Because I’m me, I created a new theme for my blog. Check it out! The new site will allow me to feature posts, and make it easier to find things. I’ve got ideas man… ideas!

I like video games. You may like video games. However, it’s not always easy to afford gaming especially nowadays. That’s why I’ll have an upcoming regular feature on my blog called Cheap Cheap Gaming. It’s really easy and affordable to play a generation behind on gaming consoles. There are tons of great games for the PS2, Gamecube, and PC that you can find quite affordable. Hidden gems if you will. So if your interested, I’ll whisk you away to 5 years ago (and before), when the world was simpler, the grass was greener, and double jumping was NEW!

Stay tuned!

It’s young, and has plenty of room to grow. But it’s already ages ahead of where Twitter and Facebook debuted. I think you’ll find yourself using it more and more as time goes on.

Shadow Complex is a game entirely based on exploration, power-ups, and shooting mans in a base. The story of Shadow Complex is supposed to take place in the universe of Orson Scott Card’s novel Empire. While this may be true (there is not much tie in to the novel), story is not something you are going to get a lot of from the game. Some people like this, but when you are shooting armed guards in a base before unfolding the their evil generic plot to take over the United States, you don’t have much empathy toward your character. But when playing the game you will most likely have only one interest: finding ways to be come more powerful. By the end of the game you are a juggernaut of pain – that is what makes the game awesome.

The game is in 2D, but rendered in 3D. This allows for some very awesome graphics, and battles that go into the third dimension. Shooting enemies in the background is seamless as long as you are pointing in their direction. Enemies are pretty generic and there is not a wide variety. The boss fights are also pretty bland and are generally won with plain old brute force as opposed to any tactical prowess.

The game is not so much inspired by Metroid as it is a 3D clone. So if you are looking for originality you aren’t going to find much. In fact, almost every power-up in the game has an equivalent power-up in the Metroid universe. For example, doors and spaces are color coded when shining your trusty flashlight to discover what weapon will open it – just like Metroid. But there are also some things that are unique and fun. Moving with one joystick and aiming with the second allows precision aiming. The foam gun in the game is really cool and unique, but not utilized nearly enough. There are several other differences from Metroid, but ultimately, I’m pretty sure this is what Super Metroid would be if it came out today.

Overall the game is still awesome. While I mentioned that it is completely derivative of Super Metroid, I’m okay with it because Super Metroid was one of the best games of all time. The story is lacking, but you don’t need it too much as you’ll spend most of your time trying to find all the secrets. The last boss is lame, and not energetic at all (pending you found all of the power-ups by the end). But the game is paced well, and is a steal at $15. If you liked anything about Metroid or the Castlevania series, you’ll love this game.

I think the interview/evaluation with the kid was flawed. The kid didn’t strike me as an avid gamer. He listed three games that he plays: Halo 3, Call of Duty : World at War, and NHL.  Some first person shooters and a sports game. When we were kids we had friends like this – the friends that only played NBA Jam, or Mortal Kombat. Fighting and sports. But some of us played all kinds of games and subjected ourselves to such masochist games like Contra. All of this is anecdotal evidence. I personally overheard two kids at Red Lobster talking about Super Mario World for the SNES and how much fun they were having. This study also doesn’t include Erica’s cousin who plays Contra 4 for DS (not exactly the same, but the music, graphics, and difficulty are not much different from the original) and loves the game.

The point I want to convey is we shouldn’t make assumptions based on the opinion of this one kid. If someone were to provide me a valid poll with a proper sample size (1000 kids of varying demographics) then we could worry about kids and video gaming. There is a plethora of good video games today, and several opportunities for kids to play classics by way of DLC. The biggest problem is exposure to such games. Kids aren’t rocking out to Mega Man 2 or Tetris like we did. They aren’t advertised and aren’t sold on store shelves.

Two last things. I didn’t like Contra when I was a kid. The difficulty was too high for me. I didn’t appreciate the game until college. Also I know people that haven’t played half of this awesome list of 16 bit classics (the best generation in my opinion).

