Sleepless in Midland

Tiger car parking -- the game

It didn't take the gamers long. And it's not as easy as it looks. Play Tiger Parking Slam.

OK, that was cruel. Try an educational game instead. Place the 50 states in place with this game for rehabilitation.

How hard is it to learn to walk?

It's computer game in which you control a runner with the keyboard. Two keys work the calves and two others work the thighs. It's too hard for me, I couldn't even keep him on his feet. Maybe you'll have better luck with Athletics.

Space Ship Evacuation, the game

The other day Sharon Begley's column informed us that the game Tetris exercises the same part of the brain that stores horrible images, and playing the game after witnessing horror might reduce post traumatic stress.

Well, here's a better one. Evacuation is a game that requires the player to figure out which doors to open on a space craft to eject hungry alien creatures before they can eat the ship's crew but without ejecting the crew, too. Lose the ship's captain and the game is over.

The mechanics of the game are quite simple. But the beauty of the game is that it so consumes the brain that the player can forget about just about anything from mundane choirs to really important stuff. (Don't ask me how I know this.)

So maybe this is a secret weapon. Rather than giving it to our soldiers, air drop portable games into terrorist training camps. Before long those suicide bomber recruits will be so consumed by the games that they will forget all about their holy text, not to mention their unholy missions. When the real missiles come sailing in they won't even know what hit them.

We always knew Tretis was good for something

It's the simple computer game of Tetris. Sharon Begley's Lab Notes tells us about experiments using Tetris games to interrupt memory formation which might lead to the use of the game to help soldiers avoid post traumatic stress. From the article:

The idea of using Tetris to vaccinate soldiers against PTSD rests on two facts. One, the brain has a finite processing capacity for each of two kinds of information: sensory/visual/spatial and narrative/meaning. Two, there is a window of about 6 hours to disrupt memory consolidation. What this implies, scientists led by Emily Holmes of the University of Oxford write in a new paper in the open-access journal PLoS One, is that a sufficiently demanding visuospatial task will keep the brain from retaining other spatial/visual information--that is, images, including traumatic ones. Tetris should be such a task, since recognizing the shapes and moving the blocks around places demands on the brain’s spatial-processing channel.

So in effect, "the narrative and meaning of the events should be unaffected, since that is a separate processing channel: people should remember that they witnessed or experienced a trauma, but should not be besieged by vivid visual images of it."

See trauma, play Tetris, not be traumatized. Interesting effect.

Politics -betting play money on the outcome

Here's a site that looks like fun.  It's Hubdub which lets participants gamble play money on the outcome of current event stories.

All eyes are on the presidential race this Super Tuesday.   Going farther out, this market is predicting the Republican nominee will be McCain by 82% and for the Democratic nominee the betting is Obama 62%, Clinton 38%.

What about the November outcome?  Click to see for yourself, but as of right now it give us these percentages:  McCain - 21%; Clinton - 30%; and Obama - 40%.

Place your bet and take your chance.

The wild child in you

Draw your own wild child self portrait here.

Via  Beancounter

Make a face

Here's a neat little Flash exercise.  It's a face building tool called FlashFace.

We've all seen those sketches of crime suspects, and one has to wonder what the capture rate is with suspect sketches.  See how good you would be at building a face.  I'm not very good.  Here's the face I was trying to copy.

Via Cowboy Blob's.

Games In the In box

Here are some goodies that arrived via email.  Richard E. sends a quiz in which you get to look at photos of people and decide whether the person is a Programing Language Inventor or a Serial Killer.

Betty O. sends this neat little game that tests your agility with the curser.   Click on the red square and avoid touching the sides or the blue blocks.  Beat 18 seconds and you are quite good.

Thanks y'all.

Computerized Face Recognition

To really enjoy a good fictional tv show it almost always requires a brief suspension of one's own sense of what's real and what isn't.

For example, it isn't too rare to see a tv show that utilizes some form of computer face recognition.  The good guys and gals stare at a monitor as a computer rummages through facial images, and then, "It's a match!"

It's so easy.  See for yourself.  MyHeritage.com has a free demo where you can upload your own photo, and it will match your face with that of a celebrity you most resemble.  (Link via A Welsh View.)

There aren't any photos of me on the hard drive, so I went browsing around some of my favorite sites, and there was one of  Wallace over at Streams.

It's a match!  He's actually Babe Ruth!

(Forgive me Wallace.  I'm clowning around while you're over there paying serious tribute to our veterans.)

