After experiencing the opening sequence for Mass Effect 2, I started thinking about other games that grabbed my attention from the get-go. This one came to mind immediately, and I still believe it's the finest example of hooking your 'audience' and compelling them to play on.
The audio that plays as you descend in the bathysphere is haunting, and the reveal of the underwater city at the crescendo of the monologue floored me the first time I saw it. The setting, the atmosphere, the lighting, everything combines to make a scene that many movie directors would envy. It's moments like this that make me happy to play video games.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Five Random Observations
Here's a patchwork collection of thoughts and observations I've had over the past few days:
1. It's far more difficult to be romantic and thoughtful when nearly every waking moment of your day is mapped out for you by the simple act of caring for children. My wife and I did our best to celebrate Valentine's Day today, even though neither of us had the time or opportunity over the past couple of weeks to get out and do anything for the other, to the point that we didn't even exchange cards. It sounds horrible, but it's really not. We've talked about it, and we're both alright with the situation. It's safe to say that the level of chaos that has enveloped our lives may preclude some simple rituals that were easier to accomplish in years past, and it seems observing this day properly is just one in a long list of casualties. Never fear though; I love my wife, she loves me, and we'll still be here for many years to come.
2. The passage of time can feel warped in many different ways, based on your personal perception. For example, there are days that feel as if they are never going to end, and just an hour can feel like an eternity. In the midst of a stretch of days like this, though, it's easy to look at the calendar and go, "Wow, 3 months have passed already?! Where did the time go?" It's a phenomenon that is hard to truly appreciate until you've experienced it.
3. While researching options to make our living room electronics more compact and kid-friendly, I made the startling discovery that the manufacturer of our 42" plasma display (Fujitsu) extricated itself from the HDTV market in late 2007. For some reason, I was incredibly chagrined to find this information, and I feel like I have a sad little orphan in our living room. It makes me want to give it a hug and say, "It's alright. You have a safe and happy home with us." It also means that I had absolutely no luck in finding manufacturer- standard side mount speakers for the unit. Bah.
4. My children can go from incredibly sweet, adorable and caring angels to evil, selfish and destructive little monsters in the span of a single breath. Which, by all accounts, makes them your typical two-year-olds. Go figure.
5. My plan to execute the gaming project I discussed a couple of weeks ago is alive and well, even if I haven't been writing about it. Since my last post on the subject, I've fired up at least one game that qualifies for the project, and possibly a second. When my schedule and sleep level is sufficient to produce text worth reading on the subject, they will appear here. Until then, know that I'm stealing some time here and there to play games, but it's not regular or long.
1. It's far more difficult to be romantic and thoughtful when nearly every waking moment of your day is mapped out for you by the simple act of caring for children. My wife and I did our best to celebrate Valentine's Day today, even though neither of us had the time or opportunity over the past couple of weeks to get out and do anything for the other, to the point that we didn't even exchange cards. It sounds horrible, but it's really not. We've talked about it, and we're both alright with the situation. It's safe to say that the level of chaos that has enveloped our lives may preclude some simple rituals that were easier to accomplish in years past, and it seems observing this day properly is just one in a long list of casualties. Never fear though; I love my wife, she loves me, and we'll still be here for many years to come.
2. The passage of time can feel warped in many different ways, based on your personal perception. For example, there are days that feel as if they are never going to end, and just an hour can feel like an eternity. In the midst of a stretch of days like this, though, it's easy to look at the calendar and go, "Wow, 3 months have passed already?! Where did the time go?" It's a phenomenon that is hard to truly appreciate until you've experienced it.
3. While researching options to make our living room electronics more compact and kid-friendly, I made the startling discovery that the manufacturer of our 42" plasma display (Fujitsu) extricated itself from the HDTV market in late 2007. For some reason, I was incredibly chagrined to find this information, and I feel like I have a sad little orphan in our living room. It makes me want to give it a hug and say, "It's alright. You have a safe and happy home with us." It also means that I had absolutely no luck in finding manufacturer- standard side mount speakers for the unit. Bah.
4. My children can go from incredibly sweet, adorable and caring angels to evil, selfish and destructive little monsters in the span of a single breath. Which, by all accounts, makes them your typical two-year-olds. Go figure.
