Thank you Doctor

I just wanted to drop a quick Thank You to drheimlich for yet again saving me. Apparently, I am a "12 o'clock flasher" when it comes to recording my favorite shows. I seem to have a major problem with getting my VCR and cable tuner to agree on times/channels. I seem to be technology intolerant (ask me how many cell phones I've gone through)

He's saved me many a time, without a comment on my apparent lack of aptitude for programming my VCR/Cable receiver.

Maybe it's time for a Tivo - or at least a DVR. Although, I suppose you could say I already have one...

"Drheimlich Vill Record" whatever I miss!!

Just kidding...please, please, please don't withhold recordings....

Fun with Coulrophobia

I have a friend that is afraid of clowns. Most of those reading this (all three) know who I'm talking about.

In fact Drheimlich blogged about this a while back (here's the blog).

Anyway I found this picture and debated about sending to this to her:


Now, I'm not afraind of clowns, but this one even freaks me out a tad - of course it is a Halloween mask, but still...

Anyway, I debated about sending this to her...for a couple of minutes.

She hasn't responded yet, and that was a couple of days ago...

Wolf goddess + Calligraphy = FUN

A while back I picked up a little PS2 game called "Okami". I had heard good things about it and it received pretty good reviews too. Still, I was a tad apprehensive, since the concept is a bit strange (a requirement for a game from Japan).

You play the sun goddess Amaterasu, who has come to earth in the form of a white wolf to defend Japan from the demon Orochi. To mix things up a bit, you can apply your divine powers to the world by way of a paintbrush. At any time in the game, you can turn the world into a canvas and apply various paint techniques to affect the world in different ways.

After playing it for more hours than I care to admit, I LOVE this game. It has definitely become one of my favorites. Visually, the game is stunning - although I've always been a fan of cell shading. At the risk of being cliche, the colors pop out of the screen, the characters are well done and enemies are creatively rendered.

The game play is a bit simplistic - this is not a hard game. Enemies fall fairly easily and the puzzles don't take too much effort. However, this didn't change my enjoyment of the game in the least.

The true charm of this game comes from the magic paint techniques. As the game progresses your brush can make the wind blow, cause plants to bloom, repair bridges or cut things in half. Each of these techniques are used to fight and solve the many puzzles.

The game is incredibly long too, I'm at about 19 hours and haven't glimpsed the end yet (from reports out there it looks like the game may take as much as 30 hours to complete). 30 hours of entertainment for less than $40.

It's good to see that game makers are stepping up and still making quality games for the Playstation2. Hopefully they continue this trend, since there's not a chance in hell of me getting a Playstation3 - but that's an issue for another blog...

I axe ya, how farz we gotsta go?

Today I heard a rumor about some changes to the dictionary for a particular word. The word in question is "library" and the addendum was in its pronunciation.

Apparently enough people are pronouncing "library" as "libary" that the dictionary needed to add a pronunciation note to the definition. Here's the link to the definition on dictionary.com (scroll down a bit - it's right under definition number 9).

There are links to words such as "colonel", "February" and "governor", some of which I myself am guilty of mispronouncing regularly (one due to a friend's name)- but that doesn't mean it should have an official notation!

I have yet to check a new printed dictionary to see if this exists somewhere else than an online dictionary, but plan to as soon as I can.

Anyway, this really bugs me. Are we to the point that we're going to redefine our language to suit the lazy?

Is there an addendum to "sandwich" - "pronounced by some as "sammich" - noun
1. a yummy snack or meal made with meat, peanut butter, Nutella or other tasty snacks between two slices of bread.

How about pretend - pertend, etcetera - eKsetera, picture - pitcher, prescription - perscription or the presidential favorite: nuclear - nucyuler

I will announce (annunce) my apology if Webster's changes any of these after this blog is posted...

Stupid Lawyers...

I know my last post was a political rant, and I really don't want this to be a political blog, but I have to get this off my chest.

A couple of weeks ago, NBC had this story about some senator in New York that wants to ban the use of cell phones, blackberries and iPODs while walking across the street. This started a discussion with my coworkers about other legislation in the works, such as;

• Texas wants to make it a misdemeanor to miss a parent/teacher conference (story).
  
• Various states are trying to ban smoking in a car with a child in it - even if it's your car(story).
• Mandatory traffic stops if a police officer sees that seat belts aren't being worn (story).
• Florida would like to make the term "Illegal Alien" illegal(story).
• A bill that would make video game makers responsible for any crime committed by a minor - if they think that the game had any influence (story).
• Arizona tried to force teachers to have "alternate assignments" for students that were offended by their reading material (story).
  

