On Merging

It's time for my "grumpy old man moment" this week.

Do they not teach people any longer how to merge into traffic on a highway or any roadway for that matter?

Unfortunately, I have to drive every day to and from work through two particular areas that, at first glance to some, might appear problematic when merging into traffic. One, admittedly, can require a stop. But more often than not, instead of people stepping on the gas pedal to merge into the traffic, they instead slam onto the breaks. I've seen plenty of people get hit in the rear end of the car because they decide last minute to apply the brakes instead of the gas.

Lesson people: You must match the velocity of the traffic you are merging into for them to let you in. It can't be done any other way. They aren't going to stop for you.

Galaxy is finished

We finally finishes Super Mario Galaxy!

I must say that it was a fine road that was traveled to reach this destination. I must also admit that it wasn't really I that reached the end first, but my son who is seven. Now I'll grant you that there were a few places he needed help but I think it is a testament to the designers that there is a game out that can appeal to, and be fun for, both an adult and young kids. Both my sons (5 & 7) enjoy it a great deal. Never did I think my seven year old would finish it before me though.

Now for the spoilers!! (You've been warned!)

(drag across the text below to see the spoiler text)

The ending boss battle was a bit lame. With all the incredible environments and the amazing battles that were faced throughout the journey to the end, couldn't they have thought of something better than a minor variation of the previous THREE (or four maybe) battles that were faced previously? It was mildly tough in parts but come on, there were some amazing things that were faced off against in various galaxies through SMG and this just seemed to pale in comparison.

Now for the good! I'm absolutely grateful that they didn't just end the game there. When you return to the game, you find out that you can get 50-60 more stars to get to a special place. What a tease! I know my son is going to try for it but I fear there is a very long road ahead.

For those that have finished, Congrats! For those that haven't, the journey is worth it and a whole lot of fun. This has to be one of the more enjoyable games (on a casual level) that I've played in many many years. I can't wait for the sequel.

Paying the IRS to file?? Huh?

Well, I finished my income taxes last night and sent them in the mail today via standard postal delivery. I was going to file electronically but had a fundamental problem with paying someone to file my taxes electronically.

Does anyone else find it extremely odd and just a bit unjust that we should have to pay to file our taxes electronically?? Particularly when it happens to be more efficient and cost effective for our government to process our taxes electronically.

I happen to be getting a refund, which is great, but now I have to wait an extra 4 weeks or so (approximately) because I don't feeling like handing over $38 to help the government be more efficient. This despite the fact that they owe me the money.

Can someone please explain the logic of this to me?? (I know, it's the government, there is no logic.)

Advertising in online video - Get a clue please!!

Alright, I've just about had it with advertising in the online videos of most of the major networks and many of the other sites that have "free" content supported by advertising interspersed in the videos they give for "free".

I have the free in quotes because, frankly, a bit of my mind and patience is sucked away with every last one of the commercials I have to watch. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not some crazy person who thinks everything should be free. I realize that these sponsors help pay for the content I'm watching for "free". But who the heck thinks I want to watch the same gosh darn advertisement SIX bleepin' times in the span of 30-40 minutes! Let's get just a bit creative can we please???

I rarely rarely ever watch any of the catch up episodes of shows on the networks and, after my last experience, I'll probably watch them even less. A week or so ago, I had to catch up on a couple of CHUCK episodes. I ended up watching the same 60 second (or was it 30 and seemed like 60) commercial perhaps 6 or 7 times. It was unbelievable. I mean, come on, get a clue would you networks please? Why would I ever want to see the same thing 6 times. I get the idea the first one or two times. Really! I remember it. It wasn't that long ago.

Point of fact, I probably am now less likely to support that sponsor than ever before. I just don't like getting hit over the head with a hammer repeatedly. It hurts!

I just experienced the same thing on GameSpot, and GameTap. Both sites play the same darn commercial EVERY SINGLE TIME. Ok, GameTap does mix it up a small bit but they rotate between maybe three different videos. Thank goodness they are short.

