by Alan Hoskins on April 27, 2009
Some people like to create and don’t get me wrong, but I like to try as well. But the thing is, in my eyes, I suck at it. I don’t have originality to create something new. I’ve tried numerous times just to create Wordpress themes and my lack of design skills end up with me scrapping them. Other ideas I’ve had I fail at too be cause of lack of skill. I have so many ideas for things I want to do, but never the patience to sit down and learn a way to do it right/from scratch. Most of these of course having to do with programming.
But this post wasn’t meant really to bash myself for being unoriginal, it was meant more for me to discuss what I do think I am good at. I love to pick things apart and modify them. Since I can’t come up with brand new designs I find something I like and tweak it to be the way I want. Customization and modifying blogs, websites, and really any code where I have a chance to dig around and learn through trial and error is fun to me. I can get lost in time doing it and have done so many times.
So even though I may not know the ends and outs of a language, if you give me the time and access I can spend hours (or less hopefully) trying to figure out a way to make something work or change the way it does work. And that really is what brought me to writing this. I was lying in bed last night trying to sleep, but unable to as I was lost in thought. I was thinking about if there is away I could make a living or even make extra money doing what I seem to love doing. Would people pay to have help in tweaking pages and code or would they rather research and do it themselves?
I figured I could start something where I offer help installing Wordpress blogs, Joomla sites, vBulletin boards etc for cheap then on top of that charge hourly to help customize and make things perfect for that person. Eh maybe they would, but again maybe this is just another thought or idea that will sit in my head and go nowhere.
So basically if this post doesn’t make sense what I am trying to say is I may not be able to start something or create something from scratch. But I pride myself on being able to customize and modify things and still have them work and sometimes even work better then before.
by Alan Hoskins on April 21, 2009
The last couple days I’ve been working on a side project (www.linktheloot.com) in which I am still unsure of what I want to do with it. But as a starter I thought I would set up a website and get it prepped for when I do have any idea. In doing so I had to find a theme and that is when I stumbled upon this theme in which I heavily modified.
I’ve always really wanted to have a theme make from scratch, but just don’t have the eye for design so they always turn out looking like crap (this current one may to some as well). So I browse around and try to find something that I like and can modify. So the other day I stumbled upon this one which looked a bit different and was way different on the backend. I dug in and have almost got it to where I am completely happy. I first installed it on my side project then moved it over here.
So far I am happy with what I have done, but still have plans to tweak it here and there to get it just right. Hopefully I can stick with it for a while, because with my personality I may feel it needs to be changed with in a week.
Now with the themes done hopefully I can actually start writing some addons or something. I want to create something, but just don’t have ideas currently. Anyhow, if you have any suggestions of what can be changed or done differently feel free to @alanhoskins me on Twitter or email me at alan AT alanhoskins DOT com.
by Alan Hoskins on March 24, 2009
**Warning** The following post may (most likely will) contain spoilers about the movies “Knowing” and “I Love You, Man”.
So last week was my birthday in which I turned 27. Being that I can never think of things to do for my birthday, I am pretty boring I know, my brother decided to take me to see Knowing and I Love You, Man on Friday. Now this is the first time I have ever sat in a theater to watch two movies in one day, but I have to say it was fun being that both movies were enjoyable.
So the first movie we saw that day was I Love You, Man starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. At first I wanted to just see Knowing because I wasn’t in the mood for a comedy, but I have to say I am really glad we saw this. I Love You, Man is a story about a guy who has always had a girlfriend and therefore never found time to find a best friend or hang with the guys. So Paul Rudd’s character sets out to find a man friend to do things with and has quite a time along the way. Eventually he ends up finding Segel’s character and the two start hanging out and doing crazy things.
Without going into to much to spoil it I found myself laughing all the way through the movie. Rudd, Segel, and the rest of the cast did an awesome job. If you enjoy comedies I recommend this one as a must see.
After I Love You, Man we went directly into Knowing starring Nicholas Cage. From IMDB the plot for Knowing is:
“A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions — some that have already occurred and others that are about to — that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.”
The story of Knowing is what drew me in. I thought it had a ton of potential and it was very good, but did not live up to what I thought. The special effects in the movie were fantastic! At one point Nicholas Cage is standing on the highway when out of nowhere a plane comes crashing into the ground. The sound of the theater along with the action of the camera sorta made me feel as if I had really just witnessed a plane crash. I think my heart was beating a mile a minute. Another great scene was a subway crash later in the movie bringing on the same feelings as the plane crash.
Now the let down, and the biggest spoiler. Let me say again I enjoyed the whole movie up until the end. As it turned out the “list” that starts the movie was shown to the girl by aliens. The aliens lead Caleb and Abby to them because they know that the Earth is about to be destroyed by a solar flare. At the very end you see that the aliens had been collecting kids from all over Earth to take to a new planet to start civilization all over.
Yeah that is right aliens! Why aliens? It seems like every movie I see now has something to do with aliens. I am seek of seeing aliens! Ok. I wanted to get that off my chest. It was a great movie, but I really just wish the ending would have been different. As my brother and I were talking it would have been better if it would have went more with a religion angle. Let it be angels coming to save some young to start over (ie Adam and Eve) or something, but not aliens.
