2013: The Bests

It's been a busy and eventful year. Lots of changes, transitions and upgrades in my life. And what better content for a blog post than a list of things? That's practically the default post type!

2013: The bests

Best Ride: Mazda CX-5
 

After 10  years and more than 200,000 miles I decided it was time to replace my faithful VW Jetta. Commuting to work continued to be an enjoyable and fuel-efficient proposition, but loading up golf clubs, camera gear, changes of clothes and the dog for weekend adventures was challenging in the size and configuration options presented by the Jetta. After shopping around, test driving a few things and thinking long and hard about priorities I ended up with the Mazda CX-5 Sport, 2.0L All Wheel Drive, and after nearly 6 months of driving it and I'm still an extremely satisfied customer. 

The CX-5 is the perfect one-car solution for the weekend problem I listed above. Ample space for my lifestyle, and even with a more powerful 2.0L engine, AWD and considerably more size than my Jetta it sips the fuel at nearly the same rate. Big props to Skyactiv Technology and the engineering that makes this possible. Also, there's a clear line of demarcation among cars these days. Pre and Post-bluetooth. Once you experience a car with integrated bluetooth for making phone calls and streaming music there's no going back. In a perfect world, I might have opted for the 2.5L engine and the Touring trim level, which boasts rear seats that fold completely flat and back-up sensors among other things. 

Best Connectivity: Apple iPhone 5s

I made the jump to a smart phone in 2011, when I bought an iPhone 4. Much like bluetooth in your car, a smart phone is a one-way inevitability. I knew I would enjoy the texting and web/app potential, but I had no idea what a powerful photography tool a smartphone could be. The tools for taking, processing and sharing photos in a device that's so easy to always have with you is truly incredible. My back thanks me for not lugging around my DSLR as frequently and learning to leverage the clear weaknesses of a cell phone camera has helped me improve my photography overall. 

While the iPhone 5s is larger, brighter and has faster LTE data service more internal horsepower than the 4, the features I enjoy most are related to photography. Improved low light performance, image quality, integrated panorama, high-speed video and 10 frames per second burst. The last two are particularly appreciated when dealing with Hugo. As something that is never more than 10 feet away from me, the iPhone 5s is a major investment that pays major dividends every day. 

Best Bits: Snapseed

After taking copious quantities of photos with my smartphone, the next step in 2013 for 90% of the images was a trip though the Snapseed photo editing app. It seems like I end up in ruts with various editors. I spend a good deal of time in Camera+ before moving to PicFX and now I've settled in Snapseed. All are great apps, all have strengths and weaknesses. But Snapseed seems to allow a Lightroom-esque level of control over levels. With a limited smartphone camera, being able to fill in shadows and adjust exposure settings in post is a big deal. After that you can add some of those hipsteriffic effects that are the bread and butter of some other apps, with the advantage the Snapseed variants give you control to fine tune the effects in more ways than just the intensity of the effect itself. In most cases you can get into brightness, contrast, saturation and a few other key ingredients to the effect recipe as you apply it. 

From fine-tuning reality to a surrealistic creation, Snapseed has you covered.

Best Inspiration: GoPro Hero 3

Just before our family vacation to Maui I picked up a GoPro Hero 3 (Silver edition) because of doubts I was having about the waterproofing of my Pentax Optio WG-2, which turned out to be completely founded when it flooded with water 10 minutes (and 1/5 the reported waterproof depth) into the first dive. The GoPro lived up to every expectation and hope I had. One key to keep in mind is that this camera has an extremely wide angle lens. That means you want to get as close as possible, which is easy to do with the GoPro's small size. Add to that a waterpoof housing that actually works and you'll have access to shots you never thought possible. 

In an era of everything-included technology the GoPro takes what may seem like a frustrating step back for many folks. "There's no screen?!?!?!?" But anyone with more than five minutes of photography training/skill will be able to master it. Again, it's super wide angle. So point the camera roughly in the direction of your subject and it's in frame. The bigger challenge is to always get 2-3' from your subject, so it's not just a dot in the vastness of your scene. If that doesn't cut it you can always download the GoPro app for your ever-present smartphone and have a viewfinder and quick control over your menus and settings. This pocket-sized beauty packs an impressive photo and video punch. Many of my favorite images from our Maui trip were made with this 5 megapixel beauty rather than my two DSLR bodies and compliment of lenses that a lugged halfway around the world.

Best Visuals: The Blacklist/House of Cards

I'm hard pressed to remember movies I watched in 2013. Nothing truly stands out. It's been a full year for television though. I finally broke down and gave Breaking Bad a shot, immediately getting sucked in. Since everyone is thoroughly exposed to that show (and most likely will have already made up their mind about whether or not it's something they'll ever watch) I'll pick a couple other favorites that a little more obscure. 

