Wednesday, June 30, 2010
"The Runaway General"
I am in the process of re-writing something I scribbled last night: but wanted to take a quick second to post a pretty cool article I read by Rolling Stone called "The Runaway General" that was pretty cool...it is covering General McChrystal who was recently fired from his position as head of US forces in Afghanistan for basically talking too much shit about his civilian bosses.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Civilization
MMOs and Starcraft are killing Koreans left and right, but I think there is one highly overlooked game series which dwarfs these in their time-killing power.
Sid Meier’s Civilization
Let’s put aside the fact that Sid Meier is the gaming equivalent of the greasy bastard that invented free-basing and focus on the game for now.
I got my first copy from a friend of mine who handed it off to me in the same kind of burned-CD that I used in those glory days when I was unemployed and still in school. The game had been around for a while, but I hadn’t heard of it. It was a conversation about world conquest I think that sparked the idea of introducing me to the game.
On the disc was a copy of Civilization II Gold Edition and though it couldn’t hold a candle to the graphics of Star Craft or the pace of Half Life. Still I was engrossed. So the stacks of other burned games sat for a long time collecting dust as hours fell from the clock. To this day I feel sorry for some of that neglect…my poor copy of Baldur’s Gate II…
When Civ III came out I was exuberant, but was quickly disappointed as the controls were awkward and the game felt all around too slow. I didn’t care though, I still had Civ II…and I would install/uninstall it over the course of the first decade of the new millennium. I was happy with it, and when the fourth rendition of the game came out I was pretty indifferent. My sister picked it up and had a blast, but even the promise of hearing Leonard Nimoy announcing “I AM the state” was not enough to dissuade me.
But, where reason fails sometimes wallets prevail, and a few months ago Steam offered another one of their ridiculously cheap sales, and for what I think was around ten or fifteen bucks I got the Civ IV bundle with all the expansions. I tinkered with it and was impressed, but at the time and full knowledge of what kind of time-sink the game is, I had to break myself from it till I had the time.
Now…I have that time, and last week I re-installed it. I am LOVING it. There is the thrill of marching hapless units to their deaths in a pointless attempt to take a city for the sole purpose of personal amusement. There is the Machiavellian joy of watching your enemies slowly fold and convert as your cultural influence consumes their cities. And the melancholy of having a city brought low by plague (How was I supposed to know I had to build a fucking Aqueduct!)
I regularly jump on for five minutes and spend two or three hours on the game.
Sid Meier’s Civilization
Let’s put aside the fact that Sid Meier is the gaming equivalent of the greasy bastard that invented free-basing and focus on the game for now.
I got my first copy from a friend of mine who handed it off to me in the same kind of burned-CD that I used in those glory days when I was unemployed and still in school. The game had been around for a while, but I hadn’t heard of it. It was a conversation about world conquest I think that sparked the idea of introducing me to the game.
On the disc was a copy of Civilization II Gold Edition and though it couldn’t hold a candle to the graphics of Star Craft or the pace of Half Life. Still I was engrossed. So the stacks of other burned games sat for a long time collecting dust as hours fell from the clock. To this day I feel sorry for some of that neglect…my poor copy of Baldur’s Gate II…
When Civ III came out I was exuberant, but was quickly disappointed as the controls were awkward and the game felt all around too slow. I didn’t care though, I still had Civ II…and I would install/uninstall it over the course of the first decade of the new millennium. I was happy with it, and when the fourth rendition of the game came out I was pretty indifferent. My sister picked it up and had a blast, but even the promise of hearing Leonard Nimoy announcing “I AM the state” was not enough to dissuade me.
But, where reason fails sometimes wallets prevail, and a few months ago Steam offered another one of their ridiculously cheap sales, and for what I think was around ten or fifteen bucks I got the Civ IV bundle with all the expansions. I tinkered with it and was impressed, but at the time and full knowledge of what kind of time-sink the game is, I had to break myself from it till I had the time.
Now…I have that time, and last week I re-installed it. I am LOVING it. There is the thrill of marching hapless units to their deaths in a pointless attempt to take a city for the sole purpose of personal amusement. There is the Machiavellian joy of watching your enemies slowly fold and convert as your cultural influence consumes their cities. And the melancholy of having a city brought low by plague (How was I supposed to know I had to build a fucking Aqueduct!)
I regularly jump on for five minutes and spend two or three hours on the game.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
E-Reader show down: Nook v. Kindle
I am very attached to books in the same way I’m attached to my eyes. I’ve had them around for my whole life and thus have a very sentimental attachment too them. I have tried in the past to read pdf files or e-books but could never get into them. Something about the tactile sensation of holding a well-worn paperback or hardback book, the feeling of turning the pages, the smell of a new book to lounge out on the couch with and read…it is all very stirring.
I can’t imagine doing something like that with what looks on a strictly physical dimension: an over sized iPod. However a few of my friends have gotten e-Readers (One of which will be doing a similar review over at Milady Geek) and they all seem to enjoy them. So, while I’m not rushing out to purchase one: I figured that I would look into the issue and see what I could come up with.
As a quick disclaimer – I am not even considering Sony’s e-reader because of a personal bias towards Sony products. The only company I have had more negative experiences with then Sony is AT&T…which I unfortunately have to use for home internet access and access on the Kindle or Nook…but that’s that. More on personal biases later...
The market seems to be largely composed of either the Nook or Kindle. First thing of course that stands out is pricing: both are fairly comparable (Homepage listings - Nook w/ 3G+Wi-Fi is $199, Kindle $189). Right off the bat I score the Nook with a point for having the option of a slightly less expensive version (W/ just Wi Fi is $149) for those of us who are perpetually broke, also for the fact that I can actually go into a Barnes & Noble store and hold one and try it out before purchase. However, this point is almost immediately offset for the same reason.
