Where do all the pens go?
We always hear about people who do laundry and come out missing a sock, never to see it again.
Pens, like socks, are a zero sum game. They exist. If one room loses one, another room gains one, right?
So why am I always losing pens? They have to have gone somewhere, right?
I vaguely remember this guy:
David Legler Wins Big on Twenty-One
And for a brief time, the show produced the biggest game show winner of all time. Naval submarine lieutenant David Legler won $1,765,000 in six games over three episodes in February 2000, holding the record until Kevin Olmstead won $2.1 million 14 months later on WWTAM.
And here’s the Whoopsie:
Legler used the money to take his family on a European vacation and to retire his debts, investing the rest. This normally would have been sound, except the dot-com boom was already busting and the investments fizzled. “It was bad timing and bad advice,” shrugs Legler.
At least he came out of it debt-free.
I get home from running around today to find –
My eBay account has been hacked. Someone managed to change my password. I don’t think any damage was done. I was able to change the password back, and eBay has locked my account from being functional until such a time as I spend an hour (no doubt) on their live chat system to convince them that I’m really me again.
I went to change my e-mail account password as suggested by eBay, only to find out from my ISP that I need some sort of master password to get access to change e-mail passwords. I started this account with this ISP something like five years ago. I didn’t even remember that there WAS a master password, let alone what it is. I’ll have to call them, too, to find out what I can do so I can change my e-mail password.
UGH
I’ve had the system for a couple of days, and have only been able to play with it for two or three hours so far. Here’s some first thoughts. Just keep in mind — it’s all still new to me, and I haven’t invested a load of time in the system just yet. I’m sure I’ll learn more and get better as the weeks go by.
I look at this system as a long term investment. Games are just being created for a new control system now. It’ll take some time for the “killer app” to be released. (Some say it’s “Zelda” already. And some think the XBox 360 just is getting its killer app with “Gears of War.” Will PS3 ever have one?) It’ll take time for developers to learn how to take full advantage of the system. I only bought one game at launch, and I’m fine with that. I have a couple more on my Christmas list, and I’m sure I’ll pick one more up around Christmas time if none of them come through. But I’m patient.
Setting things up was easy enough. There are a few parts to plug in (sensor bar, power brick, video out to the TV), but nothing different from anyone else. I realize now that I need to get behind the TV to make order out of the spaghetti bowl of wires I have back there, but that’s not Nintendo’s fault.
Since the box is next to the TV, I had no problem with the wires being too short at all. Most are all still mostly twist-tied up. I think I would have preferred an internal battery pack to the external brick, but I’m not complaining.
I’m a taller guy with larger hands, so I was worried at first about the remote. Since this isn’t a button-masher kind of system, it turns out not to be a big problem. With the batteries inside the Wiimote, there’s enough heft to the thing to make it feel comfortable in your hand, neither tiringly heavy, nor so light that you flail about, forgetting it’s there.
Speaking of controllers, I need to invest in a couple of those Wavebird wireless controllers so I can play all my old GameCube games, too. Those controllers don’t have a long enough wire to play comfortably while sitting six feet away from the TV.
Wii Sports is a great pack-in game to start. Everything is simple, yet functional. You get to use the wiimote in a variety of ways, in very natural motions, with few buttons to push. I like that.
Tennis turns out to be the most addicting game. I have a lot to learn about the controls on it yet, though, I fear. While I can impart top spin and back spin on the ball, I still can’t get it to go in the direction I want it to all the time. That’s a matter of timing, I think. The hardest thing so far has been picking up on when I need to do a forehand as opposed to a backhand swing. And if you don’t decide fast enough, that fast action to get your hand/arm in place will often result in a swing the wrong way.
The most disappointing game is boxing. The controls are just a pain in my butt. Game play is tedious. I don’t care. It’s no MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH OUT!
That’s also the only game I’ve used the nunchuk with so far. I haven’t needed it for anything else, and I’m fine with that, particularly with the nunchuk shortage out there. Eventually, I’ll get a game that requires it to move around a 3D world, I’m sure.
Bowling comes in second on the Wii Sports favorites list. It’s the first thing I played Monday night, even after just getting back from my weekly bowling league. I’m pretty good at it right off the bat, too. I’m working on the hook now, but the straight ball is very simple and effective.
Golf makes me yearn for a full-fledged golf game, and we have one of those coming out in mid-December, thankfully. The controls are a bit off to me, still. When putting, in particular, you have to make a much larger back swing than makes sense, physically, to get the Wii to pick up on it. This is likely just a matter of getting used to the controls. Not everything is going to be mapped 1:1 from movement to game play. I understand that.
Baseball is OK, but almost too repetitious. I won easily and I know it would get harder as I go along, but I just don’t care that much. Plus, I nearly hurt my shoulder for no good reason playing it. Remember, all: subtle movements are best.
