TVersity is a media server software compatable with your PS3.  Install it on a Windows machine loaded with movie files, point it to the folder, and voila.  Every file in that folder is now browsable and watchable on your PS3.  It’s no hassle, and no problem.

It comes with a codec back to install on your Windows machine, and I also recommend installing DivX, since many video files use this format.

When I wanted to watch videos I downloaded on my big screen TV, I always had to burn the files to a DVD-R and put it in my DVD player.  Now, I just copy them into a network folder, and TVersity picks it up and it’s ready to go on the PS3!

Highly recommended.

Boom De Yada is from a Discovery Channel commercial, which you can find here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_f98qOGY0

The XKCD comic is a parody of this commercial.  Pretty good.  Now this is going to be stuck in my head for days.  Now that I’ve watched the commercial, I can fully appreciate the genius behind the comic.  This is already one of my favorites.

This walkthrough for GemCraft gives tips and tricks and individual level tips for this new type of tower defense game where you put gems into towers to attack the creeps on the path.  Different colored gems give different abilities such as chain attack or splash damage.  There are many levels to defeat, which leads to lots of gameplay.  If you play GemCraft on ArmorGames.com, there are extra features available.  Here is the link to the game on ArmorGames.com.

http://armorgames.com/play/1716/gemcraft/

Combining two gems of the same level makes a gem of the next level.  Each gem color has a different special ability with it.  If you combine two different color gems, they get penalties to their effects but they do both special abilities.  Fill up all of the towers and create extra ones.  You can move gems at any time in and out of towers, but they take some time to activate at any new location before they start firing.

Generate gems before you decide to use them.  Always try to combine them with gems of the same level for maximum effect.  After you generate a gem decide which gem to combine it with based on its color.  Bring that gem out of the tower, combine it, and put it back in quickly.  If you drag one gem to another tower with a gem, both gems will switch places.

For maximum points on each level, be sure to click on the waves on the left to make them come early.  The earlier you make them come the more points and mana you get.  Send them as quickly as you can handle.  If you have extra mana, upgrade your mana regeneration, since this gives you more points also.

Each color of gem has a different special ability that it gets.  Each level has a limited number of gems available.  Strategically decide which to combine for maximum effect.

Red Gems: Splash Damage
Orange Gems: Steal Mana
Purple Gems: Reduce Armor
Green Gems: Poison
Yellow Gems: Triple Damage
Lt. Green Gems: Chain Hit
Blue Gems: Slow
Lt. BLue Gems: Shock

If you can’t beat a level to Glowing Frame, move on to the next level and come back.  As you go up in levels and gain more powers, you will be able to come back and defeat them.  The key to earning the most points is sending many waves at once.  Once you get the free gem skills and extra mana to start skills up to max, you’ll start with lots of gems.  Combine them, build some extra towers, and huddle them around the beginning of the path.  Put some water pits in to slow down the creeps.  Then send the first 6-8 levels in.  Keep sending them 2-3 at a time.

Be wary of the fast monsters.  They can run by all of your gem towers while they’re busy with the slower monsters.  It’s good to have the whole board clear when you send them, or to have a second set of gem towers later in the level that can knock out the ones that get by.

Here are some advices on specific levels.

8 waves: 790,000 to Glowing Frame (Splash, Steal Mana, Reduce Armor)
More mana means more points, so Steal Mana is a great choice as is Splash.  Reduce Armor doesn’t do much good if you only hit once.  Combining Steal Mana and Splash isn’t bad either.

12 waves: 1.15 Million to Glowing Frame (Poison, Triple Damage, Chain Hit)
Put a Chain Hit in the right tower, green on the top, and yellow to the left.  Try to keep them pure.

15 waves: 1.3 Million to Glowing Frame (Slow, Chain Hit, Shock)
Get a pure chain hit, and two other towers.  Flood them in 6 waves at a time.

18 waves: 1.6 Million to Glowing Frame (Steal Mana, Reduce Armor)
Steal Mana all the way and go for a highest score.  Flood them in 6 waves at a time.

20 waves: 2.02 Million to Glowing Frame (Triple Damage, Splash, Slow, Steal Mana)
Build lots of towers and put gems right at the beginning to cover the whole first turn.  Flood them in 6 waves at a time.

