Just Beautiful

Thank You For a Real Good Time

Oh Yeah

maxed out and being passed around

Heroic with some game Knowledge Stuffing

The fanboys put together a good video walk through of the three new maps. We had some fun playing them last night and teabagging SJ Sharkie. Swede Snake also played and made me wish my wife had a shotgun blazing. Tuesday nights are back! Now go watch this video and get learneded.

Pro Gaming Headset Just in Time for...H3 Map Pack

From Endgadet: Gamers always seem to get the hottest gear, and the A40 gaming headphone system from Astro is no exception. Sold as a complete kit with a headset and matching mixer, the $249 package lets you mix 5.1 game audio and communications audio independently to your liking, all without waking up your roommates. The daisy-chainable Dolby Digital processor / mixer also enables some other interesting features, like private comm channels for in-person Xbox 360 teams, and outboard surround processing from a PC. The headset itself features an adjustable boom mic and interchangable faceplates. Each is also available separately: the A40 headset is $199, while the mixer is $129, and it's all available on the 17th.

Astro Gaming Web site

Why Rossco Likes His Wii

Dashboard Update Preview

What to expect on Tuesday, Dec. 4

2130 Rock Band

Thanks to Timo and SoY for hosting Jack and I Friday night. Free & Tenlin were jamming too. Little Jack was having a blast. He fell asleep before we hit the freeway that night. Those drums are tough. Nice singing Tenlin, Free and Timo. Rock on!
Jack complete with Halo 3 wristband rocking. Look at Tenlin and her concentration.

Timo & Armleg bringing down the house.

Drummer Jack charging.

This was the A team. Tenlin, Timo, Free, and SoY

Thanks again 2130.

Free's Famous!

That's Free...second swingset guy...I know it's him...

2130 House Party

SJ Sharkie Hits 10,000

Our one and only has 10,000 well deserved Gamerpoints! Congratulations to Shark. You are the glue of the 2130. It is being said you are developing a golf game too.

Podclan: Rossco is On the Air

What? Wait. That voice sounds familiar. (rewind) Ha! 2130 is on the air. Our good buddy Rossco had his question answered on this week's OXM podcast. You can listen to the whole show here, or just his question below. I'm a little disappointed with the lack of a shoutout for the 2130, but you're forgiven Rossco since it was a good question.

The Arrival

Here's a little treat I cooked up for you guys. Follow Master Chief as he travels from High Charity back to Earth to finish the fight. This short film combines scenes from Halo 2, Neill Blomkamp's live-action shorts, and Halo 3. Here's to hoping for a full-length Halo movie some day. Enjoy.

Seen on ESPN.com

Tiger Woods Found Drunk After Loss

Monterey, Nov. 1 - Golf superstar Tiger Woods was found roaming the streets of Monterey last night with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand muttering three words over and over, "free, 420, bitch." An anonymous source close to the Woods camp told ESPN.com that Tiger was distraught after getting pummeled earlier in the day at Pebble Beach Golf Links by his opponent Free420 of 2130clan, USA.

Free beat Tiger 5 and 4 to win the gold medal and complete the Tiger Challenge. The source called Free's playing "flawless" and "worthy of permanent recognition in annals of golf history." After firing a brilliant 9 under on the front nine, Free solidified his victory with another birdie on 10 and a chip-in birdie on 14 to close the match. Tiger dropped to the ground in tears as he watched the final shot drop at which point Free walked over and began squatting up and down over Tiger's head. Some think it was this humiliating act that drove Tiger to take up the bottle.

After being released from the Monterey Police station early this morning, Tiger Woods was seen selling his golf clubs at Mondo's Pawn Shop. It's rumored he purchased a metal detector with the money from his clubs and was last seen combing the beaches of Monterey for lost valuables.

Free420 refused to be interviewed for this article but he did release the following statement: "Anyone else want some?"

All Hail The Techno Viking

When Halo and The Orange Box gamers need a break, who do we follow to the streets. Techno Viking is who. All Hail the Greatest Techno Viking ever! The Techno Viking would like to thank Mondo for the water.