Obscure is probably not the right word to describe NBC's The Blacklist, since it was one of the most hyped shows of the fall season. After seeming a little too predictable and straightforward to begin with the show has settled nicely into an espionage/intrigue thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously and strikes a nice balance between Grey's Anatomy relationship drama and and the kind of explosion and chase scene driven show that it's ok for men to watch. :P James Spader is outstanding and this show is definitely worth checking out through the first 10 episodes.

For Netflix users: I really wanted to be able to recommend the exclusive fourth season of Arrested Development. But I just can't. By the end, it gets there, somewhat... and I think I second time through will prove more enjoyable than the first pass. But it's nothing like the pure gold of Season 2, which may have truly been game changing television.

Instead I'll recommend House of Cards, a Netflix original that's truly outstanding. Kevin Spacey headlines a cast of Washington DC elites, who spin wheels and pull puppet strings in the back rooms of our nations' capitol. Shaping policy and positioning actions to determine winners and losers in the political arena. Outstanding character drama. And I hear season 2 has recently been announced, so make sure to catch up with this one so you're ready for new episodes. 

That's it for now. May come up with a few most bests to add to this post, or create another one.  

All in a Day's Work

The end of the year is busy time at the hospital. Ok, the whole year is busy, but the last three months are especially frenetic. We have lots of public and employee events/programs going on and everyone has projects that need to be wrapped up before the calendar switches over. It's hectic, but energizing.

In the last few weeks I've seen some stuff. Some things man... I've seen 2,500 people help our hospital raise more than three tons of food for those in need. I've seen our employees make sure children in our community, and our employee family, have the school supplies they need to start the year out right, a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with their family and overflowing sacks (that's plural, and in most cases 4-5) of gifts for Christmas.

I've heard stories about our employees helping patients achieve life dreams, during their final weeks of life. I've seen staff members reunite with families of of patients who died this year, or last year, or many years ago. Families of babies that were never born, or only lived a matter of hours. I've seen these skilled, competent and compassionate caregivers completely heartbroken. Reduced to their most human and authentic form by their own futility in the face of life as we know it. Because sometimes the very best any of us can do just isn't enough. I've heard the names read one by one. I've been flattened by the freight train of realization that we play a key part in what may be at the very least a defining moment and what often is the worst day of someone's life.

And when I say "we" I'm not talking about me. I may help someone find their way to a lab or the doctor's office. But I'm not the one delivering that news. The one clocking in every day and holding human life in my hands. The one living in the world of crisis, pain and fear. Soldiering on day after day, because no matter if the the last battle was a victory or a defeat, there's another to be fought right now.

I've seen families reunite with doctors, nurses, therapists, chaplains and staff members who cared for someone they love and lost. Someone who made that person their whole world, and somehow in that awful and unfair moment they found a way to give a bit more of themselves to help those around them. Because even though they may see this kind of thing every day, even though the circumstance may be emotionless science, an unavoidable algorithm, something more comfortably compartmentalized and dealt with rationally, that's not how the heroes I work with do their job. They don't just give their education, skills and knowledge. They pour their whole heart into the people who honor our hospital with their presence.

They care. They allow what happens to patients to affect them, because they choose to let it matter. It matters beyond an outcome, beyond symptoms, beyond quality measures and reimbursement rates. It matters because this is a person. Someone's child, spouse, parent, sibling, friend.

I've also heard about other deaths. Deaths that never happened. A few lives saved each year by making sure we have zero hospital acquired central line infections. None. A few more by making sure no patients develop pneumonia while in the hospital. More by making sure every patient that is brought to our Cath lab has their arteries reopened within 70 minutes of arriving. The industry standard for excellence is 90 minutes, but is "good enough" good enough when you are pacing nervously in the waiting room? When seconds matter our team springs into action with their hard-wired protocols for addressing stroke symptoms.

Because each person that leaves our campus and goes home is a victory. Each hysterical attempt to to somehow fit the stroller, car seat, diaper bag(s) gift bags and the most overwhelming balloon bouquet into the car for the very first time is a victory for all of us. Every time eyes open and it's easier to breathe, less painful to move or a deadly force is no longer alive within a person's body it's a triumph we all share.

Sometimes my job feels stressful and overwhelming. There are so many things that need to get done, so many conversations to be had, so many meetings to attend, so many events to coordinate and support it seems like an exercise in tedium and futility.

Then I step back for a moment and think about what's going on around me, and what I'm actually doing. I realize that I get to come to work every day with superheroes. A team unmatched in talent and compassion. I get to witness the very best of the human spirit on display. I have the supreme honor to be there for no other reason than to cheer them on each day, and tell their stories to as may people as possible.

So now you know.

Feast the Winter Away

Why not a Recipe?

