Spiral Knights

I fought Nomae so hard on it. No way was I playing some new online game, especially an MMORPG. But it was free, and I was bored enough to try it.

Spiral Knights is four-player Zelda. Imagine all the fun you had in A Link to the Past, but with friend! Sure, it’s the future, and there’s no Princesses, but you’re still running around with a sword, shield, bow gun, and bombs, hacking up the local monsters for fun and profit.

The freemium concept of SK is clever – you buy ‘energy’, which you use to play levels and for crafting. You naturally regenerate up to 100 energy a day, meaning you can play up to 10 levels without paying anything.

However, they are rather devious in how they latch onto your wallet. The first of three tiers of levels can be completed with gear purchased from vendors. Access to the second tier requires gear that can be crafted for less than the 100 energy you gain naturally a day. But the crafting energy costs shoot up dramatically, with the next gear upgrades requiring 200 energy each (and rising exponentially from there). Since you can only acquire 100 energy naturally, this mandates buying energy, right around the point where you’ve played enough to really build a taste for the game.

This additional energy can only enter the system through real money purchases, meaning you either have to pay real money yourself, or grind enough of the in-game currency to buy it from other players at market rates. Ultimately, you’re left with the choice of paying real money to progress as fast as your natural pace, or refusing to sink real money and being forced to alternate between skipping days of play and grinding money to build up the energy to craft to gear requirements.

So far, I’ve kept the purse-string closed. I’d have quit by now, but admittedly the multiplayer aspect drew me back in, and I’m still having fun.

Humble Indie Bundle

Recently picked up the Humble Indie Bundle #3. An interesting concept – five indie games, DRM-free, and you can pay as much or as little as you like, distributing your payment as you like between the five developers and two charities. Plus a bunch of free games – the entire Humble Indie Bundle 2 plus two “bonus” games.

I’m all for indie games, rejecting DRM, and even charities, but I’m not convinced that the bundle was a good idea. On one hand, some of the games have such critical acclaim that they never needed a bundle to bring them any more publicity (ie. Braid). While on the other hand, some of the games are worse than your average school Flash project.

Highlights:

• Cogs. It’s slider puzzles.That’s it. But with so many interesting puzzle mechanics integrated (pipes and gears to name a few), that it can keep you going for hours. A professional-grade engine keeps the game polished.
• Crayon Physics Deluxe. An enhancement to the iPhone classic – solve simple 2D physics puzzles by drawing any machines you want. So simple, yet so many possibilities.
• Atom Zombie Smasher. One of the “bonus games”. The main gameplay is almost insultingly low-tech – rescuing 'people (yellow pixels) from zombies (purple pixels) in a top-down city view (rectangles). It’s not even all that well balanced. Yet it’s scarily addictive, and I’ve lost many nights to it already.

Lowlights:

• VVVVVV. Side-scrollers may be retro, but when your graphics makes the XNA example code look like high-tech, you’ve better have the world’s best gameplay to make up for it. This game does not. After about 5 seconds, you get bored of the single novel gameplay mechanic, about 10 seconds later the insane difficulty has you uninstalling.
• Hammerflight. Way to take a really interesting 2D air combat gameplay mechanic, and wreck it by forcing a ridiculously bad story on you. Then repeating it every time you die (which is a lot).

Also, I find a bit of irony in the fact that I’m playing the HIB games, DRM-free, through Steam.

Personal Homepage

After the better part of a decade, I have finally replaced my old broken personal website and resume. It really was time – replacing a website designed for academic life. Also, making it actually render sensibly in a browser newer than IE6, without giant blobs of purple box model leaking all over the page..

While a mundane task, it was ultimately quite challenging. While in school, every project, class, hobby or thought seemed to deserve prominence. But now, nothing seems important enough to share. I ended up deleting most of my content, with nothing relevant to replace it. The same with the resume – after years in the industry, it’s hard to even remember what all those old awards and volunteer projects were about, let alone why anyone should care.

So now, the site is little more than a placeholder for links. Two meager pages of content, and a one-pager resume.

