Amongst the chaos of the past few weeks, we (Tami and I) were given a chance this week to escape for a few hours as we travelled South to Seattle to attend Penny Arcade Expo 2008 (henceforth to be referred to as PAX, because my typing sucks and 3 letters is harder to screw up than 19).
My overall impressions on PAX this year was somewhat of a letdown. Having attended last years event, where the panels included discussions on Penny Arcade’s debut game (which was set to come out on xBox Live) held by Hothead Games, a discussion on the History Of Guild Wars, The Future Of MMOs (which covered a lot of what Guild Wars 2 would be about), and ArenaNet Culture And Origins, I was left with a feeling that something good had happened… I had learned a lot about the gaming industry, and felt confident in it’s future.
This year… where do I start? The PAX staff were, for the most part, a letdown. While some managed to remain civil and polite (even funny in a few cases), the bad seeds ruined the entire event for me. Some of them were rude, obnoxious, and in one case, an outright bitch. “Line up here! No, you can’t line up here, you’re blocking the lane… line up there! NO! DON’T LINE UP WHERE I JUST TOLD YOU TO LINE UP, THERE ARE PEOPLE WALKING NEAR BY! GO THERE INSTEAD!!” Not to mention getting pissed at attendees for, gods forbid, sitting on the beanbag chairs where the staff had put them, only to be told that you can’t sit there, you need to move somewhere else. Hmm… it was fine last year, and I don’t really know why someone coming down an escalator would need a full 40 feet of lane space in order to be herded down the next escalator (there was actually a woman at the event who’s job was to yell at people that the down escalator was the only way down, so that was where you had to go… you know, unless you wanted to attend a panel, or get in line, or go to the OTHER down escalator on the other side of the center…). The general feeling of the panel discussions was that I was being herded like a sheep to slaughter. We had to go and sit exactly where we were told to, no exceptions… if your husband, wife, or partner was in front of you and got told to sit at the end of a chair lane, tough luck for you sitting with them… you’re in the lane behind them now, at the far end of the lane. Argue or question? Get kicked out of the panel discussion. Even the ArenaNet staff were rolling their eyes at the “Enforcers”.
The panel discussions themselves, as well as the booth occupiers, were the only saving grace for this years event. Even some of the people were a prime example of what is wrong with the World (although that is to be expected… rude staff is unacceptable). Attending the panel discussion “Female Gamer Community” this year with Tami, I found myself disgusted with what I was exposed to. Hold on, don’t read into that wrong. I am one of those types that supports girls in gaming, and believes that yep, they are quite capable of kicking the ass of anyone else that faces them in-game, irregardless of gender. What disgusted me was not what was being said on stage or in the general audience… it was what was being said at the back of the group by a few guys who felt it necessary to fall into a typical chauvinistic elitist asshole stereotype… commenting on who in the panel was, and was not “hot”, among other comments best left unpublished. Apparently there are even some on the PAX discussion forum commenting on how they had to get away from the panel quickly, lest they loose their testicles. Idiots like that are a good enough reason for me to not want to visit that community, thanks. I would think those guys would be more concerned with getting their asses kicked repeatedly in-game by these girls, since that is the threat they face. In regards to the actual Panel Discussion, I think I’ll leave Tami to write about that on her site… I unfortunately came into the discussion 15 minutes late due to my need for Tylenol and food).
The Guild Wars panel was umm… short. It was 90% a question/answer session, and didn’t touch GW2 very much due to the “secrecy” they are now operating under. While I focused on what was being said by the Panel, Tami was unfortunately forced to listen to some guy sitting on the sidelines (apparently another wonderfully trained Monkey brought on to be PAX staff) openly commenting on the responses and criticizing the panel as well as how they spoke. Nothing better to do with his time, other than bang on that keyboard hoping for Shakespeare, I guess. Chris (the Marketing Head) mentioned that they have entered into a 3 book deal for Guild Wars, which is set to focus firstly on what takes place immediately after GW1 (basically, the books are meant to fill the void of 250 years between GW1 and GW2). We got to hear a bit about the original concept art for GW (yep, every single thing we see in Guild Wars is started off as concept art), and how ArenaNet supports in-game Guild-hosted events and actually does follow them.
Wandering the floor, I was absolutely blown away by 1 game at the NCSoft booth. This game was phenomenal. Much like Guild Wars in the concept sense (although one of the staff did point out that this game is more story-driven than quest-driven), the graphics were amazing. Initial features of the game that jumped out was, of course, the graphics, but also the ability to customize your character completely. Every single facial and body detail was editable, allowing for you to finally create a full physical avatar of yourself for in game. Now, I must simply wait for release… which can’t happen until they decide HOW they plan to release it, and what sort of subscription system they plan to use, if any. So yeah, the game is amazing, but it could be a long time before we get to actually see it. What’s it called? Aion. Watch for it.
Overall, if not for the PAX staff and long lines for little fulfillment, PAX 2008 could count as a decent event. Unfortunately, those two things really ruined it for me.
And besides, why hold a panel discussion for Hothead Games (the developers of the Penny Arcade video game) 2 hours after all the exhibit booths have closed up and people have been told to get out? Where’s the logic in that?
I started this post by saying we were given the chance to escape. Unfortunately, the only escape we got on this trip was when we got out of Washington and back into our own Country.

