Well, I decided out of a sense of morbidity to go see how the Nvidia 5700 Ultra does against the 9600XT. Xbitlabs has a *very* lengthy article on the subject, and it was interesting to see that Nvidia does well in the geometry department, and ATI trounces Nvidia in the pixel shader arena. (this graph will give you an idea *how* badly it trounces Nvidia, http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/fx5700ultra-9600xt/shadermark_640.gif

In general, the 5700's faster memory helps it out at higher resolutions, but at lower ones, the 9600XT leads.
Of course, this is all academic. How do they do in the game benchmarks?

Well, for the most part in the older games, the 9600XT sticks very very close to the 5700's score, until you get to the highest resolution, where ATI takes a small dive. However, the engines used in those benchmarks won't be around for too much longer, as is mentioned in the article.
The tests with the newer engines, taking advantage of Directx9, showed that the 9600XT smacks Nvidia around quite harshly. However, this is partially the fault of the 5700's drivers not being totally compatible with DX9, something that will be fixed later, according to this month-old review. (Does anyone know if it *has* been fixed yet?)
Also, pretty much any game where the 5700 shows an advantage over the 9600 XT? Enable FSAA and AF, and watch the 9600XT take off.
Small bit on overclocking: the 'overdrive' feature, according to the article, isn't yet usable for the 9600XT, a problem that will be fixed in the next Catalyst drivers.

My personal conclusion? If you play Counterstrike, Quake, etc. and run at low resolutions anyway for the max FPS and speed you can get? Go with the 5700 Ultra. But, if you're like me and play non-multiplayer stuff the majority of the time (being on dialup doesn't encourage me to compete online after all), and you just want beautifully rendered graphics, (as well as potential to run games coming out in the next year) definitely go with the 9600XT.

Of course, these conclusions are drawn from only one source, and if you would like to debate any of the above, go ahead and show me another article. Xbitlab's was very thorough however, so I feel confident in my statements.

Anima

Here's a post I just made on a modding forum about the video card I ordered, the ATI Radeon 9600XT, comparing it to Nvidia's equivalent card, the 5700 Ultra.

Ummm...whatever. The quiz is pretty funny though, :K)
http://www.liquidgeneration.com/quiz/images/ironman.jpg
To link it (the actual code):

Well, I was sick, but I'm back now. Back at work that is, wishing I hadn't worn a sweatshirt. Blargh.
Jonesy linked to an incredibly hilarious comic today on her LJ, and I immensely enjoyed my speedy spluring on their archive. I mean...this is the first comic so far to realistically portray the frustrations of trying to get your chocobos to breed. Gawd that was funny...but it wasn't the funniest comic in there either. Go take a look, it's called VGcats. VG...as in, video games. There's also some guy with underwear on his head named pantsman, but just try to avoid eye contact with him.
I got my Christmas card from Lly yesterday, so that rocked. I mailed my cards today, which means that I suck. I hope Lly's gets there in time... The others probably will, going to a couple US states and Canada.
My video card will arrive in four days, according to the shipping tracking order thingy. My sword...who knows? o,O It could be months. But at least I'll have it in time for a convention, if I make it to one. Yay!
Speaking of my costume, I had these fantasies last night (not like that,) about building a pair of uber-cool mechanized wings to wear with my trenchcoat. The idea started small...thinking of running glowire along a pair of those goth black angel wings you can buy at Hot Topics or whatever...but then I thought cybernetic would look much better. So...how would I do it? Alumninum tubing perhaps for the frame/'tendons', anodized steel blue if I can find a place that can do that for less than sixty bucks or so... But what to use for the membranes? Cellophane would suck. Maybe some sort of iridescent fabric? But that would look cheap. I'm thinking...black velvet. And, I could run strips of blinking/trickling blue LED's along the innner surfaces of the frame....yeah...that'd be sweet. But, I know nothing of welding, fabric-trimming, and it would mean lugging another battery around inside the coat, probably a larger one than 9V. o,o But, it's a cool idea still.

My LiveJournal 12 Days
My True Love gave to me...
12 bastians a-smiling.
11 gleesilverwinds a-drumming.
10 jamieotterbeins a-spinning.
9 jonesybunnys a-flaming.
8 kamberlanes a-kicking.
7 kirzens a-kissing.
6 llyanders a-rubbing.
5 red racethecoons.
4 guzzling rozberks.
3 Jamaican shadowstalkerws.
2 donkey talonsaurns.
And a whitekitten in a kiwi tree.
Get gifts! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

Mew. Sad friends all around, lately. It's probably partially pre-holiday-depression, which hit me earlier last week. I remembered things...people...that are lost to me, and teetered dangerously on returning to old pain cycles. So I feel for you folks now who are hurting...I wish I could do more to help.
In lighter news, I received my grades last night. 3 B's and a A, which gets me $410.00 back from my parents, as refunded tuition money. I've already spent 186 of that, buying a new video card for myself. I've bought myself quite a few things for Christmas, *-,-* Some comics, a sword, and now this video card... Oh well. Since I have a feeling the gifts from the family will be somewhat lacking, I can always take comfort in my loot. :K)