Games for a Labor Day Holiday

Here are a couple of enjoyable Flash games that not only entertain but waste time as well.

First up, Avoider, where all you have to do is keep the little fellow from catching your curser arrow.  Warning:  he can jump, fire rockets, shoot cannons and more, and he wants your curser.

Next up, Planarity.  It's a connect-the-dots game in which the dots are already connected, and the player moves dots around so that no lines are crossed.

All of this is courtesy of Little Fluffy Industries whose motto is:  "Wasting your time... and ours."  Thanks for that, Little Fluffy.

Are you a hippie? How about white trash? Quizzes

Awww man?  Now that stings.

You are 30% Hippie.

You need to step away from the tie-dye.  You smell too good to be a hippie.  Being a hippie is not a fashion craze, man.  It was a way of life, in the 60's, man.

Take the
Hippie Test
@ FualiDotCom

Find out whether or not you are a hippie at Hippie Test.

Or take the White Trash Test:

You are 26% White Trash.

The white trash in your blood will not keep you from becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but it will keep you from a good haircut and any sort of fashion sense.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

Nailed!

Found at Resistance is Futile.

For Sufferers of CGA - no relief in sight

CGA is an affliction which probably has a devastating effect on our nation's productivity.  And there appears to be no relief in sight for the millions of people who suffer from it.  I'm talking about Computer Game Addiction.  It can literally sap your time, attention and energy and leave you feeling defeated, that is unless you spend even more time, attention and energy mastering the game.

That being said, if you suffer from CGA then you'll want to avoid the flash game De-Animator.  It's based on H. P. Lovecraft short stories, and it requires the player to save himself by shooting approaching zombies with a six shot revolver.

Should you decide to venture into this land of the walking dead then it might be helpful to know that the zombies can be dispatched with just one shot while they are in the process of rising from the ground.  But once they are on their feet -- and some of them walk in from off screen -- then it takes multiple shots per zombie, and they get more resilient as the game progresses.  When the shotgun becomes available it can make quick work out of them, but our poor hero is so painfully show and methodical in reloading that the shotgun has very limited use.

Good luck.

Hints:  There are three types of zombies, and each has his/her own characteristics.  The big bearded brutes are the hardest to stop, and I've got no hints for them.  Once the easy stages have passed then these hints might be useful for the other two types.  The skinny ones with the tall forehead can be dispatched with two pistol shots:  the first one to the head and the second one to the chest area.  The skinny ones that appear to be wearing a cap can be dispatched with two shots to the shoulder.  My best score = 226.

Is your website gay?

Someone left a comment deep in the archives that said this:

This is gay!!!!  What kind of a site is this?????  U need games and music!!

Gee.  I thought this was a hetero site, but I had better check.  Turns out it's 20% gay.  I checked out a few other blogs to see where they stood, and the results were even more interesting (tee hee).  Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Check out your favorite website at How Gay is Your Website?

Test Your IQ

Well, I'm not as smart as I thought.  I only got eight out of 11 correct.  But if I had the inclination to do some research I might dispute one of those.  Here's what it predicts for my future:

Your Score: 8 out of 11
Your Rating: Honor Student.

Now Here's the Twist;
Your answers not only can tell your current intelligence,
but the combination can also forcast your upcoming love life:
Your Projected Love Life: Not Bad! Expect your love life to bloom soon!

Does that take any effort on my part our should I just sit here and wait for it to happen?  Test your own IQ at Monday Morning Test.  Thanks Gene and Anna.

Pop That Bubble Wrap

You don't have to be Adrian Monk to get some pleasure out of popping bubble wrap.  At  Bubble Wrap Popping Machine you can try to pop all the bubble wrap bubbles on a sheet within a set time.  The unadvertised benefit is that after doing this a while you'll find out whether or not you have carpal tunnel syndrome.  Via here's my byline.

Sunday Afternoon Games

Here are a couple of Flash games that are worth a try.

First, there's Match Practice, a golf putting game.  Note:  it's a real challenge.  (Thanks to Don H. for the pointer.)

Next, there's TrackMania Sunrise in which the goal is to keep the speed of the car within the range marked on the speedometer so that the car can jump the water.  If the speed is out of that range when the car reaches the ramp then it won't be a successful jump.  (Via A Welsh View.)

MI-5, skills game online

For fans of the BBC show "MI-5," shown here on A&E, there's an online game titled Spooks which is basically a skills level test to see if you could qualify to be an MI-5 agent.

