WHY!? Why do some business owners insist on using babies and small children in their commercials? There's a local car dealership that runs commercials occasionally, and the woman who owns the dealership holds a baby in her arms as she promotes her Ford Trucks. The baby has no purpose in the commercial but she has it with her anyway. Then some business owners put the kids in front of the camera and make them do the commercial.
I've seen several billboards with babies on them as well. One in particular said "Is your heart a mess? Then go see my Dad." And it shows a family photo of baby who had been turned loose on something like cake and icecream or buffalo wings. You know, something really messy. The billboard was an advertisement for a cardiologist. I do have to give the cardiologist some credit though, at least they tied things together better than most.
It all boils down to sentimentality. When I studied photography in college my teacher said that you should let go of the sentimental value for your artistic photographs. It clouds your judgment toward them and makes it more difficult to edit which ones to show the public. I see the teacher's point though. You see, art and advertising are not places to inject sentiment. That's reserved for family.
There is a big difference between family photos and artistic portraits. When taking artistic portraits, it is all about the lighting, the composition, the contrast and colors. Family photos are meant to document loved ones. You can compose good family photos, but sometimes the photos that aren't the most perfectly composed are the ones that have the most sentimental value.
In the same regard, these commercials that business owners make with the children in them can have great sentimental value to them. But no one else cares. It's not an effective advertising campaign.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Target Practice in Portal.
The 18th level of Portal is a good place to set up some targets for some live fire target practice. As if anybody ever really needs to.
The target practice is mostly for fun, but here is how to do it: Go through the level as normal or use noclip to reach the high platforms. Once you've reached the high platforms, you will need to use noclip. Fly from one platform to the next and then place a few enemies on each: npc_combine_s, npc_metropolice, npc_zombie, or npc_stalker. Just be warned that the stalker models freak out when you kill them. It's kinda disturbing, as are the stalkers.
You can even stack them on top of one another by going above the first enemy and aiming the crosshairs at the top of his head and then activating a new npc command. Once you have the enemies set up, go back to the bottom platform and pull out your favorite weapon and fire away.
Here are a couple of weapons cheats:
sk_plr_dmg_pistol 5
sk_max_crossbow 10
These are the default values, the command edits the amount of damage done, and the second command edits ammo, just replace the numbers to whatever you want. You can also see on the drop down list all the other weapons available and can scroll through them with the arrow keys.
The target practice is mostly for fun, but here is how to do it: Go through the level as normal or use noclip to reach the high platforms. Once you've reached the high platforms, you will need to use noclip. Fly from one platform to the next and then place a few enemies on each: npc_combine_s, npc_metropolice, npc_zombie, or npc_stalker. Just be warned that the stalker models freak out when you kill them. It's kinda disturbing, as are the stalkers.
You can even stack them on top of one another by going above the first enemy and aiming the crosshairs at the top of his head and then activating a new npc command. Once you have the enemies set up, go back to the bottom platform and pull out your favorite weapon and fire away.
Here are a couple of weapons cheats:
sk_plr_dmg_pistol 5
sk_max_crossbow 10
These are the default values, the command edits the amount of damage done, and the second command edits ammo, just replace the numbers to whatever you want. You can also see on the drop down list all the other weapons available and can scroll through them with the arrow keys.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Portal Polygamy.
If you're tired of your old companion cube, get another one! The other one can just do the dishes and raise the kids. When the companion cube dispenser opens it reveals that there are indeed two companion cubes. It takes a slew of console commands to retrieve the second one, but it isn't really all that difficult to do.
First you have to open up the console and type: sv_cheat 1 (this allows cheats) and then sv_portal_placement_never_fail 1 (this allows you to place a portal almost anywhere, specifically on metal surfaces.)
Exit the console menu and shoot a portal on a wall near the cube tube and then enter the console again. Now you must type impulse 101 to allow you the Half-life 2 weapons, and then type noclip and fly above your new mistress.
Shoot your second portal on the wall next to the new companion cube and settle down on an invisible ledge above the cube and deactivate noclip.
