Strikeforce: Fedor v Rogers Predictions / Analysis

How anyone can not like Fedor as a person and as a fighter is beyond me. The dude is just unreal in the ring and is about as down to earth as a fighter can get. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the ones that think they are all that and they definitely have their place in MMA, but having the (in my opinion) #1 P4P fighter in the world as this sort of soft spoken pudgy Russian who doesn’t care about being famous and a big star in the States, is very refreshing. He got a lot of hate for not signing with the UFC considering it was reported to be an obscene amount of money and the UFC caved on some major points. However, we don’t really know what was offered, and we also know the UFC offended Fedor multiple times before. The whole “Fedor being scared” thing was retarded.

That being said, he takes far more risk fighting guys like Rogers. He is a very dangerous fighter with plenty of unknowns. There is no upside for Fedor other than some US face time if he wins. If he loses that face time means nothing. Fedor wins this fight 95% of the time in my opinion, but that 5% loss is much more devastating to his career compared to the boost he will get for a win. If he doesn’t come in and obliterate Rogers, people will call him overrated and all the casuals who expected to see a Mike Tyson esque figure will be disappointed. If he wins in dominant fashion he will gain some casual fan base I’m sure, but it has no upside for the hardcore base because we look at Rogers as a can in comparison to Fedor. Fedor fights who is put in front of him. I have 100% confidence that Fedor would fight anyone in the UFC if it was arranged.

Onto the card itself

Fedor v Rogers

I expect Rogers to come out as usual, swinging for the fences. How Fedor will react to this only he knows. Fedor is one of the rare fighters that really uses his brain and strategizes in the ring. Sure he goes in with a plan that his coaches helped formulate, but when he gets in the ring he knows how and when to adjust and his transitioning is beyond anyone in MMA. If Fedor sees gaps in the bull rush he’ll more than likely stand in and look to capitalize. Personally, I would sidestep it a lot and avoid it for a bit just to take the risk out. Either strategy has the same risk in getting caught, but I think that Fedor’s avoidance would be more than effective against a bull rush from Rogers in my opinion.

The only game we have seen Rogers play is this heavy striker who isn’t very technical. Everything else is pretty much an unknown. This can be very dangerous as you could attempt something and find out Rogers is very proficient in that area, and find yourself in a precarious situation. However when it comes to Fedor, I don’t see Rogers being on the same level in any area except for punching power and I guarantee Fedor matches if not exceeds Rogers in the area. The real question is his takedown and sub game, and it’s not a stretch to say Fedor is leagues above him.

Will Fedor get caught? It’s possible. I imagine Fedor will meet the rush with some looping hooks and look for a chance to drag Rogers to the mat if he doesn’t shake him with his punches, or feels uncomfortable with Rogers stand up. This fight will probably not go past the first round unless Rogers decides to completely change his game and fight at a slower pace and look to use timing more than aggression. Rogers is a recipe Fedor has excelled against for many years, big aggressive strikers. All of them had the punchers chance, yet all of them fell to the Russian Juggernaut. I doubt this will be any different.

Fedor by KIMURA?! – 3:00 Rd1

As for the question: “What type of fighter can beat Fedor?” I hate to admit it, but Brock Lesnar is almost the perfect fighter to be that guy. He nullifies a lot of areas Fedor excels in. I still don’t think Brock has the sub defense to beat Fedor, especially not in a five round fight. I couldn’t see Brock finish Fedor at any point. Sure he punches hard, even knocked out Captain America, but knocking out Fedor is another level. Fedor definitely has the capabilities on his feet to stop Brock standing (granted I highly doubt the fight stays on the feet long enough to find out). However his ground game (especially his Sambo) will be the key difference. Joint locks, especially leglocks (as Mir showed) are especially dangerous to wrestlers who try to unload on their downed opponents. The size difference would be the key issue in the fight, Brock can smother anyone, even big heavyweights. Fedor is on the smaller scale obviously. That fight is as close as even as anyone can get to Fedor in my opinion.

The other analysis’ will be much shorter I promise….

