I'm a Frigin Failure

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I disappeared off the Blogger radar again but I figure nobody really reads these anyway so who cares, right?

So as you may or may not know, I'm on a hiatus right now from making videos...but then again I wasn't producing too much anyway.  I can never seem to be consistent with anything, it's hard for me.  My day/night routine is never the same and therefore, my production times are all over the place.  I just make videos when I can, that's the best I can tell you.

Mystik is going to be making a couple Play it Lives for me while I'm away, we're just sorting out how to upload them to my Youtube site (because I'm too paranoid to hand out my credentials to him).  Otherwise, upon my return I'm going to be mixing up my weekly video uploads AGAIN.  I figure 4 weeks of just Play it Live's must be boring, especially since a lot of the games I have nothing say about.   So here is what I plan to do:

Week 1 - Play it Live
Week 2 - A Retro video from my collection
Week 3 - A Rant (because I'm always angry)
Week 4 - I don't know...probably take a break to work on better videos like "Video Game Deaths" or Worst Games Ever"

Maybe also during the month, Mystik or somebody can guest host a video OR if you want to just refer to our new website: www.klaq2000.com where Mylo9000, Mystik and I have our collections so far.  The website is a work in progress but it's currently up and running.

Sorry I didn't mention the site sooner, I guess I planned to make the intention of logging in to the site first and checking things out before saying "Here you go everyone!" but I'm a failure and I'm all over the place.  Mylo and Mystik did all the work, I can of just sat back as the free loader I am but I am very very grateful to them for doing this. So check it out when/if you get the chance.

Otherwise, I'll be back in another month or so trying to keep a routine down as usual...so thanks to anyone that's toughed it out and stuck around...it says I have 7000 subscribers but only a handful (100 or so) are still around and again I want to thank you dedicated followers for not giving up on me.  You guys are the only reason I'm still here.

Here is a picture of dunk nuts

New Computer and Delays

Okay so, I think it's about time I scrap this archaic computer of mine...I got it built back in 2007 (some parts upgraded since then) but my motherboard and processor are original...so you can imagine in technology terms how dated my system is.  It can't keep up anymore and playing/recording games today is becoming increasingly difficult.  I just spent the last day trying to record different games for this week's "Play it Live!" and have failed miserably.

The first game was going to be Squirreltopia, which is a basic budget 2D side-scrolling platformer and guess what?  Do you think my computer could keep up playing while recording?  NOPE...audio completely out of sync no matter what I did. 

So I went ahead and tried a different game "Qbeh-1" which is a 1st person platformer/puzzle game...looked like it was recording fine but after an hour of playing...video is super choppy but at least the audio was in sync...ARGH.  Waste of time and I'm quite tired of it.

To top all this off I can't even play the frigin $70 GTA V I pre-purchased because my computer can't handle even single player...on 800x600 lowest graphic settings...terrible. 

You know what, though?  After 8 years on a Core 2 Duo, I can say that my computer did very very well considering the circumstances.  I'm satisfied it lasted this long...so this week I'll be upgrading finally BUT I'll have to forgo May's (week 1) episode of "Play it Live!"  Sorry guys, need time to format and reinstall everything.

So stay tuned and hopefully when I come back I'll have increased productivity and no more recording issues.

Here is a picture of...the Walking Dead?

Star Wars Holiday Special

So I plan on getting started on the Star Wars Holiday Special review as soon as possible.  I was talking to a few people at work and they suggested it...not sure why I didn't think of it sooner seeing as I own the damn thing...well, I use the term "own" loosely.  I'm almost certain that Lucasarts or whoever put this crap together were hoping every single last copy had been burned to the ground.

I actually forget where I got this copy from...it was before Youtube was even around and I had to rely on forums for all my video content (amongst other things).  I remember finding it off some random guy who claimed he had a copy...have you ever had moments in your life where something just completely random yet cool happened...almost surreal?  Well this was one of those moments.  I remember the guy shared a link to download it and for all I knew it could've been a virus but nope, it was the full video rip (VHS I guess) of the Holiday Special.  The quality is crap but it totally suits the mood of the video...which is crap.

