The iPod Struggle and Switching

I've had the 60 GB iPod video for over a year now and have just about any accessory you can find out there. Speaker systems, high quality headphones, remotes, dock, FM transmitters, car chargers, etc. Of course you know that iPod and Apple are putting it to you with all the accessories and everything else they don't include with the iPod.

I really want to look into getting a Zune, but I'm stuck with iPod because of all the money I've dumped into it with all these extra components. The Zune just looks to have too many extra features that iPod doesn't come with as well as more compatibility with my Window OS I'm assuming.

If you are looking for an .mp3 Player I would definitely steer you away from Apple and iPod. Nopt that the iPod is a bad product, but that it is an expensive habit based on what you are given with it. Don't fall for the iPod bandwagon like I did. Look at other options. iPod will eat up your bank account faster than Rosie O'Donnel finishes off a bucket of bon bons.

Bose TriPort Headphones

Someone bought me these for Christmas to use with my iPod and I am just blown away with the sound quality. I'm no expert, but compared to those cheap ones that came with my iPod it is like night and day. They actually stay in my ear which is a major bonus, but the bass and deep sound is amazing.

They come with a decent price tag though of $99.95 from Bose themselves, but if you are a headphone buff you probably spend that much all the time. I'd definitely take a look if you are.

TriPorts

Clipse: Hell Hath No Fury

Released a month or so ago I got this through iTunes. Pretty much the only thing I listen to right now and has been for about 3 weeks. It's just a solid album. Might be the best rap/hip-hop album of the year. I certainly think it is.

Check out their site for a sample listen:

*Warning:Explicit Lyrics*

Clipse Music

Moola isn't that Great

Moola is some gameshow type site like Who Wants to be a Millionaire. They claim that you start with a penny and double it every game you win. You can use less and don't have to risk it all every time. Now the concept is great, but the site is really buggy. It says it is in Beta still, but some of the issues are ridiculous. I've had my money taken from me at least 5 times testing it out. The ap will fail to load and they will just take your winnings away and say you lose. There is also quite a bit of cheating on there it seems becuase you play these little mini-games against other users to win your money. I'm done with it. Just doesn't run well and it seems like it is shadey.

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not one to have any really. Seems like a hollow promise to me. I really can't think of too many I have heard from others that they have actually gone through with. Usually they are made just to make them. It is just like any other way to procrastinate. If you keep saying that you will do something tomorrow, next month, or next year, you can get away with not doing it, but feel like you are at least making an effort.

Don't bother making resolutions. Just start doing it now.

It's a Wonderful Life

You know it. The movie that plays non-stop from Thanksgiving until New Year's. What's amazing is how often I run into people that have never actually seen the whole thing, or any of it at all. That includes myself.

So...while at home for the holidays my family and I decided that we would watch the whole thing. Now I know why I never finished watching it. It is one of the longest, drawn out movies I've ever seen. In fact I can say with certainty that it will not be added to one of my Christmas favorites anytime soon. Standards for Christmas movies sure are low when this one becomes the timeless standard.

Give me National Lampoon's Christmas, or even A Christmas Story anyday over this snoozer.

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from 26 December 2006

This policy is designed to give the readers of my blog disclosure on some of my posts. Many of my posts are for pay and are specifically written for that purpose. Any product/service that I discuss here that is a post that gives me compensation will be for a product/service that I actually believe in and/or trust. I will not write about products that I believe are inferior, or really just plain useless. These posts are based on my opinion of these products. Only after checking them out will I actually post about them.

Not every post will be disclosed as one I receive compensation for. I am beginning to do it for every post, but I may not for a few.

Merry Christmas!

Charlie Brown is the best Christmas cartoon. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is pretty good too, but it is claymation.

Got a couple of older PS2 games

Kingdom Hearts 2 and God of War.

I played Kingdom Hearts original game and found it rather fun in a stupid kind of way so I decided to look at the newest one. There's just something about Disney Characters that is an automatic win.

I've wanted God of War for a long time, but never really thought about getting it. Finally decided to do so and it looks like it will be nice and gorey for me.

