There has been a great emphasis on change coming from all fronts lately. The most prominent emphasis coming from the current political candidates, with each promoting change in the way things are done in Washington. Whichever candidate wins the election will result in changes in Washington. Some people will lose their jobs while others will gain new jobs. Attitudes will change and the decision making process will change. This is inevitable.

This got me thinking about other changes, especially changes as they relate to the retired or nearly retired population. It also got me to thinking about some interesting things about society in general.

Of course one of the biggest changes the newly retired individual faces is the different daily routine from being accountable to an employer or business. The retiree needs to find the appropriate rhythm for his or her lifestyle, that rhythm that continues to help give their life meaning. Some retirees may discover that they will need to experiment to find the retirement lifestyle they are comfortable with while others have it all planned out.

Most of us have seen the missives passed around by email over the years comparing life today to that of 25 or 50 years ago. We become amazed at the change that has taken place just within our lifetime and wonder what more could there be for our children or grandchildren?

Some of us can remember the first television sets and how they grew from table top sets to consoles with built in AM/FM radio receivers and turntables that played records (even 78 rpm's). The fact that this new gadget commenced to utilize our time didn't matter. We then began to desire television that could travel with us and thus the portable battery operated television came on the market. Now we didn't have to miss our favorite shows. Then we wanted color and we got color. Change. Was it good? Only you can decide for yourself.

I was doing some reading this past week on another change that has taken place over many years. This change has to do with how earlier societies are able to communicate with later societies.

Prehistoric (before written history) societies communicated with petroglyphs. These were stone etchings or carvings that were used as an early form of communication to those that would follow. Some petroglyph images probably had deep cultural and religious significance for the societies that created them; in many cases this significance remains for their descendants. Some researchers have noticed the resemblance of different styles of petroglyphs across different continents; while it is expected that all people would be inspired by their surroundings, it is harder to explain the common styles.

From petroglyphs society moved on to pictograms and ideograms with pictograms being drawn images of objects similar to photographs today and ideograms being drawn images representing ideas or concepts. Ideograms are still in use today especially on highway and street signs. Ever notice the drawing of an airplane on a sign pointing to the exit for an airport? That is an ideogram.

From there society moved on to actual writing. While it took a few years to progress to where we are today, putting together words in a sequence and format that matches our particular language has allowed for us to accumulate a wealth of information, much of which has been transferred to a physical medium such as paper and bound in books for future generations and societies to enjoy. Will they last as long as the petroglyphs? I'm not so sure, but then even some of them are lost. One thing about both the prehistoric petroglyphs and modern historic writings is that once they were published there was no changing them.

How about today in our digital world? What are we leaving for future societies? What will they discover about us? Will they be able to decipher our digital writings of today and if they do can we ensure that they won't be changed to suit the needs of that future society? How often do we see articles forwarded to us by those we trust with the note "checked out by Snopes.com"? If we have a tough time discovering what is true, how will future societies know what is true?

As retirees we share common life experiences with others in our generation. While we may not directly impact future societies individually, we will have an impact collectively. Where we will have a direct impact is in leaving our legacy to the generation following us and possibly to 3 or 4 other generations.

How will we do that?

What will we pass on to our children and our grandchildren that will give them an indication of what was important to us? Did you save your journals on 5 1/4" floppy discs hoping to pass them on? Can you find a computer today that will read them? At least we know that they will be able to read the written journal.

What about today's modern pictograph, the Scrapbook? But will this tell the whole story? With technology where it is today, photographs can be manipulated to the point where fake pictures can look very realistic. I know that early on when I was taking digital photos I experimented with digitally cutting my granddaughter out of her mother's arms from a picture in Texas and placing her on the sand of a beach in San Diego. I'm not sure if that picture has ended up in a scrapbook or not.

As a husband, father, grandfather, and hopefully someday a great grandfather, I don't wish to be immediately forgotten but how do I pass on to my family and collectively as a society what is important?

Numerous changes have taken place over the millenniums. Have these changes been for the good?

Don't forget your KINDLE

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Written and produced by Donnie MacGowan; narrated by Frank Burgess. Videography by Donnie MacGowan and Frank Burgess.