Shields v Miller

I see this being a lot like Miller v Jacare, superior wrestler/grappler vs proficient grappler. I don’t see Shields subbing Miller however. This gives Miller the chance to make up a lot of points that he’ll surely be behind in the later rounds. If Shields conditioning becomes an issue in the 3rd round, I can definitely see a Miller victory in the later rounds. I think Miller has the edge in stand up and against a gassed Shields that edge could win him the fight. However that’s all dependent on whether Shields gasses and doesn’t in the process wear Miller down just as much. I predict…

Shields by UD

Mousasi v Sokoudjou

The first few minutes of this fight will be really exciting, that’s until Sokou’s gas tank empties out and he’s left panting and then laying face down on the mat. Mousasi will weather the early storm and return fire and probably end it in a much similar fashion as he did to Babalu.

Mousasi by GnP stoppage: Late RD1

Werdum v Silva

I think Werdum will actually take this fight. Granted his wrestling is sub par, Silva’s takedown defense is just as poor. I think if the fight hits the ground once in Werdum’s favor it’ll be over. However, Silva will win if this fight stays on the feet. If Silva gets top position, I’m not so sure. I think Werdum has the advantage anywhere on the ground and expect Silva to do what he can to stay off the mat.

Werdum by Sub: RD 2

For Your Listening Pleasure: Memory Tapes – Seek Magic

Memory Tapes “Seek Magic” : released Sept. 29th 2009

Memory Tapes is an off shoot of Memory Cassette and Weird Tapes which is still only one guy and his name is Dayve Hawke (formally of Hail Social, another solid band). The album is quite a journey, from spacey ambient beats to the more up tempo “dance” tracks. Nothing really strikes me personally as dance worthy, but then again I don’t really get the indie kid dance thing to begin with. However if you are into that thing, this record has some dance worthy hits.

The album is only 8 tracks long, but every song is great which means it’s more worthwhile than 99% of popular music these days. I live by a rule when it comes to music, and that rule is, if a band can’t produce a good album then they are not worth listening to. I’ve never been one for mix cds, I do make playlists but they only consist of bands that I would listen to the entire album.

The two key tracks in my opinion are tracks #2 “Bicycle” and #3 “Green Knight”. They are just ridiculously good. I’m going to post the video for “Green Knight” because it is my personal favorite track, though it isn’t much of a video, just album art and music. I will also get a yousendit file up for the album soon. I’m going to try to post one of these a week, not always with new bands.

The Session: Finding My Footing

Seeing as I’m not very original, I decided to call all my poker blogs “The Session” followed by some phrase that I think randomly fits with said day. The saga (poker gods be willing) really began today. Yesterday was kind of a warm up and see how I was feeling about the playing only heads up all day and all night. Now onto the thoughts and results…

Fuck me, 48 heads up sit and go’s is quite exhausting to be honest. At first I found myself dabbling with number of tables I could comfortably play. I started with the original two at a time, but found the whole win one lose one and be down the rake a bit frustrating. Then I decided to try four, ignoring the fact that the same problem would exist if I won two and lost two. Playing four of them at a time was like a stress test gone awry. I couldn’t really focus and found myself playing normal heads up strategy on three of the four tables, while on the last table I would explode and start betting way over the pot trying to end the match as soon as humanly possible. Obviously this lead to various mistakes and I opted to pull back to three tables at a time.

Three is the magic number folks. I seem to have my maximum focus and can play normal on all three without getting tilted. Although losing two while still having one going can be stressful, I’ve managed to not let it affect the way I play. It also solved the whole winning and losing the same number of matches.

I got a little Excel crazy on my stats, as I kept adding things to track. I think I have everything covered now: Total Win/Loss; $/Hour Earned; Hours Played; SnG’s Played; FPP earned; ROI; and it keeps track of my bankroll and FPP totals so I don’t need to open Pokerstars to look at them. It’s not the most organized of sheets, but I know where everything is and how it works and that is all that matters.

Today was a so so day, of the 48 played I won 26 vs 22 losses which is a 54.16% win rate. Not a great day but still a black day, and that is what matters. Over 70 SnG’s I’m rocking a 57.89% win rate with an ROI of 12.17%. I’m more than happy with those numbers, but I still wouldn’t mind hovering a little closer to that 60% win rate.

Once again I forgot to really keep track of any key hands and only saved one hand history that was another poor situation for my competition. This was way worse than the one prior and this guy had no shot of keeping any of his chips.