While I had a positive hand-on experience at Barnes & Noble yesterday looking at one, I’m sure it’s a branch-to-branch thing. Some outlets will be having one on display in pristine conditions while others are covered in mysterious sticky substances best left un-guessed at. Also, while you can purchase one with just Wi-Fi, I think it significantly degrades the usefulness of the gadget. The whole point of this is to be able to download and read books on the go, and if I am looking for something new to read I don’t want to have to hunt down an AT&T hot spot. I can easily envision the frustration of running around an airport trying to find one while a Borders or some other newsstand/book vendor is aggravatingly close by.
Since price is about the same, I looked at the warranty coverage, and considering I’m clumsy as shit: a good warranty could be a selling point. Both have decent one-year coverage and optional two-year coverage which will cover your klutzy antics at least once. No great difference in either plan.
So with that: we are back to square one. Kindle is slightly cheaper then the high-end Nook but in the end you are still forking over $200+ for the luxury of having one of those pads Captain Kirk would sign all the time in Star Trek.
So aside from price and availability of products, I take a gander at basic functionality. Battery life is 14 days on the Kindle without wireless active, with the Nook only lasting 10. This I initially dismissed considering that I am rarely hiking through the mountains for weeks on end or anywhere where some form of outlet isn’t available for recharge. However, the whole point of these things is that they are supposed to be supremely portable, so I have to score the Kindle a point for the prolonged battery life (Kindle 1 – Nook 0).
I liked how the controls on the Nook worked, and haven’t heard any complaints about the Kindle either, but since I haven’t had hands-on time with the Kindle I can’t award or detract points for this. However, one of the best written reviews I’ve seen during my research at Evil Genius Chronicles did a side-by-side comparison of the two. Apparently the Nook is slower at loading up a book (they clocked it at 15-30 seconds vs. the Kindle took under a second). Also, the Nook has a function to change font type and size, but it takes a while to load. So Kindle gets a point for being a little quicker on the ball. However, the Nook does have the option for a back-light and is supposedly easier on the eyes, and while slow the ability to change fonts is pretty cool. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can only read Arial for so long before my eyes start to glaze over. So (Kindle 2 – Nook 1)
As far as memory is concerned, both apparently have the same 2GB internal, but the Nook has a micro SD slot. I have more then a few of those cards lying around, so the ability to load books on them for extra space is pretty awesome. Also, I have a large collection of pdf files for D&D, Dark Heresy, and other paper-and-pencil RPG’s, and while both can read pdf files, the ability to just keep a separate card for all my gaming books is pretty awesome. So while it may take a bit to load – being able to carry all of my nerdage around on a little card is pretty sweet. (Kindle 2 – Nook 2)
Both have some web-browsing and social networking tools. I’m jazzed about none of them and don’t really care what kind of peripherals you can pick up for them. I’m just looking for a more portable alternative to my library. It should be said that no review I read said anything positive about the web-browsing function. However with the possibility of more third-party apps that the Nook’s compatibility with the new Android would provide, if you are looking to put apps or extra gadgets on there the Nook would do you better. However, if you want to have a bunch of apps and check Twitter every twenty minutes or hop on to water your gay plants in Farmville: Just save up for a damn iPad. However since as I previously stated I don’t really care about apps or web browsing, I cannot in good conscious give the Nook a point on this.
You can also share your recent purchases with friends if you have a Nook. However, while I love loaning out books to people, I only have 14 days or so using the Nook. It’s still better then NOT being able to share books…but I really don’t like how I don’t have a right to do with my purchases as I please. Perhaps if they did an ‘up to three’ sharing thing I might get all excited for it…but no. So I award Nook no points (or deduct any), I just thought this was also worth mentioning.
So in conclusion – They are pretty much tied. I think it all comes down to personal preference or what you or your friends already have. I have also noticed a lot has to do with reviews. Because there are a lot out there that are pretty aggressively one-sided. It was hard to find any opinion that didn’t feel at least just a little bias one way or another.
My own personal opinion – stepping out of the illusions of neutrality and shedding off the uncharacteristic trait of impartiality…What do I personally think? I am kind of in favor of the Nook. Part of it is my long-time devotion to Barnes & Noble. I have always LOVED there stores. I used to sometimes go down to one I lived near in Silverdale when I wanted a quiet day away. I would park my ass in the Literature section and re-read some Steinbeck and let the rainy day pass. I have always found their sales people to be friendly and knowledgeable, and have never had a complaint when I’ve had to return something (even once when I lost the receipt).
Unbiased advertising at its finest:
Plus “Nook” is more fun to say then “Kindle”. Kindle makes me think of the little-folk from Willow. Nook is just fun. Nook. Nook. Nook. Nook. He he he…it is almost as fun to say as Scuba. Scuba. Scuba. He he he…
So if I end up buying one: I’m probably going to get a Nook unless I see further damning evidence from either camp of fanatic fans.
Some of the articles I reviewed in making this assesment:
Evil Genius Chronicles "Kindle Vs. Nook, My experience"
Macintouch Kindle Review
Brandonlive Kindle Review
The Dreaming Cafe Kindle Review
Business Week's Review
Gizmodo "Barnes & Noble Nook Review"
Gizmodo "8 Reasons you can finally love ebook readers thanks to Nook"
CNET Kindle Review
CRN review
Engadget Kindle 2 Review
Crunch Gear "10 Reasons to buy a kindle 2 and 10 reasons not to"
I can’t imagine doing something like that with what looks on a strictly physical dimension: an over sized iPod. However a few of my friends have gotten e-Readers (One of which will be doing a similar review over at Milady Geek) and they all seem to enjoy them. So, while I’m not rushing out to purchase one: I figured that I would look into the issue and see what I could come up with.
As a quick disclaimer – I am not even considering Sony’s e-reader because of a personal bias towards Sony products. The only company I have had more negative experiences with then Sony is AT&T…which I unfortunately have to use for home internet access and access on the Kindle or Nook…but that’s that. More on personal biases later...
The market seems to be largely composed of either the Nook or Kindle. First thing of course that stands out is pricing: both are fairly comparable (Homepage listings - Nook w/ 3G+Wi-Fi is $199, Kindle $189). Right off the bat I score the Nook with a point for having the option of a slightly less expensive version (W/ just Wi Fi is $149) for those of us who are perpetually broke, also for the fact that I can actually go into a Barnes & Noble store and hold one and try it out before purchase. However, this point is almost immediately offset for the same reason.
