Flipped his wig

The story of a Montreal food inspector caught my eye today. Good on him! He's right on the money with this one. The union that negotiated this deal needs their collective heads examined. How can it be fair to allow one group of workers a different set of rules based on sex? Once they tell him not to wear the wig I wonder what his next move will be? Perhaps wearing lipstick and make-up? You go girl...err...guy.

Passing time

News Flash. I am a gamer. I play computer games often. Everyday, usually. I look for new games coming out and read with great interest the industry rags that keep gamers informed about changes in technology and gaming trends. So does that make me somehow juvenile or developmentally stunted?

I probably play games somewhere around 10-15 hours a week. This seems to be an issue with the List Keeper. She seems to feel that gaming takes me away from her and the family. Well she may have a point sometimes. If I get a new game I am driven to finish it and will be so focused on it that I do ignore other responsibilities. I admit that, and try to keep that to a minimum. Hey, step one in a 12-step program.

However, when there are not any new games on my shelf, there are plenty of old standbys that have multiplayer on-line components to them. Competition. Friendly, no pressure, competition. Great stuff.

"C'mon. You're competing against little kids. Grow up." you might say. Ummm, no. It's not kids and teens necessarily. In fact, most of the servers I go to are more likely to be populated by young adults. And call it the on-line version of a mid-life crisis, but there is something very satisfying about competing and defeating people much younger and supposedly better at something. It's the same sort of satisfaction one gets on the playing field as an older athlete getting the better of younger ones.

Which brings me back to the family. I generally do not play games while the kids are awake. I may be on the computer, but I am not playing any games. If I am needed then they can just ask, and they know this. In fact, chances are they are the ones playing games and ignoring me. Funny thing is that I can ask them if there is anything they want to do with me and they usually have no ideas. But I am still the parental unit that is most likely to cook dinner. So what's that? Number one or number two on the hierarchy of needs?

As for neglecting the List Keeper, she may have a point. But I don't call it neglect. I simply ask, "What would we be doing if I was spending my time with her as opposed to playing a game?" Answer: Watching TV.

There is nothing I feel any great need to watch on TV. I generally steer towards a sporting event. The List Keeper has no interest in that. Unless it's skating or the Tour de France. Boring! Skating is fixed (remember the French judge!) and cycling is about as exciting as watching golf. Just give me the highlights on the news and I'm good to go.

OK. What about a documentary or History channel? Nope. She'd rather watch Fear Factor. C'mon. Fear Factor? How many times do I need to see somebody drink cow bile? Or chew some crickets? Sorry, but for $50,000 I'm not eating bugs. I'd do the stunts. They look like fun. But eating gross stuff has nothing to do with fear. It has more to do with your gag reflex. Maybe they should call it Gag Factor. The only real plus to that show is the skimpy attire the women usually wear. But I digress.

So if I wasn't gaming I would be watching TV, with the List Keeper (audience response: Awww.). In the words of the Church Lady, "Well isn't that special?" Chances are she isn't just watching TV, though. She's probably doing some cross-stitching or some other hobby. Hmmm, doing a hobby (not doing her hubby :wink: ). Isn't that the same as what I would be doing if I was playing a game?

And that is the main point of all this. Gaming is a means to pass my free time. It is a hobby. It is entertainment. It is cheap entertainment. I am still playing a game I bought in 1998 for $50. Beat that. Not to mention the seemingly endless free games available on the 'net.

I won't be giving up gaming. It's my hobby. It's cheap entertainment. Be thankful I'm not a gambler, drinker or womanizer.

Anticipation

One of the most anticipated games of the last couple of years has gone gold. Which means a final retail version has been sent to the duplication company to be burned onto CDs. Doom 3 from id Software will be on store shelves the first week of August.

The Doom franchise has a special place in the hearts of gamers, especially first person shooter fanatics like myself. Much of the on-line, multiplayer mayhem that we know of today can thank Doom for leading the way.

I remember playing Doom at work on lunch breaks and staying after work to get a few rounds in with co-workers. It was some of the most fun I have ever had in the work place. Of course some people don't like others having fun so we had to pack it in when some "knickers-in-a-twist" tight ass ratted us out. Hmmm. That was a long time ago and I'm still bitter.

The ironic thing is that the game sessions we had, kept us in the office longer, and therefore available, if something went wrong in off hours (I work in I.T.). Once the gaming stopped, people left the office at lunch and were gone at quitting time. At that point the "wedgie brigade" (a.k.a. "knickers-in-a-twist" tight asses) were left wondering why they couldn't just drop in at noon and expect I.T. to skip lunch for them.

Oh well, water under the bridge. The only thing left to figure out is will my system handle Doom 3. (sarcasm)It would be really too bad if I had to upgrade my computer just to play this game (/sarcasm).

Buckets-o-fun

My son woke just before 3 a.m today. Right in the middle of a big thunder and lightning storm. But the storm didn't wake him. He was sick with some kind of stomach bug. Then a half hour later, my daughter is awake due to a bad dream and crawls into bed with us. Another half hour later, my son is up for round two.

