Random Video Game Crap.

    Ok it’s been a bit since I have really written anything, not that anybody ever reads this crap but hell I at this moment really have nothing better to do. I want to talk video games for a bit so here is a little review on Dark Souls, I had been curious about this game for a while but I was not going to shell out however much it actually costs to play a game whose whole marketing was about how many times you will die, so when it popped up as one of Xbox Live’s freebies I snagged it and played it for a bit. It blows ass, first all of the class choices are the same nothing really seems to set them apart at all, the story is ok but really flat and the minimal voice acting is very wooden. What makes this game so hard is the controls are wonky and it’s damned hard to line up an attack, everything does more damage than you it’s not like the baddies use tactics they are just jacked up in power and between that and a dull story that I don’t care enough to see it progress overall doesn’t make for a fun experience. The DLC for State f Decay called Lifeline is damn hard as well and a challenge but also fun to play, I have died or messed up a mission quite often since I got this Friday but still plugging away at it. There seems to be a lack of anything really good to play currently you would think that something worth a damn would pop up somewhere, RPG wise there is nothing till October when Dragon Age Inquisition comes out and this is only the second game I have ever pre-ordered (Mass Effect 3 was the last) I even went for the deluxe edition lol. I love Dragon Age, I even liked Dragon Age 2 for what it was hell, I like most everything Bioware puts out so I wait and complain about having nothing really to play for a few months because I am a damn snob when it comes to games and damnit I am not going to drop anymore cash on crap games (looking at you Defiance you bastard). Another thing I hate about games is watching or even being in the same room with a kid playing one. I either want to play it for them or just wish they would shut up while playing them…geez the computer is not impressed by your trash talk. And heaven forbid one gets on voice…almost makes you wish you were the character in the first scene of an episode of Supernatural. My lovely wife has me jealous currently a friend of hers gifted her  a copy of Diablo 3 so they had a good teammate to play with. I sit here either playing a Dragon Age game to unlock obscure achievements or looking through all my games hoping for something to  pass the time with…and she gets the new shiny lol, but she deserves it…hell I may not see the light of day after October 7^th but damn the wait!!! 

Adventures in Retail

   I have recently started my adventure in retail and frankly I cannot stand it. It’s not the work or the people I work with (well the district manager is a total jackass), it’s the damned customers. Not all but the vast majority of the people that come in seem to lose any common sense or intelligence they may have had as soon as they walk in. They seem to believe the cashiers make all the prices or can shuffle around a policy just for them…sorry slapnuts that cannot happen nobody is going to alter anything so you can save a damn quarter and put their job at risk. The old saying the customer is always right is utter horse shit, it’s really the customer is always an asshole! One type that always annoys me is the one who piddles around for an hour and then looks all impatient because you were off doing another part of your job when they finally decide to check out and it takes you a whole 30 seconds to get to them, then they realize in their piddling they forgot something and run off…then come back and take another few minutes to dig their money or card out of the utter chaos that is their purse and or pocket. Oh and the one who decides they can give exact change after you have already handed them back change. It is sadly continuous and happens all day long, don’t get me wrong most are decent humans but damn the morons seem to be the majority. I thought taking this job may help me in dealing with the general public and maybe lessening my intense dislike for people…NOPE! If anything it has just reinforced the reason I try to avoid people as much as possible, and makes me really rethink being a councilor later on. Remember people those who work in stores are not your damn slaves or beneath you in any way just poor slobs doing what they have to get by in this bad economy and have to deal with some of the most ignorant people both customers and management have to offer.

Insert title here.

    I know that I do not write much on this blog, which is mainly because I am not sure if anybody really reads it. I write to try and get a good discussion going with somebody from both sides of an issue but so far I get more with random posts on Facebook. But I have a lot of random thoughts rattling around in the attic like ghosts on a coke high so let’s get them out.

