owenSoft.net

January 2026 redesign (ChangeLog)

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 09:49:53 +0000

665

I am not sure what I will play with this year. I might dig in heavy with mastheads as I am kinda slacked off on them over the last couple years. Of course the css code will be based on last years template but I feel like going harder this year. hard and done. we will see.

I am using the starfield colours as base then seeing where I go from there. I think I have done pretty much every design I could with this html layout though I still find some bugs here and there. It more about function. Its always been about function. Function over design. Most of these designs could have been done 20 years ago with old tech but tastes and times change - monitors get bigger. The design is more a sign of the times than my own personal taste.

I do try to mix it up a bit but there is only so much I can do. Mixing colours, borders and padding with a eye catching masthead (rip dooce.com ). I have a page for the old mastheads - surprisingly I did not create any ones in 2025 even though I was making lots of photos. Modern CSS has added light/dark mode and mobile/widescreen layouts that I need to always consider. On older browsers it simply defaults to the standard layout with the sidebar pushed to the footer. It works seamlessly which is a rare thing in modern tech.

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New Kingston (Street Photography)

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 10:03:52 +0000

665

First Post of 2026. Still digging through my archive of September 2023

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Keep Our Workplace Safe (And the Sign Says..)

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 12:11:07 +0000

665

August 2023

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In the shade (Gallery Wall)

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 11:44:15 +0000

665

August 2023. Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth

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New Xbox 360 games - Round 5 - Nov 2025 (Video Games)

Sat, 27 Dec 2025 14:54:01 +0000

665

For this run I decided to take advantage of the buy 2 get one free under $10 discount on website called the videogame company - In prior purchases I had bought most of the games that I really wanted. I started to run out of storage space, so the current strategy is to buy loose disk only games so reduce space and save some money.

I bought 15 games this trip, got 4 free - 2 did not fall into the discount because they were over 10$. I think a got a good batch of classics, and gems.

Before purchase I spent roughly 3 month curating this list. I usually avoid old games (prior to 2010) but the orange box is highly rated - had to pick it up. I love aliens games so got AVP as well. I have a case with a missing disk so I picked up AC3 and also picked up AC-BF because everyone keep mentioning the pirate sections being the "best thing" since sliced bread.

Edge Cases

Alot of the games I wanted did not have loose copies for sale. I added splinter cell game because I admired the "text in the 3d environment" graphics when I first saw it in a trailer many years ago. GTA IV was released in 2008 but it is highly rated by fans - even against GTA5 so I picked that up as well. The other games where mostly filler. Decided to give Borderlands 2 a second attempt even though I bailed on BL1. I skipped the fable games, halo - they seem very rudimentary - even though they get a lot of praise from audiences. I usually avoid multi-disc games but "L.A. Noire" has been ported everywhere so I might as well play it now rather than later - it currently costs $35 on the switch - I hope I get all the discs.

Some games did not make the list

I was gonna buy shadow of Mordor but the reviews complained about poor optimization. Dragon Age - Inquisition doesn't allow you to install the play disc which is a deal breaker for me . Late life cycle games are usually tricky to back port but if done well can be a lot of fun on old hardware. Far Cry 4 did not make the list - tempting but there was no loose copy for sale so I was not pushing it - far cry 3 + watch dogs is enough Ubisoft for one lifetime. I did not buy any fighting games. 1 racing+ 1 RPG barely made the list - racing and RPGs get tedious very quickly even when played on easy mode.

The list (21 discs)

Battlefield 4 (2 disc) - free $2.99
SSX - $7.99
The Orange Box - $22.99
Grand Theft Auto GTA IV (includes Case)- $7.99
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (2 disc) (includes Case)- $10.99
Aliens vs. Predator - $12.99
Splinter Cell Conviction - free $4.99
South Park The Stick of Truth - $8.99
Resident Evil 5 - $5.99
Project Gotham Racing 4 - free $4.99
L.A. Noire (3 discs) - $6.99
Alone in the Dark (2 disc) - $6.99
BioShock Infinite - $5.99
Borderlands 2 - $5.99
Assassin's Creed III (2 disc) - free $2.99

Total: $103.00 USD + $13 shipping

BOOM got hit with UPS taxes/tariffs due to shipping from Canada to the USA $71 USD!

