...2010: My favorite books

Here's a list of books I read in 2010 that I enjoyed and would recommend.  Not all of these came out in 2010 though:

1. Grifftopia
• I haven't read as many political books this year as I have in past years for some reason.  Perhaps it's because it gets me all worked up and I can't sleep.  This one is a must read.
2. Sex at Dawn
• Curious why men and women sometimes have trouble with monogamy?  Why do women have multiple orgasms and men don't?  Is it possible a women could change how she feels about a man when he stops wearing condoms?  All these and more answered
3. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
• The best book I've read on game design.
4. The Power of Eye Contact
5. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
• Someday I hope video games have a tomb of a book like this.
6. Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga
• Ok Jimmy Page and John Bonham were big time jerks.
7. 8 Steps to a Pain free Back
8. How Music Works
9. The 4 Hour Body
10. The Little Book That Beats the Market
• Pretty simple way to take care of your own investments.  There's even a mutual fund the writer started that does it all for you (I just invested in it).

Honorable Mention:

• The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet
• The Skinny on Real Estate Investing
• The 4-Hour Workweek
• No Country for Old Men

...excuse me, where are your hoes at?

First pics from my Nexus S!

"U don know how to cookn..."

Dad doing his Al Bundy impersonation

Mom posing (post groaning)

Sis working on her present for Dad

With Verizon she actually has coverage!

Andrea and Aja in the usual spot - first flash photo

It was a giant

She didn't finish it

Love my moms

...and sis

...and myself

... and Dad

Stopped buying CDs for a week or so and got them as presents!

Aww hell no, what's up dog

"Who wants a body massage"

Happy Birthday

...

Fleamarket finds.

We went skating for Andrea's birthday.  They rink lied about playing "Old School"

Edit: Extra Bonus Video:

...Android > All

My Iphone died recently which really pushed up my timetable for switching to Android.  It's weird going a couple weeks without a smart phone but the Nexus S has been worth the wait.  Had to wake up early on my vacation and head to Best Buy though.

I went to BB 10 minutes before they opened and 5 people were already there.  By the time the store opened there were 8 people.  The store had only 8 units too!  They didn't have T-mobile so they were only selling the Nexus S's unlocked for ~$500.  I originally wanted a contract so I went about calculating what an unlocked version plus T-mobile month-to-month would mean monetarily.  

Turns out by my calculations I'll be saving money after year and a half this way versus doing the $200 + more expensive contract.  Btw why is it so hard to see rates online for mobile companies for phones that are already unlocked?  I had to call T-mobile to find the prices out and even then the first guy didn't understand.


Pics in the next post...

...Legend of Zelda prototype

Cool early version of the Legend of Zelda (NES): http://forums.lostlevels.org/viewtopic.php?t=2471

...Florida bound for the holidays

I'll be down in Plantation from Dec 15 - Dec 28...Challah!

...I'm giving a GDC presentation in a few months

I'll post more info in the coming weeks. Here's the synopsis: http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/12147

...Whole Lotta Jerks

I just finished Hammer of the Gods.  They were all pretty wild but Page and Bonham were serious dicks!

...OXM podcast

I did an interview on OXM's podcast about lot's of fun stuff here.

...some misc Rock Band 3 stuff (and pics!)

Check out the Boston Globe's article on Pro Guitar containing some quotes and video of me here.

Also check out the pics I took for our Credits.  The first one was used in the game.

...Rock Band 3 Reviews!

Have been amazing!  So glad that people like our labor of love.  Click the header or here to check out reviews.

My favorite quote so far:
"Rock Band 3 is as close to perfection as any game is ever likely to get..."

...Rock Band 3 and me on VH1 this weekend

Haven't seen it yet but a segment was filmed here at Harmonix for VH1's Top 20 Countdown.  I'll be playing Pro Guitar!  If you're up ridiculously early or have a dvr check it out :)

Airtime:
Saturday 10/23 3:30am
Saturday 10/23 9am
Sunday 10/24 7:30am
Tuesday 10/26 8:30am

...these are pics from NY and Chicago trips

After travelling a bunch for work the past couple months for some reason it made sense to keep on traveling this past month!

This deli in Manhattan had one of my favorite things to eat, New Herring.  This is super yummy and all over Holland in the summer.

 

Jesus breaks if you don't keep your legs together.

The first night in Chicago Mom, Dad, and my sister went to this heavy metal burger bar/restaurant.  Check out Megasus on the shelf!

No Exaggeration, the "Led Zeppelin" was one of the best burgers I've ever eaten.

Frozen custard ftw.

Can't wait till I get a better camera phone!  This is Andrea and Paul about to do Karaoke - an awesome Prince rendition.

...Pro Guitar Rock Band 3 Blog and Previews

A new designer blog is up.  I wrote this one to provide more detail into the design and mechanics of Pro Guitar:
http://www.rockband.com/zine/rb3-features-pro-guitar

Some previews of what it's like to play Pro Guitar:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/14/rock-band-3-pro-guitar-preview-the-guitarist-vs-the-guitar-her/
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/14/rock-band-3-guitar-trainer-preview-fret-nice/
http://kotaku.com/5637998/pro-guitar-mode-makes-rock-band-3-harder-slightly-confusing-socially-redeeming

...another trailer with more Keyboard interviews

...Rock Band 3 Keyboard trailer

...more press previews about Keyboards

Here's some links to previews about playing real keyboards and training in Rock Band 3:
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/17/preview-rock-band-3-keyboard-pro-keys-and-keys-trainer/
http://rockbandaide.com/7443/rock-band-3-keys-preview/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rock-band-3-keys-preview

Read this blog post I wrote up to find out more about Keys and Pro Keys in Rock Band 3:
http://www.rockband.com/zine/rb3-features-pro-keys

Here's a video of Daniel talking keys on Xplay a G4 TV show.  Drake is playing Keys behind him and I'm playing Pro Guitar:
http://g4tv.com/videos/47033/E3-2010-Mad-Catz-Interview/

...and these are the first half of 2010 recommendations

The year is over half over, pretty slow for reviews... Here's what's on my list so far in reverse order from when I experienced them:
 

Music:
ZZ Top - Tres Hombres
Trash Talk - Eyes & Nines
The Cure - Disintegration [Deluxe Edition]
The Ghost of a Thousand - This Is Where the Fight Begins
Black Breath - Razor to Oblivion
Doomriders - Darkness Comes Alive

Movies:

Best Worst Movie
Inception
Toy Story 3
The Crazies
Shutter Island

Books:
No Country for Old Men 

8 Steps to a Pain free Back
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction

Games:

Limbo
Red Dead Redemption
Starcraft 2
God of War 3
Bioshock 2

...pics from the road

Here are some pics from various media outlet's offices:

Game Informer's game library was not surprisingly humongous.

Marcos getting down like Britney.

This would make a nice headrest on the plane.

Daniel was creeping out a couple nearby Future magazine people...