On a side-note, I finally started to process some of the video that was shot while the Mendella crew were here visiting… with that, I give you a small sample… Mendella Invades the 2008 Abbotsford International Airshow.

UK Rock Sensation Mendella was given a taste of home yesterday, while playing a free concert to anyone choosing to seek shelter under the big blue tarp at the Aldergrove Band Shelter, next to the Museum. Even the pouring rain and threats of lightning could not keep these rockers off the stage and away from the people listening in, and only those who dared to venture out beyond the reaches of the makeshift shelter felt the fury of the weather falling upon them.

What started off as a wet morning turned rather suddenly into an outright downpour. But, thanks to some quick thinking and creativity of the sound and tech crew (Curtis and Ryan from Sonic Voodoo Productions), promoter and owner of VillageGamer Tami, and “space occupier and video camera person” Scott, a very large tarp was strung out over the field, giving the feeling of watching a concert inside a circus tent. Thus it was born, “Under The Tarp Productions: Always A Unique Show”. While the wind battered at our defenses of black poly from the sides and rear of the stage, the rain tried to bring down our shelter. Still the band played on, and in moments of true creativity, even added it into the act. Lead singer Tom “Butters” occasionally changing around lyrics of their songs to reference “the rain keeps coming down” (and down and down), while “set design and emergency water management” Scott (that’s me, people) scrambled to pop various small holes in the tarp to drain the growing lake forming overhead in the low points of the shelter. Drummer Toby Parker was even supplied some “backup beats” from the thunder in the distance, which simply added to the effect of “Rain or shine, we come to rock your (soaking wet) socks off!”.

All in all, a great time was had by all under the tarp, and the band, while braving the weather during the “breakdown” of the set and packing of the gear, had nothing by wonderful things to say about our lovely province and it’s people… although I think there may have been some mumbling in the background about how the rain finally let up for a few minutes during the very last song, only to start again once the packing started.

I think that it is a very safe bet to say that these boys are destined for super-stardom… and they are well on their way. Thank you Mendella for showing Aldergrove a great time, and we will all be watching for you in the record stores next year. Enjoy the remainder of your stay in Beautiful Sunny British Columbia, and we hope to see you here again real soon.

* NOTE * Mendella will be playing another show in Vancouver, on Wednesday August 13th at the Roxy (932 Granville St). They are set to take the Stage at 8:30 PM, so come out and show your support for this amazing band.

