The Holiest of Unions

Held together by equal parts of resin, hardener, and Holy Spirit.

New Games To Play

So, several months ago I started playing this new game I saw called MyBrute
The concept of the game was interesting. You start with a character/gladiator, and are given 3 fights a day to get XP and level up, making your character a much better fighter.
There were two big problems with this game!

^{The most common screen you'll ever see on MyBrute}

#1 - The MyBrute server is almost ALWAYS down! So a game that might normally take a month to make a cool character in, takes vastly longer.
#2 - When the server is running, it tends to crash at odd times. So sometimes you'll have a series of epic battles and lose XP instead of gaining it, or you won't get any XP...
Needless to say, MyBrute was entertaining when it was running, but frustrating when it wasn't!

Just the other day though, I discovered a new game that I've started playing. Urban Rivals is like MyBrute in several ways but without the horrible bugs included. Like MyBrute, Urban Rivals is a free game.
Urban Rivals allows you have more than one character. In an interesting Pokemon/RPG twist, the game involves collecting character cards and improve on your characters in a battle setting. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, and how you use them in battle determines how much XP you get. Unlike MyBrute, there is no limit on the amount of gameplay in a single day. I made it to level 10 on my first day after a couple hours of play - Getting to level 10 on MyBrute took me 8 months!
I'm having much more fun playing Urban Rivals. Come play with me! Here's the link to play: Urban Rivals.

Ubuntu Linux 11.04 Given a "N"ame

Ubuntu Linux 11.04 finally has a name; something more official sounding than "Maverick +1". Mark Shutterworth led the announcement with an entry on his blog.

11.04 will henceforth be called Natty Narwhal

The Narwhal, as an Arctic (and somewhat endangered) animal, is a fitting reminder of the fact that we have only one spaceship that can host all of humanity (trust me, a Soyuz won’t do for the long haul to Alpha Centauri). And Ubuntu is all about bringing the generosity of all contributors in this functional commons of code to the widest possible audience, it’s about treating one another with respect, and it’s about being aware of the complexity and diversity of the ecosystems which feed us, clothe us and keep us healthy. Being a natty narwhal, of course, means we have some obligation to put our best foot forward. First impressions count, lasting impressions count more, so let’s make both and make them favourable.

Suggested Changes to Monopoly Rules

Official Monopoly Rules Page

So I was playing Monopoly against my computer the other day and I had several ideas for changing the face of Monopoly. The rules of the game are listed above. Below are my proposed changes to the rulebook.

JAIL - According to the official rules you land in jail if... you roll doubles 3 times in a row. That's an understandable rule! No one likes a lucky so-n-so who manages to roll doubles over and over again and makes it around the board a couple times. However, also according to the official rules, you can get out of jail by rolling doubles again or paying $50. Does that sound odd too you? Do the crime three times and get stuck in jail, do the crime again and get out!? Or bribe someone and get out!?
I propose the following change to the JAIL rule. Every jail sentence carries a fixed term of 3 moves (no paying $50 to get out). The only way to get out of jail is to NOT roll doubles on any of your three turns spent in jail. If you roll doubles while in jail, your sentence is extended by an additional fixed number of turns.

MORTGAGED PROPERTY - According to the official rules "If the property is mortgaged, no rent can be collected."
This rule is outdated! There are many people living today who have one and two mortgages on their home and rental property and still collect rent.
I propose the following change to this MORTGAGE rule. If the property is mortgaged, rent is collected. The player who owns the mortgaged property receives 50% of the rent, and the bank receives 50% (the amount the bank receives is applied to the amount needed to unmortgage the propoerty). This is a cool rule cause you can pay off the mortgage on the property as people land on the property.

GIFT CARDS - Ever noticed how there never seems to be enough money in a Monopoly game for a game that has a lot of players or on games that last a long time (esp. with one player who is really successful).
This is a new rule I propose be added to Monopoly. All you need to play with this rule are index cards sufficent for each player.
Every player is issued a rechargable gift card (index card) at the beginning of the game. If at any time, the bank needs money it can seize funds from any player... and the amount seized is written on that player's index card. The index card is usuable like any gift card. When amounts are transferred from player to player (in the case of rent), the amount is simply subtracted from one index card and added to the other index card. No negative balances are allowed on gift cards. If the amount on the card is not sufficent to pay, then zero out the balance and pay the remaining in cash.

START ORDER - The official rules state: "Starting with the Banker, each player in turn throws the dice. The player with the highest total starts the play..."
Going first is a definite advantage, because you can buy properties before anyone else gets there. So why not make players pay for the advantage?
My proposed rule is this: At the start of the game, bid for first position, then second, etc. This can cripple the player in the lead, who may have used a significant portion of his money to secure first place.

ONCE AROUND THE BOARD - Another alternative to figuring out start order instead of bidding on who goes first is not to let anyone purchase property until they have been around the board once and passed GO.

Search For PPA's from Linux Terminal

If you are looking for a particular package and don't know whether a ppa for it exists or not, then this tool can be really handy. PPAsearch (by wrinkliez) allows you to to search a ppa right from terminal. Just type in the name of any package and hit enter. It will list you all the available ppas.

To install ppasearch type and run in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:wrinkliez/ppasearch

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ppasearch 

To search a ppa type in terminal:

ppasearch -p package name

A list of available ppas will be shown. Enter your choice to add a ppa to your sources list.

Google Kills Wave

Image via Wikipedia

Just a year after the service was released, Google is announcing that it is pulling the plug on Google Wave.

Google will maintain the service through the end of the year, and the technology will be rolled into other Google projects. Some features are already available as open-source components, and Google will offer tools to let users "easily 'liberate' their content from Wave.

I am deeply saddened by this. I thought Google Wave was very innovative, and I loved this service.

Rest In Peace, Google Wave. I'll miss you.

The Best of Windows Error Messages

So I just finished reading the article over on GeekTrio about the best Windows Errors Messages ever.

We've all encountered stupid Windows error messages before. I encountered this error message in Excel. I was absolutely floored! The computer wanted me to enter a prime number larger than a googol!



How many people, when suddenly prompted, can enter a prime number that large on the fly? Get real, Microsoft!
I just randomly typed a bunch of numbers and pressed Enter. The program crashed.