It appears that Blogger has updated many of its features to the posting window. Being able to edit font size, color and justification as well as include numbered lists and bullets are excellent additions to an already successful interface. It seems that there are a few bugs though. As I was trying to write this post a few mere moments ago, I tried selecting and copying the text, and it disappeared into cyberspace. All my work editing the first post was gone, and there was no way to recover it. The text color is a nice new feature, however I don't think I would ever have the need for it, unless I created a blog with a number of other members, and each member had their own personal color.
I managed to do some hacking to the template which allowed all my past and future posting to be fully justified. I have been wanting to have all my text fully justified for some time now; it appears so much more pleasing to the eye.
I mentioned in this blog a number of months ago that new features means new possibilities. I am considering a new addition to the sidebar which would feature my latest purchase, the iPod. I have considered adding a top 10 most played, or a top 10 recently played on my iPod. This of course is a rather difficult task, since the iPod does not directly connect to the web. Instead it would have to reflect the databases found in my iTunes. Of course, I would be looking for scripts that would accomplish this task automatically. To do such a thing manually would be ridiculous, and it would be a task that I would loathe doing on a regular basis. I should do some searching on the web, and other blogs to find out how others have accomplished this task.
I am still going video-game crazy. The last month has been spent with countless hours in front of the computer and/or the television playing some of my favorite role-playing games. As of late, I have been playing NetHack (refer to recent postings). For such a small and minimalistic game, it is one of the most challenging games I have ever played. The difficulty is that there are more than fifty commands in the game, and many commands have different applications, depending on your character class or objects you have in your inventory. I think the best I have ever done is get to dungeon level 5 with a level 6 character. I often die by some stupid or amusing situation. I have often fainted from starvation, and then killed by some wandering monster -- this is after praying, and having my deity angry with me. I have died from food poisoning, from cursed objects, and by being zapped by an angry shopkeeper (I kicked down his locked door).
For those who feel that NetHack could do itself better with a better GUI (Graphical User Interface, for the uninitiated), there are many plugins available for NetHack that will substitute graphics for all those ASCII characters. I have found a few that look absolutely stellar. Searching the web, I found a website of a fellow who developed a 3-dimensional interface for NetHack called Falcon's Eye. I saw the screenshots and thought that this looked strikingly similar to Diablo II. Of course, I wish that it would be ported to Mac.
The other game I have been playing recently is Lufia II. It is probably one of the top five role-playing games that was developed for the Super Nintendo. What don't I love about this game? The creators thought of may features that would keep replaying the game after completing it. [Ed. Note: Here is an opportunity to try a new Blogger feature: the numbered lists:]
- A well written storyline. I love games that engross you in the epic journey. You identify with the characters, and sympathize with them. I love the twists in the plot that this game features. There are still some passages in the game that get me all choked up, even after finishing the game at least half a dozen times.
- Not only do you have characters that embark on your journey with you, but you also find elementals (called capsule monsters) that fight alongside you. These monsters represent the elements (earth, air, fire, water, etc.) and they gain experience alongside your characters. You can feed them objects which allows them to grow into more powerful classes with special attacks.
- There are many quests you can embark on that are not detrimental to the completion of the game, however may entitle you to special rare items in the game. More on these in the points below.
- There is a casino in one of cities. The casino features a number of different games including two types of slot machines, blackjack, poker, and bingo. You can spend endless hours gambling, and if you win enough, you can buy some special items.
- The dragon egg quest. While on your journey, you collect dragon eggs. These eggs can be returned to the dragon shrine where the dragon will grant you one wish. This can be for weapons, potions, or otherwise rare items. The dragon then sends the eggs back out into the world, and you can search and find the eggs again to return to the dragon for more items. Beware though, if you visit the dragon too many times, he will get angry with you and fight you. If you are lucky enough to defeat the dragon, it will grant you a few of the rarest items in the game (and certainly some of the most powerful)!
- The Magic Cave. About midway through the game you can go to a city on an island with a magic dungeon. You relinquish all your items before entering the dungeon, and your character attributes are reduced to level 1. The fun part about this dungeon, is that it is randomly generated; it is never the same twice. The dungeon has 99 levels and a number of rare items which are in fact, very powerful. I have spent endless hours inside the ancient cave, and it is an absolute riot. This part of the game often reminds me of NetHack.
Plenty of fun to be had in the land of video games. Isn't it time I did something more constructive with my time? Possibly, but I sure don't want to grow up; I'm old enough as it is!
