Ah, Nintendo. Every iteration of hardware, you do something completely new and stupid. How you’ve survived as a hardware company this long completely baffles me. That, above, is the redesigned DS. Yes, it was announced just over a year after the original model, which is next to the Virtual Boy, from an ergonomic perspective one of the absolute worst designed pieces of hardware I’ve ever used.

The problems with the original DS are numerous. The screen, which is periodically used as a fake analog stick, is too far away to actually reach with a thumb comfortably. The edges of the unit eat into your palms, and the corners deaden the nerves in your hands. It looks like they’ve rounded off the edges, but the fundamental problem of needing to *reach* to the screen, and thus, press up against the edges of the unit have not been fixed at all.

The position of the buttons, so close to the right edge, means that you can’t rest your thumb in a comfortable position anywhere on the unit. It looks like there’s some potential that the gap between the screens has changed, which would be a pretty fatal flaw. I’m going to assume that it’s just an optical illusion created by the fact that the unit’s getting smaller overall, and not that Nintendo’s hardware engineers are insane.

So, fine. It looks more iPod like. Welcome to 2002. It maybe looks more congruent with the Revolution design. Good for you, turning something that was probably the ugliest handheld ever, into something that doesn’t make my eyes want to vomit.

The games are good – no question – the DS has been worth it two or three times over, just for Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! but the hardware itself… oh, man. And this redesign really just doesn’t do shit for it. What a shame. Talk about a missed opportunity.

So, not a whole lot going on. The usual work rigamarole, and a couple new food.helava.com entries, but short of that, really not a whole lot going on. Got Mobius a dog bed, which was pretty damned expensive, but it’s the only dog bed Pet Food Express had that was big enough for the ol’ mutt. So, hopefully, he won’t end up pushing us over to half the bed anymore, which would be good, since it’s strange that we’d end up cramped into the corner of a California King, when the dog’s taking up half the bed. Wacky stuff.

Starting to assemble wedding invitations. Learned one interesting thing: The HP 1200 series Laserjet printers are unable to print on thick paper, and laser printing doesn’t seem to work properly on particularly fibrous paper. Some of them turned out ok, some of them turned out a bit smudged. Either way, each one has to be manually fed into the paper feed, or the rollers don’t catch it properly. Whee fun. So, gotta run to the paper store to pick up envelopes, then invites should be heading out in the next week or two.

My mom’s been tearing up the front yard like a psycho. It’s really just crazy. She’s doing a fantastic job, and it’s really shaping up. We’d killed most of the stuff out there, and I’d gotten about 3/4ths of the way through murdering a quartet of bushes that had gotten a bit out of control. We’re gonna end up leaving one of them to grow back, which means I’m almost done, and only really have half a root to chop through left to go.

Borrowed Lego Star Wars from the IRC – EA’s internal library thing. It’s quite entertaining – the storytelling is merely evocative of the movies, without actually bothering to do any silliness like speech, or what have you. The animation is simple, and cute, and they do everything they can to embrace the Lego aesthetic. Force powers include disassembling chunks of bricks, and reassembling them into something else. Great stuff. I think if I can find it cheap somewhere, I’ll actually purchase this one. Multiplayer hack and slash, that’s both entertaining, and funny, to boot.

Right.

So, I’ve been sick for the last few days. I managed to kick the flu sometime on Saturday, but by midday Friday, I’d gone from just a cough, to cough + asthmatic wheezing. Now, I don’t know if anyone else who reads this (save probably my cousin) has ever had a wheezing spell – basically, exhale ’till your lungs are nearly empty, and when you squeeze out that last breath, constrict everything you possibly can in your airway, until you emit a weird rattling sound, like you imagine a dying person might make.

Do that with every breath you take.

The cough, coupled with that, kept me from any reasonable amount of sleep, both Friday at Saturday nights, and by about 5am Saturday, I wondered if I’d ever sleep again. I checked out the Mayo clinic website, and they say that asthmatic wheezing is a side effect of the flu, and can last up to two weeks after the cold’s been kicked.

I thought, can I go two weeks without a good night’s sleep? We’re talking one, maybe two hours of undisturbed sleep, coupled with about five hours of tossing and turning each night, before I’d just get so frustrated I’d get out of bed. Both Sunday and Monday, I was basically the walking dead – every time I got up, I’d almost pass out.

I’m sure a lot of it is psychological – I should be able to sleep, even with the wheezing, but I couldn’t – the sound, the inability to just *breathe* properly – it drove me completely nuts.

