That acronym stands for "Bastard Operator From Hell".
The following links are much funnier if you are A) a nerd and B) have a fairly decent concept of UNIX and its administration. However, these are not necessary.
Also note that I am gullible, and at first believed these things. That was until the "accidents" started.
The first link is the early work, the second link is to the current site of the BOFH.
Archive
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Enjoy.
20070221
20070214
"Next-Gen"
This should be short.
For the longest time we've been referring to the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Wii as "next-gen" systems. The following question is directed at the populace that continues to do so.
Why?
These systems are no longer "next-gen". They are current, they are now. We are no longer awaiting their release, although we may be awaiting an opportunity to get our hands on one. These systems are not being released in 2011.
It irks me on a fundamental level that people STILL, especially journalists, refer to these systems as "next-gen". The Xbox 720, PS4 and Wii Tuu are "next-gen". In fact, the whole "next-gen" term is completely new to the marketing hype surrounding the new generation. That it is still being used is evidence of how it is almost purely a meaningless marketing term.
So quite simply, stop. If you must refer to them as something, "current-gen" or "the new systems" work perfectly well. The systems also have names, proper nouns of a sort, which also have a job they can do. I swear if I read another journalist who uses the term "next-gen" I'm going to wail and gnash teeth.
For the longest time we've been referring to the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Wii as "next-gen" systems. The following question is directed at the populace that continues to do so.
Why?
These systems are no longer "next-gen". They are current, they are now. We are no longer awaiting their release, although we may be awaiting an opportunity to get our hands on one. These systems are not being released in 2011.
It irks me on a fundamental level that people STILL, especially journalists, refer to these systems as "next-gen". The Xbox 720, PS4 and Wii Tuu are "next-gen". In fact, the whole "next-gen" term is completely new to the marketing hype surrounding the new generation. That it is still being used is evidence of how it is almost purely a meaningless marketing term.
So quite simply, stop. If you must refer to them as something, "current-gen" or "the new systems" work perfectly well. The systems also have names, proper nouns of a sort, which also have a job they can do. I swear if I read another journalist who uses the term "next-gen" I'm going to wail and gnash teeth.
The King is dead, long live the King!
I'm increasingly convinced that there are two paths availible to the previous video game king, Sony.
1) Come to terms with what is right and wrong with the Playstation 3.
2) Die, slowly, pitifully, and without friends.
I'm not going to bother listing the latest of the shenanigans on Sony's part. Penny-Arcade does a good enough job on the most recent offense. If you have the time, read the corresponding news section on the website. It works well as a source for much of the following thought.
Quite simply, the two paths I listed about are what every hardcore gamer MUST hope for. I highlight the word 'must' because it is absolutely imperative to the industry that Sony either realize their wayward ways or die. The alternative is horrific.
Penny-Arcade had an insight that set this off, and it was that right now it is the hardcore who are carrying Sony. Only a hardcore gamer will spend $600 on a PS3, or will have enough motivation to convince their parents to buy one for them. The casual people are interested, but they want to wait and see.
In this crucial time period, Sony is continually alienating the hardcore. Every comment that drips as acrid slime from their mouths spreads like wildfire through the internet and to the ears of the elite gamers, proud of their constant attunement to the latest news on all topics gaming. This is exactly the wrong thing to be doing, and if they succeed despite their arrogance a terrible and destructive message will be sent to those in charge of every company that has a presence in the industry.
Spineless.
In a sense, the hardcore are the ramparts of the gamers. We're the ones who pay attention, the ones who are "in the know". If we roll over for these companies, they will KNOW they can have their way, no matter what. If the hardcore do not resist, how can we expect the casual gamer to be bothered? They do not know that the man in charge of Sony Computer Entertainment of America is in complete denial that there are PS3s unsold in stores. They do not know that the crashing PS3 demo displays are a "feature" rather than a bug. They simply know there is a PS3, and often not even how much it costs.
If Sony survives, but does not amend their ways, it's as good as waiving our rights to decent treatment at the hands of the monolithic companies that drive the industry.
Perhaps I'm simply reacting drastically and without truly deep thought as it is late, but I can not see Sony's survival without reform as a positive influence in the industry. Should they learn, I will welcome them back into the fold with open arms. Should they perish, I will mourn their loss. But should they persist in their rancid words that defy both reality and insult the intelligence of the people they purport to understand, no supplication will be enough to reconcile me to them.
1) Come to terms with what is right and wrong with the Playstation 3.
2) Die, slowly, pitifully, and without friends.
I'm not going to bother listing the latest of the shenanigans on Sony's part. Penny-Arcade does a good enough job on the most recent offense. If you have the time, read the corresponding news section on the website. It works well as a source for much of the following thought.
Quite simply, the two paths I listed about are what every hardcore gamer MUST hope for. I highlight the word 'must' because it is absolutely imperative to the industry that Sony either realize their wayward ways or die. The alternative is horrific.
Penny-Arcade had an insight that set this off, and it was that right now it is the hardcore who are carrying Sony. Only a hardcore gamer will spend $600 on a PS3, or will have enough motivation to convince their parents to buy one for them. The casual people are interested, but they want to wait and see.
In this crucial time period, Sony is continually alienating the hardcore. Every comment that drips as acrid slime from their mouths spreads like wildfire through the internet and to the ears of the elite gamers, proud of their constant attunement to the latest news on all topics gaming. This is exactly the wrong thing to be doing, and if they succeed despite their arrogance a terrible and destructive message will be sent to those in charge of every company that has a presence in the industry.
Spineless.
In a sense, the hardcore are the ramparts of the gamers. We're the ones who pay attention, the ones who are "in the know". If we roll over for these companies, they will KNOW they can have their way, no matter what. If the hardcore do not resist, how can we expect the casual gamer to be bothered? They do not know that the man in charge of Sony Computer Entertainment of America is in complete denial that there are PS3s unsold in stores. They do not know that the crashing PS3 demo displays are a "feature" rather than a bug. They simply know there is a PS3, and often not even how much it costs.
If Sony survives, but does not amend their ways, it's as good as waiving our rights to decent treatment at the hands of the monolithic companies that drive the industry.
Perhaps I'm simply reacting drastically and without truly deep thought as it is late, but I can not see Sony's survival without reform as a positive influence in the industry. Should they learn, I will welcome them back into the fold with open arms. Should they perish, I will mourn their loss. But should they persist in their rancid words that defy both reality and insult the intelligence of the people they purport to understand, no supplication will be enough to reconcile me to them.
20070129
Taggerific
Accursed blog upgrades!
You may have noticed, as I did, that with the new blogger comes tags. Wonderous things they are, I am now compelled to (perhaps when I am not at work taking a 5 minute break) go through my vast history of jibberish and tag everything.
In other news, the examples for labels are "scooters, vacation, fall". Read into that what you will.
You may have noticed, as I did, that with the new blogger comes tags. Wonderous things they are, I am now compelled to (perhaps when I am not at work taking a 5 minute break) go through my vast history of jibberish and tag everything.
In other news, the examples for labels are "scooters, vacation, fall". Read into that what you will.
Vroom.
I've had a lot of fun in Excite Truck for the Wii, and before that I lit blue rubber fires in Mario Kart: Double Dash with my Bro Steve on the GameCube (Apologies to Waluigi and Yoshi for the smell of burning tires), but before even that was Mario Kart 64.
Today Mario Kart 64 joins the Wii's Virtual Console titles. My excitement is only dulled by the grim prospect of playing the game alone.
In any case, I needed something pointless to post about, and here it is.
Expect to hear the anguished cries of my racer as I expertly miss the vaunted Rainbow Road shortcut, thus flinging them into the abyss.
Today Mario Kart 64 joins the Wii's Virtual Console titles. My excitement is only dulled by the grim prospect of playing the game alone.
In any case, I needed something pointless to post about, and here it is.
Expect to hear the anguished cries of my racer as I expertly miss the vaunted Rainbow Road shortcut, thus flinging them into the abyss.
