A Gamer Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Month: March 2014 Page 1 of 2

Psych: Truly “Astoundashing”

So ends another one of my favorite TV series. I had watched Psych from the first episode to the last. I feel so sad when a show ends because the characters become such a part of your life that it’s finale feels like a chapter in your own life has closed; but a show can’t go on forever (unless you’re the Simpsons). I’m going to miss the Wednesday Psych-Out’s (which were some of my favorite parts of the show), the variety of ridiculous partner names given to Gus and Shawn’s ADD riddled commentary which, allegedly, have been described multiple ways.

Be warned, if you haven’t watched the end of the series yet, there are spoilers ahead!

So how was the series finale compared to the others (because how a series ends seems to receive the most scrutiny)? I really enjoyed how they ended the series. I’m almost kind of glad they didn’t do the whole “2-hour-final-episode” deal, but kept it to an hour and gave everyone a fond, Psych-styled send off. I wish Shawn had said a more proper goodbye to Henry, granted it wouldn’t have properly fit with the rest of his farewell’s. I don’t know what the fan reaction was to the farewell DVDs but it worked well, especially for Woody and Lassiter. The fact that Lassiter wouldn’t watch Shawn actually admit that he wasn’t psychic was the best part of the whole episode … well that and Shawn finally proposing to Jules in the end!

Mira Sorvino’s super detective was the written in perfectly over the last couple of episodes to give proper closure between Psych and the SBPD. She also player her character brilliantly.

I think the fact that James Roday and Maggie Lawson have been engaged (for real) since about season 5 or 6 made me enjoy their character’s chemistry more. I hope they finally tie the proverbial knot soon and they don’t become another typical Hollywood marriage.

So I think they tied things up pretty good in the end. The small homage to Monk at the end was brilliant, and could have only been pulled off by USA!!

Farewell Shawn and Gus, Henry, Jules, Lassie, and Karen. And we can’t forget Despereaux, Mr. Yang, McNab and, of course, Dobson!!

Hey, maybe we can have a Psych reunion episode in a few years???

Soapbox: Cable Companies

overworked-290x290I had to do the Cable Company dance again. I had to cancel one and switch to the other again in order to receive the better deal. I will, most likely, have to do this again in two years because our “deal” will have expired and the bill will spike up another $30-40. It’s ridiculous that I have to do this dance every other year. I don’t understand why cable companies can’t be more like cell phone companies, every two years renew your contract at a discounted rate.

Yea, I get that they probably make most of their money from people that suddenly decide they don’t give a damn when their current deal ends and they just pay the extra charges. Perhaps the number of people that actually do drop service to switch to a cheaper service is a smaller percentage. Be that as it may, I still don’t understand why they are so difficult to negotiate with when I call a month before my contract expires to try to extend my coverage and keep my lower rate. I would think they would want to keep me as a customer. Loyalty builds a steadier stream of income. I shouldn’t have to go to twitter and start berating them before I get cooperation.

I’m getting close to just “cutting-the-cord” on cable in general, I know several of my friends already have. The technology available in Blu-ray players and Smart TVs today almost make it more affordable to ditch cable and access all the shows and movies from the Internet. We just switched so, for the time being, I’m going to endure with this cable provider but when it gets close to the end of my contract then I think it will be time to be the biggest pain in the ass as possible. I’m just tired of the hassle of switching providers all the time.

/endsoapbox

The MMO Times: MmmMmm Pi

mmo-headerIssue 98: March 14th is the almighty Pi Day (3.14), I have acknowledged this day since high school trigonometry (Thanks Mr. Urban). How did you celebrate Pi Day? Sadly I had to work today, but I think a Cheesecake (I know, it says cake, but it looks like a pie) this evening. Be that as it may, check out these awesome headlines in the MMO world lately.

