Tyler Hunt

I can’t win. I used to. Sometimes. But not anymore. Something happened.

There was a time once when I was anti-competitive. I never really cared much whether I won or lost, and hated those who were so into the game that they couldn’t have fun unless they were on the winning team. Some where along the line, sometime recently, winning started to be a bigger deal. Not that I need to win every time, but at least once would be nice. Now I never win though. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I’ve just getting a lot more worked up over losing than I used to. Part of that may have been due to provocation, but there might be something else behind it. I look forward to the day when I’ll win again.

For being sick, I had a fairly productive morning and finished a decent portion of the Software Systems project that’s due this Wednesday. I made it to class this afternoon, but just barely made it through. I knew I wasn’t going to get much out of the second class, and Daniel had brought Jeni with him and wasn’t sticking around either. It’s amazing what regaining those two hours of your day feels like.

We ended up making dinner at Bell’s house with Steve and Laurel, Daniel and Jeni, and me and Erin. It was a fun little night, and despite Steve’s cooking experimentation on us, the food turned out tasting pretty good as well. Thanks to some friendly neighbors who happened to have better games than the Bell’s (sorry Laurel…), we played some Uno, and then Daniel and Jeni taught everyone how to play President.

It’s been over four months since the last LAN party. The New Years event was one of the best we’ve had. It was a good mix of people, and a good two room team arrangement. Tonight, on the other hand, didn’t live up to past experiences. Aside from getting started later than usual due to a required table purchase, the setup time seemed way below average. This was probably due to new networking hardware all around. We played Unreal Tournament 2004 (some of us for the first time), and overall had a good time playing it. But while the gaming that we had was fun, it just seemed like no one was really into playing. And unlike past events, there wasn’t even a movie playing. There was just a lot of sitting around. Maybe next time we need some kind of prize or cash pool or something to get people more motivated to play.

Cancer is a bitch. I don’t actually have it, but I’ve been fighting it all weekend. A nine-year-old boy named Ben is now in remission from Leukemia, but he had an idea for a game where you could fight against cancer cells. It’s a way for kids with cancer “to fight back and relieve some of the pain and stress involved with treatment.” The Make-a-Wish Foundation has made Ben’s idea a reality, thanks to Eric, a generous game developer at LucasArts. Working together, Ben and Eric have come up with a game that’s challenging enough to make you see just how horrible cancer really is. As you shoot the cancerous cells with various weapons, they continue to regenerate and spread at a practically unbeatable pace. The goal is defeat seven monsters, each representing a different side effect of chemotherapy, like Robarf the barf monster, and the Big Chicken Monster of chickenpox. Ben’s Game is still in beta testing, but it’s playable enough if you can put up with the frustration of playing a game that you can’t win.

While it’s been almost four month since I’ve played any type of serious computer game, it didn’t take long to pick it up again with a habitual fervor. I managed to make it all the way through finals week without playing anything, so I was slightly overdue. Unreal Tournament 2004 has been a welcome diversion the last couple days, and I’m starting to remember how much fun the Unreal series can be. Aside from fun, however, there’s a secondary motive for playing. With the next LAN party on the horizon, it’s about time to start getting into shape for the tournament.

The game is roughly the same as the 2003 version, but they’ve really done a lot to clean things up and have made the gaming experience generally a lot smoother. It’s refreshing playing new levels, as well. I knew they had added more levels, but I thought they were going to be mixed in with the old more than they have been so far in the ladder. The new credits system makes the game a lot more interesting, as well, and provides some extra motivation for playing. It’s good to have the sniper rifle back, too. Anyways, the LAN party is scheduled for the night of May 14 for any of you that may be interested.

A lot went on today, but nothing that I really feel like writing about. It’s also been a while since I’ve posted something completely mindless, so I’m going to do that tonight. Kirby, being the good friend that he is, likes to send me all the random stuff that he gets distracted by, thus distracting me as well. In fact, this particular distraction kept him from responding to my instant message for nearly an hour. Bubble Trouble is the culprit, and it’s one of dozens of mindless Flash games cropping up on the web these days. The first time playing it, I hated it. I didn’t get how it could be so addictive. Then I found myself restarting it over and over again. So, for hours of mindless entertainment, Miniclip.com is your ticket.

Lauren pointed out to me an article today about the break-up of Barbie and Ken.

After 43 years as one of the world’s prettiest pairs, the perfect plastic couple is breaking up. The couple’s “business manager,” Russell Arons, vice president of marketing at Mattel, said that Barbie and Ken “feel it’s time to spend some quality time—apart.”