Along the side of the centuries-old Ka'u-Puna trail, worn smooth by generations of travelers, in the area of the Hill of Long Life (Pu'u Loa) lies the largest petroglyph field in Polynesia It is estimated that the Pu'u Loa field contains in excess of 15,000 carvings. A one mile segment of this ancient trail, from the parking lot along the Chain of Craters Road to the petroglyphs, has been marked with cairns (or "ahu") by the Park staff to lead visitors to the petroglyphs. As you hike along this trail, notice the smoothness of the lava, the sheen on the trail worn by generations of travelers' feet.

There are many theories concerning the origin and meanings of these carvings but one thing is certain. People stopped here for hundreds of years and left their mark on the stone. Among the designs are simple holes, spirals, concentric circles, human forms and others which are unrecognizable geometric shapes. The hills and swales of pahoehoe surrounding the boardwalk contain thousands more petroglyphs, but due to their fragility, you are advised to remain on the boardwalk to keep from damaging them.

Pu'u Loa, the hill at the margin of the boardwalk, is the place where Hawai'ians came to bury the umbilical chord of their children. People came from all over the Hawai'ian Islands to bury their child's piko, or umbilical chord stump, in this place of "mana" (Hawai'ian for power), the home of the Goddess Pele. Grinding out a cup-shaped hole, the Hawai'ians would place the piko in the ground to insure long life, and good grace from the Goddess, for their child.

Remember that these carvings, though many hundreds of years old, are extremely fragile so remain on the boardwalk—do not step into the petroglyph field, even for a better view, or onto the carvings themselves. The boardwalk passes by hundreds of carvings near enough for you to examine them minutely and photograph the completely. This self-guided tour takes about 1 hour.

For more information about touring Hawaii in general or visiting the Big Island in particular, go to www.tourguidehawaii.com and www.tourguidehawaii.blogspot.com.

Well, we off-roaded for about an hour after we left the highway. When we tumbled out of the truck, this is the view that greeted us.

Very, very nice. After a few minutes of wistful gazing, we headed off to find our littoral prey.

This section of the island has littoral cones all along the shoreline. They're the distant hills in that picture. Here is a closer view.

We had to climb the cones, find likely samples, break them open with a rock hammer, see if they were glassy and non-stratified enough, and then fill a whole bag with similar samples. Essentially, I spent the day smashing rocks with a hammer. It's really a fun activity!

Our lunch break afforded me the opportunity to take a few pictures. You need to click the last one to appreciate it fully.

To say the waves were stunning would be an understatement. Eating lunch on a beach while trying to scrape basalt chunks out from under my fingernails has to be one of the best ways to enjoy a sandwich I've ever attempted.

We collected samples from 6 littoral cones and then headed back to HVO. On the way we stopped by some petroglyphs and I was able to get a shot.

Sometimes I still can't believe I'm a geologist. It's incredibly hard work, but worth every second. I remind myself of that when I feel like whining about doing something difficult. Hard work does have its rewards, and that's why I'm working my butt off here in paradise.

Not sure if its the same price instores but will let you know if I get the chance to check.

Link to GAME

The next day, I was debating with myself about taking a planned circle tour of the island on my bike, mostly to see the ancient petroglyphs that are down at the other end. I fought with myself about it, I was tired, I could always see them next time. But I thought to myself, what would my new friend/hitchhiking buddy say if I wussed out?

According to the description on Car-Free BC, the petroglyphs are quite faded and eroded from years of exposure to people taking rubbings of them, weather, and worst, people just walking right on top of them. The best time to go see them is later in the day, when the sun is not directly overhead and shadows throw the shallow carvings into relief.

To keep traffic to the originals to a minimum, Gabriola's museum has created a petroglyph park on its grounds with reproductions of the petroglyphs, so people can take rubbings and pictures. As a former student of archaeology, however, I wanted to see the real thing.

I kept looking at the map, measuring the distance. I wasn't even sure I wanted to ride the hill out of the campground. But off I went, convincing myself it would be alright as long as the road generally sloped downhill (it didn't). I rode on and on, past fields, houses, the golf course, with occasional glimpses of the sea. The site turned out to be 12 km away. Still, riding was a good way to see the island, and drivers on Gabriola are pretty good about giving cyclists room on the road.

By the time I found the site, which is located behind the United Church on South Road, I didn't think I wanted to ride back. At all. A couple other tourists rode up in a SUV that looked like it might fit a tired girl and her bike. They avoided eye contact - maybe they knew what I was thinking.

I walked up the path, which leads into a field of dry grasses and flat outcroppings. I walked around the outcroppings, most of which appeared to be blank. I came all this way for this? I thought. But there was no rush - if I waited and looked long enough, the petroglyphs might begin to reveal themselves. Magically, they did.