Super Monkey Ball is the one game I bought. I breezed through the first level in single player mode already. These controls will definitely take some getting used to. The arm strain was a little annoying, too, but that’s a learning curve issue. I was often overcompensating for what I saw on screen, and the camera movements around the character were throwing me off. I’ll adapt.
I’m thoroughly addicting to the Disc Golf mini-game, though. While the controls are simple (pick direction and angle), the motion you make to throw the disc is very familiar to me, as a one-time Ultimate Frisbee player. I have a lot to learn to finesse the game, but my first impression is favorable. Again, I’d like to see an entire game by itself for this. These nine holes are going to get boring quickly.
I wonder if Nintendo will get to the point where they — or a third party — can start developing smaller games like Disc Golf for download only? Or will they maintain a strict wall between Virtual Console for Classic Games only and physical discs for modern games? We’re probably at least a year away from knowing the answer to that one.
So far, so good with the Nintendo. I’m a patient man, so I’ll overcome any initial bumps in the road. But my first round has been a good one. I can’t wait to get another person or two involved at the same time, to see how much of a party game this system can be.
Keira Knightley to wed - Womanspassions.com
Keira Knightley is reportedly getting married.
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actress is apparently planning to tie the knot with her alleged fiancé, actor Rupert Friend, next year.
Though, really, what are the odds of the marriage lasting longer than three Hollywood years?
I live in Northern New Jersey, somewhere in the wild suburbia of Passaic County. Right next door is Bergen County, home to more malls and shopping destinations per square mile than you could imagine. And on top of that, they have something called Blue Laws. Those are laws that govern what can and cannot be sold on Sundays. Originally it was a religious thing. Now, it’s kept by the community — they seem to vote on it every other year — as a way to lower traffic in their area and have one day of relative sanity. All of the malls close, and all of the malls over the border in New York State and in Passaic County have huge crowds as people just go elsewhere.
So when all of the stores in Passaic County sell out of the Wii on Sunday, there’s a backup plan: Shop Bergen County on Monday.
I went to the Best Buy next to Garden State Plaza yesterday morning. Stood in line for about an hour as #64 or so. They had 84 units. They gave tickets out at 9:00 and the sale started at 10:00.
Here’s the funnier thing: Around twenty minutes to nine, people started streaming out of the mall with Wiis. There are three different gaming stores in the mall. Each had a healthy supply of Wiis in stock. (Stories ranged from 80 to 200 per store.) Each had very small lines. None were worried about selling out before the mall proper opened at 10. So, just to cover my bets, I stayed in line to get my ticket, then went over to the mall. I had ticket #47. Other people ran to the mall and never came back for a ticket, so I “moved up” in the line.
In the end, I was able to purchase a Wii for me, and a Wii for a friend. No problem. I probably could have picked up two more if I wanted to.
The Best Buy line was quite the experience. Very busy, and very slow despite six checkers running registers. The employees running the thing were friendly and helpful, though one seemed convinced that you couldn’t save any games to your local machine and so HAD to buy an SD card. (Wrong.)
I saw first hand the shortage of nunchuks. Did Nintendo not expect developers to use the Nunchuk? I wasn’t able to buy an extra one, though I had no problem buying a spare Wiimote.
They also ran out of the classic controller very quickly. Didn’t see any wires of any kind (component or sVideo) anywhere.
Best Buy had the 84 units lined up and labelled with numbers on the top, so your ticket matched a specific box. I think they had plenty leftover at 11:00, as many people who picked up a ticket ended up at the mall to grab one and just went home.
I only bought one game - SUPER MONKEYBALL. In talking to people in line around me and hearing what they had to say, I thought I’d go for it first, rather than the rabbits game whose name I can never remember. I’ll put MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE and that rabbits game and RED STEEL on my Christmas list. ELEBITS may make it, too. Best Buy had a $5 off coupon for MONKEYBALL, so I saved a buck somewhere on the day.
And the credit card company didn’t give me a problem for buying two video game consoles on the same day. Usually, I imagine that’s a flag for a stolen credit card.
So, to sum it all up: Being able to “camp out” in line on a day when all the adults are at work (I had some overtime I could cash in to go to work late) and all the kids are in school is a very good thing. Sure, it was a little cold, but once the numbness set in, who cared? ;-)
The lines were all friendly, like a pack of kids on Christmas morning. We all chatted about our horror stories in not getting one on Sunday. We talked games, shopping, computers, life. . . It was fun.
But then I had to go to work. And then bowling. I didn’t rip into the Wii until 10:00 last night. More on that a little later.
FOXNews.com - Famed Film Director Robert Altman Dies at 81
Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind “M-A-S-H,” “Nashville” and “The Player” who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions, died at a Los Angeles Hospital, his Sandcastle 5 Productions Company said Tuesday. He was 81.
