1boringperson

http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/2010/01/08/bay-watch/

With the incessant snow and the global-warming-defying cold snap across the country, it seems a good time for thoughts to turn to spring and baseball in as positive and uplifting a manner as only a Mets fan can summon.
So: Jason Bay. Just signed with the Mets. Thirty one years old. $66 [...]

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2539.html

Today's theme: Fantasy

http://xkcd.com/686/

The new Kodak Pulse digital photo frame has a really cool-sounding feature:

You know how good it feels to come home to find an unexpected gift from a friend? That’s the same excitement you get every day with the KODAK PULSE Digital Frame. Now everyone can send pictures right to your frame, giving you continuous surprises.

Create your own e-mail address for the frame to easily receive new pictures

• Send pictures from a computer
• E-mail pictures from mobile phones as soon as they’re taken—perfect for sharing on-the-go

Now this actually sounds like a very cool idea. Take a photo while overseas on holiday, and want to share it instantly with your parents or friends? Send it to the e-mail address of their photo frame, and it'll appear on their mantelpiece or coffee table. Or if you know someone going on a trip, they can send photo updates direct to your photo frame on your desk.

I'm just wondering if they thought about the obvious misuse of such a device...

( And yes, Rilcon is a real family name. )

http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/2010/01/07/stash-wednesday-january-6-2010/

“Nation X: X-Factor,” the one-shot that features our detective heroes showing up for a meet and greet on Utopia, is in the stores this week. Amazingly, they’ve also bothered to put out a few other books as well.
PAD

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2538.html

Today's theme: Space

http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0359.html

Steam and a friend of mine are trying to destroy me. During their recent holiday sale, the now-classic game "Knights of the Old Republic" went on sale for under ten bucks. The basis for the FFN character "Lewis" called me up, knowing I'd been between computers when this game was in its heyday, and suggested I get it. I did, not knowing the path led to the dark side...

Not only is it a time-sucker, it makes me upset about the prequel trilogy all over again. It says something when a game that looks this primitive when compared to current games sucks me in more than a multi-million dollar trio of films could (for more on this, put up your shields vs. inappropriate language, adult humor, and gags about keeping people in basements, and click here). Granted, it's a video game and by definition (at least for me) is more immersive than a movie. However, even the minor characters that should annoy, like a Twi'lek tween, have decent enough backstories that they don't grate on the nerves like a caffeinated Gungan might. It's got a ton of flavor that enriches the Star Wars universe, and I'm not even a third of the way through the game!

It does have some quirks that are kind of unique to its version of Star Wars, partly from being a d20-based video game (which adds to the nostalgia for me) and being a role-playing game (as much as a video game with speech-selection trees can be):

1. Jedi can be a lot more practical about defeating enemies. Yeah, I've got the Force and can wield dual light sabers and all that, but I'm going to chuck a few grenades at that guy in the cape to soften him up, first. Then I'm going to shoot myself full of chemicals to enhance my strength, dexterity, and other attributes, flick on this energy shield, make sure my cybernetic implant is jump-starting my brain, and strap down these goggles that help me skewer anything that movies. And I'm wearing armor, so you can just chuck those brown robes down a garbage chute. I like this kind of Jedi. If they let you use force powers on things like mines, the game would be a laugh riot of creative ways to gain experience points.

2. People aren't allowed to be morons, for the most part. There are some attempts at humor (I'm thinking of "Romeo & Juliet" mission where everyone meets at the end for a little sit-com spit-taking), but they aren't intrusive. About the most odd behavior I've seen is from the head baddie, who ordered the destruction of a planet (which translates to the bombardment of the capitol city) to take out one Jedi, but he's supposed to be an uber-villain so I'll cut him some slack for lacking finesse or a sense of proportion.

3. It's an RPG, so the whole "good vs. evil" thing gets a little wonky. Killing innocents will definitely get you "Dark Side" points, but tearing through someone's house, destroying his droids, and looting every container you find is, it appears, tolerated. At least, after resolving the kidnapping dispute, neither the homeowner or his now-grateful daughter requested I return any of their stuff... which is fine, because I took the occasional hit from his robots' weapons (which I also looted).

#3 hits on something about role-playing games that you always have to feel out be it on a computer or at the table: What bits of the game will feature the technique of the bully? Or, in more common terms, what will the DM or computer game deem a "punishable offense?" Looting in "Fallout 3" is regulated by who owns it, whether or not they're alive, and whether or not they deserve to have their stuff carried away. Human Dungeon Masters will often apply karmic price tags to lifting things, sometimes by sticking you with a crucial Paladin or lawful Cleric NPC who spots your every infraction, or worse, just making you paranoid that the dagger you looted from the guy who tried to kill you at the inn will get you accused of murder if you don't find a way to destroy it down to ashes before the sun comes up.

