Good grief, this is only the sixth one?!?!?! Eh bien, such is life and all that rot.....anyway, here we goes again with yet another dose of...

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Neko's

Offbeat News

Clips!

(Volume 6)

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"Real Life. Weird People."

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Well, They Both Start With The Letter "C".....

A man in Colfax Township, Michigan, told authorities he shot his neighbor's cow in error. He thought it was a coyote.

For those who may be animal-recognition deficient:

Top image: COW

Bottom Image: COYOTE

The cow, named "Hannah", had wandered away from her home farm when she was shot and killed by the 42-year old man. He told the local undersherriff, Rory Heckman, he was out shooting coyotes when he mistakenly hit Hannah. "The part of his story he his holding to is he shot at a coyote. I don't know how he hit a several-thousand-pound cow mistaking it for a coyote," Heckman said. He also pointed out that shooting coyotes is illegal anyway during deer-shooting season.

The cow's owner, DeAnn Mosher, is also uncertain how someone could mistake a 1,400 pound pregnant cow for a 20-45 pound coyote. ""My husband thought that he should go through some therapy looking at repeated pictures of cows and coyotes, because they look nothing alike."

The somewhat confused hunter was apprehended while attempting to drag the cow's body home.

NekoNote: Personally, I doubt there was any confusion on the gunman's part. I'll take beef steak over coyote steak anyday.

Why America Doesn't Go Metric

In Dublin, Ireland, a 31-year old man was clocked driving 180 kph in a 100 kph zone. Normally the speeder would be charged with "driving dangerously", which would mean the driver's licence would be revoked. However, the County District judge reduced his sentence to "driving carelessly" (which only carries a fine of 1,000 Euros) on the grounds that when the driver's speed was converted to miles instead of kilometers, it didn't sound so bad (in miles, 180 km is approximately equal to 112 miles).

NekoNote: Yeah, but that's 7,086,614.17 inches per hour!

Whose Leg Is This, Anyway?

A South Carolina man who stored his severed leg in a barbecue smoker that was later auctioned off is locked in a custody dispute with a North Carolina man who found it.

In 2004, John Wood's leg was amputated at the knee following a plane crash. He asked the doctors if he could keep the leg, citing that he 'wanted to be buried with it, as a whole man'. He decided to keep the amputated limb in a smoker that was kept in a rental storage unit where it remained until August 2007. After missing several rent payments, all items in storage were claimed by the storage company and auctioned off to Shannon Whisnant, a North Carolina native.

At first, Whisnant was extremely surprised, and turned the leg in to the local police. After it was found to not be the result of foul play, the leg was sent to a funeral home. Whisnant, however, had begun making money by charging admission to see the smoker the leg was found in ($3 adults, $1 kids) and began battling the funeral home for custody of the leg. "He's making a freak show out of it," Wood told The Charlotte Observer for a Monday story. "He wants to put money in his pocket with this thing."

Wood also said, "I just think it's despicable. I don't mind having the 15 minutes of fame, but I'm not looking to really profit off this thing".

NekoNote: This is an older article, so I just want to mention that Mr. Wood has since gotten his leg back. So learn a lesson from this, boys and girls....keep your severed body parts under your bed or something, and not in a rental place.

My Wife Really Is A B!+@#

A New Delhi man wedded a stray female dog Tuesday in a traditional Hindu ceremony. He cited the reason as atonement for his killing two dogs 15 years ago, which left him cursed. P. Selvakumar married the sari-draped former stray named Selvi, chosen by family members and then bathed and clothed for the ceremony Saturday at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.

The 33-year old man says that several years ago, he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies in a tree. Shortly thereafter, "...my hands and legs became paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear", Selvakumar claims. An astrologer told Selvakumar that the only way to cure his maladies would be to marry a stray dog - a not uncommon occurence in the more superstitious areas of rural India.

So far, no word has been given on whether the remedy has proven effective.

NekoNote: Could be worse, at least she won't complain if you tell her to bring in the paper.

Redefining "A Bad Hair Day"

In the South China region of Pearl River Delta, people have been purchasing inexpensive, brightly-colored hair bands and ties at local bazaars and flea markets. Averaging about 25 feng (approx. 3 cents American) for a bag of ten, the hot sellers are even made of recycled materials. And therein lies the problem...you see, the popular hair accessories are made from used condoms.

"There are a lot of bacteria and viruses on the rubber bands and hair ties made from used condoms", stated a dermatologist at Guangzhou Hospital of Armed Police. "People could be affected with AIDS, warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while weaving their hair into plaits or buns". There is also worry that tourists may pick up large quantities of the inexpensive hair bands, and possibly take some infection out of the country.

Chen Wenlan, a resident of Dongguan, was disgusted when she found the elastic bands given to her as a gift from a local beauty salon were made from the recycled condoms. "Many of my friends have not heard the news. It is really terrible", she says.

An official from the Guangzhou Administration of Industry has stated that it's against the law to make products from used condoms, and that the administraton "will punish those who break the rules".

NekoNote: Okay, I could go in a lot of directions with this. But right now all I can say is....*urkkk*....must go wash hair again....

Lug Nut = 1, Idiot = 0

A man in Southworth, Washington was attempting to remove the last lug nut from his right rear tire (after two weeks of working on the car in his back yard). When the lug nut refused to budge, the 66-year old man became frustrated and tried shooting it off with a 12-guage shotgun.

He fired the gun "about an arm's length" from the stubborn wheel, and was promptly peppered with shot and other debris when the blast riccocheted from the metal rim. He was mostly hit in the legs, but some debris hit "as high up as his chin".

