Once I figure out what purpose this blog will serve, I’ll be sure to let everyone know. By writing a post. On this blog.

(That was smooth.)

Oh, and for pity’s sake, people, stop sending me stuff about Alex Jones. I’m sorry I ever mentioned the guy.

Yes, beards are relevant to my interests.

At any rate, the big news is the one minute teaser trailer. Have a look. (Spoilers abound after the break.)

Shocking, eh? Sheppard seems to be dead, and…what’s that? A Geth with N7 armor? BioWare won’t confirm the Geth is actually wearing the armor, but it looks pretty clear to me. Have a look at the screenshot below.

Certainly looks like the logo from Sheppard’s default armor is stenciled on to that Geth. Is it part of the crew? Is it masquerading as part of the crew? Is it…Sheppard’s consciousness in a Geth body? Okay, I’m reaching with that last one, but it just seems odd that they’d kill off Sheppard while advising players to keep their saves from the original.

It really seems like it’ll be an interesting game. If it’s true that decisions made in Mass Effect will carry over into Mass Effect 2, imagine if you had let the Council die in the attack on the Citadel. The Systems Alliance would probably be handing out orders. And knowing how fast humanity has spread in that game, they may even control most of the known galaxy. But what if the Council had been saved? Would things be all that different? After all, humanity got a seat on the council following the attack. Maybe they still would have spread.

Ah, it’s all just speculation at this point. The tentative release date is this time next year, so there’s still a long way to go until anyone gets a whiff of the plot. I’m still looking forward to it. Downloadable content can only satisfy a person for so long…

That is, they will if you abstain from all physical activity.

A lot of people seem to miss that crucial stipulation. I’ve come across far too many misguided tirades aimed at massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft that claim that players of such games are nothing more than fat nerds with no life who live in their parents’ basement. Really? Simply buying a subscription to WoW adds 200 or so pounds instantly? Of course not. It’s a baseless claim made by people who want to act sanctimonious. Or, even worse, by people who were overweight WoW players and are turning a blind eye to the behaviors and habits that really made them fat, preferring instead to find a scapegoat.

Why pick this specific topic? Well, I play World of Warcraft. I’ve been a subscriber for the past five or six months. And yet, my weight is proportional to my height. I have a friend who has been playing for longer than I have, and he’s in the same boat. Guess that blows the theory that all WoW players are overweight right out of the water, doesn’t it?

So what does make people overweight? A number of things, but it seems that it’s commonly bad habits combined with lack of physical activity. In other words, if you eat junk food all the time, spend hours in front of the computer every day, and never get on a treadmill, you’re going to be horribly out of shape when compared to someone who eats junk food only occasionally, spends less time in front of the computer, and exercises regularly.

The important thing to remember: World of Warcraft and physical activity are not–I repeat, not–mutually exclusive. Sure, WoW itself doesn’t require any movement beyond your hands. Neither does reading. And what kind of insane person would suggest that reading makes you fat?

Finally, there’s the claim that WoW is designed to be addicting. I’d really like that one explained to me because I don’t see what’s so addicting about grinding and questing my ass off to gain a level just so I can do it all over again until I reach the level cap and have to kill real people instead. (Note: when I say “people”, I really mean “computer-generated avatars of real people”. Just to avoid any confusion from the crazies who think I’m advocating real-life violence as a form of entertainment.) Besides, getting addicted to WoW is like getting addicted to gambling. You played too much and didn’t know when to stop. That’s not the fault of the game, considering there are plenty of people who play WoW and lead perfectly normal lives free of addiction.

Anyone who rips on WoW players as being fat losers who never move needs to think back to any time they curled up in a chair and read a book for a few hours. Any physical activity beyond turning the page? If not, how is it any different? Spend hours upon hours reading Shakespeare’s assorted works and snacking on Cheetos and you’re going to end up the same as if you had spent hours upon hours playing WoW and snacking on Cheetos: overweight and unhealthy. Think about that.

Or not.

So, I pop in the bonus features disk (complete with digital copy) and a little screen pops up welcoming me to WB’s digital copy process, yada yada. After a bit of figuring out where I live and what language I speak, it opens up iTunes to validate the copy (using the handy-dandy code included in the DVD packaging). After entering the code and my iTunes password, the digital copy begins to download.

