When did geek become chic?

Is it just me, or has being a geek become stylish? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the greater of acceptance of geekdom. But what's the price we have to pay to gain said acceptance? Do we really want to accept the likes of Paris Hilton or other faux-celebrities into our midst? If this is the case, I say screw off. I'd rather be on the fringes of social acceptance than be associated with any person(s) who think that just by telling a reporter that their a geek, dork, nerd, etc... that they'll immediately gain credibility with a large, untapped, possible fan base.

Let's break it down and look at this by the numbers;
1) The term "dork" passed into the celebrity vocabulary.
2) The show "Beauty and the Geek" aired. (Apparently being a Geek is the equivalent of being a Beast and can be cured by a hot chick. WTF?)
3) The heads of major technology and internet companies have become the face of Geekdom, whether we want them too or not.
4) The boom of the video game industry, specifically the mega franchises (you know which ones I'm talking about), have opened another front for Hollywood to make being Geek chic.
a) These video game launch parties are now attracting huge Hollywood "names" and
"celebrities." It's become just another venue for these self-important vanity hounds
to get their picture taken and be interviewed by online news outlets.
...

I could go on, but I think you get the idea where this is going.

Seperate but Undead

The recent brouhaha caused by a blog post posted at www.blacklooks.org has thrown a harsh light onto a often overlooked problem throughout the world, Zombie Racism. Now, we want our readers to fully understand the concepts that are going to be put forth in the following commentary. When we refer to Zombie Racism we're talking about the killing of Zombies who, prior to zombification, were part of a minority group.

We here at Fuzzy Ion have conducted our own in depth investigation into the causes and motivation behind this Zombie Racism. Our findings are both incredible and shocking at the same time. While interviewing those persons alive and undead, we discovered a frighteningly high number of cases where people excluded from the horrific attacks by zombies on living, breathing, human beings.

One such case happened to Thomas Johnson, owner of a local convenience store in downtown Cleveland Ohio:

Reporter: So, Mr. Johnson, can you explain to us exactly what happened to you?
T.Johnson: Well, it was about 6:35 in the morning and I had just unchained the gate and was about to let myself into the store when from down the street I heard this terrible ruckus. At first I thought it might have been a car accident, it was certainly loud enough. About a minute later a dozen or so people can running around the corner, screaming and waiving their arms in the air, making so much noise that it set of the alarm of the car parked across the street. When I went out to see what was happening that's when I saw them. There had to be a hundred of them, all shambling and moaning and generally causing a nuisance. I was just about to go inside and lock the door when something shoved me from behind and pushed me down to the sidewalk. I rolled on my back to see what it was and one of "them" was leaning over me like he was about to bite my face off when a cop shot it through the head and saved my life.

Reporter: Talk about timing! You're a lucky man Mr. Johnson.
T.J.: I suppose you're right.

Reporter: That's an amazing story. Did you get a chance to thank the officer who saved you?
T.J.: Thank him?! Hell no I didn't thank him. Did you know that the cops were only killing the black zombies? I mean, it's hard to believe that the police would be racist in the face of a zombie outbreak.

Reporter: Racism? Surely you can't be implying that the police were specifically targeting those zombies who were of African decent?
T.J.: That's exactly what I'm saying. Those cops were only killing the black zombies. I saw the cops just run past a white zombie stuck in an phone booth with the door jammed. If that's not racism, I don't know what is!

Reporter: Couldn't it be that the police were going after those zombies that posed the greatest threat to the human population? And since the door of the phone booth was jammed, the zombie inside posed less of a threat then those zombies wandering the streets?
T.J.: You're with them aren't you?! I'm not talking to you anymore. Good day.

Through various other interviews, police reports, and government documents that we have been able to obtain, we here at Fuzzy Ion have come to the conclusion that people see what they want to see and jump to conclusions before they have all the facts. When you look at the big picture, can't we all agree that the only good zombie is a dead zombie, regardless of race, sex, or religious beliefs held prior to zombification?.

The above passages are intended solely for the purpose of entertainment.

Products in the name of progress...

By now all of you have heard about Microsoft's newest jaunt into pseudo-cross marketing, the Halo 3 Special Edition 360. This piece of hardware is designed for one singular, diabolical purpose... to separate me from my hard earned capital. Okay, they aren't specifically targeting me, but it feels as though Microsoft is taking advantage of that group of customers who are so fanatical in their lust for merchandise branded with the visage of their favorite super hero, genetically enhanced cyborg, or ridiculously cute papier-mâché animals, that they're willing to fork over incredibly large sums of money to feed their addiction.