Deputy Scott Wilson of Kitsap County said, "Nobody else was there and he wasn't intoxicated. He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off".

South Kitsap Fire And Rescue personnel treated him at the scene before transporting him to Tacoma General Hospital with injuries that were "severe, but not life-threatening".

No word on the condition of the lug nut.

A Few Freebies For All Cop Wannabe's

A pause, here for something of a Public Service Announcement....or at least a temporary reprieve from my usual format....

During my search through a few Odd News Archives, I found two companies looking for information to help snare theives. And depending on your tastes, the rewards could be sweet indeed....

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in Melbourne, Florida is offering five years of free ice cream to the person that can identify the robber who stole $160 from the employee's tip jar this past September. "I think it's despicable that someone would steal tip money from teenagers. These kids work hard behind the counter", says Matt Solomon, the owner of the store.

Photos of the thief from the security camera can be found here, if you want to give it a try! The reward is valued at $1,000. Or not a fan of ice cream? Try this one, then....

Croucher Beer of New Zealand recently had a laptop stolen from their factory. The company is a small home brewery, and the laptop contained financial information, contacts, and some design work. "We're grumpy. We're going to have to re-do some of our work" says company owner Paul Croucher. And so, anyone that turns in the thief (or thieves) shall receive FREE BEER FOR LIFE. Well, it amounts to a 12-pack a month. But I have found those two words used in conjunction - "free" and "beer", that is - still tend to get a lot of attention.

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On a side note, thanks to everyone that's been PM'ing me over my latest LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG absence. It seems every time I promise to be more active, something happens to keep me from doing so. So I'll try to avoid making another promise over it....and I'll see you when I can! ;)

Perhaps it's due to the oncoming Halloween holiday. Or maybe it's because the temperature has finally, blessedly dropped to the 60's with some nice thunderstorms (and some wicked fog effects) rolling in, which always puts me in a somewhat pleasant melancholy frame of mind. In any event, I felt the strong urge to pull out Fatal Frame (or Project Zero, if you prefer) and immerse myself in some simple spook-outs and creepy environs.

Why is it when you have a bad hair day, somebody ends up taking your picture?

Me being the chronic anal-retentive that I am, I have a memory card with the completed saves from all three Fatal Frame games along with my assorted albums just for occasions like this. Hey, why would I want to start a game with just the basics when I can have a fully unlocked, all-extras-added Camera Obscura to wipe that ectoplasmic snot off the face of the planet with? I put a lot of time into getting everything I possibly could on those games - I got the "S" rating on all Mission Modes, completed the Ghost Lists (and if you haven't played the series, let me tell you some of those ghosts are a real bugger to get), received the alternate endings and played all difficulty levels with minimal saves. I know the ins and outs of the mansion, I know where all the stationary ghosts are positioned. I know where all the items are stashed. Which translates to: I've probably played this game at least ten times. And so, it's probably a bit odd to most people that I'd want to play it again at all. And it's even odder that I decided to play this time completely from scratch, and not load up from my "master" save. I opted this time for "New Game".

Well, that was actually a blast. It still only took me about 5 hours to get through the complete game, but it was a completely new challenge without my handy Zoom, Slow or Blast feature. I had to think through my manoevers a bit more, since I couldn't just pull the lens back to give me more room as I was used to doing. I'd be in the Doll Room, with that humongous gaping hole in the floor, and the crawling girl ghost backing me into a corner, I'd be whacking the holy heck out of the L2 button, knowing good and well that I hadn't gotten enough points yet to unlock the Blast feature to knock the little snot back a few feet but on some level part of my brain was hoping perhaps the PS2 hadn't realized that yet :lol:. I ended up picking up more Stone Mirrors than usual because of several "oopsie" moments like that! For a game that has been played repeatedly over and over, I did more yelling and screaming and swearing at that screen than I've done in MONTHS. I was in sheer survival mode again - stripped of my finest weapons, I wasn't trying to get high points on my photos, I was trying to LIVE, thank you very much! Not that there was too much doubt in the outcome, as tends to be the case my own mind was the worst enemy, and once I finally convinced it that the game wasn't going to conveniently remember all those easy attacks I did before I got back into nailing shot after shot with minimal damage. Finally, after much more profanity, shutter-snapping and specter-paparazzi'ing, the Malice was sealed, the trapped spirits freed and the credits rolled. Pretty trippy to actually be challenged by that game again, I was thinking. I began pondering going on to Fatal Frame 2 when I happened to glance over to THE STACK sitting off to the side.

And what, pray, is THE STACK? THE STACK, you see, is that pile of games that I haven't had time to try out or been in the mood to play yet. The games that looked really appealing a year or two ago that I finally picked up when I caught them on sale. The games that I've heard some of you guys mention being really great, and decided to buy. In THE STACK there currently resides copies of Destroy All Humans, Kingdom Hearts 2, Siren, and Ghost Hunter, along with Okami (which I actually WANT to finish, except for the demise of my saves due in part to a small, destructive force in my home known as the SpookSpawn). There's the box for Dragon Warrior 8 that 'spouse is playing that looks fun, but I'm just not in the mood for. THE STACK shares space on the TV stand directly next to THE RACK, which contains the games that we tend to pull out every so often. There's Spooksspouse's copy of GTA: San Andreas, Final Fantasy Tactics, my Silent Hill collection (and of course the Fatal Frame games). There's FinFan7, several Onimusha and Castlevania titles, and Guitar Hero. THE RACK is the stuff that I would be happy to have if I were stuck on a desert island, if we assume that said island has a supply of electricity, a working television and a PS2. I simply enjoy playing the same old stuff repeatedly. Even with a stack of fresh games (some still in the shrinkwrap) why in the heck do I insist on playing Old Faithfuls instead of New & Exciting?

