And now, the conclusion to the Memorial Day weekend posts....
So, Attack of the Bacon Robots. It has been out for quite some time, and it was only this weekend that I finally acquired it. I have, however, been searching for it in every book store I've come across since its release. It was always the same ritual; walk past the magazines and new fiction, past the ever growing wall of manga, all the way to the back area where the "humor" section resides. It was always the same lineup; comedians making fun of politics, and cartoonists trying to be funny for the 5th or 6th book in a row. The other thing that never changed was the utter lack of Penny Arcade in the section. Month after month it was the same thing, until I began to wonder if the book even existed in a physical form.
Just my luck, then, that the one day I don't go looking for it is the same day I find success. There sat two copies of Attack of the Bacon Robots at the Colorado Waldenbooks. Mission Complete.
Purchasing the book was quite an experience. After the clerk asked me if I wanted to sell my personal information willingly for free coupons, he began to look at the back cover, his face in a look of complete puzzlement. It was as if the man had never seen a stack of pages bound together with a cover in his entire life. As he rang it up, I was passed by a man with a long ponytail, dirty glasses, a patchy beard and a shirt which could not have been clean. This fellow geek also looked upon the book in my hands and my Tycho Brahe shirt, and replied with nothing more than a smirk, one that showed he knew exactly where I was coming from. As I left the store and began diving into the first few pages, more and more people gave the same looks of sheer confusion as the store clerk. Maybe it was the fact that some guy was walking around the mall reading, or maybe they saw the insanity that is Tycho and Gabe and wondered what the hell it was all about. The bad attention didn't bother me at all. I had nostalgia to get to. Such is the power of Penny Arcade I suppose.
If you're wondering how the book stacks up, I'll say this - I agree with a sentiment Tycho repeats throughout his commentary. The early years of PA aren't always very funny. In fact, sometimes it makes no sense at all. I'm not sure what they were thinking while making them, or what we were thinking when laughing at them, but somehow it became a winning combination. I suppose we were all a lot younger, brasher and more immature back then. Or maybe we just were all excited about a game related comic. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun going back and reading the strips that were coming out when I really started to form into a serious gamer. I also didn't realize that I started reading the comic within its first two years (I thought it was much later than that). Overall, I have to say that PA volume 1 will easily rest along some of the very best books that will eventually come out, not because of the all around quality, but because it answers this very important question:
Where does funny come from?
Monday, May 29, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
The mall
Yesterday was my trip to one of two or three malls in the Denver area. It was supposed to be a full day affair, exploring all the stores (and stores around it), seeing Xmen 3, the works. Instead the trip was no longer than two or three hours because as usual I power walked through the mall and efficiently browsed everything I could not afford, rather than casually exploring the mall at a sauntering pace. Plus I couldn't figure out how to drive to the theater. My navigation skills out here go to both extremes depending on the situation.
Nice mall though. It reminds me of Baltimore's Towson Town Center in its fanciness, though it isn't nearly as large. But there is a Men's Warehouse across the street, which is good, since I can't leave for home this fall without finally buying myself a decent suit. I already know that Senior year will command one.
I said in my previous chapter length post that Bumpy Trot (aka Steambot Chronicles in America) was coming out on PS2. Turns out I was wrong; it already came out on the 23. So of course I went looking for it in every electronics shop in the mall, like the moron I am. One of the things a gamer must learn in their life is that games published by Atlus (like Steambot is) are sold in limited quantities that vanish only a day or two after release. This, however, was my first time experiencing the phenomenon. Hell, no one even knew what it was save for the EB guy (who thankfully didn't chastise me for not pre-ordering. I think he found himself a customer). Thankfully I found it online, and I immediately added to shopping cart. Yes, I know I've said times that I'm broke until my summer pay kicks in, but my last check from Loyola was exactly enough to buy this game, complete with shipping. With very little evidence of its existence in front of me, I'll just pretend that instead of honoring my hard end of year work with cash, the college decided to send me a potential game of the year candidate, complete with free harmonica keychain. A fair trade in my book.
Well then, I think it is time to conclude this fine second weekend by playing some more Dragon Quest 8. Yeah, I still haven't beaten it. I got stuck in a hard part and put it on a long hiatus. Now I'm sucked in again as badly as I was before. Tune in tomorrow for another post on Penny Arcade's Attack of the Bacon Robots. I finally got a copy and damn, what a long, strange trip it was.
Nice mall though. It reminds me of Baltimore's Towson Town Center in its fanciness, though it isn't nearly as large. But there is a Men's Warehouse across the street, which is good, since I can't leave for home this fall without finally buying myself a decent suit. I already know that Senior year will command one.
