Ready for Another Circuit

Soon we will be celebrating the Earth making another circuit of its orbit, which for some means doing some very silly things, and setting goals to achieve by the end of the next circuit. Well, good luck to all of you who partake of those traditions. Personally, I've little reason to treat one day differently than another for the time being, but still, have a Happy New Year!

At Times, Memory is a Curse

Some people think that having a good memory is a blessing. Well, perhaps a good memory is, but not a perfect one. I guess I'm lucky that I seem to be somewhere in between. The simplest way to describe what that means is that while most people will forget the bad things that happen in their lives as they grow old (but typically not the good moments) I tend to remember them. Not all of them and not with perfect detail, but a fair number of them. Those with perfect memory remember all of them and they have my sympathy.
Anyway, I'm speaking of my memory not because of some good or bad occurrence in my life, but because I saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I have read the book on my own once about one-and-a-half to two years ago and I can remember so much of it so clearly, that watching the movie was irritating. I could remember what happened in the story as though I had just put the book down last week, so many (probably not all as I am not a Tolkien fanatic) of the differences/inaccuracies of the movie jumped out at me.
Yeah, I know that sounds trivial, and for most it would be. Not for me though, especially as I know what it is like to write and edit stories of my own creation. What I commit to word is cannon for my stories, so changes of the degree we see in that movie would not be welcomed by me.

Congrats to the Lucky Gamers!

Not too long ago, Valve announced SteamOS, the Steam Controller, and the Steam Box initiative, along with a beta program for them. This past week Valve finally notified the lucky beta testers and started shipping out the equipment. Congratulations to them and happy bug hunting! I can honestly say, I wish I had gotten one too. Thought for a moment that I could have just built a rig for it on my own, since Valve released the OS for download too, but then I read the requirements.... Yeah, don't have a spare terabyte hard drive laying around. Hopefully that requirement will change before long. I'd love to get in there and start breaking stuff. That can be as much fun as playing a game!

Not the best week

Hasn't been the best week for me. In the past few days I have had an event cancelled on me at the last minute, messing with my schedule quite a bit, and some hardware fail on me. Fortunately I've managed to find a solution to the failure that should be acceptable. It just is going to take some time to get right.
All I got this week. I know it isn't much, but it's better than nothing.

What I Should Have Done...

What I should have done is weighed myself before and after Thanksgiving, to see if I put on any weight, and how much. That would have given me something to talk about today! I didn't do that though... on the plus side though, it still gave me something to talk about!

An Annoying Irony for Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving coming up, many people are going to, for a moment, compose a mental list of what they are thankful for. They will put on that list things such as having a job, having loved ones, and being appreciated by at least said loved ones. I, for any number of reasons, question those lists as far as just how thankful people are for them. I mean how many people that are thankful for a having job have ever experienced chronic unemployment? Are they thankful because they know what it is like to not have a job, and being unable to find one, or are they thankful because they have never experienced not being able to find employment?
Well, that should probably be modified. After all, some are going to be thankful for their current job because they had a bad job before. Those people will naturally have an appreciation for what they have now.

Well, This is Awesome

I've talked about it before and will talk about it in the future as well. Humble Bundle, that company that puts together bundles of digital media, typically video games, that are sold using a pay-what-you-want model where a customizable portion goes to charity, has launched the Humble Store. At the store you can purchase titles at any time, not just when they are in a bundle or a weekly sale. A portion of the price goes to charity too.
Now, technically the Humble Store has existed for awhile, as a payment processor used by some indie game developers. What was launched was a central site to browse and purchase those titles, instead of having to find and purchase from the developer's website.
To celebrate its launch, the store has been offering daily deals on numerous titles. Some have been in bundles before and some are fresh to Humble Bundle. Most interestingly, some have also been AAA titles from publishers that have not previously worked with Humble Bundle. Seeing games like Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon on sale was really awesome! Ubisoft, a major publisher, supporting Humble Bundle is pretty cool! I hope we see more support from Ubisoft, and from other companies. Maybe the games will not be DRM-free, but at least a guaranteed chunk of the revenue will go to some cool charities. Go check it out! Maybe you'll find a new distraction to enjoy.

It's Called an 'Investment'

I recently purchased a new graphics card; an EVGA GTX 770 with ACX cooling, to be specific. While it was a rather large expense, considering my current employment status, I do believe it will turn out to be worth it. For one, it is more powerful than my GTX 570, which is now set to run PhysX, so I can run games at higher settings with better performance. Given my game-reviewing work, that is important. It also, being a newer GPU, has support for newer technologies, including TXAA, which is nVidia exclusive for GTX 600+ cards. Honestly though, I'm not sure how sold I am on it, but perhaps as I see more games that use it, I'll warm up to it. The most important new technology though I can now use though would have to be ShadowPlay.
ShadowPlay is another nVidia feature, exclusive to the Kepler architecture, as it takes advantage of the built-in h.264 codec. This compression algorithm is generally used with mp4 and has become something of the standard codec for video today. Being built directly into the GPU, ShadowPlay is able to record video with minimal performance hit. Seriously, I have noticed no impact when using it, and I have been using it. Just about every game I've played since installing the 770, I have recorded video in. In some cases I deleted the video because I didn't need it for anything, but then I managed to catch some amusing glitches that I want to preserve. Will also likely end up using it for future reviews as well, and by likely I mean it will be.

Good or Bad, Change Is Change

I've talked about Humble Bundle before, so I'm not going to bother explaining what it is again.
On Thursday, the Humble Weekly Sale (featuring Team 17 games) launched and included a changed feature. Specifically the system for redeeming Steam keys was changed into something more efficient, and more locked down. Previously you would press a button and the key, as text, would be given to you for manual activation with Steam. Now you give Humble Bundle access to your Steam account for the redemption of keys, and pressing a button automatically redeems it to your account for you. One click and go.

