This is what you see when you join the game.

WOW!

I just played the demo, and while the first time around I was stupid enough to leave alone my teammates, I learned the next time that this is a game that you can not go out on your own. The demo only includes two levels of one map and with the 20+ maps that are coming out with the game in less than a week, I can expect more fun!

Right now the game has several plaguing problems. Most noticibly with the server matching problems and people trying to play together as a group. Also if you are on a windows machine, you can not run a dedicated server and play the game at the same time.

Attached is the only thing that I can get for now. It is a poster of the “map” as you join it. If you think about the modding possibilities with this game, they are endless. There are plenty of screenshots and video of the game in action on the biggest fan website including the official trailer for the game. The offical review of this game will come out once the game is released. This is just a preview. expect a much fuller review then!

I voted in the:

• 2000 Election - Voted for Gore - Lost
• 2004 Election - Voted for Kerry - Lost
• 2008 Election - Voted for Obama - Today will be WIN!

Though I would have rather picked Hillary Clinton, our party voted to pick Obama as the nominee. I support him fully. Go out and vote and make your voice count.

_{P.S. As a side note, check out Joel’s comic on HiJinks Ensue.}

I like to give props out to Ryan, Jane, Westi, ViperBond, DD32, Azaozz, Mark Jaquith, and last but not least Matt for letting me part of the team in this round. Hopefully when working on 2.8 I can help in a bigger way with my attachment system with multiple gallery support worked on as a team.

For those looking for an update in the vBulletin version, I am working on it. I just haven’t had time to do that yet as I am working on WordPress 2.7 release at the moment.

Pumpkin Pie

^{Prep time: 5 minutes / Cook time: 50 minutes}

The pie is the first step as it’s easy to prepare, but it has the longest cook time. The recipe I used is from McCormick. While I was thinking about making pie, I didn’t realize that they made a “package” spice that did all the real messy work for you. So hats to them! I had gotten everything from Stop and Shop, but I forgot to get a can opener. I had to head back out to King Kullen (closer drive) to get one as you need one to open the pumpkin and condensed milk.

Ingredients used.

Just as McCormick’s site says, empty the pumpkin can, condensed milk, eggs, and the spice (in the proper proportion). Stir until it’s completely liquidity and place the final result directly in your pie crust. You can make the pie crust or you can get it from the store… like I did. By this time you should have already started the oven to preheat to 425^o degrees. Do not put the pie in until it reaches 425^o degrees!

Your only going to be doing this ‘prebake’ for only 15 minutes. After that set your oven to 350^o degrees and set the timer to 40 minutes. This is the most crucial time. Around the 30 minute mark you should check the progress to make sure the pie has not burned. After 40 minutes take the pie out and let it cool for about 15 minutes or once the pie reaches room temperature. After it is at room temperature, place the pie in the fridge so it cools rapidly under the cover of wax paper or tin foil.

Pumpkin Pie Finished

Tuna Steak

^{Prep time: 20 minutes / Cook time: 10-13 minutes}

Tuna steak is one of those meals I love and must have at least once a month. But cooking it myself has never been tempted before until tonight!

Tuna Steak Ingredients

Ingredients are are a bit more extensive than the pumpkin pie. If you are cooking these two items together, during the cook time of the pumpkin pie you can prepare the sauce for the Tuna steak as you need to prepare the items for cooking in sequence.

• Two Large Garlic Cloves
• One Large Tomato on the Vine (or canned diced tomatoes or 4 small tomatoes)
• Ground Thyme
• Green Olives with or without pimentos
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Tuna Steak

The two major steps to this process is A) Sauce Creation and B) Tuna Cooking. The sauce is what takes forever so lets get right to it!

Go ahead and take apart the garlic cloves and chop them up to bits. On how big you keep them up to you, but the bigger they are the less favor of the garlic gets into the tuna. Then cut up one tomatoes (more if you are making more than a pound of tuna). Then cut some olives. I my picture below, I used lots of olives. You don’t need this many for a half a pound tuna steak, but I love them! Such good flavor!

After you have everything prepared go ahead and start the stove top. Put some olive oil in your frying pan. While it’s warming up (you don’t want it at a complete boil) take the salt and pepper and sprinkle them on one side of the Tuna steak. Then place the side of with Salt and Pepper in the frying pan. Cook for three minutes on each side repeating the process of the salt and pepper before flipping over. You can at this point add some garlic into the frying pan so the tuna can absorb some of the garlic flavor as it cooks.

After the tuna is cooked on both sides remove it and place the tuna on a plate. Now we are going to cook the sauce. First place the remainder of the garlic in the frying pan allowing the flavor to ooze into the pan. Then add the tomato and the olives. Cook the sauce until most of the tomato juice has been removed. Once the sauce has been reduced a little, place the tuna back into the frying pan without it laying on top of the sauce, but it being surrounded instead. This allows the tuna to cook evenly once you place the cover on. Cook for an additional 10 minutes  with the cover and cook until the fish is ready.

I hope you enjoy this meal! It’s really good and really healthy!

Finished Meal

$i++;

The best part is if anyone orders the comic from Joel at HiJinks Ensue, he is going to bring it back to the FedEx Kinkos to prove a point to them. I hope he gives them an inexpensive thumbdrive.

Candidates Cell Phone Choices

The choices are to represnet how each candidate levels with the technology and the advancment of culture vs. living in the past. Judge for yourself, but it was still pretty funny.