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El_Hajjish
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Birthday: 3/27/1979
Gender: Male
Interests: Video games, particularly the fun variety. I detest hardcore gamers who run around "fragging" n00bs, or whatever the term for beating people is. I also like riding my bike and tending to the garden that my wife and I share. Speaking of my wife, I like to spend time with her too, particularly reading the newpaper or watching TV shows on DVD.
Expertise: Urban planning, urban design, transportation issues, etc etc. I also fancy myself a decent researcher and writer.
Occupation: Student
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/9/2005
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| So we'll be heading to Lake Louise this Monday and Tuesday. I've
never really spent a significant time in the Rockies, nor have I ever
spent any time in them during the winter, so this will be an
interesting experience. We're staying at the Deer Lodge Resort,
which, incedently, I believe to be the place where Tom and I picked up
a very stoned Bridget one summer. If I remember correctly, the
place was pretty nice. It'll be funny to go there and know that
the staff are a gaggle of huge stoners....
So today, the work continues on the MDP indirectly. By that I
mean my prof for my Urban Infrastucture class is also my MDP
supervisor, and she's letting me write an MDP chapter as a term paper
for that class. Very nice.
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| There's a lot of paperwork involved in doing a thesis (or Master's
Degree Project as we call it in my program). I've never been a
fan of paperwork, which could be problematic, considering there's a lot
in urban planning. With this project, however, there is so much
paperwork to be done, so many little boxes to be filled out...
it's hard to keep up sometimes.
The project itself is back on track after a little hiccup in January
when my supervisor became so ill, she was out for a least the first
half of this year. Finding another supervisor and getting my
project square with her took some time. Creating a methodology
can be pretty challenging!
To effectively contradict the griping I've just done, I'll tell you
that I picked up a copy of Final Fantasy IV Advance last week.
I'm happy with the improvements they've made and the new dialogue
fleshes out the story much better without sacrificing such great lines
as "You spoony bard!" and "Lali-ho!" Most enjoyable.
Block week next week. Basically, its a week off, unless you take
week-long "Block" courses for extra credit. Jenn and I may go
away for a couple of days. Where, we don't know, but pretty close
to home.
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| Yeah, 10 days since my last post.
Last week, we failed to defeat the Internationals again during trivia
night. In fact, our margin of losing increased for the first
time. They know us now, and they've upped their game, I'm sure.
I've been thinking a lot about the Nintendo Revolution,
as it will likely be the only system I buy in the next
generation. Quite frankly, there is nothing about the XBox 360
that I find interesting at all. I don't have an HD TV, nor will I
be buying one for at least a few years. I resent that Microsoft
feels that I need one to enjoy their new games. The system adds
nothing new, really. Granted, the thing just came out, but I
really didn't see much in the last XBox that excited me.
The PS3 will likely be bloody expensive - no price yet, but they're
thinking $500-$700 US, so probably $650 Canadian. The Final
Fantasy series provoked the purchase of both my PS1 and PS2 systems,
and the main series will likely stay on the PS3, but my interest in the
series has dropped. I couldn't get into FFX and XII will probably
be out next year on the PS2, meaning probably at least 3 years for XIII
and no promises on its quality. I did spend a year on FF XI, but
that is no longer compatible with a healthy life and marriage.
There will be a lot of good games for this system, but I will not be
able to pay that much for one or will I be able to buy an HDTV to be
able to see the full power of the system.
Maybe in 2009 when I get an HDTV and the PS3 price has dropped a bunch.
That is not to say that the Revolution is the best of the worst.
I'm really very excited about the thing. Why? Because out of the
three systems, this one looks like it's designed to create fun.
Underpowered specs compared to the others? Sure. However,
graphics 2 to 3 times the GameCube is about as far as you can
get on a non-HD TV before nobody notices. Compare 360 to XBox games on
a regular TV. No thanks.
My tastes in games are changing. I can't plug away at a game for 10
hours at a time anymore. I want to play games with my friends and with
my wife. I would like to see new types of games. The Revolution is
designed for that. The controller promises genuinely new experiences and new types of games.
I'm a sucker for Nintendo games. I still think that they make the
funnest games out there. My friends and I played the original
SNES Mario Kart for years. Am I excited about exisiting
franchises? Mario Party? Yes. Zelda? Yes. Metroid? Yes. Smash Bros.?
Absolutely. While I say that I want new games, these games still
are as fun now as when they came out. Add in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
and I'm sold. Online play will be through the free Nintendo
Wi-Fi, although time will tell if it remains free for Revolution.
I know that good game + online doesn't always = good, but it's been
great on Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing so far...
The Virtual Console
gives me access to an incredible library of classic games without
blowing on cartriges or buggy versions on my tiny computer
screen. It may also give me access to indie games or innovative
games that may just not be profitable if distributed in the regular
market. 3rd party companies will be on board with this thing,
making it even better.
The Revolution will have no useless add-ons to make it an
"entertainment hub." I can already play DVDs in two of my
machines. I don't want to pay extra for another one. My
stereo, iPod and laptop already play music, so I see no reason for my
console to.
People are prediciting $200 US for the launch price, so.... $260 Canadian? We'll see.
Wow, what a disorganized rant. If you were looking for good
writing, there are a number of gaming sites out there. Or you can
read this.
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| Oh, and while I'm on the subject of new stuff from Apple, I have to express my disappointment that iWork '06
still will not include an Excel equivalent. I've got both Office
and iWork on my iBook, so it doesn't bother me, but I really like Pages and Keynote
and I want them on any new computer we buy. The lack of a
spreadsheet program is a pretty large gap, and I figured that they'd
get something out for 2006 as I heard that they were working on such a
program called Numbers. Here's to waiting for iWork '07 I suppose.
Oh, and I know that Appleworks has a spreadsheet program, it's just that iWork should have one too, in principle.
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| This week, everything has been breaking down and dying on us. By
everything, I mean two things, and by things I mean our desktop PC and
our car.
The PC is a write-off. At 6 years old, it would have been more
expensive to repair than to buy a new machine with the same
specs. Basically, the motherboard has had buldgy caps (whatever
those are, I don't know) that killed it right before Jenn left for the
holidays. Luckily, the were able to get all of the files we
needed off, and I've just tossed them into the iBook as of a few
minutes ago. So ends an era.
We're looking at getting a new computer, either a laptop or another desktop. Right now, we're thinking Mac mini
since our monitor is still good. Jenn would get my iBook when she
starts school. We might get something else (either go for a new
laptop for Jenn or iMac for home) depending on our financial situation
at the time. It's funny because day after all of this happens,
Apple changes everything on us. Not a bad thing perhaps.
Of course, our financial situation depends on how much we have to pay
for the car. Right before I left for the holidays, I hit a curb a
little hard while parking. When Jenn got back after her holidays,
she noticed that the car was leaking a green fluid. This would
turn out to be coolant. We stopped driving it, but I needed to
drive it to the garage for repairs today and while driving there, the
car starts smoking like crazy. Luckily, I made it there before it
died, but it turns out the coolant hose got ripped because it is really
low on the car for some reason. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too
much to repair. Still, it's a pain in the butt.
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