Mendella is:
(Bass and Supporting Vocals) Jude Davies
(Rhythm Guitar) Green Jay
(Vocals) Butters
(Lead Guitar) Chappell
(Drums) Toby Parker
(Tech) Luke Matthews
You can (and SHOULD) check out their music and profile on MYSPACE

It was an honour to work with this band, as well as with Dave and Jo while they were here in BC, and I look forward to the time when I can work with them again. Enjoy the ride to the top, boys… you’ve earned it.

Went to see “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” the other night.  Not a bad movie.  They make it out to sound like a remake of the original in the previews, but I have got to tell you, it’s not a remake.  The basic premise to the movie (without spoiling it) is that Brendan Frasers brother goes missing, his nephew (who was a baby when his dad vanished) comes to stay with him for a week, bringing along a collection of personal belongings of his MIA father.  This leads them off on a journey… obviously one to the center of the Earth.  How is it not a remake?  Well, the MIA brother/father was a Vernian (a believer that the writings of Jules Verne were based on fact, and not science fiction), and set out to find a pathway to this hidden world, in hopes of proving that what he believed was true.  Obviously, if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have much of a movie, but I’m not going to say much more than this.  Go see it.  See it in 3D, because that’s what the movie was made for, and that’s the best way to enjoy it.

DSL… Less than a week away.  Just a few more days, and we’ll be packing up the vehicle(s) to prepare our trip into Vancouver for DSL ‘08, ready for an early morning departure.
Okay, maybe not really early… probably closer to 10 or 11… but you get the idea.  With some great prizes, and an amazing band who will be playing a live concert there on Saturday night, this will definately be an experience to remember.

I managed to get a few days off this past week… not exactly by choice, though.  Stepping off my firklift on Monday, I somehow managed to either twist wrong or bent wrong or something, because as my foot made contact with the ground, I got this sudden pulling/tearing feeling just below my shoulder blades.  Nice, huh?  It gets better.  Being the typical guy, I decided that whatever it was couldn’t have been too serious, and reported it to the shift supervisor, and kept on working to finish out the day.  Not one of my better ideas, but whatever.
So Tuesday comes along, and things are not happy.  By noon, it hurt to even move… my firklift seat didn’t really help the situation much, what with forklifts not having any shocks.  Headed to the chiropractors, and after some interesting tests, find out that I had 3 vertibre and 4 spinal ribs out of place that had to be “repositioned”.  Yeah.  OWW!  But wow, did it feel good after.  They couldn’t do anything about my neck for that visit, as its a WCB claim (and the neck is not part of the report), but my back felt great after.  Of course though, I can’t return to work until they say it’s okay, so here I am sitting at home at 11 AM on a Thursday waiting… and waiting… and waiting.
Meanwhile, I just know there’s stuff to be done at work, and that it’s probably superhellainsanebusy… and I’m here, waiting.  Even after I get out of the office, it’ll be close to 3 PM… by the time I got to work, it’d already be 4, and the place closes at 5:15 (can we say pointless trip?).  Theoretically, WCB will cover the 2ish days I’ll be off.  A slight redesign on the forklift would be nice too, as that seat really does NOT help any.
I’m not really sure if they follow this, but I would like to congratulate Matt and Rachel on settling on a (apparently) nice appartment to move into.  I say apparently, because as I write this, I have not yet seen the pictures and can only go on Rachel’s description on her livejournal.  Either way, congratulations you too!  I do NOT envy your next few weeks as you sort and pack and sort and move and sort and unpack and throw away and… well, you get the idea.

As you’ve probably guessed, this blog post was done over the course of… ogh, about a week.  So if you’re confused about the jumping around the calendar thing, let me straiten it up for you real quick.
Journey review: July 21st-ish
DSL blurb #1: July 24th
Back Owwie stuff: July 24th
DSL #2: July 29th
So yeah… about a weekish or so to get this typed.  I guess that’s just how I work.

At any rate, I doubt I’ll be blogging again this week.  I may post from the LAN, but I commit to nothing at this point.  If anything, I’m certain I will have pictures, video, and stories to post when I get back, so be sure to either subscribe to the blog, or check back regularly.  A good, sleep-deprived time is sure to be had by all. 