Now, this is where things go wrong. My DVD drive isn’t making any sound at all and the digital copy transfer is going on in the Downloads queue in iTunes, so I figure that I don’t need the disk in any longer. Wrong. The instant I ejected the DVD, the download stopped and an error message appeared. Okay, no big deal. I popped the disk in and clicked the retry button next to the download. Nothing. Wait a little longer…then iTunes freezes. Oh crap.

I’m worried because I have a feeling the authorization code was a one-time deal and I’ll get harassed for daring to attempt the transfer a second time. You know, kinda like how Spore was with its three (now five) install limit and Windows is with, well, any install.

Attempting to force iTunes to quit via the Task Manager fails multiple times and it finally closes after about 5 minutes. I put the DVD back in, went through the preliminary screen, iTunes launched, and it asked me for the code again. Fearing the worst, I put it in…and the digital copy starts transferring again. From scratch. Well, at least it let me download it again.

I suppose I should have been smarter than to remove the DVD while the transfer was going, but it would have been nice to have some kind of warning.

Anyways, I was going to continue on and rant about how the MPAA should allow consumers to freely copy their legitimately purchased DVDs because digital copy sucks, but I changed my mind now that I see it doesn’t suck as much as I thought it would. Of course, I haven’t tried downloading the Windows Media version or downloading the iTunes version onto a different computer, so I’ll reserve my final judgment until I can do further testing.

The focus of the annual pissing contest in Washington this year is a sign put up at the capitol building in Olympia by the atheist group Freedom from Religion Foundation saying, among other things, that religion is nothing but myth and superstition. The response? First it was stolen, then Bill O’Reilly chimed in about how awful and un-Christian it was, then it was returned, and finally, a local evangelical church organized an anti-atheist protest a pro-faith rally complete with their own sign claiming that atheism is nothing but myth and superstition. Yeah. It’s worse than the Christmas tree–er, holiday tree–incident at SeaTac a couple years ago.

Both groups are in the wrong here. The atheist group was obviously trolling with their rather provocative sign (it would have been fine without the religion dig), but the Christians who responded negatively were no better, especially with their signs claiming Governor Gregoire is a Grinch or the balloon nativity scene featuring Bill O’Reilly beating up on the governor (so I’ve heard). At any rate, the governor has repeatedly insisted that all religious (and non-religious) displays will be tolerated at the capitol building. I hear some people are even planning on erecting a Festivus pole.

Anyways, as the three-man counter-protesters said, “Get over it.” The atheist sign certainly crossed the line once it started disparaging religion, but the simple fact of the matter is that the holiday season doesn’t just mean Christmas. And while I know for a fact that there are a lot of Christians out there who understand that, there are still a bunch who don’t get it and probably never will. Bah, humbug.

My opinion on the issue is mixed. I see no reason same-sex couples shouldn’t get the same benefits as heterosexual couples. I also don’t have anything against calling it marriage. Language is fluid. Definitions change as society changes. However, I am not willing to push to change that definition prematurely. People naturally resist sudden change. Subtle changes over a long period of time, however, usually go unnoticed. For that reason, I advocate civil unions with the same rights and benefits as marriage but under a different name.

It’s common sense to me. As a pragmatist, I understand the importance of compromise. The main objection to same-sex marriage is the name. You know the old refrain: marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman. While it’s true that definition isn’t set in stone, it’s going to take a while before it can change. I say it’s better to fight for the rights and leave the name for later instead of fighting for the whole thing now and getting nothing. Slow and steady results produce results. They may not happen quickly, but they happen.

The usual response here is that separate but equal is not equal. I dispute that. If two things are the same in every way except in name, they are still equal. Once they become unequal, they are no longer separate but equal. It’s a rather obvious truism but I’ve come across a lot of people who don’t get it. I agree that the ideal thing is to have marriage for everyone. But that’s not going to happen easily. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against gay marriage. But I think that fighting tooth and nail for it against opponents who have shown time and again that they will not budge is detrimental. More antagonism is not what the gay marriage movement needs.

I may seem like a defeatist. An appeaser, even. It’s true: I’m no idealist. But I like to think that I know how important it is to make sure the other side is content. Proposition 8 is proof enough that forcing something on an unwilling population will result in backlash. Gradual acclimation to the idea (especially assurance that gay marriage will not affect heterosexual marriage in any way) over time will most likely result in more states allowing gay marriage without resorting to judicial intervention.

Change minds, don’t force hands.

(Of course, there is the religious side of things, but that’s not the focus of this post. Don’t worry, I haven’t overlooked the religious right. I just know it’s futile to debate them.)