I've never been a fan of button mashing fighting games, but they are fun for pick up and play types. After playing Ninja Gaiden:Black I've kind of looked at them a bit more. I think Devil May Cry and DMC 2 are really the only button masher 1 plyer games I've played before these. We shall see how it goes.

Beastie Boys Anthology

Got a $25 gift card for iTunes with the purchase of my Bose speaker system so I snagged this thing. Always been a big fan of the Baesties.



The 2 disc set has 42 tracks. All classic Beastie tunes and my personal favorite Three MCs and One DJ.

DISC 1:
1. Beastie Boys
2. Slow And Low
3. Shake Your Rump
4. Gratitude
5. Skills To Pay The Bills
6. Root Down
7. Believe Me
8. Sure Shot
9. Body Movin' - (fatboy slim remix)
10. Boomin' Granny
11. Fight For Your Right
12. Country Mike's Theme
13. Pass The Mic
14. Something's Got To Give
15. Bodhisattva Vow
16. Sabrosa
17. Song For The Man
18. Soba Violence
19. Alive
20. Jimmy James
21. Three MC's And One DJ - (live, video version)

DISC 2:
1. Biz Vs. The Nuge, The
2. Sabotage
3. Shadrach
4. Brass Monkey
5. Time For Livin'
6. Dub The Mic
7. Benny And The Jets
8. Negotiation Limerick File, The
9. I Want Some
10. Rock Hard
11. Son Of Neckbone
12. Get It Together
13. Twenty Questions
14. Remote Control
15. Railroad Blues
16. Live Wire
17. So What'cha Want
18. Netty's Girl
19. Egg Raid On Mojo
20. Hey Ladies
21. Intergalactic

AZ-The Format

Today is the release day for the new AZ album. AZ is one of my favorite artists and is like my new 2Pac of this era. His style is similar to the man himself, Nas to give you an idea about him. His last album A.W.O.L. was probably the best rap CD I have listened to in the past few years.

The Format is more of the same. Strong lyrically with solid beats. The dude just has great flow lyrically and I love to listen to him. A few cameos on the album include Little Brother for the track Rise and Fall, M.O.P. on Sit Em Back Slow, and DJ Premier for the title track The Format.

Based on 2 listen throughs so far I haven't picked out my favorite, but I'd say that the M.O.P. track is my least favorite. Don't like the fool. The DJ Premier collab on The Format cash money. Doing That is a great track too as well as the first one in I Am the Truth.

Overall I'd say it is comparable to A.W.O.L.

Pray for Mojo says: "BUY IT NOW!", or whatever it is you do ;).

Billy Bryson

Bill Bryson wrote book I read recently.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

I highly recommend it. It is a very easy read and is quite informative. Like the title says it covers quite an array of topics, but doesn't really feel like he is leaving anything out. It speaks of many different sciences and takes a peak into many of the mysteries we have been challenged with throughout history.

Anyone who enjoys science should find this book at least entertaining. Even those who don't should find it interesting as it flows quite well. I would compare it to a modern day A Brief History of Time by Steven Hawking in its ease to read for even the least scientifically gifted.

Pray for Mojo Rates this book 4.5/5 stars.

Final Fantasy XII

With a Halloween release and me never even paying attention to this game until the 30th I decided to head to Walmart and pick it up at midnight. I'm glad I did.

I started playing Final Fantasy games on the Playstation One so I'm pretty much a FF noob. First one I played was FF VIII and have never played the great American FF fanboy game FFVII. Other than FF VIII the only ones I've played are FFX and FF X-2. FFX is probably one of my top 5 favorite games of all time. Played it through at least 6 times. FFX-2 was fun, but I never really got into it and have yet to finish it either.

There are 2 different versions of this game. There is the regular and a Collector's Edition out right now. The Collector's Edition comes in a tin case and has a bonus DVD with a History of Final Fantasy video, interviews from developers, game art, etc. Most of that stuff will probably be on Youtube with in a week so unless you are a hardcore Final Fantasy fan the extra $10 that the CE costs might not be worth it for you. The strategy guide also has a Limited Edition. Apparently there are 8 of these with each cover having a different character. The LE guide also has quite a bit of extra art in it. From what I've heard they are very nice. They are packaged so you really don't get to pick the one you want unless you know the color covers and such.

