Online Game Sites -- Part 1

I'm a geek, but not a big game geek. I enjoy playing on my computer as much as working, so I occasionally go searching for online play opportunities. Here's some of what I found recently:

Pogo, from EA, is a great site for lite games and fun chit-chat. Contests, challenges, and events, as well as a wide selection of Java Applet games, keeps the fun going, and the flow of new and different is sufficient that I don't lose interest. I am a subscriber to Club Pogo, look for OldSchoolGeek and say Hi!.!

GameHero is an aggregator of MMOGs, or Massively Multiuser Online Games. They have several to choose from, and I'm currently playing in two of them... 'Space Invasion' and 'Dark Orbit'

Space Invasion is strictly a database/browser based game that emphasizes strategy and patience. You log in, check the progress of your various projects, and go on to other things. Any more than several times a day, and you find yourself staring at the screen waiting for something to happen. That's cool... kinda like a 'Civilizations' game, but writ large... very large. and it is subscription and ad free!

Dark Orbit is more of a shooter game, but space-based. It's a combo, with Browser and Java Applet components, and the pace is considerably faster. It's fun, and challenging. The graphics are nice for an online game that doesn't have its own client, and you can play for free.

The downside to the game is that the programmers have caved in to the low-life gamers, and have allowed users to sign up for subscriptions in order to advance dramatically in the game. So for $50US per year, you can get the best of everything and be a big shot... and if you use up your stuff, more $$ can get you more stuff. While this works great for some, others who just want to play, end up being Cannon Fodder for these dweebs that just fly around busting newbies for kicks. I'm gonna keep playing, looking for ways to get and build position without getting squashed like a bug, but the programmers need to find a way so that the 'Pick on someone your own size' rule can be applied. until they do, I will NOT subscribe, because I don't want some dweeb using up the credits I bought because I'm an easy target, and I don't want to buy my way to the top of a game... the challenge would be gone.

You can find the OldSchoolGeek as a character playing in both of these games.

Death by Vista!

Vista's threat detection features must extend to blogspot monitoring, because someone at Microsoft noticed that I was planning a controlled reversion to XP on my main development laptop computer, and sent me an update that crashed it instead. I lost two weeks worth of VB.NET code (backup-backup-backup... some things never change) and tons of ebooks and music.

Lesson learned, the hard way. I have a backup method set up, and I've installed XP Pro on my laptop. I wish I could just install Linux and get it over with, but I still need to build Win apps.

Oh well... It wont take me long to recover all I've lost in the two hours a day that it used to take to start up and shut down in vista. My laptop screams on XP, and is up and running in about 15 seconds.

Bill Gates was quoted saying "We are only as good as our next release." Well, there ya go, Bill!!!

That's It... I've had enough!!

I've been a good boy for too long now. I cant believe I keep getting memory errors on my 2-gig vista laptop!! I've got a copy of Windows XP, and I'm going to down-grade! all my software will work, and probably work better!.. I'm just so fed up! I even waited till SP1 came out, and installed that, and it didn't help at all!

Oh well... Live and learn... and learn Linux!!
My other computer is a Linux .... sounds like a bumper sticker!

Classic Trek!

Nothing is as Old-School Geeky as this right here!

and This aint bad, either!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I took my six-year-old son to his first minor-league baseball game. We had a blast. I hadn't been to one since I was a teenager, and had forgotten how much fun they are. The home-town heroes won, after a three-run homer in the 6th, and then the pitcher threw an exciting bases-loaded strikeout on the DH!

There were a lot of people there, and a lot of beer being consumed. Fortunately, they were nice folks overall, and nothing much happened that I felt embarrassed about my son seeing. A good crowd, a good experience, and a new father-and-son activity that we can share, all summer long!

Did I mention, it was a pretty good bargain, too. An evening out, tickets, parking, food, and some souvenirs, for less than $40.00. Not bad at all.

Welcome to The Old-School Geek's Blog!

Hey Everyone! I've finally started my own blog. Rather than build my own from scratch, I'd just like to be able to jot down my thoughts on politics, religion, family life, and the ins and outs of my chosen profession.

I'm an Old-School Geek. I work in the computer industry, writing software. I've been doing it since the days of green screens and tape recorders, and I've seen a lot of changes. Some have been mind-blowingly exciting, others dreadful.

As any other programmer who's been at it a while can attest, it's a fluid environment, and mastery is a moving target. Follow along as I struggle to get caught up, and keep up, with all the different directions that we need to move in.

Unless you're a fireman or a cop, a sailor, soldier, airman, or marine, your job doesn't mess with your life quite as much as this one does. So, I'll be posting about family life, as well... good and bad.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the government doesn't regulate the computer software trade as much as any other marketplace, but that looks like it might change. You'll find that computer geeks are more politically-minded that most other professionals, because we have do deal with so many other industries in our line of work, we have to deal with the regulations on those industries, and we live in mortal fear of goverment regulation of our field.

Feel free to post a reply to anything you read here, or to contribute in any other way. The only thing I don't want is your money.