My superhero persona seems eerily appropriate:

Via The Llamabutchers (yeah, so what else is new?)

Posted by: JohnL at 07:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I suppose I should be happy that I'm indirectly represented on the Commissar's latest map, at least as a member of the MuNu Confederation.

Still, Texas has a unique and pleasing outline and distinctively anchors maps of the USA. I think a more direct reference with a Texas outline would improve the map.

Update: OK, so the Commissar didn't improve the visual appeal of his map with the pleasing outline of Texas, but at least my blog and Texas Native's earned an individual reference. Thanks, Comrade!

Posted by: JohnL at 04:47 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Stood in line at BestBuy last night starting at 10:30 to get my hands on a midnight-release copy of Halo 2. I was one of the small percentage of thirty-something-plus geeks in line (one or two guys may have been in their forties, but it was definitely a younger crowd). Kudos to my mega-cool wife for granting the kitchen pass for me to make the midnight run.

Got a free poster of the Master Chief (instant strife between my boys -- which one gets to put it on his wall??) and entered a drawing for a 3-foot tall statue of the Chief, but I don't think I won that. The doors opened promptly at 12:01AM and I exited the store less than 10 minutes later, probably the 50th person or so in Plano, Texas to [legally] own the game. Yay!

For the extra 5 bucks, I went ahead and got the Limited Collectors' Edition in the nifty aluminum case with the bonus DVD of extras (behind the scenes, outtakes, commentaries, concept art, etc.)

Got home in time to play it for an hour or so. The graphics are definitely several steps up from the original Halo. So far I haven't seen any ham-handed politicking, Lileks' concerns notwithstanding. The banter from the space marines is so far more varied and colorful, there are a few new species of Covenant aliens, and the new weapons (the battle rifle and SMG, esp. with the two-handed shooting option) rock.

A more objective review (not just subjective impressions) will follow in due course. If my posts are lighter than their already nigh-insubstantial form for the next couple weeks, you'll know what I'm doing.

Posted by: JohnL at 08:10 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Despite Lileks' buzz-kill references to latent politico-idiotic subtexts in Halo 2, I am so there next Tuesday (November 9) to get Halo 2 at the local Best Fry's CompUSA Buy whatever...

I will of course post my impressions of the game as I defeat the Covenant and make the Universe safe for Humanity.

I think Lileks, as much as I respect his writing, is reading way too much into the comments of the producer, Joe Staten, who said, "'You could look at [the story] as a damning condemnation of the Bush administration's adventure in the Middle East.'' I don't know where he got that, since it is quite obvious that the bad guys in this story (the Covenant) are clearly the equivalent of the Islamonazis, not the augmented-human Spartan warriors or the orbital drop shock troop (ODST) Space Marines.

In the end, it's just a game, albeit what promises to be a totally kick-ass game. So I will be buying and playing it religiously (pun intended).

Posted by: JohnL at 09:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Not sure if this was taped in Iceland, but it is on an Icelandic site:

Flying Lawnmower to the accompaniment of Cotton Eyed Joe.

You could name this Why the West Will Win.

(Via Pixy).

Posted by: JohnL at 09:31 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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"You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike..."

If you recognize those words, you've probably played one of the greatest text-based computer adventure games of all time, Colossal Cave.

Wait, you say, text-based computer adventure games?

That's right. Once upon a time, back in the old days, we did not have interactive immersive environment games like today's first-person shooters. Instead, we had to read our computer games a line at a time on a monochrome monitor, using our imaginations to bring the descriptions and clues to life. We had to run around in the dark looking for different objects, using simple one or two word commands.

>north
>There is a threatening little dwarf in the room with you! You're in Hall of Mt King. There is a small wicker cage discarded nearby. A cheerful little bird is sitting here singing. There is a little axe here.

>get axe
>OK

>throw axe
>You killed a little dwarf. The body vanishes in a cloud of greasy black smoke.

Like the good D&D gamers we were, we meticulously mapped out the gamespace with graph paper, and kept lists of the inventory we carried, along with the properties and uses of the different items. Great fun, and whenever you solved a clue, realizing which object you needed to get across the bridge, or how to scare away the snake, or how to map the maze, you felt exhilarated. Of course, not quite the same exhilaration as blowing a flood warrior away with your shotgun in Halo for the first time, but still thrilling.

All this is a long-winded way of leading up to this über-cool Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy text-adventure game. Note that this is not a pure text game like Colossal Cave, since you can use your mouse to click on objects and directions, but playing it really brought back some fun memories of early computer gaming. Have fun!

(Via Mixolydian Mode).

Posted by: JohnL at 09:20 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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