NEWS

10/19/2001 1830 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Here we go again after another interminable absence...I am posting something NEW......can'ya BELIEVE IT!!!...anyway, this time it is some pictures from Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, Florida. I apologize that the size of the pictures is smaller than I would like but I had SO MANY that I had to conserve web space (although, as you might judge, I probably should not have wasted the space posting some of them regardless). Here they are!: PICTURES

07/07/2001 1430 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Believe it or not, I am updating the page again. Nothing really earth-shattering...but I am putting up our most recent pictures of the annual Canada trip. Once again, if ya' feel like it....CHECK 'EM OUT HERE: PICTURES

10/01/2000 1430 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
First let me say that this happens to be the birthday of two very special people (you KNOW who you are!!!!)....anyway, best wishes to you!!!

Now....on to other issues: I would like to state that I have been under some incredible duress due to threats of blackmail and other unsavory acts to possibly be committed against me. Well...sadly enough, I have caved in to these demands and FINALLY posted some pictures of our annual fishing trip to Canada. SO THERE....if you want to check'em out go to the  PICTURES page.

07/19/2000 2120 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
REUNION PICTURES!!! Although I haven't quite finished....they are up for public viewing. Anybody that gets signed up for a modeling contract owes me 30% finders fee......just kidding....maybe! Go to the PICTURES page on the site to get to them. Have fun and I'll report back later!!!!

07/17/2000 2010 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Just wanted to make a quick update and tell anyone that is looking for some REUNION pictures....they will be posted very soon!!! Most likely in the next couple of days. I will place a link from an "update" like this one and also have a link in the PICTURES area. Until then.....carry on.

06/29/2000 2100 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!! (and no...that is NOT a personal reference). It is literally unconscionable for me to be as neglectful of a website like I so evidently have. What in the world has gotten into me. Oh well, life goes on. And speaking of Life Going On, I actually attended my 20 year High School graduation reunion this past weekend. I could not figure out why so many "other" people have aged so much faster than me <grin> other than maybe it is true that, with a mental capacity of a 15 year old, I might be able to never grow up. Actually I'm kidding, everybody looked great and the event was definitely much more enjoyable than I anticipated. I had a fantastic time seeing so many people from the past, although, due to my senility, I had to be staring at nametags secretly in many cases as I reached out to shake hands. I think that the folks who set the thing up need to be commended for doing a wonderful job and I believe that most everyone in attendance would agree. I took a few pictures which I am having developed right now. I intend to place them on the site within the next week or two and will make a REUNION link up at the top to check it out. Once again it was absolutely great to see some wonderful people from my ancient past (you know who you are) and I would like to thank everyone for a great time. We ain't gettin' older....we're gettin' better! (and some are still downright cute as heck).

Oh, and one other thing....as horrible as I have been about updating things, I have finally gotten my movie reviews caught up to match what I've actually made it to the theatre to watch. Check'em out if you so wish.

02/07/2000 2038 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Good Gosh! Have I been neglecting the heck out updating this sight or what? Well....believe it or not, I've actually brought my movie reviews up to date with all the movies that I saw in 1999. I definitely did not make it to as many movies as I would have liked, but what can I say. Now, if I can just get my act together and get my book reviews updated maybe I can start a trend of being slightly more prompt in future updates.

10/17/99 1938 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Man....not too many updates lately, huh? I'll have to get fired up about something soon and drag out the ol' soapbox before everything gets TOO boring. In the meantime, there are a couple of more movie reviews up if you are so inclined.

09/12/99 0015 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
All right, just letting everyone know that there are some new Movie Reviews posted.

08/11/99 1920 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Well, as everyone knows by now, another nut-case has shot up some innocent people in a L.A. community center. I don't get into too many "personal political/religious" discussions (other than with close friends....heh heh) but every time something like this happens, all the "media-mugging" kooks come out and spew all of their theories and solutions with little regard for the facts (hmmmm...so what am "I" doing?). For the record I own one handgun (for about 8 years) and have taken it to a range and shot it approximately 5 total times (not total shots....total trips). I have not hunted since a couple dove hunting trips when approximately 14 years old (quite a while ago). I do not consider myself a gun fanatic (although, I suppose "who" does?)...nonetheless, I don't believe I fit the profile. With that said, here are a couple of iron clad FACTS about various things:

1) In NOT ONE of these recent violent events has a gun taken upon itself to go terrorize, wound, or murder a single human being. A human being has been solely and completely responsible for every single victims pain / suffering / death. This is an inarguable FACT and I submit that any opposing theory is simply unquestionably WRONG. Regardless of what various purposes that guns CAN BE USED FOR...both good and bad...they CANNOT and WILL NOT do any of them without ULTIMATE CONTROL by a human being.