I said in my previous chapter length post that Bumpy Trot (aka Steambot Chronicles in America) was coming out on PS2. Turns out I was wrong; it already came out on the 23. So of course I went looking for it in every electronics shop in the mall, like the moron I am. One of the things a gamer must learn in their life is that games published by Atlus (like Steambot is) are sold in limited quantities that vanish only a day or two after release. This, however, was my first time experiencing the phenomenon. Hell, no one even knew what it was save for the EB guy (who thankfully didn't chastise me for not pre-ordering. I think he found himself a customer). Thankfully I found it online, and I immediately added to shopping cart. Yes, I know I've said times that I'm broke until my summer pay kicks in, but my last check from Loyola was exactly enough to buy this game, complete with shipping. With very little evidence of its existence in front of me, I'll just pretend that instead of honoring my hard end of year work with cash, the college decided to send me a potential game of the year candidate, complete with free harmonica keychain. A fair trade in my book.
Well then, I think it is time to conclude this fine second weekend by playing some more Dragon Quest 8. Yeah, I still haven't beaten it. I got stuck in a hard part and put it on a long hiatus. Now I'm sucked in again as badly as I was before. Tune in tomorrow for another post on Penny Arcade's Attack of the Bacon Robots. I finally got a copy and damn, what a long, strange trip it was.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Long Post runnin'
First week of work is complete, and aside from the early wakeups, it was most definitely a success. I've already learned a lot, and I've adjusted well to my new environment. Things really get into full swing for me next week, however, and I'm up to the challenge.
So much has been on my mind lately, and for one reason or another I haven't been able to get it down on this or any other medium. Guess I'll have to salvage what I can remember.
1) I've managed to find only one decent radio station around Denver, and I say decent because it sadly could be a whole lot better. 93.3 is a "modern rock station", which I originally thought to be something similar to Baltimore's 98 rock, minus the classic stuff. And at first this seemed to be the case, when they played a string of fine songs one afternoon. Listening to it during the remainder of the week showed me that first impressions can be dreadfully wrong. The station plays a few songs I would consider "modern rock", like Green Day and The Offspring, but they mostly feature such bands as Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World and several indie bands from Colorado that sound a lot like other, more successful bands. I've never considered emo and the like to be any form of rock, and neither should this radio station. Maybe if they had some Disturbed, Shiendown or hell, even Nickelback (much as I don't like them), then they would have an argument. As it stants, this is more "modern soft" than "modern rock".
Second, you can tell this is just another focus group-produced station cobbled together by some radio suits, because it is just as bad as the pop stations (or perhaps even worse) when it comes to playing the same five to ten songs time and again. I'm not joking when I say that I've heard three songs be played on five consecutive drives to work or home. Apparently there's a time of the day when they take requests, but I don't believe it.
I'll try putting up with it a little longer, but if I hear Panic at the Disco one more time in the next few days, I'm not sure if I'll last.
Oh, and the endless replaying goes for commercials as well. Stop telling me to buy pearls for a girlfriend I don't have If this was a true rock station I'd be hearing commercials for beers and bars, but I guess you
can't do that when your actual demographic might not even be old enough to drive.
Edit: Apparently the station does have good modern rock, because it was playing this afternoon for their top 540 requests. They all played in the 500's/upper 400's, meaning they won't get airtime during the regular days. Guess there are different tastes on the West coast. Also, I found a better, actual rock station, so no more worries.
2) Speaking of Panic at the Disco, I wonder if you've heard of them. They're an up and coming pop/emo band (which I'm fairly sure hails from around this area), and they get more playtime than any other group. They sound like a poor man's Fall Out Boy, both in the way their lead man sings, and in what their lyrics are like. If you can imagine that then you can probably understand my dilemma. Actually, this describes several of the smaller groups that play on this station; they all sound like poor imitations of better and more successfull bands, and I don't think it is mere coincidence. This band's other problem is the lyrics. Why do so many of these kids try to cram so much conversational dialogue into their songs? Why are you telling me that "this may require a proper introduction?" or letting me know "they should have closed the damn door?" It sounds like you're talking to someone rather than singing, and they often have to sing real damn fast to cram all of those syllables into the refrain. It just sounds silly if you ask me. So many modern groups seem to be intent on showing how smart/sophisticated/clever/gentlemanly? they can be, but it does not translate into good rock, much less good music. The fact that their song is entitled "The only differene between martydom and suicide is press coverage" will tell how just how pretentious these guys can get. My response? Fuck you. I can think of few classic rock songs with amazingly complex or confusing lyrics, because they focus on making something that sounds cool, baddass, or just plain good sounding. Maybe that's why most of it is still popular today.