20070112
NintendOwned
Last week's video game sales charts from Japan paint a very interesting story...
In short, you need to go down fifteen places before you find a single game title that wasn't for a Nintendo console. In fact, nine of the Top Ten were first-party Nintendo titles, fifteen of the top twenty, and twenty of the top thirty.
Even more surprising is how OLD some of these games are. Animal Crossing was released over a year ago, and was still #7!
Worse yet for Sony, four out of their six titles on the list aren't even for a current-generation system! The PS3 doesn't make a single appearance on the list, while the PSP only has two titles able to break Nintendo's stranglehold on software sales. Meanwhile, Microsoft isn't anywhere to be seen at all.
Quite simply, if there was any doubt that Nintendo was going to pwn this generation you need only look to Japan. Nintendo is trashing all comers there, leading in both console and software sales by a long, distant shot.
Microsoft can trumpet their 10 million consoles until the end times, and rightly so. However, they don't have a single million in Japan, while Nintendo is screaming forward in all regions as fast as they can produce systems and games.
Sony is only at 1 million consoles worldwide, and already they are sitting on shelves here in North America.
I'm doing my "told you so" dance right now. We'll see how long it goes before something changes in the industry and I have to stop.
In short, you need to go down fifteen places before you find a single game title that wasn't for a Nintendo console. In fact, nine of the Top Ten were first-party Nintendo titles, fifteen of the top twenty, and twenty of the top thirty.
Even more surprising is how OLD some of these games are. Animal Crossing was released over a year ago, and was still #7!
Worse yet for Sony, four out of their six titles on the list aren't even for a current-generation system! The PS3 doesn't make a single appearance on the list, while the PSP only has two titles able to break Nintendo's stranglehold on software sales. Meanwhile, Microsoft isn't anywhere to be seen at all.
Quite simply, if there was any doubt that Nintendo was going to pwn this generation you need only look to Japan. Nintendo is trashing all comers there, leading in both console and software sales by a long, distant shot.
Microsoft can trumpet their 10 million consoles until the end times, and rightly so. However, they don't have a single million in Japan, while Nintendo is screaming forward in all regions as fast as they can produce systems and games.
Sony is only at 1 million consoles worldwide, and already they are sitting on shelves here in North America.
I'm doing my "told you so" dance right now. We'll see how long it goes before something changes in the industry and I have to stop.
20070102
FAQ Grammar Paradox
One of the foundational lessons is grammar is that of a/an. When does that mysterious little n jump out of the woodwork and grip itself steadfastly on the right side of that a? As most of the internet will not be able to tell you, it is whenever the first letter of the following word is a vowel or vowel sound (e.g an eon or an hour).
Example: That is an operating system, an OS if you will.
However, you will notice something that sentence assumes, namely the pronounciation of acronyms. Some people would read OS aloud as "operating system", some would read it as "Oh-Es" and others just "Aus". This leads to the following confusing sentence.
Example: I wrote a FAQ on the Legend of Zelda.
Nothing wrong with this sentence, save for potential eternal wrangling over proper grammar. Now, I am no expert grammarian but my instincts here lead be to believe there is a problem. A problem coming from the acronym "FAQ".
Some people will say aloud "Frequently Asked Questions" but those are very few because of the great mouthful that is, so most will default to either "Fak" or "Ef-Ay-Kyew". Therein is the problem.
"Fak" is a distinct consonant, while "Ef-Ay-Kyew" sports a vowel sound at the beginning. This creates a very real and confusing dichotomy between whether we should use a or an.
Anyone who prefers "Fak" is going to read that sentence and be perfectly content and happy, barring a complete failure at basic grammar and spelling. However, people who prefer "Ef-Ay-Kyew" will twitch when they reach "a FAQ" because as far as they can tell the author screwed up in the attempted sentence.
What results is an impossible situation wherein any perfectionist writer aware of the problem will be forced to refer to all such acronyms in the definitive or else risk going insane.
The problem consonants are as follows:
F - Ef
H - Aych
L - El
M - Em
N - En
S - Es
X - Ex
Many acronyms starting with this letters will cause great issues for writers. Thankfully a large number lend themselves almost fully to one pronouciation or another (MADD would very rarely be pronounced "Em-Ay-Dee-Dee" while NAACP would almost never be pronounced "Naspa" or "Nakp") or are large organizations requiring definitives.
As it stands, FAQ is probably the worst and singularly common case of an acronym commonly used by the public which exemplifies this problem.
Now that I've ruined the word for all you grammatical perfectionists out there (I know I've sent some of you into seizures), I can rest for the day satisfied with a job well done, if overly verbose.
Example: That is an operating system, an OS if you will.
However, you will notice something that sentence assumes, namely the pronounciation of acronyms. Some people would read OS aloud as "operating system", some would read it as "Oh-Es" and others just "Aus". This leads to the following confusing sentence.
Example: I wrote a FAQ on the Legend of Zelda.
Nothing wrong with this sentence, save for potential eternal wrangling over proper grammar. Now, I am no expert grammarian but my instincts here lead be to believe there is a problem. A problem coming from the acronym "FAQ".
Some people will say aloud "Frequently Asked Questions" but those are very few because of the great mouthful that is, so most will default to either "Fak" or "Ef-Ay-Kyew". Therein is the problem.
"Fak" is a distinct consonant, while "Ef-Ay-Kyew" sports a vowel sound at the beginning. This creates a very real and confusing dichotomy between whether we should use a or an.
Anyone who prefers "Fak" is going to read that sentence and be perfectly content and happy, barring a complete failure at basic grammar and spelling. However, people who prefer "Ef-Ay-Kyew" will twitch when they reach "a FAQ" because as far as they can tell the author screwed up in the attempted sentence.
What results is an impossible situation wherein any perfectionist writer aware of the problem will be forced to refer to all such acronyms in the definitive or else risk going insane.
The problem consonants are as follows:
F - Ef
H - Aych
L - El
M - Em
N - En
S - Es
X - Ex
Many acronyms starting with this letters will cause great issues for writers. Thankfully a large number lend themselves almost fully to one pronouciation or another (MADD would very rarely be pronounced "Em-Ay-Dee-Dee" while NAACP would almost never be pronounced "Naspa" or "Nakp") or are large organizations requiring definitives.
As it stands, FAQ is probably the worst and singularly common case of an acronym commonly used by the public which exemplifies this problem.
Now that I've ruined the word for all you grammatical perfectionists out there (I know I've sent some of you into seizures), I can rest for the day satisfied with a job well done, if overly verbose.
20070101
Empty
Vacation ends.
It's been wild, fun, exciting, crazy, and a whole slew of adjectives the likes of which the world has seen many times before. The myriad of interesting variations our inter-familial activities created in our interactions was astounding. The whole thing was a blast.
Yet there can be little as chilling as returning to one's apartment, finding none of the dear relatives who had been guests in the humble abode I call home. It is all so empty.
Everything I have, everything I see, it's all empty when I'm alone. There isn't a video game I own, a picture I can view, or word I can type that isn't a painful reminder that the people I care about most are beyond my daily reach. Whether they were present at this family reunion or not, the gaping holes left by friends and family distant fail to mask the void of a bachelor pad and a lonely bachelor.
I feel as though the very walls scream at me. Beating against me for my solitude, railing at the lack of social activity I muster to fill the stagnant rooms of my residence. Even as I type my concentration falters for the complete lack of people.
There are times where I enjoy being alone. I can say that as much as 50% of my waking hours and days are pretty much required to be away from society. Unfortunately my current conditions leave me precious little interaction with my peers. What little social activity I have is largely with people decades my senior, great people but far removed from the thoughts, needs, and desires of a man still fresh out of college. As it stands what should be free time spent inviting friends over for poker, Wii, or a movie are instead flittered away without company.
