Heath's Cold Sores, and TJ Can Read Minds...

We had a good ole'-fashioned home weekend this weekend because we thought Heath had school sores (highly infectious), but it turned out he had cold sores (yeeech...apparently his immune system will build up):

Of course after a weekend in, the house looked like a bomb had hit it. TJ demonstrated previously-unknown mind reading powers* late Sunday when I asked him to clean up the lounge room where the kids had been stacking cushions and jumping on them.

I was about to give him specific instructions regarding the better cushions which should be returned to the family room:

Me: TJ, can you pack up the lounge and take those two yellow cush...

TJ (quickly): Yes.

Me (slightly annoyed, ready to remind him not to interrupt my monologue, and about to chide him that he couldn't possibly know what he was saying "Yes" to): Yes what?

TJ (without skipping a beat): Yes, I will take the yellow cushions and those other cushions to the family room.

Me (defeated): That's what I was about to say. Right then.

* I think TJ got lucky with his guess. He thinks he read my mind :-)

Tags: family, sick, funny

Can Video Games Be Taken Seriously?

I enjoy playing video games. They're not for everyone (I'm in a minority among friends even of my own age) but I see them as part of a diet of valid entertainment along with TV, movies, books, board games and the occasional YouTube video.

I've heard a whole range of different opinions on video games - from "that's kid's stuff" to being overly violent, bad, addictive, boring, too complicated or just fake.

Maybe one day video games can be taken "seriously" as a medium - the story, cinematics and emotions that a game creates can be analysed like films are today, with less of the the current (often petty-sounding) headlines concerning faster graphics cards, Playstation vs XBox, or out-of-proportion heroines...who cares about that stuff?

I read a couple of great articles today (thanks to Simon Parkin at Chewing Pixels) which ask if video games can really be taken seriously, far more eloquently than I can:

Steve Gaynor at Fullbright compares video games to a "middle child" and believes that because video games require interactivity there's an entry barrier that TV and movies don't have:

"The most popular entertainment is the work that requires the least foreknowledge, the shortest attention span, that supplies the most instant gratification...Video games are the only popular entertainment that you can actually fail at."

Matthew at Magic Wasteland talks about the maturity of video games as a medium, in summary comparing video games to an adolescent:

"So before we can confidently come forth with our own particular offerings towards the sum of human cultural output, the light of civilization, it seems we must continue to gyrate through this adolescent process of self-discovery, as awkward and humiliating as it can be."

There's a reason video games are not movies, but still, I look forward to a future of watching David and Margaret discuss the quirkiness of Braid or perhaps just being able to talk to normal people about the baddest video game bad guy or a cult classic game or the latest game episode of Fable 2...

Tags: games, personal, media

Unexplained Neck Soreness Considered Painful

My neck was feeling a little painful over the weekend, and I couldn't work out why. Stress at work? Too much time playing the addictive Civilization Revolution with Wifey on the XBox? Maybe a bad night's bad sleep?

I figured out my unexplained neck soreness today. It was headbanging to Muse's Knights of Cydonia on Friday night...hey, I was dancing around with the kids, who thought the headbanging was hilarious.

I'm certainly not the young, grungey Gen X-er I once was.

See also: eHow's guide to how to headbang (along with accompanying warnings)

Tags: personal, music, health

Earthquake!

Last Tuesday we were eating dinner when we experienced a small earthquake.

It happened very quickly. We heard a loud noise and felt a shudder - like something big had hit the back of our house - then a rumbling sound. The whole experience took 2-3 seconds.

We stopped eating and looked at each other, wondering if there was more to come, if it was worse elsewhere, and who else had felt the earth move. TJ and Maya wanted to know all about earthquakes, which lead to an interesting discussion about tectonics, disasters, and emergency plans.

Luckily there was a way to find out more at the Geoscience Australia site. Here's the details of the quake (it turned out to be two quakes, close together, that had originated near us in Pearcedale):


Tags: earthquake, victoria, science, family

Facebook Friend Lists and Privacy

Like many people worldwide, I use Facebook.

Facebook has got to a stage for me where my "friends" list is different than my actual real-life friends. I'm a generous person and prefer to "friend" people on Facebook who are even casual acquaintances...plus, I'm too lazy to "unfriend" anyone.

A helpful tool for the separation of online only vs. real life vs. people I hardly know (or whatever) friends is "friend lists". I've made up a couple of "friend lists" and using the tips at "10 Solid Tips to Safeguard Your Facebook Privacy" on MakeUseOf, I can better define privacy options.

Check out the tips at MakeUseOf, and may your Facebooking be happy and safe!

Tags: social, friends, facebook

Grandad

My Grandad, William Thomas Goodley ("Bill"), 23/Feb/1925 - 5/Sep/2009. I miss you already Grandad.

Video Chat

An old pic - here's me (top left), Mum and Dad (top right), brother Simon and his son Sam (bottom left), and my brother Nate (bottom right) enjoying a video chat from Perth to Newcastle to Melbourne.


We're using a free web-based service from TokBox which worked quite well.

Tags: video chat, picture, family

You Know What I Hate?

I saw a funny movie a while back where the main character would encounter situations he didn't like, and would then react entirely without inhibition. He ran a lane-drifting driver off the road; he spanked a woman who spanked her children; he chopped off a man's ponytail, explaining that it "doesn't make you look hip, cool or young".

Even in my wildest dreams I wouldn't consider doing any of these things...however...you know what I hate?

Reality TV. All reality TV shows need to be cancelled, and the "stars" made to do community service as penance.

Noisy people in cinemas annoy me. Similarly, people who bring 7-year-olds to M-rated films and then are noisy trying to shoosh the kids. They need to all be shoved in to the one screening - a whole babble of noisy shooshers.

People who finish other's sentences need to go without talking for a day.

And I absolutely hate the letters to the editor section in newspapers. I'd open a newsagent where those pages were ripped from every paper.

Ah, that feels better. Back to normal programming now :-)

Tags: life, personal, funny

BioShock Essay at Critical Distance

Recently I bought the game BioShock and although I'm only 10 or so hours into it, I have to say it's one of the best video games I've ever played. The 50's-era environment is wonderfully portrayed using sight and sound, and the underwater city of Rapture is at once both scary and intriguing. From a geek perspective, the graphics are great and the gameplay flows without being too hard for a casual gamer like myself.

But the key to BioShock - what sets it apart - is the great story.

All this to say that Michael Clarkson over at Critical Distance has written an excellent compilation of thoughts on BioShock's story and morality, which is well worth the read if you've ever played (or are interested in playing) the game.

Tags: games, xbox, story, bioshock

My Office, June 2009

I may have mentioned my office before with it's great views and location close to a beach. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here it is (taken with my phone):

Tags: office, beach