The controversy between stem cell research has been one of the biggest in medical science since the onset of the new millennium. A lot of self proclaimed moral activists and so called pro-life advocates have raised their eyebrows when they learned about the potentials of stem cell research.

Stem cells research opened our eyes to the future of health science and how it can potentially cure most, if not all, terminal diseases we have today.

A colleague of mine back in my home town of Maasin has been suffering from juvenile diabetes since her 22nd birthday and now that she’s married, the disease is preventing her from bearing a child. Talk about 2 miscarriages in a row. With the help of stem cells which now can be harvested from women’s menstrual fluids or C’elle stem cells.

About the Science

The lining uterine lining or the endometrium is found to contain self renewing stem cells that can be preserved through cryogenic process. Based on preliminary tests, donor stem cells may benefit your biological family as well. A C’ell kit contains detailed instruction as to non-invasive collection of these stem cells.

Lot’s of women have been trying out this new technology which could potentially save their lives in the future. C’elle Client Testimonial can be accessed through their website.

For one night only, the Eraserheads will once again unite to fill the air with their classic renditions of original songs. Considered as one of the greatest Filipino band of all times, Eraserheads have been credited for paving way to the rise of local bands.

The reunion concert was said to be cancelled last week but was now confirmed by the sponsors and the band themselves. Set at the CCP openground on August 30,  Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro and Raimund Marasigan, the original members of the band will sing their hit songs and is also expected to present a new song that is expected to break the charts after their long hiatus.

The reunion concert will be covered by media giants including rivals, ABS-CBN and GMA7. expect Videos of the Eraserhead reunion concert circulating not just in the net in the form of free downloads but on your local pirated DVD stands.

With just 7 days more to go, there is nothing stopping this legendary event from happening. See yah!

Eraserhead wallpapers will also be posted in this blog sooner so just stick with me.

Halloween may still be about two months away but everybody knows how a twenty-four hour day could just end in just a blink of an eye. Not literally, though. Planning and initial preparations for the perfect  adult Halloween costumes to grace the annual spook fest should be started as early as today so that you’ll not end up as the n^th Indian of the Village People wannabes. I have nothing against Village People, I even catch YMCA for my last song syndrome moments. I just hate being upstage of someone wearing the same Custume as me.

My sister who made it her job to join all local contest she can, even if she keeps falling behind, went to the first Halloween Ball of our little town called Maasin City (don’t be fooled by the word city). Dressed to impress with a face covered by green make-up to look like the wicked witch of the South (or North), was surprised to learn that she’s the only one wearing a costume and full makeup.

With confidence that her “mask” would rid her from redicule the following day, cause she was assuming no one will know her with the green makeup on, she went on stage when all those who were dressed up for the occasion. There were only three of them there, the other two were just wearing regular rubber masks that looked like that one from Scream, and, not surprisingly, she won! The host, then, asked for her name afterwards so down the drain her anonymity goes. I think she’ll trade shame for attention any time, though.

Now that I’m in Cebu and, I guess, they’re Halloween Balls here are more like the real thing than what we have had before, I guess I should also start preparing for what to look like on that day. I’m not gonna look like Superman or any popular superheroes you can name cause none of them have a big gutt. I’m a sucker for realism so I’ll just go with Nacho Libre.

A lot of my calls recently come from people asking me how to connect their XBox to the Internet to play Halo 2. I thought the game has died down already but it seems like it’s bound to be a classic like D&D.

Connecting an Xbox to a cable modem, a router and even a DSL connection is easy and a visual guide from Chasms is perhaps the best one available online. Just give your Internet help desk a call if ever it’s not working even after going through the tutorial.

Here’s also an article I got from the web while researching for Halo 2 walkthroughs… enjoy…

-----------
1. WEAPONS:
-----------

------------
Battle Rifle
------------

This is a great weapon. The bullets are fairly powerful, and with the three 
shot bursts it can be devastating. A great weapon for clearing out jackals, 
especially those damned snipers. 

On legendary, if an enemy sniper spots you, you will probably have no more 
than 2 seconds at the very most to react. If you can peek out of a corner with 
your scope set in the general direction of the Jackal, one quick burst should 
at the very least injure him, giving you the chance to set your sights for the 
kill. 

There is no single fire for the Battle Rifle. I believe it is to make the 
Carbine more useful. Otherwise, I doubt many people would take much notice of 
it.

36 rounds per clip. 2x Zoom.

---
SMG
---

In game, it is known as the SMG. For those [few] of you who don't know, this 
stands for Sub-Machine Gun. This weapon is, in my opinion, the best for Drones.

On legendary, I very rarely used it for anything more than Drone and Grunt 
cleanup. Every now and then, it served well against a single Elite. If a 
tricky Elite is hiding in a corner, and you have no available grenades, this 
weapon is just screaming for it. Peek around the corner with two of these and 
BAM! No more Elite, lots more purple paint. It can be a bit risky though, so I 
tend to stick with Plasmas for Elites.

60 rounds per clip. Dual Wield.

