| Fallout 3 |
[Jan. 31st, 2010|07:36 pm] |
Possibly minor spoilers.
I've mentioned this before, but I've now played enough to know: I find the setting for Fallout 3 deeply, deeply flawed. This doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed the game, and there are even individual missions that have been fun. But every time the game mentions dates, or I have to look at one too many of the loading screens, I start getting upset about what they're trying to sell.
The premise of the world is that there was a nuclear apocalypse...in 2077. But Fallout is devoted to a very particular aesthetic style, one often called retro-futurism, drawing on imagines from the 50s and 60s to shape the technology and a lot of the background art. So, basically, the game is setting up an alternate timeline where that style dominated not just the immediate years after WWII, but an additional century beyond. Culture isn't that stagnant, and there would have been sufficient changes over time that the style would feel outdated to most people. Certainly, a company like Vault-Tec could easily have used that stuff in its advertising, but that doesn't mean I should encounter it everywhere.
The other obnoxious part is the date post-catastrophe. This one always makes me roll my eyes, because it's supposed to have been 200 years since the bombs dropped. And yet, every time I open a new medkit in a building that is full of human raiders, it's got some stuff in it. Not everything, granted, but at least something worth stealing. Vending machines standing out in the open usually have a bottle or two of soda left. Every time you get addicted and go to a doctor to have your system flushed, they tell you "it's going to cost you, but I've got pre-war stuff that will clean you out". Excuse me? What kind of stockpiles did everybody lay in, huh, that can last for 200 years without going bad?
Now, I haven't finished the main plot, much less done everything in the game, and maybe it will reveal that there are a dozen tiny manufacturers spread across the wastes that do turn out new products according to old recipes. And they don't advertise because they don't want to be taken over by raider hordes. And nobody wants to talk about them for fear that they'll get cut off by the paranoid recluses. Uh...yeah. Like I said, still worth playing, but many do I wish Fallout 3 and TES4: Oblivion had been made in the other order. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 24th, 2010|09:46 pm] |
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HEARTBREAKER. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 12th, 2010|12:26 pm] |
Actually worked out last night until I was too sore to keep going. Quite pleased, toying with idea of going again tonight(though I won't because that's a bad idea).
Ran errands today. Tomorrow, United Way volunteering investigation. In person, if the online stuff continues to be unsatisfactory. |
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| Recent video game discussion |
[Jan. 8th, 2010|06:03 pm] |
I've been playing some games recently, so I'm going to babble about them and some ethical situations they've presented. Minor spoilers. If I whine a lot about the games, it's probably because I've become addicted to Zero Punctuation.
( Read more... ) |
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| Apparently I'm 26 going on 13 |
[Jan. 7th, 2010|05:06 pm] |
-Cookies for breakfast
-video games
-chips for lunch
-phone calls from parents, while playing video games
-playing in the snow |
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| New year, money down. |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|12:48 pm] |
In the last few days I've taken a few more baby steps toward good things. The biggest one was joining a gym, something I've been meaning to do for a while. It's only a minor detour off my way home from work, so late night workouts are the plan from here on.
And something that definitely makes me feel older: bought a file chest for the important papers, that have previously been consigned to a wicker basket. Long overdue, and will help down the road.
Now I actually ought to work on the most important stuff, getting a better job and learning to be more social. |
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| Tidying up |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|11:52 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  calm | ] |
One of the things I've been meaning to do for, well, too long is clean my room: I never completely finished moving in, and there's a giant pile of papers, books, etc. all over the floor. I like the symbolism, using an early day of the new year to do at least some work cleaning up the mess I made in the old one. Along the way, I'm actually cleaning out my wardrobe, which I've never done before. I've known I needed to since I went to visit the family for Christmas, and realized that the one pair of slacks I owned simply didn't either fit or look as good as they did when I bought them ~5 years ago. However, I'm being more thorough than I expected to be, and I've been interested to see my reactions to some parts of the chore. T-shirts are the best example of this: I have a lot that I don't want to wear anymore, but have too much sentimental value to donate. So, there's a box tentatively labeled "gym shirts" sitting on my bed.
