Someone today wrote to another person on a board I frequent:
"The damn disc drive in your computer, used to load your OS that eventually sets you up to ignorantly blather here reads discs with a laser - which was a predicted quantum effect of light."
No it most certainly fucking was NOT a "predicted quantum effect", it came about because of hard scientific observation as to the actual effects of light and experimentation with data storage. Thank you for providing yet another example of religion masquerading as science. "Quantum prediction" has exactly as much to do with optical drives as it has to do with what you had for breakfast this morning.
It's put forward as explaining everything, but it explains nothing. Just call it "quantum information mirroring" and shut your brain off, stop researching actual causes and effects.
Most people don't even realize that Schrodinger's Cat is actually a joke meant to demonstrate how absurd the rape of actual quantum physics and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle in science circles really is.
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is as follows: Extremely small (quantum) particles cannot be observed by any currently known means because they all require bombarding these particles with heavier particles. Because you cannot observe, with our current technology, these events without severely screwing up the results, it is impossible to know what's really going on at that level.
Some persons took "you cannot reliably observe particles smaller than light particles because your light particles are way too heavy and fast" to mean "you cannot observe anything without significantly changing the outcome, therefore everything exists in every possible state until it is observed."
It's like the old Zen thought. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody observes it, does it still make a sound? Of course it makes a sound, the thought exercise is supposed to be about the relative significance of events. The new religion in a labcoat is the dumbass in the first year philosophy class who took it literally and went "Oh my god! *bong hit* that's so deep! My mind is expanding.. nothing happens until it's observed, and therefore until it's observed, EVERYTHING has happened, man! We can USE this.. to like.. transmit information! If one box has a glove and the other box has no glove and nobody knows which is which, it's not decided until the box is opened! Instant information transfer, man! Now we just need to *bong hit* find some way to attach OTHER information along with THAT transmission!"
I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved Ender's Game as much as the next guy... but there's a reason the ansible doesn't occur in any hard science fiction. Quantum entanglement is hilarious bullshit, because it presumes on somehow separating two subatomic particles yet maintaining the bond which prevents that separation. You can't build on that. That's not science. Until someone finds a way to make that happen, the rest is pissing in the wind.
You can't skip that many steps, we might as well be 11th century man arguing about the makeup of the firmament based on the theory that a bird can only fly so high because they knock into it. I wish I was making that absurd example up, but those are the sorts of things that happened in the Dark Ages. Welcome to the beginning of The Dark Ages II: Darkness Appearing as Light.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
This will only make sense to fellow City of Heroes players.
Praetoria bores me.
Firstly, for those who say "it's just a game"? Yep. It is. And that's why Praetoria does not offend me... it merely bores me, it's just a game. I'm tired of seeing that message of "nobody's a hero" presented as "edgy" and "cool", it makes my eyes glaze over with boredom. To try so hard to fill a place with "grey zones" that you only come up with a bunch of black is immersion-breaking for me, and it makes me rush out of the unpleasant and boring plotlines. Does this happen in the Isles and Paragon City as well? Yes! Several plots are just as stupid. The difference is you can opt out of them and go do something else.
Praetoria offers no such option, and is thus a boring place to me.
When people try to defend the actions of the characters in the game, that rankles me a bit. There is a reason revolutions in the real world that are long on propaganda but short on actual solutions are filled with young people. An inability to empathize with people who disagree, and inability to think past the short term are, in fact, recognized signs of immaturity. Not only is it immature, but it is also cowardice to say "by any means necessary", because those means invariably involve people who just want to be left alone dying for your cause.
The only person who should ever die for your cause is you, those who raise arms directly to fight against you, and others who directly take up arms with you. It is immaturity to believe it excusable to put the lives of people who have nothing to do with a conflict ahead of your own life.
Let's make this easy: Sending people to blow up a hospital to prove your enemies are not infallible = immature and cowardly.
Sending people to raid and destroy a military target to prove your enemies are not infallible = desperate and possibly crazy, but a mature and brave decision.
That has been my entire objection to Praetoria and why it is so boring to me. All of your choices except one involve your character forcibly being a coward. The one which DOES allow you to show some empathy and gives you a mature set of principles to stick to? In the end you're again forced to be a coward; and worse have to put up with the game telling you how evil you are for trying to make the best of a bad situation. The Responsibility Loyalist path, right up until the end, gives you chances to right wrongs no matter if it's done by the gangs, the Resistance, or elements of Cole's own forces.
The Warden Resistance path forces you to look the other way, and the only reason you can get the Resistance to ever cease an atrocity is because otherwise they might out you as a double agent. You cannot get the Resistance to be brave and mature by your own actions, you can only look the other way and make weak, hopeless statements to a group clearly led by someone equally as mad, but for more chaotic than, the "Tyrant" they're trying to overthrow.
I say the Praetorian plotline mostly appeals to immature folks because it DOES. Lack of empathy and cowardice, a willingness to throw others under the bus (but never putting yourself at risk to protect the people you are supposedly saving) to further your own cause are actual real signs of immaturity.
To paraphrase KoToR, which is in fact a further paraphrase of Chesty Puller (and if you read Orson Scott Card you'll recognize something Ender said which also derives from this old Marine's saying) , "Warriors kill because they hate who opposes them, Soldiers fight and die like maggots under a blowtorch when necessary because they love what they've left behind."
Another nice chestnut of his is "Soldiers step in front of civilians, cowards use them as bargaining chips."
Guard your women and children well
Send these bastards back to hell
We'll teach them the ways of war
They won't come here anymore
That is what "by any means necessary" really means. It means you stand up and give your life to protect people who will never even know what you've done for them. You say "I will die for you, to protect you". Sometimes collateral damage happens, and it should pain you when it does, but to intentionally target civilians or, through your own inaction, allow them to die is cowardice.
And some people are simply immature cowards. It's a big world out there, and it takes all kinds to populate it, but one should at least be able to accept what they are. If you don't want your arguments to be called immature, then stop making immature arguments.