      Of course the big issue in the news is gun control which is a distraction and an easy fix or band-aid to give people the illusion that those we have elected know what in the hell to do when a tragedy such as the recent shooting occurs. The truth is there is no easy fix what purpose is banning any type of gun going to really serve? From the news reports if they are to be believed the mother of the guy who shot those kids already had them…so what does the government think? That every single person planning one of these goes out and buys them all just before committing the crime?  Look at the last two cases of mass shootings both had mental issues that were known and in the Sandy Hook case I ask if a person has a mental issue that can cause anger issues as well do you as their caretaker keep a small arsenal in the house? The guy from the theater was reported by his therapist as being a possible threat…yet those above her in rank say we can’t do anything.   So instead of focusing on what factors caused this everybody goes for the tool that was used and in doing so gave the idjits on both sides of this debate something more to divide and argue about. First can the whole Red Dawn fantasy about you and your trusty pop gun holding off the military, and I have even heard people talk about how the military would turn on the government if for some reason guns were going to be completely taken away. Despite the fantasy folks the military would side with the people signing their checks and that could put them away for very long periods of time. The military would not as a whole would not turn and should that happen…oh look the government called in our allies. Face it folks all you could do is bitch and gripe and should you decide to call all Rambo you will be dead or in jail and welcome to being part of the problem.

  The same goes for the in need an AR-15..or insert a assault weapon type here that is needed to defend you and yours from a person breaking in. First are you that damn bad of a shot (applies for hunting too) that you need 30 rounds to hit the target? What can this gun do that a pistol or shot gun cannot? I can see if a person is a collector and takes these types out to shoot for fun that I get, but past that no. And for the record I like guns and the only reasons I have not bought the ones I really want is that it’s too damn expensive and I am not sure what use I would have for a Russian sniper rifle. But I am not for banning anything , we see how well making things illegal and banning stuff has worked in the past….ok lawn darts and lead paint are exceptions to that. It never works need I remind anyone on how well that whole War On Drugs thing is working out? It will not stop anyone from getting a certain type of gun be it the good guys or bad guys, hell you can buy anything online or hell I bet I could place an ad in the paper and have somebody wanting to sell me an AK-47. There is no easy fix folks in order to even go down that road we as a society would have to peel back all of the crap that has been shoved into our heads and look at issues that we cannot have somebody make a law for things like mental health and how much a therapist can report without fear of losing their license or being sued if they feel a person is a threat to others. In a few cases a kid was picked on until he felt he had no other course of action and frankly this whole get over it thing is a crock of shit kids get picked on to the point that lashing out is all they feel they can do and when it happens we have people wondering…what happened oh…it’s the gun, music, video game, media’s fault, or books fault.  These are all just easy things to blame, I as a child and adult played violent games. When I was a kid we all played war, cops and robbers, and cowboys and Indians then on to Dungeons and Dragons and of course right into video games which when I was a child were still in their infancy and despite all of this violence that I have seen, read, and acted out not once did I even think about going and killing a bunch of people because of it. I was also picked on but this was back in a time when two kids would get into a very sad little fist fight and be friends two days later. Maybe I just didn’t notice if all of this hate we see on a daily basis now was there or if it has become worse because all of these hateful ass people have so many ways to spew their verbal diarrhea 24/7.

   The main thing that has ever made me want to go on a mass shooting is seeing people like The Westburo Baptist Church be allowed to spew their message and nothing being done about it because it is their right…now here is where the real bullshit starts….where are the rights people at the funeral to not have to hear this? We can say whatever we want but people have no right to not hear it. The WBC is no different from all of the other groups out there that spew hate against one group or the other but for some reason they are tax exempt and get all of the lovely benefits from being a church. It’s quite the double edged sword we have the “right” to say what we want but not the “right” to be protected from groups like this. It’s a problem where do one person’s rights end and the other person’s rights begin? And if all of these “rights” we supposedly have are for everybody why are there people still fighting to get the same ones others already have? It’s almost like the words all men are created equal has a asterisk excluding people and I have to say how can owing a gun be a God given right when back when the Bible was written they didn’t exist? I am certainly not aware of any updated version and honestly if you read the book the only real right you have is the right to sit down, shut up, and do what you are told.  Annnnnd while this may look like I am anti-gun which I am not if there is the commandment of thou shalt not kill which is indeed quite clear would God give the right to anyone to own a tool that can do just that to a lot of folks at once. If you are going to make an argument make it sound at least plausible and not a bunch of random crap that makes you look just like the stereotype that makes whatever belief or group you are in look like a bunch of nuts. 

