Got some difficult things outta the way, as far as ending the semester goes, and it's only Tuesday, so I'm pretty pleased. I don't have a lotta time today, so here's some rapid fire stuff for ya:
- went to the Cardinals game last night, and Rick Ankiel had an incredibly scary moment. He was running for a flyball in left-center and then crashed head-first into the wall. At that moment, his entire body went "rag-doll" and he collapsed to the ground, motionless. As they were carrying him off in a stretcher, he did manage to give a thumbs-up. He's going to be fine, but it scared the shit outta me. He and I are about the same age, and watching him overcome the things he's overcome has always been inspirational to me. I really want to see him come out okay and kick some serious ass the rest of his career. Also, that last link is to Bryan Burwell's column about the incident, and I suggest reading it. He's been my favorite sportswriter for a while, and this is another great example of why.
- played some Quake Live at work today. I had been meaning to do this for a while, but I'm fairly conditioned to work while I'm at work, and play while I'm not. I rarely cross the two, but I really needed to blow off some steam, so I went ahead and fired that bad boy up. After I finished all my initial work, I played for about a half hour, and had a great time. My work machine is a piece of shit, and while it ran a little choppy, it still ran. The other browser-based shooter game that's in beta that I'm on (and cannot discuss) did not run, but I also haven't really looked at why yet. Anyway, Quake Live is great fun, it's in open beta, so hop in and have fun!
- it's my wife's birthday today! She's only 27, and I'm now hearing her bitch about her age for the first time. Kinda interesting. I've been doing it since I was 16 or so, and I'm 30 now, so I actually have an excuse to bitch. She was remarking to me that she's "not jailbait anymore, and that sucks." I'm sure I said something crude in reply, but I don't remember. Either way, it's her birthday, and we'll be celebrating it tonight, which I'm looking forward to. I got her the new Sookie book and True Blood on Blu-Ray.
- I have kind of a quiet day tomorrow, but we'll be going out with my folks tomorrow night for dinner (for the Lady's b-day.) I have a mega-giant Statistics exam on Thursday, followed by some mid-day beta testing, followed by a little day-job work, then I'm hanging out with my son while my wife works, then John and I are going out for his birthday, and seeing the new Star Trek @ 11PM on DLP. RAWK. Friday, I work a bit, then this weekend is devoted to studying for finals, and blowing off steam through either sex or gaming.
- After 5/13, I'm done with finals, and then it's time to focus on day-job work and personal project work. I think I'm going to first turn my attention to pushing the 10-year old first novel out the door, so that I can focus on something new this summer. There's also the question of what kind of relationship E3 and I are going to have at the beginning of June. We'll see. I'm doing some coursework over the summer, though that only lasts 8 weeks or so. I'd really like to do a mod for Quake Wars this summer, or maybe Neverwinter Nights, but we'll see. I keep saying I'm gonna teach myself Python, and this summer is a great chance to do exactly that. Again, we'll see.
So, I'm getting ready to head out for the day. How's everyone else's week going? Any crazy plans for the summer?
Also, thanks for the linkage, Laurance! Go check out his blog, everyone! Much more quality shit than you'll find here!
-Blaine
On sale now!
20090505
20090504
Docta Jones! No time for love!
So, this is the week before finals, so pardon me if I'm a bit brief for the next 10-11 days. In addition, I have my wife's and hetero life mate's birthdays this week, as they were rude enough to be born in the same week.
Thank the maker that my wife and I got married, though, so we could quit celebrating our fucking dating anniversary, which fell exactly a week after my wife's birthday. May is an incredibly expensive month for me.
I keep getting interrupted by panicked phone calls @ work. Like right now. FUCK!
Anyway, I'm gonna make this brief, since everyone else's sky is crashing down around me.
The Weekend
We watched Havoc last night and it was almost as heavy-handed and "the audience is stupid so we must put them in a headlock and beat them over the head with totally un-subtle plot devices)" insulting as Crash, but it had lots of nudity, so it was a better movie. Both are still bad movies, and steer wide of them if you haven't already.
