PointlessWasteOfTime.com » A Gamers’ Manifesto
or “20 things gamers want from the seventh generation of game consoles” and wow, this guy nails it, even if he spends a lot of time being comical…
(warning, language that some may find offensive…)
Tag: favorites
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cleaning up my “Looking At” list #1 – coffee/espresso
i said i needed to start blogging links, so…
over there on the sidebar, first we have my contact info, then site/blog-related stuff, then the local interest (albuquerque area) stuff, then the chatterbox (which not nearly enough people use), then my most-recommended links on a variety of topics, then the “Looking At” list…
“Looking At” is a candidates links list… things that i am meaning to return to, may add to the main links section, or maybe just intend to have there temporarily… this list is ALWAYS changing… i have a button in my browser that can just quickly add a link to that list… and i use that button A LOT… so much so that the list is usually pretty darned long and there is no real order to the links…
so, i am thinking of cleaning some of them out, but, i am going to post them so i don’t lose them forever… most of them, i still haven’t decided if they are worthy of adding to the main links section… but, if i haven’t added them by now, it won’t hurt to take them off that list… and if i post them, they will permanently be in the blog post archive and i can find them again using the search box…i am thinking of cleaning it up by category and, as the title of this post suggests, i am starting with all the coffee/espresso links… others will hopefully follow eventually, as i get to them…
i am not going to give full descriptions, just copying them straight from the list, so, whatever it said there is what it will say here…
It’s All About Coffee: Anatomy of American Espresso
crema troubleshooting overview with pics!
Google Search: espresso temperature surfing
Espresso! My Espresso! – An Ongoing Internet Novelette
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balloon fiesta is finally here!!!
went with andy this morning – his first time to ever see the aibf, he has lived here less than a year…
it was spectacular, breathtaking, and awesome except for one very major thing…
the wind was very bad and blew the balloons away pretty much as soon as they were off the ground… those who remember my posts from last year recall me talking about how we were totally surrounded by hundreds of balloons and that just wasn’t the case this time… it was still great, but, i am looking forward to hopefully a less windy day next time…
andy and i took about 500 pics (and i took a few vids) and i have them all on my comp, but, they need to be sorted and uploaded, and i seriously doubt i will get to that tonight, unfortunately… if i do, i will post, of course…
next saturday, i load up the lockmans in the van (and anyone else who wants to come) and it will be a group trip… the lockmans have seen aibf once (now twice) from their house (they have a fantastic view from their backyard in rio rancho around northern and 528), but, never from the field… really looking forward to that trip…
Edit:
while waiting for my pics to go up (i am sorting them now, have them down to less than 200), go check out this great, well-written short bit posted today about this morning’s mass ascension on Eucatastrophe (a blog i have been watching as a candidate for my abq links; as you may have noticed it has been on my “looking at” list over there on the right for a little while now) that takes an angle i absolutely love and wish i had thought of first 😛
it’s called People Fiesta at the Balloon Fiesta… -
9/11
well, this year i am not re-posting the entry i have posted the last three years, but, i will link to the last time i posted it…
i usually call it something like “My Annual 9/11 Post That I Think EVERYONE Should Read“…and while i am linking to old 9/11 posts, this post on my old site also had a couple 9/11-related links…
Also, Fark.com is remembering that day, here is this year’s thread…
Today is the fourth anniversary of 9/11. Refresh your memory of that day by reading the farkives threads
They also had a rememberance thread last year…
and, though, i am sure it is included in this year’s thread, i might as well link to the very first fark thread about it…
NEWS FLASH: PLANES CRASH INTO WORLD TRADE CENTER, PENTAGON. Our link to CNN works (thanks Metafilter). We have news and pics in comments section, if you have any post it there-and, speaking of first threads from that day, thanks to Google Group’s 20 Year Usenet Timeline, i was able to come up with the link to the first Usenet thread after the first plane hit… and the second, and the third, and the fourth…
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this night, nine years ago…
…in an apartment by the beach, i met mary…
you can read all about it here…
we married seven months later, to the day…
btw, since she brings it up in her post, yup, this is what we looked like when we met…
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links – Freaks and Geeks, chronologically
The Debut
- September 24, 1999
Salon Arts & Entertainment | In with the out crowd“One of the most promising new series of the fall season.”
- September 28, 1999
The Eyepiece Network: The Darker Side of Those Not-So-Wonder Years: High School“Because of its insistence on aiming for realism, Freaks and Geeks has a thin veneer of bleakness”
- October 8, 1999
TeeVee Archive – Fall ’99: “Freaks and Geeks”“Let’s get this out of the way up front: Freaks and Geeks is […] a show that has a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving to see its second season. Locked in a brutal Saturday night time slot by an apparently uncaring network, adjecent to series utterly unlike it in tone or substance, and brining a light touch to a TV line-up populated with the crude and the crass. Doomed. Gone.”