3) American Idol is over, and by some miracle, the honest and soul infused old guy beat the trained, auto-smiling princess whose name even sounds fake. Still, if the popularity of successive Idol winners continues to decrease at a near quadratic rate (which seems to be the case every year), then Taylor Hicks won't last on the radio for more than a week. Sorry fella, but at least you got that new car...
You know what else is sad? How much I know about what happened on the show. I guess that is to be expected when your hear about it on every media outlet there is. A radio ad actually claimed it was the "showdown of the century", because apparently hte next 94 years won't bring about anything interesting. I don't understand how this show gets more popular in the ratings every year, while each winner drops off the radar faster than the last. The title of the show may have been appropriate in the first season, but it seems almost an insult that anyone would consider these people music idols of any kind. Just goes to show you how easy it is to make or destroy a pop music star, and how idiotic most of these fans are (I know that sounds assholish,
but I really think it is true).
On another Idol note, I read a CNN article in which the runner up, whatever her name is, is responding to the adoration of one of her fans (15 years old of course, since anyone older could see through all her smoke and mirrors). The singer's response had something to do with the progression of women and how this is a man's
world? W...T...F. How does any of that relate to music and the show? Even her responses to questions were canned.
4) This is a good, and bad, few weeks for gaming. We've got Bumpy Trot, Half Life 2: Aftermath and the new Hitman game all landing by the end of next wee, and halfway through June we'll be seeing the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. Did I mention there's a new uncut DVD version of Boondock Saints? And here I am
hoping I'll have enough money for food and gas until either my first work check or my bloody tax return come in. Waiting is the hardest part.
5) My Guitar Hero skills are not quite up to snuff. My brother has already beaten medium, and a college buddy who's had it a bit over two weeks has cleared all of hard, something which I still can't quite do. I'm not sure if I need more practice, or if I'm just not that good, or if is as simple as having the wrong playing conditions. I can definitely tell that I don't play as well when I am even just a little tired, or if my basement abode is too cold for my fingers to move quickly. I'll have to try bringing it upstairs and seeing if I do better. Otherwise its going to be a lot of practice to get better. GH is a harsh mistress; its all fun and games at first, but once everyone has had a taste it becomes a bitter competition for surpemecy.
...That sounds a lot more sexist/ridiculous than I intended it to be. Stupid analogies (or is it technically a simile? I'm already in bad standing with the grammar Nazis. I don't want to add the Semantics SS to the list either).
6) On some newsradio station, I heard the Lt. Governor of Maryland, who is vying for a Senate seat, discuss how all of this stupid shit with illegal immigration is an important issue in Maryland. He even tried to guess how many illegals are in his state. I'm really, really sad to see how out of tune these people are with the common man. No one I know gives a shit about immigration law, and if they do, it is very obvious to them that the current proposals are not the right way to do it. But the pols' continue to tell themselves that we all really care, and that this will work just fine. I'm getting flashbacks of the last election, when the biggest issues of the day seemed to be evolution in textbooks and gay marriage. Why did this immigration stuff even come to light in the last month? I hate the conspiracy theorist sound of this, but I get this bad feeling that there is another reason for all of this that we don't know about.
So much has been on my mind lately, and for one reason or another I haven't been able to get it down on this or any other medium. Guess I'll have to salvage what I can remember.
1) I've managed to find only one decent radio station around Denver, and I say decent because it sadly could be a whole lot better. 93.3 is a "modern rock station", which I originally thought to be something similar to Baltimore's 98 rock, minus the classic stuff. And at first this seemed to be the case, when they played a string of fine songs one afternoon. Listening to it during the remainder of the week showed me that first impressions can be dreadfully wrong. The station plays a few songs I would consider "modern rock", like Green Day and The Offspring, but they mostly feature such bands as Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World and several indie bands from Colorado that sound a lot like other, more successful bands. I've never considered emo and the like to be any form of rock, and neither should this radio station. Maybe if they had some Disturbed, Shiendown or hell, even Nickelback (much as I don't like them), then they would have an argument. As it stants, this is more "modern soft" than "modern rock".
Second, you can tell this is just another focus group-produced station cobbled together by some radio suits, because it is just as bad as the pop stations (or perhaps even worse) when it comes to playing the same five to ten songs time and again. I'm not joking when I say that I've heard three songs be played on five consecutive drives to work or home. Apparently there's a time of the day when they take requests, but I don't believe it.
I'll try putting up with it a little longer, but if I hear Panic at the Disco one more time in the next few days, I'm not sure if I'll last.
