Brian T. Nakamoto

Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii feels like a rehash of prior Mario Karts with a Wii Wheel. Online play would be more exciting if Nintendo allowed players on separate Wii's to party up as a team—Xbox LIVE style—to challenge other players. Will give Mario another chance though because the website is pretty cool.

Mac OS X 10.5.3

All went well with the Mac OS X 10.5.3 Update for the most part. The Cisco VPNClient had to be restarted to resolve its "Error 51" issue. It also required a restart to get the screen to lock again from the menu bar—nothing major.

Happy Birthday JFK

One wonders whether the 35th President of The United States would endorse Clinton, Obama, or withhold an endorsement.

The Andromeda Strain

NBC Universal infected A&E with a SciFi Channel version of The Andromeda Strain, a weak take on Michael Crichton's first novel of the same name. The Academy Award nominated 1971 film is better. Shame on the executive producers for attaching their names to a project that doesn't live up to the quality one expects when they see Ridley Scott and Tony Scott printed across a movie poster.

Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics

Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics basically confirmed that the new plasma TV was already calibrated pretty well out of the box, and that it's not going to get much more calibrated without some professional calibration equipment. Most people will probably be disappointed that they spent $17 on this Blu-ray disc instead of buying a movie.

Happy Memorial Day

Thanks to all of the men and women who gave their lives to help make this country what it is today. In particular, thanks to the some 4,579 volunteers who have died so far while participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation Enduring Freedom.

Santa Clara County Central Committee

The June 3rd ballot for registered Democrats in Santa Clara County contains a list of candidates for the "Members of County Central Committee." Do most voters in the 24th Assembly District know anything about these people? The voter guide is useless. The SCCDCC website only lists their names and email addresses. The League of Women Voters of California Education Fund's Smart Voter site has some info on 6 out of 8 of the 24th's candidates.

Only 5 out of 8 candidates appear to have a campaign website. (Some of them would be better off with no site rather than a crappy site.) Elect David Cohen is most useful for learning about the incumbent candidate albeit seems focused on his bid for the Berryessa School Board. Elect Clark Williams is stuck on how he lost his run for San Jose City Council. Supervisor Ken Yeager is hosted by The County of Santa Clara so it's probably best that his site is party neutral. Elect Jim Brady has the domain, but not much of a site to back it up. Elect Hope (Cahan) is also a great domain except it points to a mere placeholder hosted by a company with tacky marketing.

Election ballots should feature a URL for each candidate and measure so it's easier to learn why they deserve a vote. Otherwise, it's a crapshoot—especially for the local elections.

Is Twitter Down?

I am shocked—shocked—that @edeviant didn't build this web app first!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Let's pretend Indy rode off into the sunset on his last crusade, and that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull doesn't exist. The fourth installment lacks inspiration. Its ADD pace is an unwelcome departure from the slow-building sense of adventure and wonderment found in the first three films. Sadly, John Williams' music is the main highlight of this movie theater experience.

Buy Movie Tickets Online Now!

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One, the RPG featuring Gabe and Tyco from Penny Arcade is out! It's quite amusing even for not-so-loyal followers of the online comic strip. Bought the Mac version immediately after playing through the demo. The little fruit fraking robots are hilarious!

RSPD's release also marks the launch of The Greenhouse, yet another distribution hub of indie games. Time will tell if the portal cultivates any unique features to differentiate themselves from the masses other than being developer-friendly, and having a really cool flagship title.