My Return

I missed you.

Hello, it has been awhile hasn't it? Don't worry I didn't forget about you, after all only three people are following me and it's hard to forget three people. So yes I have returned, been busy with work and a new relationship and when I took the time to write I was working on some stories, one of which is complete and will be posted soon. 

Now that I have time however and am firmly seated in my chair I'm ready to post again! Now this post is going to start off rather nerdy at first, please bear with me it won't last. 

So I love video games (confession I game more than I write), and on occasion I read about gaming news. While engaging in this ritual of mine recently I came across a story about a small developer, Mojang AB, being threatened with a lawsuit by a much larger publisher, which happens to be Zenimax Media. To those who aren't in the know, and for those who have better things to do than research useless crap, Zenimax Media is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, who happens to be the developer behind The Elder Scrolls series. A series which happens to be a massive cash cow for Zenimax.

What are they suing Mojang for? The fact that the newest game they are developing right now is called Scrolls. Do you see it? The Elder Scrolls, and Scrolls! Do you see the blatant abuse of the law occurring right before our very eyes? Oh you don't? Well you must have at least a modicum of common sense then. 

That's the thing though, the law isn't always about what makes sense or works to promote good. In the above case for example Zenimax has to protect their intellectual property, there is an obvious similarity  between the title "The Elder Scrolls" and "Scrolls". In the eyes of the law this might actually have traction, regardless I can't help but feel that Zenimax is trying to steal from Mojang and using something as trivial as one word as an excuse. That is what it feels like to me, it feels like theft, like Zenimax is guilty of the very thing they are crying out about. Zenimax is being proactive of course about protecting their intellectual property, but really will any harm come from a small independent studio using one word out of three to name a game which bares absolutely no resemblance to The Elder Scrolls franchise?  The games don't even occupy the same market, the newest game in the Elder Scrolls franchise is probably going to make more in console sales (Xbox 360, PS3) than on PC. Not to mention that Scrolls will probably be exclusively digital download, which means you won't find it on store shelves. The chance of any harm coming to The Elder Scrolls franchise due to Scrolls is minimal given its fame. However very real harm will come to Mojang AB and its small team if this goes to court. It will hurt them by costing them a ton in legal expenses, and cause unknown amounts of stress. We also know that costly and lengthy legal battles can take a human toll as well, one that we can't measure. Zenimax and Bethesda will be insulated from this human toll by a crack legal team, but given Mojang's size they won't have that luxury. 

This is just one example of course of how the law, while it is always "just", isn't always humane. Perhaps a subject that I will go into more at a later date.         

   

Lighten up, you'll Live Longer.

Sideways Kung Fu monkey is unrelated to this post.

I got a new job recently, and my new job description is officially Spice Blending Technician. Sounds very official, of course the more accurate description would be, guy who pours a bunch of crap (crap as a catch all for stuff, not feces) into a giant blender and mixes it all together. You whack a sloth in the head a few times with a mallet and it could  still do my job. Given that my previous comments just positively oozed enthusiasm you might have guessed that I don't derive much pleasure from my job, and in that you would be correct. Though you wouldn't be at the same time, as I do find ways to make my new job very entertaining. 

Today for example I was going to drop something off at another department in the building to be picked up on the morrow by the individuals who worked there. Along with this item, which had a rather southern flare to it, I drew a charming depiction of a happy little cowboy exclaiming yehaa rather enthusiastically. I also gave him a mustache, see below.

That's one happy cowboy.

Sorry I was mistaken, it's a Happy Cowboy Mustache.

Anyway, I decided to show my happy cowboy to my supervisor (I see your mind is in the gutter), who I knew would get a kick out of it because he's even less mature than I am. Which as a side note, makes him a pretty awesome supervisor.  Well he did laugh, but then he grimaced as he realized that my happy little cowboy was going to pay a visit to someone in another department. This someone apparently was entirely without a sense of humour, or was a cowboy who would take offense to my crude rendering, I can't remember which though. Doesn't matter.

I made a few jokes about sticks being up asses, he agreed, but insisted that I keep my mustached happy cowboy to myself. I ever so reluctantly conceded. 

However given that this is my blog, I don't have to concede shit here. So I would like to say that people need to pull their sticks out of their puckered buttholes and lighten up. It would make many people much more happy, including many a cowboy.