99 cents

So I'm currently eating some very cheap ice cream that I got from a restaurant that used to have pretty good take out meals, and now resorts to the lowest grade stuff they can get. Yay for mob run businesses.

I still can't find a car, and after this much time I'm beginning to worry. I just paid a large sum of money to ensure a parking sticker for next semester, and if I don't have something to use it with, well, that wouldn't be optimal. Patience I suppose.

Saw the new Batman, and it is certainly my favorite of them all. A dark, gritty, and just plain realistic view of the character, which is in my opinion the only way it should be.

I have acquired Deus Ex 2, and now I can finally see firsthand if it really is as poor as the fans would say. The original game is very highly on my all time favorite list, something I consider required reading for any gamer. After several hours with the sequel, I can say... well, I won't say anything until the review.

Finally, the last Gamespotting segment has been published. This is one of the few reasons that I have visited the site with some regularity, and now it is gone. I didn't always agree with the stie's multitude of editors, but there were always some honest opinions to be found. This last one is particularly interesting in regards to the next generation of consoles.

party party party

Its the weekend! Glad its here; I was passing out on my chair while playing Neverwinter Nights wiht Ashley last night; Sorry dearest! :(

At least nowI can recharge my batteries and play some games. Some family are coming to visit that I haven't seen for years, but other than that its another lazy weekend.

I came home from a little adventure with my brother to watch the final out of the Mets/Yanks game. There's nothing quite like the excitement of watching these two teams play. I find that between true fans of each team, its more like a gentlemanly competition than an all out grudge match like every sox/yanks game in ever played.

In just this week legistlation has been passed to ban flag burning and to allow local government to seize private property for use in other projects. I'm not about to go and curse the nation that has given me so much, but seriously, could I have some of my rights back?

hmm

A whole bunch of screenshots for Project Gotham 3 are out. Am I the only one who's underwhelmed? If that's the next generation, I'll stick with my bargain bin thank you very much.

A lot of crazy stuff happening in the personal realm, but this isn't the place for that. I'll get through, and move on as always.

Game 7 tomorrow. First one since the Knicks VS Rockets. I remember that game. Damn shame New York lost.

Father's Day

Taking Pop out to brunch today, and grilling in the afternoon. Nothing too crazy; with the commute he has every weekday, I don't think he'd want anything other than a quiet Sunday with the family.

That review is up like I said I'd do, and its for The Getaway, a PS2 exclusive that you either have played and loved or don't care at all about. I was in the latter until I rented it, and now I've played it but still don't care much. Ah well.

Now that I've started working, I am reminded of just how short weekends are when you have a job. Though I remember them being a little longer last time I worked retail, and I had a 3-12 shift every Saturday! Guess its all in my head.

Ah.. I remember that shift well. I was probably the only high schooler who didn't care about working 'til midnight on a Saturday. The store got quiet, I got to do my work alone, in peace, and with no one to boss me around. Couldn't get better than that at the time.

I got pulled over for the first time today. I knew it would happen eventually; the car I'm driving until I can find my own has had expired inspection. At least I played it cool, and while a ticket was given, it could have been two (for a rolling stop..eep). Thankfully, a citation for inspection deals no points on your license. I still have a clean record... whether I can keep that until I'm 25 in order to get an insurance decrease is doubtful.

Today work sent several of us to another wal-mart to help them out. We had gas and food paid for... and since they paid us a little too much for gas, I treated myself to a copy of Hitman 3 for the cool price of a ten spot. Not bad at all.

Mets are losing lately, just when they were close to first place. Another fight this season as usual.

That's about it until the weekend. I'll try to bust out at least oen review, probably for the PS2 game I just rented and finished. What was it? Its a secret (Hint: its nothing really big).

addendum

Disclaimer: If you disagree with my previous rant, think I'm crazy or silly or blowing things out of proportion, that's absolutely fine. Everyone has different experiences, both good and bad, with computing, which shapes their opinions. If Linux has worked fine for anyone out there, more power to you. I'm glad to see it is working for someone. It just hasn't done as well for me. I really want it to though, and I will continue to try to find a distro and configuration that works for me. But it has caused me frustration, and I hope the Linux community finds a way to prevent the same frustration for less patient users, if they ever want to be a serious competitor in the home desktop market.

teh Linux

Okay everyone, time for a rant on computing. I might piss off a few people with this one, but I think it has some truth to it.