So, come on internet web sites out there, let's get with the program and play the commercial ONCE! And I do mean ONCE!! Not once per view. Not once per hour. Not once per game. No, just once is enough. If you want to do it again, at least wait one day. I'll give you that much slack but no more. And do give me that excuse about having some commercials play more than once in a sitting on TV. No, that won't work. I've got a DVR that gets me right by those. Nope, that just doesn't fly.

Oh, and for the record, I'm boycotting everything I have to watch more than once a day.

All you websites out there have been warned!! You have no excuse now!

Elevators - Out BEFORE In

Nothing earth shattering here. I spent several trips on an elevator today and just for the sake of my sanity, would someone please start teaching people that you let people get OFF the elevator first, and then you can get ON.

Why is it so hard to understand this?

An Honest Actor!

I think I'm going to go see or rewatch all of John Rhys-Davies movies just because of him being so honest and not full of crap like so many other actors and actresses.

Check out this article at 1up.com.

Just a smidgen of a quote from 1up.com about the Dungeon Siege movie and why he's in it:

"I'll be honest with you. The builders have not finished my house and I was going mad and I thought, this could be fun," the actor said. "'Who else is in it? Burt's in it? Oh, I'm on."

Can you be more honest?

(ok, so maybe I won't watch them all, dang he's made a lot of movies...)

Thou shalt not bear false witness

I'm going to talk about politics but only in a round about way. I usually avoid it since I pretty much hate politics and I've never been a very good debater either. Recognizing ones limitations and not venturing beyond them is a good thing usually. In this case, I'll make an exception.

I'm constantly getting bombarded by acquaintances with emails related to the election stating how one candidate or the other is the devil and can't be trusted. Probably they all can't be trusted but when there is so much accurate and available information about the candidates that can easily condemn them on one position or another, why do people think it is necessary to spread the WRONG information or out and out lies about people to make their point.

The latest one I received is one regarding Obama and how he can't be trusted and is going to ruin the US if elected BECAUSE (and this is important) he is a radical muslim hiding in christian clothing and he won't say the pledge of allegiance and, in so many words, he's a terrorist in disguise. What the heck? Almost any reasonable search for information regarding Obama will tell you a great deal of what is stated in the email is false. The worst part is that typically, I receive these emails from my fellow Christian brother or sister and this one was no exception. Thus the title of this entry in my blog.

Of course, I "reply all" with only one link with information refuting the statements and I'm instantly an Obama lover and an atheist and I'm out to ruin the country. It really doesn't matter that the original email was mostly false and contributing to some sort of mass hysteria and paranoia about muslims. Never is there, "Oh sorry, I didn't realize that was wrong."

I'm not sure who I'm voting for yet and since the election isn't today, I don't care to make up my mind just yet. I happen to think Obama is a bit middle of the road and wants to be liked by everyone (who doesn't) just a bit too much. I wasn't taking a stand for or against Obama, just defending the truth. Had it been a "Don't drink Coke because it's Draino disguised as a soft drink" I would have replied just the same if the information was not true. I really can't stand the forwarding of these emails without fact checking first. That is all. Nothing more to it.

My rant here and my replies to these emails will surely not stop the delivery of these untruths in the future but what would blogs be if we didn't have them to vent our frustrations. I'm only human and I'm certainly not perfect but if we thought for a moment and really did pay attention to those simple commandments God gave us of which the title is one of them, we'd all be a lot better off. At the very least, the atheists of the world would at least not be able to constantly refer to us Christians as the hypocrites we so often are.

So come on people, stop the lies. And if you can't, please don't send them to me!

Richard Pryor was a Genius

OK, it wasn't exactly Richard Pryor but the character he played in Superman 3 that was a genius.

For those of us that had the displeasure of actually watching Superman 3, you may recall Pryor's character makes a boat load of cash shaving a penny off from millions through, if I recall, rounding errors or something. Who would have guessed he'd predict the future of banking, cell phones, gasoline prices, electricity, and any number of other industries.

The banking and credit card industry is the best obviously, just look at all the fees they have and penalties you pay. Oh, and don't let a bill be late by a day or they'll wack you $30 or $40 bucks despite the fact that you actually mailed it in time or worse, paid it online before the due date but they choose not to debit it for 3 days.

