Sydney Pollack – An Appreciation

Syndey PollackI liked Sydney Pollack. I really liked him. My first memory of him was his performance in Tootsie (1982). For years Sydney essentially played the same character over and over – usually a strong, no-nonsense, humane executive, agent, or ‘all-business’ leader type. But, unlike some actors who do that, Michael Caine for example, I’ve never grown tired of it.

I’ve enjoyed watching him interviewed on Charlie Rose a half dozen times. I’ve followed him in the press. He seemed like a really nice guy – certainly intelligent, highly respected and very good at what he did.

He was consistently good in Tootsie (1982), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Random Hearts (1999), Changing Lanes (2002), The Interpreter (2005) and Michael Clayton (2007).

Of course he was also a producer and a terrific director. Actually a better director than he was an actor having directed The Way We Were (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Electric Horseman (1979), Absence of Malice (1981), Tootsie (1982), Out of Africa (1985), The Firm (1993) the remake of Sabrina (1995) (though the original was better), Random Hearts (1999), and The Interpreter (2005) among many others. Not all were great but most were very good.

Without a doubt he was a top-tier Hollywood director but I’ll miss his on screen performances the most.

Reference: imdb6 | wikipedia12 | Appearances on Charlie Rose

Automatic Outlook 2007 Email Backups – Sort Of

Outlook 2007 For years now I have used Second Copy to both: (i) automatically backup my critical files to external storage devices (currently to a Drobo); and (ii) to synchronize key files between my computers across my network and laptops.

By and large it has worked well (perhaps some of its foibles will be the subject of a future post). But one thing it cannot do, and no other software that I’m aware of can, is backup Outlook’s PST files while Outlook is running. PST files are the files where Outlook stores emails, calendar data, contact info etc.

In my world, my PC is usually running 24/7 and so is Outlook.

For years I have searched, on and off and without success for software that can backup PST files while Outlook is running. Recently I came across Microsoft’s Outlook 2007/2003/2002 Add-in: Personal Folders Backup ("PFB")utility (download here).

While it cannot backup Outlook files while Outlook is running, it does the next best thing – it backs them up automatically when you exit Outlook. Since I exit Outlook at least a few times a week, my PST files are now backed up that often.

Continue reading “Automatic Outlook 2007 Email Backups – Sort Of”

Synchronize Firefox 3 Bookmarks with foxmarks

foxmarks logo

[July 7, 2008 Update: I discuss the foxmarks beta version below. Foxmarks is now out of beta and available as a normal add-on for Firefox 3.  You can download it here.]

[May 2009 Update: Foxmarks is now named xmarks and can be downloaded here.]

Last year I became an enthusiastic user of Google Browser Sync (GBS). It effortlessly synced my Firefox bookmarks, passwords, browsing history and cookies across my several desktop and laptop computers.

When I tested Firefox 3, beta 4 in April I was saddened to discover that GBS didn’t work with Firefox 3. Mozilla has completely changed how the bookmarking system works in Firefox. As far as I can tell, Google has not announced plans to update GBS despite numerous bloggers and forum participants beseeching Google to do so (see for example here and here).
[July 7 Update: Google announced several weeks ago that it will no longer provide GBS for Firefox.]

Weave Didn’t Work for Me

So I downloaded Mozilla’s newest beta software, Weave, that promised to synchronize my bookmarks (latest version 0.1.28 available here – ars technica setup instructions here – poorly reviewed here – but working for this guy and this blogger). Despite hours of frustration I couldn’t get it to work – at all.

Lastly, I looked to foxmarks but, at the time, the Firefox 3 version was in private beta only.

So, without a means to synchronize my bookmarks and given the Firefox 3 ‘Open in Tabs’ Overwrite Bug that I previously wrote about, I fell back (tail between my legs) to using Firefox 2 – memory leaks and all.

Firefox 3 logo With the release of Firefox 3, RC1 I couldn’t wait any longer. I installed it expecting to use Firefox, for a time, without synchronized bookmarks – quite dispiriting given how I’ve become reliant on it for cross-system synchronization.

foxmarks for Firefox 3 Now Available in Public Beta

After installing Firefox 3, RC1 [Update: download current version here] I was happy to discover that a public beta for the Firefox 3 version of foxmarks was now underway. I installed it on my computers and it worked. It continues to work without incident across all of my Visa x64 and XP PCs.

