JE finally got his 1,600 gold and promptly spent it all on a Red & Black Dragon Pet. But he'd also dinged lvl 10 so for 560g he could have bought a bigger Spelldeck allowing him to field more Spell cards, meaning instead of going into Battle with 40 Spell Cards to choose from, he could have 50. (Those number might not be accurate, they just exist to illustrate my point.)
After the happy little Dragon Owner went to bed I logged into his account and played some of the Minigames to get him some more gold, and I discovered an interesting thing about one the minigames that I normally wouldn't have played. I could play it using the chaos theory, and I could make more gold in less time than by playing one of the mini games that I'm actually good at it. Just rapidly & randomly clicking and moving my mouse cursor around was more successful than actually playing the game properly. But also very boring. And tiring if kept up for extended periods.
I'd made JE about 460g when I gave up on the Minigames and decided to do some quests. But I decided to be sneaky about it. I was already logged in on JE's account, so I Alt-Tabbed out to Windows, fired up a second copy of W101, and logged in on my account. This is known in the MMO world as dual-boxing and with graphically intensive games like WoW, Everquest, Warhammer, etc, it takes a decent gaming rig to be able to do this without suffering severe slowdown.
With a game like W101, dual-boxing is a piece of cake. I looked at our quests. We needed to talk to a Witch a couple of streets over. I ran my Wizard over there and...remember I mentioned that Friends in W101 can Teleport to each other? Well, I ran my Wizard over to the Witch, Alt-Tabbed to JE's Wizard and Poof! Teleported him straight to my Wizard and the Witch, who wanted us to talk to her apprentice on the next street over.
I ran JE's Wizard around the block to the next street, found the Apprentice, Alt-Tabbed to my Wizard and Poof! Joined JE's Wizard next to the Apprentice. The Apprentice wanted us to collect some items from barrels in the nearby Cave. I ran my Wizard into the cave, found the barrels, collected all my items and Poof! Teleported straight back out to JE's Wizard and turned in the Quest. Alt-Tabbed to JE's Wizard, rinse & repeat. We...I mean I :D I did this all the way up to the end of the Quest, for which the final step was defeating a Boss Mob.
And that's when the slower-paced, card-based, turn-by-turn combat of W101 works brilliantly with dual-boxing. I'd select my Spell, then Alt-Tab to JE's Wizard and select his Spell. You get up to 30 seconds to choose a Spell so even if my PC was a slow & clunky machine (which it's not) I'd have still had plenty of time to Alt-Tab between our two Wizards and choose their Spells. With another MMO, the few seconds a slow machine would take to Alt-Tab between two open programs could be enough to cause the death of one or both Toons. With W101's turn-based combat, a few seconds is irrelevant.
The Boss went down faster than Divine Brown, and the Gold we earned from completing all the Quests in the series meant JE's Wizard now had the 560 Gold he needed to buy the bigger Spelldeck.
Actually, that also highlights one aspect of W101 which exists as a double-edged Sword. My Wizard has over 2,000 gold. JE needed 560 to buy a new Spelldeck. In almost any other MMO I could have just given him the Gold, but W101 does not allow any Trades between Players except for Treasure Cards, which cannot be sold to Vendors anyway, so there is literally no way to move Gold between players.
/sad Panda :(
This means W101 will never see Gold Sellers (which is a good thing), but we may see some companies farming high quality Treasure Cards and selling them. But even if Treasure Card Farmers/Sellers do immigrate to W101 they'll have a lot of trouble hawking their wares because of the limited chat features. W101 will never suffer the plague of Gold Farmers/Sellers seen in other MMOs, but it also means there's no way to loan a friend some Gold, thus it came to me dual-boxing in order to make some Gold for my son.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wizard101: One week later
With the placement of our home PCs (mine being in the family room while JE's is at his desk in his bedroom), and with W101's limited in-game chat option (coupled with an 8/yold being a slow typist), solving the communication problem between JE and I while we played W101 together was paramount, but easily solvable, nonetheless.
One desktop microphone, one download & install, and JE and I were talking as if we were right next to each other, instead of in separate rooms.
"OK, mate. What quests do you have?"
"I need to defeat the Harvest Lord. Four Lumbering Trolls. Find the Fire Alley Smith..." he basically reeled off every quest he had. He can read alright, he's just not a proficient Typist.
I picked a quest that I knew was part of a Chain and off we went.
In WoW, Warlocks can summon party members if they have a couple of helping hands.
In W101, two players who are Friends can Teleport to each other's location as easy as clicking the Mouse a couple of times.
Unfortunately dedicated Grouping is not (yet) part of the game, and the combat mechanic meant that when I ran into JE's battle sigil to help him fight a Lumbering Troll, a Lumbering Troll of my own entered combat along with me, so we ended up fighting two Lumbering Trolls, which worked to our advantage because we needed Quest Drops from them. But that exact same game mechanic could lead to Griefing if Players Train Mobs into Combat with other Players then Flee, leaving the original Player facing two or more Mobs. Although some people did join our battles, we never experienced any griefing. The Quest Item Drop Rate is also pretty good, and when JE needed 6 items from a particular Mob for one quest I think we killed about 10 Mobs to get all 6 drops.
We took care of several quests in the Chain before we were up to the Boss Mob quest. Most Boss Mobs are in Mini-Instances of their own, usually nothing more than a one-room Tower. While Players cannot "group" in the traditional sense, outside the Tower are four Entry Sigils and players can "group" to fight the Boss by meeting at the entrance then pressing X at the same time (or within 10 seconds of one another) to move into an Entry Sigil. As soon as the first player presses X to move into an Entry Sigil a 10-second countdown timer appears in the doorway, and at zero all players who occupy an Entry Sigil (my term, by the way) teleport inside the Instance to face the Boss.
* * *
A couple of nights ago while helping JE, another player stopped next to us and asked for help defeating a Boss that was just down the road. I agreed, as I knew JE would think it cool to fight a Boss, and off we ran down the sidewalk. Yes, sidewalk (or footpath, if you will). Most zones in W101 have paths alongside the roads, and if you stick to the paths you can actually avoid most of the wandering Mobs, which is kind of neat. Even if they're a high level Mob they won't Aggro onto you if you're on the path. We got to the Boss's Tower, the other Player hit X, as did I, then I quickly ran next door (this was pre-Skype) and told JE to press X to join us.
"I am," he yelled, "but it's not blue!"
The 10-second timer meant I had no time to trouble shoot and I ran back to my PC as I zoned into the Instance. The other Player and I defeated the Boss & his Minion, then we zoned back outside again.
I ran next door to find a tearful JE almost getting ready to quit the game. The Entry Sigils outside the Tower were not glowing blue for his avatar, as his level was too low, so him pressing X to enter the Boss Instance with us was pointless. I told him we'd go back to fighting the Monsters we'd been working on earlier, then ran back to my PC.
The other player had just asked for help with another Quest.
Quickly I hit the Pulldown Chat icon and found...Ah ha!
"Sorry. I'm helping a friend."
"Okay. Goodbye." was his reply, and off he went, and JE and I resumed our questing.
* * *
Tonight the Boss we were about to fight was for JE's Quest, so I knew the Entry Sigils were lit up for him and he wouldn't be left out in the cold like the previous night. In we went, and with Skype it was very easy to coordinate our attacks. Most W101 Bosses (that I've encountered) have Minions, who may not be as strong as the Boss but are not push overs, either. JE and I focused on the Minion first to burn it down. JE also summoned a Golem Minion of his own which helped with our Damage Output, and in very short order both Boss and Minion were defeated.
With that Chain done we started on another Chain that I was already on.
One good thing about W101 is that in some MMOs, if you group up for collection quests it makes it harder to gather your Quest Items, but in W101 there's no such thing as a Loot Ninja. When a Mob drops an item, every Player who helped defeat that Mob gets the item (at least that holds true for Wandering Mobs outside Instances), so on collection quests every Player on a collection quest can get an Item from the same Mob. We ripped through the Quest Chain and in no short order were standing outside another Tower, ready to face our second Boss of the night. He went down to our coordinated attacks just as quickly as the first Boss we'd faced.
By the time we'd beaten the second Boss it was getting very late and we were drawing wife/mom aggro, so I called it a night and started getting the kids ready for bed.
After JE was in bed I took care of a few things for him. I logged into his account and sold all the useless armor he'd picked up, then ran around and took care of a few Messenger Quests and a couple of Kill Quests; I ended up getting him within a Quest or two of dinging level 10. Finally, knowing he's saving his gold for a Dragon Pet, I hit the Minigame Faire. At the Faire there are several, basic puzzle or arcade games, and if you score high enough you get rewarded with gold and armor. I say Armor, but as everyone plays a wizard you're looking at cloth hats, robes & boots, just some items have stats/buffs more beneficial to certain Schools of Magic than others. After playing several games and selling the prizes, I logged for the night leaving JE with a shade over 1,000 gold.
Mike, you were wondering just how much fun W101 is compared to WoW. The two games can't really be compared because they're both targeting different demographics, and other than both being MMOs they're not really that similar. But if you've got two (or better yet, three) PCs on a home LAN within close proximity to each other (in the same room would be excellent), I strongly suggest you download & install W101 on each PC, then jump in and start playing with your two boys. You'll be amazed at how much fun you all have, and what a kick you will get out of playing an MMO alongside your sons.
If you're playing by yourself W101 won't have the appeal & polish that WoW does to a solo player, especially as there's no Guilds, so no Guild Chatter in the background to keep you company as you single-handedly kill every last Kodo in Nagrand. Just like WoW, though, your W101 experience will be greatly enhanced if you're able to play with family or friends. After all, that's how MMOs are meant to be played ;)
One desktop microphone, one download & install, and JE and I were talking as if we were right next to each other, instead of in separate rooms.
"OK, mate. What quests do you have?"
"I need to defeat the Harvest Lord. Four Lumbering Trolls. Find the Fire Alley Smith..." he basically reeled off every quest he had. He can read alright, he's just not a proficient Typist.
I picked a quest that I knew was part of a Chain and off we went.
In WoW, Warlocks can summon party members if they have a couple of helping hands.
In W101, two players who are Friends can Teleport to each other's location as easy as clicking the Mouse a couple of times.
Unfortunately dedicated Grouping is not (yet) part of the game, and the combat mechanic meant that when I ran into JE's battle sigil to help him fight a Lumbering Troll, a Lumbering Troll of my own entered combat along with me, so we ended up fighting two Lumbering Trolls, which worked to our advantage because we needed Quest Drops from them. But that exact same game mechanic could lead to Griefing if Players Train Mobs into Combat with other Players then Flee, leaving the original Player facing two or more Mobs. Although some people did join our battles, we never experienced any griefing. The Quest Item Drop Rate is also pretty good, and when JE needed 6 items from a particular Mob for one quest I think we killed about 10 Mobs to get all 6 drops.
We took care of several quests in the Chain before we were up to the Boss Mob quest. Most Boss Mobs are in Mini-Instances of their own, usually nothing more than a one-room Tower. While Players cannot "group" in the traditional sense, outside the Tower are four Entry Sigils and players can "group" to fight the Boss by meeting at the entrance then pressing X at the same time (or within 10 seconds of one another) to move into an Entry Sigil. As soon as the first player presses X to move into an Entry Sigil a 10-second countdown timer appears in the doorway, and at zero all players who occupy an Entry Sigil (my term, by the way) teleport inside the Instance to face the Boss.
* * *
A couple of nights ago while helping JE, another player stopped next to us and asked for help defeating a Boss that was just down the road. I agreed, as I knew JE would think it cool to fight a Boss, and off we ran down the sidewalk. Yes, sidewalk (or footpath, if you will). Most zones in W101 have paths alongside the roads, and if you stick to the paths you can actually avoid most of the wandering Mobs, which is kind of neat. Even if they're a high level Mob they won't Aggro onto you if you're on the path. We got to the Boss's Tower, the other Player hit X, as did I, then I quickly ran next door (this was pre-Skype) and told JE to press X to join us.
"I am," he yelled, "but it's not blue!"
The 10-second timer meant I had no time to trouble shoot and I ran back to my PC as I zoned into the Instance. The other Player and I defeated the Boss & his Minion, then we zoned back outside again.
I ran next door to find a tearful JE almost getting ready to quit the game. The Entry Sigils outside the Tower were not glowing blue for his avatar, as his level was too low, so him pressing X to enter the Boss Instance with us was pointless. I told him we'd go back to fighting the Monsters we'd been working on earlier, then ran back to my PC.
The other player had just asked for help with another Quest.
Quickly I hit the Pulldown Chat icon and found...Ah ha!
"Sorry. I'm helping a friend."
"Okay. Goodbye." was his reply, and off he went, and JE and I resumed our questing.
* * *
Tonight the Boss we were about to fight was for JE's Quest, so I knew the Entry Sigils were lit up for him and he wouldn't be left out in the cold like the previous night. In we went, and with Skype it was very easy to coordinate our attacks. Most W101 Bosses (that I've encountered) have Minions, who may not be as strong as the Boss but are not push overs, either. JE and I focused on the Minion first to burn it down. JE also summoned a Golem Minion of his own which helped with our Damage Output, and in very short order both Boss and Minion were defeated.
