Best 5 second video ever (thanks Dustin)!

It was announced on Monday that EA will reorganize into four labels: EA Games, EA Sports, EA Casual Games, and The Sims. This is an interesting move on their part, intended to "streamline the company" (don't all companies seem to do this on a daily basis?). It should be interesting to see if this makes any real difference, though I doubt it does. I've heard that working for EA is like working in a sweat shop; it's amazing that any products are released at all, if that's the case.

What intrigues me most is the fact that "The Sims" will be broken off into its own label. Who knew that a single video game would spawn such an empire? I won't deny that I was a Sims junkie at one point. I own all of the Sims 1 expansion packs, and I even developed several tools for that very game. The game was highly revolutionary at the time, and remains one of the best examples of an object-oriented programming model (Sidebar: Each individual game object contains the necessary sounds and animations used when a Sim interacts with that object. This programming paradigm is incredibly beneficial, since new objects can be added at a later time without a need to update the game's core files.).

As one might expect, when the sequel (The Sims 2) was released, I eagerly picked it up. Surprisingly, I was disappointed with the game. Like many Maxis games, performance was sub par, even on my fairly beefy home computer (Sim City 3000, a game dating back to 1999, still stutters on my current machine). In addition, the game play mechanics had changed drastically: Sims had a finite life span, a number of goals needed to be reached through the Sim's lifetime, and relationships were even harder to maintain. I lost interest fairly quickly, and haven't played either title in several years.

So, to make a long story short, I'm a little amazed that the product line has continued to do so well. The Sims 2 has a total of 5 expansion packs (with at least 1 more on the way), 3 of which are essentially the same expansions as are available in The Sims 1. I get a "been there, done that" kind of feeling in that regard, but apparently lots of people don't feel that way. Otherwise, EA wouldn't have spun the franchise into its own label.

I've been meaning to discuss The Totally Rad Show for some time now, and I'm just now getting around to it. For those unfamiliar with the show, TRS describes itself as the "summer blockbuster of geek news shows." Alex Albrecht (from DiggNation), Jeff Cannata, and Dan Trachtenberg all host the show, and they talk about movies, video games, television, comics, and more. One of the great stylistic elements of the show is that it is shot entirely in front of a green screen. Throughout the show, as the guys bring up various topics, related images appear behind them. The effect is subtle, but it really adds to the overall presentation.

TRS is currently on its 12th episode as of this writing, and I have followed it since episode 1. The content of the show is entertaining, and I've been introduced to several really great things based on their discussions. If you're a geek, or you like video games, movies, and more, be sure to check it out. If nothing else, it's a great thing to listen to at work. :-D

I have updated the WordPress install that powers this website to version 2.2. A number of theme-related API calls were deprecated in 2.1, so I had to make some changes to my custom theme. If you spot any broken links or weird SQL errors, please let me know about it so I can correct the issue.

Nearly a week ago, a malicious person or group of persons hacked into DreamHost, the company I use as a web host. The passwords for over 3,500 FTP accounts were compromised, and some customers found unauthorized changes to files or directories. My account was among those that got hacked, and the experience has made me a better computer user.

Having a password stolen is frightening enough, but my situation was nearly a worst case scenario. When I originally set up my user account with DreamHost, I naturally provided the password to be used with that account. This user account granted me access to the DreamHost web panel, FTP uploads, and access to the web server's shell (via either telnet or ssh). When I later set up an email account, I chose to use this same account out of sheer convenience. I made a likewise decision for access to my web server logs. So, in short, one username and password provided me access to five areas:

1. The DreamHost Web Panel
2. My web storage (via FTP)
3. My web server home directory (via telnet or ssh)
4. My primary email address
5. My server logs

Do you see the problem here?

As soon as I got the email that my FTP password had been compromised, I realized how slack I had been about security and panicked. Thankfully, none of my files or databases were corrupted (though I'm still taking a look through everything). I have since changed all of my passwords, and they now all differ from one another, something I should have done from day one.

I try to be as security conscious as possible, but I really dropped the ball in this area, mostly for convenience's sake. This is the first time I have been 'hacked' like this, and I'm actually glad it happened. The experience has motivated me to be more secure in my password handling.

Lots of people are jumping ship as a result of this, but doing so seems premature to me. The folks at DreamHost are being open and honest about the problem, and I really appreciate that. Any company that steps up and says "we made a mistake and we're trying to prevent it from happening again" is worth sticking with. At the very least, I've learned a much needed lesson.

Update: I forgot to mention that other web hosts were also hit by this attack (according to this post), so it wasn't solely a DreamHost issue.

I am growing increasingly frustrated with Google Maps. In the past month, on two separate occasions, Google Maps failed to find my intended destination. What really gets under my skin is the fact that Google's competition found each place without any problems.