What an Interesting Week

and I can't tell you about some of it. Seriously, some of the stuff from this past week I cannot talk about and some of it I will not talk about either. So, instead I will talk about the R9 290X, the recently released GPU from AMD. Seems fair, since I talked about nVidia stuff recently.

nVidia News

Recently nVidia held a two-day press event, during which they announced many new technologies for PC gaming, and one new graphics card. In other words, they did what probably a lot of people expected (in a general sense, as one could not necessarily predict the specifics of their announcements). At least I was not surprised by any of it. AMD is in every next-gen console, so naturally nVidia is going to want to focus on PC gaming. To that end they announced new tools, such as an improved PhysX system, new lighting system, a new piece of monitor-technology, and a new graphics card. Let's talk about two of those.

Is Email Dead?

This is something I have been wondering for a while actually. Is email dead? I know I still use it, but it seems like a lot of people/organizations do not. Very regularly whenever I email some entity I do not get a reply, even the 'Contact Us' email addresses posted on some websites. I have to wonder why this is. The first makes little sense, because of how valuable a communication medium email is (unlimited length, software agnostic, hardware agnostic, private (in theory), attachments). The second is just disrespectful. I am actually almost to the point of making a Twitter account just to test some people/places. Send a question both as email and Twitter post, and see which is responded to first. I suspect the Twitter post would be, but then the questions are why and if/when the email will get a reply. If both addresses are given for a means of communication, but only one is responded to, that would seem to be a great failing on the part of the recipient(s).
Sadly, I doubt anyone would care, including the failing persons.

Nothing to say

Honestly, with everything going on that a man could comment on, I have nothing to say. Or at least nothing to say that won't make me sound like an ass. I'd prefer to avoid that, so I'll just keep my mouth shut this week, after saying I hope this next week is better for everyone than the last.

What Does It All Mean?

What do the three announcements from Valve this past week mean for the gaming industry? My guess is potentially a lot, and certainly little, depending on the segment of the industry you are considering.
The announcement of the Steam Machines and SteamOS are the two most important announcements from the week, with the third, the controller, being interesting, but perhaps not very important in the grand scheme of things. I doubt the regular PC gamer is going to adopt the controller, unless they are using it with a Steam Machine. No, the OS and Machines are what may affect the industry, in my opinion.

Third and Final (For Now)

Well, I didn't see that coming. The final Valve announcement is indeed a Steam controller. The most interesting features are definitely the touchscreen in the middle and the two trackpads, instead of joystick or other, more traditional directional input method. Sadly it is still a part of the beta, like the Steam Machines, so you to enter the beta you have to have a different controller already. Really would have been nice if this were launched today, so it could be used to count toward the beta, but Valve never asked me.

Two Down, One to Go

Before getting to the Valve stuff, the Humble Mobile Bundle 2 has launched. Offers 4+2 Android games and 4+1 soundtracks, with Child's Play and EFF as the two charities.

Valve has announced that Steam Machines are going to be a thing (as opposed to the Steam Box). They have their own design, which I assume are what will be given out during the beta, but are forming partnerships with hardware companies, so a variety of hardware options will be available to consumers. Think Android or Windows and how you have widely varying hardware specs for the complete devices you can purchase. Some are more powerful, some are cheaper, and some are quieter.
So long as they can get some good hardware out at the beginning, this should do well.
Also, there is a beta program you can apply for, but there are requirements you have to satisfy first. You can find those on your own because I want in!
This leaves just one announcement left, with the two circles being added together. Some are speculating it will be a controller, which would be nice (especially if it is launched immediately), but that does not really seem to fit with the image. The circles are SteamOS after all.... I still think it is going to be some kind of connectivity thing, like some special multiplayer system. We'll find out on Friday!

One Down

As I said, my guesses wouldn't be true, though they are looking to be a little more right than I thought. Valve has just announced SteamOS, which will have the ability to do the things I suggested a console running Steam would be able to do; syncing saves and friends between devices.
I will admit, I hadn't thought that Valve would announce the OS for a Steam box or other console-like system, but it does make sense. This lets them focus on the features for two days, then the hardware. I'm guessing the hardware announcement will be on Wednesday, because the icon for today's announcement was the circle, and the next announcement has an icon with a circle between two brackets, or in a box.
The final icon, the two circles added together, is now a little more puzzling. Does it concern multiplayer, or could it be that SteamOS devices can work together? Don't know. What I do know is that since it is based on Linux, people will give it kernals to be run on mobile devices eventually. May not work well with gaming, but the audio and video streaming could work well. We'll just have to wait and see.

Super Secret Steam Surprise Soon

Just about anyone who follows gaming news, especially PC gaming news, will have read about an announcement of future announcements. from Valve Software, the company behind Steam. There are to be three substantive announcements this week that are related to expanding the service into the living room.
Now, when I first heard this news, I immediately had an idea about what the three could be. Naturally one of them will be the so-called Steam Box, a console-like device for playing PC games on a TV, according to almost everyone's speculation. The other two ideas I had would be absolutely amazing, if they are accurate. They aren't, but why not imagine the possibility for a bit longer? The ideas are that Steam is going to be developed for the two upcoming consoles; the xBox One and Playstation 4. Many of you may scoff at the idea, thinking it is impossible, but it is! Both systems are going to be x86 based, which means they can run conventional PC software, like Steam, and even PC games, though not particularly well. Optimized versions would still have to be written for the most intense games, as the APU-graphics would not be able to run those games at high framerate otherwise. Imagine that setup though: the ability to purchase console-versions of games through Steam, along with PC versions, and having saves synced between them, using the Steam Cloud. Also the friends lists and joined groups could be synced. That arrangement, I am confident, would bring in additional console sales as  PC gamers purchase them for their living rooms, and get access to the console games as well.
As I said though, those ideas are not accurate, this is not going to happen, and I have two reasons to believe that. Both are on the webpage Valve put up about the announcements: Living Room. If those ideas of mine were correct, the announcements would all be made at once, but the placement of the countdown clock indicates that the three announcements will come at separate times. (If they were to come together, the clock would be in the middle, and not under the first icon.) The second is the icons for the three announcements. The first is a circle. The second is a circle between a pair of brackets, off-centered to the left. The third is two circles, with an addition sign between. These would not agree with my idea.
What would the icons agree with? Well, if we assume the circles are meant to be people, then the one person would likely be the Steam Box announcement, for one person playing. Assuming that is correct, the circle could also indicate the Steam Box itself. The second icon, with the brackets, is harder to guess. One possibility, though admittedly remote, is that the brackets represent a screen, like 3D goggles or something akin to Google Glass. Rumors have indicated personnel at Valve have interest in both technologies, though that is not an indication of company interest. The final icon, two circles added together, suggests multiplayer, whether you interpret the circles as people of consoles. One issue with that interpretation though is why would it be the final announcement? Multiplayer would be expected, as would any social connectivity between a Steam Box and the computer clients, unless it is a new service, not totally analogous to Steam.
Of course, these are all just guesses (now recorded so if I'm right, I can show people) and we will not know until tomorrow when the clock winds down.
I hope it isn't running on Valve time!

