I look flabby around the waist which I HATE SO MUCH, I plan to vacation in Turkey this summer and have to tone up before then!

A work friend (who is very fat and needs to loose weight) suggested I try a fast weight loss program called Fat Loss for Idiots that she told me she is using to loose weight FAST with their dieting program!

Apparently she’s been using the weight loss program diet advice for 4 weeks and on average has lost 6lbs a week without feeling hungry (she says it’s not a starvation diet). That’s 24lbs or almost 2 stone (if I remember the conversion correctly).

My friend must be 10 stone to 15 stone over weight, so I honestly didn’t notice the 2 stone weight loss until she told me about it, (she’s been on about 50 diets since I met her) though for just a month on the weight loss program 2 stone is very good rate of weight loss. If she continues at this rate it will only take 5 months to lose 10 stone (which would make her my normal sort of body weight).

Anyway, back to my fat ass which naturally is my main concern

I signed up for the weight loss program 2 weeks ago and followed the diet directions (mostly, they are easy to follow ) and have lost 8lbs so far!

I’ve not felt hungry all the time on their diet like I normally do on what could be called fad diets, there’s been a few times where I’d have killed for a cream bun, but because I don’t feel starved all the time I’ve been able to stave off those cravings easily so far and mostly stick to the diet.

I’d say this is a natural/safe way to loose weight fast, there’s no weird foods to eat, like only eat tofu or something

I’d be very happy to loose 1 stone, (which I think will be easy to achieve) though would be great if I could loose 2 and a 1/2 stone, so wish me luck.

You can find the easy weight loss program at the Fat Loss for Idiots website.

If you sign up for the program and loose weight (or don’t) please post a comment below, would love to hear how others are are doing trying to loose weight. I’ll add to this in a few weeks time to let my readers know how I’m getting on.

Call me a fool. Please.

As you might have guessed I fell utterly, deeply in love with the World of Warcraft. Any time not spent researching (generally in the wee hours of the morning) was spent exploring and leveling in the amazing world that the guys at Blizzard have created.

Everything about this game is phenomenal: the quests, raids, the scenery (early in the game other players routinely said things like, “Wow, this game is beautiful”), the interface, and even the music. Sometimes I would go into a building owned by the Alliance merely to admire a certain theme in World of Warcraft.

I even made good friends: I found people both from my own area and the Chicago area who were in to the game of WOW. We’ve exchanged e-mails so we can meet up. I’m also interested in keeping up relations with my readers (and thus people who are interested in the same things that I am).

The other day while playing WOW, everyone decided to abandon the normal leveling quests and start huge raids on enemy lands. The sad thing is that the servers went down a couple of time for maintenance, talk about bad timing.

In my own raid group, we had got together two raiding parties amounting to almost 80 players, intending to storm Kalimdor as we had done earlier in the week. The first time, we made it to the very heart of Durotar (one of the main enemy areas) before being slaughtered by high-level NPC guards.

Unfortunately, just as the massive army that we had made today arrived at the gates of the Barrens, the World of Warcraft server shutdown message came on!

Everyone cried out “Apocalypse NOW” and “At least we’ll die together” and all kinds of other silly things. It was great. But that was not the end. A few hours later, the server was back up, and this time the guys at Blizzard had tossed some impossibly difficult enemies at the gates of Stormwind (capital of the humans) and everyone tried to take them out. Unfortunately, I don’t think that even with all of our combined efforts that a single one of those guys were destroyed..

Get the World of Warcraft game.

The hype is justified.

Update: I’ve been playing this online game for what feels like years now and the World of Warcraft update Wrath of the Lich King that came out late last year (January 2009 now) took the game to new heights. When the other addon The Burning Crusade that gave us the Outlands was released we leveled our level 60 characters to level 70 to open new raids culminating in the Black Temple, the same was true with the Wrath of the Lich King we had to level to 80 fast if we wanted to be the firstto complete the new 25 man raids!

When the Burning Crusade was released a friend I’d met through WOW let me use a leveling ebook from Zygor Gaming Guides, it made leveling to level 70 so much easier so I bought a copy as well. I have many online WOW friends who play a similar amount of time as me that are still leveling their first level 80 character while I’ve got 3!

Highly recommended you buy the ebook for fast leveling to level 80.

Cya in game.

First up: Creative Writing for Game Design.

Then later tonight I have Graphics File Format and Data Compression Techniques.

Well, the writing class is going to be odd as hell, it’s with an English teacher who has some wonky ideas

And as for the graphics file format class…I swear, that teacher always turns CS classes into math classes

Up for today, I get Design and Analysis of Algorithms, Advanced Mechanics, and History of Film and Animation. I’m pissed off at the latter, since in addition to being a 3 hour class on Wednesdays, I also apparently have to go in every Friday and watch more films!

Anyone else starting up school, and/or are taking any interesting classes?