Example 1 My family checked out the Clarksville Station restaurant in Roxboro, NC for my sister's graduation. It's a steak-house built inside of an old train station and a couple of dining cars from an actual train. It's located at 4080 Durham Road, Roxboro, NC. Let's see what the mapping services show for this query:

• Google Maps: Only locates Durham Road, not the 4080 address.
• MapQuest: Shows the location as expected.
• Yahoo! Maps: Can't find the exact location, but interestingly enough, centers the map at the exact location. Weird.
• Microsoft Live Search: Gets it exactly right.

Example 2 My car needed service recently, so I took it to Jay's Automotive, a repair place not too far away from where I live. They are located at 3510 Highway 70 West, Efland, NC. Let's see how the various mapping services do with this one:

• Google Maps: Wow. This is so far off, it's not funny.
• MapQuest: Again, MapQuest gets the location exactly.
• Yahoo! Maps: Again, they cannot locate the address, but the map is centered at the correct location.
• Microsoft Live Search: Again, Microsoft got it exactly right.

What gets me even more steamed is the lack of aerial (or satellite) images for example number 2. Google Maps only has images beginning at zoom level 6 (levels 1 through 5 are all "unavailable"). MapQuest has color images down to zoom level 3 (1 and 2 aren't available), which is very close. Yahoo! Maps has color imagery at all zoom levels, while Microsoft Live Search has images to zoom level 3 (just like MapQuest, though the image quality is very poor).

Google needs to stop spending money and effort on cheap gimmicks like their recent Street View (is that thing worthless, or what?), and instead beef up their location database and aerial photographs. I can't even see my house on Google Maps! All the other mapping services have it, so it's certainly possible to do.

Get with the program, Google. Until then, I think I'll stick to your competition (at least when satellite photographs are involved).

The latest addition to my Nintendo DS gaming library is Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Although the name is a little hokey, the game is incredibly addictive.

Built around the Bejeweled game play premise, Puzzle Quest is a puzzle / role-playing game combination (one of the first of its kind, to my knowledge). You build a character using one of four character classes (Wizard, Knight, Druid, or Warrior), and travel around the game's world taking on quests. The game purely makes use of the stylus, and it does a remarkable job in the process (though I might argue that the stylus controls aren't quite as finely tuned as I would have liked).

Combat with enemies takes place on a Bejeweled-style game board, where you must match 3, 4, or 5 items in a row by swapping two items (just like Bejeweled). There are seven game pieces: red, green, blue, yellow, purple stars, stacks of coins, and skulls. The four colored game pieces correspond to the four types of mana that are available to your character (red, yellow, green, and blue). As you match these game pieces, your corresponding mana reserves increase. Mana is used to cast spells in the game, which you learn over time (you can also learn the spells of captured enemies). Some spells can be used to alter the game board while others can be used to do direct damage to your opponent. Other spells affect other aspects of the game, such as taking an extra turn or healing the damage you have taken.

Matching purple stars provides your character with extra experience during a battle, which helps you level up faster. The stacks of coins provide money when matched, giving you the necessary resources to purchase additional items for your character, or to spend on leveling up your various attributes. Skulls provide the means for doing damage to your opponent.

Interestingly enough, the AI in the game is very challenging. I frequently lose to the difficult opponents, especially after they get lucky and deal 40 or 50 points damage in a single turn (thanks to the cascades that can build up). Since players cannot die, I happily retry the match, hoping to do better the second (or third or fourth) time around.

There's more to the game than just battling enemies. You can build up a citadel with various buildings, each of which gives you a new capability. For instance, a dungeon allows you to capture enemies that you have beaten three or more times. A wizard's tower allows you to learn the spells of captured enemies. And other buildings provide further benefits. Cities can be sieged, allowing you easy access to your citadel, as well as a monthly income.

Thankfully, the writing in the game is fairly humorous. A number of silly side quests provide a good chuckle or two, and some have interesting twists. Overall, the main story line is fairly entertaining (if a bit cliché).

A few mildly annoying bugs lurk in this game, but they don't mar the overall presentation. One particular problem stands out: the game doesn't remember the music volume between game sessions, but it does remember whether or not you've turned the music off. I got pretty tired of the uninspired music after awhile anyway, so turning it off was no big deal.

I have yet to finish this game, but I have already made up my mind about it. If you don't own this game, and you have a Nintendo DS, you should be sure to pick it up. My final rating: A+

Last Thursday, Google unveiled their new universal search, complete with a change to the look and feel of their website. Now when a user searches Google, not only are web results returned, but other search results (e.g., news and product results) are also returned. What's most convenient is the fact that these additional items are inserted quietly amongst the web results, not directly above or below them. This new search paradigm is interesting, and it will be interesting to see if it holds on. I particularly like the subtle changes Google made to their look and feel, with that slick little menu bar running across the top of all pages. Having direct access to all the various search types is very handy.

