I was asked what my gripes were with Skyim a while ago. Here's what I said,

Well, for one, the fact that they decided to exclude roads from the maps on Skyrim is very annoying, and forces me to miss out on half the game. Most caves, houses, and other locations are built along the roads in Skyrim, but I never use them because there's no way of telling where the roads go, besides the signs which are placed so intermittently, they're almost unusable. The fact that they had roads on the map in Oblivion, but not in Skyrim, makes me curious as to why the excluded it.

Also, in general, the game is very gray and physically painful to look at. There have been many times where my eyes sort of glaze over as I play the game, and I suddenly realize that I've been staring at a grey mass for the past minute or two. Bethesda seems to have a history of this (as that's how Fallout 3 and New Vegas seem to look), but, again, this issue pains me more because Oblivion had a much larger color pallet, and Skyrim, for some reason, does not. I've been told that this makes the game seem more serious, and although that may be true, I think that could have easily been done without making the game just so... dark.

While most will disagree with me on this one, I kind of miss having to repair my items. I do think the way it worked in Oblivion was stupid, but, without it, I feel no connection to my weapons, otherwise. Improving weapons seems to have been implemented to replace this, but because you can only improve weapons depending on your skill level, it really only happens once or twice, and requires a very small amount of resources to do so. In my opinion, I would have liked to see it work more like in Fallout, where you can repair certain weapons by having other weapons of its type. This is also skill-based, but you can still repair weapons when they become close to breaking, no matter how low your skill is.

Additionally, the textures (originally) were pretty low quality, in my taste. The kind where, up close, they're terribly pixilated (although the HD texture pack they released seems to have fixed that, now), but, far away, they look fine. Also, the game uses up a lot of RAM sometimes (normally when in large environments). Because Skyrim is a 32-bit program, it's limited to only using 4 GBs (I have 8 GBs), meaning, after it reaches that limit, the game starts to slow up. Hopefully this is just a minor bug that will be fixed soon.

Again, these are pretty minor gripes, but, still, add them all up, and it makes the game a pain to play, sometimes. Like I said however, I really do like the game and suggest it to anyone who's considering it, because it's very well put together. I'm just annoyed that many people seem to overlook the many flaws it has for reasons I've previously stated.

Game of the Year 2011

I've been going on and on about this just about every day, so, I figured I'd just toss out my thoughts here, and not bug everyone about it like I have been. (Sorry, Josh.) So, I'm going to list all of the games that either I or others would consider Game of the Year, and talk about each of them. So, here goes. (Oh, and, obvious spoiler alert.)

Portal 2
I loved Portal. It was the first real PC game I ever played, and probably a good one to start on. It was just so... different, and I'm a big fan of black comedy. So, when Portal 2 came out, I was very excited. I was one of the people that did both ARGs, and, thanks to my help, I helped Portal 2 launch two hours early. The night that I played it for the first time (of course, as soon as it had released), I was very, very excited. The opening scene made it that much more awesome. So, needless to say, I might be a bit biased when it comes to Portal 2.

The plot was really good, especially the underground '50s-esque puzzles. I loved the dynamic music, which I've seen much more games start using recently. The characters and overall writing in general was fantastic as always, so, that's a huge plus. I could go on and on about what I loved about it, but, essentially, when it comes down to it, single player was almost perfect. The only things I didn't like was the absence of the Borealis (or any Half-Life tie-ins), and the ending. Having recently beat Episode 2 before Portal 2 came out, I was really expecting at least some sort of hint at the game's relationship, but, instead, all I got was really just an easter egg that was like, "This ship exists!". Not really all that interesting.

The finale was very energizing, and I loved how you ended up going to the moon (it just fit the game really well), but I didn't really like how you ended up being released. I feel like, now, any sequel to Portal will be more of a spin-off, unless they have Chell run around outside of the lab (although, that would change the game dramatically). Also, the end song wasn't as good as Still Alive, but, honestly, how can you live up to that kind of expectation?

Those minor things pale in comparison to co-op's flaws, however. Ultimately, co-op was fun, but just very stale. After you complete the campaign, there's really no reason to play anymore, and the campaign only lasts a couple hours. Plus, the "story" was pretty dull. Also, P-Body.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I had never heard of Deus Ex, or its sequels, until I saw there was a TF2 promotion for the game (classy, right?). But, when I saw the trailer, I knew the game would be fun, right off the bat. Unfortunately, that's not how I felt when I actually bought it.

Deus Ex's biggest feature is the plot. It's very original, and opens itself up to tons of gameplay options. The leveling up in the game just makes sense, which is neat, because, otherwise, that kind of thing is hard to justify plot-wise. The gameplay itself is also fun. I love sneaky kinds of games, and Deus Ex is able to pull it off very well.

Unfortunately, that's where the pros stop. The game forces you to choose whether or not you'll play as one who just rushes in and kills everyone, or one who sneaks around. However, if you sneak around, and you get caught, you're basically screwed, which really sucks when you get into the longer missions and you have to start over from the beginning. Also, while the color scheme of the game looks really cool, the textures (for the PC, at least) are terrible. And, this is coming from someone who can run it on highest settings. People just look so plasticy, and looking out into the horizon, you can easily see that... there is no horizon. It's just a wall that's painted to look like a city. I feel like I'm play Truman Show: The Game.

Eventually, I just quit playing, because I could stand constantly being beat up after sneaking around for an hour. The game's really good, but it's that one major flaw that makes it almost unplayable.

L.A. Noire
When I first saw L.A. Noire, I said to myself, "I want this game." But, then I saw it was console only, so I became sad. Then they made a PC port. I was happy. Then it was on sale for $11 during Christmas. I was elated. Overall, L.A. Noire is a very, very underrated game, that deserves much more praise than it got.

L. A. Noire differs from most mystery games in that it's actually good. From the mystery games I've played, most of them have about four cases, they're all stupid, and they all hold your hand the whole time. Team Bondi is able to essentially recreate all of Los Angeles, and toss cases all throughout the city, all of which are different (yes, they are), and yet fulfilling at the same time. To keep things from being monotonous, they have you move up (from playing in Traffic, to Homicide, to Vice, etc.), and also have little mini-missions (like random shoot-outs and hostage situations), which really help make the game something you won't mind coming back to.