5. My plan to execute the gaming project I discussed a couple of weeks ago is alive and well, even if I haven't been writing about it. Since my last post on the subject, I've fired up at least one game that qualifies for the project, and possibly a second. When my schedule and sleep level is sufficient to produce text worth reading on the subject, they will appear here. Until then, know that I'm stealing some time here and there to play games, but it's not regular or long.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Self Doubt
Ever since the events of last Friday, which to be completely honest most likely wouldn't amount to a hill of beans to anyone else but me, I've been suffering from a terrible case of self doubt. When I'm working, every time a call comes in, or the 'new e-mail' reminder pops up on my desktop, or someone stops by my cube, inevitably the first thought that races through my head is, "Oh no, what have I done wrong now?" As you can imagine, this is not the optimal way to be a happy and productive member of society. I'm constantly queasy, worrying what will happen next, and nervous about my perception among my peers. Confidence is the key to almost all aspects of life, and right now I'm going through a severe lack of confidence in my work.
It wasn't that long ago that I felt as if I produced a quality product, that my efforts and performance met a standard of quality acceptable for the company where I work. Unfortunately now, because of this doubt that eats away at me, I'm never sure if what I'm doing is good enough. It's pretty obvious, even to me as I try desperately not to wallow in self-pity, that something needs to be done to right the course of my career and confidence. But what? That's the million dollar question, and one that I wrestle with constantly these days, because I don't want to feel this way.
One of the biggest issues I deal with regarding my lack of confidence is insuring that it doesn't bleed over into the rest of my life. I have a wife and three amazing children who deserve a husband and father who is happy, upbeat and completely devoted to making sure their needs are met and that I'm supporting them in every possible way. That's a tall order when I feel essentially useless at work. Fortunately, I've had no problem coming home and helping out with the chores, chasing the twins around, and rocking my infant daughter to sleep every night. They are my solace, the oasis where I can be myself each evening. The unconditional love I feel and reciprocate every time I walk through the door is the motivation that allows me to get up each morning and face the prospect of 8+ hours of work.
Sorry for the 'pity party for one' and the general down nature of the blog these past few days, not to mention my absence. If you're still reading, thank you for your perseverance and know that the overall mood will lighten soon. Just being able to spend some time putting how I feel into words on the screen has been a cathartic experience, one that I hope will help me stay on the path to overcoming the start of mind that currently occupies my day. Soon I'll be back to the lighthearted discussion about video games and other silly topics that come to mind, but for now this blog can act as an amateur shrink. Until next time, thanks again and be safe...
It wasn't that long ago that I felt as if I produced a quality product, that my efforts and performance met a standard of quality acceptable for the company where I work. Unfortunately now, because of this doubt that eats away at me, I'm never sure if what I'm doing is good enough. It's pretty obvious, even to me as I try desperately not to wallow in self-pity, that something needs to be done to right the course of my career and confidence. But what? That's the million dollar question, and one that I wrestle with constantly these days, because I don't want to feel this way.
One of the biggest issues I deal with regarding my lack of confidence is insuring that it doesn't bleed over into the rest of my life. I have a wife and three amazing children who deserve a husband and father who is happy, upbeat and completely devoted to making sure their needs are met and that I'm supporting them in every possible way. That's a tall order when I feel essentially useless at work. Fortunately, I've had no problem coming home and helping out with the chores, chasing the twins around, and rocking my infant daughter to sleep every night. They are my solace, the oasis where I can be myself each evening. The unconditional love I feel and reciprocate every time I walk through the door is the motivation that allows me to get up each morning and face the prospect of 8+ hours of work.
Sorry for the 'pity party for one' and the general down nature of the blog these past few days, not to mention my absence. If you're still reading, thank you for your perseverance and know that the overall mood will lighten soon. Just being able to spend some time putting how I feel into words on the screen has been a cathartic experience, one that I hope will help me stay on the path to overcoming the start of mind that currently occupies my day. Soon I'll be back to the lighthearted discussion about video games and other silly topics that come to mind, but for now this blog can act as an amateur shrink. Until next time, thanks again and be safe...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Here's to the Saints
Not much to pass on tonight, other than my hat's off to the Saints on winning their first Super Bowl, and beating the hated Colts in the process. I won't lie to you and say that the little kid in me wasn't going crazy when Tracy Porter took the 4th quarter interception to the house. From what little coverage I watched and heard over the past couple of weeks, it felt as if the Saints weren't being given a serious chance, so to have the upstarts come in and upset the favorites, after being down 10-0, makes it all the sweeter. Party on, Bourbon Street, you've earned it tonight.
Today felt like a good day all around. I spent a few hours in my basement, working on a project that's due at the end of this week. After that, I spent the afternoon with the twins, while Mommy and baby took a nap. Then, after the twins were settled in bed, the wife and I watched a movie. I know, blasphemy, watching a movie while the Super Bowl was on! All I can say is that my wife and I needed the time together, and the best way to spend it was watching a silly movie curled up on the couch together. Besides, I saw the best part of the game (last 12 minutes of the 4th quarter).
