hwan.com

And yet life goes on. In June we had a short visit to Montreal, packing in the usual sights and flavours, tempered by the heat and our own waning energy levels. We took great advantage of the hotel's pool, swimming a joy I never tire of, encouraging Sora to get more comfortable in the water. I didn't have much opportunity to pick out my old haunts but I could see that the city has grown since my days there, shimmering halcyon days full of youth and opportunity. Indeed every moment on the streets would bring waves of memories, of friends faded or forgotten, my head lost and spinning and trying to breathe it all in again. Obviously very different now but seeing it anew through Sora's eyes gave some fresh pleasure. We made the trip to the recently updated Biosphere, probably the highlight of the trip, the biomes living up to their names. My heart shatters at the thought of our poor Ontario Science Centre being stripped of its wares, each precious exhibit cast out, the unique, ...

The last time I was in the Dominican I went with my family and a couple other families; I remember the sandy beach by the hotel, the two arcade machines (one of them an intense racing game that I'm sure featured primitive graphics by today's standards), and the tiny lizards that seemed to be everywhere. But now I return for my friend's wedding, middle-aged and somewhat aimless. Nay, I shan't let such thoughts rule my days under the tropical sun. I will eat hearty, play hard, drink fully, and sleep deeply. I will also be without internet, the fees being highway robbery, so I shall be away from Facebook, Twitter, and Google, and in so doing travel in time for a while, untouched by the world and its carrying-on. Well, I guess I can catch you up on what I've been busying myself with. This week I've been fighting a chest cold or some such thing; lying down for a period of time results in a hacking cough, making sleep difficult. Over the weekend I was in Montreal ...

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present Exhibit A: QWOP . Proof that Hwan does not need a fancy schmancy computer in order to be amused and entertained for hours on end. No, he only needs a game with simple mechanics and a steep learning curve. HDR , fillrates? Pfeh, a Jedi craves not these things! Seriously though, that QWOP game is hella fun. I guess it's the combination of the hilarious animation and the thrill of actually getting the dude to run, once you figure out the control scheme. Getting the beginning movements correct is crucial, as this initial forward momentum is what seeds the rest. Then you need to get into a rhythm, adjusting it for missteps and other randomness, incrementally increasing the size of your strides to match your speed. After a while you start to naturally press the right keys, without even thinking about which finger is pressing what key when. Oh, it's definitely tough in the beginning oh my yes. Montreal is where I went this past w...