Windows Phone: Samsung Focus

The eighteen month reign of my iPhone 3GS is over. I have succumbed to a combination of shame of not supporting my company, a curiosity towards the latest technology and development platforms, a frustration with the ever increasing fail of iTunes for Windows, and the lust for a good deal. The result: I now own a Samsung Focus, one of the more popular Windows Phone devices, with a store-installed 8GB memory upgrade (to 16GB total).

So far, the experience has been great; it’s refreshing to get a new experience after so long on Apple tech.The screen and camera are both everything good you’ve heard about. Finally being able to sync to Zune is a great relief. The Windows Phone 7 interface is a refreshing change.

Hardware

• Battery: Great! Meter shows over 3/4 at the end of the day, including speakerphone calls, WiFi on, compulsive email checking, and Fruit Ninja.
• Screen: Everything you’ve heard is true. Black blacks, vibrant colors (particularly for photos). Respectable at 4”.
• Camera: Also deserving of its reputation – clear focused shots with good color and handling light. LED flash gives even lighting. 
  
  In fact, the on-board camera is noticeably better than my recent Casio Exilim purchase, which even at 12Mpx had such horrible optics that I gave the damned thing away.
• Memory: 8GB is obviously not reasonable for a modern device, especially with nearly 2GB reserved space, but luckily, you can expand the on-board memory with certain microSD cards. I’m disappointed that AT&T only had 8GB cards certified, but it beats taking the risk of crashes (a worry for many). The upgrade has been reliable for me thus far.
• Call Quality: perfect, both in-ear and on speakerphone, in a variety of environments. People on the other end report hearing me clearly with minimal noise.
• Signal: who knows. I’m in the Seattle area: our 3G coverage is as strong as our Starbucks coverage.
• Form: Light and thin; sits comfortably in my front pocket.

Samsung Focus vs HTC HD7S

Some may question my sanity to buy the Focus the very day the HD7S came out. After all, how can 4.3" of screen be wrong? Well I did try both phones, and what really sold me was the audio quality for calls – the HD7S was really hard to hear to-ear, especially in the noisy Commons area. While the HD7S had the louder speakerphone, the Focus had noticeably better sound quality. Combined with reviews that point to the Focus as the undisputed King for screen (the coveted AMOLED), battery life, camera, and the fact that the Focus could be upgraded to match the HD7S’s 16GB of storage, it was an easy decision to take the Focus.

Windows Phone 7 vs iOS

I like the new Windows Phone 7 home screen. Tiles really are better, and given how many apps the average person has these days, relegating all but the most important to a list makes great sense. I’m less enamored with some of the other UI elements like the side-scrolling ‘tab’ views, but I think I’ll grow to like them.

I like the ‘People’ focus in WP7 over iOS. Out of the box, my phone’s already aware of Windows Live, my work Outlook, Facebook, Google, and texting and is capable of linking these all into a single contact.

Random cool feature: you can go to a website, and request to see your phone’s location, force it to ring (even if it’s on vibrate), or lock it (with a custom message). Lost phones will be a thing of the past!

iOS may have the largest app collection out there, but Microsoft did a good job of getting apps that matter fast. Netflix, Kindle, Yelp, Battle.Net authenticator and recently even Glympse are all available, plus a solid selection of games (and yes, soon even Angry Birds). I’ve had no problems finding all the apps I’ve wanted, with the exception of Zillow and AAA Roadside.

Only a few features I found noteworthy in their absence vs iOS:

• Custom ringtones, though this is rumored to be coming in the next major update.
• Visual voicemail. After being on iPhone, the idea of actually *calling* your voicemail seemed primitive by comparison.
• Separate volume state between speaker and the aux jack. The same volume doesn’t make sense between the speaker and headphones.

I did not miss Cut and Paste (which is apparently available now) or Task Switching (coming soon) at all. For all the people that whine about these features, the scenarios where such features actually useful are not that common.

