Achievement Addiction

When it comes to picking out a new game I will usually read a few previews, check out the media releases and wait for what the collective reviews say. Even then it often takes a demo to convince me to shell out upwards of a weeks worth of gas for electronic entertainment. Not until recent years did another factor play in to this decision making process. Well two to be exact. I purchased a large TV with in the last year and I like to collect things. In this case it is collecting and comparing achievement points on my Xbox 360.

Every game available on the 360 has points that are awarded for completing specified task with in them. Most games give out some points by just completing them, but the rest you will have to work for. Complete all of the side quest, beat the game without dieing, frag "x" number of players online and so on. The points don't mean anything, you can't send them in the mail to get a limited addition G.I. Joe or anything. They exist as an incentive to play more of the game with the presumption that you care about them. Caring about them means you care about your friends scores or what outwards appearance your score presents to friends.

Knowing they are meaningless hasn't dissuaded me from trying to acquire them though. I recently bought the newly released Penny Arcade Adventures (pictured above) on the 360 versus the PC because I can play on 50 inches with bad eyes and I can up my gamer score. The game plays great on both platforms (I tried demos on both), but the extra push came from achievements. I don't see any harm in the system to users, but it is a huge win for Microsoft. If gamers are forgoing PC and PS3 equivalent software for the chance to collect monopoly money, then they are locking in users to their hardware. Remind me why someone would buy COD4 or GTA4 for the PS3 again? Well...besides RRODs.

Site Watch
Open Library is a project to collect and document every book ever published. Ambitious as that sounds they already have 13.4 million titles documented and 234,000 titles scanned and available for download.

Descent of the Crystal Watchmen

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
If anyone knows the current location of George W. Lucas I will pay you handsomely for an opportunity to stab him in the eye. I don't know where my unbridled enthusiasm for this film came from, but at some point I lost track of the reality that is Lucas post the Last Crusade. I cringed in my seat as my childhood memories of Indy flicks were white washed with bad CGI and unbelievable plot points.

After the abomination that was episodes one through three, I expected this kind of crap from Lucas. Not from Spielberg though. The man has made more amazing films than you can count on your fingers and piggies. A.I. and War of the Worlds weren't smash hits in any way, shape or form, but they weren't terrible. Crystal Skull is piping hot garbage though. I have tried my best to not spoil the plot for any who hold out hope, but I would strongly recommend skipping this film altogether.

The Descent (plot)
Most horror films are not even horror these days, they are a new genre dubbed torcher pr0n by some media. Your saws, hostels and turistas of the world are all the rage with the kids. I was too scared to watch horror films growing up and by the time they didn't bother me too much the genre had moved on to films that should be NC-17 and above. There are still the classics though and that rare film that bucks the torcher pr0n yoke in favor of a good scare and a story.

Descent is that rare film that hearkens back to horror classics. It builds palpable tension through its environment and camera work and only plays off of gore and blood in doses that are bearable early in the film. Later, after the long awaited monster reveal (the best I have ever seen) the blood and guts are amped to ten as a great juxtaposition to the first half of the show.

Watchmen (plot)
This is a book I was told was a right of passage for comic fans. It was with that preface that I struggled to finish it. I can tell the writing was ground breaking for the time, but to my fresh eyes it seems a bit verbose and long winded. I'm sure that compared to the golden and silver age comics pre-1986 this work seemed like a maturing of the media.

I still think it is good, but unlike the other books I have read recently I could put this one down and did on many occasions to take a break from it. At one point I put it on hold for two days while I read Kraven's Last Hunt and when I got new game magazines I would set it aside as well. Thankfully it picked up near the end, but by that point I was skipping the two to three pages of text between each comic.

Holiday Cycling

This holiday weekend was back to back bookings for our crew of local wheelmen. Friday night we planned our first true night ride of the year and Saturday we trotted down the path to Ft. Harrison and back...

Friday University of Richmond Ride - 15.18 Miles
I skipped the camera for this ride with the thought that lighting would not be ideal and the same line up (Mike, Grant and myself) would be on the ride the following day. To my surprise Russ answered Grant's door when I knocked and I immediately kicked myself for leaving the camera at home. The elusive Russ would go uncaptured , but the ride would go on. We took off down Patterson to the U of R campus where we snaked our way over to the Huguenot Bridge to cross over to the southside of the city.

The sidewalk on the bridge was a bit hairy at spots and Grant caught a few over hanging branches in the face, but everyone made it unscathed. The bridge dumps you off at Riverside Dr, which is pitch black at night. I had brought along a back up head light for Grant only to find out that it was less of light and more of a marker so we could locate Grant in the dark. Mike rolls with a motorcycle headlight on the regular though so they paired off into an less than safe buddy system.