Total: $103.00 USD + $13 shipping + $7 shipping + $71 taxes/tariffs

Conclusion

This should round off my xbox 360 playlist. Its amazing be able to buy most of the games of a platform so easily. Especially now in the modern gaming world of gaming subscriptions, games that never end, constant updates, downloads and paid DLC. I am not sure when I will complete all these games but I know for sure that they will still work when I am ready to put the disk into the drive. I will play them in a 4 game rotation until I get my heart is content. No need to rush or burn money on a monthly subscription while I am a sleep or do something else. I will write another article on my play strategy

Addendum

Gonna need some multi-disk cases. Black Multi-6 Black DVD Cases for 6-Disc Storage $17 USD

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House Every Weekend (Logbook)

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:09:07 +0000

665

It is Christmas again and I am taking it low key as I usually do. trying not to die in a car accident. I think the overall reward of getting older is the ability to focus and free yourself from mental slavery. The downside is that my world view is so wide that I need to juggle too many things in life while time is finite. It is an immense achievement when I actually complete anything significant. I complete little things but perfectionism makes the state of completeness even more elusive as my standards get higher by the second.

I am losing track of the projects I have put off that are sleeping in my back burner. As the world gets tighter and the build environment changes I am forced to adapt to things I thought I had escaped in my earlier life and now things just move fast. Now I am here again in this space and time on the edge of a new year. A continuation of an old year and 4 months before a new birthday. Hear we go again.

Oh my camera died recently which is probably the reason I am able to actually put pen to paper, keyboard to screen. I will try to do as much as I can before I buy a new camera because I will buy a new one - I love photography too much. Too much that it might be killing me softly with its song. There wont be many best of lists at the end of this year. of course I will still do some of the foundational stuff but I will, hopefully, spend the last couple days in 2025 picking up speed.

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March for Palestine (The people project)

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:50:15 +0000

665

November 2023

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Island Grille, Nov 2023 (On the menu)

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:47:18 +0000

665

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Jakes Treasure Beach, Aug 2023 (And the Sign Says..)

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:44:39 +0000

665

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Review Batman Arkam City on Xbox 360 (Video Games)

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:09:07 +0000

665

Dropped this in after completing Alan Wake. The main menu is really slick and the controls are easy to learn. This is definitely a brawler game so it might get boring over time but I will see how it goes. Controls are simple basic punch, punch then reverse/counter. Batman talks to himself alot as well. Hopefully this is just the early game tutorial.

As I progressed further the gameplay does feel abit clunky. The fighting is not fun. As I play its devolved into a button masher with magic reversals. The city though very detailed provides alot of distractions for you to complete. I stumbled on a ringing phone side quest that was not fun.

I am starting to get very annoyed with this game. The missions are boring, the levels are A-B-C-D fetch quests. The catwoman DLC appears in game but I cannot interact with in the main batman story because I DO NOT HAVE THE DLC. Batman just chugs along from one point to the next beating up baddies that all dress the same and complain about the same stuff. Its a pretty game with lots of little gadgets but the game is not fun. The fighting is not fun. I will play it a little more. Currently 5% into the game.

I think I am at about 13% now. Acquiring more gadgets as I go along. Some of these gadgets seem to be unnecessary keys to doors that the developer added to make the game seem deeper than it is. I sometimes walk up to doors that should just open but then realize that I need to pull out the power tool to shoot the top - its a mechanic that gets tired fast.

