Alert - Worth it, but not....

Some of you probably saw this coming, but I didn't - which is interesting when you think about it.  I've decided to give up the podcasting, and therefore the blog as well.  This was both fun and interesting for me to do and there's quite a few things I learned to appreciate in the process.  The problem is I had two conflicting principles in doing this: First - I wanted it to be a hobby.  This means I was approaching this as a way to relive interesting moments (Spot On Reflections), further support my health goals (Blitz Fitness), and complain and compare other's opinions and thought processes to my own (The Reactioneer and Straight to the Bulletpoint).  Simple enough.  Simply put - I didn't want it to feel like work.  Second, and here comes the storm, I don't like doing things poorly.  Early on I was okay with my lack of quality from a personal and technical standpoint.  After all, this was a new experience for me and bugs could be expected.  These situations collided recently however.  I kept feeling like there was so much more I could do, ideas I had that would help to further separate myself from the masses.  All good things take time and effort though, and that went against why I was doing this.

I really thought I had a winning formula to balance those two issues when I made all shows except Blitz a monthly show.  It wasn't until yesterday that I realized that wasn't the case.  Yesterday morning should have had a Blitz Fitness show scheduled, but instead my Saturday went like this: I woke up and grabbed the newspaper from my porch, walked to the store (about a half mile or so) to buy Kefir for breakfast, went jogging with a client, got pizza puffs at Grassano's with some close friends, went to Disc Replay for some classic (and not so classic) game purchasing, hit the dollar store for some cheap candy, bought vuvuzela's and played them on the drive home, hung out and laughed myself to exhaustion before slinking home tired but pleased.

That's a great day, and it was chockful of some of my hobbies already.  To produce a quality show and blog to you all I would have to start missing out on that a bit more and would want that?  The next question to ask is who would want to listen to the podcasts I've been doing the way they are now?  "No one" is the answer to both questions.  Inevitably the third, hidden question had to rear its ugly head; should I even bother with this?

The answer is no, I really shouldn't.  There's such a dearth of podcasts available today that when I look back at what I wanted to do with all 4 shows, only one of them was original (SoR).  Yet even that one falls short when i examined and realized that I do not have the technical skills to even make that show what I had in mind.

Without a doubt podcasting will continue and be quality for some time to come.  Let's not forget how young this medium still technically is and what can be on the horizon.  Although I'm sad that this little effort of mine failed to live up to my own expectations I can take solace in the programs I already enjoy: shows on the Frogpants Network (Final Score, The Morning Stream, Film Sack, both Instance shows, Hypothetical Help, and Autopilot), How Stuff Works (Stuff you should know, stuff to blow your mind, stuff you missed in history class, etc.), the bounty provided by NPR, and so many others at this time.

If you're reading this then you likely gave me a chance.  Thank you for that!  Am I walking into the sunset with a sad song at my feet?  Yes.....  Forever?  Who knows.  I can only say it was worth all the while.  If I'm really lucky maybe I've given someone out there an idea they turn into a show and have the time, skills, and drive to make it something special.  If you do, let me know so I don't miss out on it!

Poli Sigh - The Aristocat's They Ain't

Saw this featured on Yahoo!

What a fantastic idea.  Reduce animal shelter population without relying on killing them AND give another level of companionship and recovery opportunities to inmates screened as actually rehabilitating.  I might find negatives if I looked hard enough, but this is a nice thing to see take place.  I hope this has good evidence and shows the results we would expect from it so it can be adopted throughout the rest of the nation/world.

K.I.S.S. - 1 Million Reasons to Hate

The Consumerist reports again on one of the most nicely named hate groups in America: One Million Moms

Want to know the difference between a normal person and a homophobe?  I didn't even notice it was a lesbian couple with a child.  Flipping through it appeared to be exactly what it represents: 3 happy people of the female persuasion.

If anyone has any right to be angry - it's all the ugly bastards out there like me who never get a photo opportunity.  I want my damn underwear model money even I'm wearing the larger sizes!!

My favorite part of the whole thing is the section where OMM said they have been quiet on the whole Ellen DeGeneres spokesperson for JCPenney thing because they "had so much on their agenda".  Really?  Bigger than a celebrity like Ellen you can spew ridicule at?  What, did they catch Mickey wearing Minnie's dress?  Not likely.  Instead, me thinks they got quite a pushback politically last time and realized they jumped the gun too early - even for their ignorant target audience.

On a side note: Since the picture of the ad is at the top of the page for this article, we all likely eyeballed that first, right?  How many (men, women, octopi, etc.) noticed the women were wearing wedding bands?  I sure didn't.  You'd have to be actively seeking that out right?  Now who's the lesbian, OMM?

Game On! - Redefining the Boob Tube

Another Kotaku attention grabber

Though this one is likely getting a lot more clicks.  Long story short, Dead or Alive 5's development team has decided 'realistic' boob moving physics in their fighting game isn't enough.  A new feature is rumored to being implemented that will allow clothing to start becoming see-through in the course of a fight.

So many thoughts on this one:
1. I can't be the only gamer (a single one at that!) who is tired of the sexing of games, can I?  Enough of the so-called romances Bioware, no more of the love story Square Enix, and please Team Ninja - make an awesome fighting game, not another pre-teen digital wank fest.
2. I do own one Dead or Alive title.  I can't see the box to tell you which one it is.  That alone can tell you how memorable it was.  For the record, boobs were not a reason I purchased it.  I was looking for something new in a fighting game and the multi-tiered stages excited.  Then they didn't....
3. I used the word rumor.  I don't believe the Kotaku story does.  Not that it matters, I also called BMX XXX a rumor too....

Game On! - Value Added?

This Kotaku piece likely got nothing more than a glance today.

I don't begrudge people who aren't into budgetary titles from major publishers, but it's been my personal experience that sometimes you can get some nice gems by companies who have a division focusing on that low-price, non-casual game market.

Yet another one of these teams is gone, which makes me more worried I'll never smile gleefully from (honestly) treasured experiences from the likes of Ghost Master, Mall Tycoon, Fast Food Tycoon 2, or Rock Manager. *sad face*

Game On! - Manifest of a Changing Tide?

At least that's how this list from Kotaku makes me feel

I'm not saying this list of emotional wallet snaggers isn't effective, instead it turns out they're not effective on me. In fact, when I look at friends and family that are my generation, it doesn't grab them all the well either.  So does this list instead represent where the gaming audience is going/coming from, or is this more of a targeting ID for making the casual crowd that much more profitable?

K.I.S.S. - Tax On, Tax Off

As Seen On TV GamePolitics

My home state of Illinois is really improving it's percentage of unconstitutional laws lately.  At least something is showing a positive growth....

Totally Balls - Vote No On Pro Bowl? YES!

Deadspin saying it for the rest of humanity

The NFL is so progressive they finally realized no one cares about the Pro Bowl after having one for the past 50+ years/seasons - it's a bright sign that we may have this whole concussion thing figured out by 2042!

Poli Sigh - A Fine Idea

I think the headline is funny, but what do you think of this from Consumerist

I think I'll have more on this, especially some contradictions in the comments section that are oh-so-delicious.

Poli Sigh - A Political Army of One?

Saw this on Yahoo!

I feel as if this story is going to focused on solely as a constitutional rights issue, but the statements by soon to be ex-Marine Gary Stein don't add up.  Read for yourself and tell me what you think!