Aren't You Tired of Ruining Everything? Part II

I recently posted this regarding changes made to the most recent Final Fantasy game in order to accommodate the Xbox360. Now that the game has been released and I've experienced it myself, I can safely say that it is clear that choices were made to streamline the experience in order to make it work without having to swap a DVD every five minutes. The game is practically on rails in that you are carried from scenario A. involving combat to scenario B. involving combat with very little in between but some very polished cut scenes. Because it is so different from the typical Final Fantasy experience of having an open-world feel with a large world map and many towns to visit, one must assume that these things were left out of the game for a reason other than design preference. This argument is made stronger by considering the fact that including that type of content would be storage-intensive and would place a magnifying glass squarely over the already obvious difference in capacity between the Xbox360 and PS3. The conclusion that one is likely to draw is that choices were made to cut this type of content in order to be able to provide a similar experience on both consoles. A sound financial decision if not a resoundingly emphatic artistic one, that.

This is not to say that the game is not good. On the contrary, the combat is extremely well balanced and polished. The new elements introduced in the game breath new life into turn-based RPG combat. The visuals are, as always with a Final Fantasy game, astonishing: the animation is excellent and the imaginative vistas, style motifs, and character designs are everything one would expect. The music, if you like this type of pseudo-Japanese-American pop with orchestral flair, is spot on. I haven't finished the game yet so I won't comment on the story, but at first blush both the plot and characters are at the very least serviceable. In short: the game is excellently produced, extraordinarily polished and enjoyable on its own. It is only when comparing it to previous Final Fantasy games that it falls short due to the lack of the full-fledged Final Fantasy experience. Would the game have been better had it been released exclusively for the PS3? One could argue that is the case, but if placed in Square Enix's shoes, I'm not sure I wouldn't have made the same choice: there are around 34 million PS3's in households around the world, and there are around 39 million Xbox360's. Inviting the 360 to the party more than doubled the potential market. That's a tough carrot to ignore.

Stupid People Need the Most Attention

You're starting to hear the argument that the large snowfall in the mid-atlantic states means that there is no global warming. What I find astounding is that those who should be our more responsible citizens are using...well, I can't even call it pseudoscience...lay observation to feed a partisan political argument. What I'll never understand is how the argument about global warming ever became a political argument in the first place. It's ass-backward that conclusions in political circles have been drawn before a substantial scientific theory has been completed. It is frankly irrelevant whether one "believes" in global warming, or aspects of varying theories on global warming and its causes, or other competing theories. There is simply no relevant discourse on this topic beyond the scientific. With a significant consensus on most key aspects of global warming, I would say that discourse has been, in part, concluded. All that remains is what to do about it, but somehow that fact is being ignored in favor of stirring up partisan emotion on a very non-partisan topic.

As for the snowfall in mid-atlantic states: anyone who has read the scientific discourse on the topic of global warming over the past decade will know that, again, general consensus is that global warming will cause an increase in severe weather events (at least in the short term), including snowstorms. Partisan politicians conveniently ignore these facts because, hell, it's far more fun, interesting and ultimately profitable to get people worked up over they-have-no-idea what.

Aren't You Tired of Ruining Everything?

When Final Fantasy XIII was first announced, it was a PS3 exclusive title. Last year Square Enix announced that they would be developing the game for Xbox360 as well. Now, it is well documented that the Xbox falls short in certain technical respects when compared to the PS3, one of the key areas being storage. The PS3, with a Blu-ray player, can store about 50GB of data on a single disk. The Xbox, with a DVD player, can store about 9GB.

Recently, this story came out regarding Square dropping quite a bit of content that was originally slated to be in the PS3 version of the game in order to make it work on the Xbox360 (presumably because to keep it in would mean shipping the game on about 5 DVD's). Now, I ask, if you are a fan of the Final Fantasy series, and you own a PS3, what do you think about that?

How art thou a pain in the ass? Let me count the ways...

I recently received an email telling me that my XBOX Live! account was going to be automatically renewed. Since I didn't remember activating automatic renewal when I originally purchased the subscription, it came as news to me. When I went to the XBOX Live! site in an effort to cancel the automatic renewal, surprise turned to anger as, first of all, the area to which one must navigate in order to cancel the subscription was deliberately hard to find and, secondly, I was subjected to page after page of "are you sure you want to do this?"

The PSN is free.

That is all.

One Month of Fatherhood

I'm not reinventing the wheel here, but I suppose I wanted to record my experience for posterity.

