Scars Unseen

Did end up going for the MPK, as suggested. Thanks for the advice, all!

So I figured I'd spend some of my tax returns getting something to help getting into music creation, and I went looking for decent midi controllers for input. The local recycle shop has some used ones for sale, and I figured I'd get your input on them. They have both a Roland A-800 Pro and an Akai MPK61 avialable for about $250 each. Well there's also a Yamaha CS2X for $200-ish, but that was made in 1999, so no USB. Any thoughts?

Tetris. That is all.

Some BG2 goodness Here are some of the funnier bits: Sarevok: I orchestrated a war to slaughter thousands. I have felt the cold embrace of death. I have witnessed the horrors of the abyss. But you, Viconia... you scare me. Imoen: So... Sarevok. You've had an itty-bitty piece of my soul in there for quite a while now. What's it been like? Sarevok: Well, other than a slight obsession with my weight and the resurgence of a few pimples, it's been simply grand. Dradeel: One has lots of time for reflection while waiting for the ENDLESS WAVES OF BAD DOGGIE WEREWOLF MONSTERS THAT CHEW YOUR TOES WHILE YOU SLEEP! Sarevok: Ranger, turn your rodent's gaze another direction! I will not be scrutinised as though by some ridiculous divining rod! Minsc: Boo has an uncanny judge of character, but you... you give him trouble. Sarevok: I'll give him more than that if this continues! I nearly conquered a nation! I will not be judged by a creature that stores nuts in its cheeks! Jan: Hey! I resemble that remark. Sarevok: Trust me, gnome, you do not want to partake in my wrath this day. Minsc: Food storage aside, Boo controls himself far better than you do. Do you see him ranting about mere glances? Let's look. Sarevok: What? Minsc: See? No rant. In fact, now he is snuffling about for a comfy place to sleep. Admirable restraint. Sarevok: I'm still in Hell, aren't I? This is insanity. Minsc: Ah, finally a calming look comes across your face. Boo's handiwork, no doubt? Doesn't that feel better? Sarevok: Let's... let's go kill something. Soon. Keldorn: Imoen! What... are you pawing at me yet again? Do you think I do not notice? You are attempting to pickpocket me, aren't you? Imoen: Well, no... I just... Keldorn: Just what? Out with it girl. I won't have a party member stealing from me. Imoen: No, no, that's not it! I... I was just... I was just trying to find out if you're as muscular under your armour as you look. Oh, I know that you're married and all that Keldorn... but do you have *any* idea how good you look? I... I can't help myself, I just what to touch you all the time! Keldorn: Imoen! I... I have a daughter that is the same age as you! Imoen: I don't know what it is Keldorn, maybe it's the Bhaal essence in me. I just want to run my fingers through your hair and nibble on your ears! Oh, Keldorn, you drive me so wild! Keldorn: By Torm, no! This is terrible! I... I had no idea I had this effect on you... Imoen: Oh get over yourself already, Keldorn! Sheesh. [imoen giggles] Imoen: Here's your ring back. I won't take it again, I promise.

"Her working name is 'Happy Endings?' Subtle..."

*sigh* Guess I'll order a PSP then... really thought I could get by with just one handheld...

Here's a site with a couple of drumkit soundfonts. http://www.michaelkingston.fi/kingstondrums/ruffrider.html EDIT: sorry, not what you were asking for. just woke up.

A search on the guy came up with nothing so I thought I'd post this here. This guy, Vadrum, has been putting out videos of him drumming to the NES Mario games, among other things. It's pretty amazing stuff. Check it out. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=SZqwvjwqwK4&feature=related http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=EF9e2ZVAapE&feature=related http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=dXKN1j_vrn4

by the way, has anyone mentioned After Forever yet? They have some samples up on myspace. Awesome band.

IMO, if you can remove the element or instrument and still have something that sounds like a listenable song, then that element or instrument wasn't truly part of the song in the first place and was just slapped on to give the same genre slightly different feel. After all, is Metallica a symphonic metal band because an orchestra backed them in S&M? On the other hand, if, upon removing an element or instrument, you are left with something that can no longer rightly be called a song at all, that element was an integral part of the music and helped to define what it was. Example: Symphony X. While some of their songs are flat out power metal, in many songs the guitar and keys are written in such a fashion that they add to the orchestral parts more than the other way around. If you were to remove the orchestral instruments from the songs you would wind up with something somewhat bizzare sounding.

Which is why I don't care about them. People with money going for more money. If they get it, great. If not, fine. The only reason this is even a blip on my radar is that I watch Heroes. But you know what? If Heroes stops showing I'll find some other way to occupy that one hour each week.

