I took a day over the New Year's weekend to get out with the family. My wife and #1 son had gone to a really cool place on the other coast called Mote Aquarium, and they wanted all of us to go this time. They have a tremendous emphasis on husbandry, so they raise a lot of the species that they have on display instead of going out to capture everything.
I was the most impressed with the cuttlefish. They also have an octopus there, and the octopus certainly seems smarter than the cuttlefish, but he's shy and doesn't interact with his toys all the time. The cuttlefish are five in a tank, and they interact with each other a lot.
In addition, they have a lot of the scary/ugly specimens like frogfish, rockfish, fire worms, and a stargazer. In the same room as all the ugly guys, there's a big tank that makes some jellyfish circulate around without touching the sides like they were in a clothes dryer or something.
They had some giant squid, but as they don't really keep in captivity they were all preserved specimens. Also, they're bleached out and kinda creepy.
After the aquarium closed, we went to a nearby beach that Google maps gave astoundingly bad directions for. Despite the bad directions, with a reasonable idea of where it was that we were supposed to be headed, we managed to get there before it got dark. On the one hand, I want to say what beach it is so I can specifically complain about the directions in the hope that they will get fixed, on the other hand if they get fixed I worry that this beach will get overrun. So, I will just be vague and say that it's more a place for finding shark's teeth than laying out and getting a tan.
#2 son wanted a water fountain, we found a rather simple one on the side of a wooden walkway leading to the restrooms, We also found two large women washing their feet in the water fountain instead of the Dalek-looking shower devices by the beach - they were redoing the boardwalk so maybe they weren't working yet. A smart-looking Japanese-American man in a Callaway Golf pullover showed the two women that there was a hose bib at foot level, much better for washing their feet off, and they kept on with their slow efforts at the water fountain. We interjected between washings to take a drink. #2 son had a little, and said he didn't need any more. I tried to ask him what it tasted like, but with the two women there, he wouldn't say anything to me. One of the women answered for him and said "Yucky." Since #2 son wouldn't spit it out, it couldn't have been that bad. I tasted some, and it was somewhat metallic - not unlike the majority of well water in most of Florida. I told the women that it wasn't that bad, slightly metallic tasting, and that I had done a lot worse for water in the middle of nowhere. I picked up #2 son and started walking away. It had been enough time that the second woman would have finished washing her feet - and then I heard the water run again, a slight pause and a lot of spitting and choking. Presumably, they were not from Florida.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
SuperMonkeyCube, Toy Consultant
Typically, I am asked about video games and computers by coworkers, friends, and family for suggestions and advice. It has only been in the last ten years or so that I've become comfortable enough with talking to people that I am willing give a hand to random shoppers that look like they need help. The holidays is when it's really needed - people shopping for TV's don't always know what they're getting themselves into, and some parents are largely uninvolved with what their kids play so subsequently have no idea what they're doing in the video game aisle at all. Someone has to do it - the employees are more worried about making sure they don't run out of things and have the right prices posted, and I can certainly understand their priorities.
This year, I think I managed to do some good without feeling like it was ruining anybody's day. The most disappointing thing I had to tell anyone this holiday season was that they still don't make Halo 2 for Mac - but you would think that Apple owners have been used to that kind of disappointment for years. One good company (Bungie) dedicates themselves to making a good first-person-shooter for Mac, and Bill Gates had to go and buy them so the second game was a XBox/PC exclusive. So exclusive, in fact, that they had to give longtime Windows XP users the short end of the stick with their first, misguided forays into the brand of 'Games for Windows'. If you wanted to play Halo 2 on PC, you had to upgrade to Vista. At least these days, Boot Camp or Parallels can get you around a problem like that. When Apple was still using PowerPC CPU's, it was not the norm for Apple to get games ported over from the PC version.
I had to tell a woman looking for printer ink that she had to go to the local office supply store since Walmart doesn't stock that much Epson compared to the other brands that they have - she didn't seem that upset about that since she was so happy with the printer in general.
I explained some of the mysteries of the XBox 360 to an actual Microsoft employee early one morning before having any Mountain Dew. He was lost looking at all of the plastic cards for points and Live subscriptions.
My favorite one of all this season was getting someone in the LEGO section at ToysRUs to consider the more technically difficult 'TECHNIC" line of products instead of just getting their kid larger and larger regular LEGO sets that really don't increase in difficulty much. Hopefully, there's a kid somewhere putting together a backhoe that really moves like a backhoe - and it's my fault.