Continue reading “Synchronize Firefox 3 Bookmarks with foxmarks”

The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)

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1.5rating2 (1.5/5) drama, war
My TiVo has learned that I’m a classic movie fan. It recently recorded The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) as a suggestion for me off the Turner Classic Movie channel. I decided to watch it on the strength of William Holden’s excellent prior performances in Stalag 17 (1953), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Sabrina (1954) and Wild Bunch (1969) – but despite his part in Sunset Boulevard, a well regarded classic movie that I did not like.

In The Bridges at Toko-Ri, William Holden plays a lawyer-turned-naval-fighter-pilot in the Korean war, reluctant to fly an important mission.

He is married to the incomparable Grace Kelly (best in Too Catch a Thief (1955),  Rear Window (1954) and Dial M for Murder (1954)). Kelly is certainly one of the most beautiful actresses that ‘graced’ the silver screen. She was in her prime in 1954. Her best movies (this not being one of them) were all made in 1954 and 1955.

Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) Jets TAking off from USS Oriskany

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Work Around for Firefox 3’s ‘Open in Tabs’ Overwrite Bug

Firefox 3 bugBugzilla Reports: Bug 175124Bug 395024
Forum Threads: mozillaZine | whirlpool
Last Update: August 1, 2008

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[Nov 8. 2008 Update: There is a new add-on from the Mozilla add-on directly to solve the problem: ‘Openintabs-erase’. If you try it, please let us know how it went for you in the comment section  below. I haven’t tried it because I’m happy with Martijn’s solution (below).]

[June 30, 2009 Update: Martijn has updated the ReplaceTabs Extension to work with Firefox 3.5. Read about it on the Bugzilla here or download it here. I have tested it both on the iMac and on Windows 7 RC and it works just fine. Do not used the old one crossed-out below if you have Firefox 3.5 or above]

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[Update: August 1, 2008: We have a solution! Martijn Warger posted the "ReplaceTabs Extension 1" available here that completely solves the problem! I have replaced all the add-ons discussed below with this tiny Firefox extension (open the downloaded .xpi file with Firefox), and set the about:config ‘browser.tabs.loadFolderAndReplace’ option to ‘true’. Browsing with folder groups in Firefox 3.0.1 now works just as it did in earlier versions of Firefox – overwriting open tabs with your new tabs.  For complete details see my new Fix for Firefox 3’s ‘Open in Tabs’ Overwrite Bug post. Thanks so much Martijn!]

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Firefox allows you to organize bookmarks into folders. You can simultaneously open all bookmarks in a given folder by either: 1)  clicking on the " Open all in Tabs" option in the folder; or by 2) middle clicking on the folder itself.

When I use Firefox to browse the Internet, I almost exclusively use this feature to browse by folder groups rather than browsing one site of a time. For example, when I want to catch up on the news, I middle click on the "News" folder on my toolbar. When I wish to read my forums, I middle click on the " Forums" folder on my toolbar. I use dozens of such folders, set up on my Firefox toolbar and in my bookmark hierarchy, to navigate the Internet on any given day.

The Problem

For as long as I’ve been using Firefox (a couple years now), middle clicking on any folder group (the "Forums" folder, in the example above) would overwrite all previously opened tabs (the "News" folder tabs in the example above) . So, for example, if the "News" folder contained eight sites and the "Forums" folder contained 10 sites, after middle clicking on the ‘Forums’ folder, just 10 open tabs would remain.

Starting with Firefox 3, when a new folder group is opened, new tabs are appended to the previously opened tabs rather than overwriting them. So, in the example above, after middle clicking on the ‘Forums’ folder, 18 tabs would remain open instead of 10.

You can see then that, if you browse by folders, as I do, within a short time you could have 100 or more open tabs. This becomes untenable very quickly!

Cascading Tabs' Resulting from Firefox 3 'Open in Tabs' Overwrite Bug

Continue reading “Work Around for Firefox 3’s ‘Open in Tabs’ Overwrite Bug”

Ouch! I Cut Myself Wokking

Cut Left Index Finger - 9 stitchesWhile chopping cauliflower in preparation for my nightly wokking, on Thursday, May 15, I broke a cardinal cooking rule that my mother taught me: "never cut towards yourself".

Shortly thereafter I found myself in the emergency room at Toronto’s Saint Michael’s teaching hospital getting nine stitches. I felt as though I was a patient on the television show ER. The med student that stitched me up did a terrific job with absolutely no pain. My thanks go out to the med student and the supervising doctor for a terrific job.

