kevinpaquet.com

Somehow I don’t think Calvin would appreciate being portrayed by a girl.

Via Reddit.

Find The Complete Calvin and Hobbes on Amazon

Great White Snark

I am tentatively considering reading every finalist or winning Pulitzer novel.  Looking over the list I realized I’ve already read approximately 20%, and there is little that I like more than an ambitious reading goal.  Butler’s book of short stories (see below) won in 1993.  I really loved this book (it is simultaneously so serious and funny!), and I love the majority of the ones that I’ve already read, but do I want to be so tied down, so restricted in my reading choice?  I’m not sure yet, although there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.  Note to self.

Last week’s readings:

• Michael Ondaatje-In the Skin of a Lion (recommend x 1000)
• Robert Olen Butler-Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (also recommend x 1000)
• Maile Chapman-Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto (will elaborate on)

On to a not yet heralded book: Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto is so gorgeously written.  It is perhaps a nod to Chapman’s ease with words & scenes that although I largely read this book in a bathing suit on my couch, desperate for the AC to kick on, I was easily transported to Finland in the winter.  I hate saying that I was transported somewhere by a book, because that is totally cheesy, but alas, it wasn’t hard to become entirely absorbed in Chapman’s prose.  I love how Chapman writes, and the momentum of the first 150 pages was incredible, considering it is such a lush, slow-moving book.  Chapman handily writes quite well about nothing at all, and that is why it was so shocking that I hated later plot developments so much.  I would have gladly read a book about a “home” for troubled women in 1920s Finland in which nothing so much happened (because that is a unique and great topic/scene), and it was when something did in fact happen that I stopped caring.  This is either because the something that happened (I won’t say what) wasn’t developed enough initially, or because I just plain didn’t care.  Either way, a considerable problem.  I look forward to future works by Chapman, because I think in a way this could be a maturity thing (I sure as shit couldn’t carry out a plot for 260 pages) or just a hurried thing, and perhaps something that will resolve itself with practice.  Time will tell.

I am currently reading Steinbeck’s East of Eden, which I can file under “things I should have read a long, long time ago.”  I probably won’t have much to say about this that hasn’t already been said, and much better than I could say it. Next up is either Wideman’s Fatheralong (I am obsessed) or perhaps Ford’s Independence Day (1996 winner, and sequel to the Sportswriter, which I labored over and was so delighted by).  That or I will fervently defend the audiobook, which just might be my new passion.

book a week geek

by Gopal Sathe

Having spent some time with Hawx 2, or Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 as it is more properly termed, the first feelings to emerge are tiny buds of satisfaction, which promise to blossom, in the fullness of time with correct care and feeding, into giant bushes producing bushels of beautiful joy. Don’t get me wrong – Hawx 2 is far from perfect, but it’s a fun game, and I’m really looking forward to how the franchise will continue to evolve in the next couple of years.

The air combat genre has been essentially dead for a while now, which is really sad because some of the best classic games were air/space combat game, which allowed for an etirely different dynamic than FPS games while providing a similar sense of relentless action.

With the exception of the Ace Combat series though, there has been little for fans of the genre in recent times, which is why I still run Crimson Skies, because it’s fun to fly an airplane through canyons and machine-gun the hell out of other people, okay?

Hawx was a fun title when it came out, in an arcade way, which was something I really liked about it, and with Hawx 2 we seem to be on to something, as there have been a few improvements, while care has been taken to preserve the things which were fun in the original.

Set in the middle east right after the events of the original, you thankfully do not need to have followed that game to enjoy this one. In fact, a lot of the storytelling gets in the way of a really enjoyable game, which is unfortunate because set as it is within the Tom Clancy universe, there is really a lot of material to mine to create a tense and compelling narrative.

That being said, the game delivers on the gameplay side of things, much like its predecessor. There’s a wide variety of aircrafts on both sides, and weaponry suited to the many tasks you will have to carry out. New elements to flying such as manual take off and landing are added and there are some missions which are all about carpet bombing ground targets, which is a fun interlude that is easy enough to leave you feeling godlike between the regular missions.

The manual landing feature on the other hand is a little awkward, and you really won’t enjoy that.

The dogfights themselves are much like the original game – in other words, excellent. The controls are responsive throughout the game and the enemies all play decently. The same can not be said about your squadmates, but then, what’s more heroic than taking down small armies all by yourselves while the drooling idiots on your team watch on? Seriously though, one has to hope that this problem is something that gets fixed by the next iteration in the franchise.

