The Hawaii paintball community today mourns the passing of one of its most prominent and skilled members, Matt "Gizmo" Luber. Those that have met him know that his reputation as an elite player and a truly cool guy always preceded him. If there was anyone who didn't deserve to have his thread cut short, it was him.

Matt was one of Hawaii's "paintball ambassadors," appearing on the cover of Action Pursuit Games in October of 2000 ... if you look closely you can see his 'mag is equipped with a version of the infamous "Luber bracket" front-bottle conversion ...

A little more info about Matt's passing is available here. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

Indiana Jones 4? Seems likes it. That's exciting news. Here's hoping they continue in the fine tradition of one of the few movie serials that didn't suck. From Jui.

Also, here's some inside info from someone who has supposedly seen an early cut of Star Wars Episode 2. He gives it raves, but the comment about him raving about Godzilla tends to put things into a little perspective.

Well even though Bit Char-Gs are already in America, they are coming to America, apparently officially, as "Microsizers." These cars seem limited to two frequencies, 27 and 49mhz, which is intriguing, as the 49mhz control frequency heretofore did not exist. Word is, the UK release is going to have a 40mhz version ... so there is the potential for SIX different frequencies out there. Question is, will they work together without interference?

Yes, there is an organization called Armed Females of America. This is either exciting or frightening, depending on your point of view.

This product has actually been out for a while ... Disk on Key is a USB storage device using flash memory that is designed to fit on a keychain. An interesting idea, to say the least. And while the storage space is small now, it's only a matter of time before we carry a couple of gigs just as easily. Check out a review here.

A couple of new games for you to peruse:

• Dark Planet, a 3D RTS from Ubi.
• Arx Fatalis, a medieval-themed first-person RPG that looks very complex and a little on the dark side.

For those of you that remember the Newegg Cheap RAM Fiasco, check out the latest big-box fuckup -- the Bestbuy.com GF4 saga. Personally, I despise Best Buy, so ... stick it to 'em!

THURSDAY, 3/28/2002, 7:Ish am HST by Penfold

Speedy Gonzales falls victim to political correctness as the Cartoon Network will not air those cartoons. Now fans are trying to get him back. Read about it here.

With the success of the Bullitt Mustang, Ford has decided to milk the Mustang cow a bit more. Coming soon, the new Mach 1 Mustang w/ shaker hood.

Proof positive that everyone is a star online, even Rue McClanahan (you know, Blanche from Golden Girls).

And other strange bits of ninja knowledge right here.

Submitted by Mei Li

WEDNESDAY, 3/27/2002, 1:50pm HST by Raul

Well Ghost Recon's first expansion pack, Desert Seige, has gone gold with a ship date of March 26 -- so we should see it in stores VERY soon, if it is not there already. Accordingly, Redstorm has launched the official DS site.

Desert Seige includes several fixes to the original Ghost Recon game, and the version is changed to 1.2.10.0. To maintain compatibility, Redstorm has released patch #2. Sounds like some nice fixes were made .

Here's the first review of Desert Seige. It isn't much, but it's something.

Okay, this is a really strange artwork -- a huge machine that replicates human digestion. Yes, right down to the, um, byproducts. Interesting, really.

Forsberg's return?

DENVER (AP) -- Colorado Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg plans to skate for about 10 minutes on Thursday, marking his first ice time since surgery to repair tendon damage in his left foot on Jan. 10.

MONDAY, 3/25/2002, 7:Ish am HST by Penfold

I would have posted yesterday, but I was asleep since 4 in the afternoon.

Jesus, helping out a brother, no matter the job.

Submitted by Nate the Snake

Know the game "six degrees of Kevin Bacon"? See if you can beat the Oracle of Bacon.

Hockey times

Hockey times for the week of 3/25/02

• ESPN2-21 Tue, Mar 26, 2002 5:00 PM "Dallas Stars at San Jose Sharks"
• FOXW2-42 Tue, Mar 26, 2002 5:00 PM "Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks"
• ESPN2-21 Tue, Mar 26, 2002 11:00 PM "Dallas Stars at San Jose Sharks"
• ESPN-22 Wed, Mar 27, 2002 3:00 PM "Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers"
• FOXW2-42 Wed, Mar 27, 2002 5:30 PM "Phoenix Coyotes at Anaheim Mighty Ducks"
• ESPN-22 Wed, Mar 27, 2002 10:00 PM "Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers"
• ESPN2-21 Thu, Mar 28, 2002 2:30 PM "Buffalo Sabres at St. Louis Blues"
• FSWH-41 Thu, Mar 28, 2002 4:00 PM "Anaheim Mighty Ducks at Phoenix Coyotes"
• ESPN2-21 Thu, Mar 28, 2002 5:30 PM "Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks"
• ESPN2-21 Thu, Mar 28, 2002 11:00 PM "Buffalo Sabres at St. Louis Blues"

MONDAY, 3/25/2002, 2:00am HST by Raul

I've been a bit busy, so I hope this post helps make up for it.

Here's a link to a few samples from a camera with a preproduction Foveon sensor. I don't know about you, but to me these look absolutely stunning. I can't wait until we see these in production.

Found on the Unofficial Moderated Minolta Forum.

Here's a pretty fun Flash game that puts you (and your submachine gun) against typical modern-day terrorists that police special-weapons types might face. It's Danish (thanks Greggo), and your captain is yelling at you (I swear he's yelling in German, but what do I know?) the whole time. If anyone speaks German or Danish and can confirm/translate, I'd be interested to hear it.

I suppose this can best be described as a countercultural music mix video, from way back in the day before there was much of a thing called the World Wide Web. But its style would be right at home in the current digital era. One was likely to see it at only the most "underground" of locales. It's now available on the Internet for the enjoyment of all, so take a look at EBN. From Tef, who was there as it happened.

Need serious case cooling? Try a 131 CFM 120mm fan. Now THAT blows.

Lankus sends the heads-up about a regular event at Hawaii Raceway Park called Drift Session. I think Tef might have told me about it at one point. On one hand, I can't get with the idea of drifting purposely. It's like, why not have something called a "spin out session," "crash session" or "slow race." But then again, I do appreciate the idea of the burnout contest, so I guess it's something along the same lines.

Plus I have fond memories of a buss-up Toyota wagon that used to drift the darkside on the regular.

Thumbin' it

LONDON (Reuters) -- The use of gadgets such as mobile phones and GameBoys has caused a physical mutation in young people's hands, according to a British Sunday newspaper.

New research carried out in nine cities around the world shows that the thumbs of people under the age of 25 have taken over as the hand's most dexterous digit, said The Observer.