Look at what happens when you cash or deposit an out of town check. The banks get to hold on to YOUR money for 5 days in many cases! That was understandable when your check had to be sent by plane from one place to the other to get the funds. That is ancient history now. When you deposit a check, it should be in your account immediately if not at least by the very next day.

I've decided that I'm going to open a chain of hotels and charge $19.99/day for the best rooms. Of course, I'll charge $5 per flush of the toilet, $50 to get a key, $25 to turn on the TV, and every flick of the light switch will be $10. Mixed in with all those extra taxes and fees they already charge, no one will ever notice.

I wish I'd paid more attention to Superman 3 when I first saw it. I'd have realized the wave of the future was charging pennies to millions instead of dollars to few. The one thing I couldn't have foreseen is that no one would have been able to do anything about it.

24 hours just isn't enough

I know this is ridiculously obvious but I feel this way more than ever the last few days and weeks.

24 Hours in one day just isn't enough!

I mean, it isn't enough to get the non-essential, goofing off type of stuff accomplished let alone the real things that probably should matter.

I come home and eat and then help kids with homework or read with them and before I know it, it is time for them to go to bed. I don't mean I want them to go to bed but that it is best for their health and well being that they actually do get some sleep.

The funny thing is, the kids think we're "punishing" them when we make them go to bed on time and that somehow we just don't understand. Well, I'd like nothing better than to keep them up another hour or two and play some board games with them. Thank goodness my younger ones can't play RTS games online with me yet or we'd have serious issues. (well, they could but it wouldn't really be fair now would it...)

Or what about that neat National Geographic or NOVA special (of which there are dozens on my Replay saved) that we haven't watched yet. When will we ever find the time?

That's why I'm blessed to have time at the end of the year (usually) to take some time with the kids while they are off and do nothing but play board games all day. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always a blast and important but the real fun is the day after. Nothing to do but play games. The same goes for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Hopefully we'll have the same amount of time then to break out the latest box of fun.

So I say to all of you:

Happy Day After Christmas!

More Galaxy

While my friends discuss loftier topics, I'll continue to do the really important stuff of talking about, what else, games.

I've continued nibbling away at Super Mario Galaxy little by little and I'm struck by just how truly wonderful this game is. It is such a casual and entertaining bit of simple gaming that I can't really say enough good things about it. It really reminds me of the simple pleasures of games of the past.

With that said, I did actually find a bug when doing battle at the Reactor stage. The boss (Bowser in this case) tries to jump and stomp Mario and actually jumped off the planet and presumably into infinity. It was very weird. I just ran around the planet for about 3 or 4 minutes waiting to see if anything would happen and had no choice but to exit the stage and return to the observatory. And of course, I had a nearly perfect run through that level that time. I can't say I've found too many bugs in console games before.

One thing that is absolutely fantastic about the game is the way they mix up the early stages so that they have some replay value. Many of the stages have variations that pop-up due to a comet flying around and when the comet is around a particular planet/galaxy it modifies the game play by speeding it up, having it timed, becoming a race, etc. I only wish the Cosmic Mario race wasn't so difficult. I've only run against him once and it seems to require a near perfect execution of all the moves to even keep up.

The other thing I'll briefly mention is that, at first glance, the controls seem so amazingly simple. And to the player, they are simple. But what people I'm sure don't realize is how the designers managed to subtly adjust the controls for each situation so that you don't actually have to think about what way to move the controller to get Mario to run in the right direction. If you push forward and happen to pass around the edge of a platform and end up upside down, technically, the push forward should force Mario in the opposite direction. The designers had the good sense to let Mario keep running in the same direction. If you stop and then push forward again, guess what, he runs exactly the way you'd expect him to but in precisely the opposite direction that the same action had him going just a second prior to that. It's truly amazing and it is apparent how much the designers thought about the controls to make sure the 3D environment and strange angles of the camera don't screw the player up. Everything is very intuitive.

Anyone who owns a Wii should absolutely have this game.

They'll be missing a great time if they don't.

Tip of the Day

Keep the top of your head pointed in the opposite direction as the force of gravity on whatever large object you happen to have your feet planted on. (or did have feet planted on as the case may be)

Mario can take it

I was just thinking the other day that a lot of my posts are negative and I was going to vow to not be so lopsided in my posts. However, since there are so many positive reviews of Super Mario Galaxy, I felt it was my duty to take good ol' Mario down a notch. Don't worry though, Mario is tough and he can take it.

