Breaking News from PAX 2010

PAX 2010 is taking place this weekend in Seattle, WA. Gamers from all corners of the world have been gathering in increasingly larger numbers each year since 2004, to game together, cheer each other on, celebrate gaming culture and get the low down on all the newest additions to the video gaming universe. Organized and run by gaming gurus Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade, PAX has grown so phenomenally in the last few years, that this year they held PAX East, a secondary convention in Boston, and it drew over 60,000 attendants. Advance-only tickets are sold, and the tickets for PAX 2010 in Seattle sold out an entire month before the event.

What Makes PAX Great? (Thanx and a hat tip to J.J. Games for the description)

It's open to the public.

It's created by gamers for gamers (not just for industry insiders).

The Omegathon video game tournament!

Cool keynote speakers.

One of the cooler things about this convention is Omegathon, three-day elimination game tournament. Twenty "Omeganauts" are chosen from those who pre-order PAX passes and compete in games from every category throughout the convention. During the PAX closing ceremonies a live championship match between the top 2 Omeganauts is held to crown a champion. In year’s past, championship matches included Pong, Combat, Tetris, Halo 3, Excitebike and Skeeball. Last year’s winner received an all expenses paid trip to Tokyo for the Tokyo Game Show and $5000 spending money!

About a month ago, Master Chris was notified he was to be one of the 20 Omeganauts to participate in the competition. Naturally he was elated, but since everyone that attends is usually an accomplished gamer, he was not really sure what his competition would be like. (If the Gentle Reader googles the name "Theoselk"- his gaming identity, they are likely to find the first page of results listing his ranking in games.) The Omeganauts are treated like VIPs at PAX and, as such, they are allowed to skip past the lines and enter the convention center an hour ahead of everyone else. When the reports started coming in that he had passed the first round, everyone at the Hall was happy, but still cautiously optimistic. Then came the news that he had passed the second, the third and finally, late Saturday evening, the fourth.

There remains only two more rounds, the final of which is the climax of the convention and usually televised on G4 cable television. The last message from him reported, "Playing Rockband in a fully packed concert hall 2500 strong. Final 4 at PAX- could go all the way!" So get out your rabbit's feet and keep your lucky game tokens close at hand- the whole Hall is rooting for Chris this weekend! Stay tuned! (Special thanx to A Midgett Blog for the pictures of PAX 2007)

Now go to yer room and make art

The following morning Colleen and her new roomies came by the hotel. Mrs. Hall had specifically chosen these hotels for their hearty free breakfasts and the college girls were only too happy to join her for the early repast. After dropping them back off at the dorms, Colleen and Mrs. Hall spent the rest of the day familiarizing themselves with the campus and the connecting highways.
CCA is really divided between two locations: there is a dorm in Oakland and a campus about five miles up Broadway from it, and another large facility in San Francisco, in the heart of the warehouse designer district.

Since they were already in Oakland and parent orientation took place shortly, they headed to the Oakland campus. Closed off from the busy street traffic by high trees and a sturdy brick border, the CCA campus was unique. The walkways slid behind and between the maze of houses as if they were playing hide and seek with each other. Nestled in the trees and alcoves around them were sculptures of every sort, made by previous students and left as reminders of their playful creativity. Colleen managed to find her rooms and scope out the dismal parking prospects. The dawning realization that having a car in an urban environment was not easy, was finally awakening to her, but she would not be daunted.
After the orientation, they drove over the Bay Bridge to the San Francisco campus. A huge warehouse in the trendy interior design district housed the rest of the classrooms. Massive sculptures hung over the atrium and student lounge. Everywhere the elements of modern California industrial design were evident, and Colleen and Mrs. Hall soaked it in happily. Large student constructions were drying in the open lunch room. Wide open laboratory style classrooms were a far cry from old style dark college rooms in the past.

By this time, the pair were getting a little peckish, so they ventured out to the surrounding neighborhood to scout out some grub. Mrs. Hall rounded a corner and was astonished to see showrooms for Roche-Bobois , Bang & Olufsen, Brunschwig & Fils and Poggenpohl. "We're going in these now!" she exclaimed, and lunch waited while they salivated over luxury furniture and appliances for a hour or so. "What a great neighborhood! You will be exposed to the best of design all around you." gushed Mrs. H.

