New Computer!

There she is! (Through a camera filter) 

I recently built a new computer on a budget and it's been running fairly smoothly! The specs are:

Motherboard: Asrock z68 pro 3

Ram: 8GB (cheapest available) 

CPU: i5 2500k (OC 4.6Ghz)

GPU: GTX560 Ti Twin Frozr II (OC 950Mhz)

PSU: TX650 Corsair

Case: Zalman 79

Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Heatsink

The Monitor, HDD, Optical Drive, Mouse and keyboard all came from my old build and are fairly old!

This of course, doesn't affect the performance of the machine EXCEPT in the case of the HDD.

LUCKILY, DragonBlogger is hosting an amazing give away at the moment for a Kingston SSDNow V+200! So while I try my luck I suggest anyone interested does the same and importantly, is sure to check out the rest of Dragonblogger.com ! (Giveaway detailed below also)

Fail, Success!

Well now, I'm a big fan of the game Team Fortress 2 on PC. I had it since it was released, back when it wasn't "Free to Play", so I am somewhat of a dedicated fan (or at least feel like one).


But my post today is gonna cover two things;

I FUCKING HATE PYROS
Not to sound too vulgar, but they really Grind my Gears. I don't think that the Pyro being hailed as the easiest class is a misconception at all. First of all they have a wide and far radius of attack (with flamethrower), a back-attack bonus AND they set you on fire for regular damage that lasts an awfully long time. To be fair valve have steadily updated the game to balance certain aspects but they've done little to the Pyro. I'm not claiming that anyone can be pro with the Pyro but anyone can do game changing damage as one.


This rant basically spawns from a game last night in which i took my Spy half way across the map, was randomly flamed on by a Pyro who was attacking a teammate (the pyro died not even knowing i existed) and i subsequently died from the mini-crit + flames! It just seemed far too unfair.


I WOKE UP BEFORE 10am

Ducking success! All that talk in my last blog must have helped. Woke up, took the dog for a walk, showered, breakfast, visit to the bank all before 12am. It's like the start of Couch to 5km except for conscious hours in the day.


Anyway Thanks for the follows and comments so far! It's great having new things to read at hand so regularly.


JMerrick.

Sleep is the Enemy

I'm stuck!


I'm currently on a break from college until it starts back up in February and I must say, this is fucking up my sleep cycle. Today i woke up at 12, with the intention of waking up at 7. Yeah, that is rather early but there just needs to be more daylight hours in a persons day.


Now, i do set my alarm every night, for 7. But when i wake up, it isn't unusual for me to have either slept through it, turned it off or even have switched it to 'pm'. All subconsciously too, even if i put my phone (alarm) across the room i might wake up with a slim memory of flinging myself across the place to grab it but nothing in great detail.I do, on occasion wake up naturally. Still a bit tired, but usually earlier than my intended rise. Annoyingly this is never convenient. I've done some research about sleep and have learnt a few things.


1. What you need is REM sleep.
The state of Rapid Eye Movement is when the brain and your body are really recovering. Unluckily this state takes a good deal of time (90 minutes, from memory) and if you are woken from this or near to this stage, you wake with the shitty feeling that sends you (and me) straight back under the covers.


2. REM sleep comes in waves.
You basically want to be woken up at the opposite end of the dip into REM sleep. This i believe is that feeling of waking up totally naturally, an alarm ten minutes to or from this point is probably best.




3. Electronic screens before bed is BAD.
So is food in general and any other strenuous activity. I agree since i had a stint where i read before bed and it helped quite a bit but since i got my android phone that schedule is out the window.


4. Schedule is key.
Aim to go to bed at a certain time, and have the lights off and your eyes closed (No playing Tiny Tower or Checking twitter on your phone). Pick a decent time to wake up. What i learnt from back in my secondary school days is that if you keep getting yourself out of bed at the same time everyday, your body will anticipate this and make you tired at the right time at night. Doing what your body tells you to do is nearly always the way to go.


That's all i can really think of in regards to sleep. But i'd probably think of more after a more defined nights sleep.


Oh and check out this website for a little more detail on sleep cycles and when to wake up.
http://sleepyti.me/


JMerrick.

A Music Post.

Maybe it's a bit too soon for a second post. But what is a normal frequency of new blog posts anyway?


Truckfighters!


I've been listening the heck outta these guys the past few days. I don't usually tell people that i'm a fan of one particular style of music but these guys and this sort of sound really makes me want to dedicate a part of myself to Stoner Rock.

I'll just embed this video right here. Go ahead and have a listen. The thing that sets this kind of music apart is the way it just punches out heavy, deep tones from start to finish but with just the right finesse that it sounds great. Some might listen and think this is just lazy, drop C on a guitar and slap the strings and you have that sound. True, you'll get a familiar sound, but every song by these bands (Truckfights, Fu Manchu, The almighty Kyuss) stands on it's own two legs outside of that fact. The riffs are tentatively extracted from the blaring noise and are always a feature. The Drums and Bass work to make each songs rhythm entertaining by complimenting not only the lead, but each other as well. The Drums can be left to take the role of a bridge just as easily as the Bass and Guitar could. What i'm saying is no instrument played goes unnoticed.


I play Guitar myself and the Truckfighter song Helium 28
(the end) just made me want to drop what i was doing and go play. The whole acoustic aspect to Stoner Rock (Desert Rock) really gives the good bands of this genre a pedestal to stand on.




Anyway!


Where's the Stoner rock community of the blogosphere? Give a shout!

First Post.

Hello!


This is my first post and I can say I'm very excited to start blogging regularly. I thought i would start off by writing about something fresh in my mind which would have to be a video game i just finished called Darksiders.

A single player action-adventure game, you take on the role of War, one of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse. From the very beginning you are thrown into a battle scene. Flung (literally) into a destruction ridden city War and the player are left confused and made to fight their way past violent creatures and demons to try and gather some sense.


The controls for this game are incredibly basic, one button to attack with your big 'f**k-off' sword, one to attack with a secondary weapon and the shoulder buttons used for locking-on, using special items and generally most projectile attacks. This is really what stuck out in my mind about this game, the controls were as old school as God of War but had the capacity to pull off moves akin to the old Legend of Zelda titles. Once all the primary mechanics are introduced the system doesn't change for the rest of the game, but still manages to impress. What does progress are the moves that are controlled by these simple buttons, one purchase is all it takes to make a systematic double tap of 'attack' into a room clearing whirlwind of slaughter.

The style and look of the game impress. There isn't a huge focus on them but they come through whether in the styling of the menus and cut-scenes or the slow reveal of the diverse vistas. The graphics don't disappoint.


Few games entice me to repeat for the simple sake of a few Trophies/Achievements but Darksiders is one such game. Standing it next to the uncharted series in my mind, not to suggest that they are similar games at all (except maybe for the puzzle elements).


It's safe to reveal that a sequel is left possible (and is confirmed) at the end. I will certainly be picking up that sequel, probably near enough to launch. While War was a broody but fun character to play the role of, the famous horseman Death should prove much more exciting. I can't quite say the same for a 3rd and 4th installation mind you, not that I don't have faith in the developers. But I just can't see Famine and Conquests' characters coming off quite as bad-ass as Death and War.

Right then! My first post, I hoped it was worth a look. I doubt that I'll be focusing too much on games in the future so i don't think this reviewing thing will become a habit. I'm also looking for some like-minded blogs to get into as well so if anything i say catches your attention then i'll probably be interested in reading what you have to say!


JMerrick.