Sorry, girls, I still recognize you.

Maybe I don't mind replaying games because I didn't have a lot of titles growing up, and I just got into the habit of enjoying a single game more than once. Or maybe I could make an argument for the titles in particular, and try to convince you that these are just the GREATEST games ever made on the planet. I could possibly even say I'm just not interested in anything new right now. Whatever the reason, I find that I tend to be in the minority when it comes to playing titles through more than once or twice. Perhaps it involves a certain type of mentalitiy; maybe you're the sort that has to find every unlockable, and you don't mind repeated play-throughs to get the goods. Or maybe you're the sort that sets an "independant goal" outside of the strict parameters of the game itself, like those that do speed runs through a game. The game may not require you to finish in a few hours (although it may open up an Easter Egg or two) but you just want to see how fast you can do it. But for every person I know that does enjoy going through their older titles, I see about 10 posts from people that sell or trade off their old titles as soon as they're done with them. On the other hand, I tend to not buy that many games, but I hold onto what I do have. I should note that I'm not talking about old-school games, although they do fit the bill admiriably - I'm talking about playing ANY game, old-gen or new-gen, more than once or twice.

The particular aspect of my personality that drives me to get EVERYBODY'S money's worth out of a game is one that reflects itself into other entertainment avenues. I'll watch a great movie several times (even though there's HUNDREDS of great movies I wouldn't mind seeing, and a few that I still have, yes, still shrinkwrapped, I'll watch one of my old anime flicks over and over even though I know the storyline with the thouroughness of a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan). I'll re-read a book that I finished ages ago. I enjoy re-visiting some of the worlds that my mind has traveled to, and it seems sad to me that there's a segment of the population that just tosses away experiences that have only been tasted once. Talk about a disposable society! What a waste, to just dump an experience because you've done it one measly time! (Certain jokes involving procreation are springing to mind right now, but I think we'll leave that angle alone for the nonce.....). I'm not adverse to new things, but I can be perfectly content doing something I've done time and time again.

So tell me, what to you makes a game (or anything) worthy of replay? Or if you're not into replaying old games, why not? I want your comments!

Fair warning, just a dose of randomness. Don't feel obligated to read. ;)

Well, today's my birthday - 39 years old, yeesh. Since there's not much age-wise to look forward to after a certain point (except maybe senior citizen discounts), I decided I'm going to quit having birthdays after this year. Yes, I will deny all laws of nature, physics and time-space continuum and refuse to age past the age of 39. Hey, my maturity level froze at about 17 anyway, and being half-Asian there's still plenty of people who are amazed I'm over 30, so I think I can pull it off. FROM HERE ON OUT I DENY YOU, O CURSED CALENDAR! TIME SHALL CEASE TO HOLD MEANING FOR ME! I THROW OFF THE SHACKLES OF THE YEARS AND I AIN'T MOVIN'! I will NOT get rid of my large collection of offensive t-shirts! I will not stop making faces at the sales clerks at Sam Goody when they say, "Are you getting this game for your kids?" I will NOT remove my assorted piercings! And I DEFINITELY WILL NOT remove my It's Happy Bunny wallpaper from my work computer, nor the anime screensavers! ***HAH HAH HAH HAH!!!!!!!***

Bunnies make me happy.

Nah, really I'm pretty happy with me at this point. It's a bit annoying to be labeled due to your age, but the truth is I don't really care. I'm loving life, and I'm lucky enough to live with a roof over my head, a working vehicle (even if it is a '98 Taurus), and a fairly healthy family. Well, the 'spouse is going to have to have his knee worked on, but we'll just consider that maintenance. :D My own medical issues have pretty much cleared up, and while work remains a pain in the posterior, I do HAVE a job that I enjoy for the most part. Not to mention I've got a great crowd of friends here on GS that makes being an immature brat a lot of fun! So despite my initial griping, I am truly, truly blessed.

Oh yeah, my first official present of the day, thanks to skyrocks93:

He's come a long way on his graphic skills, and a heckuva sweetheart....thankies, sky! :)

And just for kicks and giggles, some funny pics I got on an email this morning. Totally irrelevant to birthdays, but they made me laugh (this was somebody with WAAAAY too much time in the kitchen!). And watch for some spooky stuff to pop up sometime this weekend!

**BIG FAT SQUEEZY HUGS TO ALL**

NOOOO!!!! THE END!!!....:lol:

Yes, the Spook has been busy, but due to repeated PM's and some not-so-subtle hints on the subject from the peanut gallery, we are now proud to present.....

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Neko's

Offbeat News

Clips!

(Volume 5)

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"Weird News For Weird People"

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Guys, Here's One For You

A new world record was set Wednesday at Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia when 1,010 women posed for the world's largest bikini shoot.

The photo shoot, sponsored by Cosmopolitan Magazine and Venus Breeze (a brand of ladies' razor), used both volunteers and professional models to come up with the eye-catching group. Chris Sheedy, the Guinness adjudicator for the event, is quoted as saying that the shoot "was the most spectacular event I have ever witnessed. As an Australian myself, it's logical that any record involving sun, sand and surf should be held in this country." Photos were snapped by plenty of tourists, too, as they watched the ladies pose for the shot. The 'official' photo will be printed in the January edition of Cosmopolitan.

