Monday, January 30, 2006
Grave Disappointment with President Bush
My current thoughts on the president are somewhat of a political rant.
George W. Bush is an exceptionally advantaged man who rose through the ranks because a large fraction of Americans associate superiority with financial and social success. The sad fact is that we haven't seen this level of presidential incompetence since Warren Harding, who managed to blunder into the presidency by essentially the same methods as George W. Bush.
However, Warren only served 3 years. James Buchanan, a president that often dukes it out with Warren for bottom-of-the presidential barrel, only served one term. Enduring two terms of gross incompetence is alarming.
The obsession with terrorism-under-every-rock-in-America that this administration repeatedly indulges in shows a continued and unhealthy addiction to post-9/11 adreneline. Instead of implementing solutions that have actually worked before in other countries, or are the best fit for our particular American situation, we got an additional bloated treasury-draining department (DHS) with convoluted mission, an amazing assortment of boondoggle appropriations and earmarks, several years of airport (in)security, and a nasty little war that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.
It's exciting to be "in danger" when you're "in charge" and "out of the line of fire". You can get addicted to the "chase" and the "excitement" of "fighting the war on terror". It's disgusting to see grown men and women "play war" with real lives and real money. The my way or the highway attitude doesn't serve us well.
In then end, though, we deserve the government we get. Let's all make more of an effort to be educated and involved. It's the only way out.
George W. Bush is an exceptionally advantaged man who rose through the ranks because a large fraction of Americans associate superiority with financial and social success. The sad fact is that we haven't seen this level of presidential incompetence since Warren Harding, who managed to blunder into the presidency by essentially the same methods as George W. Bush.
However, Warren only served 3 years. James Buchanan, a president that often dukes it out with Warren for bottom-of-the presidential barrel, only served one term. Enduring two terms of gross incompetence is alarming.
The obsession with terrorism-under-every-rock-in-America that this administration repeatedly indulges in shows a continued and unhealthy addiction to post-9/11 adreneline. Instead of implementing solutions that have actually worked before in other countries, or are the best fit for our particular American situation, we got an additional bloated treasury-draining department (DHS) with convoluted mission, an amazing assortment of boondoggle appropriations and earmarks, several years of airport (in)security, and a nasty little war that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.
It's exciting to be "in danger" when you're "in charge" and "out of the line of fire". You can get addicted to the "chase" and the "excitement" of "fighting the war on terror". It's disgusting to see grown men and women "play war" with real lives and real money. The my way or the highway attitude doesn't serve us well.
In then end, though, we deserve the government we get. Let's all make more of an effort to be educated and involved. It's the only way out.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
World of Warcraft - Structural Issue
In World of Warcraft, advancement above level 60 requires raids and/or groups. The numbers needed for these raids are in the range of 30-40 characters. Everyone needs to work together, but since you can literally solo to 60, most people don't have extensive group or raid experience.
Following excerpt from this article
"But because [World of Warcraft] from Level 1 to Level 59 is so easy, there are a ton of Level 60 users who don't know how to be team players and don't have the time or inclination to learn. And that is the root of the current conflict. Casual players complain that they can't get rewards comparable to those earned by hard-core raiders, like the Claw of Chromaggus or Mish'undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer. Raiders like me often respond that casual players just want a handout.
Following excerpt from this article
"But because [World of Warcraft] from Level 1 to Level 59 is so easy, there are a ton of Level 60 users who don't know how to be team players and don't have the time or inclination to learn. And that is the root of the current conflict. Casual players complain that they can't get rewards comparable to those earned by hard-core raiders, like the Claw of Chromaggus or Mish'undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer. Raiders like me often respond that casual players just want a handout.
And caught in the middle are Mr. Kaplan, known online as Tigole, and the rest of the Blizzard team. For the game's newest high-end area, called Ahn'Qiraj, they set up a system earlier this month that essentially requires most of each server's population, casual and hard-core, to work together to amass huge amounts of war materiel like bandages and metals before the gates to the dungeon will open. Naturally, the population on some servers has responded by pulling together (much respect to the Medivh server for being first to open the gates), while on dozens of other servers, like mine, the war effort is progressing more slowly because casual players don't care about opening a high-end zone."
I'm not sure what they expected, but this outcome for opening the gates to the first expansion seems totally predictable to me. I talked in a previous blog about how the group and instance experience in WoW was far less organized and effective than in other games such as DAOC and Everquest. Since players don't have to play in groups to advance, they generally group only when they have to. This means that for the most part, the groups you are in are pretty bad by EQ standards. Pulling, healing, buffing, and knowing when and what types of attacks to use are important skills, but many players seem unaware of how to do anything except solo. Hence, the group dies to things it shouldn't.
Raid and group requirements are scattered throughout your entire character career in Everquest. Since you can't solo much at all, you have to work together in groups.
Yes, it is a downer to have to find a group or guild that fits, but the alternative is, like Anders mentioned in one of his EQ updates, a quick ride to upper levels then abandonment of the game, if you don't have either previous raid experience or can change tactics at level 60 and actually learn how to raid or group.
The idea that the entire server will be altruistic enough to open up content for a very few in WoW is reminiscent of the way that some guilds tried to get key pieces in Everquest for Vex Thal. Some seemed to think that casual players would just send a tell and let the raiding guilds loot the pieces. Quickly, though, the raiding guilds had to up the ante. Spells, cash, etc. quickly created somewhat of an incentive. I got several nice spells this way.
It was amusing to read through discussions on the forums from some high-end players would seemed to think the rest of the server would waste time helping them open up a dungeon that the majority would never see. The justifications included "people should help us for server pride" or "it's self-evident that we're uber, and sheer force of reputation should make other people do what we want" and "if you help us then we'll help you". (that last one doesn't even pass the laugh test, since guild membership in the high-end guilds is very restricted and the rules very clear about 'helping' others outside these raiding guilds. Cash talks, vague promises of later "help" doesn't.)
The problem was quickly solved by economics, and due to the fact that the high-end guilds simply applied the necessary time to the time-sink of collecting key parts. The initial complaint period died out, and the raiding guilds blew through Vex Thal on their way to whatever was next.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finished my Vex Thal key. The content has been in the game for quite a while, but I have to go at the pace allowed by real life and other interests. I quietly collected the parts and waited until I found the right guild and the right time.
