Holy Shit Batman!

I am so totally, completely in love with Dragon Age: Origins. For my gaming tastes I've always been into RPG's, and my primary game source is the PC. As the years go by there seem to be less and less RPG games for the PC, but the ones I find tend to be pretty good. I enjoy them at least, bugs and all. I'd fallen into a bit of a dry spell with PC games, and had resorted to MMORPG's. (I know, that has become a huge game field in its own right, but I never really got into it. I am extremely selective about the MMORPG's that I play.) I found that playing MMORPG's in beta was the most enjoyable, so I did that for awhile. Then I started seeing ads for Dragon Age. 

The ads looked good, as game ads tend to anyway, even if the game is complete shit. I decided it was definitely going on my "want to play" list. I didn't really get excited about it though, until after the game was released and I heard chatter about it on Twitter. Now I *really* wanted to play that game. Lucky for me, I got the game for Christmas.

Dragon Age is the first RPG I have played that by the end of it, I wanted to play it again. Usually once I finish an RPG, I never see it again. The reason for wanting to play it again is the same reason that makes this game so great - the story. Even though the basic events of the game will always be the same, you can have a vastly different experience playing it based not only on your starting character/storyline, but also on the decisions you make and the interactions you have with your party and NPC's. Speaking of decisions...wow! This game has some really tough moral dilemmas. I'm very much looking forward to the expansion coming out.

Gushing about Dragon Age aside...

So far this year has been ultra exciting for me, as far as my geekiness goes. I've played Dragon Age, and am rebuilding my computer with the intent of hooking it up to my HD TV to play Dragon Age again with the graphics set as high as possible. (As excited as I am about playing HD Dragon Age, I'm just as excited about upgrading my computer. It's been too long since I've mucked about in the guts of a computer, and I've missed it.) 

But that's not the best part...

For the first time, Penny Arcade has brought PAX to the east coast (PAX East, not to be confused with PAX Prime.) I've always wanted to go to conventions like Comic-Con or PAX, but they're always on the west coast and so I haven't been able to go. When I heard about PAX East I was thrilled that finally there would be something on the east coast - in my backyard no less! I had to go. 

I'd almost forgotten about it until Feb. 3rd when I noticed a retweet by @wilw about weekend passes for sale. I immediately went to the site and ordered my 3 day pass. I had good timing apparently, because later that same day, they were completely sold out! Now I can't wait for the end of March to get here so I can PAX out for a weekend. 

The cherry on top of this geeky sundae - Wil Wheaton was announced today as the keynote speaker at PAX East. Having been a fan of his during his ST days, to being a fan now of his books, blog, and overall Secretary of Geek Affairs-ness, I am just thrilled beyond words that he is the keynote speaker. Hopefully I will make it through the weekend without any embarrassing fangirl moments. 

Happy New Year...I think

So here we are, in 2010, and I have not been very good about blogging. I have a lot going on, which I can't get into yet, but hopefully it will all get worked out soon. In the meantime, I finished reading the Codex Alera. For those who have not read this, it is a series of 6 books by Jim Butcher. You follow the journey of a furiless shepard boy as he grows into a young, powerful man (with furies!) leading his people against the deadliest foe they've ever encountered. Fantastic series, great character interaction and growth - I can't say enough good about it, except to read it for yourselves.

That said, I would *love* to see Codex Alera in movie format! A movie for each book, otherwise you'd be cutting far too much out of the stories. If you've read the books, just think of it: the Canim, the Marat, the Icemen, and the Vord all done in the same incredible motion capture animation as the Na'vi from Avatar. Not to mention what could be done with the furies! The battle scenes could make LOTR and 300 look paltry in comparison. I wouldn't even care if the movies were each 3 hours long - it would be incredible.

I think I just talked myself into reading the entire series all over again.

Are you listening Mr. Butcher?

Shut Up and Drive

To my fellow drivers,

I have a few comments that I think will go a long way to improving everyone's road experience:

1. If I can see the shadow of my car in front of me because of your headlights, you're either driving too close, or have your highbeams on. I'm not too happy with either of those, so BACK THE FUCK OFF.

