Yesterday was the big PlayStation 4 reveal. All in all, I wasn't terribly impressed. Being honest, I'm sure that some of that is a result of me being a proud Nintendo flag-bearer, but I wasn't overly moved by the Wii U reveal last year. When it comes to video games, new console launches specifically, I think we're at the point of diminishing returns. Over the past 35 years, the industry has done such a good job innovating and improving that graphics that I think we're finally at a point where nothing is able to "wow" us anymore. Sure, there were a lot of nice looking games on display during Sony's press conference, (DriveClub and Killzone: Shadow Fall come to mind) but there was nothing I felt any burning desire to play. Ah well, Microsoft still hasn't revealed the successor to the Xbox 360 yet, maybe they'll bring something earth-shattering to the party. Oh who am I kidding? It's going to be more of the same, just prettier.
Technology is distracting. There are so many outlets and devices demanding our attention. It's hard to not only get work done in peace, but relaxing can be quite difficult at times. Case in point? I've been trying to read "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr for the past month, but I always wind up getting distracted by an app or having a memory triggered that causes me to fall into a "Wikipedia black hole" for 30 minutes at a time. The ironic part about my brain's never ending thirst for "data" (it's not even knowledge, it's just stuff)? "The Shallows" is a book that supposedly goes into detail about how the Internet is rewiring our brains. I say supposedly because I haven't gotten past the first 50 pages. Who knows what the last 230 pages are about?
Just now, I accidentally closed out the tab I was drafting this post in. Who else remembers the days when a move like that would have caused your blog post to disappear into the ether, never to be heard from again? While technology can be distracting, it sure does make life less stressful.
Speaking of less stressful, work is cool. I don't talk about work much online (because I'm not dumb), but I do want to take a minute to talk about how much I enjoy my direct supervisor. I've had some not-so-great supervisors in my day, but my current one is pretty boss. While we're as different as night and day, we work on the same wavelength, which I think makes life a bit more pleasant for both of us.
One of my two resolutions for the new year was to be more sociable. Outside of football season, I've been pretty much a homebody for the past three years. A lot of that is due to money issues (remember when I wasn't working? Yeah, that sucked) and some of it is due to Emily (I have a girlfriend...why do I need to plunder about randomly?), but I think I'm ready and able to start having adventures again. Some of that has started already, some of it is upcoming. Either way, I'm sure I'll blog (and tweet..and vine...and tumble) about it. Maybe I'll even start taking pictures again too. I miss doing that.
While I'm in no hurry to get older, you know one thing I wouldn't mind having? More gray hairs. I have a few here and there, mostly in places where my hair used to be red, but not a lot. I would like a little more as I really think that I could rock the "salt and pepper" look, especially if I picked up a pair of reading glasses (mind you, I don't need glasses). Maybe it's a deep seated desire to want to look older. I'm almost 30 and I still have a baby face - even when I let my facial hair grow in. Or maybe I should just be thankful that "black don't crack" and deal with it. More times than not, I get mistaken as a student opposed to the staff member that I am. I'll take those inadvertent compliments any day.
...and now, just for my own amusement, here's where I pull something from the vault most of you won't get, but I'll enjoy just the same:
Classic RockThese are the things I wrote when I needed a reminder to keep my hands to myself. Thankfully I didn't veer too far off the tracks.
Toto - "Hold the Line"
I'm digging into vault a bit for this pick. Not only was this song the first single by the band Toto (best known for "Africa"), but it was also featured in the first ever Sunday Night Selections (one of those facts is important, the other, notsomuch). So if it was showcased in the first SnS, why is it getting a 2nd run 3 years later? Well, for one thing, the song is awesome. The guitar solo at the 2 minute mark touches my heart and the keyboard work makes my soul dance. Secondly, this song was inadvertently the theme song for that random trip to Tennessee I took last weekend. Sure, I may have played it the first time to remind me to "cool my jets" a bit on a young lady that I happen to be quite smitten with at the moment, but the next four times I heard it were not my fault. I like to think that destiny played a hand in making that happen.
OK, maybe that third time was my fault.
Hold the line ya'll. Love isn't always on time.
Glad to see you blogging again, in long form. Even if your new background makes my eyes pop out a little bit. But whatever, I need to be awake right now.
ReplyDeleteI am obligated to harass you a little for being in TN and not calling. Looking forward to baseball though.
Cheers.
Ha, I decided to spice up the background a bit. The navy blue motif felt a bit stagnant. Plus this theme ties this place to my tumblr blog a little bit better. And that trip to TN? You were there. Hell, you drove. :)
DeleteRegarding the PS4, I feel you. I am excited as there's hardware improvement. Granted, as I said on yetanothertechshow, there's only so much hardware can do to date. Similar to cell phones. We are right now in a somewhat stagnant moment of innovation regarding tech tools today. That's just my opinion. It won't last long, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteFar as social, I feel you as well. I try to be social more, but I'm not "wired" that way. I am more social and vocal online via Twitter and Google+. In real life, people don't really deal with me. Maybe its my binary body language and no BS approach, but "regular" people shy away from me initially. I will try to do a little better socially. A little.
-RAP, II
You know when I think the next revolution will come? When we're able to better harness (or expand actually) battery power. Mobile devices open up worlds of new possibility, but they're anchored down by battery life. Once we're able to turn that corner, ish is really going to get crazy.
DeleteI need these game system updates to cease immediately... My Wii is now out-of-date, and soon my XBox 360 and thus my Kinect. Not okay!
ReplyDeleteI find unemployment puts a serious damper on a social life. Looking forward to eventually fixing it as you are.
As much excitement as I feel toward new consoles, I feel almost the same amount of disgust at the idea of having to start over. New controllers, new memory solutions, new box that may or may not play my old games. Such a vicious cycle. On the bright side though, it does make old consoles cheaper. Being a Nintendo-first gamer, I've always purchased a Sony system late (like, 4-6 yrs later) in the game for dirt cheap. Looking forward finally picking up a PS3 in a few months time.
ReplyDeleteAnd keep your head up chief. Protip: When I was unemployed is when I won most of the goodies from the Internet. It's amazing how much time you have to enter contests, fill out surveys, and tweet when your only other duty is filling out stupid Taleo job applications.