I bought Super Mario Bros. 3 last week. Its bringing up fod memories of wasting time in high school playing games at the arcade and restaurants. Galaga was the bomb. Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter were wonderful time wasters.
Month: June 2006
The S-Man
I plan to go Saturday. Anyone want to tag along?
UPDATE: I went earlier. I liked it. Good acting, great special effects, and a decent enough story.
Talon of the Silver Hawk
I have not read any of Feist's work since maybe just after college. Ironically, I did get one of his books in high school and put it down. Prince of the Blood seemed weighted on events completely off my radar. I ended up reading two other trilogies to get the background I needed for Prince.
So, Talon seems of the same caliber. I recall enough of the worldly background to keep me going in this book. However, I kind of wish I didn't need to remember more to truly enjoy this book.
Still, the book flows and has enough good writing to keep me engaged. Guess I better go get books 2 and 3.
Why is it book stores don't often carry all the books in a series? I am not about to order a book from a store and have to go there when I can more easily order it myself for less and have it come to me.
Thanks, Bernie
Thank you for the invite, Bernie!
Mass Emails
I find some of the emails that circulate around here funny. Here is an example.
A hubcap off someone’s vehicle was found in our parking lot. Claim at front desk.
Did the average Immaturity Quotient of the room just drop 20 points?
Discovery Channel :: News – Human :: Serious Study: Immaturity Levels Rising:
The adage “like a kid at heart” may be truer than we think, since new research is showing that grown-ups are more immature than ever. Specifically, it seems a growing number of people are retaining the behaviors and attitudes associated with youth. As a consequence, many older people simply never achieve mental adulthood, according to a leading expert on evolutionary psychiatry.
Circle of Friends
Americans’ circle of friends is shrinking, new study shows | Science Blog:
Americans’ circle of close confidants has shrunk dramatically in the past two decades and the number of people who say they have no one with whom to discuss important matters has more than doubled, according to a new study by sociologists at Duke University and the University of Arizona.
“The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be,” said Lynn Smith-Lovin, Robert L. Wilson Professor of Sociology at Duke University and one of the study’s authors.
“This change indicates something that’s not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. These ties also lead to civic engagement and local political action,” she said.
My confidants seem very distant lately. Yes, they are generally hundreds of miles away. However, as I am a techie, miles don’t mean anything. Between IM and phone, we can still discuss things. Its just that lately we seem to have other things happening that take away the opportunities.
Better work on correcting it.
SW: The Carbon Freeze Sequence
Ever wanted to know what geek children did in the 80s? This is just like what I did (only done by adults and for a movie). The Carbon Freeze Sequence
UPDATE: Originally I tried to post the YouTube video with the object and embed tags. However, it seems LJ prohibits the use of object and embed HTML for security reasons. I can dig it. Just a little annoying. UPDATE 2011-JAN-23: WordPress does let me embed video. So in fixing the broken link, I found it on Vimeo. (Original was on Youtube.) Only Vimeo does not let me share it?
Southerners Love
Study: Southerners care most often for elderly loved ones:
Southern hospitality, it seems, extends to the elderly: A higher percentage of Southerners care for the old and ailing than do people in other parts of the country, according to a new study.
Nearly 17 percent of Southerners said in survey that they provide regular care to a friend or family member 60 or older who has a long-term illness or disability, according to University of Florida researchers.
Caregiving prevalence was about 15 percent in the Midwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountain states, about 14 percent in New England and the Southwest, and just 13 percent in the Pacific states.
If only 17% of Southerners take care of their elderly friends and family, then doesn’t that mean 83% do not? The difference between Southerners and others is only a handful of percentage points. Not exactly compelling that there is a huge difference.
Oops
Does the World Cup have a lingua franca? By Daniel Engber:
[Alexi] Lalas once regaled [a referee] in Ecuador with the Spanish translation of “son of a bitch.” The resulting phrase turned out to be far more offensive than the English version, and he got a red card on the spot.