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A few piccies [Jul. 25th, 2008|05:58 pm]

ehintz
The engrish on the menu was genius... "Cup two balls with the choice"
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Video Games Live Review [Jul. 25th, 2008|08:55 am]

nebyoolae
[Tags|, , , ]
[music |Brian Eno ambient noise]

Last night, among the crazy hordes of Comic-Con, a few friends and I attended the Video Games Live! concert at Embarcadero Marina Park, which is, interestingly enough, right behind the Convention Center where said Comic-Con was occurring. The San Diego Symphony and Master Chorale were on hand to bring video game themes to life before our very eyes and it was pretty damn rad.

SHOWTIME!
They got off to a good start, on time, with a medley of themes from old video games (think Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Tetris, Out Run, Frogger, etc.) while a pastiche of gameplay videos played on three giant screens. Each time a new game popped up I excitedly called it out, if I knew it, and I knew most of them. The host of the show, and co-creator, composer and musician Tommy Tallarico then came out to emcee the rest of the performances.

Not to belabor this review with play-by-play details, and also because I'm bad at remembering all of the details, the rest of the show consisted of various game composers being introduced, either by coming on stage for a bit, or by playing pre-recorded videos (like in the case of Koji Kondo (!!!)), and then having the orchestra and chorale play a piece. All of the pieces were well done, although sometimes it seemed like they could've gone for a bit more diversity when doing a certain game's oeuvre of themes (the Legend of Zelda one was cool, but they didn't play anything but the main theme). Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Halo, God of War, Super Mario Brothers, and Castlevania (the "surprise" ending) were all thoroughly rocked out like only an orchestra can. A medley of Final Fantasy themes done by Martin Leung (The Blind Pianist - OMG Internet Person!) was especially impressive, despite already seeing him perform on several YouTube videos.

LET'S PLAY A GAME
There were two interactive portions of the show that, while fun, kind of brought the integrity of a "serious night at the symphony" down a few notches. First, a dude was selected from the audience, told to put on a t-shirt, and then essentially "be" the ship from Space Invaders as his motions moved the little pixelated star cruiser on a big screen while pushing a big button to wipe out the oncoming horde. He got close to finishing the first level in under 2 minutes but started hemorrhaging lives near the end and did not succeed. He gave up a (legal?) MAME cabinet for his loss. The other one was a standard "come up and play Guitar Hero" segment where the dude rocked "Sweet Emotion" on Expert and the fun that is rhythm games was felt by all.

CONCLUSION
Overall, it was an enjoyable concert in a park (we were seated right next to the rocks and water) and we could see everything well enough and hear everything even better. The whole thing gives much-needed credence to the outstanding work that goes into video game music and while there was too much of a "we're weird and geeky and not-serious" vibe about some of it to really put it into the high-art category, it's a huge leap forward for the industry, in general.

I'm glad several people were interested in it and could come, and that they all seemed to have fun. Much like any other "band," I dunno if I'm jazzed about seeing it again next year, since I essentially have my "moment" to remember, but if even more people want to come and they change up their program a bit, that'd be awesome.

\m/ \m/

P.S.
The guy who does the voice of the Berzerker from Gears of War AND the voice of Klaus the fish from American Dad (and a bunch of others, actually) was there and did an insane re-creation of said Berzerker's voice as a video played showing in-game footage of the players encountering and then subduing the monstrosity.
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Can't Go Wrong With A Cheeseburger, Area Man Reports [Jul. 25th, 2008|10:00 am]
theonionfeed
SCOTTSVILLE, NY—Unfamiliar with the menu at local restaurant Scully's and faced with the decision of what to order for lunch,...
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S & M [Jul. 25th, 2008|10:50 am]

codimension4
Sarah McLachlan has a little crush on me.

That is all.

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[Jul. 25th, 2008|10:39 am]

libertarianism

[rick_day]
Thers is a congressional "impeachment" hearing today in Congress.

Big Crowd Gathers For House Judiciary Hearing On Bush  )

parenthesis added by CBS


Hmm..you don't see that on CNN/FOX,MSNBC
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[Jul. 25th, 2008|10:40 am]

superconnected
I am totally blowing this joint at 1:30 and my ass will be lounging by the pool no later than 2:00 PM EST. CANNOT WAIT.

In the meantime I suppose I should get some work done.
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C'est bon [Jul. 25th, 2008|04:19 pm]

ehintz
So, Wed night I met 4 Aussies, staying at the same hotel, also bound for Wacken. Hung out and had some nice long talks about the awesomeness of our pilgrimage and metal in general. One of 'em is a huge Metallica fan, he about dropped his jaw to the floor when I disclosed that I saw 'em with Cliff, just 3.5 mos before the bus accident. All good.