Oh, and the endless replaying goes for commercials as well. Stop telling me to buy pearls for a girlfriend I don't have If this was a true rock station I'd be hearing commercials for beers and bars, but I guess you
can't do that when your actual demographic might not even be old enough to drive.
Edit: Apparently the station does have good modern rock, because it was playing this afternoon for their top 540 requests. They all played in the 500's/upper 400's, meaning they won't get airtime during the regular days. Guess there are different tastes on the West coast. Also, I found a better, actual rock station, so no more worries.
2) Speaking of Panic at the Disco, I wonder if you've heard of them. They're an up and coming pop/emo band (which I'm fairly sure hails from around this area), and they get more playtime than any other group. They sound like a poor man's Fall Out Boy, both in the way their lead man sings, and in what their lyrics are like. If you can imagine that then you can probably understand my dilemma. Actually, this describes several of the smaller groups that play on this station; they all sound like poor imitations of better and more successfull bands, and I don't think it is mere coincidence. This band's other problem is the lyrics. Why do so many of these kids try to cram so much conversational dialogue into their songs? Why are you telling me that "this may require a proper introduction?" or letting me know "they should have closed the damn door?" It sounds like you're talking to someone rather than singing, and they often have to sing real damn fast to cram all of those syllables into the refrain. It just sounds silly if you ask me. So many modern groups seem to be intent on showing how smart/sophisticated/clever/gentlemanly? they can be, but it does not translate into good rock, much less good music. The fact that their song is entitled "The only differene between martydom and suicide is press coverage" will tell how just how pretentious these guys can get. My response? Fuck you. I can think of few classic rock songs with amazingly complex or confusing lyrics, because they focus on making something that sounds cool, baddass, or just plain good sounding. Maybe that's why most of it is still popular today.
3) American Idol is over, and by some miracle, the honest and soul infused old guy beat the trained, auto-smiling princess whose name even sounds fake. Still, if the popularity of successive Idol winners continues to decrease at a near quadratic rate (which seems to be the case every year), then Taylor Hicks won't last on the radio for more than a week. Sorry fella, but at least you got that new car...
You know what else is sad? How much I know about what happened on the show. I guess that is to be expected when your hear about it on every media outlet there is. A radio ad actually claimed it was the "showdown of the century", because apparently hte next 94 years won't bring about anything interesting. I don't understand how this show gets more popular in the ratings every year, while each winner drops off the radar faster than the last. The title of the show may have been appropriate in the first season, but it seems almost an insult that anyone would consider these people music idols of any kind. Just goes to show you how easy it is to make or destroy a pop music star, and how idiotic most of these fans are (I know that sounds assholish,
but I really think it is true).
On another Idol note, I read a CNN article in which the runner up, whatever her name is, is responding to the adoration of one of her fans (15 years old of course, since anyone older could see through all her smoke and mirrors). The singer's response had something to do with the progression of women and how this is a man's
world? W...T...F. How does any of that relate to music and the show? Even her responses to questions were canned.
4) This is a good, and bad, few weeks for gaming. We've got Bumpy Trot, Half Life 2: Aftermath and the new Hitman game all landing by the end of next wee, and halfway through June we'll be seeing the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. Did I mention there's a new uncut DVD version of Boondock Saints? And here I am
hoping I'll have enough money for food and gas until either my first work check or my bloody tax return come in. Waiting is the hardest part.
5) My Guitar Hero skills are not quite up to snuff. My brother has already beaten medium, and a college buddy who's had it a bit over two weeks has cleared all of hard, something which I still can't quite do. I'm not sure if I need more practice, or if I'm just not that good, or if is as simple as having the wrong playing conditions. I can definitely tell that I don't play as well when I am even just a little tired, or if my basement abode is too cold for my fingers to move quickly. I'll have to try bringing it upstairs and seeing if I do better. Otherwise its going to be a lot of practice to get better. GH is a harsh mistress; its all fun and games at first, but once everyone has had a taste it becomes a bitter competition for surpemecy.
...That sounds a lot more sexist/ridiculous than I intended it to be. Stupid analogies (or is it technically a simile? I'm already in bad standing with the grammar Nazis. I don't want to add the Semantics SS to the list either).