Mondo Gets Fired Up for Guitar Hero III

For more humble insight from Mondo, watch him explain his LIVE setup.

2130 Vitals are STRONG!

With humble beginnings the 2130 has crested 100,000 + gamerscore. Congrats. See Clan Vitals to the right.

Viva La 2130! Another big thanks to Rossco for hosting last weekends SLO LAN and it was huge meeting rr1ryno too. Meeting quiet Mitch and his quiet brothers was quiet. Thanks for coming over guys. Also big thanks to Sharkie and Swede Snake for making the journey. It was a blast. We'll have to start talking about the next LAN soon. I know Free is going to have a few more pictures going up soon as I didn't take many and missed getting Shark and Swede pics.

[Updated with slideshow. Photos by Dunkel, Armleg and Free.]

Rossco Goes To The Vet

Rossco, thanks for the great time. You set the bar for LAN hosting, but please... you have to do something about your cat! (click to enlarge)

Thanks to Penny Arcade!

White House Warthog

If you are interested in Dillon Aero's helicopter mount, click HERE

Insane Geek Cred

This one earned me a +10 in stupid cell phone tricks.

So, I just got my new hotness, the ATT Tilt, before we left Portland with full 3G (fast) network support. They told me this puppy was a great phone, but leave it to me to test the limits of it.

The phone connects great with the computer for browsing and getting things done, with the phone or lappy. Out here at my parents place in Modesto, they haven't discovered high-speed Internet. It's a farm thing. All we have here is dial-up, so the phone has been great because we've at least had "Edge" network speeds (for geek inclined: 256Kbit down, 128Kbit up).

Then I got sneaky...a crossover cable, some network config on the lappy, and the monster was born.

There it is my friends. Phone to PC to Xbox and Xbox Live. Granted, the latency is WAY too high (at the time of this writing: 600ms, 207Kbit down, 109Kbit up), but I was able to download a couple small things. If I were in a 3G area, I might give gaming a try (in SJ last night I had a 130ms ping with 1.2 MBit down).

Very cool, and as Andrea says, "very geeky".

See you all tomorrow when the network will hopefully be the least of our issues! :)

No LAN for Tenlin, She Made this Video Instead

Make sure and watch long enough for the dance moves.

SLO Town Here We Come

Somebody Invite this Guy to the LAN, He's Lonely

Two new 10K Club members

A slap on the back and "wow that's a lot of time you got there" to the two newest members of the 10,000 gamerscore club, Timo and ArrstdDvlpment. Both earned their ten-thousandth gamerscore point while playing Halo 3 (appropriate) in the past week.

Congrats!

2130 Clan Soundtrack

Live Short #3 - For Ease of Replay

LOLcat 117

Download pre-cleared Halo 3 maps for Forge

Straight from X3F:

If you've dabbled in the Halo 3 Forge a bit, moved things around and explored you've probably wanted to clear the map and add your own objects free of the default object offerings. But before you go searching for a "clear all objects" option in Forge you should know that there sadly isn't one. Bummer huh? Well, thanks to super helpful Bungie forum member Chevmeister, he painstakingly deleted every single item in each multiplayer map and posted the new cleared maps for everyone to download via his file share. Each map variant can be downloaded via the links over on the Bungie forums, so queue up some maps and Forge away on a blank canvas. Thanks Chevmeister, you kind hearted soul you.

I'm looking forward to our first game of Sailing the Seven Seas of Cheese: two teams of four and two behemoths loaded to the gills broadsiding one another on Sandtrap.

From the Media Side Lines

A new era begins

(Shark grabs podium)

Less than 6 hours to go now on the west coast until Halo 3. Friends, let's take a look back at all the things that brought us here, more than three years now running on Live.

We've stuck together, us 20-or-so members, from the humble beginnings of Ghost Recon action, for three years on Halo 2, all the way up to today's multiplayer spread with skate., Rainbow Six, Gears of War, and Forza Motorsport.

There have been over 350,000 clan kills in Halo 2 (at last count) and we've faced off against 80,000+ Xbox Live members. We've seen TV's and consoles go from simple and boxy to sexy and in full glorious HD.

