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I managed to get out to Dragon*Con this year, but it ended up short and unpleasant experience. Granted, my planning was poor (read: non-existent). After repeatedly asking my family about it in the past few weeks, I got a very clear and solid NO from all other family members. Not wanting to hang out alone, I decided to not go this year.

Well, last night, while reading appearances schedule and panels (just for reference, really) I changed my mind.

Too little Too late, as they say. I hung out at the famous parade, but already felt that the crowd this year was WAY beyond anything before. I couldn’t find decent spot to snap much photos, even. So I decided to beat the crowd and while parade was still going on, I hit the registration line. Well, the photo you see is about a 3rd of line that promptly formed behind me. In front of me, the line was about twice this size. In case you struggling with math (and can’t see end of this line), a 3rd means there are 2 MORE lines like this going around the building, but in fact all 4 building sides (with surrounding parking/gardens/etc) is where the line stretched.

Since the best panel I was looking forward to has almost finished, and I was still in line about an hour later (yea, it was barely moving too), I decided to pass on Con this year and save my $50.

They really ought to do something!? I do know you can pre-register for entire 4 days, but apparently many people prefer 1 or 2 days (like me), and I don’t believe they offer that as pre-purchase option!!! Furthermore, why not just have some Mobile App where you can simply pay online, and just go in second(s) to pick up your badge, and voila. They already do this very successfully with Fandango for Movies and StubHub for Sports and other Events.

Overall, trip downtown was still worth it. Still grabbed good number of photos and videos of the parade and great to see so many other fans of the genre out there. Conclusion – I will just (try to) pre-register myself next year, probably still for just one day. Hopefully they will finally figure out how to make that available for people, avoiding this fiasco of 3 hours line under Hotlanta sun.

Geek On, fellow travelers!

I recently signed up for Napster, and so far it’s a pleasant experience. The price proposition convinced me – unlimited music streaming to your computer AND you can purchase Un-protected (DRM Free) songs for keeps. When you buy 3 months at a time, it comes out to $5 per months which gives you 5 songs and Unlimited streaming of their huge library, whole month.

Actually, what initially convinced me was their recent partnership with Coca Cola’s MyCokeRewards site, redeeming some free single-song downloads. It takes quiet a lot of points, but we had them laying around anyways… Today I noticed they added not just song downloads, but also Subscription plans! I didn’t do the math, but I think 3 months subscription is best value. It gives you 15 song downloads (for keeps) and 3 months of unlimited streaming of any kind of music out there.

Sadly, they don’t let you stream to phones. In fact, they go extra mile to block any streaming from mobile devices, since essentially it should be possible as your mobile smartphone is on the same Internet as everyone.

Anyhow, until Spotify gets here, only sensible option I found is GrooveShark. Their $3 (or less) per month plan lets you stream unlimited music to their iPhone app, but of course many people will be satisfied with free Pandora or Last.fm radio Apps for iPhone.

Enjoy!

I was holding out to play Mass Effect one for the longest time, until I finally picked it up via Steam a month or so ago. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Classic Sci-Fi adventure game with artful combat system. Story line was short, but interesting. Yes, I did get to famous sex scene, and found it to be very tasteful, much more so than one may see on occasion on broadcast TV.
So, I am one of many now looking forward to upcoming release of Mass Effect 2. This recently released sneak peak of voices and stars behind Mass Effect 2 shows you how much of a movie-like production it has become. In my mind, the fact that you get to play main character inside this vast universe of stars (pun intended) is a grand bonus that soon will be a must for most people:

What started as a simple upgrade of my daughter’s video card, turned into afternoon of sheer terror. I don’t really know if it’s nVidia to blame, or some incompetence of EA developers, but result is tragic just the same.

Naturally, after I replaced the graphics card on her Windows XP system, I updated the driver to match the newer nVidia chipset. Then I decided to test out Sims 2, her favorite game, as a final confirmation that the upgrade went well.

Only, the game didn’t start at all!!! So I proceeded to try her second favorite game, Sims 3. Same result, doesn’t start! No error, no clues, nothing!!! I proceeded to run DxDiag utility (all you do is type it into your Run prompt), and it showed that “No Problems Detected”.

I spent hours, reinstalling the game, scouting online articles for ideas. Checking settings, resetting graphics options, touring the registry. Much fun….. ..NOT! As a father, don’t you hate it when you disappoint (and UPSET) your child!!! I was really upset!

What I eventually found on Sims support site (and not main EA support site, where I went first) was Unbelievable! Latest nVidia drivers, they say, CAUSES THE GAME NOT TO START! And the only solution right now is to uninstall new drivers and roll back to August version!

Well, I can confirm now that this resolves the issue. But, what is this incompetence?! Did nVidia mess up most basic compatibility tests and unleashed Faulty drivers onto the world! Or did EA developers simply not use DirectX APIs properly?

Game on, fellow Sims lovers, and here’s to hoping EA and nVidia will get together and resolve this unfortunate disaster, via an Update (both games support auto-patching!) before major Class Action Lawsuit materializes!

I noticed that they took down Most of the movies I liked on Hulu as my recommendations, a year ago. Only Girl Next Door remains, which brings up a thought of a Chicken-n-Egg situation. Specifically – Do they put Young Guy attracting movies because that is their demographics, or is their demographics this way because they put Young Guy attracting movies?

But, you are not here for brain teasers, are you. So, no fear, as I set out to compile my latest time-killers list of Favorites, to satisfy your fancy (if your taste is anything like mine, that is). Again, available only in USA (most likely). Voila:

• Action: Air Force One – Great suspense, well executed all around
• Drama: Fatal Attraction – Borderline drama, thriller, and will help ensure that you never date again
• Sci-Fi: Virtuality – Something new, made for TV, but heck, why not…
• Science Documentary: Cosmic Voyage – Well spent 36 minutes, if it is that time of day when you brain still works
• Independent: Gamebox 1.0 – I’ll admit it, I haven’t watched the movie, but reviews look promising!
• Kids and Family (free babysitter! ) – Anastasia – Even has a bit of historical authenticity to it

Frankly, the quality of movies is drastically lower than it was a year ago. I think their lack-of-revenue is showing. Of course you can always try crowdsourcing the task of choosing the best movie for you (but see warning from paragraph one above).

Better yet, hit their excellent TV shows selection, which is still very decent. Enjoy!