New Years Eve Party Now live

Cellebrate the New Year with The Dumb Ass Gamer and Star Wars going live now join in the fun in chat and watch live at www.twitch.tv/gamestop692

Bring in the new year with The Dumb Ass Gamer.

Bring in the New Year with The Dumb Ass Gamer and Star Wars The Old Republic (12:00 i do a shot of Jager Bomb to bring in the new year) www.twitch.tv/gamestop692

Added Google + Button

Hi everyone site update I added a Google + Button at the bottom of the page for thedumbassgamer.info feel free to click on the + button and share. Also there is a Facebook Like button down there as well. :)

Live Cast 12/26/2011 Star Wars

Going live playing Star Wars The Old Republic Join in on the fun watch and chat live at www.twitch.tv/gamestop692

Marry Christmas

Wishing everyone a vary Marry Christmas.  I hope that you all have a wonderful time celebrating this time of the year with friends and loved one's.  I know i have not been posting as much dew to the holiday season but I will be posting more videos and much more in the coming weeks after New Years.  Thank you all for your support. :)

Empire Earth Gold Edition Free.

GOG.com will be giving out Empire Earth Gold Edition for free next week. This is a 48 hours only event, from Monday 12 December until Wednesday 14.

Empire Earth Gold Edition Free Via GOG.com

Diablo III Opening Cinematic

Coming Soon: Battle.net Balance

Battle.net Balance

Soon, we’ll be introducing a new feature called Battle.net Balance that will give players an alternate way to purchase Blizzard products and services directly through their Battle.net account. Players will be able to “charge up” their Battle.net Balance using a variety of payment methods, and then use their Battle.net Balance to buy services like World of Warcraft character transfers, digital products like pets and mounts, and more. Players will also be able to use their Battle.net Account Balance to buy items and store their earnings from Diablo III’s currency-based auction house once the game is released.  We’ll be rolling out the new Battle.net Balance feature in the weeks ahead -- but in the meantime, check out our Battle.net Balance FAQ to find out more about how it’s going to work.

Battle.net Balance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is Battle.net Balance?

Battle.net Balance is a new Battle.net feature that will allow players to store value in their Battle.net account, which can be used to buy Blizzard Entertainment products such as World of Warcraft game time, paid services, digital versions of games, and in-game pets and mounts.  With the upcoming launch of Diablo III, players in certain regions will also be able to use their Battle.net Balance to acquire items from the game's currency-based auction house. Diablo III players will also have the option to store earnings from items they sell on the auction house in their Battle.net Balance, to be used on future auction house purchases or to buy Blizzard products. For more information on the Diablo III auction house, read the auction house FAQ.

2. How will I add value to my Battle.net Balance?

When you log in to Battle.net Account Management, you will be able to add value to your Battle.net Balance through a variety of different payment methods, such as debit or credit cards or a variety of region-specific payment methods. Please note that depending on the payment method, it may take some time for the Battle.net Balance you purchase to become available to use.

3. Can I convert my Battle.net Balance into cash?

Once funds or Diablo III auction house earnings have been added to your Battle.net Balance, you are not able to convert that Balance into cash. Battle.net Balance can only be used to buy designated Blizzard Entertainment products or to acquire items from Diablo III's currency-based auction house. In certain regions, Diablo III players who wish to "cash out" the proceeds from the sale of an item from the currency-based auction house instead of storing it in a Battle.net Balance will be able to do so via PayPal for an additional fee. Players will need to determine which method they wish to use at the time they post their auction. For more information on the currency-based auction house, see the FAQ.

4. Will I need to use Battle.net Balance to make Diablo III auction-house purchases, or will other payment options be available?

Diablo III players will be able to make purchases on the currency-based auction house directly (without using Battle.net Balance) via several popular payment methods, such as major credit cards. A wider range of payment alternatives will be available for those who wish to use Battle.net Balance.