Good Things Come...

Or so the saying goes.
After multiple (successful) non-indie game bundles, Humble bundle has finally rolled out the Humble Indie Bundle 9 that includes such games as Mark of the Ninja and FTL: Faster than Light. Already it has risen to be the second most sold Humble Indie Bundle, with only the mighty Humble Indie Bundle V ahead of it, in sale counts. Of course there is still over a week left for HIB 9, so we may see that record broken.
This progress I strongly believe is a result of non-indie bundles, such as the Deepsilver and Origin Bundles. Both of them brought in new customers and new customers can easily become regular customers.
I wonder what games will be added at the midway point?

If I recall My History...

Right now it is fairly hard to turn on any news channel or check a news website and not have something about the possibility of attacking Syria thrown in your face, at least if you live in the US and/or are checking a US news site. A lot of it is one side saying we should because there is a moral imperative, while the other says the American people do not want to be involved. If I remember what I learned in school correctly, that other side is much more correct than the side claiming a moral need.
If you consider what has happened int he world during the history of the United States, you will find numerous examples of genocide and genocide-like tragedies that we did nothing about. The reasons for that largely stem from our disinterest in intervening in another countries affairs, outside of normal political operations. Even when we know about the genocide, we want to leave it alone and be left alone. Look at modern North Korea, where people are starving under they tyrannical, communist regime. Look in modern Egypt where Christians are being murdered and churches burned. I'm sure there are many other nations in Africa that are also suffering similar tragedies, but I cannot name them. Look to the past though and you can find even more genocide and genocide-like tragedies that we did nothing about. Stalin of the USSR starved millions of Ukrainians to death during the Holodomor, and we did nothing. Even the Holocaust under Hitler did not lead us to take action, and we did know some of what was going on there. That is part of the reason why, at the time, many people did want to go to war, to stop Hitler and what he would do to Europe, but they knew the American people detest war, so it took the war coming to us to ultimately force any direct action.
You can take the point I am trying to make one of two ways. Either America does not have an interventionist history, because the people did not want it then and do not want it now, or that if we are to claim the existence of a morale obligation, we have a lot of work to do to satisfy it.

Got nothing

Seriously, I've got nothing to say today. No interesting thoughts. No news on recent projects (that I can share). Nothing at all.
Just have a good week people.

Food for Thought?

I first had this idea come to me over a week ago, but I did not feel like sharing it until now. It came to me while playing the game Mirror's Edge. This game, like many others, is set in a dystopic world where an entity is trying to control everyone. This is fairly standard in dystopias, where the state, corporation, or other group tries to affect absolute power on the people. Another standard for such worlds is an absence of morality, which typically manifests itself as increased crime.
Though the example that inspired this idea is relative new (four years old) such worlds have been described in literature for hundreds of years. Control and amorality leading to worlds that are almost universally found repulsive by the people of this nation. Yet, despite these lessons the minds of our past have attempted to teach us, we still have so many people voting and marching, and otherwise supporting political actions that would subvert the citizenry's individual choices for government-determined control, while others partake in amoral acts for a moment of pleasure.
Interesting, isn't it?

Good Job Humble Bundle!

Many people who know me and, more specifically, my gamer side will know that I love the work of the folks at Humble Bundle. They organize and put on sale bundles of videos games, and occasionally other digital media, using a pay-what-you-want model. At least that is one interpretation of their work. Another would be that they have a donate-what-you-want, and receive digital goods in return, as always you have the option to send some of your purchase price (or all of it) to certain charities.
Their latest offering is the Humble Origin Bundle, which features multiple EA published games. While a number of people (primarily Linux users it appears) are complaining that there are not Linux versions of these games (oddly I've not seen a Mac person complain once), they are being drowned out by the less-vocal people. At the moment some 1,417,578 less-vocal people who have purchased the bundle, making it the most sold bundle the company has ever had. At over $6.8 million it is also the most profitable, and not even a full five days have passed! This is awesome, especially as EA is not receiving any money from this; it is all going to charity, or to Humble Bundle as a tip (how much goes where is under your control). In the short term, the awesome part is how great the bundle's content is, but in the long term the awesome part is how many people are being introduced to Humble Bundle this way. I can't speculate if the next Humble Indie Bundle will break any records, but I am sure that more people will know about it than ever before, thanks to this.
Good job Humble Bundle! Thank you EA! Good luck everyone!

What do you do?

Here's a simple question everyone should be able to answer. What do you do when you are being driven somewhere? Primarily, I look at the window. Not sure if I'm paying attention to what I see, but I look.
Here's a harder question. Why do you do what you do? I don't know if I can answer that one for myself. I guess I look because it's the easiest way for me to think at the moment, and I like thinking. At times, I probably like thinking too much.

Is It Discouraging?

I can't quite decide if it is discouraging or not to see that no one reads this. In a way it is, as that means no one enjoys it. In another way it isn't, as I do not write these for others to read, but for me to write. I'll figure it out another time.

Nobody Likes an Innovator

At least until the innovation is useful to them.
Can't say much, but let's just say I had an idea recently that I have good hopes for, but some people I've shared it with are lukewarm to it, or outright dismissive and insulting to it. Doesn't discourage me though, since I've gotten use to such attitudes from other people.
Stepping back though, I am sure my experiences are not unusual, at least for other creative people. If you know such a creative person, don't be overly critical of their ideas, because their ideas may live up to their hopes instead of down to your doubts. Besides, many of us would prefer we discover if our ideas are bad by trying them.

