profexorGeek

Review: Old Man's War, John Scalzi

2006-04-22T00:34:00.000-06:00

Besides being a geek, the ProfeXor moonlights as a writer. While looking for some specific writing advice today, I stumbled upon the blog of author John Scalzi. After absorbing the information I sought, I examined the books that he had written. The blurb about his novel, Old Man's War, sounded interesting and I'm always desperate for fresh authors. So, after work I headed to the local Barnes and Noble to search for a copy.

Luck was with the ProfeXor and I was forty-some pages deep before I happily left the store, novel in hand. Several hours and a box of Golden Grahams later I have turned the last page, here's my review of John Scalzi's Old Man's War...

John Scalzi writes snappy, often-comedic dialogue that made me smile frequently and even laugh out loud a time or two (a very rare accomplishment unless you're Bill Watterson). Serious moments are carefully distributed for well-balanced contrast and flow. I could appreciate the subtlety with which Scalzi emphasized the feeling characters had for one another - it was understated and thereby more poignant. I hate it when authors beat you over the head with flowery descriptions of character relationship and Scalzi doesn't fall into this trap.

Scalzi also avoided ProfeXorGeek's all-time, number-one Pet Peeve (with capital Ps). It's some kind of sick capitalist fad for sci-fi/fantasy authors to write a series of 700 page novels. I hate that. I don't want to wait for book number seven or thirty-four to come out to continue the long and boring story. I think authors should write a solid story with options to expand their world. Authors should not presume to force you to read the next or previous book to understand the characters. Though this is only the first book, John wraps it up very nicely. I don't have to read any more because it was a tidy novel with characters and a conflict that were evolved and resolved by the last page. That being said, he leaves plenty of room for expansion so that I can't wait to read more from the world he's spun. It appears that his next book is a standalone that will be enriched if you have read this one. Perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Scalzi writes a story that any sci-fi fan can appreciate. The concepts are fascinating and well-executed. Suspension of disbelief was easy and natural. Overall I would rate this book as required reading for any geek or fan of the genre.

Tempting the Cyberhoards

2006-04-21T16:47:00.000-06:00

You know what? I hate eBay. I've never even purchased anything on eBay and I hate it. There are so many scams and so much junk that I never shop there. The main things I shop for online are electronics, gadgets, electronics, computer peripherals and gadgets. So many online companies have an established reputation, why would I ever shop on eBay? I don't care about obscure stuff that I couldn't find at a retail outlet.

I'm tired of seeing eBay's irrelevant crap on every freakin' google SERP I encounter. I know people that have purchased cars on eBay. Are you kidding? The kinda garbage I find when I try to search on eBay is so discouraging that I don't even want to purchase a optical mouse, let alone a car. I don't mind paying a few extra bucks at a place I can trust.

-The ProfeXor reserves the right to retract this opinion if he is proved wrong or if eBay send the Cyberhoards after him.

DRM and the freedom-haters

2006-04-19T13:54:00.000-06:00

What ^, gentle reader? Thanks for tuning in to another post from the ProfeXor. Today I want to talk about DRM. For those who live in a cave that TLA (Three-letter acronym) stands for Digital Rights Management.

DRM is general term for the panicked efforts of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), and other "digital property" owners to control the distribution of their product.

A fairly well known example of DRM is the regional encoding and protection found in DVDs. This was an attempt by the DVD Consortium to keep DVDs from being copied. As most people know, this encryption system was cracked shortly after it was released. Since then many freedom-hating sadists have tried various methods of protecting their "property". Sony recently released a CD with hidden DRM (functional details here) that left serious security holes.

Sony's attempt at hijacking buyers' computers was a metaphor for all that's wrong with DRM. Now if I rent/purchase a DVD I have to watch an ad about how downloading music is stealing. It says "You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't steal this, you wouldn't steal that....blah blah blah...don't steal music." They are correct...I wouldn't steal a car, or a DVD or anything else. However, you can be darn sure that if I could make an exact duplicate of a Lamborghini for my driving amusement I would in a heartbeat!

