ASICS Men's GT-1000 Running Shoe Review

I have a fitness test upcoming for the Army so I had to buy a pair of runners to get back doing decent distances on the road. I figured that gym work is well and good up to a point but my endurence based cardio was lacking.

So new shoes! Having searched the stores in my area (Galway, Ireland), I found that none stocked my size, 14 US. Amazon.com provided me with a large selection so I settled for a medium range ASICS Men's GT-1000 Running Shoe that was on special at $69.99

Keep in mind that this is the first time that I've bought shoes from the internet, I do trust Amazon but I don't trust shoemakers, especially at the larger sizes were they can vary by a few centimeters in some cases! Luckily this time, I had no such issues *phew!*

The trainers arrived a few weeks later and I've been running in them for the past week. My feet have now adjusted to them which was considerably quicker than most other runners I've gotten. There was very little in the way of blisters or other sores but I noticed that the arch seems to be quite far forward. This required a bit of adjustment but wasn't uncomfortable.

As for the shoe itself, it is well put together. Easy on the eye as a "generic" and is comfortable for the Christmas shopping that I've been doing the last while! Its one of those shoes you think should be in the $125 range in that regard.

I used these runners at the gym twice as well and once for laps on a football field. They held up well in this multi-disipline role and cleaning them was very easy. It gave me flexibility as a "one size fits all" shoe, but as it doesn't offer ankle support I will not be doing any cross country training in them.

Appearently, however, this shoe is prone to mesh deterioration over time with holes appearing by the big toe. While mine haven't had this problem yet (keep in mind that it could be a sizing issue), I am keeping an eye on it. Having said that, I don't know of many running shoes for as low as $50 that will last more than a season of proper training. Its something to thing about.

In conclusion, given the awesome price, comfort and flexibility I'm going to give this running shoe a 4/5.

Pro
Stylish
Comfortable
Inexpensive
Wearable for other sports

 Cons
Weird arch
Not great ankle support

Eleutherian Marines unit foundation. 29th Planetary Rapid Reaction Force

[[To all my DUST followers, this was posted on the EVE Online forums and the DUST 514 forums as part of my recruitment drive for my DUST Corporation Eleutherian Marines [EL-MG]. If anyone is interested  convo me in game ((names on the last paragraph above the perks)) or leave a comment. A +1 is always appreciated and as always comment/rate/subscribe as all feedback is helpful]]

Eleutherian Guard

+Public Disclosure Authorized+

[[Please note: With the recent DEV Blog Post Announcment, DUST Mercs can wait until Thursday and sign up directly to the Eleutherian Guard [EL-G] EVE Online Corporation. The purposes for the post below was to recruit for testing on SISI, testing and gaming will continue on TRANQ but now with more orbital support and cross communication]]

I am please to announce that as of today, the Eleutherian Guard have released funding and begun upgrading the Eleutherian Marines for Special Operations within the cluster.

The Eleutherian Marines are an elite planetary and station bound force attached to the Eleutherian Guard. The Eleutherian Marines primary role is working with the Eleutherian Guard for asset security, Installation defence, humanitarian relief, operational support, logistical and administration tasks. The Eleutherian Guard have assisted their compatriots in transportation and military operational support. Both units have worked together since their inception with the common goal of Gallente Security.

Conventionally, only a select few outside of Special Forces have received immortality upgrades since the release of the Templar Sleeper technology but with the operational success the Villore Accords Alliance and the Gallente Militia has achieved reclaiming systems from the Caldari Militia, the Gallente Senate has authorized the Eleutherian Guard to expand its program to conventional troops. This will allow the Eleutherian Marines to reduce size while maintaining its level of alertness as a Rapid Reaction Force

Currently, the units selected for full upgrades and re-org are as follows

• 209th Eugales Command Battalion
• 1340th Eugales Light Hostile Environment Engineering Battalion
• 456th Villore Hostile Hostile Environment Infantry Battalion
• 893th Eugales Light Infantry Battalion
• 896th Eugales Light Infantry Battalion
• 1705th Vlillirier Mechanized Infantry Battalion
• 416th Ostingeles Signals Battalion
• 1944th Vlillirier Amour Division
• 1950th Vlillirier Amour Division
• 308th Villore Logistics Support Battalion
• 300th Covryn Air Support Squadron
• 301th Covryn Air Support Squadron
• 302th Covryn Air Support Squadron
• 303th Covryn Air Support Squadron
• XXXth XXXXXX [CLASSIFIED - SPECIAL OPERATIONS]
• XXXth XXXXXX [CLASSIFIED - SPECIAL OPERATIONS]
• XXXth XXXXXX [CLASSIFIED - SPECIAL OPERATIONS]

Together, they will leave their parent home worlds and form the 29th Planetary Rapid Reaction Force based throughout the Gallente Federation where they will await tasking.

