Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 Core 2 Duo Motherboard

It seems the on-board video option limits the overclockability of the Intel chipset. I did not know this. However, it does perform flawlessly if you do not plan on overclocking. Interested in building an extremely stable Core 2 Duo system? Message me, I'll give it to you for cheap.

Word up, Wilmington, NC.

The first video from the Majestic Twelve's album "Schizophrenology", directed by Norwegian filmmakers Thomas Lien and Joachim Solum. Download the entire album for free here.

PS3 price cut by 20%, now includes HDMI 1.3

Successfully sending jaws to the floor at the Tokyo Game Show 2006, Sony has announced the final price for the PS3: from $538 to $428, and to everyone's disbelief, 1.3 HDMI as well. Good move by the boys at Sony.

Where's that crap coming from?

Blogotheque finds his way into the closet of the four-man band Grizzly Bear. The result is a haunting, yet mesmerizingly beautiful video.

Xiu Xiu's Nintendo Delivery

Tipper Brad writes in to direct our Wii-stained eyes to this batshit insane video from escaped lunatic rockstars, Xiu Xiu. And I do mean bats. And owls. And squirrels.

Misa Campo Makes Maxim

Nineteen-year-old Filipina-German bartender Misa Campo makes Maxim this month. Congratulate her on MySpace.

Shweeeet GiftWrap

As much as games, we like game presents. And blog Aeropause points to this retro-looking Space Invaders wrapping paper. This isn't produced by the French artist known as "Space Invader," but rather boutique stationary maker Whimsy Press. The Space Invaders paper goes for US $4.50 for two sheets. Perfect for wrapping the Wii and the PS3 this Christmas! That is, if you can find them. Get it here.

Backpack Seat and Cooler

Talk about something that will come in handy...think of those long concert lines or when you're at the beach or camping - something like this would be awfully nice to have. Pretty smart.

Made of Aluminum and polyester.

18 3/4h" x 12 7/8w" x 7 3/4d"

$79.00

Grab it here.

Nike Savvas: Atomic

Things are slow nowadays, now that school is out. I'm sore from excessive quest searching and raid boss killing. In the next few weeks, I'll be step-by-step modifying my new desktop with low-noise and heat control in mind.

So in the meantime I direct you to Gravestmor, who gives us this shot of the artist Nike Savvass's piece Atomic: full of love, full of wonder.

Suspended polystyrene balls held in place on nylon wire fill the room in a rough grid, running though the spectrum from reds to blues up the room with a few rogue orange balls escaping their hue, bubbling up into the cooler tones. Occasionally a set of industrial fans blow the whole thing into a jittery field of wobbling uncertainty. Like most things the balls soon reach thier natural frequency and begin bobbing in time, like a matrix of nervous junkies. See more here.

Imminent mass destruction.

I've decide to pull the trigger on my new core 2 duo purchase. No Intel chip has been this hot since the good ol' 2.4C days, so I'm pretty psyched even though I have a 25 page paper due in a couple of days. Still, I've never been this excited since the last time I went to IKEA.

Here are the exact specs of my new system:

Case: Lian Li V Cool PC-V600A
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6300
RAM: Patriot 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) 4-4-4-12
Video: MSI Radeon X1900XTX 512MB w/ AC Accelerox2 Cooling
Sound: Creative SB X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels Retail
HD1: 150GB WD Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA150
HD2: 320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA
CD: NEC Silver 16x DVDRW Burner
Floppy: ALPS Silver Internal Floppy Drive
Monitor: Dell 2005FPW 20.1" Wide Aspect Monitor
Speakers: M-Audio LX4 2.1 Expandable Studio Monitors w/ Subwoofer
Keyboard: Logitech UltraX Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech MX700
Extras: Custom Lian Li Bezels, Artic Cooling 120mm Silent Fans, Rubber Grommets, Custom Filter, Wristpad, etc.

I still gotta check the clearance on the Zalman CNPS9500 and Antec TPII 550W power supply. This case is tiny, but somehow fits all these huge things into it. Kind of reminds me of those VW commercials.

But damn, that system added up quick. No new car for me, for a while.

UPDATE: Thanks Chris for the heads up. It seems the distance from the motherboard to the powersupply is a mere 95mm. That means no 9500 will be able to fit in there unless I start sawing away parts of the power supply. Recommendations? I'm thinking of the ZALMAN CNPS7700-Cu whose height clearance is 67mm.

Klooty Cocoa Puffs

This is just a quick preview. You can't get the album in the US (unless you know what Amazon.com is) yet. It's only been released in the UK, and I'm happy to go on record as saying that this is one of the top 5 albums of the year. Download it now or buy it from Amazon. "Gods and Monsters" (I Am Kloot).

I Am Kloot - Over My Shoulder (MP3)

Success in 2006: Flickr & YouTube

Ed Cotton at Influx has a great post on why Youtube & Flickr have had enormous success. They epitomize brands in today's longtail environment that not only embrace community but have higher goals than pure capital. That in turns translates in sales. Sneaky huh? Ed has put together a couple insightful similarities. For the full article check out their site.

From Influx:
1. Do Something Better: Find a way or a better way for people to do something they want to do- in both these cases- it's sharing digital assets

2. Believe in What You Do: It's not about a money making/get rich quick scheme. You believe there's a better way and you are going to work it out. Success is a by-product of doing good.

3. Community is Everything: Listen to your community. This is not a one way conversation- there's on-going dialog relating to "policing", standards and ideas

4. Be Soulful: Even if you sell, like Flickr, don't sell your soul. The honest, no frills approach is right. Interestingly, while many thought the Yahoo purchase would lead to the the demise of Flickr, instead, they turned out to be much more of an influence on Yahoo than could have ever been predicted.

5. Be Authentic: These companies look like they have banned or never even heard of the phrases "brand strategy" and "marketing plan?. The lack of corporate polish adds to the feeling that there are real people behind the idea.

A lot of this reminds me of "young" companies hungry to make their mark and do things their way. Inevitably companies change over time, as capital increases often they lose their aggressiveness and need to innovate. Friendster the first social networking site is a blip compared to Myspace these days, will YouTube be around in 5 years? Read more.

Teddybears Cinematic Steez.

UK-based group brings to the table uprock junkieness.