The Lost Value of Demos

Last night after a few glasses of whiskey and some political discussion, my friend Dan watched me play through a few demos of Xbox Live indie games. While we sat playing such great games like "KGB The Agent," we began discussing the value of demos. Back in the day (and I mean like 6 years ago), a demo disk was a great item to obtain. While generally the games weren't great or satisfying in their short form, free games were free games and something about that was welcomed with open arms. However, that feeling has slowly faded. Not just for my friends (I download demos on their consoles whenever I get a chance, even if they don't want them), but also for myself. My experience with game demos is a bit unique. When I was a lowly middle-schooler, I bought a Sega Dreamcast and had no money to buy a game following the purchase of the console. So for a few months, all I had was my free demo disk that came with the machine (included games: Sonic Adventure, Powerstone, Ready to Rumble, some racing game, House of the Dead 2, and Sega Bass Fishing). To say the least, it sucked to only have five or so games... but I appreciated it. Today is different. With the internet, gamers have unfettered access to hundreds of demos. We take for granted the fact that a new gaming experience and new content is just a minute away for no cost. When I was 13, I would have loved that... especially in the absence of the ability to purchase a real game. So why don't we really care about demos anymore? Maybe the games we own are just that much better. Maybe we're different in that as adults, we can buy games we want to play rather than wait for Christmas or a birthday. Either way, I feel as if demos are on the way out.

My case for health care reform (response to other blog poll)

This post is in response to our latest poll. I know this isn't really a forum for this kind of discussion generally, but fuck it. So, as many of you probably know (or can at least guess), I support health care reform. In fact, I support the crazy health care reform that would eliminate insurance companies, cover everyone with a single payer, and basically turn our country into Scandinavia. Now, before the rage inside you compells you to come find me and beat me to death with my own hammer and sickle, I'll admit that this will never become a reality. In fact, I don't see the current plan in front of Congress right now (which is far back from the plan I just described) has a good chance of being passed. However, I must contend that some sort of health care reform is needed. To support this belief, I am not bringing a bunch of numbers, but rather a short story about... well for privacy sake, let's call him Kic Nempfert.

Kic graduated in May of 09' and his insurance coverage was set to expire at the end of the month. On May 31st, Kic was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, for all the people in the United States who get sick with no insurance, some personal blame can be laid on them. They should have paid the x$ a month (excuse me, xxx$). However, I don't think Kic can hardly be considered the irresponsible type in this case. This was just bad luck. Not just bad luck, I'm talking Romeo and Juliet star crossed lover luck (look it up if you're confused). The likelihood that he would lose his insurance and be diagnosed with a million dollar disease on the same day is astronomical. Yet, it happened. It sucks, but it happened. Now what can he do? No insurance company would ever accept a recently diagnosed cancer patient (or any cancer patient for that matter). He could get a job, but that also seems a little difficult given the whole chemotherapy and compromised immune system thing. So what options are left open for Kic?

So that leads me to why I believe we need some kind of health care reform and why I believe we need it now. Moreover, the reason I was inclined to write this and post it on this blog was that this shit could happen to anyone... any of us. Moreover, I think an interesting statistic is that 60% of bankruptcies are declared due to medical bills, and 75% of those bankruptcies come from people with insurance (Health Magazine June 2009). Again, I don't care what your political alignment is... that shit is fucked up and you don't want it happening to you.

I don't know what the "right" approach is to health care reform, but I'm not really convinced that anyone does. What I do know is that the current system is broken and I'd rather not see the US sit on its hands any longer.

I liked this quote

"One person’s constitutional right is another’s loose and sloppy construction"- Barry Friedman

Keeping the King of England Out of Your Face

Yet again, the Simpsons make a joke out of one of our keenly observed American tenets. Our precious Second Amendment, our right to weapons, etc, etc... (First the mad scientist, then the mad grad student... when will it end? -Futurama). Alright, enough with quotes and more to the point. I've been on a road to this post since the triple homicide took place just under a month ago not all that far from where I live. A week ago, Nic and I partook in a viewing of "The Cartridge Family," a Simpsons episode where Homer gets a gun (referenced in the title of this post). Finally, last night a shooting took place outside of Centennial Hall, a block from where I spent two years of my life, five blocks from where I spent another year, and a block from where my sister currently resides (to recap, T-Hall, Dinnaken apts, and Pio). The road wasn't clear a month ago. In fact, I haven't really given the topic of guns a lot of thought for quite some time. A case went through the Supreme Court a few years ago striking down a ban in D.C. on handguns, but that came and went. However, this is fresh in my mind and I must be honest that I have come to a conclusion. If you support the right to own a handgun, you are an idiot. Yet, I don't want to leave it at that... I would like to elaborate your idiocy... Let's begin...