In WoW, the mechanics of the game are different. Adding in high-end raid content at the very very end makes for the exact situation described in the article. Although, the donations are not without personal reward. That should be made clear. There are some minor rewards if you turn in stacks of "war supplies". But, the rewards for quests and the general experience of PvP instances and even random monster slaying are better. Especially since the war supplies are things like copper bars, cooked fish, and bandages. These are things that are tradeskill related. Since I'm interested in Blacksmithing, I don't really want to give up any ore or bars to open high-end content when I can use it to skill up.
In the end, what Anders observed people saying about WoW within his EQ guild has re-appeared in this and some other articles. Blizzard is responding to the request for difficult end-game stuff by putting it in an expansion. However, the game leading up to the expansion doesn't prepare you for it along the way. You have to make the transition from solo to raid style of play on your own, or with the advantage of playing another game.
All in all, it's really nice to be able to solo through a game. It's fun to be able to play for a short amount of time on short notice, and for me, it makes it worth it to have both Everquest and WoW accounts. I suspect that Blizzard will end up introducing more "high end" expansions in the future. They'll have to make the call on whether or not to expand vertically or horizontally, and whether or not to engage in MUDDification arms-race style expansions, or continue with the original solo-friendly game.
If all the expansions require level 60, are raid-oriented, and get progressively harder with great improvements in gear at each stage, then the entire first edition of the game is simply a time sink tutorial.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
More Choice Means Less Choice, According to Movie Industry Representative
I'll do my best to try to track down the citation, but I wanted to pass along what I thought was a really funny statement as soon as possible.
I was watching CNN yesterday when an article about the upcoming movie Bubbles aired. This movie is being released simultaneously on DVD as well as in movie theaters. Some movie theaters in some states have refused to show it since it's available elsewhere and they don't have a monopoly anymore. The controversy has "bubbled" up to the level of national news, "popping" onto the scene just as the number of articles about declining movie ticket sales have started to "effervese".
Anyway, when a representative of the theaters was interviewed, he made a statement that to the best of my recollection went something like this:
"People think that this [simultaneous release in theater as well as dvd] gives them more choice. We disagree!"
Yes, it's true. This man said that More choice means less choice.
I rewound it (thanks to Tivo, another invention that's giving TV executives fits) and watched it four or five times. Such an earnest expression, such serious words!
Some pigs are more equal than others, you see. More choice means less choice.
It created quite a bit of levity here at the household, and it started me thinking yet again about how much of a golden age it truly is. DvDs, podcasts, satellite radio, google Scholar searches, audio books, etc.
As Doug rightly pointed out, when the status quo is threatened, media institutions often fall back on the platitude of how they're really doing it as a public service, and emphasize how nice it is to have "free" radio. I'm referring to the national campaign by FM radio stations to highlight how Vital they are to the American Experience by running ads (yes, even MORE advertisements on FM radio) that pronounce "free" FM radio as the backbone of society and hint that our National Security is at stake.
Yes, all you podcatchers out there, you're one step away from being linked to terrorists. How dare you stop listening to advertisements and flaccid music!
The fact is that "free" radio is hardly free, is hardly accessible, is of inferior quality, and there is much much better audio available with little investment. The broadcast spectrum is auctioned off to the highest bidder, with true public interest hardly a footnote to the allocation. Same thing with TV. It's even more egregious with movie production and distribution, which doesn't even have a thin veneer of public interest at heart. It's all about making money from entertainment.
So, instead of addressing the movie quality problem (which the National Association of Theater Owners does address, to their credit. Notice their acronyn is NATO. Isn't that cool?) as the root cause of declining ticket sales, the movie shill on the cnn broadcast simply blamed the cardboard villain of piracy, and invoked the "people NEED to go out to see movies, it's unAmerican to want it your way!" platitudes of a threatened industry.
We saw this before with the decline of travel agents. We'll continue to see it with the decline of other information hoarding-based jobs. We will see continued declines in ticket sales for two reasons.
1) the movies suck. 70% of movies released in 2006 will be sequels or remakes. Nothing original means a growing fraction of people will stay home.
2) theater owners overbuilt in the 90s and have yet to correct the market. Close down some of the glut of screens, and your ticket sales will stabilize.
People want what they want when they want it. You can't go back again after Tivo, DvDs, simultaneous releases, on-demand movies, on-demand audio, and advertisement-free services.
I was watching CNN yesterday when an article about the upcoming movie Bubbles aired. This movie is being released simultaneously on DVD as well as in movie theaters. Some movie theaters in some states have refused to show it since it's available elsewhere and they don't have a monopoly anymore. The controversy has "bubbled" up to the level of national news, "popping" onto the scene just as the number of articles about declining movie ticket sales have started to "effervese".
Anyway, when a representative of the theaters was interviewed, he made a statement that to the best of my recollection went something like this:
"People think that this [simultaneous release in theater as well as dvd] gives them more choice. We disagree!"
Yes, it's true. This man said that More choice means less choice.
I rewound it (thanks to Tivo, another invention that's giving TV executives fits) and watched it four or five times. Such an earnest expression, such serious words!
Some pigs are more equal than others, you see. More choice means less choice.
It created quite a bit of levity here at the household, and it started me thinking yet again about how much of a golden age it truly is. DvDs, podcasts, satellite radio, google Scholar searches, audio books, etc.
As Doug rightly pointed out, when the status quo is threatened, media institutions often fall back on the platitude of how they're really doing it as a public service, and emphasize how nice it is to have "free" radio. I'm referring to the national campaign by FM radio stations to highlight how Vital they are to the American Experience by running ads (yes, even MORE advertisements on FM radio) that pronounce "free" FM radio as the backbone of society and hint that our National Security is at stake.
Yes, all you podcatchers out there, you're one step away from being linked to terrorists. How dare you stop listening to advertisements and flaccid music!
The fact is that "free" radio is hardly free, is hardly accessible, is of inferior quality, and there is much much better audio available with little investment. The broadcast spectrum is auctioned off to the highest bidder, with true public interest hardly a footnote to the allocation. Same thing with TV. It's even more egregious with movie production and distribution, which doesn't even have a thin veneer of public interest at heart. It's all about making money from entertainment.