With that Chain done we started on another Chain that I was already on.
One good thing about W101 is that in some MMOs, if you group up for collection quests it makes it harder to gather your Quest Items, but in W101 there's no such thing as a Loot Ninja. When a Mob drops an item, every Player who helped defeat that Mob gets the item (at least that holds true for Wandering Mobs outside Instances), so on collection quests every Player on a collection quest can get an Item from the same Mob. We ripped through the Quest Chain and in no short order were standing outside another Tower, ready to face our second Boss of the night. He went down to our coordinated attacks just as quickly as the first Boss we'd faced.
By the time we'd beaten the second Boss it was getting very late and we were drawing wife/mom aggro, so I called it a night and started getting the kids ready for bed.
After JE was in bed I took care of a few things for him. I logged into his account and sold all the useless armor he'd picked up, then ran around and took care of a few Messenger Quests and a couple of Kill Quests; I ended up getting him within a Quest or two of dinging level 10. Finally, knowing he's saving his gold for a Dragon Pet, I hit the Minigame Faire. At the Faire there are several, basic puzzle or arcade games, and if you score high enough you get rewarded with gold and armor. I say Armor, but as everyone plays a wizard you're looking at cloth hats, robes & boots, just some items have stats/buffs more beneficial to certain Schools of Magic than others. After playing several games and selling the prizes, I logged for the night leaving JE with a shade over 1,000 gold.
Mike, you were wondering just how much fun W101 is compared to WoW. The two games can't really be compared because they're both targeting different demographics, and other than both being MMOs they're not really that similar. But if you've got two (or better yet, three) PCs on a home LAN within close proximity to each other (in the same room would be excellent), I strongly suggest you download & install W101 on each PC, then jump in and start playing with your two boys. You'll be amazed at how much fun you all have, and what a kick you will get out of playing an MMO alongside your sons.
If you're playing by yourself W101 won't have the appeal & polish that WoW does to a solo player, especially as there's no Guilds, so no Guild Chatter in the background to keep you company as you single-handedly kill every last Kodo in Nagrand. Just like WoW, though, your W101 experience will be greatly enhanced if you're able to play with family or friends. After all, that's how MMOs are meant to be played ;)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sushi, Asahi, and Karaoke
Not having seen Xinh or Natey for a while, we made arrangements to hang out with them this past Saturday night. Natey had been talking about a sushi restaurant he frequents where he doesn't so much order sushi as tell the Sushi Chef "surprise me," and Liz was keen to try it out.
After settling in at the sushi bar and placing a couple of orders (I ordered Jalapeno rolls: Jalapeno, Crab meat, avocado, cream cheese - fried then drizzled with Eel Sauce) for some reason the waitress wanted us to move to the end of the sushi bar, so we obliged her, picked up our chopsticks and wasabe and relocated.
The Sushi Chef asked us what we'd like. "Surprise us!" I shouted, over the karaoke machine and the girl doing quite a good job on a Celine Dion song. "No octopus!" shouted Liz.
"What did you order?" asked Natey.
"We said 'Surprise us'," I said.
"That can get expensive," said Natey.
It actually wasn't too bad, but as Natey eats there a lot he is pretty sure the Chef comp'd us a couple of dishes. It probably also helped that this Gaijin was enthusiastically eating everything he put in front of us. There's nothing like a very happy & appreciative customer to make you pleased with your career choice.
Did I mention the karaoke machine? When we entered, the girl doing a very good (albeit somewhat nasal) job of singing Celine Dion was actually a young, teenage girl eating there with her parents. After she sang a few songs Dad got up to sing, and it was immediately apparent that she didn't get her voice from Dad. When Mom got up to sing my suspicions were confirmed. Mom could sing, Dad could not. I applauded them both, anyway. Even the truly dreadful singers need to be applauded for doing Karaoke, if for nothing more than having the balls to actually get up and sing in front of a bunch of strangers.
I'd asked the waitress if they had a song list I could peruse. They didn't. If I wanted to sing, I had to get up on the stage. The guy running the karaoke machine was pretty good himself, at both singing and playing guitar, although we did notice he seemed to be singing the wrong words every now and then. I discovered (when it was my turn) that it was because he had an Asian karaoke machine, and the lyrics had been entered by someone for which English is not their first language. Lucky I know many Beatles' songs by heart, because there were one or two words that weren't quite correct. I belted out a trio of Beatles' songs then plopped back into my seat at the sushi bar.
But the fun didn't end there. The food kept coming, the conversation flowed like Asahi, and every now & then I'd jump back up on stage to sing another song or two. As well as the first family another woman and another guy also took their turn singing. We were there for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and we had a great time...perhaps I had an even better time than Liz, Xinh, & Natey, or maybe they enjoyed my singing as much as I did :D
As we'd never been to Natey's house before, we popped in before heading home and got the midnight tour. The previous owners had obviously done a bit of renovation, converting one of the bedrooms into a massive closet/storage area accessible off Natey's bedroom (the master bedroom). With a little bit of work he could actually convert it into a secret room and nobody would know it was there...except that I've gone and blabbed about it :P
Xinh took video footage of my karaoke efforts, and she promised to email them to me. She said she'd prefer I put them up on Youtube, that way I can't get mad at her for doing it :P I'm guessing she had a busy day today, because I haven't seen the videos nor has she updated her blog, yet ;)
After settling in at the sushi bar and placing a couple of orders (I ordered Jalapeno rolls: Jalapeno, Crab meat, avocado, cream cheese - fried then drizzled with Eel Sauce) for some reason the waitress wanted us to move to the end of the sushi bar, so we obliged her, picked up our chopsticks and wasabe and relocated.
The Sushi Chef asked us what we'd like. "Surprise us!" I shouted, over the karaoke machine and the girl doing quite a good job on a Celine Dion song. "No octopus!" shouted Liz.
"What did you order?" asked Natey.
"We said 'Surprise us'," I said.
"That can get expensive," said Natey.
It actually wasn't too bad, but as Natey eats there a lot he is pretty sure the Chef comp'd us a couple of dishes. It probably also helped that this Gaijin was enthusiastically eating everything he put in front of us. There's nothing like a very happy & appreciative customer to make you pleased with your career choice.
Did I mention the karaoke machine? When we entered, the girl doing a very good (albeit somewhat nasal) job of singing Celine Dion was actually a young, teenage girl eating there with her parents. After she sang a few songs Dad got up to sing, and it was immediately apparent that she didn't get her voice from Dad. When Mom got up to sing my suspicions were confirmed. Mom could sing, Dad could not. I applauded them both, anyway. Even the truly dreadful singers need to be applauded for doing Karaoke, if for nothing more than having the balls to actually get up and sing in front of a bunch of strangers.
I'd asked the waitress if they had a song list I could peruse. They didn't. If I wanted to sing, I had to get up on the stage. The guy running the karaoke machine was pretty good himself, at both singing and playing guitar, although we did notice he seemed to be singing the wrong words every now and then. I discovered (when it was my turn) that it was because he had an Asian karaoke machine, and the lyrics had been entered by someone for which English is not their first language. Lucky I know many Beatles' songs by heart, because there were one or two words that weren't quite correct. I belted out a trio of Beatles' songs then plopped back into my seat at the sushi bar.
But the fun didn't end there. The food kept coming, the conversation flowed like Asahi, and every now & then I'd jump back up on stage to sing another song or two. As well as the first family another woman and another guy also took their turn singing. We were there for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and we had a great time...perhaps I had an even better time than Liz, Xinh, & Natey, or maybe they enjoyed my singing as much as I did :D
As we'd never been to Natey's house before, we popped in before heading home and got the midnight tour. The previous owners had obviously done a bit of renovation, converting one of the bedrooms into a massive closet/storage area accessible off Natey's bedroom (the master bedroom). With a little bit of work he could actually convert it into a secret room and nobody would know it was there...except that I've gone and blabbed about it :P
Xinh took video footage of my karaoke efforts, and she promised to email them to me. She said she'd prefer I put them up on Youtube, that way I can't get mad at her for doing it :P I'm guessing she had a busy day today, because I haven't seen the videos nor has she updated her blog, yet ;)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Crunch time
I just checked my WoW account. It's set to expire/renew itself (with another 6-month block) on September 18th. Two days from now.
I normally buy a 6-month block of WoW for $78.
I could also do three months for $42. That would have me playing for a month or so after the release of Wrath of the Lich King.
I don't believe I'm seriously considering bailing on the World of Warcraft, for Wizard 101, but I am. I'd save $50 by not buying Wrath. That's practically a 12-month sub to W101 right there. And 6 months of WoW is more expensive than 12 months of W101.
Oh boy.
I normally buy a 6-month block of WoW for $78.
I could also do three months for $42. That would have me playing for a month or so after the release of Wrath of the Lich King.
I don't believe I'm seriously considering bailing on the World of Warcraft, for Wizard 101, but I am. I'd save $50 by not buying Wrath. That's practically a 12-month sub to W101 right there. And 6 months of WoW is more expensive than 12 months of W101.
Oh boy.
Wizard101 Launcher problem
Well, I'd consider taking out two Wizard101 subs, except for one problem. While I was able to play W101 last night for a couple of hours, tonight the Launcher crashes on me within seconds of booting up.
I have no idea why it's doing this, and while I am a wizard at finding stuff on the 'net, I'm unable to find any solutions to this particular problem.
So, has anyone else encountered this problem, and resolved it?
More importantly, did you resolve it in such a way that you were able to continue playing W101? Resolving the problem by uninstalling W101 and not playing it, is not the solution I'm looking for ;)
While $60 for a 12-month sub is a pretty good deal (IMO), it's not such a good deal if I can't play the damn game.
*EDIT - As a WoW player I'm a little paranoid about keyloggers, so I have NoScript, among other protection, on my PC. Wondering if this was a Java-issue caused by NoScript I went into my PC's Control Panel and double-clicked the Java icon to access the Java Control Panel.
Whether or not this did something I don't know (maybe force-loaded Java?), maybe it was just a coincidence, but the W101 Launcher booted up and ran w/o crashing, and I was able to get in and play W101, which promptly downloaded a bunch of patches. I kept it running in the background while I played Warcraft, for a good couple of hours. Other than getting DC'd from the W101 server for not remaining active (which is to be expected) W101 stayed up the entire time.
I also installed W101 on Liz's PC last night and it ran just fine, but then it also ran just fine on my PC the first night I installed it, too. We'll see what happens tonight. Still, if anyone has any suggestions for why the Launcher might be crashing (and a reinstall didn't help at all), or even experienced this problem and resolved it, please feel free to let me know what you did.
* EDIT - The game booted up fine again, tonight. Possibly whatever the problem was, it managed to resolve itself on its own.
I have no idea why it's doing this, and while I am a wizard at finding stuff on the 'net, I'm unable to find any solutions to this particular problem.
So, has anyone else encountered this problem, and resolved it?
More importantly, did you resolve it in such a way that you were able to continue playing W101? Resolving the problem by uninstalling W101 and not playing it, is not the solution I'm looking for ;)
While $60 for a 12-month sub is a pretty good deal (IMO), it's not such a good deal if I can't play the damn game.
*EDIT - As a WoW player I'm a little paranoid about keyloggers, so I have NoScript, among other protection, on my PC. Wondering if this was a Java-issue caused by NoScript I went into my PC's Control Panel and double-clicked the Java icon to access the Java Control Panel.
Whether or not this did something I don't know (maybe force-loaded Java?), maybe it was just a coincidence, but the W101 Launcher booted up and ran w/o crashing, and I was able to get in and play W101, which promptly downloaded a bunch of patches. I kept it running in the background while I played Warcraft, for a good couple of hours. Other than getting DC'd from the W101 server for not remaining active (which is to be expected) W101 stayed up the entire time.
I also installed W101 on Liz's PC last night and it ran just fine, but then it also ran just fine on my PC the first night I installed it, too. We'll see what happens tonight. Still, if anyone has any suggestions for why the Launcher might be crashing (and a reinstall didn't help at all), or even experienced this problem and resolved it, please feel free to let me know what you did.
* EDIT - The game booted up fine again, tonight. Possibly whatever the problem was, it managed to resolve itself on its own.
Wizard 101
I was amazed to see a television commercial for Wizard 101 the other night. JE saw it too and his eyes grew big as he watched avatars summon beasties to fight Mobs. So I was compelled to download and install it on his PC last night.
The interface is very simple, and the graphics are pretty good, for a free-to-play (to lvl 10) online game. It took a while to download and install, but a nice touch was while it was DLing the textures and finishing the install, you could actually start playing by answering a few questions to create your avatar, which you could then customize by changing the face & skin color, and hair & hair color. You could also change the color & trim of your hat, robe, & boots, but as I discovered when I downloaded the game on my own PC, you quickly upgrade your hat and robe with drops from Mobs, so the time you spend coordinating your outfit at the start is quickly rendered moot.