NekoNote: Please refrain from drooling on the keyboards, boys.....hey, veni-vidi-vici, you're not in there somewhere, are you?....*wonders how many PM's veni is about to receive in the next week due to that comment....*

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A New Meaning For "Potty Mouth"

With drought hitting much of the United States, many areas are facing looming water shortages. And in San Jose, California, the crisis is severe enough for officials to examine what it would take to make raw sewage pure enough to drink. According to the Division Manager of the South Bay Water Recycling Project, "This is a homegrown resource. It is the most reliable supply you can have." Officials have noted that the technology to use....er, used water is already in place in many areas, and is capable of creating water pure enough to meet California's drinking water standards. Indeed some areas in the state have proceeded with similar projects - Orange County is inaugurating a new plant in November that will purify up to 70 million gallons of waste water a day and use it to resupply the area's aquifiers. However, in other areas the plan is being labeled "from toilet to tap" and meeting with a large public outcry.

"What we don't want to end up with is what's happened in other areas where you have fear and politics cause a backlash," said Keith Whitman, water supply manager for the Santa Clara Valley.

NekoNote: Aw, c'mon, just cut out the middle man....I think I'll start taking baths in Evian, thank you very much.

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Nerds For Sale!

In a brave effort to increase female enrollment (and possibly to score with a few sorority girls), the largest computer club on the campus of Washington State is planning on holding a Nerd Auction. On the Web site of Linux User's Group President Ben Ford posted "You can buy a nerd and he'll fix your computer, help you with your stats homework, or if you're really adventurous, take you to dinner!"

The beginnings of the funky auction began during a drive to enroll more female members into computer science programs. A public relations cla$$ was drafted into studying the dynamics of the Linux group. After examining information from group surveys and interviews, the PR group decided "they need to promote themselves better...they made suggestions to work with specific groups such as sororities. Sorority groups tend to have a very good social network."

Despite initial skepticism from Ford (who admittedly thought they were joking), he began to promote the idea to the club. "The problem is, we're still nerds. Let's face it, guys, if anybody's gonna bid on us we're going to need some spicing up. And who better to help with that than sorority girls who like nothing better than a makeover?"

"Here's the current plan: We'll choose a handful of brave nerds to take one for the team. The girls get to have their way with them and we'll document each makeover. We'll make a snazzy video and show it over dinner, After the dinner, we'll auction off the now-studly nerds." The auction is to be open to the general student population and co-sponsored by a sorority, but so far no sororities have expressed any interest in participating.

NekoNote: Really, girls, how could you? Just look at those soulful eyes peering out around the masking tape....how his pocket protector's sagging....how...um....er, think I'll go wash my hair now......I need more Evian....

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Reins Are For Wimps

The coach of the Oklahoma City Blazers, a minor-league hockey team, helped prevent a potential stampede of Belgian horses by grabbing one of the animals and biting its ear. Doug Sauter, head coach for the Blazers, was attending the Centennial Expo's Draft Horse Show when he saw one of the Belgian horses become panicky and break loose from its reins. The spooked horse quickly started a chain reaction with the other animals. Belgian horses on average weigh approximately one ton (2,000 pounds or about 907 kilograms), so a stampede of these animals was serious business. In an attempt to stop several animals from running, Sauter grabbed one lead horse and bit its ear.

"That's how you stymie a horse. You bite as hard as you can, and it won't move," he said.

Sauter only takes credit as one of many people who worked to stop the Belgians and offer assistance. He also helped to remove a cart that toppled onto an unidentified 62-year-old woman who was later taken to a local hospital "in serious condition'.

NekoNote: Now why isn't it surprising it was a HOCKEY coach? Dude, I think you still have some horse ear on your lip!

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Half A Home Is Better Than None

In Hillsboro, Ohio, 66-year-old Rodney Rogers thought his friend was building a house for him, even to the point where he was living in it while it was under construction. But when the acquiantence reneged on the sale, Rogers became furious. And to demonstrate his ire, he used a power saw to make a lateral cut approximately chest height through the walls and siding all around the house. According to Highland County Sherriff Roland Ward, the only thing holding the top half of the house up "is gravity." The owners have not yet determined a dollar value to the damage, and Rogers remains free pending his court date Thursday.

NekoNote: He must have wanted a split-level home.

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The Devil, You Say!

When a man in Melbourne, Australia recently tried to register his 5-year-old son for enrollment at a Catholic school, he was told that he would not be allowed to enroll unless he changed his child's name. It wasn't the boy's first name - Max - that was the problem, but the family surname...Hell, which in German means bright.

The angry father, Alex Hell, refused to do so and finally the somewhat embarrassed parish priest relented, but the damage was done. "Why would you want to go there after being victimized?" the 45-year-old father complained. The family is currently looking into moving to a new area to find a more accomodating Catholic school.

NekoNote: I can relate to having an awkward last name. My maiden name was HALL, and for some reason people always walked around at Christmas singing about how they wanted to deck me....

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For Richer Or For Poorer....

After six months of dating, 30-year-old Jake Lacunski was ready to pop the question to his girl, 24-year-old Mami Nagase. Picking a romantic, moonlit spot at a gazebo in New York's Central Park, he got down on one knee and proposed to Ms. Nagase, who happily agreed to marry him. No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a gunman jumped out of the nearby shrubbery and yelled, "Give me your money and get on the ground!"

