news { mrsmiley }

Merry Christmas from HBN | mrsmiley { December 25, 2008 }

And Happy Holidays for those that don't celebrate Christmas. The above pic was drawn by Etoli a couple years ago. Read on for a couple more classic HBN Xmas goodies.

Here's another for you, done by The Ancient:

Also, here's a bizarre and funny Halo Babies collaborative project that was done back in 2005. Anyone remember this one?

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Hope your Holidays are happy and full of goodness and win. If anyone wants to draw us a new image for next holiday season, feel free! :)

- Smiley

XBOX Live Account Issue: FINALLY DONE | mrsmiley { September 08, 2008 }

About 45 days ago, my Xbox Live account was hijacked by someone who phished my information from Xbox Customer Support. After a month and a half, my issue has finally been resolved. Yes, it took forever, but there is a happy ending. Read on for the letter I sent to my support rep's superiors...

I was so impressed with the agent who helped with this issue, that I wrote his superiors the email below. There is a lot more than just praise for this guy, and I encourage people to please leave a comment if you have your own concerns. Who knows, maybe this, in addition to my last post, will make a difference?

Hello there,

I am writing this letter to give some HUGE kudos to Herm, who has been assisting me for almost a month and half now, and to make a few points that I hope are forwarded on. On July 16, my Xbox Live account was stolen by someone who "phished" Xbox customer support for my info by calling at least 12 times. Having been in the tech support business for over 3 years now, I found it quite ridiculous that someone would be allowed to call this many times, and I was very worried that my account would be used to make purchases, and possibly trick my XBL friends into giving out information as well. It was a very unnerving experience to say the least .

When Herm gave me a call, I instantly felt that I was in good hands. He completely took over my case, and stayed in very close contact with me. When emailing during normal business hours, I would often get a reply within minutes! Herm also used the same efficiency in returning my calls, which is extremely rare in customer support these days. He was very up-front and honest with me, and I could tell he genuinely wanted to help me out.

The fact that this issue has dragged on for 45 days now is unacceptable, but I understand that these circumstances were out of Herm's hands. He was doing as best he could with the abilities he was given. In the end, he was able to get me a few of my purchases back, and was able to restore the majority of the Xbox Live points I spent on games (that I no longer had access to)! I never thought this would be possible, and I can't tell you how impressed and pleased I am that this was done on my behalf. It took a while, but this more than compensates for the time I had to wait.

In closing, I want to leave you with three things to think about. First, Herm is the best phone agent I have ever spoken two in a long history of tech support calls! This man needs a raise, an award, or something! Second, I was informed by Herm that you guys are working on a means to deal with these issues quickly, and ultimately end them. GOOD. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help, as this kind of thing shouldn't be happening in such a long-standing corporation like Microsoft. Finally, I am hoping that the same kind of support is going to be offered to the many other people that have had this issue affect them. Not everyone runs a well-known gaming site like HaloBabies.net, and it would be a pretty bad for me to get special treatment over to everyone else!

Thanks for your time, and thanks for providing someone who gets things done, and who truly puts 100% into his job.
Sincerely,
Matt Dunn

P.S. I will be posting this email shortly on HaloBabies.net. If you want to see what other people are experiencing, feel free to read comments there. You may be surprised.

I will do my best to reply to comments, so if you have a question, feel free to leave it. Although I don't necessarily want to offer all the gory details! (and no, M$ didn't pay me off or anything haha)

My Xbox Live Account was Stolen | mrsmiley { July 16, 2008 }

This issue was finally resolved. Read about it here.

So this morning I tried to login to MSN to find that my password didn't work. I was still logged into Bungie.net, so I checked my gamercard... sure enough, it's reset back to zero. I'm giving this as a warning to anyone who is my friend on Xbox Live. When it comes to issues like this, Microsoft tends to sit on their hands and deny everything. This is not right, especially when it deals with an account that not only has recon armor, but also has thousands of dollars of purchases connected to it!

I am going to be documenting my entire experience dealing with Microsoft Xbox Support on this issue right here. Please link to this article if you own or run a gaming news site of any kind. I know several people in the Halo community who have been burned by getting their account stolen, and I want the word to get out for this so Microsoft can take responsibility for poor support!

Read on for updates of how Microsoft is resolving (or not) this issue for me, and please leave a comment, and most importantly a DIGG, to show your support! Hopefully M$ will see this at some point and take REAL action against people who phish for information!