This is also a game that rewards different skill sets, which a lot more RPGs of every stripe are trying to do these days, almost as a game of "spot the hidden lever." KOTOR will place groups of enemies conveniently near power conduits or gas-emitting vents that can be activated from other rooms (I imagine the guild that made these standard in most places went on to make installing guard rails around long drops into reactors against the law in most parts of the "Star Wars" universe) if you have the right skills. It almost seems that games are punishing brute force, which makes me think we're headed down into "Tomb of Horrors" territory, where if you don't see what the designer had in mind, your might as well start re-rolling your entire party... which is, of course, why you need to bring more snacks to bribe the DM (this is the real-life equivalent of having a "save point," or pretty near to it). :)

Back in the real world, we also have snow. Lots of it, at least for recent history 'round this part of Missouri. Others have much more, so I'm grateful to get away with the scant foot or so we've accumulated. So is the wife, who's enjoying a few more days off from school... though it made me think I could take a few hours off from tending our son and getting stuff finished to play my "Star Wars" game, since I'll have more time tomorrow to work... yeah, that's it...

So I'll tend to my delusions and offer this to help bring down everyone else's productivity:

- Pong. A classic game, now available (to those handy with tools and electronics) in a physical form.
- "Can it run Crysis" is still a meme for questioning the power of a computer. I never had much reason to want to play the first-person shooter, but someone is making a MechWarrior modification for it, and it looks very good. The mechs walking underwater is particularly spine-chilling for some reason.
- So which is more important to you? Your significant other or your Orc statue?
- If you have a few minutes and a phone handy, you might get a laugh exploring the Nestle Crunch hotline. I forgave their use of the word "funner" after hearing the selection on "cooties."
- Yes, it's my second UK tabloid post in one day, but they've apparently discovered creatures in the ocean that have escaped from a Mario game.
- Here's a little puzzle-platformer in an interesting art style: Where's 2010?
- John Travolta is starring in a new action film. This is the trailer. It almost seems a parody, like the "McClain" films from "The Simpsons," don'cha think?
- "Simon's Cat" has had a crossover with the popular YouTube kitty, Maru in "Overseas Visitor". Cute.
- How about an Asteroids-style shooter where you add onto your ship with the bits of your defeated enemies (careful where you place the thrusters)? It's Captain Forever, and it's pretty addictive and Vectrex-y.

[Note that] I'm getting more and more annoyed with the apparent explosion of writing being perpetrated with the words "Note that" being used to introduce sentences. [Note that] This is superfluous verbiage that adds no meaning.

[Note that] To pick an example more or less at random: Wikipedia's page on Western dress code contains the following sentences:

• Note that the local interpretation of casual codes may look very little as illustrated.
• Note that the definitions listed above are the strict, traditional definitions, which may not be followed in common use.
• Note that the use of white tie and morning dress has become fairly rare in some countries [...]
• (note that the term morning dress is fairly undescriptive and has not always meant our modern morning dress)

[Note that] Every one of these sentences can be written more simply and succinctly as follows:

• The local interpretation of casual codes may look very little as illustrated. (Let's leave aside the other grammatical weirdness in this sentence.)
• The definitions listed above are the strict, traditional definitions, which may not be followed in common use.
• The use of white tie and morning dress has become fairly rare in some countries [...]
• (the term morning dress is fairly undescriptive and has not always meant our modern morning dress)

[Note that] It is never necessary to say "note that" at the front of a sentence. [Note that] The very fact that you are writing it down means that the reader should be paying attention and noting everything that you're writing.

[Note that] If you're writing "Note that" at the front of a sentence, you're wasting your time and the reader's time. [Note that] If you really want the reader to pay particular attention to a point you're making in a specific sentence, there are better, and more specifically informative ways to do so.

[Note that] If you ever find yourself introducing a sentence with "Note that", remove it. [Note that] Your writing will be improved markedly.

( No books of note. )

   Dave Van Domelen, "Don't I resent you for some reason?" "Probably, but who can keep track?" "Good point." - Monet and Dani, Nation X: X-Factor #1

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2537.html

Today's theme: Mythbusters

http://xkcd.com/685/

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2536.html

Today's theme: Cliffhangers

http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0358.html

Oh, "Heroes," it seems so long ago that I was smitten with your first season. It was pretty well-scripted, it had mystery, a relatively small cast, a cool villain, and a nifty catchphrase. Since then, things have gone hideously wrong. Our cast keeps getting too big to keep up with all of the arcs, which doesn't matter anyway because the arcs either don't make sense or are abandoned without any resolution. The budget for the program is shrinking, and the FX guys don't appear to be able to convert their visuals to the "less is more" school of filmmaking (I'm always reminded of the huge battle between Peter and Sylar which was reduced to flashing lights as seen under a pair of closed doors). We lost the very cool "Future Hiro" and we're left with "perpetual innocent nerd Hiro." Characters keep making all the wrong decisions, and somehow Claire (the Cheerleader needed to Save the World) has become my least favorite part of the series. With the near constant addition and jettisoning of minor characters, the refrain of everyone with powers "being connected" becomes almost a running gag. Also, in this particular episode, they tied up Ray Park for almost all of the time he's on screen. Unless Ray is known for doing things on camera that can be carried out from a seated position, I don't think they were maximizing his potential. I'll be truly amazed if this series gets another season, because I can't see how someone could follow it and be satisfied with the result.