Overall, the game is just really huge, and really well put together, except for the fact that the PC port is just awful. Well, not awful, but, very flawed. There's plenty of texture and model popping, and the menus and everything could use a little more tweaking to work well on PC. Plus, the car AI sucks. They all just try to migrate to the right lane, and people just jump right in front of your car, instead of getting out of your way. It's annoying. But, other than that, L.A. Noire is awesome.

Minecraft
I love Minecraft. It's one of the few games I've played more than a couple months. Multiplayer just works so well, and gives it so much longevity. It's very unique, and also full of features. It's also one of the first really successful indie games, and I hope that there's more to come after it. Minecraft is so simple, but, as you get into it, it's really in depth... I dunno, I can't explain the game very well. Just go buy it.

Terraria
Meh.

Batman: Arkham City
I got this game for free with my video card. I had heard that Arkham Asylum was a good game, but didn't ever really consider buy it or Arkham City. This was a mistake. Arkham City, along with L.A. Noire, is very overlooked. I'm not sure what else was carried over from Arkham Asylum, but, it's a very good game, nonetheless. The controls are very fluid; They just work, and that's a very nice aspect of the game. It's difficult, but easy, at the same time. There's plenty to do, and the plot seems relativity long. The biggest flaw of the game is that the plot is pretty stupid. (Who thought it would be a good idea to round up all the criminals in the city and just toss them altogether, just to see what happens? Am I missing something?) Also, the color theme is too... grey. I haven't played the game enough to say much else, but I still highly suggest it to anyone who's considering it.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Oh, Skyrim. I originally saw the game and said, "Okay." I had bought Oblivion months before, played it for a bit, then said, "Eww, fantasy", and quit. I hate fantasy. But, with games like The Elder Scrolls, I decided to push past it, because the games are pretty good. When Skyrim came out, I started playing Oblivion more, because I was like, "Maybe I should see what this is all about." Needless to say, I loved Oblivion, and I could see why people liked Skyrim. So, I bought it when it was on sale on Steam. I liked it, too.

Unfortunately, for me, Skyrim did not live up to the potential I thought it would. Skyrim is huge. Skyrim is fun. Skyrim is awesome. Don't get me wrong; I love this game. But, Skyrim also has a lot of issues that people tend to overlook. The plot(s) suck(s), game is grey, THERE ARE NO ROADS ON THE MAP, and I personally kinda miss repairing weapons. I don't really want to rant on about Skyrim (unless asked), but, ultimately, I feel like Oblivion is a better game.

But, Skyrim also has tons of fun parts too. I can't really name them all, because the game is so big, but, there's plenty to do, and a lot more to offer. It's certainly not a terrible game. It's a very great game. But, it gets more praise than it deserves.

So, Mark, what's your GAME OF THE YEAR!?
I dunno. I'm not one to pick favorites. I can say that Terraria and Deus Ex: HR certainly don't meet my GotY expectations, and I haven't played Arkham City enough to say it's that good either. Overall, I guess I would say it's probably Portal 2, but that's only because I've played Minecraft so much, it doesn't seem new to me. I dunno. All of these games are really good, so you should go buy them and see for yourself whether you like them or not. Let me know if you've got any comments on what I have to say; I'd be happy to discuss any of my opinions with you.

Why People Should Stop Hating Valve

Ever since Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play, people have been bashing Valve for ruining a game. This is a completely false statement. Let me explain why:

First, of course, are the hats. I will say, I can see where people are coming from. Some people make their characters looks so unrecognizably ugly, that people don't even know what class is heading towards them. I get that. Team Fortress 2 was developed with class silhouettes in mind, and hats completely ruin them. That's why I think Valve should let users disable viewing custom class content like that.

At the same time, however, people seem to hate Valve for creating the Mann Co. Store. They say that Valve is greedy, and that they are letting people buy their way into being good. This makes absolutely no sense. The Mann Co. Store is a completely optional shop in Team Fortress 2 where you can buy weapons and hats for a price. Are the prices high? Yes. Would I ever buy something from there? No. But do I whine and complain about how others can? No, because it doesn't matter. You don't have to buy stuff from the store, and it doesn't affect the way you play. All items are balanced, and while some might be more overpowered than others, in the long run, Valve eventually ends up nerfing them anyway, and the problem is easily taken care of. The Mann Co. Store is simply a way for Valve to make money off of a game after they made it free. And you call them greedy? Sure, they might give you crates you can't open without purchasing keys. Sure, they might have exclusive hats or paints that aren't found through random drops. But, in the end, it doesn't really affect how you play, and it certainly doesn't make Valve greedy for earning money off of the stupid people that buy items from them.

Second is the fact that the game is free. I apparently was the only person that thought this was cool. I could finally get all my cheap friends to play this great game! Plus, it was an easy way to earn free points! But no one else saw it that way. They all though that the Team Fortress 2 fanbase would just become a mass of unknowledgeable stupid people, who would not know how to play the game, and never learn. This is another point I don't understand. I can see why, in the short term, making a game free-to-play would be devastating to the original fans of the game, especially when Valve decided to only compensate by giving us an exclusive hat (which, in the end, is probably not worth the $20 everyone paid for the game). But, in the long term, doesn't this just mean more stuff? More fans means more servers, more players, more community items, along with more support from Valve. It's not like these people will stay stupid for forever. They'll learn how to play like everyone else, and eventually become good at it.

So, yeah. "You think you're cool? Well, guess what, you're not. Do not make fun of, uh, Team Fortress 2."

Gizmodo

Alright, I've said this at least thirty times, but I really need to explain myself here. I hate Gizmodo. I used to love them. I read their articles all the time. And they do post useful information. But I hate how many of their articles are don't even try to avoid bias from the article. It's stupid, and annoying.

Take this one (watch for language), about Ashton Kutcher "leaving Twitter". The news here isn't much more than a blip. Ashton Kutcher is leaving Twitter, explain why, the end. Now, sure, they add in how stupid it is. And while I agree with them on that point, the main problem is that they make it the main point of the article. Sure, Ashton Kutcher is leaving Twitter, but he's a coward! Omg! News news news! I bet viewers will flock to this article because of how interesting the title is! I understand there needs to be appeal to draw viewers in. I get that. But the article itself doesn't have to be filled with the same stuff the title implies. But this article goes even further.

