A Toast to Keith Parkinson

who died on Wednesday from leukemia. For those who don't know who he is, 'Keith was the youngest member of the "Fab Four" from the TSR Glory Years and was perhaps the most diverse with his many book covers and video game covers'. TSR is, of course, the company that released Dungeons and Dragons, which I spent many hours playing as a lad. In addition, he did artwork for the Shannara book series, Magic the Gathering, and, of course, Everquest.

You can see some of his artwork online here.

Rest in peace, Keith.

Celebrity Outings

George Takei, who is most known for his role as Sulu in the original Star Trek, has come out of the closet. I guess we'll have to start calling him George Tagay (joking!). Sulu is my favorite old school Star Trek character, and George ain't no spring chicken at 68 years of age.

Also, Sheryl Swoops, one of the premier players in the WNBA has recently come out as a lesbian. It's interesting that two fairly high profile people have come out within a couple of days of each other. I think it's great -- there's no reason people should have to pretend to be something they aren't. I am hoping that it encourages others to come out as well, and leads to greater societal recognition and acceptance.

From the "Screw The Consumer" Dept.

* Wonder why gas prices are so high? It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Exxon-Mobil just set a record for the largest quarterly profit for a US company EVER, could it? No, of course not.

* In related news, the average US worker can expect a salary increase of 3.7% this year... but 3.3% of that will go towards increased fuel prices. The rest (and more) will likely go to higher medical expenses, as those are increasing by about 10% a year. Canada's health system is looking better and better every day.

* The Government approved the merger of SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T, and of Verizon Communications Inc. and MCI Inc, further reducing the number of choices the consumer has, leading to less competition in the marketplace, and ultimately leading to higher prices and even crappier service (if that's possible). SBC will take the AT&T name. Cingular customers (many of whom used to be AT&T customers) will not be affected because Cingular is already partly owned by SBC.

Civ IV Release Boo-Boos

The release of Civ IV has not gone as smooth as planned, it appears. As reported at Civ Fanatics, "2K Games has determined that a small number of units of Civilization IV incorrectly included the French Canadian tech tree poster due to an error at an assembly plant". I want to research "Le Horsee".

Okay, so that's just a minor shipping glitch. Unfortunately, the game also won't run out of the box on a wide variety of ATI cards, giving the user a "Failed to Initialize Renderer" at startup, and dumping them back to Windows. Firaxis is still investigating why. Needless to say, this is frustrating a lot of impatient gamers, and I think can be put solidly in the "someone in QA is getting fired" category.

(update: Looks like they finally found a fix to the issue)

Finally, to conclude this entry, I want to share this diplomacy screen from the game: http://www.kalikokottage.com/civ3/sullla/walk27.jpg. Whoever wrote that line should be destroyed.

Anime Icons

This site allows you to create anime icons (either 96x96 pixels or 48x48 pixels). I created one of myself:



Well, it's as close as I could get in under 5 minutes.

Now you're probably asking why I am holding an enormous mace. The answer is BECAUSE I AM COOL LIKE THAT.

For Renae

FEAR (First Encounter Assault Recon) Review

I finally got my hands on the full version of this game, and gave it a spin last night. Despite having a decent machine (Athlon 2500 o/c'd to 3200, 1 gig memory, Radeon 9600XT), the game auto-configured to minimum detail for almost every possible graphics option. Guess you need a really hefty machine to run this with full detail -- but it still looks great anyway. It reminds me a lot of Half-life (the first one, I haven't played the second one), but with better graphics, worse physics, and a supernatural theme instead of a demon theme.

The enemy AI is really quite good -- the soldiers hide behind boxes and pillars and try to flank you if you give them enough time. They pop out to shoot you, and if you fire back, they duck back under cover. But the thing that really sets this game apart from any other FPS I've played is the mood. The game is flat out creepy. When I enter a new section of a level, and the lights start flickering, and the music gets ominous, and my heads up display (HUD) starts crackling with static and writes "Incoming: unknown", it gives me the willies every time. I just know something is going to pop out from around a corner, the door is going to slam in my face, or I'm going to be taunted by some creepy supernatural entity. The great thing is that half the time, nothing happens, which leaves you feeling very unsure of whether you need to be worried, and keeps you off guard so that when something eerie does happen, it really has an impact. I can't tell you how many times I've pumped bullets into a dark shape in the distance, only to discover it was just a bag of trash. I'm only on level 3 or 4, but there's been at least one unexpected surprise that's made me jump on each level.