Before I begin, I would like to give my blessing to hunting rifles. Hunters should hunt. It's an American tradition and all. Please enjoy. This post specifically refers to handguns and other ridiculous weapons... the ones meant to kill people specifically.

Guns kill people. I hate to sound like a broken record, a cliche, predictable (like the broken record metaphor), but it's true and there is no way around it. A common counter is that people kill people. Well, I'll succumb to the point, but come on now... If every malice harboring person had a handgun this country would be f'ed. Moreover, I can't help but think that if that the shooters in south Minneapolis and at the University had been carrying rifles instead of being able to conceal a handgun, someone would have stopped them. At the very least, maybe said to the themselves, "this shit is messed up," and then called the police.

Next, I'm not sure where inane idea that concealed weapons add some sort of added protection to a person's life (reference: first sentence of paragraph above). I try to imagine a US where police wouldn't need to worry about being shot. Hell, I imagine a US where I wouldn't need to worry about being shot. Thankfully, I believe it is rare that a person knows another person who has had a hand gun pointed at him or her. However, I believe it is far rarer that a person knows someone who has actually used their gun to deter another with a gun. I don't know a single person who has done that. I don't expect to.

Finally, we come to the Constitutional argument. Of course we have the Second Amendment and I won't run around it with some belief that the founders didn't intend for it to apply in the way it is. I admit that the Second Amendment is valid and should probably apply to the states as the other Amendment's do. Yet, like our other rights, I believe it should be curbed to some extent (obviously). We limits on our rights and the Supreme Court has stated those limits are constitutional if they serve a compelling government interest. Again, I make no argument to to get rid of all guns... just the ones that are obviously used for killing people.

To sum up, this was a cranky post. A post mostly fueled by the feeling I had after I found out about the shooting in front of Centennial. I sat there and thought, "statistically, there is a good chance that could be/could have been my sister." I understand that this wouldn't be an overnight job, however I do believe we need to start somewhere.

Falling

Yesterday morning, I woke up with the intention of taking a short jog, which I do just about every day. For the record, it was a bad choice. Whoever said that if you set your mind to something you can accomplish anything.. well... they were wrong. Yuki and I left and hit the icy ground. After about two blocks, things were going alright. We had to start and stop quite often. Eventually, I decided that we should run on the road for a bit. I specifically remember making a mental decision to keep running over an elevated patch of ice... and down we went... into a puddle. If that wasn't unpleasant enough, some woman was on the side of the road with her dog barking like crazy and she was saying things to me. She wasn't asking if I was okay... she was going on about her dog or something. So there I was, all wet from my fall slowly walking to the sidewalk with this woman and her dog. In the end, I had only gone two blocks and walked home.

Weekend Update

I know I don't usually post on Saturday, but I'm feeling spunky. First, the Citizens United decision was made and the Court decided that Corporations should are able to spend an unlimited amount on independent advertisements (used to be illegal to spend any amount). I've read a lot of commentary on the issue and it seems that most sites believe this decision to also extend to unions, but that is still unclear. After reading all of Justice Kennedy's majority opinion, he interchanges the two words as if to give the impression that the decision extends to unions, but that does fall outside of the decision. If it doesn't extend to unions yet, I'm sure a case will come up and be decided quickly allowing them the same rights. To be honest, I don't really like what this does to campaign finance. I know that corporations were able to move their money in other ways during campaigns with quite a few hurdles. Those hurdles didn't stop the money... but frankly I like the hurdles. Yet, the reasoning in Justice Kennedy's opinion is sound. He relied on the importance of political speech during an election and the necessity of the First Amendment to protect that speech. I like the idea of fairness and less influence on my politicians, but there is no right to that in the Constitution. Freedom of speech is in there.