Honestly, I don't know how to make friends. I'm not the kind of person who goes out on their own motivations. Despite the ease of demeanor I display in social situations I am not one who begins them, but must instead be directed to them by others. When the number of others directing me to said situations is zero the nature of my problem becomes apparent.
I fully realize how ludicrous it seems. The simple answer it to force myself to go out there and meet people, find a group or something. However, the simple answer for what to do when bitten by a highly venomous creature is to completely sever the affected area from oneself immediately. Simple completely fails to address the difficulty associated with said solution and even the practicality thereof.
So I'm left with my conundrum, and the painfully empty apartment.
It's been wild, fun, exciting, crazy, and a whole slew of adjectives the likes of which the world has seen many times before. The myriad of interesting variations our inter-familial activities created in our interactions was astounding. The whole thing was a blast.
Yet there can be little as chilling as returning to one's apartment, finding none of the dear relatives who had been guests in the humble abode I call home. It is all so empty.
Everything I have, everything I see, it's all empty when I'm alone. There isn't a video game I own, a picture I can view, or word I can type that isn't a painful reminder that the people I care about most are beyond my daily reach. Whether they were present at this family reunion or not, the gaping holes left by friends and family distant fail to mask the void of a bachelor pad and a lonely bachelor.
I feel as though the very walls scream at me. Beating against me for my solitude, railing at the lack of social activity I muster to fill the stagnant rooms of my residence. Even as I type my concentration falters for the complete lack of people.
There are times where I enjoy being alone. I can say that as much as 50% of my waking hours and days are pretty much required to be away from society. Unfortunately my current conditions leave me precious little interaction with my peers. What little social activity I have is largely with people decades my senior, great people but far removed from the thoughts, needs, and desires of a man still fresh out of college. As it stands what should be free time spent inviting friends over for poker, Wii, or a movie are instead flittered away without company.
Honestly, I don't know how to make friends. I'm not the kind of person who goes out on their own motivations. Despite the ease of demeanor I display in social situations I am not one who begins them, but must instead be directed to them by others. When the number of others directing me to said situations is zero the nature of my problem becomes apparent.
I fully realize how ludicrous it seems. The simple answer it to force myself to go out there and meet people, find a group or something. However, the simple answer for what to do when bitten by a highly venomous creature is to completely sever the affected area from oneself immediately. Simple completely fails to address the difficulty associated with said solution and even the practicality thereof.
So I'm left with my conundrum, and the painfully empty apartment.
20061219
Greed before Need
Because my greedy and Scrooge-like sister went ahead and did it, I will feel no remorse in schilling for gifts as well.
And yes, I'm so miserly I'm stealing her formatting as well.
As a final note, these are also valid birthday presents.
The Well Dressed Nerd
1. Outrageously Funny - Choko Untld (Wark!)
2. Odd as All Else - Emergency Exit (It's funny, really. Okay, so maybe you need to have been in Japan...)
3. You Know it's True - Life (Twilight Princess rocks your socks)
4. Self-Defense - Shirt of Smiting (You never know when you need to mete out a good smiting)
5. Free Will - RPG (Choose wisely)
If Music is the Food of Love, Maybe this Will Get me a Date
1. A-Muse-zing - Absolution (Oh the pun hurts I know)
2. Nippon, ChaChaCha - Yoshida Brothers (Because their piece from the Wii commercial was so awesome, so get me all three)
3. Weird and All - Straight Outta Lynwood (Because I'm so White and Nerdy)
4. Shinigamiwa Atashiwo Korosu - Bleach (Because the anime kicks butt)
Since when was Pink a Natural Hair Color?
1. IM IN UR MEYTRIKZ, KRASHIN UR CODE - Stand Alone Complex (Because's it's as awesome as the movies)
2. From the, "I never saw THAT coming!" department - Berserk (And you thought Cloud had a big sword)
3. Be Afraid - Paranoia Agent (Same guy who did Perfect Blue = Want)
And so there you have it. I will break the pattern and not list 2 items and then 1 more item, because the 2 items would be things I'd want for myself, and only God can get me a significant other.
This lesson in greed has ended.
And yes, I'm so miserly I'm stealing her formatting as well.
As a final note, these are also valid birthday presents.
The Well Dressed Nerd
1. Outrageously Funny - Choko Untld (Wark!)
2. Odd as All Else - Emergency Exit (It's funny, really. Okay, so maybe you need to have been in Japan...)
3. You Know it's True - Life (Twilight Princess rocks your socks)
4. Self-Defense - Shirt of Smiting (You never know when you need to mete out a good smiting)
5. Free Will - RPG (Choose wisely)
If Music is the Food of Love, Maybe this Will Get me a Date
1. A-Muse-zing - Absolution (Oh the pun hurts I know)
2. Nippon, ChaChaCha - Yoshida Brothers (Because their piece from the Wii commercial was so awesome, so get me all three)
3. Weird and All - Straight Outta Lynwood (Because I'm so White and Nerdy)
4. Shinigamiwa Atashiwo Korosu - Bleach (Because the anime kicks butt)
Since when was Pink a Natural Hair Color?
1. IM IN UR MEYTRIKZ, KRASHIN UR CODE - Stand Alone Complex (Because's it's as awesome as the movies)
2. From the, "I never saw THAT coming!" department - Berserk (And you thought Cloud had a big sword)
3. Be Afraid - Paranoia Agent (Same guy who did Perfect Blue = Want)
And so there you have it. I will break the pattern and not list 2 items and then 1 more item, because the 2 items would be things I'd want for myself, and only God can get me a significant other.
This lesson in greed has ended.
Haberdashery
I highly recommend going to www.churchsigngenerator.com. It is very diverting, with five different styles to choose from. Each and every sign looks completely authentic, whether you enscribe your favorite Monty Python moments or Burt Ward's best Robin quote.
I, of course, chose to practice my sardonic wit. I played around with a myriad of possibilities, but this one struck me as the most appropriate. I thought about changing "you" to "Jim" or even removing the blank area so I could reference one of my multiple personalities who has long been absent from this blog (Franklin), but ultimately the original had already sunk it's viral mandibles into my cerebrum.
20061213
Astroturf
You may or may not be aware of Sony's recent attempt to generate a grassroots campaign for their PSP. The whole thing was ridiculously obvious because the marketing company that was hired was incapable of using 13375p34k properly. That's right, what they generated was a hideous abomination of a hideous abomination.
Below is an analysis of on of the "blog" posts from the offending website. It should become very obvious that A) using ur and luv does not a 1337 g3m4r make and B) I know way too much about 13375p34k, gamers and the internet.
Begin analysis.
You don't need to have spent years on the internet to know that when someone makes common mistakes/shortcuts like luv and ur, they don't do it halfway. You'll never see the following sentence on the internet by someone doing it unintentionally.
This sentence of my creation highlights something everyone who's ever used IRC, read Barrens chat, or hacked the e-mail of a 14 year old knows. People who use ur and luv and similar shortcuts and mispellings will not be using proper punctuation, spelling and grammar. It doesn't happen.
Yet, here is what we have from the website. I will be pointlessly dissecting it.
People do not use colons on the internet. That key is the jaded and lost son of the realm of QWERTY. People also make assumptions, assumptions such as their identity being well known. They won't be specifying that they are "charlie", you should already know that. If you don't, you're a noob. Jeremy fails to be derided for not having a PSP. Lastly, no one speaking like this would specify "this year", or type "one" out. Number keys are there 4 a reason.
No one on the internet can spell subtle, let alone know where to use hyphens. A common thing to notice is the use of larger words here were smaller ones would have sufficed. "started" could be "were" or "did". "created" is two syllabels longer than "made". The last sentence would more improperly be "we maed this site 2 giv luv 4 u who want a psp liek j!"
Again with the long words. Very few words over 2 syllabels are in the common lexicon on the internet. "consider", "personal", "holiday", "whoever", all unknown to the internet mind. Again with the hyphens as well. There are no "girl"s on the internet, only "gf"s, and when was the last time we saw "granny"? What kid this supposed age would have a "boss"?