We wrapped up the ride around 9:30pm and made plans to hit a bar for food and drink. We decided on Dot's Back Inn and called up Sarah and Crystal to join us. The food was straight up tasty and the owner even stopped over to say hello. Mike and Sarah informed us that Dot's had been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives a show on Food Network whose host does those incredibly annoying TGI Friday's commercials. Nothing to hold against a friendly proprietor and delicious food though.

Saturday Fort Harrison Ride - 27.54 Miles
We were up early two wheels rolling to beat the heat and traffic out to Fort Harrison. Russ passed, Grant and Mike showed up as planned and this time I brought my camera. The loop out and back to the fort is becoming ever more familiar as this is the forth time we have taken the trip. We made good time with little to no stops and ended up back in the city for lunch at Mezza. As the ride was relatively uneventful I'll let the photos in the link below close out the tale. Pardon, uneventful save the musical stylings of Grant and Mike channeling Michael McDonald at lunch, but being to embarrassed to let me record a video.

Photos from Saturday

The Check in Pictures

I came to the realization this week, that I dedicated post and time to chronicling my Cross Check build, but never shared the fruits of that labor. Imagine a newborns father casually brushing aside inquires into his fresh little miracle. I don't want to be that guy, strung out on meth, neglecting his many children and a restraining order against against 2 of his 3 baby's mommas. So in an effort to rectify my past transgressions, I am showing up on Christmas eve, off the stuff for a solid week, with a present under my arm...

Grant's BPW

Fort Harrison last weekend

Maiden voyage to Riverside

Riverside in May

Fort Harrison last weekend

Star and Checks

The wheels, the new saddle shot?

Shades of light at Ft. Harrison

Fort Harrison Gallery
This past weekend Grant and I rode out and back to Fort Harrison again. Some of pictures above come from that ride, but there are many more on my photo gallery.

Site Watch
If I wanted to pursue it I know I could get a business card from my company. Similar to a black berry though it might mean having to do more work on non business hours. I'll pass for now, but should I get a tingle for more paper in my wallet in the future I would like my corporate masters to consider some of these options.

P.S.
Is this post my clip show?

MTB Throwback

I wrote about my cycling origin almost two months ago after inspiration struck from a photo of my grandfather. It included how I learned to ride and riding as a youth, but also included the second chapter in my two wheeled life, mountain bike racing. Along with fond memories of those times, I also keep an album of my adventures in my office. To that end I am in the middle of getting cycling photos, new and old, together for a wedding present for Grant. Mehtul was kind enough to take these analog photos and digitize them for me...so I can turn them back to analog for the album, crazy no?

So with out further ado, I present old mountain bike photos...

Poor Farm 99: Grant, Me and Mike M.

Poor Farm 00: Grant and Me

Poor Farm 00: Me and a Climb

Poor Farm 00: Grant and a Creek Crossing

Poor Farm 00: Grant and a Winter Climb

Poor Farm 99: Me and a Dirt Jump

The rest can be found in my photo gallery and should not need much of a description. I should be done with the album soon and with Grant and Erin's wedding fast approaching I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Site Watch
Not really a site you should watch on a regular basis, but something worth checking out for funzies. Steampunk computer mods are all well and good, but a true geek likes a good steampunk watch.

Secret Battle of Man

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4
Season one and two of this series escaped me as a bit of a geek sleeper hit. When I finally caught up with them via torrent, warning letter and all, I was hooked. Season three started strong and quickly fell on its face with filler episodes and the dreaded clip show. Thankfully season three got its shit together and banged out a solid 2-3 episode season finale, cliff hanger and all. So I was pumped for the start of season four.

The first episode was right on with the end of season three. There was tension and progress toward questions that had been left unanswered. Apollo seemed to be back on track as a military man with a purpose. Starbuck was slightly crazy yet again and back from the dead. The series seemed back on track. Que episodes three through six which essentially stagnate the plot and feel a lot like the filler from season three. Apollo decides to quit the military again and go into politics (CSPAN in Space). The Cylons go at it in an extremely uneventful civil war and for some reason tons of people trust Baltar again as a leader of a cult. Lame! Episode seven seems to be getting back to the main plot again, but it feels like it should have been two shows ago.

Secret History of the American Empire
Secret is the follow up to John Perkins's Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which I finished back in December of 2007. Where Confessions was a history of John's life as a professional paid to deceive and in debt third world countries to the US, Secret is the aftermath to that life. It is a much more socialist take on the world that at times comes into conflict with some of the basic capitalist views I lean toward. The jumps back into his past are just as good as confessions, but when he talks up the present it feels a bit preachy.

