Mixing Mercury

2011-04-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

7:00 a.m. Gates Open

7:15 - 7:45 a.m. World Challenge Practice

8:00 a.m. Lifestyle Expo Opens

8:00 - 8:45 a.m. Firestone Indy Lights Practice

8:55 - 9:20 a.m. Team Drifting Demonstration

10:25 - 11:25 a.m. IndyCar Practice – Split Groups

11:40 a.m. - 12:40 p.m. Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race

12:55 - 1:55 p.m. Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying

2:30 - 3:50 p.m. IndyCar Qualifying & Firestone Fast 6

4:30 - 6:30 p.m. TEQUILA PATRÓN AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES RACE (120 minutes)

6:00 p.m. Lifestyle Expo Closes

6:45 p.m. Tecate Light Rock-N-Roar Concert (Featuring "JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF")

This may or may not be all about "BreakWall" in Redondo

2011-04-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Let me first start off by saying that this isnt all about offending or defaming Redondo. Redondo for the most part is awesome. If I am being honest, I just walked from my room to the liquor store and bought a six pack of Rolling Rock, for which I gave one to a homeless gentleman on the way home. I was therefore left with five beers.

That was about 2 hours ago.

Next update soon....Julie follow me my dear!!!

It's been awhile.....

2011-01-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

..Since I have said anything on here. A lot of new games have come out, such as Black Ops and I haven't really said anything. I am currently debating on a blog about Black Ops.

This entry is simply another complaint towards Microsoft and Xbox. To be more specific..Xbox Live.

My credit card expired and I didn't update it for 3 weeks. In that time my subscription came due. I logged on to Live and added a new card hoping that would fix the situation. Nope. So I logged on to Xbox Live.com to try fix the situation, but that didn't work either. Neither platform has the option to charge pass due balance. I had to actually call Microsoft and have them do it manually.

Now I know it isn't a big deal, but I became a little frustrated at the fact that wouldn't have that option available. I called Xbox ready to unload both barrels on the rep. Unfortunately, the rep was outstanding in his customer service, which instantly disarmed me. I think he could sense the agitation in my voice.

Anyways, the matter is resolved and I am back on.

Hit me up if you want to play!

GT: effmerunning.

E74 Error

2009-12-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything to this blog in quite some time. A couple of days ago I received the E74 error on my 360. It is pretty much toast. I went on the Xbox.com and submitted a repair request. It states my standard warranty is expired, but if a hardware failure occurs, like the E74 error, then it should be covered. Lets hope that is true. I am currently waiting for my box and shipping sticker to arrive.

Achievements: Go out and get your points people!

2009-08-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

What can I say about the inception of the Gamerscore and Achievements? I would like to answer that question with a question; how in the world were games fun before achievement points? Okay that is a bit extreme. Games were just as fun before achievements, but something can be said about the effect they have on gaming.

For those who are not familiar with what a gamerscore is, here is the technical answer as defined by Microsoft’s Xbox.com website, "The gamerscore is an aggregate number on the gamer card (for both Xbox LIVE-enabled and non-Xbox LIVE-enabled profiles) that shows how much experience and expertise a person has with Xbox games overall. Gamerscore is a progress-tracking system that is intended to motivate Xbox LIVE and non-LIVE members to play more games. Each game can award up to 1,000 gamerscore points to any player. Each achievement in a game provides a certain point value in gamerscore. Every time that a player earns additional gamerscore points, the total is immediately updated on the Xbox LIVE service and reflected on the player's gamer card. Gamerscore points are based on specific achievements as defined by each game."

Notice the expertise portion of that statement? Umm…yeah, if collecting all 1000 achievements in a game is expert then I am as mediocre as Obama’s presidency.

Microsoft has created a strategy that benefits both game developers and Microsoft. By creating an award system, gamers are encouraged to play games that, in a non-award driven platform and for various reasons, would have been overlooked.

Do achievements sell games?

