Duke Nukem was a great game released in the 90's and in 1997 the company 3D Realms announced Duke Nukem Forever as a game they were developing for release in 1998.
In 2000 Wired Magazine ran an article on the top 10 vaporware products.
"The winners of the Wired News Vaporware 2000 awards in reverse order are:
10: Tribes 2:
9: Wireless Web Pads:
8: Bluetooth:
7: Silicon Film's Electronic Film System:
6: Warcraft III:
5: Intel's Itanium chips:
4: A New Linux kernel:
3: Black and White:
2: Duke Nukem Forever:
1: Mac OS X: "
Link to the article I quote: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2000/12/40484?currentPage=all
The only one of these to NEVER see the light of day in 10 years is Duke Nukem Forever.
It even made PC Worlds list of the top 15 vaporware products of all time.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/145351/the_top_15_vaporware_products_of_all_time.html
It seems the title was very prophetic since it will be the far side of forever before it ever releases. The saddest part is 3D Realms treatment of their fan base, you should see the list of topics you are not allowed to discuss at their forum. Basically anything to do with the fact that they are incompetent and completely unable to plan a project to deliver this game. I work in software development so I understand the kinds of things that can derail, delay, cancel, etc product development. At this point they should just cancel the product all together and stop stringing their customers along. By this time Halo, Doom, Quake, Gears, Resistance, Call of Duty, etc have taken such a chunk of their customers away that I doubt any Duke they would manage to release could ever recoup the development cost. And notice the companies that work on these other games have actually managed to complete a software development project to produce a successful product multiple times during the last 10 years
3D Realms - Stop jerking everyone around and stop being so arrogant with your customer base. It will be done when it's done I expect from a 10 year old not from a business entity that is suppose to actually produce a product.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
HellBoy 2 - a very fun ride for fans
I have to say I enjoyed the first HellBoy movie and enjoyed the second even more. It's not for everyone but I hope fans of the HellBoy series will positively react to the second movie so we could perhaps get a third one :)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
France must like repeating history - AKA Chip on shoulder=stupidity
France's foreign minister has made some very interesting statements about the United States. Here is the gist of what he said
PARIS — Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France, said Tuesday that whoever succeeds Bush in the White House will have to restore the United States' battered image and standing overseas [...].
[...]Kouchner said the United States will never be the country it was before the Bush presidency and would have to work to repair its reputation, especially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. [...] He added that, although it will take time, the new president will have “many means to re-establish the image” of a country whose reputation is suffering. [...]
"We have to talk with our enemies," he said.
I especiallyi like that last statement. Talk is all the French actually seem willing to do and this is not the first time. Remember that little bit of history called WWII, now before you start telling me to get over it and times are different hear me out.
Consider this point:
Hitler started to re-arm Germany and in 1935 he re-introduced conscription (the recruiting of all young, able men into the army). This was against the terms of the Versailles Treaty. Britain, France and Italy condemned Germany's actions but did nothing to stop her.
Yes I know Italy was a bad boy later on but still the two leading world powers talked and did nothing.
And this piont:
the Rhineland area it was to be a 'demilitarised' zone. But in 1936 Hitler marched troops into the Rhineland. The French had a much bigger army than the Germans and could have driven the German troops out. But the French army took no action.
And this point:
when Hitler marched troops into Austria, Britain and France only protested.
And a final point"
Neville Chamberlain, [...] (British)Prime Minister in 1937, was determined that Europe should not be dragged into another world war. He wanted to find out what Hitler wanted and if necessary, give it to him in order to maintain peace. This was the policy, popular at the time known as appeasement. Hitler told Chamberlain that once the question of the Sudetenland was settled he had 'no further territorial ambitions Europe'. Britain and France therefore persuaded Czechoslovakia to hand over the Sudetenland to Germany in order to maintain peace in Europe Hitler had lied.
Action is often neccesary to prevent larger problems later down the road. Problems that may or may not be caused by previous actions such as the Versaiille treaty being a big part of what brought about WWII.
The problem with the French is they only care about themselves, it is not their population being poison gassed, it is not their leader who refuses to allow UN inspectors unfettered access, it is not there leader that ignores every UN sanction making that form of diplomacy useless and it is not their people suffering needlessly.
Do we need to talk? absolutely! but to the extent that things get completely out of hand.