My version of the wheel now weighs about nine pounds. She was born weighing about seven and one quarter pounds. She lost almost three-quarters of a pound in her first few days, which means that she's gained well over two pounds in less than a month. That number doesn't sound like a lot until you consider that it represents over twenty-five percent of her original birth weight, which would be like me gaining around 45 pounds in a month. At her age, it makes everyone happy. At my age, it makes people start death watches.

The scale-topper doesn't like to sleep at night. At all. Which makes her exactly like her father, perpetuating that most ridiculous of curses: "May you one day have a child exactly like you!" What other type of child was I going to have? One like the milk man? DNA is funny that way: it likes to replicate itself, and in so doing makes us much like our fathers and mothers in almost every way. This comes as no surprise to biologists and to the great chagrin of rebellious teenagers everywhere.

Life is definitely different now. I'm not sure exactly how it is different beyond the sleep deprivation, but I'll let you know as soon as I come out of this haze.

The last rumination is probably the most obvious: she is instantly and irreversibly loved beyond words.

On Legitmacy

Digital content is not inherently free. It is not up to the masses to determine whether or not the creative expression of an individual is free. It is up to the masses to determine how much one should pay for said work of expression. Traditional economic factors of supply and demand play a very indirect role in much of digital distribution (e.g., one needs a digital medium on which to store the content, one needs a computer or some other form of access, and one needs communications gear), so the most significant driver of price can simply be called desire as a function of disposable income. That price is of course arbitrary, and difficult to predict, but one thing is certain: if the creator of such content does not give it to someone for free, and expects to be compensated for it, a price must be paid. The buyer has a simple question to answer: "is that piece of creative expression worth the price being asked of me?" If the answer to that question is "no," the next step in the algorithm should never be "steal it."

Route 219

Is it really necessary to extend a 4-lane expressway from Springville, N.Y. to Ashford, N.Y.? Western New York has a declining population, and constituents are constantly complaining about high taxes. Still, very few citizens seem to understand a very important correlation: the cost, per person, of maintaining infrastructure will go up as there are fewer people to pay the bill. There are two ways to mitigate this: attract more people or encourage those remaining to move into an urban center (and thus removing the need for expansion and, in some cases, maintenance of infrastructure). Given this context, spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in order to make living away from WNY's only urban center (Buffalo) more convenient does not strike me as the best use of funds.

Why not use this same money to lure businesses into the area? How about expanding the woeful public transportation system in Buffalo? How about giving the money to schools, or libraries, or...just about any other worthy endeavor?

This type of misappropriation of energy is demonstrative of the type that has put WNY into such a deep, dark hole.

To the people of Western New York: would you like lower taxes? Then, for the love of God, stop building new homes on the edge of the suburbs! Have you ever stopped to consider how much it costs, in time, labor, and money, to expand and maintain roads, bridges, gas lines, water lines, sewer lines, communication lines, bus routes, police departments, fire departments, libraries, schools, and a multitude of other social services to these areas? There is a lot (and I mean a lot) of top quality home stock already in the area -- hell, there's more of it than we need, obviously! So, please...pretty please, stop being stupid?

To the Government of Erie County: please, for the love of all that is holy, consolidate your local governments! There is absolutely no reason for the redundancy in staff that exists throughout all of your local townships.

...and stop spending money on new highways that go nowhere.

Patios-a-Poppin'!

Here's the patio. It is finished...the rest of the yard is not.

where art thou?

Why isn't Kilkenny sold in the United States?

I first tasted this beer in Rome, Italy, of all places, in the summer of 1998. In my humble opinion, there is no better beer in the world. There are many with more flavor (or flavour, if you like), but there are none to rival its combination of taste, feel and smoothness.

I experienced a few fine beers in Germany (a Munchner Dunkel served in the Rathskellar restaurant in Munich stands out...alas I cannot remember its name), and several fine varieties in Prague (most notably Budvar and Velvet); however nothing matches Kilkenny. Although I'm certain there are many connoisseurs who would knock each other over to argue my conclusion, as this is a matter of opinion, there can be no right answer but my own.

Regardless of one's opinion, it is, by all accounts, a fine beer; it is popular in many other countries, and it stands to reason that it might sell reasonably well in our neck of the woods. So, why not sell it here?

Perhaps the best reason is simple: if everyone that loves Kilkenny is anything like me, they don't actually drink that much beer. Well, I'm afraid I don't have a counter argument to that, except to say that I, on rare occasion, will go to Canada and spend about $60.00 on a case of the stuff. That must count for something.

