Time change

I can't be the only one who was waiting around for the morning's football games to start.

One hour early.

Madden 2006

I bought this for my Xbox the week it came out. I couldn't get it out of my mind, so I gave in quickly. However, the true gaming lust hadn't arrived. I played it briefly, but really had cravings in other directions.

Now that the real NFL season is in mid-swing, the Madden lust has arrived in force.

The Superstar mode is interesting, I suppose, but I don't really get the point. The role-playing elements are okay, but there doesn't really seem to be that much control to exert. For example, to raise your scores mid season, you have to go through practice mode over and over. This gets old quickly, and during the point increases are temporary after training camp, so there isn't much point.

Franchise mode is as engrossing as ever. I built a team from scratch, with a mix of real NFL player, and created rookies based on friends of mine. The salary cap keeps me honest, but the game allows you the freedom to make the team truly your own. I was happy to dispense with the fantasy draft element.

One disadvantage is that the players on my team also apper on their normal teams in the league. The created players appeared as free agents.

I doubt that I'll purchase Madden 2007. While the incremental game play changes and stat updates are positive, the game doesn't change that much from year to year, and my money will be better spent elsewhere. I hear the Blitz is going to be even more interesting now that they've lost the NFL license.

Good news and bad news.

According to The Statesman Examiner, Colville Washington's last bookstore has been evicted from its current location. The article doesn't give reasons behind the eviction and didn't reference an attempt by the reporter to discover those reasons, but there's no reason to think the business itself is in financial jeopardy.

While this comes at a very bad time, this could give Coffee and Books the impetus to fill the gap left when the Book Depot closed earlier this year. I rarely visit my home town, and didn't even know Coffee and Books existed; if they manage to find their own storefront this should increase their visibility, and hopefully generate more business. I would buy a book or two whenever I was in town.

I'll bet Walmart is still doing fabulous business. I wonder what their book sales are like.

In other news, The Statesman Examiner reports that Colville's hospital, Mount Carmel, is somewhat on the technological cutting edge. Good for them. It's hard enough to stay up with current trends in medical technology at the large hospital where I work. I can only imagine how Mount Carmel handles it without the benefit of an IT department.

"Hero"

I wonder if we've gone down the wrong path in our useage of the word 'hero.' I've heard it used as a synonym for protagonist; I've preferred to use it as a personification of virtue, strength and action.

If we peel away the morality and even ethics of individuals, and instead focus on the grandeur of their deeds, a different kind of hero emerges. Consider the Greek heroes such as Hercules and Achilles. These were deeply flawed individuals who were certainly no more moral or ethical than the average man. They were, however, larger than life, and they performed actions to match their personalities and powers.

Wikipedia founder admits to serious quality problems

The author of this story doesn't get it, and comes off like a jack-ass.

It isn't useful to compare Wikipedia to paper encyclopedias when it comes to discussing the merits of the project. By its very nature, Wikipedia will always have errors, and it will always have quality problems. This is to be expected of an infinitely collaborative project with virtually no system to exclude contributers or contributions. There are certain inherent quality limitations present with this sort of post-modern information collaboration.

What makes Wikipedia special and useful is the assumption that the quality and quantity will increase steadily based on the number of participants. The fundamental belief is that more collaborationw ill lead to faster information on a greater number of topics than paper encyclopedias can replicate. As time passes, the quality and quantity will steadily improve. As long as those two conditions exist, Wikipedia is a success.

Orlowski gets it completely wrong when he persistently compares Wikipedia with a restaurant. Eating at a restaurant is a passive experience. The consumer sits down, orders the food, eats the food, pays and leaves. The food is prepared in accordance with the chef's standards which may or may not match the standards of the restaurant guest. Based on the experience, the guest will choose to return, or not.

Wikipedia is more like a perpetual pot-luck. Everyone participates, and if you don't like a dish, you're welcome to bring your own. If you don't want to bring food, there's plenty to go around, and no one minds. Yes, the quality is variable. After all, the majority has been prepared by amateurs who may or may not be qualified to accept the task.

Participants must remember to beware of the potato salad that's been in the sun too long, just as they must remember that not all Wikipedia entries are created equal. Here, as everywhere, critical thinking is not an option, it's a requirement.

Work stuff

I recently participated in writing and distributing an online survey directed to our physicians relating to their plans and needs of exam room space.

I'm thinking of doing something similar with PCC's aimed at getting their feedback for the various exam room systems I've tinkered with.

I want to know when they run out of rooms. I also want to know when they run out of rooms and have patients waiting. These are not the same thing, though obviously you must have the first to encounter the second.

Right now, daily room assignments have an art and science element. The more science the better, because then one can show arguments and reasoning.