Tag Archives: by Zero

Personal, Reviews, Site News, Technology

Week’s Agenda… I think?

Comments (0)

This week will probably be rather crunchy… or fall to mush… I have not a clue. I know my brain has been crunching chemistry to exhaustion. I think I am going to have to submit to my weak mortal whims to procure food. Damn mortality… well, sometimes anyhow. Chemistry will battle wits with me in nearly 17 hours so I have to crunch hard and make sure I completely absorb the materials like it is infused in the blood.

Depending on how finances look… I may or may not be getting World of WarCraft: Wrath of the Lich King. I have been through some pretty rough financial times, but I should be no stranger to them anyhow. I would love to get it mainly so I can evaluate it and post a review right away! Although, Miss Wyno said it may not be any good to me anyways as I won’t be able to utilize most of the content in Northrend until I have a character at Level 80. So maybe it is for the best..?

In good news..! I may have found a niche as a male fashion blogger! Alfred from Barney’s New York out in Northpark Center is sending me some sample goods which I should be recieving sometime this week! Many thanks goes to him and I definitely look forward to writing another enthusiastic review over everything I recieve. Hopefully I can get some pictures and provide another good review for any guys who want another perspective on male grooming and care.

I hope to get another good piece written this week… maybe I can get the long overdue “Day in the Life of Zero” post up and online? LOL! 😀 We’ll see as that’s semi dependent on how my mind can take a mental beating of savage proportions with chemistry. Ough…

Ugh… my stomach is now uncontrollably asking me to feed it. I think that’s my cue to vamoose and feed me before the low glucose levels make me cranky as hell. Keep watching here! It should get especially fun especially ’round Thanksgiving holiday!

PS – Ivy had a bit of a hard transition happen as well as the fact that she sorta hurt her knee! Please wish her well and hopefully she’ll get an article on there soon!

Much love,

Site News

oi…. Broken things… Fixed… Sorta…

Comments (0)

Quick Addendum… I am going to have to find out what’s borking my WordPress… for some reason… it said that my last article was written by Ivy, when it was me… and on looking at things… well… my site seems to only have 2 post authors and I am considered a master user. Damn the confusion!

Update (11/6/2008): I have just had to gimp things and make a seperate “editor” named “ZeroXR” while my admin account is not recognized… so yes… There are two Zero’s on here; one is the admin, one is the editor… It will do for now.

Personal, Rant

“n0 P0litiks P1z, kthx”

Comments (3)

So today… I was subject to a racial slur. I found it humorous, as the slur was chased with a foolish statement which negated the ire in his words. So I will paraphrase the exchange before I go into my rant…

Wacky Headcase (WH): “omgz! This country’s going to Hell! America’s lost it’s tradition!!!”
Student Instructor (SI): “Settle down… This is a MATH class, not government!”
WH: “Fucking Obama’s the Anti-Christ!”
SI: “There will be no political discussion on Friday… if you all even make the slightest thought, I will kick you out!”
WH: “This is bullshit! You’re obstructing my right to the first amendment!”
Zero: “School’s a fascist system, DEAL WITH IT!”
WH: “It’s people like you that are dragging our country to hell, you Chink! Go back to your own country!”
Zero: “I’m sorry, I was born in DALLAS! This is my country! If you think our country is going to hell… Live in another country and maybe you’ll understand what they go through!”

I mean, I will stand up and fight for a person’s right to say anything they want in the proper forum. I am a believer of Voltaire’s most beautiful quote: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” The only condition is… I will do it in the right forum and right place. I also feel using racial slurs, name calling, or generally lacking an open mind is down right childish. Personally I feel that school is not the place, save a government or debate class… School is a home of learning and fortitude.

Anyhow, with trying to use philosophical points with this coddy applejohn… It reminds me why I HATE talking politics with people. It leads to childish arguments and well it generally upsets a lot of people. The fact I had to use my brain with philosophy so early gave me a migraine and reminds me why RX-7 and RX-8 drivers warm up their engines before really ragging on them. So… If I see you online. No political discussions please… If I see you on World of WarCraft, put your McCain hate at your terminal and don’t bring it to Azeroth. If I see you in Guild Wars, you bet your ass that I want you to leave your Obama hate far away from Tyria, Cantha, and Elona. Hell, if I see you face-to-face… I want none of it.