When is the right time to take action? I am not sure and I don't think anyone can really ever know before the action is taken. Because of this we must ask ourselves is the action we are taking making positive contributions and not just to us, like the selfish French, but to those we are helping.
Consider the progress that France and liberals want us to ignore:
Pessimists have been repeatedly wrong about the prospects for postwar political progress in Iraq.
They doubted that the Iraqis would finish writing an interim constitution on time in 2003;
they doubted that sovereignty could be transferred to an interim Iraqi government by that constitution’s deadline in 2004;
they doubted that elections could be conducted on the constitution’ ambitious timetable, in January 2005.
They were wrong on all counts.
One last point about progress in Iraq:
Although critics impatiently complain about its slow pace, Iraq is making much faster progress in standing up an elected government than Germany or Japan did following World War II. Given the tremendous damage inflicted on Iraqi civil society by more than three decades of dictatorship, the Iraqis are doing remarkably well in forging a national consensus among the Shiite Arab majority, Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and other minority groups with a long history of mutual distrust.
I don't want any countries soldiers or citizens dieing in a war and yet there are circumstances that demand such sacrifices. France only wants to talk which means ZERO sacrifice on their part and continued sacrifice on the part of others they refuse to help.
Link to French foreign minister story
Link to before WWII information
Link to progress in Iraq article
PARIS — Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France, said Tuesday that whoever succeeds Bush in the White House will have to restore the United States' battered image and standing overseas [...].
[...]Kouchner said the United States will never be the country it was before the Bush presidency and would have to work to repair its reputation, especially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. [...] He added that, although it will take time, the new president will have “many means to re-establish the image” of a country whose reputation is suffering. [...]
"We have to talk with our enemies," he said.
I especiallyi like that last statement. Talk is all the French actually seem willing to do and this is not the first time. Remember that little bit of history called WWII, now before you start telling me to get over it and times are different hear me out.
Consider this point:
Hitler started to re-arm Germany and in 1935 he re-introduced conscription (the recruiting of all young, able men into the army). This was against the terms of the Versailles Treaty. Britain, France and Italy condemned Germany's actions but did nothing to stop her.
Yes I know Italy was a bad boy later on but still the two leading world powers talked and did nothing.
And this piont:
the Rhineland area it was to be a 'demilitarised' zone. But in 1936 Hitler marched troops into the Rhineland. The French had a much bigger army than the Germans and could have driven the German troops out. But the French army took no action.
And this point:
when Hitler marched troops into Austria, Britain and France only protested.
And a final point"
Neville Chamberlain, [...] (British)Prime Minister in 1937, was determined that Europe should not be dragged into another world war. He wanted to find out what Hitler wanted and if necessary, give it to him in order to maintain peace. This was the policy, popular at the time known as appeasement. Hitler told Chamberlain that once the question of the Sudetenland was settled he had 'no further territorial ambitions Europe'. Britain and France therefore persuaded Czechoslovakia to hand over the Sudetenland to Germany in order to maintain peace in Europe Hitler had lied.
Action is often neccesary to prevent larger problems later down the road. Problems that may or may not be caused by previous actions such as the Versaiille treaty being a big part of what brought about WWII.
The problem with the French is they only care about themselves, it is not their population being poison gassed, it is not their leader who refuses to allow UN inspectors unfettered access, it is not there leader that ignores every UN sanction making that form of diplomacy useless and it is not their people suffering needlessly.
Do we need to talk? absolutely! but to the extent that things get completely out of hand.
When is the right time to take action? I am not sure and I don't think anyone can really ever know before the action is taken. Because of this we must ask ourselves is the action we are taking making positive contributions and not just to us, like the selfish French, but to those we are helping.
Consider the progress that France and liberals want us to ignore:
Pessimists have been repeatedly wrong about the prospects for postwar political progress in Iraq.
They doubted that the Iraqis would finish writing an interim constitution on time in 2003;
they doubted that sovereignty could be transferred to an interim Iraqi government by that constitution’s deadline in 2004;
they doubted that elections could be conducted on the constitution’ ambitious timetable, in January 2005.
They were wrong on all counts.
One last point about progress in Iraq:
Although critics impatiently complain about its slow pace, Iraq is making much faster progress in standing up an elected government than Germany or Japan did following World War II. Given the tremendous damage inflicted on Iraqi civil society by more than three decades of dictatorship, the Iraqis are doing remarkably well in forging a national consensus among the Shiite Arab majority, Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and other minority groups with a long history of mutual distrust.