The movie, by the way? Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I highly recommend it, as the art style and animation are great and the story is silly enough to enjoy at any age.
Today felt like a good day all around. I spent a few hours in my basement, working on a project that's due at the end of this week. After that, I spent the afternoon with the twins, while Mommy and baby took a nap. Then, after the twins were settled in bed, the wife and I watched a movie. I know, blasphemy, watching a movie while the Super Bowl was on! All I can say is that my wife and I needed the time together, and the best way to spend it was watching a silly movie curled up on the couch together. Besides, I saw the best part of the game (last 12 minutes of the 4th quarter).
The movie, by the way? Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I highly recommend it, as the art style and animation are great and the story is silly enough to enjoy at any age.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Family Day
Last night I found it difficult to sleep as my mind started to process the events of the day. Once I was finally able to doze at around 12:30am, I was awakened at 4:30am by my son having a nightmare. After settling him back down, my mind started racing again, and I lay awake until 7am when I took the baby from my wife to let her get some rest. Holding my daughter on the couch downstairs before everyone was awake, I did my best to determine what I was going to do about the situation. There's more to come with this, and it all rests on my shoulders. In my mind, this is a 'put up or shut up' moment, and I intend to 'put up.'
The rest of the day was a lot of fun. Vowing to put everything else out of my mind, I concentrated on spending time with the family, to reaffirm why I go to work every day in the first place. There's nothing quite as amazing as the unconditional love of a young child, and anyone who's experienced it should agree with me. It doesn't matter what's going on outside the walls of this house, when I come home I'm Daddy. From the endless races in a circle around the first floor, to sharing breakfast together at the table, to getting a special hug just for being me, I feel like the greatest man on earth with my kids. They are the greatest things that could have ever happened to me and I can't thank them enough for their love and support.
On a much lighter note, I stole some time to finish up the main game component of Swords & Poker. Some of the spells available to you later in the game are completely crazy, such as the Chaos spell, which turns the 4 corner cards on the grid into wildcards. Using this spell I was able to generate a Royal Flush hand, and take off a full quarter of my opponent's health in one move. The downside is it opens up the same opportunity to your opponent. Regardless, as I mentioned before, this is a game that is well worth the cost if you own an iPhone.
The rest of the day was a lot of fun. Vowing to put everything else out of my mind, I concentrated on spending time with the family, to reaffirm why I go to work every day in the first place. There's nothing quite as amazing as the unconditional love of a young child, and anyone who's experienced it should agree with me. It doesn't matter what's going on outside the walls of this house, when I come home I'm Daddy. From the endless races in a circle around the first floor, to sharing breakfast together at the table, to getting a special hug just for being me, I feel like the greatest man on earth with my kids. They are the greatest things that could have ever happened to me and I can't thank them enough for their love and support.
On a much lighter note, I stole some time to finish up the main game component of Swords & Poker. Some of the spells available to you later in the game are completely crazy, such as the Chaos spell, which turns the 4 corner cards on the grid into wildcards. Using this spell I was able to generate a Royal Flush hand, and take off a full quarter of my opponent's health in one move. The downside is it opens up the same opportunity to your opponent. Regardless, as I mentioned before, this is a game that is well worth the cost if you own an iPhone.
Friday, February 5, 2010
One of THOSE Days
Overall, today was not a bad day. The vast majority of what transpired was good to great. The kids were happy to see me when I came home, and I spent a fair amount of time chasing them around the house. The littlest daughter had some cozy time in my arms, as we chatted and wandered the first floor, trying to get her tired little eyes to close. For the most part, work was bearable and, considering this was my group's monthly meeting day, I even managed to be productive for most of the afternoon.
I'm not going to rehash it here, but I had a conversation with a person in another office that was incredibly disappointing. Even now, just thinking about it sends a fresh wave of depressing feelings over me. At some point I may talk about it in more depth, but as there's still a lot of personal sorting out of the actual meaning and ramifications of the conversation that needs to occur, I'll leave it at this brief mention.
One other upside from the day is that my wife and I watched Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog together tonight. I'll be the first to sheepishly admit that this was the first time I've seen it completely. For some reason, I watched the first act and part of the second, had to stop and just never went back. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining experience, and it's not hard to see why the Internet went crazy over it when it first hit the scene back in 2008. Neil Patrick Harris is incredible and truly steals the show, Felicia Day is perfect for her role, and Nathan Fillion plays the 'I'm a hero and a douchebag' to a T. The music and lyrics are fantastic, and even my wife (not immersed in the Internet culture) laughed all the way through. If you, like me, somehow missed this when it first made the rounds, you owe it to yourself to catch up now. You won't be disappointed.
