I don't know when I'm going to post

But I think I just need to approach this as a pet project.

I'll add stuff as I feel like typing about any random ol gaming thing.

Smart Cars and the post of James White

On 2009 July 1, James White posted on Examiner.com that the Smart Car was "possibly the dumbest [car] of them all."

Don't take my word for it, of course. Read his post if you feel so inclined here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-8273-NY-Car-Shopping-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Dumb-cars-for-the-city-Part-4-Smart-Car-possibly-the-dumbest-of-them-all

After writing this, he proceded to "push" his column through regular tweetspamming the #smartcar trending topic, at which point, I replied that it apparently takes no amount of truthfulness to blog and he has called me out on the "truthfulness" of his article.

So, rather than reply in a terse offhand manner, I will now detail exactly why James is at best a poor reporter, and at worse, well I'll leave that to the reader to judge.

Before I begin

Before I jump right in to the subject matter, I do want to set the playing field straight. I'm a Smart owner. I've loved them since I put my sights on them and once I got one, my zeal has only increased.

But that should not come as a surprise, since if there is anyone you'd expect to have enough motivation to write a post as I will now, it would be someone of that sort of mind. A person like me.

Now, that doesn't mean I feel compelled to respond to anyone who says anything about a Smart I don't agree with, even that they're "dumb", but rather, after reading the article and finding it filled with untruths and rectal data, I did feel compelled to point out that Mr. White is being dishonest in claiming he's reporting how things are.

Finally, to keep it in check, I'll post as factually as I can. Some things will be formulated from opinion, of course, but even they will have a solid reason for that opinion and I'll give it. I thus am stating that I'll do my due diligence to report honestly, which is something I can't attribute to "fad" blog posts, like the "hate Smart" "fad" that James has apparently jumped upon the bandwagon of.

And so, let's start.

First, let's take the points I disagree with and analyze each in turn.

"Smart Cars are cramped"

This statement alone tells me that Mr. White is either excessively tall or has never actually been in a Smart Car. For people above 6' 2", which is between 2 and 4% of males and virtually no females at all, you probably won't fit. Straight up. The problem is that you'll hit your head on the ceiling.

However, as Mr. White is writing to the general population, so that's a bogus argument anyway since it only affects a 1 to 2% of his possible readership, and the same people who probably would already check for this anyway.

Thus, he must mean the obvious misconception people usually make, which is "how can I fit comfortably in a car that small?"

You not only fit, you fit better than most vehicles. But don't take my word for it, take some words from others who have felt so impressed by the space, they felt compelled to write about it.

When you apply gray matter to the subject, much of it makes sense. First, you're only putting two people in the car. Thus, you don't need space allocated for back seat passengers. Additionally, you sit higher in the smart (a subject I'll be coming back to) which means you don't need as much space to put your legs forward. But even though you don't need as much space, the engine is in the back, so you have from the seat to the forward section of the car as leg room. The battery is under the floorboard, so it doesn't take up space and the liquid reservoirs are behind the glovebox and dash - raised off the area your legs extend in to. (Accessible from outside still, not inside.)

"... inconvenient to service"

This is such a mixed bag, it's hard to know where to start, so let's start with the typical ways of servicing a car: Filling liquids, checking oil, swapping out the battery.

In the "filling liquids" department, we have the reservoirs. You access them through the front panel of the smart. The panel not only pops off with two swivel levers, but it's super light weight (being made of plastic instead of fiber alloy) and attaches to two slots conveniently located right in front of you. Then, you twist off the tops of the containers for the liquids and add more. You don't have to reach over anything, since they're the most forward items in the car and even better, if you spill, you spill down the external chassis, and direclty to asphalt. You don't junk up any other components in the process.

