Some of the work paying off.
Well I’m pretty happy. I finally got a job interview out of one of the MANY resumes I’ve been sending out. I’m not getting my hopes up for the position…I’m just excited that I got a call back!
The interview is Tuesday. Wish me luck!
My new mission…No more Wal-Mart
I’ve recently been doing some reading about Wal-Mart. How underhanded their tactics are and how they’ll leave people high and dry. There’s all sorts of stories about how terrible Wal-Mart treats their help, etc. etc. And while terrible that may be, it doesn’t really effect me directly.
I’ve always HATED going to Wal-Mart exclusively because of the mad throngs of people that you have to weave through. Screaming kids. People yakking on cell phones. But like most of the people in there I’ve often gone to Wal-Mart primarily because of their prices. They’re plain and simple the lowest prices in town 95% of the time. But I had a shocking realization just the other day when I stopped in just to get some garlic bread for supper, and walked out with $20 worth of stuff…
I went in to get a $3 box of bread and ended up leaving with the bread, a steering wheel cover for the car, and an air freshener. So while Wal-Mart did have the cheapest bread in town. I spent $16 MORE than if I’d just gone to the grocery store…all because I thought I’d be saving a buck! That’s some pricey bread!
I stopped and thought about it, and probably at least half the time I go to Wal-Mart, I end up buying something “just because I was there”. And that’s the way they plan it. I’ve spent a long time spending more and feeling like I was actually saving. I feel like such a statistic. So I made up my mind that I’m going to avoid Wal-Mart at all costs. And if I do have to go there, it will be only to pick up an item on a list and nothing that isn’t on the list.
I figure even if I break even financially, by paying a higher cost at another store, I at least won’t have to face the Wal-Mart throngs…and that it worth at least 10 bucks a trip right there!
A look back: Blast Corps
Cue Rare, one of the most prominent game developers of the Nintendo 64 era. Though no body knew it at the time, they would churn out terrific games later, such as Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye, and Perfect Dark. They’re also responsible for a couple NES classics you might remember…RC Pro-AM Racing, and Marble Madness. Unquestionably one of the premier developers of the time, it seemed like everything they touched was fun and addictive. Blast Corps was no exception.
You know how they say, “Don’t judge a game by it’s box art?” While very true, that’s exactly how I came to own Blast Corps. I had some extra money burning a hole in my pocket. And at this time the selection of N64 games was pretty slim pickin’s. Already having about half of the available library of games, there were few left that really appealed to me. The sports games weren’t really my thing, and heck, this one had trucks and crap blowing up, so it couldn’t be that bad right? So in one of my more whimsical purchases, I plopped down $70 cash and the game was mine.
Most of the ride home was spent analyzing the information on the back of the box and reading the instruction booklet trying to get an idea of what the game was all about. I was starting to feel a little more sure about my purchase as I read about some of the vehicles. The bulldozer, dumptruck, motorcycle that fires rockets (all with their own novelty names of course). It looked to be a fun packed game of destruction. All right by me!
After popping the game in for the first time, it’s not completely obvious what the game really is. The first level is real straight forward. Follow the arrow, and use the bulldozer to level all the buildings in the path of a Nuclear Transport locked on target. If it runs into anything it detonates and everybody dies. Clearing the path is quite easy, but then you’re quickly introduced to what all the levels have to offer in gameplay. You have to destroy all the buildings, free all survivors and collect all RDUs. (Radiation Disposal Units) Again this starts off very straight forward.
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Gradually you’re introduced to the meat of the game, which is almost as much of a puzzle game as it is an action game. Many of the levels require you to take advantage of the specific abilities of your vehicle and even find a way for two vehicles to work together. For instance one level requires you to load the dozer onto a train. Drive the train to a dock. Unload the dozer. Operate a lift crane to lift the dozer to the opposite side of the tracks to push a TNT block into a building to complete the mission.
Another memorable level requires you to maneuver tugboats across a path, so the transport can safely cross multiple canal ways. But in order to line them all up correctly it requires you to move one tugboat, take a car back to another move the second boat, take the first boat back to the car…or something like that! There’s a gleeful satisfaction that comes when you figure something like that out. Most of the puzzles are fairly simple, but when you factor in the time constraint, the game can become VERY frantic at times!
When I picked this game up again recently, I was excited to relive every level over again. Unfortunately much of the excitement comes from not quite knowing exactly what you’re doing and watching the missile carrier steadily inch closer to destruction while you scramble to figure out what to do! Being cursed with the ability to remember only the most useless information, everything quickly came back to me, and many of the missions were disposed with ease. Not to say that the game isn’t fun any more, it most certainly is. Just rather you don’t get a second chance at a first impression.
