Busy day. This morning I finished up my review of Full Auto. I did not like it, Sam I Am. Reaction was mixed but on the positive side I think. A lot of ‘why review something you don’t like?’ Actually talked a little bit about this with Alan today, and he mention Pyramid Magazine’s habit of not reviewing anything they don’t like. The reality is that it’s much easier to review something you don’t like. That’s a nice change of pace; It’s hard to explain why you liked something without sounding like a fanboi. Beside that, if I review something it’s because I was interested in the game at some point. I really wanted to like Full Auto, but it was not to be.
This afternoon I went to the DMV to experience the full bouquet of humanity. I was there for over an hour, but like all successful DMV visits once I made it to the counter I was done in less than five minutes. I played quite a bit of Tetris on my phone, because I forgot to bring my DS. High Score: 14199, 70 Lines, Level 7. Jamdat’s translation takes a little getting used to (I would have used the wheel to turn the object and the button to drop it, not the other way around), but it is pretty fun once you get the hang of it.
To cheer myself up, I finished my third run through Half-Life 2. The last three chapters really whiz by. Once you start facing down those stalker, it’s just a short hop to the top of the Citadel. This time around I really had the chance to enjoy the experience. I played around with the super gravity gun a little bit on the way to Breen, and took some fraps videos of my playtime in the halls of the citadel. For some reason the long ride on the conveyor (just after you enter the building) affected me a lot more this time around than in past assaults. The inhumanity of the Combine is oppressive, and somehow all of those empty tubes just stare back at you. In Gordon’s shoes, you save a lot of people. It’s hard to think of all the people you can’t get to.
Hoping for at least one more feature this week. D&D Online and a Harmonix piece are both on the back burner; I’m picking up Black tomorrow for a more traditional review. In two days the month rolls over and I start holding my breath for Oblivion.
And (gorramit) San Jose. I leave for the west coast just two days after the game comes out. I’m not very happy about that.
Had a lovely dinner last night at P.F. Chang’s. It’s new in Madison, having opened up out past the Beltline from University avenue. It’s a chain, and they style themselves as a ‘China Bistro’. They do ‘call aheads’, which was appreciated given the size of our group. We got there a little ahead of time, but didn’t end up seated at our table until about 25 minutes after our allotted time. I can hardly blame them: the place was packed. The old saw about ‘restaurants per capita’ may not be true here in the Mad-town, but even so we Madisonians really like eating out. Since the place is reasonably new, it’s apparently been wall-to-wall people for the last three weeks or so.
They alleviated the slight annoyance factor by providing a free appetizer to the table once we were seated. Chang’s Chicken in Soothing Lettuce Wraps, are apparently the freebie payoff of choice for long-waiting guests. Essentially a mash of small chicken pieces with green onions, garlic, mushrooms, and some sauce, the mixture is intended to be eaten inside a bowl-shaped piece of lettuce. Most of us found eating it like a taco to be the best approach. I was told by Alan that they have really good crab racoons, so my end of the table also tried the Crab Wontons. Very crabby, just a little spicy, and served with a hearty sweet-and-sour sauce. Very good.
For my entree, I had their take on Kung Pao Shrimp. No hyperbole, It was probably the finest interpretation of the dish I’ve had in a restaurant. The shrimp were large, and served very simply with chilis, peanuts, and green onions. The dish, eaten with some white rice, was one of the finest chinese dining experiences I’ve had in Madison (a place regrettably not known for its Chinese cuisine). Katie had the Wok-Seared Lamb. An extremely tender dish, it was served (also simply) with lettuce and seasame oil.
We totally won dinner last night. The atmosphere was very corporate-China, and the restaurant was packed and loud, but the food made the trip well worth it. I’ve been unimpressed by many of the new chains opening here in the city (Cheeseburger in Paradise, Quaker Steak and Lube, Claddagh), but this one managed to impress with service and quality food even on an extremely busy night. I’m looking forward to going again.
We did end up getting to watch the Ice Skating exhibition last night, and it was a nice and quiet affair. It was neat being able to see the competitors so stressfree. Today is the last day of the games, and I’m already missing them. I’m going to have to make sure to watch the closing ceremony tonight for more surreal impressionism and to say fairwell to archfoe Bob Costas for another four years.