So, instead of addressing the movie quality problem (which the National Association of Theater Owners does address, to their credit. Notice their acronyn is NATO. Isn't that cool?) as the root cause of declining ticket sales, the movie shill on the cnn broadcast simply blamed the cardboard villain of piracy, and invoked the "people NEED to go out to see movies, it's unAmerican to want it your way!" platitudes of a threatened industry.
We saw this before with the decline of travel agents. We'll continue to see it with the decline of other information hoarding-based jobs. We will see continued declines in ticket sales for two reasons.
1) the movies suck. 70% of movies released in 2006 will be sequels or remakes. Nothing original means a growing fraction of people will stay home.
2) theater owners overbuilt in the 90s and have yet to correct the market. Close down some of the glut of screens, and your ticket sales will stabilize.
People want what they want when they want it. You can't go back again after Tivo, DvDs, simultaneous releases, on-demand movies, on-demand audio, and advertisement-free services.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Macro Lens Report - Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM
The macro lens arrived a few days ago. The first test photos seem to indicate everything is working pretty well! All photos taken in auto mode with a Canon 20Da.
This photo of red impatients shows two things. One, the detail at close range is a lot better than before. Two, and this is true for most of the rest of the photos in this report, that the camera doesn't seem to underexpose. Macro lenses generally require a step up in exposure. There's a table in the manual that came with the lens where increase in exposure steps from 1/3 to 2 were recommended. Because it varies so much depending on the other settings, in general photographers doing macro work bracket their photographs. In other words, multiple shots are taken in a short interval where the exposure is varied over a range. The best photo is selected from the bunch.
If anything, this very small white flower (the bloom is about a half-inch across at the most) seems overexposed rather than underexposed. However, the flowers do have a very flat look in "real life", so I'm not surprised at the way this shot turned out. The petals have a waxy dull look and feel.
Here's a shot that might be a bit underexposed, but it was in shade and the detail didn't seemed to be lost. Compare it to the following shot of the same species of flower taken with the Olympus Cammedia 1040Z.
The detail and color seem to be improved.
Here is a very small fuzzy leaf with a snail trail across the upper part of the leaf. Note that the lower curled-towards-you part of the leaf is out of focus. This indicates a very narrow depth of field, which is a hallmark of macro lenses like this one (100mm f/2.8). Anyone wanting to do macro photography needs to learn how to best account for this, and achieve photographs that aren't overly limited by the narrow depth of field.
Here is a happy little purple flower! It's nice to be able to get in this close. The texture on the petals showed up much more distinctly than I expected.
Picking the point of focus in order to best accomodate the narrow depth of field sometimes only requires that enough be in focus in order to achieve a focused effect. There's a very tiny bug in this rose interior that I saw only after looking at the photo when it was uploaded to flickr. I marked it with a note on the photo's home page at flickr. Just click to go see where the little bug is. I don't think that level of detail was possible with the other camera.
Things that are round, like this spray of Alyssum, seem like a challenge to macro. You have to pick something as the center of attention and then make sure that's captured in focus.
This photo of red impatients shows two things. One, the detail at close range is a lot better than before. Two, and this is true for most of the rest of the photos in this report, that the camera doesn't seem to underexpose. Macro lenses generally require a step up in exposure. There's a table in the manual that came with the lens where increase in exposure steps from 1/3 to 2 were recommended. Because it varies so much depending on the other settings, in general photographers doing macro work bracket their photographs. In other words, multiple shots are taken in a short interval where the exposure is varied over a range. The best photo is selected from the bunch.
If anything, this very small white flower (the bloom is about a half-inch across at the most) seems overexposed rather than underexposed. However, the flowers do have a very flat look in "real life", so I'm not surprised at the way this shot turned out. The petals have a waxy dull look and feel.
Here's a shot that might be a bit underexposed, but it was in shade and the detail didn't seemed to be lost. Compare it to the following shot of the same species of flower taken with the Olympus Cammedia 1040Z.
The detail and color seem to be improved.
Here is a very small fuzzy leaf with a snail trail across the upper part of the leaf. Note that the lower curled-towards-you part of the leaf is out of focus. This indicates a very narrow depth of field, which is a hallmark of macro lenses like this one (100mm f/2.8). Anyone wanting to do macro photography needs to learn how to best account for this, and achieve photographs that aren't overly limited by the narrow depth of field.
Here is a happy little purple flower! It's nice to be able to get in this close. The texture on the petals showed up much more distinctly than I expected.
Picking the point of focus in order to best accomodate the narrow depth of field sometimes only requires that enough be in focus in order to achieve a focused effect. There's a very tiny bug in this rose interior that I saw only after looking at the photo when it was uploaded to flickr. I marked it with a note on the photo's home page at flickr. Just click to go see where the little bug is. I don't think that level of detail was possible with the other camera.
Things that are round, like this spray of Alyssum, seem like a challenge to macro. You have to pick something as the center of attention and then make sure that's captured in focus.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
New Macro Lens on the Way for the 20Da
Luckily, I have a relative that is a professional photographer. I have been able to borrow all the lenses she wasn't regularly using in order to use the Canon 20Da.
Today I ordered a lens for myself. Since a lot of my work is close-up photography, I researched lenses and found one that looks like it's going to work out quite well. It's the 100mm F/2.8 Canon USM macro lens. It should be here within the week. Here's an example photo in macro mode on the Olympus 1020Z that I was using before.
I'm hoping to get as good or better results with the new setup, even though the Olympus, despite being a point-and-shoot, is actually pretty hard to beat in terms of flexibility and photo quality.
Monday, December 26, 2005
The Hall of Shame - Cheap Toys - Part 1
The post-Christmas season around the household here is always a good time to take stock of toys that work and toys that do not.We're very lucky to have the opportunity to either purchase toys or receive them from the many family members that live nearby.
The vast majority of these toys work really well. Some do not. This is going to be a post about one that does not.
It's the Battery Operated Road Race Set. It's distributed by Midwestern Home Products, Inc. P.O. Box 0591 Wilmington DE 19899. The item number is 06245. It seems to be a slot car track.
It says ages 5 and up. However, you have to be a careful adult with a deft touch to not break the thing putting it together.
And, even then,
1) both posts of the start/finish line broke apart while trying to attach them to the track. One post broke at the top somehow. the other at the bottom.