NBC has also made me feel old this week. When I quizzed my wife and sister-in-law, their first guess for how long "Law & Order" has been on the air was somewhere just over a decade. It may seem that way to some, but NBC just ordered the twenty-first season of the show, which breaks the previous record for longest-running primetime drama, which was held by "Gunsmoke." I used to watch L&O quite often, mostly during the Jerry Orbach era. Then I saw "The Wire," and L&O didn't seem as interesting to me any more. Plus, almost every long-running cop drama is running out of new and original ways of killing people and misdirecting the police as to who the killer is. It also doesn't help that if you know how acting contracts usually work, the people with speaking parts of more than three lines most likely will be seen again breaking under pressure in an interrogation room or in court. But I'm bitter. And old. And it's cold outside. And there are people who can vote that have never been without Law & Order... it boggles the mind...

Oh, and to all cop shows: No more chimeras to make DNA evidence a red herring, okay? You've all done it a bajillion times, and it's getting to be as cliche as the emergency tracheotomy with a click-pen.

I still haven't been able to get away to see anything at the cinema, I fear, as my comments about the first missed snowfall were heard by the Snow Gods, and they're busy making sure what fell doesn't melt while more flakes force me to go out and shovel out the driveway. We're supposed to get even more on Wednesday, so I need to get out and join the panic to purchase milk and bread (it's a community bonding thing). So I'm re-reading the "Ringworld" series of novels instead. I hadn't read "Fleet of Worlds" (the prequel to the whole thing) before, and I'm in the middle of "The Ringworld Engineers," which I last picked up in Junior High. And as I read, I'm wondering why this isn't a TV series? One could easily make it a version of "Stargate," using the problems and settings in the novels, adding new ones, and never having to worry about running out of places to go, since the area of the Ringworld is in the trillions of miles. "Halo" fans would probably at least tune in once or twice to see the "arch" in the sky, and like the first novel, you could reduce the cast to a bunch of regulars you could count on one hand. It seems a perfect setting for an ongoing series, with or without a "Lost"-style mystery arc, and since most of the aliens are hominids, those who designed Star Trek's "Forehead of the Week" could probably be recruited to handle the makeup. Plus, as we noted in a previous entry, it has flying cities, and flying cities are always awesome.

So while I go see if we have enough ice melt to free the vehicles later this week, enjoy the following frost-free items:

- A domino physicist has built a Lego-based creature to place his dominoes. However, it does remind me of the old "Domino Rally" sets with its "Domino Dealer" (though the Lego machine appears to dispense larger-sized dominoes).
- Here's a Cockatiel that apparently has a beef with a 'Chocobo' can. I grew up owning Cockatiels, and I can't recall one being as single-minded about a task as this one.
- How to annoy others in conversation for the rest of the year (and I honestly don't know which way is "correct").
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of Daleks.
- If you're good controlling penguins with archery equipment, then you'll easily master Penguin with Bow Golf. And remember, you can fire while in flight.
- Here's a handy page of advice if you're ever called upon to perform typographical design work (like a newsletter or other thing your manager asks you to do that isn't in your job description) and make it look pretty good.
- Combining the power of knitting, geeky subjects and meerkats, we get NiftyKnits. I mostly post this because I love the Locutus one.
- The "winners" of the 2009 Darwin Awards have been voted into office, commemorating those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.
- Simple sword-swinging mayhem is to be had in Puppetwars. Use your mouse and/or keyboard to propel your blades into your opponent, earning cash for upgrades.

This just came to me today, but I don't really have anything to use it in, at least for the foreseeable future. :)

     "So, I'm to be your puppet, then?"

     "I suppose you do have a choice, but it's not a very fair one.
Either you dance at the end of our strings...or you dance at the end of 
a rope."

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone had a great new year. I played some Wii Sports Resort and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and then fell asleep at 11:45 because I PARTY THAT HARD.

As I mentioned on the last episode of The Insider (to subscribers to The Spice Rack) I will have a new song coming out shortly. I submitted a song to the upcoming Rhyme Torrents 9 compilation which will be available starting on the 12th over at http://www.rhymetorrents.com. It will be posted on The FuMP on the 22nd. I'm going to try to get the next episode of The Insider posted before the Rhyme Torrents compilation comes out so I can give Spice Rack members a sneak peak.

This is the first song in 2 years for which I've done the music myself. The Professor has gotten busy with his other band BurnKit 2600. We're still going to be working together, but I'm going to be doing more of the music myself going forward. After winning a raging battle with my sound card I had a lot of fun doing the music, so I'm looking forward to doing more.

Speaking of The Spice Rack, I still haven't nailed down the credits problem, so I'm just going to disable the code that updates it automatically and just start updating your balances manually as payments come in. I'm going to audit everyone's account first to make sure everyone has the right amount of credit before I do that, though. So everything should be sorted out in a few days.

2009 was great. 2010 is off to a great start. Let's keep this momentum going and kick some dementia butt this year!

Originally posted at DevoSpice.com. You can comment here or there.