Monday, September 24, 2007

Remember this day!

Friends!! Comrades!!, remember this day in history, September 24th 2007, the day when team Coal Creek Productions(TM) received SECOND PLACE in the Celtic Bayou Trivia Night contest!!! Yes, you heard me right, after umpteeth humiliating weeks of last places and drinking more $1 pitcher beers than what is good for us, we won 2nd place with a fantastic and godly score of 125 points!!! Yes, feel free to shower us with praise and flowers :)

This day started out special. There was aelectricity in the air. When D imed me in the afternoon and said "I think we are going to win today", I laughed it off as an attempt to rally the troops. Even during the rounds, when I couldn't remember the other name of Master Chief, I wailed in anguish at our luck ( how can I not, considering I just came straight from the Halo3 launch party!!!!?????) We couldn't remember the name of the Israeli intelligence branch. We had no idea that 75% of U.S. Internet Users spent 3 hours or more a day on internet videos (WTF!!). and Phalacrosis is really not what you think it is, and Unilever's company logo is really freaky. All that did not matter! because we remembered that the U.S. left Vietnam in 1973. we knew that the small Islamic Sultanate in the South China Sea was Brunei, we sweeped the sports category, we almost sweeped the TV series photo matching round (yes House was one of them, and damn you, Hill Street Blues). and in the end, D's prophecy came true and we were triumphant!

ETA: edited to fix ridiculous grammar mistakes

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

playing God

So I have been sick at home the past 2 days pretending to work. shh.. and I saw this Japanese flash game called "growth game". Basically you have to determine which technology to put down in which order so that they grow each other into the ultimate human/environment paradise. AFter of 2 hours of hard effort (it is strangely addicting) I was finally able to achieve the ultimate paradise result. It is quite satisfying to tame a wild volcanic island into a metropolis AND remain environementally friendly.

The Growth Game

Sunday, September 16, 2007

More halo stuff

can you tell this is all everybody is talking about at work? lol

I saw this video and thought it was pretty neat, it is the Halo theme on Mario Paint. I never seen this program before but I guess it is a mario themed MIDI synthesizer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIFAe_oLT5g

This is the video game pianist playing the Halo theme on Piano, he was at PAX last year, not this year tho.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nz4TN7yCzQ&NR=1

man I wish I can play like him,

ok. no more Halo stuff for a while, promise lol

Friday, September 14, 2007

Halo Diorama

The online tour of the Halo 3 Diorama is finally up. I am not a particular fan of tiny models of battlefields but it was still interesting to look through it. I was quite impressed with the next video, "the making of the diorama", which was told from the perspective of the museum curator. The music they used was very poignant and sad. You almost feel the whole thing was too beautiful for a FPS game advert haha.

Halo 3 Diorama virtual tour (click on Menu -> VIdeo-> first video to see the Making Of)

Halo 3 Believe video (maybe spoiler)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

New Addiction

I discovered the awesomeness of Lumines 2 days ago and I have been playing nonstop. It is a new addiction that I totally am incapable of shaking. Lumines is a tetris-like block game that was originally on the PSP and was ported to Xbox Live Arcade recently. The idea is quite simple, you have various block pieces that consist of 2 colors and they slowly drop from the top, but unlike tetris, you don't try to fill in the bottom row, instead, you try to make stacks of 4 smallblocks that has the same color. And periodically, a time line passes through your blocks, and only then your stacks gets erased. Sounds simple enough, but combined with pretty graphics and trance soundtrack, it is incredibly fun and addictive. Here is a sample of someone playing:



Now this guys is about my level (which is to say, sucky). My goal right now is to get the achievement of 70 blocks erased in 60 seconds. This is a monumental task for me. I have struggled for hours in vain, my best record only comes to about 39, I usually average about 25. I was pretty dejected already when someone showed me THIS one, which have crushed my soul forever. This is Mr.Hexic, #1 in Lumines rank on XBLA, erasing a whopping 201 blocks in 60 seconds



I can only cry, and keep trying.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

jumping on the bandwagon

I guess I better say something about Halo 3, as I was assured that it will be the most incrediblest, fantastic, 10 million dollar entertainment launch in the history of humans period. In another two weeks you won't be able to walk anywhere without seeing some Halo 3 related product. Today, they released "LIVE ACTION" trailers for the games that will be played in cinemas across the country. Get it? they made real live action trailers for a video game!!! this is going to be first of several actually.

Halo 3: Museum trailer


actually I thought this trailer was pretty good. It didn't have any flashy graphics or intense action sequences, but rather invoke a feeling of nalstalgia through the old marine's memory. Very nicely done. I can't help but think MS is making another pitch for the live action movie.

Here is more on the web and trailer campaign from the press release

Filming the Experience



As part of the integrated campaign, an innovative web experience has been created that enables consumers to interact with and explore every part of the climactic battle in minute detail. Beyond the TV, cinema and print efforts, the site is also supported by an online advertising campaign that starts the conversation with the consumer and a branded channel on YouTube that helps to position Master Chief as the biggest hero in history. All digital components were created by AKQA San Francisco.

Viewers get a sneak peek at "Diorama" on http://games.yahoo.com Friday Sept. 14 at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST, as well as a feature on the making of the diorama, entitled, "Ammo". The "Diorama" work will make its TV debut during NFL Football on CBS Sunday Sept. 16. This, and the full series of web films, which honor the heroism of Master Chief, will also be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and http:www.halo3.com/believe starting September 14

Thursday, September 06, 2007

cloning kamikaze supersoldiers

M was explaining what she does to me the other day. Most of the times I don't even ask her since I have no idea even when she explains it to me. But this time, it was pretty interesting. M is involved in gene therapy for leukemia/cancer patients. She splices these genes together that targets cancer cells. Then she takes T-cells from the patient, insert those genes that turn these T-Cells into special cancer killing cells and then send them back to the patient to fight the disease.

This is all very good, but, M says, that is only the first generation. The second generation involves making the new soldier cells dependent upon certain enzyme to survive. So the patient must get daily injections of enzyme in addition to the T-Cells. This way, once you are done with the therapy, you stop injecting the enzyme and T-Cells dies off. This kind of reminds me of super soldiers that relies on some drugs to do their work, and when the masters are done with them, they just withhold the drugs and they die off. tsk tsk..

Anyway, so M says, the third generation which they are working on now will splice a "suicide" gene into the T-Cell. So after the therapy is over, they send a chemical signal through the body and boom, the T-Cell self destructs. Simple and painless.

Now I ask you, are we very far from cloning kamikaze supersoldiers that will do our bidding? I think not.....

Sunday, September 02, 2007

upgrading

So M has finally decided to upgrade her camera (which is a Nikon Coolpix I bought for her Sophmore year). After looking around, we decided to get a Canon S5IS. It seems to be the best out of the point and shoot categories. Having a 12x optical zoom would definitely help with taking brighter pictures, and it is not too complex that M can't play around with it. So now I have to find a good deal with it. This is the time when I wish Amazon headquarters wasn't here.