Good Experiences

Recently I had the opportunity to build a new computer, so I did. An important part of any build is the case, as it not only needs to be functional with your parts, but it also needs to look good to you. The case I wanted and ordered was the Corsair C70 Vengeance  and now that it's all set up, I really am happy with it. I was also happy when I pulled it out of the box, but in between there was a time when I was less happy. This was because there was a decent sized dent in the face plate, and I just hadn't noticed it at first. It's not a serious dent, but it is aesthetically displeasing, so I contacted Corsair asking if I could get just the face plate replaced. All I did was ask and shortly thereafter I was asked what color the case is, and once I told the person I dealt with, a replacement was sent out. That's it. No formal RMA request on my end. Corsair just sent out, at their expense, a replacement part, and even told me I did not have to return the old one.
Of all my experiences with computer hardware companies, this is either the best or tied for the best. If it is a tie, the tie is with HP, but then I also had an extended service plan with them, so that may have influenced the process some.

Also, the new Humble Weekly Sale features music by Jim Guthrie, who has done soundtracks included in past Humble Bundles. I suggest getting it because the music actually is enjoyable and it is a good idea to support Humble Bundle's non-game media offerings. Growing into other media lets the company grow, so show your support, so we can see growth continue in the future!

Our Little Machinations

It is somewhat amazing how our sentiments about something can change when one of our little machinations fails us. I recently built and moved into a new computer, and a result of that is the software I had been using for posting here no longer functions. All this does is add steps to the process of posting, as I must now log in and use the web client, but it still left me wondering how valuable it is to continue posting here. Well, obviously it is still valuable enough for me to keep doing so, for now at least. If it were not, than I'd hardly be posting this!
By the way, the new computer is awesome. I look forward to investing more time and money into it, as those resources become available to me.

The Vice of 24 Hour News

When this past week began, the 24 hour news channels were already covering a particular Florida trial like flees cover a stray dog. I and many others now know more about that case and the opinions of unassociated people than we know about our elected officials. At the end of the week, a plane crash-landing managed to displace the trial as the top news story, so we went from one insignificant local news story to another insignificant local (more or less) news story. From one item that needs less than a paragraph for the average person to understand to another. Meanwhile a rather important nation in the Middle East goes though an event that will quite possibly affect the entire world for years to come. But, when a new witness takes the stand or another press conference with no new information is announced, guess what is forgotten?

This is the vice of 24 hour news channels; entertainment over information. You see at some point the people in power were told that entertainment sells more ads than information does, even if it is information people tune in to get. The result of this is an unhealthy obsession with news unworthy of most people's time inundating the cycle. Of course it would be almost impossible to transition a news channel back to reporting information pertinent to everyone, as that would require hosts intelligent and competent enough to discuss the news, instead of making jokes that demonstrate their ignorance and yelling at people.

So Much Good Stuff!

As usual, more games were added to the Humble Bundle with Android 6, including NightSky, which I had reviewed when it was in the Humble Bundle with Android 5. It's a fun little puzzler for desktops and Android devices.

Also the new Humble Weekly Sale includes Shank 2, which I reviewed when it was in the Humble Indie Bundle 7. It's an action game, through-and-through. From one side of the map to the other you execute enemies in a number of ways, so if you enjoy that kind of game, get the weekly sale.

So Much for That

Last week I talked about the situation with the Xbox One, and as of this week, it's changed. Microsoft decided that instead of attempting the marketing-180 it would need to explain and convince people how their original plans were a good thing for gamers and the industry, it would just drop the DRM system, and the features that accompanied it. Guess it will have to be another generation (or half way through this one) before we see another attempt to improve the industry.

At least I have the amusement of seeing people complain about losing the sharing features that were dependent on the DRM they raged against.

Oh, by the way, the Humble Bundle with Android 6 launched this past week. Get a copy. Good deal. Good games. Good charities. And if you do get it, send an email to Humble Bundle, telling them how awesome it is!

The Fun of Knowing Better

I have a talent, of sorts, that may or not be appreciated, depending on who you ask. You see, I, for many things, have a very good memory, as well as a fairly critical mind. Combining these two features gets you the ability to see things a bit clearer than others. Unfortunately there are a lot of 'others' out there.

Why do I bring this up… the xBox One. So many people have been sending their blood pressure through the roof over it, and so much of that is caused by myths, lies, and misinformation, almost all tied to sensationalism. The two key features about the upcoming console that are being misreported are the used game policy and the 'always-on' requirement. Let's start with the latter, which is simply wrong.

Worth It

I've talked abut it before and I'm talking about it again. Deal with it.

Humble Bundle started up its Humble Weekly Sales again not too long ago and, because I like the company, the charities, video games in general, and a good deal, I have been purchasing them. The current sale is of the Serious Sam Franchise, which I have never been into and have never played before. I know it's a classic first-person shooter with mindless violence, so I installed Serious Sam HD The First Encounter (a remastered version of the first game) to satisfy a desire for mindless gameplay, and I have to admit I am enjoying it.

It is just fun to play with its straight-up action. Hopefully the other games are similar in that respect, because I suspect I will be playing them before too long. So get the bundle. Pay-what-you-want is a pretty good price.

Busy Week…

But I'm not going to share with you all the ways it was busy. None of your business.

What could be part of your business though is the new Humble Indie Bundle 8. It is a 5+2 game bundle, and you can get all seven games for less than $6 now, and they are worth it! Go. Buy. Play. NOW!

My personal favorite of the pack would have to be Thomas was Alone. Dear Esther is also amazing, so be sure to play that, and Awesomenauts is a solid game with lots of potential playtime. Little Inferno is also enjoyable, but is very much a casual game. Hotline Miami didn't do much for me, and I'm not quite sure what the purpose is for Proteus. It really seems to just be a non-game.

Regardless, it's a good bundle and you should buy it and send some of the price to charity.

Mildly Disappointed

So just saw Iron Man 3 (yeah, it's been out for awhile, so what? I've been distracted) and was not impressed, at all. For sometime now I have been actively trying to review the media I am exposed to, such as movies, games, and books. This is to improve my experience and talents as a writer and as a reviewer. It's also just something easy to get in the habit of doing, so naturally I have already constructed a basic review of the movie in my head, based on the one viewing. While thinking about it, a moment from another movie entered my mind, and I started trying to place it…. Took me awhile, but then I figured it out and the review actually became a lot simpler.