The list could go on ad nauseum. While there are certainly a few things that I agree with (wearing seat belts, not smoking around children for example), I really don't feel they need to be laws. If you're not willing/too stubborn to wear a seat belt - then don't. It's your life. Even the smoking thing bothers me, is it the government's place to control every aspect of our life?

I understand and agree that the government is in place to protect and rule us. However, at what point should the line be drawn? Do we really need the boneheads in Washington to go out of their way to protect us from ourselves? Is it necessary to have a law to remind me that I need to watch where I'm going when I'm on a cell phone?

Being a gamer, I'm REALLY offended by the bill to make game makers responsible for the actions of their customers. I suppose I should be happy, I can now play GTA and go steal cars and assault police - but it wouldn't be my fault. The game made me do it.

Didn't we go through this with heavy metal and D&D a couple of decades ago?

Stupid politicians.....

Strange ads

Yesterday morning, on my way to work, I heard an advertisement that made me go "Hmmm..."

It was an add for food stamps. The advertisement's premise was that "You too may qualify for Food Stamps. Isn't that great news?" It makes it sound like anyone in almost any walk of life could get food stamps.

This raised a few questions in my mind:

Does the welfare department really need to advertise? Are there people that can't afford food that don't know about the food stamp program? Should we be telling those that are getting by with their current income that they might qualify for food stamps?

Don't get me wrong, welfare and food stamps have their place. Everyone needs help once in a while, but I feel that the welfare program is already abused. Are advertisements for those that may not truly need it necessary?

If there's a surplus of funds in the welfare program, shouldn't it go other places? Maybe the agencies in charge of these programs are finding themselves with less to do? Seems to me they should reduce the program and divert the monies to other programs (schools, police, roads) instead of trying to drum up more people to use the food stamps.

Maybe there are other factors I'm missing. Maybe I just caught a slight case of conservatism. the world may never know...

Freelance Police are back!

In August Telltale Games announced the release of a new Sam & Max game. Sam & Max Hit the Road is easily on my top 20 list of favorite games (along with the Monkey Island series, Full Throttle & Maniac Mansion series), and I'm almost ashamed I hadn't heard about this new game until now. Apparently Episode One was released in October, with Episodes Two through four available now. At $8.95 an episode (a total of 6 will be available) the cost can certainly add up - although it seems there's a discounted price for all 6 episodes.

Sam is a psychotic little bunny, and Sam is his fedora wearing dog buddy. The twisted humor in these games was what made it unique (ie. Sam uses Max to short out a circuit for an amusement park ride, or a tool is made from a mummified hand, a fish magnet and a golf ball retriever). All I can say is I'm excited to play these new games - Hell I may even find my copy of the Hit the Road and start there...

What's a joystick?

Meet the next thing in gaming. Like something right out of Brainstorm or Strange Days, the Emotiv controller could be the next great gaming accessory. The idea is that it senses various brainwave activity and translates them into controls for whatever system you're using.

Seems to me that if this works, it opens a door to tons of applications. I would think the military would be all over this particular technology (and probably already is).

I think this could be a very expensive accessory for any system, considering I tend to throw my controllers across the room when the game is kicking my butt...

Mythbusting, home-style!

Last night during our weekly trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings, a friend decided to try the hottest flavor they have "Blazin' Hot". Being a sucker, I decided to try one too, much to my distress. While I was sweating and drinking a gallon of water, I decided to try a tip I had heard about.

Supposedly vodka is a great relief to spicy foods. The theory being the vodka dissolves the spicy oil that sticks to your tongue.

By the time my vodka got to the table, the pain from my first wing was mostly gone. So I had no other choice but to order another taste of the Blazin'. I figured I was on a mission for science, and who was I to stand in the way of scientific progression.

So I endured another bout of liquid hell that is Blazin' sauce. Once I had finished the wing, I immediately took half the vodka shot and swished it around my mouth. I repeated this until the vodka was gone (a shot's worth).

I have to say, this whole idea is total bunk. Not only did the pain not go away, it magnified the pain. I was teary-eyed for a few minutes (I'm man enough to admit I cried like a little girl). The burning from the hot sauce was bad enough, but the vodka turned it into some liquid evil from the fourth dimension - all concentrated on my tongue.

Looking back, I suppose it's really not too surprising. Insane heat from a hot sauce and the unpleasant burning of rubbing alcohol all at once - so much for common sense.

Conclusion: Can vodka relieve the burning sensation from a hot sauce?

BUSTED

There were suggestions that I test a third wing with milk, but there's a limit even I'll go to for science.

Now I'm off to find the guy that told me about this and "thank" him for his suggestion....