The longer I play the more clunky the game gets. It is as if the game throws a new gimmick at you every new mission. When batman is fighting in crowds the chaos gets even worse as you try to switch button combos for each enemy type. As the game auto-locks to each enemy it is hard for me to build any kind of rhythm. I end up mashing buttons until everyone dies.

I was surprised when I finished the main game at 30%. It means that 70% of the game is just fluff and riddler clues. I did enjoy figuring out the clues but fact that they are all over the place which means that I would have to spend ages running around looking for them. I quit out after completing the main story.

Conclusion

I am giving this a 7/10. Its a good looking game with an open-ish world. The enemies just stand around waiting for you to beat them up. The audio is great - great voice acting - there is always some form of chatter over the radio. The combat is clunky and boring.

Strategy

Play it on easy. Its short game that is mostly story that you could watch on youtube. I did not do the challenges because I did not enjoy the combat enough to go down that well.

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Tastee Couple Up (Food and Eats)

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 11:12:10 +0000

665

Cross Roads. Sept 2023

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Alan Wake on Xbox 360 Review (Video Games)

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 15:50:59 +0000

665

After finishing up Thief I popped in Alan Wake thinking that it was a quick old game but the title screen said 2010. First impression the game feels very scripted. Like a simpler version of uncharted. Lots of single use, scripted set pieces and audio narration telling you to move on and stop wasting time looking for stuff in the corners. I feel like I might not be finishing this game. Hopefully it opens up at some point before I get bored with the whole thing.

I am not sure if this is a game or a tv show. Alan wake likes to narrate to himself - alot. He narrates for things that seem obvious, "show dont tell" is what they always say. The narration and voice acting - very excellent - makes be want to avoid doing what I am told but in most cases so far the space is empty with nothing else to do but that which is laid out before you. So I guess you are stuck in a tv show, not much I can do but play along. Definitely a one time play through or a watch on youtube kinda game.

So far the shooting feels good except I keep running out of ammo and I can only carry so much. This is definitely going to be a problem as the game gets tougher. Not every game that is highly rated on the internet is actually good. Sometimes it is just hype and fanboy-ism. But I will play it a bit more before I give up.

Conclusion

Its a good game. 7/10. I will certainly never play it again. There are some sections of the late game that are insufferable to play through. Also other sections where you ask yourself "wtf just wait until daytime!". Silent hill with guns in a forest. There are collectables you can search for in the levels.

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Portmore Fontana, Pricemart (Street Photography)

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 12:00:44 +0000

665

Driving round town. shopping for stuff. November 2023

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Sovereign Village, Portmore (Street Photography)

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 07:37:23 +0000

665

Dec 2023

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Police (And the Sign Says..)

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 11:24:02 +0000

665

Downtown, Dec 2023

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Downtown, Dec 2023 (The shadow project)

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 11:21:13 +0000

665

Downtown, Dec 2023

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Mass Effect 3 for Xbox 360 review (Video Games)

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:31:32 +0000

665

This being my first Mass effect game I may be coming in to the franchise very late but this story feels like the Halo live action - you go somewhere to get something because of something else. As per usual I am playing on casual/easy mode because I do not see much use in making choices after every convo. Tell me a story and leave me alone. I also turned on auto upgrades once I saw the layout of the skill tree. It is nice to have these options in a video game; It stream lines the experience and removes pointless menu clicking that I experienced in Dead Island.

Lots of talking and story building in this game. The mechanics are simple except for throwing grenades/power but they do not matter much just shoot the baddies. I am on the ship now, we will see where this goes.

For this session I spent some time walking around the ship talking to the NPCs that I could find. Eventually I had to leave the galaxy to get the story going again. The ship is not as fleshed out. It has alot of rooms but the rooms are empty. DeusExHR has more feel to its rooms.

Whenever I go back to a central hub or my ship I literally have to run around the place talking to everyone. So much talking in this game and very little shooting. At least it lets me keep track of the story but I have not found the ability to love anyone yet. Aint no love in this game, only war.