Anyone who uses ur is not going to type out "you". "you" is four characters too many as it is. Also, the kind of comraderie shown in this last sentiment is completely foreign. This is the internet, not a high tea. There are no favors, there are only noobs and 1337 h4x.
Ironically, this horribly conceived effort at joining the netizens was least among the symptoms of the greater evil. Very quickly enterprising people spent all of five minutes finding the administrative contacts of the website, linking them to a marketing company, and matching up employee pictures to the people on the website. Almost as soon as the website was up the jig was up.
I wasn't originally going to blab about any of this, were it not for Sony's "apology" or "confession" contained below.
I would like to take the opportunity to rail against this.
Firstly, many is a small reckoning. 99% of people aware of the website found out, instantly. The other 1% saw that everyone else had figured it out already and moved on to other things.
Secondly, stop. You weren't cool before, you aren't cool now. Your speech wasn't too funky fresh, in fact I can't think of anyone describing "ur", "luv" and similar shortcuts as such. No, your speech as a baldfaced attempt at pretending to be something you weren't and you failed miserably. Lets look at that again, you failed miserably to mispell words. That just boggles the mind.
Thirdly, it was deathly obvious from that incredible mind-destroying "rap" video that Peter was not, in fact a hip-hop maven. If you survived the video anyway.
Fourthly, a mere cursory look at the webpage immediately screams "marketing". Even Xbox 360 fansites don't plaster system related imagery everywhere like that.
Fifthly, it's not that you were trying to be a little too clever, it's that you A) went out of your way to lie to us and B) failed utterly and completely to fool anyone but yourselves.
Sixthly, your initial product (the webpage) wasn't cool. Making a cool product is a prerequisite to continue making cool products. I can't say I'll continue running away from you screaming at the horror of your creations unless I had already begun my speedy trek in a direction orthogonal to you.
Lastly, it's too late. Who with any sense whatsoever is going to believe anything you say from this point onward? We're supposed to get "just the facts" from a website whose initial point and purpose was an intentional and intricate deception? Snowball's chance on an overclocked CPU.
As an addendum, the worst part of the apology is that they still tried to act cool. When I apologize to someone for a trangression, I do not act as I normally do. My wit, jokes, sarcasm, jolly nature and other attributes are pushed aside because apologies and confessions are serious business. This is especially true when trying to reestablish someone's trust after something as destructive as a lie. Yet Sony, signing as Sony Computer Entertainment America no less, did not cut the crap and continued in part their charade even as they confessed.
I'm of the opinion that whoever is in charge of Sony's PR and marketing needs to be fired, around eight months ago. There hasn't been a single piece of good news generated by Sony's own PR machine starting May 2006 during and after E3. Things that could have been excellent news were lukewarm, and things that might have been only minor issues spiralled uncontrolled into whirlwinds of bad press. This is just another lead pipe on a thoroughly crushed camel.
Sony need to get their PR act together, because ultimately it's going to hurt them severely if they don't. It shouldn't be this hard to market the incumbent.
Below is an analysis of on of the "blog" posts from the offending website. It should become very obvious that A) using ur and luv does not a 1337 g3m4r make and B) I know way too much about 13375p34k, gamers and the internet.
Begin analysis.
You don't need to have spent years on the internet to know that when someone makes common mistakes/shortcuts like luv and ur, they don't do it halfway. You'll never see the following sentence on the internet by someone doing it unintentionally.
Hello everyone, I was just thinking that ur all going to luv my latest blog entry.
This sentence of my creation highlights something everyone who's ever used IRC, read Barrens chat, or hacked the e-mail of a 14 year old knows. People who use ur and luv and similar shortcuts and mispellings will not be using proper punctuation, spelling and grammar. It doesn't happen.
Yet, here is what we have from the website. I will be pointlessly dissecting it.
here's the deal::: i (charlie) have a psp. my friend jeremy does not. but he wants one this year for xmas.
People do not use colons on the internet. That key is the jaded and lost son of the realm of QWERTY. People also make assumptions, assumptions such as their identity being well known. They won't be specifying that they are "charlie", you should already know that. If you don't, you're a noob. Jeremy fails to be derided for not having a PSP. Lastly, no one speaking like this would specify "this year", or type "one" out. Number keys are there 4 a reason.
so we started clowning with sum not-so-subtle hints to j's parents that a psp would be teh perfect gift. we created this site to spread the luv to those like j who want a psp!
No one on the internet can spell subtle, let alone know where to use hyphens. A common thing to notice is the use of larger words here were smaller ones would have sufficed. "started" could be "were" or "did". "created" is two syllabels longer than "made". The last sentence would more improperly be "we maed this site 2 giv luv 4 u who want a psp liek j!"
consider us your own personal psp hype machine, here to help you wage a holiday assault on ur parents, girl, granny, boss -- whoever -- so they know what you really want.
Again with the long words. Very few words over 2 syllabels are in the common lexicon on the internet. "consider", "personal", "holiday", "whoever", all unknown to the internet mind. Again with the hyphens as well. There are no "girl"s on the internet, only "gf"s, and when was the last time we saw "granny"? What kid this supposed age would have a "boss"?
we'll let you know how it works for us. pls return the favor.
more to come,
c&j.
Anyone who uses ur is not going to type out "you". "you" is four characters too many as it is. Also, the kind of comraderie shown in this last sentiment is completely foreign. This is the internet, not a high tea. There are no favors, there are only noobs and 1337 h4x.
Ironically, this horribly conceived effort at joining the netizens was least among the symptoms of the greater evil. Very quickly enterprising people spent all of five minutes finding the administrative contacts of the website, linking them to a marketing company, and matching up employee pictures to the people on the website. Almost as soon as the website was up the jig was up.
I wasn't originally going to blab about any of this, were it not for Sony's "apology" or "confession" contained below.
Busted. Nailed. Snagged. As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), Peter isn't a real hip-hop maven and this site was actually developed by Sony. Guess we were trying to be just a little too clever. From this point forward, we will just stick to making cool products, and use this site to give you nothing but the facts on the PSP.
Sony Computer Entertainment America
I would like to take the opportunity to rail against this.
Firstly, many is a small reckoning. 99% of people aware of the website found out, instantly. The other 1% saw that everyone else had figured it out already and moved on to other things.
Secondly, stop. You weren't cool before, you aren't cool now. Your speech wasn't too funky fresh, in fact I can't think of anyone describing "ur", "luv" and similar shortcuts as such. No, your speech as a baldfaced attempt at pretending to be something you weren't and you failed miserably. Lets look at that again, you failed miserably to mispell words. That just boggles the mind.
Thirdly, it was deathly obvious from that incredible mind-destroying "rap" video that Peter was not, in fact a hip-hop maven. If you survived the video anyway.
Fourthly, a mere cursory look at the webpage immediately screams "marketing". Even Xbox 360 fansites don't plaster system related imagery everywhere like that.
Fifthly, it's not that you were trying to be a little too clever, it's that you A) went out of your way to lie to us and B) failed utterly and completely to fool anyone but yourselves.
Sixthly, your initial product (the webpage) wasn't cool. Making a cool product is a prerequisite to continue making cool products. I can't say I'll continue running away from you screaming at the horror of your creations unless I had already begun my speedy trek in a direction orthogonal to you.
Lastly, it's too late. Who with any sense whatsoever is going to believe anything you say from this point onward? We're supposed to get "just the facts" from a website whose initial point and purpose was an intentional and intricate deception? Snowball's chance on an overclocked CPU.
As an addendum, the worst part of the apology is that they still tried to act cool. When I apologize to someone for a trangression, I do not act as I normally do. My wit, jokes, sarcasm, jolly nature and other attributes are pushed aside because apologies and confessions are serious business. This is especially true when trying to reestablish someone's trust after something as destructive as a lie. Yet Sony, signing as Sony Computer Entertainment America no less, did not cut the crap and continued in part their charade even as they confessed.