"Checking oil" is next. Even though the engine is in the back, getting to it requires you flip up the carpet, release two fly nuts (by turning them a TOTAL of 90 degrees - one quarter turn) and then lifting the floor board. Check your oil and be on your way. Since the floor board is out of the way, there's no risk of spilling oil on it as you fill the engine if you need to and it instead drips down the engine like it would have anyway and possibly on to the pavement. I rate this about the same as doing it in any other car, mostly because you still reach over the tail gate (from the hatch back) so some leaning (not much) may be involved.

"Swapping out the battery" is the final item in this list. It's located under the passenger side floor board. You lift the floor board and you have full access to it. Now I realize that there are a contingecy of people who probably like to lift the battery the extra height it takes to get it in to a regular hood area, or lean over a hood to work their screwdriver or wrench to get the cables unplugged. On the smart, you can lay on the seats if you like, or just reach in from outside the vehicle. You lift the battery a total of a couple feet and place it in a well designed to hold it and only it, plus stow some extra cabling. Pop the carpet back in to place (insert the tabs in to the slots for it in the floor board) and you're done.

Other aspects of "servicing" the car include repairs and upgrades. In the repairs department, you have the regular repairs of fixing flats or performing maintenance.

The car comes with a complete flat fix kit intended to get you to the next service station within 50 miles or you can utilize roadside service, which comes standard with your Smart. And where is that fix it kit located? In another spot beside the battery in the floor board.

As for getting repairs done, I have had the great "priveledge" of talking to a mechanic about getting 3,500$ of repairs done to my car after it was in a 4-car pile up. (This is also coming up, stay tuned.) He not only was impressed by how easy it was to service, but likened it to working on modern day Volkswagon vehicles in that many parts are easily accessed, detached and reattached as necessary.

That said, it's repored that mini cars still have a higher repair cost than a few larger cars, but the Smart still outperforms all other mini cars in repair cost analysis. Most curiously this site even reports:

Minicar owners shouldn't feel too bad, though: the IIHS has put a total of 61 cars through the fender-bender test, and so far, 43 of them have been rated "poor". In fact, the fortwo is one of only three--alongside the Ford Focus and the Scion xB--to receive an "acceptable" ranking. To date, no car has been rated good. But then, if you've been to a garage lately, you probably knew that.

So out of 61 cars tested, it's in the top three. That's pretty impressive, if you ask me.

But let's put the final nail in this coffin.

The standard Smart service program has you receive service for your car once a year, including oil. Compare that to many plans that have you go three to four times per year. And you can purchase (as I did) for a reasonable price, a 5 year, 100 thousand mile service plan. And it's comprehensive. It even covers tires.

If anything, the Smart sets the standard for how convenient a car should be to service.

"... return mileage unimpressive given their diminutive size"

First, I haven't found anyone who yet says "you ONLY get 34 MPG in the city??"

That aside, how does the mileage stack up to other pure-gas cars?

According to the government, the Prius is the best on MPG overall, but the Prius is a hybrid and even at that, the difference on highway is 4 MPg, even though the in-city is 15 mpg (which I would expect froma hybrid).

Scannig down the list, you'll find the only other vehicle that beats the in-city is another hybrid, and only by 7 MPG in city, 5 on highway.

Allow me to iterate the conclusion you'll draw from carefully examining the evidence.

The Smart Car is a pure-gas car and is the leader in MPG efficiency for cars in that category.

But not only that, the car is a neck-and-neck contender for highway MPG with hybrids and even in city compared to some hybrids.

Unimpressive? You decide.

"... inexplicably expensive"

You can of course look all this data up for your area.

In mine, area code 85746, the cheapest possible car you can get is base retail $10,665 for a Hyundai Accent.. Aside from the one model, all other models start at at least $12,500.

So, what does a Smart start at? $11,990.

Unless Mr. White lives in some alternate universe where "inextricably expensive" means "cheaper than almost anything else you can buy", he has once again asserted rectal data as fact.

Moving on.

"... hard to service"

Adding redundant statements doesn't make your argument stronger. See above for an analysis of this statement.