Potato Leek Soup:
(Serves 1 bachelor for approximately 1 week's worth of dinners)

Ingredients
3-4 Large Leeks
2 lbs. potatoes (peeled, or leave the skins on if you're rugged and manly)
4 cups chicken (or vegetable stock)
2 Tbsp. butter
Marjoram
Thyme
Parsley
1 cup lentils
1 clove of garlic
Salt and Pepper
Your favorite hot sauce (optional)
Cheese (optional)

Making the Magic Happen:

1. Wash your leeks and cut off all but the white and light green parts. Cut this up into small-ish pieces (I just chop my way down the stock, making little leek discs)
2. Toss these, along with the butter) in a big pot on low heat and let them simmer for 10 minutes. 
3. While that's going on wash and cut up your potatoes. Big chunks or small are fine, they'll get more attention later. 
4. Once everything is smelling super yummy add your stock and potatoes, bring everything to a boil and then let it simmer for 20 minutes.
5. I suppose you could probably cook the lentils in the same pot, but I choose to use my rice cooker. You can either cook them in two cups of water or stock. The garlic clove goes in there too, chopped up. 
6. Once your soup is nice a simmery you gotta blend up them 'tatoes a bit. I have an awesome immersion blender for this. If you don't have one you can scoop out about half the soup into your regular blender and give it a whirl. This is probably a good reason to cook the lentils separately and add them to the post-blending mix.
7. Add a couple teaspoons of parsley and a zesty pinch of Marjoram and Thyme. Salt and pepper to your liking as well.
8. My move is to add the hot sauce, lentils and cheese to my bowl when I serve it up, but you can experiment and find the way that works best for you.
9. Feast on this spectacular soup (ideally in flannel) and feel extra manly.

Seriously Guys... You Need a Flickr Account

Pop quiz. Your house burns down. How many photos do you have left? The few on your camera's memory card (provided your camera isn't in the house at the time of the fire). Maybe a few more if you have a laptop that's also not in the house. The couple hundred on your Facebook gallery. But chances are you're missing a lot.

Question two. How many photos do you have (in overall disk-space terms)? 50 gigabytes? 100 gigabytes? More?

Wouldn't it be great to have an offsite, web-based repository for every single one of your precious images?

Well Flickr has you covered!

Granted this is not the site's primary function. It's a social photography site designed to help you share and explore photos by interest/theme. But with their most recent update Flickr has upgraded their free account to now offer one terabyte of storage space. That's a lost of photos to upload (privately or publicly  and keep tucked away in the cloud in case something bad happens. Granted, it would be a horror to download your photo library one image at a time. But as a super mega emergency backup against worst-case scenarios (and FREE) it's a very viable option.

Dooooods

Hugo and I got to attend a meetup with several other doodles (and friends) this weekend. It was a blast:

Arrested Development: Season 4 (First viewing reflections)

I couldn't wait until I was finished with the much-anticipated Netflix-only Season 4 of Arrested Development before I started giving my thoughts on the new season. I've now made it through the entire season and feel a little more prepared to reflect on this chapter of the Bluth's tale as a whole.

And by more prepared I mean I'm still fairly lost.

As a huge fan of the original Arrested Development run I kind of expected Season 4 to somehow magically pick right up where we left off, with all the same dynamics, chemistries and interactions we'd grown to love. But much like running into a good friend from high school so many years later, Season 4 is an uneven commentary on how much we both have changed.

In my previous review I wondered if Season 4 was going to be like the original series, where it takes a while to get going and you only really appreciate the earlier episodes once you have the context of how things develop. I'd say that's definitely the case. But it's different at the same time. When you initially watch Arrested Development it takes 6-8 episodes to determine who/what the characters are, which explains the absurdity of their actions. Season 4 is much more deliberate. It's almost trying to be too smart for you.

I watched the first couple episodes with some friends this weekend. On the second go-round they make so much more sense, and reveal so much more. The laugh out loud moments were all still there. And while my friends were saying "What the heck is THIS and how does it have anything to do with anything else in this episode???" I was saying "Ooooooooh man!!!" Because it turns out Season 4 is filled with easter eggs. There are oh so many hints and suggestions at what's coming, but none of it makes sense at the time. Case in point: George Michael randomly popping up with a mustache during one 5-second scene in episode 1.

This whole method is especially confusing because it's never entirely clear where each event falls on the timeline for Season 4. Events from previous seasons are easily spotted thanks to a hilarious watermark that takes a jab at many of the show's cult fans as well as the current delivery method for the series. The current season/s shredded calendar makes it an ever-twisting knot of chronology that will take many viewings to untangle.