Iron Man 3 is the same story as The Dark Knight but with more action and less story. A lot less story. One of the criticisms I remember about TDK was that its story seemed to be big enough for two entire movies, but instead it was fit into one. Of course when trying to contain so much in so little, some quality will be lost, but TDK is still a very good movie and the story is still quite well done. IM3 on the other hand is not nearly as good. Drawing on my creativity, I could see how the story laid out in IM3 could be expanded to seemingly be enough to fill two full movies, like TDK. But, that is only after expanding it. What was actually put on the screen is, to me, so chopped up, compared to what is possible, that it left the one movie very muddled with so many places worth exploring left in the dark. I'd hesitate to call it a popcorn movie even, as the pauses from the action can be long enough and contain enough of the chopped up, muddled story that you have to think about it, causing the issues with the story to stand out.

There is one good thing to say about it though; it makes we want to refocus on my own writing, as though my desire and attention to story could make up with this. It probably can't, but someone has got to try.

Sometimes Things just Work Out

Almost two weeks ago now Humble Bundle launched the Humble Double Fine Bundle, which contains 3+1+1 games from Double Fine. (Three games come at any price, one only unlocks when you pay more than the average, and then one more you get a pre-order for only if you pay at least $35.) Because all of the games are from Double Fine, which is a known and relatively well-respected developer, I decided not to review the bundle. These games already have good exposure, so why spend the time to give them more? There is a good chance the people who are interested in them will get the bundle without my review.

Anyway, now we get to how this worked out well for me. I haven't a clue why, but the engines for at least two of the games simply fail, miserably, on my computer. For one game, half the time it would not load then for almost the entire other half the game starts up behind a loading screen, making playing impossible. The other game was reliably starting, had the loading screen issue a few times, but I may have found a solution to that, but had another, major issue. A number of the meshes in the environment were not loading. I actually had a fight on an invisible platform and was running into invisible walls! I have never seen issues like this before and have been unable to find any solutions for these problems. Now I am hesitant to open the other two games I got in the bundle.

So as it turns out, even if I wanted to review these games I would not be able to because of these critical bugs. Hopefully I will have better luck with the next bundle.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope every woman out there fortunate enough to have children had a very good day today, when we honor them for becoming something they quite possibly had been looking forward to for years. You have all worked hard and deserve a special day to celebrate your plans for a family becoming reality. Congratulations!

Seriously though, I hope all the mothers out there had a great day and saw how much their family loves them. I only mean my cynical words to remind you that as much as you deserve Mother's Day, the day is only as special as you and your own family makes it.

Years in the Making…

Really, the effort leading up to this was years long…. Yeah, most of the time was not spent working on it, but so what? Everybody takes breaks.

However long ago I asked the question of if it was possible to automatically update the files on my USB drives. After some research, I found the building blocks needed to create such a system and that first system I made was crude, but effective. Since then I have completely redesigned it to operate with different USB devices and different computers, and trust me, those differences can make things complicated.

Well, knowing that the real fun of creating such a system is from sharing it, I wrote a guide explaining how it works and thus how to recreate it. Thanks to the supporting folks at OverclockersClub.com, that guide is now published, for the world to benefit from… or at least those in the world willing to work with batch files, the task scheduler, and possibly environment variables.

Enjoy! USB Auto Update Guide

Friends are Useful Things to Keep

This past week I have been finding some new, entertaining things to watch on YouTube. Not important what they are, and I guess they are not new; just new to me. They all have one thing in common though; friends working together.So many ideas are only made reality because of friends working together to bring one person's idea(s) to the world. I wonder what will be made next?

Looking Forward

I think we can agree it is nice to see this past week end and a new begin.

That was Awkward

Pretty sure I've mentioned before that I'm unemployed currently, but I just did in case I haven't, so, moving on.
Be sure to read things thoroughly! I saw two job postings for writing positions at a company I believe I would enjoy working at and I was kind of excited. Then when I actually sat down to apply and started looking over things again I realized they were only freelance positions. Not what I'm looking for, and even if they were, I doubt they would pay enough for me to move the over four hundred mile distance. So remember to read things carefully the first time!
This other experience of mine was also awkward. At what point is someone no longer a 'recent graduate?' Well, according to one company it is one year because when I tried to fill out the recent grad information, it only allowed the graduation date to be a year old. I consider myself a recent grad even after two years though because I've not been able to find employment since then, so the most recent thing is my graduation. Just had to apply a different way, but it still is weird to face something telling me I'm not a recent graduate anymore, even though it best describes my level of experience.

Is It Really a Virtue?

What is 'it' is likely what you are wondering, assuming you are reading this. In this case, I am referring to persistence, a quality some say is a good thing to have, depending on how it is used of course. For example, some say that being persistent about getting a job is a good thing, because it shows your interest. What if the employer is busy though and hasn't any openings at the moment? Will that persistence be remembered in the future? I don't know, but I'd like to.

That's one kind of persistence, but here's another; this blog. Every week I have written something for this and posted it, however even a cursory glance at the stats reveals that barely anyone reads this, and those that do, I do not know. Is that a good kind of persistence? Is it good to share a piece of my mind with so few strangers? I hope so, because I'm probably going to keep doing it, so let's all hope my life does not persist to be uninteresting.

Happy Easter

If you celebrate Easter, why are you reading this? Go celebrate with your friends and family!

If you do not celebrate Easter then go find another reason to celebrate with your friends and family.

Isn't that handy!

So I forgot to post anything earlier; just been busy and distracted. Anyway, unless you read this post (and I don't think anyone does) you may not be able to tell I posted it past midnight. Why is that? Because I can set the post date and time apparently.

Pretty handy, isn't it? Is it unethical though? Kind of means you can edit time by posting in the past that which you write in the present… at least as far as an observer who understands our calendar but not our language would be able to tell. Be mindful of editing people! It is very powerful and can quickly turn you into a cynic.

Arguing is an Art

Normally I tend away from political arguments on the Internet because they are never really a good idea to get into. I was compelled to enter one recently though because one person was putting forth just such horrible arguments. Well, it quickly devolved into that person making personal attacks and manufacturing quotes while I continued to criticize his arguments. That criticism though, was never responded to beyond the attacks and false-quotes, which is a real shame because of how much it demonstrates that this one person does not understand that arguing is an art form.