The gameplay is very simple and child friendly. The initial quests are the simple "Talk to NPC Smith" variety, and your first introduction to combat is about the 3rd quest where you fight a Puppet Wizard, who doesn't fight back and is defeated in two moves. However, this initial fight serves to explain the combat system and the card layout. Yes, comabt is turn-based, with you using cards to attack your opponent & defend/heal yourself and allies. Playing cards can use Mana, but you have some cards with low level attacks which use no mana, so even when you're tapped out and are trying to get to the mana clouds floating around, if a Mob drags you into combat you can still defend yourself.
Combat is rather interesting, and takes place in a small in-game arena. When you enter combat a sigil appears on the ground surrounded by eight circles. You are moved (by the game) into one of the circles, and your opponent takes his place in the circle opposite yours. You choose a card and when it's your turn to attack (maybe you go first, maybe your opponent does) your avatar casts the spell automatically. There is the animation, which naturally differs for each spell. You might summon an Ice Beetle which sprays ice onto an opponent, someone else may summon a Fire Cat which blows flame, and someone may summon a Sand Beetle which leaps into attack. And of course there are many other Spell Cards obtainable, depending on the School of Magic in which you specialize.
The quests are very simple (at least at the start). One objective could be "Find the Guard hiding in his house. You look at your Map and it will show you where the Guard's house is. When you get to his house the Guard may ask you to kill 3 Skeletons, so he can return to his post. Yup, 3 Skeletons. Not 10, not collect 10 Skulls, just kill 3 Skeletons and the Quest is complete. The really child-friendly thing is even if you're not in a Party with someone, if you're both within close proximity and you both enter combat at the same time, you will move to adjacent circles on the same sigil, and when you defeat your Skeleton mob and your ally (who's not even in a Party with you) defeats his, you get credited with two kills. If your ally's spell fizzles and combat enters a second round, you can cast a spell to attack his skeleton; it's not Kill Stealing, you will both get credit for the kill.
The game is free-to-play to level 10, that is you cannot advance higher than level 10 without subscribing. I made it to level 4 last night with an hour or so of playing, so level 10 is probably easily reached within a few hours. As JE and I ran around (not together, I didn't start playing until he was in bed. Maybe we'll do that tonight.) I saw other players with Pets/Minions. I'm not sure if they're available before level 10 or not. Probably not, it's probably one more hook to try to get you to subscribe.
Wizard 101 may not be the WoW beater you're looking for, but it is a cute little game, and it's very child friendly. One of the more child friendly aspects is there's no General Chat window like you get with WoW, which is often filled with random, inane, and obscene messages from bored & immature players. In Wizard 101 you communicate with Emotes/Chats selected from a Pulldown Chat menu. General Chat is available, but only if you subscribe (another hook) and only if you register as being 13-years or older, and then only other 13+ y/old subscribers can see General Chat.
When I installed the game on JE's PC and set up his account I used my email address, and the game recognized that I'd already created an account (on my PC) using that same email address. It then asked if I wanted to combine the two accounts, which I agreed to do. I guess (I hope) this means I only need to subscribe once, and that both JE and I will be able to play and level past 10. That would be a very cool feature (if it works that way). Imagine being able to Install WoW on two PCs under one Account, but being able to log in on both PCs at the same time, because one is a Parent and one is a Child account.
If you have younger children and you're looking for a child-friendly alternative to WoW for them, Wizard 101 just might be what you're looking for. With it being free to play (to level 10), the cost just to check it out is more than reasonable.
Note that if you do decide to subscribe, that right now (as of Sept. 17, 2008) you can get a 12-month subscription for just $60. That's about the same price as a new video game, and is just $5 per month. My WoW sub costs me $13/month and that's only if I buy a 6-month block. So both my son and I could play Wizard 101 together, for a year, for less than the price for me to play WoW, alone.
The interface is very simple, and the graphics are pretty good, for a free-to-play (to lvl 10) online game. It took a while to download and install, but a nice touch was while it was DLing the textures and finishing the install, you could actually start playing by answering a few questions to create your avatar, which you could then customize by changing the face & skin color, and hair & hair color. You could also change the color & trim of your hat, robe, & boots, but as I discovered when I downloaded the game on my own PC, you quickly upgrade your hat and robe with drops from Mobs, so the time you spend coordinating your outfit at the start is quickly rendered moot.
The gameplay is very simple and child friendly. The initial quests are the simple "Talk to NPC Smith" variety, and your first introduction to combat is about the 3rd quest where you fight a Puppet Wizard, who doesn't fight back and is defeated in two moves. However, this initial fight serves to explain the combat system and the card layout. Yes, comabt is turn-based, with you using cards to attack your opponent & defend/heal yourself and allies. Playing cards can use Mana, but you have some cards with low level attacks which use no mana, so even when you're tapped out and are trying to get to the mana clouds floating around, if a Mob drags you into combat you can still defend yourself.
Combat is rather interesting, and takes place in a small in-game arena. When you enter combat a sigil appears on the ground surrounded by eight circles. You are moved (by the game) into one of the circles, and your opponent takes his place in the circle opposite yours. You choose a card and when it's your turn to attack (maybe you go first, maybe your opponent does) your avatar casts the spell automatically. There is the animation, which naturally differs for each spell. You might summon an Ice Beetle which sprays ice onto an opponent, someone else may summon a Fire Cat which blows flame, and someone may summon a Sand Beetle which leaps into attack. And of course there are many other Spell Cards obtainable, depending on the School of Magic in which you specialize.
The quests are very simple (at least at the start). One objective could be "Find the Guard hiding in his house. You look at your Map and it will show you where the Guard's house is. When you get to his house the Guard may ask you to kill 3 Skeletons, so he can return to his post. Yup, 3 Skeletons. Not 10, not collect 10 Skulls, just kill 3 Skeletons and the Quest is complete. The really child-friendly thing is even if you're not in a Party with someone, if you're both within close proximity and you both enter combat at the same time, you will move to adjacent circles on the same sigil, and when you defeat your Skeleton mob and your ally (who's not even in a Party with you) defeats his, you get credited with two kills. If your ally's spell fizzles and combat enters a second round, you can cast a spell to attack his skeleton; it's not Kill Stealing, you will both get credit for the kill.The game is free-to-play to level 10, that is you cannot advance higher than level 10 without subscribing. I made it to level 4 last night with an hour or so of playing, so level 10 is probably easily reached within a few hours. As JE and I ran around (not together, I didn't start playing until he was in bed. Maybe we'll do that tonight.) I saw other players with Pets/Minions. I'm not sure if they're available before level 10 or not. Probably not, it's probably one more hook to try to get you to subscribe.
Wizard 101 may not be the WoW beater you're looking for, but it is a cute little game, and it's very child friendly. One of the more child friendly aspects is there's no General Chat window like you get with WoW, which is often filled with random, inane, and obscene messages from bored & immature players. In Wizard 101 you communicate with Emotes/Chats selected from a Pulldown Chat menu. General Chat is available, but only if you subscribe (another hook) and only if you register as being 13-years or older, and then only other 13+ y/old subscribers can see General Chat.
When I installed the game on JE's PC and set up his account I used my email address, and the game recognized that I'd already created an account (on my PC) using that same email address. It then asked if I wanted to combine the two accounts, which I agreed to do. I guess (I hope) this means I only need to subscribe once, and that both JE and I will be able to play and level past 10. That would be a very cool feature (if it works that way). Imagine being able to Install WoW on two PCs under one Account, but being able to log in on both PCs at the same time, because one is a Parent and one is a Child account.
If you have younger children and you're looking for a child-friendly alternative to WoW for them, Wizard 101 just might be what you're looking for. With it being free to play (to level 10), the cost just to check it out is more than reasonable.
Note that if you do decide to subscribe, that right now (as of Sept. 17, 2008) you can get a 12-month subscription for just $60. That's about the same price as a new video game, and is just $5 per month. My WoW sub costs me $13/month and that's only if I buy a 6-month block. So both my son and I could play Wizard 101 together, for a year, for less than the price for me to play WoW, alone.
Irony...
Thy name is Geoff Paine.
Geoff is a fairly well known actor in Australia, at least physically memorable. Even though he's starred in two of Australia's biggest Soap Opera's, one of those being Neighbours which helped launched the careers of Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce, most people probably know Geoff's face but wouldn't remember his name.
On a recent trip to the Australian Consulate in west Los Angeles I passed Geoff going down the escalator. I immediately recognized him as an Aussie actor, but I was darned if I could recall anything he'd been in, and I certainly couldn't remember his name.
The most recent show in which I've seen Geoff is actually The Adventures of Lano & Woodley. In "The Pool" episode, Geoff plays Garth, an Olympic Gold Medalist who has been reduced to dressing up in a penguin costume for various television commercials, and as 'Penguinman' Garth receives far more recognition than he ever did as an Olympic Gold Medalist, and this is a very sore point for him. So much so that he suffers a nervous breakdown and when Colin Lane (Lano) dresses up as Penguinman, Garth chases him down and tries to kill him.
It's probably a good thing I couldn't remember where I knew Geoff from (until much later), or I might have blurted out "Oh my God! Penguinman!"
Geoff is a fairly well known actor in Australia, at least physically memorable. Even though he's starred in two of Australia's biggest Soap Opera's, one of those being Neighbours which helped launched the careers of Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce, most people probably know Geoff's face but wouldn't remember his name.
On a recent trip to the Australian Consulate in west Los Angeles I passed Geoff going down the escalator. I immediately recognized him as an Aussie actor, but I was darned if I could recall anything he'd been in, and I certainly couldn't remember his name.
The most recent show in which I've seen Geoff is actually The Adventures of Lano & Woodley. In "The Pool" episode, Geoff plays Garth, an Olympic Gold Medalist who has been reduced to dressing up in a penguin costume for various television commercials, and as 'Penguinman' Garth receives far more recognition than he ever did as an Olympic Gold Medalist, and this is a very sore point for him. So much so that he suffers a nervous breakdown and when Colin Lane (Lano) dresses up as Penguinman, Garth chases him down and tries to kill him.
It's probably a good thing I couldn't remember where I knew Geoff from (until much later), or I might have blurted out "Oh my God! Penguinman!"
Warhammer Online. Why wait?
This is a screen grab from Best Buy's flyer, viewable online at their website.
The pertinent part of that ad is that Warhammer Online will be available after 2pm, today. Forget tonight's midnight launch, standing out in the cold (did that with WoW:BC, never again, and yes, it can be chilly at midnight), you can stop by your local Best Buy (or reputable PC Gaming store) in the middle of the afternoon and pick up a copy of Warhammer Online, and you can do that today, even though the launch is not until tomorrow. This lets you get the game installed and your account set up, ready to start playing at midnight tonight.
The pertinent part of that ad is that Warhammer Online will be available after 2pm, today. Forget tonight's midnight launch, standing out in the cold (did that with WoW:BC, never again, and yes, it can be chilly at midnight), you can stop by your local Best Buy (or reputable PC Gaming store) in the middle of the afternoon and pick up a copy of Warhammer Online, and you can do that today, even though the launch is not until tomorrow. This lets you get the game installed and your account set up, ready to start playing at midnight tonight.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Stupid "internal" policies
This one is most definitely a Rant!
A couple of weeks ago we had a parcel delivered to me at work. Nothing unusual about this, we do it all the time. It's easier because then Liz can go out and not worry about missing the Mail Carrier, and having to stop by the Post Office the next day and wait in line to pick up the parcel, etc.
The Tracking Number we got said the Parcel was delivered on Wednesday, so Thursday I went looking for it, but no parcel was to be found. Our Front Desk staff said they hadn't seen it. I went home wondering where the parcel was. Friday was my day off.
On Monday I got into work to find an email in my Inbox, from Mail Services at City Hall. They had my parcel and I had one week to come in and pick it up. But the email was sent Friday, Sept. 5th, and the one week grace period they claimed to be giving me, they said ended on Sept. 4th.
I was a little pissed off because I knew they'd received the parcel on Sept. 3rd.
Everything worked out though, and I made the journey to City Hall and picked up my parcel, and I emailed the head of Mail Services and thanked him and his staff for taking care of my parcel until I was able to pick it up.
Then we ordered a Ground Loop Isolator from Overstock.com, which we had delivered to my office. Apparently the Mail Carrier attempted to deliver it yesterday but left a Delivery Notice instead.
I contacted Mail Services at City Hall: "Nope. Don't have it."
Well of course you don't have it! The Mail Carrier never left it! What he did leave was a Delivery Notice, which I could use to pick up the parcel from the local Post Office, if I had it!
"Mail Services doesn't leave any notices regarding personal mail."
GAH!
I went downstairs to the Mail Room in our building. The woman there showed me the log of incoming mail. Only one item arrived for my floor, but it wasn't for me.
I checked with the girl at our Front Desk. She never saw the Mail Carrier yesterday.
I strongly suspect someone at City Hall's Mail Services refused to sign for my parcel ("That's Personal, we don't sign for Personal mail."), took the Delivery Notice and instead of looking me up and emailing me or putting my Delivery Notice in the Internal Mail...tossed it in the trash.
This is what happens when Bean Counters are in charge of Operations. Everyone is so intent on covering their arse and watching their backs, that something like holding an employee's personal mail until they can pick it up is eliminated, because company resources are being devoted to a non-business related activity, and we can't have that happening.
