October 24, 2007
It's easy to see why you might want a Wii in your home if you can read the stories of dozens of families and how the Wii has become an integral part of their family time, and even how it is a positive influence on their lives.
Yep. I said positive influence. From a video game.
Here's my favorite Wii Story (posted by Chris Whitaker):
My son brought his new Wii to Easter Dinner. My mother in law, Dorothy, was so impressed she wanted to buy one for each of nine grandchildren. She called and traveled East Tennessee and KY buying them where she could find one. She had purchased seven and needed two to complete her task. It was a stormy night in April, a tornado touched down in our neighborhood, two miles from Walmart. Dorothy, knowing the local Walmart was expecting some Wii's on this date, called to see if they had arrived. The sales associate said they had and she could get them tomorrow. Dorothy stated she would come now. The sales associate said, "maam we are having a tornado". Dorothy said, "I know but I'll be there anyway". She drove to Walmart during the tornado just to purchase your product. The tornado did over 1 million dollars damage across the street from Walmart, but no damage to my 71 year old mother in law as she walked out of the Walmart carrying her three Wii purchases (1 for herself).Can you imagine?
And because I can't resist, one more (posted by Carol Toy):
My son found his Wii when we were in Oregon on vacation. That was the start of our awesome Wii story. Although the whole family and all our friends enjoy playing, the most amazing players are "Grandpa Bill" and "Grandma Bert". Both are in their 80's. Grandpa has Parkinson's disease, Grandma has difficulty walking without a cane. Both can be found staying up late swing a golf club with Tiger Woods or bowling with the Mii family my son has created. Grandpa has, since the Wii came into our life, returned to hitting real golf balls at the driving range and uses his "skills" from bowling in is real-life senior bowling league. The sequencing, use of controls, etc. is helping to keep us all more alert. The friendly competition, laughter and time spent together are priceless. Thank you Wii for getting us out of our chairs to enjoy each other while keeping minds and bodies active. Wii should be prescribed by physicians for the increased well-being of all types of patients!I love it! I am just DYING to get my parents to play with us! Both of them were hella good bowlers back in the day (Dad even has a few 300 games to his credit) but with arthritis and knee replacements and everything else, they haven't bowled in years! I can't wait to bowl with them.
Here's my Wii story:
I'm a member of Generation X, or so they tell me. The video game generation, right? But not me. My parents refused to buy me a game console, and it turns out that was ok, because I am PATHETIC at traditional games. Oh, I can run the maps and mazes, and strategize with the best of them, but I have rheumatoid arthritis, and I can't use the traditional controllers. I can't run the joystick and hit the buttons and shoot and duck and everything else all at the same time. I used to be the backseat driver in Nintendo land. I would call the shots and point out the bad guys and bonuses to get and where to move, and someone else would work the controller. Wii changed all that. Yeah, there are traditional elements to the controller, and many games require you to do many things at once, but the way you hold and use the Wii remote and nunchuck controller makes it easier for me to play the games myself. And games like Wii Sports don't require all that coordination, just holding the remote.
My husband is amazed. His wife, who could never play a game harder than Yoshi, Kirby, or some other game designed for a 5 year old, is kicking his ass at real video games. And I don't bitch when he plays, because I get to play, too. I can't even tell you how much fun we have together playing Wii.
Wii is also the star at every get together. Even our least outgoing friends can't resist an evening of Wii. And let me say, for the record, that since half of the games are apparently designed simply to make the player look like an idiot using the Wii remote, Wii and alcohol go pretty well together (I suggest Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and Rayman's Raving Rabbids for drunk Wii-ing) just be sure to wear the wrist strap and drink responsibly! We've laughed harder (even sober!) at the Wii, and the person playing at the moment, than we have in a long time.
It's amazing how a small change in the hardware can make such a difference in way we use and appreciate the game console... Thanks, Nintendo, for making a game I can play, too!
Oh, and for the record, this is a personal, unpaid endorsement. LOVE my Wii, and I think the ad campaign is just SMART.
