Monday, January 16, 2012

A Boy Called Glue

I have been reminded of the song "A Boy Called Glue". I first heard it back in the 1980s and it brought back a lot of memories. I wish the radios stations would play it more. The song evoked a simpler time before thousands of channels were on television, before cell phones could fit in your pocket, and before video games exploded into the industry it is today.

Side note--Here is one thing that confuses me. We create thousands of TV channels so people will spend more time watching television. Then the same medium is used to air commercials to tell people to go outside and be active. Why not tell people at doughnut shops to go out and find a bagel shop?

 It used to make me wonder why someone would call a boy Glue but then I learned that celebrities were naming their children things like Apple.I never knew names could be sources of amusement. Why not make names informative? Create names that actually describe a person and not sarcastically like shorty for someone over 6 foot tall.

Descriptive names could be the newest thing--Won a Pulitzer at 8 Years Old, Likes to Volunteer at Animal Shelters, or Been Divorced Three Times and Looking for Love Again.

Of course, Facebook will only let you use your real name which means people cannot use the above mentioned unless they can verify those are their real names. Speaking of FB is the next step going to be automatic updates. "John was looking at updates and walked into a lamppost." "Jane just saw a man walk into a lamppost and is LOLing." The updates should be automatic. No more having to type them it, just have them happen. Wouldn't that make life easier? No more having to spend time typing up everything you want to say. Automatic pictures updates would be a bonus as well. Take a picture and it automatically gets posted. No more privacy! Aren't we heading that way as it is?

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Final Fantasy XIII-2 time

The new Final Fantasy game XIII-2 is almost here and I am excited about getting a new FF game. These games are one of the longest running game series and always do a great job with the game.

http://na.square-enix.com/ffxiii-2/#/story is a link to get more information about the upcoming game if you have not read about it yet.

FF 13 is visually stunning and 13-2 appears to keep that look. But being pretty does not make it a good game. There is a developed plot (sometimes overdeveloped) that interrupts with cut scenes throughout the game. The characters are well established. The only thing I did not really like was the new combat system where you have to continually change jobs in the battle. It made things too complex and hard in the boss fights. The combat system in the earlier games was much better.

I have not always been a FF fan. I was a convert after I tried Sony Genesis and Dreamcast. Since that ended so well, I switched to the PlayStation. Someone told me to try FF 7 and I did. I have gone back and played it three times. It is addictive. Seriously, you sit down and start playing and then your roommate is shaking your shoulder telling you that you have been sitting there for three days.

The only FF I have not played since then is the online one. I have bought all the rest of the games and conquered them after days (non consecutive) of game play. Getting all the eidolons, summons, sidequests and boss fights can take a player over 80 hours.

I suppose there should be a 12 step program for these games. Weening people off the games may require more steps. I can say this since I don't have a problem. I can quit playing anytime I want. I just prefer to keep playing.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

New Years Resolution

Well, 2012 has started which is me stating the obvious. So far the new year looks a lot like the previous one. This is the time when people start making resolutions about how they are going to change their lives (Hopefully for the better). Why don't people make negative resolutions? Like I am going to only shower once every 4 days. Or I am going to become bitterly sarcastic.

I don't make resolutions since I am already perfect.

(Cough). Ahem.

Okay, here are some ways I am planning to improve myself:

First, I am going to spend less time of Facebook. I think this one of the biggest timewasters and I need to be more productive and somehow, I do not think people are really very productive on FB.

I still plan on not joining Twitter. That whole concept does not appeal to me.

Second, to be a different person around/to people. I have recently met a person at a convention who made people uncomfortable. I do not want to be that person and think I am to a degree.  I think this is why my relationships with certain people have been going downhill. That means I need to check my behavior around people. So I am going to spend less time on FB (as I said earlier) so no more posting on walls or sending messages to people on that site.

Be more grateful for what people do for me. I think most people could benefit from this concept. If someone does something nice to/for you, say thank you. I think a lot of people expect people to be nice instead of just appreciating the small things people do when these things are not required.

Working more on writing.

I am starting a search for this elusive thing called "Common Sense". It would appear that most still have not found it. I think the world could use a good dose of this. Of course, the problem would be knowing it when I see it.

The saying does "No one ever wished they spent more time at the office". Well, I am going to challenge that statement this year. I want to spend more time at the office. That is how you make money! By working. Since I don't have a family this should be easy especially if I convince someone to let me work at their office. I really need to spend more time working and by that I mean I need to find a position where I can spend more time working.