I learned some time ago that arguments are not something you try to win. Instead they are learning experiences, and such learning experiences do not require profanity. Because of this definition of what an argument is, I utterly despise the saying, 'let's agree to disagree'. Such a phrase is used to end an argument; to end a learning experience. That is horrible. The two best ways for an argument to end is with parties forming agreeing opinions or with the opposing opinions intact, but better informed about the other.

Unfortunately it appears that people on the Internet are more obsessed with winning an argument or getting that disgusting sense of satisfaction from insulting their opponents. As the person being insulted though, I found it quite humorous because I, to a degree, agree with that person. His/her arguments were crap and I called him/her on it. He/she was just too dedicated to making this opponent (me) into his/her opposite in order to achieve that disgusting satisfaction than to actually improve and further his/her arguments. Truly sad, this state of modern argument.

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

Have two ideas for this week's post; one negative and one more-or-less neutral. I'll go with the relative-positive one. It also happens to be the shorter.

I had an idea today of an effective analogy for DRM; the TSA. They both are supposed to add a layer of security, but can be gotten around by anyone with dedication. Meant to target the 'bad guys' they actually affect the average person who is doing everything correctly. They are an inconvenience created as a reaction to something that, while important, is not well addressed by the tactics used.

That's it for today. I told you it was a short one.

Did Anyone Seriously Think it would Work?

So the sequester is now law and boy has it ever been amusing to watch the course it has taken. Seriously, the fear it is being abused to create is astoundingly funny! Of course what is even more laughable is that anyone might have thought it would actually work to deal with spending. The easy point to make about that is it is not possible to address a deficit when all you do is reduce the increase in spending. You have to actually decrease spending to decrease spending, instead of spending more, but not as much as you originally planned to do. That however is not the reason I find it humorous.
No, the reason I laugh at the concept of the sequester is it is a horrible negotiation tactic. It was supposed to be a kind of nuclear deterrent that would force talks and compromise, because no one wants the bomb to go off. The problem is that in a negotiation both sides should have a nuclear deterrent that neither want to use. Instead they created a deterrent neither of them could control, which practically promised its use. Everyone can claim, and is claiming, it is not their fault for it happening and is just blaming the other side. At least if it were one side's nuclear deterrent then we would know who set it off, and have their reasoning for why they felt the negotiations were dead and it had to go off. Now we just get equally (ir)responsible people blaming the other guy because 'surely we would never want to do that.'
Really people, be more cynical about this. If nothing else it will show you that Washington is a comedic stage filled with actors too incompetent to even hit each other in the face with a pie. (Maybe that would help the debate; some meringue in the nostrils.)

How's It Going?

Actually can't think of anything interesting to write this week, so instead I'm going to ask a rhetorical question: how's it going?

You don't actually have to tell me how it is going for you, though it may not be a bad idea for you to tell yourself. Tell yourself about that new thing you learned, the fun you had one day, and the love you felt another. Tell yourself all about it, then tell someone else near to you. Tell them all of the details you shared with yourself and then ask them how it is going for them, and listen to what they say.

Challenges

There is a decent chance that you know that Lent began last week, even if you are not Catholic or Christian. Kind of happens when so many of us are in the same culture. Anyway, Lent is meant to celebrate the triumph of Jesus over temptation after spending 40 days fasting in the desert. Those who join the celebration do so by sacrificing like He did for forty days, not counting Sundays. These sacrifices are not suppose to be something trivial but something meant to better ourselves. Of course some people do not sacrifice but find another means to better themselves.

In my case, I am attempting to do both. My hope is to spend these forty days not playing any video games (with a contextual exception) and to work on my writing every day. Currently I'm not comfortable discussing writing I am working on, just because it still needs work. The video games though is something that I simply should do. I keep losing hours to them. Of course, I have those hours to lose, being unemployed. Maybe I can change my habits and start spending hours writing instead of gaming to decompress and pass the time and such.

What is the exception to the gaming sacrifice? Reviews. If any games come up for me to review, I will play them to get the review done. However, once the review is complete, I will not play the game until Lent is over, at the earliest.

For some people, these may not seem like important commitments, but they are to me. I know that as I approach two years of unemployment that I am losing my abilities. I can only hope that if/when I find a job that my talents will resurface quickly. In the mean time though, I simply feel it would be best if I do not let my gaming talents be honed at the expense of others I could work on now, such as my writing. Of course, I don't know if that will work. I don't even know if it's worth it. Seems like every time I apply for a job, I find a new reason to believe I won't get hired.

There was the Lost Generation, the Great Generation, and now I fear we will have the Wasted Generation. If you want to do something about that, give up because you can't. Instead focus on keeping it the Waster Generation, instead of the Wasted Generations.

To All Employers…

To all the employers out there I have sent applications to, do you find this blog of mine? I'm curious because I generally keep a small Internet footprint and my name is not unique. I'm also curious because some people may read something I write here and decide they don't like me. I will admit though that I don't think that is wrong, but I don't think that just because you don't like me that you shouldn't interview me because, after all, you don't know me.

This reminds me of another question I have for employers: is it a problem when someone does not have a Facebook account? I hear stories about employers looking at potential-hires' Facebook pages as part of their investigation of the person, but what happens when there is no Facebook page? I can understand an employer seeing something on Facebook that troubles them, but does it trouble them when the person does not have a Facebook? I certainly hope not because I do not have a Facebook account and I neither want nor need one either.

Short one today. (Lucky you.)

Super Silliness

Before I get too far into this I want to admit that I am not much of a football fan. That's not to say I don't enjoy the Super Bowl, I do enjoy it, but some things are just getting stupid. I'm speaking primarily of the idea of making the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday, so everybody has the day off, but a case can be made that several of the ads are going to be stupid too.

That is an utterly imbecilic idea. It rewards those few who are irresponsible enough to need a day off and too selfish to just take a vacation or sick day. Instead they want everyone, including those like me who do not over-celebrate, to sacrifice a day of work, so they can sleep through a hangover. If I had a job, I'd enjoy going in to work and wouldn't want to have a day off for something as pointless to me as the Super Bowl.