I wish there were more films made for people that aren't afraid to be challenged and provoked, more films that made people think, and they're getting fewer and far between each year. It seems like for every the Reader and Watchmen, you have a million fucking Spidermans and Crashes and...argh. I don't need every film I see to be a monumental mind-fuck exploration of what it means to be human, but don't treat me like a "Dancing With the Stars"-watching, mouth-breathing retard, either.
The weekend was okay, if a bit rainy. Tony acquired several new Wii games, which we tried out. I should add that this is a totally alien experience for him and me, since, while we both know he has a Wii, we tend to snicker at it as we walk by. However, I can safely say that House of the Dead: Overkill, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and Madworld were all fun little games.
We closed out the evening with some Guitar Hero: World Tour, which Tony purchased after we canceled the podcast. Former listeners will remember him dragging Guitar Hero's battered and broken corpse behind his verbal pickup truck, but then...he flip-flopped. Yup.
It is not even close when it comes to how much better Rock Band 2 plays. I'm decent, at least, on guitar, in these games, and the note-detection is utter shit in Guitar Hero, when compared to Rock Band 2. I guess they're basically the same game, but I was a little annoyed at how ridiculously precise I had to be in GH. I've played actual guitar for over 20 years now, and I can tell you my timing would've been good enough to actually play these songs, but...ah, forget it. It's an okay game, but Rock Band 2 just seems like a more laid-back, fun time.
Crunch Time
This is the last week before finals. Anyone who's ever opted for higher education knows that, in some ways, this week is actually a bit more stressful than finals week.
I've got things to wrap up for Microeconomics, Statistics, Java Programming, and my computer hardware class. I'm also thinking about formally joining the grad school this summer, but we'll see.
After 5/13, the class side goes away, and I'm left with just the work side. I work for my school, as well, and lemme tell ya, if it weren't for the fact that my coworkers are awesome, I might lose my mind at work during this point in the semester.
That last sentence was, until recently, followed by a description of exactly why my job becomes difficult at times, but I thought better of it. Just know that people all come together to shit on the IT guys when times get tough.
So, yeah, the next week and a half, I'll be kinda underground. I won't be going out (save for the Lady's and John's birthdays), I may or may not be on Steam/Live/PSN, and I'm gonna try and post at least a little each weekday, but we'll see.
I dunno why, but the last 2 semesters have each been a total bitch-kitty, and I'm looking forward to recharging this summer. I'm still taking classes this semester, but it'll be tremendously streamlined, relative to what I usually put up with.
To any and all faculty and students ready to pull their hair out from finals right now: PLEASE be kind to your IT folks. They want you to have a smooth, painless experience, as that makes their lives smooth and painless. Some are more competent than others, I agree, but being nice to them just makes it easier for everybody.
Man, it's weird being 30 and back in school.
Does anyone out there have a crazy finals story? Or a good story from this past weekend? Any cool TV/movies/gaming stuff they wanna share? Hit me up with a comment! Ya don't even have to register!
-Blaine
PS - Dollhouse was awesome this past Friday. Check it out.
Thank the maker that my wife and I got married, though, so we could quit celebrating our fucking dating anniversary, which fell exactly a week after my wife's birthday. May is an incredibly expensive month for me.
I keep getting interrupted by panicked phone calls @ work. Like right now. FUCK!
Anyway, I'm gonna make this brief, since everyone else's sky is crashing down around me.
The Weekend
We watched Havoc last night and it was almost as heavy-handed and "the audience is stupid so we must put them in a headlock and beat them over the head with totally un-subtle plot devices)" insulting as Crash, but it had lots of nudity, so it was a better movie. Both are still bad movies, and steer wide of them if you haven't already.
