Saturday, February 05, 2005

Austin's Park and Pizza

We went to Austin's Park and Pizza last night for the NSC Spring new member retreat and it was a lot of fun! Apparently you have to buy a wristband on Fridays, which was provided to us, and you get a pizza buffet, unlimited games, and all the attractions (lazer tag, rock wall, go-karts, miniature golf, bumper boats) except the batting cage.

I can't remember the last time I had driven these


When you go to places like that it really makes you feel like you're 10 again, especially since there are a lot of kids a third of your height running around. I didn't go to places like this very much when I was little, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think all the big clubs should have retreats like this because it brings old members closer and it makes new members a part of that bonding experience.

Weekends of course aren't a treasure trove of news but I do have some interesting things, starting with movies. Will Ferrell, who is staring in at least four movies that will be coming out this year, has now been cast in Marc Forster's Stranger Than Fiction opposite Dustin Hoffman. You may remember Forster from Finding Neverland and the scandalous Monster's Ball. Anyway, the movie is a comedy about an IRS auditor who is trying to find the source of a voice who is narrating his life (ultimately up to his death) so that he can change it. Superman Returns finally has a release date: June 30, 2006. It will be going against X-Men 3 in the box office and so far it looks like it'll win, especially since Eva Marie Saint will be playing Martha Kent.

I have a couple of great editorial pieces today. The first one I want to bring up is this reasoning on why Windows still sucks. It's a great article because of how true it is and that it acknowledge all the basic arguments on both sides of the issue. Windows XP was shipped with hundreds upon hundreds of known bugs because they had to meet their promised release date, and now they force an endless stream of patches down our throats. I'm actually starting to investigate Linux myself and may eventually keep two OSes: Windows and Linux. I'd only keep Windows for programs that absolutely require it though. Macs are nice, but I like to be able to tinker around under the hood of my computer. The other piece I found was regarding the BitTorrent community. It would appear that despite some of the heavyweights being brought down, torrents are still very much alive because of how decentralized they are. A lot of sites have small portions of the torrent base and that makes it hard for the MPAA to stop them. They're going to have to start embracing it with pay-per-download movies or they'll be up the creek.

I even have a couple of normal articles. Apparantly it will soon be illegal to sell Mature video games to minors in the D.C. area. You probably think that I would call this ridiculous, but I wholeheartedly support it. The vast majority of rated M games are rated M for a reason. There are a LOT of great rated T and E games, so why the infatuation for little kids and rated M games? I think a lot of it is a society that we're fostering. My 7 year old cousin doesn't want to play a sports game, but rather he wants to steal cars and run over people like he had done in Grand Theft Auto 3, which apparently an old babysitter of his (I will choke that kid if I find him) let him play. Once kids are like 15 and 16 it doesn't matter, but when they're 13 and below it's debilitating. The other article I have is from yesterday's Texan and it regards the music mafia. I ended up reading the whole article because it had me hooked to find out more about the problem. Apparantly the RIAA is targetting college students with scare tactics to get them off of downloading songs and to keep others away. I'm not an avid supporter of illegal music downloads, but I think that their stratagem is much more despicable. Maybe if they focused on putting out good music out more people would buy it. Fans will always support the artists they love if they keep putting out good albums; it's just that simple.

And now, the Saturday Six:

1. What is your favorite restaurant to visit for breakfast and what do you order?
I love Kerbey Lane! You people who aren't from Austin must go there if you're ever in the area, and if you're from Austin and haven't been there then you're just sad. They're open 24 hours a day and I love their apple whole wheat, or even their gingerbread, pancakes.

2. Do you have any unique ability like those who appear on David Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks?" If so, how did you learn you had this talent?
Err..not really. I can write Java! And I can wiggle my ears and furrow my brow at the same time!

3. There are plenty of sites on the internet for pen pals; some of them are specifically designed for communicating with people in prison. Have you ever or would you begin corresponding with a stranger who was in prison?
No, but mostly just because I don't have all that much time nowadays. When I get older I may consider it, but right now my life revolves around UT so I don't know what I'd really say to someone in prison.

4. Name two questions you have always wanted to ask a pair of identical twins.
If they're girls: Would either of you marry me? Have you ever considered writing your name on your head so that people would call you the right name?
If they're guys: Does it help with the ladies at all? Have you ever considered becoming a classical guitar duo?

5. If you looked back at your high school yearbook photos, what is more embarrassing? Your hair, your clothes, your glasses, or your complexion?
My weight! It's not like my face or my hair or my glasses look any better now than they did then. And I love my complexion! :)

6. If you had to change the color of one of the following, which would you change and why: the walls in your living room, your car, or your eyes.
I guess the walls in my living room because white isn't very stimulating.

Enjoy the Superbowl everyone! If I end up posting tomorrow it likely won't be til later in the night because I have to go to a Superbowl party. Yipee!

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