Dropped by the local firestation this AM, but they asked me to come back at 1400. Coudn't manage then, will perhaps pop by again after work. Starting to run out of time here, it's Fri afternoon and I'm off to Belgium Monday morning. Good though, I had my fellow French employees help me out with my pronunciation for Au Fond du Temple Saint, which I'm singing in November. Also need to find time to hit a laundromat pretty soon, starting to run out of clothes. And of course Sunday is occupied with seeing the finale of the Tour de France.

Will be nice to get into Germany, I think I'll do better at conversing with the locals there. My French is pretty appalling after a decade of neglect. Oh, the boss agreed to let me expense part of Defcon too, that's welcome.
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Awesomeness [Jul. 25th, 2008|03:58 pm]

ehintz
Sadly, the audience seems to have no clue at the excellence of this 11yr old kid totally ripping YYZ on organ.



And, the same kid doing Carry On My Wayward Son, apparently about a year before YYZ:

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Casual Indifference. [Jul. 25th, 2008|04:02 pm]

ikilled007
Little in life looks as appetizing as the warm, viscous puked-up milk which a newborn showers her daddy in without first giving notice. Chest, shorts, desk, chair, floor, and my arm have all been decorated by our little angle with a chunky white glue. Her face betrays her perfunctory indifference to puking up her meal and puking on her daddy. I wonder if my eyes will reflect that same lack of passion when I take a giant shit on her request to borrow the car in 15 years.
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Courageous E-mail To Boss In Drafts Folder Since December [Jul. 25th, 2008|08:00 am]
theonionfeed
COLUMBUS, OH—Brent Quigley considered sending the e-mail, clicking and holding his mouse arrow over the "Send" icon, but ultimately dragged it away.
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Know What You're Talking About [Jul. 25th, 2008|02:10 pm]

ikilled007
This is an 8 part series. The 2006 Mortgage Bankers Convention. Peter Schiff addresses these guys. He basically tells them they're done. The guy given equal time says the economy is humming and Peter is blowing it all out of proportion.

I want you all to watch this and then tell me who you think knows (knew) what he is (was) talking about. This is part 7:



And this is pure awesomeness:

Housing Bubble Hall of Shame®
Who is responsible for the Housing Bubble? Policy makers, press, investors, wallstreet, mortgage lenders, builders, realtors, appraisers, buyers, flippers, sellers, ... ? They all had a hand in it, but lets pay tribute to some of the more notable or public displays of bubble mania.
*All inductees are innocent of a crime until proven guilty in a court of law. *

Don't argue with Austrian Economists:




And if you do argue with Austrian Economists, you need to be held accountable. Do these people still have jobs? Mike Norman laughs at Peter Schiff. Mike Norman, where are you now? Have you strangled yourself with a coat hanger yet? What a fucking douchebag. (see below)



Here's lying piece of shit Tom Adkins getting called out for his prediction that home prices would RISE 10% in 2007!
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Novak Hits Pedestrian With Corvette [Jul. 25th, 2008|07:00 am]
theonionfeed
Columnist Robert Novak struck a pedestrian while driving a black Corvette on Washington D.C.'s K Street, and had to be chased down by a bicyclist...
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Organ donation [Jul. 25th, 2008|02:48 am]

libertarianism

[l555l]
http://wyblog.us/blog/rants/nj-mandates-organ-donation

Apparently, when you show up for your new ID, you have to check off organ donor. If you want out, you have to suffer through a lecture/slideshow.

Awesome!

I think this is like auto-signing up people for 401k. Whilst it may be a good idea to force an opt out there (since it is not government mandated), it is a bad idea here.
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[audio] U.S. Trades Alito To British Supreme Court In Six-Judge Deal [Jul. 25th, 2008|01:00 am]
theonionfeed
Onion Radio News - with Doyle Redland
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[Jul. 24th, 2008|11:05 pm]

royalbananafish
Strangely, I feel underproductive and yet I'm also almost at peace with that. I think a big shout out to acupuncture and the awesomeness that is Tensegrity Health Acupuncture in Portland is to thank.

My replacement is all fully trained. She's not sure she's ready, but the project really got a lot more clerical (save for the sets of docs she still needs to go chase down). I have to say, I think she is lucky to be following me--I left the best outlines, notes, etc. for her.

Then I did some dumb errands. I ate a burrito and did today's syndicated NYT crossword ("LIES" for those who do the puzzle) and it rocked. I deposited the loan check from my parents and had a cashier's check issued for the remaining apartment deposits.

Acupuncture, YUM.

I napped with the kittyboy, who does not like it when humans alter his environment.

Books went to Powells for selling, and I got a nice stack of trade money (I always take the trade, since it is worth 20% more and it isn't like I am going to NOT buy books). I came home with one more Chico Bag (green), a brown Powell's reusable bag (the kind Whole Foods and Fred Meyer sell), and some maps and books about San Francisco, Oakland, and the Bay in general. I am very enamoured of the super sexy Not For Tourists San Francisco book. It is filled with maps, has a sturdy cover, and an elastic to shut it (a la moleskine). There is also space for writing notes. The only fault is that the font is a bit tiny inside on the directory pages. Oh, and Yoga Kula didn't make the yoga studios list. Otherwise, it is HOT. The website (http://notfortourists.com/sanfrancisco.aspx) is going to be one of my new daily stops.