Like all the others I start them and then start them over when there is enough walkthrough information on the net to allow me the ability to find everything in one playthrough. Since I got this on the release I have just been finding things out for myself. I've got 12 playing hours in according to my save slots as we speak so I guess I'll try and give some of my first impressions on it so far. Quite a bit to cover, but I'll try to keep it short and to the point. Probably won't though. I'll start with the gameplay as I think this game has some great new features and is really the best part of the game.

At first the game was rather confusing with the new battle system and the changes in the leveling. Of course this is nothing new as every one of these I've played have had a completely new system. In this instance I was not a fan of the battle system initially and thought I would end up hating it. The learning curve on it was rather long compared to previous titles and I'd say it took me about 3 hours of game time to catch on to it.

At this point I absolutely love the battle system now that I've caught on. There are some really interesting aspects to it. If you have played FF XI I guess the system should be relatively similar to you. The battlefield is more of an MMORPG than anything. There are no random battles anymore. You can actually see the enemies and can judge for yourself prior to engaging with them if it is a good idea or not. There is a good balance of enemies in each are with ones you can't possibly beat at the beginning that you should just stay clear of.

The battle system is called Active Dimension Battle (ADB). IT is still pretty much a turn based system, but has the feel of real-time. When in battle you can move your character around freely and even try to run away if you get into trouble. No "Flee" command is entered, you just run away on your own. The battle menu to select an action is brought up at any time on the battlefield by pressing the "X" button. All the standard attacks are there with Magick (Yes that is spelled right), items, and Technicks which are your abilities such as steal. All of these attacks can be done on the fly and when selected an active ATB gauge fills up before the action is done. When actions are selected there is no need to enter the action again during the battle. For example if you selected "Attack" your character will continue to attack until the enemy is defeated with no further commands needed.

Later on there is something available called "Espers" which are the summonings in this game. Also, you have the ability to perform "Quickenings" which are ultimately this game's version of Overdrives. Each character has unique Quickenings. I have not yet achieved any of these and can't go into much detail about them.

You have control over your entire party and can change the leader at any time while on the battlefield. What is unique about your party in FFXII is a system that they call Gambit. The Gambit system is a programmable interface that allows you to program your party members to do certain actions in certain situations. These actions will be performed when certain conditions are met in a battle and they start through their Gambit system when the leader (you) engages a battle. For example, you may program a party member to heal other allies when a condition is met. You could have a Gambit that says: Whoopiddiedoo...I quit typing.

Pistons season begins today...

I haven't paid too much attention to my boys all summer, but I'm getting kind of hyped for the opener tonight against the Bucks. Can't wait to see what our offense looks like with Big Ben winning the lotto with his contract over in Chi-Town.

Having a hard time getting back into the NBA after the joke that was the Miami Heat winning the title last season. The rule changes and the Wade love is making me hate the league again. The man Rasheed Wallace is going to probably be suspended half the year now since the new "whine" rule has been implemented. We will see how that rolls off tonight. Sheed can't keep his mouth shut. Big Ben was pretty vocal last year too and honestly just annoyed me.

3 all-stars in the starting 5 and the great Antonio McDyess coming in off the bench makes the squad a solid contender still. The acquisition of Nazr "I haven't done crap" Mohammed is a bit sketchy, but Flip Wilson was a nice pick up. Only a year too late. Should have had him here last year. The owner Davidson is a cheapskate and traded away our bench to save a few bucks last season and cost us big. Joe D is starting to look human now. That trade of Darko last year is going to straight up kill us down the road unless we get a big time pick from Orlando in the draft this year.

Well...Let's get this bitch rollin' boys.

BACK TO THE FINALS!

Cardinals: 2006 World Series Champs

I didn't watch Game 5. I couldn't let myself do it. For Game 4 I DVR'd it and watched it the next morning. Right when I awoke and it ruined my day. The whole game they had control and blew it with defense. I hear Game 5 was similar. I haven't seen any highlights. I haven't looked at box scores. I can't bear it. I do it with all my teams. If they get this far and lose I just stop following the media until the next season starts. I've been that way with the Pistons the last couple of years. Every time I think about it I start to feel sick.

