E3 Sucks for us folks not privileged enough to attend, and no game in my enormous “Pile of Shame” can even come close to keeping my attention for more than a few minutes at a time after experiencing the awesomeness that is MGS4.

I almost regret having played MGS4 before working through my “Pile of Shame.” I fear they shall forever remain unbeaten! Damn you Kojima!! *shakes fist angrily in the air*

“Mad props” must be given to the folks over at Bethesda for their latest Fallout 3 trailer featuring the happy 50’s era family living in the “Home of Tomorrow.” The trailer did a wonderful job capturing the tone and atmosphere that is Vault-Tec! Also, I greatly appreciate the fact that the Vault-Tec phone number presented in the trailer is actually a working number, however nothing special happens after dialing it, just some funny comments by an outdated robotic voice asking you to please hold. Go ahead, give it a try! (1-888-482-8588)

Technorati Tags: E3, Fallout

I’m fortunate enough to live in a country that allows the ownership of firearms, and lucky enough to live in a state that allows a person to carry a “concealed handgun”, after proper certification of course.

This past Saturday, my day began way too early! 5:30 am is not exactly my preferred time to wake up on Saturday. In fact, I believe waking up that early on a Saturday should be a crime, but I digress.

A fellow martial artist, my father and I all agreed to take a “concealed handgun” course in order to earn our own certification to carry concealed handguns. The initial course is about 10 hours total, 8 or so being a typical lecture/classroom environment, while the other 2 was actual training and certification on a live firing range. At the end of the 10 hours course, a test was administered serving as the main means of “feedback” to ensure that we comprehended the material. Needless to say, everyone of us passed with flying colors both the written and the practical portions!

The basic class breakdown was like this:

1. the basic rules of any firearm, something most people this day and age should be familiar with.
2. rules of the firing range and how to handle our weapons while on the range.
3. (The best part in my opinion!) Using a handgun, we were tested at our firing proficiency at what I recall being 3, 9, and 12 yards.
4. Another couple hours of legal discussion. The two instructors made sure to cover the laws regarding concealed handguns, including but not limited to:

• places we can & can’t carry
• properly identifying yourself as a “Concealed Handgun License” (CHL) holder to a police officer.
• Rules regarding the use of “Deadly Force”; when & when we can/can’t use it legally.
• Legal ramifications for breaking any laws
• Suspense, Revocation, Expiration & Renewal of a CHL.

The instructor also explained to us exactly what to expect after having had to use “Deadly Force” on someone. Its not pretty, but if its your life or the life of a loved one on the line, then its totally worth protecting by any means!

Although some my disagree with carrying a concealed handgun, and I may rarely ever carry one, I still believe this 10 hour course and the certification was extremely valuable. Now all thats left is having to submit the paperwork to the proper authorities, and of course purchasing myself a new gun. (My old 1902 Colt .38 ACP is far too valuable to carry around and fire in this day and age.)

Technorati Tags: Concealed Handguns, Handgunes, Texas CHL

An MMO for a more "mature" audience, at least that’s the mantra Funcom utters about their recently launched "Age of Conan". What exactly makes this a "mature" game? The "M for Mature" ESRB rating, the fabulously gory fatalities, or is it the promise of in game nudity? After spending much of my free time this past weekend playing through "Age of Conan," I’m still not sure what exactly makes this game so much more mature than your other MMOs other than the potential for topless women and the occasional vulgar language and brutal fatality.

Upon initial impression "Age of Conan" is a beautiful looking MMO, no doubt about it! The promise of future support of DX10 effects via a "soon to be released" patch will only benefit an already gorgeous MMO. In an era where most MMO worlds look ages behind our current gen graphics, "Age of Conan" is an MMO graphical jewel.

The character creation screen is pretty robust for an MMO allowing you to make various small and large tweaks to your appearance, including several tattoos and scars. Of the several cultures to choose from, each has its own interpretation of the various basic fantasy RPG classes. I created a male Tempest of Set, which is the "spellcaster/healer/priest" class of the Stygian culture.

Every newly created character arrives in the city/state of Tortage after a devastating storm wipes out the slave ship you were serving on. It is here where you will learn to play the game and your class properly for the next 20 levels, give or take. Tortage is your typical "n00b" zone with your basic fetch quests, kill x number of this, and solve that mystery.

What really sets Tortage apart from other MMO starter cities is the well done voice over work for all your quest giving NPCs. Reading blocks of text explaining why sorcerer Y needs X number of frog tongues is not really my idea of "immersion." I demand voice overs for all MMO quest NPCs from this point forward!

