craigslist users blast yTen, interview practices

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Peter

With unemployment approaching 10% in Missouri, it’s not surprising that craigslist users are starting to get aggravated with “employers” who use craigslist to perpetuate scams. I don’t know if yTen is a scam or not (there were enough red flags when I first checked the web site that I dismissed any present and future yTen postings), but 7 or 8 (I lost count) Springfield area residents were frustrated enough to voice their frustration on the cragislist jobs board.

Some of the posts were already deleted by the time I clicked on the RSS feed headlines, but I’ve re-posted 3 I was able to capture after the break.

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Port forwarding configuration for Borderlands online play

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Peter

While hosting public Borderlands games, a few people have told me they’ve had trouble hosting games that other players could join.

I opened the following ports on my router and was able to host public games:

7777 (TCP, UDP)
27900 (UDP)
28900 (TCP)
28902 (TCP, UDP)
28910 (UDP)

Consult your router’s documentation for instructions on opening ports as methods will differ according to router manufacturer and interface.

Reminder: Access to private content requires registration

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Peter

I posted 3 new galleries today; all 3 are filed under my Private gallery section. To view the galleries, as well as private posts (which comprise roughly 50% of the site’s content), you’ll need to register an account and I’ll need to upgrade the account from Subscriber to Friend.

Please contact before registering an account

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Peter

I’ve seen several new account registrations (many with e-mail addresses ending in .ru) with suspicious usernames. I’ve deleted all accounts with usernames I did not recognize (under the assumption that these accounts are created by spambots) in an effort to prevent unsolicited advertisements on the site.

If you are a real life human being and interested in creating an account, please use the Contact page to send me a very brief message to let me know you’re not a spambot. Even something as simple as “Yes, I’m a real human being” will suffice.

This method will still allow users to register new accounts while still keeping our user records clear of spambots. If this method doesn’t pan out, I may look at an alternative approach (though I don’t know what form that approach would take).

Fatal Frame 4 fan translation available, patches game on the fly

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Peter

Bummed that Nintendo has no plans to localize Fatal Frame 4 (Japanese title: Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen) for a US or Europe release? Be bummed no longer.

A team of translators and developers have released a fan translation patch that allows English-speaking Wii owners to play Tecmo‘s and Grasshopper Manufacture‘s critically acclaimed horror game in their own language.

What’s particularly impressive about this fan translation is that it can patch a retail copy of the game on the fly, meaning that Wii owners will not need to “softmod” their systems or venture into legal “gray areas” to play the game with English language text.

To play Fatal Frame 4 in English, you’ll need to purchase Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen from Play-Asia or another retailer, download the fan translation patch, and install the patch according to instructions available on the translation developers’ site.

Aside from being great news for English-speaking fans of the Fatal Frame series, this patch opens a host of new possibilities for fan translations. With a 100% legal method of translating in-game Japanese text to English, other popular Japan-only Wii releases could receive their own fan translations.

Kanye West, music videos, and animation

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Peter

Regardless of what you think of Kanye West, his character, or his music, it’s clear that his music videos reflect an appreciation of animation:

Good Life: Live action music video featuring animation by So-Me
Good Morning: Animated music video directed by Takashi Murakami and animated by Oriental Light & Magic
Heard ‘Em Say: Music video featuring segments animated by Bill Plympton
Heartless: Animated music video featuring rotoscoped animation and references to Ralph Bakshi‘s American Pop
Stronger: Live action music video directly inspired by anime film Akira

Merry Christmas to all!

Posted on December 25, 2009 by Peter

Merry Christmas to all!

May God bless you and your family richly this day and this season. As we gather together, spend time with family, and exchange gifts, may we never forget the true meaning behind the holiday and the greatest gift of all: Jesus the Christ, sent to the world as a baby to redeem us.

First wave of Black Friday purchases arrive

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Peter

I just got the Logitech V450 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks (Black) and the Western Digital WDML5000TN My Passport Elite Portable 500 GB USB 2.0 Hard Disk Drive (Titanium) I ordered during Black Friday sales today.

I bought the Logitech V450 Nano to use when I travel with my notebook. I still prefer my corded Logitech MX518 for playing games (especially first-person shooters), but the V450 Nano will be much more convenient for browsing, e-mail, and other “every day” use when not at home.

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New Super Mario Bros. Wii game + lunchbox + T-shirt for $59.99 USD

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Peter

Since New Super Mario Bros. Wii reads like a love letter to 20-something gamers who’ve played every 2D Mario title over the last two and a half decades, it seems appropriate that Amazon is selling a bundle with the game, a T-shirt, and–best of all–a New Super Mario Bros. Wii-themed lunch box for $59.99 USD: New Super Mario Bros Wii Amazon Exclusive Limited-Edition Bundle

Remember, New Super Mario Bros. Wii by itself regularly sells for $49.99 USD, so this is a pretty sweet deal. If you’re planning on buying the game anyway and have an extra 10 bucks to spare, please use the link above to help support Brainstorm Warning.

And yes, it’s been 24 years since I first played the original Super Mario Bros. and I’ve since (allegedly) outgrown lunch boxes, but my inner child lit up with innocent glee when I saw this bundle.

On the trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Peter

Judging solely from the trailer, Avatar is the sort of embarrassingly oversimplified, blindly anti-military, pro-ecoterrorism, trope-ridden narrative that has no place in the modern storytelling landscape.

You’re 17 years late, Mr. Cameron. Ferngully premiered in theaters in 1992–and 20th Century Fox at least had the common decency to market it as a children’s movie.

You might have been able to get away with this sort of schlock two decades ago, but Pixar and Miyazaki have since proven that animation, either hand-drawn or computer-generated, can tell deep and complex stories while still appealing to children.

It may well be that Avatar has the kind of moral complexity to engage a modern audience exposed to quality animated and/or science fiction films. There is precedent for great films with awful trailers. If that is the case, I suggest that Mr. Cameron fire the people responsible for compiling the Avatar trailer currently airing on television.