5. What currencies can I use to charge my Battle.net Balance?

In general, you will be able to add value to your Battle.net Balance using your local currency (in EU, for example, players will be able to use Euros, GBP, and RUB). In certain regions where game realms and servers are shared by players in multiple countries, you may also be able to use additional countries' currencies. However, please note that Battle.net Balances for different currencies are tracked separately and cannot be used interchangeably. For example, you cannot use Battle.net Balance purchased using U.S. dollars in a non-USD-based auction house, and you are not able to transfer Battle.net Balance purchased in one currency to or from Battle.net Balance purchased with a different currency. We'll have further details to share closer to release.

6. Will there be a limit to how much I can store in my Battle.net Balance?

Yes, there will be limits on how much can be stored in your Battle.net Balance. We'll have more information closer to release.

7. Can I transfer my Battle.net Balance to another Battle.net account, or give Battle.net Balance as gift?

Your Battle.net Balance is non-transferrable. At launch, there will not be a way to give Battle.net Balance as a gift to another Battle.net account holder; however, we're looking into the possibility of adding that feature in the future.

8. How long will my Battle.net Balance remain in my account? Will it ever expire?

Depending on local laws and regulations, we may be required to remove the Battle.net Balance from any Battle.net account that hasn't been accessed in over 3 years.

9. Will I be able to track purchases made with my Battle.net Balance?

Yes, you'll be able to track your purchases through Battle.net Account Management.

10. Can I use my Battle.net Balance as the automatic payment method for my recurring World of Warcraft subscription?

No, though you are able to pre-purchase World of Warcraft game time using your Battle.net Balance.

11. What payment methods are available to charge my Battle.net Balance?

All of the payment methods we currently support through Battle.net will be available to charge your Battle.net Balance, with a few exceptions. We'll have more details to share closer to launch.

12. Can I use Battle.net Balance in combination with other payments to make a purchase?

You will be able to use Battle.net Balance in combination with another payment type to make certain purchases through Battle.net Account Management, such as World of Warcraft paid services. However, you will not be able to combine payment types to make Diablo III auction house purchases.

13. Are there any fees associated with using Battle.net Balance?

Blizzard Entertainment does not charge additional fees to add to your Battle.net Balance or to use it to buy Blizzard Entertainment products. However, there are listing and transaction fees associated with the Diablo III currency-based auction house, regardless of the payment type.

14. Where can I see my Battle.net Balance?

Your Battle.net Balance will be visible in Battle.net Account Management, as well as in-game in Diablo III.

15. Is Battle.net Balance available in the Diablo III beta test?

In the Diablo III beta test, we are currently testing the in-game functionality of Battle.net Balance. Players are given a limited number of "beta bucks" to use on currency-based auction house purchases. These "beta bucks" reflect how Battle.net Balance might be displayed and/or used when Diablo III is ultimately released, though as with all things in the beta, this is subject to change. Please note that any "beta bucks" earned in the beta test will not be retained when Battle.net Balance is released.

by Blizzard Entertainment (link back.)
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&tag=balancefaq&rhtml=true

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4067071/Coming_Soon_Battlenet_Balance-12_9_2011

Star Wars The Old Republic Part 6

Skyrim Creation Engine

Bethesda have just announced that the Skyrim mod tools, the Creation Kit, will let players upload their mods to Steam’s Workshop service.

Players will be able to choose the mods they want on the Steam Workshops website, even via mobile devices, and they’ll be downloaded and installed automatically the next time you play. More details and the release date below.

The Creation Kit will be out in January, and will apparently be even more versatile than Oblivion’s tools, letting players mess with Radiant Story. 

From  Bethesda Blog-

As of today, it’s been three weeks since we released Skyrim worldwide. We’re simply blown away by the response, from new and old fans, and amazed by the sheer number of people playing the game. It’s been absolutely fantastic hearing your stories, seeing early mods, and watching fan videos (more live music ones please, we love those).

