Friday, October 31, 2008
Halloween lives on
Boy, I was thinking I was going to have to write a "Halloween is dead" post tonight, but I finally got a few trick-or-treaters. Mind you, twenty after eight is pretty late for the first wave, even in my low-traffic neighborhood... but the tradition hasn't quite died in my neighborhood yet.
Monday, October 27, 2008
One down, hundreds to go
So, Alaska senator Ted Stevens was convicted of falsifying documents today (not corruption, because that's harder to prove, I gather). Nicely done, prosecution, I hope the conviction survives the appeals process... but that's not what has me writing, directly at least.
The Washington Post has some initial reactions from various parties at or near the whole mess here, and it's about what you would expect... Stevens proclaiming his innocense, Democrats, watchdogs, allied groups, and the odd Republican condemning him, many more Republicans supporting or neutral... but special attention should be paid to the bit at the bottom of the first page, the reaction of Alaska representative Don Young. In particular, this bit:
"I don't think he had a jury of his peers."
Well now, last I heard, we're a democratic republic, with no person "above" any other... I know I, for one, would just love to hear who Mr. Young thinks is, or is not, a peer to this senator.
The Washington Post has some initial reactions from various parties at or near the whole mess here, and it's about what you would expect... Stevens proclaiming his innocense, Democrats, watchdogs, allied groups, and the odd Republican condemning him, many more Republicans supporting or neutral... but special attention should be paid to the bit at the bottom of the first page, the reaction of Alaska representative Don Young. In particular, this bit:
"I don't think he had a jury of his peers."
Well now, last I heard, we're a democratic republic, with no person "above" any other... I know I, for one, would just love to hear who Mr. Young thinks is, or is not, a peer to this senator.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Cartoons and politics
OK, first, for those of you not in the know... the final volume of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection is out now. If you're looking for some old wartime toons, or the phrase "this time, we didn't forget the gravy" has any meaning for you, go forth and consume!
On the other hand, if you're looking for something more contemporary, I just ran across a neat little flash cartoon called "Cup o' Democracy", presented by Captain Capitalism, that's both well done and relevant to this election cycle... click on this link, then on the "watch this movie" link on the resulting page.
On the other hand, if you're looking for something more contemporary, I just ran across a neat little flash cartoon called "Cup o' Democracy", presented by Captain Capitalism, that's both well done and relevant to this election cycle... click on this link, then on the "watch this movie" link on the resulting page.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wii Downloads: World of Goo
I have a soft spot for physics games. Ever since I ran across my first Artillery game (back in Apple II days, I think), I've pretty much always enjoyed games where there were fixed physical laws to beat, using a limited toolbox. Unfortunately, most such games don't meet another requirement I have for a "good" game... mainly, a storyline. I mean, whether it's lobbing Funky Bombs in Scorched Earth or building contraptions in one of the Incredible Machine titles of years ago, there was never really any reason to be doing it, other than watching stuff blow up or feeding your inner Rube Goldberg.
Now, out comes World of Goo. I held off on picking it up earlier in the week, because $15 is a little steep for a downloadable title... but all the reveiws I've seen gave it high marks, so I gave it a go. I'm calling it $15 well spent, because the production values are remarkably high for a little indy title... graphics, animation, and sound all mesh together very, very nicely.
Of course, pretty doesn't matter much if it doesn't play well, especially in a physics game... but no fear, this game delivers the goods in playability, too, at least from the first chapter I've played so far. The storyline revolves around a bunch of little gooballs that get it into their heads to explore the world around them, particularly the odd pipes they keep running across. Of course, there's always some challenge that needs overcome... and the gooballs handle that with teamwork. You use your Wii Remote to pick up individual gooballs and add them to the "collective", building towers and bridges and the like to get where you need to go. Think of it in terms of balls and springs... you latch your little gooballs onto their neighbors, and the connections between them are stiff, and try to maintain their original length, but sufficent weight will make them deform a bit. While one connection varying isn't generally a big thing, the effect multiplies the more connections are in play, and the less stable the foundation of your structure is.
Of course, it's not even right to say "foundation" sometimes... just in the little bit I've played tonight, I've had to build out from under an overhang to reach its topside, built within a slow-moving tumbler, and built on a liquid surface (luckily, gooballs floated there). Oh, and I've also gotten to attach balloons to a structure, either to assist in building a bridge in a not-too-high, not-too-low game, or to fly my little gooballs up and away... and built "braced" structures against the walls of a ravine to get them off the ground... and they hint at more strange types of tools in later bits, so it's not like it's going to get dull real soon.
