is sexy.
My Girlfriend
Reply
Internet Censorship
There’s been a hell of a lot of shenanigans in recent months centered around internet censorship. Perhaps most significant were the large scale “blackouts” of many popular websites in protest of SOPA, but there has been many, many, notable developments since then. I wanted to give my opinion on this, because, well, I can. For now at least. (See what I did there?)
So, UK ISPs have recently blocked the popular torrent site, “The Pirate Bay”. Not a huge blow, considering the site is still very much alive and kicking and work arounds are insanely easy to find, it’s more the principle that bothers me. It bothers me greatly that when I head to “TPB” through conventional methods, I get a little box appearing, informing me that I’m not allowed to view this website. Now, it’s not for my own safety, and it’s not for the safety of those around me. If it was, I could understand. It’s not for any safety, it’s because large corporations are clinging on to an outdated business model that has no place in a world with the internet.
I will download the shit out of a movie, I’ll admit it. But you know what else I do? I happily pay £5.99 a month for Netflix because it provides a brilliant and extremely good value service. The only problem is, many companies seem incredibly up tight about allowing me to see their stuff in that format, so I end up heading to torrents anyway. You know what else? If I like the look of a film, I’ll watch it at the cinema. Simple as. I was never going to be a sale if I downloaded your movie, so you haven’t lost my business.
Aside from the piracy aspect of internet censorship, the argument of “protecting the children” has now reared its ugly head. Honestly? You want to restrict the entire internet with some insane “opt-in to see porn” policy because some parents don’t know how to restrict their own internet? How about go fuck yourself, government. Never in human history have we had such a powerful tool for sharing data, and if on a given night the bytes I’m searching for happen to have arranged themselves in a formation that displays dwarfs having sex with regular sized people then god damn it that is my prerogative! And I don’t expect to have to make an awkward phone call to an unsuspecting virgin media employee in which the tone of the conversation is not unlike those that take place in a church confession booth.
In my opinion, the only time blocking websites is valid is when it involves the safety or well being of others in some capacity.The answer to most of these problems is just accepting that the world is changing right now, and it’s for the better. Don’t try and hold back progress because it doesn’t agree with your overstuffed wallet or because you don’t want your crappy kid to see some titties.
Embrace it, learn about it and adapt to it.
Google Car Passes Driving Test!
So, according to an article I just read, the Google car has now passed it’s driving test. Something I’m yet to do. How does this make me feel? Very good, actually. I personally find the thought of being let out on the roads to run wild quite daunting. Admittedly, the amount of car crash videos floating around the interwebs has done nothing to boost my confidence, and my insistence on clicking anything labeled “NSFL” on Reddit has often left me questioning whether or not I want to leave the house at all, let alone in a high powered metal box of death. So, with my automobile insecurities weighing heavily on my opinion, I like the idea of letting machines take over.
Have you ever seen a video of an automated factory line? Have you seen just how efficient, smooth and precise a collection of robots can be? It’s pretty damn impressive. If we could achieve that level of fluidity and safety on the roads then this seems to be very much a worthwhile endeavour. Of course, we’re a long way away from automatic transport of that caliber but with the future in mind I’m a supporter of Google’s little project. That is until the cars become sentient and begin systematically wiping out the entire human race. But whatever, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Skyrim – Completing the Dragon Priest Shrine
Well, I haven’t posted since August and I plan on getting this site up and running again. The video below shows the reward for collecting all of the dragon priest masks that are scattered throughout the world of Skyrim. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep note of where they all were so you’re on your own for that one, but hopefully this is still found useful in some way.
Hello, My Name Is Alex & I’m A Simaholic
Yes, I admit it. I love The Sims. Why? I’m really not sure. I find it very hard to defend it from the common insults people throw its way. “It’s boring.”, “There’s no story.” and “You just watch them do things.” I totally agree with all of those statements. You spend half of your time watching your sim sleep in fast forward then the other half watching an empty house while they’re at work. The entire game is a collection of boring actions you want to be over and done with, honestly I spend 90% of the game at triple speed because watching the little bastards do anything is mind numbing and repetitive. So what brings me back? I DON’T KNOW!! God damn this game. It’s such a piece of shit but I can pour so many hours into it without even noticing the time going by.
Well, with that said, I’m actually off to play it. Not even joking right now, I’m going to post this and then spend an embarrassing amount of time wondering why my brain wants to be fed this terrible, terrible, amazing game.
Immersive Games
It’s that time of year again people. Rumours, news, and information about the upcoming installment of one of the biggest game franchises ever are making their way around the internet like nobody’s business. This year, however, there’s one small difference. I’m just really not feeling it. The last few CoD games had me positively quivering with excitement. Well, maybe not quivering but suffice to say I took an active interest in finding every snippit of gossip just to tide me over until release date. This year though, not so much. I’ve hardly took an interest in what was handed to me on a platter, let alone actively seek out extras.
For me the CoD series is starting to get very repetitive. Hell, even BF3, whilst boasting some of the most impressive visuals I’ve ever seen, just isn’t drawing my attention too much. My gaming mind has started to heavily favour innovation and great story telling. This has always been the case to some extent, but it has become even more apparent recently. The games I’m really interested in are the ones that make me feel grateful for my ability to completely geek out and get lost in a game because honestly? Immersing myself in a game, whilst detrimental to my already questionable productivity, is one of my favourite things to do.
Games such as Oblivion, Fallout, Mass Effect and GTA spring to mind. All of which have eaten away many hours of my time. L.A. Noire was another valiant attempt, despite its shortcomings in the latter cases. I admire the fact that they actually tried and did something new.
I also know that many people aren’t looking for that. Many people simply want to switch the console on, shoot a bunch of people, then switch it off again. I totally appreciate that and in the past that has been my main motive when switching on my xbox. Now though? Not so much. I’m looking forward to playing Deus Ex next week and getting engrossed. I can’t wait to play Skyrim in November and just about forget anything else exists. Even the Portal games, whilst seemingly minimalistic, had an incredible amount of care put into them that really paid huge dividends in the finished product and its playability.
So to sum up, the basic point I’m getting at in my badly structured ramblings is care and attention goes a long way in games. It’s the subtleties and little things adding together that make a memorable experience that will draw you in for multiple playthroughs. Not the huge action set pieces and back to back clichés.