A lawyer acquaintance of mine has said there are three kinds of Defense Lawyers in this world. Type 1 are the wide eyed crusaders, who really are doing their best to ensure an accused gets a fair trial. Type 2 are those who talk like type 1, but it's all bologna. when push comes to shove, they do what's best for their career and all that rhetoric means nothing. Type 3 are those who simply like money, are good at lawyering, and don;t really care what goes on so long as they win the case. He freely admits he is type 3. He and I both respect type 1 and type 3, even if he disagrees with the morals of 1 and I of type 3, because they're not hiding behind a layer false righteousness. Those who beleive "any means necessary" includes sacrificing innocent persons to make a point would find themselves right at home as a type 2 criminal defense lawyer.
At least with Statesman and Recluse, you know where you stand and can do your own thing accordingly. In Praetoria? You're forced to be evil, ultimately.
Firstly, for those who say "it's just a game"? Yep. It is. And that's why Praetoria does not offend me... it merely bores me, it's just a game. I'm tired of seeing that message of "nobody's a hero" presented as "edgy" and "cool", it makes my eyes glaze over with boredom. To try so hard to fill a place with "grey zones" that you only come up with a bunch of black is immersion-breaking for me, and it makes me rush out of the unpleasant and boring plotlines. Does this happen in the Isles and Paragon City as well? Yes! Several plots are just as stupid. The difference is you can opt out of them and go do something else.
Praetoria offers no such option, and is thus a boring place to me.
When people try to defend the actions of the characters in the game, that rankles me a bit. There is a reason revolutions in the real world that are long on propaganda but short on actual solutions are filled with young people. An inability to empathize with people who disagree, and inability to think past the short term are, in fact, recognized signs of immaturity. Not only is it immature, but it is also cowardice to say "by any means necessary", because those means invariably involve people who just want to be left alone dying for your cause.
The only person who should ever die for your cause is you, those who raise arms directly to fight against you, and others who directly take up arms with you. It is immaturity to believe it excusable to put the lives of people who have nothing to do with a conflict ahead of your own life.
Let's make this easy: Sending people to blow up a hospital to prove your enemies are not infallible = immature and cowardly.
Sending people to raid and destroy a military target to prove your enemies are not infallible = desperate and possibly crazy, but a mature and brave decision.
That has been my entire objection to Praetoria and why it is so boring to me. All of your choices except one involve your character forcibly being a coward. The one which DOES allow you to show some empathy and gives you a mature set of principles to stick to? In the end you're again forced to be a coward; and worse have to put up with the game telling you how evil you are for trying to make the best of a bad situation. The Responsibility Loyalist path, right up until the end, gives you chances to right wrongs no matter if it's done by the gangs, the Resistance, or elements of Cole's own forces.
The Warden Resistance path forces you to look the other way, and the only reason you can get the Resistance to ever cease an atrocity is because otherwise they might out you as a double agent. You cannot get the Resistance to be brave and mature by your own actions, you can only look the other way and make weak, hopeless statements to a group clearly led by someone equally as mad, but for more chaotic than, the "Tyrant" they're trying to overthrow.
I say the Praetorian plotline mostly appeals to immature folks because it DOES. Lack of empathy and cowardice, a willingness to throw others under the bus (but never putting yourself at risk to protect the people you are supposedly saving) to further your own cause are actual real signs of immaturity.
To paraphrase KoToR, which is in fact a further paraphrase of Chesty Puller (and if you read Orson Scott Card you'll recognize something Ender said which also derives from this old Marine's saying) , "Warriors kill because they hate who opposes them, Soldiers fight and die like maggots under a blowtorch when necessary because they love what they've left behind."
Another nice chestnut of his is "Soldiers step in front of civilians, cowards use them as bargaining chips."
Guard your women and children well
Send these bastards back to hell
We'll teach them the ways of war
They won't come here anymore
That is what "by any means necessary" really means. It means you stand up and give your life to protect people who will never even know what you've done for them. You say "I will die for you, to protect you". Sometimes collateral damage happens, and it should pain you when it does, but to intentionally target civilians or, through your own inaction, allow them to die is cowardice.
And some people are simply immature cowards. It's a big world out there, and it takes all kinds to populate it, but one should at least be able to accept what they are. If you don't want your arguments to be called immature, then stop making immature arguments.
A lawyer acquaintance of mine has said there are three kinds of Defense Lawyers in this world. Type 1 are the wide eyed crusaders, who really are doing their best to ensure an accused gets a fair trial. Type 2 are those who talk like type 1, but it's all bologna. when push comes to shove, they do what's best for their career and all that rhetoric means nothing. Type 3 are those who simply like money, are good at lawyering, and don;t really care what goes on so long as they win the case. He freely admits he is type 3. He and I both respect type 1 and type 3, even if he disagrees with the morals of 1 and I of type 3, because they're not hiding behind a layer false righteousness. Those who beleive "any means necessary" includes sacrificing innocent persons to make a point would find themselves right at home as a type 2 criminal defense lawyer.
At least with Statesman and Recluse, you know where you stand and can do your own thing accordingly. In Praetoria? You're forced to be evil, ultimately.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Stuff
War in Iraq. War in Afghanistan.. but at least they attacked us. War in Libya. War in Egypt.
We waste 100 million dollars a DAY doing this. Do you see this? This is what ONE million dollars looks like in one hundred dollar bills. We are wasting a HUNDRED of those images a day fighting wars that have nothing to do with us.
Meanwhile, this is what's going on in our own country. ONE of those piles would be enough to feed half a million homeless children per day, and Obama thinks it's neatokeen to waste a hundred of said piles a day helping people who will only spit on us for our trouble.
I do not give a fuck about Libya. I CAN'T give a fuck about Libya while this is going on. How dare you act like any of that overseas shit matters compared to that? I've got nothing positive or deep to say. It's visceral. Fuck you, Obama you fucking scumbag. Fuck you like I previously said fuck Bush.