I try to avoid blogging political stories here at this site, but Jimmy Carter calling the Bush administration the worst in history is so awesome. A Bush administration spokesman immediately fired back, dismissing Carter as 'increasingly irrelevant.' Huh?

Quick trivia question: how many US Presidents have a Nobel Peace Prize? Answer: only one (Jimmy Carter).

In short, President Carter is the man. And I whole-heartedly agree with his statement.

It's funny because it's true.

A recent preview of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, sheds some new light on the next chapter of the Half-Life story. It sounds like the next episode will clock in at between 8 and 9 hours, which is about twice as long as Episode 1. I'm glad they are increasing the game time, since Episode 1 felt very short. The Source engine is also being updated to include lots of new eye candy, which should be a real treat. A "Previously Seen in Episode 1" game montage will open Episode 2, which I find very disappointing. Part of the charm of a Half-Life game is being dropped into the world with no idea as to what's going on. Being force-fed a recap is going to feel a little jarring, in my estimation.

Another bit of sad news is that the Black Box edition of the game has been canceled. The only version that will be made available is the Orange Box edition, which includes a full copy of Half-Life 2 and Episode 1. Why would I want to pay for products that I already own? I find this decision most disappointing.

I just read an interesting article over at Wired that essentially asks "Is Firefox Getting Bloated?" The article compares Firefox to SeaMonkey. I was a Mozilla browser user well before it was named "SeaMonkey", and well before Firefox 1.0 was released. During that time, I really came to despise the bloat in the application. Firefox was an incredible breath of fresh air when it was released: light-weight and responsive.

Personally, I feel that Firefox still exhibits both qualities. But I can see the argument made by the Wired article. Additional features, some of which many users may not actually care about, are creeping into the code base. Built-in support for microformats (something that I still don't fully understand) is coming in Firefox 3.0. Do users really need this? Mozilla apparently thinks so. Many users may disagree.

There are certainly areas where Firefox could improve (in-browser support for both Java applets and PDF files are horrible). But I think Firefox is in great shape now. One thing I know for certain is that I'm never going back to Internet Explorer. (Side Note: I recently installed IE 7 on my work laptop ... man, is it horrible.)

What do you think? Is Firefox too bloated? Too lean? Just right?

Version 2.2 of WordPress has been released. One of the changes in this release is the reinclusion of the Preview and Edit links on the Write Post page (although it sounds like the preview now appears in a pop-up window instead of an iframe). This fixes a bug I griped about when 2.1 was released.

I will probably update this blog to 2.2 at some point, though updating WordPress is always a colossal bother. Seeing as I skipped over 2.1, it's probably time to move to the latest version.

Having been born and raised in The South (the southern United States for any international readers), I'm a fan of NASCAR. In fact, it's the only sport that I follow regularly. I know that the sport doesn't appeal to many people, but I have enjoyed it greatly since I was little. There are a few things I've had on my mind recently about the sport, so I'll present them here.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and DEI I'm not an Earnhardt fan (I prefer the Hendrick Motorsports stables of Gordon and Johnson), but I think it's great that Junior is leaving DEI. His step-mother Teresa really screwed Junior by refusing to give him a controlling share in his dad's business. So Junior has decided to turn the tables on his step-mom and walk away from the team. Once he leaves, DEI will no longer have any "star" drivers. I predict that DEI will die out in another season or two as a result.

Leadership I hate Mike Helton. Under his dictatorial leadership, NASCAR has lost several historic tracks, including Rockingham speedway. It has seen idiotic rules changes, such as no driving below the yellow line on certain tracks and no finishing under caution (attempting a green-white-checker finish instead). And it has become increasingly contradictory, throwing debris cautions in some cases and not others. Being family controlled is such a shame; the sport needs a commission like most other sports, made up of people who don't solely profit on the direction of the sport.

The Car of Tomorrow NASCAR introduced the "car of tomorrow" this year in an attempt to level the playing field for all drivers. So far, only Hendrick Motorsports seems to have figured out the new package (something I'm not complaining about). But it seems more like a move towards the IROC style of racing, where everyone drives the exact same car. There is less room today for teams to tweak the car itself, which is a shame. NASCAR is clearly losing its roots, but that's apparently what they want.

I haven't been posting much recently, due to a number of factors:

• I've been busy at work
• The Shivering Isles expansion for Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (totally fun!)
• Puzzle Quest for my Nintendo DS Lite (also totally fun and highly addictive!)
• My sister is graduating from college (!!!)
• Insert most any other reason here

I hope to rectify this problem very soon. A number of topics have crossed my mind recently, and I hope to get to them over the next week or so.

