05.30.08
Posted in games at 9:55 am by Rob Fahey
Anyone who has been moaning and crying about the UK pricing for Rock Band, please consider this. In a moment of madness, I’ve just spent 300 quid (including shipping and inevitable customs charge) on a single guitar, and about 60 tracks to play on it.
Yes, the arcade-perfect Guitar Freaks controller I’ve been ruminating over since I got back from Japan last week is on its way, courtesy of a stack of credit I had with Play-Asia (long story) and a quiet month that’s been easy on my pocket. Guitar Hero has never really grabbed me, but Guitar Freaks sucked away countless 100 yen coins in Japanese arcades on this trip out. Maybe by next time I go, I’ll even be able to play without attracting pitying glances from Japanese guys nodding sagely at the genetically impaired gaming skills of the unfortunate gaijin. Maybe.
Perrin is still talking about buying a good drum kit to hook up via an adaptor to DrumMania, too, which would give us the UK’s most ludicrously overblown (but fantastic) rhythm gaming setup. Eat that, Rock Band.
Technorati Tags: DrumMania, gaming???????? ????? ????????, GuitarFreaks, Rock Band, videogames
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05.27.08
Posted in politics at 7:19 pm by Rob Fahey
Writing in the Guardian this week, Charlie Brooker makes a typically self-deprecating comment which, in fact, astutely sums up a large part of the problem - and pointlessness - with party politics.
During the London mayoral election, I had two main fears. The first, obviously, was that Boris was going to win. For weeks I repeatedly voiced that fear to everyone I met - to no avail as it turned out. But the second fear, the one I kept tucked away somewhere near the back of my head, was far more sinister. It was this: what if Boris won - and then turned out to be really good at his job? That might force me to question my cherished anti-Tory prejudice, which is so ingrained and instinctive it feels like something hand-stamped on my DNA.
This leapt out at me because it describes exactly why I have such difficulty in debating politics with, or even having a friendly discussion with, anyone who unswervingly devotes themselves to a political party. There’s a basic illogic to it - it comes with baggage which prevents you from recognising the benefits on the other side of the fence, and you end up twisting your world-view to suit your support of the party, rather than moving your political affiliations as your world-view changes. It’s deeply unhealthy to hitch yourself to a monolithic, bureaucratic body whose sole aim, ultimately, is to gain power - the contrast being those who support individual policies, ideals, or even politicians, of course, all of which are healthy parts of the political system. The parties themselves are merely parasites within that system which, sadly, are necessary for the functioning of our type of democracy.
Anyway, that’s why the phrase - with its perfect summing up of the closed-mindedness engendered by party politics - struck a chord with me. It came back to mind earlier today, however, because Boris’ actions as Mayor came back to the fore. Frankly, I don’t think Charlie has much to worry about regarding Boris turning out to be really good - not if th evidence thus far is anything to go on.
What has Boris Johnson done so far as Mayor of London? Two things. Firstly, he brought in a new rule which banned consuming alcohol on buses, tubes and trams in the city. While this doesn’t actually affect me in any way, and won’t affect most people, it’s clear that it’s the worst kind of gesture politics. People who drink on the tube aren’t the problem where anti-social behaviour is concerned; in fact, your average tube journey is so short that even if you downed half a bottle of wine at the beginning, you’d be off the tube at the other end before it started having any major effect. The problem is people who get onto the tube incredibly drunk and proceed to act in an anti-social way - banning drink on the tube won’t fix that in any way.
The ban also didn’t actually come with any additional budget for enforcing it, so fuck knows who’s meant to do that. In other words, it’s a tiny, largely unimportant freedom that’s been removed from us not for any practical reason, but because a politician wished to make a statement. That’s not a good way to set the scene for the rest of Boris’ tenure as Mayor, is it?
Well, if that’s worrying news, consider his next move - details of which were shuffled out of the Mayor’s office on the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend. Boris (or rather, Boris’ Tory Party minders - I doubt sincerely that he’s making these kind of decisions for himself) has elected to end London’s deal with Venezuela, which saw the city’s transport network being fuelled with cheap Venezuelan oil in return for a fairly significant return of expertise and knowledge back to the developing South American economy.
The deal was controversial, largely because some saw it as exploitation of a poor South American country by a wealthy European city - and, of course, because the US media and their cohorts deeply dislike Hugo Chavez himself. (One oft-ignored fact is that by cutting out oil companies and middlemen, another aspect of the deal which enraged parts of the media, London ended up paying Venezuela directly and the country didn’t do all that badly out of the deal, even before considering the value they got from the imported expertise we returned to them.)
However, what the deal did on the ground was simple - it provided half-price transport for Londoners living on Income Support. That covers a wide range of people, including a large number of those with disabilities - a great many of whom aren’t eligible for the Freedom Pass scheme, so this deal made a fairly significant impact for them.
In canceling the scheme, Boris has removed that half-price travel. The last half-price passes, which are valid for six months, will be issued in August - after which those on Income Support, including the disabled, will essentially see their transport fares double.