Google Voice is a service that allows you to keep one number and forward it to any phone you own. Google gives you one number for life, for free. Tons of features come with it, it’s essentially your own personal call center. You can block callers, screen calls, and set times for which phones ring. There’s tons more that I’m not mentioning. It’s absolutely amazing and it’s something that the Telcos should have come up with years ago. But they didn’t. Now Google’s got it and there isn’t even a competitor for this type of service, let alone one for free.

Google recently opened the flood gates for Google Voice to the public and has been sending invites like crazy. This must have what triggered the events that recently passed. Two apps were already available in the App Store – GV Mobile and VoiceCentral. They’ve been around since May. They were paid apps developed by third party developers. The main reason people want these apps is to be able to show their Google Voice number on outgoing calls, and to review all history on their Google Voice account. These apps also integrated with your iPhone address book. But these apps were pulled this week, and then Google admitted that Apple denied their official app that was submitted six weeks ago. Again, the apps were pulled for “duplicating functionality already on the iPhone.” You may want to re-read that. And come on, how many notes apps are in the App Store?

There are several reasons why this is and should be upsetting to iPhone users.

First, Apple is now aggressively blocking an incredibly useful app. Something that is new, that no one else has. Their acceptance to date has been pretty inconsistent. They’ve hindered functionality of apps like Google Latitude, and Skype. But this was a flat out block, and a retroactive one at that. The apps that were already in the store were APPROVED for months, then retroactively denied. People paid money for them, and now if they need to clear their iPhone, they won’t be available.

Second, Google has already released this app to all Blackberry phones, including those on the AT&T network. So AT&T already has this app functioning on another device on their network. Some have suggested that AT&T is not ready for the growth of the iPhone userbase, even though they’ve dropped the price of the phone down to a mere $99 to gain… more iPhone users.

Third, most people are placing the blame entirely on AT&T. AT&T is scared of Google Voice, even though to use the service… you have to have a wireless phone number to use it wirelessly. It’s not a VOIP app. I will be using my AT&T minutes to make calls on my iPhone. You can also text from Google Voice, which is maybe what they are afraid of. But most people are going to keep their texting plans too (because $30 a month is a reasonable price). So if AT&T thinks they are going to lose money on it, they are wrong. They will lose money by for blocking it, as a lot of people will move to the Android platform which has a much more open acceptance for applications developed for it.

Fourth, and last. Apple has been so inconsistent with its approval of apps that developers may not want to take a chance on any kind of application that “duplicates functionality already on the iPhone” or improves upon it. Why spend money and time developing an application if you have no certainty on whether that app will show up a month or two later? Apple and AT&T are blocking true innovation on an already innovative phone. Why not improve it and foster even greater unimaginable uses for the phone?

I am greatly upset with this new trend Apple is setting, and as a consumer I should be allowed to put whatever I want on my phone as long as it doesn’t interrupt with AT&T’s network. Android and the Blackberry will have time to catch up to the iPhone if this continues. Even if you aren’t a Google Voice user, you should still remain concerned. Hopefully these are just growing pains that we can laugh at in a year.

Looks for new content soon!
Thanks,

Jared

The latest hype revolves around a Twitter TV show. Seriously people? Are we so obsessed with Twitter that we need a TV show , about Twitter? Granted, Twitter provides an excellent way to communicate with listeners or viewers of programs (ex. CAVERadio*). Integrating Twitter can provide a new provocative way to combine our information overload, but this Hollywood focus, and celebrity oriented phenomenon needs to stop.

I think Twitter needs to start innovating with some new features, and stabilizing current ones, instead of relying so heavily on the API community to do cool things for them while they hold up the walls. If you haven’t yet, please check out FriendFeed. It’s everything Twitter is and more (stable, real time, feature rich), and you don’t have to completely abandon Twitter to use it. And seriously… a TV show?

^{* Unsolicited Shout-Out}

Anyhow, with the help of some friends we made a new video. Check it out.

Shower Time With Clark Kent from Jared Cherup on Vimeo.

I seriously couldn’t resist.

Jim Brochowski Asks:
When can we get together and have a beer?

Well Jim you give me a date, time and place, and I’ll be there.

