Someone once told me that in life, instead of just paying people to do work for you, you should always try to do something yourself at least once. "That way," he said, "you'll know how much you're willing to pay someone to do it for you."
That piece of advice has always rung true for me. I already have a natural tendency towards fixing things myself, as Colure can attest. Granted I've got a better success rate with plumbing than, say, electronics, but I do what I can.
I'm also fussy about having random people in the house. Call it paranoia, suspicion, or just plain rudeness, but I don't much care for it and like to avoid it at all costs. So, at no point in my life will you ever see me hire movers, cleaners, or probably even painters (even though sometimes the thought is incredibly tempting).
That being said... there are three things that I will never, ever attempt to do by myself, and will gladly pay anyone whatever exorbitant fee they require of me for the service. Some of them are based in lack of knowledge. Others because, well, they're kind of icky. All are based in utter fear.
1. Car Repairs - I once took the ASVAB, which is a test to help determine military placement should you enlist. I had the second highest score in my high school... but had the lowest score on the automobile section. Period. I trust myself to do nothing more then change a battery, and that's it.
2. Pest Control - This one is kind of obvious. I mean, no one's going to spray their own house with hazardous chemicals. But Home Depot sure sells plenty of mouse traps and other forms of rodent elimination, and you won't see me buying any of it. I'm not saying that I'd only ever pursue non-lethal means either... this is just one of things that I will unabashedly puss out of every time.
3. Ironing - I realize compared to the previous two this is serious weak sauce, but I have an undeniable fear of ironing. I have opted to go to events with a wearing a suits with a topographic wasteland of wrinkles over attempting to use an iron, and why? Because that's a much better option than showing up with a burned shirt, which is what I'm sure will happen if I attempt to use this deadly clothes torturer. Fortunately I have a wife. Unfortunately she hates ironing. We may have to pursue acquiring another weapon of massive wrinkle-destruction.
I'm sure everyone has at least one of these. In fact I'm also pretty sure that the first two are pretty popular choices for a lot of people.
Posted by
Kevin
on
11:19 AM
Labels:
advice,
do-it-yourself,
top 3
Back in August I decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo on the basis that:
1) It seemed like one of those things I would regret not doing
2) It sounded cool
3) It was a very slow job hunt day
If you're not familiar with NaNoWriMo, well! You should be. The idea is simple: Write a novel in a month. That's it. No one's saying it's gonna be good. In fact, they warn you that it might very well be very bad.
But nothing's gained from not trying, right? Besides, my wife and a couple friends are doing it too, so, you know, peer pressure. You don't want to be the lone dude sitting outside of the circle.
I have no less than three ideas, although two of them might be the same. One is comedic and the other is not, unless, of course, it is. I'm not sure. I'm not really what you'd call a planner. I stopped doing outlines in college because early on it became clear to me that I was doing better on my exam essays than I was my actual papers, which is not usually how it's supposed to work. The trick was to try to write more like I did when sitting down for a test, so I dumped outlines and just figured it out as I went along. As a result, I started Acing papers, and found other ways to bring down my grades from there. I used to feel bad about this, but it turns out I'm far from the only one - in fact, there's a couple writers I really admire who are the same exact way.
None of this has anything to do with gaming really, except to say that, as a warm-up for NaNoWriMo, I'm going to start trying to use this blog more often - if only to get used to constructing words into sentences once more, if not quite doing actual preperation.
In other words: Still here. Will update.
Posted by
Kevin
on
1:28 PM
Labels:
nanowrimo,
randomness
Way too tired for short sunday write up. Also, uh, not much to write up. it was pretty much line-event-line-event-line-event-end-depression. but that doesn't mean it wasn't awesome because it was totally awesome. I'd go so far to say it was a bonafide ride on the U.S.S. Awesome!1. And you know who the captain of that ship is.
In short: Old Republic looks incredible, wil wheaton is awesome, and I've never yelled so hard about a match of skeeball in my entire life. These are the things only PAX can provide and now that it's gone I'm definitely feeling the loss.
PAX is over and I am sad. I will enjoy the next couple days of seattle immensely and then I will return to overtly-warm climate and eastern time zones and be a little depressed for a week. I'll talk to you then and maybe do a decent write up, sometime while I'm knee-deep in youtube videos of PAX events I missed and trying to find a way to time travel back a week.
Posted by
Kevin
on
12:02 AM
Labels:
awesome,
old republic,
PAX,
wil wheaton
Friday was pretty much a slam dunk, so I definitely woke up with a spring in my step today, excited for what Saturday would bring. Since Expo Hall was a little low yesterday (although already higher then last year's total, frankly) I came determined to preview more games, starting with my personal favorite, Mass Effect 2. While I might be a bit biased towards all things Mass Effect, there's no doubt in my mind that right now Bioware is crafting their own Empire Strikes Back in the second part of this video game trilogy. And I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Other games played today included horse-bucking Darksiders (surprisingly fun, really debated preordering it for free shirt), LEGO Rock Band (Rock Band with LEGOs, not much more to say), and then later in the day Beatles Rock Band (just for fun, since it comes out in like, 3 days) and Star Trek Online. Which, uh, was something special. I've waited a long time to play a game that actually really captured the Star Trek experience, and while this is certainly still early into the process (game won't be out until next year), I think they nailed it. Hell, extended quests are called "episodes" and designed to last around 45-60. There's a lot of love put into this, and I think it'll make a great product.