And there have been LAN's! From the beaches of Southern California to the sunny summers of Portland, where we gathered to enjoy our company not over a TV and headset, but over a beer and good food.

All that is about to get even more insane.

The door to a whole new generation of game is opening. From the endless possibilities with Forge, to the variety that is the Halo community worldwide. Tonight, our humble group of limited skill gamers venture into the vast possibilities of the future, while knowing the past and many opponents fragged to get here.

This is a great night, one we've been looking forward to for months, some even years, and now it has arrived. At his point I leave you with a question and a thought...

Enjoy the game, whatever the score. There will always be good nights and bad nights, but it is never the final tally that counts.

And, who will be first online? :)

All We Can Do Is Sit, And Wait For Master Chief

This video perfectly sums up how today is going to feel at work: being hunted by Brutes and having to wait 7 seven hours for the Chief to arrive and save us. Is it midnight yet?

What is Chief (you) gonna do?

Woke up this morning with Jack in our bathroom in the low morning light. "Jack, what are you doing?" "I'm setting up the final scene of Halo 3." I'm crawling out of bed and see all of Jenny's sundries on the side of the bathroom counter. "Jack it is 6:45 on a Saturday morning." "I know, I just want to figure out what MC will do with that grenade." "Me too buddy. Me too."
So Jack and I talked about it and set up as many scenarios as we could think of. Over pancakes Jack was pretty sure Chief could escape out behind all the Brutes with a swift kick and grenade toss. I am just not sure and think it is likely the big guy might not make it. Both Jack and I are ready for that possibility too.
Do any of the 2130 have a theory? I really am excited for the surprise of it all. A few days left. Lets play.
This is the 500th 2130 blog post! Viva La 2130!

The Final Vidoc Before Launch

We knew saved films and the Forge were going to be good, but this just blows me away. I can't wait to see the machinma that spawns from these tools.

Halo 3, T-5 days

Gamespot has the exclusive dish on one of Halo 3's new multiplayer maps that has yet to be revealed called Construct. Construct is one of those tricky multi-level multiplayer maps that's set inside an industrial setting and screams of vertical combat. With a Spartan laser on the bottom, a sniper rifle up top and other random goodies in the middle there's madness to be had wherever you go. Head on over to Gamespot to look at a few more Construct screenshots and read what multiplayer lead Tyson Green has to say about the map.

What Could Have Been: Cortana Lingerie

The girl gamers and significant others of the 2130 let out a collective "holy teabags, I would have totally worn that for my master chief" today when it was revealed that Cortana-themed lingerie was one of the marketing ideas that was scrapped for Halo 3. From Joystiq:

According to a Reuters article, items that "did not make the cut" were Halo-themed lottery tickets and lingerie modeled after curvy artificial intelligence Cortana. And just like that, our dreams of laying in bed gaming while our significant others play two-dollar "Scratch-Off Plasma Grenade" tickets in a skin-tight hologram two-piece have been destroyed.

Sorry guys, that extra special version of launch night will have to wait.

Avast, Me Hearties

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Brush up on your best Pirate phrases and have fun at work and on live.

Halo 3 extra post

IGN has posted a view on the yet to be announced Halo 3 multiplayer map, Isolation.

I'll be on skate. or NHL 08 tonight, if clanners would like to band together! Viva la 2130.

Halo 3, T-7 Days

Over on Bungie.net are introductory and advanced set of how-to articles on Halo 3's Forge map editor.

Halo 3, T-8 Days

Halo 3 makes an appearance on the Discovery Channel's Future Weapons tonight. Set your DVR's appropriately.

Museum Ad Redux

Make sure and watch the original version of this video first.

A fun Bioshock Review

Check out this review of Bioshock, it is brilliant. 2 Weeks to go!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/1394-Zero-Punctuation-BioShock

Geeking Up for Halo 3

Received the first Halo 3 goodies today. The Kubrick Master Chief's and 1 of 4 of the Halo Uprising Comic. It tells the story of MC after Halo 2 and before Halo 3. A necessary storyline before Halo 3 is here in a few short weeks. I can't stand the excitement. The Brute is Jack's and I thought it would add effect. It is also the first night for this NFL season. Go Bears!