Note: I have enhanced these images a little bit to make them easier to see.

Some were fairly visible to the naked eye:

Others were less obvious, and could really only be seen with the help of a bit of shadow. I found that sometimes looking through them through the camera helped pick them up:

Still others seemed to be only partly visible, though after the fact, I could reasonably identify with the help of a catalogue put together by the museum and the local First Nations band:

After taking a few passes through the park, and feeling suitable outrage at the sight of a family tromping merrily over the rocks as they walked through the area, I had no choice but to get back on the bike. Rather than backtrack, I decided to cut up Peterson Road and return to the campsite via North Road. There are several pretty bays and such to visit on that end of the island, but I was feeling too tired to make the effort.

North Road cuts through a nature preserve and is a scenic ride with trees arching over the road. Lots of shade for a sweaty cyclist. But for the most part, it slightly inclines upwards, and I was feeling defeated by every hill. There were relatively small hills that I would go into first gear for, spinning my way up, before jumping off and pushing the bike, cursing. Trucks and vans passed me and I thought about hitching, but damn this sense of self-sufficiency that started me on the road in the first place. Mostly, I tried to think about the wine and cheese (Baby Bel!) I had waiting back at the campsite.

About halfway back, the road finally started to slope downwards again... whee! I went spinning down past farms and houses before FUUUCK! a huge hill. But at the top was the little town centre, and beyond that, the steep hill down to the ferry terminal and nearby, camp. I made it!

I was so tired, I didn't even feel like going swimming. I rested, I ate cheese and crackers, drank that wine, and watched the sun go down from right out on the head of the bay. Perhaps three days of sunset-watching is overkill, but how often do you watch sunsets at home?

Speaking of home I was ready - for a hot bath, a hot meal, and a comfy bed. Note to self: stuffing clothing in a pillowcase may save space, but it doesn't make for excellent sleep. In the morning, I again methodically packed up camp, ate up most of my leftover food, and strapped the load to the bike, which I still didn't feel much like riding.

I again rode the pathway between ferry terminals, still clogged by the oldies and mamas with their broods, with a strong headwind for extra fun. This time, it was the thought of a hot cup of coffee on the ferry that kept my legs pumping.

Donovan met me at Horseshoe Bay, took my bike and removed the baggage. I was happy to see him again. I may soon be able to get back on the bike, too.

In den letzten Tagen war ich im Pamirgebirge in der tajikischen autonomen Provinz Badakhshan unterwegs. Nach dem Adrenalinkick vom Flug (Dushanbe – Khorog) habe ich mit einer netten Dolmetscherin den Nachmittag in Khorog verbracht. Am nächsten Tag ging es in einem chinesischen Minibus (das sind die $ 1000 Wägelchen, die in Europa nicht durch die TÜV-Tests kommen) ins Wakhan Tal. Man fährt die ganze Zeit an der tajikisch-afghanischen Grenze entlang. Die Landschaft ist wirklich atemberaubend schön! Dazu hat die Gegend auch das nötige zu bieten. Ich nenne nur mal die auf englisch „Hot springs“ genannte Warmwasserquellen, die es im südlichen Teil der Provinz reichlich gibt. Männer und Frauen baden getrennt. Manche dieser hot springs sind wunderschön und sind mehr als angenehm. Mann kennt hier keine Douches, deshalb benutzen die Bewohner die hot springs als öffentliche Bäder.

Badakshan hat unter dem Bürgerkrieg der 90’er Jahre des letzten Jahrhunderts stark gelitten. Die Gegend hat ausser Bergen nichts zu bieten und war vollkommen auf Regierungshilfe angewiesen. Alles ausser Wasser musste aus Dushanbe und vorher Moskau eingeflogen werden. Nun müssen die Pamiri, wie die Bevölkerung hier genannt wird, sich selber irgendwie retten. Die Folge: man wahnt sich in Afrika, dann allerdings im Schnee und auf 4.000 Meter Höhe. Die kleinen Felder werden wieder mit Ochsen bestellt und alles andere wird per Hand gemacht. Geld für Sprit hat man hier nicht, deshalb sieht man hier auch keine Traktors mehr. Afghanistan liegt zwar auf der anderen Seite des Flusses, aber es wird da nicht viel anders aussehen als auf der tajikischen Seite.