Finally, Monday night, I was just going to take a couple Tylenol PM, which tend to do a pretty good job of putting me to sleep, when Ei-Nyung recommended that I check out what was in Benadryl, since it was probably something similar, without the painkiller. Indeed, it’s exactly the same thing, but it’s listed as an antihistamine when it’s in Benadryl, and a sleep aid, when it’s in Tylenol PM. So, two Benadryl tabs later, I finally got a solid four hours of sleep. It was like gold. I woke up, almost indescribably happy – I was rested, I knew that I *could* sleep, even with the cough, and the looming fear of a repeat of early last year, when I had to go to the emergency room *twice* just to get a good night’s sleep… yeah, not a happy thought.

Ended up with some really weird dreams – my grandparents on my father’s side (who have both passed away) bought a house in Albany, CA, and a white Audi TT. My cousin, my parents and I were all staying with them, and for some reason, I had to go to work, but ended up at a car dealership. It made no sense. 😛

Anyway. Yeah. Sleep. Good.

How has the internet changed everything? This question pops to mind every once in a while, and I wonder if there are weird little longer-term repercussions that aren’t completely obvious. Well, they’re not things that immediately jumped out at me.

Information: What is the value of retention of information? That is, there used to be people who were more or less “human encyclopedias” – people who *knew* things. They were important, because they had the information in their heads. They had pored through the books, and could access it quickly. The value in knowing something was the ability to use that piece of information to draw a conclusion quickly, or see the connecting links between it, and other information. Now, if I get into an argument with someone, and the facts are in question, it’s no longer a question of who’s right – we can find out, relatively easily, in most instances, for most facts, with a quick search. There is instead more of a value on being able to connect facts, to draw complex conclusions from large pools of information, but it’s not the retention of the information that’s important anymore, it’s the understanding that it’s out there, and the ability to retrieve it quickly and accurately.

There’s obviously still value in knowing things – you really have to *understand* something deeply to truly wield the information properly, but I wonder if our school systems, and methods are able to take this shift into account? I suppose I’ve always been irritated at how much rote memorization of stuff we did in school, but it feels like with the essentially instant accessibility of obscure facts and information on the ‘net, I’d much rather be focused on how all those things tie together. A James Burke’s Connections-style of education, rather than the “read this timeline, and spit it back at me,” sort of thing.

Sex: A lot of reactionaries dislike the pervasiveness of porn on the internet. Ok. Let me temporarily put any moral questions about the porn industry aside, though – I’m just talking about essentially free access to a huge variety of people, doing a huge variety of things. I remember, as a teenager, the mystery of women – what did they look like, under all those clothes? The slightest glimpse of anything would send my imagination and hormones into a frenzy. Whee, the joys of teenagerism! But a lot of it was the mystery.

I wonder if, for instance, adultery will decrease, because people have access to remove the mystery – they can say, “Ah, this is what other people are doing. They’re not doing anything substantially different, or better.” Maybe instead, it’s, “Hey, that might be fun.” Point being, without that sort of reference, there’s always the question of, “What’s out there? Is it better than what I have now?” To me, that’s a pretty … er… powerful motivating force – the desire to know whether you have it good – to get another point of reference. So, I wonder if the internet, in some respects, provides that point of reference, and whether that what the longer-term implicatoins of that would be, on the rate of infidelity in the population?

Any others?

Caught wind of this on IMDB’s front page – it’s apparently a joint production between the BBC and A&E, and it’s airing now on A&E at some pretty oddball times (it runs 1:15 per episode, ’cause they cut in 15 minutes of commercials). It’s about a group of grifters, and that’s more or less all I’ll say about the plot.

Direction and acting aren’t as tight as something like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which isn’t to say it’s bad, but it’s also not really great. It ends up taking on a more natural quality, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are some interesting narrative “tools” they use, and the plots (I’ve seen the first two episodes) vary, from the first ep’s relatively straightforwardness to the second episode’s … slightly surreal nature.

All in all, though, I quite liked it. It’s like Ocean’s 11 (the new one), the TV show, with a little British flavor.

So, I’ve had what has to be the flu, for the last four days. Body aches, cough, blah blah blah. Yesterday, I had a moment where I was certain it was over. I felt fine. The mental haze lifted, I wasn’t coughing, and the aches and pains, despite a lack of painkillers, had gone away. Ei-Nyung had picked up a bit of a cough, though, so I figured, I’ll bundle up and take Mobius out for his evening walk, so that she doesn’t get worse.

Of course, despite four layers on top, and two on the bottom, and wool socks, I instantly froze, going outside. I guess since you have to say, breathe in the cold air, there’s only so much you can do to insulate yourself. Instantly, I knew that I had set myself back by a substantial amount. The aches came back, the wheezing, etc. Gah. Stupid.