Once you have done that, switch to your gravity gun so that you can more successfully grab the cube and propel it through the portal. You can either hop through the portal you've made inside the tube, or you can noclip back to the floor. Now you have two companion cubes.
The easiest way to tote both of them around is with the gravity gun.
But it would seem your bohemian ways can't last for long, as GLaDOS asks that you sacrifice one to appease her.
But hey at least you still have your mistress. Or did you sacrifice your wife? You sicko!
And just when you think you are home free...
I have yet to find a way around destroying both of them. I've experimented with trying to spawn extra companion cubes but I have yet to find the right command. I think it is possible because there should be a code representation of pretty much anything that exists in the game, so one stands to reason that a companion cube could be spawned.
First you have to open up the console and type: sv_cheat 1 (this allows cheats) and then sv_portal_placement_never_fail 1 (this allows you to place a portal almost anywhere, specifically on metal surfaces.)
Exit the console menu and shoot a portal on a wall near the cube tube and then enter the console again. Now you must type impulse 101 to allow you the Half-life 2 weapons, and then type noclip and fly above your new mistress.
Shoot your second portal on the wall next to the new companion cube and settle down on an invisible ledge above the cube and deactivate noclip.
Once you have done that, switch to your gravity gun so that you can more successfully grab the cube and propel it through the portal. You can either hop through the portal you've made inside the tube, or you can noclip back to the floor. Now you have two companion cubes.
The easiest way to tote both of them around is with the gravity gun.
But it would seem your bohemian ways can't last for long, as GLaDOS asks that you sacrifice one to appease her.
But hey at least you still have your mistress. Or did you sacrifice your wife? You sicko!
And just when you think you are home free...
I have yet to find a way around destroying both of them. I've experimented with trying to spawn extra companion cubes but I have yet to find the right command. I think it is possible because there should be a code representation of pretty much anything that exists in the game, so one stands to reason that a companion cube could be spawned.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Portal Cheats.
After beating portal without using cheats, in order to have more fun with it is to use the developer console to your advantage. Now, since Portal is a direct offshoot of Half-life 2 there are several things you can do in portal that normally you couldn't without using the console. The commands that you use in the console are called Console Variables or cvars for short. In order to access the developer console, while in game you must hit escape, click options, click the keyboard tab, click advanced... and then enable developer console.
For a complete list of all the variables go here: PHLwiki
For the nitty gritty HL2 Cheats go here: cheats.ign.com
And here for Portal nits and grits: cheats.ign.com
Here are some of the more frequented cvars that I have been using.
sv_cheats 1 - This enables you to cheat, set sv_cheats to 0 if you want to turn it off.
notarget - Enemies and turrets will not try to attack you.
noclip - You're no longer restrained by walls, ceilings, and floors.
impulse 101 - All weapons. Considering that the only weapon you have on portal is the portal gun, this is a pretty cool code, especially since you get the gravity gun as well.
impulse 102 - Spawn a skull.
god - no damage
npc_create npc_zombie - creates a half-life 2 zombie, even though there are no zombies in the portal game.
The next two commands are used together.
npc_create_equipment weapon_shotgun,smg1, or ar2 - Although a combine soldier stays stationary you can choose his weapons. There may be a way to make them damage you using more variables but you can figure it out and let me know. The soldier will still look like he's shooting at you. There are no sounds, so for instance, you won't hear the blasts from a shotgun the combine solider is shooting.
npc_create npc_combine_s - If you get close enough to him he'll still try to hit you. He's especially good to use for target practice.
npc_create npc_fastzombie - These fiends are fast and mean.
npc_create npc_headcrab - They'll still jump at you, but they don't have their sound effects in the portal game. Neither do any of the other enemies you spawn.
npc_create npc_turret_floor - This turret is in Half-life 2 but can still be spawned into portal. It doesn't speak to you like the portal turret but it can be reactivated, although it is difficult to get them to stand upright again once they have fallen over. The do seem to spawn better than the portal turret but it's still a pain sometimes. Still I'd choose to spawn this one over the other.
npc_create npc_portal_turret_floor - This turret is pretty hard to deal with because when you execute the command the turret pops up in such a way that it immediately tries to fall over and if they do there's no way to reactivate them. But they definitely have more personality, so they do have a plus side.
