When will FOX stop their tape delay coverage of F1 races? I was looking forward to watching the British GP at Silverstone this morning, but just checked SPEED, and it is not going to be shown, which means FOX has it today at 1PM EST. FOX had four consecutive events – Canadian GP, US GP, French GP, and British GP. For some reason I was thinking last week was the end of FOX’s coverage, but it looks like I have to wait until July 22 (European GP) to return to live F1 action on SPEED.
What can happen in .005 seconds? Last night, to end the Pepsi 400 is dramatic fashion; Jamie McMurray managed to nudge in front of Kyle Busch to win the race by .005 seconds. Needless to say, that was an exciting finish.
Unfortunately I only got to watch Q1 and Q2 at Silverstone today (missing Q3 pretty much stinks), but I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race. Hopefully we will see some passing action outside of the pitlane. I did a little pre race prep by running some F1CE time trials at Silverstone. Have I said lately how much I enjoy F1CE?
Of course tonight there is the Daytona night race, which is one of my favorite NASCAR events. Say want you will about super speedway racing, but I think this will be entertaining. It would be easy for me to say Junior, Gordon, or Stewart, but I do think one of those guys will win (in that order). After watching the race I bet I will get a jones going for NASCAR 08. I keep telling myself “no.”
Tomorrow we get to see the IRL boys (and girls) take on Watkins Glen. I am really looking forward to this one, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that ABC will give this one some HD treatment, but I know that is not going to happen.
So grab a cold one, lift up a glass, and get ready for a night of NASCAR racing, followed by some morning glory F1 action, and an afternoon nap before tuning into IRL at the Glen.
Me? I am sipping on some Red Guitar, which is a rather unorthodox pre race drink, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.
It looks like a PS3 price drop is imminent no matter Sony does to deny that a price drop will be in full force by next weekend. I think the current price point of $599 is much too expensive for the mass market. Sony will only reach diehard fans (looking at myself in the mirror I suppose), gamers looking for a compliment to their shinny new HD TV (reflection in the mirror again), or maybe a high end Blu-ray system.
With the PS3 priced at $499, the system is still probably $100 to $150 to high for the mass market, but I think it will be enough of a price drop to help get Sony back on track. I still think Sony needs to offer more incentives. Once the price drops you will still be able to get 5 Blu-ray movies for free (use the search feature for the link), but I think Sony should offer a free game to really sweeten the pot.
Sony fans will have to wonder if the $100 price drop is enough. Me? I am comfortable with my purchase. Not only do I have a great console, but I also have an awesome Blu-ray system to compliment my Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500. There are a lot of interesting titles on the horizon, and I am sure that more info will come from E3. No matter; Sony fans (you know the ones I am talking about) still have to worry because Microsoft and Nintendo have all the momentum.
Message boards run rampant with flames about how much money Sony is taking up the pipe with every PS3 system sold. They are probably right, but does Sony have anything on the Microsoft charge back that is coming for the Xbox 360? Earlier this week Microsoft announced that they are going to make things right for 360 owners that have had to pay for out of warranty repairs (for certain types of problems, cough, red right of death, cough). In addition, Microsoft will extend their 360 warranty for up three years. How much will this cost? $1.05 to $1.15 billion. Yes, billion. Ouch. Looks like console makers from Japan to Washington are taking it up the pipe.
For Microsoft, the worm has turned. A few years ago, all developers led with PS2 games, followed by ports to the Xbox. The Xbox ports often looked a little better, but it was usually a case of the developers not putting in the extra effort to really make the Xbox games shine. The situation is now reversed. Most major developers and publishers are developing for the 360, and porting to the PS3. This is contributing to much anguish for PS3 owners. While I cannot count frames, the whole of Sony-Nation is up in arms that NCAA Football 2008, Madden 2008, and 2K Sports non-NFL licensed entry all run at 30 FPS on the PS3, while running at 60 FPS on the 360. Sony has already admitted that there is work to do when a game is ported to the PS3. Why is Sony not helping the developers and publishers make their games shine on the PS3? Seems like it would be money well spent.
I was going to comment on the Wii, but Q1 at Silverstone is almost over, so it is time to stop and get on with Saturday.
I do know one thing; next week will be very interesting for console fans.
Happy Saturday!
There are a couple of guys at work that I consider pretty serious WoW gamers. These are guys with multiple L70 characters, which got me to thinking. My mage just made L38, and is about 20% of the way to L39. If I manage to clear one level per week, I am not going to hit L70 until January or February of 2008. Yikes!
A level per week may not seem that unrealistic, but I would have to spend around 5 hours a week just to meet this goal. Is 5 hours per week unrealistic? For some weeks it may not be, but I only have so much free time a week to devote to gaming. I doubt I would ever spend it all on WoW. I think it has taken me 4-6 hours per level for the last three levels, and that is probably being a little generous. In other words, I need to hit 20% of my experience bar each hour to stand a chance. Ouch. Even if I could manage 10 hours per week (and that is not going to happen), I would not reach L70 until October.
The long and short of it is that I have a whole new appreciation for those of you that have managed to reach every increasing heights in WoW. For me, the reality of the time required to hit L70 is a daunting task.