6) On some newsradio station, I heard the Lt. Governor of Maryland, who is vying for a Senate seat, discuss how all of this stupid shit with illegal immigration is an important issue in Maryland. He even tried to guess how many illegals are in his state. I'm really, really sad to see how out of tune these people are with the common man. No one I know gives a shit about immigration law, and if they do, it is very obvious to them that the current proposals are not the right way to do it. But the pols' continue to tell themselves that we all really care, and that this will work just fine. I'm getting flashbacks of the last election, when the biggest issues of the day seemed to be evolution in textbooks and gay marriage. Why did this immigration stuff even come to light in the last month? I hate the conspiracy theorist sound of this, but I get this bad feeling that there is another reason for all of this that we don't know about.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Long story
So it is Monday evening, about 9:00 or so. In just a few days I've managed to travel a great distance across the nation, start a new and very challenging job, and the fifth season of 24 came to a conclusion. All in all, quite a busy last few days. Might as well get some thoughts down on them before I forget.
-The trip to Colorado:
In just a few short days I managed to see several brand new states as well as travel farther from home than I've ever been. It wasn't nearly as grueling as I thought it would be, though this is not to say that it was in any way a short little jaunt. I suppose there was a certain sense of adventure to it which constantly kept things fresh. I also learned a few things about the states I passes through.
Illinois - really is pretty damn windy.
Iowa - nothing, and I mean nothing is here. Just farmland and cops with nothing to do. We passed by Des Moines (at least I think we did), only to find that the city has no more than two relatively tall buildings in it. I'm not sure why this state even exists. Wait - it has the world's largest truckstop. Still, that's a whole lot of state to house a giant mousetrap for tourists and white trash alike.
Nebraska - you'd be surprised, but as much as Nebraska is host to its own acres of farmland, it also has several good colleges, a few historical landmarks, and towns with some sort of modernity to them. I had free wireless access in my hotel (that I of course couldn't use)! I was in Nebraska during Senior Gala, which I celebrated in my own way since I was unable to attend. Good luck class of 06 - I'll see you next year when several of you invade my house every weekend.
Colorado - What a strange state. The eastern part of it is nothing but dried up grasslands, the closest thing I've seen to cowboy style terrain. There are exits to towns with nothing in them, and god help you if you run out of gas in those long stretches. When you finally approach Denver, things change. Now there is a city surrounded by mountains, with several towns close by...surrounded by mountains. And you're a mile high in the sky (bad rhyme, forgive me). The Rocky Mountains and the forests are somewhat of a different breed than those in the east, and I'm still amazed by the grandeur of it all. Devner itself is also strange; yes, its a real deal city, but there is a strange mix of buildings and nature surrounding it. I..can't realy describe it, but it is an interesting place. Not sure yet if interesting means I like it however. It is nice to have pretty much everything I need within half an hour away (beats the hour trips of home), while still living in peace up on the mountain. It looks as if I won't be getting my first big paycheck for close to a month however, so pictures may have to wait longer than I wanted :( Oh, and I've seen both the Coors brewery and Coors field. They're both nice (well, the brewery is ugly as shit, but they give away a lot of free beer).
-My job
So I work for a company called Jeppesen, owned by Boeing, which literally makes me the west side to many of my friends in the east who work for rival corporations. I think this is rather fun. I'm also completely unused to this kind of work environment. Its 100% corporate; offices and cubicles a small group of employees who all know each other, and no rules as to when to eat, or even when to come in. Oh, and there's the whole "anything you write is our property, and we own your likeness" rules of the corporate world. I can already see open source advocates running away. Whatever.
My job is actually somewhat challenging. The things I'm responsible aren't project critical, but if I can succeed with them it could help things out a whole lot. I'll have to call upon quite a few things I've learned in college to help me. Hopefully I'll ease into it quicker than I think I will.
I think that's it with work for now. As excited as I may be, I don't want to talk about it too much on the 'net. People get fired over silly stuff like that.
...and so concludes this very long post. There's probably more to write about that I just can't remember right now (that'll happen when you wake up at 4:20 in the morning). In any case, stay cool folks.
-The trip to Colorado:
In just a few short days I managed to see several brand new states as well as travel farther from home than I've ever been. It wasn't nearly as grueling as I thought it would be, though this is not to say that it was in any way a short little jaunt. I suppose there was a certain sense of adventure to it which constantly kept things fresh. I also learned a few things about the states I passes through.
Illinois - really is pretty damn windy.
Iowa - nothing, and I mean nothing is here. Just farmland and cops with nothing to do. We passed by Des Moines (at least I think we did), only to find that the city has no more than two relatively tall buildings in it. I'm not sure why this state even exists. Wait - it has the world's largest truckstop. Still, that's a whole lot of state to house a giant mousetrap for tourists and white trash alike.
Nebraska - you'd be surprised, but as much as Nebraska is host to its own acres of farmland, it also has several good colleges, a few historical landmarks, and towns with some sort of modernity to them. I had free wireless access in my hotel (that I of course couldn't use)! I was in Nebraska during Senior Gala, which I celebrated in my own way since I was unable to attend. Good luck class of 06 - I'll see you next year when several of you invade my house every weekend.