As I'm working on this post, I have Beyond Good and Evil downloading and installing in the background. I've decided this will be the second game in the Game Project. This is a game I've heard nothing but great things about, but for some reason just haven't sat down to give it a try. I'll post my initial impressions after giving it a shot later tonight or over the weekend.
I should also mention that I finally worked my way through Mass Effect Galaxy on the iPhone. While the story was mildly interesting, the control and combat were a bit difficult to really get a feel for, and I never truly felt in control. The narrative was incredibly linear, but it did serve to introduce some characters and backstory for Mass Effect 2. All in all, I'm not disappointed that I spent the money for it ($1.99), and as an added bonus, I will log in with my EA.com account to get whatever special DLC is available for finishing the game.
That's all for tonight. The events of the day have left me a bit uninspired, so I'm off to find some good feelings and get my mind off everything. Take care and have a great Friday!
I'm not going to rehash it here, but I had a conversation with a person in another office that was incredibly disappointing. Even now, just thinking about it sends a fresh wave of depressing feelings over me. At some point I may talk about it in more depth, but as there's still a lot of personal sorting out of the actual meaning and ramifications of the conversation that needs to occur, I'll leave it at this brief mention.
One other upside from the day is that my wife and I watched Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog together tonight. I'll be the first to sheepishly admit that this was the first time I've seen it completely. For some reason, I watched the first act and part of the second, had to stop and just never went back. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining experience, and it's not hard to see why the Internet went crazy over it when it first hit the scene back in 2008. Neil Patrick Harris is incredible and truly steals the show, Felicia Day is perfect for her role, and Nathan Fillion plays the 'I'm a hero and a douchebag' to a T. The music and lyrics are fantastic, and even my wife (not immersed in the Internet culture) laughed all the way through. If you, like me, somehow missed this when it first made the rounds, you owe it to yourself to catch up now. You won't be disappointed.
As I'm working on this post, I have Beyond Good and Evil downloading and installing in the background. I've decided this will be the second game in the Game Project. This is a game I've heard nothing but great things about, but for some reason just haven't sat down to give it a try. I'll post my initial impressions after giving it a shot later tonight or over the weekend.
I should also mention that I finally worked my way through Mass Effect Galaxy on the iPhone. While the story was mildly interesting, the control and combat were a bit difficult to really get a feel for, and I never truly felt in control. The narrative was incredibly linear, but it did serve to introduce some characters and backstory for Mass Effect 2. All in all, I'm not disappointed that I spent the money for it ($1.99), and as an added bonus, I will log in with my EA.com account to get whatever special DLC is available for finishing the game.
That's all for tonight. The events of the day have left me a bit uninspired, so I'm off to find some good feelings and get my mind off everything. Take care and have a great Friday!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Game Project #1 - Red Faction: Guerrilla
This post didn't start out as what it ended up being, the first entry of 'The Project,' but I'm glad it did. Hopefully it spurs me on to other games, and topics...
Revisited Red Faction this evening for a bit, and discovered that I can get it to play at a reasonable framerate by dialing down most of the settings and playing in windowed mode. Most of the time, I wouldn't be happy about playing in such a 'neutered' state, but with this game high quality graphics take a backseat to the destruction. Fortunately the havoc you can wreak comes through loud and clear, regardless of what video card resides in your computer.
I've played probably 45 minutes to an hour of the game, long enough to complete one mission, one guerrilla action, as well as demolish 5-6 EDF controlled targets not associated with any mission. During this time, I messed around with the remote charges and the sledge hammer as my primary weapons, and briefly toyed with the rifle and the pistol. It's pretty clear that the shooting mechanic plays second fiddle to the destructible environments, as I far prefer to go into a fire fight swinging my hammer wildly. Killing an EDF soldier with the sledge hammer feels incredibly satisfying, as if there's actual weight to the weapon. Not only that, but there's the added bonus of damaging nearby buildings and structures with a missed hammer swing, which should help contribute to the overall goal of demolishing the target.