Now, if a business wants to give their employees a day off, that's its business. If I were to work at such a business, I would almost certainly request that I be allowed to come in to work on that day. Of course, I would only do this if I enjoyed the work (I also wouldn't have the job if I didn't enjoy the work) so I wouldn't have a problem with counting it as a regular work day. Not everyone is like me though, and somewhere between me and those who would not come in would be those who would come in, but request overtime.

For anyone who wants the day after the Super Bowl off across the country, just think about that! While you are sleeping off the night before, some of us, possibly more of us than you, will be getting work done, and getting more for that work too. That work which would be done anyway, even if you called in sick, and for no more money than any other working day.

You know what, maybe it isn't such a bad idea. You get your day off and, if I had a job, I get the overtime for a regular day of work. It's almost like I'd be making the money you would have, if you just didn't party as hard, but not quite.

Obviously I'm being sarcastic there. One more point for why this shouldn't happen is that the Super Bowl is not deserving of that kind of honor. Maybe I should start a petition too, to enable people to vote down petitions. Doesn't have to count as a negative signature; just a voice of opposition, so we can all be included in the discussion.

Quick follow up…

Just read something and thought of the post from yesterday. Specifically my attempt to encourage critical thought and examination. Here is what I read:

Today's scientists know that if strong action to counteract climate change is not successfully achieved, within one generation the world will be a place characterized by intense heat waves, widespread disease, drought, food shortages, and deadly super storms.

Focus on the bolded part. (The statement that scientists know this is irrelevant to my point, but I didn't feel like cutting out part of the sentence.) A critical examination of that sentence will tell you it is a worthless statement because, humanity, Nature and the Earth have already suffered through and survived each of these, long before the temperature anomaly was significantly positive.
A meaningless statement meant purely to evoke an emotional response in people foolish enough to only read words and not consider them.
Another quote from the same item:

The process of peer review invokes critical thinking by competitive, judgmental scientists to gauge the appropriateness of research results to be published for widespread reading.

Again, consider the bolded text. This is an accurate, to my knowledge, description of peer review, but note that it says "appropriateness of research results." Peer review doesn't certify that a study is correct, but that it was done correctly and that the conclusions are supported by the data. If the process did certify a study was correct then we could not have peer reviewed studies being published that have falsified data, but, while rare, it does happen.
(I am not implying that the data for what the item refers to was falsified, in case you're curious or tempted to flame a straw-man.)
A grain of salt a day, keeps ignorance away.

Feel I should add this from the same article:

"Earth's climate has always changed. Modern climate change does not, however, fit geologic history. In the past half century, the rate and extent of climate change has been extraordinary. Despite extensive searching, no known natural processes can account for the present climate trend of extremely rapid warming of the temperature of the lower atmosphere. Furthermore, industrial exhaust, deforestation, and large- scale agribusiness are known producers of heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. It is only logical to hypothesize that there is a strong likelihood that these human activities are causing the extraordinary warming. Vigorous testing of this hypothesis demonstrates that modern climate change is a consequence of human-caused global warming; in fact, among scientists, this has been known for decades."

While I can make certain arguments about this statement, I recognize that they would be bias, so I will not make them. The comment I will make is that it is a good quote. It is not meant to deceive or misinform. Perhaps sway bias, but then what statement does not have that purpose?

Why has 'Appropriate' changed?

Last week I saw two images from NASA that troubled me greatly. One was a graph displaying the data on the temperature anomaly since 1880, from four different organizations with the comment "Some say scientists can't agree on Earth's temperature changes. Here's what "disagreement" looks like." Of course the comment wouldn't make sense if the four lines were not very near each other. The other image is one of a spinning disco ball with the comment "IT HASN'T BEEN "COOL" SINCE DISCO WAS POPULAR," and "The last time Earth was cooler than the modern average was 1976, according to NASA's global temperature record."

Naturally I expect many people to read the previous paragraph as me denying global warming, climate change, or whatever it's being called now. That is not at all the case. The reason these images trouble me is that NASA should not be making them. Well, the graph was fine, but not the commentary. It is purely an inflammatory statement and that is not appropriate for NASA or any other government administration to make! Personally I believe in smaller government, but I do recognize the importance and need for government supported research, but bias representations of research is completely inappropriate. Such organizations should exist purely to generate data for the benefit of the world. They should go ahead and make the graphs and provide information about them, but to tack on a sentiment that clearly colors the interpretation of the data is just wrong. The disco ball image should simply not exist.

Something Philosophical…

…is what I need. I've really not got anything to talk about today. I'm too tired to remember anything interesting that happened this past week to give my perspective on, or I realize it isn't worth giving my perspective on whatever it is I may remember.

So, since this post is completely pointless, I shall label it Not Worth Reading (NWR) and I welcome you to stop reading now, instead of waiting until the period.

Should There Be a National Gamers' Association?

This is something that's been bouncing around in my head for a few days. Despite that though, it's just a half-baked idea, so if you read this, keep that in mind. Really the idea is more of a vent for frustration than a true suggestion for action.

A quick little bit about myself, which I know can be found by reading earlier posts. If I were reading this post though, I wouldn't want to go through the archives to figure out what the writer is talking about, so I'm doing myself a favor, and just explaining it right here. I am a gamer and I read a decent amount of science news. This science news is somewhat limited to my interests, but I still receive quite a variety of topics, including studies on gaming. Obviously these are of particular interest to me, so I read them. My frustration comes from the fact that I read them but it seems the people who can set national opinion do not, and neither do the people behind those talking heads.

In case you have not guessed it already, I am referring to the unending claims that violent video games cause violence, such as some of the shootings to have hit the national news media recently. It seems like every time I hear a report on any shooting lately, the heads discuss how violence in video games and movies caused it. Well, I can't speak for movies as I've not seen that research, but the research I have seen for concerning video games and violence are decidedly against that conclusion.