Erica Asks:
What is your all-time, most favorite song ever? I have dated you for almost four years and yet somehow I don’t know the answer to that question. I know lots of songs that you LIKE, but I don’t know what your favorite one is. Does that make me a bad girlfriend?!

Most favorite song ever? I don’t really limit myself. I really like One by Metallica, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and Albequerque by Weird Al. Check out my Last.fm for what I’m listening to. And yes that makes you a horrible girlfriend.

Chaser Asks:
Rank these potato preparations in order from your favorite to least favorite:

French fried, hash browned, baked, twice baked, au gratin, tater totted, potato chipped, and mashed (pillowy mounds of).

Baked, French Fried, Pillowy Mounds of Mashed Potatoes, Potatoes chipped, Twice baked, au gratin, hash browned, tater totted.

Lindsey Asks:
Do you ever get the urge to get naked and roll around in the snow?

Sometimes.

Thanks for the questions. Ask me anytime on Twitter. I may have to do another one of these.

I don’t care if it ranges from serious, mature, or what my favorite mythical creature is. Go for it. Or don’t.

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If you don’t already, follow me on Twitter, and check out my link blog to the right. The links I share are often what I’m reading or interested in at the moment. The links are aggregated from my Google Reader shared items, my delicious, and my Vimeo likes.

I have received a few punishment suggestions for not updating. The top two, and only two are as follows:

Tazer.

Or to watch Britney: For The Record until I’m caught up.

So, if you have a better suggestion let me know.

This counts as a blog post.

by ahhyeah via Flickr

A couple of notes, and advice to people who will never read this and then I’ll leave this up for discussion.

SUVs do not make you invincible. Momentum and physics still exist in your four wheel drive monster. (I own a Jeep, and I can tell you, 4 wheels do not matter on ice).

One does not need to go 5 miles an hour to be safe. If the road is straight they will be fine.

Don’t ride my ass because you think I’m going too slow. I’m trying to avoid an accident, and so should you.

For you safe drivers that read this, do you tend to agree with Central Ohio being the bad driving capital of the midwest?

For the 6 of you who answered, you all listen to FM in the car. 1/3 listens to NPR. Hoorah. I think there needs to be some sort of new innovation in radio, but, I’m not a genius so I can’t think of what that innovation would be. I think it would be something to make it more interactive. Do any DJs have Twitter accounts?

I also have an app on my iPhone called WunderRadio. It aggregates several radio stations streams and let’s you play them on your phone.  They can be be from anywhere too. Most of my local radio stations are there. CNN and NPR are also listed. It also has police scanner channels and railroad channels, which allow me to be an old man. Clear Channel came out with their own radio streaming app called I :heart: Radio. It only had 12 stations when it first debuted. It’s slowly growing now. NPR has their own iPhone app out too.

I can’t wait to get XM on my iPhone. That will be sweet. Do you listen to any radio, or have you moved to podcasts and mp3s? I am curious.

First, no good exercise plan is without cardio. And what better cardio than running from zombies. You can get your heart rate up and have a great incentive to continue: not getting eaten by zombies. Your terrain will change depending on your location, so you will have some flat land running, down hill running or even, up hill running. Also different types of terrain will also give you more complex types of running workouts. Sewers or rivers will add weight to your clothes. Running through fire will let you feel the burn.

Second, zombies are not great climbers. They have a fear of heights. This will allow you to tone your upper body. Again depending on your location you could be climbing up ladders, stairs, or even rock climbing. With all that climbing you will need to develop a good grip, and flexibility.

Third, moving large objects will help round out your workout. On occasion you will need to block your path from persuing zombies. You may have to move a bookshelf, an armoire , or a boulder.

Now on to your diet. Since it’s an apocalypse and depending on the way the zombie infection circulates, food will most likely not be commonplace. Not only will this control your portion size, but since you are always going to be on the move you will need to move to more nutritious and energy abundant foods instead of empty carbs.

Few people think about the mental workout, or for those who don’t know what that is… thinking. You will need to be steadfast and clever to outwit foes and survive in the new world. Developing strategy will allow you to work smarter, not harder.

Besides the emotional soul breaking and destruction of the world part, this diet and exercise plan is excellent. So stay fit, alert, and alive.