-------
Shotgun
-------

This is a weaker version of the original. It's still a great Flood stopper, 
but Elites won't go down as easily with it. It used to stun them when hit by a 
point blank shell. Now, it'll damage then, but it definitely won't stun them 
long enough for a clean kill.

12 rounds per clip. 

------
Magnum
------

Thankfully, this is definitely going to be less of a favourite than the old 
handgun. It is still useful, but not so much past the first level. At least 
this shows it won't be the "One man army" weapon the old one was.

Update: After trying this thing out a bit more, I like it a lot. It is pretty 
powerful. Add that with the good rate of fire, and you have a nice Elite 
stopper. I like using this with an SMG. Think about it: The SMG gradually eats 
the Elites shield away, and the Magnum packs a small punch every half second 
or so. The Elite will go down in no time.

12 rounds per clip. Dual Wield.

------------
Sniper Rifle
------------

It's the same as the one in Halo. I can't really say any more than that. I'm 
not sure there is a Night-Vision feature anymore, but it wouldn't really be 
useful in Halo 2 anyway. A couple of headshots should take out the average 
Elite. Pretty useful, nothing special.

4 rounds per clip. 5x Zoom. 10x Zoom.

---------------
Rocket Launcher
---------------

Just another Halo replica. It has a new homing feature. You must hold your 
sights on the enemy vehicle. Once it turns red, hold "R" until a beeping sound 
plays, indicating a lock-on. Fire away. This feature is best used over a fair 
distance, but nothing too exaggerated.

For the melee, the Spartan/Elite swings the launcher round the shoulder, and 
hits the enemy with the butt of the weapon from above.

2 rockets per clip. 2x Zoom.

-------------
Plasma Pistol
-------------

Halo replica, 'nuff said. The charged bolt takes 10 charges from the gun. It 
used to instantly deplete an Elites Shield. Now, there is one that can take a 
blast and still have decent shielding. The Spec Op Elite (Silver) has a much 
more powerful shield than the rest.

If you have something like an SMG as an alternative weapon, a good strategy is 
to dual wield Plasma Pistols and send two charges into the Elite. Not only 
will it be stunned momentarily, it will also be vulnerable to bullets. Quickly 
switch to the SMG and fire away. 

For the melee, the Spartan/Elite thrusts his fist straight at the head of an 
enemy of equal height.

100 charges per pistol. Dual Wield.

------------
Plasma Rifle
------------

This thing fires weak plasma charges. This paired with an SMG is an amazing 
anti-Elite combo. The Rifle takes out the shield with ease, and then the 
bullets pierce the physical armour, killing the Elite in the process.

This is great against anything with a plasma shield of any sort.

100 charges per rifle. Dual Wield.

------------------
Brute Plasma Rifle
------------------

This is a Plasma Rifle with a faster rate of fire and slightly stronger bolts. 
It also overheats faster.

100 charges per rifle. Dual Wield.

-------
Needler
-------

It feels slightly different from the original one, but it is essentially the 
same thing. The needles blow slightly faster. This thing is an awesome Brute 
stopper. Dual wielding these is all you really need to take down those 
stubborn Brutes. If they won't budge, it's all the better to pierce their skin.

30 needles per clip. Dual Wield.

----------------
Covenant Carbine
----------------

This thing is a single shot version of the Battle Rifle. I think this weapon 
is the sole reason that the Battle Rifle doesn't have a single shot. I haven't 
thought much about this, but I think this is my favourite weapon. It is a 
great weapon for Brutes. Two or three shots should remove the helmet, and the 
next couple should finish him. It is also quite useful for stationary drones 
and both types of Jackals.

18 rounds per clip. 2x Zoom.

----------
Beam Rifle
----------

It's basically the Covenant sniper rifle. Two consecutive shots will overheat 
it. One hit from this on legendary will usually finish you. [I think] It 
depends on where you are hit, but you will die 90% of the time with a full 
shield.

100 charges per rifle. 6 charges per beam. 5x Zoom. 10x Zoom.

---------------
Fuel Rod Cannon
---------------

I never actually used this thing, but my friend did when we we're player co-
op. I remember him saying that it's more powerful that the rocket launcher. It 
may just be that the target happened to be weaker to this than to rockets, in 
the same way Plasma Shields are weaker against plasma than bullets. I've found 
that it takes approximately four rods to kill a Hunter. However, I never got 
the rods to make contact with the skin. The Hunter was hit head on.

5 rods per clip.

----------
Brute Shot
----------

It's a grenade launcher, and a favourite of the Brutes. The grenades seem to 
explode randomly on first or second impact. Now, I am reaching when I say 
this, but I think the grenades explode automatically when locked on. I mean, 
you lock on and fire a grenade, but you can tell it's going to miss. Well, 
just as it's about to pass the target, it blows.

This is a great anti-vehicle weapon. About three or four grenades can take out 
most smaller vehicles. Add this up with the firing rate, and you've got 
yourself a damn useful weapon.

This also has an under-slung blade. This blade seems almost as, if not just as 
powerful as the Plasma Sword.

4 grenades per clip.

------------
Energy Sword
------------

I prefer to call it the Plasma Sword, but that's the official name. The Sword 
has charges (ammo), and these go down whenever you kill an enemy. It starts at 
100 (assuming the enemy you got it from didn't use it first), and goes down 
depending on the enemy killed.

