PS3 Releases: week of December 23, 2007

on the shelves nothing in the store nothing! I would’ve figured there’d be something there for people who got this for Christmas. over the horizon 01/08: Cabela’s Monster Bass 01/08: NFL Tour 02/05: Turok 02/18: FIFA Street 3 02/19: Dynasty Warriors 6 02/28: Lost 06/28: Grand Theft Auto IV 04/08: Star Wars: the Force Unleashed … Continue reading “PS3 Releases: week of December 23, 2007”

on the shelves

nothing

in the store

nothing! I would’ve figured there’d be something there for people who got this for Christmas.

over the horizon
01/08: Cabela’s Monster Bass
01/08: NFL Tour
02/05: Turok
02/18: FIFA Street 3
02/19: Dynasty Warriors 6
02/28: Lost
06/28: Grand Theft Auto IV
04/08: Star Wars: the Force Unleashed
06/30: LEGO Indiana Jones

Joe on Sky Kid Radio

Last week, Joe made an appearance on Sky Kid Radio, talking the best of Joe Versus The World and what he’s been up to lately. (It involves a different sort of ring.)

Last week, Joe made an appearance on Sky Kid Radio, talking the best of Joe Versus The World and what he’s been up to lately. (It involves a different sort of ring.)

PS3 Releases: week of December 16, 2007

on the shelves MX vs ATV: Untamed (stats): All the reviews I’ve read differ on why this game is just eh, but they all agree it is eh. Based on the demo, I think I agree with the 1UP review the most – the game isn’t sure if it wants to be arcade or sim, … Continue reading “PS3 Releases: week of December 16, 2007”

on the shelves

MX vs ATV: Untamed (stats): All the reviews I’ve read differ on why this game is just eh, but they all agree it is eh. Based on the demo, I think I agree with the 1UP review the most – the game isn’t sure if it wants to be arcade or sim, and the randomness of out of bounds gets annoying. It seems like a good game to fool around with but maybe not one you’ll like long term.

and that’s it til ’08.

in the store

Downloadable games
Toy Home {$10}

Snakeball {$10} – or a free demo

– Trials of Topoq ($5} requires Playstation Eye

– Mesmerize: Distort ($2}, requires Playstation Eye

Warhawk {$6) – this is the PS1 game, not the PS3 one with an add on below.

Add-on Game Content
– Warhawk Omega Dawn Booster Pack ($8} – new arena, new features, out about a week earlier than I had thought.

(special Holiday section)

– Folklore {free} – holiday outfits for the main character and a new quest

– MotorStorm {free} – holiday paint job for the Big Rig

– Guitar Hero (free) – “We Three Kings”

– High Stakes: Poker Edition – two different add ons with new games. Both are free, so I don’t know why they didn’t just them both at once. Add-On 1 gives you Omaha, Pineapple, and CRAZY Pineapple. Add-On 2 has 5 Card Draw and 7 Card Stud, but sadly no 7 Card CRAZY Stud.

– Rock Band – no free songs here. $2 each for “Brass in Pocket” by the Pretenders, “Buddy Holly” by Weezer and “My Iron Lung” by Radiohead. No 3 for $5.50 deal this time.

Demos

– Blacksite: Area 51 – yes, the demo is out after the game is released.

Game Video

– GT 5 (Trailer)
– Warhawk Omega Dawn (Trailer for the ad on)
– Devil May Cry 4 (Trailer)
– Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (story mode Trailer)
– Turok (gamplay video)
– Uncharted (BTS)
– Playstation 3 (the commercials from the TV)
– PSP (ad)

Movie/Blue Ray Trailer
– Strange Wilderness
– Shakira Oral Fixation Tour

PS3 Theme
– Warhawk
– PAIN (Cookie, Santa)

PS3 Wallpaper
– High Stakes: Poker

over the horizon
over the horizon
next week: nothing
01/08: Cabela’s Monster Bass
01/08: NFL Tour
02/05: Turok
02/18: FIFA Street 3
02/19: Dynasty Warriors 6
02/28: Lost
06/28: Grand Theft Auto IV
04/08: Star Wars: the Force Unleashed
06/30: LEGO Indiana Jones

4 for 1

– Kosuke Fukodome’s physical is supposed to be happening today, with the press conference tomorrow. He’s supposed to wear #1 and will have KOSUKE on the back of his jersey, but I guess we know all that for sure tomorrow. I said it before – this signing fits the needs of the team very well. … Continue reading “4 for 1”

– Kosuke Fukodome’s physical is supposed to be happening today, with the press conference tomorrow. He’s supposed to wear #1 and will have KOSUKE on the back of his jersey, but I guess we know all that for sure tomorrow.