Last night Nic and I started A Link to the Past... likely the greatest game ever made. I say that a lot, but while usually I say that about any game that has made an impact on me, I say it about this one with the addition that it is nearly flawless. I won't gush on, but he and I are going for 100% completion on it. With the absence of achievements on the Wii, we need to settle for making our own.

Citizens United v. FEC

The Supreme Court has set a special public session for this morning where they may decide Citizens United v. FEC. The case involves corporations arguing that they have the same rights as individuals do concerning the First Amendment, specifically addressing the spending of money in campaigns. To put this in context, a single donation from a large corporation could easily match the money made by Obama's campaign a few years ago. It depends on how the Court rules, but it could be a very narrow opinion that involves only the Hilary movie (look it up if you want more information) or could strike down a large chunk of campaign finance law. I'll update once the Court has rendered its decision.

MLK Day

Last night was an interesting experience for me and a friend. We went and saw Keith Ellison at Cavalry Church in Minneapolis. He was the keynote speaker for the event and I had certain expectations. I joked about how as long as he says diversity, MLK, and challenges involved with moving forward, he'll have hit the standards for any MLK day speech. However, he didn't. Moreover, I left last night's event unsure about what MLK day really is about.

Last night, I was a little bit embarrassed to be represented by Ellison. His speech was a confusing mash-up of facts about MLK, mixed with constant reminders that he was just like any of you out in the audience. However, it was equally likely that he would say that King wasn't just a man. In the end, the speech didn't go anywhere. Again it left me unsure what MLK day was about. From Ellison, I would have taken away that we should be offended by the government's attempts to subvert King. Americorps encourages the it to be a day of service. However, I'm unsure that watching movies and setting up a rec center for a community party was what King had in mind when he talked about community action. This is residual from my childhood, but I guess I thought it was a day to celebrate either the progress made by King in regard to racism or some other factor involving race. Anyway... I guess the easy (and lazy) answer is that MLK day is what each individual makes of it, but it seems more that King was just a guy that few people my age know anything about other than what we've read which I don't think can recreate the emotion that seems to have inspired the holiday. Maybe people who experienced it see the holiday differently, but I can't speak to that. I imagine that for most it is just a day off and no one is complaining about that.

Some things I've liked over the past week

Cooking: Zucchini Bread, Pad Thai, Egg Rolls, and Sweet potato quesadilla filling
Video Games: Batman Arkham Asylum, Drop 7
TV: Boston Legal, How I met your Mother
Books: The Clinton Tapes, Savage Inequalities
Exercise: Swimming, Running

Cancer's Approach on Me

It started in 1939. We're in Poland, having a great time. Then around 11 PM on May 31st, German tanks roll over the border while we're still trotting around on horses. On our heels, we all fell back. Through some miracle we roll over, crawl to the channel and swim over to England. What a nice place. The feeling doesn't last long. A few months at best. The planes are again over us. This time we're ready, but our response is merely defensive in nature. In a way, banding together in the shelter has become perfunctory.

Law Watch

I just wanted to bring up a few federal cases that are going on today/ this week.

1. American Needle v. NFL

American Needle was a producer of NFL licensed hats for many years until 2000, when the NFL signed an exclusive license with Reebok. Understandably, American Needle was unhappy and proceeded to sue the NFL and Reebok, citing a violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act (a set of antitrust laws). Section 1 prohibits any group of independent entities from working together to restrain trade or commerce. The big question in this case is whether the NFL can be considered a single entity. Players' associations from baseball, hockey, and the NCAA have weighed in on the side of American Needle while companies like EA and VF Imagewear have sided with the NFL. I'm not sure how the case will turn out but it's being argued in about two hours.

2. Proposition 8 Case

The first case to challenge whether the banning of same sex marriage is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. We've heard a lot about cases involving same sex marriage, but those have all been in state courts. This is the first case to be tried in federal courts and given the sensitive topic, it seems likely that it will go through the appeals process, possibly to the Supreme Court. I support the challenge to proposition 8, however I am worried about this case hitting the Supreme Court. History shows that Congress and the President enjoy deferring issues of this nature to the Judicial branch if possible. Depending on which way the Court rules, we could be stuck with that decision for a long time. I'm unsure how the justices will vote, but the Court is definitely conservative leaning, so I would be worried about the issue going there. The case isn't likely to hit the High Court for a few years and we don't know who will sit on the bench then.

