SXSW – Night One
The cool, wet <not>Vancouver</not> Austin atmosphere hit our group as we were herded from the airport to a waiting Super Shuttle. It felt as if we’d never left the Wet Coast. The driver rattled off a number of hotels and motels in the order that we’d be stopping at them as we entered the van. This group of virgin SXSWers from Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver dwindled fast as we lost more and more at each hotel. Awkward introductions happened between stops, usually just before one of the party stepped off the bus, each time we murmured promises of meeting up during the festival. Maybe lunch.
Good bye old friends.
After an hour of dropping people off on the outskirts of Austin, the passenger population dropped even faster as we hit several downtown hotels in quick succession and, by the end, I was the only one left as we arrived at the OMNI Downtown.
After leaving the bags in the suite, I headed over to the Austin Convention Center only to find a line up to the door. “Whoa,” I thought, and turned to leave and discovered 50 attendees behind me, waiting to take my spot. Then the line took a giant step forward.
Soon, I could see the end and was pleased that while the half hour wait was long, I’d skipped the rumoured GIGANTOR line that would extend out the door and down the street the next morning. Then, I realized something as I got closer. The volunteers were escorting badgers up the semi hidden escalator system. The line was even longer. “Oh, only two more floors,” reassured the on duty volunteer.
The rest of the night was spent in line, followed by stumbling around Austin trying to find some semblance of healthy food. Finally, in the middle of a darkened street, I encountered a Pita Pit. I entered and quickly ordered a whole wheat chicken pita, which, a few moments later, found itself being ravaged by a Canadian who hadn’t eaten since lunch.
As I contemplated the brain teaser in Austin’s free one sheet newspaper, the door buzzer rang as a customer walked in carrying a laptop. The man placed the computer on the counter, mumbled a few words to the cashier and strode out. The cashier bit his lip and saw me looking at him.
“Fucker held us up three days ago,” he said, eyes tearing. “Took a bunch of cash and my laptop. This thing’d my whole life on it. We called the police on his ass. Can’t believe he came back. No idea how much I wanted to punch that fucker in the face.”
“Did you want to…go after him? I asked.
“I-I’m the only one on ‘til–” He turned to the back room and threw the wet rag on the floor as hard as he could. “Shit. Nope, I better not.”
He didn’t come out after that, and no more customers came in. I finished my sandwich trying to remember what that guy’d looked like, just in case. Never saw him again, though.
Eleven o’clock rolled around and my suitemates, Robert Scales and Kris Krüg of Rain City Studios, finally arrived after a 6 hour flight delay, without checked luggage, or a change of clothes, but they made it clear we were going out that night. They laughed about the badge line, and Scales came in close, brushing his wild hair out of the way, and said, “Rule One of South By, ‘Never wait in lines.’ Let’s go.”
I threw on a coat and hopped down the hallway after them as we began Night One of SXSW.
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This will be a series chronicling a week at SXSW Interactive, Film, and Music Festival
Facebook in English – Pirate (BETA)
So I was checking out the language options, trying to find English (Canadian) when I stumble across the Pirate translation option. Very funny.
Neil Gaiman wins 2009 Newbery Medal
Videos
Neil Gaiman answers question from The Graveyard Book tour – 10-6-08 Santa Monica
uploaded by Jason Sanders
At 5:30am, author Neil Gaiman was woken by his assistant and, after drowsy minutes of phone tag, greeted by a panel of 14 librarians and book critics congratulating him on winning the 2009 Newbery Medal for ‘The Graveyard Book.’ This award is generally reserved for the best in children’s literature, making it one of the most prestigious honours in the literary world.
Neil conveyed the news over his Twitter account, beginning with a complaint:
woken up by assistant at 5.30 in the morning. Not quite sure why. All rather bleary, to do with someone trying to call. argh. about 4 hours ago from web
Then he talked to the panel:
Every little pot of honey in this hotel room turns out to be orange marmalade. This is an I-need-honey-in-my-tea moment. They happen rarely. about 3 hours ago from web
And was allowed to tell the world:
About to drink second cup of tea without Marmalade this morning. Also, I just won the Newbury Medal for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. about 2 hours ago from web
Newbery, not Newbury. Also FUCK!!!! I won the FUCKING NEWBERY THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME. I thank you. about 2 hours ago from web
Tags: Culture | Art | book | january | 2009 | Newbery Medal | newbery | Sandman | Neil Gaiman | jason sanders | the graveyard book
How to get SMS Twitter updates in Canada
Ever since Twitter discontinued its free SMS/text message service last year, my microcommunications have been limited to laptops and the occasional outgoing text because I lack of a data plan. Fortunately, there is a DIY solution that, while not the fastest or simplest, is better than nothing (well, I hope so.)