The robber took a Rolex from Miss Nagase, and $125 from Lacunski (who was planning on using the money for a celebratory dinner at an expensive French restaurant), but fortunately not the engagement ring - Lacunski was able to slip it off his lady's finger before they were forced to lie on the ground. The couple then celebrated their engagement by looking at mug shots at the local police station while sharing a bag of potato chips.

Despite the rocky start, the couple still plan on getting married. "It makes a pretty good story for our anniversary," Lacunski said, and points out the evening could have gone even worse....she might have said "no".

NekoNote: I'd question the wisdom of marrying someone who thought Central Park at night was a good idea.

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Vicious Bunnynappers Steal Preschooler's Pet

In Spokane, Washington, animal rights activists stole a pet rabbit named Sugar Bunny from the Community Building Children's Center and left in its place a flier protesting cruelty to animals.

The fliers, which bore the names of People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals and the Northwest Animal Rights Network, expressed protests against the Ringling Brother's Circus, which was in town that weekend, and featured a picture of a bear attempting to escape from its cage. Local PETA spokesperson/director Daphna Nachminovitch spoke out against the bunny-napping, stating "Just like dogs and cats, (rabbits) have been domesticated, so we encourage people who have the knowledge and the ability to adopt rabbits from their local shelters."

The preschool children gathered in a circle Monday to remember their pet, while teachers explained that some people have different ideas about animals, and don't believe they should live in cages.

"Somebody stoled him," said one 5-year-old. "I'm sad."

NekoNote: Okay, imagine these animal activists...."Hey guys, do we go rescue this 400-pound bear from his cage, or do we break into a preschool and liberate Mr. Sugar Bunny?" *Unanimous hands raised for bunny*

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My apologies to you guys, for the VERY late offering! Luckily it looks like I'll be back on a normal work schedule soon. Thanks to all of you that pestered me to death about my blogging, it's nice to know you find me that entertaining!

Thanks for stopping by - and please leave your comments below! ;)

Sorry, I know I normally don't do random blogging like this, but right now I feel the need to gloat a bit...FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! PRAISE THE LORD, I'M FREE AT LAST! *maniacal laughter echoes*

Never thought I'd even care about something like that, but that's GS for you.

Ah, well, since I'm just being random - I'm working some major overtime right now. Well, I've been working overtime for the past two months. The new software (Prinergy) that we're using in my department has of course had its share of teething troubles, not to mention they also decided to install a few major pieces of equipment that after a month is still not only having teething trouble, it's got a dislocated jaw to boot. :lol: The company had to sub-contract a good chunk of its publications out to meet deadlines, not good. We've been in the red for the past two months, and the first heads have hit the floor (two management terminations). Makes the rest of us plebians somewhat nervous. And not too inclined to gripe about pulling lots of hours.

The paychecks are nice, but I have one book, about 10 movies and at least six games I haven't had the time to touch lately. Not to mention the state of my house. Looks like a packrat convention right now. And Awana is back in full swing at our church, which means Wednesday nights are pretty much tied up - they get sort of antsy if one of the directors wants to play hooky.

Spooksspouse was kind enough to take the Spooksspawn to school this morning, so I actually went straight to bed this morning (pretty unusual for me, I usually stay up until about 11:00). Sadly, I started having those stupid abdominal pains again and woke up right at noon. This is really ridiculous, I'm getting somewhat peeved at the medical community right now. I've got a few appointments this month, if they don't start coming up with some solutions other than Vicodin, I'm finding another doctor. 'Cause I haven't got time for the pain (you knew that was coming, right?).

Okay, gloating/whining over.

Noticed there's a LOT of you that seem to be in the dumps lately. Change of seasons? Back to responsibilities as school gets back into session? Just plain feeling emotional? I go through a lot of that myself, but I guess I've learned how to keep going with it. Anyway, to all my friends that feel like they're sitting in the bottom of a well - I love you all, and I say prayers daily for your happiness. If you get too down, I'll be more than happy to coat you with enough Nekoplasm to at least gross you out enough to distract you from depression. :P

Meh, I'm going to try to grab a few more hours of sleep. Love all of you, and I'll catch you somewhere on the flip side. :)

If you happen to be one of the older generation gamers here on GS, you probably have a few fond recollections of a certain home PC system called the Commodore 64.

First released in the United States in 1982, this little chunk of hardware is actually the record holder for the best selling single personal computer of all time. With 64 kilobytes to its name and a price tag of approximately $600, it brought the computer age to households across the nation and kick-started a generation of future gamers, hackers and programmers into gear. It had over ten thousand commercially available applications on the market, it was not the first home PC available, but it offered a better price than the early IBM and Apple II systems and quickly took over the marketplace. Part of its charm was it didn't require a specialized monitor; it could be hooked up to the television, which gave it a jump on the video game systems of the time. By 1988, Commodore was selling 1.5 million systems worldwide. It seemed like a golden age for the company, but after a few weak upgrades in the States (most notably the Amiga) and price undercutting by competition in the UK and European countries, the Commodore had to give up the ghost. The company declared bankruptcy in 1994, and the Commodore 64 was relegated to that dusty shelf of '80's icons. Forgotten...but apparently not dead.....