I'm going to keep an eye on Tracking for this item, and if I see the Post Office made another delivery attempt and left a notice, I'll be emailing Mail Services again. But this time I'll change my tune.
Yes, this item is addressed to me personally, and yes, it's coming from Overstock.com. It's an A/V item we need for our conference room television and we're paying for it out of Petty Cash. So either accept my parcel, or tell the Mail Carrier to deliver it to our building WHICH IS WHERE IT'S BLOODY WELL ADDRESSED TO!!!
Unfortunately I suspect the Mail Services Manager would double check with someone else here if that's correct, and then I'd be the one on the end of an arse reaming.
Fucking bureaucrats.
*EDIT - Now the Tracking website shows my parcel was delivered yesterday morning, at 9:30am. So while I was running around like a headless chook, being told by everyone that they didn't have it, somewhere, someone did sign for it.
A couple of weeks ago we had a parcel delivered to me at work. Nothing unusual about this, we do it all the time. It's easier because then Liz can go out and not worry about missing the Mail Carrier, and having to stop by the Post Office the next day and wait in line to pick up the parcel, etc.
The Tracking Number we got said the Parcel was delivered on Wednesday, so Thursday I went looking for it, but no parcel was to be found. Our Front Desk staff said they hadn't seen it. I went home wondering where the parcel was. Friday was my day off.
On Monday I got into work to find an email in my Inbox, from Mail Services at City Hall. They had my parcel and I had one week to come in and pick it up. But the email was sent Friday, Sept. 5th, and the one week grace period they claimed to be giving me, they said ended on Sept. 4th.
I was a little pissed off because I knew they'd received the parcel on Sept. 3rd.
Everything worked out though, and I made the journey to City Hall and picked up my parcel, and I emailed the head of Mail Services and thanked him and his staff for taking care of my parcel until I was able to pick it up.
Then we ordered a Ground Loop Isolator from Overstock.com, which we had delivered to my office. Apparently the Mail Carrier attempted to deliver it yesterday but left a Delivery Notice instead.
I contacted Mail Services at City Hall: "Nope. Don't have it."
Well of course you don't have it! The Mail Carrier never left it! What he did leave was a Delivery Notice, which I could use to pick up the parcel from the local Post Office, if I had it!
"Mail Services doesn't leave any notices regarding personal mail."
GAH!
I went downstairs to the Mail Room in our building. The woman there showed me the log of incoming mail. Only one item arrived for my floor, but it wasn't for me.
I checked with the girl at our Front Desk. She never saw the Mail Carrier yesterday.
I strongly suspect someone at City Hall's Mail Services refused to sign for my parcel ("That's Personal, we don't sign for Personal mail."), took the Delivery Notice and instead of looking me up and emailing me or putting my Delivery Notice in the Internal Mail...tossed it in the trash.
This is what happens when Bean Counters are in charge of Operations. Everyone is so intent on covering their arse and watching their backs, that something like holding an employee's personal mail until they can pick it up is eliminated, because company resources are being devoted to a non-business related activity, and we can't have that happening.
I'm going to keep an eye on Tracking for this item, and if I see the Post Office made another delivery attempt and left a notice, I'll be emailing Mail Services again. But this time I'll change my tune.
Yes, this item is addressed to me personally, and yes, it's coming from Overstock.com. It's an A/V item we need for our conference room television and we're paying for it out of Petty Cash. So either accept my parcel, or tell the Mail Carrier to deliver it to our building WHICH IS WHERE IT'S BLOODY WELL ADDRESSED TO!!!
Unfortunately I suspect the Mail Services Manager would double check with someone else here if that's correct, and then I'd be the one on the end of an arse reaming.
Fucking bureaucrats.
*EDIT - Now the Tracking website shows my parcel was delivered yesterday morning, at 9:30am. So while I was running around like a headless chook, being told by everyone that they didn't have it, somewhere, someone did sign for it.
These girls are crazy!
(but should be admired, nonetheless.)
A few of my female coworkers are teaming up to take part in the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA Stairclimb event, which helps raise money to support the YMCA's various community programs.
On Friday September 26, 2008, the four of them (& many others equally crazy) will climb the stairs of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. At 1,108 feet tall (with 75 stories and approx. 1,500 stairs), the U.S. Bank Tower is the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
You can show your support for these crazy young ladies, and the YMCA, by making a small contribution to their cause. Don't worry about their health & safety, they're young, fit, and as government employees have a great Health Insurance plan ;)
Visit their team webpage here to read more about the Ketchum-YMCA Stairclimb, and show your support, if you feel so inclined.
A few of my female coworkers are teaming up to take part in the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA Stairclimb event, which helps raise money to support the YMCA's various community programs.
On Friday September 26, 2008, the four of them (& many others equally crazy) will climb the stairs of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. At 1,108 feet tall (with 75 stories and approx. 1,500 stairs), the U.S. Bank Tower is the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
You can show your support for these crazy young ladies, and the YMCA, by making a small contribution to their cause. Don't worry about their health & safety, they're young, fit, and as government employees have a great Health Insurance plan ;)
Visit their team webpage here to read more about the Ketchum-YMCA Stairclimb, and show your support, if you feel so inclined.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Body Fat % pwns the BMI
As I mentioned in my previous entry, the BMI should not be taken even with a grain of salt...actually I never said that specifically, but let's pretend I did. The BMI is useless, and someone with enough money and better lawyers than me should be going after the BMI and preventing any and all organizations from using it in any manner, specifically NOT to determine how healthy someone is.
A much better statistic to use to determine how healthy (or how overweight) you are, is calculating your Body Fat Percentage. You can't actually calculate that, well, you can if you're a Personal Trainer or know one, but it's a lot easier to get one of those sets of scales that does it for you. Punch in your age, your height, your gender, and hop on, in bare feet, with as few clothes as you're comfortable not wearing. You do want to get an accurate reading, don't you?
As of tonight, I'm now down to 190±2 pounds. My scales, which can calculate my BF%, said I'm at 22%. It would be nice to know what the first decimal place is, but the damn thing only shows whole numbers. A BF% of 22 is Acceptable (according to Wikipedia). It's not amazingly healthy, but it's not unhealthy either. I recall when I first came here I had my BF% calculated and I was at approx. 12%, which is pretty freaking good! Now I'm fat :P
This is another good site to check out, and explains the calculations behind determining a healthy BF%. Yes, just like following the archaic BMI is not healthy (unless you're a waif), having a goal that will reduce your BF% below a certain level is also not good for you. You can actually reduce your BF% to dangerously low levels.
Ok, now it's getting confusing. I just found this site, which calculates (approximately) your BF% based on your height and waist size. At 190 pounds with a 34" waist, it decided I have a BF% of just 14. Wow! I'm fitter than I thought. Hooray!
But that just helps to further prove my point. Take everything with a grain of salt (except for the BMI, don't take it at all) and rely more on your knowledge of your own body to determine if your current weight is healthy for you.
Let's say my scales were correct, and my BF% is really 22. That means I'm carrying around approx. 42 pounds of fat. If I can get my weight down to 180 I'm going to lose at least 10 pounds of fat. That means I'll be carrying approx. 30 pounds of fat spread out over my 180 pound body, for a BF% of 16.6 (recurring). That puts me pretty much into the BF%'s "Fitness" range. Now that I can live with, even if it means the Wii Fit and the archaic BMI think I'll still be Overweight.
A much better statistic to use to determine how healthy (or how overweight) you are, is calculating your Body Fat Percentage. You can't actually calculate that, well, you can if you're a Personal Trainer or know one, but it's a lot easier to get one of those sets of scales that does it for you. Punch in your age, your height, your gender, and hop on, in bare feet, with as few clothes as you're comfortable not wearing. You do want to get an accurate reading, don't you?
As of tonight, I'm now down to 190±2 pounds. My scales, which can calculate my BF%, said I'm at 22%. It would be nice to know what the first decimal place is, but the damn thing only shows whole numbers. A BF% of 22 is Acceptable (according to Wikipedia). It's not amazingly healthy, but it's not unhealthy either. I recall when I first came here I had my BF% calculated and I was at approx. 12%, which is pretty freaking good! Now I'm fat :P
This is another good site to check out, and explains the calculations behind determining a healthy BF%. Yes, just like following the archaic BMI is not healthy (unless you're a waif), having a goal that will reduce your BF% below a certain level is also not good for you. You can actually reduce your BF% to dangerously low levels.
Ok, now it's getting confusing. I just found this site, which calculates (approximately) your BF% based on your height and waist size. At 190 pounds with a 34" waist, it decided I have a BF% of just 14. Wow! I'm fitter than I thought. Hooray!
But that just helps to further prove my point. Take everything with a grain of salt (except for the BMI, don't take it at all) and rely more on your knowledge of your own body to determine if your current weight is healthy for you.
Let's say my scales were correct, and my BF% is really 22. That means I'm carrying around approx. 42 pounds of fat. If I can get my weight down to 180 I'm going to lose at least 10 pounds of fat. That means I'll be carrying approx. 30 pounds of fat spread out over my 180 pound body, for a BF% of 16.6 (recurring). That puts me pretty much into the BF%'s "Fitness" range. Now that I can live with, even if it means the Wii Fit and the archaic BMI think I'll still be Overweight.
Capn John's Blog
Now with Blog Tags.
I just spent a decent amount of time "tagging" my Blog Entries. You'll see them at the bottom of each entry, showing which Tag/s I think is/are appropriate for that entry, and you'll also see them in a new Menu on the right.
The Journal Tagged entries are mostly to do with my day to day activities, what I did on the weekend, etc.
Warcraft more your flavor? Click the Warcraft Tag link to see my Warcraft-related Blog entries.
It's pretty self-explanatory.
If you read an entry and you think it's missing an appropriate Tag, just let me know. Just keep in mind a lot of my older Entries are yet to be Tagged, so if an Entry has no Tag at all it's possible I haven't got to it yet.
I just spent a decent amount of time "tagging" my Blog Entries. You'll see them at the bottom of each entry, showing which Tag/s I think is/are appropriate for that entry, and you'll also see them in a new Menu on the right.
The Journal Tagged entries are mostly to do with my day to day activities, what I did on the weekend, etc.
Warcraft more your flavor? Click the Warcraft Tag link to see my Warcraft-related Blog entries.
It's pretty self-explanatory.
If you read an entry and you think it's missing an appropriate Tag, just let me know. Just keep in mind a lot of my older Entries are yet to be Tagged, so if an Entry has no Tag at all it's possible I haven't got to it yet.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wii Fit, an update
A few weeks ago I weighed in at just shy of 200 pounds (or 90kg), then we got the Wii Fit. After playing it for a combined 100 minutes (about 3-4 nights) I unlocked the basic Rhythm Boxing exercise.
Rhythm Boxing is not unlike Step Boxing. Lots of stepping and punching, and stepping back & blocking (hold both Wiimote & Nunchuk together in front of your face), in different combinations, for three minutes. After doing the Basic level a few times you unlock the Advanced level (or maybe it's Expert) which is more of the same, just with some slightly trickier combinations, repeated for 6 minutes.
Do that a few times and you unlock the Expert (or maybe it's Advanced) level, which is even trickier combinations repeated for 10 minutes. The Wii actually credits you with 13 minutes played for the highest level, so it's obviously counting the down-time between each combination when your Trainer shows you the next combination.
Your Trainer is a standing Heavy Bag (or maybe it's the Boxer who demonstrates each Combo prior to you doing it), and after each routine, i.e., 13 minutes for the highest level, you're given 15 seconds to throw as many punches as fast as you can, which can really tire you out if you throw serious punches.
Once I unlocked Rhythm Boxing it was pretty much all I did. Ok, I did trounce the High Score tables on Ski Jump, Slalom, Soccer, etc, but that was playing. For pure exercise, nothing beats the Rhythm Boxing if you do it properly and force yourself to actually work out. My daily routine is two sets at the highest level for 26 minutes, followed by a couple of Yoga/stretching routines for a couple more minutes. That's 30 minutes, daily, of aerobic exercise and stretching. Not too bad, really.
As I said earlier, prior to getting the Wii Fit I weighed in at approx. 200 pounds, but last night the Wii calculated my weight at 191. Admittedly I've been trying to eat a little healthier, such as no pastries when I get my daily Soy Latte. I used to get at least one Latte per day, if not two, but most days I can resist the urge and I'll have brewed coffee from the breakroom, which is not only less calories, but cheaper, too. If I get a snack from the cafeteria I resist the fatty snacks and get a bag of nuts or some fruit. But the Wii Fit still deserves a lot of credit.
It's convenient. It's right there in the family room. It takes just a minute or two to put on a pair of shorts and start working out, as opposed to getting my gym kit ready, getting into the car, driving 10 minutes to the gym, etc, etc.
It's also fun and interactive, a lot more so than an exercise DVD or a treadmill. With Rhythm Boxing if you get the timing of your punches spot on, the explosion from your glove hitting the bag is a lot bigger and louder, and you get extra points. Your Trainer also eggs you on, "Nice Punch! Nice Block! Watch your footwork!"
