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I want to see how my site handles urls like this one |
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This is just a test post... Nothing to see here... Move along. |
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Sci-fi
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Nov. 30th, 2007 @ 10:58 pm
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I recently read William Gibson say that science fiction is more about the present than the future (paraphrased). Never more has that be exemplified to me than watching Robocop I and II right in a row more than 15 years after they were made.
The whole concept seems centered around all our fears and concerns from the 1980's.
There are tons of references to our fears of nuclear and drug threats. Not to mention both the fascination and fear of the japanese.
The nuclear and drug things are quite overt and don't really need elaboration, but the japanese thing is a bit more subtle. I've seen this fear evolve over the decades and witnessed both sides. Of course, it's not really about the Japanese as a people or cultrue, but more about what they represent (in our minds, as the american people). The perception was that the corporate culture in Japan overwhelms personal freedom and our individual welfare. The robocop story is a "rah-rah" message that American independence, perseverance (and firepower) will overcome that. That's our answer to everything! Blow it up!
On the other hand, I find it interesting how some messages have staying on mark over the years. The whole eco/green issues, as well as non-smoking issues were in there. Although, they were portrayed as diversions for Robocop to overcome. Perhaps they were a cautionary device for the story teller. "Yes, we should deal with that, but not until we deal with corporate takeover and social freedoms." Does the fact that we are dealing with those things now, mean that we've solved those problems these days? Or have we just replaced them with a fear of terrorism and Islamic extremism? Perhaps, in ten years, those things will seem anachronistic. (I'm scared to think of what might replace those things, though :P ) |
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So, during my recent hiatus from XBox360, Settlers of Catan finally came out for the XBox Live Arcade. I almost missed it. This is a very fun board game that I have enjoyed on many an occasion in the past. I had no real expectations one way or the other about how it would turn out when ported over to a gaming console, but was looking forward to it none the less.
So far I have been very pleased with it. With the board game version of it, you needed to spend 10-15 minutes setting up and find 2 or 3 friends to play with... Honestly, who has that kind of time or that many friends?
Sarcasm aside, given the instantaneous setup and decent, adjustable A.I., the games ends up being fairly addictive. The interface is surprisingly usable. I was unsure how trading resources (offering/requesting different combinations of resources as well as including/excluding which players you trade with) was going to work, but they seem to cover it all.
I haven't yet tried it online with friends. I suspect the interface is exactly the same and will be even more fun since you can chat with your friends, making trading and such even easier. |
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I need to pull out the tent and other camping gear this weekend. The tent itself needs to be aired out. This involves clearing out a space in our living room and propping it up, zipping and unzipping everything and checking for holes, leaks etc.. The rest of the equipment mostly involves making sure we have enough batteries and such to work them. Oh, and making sure there are no leaks in the air mattress. That's of vital importance.
Next week, we need to do our shopping. Food, supplies and such.
Oh! And can't forget the dog. Need to make sure she's all prepped as well. Dog food, treats, leash, doggie bags, tether, heartworm meds, flea/tick meds, water dish... Probably something else I forgot. The cats just need food and water and perhaps a neighbor to check in once part way through the weekend (They're not coming).
For those of you who care, I'm keeping this list and notes and such public in my backpack. |
| » Twitter |
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I'm trying out Twitter.
It's like LJ, but with lower overhead. You just say what you're doing at the moment, and that's it. It's very zen like in comparison to LiveJournal. There's no pressure to write something interesting or deep or useful or whatever. Just my status.
And there's software like Twitterrific that makes updates super easy, so hopefully I will actually update once in a while.
Mar. 27th, 2007 @ 10:29 am
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| » XBox down! |
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Just under two weeks after the warranty on my XBox 360 ran out, it up and died.
It had been having problems reading discs. In the end, only one out of every 10 times i put a game in, was it recognized as a game instead of just a DVD.
Microsoft knew they had some hardware problems with the first run of XBox 360s. This was obvious because of the fact that they extended the manufacturer's warranty from 90 days to 1 year. And even though 1 year and 13 days had passed since I purchased mine, when I called their tech support MS went out of it's way to fix my problem at (almost) no cost to me.