I'm not saying that I pirate software (being a Geek, I'm more focused on software than music here). If I want a game and I know it's good I'll purchase it. I bought Joint Operations, the expansion pack, Unreal 2k4, BF2 and several other games over the last year. My gripe is that DRM doesn't affect pirates, it affects consumers.

I read an article about how new DVD technology will have a revolving encrpytion system that may quickly render DVD players obsolete. So If I purchase DVDs, I may have 10 different types of encryption that I have to worry about figuring out. Does this affect pirates? No. Did Sony's blunder affect pirates? No. It all affects consumers. When you download a movie/game/music the protection has already been stripped.

DRM is a knee-jerk reaction by that is far too little too late. Future efforts at copy protection will frustrate and alienate cash-carrying consumers while a 14 year old Russian kid is distributes clean versions online. When that day comes (maybe it's already here) who will want to pay money for a crappy, privacy-invading product? Maybe the lusers but never ProfeXorGeek.

Pewter Wars

2006-04-18T11:08:00.000-06:00

Hello again readers and thanks for tuning in to another collection of random thoughts. This post is about Pewter Star Wars Figures so don't go away! You can find free software links and all kinds of helpful links, products, tips and opinions on geek culture. If you think you're a true Geek test yourself at the Geek University. Now on to the post:

Pewter stuff rocks. I like pewter because it's heavy and looks and feels like an antique. I have two pewter statues of a Viking man and wife on my compy at work that stand about 1" tall. I call them Garth and Helga. Recently I gave them a little pewter elephant as a pet.
Now I sorta want to collect more stuff. What's cooler than little pewter vikings? Admittedly not much, however I did find some neat pewter Star Wars figures. They are a bit pricey (that new Lucasfilm facility has a lot of overhead) but they're cool enough that I just might buy one if they are still in stock. Check out below:

There was also a general grevious, boba fett and a bunch of other pewter star wars figures and pewter star wars vehicles but it seems like a lot of it is out of stock.
Also, did anyone check out the last post and play LF2? It's a cool game and very easy to mod. I found an anakin add in character and was wondering if anyone could find a Darth Vader or other star wars figures. That would be ultra-L337. I might add that as a treasure hunt to the Geek University Quiz.

Little Fighters 2 Packs a Big Punch

2006-04-15T22:11:00.000-06:00

Gaming started small with gaming companies emerging like garage bands. A couple talented programmers and artists could put together a pretty sweet game and offer it on the shareware market. Then, gaming went the way of Hollywood for a while. Giant entertainment endeavors became expensive productions, designed by professional studios with hundreds of employees. But lately the minigame market has blossomed like 64-bit color. With Flash, JAVA, JavaScript and other programming languages that can be easily ported and distributed the amateur developers market has been churning out higher and higher quality stuff. Enter my new favorite free game. Two guys who are apparently of Asian descent (judging by game style and language) have refined their original creation and developed Little Fighters 2. This little gem hearkens to the days of button-mashing combos and sweet 2D bloodshed. Play on one compy with 4 people or hook up with 8 friends online and Tiger-Punch the crap out of each other. There is a whole slew of game types including a Stage mode where you fight through stages of compy enemies. A 1v1, 2v2, tournament mode and more! I haven't had this much pixilated fun since MK3. ProfeXorGeek salutes Marti and Starsky Wong for bringing this excellent entertainment to the masses for free.

PS: Did anyone notice how clever my headline was? Meanings within meanings- I bet newspapers all over the world are clicking on the contact link right now.

ProfeXor Geek's Favorite Free Software!