The surrounding homes crowded up and down the hills to the north, and after a brief tour of the area, it was time to go back. "Come back early in the morning for breakfast again and we can have one more day together. Then you can drop me here to pick up the airport shuttle." Colleen gave her a hug and headed back into the city traffic. Next episode: Emeryville, Pixar and jet lag. Stay tuned.

California girls

Mrs. Hall stretched and reached for her coffee while Colleen showered. It was nice to take it easy for a change and enjoy breakfast before facing the highways. They only had five hours left til they reached Oakland, CA, and Mrs. Hall was relishing every minute of her morning.
Rain had moved in overnight. The sunny blue skies they had enjoyed were a thing of the past and a cold wind blew the trees about. The National Weather Service was warning that early cold temps were expected and at elevations over 8000 feet they were expecting an inch of snow. Mrs. Hall shuddered and suggested they move on.
The nasty weather not withstanding, Reno and the surrounding Sierra Nevada foothills looked quite inviting to Mrs. H. Lots of services, great shows and beautiful landscapes seemed to call to her and when Mr. Hall called that morning to check on the little voyagers, she insisted he make room in his busy calendar for a trip out for the both of them soon.
Gas prices had been pretty moderate in Syracuse, and nice and cheap in Ohio. Even across Iowa and Wyoming they held steady. But by the time they got to Nevada, the price was up to $3.00 a gallon or higher. Reno took the prize for most expensive petrol so far.
As they climbed higher and higher through the mountains, the pleasure they felt seeing the trees and rock formations was directly proportionate to the amount of terror they experienced sliding along the highway in the rain, fighting the traffic and reading all those scary road signs. "Rock Slide Ahead?!?" Oh, boy, can we go on it? I wanna ride down the rock slide!" exclaimed Colleen. Mrs. Hall just shook her head and watched their progress on the map.
Eventually, the rain gave way to clearer skies. The scenery around 7100 feet was breath-taking. They pulled over to a scenic overlook at Emigrant Gap at the ridge of the Sierra Nevadas to stretch their legs and read the historical plaque. "I finally made it!" cried Colleen. "I'm finally in California. I can't believe we did it." Colleen wiped a tear. "We're not there yet," cautioned Mrs. Hall. "We've still got quite a ways to go. But it won't be long now before we get you settled in."
Though the traffic was moving quite briskly and the ride was mostly downhill from there, it still felt to Colleen as though they were only going 30 mph and dragging their feet. The anticipation was killing her. Finally, as they approached Sacramento, the landscape changed from alpine to a flatter, more tropical feel. "A palm tree! I saw a palm tree, my first palm tree!! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Photographic evidence to the left shows palm trees number two and three, as the car was swaying around too wildly for Mrs. Hall to capture the first one. Mrs. Hall had suggested that it would be no time at all before Colleen would be bored of seeing them. Colleen did not hear this amidst all the screaming that occurred when Mrs. H. had to grab the wheel and request that Colleen regain some composure before they ended up wrapped around one of her precious palm trees.
The little black car maneuvered about the city nimbly, assisted by the reassuring voice of Lee, the Australian accented gentleman's voice that came preprogrammed into the GPS. Colleen had been speaking to it as if it was a real person for the last half of the trip. "Lee will get me around town, Mom; don't worry." she would reassure. Occasionally Lee would like to play with them alittle and make them take the long way around. They attributed it to the naturally whimsical nature of down under drivers, and took it all in stride. Racing along I 80 out of the hills, Oakland spread out before them. About 1:30 pm, they rolled into the parking lot of the last hotel they would need for the trip. "Look, beach! The water! We made it!" Colleen was ecstatic. Mrs. Hall was busy looking at the airplane just clearing the runway outside of the window of her room. The hotel was just down the street from the Oakland Airport and apparently right at the end of the runway. She was just contemplating whether or not she was going to get any sleep that night when Colleen said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go find my dorm and the campus of CCA!"
The campus and dorms were located in downtown Oakland in the Chinatown section. Loads of old Art Deco buildings surrounded the area and it was clear the city was involved in protecting and preserving these architectural gems. Traffic was light in the area because it was a Sunday, so luckily, they were able to find a spot to park right in front. How very fortunate that was became even more evident as Mrs. Hall surveyed the building. Originally built to be a Young Womens Christian Association building, it struck her as being very old; as in old enough to be before the era of lots of wide, efficient elevators. "What floor did you say you were on?" asked Mrs. Hall, but Colleen was busy grabbing the lightest and least important bags out of the bundles in her car and heading into the building. After registering with the RAs and receiving her keys, they managed to locate the one, tiny, slow-moving lift in the house. "I'm in room 503. Wanna use the stairs?" she chirped, but Mrs. Hall just scowled at her.
The room was bright and airy- the windows facing Webster St. were open wide and admitted a pleasantly fresh cool breeze. Two bunk beds seemed to fill the room and both the bottom ones had been claimed already. "Looks like you're on top this year." remarked Mrs. Hall, but Colleen was already scampering up the ladder and putting up her calendar on the wall. Her new roomies were experienced campers at the school; both were returning for their second year. "You are now my new best friends!" exclaimed Colleen. And it cheered Mrs. Hall to hear that, for she liked to think she was leaving Colleen in good hands.
After an only slightly unnerving trip back to the hotel, Colleen hugged her mom and turned to go. "I'm going to stay at the dorms tonight, but I'll be back to have breakfast with you tomorrow bright and early." Mrs. Hall hugged her tightly, gave her the usual litany of warnings and admonitions and and sighed as she watched her go down the hall. Next episode: Campus tours and detours. Stay tuned!