Because Twitter creates RSS feeds for everything, all you need to do is setup an RSS-to-SMS service like Web Alerts or Pingie (not sure if the last one works in Canada), enter your phone number and desired RSS feed, and wait. For @replies, I just used Search.Twitter.com to create an RSS feed that searches for @jasonsanders. You could also use a service like RSSfwd to send updates to your email, and then use another service to send email to your phone via SMS.
Now, this method doesn’t work with DMs, but @replies and individual friend updates should begin to arrive by the boatload.
If you enjoyed this content, add me at twitter.com/jasonsanders, thank you.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters – Review
Back in high school I worked at a local arcade where the days were filled with kids puking on the floors, drunk teenagers crapping on the walls, and parents complaining that the arcade cabinets stole their quarters. Rows upon rows of these mechanical works of art – which seemed to be built to break – brought unending enjoyment and annoyance to a dwindling crowd of customers by letting them relive memories, or create new ones with the next generation of gamers.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters brought back those memories, along with a few good ones, and mixed them with a dim recollection of trying to clean Donkey Kong Jr.’s NES cartridge on the carpet.
This documentary tells a story about a nice guy, Steve Weibe, whose perennial bad luck has finally gotten him laid off, forcing him to reevaluate his life. During this period of rediscovery, Steve buys a Donkey Kong cabinet and attempts to beat a 20 year-old high score set by arcade legend, Billy Mitchell. However, standing between him and the world record are legions of dedicated Mitchell fans who discredit him, break into his garage, and demean his victories. Throughout it all, though, Steve Weibe remains the everyman: a kind, gentle guy who takes losses with tears, but keeps trudging towards The Win.
Make no mistake, this is a documentary for everyone. Even if you despise video games, or missed the era, this film crafts a hilariously heartbreaking story that will entertain, and get you to cheer for something that the mainstream population has ignored for 20 years. It also takes a 1970s and 80s culture that’s since become a much parodied subculture, and turns the low stakes of arcade competition into a journey of self determination and fulfillment.
I never lived during arcade-mania that these guys did (small part due to being born in ’86), but King of Kong did a wonderful job of making me feel nostalgic about an era I never knew and excited about a game I rarely played.
Tags: Culture | video games | United States | Review | reviews | Videogame | videogames | donkey kong | jason sanders | twingalaxies
‘The Prisoner’ ending revealed!
The Prisoner was the first TV series on DVD that I ever bought, and it was expensive. Now, before TV on DVD were a mainstream thing, sets would go for $80 – $120. The Prisoner was $150 because it was distributed by the BBC. Anyway, my family and I watched Number 6 fight Number 2 every night, where each episode would end in triumphant victory for 6. Unfortunately we came to the last episode and were severely disappointed. The deadly combination of gorilla masks, goofy chase scenes, and a stupid ending ruined one of the best shows I have ever seen.
Turns out that may not have been the original ending:
According to author James Follett, a protege of Prisoner co-creator George Markstein, Markstein had mapped out an explanation for the Village.[7] In George Markstein’s mind, a young Number Six had once submitted a proposal for how to deal with retired secret agents who posed a security risk. Six’s idea was to create a comfortable retirement centre where former agents could live out their final years, enduring firm but unintrusive surveillance.
Years later, Six discovered that his idea had been put into practice, and not as a benign means of retirement, but as an interrogation centre and a prison camp. Outraged, Six staged his own resignation, knowing he would be brought to the Village. He hoped to learn everything he could of how his idea had been implemented, and find a way to destroy it. However, due to the range of nationalities and agents present in the Village, Six realised he was not sure whose Village he was in – the one brought about by his own people, or by the other side. Six’s conception of the Village would have been the foundation of declaring him to be ‘Number One.’ However, Markstein’s falling out with McGoohan resulted in Markstein’s departure, and his original intent was discarded.