In an article on GameDaily, it was announced that Commodore Gaming is now opening a U.S. Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and bringing in as Vice President Bill Sims, formerly Regional Sales Manager for Electronic Arts. At this point, one must say "Ohhkaaaay, who would dredge up this system again, and why?" And to answer that, we must do a bit of backtracking on the history. It seems that while the company itself managed to do a spectacular belly-flop into the Pool Of Doom, that little brown PC just refused to die. Third-party software and home programming kept it popular, company support or no. Popular enough, anyway, for the Commodore trademark to be purchased by a string of companies - first Escom, then Gateway Computers, then a Dutch company named Tulip Computers. It's at this point that the trail gets a bit tough, but it seems that it's there that the name once again began to take on a life of its own. In March 2007, at the CeBit Electronics Show in Germany, a company by the name of Commodore Gaming popped up and announced a new line of PC's aimed at the gaming market. The company followed up with an appearance at London's Liepzig Gaming Expo, and offered Play.com first dibs on selling the new rigs.

Okay, so is this an attempt to market off an old iconoclastic name? Or is this simply proof you can't keep a good name down? Admittedly, The Spook is not a PC gamer, but the specs certainly LOOK impressive enough. The Commodore XX offers an Intel Core Extreme Quad-core processor - oh heck, just click the link, willya? The numbers are giving me a headache....

In all honesty, I think popping the Commodore name on these hunks o' gaming fun was sheer brilliance - it certainly snagged my attention, and I freely admit to being strictly a console gamer. But as you guys should have figured out by now, I'm all about hearing opinions. What's your thoughts on this? Potential winner, or wiener?

*sigh* Go figure, I actually was pulling together some info for a blog idea and was ready to start typing, only to come home from work to NO INTERNET again....our DSL has been a serious pain in the rear lately. Not to mention it's come at a bad point in the week when I can't afford to stay up and wait for a repairman from Embarq to show up and troubleshoot it (remember, folks, the Spook is a nocturnal creature - I sleep in the daytime). So here I sit at the freakin' county library again, just so I can give you guys the heads-up (and for some moronic reason, they only let you on for an hour max, and act like you're going to blow something up if you wait for another available terminal, so I'm not even going to attempt to do a serious blog now!). Keep your fingers crossed that this is just a temporary problem - everybody eat their veggies while me & spooksspouse are gone!

*big fat squeezy hugs* Neko

Today is the day...one year ago I joined GameSpot just because...well, no really good reason. I'd just pop by for the occasional FAQ and preview, and one day decided to go ahead and join...what the heck, it was free...

A few month went by. I sign in, I look at the "New Blog Post" button (yeah, riiight...I'm gonna blog...NOT), get my FAQ/walkthru/whatever game I was looking up and went my merry way. And then it began...the true terror of GameSpot...

Huh, what's that freaky level bar thing...oh cripes, you mean people actually try for levels around here? I should put in what games I own, wonder how much they're worth. Forums...ohhhhkayyyyyyy, what's that about? Hey, they have cool avatars...I want an avatar....What the f***'s WTF mean?!?!? What the heck's a union? What idiot gave Chrono Cross a perfect 10? I need to write a review for that game, Chrono Cross was NOWHERE as good as Chrono Trigger...AAAGGGHHH, WHY DOES MY LITTLE NES BADGE KEEP DISAPPEARING?!?!?

...and so on. :lol:

The old WYSIWIG editor ate my first two attempts at blogging. I lectured myself on doing something so stupid and tried again a few weeks later. I tried on a few unions for size. My first few forum posts I got blasted on (I'm happy to report that person got kicked off GS a few weeks later, not by any effort on my part either) but there were plenty of other good places to be. I made friends. I made officer in a few great unions. I learned how to do simple HTML so I could post some links and pics. I learned how to use the editor so I didn't have to type in HTML. I made officer in a LOT of unions. I started making silly Offbeat News Clip blogs. I made a LOT of friends. I made the Soapbox (how the HECK did that happen?). I took over as Leader of a union. I got my husband addicted so that after less than a month he had half as many posts as I did in a year.

And now I'm here, with this place firmly embedded as a part of my life, with lots of infinitely great friends and so much, so so SO much I still need to do here. Wow. Whodathunk it?

And while I have everyone's attention, let me point out a few people who make it all worthwhile.

A few longtime friends.....

Funkadelichicka: The first friend I made on GameSpot. She's not around as much as she used to be, but we still post on each other's blogs (sort of the GS equivalent of going out for coffee :lol: ). Extremely cool chicka. All bow before her.

LeonidaSparta & peabrain1: Ah, the tag team of doom....Leo's doom....Leo has vanished for parts unknown, the coward, but pea & I have had a grand time finding things to throw at him. I think it's safe to say pea holds the title for My Most Long-Distance Friend (hey, I could be wrong, my geography sucks). And we can't have pea around without...

Smitticus & fantasy_angel: Poor Smitti has weathered having things thrown at him by T.T.T.O.D. also, not to mention earning the title of Our Favorite Viking. And I have to pair 'angel up with him because she took to to Smitti-bashing like a duck to water. I'm proud of you, girl!

stripeknight: For some silly reason he popped up out of the blue and offered me an officer spot - my first one. I didn't have the foggiest idea what an officer did, but hey, I was game. Stripey still holds the record for the most gung-ho leader I have ever encountered, and the time I've spent on his union working with him has been a total blast. He's flashy, he's demanding, and he's hilarious. You gotta love him, oversized orange head and all.

lusitanogamer: Another one of those great union leaders that makes it all worthwhile - unlike the energy-crazed stripey, lus is an easygoing, thoughtful presence on the boards, and always takes the time to answer a PM or two. Also very forgiving about my tendency to get the names of any characters in Silent Hill mixed up (the curse of the sleep-deprived brain always hits me on THAT ONE UNION, for some reason). Go on, check his union out - The Silent Hill Resort. And don't laugh at me being an idiot while you're there.

psychojakrabbit: He's here! He's not here! Dang rabbits....:P Can't imagine why he puts up with me, but I'm glad he does. Very talented man. Made the lovely Fatal Frame banner above you. Go peek at his artwork.

