Happy New Year!

Here's wishing all of my readers and lurkers a happy 2011 from my blog!  Try not to drink and drive, or catch any bullets fired up with your skulls.

Merry Christmas!

Remaining true to being as politically-correct as I can be, hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Thanks!

Gulf Oil GT40: Midnight Club Tribute

So I was looking through my old games, and I discovered I hadn't put away my copy of Midnight Club Los Angeles.  I was taking out my stable of cars, re-sharpening my skills, and realized I didn't have a car that was truly mine.  I mean, I have a Lamborghini Murcielago with a few vinyl decals, but no car which was truly a work of art, nothing I had put time and effort into making my own.

So I set out to the Vehicle Showroom and purchased a 2006 Ford GT, to create one of the most iconic race cars ever made: one of the 1969 Gulf Oil Ford GT40s from the 24 Heures du Mans.  Now I had a pretty decent idea of what I wanted to do, the paint scheme and the decals, but I needed reference.  While using my Google-fu, I happened across a website decribing the full restoration of one of those cars from the livery, specifically Chassis #1076:

In the late 1990's, #1076 was purchased by a collector who decided the time had come for #1076 to be proud of it's own racing heritage and not just be viewed as a #1075 "look alike". After much discussion, a state-of-the-art restoration was commissioned to bring #1076 back to its "most significant point" in time:

1969 LeMans.

I decided to make my own #1076, decals, racing strip, roundels, and all, out of this new Ford GT.  Of course, the body of the '06 is different from the '69, and Midnight Club's decal placement and options list leaves quite a bit to be desired, so I had to take a few liberties in places.  However, I remained faithful to the appearance of #1076, and dug deep inside of my creative right brain to design my very own Gulf logo.  More after the break.

Red Dead Redemption - Ouchies!

Looks like John Marston won't be having any more children soon...

Omnibus New Stuff Post

Ahoy, gentle readers.  It's been almost a month that this blog has remained idle, and news has been slow to come here.  So, in sum, I will provide a short, handy summary of what I've been doing during this drought of posting.

First, my friends over at GunWebsites.com have made me a part of their reviewing team.  As part of their team, I get the opportunity to get samples of gear they need reviewed, and I make short video reviews about them.  Right now I'm doing it for the thrill of it, they aren't paying me - yet.  Maybe that will change with time.

Second, I've been playing more games than ever.  Since we last talked, my latest platinum trophy was for the game Midnight Club: Los Angeles.  I have since acquired and platinumed several more games.  These will be revealed after the break.

Social Networking... the next big addiction problem?

If you're a fan of the television network A&E, then you may have seen a show called Intervention at least once.  The show focuses on someone who is or has abused addictive and potentially deadly substances, namely alcohol and narcotics.  Now, substance abuse is a very real problem, and it does take control over one's life.  My father was one such example.

However, a Pennsylvania university recently discovered that there might be a digital side to addiction.  The Harrisburg University of Science and Technology imposed a week-long, institution-wide ban on all social networking, including Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, with some very interesting results.

Being perpetually connected through social media can increase stress, weaken personal relationships, and even cause sleep loss, according to a U.S. university. [...] "The majority of students behaved much like smokers who sneak cigarettes after class," he said. "They would sneak off to check things on their smart phones."

Something to think about, when you check your latest tweets or review your friends' status updates.

Homemade Shotgun Weaponlight

I have been mulling over buying a weapon light for my Mossberg for quite some time. However, we all know they cost a whole lot of money, money that I don't have.

Alas, as I was sorting through junk at my old house in preparation for a yard sale, I found a plastic bicycle lock frame mounting bracket. It's a two-piece plastic affair that you attach to the frame of your bike where, presumably, you would put a cable lock or something similar. It would probably cost around $5.00 at a bike store.

I nabbed that bracket and 5 nuts and bolts, brought it home, and set to work. Lo and behold, the bracket fit snug as a bug onto the Mossberg's mag tube, just in front of the forend and just behind the bayonet lug. I positioned it so the light could be mounted on the left side, where my thumb could hit the tailcap pressure switch. I had to jury rig a sleeve to fit the light into the bracket, but it soon fit nicely. With a couple tightened screws, my shotgun now is ready to fight at night! Unfortunately, I have yet to take a class on how to, so I might not be...   View the pictures after the break.

Featured Movie: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

After a bit of a hiatus (about three months, whoopsie), today I open the spaghetti western vault and bring you, my readership, a true classic Western which should not be missed by anyone regardless of what movies you like.

The third installment of the great Italian producer Sergio Leone's "Man With No Name" trilogy of spaghetti westerns, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly tells a story of greed, murder, and subterfuge in the Civil War.  With a cast that's sure to please even the most skeptical moviegoer (Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef), it's a classic that has stood the test of time.  It's way more than a rental, it's a definite buy, on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Usually this spot is reserved for the plot and spoilers, but it's too good of a movie to do that.  Instead I'll leave this with some quotes and then you can comment about the movie in the comments box.