This year, I think I managed to do some good without feeling like it was ruining anybody's day. The most disappointing thing I had to tell anyone this holiday season was that they still don't make Halo 2 for Mac - but you would think that Apple owners have been used to that kind of disappointment for years. One good company (Bungie) dedicates themselves to making a good first-person-shooter for Mac, and Bill Gates had to go and buy them so the second game was a XBox/PC exclusive. So exclusive, in fact, that they had to give longtime Windows XP users the short end of the stick with their first, misguided forays into the brand of 'Games for Windows'. If you wanted to play Halo 2 on PC, you had to upgrade to Vista. At least these days, Boot Camp or Parallels can get you around a problem like that. When Apple was still using PowerPC CPU's, it was not the norm for Apple to get games ported over from the PC version.
I had to tell a woman looking for printer ink that she had to go to the local office supply store since Walmart doesn't stock that much Epson compared to the other brands that they have - she didn't seem that upset about that since she was so happy with the printer in general.
I explained some of the mysteries of the XBox 360 to an actual Microsoft employee early one morning before having any Mountain Dew. He was lost looking at all of the plastic cards for points and Live subscriptions.
My favorite one of all this season was getting someone in the LEGO section at ToysRUs to consider the more technically difficult 'TECHNIC" line of products instead of just getting their kid larger and larger regular LEGO sets that really don't increase in difficulty much. Hopefully, there's a kid somewhere putting together a backhoe that really moves like a backhoe - and it's my fault.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Holiday Cubing, and a lot of explanations.
I hear the same things over and over from a variety of people when they see me manipulate a Rubik’s Cube in public.
“There’s like a mathematical formula to it, right?”
“I used to just take the stickers off.”
“But how do you know where it’s supposed to go?”
“I can only get (two/three) sides.”
“I could never do it.”
and the variation
“I tried looking it up ( on the Internet ) and I still couldn't figure it out.”
I will address these here as well, but I was so excited about a new question that it compelled me to talk about this topic at all. I finally got a new question the other day, standing in line at a local big box store in the supposed “Express” lane.
“Is there a rhythm to it?”
I’m sure that this is a reaction to the way that I do some of the multiple-move manipulations (known to cubers as “finger tricks”) in a way that doesn't bind up the mechanism of the cube. If you try to do some moves too fast for a given cube, the pieces just hang up on each other and don’t turn or possibly you will pop a piece out. In a competition, I suppose that you would want to push yourself as much as possible, and the occasional pop would be acceptable if it meant you had other fast times. In line at the store, popping a piece is largely unacceptable to me and it detracts from the showmanship aspect. If people are entertained a little, then it’s rewarding. It’s a nerdy sort or rewarding, but I’ll take it. If I’m digging under the edge of a cash register for a plastic piece, it’s a headache. So, the solution is to keep it at the speed that you know the cube will work well at. For me, even if they’re timing me, it’s better to keep it at a reasonable speed most of the time so I can look ahead to see the next thing to do.
So let’s go back to these other ones.
“There’s like a mathematical formula to it, right?”
The answer is “Yes”, but I always tell people “No”. That mostly has to do with the fact that I’m not able to easily explain why small groups with limited transformations behave in a complex way with rigorous constraints. Maybe I need to re-read all of my set theory and the Christoph Bandelow book “Inside Rubik’s Cube and Beyond” again. The other reason is that when most people say "math", I assume they're talking abut square roots, long division, and ax2+bx+c=0. I never assume they're talking about set theory, bijective functions, or anything with the word 'abelian' in it.
“I used to just take the stickers off.”
I typically tell people that adhesive never works as good once it’s been exposed to air. If you take the stickers off, not only will they likely be misaligned, but they will never stick as good as they originally did. When I re-sticker a cube, it involves cleaning the cube down to the plastic and sometimes even some light abrasion so new stickers have a fighting chance on a new surface.
“But how do you know where it’s supposed to go?”