The injury has resulted in almost constant sharp pain, has inhibited my ability to use my computer for work or play and prevented me from: 1) completing the GTA IV campaign; 2) continuing my GTA IV diary entries; and 3) blogging as much as I would have liked to. Indeed, it’s astonishing how much I cannot do while attempting to safeguard my left hand as my finger heals.

On the upside, the injury has resulted in my having a practical need to test and use, on a sustained basis, the Windows Speech Recognition software built into Vista. In fact, I have written this blog post almost entirely through voice dictation. I’m keeping notes and expect to write a future post on my Vista voice recognition experiences. [June 3, 2009 Update: I never did write that post as typing / and controlling Windows by voice is still not practical for the able bodied typist]

I can’t feel anything above the cut to the tip of my finger on the inside. But both the emergency room doctor and my family doctor believe that the nerves will reconnect themselves within about two months giving me full feeling back.

Continue reading “Ouch! I Cut Myself Wokking”

The Reaping (2007)

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1.5-rating[2]   (1.5/5) horror, suspense
Despite my general aversion to horror films, my deep admiration for Hilary Swank compelled me to watch what I expected in advance to be a dog of a film. And a dog it was.

In The Reaping, Hilary plays a previously ordained minister who turned away from the cloth after her daughter was killed in an African mission. She has become a renowned expert at debunking miracles and scientifically explaining away plagues believed to be the work of the devil.

When a boy dies in the bible-belt, a young girl (AnnaSophia Robb), believed by the town-folk to be possessed by the devil, is blamed. Hilary is called in to solve the mystery when the river turns blood-red.

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Net Neutrality Rally on Canada’s Parliament Hill – May 27, 2008

net neutrality

On Tuesday May 27, 2008 between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, and other prominent supporters  such as Michael Geist, will be sponsoring a Net Neutrality Rally on Canada’s Parliament Hill.

The net neutrality rally is intended to foster greater Internet competition, innovation and consumer rights:

1. Competition:

  • To stop vertical market leveraging at the expense of new entrants
  • To prevent incumbent cable/telco duopoly control of the Internet

(see, for example Geist’s Bell’s Throttling Plan a Threat to a Competitive Net)

2. Innovation:

  • To promote an environment conducive to the development of new and innovative content and web services by Canadian entrepreneurs

3. Consumer Rights:

  • to promote ISP transparency
  • to promote consumer privacy
  • to demand that ISPs provide the advertised Internet quality of service that consumers pay for

If you live or work in the Ottawa/Hull area, please consider participating.

Here’s Amber MacArthur’s April 2, 2008 “Net Neutrality in Canada” Video Update:

 

Below is the complete exchange (partially included in Amber’s piece above) on ‘net neutrality between MP Charlie Angus and Canada’s Minister of Industry Jim Prentice during Parliament’s Question Period on April 2, 2008. The conservative government has chosen to punt the issue despite significant known net throttling, deep packet inspection, traffic shaping and seemingly arbitrary bandwidth/usage capping by Canadian ISPs.

Continue reading “Net Neutrality Rally on Canada’s Parliament Hill – May 27, 2008”

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Poster5-rating  (5/5) action, adventure
I had a silly Indiana grin on my face as I strode out of the cinema whistling the John Williams theme song. Did I like it? Yes indeed.

        "Too Much of Life is Wasted in the Waiting"

cate blanchett - indiana jones and the kindgeom of the crystal skullThis quote from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008) imdb6 sums things up nicely. It has been a long 19 year wait since Indy and his father rode off into the sunset (literally) at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade imdb6.

I liked it despite a questionable plot, err, ‘twist’. It held fast to the winning Indy formula:

exotic locals, James-Bond-style action sequences, beautiful cinematography, ancient treasure hunts, pictogram puzzle solving, the supernatural, wise-cracking quizzical humour, whips and guns, hero vs. villain, feisty and reluctant love interest, implausible, yet engaging, fantastical story, snappy (and sappy) dialogue, snakes, critters and Harrison Ford’s trademark grin.

mutt, indy and marion - indiana jones and the kindgeom of the crystal skullHarrison was Harrison. A flawless performance despite 19 intervening years. It was great to have Karen Allen reprise her role as Indy’s original love interest Marion. I asked in my recap what happened to Marion? The Crystal Skull neatly answered the question and tied it up in a bow.  Cate Blanchett played a wonderfully eccentric and strangely sexy KGB agent. Shia LaBeouf (a relative unknown to me) adequately played Marion’s son and adventurer in training. The happy-go-lucky Denholm Elliot (Marcus Brody) passed away in 1992 so Jim Broadbent ably stood in for him as the dean of Indy’s college. If you look closely you’ll see a picture of Elliot hanging on a hall wall. But, you won’t have to look closely to see a statue of him. 🙂 Sadly Sean Connery, chose not to come out of retirement to reprise his role as Dr. Jones Sr.