Goin Tig

   Well the election is only a few days away and some will be watching it like others do sports. And guess what? There is no difference, this election is not about any issues that have a quick fix or will ever get fixed they have been part of each election that I can remember and the only new thing is gay rights but that is just a continuation of any rights movement ever and it gives us common folk something to argue about and distract us from the fact that a president can only do as much as congress and the house will allow. Now I will admit that I think of myself as an Independent but tend to agree more with Democrats on some issues. Republicans annoy me more for various reasons and a lot of those reasons have popped up in this election. Do we need to mention the rape comments? Or how it seems that every five minutes Romney seems to change his mind or say something insulting? Let’s all be honest he was the best of a weak batch he has ran before and could not even get close to the nomination.

    What we have right now in this country is a deep division along pointless political lines about issues that for the most part do not affect anyone on a personal basis. For one thing gay marriage has zero effect on anybody but gays. The institution of marriage only works when the people involved make it that way, it only has religious implications if made that way, it’s a contract with the state and until people have to go through a church to get a license that is all it truly is today. Abortion is fine as it is keep it licensed and legal and out of the hands of these out of touch old men. Seriously what anti-abortion people do not get is this all the fighting about the right to be born is pointless moral jibber jabber. I personally feel that if it affects the health of the mother, or the case is rape or incest then by all mean go for it. But it is not a form of contraception, we have too many idiots having children and then these poor kids are getting thrown into a very broken system it’s almost like those who make a big stink about all of it do not care past that. Face it folks some people just do not need to have kids. Same thing for guns …enforce the laws we have...because much like with children there are quite a few out there that do not need a gun.

     Yes this country is full of stupid people and in today’s society they all seem to get reality shows.  Yes people used to we have at least one show on a night that was good now…..well we have Here Comes Honey-Boo-Boo. Personally the only nights I watch TV are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday the rest of the time I watch movies or read. I have paid more attention to this election a bit more due mostly to the sheer douchebaggery that I have seen coming from both sides…I have to say the Republicans are winning at that and the Dems maybe saying some stupid shit as well but come on you cannot get much worse than the rape comments that have to make the moderate Republicans cringe and do a face palm and give endless ammunition to the other side. Its comments like that in a sane world would make them lose valuable seats not to mention make Republicans look a lot like the assholes in The Middle East. Any group is judged by what can be called the bad apples and that is a lot of the reason people see Republicans are utter nut jobs.

   Democrats are no better I do not believe that everybody needs his or her hand held or what people eat regulated. I don’t believe every little thing should be regulated, some stuff needs to be but not so much it cannot function. All either party truly is,  are out of touch puppets in suits. People say oh Obama didn’t fix the economy in four years…did anyone really expect years of decline to magically fix itself? You have Romney saying how he’ll add jobs but at the same time saying the government doesn’t make jobs, and blasting Obama for not making more…yeahhhhhhhhh. Romney also has said he’ll fix the economy in 8-10 years but Obama gets bitched at for not doing it sooner. Damn people anybody who has ever even played a strategy game knows if your economy goes bust it takes forever to get it going again. Wanna know a secret? What really messed this economy up is NAFTA and all the loopholes and breaks businesses got for outsourcing. And this wasn’t Bush or Obama’s fault Bush did not help it much he just sped up the inevitable of what was about 20 years in the making. And the main fault lies in the house and congress because they are the ones who really say yes and no to everything, and most of the ones who helped this country into the shape it’s in are still sitting there.

