My grandfather passed away last night, so we’re spending today getting reading for the long journey northward. I expect sporadic internet access at best, so rather than kill myself trying to post entries in the coming weeks, I’ll instead hoard all my pithy observations and dole them out upon my triumphant return.
You’re probably asking yourself, “But James, what will I read when you’re gone?” I know, I know. More sympathetic to your plight I could not be. In all likelihood, you’ll feel obligated to cancel your IP service entirely until the rumor mill hints I’m back. The silver lining: this marks an excellent opportunity for you to catch up on a bit of light reading. Say War and Peace.
See you soon.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Take Me to Your Leader
If you look up into the night sky and then poop a brick because the moon looks so gigantic it might crash into earth at any moment, read here to set your mind at ease.
Turns out the whole thing is a cosmic optical illusion. Akin to the blue sky. Or the aurora borealis. Or the saucer I saw land in my backyard and eject those tiny green men.
Turns out the whole thing is a cosmic optical illusion. Akin to the blue sky. Or the aurora borealis. Or the saucer I saw land in my backyard and eject those tiny green men.
GeForce GTX 280
GameSpot has a preview of Nvidia's latest and greatest GPU, the GeForce GTX 280. The thing eats games for breakfast. Little kids for lunch and dinner. The disclaimer is that games will have to be coded to get the most out of the card.
And it's only $650! Wait, that's really expensive.
*Pats his 8800 GT on the head*
And it's only $650! Wait, that's really expensive.
*Pats his 8800 GT on the head*
Stock Inventory
My 20 year high school reunion looms in July but I’m not going.
Mostly, because of travel costs and time. My grandfather is ill, dying in fact, and when he passes we’ll have to make the three day journey to Minot a month before the reunion. It’s just too far a distance to return a few weeks later.
Honestly though, if I did have the time and money was no object, I’d likely still not go. As I look back now, leaving the town I grew up in, Minot, North Dakota, was one of the most important decisions I ever made in my life. A year and half ago, I flew up to Minot to visit my best high friends. It was great seeing everyone but when I returned, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the trip was somehow a step back for me.
You see, the people I hung out with in high school were some of the best and brightest of the city. Maybe even the entire state (yeah, it’s a small state). Nearly all of them left Minot themselves and lead highly productive lives as doctors, writers, teachers, and brokers. Hanging out with them again made me feel embarrassed for what I had to show for myself.
Stupid, I know. Nevertheless.
The crux of the problem, of course, is tempering my accomplishments against theirs. Even in high school, I had to perform this feat on a routine basis. When everyone split up during college, feelings I had of inferiority faded. Outside the gravitational pull of their shine, I flourished as a student--even if I made the worst of degree choices. And even worse relationship choices.
By the time I moved down to Houston in my late twenties, I hardly thought of my old high school friends. I had lost contact with almost all of them. Completely unknown in Houston, I forged a new life, a new career, a new relationship (yup, Wifezilla). No one knew me in Houston and so everything I did was judged outside the context of my hometown. The previous twenty-four years of my life were completely nonexistent to them, not even forgotten or buried, but thoroughly blank. Is there anything sweeter in life than the clean slate of a fresh start?
So hearing these voices from the past makes me struggle with all those old perceptions I have of myself. And the perceptions I think my high school friends have of me. It’s a strange, disorientating feeling. It’s what I imagine a mid-life crisis must feel like, as I scramble to take stock of the last fifteen years of my life and inventory the value of it all. No, scramble is too strong a word. More like ruminate.
I haven’t spent days agonizing over any of this. Each morning my two girls jump all over me is reminder enough that the stock is accounted for, the spreadsheet balanced, the valuable inventory safe. It’s been a long path to it, but I finally realize I need not judge myself against the laurels of my high school friends and instead be content with life as it is. It’s a hard thing to do—be relaxed, be at peace, be happy—but likely easier than most think to try. I suspect it’s the pining for what might have been rather than acknowledging the good from the here-and-now that breeds so much discontent in people.