I thought Apple was serious about the cel phone market until I read this. My poor, poor parents.
All of the iPhone mania is very puzzling to me. I spent the week setting up my Treo 650 to work with our Microsoft Exchange server and it’s like I never used this year old phone before. Everything synchronizes quite nicely, I never have to do a cable connected synch with Microsoft Outlook, and I am as happy as a clam. I’m so happy that I think I will upgrade to the Treo 750 so that I can use (eventually) Windows Mobile 6.
What do I need an iPhone for?
It seems to me that the iPhone is a better (1) web browser and (2) media player. For those of us that use Exchange, almost any other PDA/smartphone is better at managing calendar, contacts, and email. So I am still scratching my head trying to figure out what all of the oohs and ahhs are about concerning the iPhone.
Let’s say that the iPhone makes it much easier and prettier to use the web on a cel phone. They key words in that sentence are “on a cel phone.” I can surf faster, easier, and have a full suite of internet applications on my lovely Dell Latitude. Plus, my eyes can handle the larger laptop screen. Since I can tether my Treo in areas that don’t have WIFI or just use WIFI in areas that give it away for free, why do I need better web browsing on a cel phone?
Scratch.
I own a 40GB iPod. It plays various things – video, music, etc. I spent a couple of hundred dollars for it. I make all of my CD rips using the lossless codec and can travel through airports and on airplanes with a good portion of my entire CD collection.
Scratch, scratch.
I guess it boils down to the “coolness” factor, something that people who actually use their cel phones for work can’t afford to invest in. I’d probably buy an iPhone for my college aged daughter since she is not gainfully employed. Until the iPhone gets its rumored integration with Microsoft Exchange AND people have verified that it actually works, I’m staying away from iPhone version 1.0.
I cannot claim to be a Guitar Hero fan; I am just not coordinated enough and I really do not have any musical talent. Air guitars are a different story – we can all play an air guitar, right? If you want an air guitar that actually plays music, this device may be for you.
July swoon? After posting a five game win streak to close out the month of June, the Atlanta Braves have apparently decided to put on the brakes by dropping the first three games in July. I am not even sure what to say at this point, but Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Marlines could not have made a west coast swing any easier.
The Braves need to right this ship in a hurry, but if there is a silver lining to the current July swoon, it is that once again the Braves struggles coincide with the Mets’ struggles. The Mets’ have also dropped three games in a row, so Atlanta still remains 4 GB in the NL East, in easy striking distance of the Mets.
After a successful run of 29 posting days in the last 30 days, I had to take a day off. Sorry, but that is the way it goes.
On a personal note, yesterday at my postop appointment, my doctor told me that my biopsy came back clean. Happy days! There is probably some other stuff to write about, but I want to go play a game or watch a moving or have a stiff drink. Or maybe all three.
Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!
I am having some issues with the PS3 folding@home client; when I check for completion of my work units, I always end up with “ERROR: No Network Connection” after the work unit completes. After digging around a little, I found a thread that hints to a PS3 bug, but to be honest, I am not that interested in reading 5 pages of posts to figure out what is wrong.
Using the PS3 for folding@home sounds like a great idea, but I am not really keen to keep my PS3 on 24/7; I do not do that with my other electronics, with the exception of my computers, which are designed to run 24/7 and have a proven track record. Besides, why would I want to take a chance on compromising the longevity of my $600 wonder box?
It is hard for me to tell what the PS3 is actually doing with my work. To date, I have completed 2-3 work units, but my team and user do not have a score. The score is not that important, but I assume I can use that to tell if the PS3 is actually uploading completed work units.
It has been a while since I posted a “now drinking” entry, so I owe the world at large an update. Chris should be pleased that nothing of the cheap variety is included. While I finished off the SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale yesterday, the fridge is stocked well with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Terrapin Rye Pale Ale. All three of these beers are truly wonderful, and worthy of your attention.
In truly classic console war fashion, there is a ton of fodder being aimed squarely at the PS3 by the 360 camp. I stumbled across an article (via N4G.com) that indicates PS3 versions of NCAA Football 2008 and Madden 2008 will run at 30 FPS, while the 360 versions will run at 60 FPS. To be honest, I would not know 30 FPS from 60 FPS. I can see frame rate issues, but I have no idea how to count them, and it is my understanding that most video games, TV broadcasts, and movies run at 30 FPS, so I am not sure why this is a big deal. I can tell 1080p from 480i, so as long as the PS3 games show up in full HD, I am not sure why this is such a big deal.
At this point I have not preordered NCAA Football 2008 or Madden 2008. I will probably wait a while longer; maybe until I see a full PS3 feature list. For the same reasons I said I was holding off on purchasing NASCAR 08 (use the search function to find the post), I may wait another year on the football games. I doubt I can show that much restraint, but $120 for two football games blows.
The Braves have managed to pull off five games in a row, but they almost blew the game last night. I wish the Braves were not so damn dependant on 3-run homeruns, but at least the back of the rotation seems to be picking up the slack.