They go on to talk about their opinion on Joe Paterno, someone who's only indirectly related to this article. I myself disagree with their opinion on what happened, but, still. It's stupid. No one wants to read an article about Ashton Kutcher, only to learn that the author of the article, Mat Honan, thinks that Paterno got what he deserved. That's not something that makes people intrigued to read the piece, or like the article. It's irrelevant and annoying.

And that's why I stopped reading Gizmodo.

Make Your Crap-Phone Like a Smartphone

Smartphones have access to a lot of helpful tools that can be really useful, especially when traveling abroad. Unfortunately  they also come with the requirement of paying for a data package, which is an extra cost most people don't appreciate. While you can't get your phone to do everything a smartphone can, there are a lot of helpful tools out there that can make your phone more powerful than it currently is. Here's a couple of those tools:

Bing 411:
Normally, I'd suggest a Google service, like GOOG-411, but, as of November last year, the project has been discontinued. Bing 411 works almost exactly the same, and just as well. Simply call the number (1-800-246-4411), and tell it what you want it to do. It essentially gives you access to the powerful tools Bing offers online, all over voice instead. Some of the services it offers are:

• Find local shops and restaurants
• Get directions to said locations
• Find phone numbers to call buisnesses
• Get local traffic reports
• Find movie theater showtimes and ticket information
• Find the current weather and future forecasts

Another feature Bing 411 offers is the ability to send you text messages with some of the provided information. This is useful if you don't want to rack up more and more minutes forcing Bing to repeat driving directions for you. Click here to try out Bing 411.

Google SMS:

The downside to Bing 411 is that it's fully automated; So, if you can't get it to comprehend your voice commands, you're out of luck. Fortunately, Google runs a service that lets you text it commands, while it replies with the information you request. Google SMS is also more feature rich than Bing 411, with features like:

• Flight information
• Calculator/converter
• Driving directions
• World clock
• Weather
• Shopping information
• Translations
• Web snippets
• Zip code locations
• Stocks
• Sports scores
• Dictionary definitions
• Movie theater times
• Local business locations and information

Unfortunately, from experience, sometimes the 160 character limit hinders results (Like when asking for Cardinal game scores, it will provide scores from the Arizona Cardinals), and, sometimes, the features don't work at all. More often than not, though, the service works as-advertised. Additionally, Google provides SMS access to Google Calendar (allowing you to send yourself event reminders, and view upcoming events), and create blog posts for Blogger by sending texts. Click here to try out any of these services.

Facebook Text Messages:
If you're an avid Facebook user, you probably find times where you want to socialize on-the-go. Fortunately, Facebook runs a service that lets you send commands via SMS to perform the following actions:

• Update your status
• Send friend requests
• Subscribe to people
• Receive notifications

Many people find the last feature annoying, others find it useful. Whatever the case, you can sign up to use Facebook Text Messages, and turn notifications off. It's up to you. Visit this link to start using Facebook Text Messages.

Additionally, Facebook runs a service that lets you upload pictures and videos via MMS. Simply access the Facebook Mobile page to obtain your secret photo/video uploading email address, and add it as a contact in your phone. The next time you have a photo to upload, send it via that email, with the caption as the subject of the message. It will automatically upload to a special Mobile Uploads album on Facebook, and appear in your friends' news feeds. This feature does not cost any money, as long as you pay your mobile carrier for MMS uploads.

Google+ via SMS:

Just like Facebook, Googly+ also allows you to access your account through text messages. However, Google's service allows you to have much more control over what you do. Some provided features are:

• Update your status
• Specify privacy settings for status update
• Use Messenger via SMS

Unfortunately, Google+'s SMS service does not allow you to upload images and videos via MMS yet. If you're still interested, however, head to this link to start using Google+ via SMS.

Twitter Mobile:

Twitter, being designed to be used via text messages, has built in capabilities to let you tweet, follow, and message others on Twitter. Some features are:

• Send tweets
• Follow/unfollow users
• View a user's latest tweet
• Retweet or favorite said tweet
• Send a direct message to a user
• Notifications of tweets from specific users
• Notifications of direct messages and replies

Just like Facebook, Twitter allows you to turn off mobile notifications if you find it annoying. To set up Twitter for your phone, click here.

YouTube Upload from Mobile:

YouTube allows you to upload videos from your phone via SMS. To do this, you'll have to set it up first, by getting a unique email address, similar to Facebook's photo/video upload. Add the email as a contact, and send your video to the email address, with the title of the video located in the subject of the message. YouTube will then automatically upload the video to your account.

Windows Live Messenger via Mobile:

This is probably one of my favorite mobile "apps". This one lets you IM friends on Windows Live Messenger via your phone. It also allows you to update your WLM status. Although it's not feature rich, the lone feature it supports works and is very powerful on its own. To set up Windows Live Messenger via Mobile, simply click here.

There's plenty more mobile services out there that I haven't covered, but these are by far the most useful, and, personally, my favorite. None of these use data, and some don't even use text messaging, if you don't pay for either of those. It's a good backup to have in case you find yourself roaming on another network, or maybe even on a network without data. Even then, these are all very powerful tools that allow you to access more of the internet from simply sending a text or speaking a command.

Facebook Phone Numbers

Once again, Gizmodo has blown everything out of proportion, this time with Facebook's contact sync feature. So, here's a short blog post to explain things a bit.

If you have Facebook for your iPhone, it has a feature that lets you sync your phone contacts and Facebook contacts. I've had mine replace pictures on my phone with pictures of people on Facebook; That way, I don't have to take new ones each time someone gets a haircut or something like that. It's not really all that important, but it's nifty, so I have it turned on. This feature is OFF by default. I had to turn it on to get it to do anything.

On another note, if you were stupid enough to give Facebook your phone number, and set it public for all to see, then, on Facebook, you can access a list of your Facebook contacts who have shared their phone numbers online. They also add your synced phone contacts to that list, if you have that turned on.

Facebook is not stealing your phone number and handing it out to people. Facebook is not taking your contacts and publishing them to the internet, or putting them in a database. It is highly unlikely Facebook would ever make such information public in the first place. What benefit would that be to anyone?