Seat 1: Str8Cla$$ (1460 in chips)
Seat 2: Hero (1540 in chips)
Hero: posts small blind 10
Str8Cla$$: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [5c 8c]
Hero: raises 40 to 60
Str8Cla$$: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [9s 4c 7c]
Str8Cla$$: checks
Hero: bets 80
Str8Cla$$: calls 80
*** TURN *** [9s 4c 7c] [Ks]
Str8Cla$$: checks
Hero: checks
*** RIVER *** [9s 4c 7c Ks] [6c]
Str8Cla$$: checks
Hero: bets 160
Str8Cla$$: raises 160 to 320
Hero: raises 1080 to 1400 and is all-in
Str8Cla$$: calls 1000 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (80) returned to Hero
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hero: shows [5c 8c] (a straight flush, Four to Eight)
Str8Cla$$: shows [Jc Ac] (a flush, Ace high)
Hero collected 2920 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2920 | Rake 0
Board [9s 4c 7c Ks 6c]
Seat 1: Str8Cla$$ (big blind) showed [Jc Ac] and lost with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: Hero (button) (small blind) showed [5c 8c] and won (2920) with a straight flush, Four to Eight

I apologized for that one…

Session Soundtrack:

Love - Groove Armada
The Richest Man in Babylon - Thievery Corporation
Arrivals – Worriedaboutsatan
Goodbye - Ulrich Schnauss
Night Falls Over Kortedala - Jens Lekman
Pause - Four Tet

First Poker Post on the Blog

Day 1 of Operation “Get Back on the Wagon” went off without a hitch today. I’ve opted to only play NL Holdem Heads Up Sit and Gos (2 people pay X amount of $’s and 1 person gets the money minus the rake at the end) and thus far it goes well. Being that it is a pretty unstable game that can have it’s swings, so I’m not saying that I have this thing figured out by any means. I won’t know whether I’m really beating them until I get a few hundred to a thousand under my belt.

Today I played 28 in total and went 18 – 10…64.29% bitches!

I wasn’t keeping track of hands that I wanted to put down, I’ll do better at that hopefully in the future (keep notepad up as I play or something), but this one hand was fun…almost felt bad for the guy. First hand of a rematch and this takes place. My stars name is replaced by “Hero” thus not divulging my superhero identity .

Seat 1: Hero (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: MrSpooner7 (1500 in chips)
Hero: posts small blind 10
MrSpooner7: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero [Qh Qd]
Hero: raises 40 to 60
MrSpooner7: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [Qc 2c Jh]
MrSpooner7: checks
Hero: checks
*** TURN *** [Qc 2c Jh] [6s]
MrSpooner7: checks
Hero: bets 60
MrSpooner7: calls 60
*** RIVER *** [Qc 2c Jh 6s] [6h]
MrSpooner7: bets 240
Hero: raises 1140 to 1380 and is all-in
MrSpooner7: calls 1140 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hero: shows [Qh Qd] (a full house, Queens full of Sixes)
MrSpooner7: shows [Kh 6c] (three of a kind, Sixes)
Hero collected 3000 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3000 | Rake 0
Board [Qc 2c Jh 6s 6h]
Seat 1: Hero (button) (small blind) showed [Qh Qd] and won (3000) with a full house, Queens full of Sixes
Seat 2: MrSpooner7 (big blind) showed [Kh 6c] and lost with three of a kind, Sixes

The all in re-raise on the river was a bit of an exploitive play, but I truly put him on trip 6’s knew he’d call. Granted there is higher probability that the all in re-raise would push out a weaker hand and not gain me the added “milk”, while the small re-raise would have probably gotten me all his chips regardless given his aggression from the match before and the board. Only hands that beat him are QQ, JJ, 22, J6, 62, Q6, A6. Given my raise preflop it’s hard to put me on Q6, J6 or J2 so you can usually rule those out even though it is HU. Then again I think a good player would peel a call if he was re-raised there, and I think he was comfortable enough to call the all in with his hand. Most people probably wouldn’t get away from it in my opinion, but then again I could be wrong.

Obviously what followed next were a few choice words associated with Pokerstars being a scam and yada “>yada yada yada. It feels good to put in a solid number of hours online. The WSOP and Vegas in general got me back in the poker mood for sure, but I just couldn’t find the will to sit down and start grinding again when I got back home. I’m going to try to put in a solid 20 – 25 hours of poker, coupled with the hours I put in with the business, it will be a lot of work. Not much else to say…going to celebrate my in the black Day 1 by sleeping!

Also I finished my Excel spreadsheet that keeps track of all winnings earned, rake paid, FPP earned, win %, and total games played with as little typing as possible! Who needs to spend 100$ on Pokertracker? Not me! I don’t need graphs to tell me I’m playing well, or something like that.