Anyway, you'll see...it's so damn terrible that I can't even bare to watch the whole thing again.  So stay tuned.

Besides that, I'm so utterly behind with everything like usual...can barely even get the weekly episodes of Play it Live out...

Here is a picture of a device meant for stupid children that can't avoid door handles.  If your child has done this...then they're still stupid, sorry.  If I walk into a door handle, I'm equally as stupid, there, we're even.

Change of Pace

So I thought I'd put together a different type of video, more so to do with myself than video games.  I was going through my old personal belongings, stuff that I've collected over the years that has some sentimental value or is just cool.  I figure a lot of it would be worth sharing with all of you...especially my old kindergarten journals and video game material. 

So I'll be releasing a few segments that will have me going through my box of old stuff.  I say "a few segments" because I did a video already and only touched on 1/4 of the material (probably because I talk too much).  You'll see soon, I think it'll be pretty funny.

Otherwise, everything else is still on schedule. 

Oh and I'll be releasing a brief video soon to talk about a particular commenter on my Charlie Brown Snoopy video...somebody had left a comment that seems completely out of place and doesn't belong in the slightest bit yet nobody else appears to agree and replies to this person as if their comment makes sense...anyway, you'll see what I mean soon.  I may even upload it tonight lol.  Stupid things make me mad, no idea why...I've got mental retardation.

Anyway, here is a picture

Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Master Quest

So I recently went and saw a symphony at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.  But not just ANY symphony, it was the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Master Quest. 

http://zelda-symphony.com/concert (for complete details)

This was back on Friday, March 20th, 2015 and it was amazing.  I haven't ever been to a symphony and I'd have to say this was a good start.  I'm not even a huge Legend of Zelda fan so half the music wasn't familiar to me but that doesn't even matter, it was still an amazing performance and I'd go again.

I got the nosebleeds unfortunately, but then again, it certainly didn't feel like nosebleeds.  I could see everything and hear everything just fine and I saved a pretty penny too.  Next time I'd certainly go for closer seats on the main floor (I was in the balcony) but either way, I'm not complaining. 

The place was jammed packed and even though there were designated seats, people lined up out the door at least an hour early to get in...I'm pretty sure it had to do with the merchandise seeing as that's where everybody flocked the moment the doors opened.  I didn't buy anything myself, I was there for the performance only.

I'm making a video about this so I won't say much more here, but stayed tooned it'll be up in a week or so.  I only recording the opening/intro song (because I didn't want to be a complete dick and record the whole thing).  Not sure if I'll even post the opening song in full, I'm sure there are copyright issues up the wooha for that...we'll see.

Aside from that, I'm back on schedule with things seeing as my computer is cooperating lately.  My daughter isn't sick anymore and yeah, that's it for now. 

A Tad Overdue

Sorry everyone (whoever pays attention), I'm over a week late writing a blog post...besides systems problems, I've over complicated my latest video (Play it Live! - Week 4 of March) and therefore put myself considerably behind.

I'm not sure if this week's episode will be up in time.  I'm making this one a little different, just to spice it up a little and make it funnier.  So if I can't make it for Wednesday then expect it either Thursday or Friday...sorry, yet again.

As you may or may not know, I recently formatted my system since my old hard drive decided to die.  So I ended up getting a new SSD as my main...formatted and reinstalled on that.  Like with any reinstallation, I had to reconfigure most of my settings...I thought I backed everything up (including my previous settings prior to formatting) but they didn't take...no idea why.  SO - it has taken me quite some time to reconfigure PlayClaw and my other recording devices to work in a way that doesn't cause audio to desync.  I think I figured it out now so hopefully there will be no more delays so as long as nothing else crashes.

This week's episode also won't be an hour long either...more like 10 minutes but again it's different.  I also fear I may have lost all my Valkyria Chronicles footage...I checked my spare backup drive and for one reason or another, only half of the footage is there...I swore I backed it all up before the crash but apparently not.  I have one last hope I'm going to check tonight so maybe there is still a chance it exists.  Otherwise, I'm not recording all the footage all over again...sorry, Byron.

