Hibernation Sickness

Let me start out first by apologizing sincerely. I have neglected this site and you, the readers.
It is time I get back on the bandwagon and start anew. Which is the reason I stopped blogging in the first place. I have had a major change in my life and it has flipped my world topsy turvey. I have taken a hiatus at everything I was doing previously (Pastoring) too take a look at my life, beliefs and the world.
So in light of my new perspective this blog will change with me, well not much. It was never my starting goal to be "preachy", just the views and interests of a REALLY geeky preacher. So, more 1337 less preach.......kinda.

There, I've said everything....yet nothing. Perfecto!

Just stay tuned too see.

Ben

DOH! ><

Ok, now Microsoft is supposedly no longer behind Blu-ray. This sounds more like Microsoft, to be honest. Apparently they are totaly confident in HD-DVD winning out in the end....Sure they are.

"The question of whether Xbox 360 has the flexibility to adapt to consumers' needs is a different issue entirely. Xbox 360 is a future-proofed system - one that allows us to add features as consumers demand them - as evidenced by our offering of the HD-DVD drive as an accessory. Current reports indicating that we have a back-up plan, which includes Blu-Ray support are incorrect. At this point, we're fully committed to HD-DVD and have absolutely no plans to support other optical formats."

So the potential is there to uses Blu-Ray but they will not say anything to jeprodize HD-DVDs chances of coming out on top. Nice Either way...All of my posts are still correct....somewhat. [Link]

It puts the "rock" in rocker.

Gaming Chairs are everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes. This chair however is no ordinary rocker.

The KD X Rocker is "J" shaped like most gamer chairs are, and is made with a faux-leather vinyl fabric ( Fake leather ) which is quite comfortable, although it can get a little warm. The real difference in this chair is the built in speakers.

The KD X Rocker has two 3-Watt sattelite speakers on the sides of the headrest that give a nice clear sound. These speakers are placed on each side of your head so you have a "true" stereo sound which is quite nice. ( Compared to your standard TV that is.) On the Back of the chair is a powered and ported 4" Subwoofer. In my humble opinion, this is the main selling point. This Sub is actually pretty nice while watching a movie, playing music, or even *Gasp!* playing video games. Easy to reach, on the right hand side towards the bottom, is the On/Off switch, power and audio inputs, and the controls for the volume and bass. This Chair is capable of handling 80Watts of auditory pleasure. No Power horse by any means, but is is plenty seeing how you are right on top of it!

Ok I lied. The REAL selling point is that this baby is found at your local Wal-Mart and is more or likely on clearance now. ( The Chair has yet to catch on.) The KD X Rocker retails normally for $99. [Link]

*Update 1-29-2006* The audio inputs are a little flimsy, as I am on my second chair due to pulling the wires accidently. ( Thank you Wal-Mart return policy! ) This is a pain, but is remidied by adding additional wiring to add to the 6ft of wires that come in the box. Simple fix, and it gives you more room to manuever! A wireless function would have made this thing gold. Expensive gold but gold nonetheless!

Microsoft behind Blu-Ray?

If you haven't heard yet, there is a new Betamax Vs. VHS type battle going on in the tech world. At the moment Both gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft are at the front lines. The battle is between the two disc formats Blue-ray, and HD-DVD. Microsoft has taken the side of HD-DVD, and Sony is behind Blu-Ray. It seemed a big gamble between both companies due to, ( As I borrow heavily from Highlander.) there can be only one.

Now it seems that Microsoft is actually making a smart move for its Xbox 360 console. At CES 2006, Microsoft's Xbox corporate VP of worldwide marketing and publishing Peter Moore informed the Japanese site ITmedia that a Blu-ray Xbox 360 peripheral might appear for the system if it is needed. If Sony doesn't follow suit, it could hurt the Playstation 3 significantly if Blu-Ray doesn't catch on as the media format king.

Kudos Microsoft. Kudos.

Invade Canada?

We've all heard the jokes, seen the movies and TV shows joking about invading Canada, this is real folks. Now that's funny. The Washington Post comments on this very issue.

The United States government does have a plan to invade Canada. It's a 94-page document called "Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan -- Red," with the word SECRET stamped on the cover. It's a bold plan, a bodacious plan, a step-by-step plan to invade, seize and annex our neighbor to the north.

This plan has been declassified and is open to the public now at the National Archives in College Park

But it would be kinda fun to see Celine Dion and Mike Myers wearing orange jumpsuits down in Guantanamo.