Speaking of demolishing, I have never played a game where the destruction felt so good. During the tutorial mission, I spent probably 5 minutes or more destroying the starter building from the inside out. Even though the walls, ceilings and other structural elements break away in 'gamey' chunks, it's the sum of the parts that really shines here. I watched a building teeter back and forth like a wobbly top before folding under the weight of the second floor (I had nearly wiped out the first floor). As it crashed to the ground with a groan and flurry of dust and debris, I couldn't help but smile and think, "I did that." At that moment, I think I discovered what caused so many people to enjoy it when it first was released last May. Giving the player total control of the mayhem is a genius move on the developer's part. There's just enough story to provide a framework to the demolition, but it's not complex or in your face to have to think too hard about it. Just go and trash stuff, and you're most likely going to succeed at this game.
Long story short, as what can be considered the inaugural entry in my Game Project, I would recommend this game to anyone, whether it be on the PC or console. It also seems that I could jump in and out of this game while playing other games, and not feel lost or need to 'catch up' on the plot, which could add to its longevity in my gaming rotation.
Now, at some point I'm going to have to define the parameters of this Game Project in more depth than my original speculative post, and that should happen over the weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to dig through the archive and choose the next target to install and experience. Hopefully it will be as fun as this one.
Revisited Red Faction this evening for a bit, and discovered that I can get it to play at a reasonable framerate by dialing down most of the settings and playing in windowed mode. Most of the time, I wouldn't be happy about playing in such a 'neutered' state, but with this game high quality graphics take a backseat to the destruction. Fortunately the havoc you can wreak comes through loud and clear, regardless of what video card resides in your computer.
I've played probably 45 minutes to an hour of the game, long enough to complete one mission, one guerrilla action, as well as demolish 5-6 EDF controlled targets not associated with any mission. During this time, I messed around with the remote charges and the sledge hammer as my primary weapons, and briefly toyed with the rifle and the pistol. It's pretty clear that the shooting mechanic plays second fiddle to the destructible environments, as I far prefer to go into a fire fight swinging my hammer wildly. Killing an EDF soldier with the sledge hammer feels incredibly satisfying, as if there's actual weight to the weapon. Not only that, but there's the added bonus of damaging nearby buildings and structures with a missed hammer swing, which should help contribute to the overall goal of demolishing the target.
Speaking of demolishing, I have never played a game where the destruction felt so good. During the tutorial mission, I spent probably 5 minutes or more destroying the starter building from the inside out. Even though the walls, ceilings and other structural elements break away in 'gamey' chunks, it's the sum of the parts that really shines here. I watched a building teeter back and forth like a wobbly top before folding under the weight of the second floor (I had nearly wiped out the first floor). As it crashed to the ground with a groan and flurry of dust and debris, I couldn't help but smile and think, "I did that." At that moment, I think I discovered what caused so many people to enjoy it when it first was released last May. Giving the player total control of the mayhem is a genius move on the developer's part. There's just enough story to provide a framework to the demolition, but it's not complex or in your face to have to think too hard about it. Just go and trash stuff, and you're most likely going to succeed at this game.
Long story short, as what can be considered the inaugural entry in my Game Project, I would recommend this game to anyone, whether it be on the PC or console. It also seems that I could jump in and out of this game while playing other games, and not feel lost or need to 'catch up' on the plot, which could add to its longevity in my gaming rotation.
Now, at some point I'm going to have to define the parameters of this Game Project in more depth than my original speculative post, and that should happen over the weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to dig through the archive and choose the next target to install and experience. Hopefully it will be as fun as this one.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Unconnected Thoughts
Post number 100. I'll leave it at that...
Yet again, the hectic schedule of my family thwarts my attempt to start the gaming project. Fighting fatigue, being a bit discouraged from work and tasked with making dinner, cleaning up from dinner, picking up the house, bathing and putting the kids to bed, and then keeping baby Emily entertained and quiet while Mommy runs errands, I don't feel motivated to cull the list of games that will make up my personal challenge. However, some progress was made, as I stayed up rather late (at least for me) last night installing Red Faction: Guerrilla. The entire process took the better part of an hour, far longer than I anticipated. At least it's there and waiting for me to carve out an hour's free window to fire it up and play.
Update: After posting this entry, I decided to make myself a bit more tired than I already will be and started up Red Faction. It looks like it would be a lot of fun, unfortunately, it seems to grind my PC into dust with its complex physics. Going through the training mission and destroying the two small buildings required, it looked as if I were watching a slow moving slide show. Hopefully someday I'll have a machine that can run this, or I'll tweak the settings down to the minimum. That may help; regardless, I keep updating progress here.