Die Gastfreundschaft der hiesigen Menschen kennt wortwörtlich keine Grenzen. Wie oft wir hier zum Essen und Tee Trinken eingeladen werden, kann ich schon gar nicht mehr zählen. Es hat auf jeden Fall viele schöne Bilder der Menschen aus dieser Region geführt.

Mit meinem Fahrer hatte ich am Anfang ein Problem. Er arbeitet nicht für die Firma, wo ich meine Tour gebucht hatte und somit war ich für ihn nur ein Taxifahrer, der selber schon wissen sollte, was er sehen möchte. Ich wiederum ging davon aus, dass der Fahrer genau alle wichtigen Orte und Plätze kennen würde. Tat er aber nicht. Zum Glück war sein Neffe mitgekommen, der gut englisch sprach. Da ich eine sehr detaillierte Liste aus dem Internet (mit allen Sehenswürdigkeiten) bei hatte, konnten wir durch Improvisation doch vieles machen. Ich sagte, was ich wo sehen wollte, und der Neffe fragte dann im jeweiligen Dorf nach, wo zum Beispiel die Tempel, Ruinen usw. waren. Ich konnte zwar nicht alles sehen, was auf meiner Liste stand, dafür führte die improvisierte Tour zu Ereignissen, die normale Touristen nie in ihrem Leben erleben würden.

Nach zwei Tagen im Wakhan Tal (immer mit atemberaubenden Blich auf den Hindukush!!!!) kam ich am dritten Tag endlich auf den bekannten Pamir Highway. Der ist wirklich gottverlassen, am „verkehrsdichtesten Tag“ sind uns gerade ganze 4 Autos begegnet. Die Landschaft scheint hier nicht so spektakulär. Man befindet sich aufm Highway durchschnittlich über 3.500 Meter und dann erscheinen die 6.000’er Berge eher klein! Mit der Höhe hatte ich keine Probleme, auch nicht, als ich auf 4.000 Meter übernachtet habe. Das war in Karakul, kurz vor der Grenze mit Kyrgystan. Da konnte ich China vor der Haustür sehen (nur aus 100 Meter Entfernung). Und wenn man sich in Karakul umdreht und über den gleichnamigen See schaut, sieht man in 60 Kilometer Entferung den Pik Lenin, eins der höchsten Berge der Provinz (etwa 7.100 Meter). In Karakul gab es Nachtfrost, hier habe ich meine Winterklamotten dankbar benutzt.

Kurz noch ein Paar Worte zur Tierwelt. Ich war überrascht, dass es auf 4.000 Meter Höhe noch so viele Tiere zu sehen gibt. Ausser den Yaks (leckerer Butter!) und den ewigen Eseln gibt es sogar noch Vögel, wenn auch nur wenige. Im Wakhan Tal habe ich sogar aus nächster Nähe einen Adler fotografieren können, welch ein imposantes Tier! Und am niedlichsten fand ich die Bergmarmotten, die hier etwa einen halben Meter groß werden. Diese Tiere sieht man überall und werden auch (wegen Fell und Öl) gejagt, aber nicht gegessen. Das verbietet der Koran nämlich.

Badakhshan, welch eine bitterarme und zugleich durch die Warmhärzigkeit der Menschen reiche Gegend!

Die Bergen, hier in der Naehe von Khorog. Hier gibt es noch Baeume

Frauen bereiten das Essen in einem typischen Pamiri-Haus vor:

Ein so genannter "hot spring" (Heisswasserquelle) - SUPER um darin zu baden:

Ein Mazar, davon gibt es ganz viele. Die Hoerner stammen von den Marco Polo Schafen. Es ist ein kleiner heiliger Ort:

Such was the importance that the Region is currently named after it. How to get to Tarapaca? The road to get to Tarapacá is simple, from Huara take the international road to Colchane. At km 14 on the road to the left you will find the Unita Hill with the amazing Gigante de Atacama geoglyph.

