It appears there is yet another chapter unfolding in this SimSoapOpera where customers who so much as look like they’re demanding refunds for the game are getting their accounts banned by EA, which might mean their already-slammed customer service department from just the DRM saga now might be busy policing accounts that were inappropriately shut down.  On top of this, EA’s CEO is jumping ship too.  Forget soap operas.  Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.  :-P

Time for the links.  :-)

http://consumerist.com/2013/03/18/ea-disabling-user-accounts-because-it-thinks-any-contact-with-amazon-must-be-a-refund-request/

http://consumerist.com/2013/03/18/ea-ceo-to-step-down/

Gotta love The Consumerist.  :-)

Ars Technica also took to the Interwebz with some fierce commentary on this little launch disaster as well.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/simcity-one-week-later-time-doesnt-heal-all-wounds

There’s not much that I can say here that I didn’t already say when I blasted this topic over the mic earlier this week, but this newest SimCity is now going to be yet another game I deliberately skip because of this DRM stuff.  In other news, as an update to what I said in the RadioStyle segment I’ve recently found out thanks to good ol’ Wikipedia that the Steam version of Red Alert 3 now doesn’t have any DRM above and beyond the Steam stuff these days, so nearly 5 years after its launch I’ll finally be able to check out that game lol.  I’m also experimenting with some more interesting titles for this blog besides the rather generic “The MultimediaJay Blog” to emphasize this blog’s significant evolution since its silent launch in 2011 as a simple side project to the YouTube channel.  Nowadays it’s almost big enough for me to make the YouTube channel into a side project to this blog lol.  :-)

Lastly, let’s close this whole SimCity blog entry schtuff with another recent YouTube video about SimCity on the SNES from the AVGN’s James and Mike Play series.  I’m thinking a Play Some Schtuff of that SimCity game is in order too considering something has to make up for the damage this series has taken by this botched DRM-crippled launch of the latest game in the series.  :-\

Last week’s private post saw me pretty down and I’m grateful to people who picked up on that and expressed concern. What also helped pick me up, dust me off and send me on my way again was to spend several evenings watching UK television. Nothing major or original, just stuff like QI, Buzzcocks, HIGNFY, Top Gear – the stuff of Dave. Even if it’s old and you’ve seen it before, it’s a damned sight better than the crap on here.

The viewing was accompanied by something that happens all too seldom these days – laughing out loud. I felt all the better for it and noticed how essential and therapeutic laughter is to me. It’s not that there aren’t things to laugh at here, it’s just a different type of amusement – sometimes intellectual, sometimes primitive: nothing that causes a primeval roar or snigger.

It wasn’t a helpful realisation and I find it a bit ‘Brave New World’-ly for a country to have so many problems but be kept distracted by the consumption of unhealthy things (including telly).

Somewhere along the line I was once again irritated when GEMA stopped me viewing footage from a concert posted by a band on its website. They don’t seem too bothered about stopping me seeing unwanted adverts they may or may not have issued rights for, but “**** me, thwarted again. Ba****ds!” was my reaction.

(This problem was described half a year ago in this post http://daddyuncool.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/madness-indeed/ )

Tonight I was hoping for some more uplifting after a fairly dull Champions League match between Bayern and Arsenal and noted that Dave has been removed from my viewing by an new EU ruling. Why? What possible harm could it do to spread a little cheer in such dark, dreary and depressing times? Who sits where and says “Oh god, no! We can’t have people being entertained outside their own country.”

I call once again for the media of this world to be allowed to broadcast freely to anyone who cares to watch and listen. People are allowed to move relatively freely from country to country within Europe. So why can’t they take their interests and media with them?

It would be nice if there were a country where I could afford to live, find work, have my family with me, express myself freely, get affordable childcare and decent schooling, drive quickly, have decent healthcare, etc. etc.

But failing all that, it would be nice to have (and keep) something that would take my mind off things.

ReviewTechUSA:

Armake21 back in the day:

….yeah.  =(

My latest articles on Lovemoney.com look at child maintenance and claiming compensation for pothole damage to your vehicle.

Child Maintenance Service: the government’s new child support scheme

Claim compensation for damage to your car, bike or motorcycle

]]> http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/serious-fraud-office-confirms-harlequin-investigation-asks-for-investor-stories/ Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:15:55 +0000 BFP http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/serious-fraud-office-confirms-harlequin-investigation-asks-for-investor-stories/ http://fulltextreports.com/2013/03/04/average-food-prices-a-snapshot-of-how-much-has-changed-over-a-century/ Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:49:06 +0000 fulltextreports http://fulltextreports.com/2013/03/04/average-food-prices-a-snapshot-of-how-much-has-changed-over-a-century/ http://enhancethehumanexperience.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/what-will-we-miss-tomorrow/ Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:05:34 +0000 Anne Kelly http://enhancethehumanexperience.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/what-will-we-miss-tomorrow/ I have a favorite towel.  It’s so old, I have no idea where it came from.  It’s super long, which is great for good wrapping coverage out of the shower.  And it’s really soft, like an old pair of jeans that you have worn everywhere.  A section of the towel is worn through, and my boyfriend has repeatedly commented that it’s outlived it’s useful life.  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  It still functions perfectly for my use.  I would be in favor of replacing the towel, but a search of the product name produced no results.  So I believe the company either changed names or went out of business.  Besides, who can survive making good products anymore?

