Then on black background (same floss colours - this is the white Stig, not the early black Stig) for my brother:

And when you put them together:

Just so classy. So darn classy it hurts.

What this basic script does is monitor the active dynamic pool DHCP leases on the server (assuming CentOS, can't speak for other Linux variants) and email a given address with the lease information. My assumption when writing this (based on where I planned to use it) is that the server uses static DHCP leases for all permanent equipment, so you want to be notified by email when something gets a temporary lease, and that anything given a temporary lease is either going to be disconnected (if unauthorized) or given a static lease (if authorized), so the temporary lease pool should usually be empty. Perhaps, based on this, I should have called it 'DHCP Snitch', but it's too late to change it now. The script should be scheduled to run via cron at the desired interval (I use fifteen minutes, which is frequent enough for me), and it will only email once when it detects a new lease. As a downside, if a second lease is given out before the first is cleared, it will not send a second email. I do have vague plans to modify it to notify on each new lease, but that's for 'later'.

The logic is dead simple, it pretty much just greps the dhcpd.leases file for the 'active' string, then mails the specified email address with the lines above and below it in the file (for context), so long as the sent email file doesn't exist in the /tmp/ folder. If there are no leases active, and the sent email file exists, it deletes it. That's it:

#!/bin/sh
#DHCP Cop - alerts via email when new temporary DHCP address is leased
#Set to run at desired interval via cron. 
#Emails one time when there is a new active lease
#Will not email again until after there are no active leases for at least one check

if grep -q "binding state active" /var/lib/dhcp/dhcpd.leases; then
  if [ -e /tmp/dhcpemail.txt ]; then
    exit
  else
    SUBJECT="New DHCP Lease on $HOSTNAME"
    ADDRESS="user@example.com"
    BODY="/tmp/dhcpemail.txt"
    grep -A 8 -B 3 "binding state active;" /var/lib/dhcp/dhcpd.leases > $BODY
    /bin/mail -s "$SUBJECT" "$ADDRESS" < $BODY
  fi

else
  if [ -e /tmp/dhcpemail.txt ]; then
    rm -f /tmp/dhcpemail.txt
  else
    exit
  fi
fi

I feel that I should have some sort of disclaimer here: This script is offered without any guarantees of functionality. It's just something I threw together that seems to be working for me so far in my environment, and I figured I would share at the world at large in the hopes that someone else would find it useful. Use at your own risk.

