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Sorry, it’s been one of those weeks. In lieu of content, you get a meme.
Random Ten:
(Started up Winamp, loaded up my library, put it on random, and these were the first ten tracks.)
Check it out! Remember the sledgehammering of concrete? That phase of the project ended a while back, followed by the digging out phase, followed by the shovelling back in phase, followed by the laying bricks phase. And here’s where we are now. Those two ladies, Becky and Karen, did pretty much all of the work you see here, laying in the bricks.
Still to do: putting in the bricks along the edges, and packing a lot of sand in there nice and tight.
Man, I didn’t think this was a task we were really up to, but so far, so good!
I’m at the dentist’s office yesterday, and I got there a little early, so I’m reading the available magazines, one of which is PC Gamer. Here’s what flipping through a few issues of this magazine told me:
May as well get a Mac!
Seriously, when I briefly switched to Linux, and then openly contemplated switching to Mac, folks told me, “But but games! You’ll be in a vast computer game wasteland!”
What PC Gamer told me was, “Don’t worry kid, you’re already there!” Here are three types of computer games I don’t play:
Here are all the types of computer games companies are ever planning on releasing again:
As for that fourth category, I like me some old-skool Railroad Tycoon or SimCity 2000, but current simulations have developed to a level of complexity that you may as well work mission control on a shuttle flight for a relaxing break from them. SimCity 3000 and other fairly recent simulation games require so much time and work that I would expect them to come with a paycheck and health insurance.
So no more straight-up RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, or Fallout. That’s the sort of thing I dig on, but it would seem I’ve bought my last brand new one. An article in one of the issues pretty much confirmed this. Game companies, to justify spending the money on development, have to move more copies than the mere PC game market can deliver, which means it’s important to be able to port them over to consoles, on which those RPGs don’t do very well.
(And don’t get me started on console RPGs. Animated cutscene! Fight slimes! Animated cutscene! Fight slimes! Animated cutscene! Fight differently-colored slimes! Yawn. Might as well pop in an anime, and pause it every few seconds to do push-ups.)
Fortunately, the console game arena is getting fairly more diverse and there are more games coming out for the PS2 that I’m interested in. But it pains me that I may never play a good computer RPG again.
The conventional wisdom is that, if you want a good computer RPG, something like World of Warcraft is the way to go. I have a friend who keeps pushing me to play WoW. But here’s the math: $50 for the game. $200 for the new video card that will play the game. And then, after dropping $250, I get to pay, what, $15 a month for the privilege of actually playing the game? And the advantage of playing online rather than not? I get to play along with other people, which I don’t want to do anyway. So, no, that’s not going to happen.
I guess, then, there’s more Diablo 2 in my future. And I’ll crank up Icewind Dale II or maybe Morrowind yet again. And I’ll wish there were people out there who wanted me to give them money enough to make a game I could buy from them.
From the Washington Post:
White House Aims to Block Legislation on Detainees
The Bush administration in recent days has been lobbying to block legislation supported by Republican senators that would bar the U.S. military from engaging in “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” of detainees, from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross, and from using interrogation methods not authorized by a new Army field manual.
Vice President Cheney met Thursday evening with three senior Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee to press the administration’s case that legislation on these matters would usurp the president’s authority and — in the words of a White House official — interfere with his ability “to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack.”
It was the second time that Cheney has met with Senate members to tamp down what the White House views as an incipient Republican rebellion. The lawmakers have publicly expressed frustration about what they consider to be the administration’s failure to hold any senior military officials responsible for notorious detainee abuse in Iraq and the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
This week’s session was attended by Armed Services Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.) and committee members John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). Warner and Graham last week chaired hearings that explored detainee abuse and interrogation tactics at Guantanamo Bay and the concerns of senior military lawyers that vague administration policies have left the door open to abuse.
Neither Cheney’s office nor the lawmakers would say exactly what was discussed at the meeting, citing a routine pledge of confidentiality. But Cheney has long been the administration’s chief defender of presidential prerogatives, and at the meeting he reiterated opposition to congressional intervention on the topic of detainee interrogations, according to a source privy to what happened.
The White House, in a further indication of its strong feelings, bluntly warned in a statement sent to Capitol Hill on Thursday that President Bush’s advisers would urge him to veto the $442 billion defense bill “if legislation is presented that would restrict the President’s authority to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack and bring terrorists to justice.”
The threat was a veiled reference to legislation drafted by McCain and being circulated among at least 10 Republican senators, Senate aides said. No effort has been made by McCain to cultivate Democratic support, although his aides predict he could get it easily. John Ullyot, a Warner spokesman, said that the senator has been working with McCain and Graham on detainee legislation and that “the matter continues to be studied.”
A spokeswoman for McCain, Andrea Jones, said yesterday that McCain plans to introduce the legislation next week. McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, has criticized the way detainees have been treated by U.S. forces and is said by aides to want to cut off further abuse by requiring that the military adhere to its own interrogation rules in all cases.
One McCain amendment would set uniform standards for interrogating anyone detained by the Defense Department and would limit interrogation techniques to those listed in the Army field manual on interrogation, now being revised. Any changes to procedures would require the defense secretary to appear before Congress.