I did have to pay for shipping, but I'm not going to cry over that $20. Other than the two weeks I'll be without, this hasn't been too bad an experience. It would have been nice if it hadn't been broken in the first place, though...
Mar. 27th, 2007 @ 10:16 am
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| » Xbox Arcade: Uno |
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Why is Uno so fun to play on xbox? It seems a bit silly to be playing it on such a powerful machine. Plus, Uno itself is a bit silly. There's almost no strategy involved. You barely have to think to play the game. Except for remembering to call "Uno" before playing your penultimate card, you don't even need to pay attention to the game. I guess that it's just a fun way to sit and chat with your online friends and unwind after twitch games like first person shooters.
Jul. 18th, 2006 @ 01:17 pm
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| » Videogame update: PGR3 |
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For 400 MS points ($5), you can download the "Style pack" for PGR3 which include the Mini Cooper. I bought it, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. Only a few other LAGers have downloaded it yet, and unless everyone in the room has it, you can't play it. Microsoft if really nickel-and-diming us at this point. At least it has renewed interest in the game. I did a bit of racing last night. Which is always fun with the right group of people.
Jul. 17th, 2006 @ 10:34 am
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| » Weekend report |
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In an effort to keep more active on this journal thing, here's the summary for this past weekend:
Friday, home early from work (Huge project starting this week, so it was the calm before the storm... more on that later due to NDA). Went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Movie review: Excellent movie. One of the fight scenes was a bit too silly IMO, but didn't really detract from the overall experience. The movie ended half way through the story line, though. Just as it was getting really exciting, they rolled the credits. The third movie will be out at the end of the Summer, I hear.
Saturday, too hot to do anything outside. Stayed in and cleaned the house, re-arranged furniture (again). In the evening, dinner with my parents and brother, U.
Sunday, too hot to go out again... but we did. Brunch with our neighbor. She wanted to go with Beckie, and some of her friends on a "garden walk" through the neighborhood. I walked the dog with them for a bit, but went back indoors to get into the A/C. Apparently, whatever neighborhood group that was supposed to put the garden walk together dropped the ball. Beckie and the other just walked around the area until they got tired. Then xbox in the evening.
Jul. 17th, 2006 @ 10:13 am
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| » Close Call |
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Yesterday, I had to get up at 6 AM to get on a conference call with a coworker in Germany. As a result, I decided to work from home for the rest of the day, as did Beckie.
This is the first time I have worked from home since I moved to Chicago. And I couldn't have picked a better day for it. I usually take the Blue Line from Damen Ave. to Washington St. to get to work. Yesterday, one of the trains heading out of the Loop during rush hour derailed! There's a decent chance that we would have been on that train had we gone in for work that day. Even if we weren't on that train, we would have been stranded downtown.
We decided to drive in today since the trains are running slow.
Jul. 12th, 2006 @ 10:21 am
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| » Xbox 360 |
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So, I ranted a bit on PGR3 in my previous post. Now for a review on the Xbox 360, itself. In a word: Awesome! In four words: Awesome to the max!
Unlike PGR3, the designers made online play the primary focus. And not just competitive online play. All types, from casual to hard-core competitive. I'm not completely sure, but from a black box observation, Xbox Live support is no longer done on a game-by-game basis. Rather, it is now a core feature of the operating system (with the exception of backward compatible games from the old Xbox). With the old Xbox, each game seemed to implement their own support for Xbox Live (or not). If a game didn't support Live, there was no way for you access your friends list or for your friends to know you are playing a game. With the Xbox 360 all games support Live whether they like it or not. A new button on the controller brings up your friends list no matter where you are in any game (Again, except for the original Xbox games).
The Xbox 360 Marketplace is really cool, too. You can download trial versions of new games (I've got the new Tomb Raider, which I have yet to try out), trial or full versions of old/smaller games (e.g. Joust, Zuma, Billiards). The full versions usually only cost $4 or $5 in "Microsft Points". You can also download movie or game trailers to watch. It's a pretty cool way to waste time.