Perhaps, an even better question, is if gamers prefer gameplay or graphics in their games? I believe there have been several releases that have allowed gamers to provide an answer to this very question. My analysis of Half-Life 2 and also an outsider’s impression of World of Warcraft (WoW) are below.

Let’s start with Half-Life 2

Here, we have a game that has been in development for a very long time and followed by a long release delay. Even though, it has nice features and one of the best single-player stories I’ve seen in a long time, the engine and it’s features have become quite dated now. Even if it did release last year, FarCry’s graphics and other features put it to shame.

Regardless, if I were to pick between FarCry or Half-Life 2, I would have to go with Half-Life 2 for sure. Why? Because the gameplay and story was just more fun to play. I really felt like I was a character in a movie, which had a decent story and held on to it. One of the worst things we see many games do, is that they start out with a nice story and then they take it off on some other mutant or psycho tangent.

So, score one for gameplay. FarCry had better graphics, but Half-Life 2’s gameplay will bring me back.

Now, let’s look at World of Warcraft and EverQuest 2

Both MMORPG games released close together. I had the chance to really play EverQuest 2 and learn it’s gameplay and graphics, but I denied a chance to play WoW after a failed attempt to get into the open beta (thanks GameSpy for the lame exclusives you had on World of Warcraft). Most of my arguments against WoW is really with it’s low-poly graphics engine. Although, there are many out there that would argue against me in order to defend WoW, they end up admitting the same conclusion in the end.

With EverQuest 2, my biggest complaint was with the gameplay. It just wouldn’t cut it at all as a single player and fails even more as an MMO, IMO anyway. It did have some nice graphics, which didn’t look low-poly, no matter how small the creatures were. But, it lacked the feeling of being a unique character and the missions and combat system within the stagnant environment really drags the gameplay down to a waste of money.

So, if I was really interested in playing one of these, I would most likely get my money and enjoyment out of World of Warcraft, over the waste of time in EverQuest 2. I think the middle-road MMORPG that offers a blend of both, will be the upcoming Guild Wars. But, more on this in the future.

To summarize then, for me, I would go for gameplay over graphics. But, there is a point where I draw the line with graphics. Since, I only have limited time to play (with work and family requiring time), I can be pretty selective. But, there are many others out there in the same boat.

This means that game developers really should take a break and analyze what gamers are really looking for in a game. As the next generation games are now a here generation, it’s time to look forward to another evolution to where game developers get with it, and start providing the right mix of features and deliver what gamers really want. Hopefully, in the process, we’ll see a shakeout in the industry where the copy-cats and wannabes fade off, leaving the real game developers that have the gamer in mind, rather than profits. Somewhere in the future, a game is coming to where we don’t have to make a choice between gameplay or graphics.

Until then, I’ll keep my eye out for the first game to satisfy all of the categories that would make a great game.

BTW, what would you choose?
Gameplay or Graphics?

Ok, I managed to finish Half Life 2 a few days ago and had time to digest the whole experience, now let’s do final comparison between these 2 games.

In the first round, FarCry totally dominated Half Life 2 on the graphical enhanced features like water and heat distortions. Althought FarCry had a nice physics engine, you could tell that it wasn’t fine tuned and released kind of sloppy. This was evident in watching how dead bodies would be all limp and sliding down slopes (no matter how steep or not it was).

Half Life 2 definately flaunts its physics engine by designing the whole gameplay experience around the use of the new gravity gun. You get this pretty early in the game and is used throughout the rest of the game. You’ll even get to see the “ragdoll” physics toward the end of the game. This is where you can see Half Life 2’s engine start to shine.

If playing isn’t enough to notice the physics changes, just start looking around through the new Hammer editor and the new model viewer. You’ll quickly see how physics has become very integrated and in a realistic way too.

Half Life 2 introduced various implementations of NPC co-op throughout the game, which really added to the experience and was one of my favorite parts. Well, maybe until a few skirmishes with your rebel squad. They had the worst aim and most of the time, my 4 NPC squad would only provide 20-40% support. They often got in my way, especially when a grenade was tossed my direction and they’re just standing there blocking the escape doorway. I was always happy when they all died. That’s just how bad they were. But, the game was designed so that more would join up with you along the way. I was real tempted to take them out myself.

Now, I know LucasArts is working on a game called Squad Commander, which puts you in command of a clone army squad and you’re able to designate where each soldier should go. I’ve seen screenshots and a nice video on it, and Half Life 2 only gives you a taste of NPC co-op mode. Squad Commander will do a full implementation of this, as the whole game is really designed for it.

FarCry really didn’t have much of a co-op feature, so there isn’t a whole lot to compare with it. FarCry did offer a really huge map (level) size though. It was large enough to fit an entire island in a single level. It provided for some pretty far distances, horizontally, more than any other game so far, including Half Life 2 .

Now, Half Life 2 has definately increased their map size quite a bit. In the game, you really felt this in a more vertical way. FarCry did this in a more horizontal way. Regardless, Half Life 2 really shows it off toward the end of the game and is enough to make you go “wow” and just enjoy the experience.