It doesn't get any better than this. [Link]

Death of PC gaming?

No. Not yet. I don't honestly believe that PC gaming will ever end. In fact I see just the opposite these days. Cellphones with games, Music players with games, PDAs with games, even some cars with games. Anything with electronics these days it seems comes with games, but this isn't my point today.

For me, PC Gaming is at an end. For now. Looking at the specs of my 360 and seeing the smorgasborg of MMOs (massively multiplayer online) coming out I look at my current PC and weep. Xbox 360's specs are just jaw dropping: 3 Processor units at a whooping 3.2 GHz each, ATI graphics processor that clocks in at beautiful 500 MHz, 512 MB of RAM, integrated wireless controllers, and a 20 gig hard drive.
Now compare that to your current PC. Sure, your hard drive is bigger and surely you have as much or more memory, but most of that is not "dedicated" to gaming. Every Game that will come out for the 360 will be tuned to work just for the xbox 360 specs. Unlike PCs, who have a min req, and a maximum req, for each game and it's a pain to constantly upgrade to keep up. The 360 will run at a steady frame rate of 60 fps, unlike many new pc games.

No, I am not a fanboy, I am just looking a this realistically. I am not the world richest man, so i have to buy on a budget. There is no possible way I can keep up in the PC gaming world and I know I am not alone. The 360 has been a relatively painless way of being top-gen, and getting the best out of my games.

PCs will always have apart of my life ( hence this blog ) but right now, PC gaming will not. That is....till we get inexpensive quantum computers....wait then there might be a quantum powerd Xbox! ( Or whatever gaming console there is.) I just might never go back!!!

You say tomater, I say Hermatermorts

Yeah, I bet that title really has you confused. Good, then I have done my job!



What? You want an explanation? *sigh* Ok, if you say so.

Enter Homestarrunner.com. This is a flash site with tons of toons and games that will leave you rolling on the floor with laughter. Or at least chuckling...

It has quirky games, toons, even answers to reader mail. I could go into a long and lengthy explanation about what the site is all about, but that would take WAY too long. This site is jam packed with so much laugh-idy goodness that it is illegal in twelve countries. So go check it out. And don't worry if you view at work, or with small children(or if you are a small child) This site is incredibly family friendly. But don't be discouraged, it isn't a kids site. Sure, kids will like it. but most of the humor would be over their heads. But enough, go...Go to the site! It will have you laughing so hard you'll wanna punch somebody in the face!

(Disclaimer: 1337 Preach can not be held liable for any face-punching that happens in response to this post.)



P.S. Can someone tell me where the title of this post came from? I'll give you a hint, it isn't from the weekly quote. You'll have to look somewhere else for it. Good hunting!

Forum fun!

Sometimes there is nothing better than to be able to post something on the internet and actually get a good response. It could be a question, comment, or even a strange link you found while googling. Chat rooms were fun at first, but if you weren't quick enough you could miss peoples responses, or just be disgusted at the behaviour of those immature few who ruin things for everybody. Blogging has come along way, ( FWI: This is a blog, for all you tech challenged out there.) but there are so many to choose from, and its more of a one sided conversation.

Enter the Forum. An oldie but a goodie. I can't get enough of forums. You post then come back later to read the responces.....all on your time. Ok enough rambling though, on to the heart of the subject. Planetwisdom

Planet wisdom is a great place to go to talk about just anything and have a good crowd to talk too. You don't have to worry about those immature few....these forums are heavily moderated by a great group and it is incredibly family safe. If you have questions about the bible, problems , games , movies, or life in general.......this place is for you. If you just want to talk about that great new movie you saw....this place is for you. Planet wisdom has many articles covering varying subjuects, hosts a huge forum, and even has some chat rooms. ( For those who want instant gratification. )

Planetwisdom was founded by Mark Matlock , a minister, who teaches at student conferences all over, authored several books, and can be heard on christian radio.

It is worth checking out! See you there! [Link]

Now for something less geeky

Greetings all! I hope everyone reading this had a great and wonderful Christmas and New Years.
Here at 1337 preach, we have always strived for a mix of geeky, spiritual, and geeky spirituality. Having had our share of geeky, I thought I would bring up some issues of spirituality.
Now, this next post is something that I have been struggling with for a while. I am not offering full-proof fix all or deep theological theory; just some of my own insites. Though none of what I am saying is contradictory to anything the Bible says, it isn't exactly doctrine. Having said that, let me add this: Just take it as it is. Some random guy on the internet's view on a topic. (wow...this is sounding negative, isn't it. My apologies.)