Then at 7:00 a.m., I am jarred awake from a restless slumber by my wife asking my daughter, "Why couldn't you have used the garbage can instead of the floor?" Hmmm, I guess I am on clean up detail. You see my wife has a weak tolerance of this sort of thing. If she witnesses someone being sick, or gets a whiff of that smell, she is going to be gagging right beside them. So the clean-up detail and care giving duties are always mine in this situation.

So my little ones are curled up on the couch watching TV each with a bucket nearby. There have been numerous verses of the bucket-hugging song. My wife is at work. I'm just hanging around for the next verse (same as the first).

But interestingly, chances are that my wife will be the one to catch the bug going around while somehow it passes me by. I recall my mother rarely got ill even when the rest of the house was in the throws of a barf-o-ramma. The bugs just passed her by. This makes me wonder if there is something in a person who must provide care for a sick person that kicks into overdrive and battles flu bugs better than someone who doesn't.

Of course, now that I have written this down, I am destined to be "bucket bound" in the near future.

Truths of Life

Camping with the family for four days has a way of enlightening you to the truths of life far faster than any Buddhist priest could ever hope.

5 truths to enlightenment:

• Children have a need to whine, complain and bicker among themselves.


• 74 degrees F pool water is friken cold.


• Bouncing on an air mattress is fun when awake but annoying when asleep.


• There is nothing soothing about the sound of crows at 5:30 a.m.


• Mosquitoes suck (pun intended)

No Surprises

Shocking news. This guy was sent back to prison just one day after his prison release. He has stated that he wants to become "Canada's most prolific killer".

While in prison (most of his adult life) he refused to participate in treatment. One can only be thankful this piece of work didn't hurt someone during his little day-trip.

There is something wrong with a system that can't lock somebody up who has 63 convictions that include sexual assault and forcible confinement AND HAS SAID HE WANTS TO BE CANADA'S MOST PROLIFIC KILLER. I mean, really, duh.

Enter the Matrix

I finished the game Enter the Matrix (PS2 version) and while the game play itself was nothing ground-breaking, the experience was ultra-cool.

The game takes place during the second of the trilogy (Matrix Reloaded). The script for the game was written by the Wachowski brothers (the same ones that wrote the trilogy) and was designed from the beginning to be a part of the entire Matrix story, a companion, if you will. The main characters in the game played somewhat minor roles in the movies but are given some excellent character development during the game's unfolding. In fact, the game fills in some questions about the movies and provides motivation for what these characters do in the films.

You chose to be Niobe or Ghost of the Logos ship. Once your character is chosen, the plot follows their role during the Matrix Reloaded movie and some of the cut scenes are actual footage from the movie where these two characters actually met up with the main characters of the series. Once you have completed the game as one of the characters, you will want to re-play as the other character. Even though there is some overlap, most of the missions for each character are unique. This is a refreshing change from most games that allow character selection.

The game play is mostly about hand to hand combat in the Matrix and each character has their own signature moves to dispatch the bad guys. Your main challenge is to manage your "focus" which is what enables the player to manipulate the Matrix. This is accomplished in the game by slowing the action down allowing your character to gain an advantage on all the other characters. Bullets wiz past you as you run in slow motion to your target and finish them off. But the player is only allowed a certain amount of time in this mode. Once the focus is used up it will replenish but you must fight in real time while your focus meter goes up. Most of the acrobatics from the movies can be pulled off including multiple spinning kicks, dive rolls and various cartwheels.

The cut scenes are really the best part of this game. Apart from actual movie footage and footage not in the films, the animated models of the movie characters is excellent. The game makers have not only animated Niobe and Ghost but you will also see an animated Trinity, Seraph and Agent Smith. The "Twins" also play a main role in one of the missions as you play out Niobe and Ghost's role in the famous highway chase. Other cool tidbits in the movie scenes are the first glimpses of the new Oracle (explaining how she can look completely different) and some girl on girl action when Niobe must kiss Persephone (the Merovingian's wife) as she forced Neo to do in the movie.

In general, this title isn't great as a game. After seeing the slow motion moves a number of times, it can become tedious. But the levels usually provide some challenging areas and you must complete them to see the cut scenes (incentive). In fact, there is one mission that if you fail you will miss out on a couple of cut scenes as well as several resulting levels of gameplay. The last unique thing about this game is the "Hacking" selection. Basically, this is a built in cheat system that allows you to manipulate your save games to enter cheat codes. It also allows you to view other content that isn't directly in the game. There is also a multiplayer mode that can be unlocked in the "Hacking" mode but I never tried that particular code so I am not sure what actually happens.

Overall, I recommend renting this one, especially if you are a fan of the trilogy. You won't be disappointed if you are a fan wanting to see the never seen before movie footage. Where most games based on movies just re-hash what you see in the movie, Enter the Matrix adds to the story and enhances the whole of the experience.