Incursio

I normally would not just post a link to another blog - but this one is worthy. It has been "featured" if you will on some much bigger blogs than mine, such as Neil Gaiman and BoingBoing. But this is for my loyal reader... The What I Killed Today blog is strangely moving, very sad, and almost surreal.

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).

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...