What would Jesus do, Obama? Would you even know? Have you even glanced at your Bible in the last 30 years? I'm a dirty filthy pagan, and even I understand the word of Jesus better than you, you subhuman scum.
We waste 100 million dollars a DAY doing this. Do you see this? This is what ONE million dollars looks like in one hundred dollar bills. We are wasting a HUNDRED of those images a day fighting wars that have nothing to do with us.
Meanwhile, this is what's going on in our own country. ONE of those piles would be enough to feed half a million homeless children per day, and Obama thinks it's neatokeen to waste a hundred of said piles a day helping people who will only spit on us for our trouble.
I do not give a fuck about Libya. I CAN'T give a fuck about Libya while this is going on. How dare you act like any of that overseas shit matters compared to that? I've got nothing positive or deep to say. It's visceral. Fuck you, Obama you fucking scumbag. Fuck you like I previously said fuck Bush.
What would Jesus do, Obama? Would you even know? Have you even glanced at your Bible in the last 30 years? I'm a dirty filthy pagan, and even I understand the word of Jesus better than you, you subhuman scum.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
On my beliefs.
Shinto did not find me. I had my beliefs before I knew what it was. I sought and sought and tortured my soul over it all.. and I found Shinto. What's important is to Shinto is "Everyone is good unless they are afraid that being good will hurt them". That and the fact that world just needs to see that there's enough for all of us.. and no reason to be afraid. I had these beliefs before I found my religion. I believe in my religion because it is true, not that I believe what is "true" because my religion tells me to.
I don't need to point at a book to tell me what is true; I already knew it from the pain, violence, and joys of my life. I simply found the religion of others who understood it.
I don't need to point at a book to tell me what is true; I already knew it from the pain, violence, and joys of my life. I simply found the religion of others who understood it.
Militant Atheism and militant theism.
Watch the first 35 seconds of this. For those who need the background, Dr. Cox is a generally good but abrasive person, when it comes to religion he is a smug know it all asshole. And this goes out to militant atheists. Why does it wound you so personally that others have belief? Why do you NEED everyone to feel as if there's nothing greater? I understand the feel of being controlled.. I am an "Other" in a primarily Judeo-Christian land that has a laughable "New-Age Wiccan" piece that whines a lot. When there were real attempts by Christians to control the hearts and minds of their fellow man, I notice them and fight them. When faith conspires to control others, you fight those means of control; you DIE to fight those means of control. But you know what? That's where it needs to stop.
If you feel the need to fight the faith itself, rather than to fight it trying to reach past the boundaries that allow other men to be free, the problem is in you and not in the faithful. Their belief does you absolutely no harm until the point where it actually DOES harm you. When it does harm you, you put a stop to that, but you do NOT need to go on and harm others. You think you're smarter than the faithful? Bra-fucking-vo. Guess what? They also think they're smarter than you. You're both free to think that and I don't give a shit until you cross that line and try to force your beliefs on them.
Do you think that Christians are forcing their faith on you? Great. How is demeaning them for their faith any better than them demeaning you for your lack of faith?
Most Christians I've known in my life are able to see when someone is not interested and walk away. I have met 3 atheists in my life who are able to walk away rather than whining some martyr bullshit about how anyone who does anything for reasons of faith are somehow lesser human beings than those who do good for reasons not of faith. And I say to them? Fuck you. Anyone who is so insecure that they can't walk away and just let others believe are subhuman scum. The per-capita balance of assholes who just can't let it go in the US and Canada seems to be a lot higher for the atheists than it is for the Christians. I survive in an interfaith marriage because my wife and I tolerate the beliefs of one another.
Militant atheists are simply children compared to the likes of us; and children need to be taught right from wrong. If you get the feeling that I am saying my wife and I are better than you, the super-fundamentalist Christian or the militant Atheist? Good. You're capable of reading comprehension at at least a 10th grade level. I absolutely am saying that we are better people than you.
You know what else I am saying? We are no better than anyone else can be. All it takes is learning to truly tolerate. It's not easy. A Journeyman Carpenter is a lot better at carpentry than a beginner, and persons who survive an interfaith marriage are a lot better at religion than an angry atheist or a bible-thumper who chooses to believe in their bible rather than honestly talk to their God. We're not jealous of it; there is no limited supply to love. We want everyone to learn tolerance. We are better than you; and you need to get over your hatred of it. There's a difference between arrogance and honest self-assessment. We're no better than anyone else can be.
Join us. Learn that tolerance means little more than this "I don't give a crap WHY you are good, only that you are. I don't have to love why you are good, but I'd be as wrong to hate why you're good as you would be to hate why I am good."
If you feel the need to fight the faith itself, rather than to fight it trying to reach past the boundaries that allow other men to be free, the problem is in you and not in the faithful. Their belief does you absolutely no harm until the point where it actually DOES harm you. When it does harm you, you put a stop to that, but you do NOT need to go on and harm others. You think you're smarter than the faithful? Bra-fucking-vo. Guess what? They also think they're smarter than you. You're both free to think that and I don't give a shit until you cross that line and try to force your beliefs on them.
Do you think that Christians are forcing their faith on you? Great. How is demeaning them for their faith any better than them demeaning you for your lack of faith?
Most Christians I've known in my life are able to see when someone is not interested and walk away. I have met 3 atheists in my life who are able to walk away rather than whining some martyr bullshit about how anyone who does anything for reasons of faith are somehow lesser human beings than those who do good for reasons not of faith. And I say to them? Fuck you. Anyone who is so insecure that they can't walk away and just let others believe are subhuman scum. The per-capita balance of assholes who just can't let it go in the US and Canada seems to be a lot higher for the atheists than it is for the Christians. I survive in an interfaith marriage because my wife and I tolerate the beliefs of one another.
