Hottest March and Hottest Jan-Feb-Mar on Record

Meanwhile, here on Planet Reality, the world continues to burn because of our addictions to fossil fuels and reckless consumption:

It was the hottest March in both satellite records (UAH and RSS), and tied for the hottest March on record in the NASA dataset. It was the hottest (or tied for hottest) January through March in all three records.


The record temperatures we’re seeing now are especially impressive because we’ve been in “the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century.” It now appears to be over. It’s just hard to stop the march of anthropogenic global warming, well, other than by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, that is.

What is it going to take to wake people up?  What is it going to take to force our politicians to take the necessary steps to avoid apocalyptic catastrophe?  Nobody seems particularly motivated to act.  For the politicians, there's too much money pouring in from fossil fuel industries.  The citizens are no better, stubbornly clinging on to their toys, their gadgets, their deeply destructive lifestyles.

Changing your light bulbs isn't going to make any difference.  Bringing your own bag to the grocery store won't do a damned thing.  The problem is very simple - you consume too much.  Your lifestyle cannot merely be tinkered and nudged at the edges.  Your lifestyle is the problem.

And do you know the most frustrating part of it all?  We've known about this for over a century.  The first research paper addressing global climate change, and the burning of fossil fuels, was published in the 1890's.  Frank Capra made movie reels about global warming in the 1950's; you can watch it on Youtube.  But humanity has continued to flop on the seamy side.  Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death!

Scientists Cleared of Malpractice in UEA’s Hacked Emails Inquiry

This was from a week or so back, courtesy of the Guardian UK and Climate Progress.  I've been telling myself to document the event in any case.  This is now the second formal investigation into the hacking of emails of British climate scientists, which was jumped upon and trumpeted by Fox News and the Republican Party - proof that global warming is a hoax, a "climate-gate."

Well, not so fast.  Turns out the scientists have been vindicated.  Twice.  And the always-growing mountain of evidence for global warming continues.  Here's the usual short excerpt from the Guardian:

The scientists at the centre of the row over the hacked climate emails have been cleared of any deliberate malpractice by the second of three inquiries into their conduct.…

The report concluded: “We saw no evidence of any deliberate scientific malpractice in any of the work of the Climatic Research Unit and had it been there we believe that it is likely that we would have detected it. Rather we found a small group of dedicated if slightly disorganised researchers who were ill-prepared for being the focus of public attention. As with many small research groups their internal procedures were rather informal.”

Global Warming and the Rise of Super Storms

Joe Romm lays out the case for more ferocious storms as a result of global warming.  The "storm of the century" is becoming almost routine, due to rising amounts of moisture in the atmosphere.  If you examine closely, you can see this happening with your own eyes.

Denial, magical thinking, and conspiracy theory will not save you.  These are delusions, fantasies...what Jean Renoir called "dancing on the edge of a volcano."  The pollution must be stopped immediately; not tapered, not slightly reduced, but eliminated completely.

Some Thoughts on the Loudness War

I posted these words on the Steve Hoffman Forums, dealing with the music business' Loudness War.

Most people, certainly the majority, either don't know about this issue or don't care. I guess it depends on whether you're an optimist or a pessimist to judge where that falls. The crank in me sees this as more evidence that humans are mindless sheep, shuffling along to the dictates of culture and authority. The optimist in me sees a rising awareness, a sense that something is wrong. Even if the music lover is not aware of the science of the loudness wars, they feel something is off. They simply don't listen to new music anymore, and may just assume it's a part of aging.

I knew something was off with music all through the last decade, long before I knew anything about mastering or engineering or waveform graphs. I just discovered that I wasn't playing music (mostly MP3s by this point) like I was with CDs in the '90s. I read something Dave Mustaine once said about MP3s being inferior to the wave files of a CD, and I grokked that concept, but the idea of compressing and crushing music was completely alien to me.

It was only when I bought a Numark portable turntable in 2007, and picked up an old Led Zeppelin IV for $3.20 (turns out to be a "Porky"), that the revelation hit me. I was literally knocked out of my chair, overwhelmed. I had no way of explaining why this record was soooo miraculous. The sound was deeper, richer, warmer, more alive, more real. And you could hear all these sounds, tones, instruments deep in the background, sounds that were missing completely from CD and MP3.