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Robot Chicken is just an ass-kicking show. If you don't watch it, you should. If you don't get Cartoon Network you can watch episodes on the web!
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October 23, 2007
Can you tell how much I love having my camera back?
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Be sure to scroll down through the posts over the last few days!
Stay safe, Darlin'!
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October 22, 2007
Most seem to be natural or accidental in nature (mostly from wind-downed high voltage lines), but the Santiago Canyon fire near Irvine was deliberately set. Bastards.
Fires in LA in October is as natural as Hurricanes in Florida in August. Northeasterly winds, called the Santa Anas bring hot dry air down from the high desert into the valleys and foothills, and well, it doesn't take much to start a big fire.
The LA Times has a good round-up and photo galleries. KCAL 9 is on the air live with updates, as new fires continue to pop up every hour or so in addition to the major fires in Malibu, Castaic, Canyon Country, San Diego, Irvine, Ontario, and Lake Arrowhead......
Here's links to information on School Closures and Evacuation Centers.
Folks with large animals can take them to the Ventura County Fairgrounds, the Orange County Fairgrounds, or Pierce College Equestrian Center. Bring Food, Water, Water Tubs, and Medicine. Many animal shelters and vet offices will care for smaller pets, too. Call around for information. In emergencies, pet owners can call (81
991-6384 to set up an emergency rescue in the Malibu OR Agua Dulce areas. For more animal info, check here.
It goes without saying, folks, but if you're in the fire area, get out when they tell you to leave, and if you're not in a fire area, stay the hell out. The firefighters need to get in and out without having to drive around your looky-loo ass.
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October 21, 2007
Here are a couple of favorites:
The US Navy's Leapfrog Parachute team. Very cool. The first time I have ever seen them, although I have seen the Army's Golden Knights MANY times.
The LA Coliseum, home of the Trojans
Our Princess, cuddled up last night in a blanket
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October 19, 2007
But EVERY student, without exception, seems to utter it at one point or another during the semester. And they'll go the extra mile to get it, too. Troy University Professor Richard Scott Nokes writes:
Why is it that students who wouldn't scratch their bottoms to get a final exam grade will do anything for extra credit? Last week, I had midterm exams, and many students put, at the most, an hour's worth of effort into the take-home project (worth 25% of their grade). This week I gave an opportunity for extra credit, worth only a tiny fraction of the midterm, and the students are meeting after class and going to the Writing Center to work on it. Maybe I should start calling my regular assignments "extra credit."(h/t Prof. Taylor)I feel your pain, sir. My subject is biology, not medieval literature, but the students approach is EXACTLY the same. They'll spend HOURS collaborating on a tiny piece of crap that is worth maybe 1-2% of their grade (if I'm feeling charitable), but brush off the actual studying. Which is, you know, the basis of 100% of their grade.
Interested, I decided to see if anyone has written a scholarly article on extra credit, and the psychology behind why students prefer it over just doing their work. A quick google search turned up page after page of syllabi with possible extra credit assignments from psychology classes at universities all over the country.
There are only a few articles looking at extra credit, and those look at it as a motivating factor, not why it is preferred.
(I put the rest of what turns out to be a longer piece than I had planned to write below the jump!)
more...
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My answers in the extended!
1. Illicit ::
2. Go ::
3. Jacket ::
4. Blow ::
5. Coach ::
6. Effort ::
7. Leadership ::
8. Snore ::
9. Fearless ::
10. Network ::
more...
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ocket
4. Blow ::Job
5. Coach ::Bag
6. Effort ::Less
7. Leadership ::Study
8. Snore :
rool
9. Fearless ::Las Vegas
10. Network ::NightmareSo for your viewing pleasure, here's Imaginationland parts I-III (the usual South Park language and content warnings apply)....
October 18, 2007
h/t Fred, of course. Well, Sean Hackbarth blogging at Friends of Fred.