Maybe with time a lot of Season 4 will get considerably better, but ultimately it servies as a reminder of a show that you don't want to end, but ultimately ends again. And ends abruptly. One of the very last scenes of Season 4 perfectly encapsulates my experience with watching it. I'll save the spoiler for you so you can experience it for yourself, but suffice it to say that it will take quite a while for this iteration of Arrested Development to find itself at home alongside the original.

PROS:

• Cameos, cameos CAMEOS! These cannot be overstated. Could have used more of them in the later episodes. 
• Easter eggs. As I mentioned, there are so many things (some subtle and some obvious) that happen early on and don't make any sense until nearly the very end of the season. Just watching the pilot episode again there were tons of things I had no way of knowing until the second go-round. Definitely conducive to repeated viewings.
• Character interactions. Whether or not you understand the plot arc of Season 4, the dialogue is brilliant. Absolutely spot-on. In that regard Season 4 doesn't miss a beat.

CONS:

• UMMMMMM? The season as a whole felt very disjointed the first time through. Lots of things were happening but you couldn't really figure out what those things were because it jumped around so much. The plot could have been a little more linear. 
• This again? In some ways it felt like they didn't shoot enough new material for the entire season so they repeated many of the clips in multiple episodes to fill space. This also helped support the disjointed, nonlinear plot by taking you back to things you've already seen to remind you about it and provide more context and detail than the original viewing. Think of it as adding layers to a cinematic onion...????
• What About??? The new season does a great job of not beating us over the head will every one of the tried and true favorite jokes/lines/references. But honestly, I could have used a few more. Many of the great recurring characters make cursory appearances, but it seems like there were a few chances to find them some more "meaty leading man parts" as Tobias might say. And SPOILER ALERT: You don't get to enjoy William Hung and his Hung Jury in Season 4 :(

CONCLUSION:

I'll probably dive right back into a second viewing of Season 4, but I'm not sure it will ever land itself in the annual rotation with seasons 1-3. I appreciate the additional episodes of dialogue and further hilarity with characters I love. This also servies as a highlight/benchmark for the Netflix delivery model of exclusive content. I feel like in Season 3 of Arrested Development the show took an abrupt turn when they knew they were getting cancelled. Season 4 reminds me of that in a lot of ways. But it's frustrating that the ending was so abrupt and unsatisfying. Especially after watching the finale of The Office, which I consider to be one of the best finales I've ever seen. Arrested Development was given an entire season to tie up loose ends and go out on their own terms. Instead got us emotionally invested and then ended the series with a punch to the face... emotionally(?)

Arrested Development: Season 4 (Initial Thoughts)

Now the story of a hilarious TV series that lost everything, and the one streaming service that had no choice but to keep them all together...

2003 was a magical year. Enjoying my first year of college, making new friends and embracing the anarchy of living in the dorm.

There were also a couple of pimply-faced freshman on the TV scene in 2003. A documentary-style comedy about this... paper company in Scranton, PA? Awkwardly offbeat, but almost instantly addictive. I remember watching the first 2-3 episodes every single night after we discovered the show. Then when the next episode came out we added it to the rotation.

But this post is about Arrested Development.

I first heard about this Fox series in May/June of 2003. At that point the first season may have been just finishing, I can't remember. The first couple of episodes didn't really wow me like The Office. But it was summer time and I had nothing else to watch. So I soldiered on. By episode 8 or so I was totally hooked. The Bluth family had won me over with their absurdity, pomposity and Tobias Funke's unforgettable lines. An aside: everyone I've recommended this show to has elevated it to one of their all-time favorites immediately after a specific Tobias line. So hilariously perfect.

I'm not sure if Arrested Development is the perfect example of a cult TV series, or the perfect example of how Fox arbitrarily picks winners and losers among their shows. I think it was bounced around a few different time slots before eventually biting the dust in the third season. I was among the pissed off heartbroken masses that sailed into the sunset with the Bluth family, bought the entire series on DVD and watch it at least once a year and still laugh just as hard as the first time.

We'd all heard the rumors of an Arrested Development movie for so long that it seemed too good to be true. Every cast member would withhold denial of the movie so perfectly that it kept us all tantalized. But it was an unbelievable revelation to hear a fourth season was in production and would be released all at once on Netflix! After a year or so of anticipation I plopped down on my couch last Sunday to partake in the next chapter of this hilarious story.

Disclaimer: I'm only about six episodes in.

It's Arrested Development and all your favorite characters are back... At least I think they are... They have yet to all be in the same place at the same time. It feels like their schedules didn't allow the entire cast to physically be in the same place at the same time. The series picks up as though quite a bit of time has passed since season 3, which is probably a good choice. But it also makes the characters a bit more difficult to understand/predict. It's like watching the series for the first time again. Maybe by episode 8 I'll be loving it again, but for now it's like we're trying to get to know each other again, easing into jokes and themes.