"... pokey to accelerate"

While the 0 to 65 speed is a bit on the slow side, at a rated 12.8 seconds, the speed slows down more toward the end of the acceleration spectrum. You can accelerate like a bat out of hell in the lower gears. The car even takes some getting used to before you don't do this right away anyway because you are less impeded by the law of inertia.

But again, don't take my word for it.

According to 100mpg.ca

I have already written about the fortwo cdi’s slow acceleration in the introduction. But it is not as bad as the numbers would appear to show.

[...]

Scrub about three seconds from the fortwo’s acceleration time to 100, from the perspective of the “butt dynamometer” (how fast the car “feels” when in gear).

When the cdi is in gear, the pulling power is strong, thanks to the ample torque, though the peak torque band is on the narrow side (1800 to 2800 rpm).

And I should also point out that the Smart corporation just released a firmware update for Smart owners to make shifting even faster. I don't have any data on that yet.

"... possibly a risk in an accident too"

The line I just quoted links (in the original post) to where PC Mag reports on the IIHS report on front-to-front collisions.

I encourage you to actually read the articles. Yes, the Smart spun around, but the occupant (in this case a crash dummy) did not sustain significant damage. It was rated down because of the turning (about 1.25 revolutions).

I would also like to point out that front-to-front collisions are extremely rare. In a document previously posted here (but you can search it's name to find sites corroborating what I'm about to say) front to front collissions are 2% of accidents and 10% of fatalities that occur as the result of accidents.

How does the Smart stack up in the standard crash tests, including the normal tests conducted by the IIHS (instead of the front-to-front which as they point out in their test data is the first time they've ever done this test and there are so many variables that they didn't have a standard measure to compare against.)

According to an article on automotive.com:

In a series of tests conducted recently, the IIHS has determined that the car gets top marks for front and side impact crashes although it didn’t get the highest marks for whiplash protection. Whereas the first two categories revealed a “good” rating, the Fortwo was only able to receive an “acceptable” rating for the last category.

Even had the car achieved the highest rating for whiplash, the car would not have received the institute’s top safety award simply because it is too small.

The Smart Fortwo is the smallest car the IIHS has ever tested. “All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better,” said institute president Adrian Lund in a statement. “But among the smallest cars, the engineers at Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package.”

Hell, maybe you'll even enjoy the youtube video of crashing one in to a wall.

It's admirable the IIHS admits that they will not mark a car to the max due to its size. This means in no uncertain terms that size is a measure they hold cars to, no matter how well they actually perform. Even the IIHS subscribes to "I want more metal in front of me" even if the results show otherwise.

And their own results did.

I've had the "fortune" of being in an accident in my Smart. It was only 3 week old at the time. I was stopped on the freeway and was rear ended. I was then pushed in to the car in front of me and then the three of us in to the car in front of it. The person behind me was doing between 55 and 65 when they hit me - they weren't even aware traffic had stopped (construction zone).

I was uninjured and so was my passenger. The person in front of me went to the hospital for whiplash and hitting her head on her steering wheel.

But you don't have to take my word for that either. Here are more stories by smart owners.

But all this isn't apparently the #1 reason the car is "Dumb".

No, now we get to the crux of the matter.

"Easy parking on crowded streets is a hassle for everyone else"

I'm sorry, but I can't buy in to this. If taking up a smaller space is a problem for people, then why do I get PO'd when cars span two parking spaces when they park or huge trucks stick 8 feet out in to the roadway because they can't fit in the parking space?

Surely, if my smaller car is such a hassle, those cars must be a dream come true!

Sure, with a Smart Car you can squeeze into that rare opening not large enough to accommodate non-dwarf-sized vehicles. But what happens when you get back in your Smart and take off? Other parkers are left with an opening on the street that no other cars can fit into. It's inconsiderate, inefficient and not at all philosophically aligned with Smart's stated mission of streamlining city traffic.