2006-04-14T09:59:00.000-06:00

I thought it appropriate to do my few and loyal readers a favor. I have compiled a list of all the great software utilities that I have found to be useful and FREE. The list below is comprised of helpful tools that are either freeware or shareware. These are all free but may request that you donate or purchase the full license version. If you like one of these tools it wouldn't hurt to contribute a little so they continue to be free! If you encounter a link that is broken, a tool that is not free or have a recommendation for this list please contact me. Please note that I am not affiliated with any of these tools, I do not profit from this recommendation nor do I provide tech support.

Internet and Security:
AVG - Free, effective anti-virus
ZoneAlarm - Solid, user-friendly firewall
SpyBot - Primary spyware scanner
Ad-Aware - Secondary spyware scanner
Firefox - The best browser out. Period.

Entertainment:
iTunes - I hate Macs but I converted on this one. I'm sorry.
VLC Media Player - If you have a video file, it will play it!

Utilities:
Daemon - Emulate CD/DVD drives
Xenu's Link Sleuth - Test your site's links, etc
WinRAR - Unzip the zipped
NetStumbler - Stumble your way into someone else's internet
TightVNC - control your computer from afar
TextPad - the best text editor I have ever encountered.
FileZilla - the ProfeXor's FTP client of choice

All Geared Up and Nowhere to Go...

2006-04-07T11:11:00.000-06:00

So I bought a Sony VAIO Lappy VGN-FS760/W, which is similar to this laptop, last October. For the most part, it totally rocks. It has the mobile nVidia card which manages to handle Battlefield 2, MaxPayne2, Dawn of War, Joint Ops, UT2004 and pretty much any other game I play. The only problem I have with it is it will overheat and shut down if I don't have some exterior cooling going. The graphics card is a little too big for the case size. But, I wanted a lappy that was thin and portable yet powerful....it does okay.

Then, I bought a nice lappy bag from Sierra Trading Post for $20 (that one is sold out but I just noticed a $40 Timbuk2 bag and a bigger $60 Timbuk2 bag). Anyway, I'm all geared up for a good LAN party. I got a decent lappy, a good transport bag that carries almost everything I need (other than my joystick for some BF2 helicopter pilotry) and, of course, professional gaming skills ;)

Problem is I got nowhere to play. My friends now are married and having babies...or otherwise occupied with life and can't get together for an LAN session. Sure, I can play online, but that's got nothing on getting together with 10 people you know and having a good deathmatch while munching Papa John's and pounding Dew/Jamaican Blue Coffee. It's a different gaming experience with some cameraderie that you can't find in a normal multiplayer game.

I've even tried to get Wifey into gaming but she just can't hang when it comes to FPS. Plus she isn't that into it. She did kick some butt at Fate , the Wild Tangent RPG (that game might be the most fun I've had for $20). But Fate is single player only and Neverwinter Nights is a bit too complex for Wifey. I don't own any other RPGs except Nox, which was really good in it's time but it's a bit dated now.

I guess for now I'll stick to the standard multiplayer gaming and long for the days of the LAN. Can anyone feel me here? I can't be alone in this.
-The Geek

Clock cycles, schmycles.

2006-04-06T18:04:00.000-06:00

Good ol' brits. The makers of the ARM processor that is found in may pda devices have teamed up with another company called Handshake Solutions (Netherlands) to create a commercial 32-bit processor that does not run at a set clock speed. The asynchronus chip allows different parts of its circuits to run at whatever speed is necessary to get the job done. This style of proc uses far less power to accomplish the same tasks as todays x86 furnaces. Read the full article on the ARM website.

Geek University

2006-04-06T09:41:00.000-06:00

I just founded the Geek University. True geek candidates will figure out how to attend class. Once you enroll at the Geek University your desired screen name (if appropriate) will be posted here with your current credits. Step up to the task my geek bretheren and show your peers what you're made of.

