ballast

connecting things

setup.

1. Inform your friends, this is kinda like detoxing. If you start again make sure they smack you.
2. Find other stuff to do. IE: go outside.
3. Remove any incentive to go back
4. Slowly cut back play time, then eventually stop altogether.
5. Talk to girls.

So all three editors of this blog have played MMORPG’s at one point or another in their lives. Mainly World of Warcraft, as a past avid player I can truthfully testify to the addictive nature of such games. But the question i propose, how much is too much?

In a recent anonymous survey of World of Warcraft players the following questions were asked.

1. How do you classify yourself as a gamer (hardcore, casual, etc)
2. How many hours a week is dedicated to world of warcraft?
3. Have you ever sacrificed personal events to do stuff in game?
4. In order to get the best gear and mounts in game you would give up ____________ in real life.

On average most players reported themselves as semi-casual, dedicating an average of 35 hours per week in game, and most have sacrificed social outings to accomplish tasks in game. Think about it, is this considered too much? Would these people be considered addicted to the game? Obviously if you were to ask the players themselves, they would claim that they can quit whenever they want, they just dont want to. However as a person in “WoW-detox”, I can say that its not easy to quit. 

The basic formula for any mmo is as follows

Player + Incentive + Solid game play = long term player

These games are designed with the intent of players paying and playing for a long time. What would be considered an ideal amount of gaming each week? If the average player plays around 35 hours a week, thats around 5 hours a day infront of a computer screen. Think about how much a “Hardcore” or “proffessional gamer” plays per week. MMO’s are designed to simulate worlds and lives, but they arnt meant to replace your own. Okay, im not trying to put off the ideas of MMORPG’s i love them, but looking back i found the amount of gaming i have put in was absolutely ludicrous. Spending long hours to obtain gear and mounts that are worthless in real life, was that really worth all that time?

I say it isn’t. 

PLAY WITH MODERATION.

PEACE, CHEESE & SKEET.

-elitistjerk.

Most of us are aware of the broken pipe from an oil well or somethin’ like that in the Gulf of Mexico. Well if you’re wondering how it’ll affect you and your currently geeky way of life here’s the down low.

1. You know those birds that wake up while you’re playing Halo at 4am? Yeah those ones. Well they’re dead y’all. Enjoy falling asleep to silence after your gaming needs.
2. Chances are that the ocean is still wet… For you.   ;)
3. The price of oil has gone up. That means the price of gas has also gon—— Wait, you just stay home and play games anyways so.. mehh
4. They’re probably gonna make a game about this. “Oil spills? More like oil kills!” “Nascar- Electric Cars”
5. Since nothing else has gotten you laid yet maybe this is finally the thing *fingers crossed*

These all seem pretty positive to me. I wonder why the media is blowing this out of proportion.

-thewamn

The iPod Shuffle 3rd Generation came out back when our oceans weren’t filled with oil (also known as September 9th, 2009). The minimalist design featuring no buttons (just a shuffle/loop/off slider) or volume control on the iPod itself has led to some controversy. So to help you decide whether this musical observing device is the right choice for you here is a list of the PROS and CONS.

PROS

• small/portable
• comes with volume and other controls on headphones
• the clip can bench 300lbs
• cheap; just for listening to music (or getting turned on by the sexy voiceover)
• the size and clip allow for easy listening while not having to worry when you are mobile

CONS

• the sexy female voice that tells you which song is playing can pronounce titles horribly wrong.
• “Oh shit, I lost it” x1,929,467
• you can’t hide drugs in the casing once hollowed out. (But, you can hide drugs in the plastic ‘box’ it comes with. I’d say about $80CAD worth of weed)
• YOU MUST BUY APPLE HEADPHONES! or get an adapter… mehhh

The reason I bought my shuffle was because I broke my touch and needed a quick fix for my musical needs. 

-thewamn

Smoredots, Elitistjerk, Wamn

I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to talk about Glee on this blog as it is arguable that it is not “geeky”, however seeing as the term “gleek” does derive from geek, I’m just gonna go out on a limb and talk about it.

This show is fucking epic. This coming, not from a 14 year old bitch who has Justin Bieber pictures all over her room, but a 16 year old guy who normally hates this kind of jolly musical bullshit (ie. High School Musical). If you are not watching this show already, hurry up and catch up, cause’ the finale for the first season is this Tuesday. Here’s a clip of a song they are going to sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X01umNhUQbA

I can proudly admit that the first time I listened to this, I almost jizzed in my pants. Big fan of Queen in the first place, particularly this song and the Glee cast nailed it. My God, this is amazing I’m gonna go listen to it again.

-smores

So Lost just ended, and from what I have gathered, audience reactions have generally been pretty positive. People described the finale as “beautiful” and “heart-warming” and said that it tied all the loose ends. I would have to admit, the Lost finale was able to evoke many strong emotions from me as well. However, these emotions consisted of intense anger and a strong desire to sucker punch the writers of Lost in the balls. Really, the finale was a giant shit on the Lost storyline and every time I see a comment that says that it was good, I feel like kicking a puppy.

My first point to make is that IT DIDN’T TIE ALL THE LOOSE ENDS. There were dozens of questions left unanswered. The reason I watched Lost was to see HOW they were going to be able to explain all the crazy events, such as a time travel, dead people coming back to life, and polar bears appearing out of nowhere. However, they completely dodged all of these questions in the finale and rather than give us answers, the finale just suceeded in making us ask more questions, such as:

1. What the fuck is going on?

2. What else can I be doing right now rather than watching Lost?

3. Why have I wasted six years of my life watching this?

And for all the people saying that it was beautiful and stuff, seriously go jump off a duck. Merely making all the couples on Lost reunite again doesn’t make it “beautiful” it makes it a cheesy piece of shit. I mean, there were guys in Jimmy Kimmel’s audience who started crying after watching the finale on the live show. Here’s my advice- grow a pair.

So yeah, Lost sucks.

-smores  

Ahhh, good old Mario, with his mischievous side scrolling ways. Why is it so fun to play classic games like Super Mario Bros.? Well since you asked…

• Reverting back to the basics gives us a break from all the extra stuff that video game developers seem so keen on delivering to us today. Now I’m not saying that all of this extra ‘fluff’ isn’t good, it just feels unnecessary.
• While playing classics, some get a high from remembering beating parts that were difficult back in the younger days. 
• It’s as if playing classics gives your mind a break because of their straightforward objectives. EX// “GO RIGHT(—->) AND GET THAT MOTHAFUCKIN’ PRINCESS! SHE’S GOT DA HOTZ FOR YOU!”  Yeah, games were gangsta’ back then.
• Another way to prove that classics will always be FUN is by showing how Mario games have progressed. Mario has been around since 1981 and for the most part, the biggest hits have been games in which you could move any combination of four ways(up,down,left,right). The fact that they have sticked with this format shows that it works for gamers.

-thewamn

As big of a geek as I am, even this astounds me. They actually have a town sharing the name of a race in startrek. 

Located in southern Alberta Canada, is Vulcan, home to a replica of the USS enterprise, one of the mecca’s from trekkies from all around the world.

Okay some history on the town, it was NOT named after the race in Startrek but of the roman god of fire; Vulcan. However the town’s name has brought some attention that has helped it become a tourist attraction.Capitalizing on this coincidence, the town has built a Star Trek-themed tourist station. Spock, played by Leonard Nemoy from the original startrek recently paid a visit to this small town in Alberta. What can you say, but LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.