Setting their own speed record across the salt flats

The waitstaff at the hotel in Rock Springs, WY was handing out water bottles to all the breakfast diners that morning. The weather reports were for intermittent showers, but the desert was still so dry it was important that travellers stay hydrated. Colleen checked the cooler in the car and reported they had six bottles of water on ice and lots of munchies, so after a quick breakfast, the little band hit the road again.
A good night's sleep did a world of good for Colleen and since she was determined to drive the whole way herself, Mrs. Hall took up the role of navigator again. ("I just don't trust that GPS device; it's steered me wrong in the past, and I swear I hear a touch of exasperation in it's voice when we keep stopping to use the facilities.")
Ten hours of driving a day can get pretty tiresome after a while and Colleen decided she was going to make a little time up today. That was all fine and good going downhill, but in a 1991 Honda Civic stuffed clean plum to the gills, going up the mountains became somewhat more of a challenge. Still, she managed to keep up a fairly steady average of about 85 miles per hour, and with the good fortune of clear weather and light traffic, they crossed into Salt Lake City in no time. They stopped briefly to gaze over the Great Salt Lake vista on the west side of the city, and then pressed on.
"This is going to be the most rugged leg of our trip," advised Mrs. Hall. She insisted they fill up yet again before braving the long stretch of desert ahead of them. In the rearview mirror were rocky outcrops and refineries; ahead lay nothing but miles and miles of barren wasteland.
About halfway through the desert, a sculpture punctuated the flatlands. Here and there a pumping station rose out of the dirt. Then, finally, in the distance could be seen a rest stop and a small gathering of fellow pilgrims. "This is great- I thought we were just going to be going around the Bonneville Salt Flats. We can actually get out and go walk on them!" said Mrs. H.
They pulled over and hopped out of the car. It was peculiar to see water pooled in the desert, but there had been some recent rains and the salt bed was somewhat moist in spots. Colleen started gathering the gritty paste and proceeded to sculpt a salt penguin near the puddle. She went to rinse her hands in the water but as soon as the moisture dried in the breeze, a white brine could be seen all over her hands. After a quick trip to the lavatory on the premises, it was time to get back on their way.
The highway carved a swath along the rivers between the mountains, and where it couldn't go around, it went through. A series of distressingly ominous warning signs went by, proclaiming the need to be wary of high winds, low jet blast, frequent wildlife crossings and the particularly alarming caution: "Fog may be icy."
Mrs. Hall read off the names of the mountain ranges as they went by and occasionally they sang a duet along with the music they brought for the trip. Colleen had downloaded several episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" onto her laptop, and that entertained them for quite a number of miles.
Eventually they began to see signs listing the mileage remaining to Reno. The showers that had followed them through the mountains gave way to sunshine and as they came into the valley of the suburb of Sparks outside of Reno, Mrs. H. pointed out the multitude of lenticular clouds formed over the city. The GPS guided them effortlessly through the hustle and bustle of rush hour traffic and once again, they fell exhausted but elated into the cozy hotel beds. Next episode: The last leg. Stay tuned!