It's not all doom and gloom. I've been laughing out loud. I'm loving the cameos in this season. There are TONS. A couple of the new characters are hilarious enough to help make up for the lack of power performances by the old standbys. They've even new ways to mix up the regular cast in some fun and unexpected ways. I'll say this too, they've done a great job of not incorporating every single joke and reference into the first couple episodes (although I could have used a couple more).

I went into season 4 of Arrested Development with astronomical expectations. In hindsight I should have approached it like season 1. I'm going to try and be a little more patient and impassive with the rest of this season and let it reveal itself to me. Then maybe it will all seem much funnier on the second (or eighth) time through...

Flashy New Flickr

I do a lot more posting about photography on another blog, but I think this news has enough crossover to make it worthwhile here. Plus, this is generally where I post reviews. Plus plus I haven't posted here in a while. Plus plus plus you really should be on Flickr.

I hadn't heard anything about Flickr making an updates to their site, so I was surprised when I logged in earlier today and was greeted with a blacktastic welcome screen. Did I type the URL wrong? No... those are my photos...

So let's backtrack. Flickr is probably best described as a social photography site. Lumping it in as social networking seem so limiting though. Let's backtrack again. I'll list some of the features/uses for Flickr (in the order I utilize them) and hopefully explain how Flickr is more than a photo Facebook.

1. Host and archive your images. In photography (especially digital photography) there's a saying: "If it doesn't exist in three places, it doesn't exist." If your photo is on your memory card it could be lost, damaged, corrupted or stolen. If it's on your computer hard drive the same risks apply. But there's also a saying that goes, "Once something is online it can never truly disappear." Flickr is an (admittedly poor) option to help with that. Throw your photos on Flickr and they're in the cloud. You can access them anywhere with an internet connection. With a free Flickr account you can host up to 200 photos, and with a paid account (something like $20 per year) you can have unlimited storage. That being said, I cannot imagine the amount of mourning and gnashing of teeth I would display if I was forced to recover the 4,000ish photos (a fraction of my total image library) one at a time via Flickr. But it's better than nothing.
2. Sharing images in other places. Like this:
   
   That from someone who doesn't know a thing about HTML. Luckily Flickr automatically produces code for various sizes of your photos that you can copy and paste anywhere. It also has integrated tools to share your images directly to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Blogger (hey, that's this!). 
3. Get Social. Ok, so now we're starting to get to social aspects of Flickr. You can find and friend other Flickr users. Then their new shots will always appear on your home page. You can also join Flickr groups based on camera, area of interest, geographic region and virtually any other factor you can think of. These groups have pools for sharing photos and discussion boards for learning all kinds of information. Some feature challenges/themes/contests to keep you inspired. 
4. Get Geeky. So Flickr captures and utilizes all the EXIF data from your shots. What's EXIF data? Your camera saves all kinds of information in your image files. The type of camera you use, the lens, all the settings... you can even set your name and copyright info to go in automatically. This helps you learn more about the shots you like, from your own photo stream and from others. You can use this information to deconstruct their shots and figure out how to apply the principles yourself. 
5. EXPLORE. You'll want to make sure you have hours of free time before clicking on Flickr's Explore link. The mystical wizards at Flickr have come up with a magic algorithm that ranks the interestingness of photos based on number of views, favorites and comments. Each day the 100(?) most popular images get populated into the Explore page pool. You can get lost for hours pouring over the beauty and brilliance that's displayed here. But wait, there's more! You can search for photos on a map of the world (some cameras also save the location where photos were taken, or you can manually place them on a map). Talk about vacation planning potential! You can also do camera research by exploring by camera and looking at images others have taken.

So back to the update. I've been on Flickr since 2007. During that time the site has stayed pretty much the same. Boringly functional (my words). I personally kinda like that. I still have a LiveJounrnal and have opted out of the updates that have been applied since I started my account in 2001. I'm reluctant to change. But I'm super excited about Flickr's changes. The smooth black interface and automatic tiling of photos feels really good. And it seems like almost every photo looks better against a black background anyways. The look is a little more Facebooky, but it's tolerable. It looks like there's still some kinks to work out, but I'm pretty confident in giving my thumbs up to the new Flickr. 

Call of Duty, Black Ops II (Round 2 review)

Shortly after its release I weighed in with my thoughts on Call of Duty - Black Ops II. Again, I'll note that I am anything but skilled and talented at video games. But I've enjoyed the Call of Duty series since Modern Warfare 2 and found myself really enjoying a few of the features in Black Ops II. That being said, here's an update on my experience as a far less than skilled player.

I'm still loving the freedom and flexibility available in this game. Having virtually unlimited control on how to equip weapons, items and perks has really made it fun for me. I have not purchased any of the expansion maps (or the expansion gun, which was a new feature in Black Ops II). I'm starting to get a bit tired of the basic set of maps. But overall I'm enjoying myself. With just a few gripes.