I wish there were more films made for people that aren't afraid to be challenged and provoked, more films that made people think, and they're getting fewer and far between each year. It seems like for every the Reader and Watchmen, you have a million fucking Spidermans and Crashes and...argh. I don't need every film I see to be a monumental mind-fuck exploration of what it means to be human, but don't treat me like a "Dancing With the Stars"-watching, mouth-breathing retard, either.
The weekend was okay, if a bit rainy. Tony acquired several new Wii games, which we tried out. I should add that this is a totally alien experience for him and me, since, while we both know he has a Wii, we tend to snicker at it as we walk by. However, I can safely say that House of the Dead: Overkill, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and Madworld were all fun little games.
We closed out the evening with some Guitar Hero: World Tour, which Tony purchased after we canceled the podcast. Former listeners will remember him dragging Guitar Hero's battered and broken corpse behind his verbal pickup truck, but then...he flip-flopped. Yup.
It is not even close when it comes to how much better Rock Band 2 plays. I'm decent, at least, on guitar, in these games, and the note-detection is utter shit in Guitar Hero, when compared to Rock Band 2. I guess they're basically the same game, but I was a little annoyed at how ridiculously precise I had to be in GH. I've played actual guitar for over 20 years now, and I can tell you my timing would've been good enough to actually play these songs, but...ah, forget it. It's an okay game, but Rock Band 2 just seems like a more laid-back, fun time.
Crunch Time
This is the last week before finals. Anyone who's ever opted for higher education knows that, in some ways, this week is actually a bit more stressful than finals week.
I've got things to wrap up for Microeconomics, Statistics, Java Programming, and my computer hardware class. I'm also thinking about formally joining the grad school this summer, but we'll see.
After 5/13, the class side goes away, and I'm left with just the work side. I work for my school, as well, and lemme tell ya, if it weren't for the fact that my coworkers are awesome, I might lose my mind at work during this point in the semester.
That last sentence was, until recently, followed by a description of exactly why my job becomes difficult at times, but I thought better of it. Just know that people all come together to shit on the IT guys when times get tough.
So, yeah, the next week and a half, I'll be kinda underground. I won't be going out (save for the Lady's and John's birthdays), I may or may not be on Steam/Live/PSN, and I'm gonna try and post at least a little each weekday, but we'll see.
I dunno why, but the last 2 semesters have each been a total bitch-kitty, and I'm looking forward to recharging this summer. I'm still taking classes this semester, but it'll be tremendously streamlined, relative to what I usually put up with.
To any and all faculty and students ready to pull their hair out from finals right now: PLEASE be kind to your IT folks. They want you to have a smooth, painless experience, as that makes their lives smooth and painless. Some are more competent than others, I agree, but being nice to them just makes it easier for everybody.
Man, it's weird being 30 and back in school.
Does anyone out there have a crazy finals story? Or a good story from this past weekend? Any cool TV/movies/gaming stuff they wanna share? Hit me up with a comment! Ya don't even have to register!
-Blaine
PS - Dollhouse was awesome this past Friday. Check it out.
20090501
A Tale of Two RPGs
Fable II
The pending See the Future DLC for Fable II got me thinking back to my Fable II save.
See, I finished the main game, but purposely left some quests and the Knothole Island DLC unplayed/unfinished because I wanted to be able to have a pretty beefy experience (like Pam Anderson w/ Tommy Lee) with Fable II this spring/summer.
I played through Fable II so fast, I almost cheated myself out of a better experience. I rarely do that, as longtime readers know. I usually drag out my play experience like a narcoleptic fuck-buddy, and thus have either nice, lengthy experiences, or somewhat disjointed experiences. Depends on the type of game, I guess.
Anyway, I finally broke down and bought Fairfax Castle. My family (in-game) has been bugging me endlessly to move outta the home we've had for ages (we've been living in the house next to the Cow and Corset in Bowerstone), and I figured, "fuck it, let's move into the castle." So, I bought the castle for 1,000,000 space bucks, and then was kinda pissed when I couldn't move my family in right away. Turns out there's actually a quest ya gotta complete.