Anyhoo, other than that...I'm watching the Babylon 5 series all over again.  I've never actually watched the full series before.  It was one of those shows in the 90's that you only watched if Star Trek wasn't on or happened to catch by chance.  I really enjoyed it but if you missed an episode here or there, you'd be lost and would be hard to follow so it never caught on back then.  I watch it now and it's SO much better than I remembered...probably because my mentality has changed considerably since then (believe it or not). 

It's more politics than anything else so if you're not a fan of TALKING then don't watch it lol.  Otherwise, if you do like to use your brain and Star Trek is a program you favored, then I'd give this a go.  G'Kar is my favorite (even though he's not in every episode).

Here is a picture of...yeah:

Nothing Really New yet

Nothing really new as of yet, same old stuff.  I'm releasing an update video soon as well as Play it Live! week 2 of March.  This episode will be in two parts again...not only because my computer is too old to handle processing a video any larger than 40 minutes BUT also because the file sizes are too big and my internet connection sucks...see I have this thing called VOIP (which I'm sure you all know what it is).  Well my VOIP sucks so bad that if you were to use the internet at ALL then you can't use the phone...so even if I were to start uploading at say midnight tonight and the files was 1.5GB then it would be uploading from midnight all the way until 4pm the next day...that's how slow my connection is when it comes to uploading...but that's all I can afford lol.

So I broke the episode up into two parts so by the time my wife wakes up, the upload should be done and the phone won't be tied up all day. 

Anyway, other than that, video production is slow...such is life.  I do what I can and it's all for fun anyway. 

So...otherwise, all I got for you right now is that I built a snow man with my daughter today and then my neighbor made fun of me because it's like +7 these days so it'll melt by tomorrow.  I also discovered I have to tear out my staircase because the stupid previous owner had renovated the house, blocked in the water meter and the city wants to change it...YAY...more money down the drain.

Here is a picture of how life isn't:

Yet another week

Oh boy, my dreams of obtaining a new computer have been destroyed lol.  Bill bills bills, they never stop and therefore have prevented me YET AGAIN.  I'll forever be stuck with a Dual Core processor...I guess I can't complain really, my system is working very well all these years and has served its purpose.  I'm just finally noticing how SLOW it is when it comes to video processing...driving me bonkers but meh, that's life.  I just need to remember that things could always be worse.

Besides my 1st world problems, video production is slow. I'm having no issues with the weekly episodes but past that, I'm barely getting any work done.  But what's new, right?  I'll keep chuggin away at what I'm doing and sooner later it will get done.  

I finally realized that Youtube has a scheduling system when it comes to uploading videos...I had no idea until now...sad clown.  I would always wait until Tuesday night to upload Wednesday's episode and then add annotations and what not after the fact but now that I've bothered to observe my surroundings, I realize I don't have to do that anymore.  I can upload in advance and add all the annotations that I want and THEN schedule it to publish on Wednesday...see this is how I work, I don't bother with things unless I absolutely HAVE to or I stumble across an alternative by mistake.   I never ever do my research in advance...I can't be bothered.  "Learn the hard way" that's my moto...

We have a new website up but I haven't even had time to look into that.  I think I mentioned this in a previous blog.  It's pretty much ready to be listed publicly, not at all in the professional looking stage yet but it'll always be a work in progress.  It doesn't help though that I don't even look at it...but special thanks to Mylo9000 and Mystik for putting all that together when they didn't have to. I 'm very grateful to have friends like them. 

Also thanks to Mr. Pizza for donating a whack load of games that I hope I can get to anytime soon.  At least I won't be running out of material for a LONG time lol.  The guy's birthday just past really and he buys ME games...fail friend I am lol.

Anyway, I'm still keepin at it.  Video Game Death's 2 is making progress.  This week's episode of Play it Live! is on schedule for Wednesday.  Here is a picture:

Minor Technical Difficulties

Sorry for my late update, my computer at home has decided to have a fit these last few days.  Turns out it decided on its own that it no longer wants to export video longer than 30 minutes or so.  It decided that "I don't have enough memory" anymore.  It's an older system I built back in 2007 but it has served its purpose all these years.  It's not dead by any means, just become stubborn so the next Play it Live! going up today will only be half the episode.  I'll put the 2nd part up tomorrow (Feb. 26th).