Back in February, I mentioned a few games that I was planning on purchasing this year. Two of the titles, Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles and Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific, have already been released. So what's preventing me from rushing out the door and picking them up? Sadly, each has a host of problems.

The primary Shivering Isles bug causes saved games to become corrupt, causing gamers to lose all their saved progress. After investing literally hundreds of hours in the game, that's not exactly a risk I want to run. Sure a patch is available, but it's in a 'beta' state. I didn't sign up to be a beta tester here!

Even after a couple of patches, Silent Hunter apparently still has a number of lingering problems, several of which result in crashes to the desktop. A number of the most critical bugs in the initial release have supposedly been fixed, but I hear that not every bug has been squashed. And I've read that saved games aren't compatible after applying the latest patch. What?!? If I'm going to put time into a game, I don't want to lose my progress after applying a patch.

I really want to play these games, but I also don't want to be disappointed by half-baked products. So I'm going to wait a little longer in the hopes that these issues get ironed out.

Taking a screenshot of an application is a simple task: the "Print Screen" key can be used alone (to grab the entire screen), or one can use the "Alt + Print Screen" key combination to take a snapshot of only the active window. But taking a screenshot of the active window, while an application menu is opened, is a little tougher. Sure you could use a third-party solution to do it, but suppose you don't want to (or cannot) use such a tool. What is one to do?

One option, which isn't very appealing, is to take a screenshot of the entire screen (using the "Print Screen" key) and then crop out the active window using some image editor. Again, this involves using a third-party application to do the cropping (although Microsoft Paint can be used to some minimal effect).

The better answer, as I accidentally discovered myself, is very simple. Any application worth its salt uses keyboard accelerators (access keys, to be exact) to allow keyboard users to access application menus. The problem is that most applications make use of the "Alt" key to invoke these access keys. For example, "Alt + F" in Windows Explorer will open the File menu. Suppose I want to take a screenshot of a highlighted menu item within the File menu. If I open the menu and press "Alt + Print Screen" to take the screenshot, the menu is dismissed, since the application thinks I'm trying to invoke another menu. But we can work around this limitation!

1. Hold the Alt key down and press the corresponding access key to open the desired menu.
2. Keep the Alt key pressed!
3. Move the menu selection (using the arrow keys on the keyboard) to the desired menu item.
4. Press the Print Screen key.

Voila! An active-window screenshot with a highlighted menu item, using no third-party application. Here's an example:

Matt Cutts has posted a short collection of improvements he'd like to see over at Amazon.com. I agree with him on all counts. There are a number of areas that Amazon could do way better on; hopefully some of these ideas will see the light of day.

Judging by the comments on the post, it also looks like I'm not the only Amazon Prime junkie. :-D

It looks like the next generation of the Thunderbird e-mail client has been released. Although I have not yet updated my client at home, I will certainly be doing so tonight. Thunderbird is a fantastic client, and I am really looking forward to all the new features (not to mention the boat loads of bug fixes).

It looks as if Windows XP will be phased out by the end of the year, despite a continued strong demand for the operating system. Though Microsoft claims that sales of Vista are high, this rush to stop shipping Windows XP seems to say the exact opposite. In a recent Harris poll on over 2200 US adults, only 12% showed any interest in actually upgrading to Vista. This is bad news for Microsoft, and might be one reason why they are rushing XP out the door. My attitude is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. As such, I intend to stick with XP for several more years. There are far too many problems in the current release of Vista than I'd like to deal with (not to mention all of the overhead for those fancy transparent windows).

I've noted over the past few weeks that my computer at home has picked up a vibration. Every so often, it gets to be so bad that the case actually rattles. The only possible cause is one of the many cooling fans, and I'm guessing that my Zalman VGA cooler is the culprit (though I'm not completely certain). When I installed the Zalman, I opted not to use the variable fan speed control, choosing instead to run the fan at full speed all the time. What's odd is that my last video card, which also ran with a Zalman cooler, didn't have this issue. Perhaps this second cooler isn't as well balanced? Should I install the fan speed control to throttle down the fan speed? Or could it be another fan altogether? Whatever it is, I've certainly got to spend some time troubleshooting the issue; it's driving me crazy!

Update: It looks like the Zalman cooler is not the culprit (score another point for Zalman!). I installed the FanMate speed controller, turned the speed all the way down, and the vibration was still present. I'm now suspecting my stock CPU cooler (the one that came with my AMD processor). Also, when I was inside the computer, I noted that the case's side panel supports were bent out ever so slightly, so I bent them back. Now the vibration has turned into a constant hum! Perhaps it's time for a new case?