The Mayor’s office says that its concern here is for the poor of Venezuela - although how exactly this is going to help them, or when exactly Boris Johnson and his aides became so concerned for them, is not explained in any way. The reality is that the Conservative party in the UK has major problems with Chavez’ regime, and rather than acting in the interests of the people of London - especially the most vulnerable people in the city - Boris has just toed the line and done exactly what he’s told by his party and his advisors.
So there we have it. Two moves from the new Mayor - one removes a part of our freedoms in order to make an empty gesture, the second directly hurts the city’s most vulnerable people in order to toe the party line (and make an equally empty gesture). Further government intrusion, illiberal policies and snatching money from the hands of the poor and the disabled - is Cameron’s idea of making the Conservatives seem “compassionate”? I think Charlie Brooker need not worry; four more years of this and nobody will doubt who was in the right at the last Mayoral election.
Technorati Tags: Boris Johnson, Charlie Brooker, Hugo Chavez, politics, London, Venezuela
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05.21.08
Posted in games at 1:54 pm by Rob Fahey
This is not a post about politics. I promise.
Instead, it’s a brief post to note that if you’re starting out in Age of Conan this week (and rather a lot of people do seem to be), feel free to come along and say hi to my Cimmerian Guardian - Hachimaki, on the Crom server.
(Yes, PvE - I’m not making the mistake of rolling on a PvP server like I did with World of Warcraft. I’ve regretted that particular decision for a long time, because all the fun, consensual parts of PvP are still on the PvE servers, with ganking by sexually frustrated teenagers being the only aspect you miss out on. I’m happy to spare myself that aspect of the MMOG experience.)
Game seems pretty interesting so far - it’s certainly the first time I’ve been asked to disrupt a witch’s spell by, er, replacing her vestal virgin blood with blood from one of the town’s whores. Nice. There used to be a tankard around here somewhere, I might fill that with mead for the authentic Conan experience. Diet Coke out of a Guinness pint glass just isn’t cutting it for this game.
Technorati Tags: Age of Conan, Funcom, gaming, MMORPG, videogames, World of Warcraft
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05.20.08
Posted in politics at 11:24 pm by Rob Fahey
Parliament has just voted against all of the amendments which would have restricted access to abortion. Both the odious Nadine Dorries’ 20-week amendment, and the Cameron-backed “compromise” position of 22 weeks, have been struck down.
I’m no fan of our incumbent government, but suffice it to say that I’m very happy to see the progress of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill has continued through these two difficult days without hitting the roadbumps that many of us had feared. Busy week for me this week, but I think I might tip back a glass at the weekend to the MPs who saw the course and listened to the science and the reason rather than the enticing baying of the right-wing.
Technorati Tags: abortion, BBC Parliament, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Nadine Dorries, stem cell research
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Posted in politics at 8:31 pm by Rob Fahey
Back to my BBC Parliament screensaver today.
Yesterday, as I commented, was a pretty good day for science, medicine, and Parliamentary democracy. Amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which would have forbidden continued research into stem cells and “hybrid” embryos (which aren’t really anything of the sort) were defeated by a hefty margin in the Commons, defeating the hardline religious stance and giving hope to countless people whose chronic illnesses could be cured in future by this research.
Today is even more contentious. Today, we have votes which directly affect IVF for same-sex couples and single mothers, and the abortion laws.
The first set of votes have already gone through, and once again Parliament has rejected the religion-influenced stance of its more hardline members. New clauses which would insist on the presence of either a), a father and mother; or b), a nominated father figure, have been rejected. What this means, in essence, is that there is now no legislative protection for discrimination against lesbian couples and single mothers at IVF clinics.
I’m cautiously glad that these amendments didn’t pass. My own personal views on IVF are deeply unpopular - while recognising the power of the biological urge to reproduce, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of people spending tens of thousands of pounds on expensive medical fertility treatments when millions of children each year (and hundreds, if not thousands, in the UK alone) need secure, loving homes to raise them. Adoption seems, to me, to be the moral choice - if perhaps the harder path to follow.
On the other hand, if we’re going to allow unfettered access to IVF to straight couples, then it’s absolutely fair that lesbian and single-parent couples should enjoy the same access.
The next set of amendments is being debated now - the controversial abortion amendments, which seek to reduce the limit from 24 weeks down to 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 weeks, or to add clauses forcing women to look at womb scans before making a decision. There’s really no science to back this up, so we’re instead getting the spectacle of a debate where the proponents are either banging on about “science” they don’t actually understand or can’t substantiate, or are appealing to religious morality in high-pitched, holier-than-thou voices.
It was kicked off by Edward Leigh (Con), whose speech mostly consisted of apologising for suggesting nonsense (as well he might, the pillock) and has since descended into all kinds of ear-grating madness. I had to switch off when the amendment proposing that women be forced to stare at pictures of the foetus before making a choice was being expounded upon by some vile harridan from the Labour benches - all that ran through my mind as this smug individual made her ill-supported appeal was this somewhat heart-wrenching article about a similar policy in Oklahoma.