I think I'm finally going to invest in a newer faster system seeing as video production on this machine is very very time consuming...takes 6-8 hours to export 1 video (if around the 30-40 minute range) and then takes another 10 hours or so to upload to Youtube (at approx. 1 to 1.5 GB in size).  The upload thing has nothing to do with my system, of course....my internet just sucks lol.

So besides keeping up with the Play it Live! series, I'm still working on Video Game Deaths Part 2 as well as another music video and getting footage still for Valkyria Chronicles.

I also put up footage from the Beta of Heroes of the Storm, which I find to be very entertaining.  But I'm told it's a knock off of DOTA 2.  See, I've heard of DOTA but never once played it so this style is entirely new to me.  I may give DOTA a try one of these days and upload footage from that...I'd like to compare them.

This week's Play it Live! is 3 games, actually.  Only because the first game didn't work and the 2nd game didn't give me much of a chance (but then I suck at a lot of games lol).

Anyway, expect that up sometime this afternoon...when my decrepit internet decides to finish uploading it.  Here is a picture of...an example of...how my brain...works.

Updates and what not

Just finished the 3rd week's episode of Play it Live!  Strangely, this next game you're about to see (as per every Wednesday) was quite frustrating to say the least.  LOL I didn't have that much fun, I was more stressed than anything else so I have no idea if that will add to the entertainment value or not...guess we'll see.

I'm still working on the next Video Game Death's episode.  I'm actually starting it with a small Lester and Soapman animation so that's taking a bit of my time.  I have to put together some new sprites and what not for this to work.  Tedious work that's not at all hard...just time consuming.  Here is an example below:

Yes...this animation will be regarding Lester working at a fast food joint...my brain works in mysterious ways.  It'll be completely random and make NO sense, so no surprise, right? 

I'm also gathering footage for another music video and then working on the Valkyria Chronicles review.  For sure this time, I promise. 

I'm not sure if I'm going to do the Phobe review at all anymore though...now that I've been talking to the guy whose remastering the movie (or transferring to DVD) and since I've recently discovered that the main actor from the movie (Sgt. Dapp) is dead...I can't possibly say anything negative about it now...I don't have the heart.  I love the movie but for many reasons that I shouldn't...I'll get into that some other time.

I also want to give out a special thanks to Mr. Bludclot (from Youtube) for giving me a generous donation.  I really appreciate it and can't thank him enough.  Donations aren't something that I need by any means but heck, I won't turn down money.  I just want to be clear that I don't do these videos for money or expect any kind of return other than to make people laugh.  I've been doing this for free since 2006 and will always keep it free.  If I ever get a big enough following, I may offer optional stuff for money (like DVD's, special content, etc.) but I won't ever make my primary viewing billable.  Any donations I do receive I will use toward improving my video making (ex. better tools, system, etc.) since that's the reason I received the money anyway.  But if no donations come in the future then I'm perfectly fine with that.

So that's it for now, I'm keeping busy and will hopefully get more stuff out there soon (aside from the weekly "Play it Live!" episodes).

Making Progress Still

So as you can see I've made some adjustments to the blog, I'm still trying to figure this all out...figured out how to add a donate button and made some other minor adjustments.  The whole idea is to eventually make this more of a website more than just a blog...I'll get there eventually.

This week's "Play it Live!" is finished and will ready on time for Wednesday.  This week is a classic game, I play from start to finish.  I wish I could do this for all the classic games I'll be playing but unfortunately, not all games are as short as this one.

Mylo9000 is working on our official website but I still plan on keeping my blog and everything too.  Only reason, the website (even when finished) won't have any fail safes. We'll be hosting on our own locally so if the power ever goes out or the server crashes then down goes the site. I'll keep the blog as a backup in the event that sort of thing happens.  Mylo9000 and I only started discussing the website last night so it has only been started.  I'll keep you posted on progress as I hear it.

Going back to the donate button, a few people have been asking about one and I really appreciate the request, really, any money would help but of course, no pressure to anyone.  I'm always going to make videos and one day I'd love to make this sort of thing full time...but who knows if I will ever be able to pull it off.