I'm of the opinion that whoever is in charge of Sony's PR and marketing needs to be fired, around eight months ago. There hasn't been a single piece of good news generated by Sony's own PR machine starting May 2006 during and after E3. Things that could have been excellent news were lukewarm, and things that might have been only minor issues spiralled uncontrolled into whirlwinds of bad press. This is just another lead pipe on a thoroughly crushed camel.
Sony need to get their PR act together, because ultimately it's going to hurt them severely if they don't. It shouldn't be this hard to market the incumbent.
20061211
Terse
Firstly, that's something I'm not. However, it's also something the internet is not as well. This is a problem.
I have noted unconciously, until recently, a slow change in the internet. As the years have gone by websites have increased in complexity. Complexity is not in an of itself a problem. It is nice to have a complex setup, such as this blog, which enables users to do things simply. Complexity of that kind is good. It is complexity of a different kind that isn't. Namely, the web page itself.
Years ago web pages were extremely simplistic. There was very rarely anything beyond grey backgrounds, a few paragraphs of text, a hyperlink to the info-mac archinves, and one small 3k image of the person running the webpage. This was ideal for the time as anyone with a 14.4k modem was living in the lap of luxury. Slowly the capabilities of the internet were expanded, and with them webpages grew and blossomed.
Complexity of the function of web pages exploded. Whereas previously very few web pages were anything other than personal web pages or directories of files for download, now we had review sites, shareware developer home pages, news sites and more. It was still primitive, but that didn't last long either. After seperate, dedicated phone lines were no longer required to surf the sea of information, the internet created a huge demand for excellent web designers and pushed forward into the dot com boom/bust.
However, somewhere in that explosion all the good web designers vanished.
Don't believe me? First take a look at Google. In my mind, it is the epitomy of everything a web page should be. It is simple to use and navigate, while at the same time hosting a very deep and vast set of functions. When the web page loads there isn't any confusion as to what's going on. There are no distractions. There is only Google, a few options, a friendly search box and the "Search" and "Lucky" buttons. There are no ads, no special offers, nothing to clutter the page. It is, in short, a very orthogonally designed website.
Now take a look at Amazon. I'm not going to argue that Amazon isn't extremely functional, because it is. The features it attempts to grant the user do their jobs and do them well. Amazon is not the most famous online store for no reason. However, the website can not be said to be simple.
Before I cut deep into Amazon's web design, I will say that they are hardly the worst website out there. In fact, they are quite probably above average. This does not change my opinion that their website still leaves much to be desired.
When you load the Amazon web page you are immediately assaulted with options and advertisements. In the center of the screen are suggestions of things for you to buy. On either side of the search bar are a penguin and a golden chest screaming to you for a click that you might see what special deals they offer. There are tabs which are not immediately intuitive as to their function. Long lists of categories stream down the left side. Were you to try and assimilate everything on the very first page, it might take you fifteen minutes.
For someone first visiting the site, this can be extremely daunting. Lets say they wanted to find a toy. If they were intent on browsing for one, they're probably going to look confused at the screen for a moment as they try and figure out what is going on. Looking near a common center of attention, the search bar, they find links to deals, new releases, top sellers.... of what? What are these things? This person wants a toy, and if they click on these things thinking they might find one they will only find more confusion.
After some looking, they will probably find the "Browse" menu on the left. Unfortunately, toys are not listed immediately and must be scrolled down to be found. The whole time this is done ads and suggestions take up the other 3/4ths of the page, begging for attention. Just now I scrolled right past the toys, even though I knew exactly where it was, because of the distractions.
Similar insanity continues when you actually click on the toys link, but lets focus on the actual search.
If I search for "Transformers" the actual list of items is repeatedly usurped by sponsored links, and squished by categories, listmania and other oddities on the left. Clicking on a actual item isn't terrible, until you scroll down through the rest of the page and another array of confusing features without much organization presents itself. Thankfully the option to buy is situated in the primary area you first view, although accompanied by options to add it to any number of lists.
To be what I should have been in the first place, terse, the Amazon web page is not simple in the least, especially for someone who has never tried to navigate it before.
I'll repeat myself and say that Amazon is well above average in terms of its design. For all the complexity, it isn't a hideous abomination of web design as several of my college's web portals, a number of lesser online stores, and news sites are. The sheer amount of disorganized and useless clutter that can be found in so small a space as a web browser is staggering.
Web design, I believe, is largely a lost art. Much like Hollywood versus independant film-makers, we can not look to the large businesses to make the best stuff (with rare exceptions). There is an eloquent simplicity and depth to saucylittleone's livejournal, a straight utilitarian forcefulness to the Angry Christian Liberal, and my blog (simple as it is) contains more clutter than I care for.
I'm thinking very seriously about designing my own web page. I have a pretty solid idea for the main index, it's more the functions thereof and what I want to accomplish with it that need to be addressed. I want to avoid the "Lets throw in every last bell and whistle!" approach.
The major things that would be features of this webpage would be video game reviews (in depth, as in more than just a set of ratings and a justification for them but really nitty gritty details), this blog, a forum, and maybe a wiki to store all of the extremely technical and pointless knowledge of video game mechanics I uncover.
One of the chilling factors on this project at the moment is the effort. I'm not sure I'm prepared to spend the time managing, updating and generating content for the site. I also don't know a whole lot about finding web hosting, and the best thing I know for domain registration is whatever I can find via Google. Anyone with more extensive knowledge who might share said knowledge is kindly asked to impart said wisdom in the comments for this post.
In any case, I think I went more technical and less philosophical in this than I meant to. I'm not going to edit it though, because I'm lazy.
I have noted unconciously, until recently, a slow change in the internet. As the years have gone by websites have increased in complexity. Complexity is not in an of itself a problem. It is nice to have a complex setup, such as this blog, which enables users to do things simply. Complexity of that kind is good. It is complexity of a different kind that isn't. Namely, the web page itself.
Years ago web pages were extremely simplistic. There was very rarely anything beyond grey backgrounds, a few paragraphs of text, a hyperlink to the info-mac archinves, and one small 3k image of the person running the webpage. This was ideal for the time as anyone with a 14.4k modem was living in the lap of luxury. Slowly the capabilities of the internet were expanded, and with them webpages grew and blossomed.
Complexity of the function of web pages exploded. Whereas previously very few web pages were anything other than personal web pages or directories of files for download, now we had review sites, shareware developer home pages, news sites and more. It was still primitive, but that didn't last long either. After seperate, dedicated phone lines were no longer required to surf the sea of information, the internet created a huge demand for excellent web designers and pushed forward into the dot com boom/bust.
However, somewhere in that explosion all the good web designers vanished.
Don't believe me? First take a look at Google. In my mind, it is the epitomy of everything a web page should be. It is simple to use and navigate, while at the same time hosting a very deep and vast set of functions. When the web page loads there isn't any confusion as to what's going on. There are no distractions. There is only Google, a few options, a friendly search box and the "Search" and "Lucky" buttons. There are no ads, no special offers, nothing to clutter the page. It is, in short, a very orthogonally designed website.
Now take a look at Amazon. I'm not going to argue that Amazon isn't extremely functional, because it is. The features it attempts to grant the user do their jobs and do them well. Amazon is not the most famous online store for no reason. However, the website can not be said to be simple.
Before I cut deep into Amazon's web design, I will say that they are hardly the worst website out there. In fact, they are quite probably above average. This does not change my opinion that their website still leaves much to be desired.
When you load the Amazon web page you are immediately assaulted with options and advertisements. In the center of the screen are suggestions of things for you to buy. On either side of the search bar are a penguin and a golden chest screaming to you for a click that you might see what special deals they offer. There are tabs which are not immediately intuitive as to their function. Long lists of categories stream down the left side. Were you to try and assimilate everything on the very first page, it might take you fifteen minutes.