2) Now one for the people who SHOULD NOT have guns easily available. If you are the type of person who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, and who, when the guy who is stupidly talking on his cell phone makes a huge blunder and pulls in front of you and almost causes you to have an accident, and, instead of simply thinking to yourself "whew, glad I was paying attention and kept everything in control" you decide to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET IN FRONT OF THAT STUPID B*ST*RD and RUN HIS SORRY *SS OFF THE ROAD or at least shoot him the finger or even "educate them to the facts of what they have done wrong"... Please, do not ever have a gun within your reach. Inarguable FACT: If you are the type of person who will let someone's blunder ( or even intentional act, for that matter ) bring your anger to the point that out of desire for GETTING BACK at them you will be willing to operate a 4000 pound vehicle capable of going 120 MPH in a manner even more potentially dangerous to innocent people ( all the time knowing that YOU HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL) then you are absolutely INCAPABLE of knowing how you will react with ANY TOOL capable of causing harm to another person when you LOSE CONTROL OF YOUR EMOTIONS. Once again see fact (1) above....it won't be the GUN....it will be YOU!!

3) A SANE adult's act of violence is NOT caused by what he has seen / heard on TV, Movies, Radio, Books, etc. Also, the way to PREVENT an INSANE adult from losing his/her mind and going berserk is NOT TO prohibit mature themed entertainment from being produced and consumed by law-abiding SANE consumers. If while watching the "G" rated children's movie, I could read the thoughts of the guy next to me and realize that the only thing that was keeping him from killing thirty people tomorrow was the fact that he HAD NOT SEEN the correct imagery to act as a catalyst for going on a rampage, I would NOT TRULY BE THAT MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE around him....'cause you never know when he might catch one of those ultra-violent "3 Stooges" flicks. There simply is no easy answer or solution to prevent an otherwise law-abiding normal seeming person from suddenly going whacko and finding ways to injure innocent people. What is sad though is when someone has a HUGE history of various crimes, felonies, mental problems etc. and is still out there just waiting to BLOW UP.

4) Parents ARE RESPONSIBLE for what their children are exposed to, whether in video games, television, internet, movies, books, etc. This is NOT to say that children are not capable of finding sneaky ways to see some stuff. There is one BIG difference though...it's one thing for a child to sneak and do something that he/she KNOWS is wrong....and another for the parents to ADVOCATE most things because "their children" have been educated about right and wrong and "know" the difference. I challenge anybody to see a "blockbuster" action movie that is rated "R" and count HOW MANY PARENTS take their preteen and/or early teen aged children with them. Isn't it amazing how EVERYONE'S OWN children are capable of understanding the adult themes, violence, sex and that the MATURE RATING is for everyone ELSE'S less capable children to be governed by. Inarguable FACT: When a parent states, "They will be exposed to it anyway, therefore, I should have some control over it and will allow it as long as I am involved" is just an EXCUSE for not enforcing rules that govern their children's behavior. While a determined child will be able to find a way to do something outside of permission, it should never be ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR to the PARENT.... At least when I was younger, I had to sneak looking at Playboys...now 13 year olds just close the door and watch CINEMAX on their own TV or adult videos on their own VCR in their bedroom while mom/dad are in the living room.

Oh well...just my two cents worth....

08/08/99 1600 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Once again, I've added a few movie reviews since the last update.

07/17/99 1800 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I added another movie review. This one for "The Thirteenth Floor".....I didn't make it when it first came out, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw it. 

07/11/99 1705 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I have finally updated my movie reviews (although you might not want to read them if you "really" loved Star Wars). I just haven't seen as many movies as I do typically but this will probably increase. Anyway...enjoy. Also, I have updated some of my friends links in the (what else) LINKS section.

