Easily entertained

This post isn't about anything new or amazing, but I had a bit of a geek-out moment. I was reading a blog post by one of the D&D developers, who happened to mention he went on holiday with this family, and how the scenery at Chinook Pass in Washington state was awesome. I sauntered over to Google Maps, and looked up Chinook Pass. On a whim, I decided to see if Street View was available on I410... and it was. I must have traveled several miles along the road -- thoroughly agreeing with Rich Baker's assessment of the scenery -- before my boss told me my tea break was over...


Nothing new. Nothing earth-shattering. But I couldn't help marveling at the information tools available to us today.

Huzzah!

Had my final university lecture at 4pm today. Just gotta get past two 3-hour exams in early November, and then I'll graduate. Still haven't decided about going to the capping ceremony. My wife, sister-in-law and mother-in-law want me to do it, but I'm not big on public displays.

Ugh... feeling old.

GameSpy has published a list of their 25 Top Games of the '90s. Of the 25 on the list, I've played 20, and some of those are still games I love playing now (or would, if I still had a working copy).

Bank directors' bonuses

True/Slant is an interesting website, and I like Laurie Essig's column. A recent one is on the ridiculous bonuses paid to bankers, despite their proven ineptitude culminating in the current financial crisis (okay, I know it's not as simple as that). One particular paragraph stands out (especially since it keeps getting trotted out by the State Services Commission):

Furthermore, the absolutely insane propaganda coming from the likes of [Wall St insider Timothy] Geithner that these salaries are “good” for America because they attract the “best and the brightest” is not true. Insanely high salaries attract the greediest. Period. Work that doesn’t involve screwing other people and is fairly compensated attracts the best and the brightest since the best, by definition, are motivated by more than money.

Read the whole column. Then go read some other articles.

Dinner

Just got back from a fabulous dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Lower Hutt, Las Margaritas (a surprise birthday party for one of my D&D players). Good food, great atmosphere, and a rousing rendition of the Spanish Happy Birthday for Cam.