Last Update: Almost Done | 7/18 | 5:15pm

By the way, this isn't my first bad experience with Microsoft. You can read about my Xbox repair hell experience here.

NOTE: Just to clarify, my account was stolen by a common method called phishing. After multiple calls to M$, they had enough info to reset my password online.
_______________________________________________________________________

7/16 | 9:30am | 1st call to Xbox Support
I talked with someone named "Mark." He verified to me that someone had placed multiple calls into my account. He also verified that all my account information had been changed, except for my credit card (thank God). So I was able to verify that information, and then he put me in contact with someone from the billing department.

In billing, I talked to "Virginia." She took my information, and then directed me to login.live.com to send an email to their online support for help. Really? My credit card is exposed and my account is reset, and you send me to online support? That said, I filled it out and sent the request. I'm suppose to get a reply in 15-30 minutes according to Virginia. Virginia explained to me that the only way someone can get my account information is by me telling them, or me giving that information out online through a scam site or otherwise. I kindly explained to her that I have done neither, and that it is obvious by the multiple phone calls that someone was calling repeatedly to phish for my account information. She was quick to tell me that "that is a big no no," and that in the case notes agents have reported that the mystery caller failed verification, and they did not provide any information. I also explained that I have worked in a call center for 3 years, and there's no way someone is going to document giving personal information out over the phone. I asked to speak to someone who can give me a callback number in case the email process fell through, or if the issue happens again (considering someone has my personal info out there).

I was transferred to "supervisor" Michelle. She verified that someone called over 10 times (WTF!!!). She informed me that after 3 failed calls, it's transferred to a supervisor automatically (although she didn't say that this happened in my case). She also tried to tell me that no one there gave out my personal information. I once again politely explained that the evidence proves the exact opposite. I understand what she is supposed to tell me, and I understand she is being recorded, but I also understand that this kind of thing happens all the time, and human error is a very real thing in tech support. She basically told me I will need to wait for the email from support on resetting my password, and that I should change my information then.

I asked her what happens if I can't recover my account... and if I will be refunded for all the purchases I made. She would not answer, and told me I will need to just call back.

I tried to push to get to someone who could provide their contact info to me, and although she was polite, she wasn't going to budge. Since I'm not the type to act like an ass to get what I want, I had to give up at this point. I'll wait for the email and see what they say. I'm going to call my credit card company right now and cancel my card so no one can buy anything with it.

Total talk time: 1 hour, 3 minutes
_______________________________________________________________________

7/16 | 10:45am | Call to Credit Card company
Contacted my credit card company to have my card canceled and a new number setup. Dang they were quick! At least I know the idiot who jacked my account won't be able to buy anything now! Still waiting on that Xbox Support E-mail...

Total talk time: 5 minutes
_______________________________________________________________________

7/16 | 11:30am | No Email Yet
It's been about 90 minutes since I sent the support email. I don't expect I'll get a reply for a while, but figured I would mention that it definitely didn't arrive in the 15-30 minute time period that Virginia told me. I'll post it up as soon as I get it.
_______________________________________________________________________

7/16 | 12:25pm
I have emailed several news sites reporting the issue. I really hope someone posts this up. The way I see it, the more publicity this gets, the better chance Microsoft has at actually taking action on it, and maybe even improving their phone support so this issue stops happening!

I have also emailed Brian and Luke from Bungie to see if there's anything they can do, but I know they have extremely limited reign on issues like this. (Other than maybe taking away Recon for my account so the hacker can't parade around in it.) Here's hoping!
_______________________________________________________________________

7/16 | 3:25pm
Still no email from support. I checked with a few of my XBL friends, and it's official. They deleted my entire friends list. It appears my entire account has been completely reset. Years of gaming, achievements, friends now lost... all because of some bad Microsoft agents. To make matters worse, I have tons of personal emails, with personal account information in my hotmail email account, which now the thief has access too. I really hope Microsoft fines a way to redeem themselves, although I tend to think that won't happen.
_______________________________________________________________________

7/17 | 11:50am
I got a call this morning from a gentlemen named Herm. He explained to me that he got his instructions from high up to give me a call and resolve my issue. He also mentioned this blog, so I'm assuming someone relatively high up at M$ read this too. Good! Very friendly guy. He definitely knows what he's doing. We only talked briefly, but he explained that he should be able to restore all my information to my live account, and that he has locked it at the moment so no one can access it. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to make a new Live ID, but that's not a big deal, and it of course makes sense.