Extra_Life: Despite earning my permanant envy for getting an ubercool job (you'll have to ask him yourself - I ain't telling ;)), Extra is one of the most informed people on gaming I know. A superb writer, ask him for a copy of his fanzine, you won't regret it. And now because of him, I'll never be able to look at a moogle without hearing "twannnnggg...."

skyrocks93: Proof that some 13-year olds are worth knowing. The world's a better place because there's people like you in it - you're the best, sky! (besides, anybody who loves fat chocobos is OK in my book).

pure-ownage: As previously noted, my favorite Spaminator. Likes to repeatedly visit my blogs and leave weird little comments for unsuspecting Spooks. My friend, you have made me laugh, laugh, laugh on days when I was so down. Don't you ever disappear on me!

Mandatory Blog Reading

Sure, this place is about games, but sometimes you want to see things from a different perspective. In the last few months, it's been a pleasure checking out the slick writings of Yeah_Write (the writer formerly known as apwc), Shifty_Pete, IGDetail, and KingOfOldSkool. These guys have always left me with some food for thought, or a good laugh, or just some darn good writing to enjoy. I'm pleased to count them as friends. Oh, yes, a special shout-out for jwallace, who was putting together some great video commentary under his Geek Democracy blogs. It's a format I thought was very intriguing, and he put quite a bit of work into them. Sadly, I believe he's going on hiatus for a while - this is cause for much bummed-outness on my part. So go show him some love, people. Do it for the Gipper.

And Of Course....we must not neglect to mention spooksspouse, who humored his wife and got sucked into the depths of GS. Pity the man that lives with the Spook....

Wow, I'll be linking all day if I try to tag all of you! There's so many of you...MoogleDragoon, JLuke, dax, aashkii, xriceballx, stephanime, jbot, Platyphyllum, Princess_Peach, Sith_Fisto, mike7677, zeus_gb, mufujifi, IMBSquared, HavQ, SinkO, Tiyoy, Nahga, gamer_girl, sufferingdragon and dark_prince and spikeyhairkid and ShogoHiryu and umbracascade and...and...okay, lots. More friends than I ever expected to see in one place, in any event. GameSpot may have snagged me, but all of you are the reason I keep coming back. Thanks.

Peace out, my loves. Looking forward to many more years with you, and friends and games yet unknown.

-Spooks

NekoEdit: Okay, I lied, it wasn't short. (:P to ownage)

Hello hello to all, and welcome to yet another edition of the ever-popular....

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Neko's

Offbeat News Clips!

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"The Truth Will Make You Fret!"

Crispy Critters!

A man in Havre, Montana claims to have found a crispy fried mouse in his bag of Frito-Lay's Barbecue chips. Jack Hines, a 66-year old retiree, was snacking on the chips when he pulled out the toasty rodent.

"Good thing I seen it, I got it all the way up to my mouth. I felt the fur. I brought it back down and looked at it and threw it behind my back."

A spokesman for the company said he felt "very skeptical" after seeing a photo of the not-so-munchy mouse, and stated that items of this nature usually occur after the product was shipped from their plant. He cited a similar case earlier in the year that occured in Colorado, in which a mouse had chewed its way into a bag. He also notes that Hines had the bag for two weeks, and had opened it a week before discovering the mouse.

A representative from the company was dispatched to collect the rodent remains and the chip bag from Hines, which will then be taken to the company headquarters for an autopsy...er, examination.

NekoNote: I don't think I could eat even just one....

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Sam, The Shoplifting Seagull

It seems that cheese-flavored chips are the favorite for at least one seagull in Aberdeen, Scotland. For the last three weeks the seagull, nicknamed "Sam", walks into a local convenience store, quickly grabs a bag of chips, and walks out toting the snack in his beak. Once outside, Sam tears the bag open and shares his ill-gained munchies with other birds.

The owner was able to capture on his cell phone a video of the rascally bird, who always seems to target the same brand and flavor.

NekoNote: Um, maybe he's trying to find his mouse?

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I Can't Put My Finger On It, But This Seems Dumb....

In Neilsville, Wisconsin a masked would-be robber attempted to hold up a drugstore using the tried-and-true method of pointing his finger as if holding a gun in his pocket.

Problem was, his hand wasn't in his pocket....

When the pharmacist laughed at him and asked him if this was a robbery, the masked man said "YES, this is a robbery!" and tackled the pharmacist. During the scuffle, the mask was pulled from the man's head, revealing his identity as 30-year-old Joel D. Peterson, who had been banned from the store earlier for trying to fill forged prescriptions.

NekoNote: Sounds like his brain had had enough drugs, already. Guess his Mom never told him pointing at people is rude.

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Some REALLY Dirty Money

Debbie Hulleman's dog Pepper really enjoys munching on things that aren't good for dogs, like lipstick, ball-point pens, and shampoo bottles. So it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise when Pepper decided to eat an envelope containing $750 while Debbie was on vacation.

Pepper was staying with Ms. Hulleman's mother, and somehow got the envelope out of a purse belonging to a friend. The mother was able to recover some when the dog spat it up, and they thought they had found all that was retrievable - until Debbie returned from vacation and went to clean her mom's yard. That's when she noticed a $50 bill sticking out of a pile of...well, you know...