Before Free met Christina...before he grew his hair long...there was e-dating...

Free Sighting at Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Mondo Starts Practicing for Rock Band

Notice his wrist microphone...

Armleg Takes a Trip to the Mall to Recruit New Clan Members

Bioshock Brings Bites, Bruises, Brains, Buttkicking

OK Shark. This game has captured my attention more than any single player 360 game yet. I creep out fast and thought this one might put me over the edge to shut down quickly. Nope, the Demo was just too good to pass this up. If the timing were different I might never had seen this game with H3 coming in one month. It does lack multiplayer. It does NOT lack in story. Fantastic gameplay with the beautiful artdeco, horror, comedy, complexity of a major city thriving below hundreds of feet of water. Wild.

I would guess I'm approximately 1/2 way through the game on Medium difficulty. I have played slowly to be able to take in every corner, hallway, theater, train station, couch, phone, kitchen, elevator, garden, cooler, safe, etc. It is endless and endlessly enjoyable. The horror factor goes away in slow steady bits as you become more powerful and used to fighting with both your Eve and Adam. There are twists in this game that have me baffled and you must use your brain continually to continue.

One new gaming detail I have found hilarious is camera research. Normally you want to get the jump on a Splicer. You can build your defense against them by pulling our your camera and taking pictures of the different Splicers. Spider, Thuggish, Huidini and others. That is a Spider Splicer in the picture above. It is hilarious if you don't take a weapon or power to them and try and sneak a picture first. Benefits your stats and your fun. Now that picture above shows the spider splicer on the ceiling above the Little Sister. What is more scary than a little girl? A little girl who is protected by her Big Daddy, Mr. B, Bubbles. That little girl has you in a dilemna when it comes time to get more Adam. She is harvesting it from dead bodies and you can Harvest her or Save her. One gives you twice the amount of Adam. You choose, but each one has a future significance. And you can't come close to her until you stop Big Daddy first. Big Daddy has all sorts of significance as the game goes on. It is really good stuff 2130.
Enjoy the next month and get your world set for Halo 3. It is almost time.

30 days...

Just a reminder, 30 days to Halo 3. Send the kids to their aunt's house, take the phone off the hook, and take the day off work. Reserve your time now.

Where's the 2130 Bioshock review?

Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer Beta Could Go Live Tonight

Via 360fanboy:

We said Call of Duty 4 beta details would be coming soon, but we didn't realize it would be this soon. In a late night forum post by Jason West, Studio Head of Infinity Ward, it was announced that early sign up for the beta will begin today at 5PM PT. For those of you keeping score, that's about six hours from now. Furthermore, the post announces that those who make it into the early sign up could be playing as early as tonight. You know, tonight, as in this evening. Finally, the post announces that the beta will be rolled out in waves, with more people being added over time. So, if you don't make it in today, hold tight, as more players will be added every day. Keep your eye on CharlieOscarDelta.com for details.

I checked out the site and you do have to register as a member before it will let you into the betaportion of the site at 5pm tonight. So go register now if you're interested. They also say you'll have to answer three trivia questions. I'm going to give it a shot, but with BioShock in my hands and the Skate demo coming out today also there's plenty to keep me busy until the glorious day of H3.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day: FRAGMIRE

fragmire

Main Entry: frag·mire

Pronunciation: 'frag-"mI(-&)r

Function: noun

1 : a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position wherein one cannot decide whether to go to work or stay home and play more Halo3 : see also PREDICAMENT

2 : soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot usually caused by Armleg's janked-up reverberations: see also SWAMP-TAINT

Free Gifting our Future 2130

Jack is having his 8th Birthday on the 20th and we are throwing a party today. Yesterday Jack gets a special box from Free in the mail. We open it up and both of us crack up at the wrapping job. This morning(morning of the pool party) I walk into Jack's room and he is playing some Halo with a few Master Chiefs on his flanks and Free's gift next to those. I had him hold up the gift to share with the clan. He is more excited to open that gift over all the others. He loves the 2130. Thanks Free!