Militant atheists are simply children compared to the likes of us; and children need to be taught right from wrong. If you get the feeling that I am saying my wife and I are better than you, the super-fundamentalist Christian or the militant Atheist? Good. You're capable of reading comprehension at at least a 10th grade level. I absolutely am saying that we are better people than you.
You know what else I am saying? We are no better than anyone else can be. All it takes is learning to truly tolerate. It's not easy. A Journeyman Carpenter is a lot better at carpentry than a beginner, and persons who survive an interfaith marriage are a lot better at religion than an angry atheist or a bible-thumper who chooses to believe in their bible rather than honestly talk to their God. We're not jealous of it; there is no limited supply to love. We want everyone to learn tolerance. We are better than you; and you need to get over your hatred of it. There's a difference between arrogance and honest self-assessment. We're no better than anyone else can be.
Join us. Learn that tolerance means little more than this "I don't give a crap WHY you are good, only that you are. I don't have to love why you are good, but I'd be as wrong to hate why you're good as you would be to hate why I am good."
Monday, March 7, 2011
Early Alternative Sexuality Assignment
My brother's former roommate is a sad case. We're gonna launch right in here. He'd been blowing guys since the age of 12, but as he got older he started to have thoughts that he might actually be straight. His parents had already basically disowned him so he had nobody to talk to about that, and his boyfriends would, as he once said, just give him pills and things to smoke until he felt better and the doubt and questions went away.
As my brother tells me, one day he comes home to find Keith had blown his head open with a .50 AE handgun, he was in the presence of an image of his father and clutching a piece of paper that showed he was HIV positive. Seems like all the suicide note he needed.
All in all it's a tragedy of the worst kind that can happen to anyone. He experimented in his youth (like many folks do) but somehow those preying on the child had him convinced he was gay just because of said experimentalism. He "came out" to his parents at the age of 13, and they basically eventually disowned him, and he spent the rest of his life searching for a childhood that had been frankly stolen from him.
Creepy child molestors. Also a society so "tolerant" that it seems to look the other way when people find out "at a young age" they're gay when frankly at their age they're still learning and it's horrible to declare oneself ANYTHING at that age. You'd think society would have learned when it was the other way, and gay people were declaring themselves straight at far too young an age to know for sure. Then 20 years later come spinning out of the closet, selfishly destroying the family they'd built on their lie. "Tolerance" means giving kids some fucking room to figure out life. But you know what else is important? The character to point out that a 12 year old shouldn't be sticking his dick in anything, much less something three times his age.
And then the two other big parts; how rather than face their problems people medicate them away. Had Keith been actually able to seek help for his problems he might have matured into.. whatever sort of man he wanted to be. His super-fundamentalist parents were useless in that regard; they shoulda spent less time worshiping their church and more time talking to their God. The people he did talk to, though? The chickenhawk "boyfriends"? Of course they wouldn't help him honestly explore his sexuality. If he ended up straight, then they wouldn't get to fuck the pretty little blonde kid anymore; and Keith simply didn't know anyone else to turn to. All he ever got were super religious sorts who wanted to pray him to heterosexuality but condemned him harshly, or therapists who maddeningly kept miminimizng his doubts and trying to prevent him from going "back into the closet".
Then there's the final part: sex education. Maybe if he knew how safe sex worked he wouldn't have killed himself at the age of 19 finding out he was dying from advanced infection he apparently got 4-6 years earlier.
Now I.. won't get into my feelings on teenagers and sexual play right now, but one thing is for sure. I want teenagers to be able to SAFELY play and explore, without asshole adults touching them, telling them they're evil for being gay, or even locking them into homosexuality at an early age. That last part is just as evil as the first two. Our society is far too eager to cheer for a preteen/early teen who declares himself homosexual. At that age nobody on the face of the earth has ever known jackshit about how the world or even their own emotions work. my brother and I are of genius intellect and always were, and we had no clue. None.
If a twelve year old tells you he thinks he's gay, you should treat it exactly as if he told you he wanted to be an astronaut. Answer his questions but keep your fucking activism to yourself. Children are impressionable, and they need FACTS, not bullshit.
And frankly, the "facts" are that gay people tend to end up extremely fucked up. I'm gonna get some guff for that but.. there are folks who say 10% of the society is homosexual. That sounds high but.. fine. If 10% of the population is gay; I get the feeling that for 92% of those people it is a symptom of a greater problem rather than an actual orientation.
As my brother tells me, one day he comes home to find Keith had blown his head open with a .50 AE handgun, he was in the presence of an image of his father and clutching a piece of paper that showed he was HIV positive. Seems like all the suicide note he needed.
All in all it's a tragedy of the worst kind that can happen to anyone. He experimented in his youth (like many folks do) but somehow those preying on the child had him convinced he was gay just because of said experimentalism. He "came out" to his parents at the age of 13, and they basically eventually disowned him, and he spent the rest of his life searching for a childhood that had been frankly stolen from him.
Creepy child molestors. Also a society so "tolerant" that it seems to look the other way when people find out "at a young age" they're gay when frankly at their age they're still learning and it's horrible to declare oneself ANYTHING at that age. You'd think society would have learned when it was the other way, and gay people were declaring themselves straight at far too young an age to know for sure. Then 20 years later come spinning out of the closet, selfishly destroying the family they'd built on their lie. "Tolerance" means giving kids some fucking room to figure out life. But you know what else is important? The character to point out that a 12 year old shouldn't be sticking his dick in anything, much less something three times his age.
And then the two other big parts; how rather than face their problems people medicate them away. Had Keith been actually able to seek help for his problems he might have matured into.. whatever sort of man he wanted to be. His super-fundamentalist parents were useless in that regard; they shoulda spent less time worshiping their church and more time talking to their God. The people he did talk to, though? The chickenhawk "boyfriends"? Of course they wouldn't help him honestly explore his sexuality. If he ended up straight, then they wouldn't get to fuck the pretty little blonde kid anymore; and Keith simply didn't know anyone else to turn to. All he ever got were super religious sorts who wanted to pray him to heterosexuality but condemned him harshly, or therapists who maddeningly kept miminimizng his doubts and trying to prevent him from going "back into the closet".