I'm not sure how I'll be compensated for the hassle of cancellng my credit card, and especially the fact that someone has had access to a LOT of personal information on my Hotmail account (personal emails, password confirmations for other websites, etc). I also don't know what measures will be taken to ensure that this won't happen in the future. But I'm assuming Herm is in an executive relations position, so I'm sure he can get things done! Things are looking up now, I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for the support!

_______________________________________________________________________

7/17 | 4:10pm
Looks like Microsoft is still having issues with their new account activation servers. Just my luck! Oh well, still waiting. I also sent Herm a friendly email stating some of my valid concerns about the fact that my personal information is now in the hands of some random person... including passwords for other websites that I had in my inbox from account recovery emails! :( I'm sure Microsoft will take care of things!

_______________________________________________________________________

7/18 | 12:30pm
Here is my email transcript for the past 24 hours or so. I'm once again happy that Microsoft is taking care of my account, but 3 questions are still to be answered:

1. What is Microsoft doing to keep this from happening?
2. What is Microsoft doing for me to compensate for this mess?
3. What is Microsoft doing for other people who are having this issue?

It's obvious that they are aware this is happening (it doesn't only happen to Microsoft), but the attitude that it's just going to happen, and that's that doesn't make up for the fact that my information is now out there in someone's hands. I suppose a 4th question can be asked:

4. What action is being taken against the person who stole my info? Considering they have his IP address from XBL, phone number, etc etc.

Here's the email log, I'll let it speak for itself:

Me
Hey Herm,

Looks like the server is still having issues. Hope this doesn't last too long! (Obviously nothing you can help with though.) I received an email response to the support request I put through yesterday, and I was surprised a bit at the amount of hoops I would have had to run through had someone higher up not heard my cries for help. It makes me worried for past and future customers who have or will run into this issue. I'm not going to paste the long support email on the blog, as I would like this to go down in history as a good situation, and that Microsoft will take care of other people who fall prey to this. However, I'm just now realizing the far impact this could have on me. Aside from the anxiety initially and having to cancel my credit card, I've now come to grips with the fact that this person had access to tons of personal emails, account passwords, and other information that didn't even relate to my Microsoft account. Overall, this mistake is going to end up costing quite a bit more time spent resetting/recreating accounts on the sites that I remember, and living in worry about the ones I don't remember. Frankly, this is something that could come back to haunt me months after the initial situation. :(

All that to say, I'm very appreciative of Microsoft stepping in to help me, and I am really looking forward to getting my account back up ASAP. But I also want to know what you guys are willing to do to ensure that that this issue won't happen again, and that I am compensated for the extreme inconvenience and stress this is causing both myself and my wife (she was worried sick at work yesterday when she found out about this). It also wouldn't hurt to know that the everyday user who has this happen (and who doesn't run a very popular Microsoft-supporting website!) will also be able to have things cleared up as easily and quickly.

Just some things to think about in the days ahead as we hopefully smooth things out. Until then, I'll wait to update my site!

Matt

Microsoft
Hey Matt,

I understand your concerns about this. Unfortunately, if someone wants to access your account, for whatever reason, they will do what it takes to access your account. I specifically deal with these cases and phishing is the latest craze. We get all aspects of phishing, from websites offering points to "social engineering" of the gamer, our techs, etc. We are always making changes so these cases stop, but like viruses, once you take care of one, another way pops up.

I did read something about the passport services having issues yesterday, so they are aware of the issue. Let me know when you get your new WLID created and we'll get you back on track.

Herm

Me
I definitely understand that we can't stop people from doing wrong things, but when someone is allowed to call in over 10 times without me being contacted, or without any other action being taken, to me it sounds like the system is broken somewhere. All I can say is that if I get burned later down the road from information that this person obtained from phishing my account, you guys are going to hear about it, and not in a good way. I don't want to be a jerk, but as you said, you understand how disconcerting this whole experience has been! I wish I could blame that phisher for this, but this is something that should have been stopped long before it came to fruition, and now I'm reaping the consequences of that mistake.

Anyways, the site is still not working. If you get any word that it's fixed and you want to give me a heads up, feel free!

