Game On: Week of Oct. 15

Here is my column from last week, where I reviewed Medal of Honor and NBA 2K11. Thanks to the Seattle Times for publishing.

Game On: Week of Sept. 30

Here is my column from the end of last month, where I reviewed Halo: Reach and Sports Champions. Thanks to the Seattle Times for publishing.

Game On: Week of Sept. 17

I have some catching up to do on older columns. Here is one from the middle of last month, where I reviewed Professor Layton and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Thanks to the TC Palm for publishing.

Blog Action Day 2010

Change.org sponsors Blog Action Day once a year, and it's always focused on getting people involved in a cause that the members vote upon. This year, the topic I voted for got picked: water.

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Just so you know why I voted for water, I've watched several stunning and moving documentaries that have raised my awareness and fear about the ability to get access to clean water. And just so you have some solid facts, here's some stuff to chew on (or swallow, since we're talking liquid here):

• Conservation Starts at Home: The average person uses 465 liters of water per day. Find out how much you use and challenge others to do the same.


• 40 Billion Hours: African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water, which is usually still not safe to drink.


• 38,000 Children a Week: Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions. Learn more.


• Wars Over Water: Many scholars attribute the conflict in Darfur at least in part to lack of access to water. A report commissioned by the UN found that in the 21st century, water scarcity will become one of the leading causes of conflict in Africa. Learn more.


• Food Footprint: It takes 24 liters of water to produce one hamburger. That means it would take over 19.9 billion liters of water to make just one hamburger for every person in Europe. Learn more.


• Building Wells: Organizations like Water.org and charity: water are leading the charge in bringing fresh water to communities in the developing world.


• Technology Footprint: My iPhone requires half a liter of water to charge. That may not seem like much, but with over 80 million active iPhones in the world, that’s 40 million liters to charge those alone.


• Fashion Footprint: That cotton t-shirt you’re wearing right now took 1,514 liters of water to produce, and your jeans required an extra 6,813 liters. Learn more.


• Uninhabitable Rivers: Today, 40% of America’s rivers and 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life. Learn more.


• Keeping Rivers Clean: We can all take small steps to help keep pollution out of our rivers and streams, like correctly disposing of household wastes. Learn more.

Friday Funnies

Because any Friday spent with the Muppets is a Friday well spent.

My Slacktivism

I know it's sometimes hard to find time to do something important for someone else. We all have busy lives, and we can't always make the time. But luckily the good folks over at IBM have created some software to help the greater good and you literally have to do nothing ... NOTHING ... but let your computer work while you work.

The World Community Grid is this wickedly cool piece of software that I read about months back in Fast Company. After reading up on it a little more, I was hooked and have been running it ever since. The basic premise: You install this tiny piece of software onto your computer. As long as it is launched, whenever you are not working on your computer, it is working. 5 seconds here, a minute or two there. All the times it is using your computer to do calculations that aid researchers in doing complex research that aims to find cures to cancer, AIDS and others.

Trust me, this stuff does good work and it doesn't cost you anything nor does it destroy your computer or hinder all that excel spreadsheet work or Internet shopping you're otherwise normally doing. Take a moment and get involved, it's free, easy and can make a world of difference.

Friday Funnies

Tonight I'm checking out some standup comedy. And not from a likely source. I'm seeing the elder statesman of "Full House," Mr. Bob Saget.

I didn't pay much attention or give any thought to Saget when he was running that show about obviously staged home videos meant to cater laughter and hopefully some cash. Then a few years back I heard Jamie Kennedy made a funny video about hanging out with Saget and watched and thought it was pretty funny. A year or two back I also randomly caught Saget's HBO special and was blown away that the dude from Full House was talking about screwing co-eds and making fun of the Olson twins.

So he's coming to DC tonight and I figure, what the hell? let's give it a shot and see how he does. It better not be all hugs and light-hearted humor. I've roped Kelly into going because I told him he's going to tell some dirty jokes and it should be funny. Come through for me, Saget!

My Return to Title Form

It's been almost a decade since I left St. Petersburg, Florida. I don't necessarily miss the job (because not many of us are missing the ever-shrinking journalism field) but I've always loved the people I met there. Thankfully, I've kept up with many of my former co-workers, and one of those ways has been playing in a fantasy baseball league. And though I was not there, naming my team after my office nickname was easy. When I worked there, during one of the morning shifts when we'd all been working the night before until 1 a.m. and then had to be back at work at 8 a.m., we often got a little punchy during those morning shifts. So Todd, Ecton and I had an oddly in-depth discussion of original Star Trek TV series. We all talked about the hilarious aliens Kirk had to fight, and one of m favorite was the Mugato, which basically was a gorilla suit painted white with a huge, inappropriately designed horn glued to the head. So when they gave me a stuffed animal version as my going-away gift, my legacy was born.

Anyone who knows me is well aware that baseball is far from my favorite sport. Far, far, far from it. I'm mocked for loving soccer devoutly and getting a little too excited about odd sports like curling. Nevertheless, I joined because I wanted to be able to stay in touch with these guys and gals. In a weird turn, I won the league back in 2003, and the other owners were stunned that someone who knew so little could pull off the win.

And now they must be hating me, because I won again. And I killed it. I think I moved into first place some time in June and never relinquished the lead. Ever. It was amazing. It was just total domination. Click on the roster to appreciate my success.

My Justice, I Guess

Many of you know that I had quite the unfortunate run-in with a mugging earlier this year. Well, at long last it seems the justice system has runs it course and now I have some justice. It is by no means closure because that kind of thing lingers forever. But at least I can say that I the individuals were caught and justice was done. Want to know more? Read the press release. This doesn't have all the unfortunate details, but it gets the main points across. My intrepid law team advises that I let the release do the talking and maybe someday in the future I can let loose about the experience and my thoughts.

Friday Funnies

It's been awhile since the Friday Funnies, and I need to bring them back in style. I don't have children, and that's not a bad thing. But several of my friends do, and this video passed along by my pal Dave is hilarious and the fact that the one guy has a UK visor on at least gives me the chance to say that Kentucky fans are a creative bunch.