Just for the record before anyone tries to con me out with “You fucking hate democracy!” I will state that I loved Ron Paul ’cause he actively campaigned about privacy, so there. I am getting the fuck out of this discussion with a vengeance. I just want to chill, mellow the fuck out, and say “Thank God the media circus and peanut gallery is over.”

Much love,

Rant

Special Request Article – The Romantic and Sexual Tendencies of Human Males

Comments (4)

This is a special feature requested from my classmate Amber and Haylee with some open discussion from my peers and colleagues for this. The article also was formulated by a few nights at the bars on weekends with friends cutting loose, so I do have some anecdotal data for my “hypothesis” and “theory”.

I have reason to believe that the way the male mind works with regards to romance and sex are all in a set of stages. The stages are cycles may repeat, depending on certain criteria not being met to progress on to the next stage. Some men end up trapped in a cyclical phase of the stages, sadly held in bondage and never to find a means to an end… However, there are others who do learn and have the luck/skills to break out of their sad twisted state of bondage to reach the one optimistic fairy tale ending that most women want.

The stages of romance are as follows…

  • Socialization Stage
  • Chase Stage
  • Lust Stage
  • Pure Stage

The Socilization Stage is pretty cut and dry… The male tries to see what actions make him socially acceptable to females versus which will cause them to avoid him with a violent fury. (Savage beatings from offended women are not accounted for, but they are not out of the realm of possibility.) If the stimulus pleases the female quarry, then the male learns “Oh, hey… she likes that!”.  The opposite should happen if she is displeased, unless the male is completely demented. Once they have reached reasonable understanding of the subject, the male proceeds to the next stage…

The Chase Stage can be compared much like a cat toying with a mouse. It’s the game that is played in an attempt to see if the male may be able to take pride in earning the affections of their desired quarry. If the woman in question plays hard to get… naturally, the man will see his quarry as a challenge. Depending on the mental fortitude of each party, this “Chase Stage” could last from a few hours to a few weeks… This phase is possibly where the gambit romantics takes place, in an effort to show the desired woman the extent of their physical or mental capabilities. Should copulation happen… That will bring things to a new dynamic.

The Lust Stage is probably one of the most difficult to break and shatter from. The male will (no doubt) be getting sex from their mate… but at the same time, their natural born instincts may betray them. They may seek to try sowing themselves into the wombs of other women. Once part is because the male’s biological function to propagate their DNA to as many mates as possible to ensure the longevity of their blood line… The other is more psychological and the desire to see what all else is out there. Things like a stimulating rumor about some woman who’s like a nasty whore in bed to a young virgin girl who has not been corrupted could be varying stimuli to a male in the Lust Stage. This stage can be self-destructive if not under control as it can essentially fracture the relationship built up from the Chase Stage. Things like infidelity, cupidity, and being two faced generally consequence to such actions. It won’t be until the man learns, for lack of a better phrase, think with his mind and heart rather than his penis that he’s hurting the tender emotion of a woman with his foolishness that he may move on to the final stage.

The Pure Stage is hopefully the last for a male. It’s where the epiphany is found that women are not objects of lust to be taken and abused relentlessly for pleasure… This stage usually gives yield to marriage and other noble things that women dream of. The best way to compare it is… It’s the stage that a man should be in should they want to settle or be sincere to the woman they are enamored with. This is probably the biological thing that most women gravitate to, the “protector” of their honor and eventually the defender of their castle. Sadly… Should parts of the pure stage not be met or become deviated, this could mean either a return to the Lust Stage or even complete and utter destruction to the Socialization stage. Once again, it can be simple things like material, emotional, or even sexual desires that are not met which may cause this recession to the previous stages of romance.

Unfortunately, some men may be trapped in certain stages because they have not come to that profound understanding to evolve their own existence. Some cases, it may be that the man is being held down by a lover who lacks understanding of their own intricate mind. Whatever the case may be… the themes seem to hold very common through out most males.

Personal, Site News

Things to Come on ZeroXR 13mg…

Comments (0)

Let’s see here… School’s been kicking my tail pretty hard. I can officially say my legs are probably like modules of steel as I have been doing even MORE walking from participation in Psychology projects and other miscelaneous things that have me out of my dorm more often. On top of that, there are a few “stress-outs” that hit me dead in the face… So, there’s the occasional listen of soothing metal melodies or sessions of blowing stuff up in a game to mellow out.