I said it before – this signing fits the needs of the team very well. It’d be nice if Soriano was dropped to 4 or 5 in the lineup, but as long as they have Fukudome batting before Lee and Ram, they should be driving in a few more runs. Last season, the Cubs were very reliant on power hits for wins, and Fukudome’s presence should make them a bit more balanced.

Four years is just the right length. Kosukue will be 31 in April, and you’ll probably not want to pay him big money for his 35 year old season. $12 mil a year is a lot, but he’s so much better than the suggested alternatives.

I would not put much stock into any positional promise the Cubs have or will make to Fukudome before April 1st. Last off season, Soriano was told he’d be in one position for the whole season and DeRosa was told he’d be the everyday second baseman, and both promises were quickly broken. If the Cubs end up in a situation where Fukudome in CF makes more sense, that’s where he’ll be.

– Mark Prior being non-tendered was no surprise. Reading the coverage the next day, it was probably something both sides quietly knew for months, because of Prior’s reaction to the 1y with team option deal the Cubs offered (the only offer they could make.)

I know that if Mark Prior blossoms somewhere else, the Cubs will be mocked for letting go of such a player, but he’d clearly hit a dead end in Wrigley. Too many scars from ’04, ’05, ’06 and ’07 that’ll never heal right. I hope for him the same that’s happened with Tyson Chandler. Chandler had peaked out with the Bulls, and I think needed to go some place out to become the near-All Star level guy basketball player he’s become – and he’s doing in the other conference, so the Bulls don’t have to see him and regret what might have been (but never could be) more than two times a year. I hope Prior makes a (unlikely) return to form, but I hope he does it in place which doesn’t play the Cubs often.

– I was regretting being out of the loop for most of last Thursday, because I desperately was interested in hearing the leaks and rumors from the Mitchell report (more than reading the actual report itself, which I know is odd.) It had occurred to me that Thursday was quite possibly the day when Sammy Sosa would be confirmed as to have used unauthorized PEDs. Instead of just rumors and guesses, there was going to be an actual investigation to back up assumptions. I actually saw The List just before leaving that morning, scrolled to Sammy’s name, shrugged, (saw Wood and Prior and Neifi as well) and got going.

You can only imagine my delight when I downloaded a copy of the actual report, hit control-f, and only found Sosa in a section of “people who won’t talk to me [the abridged version]”. They got many other people, but they didn’t get Sosa. (Or most of the other people on that fake list.)

Does this prove Sammy Sosa has never used steroids or HGH or anything else stronger than Flintstones Vitamins? Nah, of course not. I’d like to think he didn’t, because it makes my memories better and all, and I’m more than willing to believe the stories about how he picked pitches to swinging at much better (because I’m sure I saw that.) If I could separate myself from my feelings and you asked me if I thought he used something, I’m sure I’d say yes, and he’ll never be found out in the way those in the Mitchell report were – the purchases would’ve been done outside of the US, and only those extremely close to him would know and have no motivation to ever tell. But as long as Sammy’s name doesn’t come up on an lists or returned checks, here’s still a glimmer of disbelief I can hold onto.

Objectively, I think not being on the list, and the list including enough names to push the “so many people were using, you should punish no one” viewpoint (which is crap to me, but I don’t count) means 5% – 7% more votes when it comes to HOF time. And perhaps that’s enough to push him from a high 30% – mid 40% guy to mid 40% – low 50% guy who gets a lot of attention forever and gets in on a veterans ballot (when all those in the same situation as he get to vote.) Everything helps a little bit.

– If the Cubs can make their team better by trading for Brian Roberts, I’m all for it. I just won’t believe it has a chance until Erik Bedard gets moved.

PS3 Releases: week of December 9, 2007

on the shelves * the Orange Box [stats] – for the unfamiliar, this is a comp of five games: Half Life 2 and both of it’s add on Episodes, as well as Team Fortress 2 and Portal. Portal, Team Fortress and Half Life 2: Episode 2 are exclusive to this comp. All are very good … Continue reading “PS3 Releases: week of December 9, 2007”

on the shelves

* the Orange Box [stats] – for the unfamiliar, this is a comp of five games: Half Life 2 and both of it’s add on Episodes, as well as Team Fortress 2 and Portal. Portal, Team Fortress and Half Life 2: Episode 2 are exclusive to this comp. All are very good games on their own, so this is a good deal and highly rated. However, once again, frame rates are lower on PS3 than XBox 360 (and load times are longer.) You’ll note that this package was developed for the PS3 by EA (UK), which has consistently had this issue with PS3s.

* Unreal Tournament III [stats] – it’s very much a new version of the same game. If you like this series, you’ll continue to like it.