So what kind of supernatural things do happen? I don't want to spoil the fun, but just to give you an idea of one particular sequence: you're walking down a long, straight hallway. It's DARK, and even your headlamp doesn't illuminate all that much. The sound effects are vague and creepy. Your HUD starts crackling with static, and the music gets louder and you just know something bad is going to happen. You crawl down the hallway ready for anything, when something suddenly materializes and starts moving towards you FAST. What the F is that?!? You try to aim but it's on top of you before you can react. Just as it reaches you, you realize it's only a pack of rats. Whew!! Relieved that it was nothing, you head more quickly down the darkened hallway towards a semi-lit room -- when a short, shadowed, childlike figure suddenly walks across the hallway at the edge of the room, accompanied by the sound of a child laughing. Are you hallucinating? Was it real? You race to the end of the hallway and look around the corner... but there's nothing there. Your character starts breathing heavily as the panic wells up inside you, and it's hard to resist the urge to tear out of there as fast as possible before something else materializes.

Basically, if I had to summarize this game, it's Half-Life meets "The Ring" (the movie), complete with all of The Ring's hazy creepiness that's occasionally punctuated with something gory or flat our strange. Everything that made The Ring good makes this game similarily good. Creepiest of all is the childlike figure that taunts you here and there, who happens to bear a strikingly similar resemblance to Samara:


All said, this game is fantastic so far and is the creepiest computer game I have ever played. I highly recommend picking it up, and playing it in a darkened room with headphones on. If you let yourself be drawn in, I guarantee you'll have trouble sleeping.

You can download the demo here. It's 662 megs (for about 15 minutes worth of gameplay), but it's worth it.

Interesting Stuff (10/25/05)

* Women apparently have 34 nerve fibers per sq cm of facial skin, whereas men only have 17. This is evidence to prove that women feel pain more acutely than men.

* Strangest headline ever: 20 fined for using letters W and Q. Sesame street residents protest.

* We've finally hit the 2000 death milestone in Iraq. In somewhat related news, Fitzgerald has decided to seek indictments in case of the outing of CIA agent Valarie Plame scandal. I'm sure we'll hear more about this in the national news as it breaks.

Civ IV and Other Computer Games

Civ 4 comes out today. IGN gives it a 9.4/10 rating, which is pretty good for them, and declares it the best Civ yet. Of course, IGN also gave Master of Orion 3 a 9.2, and that game stunk. But I doubt that Civ 4 will suck, if for no other reason than because of the Sid Meier factor.

The other game that has my eye is F.E.A.R., which stands for "First Encounter Assault Recon". It's a first person shooter (FPS) ala Quake/Half-Life. The thing that makes the game particularily interesting is that it crosses the FPS with a bit of horror ala the X-Files. I played a demo of the game, and it was seriously creepy. Flickering lights, eerie mood music, and supernatural elements that pop out of nowhere to scare the crap out of you when you least expect it. It's very well done, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole demo. I jumped out of my seat at least once.

I suppose as long as I'm talking about computer games, I should mention that Vanguard (the next big MMORPG from the people who did Everquest) is entering Beta 1. The world is supposedly HUGE, and they're introducing a lot of interesting ideas. Whereas many characters from recent MMORPGs have a separate advernture/crafting class/level, Vanguard adds a THIRD sphere in the form of diplomacy. Yes, you'll be able to choose a diplomacy class (including "Charlatan" and "Thug"), and go parlay with NPCS. Cities are a diplomat's dungeon. I'm really curious to see how that works out. Other interesting changes are that clerics/shaman are no longer intended to be heal-bots, but will play more the role of spot-healing while helping to engage the actual encounter, and that mages will not only play the role of offensive spellcaster, but also counterspelling enemy mages to ensure they don't obliterate the group of PCs. But perhaps the best part of Vanguard is that the game is going to be aimed towards the core MMORPGer who wants a tough, challenging game. In other words, the type of people who liked EQ1.

Chimpeach the Chimperor

Sudoku

Sudoku is a popular Japanese number puzzle that I've started becoming addicted to. The basic idea is that you are given a 9x9 grid, subdivided into 9 3x3 subgrids. Each of the grid squares can hold one number between 1 and 9. Some of them are already filled out for you.



