I'm Back

I'm back to blogging. Yay.

Blogger block

I haven't posted in a while. I don't know want to write about. Any suggestions.

Web Apps

The explosion of web application over the recent years has been immense. First there is the blogging software we are all familar with. Then come Flickr, which revolutionized internet photo sharing. And now the productivity software from Basecamp; my favorite being the amazing backpack. Take advantage of these things, plus most are free.

Scheduling?

The famed management guru Peter Drucker once said, "Whatever is scheduled gets done". Other personal productivity gurus say that, "Whatever is rewarded get done". For my personal productivity I find that both sentiments hold true. Sometimes we have to schedule our rewards. Keri Smith, a writer and illustrator based in Canada, talks about bribing, meaning bribing yourself to do the things that require extra motivation. For example scheduling some time to read blogs, draw, paint, cook, or whatever gives you pleasure immediately after drudgery such as bookkeeping work, chores, or adminstrivia. Essentially your are bribing yourself. That's not all bad. While I'm a big fan of self-discipline, many of times I just can't muster enough of it, so I bribe myself.

Lifehacking

Lifehacks is term by coined Danny O' Brien. They are productivity tips that range from keeping your house clean to navigating through your OS at greater speed and effeciency. At the core of lifehacks are small, I mean micro, tips and tricks, that when done with consistency, will shave a few minutes here and there from your previous systems. Adopting new lifehacks here and there will eventually adds up hours of saved productivity. Most of the charm of lifehacks comes from novel solutions, that though not hi-tech, are much more simpler than contemporary solutions for producitivity. The cronic procrastinator--myself included--will welcome these tips. I've been reading some of the blogs covering lifehacks and my favorite lifehack, courtesy of 43folders.com, is the hipster pda--a set of 10-12 index cards, a clip to keep them together, and stylus (Fisher space pen, preferred). It' s very effective and much cheaper and easier to use than any electronic pda.

Final Fantasy X

I just finished FFX. I once made a decision to swear off all new Final Fantasy games altogether since they are incredibly time consuming. This was about 4 years of so ago; the last Square RPG I played was Chrono Cross. Yet over the past few months, due to the power of emulation, I replayed parts of FFIV and FFVI. All the great memories started bubble up again--Nobuo Uematsu's nostalgic music, Chocobos, Moogles, Marlboros, endless yet satifying random encounters, jobs and classes, summon monsters, side quest and secrets. I couldn't resist, so I broke my promise and played my brother's copy of Final Fantasy X. The last next-gen Final Fantasy game I completed was FFVIII, and I was eager to see the lastest incarnation. I must admit. I was pretty impressed.

This is easily the best Final Fantasy game I've played since FFVI for the Super NES. Here is my reasoning. Obviously this game sets breaks new ground in the series. It is the first to use voice-overs along with cinema style cutscenes. The cutscenes narrate the bulk of the story and adds a cinematic flair. Many fans have complained the choice of voice actors, especially for Tidus, the protagonist. I thought they were decent for video game standards. For Tidus's father, Jecht, however, I was disappointed. He comes across as raspy, arrogant, and derelict, which is fine and fitting for his character, yet the voice acting seemed inconsistent. The cutscenes mostly are done in real time, with some executed in CG. The CG cutscenes are of highest quality and the characters look more Japanese in those than in their real time models.

Graphically, the game exhibit Square's high production values for their flagship series. Towns are beautifully designed with amazing structures and intricate architecture. The colors are vibrant, not like the recent PSX trio. Thematically, spheres play a huge role in the game. Much like crystals in the former games. FFX boast a sphere system for leveling up characters, puzzles with spheres, and an extensive mini-game, Blitzball, that takes place in a giant water filled sphere.

FFX is highly linear. The game has no world map, instead the player goes from town to cave to dungeon to town and so forth. Many felt this dramatically weakened the game. However, anyone who has played the other games in the series will tell you, that except for sidequests, most Final Fantasy games are linear in nature because they are essentially narratives. Narratives are linear--beginning, middle, and, end. I preferred the structure because it tightens the objectives and strengthens the narrative flow of the game. Near the end, however, the game begins to open up for sidequest to obtains powerful weapons, hidden summon monsters, and take on interesting challenges.

The monster arena is one of those challenges. I loved the monster arena concept. Playing the series for since its days on the Super Nes made me notice something, these games are getting easier. FFX is little tougher than its Playstation predecessors. Some bosses will surprise you, and some random encounter will kill you if not prepared. In the previous games I would be surprised if random monster killed me or even a boss. Not here, the status effects of poison, berserk, confusion, and the like are much more deadly that previous games of the series, enemies are smarter and toughter, and the sphere grid system of leveling has a slight learning curve. All these factor give the enemy an advantage. The PSX Fantasies had optional bosses for gamers seeking more challenge, like Emerald and Ruby Weapons in FFVII. These bosses were much harder than the standard roster of bosses, even harder than the final bosses. They were included for gamers who wanted a greater challenge than the standard fare. To defeat these bosses leveling up for hours was a necessity. FFX monster arena has over twenty of these powered up bosses. All with unique attact patterns, strengths and weaknesses. Again these bosses are much more difficult than the standard storyline enemies. And they require immense preparation to defeat. But that's the fun of it. Powering up your character to amazing levels. FFX doesn't have levels, per se, like previous games, but the sphere grid system allows you maximizes your character to godly power. It's time consuming, but it's fun to see a character choose the "Fight" and do 99999 hit points of damage. Such power, though, is needed to beat the more advanced monster arena bosses. However, to power up your characters to such an immortal status require much time. Too much for most gamers.

But anyone new to RPGs or seasoned vets will love this game. The soundtrack may disappoint some Uematsu fans, however, they were some memorable tracks. Uematsu-san collaborated with two other up and coming composers on this game and many feel he lost his touch. I disagree. Though, he peaked with his Super Nintendo compositions, the quality of the soundtrack still remains high. The recent Final Fantasy concert tour in the U.S and its success has shown this his body of work is among the truly rare in his field. In all, was a nice surprise and welcome addition to any gaming library.

Trains, Trains, and Rain.

It's been a bad year for the MTA in New York. For those not familiar with the MTA, it's a state run company responsible for running the subways, city buses, and other trains that go to the depth of Long Island and Westchester. Over the past two weeks there have been major subway service disruptions during rush hour no less. On top of that, the MTA is facing several budget crisis and has raised fares twice in the past two years. The subways in the city are over hundred years old and they seem to be showing their age. I'm a big fan of the subway. For the most part they are reliable, fast, and cheap. And subway system here is the most extensive in the world. But it needs money. Unfortunately the State government, always negligent to NYC, has not provided the MTA with adequate funding. It seems that instead of a football stadium should focus on overhauling our aging subway.