Then there's the final part: sex education. Maybe if he knew how safe sex worked he wouldn't have killed himself at the age of 19 finding out he was dying from advanced infection he apparently got 4-6 years earlier.
Now I.. won't get into my feelings on teenagers and sexual play right now, but one thing is for sure. I want teenagers to be able to SAFELY play and explore, without asshole adults touching them, telling them they're evil for being gay, or even locking them into homosexuality at an early age. That last part is just as evil as the first two. Our society is far too eager to cheer for a preteen/early teen who declares himself homosexual. At that age nobody on the face of the earth has ever known jackshit about how the world or even their own emotions work. my brother and I are of genius intellect and always were, and we had no clue. None.
If a twelve year old tells you he thinks he's gay, you should treat it exactly as if he told you he wanted to be an astronaut. Answer his questions but keep your fucking activism to yourself. Children are impressionable, and they need FACTS, not bullshit.
And frankly, the "facts" are that gay people tend to end up extremely fucked up. I'm gonna get some guff for that but.. there are folks who say 10% of the society is homosexual. That sounds high but.. fine. If 10% of the population is gay; I get the feeling that for 92% of those people it is a symptom of a greater problem rather than an actual orientation.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Intellivision want list
It was suggested I update my Intellivision want list. Here goes, along with my begging for forgiveness from my wife for jumping a gun. No funny links here, I just want to... to talk to everyone about what the 8 year old boy that's forever the core of my being wants.
Armor Battle: It was called armor ambush on the 2600. Not... not high priority. I think when Rich and I had it on the 2600 we played it twice. Sorry Mom, sorry Dad... it just didn't hit us.
Astrosmash: Why the heck don't I have this yet? It's not that it's fantastically great, but it's THE signature Mattel game. I mean I WANt it.. but I don't wanna pay a lot for it.
Beamrider: This is better than the arcade. What the heck, how did that happen? I remember a Christmas when my brother and I received a pile of "crap" Epyx games.. Street Sport Basketball, White Tiger, and some helicopter game. This reminds me of that Christmas and I don't know WHY!
Body Slam: Super Pro Wrestling: it's about on par with the second Smackdown on the PS1. That's not a bad thing, especially considering not a single developer of that game is older than this game.
Buzz Bomber: Y'know.. I won't throw it out of bed but... I'd throw a paper bag over it's head. Extra super plus craptacular is how the music stops every time any other sound effect goes on.
Championship Tennis: Barb and I enjoy the more worthless lesser tennis games on the system. No videos of it because people aren't gay enough to have played this game, apparently.
Chip Shot Super Pro Golf: I want it. Shut up.
Commando: Good luck finding it for less than $100. It might be better than the C-64 version. Emulation's... spotty, but it looks and feels promising. It almost HURTS to admit a version might be superior to the C64. Can't say for sure since the emulation can;t make it work right.. but...
Defender: The best classic system version, even better than the 5200... simply because it's easier but still pretty.
Dig Dug: My talent at this game got me into games in the first place. Shame the Inty version's so expensive.
Diner: Fun times. The more I play this on emulation the more I love it. It's the sequel to Burgertime, and one of the rare improved sequels.
Donkey Kong Jr.: I enjoy this game but.. money.. it tends to cost too much. On actual hardware the legs flicker correctly, not randomly vanish.
Dragonfire: If it's cheap.
Dreadnaught Factor: Was originally supposed to be a Star Wars game about the brave A-wing pilot who rammed the Executor. I salute him, and I salute this game.
Hover Force: Everyone hates this game. It's not the most exciting thing, but it manages to sustain a constant low level of interest. There's no up and down peak. A technical achievement to be sure, and one I want to have for lazy afternoons.
Ice Trek: It's pretty, very pretty, but not high priority. The guy in the video sucks at this game!
Motocross: Racing Destruction set. 'nuff said. Gimme gimme! No video, oddly, so have one of Racing Destruction Set instead. Same engine, only cars instead.
Nova Blast: Can't even get emulation to work. I hear good things? The video makes it look REALLY good.
PGA Golf: The other golf game's a lot better, but this still ain't garbage. Okay, I lied. It is.
Pac-Man: PLEASE. it even has the interludes.
Pinball: Remember how much I love Alien Crush? This is it without music.
Pitfall: Identical to the 2600. Get if cheap.
Popeye: I like the game.
Q-Bert: My wife will rape me.. but so what? It's fun to lose a fun game.
Royal Dealer: Whacky card games, nothing standard here. Others recommend it to me HEAVILY as a good game to pass time in the sticks... so I'm putting it here. No video. Weird.
River Raid: Everyone knows how I feel about this game. I currently am 4 places from "best in the world" at the 2600 version. In this one you can actually fly over the riverbanks!
Safecracker: Another that won't work for emulation but I hear good things about. No videos.
Shark Shark: Nakedly put, I hate that I don't already own this. Barb and I would play this forever.
Slam Dunk Super Pro Basketball: In depth sim.
Slap Shot: Super Pro Hockey: Plenty dump on this. I'd put it up in my top 20. Maybe I'm just too forgiving of Hockey. The video is someone's actual VHS from 1986.
Space Patrol: It's Moon Patrol, which I adore.. but so so so hard to find.
Spiker Super Pro Volleyball: I'm shocked. A fun volleyball game that's not on the Turbografx!
Stampede: I know my wife hates the game, but I like it.. and this is better than the 2600 version.
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back: Shut the heck up. I like it. Video nearly unrelated, al things considered. Dude's got it hooked up wrong, wrong ratio... doesn't play..
Super Pro Football: This is greater than many PS2 football games. Cant find a video.
