Gears of War 2: Insane checkpoint glitch in Act III

On insane mode, in Chapter 3 Act 3, when you have reached the entrance to the temple at the top of the mountain, it seems there is a bug in the checkpoint system. When you go through the temple entrance, it does not register the checkpoint. To address the issue, go backwards to the start of the chapter. There will be a giant tree fallen across the path, drive to this point, then turn around and go back to the temple entrance adn the checkpoint will clear. I hear this also affects hardcore mode.

Gears of War 2: Killing Bloodmounts

The Gears of War fest continues. Yesterday 5 of us managed to hit the 50 horde levels achievement. So, the bloodmounts, how to kill?

Two relevant facts: a well placed shutgun shot will dismount the rider on the mount. Additionally, shots at the head of the mount itself will cause it to pause to knock off its metal facemask. while the mount is performing this action, one can continue to pump rounds into its head. If you haven't dismounted the rider yet, he will fall off, then get back up but a quick chainsaw will take care of him. If you have dismounted the rider, remember he's still alive, just knocked off, so he will come after you, but he's relatively weaker and less of a threat than the szhizophrenic mount, so take care of the mount first.

What best to shoot the mount in the head? We've varied through just about every weapon here, pick your favorite. Typically the Lancer is good because you can leverage the chainsaw when the rider jumps off.

Gears of War 2

Been online for several nights this week with friends blasting away through Horde mode on Gears of War 2. We're through 48 stages, 50 we get an achievement. Its been an awesome awesome trip.

Kim P. also recommended Left 4 Dead...have to check that out as well. But first, we get through 50 levels of Horde!

Impressive new robot

Just watch!

tapas...

so...what is tapas spanish for? overpriced small portions of mediocrity?

by having these small portions you usually end up with a bill larger than getting an actual meal.

ugh....fad.

Funny and introspective coffee shop review...

was trolling the review boards for the local restaurant scene and found this well articulated review of a local place, the pharmacy cafe, RIP as of about a week ago. it was personality conflicted and never really quite sure what is was.

Nom e.

Portland, OR
1 star rating11/15/2008

This is a great place to witness the progress of human societal breakdown and the disintegration of the real-world community.

Through the large plate-glass windows lining NW Glisan you can see a few people scattered about, and even sitting next to one another at busier times, with their faces lit up from the business side of an iridescent apple and their ears plugged-up with white wires. They won't look back, nor up from the screen, nor at one-another.

Welcome to the new cafe life, where a congress of zombies type anything interesting they have to say into a device, sealed off from the world around them.

But then again one can't blame them after experiencing the place from the inside. Just the act alone of stepping to the counter can trigger an episode of mild depression.

There are random products scattered around the counter from horrible looking cookies under scrunched layers of plastic film, to bagged chips and candies. You feel like you're waiting in line at an independent gas station. Dark, filthy, and dank. The music blaring forth is usually loud and industrial.

You'll wait at the counter for 5 minutes before someone appears. They are always working in the back. Always. Moving supplies, or fixing something or other. Then they will make you a terrificly bland coffee-drink.

The dessert counter is terrifying. It seems that their desserts are end of the day donations from the lunch pails of local children.
What appears to be half-eaten apple pies, squished brownies, and a smattering of other foods only made unpalatable by their close association in this fluorescent death chamber will make you feel cheap, dirty, and tainted.

This place lacks a purpose, vision, or point. They don't take food, drink, nor coffee seriously. They do take trying to sell anything seriously. Coffee? We got it! Beer? That too! Heck, we'll even try to force an impulse purchase at check-out.
Gas? Where's the gas? Coming soon!

Only then, after experiencing this little piece of hell, will you understand why the poor souls inside are so intent with distracting themselves from the here-and-now.

The rest of the reviews and source are located here.

Midwestern retrospective and Time editorial

Had a good visit back to the midwest. One of the most worthwhile aspects intellectually was the suprisingly thoughtful constructions that had been created in support of the McCain-Palin ticket. Conversations with an older generation of folks with compelling arguments of support for the superiority of this ticket over Obama. Brought home the disadvantage of the lack of political discourse in Portland. It seems everyone is a liberal and nobody debates the other side. Then, when you enter battle, you go weak and unarmed.

in this information age, I was startled how we had self selected for a variety of reasons information that the other parties did not possess. How does this happen? we're delluged by data. Too bad the same can't be said about knowledge and wisdom, which unfortunately require some combination of time, reflection, and experience.

"In the end, though, it will not be the creative paralysis that defines Bush. It will be his intellectual laziness, at home and abroad. Bush never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and regulation that was necessary to make markets work. He never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and equity that was necessary to maintain the strong middle class required for both prosperity and democracy. He never considered the complexities of the cultures he was invading. He never understood that faith, unaccompanied by rigorous skepticism, is a recipe for myopia and foolishness. He is less than President now, and that is appropriate. He was never very much of one."

Editorial here

Election results....

Summed up nicely in video below.




The closure to those mistakes is inspiring. It has been said many times that leaders that rule through fear are weak. May the universe give back what you have given.

PS3 DVD Playback vs. XBOX 360 DVD playback vs. stand-alone DVD player

Recently I did a comparison between a mid-range Sony DVD 1080i dvd player and the dvd playback capability in the PS3. They were both hooked to the same TV through an HDMI cable. My thinking was that the PS3 would be better or similar to the DVD player. This was absolutely not the case: the stand alone player was far superior in details and lack of blockiness that were present in many scenes with the PS3. I would not recommend using a PS3 as a stand alone DVD player and find the small price of a true DVD player worth it. I recall being similarly disappointed in comparisons with the DVD player in the XBOX 360, but I am using component output for that unit.

Gears of War Game Designer CliffyB interview in New Yorker

Allen Hux, otherwise known as 'irregular z-buffer wizard', pointed me to this article in the new yorker that gives some insight into the game development machinery that is Epic.

Trivia of the day: Where does the 'kill' sign, the skull inside the gear that you see when you get damage, originate?

$10 for first person to email me the correct answer.