07/06/99 1845 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
For now I have removed the midi background music from my pages. Definitely could see it giving download time a big hit for non cable/ ASDL modem users. Speaking of which, Tom of AltmanPhotography mentioned the other day that he had received a mailer from Bellsouth offering ADSL here in Jacksonville, FL. I checked their website and it looks like they have rolled it out here. Since I have the trusty (at least most of the time) dual cable modem from MediaOne Roadrunner and because Bellsouth's installation is WAY too high (around $300.00) and their monthy charge is $10 to $20 more, I can't see changing any time soon. It will be nice when both begin having larger overlapping coverage areas and they have to compete head-on in more markets. Hopefully we'll all see some price drops then. Until you have "high-speed" access to the net, it remains more of a novelty than a true "tool". Once you've been able to search for and retrieve information in seconds or played non-lagging games, it becomes more and more difficult to attempt to use the ol' 56 or (egad!) 28.8 modem for anything other than desperation. Oh well, how easily we become spoiled (and sometimes forget VERY recent history).

07/04/99 2130 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I have all of my addtional book reviews that I was behind on up on the new site now. Man, It's hard to imagine that I waited until I had read 18 novels before getting off of my lazy behind and updating. I need to update a few movies also very soon. I actually haven't seen as many movies as I might have liked but, oh well....guess I'll have to make up for lost time eventually. 

07/04/99 1700 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Well, I'm FINALLY working on updating my site. I know, I know...I've been lazy as heck and need to be flogged (and no, that would NOT be a good thing). Anyway, for right now, I am getting everything up and going for FACTANDFICTION.COM. Right now I am keeping the layout similar to my past pages with a few changes. I will attempt to keep everyone updated as things progress. By the way, I know how much everyone likes to read my ramblings, so I will leave those below on the site for a while prior to archiving them. Later.

02/07/99 1730 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Just a quick note to let you know that there are a couple of new movie reviews since the last update.

01/29/99 2010 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I have finally put together the 1998 Movie Review Archive and started the new '99 reviews on the original page. You can get there here. Also added a couple of opinions about the '98 movie season over all. Of course the only two reviews I have up on the current list are definitely not Oscar contenders but hopefully I will see some flicks that rectify that situation in the near future (I plan on seeing A Simple Plan soon....although it's a '98 movie, it has just recently been released in Jacksonville..at least the book was good and I've read good things about the movie). Now I will go sulk quietly in the corner and suffer with my own personal head cold/sinus infection and feel sorry for myself 'till I get better (and on a WEEKEND too! darn it.).

01/20/99 2050 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Well...if you want to read a review of BALDUR'S GATE (since I've mentioned it so much), there is a nice one at gamesmania.com. You can go directly to the review here.

Also, still haven't seen anything on the potential release date of Duke Nukem Forever. If ya don't know by now, it's going to utilize the Unreal engine instead of the originally proposed Quake 2 engine. If ya think that is a bad thing, then you haven't seen Unreal on a souped up machine capable of making it shine (and knowing 3D Realms reputation, they will probably make it absolutely awsome!). I can only hope that they make the multiplayer work without a hitch. Let me say that although I started the first person shooters with Wolfenstein 3D and messed with almost all of them, it was Duke Nukem 3D that put some "character" into the games. Hope that the wait is worth it! One often updated site is DukeWorld.Com.

01/17/99 1315 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I've finally started doing a bit of work to the MOVIE REVIEWS page. I am still behind (I know, I need to be flogged) in my reviews but at least it's a start. In the near future I want to do some additional work and make a new 1999 movie page and archive the '98 stuff to another page. Also, might write up a small OPINION on the '98 movie year in general. Anyway, gotta get back and watch some of the NFL playoffs.

01/16/99 1340 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
BALDUR'S GATE beta PATCH - After enjoying a beautiful morning on my motorcycle, I return to find that Interplay has released a beta patch for their rockin' roleplaying game BALDUR'S GATE. Go to the Interplay site if ya wants it! Remember, it's still in the "beta" stage. They say they will be releasing the final soon (and they assure that it will not affect any "saved" games!).