Matt

Me
Looks like the site has something against Macs (lol), because when I tried it on a PC, it worked fine:

passport: *********
password: *********

Work your magic! :)

Microsoft
Ok, magic is being worked. We should have you back up for the weekend. I'll call you when done.

-HL

Me
Great news! Thanks for your diligence in this.

Matt

Please, someone tell me if I'm being an ass, or if these are valid points? I'm open to being wrong!

_______________________________________________________________________

7/18 | 5:15pm
Thanks as always for the feedback, guys. Herm just called me to let me know that I will unfortunately have to wait 30 days before they can link my new Live ID to my current Gamertag. He did, however, say that he's already planning on giving me a free year of Xbox Live for the inconvenience, so that's definitely a kind gesture.

I have the option to just create a new Gamertag if I want... to which they can transfer my purchases and points, but it will be devoid of achievements and stats. Tough decision! I'm thinking I may just wait for the 30 day period, although I've been itchy to change my GT for a while... hmmm...

I think things are just about done as far as resolving this goes. I was actually considering legal action at one point, because there's no doubt this kind of issue has a class-action ring to it. But honestly, Microsoft has resolved my issue very quickly, and even offered a free subscription as a gesture. Does this console the fact that they slipped up and someone has my information? Absolutely not. But the fact is, other than my old passwords and stuff, I really can't prove that the phisher even gained access to any of emails or other things. I'm going to wait and hope that it's not used against me. As stated in a previous email, if it is, Microsoft will certainly hear about it.

Digg this to get the word out!

I R F4MUS!!1 | mrsmiley { March 06, 2008 }

For some reason, ZZoMBiE13 decided to use my sexy mug in this week's AHC strip! Considering the news post below this one, it really is an honor to be in this with Stuntmutt... too bad I'm a big jerk to him! ;) It's very funny so be sure to go check it out if you haven't already!

Best. Desktop. Ever. | mrsmiley { February 23, 2008 }

I recently helped out ZZoMBiE13 of Another Halo Comic Strip with a couple things. It was no problem, as I am in love with the series he produces. Well he felt it necessary to repay by making a totally kickass desktop wallpaper starring none other than yours truly! It pays to be friends with awesome Halo artists. :D

Enough is Enough | mrsmiley { December 21, 2007 }

This is my final stand. My call to Microsoft to take responsibility for all the crap their faulty console has put me through for the past 2+ years of my life. Below is the letter I mailed to the Xbox Customer Relations department today. For full details about my experience, feel free to checkout the forum thread on this issue. Will M$ respond to the cries of a long lasting and loyal customer? Will they restore the little faith I have left in Xbox? I'll update with any responses.

Click "more" to see the letter and leave any comments.

NOTE: For some reason MT converted all apostrophes and quotes from the letter into strange symbols (probably from copying and pasting from Word... lord knows that sucks!). Don't have time to fix that at the moment, so just bare with it. ;)

THE LETTER:

Xbox Customer Relations
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this letter concerning repair case ID: 1049770542, which was started on November 17, 2007. As an addition, here is my repair history with Microsoft on my Xbox 360 in the 2+ years I’ve owned the system: 5 total console repairs, 1 hard drive replacement, 2 power supply replacements (waiting on the 3rd as we speak), and 1 power chord replacement.

I am here as a very loyal customer of Microsoft, and of Xbox. I bought the first Xbox the day it came out, and it lasted (save for that known power supply issue) for over 4 years. I bought the Xbox 360 the week of release, and have accumulated several months of down time due to repeated hardware failures since. I also run a very successful Halo/Xbox community art site of over 1,700 members, which has been supporting Xbox since the beginning (halobabies.net). I recognize that Microsoft has extended the warranty for the “three red lights issue�, and I appreciate that courtesy. I also have received a free wireless Xbox controller for my troubles, but that unfortunately doesn’t compensate for the hassles I have run through with this situation, and the downtime I’ve experienced. Frankly, a wireless controller does give me a working Xbox.

My brother came home from serving in Afghanistan for a year just 2 weeks ago. The biggest thing he was looking forward to was playing Halo 3 with myself and our friends. As you can see by my case history, I called in about my Xbox’s hardware failure on the 17th of November. I called up initially requesting a replacement Xbox due to my repair history. I was transferred to Laurie, a “repair and replacement specialist�. According to Laurie, at her position she had no way to authorize a replacement unit. I find this odd considering her title. Laurie was very friendly, and did pretty well with getting back to me with answers to my questions and repair updates, even if I didn’t like the answers I was getting. She informed me that the process had changed, so that actual parts are replaced in my original console, rather than me just getting a separate (and often faulty) refurbished model. Because of this, I reluctantly agreed to start the repair process, hoping that it would actually work this time.