Zune vs iTunes

I hate iTunes. So very much. Sure, it does the job, but it just makes me so very mad that a company acclaimed for their UX could make such an unintuitive piece of software. Even simple things, like how many clicks it takes to update apps, or how it’s nearly impossible to actually find anything through browsing the iTunes store, or how hard it is to simply choose what music you want to sync. Or how it can’t automatically pick up PDFs as new books without manually dragging them over. Or how the process will deadlock half the time on device connect. Or how I have to send my photo sync through a separate application. Or how every version update I have to remind it that I in fact will never ever care to run Safari.

Zune is just an awesome piece of software. Everything is simple, yet easy to find and manage.It’s particularly easy to determine what music ends up on the phone – either drag it to the big sync icon, or for the more advanced users, specify rules (eg. “sync all of my favorite metal). You can also sync your entire collection, but given that Zune pass lets you download as much music as you want, that could fill a device in no time.

It’s not all rosy though. Application data (or the apps in general) from your Windows Phone doesn’t seem to sync to the PC.This matters a lot if you wipe your phone (or replace it outright) – iTunes is always one sync away from being back to normal, while with Zune there’s almost no way to avoid data loss.

Miscellaneous Complaints

The included headphones with the Focus are horrible, even for earbuds. Not a trace of bass, and distortion through the rest of the audible range. The iPhone headphones are great in comparison.

The first sync was a bit flaky – device install errors prevented Zune from recognizing the device. It took some driver manipulation and reboots on both sides to get a clean first connection.

Capacitive buttons, while fun to poke at, can be a bit sensitive when handling the device, especially the search button on the right side (coincidentally, the one button of the three I never actually want to push).

The games I’ve tried thus far don’t seem to perform as well as their iOS equivalents. In particular, both Doodle Jump and Fruit Ninja feel like the framerate is just that tiny bit too low. Not sure whether it’s an effect of the screen technology, the underlying compute power vs the demand of XNA, or even just all in my head, but it certainly detracts a bit from arcade games.

A nitpick – but it’s really frustrating that you can’t actually use many of the phone’s features while it’s connected to the PC.

Canada Election 2011 = Conservative Majority…

… you gullible bastards. Yes GTA, you know who you are! This is all your fault!

Just kidding! People all around the world are dying simply because they asked for the privilege that Canadians (except a few poor non-resident souls *cough* *cough*) get to exercise on a regular basis. Thirty-seven days of political competition without anybody being shot would be an unthinkable miracle for many places in the world, and that we could choose a leader by consensus without bloodshed is something we can all be proud to be a part of, no matter who won.

Harper won his coveted majority fair and square, and by a healthy margin no less. He has earned four years (assuming he finally decides to follow his own election law) of our support.  The many upsets in the opposition are largely irrelevant – the Conservatives may dictate Canadian law, policy, and foreign relations entirely at their own whim, and if the past is any indication, by the supreme command of Harper alone. The only question is whether, when this Session ends, whether Canadians will be able to reflect honestly upon its legacy.

While perhaps no more than points of trivia in a majority scenario, there was some interesting aftermath. Layton and the NDP given an opposition mandate that would have been unthinkable fantasy a mere week ago. The Bloc razed to ashes, and  leader Gilles Duceppe resigned in defeat. No matter what one’s opinion of the separatist movement, one cannot deny the contribution of Duceppe and the Bloc to modern politics, especially the past few minority Parliaments. The Liberals being told definitively that they are out of touch with Canadians through a historically unprecedented election spanking. I still don’t quite get this one – I didn’t see any major blunder from the Liberals, so I’d love to hear some opinions on how they got so badly crushed. Though given that Ignatieff didn’t resign outright, I’m starting to get a hint at the problem (seriously, at least Dion got his seat).

And finally, no matter how wacky the Greens, one has to respect Elizabeth May for winning the first Green election.

Canada Election 2011

Hooray, another election! Okay, so not everyone is entirely thrilled (canada.com), but all two of my blog readers know I enjoy playing armchair (lownewulf.com) pundit (lownewulf.com). Sadly, this year my contribution is no more than commentary – I have exceeded the “five year limit” and am thus no longer eligible to vote by mail.

