My Wife the Geek

In the past I have written about the great extent of my geekdom and politely left my better half out of the fray. I often joke with her about putting up with my geekiness and wonder aloud if she knew what she was getting into. Earlier today a study linked on 1up caught my attention though. Apparently women are picking up game controlers like hot cakes. That got me thinking more about our roles as geek husband and geek sympathiser wife.

After collecting my thoughts and reevaluating everything I know in this life, I came to the stunning conclusion that my wife is actually a geek. Apart from hobbies that have tried to introduce to her, she has sought out and taken up a geek scepter of her own. She scrap books, knits, sews and makes jewelry...craft geek! She goes through books a mile a minute in the summer and give me grief for not keeping up with her...book geek! She owns two bikes and likes wearing bike hats in public...bike geek! She grew up playing Super Nintendo, the Wii in our house is hers and she owns a pink DS, that she has played until the battery dies on many occasions...*gasp*...game geek! Oh and did I mention she is a math teacher?

I love my geeky wife, it just took me a long time to realise that she was in fact a geek. Last night she had finished 8 of the 10 Y: The Last Man trades and wanted to make sure I had ordered the last two. We stood in line for an hour Friday night just to be seated for the Dark Knight and she even got excited about and enjoyed Hellboy 2. Life is good in our geek house. I used to make a big effort to get her in to playing WoW. Now I know that she doesn't have to participate in all my geek hobbies because she has her own. I know I don't want to knit.

Site Watch
Web comics are a procrastinators best friend and a geeky math and science related comic seems appropriate given today's topic. Go read xkcd!

R.I.P. Estelle Getty
She passed away at the age of 84 yesterday.

Rainy Day on the Side

Saturday brought heavy rains and wind gust to our little town of Richmond. Those are two piss poor excuses for not riding though. I was at Grant's place rain or shine for the sixth week in a row on Saturday morning. We chit chatted inside till the rain let up for a bit and high tailed it over to Landon's during a break. About two blocks from our destination the rain reared its head again. We were not soaked, but not dry so we took off our hats, gloves and jackets to let them dry and to let the rain pass.

I had never been to Landon's apartment before so it was treat to be trapped by rain in his engineering lair. The first room you enter is floor to ceiling covered in white boards. You can see the product of many late night study sessions scribed on them. The next room is a more homey study space and hang out. This room leads to a bathroom in one direction and the industrial kitchen in the other.

We sat in the study space letting the rain pass and I showed off what I thought were the shinning stars of the DS to two brothers who are far removed from the world of video games. Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Kirby: Canvas Curse and Ouendan 2. Not the best games there is on the little console that could, but fine examples of games that could have only been accomplished with touch screen tech.

By this time the sky had cleared up a bit so we toweled off the steel and put two wheels to the road. The ground was still very wet, but a cool breeze deadened the humidity that was starting to rise. Belle Isle was a muddy mess, thin road wheels sunk quickly in to the bog and backsides not protected by fenders (mine) looked like the canvas of an abstract art student gone wild. Riverside drive is always the warm port in the cold storm though. Upon exiting the riverside park system the sun came out and warmed us with its rays all the way back to the fan.

Lunch was on deck so we stopped by 821 for a bite only to find a twenty minute wait. So back to Landon's we went , where he treated us to a gourmet scavenged meal. Landon is the pack rat pirate of catered affairs around VCU. Have some extra box lunches you were just going to through away from your conference, nope it is going to Landon. We dined and we dashed back to Grant's to meet the ever present drywalling schedule in Grant's life. It was a wet ride, but a fun time, see you next week.

More Saturday Ride Photos

Site Watch
I have never ventured to far in to the bike repair arena. Always relaying on the kindness of strangers to keep my cycle cycling. Bike tutor changes that though, easy to follow videos get me excited about truing my own wheels and packing my own hubs.

Missed A Day

After I set out to make the year of 2008 more consistent from the blogging front I missed my first Wednesday post yesterday. Unfortunately I have a good excuse. My parents were in a car accident over the weekend and I drove up to Pittsburgh Saturday to be with them. Long story short is that everyone will be fine and I drove home yesterday which did not allow for time to write. My post from Monday was by way of Pittsburgh and I plan to be back on schedule with tomorrows post.

I played a ton of DS in the waiting room while in Pittsburgh for five days. Most of it was Pokemon, multiplayer Mario Kart and New Super Mario Bros, but I also tried out some new titles as well. So some time next week I should have some insight on those.

With a Sickness

Woe unto me, that I did eat greasy onion rings and consume copious amounts of distilled spirits on Saturday night. I then proceed to remove every ounce that I had taken in back from whence it came. I expected to wake up Sunday morning slightly hung over, but no worse for wear. I was wrong.