Final E3 Impressions

So, E3's major conferences just finished today, and here's what I have to say:

Microsoft: Waaaayy too much about the Kinect. People go to E3 to see the latest and greatest, and if all you have to talk about is a bunch of casual titles, then I'm kind of concerned. On another topic of discussion, why on earth  is Minecraft coming to the Xbox 360? Developed by another company? Being developed despite the fact that you have two other versions not even finished? Kinect support? Possibly a Kinect-only title? Who thought that was a good idea?

Sony: Even though there weren't very many surprises here, the PSV looks delicious, especially for the price. I just hope all the developers have the same idea as Naughty Dog does (about the touchscreen). The one bad thing is that you chose AT&T for the 3G service. Did you do any research about this decision?

Nintendo: The Wii U is what the Wii should have been. Unfortunately, it looks like you'll just be playing catch-up until you decide to beef up your console, and not try and make it like last generation's. The controller seems pretty uncomfortable, and although having a screen does have its pros, it overall makes the controller way too big. However, it looks like third-party developers are on-board with this console, with big names like Assassin's Creed coming to the platform. As for the 3DS, I'm glad to see you finally announced some titles, not to mention that they look really good. I'm not sure about the whole flying thing for Mario Kart, but StarFox, Super Mario, and... Super Smash Bros.!? I kind of want a 3DS now.

Programs you need to download.

These are all programs you should have installed on your computer (for anyone and everyone). I suggest you at least read this, as you probably have some of these already.

1. (Free) Virus protection software
This is one thing pretty much everyone should have. What most people don't know is that free virus protection is actually better than the stuff you pay for. Software like Norton or McAfee normally give you more protection than you need (or want), slows your computer down, and can be really annoying when it asks for updates and stuff like that. I would suggest installing AVG Free, Microsoft Security Essentials, or Avast!.


2. A better internet browser
Time to face the truth: Internet Explorer is the worst browser out there. Because it is used by a TON of people, it's the most targeted for virus attacks and, therefore, the most exploited. It also is missing support for a lot of standardized web features and, as such, makes web developers' jobs a nightmare. Plus, other browsers have lots of great features that Internet Explorer doesn't have, a better design, and are faster by far. I suggest either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. (If you're still unsure why you should switch, or which one to choose, take a look at these pages.


(If you, for whatever reason, feel like you must use Internet Explorer, I urge you to at least download the new Internet Explorer 9. While still not the best choice out of all the browsers available, it's much better [and much more web-standards-compliant] than Internet Explorer 7 or 8.)




3. Some sort of office suite
Unfortunately, unlike the other two applications I suggested you download here, this one more than likely costs you money, but, trust me, it's worth it. Almost everyone one (Friends, family, work, school, etc.) uses Microsoft Office, and, if you don't, it's kind of hard to get around. I suggest Home and Student (or Professional, if you'd like Outlook, Publisher, or Access.)


Of course, if you really need to, there are some free alternatives. Google Docs, Open Office, and Microsoft Office Web Apps all offer about the same functionality (which is to say, not much). They all also let you read Office documents. Open Office is downloadable, if you'd like an offline client as well. I honestly would suggest actually buying Microsoft Office, but, if you're really that frugal, these are your best options.


That's all for now. I might add more later.

BEST. DAY. EVER.

So it's a halfday, and an upcoming three day weekend. Pretty excited. Then this happened.

BEST. DAY. EVER.

LEAVE NOTCH ALONE

I can't stand to hear people whine about how bad of a job Notch is doing. Seriously, he's one of, like, five programmers in a tiny little company. He made a fun game that a bunch of people bought, but you can't expect him to be some sort of EA CEO or something like that. He's doing his job, and a fine one at that. The game works well, apart from a few small bugs, and those bugs have never caused any serious damage. So leave the porr guy alone. He's got a great beard and an awesome hat. That's reason alone to love him.

Video Games and Violence, Fast Food, and Obscene Music

I know, I know. It's the same old song and dance. Blah blah blah.

But, I found out today, fast food and video games and violence are very closely related. I'm sure you've heard of both of the "controversial issues.""Violent video games influence kids to make bad decisions." "Fast food makes you fat." "Today's rap is disgusting and infecting our kids minds." The list goes on and on. But these are all very closely related.

We are putting the blame on the wrong people.

Society today has some sort of issue with putting the blame on themselves. It is not video game companies' fault for infecting the minds of children. It's not fast food companies' fault for making kids fat. It's not rap artists' fault for giving teenagers bad ideas. It's the people that buy them.

Does the ESRB not do enough for you? They rate every game, give you reasons why, and even offer details about each specific game to those who want them. (They're free, online!) Does the news about fast food resturants not tell you enough? How it isn't real meat, how it's all bad for you? Do you not see the "EXPLICIT" marking on iTunes, or the "Parental Advisory" sticker on the album cover? These are all the precautions made for people that don't seem to understand why exactly something is bad.

And yet, somehow, people seem to make it "not their fault." How do you "unknowingly" show your ID when buying Grand Theft Auto for your kid, then find out it's obscene, then decide to blame the developer of the game, and not yourself?

This is what has made me so mad about the whole argument on video games and violence today, along with obscene lyrics and fast food. If you don't like it, don't buy it! You can talk about how horrible it is that other kids are getting their hands on some of this stuff when they really shouldn't be (and, heck, I agree with you), but you can't say that it's anyone else's fault but their own. There are already precautions in place to keep people from doing said things, and it's best to let those people be.

Video Game Review: Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble

I decided I might start doing things like this more often. Here goes.

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble is a successor to the supposedly amazing game, Viewtiful Joe on the GameCube. It was highly praised and is considered one of the best GameCube games of all time. This DS "sequel" is not.

To be honest, I've never played Viewtiful Joe before, so I was a bit confused when I started the game. Why did this guy just wander on to some movie set to try and beat an actor up, only to realize he can't use his powers outside of "movie world (whatever that is)?" What kind of superhero doesn't already know his weaknesses? This is how the first sequence takes placed. I figured that this guy only has real super powers in movies, but not off the set (or something like that), and now he wants to save the world from crime, but he can't for obvious reasons. Ok, makes sense to me. I guess.

Then we're told that some guy who Joe knows has this camera that lets him use his powers in the real world. It's never explained where this camera comes from or how it does what it does, it just appears with this old guy and he tells him to shout the magic words and power up. This is where I realized the story in this game probably isn't that great.

The game is your average beat-em-up side-scroller. You find robots (who's appearance are also unexplained) using your "V-Power." V-Power gives Joe special abilities, such as the ability to slow down time, or the ability to... scratch enemies? What?

