The word of the week is absurdity.
Dec 16 -It's fast approaching...
Things are counting down now.
Only a few weeks to go until the end of the month and the
deadline for the Dark Crystal AuthorQuest submission. This week I've brought
the word count up for my initial draft of the story to close to 9000 words,
which is fantastic! It's felt good when I've been writing this piece and
I've been thrilled that I've covered each section almost to the exact word
count that I set for them in my outline, so I am confident that what's in my
head is hitting the page just as it should.
I've received some excellent and helpful feedback from
several folks already, which has been very encouraging to me that I'm on the
right track with the submission. Being a lifelong fan of The Dark Crystal, I
want to ensure that my words are properly capturing the wonder and the
complexity both of this amazing world that Jim Henson created to do it justice.
A few more rounds of edits and I should be good to go by the
time of my next blog entry.
Dec 17 - A week until Christmas and…
Toy catalogues used to be my kryptonite.
As a kid, this time of year was my absolute favourite,
because all the Christmas catalogues would be coming out with all the season's
new toys. For me, that meant new Star Wars and GiJoe figures, vehicles and
playsets. Since there was NO other means of finding out what was coming out
that year, those photos( and price lists )were highly anticipated, even moreso
than going into the toy sections of stores like Eatons or Sears to see if
anything new had arrived. In the days before Toys R Us, it was a big thing,
especially on trips to Hamilton or Toronto where new goodies could be found,
like a mall-based voyage of discovery.
The image above is but one of the many pages I pored eagerly
over as a lad at this time of year. That feeling of utter excitement, of wondering what new and cool toys
were coming out, I can still remember today. Though it wore off gradually as I
aged, I still enjoy seeing the new concepts( and old re-issues of classics )in
various franchises now and then. While it'd be thrilling to own something like
the new larger Millennium Falcon( see below )for a bit, it wouldn't have the
same as when I was young, tossing spaceships into snowbanks and digging bases
in my backyard or the nearby ravine. The toys I had( and I had quite a few
)were all PLAYED with constantly… and I like to think that gave my imagination
a huge boost that's still with me today, even if( most )of my playthings are
gone now.
Also, the catalogues just don't hold the same interest any
more in the age of the internet.
Dec 18 - Your Free Game costs WHAT??
I don't usually comment on video game prices, but this is
absurd.
MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play game, once that I enjoy
as a casual gamer. As with all free-to-play models( which are the majority of
MMO games currently )you can haul out your wallet to 'skip' the need to earn
credits grinding in the game as well as to purchase mechs, gear, etc. Nothing
wrong with that... if it's not pricey.
However, MWO just set a NEW record for eye-popping amounts
players in a free-to-play game can spend, making it a 'free-to-PAY'
chart-topper. As image shows, you can spend up to $500 for a 'Limited
Edition' mech pack:
Come on - are you serious? I'm admittedly on the cheap side
and spending $75 for a PC game always made my wallet twinge... but $500? On
what amounts to literally NO physical goods, just to get an edge or accumulate
'rare' goods inside a GAME?
I really hope this isn't where the online 'free-to-play'
market is going, for various reasons. As a casual gamer, this turns me off
totally.
I'd rather spend my money on more important things, like
books. Or food.
Dec 19 - The Copenhagen Wheel
I really want an electric bike, but they're just too darn
expensive.
I'd like to be able to arrange further around Victoria on my
bicycle, without needing to rely on the bus system to cross the city in a
reasonable time. I'd love to be able to take the Galloping Goose Trail out to
Langford during the good weather to places like Thetis Lake Park, but that's
quite a distance.
Most models that are worthwhile purchases cost several
thousand dollars and I simply can't budget that. While I found a few places
recently like ElectricBikeReport.com that do a good job of listing lower cost
options, it' still a large investment that I can't really justify given the
local justices I travel here in the city. As well, I would have to give up my
current bicycle, which I happen to like quite a lot and is in excellent shape
after over six years of regular use.
Enter the Copenhagen Wheel.
This is a project developed at MIT and has been turned into
a international startup. It's an electric-assist motor that can be retrofitted
to almost any bicycle and costs less than $1000. Those three elements are the
key to its appeal to me: I can use my current bicycle, it's a motor that will
assist my pedaling rather than take over from me completely( and so negate the
benefits of exercise ) and of course the cost.
Have a look at the video below and see what you think. I'm
rather impressed and at some point in the near future, once my other financials
are in far better shape, I'm seriously considering getting one of these. Along
with several more large locks to supplement the one party have keep my
investment safe.
Dec 20 - Have A G33ky Christmas!
Christmas light displays are very cool, no matter where you
are in the world.
Themed displays are even better, such as the 12 Days ofChristmas at the local Butchart Gardens or several of the impressive homes here in parts
of Victoria.
Some people go all out however and what better way to do
that then with a tribute to Star Wars? The display shown below has been put on
by the Mayor of Laguna Hills California for the last several years. It's just
incredible how much planning and work have gone into the display, which
entertains thousands of people each season. The only thing better I can think
of offhand would be an overflight by the Millennium Falcon decked out in
holiday lights and followed by Santa Claus in his sleigh.
Dec 21 - Star Trek in 3D!
Back in 90s, my PC was a gateway to other universes.
Well, it could simulate them, at any rate; it was fast and
new and had decent graphics for the time. Which meant when the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual was released in 1994, I was in g33ky
heaven. Using this advanced CD-ROM imbued with QuickTime VR technology, one was
able to take a virtual 3D tour of the Enterprise-D, with many interactive
features and narration provided by Jonathan Frakes.
It was fantastic.
Being able to 'walk' the halls to explore many of the decks
and rooms of the iconic starship was amazing at the time. However, PC technology
advanced so far so fast that the ST:TNG Interactive Tech Manual has been quickly left behind
and won't even run on the now-venerable Windows XP.
Enter the modern game-modding community.
The capabilities of current computer systems mean that many
talented fans of the show out there have been able to work wonders given the
resources available on the Internet and their own skills. An example which is
shown below, where a game modification has been made to Star Trek: Elite Force to
create a total 3-D interactive model of much of the interior of the
Enterprise-D. Unlike a game like Minecraft, which kludges together small objects
to create a proxy nations of larger ones, this is about as accurate a re-creation
of the interior of the famous starship as one will ever find outside of a
studio graphics house. Have a peek at the video and you'll feel like you too
are walking its halls as it flies through space:
Dec 22 - Best of Sci-Fi?
Less than a week to go until the crazy is done with.
Works been all right in that regard, which is surprised me.
The last few days have been an extra ordinarily busy but not unmanageably so
and the fact that almost everyone coming in the doors has been in a good mood
has been such a wonderful thing. Of course there has been stress in performing
my job day-to-day, but given my Dark Crystal-distracted mind I've been doing
fairly well, I think. Admittedly, working five days a week isn't all that
conducive towards getting my writing done but I'm making progress each day and
not losing the thread of my writerly thoughts, so that's been great.
On a different note, right now there's a poll over atRanker.com that's aiming to have folks vote on the best science fiction television
series of all time. Right now they're up to almost 100 shows and I'm tickled
that Babylon 5 is listed at number five, with Firefly being number one - awesome!
Pop on over and lock in your votes, up as well as your thumbs-down; Ranker.com is
unique in that you can vote something up OR down the list, which I think is
cool.
My thoughts go out to my friends and family out east, who
are dealing with some severe winter weather this week including ice storms.
Having been through it myself, I have nothing but sympathy for those who are
stuck suffering under the thumb of winter. Where I am living now, I'm quite
grateful for days of rain and chilly weather during the winter instead of
fighting my way through treacherous frozen white conditions.