While I had a positive hand-on experience at Barnes & Noble yesterday looking at one, I’m sure it’s a branch-to-branch thing. Some outlets will be having one on display in pristine conditions while others are covered in mysterious sticky substances best left un-guessed at. Also, while you can purchase one with just Wi-Fi, I think it significantly degrades the usefulness of the gadget. The whole point of this is to be able to download and read books on the go, and if I am looking for something new to read I don’t want to have to hunt down an AT&T hot spot. I can easily envision the frustration of running around an airport trying to find one while a Borders or some other newsstand/book vendor is aggravatingly close by.
Since price is about the same, I looked at the warranty coverage, and considering I’m clumsy as shit: a good warranty could be a selling point. Both have decent one-year coverage and optional two-year coverage which will cover your klutzy antics at least once. No great difference in either plan.
So with that: we are back to square one. Kindle is slightly cheaper then the high-end Nook but in the end you are still forking over $200+ for the luxury of having one of those pads Captain Kirk would sign all the time in Star Trek.
So aside from price and availability of products, I take a gander at basic functionality. Battery life is 14 days on the Kindle without wireless active, with the Nook only lasting 10. This I initially dismissed considering that I am rarely hiking through the mountains for weeks on end or anywhere where some form of outlet isn’t available for recharge. However, the whole point of these things is that they are supposed to be supremely portable, so I have to score the Kindle a point for the prolonged battery life (Kindle 1 – Nook 0).
I liked how the controls on the Nook worked, and haven’t heard any complaints about the Kindle either, but since I haven’t had hands-on time with the Kindle I can’t award or detract points for this. However, one of the best written reviews I’ve seen during my research at Evil Genius Chronicles did a side-by-side comparison of the two. Apparently the Nook is slower at loading up a book (they clocked it at 15-30 seconds vs. the Kindle took under a second). Also, the Nook has a function to change font type and size, but it takes a while to load. So Kindle gets a point for being a little quicker on the ball. However, the Nook does have the option for a back-light and is supposedly easier on the eyes, and while slow the ability to change fonts is pretty cool. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can only read Arial for so long before my eyes start to glaze over. So (Kindle 2 – Nook 1)
As far as memory is concerned, both apparently have the same 2GB internal, but the Nook has a micro SD slot. I have more then a few of those cards lying around, so the ability to load books on them for extra space is pretty awesome. Also, I have a large collection of pdf files for D&D, Dark Heresy, and other paper-and-pencil RPG’s, and while both can read pdf files, the ability to just keep a separate card for all my gaming books is pretty awesome. So while it may take a bit to load – being able to carry all of my nerdage around on a little card is pretty sweet. (Kindle 2 – Nook 2)
Both have some web-browsing and social networking tools. I’m jazzed about none of them and don’t really care what kind of peripherals you can pick up for them. I’m just looking for a more portable alternative to my library. It should be said that no review I read said anything positive about the web-browsing function. However with the possibility of more third-party apps that the Nook’s compatibility with the new Android would provide, if you are looking to put apps or extra gadgets on there the Nook would do you better. However, if you want to have a bunch of apps and check Twitter every twenty minutes or hop on to water your gay plants in Farmville: Just save up for a damn iPad. However since as I previously stated I don’t really care about apps or web browsing, I cannot in good conscious give the Nook a point on this.
You can also share your recent purchases with friends if you have a Nook. However, while I love loaning out books to people, I only have 14 days or so using the Nook. It’s still better then NOT being able to share books…but I really don’t like how I don’t have a right to do with my purchases as I please. Perhaps if they did an ‘up to three’ sharing thing I might get all excited for it…but no. So I award Nook no points (or deduct any), I just thought this was also worth mentioning.
So in conclusion – They are pretty much tied. I think it all comes down to personal preference or what you or your friends already have. I have also noticed a lot has to do with reviews. Because there are a lot out there that are pretty aggressively one-sided. It was hard to find any opinion that didn’t feel at least just a little bias one way or another.
My own personal opinion – stepping out of the illusions of neutrality and shedding off the uncharacteristic trait of impartiality…What do I personally think? I am kind of in favor of the Nook. Part of it is my long-time devotion to Barnes & Noble. I have always LOVED there stores. I used to sometimes go down to one I lived near in Silverdale when I wanted a quiet day away. I would park my ass in the Literature section and re-read some Steinbeck and let the rainy day pass. I have always found their sales people to be friendly and knowledgeable, and have never had a complaint when I’ve had to return something (even once when I lost the receipt).
Unbiased advertising at its finest:
Plus “Nook” is more fun to say then “Kindle”. Kindle makes me think of the little-folk from Willow. Nook is just fun. Nook. Nook. Nook. Nook. He he he…it is almost as fun to say as Scuba. Scuba. Scuba. He he he…So if I end up buying one: I’m probably going to get a Nook unless I see further damning evidence from either camp of fanatic fans.
Some of the articles I reviewed in making this assesment:
Evil Genius Chronicles "Kindle Vs. Nook, My experience"
Macintouch Kindle Review
Brandonlive Kindle Review
The Dreaming Cafe Kindle Review
Business Week's Review
Gizmodo "Barnes & Noble Nook Review"
Gizmodo "8 Reasons you can finally love ebook readers thanks to Nook"
CNET Kindle Review
CRN review
Engadget Kindle 2 Review
Crunch Gear "10 Reasons to buy a kindle 2 and 10 reasons not to"
Saturday, June 19, 2010
HAWP
I have been a big fan of Hey Ash Whatcha Playin since I randomnly stumbled upon on YouTube...more likely then not while looking at BioShock 2 stuff (Bishock 2 being possibly the most awesomerest game of ever all time ever...but that is another topic). I just found out they have a new one up, and I realized I don't think I've mentioned it here yet.