This is the part where I start showing people - often by removing a piece of the cube - that there are edge pieces and corner pieces, and the center pieces attached to the framework in the middle of the cube. Explaining to them that the center pieces don't move relative to each other is somewhat difficult - I try to relate it to a die. One is always opposite six, five is always opposite two, three is always opposite four. No matter how you turn a die, the relative positions are still the same, and the framework of a Rubik's cube is no different. So, knowing the particular combination of colors on an edge or corner piece dictates where it should go. This is about where I start losing people, because once I pop the piece back in and start turning the faces of the cube, most people see 54 stickers again instead of eight corners, twelve edges and six centers.
"I can only get two sides."
This one I can believe, since it is possible to get two adjacent sides with only three pieces (two corners and the edge between them) completely correct. Those three pieces would be the pieces that comprises the edge between the two correct faces. The remaining ten pieces could be incorrectly placed. If the remaining pieces were correctly placed, there would only be two corners and five edges left, and if they were able to get as much as that done, they would have a real chance at the entire cube. Getting two opposite sides correct might be more difficult since 16 pieces would have to be correctly oriented, but no pieces would have to be correctly placed. This scenario seems unlikely for someone that can't actually solve a cube, I'd have to see it firsthand.
"I can only get three sides."
For as many times as I've heard this one, I never believe it. I'm going to have to start calling people out on this one, or at least pressing them for more details. It involves far too much of the cube being completed. When I solve a cube, the only time I have three sides done is when I am left with only two edges both of which are correctly placed but incorrectly oriented. Again, if you can get this much of the cube done, it seems unlikely that you would be completely unable to do the remainder. Most of the people that I know that have tried to solve the cube on their own fared much better once the corners were resolved, as a lot can be done with a cube without disturbing the corner pieces to move edges around.
This seems like a good time to mention that a cube cannot have only one edge flipped, or only one corner twisted. Edges flip in pairs, corners twist in opposite pairs or three in the same direction. You also cannot have only two pieces out of place. You can have three edges or three corners out of place, or two corners and two edges out of place. Those are the minimums. If you take a cube apart, and reassemble it at random, you only have a one in twelve chance of putting it in a solvable state. I suppose that some of these people that have done two or three sides are fighting against a tampered-with cube, but I don't really know.
"I could never do it."
You could be right about that, but it's true for a lot of things that if you think you can't, you can't. I don't find it to be any more challenging than playing bass or typing, and I would think that playing violin or trombone would be a lot harder than doing a Rubik's cube.
“I tried looking it up ( on the Internet ) and I still couldn't figure it out."
This is the part that I can understand - the standard notation for cube moves is not intuitive to everyone, especially when you're not thinking of the cube as having fixed sides. So if you see
RUR'URU2R' (or R'D'RD'R'D2R if you're old-school top-down) and you don't understand it, but you want to - feel free to ask.
“There’s like a mathematical formula to it, right?”
“I used to just take the stickers off.”
“But how do you know where it’s supposed to go?”
“I can only get (two/three) sides.”
“I could never do it.”
and the variation
“I tried looking it up ( on the Internet ) and I still couldn't figure it out.”
I will address these here as well, but I was so excited about a new question that it compelled me to talk about this topic at all. I finally got a new question the other day, standing in line at a local big box store in the supposed “Express” lane.
“Is there a rhythm to it?”
I’m sure that this is a reaction to the way that I do some of the multiple-move manipulations (known to cubers as “finger tricks”) in a way that doesn't bind up the mechanism of the cube. If you try to do some moves too fast for a given cube, the pieces just hang up on each other and don’t turn or possibly you will pop a piece out. In a competition, I suppose that you would want to push yourself as much as possible, and the occasional pop would be acceptable if it meant you had other fast times. In line at the store, popping a piece is largely unacceptable to me and it detracts from the showmanship aspect. If people are entertained a little, then it’s rewarding. It’s a nerdy sort or rewarding, but I’ll take it. If I’m digging under the edge of a cash register for a plastic piece, it’s a headache. So, the solution is to keep it at the speed that you know the cube will work well at. For me, even if they’re timing me, it’s better to keep it at a reasonable speed most of the time so I can look ahead to see the next thing to do.
So let’s go back to these other ones.
“There’s like a mathematical formula to it, right?”
The answer is “Yes”, but I always tell people “No”. That mostly has to do with the fact that I’m not able to easily explain why small groups with limited transformations behave in a complex way with rigorous constraints. Maybe I need to re-read all of my set theory and the Christoph Bandelow book “Inside Rubik’s Cube and Beyond” again. The other reason is that when most people say "math", I assume they're talking abut square roots, long division, and ax2+bx+c=0. I never assume they're talking about set theory, bijective functions, or anything with the word 'abelian' in it.