About six months ago I started an achievement push. My gamerscore was a pathetic 9800. If you do the math I had only completed 9 games (1000 achievements * 9 games). If I am being truthful, I don’t think I have ever gotten a clean 1000 achievement points from a game. I have, however, come close. I think I accrued 950 out of 1000 on Call of Duty 4. Test Drive Unlimited was another one where I came close, like the high 800’s. Overall, I think I collect about 50 to 60% of the eligible 1000 achievements per game I play. I had to do something. I had to buy more games and start whooping-the-shit out them. So I set out on a mission to find cheap games. It didn’t matter what they were, I just wanted the achievements. I started going to different game stores and looking in the bargain bins for cheap games like a base-head scours the carpet for rocks. These bins are filled with real crap and real gems. I ended up buying games that even the developers forgot existed, like NCAA Basketball 2007-March Madness and NCAA Football 2007. I also bought some games that were well known, but had not ever considered playing before, like Dark Sector and Mass Effect. Both games have turned out to be some of my favorites. The prices were reasonable, anywhere from $5 up to $15. My search continued for some months, buying any obscure game that I could get my hands on for five bucks. Hell, I even tried Sneak King that game offered by Burger King a couple of years ago, because it offered 200 achievement points. In the end my brain simply could not compute why I was wasting my life playing it. It was such a horrible game. In fact, I am looking at it right now. Its 200 points are calling to me. I shall resist for now. I wanted the pocket bike game, but was never able to put my hands on it.

So to answer the question, do achievements sell games? In my situation I would have to say yes. I literally bought any game strictly for the achievements. Am I the only one that has purchased games, new or used strictly for the achievements and nothing else? I’m betting not.

Games on the Xbox360 pack a 1-2 punch of entertainment and accomplishment. Games of previous generations offered the same, but not to the extent of now-gen consoles. Well thought out and produced titles like Gears of War and Call of Duty 4 are steeped in re-playability. They are just so damn pretty and fun, a play through two or three times is nothing. In fact it is necessary.

But what about those poor games that no one cares about in those discount bins? They have no re-playability. They have nothing to offer to a gamer in the way of entertainment. That may be true, but if you are into collecting achievements and can sacrifice having fun or being entertained, these games can offer you just that. Who knows, you may find a Mass Effect or Dark Sector.

Overall, gameplay, graphics and storyline determine whether or not a game is a top seller or destined for the bin of bastard games. And while achievements aren’t for everyone, next time you are in your favorite game store, don’t be so quick to walk past that bin. The achievement points are there people, so go out and get them.

Quick update, not that anyone cares, my current gamerscore is 17,598. That is an increase of almost double. While it should have taken me 9 games to achieve the increase of 7800, in reality and based on my average, it took me about 18. No joke.

Here is an interesting fact:

Currently the highest gamerscore, according to Xbox360achievements.org, is 356,313 and is held by a gamer named Stallion83. Insanity!

Log on to Xbox360achievements.org to see where you rank and to see some other insane scores.

New Xbox Live Update: Cool stuff I have been waiting for.

2009-08-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

To be honest I didn't even know that Microsoft was performing an update, so it was a pleasant surprise to log-on last night and get the goods. If you would like the full run-down on what the update included, click here.

Here is a real quick look at what is new. It isn't everything, just stuff I thought was relevant.

1. Something that everyone has been waiting for, the ability to download full games to your HDD and play them without a disc. The previous Xbox Live update allowed gamers to download a game to there HDD, but still required gamers to have the disc in the drive. It didn't make much sense. So kudo's and much thanks to the Microsoft and Xbox team for doing the right thing. Now it is time to buy 3-120GB harddrives and up my Gamefly membership to 3 games at once.

2. Netflix-this update is probably a high second on my list of much needed updates. I only had a brief second to check out it last night, but it would appear that the powers that be hit it right on the head with this update. With the new Netflix update, you are no longer required to log on to your Netflix account via your PC in order to add movies or shows to your Instant queue. It can now be done from the comfort of your favorite sitting aperatus. Netflixiciados, a term I just coined and copyrighted, can now browse movies and shows, add and remove items from their queue the same as if they were doing it on their PC. If you use this service you know what I mean and it is a big step forward. Something that is also new, but I am skeptical about is the Party option. Gold members are now able to invite party members to watch a show as a party. Not many details on how that works or if the other members of the party have to have Netflix, but I am pretty sure they do.

