Lee McKusick

What GlaDOS Was Really Thinking

Monday, September 15th, 2008 | Fun, Gaming | No Comments

This was a triumph!
I’m making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS!
It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture science!
We do what we must, because we can.
For the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead. (X_X) <- Dead one. No good for him.

But there’s no sense crying over every mistake. (Just yours.)
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake. (Which is now. The cake is a lie.)
And the science gets done, and you make a neat gun, for the people who are still alive. (x_x) <- Not him.

I’m not even angry. (Just mad, peeved and annoyed.)
I’m being so sincere right now. (Not really.)
Even though you broke my heart and killed me. (Jerk.)
And tore me to pieces. (Was that really necessary?)
And threw every piece into a fire. (Ok, that was a little much…)
As they burned, it hurt because I was so happy for you. (Happy = wishing you dead.)

Now these points of data make a beautiful line, and we’re out of beta, we’re releasing on time. So I’m glad I got burned, (Not so much.)
Think of all the things we learned, (Like fire hurts.)
For the people who are still alive. (x_x) <- Still not him.

Go ‘head and leave me. (Really. Get out.)
I think I’d prefer to stay inside. (As long as you’re outside.)
Maybe you’ll find someone else to help you. (Help = kill.)
Maybe Black Mesa. (That was a joke. HAHA, fat chance.)
Anyway, this cake is great, it’s so delicious and moist (and a lie.)

Look at me still talking when there’s science to do,
When I look out there, it makes me glad I’m not you. (As always.)
I’ve experiments to run, there is research to be done, on the people who are still alive. (x_x) <- No experiments on him.

And believe me I am still alive, (and laughing at you).
I’m doing science and I’m still alive, (^_^) <- On him, not him -> (x_x)
I feel fantastic and I’m still alive, (It’s the coffee.)
And while you’re dying I’ll be still alive (And still laughing.)
And when you’re dead I will be still alive (Dancing, too.)
Still alive, still alive.

Special thanks to Jonathan Coulton for penning this song, and extra special thanks to Valve for making Portal an excellent game.

Tags: glados, humor, joco, portal, valve

Ride Your Music

Saturday, September 13th, 2008 | Fun, Gaming, Music | No Comments

So today I reinstalled Windows on my gaming desktop, as it was sorely in need of a little software TLC, much the same way droids get a memory wipe every now and then to keep them from developing abnormal personality quirks.

Sorry, geeked out there for a second. Back on track…

I reinstalled Steam, and also AudioSurf. I wrote a post a while back (it must have been on another blog though) about it, but it’s been a while, and it feels like being reacquainted with an old friend so it deserves another introduction.

AudioSurf is a basically a music visualizer turned into a game. It takes any music file and generates a track from it, and you play as a little ship going along this track and collecting blocks in time to the music. The track is divided into a number of rows, so you’re constantly weaving back and forth trying to collect the right blocks to make combos.

The cool thing about it is that you can use any of your music (AAC files aren’t supported though, so no ITMS stuff), which makes for near limitless replayability.

It’s incredibly addictive, tons of fun, and at only $10, it’s well worth it.

EDIT: OH! I completely forgot: in addition to the game itself, you get the entire Orange Box soundtrack, which includes Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, and yes, ladies and gentleman, Portal. Rock out to two versions of “Still Alive,” the original from the game, and one sung by JoCo himself. Totally worth the $10 even without the game.

Tags: audiosurf, Fun, game, joco, steam, still alive

First Impressions of iTunes 8 and Genius

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | Music, Tech, Uncategorized | No Comments

For those who don’t know, iTunes 8 released today, and brought with it some new features: Grid view, HD tv shows, a new visualizer (which I admit is pretty sick.) The biggest news of all, though, is the Genius functionality. There’s two parts to it, the Genius Sidebar and Genius Playlists.

First observation: In order to use Genius, you have to go through Apple. It’s a centralized system, meaning Apple takes your library information, puts it through the algorithm on their servers, and spits the results back at you. (Second observation the first time takes a long time…). So you paranoid types out there might want to avoid the Genius.

The Genius Sidebar looks at both the currently selected song and the iTunes Music Store and shows you some other top songs by that artist, and other recommended tracks. In my opinion, this is a waste of space. It’s interesting to be sure, but as evidenced by the plethora of tiny “BUY” links, just an extension of the store.

Far more intriguing to me are the Genius Playlists. The premise: click a song, click a button, and a related playlist is generated based on that song. Let’s try it, shall we? (All songs tested are sold through the iTunes Store.)

