]]> http://wernermueck.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=194 0 http://wernermueck.com/blog/?p=188 http://wernermueck.com/blog/?p=188#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:22:27 +0000 Werner Mueck http://wernermueck.com/blog/?p=188 For the last month or so I’ve been coloring the Revolution 2096-2098 (30+ cards) for Champions of the Galaxy online. That’s why you may have noticed more colored pictures popping up around here. The picture I’m sharing was posted by Kris Osk on the CotG message board as a bit of a teaser and fan reward. The Revolution sets precede the Brian Michael Bendis era of Champions of the Galaxy but this picture here was drawn by Bendis himself back in the early nineties. It was colored in Photoshop and the background is a filtered up photograph with flashes placed over it.

I’ve been a fan of wrestling video games for a long time and more so since the Create a Wrestler feature came along. For the last several years I’ve tried to recreate my W3 Wrestling Federation in these games, most recently for Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 on Xbox 360.

I did this lineup earlier this year but never got around to sharing mainly because of the way my camera works. Either the batteries are dead even though they were charged over night or I couldn’t figure out the settings. I couldn’t use a flash but the only setting I have without flash is Landscape. Landscape takes horrible pictures unless the subject is completely still. I got past this by putting my finger over the flash (to keep the reflection off the tv screen).

Still the results aren’t that great but it gives you an idea of what the federation looks like. When I’m able to, I want to hook up the Xbox to the computer and make some videos. that probably won’t happen until way after SVR 2010 comes out which I think is next month. That’s another reason I decided to post these today. —–> W3 Created Wrestlers for SVR 09.
]]> http://wernermueck.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=170 0 http://wernermueck.com/blog/?p=167 http://wernermueck.com/blog/?p=167#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:06:00 +0000 Werner Mueck http://wernermueck.com/blog/?p=167 I discovered Pandora after getting an internet upgrade. I was looking for some sort of online radio and the concept of Pandora really appealed to me. When you sign up (free) you can create your own radio station. You do this by adding artists or songs to your station. The Pandora site adds songs similar to your choices to your station.

While you listen to your station, you have the option to skip a song, give it a thumbs up (adds it to your station and plays it more often), or thumbs down (which removes the song from your station permanently and skips the song). If you listen to your station frequently and use these options, pretty soon your station will begin to shape up into what you want it to sound like.

Now, there are a few restrictions. I don’t think you can request a song specifically and hear it. It is probably added to your station but will come up randomly like everything else. You also only get a certain amount of skips and thumbs down per hour. Now the way past this is to create (or flip to) another station. I have several stations, 3 pop/rock, 3 pop/rock oldies, 2 country, 2 country oldies, and one specifically for Beatles type music.

Ok, now that the description of the service is out of the way, I’m going to start bitching about it. Things have changed with Pandora since I started making my stations there.

As of whenever they changed things, your skips per hour count toward all your stations. You can still switch to another station but if it’s playing a song you don’t like and you used up your skips for that hour, you either have to sit through the song or keep flipping stations. Also, I’ve noticed that the skip allowance doesn’t always reset after an hour. Here’s the best part. It seems as if the program is throwing random crap into the station to cause you to use up your skips quicker. If it were one song it would be bad enough but you’ll get a string of songs that have absolutely nothing to do with your station (I was listening to my Beatles station last night and it played the Dixie Chicks, who I hate on my best day).

They’ve also started to play unskippable ad spots. That doesn’t annoy me too much but it seems like the commercials are popping up more and more frequently. I almost hit a 40 hour a month listening limit last month that I didn’t know about. I guess you have to pay for the service once you hit the limit. It’ll also stop the music between songs if you become “inactive”. I like to put the music on while I’m doing other computer work and sometimes there’s a long string of music I’ve approved. It’ll stop and wait until I push a button to confirm I haven’t died. I guess that’s a good thing though. Wouldn’t want to burn through my 40 hours while sitting on the toilet.

Why should all this bother me when it’s a free service. I guess it’s because I put a lot of time into molding my stations and they don’t seem to have the constraints I put on them anymore. It’s just something that has annoyed me lately.

Note: We’re on a bit of a Beatles kick around here (who isn’t). This song was conceived by my nephew Jarod so I thought I’d work on it and post it.

The Bat Signal is calling me.
Joker busted Harley Quinn free.
And I’m the Batman!
Yeah, I’m the Batman!

I hop into the Batmobile.
Why does my new Bat fan belt squeel?
Oh I’m the Batman!
Yeah, I’m the Batman!

(If I see Scarecrow) I’ll break his trance…
(If I see Riddler) I’ll solve his rants…
(If I see Ivy) I’ll kill her plants…
(If it’s Killer Croc) I’ll crap my pants.

‘Cos I’m the Batman!
Yeah! I’m the Batman!

Don’t ask me where I get my toys!
(Ah Ah! The Mad Hatter!)
Or why I hang around with boys.
(Ah Ah! Mr. Freeze!)

‘Cos I’m the Batman!
Yeah! I’m the Batman!

Now my advice for ol’ Two-Face.
Don’t leave big pennies at my place.

‘Cos I’m the Batman!
Yeah! I’m the Batman!
And you’re afraid of no one but me….
(BATMAN!)

“Eating My Marshmallow Peeps” (While My Guitar Gently Weeps by the Beatles)

I stop at Walmart, Easter time and they’re selling,
Boxes of Marshmallow Peeps.

I walk out the door and my heart, it is swelling.
Thinking of Marshmallow Peeps.

I don’t know why…. I must consume them.
Marshmallow mayhem. Shove.
I don’t know how…. those Peeps control me.
They shape and mold me.

I look in my bag and my stomach is churning.
Longing for Marshmallow Peeps.

With every hand full…. eyes glazed over and burning.
Eating my Marshmallow Peeps.

I don’t know how…. they were created.
How they were freighted too.
I notice now…. last one’s deflated.
I am deflated too.

I try something new with the microwave oven.
Exploding Marshmallow Peep.

I lay on the floor….
Killed by a Marshmallow Peep.