- October 29, 1999
freep.com – Give ‘Freaks’ show a chance to shine“We have a homework assignment for the weekend. […] All you have to do is watch “Freaks and Geeks” […] Despite rapturous reviews from most TV critics, the low-rated “Freaks and Geeks” (no. 82) is teetering on the brink of trouble.”
Warnings
- February 10, 2000
IGN FilmForce: Transcripts of FilmForce’s Chat with Paul Feig[and be sure to go back later and follow the “Related Articles” link on this page for many many more interesting-looking pages than i felt like counting]
- February 21, 2000
Marylaine Block – My Word’s Worth – Freaks and Geeks: reminding us what adolescence was like“Network execs who haven’t figured out exactly who its natural audience is are letting it die because they don’t know when to run it and how to promote it. They obviously think that because it’s ABOUT adolescents, this show is FOR adolescents, but it’s not.”
- March 6, 2000
salon :: Give “Freaks” a chance, By Joyce Millman“[Y]ou will say “How come nobody told me this was so awesome?” And I will gently remind you that I (and every other TV critic in the country) have been telling you exactly that since September. You could have listened. But, no.”
- March 23, 2000
TeeVee Archive – Freak Out“When it comes to the untimely, undeserved demise of Freaks and Geeks, i will blame you. Because you didn’t watch.”
Cancelled
- May 12, 2000
LA Weekly – Too Good and Weird – The Happy Life and Inevitable Death of Freaks and Geeks - July 5, 2000
CNN.com – Entertainment – ‘Freaks & Geeks’ leaves NBC with three-hour finale - July 8, 2000
Final ‘Freaks and Geeks’ will air tonight on NBC - July 11, 2000
Geeks win… and lose – Final episodes of cancelled show take their timeslot[and keep scrolling the page for earlier stories about the show from may 24th, march 22, and two stories from sept 25, 1999, the premiere…]
2003 – The Petition
- Feb 1 rec.arts.tv: Freaks and Geeks DVD official petition
- Feb 12 17,518 signatures
- Apr 2 17,518 signatures
- Jun 3 24,601 signatures
- Aug 1 27,435 signatures
- Dec 3 35,923 signatures
And It Actually Worked
- January 15, 2004
tvshowsondvd.com – Official Press Release: April 6 is the day! - January 27, 2004
listology – “The Freaks & Geeks Limited Edition 8-DVD Set is now available!”
- Jan 29 39,180 signatures
- Feb 7 39,213 signatures
2004 – Satisfaction
- TVZone – The Freakiest: Henry interviews producer of the new Freaks & Geeks DVD
- DVD Verdict Review – Freaks And Geeks: The Complete Series
- DVD Talk > Reviews > Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series (8-Disc Fan Edition)
- washingtonpost.com: Bonus Points
- USATODAY.com – DVDs resurrect ‘Freaks and Geeks’ and everyone in between [incl. interview with Paul Feig]
- The Onion A.V. Club | Video Freaks And Geeks: The Complete Series
- RUTHLESS REVIEWS: TV – Freaks & Geeks – Whoa… Good TV?
- dvdmg.com – Freaks And Geeks: The Complete Series [incl. synopsis of every episode]
- selectflicks – “Dodgeball is Kind of a Stupid Game” [“There is a single spot on selectflicks.com reserved for a televison show, and this is the one.”]
- eye – Don’t look back
- dvdmg.com – Freaks And Geeks: The Complete Series (Limited Edition Yearbook)
- tvdvdreviews.com — Freaks and Geeks: Deluxe Collector’s Edition DVD Review
- IGN DVD: Freaks and Geeks – The Complete Series
Today
- Sept 26 40,298 signatures
More Stuff/Info/Links
- Talk to Us [The Official Freaks and Geeks Message Board, home of the revolution]
- imdb.com – “Freaks and Geeks” (1999)
- Freaks and Geeks@Everything2.com
- RetroWeb Classic Television: Freaks and Geeks
- ~welcome to mckinley high: freaks and geeks fan site~
- Yahoo! Directory TV Comedies > Freaks and Geeks
- Google Directory – Arts > Television > Programs > Dramas > Dramedies > Freaks and Geeks
- Open Directory – Arts: Television: Programs: Dramas: Dramedies: Freaks and Geeks
- September 24, 1999
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tongue-in-cheek about out-of-character
this is from the help files of Achaea – Dreams of Divine Lands, a text MUD we are contemplating throwing large portions of our life away to…
it is a role-playing-required game, though, and i have not done that sort of thing since i was a teenager, and am not sure i am in any hurry to again, it can get goofy… (you should see some of the rp weirdos on pso… they talk to their mags and everything…)
anyway, so, i have been just sitting in the newbie channel a bit the last few days, watching how things work, and today someone was talking about their internet connection lagging, so, someone says “excuse me, but, it seems you need to read HELP INSANITY”…
so, i had a look and it is kinda’ clever…
btw, i can’t help but hear peter jones reading this…15.6.1 Insanity
(see HELP ROLEPLAYING)
Adventurers are a special group of people. Sarapis has given to adventurers both strengths and weaknesses that denizens do not have. One of the weaknesses to which an Adventurer may fall prey is insanity.