Oh, in other overdue news, I got an A in my Philanthropy seminar this semester. That has a lot to do with being allowed to do an extra credit presentation that was worth basically an entire letter grade. I'm glad I took the class, I learned a lot, and one of those lessons was that I do not want to be going to school full time again right now. I could, and probably should, do another post all together on a conversation I had with my mother about schooling/training(before I knew the actual grade, but after I told her I was at least guaranteed a B), but that is much more bitter than I'd like to be right now.
I hope all of you are doing well. I ought to talk to each of you more than I do. |
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| Damnit |
[Dec. 30th, 2009|12:09 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
Summary: my computer half broke.
Apparently, your computer "being unable to expand" a security patch and primary browser update is bad. Not only does the browser not work, but all of the nice convenient shortcuts don't either: no dock, no dashboard, etc. It won't even soft restart/shut down. And the software now says that it's up to date. I got the whole patch separately, but I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do with it once it's on my desktop.
I'm trying to decide whether I should take it in for a diagnostic and see if an expert can set me straight. This is fucking annoying. |
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| Too long. Again |
[Dec. 17th, 2009|05:31 pm] |
As the year winds down, I've been increasingly pessimistic about the nation's political situation. The absurdity of President Obama accepting the Peace Prize and after choosing war in Afghanistan. The big banks sleezing their way out of TARP with barely a lesson learned(except maybe that they can do it again and get away with it). The important measures that keep being cut out of the health care plan.
Then I started doing some reading, with the intent of blasting the health care plan in more detail, and I remembered: as much as has been taken out, there is still good stuff left. Not as much as the country needs, no, but still probably a step in the right direction. Sure, it's been easy for me to criticize Obama and Congress for not going far enough, but I have to remember that the legislative system is really slow, and even a strong majority is going to move slowly on such a big issue. In effect, compromise on health care is the price we pay for not having social security privatized by WBush several years ago. |
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| On replayability |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|11:32 pm] |
One of the things that comes up a lot in the video games I play is replayability. I usually consider the possibility that I'll want to play a game again as a good thing, even though I rarely do so much anymore. Still, its something I often consider when deciding to buy new games, especially since I buy new games so infrequently.
However, a few years ago I started to realize that there is a near-infinite level of replayability that is really, really bad for me. The classic example of this are the games in the Civilization series. Even winning a game doesn't necessarily mean that you've "finished", because you can immediately start again and have a somewhat different experience of playing the game. I find this incredibly compelling, and this style of game has eaten up more of my playtime than any other over the course of my life.
The other example was one I realized only a few weeks ago, but it prompted this post. That was the football game I own, NCAA 08. I don't find that replayability in the individual games of football, but rather in the mode where you act as head coach, guiding a team's strategy and recruiting players to replenish your team. The process is very repetitive, since football seasons are much like each other in an unchanging computer environment. Still, especially in the recruiting aspect, the game continually serves up varied conditions that compel me to keep playing.
So, why do I call this bad? Well, there are two reasons. The first one is actually something I've only been doing the last few years, which is trying to take trophies. I do want to have a stack of good games on my shelf that I have "finished" (by which I mean completing the main plot and as much of the additional content as I find enjoyable: usually probably ~70% of stuff to do in a modern game). I like being able to say I beat something and know it well enough to talk about, and playing more games gives me more geek cred. By contrast, the endless games don't do that. Since they never end, they never go on the shelf(huh. I wonder how MMOs relate to this theory).
The other problem is related. When I'm off a civilization building binge, i suddenly realize that I don't have a lot to show for it: I rarely learn anything, I haven't talked to anybody since it's a solo game, and I've missed out on other things to play turns in games I won't remember. It's a depressing feeling, but I always get roped in again.
Huh, I should sleep. Hope people have enjoyed this.