Session Soundtrack Provided by: (Little Segment I’m adding to my poker blogs that includes the albums / bands I listened to while playing and/or movies watched)

Music: Talkie Walkie – Air ; Sorrow – Lonely China Day ; Love Your Abuser – Lymbyc Systym

Movies: Monsters Vs Aliens

My Top 101 Albums 1994 – 2009 (15 Years)

Yeah that’s right, Fuck those 100 Top lists…I’m 1 upping them. These will not be in any specific order, just what pops in my head…and yes there will be multiple albums from bands. This list will only include recent years (albums released after I started listening to music I guess) and I will admit a good portion of the list is 2000 to now, but then again that’s really when I started getting into music with high school and all. What’s the point in listing every Beatles album and so on and so forth? Everyone knows those albums by now, and if they don’t, there is no hope for them anyway.

Let’s start this out with a few obvious ones for anyone who knows me…

1. ( ) – Sigur Rós (2002)
2. Ágætis byrjun – Sigur Rós (1999)
3. Takk… – Sigur Rós (2005)
4. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust – Sigur Rós (2008)
5. One Day I’ll Be On Time – The Album Leaf (2001)
6. In a Safe Place – The Album Leaf (2004)
7. Give Up – The Postal Service (2003)
8. We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes – Death Cab for Cutie (2000)
9. Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie (2003)
10. The Garden – Zero 7 (2006)
11. Simple Things – Zero 7 (2001)
12. Moon Safari – Air (1998)
13. Talkie Walkie – Air (2004)
14. Pocket Symphony – Air (2007)
15. The Richest Man in Babylon – Thievery Corporation (2002)
16. If You’re Feeling Sinister – Belle and Sebastian (1996)
17. Dear Catastrophe Waitress – Belle and Sebastian (2003)
18. Days to Come – Bonobo (2006)
19. Animal Magic – Bonobo (2000)
20. Discovery – Daft Punk (2001)
21. Finally We Are No One – Múm (2002)
22. Summer Make Good – Múm (2004)
23. The God and Devil Are Raging Inside Me – Brand New (2006)
24. Full Collapse – Thursday (2001)
25. Relationship of Command – At The Drive-In (2000)
26. Designing a Nervous Breakdown – The Anniversary (2000)
27. Silent Alarm – Bloc Party (2005)
28. The Ugly Organ – Cursive (2003)
29. Details – Frou Frou (2002)
30. Speak For Yourself – Imogen Heap (2005)
31. Love Your Abuser – The Lymbyc Systym (2007)
32. Mezzanine – Massive Attack (1998)
33. Menos El Oso – Minus the Bear (2005)
34. In Rainbows – Radiohead (2007)
35. Kid A – Radiohead (2000)
36. Howl Howl Gaff Gaff – Shout Out Louds (2003)
37. Our Ill Wills – Shout Out Louds (2007)
38. Heart – Stars (2003)
39. Set Yourself On Fire – Stars (2004)
40. Vs The Snow – The LK (2007)
41. You Can’t Take It With You – As Tall As Lions (2009)
42. Armistice – Mutemath (2009)
43. Stay What You Are – Saves the Day (2001)
44. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (2008)
45. Absolution – Muse (2003)
46. Sorrow – Lonely China Day (2007)
47. Funeral – Arcade Fire (2004)
48. Picaresque – The Decemberists (2005)
49. The Crane Wife – The Decemberists (2006)
50. Twin Cinema – The New Pornographers (2005)
51. Mr. Beast – Mogwai (2006)
52. The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place- Explosions in the Sky (2003)
53. And The Glass Handed Kites – Mew (2005)
54. Life is Full of Possibilities – DNTEL (2001)
55. Rounds – Four Tet (2001)
56. Pause – Four Tet (2003)
57. Ratatat – Ratatat (2004)
58. Endtroducing… – DJ Shadow (1996)
59. In Ghost Colours – Cut Copy (2008)
60. Manners – Passion Pit (2009)
61. Source Tags & Codes – …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead (2002)
62. The Alchemy Index I-IV – Thrice (2007)
63. Clarity – Jimmy Eat World (1999)
64. Tell All Your Friends – Taking Back Sunday (2002)
65. Wermland – Detektivbyrån (2008)
66. Youth Novel – Lykke Li (2008)
67. Goodbye – Ulrich Schnauss (2007)
68. A Strangely Isolated Place – Ulrich Schnauss (2003)
69. Raising Your Voice…Trying to Stop an Echo – Hammock (2006)
70. Night Falls Over Kortedala – Jens Lekman (2007)
71. Five Roses – Miracle Fortress (2007)
72. Satanic Panic in the Attic – Of Montreal (2004)
73. Field Music – Field Music (2005)
74. Grand Design – My Architects (2006)
75. Parades – Efterklang (2007)
76. Na Na Ni – Fredrik (2008)
77. Seek Magic – Memory Tapes (2009)
78. Suite Beat Boys – Beber & Tamra (2002)
79. Permutation – Amon Tobin (1998)
80. Becoming X – The Sneaker Pimps (1996)
81. Dummy – Portishead (1994)
82. A Grand Don’t Come For Free – The Streets (2004)
83. Who Killed Harry Houdini? – I’m From Barcelona (2008)
84. Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters – The Twilight Sad (2007)
85. Only Mirrors – Drew Andrews (2008)
86. The Magnificent Tree – Hooverphonic (2000)
87. In Case We Die – Architecture in Helsinki (2005)
88. The Best Party Ever – Boy Least Likely To (2005)
89. Oh, Inverted World – The Shins (2001)
90. Everything All the Time – Band of Horses (2006)
91. The Trials of Van Occupanther – Midlake (2006)
92. Michigan – Sufjan Stevens (2003)
93. Our Endless Numbered Days – Iron & Wine (2004)
94. Veneer – José González (2003)
95. Melody A.M. – Röyksopp (2001)
96. Genetic World – Télépopmusik (2001)
97. Supreme Beings of Leisure – Supreme Beings of Leisure (2000)
98. The Second Stage Turbine Blade – Coheed & Cambria (2002)
99. The Fiction We Live – From Autumn to Ashes (2003)
100. Wiretap Scars – Sparta (2002)
101. Watch Out! – Alexisonfire  (2004)