For the rest of you - DON’T VOTE CONSERVATIVE! Beyond platform preferences or overall political leanings, there is a fundamental issue of ethics – lack of accountability to the people, their elected representatives, longstanding traditions, or even the law of the land. I mentioned many of these during the 2008 election – including blatant violation of the very election and campaign finance laws that they helped pass! It’s only gone downhill from there, with parliament being prorogued TWICE (wikipedia.org) for political reasons, and the Government ultimately found in contempt of parliament (cbc.ca), which became the confidence measure that triggered the election.

The parliamentary system in Canada depends on separation of powers – any part of government that can ignore the will of the other parts can operate with unchecked supremacy. Given that the latest incarnation of the Conservative party has shown contempt to the only elected part of Canadian government, it is inconceivable that they can be even considered a legitimate democratic party, let alone ethically fit to participate in Government.

Rant over. On May 2nd, we’ll see if Canadians are paying attention, or even care. Until then, I’ll try to write a few posts on specific policy issues or data analysis, and keep the rhetoric to a minimum.

US Taxes 2010

All done, and barring objections from the IRS, a hefty refund coming my way, with an effective tax rate of 14.51%. Look on me, Belgians, and despair!

Public Service Announcement for Canadians:
Don’t forget, if AT ANY time in 2010, you had $10,000 or more across all your non-US bank accounts, you have to mail TD F 90-22.1 to the Department of the Treasury (NOT with your tax return).
Also, if you hold a Canadian RRSP, even if if it’s just sitting idle, you must file Form 8891 with your taxes. TurboTax seems to have improved their interviews, and will now guide you to both as part of the standard interview process.

Public Service Announcement for Americans: if you’re not discouraged by the upcoming rant, you can get a 25% discount on TurboTax from Fidelity, whether or not you are a member. See the deal at this link.

As usual, the bane of my existence is capital gains – I can power through pretty much an entire return in an hour except for the days I have to spend on stock sales. In theory, it’s quite simple – proceeds minus cost basis = taxable income, then split into short and long term. But the devil is in the details.

My problem – TurboTax REALLY sucks for handling multiple-source stock, and that’s using the Premier version, which costs extra specifically to handle this sort of thing. TurboTax simply does not admit that it’s possible to get stock from the open market, ESPP, and vesting grants, and sell it at once.

But I’m used to that – split the transactions up by category, assign the commissions at random, and you get a reasonable result. However, this apparently convinces TurboTax that you can’t process wash sales! I then spent AN HOUR with tech support, asking them how I could possibly just enter the wash sale amount (literally an hour of “well the question should be there” … “but it’s not, so now what”).

Eventually, I figured it out (after ditching tech support). I had to follow the ‘guidance’ for all my sales to calculate the cost basis (because it’s ridiculously complicated to calculate an ESPP cost basis), write the numbers down. Then I had to delete all the sales, then re-enter the raw proceeds and cost basis in the “advanced spreadsheet”, mark it complete. Only THEN will it ask about wash sales. Of course, since that amount may affect your previously-calculated basis, you then have to delete the stocks and re-enter them AGAIN with the new basis, and keep iterating on this process until your values have steady state.

The tech support lady said that in the downloaded product, you can just edit the forms directly. Well great. Fucking cloud!

First look: New Computer

New computer is built and running. Following the tradition of car names (my previous computer being DELOREAN because of its distinctive brushed steel case), this new rig has been christened CORVETTE.

Final set of equipment is listed at:
http://duskwood.lownewulf.com/Compy2011/

PCMark Vantage: 15670.0 PCMarks
Windows Experience Index: 7.5

I haven’t even attempted an overclock yet, because I have no need. Every computer game I own runs at max settings at great framerates. World of Warcraft averages between 70-100fps depending on the zone. Left 4 Dead 2 runs flawlessly.

Most people wonder about the RevoDrive. It really was an easy experience – I had to use a USB key with drivers during Windows 7 setup, but it installed without complaint, and once installed, the system automatically booted from it without complaint. Only quirk was that the installer still put the recovery partition on my data drive, but I grudgingly must admit that this is a sensible thing to do anyways.