I don’t think think I’ve seen any of his movies other than GOSFORD PARK, but that alone is a good enough movie to earn him a “legend” status. It’s a three hour plus movie that never stops moving. The choreography with the characters on screen is remarkable, and I don’t mean that in a dancing way. Just watch the way the characters glide across the screen and the way the camera meanders around them to capture the story is amazing.
I have the SHORT CUTS DVD around here somewhere. . .
Edit to add: I have seen KANSAS CITY, also, which was an enjoyable film, if not up to the level of his others, from all critical commentary.
My List:
I never watched the final season. I saw the first four or five episodes and found myself just not caring. By that point, the show seemed to lose its way. The behind the scenes drama took center stage from the show, and the whole thing was lost. It’s a real shame, because those first two or three seasons are real keepers. LOST fans should take special note: The one season featured Locke in a suit the whole season!
And I know he’s got another show on FOX already (though I don’t think it’s doing particularly well), but I think Jack Bristowe would be an excellent addition to the 24 cast.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Funniest Show On TV.
(Watched an episode of THE OFFICE last night. It’s a very close second at the moment, but it lacks The Shat.)
Finally. At long last. This was originally scheduled and pulled at the last possible moment a few months ago. I guess they got everything straightened out since then.
Please note: This is NOT the video game.
No, the world did NOT need another edition of this movie.
If I only had the time. . .
I should bah humbug this for having another special edition, but I love the Chuck Jones masterpiece too much to say anything bad about it. Sure, I could wish that the audio had been recorded 30 years later so it wouldn’t sound like a creaky record player, but what are you going to do? It still maintains its charm and hilarity.
Loved the first one. Never saw the second.
In the words of Bugs Bunny during WWII: Was this trip really necessary?
Ouch. Bad timing. Or maybe excellent timing. What do you think? Was Kramer’s recent blow up all about getting publicity for the DVD set? Is that just TOO conspiratorial, even for me? Yeah, probably.
Next week: Lots of Superman and lots of Kevin Smith. Plus, more special editions. We’re on at least the third separate edition of one movie next week, four if you count a change in packaging as an edition. . .
I’ll give you the long version of this story another time, but the short of it is –
I have a Nintendo Wii. And I’ll be breaking it open tonight.
Now I do the dance of joy.
Here’s a book that I plan on picking up this Christmas season. On The Edge: The Spectacular Rise And Fall Of Commodore is a new history of the computer company that is responsible for me being the computer geek that I am today. I used that Commodore 64 until I went to college in 1994, and it worked just fine. That was back in the day when you were a geek and a “teacher’s pet” for typing up your homework. I always found typing to be quicker and less painful than hand writing long papers out.
Nowadays, the high school kids want to type like they do on their cell phones for credit. My, how times change.
Slashdot | The Rise and Fall of Commodore
It’s a sad truth, and the book describes this in an often bitter fashion, that the early history of computers seems to focus on Apple, IBM and Microsoft while Commodore’s massive contributions to the industry are routinely ignored. The common misconception that Apple started the home computing industry is simply wrong. Commodore was the first to show a personal computer, the first to deliver low-cost computers to the masses, the first to sell a million computers, and the first to arrive with a true multimedia computer. Fortunately this book sets a lot of the record straight.
And be sure to read through the comments thread after the review for a real trip down memory line. I can remember some of those PEEKs and POKEs and all the sprite programming and Jim Butterfield’s book and typing in long programs out of magazines and — kids today don’t know how easy they have it.
Or, how hard. We learned programs by looking at them on paper and then typing them in ourselves, then altering them to see what happened. Today’s kids just throw the demo CD in and play the game or run the utility. No learning. You can go to websites that offer tutorials, but then you download the code and run it and barely ever look at it afterwards. Darn shame, all of it.
Doubts Cast on Hybrid Efficiency - Daily Auto Insider - Car and DriverApril 2006
Driving a hybrid vehicle costs more in terms of overall energy consumed than comparable non-hybrid vehicles, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc.
The Bandon, Oregon, auto research firm says in a news release that it spent two years collecting data on the energy necessary to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a vehicle from initial concept to scrappage. This includes such minutia as plant to dealer fuel costs, employee driving distances, electricity usage per pound of material used in each vehicle and literally hundreds of other variables.
To put the data into understandable terms for consumers, it was translated into a “dollars per lifetime mile” figure. That is, the Energy Cost per mile driven. […]
For example, the Honda Accord Hybrid has an Energy Cost per Mile of $3.29 while the conventional Honda Accord is $2.18. Put simply, over the “Dust to Dust” lifetime of the Accord Hybrid, it will require about 50 percent more energy than the non-hybrid version, CNW claims.
And SUVs are actually lower. The Hummer is a better deal, when looked at in this way.
Augie De Blieck Jr. doesn't know when to shut up, which makes him the perfect blogger. That, and he reads a lot of other blogs. You can e-mail him, if you really wanted to.