Sunday brought sickness: stomach pains, fatigue, coughing and sinus drainage. Apparently my body was on the verge of becoming sick and my imbibing Saturday night pushed it over the edge. Push is so tame, it felt like I filled up an old station wagon full of gasoline cans and drove it over a cliff with a lit cigar. I spent Monday and Tuesday laid up and at home as well. It was not a complete waste though. I caught up on reading, Discovery HD and my Pokémon training. Mostly sleep and drinking liquids though.

I started reading listening to Freakonomics over the weekend. So far it seems like a really interesting approach to the topic of economics. Although economics was one of the more interesting topics I studied in college, so it didn't take much to get me interested. A book that made accounting interesting, now that would be a grand feat.

Unfortunately, I being sick rewarded you (the reader) with this boring entry on me being sick. The post Monday about PC gamings decline was thankfully in the can late last Friday night. Hopefully this coming Friday's post will yield much tastier fruits.

Personal Computer Gaming

Down and out or just slumping?

PC video game sales were only 17% of the total video game sales for the year 2007. Now I have been hearing about how the imminent death of the PC game for years now, but I never really bought into it. To be honest I don't know how to reconcile 17% without prior year numbers. The feeling I get from the PC market is the real problem though.

Maybe I am just worn out from years of expensive hardware updates, but my computer is barley playing Crysis at the moment and I am not the least bit inclined to buy it more juice. It is pretty, but the story is straight out of Clichéville, USA. The writing is torcherous and all it can say is at least I look damn good, well not on PC it doesn't. Beyond wanting to ogle Crysis there is no title for the PC coming down the pipeline that makes me want to take out a second mortgage for more processing power.

I mentioned in a post many moons ago that Bioshock was the first, first person shooter that I had purchased on a console (360) since Goldeneye 64. I don't think that was anomaly. With up coming PC titles looking bleak and consoles soaring, it isn't hard to imagine a future where the majority of my gaming takes place on a 50" plasma in HD. Not to mention my new found love of all things handheld gaming. The PC will be interviewing for its own job this coming year of 2008. Is there any reason it should keep it?

Site Watch
Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a site that I was recently turned on to that focuses exclusively on PC gaming. They have up to date news and previews and insightful commentary to go with it all. It may look bad for the PC down the road, but RPS helps point out the sunny days when they do crop up.

Anime for Adults

No, I'm not talking about tentacle pr0n!

I have been watching anime since the end of high school and I have yet to find a definitive review site I trust. For the most part I have relied on box art, trailers and imdb descriptions to make my choices. Needless to say I don't always end up with the cream of the crop. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly and might be able to share some insight.

Anime is an art form that is primarily derived from manga. In the US it is often presumed to be for children as the last animated film or show most American's watched was from their childhood. While some anime deserves such a label, there is a large amount that doesn't. A lot of anime has adult themes, heady concepts and morale struggle. This type of anime should not be missed or mislabeled. The following is a short list of titles that any adult should not be embarrassed or hesitant to enjoy.

Ghost in the Shell
The first GITS movie is outstanding. Over the top procedural action, the philosophical ramifications of artificial intelligence and political intrigue set in postcyberpunk Tokyo. The television series is much of the same, but tends to dive even deeper into the ethical issues to the point of confusion and convolution at times. The first film is a must see with sub titles, but I cheated on the series and watched it in dubs because of the overly complex dialogue.

Akira
The film that brought anime to the US, it was was shown in art houses across the country during the 80s and gave many viewers a taste for more. The film is based in a post apocalyptic neo Tokyo and focuses on a biker gang that gets mixed up in a military experiment. I didn't see this film until well after its original release, but I caught the same anime fever from it.

Cowboy BeBop
This series the pinnacle of anime for me. Film noir meets American jazz meets space bounty hunter saga. The art direction, music and writing are on par with any feature film I have seen. This is by far Shinichirō Watanabe's best work, although I am a huge fan of all that he has done.

Samurai Champloo
Another series by Watanabe that also evokes a strong musical presence coupled with fantastic animation. It is essentially a ronin story set in Edo period of futile Japan. The musical back drop is hip hop, fight scenes are timed to rhythms and set changes are transitioned through scratching.

Fullmetal Alchemist
Probably one of the most misleading titles listed here. It is a series about two kid brothers who attempt to bring back there dead mother and lose their bodies in the process. While the main plot seems to point to more mature concepts the series also is about two kids. Steampunk is the cats ass too, so check this one out.

