Chris' Updates

W00t! I'm happy to report that after a couple months of casually playing on and off, I've beaten Mass Effect on PC! I bought it back in September, and I scared my roommate when I cursed loudly while trying to install the game. The SecuROM DRM prevented me from launching the game until I could activate with the internet. It wasn't until a month later that I actually got personal internet and was able to start playing. (Does EA really expect me to have an internet connection in the middle of the desert?) I'll also say that it's a system hog; my new laptop, built specifically to play modern games decently, is barely able to handle the game. Having voiced those gripes, I'm very happy with the game. It's an original IP and storyline, and the backstory and plot are excellent! I was drawn into a galaxy of interesting alien races, clashing politics, and intense combat. Commander Shepard is a great lead character. The plot forces the player to make some tough dec

I've just finished watching the inauguration of our 44th president. So much has already been said about the significance of this moment in history. Even though I can't lay claim to any African American cultural heritage, I was still deeply moved by the idea that we are closer to equality than perhaps ever before. This is one of the moments in history that I can tell my children and grandchildren about: those moments when you'll never forget where you were when you learned it happened. For other generations, those moments were the attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of JFK. I don't quite remember what I was doing when the Berlin Wall fell, and my recollections of the Gulf War are fuzzy at best. But I do remember a fateful morning in my sophomore year of high school. In Spanish, my first class, there were rumors of news from New York. A small plane, perhaps a single-prop, had accidentally glanced off of a building. Anyway, no matter, class had to continue. But in

Now that the flurry of the holidays is over, we've been settling back into the routine. I've been finding myself less pleased about my situation. I'm still trying to stay positive and use my time and stay involved, but it seems harder somehow. Although I know I have a long ways to go, I'm definitely ready to go home. I've seen my share of this base. I'll keep plodding along, and keep doing my online courses and helping out at church, but that doesn't mean I'm enjoying my time. Why didn't I go Air Force? I'd be done by now! I've recently been reflecting on another issue: reenlistment. I told myself that I wouldn't be able to decide until I had a taste of deployment. And now that I'm here? Well, the time away sucks, in a big way. I see the same people every day, nonstop, no days off. I try not to think about it often, but I do miss everything about home. But another issue is the copious amount of BS that the military brings to the pictu

Our furry friend has become an internet meme! moar funny pictures