Like most people, I knew next to nothing about vinyl records. Turntable spins, needle, music comes out. That's it. But I felt like Dorothy stepping into Technicolor Oz.

Anyway, the whole point to this long Grampa Simpson story (did I mention that I wore an onion on my belt?) is that these larger issues of the loudness wars, analog vs digital, and the vinyl revival were completely alien to me, and I would suspect this is the same for most people. Audiophiles know the technical reasons behind these issues, but the average public doesn't. And we had to dig deep and read endlessly to learn. This is something the audiophile crowd doesn't realize. You're a small group, and you're holding on to all the secrets.

I think education is the key. You need to educate people about the art and science of music, about the loudness wars (one of nation's many uselesss wars), about analog and digital and CDs and turntables. I believe the tide has been slowly turning, and awareness is rising among music lovers and the musicians themselves. How many more bands now insist on greater dynamics, or analog recording and mastering for their vinyl LPs? Heck, the band Low (from Duluth, MN) proudly advertises "AAA" stickers on their LPs.

I wouldn't worry about winning over all the people. The smart, witty, savvy kids - they're the ones who will listen and learn. Go to the kids. Throw up a thousand videos on Youtube and educate them. Show off your stereo systems, your hi-def digital and your analog turntables. Don't count on the music industry to preserve this history. They're not leading; they're stumbling to catch up. We need to become the leaders and the teachers.

18 Veterans Commit Suicide Every Day

Holy fucking shit!

Thirty veterans attempt suicide every day.  And eighteen succeed.  For the love of God, stop these damned useless wars!  You cannot send boys off to war and keep them there forever.  War is not a profession.  It is a supreme violation against the human soul and all that is good; mankind's greatest crime.  And war has become normalized, trivialized in this American culture, this selfish and deeply fearful culture.

This permanent war is a disgrace and must be ended immediately.  Nothing good can come from this, only suffering and death.

*I should add, I really don't pull out the heavy-duty swear words and refrain from doing so in my writings, unless I'm very upset.  This was my honest, immediate reaction to that headline.  It's beyond obscene, the way this nation treats its men and women in uniform.  An absolute disgrace.

What's the Deal With USB Turntables?

What's the use in getting a USB turntable?  The whole premise has never made any sense to me.  Most people threw out their record players for CD and, later, iPod.  But they still have all their old records sitting in the attic.  So they go out and buy a new USB turntable...so they can digitize their albums and play them on the iPod?

How weird is that?  You've already got a turntable.  Why don't you just, I dunno...play the records?  Anytime I mention this idea to someone, I'm met with blank stares.  The very idea just doesn't cross their minds.  But Brawndo has electrolytes!

The deeper issue is that the greater public has bought into the idea of throwing out the "old" and buying the "new."  Planned Obsolescence is the gospel of today's consumer electronics industry.  And most just follow along, mindlessly, spending hard-earned money on some cheap, plastic USB turntable that is never used to actually spin records.  "You can only play digital music on iPods" is not chisled in stone.

An Earthquake in Your Pants...Jackass

Sometimes I wonder if I bumped my head and traveled to the Onion universe.  Is this loser for real?  And what does that say for the suckers and chumps who believe him?

“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,” Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Sedighi is Tehran’s acting Friday prayer leader.

Mozart Symphony No31 "Paris"

Here's another needle drop, this time of a Mozart Symphonies LP from 1968, on the Turnabout label.  The album includes Mozart symphonies 31, 32, and 34.  Here's Symphony No.31 - the "Paris" symphony.

Beethoven String Quartet, Op.130 - The Orford String Quartet LP

Happy Birthday, everybody!  In celebration, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite albums - Beethoven's String Quartet Op.130, performed by the Orford String Quartet.

This "needle drop" was recorded onto my PC via Audacity and then chopped up and uploaded to Youtube.  I'm very impressed with the sound, and I hope this gives you a good idea of what my stereo system sounds like.  Naturally, it's much better in the original uncompressed analog, but I recorded at the highest possible quality every step of the way, and I think you'll enjoy the results.