2) the catch fence feet, where they attach to the track, sheared off 20% of the time, leaving most of the catch fence barely hanging on to the track. This affects the racing because the catch fence keeps you from sliding off the track if you keep the car floored, which is about all you can do with the controllers that came with the track.
3) the places where the track fits together are frail. I had to bend the metal ins and outs back "in" the very first track layout. If you shear these off, you're done with that piece, as the electrical connection between the track segments can't be reliably made.
4) the box can't be used as storage due to the very cheap and flimsy packing material. You're on your own for storage.
5) the accessories mentioned on the box include two extremely small signs that are supposed to attach to the track. You would almost miss them if you didn't know they were "advertising billboards". That's supposed to be the accessories as far as I can tell.
6) The figure-8 layout is the only one that goes together without irritating gaps between track segments.
The cars themselves were the only positive thing in the box. So, trying to be a good sport, I played with this set with my little boy for a long time. The whole while I pondered frail, fragile, cheap, plastic toys.
This would have to be my first real encounter with something that did not seem to be play-tested at all whatsoever. For that, I'm quite grateful.
For a great link to a good read that includes a bit about Midwestern Home Products, check out Cheesy Toys #9.
The vast majority of these toys work really well. Some do not. This is going to be a post about one that does not.
It's the Battery Operated Road Race Set. It's distributed by Midwestern Home Products, Inc. P.O. Box 0591 Wilmington DE 19899. The item number is 06245. It seems to be a slot car track.
It says ages 5 and up. However, you have to be a careful adult with a deft touch to not break the thing putting it together.
And, even then,
1) both posts of the start/finish line broke apart while trying to attach them to the track. One post broke at the top somehow. the other at the bottom.
2) the catch fence feet, where they attach to the track, sheared off 20% of the time, leaving most of the catch fence barely hanging on to the track. This affects the racing because the catch fence keeps you from sliding off the track if you keep the car floored, which is about all you can do with the controllers that came with the track.
3) the places where the track fits together are frail. I had to bend the metal ins and outs back "in" the very first track layout. If you shear these off, you're done with that piece, as the electrical connection between the track segments can't be reliably made.
4) the box can't be used as storage due to the very cheap and flimsy packing material. You're on your own for storage.
5) the accessories mentioned on the box include two extremely small signs that are supposed to attach to the track. You would almost miss them if you didn't know they were "advertising billboards". That's supposed to be the accessories as far as I can tell.
6) The figure-8 layout is the only one that goes together without irritating gaps between track segments.
The cars themselves were the only positive thing in the box. So, trying to be a good sport, I played with this set with my little boy for a long time. The whole while I pondered frail, fragile, cheap, plastic toys.
This would have to be my first real encounter with something that did not seem to be play-tested at all whatsoever. For that, I'm quite grateful.
For a great link to a good read that includes a bit about Midwestern Home Products, check out Cheesy Toys #9.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Woodworking + Toddlers
Here's Michael at his woodworking class. Normally you wouldn't expect woodworking and toddlers to be a winning combination. However, this woodworking class is a San Diego treasure. The class is held in a converted bus called The Wood Bus. See below for bus.
Each child has a station with all the tools you need to make a little toy or object. The work area is adjustable up and down, and everyone does their own work. Everyone gets to choose their project. The bus is jam-packed with tools and plans and the woman that runs this venture is one of the neatest people I've met in a long time. She comes around to all the schools and teaches basic woodworking.
The day that this photo was taken, one of the parents at the school walked up to her and said "You probably don't remember me, but I took your class, and I am going to sign up my son for your next session."
Turns out she's been at this for 30-some years. She told me that the day she runs into a grandchild, she might think about quitting.
She's had two or three buses over her career as a woodworking teacher, and said that getting a new one requires a tremendous amount of work to outfit. After seeing the inside, I believe it. I hope we get to do this class again sometime. Michael totally loved it. He made a walkie-talkie with a flip-up antenna and a little plane with spinning propeller. What a great experience he had!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Everquest Fan Fiction - Trueflight
If you're not familiar with my D&D/Everquest/RPG character Trueflight, then this post may not make a whole lot of sense. If you're familiar with the game or fan fiction in general then this is just more Trueflight RP. Hope you enjoy!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
They had the best table in the Heartwood Tavern. It was near the door, but out of the way of the draft. Despite the crowd, most of the Kelethin natives gave the table a wide berth. No one stood within two strides of the elf and the human seated there.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Trueflight” the young man said sincerely. He pulled his chair in closer to the table then glanced around, admiring the workmanship of the tavern interior.
“You’re quite welcome,” answered the elf. “You mentioned you wanted to talk about blacksmithing. You know I wrote a book on the subject. But, I can’t think of anything that I could tell you that wasn’t already in it.” Her arms were casually crossed, elbows leaning on the richly varnished table. The plain linen shirt was speckled with spark marks. Her hair, cut short, stood up in a series of reddish cowlicks.
“Well, to be honest, the reason I’m here is not exactly for a recipe, or for a process, or anything like that. I’ve read your book. I had it translated. It took some doing. Everyone wants elvish poetry. Try getting some nonfiction translated and everyone acts like it’s torture.”
“It was torture to write. It should be torture to read,” Trueflight answered, snapping off the cork from her bottle with her thumb. The human visitor watched her pour a glass, realizing the stories about her strength must be true. It usually took a heavy tool to wrench the cork from a bottle of elven wine.
“Want yours opened too?” she said politely, nodding towards the bottle that had been placed down in front of him earlier.
“Sure. Thanks. I guess they forgot the corkscrew.”
“They do that on purpose to confound the humans. By the way, you might not want to drink it all. The Heartwood doesn’t exactly follow the purity laws for Kelethin brewers. It’s about twice as strong as what others serve, but that’s not the issue. You look like you can handle a drink. The problem is that they don’t filter the water first.”
“Oh, thanks for the tip.”
She poured him a full glass and then set the bottle down in the center of the table.
“So, you don’t want to know about blacksmithing recipes. You don’t want to know about forging processes. What exactly is it that you want to know?”
“How did you lose your leg, and why did you decide to replace it with a piece of metal?”
Trueflight looked at the human and rubbed her chin.
“I won’t answer the first question. But I can answer the second.”
“Ok, fair enough.” He leaned forward, excited to hear the story from the source herself. A story that had not, to his knowledge, either been told or found out by anyone else.
