Ok, I messed up, BIG TIME.  I don’t know why I assumed 16GB would be enough for me.  Probably because my 16GB 3G had a good 8GB left of free space for most of it’s life with me.  I just thought to myself that I could spend the next two years on this contract packing in 8GB then calling it day in two year when according to Johnny Mnemonic, I’ll be storing 80GB in my head (160 if I use a doubler).  But that’s neither here nor there, I failed to take a few things into account.

Having that 5GB left made me sweat because:

A) The apps seemed to have grown in file size now, probably to take advantage of the beefier processor in this phone.

B) I’m taking videos everywhere like an idiot.  I’m going to add videoblog snippets to my posts eventually.  I need to stop following my girlfriend around the apartment, annoying her to no end, and instead focus on making relevant videos.

I know, I know, you’re probably saying, “Why don’t you just rotate and delete files?”  You see, I’m at the ripe old age of 33 where things like that drive me crazy.  I like to have all my pics and vids on hand, in case I see someone I know and say, “Hey, check out this vid where my buddy Sebastian reviews Eat, Pray, Love. I’m crazy like that.  Speaking of:

In conclusion, the future of Johnny Mnemonic’s world is probably only 2 years away (even though the writers wrongly predicted 2021) and I’m too impatient to wait.  For right now, I feel comfortable knowing by this time tomorrow, I’ll be able to record video and download apps without worrying about space.  AT&T overnighted me a 32GB phone and then I’ll be sending back the 16GB, both ways on their dime.  I can’t ask for anything better to be honest.

Playing games on your phone looks nothing as douchey as these hipster models hanging out, "Hey you on the right! Yeah you. Nice faggedy bracelet!"

Mobile gaming … sigh, it seems like it was just yesterday when I downloaded a game off my Nokia 6800 and said to myself, “WOW, what a piece of shit!”  It made first generation Gameboy games look like works of art (trust me, if we’re not talking Tetris, then you know what I mean). Then it seemed like 4 years went by with nothing going on.  Apparently a handful of the games that were based on the N-Gage platform turned out to be decent, but my phone couldn’t handle it so I never bothered.  As I put the phone in the my holster, I felt disgusted with the cost, the time it took to download, and the horrible quality of these mobile games.  Not to mention the difficulty in playing games with a cell phone keyboard.  I’m not even sure it recognized simultaneous button presses.

I never thought in a lifetime I’d come back to gaming on a phone.  Well, I don’t sigh when I think of mobile gaming now.  I thought we were going to be subjected to horrible software priced through the roof (i.e. Nokia, Verizon, etc.)  But here I am.  Playing on a touch screen no less.  I just spent 20 bucks this past week on some badass games, or time wasters as my buddy likes to call them and I don’t regret it one bit.  Apple changed the game for the better and there’s always something to play for everyone.  Although the App Store through the iPhone wasn’t the first of it’s kind, it did things right like Nokia and Verizon should have.  I think it succeeded because the games are aimed toward the casual crowd and the touch screen makes the lack of a control bad bearable.  I didn’t think it would work, but after owning an iPhone for nearly 2 years (I’m on my second one now), I’ve finally succumbed to the evil clutches of Apple!

I’m not sure how often I’ll be making these entries, but if the games keep coming as they have been so far, then so will my dollars.

Now for the mini-reviews:

Plants vs. Zombies ($2.99, Pop Cap Games)

I never really get into tower defense games.  I play them here and there and forget about them in a week.  If I was asked to spontaneously name my favorite games (quick: Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter 3s, Battle Garegga, River City Ransom, etc.), none would be a tower defense game.  So it comes with a great shock and much pleasure that I’ve been head over heels for Plants vs. Zombies.  This game has charm and character.  I’m just as sick as everyone else with the whole zombie fad but in this instance, they’ve put together a great game.

These guys want to kick your ass and eat your brains.

