Tag: video games

Categories
General Technology Travels

4 Hours in Malaysia / 26 Hours in Tokyo – Part 1

After leaving Bangkok, I landed in Kuala Lumpur for a 4-hour layover. Just long enough to get bored to tears in an airport but not long enough to leave said airport.

I wandered around the duty-free shops for a bit and decided to get a bite to eat at the Malaysian noodle place called Nööödles. I got the “beef balls and herbs soup” and a Coke for what equated to around $7. After that, I stumbled onto the airport Starbucks which had a free open WiFi connection… Sweet! Only problem, though: No way to charge my devices.

Kuala Lumpur is the only stop on my trip that doesn’t use the standard US two-prong wall socket, and I didn’t bring my adaptor kit with me. Luckily enough, there was an electronics store right below where I could pick up one of those little adaptor switch boxes for around $10.

I did have a momentary nerd out moment in there, however. They had TONS of Japanese video games for sale and all sorts of bizarre bootleg devices. This was the kind of stuff that 10 year old me dreamed of. I got really, really excited at the idea of buying something to bring home and play before I remembered that this isn’t the days of old where you could get a cartridge adaptor for your NES and play Japanese games. The whole industry has switched to optical media that simply will not work without having a modified system. Unfortunately, thanks to the DMCA is illegal in the United States. And, as such, companies like Microsoft will block your system from connecting to its service. Sigh.

After I got over my disappointment, I went back to Starbucks, plugged in, and I was up and running! (Note: the iPad’s battery would have no doubt made it fine through my flight to Tokyo, but I knew I was going to use it heavily in the next day, so I wanted to start with a fresh full charge.)

I arrived at the Narita airport and wandered around a bit, taking a moment to use the bathroom, clean myself up, and change into jeans. It’s 84 degrees here, a huge break compared to the sweltering heat and humidity of Thailand; I’m excited to be wearing jeans again.

I took an hour-long bus ride to the downtown Tokyo train station, a place I figured would be a good starting point. From there, I set off wandering and began laughing when I realized I had managed to orient myself solely by the placement of the sun. The Boy Scouts would be proud. I found myself feeling extremely grateful for my iPhone as well, as none of Tokyo’s streets are clearly labeled. That said, there are many maps placed throughout the city that denote where you are, which is very helpful. Navigation in Tokyo is entirely based on neighborhoods and landmarks, which is surprisingly clear for someone who can’t read a word of Japanese.

First thing on my agenda: find the Apple store. I was able to accomplish this very quickly. I promise you, my dear reader, that there is a method to my madness: Apple is very selective in their stores’ placement. They are usually in upscale, popular/trendy areas, which can immediately give you an idea of a good place to check out; on top of that, they offer free WiFi, accessible power outlets, clean bathrooms, and friendly multi-lingual staff.

That decision paid off big time. I was able to find an employee who had moved here from Estonia, who was kind enough to give me a brief run-through of Tokyo basics. First thing he told me: Enjoy the free WiFi because I won’t find much of it elsewhere. Not even Starbucks offers it, apparently, and McDonald’s does but only to Nintendo DS users. Great. I also found out the post office here doesn’t sell stamps. Weird. I’ve yet to mail out my postcards, so that is priority #2.

My friend’s father was able to get me a great hotel rate for tonight, so I booked a room at the Sheraton Miyako Hotel. While this goes against my usual traveling rules, I could use a clean bed and shower using my normal methods, so I’ll take it. Unfortunately, check-in is not until 2, so I’ve got some time to kill.

I’ve heard a few suggestions/requests of things to do for tonight, which I’m excited to start tackling as soon as I put my bags down. I’m still open for more though, so hit me up in the comments or on Twitter. More later!

Categories
Design General Technology

“F#¢k Thomas Edison. Seriously.” OR Death, Humor and Subism

This got me thinking last night, especially when contrasted with this. Tesla’s letterhead is striking, artistic, and thought-provoking. Edison, however goes for a more distinguished look that I think is boring, unoriginal, and lacking creativity.

Those who know me will tell you, in addition to being a design nerd, that I’ve got a quirky sense of humor. This is often misinterpreted and rubs people the wrong way because I tend to appear like an opinionated jerk. In reality, I like to challenge people’s ways of thinking, I enjoy arguing strange or absurd points and do so with a passion. I don’t always agree with the point I’m making, but I enjoy provoking someone sure of their beliefs out of their comfort zone.

I have been known to joke about the concept of death, and I am fascinated by people’s seriousness around the topic. Whether you are religious or not (I’m not), death to me has always seemed like just another phase of life. I’ve lost people I love and in some pretty tragic ways, and I don’t make light of that. However, when I talk of my death, I want people to chuckle, I don’t want to be mourned. I’d much rather there be a big party in my honor than a grieving. I want my sense of humor to be reflected; normal is boring.

I’m very fortunate to have made some amazing friends who, thankfully, appreciate my antagonistic behavior and sense of humor. In the event of my death, I’ve made two of them, Dan and Christine, responsible for certain things.  Dan, I’ve asked to eulogize me but only if he leads off with the following:

“John was not a great man, he wasn’t even a good man, but he did have a really sweet setup for his Sega Dreamcast”

The thing is, I’m not kidding. Dan thinks I am, but I’m not. I’ve made him promise to say that under penalty of haunting. IE: If he doesn’t say it, and there is a way for me to do it, I will haunt him from the afterlife. And believe me, I will, he knows it too, and assuming he outlives me, Dan has reluctantly agreed.

The other ritual in the event if my death is my headstone inscription, for which Christine is responsible. To explain that, you need to understand something else.