So, it looks like I caught a cold. That’s not all that weird, to be perfectly honest. What *is* weird is that it’s markedly worse when I’m at work, than when I’m anywhere else. Yeah, I felt like crap yesterday, even after leaving, but this morning, I felt fine. Now, I’ve got pain in my legs, sinus pressure, a runny nose, and my right wrist really hurts, for no apparent reason. Thinking feels like swimming through syrup, and basically, mentally, I’m shot.

Whee!

So, someone on a friend’s blog (I think) mentioned that they thought the reason that so many vitriolic homophobes are gay is that it’s because they feel an inner conflict, and thus, feel like everyone else must feel that inner conflict, as well. I realize that it’s probably patently obvious to most people, but that really made me think about the whole situation in a new way.

Just to put things into context, I have a number of gay friends. Had gay housemates in college. I have absolutely no qualms with gayness, gay people, or the acts involved when one is gay. However, I’m not gay myself, and haven’t ever even really been particularly curious to explore.

But that’s the thing – I’ve been exposed to the *option* of gayness, and pretty quickly thought, you know, that’s not for me. But, this really got me to thinking – I often map my own desires, motivations, view of the world onto other people. Makes it sometimes difficult to understand why someone might say, be racist. Just seems weird to me, since I’m mixed race, I never even really had say, a mental option of saying that one race is superior to another. How the hell would I know? So I have a hard time really truly understanding what a racist person really thinks. It’s just a foreign thought process.

Similarly, I can’t really imagine a thought process that involves denouncing homosexuals, as though it’s a genuinely serious problems. See, I can imagine say, at the time, thinking that Nazis were a big problem. That something should be done about that, since it’s actually a pretty pressing issue. But homosexuality is even in the top 10 these days, with all that’s going on in the world? Who thinks like that?

And so it occurred to me, after reading this thought, wherever it was, that yes, that sounds right. Someone who thinks, in these times, that gayness is somehow on par with the Middle East, or the corruption in our government, or the growing class division, or the economy as a whole, or how lame mainstream music has become, or frankly, anything, is something I have a hard time wrapping my head around, because it’s not something I’m confronted with every day. It’s not something I wake up and think about on a personal level, any more than I wake up in the morning and think that I’m half-Asian. Doesn’t occur to me.

But it *does* occur to some people. They wake up in the morning, and think to themselves, “I hate fags. God hates fags,” and then they think that it’s important enough that they have to go prosletyze to the rest of the world, that they should all hate fags too. These are people who have some sort of internal struggle with the concept, every day. They think about sexuality, and they see the presence of gays as a threat to them.

Let’s just toss out the Biblical verses some of these chumps use to support their cause, ’cause even if you believe in that stuff, there’s a whole lot in there that’s more condemned than gayness. Like, say, war, or murder, or theivery, or adultery, or divorce, or any number of other things. So, even if you believe in it, gayness ain’t the main problem you should really be rallying against, if you’re genuinely going in order of priority.

Why would a gay person be a threat to someone, in this modern age? When, frankly, was the last time that you saw a gay couple openly doing something that felt or seemed like a threat to you? Pride, maybe, if you’re really easily threatened? But if you find that a threat, doesn’t that imply that you’re susceptible to the *potential* to suddenly, out of nowhere, get all queered up?

To me, that’s ludicrous. Seeing a bunch of men in chaps doesn’t change my lack of desire to fall in love with another man. Just doesn’t. So, yeah. That’s the only point, really. If you feel like somehow, the presence of gays is a threat to you, the *only* reasonable reason is simply that you’re gay, and you don’t want to admit it, because maybe you were brought up to think it was wrong. Get over it, but deal with it yourself. Stop fucking up other people’s lives, ’cause you’re ashamed of who you are.

And yes, Mr. Santorum, I’m looking at you.

Finished the simple task of culling my “nostalgia” t-shirts from the closet – stuff I never, ever wear, or wear, but is really shabby, but keep for nostalgic reasons, then took Mobius for a walk around the lake, with Ei-Nyung, as the clock passed midnight. A satisfying way to start the new year, with a bit of organization, and physical activity.