The first sign of insanity is when the poor victim starts to use words that are meaningless to others, such as talking about "my PC" or "being online" as if everybody else should know what is meant!
If the insanity is allowed to go unchecked, the victim may begin to believe that the imaginary world is the real world and that Achaea does not really exist.
Some fancy that qualities of their own existence, such as their health or life experience are nothing more than numbers!
Chilling, isn’t it?
Most distressing of all is when the insanity appears more akin to a case of possession by some vile, alien creature. Victims in this final stage may call life a game, and imagine that they are nothing more than playing pieces in that game, controlled by some greater being.
If you’ve been asked to read this scroll, consider this: have you been showing signs of insanity?
Are you willing to take the first step and admit that you are ill and in need of a cure?To those of you who see others suffering: insanity is a disease of the mind. Those afflicted with it should not be ridiculed, as this tends to aggravate the condition. Speak to them privately. Show them concern and understanding. Remind them of their true reality and home here, in Achaea!
Nobody wants to see insanity o’erwhelm us all.
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my annual 9/11 post that i think EVERYONE should read
every year around 9/11 i have posted this in various places… now i have a blog to post it to, and i decided to post it early this year…
here is the latest version of it…
for those who have read it before, there is a chronology fix and i added a follow-up thread that i had somehow missed before that has important info…in the Dreamcast Technical Pages message board archives (now known as the AlwaysGame.com SEGA Forum), i found this thread about a regular of their board, Thomas Vazquez, aka “z167704”, with whom they had shared many hours playing PSO, Quake, and other Dreamcast online games, turning up missing right after the september 11th attacks… in fact, they had played Daytona USA with him the night before…
it all makes for a rather long read, but, this is some heart-wrenching, unbelievable stuff and there is not exactly a happy ending here…
i think the whole ordeal is relevant to everyone…
it all starts with this thread
october 12th, aftermath and more of what the future may be like
and this all has to do with a subject i yell about quite a bit…
the people who say that we should all “get off the internet and go out and meet some REAL people” or that you do not have “real” relationships on the internet…tell THESE people about “real” and how these are not really “real people” they know and how they don’t really have “real relationships” between each other…
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start your morning with a heart attack
so, it was an hour or so ago, somewhere between 8:30a and 9a, i guess…
i am standing at my espresso machine, waiting for it to brew, and i look up out the kitchen window and there is this HUGE blue hot air balloon… i mean, this thing was CLOSE and LOW… MASSIVE…
it looked like maybe the pilot lived here and he was looking for a parking spot…i picked up my jaw, dashed into the bedroom, “mary! mary! hurry! come look! you gotta’ see this! it’s better than goofy golf!”
poor girl probably got to sleep about 5a, but, she managed to stumble to the window, i look out the living room window and there is another balloon a little ways out, in the place where i usually see a balloon or two in the early mornings (somewhere around here, you can take rides between like 7a and 10a)…
i go look out our bedroom window, and AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!, one very low, floating right above our bedroom! dark dark blue, almost black, HUGE, and just hanging there almost right above my head…then i come to my senses…
CAMERAAAAAAAAA!!!!
so, i run and grab my camera, run out on the balcony, point at the blue one and beep beep beeeeep…
NOOOO!!!
so, i run inside, and grab her camera, run back out to the balcony, the blue one is seriously getting away and is nowhere near as close, turn the camera on, sight it up, and beep beep beeeeeep…
NOOOOOO!!!! DAMMIT!!!!run inside, fire up the software, hook up the cam…
EMPTY???!!! other one, also empty!!BATTERIES!!!!!!!
to the cabinet, stuff falls out, dig up the AAA’s, dump the dead ones on the floor, load up two new ones, run outside and…
gone…
run down the stairs, look west…
nothing…
south…
nothing…
run around the building, look east…
nothing…
look around for an animal or something to kick…
nothing…
(nothing i feel like getting in trouble for, anyway…)
go back upstairs, mary is back in bed, sound asleep, i look out every window, nothing…
like i had only dreamed it…
so now i sit typing this, going and looking out the windows every couple minutes, drinking my espresso, which is cold after all that…
next time, dammit, next time…