It might be coincidence that all these pictures feature the retractable-sunglasses-equipped Adam Jensen, but frankly, those are the only screenshots worth taking in this game.
Monday, April 7, 2014
More Deus Ex: Human Revolution Screenshots
I never asked for these screenshots, but I got them anyways.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great; so ambitious that he was distressed upon hearing his father's victories-- the more territory Philip took, the less there would be left for Alexander to conquer. It is said that he slept with a dagger and a copy of the Iliad under his pillow.
One of my classes is currently studying Alexander the Great, and funnily enough, we students are probably around the same age as Alexander was when he became king of Macedon and began his conquests. This can be discouraging-- I'm currently making minimum wage guarding pictures of Alexander the Great in the museum. On the other hand, I'm content with what I have, something that can't be said for Alexander at any age.
One of my classes is currently studying Alexander the Great, and funnily enough, we students are probably around the same age as Alexander was when he became king of Macedon and began his conquests. This can be discouraging-- I'm currently making minimum wage guarding pictures of Alexander the Great in the museum. On the other hand, I'm content with what I have, something that can't be said for Alexander at any age.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
Science Facts: Negative pH
Dabbling about with orange juice and stomach acid is all very well and good, but what happens when pH is negative? It is, in fact, physically possible to have a negative pH, since pH = -log[H+]. In other words, pH is the power to which the number ten must be raised to equal the concentration of hydronium (the ion brought about by an acid reacting with water) in a solution. A pH of 0, then, means that the concentration of hydronium is 10^0, or 1 mole per liter of solution.
It's rare, but possible, to have more than one mole of hydronium in a liter of solution. The lowest recorded pH I could find is -3.6, from some very acidic water in a mine in California. Since this pH is on a logarithmic scale, this is crazily acidic-- 10,000 times more acidic than battery acid. It almost seems preposterous, but these numbers come from the US Geological Survey. They must have done the measurement right. Right?
It's rare, but possible, to have more than one mole of hydronium in a liter of solution. The lowest recorded pH I could find is -3.6, from some very acidic water in a mine in California. Since this pH is on a logarithmic scale, this is crazily acidic-- 10,000 times more acidic than battery acid. It almost seems preposterous, but these numbers come from the US Geological Survey. They must have done the measurement right. Right?
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Tales of the Urban Dead Part 9
Zombie groans sounded in the streets as Albert Newman bandaged his arm. Mayer Hawthorne was sitting by the radio, jotting something down in the notebook he always carried with him. Albert stood up and peered out of one of the broken windows. The zombies below were shuffling aimlessly about, occasionally stopping to sniff the air.
Garbled voices broke through the white noise of the radio. Albert hurried over as Mayer fiddled with the tuner. *...zed...or more...Julie General Hospital. Please send help. We.......survivors...*
"That's not too far from here," said Mayer, glancing at Albert.
Albert looked at his hands. "Think we should make a run for it?"
"We have more chance with a large group than holed up here. Maybe that's where the Boardsies went-- they mentioned heading south."
Albert grimaced and picked up his axe. "Let's get going then."
Albert's coat billowed in a brief breeze as he and Mayer slipped out of St. Matheos', heading through an alley free of zombies. Two pistols were holstered at Albert's belt, and Mayer held a third, along with poor Jerry's baseball bat.
Julie General Hospital was in sight when a zombie stumbled around a corner and right into Albert. Jumping back, Albert lashed out with his axe while Mayer fired twice, taking the zombie down. "They'll have heard that," gasped Albert, scrambling to his feet.
Three more zombies came up through the alley and another four or five shuffled in from the street Julie General Hospital was on. Albert and Mayer broke into a run, knocking aside the dead with axe and bat. There was a crash to the east and Albert changed course as a new flood of zombies shambled around a second street corner. He couldn't hear Mayer yelling any more, and couldn't see him anywhere either.
Albert shook off a grasping zombie hand and bounded up the steps of Julie General Hospital. Thrusting his fire axe through his belt, Albert drew both pistols and kicked the front door open. In the hospital lobby, dozens of bodies lay on the ground, fresh blood seeping from bite wounds and scratches. A smashed radio transmitter lay in the middle of the room.
The body nearest the door began to rise.
