Now more than anytime I can remember interest movies that Geeks will like is at an all time high. I've been searching the net for trailers and found some pretty good ones. There are definitely a bunch of movies that I will be seeing over the next year or so.
Watchmen
X-Files
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Mirrors
Twilight
City of Ember
The Mummy
Star Wars: Clone Wars
Monster Camp
Journey to the Center of the Earth
These are just a few of the upcoming movies that look interesting. I will post more trailer links as I find them.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Technology Burnout
I am a geek and as such I am drawn to technology. I can't help myself. It doesn't matter if I need or have a use for the latest gizmo, I just naturally want it. At least that is how I was until recently.
I have found that I am getting more and more annoyed with the way technology has taken over our lives. I still like all the blinking lights, touch screens and stylish designs, but I am better able to control my desire to own these techno toys than before. Since I can watch the few shows that I enjoy on the internet, I don't even turn on my TV anymore and even canceled my Satellite subscription. I no longer care that my cell phone does not have all the features that are available, and I don't care that my computer is two years old. I don't read gaming mags, PC mags or visit tech sites like I did just 6 months ago. I'm getting tired of technology.
I still keep my computer in good shape. I still pick up my PSP or DS to play games on occassion, but I no longer care if I get the newest console. I may be getting old and just deciding that there are many other things in life far more important, or I may just have realized that keeping up with tech is nigh impossible.
I still keep my computers running in tip top shape, but I have no desire to replace it. I spend less and less time surfing the net and find that I enjoy reading a good book far more than I did just a few years ago. I'm worried about the environment, the economy and I resent the fact that I can't go anywhere in the world without being on camera. I prefer road maps to GPs and I feel sorry for our kids. They will never know what life was like when a home computer was something none of us had. We did our homework with pencil and paper, and we could write in cursive an art form that is apparenlty being lost on the kids of today. The only people we knew were the ones in our neighborhood, not people from half a world away that we met on Myspace.
Technology has done wonders to enable us to become more efficient, communicate globally, and in some ways become smarter. Still I can't shake the feeling that we are loosing a bit of ourselves in the process. Sacrificing some of what makes us human.
I have found that I am getting more and more annoyed with the way technology has taken over our lives. I still like all the blinking lights, touch screens and stylish designs, but I am better able to control my desire to own these techno toys than before. Since I can watch the few shows that I enjoy on the internet, I don't even turn on my TV anymore and even canceled my Satellite subscription. I no longer care that my cell phone does not have all the features that are available, and I don't care that my computer is two years old. I don't read gaming mags, PC mags or visit tech sites like I did just 6 months ago. I'm getting tired of technology.
I still keep my computer in good shape. I still pick up my PSP or DS to play games on occassion, but I no longer care if I get the newest console. I may be getting old and just deciding that there are many other things in life far more important, or I may just have realized that keeping up with tech is nigh impossible.
I still keep my computers running in tip top shape, but I have no desire to replace it. I spend less and less time surfing the net and find that I enjoy reading a good book far more than I did just a few years ago. I'm worried about the environment, the economy and I resent the fact that I can't go anywhere in the world without being on camera. I prefer road maps to GPs and I feel sorry for our kids. They will never know what life was like when a home computer was something none of us had. We did our homework with pencil and paper, and we could write in cursive an art form that is apparenlty being lost on the kids of today. The only people we knew were the ones in our neighborhood, not people from half a world away that we met on Myspace.
Technology has done wonders to enable us to become more efficient, communicate globally, and in some ways become smarter. Still I can't shake the feeling that we are loosing a bit of ourselves in the process. Sacrificing some of what makes us human.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
4e: The First Game!
Tonight my group ran our first game of 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. It was a good 2 weeks earlier than expected and I had nothing at all prepared as the decision was a bit last minute. I still hadn't finished reading all the books when we decided to play. So I hit the books , like I do during midterms or finals, and crammed as much 4e knowledge into my brain as I could manage. All in all the game went really well. We only had 3 actual PCs and an NPC (my character) that tagged along doing nothing but round out the group, still we had fun.
4e is amazingly similar to 3e in many regards and there were only a few things that caused some confusion. Mostly I think this came from WotC's side of the fence. The number one point we all found to be a bit confusing came as we filled in character sheets.
