Oh my god, make it stop! I can’t stand it anymore! Just one little cigarette, please…?
Nah, just kidding. It’s going all right, as expected. No extreme nervousness or chewing on the furniture, or any other cold turkey problems. Not that much chewing, anyway. The patches work fine, just like the last time. Now I just need to make sure to go for longer than six months.
And in the meantime, I’ll just watch some stapler porn (18+ audiences only, seriously)
Seems I spontaneously decided to once again take care about the monkey on my back. He’s maybe not that big, but active enough to cause a fair share of annoyances. And this time I’m going to make sure he doesn’t climb back.
So, now I’ve put on the first nicotine patch. So far, so good. I stopped smoking about this time last year. Went almost half a year without a single cigarette, only using patches the first two months. But for some stupid reason I started again. This time it’s going to last.
Maybe my new Civ 4 addiction can fill the space… I’ve been playing that game far too much the last days. But I suppose that doesn’t bring the same risk of cancer and heart diseases.
So, once again the gamer inside me has gone from latent to roaring wild, and this time it’s becuase of Sid Meier’s Civilization IV. Civ has been around since I moved from the family’s first Nintendo to playing games on the Amiga when I was ten or so, and I guess it has become sort of an periodic addiction. And this time is no different. In fact I think I must say – nostalgia put aside – that this is the best Civilization so far.
The new features, like religion, civics and great people are a great addition to the long term aspects of the gameplay, and the design of the game makes control over cities and units easier than ever before. The added features in Civ 2 and 3 made interaction more and more complex, but this time the developers have made a great work with the interface so that I feel I can focus on my strategies without getting lost – the information I want is simply there when I need it.
The new graphics and audio are great as well, full of little details that emphazise the culture and point of history of the moment as well as giving a good overview of the game. Building a wonder (which includes classics like the Pyramids and Colossus and more modern examples like Hollywood and the UN) rewards you with a nice movie.
For more information check the official site or reviews at Gamespot or IGN. Unless you’re a fan of the earlier games, of course, in which case you should have used the time you spent reading this on running to the game store to get your copy.
Or get it from Amazon:
Sid Meier’s Civilization IV
Sid Meier’s Civilization IV
I just got some religion related junkmail so, lacking something better to do, why not ramble about religion on my blog?
The truth is, if I was asked a question like “so, are you religious, or an atheist?”, I would not have a good answer. Neither of those options fit me. Why not add “more or less totally indifferent to speculations of that nature”? To label myself an atheist would in my opnion mean that I care about the question, but the whole concept has never mattered to me.
Sure, I have some interest in religion, but I’d say it is of purely academic nature. Nothing that affects my daily life. Take the popular dispute between creation and evolution, for example. I can’t see why that is so important. I’m here, and I really can’t see any practical reason why I must have an explanation for that. I do think that evolution sounds more plausible, but I can’t see how my day would be any different if there was some purpose behind it.
Just a little free software-plug and a heads-up for those interested in testing pre-release versions: The Firefox team has just released Firefox 1.5 RC1. Release notes for this first release candidate version include:
I have been using the last few pre-release versions as my main browser, and I have no doubt that Firefox 1.5 will be another great step in browser development.
My friend Nena sent me a couple of photos of her new dog, and I just couldn’t resist getting all mushy and posting a picture of the sleepy but adorable little guy here.
By the way, what do people think would be a good name for a Chihuahua like him? He currently goes by Zim, but I know my friend is still open for suggestions. So, if the photo triggers any bright sparks, feel free to post a comment and I’ll pass the suggestions along.