It would further require that all foreign nationals in the custody or effective control of the U.S. military must be registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross — a provision specifically meant to block the holding of “ghost detainees” in Iraq, in Afghanistan or elsewhere. The provision would not apply to detainees in CIA custody at nonmilitary facilities.
Military investigations into the abuse in 2003 of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad disclosed that dozens were held without being registered at numerous prisons; the administration has said it needed to do so to conduct interrogations in isolation and to hide the identity of prisoners from other terrorists.
Another McCain amendment prohibits the “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government. This provision, modeled after wording in the U.N. Convention Against Torture — which the United States has already ratified — is meant to overturn an administration position that the convention does not apply to foreigners outside the United States.
Graham, who has been outspoken on the need for Congress to get involved in the issue of detainee treatment, said in an interview that he intends to pursue additional amendments that would define the term “enemy combatant” for purposes of detention and regulate the military trials of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.
Graham said he believes that his amendment would strengthen the president’s ability to pursue the war on terror because it would give congressional support to the process of prosecuting detainees after they are transferred to Cuba, an issue that has been hotly contested in federal courts. “Every administration is reluctant to not have as much authority as possible,” Graham said, adding that he has gotten mixed signals from the White House. “But we need congressional buy-in to Guantanamo.”
The Republican effort is intended partly to cut off an effort by Senate Democrats to attach more stringent demands to the defense bill regarding detainees. One group, led by Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), has proposed an amendment calling for an independent commission — similar to the Sept. 11 commission — to look into administration policies on interrogation and detainee abuse.
How can anyone continue to support this despicable administration?
Here’s another round of links, planned for Friday. But which Friday? WHICH!?
The party’s over for betrayed Republican: A Republican with a shaky sense of history starts to wake up to the fact that he and his party have been duped.
Big Media Interlocks with Corporate America: A partial guide to which of your favorite self-interested media conglomerates are in bed with which corporate juggernauts.
US suspected of keeping secret prisoners on warships: Is our latest trick one where we keep nosy human rights groups out of our prisons by hiding the actual prisons?
Yummy! Personal PDF Library: Online repository of a wide variety of PDF documents.
An orderly visit of Extraterrestrial Federation in 2012 representing 88 star constellations: According to researchers, the Federation of the Universe representing all the 88 star constellations will officially visit earth in 2012 and reveal themselves. It will bring an end to all UFO cover-ups in various countries.
Blizzard Presents: Chess: Patch 1.04: The Rook units are severly underused, only coming into the game late or, in some games, never. In order to rectify this, we have given the Rooks a special ability. From now on, given that a Rook and the corresponding Rook Pawn have not yet been moved, a player may simultaneously play P-R4 and R-R3. This should get the Rooks into play and restore balance to the Chess units.
Left Behind Series in Development as Real Time Strategy Computer Game: You’ve read the awful books, now get ready for the awful strategy game!
Adventure Cycling: A handy resource for people who want to see the world from the seat of a bicycle. Tours, routes, and maps are all supplied here!
Exxon Chief Makes A Cold Calculation On Global Warming: Are you concerned about global warming? Specifically, that fears of global warming could disrupt your investments? Fear not, ExxonMobil’s on the case! After all, why bother to risk valuable money trying to solve the problem if there may not be a problem?
Scavengeroogle: A Google Maps Scavenger Hunt: Someone beat me to this idea. Scavenger hunts using the amazing and addictive Google Maps software.
Gov. Bush touts Christian-based program for schools: Just before Father’s Day, Gov. Jeb Bush announced that he wanted every public school in Florida to host a Christian-based program designed to increase fathers’ participation in their children’s lives. The program, All Pro Dad, combines a biblical foundation with the draw of popular professional athletes to promote the belief that “the father is the head of the household” and that men should rely on God to help them be better parents and keep their marriages intact. It also encourages Bible reading.
McDermott makes list of author’s 100 worst Americans: I saw this asshole on The Daily Show. Another day, another “enemies list” published by some right-winger. And they have the nerve to say, “Why is the left so full of hate?”
Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing: Some seem better than others, but the whole list is worth checking out if you do any kind of writing.
Nearly Two-thirds of U.S. Adults Believe Human Beings Were Created by God: Yes, once again America proves that there’s no ignorance as good as willful ignorance. Evolution? No thanks! We’re happy with out fairy tales!
Chocolypse Now: Hilarious comic parody that manages to make Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory even more disturbing!
Bus firm takes car sharers to court: What can you do if your mass transit business is losing money because people are carpooling? Why, sue them, of course!
Optimus keyboard: [shasticon]: Man, I can’t wait to spill a coke on one of these babies
Political Cartoonist, Meet Satire: The creator of Mallard Fillmore (a dreadfully unfunny comic strip no matter what your political orientation is) can’t seem to figure out if he or his fans are dumber, as they all puzzle over the inclusion of a spoof strip in The Daily Show’s America: The Book.
Telltale Signs: or, Poe on the Road.
Adoption firm: No Catholics: Planning on adopting a child in Mississippi? If you’re Catholic, don’t waste your time at this place. Catholicism doesn’t agree with their statement of faith.