Admittedly, there’s a few frustrations I’d rather not relive. Just when you think the game is conquered, and the final level complete…you’re sent…to the Moon! Sweet! Nothing like zipping around in a dump truck on the Moon in 1/6th gravity, pulling off sweet jumps! Beat that and it’s on to Mars, Venus, and Mercury for more insane levels. When you’re done with those, the game congratulates you then taunts you by saying “Now do it faster!” Aight then. I will. I recall spending hours upon hours going back just to get gold medals on every single mission, pulling my hair out on some. And upon finally getting that last gold, what reward do I receive? Just more taunting that says “Now go for Platinum!” OH YEAH!? F*(@& YOU!
This is one of the few games that the N64’s dated graphics have hardly any effect on the gameplay at all. Yeah most of the buildings have a very “cardboard box” look to them. But once you get into it, it’s more about clearing the path and solving the level. You’re not really paying attention to the details. You just gotta “level that thing” and figure out how to get “over there”. The sound is delightful and the sound track is about as goofy as the plotline. But Rare did what they did best at the time. Churn out a game that’s just too damn fun.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fxuQFqgCbQ]
Quote of the day:
OK Here it is. Take a peice of buttered toast and a cat. Put toast on cat’s back butter side up. When you drop the cat the 2 forces will cancel each other out. The buttered side will try to land down but the cat will try to land feet first. The cat and toast will float in mid air.
-Mythbusters Forum
Is it just me…or is this really funny?
Seriously, feel free to say this isn’t funny at all. I don’t know why, but I’ve busted up laughing every time. Maybe it’s the theme song, or maybe it’s the Ninja’s voice. Or that the Ninja is obviously Tory. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think it’s hilarious!
Mythbusters: Ask a Ninja Ninja
EDIT: Whoa, I just noticed there’s a whole website! askaninja.com! And the ninja isn’t Tory. How ninja like to fool me like that.
Stressin’
I don’t usually worry about much…but I’ve been getting kinda stressed out lately. Seems like there’s a lot to do, not a lot of time, and a whole bunch of uncertianty. Between the wedding plans, looking for a job, and wondering where we’re gonna be living in 2 1/2 months, it’s wearin’ on me.
I keep sayin’ whatever happens will happen. Trying to have faith that God will open the doors. I at least take solace in the fact that by July 1st all those questions will be answered. Spare a few prayers if ya got ’em.
04.20.08Cruisin’ for good!
Most of you probably don’t know. But for probably a year now, I’ve been dinking around now and again with my cruise control on my car. It used to work here or there, and then it just stopped working all together. I replaced a bunch of vacuum lines, and even got a new cruise control computer and still nothing.
So I was up helping a friend of mine work on his 455 Olds and he let me swipe the cruise control servo of his 307 to replace mine. I finally got around to switching them out and it works! I drove all the way to Kansas City, up to Sabetha and back with cruise! Yee haw! Another thing to mark off the list of things that need fixed!
The Wii…and where we’re going.
This is kinda old news, but I just found out about it. A little thing called head tracking using the Wiimote and sensor bar. I could explain it…but…just watch. It’s the shit. NO special effects edited in.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw]
Pretty amazing. No games support it yet, but I can definitely see this being implemented either via add on peripherals this generation, or built in functionality next generation. Things like Google Maps Street View would be other good uses for this technology. Exciting times!
A look back: NBA Hangtime
Well it’s taken me a couple days to start writing this one, because I’ve actually been playing the heck out of this game. The last few nights Andrea and I sat down together and created characters and have been having a blast! It reminded me of back in the day me and Dad, or me and Bef sitting and playing trying to beat all the teams and guessing at the trivia questions. But it’s one of those games that you don’t have to have a certian amount of time to devote to it, or get to a certian point and save. You just pick it up and have fun.
Like Cruis’n USA it was based almost directly off the arcade game, you just didn’t need a dollar in quarters to play! (You needed $70 for the N64 game =P ) They had one of these set up at the bowling alley in Garden City as far back as I can remember.
Now am not and never was much of a basketball fan. Maybe that’s why without question the funnest part of the game was playing with the characters you created. You get to choose a goofy head different attributes like height, shooting, blocking. Best of all you could pick a nickname that the announcer would actually use in the game. Names like…Dingbat, Grandpa, or my favorite that I always chose…Bubba. Paired with a goofy looking dude that is best described looking like Ernest, it was always funny hearing the announcer say something like, “Bubba tomahawks it home!”
There’s just not a whole lot to write about this game. It’s just plain stupid over-the-top fun! There’s no real competition because the computer has a “catch-up” assist that will increase the chances of making shots for whoever is behind. This always keeps the games close, but really just amounts to playing 2 minutes of the game at the end that actually matters. But who cares? You’re having so much fun doing double dunks and shoving opponets half way across the screen to steal the ball, you just don’t care!
It’s either because it’s so simple, or because I’ve been playing N64 games the past two weeks, but the graphics don’t seem quite as tough on the eyes as other games. As I said before I was really suprised to find myself playing it so much the past few days. When I decided to do these little write ups on all my old games, this one wasn’t of my list of games I thought would suck me right back in like it was yesterday. Quite a plesant suprise!
Experiment Update: Part I
Mailing using ZIP code only…