Hold a minute and let that stew in your mind.

Because I parked in a space you couldn't (and still can't) I didn't streamline traffic over say ... parking in a space you are now parked in?

I parked in a space you couldn't park in and still cannot.

And since I'm now there, there's a space now open for you to park in. The one I could have potentially parked in had my non-streamlined car not been able to fit where it is now.

And to finish off, Mr. White ends with sensationalist journalism

Jeremi Corsi, in "The Late Great USA" states "ridicule is the last resort of someone who is losing an argument." Such tactics, Corsi said, underestimate the intelligence of people listening, and people realize that the argument wasn't answered.

So, to quote Mr. White...

These dumb rides are best for people who want to very loudly advertise their progressive commitment to transforming American motorways. Unfortunately, the Smart Car doesn't really have much substance to back that message up.

He ends with an attack at drivers.

An attack that is mired in misinformation.

In conclusion

If you're going to make the statement that the Smart doesn't fit you, that's fine.

But if you're going to make patently false statements in order to drum up some readership, maybe you should think twice. Someone might actually call you out on it.

--Dracorat

My rant about Guitar Hero

So, it disappoints me that I have to post this, that I have to come to this conclusion, but it was inevitable, given the market-scape.

Let me begin by saying Guitar Hero is a great game. It's a great game with an abusive parent.

And for that reason, I have decided that I'm done with the franchise.

It helps that there is an alternative, I admit. - Rock Band.

But I would keep buying Guitar Hero games if not for Aspyr.

You see, they have betrayed my trust as a gamer for multiple reasons. The first is that with GH3 they released a PC version of the game. That's the version I bought.

But later, they announced there would be no further support for PC - they would release no downloadable content, no further patches unless absolutely necessary and that the game is essentially now, for PC users "as-is".

So, in my gaming sploits, I have since purchased Rock Band for PS3. And I did investigation in to buying a new guitar controller for rocking out with my friends.

Only to find that Aspyr has threatened to sue Rock Band if they released a content patch that would make the GH3 controller work with Rock Band.

So Aspyr isn't getting any more of my money. Not in content, not in future GH games.

As for GH - I am done.

I am very much hoping that Rock Band carries the genre from here on out.

And that's too bad, because for pure gaming quality, GH3 is fun.

Heros, Machine Style

Need that character portrait for your D&D game? Just need to make cool characters to fool around with? Need a new avatar for something?

Hero Machine has you covered.

I knew about this project a while ago, but recently needed a portrait in a flash, thought of the site and figured I check it out again. And man has it come a LONG way.

So, for those who may not know about it, click the link, and sign away the next couple of hours of time...

For a test of what it can do, here is a test character:
== Copy the stuff below this line and paste in to the LOAD prompt. ==

2.5b5*m1*Character Name*Hair:Expansion1,ponytail,FFFA9C,F79652,100,100,23,Eyebrows:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,21,Eyes:Standard,blank2,FF0000,FFFFFF,100,100,20,Nose:Standard,thinbroke,F79D9C,FFFFFF,100,100,27,Mouth:Standard,line,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,18,Beard:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,26,Ears:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,19,Skin:Standard,fraBlank,EF6972,F79D9C,100,100,6,Mask:Standard,fraBlank,2B0036,390F7B,100,100,22,Headgear:Expansion1,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,29,Undershirt:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,7,Overshirt:Standard,downchevron,390F7C,6C4D9B,100,100,8,Coat:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,25,RightGlove:Expansion1,nofingers,CEA66B,8A559B,100,100,17,LeftGlove:Expansion1,nofingers,CEA66B,8A559B,100,100,16,Insignia:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,9,Neckwear:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,24,Belt:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,15,Leggings:Standard,long,390F7C,6C4D9B,100,100,10,Overleggings:Standard,blox,AC8ABC,FFFF00,100,100,11,Pants:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,14,RightFoot:Expansion1,sandal,8CCFF9,6C4D9B,100,100,13,LeftFoot:Expansion1,sandal,8CCFF9,6C4D9B,100,100,12,Back:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,3,Wings:Expansion1,wholebat,FF0000,AD5D9C,100,100,4,Tail:Standard,cattail,F79D9C,EF6972,100,100,5,Aura:Standard,fraBlank,8CCFF9,9482B6,100,100,2,Companion:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,31,Background:Standard,fullscreen,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,1,RightHand:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,30,LeftHand:Standard,fraBlank,FFFFFF,FFFFFF,100,100,28,#