Updates:
04-18-06 -quiz expanded
04-19-06 quiz expanded

Current students enrolled:
60 credits stolie
55 credits catchison

Pandora's Box O' Music

2006-04-04T17:01:00.000-06:00

I want to mention this cool lil' net radio thing. I got into net radio in college. At that point it kinda sucked. Sound quality was horrible and it was very amature. Now it has really evolved but I still am not that into it- when you have gigs of mp3s and a newly acquired interest in iTunes with cool random play functions (see earlier posts)...it's hard to listen to net radio.

Enter Pandora. This cool lil' bit of net software allows you to pick a few bands and then plays similar music. I know Yahoo Music and many others have done this, and while they're all really cool from a geeky technology perspective (trust me, this technology is really cool) Pandora does it better. I could go on for longer but I have some other stuff I need to do. Namely play video games. Click the link and go check it out for yourself.
-ProfeXor Geek

Somebody Is Out There

2006-04-04T16:54:00.000-06:00

Let me just say in a quick post that someone read my blog and commented. I got my first comment! I had a reader! Hey reader, you better be at work. If you are at home and reading my blog you should be doing something cool. If you are reading my blog someone should be paying you.

Ha ha, no...if you are reading this you should be emailing all your friends and linking to me from your blog or website. Anyway, commentor #1: you rock. The ProfeXor has spoken.

Good Times in Digitaland

2006-04-03T16:52:00.000-06:00

I have a good friend in another state. We used to hang out all the time. Now we are in different time zones and rarely get the chance to call each other. This past weekend I plugged back into one of my all time favorite FPS games: Joint Operations Escalation. I hooked up with my old buddy, still sporting our old GAS clan tags, and played a couple rounds.
It was just like old times. For all practical purposes we were hanging out in his basement for a LAN session again. I was almost as happy to see his digital persona as I woulda been to see him in meatspace. We picked up some weapons, hopped on a motorcycle and did some good ol' fashioned driving and blasting.

Good times. If you're looking for the Profexor I'll be in the Devestation server playing as AerStryke-GAS-. See ya' in my crosshairs :)

Spore

2006-03-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

I recently read about the new Spore game that Will Wright is designing. Totally amazing. I can't even put it into words. Read the article at syndicateX and then click the google video link. Prepare to be astounded.

Oreos

2006-03-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

Somebody brought Oreos into the office today. When I was little my favorite bit was the frosting. I'd eat it and throw the cookies away. Now my favorite bit is the cookie, dipped in my morning coffee. There's probably something deep and philisophical in that but I'll leave that for you to find.

Norton: Buy and Die

2006-03-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

I guess I have to admit that I purchased a Norton product. Norton Internet Security came installed on my lappy and out of either laziness or pure stupidity I used it until the trial period expired. Then, since there were a few odd dollars sitting in my paypal account I went ahead and subscribed to their product.

Now I want to kill myself. I can't beleive Sony or any other company would allow this trash on their hardware. Okay, that's not entirely true since thousands of computers come with AOL installed. Anyway, how Norton managed to make a name for themselves with a product like this I'll never know. I've used Norton's virus software before without much trouble but woe upon the soul that installs the full Internet Security package.

That $#@%#$ program blocks everything I have. I start Photoshop....freeze, Microsoft Word....freeze, virtually any other useful program.....freeze. I finally figured out that the source of the problem was my utter-crap Norton firewall blocking all the programs. Does it ask me if I want to allow it? No. Does it provide me an easy way to allow it? No.

I click on Norton options and wait for 30 seconds while it figures out which menu I want to launch (this is on a lappy that plays BF2, JointOps, MaxPayne2 and many other games). Then I navigate through their slow and crappy menus to find the firewall config. But, alas, when I try to add Microsoft Word (It's an obscure program, right?...very understandable that Norton would block it)....freeze. I try to force quit the program - somehow I don't have the authority to do so it tells me.

To make a long story short I have to hard restart about half the time if I don't remember to shut off Norton long enough to start the program, then turn it back on. I curse the day I paid for this annoyance. Friends, Romans, Readers: Don't buy Norton products! They will ruin your life. Now I'm going to go uninstall that crap and install ZoneAlarm and AVG or something besides Norton. This is what happens when idiots try to design a one-stop security suite for other idiots. Totally useless. Die a slow, painful death Norton. The profexor has spoken.