Garbled voices broke through the white noise of the radio. Albert hurried over as Mayer fiddled with the tuner. *...zed...or more...Julie General Hospital. Please send help. We.......survivors...*
"That's not too far from here," said Mayer, glancing at Albert.
Albert looked at his hands. "Think we should make a run for it?"
"We have more chance with a large group than holed up here. Maybe that's where the Boardsies went-- they mentioned heading south."
Albert grimaced and picked up his axe. "Let's get going then."
Albert's coat billowed in a brief breeze as he and Mayer slipped out of St. Matheos', heading through an alley free of zombies. Two pistols were holstered at Albert's belt, and Mayer held a third, along with poor Jerry's baseball bat.
Julie General Hospital was in sight when a zombie stumbled around a corner and right into Albert. Jumping back, Albert lashed out with his axe while Mayer fired twice, taking the zombie down. "They'll have heard that," gasped Albert, scrambling to his feet.
Three more zombies came up through the alley and another four or five shuffled in from the street Julie General Hospital was on. Albert and Mayer broke into a run, knocking aside the dead with axe and bat. There was a crash to the east and Albert changed course as a new flood of zombies shambled around a second street corner. He couldn't hear Mayer yelling any more, and couldn't see him anywhere either.
Albert shook off a grasping zombie hand and bounded up the steps of Julie General Hospital. Thrusting his fire axe through his belt, Albert drew both pistols and kicked the front door open. In the hospital lobby, dozens of bodies lay on the ground, fresh blood seeping from bite wounds and scratches. A smashed radio transmitter lay in the middle of the room.
The body nearest the door began to rise.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Niche Jokes With Benjamin: Reloaded
Why are DNA primers so pious?
Because they're always annealing.
Why did the CEO use subjunctive forms when reassuring an unemployed Santa during a job interview?
He was employing a doubting clause.
What's the difference between an Emory student who likes to eat after 10 PM and a horse?
One lives mostly on oats, and the other's a horse.
Because they're always annealing.
Why did the CEO use subjunctive forms when reassuring an unemployed Santa during a job interview?
He was employing a doubting clause.
What's the difference between an Emory student who likes to eat after 10 PM and a horse?
One lives mostly on oats, and the other's a horse.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
The Wonders of Retro Games
As I look through my Steam library, I begin to see that a large portion of the games I've played that were truly great were made before the year 2000. Maybe it's the complexity and depth of retro games that makes them so memorable, or maybe it's just the imagination required to be immersed in early graphics.
Developers these days don't seem to see the benefits of making games the way they used to be made, and things are taking a turn for the worse. Look at all the series being killed of by money-hungry studios-- how did always-online SimCity come from amazing sandbox Sim City 2000? How did amazingly immersive Morrowind get dumbed down to easily-accessible Skyrim?
The real problem with game makers today is creativity. While better companies such as Nintendo keep on making the same great Mario game every other year, many other studios are journeying into lame new territory. Original IP is good for stuff like books, maybe, but video game clunkers like The Last of Us and DayZ show that, when it comes to gaming, it's best to just stick to sequels.
The one ray of hope in today's gaming society is the multitude of indie developers making traditional point-and-click adventure games and old-school platformers, complete with retro graphics. Some developers have lost sight of how good video games can really be, and while these traitors to art work on triple-A sellout projects, retro developers haven't forgotten the fact that video gaming reached its peak long ago, and re-creating the experiences of the 80s and 90s is the only way gaming culture will ever move forward.
Developers these days don't seem to see the benefits of making games the way they used to be made, and things are taking a turn for the worse. Look at all the series being killed of by money-hungry studios-- how did always-online SimCity come from amazing sandbox Sim City 2000? How did amazingly immersive Morrowind get dumbed down to easily-accessible Skyrim?
The real problem with game makers today is creativity. While better companies such as Nintendo keep on making the same great Mario game every other year, many other studios are journeying into lame new territory. Original IP is good for stuff like books, maybe, but video game clunkers like The Last of Us and DayZ show that, when it comes to gaming, it's best to just stick to sequels.
The one ray of hope in today's gaming society is the multitude of indie developers making traditional point-and-click adventure games and old-school platformers, complete with retro graphics. Some developers have lost sight of how good video games can really be, and while these traitors to art work on triple-A sellout projects, retro developers haven't forgotten the fact that video gaming reached its peak long ago, and re-creating the experiences of the 80s and 90s is the only way gaming culture will ever move forward.
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