Portal

I have been trying a new game, and just recently finished it. It is called Portal. Created by Valve the makers of Half-life, I think it is the only activity that can make you enjoy being nauseated, and even make you try to become more so... because its cooool. Also for a puzzle game it has a great storyline.

As it starts out you are a test subject (volunteer perhaps? it never makes that clear) at the Aperature Science Enrichment Center which is supposedly helping enrich your mind and help you become a better problem solver, but it seems obvious your real purpose is to test the cool portal gun they invented. After a couple tutorial segments you have the portal gun which shoots out a blue and an orange portal. If you walk through one portal you come out the other. So does any other object. So you play through a series of fun puzzles which have rather awesome solutions involving these portals. They can also be severely disorienting. :)

However the computer guiding you through the challenges is acting rather strange. Sometimes it even sounds sarcastic and sinister. Suddenly on one level she informs you the challenge you were supposed to do is under maintenance and you will be placed in a military android testing area instead. Sorry for any inconvenience. The Challenges become increasingly... real, even with the Computer's assurances that everything is perfectly safe and following testing protocols. Then you find a broken section of the testing area inside which are scribbled messages calling for help the floor littered with empty emergency rations, and marks representing a long length of time. Something is wrong. I don't want to spoil the ending for those who want to play the game but I will leave one last clue. The Cake is a lie.

The music and graphics were excellent at creating mood, one thing Valve excels at. The gameplay was also original and very fun. In fact sometimes I would just play around and not complete the levels because goofing with the portal gun is super entertaining. Probably the only thing I didn't like was the length. It was really short in its storyline mode. It does include many bonus levels as well, but I would have liked to have the storyline be a little longer than 2 hours on my first try. I will give the game a 9 out of 10 Excellent job Valve. If you want the game I suggest buying the Orange Box set by valve, it is one of the best values for PC games including some of the best titles ever made for the PC for $30.

As another sample here is the trailer for the game it captures a good part of the gameplay. Enjoy!

First Snow of... Spring?

Its days like these that make people move to Florida...

Yesterday the 26th of APRIL it snowed. Heavy too. We received almost a foot of snow in several hours. I had to dig my car out to use it, and almost had to shovel the driveway! I walked into church in the morning and in the 20 ft walk to the door I was coated in snow and looked like Frosty the snowman really had come back.

Then suddenly as it had come it departed. I came home in the snow, took a nap and when I woke up it was green again. It caught me by surprise both times. In the morning it took my brain quite a while to figure out what was wrong about the snow outside. I kept thinking snow is normal... but for some reason I don't think it should be here... OH! WHAT THE...! After it was gone same story. I looked outside and a little snow remained here and there and looked like soggy toilet paper. I was trying to figure out who would TP our house, then suddenly recalled it had snowed that morning. (I was having some real problems waking up that day :)

Idaho really has some odd weather patterns. I wish snow in April, May, or June was a super rare exception, but it happens more often than we would expect. It usually leads to a late frost which really frustrates farmers. So much for Global Warming.

Final Tests...

oh Gads... Finals week at BYUI. I don't know if I will make it through the week so I better send out a good bye just in case.

Actually I am doing pretty well on my finals so far. A little worried about my programming test (I hate that teacher's tests!) and very worried about the second half of my discrete mathematics class. It is a hard class, and this time the tests are not multiple choice. I live for multiple choice. Probability wise your guessing is alot more likely to succeed. :)

Good news though I am done with all my assignments. I finished them up halfway through last week. and I am feeling good about that. Now just comes the endless studying for the last four tests I have tomorrow. Oh boy. Its funny how a few hours in a day can effect the rest of your life so much.

On the theme of final testing I have a funny video I would like to share a funny video I have recently come across that should spark some laughs. Talk about brilliance.



Well I hope you enjoyed the clip, I have to go bury myself in papers, but I will post more soon.