Chase the wind around the world

Woot! Just finished the great project of installing a ceiling fan. And yes, there was no existing light fixture so we had to do it the hard way. By we, I mean Merl (My puck!) and myself with some knowledge help from Phil.

The project didn't start off too well, as I picked a spot in the ceiling, drove a screwdriver up, and hit a beam. My luck as usual. Then came the part where crouching at a very uncomfortable angle, I was drilling a hole for the new wire, and was in the wrong space. Luckily putting the hole in for the fan box, and wiring that part up wasn't too bad. Uncomfortable, but not too challenging. The big disappointment came from the fact that after getting the fan up, the blades on, and the light fixture attached, we had no power. The wall switch had power, but nothing was getting to the fan. Something about the circuit wasn't quite right (the capped off white wire from the existing circuit should have been a clue). But we had put a good 5-6 hours into this, and we had to go to work. So we double checked that nothing was going to cause the house to burn down, and called it a night.

By the way, I'm still incredibly tired (though happy!), so this probably won't be my best literary work.

I decided to accompany my wife up to her gaming session to conference with Phil & Merl. The capped white wire was still bothering me, but I am not the best electrician in the world so I kept my mouth shut. After much discussion, three circuit diagrams, and many stupid questions (by me) later, we had a plan. Well, THEY had a plan, I was the one who was going to follow it. It was going to be easy as it was all in the switch box.

Unfortunately, I had already taken the fan completely apart so I could test the power coming in to the top. This was my bright idea to save time after Gavin went to sleep. Rewiring the box took about 5 minutes, re-installing the ceiling fan took about an hour. Amusingly enough, taking the fan down only took 10 minutes.

But joy was mine as my father in law hit a switch and the lights came on. I had installed a ceiling fan and my house was still intact! I'm ignoring the fact that I have to go BACK up into that freaking attic to do prep work for the next fan into Gavin's room. I will instead bask in the glory that is my intact house, and dwell on the rewards that will fall upon Merl for his hard work, and Phil for his electrical knowledge.

Speaking of light bulbs (we really weren't, but I don't feel like finding a better transition), a couple of researchers came up with a really neat idea for pen based desktops (http://honeybrown.ca/Pubs/BumpTop.html). The basis of the idea is that on people's desk, they work in piles, not folders. Its so simple its brilliant. Watch the video for a bit and you'll get the hang of it. I think this could really be adopted to the mouse system as well. In my opinion, the brick wall we've run into on the desktop is the folder. While they group things, they're not convienent to use, or navigate. The concept of piles is so much better. Watch the video, its hard to describe in a blog.

And to wrap it up, I'll give you the song for the lyric since its one of my all time favorites. Available Light by Rush. I think this comes pretty close to my philosophy of life. So read the lyrics, maybe I'll make more sense then.
(http://www.lyricsdepot.com/rush/available-light.html)

I'm one of many, I speak for the rest but I don't understand

I've been away for a while (being a daddy is hard work). That and it took me a while to come up with a good lyric for this topic. I'm being very stubborn about this lyric title thing, probably overly so. So what? This one's pretty obscure, so bonus points for those who get it without a web search.

First off, a shout out to my brother's band Aridne (http://www.aridne.com). They've posted some stuff online, and I'll be the first to admit to being shocked how good it was. No offense to my brother, but you just don't expect something that good coming from someone you're related too.

Anyway, check it out. Very old-genesis like in that 1) there are a lot of different ideas in a song, and 2) it doesn't suck. Its nice to see music like that is still being written. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

However this post is not about them, if it was, the title wouldn't make any sense. No, this is about Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Yes, I'm talking about game consoles. Go figure, I tell my wife about this blog, and then I post something that will bore her to tears.

Anyway, if you've been following the media blitz, you know the current state of the world is this.
1) Microsoft was out first with the XBox360, though there aren't that many good games out for it yet. Price $400

2) Nintendo will be next out the gate with the Wii. Strange name, but revolutionary controller. Price $250

3) Sony out last. Probably best graphics & hardware, Blu-Ray next gen DVD player. Price $600.

$600 for a game console??? The industry media has been in shock for days proclaiming the end of Sony's reign as the top console. And predicting the XBox360 as taking the top spot.

However, it might not be that clear cut. Don't get me wrong, Sony is taking one HELL of a gamble. Their price point might be ok if 1 of 2 of the following turns out to be true.

1) People will realize that they're getting a damn cheap Blu-Ray DVD player, and the game console is a bonus. They have to market the hell out of this, because as long as people see an expensive game console, it will drive people away. However, since HD-DVD & Blu-Ray DVD player are running at minimum $900, this is a great deal.

2) The console market is underrated. Considering the massive shortages of the XBox360, and the fact that they were selling on ebay for over $600, this might be true. People MIGHT actually be willing to spend that much considering that consoles last for 5 years.

If either one of those facts is true, Sony won't be in much trouble for their price point. If both are true, they will probably dominate again.....maybe.

There has been a lot of press on the XBox360 vs the PS3, but on the side is the new Nintendo Wii. This little box got a lot of good press at the recent E3 conference. The new controller that acts like a wand of sorts opens up huge possibilities for new types of gameplay (imagine swinging a bat, or wielding a sword).

The fact that its graphics aren't as high powered as the other 2 might actually be an ADVANTAGE. With more graphical power comes higher production costs. Making the Wii more attractive to developers. The graphics vs. gameplay argument comes into play again as well. This balance has been coming on the side of graphics for quite a long time. Though there are old games that I go back and play, once you get used to the nice graphics, its hard to go back.

However, I think there's a law of diminishing returns in effect, and we've finally reached it. The fact that Guild Wars does not have the highest power graphics engine, yet still looks beautiful lends credence to that. I don't think gamers are going to care that much this time around. However, the magic wand of the Wii is something revolutionary, and that's going to get gamers talking.

So I'm going out on a limb and call the winner of the next round of console wars for Nintendo's Wii. We'll see if I'm right this XMas.