At 5'11 and 191 pounds, I'm still in the archaic BMI's "Overweight" category with a score of 26.6, but considering I'd need to drop to 178 pounds, or 80kg, just to have a high but Normal BMI, I'm not too fussed by that. Where the archaic BMI really falls on its face is thinking I'd need to get down to 160 pounds, or 72kg, to be in the middle of the Normal range. I think if I were to get down to 160 pounds, my family would probably start planning my funeral. Even in High School when I rode my bicycle everywhere I weighed 180 pounds, and I looked skinny at that weight. Well, more trim than skinny. If I can get back down to even just 185, I'll be happy.
Finally, remember in my initial review how I said the Wii Fit can be insulting? The bunny played it the other night, and when you start each session it sometimes asks you how another registered User is looking, and in this case it asked my daughter how I was looking.
One of the choices was "Toned", so I selected that.
The Wii Fit's response was one of disbelief. "Oh? Toned? Well, I...guess that's possible."
For a lump of plastic and circuit board, it sure can be sarcastic.
*EDIT - Cooling down from my Workout last night I did a couple of Ski Jumps. On one set of jumps I landed a 180+m jump.
"Don't mess up the second jump," I told myself, but of course I choked and finished with a combined score of barely 310 metres.
At the High Score screen Liz asked me who had the Top Score.
I do, I said, scrolling up...and my jaw dropped when I saw my wife's name was in the number one spot. She'd pipped me by about 3 metres.
Well done, dear :)
Rhythm Boxing is not unlike Step Boxing. Lots of stepping and punching, and stepping back & blocking (hold both Wiimote & Nunchuk together in front of your face), in different combinations, for three minutes. After doing the Basic level a few times you unlock the Advanced level (or maybe it's Expert) which is more of the same, just with some slightly trickier combinations, repeated for 6 minutes.
Do that a few times and you unlock the Expert (or maybe it's Advanced) level, which is even trickier combinations repeated for 10 minutes. The Wii actually credits you with 13 minutes played for the highest level, so it's obviously counting the down-time between each combination when your Trainer shows you the next combination.
Your Trainer is a standing Heavy Bag (or maybe it's the Boxer who demonstrates each Combo prior to you doing it), and after each routine, i.e., 13 minutes for the highest level, you're given 15 seconds to throw as many punches as fast as you can, which can really tire you out if you throw serious punches.
Once I unlocked Rhythm Boxing it was pretty much all I did. Ok, I did trounce the High Score tables on Ski Jump, Slalom, Soccer, etc, but that was playing. For pure exercise, nothing beats the Rhythm Boxing if you do it properly and force yourself to actually work out. My daily routine is two sets at the highest level for 26 minutes, followed by a couple of Yoga/stretching routines for a couple more minutes. That's 30 minutes, daily, of aerobic exercise and stretching. Not too bad, really.
As I said earlier, prior to getting the Wii Fit I weighed in at approx. 200 pounds, but last night the Wii calculated my weight at 191. Admittedly I've been trying to eat a little healthier, such as no pastries when I get my daily Soy Latte. I used to get at least one Latte per day, if not two, but most days I can resist the urge and I'll have brewed coffee from the breakroom, which is not only less calories, but cheaper, too. If I get a snack from the cafeteria I resist the fatty snacks and get a bag of nuts or some fruit. But the Wii Fit still deserves a lot of credit.
It's convenient. It's right there in the family room. It takes just a minute or two to put on a pair of shorts and start working out, as opposed to getting my gym kit ready, getting into the car, driving 10 minutes to the gym, etc, etc.
It's also fun and interactive, a lot more so than an exercise DVD or a treadmill. With Rhythm Boxing if you get the timing of your punches spot on, the explosion from your glove hitting the bag is a lot bigger and louder, and you get extra points. Your Trainer also eggs you on, "Nice Punch! Nice Block! Watch your footwork!"
At 5'11 and 191 pounds, I'm still in the archaic BMI's "Overweight" category with a score of 26.6, but considering I'd need to drop to 178 pounds, or 80kg, just to have a high but Normal BMI, I'm not too fussed by that. Where the archaic BMI really falls on its face is thinking I'd need to get down to 160 pounds, or 72kg, to be in the middle of the Normal range. I think if I were to get down to 160 pounds, my family would probably start planning my funeral. Even in High School when I rode my bicycle everywhere I weighed 180 pounds, and I looked skinny at that weight. Well, more trim than skinny. If I can get back down to even just 185, I'll be happy.
Finally, remember in my initial review how I said the Wii Fit can be insulting? The bunny played it the other night, and when you start each session it sometimes asks you how another registered User is looking, and in this case it asked my daughter how I was looking.
One of the choices was "Toned", so I selected that.
The Wii Fit's response was one of disbelief. "Oh? Toned? Well, I...guess that's possible."
For a lump of plastic and circuit board, it sure can be sarcastic.
*EDIT - Cooling down from my Workout last night I did a couple of Ski Jumps. On one set of jumps I landed a 180+m jump.
"Don't mess up the second jump," I told myself, but of course I choked and finished with a combined score of barely 310 metres.
At the High Score screen Liz asked me who had the Top Score.
I do, I said, scrolling up...and my jaw dropped when I saw my wife's name was in the number one spot. She'd pipped me by about 3 metres.
Well done, dear :)
Monday, September 08, 2008
Maybe it's just me...
although from what I read on the Internet, it's not, but Russell Brand, the alleged comedian who hosted last night's MTV VMAs, didn't seem that funny to me.
For starters, when has MTV been about politics? Is there a silent (invisible) P in there somewhere?
Two, if there's a good reason to vote for Obama, "To prove you're not a racist" is not it. How would you feel about someone who said, "Obama has done nothing which warrants him being a Presidential candidate, but I don't want people thinking I'm racist so I'm going to vote for him, anyway..."?
Three, George W. is a "retarded cowboy"? How long did it take Brand to come up with that drivel? Or did he just watch the last few VMAs and steal Chris Rock's gag? Perhaps he just watched reruns of The Tonight Show, or The Late Show. A "retarded cowboy"? Wow. He insulted retards, cowboys, and most of Texas, all in one hit. Actually, that's pretty good.
Four, I fail to see the humor in making fun of a group that, while working in an industry that surrounds them with promiscuity, still tries to promote a message that abstinence is A-OK. In a world where teen pregnancy is rampant to such an extent that (at least) 17 High School-aged girls made a pact to deliberately get themselves pregnant (thanks, Wolfgang ;), we have Pop Stars (who are role models, as much as real moms and dads might wish otherwise) who are trying to promote abstinence and say "It's okay to say No to sex", and this idiot is making fun of them. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.
I will say this, though. Russell Brand has a lot going on up top; It's just a pity all of the activity seems to be occurring on the outside of his head.
For starters, when has MTV been about politics? Is there a silent (invisible) P in there somewhere?
Two, if there's a good reason to vote for Obama, "To prove you're not a racist" is not it. How would you feel about someone who said, "Obama has done nothing which warrants him being a Presidential candidate, but I don't want people thinking I'm racist so I'm going to vote for him, anyway..."?
Three, George W. is a "retarded cowboy"? How long did it take Brand to come up with that drivel? Or did he just watch the last few VMAs and steal Chris Rock's gag? Perhaps he just watched reruns of The Tonight Show, or The Late Show. A "retarded cowboy"? Wow. He insulted retards, cowboys, and most of Texas, all in one hit. Actually, that's pretty good.
Four, I fail to see the humor in making fun of a group that, while working in an industry that surrounds them with promiscuity, still tries to promote a message that abstinence is A-OK. In a world where teen pregnancy is rampant to such an extent that (at least) 17 High School-aged girls made a pact to deliberately get themselves pregnant (thanks, Wolfgang ;), we have Pop Stars (who are role models, as much as real moms and dads might wish otherwise) who are trying to promote abstinence and say "It's okay to say No to sex", and this idiot is making fun of them. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.
I will say this, though. Russell Brand has a lot going on up top; It's just a pity all of the activity seems to be occurring on the outside of his head.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
I'm already being watched...
(I think) so fuck it. Let's take this ball and run with it :D
The problem with a political system where you really only have a choice between two parties (because a vote for anyone else is just wasted) is that neither party serves your best interest, in fact neither party really serves anyone's interest except for those people closely associated with those two parties.
In the U.S., the Democrats and the Republicans cooperate and work a lot more closely together than the public realizes.
Paranoid? Conspiracy Theorist? Moi? Heavens no. Sarcastic bastard? Maybe just a little.
But if I'm paranoid, explain why a Presidential candidate would threaten to walk out on a nationally televised debate if anyone other than The Other Party's candidate was present?
The Big Players in the Democrat and Republican parties know how fragile their hold is. They know a Two-Party system doesn't serve the people's best interests, and they don't care. What a Two-Party system does do is make it a lot easier for either Party to retain power, or help them regain it.
Think about it. It's you and one other guy. Would you want a third person coming in to the mix and reducing your chances of winning? Hell, no! So you form an alliance with the other guy to keep everyone else out. Only we're not talking about two guys, we're talking about two political parties, working together, to ensure anyone else is labeled as a crackpot or a whacko or just plain paranoid.
Are you reading this right now and thinking, "He think's the Dems and Pubs actually work together? What a crackpot!"
I'm not a crackpot. You're blind to the truth.
See how that works? We keep on insulting each other and what do we accomplish? Nothing.
What do the Dems and Pubs accomplish? One thing, but it's a Big Thing.
They accomplish Everything.
They kept us fighting each other instead of working together, because the minute we stop fighting each other and see through their facade and begin working together, they lose everything.
Can you imagine a Presidential debate set up between three candidates? I can't.
When I put a third person into the mix, I see Black and White on each side...and a Mediator in the middle. I can't even imagine a three-way debate. The system is not designed to facilitate a three-way debate. You've got a candidate on each side of the stage and...where does the third candidate go?
Between them? So he gets attacked from both sides?
Maybe between them, but set back a little? Where he won't appear quite as important as the two front guys.
Maybe we should just have them all sitting down at one long table.
Maybe I just haven't participated in enough formal debates. I wasn't on the debate team in High School or College, but my recollection of Debates was always the Pro-side and the Con-side. But running a country is not about Pros and Cons, there's a lot of Gray areas.
Where's the Party that thinks it's ok to execute criminals, but won't automatically treat gun owners as such?
Where's the Party that makes the distinction between Church and State, and realizes Marriage has nothing to do with a State-recognized Union?
Where's the Party that thinks homosexuals (of legal age) should be allowed to enter into a State-recognized Union and receive the same Rights accorded to heterosexual partners entering into the same?
Where's the Party that advocates less government interference and involvement in individuals lives? (Are you serious? A Party that wants to put itself out of a job???)
Those are my biggest concerns.
The first labels me as a Republican, while the next two make me...a Democrat???
And that last one? Less government interference?
That last concern labels me a 'crackpot' Libertarian, which is what I really am, and which is what most people in the U.S. are, too.
Most people in the U.S. just want to go about their own life and make their own choices, and they don't really mind what their neighbors do, as long as nobody gets hurt and no laws get broken. If that's you, you're probably a Libertarian.
But the Democrats and Republicans made "Libertarian" a dirty word, an undesirable label, much like Socialist and Fascist, which is why the Democrats and Republicans prefer their current labels.
More people in the U.S. are Libertarians than the Democrats and Republicans would like you to believe, possibly more Libertarians than Dems and Pubs put together, which is why they're labeled crackpots. Nobody wants to be labeled a crackpot, so you reluctantly put yourself down as a Republican or a Democrat, even though you're a gun owning, anti-criminal, pro-homosexual rights kind of guy.
Libertarians? Bunch of paranoid crackpots, if you ask me.
The problem with a political system where you really only have a choice between two parties (because a vote for anyone else is just wasted) is that neither party serves your best interest, in fact neither party really serves anyone's interest except for those people closely associated with those two parties.
In the U.S., the Democrats and the Republicans cooperate and work a lot more closely together than the public realizes.
Paranoid? Conspiracy Theorist? Moi? Heavens no. Sarcastic bastard? Maybe just a little.
But if I'm paranoid, explain why a Presidential candidate would threaten to walk out on a nationally televised debate if anyone other than The Other Party's candidate was present?
The Big Players in the Democrat and Republican parties know how fragile their hold is. They know a Two-Party system doesn't serve the people's best interests, and they don't care. What a Two-Party system does do is make it a lot easier for either Party to retain power, or help them regain it.
Think about it. It's you and one other guy. Would you want a third person coming in to the mix and reducing your chances of winning? Hell, no! So you form an alliance with the other guy to keep everyone else out. Only we're not talking about two guys, we're talking about two political parties, working together, to ensure anyone else is labeled as a crackpot or a whacko or just plain paranoid.
Are you reading this right now and thinking, "He think's the Dems and Pubs actually work together? What a crackpot!"
I'm not a crackpot. You're blind to the truth.
See how that works? We keep on insulting each other and what do we accomplish? Nothing.
What do the Dems and Pubs accomplish? One thing, but it's a Big Thing.
They accomplish Everything.
They kept us fighting each other instead of working together, because the minute we stop fighting each other and see through their facade and begin working together, they lose everything.
Can you imagine a Presidential debate set up between three candidates? I can't.
