Tabula Rasa’s Andrew Bravehound.  Sans cell phone.

Clan Name: Beefcake Brigade
Server: Cassiopeia
Clan Type: PVP (but not currently at war with any clans)

My buddy Zane and I - and a handful of other folks that have contacted me since my other posts - have created a gay clan on the MMO game Tabula Rasa.  Having played with gay guilds/supergroups/whatevers in other games before, we had a hoot.  So, we decided to ensure there’s a place for other Tabula Rasa gamers looking to group, socialize, and kick the Bane’s butt in a gay-friendly clan.

Welcome to the Beefcake Brigade, bitches!

We toyed with a rather hilarious list of clan names, most of which would have likely gotten us banned. The Rump Rangers and Cock and Load! were personal favorites.

By no means will the clan be gay-exclusive… anyone looking to team and play in a cooperative, friendly environment will be welcomed.

Wanna Join?

We’re few right now, but are already growing.  If you’d like to join, shoot me an email, leave a comment on this post, or message us on the Cassiopeia server by last name Bravehound (my family name) or Bamber (Zane’s in-game family name). 

Update: Nobody is playing this anymore :(

Sweet!  Saw on Giz that these spy shots showed up online… I’m hoping these aren’t Chinese N82 rip-offs, and they’re the real deal. I don’t see a fake Nokia logo… which is good.  And I see camera icon shortcuts on the 3, 6, 9 keys.  I think.

I have my fingers crossed that Nokia will in fact announce these buggers on November 2.

In case you don’t recall the rumored specs on this mutha, or you’re just tuning in… 5-megapixel camera with - Tah dah! - XENON FLASH, Carl Zeiss Lens and auto-focus, 3G, 30FPS VGA video capture, 2.4-inch screen, FM radio, Wi-Fi, and stereo bluetooth… and us hardcore phone nerds people are hoping it doesn’t stop there, and that they don’t also leave out GPS, TV-Out, and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

- View All Episodes -

I ran across this show on YouTube recently and thought it was hysterical.

If you’ve played an MMO at any length, you’ve dealt with the surprise of realizing the variety of people you’re spending time with…. the kick-ass warrior helping you with your quest is actually 13 years old and had to get to bed now, or the giant orc that keeps pwning you is actually a mother of 3 from South Carolina.  Stupid orc.

That’s part of an MMO’s lasting appeal… the ongoing likelihood of bizarre but charming social encounters.

“I can hear them, it’s good enough for the blind.”

Be sure to view their youtube page to see more episodes.

I remember Robyn from her 1995 generic pop cd (remember the hit Show Me Love?).  In fact, I have it buried in a case of CDs somewhere.  Then what happened to her?

Suffering from what most manufactured pop musicians do, Robyn was controlled by her record company, and just not delivering anymore.  She stumbled across a CD of The Knife (they start out my house mix “1 Night”), and started a trend of creative collaborations.  Her label hated what she came up with - thought it was just weird - and so she did what any self-respecting musician should do… go her own way.

She’s kinda half quirky bad girl, and half fragile - if I had to name names, I’d throw out Pink, Cyndi Lauper, and a good dose of something new and lovable.

Anyhow, she’s making news outside of North America, and rightfully so.  I totally dig her.  I’ll certainly be tossing at least one remix of one of her more recent tracks in my next house mix.

I know, I know.  Despite the cute ad, it still looks like a hobbit.

I picked up one of these suckers to replace my iPod Mini I got back in ‘04.  I’ve worn the sucker out.  This should serve my running/gym needs pretty well.  Got an 8GB black one.

They’re so friggin’ small.  They should have put a clip on the back and just axed the shuffle, they’re so tiny.  The new animated UI is pretty sweet.. the wheel is too narrow in my opinion, let’s see I notice it after a bit of use.  I got the stock armband on the way, so that’ll be the real test.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’d still slap Steve Jobs across the face if given a chance.  And then apologize and thank him a little bit.

I know, right. Mr. Not Afriad To Bash Apple For Crimes Against The World has another mac. Kind of.

After my shuttle (my old personal machine I had been using, when work made me travel) was euthanized by the Gadget Gods, work outfitted me with a proper machine for on-set (and en-route) image and video work.

On my crazy Chicago work trip, I walked into the Apple store. I had worked, and not slept, the entire night to finish a deadline. I approached the female greeter, reminding myself to be to not be too cranky with her. Not that I would really control it.

“I need to buy a macbook pro, and I have 5 minutes.”

And bless her soul, I’d be damned if she didn’t run (actually run) to the nearest mac, login on the request-a-salesperson tool they groove on, and have a fella pop down from out of nowhere (iGrapple), ready for me.

“15 inch macbook pro with a matte screen and the fast processor. Oh, and a backpack to cram it and some hard drives in, too.”

I walked out of there 5 minutes later with my new travel companion, pleasantly surprised at how they handled the red-eyed zombie that hissed at them upon entry.

In case you haven’t read entries past, I left mac in both 97 and again in 2002 (after a brief OS X affair) but lived and worked quite happily on Windows machines ever since. So why the switch back now?

First of all, work has increased the demands of the versatility I’ve needed to exercise in my projects. Having both OS X and Windows (dual-booting using Boot Camp) accessible on my work machine has proved really handy. And if I’m to continue workflow while I’m mobile… I need that same flexibility. If I had to leave Windows entirely… forget it.

So, out here in Carleton Place, before the moving truck arrives, I get to put this sucker through it’s paces.

So far, it’s holding up quite nicely. I heard these things heat up, and they’re right. I installed smcFanControl, a little app that lets you tweak the minimum fan speed, and it’s doing wonders for the temp.

And oh yeah. It plays Tabula Rasa pretty damn good at native res with the settings on high. Not a bad bonus.