Political humor through MTG cards

I was looking around online at magic cards, and came across this gem. so without further ado, here is some political humor, through the lens of Magic the Gathering.

Fauna Shaman, one of the best Green MTG cards

Today I'd like to highlight my current favorite green type Magic the Gathering card.

As you can see, this is one powerful card. Although her Power and Toughness are low, the effect she has can be devastating to the opposition. Being able to trade that extra Llanowar Elves for an Enormous Baloth can be a game winner in many cases, especially if you have Primal Bellow. 

There may be more card highlights coming. Stay tuned. 

More GIMP Stuff

Here are some more pictures I made.

 If any of you readers want to know where to get the GIMP, click here.

The GIMP, a free photoshop like program.

Lately I have been fiddling around with a free photo editing software called the GIMP. it works just like photoshop, but for free! here is one simple image I made with the GIMP.

Here's looking at you!

Prince of Persia for Super Nintendo- Good Hard Gaming Fun!

One game I remember playing when I was a kid
was the PC version of the original Prince of Persia.
I remember one night at my friends house playing it- and dying over and over and over and over. Fast forward 12 years or so, and I find myself playing the same game,
although a different version, playing it on the Super Nintendo Emulator.

In Prince of Persia (the original) the evil Vizier Jaffar (yes, Jaffar) has cast the prince in the dungeon, and given the princess an ultimatum- marry him (Jaffar) in an hour (2 hours in the Super Nintendo version)
or die. The prince must now escape from the dungeon and work his way up the tower to where Jaffar and the princess are, kill Jaffar, and rescue the princess. In order to do this the prince must find a weapon, fight guards, dodge traps, and generally cheat death time and time again. All this within the hour (or two).

the Super Nintendo (SNES) version of the game has about twice as many levels, and gives you 2 hours instead of 1 hour to finish the game. Thus, the player must complete the game within the time limit, or get a bad ending. Perhaps because of the time limit, Prince of Persia gives you infinite lives. If you die however, you go back to the beginning of the level, and the timer goes right on ticking.

There is no way I know of to get a game over, aside from time running out,
(and even then I believe it still lets you finish) or the player getting bored and shutting off the machine.
The game however, is hard as heck, and you have to earn every inch of progress you make.

Overall the SNES remake of the original Prince of Persia is an excellent game,
but those without patience- Beware!

This video shows me playing level one.
It took a LOT of practice just to get marginally good at this first of 20 levels!

Obama's Underwater Fantasy

It explains itself, watch it, it's funny!

Wow, I've been gone a long time!

Hello readers this post is to let you all know I am still maintaining this blog. I have been away from the blog for awhile, but, at least for today, I am back. I had a great summer with many Barbecues on Sunday afternoons,
and long Shabbos afternoons playing chess, go, and shogi with family members. I would also like to announce
that the next time I create good recipes, or remember old ones, I will share them with you via this site.
in this post however, I will share one with you the secret, to perfect scrambled eggs.

3 eggs, already cracked
2 1/2 - 4 tablespoons of heavy cream (adjust to taste)
1 small handful Finely chopped feta cheese
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix and  the eggs with the heavy cream and mix it very well
Oil and heat the pan, then leave the temperature on Med-Low.
Pour the egg/heavy cream mixture into the heated pan, begin scrambling immediately, do not stop.
Immediately after pouring the egg mixture add the cheese. do this while scrambling as much as possible.
Keep scrambling the egg/heavy cream/cheese mishmash on Low power until 80% of the runny liquid is gone.
Turn off the flame, and let the heat of the pan finish the eggs for you.
By now it should be very fluffy with no brown spots.
Eat it. I find the bits of cheese to be the best part, how about you?

Please comment.

Dihydrogen Monoxide Weapons

Here is a picture of a simple dihydrogen monoxide weapon.

For instructions on how to build this steampunk looking water gun, go here.

Dog Eats Toe, Saves Life!

Oh this is too funny. Just read the article.

My Fun With Cryptography - Secret Codes, Ciphers, and Decoder Software.

I have been experimenting with cryptography over the past 24 hours, doing cool little things like encoding the Declaration of Independence into an Affine Cipher, and then deciphering it using DeCrypto, a deciphering tool for substitution ciphers. For the full encoded Declaration, click here.

