| Review: Meet me at the Xbox Arcade
Not really; it doesn't offer enough depth to keep you playing for more than a few hours. But it is awfully cute when, after you make a series of good moves, all those bunnies start dancing. Two stars out of four. -"Omega Five" (Hudson, for the Xbox 360, $10): Xbox Live Arcade also has plenty to offer fans of good, old-fashioned shoot-'em-ups, from classics like "Defender" and "Galaga" to modern, high-definition blast-a-thons like "Geometry Wars" and "Every Extend Extra Extreme." "Omega Five" will warm the hearts of gamers who grew up on side-scrolling shooters like "R-Type" and "Gradius." It uses the dual-analog control scheme that's become a standard since "Geometry Wars": You move with the left stick and fire your weapon with the right stick. Enemies attack from all sides, including from the background, so you have to keep moving.
Researchers bunker down amid storm
JUST in time for some of the wildest weather in years on Queensland's Gold Coast, Nick Cartwright hopped into his concrete storm bunker to watch nature do her worst. The 3m deep, 2m diameter "manhole" was built in two stages last year and got its first work-out on December 30, just as south-southeast winds up to 81km/h lashed the coast, shifting sands and whipping up the sea into a storm surge that surpassed the predicted high tide by 1m. Dr Cartwright, an engineering lecturer at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus, received a $268,000 Australian Research Council grant to build the bunker and use it to monitor water levels and the movement of sand during storms. "I was down there over the height of the wave activity over high tide in recent times," he said. "We measured water level at high tide as the waves bashed into the dunes.
Littlies take to life-saving
Thanks to a change in national legislation, children as young as five can now become Nippers, and they are doing so in droves. Statewide, up to 2000 youngsters have signed up, making it the most popular age category for junior activities in Surf Life Saving Queensland. Queensland lifesaving academy manager Peter Gould said lowering the age limit reinforced the message that "you're never too young to learn the basics of water and surf safety". "In the past we've had to turn away young kids because of the age restrictions and that was obviously disappointing," he said. Yesterday at South Bank, three 5-year-olds joined children up to 11 for the "City Nippers" program. First-timer Oliver Nash, 5, of Ashgrove, said it would be good to save lives, but for now he was content to just have some fun.
Investors to get some money back
The state Department of Securities alleged Raglin and Layne were operating a Ponzi scheme, a pyramid scheme in which investors are promised high returns but are paid through new investments. Checks totaling about $365,000 were mailed to the investors Friday, said Oklahoma Department of Securities attorney Patty LaBarthe. LaBarthe said the money Raglin and Layne received for memberships went for a lavish lifestyle for Raglin, including a new house, several Lexus vehicles, a Mercedes vehicle and other luxury items. She said the department found none of the money invested. The department sought and got a freeze on Raglin's and Layne's funds, as well as Raglin Industries funds. There were hundreds of claims to go through, LaBarthe said. A few more claims are being pursued and when they are resolved there possibly could be some more money distributed, she said.
Last night's TV
Possibly not the best way to go about winning her back. Carolyn and Eliot were immediately attracted to each other. She liked his muscles and weapons; he liked her skimpy outfits and enormous boobs. They hung out, went to romantic restaurants, got jiggy. Lee and the kids wait miserably for Mom to come back. So far she's only been virtually unfaithful. This is Wonderland: Virtual Adultery and Cyberspace Love (BBC2), a fascinating but worrying film about Second Life, the online world where people go to escape the mundanity of their real lives. Here they can be beautiful, live in amazing houses, afford anything, and - in many cases - cheat. Sounds brilliant. I need to get involved. Second Life, here I come. Goodbye Dollis Hill, hello tropical beach-side palace with dolphins in the fountains.
URI’s Muns heads to drawing board
Jaclyn Muns should have the easiest job at the University of Rhode Island. As the new coordinator of marketing and promotions, she gets to sell the entertaining and successful men's basketball team. The 15-2, nationally ranked men's basketball team has won more games than any other in the Atlantic 10 this season. Muns should be able to stroll about campus on game days and simply direct hordes of students down the hill to the Ryan Center. Or wander the corridors of the State House like many a lobbyist and hand out maps to Kingston to legislators who might want to catch the Runnin' Rams. In fact, Muns has a challenging mission. Despite Rhody's sparkling record, the outstanding play of Will Daniels, the dramatic shooting of Jimmy Baron, the improvement of point guard Parfait Bitee, the athleticism of super subs Lamonte Ulmer and Keith Cothran and the spirited defense of Kahiem Seawright, the Rams are not drawing the way you'd think a Top 25 team would draw.
No booyah for Bucknell?
For the most part, he kept his limbs in check and his outbursts to a minimum as he assailed private industry and the government's refusal, and perhaps inability, to regulate that market. He encouraged the students in the audience, "As future citizen capitalists you must not embrace the unrequited love of the government for private industry." The government, he continued, is foolish to think it can sit back while the market rights itself. "Do not be fooled by the sirens of laissez-faire. Be wise enough to see that government regulation is a necessary evil to curb the viciousness and callousness of the marketplace," Cramer advised. He later asked, "Don't we see that this form of hands off democracy has been tried before and has failed?," then scoffed at one action the government has considered in response to an economic slump.
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