Highlights:
Using the "points" system to create classes has lead to to experiment a lot. I even tried having a class with no guns at all, though this was scrapped pretty quickly I still managed to have some fun games.

Scorestreaks as opposed to killstreaks. This rewards me for playing objectives, and while the big score items are still out of my reach I can almost always get a couple of the low-level rewards each game.

EMP grenades. So very powerful. I'll come back to this is a sec.

Permanent weapon unlocks. I can't remember if I've prestiged three or four times in this game (for those who don't know, "prestige" means reaching the top level and then starting over again from the bottom. You get special recognitions, but have to grind away to unlock all the weapons/perks again). I think I only prestiged once in each of the other Call of Duty games I played. But being able to permanently unlock a high-level gun and have it immediately available again makes things more manageable  For those familiar with the game I chose the Scorpion EVO, partly because it doesn't unlock until a very high level and partly because it seems to suit my natural play style of running in to trouble too quickly and trying to spray myself out of it.

Gripes:
Same old story of skill inequity. I was under the impression that Black Ops II was employing some kind of skill-based matchmaking feature (meaning you'd get put into games with people at your same skill level). At first it seemed like this was happening and I was making some of my best scores ever. But I think that had more to do with the fact that the game was new and everyone was still figuring out the maps/weapons. I think my scores are still slightly better overall, but they definitely back in the 2-ish deaths per kill range. On top of that there's the endless hours I spend on the losing end of round after round of merciless drummings. For example, I recently had a match where I finished 2-26 (that's 2 kills and 26 deaths) and was the second-highest scoring player on my team. That means the rest of my 6-8 person team got 2 or fewer kills and more than 26 deaths. Not fun. And I can tell you how that happens. It's my next gripe.

Mega scorestreaks. In previous Call of Duty games there have been some super killstreaks available. If you got 25 kills without dying you could deploy a tactical nuke that would kill everyone and (in some versions of the game) automatically score a victory for your team. This feature is gone in Black Ops II, but another annoying streak feature still exists. There are certain streaks like the Lodestar, Warthog, Swarm, Dogs  that are virtually guaranteed to net you a stout number of kills before they can be stopped (if they can be stopped at all). Nothing is more rage-inducing than being opposite a team that manages to keep a steady stream of these high-level streaks active and beating you into the ground as soon as you respawn. I have two possible solutions for this problem. 1.) Make the EMP scorestreaks easier to attain. The EMP kills all radar and active streaks. Maybe make it easier to attain, but have it run for a shorter duration (10-15 seconds). 2.) Make all scorestreaks above a certain level only available once per round, per team. Once one team member calls in a Lodestar that's it for your team. This would also encourage teams to work together to use a variety of the high-level streaks and make the most of them. Call in Lodestar, Dogs and Warthog all at once? Ok, but if an opponent has an EMP ready to go you've just lost all that potential for the rest of the round.

"Protips"
I've tried to make it abundantly clear that I'm not good at this game. But I have found a few secrets for success. Try these things if you haven't already:

EMP and Engineer Perk: These two are a lethal combo. The Engineer perk allows you to see enemy equipment glowing in red. This includes Bouncing betties, claymores, shock charges and killstreaks like Guardian and Sentry Gun. One blast from an EMP grenade will take out any of these items, netting you points and denying the opposing team deaths. In addition, many players can't stand to venture away from their equipment so Engineer helps give you a pretty good idea of where folks might be hiding out. If you use the Scavenger perk as well you can keep the grenades flying non-stop, as long as you find bodies to reload from.

Love Launchers: If you're not good the enemy is killing you a lot. If they enemy is killing you a lot they'll be calling in scorestreaks. Chances are a lot of them will be in the air. Stay proactive on the launcher and keep the skies clear. Nothing is more annoying to me than having my UAV shot down right away. So I try to annoy the opposing team by shooting down their air support as soon as it deploys. This is especially important if the air support has the ability to shoot at you.

The Road Less Traveled: This is a risk/reward tip. If your entire team is heading one way, consider going a different direction. The enemy is likely to focus on the area where the most people are shooting at them, which means if you come from a place of silence you might be able to catch them unexpected. I think the technical term for this is "flanking," haha. As an added bonus, this really helps your team achieve objectives as well.

Stuck in a rut? Mix it up. Take advantage of the huge variety of weapons, equipment and perks at your disposal. Getting bored/frustrated with the game? Try things you never use/do! This could be a different gametype, different weapons, perks or a general playstyle. Back to the launchers for a minute. When I get frustrated/angry I try to just shoot down all the air support possible. Sometimes I even go as far as killing myself after my two launcher shots are spent so I'm ready to take down the next UAV or chopper. Early on in the game I was having success with sniper rifles. Bow I'm not using them as much, but experimenting has landed a shotgun in one of my main/regular classes and I'm trying to use handguns a lot more.