Stopped in to Whole Foods for edamame, sushi (cucumber roll), and grapes. Phoned home. Ate. Fixed the internet. Contemplated boxes.
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More TDK thoughts [Jul. 24th, 2008|10:35 pm]

patrissimo
With spoilers for TDK and Iron Man.

Read more... )
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Bad Experience with an SEO company? [Jul. 25th, 2008|12:59 am]

webdesign

[cjpopp]
[music |Genesis - Abacab ([9412] 9412 - The Rock Station)]

've got a client who has not had their site re-done in 7 years. Signed contract 2 months ago and been working on getting their site done.

Had the usual bumps (no new content, few photos, little communication from them) and they liked what I had done even though it was nothing really different in content.

Sprung it on me late last week that they were under contract with a SEO company and said they would need me to talk to them to make sure everything was ok and give the SEO comp. access to the site. First time this has happened to me.

Called and left two messages. Got a response back from "John". was given a 15 minute pick-a-part of what I did and what was wrong with it and how my choice of OSCommerce would kill the search engine ranking.

This was followed by a hard sell on what they do and what carts they offer and why I should use them in the future.

I had to say "Look. What info do you need to do your job?" and get from him that they need a login and pass for the FTP.

"John" calls my client up right afterwards and starts to tear what I did apart to them saying it was unsecure, bad, uninspired and will kill their business online.

I get a call from client the next day in a panic... has questions. Addresses the things pointed out to them. I reply that the shopping cart will be secure when the site goes live because a SSL needs to point to the actual site, not a beta address.... she doesn't get it.

Then she goes on about how OSCommerce is easy to hack and all this. I reply that if this was the case, there would not be 100s of 1000s of sites using it.

So, she says ok....

I get no call from the SEO's "Optimization Specialist" on Tuesday or Wednesday. Today I see client and was told that "John" called and she missed his call and will call him and let me know.

I get to the office and after a bit I call the client using her number on my caller id. She answers and I say who I am and was wondering if she talked to "John" yet. I get hung up on.

Either I called her personal number or something is amiss.

Has anyone had this problem???? How did they deal with it?
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"Change" (a.k.a The more things change...) [Jul. 24th, 2008|10:41 pm]

prock
So [info]patrissimo is up in arms about collusion between government and the private sector.

Me? I went to the dentist. And if you're going to go through the misery of going to the dentist, why not magnify the pain tenfold by listening to a recent Democracy Now! podcast?

While I'm sure [info]rcfox isn't much of an Amy Goodman fan, I'm sure he'd love the half hour long segment about what a flip flopping corporate whore Obama is. I wonder if Obama will be toting the offical "Amnesty for Sale" tote bag during the convention:


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Comic Con Quick Update [Jul. 24th, 2008|10:33 pm]

boffo
1. My attempt to liveblog Comic Con FAILED. First, the connection between the OLPC Fischer Price My First Laptop that I borrowed and the Comic Con wi-fi was spotty at best. But more importantly, my fingers are too big to use the keys on the OLPC. After spending five minutes trying to type a single sentence, I decided it would make more sense to just scribble my thoughts in a notebook and post them later. But now I'm too tired. I'll post them over the next week.

2. My attempt to get to the convention early FAILED. There was a hideous traffic jam on the part of I-5 where it goes through Camp Pendleton. There are no exits in this section, so everyone was just trapped in this jam. Going 7 miles took me FOUR GOD DAMNED HOURS!!!! The drive from LA to SD ended up being 6 hours long.

3. My attempt to meet up with [info]spyscribe at the Middleman panel FAILED. They explained at the panel that the entire writing staff of the show other than the show-runner was stuck in the same hideous traffic jam I had been in. On the bright side, this attempt probably would have FAILED anyway, considering that I don't actually know her name or what she looks like, and am only about 80% confident that she's a chick.

4. I didn't see a single person I know at the con today. Last year, I had bumped into four people by the time I got through the registration line. Shrug.

5. Assuming no snafus (which is a big assumption), tomorrow morning I'll be going to a panel for The Big Bang Theory. I'm tempted to ask a question along the lines of, "So seriously. Does Sheldon have Asperger's Syndrome or what?" But I think that would be a little bit too obnoxious for me to ask publicly. I'll still hope that somebody else does.

6. I'm still having fun.

7. That's all for now. I got up at 5:00 AM today, spent 6 god damned hours driving, and then walked approximately a ridiculous amount. So I'm pretty tired.
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Linear regression Q [Jul. 25th, 2008|01:36 am]

statisticians

[nefedor]
I have 2 regressions of statistic p by two independent continuous factors x and y: p=a1*x+b1 and p=a2*y+b2. Is there any possible (least ugly) way to estimate p when x=x0 and y=y0?
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