I have two gripes:

• My kids now fight over the Wii because only one person can really play at a time. They even fight over whether someone should assist as a second player. I say this only half jokingly.

• You can't save anywhere you want and anytime you want. Normally I wouldn't think much of this but it is exceedingly frustrating to try and get the kids off the system (or myself for that matter) at a moments notice when you can't save just anywhere you want. You either have to exit out of the galaxy you are in forfeiting progress or hang in there a bit longer and hope you can finish the level out. I understand the technical reasons you can't do this. Without a hard drive, saving the state of the system is difficult. It is the one thing (and I do mean one thing) that right now keeps Galaxy from being perfect.

If only other games had it so good.

I'll take Galaxy for $25

Well, sort of...

I discovered at the last minute that Toys 'R Us had a special running to get a $25 Gift Card when purchasing a copy of Super Mario Galaxy. Of course, I had to go get it which was great since I really didn't want to wait until Black Friday.

For a really good review, check out GameSpot's site.

The quick answer to whether to buy it is YES, go buy it. It is a great game. I've not played too far into it but it really is a stellar achievement. It's a qualified BUY because if you have no interest in platform games, then this probably won't appeal to you.

It is a masterpiece of presentation. It is also quite a piece of programming. I have to hand it to the developers for figuring out how to make such incredibly complex worlds that Mario can walk and run and jump on. All this is done while still keeping the controls simple and intuitive.

The other thing that they did which I really appreciate is that they added the ability for a second person to participate in a cooperative fashion and really feel like they are contributing. At first, when I read how it was handled, I thought it would be lame but it is actually quite fun.

It is most certainly a game that is worth purchasing if you have a Wii. Nearly anyone will find it enjoyable unless you really only like first person shooters or racing games. This game really sets the bar very high for others that are coming out with Wii games. Everything from here on out will be compared with it and I feel sorry for the other developers. They are all going to have their work cut out for them.

Wii Shortage or Wii Ambush?

This probably isn't at all close to what is really going on but wouldn't it be really cool if Nintendo, on Black Friday, opened the floodgates on all the Wii's they've been stashing the last few months and just let loose with an ambush that no one saw coming?

It would be pretty funny and would have Microsoft (and Sony but are they really a player?) scrambling to figure out what to do. It is sad when Microsoft and Sony are banking on a Wii shortage to boost sales of their consoles. I don't happen to hate the XBOX 360 but I wouldn't mind if Microsoft had the smug little grin wiped off their faces this holiday season.

My Apple Dilemma

I know I'm beating a dead horse here and you must forgive me. I still can't help myself so I'll say it.

Apple must be totally oblivious to the market and truly not care how they've priced their systems because now they are incredibly out of tune with the rest of the world.

My wife and I desperately would like to get a Mac laptop. She likes the Mac, I like the Mac, both of us think it would be fun to have and be a bit easier to use down the road. We're both willing to suffer through the transition to OSX given we have no Mac software and for a while, we'll probably run Parallels or Fusion so we can run some Windows apps.

While that sounds fine, in practice it is going to pretty hard to justify the price premium now on the MacBook Pro (the preference since the MacBook has a substandard video card). Apple set their prices quite a while back and when the MacBook Pro premiered, it was on parity with the rest of the laptop world. This isn't true any longer. Not by a long shot.

I configured two Dell Inspiron laptops today that are comparable to the "low end" of the 15" and 17" MacBook Pro. Imagine my shock when, after configuring nearly identical systems, the 15" was $1000 cheaper and the 17" was $1300 cheaper. That doesn't even include the $200 Gift Card Dell is throwing in now with that same purchase so depending on how you view it, you could knock another $200 off those Dell prices.

To be fair, these prices used a $500 off coupon that Dell has out right now. You could exclude that but it would still be a far cry from the Apple prices. The problem is, Dell ALWAYS has these kinds of coupons so I figure you have to factor that in.

Is OSX really worth the price premium being charged? That is basically what you are paying for plus, I'll argue, a more elegant looking design. The MacBook is simply a more attractive notebook PC.