Your job is to fill in the blank squares, given the following rules:
* Each row can only contain one of each number.
* Each column can only contain one of each number.
* Each 3x3 subgrid can only contain one of each number.

Using these 3 simple rules, you can logic your way through the entire puzzle, though it's often not easy. I like to play on this this web site, because it's free (you do have to register though, which requires a valid email address), you can pick your difficulty level, it keeps track of your time for you, and you can pause it.

If you are just getting started, sudoku.com (which is not free) has a good how to solve section that explains all the strategy you'll need.

Where Science Meets Art

Penn State (Department of Mathematics) recently put this sculpture up -- it's a shadow/projection of a 4-dimensional solid. For all of us who took computer graphics classes, this is both fascinating and makes us groan. Stupid w coordinate. :)

Interesting Stuff (10/21/05)

It took scientists 18 weeks to catch this rat. Probably should have just brought in a cat.

If You Have Set Yourself On Fire...

This one came out a while back, but it's still hilarious, and a lot of people haven't seen it. From the Department of Homeland Security's preparedness program, alternate interpretations of terrorism readiness pictures.

Damn This Water is Deep

aka. When newscasts go wrong

Unwritten Rule of Gaming #1

When you're explaining the rules, there's always (at least) one person doing this...

Interesting Stuff (10/20/05)

* Hey, look! There's a squirr...Zzzzzzzz. Aka. Why this dog is doomed to a life of celibacy.

* Hundreds of Powerball players, hoping to win the record jackpot, picked the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 (from the TV show Lost). Apparently, these people are too stupid to realize that if those numbers actually won, they'd have to split the jackpot with everybody else who picked those numbers.

Today's WTF? (10/19/05)

* Who came up with the idea of creating a toy that inadvertantly teaches children (over the age of 3) that it's funny to choke chickens? The animal welfare people are not pleased.

I am going to write the manufacturers and tell them how irresponsible they are. Clearly they should be producing toy animals that act drunk when you give them alcohol. That way, when kids around the nation try it on their family pets, and there are hundreds of dogs and cats falling over and walking into walls, hilarity will actually ensue.

Interesting Stuff (10/19/05)

* Some cats may be allergic to humans. Your cat thinks you need to bathe more.

* The best way to get an infection in a hospital is... the TV remote control. Now your body can rot alongside your brain.

Vanguard Enters Beta 1

Sigil Games' flagship MMORPG "Vanguard" has entered beta 1! Sigil games is composed largely of the same team that created Everquest 1, and Vanguard is rumored to be along the same lines -- a challenging game for hardcore MMORPG players. Not this pansy WoW look at me I have 1,600 pets following me and I got to level 50 in 3 hours and "i r0x0rz!!!11!" crap. ;)

Personal: I Wrote a Song

I finally got my home studio connected (which is more difficult than you'd think, especially since my mixer seems to be dead), and got some new software to record midi from my keyboard. After a lot of trial and error, I wrote a song!

You can download it here:
http://www.geocities.com/aapomeranz/

Or here if the above is full:
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1...tarinsTheme.mp3

You can also get it here (thanks Xhar):
http://www.orku.org/temp/KeltarinsTheme.mp3

I'd love to hear any comments on it. Should I write more stuff?

Will Cheney Resign?

Who knows, but it's the talk of Washington at the moment. Apparently Cheney is being investigated by Fitzgerald, who is investigating the leak of the identity of former CIA agent Valarie Plame. Normally someone up so high would have plausable deniability, but Fitzgerald has apparently gotten lower-level Cheney aide John Hannah to flip and start talking.

Will Cheney be the next Agnew? Stay tuned.

From the Tin-Foil Hat Department

Printers from many popular manufacturers are secretly encoding "the date and time your document was printed, as well as the serial number of the printer", according to the EFF. The article says, "The Secret Service maintains that it only uses the information for criminal counterfeit investigations. However, there are no laws to prevent the government from abusing this information... it shows how the government and private industry make backroom deals to weaken our privacy by compromising everyday equipment like printers." Good point.

Today's WTF? (10/17/05)

* Yes, on January 2nd, 2006, they're going to hold the World Series of Beer Pong in Mesquite, Nevada (outskirts of Las Vegas).