Bottom line: The game is still fun. Not the best/greatest game ever. Maybe not even the best Call of Duty title ever (I still like Modern Warfare 2 and 3), but fun enough to still be a nice diversion. I don't have any plans to buy the downloadable content (which I've always bought in the past) and may abstain from the next Call of Duty game when it's released, but mashing buttons and shouting at the TV is a fun way to shut off the brain and have some evening fun.

Yesterday's Gone: A Kindle Serial

After my pleasant journey through The Scourge I was thrilled to delve into another Kindle Serial. Because I'm a sucker for deals I decided to spring for the first season of Yesterday's Gone when it came up as one of the daily deals. When I say "spring," I guess I mean take advantage of a no-brainer. The Kindle daily deals are my literary equivalent of buying a movie ticket. You throw a couple bucks at a story that sounds interesting and hopefully get a decent amount of enjoyment out of the experience.

Plot in a nutshell: Some mysterious event has occurred, causing a majority of the world's population to vanish. Those who are left struggle for survival and search for answers, observing other mysterious and ambiguous changes in the world... and themselves. In typical disaster/survival fashion there's rampant drama over who to trust, whose lead to follow and sudden revelations that make for outstanding cliffhangers between episodes of this serial.

Well, if Yesterday's Gone was a movie it would be VERY long. Not in a bad way exactly. It would remind me of The Godfather (provided you hadn't read the book before seeing the movie). As I recall you're a good hour or so into the The Godfather Part 1 before Vito gets shot the key incident that triggers the rest of the plot. I did a little research before starting Yesterday's Gone and it sounds like this is regarded as one of the top Kindle Serials to date. At first this seemed like high praise  but by the end of the first episode (the episodes for this serial seem quite long by the way, again long in a good way) I was hooked on the plot and eager to keep rolling.

Since many reviews compared Yesterday's Gone to the TV series Lost, I wasn't too surprised when the story began with countless unexpected/unexplained things happening and little resolution. The only part that made this difficult was keeping track of numerous character/plot lines. This is probably intentional to keep me from seeing something completely obvious that's going on under my nose. I'll do my best not to spoil it any any future reviews.

I'm not quite completely through the first season, and almost certain to buy the others once I finish (I believe there are three seasons total). I've found myself attaching to characters and story lines as they progress and merge. I still have far more questions than answers (I have no idea what happened yet, and even less of an idea what may happen next) but I'm attached to the characters and captivated by the story.

The Scourge: A Kindle Serial (Part II)

I've clearly tripped and fallen down a rabbit hole. Kindle Serials are a sneaky sneaky kind addictive. I got into The Scourge thinking it would be some enjoyable literary fast-food. Which it is. But it's also quite enjoyable, to the point of addictive. By dishing out the story in bite sized chunks I found myself constantly waiting for the next installment and then eagerly devouring it when it arrived. And now that this iteration of the series is over it's a given that I'll subscribe to the next season when it comes out.

By contrast, I recently purchased season one of Yesterday's Gone, another wildly popular Kindle Serial, when it was on sale. I'm finding myself less motivated to pick my way through this story. Granted it has a different pacing, but I think part of it is knowing that I already have the entire season loaded up. The progress bar moves so slowly between the dots that represent episodes. I think part of the allure Kindle Serials benefit from is their episodic delivery. Maybe it's a novelty factory. I find myself vastly preferring the on-demand model for TV shows, watching entire seasons in a couple days. That's more like the traditional model for books, and with some kinds of content I definitely prefer to have everything at one. But this whole concept of being rationed out a story is really enjoyable.

Sidenote: I really hate when stories end abruptly. It's more about the story ending without resolution than it is the abrupt ending. If I wanted to speculate on how a story might end I would just not read the ending. I know some literary circles probably say that it's brave to write an open-ended story, but most of the time I think it's more brave to pick a direction/destination for the plot, take readers there and deal with the consequences. Ann Patchett consistently does this beautifully. After reading one of her books you pick up all others knowing with near-certainty that your heart will be broken in the final pages. But you love her all the same for sharing a story with such beauty and promise that each time you end up believing the best could be possible.

Roadside Picnic: A Review

A while back I picked up Roadside Picnic from the super sale section on the Kindle store. I understand it's considered to be a sci-fi classic by the Russian brothers Arkaday and Boris Strugatsky. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a fascinating read.

The story is set in Russia, the site for one of several extraterrestrial visits. Little (if anything) is known about the visitors. Most of the knowledge is gleaned from the sites of their visits. The geography has changed in visible and invisible ways. It affects those who enter the sites, both government scientists and renegade "stalkers" who scour the zones for discarded alien artifacts and technology to sell on the black market.