Online Games

Here are a couple of mindless Flash games for those times when you just need a diversion.  First up:  Lunar Command.  You shoot down incoming missiles to protect your lunar base.  Hmmmm.  I wonder why they don't call it Missile Defense?

Here's one in which you shoot bubbles at bubbles.  It's more fun than it sounds.  It's Bubble Trouble.

Both of those games, and many many more, can be found at AddictingGames.com.

Think you know how to solve the Social Security dilemma?

Play the  Social Security Game to find out.

Via Kirk Report.

"Simpsons" fans, check this out

Here's an article about the making of the "Simpsons". 

And, here's a neat little "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" quiz with "Simpsons" questions.  (Note: it starts out easy.)

All via A Welch View.

Which Movie Hero Are You?

Ellen Ripley

But, would the real Ripley think I'm a girlie man? Here's a quiz from Liquid Generation which will tell you which movie hero you are.

While you are there you could test your patriotism by taking the "How F***ing American Are You?" quiz.

Can't get enough of Senator Kerry's Swift Boat heroics?

Kuma/War expects to release a game titled "JOHN KERRY and the men of SWIFT BOAT PCF-94" on September 30, 2004, which will allow players to reenact events occurring in 1969 which resulted in Sen. Kerry's being awarded one of his medals.

No word of whether you'll get to take Benji Willard up to Cambodia to terminate the command of Col. Kurtz.

Via FreeRepublic.com.

A.I. will try to figure-out what you are thinking

Here's a neat little game. You think of an object, and it asks you questions trying to guess what that object is. I thought of a Coyote skull that I have on a nearby shelf, and after 28 questions the game guessed "bone." Close enough. LINK.

I'm eventually going to add to the links you see in the left sidebar, and one link I will be sure to add will be Bean Counter Daydreams which is where I found that quiz.

What would we do without spell checkers?

I've become a dunce when it comes to spelling. I blame spell checkers. Here's a test that will answer the question How Well Can You Spell?

I have no idea how long it would have gone on - I quit at 30 (missed five). Good luck!

He'll guess which Dictator or Television Sit-Com Character you are

Pick a dictator or tv sit-com character, and this neat little online detective will Guess the Dictator or Television Sit-Com Character if you will simply answer a few questions.

I guess that you are Montgomery c Burns from simpsons! Am I right?

Yes, you are.

I win again! You are player number 104 to have chosen Montgomery c Burns from simpsons. I knew you were Montgomery c Burns from simpsons from the start, but I strung you along for a while to make it seem more sporting. I hope that one day you will overcome the powerful sense of humiliation that you now feel. Until then, good luck.

Close enough. Actually, it's C. Montgomery Burns, not Montgomery C. Burns, but that's a minor quibble.

Via Extreme Web Surfs!.

Name the States - quiz

Here's a good one from A Welsh View, always a great source of interesting items.

This timed quiz tests your ability to place the names on the U.S. states, supposedly a third grade challenge. QUIZ. (Uses Flash Player 6.)

I got the Western and Southern states, but I need more map study for the Northeast. Good luck!

How dumb am I? Well, how dumb are you?

Here's another neat quiz. This one asks How dumb are you?

It is brought to us by the same Quizmaster who gave us the Lesser Known Simpson Characters quiz.

BTW, I scored 0% dumb on this one - I'm still trying to live down that Cledus score on the Lesser Known Simpson Characters quiz. Live it down, or live up to it? - ed. Whatever!

Which lesser-known Simpsons character are you?

Here's a quiz that will identify which of the supporting cast members of the Simpsons you are. Quiz.

I almost didn't post this because my character description was so unflattering. But I had to, it's the Law of the Blogosphere. And, be forewarned that there really isn't any ideal character you would want to identify with. But, what the heck. It's so much fun!

Via Clareified.

Update - 2/25/04: Here is another Simpsons quiz that utilizes a longer list of Simpson characters.

And, here's a quiz that tells you which character from King of the Hill you are.

Thanks Bob.

Are You Yankee or Dixie?

Here's a fun little quiz that will answer the question of whether you are Yankee or Dixie by the words you use and the way you say them.

Sample question: What is spread onto the tops of cakes? Frosting or Icing?

Via Dustbowl Blues.

(BTW, my score was 70% Dixie.)

Real or Hoax?

How good are you at determining whether a photo is real or a hoax? Take the Museum of Hoaxes Photo Test and find out.

Via Nealz Nuze.