Killing the Flood loses three charges. Killing anything else drops it by ten. 
The lunge attack usually kills lesser enemies in a single swipe. 

Elites, Brutes, and Hunters can survive it. Hunters are practically immune to 
the thing due to their mass amount of armour. Elites without their Shields 
would be insta-killed. The Brute can take the damage directly on their body 
and live. If you hit a Brute with this thing, it will probably get pissed, so 
be sure to finish it quickly.

Another thing to watch out for with this is the Brute Shot, which, as said 
before, has an under-slung blade for close combat. If you do lunge for a 
Brute, back off as soon as possible, then lunge again as soon as you've locked 
on.

The Sword will collapse to nothing once it has run out of charges. The handle 
can still be used, but I really wouldn't advise it.

100 charges per Sword.

----------------------
Sentinel Beam (Silver)
----------------------

This shoots the old orange/yellow beam from the original sentinels. It's 
relatively useful against Plasma shields and other Sentinels. This weapon is 
also the Holy Anti-Son-of-a-bitch machine, as far as the Flood go. No other 
weapon compares in power.

--------------------
Sentinel Beam (Gold)
--------------------

This is a more powerful, blue beam, which can be retrieved from a Gold 
Sentinel.

---------------------
Fragmentation Grenade
---------------------

These have a shorter fuse than the one in the original. It's half a second as 
soon as it strikes a surface. Still mainly useful against the lesser Covenant 
and he Flood.

4 frags at once.

--------------
Plasma Grenade
--------------

It's almost the same as the original. I find it useful for Elites, Brutes, 
Heavy Sentinels, and Vehicles. The fuse is slightly shorter. It starts 
counting once it settles on the ground (or an enemy). It's nowhere near as 
useful if you just get it to land near the target rather than on them.

4 plasmas at once.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

------------
2. VEHICLES:
------------

-----
Ghost
-----

Comes with dual Plasma Cannons, There is a boost function. It's single seat 
only. 

It's probably the most common Covenant vehicle. Luckily, they aren't that hard 
to destroy. In Ghost-to-Ghost combat, just get a few bursts in right off the 
bat, and the front of the wings will collapse. The Ghost will jump a bit to 
one side and in that time you should be able to finish it.

When boarded from the front, the Spartan/Elite leaps onto the left wing of the 
Ghost and jump-kicks the driver off the Ghost. To finish it off, he lands 
right on the seat.

When boarded from the rear, the Spartan/Elite grabs onto the back of the 
ghost, and punches the driver in the back of the head before hopping into the 
now empty seat. 

-------
Banshee
-------

These come equipped with dual Plasma Cannons and a Fuel Rod Gun. There is a 
boost function too. It's single seat only. 

These can be a pain in the ass. They have a pretty good aim. If you're in 
a 'Hog or Ghost, they can be safely ignored. If you're in something slower, 
like a Wraith, I would suggest getting out and hiding. Wait for it to swoop 
you and give it a good go with your rifle. Either that, or if you're feeling 
lucky, try to 'jack it.

When boarded, the Spartan/Elite grabs hold of the Banshee. If it is AI driven, 
it will most likely go upwards in an attempt to shake you off to your doom. 
The Spartan/Elite will pull at the driver's leg and toss him out of the 
Banshee, before taking control of it himself. The driver will meet a sticky 
end.

-------
Spectre
-------

Best described as a Covenant take on the 'Hog. It has a turret on the back, a 
driver seat (obviously), and two side… wing thingies, which two other people 
can sit on. It is similar to the Shadow, which can be found in the pre-halo 
screenshots in Bungie's official site.

When boarded from the front, the Spartan/Elite jumps onto the front of it, a 
foot on either side of the pilot hatch. Then, he gives the driver a good whack 
and sends him out of the vehicle. The Spartan/Elite then jumps back off the 
vehicle to go for the kill.

When boarded from the rear, the Spartan/Elite pulls himself onto the edge of 
the turret stand, and puts his arm around the gunner's stomach. He then swings 
the gunner off the vehicle. The Spartan/Elite then jumps back off the vehicle 
to go for the kill.

Note: Cannot be boarded and driven in the one action. The Spartan/Elite will 
always jump off the vehicle after boarding. You must then treat it just like 
you would any other empty vehicle to drive it.

------
Wraith
------

This is the Covenant tank. It's basically a mortar tank. When AI driven, it 
has two side guns, which fire when a target gets very near. I can't find out 
how to operate them as the player though. 

When boarded from the front, left, or right, the Spartan/Elite jumps on top of 
the Wraith and moves up to the left or right side of the hatch. You must then 
press "B" to beat the hatch. After three or four hits, the hatch will snap 
off, revealing the driver. You can then either press "B" again one or two 
times to kill the driver, or press L to plant your currently selected grenade 
in the Wraith, killing the driver and damaging or destroying, the Wraith. You 
must then press "X" to jump off the Wraith, and "X" again if you wish to drive 
it.