Colorado - What a strange state. The eastern part of it is nothing but dried up grasslands, the closest thing I've seen to cowboy style terrain. There are exits to towns with nothing in them, and god help you if you run out of gas in those long stretches. When you finally approach Denver, things change. Now there is a city surrounded by mountains, with several towns close by...surrounded by mountains. And you're a mile high in the sky (bad rhyme, forgive me). The Rocky Mountains and the forests are somewhat of a different breed than those in the east, and I'm still amazed by the grandeur of it all. Devner itself is also strange; yes, its a real deal city, but there is a strange mix of buildings and nature surrounding it. I..can't realy describe it, but it is an interesting place. Not sure yet if interesting means I like it however. It is nice to have pretty much everything I need within half an hour away (beats the hour trips of home), while still living in peace up on the mountain. It looks as if I won't be getting my first big paycheck for close to a month however, so pictures may have to wait longer than I wanted :( Oh, and I've seen both the Coors brewery and Coors field. They're both nice (well, the brewery is ugly as shit, but they give away a lot of free beer).
-My job
So I work for a company called Jeppesen, owned by Boeing, which literally makes me the west side to many of my friends in the east who work for rival corporations. I think this is rather fun. I'm also completely unused to this kind of work environment. Its 100% corporate; offices and cubicles a small group of employees who all know each other, and no rules as to when to eat, or even when to come in. Oh, and there's the whole "anything you write is our property, and we own your likeness" rules of the corporate world. I can already see open source advocates running away. Whatever.
My job is actually somewhat challenging. The things I'm responsible aren't project critical, but if I can succeed with them it could help things out a whole lot. I'll have to call upon quite a few things I've learned in college to help me. Hopefully I'll ease into it quicker than I think I will.
I think that's it with work for now. As excited as I may be, I don't want to talk about it too much on the 'net. People get fired over silly stuff like that.
...and so concludes this very long post. There's probably more to write about that I just can't remember right now (that'll happen when you wake up at 4:20 in the morning). In any case, stay cool folks.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Hitchin a Ride
I'm just about packed up for my big road trip. All that's left is this computer, a change of clothes and guitar Hero. Might as well make this one last post for the week before I head out west. Don't worry though; this isn't the end of the blog or anything. I simply won't have time over the enxt week to put anything considerable here. Considering the update schedule I seem to have fallen into, that probably means you won't even notice a change.
-Some of you may have realized that my lc1201.com domain has expired. I knew about, and do intend to renew, but currently I'm so poor that I can't spare even $15 for the renewal fee until I start my summer job. I might also look into getting some cheap webspace too, since I'm quite frankly unhappy with the school server the site is currently on (I don't even know who admins it anymore...). You can still reach the site from the longer address of http://justice.cs.loyola.edu/~cmwolfe if you really need to.
-I just wrapped up another little rant for Videolamer. Should be up later this week, so check for it if you so desire.
-I also wrapped up playing 24: The Game. Opinion will come as soon as I can.
-I was reminded yesterday of just how good the Soundtrack to Yoshi's Island is, which makes me even more excited about the planned sequel. One thing's for certain; I'm already sold on a new DS Lite next month.
That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who's still reading this space. Hopefully this summer I can make it even better (and from a different time zone!).
-Some of you may have realized that my lc1201.com domain has expired. I knew about, and do intend to renew, but currently I'm so poor that I can't spare even $15 for the renewal fee until I start my summer job. I might also look into getting some cheap webspace too, since I'm quite frankly unhappy with the school server the site is currently on (I don't even know who admins it anymore...). You can still reach the site from the longer address of http://justice.cs.loyola.edu/~cmwolfe if you really need to.
-I just wrapped up another little rant for Videolamer. Should be up later this week, so check for it if you so desire.
-I also wrapped up playing 24: The Game. Opinion will come as soon as I can.
-I was reminded yesterday of just how good the Soundtrack to Yoshi's Island is, which makes me even more excited about the planned sequel. One thing's for certain; I'm already sold on a new DS Lite next month.
That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who's still reading this space. Hopefully this summer I can make it even better (and from a different time zone!).
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Weekend
I don't know if I've mentioned it much in this space (hell, I don't know if I've mentioned it at all), but I finally managed to score the internship I've been gunning for for months now. Come next week I'll be road tripping all the way to Colorado, where I'll spend my summer playing with C and Fortran code. It should be a hell of a time.