Berserk
This is the hardest series for me to recommend because it ends in such a poor way. Every episode in the series is spectacular until the last two to three where the plot and series completely unravel. Due to financial constraints the 26 episode series end at 25 episodes. So whether or not the ill fated 26th episode would have wrapped everything up is unknown. It is a great series at its core though, based in medieval Europe with a focus on the super natural.

Ninja Scroll
This was the first anime I ever watched after hearing about it from friends at school. It had ninjas, violence, sex and beautiful art. I was hooked. Yoshiaki Kawajiri directed this film, but had no part in the crappy TV series that carries the same name. Be warned there are a few unnevering scenes that are not for the feint of heart.

The Animatrix
This is the most americanized film of the bunch. It was created to cross promote the Matrix trilogy and in my opinion is better than any of the three films. It is a series of shorts done by an allstar cast of anime directors. Watanabe, Kawajiri and Chung to name a few.

Site Watch
Merlin Mann is by far my favorite personality from Mac Break Weekly and his site 43 folders is something I check on a regular basis. It is a site about personal productivity, life hacks, and simple ways to make your life a little better. Good stuff, so czech it out!

New Love
We picked up a second DS (yes it is pink) for Crystal over weekend. For an added bonus I snapped a shot with the new skin I created for the M3DS Real we procured for our bundle of joy!

Kurosawa & Ouendan (Homebrewed Part 3)

Akira Kurosawa's films are considered classics, I watched my first (Rashômon) in a history of film course in college. One of my favorite anime series is based off his film The Seven Samurai and is appropriately named Samurai 7. So when I found out that a lot of his films that had passed into the public domain were collected and converted to be viewed on the DS, I jumped at the chance to watch them. I have Ikiru downloaded and loaded on my flash card, but I have yet to watch it. It comes highly recommended from my friends Grant and Erin so hopefully it does not disappoint.

The group that put out Kurosawa's works has also released a bunch of other films and media for the DS. Download at your own risk though as I can not guarantee they are in the public domain like I linked on the Kurosawa films. You may want to consider converting your own DVDs down to a portable size (.dpg) instead with this guide.

Update: The webmaster of moonbooks.net left a comment on this post letting me know that all of their content is in the public domain. That is great news!

Over the weekend I picked up Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. It is the sequel to the Japaneses origin of Elite Beat Agents. While the menus can be a bit a confusing, unless you read Japanese, they are simple enough to experiment with and figure out in under 2-3 minutes. The actual game play is the real meat and potatoes though. It is a touch screen rhythm game that is synced with a variety of Japanese pop music (J-pop). The story behind the Ouendan is an agency of male cheerleaders who dress in uniform (see above) and assist people in tough situations by cheering for them to different songs. If you fail at the rhythm game then the people you are helping fail as well. Only in Japan!

Site Watch
The Escapist had a great series on gadgets last week. One of the articles that struck me as interesting was on nomadic (homeless) life with just a DS. It makes reference to bunch of great homebrew apps with in an unfamiliar context.

To Pokémon (Homebrewed Part 2)

I am loath to admit my fall for the children's marketing giant, Pokémon. I can't yet determine if this is an after Christmas gaming slump or if I really do like the game. In any case I have played about 10 hours of Pokémon Pearl and can't wait to play more. It is essentially a generic Japanese role playing game (JRPG if you will) of old, except your party is a bunch of pokémon in poké balls. Come across a wild pokémon or trainer and you battle out for cash and experience points.

This affection for "catchin 'em all" was driven by my new DS homebrew love. I have skipped playing Call of Duty 4 and World of Warcraft for going on three nights to play with and organize my applications, roms and music on my little friend. If this keeps up I will most likely ditch my DS fat for a lite. Even with the rumors of a smaller, brighter and more efficient DS on the way (DS lite lite?).

To follow up on my homebrew experience on Monday, I have knowledge and wisdom to share...

First, don't get a M3 Simply or a R4 Revolution, well that is a bit of an overstatement. They are perfect for running applications, roms and media, but there are better options. The M3 Real and the CycloDS Evolution have the same functionality, but support both micro SD and micro SDHC cards in larger formats. This means that in theory you could have up to 32 Gb of space (currently the biggest is 8Gb SDHC) to work with in your homebrew cart. The card I got (M3 simply) and the R4 have a max capacity of 2Gb. If you don't plan to get a 4Gb or 8Gb micro SD card (they get expensive) then any of them will work.

Second, follow a guide if there is one available. I was lost for must of my discovery before my purchase and the installation afterward. I have since come across some great guides on GBAtemp.net that would have been great for starting to understand the DS homebrew scene. Any information in the guides below should apply to most homebrew carts on the market.