    Who will win this one? I think Obama because let’s be honest when it comes right down to it polls mean nothing if Obama has kept just a fraction of the support he had when elected he’ll win. I can see it being close but in the end Romney is just not that strong of a candidate.

Oh bugger.

    I hate politics with a passion, and while like every other human I have my own thoughts how things should be done but in the end none of it truly matters. I have decided not to vote this year because no matter who I pick it will make me part of the problem. And despite the saying if you do not vote you do not have the right to complain, you have every right to gripe because let me ask this if that were the actual case then this country would have never been more than a British colony. I am not overly fond of Obama and detest Romney and frankly think this country will get 4 more of the same crap or 4 more years of new crap. Yeah love the “choices” in this one. The government is not doing their job at all in a way that would have gotten those regular folks that still have a job fired. Can it with the social issues and all of the other pointless ass distractions because folks that as I have said before is all that social issues are just a distraction from anything real. And it’s both parties screwing around not just one of them. And wake up your vote doesn’t count especially now that labor unions and corporations can toss ungodly amounts of money around to fund their puppet, and religious organizations have been doing it for years.

   People gripe about the president, but let’s get real folks it’s congress and the house that say yes, no, or duhhh to anything that is purposed and they introduce some serious bs when they actually do something. Our country is failing because it has become stagnant it has happened throughout history to countless nations. Greed, corruption, and backwards thinking have left this country in a mess.  Congress and the house sit on their thumbs doing really nothing but griping and using our lives as bargaining chips and pawns, none of these people have to worry about how to pay the light bill or after they get voted out what to do because they are set and were set before they got into office. Gone are the days when our presidents could do anything, think we’ll see another FDR? Oh he introduced Social Security……evill!!!! We pay for that out of taxes yup more money for the government to mishandle. And I do not care nor really believe what numbers say about what percentage of Americans pay taxes and who doesn’t it’s well known those things never tell the whole story how many of those are the ultra-rich?  And if you buy anything you pay taxes in some form quit defending corporations geez people you defend them and they laugh as they send your job away.

   And some random chicken place doesn’t like gay marriage big damn whoop. Don’t eat there it’s no big deal I have and well didn’t really like the food. Take your business elsewhere it’s not the only place with a chicken sandwich. And for those who cheer it please go back to the South in the 50s there is no difference in your behavior as it was directed to people then as it is now. And frankly gay marriage one day will be recognized as perfectly legal and that is just looking back at history. And think hard about this if one guy not converted to Christianity that would still be illegal everywhere. Be they rights or privileges people of all stripes have fought and died to make it possible for people to be able to speak their minds, to have different views, to have a religion of their own and not be (in theory) persecuted for it. The politicians have won the people that should be able to fire them can’t because by Cthulhu they made it so that if we try or even think about trying what the founding fathers did we end up in undisclosed locations  having chats with people who do not exist. We blindly defend these idiots that wave, smile, and pander to the biggest and richest section of voters. I can almost guarantee if suddenly Atheists became the majority then all of the politicians they claim to be Christian would start to pander to them. 

I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel

    I was reading an article today about how Amazon may start charging sales taxes in certain states in order to have distributions centers there that could conceivably make it to where Amazon could deliver products next day or possibly even the same day. Now of course I had to go to the comments section and see what the internet troglodytes were saying about this move. Of course the main issues were buying American, avoiding, sales tax, and buying locally in mom and pop stores. Fist issues about buying American is this most of the things we use today is not made here due primarily to American companies having outsourced to China, so consumer’s not buying things made here isn’t the fault of the consumer buying things made in China because let’s be honest damn near everything is made there unless it’s clothes or food. And corporations have made it that way, what gets me is Amazon also carries products made here and it’s a bit easier to find them with a little *gasp* effort. Now buying locally is a thing I do not quite get locally how exactly?  All I really ever see are chain stores my fiancé and sister both run what could be seen as local businesses for their areas but also ship their products just about everywhere; the main problem with some local places is that they simply do not carry what you are after. For example I used a local computer company to build me a computer I gave the guy all the specs  and I heard that he was supposed to be really good at his job. What I got was a $600 POS, oh it looked pretty but did not run crap and I had to purchase separately an external WI-Fi adapter…that was supposed to be built into it already. None of the specs were used at all and he put bootleg programs on it, and a graphics card that couldn’t run well anything at all oh and to top it all off the damn thing died in less than 6 months due to a error the guy made.