The cinematography, music, special effects, lighting and costumes were all spot on. It was Spielberg’s and Lucas’s ‘everything and the kitchen sink’ movie, and it worked.

Another fun romp. Go see it in a cinema, where it was meant to be seen.

Reference: Roger Ebert  |  IMDB External Reviews | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |wikipedia12

Indiana Jones Trilogy Recap & Mini Reviews

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5-rating (5/5) action, adventure
In preparation for the much anticipated North American release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (1998), due out tomorrow (May 22, 2008), over the last week I watched the original Indiana Jones trilogy for the first time since their cinematic release. Alongside the original Star Wars Trilogy [wikipedia], the Matrix Trilogy [wikipedia] and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy [wikipedia], The Adventures of Indiana Jones [wikipedia] is one of the all-time great trilogies. I enjoyed them as much as I did when I first watched them years ago. They are true classics.

Each movie in the series follows the tried-and-true Indiana Jones formula: exotic locations, James-Bond-style action sequences, beautiful cinematography, ancient treasure hunts, the supernatural, wise-cracking quizzical humour, hero vs. anti-hero, reluctant love interests, implausible, yet engaging, fantastical stories, snappy dialogue, snakes, critters and Harrison Ford’s trademark grin.

John Williams brilliant Oscar winning Indiana Jones soundtracks are pleasantly seared into my brain from years of repeated listening and from the thirty or so enjoyable hours I spent playing the under-appreciated Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb video game on my original Xbox.

To bring you up-to-date, below are mini-reviews for each of the three original Indy movies followed by a reminder summary of how they all ended.

Continue reading “Indiana Jones Trilogy Recap & Mini Reviews”

Video Podcasts From TiVo Desktop 2.6.1 Just Work – Still Room For Improvement

commandN.tv Podcast on TiVo TiVo Desktop version 2.6.1 (download here) was launched on April 9, 2008 (See TiVoPony’s announcement and Megazone’s post including TiVo’s press release). For TiVo Desktop users that have upgraded to TiVo Plus (U.S. $24.99), the most important new feature of version 2.6.1 is its integrated support for video podcasts.

[November 8, 2008 Update: I have stopped using TiVo Desktop approach for video podcast access, viewing and maintenance ever since I purchased AppleTV in August 2008. The entire video podcast experience on AppleTV is far superior to, and much less kludgy than, the TiVo solution.]

Video podcasts of your choosing can now be served up from your PC to your TiVo Series 2, 3 or TiVoHD. Once setup (see below) the TiVo Desktop software monitors your video podcast directories and automatically copies newly arrived video podcasts to your TiVo (sorted in podcast-specific folders).

This is a marked improvement over the prior ‘walled garden’-only offering – TiVoCast. With TiVoCast, (which still exists), TiVo chooses which video podcasts you can subscribe too (see my prior critique here). With the new 2.6.1 functionality, you decide which video podcasts you want on your TiVo.

Also, for the first time, version 2.6.1 provides TiVo Series 3 and TiVoHD users with higher quality PC to TiVo transfers. HD video content residing on your PC (video podcasts, TV shows, movies etc.) transfer to high definition TiVo units at 720p compared to 480p previously (480p is still used for HD transfers to Series 2 units).

While not being promoted by TiVo, the TiVo Desktop software can monitor any folder on your computer – not just podcast folders. So, when new content appears in that folder, say, for example, a BitTorrent folder, the software will automatically copy that content to your TiVo as well.

I installed and tested version 2.6.1 on my Vista 64 PC, and I’m delighted to report that it just plain works! A bit of a happy surprise given the hair pulling I’ve gone through with prior TiVo Desktop installs.

Below I describe the installation process, demonstrate how to use TiVo Desktop to serve video podcasts to your TiVo and discuss areas where improvements are still needed.

Continue reading “Video Podcasts From TiVo Desktop 2.6.1 Just Work – Still Room For Improvement”

Justine Henin Retires!

Justine Henin Say it isn’t so. I was just starting to warm up to her.