Store Wars: Entertaining flash movie parodying Star Wars, only with vegetables. Makes a nice point about buying organic, and is pretty cute and funny.
A novel without a word telling a love story?: Chinese writer allegedly has written a “touching love story” using only punctuation, no words, and supposedly in code.
Calculus, Quadratic Equations Split Pennsylvania Town: “He asked them to find the area under a curve- without using cubits at all. I raised religious objections since the lesson completely goes against Genesis 7:20, but he said my son had to do the work anyway. When I asked Mr. Scopes to refrain from teaching from his so-called ‘math textbook’ he flat out refused. I know, I couldn’t believe it myself.”
Why Do You Work So Hard?: Article with interesting beginning, criticizing the American work ethic, unfortunately degenerates into anecdotal mess. But there’s a good idea still at its core.
Jessa Crispin Offers Graphic Advice: Excellent article for would-be journalists wanting to write about comic books.
Raise your right hand and swear to tell the truth … on the Koran?: Courageous North Carolina judge stands up against wackos who seem to believe that the Koran is some kind of holy book.
The Fingertips Project: Animutation fans take on They Might Be Giants’ 18-track opus, Fingertips. Requires Flash.
Mathematics proves Christ was resurrected by God: He said that the conclusion was arrived at after a series of complex calculations, which began with the probability of God’s existence as one in two, that is either God existed or did not, adding that it was also one in two that God became incarnate. Dr. Jupiter Q. Proton, thou art avenged!
Is Your Boss a Psychopath?: We’re worshipful of top executives who seem charismatic, visionary, and tough. So long as they’re lifting profits and stock prices, we’re willing to overlook that they can also be callous, conning, manipulative, deceitful, verbally and psychologically abusive, remorseless, exploitative, self-delusional, irresponsible, and megalomaniacal. So we collude in the elevation of leaders who are sadly insensitive to hurting others and society at large.
That’s all for this week’s…or possibly next week’s…edition, folks!
So my pal Dave came for a visit, and we walked over to the neighborhood comic/game store so he could check out their Magic singles. Now, I used to be into Magic pretty bigtime several years ago, but I got out of it when time and money became an issue. Thus, I hadn’t played Magic much at all in a couple years. But I gotta say, looking at the cards with Dave suddenly had me jonesin’ again for the thrill of the tapping and the bliss of the “new card smell”.
I’m pretty good at quittin’ stuff. Years and years back, when I decided to quit smoking before I got too far to quit, I just stopped, and that was that. As of this writing, it’s been a month since I stopped biting my fingernails (fidgeting with them, though, is another story.) When I decided I had enough of The X-Files I quit watching and never looked back. With Magic, since I quit, I really haven’t backslid much, just buying occasional packs to play sealed deck with friends.
One thing I discovered when talking to people up here who play is how allegedly weird my old gaming group was. People can’t seem to understand that we didn’t build decks and then keep them together forever, only updating them when new sets came out. It was the old “how ELSE would you do it?” line. I also got the old, “What colors do you play?” question, which is just weird to me. All of them.
Perhaps it was because I didn’t want to release my obsession via nail-biting, but I pulled out my Magic cards the other day and began re-sorting them strictly by color (the people I’d play with here don’t really worry about “blocks” and “types”). And man, it all came back. Ideas for decks. Cards that were seemingly useless but could hold great potential locked away in them. All of our old in-jokes: The Chubwagg deck (does it need more chub or wagg?), Crotchwind Scrotumsong, and the line, “No, the squirrels smell the decay, and then they die. Because they don’t like it.” The horrible, horrible art of Susan Van Camp.
I originally got out of Magic for financial reasons, and that still largely holds true, but I do miss the game itself. How can this be? I mean, I don’t actively sit down and say to myself, “Let’s see. I read comics, play board games and role-playing games, watch Doctor Who, enjoy math, listen to Star Wars soundtracks, and play with Legos. What can I add in there to make me more of a geek without having to buy a trenchcoat?” Nor am I constantly looking for holes that I can throw my money down. But I can’t deny it; it’s a fun game. There really is something to it.
I still don’t see myself getting back into it huge. I wouldn’t go back to the days of buying entire boxes and completing sets, even if I could. Perhaps the people who thought me and my friends have the right idea. Instead of buying packs of cards, just buy singles that will help out some deck or other.
And there’s always the possibility that tomorrow a different shiny thing will catch my eye and my Magic cards will return to the bottom of the closet to be ignored again. It’s not like there’s no precedent for that, either.
But I can’t deny that I miss me some janky fatty beatdown. Besides, I’m intrigued by the new mechanic in the upcoming set:
Punchies 2: (When you summon this creature, your opponent may punch you in the arm two times.)
How cool is that?
You can find the first 50 albums in the list here. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to find the rest.
Another goofy “greatest” list, another chance for everyone to be an expert. To save you some time tracking the hipsters down, I’ve decided to summarize the reactions to the albums on the list. Just randomly throw one of these in after each album.
Please note that the fewer items on the list you’ve heard of, the hipper it makes you. After all, this is Spin magazine we’re talking about, so how good can these albums possibly be if they like them?