   So I ordered a Toshiba laptop from Amazon…most likely made in China and guess what…no problems. The guy who made my monster POS was getting good reviews  for one reason…he was a local preacher then of course I find out later that many people who sent it a computer for repair or whatever  either had to wait months or got back the comp unfixed or half fixed and were still charged. He sold the place to somebody else since then.  Many times people will go to a local mom and pop for things like crafts or it’s a restaurant I honestly have never seen a local place to buy things like games or well anything most are chain stores. One post I saw mentioned book store and how Amazon’s lower prices have made them all but disappear…no it’s not Amazon having lower prices even though that helps its selection . Local used bookstores are a crap shoot at best and most times their selection stays the same for months if not years or their prices are just ridiculous. I understand making a profit but it is when you charge almost cover price for a used book just due to who the author is. An example is a bookstore we used to have in Paris TN where I am from, me and my friends went there to buy our gaming manuals because back then you had to drive to a mall to get stuff like that. Dice are normally $10 for a very decorative set, but she was charging that price for unfinished dice ones that normally went for less than $4, and the previous mentioned silly book price was her as well. After she went out of business she tried to sell us the manuals for full price even though they were all out of date.

     The same goes for a chain bookstore the last time I went to one I purchased maybe $30 in books, one two that I was after were both almost $25 each so I skipped them…one I found in a digital version for $9 bucks and this book was fairly old. The other I got for $15 digital….hmmmmm. Another issue with used bookstores is they may only carry books that the owner approves of or some of that shockingly awful paranormal romance/teen bs that is popular now. But what if you wanted a book about say Alistair Crowley or that satanic Harry Potter? You’d be out of luck. Amazon helps you find obscure books or ones that a local or store doesn’t have not to mention a ton of other products that you just cannot find on a local level. Now I do love shopping at local pawn shops because you may find some things there that you won’t anywhere else and also cheaper…such as seasons of TV shows. People will go and use the store that carries what they want.  And if Amazon starts with adding sales tax hell just add it in to the feature price and nobody would really notice at all. Personally I’d rather they did not charge it but that is because like many humans I like to get a deal or at least feel like I am. It’s not about avoiding paying taxes…even though I may feel the government gets enough from us.

Seriously here in GA you have federal tax, state tax, land tax, your car tags cost more if you have a newer car, and sales tax….so if a person wants to order something that skirts some tax in more power to them. I mean damn rich people can write off or avoid some taxes all together…so if you are reading this and are one of those that feel  that a person should have to pay extra on an online order the by all means give the crooks more money and shut the hell up junior!  Local businesses go under due to many factors either they charge more than a competitor, have no selection,  or could just be bad at business to name just a few of the reasons. Yeah online retailers take business from locals, but many locals have started to run just an online business. And yes Wal-Mart does hurt small business but at the same time it’s competition and folks many hate to go there for any reason so small chain stores and local places get more business  just due to Wal-Mart being a wretched hive of scum and villainy…complete with mutants and other strange individuals.

      What hurts local business and the whole buy American thing is that American corporations want to make their products as cheaply as possible and sell it to the consumer for a far higher profit. And as we have seen and experienced there is nothing to stop them from sending manufacturing jobs away. Oh they can blame unions and I agree to an extent unions have gotten away from the original purpose they were created for, but workers do need protection from corporations. It was not that long ago that people were seen as no better than disposable tools, they still are really but in not such obvious means. But corporations found a way around it all…just send the jobs to places like China. And *gasp* the government lets them….and then sit wondering why there are no jobs and why the economy is in the tank…it’s all those bills they signed allowing this to happen under the various presidents.