The duo are a brother-sister pair. The old guy who pops up now and then is their real-life father. A father who is so awesome I've started radical gene-swapping treatments that has absolutely NO NEGATIVE side effects...*COUGH COUGH COUGH*...oh...my soul hurts...is my stool supposed to be bloody?
The duo are a brother-sister pair. The old guy who pops up now and then is their real-life father. A father who is so awesome I've started radical gene-swapping treatments that has absolutely NO NEGATIVE side effects...*COUGH COUGH COUGH*...oh...my soul hurts...is my stool supposed to be bloody?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Link to the Weekend #6
This has been a pretty good week for videos: So figured I'd throw a bunch out there this Friday.
I already talked about Dark Millenium Online in a previous entry: but I saw this the same day and have so far been using it as a substite for my usual girl-on-girl-on-guy-on-girl-on-goat internet porn.
Contra V. Tetris
MORTAL KOMBAT!!!
I’m a sucker for anything that takes a previously established set of kick-ass characters or a badass story line and just makes it gritty as hell. I like gritty. It’s my favorite texture.
I already talked about Dark Millenium Online in a previous entry: but I saw this the same day and have so far been using it as a substite for my usual girl-on-girl-on-guy-on-girl-on-goat internet porn.
Contra V. Tetris
MORTAL KOMBAT!!!
I’m a sucker for anything that takes a previously established set of kick-ass characters or a badass story line and just makes it gritty as hell. I like gritty. It’s my favorite texture.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Web Comics - my substitute for established religion
I’m a whore for web comics. While some other office-bound workers might come in to work and check out the latest from ESPN or jump on Craigslist or link directly to facebook and start declaring “TGIF!” or “HUMP DAY!!” – I turn to penny arcade and PvP.
I can’t say why I have such a fascination for them. I could point out the potential for taking a story its full course over months or years with little distractions from the author’s vision (IE – Atland). That isn’t accurate though, because the majority of them seem to be just random one-offs (IE – Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal). The artwork is rarely of a superior quality (IE – XKCD, Cyanide & Happiness, Dinosaur Comics). You have a full range from your whimsical and in some cases straight up farces (IE - Order of the Stick) comics to the long-running social ‘drama’ comics (IE – Questionable Content). Some of those I keep reading with no idea why I read them, seeing no great redeeming value and finding no attachment to the characters or story (See the last one I referenced).
I think it is just ritual at this point. When the mornings promise to be slow…Or at least at a pace where I can afford to blow off twenty minutes as caffeine begins to coarse through my vascular system: it gives me something to meditate over. Small easily-digestible punch lines or attempts at philosophic insight to mull over while my brain is still in warm-up mode. It’s the same reason I used to do cross-word puzzles.
It’s like church without the proselytizing.
Of all those I enjoy, there are more then a few that slowly drift out of relevance or fall to the way side, but so far only one has been black-listed from my register. Ctrl+Alt+Del is a web comic I followed for some time, after a while I realized that it wasn’t funny and rarely did anything more then state the blaringly obvious. Adding insult to injury; the characters are just cut-and-paste personalities. There is the zany main character, his human-hating robot friend, his straight-faced best friend, and the uber-competitive and sometimes naggy girlfriend gamer. The icing on the shit cake though was when the author tried working in a sub-story at one point where the main character & his girlfriend get an abortion. It was a shitty story line that was just tacky and in incredibly poor taste.
To avoid giving that aforementioned piece of shit too much spot light (in case the adage "No such thing as bad press" is true) here is a listing of ten of my favorite web comics. (Top Three are in order, the rest are in whatever order they came to mind)
1) Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal – The king of web comics. It is always random and rarely anything short of hilarious. Sometimes they do video shorts too which are equally hilarious. This is the only one I have bookmarked & regularly check on my home computer.
I can’t say why I have such a fascination for them. I could point out the potential for taking a story its full course over months or years with little distractions from the author’s vision (IE – Atland). That isn’t accurate though, because the majority of them seem to be just random one-offs (IE – Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal). The artwork is rarely of a superior quality (IE – XKCD, Cyanide & Happiness, Dinosaur Comics). You have a full range from your whimsical and in some cases straight up farces (IE - Order of the Stick) comics to the long-running social ‘drama’ comics (IE – Questionable Content). Some of those I keep reading with no idea why I read them, seeing no great redeeming value and finding no attachment to the characters or story (See the last one I referenced).
I think it is just ritual at this point. When the mornings promise to be slow…Or at least at a pace where I can afford to blow off twenty minutes as caffeine begins to coarse through my vascular system: it gives me something to meditate over. Small easily-digestible punch lines or attempts at philosophic insight to mull over while my brain is still in warm-up mode. It’s the same reason I used to do cross-word puzzles.
It’s like church without the proselytizing.
Of all those I enjoy, there are more then a few that slowly drift out of relevance or fall to the way side, but so far only one has been black-listed from my register. Ctrl+Alt+Del is a web comic I followed for some time, after a while I realized that it wasn’t funny and rarely did anything more then state the blaringly obvious. Adding insult to injury; the characters are just cut-and-paste personalities. There is the zany main character, his human-hating robot friend, his straight-faced best friend, and the uber-competitive and sometimes naggy girlfriend gamer. The icing on the shit cake though was when the author tried working in a sub-story at one point where the main character & his girlfriend get an abortion. It was a shitty story line that was just tacky and in incredibly poor taste.
To avoid giving that aforementioned piece of shit too much spot light (in case the adage "No such thing as bad press" is true) here is a listing of ten of my favorite web comics. (Top Three are in order, the rest are in whatever order they came to mind)
1) Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal – The king of web comics. It is always random and rarely anything short of hilarious. Sometimes they do video shorts too which are equally hilarious. This is the only one I have bookmarked & regularly check on my home computer.
2) Perry Bible Fellowship – Don’t let the name fool you. It rarely has anything to do with religion. I keep the complete almanac of this comic close at hand for an easy chuckle. It’s been discontinued but its hilarious archives are still intact.