Swords and Serpents: Literally while writing this entry, I saw it for a great price and pounced. Turns out the game's worth about five times what I pounced on, so I don't feel bad at all. I just can't figure out who will be the wizard and who the warrior. No video.
Thin Ice: It's Winter Olympics themed. Can't find a video of this on real hardware, just that crappy NES on a chip plug and play.
Thunder Castle: Y'know what? Only if it's cheap. Pretty, but not really fun. The dude doing the video is an idiot.
Tower of Doom: I'd trade my carbine to have this game. Shut up.
Tron Solar Sailer and Maze-A-Tron: I love Tron. I love Tron a lot. These games suck, but I love Tron anyway. No video because.. you don't wanna see them.
Tropical Trouble: Beauty and the Beast's Sequel. Too expensive. Don't care.
Truckin': I like trucking games- YO DAWG this is Kanye West. I'mma let you finish but I wanted to say dat dis is one of the top tier; of all time. OF ALL TIME.
White Water: None too shabby. but.. coupla bucks at most.
Worm Whomper: Good midgrade fun. Probably will have good competitive appeal with the wife and I.
And.... a bonus game!
Armor Battle: It was called armor ambush on the 2600. Not... not high priority. I think when Rich and I had it on the 2600 we played it twice. Sorry Mom, sorry Dad... it just didn't hit us.
Astrosmash: Why the heck don't I have this yet? It's not that it's fantastically great, but it's THE signature Mattel game. I mean I WANt it.. but I don't wanna pay a lot for it.
Beamrider: This is better than the arcade. What the heck, how did that happen? I remember a Christmas when my brother and I received a pile of "crap" Epyx games.. Street Sport Basketball, White Tiger, and some helicopter game. This reminds me of that Christmas and I don't know WHY!
Body Slam: Super Pro Wrestling: it's about on par with the second Smackdown on the PS1. That's not a bad thing, especially considering not a single developer of that game is older than this game.
Buzz Bomber: Y'know.. I won't throw it out of bed but... I'd throw a paper bag over it's head. Extra super plus craptacular is how the music stops every time any other sound effect goes on.
Championship Tennis: Barb and I enjoy the more worthless lesser tennis games on the system. No videos of it because people aren't gay enough to have played this game, apparently.
Chip Shot Super Pro Golf: I want it. Shut up.
Commando: Good luck finding it for less than $100. It might be better than the C-64 version. Emulation's... spotty, but it looks and feels promising. It almost HURTS to admit a version might be superior to the C64. Can't say for sure since the emulation can;t make it work right.. but...
Defender: The best classic system version, even better than the 5200... simply because it's easier but still pretty.
Dig Dug: My talent at this game got me into games in the first place. Shame the Inty version's so expensive.
Diner: Fun times. The more I play this on emulation the more I love it. It's the sequel to Burgertime, and one of the rare improved sequels.
Donkey Kong Jr.: I enjoy this game but.. money.. it tends to cost too much. On actual hardware the legs flicker correctly, not randomly vanish.
Dragonfire: If it's cheap.
Dreadnaught Factor: Was originally supposed to be a Star Wars game about the brave A-wing pilot who rammed the Executor. I salute him, and I salute this game.
Hover Force: Everyone hates this game. It's not the most exciting thing, but it manages to sustain a constant low level of interest. There's no up and down peak. A technical achievement to be sure, and one I want to have for lazy afternoons.
Ice Trek: It's pretty, very pretty, but not high priority. The guy in the video sucks at this game!
Motocross: Racing Destruction set. 'nuff said. Gimme gimme! No video, oddly, so have one of Racing Destruction Set instead. Same engine, only cars instead.
Nova Blast: Can't even get emulation to work. I hear good things? The video makes it look REALLY good.
PGA Golf: The other golf game's a lot better, but this still ain't garbage. Okay, I lied. It is.
Pac-Man: PLEASE. it even has the interludes.
Pinball: Remember how much I love Alien Crush? This is it without music.
Pitfall: Identical to the 2600. Get if cheap.
Popeye: I like the game.
Q-Bert: My wife will rape me.. but so what? It's fun to lose a fun game.
Royal Dealer: Whacky card games, nothing standard here. Others recommend it to me HEAVILY as a good game to pass time in the sticks... so I'm putting it here. No video. Weird.
River Raid: Everyone knows how I feel about this game. I currently am 4 places from "best in the world" at the 2600 version. In this one you can actually fly over the riverbanks!
Safecracker: Another that won't work for emulation but I hear good things about. No videos.
Shark Shark: Nakedly put, I hate that I don't already own this. Barb and I would play this forever.
Slam Dunk Super Pro Basketball: In depth sim.
Slap Shot: Super Pro Hockey: Plenty dump on this. I'd put it up in my top 20. Maybe I'm just too forgiving of Hockey. The video is someone's actual VHS from 1986.
Space Patrol: It's Moon Patrol, which I adore.. but so so so hard to find.
Spiker Super Pro Volleyball: I'm shocked. A fun volleyball game that's not on the Turbografx!
Stampede: I know my wife hates the game, but I like it.. and this is better than the 2600 version.
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back: Shut the heck up. I like it. Video nearly unrelated, al things considered. Dude's got it hooked up wrong, wrong ratio... doesn't play..
Super Pro Football: This is greater than many PS2 football games. Cant find a video.
Swords and Serpents: Literally while writing this entry, I saw it for a great price and pounced. Turns out the game's worth about five times what I pounced on, so I don't feel bad at all. I just can't figure out who will be the wizard and who the warrior. No video.
Thin Ice: It's Winter Olympics themed. Can't find a video of this on real hardware, just that crappy NES on a chip plug and play.
Thunder Castle: Y'know what? Only if it's cheap. Pretty, but not really fun. The dude doing the video is an idiot.
Tower of Doom: I'd trade my carbine to have this game. Shut up.
Tron Solar Sailer and Maze-A-Tron: I love Tron. I love Tron a lot. These games suck, but I love Tron anyway. No video because.. you don't wanna see them.