“The adventuring life is a dangerous one. You yourself have several scars,” Trueflight began. “There’s one on your neck, another on your arm.”
“Yes, that’s true,” he answered, recalling the origins of both with gritted teeth. He rubbed the scar on his forearm with his thumb.
“Well, you can imagine that if you adventure enough, and if you take risks, that you will fall prey to some opponents that will best you. Normally my race restores limbs through the powers of our healers. It’s an area of study that offers great reward in terms of wealth as well as reputation.”
She paused to drink. He decided to try a sip. It was delicious. Whatever unfiltered substances were in the water, at that moment, he didn’t care about one bit.
“It’s good, no? Anyway, there came a time where I lost my left foot, ankle, and lower leg. I knew from previous study that the phase spiders could attach armor plating to themselves with a particular substance. This allowed the extra armor, regardless of origin, to bond to their ethereal form. Otherwise, the plating wouldn’t make the jump when the phase spiders phase in and out. This armor, or carapace, could be removed only upon the death of the spider. Most of the rest of the body would disintegrate.”
“Phase spiders. They’re rumored to be found in the necropolis of the dragon.”
“Yes, my friend. That is where they are found,” Trueflight confirmed.
“The armor plating, a carapace, was from the material plane, and not the plane of the phase spider. Traditionally, it was assumed that there was some sort of magical adhesion at work. However, I examined many of the carapaces recovered from the necropolis. There was no aura of magic, other than what had been cast upon the spider to kill it. There was only a particular type of phase spider silk.”
“Ah,” the visitor said, his enthusiasm hard to contain, “The spiders put it upon themselves with their own silk?”
“Yes,” Trueflight smiled, “That seemed to be what they had done. However, it had to be confirmed. And that took some patience, some luck, and almost two years of observing the phase spider in the wild.”
“So that is indeed what they do?”
“Yes. There are some things that must be done to the phase spider silk in order to make it work well with human skin, but the bonding worked perfectly on the third try.”
She moved her left leg out from under the table and lifted up the cuff of her pant leg. A ripple of whispers arose from the crowd. Several patrons stared with unmasked curiosity. Most, if not all of them, had never seen a maimed elf. Hardly any would ever see one again.
“This is a band of mithril. It’s three inches wide, a half inch think, and about two feet long. It’s curved like a lower leg and foot. The mithril sheet it was made from was folded over 500 times to give it a very springy and uniform quality. I can’t afford to have this metal fail.”
The metal seemed to grow out of her leg and then curve gracefully to the floor. It seemed to be undecorated, except for the very tip where the toes would have been. A filigreed triangular pattern could be seen gleaming in the light.
“What’s that design on the end?”
“Oh that. It’s a surprise,” she answered.
“And you didn’t write a book about all this, by any chance, did you?”
Trueflight pondered for a moment. She dropped the pant leg back down and swung both legs back under the table.
“I don’t rightly remember when the reports were filed. I’m sure it’s with the Ranger Guild.”
“Well that would explain it,” the human said. “I haven’t been able to access the archives. I don’t have the correct certification, or standing, with the guild.”
Trueflight looked at him with a raised eyebrow and took another drink. “Well, all you have to do is prove yourself. How hard can that be?”
He laughed quietly. “Well, these scars aren’t the only ones I got in efforts to prove myself to elves. I am coming to the conclusion that it simply can’t be done.”
“Nonesense,” she answered. “We have many decorated humans within the ranks of the guild auxiliary. You just haven’t come across the right mentor.”
“And who might that be?” He demanded.
“If you ask me nicely, then it might happen more quickly than you think.”
“Oh,” he said, suddenly embarrassed. “But you hardly know me. I’m just a bard, looking for lore. I got involved with these legends on a dare. There are many more deserving.”
“But they’ve never had the gall to ask me how come I don’t get a real leg.”
“So, you admire my gall?” he preened.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Your gall might be delivered to you on a platter if you become too much of a smart ass.”
He decided to drink some wine instead of respond.
“Good choice,” she said, raising her glass. “Next stop, the guild hall. After that, it’s up to you.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
They had the best table in the Heartwood Tavern. It was near the door, but out of the way of the draft. Despite the crowd, most of the Kelethin natives gave the table a wide berth. No one stood within two strides of the elf and the human seated there.
“Thank you for meeting with me, Trueflight” the young man said sincerely. He pulled his chair in closer to the table then glanced around, admiring the workmanship of the tavern interior.
“You’re quite welcome,” answered the elf. “You mentioned you wanted to talk about blacksmithing. You know I wrote a book on the subject. But, I can’t think of anything that I could tell you that wasn’t already in it.” Her arms were casually crossed, elbows leaning on the richly varnished table. The plain linen shirt was speckled with spark marks. Her hair, cut short, stood up in a series of reddish cowlicks.
“Well, to be honest, the reason I’m here is not exactly for a recipe, or for a process, or anything like that. I’ve read your book. I had it translated. It took some doing. Everyone wants elvish poetry. Try getting some nonfiction translated and everyone acts like it’s torture.”
“It was torture to write. It should be torture to read,” Trueflight answered, snapping off the cork from her bottle with her thumb. The human visitor watched her pour a glass, realizing the stories about her strength must be true. It usually took a heavy tool to wrench the cork from a bottle of elven wine.
“Want yours opened too?” she said politely, nodding towards the bottle that had been placed down in front of him earlier.
“Sure. Thanks. I guess they forgot the corkscrew.”
“They do that on purpose to confound the humans. By the way, you might not want to drink it all. The Heartwood doesn’t exactly follow the purity laws for Kelethin brewers. It’s about twice as strong as what others serve, but that’s not the issue. You look like you can handle a drink. The problem is that they don’t filter the water first.”
“Oh, thanks for the tip.”
She poured him a full glass and then set the bottle down in the center of the table.
“So, you don’t want to know about blacksmithing recipes. You don’t want to know about forging processes. What exactly is it that you want to know?”
“How did you lose your leg, and why did you decide to replace it with a piece of metal?”
Trueflight looked at the human and rubbed her chin.
“I won’t answer the first question. But I can answer the second.”
“Ok, fair enough.” He leaned forward, excited to hear the story from the source herself. A story that had not, to his knowledge, either been told or found out by anyone else.
