John Farrier's Blog Posts
Welcome to this week's caption contest. The winner, who will be announced on Friday, will get a free t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So look around the NeatoShop and type in your choice of t-shirt with your caption. Submit only one caption per comment, but you can leave as many comments as you like. Please make sure that you provide a t-shirt selection or your caption will not be considered.
Image credit: unknown, via GearFuse
WINNER -- marcintosh:
Dro Ids just had a bumper crop in Moisture Farmville! Want to play?
Congratulations, marcintosh! You just won a Bad Chewie t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So the geekosphere has been abuzz all week with the superhero cosplay wedding of Sharon and Neil Vaughan. The bride and groom were dressed as Wonder Woman and Batman, respectively, and guests attended as heroes and villains of various affiliations and universes.
I had a fairly traditional church wedding, which was nice and memorable. But I wonder if it would have been fun to have a geek wedding, perhaps with a Star Trek theme (since Trek is eternal).
If you were to have a geeky wedding, what theme would you go for?
Link via Comics Alliance | Image: SWNS
I had a fairly traditional church wedding, which was nice and memorable. But I wonder if it would have been fun to have a geek wedding, perhaps with a Star Trek theme (since Trek is eternal).
If you were to have a geeky wedding, what theme would you go for?
Link via Comics Alliance | Image: SWNS
When I was 10 years old, I got my first computer. It was a Mac Plus, and I used it mostly to play video games. There are some that I fell in love with and would love to play again. Alas, none of them are available to me in a usable form.
The Ancient Art of War (1984) by Brøderbund. This, and its sequel, The Ancient Art of War at Sea, were my introduction to strategy games. Troops consisted of armored knights, unarmored barbarians, and archers. There were forts where soldiers could get a defensive advantage and villages where they could get resupplied. Best of all, you could design your own scenarios in great detail.
Enchanted Scepters (1984) by Silicon Beach. This was a simple point-and-click adventure game about Saber, a hero who must retrieve four mystical scepters from distant lands in order to protect the kingdom from an invasion. Through great effort, I was able to get three of the scepters, but never the fourth.
Dark Castle (1986) by Silicon Beach and its sequel, Beyond Dark Castle, were arcade-style games about Duncan, a prince who must rescue his kingdom from the Black Knight. He enters the trap-filled castle of the Black Knight, defeats his minions, overcomes physical obstacles, and finally encounters the powerful game boss himself. I loved the challenge this game posed to my motor coordination skills.
Hidden Agenda (1988) by Springboard. You play the leader of an imaginary Central American nation called Chimerica in the 1980s. The country has just experienced a revolution and overthrown its US-friendly, but totalitarian government. Various factions are vying for power, and you're in the crossfire as El Presidente. Your goal is to stay in power for three years. This is exceptionally hard, as you face coups from within your government, right-wing and left-wing forces, and American and Soviet-backed agents. The key, I discovered, is to take as centrist a position as possible. The priest, for example, has big plans for the nation's agriculture. Make him Defense Minister. The ex-guerilla likewise has plans for the nation's military. Make him Agriculture Minister. Try to keep both the Americans and the Soviets happy -- or at least not furious at you.
Which old, lost games would you love to play again?
The Ancient Art of War (1984) by Brøderbund. This, and its sequel, The Ancient Art of War at Sea, were my introduction to strategy games. Troops consisted of armored knights, unarmored barbarians, and archers. There were forts where soldiers could get a defensive advantage and villages where they could get resupplied. Best of all, you could design your own scenarios in great detail.
Enchanted Scepters (1984) by Silicon Beach. This was a simple point-and-click adventure game about Saber, a hero who must retrieve four mystical scepters from distant lands in order to protect the kingdom from an invasion. Through great effort, I was able to get three of the scepters, but never the fourth.
Dark Castle (1986) by Silicon Beach and its sequel, Beyond Dark Castle, were arcade-style games about Duncan, a prince who must rescue his kingdom from the Black Knight. He enters the trap-filled castle of the Black Knight, defeats his minions, overcomes physical obstacles, and finally encounters the powerful game boss himself. I loved the challenge this game posed to my motor coordination skills.
Hidden Agenda (1988) by Springboard. You play the leader of an imaginary Central American nation called Chimerica in the 1980s. The country has just experienced a revolution and overthrown its US-friendly, but totalitarian government. Various factions are vying for power, and you're in the crossfire as El Presidente. Your goal is to stay in power for three years. This is exceptionally hard, as you face coups from within your government, right-wing and left-wing forces, and American and Soviet-backed agents. The key, I discovered, is to take as centrist a position as possible. The priest, for example, has big plans for the nation's agriculture. Make him Defense Minister. The ex-guerilla likewise has plans for the nation's military. Make him Agriculture Minister. Try to keep both the Americans and the Soviets happy -- or at least not furious at you.
Which old, lost games would you love to play again?
Welcome to this week's caption contest. The winner, who will be announced on Friday, will get a free t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So look around the NeatoShop and type in your choice of t-shirt with your caption. Submit only one caption per comment, but you can leave as many comments as you like. Please make sure that you provide a t-shirt selection or your caption will not be considered.
Image credit: unknown, courtesy of JohnnyCat.
WINNER -- VonSkippy:
Investigating numerous complaints of extra loud sonic screw driver usage (which as you know is expressly forbidden in the lease you signed).
Congratulations, VonSkippy! You win an I Heart Math shirt from the NeatoShop!