That's right. Modern research does not support that media-pushed theory. At least not as they report it. Why the reporting is as incorrect as it is, I don't know, but without a doubt it is incorrect. Why is correct then? These points that I have gathered from those news items (I'm not providing links to these items simply because I'm too lazy to search for them at the moment):

• Video games do not on their own lead to violence. Video games may act as an indicator for potential violence, but is no more a trigger for potential violence than a bad home life, a sense of exclusion, and others. That conclusion was directly concerned with bullying (a form of violence I'd argue) amongst middle school students.
• Video games affect people differently. Only games that a person was unable to succeed at would lead the person to anger. Basically the anger associated with games does not come from the game but from the frustration of a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Such challenges are hardly uncommon in life.
• Only those at risk of becoming violent could potentially become violent, due to a video game. Of course this seems to follow from the two points above but as it was also the conclusion of a separate study, I feel it is worth giving its own point.

What does the above mean, when you combine it all together? Violence directly caused by video games is an outlier of all violence. It cannot be predicted and cannot be prevent. Video games can be an indicator of violence, but so are other behaviors, so if you really want to prevent violence, you need to look at more than the controller.

Unfortunately, that is not the conclusion of the opinion setters. They believe that the interactivity of video games causes one to be desensitized to violence. Now, I've not experienced the violence portrayed in video games in real life, but I cannot help but believe that pixels on a screen, and speakers or headphones, and even a rumble pack are in no way a substitute for the smell of gun powder, the kick of a gun, the heat of the gases, the sounds of screams, the stench of blood, and so on. Besides, if one is concerned about people being conditioned by video games to believe that violence is a solution they seem to forget a basic premise of most every video game. You're the good guy and your targets are bad guys. Now, if someone can confuse children with bad guys, there is a greater problem than playtime about.

So, with all that being sad, I'll get to the title of this post. Should there be a National Gamers' Association? Being a gamer I feel like many people are constantly targeting us like some minority to act as a scapegoat. We or our choices for entertainment get blamed and the blame is so pervasive that I suspect many gamers do not want to admit they are a gamer openly, for fear of someone thinking they are violent, and then choosing to dismiss them, in one form or another. Think about it like this; if a gamer goes out on a blind date, do they mention they are a gamer? Doubtful because that pastime is seen as inappropriate for some prejudice reason. The image arises of a person in their underwear sitting on a couch yelling at the TV, or hunched over a keyboard for all hours of the night. The latter scenario is actually ironic because, in my opinion, if a game causes a player to play all night, that's a good thing because that means it's a good game. Yet, that's a negative image.

Eh, I don't know. I just wish there was a large enough and focused enough gamers' lobby that it could actually bring the truth to bear. Gaming isn't a bad thing and can actually be a good thing, even when it comes to violence.

A hospital not long ago did a study where they gave children with anger issues a video game to play. The catch was that the children had their vital signs measured as they played, so if they got angry while playing, they could no longer shoot the enemies in the game. They had to calm down to keep playing. This method of treatment was so effective that they want to expand the technology to be multiplayer and develop a version that can be taken home. Video games to fight violence. Not something you'll see reported on national news.

Quick and Back to Work

Can't remember exactly when I had the idea, but within the past month I had an idea for a new story. On Wednesday I started writing it and already I have over 15,000 words, with many more to go. Shouldn't end up as long as Sci-FU, but I'm enjoying it as much I think.
Now, stepping away from that, I recently did some digging into history. Among the events I read about was the Boston Tea Party and I learned something new! Among the reasons for the party was the fact that the governors of the colonies were not being paid by the colonists. Instead their salaries came from Britain, meaning they were accountable to Britain and not the people they governed. This reminded me of something much more recent. Specifically the executive order that raised the pay of many of our politicians at the federal level: President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives.
Now, ignoring the fact that they are getting a raise (unless they pass a bill to block it) while many, including myself, are unable to find employment, this is still very interesting because it makes you wonder who they are accountable to. I mean, we elect them, right? They are there to represent us, right? So why does the Federal Government, the entity we elect them to, deciding how much they are paid, instead of us? After all, shouldn't they be accountable to us and not the Federal Government, just like those governors should have been accountable to the colonists instead of Britain?
Just something to think about while I get back to work. Stories can't write themselves alone after all.

Another Year, Another Post

Yippee! Recently the Earth completed a full orbit around the Sun, taking just over 365 days to leave and return to an arbitrary point along the orbit! Isn't that exciting? Obviously it's a good reason to declare your intentions to do something specific during this next orbit, such as losing weight.

Yeah, New Year's really doesn't mean much to me because it's a bit too arbitrary. Seriously, why does the calendar reset now? Why not on a solstice or equinox; an actually significant annual point in time? (Actually I think it might have something to do with how leap days did not always exist but I'm not certain and that's not the point of this post.)

What is the point of this post? Honestly I'm not sure…. Not making an resolutions this year since really the only positive ones I can think of either aren't that positive or completely dependent on other people. Such dependency makes my own commitment to the resolution pointless as a failure to achieve the resolution may not be a personal failure, and resolutions are supposed to be personal.

So, what resolutions can I think of? Well, the first one to jump to mind is to get a job. Don't have any control over that though. (If I did, I'd be employed and probably too busy to bother with this blog.) I can apply, restructure my resume, and write new cover letters, but that doesn't mean I'll even hear back from an employer. Quite frustrating really; never hearing back. Nothing I can do about it though but try again, eventually.

Another positive resolution I can think of is to find someone I can actually trust and rely on. Have friends I can trust, but not that I can rely on really. Quite sad, I guess. Kind of hard to be sure though since I've known such unreliable people for many years. To their credit though, it's just when it comes to me that they seem to be unreliable. I'm sure they are reliable when it comes to their work and other important responsibilities of theirs.

Really though, that last resolution is a positive spin on the actual resolution I thought of which is to continue to not trust in the the reliability of humanity and people. Instead I shall trust in chaos, which is a part of reality I made peace with long ago. Once you give up on having faith in plans, hopes, and dreams you can better prepare for failures, and move on from them more quickly. After all, there's always that unknown variable in an unpredictable pattern, so just try to control the others the best you can, and deal with what you can't. Things will just be how they will and should be. It is a stable equilibrium this chaos leads to, in other words.

I'm not the most cheery person, am I? Have a good New Calendar! Maybe it will be better than the last. My bet is the differences will end up neutral.