PFunked

Boo HP, Yah Ubuntu

My desktop computer has an HP DVD630 internal burner.

I threw away the install disc because it's 2008.

I can't burn DVDs with it in XP. I looked for a driver, and the only one available from HP is a disc they will mail you for $10. No option to download anywhere.

I search through my gear for a solution. If I could transfer the files to my laptop I could burn it that way, but it's too much hassle. Then I remember: I have an Ubuntu 7.10 disc.

I boot into Ubuntu straight from the CD. With zero hassle, it sees both my hard drive data and my DVD630 drive. The DVD burns, no problem.

So a $10 CD from HP contains the driver for one device. And the Ubuntu CD contains untold thousands of drivers for free.

So What's New

- Moving to Auburn
- Job Interview soon
- Turning 28
- Finished Phantom Hourglass
- Epic Flying Mount
- Too much Popeye's (j/k, never too much)

Colloquialisms

Ran across this survey on colloquialisms. Here are my results. Answers in parenthesis are the terms I used when I was younger, but rarely use now.

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
bayou

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
cart (buggy)

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
lunchbox

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
skillet (frying pan)

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
sofa or couch

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
gutter (drain pipe)

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
porch

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
soda (coke)

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
pancake

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
po-boy

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
bathing suit

12. Shoes worn for sports
tennis-shoes

13. Putting a room in order.
cleaning up

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
lightning bug

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
roly-poly

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
see-saw

17. How do you eat your pizza?
??? seems out of place

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
garage sale

19. What's the evening meal?
dinner or supper

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
basement

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
water fountain

April Fools from Around the Internet

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft - Molten Core comes to consoles!
I just yelled "yes!" and laughed hard when they included "Skinning a bear should aggro every bears in a 40 yard radius". It's a warcraft forum meme and it's fantastic they included that in the trailer.

New Bard Class
This one goes to eleven!

YouTube

Click on any of the featured videos. YouTube didn't give me up...

Parkour Game alpha

Parkour game alpha demo

I've got the basic gameplay in place for the Parkour engine I'm making. I have a lot of art assets to create and some bug fixes, but it should be playable.

The game works by giving you an open area to run around in, where you have the ability to climb and vault over obstacles with ease. You can simply explore, or you can take the time challenges where you reach every point of interest (!) as fast as possible.

Note that high scores don't yet persist between sessions. I need to add more input prompts, just remember Enter = "Accept" and Escape = "Cancel" in most situations.

My best times on these alpha levels:
Training Grounds 1: 0:26
Urban Block: 0:35

If you find any bugs, let me know. One out of every 50 plays or so I'll get myself inside a wall, and I don't know how to replicate that yet.