Tropical Trouble: Beauty and the Beast's Sequel. Too expensive. Don't care.
Truckin': I like trucking games- YO DAWG this is Kanye West. I'mma let you finish but I wanted to say dat dis is one of the top tier; of all time. OF ALL TIME.
White Water: None too shabby. but.. coupla bucks at most.
Worm Whomper: Good midgrade fun. Probably will have good competitive appeal with the wife and I.
And.... a bonus game!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Intellivision
One thing that my readers will come to know about me is my obsession with old gaming, cartoons, and so on. I have long subscribed to the statement "you're never too old to have a happy childhood". I could whine about my past, an incomplete childhood, but why? There's no reason to dwell on the bad memories of the past, or you'll spend your entire life trying to rewrite what has gone before and never enjoy what's going on around you.
But try to recapture the past? Certainly!! I'm not entirely certain that's what I am trying to do since many modern day childish things attract me... but that's a post for another day. I'm here to talk about capturing a part of childhood I never had, but wish I did. Does that sound angsty? It shouldn't. The part of my childhood I would go back and change is nothing sad at all, simply a statement of accepting my own prior stupidity. I wish my parents had bought me Intellivision rather than the Atari 2600, and it was my own fault because they DID ask me. While the 2600 is certainly a lot of fun.. in fact I continue to play mine today, the Intellivision was more for the sort of child that I was. The 2600 was the "cool" system. It had all the arcade conversions and just.. tons of games.
You know what it did NOT have? Games with significant depth. About 5 or 6 years back, I discovered the Intellivision on a whim, wanting to try this "Dracula" game that never made it to the 2600. I couldn't figure the game out, decided it was garbage, and thought that would be the end of it. And for a few years, it was. I picked up some "Intellivision Lives" collections on principle, but never really paid much attention; until the fateful day I played it with Miba. On that day, two seeds were planted... one that led to the great love story which, in turn, leads me out into the woods to live my life as a hermit, and the other.. the Intellivision itself.
I decided that, as I was going out to the woods, retrogame collections for my DS would be priority. The first I ordered was Intellivision Lives on the DS, and I played it for.. as my wife can recall, three days almost nonstop. The games were just.. so in depth; not just for the time, but the complexity of them even holds up today. The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons games easily recreate the joy of those early, plot-less DnD games we all played. The DM made his dungeon maps, and we adventured through them... I had to play more. I found out the basketball game had you not just playing, but managing a team. The football game had you MAPPING OUT YOUR PLAYBOOK. It was.. simply amazing for a system released in 1979.
I had to have one. So I placed a bid on ebay.. and lo and behold I won! The system came and... I love it. I've opened it up a few times, replaced a few parts, and even bought a signal amp so it runs on my HDTV. I actually had to open the amp and back it off a little as well... still not perfect, but it works. Mostly, I've played as much of it as I can stand to, often to the exclusion of other things. I'm ecstatically happy with my Intellivision II, but I am eagerly looking forward to landing an original woodgrain Intellivision or, holy of holies, a System III. As far as gaming goes; they're the same system. Why do I want the other two instead? For simple reasons, my friends. The other systems are made of far more durable and easily replaced parts. Anyway, point is, you can expect me to write little rants about Inty games here and there. You'll hear from me about my 2600 and my Amiga as well... but at least for a while here, the Intellivision will be the belle of the ball.
Also, did you know it was the first 16 bit system ever made? Stick that in your Genesis and smoke it.
But try to recapture the past? Certainly!! I'm not entirely certain that's what I am trying to do since many modern day childish things attract me... but that's a post for another day. I'm here to talk about capturing a part of childhood I never had, but wish I did. Does that sound angsty? It shouldn't. The part of my childhood I would go back and change is nothing sad at all, simply a statement of accepting my own prior stupidity. I wish my parents had bought me Intellivision rather than the Atari 2600, and it was my own fault because they DID ask me. While the 2600 is certainly a lot of fun.. in fact I continue to play mine today, the Intellivision was more for the sort of child that I was. The 2600 was the "cool" system. It had all the arcade conversions and just.. tons of games.
You know what it did NOT have? Games with significant depth. About 5 or 6 years back, I discovered the Intellivision on a whim, wanting to try this "Dracula" game that never made it to the 2600. I couldn't figure the game out, decided it was garbage, and thought that would be the end of it. And for a few years, it was. I picked up some "Intellivision Lives" collections on principle, but never really paid much attention; until the fateful day I played it with Miba. On that day, two seeds were planted... one that led to the great love story which, in turn, leads me out into the woods to live my life as a hermit, and the other.. the Intellivision itself.
I decided that, as I was going out to the woods, retrogame collections for my DS would be priority. The first I ordered was Intellivision Lives on the DS, and I played it for.. as my wife can recall, three days almost nonstop. The games were just.. so in depth; not just for the time, but the complexity of them even holds up today. The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons games easily recreate the joy of those early, plot-less DnD games we all played. The DM made his dungeon maps, and we adventured through them... I had to play more. I found out the basketball game had you not just playing, but managing a team. The football game had you MAPPING OUT YOUR PLAYBOOK. It was.. simply amazing for a system released in 1979.
I had to have one. So I placed a bid on ebay.. and lo and behold I won! The system came and... I love it. I've opened it up a few times, replaced a few parts, and even bought a signal amp so it runs on my HDTV. I actually had to open the amp and back it off a little as well... still not perfect, but it works. Mostly, I've played as much of it as I can stand to, often to the exclusion of other things. I'm ecstatically happy with my Intellivision II, but I am eagerly looking forward to landing an original woodgrain Intellivision or, holy of holies, a System III. As far as gaming goes; they're the same system. Why do I want the other two instead? For simple reasons, my friends. The other systems are made of far more durable and easily replaced parts. Anyway, point is, you can expect me to write little rants about Inty games here and there. You'll hear from me about my 2600 and my Amiga as well... but at least for a while here, the Intellivision will be the belle of the ball.
