SOLDIERX.COM Nobody Can Stop Information Insemination

With the events of the last 3 months in my personal life, I have grown to wonder what the hell some traditional college students were doing when they were in public schools given the fact that they have no work ethic when it comes to assignments and in some cases lack the capability to think for themselves. Well, today I've decided to break down the epic fail in American Culture that is the public school system.

Disclaimer: The following is a reflection of what Amp's views would be if his nerd-rage was turned up to 11. As such, this writing has been done for entertainment purposes. Enjoy!

A common event when talking with a member of SX.

Him: "I now have a flat screen for my MAME cabinet that can play all games at their native resolution."
Me: "Nice, so pretty much it can play all games except for one."
Him: (Sounding a bit peturbed) "What, what won't run in it's native resolution on it?."
Me: "Your Mom!"
Him: (Laughs) "That sounds like something I would say."

'Yo Mammageddon' initiated!

Well, since I've done a series blasting different technical aspects I may as well call it "Amp Blasts." Today in particular it's time to tackle a topic that has become a staple of this generation of consoles and also a rather disingenuous one at that. The concept of firmware updates on consoles is not a bad idea at all as it does allow for new features and fixes to be implemented. At the same time, these updates sometimes do backfire, HORRIBLY! Of note being that some updates have bricked consoles. In addition, some games try to mandate firmware updates, but my question is WHY? Seriously, forcing firmware updates drives me insane. I shouldn't have to update to a firmware that may brick my console or in the case of my PSP and Wii wipe out my homebrew capabilties.

Yea, kind of didn't realize this, but apparently Sin and Punishment: Star Successor and DeathSmiles are both coming out this weekend.

I know lately I've been doing posts blasting how some consumer products have taken steps in the wrong direction. Well, there is one part of gaming in particular that needs to be addressed, and it's the Wiimote!

Ok, this is a bit of a gripe I've had about the SATA standard for a while, but now it has become a major issue cause I want to get a DVD-RW drive but all of them are SATA and my motherboard only has 2 ports. In the case of the old IDE standard, 2 devices per channel could be used and that would be it. In the case of SATA though it only supports 1 device per channel unless a port multiplier is used which given their pricetag aren't worth it cause a SATA controller could be bought for half of the price. The biggest issue is that with the new SATA 3.0 standard it's STILL only 1 device per channel.

I may as well mention this firsthand. At some point in the near future I do have to update iXtreme LT from 1.0 to 1.1. With this in mind I have been debating if it would be worthwhile enough to do a guide about using Stealth Firmware with Xbox 360. In the past 6 months the game has changed quite a bit due to the crackdown that happened just before Modern Warfare 2 and the newest releases of Jungle Flasher and iXtreme LT. While there is a pretty well done guide available with Jungle Flasher's site, it doesn't cover some of the newer information which is why I'm considering this.

This is going to be a personal (and not a technological) blog so feel free to go past this.

In the past, I was known for being wound up too tight and letting it get the best of me quite a bit. In short, one of the things that RaT was that I was letting the stress get to me too much and needed to change that. It wouldn't be until last year that I started to see how my interpersonal relationships had been effected negatively and decided to change my life as a result of it. What I didn't realize until recently though much damage had been done. After this realization, I am nothing short of horrified and hopefully I'll keep moving away from such destructive behaviors. Also, I kind of realized how much patience some people must have had with me, of note being RaT. With that in mind I wish to thank him as he was a major influence in jumpstarting some major positive changes in my life in the last 18 months.

When I took the position of Presidential Adviser in 2008, it was to help in a time where tensions within the group were at an all time high. The original plan I had was that once I had finished in that role, I would move on accordingly. I didn't expect to be in that position as long as I did. Since the start of this year though, I have found myself in a position where due to outside commitments I am unable to effectively contribute to SoldierX. Furthermore, I have had to ask myself if my heart was in it right now and the simple answer is that it isn't. With this in mind, I have decided that after 10 years, it's time that I move on for the time being and announce my retirement. As my final act in SX, I am recommending that grey_to_black is granted full membership as he has shown the drive and work ethic required to be an effective part of the group.