Roughly five years ago, as I was perusing the weekly releases of comic books one day at my local hobby shop, I realized I was spending way too much money per week on my collection. This revelation didn't mean I was ready to give up reading comic books altogether, but I had to find a cheaper alternative. I decided to start buying trade paperbacks (TPB), collected volumes of comic books that tend to have cheaper overall cover prices than individual issues purchased separately. The added bonus to this is I am able to read trades for much older titles that would take an act of Jeebus to track down in their original format.

I don't really have a preference for any particular publisher; I try to spread the love evenly between all of them. One thing I have noticed, though, is DC comics tend to be inaccessible to newer and unfamiliar readers. I've been reading comics for many years, so I wouldn't consider myself a newer reader, but the story arcs in DC comics tend to span multiple books and titles. Therefore, for anyone who isn't reading various DC publications it can be pretty difficult to understand everything that's happening in the individual books they are reading.

An example of this is the latest Teen Titans TPB. It does have its own story-line taking place, but constant references are made to other books in different series. Since I don't read those titles, it confuses the hell out of me and convolutes the story central to Teen Titans. I don't find this taking place too often with the Marvel books I read. Maybe I've just been lucky so far, but I would greatly prefer it if DC would follow suit. At this point I'd just be happy if DC would put some sort of warning on their books that says "unless you're reading x, y, and z titles, don't bother with this book" - it would make things so much easier.

- Joshua

Filed under marvel dc comic book

In my organization, Thursdays consist of meetings in which we discuss upcoming events and collaborate with other departments. Today our boss told us we'd be re-visiting the idea of supporting Windows Vista for our users. You see, we decided last year when Vista was released that it was far too unstable for us to comfortably support. We didn't tell our users they couldn't use it, but they were pretty much on their own if they decided to. This was a difficult decision for us to make since most of the computer retail industry now only offers Vista on computers for sale. We also know this alienates many students (staff and faculty could simply keep using XP on their work machines) since a lot of them tend to buy new computers in the Fall to use in the upcoming school year.

Next month, Microsoft is scheduled to release service pack 1 for Vista, which is a collection of major bug fixes and patch implementations. During that time we'll be testing and re-testing it to see if it has come far enough in the year since its release to receive our stamp of approval. No one in our office uses Vista whatsoever, even on our personal machines, so we're quite literally jumping back to square one with these tests. I am on the committee who has the final say in approving the updated version, so hopefully we'll have some good news for those who are currently using the product.

- Joshua

Filed under microsoft windows vista os software computer

Like chess? Yeah, so do we. How about Magic: The Gathering? Awesome, we're two for two. Now, what if you could combine the two games into one? If the thought makes you geek out like us, then get your booty down to your local gaming shop and pick up Knightmare Chess (a chess board is good, too, but we're assuming you already have one). For you internet savvy e-shoppers, Amazon has the first set available here, with a link to the second set on the same page.

Knightmare Chess, by Steve Jackson Games, combines regular chess with a fantasy card game that manipulates and changes the original chess rules. As you play out your normal chess game, each player can play beautifully illustrated cards from his or her own deck to alter pieces and moves so they behave in a completely different manner. The beautiful thing about it is how chance can turn the tide of the game in favor of the weaker player. It helps to be skillful, but no amount of talent is going to save you from an exploding chess piece (yes, cards like this really do exist in the game)!

Filed under chess cards knightmare game

When we watch TV shows, we aren't the types of people who carve out times in our schedule to watch a show as it originally airs. Not that we wouldn't if we could, we're just very busy and have erratic schedules. We, therefore, digest our shows in DVD format, rented from our local video store. Since we can't justify paying the exorbitant prices of "New Releases", we try to catch shows that have been out for at least a couple of years and have migrated to the cheap section.

We recently ran out of stuff to watch because the latest seasons of our favorite shows we've been watching are still hanging out in expensive land. This led us to look for something new, and there are a slew of shows to choose from. We eventually settled on The 4400 from USA Networks, and we're definitely not disappointed. The show is 1 part X-Files + 1 part Supernatural + 1 part Heroes, which sounds like it could be the makings for a messy show. Thankfully, it all works really well and has made a fine addition to our line-up of great stuff to watch.

The only downside, which isn't really a downside at all (but may initially deter some viewers), is the somewhat low production values. It doesn't have the flash and polish of anything like Lost, but the great stories, decent acting, and overall feel of the show makes for a great entire package. So, don't judge this book by its cover and you may find yourself hooked like we are.

Filed under television 4400

One of the major perks of working in IT is all the software we have access to. We get beta test versions, site licensed versions, free versions, and other versions. Due to licensing restrictions, though, the one type of software we do not have access to is software released by Apple. This stinks for me since I am the "Apple guy" in our office, but it doesn't mean goodies never come down the pipe for me. We are privy to a lot of software created by third part manufacturers.

As I walked into work this afternoon and approached my desk, I saw a glowing gift from the gods leaning against my monitor; we finally got our site licensed copy of Microsoft Office 2008. I've been running 2004 for awhile, so I wasn't in need of a productivity suite. I am, however, anxious to try out the newest version since, well, I'm a computer geek and I just really want to. Word on the "intarwebs" is 2008 isn't quite ready for primetime and should be avoided like the plague until Microsoft releases at least one major patch. Temptation and curiosity has gotten the better of me, so I wasted no time getting it installed. I have yet to even crack the seal on any of the programs and give them test drives, but I'll be sure to report any major findings on our blog. If you are waiting on the fence like a lot of people, feel free to send me an e-mail with any questions and I'll see if I can answer them.

- Joshua

Filed under office software