Computers Everywhere!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/ffHJ384tsdA]
Rants of Two Old Dudes: Episode 4
I think this was our best show yet. Curiosity is on Mars! Mr. Carver joins us once again as we talk too much about Zombies, not enough about games, and just the right amount about beer.
DOWNLOAD HERE!
08.7.12
I Voted
I tweeted earlier today that I voted, but I had to violate one of my moral rules to do so. You see this is the primary election where the parties decide who they’re going to put on the ballot in November. Being in rural Kansas, Republican is the party of prominence, so pretty much everyone running for office of any kind is a republican.
My moral delimma is that I don’t really believe in the two party system. I believe in electing the right person for the job whether they’re a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Man, Woman, Black, White, etc. For that reason I’ve never affiliated with any party.
But when it comes to primary elections, you can’t just vote in any primary. Democrats have an open primary, meaning you don’t have to be an democrat to vote there. But republicans have a closed primary, therefore you can only vote if you’re a member of the “club”. My situation was such that there were some pretty important local positions up, which were pretty much going to be decided in the Republican primary as there would be no one running against the winner in November. So in order to have a voice in these selections I chose to declare Republican for now and vote for the guys I felt could best serve my area.
I’ve always been a big proponent of paying attention and making informed voting decisions on the local level, because these are the people that will have possibly the most direct impact on your daily life. These guys are the reason I can’t buy beer after 8PM, or that I haven’t been able to use my fire pit I built yet because of a burn ban. Seems like piddly stuff to some, but even though it might be less “important” on the grand scale, it has a more tangible effect than any president’s foreign policy or “jobs bill”.
So I guess as of today I’m a Republican, if only on paper.
Guild Wars 2 – World vs World
I was trying to explain this in my last post about the Guild Wars 2 beta weekend. This video does a far better job of explaining what WvW is….. awesome.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnOhMeYxhRM]
08.1.12Playing with the camera
We got a fun new toy. Wanted to play around with all the different settings. We went out in the backyard and took some pictures of the sky. They aren’t perfect, but we’re just learning. Should have set a timer, and need to focus better.
Big Dipper
Scorpio
Luke’s Day
Luke had a different day today. Mom had a job today so Luke got up and got to roll around in the basement of the radio station at the embroidery shop down there. Then it was swim lessons, and home. After the sun set we played around in the driveway and crawled on Daddy’s car.
A Perfect N64 Thumbstick: The Holy Grail
It’s been expressed before that if I have any fatal weaknesses, it is my obsession with game controllers. I’d probably walk right into any trap if you baited it with a new and unused N64 controller. In their prime the N64 controllers were known to wear quickly. Especially with games that required intense and repeated movement. (Isn’t that every game?) So back in the day I would wear them out, then go to the store to reluctantly buy new controllers. Today that’s simply not an option.
Prices on new controllers for the N64 have really gone up. I’ve been seeing far fewer on eBay. And the ones that are there are usually listed with a lofty buy it now price. This means the only real viable option is to find a quality facsimile. There is finally a new aftermarket thumbstick in the original style, but it’s still not quite perfect.
Pictured above is this new stick. It is extremely similar in appearance to the original thumbstick. The most obvious differences are that the dark gray plastic bezel is not quite the same color as the original. The replacement is a bit lighter. The thumbstick itself has more of a flat finish, whereas the original is somewhat glossy. And finally, the movement of the stick just isn’t quite as smooth as the original, and as such feels a bit cheap. With that said, after playing GoldenEye for an hour or so with the new one, it feels very accurate, and after a few minutes, you really forget that it’s not the original thumbstick.
For comparison, pictured above is a lightly to moderately used original controller. The joystick is still very tight, but notice how you can already see some of the trademark “chalk dust” that plagues these sticks. This is the “newest” controller I still feel comfortable playing with. But I refuse to play Mario Kart with it. That is the game that by and large has destroyed most of my past controllers! Haha.
There is also another variant of the N64 thumbstick available from aftermarket sources. This joystick is often called a “GameCube” style joystick. But this is far from anything as glorious and refined as the GameCube stick. Although feeling solid and smooth, this joystick is anything but. Small movements are simply too sensitive. It is almost impossible to make fine movement with this stick, like aiming a sniper rifle, or making Mario just barely creep along. Though it is decent for arcade style racers and generally more forgiving games. It’s better than a completely worn thumbstick, but that’s about it.
So there ya go. This new thumbstick, while not perfect, is the best replacement so far. It may look slightly different, but only to someone who notices such subtleties. The accuracy is good and if the movement was just a little smoother, I would say the feel would be almost indistinguishable. Never the less, for $10 on eBay it is an outstanding option to refresh some of your old controllers.