1. Palisades by Visual Cliff. Genius unavailable. FAIL.
2. King Without a Crown by Matisyahu. Genius unavailable. FAIL.
3. Better Life by Keith Urban. Good results; all Country genre. Returned: Chris Cagle, Dierks Bentley, Tim McGraw. WIN.
4. Beyond Measure by Jeremy Camp. Returned: Sanctus Real, Third Day, Kutless. WIN.
5. Follow the Wolves by Demon Hunter. Returned: Pillar, 12 Stones, Flyleaf, Decyfer Down. Also returned a Dropkick Murphys song, which I found rather odd. Overall though: WIN.

That’s 3 to 2 folks. For now, Genius playlists meet my approval, at least for well-known songs. I’m a little irked that the first two didn’t even show up. Even if they weren’t specifically catalogued by Apple (which would be odd, seeings how they’re both sold in the iTunes store), I would have liked it if it still make an attempt at generating a playlist based on track information. Then again, it is new, so I’ll give it some time to improve.

Next on the list is Grid view, which I have very mixed feelings about. I like the concept. In fact, I love the concept, but there’s some things about the implementation that I decidedly don’t like.

• There’s no way to look at the tracks in an album unless you double-click and enter the album. What I Would Like To See: When you select an album, the tracks in that album show up in a sidebar. Perhaps like the new useless sidebar they just added…
• The Play Album/Artist/Etc button is too small. What I Would Like To See: Expand it to cover the whole bottom third of the album you’re hovering over.
• Not part of Grid view, but they took out right-clicking on the albums in Cover Flow! WTF?! What I Would Like To See: Give me back my right-click menu, Jobs!

That’s all I’ve got for now. I need to play around with iTunes 8 before making any more judgements, but for my initial reactions, I give it about a 6.5.

Tags: apple, genius, itunes 8, Music

Love Keeps Her In The Air: The Spiritual Parallels of Firefly, Pt. 2

Thursday, July 17th, 2008 | Fun, God, Movies, Tv | 2 Comments

It’s always bittersweet finishing a captivating story. It’s an close on an exciting and captivating chapter, but there are so many good memories.

Enough nostalgia, let’s move to the waxing philosophical.

(Again, there may be spoilers so you’ve been warned.)



So I just finished watching Serenity, the movie set after Firefly. At the very end, as Mal and River are flying Serenity up and out of the storm, we find another instance where we can catch a glimpse of God’s nature.

Mal: Ain’t all buttons and charts, little Albatross. You know what the first rule of flying is? Well, I suppose you do, since you already know what I’m ’bout to say.
River: I do. But I like to hear you say it.

People have grappled for centuries with the question that “if God knows our hearts and minds, why do we pray?”. Questions of predestination aside, if God knows what we think and what we are going to pray, why should we bother actually doing it?

The simple answer would be because God wants us to. He didn’t create us so that we could just go our own way and live on our own, apart from him. He did it so that we could experience his goodness, love, and community, and so that He could love us in return and take pleasure in our lives. It is God’s joy, and therefore our own, that we pray and talk with Him. He may know what we’re going to say. But He likes to hear us say it.

Mal: Love. You can know all the math in the ‘verse, but you take a boat in the air you don’t love, she’ll shake you up sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tell you she’s hurting before she keens. Makes her a home.

I don’t know any biblical parallel to this off the top of my head, other than Paul’s description of love, but this is such a powerful quote.

Love is the fuel that a true home runs on. If your home isn’t built on a foundation of love, it’ll fall right out of the sky and crash to the ground in a fiery wreck. But a home built on love has the power to soar high above the clouds, lifting you and yours above anything that threatens to tear you apart.

Speaking of which, we might as well finish out the scene:

River: Storm’s getting worse.
Mal: We’ll pass through it soon enough.

Persist through the storms of life, and you will come out the other side. Like Serenity emerging from the clouds to journey back out among the stars.

Shiny!

Tags: firefly, mal, river, serenity, spiritual

Power in the ‘Verse: Spiritual Parallels of Firefly

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 | Fun, God, Tv | No Comments

Firefly is one of the most awesome shows ever made.

I’ve been watching the whole series over the past few days. Why Fox canceled it is beyond me. It’s funny and intelligent, dramatic and action-packed. Anyway, enough raving, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it. Or come watch it with me, it’s a great time.

Also if you haven’t seen it, and don’t like spoilers, you might want to stop reading now. If you don’t mind them, you might see one of the reasons I love this show so much.

To give some backstory first, they just rescued Jayne, and Simon and River (both wanted fugitives) from the Alliance after Jayne ratted them out for the reward money. Mal, being a man who looks after his own, has a little chat with Jayne.

This is probably the most moving (and chilling) scene in the whole series for me, because it directly parallels reality.

