geekySo I got my TV tuner card in today, installed it in my computer with no trouble.
Great little device, it is. I can just barely fit one episode of The Amazing Race on a CD at 320x240 at full audio quality, 25 FPS, and the compression artifacting isn't too bad. If I had a DVD burner, I could do better, but I didn't want to go to the $250 expense when I bought my computer- and I still think that's the right choice, because what I can get on a CD is good enough.
It also works perfectly as a display for my GameCube, the thing that was the really important part. (Yeah, I've got my priorities straight...) No lag if I have timeshifting off, and the quality is better than I can get from the television I had it on- the inherent lag of an LCD screen is a little annoying, but it's not too bad. It'll be more than sufficient.
So I'm all ready to not head home for the weekends. I'll actually be able to spend time with friends next semester...
Have you seen any of the magicthegathering.com articles for the new set: "Ravnica: City of Guilds?" It's cool because it's gonna be based on multicolor themes. The first set is gonna focus on Black/Green, Green/White, Blue/Black, and Red/White. I also love the European metropolis theme which will be a nice contrast to Kamigawa.
I don't care about the rumors that it will make elfs too powerful (only three of them are actually good to begin with, and they're not even Onslaught block). What I do care about is the preview card Temple Garden. What were they thinking! That is sooooo close to Savannah! Why don't they just reprint the duals? Seriously, this irks me. In type 1, there will be no distinguishable difference between original dual lands and the Ravnica imitations. They are way better than the recently reprinted pain lands, which does not seem right to me. What do you think?
Savannah - Counts as both a forest and a plains, t: W or G.
Temple Garden - Comes into play tapped unless you pay 2 life. Counts as both a forest and a plains, t: W or G.
I did buy a 9thEd'n booster pack yesterday, though; it was profoundly mediocre except for one particular uncommon and an amusing note. The second of the commons was Unholy Strength; the third was Holy Strength...
Anyway, I've entered the deck we built for me into Magic Workstation. The only format it's legal in is Type 1; however, it is only one card away from being Extended-legal. I'm considering swapping out that one card, but it is, predictably, one of the best cards in the deck- which is why it was the target of an explicit ban. I'm considering swapping it for the good uncommon I got in the 9th pack.
Even though the cards have largely different foci, both work well in the deck, and while the card in it is much better, it's also banned in Extended- can I swap Frantic Search out in favor of Icy Manipulator?