“The adventuring life is a dangerous one. You yourself have several scars,” Trueflight began. “There’s one on your neck, another on your arm.”
“Yes, that’s true,” he answered, recalling the origins of both with gritted teeth. He rubbed the scar on his forearm with his thumb.
“Well, you can imagine that if you adventure enough, and if you take risks, that you will fall prey to some opponents that will best you. Normally my race restores limbs through the powers of our healers. It’s an area of study that offers great reward in terms of wealth as well as reputation.”
She paused to drink. He decided to try a sip. It was delicious. Whatever unfiltered substances were in the water, at that moment, he didn’t care about one bit.
“It’s good, no? Anyway, there came a time where I lost my left foot, ankle, and lower leg. I knew from previous study that the phase spiders could attach armor plating to themselves with a particular substance. This allowed the extra armor, regardless of origin, to bond to their ethereal form. Otherwise, the plating wouldn’t make the jump when the phase spiders phase in and out. This armor, or carapace, could be removed only upon the death of the spider. Most of the rest of the body would disintegrate.”
“Phase spiders. They’re rumored to be found in the necropolis of the dragon.”
“Yes, my friend. That is where they are found,” Trueflight confirmed.
“The armor plating, a carapace, was from the material plane, and not the plane of the phase spider. Traditionally, it was assumed that there was some sort of magical adhesion at work. However, I examined many of the carapaces recovered from the necropolis. There was no aura of magic, other than what had been cast upon the spider to kill it. There was only a particular type of phase spider silk.”
“Ah,” the visitor said, his enthusiasm hard to contain, “The spiders put it upon themselves with their own silk?”
“Yes,” Trueflight smiled, “That seemed to be what they had done. However, it had to be confirmed. And that took some patience, some luck, and almost two years of observing the phase spider in the wild.”
“So that is indeed what they do?”
“Yes. There are some things that must be done to the phase spider silk in order to make it work well with human skin, but the bonding worked perfectly on the third try.”
She moved her left leg out from under the table and lifted up the cuff of her pant leg. A ripple of whispers arose from the crowd. Several patrons stared with unmasked curiosity. Most, if not all of them, had never seen a maimed elf. Hardly any would ever see one again.
“This is a band of mithril. It’s three inches wide, a half inch think, and about two feet long. It’s curved like a lower leg and foot. The mithril sheet it was made from was folded over 500 times to give it a very springy and uniform quality. I can’t afford to have this metal fail.”
The metal seemed to grow out of her leg and then curve gracefully to the floor. It seemed to be undecorated, except for the very tip where the toes would have been. A filigreed triangular pattern could be seen gleaming in the light.
“What’s that design on the end?”
“Oh that. It’s a surprise,” she answered.
“And you didn’t write a book about all this, by any chance, did you?”
Trueflight pondered for a moment. She dropped the pant leg back down and swung both legs back under the table.
“I don’t rightly remember when the reports were filed. I’m sure it’s with the Ranger Guild.”
“Well that would explain it,” the human said. “I haven’t been able to access the archives. I don’t have the correct certification, or standing, with the guild.”
Trueflight looked at him with a raised eyebrow and took another drink. “Well, all you have to do is prove yourself. How hard can that be?”
He laughed quietly. “Well, these scars aren’t the only ones I got in efforts to prove myself to elves. I am coming to the conclusion that it simply can’t be done.”
“Nonesense,” she answered. “We have many decorated humans within the ranks of the guild auxiliary. You just haven’t come across the right mentor.”
“And who might that be?” He demanded.
“If you ask me nicely, then it might happen more quickly than you think.”
“Oh,” he said, suddenly embarrassed. “But you hardly know me. I’m just a bard, looking for lore. I got involved with these legends on a dare. There are many more deserving.”
“But they’ve never had the gall to ask me how come I don’t get a real leg.”
“So, you admire my gall?” he preened.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Your gall might be delivered to you on a platter if you become too much of a smart ass.”
He decided to drink some wine instead of respond.
“Good choice,” she said, raising her glass. “Next stop, the guild hall. After that, it’s up to you.”
Monday, December 12, 2005
San Diego DMV Should Not Be Closed
The Department of Motor Vehicles should absolutely not be closed on a work day.
I motored on over to do some normal citizen-unit paperwork, only to find the DMV closed. Now, you might say, maybe I should have checked before I went. Perhaps, but it's a non-holiday Monday. Even the banks are open. Schools are in session. And, the parking lot had cars in it. And a lot of people walking back and forth from their cars to the doors.
About halfway to the door, a woman said "It's closed" in a very irritated voice. "They don't open until tomorrow morning."
I drove 20 minutes to find out that this DMV is open for 80% of the work week. Now, if it was a truly free service, I might not mind so much. But if you live in San Diego, you know how much you pay in taxes. For those of you who don't live here, it's a high-tax burden state and city. What a joke.
In the short time it took me to walk back over to my car, I counted 12 people walking back and forth. All were annoyed. 5 cars pulled into the parking lot while I was driving out. Obviously I'm not the only one that assumed that since it was a normal work day, a city office might in fact be open.
Lame, California. Get your act together. I've had quite enough of pension scandals, stripper money laundering scandals, wasted taxpayer money, terrible library schedules, fees fees and more fees, and now stupid state office schedules that incovenience the very people that are paying for all this.
I motored on over to do some normal citizen-unit paperwork, only to find the DMV closed. Now, you might say, maybe I should have checked before I went. Perhaps, but it's a non-holiday Monday. Even the banks are open. Schools are in session. And, the parking lot had cars in it. And a lot of people walking back and forth from their cars to the doors.
About halfway to the door, a woman said "It's closed" in a very irritated voice. "They don't open until tomorrow morning."
I drove 20 minutes to find out that this DMV is open for 80% of the work week. Now, if it was a truly free service, I might not mind so much. But if you live in San Diego, you know how much you pay in taxes. For those of you who don't live here, it's a high-tax burden state and city. What a joke.
In the short time it took me to walk back over to my car, I counted 12 people walking back and forth. All were annoyed. 5 cars pulled into the parking lot while I was driving out. Obviously I'm not the only one that assumed that since it was a normal work day, a city office might in fact be open.
Lame, California. Get your act together. I've had quite enough of pension scandals, stripper money laundering scandals, wasted taxpayer money, terrible library schedules, fees fees and more fees, and now stupid state office schedules that incovenience the very people that are paying for all this.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Best email subject line of the day
The title of the email says it all. It was from travelocity.