On another note, I had an interesting reaction to a simple comment on Facebook. Sometime before going to bed, my Twitter feed was completely inundated with tweets from people either (a) on the West Coast complaining that friends on the East Coast were spoiling details about Lost, (b) announcing their intentions to leave or ignore the Internet, so as not to have Lost spoiled for them, or (c) raving that Lost was, in fact, starting. Later in the evening, after reading the 40th tweet along one of these veins, I posted that I felt like the only person in America that wasn't caught up in the Lost phenomenon. To my surprise, this comment spurred 16 comments from people who feel the same as I do. Considering how disconnected I currently feel from pop culture since the kids arrived, it was nice to see there are others in the same situation, and are proud of it.
Work today was a story of ups and downs. I spent the majority of the day buried in nerdy technical details, trying to chase down and wrap up the loose ends for a 90% design review due in a week or so. During that entire time, while it was not particularly interesting and sometimes frustrating, I packed up at the end of the day feeling really good about the progress I made and the focus I maintained, avoiding the temptation of the Internet almost all day. On my way out the door, I ran into a manager who made an offhand comment that a project manager I enjoy working with apparently has concerns or complaints about my work. Now the impression I take home from a 'good' day at work is negative, and I spent the rest of the evening with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a resolution to this issue, so I don't have to agonize over it anymore.
Yet again, the hectic schedule of my family thwarts my attempt to start the gaming project. Fighting fatigue, being a bit discouraged from work and tasked with making dinner, cleaning up from dinner, picking up the house, bathing and putting the kids to bed, and then keeping baby Emily entertained and quiet while Mommy runs errands, I don't feel motivated to cull the list of games that will make up my personal challenge. However, some progress was made, as I stayed up rather late (at least for me) last night installing Red Faction: Guerrilla. The entire process took the better part of an hour, far longer than I anticipated. At least it's there and waiting for me to carve out an hour's free window to fire it up and play.
Update: After posting this entry, I decided to make myself a bit more tired than I already will be and started up Red Faction. It looks like it would be a lot of fun, unfortunately, it seems to grind my PC into dust with its complex physics. Going through the training mission and destroying the two small buildings required, it looked as if I were watching a slow moving slide show. Hopefully someday I'll have a machine that can run this, or I'll tweak the settings down to the minimum. That may help; regardless, I keep updating progress here.
On another note, I had an interesting reaction to a simple comment on Facebook. Sometime before going to bed, my Twitter feed was completely inundated with tweets from people either (a) on the West Coast complaining that friends on the East Coast were spoiling details about Lost, (b) announcing their intentions to leave or ignore the Internet, so as not to have Lost spoiled for them, or (c) raving that Lost was, in fact, starting. Later in the evening, after reading the 40th tweet along one of these veins, I posted that I felt like the only person in America that wasn't caught up in the Lost phenomenon. To my surprise, this comment spurred 16 comments from people who feel the same as I do. Considering how disconnected I currently feel from pop culture since the kids arrived, it was nice to see there are others in the same situation, and are proud of it.
Work today was a story of ups and downs. I spent the majority of the day buried in nerdy technical details, trying to chase down and wrap up the loose ends for a 90% design review due in a week or so. During that entire time, while it was not particularly interesting and sometimes frustrating, I packed up at the end of the day feeling really good about the progress I made and the focus I maintained, avoiding the temptation of the Internet almost all day. On my way out the door, I ran into a manager who made an offhand comment that a project manager I enjoy working with apparently has concerns or complaints about my work. Now the impression I take home from a 'good' day at work is negative, and I spent the rest of the evening with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a resolution to this issue, so I don't have to agonize over it anymore.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tuesday Tidbits
The streak continues! January ended, but here I am, still posting. Must be a good sign (of what, I don't know). This post is the 99th all time on Random Nerdery, which makes tomorrow's the 100th. While a small milestone for some, it's quite impressive for me. Unfortunately, that means I probably should do something interesting for post number 100. Oh, the pressure...
While I write this post, I'm updating the OS and security on my old laptop, which is a tiresome task. The 'kitchen' laptop, a cute name for the Cafe World machine my wife has upstairs, is having big issues with the wireless network connection, and I've tried a bunch of different things to fix it. As an alternative, she's going to give the older HP 'gaming laptop' a try, which is great since it's been sitting in its case for over a year now. It's not a bad machine, just old. Hopefully it has enough horsepower to run IE8, Facebook and all of the social games she's into, and if can handle that, it will be perfect.
Tonight hasn't provided me the opportunity to begin my gaming project, which is on hold until I have a free evening to compile the list of games (hopefully tomorrow, but my schedule is always subject to change). In the meantime, I have a confession to make. It's taking every fiber of my responsible being, which should never be confused with my impulsive 'devil may care' being, not to buy and play Mass Effect 2. Today while traveling back and forth between a job site and the office, I listened to two separate podcasts that did nothing but gush over the game and its story. Always the sucker for whatever is new and shiny, there's so much temptation to throw money to the wind and get it from Steam. For now, however, I'm going to be a good boy and play with the toys that I have. All bets are off when our tax return comes in, though.