According to Markstein: “The Prisoner was going to leave the Village and he was going to have adventures in many parts of the world, but ultimately he would always be a prisoner. By that I don’t mean he would always go back to the Village. He would always be a prisoner of his circumstances, his situation, his secret, his background… and ‘they’ would always be there to ensure that his captivity continues.”[8]
Is life too much?
Although I take offense to being referred to as “the crappiest generation” I agree that we should definitely be amazed at what is around us, rather than complaining that it doesn’t work.
However, while Louis CK and Conan reminise about those “good ol’ days,” I have to wonder if those generations took their innovations for granted like we do.
Unbelievable Craigslist ad
Came across the very weird Craigslist apartment rental ad. It starts out okay, but the guy turns into the landlord from hell. [via Kimberly]
All the tenants I interview aren’t good enough (Broadway and Commercial)
Reply to: pers-964514051@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-12-19, 6:05PM PSTI am a born again Christian. Why is this a problem for people????! I have a house that’s MINE and I PAID FOR IT. I also have a basement apartment for rent. It’s a great space for I’m charing very little for it, $480 monthly, for the right tenant. I know it’s ILLEGAL to require a Christian in the apartment, against the human rights. That’s why I NEVER put this in my ad. Why then does it keep getting taken down?
HERE IS THE AD I POSTED, AND THE AD THAT KEEPS GETTING REMOVED:
Available Immediately – Broadway and Commercial – Showing Saturday and Sunday – Email for directions and additional information.
What kind of apartment is it?
• One bedroom basement apartment with separate entrance
• Tastefully decorated with modern décor
• Approximately 650 square feet
• There is even a window! Security bars installed for your safety and to prevent unauthorized activity
• Closed circuit camera installed for security and safety. One in your suite, one at the entrance, and one in the exercise yardRent:
• $480.00 per month
• First month’s rent + ½ month security deposit due at move in
• Small pet allowed with approval and payment of additional ½ month pet damage deposit
• One year lease permitted, option to renew lease at end of the term with no increase in rent
• LANDLORD’S SPECIAL! Move in before January 1st and don’t pay for the remainder of December! That’s significant savings.Included in the rent:
• Electricity
• Heat – Maintained at 21 degrees with lock box to prevent unauthorized tampering. Additional heating available for $20.00 per extra degree of heating per month. You may not use your oven to heat the apartment. If you do, you will be fined $50.00 per occurrence.
• Air conditioning – Maintained at 25 degrees during the summer with lock box to prevent extra cooling from being dispensed. Additional cooling for sale for $20.00 per degree of cooling requested per month.
• 25″ Zenith color television set with basic cable service – INCLUDED IN RENT!
• Wireless internet (with content filter applied to block forbidden/immoral websites) – INCLUDED IN RENT!
• Provision of coin laundry services – You will have your own personal coin laundry washer and dryer machines. Washers and dryers are paid using a token system. Tokens can be purchased through the landlord. Washer tokens cost $4.15 each and dryer tokens cost $3.60 each. You are not allowed to use foreign
currency or slugs in the washer and dryer. Violators will be fined $100.00 per infraction.About us: (Landlords)
We are conservative, bible believing, God-fearing, born again, evangelical Christians. We interpret the bible literally in every way possible. We live a strict moral code and observe God’s laws in our everyday life. My wife stays at home and teaches our home-schooled children. I work as a pastor at a local congregation and am active in the faith community.
About you: (Tenant)
• You are employed
• You do not participate in lascivious deviant sexual behavior
• You do not choose alternative lifestyles as your lifestyle
• You do not have any criminal history
• You must have excellent character references
• You do not smoke, drink or take drugs. Mandatory drug screening required.Additional Rules/Conditions:
CLEANLINESS: You are responsible for the cleanliness and orderliness of
your apartment. Beds are to be made before leaving your suite,
countertops must be wiped down, and you must remove all trash. Upon
inspection, if the tenant’s basement suite is not clean, the cost of
cleaning services plus a fine of $100.00 will be levied.
LIGHTS: The lights in your basement suite and in the day room are not to
be tampered with. If a light needs repair, report the condition to the
Landlord.
