Six Days In...

Well, 2012 is six days old.  I've spent most of this week working on the fence, because of the extraordinary beautiful weather we've been having.  Working on the fence also kept me occupied so I wouldn't worry so much about my aunt.  She's still in the hospital, and will probably be there for a long while. At one point she had flat lined, but they managed to resuscitate her.

Nothing much accomplished on the gaming front,  ( aside from building a table top from scrounged lumber ), but hopefully that will soon change.  I had hoped to at least get some Mage Knight games played over the holidays, but my brother got engaged on Christmas Day, so that got nixed in the bud.  Oh well...

I still can't play Skyrim.  I think it has to do with lousy bandwidth.  The Steam site mentions that broadband is RECOMMENDED.  The Skyrim box states that an Internet connection is required, but says nothing about how good a connection you need.  So I'm a little ticked off, but nothing I'm going to rant about.

Hhhmmmm... I wonder if I can write some rules to play Mage Knight solo?

Game Hacking

Today I've been busy trying to get Skyrim installed, and of course have had no luck.  I finally received an email from Steam support that at first seemed helpful, and it did get me farther in the process.  However, once I tried to login I got the same result.  Steam: Not Responding.  UGH.

So while I try again, ( it takes Steam forever to update, at least on my computer ), I've been doing some research, and found this definition of a hacker:

hacker n. [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe] 1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value. 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example. 7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations. 8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence `password hacker', `network hacker'. The correct term for this sense is cracker.

From The Jargon Dictionary http://info.astrian.net/jargon/

I know many people think hackers are  malicious criminals, and many are, but I read it and realized that many gamers could be described as "game hackers", especially those in the OSR segment of this niche hobby.  I am specifically referring to parts six and seven of the definition above.  Many of us like to tinker with, and rewrite the rules of the games we play, because either we aren't happy with them, or we are trying to "circumvent limitations".  Sometimes I think that this is the best part of the hobby.  Finding new and better ways to do things.

Let me be clear, I'm not trying to hack Skyrim,  I was doing research to broaden my knowledge base.  I eventually want to get a better Internet connection, and set up a wireless network.  So I was doing some research on wireless security.  There's a lot to this stuff.  Sometimes I want to move to the woods and become an original hacker, and make all my furniture with an axe.

Skyrim = Frustration

The only gaming related gift I received for Christmas was Skyrim, which is all I really wanted anyway.  So once I got home, I decided to install it, so I could play for a couple of hours, or maybe six...  This is where the frustration begins, because to install the stupid game you have to have a Steam account.  So I registered for the account, and tried to log in, but it wouldn't let me log in.  I could enter the password, but nothing happened. The log in screen did nothing, and I got the "Steam is not responding", message.  UGH!

I know ( despite some problems ) that  I managed to create the Steam account.  I just can't log in!!!  And if I can't log in, I can't install the game!  If I can't install the game, I CAN'T PLAY THE GAME!!!  Frustrating...

I'm really disappointed in Bethesda Softworks.  Why couldn't Skyrim be like all the previous releases, and be installed just from the freaking disk???  Why create so many problems?  I've had no luck finding a solution to this problem online, but I have sent a query to Steam Support.  Hopefully, they can help with this problem.

Of course while I tried searching for a solution to the problem...

Aside from that, it was a good Christmas, albeit a bit subdued.  The day was spent with my mom, brother, and his girlfriend, and a friend of hers that's been staying with them.  After dinner and gifts, we watched Sherlock Holmes.  Of course my brother and I were slightly disappointed he didn't get Zombieland from his gf.  Her opinion was that it was a stupid movie.  I said, "It's not a movie, it's a training film..."  She just kind of rolled her eyes, and shook her head.  My brother agreed with me, and said it would help him defend her from zombies.  I tried to tell her about how the Soviets had created bioweapons that could turn people into "violent zombies", but she wasn't buying our arguments.

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  I really wanted to post about my first experiences playing Skyrim, but that just didn't work out.  Hopefully, I can eventually get the game installed.  Until then... I'm going to be in a bad mood.  Gggrrrrr.... aaarrrggghhhh...