This isn't the first time Microsoft has done this. Nor is it the first time they've done this with the Halo brand. It all started with the Halo Edition of the original Xbox, same old Xbox just with a fancy clear/green case and a controller with a clear/green shell. With Halo 2 they decided to turn to 3rd party manufacturer Plantronics to make the exclusive Halo 2 headset, again all gussied up in a clear/green shell. Now we find a brand new entry into the mix, a Halo 3 branded Xbox 360. Complete with Spartan color scheme on the console, controller, and wired headset! Lest we forget the Halo 3 wireless headset sporting a brand new Spartan color scheme as well. And it's not like these new products are offering us, the consumer, anything we can't already buy. In fact, the Halo 3 branded Xbox 360 actually takes a step back. With the inclusion of a 20 GB HDD rather than the soon to be standard 120 GB HDD, Microsoft has basically told their customers, "You want a 120 GB HDD? TOUGH! You'll get a 20 GB HDD and you'll like it!"

I know it sounds like I'm getting all pissy over nothing. I know I can just go out and buy a 120 GB HDD for additional $179.99. But if I did that the metal accents on the HDD wouldn't match the gold colored metal accents on the Halo 3 branded Xbox 360. It sounds petty, and it is, but I'm one of those guys that has to have things match. This is one of the main reasons I've never purchased a faceplate for my 360. Once you put the faceplate on, the rest of the console doesn't match the new color scheme...and that's totally unacceptable.

So, in conclusion, all I can say is why can't Microsoft step up to the plate and really deliver an Xbox 360 truly worthy of being branded with the name Halo. I mean, it's only Microsoft's flagship title. Is it too much to ask that they offer the most advanced version of their hardware when they release a special Halo edition of the Xbox 360? Sure, it has an HDMI port, but that's going to be standard when the Elite takes the place of the Premium bundle, then again, so is the 120 GB HDD since it's currently the standard for the Elite. I

f you're going to make a Halo 3 branded 360, why not go all out? Drop some money into developing a limited edition 360 GB HDD and bundle it exclusively with the Halo 3 branded Xbox 360. Instead of painting your standard wired headset to match the Spartan color scheme, why not include the Halo 3 wireless headset? Hell, why not include the Halo 1, Halo 2, and both map-packs in a specially designed Spartan schemed package? You worried about the price tag? Don't. You're already losing money the Xbox 360. Show your competition that you're willing to lose that much more to secure your customer base. Besides, there's no way you can go wrong if you manage to bring the whole bundle to shelves at less than $500.

I know, all of this is a pipe dream and a whine fest. But it doesn't hurt to get the idea out there. Does it?

Xbox360 Warranty Extended...good or bad?

So by now you've all probably heard that Microsoft (henceforth known as MS) has graciously decided to extend the Xbox 360's warranty for another 3 years, on top of the one year they already added to the warranty a year ago. This new extension is specifically targeted at that most vile of problems, the Red Ring of Dead (henceforth referred to as RRoD).

It would seem that this move by Microsoft would seemingly ease the fears of many a 360 owner. However, I'm not quite convinced that MS has taken the right path and that the woods ahead hold many a dire and diabolical beast. Extending the 360 warranty for a further 3 years, while at the surface seems like a wonderful idea, to me just screams of potential problems with the 360s that MS has yet to devise a fix for. So far the new addition of an extra heat-sink has, in the short term, solved some of MS's woes concerning overheating, but can this little fix really be a long term solution?

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a staunch supporter of the 360. I also think that MS has done a bang up job when it comes to customer support concerning problems that have arisen with the 360, relatively speaking. Because really, unless they come to my house and personally hand deliver a brand new 360 the customer support will always only be "Okay." Hell, I can't even say that my 360 hasn't had its ups and downs. I've had that dreaded RRoD pop up twice now, although only because the outlet it was plugged into lost power.

My fears may be totally unfounded and who knows, hopefully they will be.

Booting up and logging in...

That's right boys and girls, I've finally caved and started my own blog. What's this mean to you? Probably nothing...at least I'm honest.

I'll basically be using this blog to rant, rave, and otherwise whine about current events, technology, politics, or whatever else happens to pique my interest. So, expect nothing short of complete and total randomness when it comes to my posts. I would also like to encourage those of you who stumble upon this little blog to post your comments, I'm also up for some serious discourse. That being said, I'd like to take the time to lay some ground rules. What? You wouldn't begrudge me a little protection would you? I didn't think so, on to the rules!!

DA RULES:
1) Stay on topic!
2) People who post comments with content such as "OMG F1Rs7!!11!!" or similar drivel will find their comments removed from the system, I don't take kindly to this sort of immature behavior.
3) No blatant advertising of other sites, blogs, or whatever. I didn't set this thing up for you people to let everyone else know just how awesome cool your new site will be once you get it up and running and actually have visitors.
4) Keep it clean...for the most part. I'm not one of those "OMG!!! You said a bad word!!" kind of guys but I think moderation is important, makes the impact of the word all the greater when you finally do use it.
5) Proper grammar is a must. If you catch a mistake in one of my posts, please let me know...discretely.

That about covers it. So, please enjoy yourself and I hope enjoy my countless diatribes that are sure to grace the internets.