I Read Stuff!!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Getting Older

We rolled out to the Power and Lights district for my birthday last weekend. It's a very cool setup around a protected courtyard with multiple bars accessible from the inside.

We arrived pretty early, so the big screen was playing college football in the main courtyard. It dominated the atmosphere which wasn't what we were looking for. We wandered into Angel's Rock Bar in search of a dance floor.

This bar really confused me. The music was excellent, but it was entirely too loud for conversation. We found a table with no reservation sign, but we were quickly kicked out anyway. Apparently all the seating was by reservation only. The final letdown was the absence of a dance floor. No dancing, no talking, and no seating, I was at a loss as to the purpose of being there.

Then we found out there was an mechanical bull next door.

The bull was a blast. I have to say our group really stepped up and represented. The vast majority of riders were quickly thrown, while our group managed to last much longer. So much longer that we earned accolades from the crowd and the bull's driver.

I went twice, the first trip up I lasted a good while, more than 10 seconds. I was ultimately kicked lose by my own fear of being impaled on the bulls horns. My second attempt was much shorter, and I was clearly thrown off. This was probably due to inebriation, but it begs the question. Is it possible for a rider to outlast the bull's driver, or do the bull's controls allow the driver to toss a rider at whim?

My guess is that your time on the bull is entirely up to the driver.

We did eventually find a dance floor in the courtyard to cap the night off. All and all a very fun night, and I'd like to thank everyone who came out to celebrate with me.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ringtones



XKCD, you complete me.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

LOLCATZ

While I enjoy cute animals as much as the next guy, I usually don't propagate this kind of thing. However, this dog's ninja skills require attention and accolades.



And just to make sure I copy Geekologie exactly, I'll post the best game of Red Light/Green Light ever played by a cat.



I Can Has Cheezburger?

Monday, September 15, 2008

Maynard Would Never...

The set list for Guitar Hero World Tour has been released! I have to say it's good. It's not amazing, but it is competitive.

That being said there is one aspect of the list that is jaw dropping.

Tool - "Parabola"
Tool - "Schism"
Tool - "Vicarious"

I thought that this would never happen, but there it is.

A complete list of songs can be found here.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Mentos and Post-Its

By now, we've all played with Mentos and Diet Coke. It's an entertaining and sticky mess. Well think back to when it was becoming an internet meme. The people who really launched it were responsible for the video recreating the Bellagio Fountain.

Well, they've done another video. It's not as good, but it's still highly entertaining. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Sticky Note experiement:


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Still Alive

Good morning everyone. You need to take a good look around you and reassure yourself. You successfully survived the night. I know you're thinking, "Big deal. I've survived lots of nights."

True, but last night the Large Hadron Collider was turned on. Maybe you hadn't heard, but the scientific community believed there was a small chance that activating the LHC would obliterate the world.

But it didn't! Huzzah! Everyone, Sing Along!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Spore is Nigh

The critics finally have a copy of Spore, and reviews have started to trickle in. The consensus is that it's a fun game, but... The 'but' part is really what we've been expecting since '06. The game is very easy, but also that it appears to be Will Wright's attempt at a gateway drug.

The first stage, Cell, is basically a tutorial for arcade games like flOw and Geometry Wars. The second stage teaches a user how to move in 3D environments. You may laugh, but this is something that you have to learn. If you've never played a 3D game try Mario and find out how lazy your white matter is.

The third stage is basic Civilization style strategy, and the fourth stage is an intro to RTS. The fifth stage is the actual game. Industrializing the Universe against other rival species is where traditional gamers will enjoy themselves. Everything else seems to be targeted at hooking casual gamers into the game industry as a whole.

Definitely something I'll pick up, but I'll wait until it's $30.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

More Stats!

NDS annoyed many people to bring you this information.

What you cannot live without!

* 97% of US respondents said they couldn’t live without a washing machine
* 86% of US respondents said they couldn’t live without a microwave
* 62% of US respondents said they couldn’t live without a DVR
(You would think a refrigerator would rank higher than the DVR)

What you can live without...

* 64% said they could live without a home theater
* 58% said they could live without a landline

* 100% of Bothans want the NDS job...

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Mythbusters & NVIDIA

This is neat clip of the Mythbusters talking at a NVIDIA panel. Apparently NVIDIA hired Adam and Jamie to explain the difference between a scalar processor and a vector processor. Scalar processors are what your average computer contains, while new graphics cards and scientific computers contain vector processors.



Make sure you watch the video to the very end. They show you the action on a high speed camera.


Games
GameInterestRelease Date
Civilization IV1
C&C 31
Company of Heroes1
Half Life 21
Half Life 2: Episode One1
Supreme Commander1
Call of Duty 22
Darwinia2
Dungeon Runners2
Dungeon Siege II2
Far Cry2
Galactic Civilization II2
Hitman: Blood Money2
Jade Empire2
Neverwinter Nights 22
Prey2
Psychonauts2
Sam & Max: Episode 12
Titan Quest2
Dark Messiah Might and Magic3
Defcon3
Heroes of Might and Magic V3
Indigo Prophecy3
KOTOR II3
LEGO Star Wars3
Marvel Ultimate Alliance3
Space Rangers 2: The Rise of the Dominators3
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl3
Stubbs the Zombie3
War Front3
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos3
Infernal35/8/2007
Shadowrun25/9/07
Pirates of the Burning SeaM6/1/2007
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars?6/5/2007
Two Worlds?6/26/07
Sins of A Solar Empire?8/1/2007
BioShock18/21/2007
Mass Effect19/7/07
Age of ConanM10/30/07
Crysis1Fall 2007
Elveon?Fall 2007
Half-Life 2: Episode Two1Fall 2007
Portals1Fall 2007
Spore1Fall 2007
Stranglehold?Fall 2007
Tabula RasaMFall 2007
Team Fortress 22Fall 2007
Dragon Age?Winter 2007
Fable 2?Winter 2007
Field Ops?Winter 2007
Halo Wars?Winter 2007
Gods & Heroes: Rome RisingMWinter 2007
Haze?Winter 2007
Hellgate: London1Winter 2007
HuxleyMWinter 2007
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men?Winter 2007
Left 4 Dead?Winter 2007
The AgencyMSpring 2008
Empire Earth III?Spring 2008
Guild Wars 2 MSpring 2008
Jericho?Spring 2008
Sacred 2?Spring 2008
Savage 2?Spring 2008
Time Shift2Spring 2008
Universe at War: Earth Assault3Spring 2008
The Witcher?Spring 2008
CellFactor?2008
Darkest of Days?2008
On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkeness: Episode 122008
Warhammer OnlineM2008
Alliance: The Silent War??
Alone in the Dark??
Assassin's Creed??
BioWare MMO??
The Crossing??
Dungeon Hero??
Fallout 3??
Lego Batman??
Mythos??
Overloard??
Space Seige??
Culdcept SagaPC??
Gears of WarPC??
God of WarPC??
Beautiful KatamariPC??
OkamiPC??
Resistance: Fall of ManPC??
Odin's SpherePC??
Castle CrashersPC??

1 - I will buy it
2 - I'll buy it at discount
3 - Other people think it's good, but I wasn't interested when I first heard about it
M - Mainly Multiplayer. See if friends get interested.
? - Find out more about this game
PC? - Will it be released on the PC?