It seems that JWZ, formerly a pretty big figure in the Open Source community, has switched to OS X as his OS of choice. I could care less about what this guy does; the reason I bring it up is reading it pointed me to a lot of disgruntled users, and reminded myself of why I still don't use Linux exclusively, and probably never will.

I have a partition on my harddrive with Debian Linux on it. I haven't actually used it since sometime in 2004. Why? Because neither X Window or KDE wants to work. All the commands and advice I've been given... none of it works. I'm sure there is some way to fix it, but I've already spent enough time trying to figure out this problem that I don't want to spend any more.

Yet this is just an example of a problem I've had with the OS. Its not the reason I haven't been using Linux outside using Putty to get into my school servers. I've had many chances to download a new distro and burn it to a couple of blanks. But I haven't. I will eventually, but I haven't yet. Why is that?

Its simple; Linux is an incredible OS when its working right, when its fully customized for your system. Its fast stable and secure. But its a pain in the ass to get it to that point, and too many things just don't work as simply and easily as they should.

Let's begin with someone green to Linux. He's pretty good working with Windows, and has a fast and well running XP system. But now he wants to try Linux out. He'll look for a place to download it and find tons of distros to choose from, each one being praised as being the best. This makes the decision rather hard, because he can't get a straight answer on which to use. He finally makes a choice; now he has to find a place that will actually let him download it. That can be harder than it seems.

So now our guy has maneuvered his way through installation; its time to rock the Linux world. Or is it? Seems his sound isn't working, and neither is his wireless card. Uh-oh, looks like his distro doesn't support his hardware. Now he has to hunt down drivers, or find some config files to play around with. He needs some help on this one, but asking questions just brings scorn and insults from a community of Linux zealots who want more users, but refuse to help anyone with less than a certain prowess with computing. Hours spent fixing the problem: many.

At this point our user has most of his hardware issues fixed, but maybe not all of them. Now its time to get some software. How doeas that work? Is it apt-get (and if it is, is it configured properly? It wasn't for me) Should he download some tarballs? Does it install with a simple typing of "make", or must he move files himself (and where does it go? is it usr, or lib, or var, or bin? It can be confusing for our user). Again he looks for help, and finds none save for the pages of typeprint in the man files that are all boring as sin. Hours spent: many many more.

This is my problem with Linux. There is no unified front. Its just tons of factions and groups that don't work together, don't seem to care about compatibility, and are content to live in the stone age with plain text and command lines, and then squabble at each other for no reason. For computer junkies, its not a big deal, but its not so great for the average user. Even guys like me, who love everything about the science of computing, have a hard time really mastering Linux, since few of the "gurus" out there seem to care about teaching anyone, or even giving a few points in the right direction. I call BS on anyone who tells me Linux is free, because it can cost a hell of a lot of time.

And I hate the stand some guys have, that if you can't figure out how to do it yourself, you shouldn't be allowed to use a computer (because, you know, just going out and buying Windows or OS X isn't allowed). Technology is meant to benefit society as a whole, not just a few intellectuals. And the analogy of using a computer is to driving a car is just a little bit off. To actually drive a car, all you really need to know is how to turn it on, how to read a few guages, and now how to steer the thing. Unless you have a disibility, few people struggle with these things. For a computer, the equivalent is knowing how to turn it on, find your applications and navigate them with some sort of proficiency. Having to go into the guts of the system and change configuration settings, or install hardware, or tap into the BIOS is akin to opening the hood of a car and tinkering with it. Maybe we should expect Linux fans to do all their own repairs instead of taking their cars to a mechanic. No wait, that's silly. So why should anyone expect mom and pop PC user to have to do the same on their own system?