For someone first visiting the site, this can be extremely daunting. Lets say they wanted to find a toy. If they were intent on browsing for one, they're probably going to look confused at the screen for a moment as they try and figure out what is going on. Looking near a common center of attention, the search bar, they find links to deals, new releases, top sellers.... of what? What are these things? This person wants a toy, and if they click on these things thinking they might find one they will only find more confusion.
After some looking, they will probably find the "Browse" menu on the left. Unfortunately, toys are not listed immediately and must be scrolled down to be found. The whole time this is done ads and suggestions take up the other 3/4ths of the page, begging for attention. Just now I scrolled right past the toys, even though I knew exactly where it was, because of the distractions.
Similar insanity continues when you actually click on the toys link, but lets focus on the actual search.
If I search for "Transformers" the actual list of items is repeatedly usurped by sponsored links, and squished by categories, listmania and other oddities on the left. Clicking on a actual item isn't terrible, until you scroll down through the rest of the page and another array of confusing features without much organization presents itself. Thankfully the option to buy is situated in the primary area you first view, although accompanied by options to add it to any number of lists.
To be what I should have been in the first place, terse, the Amazon web page is not simple in the least, especially for someone who has never tried to navigate it before.
I'll repeat myself and say that Amazon is well above average in terms of its design. For all the complexity, it isn't a hideous abomination of web design as several of my college's web portals, a number of lesser online stores, and news sites are. The sheer amount of disorganized and useless clutter that can be found in so small a space as a web browser is staggering.
Web design, I believe, is largely a lost art. Much like Hollywood versus independant film-makers, we can not look to the large businesses to make the best stuff (with rare exceptions). There is an eloquent simplicity and depth to saucylittleone's livejournal, a straight utilitarian forcefulness to the Angry Christian Liberal, and my blog (simple as it is) contains more clutter than I care for.
I'm thinking very seriously about designing my own web page. I have a pretty solid idea for the main index, it's more the functions thereof and what I want to accomplish with it that need to be addressed. I want to avoid the "Lets throw in every last bell and whistle!" approach.
The major things that would be features of this webpage would be video game reviews (in depth, as in more than just a set of ratings and a justification for them but really nitty gritty details), this blog, a forum, and maybe a wiki to store all of the extremely technical and pointless knowledge of video game mechanics I uncover.
One of the chilling factors on this project at the moment is the effort. I'm not sure I'm prepared to spend the time managing, updating and generating content for the site. I also don't know a whole lot about finding web hosting, and the best thing I know for domain registration is whatever I can find via Google. Anyone with more extensive knowledge who might share said knowledge is kindly asked to impart said wisdom in the comments for this post.
In any case, I think I went more technical and less philosophical in this than I meant to. I'm not going to edit it though, because I'm lazy.
20061124
The Ballad of Broken Dreams and Forgotten Saves
Hear days of yore that came before all known of history,
and learn you well what fate befell a man of misery.
Of broken dreams I'll sing,
and save's remembering.
A lad too young had soon begun a journey wide and great,
though traveled long and growing strong he knew not his own fate.
A black and dire end,
forsaking kin and friend.
The land was doomed, a darkness loomed with curse and magic grim,
our hero bold would not be told this task was not for him.
He rode against the storm,
though verily twas warned.
Twelve beasts of hell with magic fel he battled through and through,
and each in turn his blade would burn and bring death's calling to.
For days he waged his fight,
An epic tale to write.
The world was saved, our hero bathed in glory and in power,
For weeks and years there were no fears but festivals each hour.
Rejoicing round the earth,
the lad of honor worth.
Alas, the boy too filled with joy neglected to record,
and mem'ry blank, his spirit sank, rivers of tears were poured.
He never saved his game,
only himself to blame.
So listen you and know to do one act as you have fun,
Early and soon, not late of moon, enscribe the deeds you've done.
Or suffer as our lad,
Whose destiny twas sad.
and learn you well what fate befell a man of misery.
Of broken dreams I'll sing,
and save's remembering.
A lad too young had soon begun a journey wide and great,
though traveled long and growing strong he knew not his own fate.
A black and dire end,
forsaking kin and friend.
The land was doomed, a darkness loomed with curse and magic grim,
our hero bold would not be told this task was not for him.
He rode against the storm,
though verily twas warned.
Twelve beasts of hell with magic fel he battled through and through,
and each in turn his blade would burn and bring death's calling to.
For days he waged his fight,
An epic tale to write.
The world was saved, our hero bathed in glory and in power,
For weeks and years there were no fears but festivals each hour.
Rejoicing round the earth,
the lad of honor worth.
Alas, the boy too filled with joy neglected to record,
and mem'ry blank, his spirit sank, rivers of tears were poured.
He never saved his game,
only himself to blame.
So listen you and know to do one act as you have fun,
Early and soon, not late of moon, enscribe the deeds you've done.
Or suffer as our lad,
Whose destiny twas sad.
20061119
Whee
One word: HolyzarquonsingingfishIampsychedbeyondachocolatebunnieslifeexpectancyateaster.
I had some fun with the console last night. Setting it up would have been easier if it wasn't A) 12:30 AM B) terribly exciting and C) mind debilitatingly awesome. It only took half an hour to do, despite my being completely unprepared for any of the extremely simple setup instructions.
In any case, the thing rocks hard. I've barely had an hour's experience with it and I am already extremely happy. I will go straight back to my gamer's paradise box once this post is done.
For your enjoyment I took photos of my experience. Enjoy.
20061118
For you? For Wii.
22 hours to go.
For the first time in my life I'll have a video game system at launch. The prospect of one of the most hallowed moments for someone with my hobby is rather exciting, enough that I'm going rather crazy.
I think it's with good reason.
If ever there was a console to be psyched about, at least if you're me, it's the Wii. If you've ever seen me play soccer, play raquetball, play basketball, play badminton or just about anything that involves movement you know I move excessively. I love diving, stretching, and generally looking like a complete idiot.
Many other nerds are oddly self-concious about the whole deal. For a group whose stereotypes usually involve a lack of hygiene or other sense of appearance there have been a fair number of people who are afraid of the Wii because they are afraid of appearing silly.
I like silly.
I will not skip church, my usual awesome after church meal with my grandparents or any other important events over the Wii, but I will lose sleep tommorow night as I bring Twinkies and Hostess Cupcakes to all the neat people who camped out for the system. I have a preorder, so I'm safe in the knowledge that I'll walk home tomorrow with a Wii. I just think after standing perhaps a day or more in line these people would like some sugar.
My nerdy shirts will be my primary weekend garb as I count down the hours, the minutes, and finally press my nose against the glass in jubilant anticipation.
Yes, I am fully aware I have become a walking advertisement for Nintendo. This isn't because I've seen every Wii commercial to be found on youtube. This is quite simply because I can already imagine the insanity that will occur when I show the Wii off to my relatives come Christmas. We will all look so very, very silly.
I part for sweet dreams of insanity by presenting you with what has to be one of the more interesting video game commercials in the history of the industry. I love the background music especially. All for one, and Wii for all.
For the first time in my life I'll have a video game system at launch. The prospect of one of the most hallowed moments for someone with my hobby is rather exciting, enough that I'm going rather crazy.
I think it's with good reason.
If ever there was a console to be psyched about, at least if you're me, it's the Wii. If you've ever seen me play soccer, play raquetball, play basketball, play badminton or just about anything that involves movement you know I move excessively. I love diving, stretching, and generally looking like a complete idiot.
Many other nerds are oddly self-concious about the whole deal. For a group whose stereotypes usually involve a lack of hygiene or other sense of appearance there have been a fair number of people who are afraid of the Wii because they are afraid of appearing silly.
I like silly.
I will not skip church, my usual awesome after church meal with my grandparents or any other important events over the Wii, but I will lose sleep tommorow night as I bring Twinkies and Hostess Cupcakes to all the neat people who camped out for the system. I have a preorder, so I'm safe in the knowledge that I'll walk home tomorrow with a Wii. I just think after standing perhaps a day or more in line these people would like some sugar.
