Saturday, September 26, 2009

Gamer Burnout?

I suppose there comes a time when each of us has to step back and look at how many games we're really playing in a week.  That in itself can be startling, once the hours are added up (for me it averages between 17 and 20, which i easily justify because it's all via chat or message board, so i can walk away from the computer as-needed to tend to my children, do housework and make dinner, etc. and no one's the wiser...right?), but my biggest downfall seems to be how many different systems i'm playing in a given week--right now it's 6.  And i am not keeping the combat formulas and whatnot straight.  Argh!  I find myself wondering if everyone has this problem, or just those of us that are math-challenged...or if the number of different games i play during a 7-day period is unusual.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Book Review: World War Z


World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Max Brooks
Three Rivers Press
ISBN: 0307346617

A social and psychological commentary set to the entertaining backdrop of a zombie apocalypse--genius, really.  There is a reason people are calling this *the* zombie book to read; it is arranged as a series of short stories that artfully entwine to answer all the questions you ever asked yourself (and more) about what would happen if society spiraled into chaos.

I seriously squeed when i received this for my birthday from my husband--i've heard so many wonderful things, and it did not disappoint.  So often books about possible futures (especially post-apocalyptic ones) are so...i don't know.  Lame.  But this is not; it is gritty and horribly, beautifully realistic.  Each character has a story to tell (literally), and they are each unique and insightful.

It is more than a story about zombies, but a story about people, which will leave you walking away with a proper mix of disgust, humor, and pride at being human yourself.

Book Review: Game Widow


Game Widow
Wendy Kays
Synergy Books
ISBN: 1934454265

Not terrible, but not great--good if you're completely mystified as to why anyone would ever want to play video games, but provides nothing terribly insightful if you game yourself or have a lot of common sense.  It does cite a lot of sources and resources though, so it's not a completely useless if you're doing some research.  It's not especially well-written though, and it gives the reader a lot more "duh" than actual, helpful advice.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Slowly Working out the Blogger Kinks

After some frustrating hours, trying to add basic widgets, my favorite hippo pointed out that i was using an *ahem* outdated form of the site.  A little patience and no small amount of Google-Fu later, he found a way to bypass the bastardly little button that was standing in my way.  May i present to you...the label cloud.  I Googled that one all by myself, and edited it into the code.  w00t!  It needs a little work in the visual appeal department, along with my stock layout, but my humble little blog is getting there.

Edit: New Layout is a go; also, i can list followers and blogs i read--yeah, i'm pretty pleased that i've figured out how to do some basic stuff, with just a couple more hints from my pal NulSyn.  That being said, if anyone running a game-related blog is interested in listing each other on the sidebars (as links or blogs we follow; i'm not picky) just give me a shout.