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” - Matthew 25:45

The words and sentiments of Malcolm Reynolds directly parallel those of Jesus Christ. “You turn on any of my crew, you turn on me…You did it to me, Jayne.” I said it was chilling because it’s not a far stretch to put myself in that airlock, feeling the same fire of righteous fury directed my way. I imagine that that’s quite similar to how Jesus will respond to those who have sinned. I can’t think that the Creator of the ‘verse would take any more kindly to betrayal…

Another thing that made me shiver a bit was Mal’s response to Jayne’s question:

Jayne: What are you gonna tell the others?
Mal: About what?
Jayne: About why I’m dead.
Mal: I hadn’t thought about it.

Jayne’s betrayal caused a rift so great that Mal would simply abandon and forget him. Sound similar?

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,[a] lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - Matthew 27:46

But it’s what happens next that brings hope. Jayne accepts his impending doom, and genuinely repents. And because of that, Mal shows him mercy, and the rift is gone. Well, maybe not gone, as Jayne gets to ride in the makeshift brig for a while, but then again, he’s only human. Atherton Wing can attest to that:

Because of it’s spiritual parallels, and awesome humor, plot, and characters, I love Firefly. You should too. Dong-ma?

Tags: firefly, jayne, jesus, serenity

I Need More Books…

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 | Books | 1 Comment

//
// EDIT:
// Check out the new Reading List page for a
// list of the books I’m looking for.
//

Art of Manliness, again one of my favorite blogs, put of a list of 100 classic books to read.

100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library

I’ve read a few of the books on there, including Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, The Metamorphosis, and For Whom The Bell Tolls, but I’ve still got a ways to go…

I like how the Bible is on the list, especially for the reasons he gives. Even if you’re not a believer, it’s good to have read the book that much of America’s culture is somehow derived from, not to mention the massive amounts of wisdom contained within.

So if anybody has any of those books, and wants to give or lend them, let me know. =)

(By the way, don’t worry, there will be some original content soon. The quarter’s winding down, so I’ll have more time.)

Stuck In Customs

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 | Blog, Music, Tv, Uncategorized | No Comments

Have I mentioned I love Desktoptopia?

This is the image it just gave me:

I thought the HDR (High Dynamic Range, it’s what gives it the illustrated look) effect was really cool, so I decided to play my luck and see if they gave a link to the photographer. Sure enough, they did, and the guy, Trey Ratcliff, has a ton of beautiful HDR images.

His site, Stuck in Customs, has both his official portfolio, and a photoblog. It’s definitely worth a look.

Plus, most of his stuff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. Props to him for that!

Tags: photography, hdr

Reading List

Friday, April 4th, 2008 | Books | 1 Comment

Currently Reading:
Infidel - Ted Dekker
The Design of Everyday Things - Donald Norman

To Read:
Hostage to the Devil - Malachi Martin
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay

What are you reading?

Dexter

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 | Tv | No Comments

So I’ve been watching the Showtime original series “Dexter”, with my roommates. It’s a show (based on the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay)  about a guy named Dexter, who is the top blood spatter analyst in the Miami PD. He’s also a serial killer.

In accordance with his “moral code”, all of Dexter’s victims are murderers themselves, and while there’s no justification for an eye for an eye, you really can’t help but root for him, mainly when he’s in danger of being caught, or if he’s in a similar sort of sticky situation.

I won’t give anything away, but Dexter is basically emotionless. He’s a very flat character by himself, but it’s the facade that he puts up that makes the show amazing, and the character of Dexter really likable. The mask he wears around other people is completely the opposite of his actual self, and Michael C. Hall does an excellent job of portraying those awkward, yet convincing interactions. Combined with the wacky interactions of Season 1 with the “Ice Truck Killer” (another serial killer in Miami), it all makes for a dynamic and interesting show.

As I mentioned, the show was made for Showtime, but season 1 is being shown Sunday nights on CBS at 10pm. ( I haven’t seen any on CBS, so I can’t say how well it survived the network TV editting process, but I will say that there’s really not much in terms of content that you wouldn’t find on, say, CSI (language notwithstanding).

So, if you’re looking for a great show that will grab your interest, and still make you laugh at times, I would recommend Dexter. But I warn you, it’s like a good novel, once you start watching it, the plot will suck you in…

Speakng of novels, I want to read Darkly Dreaming Dexter, so once I do, I’ll put up a review.

Escapism

Monday, March 31st, 2008 | Movies | No Comments

When I watch a movie, it’s usually because I want to be entertained. I want to immerse myself in another world, another plotline, another story. And when I come back from that other place, I want to feel better, more positive, or at least more thoughtful for the experience. I want movies to leave me with a smile for some reason or another.

I just finished watching No Country For Old Men, and I can honestly say that I found no form of escapism. I’m no more thoughtful because of it, it’s certainly not a happy movie, and I feel no positive repercussions from it.

I’m certainly not smiling…