I have been swamped. Sure that may sound like an excuse for not updating this blog but seriously, I have had so much going on that I have been just twittering for the last four months or so. And now that I bring it up, I have been wondering if there is a point to having a blog any more. In the world of constant updates and keeping in touch passively like I know I do, who takes the time to read something more than 140 characters?

Having reflected on that I have decided that there is most certainly a place for a blog. Not everything in life can or should be reduced to mini-updates or shortened URLs with hashmarks and @replies. On that note here are the posts that I am planning on writing over the next several weeks in no particular order:

• howto: decorate a nursery really cheap
• howto: refinish wood furniture
• howto: make backwashing your pool easier
• friends: why everyone should have some
• greyson dezago
• life change: different video games
• books I have read lately

I think that will do it for now. There may be posts that come out that are not on this list but these are the things that I have been meaning to write and have not. Now they are on a to-do list that I can promptly get around to ignoring.

Well I wanted to always take pride in thought out complete sentence and idea style posts but in light of my current level of busyness (interesting note that busyness and business are only one letter different) I am going to do a Mark Artrip style list update on lots of things at once.

• I am in the middle of a three week period where we will have 14 client meetings in 15 days. There is prep work and follow up work for each of these. Also I have moved my desk three times in the last 10 days as we transition through the final parts of the punch list at the new building. Bottom line is I am tired and ready for a change of pace.
• Our grass is growing! The back yard now has a green tint. I will post pictures someday.
• I am working with five of the high school boys on making a rules video for Hume Lake camp this summer that is shot entirely in Halo 3. Both aspects of that are a challenge since I am not allowed by the rules (student produced) to run the production of it.
• Erin has had a difficult week with some of the things going on at work. You could pray for peace for her if you get a chance.
• We are going to see Prince Caspian tomorrow with friends. Looking forward to it although not as much as Ironman.
• Holy Crap! Ironman was amazing! The announcement of that sequel took 48 hours too long for me!
• The Office is back! The season finale was sick! Those last 30 seconds after the last commercial break made my day!
• I talked to my brother today. He called from Afghanistan. I do not know details of what he is doing since he was selected for a classified operation but he is at least safe and wants everyone to know he is fine.

Ok so before anyone forms any opinion right off of the bat, I have not played the game yet. I have rented it but literally not had the time in the last two days. I have been doing a lot of reading up on it and this is part of why I allowed myself to rent the game in the first place.

Most of what you hear (unless like me you listen to more game-centric media) is that GTA is riddled with sex, drugs, hookers, extreme gratuitous violence etc. While I am sure that is true those are not the reasons I am going to explore this game. I am more interested in the technology of this game. First there is a new type of physics engine that has me very intrigued. Watch the demo of it here if you are technically inclined.

Also there are the reviews. I have not played the other GTA games, primarily because they do not interest me and because of the immediate box in which you get placed if you say that you do ie an immoral, violence crazed youth with no sense of decency. However, after reading reviews like the one over at Wired, the sheer magnitude of what Rockstar has gone after appeals to me on different levels beyond just the gaming but actually on a social/cultural commentary level. Here is an excerpt from that review:

The Rockstar developers are utterly in love with the idea of the American city: the riot of decay and grandeur, the garish commercialism, the violence and beauty, the architectural delights hidden in every corner. With GTA IV, Rockstar has produced an ode to urban life. Which is to say, they’re not really giving you a game to play with — they’re giving you a city.

Now it certainly ups my level of enthusiam that the city is The City. New York City. Seriously, does it get any better than this. Satire, free roaming, insane levels of detail and New York City.

Finally, there is the level of enthusiam that a game community has for a major release. This happened with Halo 3 on many fronts but just the power of the internet combined with people’s willingness to put information out there can be a pretty powerful force. For an example of something really cool check out the Liberty City Google Map complete with the discovered points of interest. 

So am I going to go out and do every single simulated sin imaginable or allowed by the game simply because there are no consequences? Certainly not. Am I going to probably drive a motorcycle up onto a roof and jump it over to another building? Heck yeah. Jump out of helicopters? Yes. Play cops and robbers in online multi-player? I have been waiting for years to do that. Will this game warp me into something that I am not? I am assuming not. Will I be able to enjoy a brand new technological breakthrough and be able to relate better on some level with the youth culture that I am trying to influence? Yes. Game Over.

Ok so I have been sketchy lately about posting here. I used to be on a two or three a day pace but have gotten much busier at work leaving less down time for even short posts here and there. I write this morning to those of you who grew up playing (or still play) the Mario franchise games. I came across an interesting project from some genius photoshopper who made a photorealistic Mario face.

I took the larger picture just so that you could be immersed in the total creepiness of what Mario would look like. Not only would you not want to be him or hang out with him, but you would probably steer your kids away from anyone with a molestache that prominent.

Of course there is no point of having Mario if he does not have a nemesis. We all know Bowser but I never thought that I would end up liking Bowser better than Mario. The rendering of him is below.

So here is my final thought on this. Nintendo, shame on you for duping entire generations of kids into playing with a creepy plumber. I used to be proud that Mario was Italian but not anymore. Mario for heavens sake shave that creep ’stache dude. Bowser you rock. I would say go ahead and eat Mario, in fact it almost makes me want to bust out my Nintendo and get to the final fight and just stand there. It would mean one less creepy weirdo wandering the virtual streets of video game lore.

Credits:

Gaming Today: Realistic Bowser

Gaming Today: Realistic Mario

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