My brother came home, and his hopes were dashed when he found out my console was in repair. However, the turn-around time was only a week, so I received my repaired console surprisingly quick. My bro drove 30 minutes to my house to play with me. I hooked everything up, and instantly got the 3 red lights. Shocked, I had my second brother drive up with his own console and power supply. After comparing mine to his, I found that I was given the European (220W) power supply, rather than the American (120W) standard. I called Laurie. Who promptly set me up to receive the correct power supply. The problem is, I won’t receive this until after Christmas. It will have been over 5 weeks without a working console at this point. Sadly, this isn’t the first time I have experienced this kind of down time with Xbox service.

My brother has only had a couple chances to play Halo 3, and those were at other friend’s houses. It has been a tradition since the first Halo for us to play together, and because of the poor Xbox repair service, this will not happen for probably another year, when he comes back home next Christmas. One of the few things my brother has been waiting for since getting shipped out with army can’t be fulfilled, and I am stuck without a game system, DVD player, or music center for the holidays, which is generally when I use it the most.

I work for a high level of tech support at computer company myself. I replace entire computers for half as many issues as I’ve had with this Xbox 360 console. My request is simple: I want to exchange this console for a brand new console, sealed in the box. I am tired of being run around every time I call in (Apparently, you don’t have a phone customer relations department?! That’s what I was told, and I find that extremely bizarre.), and I’m tired of almost service incidents over two years, countless months of downtime, and poor support at repair depots. I feel that I would be completely reasonable if I were to ask to be upgraded to an Elite console, or request financial reimbursement for my purchase. (On a side note, I had to pay to have my Gears of War disk resurfaced after the Xbox cut a ring around it before this repair.)

All I want is a new console. That’s it. That’s maybe $300 at the most, which I’m sure is far less than you’ve paid for more repairs and calls than I can count for these issues.

I have lost complete faith in Microsoft’s console repair process. The service I have received (aside from Laurie, who was very kind), has been so far below what is expected by any normal consumer, that it blows my mind to think any company would not have drastically changed their support structure by now. I know how the tech support repair process works, as I have been in the business for almost 3 years. Is it too much to ask that I finally get the service I paid for when I purchased the warranty? I want a working console; and not one that will break in another 6 months when I need it the most.

Thanks for listening, and I apologize if this letter seems harsh, but I assume you can understand my frustration. I expect to receive some sort of confirmation that this was received, either via mail, email, or by phone. I don’t want to have to take this any farther, but I’m sure I speak for all Xbox consumers who have gone through this process when I say that enough is enough! I hope Microsoft can stand behind their products the same way Apple has stood behind their products whenever I have called them for service.

Sincerely,

Matthew Dunn

smiley is engaged! | mrsmiley { June 22, 2007 }

that's right. from a geeky halo nerd to the husband of a gorgeous beauty pageant queen! how did i do it? i have no idea. go here for details. :)

Sorry for the wait... | mrsmiley { October 22, 2005 }

I just wanted to update you guys on the whole, er, art update situation. Just so you guys know, I've spent several hours viewing every Gallery submission from July 1 to August 31, and I will be sifting through the rest (8 pages worth) of the art soon! The featured art will appear in the first of 2 major art updates next week. I would post it now, but I'm heading out of town for the weekend, and won't have access to the internet.

I will also be doing a separate feature every week for our fan strip forum. There's a lot of great stuff in there, and I think it deserves a weekly update for all those artists who work hard.

Finally, after all the art updates are finished, I will be conducting a MASSIVE update to our on-site fan art database. If you have had your Halo Babies fan art featured in the past, expect to see it on the site soon!

Why am I telling you all this? Because it has been a LONG time coming, and you have all been more than patient. (Even though I can hear you whining behind my back! =P) So yes, we are almost there. Keep submitting your art, we're lookin' at it! =)

Master Chief's E3 Adventure | mrsmiley { May 27, 2005 }

A while back I posted a story documenting a trip that Master Chief and I took to new New York City. We were blown away by how much people enjoyed this! Aside from receiving over 500 comments to this day, the story was featured on tons of sites, including Bungie.net and IGN.com. It was even mentioned in UK's Official Xbox Magazine! Not wanting to miss out on a good thing, the MC and I decided to document our trip to this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in LA. Be warned! This time it contains over 25 pictures!