Who would’ve thought pitting plants against zombies would turn out to be so fun?  The gameplay is pretty standard fare but with a horticulture theme (did I just type that?)  You plant plants, who have different modes of attacks and defense against waves of zombies who are trying to infiltrate your house (castle).  As you move on in levels, different variables are introduced such as more powerful zombies, limited ways to get power ups, etc.  They even mix it up with bowling and wack-a-mole type stages.  I’m not sure when it ends (I’m intentionally trying to take my time), but if it were to end at the point I’m at right now, I’d still say it’s worth 2.99.

Crazy Dave thinks you should totally buy this game.

Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu and ESPGaluda II ($8.99 each, Cave Co., Ltd)

It might be a bit unfair to lump these two into one mini-review, but I don’t think breaking down the different gameplay points would matter much.  I know earlier I said these games are great for the “casual” crowd but even these niche games are easy to play for the casual gamer in us all.  I’m not going to lie, I’m a shmup fan.  I love tough as nails games that I might someday beat.  But really, anyone can get into these games and it’s crazy that the iPhone can handle them and be very playable at the same time.

DoDonPachi Shooting goodness!

There’s going to have to dodge bullets and more bullets and MORE bullets.  You can cancel the bullets in different ways and sometimes you’ll just get lucky and dodge them.  All this done with a touch screen.  Before you run away and call me a loon, keep reading.  The touch controls actually work.  The games are very playable and in some instances bullets slow down to help you dodge them.  Both games have their devices.  In ESPGaluda II you have the bullet-time effect which helps slow down the bullets and cancel them to make certain stretches easier and rack up points.  While DoDonPachi uses super canons to cancel bullets and a nifty chaining system for scoring.

Bullets, Bullets, and more Bullets. Courtesy of Cave and ESPGaluda II.

I’m not going to get into anymore gameplay details, but I’m telling you, these games are the creme of the crop.  Excellent presentation, excellent music, and easy to play (especially with auto-bomb).  The price might be a deterrent to non-fans so thankfully Cave offers a free demo for ESPGaluda II that you should definitely check out, nothing for DoDonpachi yet.  The games might seem pricey but when you’re the best company making games in a niche genre, you have price accordingly.

Twenty Dollars Later …

So my wallet is a bit lighter, my bathroom breaks are a bit longer, and find myself nearly missing my stops on the subway, but overall I haven’t had this much fun gaming in a long time.  These games aren’t perfect.  PvZ is a bit on the easy side, while the two shmups can be a little bit too much on the non-seasoned player.  But I can look past all that because I can game anywhere!  Sometimes for 5 minutes at a time, sometimes for less.  Doctor’s offices, subway rides, waiting in line at the local coffee shot, etc.  Nothing can stop me … except the battery life of my phone.  Luckily the iPhone 4 lasts longer than the 3G, but not as long as my Nokia.  But who uses these things to make calls anymore?  That’s for another post.

Happy gaming.

Another day in the 2-1-3

I think this is a great idea.  Make a Wikipedia entry entertaining and informative.  I know it could backfire, especially with the millions of wannabe comedians that live on the internet, but in this case it worked out great.  It’s basically a breatkdown of the lyrics to Warren G’s top 100 hit, “Regulate,” from 1994.  I’m going to repost it here after the jump in case it gets taken off.

Synopsis

On a cool, clear night (typical to Southern California) Warren G travels through his neighborhood, searching for women with whom he might initiate sexual intercourse. He has chosen to engage in this pursuit alone.^[6]

Nate Dogg, having just arrived in the east side of Long Beach, seeks Warren. On his way to find Warren, Nate passes a car full of women who are excited to see him. Regardless, he insists to the women that there is no cause for excitement.

Warren makes a left turn at 21st Street and Lewis Ave, in the East Hill/Salt Lake neighborhood^[7], where he sees a group of young men enjoying a game of dice together. He parks his car and greets them. He is excited to find people to play with, but to his chagrin, he discovers they intend to relieve him of his material possessions. Once the hopeful robbers reveal their firearms, Warren realizes he is in a less than favorable predicament.

Meanwhile, Nate passes the women, as they are low on his list of priorities. His primary concern is locating Warren. After curtly casting away thestrumpets (whose interest in Nate was such that they crashed their automobile), he serendipitously stumbles upon his friend, Warren G, being held up by the young miscreants.