I found this LP in the 50-cent section of Treehouse Records in Minneapolis.  I've bought so many classical albums and box sets from those guys, nearly always for a dollar or less each.  It's a terrific way to build your music library and enrich your lives with a vast history of wonderful music.  Always search the discount bins in the music stores, kids.  The hidden gems only reward the persistent and the curious.

Marcee and Sasha the Dog at the Farm

Hi, Marcee!  How are ya, baby?

Marcee is at her friend's today, playing New Super Mario Bros.  Her internet won't be back up until Monday, so I promised a couple photos to cheer her up.  Yayy!  These come from her recent vacation with relatives who own a farm in the Colombian countryside, just outside of Bogota.  Sasha the Dog is theirs, too.  Yayy!!

Virtual Console Review - Ninja Commando (Neo-Geo)

Ninja Commando - ADK for Neo-Geo - 4/10

After playing through so many Neo-Geo games, it's pretty obvious to me that ADK was a second-tier developer.  Their games were nearly always duller, weaker, and slower than any of SNK's own titles.  They really were only good for one good video game, and that was Twinkle Star Sprites.  Everything else should be dumped into the generic leftover bins where they belong.

Ninja Commando is yet another example of this sad fact.  Here is an overhead run-and-gun game similar to Commando, Ikari Warriors, Heavy Barrel, and numerous other arcade games of the 1980s.  Heck, Rambo shoot-em-ups was SNKs specialty back then.  Ikari Warriors, Iron, Tank, Guerrilla War - those were classics, especially on the NES.

Ninja Commando wants to be Ikari Warriors, but it fails miserably for one key reason - you can't turn your fighter.  Yes, kids, that's right, you cannot turn and shoot in any other direction than up.  This goes against literally every other game in the genre, on every console and home computer ever built.  Every other game lets you shoot to the side, or shoot at an angle, because you're pretty much being hit by all sides.  Not so here.  Ninja Commando only allows firing forward.

What a sick joke.  Why would I dump quarters into this when I have so many better alternatives?  There's a reason why this game became obscure so quickly.  It sucks.

Being more charitable, I can appreciate the three different ninja characters, who have their own personality.  I might also appreciate the idea of time traveling and blowing stuff up all throughout history.  It would have helped if ADK offered level designs that were less cramped and a little more open.  Also would have helped if the weapons were more wisely designed.  The strength of your shots is determined purely by how quickly you mash the buttons.  How's that for a cheap gimmick?  Good luck with that gamepad.

Whatever.  I really don't care.  This game is substandard, looks flat and dull, is far too slow, and have I mentioned that you can't turn and shoot?  Yes, there is a move where you can throw ninja stars while doing flips, but it's extremely slow and weak - it doesn't effing work.  Did anybody playtest this game?

Oh, and that part about the characters having a personality?  I was only trying to be nice.  The truth is, they're dorks.  I mean, look at 'em.  Didn't the flat-top go out of style, like, 50 years ago?  Did the employees at ADK all wear flat-tops?  That would explain a lot.

Virtual Console Review - Top Hunter (Neo-Geo)

Top Hunter - SNK for Neo-Geo - 4/10

Top Hunter sucks.  Please don't waste your time or money on this clunker of a game.  Despite the gorgeous graphics and luxurious use of color, this is an extremely simplistic arcade side-scroller, with sluggish controls, annoying boss fights, and deeply repetitive gameplay.

The level designs are essentially a straight path from A to B.  There's a dual-pathway set akin to Sega's Shinobi, but it's never really used to any effect.  It's just a second pathway with the exact same enemies.  Have I mentioned Top Hunter is deeply repetitive?  Yes, it is deeply repetitive.  My mind just aches when I have to think at all the deeply repetitive moments I played through before reaching the end.  It's the same stupid pathway, the same stupid enemies, and the same stupid boss fights.

The gameplay gimmick is that you're a fighter who grabs enemies and throws them around.  Your arms also zoom out when you punch.  Neither are especially interesting, as no novel ideas are employed.  You would think the level design would take this into account, or there would be some challenging boss fights.  Sorry.  You would also think there wouldn't be a slight lag in the button pressings, or that the game designers had figured out walking and jumping.  This was a video game from the mid-'90s?  Sorry again.