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| Realization |
[Oct. 22nd, 2009|09:28 pm] |
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Working on a foundation's staff is more or less like BelCon's FOC. Except for way more money. I think I get it now. And I'm tempted to see if I can get a job in the field. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 8th, 2009|12:32 pm] |
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I now have keys to a condo in one of the most beautiful parts of town. Lease is signed, and I have the month to move in. Which I'm going to need, because I haven't even started packing, school is starting, and I still have to work. Oh well. Glad I'm getting it done. And even though my commute will be longer now, some of it will be through a beautiful neighborhoods. |
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| Eulogy |
[Sep. 5th, 2009|08:45 am] |
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I'm going to miss you, Minnesota Summer 2009. You were the best example of what a summer can be that I can remember: a few days of nasty heat/humidity to remind us of it, and otherwise just generally warm and pleasant weather for us to enjoy. No flooding, no drought, minimal amounts of other bizarre weather...you were great. I hope that those that follow in your footsteps are just as great. |
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| An anecdote |
[Jul. 27th, 2009|07:20 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  groggy | ] |
Last Thursday I stopped at the toll road oasis at Des Plaines, Illinois, mostly to get a few minutes reprieve from the heavy traffic and heavy rain (and hail!) that were making driving rather unpleasant. As I was heading back to my car, I looked up and saw a large airplane flying low overhead. It seemed much too low given how far we were from O'Hare, and so I tried to get a closer look and see what company it belonged to. I looked and saw a white bottom and a light blue top, and on the tail fin was an American flag. With a holy shit, I realized I was seeing Air Force One buzzing the air before Obama touched down to go on the stump. It was a highlight of the trip, certainly. |
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| A plug |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|05:47 pm] |
I would encourage each and every one of you to go visit Cleveland, and just spend an hour or two driving around, especially the residential areas.
After Cleveland, every city that I've visited recently seems vigorous, healthy, and very well maintained by comparison. Sure, they have their bad spots, as Cleveland has it's good ones. But man, even you're average strip mall in suburban Chicago looks a lot better when you see how much worse it could be.
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| In Cleveland |
[Jul. 17th, 2009|10:09 am] |
I'm in Cleveland, visiting ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) nathan_lounge . It's been good, but I wanted to include a few observations of the tour of downtown Cleveland that I got yesterday.
The most striking thing about the downtown is just how empty most of it is. Many of the smaller buildings have "for sale/lease" signs on them, and the street traffic was fairly minimal, even though we were driving around at noon. Shopping centers weren't busy, traffic wasn't heavy, and parking was readily available. It wasn't a pit or a ghetto, but rather almost like a graveyard, with the large old stone buildings towering over the streets. It's unfortunate to see any cities in such decline, even though I doubt Cleveland is the worst in the nation, especially right now.
Another thing that surprised me, is the way skyscrapers are distributed around the downtown. It's fairly haphazard, with them sort of jutting out from the rest of the buildings at some separation from each other. To keep pushing the graveyard simile, they were the obelisks standing up from the sea of headstones, though hopefully they still have some life in them.
A last note was that most of the people in the downtown proper were clearly office workers. Downtown Cleveland is, exculsively, a place of business.
It was a remarkable contrast from Minneapolis, where even on the end of downtown where I work, there is a constant swirl of activity, and by people from all levels of society.
Alright, it's time for another adventure, so I better wrap it up. It's been a good trip, so far.
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 27th, 2009|10:47 pm] |
Just had the house broken into. The guy got spooked when he opened my bedroom door to find Zee and I talking. I chased him out, and he got away clean.
Nobody hurt. Nothing stolen, even though there was a 10-spot on the kitchen table. Counting my blessings.
I need renter's insurance. And, quite possibly, a new address.
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|03:19 pm] |
I've been playing a LOT of TES:Oblivion. It's consumed a fair portion of this weekend, and most of the last one. Good times, generally.
I bought a DS from a roommate(who is moving out) Thursday night. Maybe not the best deal, but it came with two Final Fantasy games, so I know I'm getting something I'll like. I haven't played with it much, though, because I can't play it at work, and I have Oblivion at home.
Other than that, life is alright. I work a lot, because we've been short.
I only have one other roommate right now. It's strange, but it's a luxury that I know I'll be paying for, so I'm glad that somebody else will be moving in in July.
Oh, and I've been enjoying the cold weather, especially if it means we'll have less full-blown summer.
Good luck out there. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 9th, 2009|07:21 am] |
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I may be really, really late for it, but it's about time I jumped on the West Wing bandwagon. Seen two episodes and already hooked. |
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| Good day |
[Apr. 18th, 2009|07:46 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  content | ] |
Days where the government tells you it owes you more money than you thought are always good days. |
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