We were rolling along creating a Tiefling Rogue, Tiefling Warlock, Dragonborn Fighter and a Dragonborn Warlord until we reached the attack workspace. Everything else had taken 10-15 minutes to complete, but this part had us scratching our heads. There weren't enough spaces for everything we needed and that made us second guess what we thought we understood. Since we were still in the creation phase it was time to hit the rulebooks. We read and read various pages, coming to the realiziation that much of the book was not designed for ease of use in all things.
Too much information requires you to jump back and forth in the book for our taste. Since the 3 experienced gamers in the group were questioning what was right the new guy, who has never played any RPG, was left dumbfounded. We all took turns giving our interpretations of whether the Attack work space was messed up, truncated to conserve space, or if all of our intelligence scores had been drained by the Mountain Dew I had bought on special.
After spending well over 2 hours debating this and second guessing all of our decisions I finally made a call, DMs get to do things like that. Write it down the way we think it should be on a separate piece of paper and leave the Attack Workspace empty. So we did.
Since I was feeling a tad bit silly because we have never had that kind of confusion over any game system, especially our game of choice D&D, I hopped online to see if anyone else had similar problems. They did.
Numerous boards I visited had people asking the same question. "Why are there only X many spaces, when I need XZ many... did I screw something up?" To be honest I didn't find anyone that could answer that in a satisfactory manner. Many did exactly what my group did and said the hell with it, and did it how they thought it should be. Maybe WotC screwed up (completely unheard of... wink, wink) or maybe it was just too simple. Sometimes when you expect something to be hard, you make it much harder than it really is and I think that is a possibility.
The one thing we all agreed on, especially the new guy, was that the character creation could have been more clear. Granted there is the standard "this goes here" character sheet example, but the text didn't really explain how to figure some of the numbers you wanted. Some of that information was actually in the back of the book. Other bits of info were found in the gaining a level section, one place I would not initially think to look for stuff that pertained to character creation.
Overall we were happy with 4e. The action and game play was quick, fun and still familiar enough to feel like we weren't in completely unknown territory. The minor glitch was annoying as hell, but not bad enough to turn us away from the game. As a matter of fact we are picking up the same story next time we play. We are a 4e group, for now. The 3e books are still safely stored on the upstairs bookshelf... just in case.
4e is amazingly similar to 3e in many regards and there were only a few things that caused some confusion. Mostly I think this came from WotC's side of the fence. The number one point we all found to be a bit confusing came as we filled in character sheets.
We were rolling along creating a Tiefling Rogue, Tiefling Warlock, Dragonborn Fighter and a Dragonborn Warlord until we reached the attack workspace. Everything else had taken 10-15 minutes to complete, but this part had us scratching our heads. There weren't enough spaces for everything we needed and that made us second guess what we thought we understood. Since we were still in the creation phase it was time to hit the rulebooks. We read and read various pages, coming to the realiziation that much of the book was not designed for ease of use in all things.
Too much information requires you to jump back and forth in the book for our taste. Since the 3 experienced gamers in the group were questioning what was right the new guy, who has never played any RPG, was left dumbfounded. We all took turns giving our interpretations of whether the Attack work space was messed up, truncated to conserve space, or if all of our intelligence scores had been drained by the Mountain Dew I had bought on special.
After spending well over 2 hours debating this and second guessing all of our decisions I finally made a call, DMs get to do things like that. Write it down the way we think it should be on a separate piece of paper and leave the Attack Workspace empty. So we did.
Since I was feeling a tad bit silly because we have never had that kind of confusion over any game system, especially our game of choice D&D, I hopped online to see if anyone else had similar problems. They did.
Numerous boards I visited had people asking the same question. "Why are there only X many spaces, when I need XZ many... did I screw something up?" To be honest I didn't find anyone that could answer that in a satisfactory manner. Many did exactly what my group did and said the hell with it, and did it how they thought it should be. Maybe WotC screwed up (completely unheard of... wink, wink) or maybe it was just too simple. Sometimes when you expect something to be hard, you make it much harder than it really is and I think that is a possibility.
The one thing we all agreed on, especially the new guy, was that the character creation could have been more clear. Granted there is the standard "this goes here" character sheet example, but the text didn't really explain how to figure some of the numbers you wanted. Some of that information was actually in the back of the book. Other bits of info were found in the gaining a level section, one place I would not initially think to look for stuff that pertained to character creation.