When boarded from behind, the Spartan/Elite grabs onto the back of the Wraith 
and breaks a hole in the back. Once open, a grenade can be thrown in. Getting 
a grenade in here seems much more likely to destroy the thing outright.

------
Shadow
------

This is a Covenant War Bus. It has a gun turret on top, and looks like it can 
carry a Wraith underneath, though I've only ever seen it carry a Ghost. I 
think they can carry passengers in the sides too, but I'm unsure of this just 
now. Every time you destroy one of these, you'll be rewarded with a next to 
perfect Ghost.

They're pretty tough, only because of their armor quality.

This vehicle cannot be driven. However, the topside gun can be both boarded 
and used by you.

-------
Phantom
-------

This is the primary Covenant Dropship. It can be devastating in legendary if 
no cover is around when it makes a drop, as it has three high-powered gun 
turrets on the underside. These guns can be destroyed with small arms. A few 
bursts from the Battle Rifle should do it. Shooting rockets at the rear 
underside of the ship seems to have a cosmetic effect, but I can't seem to 
down it (as I expected). However, I may simply need more heavy weaponry.

This vehicle cannot be boarded or driven by the player.

Note: This ship seems to be AI driven, rather than driven by completely fixed 
paths that the Pelican and the U-Ship from the original went through.

------
Scarab
------

This is basically a large building, with four legs supporting it. It also has 
what resembles an eye. This eye is a large plasma cannon, and when I say 
large, I mean you haven't seen anything in any way comparable to the 
destructive power of this thing. I found that on legendary, it's very rare to 
get your Scorpion destroyed. In fact, it only happened to me once. 

However, when I came across this beast, there were a few marines with fixed 
machine gun placements on the roof of a building and a Scorpion on a ramp 
right below. The Marines weren't really worth noticing for the Scarab. The 
Scorpion was doing it's best to down the cannon on board the Scarab. However, 
after about 5 well-placed shots (well, it's hard to miss something that big), 
the Scarab had it's cannon fully charged, and unleashed chaos upon the tank. 
The turret of the tank was blown clean off and the rest of the tank was in 
pieces.

IIRC, you'll only come across two of these in the entire game.

This seems to be driven by fixed paths rather than the game's AI.

-------
Warthog
-------

Comes with two different turrets.

The first version, the one with the good old chaingun, can be treated in just 
the same way the one from Halo was. The only difference worth mentioning is 
that you must now watch the damage you take because after a good beating, this 
thing is just gonna give in to the strain.

The second version has a Gauss Rifle on the back. I have completely fallen in 
love with that turret. On legendary, it should take no more than two direct 
hits to kill a Veteran Elite. A Spec Op Elite might take 3-4 shots. The best 
way, IMO, to describe a Gauss Rifle is to consider it a very powerful shotgun 
blast, point blank possibly. From what I can make of the word "Gauss", this 
weapon fires a metal rod, or slug, at extreme forces using magnetism.

The passenger seat is now in 3rd person too. I personally think this was a bad 
move. I don't find it very easy to get used to. It could just be that I'm used 
to using the passenger seat in 1st person though. You can now reload in the 
passenger seat. Simply tap "X", since you now have to hold "X" to get in and 
out of vehicles. I know that many of us had a problem with sitting in the 
passenger seat. You'd get to about 20 bullets in your rifle, then hit "X" to 
reload, and would be flung out of your Hog. Not a problem now.

Note: As the AI marines can now drive Warthogs, you are free to use their 
turrets or laze around in their passenger seat. However, the AI is definitely 
inferior to the average player as far as driving is concerned. It can get you 
killed sometimes. And no, I don't mean that every now and then you will happen 
to die, just like you would with a player driving. What I mean is that 
sometimes they will do the stupidest thing possible, and get themselves 
trapped between a couple of Wraiths.

When boarded, a similar scenario to that of the Spectre takes place.

--------
Scorpion
--------

This thing is probably the vehicle with the most similarities to the Halo 
counterpart. It just feels so similar. The only difference I can thing of 
seems more like a bug in the game more than anything else. When a player is 
driving the Scorpion on Coop, the other player cannot sit on the side of the 
tank, while the AI can.

When boarded, a similar scenario to that of the Wraith takes place.

-------
Pelican
-------

Basically, it's the same as the Phantom. It does have a bit less firepower 
though. It has a high-powered gun on the underside of the nose. It also has a 
chain-gun just like the one on-board the Warthog. The gun is placed right at 
the edge of the passenger section of the ship.

Like I said with the Phantom, it seems to be AI driven.

----------------
Orbital Drop Pod
----------------

These are the pods used by the Hell-jumpers and Elites for quick insertion 
into hostile territory. Survival is not guaranteed whilst riding in one of 
these. The arrival of these extra troops is enough to turn the tide of the 
battle.

Not AI driven. Falls from the sky at preset points.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


------------------
3. ALLIES/ENEMIES:
------------------

*****
Grunt
*****

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant 
2. Covenant Heretics 
3. Covenant Rebels 

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment:
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Plasma Pistol 
2. Needler 
3. Fuel Rod Cannon 
4. Plasma Turret w/ Plasma Pistol (for backup)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

They are pretty much the same as in Halo. Not worth noticing on the two lower 
difficulties. They're a minor annoyance on the higher difficulties when in 
small numbers. In larger numbers, they can be a bit of an ass.

