Taken a couple of weeks ago, in case y'all forgot what I look like::


And from last winter, for the church directory:

Alright, nerds, I need your brain power.

For the most part, I can hold my own when it comes to tech, but I'm not above asking for second (and third) opinions. With computer building, there are usually a dozen different roads to the same place. So here I am.

I built this bad boy (his name is Seamus) over 4 years ago, and until this year, was able to run anything I wanted on highest graphics without breaking a sweat. But Seamus is starting to feel his age, and with some of the new(ish) games (SWTOR for one, the new Final Fantasy for another), he's starting to burn pretty hot (you can hear the video card's fan working overtime).

I would really love to throw together a shiny new rig, but what I want is not in the budget right now. I'm definitely saving for it, but at the moment, I want to make what I have work for at least the rest of the year.

Below is my current set up. What I'm asking: What's the best course of action to get Seamus at least back in the game with the least input cost?

**GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+ Motherboard (Link)
**AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Processor (Link)
**GE Force 9800 GT Video Card (Link)
**Power Supply is built into the case (Link)
**160 GB Hard Drive (Will be getting a 500GB from a friend)
**2GB DDR2 240pin RAM (Have 2 sticks of 4GB that won't take, I get one long beep for a video card error, but mobo has no onboard video so I can't bypass)
**Windows XP (Will be getting Windows 7 shortly)

Ugh.  It just makes me want to watch them all over and over.  

Sort of a thread-jack though...  Seriously I always get so much shit for loving the 2nd and 3rd movies as much as the first.  What is it that people hate about them so much?

I think--partly--the hype surrounding the release of the second and third movies didn't set the right expectations for the movies. The second also ended on a pretty big cliffhanger, which is common now but was fairly innovative at that time. That being said, for most people, it takes watching both the second and the third together, and then going back to rewatch the entire trilogy to really appreciate the intricacy of how everything was interwoven.

And finally, it's almost impossible to watch the second movie without remembering this instead of the actual scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-kTfBXCP88

CANNOT. UNSEE.

Is there a way to filter the video through the live stream? So we can see more than a static desktop and a mini-cam of you turning your head...

Firstly, it's awesome to be back!

Secondly, between time with the Angels, a friend of mine and I have been working on an online miniseries to try and hone our writing abilities. If you're interested, scroll to the bottom of this post and start reading!

If you need further convincing, here's the basics of it. There's a program called DarkWatch. It's made up of mundanes (normal people) as well as those who exhibit "superhuman" abilities. Some can read minds, some can control fire, some can absorb the abilities of others, that sort of thing. There are also objects that contain specific powers as well. DarkWatch's goal is to investigate these "anomalies," decide whether they are harmless or dangerous, and act accordingly. This series follows one specific team as they do their job. (Imagine Warehouse 13 artifacts, the abilities of Heroes, and the darkness of Grimm...with a touch of Slender Man. The series was set up to mock modern television, written in acts, episodes, and seasons, instead of scenes, chapters, and books.)

The pilot episode was released as an exclusive to an online magazine that was just starting up, and the rest of the episodes are available on our website. At the moment, we have four full episodes (including the pilot) and two mini "specials" available. Two more full episodes are nearing completion with an estimated release date of sometime this summer.

Start reading here!