Overall we were happy with 4e. The action and game play was quick, fun and still familiar enough to feel like we weren't in completely unknown territory. The minor glitch was annoying as hell, but not bad enough to turn us away from the game. As a matter of fact we are picking up the same story next time we play. We are a 4e group, for now. The 3e books are still safely stored on the upstairs bookshelf... just in case.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
D&D Compendium
It's not much given that 4e has been out for a bit, but there is finally some content on D&D insider. The D&D Compendium is a 4e database that you can use when you need quick answers. There isn't a whole lot on the site and to be honest it isn't that impressive.
I had hoped that they would have more of the online applications up and running when 4e was released, but almost a year after the initial announcement and still nothing. To me it is not only disappointing, but sad that nearly a nearly a year after the initial announcement we still can not use the "incredible" online components of 4e. Isn't that one of the things they've kept stressing since Gen Con 08? It seems like all we've heard is "virtual table top" this and "virtual table top" that, but the release of 4e has come and gone, still no virtual table top. No way to get the maximum potential out of a newly released product.
Would people have flocked to the iphone if Apple had said " here is this great new phone and with it you can do all this amazing stuff, but there is no network and you can't make calls on it yet"?
OK maybe many would have still shelled out ridiculous amounts of money for the newest Apple product, but many more would not. We got excited about 4e, in part due to the fact we would be able to game with friends both near and far using the amazing virtual table top. While I do admit that I am liking what I read in the books, the lack of a core (though not absolutely necessary) feature has me less than amazed.
The whole process of getting 4e on the shelves has seemed rushed.There have been complaints from numerous buyers about quality issues with the new books, 3.x gamers are still crying foul, not to mention the books that hit the streets early and the pdf versions that leaked onto the net. 4e has been plagued with issues and WotC has only served to lessen their credibility by not delivering more to the fans that did, eventually, accept the new edition, myself included.
Since Dungeon & Dragon magazines' online content has been less than stellar over the past 10 months and the online component of 4e has yet to be released, I'm thinking that perhaps WotC should have waited. It would have been much wiser and probably more acceptable if they had waited until everything could be released and utilized around the same time. If nothing else they should have kept feeding us just enough since the announcement to keep us wanting more until it was completed. They definitely should have had a little more to show when the product hit the streets and got gamers in the mood to actually play. They dropped the ball as far as I'm concerned. Unless they really show me something to change my mind, I am losing interest in the online content more and more every day.
I had hoped that they would have more of the online applications up and running when 4e was released, but almost a year after the initial announcement and still nothing. To me it is not only disappointing, but sad that nearly a nearly a year after the initial announcement we still can not use the "incredible" online components of 4e. Isn't that one of the things they've kept stressing since Gen Con 08? It seems like all we've heard is "virtual table top" this and "virtual table top" that, but the release of 4e has come and gone, still no virtual table top. No way to get the maximum potential out of a newly released product.
Would people have flocked to the iphone if Apple had said " here is this great new phone and with it you can do all this amazing stuff, but there is no network and you can't make calls on it yet"?
OK maybe many would have still shelled out ridiculous amounts of money for the newest Apple product, but many more would not. We got excited about 4e, in part due to the fact we would be able to game with friends both near and far using the amazing virtual table top. While I do admit that I am liking what I read in the books, the lack of a core (though not absolutely necessary) feature has me less than amazed.
The whole process of getting 4e on the shelves has seemed rushed.There have been complaints from numerous buyers about quality issues with the new books, 3.x gamers are still crying foul, not to mention the books that hit the streets early and the pdf versions that leaked onto the net. 4e has been plagued with issues and WotC has only served to lessen their credibility by not delivering more to the fans that did, eventually, accept the new edition, myself included.
Since Dungeon & Dragon magazines' online content has been less than stellar over the past 10 months and the online component of 4e has yet to be released, I'm thinking that perhaps WotC should have waited. It would have been much wiser and probably more acceptable if they had waited until everything could be released and utilized around the same time. If nothing else they should have kept feeding us just enough since the announcement to keep us wanting more until it was completed. They definitely should have had a little more to show when the product hit the streets and got gamers in the mood to actually play. They dropped the ball as far as I'm concerned. Unless they really show me something to change my mind, I am losing interest in the online content more and more every day.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Final Adventure
Last night was my groups final 3e adventure for the foreseeable future. Admittedly it wasn't my greatest adventure, but I do think it was an epic one. A grand and fitting finale for an edition that has brought us more than a few good times over the past 7 or so years.