Tonight we have game. Here’s hoping I can live up to the awesomeness of Shackled City: Chapter Five.
A couple of links here for you with previews from Oblivion, coming out next month.
One of my favorite PBS shows is This Old House. The show, which walks through the improvment and updating of a prexisting structure, goes into a ridiculous amount of detail throughout the course of the build. We get to see behind-the scenes details on everything from insulation to door hangings, and I find all of them more or less fascinating. Something that bugs me, though, is the occasionally non-sensical level of time commitment they put into certain segments. Today, for example, I watched almost ten minutes on the way that a small family-owned business cleans oriental rugs. Meanwhile, they completely glossed over the installation of an enormous bathtub and the setup of a beautiful master bath. The issue, there, is that the two segments were in different shows. My guess is that at the time the oriental rug episode entered production, they were at a delicate/busy time in the house’s renovation. They spent another 10 minutes during the rug episode on plastering the walls. It was interesting they had someone all the way from italy to do it, but this is something we’ve seen endlessly in previous episodes. We didn’t need yet another trowl lesson. Part of me wishes they did fewer intro/outro pieces on the job site, so that they could piece the entire season together as a cohesive whole. It’s still a great show, but the little extras on the website just aren’t enough to sate my interests in particular aspects of the build.
I still remember watching Norm and Bob Silva with my grandfather. I’m so glad they canned Bob.
Only a few interesting events left in this year’s Olympics. I’ll probably watch today’s footage if only so I can see Bode Miller blowing it.
Last night’s McGee talk was very good. He touched on the long history of scientific cooking, and went into some detail on elements of modern cuisine; Also known as Molecular Gastronomy. The depth of field in this area of cooking is quite deep, and it was really interesting to consider that the guy speaking at the front of the room had been instrumental in inspiring restaurants like Moto, el Bulli, and The Fat Duck. I had a very good time, and it was very nice seeing Mrs. De Smet again.
Some disruptive database gremlins stopped me from doing any work on the site, or really getting anything useful done last night. While waiting to talk to tech support folks I watched through a goodly amount of World of Warcraft Machinima. My writing thingie, in my brain?, it seems to be stuck. I really need to unstick it.
A quiet Friday, with a nice quiet weekend to look forward to. I’m on duty this weekend, and need to get some thoughts together on Full Auto and DDO for next week. Otherwise, dinner and gaming on Sunday are pretty much all I need to worry about. I’m fairly certain I can handle that.
Mom! Have fun in Hawaii! The public demands pictures.
We still haven’t watched the women’s final competition, even though I know the result. Which…interesting. I watched the U.S. get its first curling medal this morning, but I don’t see anything else jumping out at me over the rest of the day. The games are ending. I don’t know if I can handle it. :(
I’m not sure if I’ve adequately expressed how much I’m looking forward to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. By the time I had a machine capable of playing Morrowind, I had a lot of things on my plate and the game had already been out for some time. This time around, I feel like I’m getting in on the ground floor. I’m ready and raring to go, Bethesda. Just say the word.
AFK Gamer has some Massive Game Flickr Linkage, which I found to be really nice to browse through. So, I pass it on to you.
Finally: He really, really is. I really want to write about this, but I don’t know where the right place to do it would be. Need to look into buying a backbone.
We had one of our poker matches last night, and once again my losing streak is on hold. Okay, I know that’s not the most upbeat way to put that, but it’s sort of how it feels. I ended up 33 up for the night, and managed to catch quite a few hands over the course of the evening. I hosted, and it seemed like everybody had a pretty good time. I think we even had a ‘networking’ moment. Here’s hoping that job thingies pan out for you Elijah. Good luck!
We watched most of the Olympics coverage yesterday, but I didn’t really have a specific cool Olympic moment like I have most of the days since the games began. I have a feeling tonight’s women’s skating final will be a little more memorable.
Had lunch with the De Smets today, and this evening I’m heading out into the cold and harsh world to hear Harold McGee speak on campus. I’m looking forward to it but I’m not really sure what to expect. I’m comfortably muzzy at the moment, though, so I think I’ll have a good time whatever happens.
I am sort of hoping I’ll be home in time to get some work done tonight. Besides more stuff here on the site, I’d like to see if I can get something written for Slashdot tomorrow. We shall see.
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