We want to thank everyone reading this for playing our game and supporting all it tries to do. We wouldn’t have this success without you, and we want you to know we’re committed to making your Skyrim experience even better. And not just in the short term, but over the life of the game. Here’s a quick peek at what we’re working on right now:

Creation Kit  — Beginning in January, PC players will be able to download for free the same development tools we used at Bethesda Game Studios to create Skyrim. In tandem with the Creation Kit’s release, we will roll out a new Wiki and videos to help you get started. It also features something we think you’re going to love…

Steam Workshop – We’re excited to share news that we’ve been working closely with Valve to integrate Steam Workshop into the Creation Kit. Using the Workshop, you’ll have free user content with the push of a button. The Creation Kit will bundle your mod and upload it to the Workshop, where everyone can browse, rate, and flag mods for download. You’ll be able to do this from any web device, including your smartphone. Like a live Netflix queue, when you fire up Skyrim, mods you flagged will be automatically downloaded and installed. Everyone here is really excited about the opportunities and possibilities this opens up for our entire community.

Prefer to use existing modding sites? Not a problem. You’ll still be able to upload/share/access Skyrim mods on fan-created mod sites.

Continued Game Updates – This week we released update 1.2 across all platforms, and we’ll be releasing an incremental update next week. We anticipate it will be up on PC first, and then hit PS3 and Xbox 360 later in the week. Among other things, the update will fix issues like magic resistance not calculating properly and the rare, amazing backwards flying dragon. Once the update is released, we’ll share the full release notes.

After the holidays, we’ll continue to release regular updates for the game — through full title updates, as well as incremental “gameplay updates” to fix whatever issues come up along with rebalancing portions of the game for difficulty or exploits. We plan on having a lot of these, not just a few. Overall, you should expect updates to be hitting the PC and Steam earlier and more often, as that’s a process we control. Console updates will follow, as they must be certified and processed by those manufacturers.

We all know this is a huge game, and everyone has a different experience. We’ll continue to do everything we can to make the game better and better for as many people as possible every day. We’ve also realized that with the millions upon millions of people playing Skyrim, we need to treat our updates with greater care. If we get too aggressive trying to fix a minor issue, we run a risk of breaking something larger in a game like this. To be safe, we are prioritizing code side fixes right now over data fixes. Quest and balance issues are usually data, and those will start rolling in a large way with the January updates.

Thanks again for your continued support and patience. We truly have the best fans in the world, and we couldn’t do it without you.

http://www.bethblog.com/2011/12/01/skyrim-what-were-working-on/

Star Wars The Old Republic Beta Part 5

Star Wars The Old Republic Beta Part 4

Star Wars The Old Republic Beta Part 3

Star Wars The Old Republic Beta Part 2

Star Wars The Old Republic Beta Part 1

Diablo 3 Part 4

Diablo 3 Part 3

Diablo 3 Part 2 Wizard Playthrough

No overtime pay for IT professionals?

No overtime pay for IT professionals? This better bomb in Congress 


Oct 20, 2011 - Introduced in Senate. This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the Senate for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill currently available on GovTrack.


S 1747 IS
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1747


To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to modify provisions relating to the exemption for computer systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers, or other similarly skilled workers.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 20, 2011


Mrs. HAGAN (for herself, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. ENZI, and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL


To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to modify provisions relating to the exemption for computer systems analysts, computer programmers, software engineers, or other similarly skilled workers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,


SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Computer Professionals Update Act’ or the ‘CPU Act’.


SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.
Section 13(a)(17) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(17)) is amended to read as follows:


‘(17) any employee working in a computer or information technology occupation (including, but not limited to, work related to computers, information systems, components, networks, software, hardware, databases, security, internet, intranet, or websites) as an analyst, programmer, engineer, designer, developer, administrator, or other similarly skilled worker, whose primary duty is--


‘(A) the application of systems, network or database analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine or modify hardware, software, network, database, or system functional specifications;


‘(B) the design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, securing, configuration, integration, debugging, modification of computer or information technology, or enabling continuity of systems and applications;


‘(C) directing the work of individuals performing duties described in subparagraph (A) or (B), including training such individuals or leading teams performing such duties; or


‘(D) a combination of duties described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), the performance of which requires the same level of skill;
who is compensated at an hourly rate of not less than $27.63 an hour or who is paid on a salary basis at a salary level as set forth by the Department of Labor in part 541 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations. An employee described in this paragraph shall be considered an employee in a professional capacity pursuant to paragraph 


http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s112-1747