01/16/99 0020 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
SUSHI - I met some friends both new and old at the "Sushi Rock" restaurant in Jacksonville this evening. Of course, being Friday evening, I consumed just a couple (at least that's all I'll admit) of adult beverages and had an enjoyable time. I will admit that I'm not a HUGE fan of sushi, but also I must say that much of it is quite tasty ( I had some dynamite rolls <really> and let me tell you, the TNT sauce actually created new sinus cavities within my cranium). Anyway, basically just had a nice time. Now to see what's new out on the ol' net!

01/14/99 2120 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
HALF-LIFE PATCH - There is a new patch out for half-life. It is supposed to improve multiplayer and some other stuff. Also, looks like a couple of maps might be included. You can find the file here: Planetquake Download Center.

01/12/99 2040 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Possible Interplay merger with Virgin? Spotted a small blip over on GAGAMES.COM of that very possibility. Maybe Interplay stock IS a good idea...time will tell.

GamePen has a pretty decent review of BLOOD 2: The Chosen up at their site. It's not a Half-Life killer by any means...but it's not too bad.

01/10/99 1910 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Well...I suppose that the Jaquars did everything that they could to lose the game to the Jets. Seems like every opportunity that they had to come back, they decided to squander. Oh well....once again, we can say let's wait till next year...

01/09/99 1315 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Computer HARDWARE REVIEWS - Here is a plug for a site that I found and continue to use quite a bit: http://www.index-materiel.com/english/hardware_reviews/ I believe this is a french site (with english pages, obviously). It is a link page to various computer hardware reviews. Of course there are reviews all over the place, but this is one of the best I've found for showing links to specific components.

01/08/99 2220 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Glanced on The Adrenaline Vault - Monolith is preparing an add-on for their game Blood 2. This is a first person shooter built with the Lithtech engine that was used in SHOGO-M.A.D. (of course, also by Monolith). No sooner do I see that then I surf by BluesNews and see that there is an add-on mission pack also in the works for that one also.

Saw that a review of Falcon 4.0 has been put up on OGR. Here is a little snippet:

MicroProse wasn't content to simply make a better mousetrap. Between the environment, flight and systems modeling, Falcon 4.0 can stand on its own as a full-featured general aviation sim. The radio alone features two tuners which are independently switchable among six different communications nets as desired. The terrain engine itself is outstanding for a combat sim, offering a remarkable sense of speed as well as graphic detail not entirely unlike Flight Unlimited 2. The flight model feels intuitively accurate, featuring a wide variety of phenomena such as six degrees of inertia, an honest appreciation for the effects of mass and drag, even the F-16's notorious "deep stall." Most airports are faithfully modeled after their real-world counterparts, right down to their individual flight operations procedures, taxiway paths, and parking areas.

01/06/99 2120 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Some Games of the year for 1998 (in my humble opinion)
 

Half-Life I haven't gotten involved in the story of a FPS game since I played the enhanced version of System Shock. Definitely deserves all of the media hype that it has received. I would not doubt that with the support it is receiving, the multi-player will be tweaked eventually, but for now, even the single-player is worth it.

Quake 2 I am forced to include this game due to the amount of time I continue to spend playing online. It still rocks due to all the additional people that push it forward. I never finished the single-player, but for multi-player mayhem....nothing compares yet.

Falcon 4.0 After lengthy delays of it's release, I will say that this game looks awesome if you have the horsepower to push it. I am still unsure if I have the intelligence or skill to actually learn to FLY it....but it definitely looks as if Microprose has achieved what they set out to do.

Might & Magic VI The Mandate of Heaven I am always happy to see a successful role-playing game. I continue to hope that CRPG's continue to be successful and don't get completely shut down by First Person Shooters.

01/05/99 2000 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Here is a meaningless RANT! What's up with the television industry. I keep seeing that the major networks are losing viewers every year due to various reasons (such as computers and internet I'm sure) and no wonder. Although I don't watch nearly as much television as I have in the past, I watch less and less of the shows that I DO WANT TO WATCH due to the insane scheduling. What in the heck happened to the idea of THE NEW SEASON with NEW EPISODES and then the RERUNS during rest of the time? That way you know that you can watch them new or catch the rerun later if you miss it. BUT NOOOooo, the networks will show two new shows and then insert a rerun, then one new, then rerun, and on and on. If they think that this actually retains viewership, I would beg to differ. It just takes a couple of times during the "NEW SEASON" for me to get burned with a rerun from TWO OR THREE weeks ago to make me not go to too much effort to watch the next week. The very fact that the networks repeat over and over in their promos that an ALL NEW episode will be next week (when there shouldn't be any question during the season that EVERY episode...excluding maybe some holiday repeats...should be NEW)!