They are the weakest and simplest of the Covenant. Killing a more experienced 
Covenant around them can cause them to break formation and flee. Some of them 
also come with Active Camouflage.

If they get near an empty Ghost, they may attempt to drive it, but they are 
much easier to take down than an Elite driven Ghost.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~

Minor Grunt: Orange Armor. No challenge whatsoever.

Veteran Grunt: Red Armor. It's barely a step up from the original. 
Occasionally (yet rarely), it comes with a Fuel Rod Cannon. Multiple of these 
Grunts can lead to a bad headache.

Support Grunt: Green Armor. These guys come with Plasma turrets. They're the 
only ones who can set one of the turrets up. Can be a right bitch if you 
aren't careful. Finish them before they complete their job. They sometimes 
come with a Fuel Rod Cannon too.

Spec Op Grunt: Black Armor. Comes with the Fuel Rod Cannon more often.

Elite Grunt: White Armor. The top notch, as far as Grunting goes. They use 
grenades much more often than the other types. Usually hangs around high 
ranking Elites.

Heretic Grunt: Yellow Armor. These seem to be the equivalent of a Veteran 
Grunt, only on the Heretics side.

******
Jackal
******

~~~~~~~~~
Factions:
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant 
2. Covenant Loyalists 

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment:
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Plasma Pistol w/ Plasma Shield 
2. Beam Rifle w/ Plasma Pistol (for backup)

Description: The first weapon set acts just the same as in Halo. The Beam 
Rifle weapon set takes the role of the Covenant snipers. In legendary, they 
almost never miss a shot. If you shoot the gun out of their hand or scare them 
a bit, they'll drop their Beam Rifle and flee, using a Plasma Pistol from then 
on. They won't have a shield though. 

The shield of a Jackal can be destroyed by being shot with heavy fire... a 
couple of Beams form the Beam Rifle or something similar should do it. They 
break formation and flee when their Plasma Shield is destroyed.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~

Minor Jackal: Blue Shield & Armor. Lowest Jackal.

Veteran Jackal: Orange Shield & Armor. These are slightly stronger shield with 
higher accuracy.

Sniper Jackal: No Shield & Grey Armor. They're definitely the more dangerous 
of the bunch. Takes fewer bullets than the average minor grunt.


*****
Drone
*****

~~~~~~~~~
Factions:
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant 
2. Covenant Loyalists

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Plasma Pistol 
2. Needler

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

They usually come in swarms between 5 and 10, but I have seen slightly larger 
numbers. Can be a bit of a **Female Dog** to hit. Only difficult if surrounded 
by them, especially when they're using Needlers.

The Marines refer to them as Buggers. I think this is a smart assed comment, 
about them being bugs, and a royal pain in the ass.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A


******
Hunter
******

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant
2. Covenant Rebels

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Tweaked Fuel Rod Cannon w/ Large Metal Shield.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hunters are actually as fierce as their appearance is intimidating. They 
move at approximately the same speed as in Halo. However, their close range 
attacks are pulled off in a swifter manner, meaning less time for those belly 
shots. No longer can you beat a Hunter senseless whilst standing at it's back. 
It will pull a big leap around on the spot and smash you into the ground with 
its shield. Close range attacks are absolutely devastating on Legendary, and 
almost as bad on Heroic. 

Now, the Fuel Rod Cannon from Halo was embarrassing. This weapon can now cause 
absolute chaos. If Hunters didn't always have a Bond Brother I would still 
consider them a pushover. One Hunter could distract you whilst the other 
demolishes your ass with a well-placed Fuel Rod. It is now slightly modified. 
It handles differently from the average Fuel Rod Cannon - specially modified 
for the Hunters.

The Cannon fires two large blasts which travel through the air faster than a 
rocket, though not by much. The blasts are always fired within half a second 
of each other. The recharge time for the Cannon has been shortened 
significantly, and the Hunter can now fire it whilst moving.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A


*****
Brute
*****

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant 
2. Covenant Loyalists 

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

1.	Brute Plasma Rifle 
2.	2x Brute Plasma Rifle 
3.	Brute Shot 
4.	Covenant Carbine 
5.	Unarmed (Last resort)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their behavior with the Brute Plasma Rifle and the dual Brute Plasma Rifle 
isn't that much different from the Elites. The Brute Plasma Rifle is slightly 
better than the Plasma Rifle though. Their version fires at a slightly faster 
rate, and the bolts are slightly stronger, but it will overheat at a faster 
rate too.

When armed with the Covenant Carbine, they'll stand near the back of the bunch 
and take shots at who ever they can.

With the Brute Shot, they'll stand at a fair distance and bombard you with 
grenades. The grenades seem to blow up on the second impact, but I'm not sure 
of this yet. Also, if you get too close to a Brute with this, they'll take a 
swipe at you with the under-slung blade. The damage dealt by this is similar 
to, but not quite on par with the Energy Sword.