NOTE: Image links open in a pop-up window, so they will not disrupt the story.

Road Trip!

It was a fine Tuesday morning when Chief and I set out for LA. The Chief was quite excited as this was his first E3 appearance! He also looked forward to hanging out in LA. I had been to LA quite a few times, but the Chief was only there briefly for some meeting relating to a movie deal. Go figure.

Since it was early, and I was tired from site work the night before, I decided to go ahead and let Master Chief drive a bit. The chief tends to drive too fast, so I told him to keep it at a safe speed. I have a feeling he was only going 80 when I was awake After about an hour nap, I heard the car door shut. Apparently we had parked at a rest area so the Master Chief could take care of business. This was totally cool, until we stopped again an hour later, and then once more after that! Chief took longer that time. He said he had a problem with the hand drier.

When we were about half way there, we took a quick stop for gas. Since there was a Carls Jr. in the area, we decided to stop and get something to eat. Of course, this meant the Chief taking yet another bathroom brake. What was he doing in there? I wondered this myself, so I snuck in and checked. I was shocked to find the tru7h! I know the Mark VI armor resembles a bra, but that was ridiculous. The chief was so embarrassed, that he ran and hid in the play area. I finally got him to come back down by promising I wouldnt show anyone the picture.

Oops.

After a satisfying meal, we set off for the remainder of the drive to LA.

To our delight, when we arrived at our hotel in LA, it was nicer than we expected. After getting things unpacked in our room, we set back and enjoyed our fantastic view. After a few games of Halo, we both hit the hay. We had a busy day ahead of us at E3!

Into the Expo

The LA Convention Center was absolutely packed people when we arrived. Registration was a hassle, as Microsoft had apparently forgotten to add the Chiefs name to the invite list. Luckily someone at the booth recognized him, and we got in anyways. The Chiefs first steps on the classic red carpet of E3 were overwhelming. He just stood there in awe at everything that was going on. After a few minutes, however, he wasted no time in warming up to the locals. I had an especially hard time pulling him away from these ladies. Yowza. I had a hard time pulling myself away! ;)

We finally arrived at the Xbox360 booth. You cant see the Chief in that picture, because he was signing an autograph for Obi-Wan Kenobi, who stopped by the show after the premier of Star Wars Episode III. The Chief arrived at the Halo 2 map pack booth, where he signed autographs, and posed in front of the sign for fans. Because the MC was so popular, he had to be escorted out of the booth by security before he got stepped on.

The next day, we returned to E3 for another round of insanity. MC saw a break dancing competition going on in one booth, so he decided to join in. I swore he didnt do it to look up that booth babes skirt, but Im not to sure. To play it safe, I decided it was best we leave that side of the center. The Chief wanted to check out the Playstation section, so we headed over to the South Hall. Unbeknownst to us, the Chief was quite disliked over there. After a scary life threat from some assassins posing as booth babes, we ran out of the Sony area as fast as we could! The day was almost over over, so the Chief and I relaxed in some seats that quite resembled toilet bowls.

Plasma Fiesta 2005!

The following day really was the highlight of our trip. It was time for the second annual Plasma Fiesta (or D3 as we like to call it!). This is a fun community event where a bunch of the people in the Bungie community hang out, eat food, play Halo, and chat about things that cause women to grimace and run away. The Chief made sure to get in on the Halo action, and even posed for pictures
afterwards! Later on Sketchfactor brought out prizes for some competitive matches. MC mistook one of these prizes for the real thing, and got quite a fright! Hmmm, maybe he didnt want me sharing that with you either

The Mexican food at the party was great! We all ate our fill. The Chief had a slight mishap while searching for a Diet Dr. Pepper at the bottom of the bucket, but it was soon resolved
when I grabbed one for him. One of the highlights of the event last year was all the free ice cream. This year was no exception. Its too bad we couldnt take it all home with us, but Im sure Dean will find a nice charity to donate it to.

Later on, one of Master Chiefs biggest fans brought him his favorite dessert, key lime pie! Who knew? He was delighted, and was sure to thank Sparkie after getting her phone number.

As the night waned away, and people started winding down, The Chief sat down with HBO legend Louis Wu for some good converstion and a cold one. Unfortunately, one cold one lead to another, and resulted in the end of the party for Master Chief!