Yes, you're supposed to scratch enemies, and it's treated like kicking or punching someone. It's supposed to be for enemies that are, in a sense, blocking your attacks by attacking you. The problem with this is that it's out of the way. It's hard to pull out your stylus and start scratching the enemy in the alloted time, and you can't see anything if you stab your finger around on the screen.

At this point, I stopped playing the game.

I will commend Capcom for making a game that, aside from the touchscreen aspects, didn't use the DS's gimmicks. The top screen shows you fighting, the bottom screen just shows a more zoomed in view. The microphone, to my knowledge, is never used. This is surprising for a game released fairly early in the DS's lifecycle, when features like these were abused to no end.

Capcom also did a good job with the graphics. They pushed the limits of the DS by making pretty big levels with a bunch of moving, 3D objects. They also utilized "cell shading," something the DS excells at. So, all in all, the graphics aren't that bad either.

So,what's the problem?

Double Trouble has controls that work, apart from the touchscreen aspect, which is a pretty hard concept to grasp. The graphics aren't that bad, and it doesn't abuse the DS's features. The real issue is that that's about it. There's nothing very interesting about this game. You beat up bad guys and move on. The story is barely a story at all, as things just seem to happen with no explanation. There is no online or multiplayer, there's no cool feature that changes the game at all. It's just a regular beat-em-up.

I'd give this game a 7/10. It's not horrible by any means, but there's nothing to keep you interested, and the touch screen thing just doesn't work. If you want a regular beat-em-up, this game is what you want, but it doesn't seem to change a whole lot as nothing seems to happen ever.

Album Update

Yeah, so,  a lot of you are probably wondering if this album is coming out or not. It is... Just not now. The long standing problem is that we need a way to make beats and music, but I've been too lazy to do that. However, after some of my friends from school found out that I'm an amazing album, they're just desperate to have this released. So, no turning back now... Hopefully I'll get FL Studio for Christmas. If not, I'll just buy it myself. We'll see.

I'm also thinking about not doing a remake and just making a new album entirely. I have so many good ideas for songs that I originally just wanted to be bonus tracks on the new album. But now I think I have more bonus tracks than albums.

I've actually written a whole rap, all from scratch. I wrote it to rap at Cross Country practice, and expanded it to a full-length song. In my opinion, it reads better as a poem than a rap, but I'm sure I can make some modifications.

If you guys are really desperate, I'll post the rap here. But it is pretty gruesome, so. Yeah. I got a reputation to keep. :P

Things that irritate me about Facebook

1. When your profile picture is not a portrait of you. It's not as bad when it's a group shot or something with you at least in it, but when you post, then you get some closeup of three people or something like that and you can't tell who the heck it's supposed to be.
Then there are the people too lazy to even upload a profile picture. Come on, you have to have one of you SOMEWHERE.
Then there are the people who upload some "funny" image as their profile picture. No. That's not you. I don't care if it's on your wall or whatever, but the profile picture helps people identify who you are. And you are not a dancing cat.
Then there are the people who take a picture of something else (like, an object) and set it as their profile picture. I've seen this only once, but it's still there. Seriously. What the heck.

2. When someone talks in chatspeak on Facebook. This is not Twitter or a text message. You don't have a character limit. In fact, most people get on Facebook out of boredom. So you basically have all the time you want. So you don't need to spend less time typing (and therefore making yourself look stupid), when you could make yourself seem somewhat smart. (This is worse with some people than others)

3. When you don't understand the difference between private and public. Nobody wants to see you talking to your boyfriend about how hot he is on his wall. That's what a private message is for.

4. When someone likes 800 pages in one day. We get an update in our newsfeed when that happens, so everyone can see that you liked 147 pages today. Go spend your time doing something else.

5. When you accept anyone's friend request. What's the point of making your profile private when you accept a friend request from anyone?

6. When you take a picture of yourself in the mirror while holding a camera. Sure, it's easy, but you look like an idiot. Just point the lens at your face and shoot.

7. When someone uses a Facebook application that posts on their wall or someone else's. I don't want to get an update that tells me you're 23% Asian, or that you need me to help you find your dog on Farmville. Nobody else does, either.

These are just a few of the many things. I don't expect any of these to change, but I'll use these as a list of things I won't do on Facebook.

Facebook

I gots a Facebook. You can friend me or whatever here.

Mark Farmer

Create Your Badge

To be honest, if you're reading this, I've probably already friended you (because I think only Micheal, Josh, and Jared read this anymore), but, hey, doesn't hurt.

Why?

Why?

Team Fortress 2 Theme

I've always wanted to do something like this, and last night, we finally did.



Ian's on bass, Josh is on guitar, Josh is on cello, and I'm on Violin. This take doesn't sound as great, but below, you can find our edited one (where we each recorded individually), and we fixed a few mistakes we made in the above video.

Fred

Recently, I noticed the extreme love or hatred the world has with Fred.


If you don't already know, Fred is one of the biggest internet stars. He has the most subscribers on YouTube, and has one of the most-watched videos online as well. His videos are about a supposed kindergartner that is normally picked on in and outside of school. Here's one of his most famous videos:





But only until now did I realize how much people hate Fred. Before, it was really simple: Either you thought his videos were funny or you didn't. But now, it runs much deeper. Ex-fans are freaking out because of his most recent videos, which, in my opinion, are much high quality than the "original" ones show above. The fact that he's making a movie about his character also just adds to the fire.


Some people are rabid fans of Fred, and it's understandable as to why. His videos (at the time) were very original, and were directed towards the audience of girls that liked completely random stuff happening repeatedly, and also made the "high-pitched voices are funny" concept more popular. Again, he's the most subscribed person on YouTube, with close to 2 million subscribers. In fact, in a recent interview with Lucas  Cruikshank (Fred), he said one fan came to two of his merchandise signings, 8 hours away from each other.


But then there are those who hate Fred. Some merely dislike his videos. Others don't like his high-pitched scream. But recently, there have been those who dislike his recent advancements. Just a year or two ago, large media corporations picked up on Fred's popularity, and has since used it to their advantage. He's been the subject of dozens of sponsorships, and his fans have defiantly noticed.


