http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ Game design, business, and socializing en-us brian@crankyuser.com 2004-12-25T16:09:38-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/12/25_goodnight.html In the interesting of trying something new, this blog is now deprecated. Please check out crankyuser.com for the new blog!... 79@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ admin 2004-12-25T16:09:38-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/11/09_halo_2_and_the_xbox_live_ban.html Some random speculation, without any insider information: crankyuser: "I’m guessing they’ve decided to clear the decks in anticipation of Halo 2, which is likely to push Live to the breaking point." http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-live-ban-day-025247.php wow, that's an idiotic theory -- "lots of... 78@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ gamedev 2004-11-09T12:31:42-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/11/04_let_the_healing_begin.html losangeles.craigstlist posting, via souris: Straight male seeks Bush supporter for fair, physical fight - m4mI would like to fight a Bush supporter to vent my anger. If you are one, have a fiery streek, please contact me so we can... 77@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ social 2004-11-04T19:09:32-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/10/25_rivers_cuomo.html Did you know my cousin Jeff is an undergrad at Harvard, along with such esteemed colleagues as Rivers Cuomo? He is, and they are! optimisticego: hey dude...guess who i just ate dinner with? rivers cuomo crankyuser: is he really quiet... 76@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ family 2004-10-25T18:36:34-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/09/22_priorities.html I think the new hardware has satisfied my recent obsession with being able to write and connect on the go. It seems that my step dad needs a new device now, too -- he didn't have TMobile coverage in Alaska,... 74@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ family 2004-09-22T09:44:42-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/09/19_now_with_fewer_reasons_for_posting_regularly.html I recently got some old hardware from my friend Chris. In the process of setting it up (thanks to Adrian and Vic), I noticed that I carry over the same workflow flaws that I sometimes have as a designer. I... 72@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ 2004-09-19T17:34:25-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/09/09_washington_to_washington.html So you attempt to fly from Rochester to Pittsburgh to connect to a flight to Seattle. That falls through because of a bum tire and you get rerouted to DC, which feels like backtracking, but at least makes for a... 70@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ travel 2004-09-09T20:09:55-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/08/31_reading_material.html A good friend is moving cross-country and slowly parting with years of carefully collected pop culture. It's a painful process, but she's graciously offered to send me her collections of Metropolis and Adbusters, with some Tokions and Faces on the... 68@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ design 2004-08-31T21:12:56-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/08/24_happy_trails.html Tonight one our prize aikido students had his final class and a farewell dinner before he left for college in New York. We went to Monsoon, which is the best pan-Asian restaurant in the area, a good mix of Vietnamese... 66@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ physical 2004-08-24T23:16:22-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/08/20_speechless.html You can't make this shit up. rob: so [our stepfather] bought a new hdtv ready tv. seems like a waste of money. instead of using one of our existing tvs, he decided to get a new one and spend more... 65@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ slack 2004-08-20T07:22:25-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/08/13_mistaken_identities.html My good friend Robert Khoo and I are sometimes mistaken for each other at networky events, despite his short hair, lack of glasses, lack of piercings, business casual attire, and being far louder and wirier (but fighting dirty). While somewhat... 64@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ slack 2004-08-13T02:05:03-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/08/04_doom.html Yesterday morning my coworkers and I drove to Best Buy looking for copies of Doom³. The rumor was that they were price matching it and selling it for $45. They had copies, but weren't price matching. We tried EBX and... 62@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ games 2004-08-04T10:27:44-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/07/09_gaming_open_market_down.html The Gaming Open Market is a stock market clearing house where players can trade currency in different MMOs. They recently lost $3k in a trade where a player claimed the delivery did not go through, so they're revisiting their policies.... 54@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ gamedev 2004-07-09T02:17:05-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/07/08_griefing_in_second_life.html Interesting theory from the CEO of Second Life -- one of the alternative MMOs -- about how griefing only comes about when players get frustrated that there isn't enough to do, and when tormenting other players is the most fun... 48@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ gamedev 2004-07-08T02:32:04-08:00 http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/2004/07/08_back_from_the_north.html I have lots of photographs and writing to edit from my trip to Alaska, but I'm currently suffering from a deluge of work and catching up with friends both locally and abroad. For now let me say that it is... 47@http://www.crankyuser.com/blog/ travel 2004-07-08T02:26:34-08:00