Km 23 turn right and go down a short slope. At the end of the slope you can take the road to the west leading to Huarasiña, small town with mainly old aymara population. Going back on the same road, just at the detour, follow the road going into the creek. There is another detour to the left in memory of the Battle of Tarapacá. It is supposed that this is the location originally known as San Lorenzo and where Chilean Commander Eleuterio Ramírez was killed. Take the road back and go to Tarapaca town, where you will find Tarapacá Church. Every August 10^th takes place San Lorenzo de Tarapacá celebration, patron saint of miners and drivers, and the second in importance in the region after La Tirana. In front of the church is the square, surrounded by the public primary school, houses and two small stores, one with a restaurant. I recommend walking on the streets of Tarapacá; the architecture is beautiful, simple and could be described as the typical Peruvian style found in the creeks of the region. To follow up the creek take the road to the river. Generally, the creek is very hot during the year and it is certainly quite tempting to go to the river and refresh in the “Andean waters” but be careful with the “jergeles” and the “polvoritas”, tiny mosquitoes whose bites may be very annoying. Crossing the river you will find the cemetery to the left, in front of the original settlement location of Tarapacá. Follow the road upstream and you will see the rock outcrops at the north wall are more spectacular along the road, long stretches keep the marks of some alluvial or fluvial deposits and you can clearly see sedimentary layers in different colours. Along the road you can see ruins of old settlements such as Quillahuasa, which hardly has a sign identifying it. After 30 km approx. from Tarapacá you get to Pachica (see post on Pachica). From Pachica you can take an internal road to Lirima and Cancosa, which I haven’t done yet and according to information I have received, the road is somehow rough. You can also follow the road upstream the creek to end in Laonzana, delight for geologists due to the amazing fossils found by the road. As you can see, Tarapacá is full of surprises for different interests, archaeology, history, geology and probably many others to be discovered yet. 

HISTORY OF TARAPACÁ

In order to understand the importance of Tarapacá, I think it is essential to make a brief comment on its history. The fact of being an ancestral gathering spot, then the colonial Spanish base and further in time the stage for one of the most bloody battles in the War of the Pacific, make this place has a huge historical load, which shouldn’t be unnoticed. Tarapacá is outstanding from the archaeological point of view. It holds one of the most extensive petroglyph collections I have seen in the region, besides geoglyhps and evidence of ceramics, textile and shell mounds. Caserones settlement must be highlighted, at the south hill, over Huarasiña. It is not easy to get there, it must be done during winter season when the river is low (you must cross it), 4×4 vehicle required. During its first stage Caserones could be classified in the same time as Punta Pichalo in Pisagua and Quiani in Arica, that is to say about 4000 A.D. (first pre-agroalfarero period). During the second stage, about 1000 A.D, Caserones is classified in the same time as Conanoxa in Camarones and Ascotán development in Salar de Atacama. In the final stage it was a real “city” for its time, consisting of more than 500 circular rooms, made of “adobe” (poured and towelled mud) with central Algarrobo wood pillars. This was a binding stop place for chasquis and caravans on their road from Titicaca and Arica during the Tiwanaku horizon to Huatacondo, San Pedro de Atacama and other places to the south or the coast. Many centuries after that, Tarapacá would be the colonial capital of the province. History reads that Diego de Almagro arrived in Tarapacá in 1536, coming on the Inca Road from Arequipa and Cuzco. In May 1540, Pedro de Valdivia came from Cuzco with 20 soldiers, and Inés de Suarez waits here for reinforcements from the highlands: Rodrigo de Araya from Chinchas and Francisco de Villagra from Tarija. After that, the lands of Tarapacá are granted as “encomienda” (control over land and Indians granted to an “encomendero”) to Corregimiento de Arica founded in 1565. The chapel dates form 1613 and the parish is established in 1685. It seems that originally Tarapacá was settled at the south hill of the creek, in front of the current cemetery, but a river flood destroyed the town and the population; this would have caused the town to be located in the current position. The “Corregimiento de Tarapacá” was founded in 1768 with departments: Camiña, Sibaya, Tarapacá and Pica up to Loa River. Tarapacá remained as the capital, with a Governor and Town Council until 1855, when the government was moved to Iquique. 