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October 17, 2007
Headache is FINALLY gone, after two days, a couple of rounds of blurry vision, and a wicked moment of nausea while driving home yesterday. I think it was the nap on the couch during (tivoed) PTI last night and the chicken soup that finally beat the bastard into submission.
Currently, I am trying to stay awake in case any of my students drops in for office hours. Somehow I doubt they'll show.... 32 minutes left.... I think I will probably check my office mail now, and maybe there will be work to be taken care of. We'll see.
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October 15, 2007
Since I got nothing, this made me laugh, and I will share:
I loved it. I am a Lolcat addict.
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October 13, 2007
Worship me, fellow Nerds.
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October 12, 2007
Lifted shamelessly 100% from FCBlog. For all you SoCaler's:
With all the talk about the Rose Parade and the China controversy and our fearless (?) leaders international dealings..it's time for another Top Ten.And you really should vote for Robin's. Mmmmmmm Robin's. We were there Wednesday night in fact. I wonder.... if I say how much I love the Spud Skins (This is the ONLY way I will eat potato skin. And only at Robin's.) will Robin write me up in the next menu, too?From the home office in Beijing, China:
TOP TEN FLOATS THAT WON'T MAKE IT INTO THE ROSE PARADE
10. Chris Hansen's Dateline NBC Decoy Float For Internet Pedophiles
9. The Ad Hoc Committee On Floats Float
8. The Other Guy In Wham! Float
7. The Turkish-Armenian Friendship Float
6. The Float Put Together By PUSD Kids Who Get All F's
5. The Sid Tyler Float Of "Tobaccy & Shoe Polish"
4. Al-Qaeda's "Death To America" Float
3. Sock On Float
2. Anthony Portantino Ate My Float
1. Robin Salzer's Float Of Roses Smothered In Brown Mustard & BBQ Sauce
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First of all let me congratulate you on winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, that accomplishment would be so much more meaningful if the award hadn't become synonymous with the "Annual Best Politically Correct Jerkwad" award, which the Nobel Committee seems to have merged their award with. I suppose, however, that sharing this honor with the last American to win the prize, former President Jimmy Carter, gives you a real sense of just what this honor means, and how your legacy will be cherished in your decline.
But I have a serious question for you. What in hell does your Global Warming crusade have to do with promoting Peace on Earth™? I mean do you believe that the only way to stop war is to make it so cold that we'd all rather stay in our own caves rather than shoot someone? Or maybe you believe that anecdotal psychology theory that aggression (which is of course, anti-peace by definition) increases as the temperatures rise? Let's grant for the purposes of this argument that your incoherent, incomplete, and hypocritical pseudoscience is correct, and that people DO make the Earth warmer by a significant amount. Given that, your crusade against Global Warming is admirable, even, perhaps noble. But this is the Nobel PEACE Prize. Not the Nobel "Make the Earth Happy" Prize. It's October, not Earth Day. Explain to me how your actions have anything to do with peace.
Unless somehow being against global warming is really just a fancy synonym for "Troops out of Iraq Now".... because that has something to do with peace. But it really doesn't rise to the level of a Nobel Prize. And here I speak from experience. I went to Caltech. I've met Nobel Laureates. I've been taught by them. And here's the thing: They are FREAKING BRILLIANT. They are committed to their science without any hope of reward, which is what Alfred Nobel left the $$ to recognize in the first place: tireless champions of the greater good, representing different disciplines of the Humanities and Sciences. Not attention seeking environmental hypocrites who champion the environment because it is a safe niche to occupy in the cutthroat social darwinist biosphere of US politics.
I have another question, but this one is for the Nobel Committee, so be sure you pass it along to them when you go for the medal ceremony: If algore has contributed significantly to "Peace on Earth", then why did you recognize him for the Global Warming Awareness crusade? I would think his MOST significant achievements lie in other fields. After all, he invented the internet, technology which has contributed more towards interpersonal, international, and intercultural understanding than any other scientific or humanitarian contribution of the modern age. Isn't that important enough?