I hate that FOX is going to have the French GP on tape delay. I could not wait until 1PM, so I already looked at the results. I think we have one more FOX broadcast to go before we are back to live racing.
All for now. Happy Sunday!
Earlier today I decided to fire up five old original PlayStation (PSX) games to see how they would respond on the PS3. I picked a few favorites (or at least ones that I remember as favorites), and I specifically picked some games that I actually wanted to dust off and play again.
Same gamers may laugh, but PSX and PS2 backwards compatibility is important to me for a couple of reasons. First, I have a huge library of old games; I used to be a fairly free spending, even to the extent of not actually playing some of the games I purchased. In short, I always have something for a rainy day. Second, I do not want to have a lot of video game systems in my living room entertainment center. I can go the switch box route, but not only does the clutter not look good, I have no interest in keeping a lot of gaming crap in my main living area. Been there; done that. PS3 backwards compatibility is important, so let’s move on to the test.
The PS3 went 100% in my backwards compatibility tests. This was a fun experiment, because it has been a while since I played these games. I feel a little deflated about Andritti Racing (did it really look so bad back in the day), but I have a feeling that CMR 2.0 will see some time in my game rotation, Lode Runner is going to be a favorite of my oldest son, and Destruction Derby is still an entertaining pickup and play experience. When I have some more time I am going to try to try out some more games, maybe something fairly obscure, to see how it responds to the PS3. So far so pleased.
Earlier this week Sony released a new PS3 firmware update, version 1.82. After downloading and updating, I decided to see if anything new floated my boat in the PlayStation store, I noticed that the GT HD Concept Demo was listed as version 1.2. Since my version was 1.16, I decided to download the new version.
I started the download right before I went to bed, and decided to let the download manager run overnight. The next morning, the download was finished. My PS3 sites in a small coffee table height entertainment center, with glass front doors, but it is fairly well ventilated, and I always keep the doors open when I the PS3 is being used. Long story short, there was a decent amount of heat, but the PS3 was not nearly as hot as my charter HD receiver gets.
Moving back to GT HD …
The download was not listed as a patch, so I was curious if I would end up with two versions of the demo. After running the install, my GT HD v1.16 was replaced by the newer v1.2 update.
I really did not play the v1.16 demo enough to notice what was different in the new version. I spent about an hour with the game last night, opening all the cars in the normal time trial mode. The time goals are really pretty easy. I would assume that even fans of more arcade type games such as Need For Speed or Burnout will easily achieve all the goals.
The graphics are certainly pretty, but after years of playing Gran Turismo, I am not sure that I will be interested in a new version of the game if more cars are not on the track (15 should be the minimum), and the AI has to be improved (no more predetermined rails logic). Honestly, I can live without damage. Sure damage would be appreciated, but I think I have experienced enough damage in F1CE to last me a lifetime.
I am watching qualifying for the French Grand Prix, and this question crossed my mind:
If Lewis Hamilton was American, would we still refer to him as “the first black F1 driver to …” or would we refer to him as an African-American?
I am not trying to be disrespectful, but it is an interesting point because recently I ran across this letter in SI:
You described Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery as “the first African-American goaltender in 19 years to lead his team to the finals.” [source: SI June 25, 2007, p. 18]
The only problem is that Emery is Canadian.
I am not trying to be insensitive, disrespectful, or anything else that may come to mind from someone reading this post that happens to be of African heritage. I just wonder how many generations it takes to become American? I was thinking the same question as the US took on Mexico last weekend in Chicago. I can understand immigrants, regardless of citizenship, calling themselves African or Mexican (or whatever) Americans. To a certain extent, I can understand their children claiming their parent’s heritage, but at what point does it end? When do we all become Americans?
Of course I can never get it, because I am white, I am privileged, born into a hard-working, educated, upper middleclass family. Then again, I still claim to be a Texan, even though I only lived there for a few months before my parents got a divorce. OK, I am a hypocrite, but at least I am honest about it.
I guess that is my political rant for the day.
That used to be the saying in NASCAR garages, and I guess it still holds true in Gordon and Johnson camps. I think Gordon will miss Steve Letarte more than Johnson will miss Chad Knaus. Johnson has already proven that he can get by without Knaus. I am not that he is not needed, but Johnson survived Knaus’ suspension for the first four races last year. Letarte’s pit calls are directly responsible for a couple of Gordon’s wins, but Gordon has so much momentum right now that he may not miss a beat. Should be interesting to watch.
“If (Earnhardt’s) not winning, it’s going to be my fault,” Hendrick says. “If he’s winning, it’s going to be because of his talent.” [source: Sporting News, June 25, 2007]
Those of you in management will understand that last quote. As far as NASCAR goes, I always liked Gordon (he is around my age), Stewart (great open wheel talent), JPM (at least in NASCAR), and I cannot wait to see Earnhardt, Jr. behind the wheel of a Hendrick car.
Of course Earnhardt, Sr. was the best:
“I wasn’t trying to wreck him, I just wanted to rattle his cage.” [August 30, 1999; Bristol – Earnhardt took out Terry Labonte]
Anyway, the next few races should be interesting to watch to see if Gordon can keep things together, or if he starts to slip.