Overall it was a good day and I did enjoy both movies. I would have to say that I did end up enjoying I Love You, Man more. I would recommend both movies to anyone who enjoys each genre.
by Alan Hoskins on March 5, 2009
On March 13th starting at 9 PM EST, broadcasters from Justin.tv will be playing games with the community for 48 hours to raise money for charity. The event is called the Multiplayer Marathon and is being put together to help raise money and awareness for Child’s Play Charity. Child’s Play Charity is “a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry” that raises money to provide toys, books, video games, and money for children that are in children hospitals in the US and around the globe. Since 2003 they have raised over $3.5 million.
For 48 hours the Multiplayer Marathon will be broadcast from it’s own Justin.tv Channel located at http://justin.tv/muliplayermarathon
. People will be able to join in and play games with the host. Games will be played on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii. There is a list of the games being playing on the Multiplayer Marathon blog. Some of which include Street Fighter 4, GTA IV, Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty 4, Mario Cart, Killzone 2, and much more. Anyone wanting to donate will be able to via a Chip In widget at the bottom of the main Multiplayer Marathon broadcasting page along with other broadcaster pages that are participating. 100% of the raised money will be going to Child’s Play Charity.
If you are a gamer yourself, enjoy being entertained, or just want to help out a great charity be sure to stop by and watch along with spreading the word. Make sure to mark you calenders for March 13th at 9 PM EST and stop by to help out this great cause and help the great broadcaster participating last the 48 hour weekend!
by Alan Hoskins on March 4, 2009
I am a person who has never really took the time to sit down and read a book in one sitting (I have only ever read one book cover to cover in on go and that was Flowers for Algernon). I always read a bit here and a bit there whenever I can, but rarely will carry a book with me on the go. I have tried audiobooks, but have found that my mind wanders while listening and that I forget what I just heard. This has lead me to always want an ebook reader or more specifically the Kindle daybreakers trailer (now the Kindle 2) after I first saw it. The only problem was the price. I have never read enough to find it worth the cost of the Kindle. Then came today!
Today Amazon’s Kindle application was put up on iTunes. You can download it here for free. I have to say that this is everything I’ve wanted for awhile packed into my phone, which I carry with me everywhere I go. Now I will be able to read when I have spare time (doctor’s office, library, anywhere I am waiting on someone). The only limitation is the Kindle library, which really isn’t bad considering it is over 240,000 titles. One downside, which is not huge either nor is it Amazon’s fault, is due to Apples limitations on iPhone applications you must load up Safari on your iPhone to purchase new books.
So far I have not bought any new books, but I have explored and downloaded samples to test it out. The quality and clarity of the books is amazing. I believe that I could easily find myself becoming addicted to reading now that I have it with me at all times. It is very easy to access and purchase new books using Safari. After you find what book you want to buy you simply click one button and it will be ready next time you load up the application on your iPhone.
To anyone who enjoys reading or would like to start reading more, and of course owns an iPhone, I recommend this application 100 times over. It may not have the screen size of a Kindle, but you also don’t have to carry around two devices all the time. Almost noone leaves home without their phone and now with this you will also have your ebook reader with you at all times. The only thing I can now wish for is that it doesn’t drain the battery on the iPhone any quicker than I will be happy for awhile.
by Alan Hoskins on February 19, 2009
Let me start by saying I previously bought GTA IV when it first released and played it for a while. I enjoyed it, but wasn’t in to it so I traded it in. When Dec/Jan came around I learned that Rockstar was releasing DLC called “The Lost and Damned” and it peaked my interest. I watched the trailers and thought that it would be really interesting to try.
Since I had already traded in my GTA IV I went to my brother to borrow his copy. I figured leading up to the release of The Lost and Damned I would give the original story of Niko Bellic another try. So a week before the DLC release I began a new game and enjoyed it this time around. Then came February 17th and the release.
Here I was knowing I was going to get it, but I was just hoping it would be worth the 1600 points. I didn’t start the game until the 18th, but I have to say when I did I played almost all the way through. I enjoyed every single mission and the changes Rockstar made for The Lost and Damned. Being that this story revolves around a biker named Johnny, Rockstar tweaked bikes to be better. They seemed to be easier to control and you fell off a lot less.
One of the biggest features I loved about this DLC is the crossover between the original story and the new story. The first time I was sent on a mission with Niko I thought it was awesome. Being able to do the mission from a different perspective and think about how I did it with Niko was great. It made the story that much more enjoyable for me. It kept me wondering when I would intersect with my old friend (not Johnny’s but mine since I played him for a while) Niko again.
That leads me to another feature that made this story a lot more fun to play. Rockstar added in “checkpoints” during missions. In the original story, no matter how far you got in a mission, if you died or failed the mission for some other reason you had to start from the beginning. That could mean driving for what feels like hours again to get to the objective. In The Lost and Damned if you failed at certain points, when you retried the mission it would start you at a point further along. This made it not so aggravating to die during a mission.
Overall I think this DLC was well worth the 1600 points/$20 for the bonus content. You get to enjoy new characters, new guns, new vehicles, new music/radio, and a whole new perspective of some old familiar missions. If you have not beaten the original story I do recommend doing that first. I personally enjoyed the game from beginning all the way to the end of the credits. I now have to go in and finish the side stuff like Gang Wars and Races.
Read more or continue the post for spoilers. If you do not wish to see the spoilers, but wish to comment then click the link and scroll to the bottom fast.
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