Warhammer comes to Mac

Mythic announced yesterday that they are starting to Beta Warhammer online for the Mac (see here).  They’re not doing it the right way, since it’s not a native client.  They’re using Cider to wrap it, so it’ll have some issues, just like Eve Online does via Cider.  But, it’s better then nothing.  So, if you’re interested in it.. go download it and give it a shot.

Socialized Health Care is bad

tell your congress critter to vote no on ANY health care bill that socializes our health care.  Look at how “well” socialized care works in Canada…. they come down here and out of pocket their health care expenses, because they don’t want to wait a year for an MRI.  If we go to a fail system of health care it’ll screw up our Country AND Canada.

Bad Bioware, Bad!

Go stand in the corner till you learn some manners!

As you may, or may not, know Bioware is developing a MMO set in the Star Wars universe. Specifically, in the Old Republic era that their Knights of The Old Republic game was set in (300 years after KOTOR to be precise).  Bioware has stated on multiple occasions that they were going to attempt to follow Blizzard’s model with WoW (as far as system requirements go), in order to make the game playable by as many people as possible.  They had been dodging questions about Mac support for quite awhile.  Last week at Comic-Con they announced (via a Q&A Session with IGN, you can read the whole thing here) that they were not making a Mac version.  The fact that BW is choosing to intentionally limit their potential market by not making a Mac version isn’t my big complaint (I think that’s bad, and if they’d made a Mac version, I’d play it).  Really, I’m complaining about how they did it, here’s the relevant quote from the IGN article:

IGN: This is another very popular question regarding console or Mac versions of The Old Republic… there are a lot of Mac fans I’ve discovered in these questions — any thoughts on that?

Dallas Dickinson: That’s why Boot Camp was invented.

As you can see, it was done as a very flippant aside, in what could actually be taken (and was by some) as an insulting manner.

Bad form BW, bad form… at the very least, you guys should make a public apology for the manner in which the information was provided.

July 4th

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

That is what we celebrate today.  Take a minute or 10 to remember that while BBQing, Playing with kids, drinking beer, etc.  Then, celebrate today, and the recent SCOTUS decision that proves without a doubt that the 2nd amendment, like the rest of them, is an individual right.  Go buy a gun!

Time to move?

Hmm… looks like it might be time to relocate.. Montana looks good.  They’ve shown that they agree that the 2nd Amendment is an individual right, and are threatening to leave the union if SCOTUS rules otherwise when they hear the case later this year.   Interesting tact, they’re claiming that it’d be a breach of contract between the Feds and Montana, since the 2nd was represented as being an individual right when MT joined the Union.

It will be interesting to see what happens as the case goes on.

Scheduled Downtime

Dreamhost is moving the machine my site is hosted on to a new data center (ooooh.. shiny new digs!).  Therefore, the site will be down starting at 2200 Pacific on Friday the 8th, and going till at least 0600 Pacific on the 9th.

Ultimate Bra

Just when you thought bras were perfect, because they held boobs.. they get even better!

Now, you can get a bra, that will not only hold your girl’s boobs… but it’ll hold your beer as well!

From the article here:

The £20 polyurethane bladder can contain 750ml of liquid (a normal wine bottle) and boosts a woman’s chest by two cups.

can’t wait for this to start getting sold here in the states!

Mana Potions

I was listening to Casually Hardcore last week while I was at work.  And they were talking about Mana potions (the real life ones you can order from Mana Potions).  Seems some of their listeners (perhaps guild mates, couldn’t tell for sure).. chipped in and ordered them some to try as a sample.  Their on-air reaction was….. interesting.  So, a co-worker who was listening also, and I decided to order some… we got them this past Friday.

We split a 4 pack, and both tried one at work… the taste was…. unique.  I honestly can’t think of anything to compare it to.  Not gross, but very citrusy.

They are actually an energy drink, following the ‘loads of vitamin B, instead of lots of caffeine’ model.  Doing it as a ‘shot’ which, from the size of the bottle, is the intended drinking fashion, does produce a slight buzz, nothing huge (at least, for me).

My only real complaint about it, is that considering the prices charged, the logo should be printed on the bottle, not on the crooked plastic label with the nutrition information.  That way, you can easily reuse the bottle as a shot glass, and keep the cool logo on it.  With it as it is currently, the logo can get washed off with the plastic label if you wash the bottle too many times.

Drool Worthy

So, anyone wanna give me enough money to buy anything I can fit into, ohhh…say, a standard ‘inter office mail’ sized envelope?

In case you missed it, at Macworld yesterday, Apple released the new Macbook Air… it is super super thin… less then an inch at its thickest point (.8 of an inch, to be exact).. fits inside an envelope, and has decent specs for the size of the unit.

If anyone is feeling generous… I’ve got an ancient iBook that can used replacing 😉

Format wars are over!

Well, mostly anyway.  Yesterday, Warner Brothers announced that they will be exclusively releasing their titles on Blue Ray DVD only, and abandoning the sucky ass HD-DVD platform completly.

Thier press release:

(January 4, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

“Warner Bros.’ move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want,” said Meyer.  “The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger.  We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers.”

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray.  After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

“Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices,” said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment.  “Today’s decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner.”

“A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry,” said Tsujihara.  “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience.  Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts.  We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

So, if you’ve been waiting for a clear winner before buying, now you can go buy Blu Ray, and know that you’re not buying the losing platform.  This announcement puts something like 70-75% of the studios in the Blu Ray camp, leaving Paramount pretty much as the only ‘big’ studio still only in the HD DVD camp.  And I’d have to imagine that after this announcement, it won’t be long before they go Blu Ray also.

Yay!  Now, if someone would just knock a couple hundred bucks off the price tag of the average Blu Ray DVD player so I could afford it…