Small update + Feeling a bit creative

Hey guys! What's up? If by any chance you were expecting some kind of a  huge update blog, I'm sorry to say that it won't happen, that's because there isn't much to tell, so I'll just make a short summary of what's been up.

1. School's been keeping me very busy and it irritates me that it does. Failed two more exams, which means that I'll have a full autumn(with 4 failed exams so far). Hopefully, I won't fail any more next semester. As always, I learn lots of useless things that I won't be needing anytime during this lifetime, so I honestly think that(for the most part) I'm wasting my life away basically learning nothing(and failing exams that no one seems to comprehend)... Well, at least I've passed my Java programming classes and labs with flying colors and I got a praise from the teacher, saying that a student like me comes only every 2-3 years, which made me happy.

2. Life in general is boring so there isn't anything to relate. Right now I'm taking an extra week off from the uni life(even though the semester has starter already) because I just feel that the so called week of vacation went by before I even realized it(and besides I terribly hate my flat-mates so the less time I spend there, the better).

 

3. I've started writing an diary. Go ahead and laugh all you want! I've started writing it mainly to keep track of what I've been playing and if, by chance, anything worth the attention happened. Recently I thought that it looked kinda skimpy(don't ask how a program can look skimpy...) so I've also started mentioning what animes I've been watching. If by any chance you're also interested in writing one, I recommend Efficient Diary. It's a freeware program that contains all the things that you need to keep track of your whatnots.

 

4. Since the last update blog I've been playing and finishing a bunch of games and I fear their number is somewhere above 30, so to save time and space, I ain't gonna list them. If any of you are really interested in the titles I guess I can edit the blog and post them, as I don't have a full list at the moment.

 

5. I know most of you aren't interested in anime, so I'll just say that I saw Halo: Legends... and... it's slightly above the average. I gave it a 5.5 out of 10, which for me it's enough. Honestly speaking now, when I heard that they were going to make it under the form of short, unrelated stories, like the Animatrix, I thought that it would also end up as a fiasco. But it didn't (well, not all the stories) and that's ok. I liked the two storytelling episodes and another two(which I don't remember much), but the rest, were boring at most, if not flat-out bad/stupid, so it didn't quite catch my fancy but if you're a real Halo fan(I'm not) than I guess it could just as well be something you'll enjoy. Other than that, if you're interested in what other animes I've seen I guess you can check my profile at anime-planet (and add me there too) or you know... you can always pm me.

Right... For the blog itself... As I mentioned having some time for myself, all I wanted to do was to reorganize most the data on my HDD (and to find and delete most of the useless things that have been lying around for ages), to play some more games and to do something out of the common.

Well, for the most part the rearranging part went according to plan and also gaming went ok (though I played some mediocre games), but I still needed that something out of the ordinary. I thought a bit about it and after thinking about the possibilities I came to to the conclusion that I should buy something new for the PC (well, there aren't many things to do in this little city, so...). I checked some sites and came again to a decision: to buy a Saitek PS2700 gamepad (I don't own a gamepad so that would have been a change of pace) or a Wacom Bamboo Pen graphics tablet. As I didn't have the time or the money to get and test both I've decided to buy the graphics tablet. It's the standard only pen, no other options included version. Here are a couple of pictures:

                   

 

 

                   

Now I have this thingamajig for about a week now and it doesn't cease to amaze me with the things you can do with it.
Firstly, let me say that if you haven't used a graphics tablet before (like me) then it's a real big difference between how you use your mouse and the tablet. From the precision, to the use of the pressure sensors, to the position of your arm and the buttons it will be a totally new experience.

 

Now I've tested it with different applications from generally browsing around the net (which is enjoyable, but a bit slow for my taste), to general use around the OC (drag and drop may be annoying but ok for the most part), to games (It's obvious that this things aren't meant for gaming but you can use it without any problems with most the games that are made to be played with a mouse. For all the others it can also be used but don't forget to put it on mouse mode otherwise you won't be able to do anything with it. Ow and don't try to play FPSs with it... :P ) and graphics programs (and this is where it shines out. Form drawing lines with incredible accuracy to general work with such a program, this little thingy works wonders, basically reducing the technical problems to your one body's limits/talents. Another cool thing is that some programs, like Photoshop, offer specially designed features than take advantage of its pressure sensing capabilities of the tablet and believe me, they come in handy).

My thought about it is after a week: Great! If you're a graphics programs enthusiast then you should definitely buy a graphics tablet, but if you aren't, although it isn't the most expensive thing on earth (mine was 90$ with all shipping costs) then there could be better things you can spend money on.

Sorry that I don't have anything drawn with it to show off my clumbsiness but you can take my word for it :P

 

Well, that's enough for now. I'll try to post a tutorial next time, as I see that lots of people are wrong about it, but all in due time. 'till then!