Archive for October, 2008

Stockholm Syndrome

October 29th, 2008 by peterb

I had been wavering on whether to buy Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360 or for Windows.

Normally, this would have been a no-brainer for me. I like playing games from the couch. But recently I reorganized my house a bit, and the feng shui of the room with the iMac is just about perfect for games. And, truth to tell, I’m a little irritated by the amount of noise the 360’s fan makes. So I was thinking it over.

The first blow came when I heard that Fallout 3 had a CD check. I’m a member of the laptop generation. I launch applications through a hyper-advanced alien technology known as “double-clicking”. The strange ritual you Earthlings have of digging through shelves looking for magical shiny tokens to insert in your machines repulses me. It is primitive, and I have made the conscious decision simply not to buy games that require me to keep a disc in the drive anymore.

Fortunately, Fallout 3 is also being delivered on Steam, a network-based service, and the Steam version would not require the CD check. So this seemed like the right solution to the problem. But in an uncharacteristic bout of responsibility, I decided to do some due diligence before clicking “Buy.” (more…)

Posted in Games | 25 Comments »

Nama Sake

October 27th, 2008 by peterb

As I’ve mentioned recently I’ve been on a Japanese liquor kick, enjoying the hell out of various hard-to-get-but-delicious Japanese whiskies. Whisky, of course, is a comparatively new import to Japan. Their classic liquor production tradition subsists in two drinks: shochu, a distilled spirit probably first imported from the Asian mainland, and sake, a type of rice wine or rice beer.

A friend of mine recently stopped by Astor Wines in New York and asked me if I wanted anything. So I decided to peruse their web site and saw that they had a sake collection beyond my wildest dreams. I’ve always liked sake, but never been wild about it. Given the chance, I decided to take a risk and get a sake that was slightly more upscale and different from what I could find here in PA. My gamble paid off. (more…)

Posted in Food and Drink | 1 Comment »

Pancakes

October 24th, 2008 by psu

I like pancakes.

I like them thick and fluffy and full of maple syrupy goodness. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find good pancakes. So finally out of desperation, I stole a recipe from Alton Brown. So now I get pancakes like this:

Pancakes

Every Sunday.
(more…)

Posted in Food and Drink | 12 Comments »

Minimum Standards

October 22nd, 2008 by psu

Ever since Fresh Air started putting up a daily podcast I’ve spent entirely too much time in the car listening to Terry Gross or one of her cohorts interview various people who are famous for various reasons. I have noticed something interesting about the “entertainment” related shows. Often they will perform a friendly interview with the director or star of some new TV show or movie. Everyone will sound intelligent and thoughtful, it will make you want to see the film. Then, later on, you will find out that the film is crap. After this happened a few times a little bulb went off in my head. That’s just like video game reviews.
(more…)

Posted in Culture | 5 Comments »

Unplayable Classics: Balance of Power

October 21st, 2008 by peterb

This is a brief review that will appear in next month’s PTD Magazine. Thanks to PTD for graciously allowing me to pre-publish it here.

We’ve all seen that guy. The one out on the dance floor, doing that shuffly dance guys do. The guy is convinced of his own savoir-faire. He’s convinced he’s talented. He’s convinced he’s irresistible. To everyone else in the room, however, he looks like a clumsy, embarassing dork.

In the world of computer games, that guy’s name is “Chris Crawford.” (more…)

Posted in Games | 9 Comments »

Camera Shopping Update

October 9th, 2008 by psu

It’s been about a year, so it was time to look around at the current round of compact digital cameras, since I grow tired of lugging my D200 around so much. Conclusion: they still all suck. So, dear photo industry, please get with it and make something good. Thanks!

Posted in Photo | No Comments »

Name That Tune!

October 7th, 2008 by peterb

I can’t get this song out of my head. I don’t have a copy of the original. I’m pretty sure it was from a commercial for color film from either Fuji or Kodak in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s. But I could be misremembering.

I jotted down the notes and made a brief MP3 fragment of the melody here. Please take a listen, and if you know what this is called, tell me. First person to correctly identify this song wins a beer or a cup of coffee, at their option.

Update: A million thank-yous to reader ErinK for identifying the song; it’s a Vivaldi Largo in D-major.

Originally aired on Sesame Street (also known as “my other mother”), many people remember this video as being about a Sunflower, although it looks more like a variety of daisy to me. Nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the window.

Posted in Culture | 10 Comments »

Ring of Red

October 6th, 2008 by peterb

A tip of the hat to Michael Collins who, knowing my weakness for turn-based strategy games, suggested that i check out Ring of Red, (or, in Unicodese, Ring of ?ed), a PS2 tactics/action hybrid.

There are advantages to not buying a game until 8 years after its release, and one of them is this: I was able to pick this up at The Exchange for a mere $7. Given the current state of the stock market, that’s about all I can afford. (more…)

Posted in Games | 2 Comments »

Good Press

October 3rd, 2008 by psu

I spend a lot of time complaining about the press to peterb. I will storm into his office and start drooling and ranting about how so much radio, TV and print coverage about so many subjects is so vapid, shallow, ill-conceived and flat out factually incorrect. Then he reminds me that I work in software, where time to market is everything, and I shut up.

So I’m happy when every once in a while I come across something in the press that is not vapid or shallow or ill-conceived or simply wrong. With the week that just was on Wall Street, I thought it would be appropriate to call out to This American Life and their show, The Giant Pool Of Money. Here is a piece of journalism that does everything that journalists say they are supposed to do. Anyone who is interested in understanding the mechanics of what got us into this mess must listen. Then listen to the followup show this weekend.

Posted in Culture | 2 Comments »