The Long Ride Home

The trip home wasnt all that exciting, so I will not bore you with it here. I basically consisted of the Chief sleeping of his hangover. However, the Chief did mention that he learned a valuable lesson while in LA.

Alcohol, salsa, and key lime pie dont mix.

MC's NY Adventure Mentioned in UK OXM! | mrsmiley { February 26, 2005 }

This is kinda late news, but I recently found out that our "famous" Master Chief's New York Adventure story got mentioned in UK's Official Xbox Magazine! The little blurb includes a picture and a paragraph about that dopey story! What is the world coming to? Check it out! (Thanks to MC_Elite for the pic and heads up!)

Master Chief's New York Adventure! | mrsmiley { January 19, 2005 }

As some of you know, I have been in NYC for the past few days on vacation. What I didn't tell you is that Master Chief went along with me! We had a great time together, but some surprising events happened! Read on for my own account of Master Chief's New York Adventure!

NOTE: Images will pop-up in a separate window when you click the links.

Woah, somehow this got itself on Bungie.net's main page! Thanks, Frankie! :)

Update: Due to the request of the parents of the "new york girl," one of the pictures has been removed from the story. I apologize to those who are disappointed at the change, and especially to those who were offended by the pic.

The plane ride to NYC was pretty smooth. Unfortunately, I couldn't really tell what was going on, because MC hogged the window!

When we finally arrived at JFK International Airport, we were pleased to see that all of our luggage had arrived as well.

We took a shuttle to a quaint little hotel on Chambers and West Broadway called the Cosmopolitan. No relation to the magazine, thank god. We took the elevator up to our room, and relaxed a bit.

After settling into our room, we decided to find a local Italian eatery to fill up on some local dishes. I wanted to take the subway, but MC wanted to take a taxi. It took a while, but he finally got one, and we hopped in. We found a nice little restaurant, where the Chief sampled some lasagna pie. Yum!

We had a great time touring the sites and sounds of New York for the next few days. It wasn't until the second to last day that something quite surprising happened! The Chief and I were getting our morning coffee at a local Starbucks. I excused myself to the restroom, and when I came back, Master Chief was flirting with a cute New York chick! She had taken my spot at the table, so I figured it would be best to leave them alone.

The next day, she was all the MC could think about. He made his decision, and there was nothing I could say to stop him. We swung by Tiffany's later that day and found a beautiful ring.

The Chief proposed soon after, and she said yes! Master Chief was so happy, that he threw himself on the ground and made an angel in the fresh snow. What a lucky guy!

Master Chief decided to stay in New York and live with his new found love, and I returned to California to tell you his story. I am sure the Chief and his new fiance will live a long and happy life. He sends his thanks to everyone for their support, and his fiance says hi!

Halo4U Interviews ME | mrsmiley { October 21, 2004 }

Scott of Halo4U has just posted an interview on his budding fan site. It is a good interview, as most of it doesn't even pertain to Halo Babies! The questions range from the piracy issue at hand, to different aspects of Halo and Halo 2. Even if you don't want to read the interview, check out the site! It is very well made, and looks to have some good potential for expansion.

MLG Downpour Write-Up and Video | mrsmiley { August 25, 2004 }

Before I begin with this write-up of MLGPro's Downpour event, I need to say one thing to those who did not attend.

You missed out.

This tourney was by far one of the coolest Halo events I have been to, and I had an absolute blast while I was there!

The trip did not start out that way, however. My plan was to bring a bunch of exclusive Halo Babies t-shirts to sell/giveaway at the event. These shirts were scheduled to arrive at my house before 10am on Friday morning. They did not show up until 3:30pm. Oh well, I suppose late is better than not showing up at all! I left with my friend, Jordan Davis, who tagged along for the "perks" of the event. =) It tooks us about 12 hours of uneventful driving, but we finally arrived at Lowell's (Gruntsbane's friend) house at around 5am Saturday morning. Gruntsbane came out to greet us, and we chatted a bit before hitting the hay.

But let's stop there, because I need to share something that absolutely freaked me out! After receiving our destination address from Gruntsbane online, I used MapQuest to plot out our trip from my house to his. Wanna know how many miles the trip was gonna take?

777.