If a Brute is unarmed, you better have an Energy Sword on you, or else you 
better keep as large a distance as possible between you. A Brute is never 
initially unarmed. However, when it gets pissed (in a similar way to the 
Jackal getting scared), it'll toss it's weapon on the ground, and will charge 
any enemy it sees. If you are aware of the charge, and have access to an 
Energy Sword, you can line up your sights and slap it silly with the lunge 
attack (which is an insta-kill on most enemies on legendary).

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~

Minor Brute: 
These ones come with a silver helmet. Pretty basic.

Captain Brute: 
These ones come with a small, red flag on their back. They are always (AFAIK) 
armed with Brute Shots.

Honor Guard: 
These are the Holy Guards of the High Prophets. They are the toughest of the 
Brutes. Watch out for them. They wear a red helmet, and have lighter fur than 
the average Brute... similar to Tartarus' fur. They are also noticeably 
tougher and bulkier than the average Brute. Getting into close combat with 
these things isn't the best of moves.


*****
Elite
*****

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant 
2. Covenant Heretics
3. Covenant Rebels

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment:
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Plasma Rifle 
2. 2x Plasma Rifle 
3. Fuel Rod Cannon 
4. Covenant Carbine 
5. Beam Rifle
6. Sentinel Beam
7. Energy Sword
8. Plasma Rifle w/ Energy Sword (for backup)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the most part acts like it does in Halo. With the Carbine, it acts just 
like the Brute does. With two Rifles, it acts like it has one, except it fires 
two. Not hard to understand at all. Some Elites come equipped with a thruster-
pack for maneuvering in space and other low-gravity areas. All the Elites that 
the Chief encounters are in full body armor. The true appearance of an Elite 
is seen only in the intro and one later sequence. Their skin is black, and 
lizard-like. 
Also, Silver Elites (which seem to have replaced Black Elites), now come with 
a Plasma Rifle initially. However, piss it off too much, or get too close with 
a couple of SMGs, and it'll whip out its Energy Sword and show you the meaning 
of pain. Back off quickly enough though, and you have an easy hit, as it 
doesn't seem to use the Plasma Rifle again (though I haven't yet confirmed it).

If you're ever having a specifically hard time with an Elite, try your luck in 
close quarters. Elites have a noticeable weakness to melee attacks. They take 
about a second or so to recover from a hit. 

However, don't attempt close combat with an Energy Sword toting Elite (usually 
Commander), and NEVER attempt to attack a Spec Op up close, whether it's armed 
with Energy Sword or not. If a Spec Op gets pissed at you, you know what 
happens. If you're too near when it happens, you have signed your own death 
warrant. Also note that while Elites attacks are fairly basic to dodge, it 
isn't always the smartest of moves to get into a melee fight with one. The 
Spec Op Elite not only gets pissed at you for smacking it one in the face as 
stated above, but it also gets especially pissed if you dodge its counter-
attack.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~

Minor Elite: 
Blue Armor. It is the lowest Elite rank. On Legendary, even these can be 
challenging. Seems to concentrate mainly on ground combat. It sometimes drives 
a Ghost. These guys also take the Thruster Packs into battle when necessary.

Veteran Elite: 
Crimson Armor. It's just a single step up from the Minor rank. Not a very 
noticeable difference, but still very challenging.

Pilot Elite:
Red Armor. They seem to solely concentrate on piloting. I never noticed them 
before, but recently I noticed two shades of red Elites, so I had a look and 
noticed the difference. These guys can be found piloting the more dangerous 
vehicles, like the Scarab, and Banshees and such.

Spec Op Elite: 
Silver Armor. The Silver Armored rank seems to have replaced the old Spec Op 
[Halo 1 Black Armor] rank. Get them pissed, and they'll pull out an Energy 
Sword and ram it up your rear end. They also come equipped with improved 
Energy Shielding.

Black Op Elite:
Light Brown Armor. These are the Elites with Active Camouflage modules. Elites 
can now wear a weak Energy shield along with active camouflage.

Spec Op Commander:
White Armor. These guys lead Spec Op teams, and are in charge of important but 
small-scale operations. Like the Spec Op, the Commander Spec Ops also carry 
Energy Swords, and improved Energy shielding.

Warrior Elite:
Black Armor. These guys seem to be included in special operations, for 
important, heavy-duty tasks. Whenever the odds are against the Covenant, these 
guys seem to be there.

Commander Elite: 
Gold Armor. This one always has an Energy Sword. These are the commanders of 
Covenant ships and fleets. If you see one of these, a couple of Spec Ops 
usually aren't far behind. 

Heretic Elite: 
Yellow Armor. Seems easier than a Minor Elite, if you ask me. Well, nothing 
special to mention. Most commonly comes equipped with the Covenant Carbine.

Honor Guards: 
Fancy-assed armor. The Elite of the Elites. These are the High Prophets' Holy 
Guards. Be very wary when faced with one of these. With two armor styles, they 
wear red armor similar to that of the Veteran Elite, or the silver armor of 
the Spec Op, but you can tell them apart from the other Elites by the red 
helmet they were.