Alright! I bought a Boba Fett helmet from Asmo, a local fur. It fits alright, but it's very hard to see out of, not to mention breathe in. Still, looks good on my dresser.
My sister's visiting, with her daughter Abi, so there are four little children in the house again. Oy. Just wait 'til Christmas morning, my pessimism keeps telling me.
Got my issues of Genus and Furrlough that I ordered. Lovely stuff...though unfortunately two of the Genus issues had material already recapped in a 'Best of' issue I have, so it was kind of disappointing.
Also received the silvery wolfess applique meant to go on glass. It's a bit too risque to risk putting it somewhere my folks would see it, :K/ Kind of rules out the car for now. Hummm.

Yea! I won a...*looks at box* Santa Lampshade Votive Holder, in the raffle at the Christmas party! Umm...what the hell?! :KD Anyways, yeah. I'm stuffed. They had that dish with the sour cream, potato chunks and cheese...ohhhhhh... Anyways, I just read a quote in this Terry Pratchett book that was too good to leave unshared with whoever might still read this.
"Animal minds are simple, and therefore sharp. Animals never spend
time dividing experience into little bits and speculating about all
the bits they've missed. The whole panoply of the universe has been
neatly expressed to them as things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run
away from, and (d) rocks. "

What the... This can't be right! I don't even drink...

I tashte like Alcohol. Heh. Heh. I taste like beer. I like beer. Buy me a beer. I'm not drunk, I can drink plenty without... What was I saying? Beer. What Flavour Are You?

Wow, been awhile since I posted. o,o Anyways, I won an Ebay auction yesterday for a really nifty sword called the Ninja 3000, (okay, kind of a lame name, but you should see the pics. Google it, they're easy enough to find.) It has a scabbard that locks to the sword, and releases with a pushbutton. It ought to be longer than the crappy katana I bought, and should have much more of an edge to it. (My crap-tana doesn't *have* and edge, just a point. But the point is nice. It penetrates cardboard boxes with ease. ;K)
I did the Christmas shopping for three members of my family online, and hope to do the same for the other two members, once I know what they want. 'The Joys of Yiddish' for dad, an Amazon gift certificate for Mom, and a REM cd for my punk brother. (I had a dream last night he was messing with my computer, so I cancelled the downloads he was trying on it, and he attacked me! Cut my hand up pretty badly with a shard of glass, the freak. The cops came, I explained what was happening as I stood there bleeding, and they nodded and left. o,O Ooookay...)

I need to send out my Christmas cards... I don't have too many, just four really nice ones I bought from Ozfoxes (the couple that does the Fauxpaws webcomic). One for Shadowstalker, one for Kirzen, one for Llyander, and one for Krys. Everyone else gets cuddles when I see 'em online. ;K) I'm also sending a scan of a card to Finfarenath. *hugs the dwaggie*

Today at work is the holiday party, in an hour or so. I brought green bean casserole, but it really needs to be heated up. :KP I'll try microwaving it, if I can fit the dish in the microwave. I'll update ya later.

Here're some of my favorites,
(http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-6893 is a panther one available in 3xl, 19 bucks) (http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-0328 wolf, 3xl, 19 bucks) (http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-19645 wolf, 3xl, 19 bucks) (http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-19871 wolf, 3xl, 19 bucks) (http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-6811 wolves, 20 bucks) (http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-6830 cute wolf, 3xl, 19 bucks) (http://www.fit2a-t.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=X-8311 tiger, 3xl, 20 bucks)

Ohhhh, cool! There are tons of wildlife T-shirts here, http://www.fit2a-t.com/default.asp and they have my size! (*grumble, for 3 bucks extra, grumble*)

GAWD I hate not being able to get comments from people, on blogger...
http://blog.sms.ac/animakitty/ will let you leave comments, but...it's so ANNOYING. The site is built around the concept of updating your blog and such using your mobile phone, and...ugh. It's just so demanding and linear and stupid... So I'll use it sparingly. :KP Does anyone even read this one anymore? If ya do, drop me a comment at the *shudder* new blog up above.

Just got out of a HURT team briefing here at work. A meeting, in other words. Not really sure what HURT stands for...
Anyways, there's a new Badgery animation on Weebl's page, blended with the Two Towers. Good stuff, go see it.
FRIDAY!!!! Just 5.5 hours left until the weekend. I'll hear in a couple weeks how I did in my classes, and see if I get my tuition money back. If I *do* get it back, (And I think I will,) then I'll go ahead and buy that new video card I've been agonizing over for months and months. Then I can pull the Geforce 2 MX and stick it in the server case, and render Windows 98 in it's 32 bit glory. :K)
Anyways, slow day at work, being a Friday. Dunno what I'll do this weekend...we'll see.

