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*There may be spoilers in this article…read at your own risk*
Last night I watched Cloverfield, a movie that was supposed to be the next Blair Witch Project. The only problem with such a concept is that once you have seen BWP, there is much less wonder left to first person accounts of the supernatural, or in this case, extraterrestrial.

Let’s start with the casting. There was not one character I related with, making me care less if any of them were victim to E.T. gone bad. Everyone seemed like an actor in a traditional movie, but with just really cruddy camera work. Also, if I were in a life threatening situation, I would most likely leave the camera behind and save my ass. Just a thought.

Ah, then there was the anticipated monster. Was that creature supposed to be frightening? It looked like a cross between Predator and a turd, making it almost laughable to see the terror. The U.S. armed forces seemed inadequate, and I really hope we would have better strategy when Mr.Hanky’s oversized cousin would attack Manhattan.

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Hey Tekzillaites!

In this episode of Tekzilla, Tech guru Patrick Norton baptized me into Nerdom: I can proudly say that I now know how to build a PC!

This project has been something that I have been passionate about attempting for a while. My ultimate dream is to build a bad ass gaming PC– building a basic $500 is definitely a step in the right direction. The biggest thing to get over is that you gotta use force. Not quite the Force, but a PC builder shouldn’t be afraid of using a bit of muscle when snapping all the components into place. That was my biggest struggle [knowing that everything won’t break, and requires you to push it good!].

Check it out!

:) your “Stage 3 Nerd,” Nt

I thought a lot about what I would write here on the last day of 2007. Maybe a “best in tech” or “my fave websites” blog…but both have been done, and quite well at that.

So instead, I am going to use this blog for what it was originally intended to be: a forum on my thoughts, personal or otherwise. Candidly speaking, 2007 was a pretty rough year for me. There were definitely a lot of things that were firsts. It was the first time that I went under the knife [tonsillectomy], the first time I ended a very long relationship, the first time I got canned from a real job, and the first time that a best friend of mine was near death. All these events seemed to happen one after the other, changing my perspective deeply on what life is–or the lack of what it can be. Turning 23, I feel as if I have matured 5 years in the last 12 months.

On the plus side, I did survive. I tried to be there for my friend as much as possible, at a time when she really needed love to recover. Revision 3 was kind enough to give me a shot as a Producer, taking me one step closer to my dream. The tonsillectomy–I did lose some weight! As for the failed relationship, it really was a learning experience, and I feel lucky to have loved someone for the time that I did. In addition, I met some really wonderful people this year, and got much closer with old friends, both for which I am terribly thankful.

When the ball drops tonight, I will think of each of these moments with the countdown. I hope that 2008 will be sunnier for me and those in my life. The biggest takeaway of 2007: No matter how bad it gets, life really does move on. You just have to stop tapping your foot impatiently, and wait your turn.

Hey web pals,

As almost all of you know, I got my start as an AP news girl at CNET. When I learned the recent news about my friend Jeff Gerstmann, I was heartbroken. I have been a loyal visitor of Gamespot much before I was a CNET employee, and have always trusted their ratings. Although I feel that many of the rumors that have been spread around are hyperbole or hogwash, I do think that fact that he longer works there sucks.

Moving on, I had Jeff co-host a segment with me this week on Tekzilla. Be forewarned–it’s a fun one! We took a look at some garage gaming pieces, and the real ones they try to emulate. For example, there is this ridiculous Toyquest Tilt gaming controller which is a blatant knockoff of Nintendo’s Wiimote. Check it out @ about 14 minutes in, and stay for the bloopers at the end!

:)Nt

While poking around on Twitter, a friend of mine posted this site. Prayabout.com is a different type of social network; more solemn than Myspace and less denominational than Mychurch.

It’s a simple premise really. People submit a prayer about anything that is irking them in life and fellow users can write encouraging comments. When you sign up, you can choose a little avatar or upload your own pic, which is in accordance to the social net code. The part where it gets a little strange is the concept of lighting candles, [from the site]:

“When you light candles for a prayer request, it gets listed higher up on the list…You receive candles when you invite your friends to the site…You can purchase candles with your credit card or checking account via PayPal.”

Working at a startup, I understand the concept of making money from a website. Being a religious person, I am familiar with the idea of a collection tray being passed around. But why does this feel as if it is an elementary school fund raiser, where the more you sell the closer you get to getting that shiny new bike?

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I am pretty proud to say that this Black Friday, I picked up a load of brand new toys. As I was growing to be rapidly disenchanted by the amount of sold out items online on Thanksgiving, I realized that I would have to go into guerrilla attack mode if I wanted to get anything the following day. The original plan was to wake up at an ungodly hour to get to Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. to acquire everything I needed. I hit snooze on that idea, and was lucky enough to still pick up mostly everything I wanted.

Here’s what I got, with anecdotes.

Gaming

• XBOX 360 Pro w/ Guitar Hero II Bundle {$350}: It was nearly noon, and I was pretty sure these bad boy bundles would be swept up clean from Best Buy. I was unsure if I wanted to stake my birthday gift on the console and decided I would leave it to fate. When I walked in, I instantly checked to see if any were left–there were 2. I put one on hold and as a result, I have now chosen a side in the console wars! The only catch is that I can’t open it till my birthday. Guitar Hero III? Ya, I know there is a bundle with the console now, but I just need the game. Santa better have that covered.