I am getting to visit more interesting planets. Some are only for a little shooting but I do find it fun to do all these side quests.

Conclusion

Space opera with a few shoot-e bits. 6/10. You spend alot of time watching other people talk. I am not sure if I am enjoying it or just patiently waiting for it to end. The little planets your visit are fun and interesting, some more than others.

Strategy

Play on casual and turn off dialog choices. I spend alot of time running around the Citadel talking to everyone just to complete some conversations. Most of it is pointless but some areas are interesting to interact with. Basically after every vision I talk to everyone on the ship to check if they have any new quests - same thing with the citadel. Its annoying but its my base strat.

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PGR4 is a retro dream (Video Games)

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 08:56:33 +0000

665

Its like HD PS2 vibes. I was not going to buy another racing game for the xbox360 but Project Gotham Racing 4 kept popping up on the internet forums so I took a chance on it. Plus it was cheap ( free $4.99 + tarrifs). I am gonna do a full review of it late but here are some screenshots for now. Oh and this is the first game that allowed me to takes ingame screenshots! These blog posts would be so much more fun if all the games on the console allowed me to capture screen shots but alas retro struggle.

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Juici Patties, Dec 2023 (On the menu)

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:02:03 +0000

665

Mandeville

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By the water (Gallery Wall)

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 09:30:48 +0000

665

Dec 2023

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Downtown, Waterfront, Kingston (The Jamaica photo project)

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:50:54 +0000

665

December 2023

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NFS Rivals for Xbox 360 Review (Video Games)

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:43:05 +0000

665

It seems to be a thing with these EA games with soundtracks where they tie the SFX and in game Voices are on the same audio control. So if you turn down the SFX you cannot hear the tutorial. The tutorial and the story doesnt matter either way just do the objective. The game looks good, kinda funky handling on the turns. It keeps pushing online features, and minor objectives or other connected features that pull me out of the game. I swear all these EA games are the same and I cannot even get to enjoy the licensed music without interruption.

I already feel a dread coming over me even at this early stage of starting the game. It forces you to install it to the harddrive. I will drive around in the open world a bit to see what fun there is but I am already getting that Skate 3 vibes of pointless open world bloat. The game does feel alittle like Burnout Paradise but not as fun.

In my second play session I managed to figure out the map situation and buy some "pursuit tech" which makes it easier to catch racers as a cop. Using the map to spawn at different command posts makes it easier to see different sections of the map.

The more I play the more I am enjoying the graphics - its a pretty game in some spots. The objectives are busy work but at least I get to drive around the map while listening to the music. I decided to turn the sfx all the way down because the story narration is not really worth the annoyance. So far I have been playing as a cop and doing the point to point missions - forgot what they where called in the game. An annoying aspect of the open world is that you can be cruising around minding you own business and accidentally bum a racer and the game goes in to chase pursuit mode which changes your music a standard dramatic soundtrack that you have heard a million times before.

Conclusion

I give it a 6/10, triple A slop. This is another of those games where you either like driving around an open world, doing activities or you dont. The game did grow on me.
Everything is slick polished, a hard drive is required to play the game and this game disk makes the xbox 360 sound like a jet engine - Its spinning faster than ever! So make sure to install all your xbox 360 games! It got good fun out of it after about 8 hours of learning the mechanics.

Play Strategy

Play the hot pursuit races, select it right from the world map. I do the same race over and over because it is the easiest way catch racers as the police. You can catch 4 racers per run without needing to search the over world. Make sure you equip "race tech" to help your quickly take down the other cars. Tech that shoots ahead of you is most effective because you will spend most of your time behind the cars you are chasing.

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Long summer (The shadow project)

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 07:31:09 +0000

665

Cross Roads, Kingston, November 2023. Sun hot.

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YengYeng (The wheels project)

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 07:17:09 +0000

665

October2023

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Reds Cycle (And the Sign Says..)

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 06:45:38 +0000

665

Jakes, August 2023

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