“I used to just take the stickers off.”
I typically tell people that adhesive never works as good once it’s been exposed to air. If you take the stickers off, not only will they likely be misaligned, but they will never stick as good as they originally did. When I re-sticker a cube, it involves cleaning the cube down to the plastic and sometimes even some light abrasion so new stickers have a fighting chance on a new surface.
“But how do you know where it’s supposed to go?”
This is the part where I start showing people - often by removing a piece of the cube - that there are edge pieces and corner pieces, and the center pieces attached to the framework in the middle of the cube. Explaining to them that the center pieces don't move relative to each other is somewhat difficult - I try to relate it to a die. One is always opposite six, five is always opposite two, three is always opposite four. No matter how you turn a die, the relative positions are still the same, and the framework of a Rubik's cube is no different. So, knowing the particular combination of colors on an edge or corner piece dictates where it should go. This is about where I start losing people, because once I pop the piece back in and start turning the faces of the cube, most people see 54 stickers again instead of eight corners, twelve edges and six centers.
"I can only get two sides."
This one I can believe, since it is possible to get two adjacent sides with only three pieces (two corners and the edge between them) completely correct. Those three pieces would be the pieces that comprises the edge between the two correct faces. The remaining ten pieces could be incorrectly placed. If the remaining pieces were correctly placed, there would only be two corners and five edges left, and if they were able to get as much as that done, they would have a real chance at the entire cube. Getting two opposite sides correct might be more difficult since 16 pieces would have to be correctly oriented, but no pieces would have to be correctly placed. This scenario seems unlikely for someone that can't actually solve a cube, I'd have to see it firsthand.
"I can only get three sides."
For as many times as I've heard this one, I never believe it. I'm going to have to start calling people out on this one, or at least pressing them for more details. It involves far too much of the cube being completed. When I solve a cube, the only time I have three sides done is when I am left with only two edges both of which are correctly placed but incorrectly oriented. Again, if you can get this much of the cube done, it seems unlikely that you would be completely unable to do the remainder. Most of the people that I know that have tried to solve the cube on their own fared much better once the corners were resolved, as a lot can be done with a cube without disturbing the corner pieces to move edges around.
This seems like a good time to mention that a cube cannot have only one edge flipped, or only one corner twisted. Edges flip in pairs, corners twist in opposite pairs or three in the same direction. You also cannot have only two pieces out of place. You can have three edges or three corners out of place, or two corners and two edges out of place. Those are the minimums. If you take a cube apart, and reassemble it at random, you only have a one in twelve chance of putting it in a solvable state. I suppose that some of these people that have done two or three sides are fighting against a tampered-with cube, but I don't really know.
"I could never do it."
You could be right about that, but it's true for a lot of things that if you think you can't, you can't. I don't find it to be any more challenging than playing bass or typing, and I would think that playing violin or trombone would be a lot harder than doing a Rubik's cube.
“I tried looking it up ( on the Internet ) and I still couldn't figure it out."
This is the part that I can understand - the standard notation for cube moves is not intuitive to everyone, especially when you're not thinking of the cube as having fixed sides. So if you see
RUR'URU2R' (or R'D'RD'R'D2R if you're old-school top-down) and you don't understand it, but you want to - feel free to ask.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Completion Bonus?
The day after Thanksgiving doesn't always feel like a Friday. Sure, I could go out to the stores and score some awesome deals, but I think it's the sort of shopping one would have to do without kids in tow. Frankly, I felt a little zombified - or maybe it was food coma, nobody was going to school, I wasn't going to Walmart. It seemed more like Saturday than Friday. I did a little bit of laundry, wrestled with the weed whacker, and put up a few strands of Christmas lights.