Somewhere between arcade and simulation, the game is highly enjoyable, just like its predecessor, but like the original Hawx, needs more polish.

For now though, if you’re a fan of a genre which has not gotten enough love for a long time, buy this game, beacuse it’s definitely good for passing the time. And hopefully, if people start buying flying games, we might get something over the top and fun, and see the genre wholly resuscitated.

Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

แทงบอลออนไลน์ – การแทงบอล – วิเคราะห์บอล – ราคาบอล – วิธีแทงบอลออนไลน์ – คาสิโนออนไลน์ – พรีเมียร์ลีก – ผลบอล – แทงบอลสเต็ป
GEEK GADGETS

I love my hacker space NYC Resistor. It’s very grassroots, full of energy. Working at Resistor is what I imagine working in the garage where the computer was invented would have been like. But as I am getting serious about selling my designer fashion line, I was having trouble getting in the right mindset. In fashion it’s the kiss of death for your design to look crafty. So working in a hacker space that’s all about “making things yourself” all of the DIYness doesn’t make me feel very high end designer. I have no idea why.

So I’ve joined Collab and moved my studio to a beautiful new space in Soho, a designers’ coop in that specializes in manufacturing and prototyping. I’ll still be hanging out at Resistor and I’m all for DIY. But I wonder, does designer DIY really exist?

DIANA ENG: Fashion Nerd

I was lucky enough to get to sample some new Pediacare Products. About 2 years ago lots of childrens medicines were taken off the market for infants. My daughter is now 3 and I don’t have to worry as much about giving her a small dose of fever meds here or there.  The only thing I worry about is how I am going to get it down her throat! Some kids medcines taste horrible and do not mix well with any other liquids. We tried Pedicare last month , when my DD got a cold. I mixed it with some sweet tea and she did not know the difference! I recommend trying it out! Also read below for some information and go download the new iphone application!

One of my lucky readers will win a bottle of Pedicare for small children! The contest is super easy!

1. Follow me on Twitter!  ( required)

2. Comment on this post and tell me about the creative ways you get your child to take medicine! (required)

To guide parents in choosing the best over-the-counter medicine for their child, PediaCare is launching a free iPhone application that will help parents to select the product which best addresses the symptoms their child is experiencing. The iPhone application is not a diagnostic tool, but is designed for informational purposes only and does not constitute a medical diagnosis. The new iPhone application Is up and running and available for free download at www.pediacare.com.

PediaCare products retail for approximately .99 for a 4 oz. bottle, and are available at drugstores, supermarkets and retailers nationwide.

New! Children’s Products with Acetaminophen

· PediaCare® Children’s Fever Reducer/Pain Reliever (cherry or grape flavor; ages 2-11)

· PediaCare® Children’s Fever Reducer Plus Multi-Symptom Cold (ages 6-11; okay for ages 4 & 5 with dosage directed by pediatrician)

· PediaCare® Children’s Fever Reducer Plus Cough & Sore Throat (ages 6-11; okay for ages 4 & 5 with dosage directed by pediatrician)

· PediaCare® Children’s Fever Reducer Plus Flu (ages 6-11; okay for ages 4 & 5 with dosage directed by pediatrician)

· PediaCare® Children’s Fever Reducer Plus Cough & Runny Nose (ages 6-11; okay for ages 4 & 5 with dosage directed by pediatrician)

NEW! Infant Products with Acetaminophen

· PediaCare® Infant’s Fever Reducer/Pain Reliever Drops (dye free, cherry or grape flavor; as directed by doctor for under 24 lbs. or age 2)

Here is a link to the complete list of products available from PediaCare. www.pediacare.com

For more information about PediaCare products, visit www.pediacare.com

Win The PediaCare® “Kid’s Cold Comfort” Giveaway

PediaCare wants to help your child stay snug and comfy this cold and flu season, so PediaCare is giving one lucky Woman’s
World reader a ,000 gift card to 1-800-Mattress to buy a new children’s mattress set, along with another 0 toward some
comfy pillows, sheets and a bedspread. The prize also includes the collection of PediaCare products for children, with various
formulas recommended by health professionals for cough, fever, flu, allergies and pain relief.

Visit www.pediacare.com/win and click on the “Enter to Win” banner to be taken to the official entry form!