Our most promising soldiers will now have the option for full immortal status. Those who do not wish to avail of this upgrade (for moral, ethical or religious reasons) will be removed from front line service and re-assigned tho administrative, support or training roles.

The Eleutherian Guard [EL-G] will now recruit unaligned immortals for Marine service. Those interested should consult their NEOCOM for enlistment. DUST Contractors can contact Templar 863445 ((Dust514)) or Pilots can contact Ans Blix ((EVE Online))

Perks of Enlistment

• Full Voice Comms within Dust
• Full Voice Comms with Alliance within EVE Online
• Skilling and Market Advice
• Equipment and ISK support 

DUST recruitment link
EVE Online recruitment link

How to play DUST514 - Personal Observations

Hi all, this is a bit of a cross post from something i wrote up on my alliance forums. If you are playing DUST, you can join my ingame corporation "Eleutherian Marines" [EL-MF] for some more tips and hints. We have active alliance support and voice comms. Anyway, that's my plug, on with the show!

Source: Google images

I hope give you guys some insights i discovered while playing dust. If i'm wrong with anything, call me out! I'm by no means a pro

ISK or AUR?
ISK, now stfu

Classes

There are 7 or 8 classes in DUST, 4 of them are useful.

Assault - Well rounded

Scout - Weak but fast

Heavy - Tough but slow

Logistics - 2 Equipment slots, weak, normal speed

The toys

Vehicles

Light Attack - I like these, there fast, durable and its fun mowing down people. They are very vulnerable if your driving solo, don't stop to man the turret. Its open top allows players to kill you without having to take the vehicle out. You also won't see the family of homing rockets sniffing your ass out

Heavy Attack - I love these things. Talk about bring a sledgehammer to a stick fight! If your fitting these, put your secondary small turrets as machine guns. This dissuades the team mates who get in with you from shooting tanks. That's what your primary is for, your secondary is for taking our the guys sneaking around your flank with a swarm launcher. If you're in someones tank, watch his back while he focuses on the bigger threats. You can't do jack to a tank with a machine gun. I've lasted full games (READ: No deaths!) in these things, just be smart with your reps and watch your 6

Dropships - Another great toy. They can survive 2 direct swarm launcher hits but not much more. Be smart with your reps and hid behind buildings if you have to! Breaking line of sight with the swarm rockets will get them to run into whatever your hiding behind... at least until they implement destructible buildings. Because they travel at speed, i would fit these with some form of AOE rocket, unless you have a sniper machine gunner. For big maps these for great for troop transport and air cover

Weapons

Assault rifles - I get good results looking down the sights when the target is >20m away, any closer, just hip fire and aim for center of mass. Reload at every opportunity! You'd be surprised how tough some rigs can be.

Sniper Rifles - I like snipers but for the most part, there horribly underpowered. I use the one that i have to charge for about 2 seconds before firing and unless i get a headshot or an injured player, the best i can do is get him down to about 10% amour and of course they then run into cover. Only useful if your way off the fight and have a good angle on a enemy spawn point or capture point. On 1 map the hostile MCC hovers close to a silo, i sit about 100m away from the silo and as the hostile players spawn and jump out of the underside bay of the MCC they get killed the minute they hit the floor. Easy points

Shotguns - the free militia shotgun is 1 shot kill at close range center of mass. Nuff said! Crap at range but at medium range you can "tag" a few people if your luck and get some points if your team mate can finish him off

Laser rifles - Very powerful but look gay, sound gay, you can were the shot comes from (gay). Don't touch them

Swarm Launchers - Militia version great for free anti tank, sound cool

Heavy Machine Gun - Multi barreled and all fulled with death. Suffers at range but not unmanageable. Good for suppressing and mowing down at close ranges. Can overheat and burn though ammo very fast

Grenades - Use them

Sub Note - Sidearms

Submachine guns - Far superior than pistols, greater mag size, damage and rate of fire. Useful for very close combat but have shit range

How to score points in DUST <- This is the important question

Roles and equipment

Killing - Killing gives you 50 points while assists will give you 25 points. If you run into a group is it better to kill one and get slaughtered? Or "tag" 3 or 4 of them? Answer: Neither, grenade the fuckers!! Ok that was a trick question. Personally i would kill one and with the rest of my mag tag everyone. Any buddies behind will deal with the rest

Reviving - Equipement slot lets you fit a nanite injector. Reviving downed teammates gives you 60 points. if there's a bunch of friendlies holding a point in the map i swap into my "medic" class and do what i can there. Farming dead bodies mmmmm...

Spawn Beacons - 25 points per team member spawn. But place them in useful locations because you can only place 1 of them. If your teammate drops one ,place it further away from it, gives people a choice of were to spawn. Spawn beacons have a limited number of times they can be spawned on, so drop a new one down if you die and have to re spawn. Camp hostile beacons for kills

Ammo Resupply - I forget the name of these things, they look like half orbs of light then grow and glow... I think you earn 10 points per resupply, and it can be a partial resupply. Place these in high traffic areas or corridors. You can place 2 so you can leave another one further away.