I hate Thomas Edison.

Yeah, I know, pretty random. That statement tends to piss off or confuse people. Especially coming from someone who works in technology, claims to be a Buddhist (it’s called “practicing” for a reason), and tries not to use the word “hate” anymore.

But seriously, fuck Thomas Edison.

I’m not discounting his impact on the world at large; I just think the man was an asshole. We grow up being taught a lot of things in elementary school that we accept as truths that later in life, we often learn the horrible reality about. Need an example? Christopher Columbus was a brutal murder who discovered nothing, Gandhi beat his wife, and Sylvester Stallone is not that tall in person.

People tend not to know the truth about Edison. The more I learn about him, the more respect I have for him as a businessman and the less respect I have for him as an actual human being. It doesn’t take much research to learn that Edison is a thief who ripped off the bulk of the work he is credited for and employed thugs to do his dirty work.

However, when I tell this to people (especially those from New Jersey) they often don’t believe me, “How could you seriously speak ill of ‘The father of invention?!'”

Then I show them this:

They usually get it then.

Yes, Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant to show the “superiority” of his direct current vs. Nikola Tesla’s alternating current. Edison’s rivalry with Tesla is extremely well documented, and the man went to outlandish lengths to prove himself right, to discredit Tesla and to destroy his life.

In the end, Edison was wrong, but he managed to nearly erase Tesla from the popular vernacular. To this day, most in our society have no clue who Tesla was and think of Edison when they think of electricity.

Learning of this made me rethink much of what I thought I knew. I love occurrences like that, stuff that subvert and disrupt the status quo and evoke thought. That, to me, is what subism is about.

It’s because of my beliefs as a subist and these enlightening truths that I want my death not to be taken seriously. I’d rather make someone laugh at society or think than cry for me. This is why I’ve also made Christine responsible inscription on my headstone, which will read exactly as follows:

“Fuck Thomas Edison. Seriously.”

If that offends you, good. If it makes you smile, even better.

Categories
Pop culture Technology

‘Surface’ Reactions

Eric Meyer nailed my first thought about Microsoft’s new ‘Surface’ computing device. I watched all the product demos on the site just waiting for this to pop up.

On a serious note: That thing looks REALLY cool. I think for once Microsoft is right on the money; it is going to change the industry with this technology. I’m not sure this is the right implementation, but it’s years ahead of the curve. Too bad it costs $10,000.

Then again, I thought Sega’s ‘Time Traveler’ was the future of gaming back in 1991. I was 10. Cut me some slack.

So, how long before someone modifies one to do what Eric is suggesting?

Categories
General Pop culture

Honoring a Commitment to Myself

When I was young, I desperately wanted to have an arcade machine in my home. I remember that one Christmas, I took all the money my family had given me for my birthday and Christmas and invested it in a bank account expressly for the purpose of saving to one day buy an NBA Jam arcade machine.

Well, it’s years later, and I still have that dream. My love for NBA Jam has come and gone, but some things have stayed the same. For years I have put on my Christmas list that I know I will not receive, but do anyway: A Dodge Viper, a Ms. Pac Man arcade machine, and a Guns N’ Roses Pinball machine.

Well, it’s been years, and well, that account grew a lot. It is now actually enough money to barely cover the purchase of an arcade machine. So I’ve decided, once I am in and settled in Chicago, I’m going to honor this promise I made to myself years ago and buy a machine. The G N’ R pinball is not going to happen, at least not till I’m mega-rich. Those machines are R-A-R-E. However, NAMCO put out something that recently caught my eye:

PAC-MAN 25th Anniversary Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga. All in one machine.

It will be mine. I think younger me would be pleased.

Categories
General Pop culture Technology

Allegedly this is not a blog…

…unless I update it.

Fair enough, I guess I’ll work on that. I’ll try to make this brief. I’ve been busy for the past few months, but things seem to be settling down for the moment, which is good.  Work is good, back to school season is just ending so hopefully things might ease up, that’s about all I can say. I’m hoping for new products soon, but I have no clue in truth. I plan to pick up a MacBook Pro whenever they put out a new version. My 12″ Powerbook’s AppleCare has just expired. While it’s still running and treating me well, it’s time to move to something with a little more power, something that can run Aperture or actually interface with a video iPod. (12″ had USB 1.1)

So I’m back playing Halo 2 again, that game will not die for me I still enjoy it every bit as much as I did when I bought it. Oh, that reminds me, I officially, after what… 4 months, have decided that my X-Box 360 was a completely worthwhile purchase. 3 reasons:

  1. I finally used it as a DVD player and a messaging center at the same time. I have my old wired Apple Keyboard plugged into it. Being able to voice chat as VoIP or text message while watching a movie is incredible.
  2. X-Box Live Arcade is finally actually worthwhile. I downloaded Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting and have been getting my butt whupped by strangers on the internet while listening to music streaming from my PowerMac. (Thank you Connect 360)
  3. Dead Rising. Nuff Said.

Other stuff….

So I’ve been keeping busy, not working on any major design projects at the moment, mostly studying new programs and trying to (re?)teach myself how to draw. That said, I have been working at getting MediaRebellion.com back up and running. I’m not sure what we’re going to use it for, but I moved all the content over to WordPress, and as of yesterday two days ago I installed the Beta of phpBB 3 on the site which seems to be running REALLY smoothly, it’s leaps and bounds better than any other free message board system I’ve used.

I’m also now hosting/administrating the official message board for The Epoxies. In case you haven’t checked them out, they are a new wave/punk band from Portland, Oregon that totally rocks, I highly recommend checking them out.

Canon put out a new version of the Rebel… I want it.