In between loads of laundry, I decided to pop in Pikmin 2 into the GameCube. Like its predecessor, once you beat the main game once, it opens up a "Challenge Mode". Where Pikmin has you play in the various areas from the single player game and try to grow as many Pikmin as you can in one day, each of Pikmin 2's challenges has you completing a small underground dungeon. Olimar and Louie command a small army of animal/plant hybrids that they call Pikmin - they are able to manipulate objects in the environment, and you cannot. You call them to you, throw them at objects to make them attack or carry them, and you have to figure out which of the five types of Pikmin are suitable for the task at hand. You get points for hauling back treasures, time left on the clock when you finish, and for how many Pikmin you have when you're done. There are 30 of these, unlike Pikmin's 5 areas in Challenge Mode. They are not all available at once, so you have a screen that shows you a leaf for each board that you have available, which turns into a white flower once you have completed it. If you are able to finish a board without losing any Pikmin in battle or to environmental hazards, it shows a pink flower instead of a white one. So, for years I had 24 pink flowers and 6 white ones on that screen. At some point I came back to the game and reduced it to 2 white ones, and then over the summer I reduced it to only one white flower.
Now where was I? Yes, in between loads of laundry. I pop the game in Friday, thinking I will give that last white flower another chance. Why do I bother to get them all? I bother to get them all because I know that the game has one more cinema that I haven't seen that is only unlocked by getting all pink flowers in challenge mode. I know that this movie is called "Louie's Dark Secret". I'm sure I could have just gone on youtube and watched the video, but I felt that it would be more rewarding if I actually did it myself. Happily, I finally got it - I went a little quickly and skipped a few treasures in the interest of having more time on the last level of the dungeon, and it paid off. My score was not as high as it could have been, but you get a pink flower for not losing Pikmin, and the score doesn't really matter. I'm not going to spoil it here, since I don't want to ruin it for anyone else. However, I will say that actually getting a perfect run on the last board was way more rewarding than the bonus movie. The one that I had not done until yesterday is the Emperor's Realm, and there are lots of opportunities to screw it up. The first four levels of the dungeon are easy enough, but each one has things that will trip you up and lose a Pikmin or two if you're not careful. The last level is genuinely difficult in the face of the time restriction. There are only three enemies, but only one of them has the key to the exit. A little bit of luck helps. If you don't get the key the first or second time, you don't have quite enough time or opportunity to defeat the third Emperor Bulblax.
Pikmin 2's bonus movie was cute - I think it might have been funnier for me if I had gotten it while I was still playing the game all the time and was more wrapped up in the storyline - but it wasn't much of a reward for mastery. Resident Evil 4 had the Handcannon that you got for skillfully getting a 5 star ranking in all of the Mercenary Mode levels, and that seemed like a reward. It actually gave you a reason to go back and replay the single player game, especially if you were able to upgrade it to infinite ammo. It completely changes the dynamic of the game without having to change any other part of the game - because you go from carefully conserving ammo to John Woo-style shell casings everywhere. Yes, it makes the game easier, but if you have already completed the game the hard way, it's a fun reward.
In between loads of laundry, I decided to pop in Pikmin 2 into the GameCube. Like its predecessor, once you beat the main game once, it opens up a "Challenge Mode". Where Pikmin has you play in the various areas from the single player game and try to grow as many Pikmin as you can in one day, each of Pikmin 2's challenges has you completing a small underground dungeon. Olimar and Louie command a small army of animal/plant hybrids that they call Pikmin - they are able to manipulate objects in the environment, and you cannot. You call them to you, throw them at objects to make them attack or carry them, and you have to figure out which of the five types of Pikmin are suitable for the task at hand. You get points for hauling back treasures, time left on the clock when you finish, and for how many Pikmin you have when you're done. There are 30 of these, unlike Pikmin's 5 areas in Challenge Mode. They are not all available at once, so you have a screen that shows you a leaf for each board that you have available, which turns into a white flower once you have completed it. If you are able to finish a board without losing any Pikmin in battle or to environmental hazards, it shows a pink flower instead of a white one. So, for years I had 24 pink flowers and 6 white ones on that screen. At some point I came back to the game and reduced it to 2 white ones, and then over the summer I reduced it to only one white flower.