On one of his videos, lolaloveable260 made this comment:


"Dude, these videos are getting so lame... they used to be funny. Then you signed up with Nick and it's like, **** dude, just stop. This isn't funny and soon enough you'll have more dislikes than likes. You're too old for this ****, aren't you sick of this yet?

Come up with something new, dude. You had fame and now you're falling to the bottom, just like every other celebrity who didn't play their cards right."

And now, it's time for my opinion.

I do not like Fred's videos, but that doesn't mean I hate Fred or Lucas Cruikshank. In fact, the one thing I hate about Fred is the general population's outright disgust for Fred and his works. Comments like the one above make me think, "How can you hate someone this much?" And then there are the videos of "Fred gets shot!" "Fred gets blended!" and so on.

First of all, Fred is a star, and his fans have to come to terms with that. Fred is not just some YouTube celebrity anymore. His new movie shows that he is an actor, not just some kid messing around with his mom's camera. People like lolaloveable260 don't seem to understand that one of the worst things Fred could do is to keep doing the same old stuff over and over. If anything, his new videos are an improvement. There's much more quality, content, and actual humor in them. They've made me laugh a few times, whereas his older videos didn't.

So, basically, in conclusion, people that hate Fred need to have an honest legitimate reason, and people that are "ex-fans" need to realize who Fred is now, and his current potential.

That is all.

Supa Cool Stuff - 7/22/2010

Here's some neat news of the now. Maybe I'll do this more often. I dunno.

Telltale Games is attending the Comic Con, and in honor of the event, they've put pretty much all their games on sale. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People is only $5, and seasons one and two of Sam & Max are only $10 as well. Check it out!


Speaking of money-spending opportunities, Lemon Demon has put their greatest hit, The Ultimate Showdown, up for download on the Rock Band Network! It's $2, but is only available to those who own Rock Band 2 on the Xbox 360 (for now...).



For those who don't already know, Valve has created a free co-op alien shooter called Alien Swarm, and released it a few days ago. It's free, so why not download it?


So, yeah, that's about it for today. Oh, here's a cool picture.

Awesome Sbarro Cash Register

Next time you have a chance to go the Sbarro (the one at the Chesterfield Mall, obviously), make sure you take a look at the unused cash register. You'll find that it will occasionally show the message "c-c-c-combo BREAKER". It's a video game reference only some people will get, but I thought it was awesome.

Auto-Tune

I've been reading about peoples opinions of Auto-Tune, and figured I'd throw in my own two cents on it.

In case you don't know, Auto-Tune is a program used to alter the pitch in peoples music. It was originally only used sparingly, to fix small mistakes in music. However, in 1998, Cher released her hit single, Believe, which introduced the world to what is now know as the "T-Pain Effect" (as Cher used it in one song, however, T-Pain used the effect in all of his songs). You can especially hear it when they hold long notes.

Apparently, some people hate this with a passion, (such as Jay-Z, who wrote an entire song about how much he hates Auto-Tune) and I have no idea why. Some say that if an artist uses it, they aren't a true artist. But, to be honest, I don't think any of their fans care. I mean, as long as they come out and sat, "Hey guys, I'm not a pitch-perfect robot, I use Auto-Tune," then I don't see why you would hate them for using it. All of their fans know he/she uses Auto-Tune, and they're still their fans, so I don't think it makes them any less of an artist.

Others stereotype the artists and say that anyone that uses Auto-Tune sucks. Not because they could be considered "fake" artists, but because, apparently, using Auto-Tune can somehow contribute as a factor of why you hate an artist. For example, some people say that Justin Bieber is a bad artist because his lyrics are repetative, he sounds/looks like a girl, and seems like he's 10 years old. These people would also say that he "uses Auto-Tune," as if that makes him seem any worse, when it doesn't. (Although I do dislike him and his works)

Please comment with your opinions.

Michael Playing Kirby

A while back, after summer camp I believe, my friend Michael and I were on our way back home, and I decided to record him playing Kirby Super Star Ultra. Here's what happened:

Cool Things Google Can Do

So, we all know Google is awesome, and about all of the neat services it provides. However, he's some cool things you can do just by searching specific terms into the search bar:

Weather:  Search "weather [city, state]"
Stocks:  Search the ticker symbol for the stock
Time:  Search "time [city]"
Calculator:  Search the math equation. (You can use ^ for exponents and "sqrt" for the square root). You can also use the calculator to convert measurements.
Earthquakes:  Search "earthquake [city, state]" or "earthquake"
Population/Unemployment rate:  Search "population [state]" or "unemployment rate [state]"
Dictionary:  Search "define [word]"
Local search:  Search "[general category] [ZIP code]" (For example, "itallian food 63011")
Movies:  Search "movies [ZIP code]" or "[movie title] [ZIP code]" for showtimes
Health:  Search a health term (Ex. "asthma")
Poison control:  Search "poison control" to find the Poison Control Hotline
Suicide prevention:  Search "suicide" to find the Suicide Prevention Hotline
Flu shots:  Search "flu" to find locations in your area that give flu shots during flu season
Arline information:  Search "[airline] [flight number]" or [city/airport code] airport" for flight delays and current arrival/departure times
Map:  Search "[city/state] map"
Related sites:  Search "related:[website address]" to find sites related to that website
Package tracking:  Search any tracking number for a USPS, FedEx, or UPS package to track its current location
Patents:  Search "patent [patent number]"
Area code locations: Search an area code to find where it is located

That's not to mention the other countless services Google runs. Check them all out. They're all really great.

Spring 2010 Orchestra Concert

Here's us playing at our orchestra concert that we had today!









Also, I got a rose. :D

Prepositional Music

Our class needed to memorize some prepositions for an upcoming test. This proved to be a difficult task, so my friend created a song of the prepositions. He just recorded himself saying them and then set it to some music. As he said himself, it sucked.

Preposition Song sound bite

Sound bits

I found these sound bits, so I figured I'd upload them to share with you guys.

After a long practice hike for Philmont, Jared and I recorded these in the car on the way home. They're really boring. But, here they are.

Me Talking in the Car sound bite

 

Jared Talking in the Car sound bite

Edumacational Filmature

New videro:



Pretty funny. Seriously, sit through it all. It's good. Here's the bloopers:



BONUS:Want in on those totally scientific drawings? Get high-res pics here!

Orchestra Concert, Comin' Right Up!