I don't want any countries soldiers or citizens dieing in a war and yet there are circumstances that demand such sacrifices. France only wants to talk which means ZERO sacrifice on their part and continued sacrifice on the part of others they refuse to help.
Link to French foreign minister story
Link to before WWII information
Link to progress in Iraq article
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Berkely California is PRO rape, PRO murder, PRO torture,
It occurs to me that the city of Berkely must really enjoy rape, murder, discrimination against women, torturing children, and poison gas as a means of controlling a rebellious population.
You see if you are against what we are striving to do in Iraq than you are willing to allow all of this to return.
So let's see
The city of Berkely California is PRO rape rooms.
The city of Berkely California is PRO mass murder of men women and children.
The city of Berkely California is PRO chemical weapons of mass destruction.
The city of Berkely California is PRO torture. Not the silly water boarding kind, I am talking the feet in the plastic shredder kind of torture.
The city of Berkely California is ANTI a judicial system that does not do as told
This article from the Wall Street Journal gives you an idea of what we stopped. My only complaint is we did not help the Iraq people soon enough.
Criminal Against Humanity
We can choose to disagree about why we went into Iraq and we can choose to disagree about how to best complete operations there but one thing we should not disagree about is that we are doing much more good by being there than by not being there. If the City of Berkely California ran our country prior to WWII we would all be talking German or Japanese today.
Let's not be totally short sighted about this and lets support every one of our troops completely even while we argue with our politicians about how to best complete operations.
You see if you are against what we are striving to do in Iraq than you are willing to allow all of this to return.
So let's see
The city of Berkely California is PRO rape rooms.
The city of Berkely California is PRO mass murder of men women and children.
The city of Berkely California is PRO chemical weapons of mass destruction.
The city of Berkely California is PRO torture. Not the silly water boarding kind, I am talking the feet in the plastic shredder kind of torture.
The city of Berkely California is ANTI a judicial system that does not do as told
This article from the Wall Street Journal gives you an idea of what we stopped. My only complaint is we did not help the Iraq people soon enough.
Criminal Against Humanity
We can choose to disagree about why we went into Iraq and we can choose to disagree about how to best complete operations there but one thing we should not disagree about is that we are doing much more good by being there than by not being there. If the City of Berkely California ran our country prior to WWII we would all be talking German or Japanese today.
Let's not be totally short sighted about this and lets support every one of our troops completely even while we argue with our politicians about how to best complete operations.
Monday, January 28, 2008
RAMBO - as true to life as it gets
This weekend I saw Rambo, I was both horrified and impressed. The story is plausible and it highlights the Burma civil war in graphic detail. Killings in this movie are so real it will make most people cringe and turn away. The important thing to remember is the realism is not exaggerated but rather is showing you truly some of what is going on in the ongoing Burma civil war as well as the realities of what must be done to protect the innocent. Cruel, violent, men without morals or conscience can not be negotiated with they can only be removed like a cancer from the earth.
This movie is well worth seeing if you have the stomach to know what it really is like for the people of Burma and those that try to help them.
This movie is well worth seeing if you have the stomach to know what it really is like for the people of Burma and those that try to help them.
Monday, January 07, 2008
You know your a racist when.....
This December I had a horrible encounter with a member of our camping club. We were having what started out as a good dicussion of political candidates when suddenly this person says "I don't know what would be worse a woman or a nigger in the White House." To say the least I respectively explained to him that a persons skills, knowledge, ability to lead, etc. are determined by many things. The color of their skin or what they have between their legs are two things that do not determine anything. I find it so dis-heartening that we are 144 years past the emancipation proclamation, 53 years past Brown vs. Board of Education Topeka, KS. and we still have people that judge others by color or gender.
The flip side of this to be fair are people of color that think all white people are racists, I know such a person. This is just as bad and until this event the most racist person I knew was a black person.
Judge all by their actions, and deeds. Do not judge them by appearances.
The flip side of this to be fair are people of color that think all white people are racists, I know such a person. This is just as bad and until this event the most racist person I knew was a black person.
Judge all by their actions, and deeds. Do not judge them by appearances.
Back to Blogging I hope
Well the fall and holidays was a killer time for me at work and at home. Pretty much put blogging and a bunch of other stuff on hold for months :)
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