Play the BioShock Demo, Poop Your Pants

So I dropped into the recently released BioShock demo, late last night, while Tenlin was away on a business trip. I was alone, in a dark house, with the surround sound cranked, ready to try the game I preordered last week. Right off the bat the game impresses with some really cool cinematic style opening scenes. But once you get inside Rapture get ready for some sceery stuff. Between the moody lighting, the creepy sound effects and the mysterious storyline, this game looks to be really immersive and quite creepy. It had me on the edge of my Lazyboy the entire time. Even if you don't like darker games I highly recommend trying out the demo just to get a taste of the world of BioShock.

Random Screenshot Wednesday

How to ask nicely for someone else's planet.

4-Player Co-Op Over LIVE

Confirmed!!!

Mondo, Can You Translate These For Us?

Lot's of crazy new stuff here. I love the huge tank that looks like the Jawa sandcrawler from Star Wars. [Update: Some of the pictures are explained in this article.]

Halo at Comic-Con 2007

Here are some Halo pictures from Comic-Con 2007:
http://web.mac.com/jfpd/iWeb/Halo%202007%20ComicCon/Halo%20ComicCon.html

Well, Well ... What Do We Have Here?

Looks like Free's dream of playing thousands of horribly designed custom maps might come true. But what is that other pistol he's wielding?












And another new weapon. You can spot this one in the trailer for the campaign, but it's never fired.

Violence in Videogames

I have a buddy (Jerald) who is a psychiatrist and it turns out (i never knew until I saw his name on digg) he is quite the expert on videogame violence versus real-world violence.

Here is a link to an interesting destructoid interview with Jerald:

http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-interview-jerald-block-md-on-videogames-and-columbine-36153.phtml

Enjoy!

PS - F**K the studies, see you in RB6Vegas, bitches!

I found Armleg

Apparently he made it to Victoria for the FIFA U-20 World Cup match.

Mondo Debuts His New Hit Single

Eh hosers. I'll retern pfrom da great nort in early August

Hoser (hōz ´әr): noun. 1. A clumsy, boorish person, especially an uncouth, beer-drinking man often clothed in a flannel lumberjack coat, Kodiak boots and a toque. 2. What you call your little brother when your mother isn't in the room. 3. A highly amusing subgenre of Canadian Cinema (i.e. Hoser Film) often containing a dark, yet poignant undertone.

Catch up to you all in early August. I'll drink a Molson or a Labatt to the 2130. Who does like a Moosepecker? Later eh.

Seen at Telluride: Mushroom Tea-Shirt

H3 Map Editor: Bring It!

Man there's a shitload of information pouring out of E3. The blog would be loaded with it if I had more free time on my hands. For now, I just want to keep the momentum going for my wish that H3 include a map editor. Via 360 Fanboy:

The second rumor comes from 1UP and their Halo 3 campaign impressions writeup. In their article, they mention that while watching the demo they saw a menu option called "Forge" and when they asked Bungie about it, they received no comment. Well, any good Marathon fanboy would know that Bungie used a program also called Forge to create levels in their Marathon series. So, does this Halo 3 Forge menu option confirm some type of multiplayer map customization? Possibly. What we do know is that some of these rumors could be cleared up in the September issue of EGM which will include brand new Halo 3 details.

Come on Bungie. You've got the file sharing feature in place. Let's keep H3 interesting for a long time by making map editing a reality. Arm, when you get back, please email your buddy Frankie and tell him the 2130 would like a map editor.

Last known LAN picture of the 2130

A full ice box, wool underpants, outhouse, well water, and lots of whiskey are my memories of the 2130 gaming together. The good ole days must return. Perhaps sooner than later? I'm asking the clan for a night a week. Tuesdays? Viva la 2130!

Freeeeeeeeee where are you? Come back soon!

No Free on Live or the Blog has me missing the Glue that is Free. Come home to the 2130 soon Free.(Insert Alan Parson's Project song 'Time' now)

Halo 3 Achievements

Halo 3 Achievements

With Free on vacation in Telluride, I will try and step up with a post or two. I noticed that the achievements for Halo 3 have been published. I think it is a great mix of online and offline achievements, as well as most of them look reasonably attainable. Only three months, and you can start adding these to your gamer score.