2. If I drive slower because you're in a hurry and decide to crowd me, guess what, BACK THE FUCK OFF.

3. If I come to a stop and you have to slam on your brakes and angle your car as though you are going to go around me, you need to BACK THE FUCK OFF.

4. To anyone who drives an SUV, truck, minivan, van, or any other type of vehicle that is higher off the road than a sedan: if you're driving behind a sedan at night your lights are at their eye level. That means you're blinding the driver. Please BACK THE FUCK OFF.

5. If you're in such a hurry that you feel it necessary to pass another vehicle at night, in a non-passing zone, going up a hill on a blind curve...you need to slow down and BACK THE FUCK OFF.

So in conclusion, if everyone would just BACK THE FUCK OFF, the world would be a better place.

Thank you.

Green eggs and ham? No thanks

Dear Manufacturer,

I don't need artificial sweeteners in my products! I don't need them in my carb loaded bagels, or any other bread product. I don't need them in my gum or mints. I don't need them in my toothpaste, and I don't need them in my mouth wash. I don't need them in my chapstick or lipstick. I don't need them in my nail polish. Enough already!

Pretty Vegas

In the past month I have made 2 trips to Las Vegas totaling 8 days. I had a great time, and learned several things:

1. The Sahara hotel, although a bit run down, is comfortable to sleep in.

2. Zumanity is a riot and a great show

3. The Stratosphere is walking distance from Sahara and has a great buffet.

4. The cheapest way to get around Vegas (aside from walking) is a combination of the bus system and the monorail.

5. Taking the Deuce (bus) from one end of the strip to the other will take more than an hour. You are better off taking the monorail to the nearest location and getting the bus from there

6. The strip is between 3 and 4 miles long. That's a lot of walking.

7. If you want to see a burlesque show, see Peepshow

8. The Chin Chin in New York New York remains my favorite restaurant in Vegas

9. New York New York is a great hotel to stay in

10. Coyote Ugly is more fun when its packed, but allowing the crowd control of the music results in some very strange musical combinations.

11. The bar at Coyote Ugly is way fun to dance on

12. The CSI Experience at MGM is easy, corny, and fun

13. I've got the names of 2 women I can go hang out with if I'm ever back

14. Pimps in Vegas are so stereotypical it was hilarious

15. 4 days is the max before the air and the smoke start to really get to me

Behind the times

I'm always behind the times, late to the party. I don't know why, I just am. In the aftermath of Comic Con (something I vow to go to one of these years!) I read a lot of Tweets and Blogs referring to The Guild. Curious, I looked it up. Then I proceeded to watch both seasons immediately. In one sitting. It was fantastic! I have no idea how or why I missed it before, but if you haven't watched it, you should.

On 8/17 The Guild released their music video and song (Do You Wanna Date) My Avatar. Since I was in NY for work, I again missed the boat. However I caught wind of it when I got home, and immediately checked it out. I've yet to get the song out of my head, which I'm cool with, but the video inspired me with something else too: this year's Halloween costume.

I'm not sure if I can pull it off, but I am going to attempt to go as Felicia Day as Codex for Halloween. I'm excited!

That said...anyone know a good seamstress?

Have I got an eye for you

I have been remiss in blogging - I apologize. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done that I want to.

Geekiness abounded at work today. I got into a discussion with one of our developers about the possibility of using Biometrics as a security measure in our software. Specifically we were discussing the use of fingerprint scanning. OK so we were mostly talking about how cool that would be, despite the knowledge that it is completely unrealistic for our application. That led to talking about retinal scanning. Oh the geek levels were off the meter!

That was pretty much the extent of the discussion, but as I was driving back from my popcorn craving run, I had the craziest thought: what if touch screen monitors were Biometric? Our software is touch screen compatible - if the screen itself was able to identify the operator with every touch, you couldn't pass yourself off as someone else. It's the ultimate security - unless someone steals your body.