I won't give away any spoilers, but the quest is pretty cool, and I'm hoping I can finally move my family in soon. Can't wait 'til the new DLC's out, so I can really jump back into this game. It's actually better than I remember.
Baldur's Gate
I started a new game in Baldur's Gate last night. Yes, I am still determined to play and enjoy the old-school Bioware/Black Isle stuff, and Baldur's Gate seems like a great entry point. I really enjoyed my prior attempt at playing it, until I was eaten by a bear. Then, my new hot, sexy laptop showed up, and I decided I hadn't made it that far anyway, and...yeah.
So, there I was last night, starting a new game, and really enjoying it. I played the intro sequences, then stopped right before the end of the intro area. It was 2AM, and I had class/work the next morning, as well as a 3-year old who was sure to be up by 8AM.
It's interesting that one who has really enjoyed recent Bioware games can look back at this game and see that what's good about Bioware's games has been persistent since their first RPG.
I'm really looking forward to losing myself, utterly, in this world, and then spring-boarding into the sequel, as well as the related games, like Planescape: Torment, the Icewind Dale series, and the Neverwinter Nights series.
Speaking of which, Neverwinter Nights 2 got some new content recently. I had no idea that they finally released the LOOONG-finished Mysteries of Westgate, but I saw the favorable 1UP review, and jumped all over it. It's only $10, so that's a plus, and is downloadable @ Atari's site (and is SecuROM-free, as far as I can tell.)
I haven't done much in NWN2, since it runs like shit on almost any machine, and last night, was finally victorious in my battle against the fucking SecuROM that's attached to Storm of Zehir, a game that I legitimately own. Twice.
Weekend
This weekend is shaping up nicely. Tonight, the Lady and I will be watching Doubt, which I'm looking forward to, then kinda chillin'. I'll probably be doing some late-night gaming after she goes to bed, probably something RPG-ish.
Tomorrow, it's just the boy and me, and I'm thinking it might be high-time for him and me to get back to our online FPS griefing. He's 3, and says some of the craziest stuff I've ever heard, and has a great sense of humor.
What I do is put the headset on him while I play, and then tell him what to say. It tends to yield fairly hilarious results.
I would like to get back to playing Quake Wars more competitively again, since I can finally play without being chained to a desktop computer. That game is THE best online shooter I've ever played. If you can get a couple friends with ya who have at least a rough understanding of the classes in the game, you can have the best time you've ever had in an online shooter. I love class-based online shooters, and this is the best implementation I've ever seen of the concept.
I don't imagine I'll be letting the boy wear the headset while playing that one. There's a need for communication and all.
Saturday night, after the Lady is back from work, she, the boy, and I will be heading to Tony's for some Rock Band 2 and whatever else. I don't imagine it'll be a super-late night, but we'll see.
Sunday will be nothin' but yard work and school work. Next week is the last week of regular class, and the following week is finals. It'll be tough, since I'm both an employee and a student @ UMSL, but after 5/13, it's smooth sailing for me for about a month.
Awesome.
What do you all got going on this weekend? Any wild summer plans? Anyone care to join me in my Bioware/Black Isle exporation (most of those games support online co-op)?
I'll be back with a post Monday, though I might sneak something in this weekend. We'll see.
-Blaine
Here's your end-of-week video dump:
this is where the Lost embedded video would go, but I can't embed it
The pending See the Future DLC for Fable II got me thinking back to my Fable II save.
See, I finished the main game, but purposely left some quests and the Knothole Island DLC unplayed/unfinished because I wanted to be able to have a pretty beefy experience (like Pam Anderson w/ Tommy Lee) with Fable II this spring/summer.