My nerdy shirts will be my primary weekend garb as I count down the hours, the minutes, and finally press my nose against the glass in jubilant anticipation.
Yes, I am fully aware I have become a walking advertisement for Nintendo. This isn't because I've seen every Wii commercial to be found on youtube. This is quite simply because I can already imagine the insanity that will occur when I show the Wii off to my relatives come Christmas. We will all look so very, very silly.
I part for sweet dreams of insanity by presenting you with what has to be one of the more interesting video game commercials in the history of the industry. I love the background music especially. All for one, and Wii for all.
20061107
Presentation
I'm going to remind you all how important presentation is. If you do a good job, a crappy idea can become reality. If you do a bad job, the following happens.
This is an actual e-mail I received today concerning an FAQ I wrote. My response is included.
Him:
> You obviously don't know the characters names, now do you? First of all,
> Shaman King's name isn't "Shaman King", it's Yoh Asakura. And second of
> all, the
> "Crying Girl" you're referring to is called Aya Tojo. Then it's not
> "Kasugi",
> it's spelled "Kazuki". And also, the "Death Note Girl" is called Misa
> Amane.
> And the "Girl from the Ice Cream Series" name is Kagura. And the series
> you're
> referring to is called Gin Tama. And the Police woman's name is Reiko. And
> the
> "Guard Breaking Guy" from Rurouni Kenshin's name is Sanosuke. And it's not
> "Yugioh", it's Yugi Muto. Or Yami Yugi. Whichever comes first.
>
> Get your facts straight before posting an FAQ.
>
Me:
I appreciate your clarifications but not your attitude.
I highly recommend you do some research on constructive criticism. The difference between "You should consider putting more effort into getting the names of characters and series correct" and "Get your facts straight before posting" is monumental.
Additionally, those are hardly all of the names I was lacking. If you are going to criticize me in this manner you might want to be more complete in your ridicule. "Whichever comes first" doesn't exactly strike me as "getting your facts straight" either.
In closing, there were many ways you could have written your email that would have presented both you and your message better. As it stands, I find that I have no desire to act on any of the information you presented.
In the future, think about how your tone and grammar will affect the reception of your message.
-Darian
I can't find fault with what he said, save for perhaps "Kazugi". If I remember correctly his name was in Katakana and was most definately a "gi" and not a "ki". His grammar wasn't the best, but he did capitalize and punctuate. However, his attitude was absolutely atrocious. From the get go he let me know that his opinion of my work was complete contempt. This tone was carried by the rest of his email up to the last line, where it reached a climax of condescending character.
I wasn't entirely nice in my response either. Mine sports more of a polite, severe reprimand feel. I stand by my decision to not entirely curb my indignation in that being less forceful might have failed to get my point across. I'm skeptical any manner of response would have an affect, but I did my best regardless.
This is the only negative e-mail I've ever received concerning any work I've posted to the internet. I've received criticisms and suggestions before, but never anything that outright condemned my work. I'm surprised honestly, given the constant lamentations seen on official forums for video games I'd have expected a greater amount of ill-conceived and worded flames.
Maybe I'll get more if I actually get around to making my website.
This is an actual e-mail I received today concerning an FAQ I wrote. My response is included.
Him:
> You obviously don't know the characters names, now do you? First of all,
> Shaman King's name isn't "Shaman King", it's Yoh Asakura. And second of
> all, the
> "Crying Girl" you're referring to is called Aya Tojo. Then it's not
> "Kasugi",
> it's spelled "Kazuki". And also, the "Death Note Girl" is called Misa
> Amane.
> And the "Girl from the Ice Cream Series" name is Kagura. And the series
> you're
> referring to is called Gin Tama. And the Police woman's name is Reiko. And
> the
> "Guard Breaking Guy" from Rurouni Kenshin's name is Sanosuke. And it's not
> "Yugioh", it's Yugi Muto. Or Yami Yugi. Whichever comes first.
>
> Get your facts straight before posting an FAQ.
>
Me:
I appreciate your clarifications but not your attitude.
I highly recommend you do some research on constructive criticism. The difference between "You should consider putting more effort into getting the names of characters and series correct" and "Get your facts straight before posting" is monumental.
Additionally, those are hardly all of the names I was lacking. If you are going to criticize me in this manner you might want to be more complete in your ridicule. "Whichever comes first" doesn't exactly strike me as "getting your facts straight" either.
In closing, there were many ways you could have written your email that would have presented both you and your message better. As it stands, I find that I have no desire to act on any of the information you presented.
In the future, think about how your tone and grammar will affect the reception of your message.
-Darian
I can't find fault with what he said, save for perhaps "Kazugi". If I remember correctly his name was in Katakana and was most definately a "gi" and not a "ki". His grammar wasn't the best, but he did capitalize and punctuate. However, his attitude was absolutely atrocious. From the get go he let me know that his opinion of my work was complete contempt. This tone was carried by the rest of his email up to the last line, where it reached a climax of condescending character.
I wasn't entirely nice in my response either. Mine sports more of a polite, severe reprimand feel. I stand by my decision to not entirely curb my indignation in that being less forceful might have failed to get my point across. I'm skeptical any manner of response would have an affect, but I did my best regardless.
This is the only negative e-mail I've ever received concerning any work I've posted to the internet. I've received criticisms and suggestions before, but never anything that outright condemned my work. I'm surprised honestly, given the constant lamentations seen on official forums for video games I'd have expected a greater amount of ill-conceived and worded flames.
Maybe I'll get more if I actually get around to making my website.
MrPicassoHead
Artsy people might remember this website. It's been around a while, and years ago I made a couple nifty pictures with it. Today I crafted this during lunch break.
When I return home to my desktop where my other creations are, I'll share them too. For now, enjoy a work spawned by my pining for eastern shores.
20061031
Maths
During my lunch break and other moments of rest at work today, I attempted to reengage a sagging and otherwise zombie like mind with some math. Math that many of you will find rather boring as it pertains to video game systems. These were posted in response to other inquiring minds in a revelant topic at slashdot.
There are two major entries here. One on the profitability of Nintendo versus Sony Computer Entertainment, and another on market share in the new generation (set to really get underway in November with the launches of the Wii and the PlayStation 3).
Enjoy, or ignore.
----------
Going to the actual Nintendo website and looking up their profits through each report from 2001 to 2005 I give you Nintendo's profits.
2005: $816,973,000
2004: $316,134,000
2003: $640,640,000
2002: $800,338,000
2001: $726,339,000
This is pure profit. Sales were often in excess of 4 billion dollars. 2004 is lower in profit due to costs incurred in the development of the DS.
None of this is assumption, this is straight numbers taken from Nintendo's fiscal reports free availible at:
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/annual_report.jsp [nintendo.com]
Going to Sony Computer Entertainment Inc(SCEI)'s page, I could only immediately find the numbers for 2005 and 2004 in yen.
2005: 35.5 billion Yen ($302,333,504 by today's conversion rates)
2004: 57.1 billion Yen ($485,916,092 by today's conversion rates)
SCEI made more than Nintendo in 2004, but Nintendo did far, far better than SCEI in 2005.
There's a point to be made that some income and expenditure for both companies during this period would come from the GBA, DS and PSP. However, I think my original point remains that Nintendo remains competitive even with the low market share of the Gamecube. In fact, in that two year period Nintendo soundly beats SCEI.
Quite simply, Nintendo was more profitable than SCEI this past generation despite the incredible market share the PS2 had.