You can also skip to the different maps by typing: map testchamb_a_** and replace ** with numbers 01 through 15. One other thing to mention, the numbers don't correspond with the actual number of the test chamber.
record [name your video here]- this command will record a demo video for you. When using the command it should look like this: record stabbedhenderson
"stabbedhenderson" being the name of the file that will be spit out once the video has completed recording.
stopdemo - stop the demo you're recording
A lesser known menu that can be accessed is the debug menu. In order to access it press shift+F1, to exit it press shift+F1 again.
I will go into detail about certain scenarios you can do with these cheats in future posts. There's just too much to cover in one.
For a complete list of all the variables go here: PHLwiki
For the nitty gritty HL2 Cheats go here: cheats.ign.com
And here for Portal nits and grits: cheats.ign.com
Here are some of the more frequented cvars that I have been using.
sv_cheats 1 - This enables you to cheat, set sv_cheats to 0 if you want to turn it off.
notarget - Enemies and turrets will not try to attack you.
noclip - You're no longer restrained by walls, ceilings, and floors.
impulse 101 - All weapons. Considering that the only weapon you have on portal is the portal gun, this is a pretty cool code, especially since you get the gravity gun as well.
impulse 102 - Spawn a skull.
god - no damage
npc_create npc_zombie - creates a half-life 2 zombie, even though there are no zombies in the portal game.
The next two commands are used together.
npc_create_equipment weapon_shotgun,smg1, or ar2 - Although a combine soldier stays stationary you can choose his weapons. There may be a way to make them damage you using more variables but you can figure it out and let me know. The soldier will still look like he's shooting at you. There are no sounds, so for instance, you won't hear the blasts from a shotgun the combine solider is shooting.
npc_create npc_combine_s - If you get close enough to him he'll still try to hit you. He's especially good to use for target practice.
npc_create npc_fastzombie - These fiends are fast and mean.
npc_create npc_headcrab - They'll still jump at you, but they don't have their sound effects in the portal game. Neither do any of the other enemies you spawn.
npc_create npc_turret_floor - This turret is in Half-life 2 but can still be spawned into portal. It doesn't speak to you like the portal turret but it can be reactivated, although it is difficult to get them to stand upright again once they have fallen over. The do seem to spawn better than the portal turret but it's still a pain sometimes. Still I'd choose to spawn this one over the other.
npc_create npc_portal_turret_floor - This turret is pretty hard to deal with because when you execute the command the turret pops up in such a way that it immediately tries to fall over and if they do there's no way to reactivate them. But they definitely have more personality, so they do have a plus side.
You can also skip to the different maps by typing: map testchamb_a_** and replace ** with numbers 01 through 15. One other thing to mention, the numbers don't correspond with the actual number of the test chamber.
record [name your video here]- this command will record a demo video for you. When using the command it should look like this: record stabbedhenderson
"stabbedhenderson" being the name of the file that will be spit out once the video has completed recording.
stopdemo - stop the demo you're recording
A lesser known menu that can be accessed is the debug menu. In order to access it press shift+F1, to exit it press shift+F1 again.
I will go into detail about certain scenarios you can do with these cheats in future posts. There's just too much to cover in one.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Bar Soap vs. Bodywash.
I'm finding that bar soap gets me cleaner than bodywash. You know how a clean plate will kind of squeak? Well it seems like with the bar soap I get a result tantamount to that. The body wash seems to leave a scent better, and perhaps that's why it doesn't give the same result as bar soap. Because it is leaving a fragrance residue on your skin. I might switch back to bar soap. Oh well, that's all I can muster about the subject. Happy cleaning.
Monday, January 21, 2008
This was a triumph!
I recently beat Portal for going on the third time. It's a very quick game, but just a captivating piece of physics and subtly spooky entertainment.
Companion PC
Companion PC
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
*Drools*
Casio EXILIM Pro EX-F1
Ohhh yes. If the video is good on this thing I may have to purchase it. I'd like a good video camera with still frame capabilities. Especially since it can record video at 1200 Frames Per Second! Although, I would like to have the option to hook up an external hard drive so that I can record it at full resolution with no shortage of space. So I might wait and see what the competition is like.