Share and Enjoy:

Geek Mom Who Reviews Gadgets, Books, and Everything Else

Cool PC Cooler

from Gadgets are Cool

Cooling your PC has been an age old problem but one geek has a resolution…but it has cost him a shed load of money! This ,000 PC features a custom water cooling system, with a massive external radiator which features nine 120mm fans. The massive external fans run at 5V which means they are almost silent, but they manage to keep the processors running at 45 degrees C under full load and at 36 degrees C at idle. This ,000 cool PC features two VelociRaptor hard drives in RAID 1 and six 1TB hard drives in Raid 5, that is a serious amount of hardware in one single PC.

Geek Gadgets

If you ever wondered would was suing who for what within the Telecoms industry this beautiful chart puts it all into perspective showing each company and their gripe, created by informationisbeautiful.net

The chart below was created based on diagrams from Guardian Tech and the NY Times.

UPDATE 9th Oct - New data and corrections. RIM is not suing Sharp. Motorola is suing Apple over 18 patent infringements. Sony Ericsson’s revenue resized (we mistakenly used Sony’s revenue). Thanks all for corrects and new info.

UPDATE 12th Oct - Nokia and Qualcomm’s suits were all settled in 2008 (we had one still graphicked as unsettled). Thanks to um, Nokia for that correction.

Via DVICE

Geeky-Gadgets

Google’s mobile OS Android has received plenty of press. As with a lot of Google products, there was much anticipation before any devices were even available. Now a number of phones are available, with many more coming out world-wide in the near future. Part of the lure of Android is the openness of the platform and the freely available tools for development. The SDK and accompanying Eclipse plug-in give the would be creator of the next great Android application everything they need to make their idea reality. The bar to entry in the official Google Android Marketplace is very low and it doesn’t seem to be much of a stretch to predict that the number of developers working on Android is only going to grow. As with any hot technology the number of books will grow as well and O’Reilly’s Android Application Development has jumped into the fray, promising to help budding Android developers what they need to get started.

The book begins with a brief introduction to Android followed by detailed instructions on procuring and installing the Android SDK. Space is given to Windows, Linux and Mac. The install is relatively simple on all three platforms, extra information is provided for Ubuntu users but no others distributions. Extra care is taken to help Windows users with items they may not use regularly, such as environmental variables. This is all pretty basic and gives the book very much of a ‘for beginners’ feel. Before I had the book I had already installed the SDK and Eclipse plug-in on Windows, Ubuntu and Fedora without any issues beyond getting a current version of Eclipse for the Ubuntu machine. The version I already had from the Ubuntu repositories was not able to run the plug-in. It’s a short chapter and if someone really struggles with it, they probably should shift their focus from learning to code to learning how to use their platform of choice. This does set the tone though, that this is a book for those who are very new to development.

Chapter two steps the reader through the ever present “Hello World” and gives an overview of the structure of Android applications. Chapter three introduces the example application that will be used for the rest of the book. There is a lot of repetition here on just what directories and files make up the guts of an Android program. I was quickly worried ( the first four chapters are only fifty-six pages in ) that maybe four authors had been too many. The repetition made it feel as if separate work had been combined without enough editing to remove what was redundant. Fortunately this got better, though there was still a strange proclivity to list files while referring to earlier chapters that explained their purpose. This would be helpful to anyone jumping right into the middle of the book, but the index also serves the same purpose and saves space for more valuable content, as opposed to explaining the purpose of AndroidManifest.xml repeatedly.

Once I moved into the fifth chapter, Debugging Android Applications and the following chapters, things got better. The pace picked up and the repetition dropped off for the most part. The book did not become incredibly difficult, trying to be everything to everyone, but did maintain an introductory style. At the same time the example application makes use of many Android features that are likely to be used by developers. How to set up and use tools was covered step by step. This is very nice but did cause some issues for the authors due to the rapid pace of development on Android. A visit to the book’s errata page will show that many readers struggled with changes to the SKD tool set that came out very shortly after the book. The authors say that future editions will fix these issues, but this creates a dilemma for that reader needing introductory level materials. They are more dependent upon the book than a more advanced user and so these issues can be very trying. Based on the responses to the errata posts it became trying for the authors as well. This isn’t a knock on the book itself but rather a limitation of the delivery method.