3) Penny Arcade – I’ve been following this for the better part of six years now, my opinion may be jaded as I think my fandom is encroaching on fanaticsm.
4) XKCD – Stick figures at their best and most insightful/funny.
5) Cyanide and Happiness – I have a profoundly fucked-up sense of humor, and this feeds that sense of humor like an emaciated Ethiopian at Soup Plantation.
6) Realm of Atland – A beautifully colored web comic with a very long and entertaining story with some nice humor
7) Weapon Brown – A post-apocalyptic spoof of the world of newspaper comics. Weapon Brown roams the post-nuclear wastes with his loyal companion, Snoopy. Very over the top. Great artwork and anyone else who spent their teenage years reading as much ‘Heavy Metal’ magazine as I did will like this. It should also be noted that only the Weapon Brown strips on that sight seem to be any good.
8) Amazing Super-Powers – I fell in love with this after seeing their Monopoly strip. The slug at the pages heading changes every time you load the page. Never since Hamsterdance.com have animated gifs made me so gleeful.
9) Dumm Comics ‘Skadi’ – A Thursday segment of the daily web comics at Dumm comics. Skadi speaks to my love of old Conan stories and pulp fantasy…plus the artwork is reminiscent of Ren & Stimpy. So go! Follow Skadi on her world-wide quest to eat of every meat! (In a bacon way, not a sexy way).
10) Diesel Sweeties – Pixilated indie robot humor for the whole family.
In the grim darkness of the future...there is only awesome (Maybe)...
I found this yesterday and immediately skipped like a small child over to facebook to post it on a few friend's pages. One of whom is the infamous Milday Geek. She sited me as a source so I am reverse-sourcing her to this awesome sauce clip to what may potentially draw me back into the soulless void that is MMOs.
*drrrrrooooolllll*
I have always loved the grim darkness of the 41st millenium and just about anything Warhammer. I have been collecting the miniatures for close to a decade and have immersed myself in every aspect of the fluff I could get my greedy hands on.
The only thing that really stands out in my mind as a sense of disatisfaction is with Warhammer Online. I did a trial and played it for maybe about an hour, if that, hoping and hoping that the reviews were wrong and I could claim some new sense of fun and novelty. Needless to say, I didn't. What I got was a bland experience that just felt like WoW with a different set of animation.
I love this Penny Arcade comic as Tychos BEST SPEECH EVER...but in this topic I sadly have to site it with a nod of agreement to Gabe's comic in the first panel.
So, I am understandably hesitant for Dark Millenium Online. On the one hand I could potentially get to tear up shit as a Chainsword wielding member of the Adeptus Astartes (or Space Marines for you mere mortals)...on the other this could just turn into an expirience as disappointing as its fantasy equivalent.
Come on...who WOULDN'T want to play as someone this bad ass?
I will, of course still sign up for the beta.
Now, it should be noted that I am a recovered WoW player. I used to enjoy exploring its expansive world and hanging out with friends with it. After several years of playing on and off due to work issues I eventually quit after growing tired of repetitive gameplay, constant guild bickering, and a general sense of disinterest in what I was getting for what I was paying for it.
This news also comes at the heels of the announcement of a new paper-and-pencil RPG from the makers of Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy: Deathwatch. In this one you play as the near god-like Space Marines sent against the myriad alien horrors that assail mankind. This version of the Fantasy Flight produced 40K RPG series should be a lot more action oriented as you are tasked to track down, flush out, purge clean, and generally wipe out any foul bug-eyed Xenos out there.
"Suffer Not the Alien to Live" - Moto of both the Deathwatch and the Arizona Department of Immigration
(Drawn by DarkLostSoul86 on DeviantArt)
*drrrrrooooolllll*
I have always loved the grim darkness of the 41st millenium and just about anything Warhammer. I have been collecting the miniatures for close to a decade and have immersed myself in every aspect of the fluff I could get my greedy hands on.
The only thing that really stands out in my mind as a sense of disatisfaction is with Warhammer Online. I did a trial and played it for maybe about an hour, if that, hoping and hoping that the reviews were wrong and I could claim some new sense of fun and novelty. Needless to say, I didn't. What I got was a bland experience that just felt like WoW with a different set of animation.
I love this Penny Arcade comic as Tychos BEST SPEECH EVER...but in this topic I sadly have to site it with a nod of agreement to Gabe's comic in the first panel.
So, I am understandably hesitant for Dark Millenium Online. On the one hand I could potentially get to tear up shit as a Chainsword wielding member of the Adeptus Astartes (or Space Marines for you mere mortals)...on the other this could just turn into an expirience as disappointing as its fantasy equivalent.Come on...who WOULDN'T want to play as someone this bad ass?
I will, of course still sign up for the beta.Now, it should be noted that I am a recovered WoW player. I used to enjoy exploring its expansive world and hanging out with friends with it. After several years of playing on and off due to work issues I eventually quit after growing tired of repetitive gameplay, constant guild bickering, and a general sense of disinterest in what I was getting for what I was paying for it.
This news also comes at the heels of the announcement of a new paper-and-pencil RPG from the makers of Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy: Deathwatch. In this one you play as the near god-like Space Marines sent against the myriad alien horrors that assail mankind. This version of the Fantasy Flight produced 40K RPG series should be a lot more action oriented as you are tasked to track down, flush out, purge clean, and generally wipe out any foul bug-eyed Xenos out there.
"Suffer Not the Alien to Live" - Moto of both the Deathwatch and the Arizona Department of Immigration
(Drawn by DarkLostSoul86 on DeviantArt)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Half Marathon with half the enthusiasm
It’s maybe six o’clock. It could actually be more like five forty-five. Or is it maybe earlier then that? I don’t know because I am lacking a watch – an accessory that I normally absolutely refuse to go without in this day and age where people are more and more replacing them with their cell phones. That is a rant for a different time. For now I listen to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” over the loud speakers as the announcers prattle on as second-hand radio personalities normally do.
When is this supposed to start? Six fifteen? What time is it now? I am in the middle of a vast crowd of people. My particular section is marked as corral #38 by a big black sign being waved above the crowd like some ancient banner. About twenty feet behind me through the press of people in work-out clothes is another banner marked #39.