When we resume play after 4th of July we plan to be gaming in 4th edition in an all new campaign with all new characters. I'm kind of excited to kick the tires and take the new edition out for a run, but at the same time sad to see a familiar friend go.
I moved all of my 3e books, and campaign notes from the game room (dining room) bookshelf to the bookshelf upstairs with the rest of the games we no longer play. I know that the books are not gone, we can pick them up and play a 3e game anytime, and if 4e isn't our cup of tea they can easily be brought out of retirement. However, that has yet to happen with any game when we've decided it was time to move on to the current version.
Still all of those old editions of D&D and various other games will always have a place on that upstairs bookshelf. They are precious in their own way. They hold much more than rules and scribbled notes. Within their worn and sometimes torn pages are the memories of adventures past, and friends I haven't seen in years. Every once in a while I still get them out, read through the books and notes remembering past glory. The things those older editions have seen, the adventure, joy, horror, and disappointment are fond memories that I will cling to until I can no longer roll a die. Now I have added one more set of memories to the collection.
When we resume play after 4th of July we plan to be gaming in 4th edition in an all new campaign with all new characters. I'm kind of excited to kick the tires and take the new edition out for a run, but at the same time sad to see a familiar friend go.
I moved all of my 3e books, and campaign notes from the game room (dining room) bookshelf to the bookshelf upstairs with the rest of the games we no longer play. I know that the books are not gone, we can pick them up and play a 3e game anytime, and if 4e isn't our cup of tea they can easily be brought out of retirement. However, that has yet to happen with any game when we've decided it was time to move on to the current version.
Still all of those old editions of D&D and various other games will always have a place on that upstairs bookshelf. They are precious in their own way. They hold much more than rules and scribbled notes. Within their worn and sometimes torn pages are the memories of adventures past, and friends I haven't seen in years. Every once in a while I still get them out, read through the books and notes remembering past glory. The things those older editions have seen, the adventure, joy, horror, and disappointment are fond memories that I will cling to until I can no longer roll a die. Now I have added one more set of memories to the collection.
Friday, June 13, 2008
4e is here!
I finally got my Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition core rulebook collection yesterday!!! I called home at lunch to see how things were when the wife said ..."you got a package from amazon..", man did the rest of the day drag on. That had to be the longest 4 hours I have had in quite some time. All I could think about was getting home and ripping open that package. Which is exactly what I did the moment I walked in the door.
I haven't read all the way through the books yet, but first off I have to say the artwork is fantastic. I have mixed feelings about what little of the rules I have skimmed. On one hand it seems like the same old D&D we've been playing over the past 7 years, with just a few things to snazzy it up a bit. On the other hand it seems to be both easier and more complicated at the same time. There seems to be more to remember, but then again it is still new and I haven't read the whole thing.
When I do I will definitely be putting my review up, but for now I've got some rules to read and some dice to roll.
I haven't read all the way through the books yet, but first off I have to say the artwork is fantastic. I have mixed feelings about what little of the rules I have skimmed. On one hand it seems like the same old D&D we've been playing over the past 7 years, with just a few things to snazzy it up a bit. On the other hand it seems to be both easier and more complicated at the same time. There seems to be more to remember, but then again it is still new and I haven't read the whole thing.
When I do I will definitely be putting my review up, but for now I've got some rules to read and some dice to roll.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Somewhere out there...
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen donated $30 million for SETI to create an array of 42 radio telescopes in the search for E.T. Over the years SETI has used thousands of other telescopes in their search, but the equipment was usually on loan from other institutions. This array will allow researches to investigate a million different stars and billions of radio channels in their search.
Researchers are still fine tuning the devices, but are hopeful that this array will allow them to more thoroughly search the sky.
Like most people I am optimistic about finding intelligent life on other planets, but not ready to start brushing up on my Klingon and Vulcan, just yet. While I would love to see it happen in my lifetime the universe is a pretty big place and I think it will be quite a while before we have the technological capabilities to find life out there.On the other hand I commend those that keep trying and wish them the best of luck ; nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Researchers are still fine tuning the devices, but are hopeful that this array will allow them to more thoroughly search the sky.
Like most people I am optimistic about finding intelligent life on other planets, but not ready to start brushing up on my Klingon and Vulcan, just yet. While I would love to see it happen in my lifetime the universe is a pretty big place and I think it will be quite a while before we have the technological capabilities to find life out there.On the other hand I commend those that keep trying and wish them the best of luck ; nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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