The fact that we’re even discussing this in 2008, half a century after the introduction of abortion, is astonishing. Bear in mind that only a tiny percentage (under 2%) of abortions take place in the last few weeks of the existing term, and then only for serious medical reasons - religionists on both sides of the house want to see that taken away, removing from women the freedom to choose, but also putting their lives and the health of any potential children into serious danger. (Plus, if you actually want to reduce the number of late-term abortions, the best way to do it would be to remove the requirement for two doctors to authorise an abortion, which presently holds up many of the procedures. There’s an amendment on the table to do that, but it seems unlikely to pass.)
The votes start tonight at ten. Fingers crossed for another stinging defeat for the religionistas.
Technorati Tags: abortion, BBC Parliament, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Nadine Dorries, politics, stem cell research
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05.19.08
Posted in politics at 11:13 pm by Rob Fahey
BBC Parliament this evening has taken on the role of a strangely soothing screensaver - muffled conversation, tiny moving blobs of colour shuffling around, and occasionally a loud voice shouting “Order!” before announcing relaxing, positive news in a cut-glass English accent. It’s wonderful.
This, for those not in the UK, is the BBC’s live broadcast channel for the Houses of Parliament. When the House of Commons is in session, it broadcasts everything that happens live - and it’s available for free on just about every TV service in the country, be it cable, satellite or digital terrestrial. It also broadcasts the House of Lords on occasion, along with recordings of select committee sessions (which hear evidence on a variety of topics and eventually report back with a view to informing the legislative process) and even of meetings of the London Assembly with the Mayor. Mostly, it’s as boring as it sounds, but occasionally it’s absolutely fantastic to have a window into these proceedings, and I (being quite boring myself) find the whole thing fascinating.
(If you wake up feeling mildly hung over, playing “count how many old codgers in Lords are asleep” is quite a good distraction, too.)
Anyway, this evening’s business in Commons is regarding the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill - and the reason it’s so relaxing is that after several weeks of debate, tonight I’m watching amendment after amendment to this vital bill being struck down. Pretty much all of those amendments have been tabled by MPs on religious grounds - objecting to continued stem cell research, the selection process for saviour siblings, and so on. All of them are being defeated by huge margins.
This is good news on several grounds. Firstly, because this research is important and could change (and save) the lives of millions of people. Secondly, because to my mind those MPs who have objected on religious (mostly Catholic) grounds have betrayed their duty as MPs in doing so. They are elected as representatives of the people, and to act according to their personal religious beliefs rather than acting in the best interest of those people is a disgraceful act. The fact that so few of them are doing so, even in the face of what has been a hugely scaremongering and uninformed media campaign from certain quarters, is a heartening sign.
There are more votes to come tomorrow - one in particular, on the question of whether the time limit for abortion should fall from 24 weeks to a lower limit, is extremely contentious. There’s no hard science to support such a change, and the campaign for a lowering of the limit seems to be fuelled once again from the religious lobby, who view a small reduction in the limit as a step on the way to much bigger reductions down the line. I hope that’s transparent to most MPs, and results in another resounding defeat; once we’ve taken the moral decision, as a society, to allow abortion, the question of the medical limit on that procedure should be based on strong scientific evidence, not vague “ethical” standpoints based on books that were written before we knew the first thing about foetal development. (The charge to a lower limit is being led by one Nadine Dorries, a Tory MP who has spun an astonishing web of barefaced lying and deceit on this topic in the past few weeks - it’s worth doing a google search on her name and finding some of the better rebuttals to see just how low the anti-abortion lobby in the UK will sink to try and make themselves relevant.)
We’ll see what happens. For tonight, though, I feel a little bit good about British politics for the first time since before London’s public transport shunning outer suburbs lumbered the rest of us with an anti-libertarian bigot for the next four years.
Technorati Tags: BBC Parliament, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, Nadine Dorries, politics, abortion, stem cell research
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Posted in games, work at 1:25 am by Rob Fahey
It’s been a bloody age since I updated this - sorry. Life has been busy. A couple of weeks in Japan surrounded by several hectic weeks of work here in the UK have seen to that, with the result that every time I’ve thought “gosh, I should really update my blog”, I’ve proceeded to groan audibly.
Very briefly, though, I thought I’d pop in a belated link to this rather handy new feature on Eurogamer - the ability to view the article archive filtered by author. Unfortunately, I appear to have a split personality as far as EG’s archive is concerned, so if for some odd reason you want to keep up with my latest output, you’ll need to click both here and here.
There’s no clever way of getting a “latest articles by this author” feed out of the thing at the moment, mind. You could probably do it if you’re really clever with Yahoo! Pipes or suchlike, but I’d start to think you were some kind of weird stalker at that stage.
In other news, this weekend I went to Argos, built flat-pack furniture and installed Windows Vista. I’m not really sure which of these experiences was most painful, but at least the Argos and flat-pack stuff means I now have a nice glass and chrome TV stand in the living room and a chest of drawers in my bedroom. The Vista install just means I have an expensive PC that’s partially broken. Great.
Technorati Tags: journalism, Eurogamer, Vista, workblog
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