Check them all out

List of Halo 3 Achievements

Armleg Just Crapped His Pants

DETAILS

I hope this doesn't mean the action figures have been wiped out by the Flood.

For the Dads

Happy Father's Day to all of the clan dads out there. Hope you had a great day with your families.

4 Player Co-Op, 16+ Multiplayer - Any Interest?

Ace Combat 6 Flight Stick Bundle

From Kotaku: "If you're excited about the Namco Bandai's Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, but find it just not expensive enough, maybe you'll be interested in the limited edition bundle SKU shipping later this year. For about $149.99 you'll get the Xbox 360 game, the two-piece Hori flight stick and... wait for it... an Ace Combat 6 face plate."

I have to say I am excited about this game. I just hope it's more simulatory than arcadey, if you get my drift. These special controllers are a good sign I'd say.

In the Shadow of Halo3

Another from Destructiod. The Orange box has a street date.

Everyone loves heatsinks

I count myself very lucky that my console has never flickered the read rings of death. I am planning on getting one of the new 360s running the 65nm chipsets in hopes that it will not be as loud and with luck, more dependable than the original hardware. I think most of you would agree that the failure rate is higher than it should be on the 360, and was happy to read -- courtesy of Destructiod -- Microsoft trying to fix the original hardware.

Mystery Posts from Bungie?

Cryptic posts are appearing on the Bungie and HBO forums. Me likey.

Read the Speculations

Happy Birthday Armleg!

Happy Birthday to our stalwart companion and champion gamer score guy. Thanks for making Xbox Live so much fun for the whole clan.

How to Make Custom Art in Forza

Timo and I have been wondering how some of the better paint jobs in Forza were created. Turns out, it's not easy...at all. A detailed tutorial has been posted on the Forza forums. This just makes the car auction feature that much sweeter. Any of the 2130 drivers have the patience for this?

GFX Tutorial for Beginners

Ode to the Shooters (language NSFW)

Ode To the Drivers

Rossco's Bachelor Party in Puerto Vallarta

From rr1ryno: YO, here's some pics from our bachelor party adventure in Puerto Vallarta.....good weather, good cocktails, good hotel, good fishing and good times had by all..... to cap it off we chilled with ICE CUBE ("you can do it, put yo back into it") at the airport..... I think you've met Rossco. I'm the guy with the loud shorts next to Cube and furthest right in the middle pic. Tsing did not go fishing, but is with Cube.... tallest guy in the back (maroon Tshirt). Who's Next is in both group shots and is right next to Rossco in both pics (white visor in middle pic, white Tshirt in bottom photo).
rr1

For the love of Cars

I'm sooooo happy! My most anticipated title of the summer hit store shelves yesterday and delivered on all cylinders. Forza Motorsport 2 has been released, and wheel or no wheel, racing fans and fans of tuner cars from old to new will enjoy this Xbox 360 update of the original classic.

Packed with tracks, over 300 cars, and some great multiplayer features. Add in all the traditional customization that Forza is known for, and the best sim racing on any console brings it home full throttle.

The clan will be well represented by my 2003 Nissan 350Z in the traditional teal/grey paint out on the multiplayer tracks.

2130 in Portlandia

Thanks to the NW chapter of the 2130 for taking Tenlin and Free to a pro soccer game over the weekend. It was great to see Mondo, Stephanie, McKenzie and Sharkie again, and to meet Swede Snake for the first time. The soccer match was a 0-0 tie. Photos: 1) Apple's newest technological revolutionalization: the iPoop. 2) 2130 pwns Portland. 3) Timber Jim fires up the Timbers Army; these guys know how to watch a soccer game. 4) Some games are better than others; kid plays Tetris during the soccer game. 5) Portland Timbers vs. Carolina Teabag Recepticles. 6) Broken Halo, best beer evar! 7) Free and Tenlin take in the game. 8) Mondo does his best "don't bother me I'm playing Halo" face. 9) PGE Park, home of the Portland Timbers.