The Android Bads

Software

• Can't stop individual programs from loading on startup. Notable offenders on this are ShopSavvy and Note Everything, though Meridian likes to pop up now and then. These programs load automatically shortly after the system starts, and I can't seem to find a setting anywhere in the programs themselves or in Android to prevent it. I only use ShopSavvy once every several weeks and NoteEverything only every couple of days or so, I certainly don't need them running all the time just in case (presumably to save time when the program is eventually started?). I don't know if it slows everything else down or not, but it is annoying. This is still a minor problem, but it seems that the Android OS seems to be pretty smart about getting killing unused processes when it needs the memory. It still bugs me that they load at all, but it doesn't seem to have any negative effects.
• The calendar application is terrible. Terrible enough that I am going to write another entry on that alone. For now, I'll just say that my first PDA (Palm III) did the calendar better a decade ago, and it seems like whoever designed the Android calendar app never used it or anything since then. (Update Sept5/10) Updates to the calendar app with Froyo have improved the situation somewhat, though a lot of other issues remain. I may actually get around to writing the complete list one of these days, but the list is shorter now, at least.
• On a related note, updating applications is way too clunky. When there is a new update to apply, it takes four presses to start it (select item from list, select "Update", hit OK, hit OK again). This seems to me like about two too many. It gets even worse when there are a dozen or so applications to update. Ideally what I would like to see would be a 'keep installed programs up to date' option that popped up a notification when there is a new update for a program with two options: update now (single click to update) or delay update (which would then require you to go through the normal Market method). Then I'd be happy with it. (Update Sept 5/10) Automatic updating with Froyo. About time.
• Not enough options. I don't know exactly what I would add, but I was quite disappointed when I first dove into the Android settings. I like to be able to change all sorts of things, even when I don't end up doing so. A lot of that sort of thing can be done through programs from the Market (I guess that's the Android way...) (Update Sept 5/10) The combo of CyanogenMod 6 and LauncherPro is packed with options. Almost too many.
• Interface is not always consistent. And I'm not just talking about third party vs first party here. Even between the different Google apps, they don't seem to be doing things the same way. A long press on a list item in, say, your bookmarks brings up a list of options (open, delete, etc), a long press on a calendar in Calendar does... nothing. In order to get to settings for a calendar, you have to select the calendar with the trackball (literally the ONLY TIME you ever do this on the whole phone), then pull up the menu with the menu button, and select 'Settings' (which is the only option there). This specific problem speaks more to the failings of the Calendar app (which I will get in to at a later date), but the concept holds throughout the system. Programs seem free to ignore conventions when they please, and it makes it frustrating when you have to re-learn things for a different program. (Update Sept 5/10) Seems to be getting a lot better as time goes on. Even the calendar issue above is fixed.
• The games suck. See what I wrote up there about third party programs? Same thing for games. Most flash games are better made.  The one exception is Bonsai Blast. That one is really really well done. Too bad I don't really like the game. (Sept 5/10) The quality in the market has gone up immensely. My phone doesn't have enough juice to run them all, but the quality games are finally arriving.
• Strange delay between vibrate and sound. Sometimes the sound and the vibration happen at the same time, other times there can be up to a minute delay between the buzz and the sound. I can't seem to find any rhyme or reason to this, and it annoys me. (Sept 5/10) Fixed in newer revisions (I'm not sure if it's CM or general Froyo that did it, but it's good now)

Hardware

• (added Sept 5/10)Underpowered. This is a first-generation device, and it certainly shows. I can still do most things I want to without problem, but there is frequent lag, programs getting unloaded in the background due to lack of ram, and times when it simply doesn't respond. I still like the phone, and Froyo has helped quite a bit, but it's slowly becoming frustrating to use on a day to day basis due to this.

The Android Goods

Software

• (added Sept 5/10) Voice commands. Pretty much the same as the voice search above, but pretty much system-wide. I can dictate wherever I can type, and use commands for things like sending texts and navigation with a single keypress. So very cool.
• (added Sept 5/10) Navigation. Navigation on par with (or better than) my dad's dedicated Garmin. For free. Integrated with Google's usual quality of search. There are a few places where the maps are a little out of date, but hopefully that'll improve with time
• (added Sept 5/10) Launcher Pro. I don't know if it's fair to give Android credit for a third-party home screen, but this is incredible, and has really made it feel like a new phone at times. The parts that stand out are the scrollable dock, the resizable widgets, and the piles and piles of customization options. It's the first (and so far only) Android app that I've felt the need to pay for, and that's even with the free app being full-featured.

Hardware

• (added Sept 5/10) The hardware buttons. It's not like this has changed since I wrote the original list, but the recent slew of handsets with the terrible touch-sensitive buttons (which, in fairness, I have not actually tried for myself) have made me appreciate the physical, clicky ones that I have now.

So, six bads items removed, one bad added, and four goods added. A net gain of nine; it's been a good year for Android.

Obviously, my opinions have changed. I had a chance to play around with both a Kindle and an older-model Sony Reader (PRS-505) over a weekend back in March, and was quite surprised. I had heard that e-ink screens were nice to read on, but these were just incredible. I was expecting something like my old grey scale Palm screen; readable even in bad light, but nothing to write home about. However, the e-ink screens on those two devices were really quite impressive. I read quite a bit on the two devices (mainly on the Sony Reader, I liked the device a lot more than the Kindle) over the course of that weekend, and decided to buy one for myself.