When I put a third person into the mix, I see Black and White on each side...and a Mediator in the middle. I can't even imagine a three-way debate. The system is not designed to facilitate a three-way debate. You've got a candidate on each side of the stage and...where does the third candidate go?
Between them? So he gets attacked from both sides?
Maybe between them, but set back a little? Where he won't appear quite as important as the two front guys.
Maybe we should just have them all sitting down at one long table.
Maybe I just haven't participated in enough formal debates. I wasn't on the debate team in High School or College, but my recollection of Debates was always the Pro-side and the Con-side. But running a country is not about Pros and Cons, there's a lot of Gray areas.
Where's the Party that thinks it's ok to execute criminals, but won't automatically treat gun owners as such?
Where's the Party that makes the distinction between Church and State, and realizes Marriage has nothing to do with a State-recognized Union?
Where's the Party that thinks homosexuals (of legal age) should be allowed to enter into a State-recognized Union and receive the same Rights accorded to heterosexual partners entering into the same?
Where's the Party that advocates less government interference and involvement in individuals lives? (Are you serious? A Party that wants to put itself out of a job???)
Those are my biggest concerns.
The first labels me as a Republican, while the next two make me...a Democrat???
And that last one? Less government interference?
That last concern labels me a 'crackpot' Libertarian, which is what I really am, and which is what most people in the U.S. are, too.
Most people in the U.S. just want to go about their own life and make their own choices, and they don't really mind what their neighbors do, as long as nobody gets hurt and no laws get broken. If that's you, you're probably a Libertarian.
But the Democrats and Republicans made "Libertarian" a dirty word, an undesirable label, much like Socialist and Fascist, which is why the Democrats and Republicans prefer their current labels.
More people in the U.S. are Libertarians than the Democrats and Republicans would like you to believe, possibly more Libertarians than Dems and Pubs put together, which is why they're labeled crackpots. Nobody wants to be labeled a crackpot, so you reluctantly put yourself down as a Republican or a Democrat, even though you're a gun owning, anti-criminal, pro-homosexual rights kind of guy.
Libertarians? Bunch of paranoid crackpots, if you ask me.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Fixing WoW's BGs
How often does this happen?
You zone into a WoW BG and the first message you see is:
"Just let them win. It's faster Honor."
Or this:
"Everyone report Lolimafk as AFK!"
You check the Map and Lolimafk, and several other players, are still in the cave, even though AV started 5 minutes ago. The battle ends with your General being defeated and you look at the Map. Lolimafk, and several others, are still in the cave.
WAR is being touted as the next best thing in PvP/RvR, but already some people are not happy with its apparent bias towards team work. Combat in WAR is slower than in WoW. In WOW a Rogue pops out of Stealth, Ambushing you or Stunlocking you, and for several seconds you can do nothing, then you die. That doesn't happen in WAR. Combat lasts a lot longer (or appears to). Players cannot tie up an opponent and prevent them from not just moving but fighting back, until death do us part. In WAR, Combat lasts long enough that other players have a chance to react. Friends (& foes) have a chance to help out with Heals or damaging attacks of their own. Players in WAR need to work together if they want to succeed. In one on one encounters, you might take down your opponent, but just because you got the drop on him doesn't necessarily mean you'll be victorious.
What does this mean for WoW?
It means the people who enjoy PvP/RvR but who enjoy playing as a group are going to love WAR, meanwhile Lolimafk and his buddies are still AFKing in the caves in AV. The players who used to be out in the fields trying to win while cursing Lol under their breath? They're playing WAR. And the players with less Lols & AFKers on their team, they're more likely to win, because they're more likely to play as a team.
How can Blizzard encourage people to play as a Team?
By changing the way their BG rewards system works, by doing something that would be very unpopular, but it would only be unpopular with Lolimafk and a handful of other players.
Get rid of Honor. You don't need it. Or at least get rid of it as a PvP currency. The only PvP currency should be PvP Badges won from the BGs. And speaking of winning them...you need to win to win them.
Fuck the losers. Fuck the AFKers. If you don't play the BGs properly, if you just sit in the cave thinking you can AFK Honor Farm all evening, you've got another think coming.
Think you can just let your team lose because it's "faster honor". THERE IS NO HONOR!
If you want those really cool PvP Epics then you've got to work for them. There is no second place prize. Second place is just the first loser.
You can't AFK in the cave any more because it won't get you any Honor. Your Team won't win without your help, either, and if your Team doesn't win you won't get any Badges. If you're off by yourself doing your own thing (whether that's AFK or Fishing), you're not playing as part of the team, and if you're not part of the team, you've just decreased your team's chances of winning, which means you're less likely to get the Badges you need.
Would this work? I think it would. Would it be popular? I know it wouldn't. And that's why Blizzard won't do it.
But unless someone has a better idea, it's the best idea I know of to get rid of the AFK Honor Farmers and promote teamwork in the BGs. Sure, the AFK Honor Farmers will become AFK Badge Farmers, but Badges will take a lot longer to earn when your team keeps losing because you were AFK instead of helping out.
And finally, make the AFK Reporting system actually do something. Does anyone still believe reporting someone AFK works?
Change the AFK reporting system so if enough people report Lolimafk as AFK during a BG, it gives him an AFK debuff similar to the already existing /AFK Coward Debuff. You're an AFK Farmer, so no joining a BG queue for 15 minutes. And if Lol receives this AFK debuff enough times in a 24 hour period, it prevents him from signing up for any BG for 24 hours. And at the end of the week if Lol has received sufficient AFK debuffs, he cannot join any BG for 7 days, on any of his characters.
As I said, not popular. But AFK Honor Farmers aren't popular either, so what does it matter? We're not trying to make friends, we're trying to solve a problem, and the people who aren't likely to be happy with this solution are probably part of the problem. And if we get rid of them, we've solved the problem.
You zone into a WoW BG and the first message you see is:
"Just let them win. It's faster Honor."
Or this:
"Everyone report Lolimafk as AFK!"
You check the Map and Lolimafk, and several other players, are still in the cave, even though AV started 5 minutes ago. The battle ends with your General being defeated and you look at the Map. Lolimafk, and several others, are still in the cave.
WAR is being touted as the next best thing in PvP/RvR, but already some people are not happy with its apparent bias towards team work. Combat in WAR is slower than in WoW. In WOW a Rogue pops out of Stealth, Ambushing you or Stunlocking you, and for several seconds you can do nothing, then you die. That doesn't happen in WAR. Combat lasts a lot longer (or appears to). Players cannot tie up an opponent and prevent them from not just moving but fighting back, until death do us part. In WAR, Combat lasts long enough that other players have a chance to react. Friends (& foes) have a chance to help out with Heals or damaging attacks of their own. Players in WAR need to work together if they want to succeed. In one on one encounters, you might take down your opponent, but just because you got the drop on him doesn't necessarily mean you'll be victorious.
What does this mean for WoW?
It means the people who enjoy PvP/RvR but who enjoy playing as a group are going to love WAR, meanwhile Lolimafk and his buddies are still AFKing in the caves in AV. The players who used to be out in the fields trying to win while cursing Lol under their breath? They're playing WAR. And the players with less Lols & AFKers on their team, they're more likely to win, because they're more likely to play as a team.
How can Blizzard encourage people to play as a Team?
By changing the way their BG rewards system works, by doing something that would be very unpopular, but it would only be unpopular with Lolimafk and a handful of other players.
Get rid of Honor. You don't need it. Or at least get rid of it as a PvP currency. The only PvP currency should be PvP Badges won from the BGs. And speaking of winning them...you need to win to win them.
Fuck the losers. Fuck the AFKers. If you don't play the BGs properly, if you just sit in the cave thinking you can AFK Honor Farm all evening, you've got another think coming.
Think you can just let your team lose because it's "faster honor". THERE IS NO HONOR!
If you want those really cool PvP Epics then you've got to work for them. There is no second place prize. Second place is just the first loser.
You can't AFK in the cave any more because it won't get you any Honor. Your Team won't win without your help, either, and if your Team doesn't win you won't get any Badges. If you're off by yourself doing your own thing (whether that's AFK or Fishing), you're not playing as part of the team, and if you're not part of the team, you've just decreased your team's chances of winning, which means you're less likely to get the Badges you need.
Would this work? I think it would. Would it be popular? I know it wouldn't. And that's why Blizzard won't do it.
But unless someone has a better idea, it's the best idea I know of to get rid of the AFK Honor Farmers and promote teamwork in the BGs. Sure, the AFK Honor Farmers will become AFK Badge Farmers, but Badges will take a lot longer to earn when your team keeps losing because you were AFK instead of helping out.
And finally, make the AFK Reporting system actually do something. Does anyone still believe reporting someone AFK works?
Change the AFK reporting system so if enough people report Lolimafk as AFK during a BG, it gives him an AFK debuff similar to the already existing /AFK Coward Debuff. You're an AFK Farmer, so no joining a BG queue for 15 minutes. And if Lol receives this AFK debuff enough times in a 24 hour period, it prevents him from signing up for any BG for 24 hours. And at the end of the week if Lol has received sufficient AFK debuffs, he cannot join any BG for 7 days, on any of his characters.
As I said, not popular. But AFK Honor Farmers aren't popular either, so what does it matter? We're not trying to make friends, we're trying to solve a problem, and the people who aren't likely to be happy with this solution are probably part of the problem. And if we get rid of them, we've solved the problem.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Wii Fit
Friday I stopped by Sears/K-Mart on the way home on the off-chance they'd just received a Wii Fit or two, but they hadn't. Not only did they have not have any in stock, but the girl said they'd received four units at release (late May), and that was it. Now I knew this thing was in high demand but I didn't realize just how limited its supply really was.
That night Liz and I went out for sushi. We stuffed ourselves, so Liz wanted to stop by Marshall's and do some shopping, to "walk off the full tummy". Next to the Marshall's is a Toys R Us, so I said I'd pop in while Liz parked the car, just on the off chance they had a Wii Fit in stock.
I found the Wii Fit display stand and lots of Wii Fit peripherals and accessories. Wii Fit Towels, Wii Fit Yoga Mats, Floor Mats, carrying cases. You name it, Nintendo had it...all except for the Wii Fit itself. I looked around. Mucho units of Guitar Hero for every console. Rock Band? Check! But no Wii Fit. Then the sales girl approached and asked if she could help me.
I smiled, assuming I already knew the answer, and said "I don't suppose you have any Wii Fits in stock?"
She smiled back and said, "Actually we do."
I stopped and stared. "Really?"
"We just got some in," she said.
I promptly called Liz and told her to bring the $20 Gift Card she had with her in the car.
"I'll be right there," she said, hanging up on me, and almost seconds later she was.
Thoughts of Marshall's and clothes shopping were thrown out the door.
We were getting a Wii Fit!
As we paid for it I asked the girl, "Is this the last one? Do you have any more?"
"Why do we want another one?" Liz asked me.
"Shh," I replied, "it wouldn't be polite to say in front of the sales girl that we planned to sell the second one on eBay."
Liz did not let me buy a second one :P
In the car I said to Liz, "Do you think Nathan wants one? I'm going to call him."
Nathan didn't want one. And we didn't go back and buy a second one, either.
So now, without further ado, I give you my review of Wii Fit.
* * * * *
THE WII FIT
Is it fun?
Yes, it is, and it has a few "Easter Eggs" as well. It's also rather rude. When you "register" your Mii at the Wii Fit Plaza, it asks for your height and age, then it calculates your BMI, which I disagree with. The BMI is archaic and fails to take into account that some people have a slender frame, while others, such as myself, are built rather solidly with broad chest & shoulders. But that's a problem with the BMI, not with the Wii Fit.
The Wii Fit then conducts its first Body Test where it measures your Center of Gravity (CoG) to determine if you stand with your weight more on one side of your body than the other. Most people probably do. You then play your first "mini game" of sorts where the Wii Fit asks you to shift your weight from one side of the Balance Board (BB) to the other, in varying increments. You're presented with two bars showing how much of your weight is being distributed to either side of your body, and a target line where you have to shift your weight to the left (but not all of it) to get the measurement bar to hit the target bar...and keep it there, for three seconds.
Easy enough the first time because the target bar is rather large, but the Wii Fit then repeats the test with you needing to shift your weight to the right, and now the target bar is smaller. Shift too much of your weight and you go past the target bar and need to shift your weight back a bit, but just a bit! Now hold it for three seconds...and...shift your weight back to the left, to hit an even smaller target bar. Do this five times in total, with the target bar getting smaller each time, and do so within 30 seconds.
(What I liked is that during almost every event there is a mini-map in the top right corner, which shows where your CoG is on the BB. This plays an important role in some of the mini-games.)
After the tests the Wii Fit adjusts your Mii avatar per the archaic BMI, and because I have a 27.9 BMI I'm on the heavier side of overweight, so my avatar got a substantial beer gut. Then because I failed the Balance Test I got told my balance is not so good and I probably trip over a lot when I walk.
Yeah. Thanks a lot. How much did I pay for this thing, only to be insulted by it?
I will admit that later, when Liz went through the same tests only to receive the same results and insult, it was a lot funnier :D
We each "played" on the Wii Fit for half an hour or so and I actually worked up a sweat, doing the Hula, running on the spot, then doing some Yoga and strength-building exercises.