Battle of Tarapacá 

After the Chilean victory in San Francisco, José Francisco Vergara headed to Tarapacá on November 24^th 1879 with 412 men from Zapadores, Artilleros and Granaderos a Caballo regiments, and two artillery pieces. After gaining various information on the number of men of the Allied Army in Tarapacá, which according to sources varied from 1,500 to 4,000; he decided to ask for help to the Headquarters leaded by General Escala. In order to avoid risks, Escala decided that 2^nd Line Regiment, Artillería de Marina Regiment, Chacabuco Batallion, 30 Cazadores a Caballo, plus one Artillery Battery joined Vergara, accounting for 1,900 men, all of them leaded by General Arteaga. Vergara had left Dibujo (undefined location yet, but should be between Negreiros and Amelia Nitrate Office) and Arteaga left to join Vergara at Pampa Iluga (or Isluga, possibly located near Unita Hill or south from Huarasiña according to some maps). When they both met, the soldiers were more than one day without food and water, and without the strength to go back, there was nothing left but heading to Tarapacá. With the two Divisions there were 2,281 men, less than half of the allied forces. The attack plan was defined incorrectly; the forces would be separated into 3 groups. Commander Santa Cruz had to move over Quillahuasa, Arteaga had to attack Tarapacá and Eleuterio Ramírez had to go in through Huarasiña towards San Lorenzo de Tarapacá. Santa Cruz division is lost in the “camanchaca” (dense and thick fog), but when the fog cleared he realized he is over Tarapacá and decided to take the road back to his original destination, but they had been already discovered. His division was being destroyed, they had to retreat until Arteaga division showed up, which slightly balanced the situation and made Peruvian force to retreat. At the same time, Ramírez was moving forward through Huarasiña, knowing it was a lost battle; two of the Chilean divisions were at the top and most of the Peruvian forces were in the creek. The only solution was a final Cavalry charge, which surprises the Peruvian army and achieve their withdrawal. But victory was temporary. The troops went desperately to drink water and have something to eat, and Arteaga gives the order to prepare food, without vigilance, assuming Peruvian troops would definitely withdraw as well as they did in San Francisco. In the meantime, Peruvian Generals met, they waited for the divisions coming from Pachica and use this Chilean truce to attack. The Peruvian attack was unstoppable, Arteaga ordered withdrawal but the Chilean troops could not withstand. Standard bearer of 2^nd Line Regiment, Telésforo Barahona died not releasing the standard, which is protected by his comrade-in-arms who fall one by one, and which is finally taken. Ramírez, after being wounded twice, is taken to a house by his men, and is finally killed by Lieutenant Rodríguez of Zepita Batallion, then, he burned the house full of injured people. Arteaga ordered the withdrawal to the few men alive. Peruvian General Buendía decided to retreat from Tarapacá for fear of Chilean reprisal after the battle, which would set the end of Tarapacá Campaign. Although the Peruvian army, because we can’t say allied anymore, won this battle, it definitely lost Tarapacá Region. Maybe after reading this brief text on Tarapacá history it would be possible to understand the energy existing in the place. Too many emotions and feelings are floating on the creek, also known after the battle as the “accursed creek”. This episode certainly left a mark.  

A petroglyph @ Petroglyph National Monument

While we were in New Mexico, The Coach and I stopped by Petroglyph National Monument. In the back of my mind, I knew it was an urban park ... but it really didn't register that it would be *suburban* if you know what I mean. I've been to parks in cities before and many of them had enough trees to make me feel secluded from civilization. Yeah, that was so not the case at Petroglyph. Although I found the rock art intriguing and the hike up the path a bit, well, daunting, this is probably not a park that I would revisit in the future. Why? I give you the scene from the top of the monument:

Blah. I fuckin' hate urban sprawl. Hate it with the passion of a thousand firey suns. The one positive thing I can say is this: At least these people are not trying to grow green grassy yards in the middle of the desert.

Si hace algo más de dos semanas os colgamos varios trailers e imágenes del 'Universe at War: Earth Assault', ahora le toca el turno a la demo, por cortesía de WorthPlaying y de Gamershell.

Antes de comentaros mis impresiones, decir que el juego llegará traducido y doblado, incluso con el título del juego ('El Universo en Guerra: Asalto a la Tierra'), pero yo prefiero seguirlo llamando por su nombre original. Nunca me gustaron esos cambios.

Una vez descargados los 1.2 gigas que pesa la demo, el juego no puede empezar de mejor manera. Una intro en plan 'La Guerra de los Mundos' con los humanos enfrentándose a la facción de los Hyerarchy. Poca resistencia oponen, ya que la fuerza de ataque de los segundos es muy superior, especialmente por el 'Walker'. Aunque al final los que se llevan el gato al agua son los futuristas Novus, que arrasan con todo a su paso. Un espectáculo digno de ver. Esperemos que a lo largo de las misiones se intercalen imágenes de tal calibre, que le dan más vidilla.

Ya en el menú principal, pocas opciones tendremos a nuestra disposición: acceso al tutorial, iniciar la misión con los Hyerarchy y las clásicas opciones de juego (ajuste de audio, vídeo, controles, etc), aparte de poder admirar de nuevo la intro.