24 waves: (Poison, Splash, Steal Mana)
Splash Damage and Steal Mana are really awesome in combination.

26 waves: 2.65 Million to Glowing Frame (Triple Damage, Chain Hit, Reduce Armor)
Chain Hit is useful on its own if you can grow a good sized gem.

28 waves: 2.82 Million to Glowing Frame (Triple Damage, Splash, Slow, Steal Mana, Shock)

32 waves: 4.03 Million to Glowing Frame (Splash, Slow)
Slow and Splash are natural allies.  Try to keep the gems separate.  It’s easy with only two of them.  Build towers all around the entrance and kill them all quickly.

32 waves [EPIC]: 4 Million to Glowing Frame (All 8 Colors)

40 waves [HIDDEN]: 4.8 Million to Glowing Frame (Poison)

For those of you that are interested in the progress that my baby is doing, check out faith.sillica.com. I feel that dedicating a blog for her alone only seems fitting.

Well this is going to be a quick post. My child has a heart disease and we are going to get rushed to Columbia hospital in NYC to deterine how severe it is. Best case is surgery, worst case is dea…. Let’s bot talk about that.

What changes? I will be looking to get a second job. Anyone hiring? It is very possible that I will have to move to NYC to be closer to the hospital.

The worst case? My wife will have to carry the child to full term knowing the child will die. This is very unlikely but it was also unlikely that my child would have this issue in the first place.

With me luck, say a prayer, do whatever it takes to with my child well……

Another game, another day. Today’s game? PIMP MY CHIMP! Who doesn’t like monkeys looking like thugs!

Well, level 1 is completely easy since they tell you how to beat it. I am nice enough to provide a screenshot of this marvelous feat…

I haven’t quite found out the most winning combinations but feel free to share screen shots. When I have finished the other levels, I will be sure to post.

Any questions? I didn’t think so!

Well, you want an interesting twist to the “Hide the fart” series? Well it is right here in Hide the Farta in Sparta!

With that said, lets get down to the quiz part!

How did the Athenians break the siege of troy?

Wooden horse

Which of these items was not part of hoplite equipment

glitter

How did Artemis and Apollo know each other?

brother and sister

And now to the fart part of the game. You need to do a loud fart only when noisy things happen. During quiet parts, do the quiet farts. Watch the quiet fart meter as you will only have so much quiet farts to go around. The longer you last, the more points you get!

Good luck and happy farting!!!

In the words of the old Firefly saying, “This Food is Problematic.”  Who said this?

Well, the actual quote is “My food is problematic.”  It was said by River on the Firefly series, and Jayne Cobb replied “Girl’s a mind-readin’ genius, can’t even figure out how to eat an ice-planet.”

It still doesn’t make sense.  Maybe I should go watch Firefly.

By the way, if any of you enjoy baseball, webgames, or simulators, you should try out SimYard.com, a baseball simulation webgame where you are the owner and manager.  It was written by an xkcd fan, after all.

A complete walkthrough for winning the game Escape the Future, the latest escape the room game on addictinggames.com:

http://www.addictinggames.com/escapethefuture.html

1. Click next to AddictingGames book on the top of the shelf, above the brown box.  Get the key.

2. Get the rock.

3. Click into the potted plant and get the key.

4. Examine the computer desk.  Pull out the two ledges and take the key and piece of wire.

5. Use the wire on the telephone on the desk behind the chair.

6. In the room with the three windows, drag the rock to the left window.  Get the shard of glass.

7. Use the shard of glass to cut open the package, and take the wire.

8. Use the wire on the locked desk drawer. Take the security card.

9. Use the security card on the computer keyboard.  Take the key.

10. Use the four keys on the panel next to the door.  Open it and turn out the lights.  There is a URL on the ceiling to highlight.

11. The clue tells you the letters stand for numbers.  Enter the number 1123 into the time machine and you’re out.

A client called in and said that he was getting the following error:

Connection Failed. Try auto configure or change settings manually.

I just noticed that I am receiving the same error on my aol im client as well. We are both running the same version 6.5.1.12.1.

I believe that AOL’s networks are down but I will investigate further.

UPDATE: It seems that they were down because I just tried again and AOL connected without a problem…