* NCAA March Madness ’08 [stats] – EA game where PS3 version is noticeably lesser than XBox360 version – CHECK. EA Sports game which is barely more than a roster update – CHECK. EA game not with online leagues that they magically can’t figure out for football – CHECK. Unless you need virtual Erin Andrews in your life, get the 2K college basketball game instead.

* Blacksite: Area 51 [stats] – why would you pick this week to release a mediocre first person shooter? You’re the third worst game in your genre this week alone, why not try get out first? This is a bad game on any week, a generic version in an overpopulated category. Maybe someone’s planning to use the tough week as a cover story, I don’t know. If you buy this game, you have too much money and/or waste lots of it. If you are a parent and buy this game for your children, you are a bad parent. (It’s not THAT bad, but you have much better options.)

* History Channel Battle for the Pacific – is pushed back to the last week of February. I guess if you’re missing Christmas, you might as well miss it by a lot.

in the store

Demo:
* Burnout Paradise

Add Ons:

* High Velocity Bowling – two more bowlers for $1

* Rock Band – 3 songs, $2 each or all for $5.50
– I Fought The Law by the Clash
– Rockaway Beach by the Ramones
– Ever Fallen in Love, “a cover of a song done by the Buzzcocks”

* Need for Speed

unlock cars without getting thru career mode (so you’re paying for cheat codes)
– Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 ($2.50)
– Pagini Zonda F ($3)
– Nissan GT-R ($3)
– packs of Muscle Car, Tuner Car and Sport Car (each has 6 cars for $5)
– Ultimate Performance Bundle – all the parts are unlicked ($10)

Game Video
– GT Awards @ SEMA (award show)
– Burnout “Stunt Run” (trailer)
– Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (trailer for story mode)
– Ratchet and Clank (behind the scenes, “Art”)

Movie/Blue-Ray Trailers
– Cloverleaf
– Untraceable

over the horizon
12/17: MX vs ATV: Untamed
12/28: Warhawk Operation: Omega Dawn
01/08: NFL Tour
02/05: Turok
02/18: FIFA Street 3
02/19: Dynasty Warriors 6
02/28: Lost
06/28: Grand Theft Auto IV
04/08: Star Wars: the Force Unleashed
06/30: LEGO Indiana Jones

fixing MT comment notification for gmail

After I fixed last Movable Type error, I decided to work another problem I was having. I use gmail a lot, since I can access it from my phone and even my iTouch when I’m out and don’t feel like borrowing someone’s computer to check out what spam comments have been randomly left on this … Continue reading “fixing MT comment notification for gmail”

After I fixed last Movable Type error, I decided to work another problem I was having.

I use gmail a lot, since I can access it from my phone and even my iTouch when I’m out and don’t feel like borrowing someone’s computer to check out what spam comments have been randomly left on this blog. (And all the good stuff too, sure.) Gmail’s Conversations feature works great with one to one e-mail, but fail for reading comment notifications. The comments get split by the commenter’s e-mail address, so I’ll have multiple different conversations listed for the same post, and it’s impossible to read the messages in chronological order.

I hacked MT 3.whatever to fix that, and have all comment notifications (regardless of what e-mail address entered, or even if none were at all), but sixapart broke my hack in 4.0. I’ve been looking thru files off and on since then to figure out how to re-break the code to work for me, and I figured it out this morning.

In the folder where your put all the cgi MT files, look in /lib/MT and open app.pm. Look for the following block of code, which should be about line 1375

In 4.1: it’s now line 1690

my %head = (
To => $author->email,
$from_addr ? ( From       => $from_addr ) : (),
$reply_to  ? ( 'Reply-To' => $reply_to )  : (),
Subject => '['
. $blog->name . '] '
. $app->translate( "New Comment Added to '[_1]'", $entry->title )
);

The from address is what you have to change, though I went and changed reply to be sure

my %head = (
To => $author->email,
$from_addr ? ( From       => 'youremailaddress@whatever.com' ) : (),
$reply_to  ? ( 'Reply-To' => 'youremailaddress@whatever.com' )  : (),
Subject => '['
. $blog->name . '] '
. $app->translate( "New Comment Added to '[_1]'", $entry->title )
);

Now all comments will be grouped by post in gmail. Next thing to fix is the left side bar over there.

This is becoming far too techy. I must find some time to mark out over Fukudome later on.

Movable Type Won’t Let Me Stay Logged In (fix)

MovableType (4.01) hasn’t let me stay logged in all weekend. If I click any link on the system side, I get kicked back to the login page. Once I log back in, it takes make to the correct page. It’s worst at publishing entries, because you’ll get kicked out multiple times along the way. What … Continue reading “Movable Type Won’t Let Me Stay Logged In (fix)”

MovableType (4.01) hasn’t let me stay logged in all weekend. If I click any link on the system side, I get kicked back to the login page. Once I log back in, it takes make to the correct page. It’s worst at publishing entries, because you’ll get kicked out multiple times along the way.