Just say no to 3D

I'm not into this whole 3D thing. 3D is fine for the imax experience, or even one time films like "Avatar" (which I have not seen yet). However, at this years Consumer Electronic Show, the new technology for televisions was 3D and I am not really sold on the idea. I already feel that many movies in theaters are only using 3D to artificially raise the price of tickets, but at least these are relatively low expenses. After buying a new 3D enabled television, Blueray player, and glasses, a consumer is looking at a hefty expense. The argument can be made that most people took hold of dvd players and HD televisions despite the high cost, and so why shouldn't 3D move in the same direction. Well, I would argue that those two technologies succeeded because they either make viewing a more enjoyable experience, or don't inhibit the way people are used to watching their televisions. 3D fails in this regard. As of now, rules exist when watching 3D television, which means that I won't be watching without the glasses or from an angle. I don't know about most people, but I have the television on usually while I'm cooking or doing some other activity that also holds my attention. I don't usually do those things directly in front of my television and I don't plan on wearing a large pair of 3D goggles while doing those activities. The experience is worse in 3D. Moreover, the trade doesn't make up for these short falls. Sure, perhaps "Avatar" is always awesome in 3D, but for every movie of this caliber you get a thousand that have about ten seconds of 3D where a pie is 3D during a food fight. I don't need that.

Voting

Yesterday on MPR, the host was speaking with her guests about what does the political landscape look like now heading into 2010 as opposed to way back in 2008 when Obama was elected. Well, they believed that your independent voter isn't happy... or at least has lost the excitement that caused them to vote for Obama. I can't claim to be an independent fully. I agree with most fiscal conservative agendas... but it's the other stuff that will always make me vote liberal. However, I'm worried about the democrats in the next election because as crazy as the I think some social conservative polices are, the liberal side has been just as disappointing. I would say that watching them form this health care bill has been like watching a bunch of monkeys edit a picture in Photoshop CS. They suck at it. Then, once the bill is figured out, some of the monkeys demand a banana before they do their part. I would like the see the Democrats get their act together, but if all the difficulties their facing don't turn around I think they will be hurting in this fall's election.

That rocket be trippin

So last night, three of my friends and I were in the hospital (not just for fun), and I think I've come up with a pretty original setting for a movie or series of movies. The idea isn't elegant, but definitely has the, "What the fuck is happening," going for it.

So, basically the setting is from the near future (like all movies, right?) and technology has been developed that would let the United States attach rockets to our borders allowing us to transfer the entire landmass from Earth to the planet of our choice. I personally prefer the moon. The idea came to me while chatting about how screwed the planet will be from carbon emissions and somehow it's the developing world's fault (it probably isn't). So the whole United States decides, we're getting out of this jazz. I feel that movies too often try the, "oh the human race has to move underground to survive," or, "they need to fly to a secret space colony." Like I said earlier, this has the, "Am I seriously watching this quality," allowing it to be enjoyed for years to come.

Now, before you roll your eyes at another one of Eric's crazy ideas, hear me out. The plots are endless. I want to go over a few.

1. Stereotypical End of the World
Clive Owen and his girl are desperately struggling to reach the United States before it leaves the planet to escape the coming tidal wave threatening to destroy the Western Hemisphere. In the epic last scene, they cross the Rio de Janeiro and grab onto the leaving land mass at the very last minute. Also allows for a commentary on illegal immigration.

2. Stereotypical Zombie Apocolypse
A bunch of b or c list actors fight through hordes of zombies back to the border. Steal Rio de Janeiro ending and add in some tragic biting deaths. Instant classic.

3. Romantic Comedy
Patrick Dempsey (or even Alec Baldwin) promised their girlfriend that he would get her french chocolates for their anniversary. With his beloved to return in only a day (from her trip to... Seattle), he heads to the store to buy the chocolates, but the country is already on its way to the moon (the chocolates would have had to be shipped from France). Now he's in a mad dash to find some before it's too late and his girl gets stolen by some muscly jerk.

4. Dramatic think piece
A Forest Gump-like film where the main character is diagnosed with some terminal illness. In his past, he developed the technology allowing the country to be blasted into space, but had his work stolen by his protege. Now on his deathbed, that story is told by people coming to visit him. Finally, the climax is delivered when his old protege comes to see him, the flashback shows the betrayal, and then he apologizes and they hug and love each other. Then, the main character says that all he ever wanted was to see the rockets fire. They do and he dies. Everyone cries. The end.

