Too Much Bad News? Here's A Roundup of Games, for Distraction

Over at C|Net, there is a handy round-up of upcoming computer games. My current favorite is BioShock, and BioShock Infinite is a first person shooter where you assume the persona of former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt. He is assigned to investigate the flying city of Columbia -- a rescue mission to save Elizabeth, who has been imprisoned since childhood. A thematic storyline and cool abilities to unlock make this a good distraction.

My current favorite board game is Carcassonne, which, surprisingly, doesn't use dice. Players draw tiles out of a bag (the random factor) to build out a 16th century French countryside, and build cities and roads. Each tile might feature a city, a road, a monastery, plains or some combination. They are placed adjacent to tiles that have already been played, in such a way that cities are connected to cities, roads to roads, until all tiles are places. Players get points, and the player with the most when all tiles are placed, wins. Here's a video of game play.

The Author's WIsh for Self-Driving Cars -- further down the road?

Carmakers have so far introduced autonomous technology carefully, aware that having too little to worry about behind the wheel can be just as dangerous as having too many distractions. Too slowly for this committed car junkie. After all, what could be more futuristic than jumping into your hovercar, pulling the door downward to close it, keying in your destination, and dozing for two hours until you arrive at the seaside? Well, a jetpack. But, failing personal flight, autonomous driving would finally bring the future to now.

But this MIT article throws cold water on the dream of autodrive mode.

From this article: 'Vehicle automation is being developed at a blistering pace, and it should make driving safer, more fuel-efficient, and less tiring. But despite such progress and the attention surrounding Google's "self-driving" cars, full autonomy remains a distant destination. A truly autonomous car, one capable of dealing with any real-world situation, would require much smarter artificial intelligence than Google or anyone else has developed. The problem is that until the moment our cars can completely take over, we will need automotive technologies to strike a tricky balance: they will have to extend our abilities without doing too much for the driver.'

Post-Weekend Update - Get Outside Already….

This weekend with my kids was 'get the gear ready' weekend, in anticipation of Spring. Is it too early to think about the great outdoors?

It should come as no surprise that being outside helps you, physically and emotionally. Green space is linked to less stress, as this article reports. And, according to Karjalainen and associates at the Finnish Forest Research Institute, one of the most enjoyable activities around can reduce stress and depression, ease muscle tension, counter attention deficit disorder, even calm an erratic heart: a walk in the woods. Ms Karjalainen explains, "Many people feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature."

So my kids and I are prepping for the first hike/camping trip of 2012, but, in the mean time, we're getting the dog outside to air her out, and our own brains. I encourage you to do the same!

Best Gift Possibility - Steve's Car

No, not that Steve. A Porsche once owned by the "King of Cool," Steve McQueen, is being sold at auction this summer. The 1970 911 S was featured in the opening sequence of McQueen's epic, "Le Mans," used as the actor's personal car during the filming of the movie in France. Factoid: the Porsche is painted nearly the same shade of green as the car McQueen is better known for, the Ford Mustang that he drove crazily around San Francisco in the 1968 excellent film “Bullitt.”

More: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/03/14/steve-mcqueens-porsche-sale/#ixzz1hmsQxC5T