The Tigers were supposed to be different. Just like that surprise Pistons team a few years ago that went out and got RaSheed Wallace before the deadline. I kind of knew that team was going to win it all the second that trade went through. The Tigers were a bit more of a wait and see, but they pitched their asses off until the very end. In the end it appears youthful inexperience cost us plenty. I heard there was another pitcher error in Game 5. Lead to a run. I'm not checking this mind you. Only reason I even hear these things is because I wear a Detroit Tigers hat everywhere and have been for the last 6 years. Everyone feels it is necessary to bring it up.

Let me tell you this. If you see a guy that has a Tigers hat on at this point in time leave them alone. They love the team and are sick right now. Joking with them is not funny. They may actually resort to violence. I only tell you this for your own safety. You may think it is haha real funny mother $#!@er, but not in the least to me. Shut your mouth and back away once you see my face. Don't say a thing to me until spring training. Even then don't talk about last season unless it involves statistics. REGULAR SEASON statistics.

OK...When it is due it is due. I like the Cardinals. I am not upset they won. I am upset that we lost. They fought hard and came up with a title. I respect that. They were touted as the worst World Series team ever. Now they must be the worst World Series Champs. That is awesome. The Pistons were the worst NBA Champs a few years back. I sure as hell didn't care about the lack of respect and Cards fans probably won't either. YOU ARE WORLD CHAMPS. Congrats Cards fans. You are TRUE baseball fans. You deserve it.

Tigers Defensive Woes Continue....

Game 4 of the 2006 World Series was with in the grasp of the heroes from Motown, however some defensive miscues sealed their fate late in the game.

An ugly 7th inning set the tone for the Tigers when Eckstein lead off the inning with a hard hit line drive to center field. Curtis Granderson slipped on the wet grass, falling down to miss his chance at catching the ball for an out. Instead Eckstein ended up at 2nd with yet another Cardinal's double. A So Taguchi bunt to get Eck over to third was fielded by Fernando Rodney, however he decided that the out wasn't worth getting and floated the ball over 1st baseman Sean Casey's glove which allowed Eck to score and Taguchi to get to 2nd. The Cards wound up taking the lead 4-3 over the Tigers for the first time in the game.

The Tigers rallied back in their half of the 8th to tie it up, but in the Cards half Craig Monroe blew an opportunity to end the inning by taking a bad route to a fly ball which scored another Cards run. 5-4 Card after 8 and only 3 outs for the Tigers to tie or win.

Adam Wainwright pitched a perfect 9th for the Cards to finish off the comeback victory and give the Cardinals a 3-1 series lead.

Same old Tigers it appears in the World Series this season. After having one of the better defensive teams all year they pitchers have made them look like one of the worst by fumbling and bumbling important outs late in ballgames to cost us wins.

Game 5 is Friday, weather permitting, and the Cards are going to skip Reyes to give the ex-Tiger Jeff Weaver his 2nd start of the series. Weaver pitched in Game 2, the only Tigers victory. He will face rookie Justin Verlander who was outdueled in Game 1 by the rookie Anthony Reyes. Verlander had a spectacular rookie season winning 17 games and is a show in for the AL Rookie of the Year. That will set up the masterful Chris Carpenter for Game 6, against the crafty veteran Kenny Rogers if the Tigers can somehow put together a complete ballgame.

Jeremy Bonderman pitched a decent game, but was pulled after 1 out in the 6th for Fernando Rodney with men on 1st and 3rd. Rodney struck out both men he faced in the 6th.

Not completely worried until the final pitch of the Card's 4th win, but I am certainly concerned with the Tigers lack of focus late in games. Letting Game 4 slip away was a big blow to winning it all this year and they are going to have to suck it up in a big way to pull off 3 in a row. They are going to have to do it first against the hated ex-Tiger Jeff Weaver who was traded for Jason Bonderman, Franklyn German, and Carlos Pena back in 2001. Bonderman was dealt as a "player to be named later" in the deal.