To my left is a press of mid westerner stereotypes. Thirty to forty year old women in varying degrees of obesity, the one next to me is wearing a visor declaring her loyalty to some bank that I’ve never heard the name of. They all wear the same kind of purple shirt that makes up roughly sixty percent of the crowd. The backs of these purple shirts each exclaim “TEAM IN TRAINING” followed by a name of a hometown or state, and then finally a list of various sponsors.
To my right is a different woman fidgeting with her iPod prior to the event’s start. She pays no attention to the man dressed as Elvis directly in front of her. The song changes to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the announcer declare the start for the next wave. Since the first gun shot, each corral has been released a minute after the previous wave is sent on the track; leaving me and several hundred others to anxiously shift as we wait for our turn to get the ordeal over with.
How could anyone ever think this would be a good idea?
It is the Rock & Roll Marathon & Half Marathon in San Diego. And this year it begins in Balboa Park on a rather chill overcast Sunday morning. I find myself a little bit glad that I chose to do this since traffic must have been severely fucked up everywhere because of the event. If I had chosen to bail at the last minute any other plans would have been sullied by that continuous reminder. Like a sweaty version of Poe’s Tell-tale heart.
I always thought the Gates of Hell would be less colorful and more fiery.
People with big grins on their face move through the crowd handing out salt packets like those they give at diners. I see some of the more serious-looking runners take a few and shove them in their pocket and I repeat the process. Later I found it helps keep you from sweating out all your electrolytes and having a heart attack. At the time I was just mirroring people who looked like they knew what they were doing. I sure as shit didn’t. As I write this the event is over, and I still have little to no idea. In retrospect I should have trained more, but fuck it. Too late now. If the masochism that comes of forcing yourself to run thirteen to twenty six miles sinks in, I will certainly know for next time to prepare better.
What time is it? Six thirty lately? Seven? Nine? Noon? I have no idea and give up guessing as the corral moves just a little bit closer to the starting line.
When finally I do get going I find the event to be a blur. I am not a runner by any definition of the word. In it is my loathing for this form of exercise that caused me to take up a half marathon (Figured if I have something that forces me to run, it won’t be so bad after a while). The race though is a lot easier then I thought. It goes in a circuit around Balboa-park and then splits off, the full-marathon runners taking a circuit in the downtown while the half-marathon is resigned to part of the 163 north bound.
It was there that it began to suck. While running the lap around the park, there were a few benefits that made the first five miles fly by. As I jogged on I was carried by an initial and unexpected wave of adrenaline as everyone set out on this journey. People were cheering for one another, trading high-fives, and joking with each other for those who decided to wear some form of costume. There were also stages set up along the course where live bands played high-pace rock that helped us push just a little bit harder. The stages would be found throughout the race, but they seemed to be most closely packed around the Park.
Once I passed the five-mile mark on the 163, I overtook the woman I had been running by for most of the race so far: A college student with a wonder-woman cape and rainbow knee socks that seemed weird for an event that would involve so much sweaty. I ran by the clock and distance marker as it clicks off the time since the first corral began the course. It was around an hour or so, I think.
The course banked under our feet and we found ourselves running along an almost forty five degree slope. It was this time frame that the morning chill and cloud coverage broke, and we were hit by a blast of the southern California sun and it jumped maybe ten degrees. It was hear that the initial adrenaline wore off and I began to feel it.
I was trying to find a picture as an example of how ugly the course looked and the steep slope - and Googled '163' foolishly. This is one of the first results I got. WTF?!
For the next few miles I found myself counting away the steps and trying to do everything I could to keep my mind off the fact that I was running. The serene park background had now been replaced with slate-gray over passes and numerous road signs warning of upcoming exits and merging lanes. The hills were not covered with sage green grass but random desert foliage, brown and dying from the lack of recent rainfall.
I tried enjoying the other ‘scenery’ that was available, a tip I had received from an overly energetic woman the day before who was trying to sell me a suspiciously phallus-shaped leg massager. While there were plenty of people not in the greatest shape, there were just as many who were truly in their element in the middle of such an endurance contest. Doing my best not to leer, I admired some of these individuals and occupied myself with thoughts best not shared.
When the novelty of this wore off, I turned to singing quietly to myself or trying to remember stories. This wasn’t nearly as effective of doing a mental catalog and rating the various combinations of ass/legs that were moving along, and I gave up rather quickly. I was back to looking at the urban scenery and mentally counting my paces. It sucked.
My feet ached and cried out as new blisters formed and popped. The outside of my feet bemoaned the stresses of running along a slope and my pace took on a slight limp. After passing another water station around the seven mile mark, the warming sun seemed to take another ten degree hike in temperature.
I began doing half-mile jogs separated by a fast walk. When finally I passed a festival stop that was decorated and entitled by various signs as ‘Margarita Ville’, I gave up jogging entirely. A Jimmy Buffet cover band sung the praises of island living while someone who looks exactly like the real Jimmy Buffet busies himself sweeping up discarded paper cups with a rake. This might be a much better use of the real Jimmy Buffet, to be honest.
From the nine mile mark I walked the next few in relative silence. That initial wave of adrenaline and mutually-motivating energy had abated. The bands were no longer doing it, and most of the people cheering by road side had abandoned what little enthusiasm remained.
All around me I could see only a few joggers, as the courses re-merged I saw sweat-slicked full marathon runners, all with a glazed expression that showed them some place distant, some place where they weren’t running a race that was based on an event of desperation during the Peloponnesian Wars.
Those people who dressed in costume seem to be feeling the full effects. I see a person who for whatever reason decided to run it in a SpongeBob suit at a medical station, probably suffering from heat stroke. A group of guys dressed like Scottish warriors (complete with blue face paint, kilts, and toy swords strapped on their backs) who had begun the race hooting and hollering were now quietly running at an even clip.