This means that this is my last, and only weekend home for a long time. I'm going to try and take it easy these next two days, seeing that I've made all the necessary preparations for my trip, and have taken care of any business I had at home. There' s a Hollywood video that just opened not that far from my home, thus marking the first time in almost ten years that I've had a place close by to rent games from. I'll be heading down there today to take a look, and maybe rent something to blast through before Monday.
Too much E3 news to sort through. I'll let the rest of the Internet take care of that. I've got a couple of items I want to comment on later though.
Also, Kirby's Canvas Curse (which I continue to have to remind myself is not called Touch Kirby in America) is a great game. So simple, yet such an ingenious use of the DS stylus. I'm officially sold on getting a DS lite come June.
More coming later methinks.
This means that this is my last, and only weekend home for a long time. I'm going to try and take it easy these next two days, seeing that I've made all the necessary preparations for my trip, and have taken care of any business I had at home. There' s a Hollywood video that just opened not that far from my home, thus marking the first time in almost ten years that I've had a place close by to rent games from. I'll be heading down there today to take a look, and maybe rent something to blast through before Monday.
Too much E3 news to sort through. I'll let the rest of the Internet take care of that. I've got a couple of items I want to comment on later though.
Also, Kirby's Canvas Curse (which I continue to have to remind myself is not called Touch Kirby in America) is a great game. So simple, yet such an ingenious use of the DS stylus. I'm officially sold on getting a DS lite come June.
More coming later methinks.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
E3
It is a little late in coming, but I promised Fifthturtle some E3 commentary, or at the very least, some PS3 commentary. Here it is....
At this point, Sony press conferences are like clockwork. They pat themselves on the back, make a few smug remarks about their competitors, make a few vague comments about their success (like units shipped and not sold) and their consoles (mentioning the good but forgetting about anything bad), then showing off footage and making cryptic comments about it. Then wait for the gamers (and the gaming press) to hype it all up for them. Every year it is the same thing, and every year it never seems to fail.
Not this year it seems. This year, people seemed just a bit peeved with Sony and their announcements. This year I'm actually seeing people clamor for Nintendo and Microsoft's offerings. This year, we may actually see some editors call Sony out on quite a few points.
And all of this is rightfully so. From everything I've read, Sony's conference had the tone of a used car salesman trying to pull one over on us. Or if not that, then a very cocky bully who has finally been backed into a corner. Sony has finally proven to me that with the exception of the original Playstation, they honestly don't know what the hell they are doing, or what is good for gaming, and that they haven't a creative bone in the company. The Playstation 3 consists of good ideas done better by their competitors, higher prices for both versions of the console, and a list of games in which only a handful do not have a number 4 or greater next to them. 1up editor John Davidson says it even better in this quote from his blog:
"As of right now, pre-show, and without having got my hands on it properly - it scares the shit out of me. So much of the games industry is based on the foundation laid down by the PlayStation brand, and the assumptions that publishers make about selling (lots of) games on Sony's platform. To see them roll out an absurdly expensive system that's not discernably that much more impressive than the 360, with a bunch of derivative-looking, mostly adult-themed games is giving me some cause for concern right now."
Sony believes that they can simply dictate when gaming can move on, and where it can go. I think its about time that gamers, the writers, everyone who cares about gaming, to stand up, take a good look at what's going on, and make a choice. If you still want PS3 more than anything, that's fine. But please, give me a dammed good reason for it, and not a slobbering fanboy excuse.
As for everyone else, stand up raise your fingers, and give them the double deuce. The only way they have control of the industry is if we let them, and quite frankly, we don't have to.
PS- a forumer on one of my favorite sites noticed the lineup of games on PS3 and 360, and couldn't help but notice just how much the east/west division between the two is growing. Interesting thought for the future...
At this point, Sony press conferences are like clockwork. They pat themselves on the back, make a few smug remarks about their competitors, make a few vague comments about their success (like units shipped and not sold) and their consoles (mentioning the good but forgetting about anything bad), then showing off footage and making cryptic comments about it. Then wait for the gamers (and the gaming press) to hype it all up for them. Every year it is the same thing, and every year it never seems to fail.
Not this year it seems. This year, people seemed just a bit peeved with Sony and their announcements. This year I'm actually seeing people clamor for Nintendo and Microsoft's offerings. This year, we may actually see some editors call Sony out on quite a few points.
