• 09:25 I currently have my hands on a Mac Mini server, and it's an f-ing beautiful thing. I may have to get one for the house. #
• 22:34 The hyper-turbo tourneys on Full Tilt #Poker are incredibly fun, and are also remarkably profitable despite the apparent luck factor. #
• 22:36 After 82 tournaments, my return on investment is +42%. Suck it, Wall Street. #poker #

• 14:07 Too many amazing games coming out right now! I just got an email telling me my Dragon Age pre-order is ready. I pre-ordered? #

• 08:17 Anyone going to give NaNoWriMo a try? #
• 20:55 I've got the flu and am running a 101.1 fever. :( #

• 18:11 It's 6:15....where are all the kids?? #swineflugotthem? #
• 18:11 Also: Damn you Champions Online servers for being down. #

• 23:14 Got the XKCD book today. Not sure what is more awesome: That the pages numbers are in base-3 or that it only took me 5 pages to recognize. #
• 23:18 1 2 10 11 12 20 21 22 100 101 102 110 111 112 120. Actually, the book skips from 20 to 100. 120 to 200 to 1000. I'm missing something yet. #

I'm going to throw a few words and phrases at you. Ready? K.

Diablo-style action-RPG.
Crew features ex-Blizzard designers. *
$20.

I have just described Torchlight, which was released yesterday.

Torchlight is a single-player-only action-RPG with an impressive pedigree (an MMO version is promised in 18 months). It's 3D and runs very crisply -- it can even run on netbooks. It plays fast and fun and features the same hack-slash-loot gameplay that made Diablo so addictive. It features random levels that fit together so well you'll think they were individually hand crafted.

You can buy it directly from the website and I downloaded the game from their mirror in 5 minutes. It's hard to go wrong for $20.

(Wow, what a crazy good year for cheap indy games!)

* It also has music by Matt Uelman. Uelman's the guy behind Diablo, as well Diablo 2, StarCraft, and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Diablo's soundtrack was great. Torchlight's is even better.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds was glimpsed briefly on ABC's "Castle," with Nathan Fillion dressing as his "Firefly" character on Monday's episode (context: it's a Halloween costume).

"Didn't you wear that 5 years ago? ... Don't you think you should move on?"





UPDATE: From Nathan Fillion's twitter feed: Anyone catch the obscure Firefly reference in Castle just now? 6 min in?

Starring: Felicia Day

Incredibly funny. Must watch, even if not a science geek.

• 08:11 R.I.P. Geocities. While it is true that we early Internet users hated your terrible websites, it is a sad thing to see you close your doors. #
• 08:13 XKCD has a *perfect* Geocities homage today. I think it's the animated construction workers that really does it for me xkcd.com/654/ #

• 12:35 I'm in ur church, baptizin ur babyz. #

( Which religion should you be? )

• 11:56 In just over two months, it's going to be 2010. #WTH #WTF #AndAlso #JesusI'mOld #

• 10:22 Pumpkins, enjoy your final day. Tonight: We carve! #halloween #
• 13:44 Two people in my office appear to have H1N1 (Swine Flu). #

• 13:01 Tropico 3 released today (on Impulse, anyway - another 5 days on Steam). Played the demo - it's the same as orig but btr gfx and more bldgs. #
• 16:41 RT @AndromedasWake: "Not only is there no god, but try getting a plumber on the weekends." - Woody Allen #
• 16:43 "No god" is trending on twitter. I'm just doing my part. #atheism #
• 17:10 RT @johnhummel: @quill18 we godless heathens have to stick together ;) ---- Amen to that! #
• 17:28 "STAND UP FOR GOD...I LUV GOD SO MUCH AN FOR PEOPLE TO TALK DOWN ON GOD IM ANGRY" If god needs this kind of help, he's in trouble. #no god #
• 18:26 RT @lowercaserho: "No God" is an... interesting trending topic. Thousands of years of theological debate condensed into 140 character s[...] #

• 08:00 RT @tragichero83: I hate when religious people use god as a deus ex machina for life. It's poor storytelling. #
• 10:54 Almost 100% sure I have a walnut allergy that has been getting worse. Visiting doctor next week. Nut allergies are bad. #epipen? #
• 11:13 Apparently, twittering about all-er-gies is a good way to get spammed by various pharmaceutical companies. #spam #spam #spam #eggs #spam #
• 17:52 Every single time I'm on a losing streak at #poker and finally pause to evaluate, it's because I've become too tight. #whenwillIlearn? #
• 17:53 And on that note, I'm +$50 today playing in the "Gus Hansen" style. #poker #
• 17:54 Watch Big Bang Theory? No? You should start. Tonight. Especially since Wil Wheaton (@wilw) will be guest-starring. #bigbangtheory #

• 12:47 Participating in a tournament with an $80,000 prize pool, with a Porsche as first prize. Will be live-tweeting the tournament. #poker #
• 14:06 One hour in, 3/4 of the field is gone. I've got just below the chip average. #poker #
• 14:35 Not much in the way of updates - the tourney moved FAST. Outlasted 5/6th of the field, but went bust with JJ vs AQo. #poker #

• 12:23 I just got 2 coupon codes for people to buy the Demigod game for half-price ($20). It's fun, come play. Anyone want? bit.ly/25SWSz #
• 16:20 Stormtroopers' 9/11. Too soon? bit.ly/JocB0 #
• 17:02 RT @shayes287: Yo BalloonBoy, I'ma let you finish, but Anne Frank had the best attic hideout spot of all time #balloonboy #

Stardock just emailed me two coupon codes to get friends to buy the Demigod game. It would only be $20, which is half price.

Demigod is a DotA-like game. If you don't know what that is...it's basically a blend of Real-Time-Strategy and RPG elements. You stomp around a map as a demigod, killing mundane troops and enemy demigods to grab control points or destroy the enemy base. You gain XP and level up, learning new abilities from deep and varied trees. You also earn gold that you can use to purchase items to further customize your character.

It's designed as a multiplayer game, with each team having up to five players. You can play it on your own against computer players.

http://www.demigodthegame.com/

There is a demo on the downloads page.

Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," [the Justice of the Peace] told the Associated Press on Thursday.

*facepalm*


"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," [the Justice of the Peace] said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

He's right, the best a mixed-race child could ever hope for is to be President of the USA.

• 08:07 My socks don't match today. Well, they're the same colour (black), but the texture is completely different. #