I could say I told you so...

well well well, it's always nice to have my ideas corroborated by independent 3rd parties like this.

In case you don't feel like reading that article, the long and the short of it is that an independent auditing firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, has come to the conclusion that Internet delivery of instant-on HD content is still years away. I don't know where they pulled the year 2015 from, but it sounds as good as any, I suppose.

Some of you...ok the 1 or 2 of you that might actually read my drivel, might remember this post of mine, where I said the same thing and relied on the same reasoning to reach my conclusion.

the bottom line: most people don't have a fast enough connection to enable instant streaming of HD content of the same quality found on a blu-ray disk. I still think that Internet distribution is the future, but we simply aren't there yet, and now it would appear that we have bigger fish to fry.

Michael Jackson

I just found out that someone was asking $2000 for an LP featuring Michael Jackson narration of Steven Spielberg's E.T.. The reason for the rarity of that item is that apparently MJ was signed under a different label when he recorded the material, making it illegal and production was cut short. We had that record once upon a time. I'm sure we don't anymore. Doh!

CONSOLE WARS!!!

I don't know why I still care about this, but something about the arguments that I read involving "which console is best" just irk me. I've got more important things to do, but this is a fun diversion...

Let me first say that I am not deliberately involving my personal opinion in this little diatribe. I have one, and it might be obvious from what you'll read here, but I think the arguments I make are cogent and speak for themselves.

the xbox360 is not less expensive than the PS3. A PS3 will set you back $400. The closest Xbox360 model also costs $400. The PS3 comes with a blu-ray player and wireless ethernet. That same Xbox360 model does not. The Playstation Network available through the PS3 is free. One must pay for XboxLive. XboxLive is a more robust online offering than PSN, but in an absolute sense they offer much the same functionality--they aren't exactly apples to apples but they aren't precisely apples to oranges either. PSN being free and XboxLive being better probably makes them a wash, but what can't be ignored is the simple fact that one must still pay for the XboxLive service, which invariably, unarguably makes it more expensive than its Sony competitor. The value of that online service lies in the opinion of the user, likewise the value of the blu-ray functionality built in to PS3.

What about games. We are talking about games consoles after all. Which one has better titles is debatable, but what isn't debatable is the general consensus among critics that the PS3 has had the lion's share of well-received games in the last six months or so. Observe (metacritic scores in parenthesis):

Infamous (84)
Killzone (91)
Little Big Planet (95)
MLB '09 (90)

xbox360 had the following major releases in roughly the same time period:

Halo Wars (82)
Gears of War 2 (93)

Disclaimer: I'm sure I'm missing several titles--that was not meant to be a comprehensive list, just a representative sampling...and it is my blog, after all.

I know that both consoles have major exclusive titles planned for the coming year so, again, this is probably a wash, but it should serve as sufficient ammunition to put to rest the ridiculous notion that the ps3 has lousy software support.

I find it interesting that even in the light of these rather obvious facts, it seems the general consensus is that the ps3 is not a good value when compared to the xbox 360.

on serving self

I'm selfish

with one or two exceptions, I've never been wholly dedicated to myself, and yet recently I've noticed that I have become increasingly insular. Is this part of getting older? Is it because my wife is pregnant with our first child? The realization that this transition is occurring is fascinating for two reasons: firstly, it is entirely predictable, I would imagine, from an external party. I was just married and becoming a father. It isn't exactly a great leap to say that I would instinctively nest a bit at this point. The fascinating thing is that, were I analyzing someone else in this situation, I would have come to this conclusion and likely judged myself rather harshly. The fact that the mundane predictability of it, despite the history of my nature, would in the end apply directly to me is, to me, quite interesting. The second point is related to the first: throughout my life I've been known to feel great empathy for, well, just about anyone (or thing). The veer towards the crotchety lately gives me pause; one more reminder about the inevitability of the various stages of the human condition, and thus another reminder of my own mortality.

this just in: people not doing what they claim to do

a new fence? sure!

nice low quote from a "guy my neighbor knows" and vouches for. around $2000 lower than the next lowest number, to be exact. Why not?

Downpayment for materials? sure! here you go! what's that? you didn't add in something for something that you can't quite explain to me? another $500? sure!

meanwhile

hey, Mike, thanks for giving us the time of day. you do great work. just to show you that we appreciate it, we'll pay you twice as much up front as we agreed to pay. schedule? well, we'll probably be done in a few months, right? it's january, we'll have everything done by the summer and things will be right as rain, right?

Mike.

Mike?

