VoodooPC’s very own Rahul Sood

If you don’t know who Rahul Sood is, he’s the founder of VoodooPC (they make really fast gaming computers that like 99% of the human population can’t afford). I met Rahul – and his brother Ravi – years ago when I was hired at Computer Gaming World to be the magazine’s technical editor. Rahul (and the rest of the Voodoo gang) and I have been through a lot together. Rahul, his brother and I were once accused by a rival computer manufacturer of being in some kind of sick, three-way, gay love triangle that, considering it would have involved a pair brothers, would also have made it incestuous: fierce! Rahul also took me to task on many occasions for slamming his machines: come on dude, the motherfuckers are too goddamn expensive. Anyway, he’s a good guy and his brother is the consummate Vegas wingman. I’m just saying is all.

Being Black is the Best!

In spite of rampant racism, trigger-happy members of the LAPD, high blood pressure and the sickle cell trait, being a black man in America is fucking awesome. Besides, being able to pull white chicks with relative ease, it’s a fact that everything that black people do is – prima facie – cool. Case in point, “The Seven,” a hip-hopera if you will that is an urban (read: black) re-imagining of the story of Oedipus, the Greek king who killed his father and married his mom. My asshole buddy Buhrmester brought this Yahoo! story to my attention and while I absolutely hate New York City, I really wish I was there right now cause I would love to get fucked up and go see this. Holler!

Xbox 360 Controller for Windows ($44.99)

Call em “sour grapes,” but I’m still pissed at Microsoft for not hooking me up with an Xbox 360. Sure, I could have waited in line like everyone else when the thing came out but I figured that years of dedication to the company’s original Xbox (in addition to being a not-so-big-time television personality) would have catapulted me far beyond having to do that. I was wrong. With that in mind I decided to throw an editorial-sized tantrum and boycott the device altogether. The problem though, is that there were a few Xbox 360 titles that I was interested in playing: most notably, Madden 2006. What’s a gamer to do?

Thankfully, Microsoft foresaw this situation and realized that a few of us hardcore PC gamer-types could benefit from the use of the Xbox 360’s controller and made it available for Windows. It’s the same as the wired controller that comes with the console and makes the experience of playing games like EA Sports’ Madden 2006 and THQ’s MotoGP3 Ultimate Racing Technology if not identical to, but in many ways, better than the Xbox 360 experience. For one, the graphics are better, and since I do my PC gaming on a Dell XPS laptop, I’m not tethered to my living room.

So, for all you PC gamers who still have an interest in sports and racing games, I implore you to check this baby out. It’s pretty sweet.

Hercules DJ Console MK2 ($399.99)

In my current role as “The Official Gadget Guy” on G4's “Attack of the Show," I see a lot of products: most of which fall into the “stupid” category. That said, every now and then I come across something that manages to satisfy both my interest in toys as well as my love for getting drunk and making an ass out of myself in bars. Enter the DJ Console MK2 by Canadian company Hercules. While the MK2 isn’t necessarily new, it’s new to me, and well, that’s all that counts.

Having procured a unit I thought, “How better to test the thing than by playing DJ and doing a set at a local club?” With that in mind I talked to my friends at Saints and Sinners Lounge in Culver City, CA and convinced them to let me give it a shot.

I grabbed my Dell XPS M170 laptop (packed with nearly 30GBs of MP3s and WMAs, the MK2, and headed to the club. Since I’ve never “spun” in front anyone I was decidedly nervous. Miraculously, or maybe through the magic of technology, I was a hit! I ended up spinning for about four hours and the crowd seemed genuinely pleased. Of course, a few troglodytes bemoaned the fact that I wasn’t using vinyl but to them I say, “Go fuck yourselves.”

If you’ve ever dreamed of DJ’ing – but don’t have thousands of records – you may want to check out the MK2. While you can use the two jog wheels to do stupid shit like scratching your MP3s (I feel silly writing that sentence), and the various other features to compete your descent into assholery, it’s plenty simple and fun to just be able to seamlessly mix your music as well beatmatch.

Anyway, I’ve said enough. If you’re still interested I suggest going to Hercules’ official site and reading more about it there.