My boot time is indeed quite impressive, but not the instant-on that some people experience with even SATA SSDs. I attribute this to the large array of devices and software I boot with even from a clean build, many of which are installed to my data drive.

I havent installed WoW to the RevoDrive yet… the 22GB seems like a lot when there’s only 70GB left after OS and the many applications that still refuse to install anywhere but C:. I imagine it’d be pretty amazing though. I’ll let people know if I try it.

Some other thoughts:

The Antec case is nice - really slick black aluminum, airflow everywhere, blue LEDs anywhere you’re likely to see, and giant fans for quiet running. Having three separate internal fan speed selectors isn’t as impressive – am I really going to open my case and manually adjust each fan each time it gets warm out? The thing that I miss the most from my old case are sideways-mounted HDDs - trying to add or remove hard drives while delicately avoiding both my video card and my RevoDrive (which is a surprisingly long and fragile card) is a nerve-wracking experience!

Gigabyte board has behaved admirably – I love the serious passive chipset cooling, especially given the variety of chipset coolers DELOREAN went through (which came with a 40mm plastic piece of junk on its MSI board). Not a hint of complaint about any of the devices I connected to it. CMOS clear right on the back faceplate (with blue backlight) for those serious overclockers However, their software for overclocking and temp tracking is pretty serious load of MFC fail. Also – 8 SATA ports, four DIFFERENT controllers, each with their own drivers (from different companies), and their own configuration. Finally, there’s a weird quirk when cold-starting – the box will spin up, turn off for five seconds, then magically power up. The first time, I thought I fried the CPU for sure!

New Build, part 2

Thanks everyone who had advice for me on this build. I’ve updated it slightly, and would love further feedback.

What’s changed:

• Replaced the 64GB Crucial SSD SATA 6Gb/s with a 50GB RevoDrive PCIEx4. The speed is meant to be absolutely epic, which is saying a lot given the already epic SSD it’s replacing.
• Switched from 2x640GB SATA 3Gb/s to 1x1TB SATA 6GB/s. Cheaper for similar space.
• Switched from a GTX465 to an overclocked GTX460. The Cyclone is very well reviewed. It’s meant to be both cooler and quieter than stock cards, and rivals 465s and 470s even on the stock overclock.
• Switched to 12GB of cheaper RAM from 6GB of high-end RAM.  I doubt the current system would get full advantage from such aggressive timings.

What stayed the same:

• LGA1366. One could save some money with LGA1166 (presumably accompanied with a switch to i5), but I’d rather have the more capable hardware and more room to grow. I suspect the LGA1366 will be (only slightly) more future-proof than LGA1166, though I doubt we’ll ever get to relive the glory days of LGA775.
• Gigabyte board. Has everything, and no downside in its specs. It sounds like it’s a bit finicky on RAM and drives, but it’s hard to truly compare the relative quirkiness of motherboards. That being said, if anyone has a source that shows a better alternative (Asus?), I’d love to hear about it.
• Corsair 750W power supply. While I *know* I don’t need the power (even for 2-way SLI), the single-rail 12V, 140mm fan, among other features make it worth the price. Only thing missing is modular connections.

PS. If anyone can find a way to make Newegg wishlists post well in Blogger, I’d love to know about it.

---

Qty.
Image
Product Description
Unit Price
Savings
Total Price

1

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 998770

Model #:998770

Item #:N82E16820226096

Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$149.99
-$10.00 Instant
$139.99

1

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Model #:Three Hundred Illusi

Item #:N82E16811129066

Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

In Stock

$69.99
$69.99

1

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Model #:GA-X58A-UD3R

Item #:N82E16813128423

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$209.99
-$10.00 Instant
$199.99

1

MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Model #:N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5

Item #:N82E16814127510

Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$219.99
-$10.00 Instant
$209.99

1

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...

