Airline restrictions

I know that it is fairly common knowledge that mp3 players do not disrupt airplane navigation systems or communications yet they still require them to be off until 30,000 ft. Gizmodo recently had an article showing that this practice is nonsense. I agree that everyone should pay attention to the safety announcements but then I think I should have every right to listen to music for takeoff (and have done so many times).

In other news Arkham Asylum 2 was announced. Very excited for this. That game is probably tied for Uncharted 2 for my game of the year.

I think I found the worst MW2 Game Tip guide ever

Modern Warfare 2 is not that complex, but what if you need some tips? I would avoid this guide...

Here are some really good tips from it...

"You'll have a few seconds before the start of each match to figure things out. See if you can formulate a group plan with the leader of the team, or someone with a higher rank than you. If they don't provide any ideas (or just want to go out and kill, as numerous players do), keep a close tab on your teammates' actions."

"One death can make all the difference between a win and loss."

"You'll eventually get lost while exploring a map for the first time. That's completely acceptable, no matter what teammates say."

"These maps, expertly designed by Infinity Ward, are meant to be taken advantage of, and not just mere background settings for you to spill blood in." Oh, I thought I was just supposed to die a lot...

"Each class has specific guns, such as the Barrel M107 sniper rifle (perfect for those long-range kills)"

"Soldiers will constantly be on the prowl, looking for targets to put in their sights."

Man, after reading this guide I'll get level 70 in no time. Watch out world...

Does Swine Flue Turn You Into a Pig? This and all your most pressing questions answered within.

I've met some pretty smart people in my time. I went to a pretty good school, studied some pretty difficult subjects, and been posed some pretty difficult questions. It befuddles me that of the people I've met so many are vehemently opposed to vaccination.

This is topic is heavier than what I generally think about on a day to day basis (sports, TV, boobs, TV, boobs, etc.) but I think it's worth discussing. Wired.com has a great section right now about vaccination and the ignorant, uninformed celebrities posing as experts. For instance, one of the most outspoken voices on the subject is Jenny McCarthy, whose child has autism. McCarthy, and others like her, have blamed a certain chemical in the vaccination perservatives for causing a spike in autism. The claims have been studied by the CDC and apparently refuted, but to no avail against the masses of fear mongers.

I get the flu vaccine every year and while it may be proven at some point down the road that we are creating some sort of super virus that is imprevious to all but a vaccine made of pure Kryptonite, at this point there's no proof and I'd personally like to stay healthy during the winter. That way I can watch more TV and, God help me, more boobs.

What's so "super" about these stores?

So typically I make it a habit to avoid places like Walmart. The same thing as anyone else, they move in, sweep competition, then jack prices, etc. That's not the point of this rant though! These "Super"stores really freaking piss me off. We'll start with Walmart and move to Meijer shortly thereafter:

I have recently bought a couple of watches that obviously come too big than needed. Also have an older one that needed a battery replacement. No hard task for a trained jewelry professional at any megastore, right? Since it was on my way home, I caved to my standard avoidance of such places and pulled in.
Well, apparently the new policy is "we only work on Walmart watches." Are you kidding me? Either way, its a customer, its service, and its profit! It takes all of 2 seconds with the right tool to take out a link in a watch chain and so long as you have the battery its a standard procedure to replace that as well! And look at it this way, if it breaks, and the person acknowledged that this is a possibility upon requesting repair, you can then sell them a new watch! In what possible scenerio is repairing the watch a BAD idea?

Now for Meijer: I took some photo's there to have them printed so I can hang them on my wall on Monday. 3 8x10's. There were NO problems with this situation at all, everything went well, I bought 1 hour pick-up cause they were cheaper, glossy prints, and when I picked them up, they looked great (and are on my walls, lookin good).
Fast forward not even a full 48 hours. Seriously, 2 days. I went in on Wednesday afternoon to print more pictures: 10 4x6s and 2 8x10s. Something seemed weird this time, like I had less choices, and at the end of submitting my pictures I realized that the 1 hour photo option was gone. Also, my 8x10s were matte prints, and the glossy option was also missing. I asked, and the lady said in the last 2 days, they changed their entire system. Aparently shipped off their "one hour photo" printers. Seriously? You're going to FORCE people to pay more, even when the print options are more limited?!?
I discussed this with the guy that sold me the prints and he agreed with me, not good business. Don't they realize that people who select 1-hour photo then turn around and shop their store for an hour? Don't they realize that people also buy WAY more if they have to wait an hour than their normal shopping list? Certainly the last time I'm utilizing Meijer for any photo needs.

These stores make the most unethical business practices their MO when they move into towns, but they don't make the smart business moves when it has to do with the day to day services and sales? Unbelievable...

Dead Space & a Glitch to Rant About

So I am playing Dead Space. (I will just skip the part about how awesome this game is and how everyone should play it. Its not that scary. Great game experience.) I'm about to finish the game (I'm on chapter 9 out of 12) before I have to return the game to Blockbuster in a few hours. I kill a boss and I'm running down a hallway till I reach a locked door with a slot to plug in a battery to open it. I begin my search for said battery. Nowhere to be seen. I run back the way I came to a locked door. I pace back and forth between the two doors three or four times and see no battery. Thinking its just a easily fixable glitch I let myself die and reload the area.

I do this and there is still no battery. I then turn off my game and load my last save game. I beat the boss again, get to the hallway and there is still no battery to open the door. What the eff? I pause the game and hop on my computer to search the web. I find that this is normal and that people have fixed it by going back to chapter 8 and playing through chapter 9 all over again. Some people said they had to restart the game completely. I was about six and a half hours in. Awesome. I popped the disc out and returned it to Blockbuster.

Something like this should be found as a bug during development and testing. Or, since this game has been out for a year, should have been patched by now. A simply amazing game broke so I couldn't advance any further and wouldn't let me finish. Sad news bears.

Seriously though, pick up this game, its only $20 now and you probably won't have this happen to you. If I would have paid to rent the game I would have complained for my money back, but meh.