Grand Theft Auto IV

Oh yes.

Oh yes I have it.

I have GTA IV.

'scuse me while I kiss the sky...

And no, I won't tell you anything about it, I will not ruin it for you.

And there was MUCH rejoicing.

So what'd we get so far?

The Pats draft picks so far:

Round 1, pick 10: Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee (first time Belicheck has ever gone for a LB this early -- wonder why, duh)

Round 2, pick 31 (62 overall): Terrence Wheatley, CB, Colorado

Round 3a, pick 15 (78 overall): Shawn Crable, LB, Michigan (another LB...)

Round 3b, pick 31 (94 overall): Kevin O'Connell, QB, San Diego State

Round 4, pick 30 (129 overall): Jonathan White, CB, Auburn

Round 5, pick 18 (153 overall): Matt Slater, WR, UCLA

Round 6, pick 31 (197 overall): Bo Ruud, LB, Nebraska (and another LB...)

Which makes 3 linebackers, 2 corners, a QB, and a wide receiver (7 total picks).

Now to see which ones go boom and which ones go bust over the next few years...

Here comes the NFL draft

...and I don't care.

Because, after it's all said and done, I have two words for you:

Ryan Leaf.

Here's another two words:

Brian "The Boz" Bosworth

Oh, I'll follow the draft, see if the Pats do something about the aging linebacker situation, the empty slots at safety and corner...but just remember: Ryan Leaf.

And there was much rejoicing.

Pardon my absence

Like anybody has noticed, but the site's been up and down for the past few days and I've been unable to get into it myself...just switched servers.

But whether you like it or not, I'm baaaaack.

Random thought for the day: How dare anybody ask Barack Obama real questions? The nerve of these people!

Attention: MLB '08: The Show fans having problems starting the game today -- help is here

Okay. You might have tried to play MLB '08 today, and when you get to the screen where it says to hit the start button, you hit it, nothing happens, then the screen goes black...and the PS3 reboots or something.

Here's the issue: the servers are down.

Here's the solution: If you have a wired connection to the Internet, simply unplug the network cable from the PS3. Or disable your Internet connection from the main PS3 XM-bar screen.

Then it'll work.

Hopefully the servers will be back up soon...in the meantime...hope this helps a few people.

Hitting tips for MLB '08: The Show

Okay, after posting a small article on how to pitch in MLB '08, I've gotten a few requests for help hitting.

First, let me say that this game is the hardest baseball game to hit in I've ever played. Which, frankly, makes it more realistic.

I'm going to give you a basic strategy to help you hit. Here goes.

First, you need to guess a pitch. Do this every time at the plate. Hold down R2, select the button that corresponds to what you think the pitch will be (look at the opposing pitcher's pitch-buttons), then, still holding down R2, select a spot you think the pitch will come to, by using the L stick. Up, down, inside, outside, are your choices.

But start off doing this. Pick one pitch. For me, I use fastball low. I guess fastball low on every pitch. Now, if you've guessed both things right, you'll see a complete lock-on. If you've just guessed the pitch right, only the outside box will flash red, meaning the pitch is going somewhere else.

Now: If the pitch does come in at fastball low, if you get a lock (and if you have DualShock 3 the controller will vibrate to let you know you've locked, another helpful little widget), aim the L stick low, towards where you think the pitch will be, and whale at the sucker. If you get a full lock, even consider using the square button for a power swing. You'll belt out a great hit if you connect on the power swing; just remember, you're a lot less likely to make contact on it.

If you guessed fastball (in this case) correctly but the direction wrong, move the L stick to where you think the pitch will be coming (I usually just default to moving it up in the zone) and, once again, whale away. You might want to just stick to using the X button for contact hitting in this case.

If you get a lock on just the location -- the outer box will NOT light up but a brief red flash will show you which direction the pitch is going (if you guessed right), you can consider swinging at that pitch, but remember, it's going to be some sort of breaking ball.

Now, if you don't get a lock on the pitch OR the location -- take the pitch. Don't swing. You'll get a ball out of it around 70% of the time.

This is the best advice I can give you on hitting in MLB '08: The Show.

As you get better, play around with guessing other pitches and other directions, but use the basic strategy outlined above if you're struggling mightily at the plate.

The iPhone Catch-22 -- a possible solution

Here's the problem with the iPhone.

Say you're on a long trip, and you want to watch a movie on the iPhone. Okay, all well and good, but the iPhone battery is not exactly stellarly impressive, and by the time your trip is up, if you've been using the iPod features, your battery is going to be drained and you won't be able to use it as a phone.

Solution? Backup battery.

There are two kinds offered. The first is a backup battery that uses AA batteries. The second is a lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

I opted to try the former, and after looking around a bit, ordered what I thought was the smallest and most convenient battery from a place called RichardSolo.com. It's supposed to give you 6-8 hours extra of video/music time.

It supposedly works on all iPod models and the iPhone. It's a small black thing that clips into the standard connector on the bottom of your iPod.

When it gets here, I'll let you know how it works. I've read some great reviews of these things, and some horrible reviews of these things. We'll see how it goes.

Obama makes another gaffe

Right. This time I'm talking about Obama making a rather stupid remark regarding Pennsylvania. I'm sure you've heard about it by now. The "bitter" remark. Although it's not the comment that voters are bitter that should be getting attention. Again, the quote, in context, is this:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Okay. It's true, some coal-boom towns in PA suffer greatly when the jobs leave town. And sure, it makes people bitter.

But for once I agree with Hillary Clinton, who implied Obama's remarks reflect a view that he's somehow above the residents of these small towns.

The point I'd like to make is that just because people are bitter does not necessarily make them tough on immigration, supporters of the Second Amendment, or whackily religious. The last one is a real gem for Obama. What made Obama get religion? From the whacked-out Jeremiah Wright? Political expediency. He needed Wright's backing to get elected. It's that simple. So, sorry, Obama, but sometimes people turn to religion for their own reasons which have nothing to do with bitterness or political expediency. Some people actually have this marvelous thing called "faith", Mr. Obama. They have opinions, too, and those opinions are not necessarily direct outgrowth at bitterness towards the current state of things in this country. The majority of them are proud, intelligent Americans, who know what they believe in and know what they want to vote for and know why.

Moving on -- anti free trade? Obama is against free trade. He wants out of NAFTA, the biggest free trade agreement we have going (and a significant booster for our economy). So are you bitter, too, Mr. Obama?

Basically, all I'm saying is that you don't tar people with a brush like this. How would it sound if McCain got up there and said black people are bitter, which is why they turn to the outrageous rantings of people like Jeremiah Wright and Farrakhan? I don't think that would have gone over too well.

Plenty of people are bitter. Plenty of people are bitter at the government, for good reason. That doesn't automatically make them vote from pure base emotion. It doesn't make them "cling to guns". Some people like to hunt, which, last time I checked, is still legal, despite the efforts of the left.

Once again, though, his campaign (never forget that Obama is merely the pinnacle of an extremely well-run political machine) has done a good job with spin and damage control. His jabs back at McCain and Clinton, after they attacked him on the comment, were well-crafted.

But let's face it. Obama is looking down his nose at the people of Pennsylvania. I'd like to see them respond with a resounding victory for HRC, which would keep her in the race and please me and my fellow members of the VRWC to no end.

In honor of Charlton Heston, a new poll

That is correct. A new poll to honor Charlton Heston.

The question at hand is:

Orangutans

OR

Chimpanzees?

I await the results with delicious anticipation.

Charlton Heston passes away.

We lose another good guy.

Charlton Heston: 1923 - 2008

Memo to Ted Turner

Eat me.