From the mouths of babes

And this is why I'm planning on introducing my child to the Wii ASAP:



I would kill to get that laugh!

The "Real" Reason

OK, personally I think the whole Digital V upgrade is ri-god-damned-diculous. However, it's happening and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I do, however, have to wonder how much it's costing the government. The cost of the "coupons" to get converter box alone must be billions of dollars. That's

I'm not even really sure what the impetous is behind the change, so I googled it. My favorite response is here. According to this guy, the reasons are two-fold. First, It allows the government to more easily manipulate the images coming to our sets. Second, it's so the government can keep tabs on us by watching us through little cameras built into the TV. That's right, according to these crackpots, every TV built since 1995 has the ability to transmit as well as receive. Not only that, but the bastards in Washington have added mini cameras in the screens!

I guess I better stop "watching" those late night Cinemax movies...

Eye of the beholder

An "artist" brought this into our shop to see if we wanted to buy it for decoration. The boss, not being hard-of-seeing, politely declined. We are however displaying it for her to see if anyone wants to buy it.

I suppose someone may want to buy it, but frankly it looks like my son did it - and he's 3 weeks old!

The best part? She wants $335 for it! And yes, that's US dollars, believe me, I checked...

Virtual Darwinism

Researchers at the University of Durham have modded the Source engine (Half Life 2) to be used in simulations for real world scenarios. During testing, researchers used a model of their rooms to simulate a fire and run people through evacuation routes.

It's an attempt to use video game technologies in the real world. Apparently one that works pretty well, for most people. Apparently those that are gamers, and used to "simulations" blew the study results. Gamers that were part of the study would run through burning doors to see what happened.

as a friend commented, "Why not just camp in the corner with horded health packs and wait it out?"

Customer Quote of the Month - February

Customer looking at fins, "Do these come in pairs?"

I wish I was kidding...

EA's got bloxie

EA recently announced the sequel to y favorite Wii game to date, Boom Blox!

It's due in the spring and will be more centered to party gameplay - which is the games strong suit, by a long shot. The game apparently will also allow user created content and online play.

The best part is that it seems that finally the blocky animals cheering you along will be interactive!

I just hope they remove the stupid shooting levels...

Even less than "Communications"

Bullocks to all those claiming that our higher education system works.

UC Berkley has introduced a Starcraft Studies course. That's right, the 1998 video game is a college course now.

Students will learn about the theory of the battles and learn the computational strategies. When I first heard about this, I kinda hoped that it would have some relevance to the real world. Sadly, it doesn't seem to. It's all about the game.

Now don't get me wrong, I would have jumped at the chance to play Starcraft for a college course. Lord knows I wasted enough study time playing it's predecessors, Warcraft I and II. However, I just wonder at the implications. It's no wonder our education system is laughed at by the world.

I love that "Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course". Gotta make it sounds useful somehow. Truly, I can't think of any better use for my damned calculus classes.

Note: Oops. This isn't true - just a Berkely "Decal Class", apparently a student wishlist type of thing. I knew it was too good to be.