Vehicle Assist Kills - If your in a vehicle and someone in another turret makes a kill, you earn 35 points + 25 points for assist. if you make the kill, you get 35 point + 50 points

[These are the only methods i have tested for now, afaik there is some form of remote repper that i haven't used and remote explosives that might score you more points]
Becoming MVP

In DUST, becoming MVP is nothing to do with your K/D ratio. Its all about the points you score. Reviving scores you more points that killing. I've been top of my team with 3 kills and 3 deaths.

Situational Awareness

Mission Types

Assault - Team Deathmatch
Lets be honest, most of these fight turn into slug fests with the winners being whoever brings the most tanks to the field. When playing Assault matches i go for long range setups

Skirmish - Point Capture Match
These require more skill and time than Assault. Have a few setups with close range and support modules that you might find useful (Drop Uplinks and Nanohives).

Loadouts

This all depends on gameplay style and the mission. I've left out tanking talk as it really depends on the suit your wearing. I prefer Armour, i find you get more of a buffer and the fact that shields rep themselves over time it makes sense to have a Armour repper

"Dragonfly" Scout Dropsuit with Sub Machine gun Source: Google Images

I tend to have 5 or 6 load outs that i can swap between in a match, depending on the map, the type of game, my teams competency and the enemy teams competency.

Loadout Name: Light Assault
Using a normal Caldari Assault Suit, add an Assault Rifle of your choice and price range, AP grenades and a Drop Uplink in equipment slot.  This gives me the option of mounting a proper attack and reinforcing it if need be. Say i take a point, i'd hide a drop uplink out of view so if i get sniped or the point if rushed, i'm back in the fight after 10 seconds in something heavier etc

Loadout Name: Close Range Sniper
Bit of a misleading name, basically i use a Charged Sniper Rifle with a Sub Machine Gun as my sidearm. I also have a Drop Uplink so when i get to my sniping spot i can respawn close to it if I'm counter sniped. This fit is for spawning when i don't know my surroundings ergo, the sub machine gun. Having bought the Mercenary pack from the PSN store, i use the "Dragonfly" Scout suit.

Loadout Name: Long Range Sniper
The exact same sniper as above but i use the Logi suit, which gives me 2 equipment slots for a nanohive and an uplink, this lets me be self sufficient.

Loadout Name: Logi Healer
Basically a Logi set up with a healer set up. You have 2 equipment slots for really easy point farming. I use a Nanite Auto-injector and a nanohive. I have swapped out this for a remote repper but having realised that you don't get points repping people i ditched it. Besides, the auto-injector does the job. For offence i opt for an Assault Rifle or a shotgun

Loadout Name: Logi Support
Same a above but with Drop Uplink and a nanohive. This is a more long range set up so i go for an Assault Rifle over the shotgun

Loadout Name: Close Combat
I might fit 2 similar fits for close combat with different (usually light) suits, but my thinking behind these fits usually revolve around Shotguns, submachine guns and grenades. Think blaster thorax, get up in the enemies face with something nimble and fast and let fly. Again, have a think about the equipment you might need.

Facebook Offline?!

They never cease to amaze... Privacy scandals - ranging from personal messages and contact information being made public to investors losing millions of Facebook stock... now we have a service outage?

The prophecy is true... 2012... the beginning of the end!

My new ride... No pimping required

So one of the girls in 091labs was getting rid of a car that her ex gave her. I said i'd take it and low and behold... Free car! Up until last night i didn't even know the colour! I am 6'4'' and i barely fit in this thing.

DayZ Video - Lee's hold up

After spawning in, i encountered a fresh spawn and held him up with no ammo, After letting him go we engage again in a barn where he was killed. Then we have a quick lesson in silhouetting and how it is bad for your health

+ FEEDBACK: LIKE/FAVOURITE if you enjoyed the video! Feedback will help me improve my future videos!

+ SCREEN CAPTURE: Bambi.com

+ FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Boot-Blogs/141432723157?ref=ts&fref=ts

+ GAME: ARMA II + ARMA II: Combined Operations. Buy it HERE: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/4639/

+ MOD: http://www.dayzmod.com/

DayZ Video - Death at Airfield

While discussing the Xbox Ring of death, i came across a destroyed airfield. With nothing to lose I went straight in and this is what happened

+ FEEDBACK: LIKE/FAVOURITE if you enjoyed the video! Feedback will help me improve my future videos!

+ SCREEN CAPTURE: Bambi.com

+ FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Boot-Blogs/141432723157?ref=ts&fref=ts

+ GAME: ARMA II + ARMA II: Combined Operations. Buy it HERE: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/4639/

+ MOD: http://www.dayzmod.com/