********
Prophets
********

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. Covenant 
2. Covenant Loyalists

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

Prophet Chair

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flies around on a chair. The Chair has two yellow circles on the underside. 
These circles are capable of firing destructive lasers. Prophets are capable 
of teleporting from one location to the other within the one room. Prophets 
are also impervious to all firearms available to you. 

The only way to kill a Prophet is to board his Chair. Once on, you can press B 
to melee him. Generally you can get 4 or 5 hits in before he teleports, 
forcing you off. They take quite a beating, but without support from other 
forces, they are almost harmless.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A


***************
Infection Forms
***************

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. The Flood

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

N/A

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

These come in large numbers and swamp their targets until they are completely 
overwhelmed. They are just about exactly the same as those in Halo. Infections 
are slightly more damaging, so you shouldn't let them suicide on you as much. 
The Flood, contrary to popular belief, aren't meant to be super-strong life 
forms that mercilessly slaughter all in their path. They are, however, 
supposed to be extremely lethal. They depend on numbers to swarm the enemy and 
infect others. Any Flood lost will be regained once their enemies have become 
infected. They will turn into a Combat Form of the Flood hours later. 

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A


************
Combat Forms
************

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. The Flood

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

The Combat Forms can use all of the available weapons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are infected Humans and Elites. They don't bother with strategy anymore. 
They simply charge. They are capable of using all weapons, so their threat 
level varies. Their arms can be shot off to force them to drop their weapon. 
I'm not sure, but I don't think a Flood can dual-wield. I've never seen one do 
so. Combat Forms can drive vehicles - any vehicle in the game in fact.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
Human Host:
There is generally no difference between the hosts, except appearance.

Elite Host:
Again, just about no difference. Ah, these guys sometimes have a weakened 
Energy Shield. Nothing much more to note.
*************
Carrier Forms
*************

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. The Flood

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

N/A

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are infected Humans and Elites. They don't bother with strategy anymore. 
They simply charge. They are capable of using all weapons, so their threat 
level varies. Their arms can be shot off to force them to drop their weapon. 
I'm not sure, but I don't think a Flood can dual-wield. I've never seen one do 
so. Combat Forms can drive vehicles - any vehicle in the game in fact.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
Human Host:
Carrier Form: 
A badly injured Combat Form or an Infection Form, which has survived a long 
time, is thought to mutate into this form. Other beings, which are deemed 
unworthy of Combat status, like the Grunt or Jackal, are also thought to serve 
this purpose. They are basically a big bag on stumpy legs. Once they come 
within a few meters of a target, they explode, releasing a new bunch of 
Infections.


********
Sentinel
********

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

1. The Forerunner 
2. Covenant Heretics

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Sentinel Beam

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's the same as in Halo. They have a new rank, which comes with a blue beam. 
These are stronger than the orange beam.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~

Basic Sentinel: Silver plating. They fire orange beams.
Enhanced Sentinel: Gold plating. They fire blue beams.


********
Enforcer
********

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

The Forerunner

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Heavy Needler 
2. Rocket Launchers

Description: First off, these things have a large, 2 part shield similar to 
that of the Jackals. The Heavy Needler acts just like a Needler, except on a 
much larger scale. The needles are also red. The rockets are mainly used 
against vehicles. A burst of about 10 rockets is launched at the vehicle and 
that vehicle is demolished if it doesn't move.

It also has the devastating ability to lift vehicles up and crush them 
instantly.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A


************
Navy Crewman
************

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

Humans

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

1. Handgun 
2. Battle Rifle 
3. SMG 
4. Auto Rifle

Description: Actually of some use in Halo 2. You won't see much of them, as 
they are only present near the start of the game. There isn't really much to 
say about them.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~

N/A


******
Marine
******

~~~~~~~~~
Factions: 
~~~~~~~~~

Humans

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

They can use all weapons in the game except Energy Swords.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will see these throughout the whole game. The rest can be read above. 
Note: Sarge seems to be invincible now. He always seems to come to a set part 
of the level and leave all of a sudden. He never seems to die.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A


***************************
Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
***************************

~~~~~~~~~
Factions:
~~~~~~~~~

Humans

~~~~~~~~~~
Equipment: 
~~~~~~~~~~

They can use all weapons in the game except Energy Swords.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Description: 
~~~~~~~~~~~~

More commonly known as "Helljumpers". Just think of them as beefed up marines. 
There is nothing more to say.