Continental Undivided attention

"It's a beautiful sunrise! Hurry up so we can eat and get on the way!" Driving across the country in a compact car is essentially an endurance race. So the best way to prepare for such an ordeal, Mrs. Hall explained, is to get lots of rest on a comfy bed and eat properly along the way. To that end, she had insisted that while she would be happy to accompany Colleen for three thousand long miles over dusty bumpy terrain, she would only go if they stayed at Hampton Inns along the way. Known for their luxurious beds and tasty complimentary breakfasts, Colleen was only too happy to accommodate her.
The breakfast bar at the Hampton in Grand Island, NE opened at 6:00 AM and they were there to meet the staff bringing out the food. Twenty minutes later, the little black car, riding low and heavy from being crammed to the rafters with water bottles and fresh fruit, continued its trek to the west.
The original plan was to have a copilot as a handy convenience; while the driver is otherwise occupied with the tasks of maneuvering through speeding 18 wheelers and numerous construction sites, the copilot can direct, feed and otherwise indulge the driver's whimsy. However, all Colleen kept saying the whole way to Wyoming was, "Look at those mountains- take a picture- look over there, isn't that great! Look at the hills; look at the sky; look over there!" "Look at the road!" was all Mrs. Hall could sputter, before grabbing the wheel from her hands. Despite her fear that they would eventually end up in the median strip, Mrs. Hall managed to photographically chronicle the adventure. Green pastures gave way to brown scrub and rocky outcroppings; and finally to craggy mountain passes. The passages between towns became longer and longer.

"Pull over into that truck weigh station!"

"If you drive around the back we can take that little dirt road to the frontage road; I want to get pictures of those wonderful metal whirligigs."

"Slow down- I have to get a picture of that water tank that looks like a coffee pot!"

"See if you can pass that blue car so I can get a picture of those two trains in one shot!"

"Look at all those cows/satellite dishes/rocks/clouds/(insert landmark here)!"

It soon became clear that while Colleen probably thought, when she sat down behind the wheel of the little black car, that she would actually be the one making the driving decisions, that that was not really the case. She dutifully slid across lanes, slowed down, sped up and stopped completely. Deciding that break was in order, they pulled into a mega trading post. "Now take it easy; we've been running at about 5 or 6 thousand feet altitude for the last few hours or so, so don't go doing jumping jacks right away," warned Mrs. Hall. A couple of cowgirl outfits later, they were back on the road again.

They marvelled at the windmills marching across the grassy plains and waved to the horses in the trailers going by. As the overcast rolled in, they could see the rain shafts miles ahead of them. Suddenly as they rounded a corner, Colleen said, "What's that brown stuff?" "Uh-oh," said Mrs. H. "I've seen that before- I know what that is. The gust front ahead of the rain is coming right at us; that's a dust storm." For a few dusty minutes, the little black car was buffeted about and then things settled down.

Mrs. Hall congratulated Colleen on her driving acumen, but the novel combination of the wind pushing them around and the new altitude must have been too much for her. By the time they rolled into Rock Springs, WY, poor Colleen was fairly green around the gills. Mrs. Hall purchased some Dramamine and some clear broth for her and they watched a movie for a while and called it a day. "Get some sleep, big girl, and you'll be good as new tomorrow," she soothed, as she pulled an extra blanket over Colleen. Next episode: Rock Springs to Reno. Stay tuned!