Year breakdown from 1994 – 2009 : 15 years of music

• 1994 (1)
• 1995 (0)
• 1996 (3)
• 1997 (0)
• 1998 (3)
• 1999 (2)
• 2000 (7)
• 2001 (9)
• 2002 (9)
• 2003 (13)
• 2004 (10)
• 2005 (11)
• 2006 (9)
• 2007 (12)
• 2008 (8)
• 2009 (4)

My Upcoming Concerts List

Definite Shows

9/16: The Antlers @ The Jackpot
9/29: Snow Patrol @ The Uptown
10/1: Passion Pit @ The Yard or Thursday @ The Granada …. Just found out they are the same day son of a bitch
10/7: Brand New @ The Uptown
10/16: Mutemath/As Tall as Lions @ The Beaumont
11/6: AFI @ The Uptown

Minus the Bear is coming somewhere so I’m told

On the fence shows

Get Up Kids @ Voodoo
Murder by Death @ Bottleneck
Mae @ Record Bar
Ben Folds @ Liberty Hall
Tiesto @ Uptown
Why? @ Jackpot

Gone Geek: Designed New Desktop & Prepping to Build New Computer

Due to a great deal of boredom and purchasing a new 23″ widescreen monitor, I decided to spend my entire Thursday evening tinkering with Samurize and Rainmeter to create a new desktop. I didn’t go advanced style, it’s pretty plain and isn’t hotkeyed but it’s way more appealing to the eye than normal windows ugliness.

My New Desktop

It gives my PC more of a Mac feel with Stardock and the widgets I used from Rainmeter. This was just a test run and I didn’t really tinker that much with Rainmeter to know what all it can actually do. Right now my PC isn’t nice enough to really put a lot of work into prettying it up. Which brings me to my next topic, BUILDING A NEW COMPUTER!!…I’m very excited about this if you can’t tell with all the caps and exclamation marks.

Things have been pretty boring recently, and due to certain life developments I haven’t really wanted to write much…alright that is false, I’ve actually wanted to write more than I usually do and have a number of unpublished drafts to show for it. If this was Livejournal I’d probably have them under some privacy lock that only a very small (Dan and Terrence) could read them, but alas they are not on WordPress so I can’t make that happen. I may copy and paste them over to Livejournal if I really feel I need some kind of pep talk or input that I don’t already possess as I try to stay out of the “real personal life” blogging.