One of my favorite features is the wireless controller. The headset plugs right in, so I can still chat with my online buddies while in the kitchen getting something to drink between games. Plus, I don't have to worry about the cat sitting on the cords and messing up my game.
Is it worth the price? It's hard to say. I make a good living and thoroughly enjoy playing my video games, so I've had no problem justifying the cost. Not everyone is in the same position, though. The current game selection is a bit on the slim side, but that will change. Whether that changes significantly before the first price drop remains to be seen.
May. 8th, 2006 @ 10:45 am
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| » Project Gotham Racing 3 |
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Another long overdue post. I promised to write up a review of this over a month ago. In my defense, it took a while for me to really get an understanding of how I felt about it and why.
Summary: Somewhat disappointed.
Overview: Amazing graphics. Amazing game play. Low replay value.
What I loved about PGR2 was the incentive to replay the game over and over. Online play with my friends was some of the best time I've had on Xbox Live. PGR3 took many of the key features that allowed that fun and threw it out the window.
My impression of the game is that the creators wanted to make a game that would reward the top 100 racers in the world with ego boosting leader boards and Gotham TV exposure. Thus motivating the rest of the gaming community to get better and compete in order to get to the top of the leader boards. It's not about having fun! It's about being the BEST!
This was even the case with PGR2, but they accidently let a few key features slip into the game that allowed casual gamers have fun. They fixed these oversights in PGR3, though:
1) Low-end cars
Low end cars like the Mini Cooper, Ford Focus, even the Porsche Cayenne allowed even average skilled players to have fun. This had the effect of slowing the pace of a race down and changing the dynamics of the circuit. Real players wouldn't want to waste their efforts trying to learn how to race these pieces of junk. Also, they allowed them to play silly games like Cat & Mouse or Goat, that are strictly "fun", not competitive.
2) Car classes
Real players don't need distinctive car classes to decide what to drive. Grouping cars into classes like Pacific Muscle, Sports Coup, Sport Utility, etc. only allows players to have fun experimenting with different handling and basic behavior of the cars. All cars should be SUPER cars and be grouped by overall performance and classes with exciting and distinctive names such as A, D, E, and even B or C! And why bother making a player bother to learn to drive a variety of different cars in single player mode? Let them buy the one car they'll race all the time online and complete the entire game with it. A real player will pick one car and race it over and over and over... How else can they be the best in the world (with that one car)? It's bad enough they have to race more than one circuit.
3) Able to earn Kudos with your friends
God forbid that players should be able to advance their game and unlock their cars while having fun with their friends! The only way to earn kudos should be to race competitively with the general public. Racing with 12 year old kids (who curse like sailors and make you feel bad for not having 14 hours a day to practice the game) is the only way for real gamers to prove their quality.
Sarcasm aside, these were features that made PGR2 accessible to the average player. Although PGR2 was geared more toward competition than casual fun (e.g. You were always shown the top 10 players on the leaderboards, and you had to dig through menus to see how you compared to your friends, you had to go through extra steps to keep your online games private, and even when private, friends of friends could still wander into a room, and then invite all THIER friends making it no better than a public room at times), it was still a lot of fun to play. PGR3 has taken even more steps toward a super-comptetitive environment. This is why Halo 2 is still the best game for the Xbox and Xbox 360. They have online features that allow for both types of game play. What frustrates me the most is that it is a step backwards.
On the plus side, there are some nice new features to PGR3:
1) Awesome graphics. Breath-taking scenery.
2) A.I. cars in online mode. It's nice to be able to fill out a room. I hate losing to them, but if I don't make them challenging, what's the point.
May. 5th, 2006 @ 05:00 pm
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| » BOC |
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It's been two months and I forgot to blog about the Bag-O-Crap from Woot!. (as![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) murphyw pointed out)
Here goes. It wasn't anything too interesting, I'm sorry to report. I was a Big Screen TV Cable Kit from Monster Cable. Which sounds better than it actually is. By "Big Screen", they don't mean HDTV. The kit included a set of standard A/V cables and a couple coaxial cables and a gigantic, horribly ugly surge protector. I forget off hand whether there was even any S-video cables, but I don't think so.