Warren, unaware that Nate is surreptitiously observing the scene unfold, is in disbelief that he is being robbed. The perpetrators have taken jewelry and a Rolex Watch from Warren, who is so incredulous that he asks what else the robbers intend to steal. This is most likely a rhetorical question.

Observing these unfortunate proceedings, Nate realizes that he may have to use his firearm to deliver his friend from harm.

The tension crescendos as the robbers point their guns to Warren’s head. Warren senses the gravity of his situation. He cannot believe the events unfolding could happen in his own neighborhood. As he imagines himself making a fantastical escape, he catches a glimpse of his friend, Nate.

Nate has seventeen cartridges (sixteen residing in the pistol’s magazine, with a solitary round placed in the chamber and ready to be fired) to expend on the group of robbers. Afterward, hegenerously shares the credit for neutralizing the situation with Warren, though it is clear that Nate did all of the difficult work. Putting congratulations aside, Nate quickly reminds himself that he has committed multiple homicides to save Warren before letting his friend know that there are females nearby if he wishes to fornicate with them.

Warren recalls that it was the promise of copulation that coaxed him away from his previous activities, and is thankful that Nate knows a way to satisfy these urges. Nate quickly finds the women who earlier crashed their car on Nate’s account. He remarks to one that he is fond of her physical appeal. The woman, impressed by Nate’s singing ability, asks that he and Warren allow her and her friends to share transportation. Soon, both friends are driving with automobiles full of women to the East Side Motel, presumably to consummate their flirtation in an orgy.

The third verse is more expository, with Warren and Nate explaining their G Funk musical style. Warren displays his bravado by daring anyone to approach the style. There follows a brief discussion of the genre’s musicological features, with special care taken to point out that in said milieu the rhythm is not in fact the rhythm, as one might assume, but actually the bass. Similarly the bass serves a purpose closer to that which the treble would in more traditional musical forms. Nate displays his bravado by claiming that individuals with equivalent knowledge could not even attempt to approach his level of lyrical mastery. Nate goes on to note that if any third party smokes as he does, they would find themselves in a state of intoxication almost daily (from Nate’s other works, it can be inferred that the substance referenced is marijuana^[8]). Nate concludes his delineation of the night by issuing a threat to “busters,” suggesting that he and Warren will further “regulate” any potential incidents in the future (presumably by engaging their antagonists with small arms fire).

It’s not really spam or trashing, it’s educational and it’s loaded with links to other Wikipedia articles, which can encourage the reader to spend hours surfing Wikipedia soaking in information.  It reminds me of the famous translated rap battle that made the rounds on YouTube a couple of years ago:

Anyway, I’m busy trying to get a job and I’ll try to stick to a 3 post a week schedule.  Take care.

I’ve never been a person to adopt something early in a products lifecycle.  It always seems like the first version of any product is a beta, especially in this day and age where companies are pressured to release a new update every year.  Look at the first people to purchase the iPhone.  While it was beautiful, it had many things that were improved or changed in the next iteration, mainly the change from a 2G network to a 3G network, but also, they dumped the aluminum backing because they found out that it lead to poor reception compared with the plastic backing of the 3G to the current lineups.

The first Nintendo DS was also horrific.  It wasn’t even designed to close uniformly.  The screens touched each other (causing peebles to scratch it), it was hideously big, and the brightness was almost unbearable.  Again, this was fixed to a great extent on the subsequent release of the DS Lite, where brightness, a uniform clamshell design, and battery life were all adressed.  Nintendo is especially guilty of unleashing beta handheld products in their first iteration.  I’m not sure I have the willpower to wait it out for  the second iteration of their forthcoming 3DS handheld.  It looks freaking sweet.  I’m even going to assume that the news of it caught Sony by surprise so they in turn decided to hold off on the assumed PSP2 announcement at this past e3.

The reason why I’m discussing this topic in the first place is because I’m probably going to order a Kindle 3 here soon.  The price point ($189 with free 3G), present library, battery life, and overall performance of the product made it well worth the wait.  I never thought about buying it because of the price and also because I wasn’t sure it was going to take off, but when you’re patient, you see how well it performs in the marketplace, the support it has garnered, and also the surprise they can offer such a superior product at a great price point made it worth it.