3. Games on-demand. This isn't what you think and yet it is. Yes you can now buy 360 games online, but they are games that are already out. The games and prices vary. If you ask me they are still overpriced and would probably prohibit me from buying online. Mass Effect is $19.99 and Assassins Creed is $29.99. Explain that too me. Mass Effect, in my opinion, was a far superior game. Anyways, I hope in the future they offer new releases at a significant discount. I don't get a shiny new case and they are saving tremendously on overhead costs. So if you have 3-120GB HDD's laying around and you don't mind waiting 2 to 3 hours for one game to download, this service will twist your nips...in a good way.

4. The last thing that I thought was interesting was a rating system based on how long you have been an Xbox Live Gold member. The rating system is 1-9 or 10, I can't really tell. Also, there are no specifics given about how the number is determined. You can see the number just above your gamerscore. Needless to say I was more than a little disappointed when I found out I was 2. A two? After all I have done for Xbox....this is what I get? A two? In the end it is just a way to show off how long you have been a member, which I am guessing equates to how big of a stud you are. I did some browsing through my friendslist last night and I was glad to see that most were 2's and there was only one 4 and one 5. Kudos to you guys! NOT!

As I stated earlier there is certainly more to this update than I have covered, such as an Avatar store, updated Visual Display options for those using HDMI, user ratings and some cool user interface improvements that helps make browsing easier. So click here if you have access to gaming sites at work, if not, what I have given you will have to hold you over until you get home.

If any of this excites you, get on Live and look around. Little gems are hidden everywhere. In my opinion this update was a big step forward.

An old issue becomes new to me.

2009-08-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

So it happened today…..my Afro Samurai disc was scratched thoroughly by my Xbox360. I was all set to play Afro when I got the well known “Open Tray” error. This just a day after playing the game. So I did what I assume most gamers do, I did a Google search for anything referring to the open tray error. Most solutions I found referenced taking my Xbox apart and fiddling with my drive, which I am not going to do. I am not big on voiding warranties. First I tried clearing my cache, you know XX, LB, RB, XX, shut it off and restarted it. I was still getting the error. I tried another game and a DVD to see if that would work….nope. Still received the error. I unplugged everything, plugged it back in and still got the error. I decided to shut if off and turn the Xbox vertical as I had done in the past to see if that magically would fix it….guess what? That worked. The game was now magically working. While the game was loading I decided to put it back to horizontal. I have a daughter that is crawling now and the last thing I need is for her to pull it down and injure herself and kill my Xbox. The Xbox 360 vertical is far more unstable than horizontal. As I was going horizontal, I hear this crunching sound and I could feel it in my hands…I said whoa…..what the hell was that? I leave it vertical, turn off my Xbox and take the disc out. What you see below is the result of 1.5 seconds of tilting my 360.

Now I know this subject has been beat to death and I know there have been lawsuits over this issue. I have also read comments on different sites with individuals stating "how people are idiots for not shutting there 360 off before moving it”. This point is ridiculous. Do you shut off your handheld CD player before moving it? No! Shit…I have moved DVD players around while they were still on and nothing has ever happened. Microsoft had to have known just by pure common sense if anything, that when they created a console that could be played horizontally or vertically, people would eventually start moving it back-and-forth between the two while the console was running.

To make matters worse Afro Samurai is a game I rented through Gamefly. So now what? Do I just suck it up and pay Gamefly for a disc I can't play? Certainly...I have too. I will not make Gamefly suffer by returning a damaged disk. Is it really worth my time and ass-pain dealing with Microsoft?

I love my Xbox 360 and the gaming experience it offers, but after receiving the RROD and then this, the gaming console of the next generation is actually becoming a force of hinderance to my gaming.