There's another upside to our getting a tax return. My wife has been getting sick of fending the twins away from the baby gates we have set up around our TV and TV stand upstairs. The space in between the gates and the TV stand serves basically as a junk and food repository, which does nothing for the decor in the living room. Lately, the twins have also discovered that they can drag their little plastic chairs over to the gates, stand on them and reach over the gates for better access at what's behind. All of this has driven her to the decision that we're going to buy a new smaller LCD TV, mount it on the wall, and also mount a shelf to hold the cable box. We're considering a TV/DVD combo set, to remove the need for a DVD player upstairs. If this plan does come to pass, the current 42" TV, DVD player, receiver, surround sound speakers and XBox 360 return to the basement and their rightful place in my 'man cave.' You have no idea how excited I am about this possibly happening. I'll keep you posted on this possibility as it materializes or disappears.
Now it's off to deliver the laptop up to the lady of the house and hope it solves the wireless access issue and is powerful enough to fit her needs. All married man know this to be true: if the wife is happy, you're happy. If she's not happy, woe be to you. I know what outcome I'm wishing for. :)
While I write this post, I'm updating the OS and security on my old laptop, which is a tiresome task. The 'kitchen' laptop, a cute name for the Cafe World machine my wife has upstairs, is having big issues with the wireless network connection, and I've tried a bunch of different things to fix it. As an alternative, she's going to give the older HP 'gaming laptop' a try, which is great since it's been sitting in its case for over a year now. It's not a bad machine, just old. Hopefully it has enough horsepower to run IE8, Facebook and all of the social games she's into, and if can handle that, it will be perfect.
Tonight hasn't provided me the opportunity to begin my gaming project, which is on hold until I have a free evening to compile the list of games (hopefully tomorrow, but my schedule is always subject to change). In the meantime, I have a confession to make. It's taking every fiber of my responsible being, which should never be confused with my impulsive 'devil may care' being, not to buy and play Mass Effect 2. Today while traveling back and forth between a job site and the office, I listened to two separate podcasts that did nothing but gush over the game and its story. Always the sucker for whatever is new and shiny, there's so much temptation to throw money to the wind and get it from Steam. For now, however, I'm going to be a good boy and play with the toys that I have. All bets are off when our tax return comes in, though.
There's another upside to our getting a tax return. My wife has been getting sick of fending the twins away from the baby gates we have set up around our TV and TV stand upstairs. The space in between the gates and the TV stand serves basically as a junk and food repository, which does nothing for the decor in the living room. Lately, the twins have also discovered that they can drag their little plastic chairs over to the gates, stand on them and reach over the gates for better access at what's behind. All of this has driven her to the decision that we're going to buy a new smaller LCD TV, mount it on the wall, and also mount a shelf to hold the cable box. We're considering a TV/DVD combo set, to remove the need for a DVD player upstairs. If this plan does come to pass, the current 42" TV, DVD player, receiver, surround sound speakers and XBox 360 return to the basement and their rightful place in my 'man cave.' You have no idea how excited I am about this possibly happening. I'll keep you posted on this possibility as it materializes or disappears.
Now it's off to deliver the laptop up to the lady of the house and hope it solves the wireless access issue and is powerful enough to fit her needs. All married man know this to be true: if the wife is happy, you're happy. If she's not happy, woe be to you. I know what outcome I'm wishing for. :)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Potential Gaming Project
Fresh off my victory in 'winning' NaBloPoMo in January, I talk about a possible project within my gaming hobby.
In between dealing with mind-numbing work issues today (just a parenthetical aside...I listened to, and agonized every moment of, a conference call today that was the epitome of why we as a species will never reach our true potential...back to the post), and slogging through a greater than normal amount of project related problems, the tiniest seed of an idea popped into my head. As the day wore on, I chewed on it some more, during free seconds stolen from searching for technical data and filling out client forms, and it seemed more and more interesting and feasible. Driving home this evening, looking forward to seeing my family, I devoted more thought to it and it felt more and more feasible. Tonight I've decided to blog about it, if nothing more than to create a record of the idea, in case this attempt doesn't get off the ground there's a record of the thought for future me to look back on and say, "Hey, that was a great idea! Let's do it now!" At least, that's what I hope I would say...