Listening to: The Devil Went Down to Jamaica

Ummm...okay. MSN posted 10 stupid US Laws today, and I thought I'd post a few of them here.

1.
LAW: It is illegal to transport a skunk across state lines.
COUNTRY: USA / STATE: Tennessee
CITATION: 70-4-208. Unlawful importation of skunks - Penalty.
ACTUAL: (a) It is unlawful for any person to import, possess, or cause to be imported into this state any type of live skunk, or to sell, barter, exchange or otherwise transfer any live skunk, except that the prohibitions of this section shall not apply to bona fide zoological parks and research institutions.


9.
LAW: It is illegal to wear a bulletproof vest while committing a murder.
COUNTRY: USA / STATE: New Jersey
CITATION: 2C:39-13 Unlawful use of body vests.
ACTUAL: A person is guilty of a crime if he uses or wears a body vest while engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit murder, manslaughter, robbery, sexual assault, burglary, kidnapping, criminal escape or assault under N.J.S.2C:12-1b. Use or wearing a body vest while engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit a crime of the first degree is a crime of the second degree. Otherwise it is a crime of the third degree.

I had two exams yesterday: Western Civilization, and Conversational French. French was kind of a joke, but I choked badly on the essay part of the test, (50 points) But, guess what? It doesn't MATTER! *maniacal laughter* See, I learned from a student that the professor is *dropping the lowest exam score*. Now, of four exams for the entire class, that being pretty much our only grades, that's a *big* deal. And since I never scored lower than a 83 this quarter, it meant I could happily bomb the exam. :K) I tried my best of course, just in case, and did well up until the essay question about the absolutist-style rules of Lous XIII and XIV. Bleah. I BS-ed it almost totally. 'Louis the XIII prepared the way for Louis XIV'. |KD
Tomorrow I just have to go in to hand over some reworked homework, for more credit. For some reason Journalism counts his handing-in-of-stuff as 60% of my grade, o,o So, yeah, I *do* have to go. But then, I'm free 'til Jan 5th!

Another weird quiz. Whee. I don't really know how well it portrays me...I expected a black rose or something...but the text along with the black rose is terrible.


Your soul is bound to the Yellow Rose: The
Gentle.

"I've travelled through the land of
surrender and seen it all. I throw my heart
out and keep my head up, and now I travel
through the land of peace."

The Yellow Rose is associated with friendship,
intuition, and fun. It is governed by the
goddess Hestia and its sign is The Intertwined
Rings, or True Friendship.

As a Yellow Rose, you always look out for your
friends. You would much rather have strong
ties with friends than a single tie with a
lover and your devotion to your friends is
clear. You may have great intuition and be
able to read emotions clearly, but sometimes
you can seem distant yourself.


What Rose Is Your Soul Bound To?
brought to you by Quizilla

I finally did the engraving on the plexi over the weekend. I placed a stencil over the plexi panel, used masking tape to fasten it around the edges, and then used a black marker on the protective plastic on the *opposite* side of the panel to mark out the detail lines. Then, I cut tiny little strips of masking tape to lay along the black marker paths on the engraving surface. Then I went to town with a dremel and an engraving bit. The pics below (scanned, sorry. The digital camera, bad as it is, is out of commission.) give you an idea how it turned out.

http://www.lemonizer.com/upload/uploadsNov/lion2a.jpg

The frosted look is nice, but wait 'til you see it with light behind it!

http://www.lemonizer.com/upload/uploadsNov/lion2b.jpg

MAN those lines were annoying to do.

http://www.lemonizer.com/upload/uploadsNov/lion2c.jpg

This part was probably the worst done...the stencil I drew and used wasn't wonderful right here, and the errors just multiplied in the engraving. But from a distance it still looks alright.

Well, not bad for a first try, eh? Different patches look a bit different, as I was still refining my engraving technique. I'll be going over it again to get any tiny patches I missed...then give it a good washing, before drilling the holes for the hinge.

Anima

Kinda slow weekend. Loooong weekend too. I had Thursday off school, and took Friday off work to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday better, (not that we had one; ours was last week, so my sister could share it with us.) Played and (accidentally) beat Castlevania, but it was the worst ending Shirra tells me, so I went back and did things right. I'm currently collecting body parts of Vlad the Impaler. o,o
I finally got my engraving done for the plexi sidepanel! Woot! It looks okay, really. I'll use the scanner here to get a nice few images of it, and post 'em somewhere.
I think I may got to Anthrocon this year... I have an offer of roomspace with a MUCKfriend, and a very probable ride up there, with local furs. Cool, no?
Final exams are this Tuesday, (I think both of them are, at least.) The other classes...well, it's just a deadline on Thursday for turning in revised projects for credit. Whee.