Then, there's the most insidious bit of them all, for you competition-minded types in particular. You see, each stage has a minimum number of gooballs that have to make it to the goal in order to beat the stage. Any extras you get go off to a separate playspace, where you can build them up where and how you like... and, should you choose to build "up", there are little visual toys to see and such... oh, and little clouds that represent how tall other players online have their little towers built, which you can check to see how many balls they're using, how many they've collected, that sort of thing... no names attached, just country flags. You can go back and replay stages you've already beaten to try for a higher score, and you'll get the difference between your new high score and your old high score added to your pool, so you can really get obsessive-compulsive about it, too (in fact, I'm pretty sure that's why I got the "OCD" tag on one stage I played... :)).
It's going to be interesting to see how the story on this game plays out (I'm already seeing bits about the gooballs not knowing how delicious they are...), and I'm really going to enjoy building up that tower of mine (so far, I'm beating everyone I've seen on a balls-used-for-height ratio... one case where an engineering mindset comes in handy... :)). The only potential downside I see so far is that there are only 4 "chapters" in the game (plus an epilogue), and I've already finished one... but, as the challenge increases, I'm sure my consumption rate will drop significantly. I'm calling it a good use for $15, so give it a go.
Now, out comes World of Goo. I held off on picking it up earlier in the week, because $15 is a little steep for a downloadable title... but all the reveiws I've seen gave it high marks, so I gave it a go. I'm calling it $15 well spent, because the production values are remarkably high for a little indy title... graphics, animation, and sound all mesh together very, very nicely.
Of course, pretty doesn't matter much if it doesn't play well, especially in a physics game... but no fear, this game delivers the goods in playability, too, at least from the first chapter I've played so far. The storyline revolves around a bunch of little gooballs that get it into their heads to explore the world around them, particularly the odd pipes they keep running across. Of course, there's always some challenge that needs overcome... and the gooballs handle that with teamwork. You use your Wii Remote to pick up individual gooballs and add them to the "collective", building towers and bridges and the like to get where you need to go. Think of it in terms of balls and springs... you latch your little gooballs onto their neighbors, and the connections between them are stiff, and try to maintain their original length, but sufficent weight will make them deform a bit. While one connection varying isn't generally a big thing, the effect multiplies the more connections are in play, and the less stable the foundation of your structure is.
Of course, it's not even right to say "foundation" sometimes... just in the little bit I've played tonight, I've had to build out from under an overhang to reach its topside, built within a slow-moving tumbler, and built on a liquid surface (luckily, gooballs floated there). Oh, and I've also gotten to attach balloons to a structure, either to assist in building a bridge in a not-too-high, not-too-low game, or to fly my little gooballs up and away... and built "braced" structures against the walls of a ravine to get them off the ground... and they hint at more strange types of tools in later bits, so it's not like it's going to get dull real soon.
Then, there's the most insidious bit of them all, for you competition-minded types in particular. You see, each stage has a minimum number of gooballs that have to make it to the goal in order to beat the stage. Any extras you get go off to a separate playspace, where you can build them up where and how you like... and, should you choose to build "up", there are little visual toys to see and such... oh, and little clouds that represent how tall other players online have their little towers built, which you can check to see how many balls they're using, how many they've collected, that sort of thing... no names attached, just country flags. You can go back and replay stages you've already beaten to try for a higher score, and you'll get the difference between your new high score and your old high score added to your pool, so you can really get obsessive-compulsive about it, too (in fact, I'm pretty sure that's why I got the "OCD" tag on one stage I played... :)).
It's going to be interesting to see how the story on this game plays out (I'm already seeing bits about the gooballs not knowing how delicious they are...), and I'm really going to enjoy building up that tower of mine (so far, I'm beating everyone I've seen on a balls-used-for-height ratio... one case where an engineering mindset comes in handy... :)). The only potential downside I see so far is that there are only 4 "chapters" in the game (plus an epilogue), and I've already finished one... but, as the challenge increases, I'm sure my consumption rate will drop significantly. I'm calling it a good use for $15, so give it a go.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Coe committed... cor!
It's sad, really, watching our rights slowly slip away. Mind you, I'm no fan of Mr. Coe, but it does no good to not speak out in defense of our rights just because the latest victim is scum.
For those of you not in the know, Mr. Coe is a convicted rapist who has served his 25 year sentence for the crime. He is believed to be the first known serial rapist in Spokane, the so-called South Hill Rapist... I say believed because, for all their attempts back in the day, only one charge stuck all the way through the appeals process. Legally, he is a convicted rapist, but not a verified serial rapist.