After I did the research, I ruled out everything except for Sony's offerings.  In short, the Kindle was too expensive and non-open... and all the other options don't exist, so far as Canada is concerned. Easy decision, I guess. The only hard part was choosing between the Sony Reader Touch or the Sony Reader Pocket. I tried both out at LD, and ended up going with the Pocket. It was $100 less, though it sacrificed the touch screen (obviously), card reader, music playback, and a couple other things that I don't remember and can't be bothered to look up (in-line dictionary and photos, I think). Basically, everything but book reading. The thing is, pretty much every other device I have already plays music and has a touch screen. All I really wanted was an ebook reader. And between the two, the Pocket Edition was by far the better for reading, at least to my eyes. The Touch touch layer added a nasty glare that the Pocket didn't have, and I really didn't want to deal with that. So the Pocket Edition it was. Of course, there have been price drops and new products and all sorts of other things going on in the ebook market that makes my carefully-researched decision woefully out of date, but I still think I made the right choice, and I still have a darned good ebook reader.

This is either blue or black, depending on who and when you ask. Right now, I say it's blue.

The Sony Reader Pocket Edition has an aluminum body and feels very solid in the hand, if a little heavy. The menus are pretty simple, consisting of a list of your books sorted in a couple of different ways (title, author, etc). There aren't many options once you are in a book beyond reading, bookmarking, and changing the font (three size options - I rarely take it off of small).  There isn't really too much to talk about here. The buttons are nice and solid, the screen is incredible, it's fast enough to get around, but by no means a powerhouse (you have to be a little patient navigating the menus). In short, it's simple, unobtrusive, and a pleasure to read on. On the PC side, the official Sony software is pretty forgettable, but it works quite well with the open source ebook management software Calibre, and takes all the main ebook formats without any fuss. It is a little sluggish with PDFs, but that isn't an ideal ebook format, so I try to avoid it or pre-convert it on my PC where possible.

The Sony Reader also shares the usual strengths that come along with any ebook reader. The screen is, as I mentioned before, very easy to read. It's not backlit, so it depends entirely on external lighting. This means it has the same visual limitations and strengths as printed material: you need a book lamp or some other source of light to read in the dark, but it is very natural in pretty much any other lighting condition, even direct sunlight. The power-sipping screen is also the major factor in the long battery life.  The battery life of ereaders is commonly claimed in the specs to be measured in weeks, and surprisingly, that isn't an exaggeration. I read practically every day but only charge my reader every two weeks or so, and it rarely reaches below the half-way point. In fact, most of the time I charge it not because it needs the power, but because I'm plugging it into my computer anyway to move over more books.

The biggest draw, of course, is that you can carry hundreds of books in a package roughly the size and half the thickness of a large paperback. My Sony reader has 512MB of memory, and most novels that I have seen so far check in between .3 and 1 MB, so I can easily fit hundreds of full length books on without much of a fuss. Text is tiny, memory is cheap, and the combination of the two means that you never really have to worry about space. It's great.

This, but in my pocket.

Do e-readers have problems? Of course.

First, there's the speed; e-ink isn't the quickest screen technology around. It takes a half-second or so for the page to change each time you hit the button. It's not terrible, and I quickly get into the rhythm of hitting the button a line or two before I finish the page, but it's not easy to flip through a dozen pages or more quickly (as you sometimes want to do in a book to, say, reread a passage from a few pages back). The page change (on every model of ereader that I am aware of at the moment) is also accompanied by a quick flash from white to black to white again. Supposedly this prevents a burn-in type effect and drastically increases the lifespan of the screen (I've heard as much as six times). It's also something that you very quickly filter out, but it's a little distracting at first, and it's certainly the first thing you notice when you get your hands on an e-ink screen for the first time.