I am more than half way through the audio book, which is about 12 hours long and the occasional talk about creating a moralistically pure future for "the children" hasn't dissuaded me yet. Overall it is another fantastic piece of writing by Perkins. I'll have final thoughts on the book soon I am sure, but right now it is barely falling short of Confessions which I enjoyed a great deal.

Y: The Last Man
This is a comic everyone who heard I was reading Preacher recommended to me as a follow up almost automatically. It is the same edgy independent (read: not capes and cowls) plot type that Preacher thrived on, without the over the top shock value. Y is the story of a plague that kills all of the males on earth save a young man named Yorick (the Y) and his pet (male) monkey. I am only four volumes in to the trades (10 total) and loving them. The art is fantastic and is only topped by the writing and plot. Where Preacher was a book I would only recommended to men, Y is a book I would recommended to any adult who wasn't too worried about people knowing they read comics.

Fenders, Transform!

When I arrived home yesterday there was large box waiting for me. It would have been like Christmas if I didn't know what it was and it wasn't so damn functional. I have needed fenders in the worst way since completing the check almost two months ago. The majority of the rides I have been on with my new toy have been in the rain or post precipitation. This leaves me covered in rain water at best and a slurry of mud, grease, pesticides and human milkshake at worst. In step the fenders to make my bike slightly less cool, slightly more geeky and supremely functional.

Last night was game four of the Penguins v. Flyers series. So in between the second and third period I set my cell phone alarm and went out to the sun room to install the front fender...

Parts unpacked and spread out

Front fender assembled

Front fender installed (still needs a little tweaking)

Back to hockey with rear fender left wanting

Today is the start of the Lebanese food festival in the far west end. Among other things this weekend I will be grubbing all three days on kibbi, zalabia and shawirma. After dinner at the festival tonight I will hopefully come home and install the rear fender in preparation for a ride tomorrow morning.

Site Watch
Sam Adam's apart from making a killer beer takes pretty pictures too, especially of bikes.

Opening the Vault: DoD

My rocky affair with Day of Defeat has been on again, off again since the summer of 2002. The first computer I built with my own two hands was lashed together with the sole purpose of playing DoD and Medal of Honor: AA. After playing both I ended up picking MOHAA primarily for a two year span. From there it was back a forth with all manner of games, but the rock that was always there for me was Day of Defeat.

When source came out in the fall of 2005 my friends and I ramped up to compete and played for about a year before going dormant and then came back in early 2007 to do it yet again. Well apparently the beast has slumbered for far to long. As of yesterday we woke it up, dusted it off and put it in a tuxedo for another season of competitive play. Like a slumped over he-whore in a motel 6 any attempt to bring it back to life will probably end in tears and a bad hang over. That won't stop us from pounding its metaphorical chest for a few months though. We know she he doesn't have a soul, but that doesn't mean we want to go to jail.

The team of guys that will be playing are even more old school than I and we are all on board to just show up and play. Hence our name, J.ust S.how U.p, no practice, no scrimmages, no forums, no stats, just show up. Wish us luck!

More Fan than Side

I was deathly sick yesterday and as such skipped my Monday post. So as a constellation prize here is a substitute Tuesday post and the board game edition of our game "Bee-Loggin" so you can play along at home.

Saturday was another ride on Riverside. We are at twelve or thirteen now for 2008, I am starting to lose track. The weather was cool, but not cold and the clouds wanted to rain in the worst way, but held off. I arrived at Grant's place in the fan a hair after 8:30 am and we were two wheels rolling (TWR) by 9 am. Wanting to take it easy we decided to roll on the side instead of another trip to Fort Harrison. The ride to the river was bone dry, but the trip across it was just the opposite.

The remnants of a weeks worth of rain were present once we splashed our way on to Belle Isle. The trails were a muddy mess which made staying clean and steering clear of poop jokes rather difficult. The lower trail we usually take was washed out and the upper trail was an obstacle course of slippery rocks and slick roots.

Flooded Lower Trail

By the time we exited James River Park we I (my fenders are in the mail) looked like I had been in a chocolate sauce fight. Riverside was dry again and gave us a chance to roll quick again.

Back across the river on the nickel bridge and we went east from Windsor Farms towards Pibby's so Grant could pick up some pedals he had ordered and look for tape. I took the opportunity to round out my tool roll further and picked up a new chain tool. I snapped a picture of the shop too. Pibby's only had cork handlebar tape so we decided to ride out to Rowlett's. He found navy cloth tape and I sat outside watching the bikes and breathing in crispy creams. Grant convinced me that we needed a harder meal than donuts so we crossed the street to Panera and ate at the cafe tables outside.

