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Showing posts from December, 2007

Most Addictive Game Ever...

I came across " Hordes of Orcs " by Freeverse. This is possibly one of the most addictive games I have ever played. (Currently Apple Macintosh OSX only...) It is a "tower defense game", and for $25 it is a bargain. (You can save 10% through the month of December by using the coupon code MACSANTA07TEN ). They have a playable demo that lasts for 60 minutes. It is simple to play, tough to master. I highly recommend it... (As if I needed something else to cut into my free time).

Portland sports bars - that are minor and kid friendly.

I wrote in the past about the difficulty of finding good sports bars that allow people under 21. Here is an update to that... This year we have had some better luck, and have more information to share. In Portland, there are a few sports bars which allow kids or people under 21, and here is what we think of them. " OnDeck " in the Pearl reversed their "no minors" policy. But they still suck. Their menu is not all that great, they don't have the most or best TVs or TV placement. Their staff seems to be unmotivated, and in fact it just seems like the whole thing is run by people who don't care about the business at all. I cannot recommend OnDeck at all, even though they have one of the coolest locations in the city. They have no kids menus at all, and they wont even work with you (like make a small version of something on the menu). The service sucks. So over all there is no real reason to go there unless you happen to live right nearby. Much

Portland to rename a street after Douglas Adams

There are plans afoot , and it looks like the organizations are following city code this time, to rename a Portland street after the late Douglas Adams . Of course they are working on - 42 nd avenue. This amuses me... Lets hope they don't bull-doze a row of houses to make room for it... And as much as I hate to link to myspace, here is the page for the Douglas Adams Boulevard group. And for the record, I am opposed to renaming streets . But if there is going to be a street renaming frenzy, at least lets have them be clever and fun - and not so controversial. Additionally, I would have to say that this renaming would give 42nd ave MORE significance than the number 42 ever could...

Wii Rocks!

Guitar Hero III on the Wii is really cool. Even though it is not *my* personal favorite, three members of my family love it. And the word is that it is much harder than the previous two Guitar Heroes. So if you have a Wii (if you don't, you should...) and you can find a Guitar Hero III for the Wii - I suggest picking it up. You won't regret it. A small note, however, the Wii version has a glitch where it is only outputting sound in mono. Activision is working with Nintendo to plan the best way to remedy the situation, but we are told to expect free replacement disks early in 2008 which will fix the problem and put Wii Guitar Hero III in stereo like the other two platforms.

New England Patriots must die!

The NFL is so rigged right now. The Patriots can only win games because they chea t or when the bogus calls on game-influencing plays go their way while everyone agrees it was a bad call. It all started with the " Snow Job " where they beat the Raiders due to possibly the most bogus call in the history of football - epitomizing a season where after September 11 it was vitally important to have the red white and blue "Patriots" win the championship. Since then, the Patriots are given excessively easy schedules and play in an excessively weak division. And any game-impacting controversial call goes for the Patriots. It is bullshit, and it must end.

Success with Portland city services.

I would like to take a minute to mention that I have had a few very good successes with some services that the City of Portland provides. If you see a traffic hazard that the city can fix - you can report it by calling (503)823-SAFE . The city has been real good about responding. They fixed the problem I reported in under three days! But there has to be a legitimate problem. You call, leave your name and information and a description of the problem on their answering system. If they need more info they will contact you. Once again, that number is (503)823-SAFE (503)823-7233 . If you have a parking concern. Such as cars parked across a sidewalk, bike lane, or a driveway - you can call parking enforcement . (503)823-5195. I even called them after hours and left a message and there was a response! If you see Graffiti anywhere in Portland, you can report it to the Graffiti Abatement office . Usually it will be removed promptly... I have had good results with them as wel

Portland Police Bureau is officially the worst.

OK, well maybe not officially . But at least in my mind. Here I am putting on my opinion hat. This post is purely my opinion and nothing more. I am not going to (at this time) do any research on the subject. I simply want to rant a little. I love Portland. I have found so many wonderful things here. And the city government is generally one of the better city governments I have ever come across, in all the places I have lived across the USA. The Portland city government is generally accessible. You can usually have good results working with almost any bureau. They work well with people, and most of the staffers that I have met genuinely care and take their jobs seriously. Almost everyone who is "in the trenches" really cares about the city and is working to make it better. Even the elected officials tend to be pretty good. Sure, as with any elected government - there are SNAFUs like the stupid Cesar Chaves street rename BS and other crap... But that tends t

People are stupid.

Seriously. People are stupid. Today leaving work, I was maybe three or four steps in front of a woman. We were going through one of those foyers where there are two sets of doors to pass through, placed possibly 10 feet apart or so. Going through the first set, I held the door for the lady, and she walked up to the already opened door that I was holding and she pushed the handicapped "automatic door" button. Then at the next set of doors, I again held the door for her and she again hit the power door button. What the hell? And what is with the drivers who get pissed off when you are walking through a crosswalk - like you delayed them 13 seconds or so. They floor it and accelerate at top speed for 41.7 feet where they need to stop at the next light. Great use of fuel there buck-o! And I am sure it is really good for your car too genius. Seriously - with downtown Portland's blocks being less than 200 feet there is NEVER any reason to try and accelerate hard -