Time for another in my long line of "what wrong with company X" posts... but this time, it's for a pair of rivals, Home Depot and Lowes. I started with a pair of seemingly simple tasks... find a new drain cap for the shutoff valve for one of my outside spigots, and also find a 32 gallon trash can (winter drivers were less than kind to the old can).
So, off to Home Depot I go... locate the garbage cans briefly, then head off to plumbing for that drain cap. I swear, I looked up and down those aisles for the better part of an hour, finding all sorts of things that wouldn't quite work, but not the exact item I needed. Disgusted, I decide to hit the Lowe's a half-mile down the road.
This time, I suss out the drain caps first. Of course, they only sell them in a two-pack of different sizes, guaranteeing that you get one useless bit to pay for in the process... but, at least I found what I was looking for. Then, I go to search for trash cans... strangely, they have multiple stashes of a particularly cheap trash can (no proper handles, just handle-like indents in the can) scattered across the store, but the rest of the trash cans are squirreled away with cleaning products. Anyways, I find a likely-looking mid-range trash can... only to discover that they have no lids for those cans anywhere in sight. Well, I'm not about to shell out for the high-end trash cans (strange that such a thing even exists), the low-end cans are a joke, and the mid-range cans are lidless... so, I take my drain caps to the checkout, then head back to Home Depot.
Back I go to the spot I found the trash cans earlier... much nicer selection than Lowes, there's a couple of different cans that will do the trick for about the same price... and this one even has wheels and handles that lock the lid down. Wait a sec... where are the lids?!? Again, I'm given the choice of paying for the high-end cans, or settling for a lesser can, because the store doesn't have lids for the cans they're selling. Oh well, at least the lesser can here has actual handles, so I settle.
So, two home stores, more or less equal in stature, and two items to buy... one item, one store doesn't carry, the other makes you buy extra that you don't need. The other item, neither store can keep track of all (2) of the pieces necessary to sell a complete item. I know my experience isn't typical (or at least, I hope my experience isn't typical), but still, when you can't even keep a relatively close count of number of lids to number of cans for something that takes up as much retail space as a trashcan, you have to wonder how nobody's coming along and eating their lunch for them.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Revisiting the bad old days of computer games
I've been regularly playing games on home computers for a little over 20 years now (and boy, does that statement make me feel old). From that very first Amiga 500, through the days of DOS (with manual configuration of sound and video adapters on every game), and all the "joys" of Windows from 3.1 to XP, I've watched as games evolved from mostly "coded by a hobbyist on odd weekends" to "multi-million dollar professional development teams". Whatever you want to say about the blanding of games over that time frame, you did get a fairly steady improvement in how likely it was that you would be able to play the game you bought.
Up until now, Steam (a service I've mentioned in past posts) has been, to me, the pinnacle of that progression. Sure, the service had some fits and starts at launch, and it doesn't do well for those who don't/can't have an Internet connection, but it's a mature service that promises one simple thing: buy from us, and, supposing your computer meets the minimum requirements of the game, it will install and run at least as smoothly as the version you buy from the store, if not better. In fact, there are even some games (Half Life jumps to mind) where the boxed version is unplayable under current versions of Windows, but it plays and runs just fine from Steam.
So, I was a little surprised to see that Bethesda Softworks (the people behind Fallout 3, which I wrote up earlier) had released a few older games on Steam... or rather, one game in particular. You see, along with Oblivion and Morrowind (a pair of fine RPGs, fantasy games whose core mechanics are greatly reflected in Fallout 3), there's a title called Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. I remember, back in the day, thinking it might be a fun game (if memory serves, it came out after Morrowind but before Oblivion)... only to reluctantly pass on it as the reviews came in, praising the concept but panning the execution, particularly the game's stability. Now, here it was in front of me again, up to Steam's standards for putting out on the market, and for a mere $15.
Naturally, I bit. After the first download, the game was unlaunchable, instead pulling up an "Engine" folder. A link within the Steam client let me find the official website for the game, still available after all these years, with several new posts in the forums about people buying the game through Steam and having the same problem I did. Suggested fixes included manually editing your registry, downloading CPU-specific patches from random sites, and installing a fan-made patch on the game, to take care of the worst of the problems.