Once the reader is digging down into the example application the team approach to writing the book does become an asset. The authors bring a number of skills to the table that closely resemble the players that would be necessary to a team developing a real-world application. The reader is now being pulled into an example that benefits from the knowledge of each and does a good job of exploring the range of options an Android developer has available. This includes core functionality, UI options and how to best take advantage of the platform while at the same time taking performance and user expectations into account. I felt like I was getting something beyond the excellent documentation provided by Google. This is where I felt the book stood strongest.

Working with a single, large example application was a move that probably helped move things along on writing the book and I think it’s an interesting approach. The problem is of course, that means that this example must be right. Right for the task and technically correct. Small issues in the code are inevitable but now their impact is book wide. The changes to the platform just made it just that much more difficult to sort out. On the whole I still found this to be a better approach primarily due to the fact that it gives the features highlighted a better sense of context. Stand-alone examples are often good at highlighting technical features but completely ignore the issues necessary to using the feature in a larger piece of code.

I’m a fan of O’Reilly books. Interestingly enough this doesn’t mean that I’ll gloss over issues with what they produce. The result is actually the inverse, in that I go into all their titles with a high level of expectation with regards to quality on every level. This may mean that though I strive to be neutral when I look at a book, I’m probably a little tougher on O’Reilly titles. This made my rough start with Android Application Development a bit jarring. The repetition and what felt like sloppy editing are not what I expect. I was quickly given a sense that this book may have been rushed to publication a little sooner than it should have been. As I moved deeper into the book, things improved and while I think there were still editorial issues, things did seem to smooth out to some degree.

There is an interesting tension that exists purely do to the nature of print books. I don’t like to bring up print versus electronic in reviews as I don’t think it is on topic, but here it is unavoidable. The book is aimed at people that need a little more hand holding and help getting going. It does a good job of providing step by step instructions, the problem is that some of those steps have changed. I don’t think anything in the code itself needs to be different, but the tools have changed enough that getting the code to run in a development environment against the new SDK is different. That means that portion of the book is no longer of as much value without going to other sources to find the new steps.

That said, warts and all I found this to be a helpful way to get my feet wet with Android. I really look forward to future versions as I think just a little more time and work will move this from my ‘good’ list to my ‘great’ list. Making things a little tighter and cleaning up the few typos and errors would certainly make this an 8 instead of an 7, which is really substantial in my mind. I’m no super developer and I need stuff like this, that can take things a little more slowly and make it all clear. I think this guide is great for those of us in that category as long as the reader is o.k. with hopping to external sources for the information they’ll need to get the newer tool set working.

Title: Android Application Development
Author: Rick Rogers, John Lombardo, Zigurd Mednieks, Blake Meike
Publisher: O’Reilly Media Inc.
Pages: 332
ISBN: 978-0-596-52147-9
Rating: 7/10
Tagline: Programming with the Google SDK.

Geek Book

East of Eden was terrific, the kind of epic tale that took me longer to read than I would like, but the kind that I don’t think I will soon forget.  This book also, and notably, featured the most despicable fictional character I can remember having read.  I am semi-interested now in reading more Steinbeck, as I inexplicably escaped high school without having read more than Mice & Men and the Pearl (which maybe doesn’t count because it is approximately 45 pages long).  However, that sounds too formulaic/summer reading list for me, and I certainly do not like a formula (or fun), and furthermore, it’s summer, and all I want to do is sit in the sun and sweat enthusiastically.

This weekend, I basked, cat-like, and also read Nathan Englander’s Ministry of Special Cases.  This book was pretty much written with me in mind.  Englander has been compared to a lot of my favorites (including Philip Roth, but I think this is because both are Jewish and write Jewish characters really well), but BEYOND THAT, this is a book about Argentina, and BEYOND THAT INDEED, it is about the Dirty War.  This book was horrifying and yet so enjoyable.  Word on the street is that Englander has more writing in the works about las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, and you better believe I will be keeping an eye out for that.

In keeping with my great Pulitzer-readathon-of-2o1o, I am currently reading Jane Smiley’s Thousand Acres.  I thought I would like this book more than I do.  The descriptions all led me to believe it would be directly up my occasionally trashy-lit alley, but it isn’t really so (aka it is much better than that, so why do I not like it?  I don’t know!).  When I am reading it I am also mortified by the cover of my version, which isn’t helping matters much.  I was tempted to get one of those old-school book covers that I had in middle school, but at this point it is too late and I am resigned to be the girl on the bus reading the book with Michelle Pfeiffer hugging Jessica Lange.  OH WELL.

book a week geek