Up to very recently, world number 1 Justine Henin had been one of my biggest tennis villianesses. Ironically, my multi-year distaste for Justine started with her refusal to replay a key point against Serena Williams at the 2003 French Open. The crowd turned against Williams as she rightly protested the point that the replay (unseen by the crowd) clearly showed went unfairly to Henin – and Henin knew it! I say this is ironic because Justine’s victim was Serena Williams, another woman’s tennis star I love to dislike.

Justine compounded my distaste for her when she bowed out, seemingly feigning illness, in the 2006 Australian final against Amelie Mauresmo. This was a key win for Mauresmo who had been ridiculed as the then ‘best woman’s tennis player never to have won a slam’. Justine’s early departure thus tainted Mauresmo’s claim to a true grand slam championship win. Happily Mauresmo won the following Wimbledon against Henin, sealing her reputation as a bona fide grand slam winner (and as we now know, preventing Henin from clinching all four slams).

As with politics and life in general, my respect for a person hinges to a large degree on their humility and sense of fair play – and Justine showed none of these qualities in those and other critical moments in her career – nor, until very recently, at almost any time thereafter.

Continue reading “Justine Henin Retires!”

Animoto – Professional Quality Videos From Your Pictures and Music for Just $3

animoto logo

In Episode 49 of the net@night podcast, Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte interviewed the co-founder of animoto, Brad Jefferson. animoto is a web service that generates professional quality, customized videos from your images and music. FYI, here’s Leo’s video.

I decided to give it a whirl. I am impressed. So far I’ve ‘produced’ three videos including this one of my 2002 trip to Thailand (turn on your speakers for this).

The images in this video were taken from these Thai locations in this order: Bangkok (including the backpacker Mecca of Khao San Road), Ko Samui,Ko Tao, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Rai Leh, Ao Nang Krabi, Kanchanaburi (Bridge Over River Kwai), Phang-Nga then back to Ko Samui

Except for the uploading and processing time, assuming your pictures are generally ordered on your computer or hosted web service in the order you want them in your video, the process takes only about 10 minutes of your time.

Animoto ‘How To’ Summary

  • Select Images: Upload your pictures to animoto (one picture per second or two of music worked well for me). Alternatively, you can select pictures from your flickr, facebook, smugmug, picasa or photobucket account
  • Arrange Images: Arrange the photos in the order you wish. You can tell animoto which pictures to highlight in the video
  • Select Music: Select one of their canned tracks or upload an MP3 file from your computer
  • Payment: Pay either U.S. $3.00 per video, or $30 for a year long unlimited all-access pass, with Paypal or Google Checkout (unfortunately no credit cards yet). Note: See the referral program info below to get $5 off the all-access pass
  • Processing: animoto will churn away for an hour or two analyzing your pictures and chosen music and then create a customized video. animoto will email you a link to the finished product when done

Below I describe what you can do with the resulting video and provide a step by step guide, showing how I made the Thailand video.

Continue reading “Animoto – Professional Quality Videos From Your Pictures and Music for Just $3”

Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man 5-rating  (5/5) super-hero, sc-fi, action, comedy
Iron Man (2008) is as good as super-hero movies get. Up there with Spiderman (2002) (IMDb) and Batman Begins (2005). It is a visual, dramatic and comedic treat, worthy of several Oscar nominations, possibly even a Best Picture nomination.

Iron Man Cast Prior to Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. had not made a movie equal to his talents – though very good in both Chaplin (1992) and Zodiac (2007). Ironically, his previous inability to control his drug addiction (single handedly torpedoing the admittedly declining Alley McBeal TV series), combined with his undeniable acting talent made him perfectly suited to play the eccentric, alcoholic, playboy, munitions magnate Tony Stark.

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Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #4

GTA IV - Nicko Drives Boat Past Statute of LibertyGTA IV Diary: Entry #1, Entry #2, Entry #3, Entry #4

Key Stats: 43.45% done |  55 missions passed | 66 missions failed | $323,224 in cash | 37:47 Playing Time | 3rd & 4th safehouse

It’s been a week since Diary Entry #3. My objective was to get to the point where all of Liberty City was unlocked before making this entry. It was harder and took much longer to get to that point than I thought it would.

Despite being frustrated with GTA IV’s save system (see below), I’m still enjoying the game. I suspect I won’t post diary entry #5 until I complete the campaign.

Helicopter Fun!

