18 of 30 - Games

[aggienaut]

   Firstly I gotta say, on the radio all day today was stuff about Bush saying any politician who opposes opening up the coast of California for more oil drilling is a Bad Person and should be blamed for the end of the world. I would just like to voice that I oppose this drilling on the strongest terms.

   "Moar drilling!!" is not the answer. Alternative energy and greater energy efficiency is the only answer.


Three Exciting Games
   You may recall that last year during 30 in 30 I made a post about a strategy game that should exist. Well this year I bring you three game ideas -- two computer games and one fun and exciting game YOU can play TODAY in REAL LIFE! =D

3. Sim Cave-man - I think a game that simulated the trials and tribulations of a caveman would actually be quite interesting. And by caveman I mean the very earliest homo sapiens who were hunter gatherers and (I imagine) wandered about in small family groups having adventures (and yes, sometimes living in caves). Hunt for food! Defend your family against wild animals and unfriendly other cavemen! Attack innocent other cavemen and steal their women! Make cave paintings! I think it could be fun both on a timescale of a single caveman's life, or perhaps if you follow one group of people from a travelling family unit to a band and a tribe, watch them discover the wheel, pottery, bow and arrow, compete with rival groups for food and form the nucleus of a nation. Perhaps a sequel could be in the works to continue your fledgling nation into the iron age...

2. Wildfire! - So while I was working on bees up in Riverside county this afternoon a brushfire began a few miles away across the valley. Within five minutes aircraft were bombing it with water and they had it out in about 20 minutes. But it got me thinking. It requires a lot of logistics and planning to effectively fight these wildfires that occasionally ravage California. It could be a benevolent alternative to wargames for the more pacifist minded -- coordinate firefighting assets to fight brushfire scenarios with a minimum loss of life and property!

...and now, what you've been waiting for, the fun and exciting game you can play yourself, asap, for free, in the real world! It involved danger, adrenaline, exercise, and communing with nature! It is...
1. Avoid Getting Stung By Bees!! - I thought of this genius game today at work while I was ... trying to avoid getting stung by bees. You see, Dave and I found we only had one working veil, and I decided I'd rather brave the bees than the 100+ degree heat in a beesuit, so I was dodging bees in just long pants and a t-shirt. There's two forms of the game really:
   A. Matador Mode - Less effective but more fun (if you accept the fact you are likely to be stung). Face off against the bee mano-e-mano (sp?!). Just you, the bee, and something to swipe at it with. In my case it was the long-sleeved shirt I wasn't wearing. As it swoops at you, you swing at it. You miss of course and try to wind up and get a bead on the bee again before it has a chance to nail you between the eyes.
Yes I did this for a short time for my own amusement. And let the record state that I wasn't tormenting an innocent bee - it was already trying to sting me, it was me or her.
   B. Strictly Business Mode - Okay, so you have decided you don't really want to get stung. You can bat wildly at your head, but you'll like like a total fool. Normally I just walk at a normal pace into the wind if a bee takes a particular interest to me and it shortly gives up. However, today they were too plentiful, pervasive and persistent for me to use that technique. So instead I would simply stand facing upwind (they'll usually try to attack you from downwind for whatever reason) until the bee(s) in question had landed in my hair. Then, with one firm wack, I would slap my (gloved) hand upon my head and the buzzing would abruptly stop, followed by a faint plop of the dead bee(s) falling onto the ground. I recommend wearing gloves or using a shirt or towel or something so as to avoid getting stung on the hand. They are unlikely to sting your head through your hair unless you're like, bald or something.
   C. Really Don't Want To Get Stung Mode - Run. In a straight line. Upwind. Do not bother to bat at the bees wildly, you will not kill them and will possibly make them more certain you are some kind of wild animal that must be driven away. Do not jump in a pool they will simply wait for you to come up for air, like ninjas. But I mean, this is like playing Avoid Getting Stung By Bees (TM) on the easiest setting, its no fun at all (though maybe good exercise?).

Next Time: A (well researched) report on where beestings hurt the most?


Picture of the Day / Year Ago Today

Epic Roadtrip 2007: Day 2 - We temporarily fill the "Cornucopia Van" with friends we caught up with at Vegas!
(Such as my Fake Girlfriend For the Month of April Nicole <3 )
This day we nearly died in the desert; bought gratuitous amounts of energy drinks; frolicked in Vegas for a few hours but then continued on our way; drove across the Hoover Dam and on into the night (right through Flagstaff, incidently, but thats the next day by then)

Comments

[hereticxxii.livejournal.com]

Number three sounds like Clan of the Cave Bear the video game. I would actually play that. Number two is reminds me of an arcade game that instead of a gun, you have a fire hose. Thats a more first person view though... I think you are on to something

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

As to two, I'm thinking more of like, like a strategy game. Like you got a huge map and you select your water-bombing aircraft and click where you want them to drop. Select where to drop smokejumpers in (seriously though, how hardcore are smokejumpers!), or deploy "Hotshot" crews. Build firebreaks, etc etc..


So what about 1. eh eh? ;)

[shamster.livejournal.com]

What about the 'reducing our fuel needs' and 'reducing our need to live lives of endless consumption' as solutions, instead of alterna-energy and efficiency? Without the need for fuel we don't need to look for other sources and can reduce our climate/ecological impact...

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Yeah actually I had that in mind. Thats why I wrote "energy efficiency" instead of "fuel efficiency" - the use of less gratuitous amounts of energy altogether.

[shamster.livejournal.com]

Uncomfortably energetic consumption!

[emosnail.livejournal.com]

Science / energy / science / energy!!