Based on the relative flurry of game purchases over the weekend, and the theory that I need to curb my spending on just about everything, I came up with the following idea: I'll look through the catalog of games on my hard drive, especially those I bought and for some reason or other never installed and/or played, and develop a list, which will be posted here. I'll take one of those games every couple of days, install it on my system, play it for at least an hour, and post my impressions here.
The entire scheme could end up being great little project, and would kill several birds with one stone. First, this process would provide me with digital entertainment, as I would be raiding my own library for titles to play. Second, the experience of playing these games should generate topics to discuss here on the blog (lucky you!), and extend my posting streak. Third, and most important to my wife, it would be a free way to accomplish the first two goals, always a huge bonus in our family. The downside of the whole thing, and this is a big downside, is that it involves me demonstrating some personal discipline in not buying any more games during the project, while also actually setting a schedule and sticking with it long term. Considering how scatter-brained and easily distracted I am, it doesn't bode well.
To give you an idea of the scale of this endeavor, as of this writing, I have 38 games on my Steam list, of which no less than 20 I have no experience with, whether it be now or in the past. This doesn't include at least seven other games on my hard drive not associated with Steam that haven't cast their glow through my monitor as of yet. To add to this, there are four games I've received from Goozex lined up neatly beside me, begging to be played. Even more daunting, this doesn't count the number of console and handheld games stacked on my shelf, a fair number of which, you guessed it, I haven't played yet.
Laying the groundwork for this project, it appears to fall into several steps.
One last note: I was more tickled than you can imagine when I saw that Logan Decker, the current EIC of PC Gamer had posted a comment on this post, where I discussed his magazine. To reach out and spend the time to post on this blog that very few people read is pretty cool, and I appreciate it a lot. So thanks to Logan and his team for making my reading time all that much better, and continued success with the magazine!
In between dealing with mind-numbing work issues today (just a parenthetical aside...I listened to, and agonized every moment of, a conference call today that was the epitome of why we as a species will never reach our true potential...back to the post), and slogging through a greater than normal amount of project related problems, the tiniest seed of an idea popped into my head. As the day wore on, I chewed on it some more, during free seconds stolen from searching for technical data and filling out client forms, and it seemed more and more interesting and feasible. Driving home this evening, looking forward to seeing my family, I devoted more thought to it and it felt more and more feasible. Tonight I've decided to blog about it, if nothing more than to create a record of the idea, in case this attempt doesn't get off the ground there's a record of the thought for future me to look back on and say, "Hey, that was a great idea! Let's do it now!" At least, that's what I hope I would say...
Based on the relative flurry of game purchases over the weekend, and the theory that I need to curb my spending on just about everything, I came up with the following idea: I'll look through the catalog of games on my hard drive, especially those I bought and for some reason or other never installed and/or played, and develop a list, which will be posted here. I'll take one of those games every couple of days, install it on my system, play it for at least an hour, and post my impressions here.
The entire scheme could end up being great little project, and would kill several birds with one stone. First, this process would provide me with digital entertainment, as I would be raiding my own library for titles to play. Second, the experience of playing these games should generate topics to discuss here on the blog (lucky you!), and extend my posting streak. Third, and most important to my wife, it would be a free way to accomplish the first two goals, always a huge bonus in our family. The downside of the whole thing, and this is a big downside, is that it involves me demonstrating some personal discipline in not buying any more games during the project, while also actually setting a schedule and sticking with it long term. Considering how scatter-brained and easily distracted I am, it doesn't bode well.
To give you an idea of the scale of this endeavor, as of this writing, I have 38 games on my Steam list, of which no less than 20 I have no experience with, whether it be now or in the past. This doesn't include at least seven other games on my hard drive not associated with Steam that haven't cast their glow through my monitor as of yet. To add to this, there are four games I've received from Goozex lined up neatly beside me, begging to be played. Even more daunting, this doesn't count the number of console and handheld games stacked on my shelf, a fair number of which, you guessed it, I haven't played yet.
Laying the groundwork for this project, it appears to fall into several steps.
- Develop the list of games I haven't yet played, separated into PC games, games by console, and games by handheld system.
- Develop a schedule sorts in which to approach the task, whether it be simply the order that I'll play the games, maybe attached dates to games, or some other method.
- Attack the list of games, in order, playing each for at least an hour, and post my impressions here on the blog.
One last note: I was more tickled than you can imagine when I saw that Logan Decker, the current EIC of PC Gamer had posted a comment on this post, where I discussed his magazine. To reach out and spend the time to post on this blog that very few people read is pretty cool, and I appreciate it a lot. So thanks to Logan and his team for making my reading time all that much better, and continued success with the magazine!
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