Interesting Stuff (10/17/05)

* Cool Sandcastles here

* Want to know where a particular phrase originated? No? Then go pound sand, you phony poindexter.

* I almost put this one in the "Today's WTF?" section. A company named Republik is releasing an erotic MMORPG named "Spend The Night". You thought it was embarassing enough when you tried to seduce a guy playing a girl in EQ or WoW? Think how you'll feel after you've had virtual sex with her. Eer, him. (insert retching sound here)

California Propositions

This is an interesting list of who's endorsed what proposition.

It seems to break down like this: Dems and Greens vote no on 72-78 and yes on 79-80. Republicans and Libertarians vote opposite that. It is worth noting that both women's groups listed are aligned with the Dems.

Around the NBA

The Sacramento Kings beat the Golden Shite Warriors 114-99 in their first preseason matchup. I expect the W's to make the playoffs this year in spite of their flat performance. It would be pretty cool if the Kings and GS met in the first round of the playoffs.

Strangely enough, the team picked again for lock for winner of the NBA playoffs (San Antonio) has started the preseason 0-4. We all know preseason doesn't mean much because teams often use their minutes playing bench players and trying to decide who to cut, but it's still interesting.

Also of note, the Toronto Raptors lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli international team. Who?!?

Just Because

My House is Full of Crap Too

JibJab presents Big Box Mart, a spoof movie about the economic effects of WalMart.

Interesting stuff (10/13/05)

Local authorities need to know about these pesky camel toads.

The Chinese now hold the record for oldest noodles. Anybody want some 4,000 year old spaghetti?
MIT students design and implement an experiment to assess whether it would have been possible for Archimedes to create a "death ray" by using mirrors to burn sieging ships back in 212BC. link

Bush Falling

Given Bush's recent falling poll numbers (39% amongst the general populace, and 12% amongst african americans), this page seems strangely appropriate. And for some reason, soothing.

Todays WTF (10/13/05)

* Come here... James? Jedidiah? Joseph? Jack? What the F is your name again? This woman has had 16 children. And they all have names starting with J. To make matters worse, the father's name is "Jim Bob".

Three words: Hot dog. Hallway.

* Bee dogs? Why, oh why?

* World's longest nipple hair: 3.5 inches.

Words of the Day

* Jerkulator -- Someone who does something jerky, which in turn causes other people to do jerky things. For example, some jerkulator on a bike blows a stop sign, causing you to swerve, almost hitting a car and a pedestrian. The guy in the car honks, upsetting a nearby baby, the pedestrian curses, upsetting the baby's mother, and you stick your arm out the window and give the guy a one-finger salute. In effect, the jerkulator has set in motion an entire cascade of jerkiness, henceforth known as the jerkulatory system.

* Ringtonia -- When you think you keep hearing your cell phone going off, but it's not.

* Bimbonic Plague -- The social virus that makes young girls want to dress like hussies (not that I mind).

* Inanity -- Something that would be insane if it weren't so dreadfully boring (see pencil story below).

Today's WTF (10/12/05)

* Rick Moranis is releasing a country album.

* They are considering making an Austin Powers 4 WITHOUT Mike Myers (who plays both Austin and Dr. Evil). This is the stupidest idea ever (unless the movie is about Mr. Bigglesworth, then it's okay).

* The ever so enlightening associated press just released an article telling us about a man's goal is to collect 10,000 pencils. ARE WE SUPPOSED TO CARE? I hope he doesn't mind if I borrow two of his pencils SO I CAN STAB MY EYES OUT SO I DON'T HAVE TO READ THIS INANE CRAP.

It's my birthday, and I'll cry if I want to

Today is my 30th birthday, and I am officially old.

In celebration of my oldness, I am starting a blog. Yes, I know, I'm like... six years too late to the party, but hey, I can always claim it's because I'm old and my brain doesn't work like it used to.

As a man of science and logic (and burning, burning passion) I believe the proper thing to do is to drink lots of alcohol. My theory is that according to the survival of the fittest principal, this will kill off the weak brain cells, leaving only the strong ones. I theorize that if I keep doing this over a long enough period of time, eventually I will be left with zero weak brain cells, and one strong brain cell, leading to a perfect signal-to-noise ratio (nevermind the fact that I will be reduced to a quivering, drooling mass -- ignorance is bliss).

Okay, and with that, let's get this puppy fired up. *presses the big red button*

SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED...

(oh shit)