This was the part that really tested people. The hump was past and now that most of the race was over and the community of runners had hit the wall, who really wanted to finish? The prospect did cross my mind a few times. I passed an exit where I new some friends went to a game store on Sundays and thought how it would be funny (and a little nice) to call it quits and just walk over to the game store. With that initial small limp having grown into a full-blown Igor impression: I thought about just going and sitting by the road, giving my poor legs and feet a chance to rest until one of the poorly named ‘sag wagons’ could come and pick me up with stragglers.
I chose not to though, knowing my propensity to quit on things in favor of the lazier answer. I was also well aware that there were a few friends and co-workers who had heard through the grape vine that I would be doing this, and I didn’t want to disappoint. So I carried on and as the course became a blur the last few miles slowly ticked away.
Around the bend I came to the twelve mile-marker – and as I walked by I picked up the pace and decided to run the last little bit. On that finally tenth of a mile the course was flanked by a yellow fence of advertisements and a crowd behind it cheering on everyone. Under a great banner marking the finish line a clock hanging from a crane where a photographer documents each runner over the line reads off 4:17:26. It was the time since the first gun shot, but not everyone’s time. We had been provided with an orange band that was knitted through the laces of our shoes and tracked our progress. I would later discover my time was 3:22:31 – something that surprised me more then anyone.
This is the LEAST retarded looking photo of me crossing the finish line. Which isn't really saying much to be fair.
I grabbed a bottle of water and my medal for completion, favoring the bottle of water over the recognition of achievement. Next to me medics carry a woman who collapsed after finishing the run and had pushed herself too hard. Behind her is a man who was laughing and talking with some friends, his white shirt covered in two shot-gun blasts of blood where his nipples underneath had been chaffed bloody. It was then I knew for certain I would never make a hobby of this.
Any hobby where bleeding nipples are a common ailment seems to be worth avoiding in my book.
While some people reunited with friends and family who were waiting at the finish, moving on to enjoy a festival of activities and free samples: I slowly shuffled past. My priority was to take the long trek home. After that run I was sore all over and more exhausted then ever can be recalled by my recent memory. In the line for shuttles to take me back to the trolley I had boarded to get there, I blacked out on a few occasions to wake up still moving ahead with the mile-long zigzag queue.
Once home, I could at last collapse for a few hours and enjoy a good shower. All in all it was an experience, one I am not very likely to repeat: but an experience none the less.
When is this supposed to start? Six fifteen? What time is it now? I am in the middle of a vast crowd of people. My particular section is marked as corral #38 by a big black sign being waved above the crowd like some ancient banner. About twenty feet behind me through the press of people in work-out clothes is another banner marked #39.
To my left is a press of mid westerner stereotypes. Thirty to forty year old women in varying degrees of obesity, the one next to me is wearing a visor declaring her loyalty to some bank that I’ve never heard the name of. They all wear the same kind of purple shirt that makes up roughly sixty percent of the crowd. The backs of these purple shirts each exclaim “TEAM IN TRAINING” followed by a name of a hometown or state, and then finally a list of various sponsors.
To my right is a different woman fidgeting with her iPod prior to the event’s start. She pays no attention to the man dressed as Elvis directly in front of her. The song changes to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the announcer declare the start for the next wave. Since the first gun shot, each corral has been released a minute after the previous wave is sent on the track; leaving me and several hundred others to anxiously shift as we wait for our turn to get the ordeal over with.
How could anyone ever think this would be a good idea?
It is the Rock & Roll Marathon & Half Marathon in San Diego. And this year it begins in Balboa Park on a rather chill overcast Sunday morning. I find myself a little bit glad that I chose to do this since traffic must have been severely fucked up everywhere because of the event. If I had chosen to bail at the last minute any other plans would have been sullied by that continuous reminder. Like a sweaty version of Poe’s Tell-tale heart.
I always thought the Gates of Hell would be less colorful and more fiery.
People with big grins on their face move through the crowd handing out salt packets like those they give at diners. I see some of the more serious-looking runners take a few and shove them in their pocket and I repeat the process. Later I found it helps keep you from sweating out all your electrolytes and having a heart attack. At the time I was just mirroring people who looked like they knew what they were doing. I sure as shit didn’t. As I write this the event is over, and I still have little to no idea. In retrospect I should have trained more, but fuck it. Too late now. If the masochism that comes of forcing yourself to run thirteen to twenty six miles sinks in, I will certainly know for next time to prepare better.
What time is it? Six thirty lately? Seven? Nine? Noon? I have no idea and give up guessing as the corral moves just a little bit closer to the starting line.
When finally I do get going I find the event to be a blur. I am not a runner by any definition of the word. In it is my loathing for this form of exercise that caused me to take up a half marathon (Figured if I have something that forces me to run, it won’t be so bad after a while). The race though is a lot easier then I thought. It goes in a circuit around Balboa-park and then splits off, the full-marathon runners taking a circuit in the downtown while the half-marathon is resigned to part of the 163 north bound.
It was there that it began to suck. While running the lap around the park, there were a few benefits that made the first five miles fly by. As I jogged on I was carried by an initial and unexpected wave of adrenaline as everyone set out on this journey. People were cheering for one another, trading high-fives, and joking with each other for those who decided to wear some form of costume. There were also stages set up along the course where live bands played high-pace rock that helped us push just a little bit harder. The stages would be found throughout the race, but they seemed to be most closely packed around the Park.
Once I passed the five-mile mark on the 163, I overtook the woman I had been running by for most of the race so far: A college student with a wonder-woman cape and rainbow knee socks that seemed weird for an event that would involve so much sweaty. I ran by the clock and distance marker as it clicks off the time since the first corral began the course. It was around an hour or so, I think.
The course banked under our feet and we found ourselves running along an almost forty five degree slope. It was this time frame that the morning chill and cloud coverage broke, and we were hit by a blast of the southern California sun and it jumped maybe ten degrees. It was hear that the initial adrenaline wore off and I began to feel it.
I was trying to find a picture as an example of how ugly the course looked and the steep slope - and Googled '163' foolishly. This is one of the first results I got. WTF?!
