Merl’s Blog

I don’t think it is uncommon for a parent to be asked by a pre-teen offspring if they can have the latest computer game. The parent then probably questions the high cost of the game, but after a period of “parent-child negotiation” they leave the store – game in hand.

Would they allow their children to have the game if it was described like so:

• …where the player is able to engage in sexual practices with a prostitute, then (in a separate act) kill her to retrieve the fee.
• An interactive ode to gang banging, California style, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” covers a vast territory…
• Tommy embarks on a driving rampage, robbing and killing prostitutes and driving over innocent pedestrians.
• The player must kill as many people as he can using the most vicious and devious methods. The first time he kills someone he is urged to smother them with a plastic bag.
• There are 32 different areas of the body where victims can be shot – with a variety of gruesome results.
• …the people can be run over, shot or dragged beneath your car. At one point a rival is dragged around on the bumper creating huge streams and trails of blood in remarkably gory scenes.
• Players are invited to hack their enemies to pieces in a bloody rampage. They can use the amazing boomerang Machete, the Scythe and the head-popping Sledgehammer.

Many older parents likely have the memory that computer games are like Tetris, Space Invaders or Prince of Persia. In fact I’d wager many probably haven’t played a computer game in the last 10 years – if at all.

I think they’d be horrified if they peered over their kids shoulders one evening whilst they’re “doing their homework”.



Currently listening to: Up Town Top Ranking by Althia and Donna

A conversation with Milt in the Hole in the Ground recently made me download and install the latest version of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) screen saver to see how quickly my latest computer could crunch a block of their data.

Whilst poking around the SETI site I realized I originally signed up with SETI in May 1999 – five and a half years ago. Since then the distributed computer network has provided over two million years of computer time. Impressive stuff.

By the way, It seems can process a block of data in about 2.75 hours on a Mac G5 2.5Ghz whilst working on the machine during the day, and after leaving it running overnight when I’m not, usually, working a block gets returned in just under 2 hours. I don’t know how this compares to other computers because SETI don’t seem to produce the statistics that show that – I think they used to.

I guess were looking for ET not trying the benchmark the performance of our computers.