Sales of canned oxygen to start in 7-Eleven stores in Japan
Either a trip to Japan is in order, or my local 7-Eleven needs to start selling them.
A can costs 600 yen, roughly 5 1/2 dollars. Perfect for Cruft Labs to test…
Category: Weblog
E3 2006
I only spent about half a day at E3 this year. I didn’t have much of a posse and it’s just not as much fun without some friends and plenty of time.
High Definition was dominant at the show. With the PC games, the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3 all showing screen after screen of HD content, it made all the standard definition stuff look bad.
Hot games I saw:
Spore – Will Wright’s new game is spectacular. I waited for the live demo and it was worth it. The game takes you Viva Pinatathrough the stages of creating life from individual cells to spaceflight. There are six parts to the game: cell, creature, tribe, city, civilization, and UFO. In the creature mode, you can make any kind of creature you want by dragging and dropping arms, legs, eyes, etc. onto a body. The motion is based uniquely on the mechanics of the creature you create. make a 3 legged dog, it has a 3 legged gait.
Crysis – Most amazing game visually of the show. Read Travis’s take on the game. It’s a must have upon release.
Viva Pinata – No photo of this, I was too in awe. Basically it’s a sim game based on raising a population of pinatas that even allow you smash the pinatas. The pinatas can fall in love and raise babies that you can sell for a profit. Virtual Pinata sex and slavery ftw!
Magic the Gathering Online – I played Magic starting back in 1994. Today, it can be played online. Nothing new there, but I was told at the show that if you collect a set in the virtual world, you can request the real cards to be sent to you. An amazing idea.
And now, on to the pictures…

I stopped by the Disney/Buena Vista Games booth and was pleased to see the infamous Desperate Housewives game. Looks very Sim-like.

Here is a shot of the Pirates of the Caribbean MMORPG. Not very complicated, but it looked straightforward to play.

Remember the Flying Toasters screen saver? Well, it lives on as a game for your mobile phone.

Onto the Blizzard booth I went to see the Burning Crusade demos. Blizzard probably had 50+ computers set up and people were allowed to play all they wanted. Here’s a shot of the jewelcrafting screen.

Of course, I had to the look at the new Tier 3 gear for Rogues. OMFG, this gear is simply unreal. If people can get a set of this level, they will be unstoppable by anything known in WoW currently. I don’t know how they are going to stop Level 70s in Tier 3 from farming Molten Core.

This dagger is makes me drool.

Of course, the big news is the Blood Elves are joined by the Dranei as the new playable races. Here’s the hottie Blood Elf female.

Neverwinter Nights 2 was show in a new perspective, similar to the current MMORPG style. The controls were a bit weird, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

My mother wil be sad, but Destroy All Humans 2 is coming. The girls and I will be happy though. The original game was a blast.

Best named game of E3 2006. In Rocket Slime, you play a slime driving a tank that shoots rockets and cannons at other tanks and mountains. I am not making this up.

Second best named game of E3 2006. I don’t know what the game was, but anything named WTF must be good.

They had cut down on the number of booth babes this year, but these ‘character models’ were allowed.

This is the Gundam game. Looked like a bunch of fun.
E3 2006 – First Thoughts
I spent part of the day at E3. My first takeaway is If it ain’t HD, it looks like crap.
Second, Katamari is on the move! Here is the Prince, featured in the Pac Man World Rally

Third, armageddon is near. Paris Hilton has her own game.

More photos and thoughts when I get some time tonight.
Just like the prodigal son…
We’re back from vacation.
It was great and relaxing (except from the smores making incident).
Thanks to all that posted a comment below, I’m eager to read them. But for now, it’s time for some sleep since I have work tomorrow.
On Holiday
Currently, I’m on vacation with my family on the island of Kauai. I am sitting in a car on a laptop with an EVDO card since there is no internet or phone service in the bed & breakfast we are staying. As a result my blogging will be light.
Since I cannot make much good content, I’m asking you to do it.
Many of you are ‘blurkers’, lurkers at my blog that read but don’t comment. That’s fine with me, but here’s a chance to you to post who you are and maybe even plug your own weblog. So please use the comments here to introduce yourself to the rest of the Loyal Cruft Reader community.
Mahalo.
Warp Core Breach
Here is video of me drinking a Warp Core Breach at Quark’s Bar in Vegas. I’m saying ‘Take the picture’ since I didn’t realize a movie was being filmed. Thanks to Cyril for the video.
Best Quote So Far at NAB
Brad says “Don’t eat a half pound of meat and then go to bed.”
Off to Vegas
I’m about to drive to Las Vegas for the NAB Conference. While I’m away, here is a short video to keep you entertained.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch. (via Writer’s Almanac)
Why I want to be a billionaire
If I was a billionaire, I could win this auction for a samurai helmet with antlers. (via Boing Boing)
For a long time, when playing MMORPGs, I have liked to wear deer antlers.
Here’s a few images from Ultima Online of me:
Now take a look at what’s for sale on ebay:

You see what I’m talking about? Why Bill Gates hasn’t snapped this up is beyond me…
On a lighter note
A few other things I have been remiss in not posting:
Mister P. writes about a Doonesberry comic that involves my alma mater, RPI
My cousin Richard is now blogging at Otigoji.com
If you want a visual display of what’s on your hard drive, try SequoiaView Windows software (via dl.tv)
Strenghting my geek cred, I had a story I submitted to Slashdot approved.
I am now a writer for the Metroblogging Azeroth site, focused on World of Warcraft news and issues.
A good article on HDTV standards, focusing on 1080p in next gen DVD and gaming displays. (via digg)
Sean “Internet Mogul” Bonner doesn’t get Second Life either.
And finally, 30+ years into my readership, Legion of Superheroes is coming to television in 2007 on the WB.
Sidenote: I really do need to get around to making a linkblog thingie for this site…