Oh, and have I mentioned the audio is nothing but clown music?  Good Lord, I just wanted to punch the sound designer's jaw out.  This is the kind of music you expect when you're ordering a Happy Meal.  That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach kinda feels like a Happy Meal, too.  Moral lesson: don't load up on empty calories.

Virtual Console Review - Neo Turf Masters (Neo-Geo)

Neo Turf Masters - Nazca for Neo-Geo - 9/10

I don't know if the claim will mean much to today's Nintendo Wii audience, but I'm of the mind that Neo Turf Masters on the Neo-Geo is the best arcade golf game ever made.  It's so easy to become spoiled by motion controls on Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort and Tiger Woods Golf, isn't it?  It's very tempting to toss aside all the older golf games and stick with the Wiimote.  However, I do strongly suggest that you hold on to this one.

I really love the presentation on Neo Turf Masters.  This game is wonderfully polished and you can see the care and dedication Nazca, the developers, brought to the table.  Golf games were decidedly second-tier in the arcades (usually reserved for PC simulations), and I think that's part of the reason gamers are so impressed.  Just look at the bright and brilliantly detailed graphics.  Note the excellent use of color, and note the spectacular animation of the golfers.  Observe the stunning use of scrolling to simulate 3D depth with sprites.

I certainly wouldn't expect four different courses, at 18 holes each.  I certainly wouldn't expect a variety of golfers with their unique skills, or a full set of clubs, or the ability to add curves or spin to the swings.  In other words, I would expect a stripped-down arcade game, not the full experience.  Nazca clearly proved their dedication and love of detail - a trait they would demonstrate again and again with their Metal Slug series.

Perhaps because this is an arcade title, the courses aren't recreations of actual locations, but offer the sort of surreal fantasy video games are made for.  I especially like the par-three holes which take place over cliffs. I also enjoy the brisk speed of the game; it's just a couple quick button presses and you're making your next shot.  It's fairly easy to make shots, but you will have to use your golfing skills, as the game is quite challenging.

And, hey, look at that!  I made it to the end of the review without cracking lame Tiger Woods jokes.  What an achievement.  I should get an award for this review.

Photos - Neo Turf Masters (Neo-Geo)

A collection of screenshots for Nazca's most excellent Neo Turf Masters on the Neo-Geo.  This was a surprise hit that came out of nowhere, and plays a damn good game of golf.  I'm not sure if Nintendo Wii owners will want to go back to pushing buttons after being spoiled by motion controls, but this is an excellent title that deserves a place in everyone's Virtual Console library.

Virtual Console Review - Baseball Stars 2 (Neo-Geo)

Baseball Stars 2 - SNK for Neo-Geo - 8/10

Baseball Stars 2 is one of the signature Neo-Geo titles.  It perfectly captures the rebel vibe SNK was going after when they launched their arcade/home system - flashy, brash, over-confident, and irreverent.

There have been a million arcade baseball games during the '80s and '90s, and to be perfectly honest, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between any of 'em.  The batter-pitcher view is always the same, as is the control scheme and play mechanics.  It's video game baseball, so you know the score.

What Baseball Stars 2 has in spades is attitude.  All of the baseball players are mutated steroid freaks, carrying powered-up bats that may as well be tree trunks.  Pumping fists, breaking the bat over the knee, macho poses, dramatic diving for the ball...haha haha, this is almost like a cartoon spoof of sports games.  What's interesting is that SNK's previous games in the series (despite the title, this is actually the third Baseball Stars) were playing it straight.  Isn't that weird?  Perhaps they just needed an over-the-top sports game on Neo-Geo.  The system mascot was a rabid pit bull, after all.

My favorite moment in the game is when you hit the batter with a fast pitch.  He gets knocked down, then rushes the mound, and punches the pitcher clean on the jaw.  I don't know why I always laugh when that happens.  The closeup shot makes me laugh.  I only wish the pitcher could fight back...hah!  The best part is that your pitcher becomes crippled after getting punched out - the pitches are all slow and wobbly.  Hah!

Other than all that, what is there to say?  It's arcade baseball.  It's best for short bursts of dumb fun, and especially good for showing off the graphics of the Neo-Geo.  I don't know if that sort of thing can impress teenagers in the year 2010.  It was really awesome in 1991.  Everything was awesome in 1991.