Twang Him With Yer Zither

2006-03-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Anyone heard of Jake Shimbukuru? Who's that and what does this have to do with Geekdom? Not much really. Jake Shimbukuru is just a uke playin dude with some intense skills. A friend of mine that's really into music sent me the link to this video. Mr Shimbukuru totally blew me away with his mastery of the ukelele.

Violence in video games

2006-03-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Everybody is talking about violence in video games. What? That's old news? Yes. It is and it isn't. There was that big outcry after the Columbine incident about how those psychotic individuals mentioned Doom and maybe some other video games in connection with their planned massacre.

Now, seven years later, after the 3rd or 4th installment of GTA (I owned the first one, baby) and countless FPS games there is a post on Slashdot about yet another rehash of the tired subject. How do I feel? What's my opinion? I knew you were dying to ask.

Truth is, I really don't know. I played Doom, Wolfenstein, Rise of the Triad, Diablo, GTA and countless other (quote, unquote) evil, violent, or otherwise controversial games. I went through Jr. High and High School playing those games. I play Unreal Tournament 04, Doom3, Halflife2 and the other popular ones now. My last week of college, as I was preparing to graduate and ultra-stressed, I fought my way through Return to Castle Wolfenstein start to finish. It was the geek version of a relaxing spa. And I consider myself a well-adjusted individual who manages to function within the conventions that we call "society".

I play violent video games frequently as do most of my closer friends. Our idea of fun is to hook up online and blast each other into a wall-splattering pulp with high-power weapons. I don't think anyone I know has trouble separating the digital battlefield from "meatspace" reality. In fact, the more stressed out I've been, the more relaxing it is to unleash mayhem on my brother-in-law and friends on our favorite Unreal map.

That being said I think there are certain maladjusted individuals that should not know anything about guns or battle tactics (which many games do a pretty good job of teaching you). I also wouldn't let my 6 year old cousin play the game. I guess maybe it comes down to what that whitey-rapper said "where were the parents at?"

Either way, allowing the government to regulate it is just one more patriot act step towards freedumb.

-ProfexorGeek signing off.

Filenaming vs Database Technology

2006-03-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

After my last post about converting to iTunes I was thinking more about why it's so hard for me to make the switch from my careful file organization to iTunes database-style listing.

My first computer was a 386 DOS machine with a 66mhz processor, 8mb of RAM and a 40mb hard drive. DOS and later Windows always relied on file names and folders to organize and track your files. Computers were based on what people knew: file cabinets.

But as the Internet "evolved" (that's a loosely used term) databasing became the norm for a powerful and large site. Files on computers began to follow that format with music, digital pictures and many other files offering file tags that help you keep track of more data than you can fit in a filename. Just like a database.

However, Windows still relied on file names to sort and search for files (don't even mention the weak details you can choose to sort files by). Programs like Microsoft's oh-so-brilliant Outlook search for emails by subject and a few other things but by-and-large search has still been conducted by title or filename and folder organization in Windows. It's also very slow.

Enter Terrabyte harddrives (or even a paltry 300GB for that matter). Suddenly, you can store a lot of files. No more deleting to save space... you can archive to your heart's delight. The problem is you either have to click 30 directories deep, depending on how far you break down classification, or scan through 5000 files to find what you want.

Along comes Google, the indexing and search engine pros that take databasing to an exponantial level. Google brings their web genius to Gmail and Google Desktop, which indexes your Terrabyte hard drive, Outlook emails (Yeah, I have to use Outlook so leave me alone), and offers a search bar that can give you a shortlist of relative results in about .2 seconds. Like a web search but on your own machine (a little creepy and big brotherish though). Then googleTalk that allows you to chat and archives it with your gmail and everything else (yup, still creepy but at least they're not evil).