Don't believe me? Take a big fat look at this. (If you still don't believe me, you can talk to Gruntsbane, who saw the actual page!) Anyways, this odd coincidence could only mean one thing: I need to get out more.

Back to the story. We arrived at the tourney at about 11 the following morning (after a quick donut run). Of course, it took about 30 minutes of wandering before we actually got there. This thing took place in the "Seattle Center." Now I don't know about you, but when I think of a "center", I think of one building with several convention rooms inside. Well, this "center" consisted of about 10 buildings, each with several convention rooms inside! Needless to say, we made it, and I'm glad we did!

We showed up amid the FFA tourney, and got to check out some of that action until the Sketch and Frankie showed up from Bungie. These guys brought joy to every fan who attended the event by allowing MLG to hold the first Halo 2 tourny ever! It is pretty crazy to think about a game being in a tournament 3 months before it was released, but we sure as hell didn't care! The Halo 2 madness went for about 3 hours, and ended with a great "staff" game; featuring yours truly, my friend, Jordan, Gruntsbane, the MLG crew, Miguel, and Randall Glass. It was a great match. I mean "great" by the fact that we stomped on MLG! =P The featured video of me playing this game can be found here.

After we packed up for the day, Miguel, Randall, Jordan, Lowell, Joel, and I decided to head to the nearby Bucca de Beppo's for some Italian eats. We had a great time discussing different aspects of Halo 2, as well as our experiences with some of Bungie's original games. All this to say, we left behind a little momento for future customers of that restaurant. (Here's a closer picture.)

After an awesome dinner with some good friends, Joel, Jordan, Lowell and I headed back to Lowell's house for some nice and relaxing 3v3 Halo action (they invited some WAY TOO 1337 neighbor kids). We got pwned. Despite that, it was a good end to a good day.

We got up the next morning and headed back to MLG for a final day of festivities. What I experienced and saw that day was probably the highlight of my trip. Don't get me wrong, I loved Halo 2 - it kicked total ass! That in mind, I saw a new game that blew me away instantly! I can't say anything, as the game hasn't even been announced yet, but let's just say that this new game kicks major ass, and will most likely become an instant favorite with Halo fans. Getting to play this game absolutely rocked, and as Jynx would say, it was totally "moist." I will post info about it as soon as I can!

MLG's Downpour in Seattle definitly showed me an awesome time, and I hope that you guys will be able to attend one of the next events that are coming up. It was great being able to play other Halo teams, and get completely pwned by them. (Damn you TNA!) There is just something about Halo that brings complete and total strangers together in harmony. It was this phenomenon that made the Downpour such a success in my mind.

That, and Halo 2. =)

Last night, I threw together about an 8-minute video of this event for your enjoyment. There is a lot of shaky-cam Halo 2 footage... w00t! I also got quite a bit of footage that I could not fit into this video, so expect some new sponsor content coming soon!

This video will be back online from this site in 2 weeks when our bandwidth resets, or if someone mirrors it for us. Sorry for the inconvenience!

• Mirror at Mythica (Thanks Louis Wu!)
  Video: Halo Babies at the MLG Downpour | WMV (zipped) | Right click and 'Save as' to download, or click link to stream.

• If anyone can make a Quicktime version of this for me, or if anyone would like to mirror this, please let me know! Thanks!

Happy Bungie Day! | mrsmiley { July 08, 2004 }

Today is Bungie Day! To commemorate this event, I have made a special Bungie Day Flash Card for all to enjoy. Check it out via the news post I made at Bungie.net!

Holler at your Boys | mrsmiley { November 17, 2003 }

Just wanted to give you all a friendly reminder that Gruntsbane and I love to hear from fans of Halo Babies! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the comic, e-mail Gruntsbane at ! If you have a site-related comment, e-mail me at . Don't be a stranger now! ;P

Smileys get Angry | mrsmiley { September 26, 2003 }

Gruntsbane told me today that he was not able to complete a strip for this week's release. "Not able," huh? Well this is what happens when Gruntsbane doesn't have a strip: I MAKE ONE! Go check it out! Gruntsbane, please stop this travesty from ever happening again! =P

In the Spotlight | mrsmiley { August 22, 2003 }

Both Gruntsbane and I have been spotlighted at the Junkyard Click the link below to view mine. UPDATE: Gruntsbane's is now up as well!.

Contact Us | mrsmiley { July 31, 2003 }

I added e-mail adresses for both myself and Gruntsbane to the Contacts section.