Del tutorial bien se puede prescindir, porque aparte de lo lento que es (por cada acción bien hecha tendremos que esperar al "Objetive Completed"), pocas cosas nos dicen que no supiésemos ya de juegos de la misma temática. Al menos un detalle que me gustó, aunque me da que no es el primero en implementarlo, es el hecho de que con doble click nos desplazaremos rápidamente a una zona evitando cualquier ataque, mientras que con una pulsación atacaremos a todo lo que se nos encuentre en nuestro paso hasta llegar a la zona deseada. Aparte de eso, nos explicarán el peculiar funcionamiento del 'Walker', al cual deberemos proteger a toda costa.

Una vez iniciada la primera misión de los Hyerarchy, tendremos a nuestra disposición al héroe Orlok (habrá tres por facción), acompañado de su séquito se seguidores Grunt, los cuales llevan como arma una escopeta de plasma. Nuestro objetivo será destruir varias bases de los Novus, recibiendo periódicamente refuerzos hasta la llegada del 'Walker'.

Lo llamativo de esta gigantesa unidad es el hecho de que le podremos reforzar distintas partes de su cuerpo, ya sea endureciendo su armadura, implantándole torretas, aumentando su velocidad de desplazamiento o incluso creando cápsulas para crear unidades de ataque, ya sean Grunts o Lost One. Además, si no estamos a gusto con las mejoras realizadas, podremos cambiarlas según nuestras necesidades en combate. Todo un detalle.

Completada la sencilla y poca vistosa misión en Egipto, la segunda se antoja más sabrosa. Después de un ataque por parte de los humanos, los Hyerarchy se desplazan a los EEUU para eliminar sus lanzaderas de misiles. Aquí ya podremos crear nuestra base a gusto y ver muchas unidades nuevas: Glyph Carver (el clásico obrero), Reaper Drone (recolector de recursos) o el Monolith (unidad de vigilancia muy interesante, ya que se teletransporta y cuanto más rato esté quieta, mayor campo de visión nos proporcionará). Además, también crearemos varias estructuras, como una especie de radar y unas torretas a las que les podremos añadir una mejora con gas venenoso.

No sé a vosotros, pero a mi me ha causado buena impresión el juego, y eso que lo jugué en mi portátil con la calidad gráfica al mínimo. Se ven buenas ideas dentro de un género demasiado estancado (la comparación con el 'Starcraft' es inevitable, pero ambos pueden coexistir tranquilamente), aparte de que viene acompañado de una banda sonora facturada por Frank Klepacki, todo un veterano en la saga 'Command and Conquer'. De hecho, la música que acompañará a la facción de los Hyerarchy recuerda vagamente a la del futurista 'Tiberian Sun'. Además, os recuerdo que se podrán enfrentar online los usuarios de PC contra los de la Xbox 360.

Por mi parte, compra segura. ¿Y a vosotros, os ha gustado la demo?

Vía | WorthPlaying
Sitio oficial | sega.com
Descargar | Universe at War: Earth Assault - Demo (WorthPlaying)
Link alternativo | Gamershell

The trip was very nice short of my dropping the camera three times - the last time may have done it in. My knees are very sore - just from the rocks. It was a nice day to be on the bike!

Here's panoramic videos from the tops of the three different volcanoes:

Here's batch of photos as well:

The Blackhand,
its fragments now washed by the waters and
sacred sand of the Licking River,
once watched over this place where no man
would raise his hand against another man.

I hope my hands are black with the soil of the life I live.
As I stand before the now barren cliff,
I pray for a world that wears a Blackhand petroglyph.

6/18/03

Petroglyph and Pictograph are typically studied by archaeologists and linguists as they provided some insights to ancient cultures and languages. Any new discovery will attracted scientists to study it. Scientists usually attached some cultural or religious significance to them. But I am a vulgar person. I am sure I wasn't the first person thought of it being graffiti? If so, did the person or persons do this got prosecuted?

Things are not always what they seemed to be. Do we often judge others too soon? What we consider strange or unorthodox today maybe the norm in the future? Should we be more tolerant of others who may be eccentric or different by today’s standard? Religions have always shown to be less tolerant of different ideas. Many people had died because of them and many more will suffer the same fate. Would we be better of without them?

I pondered that for a while then moved on to the beautiful Canyonlands and thought of how lucky those people were to live in such a gorgeous place and we were to be able to visit it.