Music is a big thing with me. It always has. Not so much performance wise, but in listening. It makes me happy, excited, and even a better video game player. Consequently, I am very selective in what I listen to. It has to resonate with me just right, or it isn't good enough. My favorite genre of music is Rock. The double bass peddles and thrashing guitar riffs make me want to get up and head bang. It picks me up, fills me with energy, and leaves me wanting more. I love it. Some of the bands that do this the best are Disturbed, Korn, Metallica, AC/DC, Van Halen... I know, a colorful set isn't it? Being a man of God, this brings up my topic.

Where does this music fit in my walk with God?

Ouch... That question still stings me. Being such a music fanatic, this is something that has plagued me for some time. I didn't listen to overtly Satanic music...well...much... It was always edited. Was this so bad? No, surely not. It's just Music. Nothing that affected my walk with God, right? It was good enough, right?
Good Enough? Wow. I was trying to justify this thing that isn't exactly great, when God clearly says that our righteousness is as filthy rags. Putting our puny standards up to the awesome and wonderful righteousness of God really puts them into the right light. This music was filled with violence, sex, and blatantly anti-God messages.
A old acronym comes to mind. GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out.
By constantly listening to these negative messages and lyrics, I was filling my mind with things that defiantly were not healthy spiritually. All the sudden they didn't seem so harmless anymore.
Then the real kicker comes in... What can I listen to? Do I have to forsake my music completely and listen to Michael W. Smith, and Point of Grace the rest of my life? Sure, the songs are good but the music doesn't resonate with me at all. What was I to do? I had heard some decent Christian Rock bands, but nothing as good as my secular music, neither was it very accessible.
When God closes a door, he opens a window.
Some time earlier, Ben had introduced me to a band by the name of Thousand Foot Krutch. I listened to a few songs, and liked it. Having just gotten iTunes, I looked them up, downloaded their album, and was instantly hooked. iTunes has a nifty little feature of displaying bands that are alike the one you are currently listening to. through this I found a wealth of great Christian rock bands that are just as good, if not better, than all of my secular music. Skillet, Pillar, Kutless, Falling Up, Jeremy Camp… just to name a few. These brought be back into my music full swing, with none of the negative connotations. No more guilty feelings for knowing what the bleeped out word was. No more slipped cure words as I sang along. These songs not only quenched my thirst for head banging and adrenaline rushes, but also helped my walk with God.
So, this is my view. It may be too extreme for you, or even too conservative. Either way, please don't ask me where in the bible it says not to listen to Slip Knot. This is just my insight, and the insight of some very wise people.

If you would like any more information about good Christian rock bands, feel free to email me ant jjayhawkins@gmail.com I am sorry, but I haven’t really looked into other genres of music. But I promise you, if you like it, it can be found with a Godly focus.



God Bless.

Merry Christmas!

From 1337Preach to all you out there have a merry Christmas!

What a n00b!

As most of you observant readers have already found out, there is a new writer on board. My younger brother has also answered the call to preach, and is just as ( if not more) geeky as I. He is a talented writer, and usually has an opinion about something, so he should bring alot to the team.
I'm excited to see where this leads us!
Join me when I say, " Welcome n00b!"

Another Perspective

First of all, I would like to think my esteemed brother for allowing me to participate in the great work he has going. I am really impressed at what he has done. So, without further adu...

JJay's Old School Classics!

Video Games are alot like movies. New ones come and go. Some are good, some are bad. The only true test is the test of time. What game will we be talking about in 5-10 years? These games might not be perfect, but they are etched in our minds as a great expierence. Every once and a while, I would like to point out some great oldies that might bring back some nastalgia.

One classic that has caught my attention recently is the PC RTS, Star Craft. Amazing gameplay, engaging story, and endless stratagies all make this game a winner. Even while being played many years after it's release, it's graphics are'nt a hinderance. Not that they are up to par with today's, but they suit the game well. If you are a fan of engaging story lines; you will not be disapointed. Every side's story of the three pronged war in shownin great detail. So, if you are yearning for a interglactic conflict of epic proportions (and don't mind a challenge. This game is hard!) then pick up a copy. It can be found rather cheap at your local Wal-Mart. Trust me, it is worth every cent of that twenty bucks.

Peace unto you, and Merry Christmas!