I opted instead to re-download the game... and at least got something that would launch. Start a game, watch some cutscenes... and watch the game crash as it tries to enter the game proper. I played with various machine settings, turning off video card features and killing other resident programs... which got me to the point of being able to play the first, "introductory" scenario. Apart from one crash while trying to save the game, it seemed to be working alright... until I finished that introductory scenario, got another extended cutscene to lead into the "real game", and another crash while waiting to get started playing. Of course, I retried later, just to make sure it wasn't some sort of fluke, and got the same results.
So, long story short... if Steam had any standards in place before putting games up on their systems for purchase, they're gone now, so caveat emptor is the name of the game. In particular, don't bother trying to purchase Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth from them, either... Steam's installer has problems, the game has problems, and in neither case are they problems of the "quick fix" variety. Heck, if I ever see a patch that fixes this game's problems come through Steam, I'll gladly post a "my bad, Steam's not all that bad" message here... but don't go holding your breath on that one.
Up until now, Steam (a service I've mentioned in past posts) has been, to me, the pinnacle of that progression. Sure, the service had some fits and starts at launch, and it doesn't do well for those who don't/can't have an Internet connection, but it's a mature service that promises one simple thing: buy from us, and, supposing your computer meets the minimum requirements of the game, it will install and run at least as smoothly as the version you buy from the store, if not better. In fact, there are even some games (Half Life jumps to mind) where the boxed version is unplayable under current versions of Windows, but it plays and runs just fine from Steam.
So, I was a little surprised to see that Bethesda Softworks (the people behind Fallout 3, which I wrote up earlier) had released a few older games on Steam... or rather, one game in particular. You see, along with Oblivion and Morrowind (a pair of fine RPGs, fantasy games whose core mechanics are greatly reflected in Fallout 3), there's a title called Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. I remember, back in the day, thinking it might be a fun game (if memory serves, it came out after Morrowind but before Oblivion)... only to reluctantly pass on it as the reviews came in, praising the concept but panning the execution, particularly the game's stability. Now, here it was in front of me again, up to Steam's standards for putting out on the market, and for a mere $15.
Naturally, I bit. After the first download, the game was unlaunchable, instead pulling up an "Engine" folder. A link within the Steam client let me find the official website for the game, still available after all these years, with several new posts in the forums about people buying the game through Steam and having the same problem I did. Suggested fixes included manually editing your registry, downloading CPU-specific patches from random sites, and installing a fan-made patch on the game, to take care of the worst of the problems.
I opted instead to re-download the game... and at least got something that would launch. Start a game, watch some cutscenes... and watch the game crash as it tries to enter the game proper. I played with various machine settings, turning off video card features and killing other resident programs... which got me to the point of being able to play the first, "introductory" scenario. Apart from one crash while trying to save the game, it seemed to be working alright... until I finished that introductory scenario, got another extended cutscene to lead into the "real game", and another crash while waiting to get started playing. Of course, I retried later, just to make sure it wasn't some sort of fluke, and got the same results.
So, long story short... if Steam had any standards in place before putting games up on their systems for purchase, they're gone now, so caveat emptor is the name of the game. In particular, don't bother trying to purchase Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth from them, either... Steam's installer has problems, the game has problems, and in neither case are they problems of the "quick fix" variety. Heck, if I ever see a patch that fixes this game's problems come through Steam, I'll gladly post a "my bad, Steam's not all that bad" message here... but don't go holding your breath on that one.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Analog TV broadcasting is done
...and it's about time, too. I mean, the switch to digital was going to happen originally some months back, but it got pushed forward due to converter-box supply difficulties. I was going to let the whole thing pass unnoted, but then I saw this story: 700,000 people called the FCC's hotline, confused about the transition, within the past week. Mind you, that's only a little over 0.2% of the population... but, compared to the number of people who still rely on over-the-air transmission of their TV programming, the percentage must be much, much higher.
So, months of leadup-time and on-air education, followed by a delay to make sure everybody can get the equipment they need, test it out, and make sure they're good to go come launch day... and there's still that many people who couldn't be bothered to work things out until the last week of the "old way" of doing things. This, friends, is a prime example of why I have no faith in the future of humanity.
So, months of leadup-time and on-air education, followed by a delay to make sure everybody can get the equipment they need, test it out, and make sure they're good to go come launch day... and there's still that many people who couldn't be bothered to work things out until the last week of the "old way" of doing things. This, friends, is a prime example of why I have no faith in the future of humanity.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Movie o' the day: Up
Right, well... go see Up, if you haven't already. The movie's emotionally pitch-perfect, never resorting to being saccharine or maudlin... which isn't to say it doesn't approach emotional highs and lows, just that it doesn't dwell on them needlessly long.