"Book a Hotel in Las Vegas, Get a Free Survival Kit"
Survival kit? For surviving Las Vegas? Or for surviving something else? Survival from what? Obviously, from zombies. But could it cover nuclear war? Bird flu? Your typical set of in-laws? Mental illness? Bad food? Airplane food? Airplane travel? Bus travel?
Is it free or do I have to actually go to Las Vegas? Or, can I just book the hotel, get the survival kit, then cancel the hotel? Is the survival kit small enough to fit in my pocket? Car? Garage?
If I take this survival kit, will I be under obligation to accept others in the future? Will I feel social pressure to upgrade my survival kit? If I decide to have two survival kits, will this cause jealousy between the kits? If the kits are unhappy, will they fail to assist me in my next attempt at survival? Is there any guarentee of survival success with this particular survival kit, or am I on my own, yet again, with a couple of pressure bandages, some floss, a pair of plastic scissors, and alcohol-soaked swabs? Does the kit include tylenol to help with the survival-kit-management-induced headaches?
I should probably call travelocity and ask...
"Book a Hotel in Las Vegas, Get a Free Survival Kit"
Survival kit? For surviving Las Vegas? Or for surviving something else? Survival from what? Obviously, from zombies. But could it cover nuclear war? Bird flu? Your typical set of in-laws? Mental illness? Bad food? Airplane food? Airplane travel? Bus travel?
Is it free or do I have to actually go to Las Vegas? Or, can I just book the hotel, get the survival kit, then cancel the hotel? Is the survival kit small enough to fit in my pocket? Car? Garage?
If I take this survival kit, will I be under obligation to accept others in the future? Will I feel social pressure to upgrade my survival kit? If I decide to have two survival kits, will this cause jealousy between the kits? If the kits are unhappy, will they fail to assist me in my next attempt at survival? Is there any guarentee of survival success with this particular survival kit, or am I on my own, yet again, with a couple of pressure bandages, some floss, a pair of plastic scissors, and alcohol-soaked swabs? Does the kit include tylenol to help with the survival-kit-management-induced headaches?
I should probably call travelocity and ask...
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
World of Warcraft Day 7
Today I achieved the goal of reaching level 10, which allows you to train the necessary skills in order to get a pet. This is a big step forward because the Hunter class hallmark is having a pet. The pet can attack, defend, and generally accompany you on your adventures.
I put my talent points into archery-related skills. Talent points seem to be obtained once per level at level 10 and above.
I completed some quests and tried to tame a wild scorpion, which killed me. The animation for taming is several white hearts floating up from my waving hands. It looked like I was fanning some sort of really hot stew on a stove while getting my teeth kicked in by a pissed off scorpion. It was really quite funny.
Mining and blacksmithing are going well. My blacksmithed axe is better than anything I could afford or loot up to now. I don't know if that is typical, or I just haven't been to the "good" zones. No matter, I enjoy tradeskills and using what I make is always a good thing.
I am not a fan of the color palette, the choices of the graphical design of the horde races (and most of the alliance), or most monsters. There are widespread comments about the game looking cartoonish. I think they may have a point, but to me it looks less cartoonish and more like quickly-done comic book.
The brambles aren't brambles, for example. They're one-trunked enormous tree-like objects with a few thorns on them to identify them as brambles. I almost didn't get it due to the obviousness. I was looking for waist-high shrubs, not five-story thorned McDonald's arches.
The graphics that I've been most impressed with so far are things like the zeppelins. That's a pretty neat airship. Other than that, some of the houses and buildings are nicely done.
The dance animations (and many of the others) are almost all achingly anachronistic. The first time you see one, you might think they're funny, but if you're remotely interested in roleplay, it does get old. If you find yourself wanting a more RP feel, then go with an RP server. At least maybe people won't dance like they're at an 80s nightclub or talk like they're hanging out in front of Electronics Boutique.
Another issue that might explain some of the experiences I've had in MMORPGs of various types is this snippet from the very nice website The Daedalus Project.
"The graph above plotting gender against age highlights another very important gender difference. Male players tend to be between 12 and 28, while female players tend to be between 23 and 40. Rather than categorizing MMORPG players as male and female players, it perhaps makes more sense to think of the two main groups as younger male players and older female players."
Hence, the average of 30 for age of players often given by game companies is somewhat incomplete. There is a bimodality in the demographics.
The Daedalus Project is a well-done series of studies on MMORPGs and worth a visit by anyone that's ever wondered who the heck we are that play these games. Consider participating in the surveys if you can.
Monday, November 21, 2005
World of Warcraft Day 6
But, but, what happened to days 4 and 5?
Elementary my dear friends. I didn't get a chance to play on day 4 and 5. So let's fast-forward to Day 6 of 10.
This morning's session began at 6:30am. I wrapped up a centaur-culling quest where I had to burn their battle plans. Funny how they left them laying out in the open in their decrepit little huts. Silly centaurs. I was then joined by my orcish comrade Garoan. He chose the best face that an orc could possibly choose, and had stealthy powers.
With orc and troll power, we completed a quest called Encroachment, where we had to kill pigdog-looking people. The first set were easy to find. The other set were across the road, and therefore quite difficult to find. Really. Like Ren and Stempy, we pretended to take over the world. Or, at least that small corner of Razormane Land.
I realized, through trial and error, that I had to have a pick in order to mine copper from the copper mines. Geez. So I bought one, and mined some copper and some stone. Next step is to actually try and blacksmith something. I also bought a fishing pole, and trained up in some things that I probably should have already trained in, but no matter! Better late than never.
By the end of the morning (8:15am or so) I had worked through all of level 8 and reset my home base to razor hill, just for grins. Having a controllable bind point is nice. I noticed EQ pretty much added this as well.
So it was an enjoyable morning, despite the fact that Xorgo (sitting next to me at his PC playing EQ) complained almost the entire time that I was completing quests and levelling and stuff while he was killing no-exp frogs for a wood elf mask. I laughed at him with Troll-like snarking.
I like the mining, since it's basically foraging with a pick on top of a sparkly rock. I have a way to track mines as well as beasts, so the mines show up on your little map in the upper right.