Here is a picture of a tree painting Bob Ross:

Phobe is Returning!

So, funniest thing happened....FIRST, Phobe makes a random appearance (the full film) on Youtube.  It's there for a day and then disappears...why?  I'm not sure...except before it was taken down, I commented on it asking who posted it since for years I've been looking for this movie and only recently had the luck to find a Saskatchewan Film Festival send me a copy.  I received the below response:

I feel bad...it's not like I don't want to give out a copy but I'm not even sure I should own the copy that I have now seeing as it didn't come from the original source...so who am I to give it out to the public, right?  Well good news, somebody (assuming the original creator) is going to bring it back from the dead.  You can find more details via twitter:

@PHOBE_LIVES

 I'm going to post updates myself as I see them.  Hopefully he'll sell copies and then everybody can have one.  Figured I'd let you all know.

Trying Something New

Okay so, besides updating my blog every week, I'm going to try out a new series that I intend to post every week.  Because if it's one thing I haven't been, it's consistent.  So, I'm hoping as of this coming Wednesday (Feb. 4th) I'll have an episode of "Play it Live" released.

What is "Play it Live"?  Well, it's nothing original, I'm not going to pretend I'm making something fresh and new (is that even possible anymore?).  It's just going to be me playing games but playing them live and uneditted.  I guess it's kind of like the "Let's Play" series already out there except my stupid face won't be in the corner of each video.  Now the reason I'm doing this is that I want to be able to have something for you guys every week so you're not waiting years on end for something to watch.  If I keep it simple by playing whatever game with me talking as I'm playing, then that should be easy enough to do once a week. This way it won't seem as long of a wait for the good stuff (ex. like Video Game Deaths & Worst Games).

What games will I be playing?  Here is how I plan to break it up a little..

1st week of the month: I'll play a game that I've NEVER played before that looks like it'll be stupid, so it's completely new for me, I promise I'll never have played it or researched it in advance.

2nd week of the month: I'll play a classic game (in my books) that I'm already familiar with and just want to share with you so I can show you why I love it so much

3rd week: I'll play a game that a viewer asks me to play. It can be good or bad, doesn't matter.  Just leave a comment on one of the videos (that I'll end up making) and if you're lucky (meaning if I  happen to read your comment) then I'll pick that game.

4th week: I'll pick a game at random...could be a game I own but haven't played...could be a game that I just google or look up on steam that's like a dollar.

When it comes to viewer's choice, please don't pick a game that's like "$70" or has a steep price tag on it.  I prefer an older game that you can either emulate (ex. NES, SNES, Atari, Commodore 64, DS, Playstation, Playstation 2, Gameboy, Sega Genesis, Sega Mastersystem, etc. etc.) or a game that's free.  If you pick a game that has a cost associated to it, that doesn't mean I won't pick it, just means I'll less likely be able to pick it...but still, share your thoughts and let me know what I should play.

I already have a game in mind for this Wednesday (I won't say what) and I intend to make a new episode every Wednesday going forward.

I'm not giving up on any other series.  Again, this is just filler to keep you guys occupied while you wait for the better stuff.  I feel bad making you guys wait a month at a time to watch anything.

So expect that in 2 days...oh and I'm on twitter now @Guardiane222...here is a picture of Captain John:

Still at it

Still working on the Video Game Death's video.  I'm only about 1/4 of the way done but I'm slowly progressing.  Still collecting footage for my Valkyria Chronicles review as well.  In the mean time, I may upload some filler for my Youtube site...just so I have something uploaded.  I may upload some gameplay footage of "Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion" and the "Star Trek Armada 3 Mod" that was released for it.  It's very well done and a must get for any Star Trek fan.

You can get Sins on Steam for about $43.99 (at this time)...pretty steep.  I happen to get in on sale for like $10 though. I think it's worth it if your a strategy fan.  The Armada 3 mod is free here:

http://www.moddb.com/mods/star-trek-armada-3

It's a bit tricky to get working though.  If anyone happens to get stuck and need help, let me know...but then again nobody reads my posts except for like 2 people LOL...why do I bother then?

Anyway, don't give up on me yet, I'm still working...just not enough time in the day.

Here is a picture of...something