Model #:CMPSU-750TX

Item #:N82E16817139006

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Mail in Rebate Card

$139.99
-$30.00 Instant
$109.99

1

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Model #:BX80601950

Item #:N82E16819115211

Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

In Stock

$299.99
-$10.00 Instant
$289.99

1

OCZ RevoDrive OCZSSDPX-1RVD0050 PCI-Express x4 50GB PCI Express MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Model #:OCZSSDPX-1RVD0050

Item #:N82E16820227596

Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

In Stock

$199.99
$199.99

1

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model #:WD1002FAEX

Item #:N82E16822136533

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$89.99
$89.99

1

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

Item #:N82E16827135204

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

$19.99
$19.99

Subtotal:
$1,329.91

Thoughts on a New Rig

Thoughts? Currently, total shows as $1304.90.

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=12173134

 

1

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139006
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$30.00  Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$139.99
$109.99

1

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Item #: N82E16827135204
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$19.99

1

EVGA 01G-P3-1465-AR GeForce GTX 465 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814130555
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
-$25.00  Instant
$40.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$224.99
$199.99

1

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D
Item #: N82E16820145224
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$144.99

1

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129066
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
$69.99

2

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136319
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$129.98

1

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128423
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00  Instant
$209.99
$199.99

1

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820148357
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$10.00  Instant
$144.99
$134.99

1

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
Item #: N82E16819115211
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
-$5.00  Instant
$299.99
$294.99

Winter Metal

We got our latest computer upgrades at work. This means I have to re-download my favorite music using my Zune Pass. Thankfully, a ton of the music I like is available for download on Zune, so I can build a new music collection really fast. It also provides an interesting view of my music whims day-to-day, and as Smart DJ shows me various bands I've never heard of (or forgotten about).

A month in, I have 3.24GB of subscription music, and picked up the following bands (in rough chronological order).

• Poisonblack
• Sentenced
• Dark Tranquility
• Iron Maiden
• In Flames
• Scorpions
• Scar Symmetry
• Lacuna Coil
• Beseech
• Kamelot
• Raintime
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Firewind
• Die Trying
• Jag Panzer
• Labyrinth

Pretty standard so far, but we're only a month in. The collection gets more and more interesting as Smart DJ goes on its random kicks (like that one time it decided my music taste was "sexy female lead"), or as the mood at work motivates various music selections (when Amon Amarth is first reintroduced to the collection, it might be a good idea to steer clear of me for a bit).

Snowocalypse 2010

It’s snowing (and sticking), and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet! Amber is of course delighted, but I am less eager to embrace the winter months.

Snow in of itself isn’t too bad. With a bit of common sense, driving is just a test of patience. However, Seattle only gets snow every few years, which combined with a large transplant population from warmer locales means that roads can become a living nightmare to navigate. Reports already say that the main highways are filled with people chaining up and driving 20MPH; there’s been less than 1 inch of snow so far! If past snowfalls are an indicator, the next inch will result in cars being abandoned in the middle of the road en-masse, and what little bare pavement remains being littered with fragments of shattered tire chains. The side roads are worse… you’re either stuck waiting for the hordes to clear, or dodging sliding vehicles who don’t understand that you don’t stop while climbing icy hills.

So, despite the relatively light snow, I’ve hunkered down, prepared for four months of isolation. But its not so bad; a fire is burning, the poodle and Stratovarius are keeping me company while I work, and the FiOS Internet (unlike Comcrap) is still going strong. I think I may just survive.

Evening Update: apparently I was wise to avoid the hint of powder. #snOMG tells it all. Entire highways shut down by jack-knifed busses. Airplanes missing the airport. Apparently, my fellow Eastsiders just abandoned their cars en-masse! The entire transit system is slated to shut down tomorrow. Ahhh Seattle.

Morning update: Some videos.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZCyQ3emQg
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsJLVub50Aw
• http://www.king5.com/news/local/Icy-hill-sends-one-car-into-another-in-Seattle-110024144.html

Knotty Blog is up

For those of you bored of my ramblings (or lack thereof), Amber's got her own blog up at http://blog.knottypoodle.com/. A much better read, especially for those interested in pet ownership and pet grooming. It's very pink.

Enjoy!