I was an adventurer like you...till I took an arrow to the knee.

    I was watching TV tonight and saw the commercial for Gamefly, where people are going into obviously what is supposed to be a game stop to trade in games and then having hissy fits for only getting nine bucks. Now not being a customer of Gamefly I have no real knowledge of how they operate and I will probably never become one due to certain concerns. For instance if this is a game rental company what is stopping people from getting messed up games? I get the whole try before you buy thing but at the same time what if it was like renting games back when video stores still existed? I remember one night having to take back three games in a row because they were so messed up they did not work and this was just a local store, I can only imagine what a national rental company’s games look like especially if they are sent by the postal service. Another issue I see is this commercial seems to be saying that you should get full value for a game you wish to trade in, now like any product once out of the package its value decreases quite a bit , and say you play it for a while and hate it so you want to take it back well sorry not goanna get the 60 bucks you dropped on the newest Call Of Duty: Same Ol Shit As Last Time game. What this commercial shows with people flipping out over not getting what they want for a game return is the sense of entitlement that not only permeates the gamer world but a lot of aspects of society today. I go to our local Gamestop often and have traded and bought a variety of games but unlike some it seems I know the drill. If you trade toward a new game you can get a $60 one for half that or more hell you could even if you have a few games that are crap get more for your trade.  It’s not a perfect system nor is it truly fair but folks neither is any aspect of life, and these are just video games.

       Video games are made to be disposable otherwise we’d still have those old cartages that could survive a nuclear war, not a DVD that one scratch can kill.  Simple research can help you avoid getting a game you will hate; a game has great graphics…so a lot of movies look good buck suck, that shiny car? The engine is about to blow, never judge anything by its look especially a game because that is all it is. When I decided on an Xbox it wasn’t because I was a fanboy of some type it was because I liked the games offered that the PS3 did not have. I looked into each and every game almost obsessively to avoid such pitfalls and I have to say I ended up with games with a bit of replay value and enough DLC that all I have to do is drop some cash or what not to add onto a game I love. DLC is annoying but hey what isn’t?  It is another way to make money on a product that may or may not last, I mean come on look at the sheer number of accessories we buy to add on to other products.

  This of course brings me to piracy in a roundabout way and I had no other way to jump topics lol, but it does fit. I have pirated music, movies, and yes committed the sin of pirating a few books (why did you make me do it George RR Martin!?!?!). Is it stealing yes I make no illusions about the morality of it. Why have I done it? I like free stuff like any other human, argue with me if you do that silly extreme couponing shit I DARE YOU.  I also do not like paying an outrageous sum to see or read something that could be a potential load of crap, if I like it then I do buy it. Now just to play devil’s advocate here what truly is the difference in downloading a song and it coming over the radio?  I have heard the song without having to pay for it so the artist gets no money from me or any other person that hears it on the radio unless they like the group or song. Now what about books? Does the author get any money from me if I buy it from a used books store? Or from however many people owned the book before me? The same goes for movies and games from places like a pawn shop or Gamestop if you buy used nobody that made the product gets the money for it. Well they did once when it was new, but after it changes hands from the original owner then what happens after no artist gets anything from it. Now what is the difference between me checking out a book from the library, reading it then returning it or borrowing a copy and doing the same from a friend and downloading a book then deleting it? The author got the money from one person buying the product. Other than the moral stealing is wrong argument with the existence of places where a person can buy used products makes most arguments circular. People will argue for both sides and toss up any argument they can yes entertainment companies are greedy and produce a lot of crap but at the same time well we still buy it. I have downloaded and probably will again like I said mainly to test something out before I buy it later I mean we test drive a car before we buy them, hell dating is test driving a person before making a commitment.  I know I’ll get some crap for admitting to raising the Jolly Rodger but hell I’m human, and in the eyes of the corporations anybody that ever borrowed something or bought it used has committed piracy. Why do you think that most of them want to make all of their products digital? They can code in all sorts of ways to make it to where it cannot be sold used or borrowed.