GO TIGERS!

Game 4 of World Series Rained Out

They tried to get it in, but to no avail yesterday. Thank God it wasn't either because I wouldn't have gotten to sleep last night.

So now what happens is that the rest of the games will be played with no breaks in between. If the Tigers can somehow win a couple and take it back home Game 6 will be played with the loss of a travel day and a grumpy crew of players.

It doesn't look to promising for the game to played tonight either according to weather reports so the World series may go even longer than expected into next week. Not good news for the Tigers if they may have to face Carpenter another time at least if they force it to Game 7, but possibly even more if the weather forces more delays.

At least Kenny Rogers can put some pine tar on his hand for an extra start and extra rest.

Oh yeah that reminds me. Pine tar. Kenny Rogers. Dirtgate.

Whatever. Tony LaRussa said it was no big deal. The players said it was no big deal. The MLB said it was no big deal. It's done. It's over. All the players in the league use an edge like this and unless some Cardinal fan announcing team opens their mouths about it no one ever sees it. ESPN will never let it go as usual. They beat everything to death and they are considered by me and many others to be a complete joke.

With 2 Cardinal fans in the booth for every game I want fair representation. Joe Buck (Mr. High Horse) and McCarver (Mr. Mouth) the coverage is completely biased. I want my Tiger announcers for the next 3 games. They are also Fox employees as well.

Here's to Mario Impemba and Rod Allen for Games 4,5, and 6!

Go Tigers!

Tigers Lose Game 3...

Well...Game 3 of the 2006 World Series wasn't the greatest day for me. Chris Carpenter dominated my boys by throwing 8 scoreless innings and basically making our guys look like fools at the plate.

I am not too worried. Manager Jimmy Leyland has a method to his madness I believe. He tends to use our worst pitcher against their best in the playoffs so far. Nate Robertson got the start against Chris Carpenter who is the reighning NL Cy Young. So I suppose Jim went the right direction as Carpenter shut us down and we used our worst pitcher against him so no harm no foul. We had to use him eventually so might as well have him eat a few innings in this one.

Now we get to run our top guys out against their lower end pitchers who we should be able to hit. Bonderman goes in Game 4 against Suppan in st. Louis, and though Suppan has pitched like a champ this post season I like our chances to get the bats going. Bonderman pitched a masterful game his last outing so my confidence in the kid are very high.

GO TIGERS! BRING THE TITLE TO MOTOWN! BLESS YOU BOYS!

Tracphones

You know those phones that claim you have no contract and no hassles. I got one recently and it is just not true. I didn't read all the fine print and it looks like it really isn't that great a deal. It seems that when you buy your minutes they actually force you to buy more with in 3 months or they just take your old minutes away and deactiviate your phone.

What is the purpose of this? If I wanted to waste my minutes I would be better off with a regular cellphone plane because it actually costs a lot less for minutes. For example: I got 400 minutes for a this Trackphone and they cost $80. $80? I can get 400 minutes on a standard plan for like $20-30. OVer 3 months that only costs me $60-90. Wow great deal Trackphone.

Tiger Woods 2007 for XBox

Well...I finally broke down and bought it. I have every year since 2003 so I guess it is no suprise. Got it for the XBox this time instead of the trusty PS2.

My overall reaction is: same old, same old.

Nothing really new to note. The XBox controls are far and away ahead of the PS2 though. Not sure if I could go back now. The turbo button being the A button instead of a trigger makes it a lot easier. Seems like the stick isn't as random either and stays the same all the time. On the PS2 you need to adjust the trigger a lot more to keep the shot going straight with out shanking it. I'm not sure if this is just on XBox or both now, but it really makes the game too easy. I never shank it even with very low stats.

Overall PGA Tour 2004 is still the best one.

Welcome

I suppose if everyone in the world needs a blog to share their thoughts I might as well jump into the ring. Seems that I waste a lot of mine by just leaving them trapped in my head. I have some pretty strong opinions on things, but am always open minded. Everything interests me, especially the new technology age. I guess I will try to post my thoughts and keep a record of the crazy ideas I tend to have from time to time and see if either you or I can make some sense out of them.