~~~~~~
Ranks:
~~~~~~
N/A

Engrish.com, a database of hilarious photographs featuring grammar blunders and other hilarity involving the English language has recently added a new category, CHINGLISH. It’s a contraction for Chinese English which, perhaps, is their way of paying tribute to China’s official “outing” cum Beijing Olympics.

In this post, we’ll list the top ten best Chinglish oddities on their website. Countdown starts at 10.

Need I say more?

Scary.

Masturbate here.

OFW’s should not work here.

Ok, fine!

Call Bantay Bata quick!

Hala ka!

Guess what this thing is for.

What the F*ck?

Ouch!

Jammie, Galiza and, got a chance to meet at Ayala last Monday to swap books. The three of us were former classmates back in high school before some silly old spinster who though anal sex is taboo, banished me to what our school, Saint Joseph College, call “the lower sections” (I can’t find the logic as to why they tag it as lower so don’t dare attempt to find one, genius.) I brought my first Baldacci, Absolute Power, (it’s a bargain buy) and RJ Ledesma’s Lies My Yaya Should Have Told Me; Jammie brought The Little Prince; and Glaiza brought her Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie.

Glaiza’s book, covered with a red semi-transparent plastic film which reminded me of my first condom, ended up with Jammie (I had a copy of that book before Ganda stick it up in one of her orifices ). I ended up with with the translated French classic from Jammie (recently devirginized, I might add). My RJ Ledesma, a compilation of news paper columns of some softdrink endorser in the early eighties who’s trying hard to sound like Jessica Zafra (just like someone I know…). It’s more of a trash than a book. I think I was drunk when I brought that book to the counter as i would never shell out 5 dollars for a piece of literary crap. I could have just read a Dean Koonts, who’s literary prowess is equal to that of a pothead. (Now someone would loathe RJ Ledesma with me.)

The three of us share a passion for books back when we were still officially residing in Maasin City. Meeting them to exchange books after more than five years reassured me that I made the right decision of moving here in Cebu to build a career and to enjoy the company of people who speak the same language as I do, Geek.

We met at National Book Store, a bibliophile’s version of Hooters. Could you just imagine how we lose ourselves?

Jammie bought a Mukirami, despite my insistent protest, and a Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores. We promised each other to swap our latest finds after we’re done with what we’re currently reading. I wonder who’s gonna enjoy my Ian McEwan’s Atonement.

The much awaited Krazy Cart, an online role playing game is now on open beta here in the Philippines. The racing game which gained it’s popularity in Vietnam and the gaming world is distributed by, who else, Level Up Games.

Gamers, specially those who are a bit bored by the regular hack ‘n slash variety would enjoy this new offering like they enjoyed GetAmped Philippines from major online gaming contender, ABS-CBN.

Created by Shanda,  the most successful gaming company in Shanghai, China, Crazy Kart is unique of it’s kind as it enables players to customize not just the player avatars but the carts as well so expect a lot of jeepney-type karts in Krazy Cart Philippines.

This game will surely have a huge hit on racing fans and non-racing fans alike and, like GetAmped, a lot of artists would could also jump on to the bandwagon and make extra buck by selling custom made avatar and truck designs.

Krazy Cart cheats may be out of the picture since this is a game of skill and, I bet, only a total wuzz would try to use his Cheat Engine to gain more speed than all the others.

Level UP Philippines is currently giving away a free iPod Nano to lucky registrants to their newest online offering so you may want to take a chance on it as well.

Krazy card forum signatures, graphics, walkthroughs, cheats and hacks (if any) will be posted here by your very own gaming guru… ME (nyahaha)

From the homosexual relationships of athletes of the ancient Greece which was evident on the archeological diggings to the doping incidents of the recents years, the Olympics has been ridden with scandals and intrigues.

Not everyone could remember the first man who was stripped of his gold medals for decathlon on the year 1912, Jim Thorpe. 30 years after his death, the medals were given back to him.

The movie Munich which was a hit on the cinemas reminds us of the events that happened during the Summer Olympics of 1972. Members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the group of Yaser Arafat and eleven of them were murdered. In this year, the controversial basketball game between USSR and USA was also played.

In 1980, only 80 countries participated the Summer Olympics, all other nations boycotted the event in protest of the 1979 soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. In 1984, the Cubans the USSR and West Germany, boycotted the gamein protest to the American-led boycott of 1980.

In 1994, Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of figure skater Tonya Harding, arranges for an attack on her closest rival, Nancy Kerrigan, prior to the start of the Games. Both women compete, with Kerrigan winning the silver and Harding doing very poorly. Harding was later banned for life.

The 1996 Olympics was also marred with bloodshed as a pipe bomb injured a hundred and killed one. Eric Rudolph, who was only apprehended in 2003 for planting the bomb allegedly did it as an attack against homosexuals and aborionists.

2002 marked the Olympic bid scandal. Allegedly, the International Olympic Committee was bribed to set the venue to Saltlake City, Utah.

2004 and 2006 were pestered with doping scandals and lots of athletes were stiped of their titles or were banned for life for participating in future games.

Beijing 2008 Olympics would perhaps be remembered for the pro-Tibet ralliest who even went the extra mile to show their Indignation. Perhaps this year would also bring forth the first Olympics Sex Scandal and another bombing and would mark the start of World War Three. Just kidding.

Official list of games and schedule of events for this year’s Beijing summer Olympics can now be accessed on it’s official website. Click here for details.

The International Olympic Committee, the body who revived the Olympic games was founded in June 23, 1894 by Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin.

Olympic updates will be posted here so stay tuned and signup to an RSS feed.

Details list of Beijing Olympics medal tally and names of medalists and winners of different sporting activities will be posted in this page.

I think China will bag the golds this year as they obviously have all games represented. How ’bout you? Who do you think will win it all? Just post a comment bellow and be heard.

Stay tuned for updates and make sure you get the latest Olympic buzz by subscribing to this blog.