Go Class of 1988.
Mostly, because of travel costs and time. My grandfather is ill, dying in fact, and when he passes we’ll have to make the three day journey to Minot a month before the reunion. It’s just too far a distance to return a few weeks later.
Honestly though, if I did have the time and money was no object, I’d likely still not go. As I look back now, leaving the town I grew up in, Minot, North Dakota, was one of the most important decisions I ever made in my life. A year and half ago, I flew up to Minot to visit my best high friends. It was great seeing everyone but when I returned, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the trip was somehow a step back for me.
You see, the people I hung out with in high school were some of the best and brightest of the city. Maybe even the entire state (yeah, it’s a small state). Nearly all of them left Minot themselves and lead highly productive lives as doctors, writers, teachers, and brokers. Hanging out with them again made me feel embarrassed for what I had to show for myself.
Stupid, I know. Nevertheless.
The crux of the problem, of course, is tempering my accomplishments against theirs. Even in high school, I had to perform this feat on a routine basis. When everyone split up during college, feelings I had of inferiority faded. Outside the gravitational pull of their shine, I flourished as a student--even if I made the worst of degree choices. And even worse relationship choices.
By the time I moved down to Houston in my late twenties, I hardly thought of my old high school friends. I had lost contact with almost all of them. Completely unknown in Houston, I forged a new life, a new career, a new relationship (yup, Wifezilla). No one knew me in Houston and so everything I did was judged outside the context of my hometown. The previous twenty-four years of my life were completely nonexistent to them, not even forgotten or buried, but thoroughly blank. Is there anything sweeter in life than the clean slate of a fresh start?
So hearing these voices from the past makes me struggle with all those old perceptions I have of myself. And the perceptions I think my high school friends have of me. It’s a strange, disorientating feeling. It’s what I imagine a mid-life crisis must feel like, as I scramble to take stock of the last fifteen years of my life and inventory the value of it all. No, scramble is too strong a word. More like ruminate.
I haven’t spent days agonizing over any of this. Each morning my two girls jump all over me is reminder enough that the stock is accounted for, the spreadsheet balanced, the valuable inventory safe. It’s been a long path to it, but I finally realize I need not judge myself against the laurels of my high school friends and instead be content with life as it is. It’s a hard thing to do—be relaxed, be at peace, be happy—but likely easier than most think to try. I suspect it’s the pining for what might have been rather than acknowledging the good from the here-and-now that breeds so much discontent in people.
Go Class of 1988.
Now Taste Cold Vinyl Foul Beast!
From GameSpot, a couple of grad students managed to hack a Wii Fit board to control the in-game movements of a World of Warcraft character.
Combine this with the peripherals that come with Rock Band or Guitar Hero and I can't help but wonder if one day we'll all be wielding plastic sword and shield to play our favorite MMO.
Combine this with the peripherals that come with Rock Band or Guitar Hero and I can't help but wonder if one day we'll all be wielding plastic sword and shield to play our favorite MMO.
Monday, June 16, 2008
I Assure You I Wear Tighty Whities
I must have been a good Daddy this year because the girls got me this beauty for Father's Day. If you're reading this in the comfort of your home and your most complex audio/visual component is a black and white television circa the Johnson administration, then this little gadget means nothing to you. But if you've multiple units, including an AV receiver that manages everything else, then the Harmony is the greatest invention since men's crotchless underwear.
Currently, I've got four activities setup. With two buttons tapped, I instantly power up just the components involved. And the best news is the gadget is wife and snotbag proof. The entire family, theoretically, should now be able to operate our home theater system.
Theoretically.
Currently, I've got four activities setup. With two buttons tapped, I instantly power up just the components involved. And the best news is the gadget is wife and snotbag proof. The entire family, theoretically, should now be able to operate our home theater system.
Theoretically.
