If I ever need a hip hop stage name, I think I'll go by the name Deathly Ill.

Go to reggae night at Tropicoso next Thursday. When they ask what band you're there to see, say Lion's Paw. Order a Red Stripe for each hand, and one for the photographer.

Source.

This game will have you squatting behind every bush in sight. But hilarious duty jokes aside, COD is a lot of fun.

First and foremost, the controls. You aim and turn by pointing the wiimote, you move with the nunchuk stick. And it works very well. Better than mouselook. The learning curve is quick, and aside from occasionally getting hung on a low-lying obstacle, fluid movement is very easy to achieve.

The other motion control features make for a very intuitive interface; a little jerk with the nunchuk changes weapons, stabbing with the wiimote does exactly what you'd expect, holding the two like a steering wheel drives the occasional jeep.

Even the gimmicky stuff like rowing a boat and planting explosives are amusing and adequately short-lived. If nothing else, they add a little ingenuity and variety to your tasks.

And that's all you need to like this game. Akin to playing Mario or Mario 64 for the first time, the extra degree of freedom is a revelation. I'll play Halo 3 and Army of Two, but I'll sure wish I could swap the joysticks for an aiming device - as my stick-adept cohorts plaster me with Covenant grenades.

Beyond that, COD is lackluster. The graphics are subpar and the ai is pretty weak, aside from the standard set of scripted enemy cleverties like shooting around corners and nading you when you're hunkered behind fortifications. The sound guys need to be fired, which is apparent from the outset when the sarge's useless chiding/instructions loop mercilessly until you crawl under the barbed wire to find your armaments.

It's definitely an okay game turned very good, thanks to the innovative control mechanism.

This might matter to you if you live in San Diego. Sorrento Valley Road, at the top of the hill between I-5 and Camino Santa Fe.
There's a very small cul-de-sac on the westbound side. Three times in the past two months I've seen bike officers standing on the sidewalk shooting radar. They're very hard to see even if you know what you're looking for. This morning was the most recent time. Each time has been commuting to work.
In the past three months I've once seen a car at the bottom of that hill and once at the top, going after eastbound traffic.

Update (01/10/2007): There again this morning. Also on the hill were two Lambos and a Ferrari, probably some Symbolic employees. I know I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.
Update (01/12/2007): Three this morning. Wow.
Update (01/18/2007): Yup, today too.
Update (01/19/2007): Again. Maybe motorcycle cops have been tasked with singlehandedly solving San Diego's financial problems.
Update (01/25/2007): This time on the island, sneaky.
Update (01/31/2007): Uh huh.
Update (02/15/2007): Back at it.
Update (03/20/2007): Two bikes in the normal spot, two at the park east of Santa Fe, and a cruiser at the bottom of the hill, though probably not on traffic.
Update (04/03/2007): They nailed someone coming eastbound.
Update (04/25/2007): In the parking lot just east of the normal spot.
Update (04/26/2007): Got someone eastbound way out by Ruiz. Maybe shot radar from the park.
Update (05/03/2007): Poor eastbound M3 got caught.
Update (05/14/2007): Hiding out in the same place but with road work going on.

Source.

I've often found myself explaining why people line the walls of airports and libraries with their laptops. So maybe this blog can be of some practical use. Maybe these four bullets could reduce stress in your life and give you a good conversation piece at parties.

Guidelines to keeping your battery healthy:

1. Run the battery all the way down before charging.
2. Turn the device off to charge it.
3. Charge it all the way.
4. Don't leave it plugged in after full charge.

These are especially important the first few charge cycles of a battery's life. Afterwards it's best to do these things whenever possible. Obviously, sometimes this isn't possible - as these are mobile devices. But the more you follow these points, the longer your battery will last.
This goes for cells, laptops, cameras, gameboys...

I was never one to get hyphy about this holiday we call New Year's, save for it's justification of combusting fireworks. But on the bright side, I can now start saying passe things are so 2007.

Last night was a DivX/Scripps Research people party. Needless to say, The White Lambda, CS, and The Heidi Report were highly entertaining. But such is the case when Red Bull and Skyy are combined with convicts and indirect fraternal oversight.