Sometimes when something new hits the marketplace, I find it hard to resist purchasing it and I may resort to some extreme measures: pawning stuff on ebay/craigslist, cutting corners (fast food, cheap beer, reusing toothpaste … I kid), etc.  Now, I tread with more caution.  It seems like companies now need 2 to 3 generations to get it “right” these days (I’m looking at you Apple and Google.)  It’s like with the forthcoming 3DS I have to question myself, “Do I want to be a beta tester or reap the rewards a year or two from now?”

A mess of things all glued together to form my metaphor on this website.  But I have no freakin clue how to use Photoshop or  Gimp or other similar programs.  I think I’ll spend the next few days teaching myself these things because I want to start writing again on this blog.  It’s been too long since the last post and I just renamed it (again).

This time I think it’ll stick … I hope.

As I mentioned before, I’ve been planning out a new writing project using the 1967 riots of Detroit as a backdrop.  What I was searching for were first hand accounts of what had happened during that event.  During my continued research I landed on a book entitled Eyes on Fire: Witnesses to the Detroit Riot of 1967.  Now prior to this, I spent my time on web forums reading posts about that day.  I was also fortunate enough to get some first hand accounts from some Detroiters themselves.  I though this book might help, but there weren’t any reviews so I had no idea if it would be sufficient or not.  Unfortunately, I found this book was very unpolished and filled with amateurish writing.

The book contains 13 accounts of what happened during the riots, but unfortunately this book is filled with throwaways and fillers which detract from any concrete recollections that one could consider worthy of research or understanding.  I’d like to start off by saying that I respect that Mary Moceri’s grandchildren wanted to immortalize her words in the book, but there is no substance to it. It adds nothing to the book. There is also the case of some repeat wring from Dorothy Jackson Kimble, who more or less repeats in verbatim what her daughter wrote much earlier in the book and Walter Campbell’s 3 paragraphs were the epitome of a throwaway.

In fact, the only stories that are truly worth reading are Rayne Showers recollection of her brave Grandfather who tried to stop some “punks” from throwing molotov cocktails at a gas station and ending with her Grandmother making sandwiches for scared and clueless National Guardsmen who were treading unknown territory. Also, Brenda Cornish’s somber and endearing reflection of a community that lost on all ends by destroying their own city.  This is refreshing, much better than Sylvia’s McClain’s feelings of vindication and her unrelated political slants that have no place in this book.

Mono D’Angelo’s tale of how naive he was didn’t do anything for the book, as well. In fact, his story had almost nothing to do with the riot except how he once knew this black guy that was decent man and how he felt empathy for him … complete waste of space.  It almost had nothing to do with the riots. Wanda Kimble Keys story was also bland and overshadowed by her mother Dorothy Jackson Kimble’s account of the riots. Her mother’s account of the riots was treading the right direction but unfortunately needed a bit more substance.  I especially enjoyed her breakdown of the “order to the disorder”, in that rioters were being guided by men who were breaking windows of businesses, encouraging looting, then eventually setting those places on fire.

One note, the story by Elder Minor Palm, Jr  had an interesting tidbit that I wasn’t aware of. He talked about how Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael ruined the progress that black people had made in Detroit up to that point. Going as to far as to talk about Rap Brown shouting, “Burn, Baby! Burn!” with a loudspeaker.  I didn’t know this and if there had been more to the story I would’ve given the book a better endorsement.  I’d like to know how those two controversial figures played a part in the riots.

If you want to truly learn more about the riots, do some googling and find some web forums where everyone talks about their experience.  This book doesn’t do a good job of providing people with detailed and well-written accounts of the 1967 riots.  It’s more or less a collection of amateurish essays pasted together into a book and sold for a higher price than the value contained within.

uDac (left) vs Keces 151 (right)

I had some free time and spent the better part of the last three days comparing two Digital-to-Analog (DAC) convertors.  I’d like to note that I chose to compare a portable DAC to a desktop DAC only to see if the term “giant killer” can stick with the small wonder known as the uDac.  I’d like to note that sound can be difficult thing to review because in the end it’s subjective.  What may sound good to me, may not sound good to others.  I tried to cover a variety of genres, but ultimately I don’t listen to everything.  Some of my favorite songs (punk and rap) were recorded in lo-fi, so I can’t possibly review everything I want.  I fed each DAC to my Little Dot I+ headphone amplifier.  A nice little audio budget-file product.

