Farewell, Sir:

Crazy Dave, as we called you. You were a good guy. You tried hard to fit in, yet never quite seemed to get there. You made inappropriate comments about people's race, sexuality, gender, and yogurt choice (and how that implies a certain sexual preference) to name a few things. You wore shirts with a plethora of different stains on them, be they chocolate, mustard, blood, dirt, and (?). Your face was always eagerly shining throughout the day with the fresh blood that only a vigorous morning shave could give. Your shirts were, more often than not, untucked and exposing the midriff of an overweight aging man. You called me Jared after I had worked one cube over from you for 3 months, and had worked on a few projects with you during that time. You offended, harassed, and otherwise alienated countless people that worked in your department...and yet...you will be missed. For you were the one true "character" of our department here. When people discovered the department I worked in, they would know I was in the company of a hero - a man not bound by rules of political correctness and respect for different lifestyle choices. This is a tribute to the man who is the driving force of all stories "actuarial" in my posession. Take care.

Videogame Reviews 8.6.. More Like 9.4!!!

Hello there team.

I woke up this morning ready to enjoy another 2 hour commute sitting on the back of an old, overflowing with people bus; driven by a man who randomly slams on the break for absolutely no fathomable reason. Seriously, I think this guy listens to the radio and drumming on the steering wheel and every once in awhile he accidently hits the bass pedal too hard and we all stumble in the aisle as the bus is so full most people are standing. Normally, I’m fine with the situation cause the guy is nice and who doesn’t go a little drum crazy while driving, but when you are driving over sheets of compacted snow the whole random brake tapping thing isn’t so much funny anymore….

Anyways, I digress…. I made it to work and immediately started surfing the internet for the latest videogame info. I came across this great discussion about videogame reviews posted by Shawn Elliot of 2k Games. Anyone interested interested in videogames should check this out.
http://shawnelliott.blogspot.com/2008/12/symposium-part-one-review-scores.html

I find reviews of media to be fascinating. One man’s favorite movie can be another man’s Indiana Jones KotCS. The perceived quality of a product depends so much on a person’s taste. For example, I loved Star Wars Force Unleashed. I have no problem admitting that. It. Was. Awesome. But I can see why it got moderately bad scores in most online reviews. The game plays terribly compared to most games of its type. However, I’m such a huge nerd and a fan of the Star Wars universe that I was so distracted by the great story and the fact that I was pulling Tie Fighters from the Air and throwing them at stormtroopers that I couldn’t stop playing the game.

So my point is; don’t look at the score, read the review. Ignore the ___ out of 10 bull shit. Read the review and you’ll see that even if the score isn’t very high, the game may sound interesting. Its just so sad that people get so caught up in arguing over the scores games receive that they miss the finer points of the review that could actually be helpful. The comments under reviews always say 9.5 is way too high, or this game deserved more then a 8.6. No one ever says, “Hey I disagree with your critique of the graphics on page 2 of the review. I think the ice effects were way too shiny and it made the world look cartoony and fake.” Scores are worthless. The content is way more important. Unless the game is Left 4 Dead…. Come on IGN, 9.0? Please…. Try 9.6.

SNOW

So...apparently it snows here in the northwest. Totally did not think it would actually even hit Bellevue. Well, I get in to work and nobody is there in my department except Nick and I and one other...my BOSS. Of course right? Anyways, I asked if I could use a vacation day and leave for the rest of the day and if that'd be a problem because in my mind vacation days were days you could take off without anybody questioning you. Well apparently that's not exactly how it works. She essentially told me that I shouldn't and that I could use two half-days between today and tomorrow instead. Long story short (ish), I didn't have to take any time off because the office was closed down right around 2.
Nick was stranded here in Bellevue so he came over and hung out and is now sleeping on the couch. We played through some Left 4 Dead and then watched Collateral after having gone to the mall for dinner at Taco Del (short for delicious) Mar.
Left 4 Dead, as I'm sure everybody reading this knows, is amazing. It's amazing because it takes coordinated teamwork. Very few games seem to get this right. In Left 4 Dead, if you run ahead or are too far behind, you're screwed. The zombies will pick you off and tear you apart. It takes a cohesive group to get through unscathed - not that we have ever gotten through a level unscathed yet...someday perhaps. I am not known for my teamwork expertise, but I am hoping that through this game, I may be perfecting it.
In other news, I FINALLY WON A DUEL IN WOW! Against Lee no less! And we proved it was no fluke when I did it again immediately after. To be fair to Lee, if I am playing my class correctly I should win about 90% of the time, so it is through no fault or lack of skill on his part.
First post of mine! Where you at, Timbecile and Danimal?

Left 4 Dead - Initial Thoughts

Here is my quickie:

Pros:
I get to be a zombie.
I get to kill zombies.
I get to play with my friends.


Cons:
Glitches with physical objects blocking pathways.
Maps get repetitve after a while (but still addictive at this point, DLC though would be nice)


In short, if you were a fan of Dead Rising and any good FPS, get this game. Great solo play + addictive and dynamic multiplayer = awesome awesome game.