Saturday we slept in and the Wii Fit stayed in its cubby (it fits quite neatly into one of the alcoves in our entertainment unit). We did some cleaning around the house, watched some TV, then I got ready for the Cub Scout camp that night.
Sunday when we returned home JE couldn't wait to fire up the Wii, so Liz showed him what to do, but when she logged in with her Mii she got insulted again. Sort of.
Too lazy to work out yesterday? it said.
Wow! Such impudence coming from a video game, even a $90 one. I can't recall if it said the same thing for me when I logged in, it probably did.
JE played the Wii Fit, a lot. Liz said that she'd been unable to adjust JE's height, so his Mii was about a foot & a half taller than he really is, which meant he was actually underweight. His Mii avatar was rather skinny when standing next to Liz and my own.
JE loved the running, and he scored pretty high on it, too. When I did it the first time I got about a 40% Burn Rate, JE scored in the 60s, I think because he managed to "run" at a more consistent rate than I did. During the "running" event your Mii chases his Trainer, and you can pass them if you "run" fast enough but then you get told off. I put "run" in quotation marks because if you just shake the Wiimote, your Mii still "runs", so you don't really need to run to make your on-screen avatar run around the Island. Yes, Island. Your Mii actually runs around an Island, which is kind of neat. The view is First Person so if your TV was at eye-level it would almost be like running around a cartoon island, complete with village, beach, rock tunnel, etc.
There were two Easter Eggs in the running event. The first was discovered by inappropriate use of the Wiimote, by which I meant we shook it, rapidly, which caused our Mii to run flat out for several seconds then fall flat on his face, complete with thud and grunt. It was amusing enough to do it several times, even if we did get told off for running too fast :P
The second Easter Egg was discovered by running fast enough to pass the Trainer at just the correct time. Now this could be construed a Spoiler so don't read this paragraph if you want to discover everything yourself...and there might not be much more to discover. By passing your Trainer just after a Dog passes him, you would stop auto-following your Trainer and begin Auto-following the Dog. By following the Dog you can visit/unlock other parts of the Island. If you run faster than the Dog when another Dog passes the first Dog, you start Auto-following the second Dog, and can take a different route yet again.
JE loved passing the Trainer and chasing the Dogs.
The Ski slalom was fun, but it wasn't really like real Skiing. For one the controls need to be reversed. If you know anything about real Skiing you know that to turn left, you shift your body weight to put more weight on your right foot, and vice versa. So if Wii Fit's Ski Slalom were like real Skiing, putting weight on your right foot would actually make you turn left, but it does not, it makes you turn right. This is a minor annoyance and can apparently be changed in the Setup, if you want to bother with that sort of thing. What was neat was that leaning forward shifts your weight forward and makes you go faster, and putting a lot of weight on one foot made the turn to that side really sharp, whereas just a little weight to one side made for a gradual turn. I'm sure if you practice enough with the Slalom you'll get the hang of it and belt out some really fast times. After a few runs I nailed every gate and recorded the fastest time, but I hadn't been going overly fast so my time was still in the 30-second range. While my time was listed as "professional" level I still only got two stars instead of the maximum possible four.
And what would Skiing be without the Ski Jump! When the gate opens make sure your weight is centered, and forward, and get down low! Using the Minimap get the CoG marker forward of center and onto the sweet spot for an extra burst of speed then at the end of the jump, stand up, quickly! Don't jump, just quickly stand up and your avatar will jump by himself. Now stay balanced for maximum flight time. After some fitful starts we all managed to get in some respectable jumps, but we discovered we had to use our own Avatars, which meant backing out to the Menu and the Wii Fit Plaza each time we wanted to switch over. If I tried to use JE's avatar, my extra weight was more than enough to "fool" the BB into thinking JE (who was supposed to be Skiing) had straightened up and 'jumped', so my avatar would jump way too early.
In the Ski Jump we discovered, not necessarily an Easter Egg, but amusing extras nonetheless. Failing to jump in time, or landing while off balance, causes your Mii to take a tumble and roll down the hill. Now a rolling stone may gather no moss, but a rolling Mii Ski Jumper does gather snow, and you end up with a comical snow ball with skis sticking out, rolling down the hill. Like forcing your Mii Runner to take a dive, this was also amusing enough to repeat a couple of times.
Does the Wii Fit have longetivity?
I would say Yes. When you just start "playing" you have a limited number of minigames/exercises to play, but as you accrue Time Played (& it does track how long you spend playing each day) you unlock more minigames. Some of the minigames take quite a bit to master, but are fun nonetheless, so you'll find yourself coming back to replay them and beat your highest score, which leads to unlocking new minigames which you may play as well, thus unlocking even more minigames.
Will it help me lose weight?
Are you going to cheat like you always do? When was the last time you went to the Gym? Still keeping the membership current though, right?
The Wii Fit is not a serious piece of exercise equipment like a treadmill, but it's a heck of a lot more fun to run through a cartoon village than stare at the wall of your bedroom for half an hour. And go to the gym? That means getting my gym bag together, and driving to the gym, then waiting for the elliptical machine or the treadmill (I can see your Timer, you know. I can tell you've been on that thing for an hour. Hey! Don't go hitting reset and starting over just because your 30 minutes are up! There's people waiting here, you know!) Or you could use that Stair Master thing in the corner that nobody seems to use, and after 5 minutes on it now you know why. (I can't feel my legs! How long have I been exercising? 5 minutes? That's it? No Fucking Way! The Timer must be broken! Uh oh. I think I'm going into cardiac arrest...or having an asthma attack, and I'm not asthmatic!)
What the Wii Fit will do is get you up and moving, and maybe even get your heart pumping a little more, and what it will also do is keep track of your progress, so you don't have to. Instead of sitting on the sofa for an hour, you're up and jumping around, you're doing windmills, twirling imaginary hula hoops, maybe even doing push ups. Any exercise, no matter how limited, is better than sitting on your arse all evening.
That's what the Wii Fit will do for you, and how often do you get to exercise naked? Can't do that at the gym now, can you? Actually I don't really use the Wii Fit naked...Liz makes me put socks on.
That night Liz and I went out for sushi. We stuffed ourselves, so Liz wanted to stop by Marshall's and do some shopping, to "walk off the full tummy". Next to the Marshall's is a Toys R Us, so I said I'd pop in while Liz parked the car, just on the off chance they had a Wii Fit in stock.
I found the Wii Fit display stand and lots of Wii Fit peripherals and accessories. Wii Fit Towels, Wii Fit Yoga Mats, Floor Mats, carrying cases. You name it, Nintendo had it...all except for the Wii Fit itself. I looked around. Mucho units of Guitar Hero for every console. Rock Band? Check! But no Wii Fit. Then the sales girl approached and asked if she could help me.
I smiled, assuming I already knew the answer, and said "I don't suppose you have any Wii Fits in stock?"
She smiled back and said, "Actually we do."
I stopped and stared. "Really?"
"We just got some in," she said.
I promptly called Liz and told her to bring the $20 Gift Card she had with her in the car.
"I'll be right there," she said, hanging up on me, and almost seconds later she was.
Thoughts of Marshall's and clothes shopping were thrown out the door.
We were getting a Wii Fit!
As we paid for it I asked the girl, "Is this the last one? Do you have any more?"
"Why do we want another one?" Liz asked me.
"Shh," I replied, "it wouldn't be polite to say in front of the sales girl that we planned to sell the second one on eBay."
Liz did not let me buy a second one :P
In the car I said to Liz, "Do you think Nathan wants one? I'm going to call him."
Nathan didn't want one. And we didn't go back and buy a second one, either.
So now, without further ado, I give you my review of Wii Fit.
* * * * *
THE WII FIT
Is it fun?
Yes, it is, and it has a few "Easter Eggs" as well. It's also rather rude. When you "register" your Mii at the Wii Fit Plaza, it asks for your height and age, then it calculates your BMI, which I disagree with. The BMI is archaic and fails to take into account that some people have a slender frame, while others, such as myself, are built rather solidly with broad chest & shoulders. But that's a problem with the BMI, not with the Wii Fit.
The Wii Fit then conducts its first Body Test where it measures your Center of Gravity (CoG) to determine if you stand with your weight more on one side of your body than the other. Most people probably do. You then play your first "mini game" of sorts where the Wii Fit asks you to shift your weight from one side of the Balance Board (BB) to the other, in varying increments. You're presented with two bars showing how much of your weight is being distributed to either side of your body, and a target line where you have to shift your weight to the left (but not all of it) to get the measurement bar to hit the target bar...and keep it there, for three seconds.
Easy enough the first time because the target bar is rather large, but the Wii Fit then repeats the test with you needing to shift your weight to the right, and now the target bar is smaller. Shift too much of your weight and you go past the target bar and need to shift your weight back a bit, but just a bit! Now hold it for three seconds...and...shift your weight back to the left, to hit an even smaller target bar. Do this five times in total, with the target bar getting smaller each time, and do so within 30 seconds.
(What I liked is that during almost every event there is a mini-map in the top right corner, which shows where your CoG is on the BB. This plays an important role in some of the mini-games.)
After the tests the Wii Fit adjusts your Mii avatar per the archaic BMI, and because I have a 27.9 BMI I'm on the heavier side of overweight, so my avatar got a substantial beer gut. Then because I failed the Balance Test I got told my balance is not so good and I probably trip over a lot when I walk.
Yeah. Thanks a lot. How much did I pay for this thing, only to be insulted by it?
I will admit that later, when Liz went through the same tests only to receive the same results and insult, it was a lot funnier :D
We each "played" on the Wii Fit for half an hour or so and I actually worked up a sweat, doing the Hula, running on the spot, then doing some Yoga and strength-building exercises.
Saturday we slept in and the Wii Fit stayed in its cubby (it fits quite neatly into one of the alcoves in our entertainment unit). We did some cleaning around the house, watched some TV, then I got ready for the Cub Scout camp that night.
Sunday when we returned home JE couldn't wait to fire up the Wii, so Liz showed him what to do, but when she logged in with her Mii she got insulted again. Sort of.
Too lazy to work out yesterday? it said.
Wow! Such impudence coming from a video game, even a $90 one. I can't recall if it said the same thing for me when I logged in, it probably did.
JE played the Wii Fit, a lot. Liz said that she'd been unable to adjust JE's height, so his Mii was about a foot & a half taller than he really is, which meant he was actually underweight. His Mii avatar was rather skinny when standing next to Liz and my own.
JE loved the running, and he scored pretty high on it, too. When I did it the first time I got about a 40% Burn Rate, JE scored in the 60s, I think because he managed to "run" at a more consistent rate than I did. During the "running" event your Mii chases his Trainer, and you can pass them if you "run" fast enough but then you get told off. I put "run" in quotation marks because if you just shake the Wiimote, your Mii still "runs", so you don't really need to run to make your on-screen avatar run around the Island. Yes, Island. Your Mii actually runs around an Island, which is kind of neat. The view is First Person so if your TV was at eye-level it would almost be like running around a cartoon island, complete with village, beach, rock tunnel, etc.
There were two Easter Eggs in the running event. The first was discovered by inappropriate use of the Wiimote, by which I meant we shook it, rapidly, which caused our Mii to run flat out for several seconds then fall flat on his face, complete with thud and grunt. It was amusing enough to do it several times, even if we did get told off for running too fast :P
The second Easter Egg was discovered by running fast enough to pass the Trainer at just the correct time. Now this could be construed a Spoiler so don't read this paragraph if you want to discover everything yourself...and there might not be much more to discover. By passing your Trainer just after a Dog passes him, you would stop auto-following your Trainer and begin Auto-following the Dog. By following the Dog you can visit/unlock other parts of the Island. If you run faster than the Dog when another Dog passes the first Dog, you start Auto-following the second Dog, and can take a different route yet again.
JE loved passing the Trainer and chasing the Dogs.
The Ski slalom was fun, but it wasn't really like real Skiing. For one the controls need to be reversed. If you know anything about real Skiing you know that to turn left, you shift your body weight to put more weight on your right foot, and vice versa. So if Wii Fit's Ski Slalom were like real Skiing, putting weight on your right foot would actually make you turn left, but it does not, it makes you turn right. This is a minor annoyance and can apparently be changed in the Setup, if you want to bother with that sort of thing. What was neat was that leaning forward shifts your weight forward and makes you go faster, and putting a lot of weight on one foot made the turn to that side really sharp, whereas just a little weight to one side made for a gradual turn. I'm sure if you practice enough with the Slalom you'll get the hang of it and belt out some really fast times. After a few runs I nailed every gate and recorded the fastest time, but I hadn't been going overly fast so my time was still in the 30-second range. While my time was listed as "professional" level I still only got two stars instead of the maximum possible four.
And what would Skiing be without the Ski Jump! When the gate opens make sure your weight is centered, and forward, and get down low! Using the Minimap get the CoG marker forward of center and onto the sweet spot for an extra burst of speed then at the end of the jump, stand up, quickly! Don't jump, just quickly stand up and your avatar will jump by himself. Now stay balanced for maximum flight time. After some fitful starts we all managed to get in some respectable jumps, but we discovered we had to use our own Avatars, which meant backing out to the Menu and the Wii Fit Plaza each time we wanted to switch over. If I tried to use JE's avatar, my extra weight was more than enough to "fool" the BB into thinking JE (who was supposed to be Skiing) had straightened up and 'jumped', so my avatar would jump way too early.