----------
Japanese Allotment: 80k
American Allotment: 400k
Population of Japan: 127.42 million
Previous Japanese Market Volume: 30.31 million (Dreamcast + Gamecube + PS2 in Japan)
Number of PS3s per person: 1 per 1593
Number of PS3s per gamer: 1 per 379
Potential Market Share at Launch: 0.26% (Allotment / Previous Volume)
Population of America: 300.00 million
Previous American Market Volume: 70.8 million (Xbox + Gamecube + PS2)
Number of PS3s per person: 1 per 750
Number of PS3s per gamer: 1 per 177
Potential Market Share at Launch: 0.56%
Combined Potential Market Share: 0.47% (480k) [5.66% relative Market Share]
Current 360 Market Share: 5.93% (6 million) [70.07% relative Market Share]
Potential Wii Launch Market Share: 1.98% (2 million) [23.59% relative Market Share]
Projected March 07 Market Share: 5.93% (6 million) [27.28% relative Market Share]
360 March 07 Market Share: 9.89% (10 million) [45.46% relative Market Share]
Wii March 07 Market Share: 5.93% (6 million) [27.28% relative Market Share]
Addendum:
I used the official company goals/projections. Unofficially Nintendo may have 6 million availible by January, and Sony may fall short of 6 million in March. It seemed unobjective to factor such things in.
6 million for Nintendo is not bad at all, seeing as how the Xbox 360 has been out for almost a year now and has only recently crossed the 6 million mark. The rate at which they produce new consoles in their projections is quite steady and reasonable.
What concerns me are the PS3 forecasts. If taken in two month segments, Sony is practically calling for their production to double or triple itself twice over (.5 + 1.5 + 4.5 ~ 6). Given their continuing supply problems, I'm not certain of how reasonable their 6 million March 07 projection is. If they can manage to succeed in that goal it will be a good thing for them, but I remain skeptical.
There are two major entries here. One on the profitability of Nintendo versus Sony Computer Entertainment, and another on market share in the new generation (set to really get underway in November with the launches of the Wii and the PlayStation 3).
Enjoy, or ignore.
----------
Going to the actual Nintendo website and looking up their profits through each report from 2001 to 2005 I give you Nintendo's profits.
2005: $816,973,000
2004: $316,134,000
2003: $640,640,000
2002: $800,338,000
2001: $726,339,000
This is pure profit. Sales were often in excess of 4 billion dollars. 2004 is lower in profit due to costs incurred in the development of the DS.
None of this is assumption, this is straight numbers taken from Nintendo's fiscal reports free availible at:
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/annual_report.jsp [nintendo.com]
Going to Sony Computer Entertainment Inc(SCEI)'s page, I could only immediately find the numbers for 2005 and 2004 in yen.
2005: 35.5 billion Yen ($302,333,504 by today's conversion rates)
2004: 57.1 billion Yen ($485,916,092 by today's conversion rates)
SCEI made more than Nintendo in 2004, but Nintendo did far, far better than SCEI in 2005.
There's a point to be made that some income and expenditure for both companies during this period would come from the GBA, DS and PSP. However, I think my original point remains that Nintendo remains competitive even with the low market share of the Gamecube. In fact, in that two year period Nintendo soundly beats SCEI.
Quite simply, Nintendo was more profitable than SCEI this past generation despite the incredible market share the PS2 had.
----------
Japanese Allotment: 80k
American Allotment: 400k
Population of Japan: 127.42 million
Previous Japanese Market Volume: 30.31 million (Dreamcast + Gamecube + PS2 in Japan)
Number of PS3s per person: 1 per 1593
Number of PS3s per gamer: 1 per 379
Potential Market Share at Launch: 0.26% (Allotment / Previous Volume)
Population of America: 300.00 million
Previous American Market Volume: 70.8 million (Xbox + Gamecube + PS2)
Number of PS3s per person: 1 per 750
Number of PS3s per gamer: 1 per 177
Potential Market Share at Launch: 0.56%
Combined Potential Market Share: 0.47% (480k) [5.66% relative Market Share]
Current 360 Market Share: 5.93% (6 million) [70.07% relative Market Share]
Potential Wii Launch Market Share: 1.98% (2 million) [23.59% relative Market Share]
Projected March 07 Market Share: 5.93% (6 million) [27.28% relative Market Share]
360 March 07 Market Share: 9.89% (10 million) [45.46% relative Market Share]
Wii March 07 Market Share: 5.93% (6 million) [27.28% relative Market Share]
Addendum:
I used the official company goals/projections. Unofficially Nintendo may have 6 million availible by January, and Sony may fall short of 6 million in March. It seemed unobjective to factor such things in.
6 million for Nintendo is not bad at all, seeing as how the Xbox 360 has been out for almost a year now and has only recently crossed the 6 million mark. The rate at which they produce new consoles in their projections is quite steady and reasonable.
What concerns me are the PS3 forecasts. If taken in two month segments, Sony is practically calling for their production to double or triple itself twice over (.5 + 1.5 + 4.5 ~ 6). Given their continuing supply problems, I'm not certain of how reasonable their 6 million March 07 projection is. If they can manage to succeed in that goal it will be a good thing for them, but I remain skeptical.
20061028
Contact
You may know of Earthbound. It was the super quirky and strange RPG for the SNES. Nintendo made a sequel to that for the Gameboy Advance in Japan which has yet to come here, one of the few things Nintendo has done to make me sad.
To advertise for the sequel, Nintendo did something rather odd. They made a game.
That game is Contact.
(Stolen shamelessly from the box)
Things you WON'T find in Contact:
A dull moment. Normalcy. A guy with spikey hair and/or amnesia. Dramatic monologues. The same battles you've been fighting since the 16-bit era.
Things you WILL find in Contact:
Monkeys. Cosmic terrorists. Powerful attack stickers. Fishing. Cooking. Humor. Fun with Nintendo Wi-Fi. Deeper meaning in life.* Costumes that increase your power and make you fun to be around.
*Results may vary.
Firstly, Monkeys people, Monkeys! The game has monkeys, that's a sale right there. Secondly, Osama can eat his heart out, we've got COSMIC terrorists. They wouldn't have flown jets into the twin towers, they would have flown UFOs into Nevada... wait. Thirdly, you can't argue when Dr. Andonuts himself peels the corner in order to say, "Psst! Buy the game- I need your help!"
I haven't played it yet, but given the universally good reviews ('Good' is the lowest rating I've seen for the game. 'Perfect', 'Superb' and 'Great' being far more common) I think it's safe to say I'm going to have a blast.
To advertise for the sequel, Nintendo did something rather odd. They made a game.
That game is Contact.
(Stolen shamelessly from the box)
Things you WON'T find in Contact:
A dull moment. Normalcy. A guy with spikey hair and/or amnesia. Dramatic monologues. The same battles you've been fighting since the 16-bit era.
Things you WILL find in Contact:
Monkeys. Cosmic terrorists. Powerful attack stickers. Fishing. Cooking. Humor. Fun with Nintendo Wi-Fi. Deeper meaning in life.* Costumes that increase your power and make you fun to be around.
*Results may vary.
Firstly, Monkeys people, Monkeys! The game has monkeys, that's a sale right there. Secondly, Osama can eat his heart out, we've got COSMIC terrorists. They wouldn't have flown jets into the twin towers, they would have flown UFOs into Nevada... wait. Thirdly, you can't argue when Dr. Andonuts himself peels the corner in order to say, "Psst! Buy the game- I need your help!"
I haven't played it yet, but given the universally good reviews ('Good' is the lowest rating I've seen for the game. 'Perfect', 'Superb' and 'Great' being far more common) I think it's safe to say I'm going to have a blast.
Eventification
Summary of recent events in 6 words apiece:
Raijin died, PSU explosion, sad motherboard.
Kevin sick tuesday, stayed home, misery.
Massive earwax, left ear deaf, hydrogen-peroxide.
Lost dictionary, japanese skills alones, nani?
Worked Saturday, all alone, powdered donuts.
Thank you, be here all week.
Raijin died, PSU explosion, sad motherboard.
Kevin sick tuesday, stayed home, misery.
Massive earwax, left ear deaf, hydrogen-peroxide.
Lost dictionary, japanese skills alones, nani?
Worked Saturday, all alone, powdered donuts.
Thank you, be here all week.
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