To come, hopefully this week are…

  • The ever-so delayed “A Day in the Life of Zero” posting
  • My “Blackberry, Evolved” post on the new devices.
  • A request article by my classmates Amber and Haylee: “The Romantic and Sensual Mentalities of Men”

The only kicker that will hinder these posts is if school blows me up with work… let’s not hope that happens, shall we?

Regards,

PS – I think the Site Refresh is indefinitely delayed… but a new interview with me is being edited!

Personal

Silent Riot, Chaotic Paradise – [Zeroism/Editorial]

Comments (0)

This phrase has been ringing my head for the longest while… The oxymoron is rather unique. With some, it makes them think of a utopia that is chaotic to the masses, but a perfect system to the intellectuals. Some said it rang close to a quiet overthrow of a system in favor of an anarchistic system. “Silent but deadly”, a maelstrom of chaos that brews from the inside and establishes a chaotic order. Another unique view I got was “It seems like an ideal island of solitude”. These all almost sync up to my main thought… The phrase empathizes the greatest struggle of humanity: The struggle between what is ideal for the self and the ideals of the society.

As humans, we do what is best to ensure our comfort and survival. Face it, we really hate suffering. I know I personally just got out of a 4 year crawl in Hell and it’s great to finally be comfortable with a pleasant survival. I mean, save for masochists, who likes waking up in the morning to go “Hell yes! I can’t wait for some crazed maniac to take a claymore and impale me! Oh yeah!!!“? I know I don’t like the mental image of that idea. Take a look at some of what inspires and motivates humans… Sex, love, money, material delusions (alcohol et al). In my observation, this breaks down to a two sided system for what we want: pleasure and reward.

Society however doesn’t take lightly to these lofty principles… Society attempts to run on a paradigm of productivity and innovation. If a person isn’t adding something useful to a society, they are seen more as a “problem” or a “nuisance” to be removed or assimilated. This is a very black and white system, but even society cannot hinder the fact some gray areas can exist… Every now and then, we have those who lash out against the system. The results vary… some can succeed, some may end up failing at their aims to subvert the system.

Where do we find that fine line? We can do battle and be much like the revolutionary predecessors in hopes that society will bend to our will or the lingering question remains: “Do I have to be society’s bitch?” This is one battle that everyone struggles with internally. The scale could be minor to something small like choosing not to do a vital report for your office or something major like create an uprising against one’s own government. In some ways, fighting for one’s own belief system can be seen as “selfish” or “reckless” though it just ultimately comes down on how much we value something. The way I see it is more “Are you willing to put for the silent protest in your heart out to the world for a chance at sharing your own personal paradise, even if society cannot fathom the beauty of your own chaos?”

Sometimes, we can’t sway society… At the same time, we can’t also put forth our dreams into action because it would jeopardize the lives and/or minds of others. I can say that everyone has this struggle in their heart at some point and time; unfortunately, we may be left in our own toilings. We may just be left in our own silent riot, chaotic paradise within our minds.

Games, Reviews, Technology

Every Hero has their Excalibur – [Tech Review]

Comments (1)

If some of you have have come to know me, you know that computer games do play a role in my life. They are my outlet away from my daily grind at my office. I know some friends refer to the old saying of “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” which that’s how I feel when I have been put to the grindstone and whittled away from a sanity point of view. The one joy I do get from gaming like any other human is that victory is like a savored drink of sacred wine from a chalice. It’s gratifying and almost a wild blessing to know you have bested that opponent in a friendly game of Unreal Tournament, helped a few friends down an elite boss in World of WarCraft, or even beating a Hard Mode mission with bonus in Guild Wars.