So far as the story itself, it deals with a widower being driven to make a choice... but, rather than take the path society has chosen for him, he decides to go on an adventure that both he and his late wife dreamed of all their lives. Of course, how that translates into him making his home mobile by means of thousands of helium balloons... well, you really need to see the movie to fully "get it", so I won't spoil it for you.
Along the way, he ends up inadvertently kidnapping a young neighborhood boy (and in the process learning that kids aren't all bad), making his way to South America, and meeting a boyhood hero (and getting that hero transformed into the main villian). Mix in a giant bird and some talking dogs (courtesy of collar translators) for plot points and comedy relief, and the end result is a wonder to behold.
Oh, and of course, being a Pixar flick, it's got a short beforehand... in this case, a piece called Partly Cloudy, which takes the old "storks bringing babies" story back to territory I haven't seen since the old Warner Brothers cartoons... namely, where do the storks get the babies? That poor, poor stork... I haven't seen that kind of abuse of a cartoon character in such a short time since those old cartoons, either, and it was just as funny now as then.
So, a great short and a wonderful movie are waiting for you at the local theater... what are you waiting for?
So far as the story itself, it deals with a widower being driven to make a choice... but, rather than take the path society has chosen for him, he decides to go on an adventure that both he and his late wife dreamed of all their lives. Of course, how that translates into him making his home mobile by means of thousands of helium balloons... well, you really need to see the movie to fully "get it", so I won't spoil it for you.
Along the way, he ends up inadvertently kidnapping a young neighborhood boy (and in the process learning that kids aren't all bad), making his way to South America, and meeting a boyhood hero (and getting that hero transformed into the main villian). Mix in a giant bird and some talking dogs (courtesy of collar translators) for plot points and comedy relief, and the end result is a wonder to behold.
Oh, and of course, being a Pixar flick, it's got a short beforehand... in this case, a piece called Partly Cloudy, which takes the old "storks bringing babies" story back to territory I haven't seen since the old Warner Brothers cartoons... namely, where do the storks get the babies? That poor, poor stork... I haven't seen that kind of abuse of a cartoon character in such a short time since those old cartoons, either, and it was just as funny now as then.
So, a great short and a wonderful movie are waiting for you at the local theater... what are you waiting for?
Thursday, June 4, 2009
DVD Pick: Idiocracy
Wow... I don't know how I practically missed hearing about this one (I only got tipped off to it by one friend, and somehow missed its time in the theater, and never heard anything intelligible about it online). Suffice it to say, I'm glad I did catch wind of this film... it targeted one of my persistent dreads about the fate of the human race, and blew way past anything I could have come up with, leaving me laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all.
The setup involves a slacker army grunt and a prostitute getting the "Buck Rogers" treatment (one year cryosleep turning into 500), and waking up an a world where intelligence has been all but bred out of the human race (the illustration behind that concept was sheer genius, I might add). Hilarity ensues, with trips through the hospital, prison, Costco (but, sadly, not Wal-Mart), and the corridors of power, ending up with an episode of Monday Night Rehabilitation to remember. Beyond that, I won't say too much... it's too much fun to watch "the smartest man alive" try to cope with the society that is still semi-functional despite the Darwin-inviting stupidity of everyone else.
No, it's not high cinema... heck, it's barely low cinema. But, sometimes, something that will make you laugh, without feeling dirty for doing so (I'm looking at you, Borat) is better still.
The setup involves a slacker army grunt and a prostitute getting the "Buck Rogers" treatment (one year cryosleep turning into 500), and waking up an a world where intelligence has been all but bred out of the human race (the illustration behind that concept was sheer genius, I might add). Hilarity ensues, with trips through the hospital, prison, Costco (but, sadly, not Wal-Mart), and the corridors of power, ending up with an episode of Monday Night Rehabilitation to remember. Beyond that, I won't say too much... it's too much fun to watch "the smartest man alive" try to cope with the society that is still semi-functional despite the Darwin-inviting stupidity of everyone else.
No, it's not high cinema... heck, it's barely low cinema. But, sometimes, something that will make you laugh, without feeling dirty for doing so (I'm looking at you, Borat) is better still.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)