Mike!

you haven't been to the house in three months. are you there? do you want to finish the job? do you want the rest of your money? things must be swimming in your household. what's that? you decided to do 3 other jobs before you finish ours? why? oh, I see: no good reason, we're just not that important. I see. well, at least that explains that.

I apparently have a target on my back, along with a sign that reads, "Please take advantage of this congenial loser."

sillius sodus

you know what's not a whole helluva lot of fun? pulling up sod from a lawn.

oh well, at least I'm not the only one

It's....ALIVE!!

Long time has it been. Some noteworthy news since last I posted...the wife and I are expecting a little one come October. I suppose that should pass as some kind of excuse for letting the blog lie dormant for so long.

In other news, I was promoted last November, which was kind of a big deal as well, but much less interesting. Work on the house is proceeding. We have several concurrent projects, which hopefully will be finished before the little one comes along. Both bathrooms, the kitchen, all the plumbing, and several other little things within the house are being overhauled. Also, we're planning on doing some cool things in the backyard along these lines.

And now I'll probably disappear for another 6 months.

the rare hockey post

The Buffalo Sabres are 6-0-1. It is early in the season. They have played less than 1/10th of a (regular season) schedule. Still, I cannot help but remark on the following:

-they are enjoying this early success without Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and Brian Campbell.
-Thomas Vanek, thought to be drastically overpaid by many, is leading the league with 9 goals in 7 games.
-Darcy Regier, vilified by just about every hockey fan in western new york, built teams that, even excluding the early success of this season, have enjoyed unprecedented success in Sabres' history.

I was in the minority last year in holding Sabres' management blameless for Drury's departure. Why is Regier so wrong for expecting a player to uphold his contract and then negotiate in good faith? Let it be known that the Sabres matched the Rangers' offer to Drury. Drury, and no one other than the man himself, chose to accept the contract offer of the Rangers. As far as I'm concerned, he abandoned the team that brought him into prominence in this league. Yes, he won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche, I know -- but was Chris Drury a hockey-household name of his current stature before he came to the Sabres? Certainly not. He made many public proclamations of his love for Buffalo and for the Sabres organization before jumping ship to the Rangers. As far as I'm concerned, he can lie in the bed he made with them, and I hope it's decidedly uncomfortable.

The other players mentioned here were only doing what was best for themselves and their families. Was Briere likely to ever have as large an offer as he received after the 06-07 season? Not in my opinion. He had to take the big payday, and the Sabres couldn't oblige him. It would seem to me that he left on good terms, as did Campbell and Martin Biron, the popular goalie the sabres traded last year.

Anyway, here's to Regier: one of the finest hockey minds in the NHL.

this thing writes itself!

watch the whole thing for the best zinger of the campaign.

This is so good that I had to quote it here. I won't say who it is except to say it is from a friend of a friend who grew up in communist Russia:

Its a puritan, religious country... since the beginning. The only thing everyone agreed to is hating taxes.

A third of the country doesn't believe in evolution... and that's not even a very difficult theory to understand. How much easier is it to say that God is everything when you talk about partical physics? Or claim that the Large Hedron Collider will create a black hole that eats the earth (impossible say scientists! i'm going with my gut says the common man!).

we're run by a populist president who went to yale - but can still imply that educated people are somehow suspect. everyone is equal! everyone's achievements are the same! no-one is better than you simply because you are a lazy sack who never graduated high school, and they busted their ass to earn a degree and learn something!

for a country that hates communism, we certianly echo its worst traits: blind patriotism, distrust of education and knowledge, and a broad dismissal of critics as traitors and snobs.

So, tell me why we shouldn't fear Sarah Palin? To paraphrase Matt Damon: if one goes by the actuary tables, there is a 1 in 3 chance that John McCain dies in his first term in office, meaning she would become President Sarah Palin. And so we would go on, following our fearless hockey mom leader as she ruled in her best creationist-spewing, tolerance-smashing, ignorance-spreading way. People need to take notice of this and consider the future. I'm not saying Obama is immune to criticism or other issues, but at least he doesn't think its wrong to tell our kids that the universe wasn't created in 6 days.

Ignorance Is...How does that phrase go?

This is not the most original or truly astonishing prose, but I found, somewhat surprisingly, that it rather concisely sums up my concerns about a certain presidential candidate. I found the following to be especially poignant:

I am sick and tired of the president of the United States embarrassing me. The world we live in is too complex to entrust it to someone else whose idea of intellectual curiosity and grasp of foreign policy issues is to tell us he can look into Vladimir Putin's eyes and see into his soul.

George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.

He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.

I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.