Like another hole in my head….
There is an addition to the household. Duane decided we need a kitten. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cute and all that kitten stuff… but I swear, it’s like a dog! It wants me to constantly pet it, hold it. And meow!? I wanted to call it Sassy cuz this cat NEVER shuts up. Duane named it Tiger, it’s his cat. Well, it’s his cat the one day a week he is home!!!!!!
What is amazing is that I really didn’t want another cat. I tried to talk him out of it. But it is a cute little fart, and you’ll see when you come out here, you can’t help but like it. It’s quite the little snuggle bug. Hey! I just realized…I just might have a cat that will be social with people!
Orange High Life?
Man, I thought I won some sort of million dollar contest when I pulled this can out of the case. Bright orange High Life! (At least its not orange flavored!) Turns out they’re just changing the cans for the hunting season. I somehow bought the case, got all the way home, stuck it in the fridge, opened and pulled out the can without noticing the giant orange can, or all the turkeys plastered all over the case.
In related news, in a clear container, High Life glows green under a black light. Great for parties! 😉
Gamespot takes a hit to their credibility.
From Penny-Arcade:
For those that aren’t familiar, Gamespot is a site dedicated mostly to reviewing video games before their release and passing those opinions on to consumers so they can make more informed decisions.
Apparently one of the editors, Jeff Gerstmann, gave a sub-par review to a game called Kane & Lynch for the XBox360. The developer of the game has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with Gamespot along advertising this one game. Coincidentally shortly after the review went live the video review was pulled and Gerstmann was promptly fired without reason. Say what you will but it looks like the stink of it is, you aren’t supposed to give a bad review to a game that is brining in lots of ad revenue.
I honestly hadn’t even heard of the Gerstmann fellow until this story came about. I just don’t run in the game editorial circles anymore I guess. Supposedly he’s had some pretty controversial reviews to high profile games in the past. Some people love him some people are glad to see him go. Fact of the matter is, this isn’t about Gerstmann. Its not even about the gaming industry alone. It’s about objectiveness in reviewing a product, be it a blender, or a new car. If an advertiser is able to pressure a company into fluffing a review in order to boost it’s sales of that product, and then the publisher in turn sells that review to the reader as an “objective” opinion, the review is nothing more than a long winded advertisement.
Its just another example of corporate mismanagement and bottom line thinking. You’re selling out the credibility of your publication if you fire the guy at all. And even IF you decide he must be fired, the timing has made the decision so transparent that you could have done more harm by letting the person go than if you hadn’t. Its long been a suspicion of readers that the people that review the products (or the publishing company) gets some sort of kickback, or incentive to paint a more colorful picture to the public. Unfortunately this event all but proves that it can and DOES happen.
12.1.07Lovin’ the Blackjack.
Andrea’s mom is in town this weekend, so we’ve all been hanging out having a good time. She wanted to go up to the casino while she was here so we all loaded up and headed to the Sac n Fox north of Topeka. I didn’t have a whole lot of extra cash, and probably shouldn’t have been gambling in the first place. But we had a good time. I spotted Andrea $40 and I ended up winning $40. Then she was able to pay me back plus an extra $160! (She kept the $160) Not a bad night if I do say so myself. That makes about three trips in a row that I’ve come out of there positive…looks like I’m due to lose next time.