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The Daily Grind: I would like to have been there
Launch day, whether it's for a new game or just a new expansion, is usually a pretty crazy time. Everything is new and untested, which means that some builds and classes will be overpowered, some elements of the game aren't working as intended, and there are going to be bugs. But even with all of that, there's something that only can be found in that rush toward the new classes, new level cap, new areas, or even just to see the most of the world in a short span of time. The game is never new again, after all. With our current amount of knowledge about every facet of a game's release schedule, not to mention plenty of open and closed betas to get pre-launch information, we're generally able to be there for any game we want on the ground floor. Still, there are probably games from yesterday that you missed for whatever reason, or games that you didn't play then that you can't play now. What game do you wish you had been involved with from the beginning? Is it a game whose updates massively changed how it worked, a game that didn't last as long as you'd like, or one that's still going but just wasn't on your list back then?
That unique "new Mac" smell
You all know what I'm talking about: the moment you tear open your new Mac and are greeted by that complex combination of a "little bit of plastic bag with a hint of lindenberry followed by a rush of Styrofoam." We all love it. Just like every other Apple product I've purchased new, my MacBook features that same unique scent.I'd forgotten how much I missed it. I purchased my last Mac (a 15" Titanium PowerBook) second hand, from a smoker. Then I spilt a glass of wine on the keyboard which made it pong of cheap rosé. Needless to say, my MacBook smells significantly better than my old Mac. Its scent is amongst my most favorite smells and in my opinion it is second only to the smell of napalm in the morning.Knowing this, you'll understand my disappointment after I Googled "that new Mac smell" and found that research suggests that the smell emanating from new gadgets is very unhealthy. Wikipedia's entry on a similar feature found in cars, "that new car smell", links to research that likens the odor to sniffing glue. There's also an article from 2004 on Geek.com that recounts evidence that toxic fire retardant chemicals found in computers can be transferred to dust. Although the article says that "two of the chemicals in question (penta and octa-brominated diphenyl) have already been banned and will no longer be used in production by the end of this year," I'm forced to reconsider my love of the smell of new Macs.Does anyone have any information that would restore my confidence in my new Mac's smell?