[spoiler] [/spoiler]

"It wasn't that bad, I soaked and strained it, and rinsed it. I just kept rinsing and rinsing it. I had rubber gloves on, of course," she said. After a little more excavation, the family was able to recover an additional $400, bringing the recovered amount up to $647. The "laundered" money was then exchanged at a bank.

Ms. Hulleman said about the incident, "Everyone said, "I can't believe you did that." Well, for $400, well, yeah, I did do that."

NekoNote: That's it...I'm never touching cash again...it's electronic banking, or else I'm carrying Lysol in my purse....

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Big Mac Messes Up Economist Index

Due to a slight misunderstanding, The Economist magazine overvalued the New Zealand dollar by 68% because of an error in calculating the price of a Big Mac.

The Economist's widely-followed Big Mac Index, a guide to how far currencies are trading at fair value, is based on the theoury of purchasing power parity. In this case, that means exchange rates shoud make the cost of a Big Mac the same in every country. "The correct price should have been $3.59 (1.74 punds), representing a 5% overvaluation of the New Zealand Currency against the dollar. Sorry," the magazine said on its Web site.

NekoNote: You mean somebody thought that using a place with a clown as a spokesperson was a good idea?

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Scary Pop Singers Scare Off Punks

According to management sources at Carter's Steam Fair (a carnival in London, England) the best way to get rid of the local hoodlums that like to stir up trouble is to start playing some Clff Richards tunes. It seems the musical croonings of the 66-year old pop singer hath charms to run off even the wildest punks who like to make the fun-fair their local hangout.

After the man that handles the sound booth decided to play such old-time hits as "Living Doll" and "Be Bop A Lua", the rather pleasantly surprised management discovered the rowdy element would disperse to parts that were a bit quieter.

"It was amazing, it was just like a scene in the movie Mars Attacks when the aliens were driven away by the
sounds of Slim Whitman," said manager Seth Carter.

NekoNote: Hah! Cower in the face of TRUE evil, mere mortals! :twisted:

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It'll Get Better If You Pick It

At least one Austrailian doctor encourages us not only to pick our noses, but to be sure to swallow the spoils!

Dr. Friedrich Bischinger, a lung specialist, believes that people that pick their nose with their fingers are generally healthier, happier, and in better tune with their bodies. "With that finger, you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strenghtening the bodie's immune system," Ananova quotes Dr. Bischinger as saying.

"Medically, it makes great sense, and it's a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system, the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria is collected and when the mixture arrives in the intestine it works just like a medicine." he added. He pointed out that kids happily pick their noses, yet by teh time they become adults they have stopped, under pressure from a society that has branded it disgusting and anti-social. He says society should adopt a new stance on the habit, and encourage kids to take up the habit.

"I would recommend a new approach where children are encouraged to pick their noses. It is a completely natural response and medically a good idea as well."

NekoNote: So from now on, don't flick 'em, lick 'em!

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9-Year Old Steals Car Back

Police in China were pretty surprised when they got a report of a young boy who crashed a car into a truck. But once they had taken the child into custody, the story got a bit stranger.

The unidentified boy was riding in the car earlier that day when two men hijacked the car, pulled the boy's mother from the vehicle and took off...without realizing they had an extra passenger. At some point the theives stopped and got out of the vehicle while the engine was running, and the 9-year old was able to slip undetected into the driver's seat and drive off with the car.

Hands shaking, he told the officers, "Some people stole my mom's car, and I drove it away when they weren't paying attention."

NekoNote: Why, yes, officer....as a matter of fact, I DID get my licence out of a box of CrackerJacks....

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Attack Of The Killer Underwear

Police in Hanau, Germany are holding a man in custody that they say used his underpants as a weapon. The man was accused of hiding on a train without a ticket. He had hidden in the train's restroom to avoid the ticket controllers. When the train stopped in Hanau, he ran off, but police pursued and quickly caught the sneaky hitcher. Once he got to the police station, however, he suddenly ripped off his pants and underwear, and began hitting the officers in the face with the undergarmant. He also threatened them with a beer bottle, but they managed to disarm him of that. A small quantity of marijuana was found in one pocket of his pants. He faces charges of bodily harm and obstructing the police.

NekoNote: So remember, everyone - always wear clean underwear when you go out, you never know when you may have to attack someone! (Unless you're SinkO, then you'd just better run....:D :D :D)

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And that wraps up another edition of Neko's Offbeat News...until next post, keep it real! (And don't forget to comment! ^_^)

Yes, this is a totally random blog! I'm feeling a bit drained (Mini-Me is back from her seaside adventure with her aunties, and promptly sucked all the energy out of me & spooksspouse) and I know I'm overdue for a new blog....so I toyed with a few ideas (I'm not quite up to an Offbeat News just yet) and then I had a petit mal epiphany....

Well, it's like this - I get lots of comments about how much you guys like my blogs, but my favorite blogs are the ones where you guys tell me a story about yourselves. They're like little peeks into each other's worlds - there's only so many off-topic things we can talk about on the forums, so blogs are a natural place to me to get to know each other. And so, rather than all of YOU being entertained by ME, I DARE YOU to be the entertaining one and tell me about one of the following:

A: Your first kiss (and no, I don't mean your mom, either) (or grandmother) (or any other relative, we want the DIRT)

B: Your most embarrasing moment, or

C: The weirdest thing that's ever happened to you.

And no posting unless you're telling one of the above! (okay, you can comment on other people.....I have to give pure_ownage a bit of leeway, here....he's my favorite Spaminator)

And to anybody who's about to back out....double-dog dare you!