== Stop copying above this line. ==

So, where have I been?

I've been playing a lot of EQ2 and handling family matters and playing Guitar Hero 3.

GH3 is a LOT of fun. As you play, the song plays if you get the notes right, or if not, you get guitar scrapes. Couple in awesome music and you get a completely rewarding experience.

Color me addicted.

TR Update

I cancelled my pre order with EBGames after three weeks of dealing with their morons.

I reactivated my EQ2 subscription and bought the newest expansios, Rise of Kunark.

Playing EQ2 again is like going to see an old friend after they've been gone for a while. You knew you'd enjoy it, but you never really realized how much you had missed it until you made the trip.

Now, I gots me some levels to get!! (New server)

From "Net Promoter" to "Net Detractor"

Well, I am at my wit's end.

You see, I enjoyed playing the beta of Tabula Rasa so much that I decided to pre-order the game. So I did. When I decided that I would preorder, I considered only one option because I received good experiences with them in the past. I chose EB Games.

In the past, I never had to contact them however.

You see, when it came time for the game to be shipped, a friend of mine, who (and let me underline this point) ordered the game standard shipping from EB Games at my recommendation they do so, received the game four days early.

So I contacted them via email.

The response I got was "Unfortunately, we cannot ship the game itself before the release date." That is a direct quote.

So OK fine - maybe that's a pretext to "you ordered overnight shipping and it's too early to overnight ship". Which of course makes me wonder why I would ever overnight ship on a preorder, but I let it go.

The day before it was to be released comes, no ship. Web site status says "Prerelease". Umm, no. If I am to have it on my doorstep it should already be shipped. But it wasn't.

So, the day of release, I write them again.

I got no response.

So I called them that evening. The person on the phone says "Oh I'm not sure why they didn't sent it already but I'll discount your shipping cost and send an email message to the shipping department so they can get this one shipped out ASAP."

OK that's something I guess but at this point, I'm fairly disappointed at them. The game has already locked me out saying "Your game time has expired."

Two days later, my shipping status changes from "Prerelease" (we are now three days post release mind you) to "Usually ships within 24 hours."

So today, after that status of 3 days, I call. At this point, I'm fairly pissed because if I had walked down to the store and bought my copy in person I'd have been playing.

The person on the phone has the audacity to tell me "We couldn't charge your card. That's why it wasn't shipped." But then he lies to me and tells me "We sent you an email message on the 27th of last month about it." When I tell him I am staring at my Inbox and can read the date and contents of every message they have sent me, including the "We will be shipping you game within 24 hours" message dated on the 29th, his response is "Whether you got that message or not is not important."

Excuse me?

I contacted your company FOUR times since that date. I placed FAITH in your ability to handle my PREORDER correctly.

So I had them fix the address on the card (the apparent problem) and lo and behold, it gets it right. But btw, we have no record of your previous contact with the other agent so you are still paying the shipping costs too.

Never again, EB Games.

You might, when operating correctly, be able to get me my games on time, but if there is the slightest hiccup, your sheer incompetence and lack of interest in the trust I placed in your company has signed on the dotted line. The dotted line says just above it "I will never use your company again, and if I hear of anyone else wanting to use it, I'll advise them not to."

Despair Inc has a message you might want to look up:
Apathy
Maybe if we don't take care of the customer they'll stop bugging us.