Soon after the last entry, I was surprised to discover that you can park (and then save) the helicopter within the yellow lines outside the various safehouses. It’s not easy to land close to buildings without destroying the helicopter but its possible, as these pictures demonstrate (click on them for larger view):

GTA IV - Helicopter Parked at Bohan Safehouse GTA IV - Helicopter Parked at Algonquin Safehouse

I was able to fly to Michelle’s house, land there and take her out on a helicopter date – a personal flight over Manhattan (see picture below).

Continue reading “Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #4”

Get Rid of AVG’s ‘No Virus Found’ Email Footers

image I highly recommend Grisoft’s AVG’s Free antivirus software (v. 8.x available here) and the free Windows Defender (spyware protection) to my friends and family as cornerstone software in the ongoing battle to keep their computers safe and secure. AVG is powerful and very processor efficient. In other words, it doesn’t suck the life out of your computer like Norton and McAfee do.

But with the default AVG installation settings, pesky "No Virus Found" footers like the one shown below appear at the end of every email you send and receive.

No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.10/1421 – Release Date: 07/05/2008 5:23 PM

They are pointless and serve only as a marketing tool for AVG. They become especially egregious as they pile up, one after the other, at the end of long email discussions.

With a few tweaks to the default AVG settings, they can easily be removed.

Below I show you how to get rid of them in both AVG 8 and the older AVG 7.5.

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Teacher’s Pet (1958)

image

3.5-rating  (3.5/5) romance – comedy

Neither Clark Gable nor Doris Day are in the pantheon of my all-time favourite classic movie actors. But in Teacher’s Pet  they are at the top of their game.

teacher's-pet Gable plays a gritty, ‘unpressed gentleman of the press’, who learned his craft the hard way – from the ground up. Day is a journalism professor. Gable has little use for the likes of Day’s profession, describing it as “amateurs teaching amateurs how to be amateurs.” Day believes that journalism should be elevated above that of a mere trade – that in the era of TV and radio competition, the press needs to tell more than just ‘what’ happened. They can and should dig deeper, get the story behind the story, and tell the public ‘why’ it happened.

Can these two butting heads learn a thing or two from the other?

Continue reading “Teacher’s Pet (1958)”

Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #3

gta postersGTA IV Diary: Entry #1, Entry #2, Entry #3, Entry #4

Day 5 | 29.14% done | 36 missions completed | 25:10 hours played.

Bridges Crossed – Flights Taken

Shortly after Diary Entry #2, I made it to Manhattan (err, Algonquin). The first thing I did was purchase a new outfit. Then I headed over to the helipad for a helicopter ride over Liberty City. Take a look at Nicko posing in his new gangsta suit in front of the helicopter (click for larger image).

GTA IV - Nicko Posing in front of Helicopter & Broker Bridge

The ride was fun, we flew up and down the length of Manhattan, over Times Square, Central Park, the Trump Tower, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.

But flying the helicopter myself was much more fun. I ‘accidentally’ jacked the helicopter for my second flight – then proceeded to dump the helicopter into the Hudson!  It’s much harder to fly than I thought it would be. Here’s me flying past the Statute of Liberty (Statue of Happiness).

GTA IV - Nicko Flying Helicopter Past Statue of Happiness at Sunset

They say it is modelled after Hillary Clinton. I didn’t get close enough to tell (maybe next time). I tried to get a look at Ground Zero but couldn’t see anything there, not even a memorial.

Tip: Take a cab or a junker to the helipad because when you return, your ride will be stolen. I lost my Porsche that way.

Continue reading “Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #3”

Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #2

grand theft auto niko & roman

GTA IV Diary: Entry #1, Entry #2, Entry #3, Entry #4

I’ve finished day 4 of my Grand Theft Auto IV adventure. I spent most of my game play achievement hunting so I’m only 25.06% of the way done – and still not off the first two islands. I suspect I’m very close.

Achievements

Day 4’s achievement hunting yielded mixed results:

It’ll Cost Ya: Take a cab over a bridge and don’t skip ahead while riding. Time consuming, but easy.

One Hundred and Eighty (aka Darts): Probably the easiest achievement points (outside the plot-line achievements). Triple a 20 three times and you’ve got it.

No More Stranger: I found my first ‘blue man’ icon on the map and found him. I have no idea how many of these guys I have to find for this achievement. I haven’t found any other in hours of play.

Wheelie Rider: Argh… I’ve been trying to get the ‘Wheelie Rider’ achievement from the beginning and I keep falling off. Man that’s hard.

Tip 1: don’t try this one when in the middle of a mission. You’ll likely die and have to start the mission over again.