Panels were at a low today. We missed Old Republic demo because the Make a Strip went long and had quite a few complications. Not that I really minded, truth be told. It was still entertaining from start to finish, with only a minimum of bad/weird questions (the worst being an actual stalker detailing some of her missed attempts at stalking. Ugh.) I gotta say that the make-a-strip is the one thing I feel like I must do every year, and issues aside, I definitely walked away feeling the same way this year.
Had a couple other interesting events occur today, but not sure how much I want to blab about them. What I can say is that the show's been excellent, and that while I'm excited for tomorrow, I'm also incredibly depressed that this show is coming to an end. I really love PAX, and even though it's a huge cross-country trip for me, it's completely worth it.
At this point? I'm not sure that I can stop going.
Quick post before I konk out in bed: Friday at PAX was pretty awesome. Line to get in was absolutely insane, but it moved fast and we were in the expo hall quickly. Spent the better part of an hour and a half wandering and seeing the sights, while also giving the mechanical horse promotion for Darksiders a go. After that, we did some PA Q&A, met Kris Straub and Wil Wheaton, had some food, hit up the Scott Kurtz panel, and then ended the night with a Rock Band tourny entry (which won't go down as our best performance of "Carry on my Wayward Son", but might certainly have been the most fun), before finally settling into some console freeplay, giving the 1990 Nintendo World Championship cartridge a roll.
Ultimately I'd say the day was partially successful, if only because we missed the ODST panel (due to Q&A going long) and the DS World Record Attempt (because it was poorly planned), but despite both those setbacks still had an absolute blast. Honestly, the day worked out great and any complaints I have are far overshadowed by how much fun was had.
PAX is pretty much the best con I've ever been to, and this year so far has definitely surpassed my previous experience. There's just a lot more space for everything, and as a result the place feels less crowded, even though I know it's about 15,000 more people. I feel like I've already done so much, and yet it's only Friday. I have two more days and I still don't want this weekend to end.
Tommorrow's planned schedule is a lot more open, so we'll see where the day takes us. Also - this took longer then expected. Sleep needed now.
At the airport now on my way to what is essentially the gamer prom. This'll be my second pilgrimage to Gaming Mecca and I'm pretty excited. Last year was pretty overwhelming at times, but now I'm a PAX veteran and I'm a lot more confident about the trip. The plan for con-conquest is solid, with a good amount of leeway room for Expo Hall and whatever else we feel like. I'll admit – I'm still a little torn about whether to do either the Keynote/PA Panel #1 or the HAWP Panel, but the wife seems to be leaning towards Keynote, so I guess that's how we'll roll.
Either way this vacation is going to be awesome, and I expect that PAX won't disappoint. Here's hoping we manage to fit everything in!
Last week made it official: Bethesda has finally finished releasing DLC for Fallout 3. And what a trail of destruction they have left in their wake - 5 DLC packages at 10 bucks a pop. At fifty bucks, that's practically the cost of whole other game. So, you might be wondering, is it equivalent to the content of a new game, and if so, is it awesome?
In short, it is awesome, but not really worth 50 dollars total. I don't know. It's hard. Each content feels like it's mostly worth it, but when you add it all up... on some level, doesn't feel quite right. But Fallout 3 is a great game, and getting more content for it is utterly delightful.
So let's do a quick rundown on each DLC if you haven't taken the plunge. That being said, if you don't yet own Fallout 3, wait. They're releasing a Game of the Year edition in October with all of this included, and your wallet will be much happier with that version.
Without further ado...
Operation Anchorage
In some ways, it's the most fun I had in Fallout 3; I loved being presented with a very different scenario that was a joy to play through from start to finish, even if it features a smaller scope then some of the later DLC.
Worth it? Probably not; buy it anyway.
The Pitt
Fascinating look into how other parts of the Wasteland are surviving, with a moral choice that displays greater complexity then the typical "kill extended family vs. send kitten to college" option - oh, and it's fun too, albeit a bit short.
Worth it? It's great but 10 dollars? Not sure, but I can say that the thought of paying 20 bucks for the Operation Anchorage/The Pitt combo found in stores seems a little high.
Broken Steel
Of all the DLC it's probably my least favorite quest line (with the exception of the very beginning), but it's a must have; fixing the game's ending and raising the level cap provides some welcome revisions to make this great game work even better.
Worth it? If you only buy one DLC, this is the one to have. Without a doubt, yes.
Point LookoutLike the Pitt it adds a whole seperate area to explore, but there's much more to see and do here beyond the main quest line, and creates a unique environment reminiscint of the survival horror genre; of all the DLC, this one caters most to those who wish to explore.
Worth it? Oh yeah
Mothership Zeta
This will probably be a love-it-or-hate-it add-on, but I couldn't get enough of it; that being said, it is a very different piece of content, and doesn't particularly feel like Fallout so much as some sort of sci-fi extraveganza - personal tastes are the key factor here.
Worth it? Maybe, if you're down with something different and the thought of taking over an alien ship is your kind of thing.
Honestly, I really enjoyed all of the DLC - in a lot of ways, it's the best stuff the game has to offer. Through deals and discounts, I ended up paying 40 bucks for all of it, which still seems high, but you know what? Price isn't everything. Oblivion's Shiviring Isles expansion cost 30 bucks and while there was certainly enough content to justify the price, I thought it was awful.
You know what? Forget price - if you enjoy Fallout and want more, this DLC is some of the best I've ever played, period.
Posted by
Kevin
on
8:01 AM
Labels:
buyer's guide,
fallout 3,
One Sentence Reviews
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