What I don’t understand about this whole situation is how Barbie’s life perpetuates. Unlike other action figures (and Barbie is an action figure, even if it’s a different type of action that she’s getting) who have their own TV shows or comics or some other means of continuing their stories, Barbie only has the word of her makers. Her story is crafted at the sole discretion of the people responsible for forming her injection molds. Is there more to her existence than this, or is Barbie’s life merely a meaningless collection of facts spit out by a corporate front?

Since the largest chunk of time I spent today was spent playing GameCube, this really leaves me with little else to talk about. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is one of the most addictive games I’ve played in a long time. Just when you think you’re making progress and getting near the end, a whole array of new objectives start to open up and you realize that you’ve only scratched the surface of all the game has to offer. The name of the game is derrived from a musical instrument used to control the wind and other environmental factors. This makes for some unique strategies and separates Wind Waker from previous games in the Zelda series. The amount of detail in the game is enough to keep you engaged for hours at a time, so make sure you have the self control to keep it from taking over your life.

Ah, the pleasures of mindless games like Super Monkey Ball and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Today’s graphics and gameplay have advanced way beyond either of these two cartoonish games, but there’s something about the simplicity of Nintendo titles that makes them inherently more fun to play, especially with a group of people. The bright, colorful graphics may be more reminiscent of a children’s educational show, but they’re more than adequate to provide hours of entertainment for a bunch of bored college students.

I’ve been wanting to do some more video editing again. I hadn’t touched the camera since the UCF class I took this past summer. So I brought it along to the LAN party and took a few shots, and let Gayle play with it for a while. There wasn’t much to work with, but I scrounged enough useful/entertaining clips from the six minutes of footage to make a somewhat presentable video.

Download “LAN Party – New Years 2004” Video (8.36 MB, DivX)

What better way to bring in the new year than having an all day LAN party. They say the more than merrier, and I’ll tell you there was ample merriness at this party. After the mandatory three hour setup period, at least. There was much fragging and flag-capturing and consumption of caffeinated beverages. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another day spent in front of a computer screen. I’ll post a video later if I ever get around to editing it and there’s enough usable footage.

Thanksgiving was good this year, if a bit different than usual. The granite guys screwed up and broke a huge slab that was supposed to be going in, so the kitchen didn’t get finished in time to have it at home. The Kirby’s were more than willing to have it at their house though, so the 20 lb. bird was transported there and cooked all afternoon. Good food, good times.

In the spirit of typical family get togethers, Kirby and I spent most of the time on the computer. Carring over the Worms World Party from last night, we built up some mad “shoppa” skills playing against the best of Germany, Spain, and the U.K. It truly was a world party.

Tonight was most likely the most pathetic LAN party ever. Daniel, Steve, Kirby, and I played a grand total of fifteen minutes actually playing Worms World Party, which was much less than the time we spent setting up the network and downloading patches and cracks to get the game working. The rest of the time we spent watching TV and movies.

To make it all worth it, though, my Red vs Blue DVD finally arrived in the mail today, which was quite a pleasant surprise. With professional-grade packaging and a genuine pressed DVD, the presentation was way above my expectations. The content was just as funny as ever, and seeing the entire season pieced together into a continuous movie was an improvement to the viewing experience. The disc also contains bonus features including outtakes, PSAs, and a full-length commentary by two of the series’ creators.

Throughout the past few days, my addiction for the Windows game Spider Solitaire has been steadily growing. I believe it was Lauren who first brought the game to my attention, so she’s to blame for all this incessant card-playing. It’s a very good game, nonetheless, and unless you are prone to these types of gaming addictions yourself, I urge you to give it a try. In then end, the goal is to have eight stacks of cards, of all the same suit arranged in descending order. There are eight tableaus at the top and a deck to cover each of them five times after the initial deal. The difficulty of the game is determined by the number of suits being used, with one, two, and four being the options. One is simple, but still not easy enough to guarantee a win every time. Two suits I have found to be enjoyable, and involves quite a bit more strategy. I’m still too afraid to attempt the four-suited variant. So, if you’re looking for a good diversion from studying or working, Spider Solitaire is a nice break from the traditional Klondike game.

The last episode of the first season of The Blood Gulch Chronicles has been released. With the impending DVD release, and season two on the way, the guys who put together these crazed machinima performances are on a roll, and probably set to turn a profit soon. Or maybe not, but either way they’ve had their share of popularity and all-expenses paid trips to conventions where they have been known to find themselves with a bit of a hangover before having to present their latest PSA the day of the show. If you haven’t yet seen Red vs. Blue, you really must partake of their special brand of humor.