Tip 2: I hear doing wheelies on the airport runway is the way to go.

Pool Shark: I beat Little J (and earned 10 points) on the first try. Actually, he was about to win but sunk the black-ball giving me a victory by default.

Gobble Gobble: Forget this one. Bowling three strikes in a row is way too much work for 10 points.

‘Courier Service’ & ‘Order Fulfilled’: OK, I thought these would be much easier than they are. The first involves 10 drug delivery missions, the second – 10 car stealing missions. All involve extensive travelling.  They are doable – just very time consuming. And, some are tricky. I’ve done 3 of each so far. I think I’ll wait to the end of the game and come back latter.

As a reminder, GTA IV Achievement Point details can be found here.

Continue reading “Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #2”

Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #1

GTA IV Logo

GTA IV Diary: Entry #1, Entry #2, Entry #3, Entry #4

It’s day 3 of my Grand Theft Auto IV adventure. Given the sheer size of this game and the fact that I may not be finished for a week or two,Chad Sapieha’s daily GTA IV Diary inspired me to write diary posts as I work my way through. I will write a detailed review when finished.

Wow!

I came in to GTA IV expecting to hate it as much as I did the earlier games in the series. Despite my reluctance, the staggeringly high review scores (see Meta Critic and Game Rankings) made it worth taking a look. The reviews got me to the party. The ‘atmosphere’, the scope, the beauty of the city, the cinematic feel and the well written story kept me coming back. Now despite some frustrations, I’m hooked.

Thanks for the May 6 netfiler, tax extension Revenue Canada! Otherwise I’d have had no free-time to play this over the last few days.

Initial Impressions!

Scope & Style: I was drawn in from the beginning with GTA IV’s engaging, Chronicle of Riddick-like interactive opening credits. The massive sand-box magnitude of the game is similar to Crackdown and Assassin’s Creed. The writing is good, very good. On par with Naughty-Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. But, not on par with The Godfather as some reviewers claim.

City Alive: You’ll notice almost immediately that this game is alive unlike almost any other game you’ve played. People are walking, jogging and driving around this huge city (see interactive ‘hood’ map), obeying traffic lights, conversing and going about their business  in a convincing manner (well, if you don’t look too closely). Neighbourhoods have their own distinctive feel. I feel, more than in any other game, that I’m moving around in a real city.

Continue reading “Grand Theft Auto IV – Diary #1”

Global Begins HD Broadcasting in Canada

Global HD

Canada’s national television network, Global, is now broadcasting in HD in the Metropolitan Toronto and Golden Horseshoe areas of Ontario on their Hamilton (CHCH) and Toronto (CIII) affiliates. Global is Canada’s last major nationwide network to start broadcasting in HD. It was facing a June 2008 hard deadline imposed by the CRTC to begin broadcasting. It had missed previous CRTC-imposed deadlines.

Global (CHCH on 11-1 and CIII on 41-1) follows CTV (CFTO on 9-1), CBC (CBLT on 5-1), CityTV (on 57-1), SunTV (on 66-1), Omni1 (CFMT), Omni2 (CJMT) and CRC (CBC French) all of which had been broadcasting in HD for some time. TV Ontario is not yet broadcasting in HD.

Depending on their southern exposure, Torontonians can also expect to receive ABC (WKBW on 7-1), CBS (WIVB on 4-1), NBC (WGRZ on 2-1), Fox (WUTV on 29-1), PBS (WNED on 43-1), Think Bright (on 43-3),  CW (WNLO on 23-1), RTN (retro TV on 7-2) and other U.S. networks broadcasting in HD from up-state New York.

All these channels are available free to anyone in Metro Toronto that has an inexpensive UHF antenna and an HDTV or other settop box with an ATSC tuner (a.k.a. HDTV tuner). Many HDTVs have ATSC tuners built in as do TiVo HD and TiVo Series 3 units.

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The Best Video Game Podcasts

Below is, in my opinion, a list of the best video game podcasts ordered by preference. I have listened to, and abandoned, many video game-related podcasts. Those listed below have survived the culling and, with one exception, are recommended without hesitation.

1. The 1Up Yours Podcast:

1Up Yours Podcast LogoThis is my favourite video game podcast. It ‘airs’ Friday evenings. Despite 1Up Yours seemingly continuous personality turnover (Luke Smith – now with the Bungie podcast; Bryan Intihar -now with Insomniac Games; Dan ‘Shoe’ Hsu – now on permanent vacation), Host Garnett Lee, with Shane Bettenhausen, John Davison and a revolving set of guests consistently provide an entertaining and informative podcast week-in and week-out. My only criticism of the show is that it is often too long and the interesting content is usually held back to the the end. Otherwise, its the best video game podcast.