Later.

DSL ‘08 is less than a month away.  I can’t seem to wrap my head around that figure… less than one month.  Are we ready?

…

Are we ever?

Thanks to some incoming assistance from some friends, a lot of stress has been taken off our shoulders, allowing us to focus on other parts of the event, as well as the dozen or four other projects that all suddenly popped up.

Umm… yay?

So, we’ve gone to see a few movies since my last post.  Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull, Hancock, and Wall-E (which we caught last night in Abby).  Thoughts?  I was actually impressed, for the most part.  I’ll explain a bit here, without spoiling the movies.

Indy.  Well, other than the weird-ish ending, it was a fairly well-done movie, I thought.  Yeah, they deterred from their usual topics of chasing after Xtian relics, and into a mythical outlook (or a different mythical outlook *wink*), and it’s sad to find out that the actual real life Crystal Skull(s) were found to be fake, but overall it was pretty good.  Shia LaBeouf could very easily take on Indiana’s legacy as a treasure hunter, and I think that the movie may have actually left that option open.  I guess it’s whether Lucas and Spielberg are in need of a new gold-plated Mercedes or not.
Speaking of gold plated… HOLY CRAP HANCOCK!!  I have heard a lot of bad reviews about this movie, but honestly, I came out of it happy.  Why?  Other than the fact that everything that Will Smith touches on a July long weekend turns to solid gold, it was like Superman with actual human traits… primarily the flaws.  Sure, one of the flaws was the ability to put back a 40 pounder of any hard alcohol like we drink water… then take out a sign or two while flying drunk… but it brings up the question “If you had the power to save people over and over and over… would you still do it when they stopped thanking you?”.  Throughout the movie, it also moves (somewhat slowly in points) towards the idea of one person being able to change the world.  Yeah, in this movie, part of that seems to involve destroying buildings, cars, trains, streets, people… you know, change the world one piece at a time.  Great ending though (no, I will not spoil it).  Some of it was disgustingly predictable, but overall, I enjoyed it enough that I would seriously like to see it again when it comes out on DVD.
Wall-E.  Great animation, although a bit more “cartoonish” than a lot of the Pixar movies we’ve seen lately, and a strong storyline that remains consistent throughout the movie.  The downside to the storyline?  Well, while the movie was obviously done to market primarily to kids, a lot of the storyline was a bit on the mature side for them (like a lot of “cartoons” now).  It weighed heavily on the Environmental impact humanity has made on the planet, and what it takes to make it better.  Now, this may spoil part of the movie, but it (the movie) also takes a quick jab at American Lifestyle… as people depend more on junkfood and machines, and less on such strenuous tasks as walking, what happens to their bodies?  Hover chairs, though… gotta get me one of those.  The movie touches peoples hearts a few times, like when Wall-E (obviously the main character) starts to… wait, can’t tell that without spoiling things.  Just be ready to tell the kiddies that everything will be alright… Pixar wouldn’t hurt their pocketbooks… I mean, their characters like that.  they did a nice touch of using live action “movie reels” inside the cartoon to give that feel of looking back on “old Earth”… something that, so far as I am aware of anyway, Pixar had not done for any of their other movies.
Oh, and you adults will also get to see a few mini-references to 2001-A Space Odyssey in the movie, so be watching (like you could miss these).