What I eventually figured out is the mt_session table had gone bad on me. (It was marked as “in use” or corrupt depending on where I looked.” I dropped the table from the mt database, and was able to track down the specifications to recreate it

CREATE TABLE `mt_session` (
`session_id` varchar( 80 ) NOT NULL ,
`session_data` mediumblob,
`session_email` varchar( 255 ) default NULL ,
`session_name` varchar( 255 ) default NULL ,
`session_start` int( 11 ) NOT NULL default '0',
`session_kind` char( 2 ) default NULL ,
PRIMARY KEY ( `session_id` ) ,
KEY `session_start` ( `session_start` )
)

I’m hoping this turns up on google, because it took me forever to figure out the problem (and the right keywords to unlock the answers.)

PS3 Releases: week of December 2, 2007

on the shelves * The Golden Compass (review) – a game based on a movie that cost a ton of money and will not be making most of it back. Maybe the book is good? The game itself is barely reviewed, but said to follow strongly along the movie plot. The one review I found … Continue reading “PS3 Releases: week of December 2, 2007”

on the shelves

* The Golden Compass (review) – a game based on a movie that cost a ton of money and will not be making most of it back. Maybe the book is good? The game itself is barely reviewed, but said to follow strongly along the movie plot. The one review I found said it’s been a game for kids who want to relive the movie, but older games will be less interested.

and that’s it.

in the store

Downloadable Games:

* Wii High Velocity Bowling {$10} – it’s not as simple as the Wii Sports bowling game, but it’s deeper than you’d think figure for a downloadable game.
* Wild Arms {$6}: as seen on the PS1

Add On Contact
* Folklore: two separate add on packs with 4 side quests for $4, or get both for $6.
* MotorStorm: “Falfer Domino” rally car {$1}
* Rock Band: 3 Black Sabbath songs: “War Pigs”, “Sweet Leaf”, “NIB” for $2, or all 3 for $5.50

Demo
* TimeShift: multiplayer

Game Video:
* Gran Theft Auto 4 (Trailer #3)
* Metal Gear Solid 4: (Trailer from Tokyo Game Show)
* Uncharted (game video/behind the scenes)
* Time Shift (game video)
* Turok (behind the scenes)
* Battlefiled (game video/behind the scenes)

Movie Trailer
* The Legend of Zorro

PS3 Themes
* Ratchet & Clank
* Uncharted

over the horizon
12/10: BlackSite: Area 51
12/11: the Orange Box
12/11: NCAA March Madness ’08
12/11: Unreal Tournament
12/12: History Channel Battle for the Pacific
01/08: NFL Tour
02/05: Turok
02/18: FIFA Street 3
02/19: Dynasty Warriors 6
02/28: Lost
06/28: Grand Theft Auto IV
04/08: Star Wars: the Force Unleashed
06/30: LEGO Indiana Jones

nothing much happening at winter meetings

Jim Hendry on Ryan Dempster: “I have every confidence he’s going to be a 14-, 15-game winner.” Apparently, he’s planning on starting Dempster for at least two years. —- The Brian Roberts trade rumors are nonsensical. Brian Roberts would be a fine addition, but the names that are being suggested for him are Sports Talk … Continue reading “nothing much happening at winter meetings”

Jim Hendry on Ryan Dempster: “I have every confidence he’s going to be a 14-, 15-game winner.”

Apparently, he’s planning on starting Dempster for at least two years.

—-

The Brian Roberts trade rumors are nonsensical. Brian Roberts would be a fine addition, but the names that are being suggested for him are Sports Talk Radio silly.

Sean Marshall – Cubs don’t think a lot of him, or Dempster wouldn’t be moved to the rotation
Sean Gallagher – locked out of rotation spot for the foreseeable future, hasn’t shown a lot in the pen
Ronny Cedeno – easily replaceable bench flotsam
Eric Patterson – lost a great deal of his value over the last year and has definitely been passed by Sam Fuld among future OFs
Matt Murton – remains Matt Murton

All four of these guys may have many years of MLB baseball in them, and probably useful contributions (maybe not Cedeno), but none of them are top prospects and it’d be a stretch to call them projected difference makers. If the Orioles were simply looking for more depth, it’d be one thing, but none of these guys seem like key parts of a successful rebuilding effort. $14.3 over two years is a good deal for the current market; it’ll save the O’s some money but it’s not an unfair contract for the Cubs to pick up.

I can’t see this happening for how little sense it would make for the O’s, but since most of the story seems to be coming from the Baltimore side, I like the thought that there’s a chance.