Monday, October 31, 2005

Playing Catch Up

A most uneventful Halloween was had by us here tonight, but that's really for the best. For some reason, the faire really took the wind out of our sails yesterday. Saturday was awesome, though. I think it might have been the time difference combined with a significantly warmer day Sunday.

The world of Mobile Suit Gundam has been occupying most of my time these last few weeks. I've been downloading every scrap of it I can. I plowed my way through Mobile Suit Gundam (aka Gundam 0079), all 42 episodes, over the course of about 4 days. It's the beast that spawned years of anime. It's also a very well written show. Politics, war, love. It paints a sympathetic picture of both sides. It also shows the villains that are found on both sides. This is one of the things I've always loved about the Gundam series. Both sides can be hated and sympathized with at the same time. Plus all the really awesome mechas running about. Gundam 08th MS team, Gundam 0080 and Gundam 0083 I had seen before. I had caught many episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam, but never anything that amounted to a majority of them. MSG (ha!) has an awesome soundtrack, at least during the episodes. The main battle music, very full of brass and strings, makes it impossible to not bob your head in time. The original opening theme is...well, horrible and cheesy, but appropriate for the time. The animation is good, though. I just started Zeta Gundam. It's set some 7 or 8 years after the One Year War (Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam 08th MS Team). Many of the main characters from MSg are drawn back into the political struggle. The animation is amazing, and the music, especially the opening sequence, is epic and grand. just amazing. I'm on 35 of 50 episodes, having started this past Thursday. Bear in mind I was nowhere near my computer for two days straight.

We were finally able to hit the grocery store today. Which is exciting because Chris and I love to cook. So we're shopping and "You know what would be good? This and that together." "Yeah! And we have some of that, so let's get plenty of this!" "Score!" So we do. We don't bargain hunt for groceries, most of the time, but we do pay attention. x might be on sale, but we like y better, so we get y. Tonight Chris made some Guiness beer cheese soup with some Guiness cooked thick sliced bacon chunks in it. Yum! And using a little butter in the bacon grease, I fried me up some grilled cheese sandwiches to go along with it. Yum-yum. I plan to die of congestive heart failure in about three months. I'm well on my way, I think.

In sadder news, I have only one weekend of faire left. I always hate getting up so early to go, but I always love doing it. And I'll like having money again. It's not cheap for all of us to do faire as we do. Gas is expensive, especially for my car. Hotels aren't free. And we'd rather be broke and at the hotel than have a little cash and have to camp. Ick. So maybe we aren't "real rennies" for that. But we like air conditioning and hot tubs and pools and hot showers and soft beds and free breakfast. The last weekend is shaping up to be something very special, even moreso than usual, at least. I look forward to it.

ego te amo, Kae

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Geek Squad Gunslinger

So Geek Squad has two kinds of Agents(employees). There are the Counter Intelligence Agents, that do the in store work, like what I do. We're the best paid employees in the store outside of salaried managers, but we're still susceptible to the retail availibility requirements of working weekends. The Double Agents get to use the Geek Squad cars(which they hang on to), they get a nifty badge, get to
set their availability as best suits them, and make money more like a Geek Squad Supervisor. Or better. Because of their mad kung fu skillz. Also, the Double Agents don't report in to the infrastructure the same way normal employees do. They're responsible to the salaried managers and the district managers, but are pretty much given free reign, so long as the work gets done.

The computer area manager came up to me at the end of my shift today saying he needed to talk to me. He told me there was going to be an opening for a new Double Agent. He wanted to know if I wanted the job. He said "Your computer knowledge is top-notch. We're going to be opening up a new Double Agent position, and it looks like you're it." Glee!

hey tycho. yoink.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Jack Thompson, Total Douche. The Sequel.

So there's this webcomic. It's been around for many years. Turn of the century origins. In it's essence, it's just two guys who like video games and have an appealing sense of art and humor. Video games and gaming in general is their passion. And many of us in this world envy them because they make their livings making comics about gaming. And they seem to be doing right well at it. They are Penny Arcade. But in the last few years, they have been thrust to the fore of the gaming community. They have true power. They have their own convention up in Seattle. A webcomic. Hosting it's own convention. And it's a huge convention. Not only that, but they also use their power for the forces of good, organizing Child's Play, a nation-wide charity that takes donations of video games, toys, books, and money and donates them to children's hospitals around the nation for Christmas.

And now they're poised to take on politics.