In the Ski Jump we discovered, not necessarily an Easter Egg, but amusing extras nonetheless. Failing to jump in time, or landing while off balance, causes your Mii to take a tumble and roll down the hill. Now a rolling stone may gather no moss, but a rolling Mii Ski Jumper does gather snow, and you end up with a comical snow ball with skis sticking out, rolling down the hill. Like forcing your Mii Runner to take a dive, this was also amusing enough to repeat a couple of times.
Does the Wii Fit have longetivity?
I would say Yes. When you just start "playing" you have a limited number of minigames/exercises to play, but as you accrue Time Played (& it does track how long you spend playing each day) you unlock more minigames. Some of the minigames take quite a bit to master, but are fun nonetheless, so you'll find yourself coming back to replay them and beat your highest score, which leads to unlocking new minigames which you may play as well, thus unlocking even more minigames.
Will it help me lose weight?
Are you going to cheat like you always do? When was the last time you went to the Gym? Still keeping the membership current though, right?
The Wii Fit is not a serious piece of exercise equipment like a treadmill, but it's a heck of a lot more fun to run through a cartoon village than stare at the wall of your bedroom for half an hour. And go to the gym? That means getting my gym bag together, and driving to the gym, then waiting for the elliptical machine or the treadmill (I can see your Timer, you know. I can tell you've been on that thing for an hour. Hey! Don't go hitting reset and starting over just because your 30 minutes are up! There's people waiting here, you know!) Or you could use that Stair Master thing in the corner that nobody seems to use, and after 5 minutes on it now you know why. (I can't feel my legs! How long have I been exercising? 5 minutes? That's it? No Fucking Way! The Timer must be broken! Uh oh. I think I'm going into cardiac arrest...or having an asthma attack, and I'm not asthmatic!)
What the Wii Fit will do is get you up and moving, and maybe even get your heart pumping a little more, and what it will also do is keep track of your progress, so you don't have to. Instead of sitting on the sofa for an hour, you're up and jumping around, you're doing windmills, twirling imaginary hula hoops, maybe even doing push ups. Any exercise, no matter how limited, is better than sitting on your arse all evening.
That's what the Wii Fit will do for you, and how often do you get to exercise naked? Can't do that at the gym now, can you? Actually I don't really use the Wii Fit naked...Liz makes me put socks on.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
CANNONNNNN BAAAAALL!!!
When I was in High School we had four Houses that competed against each other (yes, just like Harry Potter :P) in the annual Athletics and Swimming competitions. Somehow (don't ask me, I don't know how) I was actually elected House Captain two years running. Actually I think I know how: because nobody else was stupid enough to accept the nomination.
Being House Captain meant I had to inspire the troops, so to speak, which really meant when people were asked if they wanted to run the 100m, or the 200m, or do the High Jump, the Shot Putt, the Discus, etc, and nobody was willing to volunteer, I had to do it. There were a few people who actually volunteered to compete in all of the events, but they were the athletic-types who were actually good at doing that sort of thing. Such as one of the 100m Sprinters who turned up with his Track Spikes, then made the starting official (one of the teachers) wait while he hammered down his starting blocks for when he Took His Mark! and Got Set!
During the Swimming competition when there was again a lack of volunteers, I was once more called on to take part in just about every swimming event, including the diving. My diving repertoire consisted of a pike (which I screwed up trying to do a full tuck), a back somersault, and a forward somersault. Lucky we only got three dives or I'd have been out of tricks. Actually I have one more dive in my stable but it wouldn't have scored very highly.
Bone, I agree, if I were on the Dive Team in the Olympics, and if I knew I was totally out of the running, I would absolutely consider doing a Cannonball, but with my own special twist that I call The Stomper. It starts out just like a Cannonball, but just before entry you straighten out and stomp the surface of the water as hard as you can. Apparently it creates a very loud splatting sound and generates a lot more splash than a standard Cannonball. It never seemed that impressive when my friends did it, then again, everyone else said nobody did The Stomper quite like me...credit probably goes to my big feet :P
So I did the Diving for my House and messed up with the Pike. I think I came fourth out of about 10 competitors. I also did the butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke events, as well as the backstroke leg of the 4x50 relay for my House. During either the Butterfly or Breaststroke both myself and several other competitors were DQ'd for kicking the wrong way, and I think only two swimmers had legitimate finishes. So I botched the diving, and the butterfly or breaststroke, but my unsung hero moment came during the 4x50 relay.
Just as we'd had a Ringer turn up at the Athletic competition with Track Spikes and Starting Blocks, we had a couple of Ringers at the Swimming competition, too. They looked impressive, in their Speedos with matching caps & goggles, and I had the honor of starting against one of them for the opening Backstroke leg of the 4x50 relay. We were neck and neck down the pool, until I gave it everything I had and pulled just a tiny bit ahead to tap the wall ahead of my opponent. I'm not saying I beat him decisively, but I hit the wall first and he hit it second, and he knew it.
Some of our greatest accomplishments in life receive no recognition, no ribbons or medals. We know what we've done, and sometimes that's enough.
"Someone beat me," said my opponent, as he clambered out of the pool. "Someone beat me! Who beat me?"
(Sometimes other people know what we've done, too.)
Amused by his shock and disbelief I remained quiet, and nobody else volunteered my name. If anything, everyone seemed puzzled that he was making such a big deal out of not hitting the wall first. It would be nice to think my opponent learned a lesson in humility, a lesson which he carries with him to this very day, one which has helped him achieve success in the rest of his life.
Never underestimate your opponent, even if he is wearing knee-length baggy, board shorts. He just might kick your arse ;)
Being House Captain meant I had to inspire the troops, so to speak, which really meant when people were asked if they wanted to run the 100m, or the 200m, or do the High Jump, the Shot Putt, the Discus, etc, and nobody was willing to volunteer, I had to do it. There were a few people who actually volunteered to compete in all of the events, but they were the athletic-types who were actually good at doing that sort of thing. Such as one of the 100m Sprinters who turned up with his Track Spikes, then made the starting official (one of the teachers) wait while he hammered down his starting blocks for when he Took His Mark! and Got Set!
During the Swimming competition when there was again a lack of volunteers, I was once more called on to take part in just about every swimming event, including the diving. My diving repertoire consisted of a pike (which I screwed up trying to do a full tuck), a back somersault, and a forward somersault. Lucky we only got three dives or I'd have been out of tricks. Actually I have one more dive in my stable but it wouldn't have scored very highly.
Bone, I agree, if I were on the Dive Team in the Olympics, and if I knew I was totally out of the running, I would absolutely consider doing a Cannonball, but with my own special twist that I call The Stomper. It starts out just like a Cannonball, but just before entry you straighten out and stomp the surface of the water as hard as you can. Apparently it creates a very loud splatting sound and generates a lot more splash than a standard Cannonball. It never seemed that impressive when my friends did it, then again, everyone else said nobody did The Stomper quite like me...credit probably goes to my big feet :P
So I did the Diving for my House and messed up with the Pike. I think I came fourth out of about 10 competitors. I also did the butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke events, as well as the backstroke leg of the 4x50 relay for my House. During either the Butterfly or Breaststroke both myself and several other competitors were DQ'd for kicking the wrong way, and I think only two swimmers had legitimate finishes. So I botched the diving, and the butterfly or breaststroke, but my unsung hero moment came during the 4x50 relay.
Just as we'd had a Ringer turn up at the Athletic competition with Track Spikes and Starting Blocks, we had a couple of Ringers at the Swimming competition, too. They looked impressive, in their Speedos with matching caps & goggles, and I had the honor of starting against one of them for the opening Backstroke leg of the 4x50 relay. We were neck and neck down the pool, until I gave it everything I had and pulled just a tiny bit ahead to tap the wall ahead of my opponent. I'm not saying I beat him decisively, but I hit the wall first and he hit it second, and he knew it.
Some of our greatest accomplishments in life receive no recognition, no ribbons or medals. We know what we've done, and sometimes that's enough.
"Someone beat me," said my opponent, as he clambered out of the pool. "Someone beat me! Who beat me?"
(Sometimes other people know what we've done, too.)
Amused by his shock and disbelief I remained quiet, and nobody else volunteered my name. If anything, everyone seemed puzzled that he was making such a big deal out of not hitting the wall first. It would be nice to think my opponent learned a lesson in humility, a lesson which he carries with him to this very day, one which has helped him achieve success in the rest of his life.
Never underestimate your opponent, even if he is wearing knee-length baggy, board shorts. He just might kick your arse ;)
DSL vs Cable
For several years our Cable TV provider has also been our ISP, and so we enjoyed the speedy internet access of Cable Modem Broadband, up until recently. Running online Speed Tests I was pretty happy with our morning download speed of 5Mb/s, but in the evening, when my neighbors started downloading porn or streaming music videos, that 5Mb/s could drop by up to 90%. The problem with Cable Modems is that your PC shares internet bandwidth not just with the other PCs in your house, but with that of your neighbors, so the more of you there are in your neighborhood using the same Cable Modem service at the same time, the slower that service becomes. Running Speed Tests in the evening would reveal not the lightning-fast 5Mb/s download speed of the AM, but a little old lady on her way to church slow rate of 500Kb/s.
When playing WoW I could have a 50ms latency in the morning (lower is better), and have over 1,000ms latency in the evening. I'd get horrible periods of lag where the action would pause for up to 10 seconds at a time, then everything would get crammed into one to two seconds. This wasn't too bad for my Hunter, Rogue and Druid, who would perform their basic Auto-Attack if left to their own devices (at least once combat was initiated), but for my Priest and Mage who require me to actually press buttons to cast their Spells, 10 seconds of lag can often spell Certain Death.
Cable Modems are great, if you're one of the few people in your neighborhood using them. Their 5Mb/s rate is three times faster than standard DSL, and almost twice as fast as premium DSL packages. Where DSL shines is in providing a dedicated pipeline for your Modem, and yours alone, and so this week we finally said goodbye to our Cable Modem service and subscribed to the inherently slower 1.5Mb/s DSL service of Yahoo! AT&T.
While the Cable Modem's 5Mb/s would be down to 3Mb/s (or slower) by the afternoon, and down to 500Kb/s (or 0.5Mb/s) in the evening, the 1.5Mb/s of DSL is 1.5Mb/s in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Last night I played WoW for a couple of hours, and except for a second or so of lag every now and then (which is not unusual), it was a very smooth experience. On occasion my latency was faster than it's ever been with the Cable Modem service (not sure how accurate it is, though) and at the worst of times it increased to just a little over 100+, which is nothing like the 1,000ms latency I'd experience with the Cable Modem when all of my neighbors would get online.
It's now that I recall AT&T's anti-Cable Modem ads, where neighbors were feuding over slow internet speeds, and I laughed that people would prefer the slower DSL over the much faster Cable Modem. Now I am one of those slower people, grateful for a dedicated, stable, reliable internet connection. Slow and steady wins the race :)
If I could afford it, I'd love to have the same connection as at my office.
Who needs Cable Modems when you can have Ludicrous Speed!
When playing WoW I could have a 50ms latency in the morning (lower is better), and have over 1,000ms latency in the evening. I'd get horrible periods of lag where the action would pause for up to 10 seconds at a time, then everything would get crammed into one to two seconds. This wasn't too bad for my Hunter, Rogue and Druid, who would perform their basic Auto-Attack if left to their own devices (at least once combat was initiated), but for my Priest and Mage who require me to actually press buttons to cast their Spells, 10 seconds of lag can often spell Certain Death.
Cable Modems are great, if you're one of the few people in your neighborhood using them. Their 5Mb/s rate is three times faster than standard DSL, and almost twice as fast as premium DSL packages. Where DSL shines is in providing a dedicated pipeline for your Modem, and yours alone, and so this week we finally said goodbye to our Cable Modem service and subscribed to the inherently slower 1.5Mb/s DSL service of Yahoo! AT&T.
While the Cable Modem's 5Mb/s would be down to 3Mb/s (or slower) by the afternoon, and down to 500Kb/s (or 0.5Mb/s) in the evening, the 1.5Mb/s of DSL is 1.5Mb/s in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Last night I played WoW for a couple of hours, and except for a second or so of lag every now and then (which is not unusual), it was a very smooth experience. On occasion my latency was faster than it's ever been with the Cable Modem service (not sure how accurate it is, though) and at the worst of times it increased to just a little over 100+, which is nothing like the 1,000ms latency I'd experience with the Cable Modem when all of my neighbors would get online.
It's now that I recall AT&T's anti-Cable Modem ads, where neighbors were feuding over slow internet speeds, and I laughed that people would prefer the slower DSL over the much faster Cable Modem. Now I am one of those slower people, grateful for a dedicated, stable, reliable internet connection. Slow and steady wins the race :)
If I could afford it, I'd love to have the same connection as at my office.
Who needs Cable Modems when you can have Ludicrous Speed!
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