Some World of Warcraft expansion news (which I’m sure most of you are already aware of); actually there is quite a bit of Blizzard related news from Hearthstone to Heroes of the Storm. If you play any of Blizzard’s titles, I’m sure you know about most of them. Age of Wushu has some new information about a possible expansion, and remember WildStar? There are some new details surrounding the official release. So put down the pie-fork and game on, friends!

Biggs On: HTML5 and CCS3

Web_programmerBack in the day, around 1997 – 1998, I picked up a book called “Teach Yourself HTML4 in 24 Hours”. It was my first glimpse into the world of web development. Thanks to SamsNet Publishing, I read that book cover to cover and referenced is so much the cover literally came off. CSS was still in its early stages and JavaScript was hated by everyone. Creating dynamic content was a test in perseverance and willpower. If I wanted a cool menu system, and I didn’t want to write it myself, I had to find something I liked on places like http://www.dynamicdrive.com or research how to do it using DHTML (which I don’t think even exists anymore).

This was the world I lived in for my early, static, web site development. It not only proved how difficult it was to make a website dynamic, but it also revealed just how terrible of a graphics designer I am.

After I finished college, word started going around about HTML5. It was boasted as the greatest enhancement in HTML development when combined with CSS3 ( and jQuery). They weren’t wrong. I have completed a certification in HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3 and I find myself enjoying web development immensely. Despite my complete lack of graphics design skills, I can now make buttons and fancy headers and never launch a graphics studio. It’s amazing what can now be accomplished with just a few tags and styles.

While Still Drinking Pop

scale-edMy total weight loss goal was 60 pounds. The closest I came was 55 pounds before I plateaued again. Granted I haven’t been working out as much as I was a couple of months ago. I attribute most of that to the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday and the obnoxious, freezing weather we have had this winter. I’ve been pondering if perhaps I may not actually lose those last five pounds.

As many of my friends have pointed out, when I talked about my weight loss, as you lose weight you also gain muscle. As the old adage goes, muscle weighs more than fat. I am still fitting very comfortably in my smaller shirts and pants; therefore I can only surmise that while the scale doesn’t reflect having achieved my weight loss goal, I think I actually have reached that point and now its only a matter of maintenance and toning.

I have been asked, quite often, what I did to lose the weight. After all, there are a plethora of weight loss fads and diets out there. I have posted a blog (or two) about this before. I talked about how I bought a FitBit and, using a couple of other phone apps, I managed my calories and increased how much I exercised each week. It’s all about portion control and exercising regularly.

In fact, I didn’t even have to change how much pop I drink (3-5 cans a day), which is a big win in my book! There were so many “studies” and white papers posted about how cutting out the pop would help you lose weight. Well, perhaps I was the exception; or perhaps I would have lost weight quicker had I stopped drinking it. I wasn’t in any kind of hurry so I didn’t care if it took twice as long, but everybody’s body chemistry is different. Besides, pop is my vice. It is my spice. My crack. My … precious!

Be that as it may, the good thing is that I lost the weight and, so far, I’m keeping it off. My clothes fit better and I have a lot more energy, which is important since I have the kid on the way.

/cheers!

The MMO Times: Fat Chocobo Edition

mmotimesheaderIIIssue 97: If you want to know why this is titled “Fat Chocobo”, you will have to read the post, but I will give you a hint … it might provide a means to get from point A to point B much faster. Beyond that it looks like folks are starting to thaw out from this crazy winter weather (well, most of us are thawing out anyway). As the weather gets nicer I’m sure our in-door activities will decrease. I know the “day star burns us” but you should find some time to get outside and get some Vitamin D (whether that means yard work or exercise). But there are plenty of hours in the day to get back in and pwn some mobs.

We have some more news from Blizzard regarding some of their titles currently in beta. There is a really interesting article about Elder Scrolls Online if you’re interested. I know a few of you, I think,  have managed to snag a beta. Please share some of your impressions if you like. There is more Final Fantasy XIV news (that might involve pudgy poultry), and some really exciting Star Wars: The Old Republic news! So strap in guys and check out these latest headlines!

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