Also, did you know it was the first 16 bit system ever made? Stick that in your Genesis and smoke it.
Somalian Piracy
Short Version
When you screw over the poor people long enough, they eventually turn to what's initially called "crime" and later move onto something called "revolution".
Long Version:
Do I believe we should be sending the military down to crush the pirates? Absolutely. Kill them all. They crossed a line. However, with justice must come compassion.
If there wasn't such abject poverty in Somalia, there would not be such piracy. While mercilessly capturing and executing pirates, we should also be doing something to ease the situation which guaranteed the people would have to turn to piracy. If you are downtrodden and poor long enough it makes sense to develop hatred. After all, the spoiled rich lazy people have the spare money to be taking luxury cruises while the people in your town can't even feed themselves. Their greed, decadence, and unwillingness to share murders people in your neighborhood every day.
What we call "innocent people" they call "inhuman monsters willfully ignoring the plight of their fellow men". It's all a matter of perspective. And you know what? They're not that far from wrong, either. You don't exactly make yacht money by being fair and generous with your fellow man. Speaking as a citizen of the US, I've yet to meet a single wealthy person who has not made significant moral compromises that the Jesus they follow would not approve of to get where they are.
Does this mean they are evil persons? Not necessarily, but they're certainly not "innocent". When the family is captured and executed as a whole, did some innocent people get harmed? Quite likely. When a corporate exec cuts jobs but wouldn't even consider taking a 5% pay cut to save dozens of those jobs a whole lot of innocent persons are harmed as well. From the Somali pirates' point of view, NOT killing these folks will bring even more hardship on their friends and families. Ransom schemes are a lot harder to get away with than killing someone and pawning their stuff.
It's childish to draw the world as black and white as most do.
There is more than enough in the way of resources in this world for everyone, absolutely everyone alive today, to have a house and enough food to eat, but instead there's a constant worldwide vacuum from those who have the least to those who have the most.
Only a few hundred years ago, some folks left countries to found new ones, yet found themselves being strangled by taxes. The first actions in response to that were referred to as "crimes" as well. Rather than address the actual issues at hand, those with the wealth simply said "fuck it, kill anyone who disobeys", and so what's now referred to as the "American Revolution" happened. Our forefathers absolutely engaged in highjacking, terrorism, piracy, and yes even murder of "innocents" to make this country what it is today.
Why can't people learn from history? I have heard folks say "they LIKE being poor."
When all you have is the culture you find in poor neighborhoods, you will show pride in your culture. It's human nature to want to feel good about your tribe. Statements like "they WANT to be poor" only exacerbate that situation. At absolutely no point should one ever turn their back on the poor. At absolutely every point you should give them the resources to become sufficient, and if they take advantage of you give again. And again and again until there remains nothing left but for them to realize everything's gonna be okay, and then help them work to better everyone. Will there be parasites still? Always. As parasites continue to take advantage of you on the low end of the economic scale as there are parasites on the high end.
There will always be greed. That's part of human nature. The question is, are you man enough to rise above it?
When you screw over the poor people long enough, they eventually turn to what's initially called "crime" and later move onto something called "revolution".
Long Version:
Do I believe we should be sending the military down to crush the pirates? Absolutely. Kill them all. They crossed a line. However, with justice must come compassion.
If there wasn't such abject poverty in Somalia, there would not be such piracy. While mercilessly capturing and executing pirates, we should also be doing something to ease the situation which guaranteed the people would have to turn to piracy. If you are downtrodden and poor long enough it makes sense to develop hatred. After all, the spoiled rich lazy people have the spare money to be taking luxury cruises while the people in your town can't even feed themselves. Their greed, decadence, and unwillingness to share murders people in your neighborhood every day.
What we call "innocent people" they call "inhuman monsters willfully ignoring the plight of their fellow men". It's all a matter of perspective. And you know what? They're not that far from wrong, either. You don't exactly make yacht money by being fair and generous with your fellow man. Speaking as a citizen of the US, I've yet to meet a single wealthy person who has not made significant moral compromises that the Jesus they follow would not approve of to get where they are.
Does this mean they are evil persons? Not necessarily, but they're certainly not "innocent". When the family is captured and executed as a whole, did some innocent people get harmed? Quite likely. When a corporate exec cuts jobs but wouldn't even consider taking a 5% pay cut to save dozens of those jobs a whole lot of innocent persons are harmed as well. From the Somali pirates' point of view, NOT killing these folks will bring even more hardship on their friends and families. Ransom schemes are a lot harder to get away with than killing someone and pawning their stuff.
It's childish to draw the world as black and white as most do.
There is more than enough in the way of resources in this world for everyone, absolutely everyone alive today, to have a house and enough food to eat, but instead there's a constant worldwide vacuum from those who have the least to those who have the most.
Only a few hundred years ago, some folks left countries to found new ones, yet found themselves being strangled by taxes. The first actions in response to that were referred to as "crimes" as well. Rather than address the actual issues at hand, those with the wealth simply said "fuck it, kill anyone who disobeys", and so what's now referred to as the "American Revolution" happened. Our forefathers absolutely engaged in highjacking, terrorism, piracy, and yes even murder of "innocents" to make this country what it is today.
Why can't people learn from history? I have heard folks say "they LIKE being poor."
When all you have is the culture you find in poor neighborhoods, you will show pride in your culture. It's human nature to want to feel good about your tribe. Statements like "they WANT to be poor" only exacerbate that situation. At absolutely no point should one ever turn their back on the poor. At absolutely every point you should give them the resources to become sufficient, and if they take advantage of you give again. And again and again until there remains nothing left but for them to realize everything's gonna be okay, and then help them work to better everyone. Will there be parasites still? Always. As parasites continue to take advantage of you on the low end of the economic scale as there are parasites on the high end.
There will always be greed. That's part of human nature. The question is, are you man enough to rise above it?
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