Now where was I? Yes, in between loads of laundry. I pop the game in Friday, thinking I will give that last white flower another chance. Why do I bother to get them all? I bother to get them all because I know that the game has one more cinema that I haven't seen that is only unlocked by getting all pink flowers in challenge mode. I know that this movie is called "Louie's Dark Secret". I'm sure I could have just gone on youtube and watched the video, but I felt that it would be more rewarding if I actually did it myself. Happily, I finally got it - I went a little quickly and skipped a few treasures in the interest of having more time on the last level of the dungeon, and it paid off. My score was not as high as it could have been, but you get a pink flower for not losing Pikmin, and the score doesn't really matter. I'm not going to spoil it here, since I don't want to ruin it for anyone else. However, I will say that actually getting a perfect run on the last board was way more rewarding than the bonus movie. The one that I had not done until yesterday is the Emperor's Realm, and there are lots of opportunities to screw it up. The first four levels of the dungeon are easy enough, but each one has things that will trip you up and lose a Pikmin or two if you're not careful. The last level is genuinely difficult in the face of the time restriction. There are only three enemies, but only one of them has the key to the exit. A little bit of luck helps. If you don't get the key the first or second time, you don't have quite enough time or opportunity to defeat the third Emperor Bulblax.
Pikmin 2's bonus movie was cute - I think it might have been funnier for me if I had gotten it while I was still playing the game all the time and was more wrapped up in the storyline - but it wasn't much of a reward for mastery. Resident Evil 4 had the Handcannon that you got for skillfully getting a 5 star ranking in all of the Mercenary Mode levels, and that seemed like a reward. It actually gave you a reason to go back and replay the single player game, especially if you were able to upgrade it to infinite ammo. It completely changes the dynamic of the game without having to change any other part of the game - because you go from carefully conserving ammo to John Woo-style shell casings everywhere. Yes, it makes the game easier, but if you have already completed the game the hard way, it's a fun reward.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
HD Radio's last stand
HD Radio - which is neither High Definition nor Hybrid Digital, but instead just a brand name intended to make us think they meant one of those two things - was really trying to get people interested this holiday season. I really have to hand it to the consortium behind HD Radio. They're trying awfully hard to make their system viable for consumers. It's inexpensive, there's no subscription fees, it gives people more choices over things to listen to, and there are even hand held ones about to be available, but I suspect that they may have missed the proverbial boat.
Sadly, like over-the-air digital TV, there are a large number of people that could take advantage of it, but most of those people are paying a monthly subscription for a slightly better service, even despite the current economic climate. Some are just choosing to do without entirely. ( I think I am in the second category because I can't be bothered to change the stereo out in my car.)
I guess in the case of HD radio, the impediment for me is that between my CD player and analog FM, there's usually enough for me to listen to most of the time that I don't feel like I need to upgrade. Sure the sound is better, but that strategy stopped working a while ago. I cite as evidence the low adoption rates of SuperAudioCD, HDCD, and DVD-Audio and instead a move to lower fidelity mp3 players.
What's even more amazing about the current batch of HD radio ads that I hear on the radio is a lack of a specific product. At least when you watch a Pixar movie on DVD, they're hyping how awesome Blu-Ray is, and telling you what Disney and Pixar movies you can get on Blu-Ray. With the HD radio ads, it's more like:
"HD radio is awesome. Just ask us and we'll tell you. Go buy one anywhere!"
I used to hear Circuit City branded ads for HD radio, and I've been hearing a few for Radio Shack, but in addition to those, I've also hear a lot of generic unbranded HD radio ads (presumably bought by the consortium to increase their reach). I guess that this holiday season is some sort of all-out-last-ditch effort to get people on HD radio.
I suppose it couldn't be worse than the sky-is-falling approach they took on TV's "Switch to Digital!" But my real question, now that some of the holiday tinsel has cleared - did anybody actually get HD radio as a present? Do you even know anyone who has it?
Sadly, like over-the-air digital TV, there are a large number of people that could take advantage of it, but most of those people are paying a monthly subscription for a slightly better service, even despite the current economic climate. Some are just choosing to do without entirely. ( I think I am in the second category because I can't be bothered to change the stereo out in my car.)
I guess in the case of HD radio, the impediment for me is that between my CD player and analog FM, there's usually enough for me to listen to most of the time that I don't feel like I need to upgrade. Sure the sound is better, but that strategy stopped working a while ago. I cite as evidence the low adoption rates of SuperAudioCD, HDCD, and DVD-Audio and instead a move to lower fidelity mp3 players.
What's even more amazing about the current batch of HD radio ads that I hear on the radio is a lack of a specific product. At least when you watch a Pixar movie on DVD, they're hyping how awesome Blu-Ray is, and telling you what Disney and Pixar movies you can get on Blu-Ray. With the HD radio ads, it's more like:
"HD radio is awesome. Just ask us and we'll tell you. Go buy one anywhere!"