I know you're a busy man, especially as you now have to plan a trip to Oslo and contemplate running for President again to add to your incredibly busy fundraising schedule, so I'll close here. However, in closing, I'd like to thank you for the endless amusement you and your family have provided me over the years, not mention answering my questions about the top speed of a Prius (let your son know how much I appreciated that one, will you?). Keep it up!
Best,
CTG
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October 11, 2007
That is all.
Love,
The Armenians
P.S. Remember who said "...Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" It was some German dude named Adolf.
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October 09, 2007
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Rep. Henry Waxman has asked his investigative staff to begin compiling reports on Limbaugh, and fellow radio hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin based on transcripts from their shows, and to call in Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin to discuss the so-called "Fairness Doctrine".Now that's creepy."Limbaugh isn't the only one who needs to be made uncomfortable about what he says on the radio," says a House leadership source. "We don't have as big a megaphone as these guys, but this all political, and we'll do what we can to gain the advantage. If we can take them off their game for a while, it will help our folks out there on the campaign trail."
But not surprising.
Let me sum this up for you, in case you don't understand just what's at stake here: The Fairness Doctrine was a policy implemented by the FCC in the earliest days of TV and radio, when small media markets were dominated by a handful of stations, or in many cases, just one station. And, as is often the case when you have a media monopoly, FCC regulators were concerned that all views wouldn't be broadcast fairly and some candidates for office might lose out because of a lack of coverage.
Fast forward to 1987. It was the end of the Reagan era, and the rise of mass communications in the US. In 1987 the FCC overturned the Fairness Doctrine because the market had grown so much that there was enough market pressure to allow for opposing viewpoints to be presented, not to mention an increased expectation of such presentation from the media-consuming public. With so many opportunities for coverage and so much media to keep track of, enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine became obsolete and the policy was ended.
In the two decades since, the US has seen an exponential increase in the amount of political speech broadcast through the media. Commercials, debates, opinion and news shows, radio talk shows, etc. have all increased the public's awareness of political issues and political thought. Admittedly, much of this increase has been on the conservative side of the fence. However, the financial disaster formerly known as "Air America" clearly highlights that this is likely due to purely market forces; that Americans want to hear conservative political thought in the media more than they want to hear liberals.
You can come up for your own explanation for that one. I'm sure it's not hard to think of a dozen reasons why, but left-leaning media (other than, it can be argued, mainstream "news") is simply not commercially viable in this country.
Faced with the fact that they can't compete in the open marketplace, what do the liberals do? As usual, they try to level the playing field... to their advantage. If the market won't admit "liberal" political thought, then it's time to simply break down the doors to the market. With the Fairness Doctrine bulldozer.
While it might seem, naively, that the more speech accessible to the masses, the better; in reality this is nothing more than censorship. Reinstating the Fairness Doctrine limits the amount of political speech that can be presented for either side to an amount that can be feasibly presented by the media in consideration of their need (under the FD) to present opposing viewpoints. Is that what we want? Sound bites and snippets? Well, if that's all you're getting anyway, and your opposition has a three-hour talk show, you might just say yes, and damn the consequences.
Let's look at this economically, too: the consumer prefers conservative media (e.g. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc.), and we know this because these ventures are commercially viable. By limiting the supply of the preferred goods, and forcing the consumer to take some non-preferred goods (Liberal media) instead, the re-institution of the Fairness Doctrine forces the consumer's choice. Sounds a lot like Communism to me...
Let me ask you this: Why is it ok to have NO Fairness Doctrine for 20 years while the left consolidates their power base and makes in roads into the MSM, but the SECOND that conservative media shows some strength, it's time to put it back? Why is the playing field level until the other team goes ahead? Why didn't ANY of these things matter until people started to challenge the status quo?
Funny how the First Amendment gets bought and sold by the left like so much cattle, depending on whether they're winning or losing.
h/t FRED who makes his own case for a Free Press.
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