part 1)

I liked '50s blues way before Fallout 3, but Bethesda Game Studios were able to uproot some of the finest selections and rarer cuts that actually sound better than the popular songs at the time. This is my favorite one, Butcher Pete by Roy Brown. I like the style for one, early '50s blues. It has elements of ragtime with the piano riff, a rather fast drum part for that era, an awesome horn section, and of course, Roy Brown's stellar voice. Also, it's one of the first songs I heard with veiled lyrics within it. It's really dirty, if you give it a listen (on either Fallout 3 or YouTube). I also like most of the ambient music in Fallout 3 (the music you hear when you turn the radio off), but for the most part, it's Galaxy News Radio or nothing. Another favorite from the same era is Mighty Mighty Man, also by Roy Brown. It describes me in the stage I'm in right now.

Electronics

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love playing with electronics. Networking, computers, film and audio work, gadgets, I love them all. Here are some I've owned or like to have:

Computer:

I'm primarily a Windows user. So, why do I have a picture of a Mac Pro to the left side of this paragraph? Well, because I want one. I have used Windows, Mac OS X, and various flavors of Linux, and I gotta say; I like Mac OS X most of all. Now, I know you can dress up Linux to look like OS X, but it's not the same. Programming and writting code is a lot easier with OS X (using Xdrive), Apple built in some security functions to an already secure Unix system, and the user interface is the most friendly among Unix systems (although by a small margin compared to modern-day Linux flavors). Plus, installing Windows alongside OS X is a cinch now that Apple has incorporated x86 architecture into their computers; they even include a utility to help users do this (Boot Camp). Now that I'm done gushing all over the software, I'll go to the hardware. First of all, eight-cores! How else can someone top this, unless a motherboard manufacturer develops a motherboard with two processor slots? With the minimum of 2.8GHz, no configuration would be a sleeper. And with the light-on-system- resources operating systems, that leaves more room for the important thing, raw processing power. These things, in their base configuration, can make a 2-hour movie in about 20 minutes; and it goes up from there! This is actually the most customizable Apple item that I know of also. Again, the base configuration comes with a ATi HD 2600 XT. There a few empty expansion slots for use with other system cards (that are compatible with Mac OS X) and there are also a ton of RAM slots (eight, to be exact), not to mention the insane amount of data space you can get in there (there are four SATA drive bays). Believe it or not, though, there are some things I don't like about the Mac Pro. The first? Aesthetics. I can't stand the brushed aluminum look. I would rather Apple go back to the plastic days and model the case after the PowerMac. The second is the hardware. While the processors aren't showing their age, the default graphics options and RAM are. The graphics options are an ATi HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory, a Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, and a Nvidia Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of GDDR3 memory. That third option may be sticking out as top-notch, but that is a workstation card. Like immigrants, workstation cards are good at working, but not playing (sorry if I offended any immigrants out there). That card was built for professionals to create 3D graphics art, rendering, and some movie processing. It wasn't built for gaming. Those other two were, and displaying videos. But, those options are showing their age. Nvidia built a card known as the 9600 that performs at the same level as the 8800, but only takes up the room of one expansion slot. The GTX 280 performs at a better level than two of these chained together in an SLi configuration. I know that ATi has released their relatively new HD 3870 in a Mac flavor, and I'm sure the 4870 is also in a Mac flavor as well. Now to the RAM, it's clocked at 800MHz DDR2. Despite it being fully buffered (FB-DIMMs), it's rather slow compared to its normal cousins. Not to mention, they need to be in a certain configuration to work at peak effeciency. My ideal laptop would be a MacBook Pro, for two simple reasons. One, the 9600M chipset. I know that Gateway is offering a model that has the 9800M, but that is rather expensive (more than the MacBook Pro, in fact)! Two, those new screens should look really good, when not reflecting all the light it receives.

Portable Media Player (PMP)

Once again, I got to hand it over to Apple. It's starting to sound like I'm an Apple Fanboy, but I will reverse that later. Anyway, if this was a contest for hard-drive based PMPs, the Archos 7 would win hands down. It can pull TV and music from the internet, browse the internet, play all forms of popular media, and has downloadable plugins for unpopular formats (like FLAC). It even has support for games, but the selection is rather limited, and the quality is average. But, since this is a favorite for all PMPs, I'm siding with the iPod Touch on this one. While it lacks support for unpopular music formats, it has a more open architecture than other PMPs (it runs the iPhoneOS). This means that I can enjoy the same games and apps that the iPhone gets, with more space (I got the 32Gb version). I never dreamed I would get to see the ability to store 7000 songs on flash memory. Of course, I don't only have songs on my iPod; the screen just calls on you to view videos and pictures. I've got around 70 videos on here and 900 pictures, 74 apps, and 2Gb left over! That's almost more content than I know what to do with! A stellar product from Apple.

Televisions and Monitors

Gotta hand it over to Sony on this one. Ever since the Trinitron, Sony has been triumphant in the field of displays (until recently when Mitsubishi unleashed their Diamonde series DLPs, LCDs, and LEDs). Why am I giving the Sony XBR6 the honor of my preferred television when the Diamonde series is better? Price-to-performance ratio. Those Diamonde TVs are really pricey, while the XBR6 is able to look good at a lower cost. There is a bit of overkill on the Diamonde series as well, the color engine on that thing drives six colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue) while the XBR6 drives the traditional three (red, green, and blue). While this leads to a slightly better picture, it also leads to an even heftier price tag. Not worth it in my opinion. The Diamonde series also has better contrast, but then again, it's too hard to discern dropping all of that extra coin for it. Both televisions have refresh rates of 120hz, and they both display 1080p content spectacularly. They both have the same plethora of inputs (HDMI, DVI, VGA, Component-in with the audio jacks), but I haven't seen any member of the Diamonde series at Wal-Mart, while you can pick up a XBR6 (46") at Wal-Mart for around $1,400. The picture is really good too, the least pixelized out of the bunch when it comes to fast-action shots. When it comes to monitors, go here. That's a review of the w2558hc from HP. It's really nice for the price!