Why do I make such a distinction? Well, Washington state has a statute that allows for a "civil commitment" hearing to determine whether a "sexually violent predator" can be committed to a mental institution for up to the remainder of their lives. If, for example, Mr. Coe had been convicted of multiple rapes, that could be used as evidence of his propensity to offend, his likelihood to re-offend in the future, that sort of thing... but he was convicted of one rape. Lacking that record, the prosecutor (at a "civil" hearing!) paraded forth several victims of rape from that timeframe, had them tell their stories on the stand, and basically put forth that the details sound an awful lot like the details of the one rape he was convicted of. How they convinced a judge that this was a permissible standard of evidence in a trial of any kind, I don't know... especially twenty-five years after the fact, it smacks of hearsay.
Of course, the way it's supposed to work is that all the crimes get handled in criminal court, where the burden of proof is substantially higher than "sure sounds like him", and consecutive sentencing ensures the bastard doesn't get out of jail, ever. I don't know if the statute of limitations expired on those crimes, or whether there was insufficient evidence to go after Mr. Coe the "right" way... but that's tough, either way. The prosecutor's office either dropped the ball on this one, or didn't have the ball to drop. Now, because of their "creativity", we get to hold on to this guy, at extraordinary expense, when his stated intention was to leave the state for good anyways, because of fear of retribution... all because, under the right circumstances, he might, maybe, try to rape somebody again, even though he'd have to register as a sex offender pretty much wherever he went, and would have the watchful eye of the local police upon him.
OK, so, for those keeping score at home, that's "standards of evidence" you can add to things like "free speech" and "reasonable search and seizure" as rights you once had. At least we haven't gotten to quartering troops in private homes yet... I'd have to ask the poor guy I got about the oath he took upon entering the military, specifically the bits about defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and we'd both likely get into trouble.
For those of you not in the know, Mr. Coe is a convicted rapist who has served his 25 year sentence for the crime. He is believed to be the first known serial rapist in Spokane, the so-called South Hill Rapist... I say believed because, for all their attempts back in the day, only one charge stuck all the way through the appeals process. Legally, he is a convicted rapist, but not a verified serial rapist.
Why do I make such a distinction? Well, Washington state has a statute that allows for a "civil commitment" hearing to determine whether a "sexually violent predator" can be committed to a mental institution for up to the remainder of their lives. If, for example, Mr. Coe had been convicted of multiple rapes, that could be used as evidence of his propensity to offend, his likelihood to re-offend in the future, that sort of thing... but he was convicted of one rape. Lacking that record, the prosecutor (at a "civil" hearing!) paraded forth several victims of rape from that timeframe, had them tell their stories on the stand, and basically put forth that the details sound an awful lot like the details of the one rape he was convicted of. How they convinced a judge that this was a permissible standard of evidence in a trial of any kind, I don't know... especially twenty-five years after the fact, it smacks of hearsay.
Of course, the way it's supposed to work is that all the crimes get handled in criminal court, where the burden of proof is substantially higher than "sure sounds like him", and consecutive sentencing ensures the bastard doesn't get out of jail, ever. I don't know if the statute of limitations expired on those crimes, or whether there was insufficient evidence to go after Mr. Coe the "right" way... but that's tough, either way. The prosecutor's office either dropped the ball on this one, or didn't have the ball to drop. Now, because of their "creativity", we get to hold on to this guy, at extraordinary expense, when his stated intention was to leave the state for good anyways, because of fear of retribution... all because, under the right circumstances, he might, maybe, try to rape somebody again, even though he'd have to register as a sex offender pretty much wherever he went, and would have the watchful eye of the local police upon him.
OK, so, for those keeping score at home, that's "standards of evidence" you can add to things like "free speech" and "reasonable search and seizure" as rights you once had. At least we haven't gotten to quartering troops in private homes yet... I'd have to ask the poor guy I got about the oath he took upon entering the military, specifically the bits about defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and we'd both likely get into trouble.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The final debate... finally!
Well, that was silly. McCain brought the angry old man act, and Obama mostly kept his cool, having to spend entirely too long dissecting the barbs and innuendoes sent his way. Also, if I never hear about Joe the Plumber again, it'll be too soon. My takeaway... Obama sure seemed to fill the role of "uniter" much better than McCain. For what it's worth, and all...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Scene from the morning commute
Yes, those of you that live in larger cities will laugh at what I call a "commute"... it's all of about 15 minutes from my house to where I'm working most days, most of that on a large, uncongested non-Interstate highway. However, it's still long enough, and with enough other people, that I run across the occasional oddity.