The uDac (105 USD with shipping):

The Little Wonder from a promising company

The uDac comes from a startup company from California known as NuForce.  They’ve only been around for a short while but have made a splash in portable audio with their pocket amps and headphones.  They also have desktop headphone amps, hi-fi audio components, and desktop speakers, but we’ll be focusing on their newest creation the uDac, a USB-outboard sound card.  It uses the newest state of the art state of the art ESS9022 Sabre DAC which are highly regarded in the audiophile community and also used in their top of the line audio components.

The Keces-151 (365 USD with shipping):

The Keces 151 (The Giant)

The Keces-151 is from a small company based out of Taiwan, run by a man named David Wei.    The 151 is built around an old dependable DAC chip, the PCM2702.  Unlike the Sabre chip, this chip has been around for quite some time and was also used in the Firestone Fubar II DAC I used to own.  Use of the same chip in two different products does not mean you’ll have the same exact sound.  It’s all about implementation and in this case, Keces did not disappoint.  Before I continue on, I’d like to rest assure all doubts about the quality of Keces products, it’s above average in terms of build quality compared to a lot of products I’ve seen come out of companies based in China and Taiwan.  David is serious about giving the consumer a good product and great service, so don’t hesitate to deal with him.  He’s very professional.

Now on to the shootout!

I’ll be using the following headphones:

Grado SR-125i
Grado SR-225 (classics)
Denon D2000

Songs (in lossless unless otherwise noted):

Bobby Darin – More (2004 Remastered) [253 VBR]
Blondie – Heart of Glass
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
Average White Band – Pick Up the Pieces
Boston – More Than a Feeling
Common – Be (Intro) [320]
Beatles – I’m Looking Through You (remastered)
Beatles – Get Back (remastered)
Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child of Mine
Nas – Nas is Like (PREEEEEMO)

I spent the next few days listening that set of songs.  I did full rounds with the same headphones, then I switched to the other ones to see if missed something.  I came back with favorable impressions of the uDac, but first, I’d liket o note what the Keces does “better”.  First off, the biggest difference between the two is the way the Keces accurately presents bass notes. A difference I heard using the two Grados, but I was more acutely aware of using my Denons.  The Keces also has better separation.  I felt the uDac put a little too much emphasis with putting the vocals ahead of everything else.

That being said, I still like the uDac.  The forward presentation with silky mids and a slight tilt toward being bright is a nice change of pace.  There were a few songs where I got lost in the music, namely “Pick up the Pieces” and “Looking Through You.”  The highs are very pleasing and the detail is nearly on the same plane as the Keces.  The only thing about it, is that when I switched between them rapidly, I’d notice that the Keces gave me a more balanced and fuller sound, I suppose that’s the trade off to focusing more on the mids and highs.

It may have sounded like I’ve been downplaying the uDac, but au contrare!  The uDac is after all no bigger than a tin of altoids and performs remarkably well considering it doesn’t have a dedicated power supply like the Keces.  People are always searching for “giant killers.”  I know I am.  I wanted to see how it stacked up and I think it did fairly well.  It currently sits on my desk being used as my headphone DAC/amp for my Grados.  I had to put away the Little Dot I+ until I move into a new place, while the Keces is being used to run to my NHT M-00 Active Monitors.  The inbuilt headphone amp of the uDac works great with my Grados, and I’ll be using that pairing as my perfect travel partners.

Back then, there were very few games I couldn’t finish.  I’m not going to be modest about this, I was pretty damn good when I was a kid.  I beat some tough games of that era like Double Dragon, Zelda II, Battletoads, Rygar, The Adventures of Bayou Billy (I can’t believe I beat this game), Mike Tyson’s Punchout, and Bionic Commando (this was considered tough but I can ace it these days).