And all of this is rightfully so. From everything I've read, Sony's conference had the tone of a used car salesman trying to pull one over on us. Or if not that, then a very cocky bully who has finally been backed into a corner. Sony has finally proven to me that with the exception of the original Playstation, they honestly don't know what the hell they are doing, or what is good for gaming, and that they haven't a creative bone in the company. The Playstation 3 consists of good ideas done better by their competitors, higher prices for both versions of the console, and a list of games in which only a handful do not have a number 4 or greater next to them. 1up editor John Davidson says it even better in this quote from his blog:
"As of right now, pre-show, and without having got my hands on it properly - it scares the shit out of me. So much of the games industry is based on the foundation laid down by the PlayStation brand, and the assumptions that publishers make about selling (lots of) games on Sony's platform. To see them roll out an absurdly expensive system that's not discernably that much more impressive than the 360, with a bunch of derivative-looking, mostly adult-themed games is giving me some cause for concern right now."
Sony believes that they can simply dictate when gaming can move on, and where it can go. I think its about time that gamers, the writers, everyone who cares about gaming, to stand up, take a good look at what's going on, and make a choice. If you still want PS3 more than anything, that's fine. But please, give me a dammed good reason for it, and not a slobbering fanboy excuse.
As for everyone else, stand up raise your fingers, and give them the double deuce. The only way they have control of the industry is if we let them, and quite frankly, we don't have to.
PS- a forumer on one of my favorite sites noticed the lineup of games on PS3 and 360, and couldn't help but notice just how much the east/west division between the two is growing. Interesting thought for the future...
Monday, May 01, 2006
Ubuntu Linux
Yes, I know I owe you all a post about how amazing Guitar Hero is. I'll be getting to that soon enough. Right now however, I want to talk a bit about Ubuntu Linux.
I believe I have mentioned many times in the past the bad experiences I have had with getting a proper Linux installation on my own PC. I tried a hard drive install of Knoppix, which turned out horribly. Configuring things was a pain, the way it set up a root and user account was confusing, it was filled with 5 different programs for every task, and somehow I managed to royally screw it up and never found a way to fix things. This experience burned me pretty bad, and ever since I've been hesitant to try toying with Linux on my own machine (especially when there are perfectly good machines in the computer lab).
At some point along the way, this feeling began to change. I realized I didn't always want to go to the lab (it is nice to be home for certain types of work). Other people I know with running Linux distros made srue to heckle me about my incompetence/fear. Finally, I simply realized that there was really no good reason for me not to try again. So I devised the Poor Man's plan to install Linux
Step 1 - don't buy CD R's. Downloading and burning a distro is long and error prone. Instead, apply for free Ubuntu Linux install discs. There is no cost, no shipping fee, and it is the most popular distro in the market.
Step 2 - wait a couple weeks. Remember, patience is a virtue.
Step 3 - get your Cd's and install. The trickiest part was being extra sure to only format my ext3 Linux partition and not screw up the Windows stuff. After that, the install was smooth as butter. Ubuntu configured everything, updated all the software, and even got me on the internet. Apt-get works perfectly for finding new software, and the distro is incredibly user firendly. I've finally got a stable, logical, working Linux distro on my computer, and the only thing I regret is not doing this earlier.
You see kids? You really can do it if you put your mind to it.
PS to all the Linux users I know - am I back in the club now?
I believe I have mentioned many times in the past the bad experiences I have had with getting a proper Linux installation on my own PC. I tried a hard drive install of Knoppix, which turned out horribly. Configuring things was a pain, the way it set up a root and user account was confusing, it was filled with 5 different programs for every task, and somehow I managed to royally screw it up and never found a way to fix things. This experience burned me pretty bad, and ever since I've been hesitant to try toying with Linux on my own machine (especially when there are perfectly good machines in the computer lab).
At some point along the way, this feeling began to change. I realized I didn't always want to go to the lab (it is nice to be home for certain types of work). Other people I know with running Linux distros made srue to heckle me about my incompetence/fear. Finally, I simply realized that there was really no good reason for me not to try again. So I devised the Poor Man's plan to install Linux
Step 1 - don't buy CD R's. Downloading and burning a distro is long and error prone. Instead, apply for free Ubuntu Linux install discs. There is no cost, no shipping fee, and it is the most popular distro in the market.
Step 2 - wait a couple weeks. Remember, patience is a virtue.
Step 3 - get your Cd's and install. The trickiest part was being extra sure to only format my ext3 Linux partition and not screw up the Windows stuff. After that, the install was smooth as butter. Ubuntu configured everything, updated all the software, and even got me on the internet. Apt-get works perfectly for finding new software, and the distro is incredibly user firendly. I've finally got a stable, logical, working Linux distro on my computer, and the only thing I regret is not doing this earlier.
You see kids? You really can do it if you put your mind to it.
PS to all the Linux users I know - am I back in the club now?
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