Take today for example... I come to a red light, and pull up behind an older model Ford Escort, a car even smaller than my Yaris. Inside the Escort is the driver... and hay. At least two bales of hay, to be precise... one laid down in the back seat, one belted into the passenger seat. I find myself at a loss to explain the circumstance where using an Escort for a hay wagon seems like a good idea... or to what purpose two bales of hay would be suitable. I mean, if it's gardening supplies, one would suffice for most purposes... and if it's feed, two bales would seem to be woefully small for any but the smallest ruminants. Maybe the guy's got a pet pygmy goat?
Take today for example... I come to a red light, and pull up behind an older model Ford Escort, a car even smaller than my Yaris. Inside the Escort is the driver... and hay. At least two bales of hay, to be precise... one laid down in the back seat, one belted into the passenger seat. I find myself at a loss to explain the circumstance where using an Escort for a hay wagon seems like a good idea... or to what purpose two bales of hay would be suitable. I mean, if it's gardening supplies, one would suffice for most purposes... and if it's feed, two bales would seem to be woefully small for any but the smallest ruminants. Maybe the guy's got a pet pygmy goat?
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Death, with or without dignity
I just turned on public radio, expecting pleasant music after a long day, only to be confronted with a debate (?) about the upcoming initiative on assisted suicide. There is some pastor on there pushing his agenda in a very non-pastor-like manner, using mischaracterizations suitable for a polititian up for election. On the plus side, it gave me something to write about.
I'm hale and hearty, as far as I can tell... and I can foresee circumstances that I would not want to live through. Heck, in the past I've had headaches that I would have gladly gouged out my right eye with a spoon, if I thought it would help... but, being transitory, I endured and survived. If the day comes where I get even more pain, and the drugs don't work or leave me incapacitated, and death is certain and near, I would really like a relatively painless and stress-free method of ending the game. Lacking that, I would find a way... probably unpleasant and messy, but I would find a way.
So, all you Washington voters, be sure to check out Initiative 1000... unless I find something truly obnoxious in there, it'll be getting a yes vote from me.
I'm hale and hearty, as far as I can tell... and I can foresee circumstances that I would not want to live through. Heck, in the past I've had headaches that I would have gladly gouged out my right eye with a spoon, if I thought it would help... but, being transitory, I endured and survived. If the day comes where I get even more pain, and the drugs don't work or leave me incapacitated, and death is certain and near, I would really like a relatively painless and stress-free method of ending the game. Lacking that, I would find a way... probably unpleasant and messy, but I would find a way.
So, all you Washington voters, be sure to check out Initiative 1000... unless I find something truly obnoxious in there, it'll be getting a yes vote from me.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Netflix + Roku + Starz = Good Stuff
In case you thought that the streaming video library provided by Netflix was limited... they just announced a deal yesterday where they added a bunch of content from Starz. Something on the order of another 1000 titles are now in the library, from fairly recent titles like No Country for Old Men, Spider-Man 3, and Meet the Robinsons, to some, erm, "classics" like Videodrome, They Live, and Akira. My active instant queue of stuff to watch is just shy of 100 titles now, and it just keeps growing... here's hoping Netflix makes more such deals, especially with Warner, Cartoon Network and the like... :)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Veep Debate - Yawn and Sigh
I won't call this a "fair" review of the debate... I only paid close attention for the first half-hour or so, then left it on in the background, because it was downright DULL. Unlike the presidential debate, where you got some foils crossing directly on occasion, the VP-wannabes talked almost exclusively about the main candidates... not unexpected, but not exactly riveting, either. I mean, if I want to get spun statistics about third parties, there's ads galore on the TV to slake that thirst. The bits I did notice when I was paying attention:
- Obviously, both candidates had been told to rein it in a touch and behave... no major gaffes on either party's part, but neither did they stray far from their prepared points.
- As is sadly normal for such "debates" these days, the "answers" given didn't often have much relation to the questions the moderator asked. In Biden's case, he might start with something approaching the question before curving back around to what he was after at the moment. In Palin's case, she flat-out told Biden and the moderator, in slightly nicer words, that she was going to talk about what she wanted to talk about, whether it related to anything the moderator asked, or Biden said, or not... disrespectful, but not unexpectedly so, again sadly.
- OMG, Palin's another one that can't (or won't) say NUCLEAR properly... ew.
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