• Forza, Top Spin 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, Dead or Alive 3, SSX, Robotech Battlecry {+/-$60}: Gamestop/EB Games was having a “buy 2, get 1″ promotion, so I snagged up a bunch of titles that I have played in the past [and are backwards compatible], or got a pretty high rating on Gamespot or IGN. Needless to say, I am psyched to play all these games. I even saw the rare and legendary Marvel vs. Capcom 2 at my local EB, but I think that I’ll have to wait until I splurge on that $70 dollar gem.

GPS

• Tom Tom One LE GPS {$120}: Since I get lost often, I really feel that this may be the most time-saving purchase that I made. It’s compact, has a nice display screen, and I really enjoy the library of voices [stupid feature to discuss, but I love it.] The big problem that I had with Mr. Tom squared was that when I tried to update the map, I got an internal server error. According to a number of forums, it’s a common problem that’s been happening in light of the TT folks updating their site. Hopefully, the site will be ready to roll soon so the Tom Tom nation can get on with their travels.

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For most tech-heads, Christmas usually comes a little early. That’s right–while the rest of your family is polishing up the last bits of turkey and crans’, you are at the laptop looking up steals.

I follow this same ritual almost every year, yet I never really make any huge purchases. This year, that all changes!

For once, I actually have a lot of tech that I need to acquire. Ya, that’s right need. For starters, I need to buy my parents an inexpensive digital camera [for traveling], as well as a camcorder. I used to think that I would hold-out to see whether HD or DVD cams would come out on top, however, I feel that neither did. I basically think that when it comes to a video camera that is going to be used chiefly for home videos, Mini DV is the way to go. I’ve used Panasonic and JVC in the past, but have had the best experience with Sony.

I also need a kick-ass pair of headphones for the job. I know Patrick did a whole segment on inexpensive headphones, and I am thinking of finding some Sennheisers. I like Grado Labs as they give me the “purchasing from mom n’ pop” feel, but the pair I have seem to leak out a lot of noise when I use them. I highly doubt that Sarah and Heather are interested in hearing me edit, thus making Grado’s unsuitable for the work environment. I also am looking into an external hard drive, always love collecting USB flash drives, and may pick up a snazzy new backpack.

I am already planning my Modus Operandi as efficiently as possible, and have found great use of this link, sent to me by Patrick Norton. I’ll also be checking out FatWallet, GottaDeal, and BFads.net. Also, If you aren’t out shopping already, check out this weeks Tekzilla for more Black Friday tips.

Hey there!

I gotta tell you, being on your alma-mater’s stomping grounds is truly refreshing. Seeing the people rushing to classes, stressed out students, and cracked out squirrels is awesome–especially when you no longer have the pressure of a student [or a squirrel..whatever that means].

I was at UC Berkeley to meet with Bob Uhrhammer who is a research seismologist at Berkeley’s Seismo Lab. He was very knowledgeable and really knew the ins & outs of earthquakes. Living on the west coast, this was incredibly interesting–The Berkeley campus is actually less than a couple of paces away from the Hayward fault line. That is a pretty frightening fact when looking at the devastation of past quakes.

Anyway, Bob was kind enough to show me around the instruments used throughout the century, educate me on the origins of the Richter scale, and even let me create an earthquake of my own. Check it out on this weeks edition of Tekzilla!:)N

This past week I had the pleasure of working with Miss Veronica Belmont of Mahalo Daily on a videogame review. First off, it was great hanging out with Veronica, since I don’t get to see her everyday anymore [as I did when we both were at CNET].

I have to say, in the game footage that we captured, I blatantly sucked. I think that interviewing someone, keeping my posture straight, and trying to stay on my mark were some of the reasons my game play was totally sub par. Plus, it was my first time ever playing Guitar Hero III. So Veronica, if you are reading this, know that I challenge you to a rematch [eventhough we were playing in co-op career mode].

Check out 2 gamer chicks get down and dirty with Neversoft’s latest, and tell me what you think of us!:

:)Nt

It’s obvious that I am on a number of different social networks. I mean, check out the little bar a few clicks down, over there —>

One thing that I have noticed as of late is the development of who I am on these different platforms. With sites like Myspace and Facebook, it is a bit easier to define yourself–you are given prompts with fields, and no essential character limit. Plus you have a giant picture which could make it easy for any fella off the street to recognize you. Even with this WordPress blog, I have a section which tells you all about me [whether you like it or not].

My recent character definition has been burgeoning on my mini-blogs. That is, I feel that I have finally differentiated who I am on Twitter versus Pownce. By just looking at the last 20 posts on Twitter, you would think I was a full-fledged bratty, food-obsessed complainer. And I really would’nt blame you. When it comes to Twitter, I find my posts to be pretty…well…bitter.

This is your brain on social networks.

On Pownce, I have more thoughtful and intellectual posts. I write about cool Web 2.0 tools I discover, music that I love, general epiphanies, seek tech support, all in addition to updating my friends on my current human condition. Why is it that I find that I am two different people on these sites? Is it as simple as being limited by the amount of text I am allowed to jot down?

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