Last year I purchased an immersion blender to ease with blending soups.  When it comes to kitchen items, I rely on the testing and comments by America’s Test Kitchen, I’m actually signed up through Cooks Illustrated to access their recipes and product info.  After extensive testing, they recommended the Kaloric Sunny Morning blender.  Later that year they revised the recommendation and I had a similar bad report to other people, after maybe 5 uses on soup the motor burned out.  I should have read the instruction booklet describing the operating instructions and promptly returned the item.  You can’t operate the blender for more than 1 minute which must be followed by 10 minutes of rest.  That would require about 30 minutes to blend my soup completely.  So back to square 1 for research.

This time I thought to read the product operation manual online before purchasing.  Many amazon shoppers report loving their KitchenAid hand blender that lasted 7 or 10 years, and the revised test kitchen report also recommends that product.  After purchasing, I’m reading some reports of complications with the new model version of this blender.  No motor problems, but the connection of the motor to the shaft has a plastic piece that can break.  I hope this one lasts, but if not, I’m writing to KitchenAid and the Test Kitchen group.  The lack of descriptive information about the motor in all KithenAid info is a bit unsettling for me; if this one breaks, it appears that all major brands use the same plastic connection element so I will be struggling to find a suitable replacement.

It seems like all manufacturers are capitalizing on their past reputation of quality products to sell really cheap goods.  I don’t mind paying extra for reliable products from manufacturer’s like KitchenAid, Pella, Anderson Windows, etc.  But as we are learning in the building design, the products are cheaply made and do not perform well long term.  This certainly helps the economy, when people have to replace products every year.  But what is it doing to the environment, and our psyche that we can’t find anything of value.  No wonder we don’t want to spend a lot of money, we can barely stomach the issue of cheap stuff failing before their time.

Product warranties have very short lifespans, 1 year and sometimes 2.  In the world of building materials, even with a warranty you typically have to hire a lawyer to get manufacturers to own up to their responsibilities, and then spend a year arguing while the manufacturer blames anyone who even looked at the product for errors.

I read a post once of someone struggling through difficulties with multiple appliances.  We all struggle to find legitimate online consumer reviews.  Who can we trust?  Know any good repairmen to recommend?

But it seems like no matter how much I enjoy healthy food, and learn to cook healthy recipes, I get cravings for the the junk food too.  It seems like the habits learned early in life never go away, we just try to suppress them.  And if I’m busy and preoccupied, I can’t resist the old favorites.  This article explains the issue of ego-depletion (not what it sounds like) its a natural for people to struggle with making smart eating choices when they are overloaded, stressed, or preoccupied.  So we need to prepare options for dealing with that situation in advance.

For people who think that eating healthy is expensive, that is a myth.  Recently I made a healthy and easy dinner for $3.5o, not per serving, total for 3-4 servings.  I make a stir-fry mix of vegetables and noodles (egg or flour noodles, broccoli, snow peas, carrots, zucchini, and stir-fry sauce).  I was shocked at the check-out stand when it was only $3.50.  This NPR story confirms my experience.  If you can justify $4-6 for a latte, you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

We do have to research what we eat.  Just the other day I read an article discussing the tricks food makers use to get us addicted to their junk food.  They add fat and sugar to low sodium products to get you hooked, and other tricks.  In a capitalist society, this is normal, and we must educate ourselves to avoid getting duped.  Not to mention all the news stories of mislabeled food lately:

• 

  http://communities.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/by-citypng/

  Mislabeled fish, at grocery stores and restaurants, on average they found errors with 33% of the samples tested.  On the Menu but not On Your Plate.  They even substituting tuna with fish that will give you indigestion.

• Surprise horse meat anyone?  This food swindle has infiltrated across Europe and even into the U.S.

Even Whole Wheat does not mean that it’s whole grain, you have to check the package listing of ingredients.  Multi-grain can also be misleading.  All (wheat) flour comes from wheat, it’ just has been stripped of the most nutritious part of the wheat kernel.  Some prepared foods use a little bit of whole grain in the ingredients, but still have more bleached flour in the recipe.  You have to look for 100% whole grain to get the most healthy version.  This is why people sometimes add wheat germ to a recipe.  Sometimes they use unbleached flour to make it look healthier, but the flour is otherwise the same as white flour.

You have to know what works for you and your body and lifestyle.  Here is an interesting article about the causes of snacking.  No one solution helps all people.  NPR just had a story about the way our natural tendency to be optimistic is counteractive to dieting needs these days.  They have a few suggestions of ways to improve eating habits.  Or trick your kids, or yourself, into eating more veggies with recipes from the Sneaky Chef.

Personally, I love Thanksgiving and all the typical foods that are unhealthy to eat together in one big meal; this meal can be 3,000 for some people.  A biologist friend recently described to me the natural cycle of the human body to put on weight in the fall, when fruits and produce is harvested, and then lose weight in the winter months when food production is more scarce.  This has likely been developed throughout centuries of evolution.  The natural cycle of weight gain likely is a root cause to having so many traditions in the fall associated with food.  I now give myself a little leniency to add a few pounds during the tasty holiday season, and in winter I kick butt working out when there are fewer events and activities happening to keep me distracted.

You can analyze your typical eating habits, and get ideas for teaching your kids how to be healthy, at My Plate.gov.  My friend uses the website to teach her 7 year old how to analyze the types of each food on her plate.

Keep in mind, organic food is not necessarily healthier, although it should have fewer pesticides, but the production of food organically is better for the environment.  But improving the way food is produced is a whole new conversation.