Chrono101.com » Uncategorized

Brazilian Soccer Game Riot

Chrono101 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:51:38 +0000

This was the scene soccer game in Brazil yesterday. By the looks of it, one team lost, and for some reason a riot started when the team tried to leave through their gate. The police come out, and people begin jumping from the stands and tearing up the play field. The police officers try to contain the melee, but they are outnumbered, and one of the officers gets knocked out. The rest of the officers get pelted with toilet-paper, drinks, chairs, and various parts off of the stadium.

Somehow a fire gets started with a bunch of tissue paper, and more people rush the field and an all-out brawl ensues. Eventually riot police show up and contain the mass of people with bean-bag shotguns, riot shields, and batons.

Let’s hope Brazil can begin to contain their unruly sports crowds, as they plan to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janerio.

Share/Bookmark

America’s Police Force?

Chrono101 — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:02:52 +0000

So, I was browsing Google News this morning, and happened upon this article, courtesy of KURL News. It’s about a Private Military Contractor called America’s Private Police Force. Apparently the city of Hardin, Montana, has sold an unused jail, worth $27 million, to the PMC. I was interested in the company, and deicded to check out their website at http://www.americanpolicegroup.com/. They claim to be experts in everything from forensic analysis, to kidnapping prevention, to cargo security and convoy protection. I’ve taken screen shots of some of their more interesting pages.

Not all of their pages are accessible from their homepage, and a WHOIS search returns nothing, but there is nothing that hides from a Google site: search. They may have crack mercenaries, but their web designer fails at basic Search Engine techniques. See all thier site’s content at this Google results page.

Pretty interesting, I haven’t seen many things like this before. Digg and Reddit seem to be getting into a big fuss about this, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

SCREENSHOTS

Application for employment

APPF: We Spy on You!

Look at the part where it says, “our unique privacy laws”. What does that mean?

Isn’t that a Russian Spetsnaz in that picture?

Share/Bookmark

Ode to ye, Razr V3 A

Chrono101 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:17:40 +0000

So I just upgraded my Motorola RAZR for a newer Samsung SCH-R800 . So far it seems pretty good, with a large list of usable features. I just hope it lasts as long as my Razr did. I used it for three straight years, and aside from the occasional memory glitch, the phone performed phenomenally. I have to give credit to Motorola. However, since Motorola has no real offerings in the smart phone market, I decided to step up a little and get the R800. Aside from the fact that my fingers are horrendously too large for the screen, no problems to report. Yet.

I have been known to drop things from great heights, or leave things in my pockets and have them go through the washer and dryer. Or get stuck in trash cans. I purchased insurance on my phone, so hopefully I won’t have to use it. At $2 extra month, it seems like a safe bargain. Over 2 years, that’s $48 dollars, or roughly half of what I paid for the phone. Except if the price goes down in 6 months, which would mean over the life of my 2 year contract I am paying more on insurance than what it would cost to replace the phone outright. Alltel thought they had me on that one, didn’t they? So after 6 months, if I don’t break the phone, I’ll cancel the insurance (if I can). Don’t you just love how the phone carriers do business?

Share/Bookmark

Gmod Stuff

Chrono101 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:22:34 +0000

In my spare time I’ve been working on some robotics-type programming in Gmod and Wiremod. I’ve made a fairly functional hunter-killer drone, and I made a short little video about it. It’s pretty well geared to other Gmod/Wiremod users who would know what I’m talking about, but it is entertaining nonetheless.

Share/Bookmark

Thoughts about C&C4, EALA, and the C&C Community

Chrono101 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:15:26 +0000

TO ALL CURRENT C&C FANS:

If EALA doesn’t inject the community with some new blood now, they never will. This franchise, and this community is dying. If they stick with the same formula that they did before, C&C will become even more niche, and if C&C4 does not bring in some major money, I guarantee you they will not fund the production of another C&C game. If your games do not make money, you stop making them. It’s that simple.

Command & Conquer is up against the wall. Obviously the old “Tried-n-true C&C formula” is not working. New players pick up C&C3 for 5 minutes, get smacked in the first 2 minutes of online play, uninstall C&C3, and then never touch any C&C game ever again(nobody likes a game where they lose). If EALA doesn’t try something drastically different, then no amount of base building or resource gather will bring C&C back. EVER. E-V-E-R.

EALA is trying their hardest to keep the franchise (and the community) alive. They are taking drastic measures to reduce piracy (online all-the-time), bring in new players (new game play mechanics), and help *retain* those players (getting rid of bases, build orders, etc.). They even have the decency to close out the Tiberian Saga, just in case this is their last C&C game (instead of leaving us hanging like Kane’s Wrath).

EALA, C&C, and this community now have their backs against the wall (whether you realize it or not). EALA has already displayed its intentions to come out swinging, and they’re bringing C&C with them. Are we, as a community, going to be so blind that we can’t even tell when our own existence is in jeopardy? Instead of trying to berate EA and its employees, why don’t you try and get your friends excited about C&C4, so maybe (just maybe) in 2 years you can come back and whine and complain about C&C5.

That’s my 2 cents.

Share/Bookmark

A new room, and a new home

Chrono101 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:46:03 +0000

So, here I am. Kansas State University, home of the Wildcats. I’ve been here for 2 days now, and I think I will like it here. Most of the staff seems extremely friendly and courteous, most of the students body seems friendly as well.

There are a lot of students though. I am in the Derby Complex, Moore Hall, Third Floor, Men’s Wing, Room #30. I am about to go out on my first day of classes, and hopefully I’m not too much of a number to my teachers. I would like to be treated like a student and a human being, not just a number and another “product” to make for the sake of the university.

Time will tell. Sooner or later, time will tell…

Share/Bookmark

I’m going off the grid

Chrono101 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:53:32 +0000

I’ll be off the grid for the next 24 hours, as I’m moving to Kansas State University tomorrow morning to begin my college education.

I’m gonna be going into Computer Science in the College of Engineering, so I’ll see how well that goes. I hope it goes pretty well, considering how much money I’m putting into my education. I don’t have time (or money) to retake any classes.

Share/Bookmark

Boxes and Bags

Chrono101 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:28:40 +0000

I’m packing my stuff up for college, and it’s like taking a little stroll down memory lane. All of these things I’ve placed and forgotten about, or things that I’ve laid down and just never took the time to put somewhere else.

It feels like I really am moving out, although I’ll be back to this room; I will miss this funny, T-shaped, 2nd story bunker I call a room.

Share/Bookmark

One more week!

Chrono101 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:57:26 +0000

I am on my last week of summer break, and then I head up to Kansas State University. I’m pretty busy packing all my stuff and tying up loose ends, so I hope I can get everything done on time.

Share/Bookmark

Robots inside a computer simulation…

Chrono101 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:56:53 +0000

So recently I’ve been playing around with Garry’s Mod for Half-Life 2, and I stumbled upon a very interesting addon for it. The add-on is called Wiremod, which allows a user to simulate several computer and embedded systems inside GMod. I have been working on an attack drone of sorts, and I’ve been working on some of its components these last couple of days.

I like this add-on, as it allows me to work with virtualized embedded systems, and it’s sort of what I did with FIRST Robotics Competition, except it doesn’t cost nearly $10,000 to do.

I might post a video or a couple pictures later when I get something that works a little better, but for now I’m still in the early design and testing phases.

Share/Bookmark