I had been playing computer games for a good portion of my life on standard fare gear. Your regular keyboards, your regular mice, and etc. It was an ignorant bliss… I didn’t know better cause most of my life was spent recreationally gaming with personal friends. I, Zero, was rather xenophobic of gaming with people from the “intarwebs” and tried not to stray into that vector from a souring experience in Diablo II. A cheater had used a “Town Kill” trainer to kill me in a town and then happened to loot my corpse for all the elite gear that I slaved my hard hours for…

I digress…

Recently, gamer equipment has been more and more common place in electronic shops… Names like Fata1ity by Creative and Logitech are probably the more “commercial” of the bunch. However… These commercial solutions were just that: “commercial”. They felt rather generic to me and hell… They were a bit overpriced for what they were. On my search back in August for a gaming mouse to replace my gimped wireless one that had bit the dust… CompUSA had made a campaign in-store to advertise that they were “The Computer Store for Hardcore Gamers”. Naturally, I wanted to check their claims out for myself with needing a new mouse. Their mouse section had more than just your blown over commercial gaming mice, they had some great gems from Razer. I had heard only whispers about the reputation of Razer products, so I was more than intrigued to touch and feel mice that would otherwise be offered typically online. The ergonomics of their mice were superb, but with a limited budget… I had to limit my options. I would choose the Razer Death Adder mouse and pair it with an eXact Mat & eXact Rest pair which to my luck were all on sale for cheaper than online!

I would begin a 2 month trial to see if the “hype” that gaming mice are significantly better than your ordinary computer mice. Before I begin about my trial… Let me iterate some the differences of Razer mice versus some of your ordinary tools…

Razer’s mice address the following flaws with gaming peripherals… Response time, ghosting, and versatility. Razer had noticed with most commercial mice on the market… some go into a “sleep mode” when there’s idle activity. This sleep mode can mean the difference of a headshot or even an escape from a nefarious enemy. With wireless mouse, this sleep is somewhat required to save batteries. Razer produces only wired mice that are “always-on” so there’s never a chance of you running to the predicament of missing that epic kill… Ghosting is one issue most common gamers probably don’t think too much about, but it can be a definite buzz kill. Razer makes their mice with “HyperResponse” buttons at a polling rate of 1,000Hz. That’s really amazing as the clicks almost keep up with some of the most frightening saber dances or bullet ballets in some of the games I have played. Versatility is another hallmark of Razer as these gaming mice allow gamers to do change DPI settings or even flip between different gaming profiles. The profile changing is all thanks to Razers “Synapse Memory” chip giving players up to 5 different profiles to play with.

The eXact Mat is an aluminum mat with 2 sides on it… One is called the XControl side and has a rougher fractal texture while the other is called the XSpeed side. The XControl side is more fine tuned to allow precise movements for activities like playing sniper in a game of CounterStrike: Source for example or a weapon of precision. The XSpeed side is more for being able to make quick movements that would save you fate that would have you dead in a Battleground event for WoW. Combined with the eXact Rest, the wrist is in optimal mousing position and fatigue is minimized.

I had to do “scientific” testing to see if there was consistency with the end results… I would load up a game of Combat Arms for “Headshot” testing and I would use World of Warcraft for any Battlegrounds survival related testing. Here are the “control” benchmarks… The games average about 20 minutes a session.

Mouse: Microsoft Wirelss Notebook Laser Mouse 6000 (1000 DPI)
Mousing Surface: Pressboard wood design desk
Average Headshots per Kill: 4 out of 15
Average Survival in Battlegrounds: 9 deaths

I would do another battery of trials instead with the Death Adder but without the use of my eXactmat and eXactrest…

Mouse: Razer Death Adder (1800 DPI)
Mousing Surface: Pressboard wood design desk
Average Headshots per Kill: 6 out of 15
Average Survival in Battlegrounds: 8 deaths

The final set of tests would add in the eXactmat using the speed or control sides to their appropriate games… that would prove a minor improvement on top of the mouse, no surprise there. With the eXact rest, it would put my wrist at ideal height for mouse movements as well as lessen my gaming fatigue with maintaining correct hand posture.

Mouse: Razer Death Adder (1800 DPI)
Mousing Surface: Razer eXactmat Control and Speed with eXact rest
Average Headshots per Kill: 8 out of 15
Average Survival in Battlegrounds: 7 deaths

To go from 4 headshots and 9 deaths to 8 & 7 is a pretty good reduction! Granted that the battlegrounds instances have some partial factors that are due to keyboard response… The headshots should be shining proof that a good gamer can be handicapped by how good their gear is. With how signifigant my improvements were with the Death Adder, it does have me wonder what will happen should I get Razer’s haloed Lachesis mouse with 4,000 DPI…

Thanks to Razer for producing a great mouse as well as having the passion to show gamers that you can be held back by how good your weapons are.