High Adventure That's Beyond Compare
Lukenbach is tantalizingly close to Master Artisan Tailoring. Another day or two of grinding, and he should knock it out. Once he hits Master Artisan, he'll be able to deck himself out in a full set of light or medium armor, all purple.
The only problem is that Kammris is starting to balk at having to do all the grinding. He tried telling me the other day that he was actually twelve years old and that current child-labor laws prohibited me from working him as much as do. I quickly backhanded him and ordered him back to work, but I don't know how much longer I can keep him grinding for Lukenbach. I may have to resort to threatening Kammris, tell him I'll make him walk around Bree naked.
I finally made it off the island of Tortage in Age of Conan. That opened up the game quite a bit and I may just extend my subscription. My conqueror is a Cimmerian so when he sailed out of Tortage, I found myself in a Cimmeria mountain village. While all of Tortage's npcs were fully voice-overed, none are in the larger game. I'm not sure if that's because Funcom hasn't gotten to it yet or a deliberate design choice, but personally I've come to the realization that I'd rather read quest text than listen to it. I'm not knocking the voice acting in AoC. It's just I can read the text faster than they can say it and would prefer to keep things moving rather than sit and watch how the lips and movements just barely don't match what's being said.
After I knocked some quests out in Cimmeria, I took a wagon to Aquilonia. Where Cimmeria was rugged, mountainous, and barbaric, Aquilonia is urban, flat, and cultured. While hunting down a wayward horse for a harried stableman, I happened upon a man standing next to a tall white tower which glowed bright red at its top. I talked to the man and he told me he was planning out how to climb the tower so he could steal a gem it housed, most definitely the sources of the ruby shine. I convinced him to let me steal it and that we would split the profits. In broad daylight, I circled the tower. After some strategic jumping, carefully navigating the tower's ledge, and then grabbing hold of some vines, I finally made my way to the top. The guard dog was nothing more than a puppy that whined when he saw me. I filched the gem, made my way back down, and gave it to my partner.
It turns out the man wasn't stealing the gem for money, but to save his sister, who's soul was trapped inside it. Long story short, no reward.
But that's what I call high adventure.
The only problem is that Kammris is starting to balk at having to do all the grinding. He tried telling me the other day that he was actually twelve years old and that current child-labor laws prohibited me from working him as much as do. I quickly backhanded him and ordered him back to work, but I don't know how much longer I can keep him grinding for Lukenbach. I may have to resort to threatening Kammris, tell him I'll make him walk around Bree naked.
I finally made it off the island of Tortage in Age of Conan. That opened up the game quite a bit and I may just extend my subscription. My conqueror is a Cimmerian so when he sailed out of Tortage, I found myself in a Cimmeria mountain village. While all of Tortage's npcs were fully voice-overed, none are in the larger game. I'm not sure if that's because Funcom hasn't gotten to it yet or a deliberate design choice, but personally I've come to the realization that I'd rather read quest text than listen to it. I'm not knocking the voice acting in AoC. It's just I can read the text faster than they can say it and would prefer to keep things moving rather than sit and watch how the lips and movements just barely don't match what's being said.
After I knocked some quests out in Cimmeria, I took a wagon to Aquilonia. Where Cimmeria was rugged, mountainous, and barbaric, Aquilonia is urban, flat, and cultured. While hunting down a wayward horse for a harried stableman, I happened upon a man standing next to a tall white tower which glowed bright red at its top. I talked to the man and he told me he was planning out how to climb the tower so he could steal a gem it housed, most definitely the sources of the ruby shine. I convinced him to let me steal it and that we would split the profits. In broad daylight, I circled the tower. After some strategic jumping, carefully navigating the tower's ledge, and then grabbing hold of some vines, I finally made my way to the top. The guard dog was nothing more than a puppy that whined when he saw me. I filched the gem, made my way back down, and gave it to my partner.
It turns out the man wasn't stealing the gem for money, but to save his sister, who's soul was trapped inside it. Long story short, no reward.
But that's what I call high adventure.
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