The update to the Playstation Network is completely meaningless to me until it allows me to register with an APO address. I emailed Sony's support staff and got a reply that basically said "We'll get around to it. Sorry." I have never seen a company so damned lazy in my life(well XBox 360 has the same problem, so Microsoft ties). All they have to do is add AP, AE, etc to the options for state and they gain hundreds or even thousands of subscriptions from military members overseas.

I wish. I remember when I was younger, my mom worked at a place that assembles motorboats. The company decided to close down some factories and initially wanted to close the northern ones. The given reason for this is that the workers in the south were unable to join the unions, which originated up north, and because of this the southern factories operated cheaper and had a higher output(no union means you have to work a lot harder to keep your job). The owner's lawyer informed him that the law says he has to shut non-union sites before he can close union ones, so he closes the one my mom works at with the promise that it would reopen as soon as he closed the union site. Unfortunately, the earlier lawyer had apparently overlooked the fact that the law said that the non-union site could not be reopened for 5 years after a union one was closed down. Apparently you can move your operations to India if you want, but not to Texas. So my mom basically lost the first job she ever had that was actually going somewhere because the lower class definately do not have their labor unions. Not universally. I don't hold sympathy for the writers, union factory workers, the "suffering" middle class(it's your own fault if you let yourself go into debt) or big movie studios. Go try living out of your car or a tent for a while. Then tell me of the woes of middle class life.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsxp/default.mspx Built into Windows since XP. Opens up just like a folder too. On the other hand, I still can't download the torrent file from either the ocremix site or the soundtempest mirror that Zircon was kind enough to provide.

OK. Now I am utterly mystified. I have the exact same issue with that link as I do with the one on ocremix. But I can download other files from SoundTempest with no problems. I think my PC just doesn't want me to download the wav version of this thing. Stoopid PC. Anyway, thanks for going to the trouble to set that up, Zircon. Maybe I'll have better luck with one of them tomorrow.

So I guess I'm the only one who can't even get the torrent from the site? Maybe it's because I'm in Japan. Wouldn't be the first time.

Could someone send me a copy of the torrent file? My email is puppyonacid@hotmail.com

Is there a mirror for the torrent file itself? The link on ff7.ocremix.org has been timing out on me for hours now.

No, I agree completely that the word "addiction" is bandied about far too often and incorrectly most of the time. It is a relatively new trend and not many question its use because the majority of humanity assumes that our collective knowledge grows instead of merely being rehashed and reinterpreted. I don't view bad habits as being addictions for the reasons you mentioned. Kids are not addicted to one form of entertainment over another any more than I am addicted to eating sushi over curry. Hell, less people get hurt over video games than football.

OK, I just got this album in the mail a week ago and I don`t think that my capacity for speech is sufficient to express how incredible it is. I`ve liked Porcupine Tree before, but I haven`t bothered to check to see if my eject button still works since I put this one in. Fortunately, my inability to capture the goodness of this album in words can be compensated for by posting a link to the album`s microsite which has a video for the title track. A word of caution, though: the video touches on some topics that some might be offended by, including child violence and drug abuse. www.fearofablankplanet.com

Is TV addiction a recognized disorder yet? I really think that one should come first. Though in any case IF this were to pass, I think it should only apply to the extremes, where it interferes with the basic needs of a human(ie not eating, sleeping, etc). Otherwise schools are going to start referring kids to psychiatrists just because they play games instead of doing homework. That`s not addiction, it`s just lack of discipline and something that parents, not doctors and pills should handle.

My copy should be arriving in the mail tomorrow. I hate to say it, but the newer DT albums haven't seen the inside of my cd player much since their releases. I certainly don't think they are a bad band and I have still bought every one of their releases, but there is just something about the Rudess era of DT that doesn't grab me like the older stuff did. That said, I have heard good things about this album and look forward to being drawn back into the fanbase.

hmm... been a while since I've logged in to play. I've more or less just been updating training since september... but then, I haven't played many games at all recently except for some of the arcades here in Okinawa. Anyway, I've been playing on and off for a year and a half(account has been training more or less the entire time). Here in a couple of days I'll start my training on Cloaking V. Then I'll be all set to pilot a Manticore(and a Buzzard as well once I get the appropriate EW skills). In case it isn't too obvious, I play Caldari.

Tried the view info trick in firefox and it's a no go. I get a 27 kb mp3 file that won't play. Also, when I copy the file location and try to go directly to it I get redirected. Songbird was also unable to download it, even though it is usually good about such things. I'll pm the mixers and ask if they would let someone mirror it somewhere that is more globally accessible. Ah, nevermind. Derek was kind enough to send me an alternate link. Thank you very much, Derek!

I like Dark Butz and I cannot lie...