Lots of Monkeys

Not from heaven
Originally uploaded by PraxisLoki.

Went to the bank the other day, turns out they offer a coinstar service, of sorts.

Works great, and now I’m not carrying around 5 pounds of loose change.

Yes, really. Quite heavy, but not a problem anymore. I really like the receipt, it gives you the break down of what type of coinage and how many you had. That’s 182 pennies.

You’ll notice the lack of quarters, primarily because I needed them for laundry. However, in my new place, they use tokens you buy at the front desk. An end of an era.

You have to give back the receipt at the teller window, but before I did, I snapped this pic.

Oh, and my bank doesn’t charge for this “service.” At least not yet.

appropriate
Originally uploaded by PraxisLoki.

Well, just as I was about to give up on a moblog solution. One presents itself.

Music based video games are a source of income depletion constant amusement for me. I love them. Music games make me want to. . . play them.

The first music game that I really went crazy over was Beatmania. Beatmania consists of hitting “notes” of a song and spinning a turntable on the beat, on a specialized controller. I imported the game, two sets of turntable / keyboard units, and hacked my playstation one. Then I went about navigating the menus and learning the various songs. Eventually I got so good I could play both sets of turntables and keyboards for one song. Evidently, I had a lot more free time then. *sigh*

Konami decided that Beatmania was a good thing, and produced more games under the “bemani” line: Guitar Freaks, Drummania, Keyboardmania, Pop’n’Music, Para Para Paradise, and of course, media darling Dance Dance Revolution. You can see some of these games in the background of the movie “Lost in Translation.” Bill Murray’s character is absolutely bewildered by them.

Other companies produced their own music games as well: Parappa the Rapper and Vib Ribbon from Sony, Pump it Up from Korean newcomer Andamiro, Space Channel 5 and Samba De Amigo from Sega, Donkey Konga from Nintendo, and Taiko Drum Master from Namco.

Vib Ribbon from Sony (Also known as the “Dancing Crack Rabbit” game, you’ll see why after the link) had simple vector graphics, but allowed you to use your own music CDs to provide the music and “levels” for the game.

Pump it Up is the only dance game that I know of (and my current favorite, btw) that is accessible via Metro. The White Flint Mall Dave and Buster’s has a unit there, relatively well maintained. The machine and its fans were the subject of a local news broadcast, but I can’t find the link.

Samba De Amigo from Sega had infrared maracas controllers which actually make noise. So while playing the game, you’re shaking the maracas. You’re playing a game about playing the instrument and playing the instrument at the same time. There’s metagame.

Previously, the US market for games of this type was middling to weak, at best.

But it has begun to change. Games that I never thought would be released in the United States are appearing in retailers.

Donkey Konga, from Nintendo, has arrived at your local retailer. I’ve got the import and the US release, and they’re both pretty fun. I have both because I thought the game would never be released here.

Taiko Drum Master, a game I thought would never hit US shores, is now available to preorder. This astounds me. I mean, it’s a game. . . about taiko drumming. Hey Billy Jo, do you know what a Taiko is?

I have played Donkey Konga multiplayer and it is quite amusing. However, it is not as complex nor rewarding as the Beatmania games. Unfortunately, most of the US will never know, because the Beatmania games have never been released here in the states, except for select arcade units. (I blame this lack of exposure on the demise of the American Video Game Arcade, which is a whole other issue for me.) I fear that many americans will never know the joy of wailing on a fake guitar, which for me is sad.

I’m hoping that this is indicative of a future trend. Granted, I enjoy walking / flying / driving / jumping to point A and beating / stabbing / destroying / shooting / stealing X, just as much as the next guy. (Probably more so.)

It’s just that music games are just fun.

They are play for the sake of play.

We could all use more of that.

You are attempting to move from Point A to Point B.

You may move out from A on Mondays through Fridays, after 4 PM–but weekends are okay. Masonry work is being done on A. As a result, large bricks fall from the side of the building. Since you do not wish to endanger the movers, you will comply with the hours.

You may move in to B on Mondays through Fridays, 8 AM to 5 PM–absolutely no weekends. Due to elevator restrictions, it is impossible to change these hours.

Y is the location of the only truck rental facility open on a Sunday.

Please calculate the Aggravation to Distance ratio as X for this move, given the following values:

A = Corner of Cumberland and Connecticut, Washington DC
B = Corner of Chesapeake and Connecticut, Washington DC
Y = South Eads St., Arlington, VA

You have 5 days.

This is by far, the most ridiculous move I have ever been involved in.

One of the strangest things about being in my condo is the fact that it’s empty. As of this moment, I can tell you the entire contents of my home. Rather than doing that, I’m going to talk about the Sims 2.

Right now, with the empty place, it’s so much like starting a new character in the Sims 2. The resemblance is so uncanny, it’s eerie.

You start with an empty space, then you get a job, get paid, acquire some material possessions to make themselves happy, then go back to work. Just so we’re on the same page, I’m taking about the Sims 2. The Sims 2 also throws in the ability for your sims to make new friends on the internet, go out shopping, and the brand spanking new feature of being able to pass on their genetic legacy to their children.

Of course, your sims could also just stay at home and watch tv.

I keep thinking how nice the condo is, but how much better it would be with some nice furniture, and some better lighting.

In the Sims, furniture and lighting are the primary boosters for the “environment” stat for your Sim. If they get lower, overall mood and happiness will decrease.

It just really scares amazes me how much thought that Wil Wright has put into the design of this game.