Since, with this TV, I am switching over to component video, HDMI video, and soon to digital audio, none of the cables are all that useful. Also, the cables were too short. All the inputs are on one side of the TV and I want to keep my various devices on the other side (This may change someday). The cables (at 6', if I recall correctly) don't bridge the gap. Even the coaxial isn't long enough to go between the PVR and the wall.
The kit did include a screen cleaning kit with a special rag and cleaning solution. That's been working well to keep dog snout prints off.
There wasn't even a bag with the BOC... ah well... The free HDTV that came with was nice, though ;)
May. 5th, 2006 @ 02:42 pm
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| » W00t! |
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I got a Bag-o-crap from W00t. For just $2500, they'll send me a bag containing one random crap.
oh, it also comes with a free 61" flat screen HDTV.
Mar. 6th, 2006 @ 01:41 pm
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| » XBox 360! |
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I have joined the ranks of lucky gamers able to snag the long sought after XBox 360.
Thanks to a tip from one of my LAG buddies, I was aware that Circuit City was getting some in stock yesterday. Of course, being Sunday, I didn't get my lazy ass out of bed until noon. Beckie called around and found a CC that still had three premium systems in stock.
We got to the store and went to the customer service desk. The lady there said they had one left (Hooray!). She went into the back, came out a few seconds later and said "Sorry. It looks like we're all sold out." (oh no!). As we started to walk away, a guy in the back (who must have over heard) yelled "WAIT!". Apparently one system was stuck in the bottom of the box they were shipped in. They hadn't even run it through inventory yet. I had to wait while they checked it into inventory so they could sell it to me.
Yay for me!
Mar. 6th, 2006 @ 10:25 am
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| » House Guests |
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This past weekend was a land mark weekend for our new place in Chicago. We had our first out-of-town guests stay over for the weekend.
Our friends from Windsor drove out Friday through rain, sleet, and snow just to visit with us for a few days.
All in all, it was a fun and successful weekend. Our guest accommodations worked out quite well. The futon frame we got for out mattress converted to and from a bed easily. Getting around the city was fun and easy.
We took our guests downtown and checked out the shopping on Michigan Ave. We also went to the John Hancock observatory and got a good look at the city. Weekend activities were rounded out by some good restaurants, board games, a movie, and general hanging out.
We're looking forward to our next visitors... Whoever they may be.
Jan. 24th, 2006 @ 12:55 pm
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| » Mac version |
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In the last few weeks, my new company has received several requests for a Mac version of the product. Unfortunately, we don't have the time or budget to focus on this just yet. In the mean time, we have assembled a team of developers from McD's to do what they can on a shoe-string budget:
Progress has been slow. The team has been showing a lack of focus and drive. As fate would have it, driverbob has generously supplied the Mac Dev team with some management personnel. These two have extensive management experience. They are great motivators and should be capable of shaping up this rag-tag team into a well oiled machine:
Jan. 6th, 2006 @ 04:39 pm
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| » New House |
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Update on the new house:
Our offer was accepted. We close on the 6th.
Our old house closes on the 5th.
I'll be homeless for one evening.
</a></b></a>murphyw has agreed to take the cats in (I owe you one!)
I don't know when I'll get the cats back... Maybe the weekend. Earlier if </a></b></a>murphyw complains.
Movers take all our stuff on the 4th, drop them off at the new place on the 7th (maybe the 6th).
Inspector went through today. Thumbs up on everything except:
a couple three-way switches are wired incorrectly with dimmer-switches.
an unused gas line doesn't have a cap (past the shut-off valve)
water supply to the dishwasher needs to be elevated before going to the washer to avoid back-flow.
all of these I can fix myself for about $10 in less than an hour.
gotta call utilities.
gotta sell our old TV, lawn mower and car.
gotta buy a new TV. and a new XBox ;)
gotta change my address for netflix et al.
gotta ... um... I know I'm forgetting something...
Dec. 1st, 2005 @ 05:11 pm
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| » Offer! |
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We're putting in an offer...
Hopefully, in two weeks we'll be living in a cozy Bucktown loft in Chicago!
Nov. 23rd, 2005 @ 08:05 pm
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