For the next few miles I found myself counting away the steps and trying to do everything I could to keep my mind off the fact that I was running. The serene park background had now been replaced with slate-gray over passes and numerous road signs warning of upcoming exits and merging lanes. The hills were not covered with sage green grass but random desert foliage, brown and dying from the lack of recent rainfall.
I tried enjoying the other ‘scenery’ that was available, a tip I had received from an overly energetic woman the day before who was trying to sell me a suspiciously phallus-shaped leg massager. While there were plenty of people not in the greatest shape, there were just as many who were truly in their element in the middle of such an endurance contest. Doing my best not to leer, I admired some of these individuals and occupied myself with thoughts best not shared.
When the novelty of this wore off, I turned to singing quietly to myself or trying to remember stories. This wasn’t nearly as effective of doing a mental catalog and rating the various combinations of ass/legs that were moving along, and I gave up rather quickly. I was back to looking at the urban scenery and mentally counting my paces. It sucked.
My feet ached and cried out as new blisters formed and popped. The outside of my feet bemoaned the stresses of running along a slope and my pace took on a slight limp. After passing another water station around the seven mile mark, the warming sun seemed to take another ten degree hike in temperature.
I began doing half-mile jogs separated by a fast walk. When finally I passed a festival stop that was decorated and entitled by various signs as ‘Margarita Ville’, I gave up jogging entirely. A Jimmy Buffet cover band sung the praises of island living while someone who looks exactly like the real Jimmy Buffet busies himself sweeping up discarded paper cups with a rake. This might be a much better use of the real Jimmy Buffet, to be honest.
From the nine mile mark I walked the next few in relative silence. That initial wave of adrenaline and mutually-motivating energy had abated. The bands were no longer doing it, and most of the people cheering by road side had abandoned what little enthusiasm remained.
All around me I could see only a few joggers, as the courses re-merged I saw sweat-slicked full marathon runners, all with a glazed expression that showed them some place distant, some place where they weren’t running a race that was based on an event of desperation during the Peloponnesian Wars.
Those people who dressed in costume seem to be feeling the full effects. I see a person who for whatever reason decided to run it in a SpongeBob suit at a medical station, probably suffering from heat stroke. A group of guys dressed like Scottish warriors (complete with blue face paint, kilts, and toy swords strapped on their backs) who had begun the race hooting and hollering were now quietly running at an even clip.
This was the part that really tested people. The hump was past and now that most of the race was over and the community of runners had hit the wall, who really wanted to finish? The prospect did cross my mind a few times. I passed an exit where I new some friends went to a game store on Sundays and thought how it would be funny (and a little nice) to call it quits and just walk over to the game store. With that initial small limp having grown into a full-blown Igor impression: I thought about just going and sitting by the road, giving my poor legs and feet a chance to rest until one of the poorly named ‘sag wagons’ could come and pick me up with stragglers.
I chose not to though, knowing my propensity to quit on things in favor of the lazier answer. I was also well aware that there were a few friends and co-workers who had heard through the grape vine that I would be doing this, and I didn’t want to disappoint. So I carried on and as the course became a blur the last few miles slowly ticked away.
Around the bend I came to the twelve mile-marker – and as I walked by I picked up the pace and decided to run the last little bit. On that finally tenth of a mile the course was flanked by a yellow fence of advertisements and a crowd behind it cheering on everyone. Under a great banner marking the finish line a clock hanging from a crane where a photographer documents each runner over the line reads off 4:17:26. It was the time since the first gun shot, but not everyone’s time. We had been provided with an orange band that was knitted through the laces of our shoes and tracked our progress. I would later discover my time was 3:22:31 – something that surprised me more then anyone.
This is the LEAST retarded looking photo of me crossing the finish line. Which isn't really saying much to be fair.
I grabbed a bottle of water and my medal for completion, favoring the bottle of water over the recognition of achievement. Next to me medics carry a woman who collapsed after finishing the run and had pushed herself too hard. Behind her is a man who was laughing and talking with some friends, his white shirt covered in two shot-gun blasts of blood where his nipples underneath had been chaffed bloody. It was then I knew for certain I would never make a hobby of this.
Any hobby where bleeding nipples are a common ailment seems to be worth avoiding in my book.
While some people reunited with friends and family who were waiting at the finish, moving on to enjoy a festival of activities and free samples: I slowly shuffled past. My priority was to take the long trek home. After that run I was sore all over and more exhausted then ever can be recalled by my recent memory. In the line for shuttles to take me back to the trolley I had boarded to get there, I blacked out on a few occasions to wake up still moving ahead with the mile-long zigzag queue.
Once home, I could at last collapse for a few hours and enjoy a good shower. All in all it was an experience, one I am not very likely to repeat: but an experience none the less.
Biggest lesson I learned? Get a Kenyan to run it for me next time.
अ हलफ मराठों...वही इस थिस ट्रांस्लातिंग एवेर्य्थिंग इ से इन्तो सहित इ कैन'टी रीड?
I don't know what the fuck is the deal with the title. For some reason it is translating everything I type in the title bar into Hindi. Interesting.
I will fidget with the settings and get back with the actual update I intended. In the meantime enjoy this preview of the latest reboot for the classic series: Twilight Zone!!
I will fidget with the settings and get back with the actual update I intended. In the meantime enjoy this preview of the latest reboot for the classic series: Twilight Zone!!
इ दोन'टी क्नोव वहत थे फुक्क इस थे डाल विथ थे तितले. फॉर सम रासों आईटी इस ट्रांस्लातिंग एवेर्य्थिंग इ टाइप इन थे तितले बार इन्तो हिंदी. इन्तेरेस्तिंग. इ विल फिद्गेत विथ थे सेत्तिंग्स एंड गेट बेक विथ थे अच्तुअल अपडेट इ इन्तेंदेद. इन थे मेंतिमे एन्जॉय थिस प्रेविएव ऑफ़ थे लतेस्ट रिबूट फॉर थे क्लास्सिक सेरिएस: त्विलिघ्त जोने!!
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