5. Jackie Chan/ Stereotypical Black Actor in "That Rocket be Trippin"
Taken from Rush Hour, basically Jackie Chan and Tracey Morgan are trying to find a gang (who are likely ninjas for some reason) that plans on sabotaging the rocket system and selling secrets to some evil country.

Preferably I'd like to see all five of these movies released the same weekend.

Drive my car

Why aren't we investing heavily into alternative forms of energy? I know it would screw me over a bit, but the US should be taxing gas heavily in order to promote this transition. Now sports car and truck drivers, before you drive down my throat (ha, drive), I want you to hear me out. Just for you, I won't even play the environment card. F the evironment. Look at it from a few other perspectives. First, oil is finite. That is a fact. Eventually... all the oil on earth will be gone. Laws of supply and demand say that as supply diminishes (and assuming demand remains... which let's face it...) the price increases. So whether we raise the tax on gas now or not, the price will go up. The other reason I have for this push is that I want this country to continue being awesome. And... well, you know who's going to be rich in fifty years? The country who's producing vehicles that are beyond gasoline. Also, the other countries will have to eat boot. Hopefully our boot.

Christmas reflection

I'm a sucker for Christmas. I've acquired a kind of permanent nostalgia from a lifetime of family gatherings, gifts, and television specials that nearly force me to put up a tree, throw a party, and give gifts. I am the first to admit that the expectation I have from the nostalgia is waning and rarely if ever allows the actual Christmas experience to meet the bar set for it, which sucks. However, I feel that the holiday always justifies itself in other ways. On Christmas day, my parents and I dropped off a gift to my grandfather's neighbor, V (just a first initial for privacy sake). He had helped our family cut wood this fall and had worn a flannel jacket with the front nearly torn off completely. So, I bothered my family that we should get him a new fall coat (an innocuously priced gift in my opinion). We did. V opened his gift and I make no exaggeration when I say he had tears in his eyes upon opening and trying the coat on. I began to have that Christmas feeling settle in at that point. I doubt V really needed a new jacket, or even wanted a new jacket. What he did need was to know that he had friends. He had people who cared about him. He lives alone. His family couldn't make it to Christmas that day due to the weather. I imagine that friends aren't an easy commodity for someone like him. So when we come on Christmas day and take time out of our day to let him know that we care, it means a lot.

We all want that feeling. I may give gifts and throw parties for that reason. I want people to know that I give a shit about them and that's difficult when the rest of the year you are already calling them and spending time with them. So I take it up a notch (bam!), because I don't really know how else to let people know that. I don't see me changing in the near future, but something to think about.

New Year

Hello, Erictalk is back for the new year. I know I gave no formal goodbye or well wish over the holidays, but I basically took that time off to withdraw into that sweet sweet break lifestyle. I had plans on writing, but it just didn't work out. Actually, I'm a creature of habit... and my habit has always been to write in this blog before I go to work at about 6:15 AM. I was not up at that time over break, so no posts. Anyway, I have a lot to write about, but I thought I'd start out with some resolutions I've set for myself.

1. Cooking
So far so good. I've made a few salsas, a sweet potato based filling for quesadillas, and pad thai. Moreover, ingredients for zucchini bread litter my kitchen as I'm writing this.

2. Run a marathon.... again
As of now my sidewalks are covered with ice and the high temperature has been around five degrees. Yet, I want to run another marathon because as far as the brain releasing sweet endorphins goes, this activity tops the chart.

3. Drink less soda
I drink about one soda a day which probably isn't all that much when compared to the population at large. However, I've never been comfortable with ingesting something on a regular basis that I know is not beneficial for my body. I don't want to get rid of soda completely, but make it more of a treat than a staple.

4. Continue writing this blog/ Start a podcast for it
I have the equipment. I need a plan. I've wanted to start a podcast for probably a year now. I really love the medium as far as getting information goes. I became hooked in January of 2008. Ideally, this would be a practice round and I really want to start one for law school once I start.

To be honest, I believe that it being the new year is a crappy reason to change my lifestyle. I've wanted to accomplish these goals for a while... the first is just a reminder of that. We should all be striving to better ourselves all year round.