Site News, Technology

;-) I got my hands on something really pretty…

Comments (0)

It’s been a long while since I have done a tech review… I managed to stumble into a friend who must remain anonymous who happens to have the 3 killer Blackberry phones and helped me play around with some development kits to play with the phone’s software. Unfortunately, I can’t take pictures of his phones but I can give you my thoughts on the Blackberry Storm (9500), Blackberry Bold (9000), and Blackberry Pearl Flip (8220). I have been a bit too enamored in the Blackberry Storm as it’s multi-touch is seriously spiffy! Once I can sit down and throughly review the Bold and Pearl Flip, expect me to throughly put my thoughts here.

I can say that RiM is looking to really make smart phones accessible to the masses… The 9500 Storm series is positive step forward! However… the GSM version will not be making it to American shores yet. At this moment, Vodafone does in the European and Asian markets, while Verizon holds the market for the CDMA version.

Keep your eyes hear for my thoughts on these smartphones!

Personal

Angel of Retribution, Devil of Rebirth

Comments (1)

Friends, family, and my endearing fans of ZeroXR 13mg… I still remember last Friday driving at a blazing pace to set-up base at my official office at home to type out my plea for prayers and emotional assistance. The outcry generated from ZeroXR 13mg, Facebook and text messages was AMAZING! I then would proceed to Stage II of praying for a blessing, sacrificing something in tribute to the gods and demi-gods of Buddhism. Small things like an entire day of not eating meat or an entire day dedicating myself to ceaseless recital of Buddhist sutras and no stimulating entertainment, all to ask the gods to turn the karma machine on…

Well, you all poured your hearts in to praying to your gods… Be they Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, etc… They heard your prayers. I know Lord Buddha heard mine. Today was evidence of that.

It started with waking up to “dragon tears” tapping at my window at 7am in the morning. Some family of mine had recited a myth that gentle rains are usually the joyful weeping of heavenly dragons in the sky granting a pious soul a blessing. I even sacrificed styling my hair creatively as a sign of respect for asking my prayers to be granted, just to ensure things.

On my way to math class, I took an exam and aced it… Definitely a great sign!

In Chemistry, I found that my peers also had raised complaints against the teacher’s assistants delaying our exam by 15 minutes… so my professor basically said “I have your exams… You have 30 more minutes to complete your exam.” I bolted out of my seat like an agent trying to snag a dossier while deftly maneuvering others trying to make the most of my time. I managed to fight as hard as I could on the last 2 questions that I didn’t have time to do on Friday, which were worth 18 points. So knowing I did what I could, I knew that my maximum score could now be a little higher.

I would call my apartment at about 4:15pm and ask “What’s my verdict?” My agent would say “So far, things are looking in your favor. It’s being sent to the property managers so they can assess if the case is plausable to do that.” So on walking to my dorm… I just continued reciting prayers in my head. I would ask my friend David if he wanted to come down to the cafeteria with me. He would walk with me and right about 5:13pm, I would hear my phone playing my Korean pop tune ringtone. I didn’t recognize the number, but I picked up the call with due haste.

“Zero, It’s Angela* with Haven Grove Apartments*. I just wanted to give you the follow up call that your case was put before the property managers and on their overview of the case… You both were roommates in the apartment, but her not paying her portion of the bill was not justified by her. In light of this, we will split the bill right in half. You have paid a good portion so all you have left is $142 in dues. The rest will be sent to collections and they will make calls and send her letters in an effort to attempt collecting for her bill. We just need payment from you be it a money order or even a post dated check. After that, you will be absolved from your debts and her debt will be hers alone.”
* – Names changed for privacy reasons.

When I heard that news… I was elated. I had been waiting for the engines of karma to kick in and they finally did. I will say that I couldn’t have done it without you all… Hell, I even found that one of my friends was up since last night and until 6am this morning praying for me! This is proof for all of those that divine retribution works with prayer and for those who have wanted a wrong to finally become right… Karma works and so does prayer. This event is a true testament that “What comes around, goes around”. Loyal fans, friends, and family of mine… I am in your debt. I know that I owe the biggest debt to Lord Buddha for finally coming through with things.

Expect much happier and less stressed posts on ZeroXR 13mg soon..!

Much love,