"There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: those with loaded guns, and those who dig.  You dig." -Clint Eastwood.

"Hijo de una gran puta!  I hope you end up in a graveyard!  With the cholera, and the rabies, and the plague!" -Eli Wallach.

"The pity is when I'm paid, I always see the job through." -Lee Van Cleef.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles Platinum

Just received the platinum trophy for this game several hours ago at the time of writing.  I was so pleased to finally have seen this game through to the absolute finish, it's a great racing game and has lots of stuff from my hometown of Los Angeles.

Of particular concern was a certain trophy that required I join a multiplayer game with five of my friends.  However, the developers of the game failed to take into consideration that the PSN friends list had been expanded from 50 to 100 friends, and failed to patch the game accordingly.  I had to temporarily delete about 30 friends to meet the quota, and plan for days a game session with 5 other souls to get that dern thing.  Luckily, I finally got it, however none of my boosting partners received one due to that very bug.

So without further ado, I wish to thank those people that helped me to get that darn trophy while simultaneously sacrificing their chance due to the blasted glitch, and eventually to let me platinum this game, because without them I'd be stuck spinning my wheels.

CruzCorp
J-T-W-NY
FuIciLives
maximus254
HIGHTOKER

To the five of you, I hereby dedicate this platinum.




The Completist!
Unlock the Platinum trophy by unlocking all other trophies.

RDR Youtube Fun

Here's a quick li'l video I whipped up recently, having a little fun in Free Roam.  Enjoy!

Red Dead Redemption Platinum

Just got it an hour ago, at the time of writing.  Very nice, it was worth all the effort, and I will continue to play this game until I can't play it no more.

Legend of the West
You've become a true legend of the west.

What Am I Playing? Video Game Update

Console Update: Welcome Home

As of 1400 (that's 2:00 PM), July 31st, 2010.  YLOD Number Four is now in the past, and the countdown starts until Number Five.  I predict somewhere around October.

WTF News Article of the Week Award

...goes to: this one!

I mean, I've heard of gas guzzling, but what the hell, man?  OM NOM NOM NOM NOM CHEEZBURGER

Console Update: July 27th (Edited)

So here's the haps on my wayward console. I just got an email from GopherMods that Fedex dropped off the PS3 to them earlier today, where I am guessing they are wrenching on it right now since I haven't gotten a new email from them yet.

EDIT: Just received an email from Gophermods about ten minutes ago, that the work was completed and the PS3 has been shipped out. She will return to me within the next two weeks.  EDIT: ETA IS SATURDAY, JULY 31st.


While I wait, I watched three movies today: Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day with Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery and Billy Connolly, Death Wish with Charles Bronson, and Righteous Kill with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Both are great movies, and I urge you to watch them if you haven't seen them.

To the three of you reading this blog who are on my PSN friends list, I miss you all and can't wait to get back to continue our antics and gaming. To the rest of you, thanks for nothing.

P.S. Don't forget my fundraiser for a new console, which has been extended all the way to December 30th. I'm not expecting a big sack of coin, just give what you are comfortable with sending. Even a dime helps.

Not Another Gun Review (NAGR) - Mossberg 590A1

Today's first review will be looking at one of O.F. Mossberg & Sons' products in their Special Purpose series of firearms: the Mossberg 590A1 shotgun. (This post will be updated with pics soon.)

I bought this shotgun back in August of 2006, new in the box, for $500 and to this day, it was money well spent. After the mandatory 10-day wait the *wonderful* Republik of Kalifornistan makes me suffer through, I picked up the box of joy from the local gun shop, and trundled it home. Inside the box was the shotgun, cable lock, and owner's manual with the basics for keeping your gun a happy gun.

The basics. This shotgun comes with a 20-inch heavy profile barrel; eight-shell capacity magazine tube, plus one in the chamber; ghost ring rear sight with an orange front blade; Parkerized finish and synthetic furniture. The stock is a traditional polymer shotgun stock with a one-inch thick rubber recoil pad on the end, with a sling swivel screw on the bottom. Another screw is located on the accessory lug up front (more on that later), which lets you mount any quick-detach sling swivels you like. Every Mossberg shotgun bolt has two extractors on it, to ensure that your empties are drug out. This shotgun is no different, and they work great every time. The top of the receiver is drilled and tapped for a scope mount or Picatinny rail, although you need to remove the ghost ring sight to do so. The accessory lug located underneath one of the barrel's mag tube support rings allows for the front sling swivel screw to be mounted, but is also a bayonet lug for an M7 and/or M9 bayonet. For anyone using this shotgun as a home defense gun, a bayonet is one hell of an extra line of defense, and mean-looking, too.