I have to say, that the storyline and the fun gameplay in Half Life 2 definately beats all other FPS games I’ve played. Valve actually had a good story and enough content to keep it moving smoothly all the way through. You didn’t find yourself eventually fighting a ton of mutants (e.g. FarCry, RtCW), nor did you find yourself in an alternate realm either (e.g. Half Life 1). It was really like playing a character in a sci-fi movie.

Another cool element Half Life 2 provided, was in the various puzzles you had to solve in order to proceed with the game. This wasn’t your typical FPS, where you just run through the entire game with guns ablazing and fragging everything in site along the way. No, you’ll definately need to exercise some problem solving.

One last feature that deserves some credit, is in the updated NPC models and their more lively faces. These new NPC characters are probably as realistic as you’re going to find for awhile. IMO, they even pwn those found in EverQuest II. You just look at the facial expressions, there are plenty that you see. I mean, you’ll see many different facial expressions on the major characters. Everything from feeling surprised to showing concern. You’ll see it in the cheeks, nose, mouth, chin, eyebrows, and even the 2 diagonal wrinkles between the eyebrows on the forehead in times of anger and concern. The mouths move perfectly with the voices too.

So, overall, I’d say that even without the features it failed to deliver in round 1, Half Life 2 definately comes out ahead of FarCry (and every other FPS game out there so far). Sure, the engine is a little dated for some of the graphical features, but it seems that only Valve can deliver quality gameplay and storyline that will definately allow you to totally emerse yourself into the game as if you were really there.

It’s definately worth the $50. I can’t say a whole lot for the Silver and Gold offers on Steam, which you really are just paying Valve again for the games we played with and own with Half Life 1.

There’s my take on the game, please share your experiences here after you’ve had your chance to experience it.

What was perhaps even more interesting, however, was to discuss the state of politics in Europe. One of my biggest concerns in this country is how divided we’ve become. It scares me that my republican friends hate the democrats so much and my democratic friends hate the republicans so much.

Paolo told me that he felt Europe was similar. We discussed the European constitution and he described the battle over the place of religion in that constitution. Ultimately he said that they decided to keep religion out of the constitution, but the battle was fierce. He feels Europe is divided much the same way American is. It was interesting because I usually don’t think of Europe in those terms.

And with the change in season, it’s time for a change in cocktail. Last winter was all about bourbon, but while bourbon should retain a place in your holiday season’s imbibing (mix a couple fingers of Maker’s Mark in with your ‘nog as you sit by the tree this Christmas Eve), it is the martini that will get you through the office holiday party this year.

Like the season, the martini is crisp and cold. Made with gin, never vodka, the martini should be served straight up in a martini glass (the high-healed dress shoe of the glassware world). Try it with Bombay Sapphire for a classic taste or with Beefeater’s Wet for just a hint of grapefruit. Use a twist instead of olives to give the drink a fresher taste – the citrus also makes this cocktail the kissing cousin of last summer’s drink, the gin gimlet.

3 oz. Bombay Sapphire or Beefeater Wet gin
1/2 oz. Dry vermouth
garnish with a twist.

Shake all ingredients over ice until very cold. Strain into a cocktail glass, rub rim of glass with lemon peel and serve with a lemon twist.

Maybe it was the walking 4 miles a day on concrete in them, but after a couple years I finally wore through the soles. I was crushed, but I had heard that you could have them “recrafted” by Allen-Edmonds, so I dropped them off at the store to try out this service.

I just got them back (they mail them back to you). Wow. They’re look and feel brand new. It’s amazing. And I’m told you can do this over and over again. I’m hooked.

In any case, I have to say I hate the Starbucks holiday cups. Way, way too red. So Caribou, with cups in several pleasantly muted colors, wins on cups. Also in Caribou’s favor: at least in Chicago, they have pastries from Deerfield’s bakery which are very, very yummy.

Holiday Season: Advantage Caribou (or The Bou, as Kat calls it. It should be noted that the cups say “Bou Wonderland” on them, which must be a shout-out to her.)

I had a fight with my TiVo.

I know, I know. Everyone who knows me knows that I usually have nothing but praise for my TiVo. We’re such a great couple. How could we be fighting? After all, TiVo changed my life. I no longer watch commercials and now look at the rest of the world and wonder how they can bear to watch television without TiVo.

But last night we had a bit of a row. You see, TiVo didn’t record Lost. TiVo, who knows me so well, recorded The West Wing instead of Lost. I want to see both The West Wing and Lost. Lost, for those of us in the central time zone, is on from 7-8 and The West Wing is on from 8-9. So this shouldn’t be a problem.

The bastards at ABC, though, scheduled Lost from 7-8:02 and TiVo, realizing that there was an overlap, just recorded The West Wing because it thought The West Wing was a higher priority.

I know I can’t stay mad. TiVo’s heart was in the right place. And every relationship has the occasional tiff. Right?