Here's teh music I'm playing at my upcoming orchestra concert. In order from favorite to least favorite:


Toccatina - William Hofeldt
Dance of the Tumblers (from Snow Maiden) - Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakoff (Arr. by Sandra Dackow)
Korean Folk Song Variants - Arirang (Arr. by Elliot Del Borgo)

So, yeah. There you go. More coming up... later, or something like that.

Confirmation Fun!!11!1!!

So, yeah, I'm offically confirmed now. Here's me giving my testimony.



Here's my testimony. FUN STUFF. LEIK IT? POST COMMENTS.

Also, check out my new subdomains!
aba.jamco.biz
videos.jamco.biz
jmmc.jamco.biz
blog.jamco.biz

AWESUM.

Psst. Check out this website. This guy makes some cool music.

2012 Review

Ok, so, I just saw 2012, and, to be honest, it wasn't all that good. To say the least, it was very predictable, very unrealistic, and was full of cheesy "comedy."

*SPOILER ALERT*

Essentially, this movie is about destruction. The core of the Earth is really hot for some reason, and it's making everything move and burst into flames. I will say, visually, the movie was great. Everything looked realistic. However, some parts were way too generic. Here are a few scenes:

• The Earth is falling just behind the group of escaping main characters, as we see the landscape lowering just behind them. (This happens more than once)
• Two buildings are falling vertically into each other. The main characters in the plane fly right between them.
• Main character falls into bottomless pit. Just as the other characters are getting ready to leave, the main character comes out of the pit and makes it back to the rest of the characters

As you can see, these scenes were easy to predict and were expected in a movie like this.

The unrealistic comes into play just a few minutes into the movie. Although movies like this tend to not be as realistic as normal, even meaningless events made no sense. In one scene, we find out that, two days before the Earth "explodes" or whatever, the Chinese have already built gigantic ships to carry away the wealthiest and richest people. This happens in mere weeks of finding the exact date of destruction. The characters say a generic racist joke and move on. I, on the other hand, and wondering how anyone could draw up these plans and still have time to make the ships.

And, finally, the comedy. You'd think that, in a time of an international crisis such as this, that there'd be no time for laughing, much less bad jokes. Unfortunately, that's not the case, as characters crack jokes like "we lost it all in Vegas" and "we're going to need a bigger plane," along with (harmless) racist jokes, potty jokes, and more.

*END SPOILER*

So, overall, it was ok. At least the movie made sense. I was able to follow along well, and got to know each of the characters. And, as I said, the visuals were good. However, I think this sums the movie up; Here were the last two lines:

Little Girl: I'm not scared. No more Pull-Ups.
Main Character: Nice.

Laser Tag, Baby Aliens, and Club Penguin

Today, we had an outreach event for our youth group, where we played laser tag and ate pizza. We were supposed to invite someone that didn't go to church, so I invited Josh. During the laser tag, we had the greatest time.

If you've ever been to Sports Fusion, and played a game of laser tag, you'll know that the most sought-after area during the game is the "sniping spot." If your team can take over that one small location, you will dominate. Naturally, Josh and I went for this spot. When we got up there, a few kids had already "claimed it." So, we though, "Eh, we can take them." Then we ran into this 5-6 year old. He apparently was supposed to stand guard. However, instead of "shooting people to make them leave" he "pushed people out of the area." Obviously, this kid was way too young to have any strength to push us out. He was strong, I will admit, but all he really did was push you around. You could easily just walk away from him. This is where I did my favorite thing I like to do in this situation, which is to be calm and do absolutely nothing. While this kid pushed me around and started shouting "GET OUT. YOU'RE OUT," I talked to him, and said things like, "Is this how you normally handle situations? Do you just push people around?"

Josh, on the other hand, outsmarted him. This kid was about to charge at Josh, when Josh stepped out of the way. This caused the kid to crash into the wall, which caused him to get angry. Then he decided to literally pistol whip us, because pushing wasn't working. I kept talking to him the whole time, getting absolutely no response. After a while, some other kids came and realized what was happening, and told some of the "referees." Apparently, this kid was running away from them at that point. When the game was over, we came out and the kid tried to get us to not say anything to the staff. How stupid does he think we are?

Afterwords, we signed up for another game of laser tag. In this game, we did the same thing: Went for the sniping spot. Once we got there, a bunch of other kids came. Instead of fighting them, we told them to stay up there with us. This formed an alliance, which meant that out of the 4-5 times there, three of them were on our side. We owned.

After we came home, we watched a show called Nanalan'. This is a show for preschoolers that teaches them things, like about butterflies, or cleaning. This show was prime game for Josh and I to make fun of. The website has clips of the show, so you can see just how weird it is. We have a lot of fun making fun of it.

Then, we went on and poked at some people on Club Penguin. It was tons of fun, because these people figured that, instead of going to their "igloo" (which is a private home only certain people can enter) or change servers so I can't find them, they just run around the map, in hopes we will leave them alone. To be honest, we didn't do much. We merely shouted odd things in their presence. (I would write more, but I am tired.)

So, yeah . That was my day. Good stuff.

Orchestra Concert

We had our orchestra concert today. It went pretty well. My favorite piece we played was Allegro, but I think we played One-Bow Concerto better than any of our other pieces.

Anyway, I've already uploaded all of our concert videos, so, here they are (in order from my favorite to... not so favorite)









Now,I know a lot of you (or at least Brandon Powers) are probably wondering where the aforementioned "One-Bow Concerto" is. Well, conveniently, the camera batteries died at the start of that piece, and, coincidentally, my dad decided to put the other batteries in the camera AFTER that piece.

I am also planning on uploading last years concert videos soon. (I have no idea why I haven't already). We might also have some exclusive high-quality recording done the day of the concert. (However, it is unknown WHEN we will get said recording)

Speaking of high quality, on my website, I made the latest video downloads conversions of the raw video file (in other words, the downloads are higher quality than the YouTube video, although it's usually the other way around) If you have iTunes or Windows Media Player, you can actually stream these downloads without downloading them, instead of watching the YouTube video, which is, again, lower quality. (Although, I'm not sure if streaming with WMP works. I tried it, and it buffered A LOT.)

So, yeah. Any questions or comments, leave a, well, comment. I love to hear from your guyz.