It strikes me now how much I sound like Calvin’s (of Calvin & Hobbes) father – “Builds character!” I suppose that’s one of the signs of getting older, but still, ick. 😀

So, it’s more of a set of tasks, but hopefully, dated tasks will effect resolution-like change:

Health:
1.) Any meals purchased from the cafe downstairs at work will be split in two, half of which will be saved for the next day.
2.) Exercise at home at least twice a week, if successful, monthly rewards will be applied.
3.) Lose 10 lbs. by wedding, so as not to look like a fatass in pictures. Develop an stick to a schedule to do so. (see step 2, above)
4.) Strengthen knee, prior to the honeymoon, that walking around London or Paris is not problematic (min. 5K on a treadmill in one go)

Games:
1.) Play “good” games to completion
2.) Borrow more games from the IRC, instead of purchasing games, unless an understanding of the game requires extensive play, or immediate availability.
3.) When I know that I am not likely to finish a game, anymore, put it away, so it does not clutter public space. Consider selling, or trading it.
4.) Only ONE new console purchase this year, unless required by work.

Computer:
1.) Don’t spend so much time at home on the computer.

Mornings:
1.) Do not use the computer before leaving for work, for more than 10 minutes.

TV:
1.) No more than an hour of TV per day – real time, not TiVo time. (excluding games and movies)

Movies:
1.) Watch 1 movie per month that we already own, but haven’t yet seen.
2.) Only purchase movies I know I will watch more than five times in three years.

Rowing Machine:
1.) Fix Clutch
2.) Use

Stuff:
2.) Recycle magazines that are more than two months old.
3.) Host a garage sale in June, after purging unwanted items from the garage
4.) Donate *all* unused or old computer equipment by the time we have the garage sale.
5.) Move books from my parents’ house to my house, and organize in bookshelves by end of January.
6.) Sell or donate board games we no longer play (by end of February)
7.) Purge kitchen (again) by end of February

Clothing:
1.) Box up “nostalgic” shirts that I no longer wear regularly (TEP, water polo, etc.) to keep as souvenirs, so they do not take up closet space (by Jan. 3).
2.) Purge closet of worn or unused clothing on a monthly basis
3.) When clothing develops holes, or excessive wear, stop wearing that article of clothing. Donate, throw out, or patch, as necessary.
4.) Purchase no new t-shirts this year (you have enough already)

House:
1.) Lawn – demolish front lawn & cover with ground cover (mulch, moss, whatever) by end of February!
2.) Put up interior trim in finished rooms
3.) Put up vent cover on exposed vents in downstairs living room
4.) Get upstairs drywall done (after roof leaks are fixed)
5.) Get roofer to fix roof leaks in front of house
6.) Do laundry at least twice a week
7.) Put up “point system” chore board by Jan. 10th

Creative:
1.) Work at developing one skill, equivalent to the effort required for NaNoWriMo (music, writing, painting, cooking, drawing, etc.)
2.) Do at least one editing pass on last year’s NaNo project, format for book form, and get it printed (two copies for archiving, one for use)

Cooking:
1.) Cook at home every weekend day, with three meals as exceptions per month.
2.) Create a “cookbook” at home, listing recipes that we know work, organized by how long it takes to cook them. Create a means to generate quick recipe lists, based on what we already have in the house on a regular basis.
2a.) Try using the Jornada, which we never use, for task 2, by end of January
3.) Create recipes that “work together” to use ingredients. i.e.: If chicken comes in packages of 8 thighs, and a recipe uses 5, have a recipe ready that uses 3.
4.) Once a month, buy an ingredient I’ve never bought before, and cook with it.

Relationships:
1.) See my mother at least once a month for non-dog related reasons.
2.) Call my father once a month, for non-work, or mother related reasons.
3.) Call my cousin once a month.
4.) See Aneel and Dave once every three months each.
5.) Create a “scheduled social event” that occurs once every three weeks, in the city, at the same location, and time every time it occurs.

Work:
1.) Understand what is necessary to achieve a “Lead Designer” position, and develop a plan to get to that position within the next two years.
2.) Continue to progress at the same ridiculous, and sort of absurd rate I have been over the last two years.
3.) Don’t get complacent, or negative.
4.) Determine whether I’m going to stay at Maxis, or look for another opportunity elsewhere, and then follow through with that decision wholeheartedly (by two weeks after performance review)
5.) Understand that I am a game designer, and stop second-guessing myself.

Mobius:
1.) Take Mobius out every weekend for an “event,” such as a trip to the beach, or the dog walk, Point Isabelle, Anza, or Temescal.

Wedding:
1.) Find an officiant by Jan. 20th.
2.) Schedule a tasting by Jan. 20th.

Other:
1.) Use the photo printer to print out, and album-ize photos from the last four years, to prevent loss if hard drive explodes.
2.) Put this list of resolutions into Outlook, with alerts that provide enough time to complete the tasks (by Jan. 3)