Operation. All Mossberg safety switches are located on the tang of the receiver, between the top and the start of the buttstock. Press down for safe, press up for fire. This is different from Remington's crossbolt safety, which is located behind their trigger guards. A few shooters prefer Mossberg's safety over Remington's because it's easier to reach and manipulate. Mossberg's slide release is also mounted differently than Remington's, behind the trigger guard rather than in front of the trigger guard, respectively. The Mossberg's barrel is twenty inches long, and has a cylinder bore choke. What that means, is that the front of the barrel isn't choked, or constricted to get a tighter shot pattern. This has its pros and cons, but for me, it's a non-issue. The chamber is three inches long, thus allowing the gun to chamber either 2¾" or the larger 3" shells. With 3" shells, you lose one round capacity in the mag tube, so it becomes a 7+1 round capacity. Other than that, it's a standard pump-action shotgun: the shells load into the mag tube from the bottom of the receiver, the shooter racks the slide to load a shell, sight-acquire-fire, then rack the slide to cycle the action. Lather, rinse, repeat.

How it shoots. This shotgun is sweet, plain and simple. Once I put that stock to my shoulder, it was like a match made in heaven. This thing will eat anything, from the lightest birdshot to 3" Magnum 00 Buck, and rifled slugs. The ghost ring sights makes it easy to sight up your target, even at the far end of the buckshot's effective range of 25 yards. At 7 yards (the average range for a gunfight), this Mossberg will shoot minute of bad guy all day long.

Not Another Gun Review (NAGR) - New Feature

Okay, I have to apologize for the movie feature, since I've been doing a lot more playing games than watching movies, but I promise I will have more for you all later.

Now, on to the new stuff. I've decided to do some reviews of firearms that are near and dear to me. That is, to say, they're mine. I hope to do a running review of guns and ammo as I go on with this blog, but fr now I will start small and begin with my own measly collection.

Anyway: look for the first NAGR review coming soon: the Mossberg 590A1 shotgun.

Gotta love technology: YLOD #4

Yes, you heard me right, gentle reader.  My faithful PS3 has given up the ghost for the fourth time at 8:35 PM today, July 18th, 2010.

As it is well within the 60-day warranty that was free from the original repair company, which I recommend to everyone, I will be sending it back for the fourth time.  Hopefully, I can find a place around here that can do a full re-ball of the console, thus stopping this crap from happening altogether.

However, I really must ask again to anybody reading this, if you could reach in and dig deep to help me get a new console, please do so.  I would never ask this otherwise, but these are desperate times we are living in, and everyone needs a helping hand every once in a while. 

So bear with me, as I am yet again out of the Playstation Network for another two or three weeks as this crap gets addressed.

All the best,

G-Man

Red Dead Redemption

Greatest.  Game.  Ever.

Thank you, Rockstar.  Thank you.

George Carlin: The Miscellaneous Ailments Foundation

This post is dedicated to the memory of George Carlin, one of the greatest comedians who ever lived.  The following material is his, and can be found in his book Napalm and Silly Putty.  It is a favorite of mine, and I would like to share it with all of you.

Not every human ailment has a telethon to help raise money.  This space is donated to the Miscellaneous Ailments Foundation.  If you or a loved one suffer from any of the following conditions, open your heart, dig deep, and give what you can.  And please, no small donations.  Try to give more than you can afford.

ITCH • TWITCH • WELTS • WARTS • PIMPLES • NITS • SCABS • SCARS • SORES • BOILS • RASH • GASH • HIVES • CYSTS • CRAMPS • POLYPS • BLISTERS • BLOTCHES • BUNIONS • BEDSORES • ROPE BURNS • PAPER CUTS • COCKEYE • BLACKHEADS • WHITEHEADS • GAG EASILY • SWOLLEN GLANDS • EYESTRAIN • NAUSEA • PILES • GAS • CRABS • PEG LEG • ABSCESSED TOOTH • PENICILLIN REACTION • PALENESS • NICKS & CUTS • BRITTLE NAILS • WOOZINESS • HOMESICKNESS • FALL DOWN A LOT • SICK & TIRED • JUST DON'T FEEL GOOD • CHILLS & FEVER • FEVER & CHILLS • CHILLS WITHOUT FEVER • FEVER WITHOUT CHILLS • SMALL POX • MEDIUM POX • LARGE POX • X-LARGE POX • CHICKEN POX • TUNA POX • ROAST BEEF POX • WHOOPING COUGH • WHOOPING SNEEZE • WHOOPING GIGGLE • WHEEZING • SNEEZING • FREEZING • MUMPS • BUMPS • LUMPS • BAD EYES • BAD FEET • BAD BLOOD • BAD BREATH • BAD BACK • BAD ATTITUDE • POOR POSTURE • COWARDICE • TRENCH MOUTH • PUFFY SKIN • COMPLETE PARALYSIS • ENLARGED PORES • OUT OF BREATH • ARM HURTS • BAD JUDGMENT • DUMB LOOK • OUT OF SORTS • BRUISE EASILY • WIND KNOCKED OUT OF YOU • SEEIN' THINGS • THE BLAHS • THE HOTS • THE RUNS • THE CREEPS • THE WILLIES • THE SHITS • THE VAPORS • THE BENDS • THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES • SHOCK • TREMOR • RELAPSE