Monster Hunter 3, The First Monster Hunter Game for The Wii

   Monster Hunter 3, also known as Monster Hunter Tri, is the first Monster Hunter title designed to run on the Nintendo Wii. As the title suggests, the theme of this game is to kill monsters, which get progressively bigger and meaner. As the player kills these beasts, (some of which are many, many times the size of the player) he or she will have the chance to harvest valuable resources, which can be used to forge new armor and weapons, or upgrade existing ones.
   With an array of different weapon types, armor sets, and many different "paths" for the upgrading process to take as the player progresses through the game, killing monsters and harvesting their body parts and bones. For instance, Sword-A might become Sword-AB or Sword-BA, so that there are many, many ways to customize your equipment.
   With online multiplayer ability, where up to 4 players can take on anything from a Great Jaggi
(a large meat-eating dinosaur looking thing) to a Jhen Mohran (a huge sand dwelling leviathan),  the game has enormous replay value and will last a very long time before the player becomes bored of it.

Here is a video of gameplay I pulled off youtube. NOTE: Please do not hold me responsible for any rude lanuage that may be used in this video. I did not make this video.


And here is a link to a review of the game.

The NFL Hits the Oregon Trail

Ever wonder what would happen if you combined pro football with the famous computer game,
"The Oregon Trail"? Watch the video below to find out.

Armored Core, the Playstation 2 Mecha Game Series

I recently bought myself an old Playstation 2, and the game, Armored Core 2 - Another Age.
The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by mega corporations. The player takes on the role of a Raven, a mercenary fighting for the highest bidder. Completing missions gains you money, which can be used to purchase upgrades for your AC (Armored Core, or mech). If you cause any collateral damage during the mission, you are expected to pay for that, as well as repairs for your AC, and any ammo used.
It should be noted that Armored Core 2 - Another Age is cannot be experienced to its full potential without save data from Armored Core 2. (I found this out only after buying the game, sadly, I do not own Armored Core 2.)
This said, Armored Core 2 - Another Age is still fun without the save data, just incomplete.
A word of caution about the controls- Armored Core, unfortunately, does not support full analog control, the R2 and L2 buttons are used to look up and down instead. This can get VERY annoying at times, but overall, Armored Core 2 - Another Age is a thoroughly fun, though hard, game.

Druggie Snails in Scientific Study Show Majestic Memories

Scientists conducted a study to test the effect of crystal meth on snails memory.
The study involved immersing the pond snails in meth laced water, and poking them
with a stick to train them to- why not read the article? I will link to it now.

Steampunk Computer Madness!

Steampunk is a science fiction sub-genre in which technology takes on a 1800's Victorian look, usually a lot of brass and gears, and almost everything is powered by steam. There exists a community of hobbyists who modify modern day technology to look like the fantasy technology of the Steampunk genre. my favorite type of mod-tech (modified technology) that these craftsmen produce are the "Steampunk Computers" in which the hobbyists hack the casings, keyboard, etc, in order to produce- well a picture is worth a thousand words, so I shall give you four of them.

Like it? If you do, or even if you don't, comments are more than welcome.

PS: Want more pictures?  try these links.
 http://thehottestgadgets.com/2008/07/the-17-hottest-steampunk-computer-creations-001127
http://steampunkworkshop.com/lcd.shtml
http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/39-amazing-steampunk-computer-mods-200834

Atheists Use Blow Dryer to De-Baptize Christians

I don't know about any of you readers out there, but I find this hilarious.
I shall now link to the ABC news article.

Lego Architecture

Ever try designing buildings with Legos? I have. Check out my first lego building design.

Vega Strike, The Free Space Sim

I've been playing a game called Vega Strike recently, a game in which the player hauls cargo between planets and star systems, fights off pirates, and many other interesting things. Vega Strike is very open ended, and the player can opt to skip the storyline completely and go off to make his or her fortune without having to do all those structured missions. The game universe is very large, and has loads of places to land and trade cargo.
Different ship classes abound, and there are many factions and species whom the player can interact with (I recommend not fighting if you don't have to. If you make everyone mad you'll die).
Storyline independent missions are easy to find, and wingmen can be hired to protect you from attack.
This is a good game that I would recommend to anyone who likes these types of games, or to people who like the idea of the game I just described. Since this game is free, there is no harm in downloading it just to see if you like it. I shall include this link to the Vega Strike web page where you can download the game.

"The Three Terrors"

Here's video making fun of Ahmadinejad, Erdogan, and Assad, "Three Tenors" style.

Funny, no?