01/05/99 1900 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
During the last couple of nights I have hooked up online and played Baldur's Gate. It was pretty cool playing an isometric role-playing game with multiple people controlling the characters. The way it works is that your adventuring party can be composed of up to six characters. These characters can be controlled by up to six people or control can be split between the characters and however many people are participating. A friend and I used a TCP/IP connection with very little problem. Looks like this might borrow some time from the ol' Quake 2 CTF play for awhile.

01/04/99 1822 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
A couple of months ago I decided to take the plunge and just build my new computer from scratch. I got the cards/components that I wanted and threw caution to the wind to see what kind of trouble I could get into. I had made various upgrades and card swaps and all manner of other changes to my system but never a start from scratch, ground-up build. Let me report that I had a very successful experience with very little (if any) problems in my venture. I was definitely waiting for the wisps of smoke after the snap, crackle and pop of my initial power up, but LO & BEHOLD, it all worked great from the from the start.

I didn't have a single device conflict throughout the entire process (and I won't say it's because of my skill, just that evidently Windows 98 has substantially improved it's resource allocation).

For the curious, below I show the type/brand of components that I have installed (purchased from various sources...mostly on the internet):

NEW EQUIPMENT/COMPONENTS

MOTHERBOARD AOpen AX6BC 5PCI/2ISA slots
CPU   Intel 400 MHz
MEMORY  128 Mb 16X72 CAS2 ECC Corsair
HARD DRIVE  10GXP IBM Deskstar 7200rpm 10.1 Gig
WINDOWS 98  Microsoft
2D VIDEO  Creative Labs RivaTNT 16 Mb
3D VIDEO  Best Data Arcade FX2 (2 cards SLI mode)
SOUND  MX300 PCI Diamond
CASE   InWin-Q500/3 (300watt Power supply)

REUSED EQUIPMENT/COMPONENTS

CD-ROM  Pioneer 32 speed
Hard Drive  2 Gig Maxtor
Network Card 3com 10/100 base adapter
Monitor  VIEWSONIC 17"
Keyboard  IBM KB-8923
Mouse  Microsoft Intellimouse
 

01/03/99 1720 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I guess that I just decided to get after it and get some things done with the web site 'cause I just uploaded and added the PICTURES link over on the left. I am not sure what all pictures I will eventually put up there but hey, at least it's a start.

01/03/99 1515 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
I've been working just a little bit between watching the Jacksonville Jaquars playoff attempt, on updating my links page. Basically just making it match what I'm trying to do with the rest of the site. Still have a lot more links to add but at least I'm finally making a move.

01/03/99 1230 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Already had my first mistake in the earlier posts. I've corrected the year to reflect 1999 instead of 1998. I wonder how many checks that I will continue to write that way...heh heh.

01/03/99 0228 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Just thought that I would state that earlier this evening I saw the new game Baldur's Gate from Black Isle Studios, a division of Interplay. It is a strict roleplaying game based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons universe. From what I've seen so far, if you are into roleplaying games at all, or even think you might be interested, this game will be the big kahuna. It's an isometric view similar to Diablo but with multiple character control, all stats, magic and immersion of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons world. From all appearances, the game world might also be huge. So far, I defiinitely like what I see but will comment more in the future.

01/03/99 0200 hours - T.D. "BamBam" Boydston
Well...as you can probably tell if you are looking at this thing, I am changing up the ol' page quite a bit. I believe that I will start just writing about things as they come to me (sometimes with long dry spells in between I'm sure). I have definitely been slack in my movie and book reviews (no, I haven't stopped reading or seeing them...just haven't been updating the pages...my bad!). Anyway, although it is still referred to as "Movie & Book Reviews"...I'll probably start throwing my two cents worth in about other stuff as well. As people that know me can vouch for, I'm definitely a guy who has never really grown up, and I'll try to start saying some stuff about many of the computer games that I have and perhaps get some pictures put up on some pages in the near future.

Anyway, enough for now. If you ever have any suggestions or ideas (that are within my limited ability), feel free to drop me an email.