Ohhh yes. If the video is good on this thing I may have to purchase it. I'd like a good video camera with still frame capabilities. Especially since it can record video at 1200 Frames Per Second! Although, I would like to have the option to hook up an external hard drive so that I can record it at full resolution with no shortage of space. So I might wait and see what the competition is like.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
I want adventure!
I used to play Paintball, then it was airsoft. I've never had such a rush in my life! Roller coasters are close, but they only last about 5 minutes. It's a day long adrenaline rush! Sure it hurts but that's why your adrenaline starts flowing is because of the fear of pain. I stopped playing paintball because my friends did.
I stopped playing airsoft for the same reason, plus some of the other people that played were real assholes. They changed the rules to allow Hi-Capacity magazines, which means they could spray BBs for a lot longer without changing magazines. BBs cost a lot of money, and if everyone has Hi-Cap mags I'd also have to have a Hi-Cap Mag just to keep up. I also got turned down on an offer with a couple of players as well. So I dunno, I was just left with a bad taste in my mouth.
But I want that rush back! I want to do something! I want to go camping, hiking.. Something!
I stopped playing airsoft for the same reason, plus some of the other people that played were real assholes. They changed the rules to allow Hi-Capacity magazines, which means they could spray BBs for a lot longer without changing magazines. BBs cost a lot of money, and if everyone has Hi-Cap mags I'd also have to have a Hi-Cap Mag just to keep up. I also got turned down on an offer with a couple of players as well. So I dunno, I was just left with a bad taste in my mouth.
But I want that rush back! I want to do something! I want to go camping, hiking.. Something!
Actually.
Maddingo from my threadless blog commented on the recent blog about the RIAA suing a man over ripping CDs saying "Actually as it turns out while the RIAA has worded the ripped mp3s as "unathorized copies"
What they are actually suing him over is sharing the files via Kazaa"
engadget story on this issue"
I'm glad he cleared that up but the RIAA still needs to be stopped.
What they are actually suing him over is sharing the files via Kazaa"
engadget story on this issue"
I'm glad he cleared that up but the RIAA still needs to be stopped.
Hrmmm, who to vote for...
Having problems figuring out who to vote for in the upcoming elections?
http://glassbooth.org/
This site is a pretty interesting way to find out. And a lot quicker than having to read every individual candidates websites. And it gives you the facts. Not just what the candidate wants you to hear.
*End advertisement*
Seriously though... go out and vote! Maybe in doing so you'll not hate the next president. Go vote in the primaries especially, I think they're as important if not more so than the main election.
http://glassbooth.org/
This site is a pretty interesting way to find out. And a lot quicker than having to read every individual candidates websites. And it gives you the facts. Not just what the candidate wants you to hear.
*End advertisement*
Seriously though... go out and vote! Maybe in doing so you'll not hate the next president. Go vote in the primaries especially, I think they're as important if not more so than the main election.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Tallying.
I visited a friend last night to celebrate the New Year and I found a $.10 on the floor. I thought, Awesome! But alas, the rule is that I have to find it in public. So I left it at his house. I'm having a hard time finding takers for the $5 pool, but I have a whole year to convince them I guess. In regards to that, another rule I'll set is that I can't tell them the amount I've already found before they've given their prediction. If they know how much I've found six months into this little experiment, they could take an average and perhaps gain an advantage to predict by.
I did already state my prediction, which was: $2.26. Two days before this experiment began I did find a dime in Walmart! W00t! I love finding change! I heard a little story on the radio how this man who only used cash and saved all his change ended up using the change over time to buy a new car with. That's a whole lot of ca-ching.
Happy New Year everyone!
I did already state my prediction, which was: $2.26. Two days before this experiment began I did find a dime in Walmart! W00t! I love finding change! I heard a little story on the radio how this man who only used cash and saved all his change ended up using the change over time to buy a new car with. That's a whole lot of ca-ching.
Happy New Year everyone!
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