We've hashed out he merits of the price difference before (see here) of which there are arguments the used market helps eliminate the price gap and the features and benefits of OSX add to the value and Apple doesn't care to sell a whole lot of notebooks. I'll agree but $1000 and $1300 difference??? You are talking, in both cases, nearly double the price. In the case of the $1000 Dell vs $2000 Mac, we could hypothetically figure that I'll get $200 for the Dell used in 3 years and $1000 used for the Mac (optimistic I think) and that still puts the Dell at a better deal.

So where is the Apple Holiday Special? Do we have to wait until Black Friday to hear about it. Is there even going to be one?

My mind and soul want to say Apple but my wallet wants to say Dell (or some other cheaper alternative). I sure wish Apple would make this easier.

Beware the Exception

At least in the case of Circuit City you need to beware!

Circuit City has a price protection plan called their Unbeatable Price Guarantee. To quote it:

Q: Will Circuit City match its own prices?
A: Yes, if you purchase an item from us (in-store or on circuitcity.com) and we advertise the same item at a lower price within thirty days of your purchase, we will refund you 100% of the price difference. Bring the advertisement and your original sales receipt to your local Circuit City for the refund.

Of course, you need to beware the EXCEPTION:

Circuit City's Unbeatable Price Guarantee does not apply to services, nor does it apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, mail-in offers, free-with-purchase offers, limited quantity offers, bundled promotions and special financing. Circuit City's Unbeatable Price Guarantee does not apply to products and services offered by third parties operating in Circuit City's stores.

Under what circumstances would there ever be an advertised special that isn't a "Special Offer or Promotion" is my question? Isn't that the point? When would Circuit City or anyone else for that matter advertise a price anywhere unless it was a "Special Offer or Promotion"? Sounds like a wonderful escape clause if you ask me.

Buyer Beware as usual.

Why does this matter? Well, I wanted to buy Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii tomorrow even though I happen to know that there is a special being offered on Black Friday and the Saturday following for $15 off. You would think I'd be able to use their Unbeatable Price Guarantee (say that with a little reverb in a deep voice for the best effect) and get my money back. Guess not! I wonder how many other consumers will be out of luck because of this?

Personally, I'd like to say the heck with Circuit City but I'll probably end up waiting until Thanksgiving anyway. My Wii Remote will just have to wait a little longer I guess. $15 is just too much to part with willingly. Either way, CC is probably losing money on that as a loss leader so it'll be my way of sticking it to them!

People are going to think I'm obsessed with video games and I'm not really. I just like to blog about them. Honest....it's true...

Simple and Incredibly Fun Game

Desktop Tower Defense is easily one of the best Flash based games I've played in a while that isn't a simple derivative of every other puzzle game out there. It has some elements of strategy and puzzle solving, an online scoreboard, and you get to blow stuff up. What more could you ask for?

Well, how about Multiplayer Desktop Tower Defense for starters. It is in the works and due to be released soon. Try it out. You too can drop into the vortex of lost time.

WiiCade = Cheap Fun

If you have a Wii and want to enjoy some cheap thrills, browse using the Wii Web Browser ($5) to www.wiicade.com and check out some of the Flash 7 games that have been uploaded, sorted, rated, and made available for Wii users to play. They all still work on your PC too but most of them are a lot more fun with the Wii Remote.

My personal favorites are:

Dice Wars (Risk)
Interactive Buddy (who knew hand grenades could be so much fun)
Dice Mogul (Monopoly)

Check it out!

Game Developer meet Game Player

Why is it I can play a game and instantly within an hour or so see problems with it?

I really don't understand how a game can be in development for any reasonable length of time, play tested by players, previewed by critics, and then have noticeable flaws instantly out of the gate or within the first few hours of game play. It defies comprehension and seems to me to say to the game player that the developers really couldn't care less.

My best example at the moment is with the new Wii game "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games". It looks like it actually will be a really fun game over time. The problem is, they really screwed up some simple things.