WAKE-UP: Wake up will be at 5:30am each morning. All ceiling lights in
the suite will be turned on automatically.
LIGHTS OUT: Ceiling lights in the suite will be turned off at 11:30pm.
CONTRABAND: The following items are considered contraband – alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, weapons, lock picking equipment. If any contraband is discovered to be in your possession, you will be subject to a minimum $1,000.00 fine. In addition, your items will be confiscated permanently. Second offense – you will be evicted without notice. A bailiff will escort you and your belongings off the premises. Your security deposit will not be returned.
SMOKING: The basement suite is non-smoking. Anyone in possession of
tobacco products of any kind or any lighter or matches, will have their
contraband items confiscated and will be fined $100.00.
INSPECTIONS: The Landlord will conduct unannounced inspections to ensure
that these rules and regulations are being followed.
VISITATION: Visitation periods will be on Saturdays and Sundays from
1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. All visitors and their vehicles are subject
to search while on landlord property. Refusal to allow a search can
result in their being barred from all future visitation privileges. All
visitors must sign the Visitor’s Log. Unauthorized visitors will be
escorted from the property, and the tenant will be fined $250.00.
I.D. BRACELETS: Each tenant will be issued an I.D. bracelet with his/her
photograph. It must be worn at all times. If you lose your I.D.
bracelet or it is broken, you will be required to purchase a new one at
the nominal cost of $5.00.
EXERCISE YARD: The tenant will have access to the exercise yard in the
area to the back of the property for 2 hours per day from 4:00 pm to
6:00 pm. The tenant is not allowed to bring any personal property to
the exercise yard. Once the tenant leaves the exercise yard on a
particular day, he or she may not return. No boisterous behavior is
allowed in the exercise yard. There is no smoking allowed in the
exercise yard. Minimum fine for exercise yard infractions is $50.00
Nature nurtured?
Nature nurtured?, originally uploaded by jasonsanders.
Came across this scene behind the place that I’m working at. Don’t worry, the brown liquid isn’t contaminated, it’s just dirt from the farm.
Fallout 3 Review
When you escape the oppressive confines of Vault 101, you’ll stumble into the irradiated landscape known as The Wastelands, a place so desolate, dangerous, and depressing that it’s enough to turn any claustrophobe agoraphobic. In Fallout 3, tumbleweeds don’t tumble, they mutate and attack; cockroaches scuttle below the earth and make you yearn for lonely Wasteland above. So it goes.
In the past, I’d played Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls III and IV and wasn’t sure what to expect from a futuristic ‘50s science fiction rpg. The YouTube videos that I had watched of Fallout 2 didn’t really prepare me for the polished FPS that had been constructed. The UI is almost completely redesigned, boiling down Attributes, Classes, Skills, and Races into S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: six categories that include Strength, Charisma, and Luck, which help influence your character’s progression much more subtly than previous games, role playing or otherwise.
While the interface is simplified and ‘themed’ for an Atompunk world instead of the fantastical Morrowind universe, you’ll feel right at home if you’ve played one of Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls games before. Firing weapons, picking up objects, and ‘becoming over-encumbered’ call back to their digital ancestors. This made it, at least for me, much easier to start the game and get going much faster.
The environment is astounding. Once you get outside, the world feels much more real than the world of Oblivion, albeit lonelier. And, unfortunately, most of the company you’ll share these sights with during the game will be Ghouls, Raiders, or rats. Each trying their best to eat your flesh and steal your bottlecaps.
The game does have a few downsides, however. Character animations are weird. While some of them are very well done, others look like they were ported from 2002’s Morrowind and distract from the wonderful voice acting that’s present in Fallout 3. Also, there are a few very important things that aren’t covered in the manual, features that I discovered only because I accidentally hit the wrong (right?) button. Two in particular were the ever important, real-time, turn-based attack called VATS, and the EXP from reading books.
The quibbles above are quite minor, but do interrupt the experience of this great game. Overall, though, I can see why it’s getting 9/10s all over the place — Bethesda has done an amazing job of integrating the graphics, storytelling, and combat system in a cohesive experience, and I, for one, am pleased to have bought the game.
Stats I came across:
0 Pants exploded (< what does that even mean?!)