- Sub Forums by product - discussion on each of the homebrew cart options.

- M3 Simply & R4DS Guide - if you recall they are the same hardware with different firmware.

- FAQ:R4DS and M3 Simply - Quick and useful FAQ.

- DLDI Guide - a bit more complex, but worth a look for application use (organizers, browsers, etc).

Third, shop around. I picked up my M3 Simply from Real Hot Stuff, but there are loads of online shops that sell them for varying prices and shipping charges. I was inpatient and bought my 2Gb micro SD from best buy for $34. A lot of the sites that sell homebrew carts, sell micro SD cards bundled or separately for a lot cheaper. You can go to a ton of other sites to find them as well. They are used in cameras and cell phones primarily so they are everywhere.

Site Watch
DS-Scene and GBAtemp are the two best DS homebrew news sites I have come across so far. I'd give the node to DS-Scene for application downloads (much better organized) and to GBAtemp for their forums (much more informative).

Homebrewed

This weekend brought with it many a revelation, one of which was my new found love of the DS. I have owned my DS for going on three years now and I have never held it on the pedestal that the media, critics and other owners have. I just don't have a lot of use for a portable gaming device. I don't have a long, hands-free commute to work. I own two "next gen" consoles and a gaming ready computer. So what is the point of hand held gaming out side of a trip to the loo.

That was before I discovered homebrew. Well actually not discovered, because I have always been aware of it. It would better be described as, I finally took a real interest early last week in homebrew. If you are unfamiliar with homebrew it is user created content for video game systems that expand upon the systems limited and intended original use. What that boils down to is I can have an organizer very similar to the functions of a PDA on my DS. That and hundreds of other possibilities.

I picked up a M3DS Simply (see last paragraph) which arrived Friday night and had a 2Gb micro SD card in it by Saturday afternoon. By Sunday I had the organizer and media player (mp3 and video) installed and to be honest I have only scratched the surface. There are tons of useful little applications available, but also a thriving indie game development community. There are also tasty morsels to look forward to in the future.

I will be spending the next week trying out different applications and hopefully have a report on my successes and failures up soon. Also a quick note in reference to the M3 Simply. Don't buy it! Get the R4DS Revolution instead, it is the same exact hardware as the M3, but the group that makes it is still updating the firmware. The M3 team seems to have stopped making firmware updates so the community has started hacking new R4 firmware releases to work with the M3. Save yourself the trouble and get a R4.

Geometry is Fun

Besides the Savage demo that I played into the ground back when, Geometry Wars on xbox live is the demo I have spent the most time with in the past twenty six years of my life. It is addicting simplistic fun. It requires no time investment or story telling, it is as its sub name implies, retro evolved. I picked up Geometry Wars: Galaxies for my DS for my families trip to Pittsburgh to see the Steelers stink it up over the past weekend.

My six hours in the car with it were pure bliss. The challenges were hard, but not to the point of frustration and the satisfaction of passing the point mark was great. It only got better when we started passing the DS around the car to try and beat each others scores. Rather my score was unbreakable and everyone else competed for crumbs below me. In any case I even got my Mom to give it a go, she even beat my wife on both of their first attempts.

Thinking the pinnacle of Geometry Wars goodness had been reached on the car ride up, I was even more impressed when my cousin pulled out her DS the following day. My brother (Tazer) and I played a ton of coop and versus modes and I was completely sold on this simple little concept of a game. Smart, catchy and full of one and done fun. Too bad I don't commute on a subway or bus, I would get a lot more love from my DS and GW:G in general.

My Friend Pete Makes Games

Originally posted at WNE on 11/06/07

Being a hardcore video game fan since I was a wee lad it is always a treat when I get to know someone who creates the medium that I love. Enter Pete, wicked Day of Defeat sniper and video game industry extraordinar. I have known Pete for going on 6 years now through the above mentioned DoD and he is a stand up guy that I consider a good friend. He currently works for Ubisoft in Canada and has previously worked for other Canadian game companies. His list of titles include a number of license based games for the GBA and his most recent work My Word Coach for the DS and Wii.

My Word Coach is the kind of game that should give Nintendo's Brain Age a run for it's money. It is edutainment, but not the kind of edutainment game I grew up with. This one actually looks fun and the multiplayer mini games look like they could get intense. As I said Pete is a good friend and he is passionate about video games so if you looking to expand your mind and have some fun My Word Coach comes out November 6th. I'll be picking up a copy sometime in the near future and I'll let you know how it pans out.

Walkthroughs and Previews @ Gametrailers
Preview @ Nintendojo