I noticed that "regular" track doesn't seem to work with quest beasts. Only one type of track can be active at a time. Since the directions to the quested mobs tend to be pretty good, I started just leaving the mine track on all the time and taking diversions to mine stuff while on the way back and forth from various places.
I did die again due to brazen stupidity. I tried to find a heal potion in inventory, but that took more skill than I could muster in the short amount of time I was still alive.
I upgraded my quiver as well from a 6 slot to an 8 slot. Tailors can make backpacks, so I will be on the lookout for maybe getting another pack or two. Buying and selling the quiver taught me to put the pack into inventory first, then try and sell it. I think I accidentally had to buy back the quiver I wanted when I right-clicked it (to open it) and sold it instead.
So, only minor difficulties so far with the interface, mainly due to pilot error.
Elementary my dear friends. I didn't get a chance to play on day 4 and 5. So let's fast-forward to Day 6 of 10.
This morning's session began at 6:30am. I wrapped up a centaur-culling quest where I had to burn their battle plans. Funny how they left them laying out in the open in their decrepit little huts. Silly centaurs. I was then joined by my orcish comrade Garoan. He chose the best face that an orc could possibly choose, and had stealthy powers.
With orc and troll power, we completed a quest called Encroachment, where we had to kill pigdog-looking people. The first set were easy to find. The other set were across the road, and therefore quite difficult to find. Really. Like Ren and Stempy, we pretended to take over the world. Or, at least that small corner of Razormane Land.
I realized, through trial and error, that I had to have a pick in order to mine copper from the copper mines. Geez. So I bought one, and mined some copper and some stone. Next step is to actually try and blacksmith something. I also bought a fishing pole, and trained up in some things that I probably should have already trained in, but no matter! Better late than never.
By the end of the morning (8:15am or so) I had worked through all of level 8 and reset my home base to razor hill, just for grins. Having a controllable bind point is nice. I noticed EQ pretty much added this as well.
So it was an enjoyable morning, despite the fact that Xorgo (sitting next to me at his PC playing EQ) complained almost the entire time that I was completing quests and levelling and stuff while he was killing no-exp frogs for a wood elf mask. I laughed at him with Troll-like snarking.
I like the mining, since it's basically foraging with a pick on top of a sparkly rock. I have a way to track mines as well as beasts, so the mines show up on your little map in the upper right.
I noticed that "regular" track doesn't seem to work with quest beasts. Only one type of track can be active at a time. Since the directions to the quested mobs tend to be pretty good, I started just leaving the mine track on all the time and taking diversions to mine stuff while on the way back and forth from various places.
I did die again due to brazen stupidity. I tried to find a heal potion in inventory, but that took more skill than I could muster in the short amount of time I was still alive.
I upgraded my quiver as well from a 6 slot to an 8 slot. Tailors can make backpacks, so I will be on the lookout for maybe getting another pack or two. Buying and selling the quiver taught me to put the pack into inventory first, then try and sell it. I think I accidentally had to buy back the quiver I wanted when I right-clicked it (to open it) and sold it instead.
So, only minor difficulties so far with the interface, mainly due to pilot error.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Xenosaga - Der Wille zur Macht
Having used my Playstation 2 for little more than a DVD player since I got it several years ago, I decided that since a Game Stop store opened in the neighborhood, that I join the legions of unwashed middle-school boys that clog up the place every time I walk by.
I strolled in with Michael once or twice. He grokked immediately that games were sold here, but it took some convincing that some were xBox and some were PS2 and you couldn't choose both at once. This is understandable since he's only 4.
I picked up Risk and Xenosaga. Risk is an electronic version of the board game. Xenosaga had a cool anime style chick on front and the subtitle Der Wille zur Macht. My rusty german gave me the impression that this sentence fragment meant something like "the will to do" or "the will to mightiness" or something like that. It sounded good, so I bought it. Both were used, so they didn't break the bank. In fact, the majority of the games in this store are used PS2 games, which is great - they buy them back as well as sell them.
So, Xenosaga follows the format that seems to be common on PS2. You get a long movie that introduces the plot. You play for a while in either quest/explore mode, with combat interspersed whenever you careen into a bad guy, and then more quest, treasure enjoyment, and vignettes that move the plot along.
The opening scene was quite reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The plot is wonderfully close to most manga. You just go along with it, and it makes sense. However, if I tried to explain it by using actual words, it would sound lame. But, it's not! Really. I had fun. I did the tutorial, beat up on some bad guys, and then started the game.
Problem. I don't have a memory card. I will need one, since in this game you level, and I don't want to start over any more often than I have to. So, I will be back to the closet-sized game store in the Rubio's shopping center to get a memory card for my PS2.
Any other game suggestions, send them my way. If you know of any games for little kids that don't suck too bad (4-5 years old) then let me know. Michael loves Grand Turismo and Crash Bandicoot.
I strolled in with Michael once or twice. He grokked immediately that games were sold here, but it took some convincing that some were xBox and some were PS2 and you couldn't choose both at once. This is understandable since he's only 4.
I picked up Risk and Xenosaga. Risk is an electronic version of the board game. Xenosaga had a cool anime style chick on front and the subtitle Der Wille zur Macht. My rusty german gave me the impression that this sentence fragment meant something like "the will to do" or "the will to mightiness" or something like that. It sounded good, so I bought it. Both were used, so they didn't break the bank. In fact, the majority of the games in this store are used PS2 games, which is great - they buy them back as well as sell them.
So, Xenosaga follows the format that seems to be common on PS2. You get a long movie that introduces the plot. You play for a while in either quest/explore mode, with combat interspersed whenever you careen into a bad guy, and then more quest, treasure enjoyment, and vignettes that move the plot along.
The opening scene was quite reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The plot is wonderfully close to most manga. You just go along with it, and it makes sense. However, if I tried to explain it by using actual words, it would sound lame. But, it's not! Really. I had fun. I did the tutorial, beat up on some bad guys, and then started the game.
Problem. I don't have a memory card. I will need one, since in this game you level, and I don't want to start over any more often than I have to. So, I will be back to the closet-sized game store in the Rubio's shopping center to get a memory card for my PS2.
Any other game suggestions, send them my way. If you know of any games for little kids that don't suck too bad (4-5 years old) then let me know. Michael loves Grand Turismo and Crash Bandicoot.
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