I can’t really tell if the “Building Computer from Scratch” idea was sparked due to actually needing one or if said life developments put me into some geek spiral that causes me to stay at home and tinker with my computer so much that it causes a chain reaction in which the end result is me building a computer from the ground up. It’s probably a combo, as I know the reason I really started to notice my outdated computer was because of the current funk I am in. Either way this process will hopefully make me feel like I have control over something and if it doesn’t work either, then I may just jump out a window. Luckily for anyone who doesn’t want me to jump out a window, I am pretty good with computers and have access to brains far superior to mine for further insight if I run into a freak snafu.

I’m still debating between an AMD build and an Intel Build. The AMD build would be cheaper and will run plenty fast for what I plan to do with it. However, you never know when something will be released and you’ll find out you are not up to date enough to run it. Fortunately for me Blizzard doesn’t make keeping up with them very hard, and Blizzard is my main gaming source. I have played World of Warcraft off and on since it was first released and am back on the juice (this is no doubt caused by life developments, like an alcoholic goes back to whiskey, I go back to WoW when in a funk). Next year looks like it will be pretty big for Blizzard with the releases of Starcraft II, Diable 3, and the WoW expansion Cataclysm. All three are games I will be purchasing and playing far too much of. In the off chance a girl is in a relationship with me at the time of any of these releases, I weep for them.

According to my Newegg shopping cart I’ve racked up a 1300$ bill which includes everything needed, but only 4gigs of RAM and 1 internal 1TB hard drive. Granted 1TB is a lot and right now I’ve only managed to fill up my 130gig internal drive and 200gigs of my 500gig external but I did have to delete a shit ton TV before I got my external so it’s probably 100gigs light of what it should be. Not to mention the copious amounts of anime I have on data DVDs at my folks. If I really tried I could probably fill a TB in a couple months.

Now for the list of parts I currently have on hold (improvements / recommendations are very much welcome as this is my first system build and I’m not much of a hardware geek) for my AMD build.

1. Case

NZXT Tempest

I picked this Case because it was a good sized medium case which will give me room to work inside and make improvements later if need be (adding HDs, Crossfire, etc etc). I really don’t like fucking with heatsinks all that much but if needed I’ll have plenty of room to fit in what needs to happen. I don’t foresee any major heatsink needs at the moment as another bonus of this case is the fact that it has plenty of fans for a non overclocking machine to run with no major hiccups. Unless there is some game on the horizon that I really want to play and has crazy computer eat powers I don’t see the need to overclock unless it is just for kicks.

Price: 100$

2. Processor

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

AMD is obviously not quite as efficient as Intel but they have been taking some steps in the right direction and as far as getting good performance for a reasonable price, this seemed to take the cake. I don’t really require quad core for what I am doing with my computer currently, but in case I move in the direction of hooking up a tv and home sound system to it when I opt to start settling in an apartment (either in KC or some other destination if I opt to move on) it’ll be good to have.

Price: 190$

3. Motherboard

ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD

I opted to go with an AM3 board as opposed to getting one that goes across the board because with it being an AM3 specialized board it will run faster than a mixed. I don’t plan on going backwards with my processors. I lack real knowledge on motherboards even though they are the core of a build due to everything needing compatibility, it’s been the slight hiccup of this process. I am confident that upon purchasing and installing / tinkering with this motherboard I will learn what I need to and when it comes to building another system I’ll be prepared. If I have issues with this board I will consult one of those brains that are more advanced than mine that I mentioned before.

Price: 190$

4. RAM

CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB)

Another item that I’m not really up to date with as far as brands and compatibility, so I stuck with the Newegg recommendation and if these work out well I may add another 4GB later down the road.

Price: 125$

5. Video Card

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported

This is one of the better cards for it’s price. I didn’t really want to go in on a 500$ card when I’m not going to be using it to it’s full potential. Worst case scenario I buy another one down the road and crossfire them (hence the crossfire capability board etc). This should have zero issues running my Blizzard games and my HD movies / tv.

Price: 185$

6. Hard Drive

1TB should serve me well for a good period of time in combination with my 500gb external that is more than half full already. Western Digital may not be the best but for 100$ I can give it a test drive. If it fails in 6months then I’ll curse my bad luck and buy another HD.

Price: 95$

7. Power Supply

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready

Last but not least, the power supply. 650 Watts should cover my build and Corsair is one of the best brands out there. I feel safe in their hands…or something like that.