I used to hear Circuit City branded ads for HD radio, and I've been hearing a few for Radio Shack, but in addition to those, I've also hear a lot of generic unbranded HD radio ads (presumably bought by the consortium to increase their reach). I guess that this holiday season is some sort of all-out-last-ditch effort to get people on HD radio.
I suppose it couldn't be worse than the sky-is-falling approach they took on TV's "Switch to Digital!" But my real question, now that some of the holiday tinsel has cleared - did anybody actually get HD radio as a present? Do you even know anyone who has it?
MVC Novermber 2010 update
I was happy to see that She-Hulk made the official roster for Marvel vs Capcom 3 - maybe not as happy if it had been a surprise, as she was another character that had been on the leaked list months ago. I was a little surprised to see Zero on the Capcom side, since he got such a lukewarm reception in Tatsunoko vs Capcom 3 (although not as bad as Volnutt's) even though he was on the leaked list. I am under the impression that people want the plain, vanilla, regular, standard issue Mega Man before any of the other guys from the franchise show up. Certainly, I would understand fan's annoyance if it were one of the other franchises - like if a game had Gouken and Sean in it, but not Ryu, or Nero and Arkham, but not Dante.
The thing that cheesed me the most about the most recently posted roster was not the fact that the inclusion of Spencer from Bionic Commando escaped my notice, but the three little letters next to the newly posted Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath.
D.
L.
C.
I'll show you the one for Shuma here.
It is my opinion that having DLC characters in a fighting game splinters the audience, and makes playing online more of a pain in the neck than it needs to be. I have no issue with DLC outfits, since they don't affect the gameplay.
And of course, if you get the crazy special version that includes a one month unlimited subscription to Marvel digital Comics and a fancy art book, they'll include the Jill and Shuma-Gorath DLC when they come out. It's a $70 version, though. (I presume the regular version will be $60, of course.)
I hope that for a $10 premium we can at least get a Jill Valentine with that cute beret that she had in MvC2.
The thing that cheesed me the most about the most recently posted roster was not the fact that the inclusion of Spencer from Bionic Commando escaped my notice, but the three little letters next to the newly posted Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath.
D.
L.
C.
I'll show you the one for Shuma here.
It is my opinion that having DLC characters in a fighting game splinters the audience, and makes playing online more of a pain in the neck than it needs to be. I have no issue with DLC outfits, since they don't affect the gameplay.
And of course, if you get the crazy special version that includes a one month unlimited subscription to Marvel digital Comics and a fancy art book, they'll include the Jill and Shuma-Gorath DLC when they come out. It's a $70 version, though. (I presume the regular version will be $60, of course.)
I hope that for a $10 premium we can at least get a Jill Valentine with that cute beret that she had in MvC2.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
A quick video- Cubing with restrictions.
I brought the nerdy cube stuff today. It's a cube that's partially superglued together so you can only move two adjacent faces. I've had this for a while, and even though people talk about this particular subset of possible Rubik's cube moves from a mathematical sense, I haven't seen much in the way of discussion of how to solve it or its features. We'll declare the right face (yellow) and the down face (red) the two movable sides. Once both the URF corner and the URB corner are correctly placed, all of the corners are correctly placed. Once the three right face edges UR, RF, and RB are correctly placed and oriented, the remaining edges are all correctly oriented. So, the solution usually is:
1. Solve edge UR.
2. Solve the two corner-edge pairs (URF + RF) and (URB + RB).
3. Orient D corners (they are correctly placed automatically).
4. Permute D edges (the are correctly oriented automatically).
If there are any new-school cubers out there, you might make U and R the movable faces and solve DR first - upside down of what I just said. I originally started with the Nourse method, so I'm a little biased to R and D moves, even though it's a little harder to see what you're doing. Amazingly enough, this bias has overcome everything - even the fact that I'm a lefty who cubes right-handed.
1. Solve edge UR.
2. Solve the two corner-edge pairs (URF + RF) and (URB + RB).
3. Orient D corners (they are correctly placed automatically).
4. Permute D edges (the are correctly oriented automatically).
If there are any new-school cubers out there, you might make U and R the movable faces and solve DR first - upside down of what I just said. I originally started with the Nourse method, so I'm a little biased to R and D moves, even though it's a little harder to see what you're doing. Amazingly enough, this bias has overcome everything - even the fact that I'm a lefty who cubes right-handed.
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