I played through Fable II so fast, I almost cheated myself out of a better experience. I rarely do that, as longtime readers know. I usually drag out my play experience like a narcoleptic fuck-buddy, and thus have either nice, lengthy experiences, or somewhat disjointed experiences. Depends on the type of game, I guess.
Anyway, I finally broke down and bought Fairfax Castle. My family (in-game) has been bugging me endlessly to move outta the home we've had for ages (we've been living in the house next to the Cow and Corset in Bowerstone), and I figured, "fuck it, let's move into the castle." So, I bought the castle for 1,000,000 space bucks, and then was kinda pissed when I couldn't move my family in right away. Turns out there's actually a quest ya gotta complete.
I won't give away any spoilers, but the quest is pretty cool, and I'm hoping I can finally move my family in soon. Can't wait 'til the new DLC's out, so I can really jump back into this game. It's actually better than I remember.
Baldur's Gate
I started a new game in Baldur's Gate last night. Yes, I am still determined to play and enjoy the old-school Bioware/Black Isle stuff, and Baldur's Gate seems like a great entry point. I really enjoyed my prior attempt at playing it, until I was eaten by a bear. Then, my new hot, sexy laptop showed up, and I decided I hadn't made it that far anyway, and...yeah.
So, there I was last night, starting a new game, and really enjoying it. I played the intro sequences, then stopped right before the end of the intro area. It was 2AM, and I had class/work the next morning, as well as a 3-year old who was sure to be up by 8AM.
It's interesting that one who has really enjoyed recent Bioware games can look back at this game and see that what's good about Bioware's games has been persistent since their first RPG.
I'm really looking forward to losing myself, utterly, in this world, and then spring-boarding into the sequel, as well as the related games, like Planescape: Torment, the Icewind Dale series, and the Neverwinter Nights series.
Speaking of which, Neverwinter Nights 2 got some new content recently. I had no idea that they finally released the LOOONG-finished Mysteries of Westgate, but I saw the favorable 1UP review, and jumped all over it. It's only $10, so that's a plus, and is downloadable @ Atari's site (and is SecuROM-free, as far as I can tell.)
I haven't done much in NWN2, since it runs like shit on almost any machine, and last night, was finally victorious in my battle against the fucking SecuROM that's attached to Storm of Zehir, a game that I legitimately own. Twice.
Weekend
This weekend is shaping up nicely. Tonight, the Lady and I will be watching Doubt, which I'm looking forward to, then kinda chillin'. I'll probably be doing some late-night gaming after she goes to bed, probably something RPG-ish.
Tomorrow, it's just the boy and me, and I'm thinking it might be high-time for him and me to get back to our online FPS griefing. He's 3, and says some of the craziest stuff I've ever heard, and has a great sense of humor.
What I do is put the headset on him while I play, and then tell him what to say. It tends to yield fairly hilarious results.
I would like to get back to playing Quake Wars more competitively again, since I can finally play without being chained to a desktop computer. That game is THE best online shooter I've ever played. If you can get a couple friends with ya who have at least a rough understanding of the classes in the game, you can have the best time you've ever had in an online shooter. I love class-based online shooters, and this is the best implementation I've ever seen of the concept.
I don't imagine I'll be letting the boy wear the headset while playing that one. There's a need for communication and all.
Saturday night, after the Lady is back from work, she, the boy, and I will be heading to Tony's for some Rock Band 2 and whatever else. I don't imagine it'll be a super-late night, but we'll see.
Sunday will be nothin' but yard work and school work. Next week is the last week of regular class, and the following week is finals. It'll be tough, since I'm both an employee and a student @ UMSL, but after 5/13, it's smooth sailing for me for about a month.
Awesome.
What do you all got going on this weekend? Any wild summer plans? Anyone care to join me in my Bioware/Black Isle exporation (most of those games support online co-op)?
I'll be back with a post Monday, though I might sneak something in this weekend. We'll see.
-Blaine
Here's your end-of-week video dump:
this is where the Lost embedded video would go, but I can't embed it
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