So what’s up in my personal life, other than DSL?  Well, some of the things, I can’t… actually… say.  Well, I can, but I would probably get in trouble and be moved to the couch until after the things are over… that’s a long time, and I’m not THAT into our new couch.  One of the things that I can talk about though, is how creeped out I was the other day at a customer that came into work… she was, I kid you not, airport security’s worst nightmare.  I mean, piercings in moderation is one thing (though not really MY thing), but DAMN, she probably breaks a sweat whenever she’s within 15 feet of a magnet.  She had, and I am not making this up, like 3 in her eyebrow, two in her lower lip, and two in her upper lip, she had both sides of her nose pierced, the center ring (why?  Well, why the hell not.. she’s already going for a 50/50 flesh to metal ratio), she of course had her ears turned into a pin cushion, and the trademark tongue piercing… and that was only what we could see (without asking, which I certainly had no intention of checking into).  Why would someone trash their body like that?  I mean, fine, pierce your ears… but know where to draw the line.  Maybe I’m just alone in thinking that when I look at someones face, I don’t want to be looking at shiny crap ON the face.  Plus, and I mentioned this earlier… imagine what damage could be done if they were to be near one of those big car magnets… or an older microwave.  So, how much do you want to bet that she screams and yells when she gets a paper cut or a sliver? 

At any rate… yeah, piercings and tattoos have never really appealed to me, and this example just made me… ick.  Other than that, it’s mostly SSDD syndrome in the NightStorm way of life.  Things are going well, and they’re of course going to just get better as time progresses.  Check back over the next few weeks, because there’s going to be some awesome announcements coming.  I wish I could make them now… but, well… couch.

Also, check out Tami’s blog (or villagegamer.net), as she’s reviewed a couple of great books on there in the last week or two (well, a lot more than a few, in a much greater length of time, but a couple stand out in my recent memory of 7 days… that’s about all I’m good for right now) that I suggest people check out.  Especially people who like, play, or live within 100 miles of someone who plays, video games.  That’s all of you, for the record.  Just in case you missed that.

On this date in 2008, an outcome to years of hard work and effort is finally reached.  Greg King, who launched dozens of attacks against killanet, decided today to finally admit to his wrongdoing, and entered a guilty plea before the United States Court.

Below is the official press release sent out by the United States Department Of Justice.  I’d just like to take a second to thank everyone who helped on this case, as well as Tami (of course) for riding this out to the end.

I think it’s time to breath a heavy sigh of relief.  One less headache. 
 

Department of Justice

Eastern District of California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           CONTACT: Lauren Horwood

Tuesday, June 10, 2008                          PHONE: (916) 554-2706

www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae                          lauren.horwood@usdoj.gov

Docket #: 07-cr-442-LKK

COMPUTER HACKER PLEADS GUILTY AND AGREES TO TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that GREGORY KING, 21, of Fairfield, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton to two counts of transmitting code to cause damage to a protected computer. As part of the plea agreement KING agreed to a two-year prison sentence.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the FBI, whose agents analyzed Internet logs, executed search warrants, performed forensic analysis of KING’s computers, and took KING’s confession. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew D. Segal, a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Unit, prosecuted the case.

According to Segal, KING admitted to using a “botnet” to conduct distributed-denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against two different Web sites: Killanet and Castlecops. A botnet is a network of malware-infected, zombie computers (bots) that can be used to conduct DDOS attacks, send spam, and commit fraud over the Internet. Bots are also used to infect other computers and thus propagate the botnet. The owners of the infected computers do not know that their computers have been infected with “botware,” but their computers can nonetheless be secretly directed by the “bot herder,” the person in control of the botnet. In a DDOS attack, a bot herder directs the bots to flood a victim computer with information and thereby disable the target computer.

Known online as Silenz, Silenz420, sZ, GregK, and Gregk707, KING admitted to controlling about 7,000 bots and using them to DDOS attack Killanet and Castlecops. Killanet, an interactive forum where members share advice on graphic design, Web design, photography, and gaming was DDOS-attacked in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Castlecops is an Internet security community specializing in anti-phishing, malware analysis, and combating spam; it was DDOS-attacked in 2007.

On October 1, 2007, FBI agents went to KING’s residence to arrest him. After agents knocked on the front door, KING exited the back door, hid a laptop computer in the backyard, and then returned to answer the front door. Pursuant to a search warrant, the laptop was seized and searched. It contained, among other things, botnet software and references to KING’s various Internet monikers.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Karlton on September 3, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for this violation is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.