Price: 100$

Those are the main components of my current build idea. Like I said any suggestions are highly appreciated. I don’t claim to be the most competent when it comes to building computers, but I figure if I tinker enough and bounce ideas, I’ll be able to make a highly efficient machine for a slightly cheaper rate than say buying it put together.

Also I plan to run a 64 bit system and am still deciding on going with XP or Vista. The Vista programs all have free Windows 7 upgrades which could be nice pending it isn’t complete shit like Vista.

List of Good Things

Just a list of entertainment (movies, tv shows, music) on a rating scale of 1 to 5

Recently Watched Movies

District 9 - 4 out of 5

500 Day of Summer – 4.5 out of 5 (maybe I should have done a 10 pt scale)

G.I. Joe – 3 out of 5 (better than transformers at least)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – 2 out of 5

Angels and Demons – 3.5 out of 5

District B13: Ultimatum – 3 out of 5

Funny People – 4.5 out of 5

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – 3.5 out of 5 (good but not as good as it should have been)

Fighting – 3.5 out of 5 (I expected this to completely blow, but it wasn’t horrible)

(this is to be continued, I forgot my list of torrents downloaded!)

TV Shows

Castle – Nathan Fillion is awesome so I decided to watch his new ABC show and was pleasantly surprised to see that he is still awesome even without the Joss Whedon dialog.  Good show.

Merlin – I’m a sucker for medieval times and magic so this show is awesome to me, but you know I’m a nerd so take that with a grain of salt.

Defying Gravity – Only 3 eps in but thus far it’s got me a bit intrigued, plus it has Ron Livingston in it so that adds to the allure.

Psych – Starting it’s 4th season now I believe, not much to say other than this show is awesome.

Naruto Shippuden – An anime that will probably always keep me entertained no matter how much filler there is.

Warehouse 13 – Seems like SciFi is trying to use this to replace Battlestar Galactica…not succeeding but it’s not bad, a bit early to tell if it will be good in the long run.

The Philanthropist – I think I only like this show because it’s told in a narrative and the main character is awesome.

Old Shows that should be watched by everyone

Firefly

Coupling (British TV Show)

Battlestar Galactica (OK maybe not everyone but it’s a great sci fi show)

Rome

The Wire

Other Shows on my watch list but don’t really need introduction

House

Trueblood

Weeds

Heroes

Chuck

Bones

Fringe

Life

Californication

Recent Albums I’ve been listening to

Thrice – Beggars

As Tall As Lions – You Can’t Take it With You

Passion Pit – Manners

Twin Atlantic – Vivarium

As Cities Burn – Hell or High Water

Mutemath – Armistice

(also more to come after I look at my torrent list!)

Great Song and it’s anti religious to boot

“In Case of Rapture” by As Tall As Lions

Hang down your head
There’s nothing that remains
After you’re dead
You don’t even keep your name

You’ve convinced yourself the book is never wrong
But what you’ll find out will shake you to the bone

I saw the fire in your street
Only the stones thrown at me
Does it make you feel better
You know were all just sinners

Why waste your time trying to save
You got your foot half in the grave
You’re just a soapbox preacher
Six feet and hand deeper

Can’t you see it’s better to die on your feet than live down on your knees

Clouded heart and clouded mind you won’t get what you seek
But if you stop you’ll find that were just drops lost in the sea

I saw the fire in your street
Only the stones thrown at me
Does it make you feel better
You know were all just sinners

Why waste your time trying to save
You got your foot half in the grave
Your just a soapbox preacher
Six feet and hand deeper

Can’t you see it’s better to die on your feet than live down on your
Can’t you see it’s better to die on your feet than live down on your knees

Why can’t you see it’s better to die on your feet than live down on your knees

All Hell is booked up and Heavens got no vacancy
I guess that this cruel world ain’t got no place for me

We’re all stuck in the middle
We’re throwing our cash at books of cliches
They say the course is lit up
It might have worked but not for me

Cause my soul is not for sell
Just be here now

I saw the fire (I saw the fire)

Can’t you see that it’s better to die on your feet than live down on your knees
Can’t you see it’s better to die

I saw the fire

Quick Music Update

Recent Songs I Have Been Jamming in YouTube Form

Thrice – Doublespeak

Passion Pit – Little Secrets

Bloc Party – One More Chance

The Go Find – New Year

The Streets – Banquet Remix