As mentioned in my last entry, Jack Thompson, Douche at Law, has created his own version of Jonathon Swift's A Modest Proposal. Well, it seems someone made a mod for GTA III along those lines. Mr. Thompson flipped and said it was only satire, including his promise to donate $10,000 to Paul Eibeler's favorite charity, should said game be made. We, the gamers of this nation, called his bluff. But that's not the end of it, no. Penny Arcade did him one better. They actually donated the full $10,000 to the Entertainment Software Association Foundtaion. In his name. Eat it. Go here to see the third piece of the Thompson v. PA saga. Mr. Thompson, as seen in the news post I just linked to, attempted to involve the Seattle Police Department. That some one this completely off his rocker is respected by anyone is completely beyond me.

On a personal note, Jack Thompson wrote an email to the LiveJournal Game Politics, stating "You all seem rather bothered and worried about a nonentity. God is in this battle, and I am privileged to be a foot soldier. You all should be concerned, not about me, but about Him." Now, as a Christian, I am offended. There is no God in his actions. If he was working for God in this, he would be a lot more coherent, more serene. Instead he is incoherent, I'd say even bratty. This is not a man of God, ladies and gentlemen. This is an utter psychopath, spittle and everything.

long live the fighters!

Friday, October 14, 2005

Jack Thompson, Total Douche.

So there's this man in Florida. This man is an anti-gaming lawyer. He is paranoid and extreme. His personal beliefs seem to be that all gamers are time-bombs waiting to go off and kill lots of innocent people. Anytime any kid kills a bunch of kids, his reaction is "sue video games" not "where were the parents." He's gotten so bad, that even the National Institute on Media and the Family has said "Whoa there, ease up, hoss." Some of you have, by now, heard of his proposal for a video game. If you don't want to take the time to read it, here's the gist. A father takes revenge on anyone and everyone even loosely associated with video games after his child is killed by a kid who went crazy after playing a violent video game. He trakes down Paula Eibel(Paul Eibler) of Take This(Take Two/Rockstar) games and kills her. And everyone in the building. Then makes a mad mad killing spree across the nation going into and killing people in Best Buy's, Circuit City, EB Games, etc. All in a mad dash to make it E3 where he can kill everyone there. In exchange for this, he will give $10,000 to a charity.

Boy, he's a reasonable one, isn't he.

It seems that Gabe of Penny Arcade wrote him a letter detailing how paltry a sum that is compared to Child's Play, which he and his partner Tycho, were key in organizing. Child's Play has, in two years, collected more than $500,000 for children's hospitals. And these are amateurs. Not corporate nods, just a bunch of middle class gamers giving.

It seems Mr. Thompson didn't take that too well. Twice.

All I have to say is go for the jugular, Penny Arcade. We the gamers of this world are behind you.

where is my mind

Thursday, October 06, 2005

What a day.

So my raise finally kicked in. Went from just a little more than $8/hr to just over $10. Oorah! And I had a pleasantly short day. Even though I went in at 7, those first three hours were superbilicious. Got a part of my Geek Squad uniform, the rest is on order. Saw Serenity again. I'll need to see it this weekend, though. Just to be safe. Also, if anyone is interested, I'm selling off the old bits of Skywarp what are still good. Pretty cheap considering what you get in the bundle. And I won't get to appreciate my raise for another two weeks. Pity the poor me. Seriously.

pour me, pour me, pour me

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Captain Grey, '05, Part Deux


Man. I am hot.

i'm too sexy for my...armor?

Captain Grey, '05


Captain Grey has an alternative outfit this year! Hooray for lots of metal! Don't know as I'll wear it every day, though. If it's over 70 degrees outside, it's hot enough in the regular stuff. Metal breathes a whole lot less than layers of cloth, I tell ya what. But I think I look right smashing in the new stuff, don't you?

hush hush, eye to eye

Can't Stop the Signal

Wow. A lot to report. Skywarp is back online and better than ever, save for the need to reload all my software. But oh well. I'm just happy everything is working like it should. Or better.

Serenity. Oh. My. God. What a movie. One of the best movies of all time. But I'm biased.

Katherine. Oh. My. God.

Work is starting to lose the novelty, but that's ok, because right as the novelty wears off, my pay increase kicks in. It's a fair trade.

CRF opening weekend. Too damn hot, but otherwise fantastic. It was a little disappointing at the hotel, given the light crowd. But in other ways, this past Saturday night was the best of my whole life. And the best part about the CRF 2005 season? Guards don't carry any bodies off the field! Holy crap!

I might write up a more coherent entry later. Like when my computer isn't screaming at me to restart.

back in the saddle again