The previous entry was supposed to be a 2-parter containing game news and some random personal stuff. I got the first part out, but the second somewhat vanished in the hectic first weekend of the semester. So today will be a mix of everything I've wanted to tackle over the last few days.
First off, my 21st birthday was without a doubt the best I've ever had. We had a very large party the day after, and it was somewhat strange to realize that not only did I know most of the many people in attendance, but they were all wishing me a happy birthday. It was great to see a lot of friendly faces again, and I realized that maybe, just maybe, I've moved up a bit from my days as a socially awkward and reclusive teenager. In any case, thanks to everyone who was there; we'll have to do it again sometime.
Also, I did some research on the bottle of Jack Daniels 1915 Gold Medal Whiskey I bought at the liquor store as my first legal purchase. The bottle was the only one of its kind, cost me a cool $35. I was a little reluctant to spend that kind of money on a bottle of booze, until I found this ebay auction. I think I'll hold onto it for just a little longer...
Yesterday I saw my NFL playoff predictions fall to pieces, as both my AFC and NFC picks lost horribly in their championship games. Now its time for everyone who was right to point and gloat at me.
......
There we go. I can't say I have a favorite team for the Super Bowl anymore. I'll still watch it however, if for nothing other than the commercials.
CNN has an article about the nation's richest colleges. I'm still trying to wrap my head around why a school needs over a billion dollars in its coffers. Do they even realize that spending just a small fraction of it could improve all sorts of things for the students, who are paying outrageous tuition prices just to attend Harvard? Or am I missing a piece of the puzzle?
Lastly, there's a bit of controversy in the gaming world over a strategy guide for Dead or Alive 4 that 1up.com is being accused of plagarizing from a smaller fansite. Unfortunately, 1up pulled their guide off the site before I could compare the two, but I have been reading comments about the ordeal throughout the day. A 1up staffer the site by claiming that they watched the writer responsible for the guide spend hours with the game in order to get familiar with its combat system and the intricacies of each character. While no one doubts this, it isn't exactly a solid defense in my book. Someone could spend hours doing research on a topic or writing a piece of code and still not come up with a solid paper/program, only to find a perfect example somewhere on the 'net to simply reword and submit. I'm not saying that this certainly happened, but it is a definite possibility, and as a large, professional games site I expect 1up to do a thorough investigation and give us some honest answers. Considering all their shit about journalistic integrity recently, they pretty much have to. Still, something in me is saying that not only did they plagarize the guide, but that they won't admit to it either. Maybe this is due to the horror stories I've heard about EGM and Ziff Davis media, though who knows how honest they are.
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