We decided after brunch that completing our ride down Monument was tantamount to crossing the United States to dip our toes in the Pacific. So we reached its end, dipped our toes and went back to Grant's on Patterson. It was roughly a 24.5 mile ride, that is the biggest extension of our Riverside loop to date. Oh and I took more pictures which can be found here.

Couple Rides Again

It has been almost two months since we last rode together. Coincidentally Crystal's track coach job also started almost two months ago. Evenings where there is light outside and enough gas in the internal tank for us to ride together have been few and far between. So it was nice to get out on the road once again last night and spin from Gayton Crossing to Innsbrook. We had a brief "discussion" about the merits of helmets, but finally came to an agreement before heading out.

Pre-ride group shot after the helmet debate
And we're off!

Cresting the hill

My check and knee

Crystal happy to be near done

8.46 Miles and lots of love

VO Low Down Light Mount
About three weeks ago I ordered and mounted a new light mount from Velo Orange. Below is a montage of shots I have taken of it. Clicky clicky for the larger versions.

A Life Made of Iron

Iron Man (plot)
My experience to date with comic to movie adaptations has been lack luster at best and a steaming pile at worst. The three X-men films were on the tail end of a bell curve that started near zero (Y-axis). The Spider-man films were barely palatable and would have gone unseen save relatives who don't know what to get me for Christmas. Batman Begins and Hellboy have been the two exceptions to the rule as of late. So going into Iron Man I was a bit, lets say, concerned.

The villain was going to be an evil Iron Man which didn't really sit well. Heavy use of CGI in films tends to be a coin flip these days and can make or break the suspension of disbelief (see episode 1-3). It did have a fantastic cast of accomplished actors though and a comic character I have always liked. So it was off to the movies Sunday to put all this guessing and speculation to bed.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is a fantastic match, he owns the character in all forms. Jeff Bridges as a villain works well, even if I wanted him to refer to himself as the dude. The special effects were fantastically believable and did not show up as a substitute to the story, but as a side dish. The stories pacing is well balanced and builds to an end that left me wanting the sequel next week. Unfortunately that won't happen till 2010, but at least all of the actors and Jon Favreau have signed up to go at it in round two.

Made of Honor (plot)
I normally play rodeo clown to the romantic comedy, wrangling and maneuvering my way around it until the last second when I duck into the hot pink barrel and escape with my limbs intact. The crowd roars and a month later when the next one comes out we start again. My main tool in this dance of diversion and deflection is RottenTomatoes.com. It is a rare romantic comedy that has the endurance to make it through the critical gauntlet unscathed. Made of Honor is not that rare film.

The wife has apparently gotten wise to my ways though. She refused to check the RT score knowing that it might toss a wrench in her plans for our date night. So it was off to the theater to see a film I knew would be bad and she hoped would make the cut. Near ten minutes in, it was apparent to both of us that this film was going to suck. The writing was atrocious and the story elements seemed like the screen play of an aspiring high school student. The acting wasn't as bad as the writing, but that is not a glowing review in and of itself.

The 40 something women next to us must have had their taste blunted by some sort of distilled spirit, because they kept laughing aloud at scenes that were not funny and repeating lines to the point of annoyance. Thankfully my awful sense of public appropriateness came through as I took to mocking our neighbors with faked laugh out loud moments and line repetitions of my own.

This American Life
If you are a fan of the radio show you will love the television program. The second season on Showtime just began this Sunday and is just as amazing as the last. Ira Glass, the host, is a fantastic narrator, story teller and interviewer who looks a bit like Alan Ruck. If you have never heard the radio show it is a series of stories about real life people that follow a different theme each episode. The television show is the same simple concept with amazing cinematography added. If this is not on your roster of shows to watch, add it and get the HD version if at all possible. Oh their is a TAL podcast that is essentially the radio show on your own time, so get that too!

To Harrison We Go

Saturday morning, the traditional ride day for my people, was once again celebrated with travel on two wheels. Mike and I set out at noon to roll from the north side to Fort Harrison. About a mile or so in it was apparent that Mike's bike was determined to sound like an out of tune violin. The man needed lube and not the kind you keep in your sock drawer. So it was off to Re-cycles for chain squeak relief.

We put in around 32 miles all in and the weather was great for it, the pictures below can tell the rest of the tale...

Applying the lube

Where we meet the cute, but sleepy Re-cycle's pug

And saw a slick bike

My check and stars

Mike's Bianchi and stars

A rider with a full load

Mike and I on Dock St.

My check at Fort Johnson

Group shot before leaving Fort Harrison

My Brooks at 711

RVA from route 5

Mike finishing the Main St. climb

Kibbie sandwiches from Mezza

The Z!