Average Grod's Average Blog

Fall of 2008 was considered the best year for games release in about a decade. 2009 may actually prove more entertaining and if nothing else there will probably be even more games that deserve your time, money, or both. I think a couple of my favorite games of all time may have dropped in 2008 so for me to be even half as excited this year was surprising.

The Orange Box has to be about the best value in the history of gaming. It contained everything Halflife 2 related which is the sequel to the game that basically set the bar for gameplay and story telling in the first person shooter genre. HL2 didn't disappoint and I am looking forward to the next episode. The orange box also included Portal which may be an FPS but is basically a puzzle game. I would describe as the best 3 hours you can spend with a mouse and keyboard. Last but not least was Team Fortress 2. This may actually be my favorite game of all time. I just can't get away from it and fortunatly neither can Valve. This week marks the third free major update and it is the largest yet. New maps, new match types, an update to one of the classes...AHHHH I can't wait! Expect to see me on a LOT next week and if you want to try it head to www.steampowered.com. You can play for free from Friday through Sunday.

Another of my favorite games ever is Bioshock. The story telling and gameplay are superb. I simply cannot get enough of the game's location. Rapture, the underwater city looks amazing and someday I fully intend to build a system just to go back and play this game using 3 monitors running at the highest graphic settings possible. My wife may say otherwise but it would be fun.

Call of Duty 4 completely caught me by surprise. A friend of mine had let me borrow CoD1 a couple years back and even though it was one of the only games at the time that I just sat down and played straight through I hadn't kept up with the series. CoD3 wasn't released for PC and the reviews weren't as positive so I didn't run out and purchase CoD4. It got a lot of buzz so I downloaded a copy(wrongfully I know). I don't know why but I just thought I would get it and maybe play it someday. I think I played through it during the next two or three days in its entirety. I couldn't put it down. At that point I knew I owed some game developers money so I promptly went to the store and bought it. A game like that deserves your money and those devs need to know that there are people out there willing to pony up so they have some incentive to make a sequel. I will be pre ordering the next CoD that Infinity Ward makes.

Tomorrow I will get into all that is coming out for 2009 and see if I can organize my list of what I will be hoping to actually play through.

I am currently working towards CompTIA's Network+ certification. This is an industry recognized certification about...you guessed it, Networking. I really wish they could have come up with a better name for this. I know. I know. I know. There has to be something better to do with my time than rant about semantics but I hate telling people I am getting Network+ certification. Why? Because most people who aren't in the industry don't know what it entails and besides, they can network too.I have had two people say "Oh, thats cool. I should get that too." One person told likes to tell me "I can network XP with my eyes closed." Well my friend, that is because Microsoft wants you to. They don't need every idiot who can afford to buy a PC calling their help line because XP doesn't automate home networking. Just because you can change the oil on your car it doesn't mean you are a mechanic.

I am A+ certified and when people ask what it is I tell them it is about building computers. It involves more than that but A+ is mainly focused on computer hardware. Most people find out I have A+ certification or learn that I have built my own PC and think I must be some kind of mad computer genius when in fact my computer knowledge would pale in comparison to most techs who actually have a job in the field. A+ is the entry level certification and Network+ is actually the next cert on the average tech's leaning path. It goes a LOT deeper than plugging two pcs and an XBOX into a hub or setting up a laptop to work with a wireless router. It makes me so mad that people would think there is a actually a professional level certification with such limited scope. What company would pay someone to network two computers the way one does in one's own home? I am sure there are companies who require this service but it doesn't need to be completed by a Network+ certified person. The average teenager would do just fine. Network+ is about getting computers to communicate. It is about the how and why computers can talk to each other. It is about connecting multiple computers in multiple cities using multiple operating systems in many different configurations and optimizing networks for security, speed, and stability just to give you a small idea regarding some of what is involved. I could go into all the details but trust me, you would get bored. Who wants to know the speeds certain cables work at, what the maximum distance between two computers can be given the type of cabling used, or which port your email is sent out on?

Next time you run into someone who is Network+ certified just remember that they have put in a lot of study time or time in the field working on computers. Give em the respect you would any other certified professional. Don't be afraid to ask tech questions because we are a pretty nerdy bunch who enjoy talking tech but just don't pretend you could do their job until you have passed the test.