Another very unique feature of Tortage is the ability to carry out story specific quests in your own private instance of the world (aka single player mode). The entire single player mode in Tortage takes place at night, while the multiplayer mode takes place during the day. This MMO single player mode for important story quests ensures that you will experience the story on your own without any griefers, or long periods of waiting for the quest item/enemy to respawn. This is an ideal way for my "lone wolf" styled play habits of most MMOs I play, while still maintaining the option to "group" and take on more "epic" challenges. Who really needs to group up to run fetch quests anyway?

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Technorati Tags: Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Conan, Tempest of Set

This past Saturday, May 17th, marked the 15th year anniversary of the Hwarang Taekwondo Academy in my hometown. For 15 years, Grand Master Jimmy Park has been teaching the kids of Del Rio & Eagle Pass the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, along with the discipline and self-confidence that comes with it.

I had the privilege to attend the academy early on during high school and loved every minute of it! However, the life of a high school student is already busy enough, so I regrettably took an extended break from Taekwondo.

More than four years later, I returned older and wiser than before. Over the last year, I’ve risen from a simple orange belt up to a purple belt! In the larger scope of things, a purple belt might not seem very high, but its actually the sum of my hard work for a year. Hours of practice, hordes of welts & bruises, and tons of form repetitions.

I’ve grown to known the majority of the students in my class, and I hope that they get something out of their continued training. Parties and demonstrations like this past weekend are a great way for the kids to see the higher belts perform some of the harder techniques, and for them to see if its something they’d want to keep learning in the future. Of course, giving the students a chance to shine is also a great way to build up their self confidence and help them become less introverted.

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Technorati Tags: BlueRanger, GekiBlue, GekiRanger, Jungle Fury, Jyuuken Sentai, Martial Arts, Spandex, Taekwondo

Having been training in Chinese Kenpo with my teacher for just a little under a year now, he finally felt it was time to test a select few students for their orange belt. Of the 15 students in class, only five were selected to take the test.

We were tested on a long list of techniques and maneuvers which most of us recalled and performed with accuracy. Sure, most of us erred a few times, but we performed effectively enough to earn a passing grade.

As a reward, the new orange belts were invited to a cook out at the instructor’s house, this past Sunday, as a chance for us all to get to know one another in a more relaxed setting, no martial arts involved.

Most martial arts styles and schools have a ranking system which normally consists of colored belts or sashes. These ranks are normally earned by students after much hard work and dedication, with the ultimate goal in most organizations being some level of black belt.

Ranks are bestowed upon students after the student has proven himself capable of performing at a particular level. Sometimes belts can also be earned by seniority, since a student who has been learning from a master for years, is better versed in the master’s philosophy and style than one who just began.

With martial arts schools operating all over the world, some school’s ranking systems have been heavily monetized. Some schools operate with the sole intent of taking their students money and giving them very little knowledge of actual self defense. I’ve heard of these kinds of schools referred to as “McDojos”, where one can walk in throw down some cash and walk out with a black belt.

Some martial arts instructors go to great lengths to become “masters” by setting up their own school/style and having other “pseudo-masters” acknowledge the new school/style as legit by giving that “pseudo-master” an additional “master” title in the newly established martial arts style. A community of pseudo martial arts masters is created which can leech off of each other for credibility, while milking their students’ money.

These pseudo-masters are ultimately hurting their students, and setting them up for extreme failure should they face an actual self-defense situation. Martial arts instills a sense of confidence and humility into a person, but should the situation arise where you must defend yourself armed with pseudo-martial arts, you are surely guaranteed to hurt yourself by using improper techniques, or getting beaten by your opponent.

The Taekwondo school I attend charges a monthly fee, and an additional belt test fee every time you are ready for a belt promotion test. The first few belt ranks in this school are actually pretty easy to obtain, but after the first three, the master decides when/if you are ready to take the next belt exam. This adds a degree of reliability to the ranking system in my school, but nothing is full proof. I myself only request permission to test, from my master, when I am 100% sure I know everything that is required for the next belt. I hate being the guy who looks at/copies others in a weak attempt to cover up my inadequate knowledge and form, I want to be the one everyone attempts to copy off of! This coming Tuesday, I will hopefully be partaking in a test to earn my Purple belt in Taekwondo!

Technorati Tags: Kenpo, Martial Arts, Orange Belt, Purple Belt, Taekwondo