Back to Sunsoft, they were a fantastic company back then.  I even went so far as to join their fanclub of which I received one newletter and never to hear from them again.  The 16-bit era came and went and I never got a chance to play Blaster Master 2.  When I finally did play on it an emulator, I was overjoyed to know it was better I kept those good memories of the first.  These days they sort of faded into obscurity.

I was bored and did some Wikipedia digging and found out they went through restructuring in 1995 (bankruptcy) and this is probably one of the biggest reasons this company sort of faded away.  But after doing some digging I found two very interesting looking NES games from that era that may deserve a second look:

Uforia: The Saga

A Super Mario like platformer with some snazzy graphics (for 8-bit that is) and good music.  I can’t wait to fire this one up.  It was never released in the US, only in Japan, Europe, and Australia.

also:

Gimmik!

Another platformer that reminded me of the Kirby games artistically.  It was actually released a few months before Kirby on the NES, but besides the graphical similarities, the games doesn’t resemble it from a gameplay point of view. Once again, this never came out in the US, but it was released in Europe as well as Japan.

I’m going to go ahead and give these two games some of my time and see how they play.  I’ll post impressions soon (hopefully).

The Denon AH-D2000 Headphones with JMoney Leather Pads

Plenty of times we try to cut corners and enter the realm that only the rich or lucky get into. Most of us try to take the easy road but usually end up with results that are  frivolous and shallow … except in this case!  You see, for the low price of these headphones, you finally get a taste of true audio extravagance, filet mignon at a budget price!

The Denon AH-D2000s are some of the most refined headphones I’ve ever come across that don’t cost an arm and a leg. There’s something about the sound and build that just screams quality. It doesn’t matter what you’re playing either. It can easily be enjoyable playing hip-hop and electronic as it is playing rock and jazz.

I’m kind of a late bloomer when it comes to these headphones. I only heard about them recently and I wish I would’ve known about them before. I’m playing song after song on my playlist and rediscovering music as I haven’t heard before. It could be the lead singer taking a deep breath before singing a verse or even the hum of bass guitar as the bassist gets ready to play, these headphones can be chalked up as a revealing delight. Now, I don’t want you to think this is an analytical or neutral sounding set of headphones. You’ll hear unheard details, but then you’ll be thrown into the nice impact of the bass making it more of a musical (or fun) sound.

Now the design is one of my favorites. Aesthetically it draws my friends like moths sittings amongst my collection. They feel comfy on your head and the construction is sturdy and solid. It sits on my head nicely while the cushions rest perfectly around your ears (and my ears are big!).

Amping these things are a bit touchy, and by that I mean you may not get the “full picture” if you don’t use a proper amp. I purchased a nice, yet inexpensive, headphone amp and they sound great. But I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t run well straight out of the headphone input of my iPod and laptop. They ran a bit better from my audio video receiver but it lacked all those nice details and bass my headphone amp provided. The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot to get good sound. It just has to be better than your average headphone output, that’s all. Most portable amps or small desktop amps should be sufficient. If you want recommendations, email me.

When all is said and done, I can’t seem to take these off my head. I rarely use my powered speakers anymore (I can’t buy a subwoofer because of the neighbors) and my other headphones are starting to collect dust.

The only real drawback I can think of to these headphones is some people might not like the sparkly highs mixed with the thumping bass. It might seem like too much of a contrast with not enough midrange in between, but to me it’s sweet gravy and needs to be heard before judging. These headphones are meant to be fun and engaging rather than neutral and analytical.

Another minor complaint is I feel the headphone wire could’ve been a bit better. It’s stiff and prone to tangling. But even with these small drawbacks, I wouldn’t hesitate pulling out the old plastic for a pair. It’s not just me either, they have a nice following among audio enthusiasts. Buy a nice amp and perhaps check out the aftermarket support for them (I replaced the stock pads with beefier pads).

You’ll be happy you did and you’ll get back to enjoying your collection all over again.

Pros:

Nice hard-hitting bass, the kind that’d make anyone smile.
Classy design and a luxurious feel.

Cons:

Amplification is a bit touchy.
Headphone wire is prone to tangling.