You are invited to follow one of the stalkers through years of exploration of the zone, the politics and sociology of the alien visits and how humanity copes with and understands knowledge power.

I really wanted to like Roadside Picnic more than I did. I'm a sucker for evaluating society through the lens of science fiction. But in what is probably a stroke of genius overall Roadside Picnic provides more questions than answers. Some stories lend themselves to interpretation/subjectivity, but I really wanted a few more firm answers. It may have also been partially that this is a translation from a Russian novel written a decade or so before I was born. In that sense it was enormously fascinating. It's interesting to see how similar we all are as people. Regardless of nation or creed, we all ask many of the same questions and seek to define ourselves and the world in similar terms.

The Scourge: A Kindle Serial

My reading habits are funny on the Kindle. Maybe it's just that I'm cheap. The only time I every pay full price for books is when I'm traveling and I treat myself to gems from my magical bookshelf at the Powell's in PDX. Since there's no half.com for buying used Kindle books I end up talking myself into bargain books from Amazon's Kindle Daily Deals or the under $3.99 section. I just still struggle with the concept of paying the full trade paperback price for an ebook.

As a result I think it's fair to say that I'm partaking of a different demographic of literature. Yes, there are many classics that are free/nearly free for the Kindle, but that's not what I'm reading. I'm delving deeply into sci-fi and (kind of) fantasy, two genres that are flush with affordable titles. Haven't delved into romance yet. Not sure I'm that desperate to save a buck.

Nestled firmly in this wheelhouse is The Scourge, a Kindle Serial that combines the courtly middle ages with a zombie apocalypse. A band of three nights seeks to cut their way through the hordes in the hopes of finding/saving his wife. They pick their way through (somewhat) historically accurate cities/settings and encounter much of the class/religious conflict of the time in addition to flesh-lusting undead.

I'll be honest, I'm liking the Serial concept. I was a little concerned that they might be underwhelming in length at $2 a subscription (somewhere around 6-8 episodes for that price) but it's plenty of mass with plenty of sugar and fat. Kind of like ebook junk food. The episodic aspect is nice too. I'm motivated to quickly read through each delivery and then eagerly await the next release. I understand there are some online communities for many of the serials so I might check that out.

From a price/value mix the serial concept is working for me. If other titles are as well-written as The Scourge this will probably be my Kindle media of choice. If reading paper books ever becomes completely unappealing to me, or if I want to load and travel light up for a long trip maybe I'll break down and drop some big money for what I consider real literature. Or I could just buy a ton of this stuff!

Santacula: A review

Santacula is the second release from Winchester Malone. Full disclosure, he's a friend of mine, so that will definitely affect my review. While I sincerely enjoyed his first book, Dawn of the Yeti, this was a very different story.

Much like the original Dracula, it's written as a collection of available reports/media  surrounding a specific incident. In this 21st Century update the media has changed. You now get texts, emails, social media posts and web-based news reports that surround a surprising tale. A group of young vampires, tired of perpetually being on Santa's naughty list create an elaborate plot to confront the man in red. What results is a shocking accident that changes the course of Christmas, and the world, forever.

I read this book partly out of my friendship with the author and partly because I enjoyed Dawn of the Yeti. The subject mater is a little out of my usual wheelhouse (though I've found myself reading a lot more sci-fi on my Kindle), but it was still a pretty enjoyable read. If you're waning to sample a Winchester Malone book, I'd suggest Dawn of the Yeti. If you're into vampires or want a dark and amusing Christmas read than Santacula is definitely worth checking out.

New Year

I'm doing my best to not let this blog languish. I originally started it when I was moving cross-country so my family and friends could know I wasn't chopped up in someone's freezer. But now that geography has changed it's still handy to have one place where people can go for the latest and greatest.

Happy New Year!


This picture is actually from Christmas Day, but I suspect today will be similar. Just less rainy. Frankly it's a glorious day. I told my mom I would put a roast in the oven for her at noon. As soon as that's done I'm off to carpe the diem. I don't know how to explain it, and maybe it's just a placebo effect, but this morning just seemed... optimistic. Maybe it's the gloriously golden sun on a frosty/snowy morning. Whatever it is I like it.

2013 figures to be a pretty big year. I've not worked at this job for longer than any other I've had since college. I've been a homeowner for over a year and a puppy-daddy for 7 months (has it really only been that long???). It's highly likely that I'll get a different car this year... and of course there's the elephant in the corner, turning 30. I'm not too stressed about it, just another milestone.

Hopefully the rest of 2013 is as optimistic and filled with potential as this morning. And hopefully I get off the couch and do something about it.