Game Console

Gotta hand it to Microsoft on this one. The Xbox 360, in my book, is the best gaming console out there. Now that's not saying the PS3 and the Wii are bad consoles. It's just that the PS3 doesn't have near the variety of games, and the hardware on both the 360 and the PS3 produce very similar results. The load times on the PS3 are a bit slower (because of the slow bandwidth between the Blu-Ray drive and the system's mainboard), and don't even get me started on their multiplayer network. The advantage of the PS3 is being able to play Blu-Ray movies, which has a noticeably superior quality over the standard DVD (you don't even need to put them side-by-side). It's also still one of the cheapest fully fleshed-out Blu-Ray players you can buy. While you can get a cheaper Blu-Ray player, the tech and feature specs on Blu-Ray change all of the time (they're called "Profiles", we're on 1.3 right now) and only the more expensive models have an ethernet port to check for updates on the internet. With the PS3, firmware upgrades will be issued and parts of those upgrades will probably include Blu-Ray Profile updates. And the Wii? The only thing it has going towards it are casual gamers (which is a growing crowd) and the Wiimote. I, personally, feel that all of the games stink (except for the Zelda games, they're okay) and all of the good ones have versions on better systems. The hardware is ridiculously outdated, and you almost have to buy an SD memory card if you want to take advantage of their marketplace. The Virtual Console thing is pretty cool, but chances are that the people who already played those games don't want to pay for it again in a virtual form. Not to mention, Nintendo and Microsoft both do something I really hate, they both have a point system on their marketplaces (where you have to pay for blocks of points). There's another up to the PS3. Anyway, I feel that the Xbox 360 strikes the perfect balance between an entertainment center, a game console, and total social experience. The new party feature gets an "A" in my book, especially since you can share your Netflix movies online. The media streaming is top notch and relatively trouble-free (some users may be uncomfortable opening ports in their firewall), and the selection of games is just astronomical! If I ever wanted to switch from a good FPS to a good RPG, there is a list of good RPGs I can go to. Even family games like UNO are available, making family gaming and interactivity that much easier, and more fun!

More electronics to come.

Television & Radio

I really don't watch much television, but when I do it's always one of two lineups, Fox Primetime on Sundays and Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. That's pretty much the only over-hyped, produced-for-the-masses stuff I watch, the rest comes from user-generated stuff on Youtube. I do listen to a lot of radio though. Not only because my views tend to align more to the right of the political spectrum, but I find that many radio hosts are just plain entertaining to listen to. My favorite has got to be Neal Boortz. His show focuses mainly on politics but sometimes he goes off-topic, usually for something extremely funny! The second favorite has to be Rush Limbaugh, simply because he yells at the top of his lungs over some of the most trivial of matters. Not to mention he's actually a pretty nice guy, he gave a Chevy Tahoe to a lady that was starting a small business about a month ago. Then, the third has got to be Sean Hannity. I always feel proud to be an American after listening to his show. Mark Levin is pretty funny too, he rants more than Limbaugh! Can you believe that?

Books

This is something I've got to change, but I actually don't read all of that much. I guess instruction manuals would top out on this category. Then I got Neal Boortz's "Somebody's Gotta Say It", but it's in audiobook form. I read web articles and people's blogs in my spare time also.

Games

My favorite genre of gaming would have to be First-Person Shooters. The feel of pounding someone to death with either bullets or melee attacks just freaking enthralls me! Be it sandbox, with a scripted story (campaign-mode for all of you Xboxers out there), or online multiplayer, I love them all! My favorites have got to be (in order): Saints Row 2, any GTA game, Counter-Strike (any flavor, but Source is the best), Left 4 Dead, Half-Life 2, the Call of Duty series, and any Halo game. Most of the time I'll be playing online (or on Xbox Live, the Gamertag is SkullBusta2k7), I'll be playing on of these games.

My second favorite type of game is the strategy game. This is what keeps the mind going, no matter the subject. City planning, combat simulation, and general creation is what sets this game genre apart from the others. My favorite game in this genre by-far is Simcity (any in the series, but 4 is my favorite). Then it is followed by Spore, Rise of Nations, Empire Earth, and Age of Empires. I also like any of the "Sim" games (SimCopter, SimEarth, The Sims, etc).

Then, in the distant third, is role-playing games. I'm very picky about this genre. For one, I hate MMOs (massively-multiplayer online role-playing games). For one, the genre title is too long. Just kidding, but I'm not a big fan of meeting people online to begin with. If I meet somebody online, I want the ability of killing them within the first five minutes of our acquaintanceship. Generally, you can't do that in an MMO. Anyway, back to single-player RPGs. Bethesda Networks has always put out really good titles (the Elder Scrolls series, especially Morrowind and Oblivion) but my favorite has to be Fallout 3. This is a game I can really sink my teeth into, because it has some of my favorite things within a game (it takes place in the future, it has guns, and I can brutally murder anybody I meet). Not to mention the whole taking place after a nuclear war thing. I haven't played Fallouts 1, 2, and Tactics, but I want to play those as well. I heard they were completely different games. My second favorite series is the Elder Scrolls series, then Final Fantasy (7 is my favorite).

Groups and Community Sites I Visit

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