[January 22, 2009 Update: I’m saddened to report that with the demise of EGM and the purchase of 1Up by UGO, the January 22, 2009 episode of 1UP Yours was the last (read: The Last 1Up Yours). Another victim of the economic downturn. 🙁 Shane Bettenhausen, a cornerstone of the show is joining game publisher Ignition Entertainment as Director of Business Development. Another show hosted by Garnet Lee is scheduled to replace it on the same feed starting January 30. ]

2. Game Theory Podcast :

game theory podcast logo The Game Theory podcast (formerly the Next-Gen.biz podcast) is also a terrific weekly video game podcast. While 1Up Yours is strong in  games coverage, the Game Theory podcast’s strength lies with its strong industry coverage. Gary Whitta & Colin Campbell are veteran video game industry reporters who put on an engaging and enlightening podcast. And, there’s something about their British accents that seems to elevate it. I highly recommend this podcast.

Continue reading “The Best Video Game Podcasts”

Are the Days of Microsoft Points Numbered?

Microsoft Points Card I recently listened to the March 31, 2008 EGM Live Podcast (download) where Garnett Lee interviewed Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft’s Director of Product Management for the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Among other topics, Aaron had the unenviable job of defending the concept of Microsoft Points (time index 17:40).

[Update: June 1, 2009: Today Microsoft announced ‘Games on Demand’. A feature to be launched in fall 2009 where full games can be purchased with credit cards. Finally, one small step away from Microsoft Points! See Gamasutra article.]

Reading several articles today on Sony’s pending PS3 on-demand service (see here, here and here) and Sony’s pending Playstation cards, to be denominated in local currency (here), it occurred to me that Microsoft’s use of points alone is going to become increasingly untenable as Microsoft’s key game/movie/TV show download competitors all offer competing products denominated and purchasable in local currencies.

Below I discuss Aaron’s arguments for Microsoft Points and what, to me, are overwhelming competitive arguments against them.

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Resistance Fall of Man Mini-review

resistance fall of man cover art4 rating  (4/5) – shooter

Reviews: Metacritic 86%| Game Rankings 87% 
Reference: Trophies – none| wikipedia12
Walkthrus: WikiCheats | GameFAQ | IGN
Developer: Insomniac Games
Engine: Insomniac Engine

Note: The pros and cons portion of this post was written in  April 2008. I am posting this entry on November 4, 2008 – the day I purchased Resistance 2. I have back-dated this post to April of 2008 to reflect the time period when I played the game.

Initial Experience – Pre Rumble

I picked up Resistance Fall of Man (RFoM) the day I purchased my PS3 in August of 2007). However, my initial experience wasn’t good. After years of playing console-based shooters on my Xbox 360, RFoM didn’t feel right without rumble – regardless of its merits. After a level or two, the game was set aside … until …

Resistance Fall of Man – Post Rumble – Ummm…. Good!

In mid April, 2008, Sony finally released the Dual Shock 3 controller with rumble. After figuring out how to get rumble to work (details here), I gave the game another try.  I’m glad I did. I liked it so much I played through the entire game and then played 50% of it through again on the hardest level.

I was surprised and delighted with how much I enjoyed the game. It took me awhile to get into it but was really enjoying it once I figured it out (especially the unique weaponry).

resistance fall of man picture 1

Continue reading “Resistance Fall of Man Mini-review”

How to get the Dual Shock 3 to Work with Resistance Fall of Man?

dual shock 3 Grrr…..  Why does Sony make simple things so complicated?

I’ll start with the answer to the titular question. After firing up the PS3 with your new Dual Shock 3 (DS3) controller:

  • Reistance Fall of Man Cover start Resistance Fall of Man (RFoM)
  • choose “Multiplayer”
  • choose “online game” – the following notice will appear:

“An update to Resistance: Fall of Man is available. This update is required for online play. Download update?

  • choose ‘yes’
  • exit the game when the download is complete
  • start it up again.

You’ll finally have 10 year old technology in your sparkly new PS3 – yeah!!!

Who came up with this clever idea? How are people that want to play the single player campaign offline supposed to know this?

Now for the back-story.

Continue reading “How to get the Dual Shock 3 to Work with Resistance Fall of Man?”