Howdy hoo. I'm back for the time being. I'm frustrated right now because my MacBook suddenly decided that it didn't wanna bother with that whole "booting" thing and just chugs merrily along showing a little gray spinny thing. Everything I've found on The Google hasn't helped. Next stop is my local Apple store where I am supposed to find a "Genius Bar". I'm not quite sure what that is. Hopefully it is just what it sounds like - a large metal bar that can be used by geniuses like myself to clobber their MacBooks until they decide to start working again.

But I digress.

Chilly here in Texas. Weather's actually rather pleasant, but no longer warm.

On the "I'm probably the last guy to find this out" front, I discovered that Digital Eel is giving away a bunch of their older games for free. Free is good, and Digital Eel's stuff is especially good. A list of their games (free and non-free) is here.

On the gamedev front, I have not much but book-reviews once a week for the rest of the year. I'll try to get those going out every Friday until all books are read.

And finally. Speaking of books, I read two books over vacation, and I can heartily recommend 'em both.

First was Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint. Yes, the one from that Chevy Chase movie. I'd always heard that the movie didn't do the book justice, and I figured that had to be the case once I saw the original's 450-page heft. You do have to wade through the book's first 20-odd pages that contains an inexplicable sex-on-a-train scene and an overlong description of a hangover that has nothing to do with ANYTHING except maybe to make the main character slightly less sympathetic. But once the plot starts moving (i.e. once the guy becomes invisible), the book is a terrific ride.

Second was (and is, I'm almost done) First Contract by Greg Costikyan. If the author sounds familiar, it's because he's a fixture in the game design industry since the 1970's. He writes for Gamasutra and regularly speaks at conventions. I'm actually not sure how I was turned on to this book. I think I saw it mentioned in somesuch development blog, saw that it was available on PaperbackSwap and grabbed a copy.

It's a load of fun. It's the story of a tech CEO who's on the verge of releasing an exciting new technological gadget when the aliens land. It's a lot of fun and doesn't take itself very seriously. For humorous science fiction, it's not as densely packed with one-liners as the Hitchhikers Guide books, but it's a lot more plot driven.

I recommend 'em both.