So I haven’t been updating enough. It’s kind of a honor to be told that. It validates what it is I do here. Whatever “it” is I do. It should be apparent that I’m a lazy bastard. Anyone that has ever e-mailed me can attest to that statement.

So I’m back to work. After the latest batch of viruses and spyware a new memo was posted telling the front desk staff they are not allowed to “download anything from the internet anymore!”, which isn’t really the problem. The memo also explains the virus/spyware problem was caused from opening attachments. This isn’t really the case.

These problems can be tracked back to simple user error with a dash of stupidity. Now maybe everyone is not as net savy as I assume I am. But 99.9% of these problems are caused simply by viewing websites one should not look at in the workplace. For example Node 1 (the pc I use) had another infestation of spyware on it when I came in tonight. Now seeing as I was off the last four days the problem is not caused by anything I do. Which brings up the question of who the culprit (or culprits are) and what to do with them. The memo states that:

Anyone not abiding new policy will be written up and/or terminated.

And for once I’m in total agreement with the management’s position on this subject. Anyone stupid enough to reek this kind of havoc should be fired. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh. But this is workplace computers your fucking up. If you want to jerk off to porn, have the common courtesy to do it at home.

I’m thinking about keeping a log of the websites people at the hotel visit. Like the memo stated “Simply erasing the history does not delete where you’ve been” and it would be easy enough to setup a nice little program that grabs urls. It could be a new feature here at my site. I could call it stupid workplace internet browsing habits and post the top ten urls once a week. It’s just beyond my comprehension how this shit is still a problem.

Firaxis is remaking the classic Sid Meier’s Pirates game. They have a Press Release and a teaser image. Here is the details from the Press Release:

In Pirates! you take the leading role of a Pirate Captain in the 17th century Caribbean amassing fortune and fame in an attempt to seize your rightful place as one of the most revered (and feared!) pirates in history. Test your skills as a sea captain exploring the high seas and exotic ports in a richly detailed 3D world. Overtake the enemy and seize valuable booty. Exchange plank-shattering broadsides in fierce naval battles, and engage in duels with worthy opposing captains.

As your reputation and skills grow, so will the size and quality of your crew, and your ability to take on larger enemy ships, raid and plunder heavily fortified ports, and locate ancient treasure. There’s a whole cast of interesting and dangerous characters to meet, mysteries to solve, exotic island destinations to discover, and powerful alliances to forge!

The new Pirates! carries on with the great gameplay and design simplicity tradition of the award-winning original while adding more challenging and exciting battle options, and deeper and more varied role-playing experience, including multiple paths to a wealthy, happy retirement. This and many other features and additions make this gaming classic one of the most highly anticipated releases of this century!

After watching Pirates Of The Caribbean I’m in the mood for a good pirate game. With any luck this will be a good game.

Note to Gawain: Does this count as an entry man?

So I picked up X²-The Threat even though I heard it had clunky controls and buggy gameplay. X² is a sequel to the game X: Beyond the Frontier and both games were made by german developers Egosoft. X² is a game kinda like Elite. Except it has all the modern 3D graphics one would expect from todays games. And it lacks something I just can’t put into words.

I can tell you it is complicated. Trade, Fight, Build, Think are fancy buzzwords the developers are attaching to this title. The learning curve is quite high and the manual does a piss poor job explaining all of the options these buzzwords claim. The one thing I can say that is cool about the game is the fact you can buy capital ships. There is something really cool about flying around space in a slow moving capital ship that can blast the shit out of just about anything you come across.