To "Jack Prouty"

Mark Farmer

c/o Cheap As Free Inc.
2976 Mishler Road

Mio, MI 48647

February 22, 2010

Jack Prouty

4719 Cole Avenue, Room 12

Dallas, TX 75205-3516

Dear Mr. Prouty:

We regret to inform you that your order of "#8187 Tranquilizer Darts (10)" and "#8191 Tranquilizer Gun, Silver" are out of stock at the time, as we no longer carry these items, as the law prohibits us from selling them any longer. Enclosed is a full refund of your order, including shipping and handling. (Please contact the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] for your tax refund)

As per request, we also have an update on your order of "#6773 Plug & Play 'Robo Robby: Ultimate Destroyer' Lifelike Robot (1/2 size)." We at Cheap As Free Inc. rely on only the best materials from the most suspicious companies, and are taking great care in creating your robot. However, being a commercial business, our need for human organs (which are required to build your order) is small in comparison to humans. We have recently been informed that we are number 36 on the "Heart Donor" list and number 47 on the "Kidney Donor" list at at Mercy Hospital. If requested, we can contact anyone on our list of available "organ harvesters," although partially illegal and whose work are of diminished quality. This would be a secret "under-the-table" operation, and only between you and one of our reliable businessmen here at Cheap As Free Inc.

If you need to, contact us by phone at (800)CHEAP-CO or (800)243-2726, or online at CheapAsFree.com. If needed, personal contact can be provided by giving the order number "88616" when asked. Please do not reply to this address.

Sincerely,

Mark Farmer

Concert Preview

I should be uploading a concert preview to my website sooner or later. It will be unfinalized recordings of our class playing our concert pieces. Hope you enjoy them!

EDIT: Turns out I am not able to get ahold of the require materials to provide this entertainment. Hope to see you at the concert!

Musings...

I'm bored. I have a lot on my mind right now...

First of all, I'm disappointed in whoever created the Ocean's Eleven soundtrack. I've just recently saw the movie, and have been listening to jazz music lately, and loved the music. I went to buy it, and hated the album. It contains all the music from the movie, but they took the time to interrupt the music with dialog from the movie. At the beginning and end of the song, they insert unrelated dialog for no reason whatsoever. Now I'm angry that I can't enjoy the music, if I chose to buy the album.

Next up on my mind is the Star Wars Holiday Special. I saw someone essentially summarize the "movie" with clips and such. It was, by far, the worst film I had ever seen. Unlike my previous worst movie (Manos the Hands of Fate), where the plotline made no sense, and it seemed like the cast/crew didn't even try, this film contained all the cast from the movie, good effects, crew, etc. Which is exactly why it beats Manos the Hands of Fate. Instead of just being a bad movie, this film seemed like someone actually tried and failed at creating it.

The plotline revolves around the fact that Chewbacca and Han Solo are in space, being attacked by the evil guys, and are running late for the "Life Day" celebration. This makes Chewbacca's family depressed and anxious. Instead of anyone going on some sort of quest to help them out, they wait around in their house doing pointless crap, and forcing the viewers to watch it too. Full instructions for putting together a transmitter, how to make some worthless recipe, what goes on in the mind of the "grandpa" Chewbacca, and other pointless stuff. It's hard to explain without actually seeing the film, but, just remember, if you choose to watch it, you will DEFINATLY regret it.


Also on my mind was this picture I helped Josh Photoshop. I essentially gathered and cropped the images, he added all the cool effects. Check it out:

Awesome, right? I know, I know.

I have other things I COULD say, but I guess I'd rather keep them to myself for now. Maybe later I'll talk about them. Until then... Here's a quote:

"Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."
-The Sniper, Team Fortress 2

Well, here you go.

My blog is now on Blogger, and hopefully safe from being moved around all over the place. Hope it works. :D

Mah Blog!

Some of the pictures aren't working. I tried fixing them, but to no avail. I'll work on it later. :P

JAMCO.BIZ

I just finished up the website a few days ago. I would have told you, but I accidentally deleted the blog. I still have all the old posts, and it's all fixed now, so it's ok. Hope you like it! Give me feedback in the comments or send me an email at webmaster@jamco.biz.

Abducted By Some More Aliens!

Sorry for the lack of posts latly. I've been pretty busy with homework and Windows 7.

Anyway, most of my work is now being focused here. Follow. Subscribe. Become blinded with awesomeness. This is Abducted By Aliens: Collectors Edition.

An Unveiling

Ok, let's make this short: When I was little, I wrote ad-libbed and recording songs and distributed them to... others. These songs made no sense, included nonsense words, were written ad-libbed within hours, and included fake "features."

Well, for those of you that didn't pick up your copy, too bad. BUT, I can compensate by creating a Collector's Edition with remixes and bonus songs, right?

Yes, Abducted By Aliens: Collector's Edition is currently in production. I suspect it will be ready by this holiday season, but seeing as I just got this idea this morning, that could just as easily change. However, to prove to you guys that this isn't CSM 3, or George and Tom, or any other project I backed out of, Josh and I have created some album art. FUN STUFFZ.

Adobe Fun!

I finally got Adobe Master CS3 thing. I got all the awesome products. Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver... Expect awesomeness in the next few months.

Here is our first Photoshop picture. Josh made this one.

Video Games and Violence

Want to know how bored I got? So bored I wrote something. Check it out. Discuss in the comments.

Computer Time

This summer, I've been on the computer. A lot. After I combined my two computers, I was able to play Team Fortress 2, and that game is awesome. Josh and I keep on playing it. Over. And over. And over.

Apparently, my parents have been concerned about this, saying it has caused me loss of sleep, grumpiness, and lack of activity. This morning, I was told I'm going to have a limit of 6 hours on the computer. Great.

However, that's just in the summer. During school (which starts in, like, a week) I get 4 hours. Whoopie. I realized that that's just 3 hours until after school, and an hour after dinner. But that's when I use the computer the most. No body's outside, no one's willing to do any physical activity... The only people around are the ones on Team Fortress 2. No, I'm not about to go on and say, "My only friends are virtual friends..." I'm not friends with any of these people (half of them curse all the time). I'm just saying that that's what I do at night.

Still, if I don't use any of my "hours" after school, that leaves me to 10:00 PM, which is when I go to sleep on a school night. So, I'm kind of mad right now, but I'm sure I'll get over it. :P

8th Grade Orientation Is Tomorrow.

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.