One of the facets of Babylon 5 that I really enjoyed was its realistic depiction of economics. B5 was a departure from the utopian economy of Star Trek where scarcity -- as well as money -- had been largely eliminated. In Babylon 5, there were unions that went on strike and frequent shortages of labor, parts, and just plain cash. A large population of desperately poor people lived on the station in a region called "Downbelow", and a number of major characters dealt with unemployment, indebtedness, and worries about paying their bills.
Scarcity, both for societies as a whole and individuals, was a driving force in the Babylon 5 storyline. So it's a lot like the world that we live in. I liked that.
Which science fiction books, movies, or television shows do you think do a good job of presenting realistic economics?
Image: Baker's Place
Scarcity, both for societies as a whole and individuals, was a driving force in the Babylon 5 storyline. So it's a lot like the world that we live in. I liked that.
Which science fiction books, movies, or television shows do you think do a good job of presenting realistic economics?
Image: Baker's Place
Welcome to this week's caption contest. The winner, who will be announced on Friday, will get a free t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So look around the NeatoShop and type in your choice of t-shirt with your caption. Submit only one caption per comment, but you can leave as many comments as you like. Please make sure that you provide a t-shirt selection or your caption will not be considered
Image by Joel Watson, used with permission.
WINNER -- pismonque:
"Pay attention in here, boy, and someday you just might be able to join them."
Great job, pismonque! You win a Mosaic Yin and Yang t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
Welcome to this week's caption contest. The winner, who will be announced on Friday, will get a free t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So look around the NeatoShop and type in your choice of t-shirt with your caption. Submit only one caption per comment, but you can leave as many comments as you like. Please make sure that you provide a t-shirt selection or your caption will not be considered.
Image credit: unknown, via Boing Boing
WINNER -- Thom:
The tentacles all go to eleven.
Congratulations, Thom! You win a Mosaic Skull t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
Welcome to this week's caption contest. The winner, who will be announced on Friday, will get a free t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So look around the NeatoShop and type in your choice of t-shirt with your caption. Submit only one caption per comment, but you can leave as many comments as you like. Please make sure that you provide a t-shirt selection or your caption will not be considered.
(Image credit: no idea, but I found it on blastr. It's probably a photoshop, but in any event, if it's not clear, this is a Firefly reference.)
WINNER: cynric --
Has anybody seen our "Firefly class spaceship" drivers cd?!
Congratulations, cynric! You win an Exercise on the Forest Moon t-shirt!
Smashing Lists has compiled a list of ten horrible video games. Some of them are poorly designed (Club Drive), some are badly conceived (Irritating Stick), and others are just morally despicable (Custer's Revenge).
From my own personal experience, the worst video game that I ever played was Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony. It's been a very long time since I played it, but I distinctly remember getting really irritated at pointless obstacles and commands that didn't work.
What's the worst video game that you've ever played?
Link via Digg | Image: Brøderbund
From my own personal experience, the worst video game that I ever played was Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony. It's been a very long time since I played it, but I distinctly remember getting really irritated at pointless obstacles and commands that didn't work.
What's the worst video game that you've ever played?
Link via Digg | Image: Brøderbund
Last week's caption contest was so popular that we've decided to make it a weekly feature. The winner will get a free t-shirt from the NeatoShop!
So look around the NeatoShop and type in your choice of t-shirt with your caption. Submit only one caption per comment, but you can leave as many comments as you like. Please make sure that you provide a t-shirt selection or your caption will not be considered.
Image by Mark Lawrence
WINNER -- Eric Johnson:
Martha: "Today, we're making lembas bread pizza! I've never tried it before, but from what I hear this Elven recipe will leave you begging for more."
Gimli: "More like begging for Moria! Hah!"
*crickets*
Gimli: "You know, because it's the place where I--oh, never mind."
Great job, Eric! You win a Busted t-shirt.
Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of anime. But I really liked Bubblegum Crisis, not only for the storyline, but the ambiance. There aren't many presentations of the cyberpunk genre that seem appealing, but the future MegaTokyo seems like a place that I could live in. Unlike most cyberpunk stories, Bubblegum Crisis' universe seems intriguing and even joyful, rather than dismal and hopeless. Other than the problem of sociopathic, murderous robots on the loose, it seems like a good place. I had a lot of fun playing the role-playing game, back in the day.
If you could live in any anime universe, which would you choose?
Image: AnimEigo
If you could live in any anime universe, which would you choose?
Image: AnimEigo
Ever played Mage? It was one section of the World of Darkness role-playing system by White Wolf and it was my favorite of the series. I never really did like Vampire much because you had to, by definition, play an evil character. And the Werewolf lycanthropy was kind of inconvenient for normal life, not to speak of the messy internal politics of those critters.
Give me the (comparatively) straight-forward world of the magic users of Mage. Sure, there was always the danger of getting hunted down by agents of the Technocracy, but live a quiet lifestyle, and you can probably stay out of trouble. If I were to actually life inside a role-playing game setting, I'd prefer Mage. How about you?
In which role-playing game setting would you most like to live?
Image: White Wolf
Give me the (comparatively) straight-forward world of the magic users of Mage. Sure, there was always the danger of getting hunted down by agents of the Technocracy, but live a quiet lifestyle, and you can probably stay out of trouble. If I were to actually life inside a role-playing game setting, I'd prefer Mage. How about you?
In which role-playing game setting would you most like to live?
Image: White Wolf
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