First, they only have FOUR (yes, four) save game/data slots for tracking stats and progress in the game. For some, this may be fine, but listen, I've got 2GB of SD storage on a plug in card and more internally on this Wii of mine and I can't use it! Why do these companies, particularly with Nintendo based games, put such severe limits on save space? Why do they need this artificial limit? I've got six people in our family and sometimes a friend comes over too (yes, it is known to happen) and I've got to now figure out who gets to use the save game slots. What a let down.

Second, they don't save stats in multi-player games. What??? I thought the whole point of the Wii and to a large extent, this game, was to foster togetherness and group play. Well, guess what, if you decide to do that, you can't unlock anything and you can't save any of your records. Yeah, that's encouraging us all to play together. Way to go Sega! The best example I can give is that my wife absolutely blew away the Olympic Record in the Javelin, she got excited, wanted to see her score on the leaderboard (yes this game actually does use the online element...but more on that later), and guess what, it isn't there. It isn't saved anywhere. She crushed this event and has nothing to show for it. All they had to do is let you tie a character or Mii to a save game area so it always shows your scores and tracks them. If they couldn't do that, they could have at least just asked where to save the data each time. This is a big disappointment.

Third, why do companies insist on forcing me to watch all the cute stuff all the time. Some of the replays and medal ceremonies are cute the first couple of times but frankly, I just want to play. After the umpteenth time watching the stupid ceremony and the medal crap, I want to scream. You can click past it sort of but everything just takes too long. I want to get into event, play, and then retry, and I want to do it as fast as possible. There should be an option that says "Cute - ON/OFF" or something.

Fourth, is it too much to ask for real instructions? The number of Olympic games represented are vast in this and each game for the most part uses the controllers in a very different way except for the running events. Was it really that technically difficult to show real video examples of how the dang control scheme works? The animations and icons are about the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Also, apparently, the developers don't know the difference between horizontal and vertical either.

Finally, the whole leaderboard scheme, while welcome, is badly managed. Don't get me wrong, I'm so very thankful for a game that finally actually uses the internet connection. Even the vaunted and greatly anticipated Super Mario Galaxy that is soon to be released doesn't use it (I think...) so it is nice that the internet connection isn't totally wasted. But why can't I scroll the whole list? Does it really take that much memory? Why can't it auto-update? They also blew it with how they track the scores here. I can't post anything if I'm playing a multi-player game and it would be nice to know just a little bit more about the scores such as when they were posted and from where. Why can't I see the online records while actually playing an event either? Was that so difficult? Oh, and did I mention you can only have FOUR names tied to the Wii in this game?? Oh yeah, I did didn't I. It was also disappointing that you can't play a friend online either.

With that said, I still like the game. I just can't understand why they didn't perfect it. I've only played for a few hours and if I can pry the controllers away from my kids, I'll actually try it again soon. I think it'll offer a lot of game play value. It's the first game so far that made me think that I didn't make a mistake buying the Wii. Hopefully Galaxies, releasing next week, will further convince me of the same.

Oh one last thing. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking the Wii is cheap. Sure, the console is only $250 but don't forget, you need to buy at least one more Wii Remote and Nunchuck for $50. On top of that, if you really want to play four players at a time, plunk down another $100 for two more Remotes and Nunchuks. If you don't have a GameCube, you'll need a Classic Controller for $20 too. Grand Total for Wii = $420!! You haven't even bought a game yet.

Sure, you can spend that on the other systems too and more for controllers but guess what, I can play online with them too and make the person I'm playing with buy their own dang controller. I sure hope they work out some way to make online play really click with the Wii and soon. How else am I suppose to crush my friends and family from far away?

Wii, the Chicken, and the Egg

The Wii seems to have a bit of a Chicken and Egg problem.

This interview with Jonathan Smith, producer of Lego Star Wars, really steams me. In it he states:

The game will feature co-op online play for both the PlayStation 3 and the 360 but not for the Wii. Smith explained the decision by saying, "Our reservation is not many people play the Wii online. Let's see what happens in the future."

Uh, what??

How many games can you really have a great online playing experience on the Wii with? If I recall properly, there aren't a whole lot. The only way online play on the Wii is going to be popular is if someone like him, the game developer, actually puts online play into the game. I don't recall being able to magically add online play to any game I desire.

So come on game developers, let's get with it and start putting real online play into Wii games.

Pretty please...