Lastly, I'd like to say that I do prefer Open Source Software. I use it a lot. But my reason for doing so is because I generally find OSS to work as well or better than commercial software. I like it because it usually makes me more productive, and I'd love to help with a current project once I learn a bit more coding. The ideaology behind it, however, the whole "we have to keep the code open so the big corporations can't control us" thing, isn't as important to me. Keeping source open seems to mean better software, and that's why I like it. But I won't use broken, poorly written software just because its "free as in speech". If I had two free downloads, one OSS and one not, and the non-open product worked better, I'd have no qualms using it.

If being able to scream "Now I'm sticking it to the man. Viva la Revolucion!" means I have to spend more time getting something to work rather than getting work done, I'll have to pass.

As soon as I can afford it (read: after graduation) I'm buying an iBook with OS X. As cute as Macs look, they're also stable, and just "work" better than the other guys.

End rant.

Judging by a thread in their forums, it seems that Gamespy.com's special blend of humor and style is all but officially extinct.

It all started when the site merged with IGN. It was promised that the two would remain separate entities in every way, with a few crossovers adn links to each other at times. But shortly after the merger Gamespy made a few changes to their front site, adding more links to media (images and movies), strategy guides, and other useless stuff that serious gamers don't really look at much. Then humor columns like the daily victim and the Gamespy Grudge, editorials like the Pile Ons and editor columns, and community stuff like the forum watch just stopped being updated (or were done so only very periodically). Now most of the old editors have left, and those remaining must spend their time writing generic articles and features, which apparently have brought in more readers. Other than the still free and still smart forums, the site feels sterile.

I can't really be angry with the GS staff; you have to keep things running, and if the mainstream gamer wants corn, then that's what will be served. But it is still sad to see GS in such a vanilla state; it used to be the one gaming website that felt like a community, a place where serious gamers could find humor they could understand and appreciate, and insight and opinions from editors that played games as much as we did. I can only pin the blame on the IGN merger forcing changes, and hope that the supposed redesign of the entire Gamespy site in the future doesn't turn it into an IGN clone (I shudder to think what two would be like).

I thought game 7 of the finals was going to be on last night... guess not.

Today I started my new job at, yes, Wal-Mart. Call me a tool of the man, or society, or a corn eatin' ignorant American, but the hours are grand, the job pays well and I know that good work and ruthless efficiency will actually get me somewhere. As much as I'd have liked to work at Altec Lansing, or wait and find some other prestigious intern-style job, having enough money for textbooks, phone bills, and a working vehicle are higher on my list of priorities. Always have been since I was 16.

Anyway... finally got myself a PS2, and already I'm finding the big bargains. Picked up a game (for $20) so rare that the employees at EB wanted it; they didn't even know it was in stock! The hits just keep on coming I suppose.

NBA Finals

So it looks as if the NBA Finals might be a showdown between the Spurs and the Pistons. I'd very much like that matchup; San Antonio is a proven team that has been to the championship several times before. They're guaranteed to play well. Then we have Detroit, who stunned the league last year by absolutely crushing the Lakers to become the best team in basketball. Thing is, no one thought they were legit, but a repeat victory would go a long way to proving them wrong.

I personally hope Detroit takes it again. Watching them play last year was amazing. The overall team effort that they give in every game is a refereshing change from the league's stream of primadonnas, and it proves that teamwork really does give the best results.

Guess we'll see soon.

Advent Rising

Judging by the initial scores, it seems that Advent Rising, the sci-fi action game with a script coined by the legendary Orson Scott Card, didn't quite live up to the hype (well, IGN seems to like it a lot, but I never trust them). Its the usual case in the industry; a lot of big ideas that suffer thanks to huge technical flaws, most of which could have been ironed out with a few more months of testing. I just hate to see promise like this go to waste because developers (and to a greater extent, the publishers) want profits now. I don't care what people say to badmouth Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto is right:

A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever

Max Payne 2

Max Payne 2 is a grittier, nastier game than the first one, so naturally its review is going to be longer. Or something. I don't know, just check it out if you want to.