So I realized that there are some things I don’t want to lose/forget about, but are horrible easy to misplace in the mess of life. So, here’s a post to make sure I can always find these gems (they are animated GIFs so I put them behind the jump, in case you don’t like browser lag). Continue reading
Time to catch up quickly! What better way than a self-Q&A session? No, really, name them!
Where have you gone as of late, Carl?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
What’s that?
It’s a video game. Can’t talk. Busy shooting things.
What about other things?
What other things? Oh I guess I do still work during the day.
That’s it? Work and gaming?!
Yeah pretty much. Work all day, game most of the night (with eating and whatnot shoved in somewhere).
Well then, how is work? How’s the project coming along?
Work is fine. The project, a project portfolio/tracking automation system designed by yours truly is more or less up and running. I’m in the process of creating and adding new views/ways to consume the information.
I’ve also nicknamed her “Potts”, as in Pepper Potts (Tony Stark’s secretary). Potts pretty much takes care of all the annoying/repetitive parts of my job so I can get back to being badass.
My boss seems pretty impressed/happy with my results. I’ve built this automation system on the intranet database system (Ollie/Livelink), making use of WebForms, LiveReports (glorified SQL queries), and WebReports, with plenty of CSS, HTML, JavaScript, a Livelink language layer, and a whole lot of self-teaching. I’d say that creating a system that automatically updates and generates content/displays/views to interact with the data is pretty damn good for a coop with just some basic Excel, HTML, and Scheme know-how at the start of the term.
You sound quite pleased with yourself.
What can I say, someone has to be, right?
And there’s absolutely nothing else you’re up to?
Well, I also manage to find time to work on Amy’s birthday present.
What is it?
It’s awesome. Can’t say much else, since it’s pretty secret this time. Kind of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” affair at the moment. Nearly complete, and all the little gears and cogs are falling into place. Should definitely be finished on time.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans?
First off, I’d like to thank the Academy, my parents, and God for this. Also, everyone at the studio and special effects studio! You know who you are! I couldn’t have done this without you!
…
Seemed apt at the time. I believe we’re done here! Back to my rainy day at work + hope for breaking 2.00 kill-death tonight/this weekend.
[Updated!] 5 6 things gaming has taught me:
In many adventure games, finding hidden or special items sometimes comes down to solving puzzles or noticing an alternate path that leads to (potentially) a room full of treasure. In first-person shooters (FPS), you get paid handsomely if you can notice a tiny movement in a distant window, or a shadow behind a crate. The lesson is basically that the details often matter. They may not be entirely crucial (you can often forgo those special treasures or take on a few extra deaths/less kills), but life’s more fun with details. They are significant. This brings me to my next point:
Do I really need the extra gold from completing every quest? Will catching all the Pokémon really be worth my while? How much do I really want that bunker on the map? There are objectives in games, and in life, and not all are necessarily meaningful. If the point of a deathmatch is to simply get more kills faster, why capture a particular point on the map? Especially if it’s hard to defend once you take it—you’ll be putting yourself in an exposed position, in harm’s way, for no real/actual advantage. Life is like this. Some things are worth the risk in chasing, seeking, and obtaining. Others may seem important, but panning out (perhaps during a killcam?) and a little critical thinking will expose these “goals” as mere distractions. Be careful where you invest yourself.
Everyone has had that one Pokémon they beef up way more than the rest, simply because they like that one the best, or it was their starter. Likewise, there are often stellar killers on some teams in FPS games that are one-man wrecking crews, racking up the bulk of their “team”‘s points. The Lone Wolf archetype generally conflicts with the Team Player. Simply put, weaker teammates will drag you down. They give away your position, or draw enemy fire, or fail to watch their corners, etc…. But, in real life and in video games, to do truly amazing and win every time, you must do amazing and win as a team. This goes for everything, from a project team at work to your Battle Tower team in Pokémon, to your squad in Call of Duty. You can have the best kill : death ratio of all your friends, but this doesn’t guarantee anything for your win : loss (see mine, at ~1.3 K:D and ~0.9 W:L).
With how gamers are portrayed on the media, you’d think games were a braindeadening hobby of dumb people doing dumber things. Anyone who thinks this has never spoken to Herman Chan about Pokémon teams. They’ve probably also never played Metal Gear Solid, or planned out how to clear out a room full of enemies with twelve bullets left. You can shave a few moments off your reaction time if you are already anticipating the pending action. Sure, you can go through matches without much forethought, sprinting around like an idiot in the open as cannon fodder. Or you can make the conscious decision to think ahead and end up ahead. Good planning is reacting in advance!
Many times, our instinct is to dig our heels in and fight out a grudge match with an opponent. Be it about pride, ego, or an overestimation of one’s ability to take on an entire squad alone, we all have our reasons for refusing to back down. This is usually what happens just before you get outdone, outgunned, or outmaneuvered. This kind of stubbornness/tunnel vision never makes any sense when you think for a bigger picture, about the current situation. Simply put, if the odds are stacked against you, you can either make an epic (but fatal) last stand, or you can slip off to get a second encounter, and hope that the tables have turned in your favour by then. Adapting this to real life, you often need to make snap decisions for the immediate situation, but remember the big picture. Consider the long run as you decide for the moment.
This is especially true in FPS. There are really only two kinds of high scoring players: campers and stalkers. Campers use one aspect of the environment/map to their advantage, staking out a good spot and preying on unwary passer-bys (pass-byers? pass-buyers? passer-bis?). These people can get some sick scores, since they mostly just abuse one bottle-neck or cheap trick. If the opponents aren’t completely senseless, they eventually decide to gang up/sneak up on this one camper and take him out. Then there are stalkers, who sneakily track down enemies and off them as opportunity allows. These players are forced to out-think, out-sneak, and only rarely out-gun their opponents. These are also the ones who inevitably end up constantly on the move, so that they are never in one place too long. They do better in the long run, trust me.
And as for anyone who tells you you can’t learn from video games, you can tell them a true student can learn from anything. Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of origin. *validates own gaming addiction*
This is unexpected, sneaky, and nerdy all in one beautiful burrito of awesome (found while reading through some PHP tutorials for work, while jamming out to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”).
Google knows. Google always knows. Especially where it’s at. A quick Google of my name + a commonly used adjective, say, “awesome”, returns in first two places, my Twitter feed, and in a close second, the P.Pole. I do believe this proves and certifies me as the Carl Wong to end all other Carl Wong’s.
Tam, K. and Wong, C. (2010). Completed on the 26th of January, 2010, in response to this clearly inflammatory post.
I am as shocked as you are. I have no idea who made this, or why they chose me (because they clearly had me in mind when programming this), but I am both honored and disproportionately concerned about this. I believe we can call shenanigans on this and get on with life.
I don’t know if I would buy it, but it was featured on the home page of the AppStore.
Note: I am neither promoting this app, nor telling anyone to boycott it. Enjoy it (or don’t) for the $0.99 price tag.