Which brings us back to iTunes: The database solution to music.

I'm a file sorter. I admit it. Hi, my name is ProfexorGeek and I sort files. Compulsively. But now it doesn't matter where I put them. iTunes grabs my music, stores it somewhere and lets me search, play, rip, burn or transfer it within their interface. Google allows me to search and open my files and email without having a clue where they're located.

Converting is hard for a control-freak Geek like me. But databasing is the wave of the future. I have heard that Windows Longhorn/Vista dropped their database search system. Bad mistake Microsoft. You are going to be left behind, like ProfexorGeek almost was.

iTunes love and hate

2006-03-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone who knows me knows that I hate Macs. Truly hate them. I don't care to justify my reasoning at this point, suffice it to say that I'm a PC lover and am desperately holding on to my anti-mac beliefs.

Anyway. Despite my distaste for products featuring the almighty apple I have been toying with the idea of being an exalted iPod owner. Actually I was looking at a shuffle because it's cheap. I decided not to buy one but my office-mates knew I had been looking because it was a glaring departure from my usual anti-mac sentiments. So, my boss returned from a tradeshow with a 512mb ipod shuffle for me!

Let me pause to describe my music collection. I have a couple thousand mp3s (legitamately acquired of course, piracy is illegal) that are very carefully organized into genre folders and named "artist - songname.mp3". The naming is all carefully controlled with artist and songnames in titlecaps. All but a few treasured bootlegs (also legitimate of course) are 128 or higher quality. And though I have carefully organized the filenames, the tags are a wreck. Different ID versions, loads of missing or incorrect info... I never use the tags, I always create playlists etc by filename.

Back to the theme: upon greatfully receiving the iPod Shuffle I went home and fired up Lappy and installed the iPod software including iTunes (pretty much required if you plan to use an apple mp3 player). iTunes immediately hijacked my folders and began moving, naming, converting and otherwise destroying my perfect file collection. I looked at my folders with a dismay approaching panic. Did I install iTunes or some malicious spyware by mistake? My wma files were copied, converted and renamed with some weird extension. Loads of folders were created by individual artist names and albums (that's why I organize by genre...why would you want to click into an artist folder and then the album and then the song for every song you want to listen to?) and music was generally shifted around in an apparently random fashion.

Quelling my utterly enraged inner-OC, I ignored the folders and looked at my "library". Since few tags were accurate, the songs were in no real order. How to find what I wanted? Then I saw the little search box and began typing in searches. iTunes romped through my file collection. I typed "cover" and it brought up cover tunes I didn't even remember having. I typed artists, songnames, genres....every time iTunes brought a short, and very relevant list of what I was looking for. I forgot about the folders for awhile and built a playlist (like 2 clicks I might add).

I soon found myself enjoying rating songs that I liked, sorting by different fields and looking at the times played statistics. I could dig this, I found myself thinking. I was becoming a convert.

To make a long (and boring) story shorter I am starting to like iTunes and the Apple music revolution. I held out for as long as I could but I'm finding myself obsessively editing file tags and toying with the random play features of iTunes. I'm listening to my Shuffle right now and however much I scorned the concept of an LCDless music player that's key selling point was it's unpredictability....I'm digging it. Even though I sorta hate myself for it.

Things I love about iTunes: Totally awesome database driven features, play statistics, rating, ease of use, crisp visuals (though visuals are a generally pointless CPU hog unless you're into psychadelic drugs) and smooth interfacing with my Shuffle. Oh yeah, I like searching for stuff and listening to songs I've forgotten about. If I update a song on iTunes, it gets updated on my Shuffle when I plug it in.

Things I hate about iTunes: What the crap is up with my folders being moved around? I don't know where music is and if I'm deleting stuff or what. I don't like how it moves the song immediately when I rename it....where did it go? I don't know, now I have to search for it again. And the incredible amount of time I'm going to sink into editing tags.