Of course, like any media consumption device, you also have the headache of formats to deal with, as ebooks have yet to settle on a single standard. For example, with music there was MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, and so forth.  Ebooks have EPUB, LIT, BBeB, TXT, DOC, PDF, and one or two others. The Sony reader supports the big ones (ePub, PDF, Sony's proprietary BBeB, and some others that I don't really care about), and it's easy enough to convert from one to another if needs be (DRM aside - which is a whole different discussion). It's still another thing to fight with and worry about when managing your library. In the real world, a book is a book.

But do they have leather covers? I think not (except for the ones that do)!

So, if you haven't guessed by now, I am quite fond of ereaders in general and mine in particular. I used to read quite a bit, but I had been reading less and less as time went on. Not for any specific reason, I just found that I wasn't finding the same time or the motivation to sit down with a book that I used to have. However, I will say that in the few months since I got my ereader, I probably have read more than in the whole year previous. Part of it is undoubtedly the novelty of it; technology is fun, and new technology even more so. However, I find myself bringing my reader along when I would not have considered bringing a book due to size, or turning it on knowing I can easily flip to a new book if the one I'm currently reading isn't interesting me a the moment. I'm finding more time to read, more excuses to read, and more things to read. I just find an ereader to be a better, more enjoyable, and more versatile way to read.

And the people who will never give up their physical paper books out of some romantic ideal of books being the only 'real' way to read? Good for them. They can enjoy their books, the future will still be here when they want to join us.

And it is awesome.

In a nutshell, Okami is beautiful, charming, and innovative. However, it is also long, frustrating, and derivative.

Note: If you are seeing this line, it has been nine months since I started writing this post and it has been put up in its unfinished state. It seems, like the game itself, I just can't find the energy or motivation to finish it. Perhaps I'll get back to it one day...

These are the notes that I took while dealing with Rogers, with minor edits for clarification.

Feb 20 (Sat)- Update ROM to Cyanogen. Tried to sign waiver (with phone number and IMEI), but it did not accept my phone.

Feb 21 (Sun)- Data working properly until late evening/early 22nd

*Feb 22 (Mon)- ~6:30pm No data in the morning, Call #1 to Rogers. Told they will add the IMEI to the waiver, should work in 24-48 hrs

*Feb 24 (Wed) - ~7:00 Call #2, told it was escalated, told to wait an additional 24-48 hrs

*Feb 27 (Sat) - Call #3 (Afternoon, do not recall exact time), told that IMEI was added on the 25th (3 days after original call, day after second call), should work by 9PM that day. Rep suggested talking to customer care after to get compensated somehow. Waiver still did not work that day at 10PM.

Feb 28 (Sun) - No data, form still doesn't work. Didn't call in.

**March 2 (Tuesday) - ~10 AM Get call telling me waiver should work
- ~11 AM Try waiver, doesn't work
- ~7 PM Try wavier, doesn't work. Call #4, tech gets info and re-escalates ticket. Told to wait for someone to call me.

*March 4 (Thursday) - Try waiver, no go. Call #5. Told there was an ongoing issue with about 84 affected users attached to the 'master ticket'. No solution or ETA, just wait. Transferred to customer care, discussed compensation. Rep agreed that it was unacceptable, offered 2mos unlimited data (I turned down, would not use) or some sort of monetary credit. The rep suggested I wait until situation was resolved to make sure I was fairly compensated, I agreed. Also discussed the previously promised 1 mo data credit from the issue in Jan. He mentioned there was no record of it that he could see and made a note on the history, told me to wait for the next bill to see if it shows up.

March 5-11 Checked waiver every day, no dice.

March 12 (Friday) - Missed call on my phone. Assumed it was Rogers, checked waiver again, it worked!

March 13 (Saturday) - Data! up and working all day. Got a call mid-day (after getting data back) from Rogers telling me that the waiver should now work.

*March 15 (Monday) - Called customer support (#6), get month of data credit ($25). Told no on the 911 fee thing (unrelated issue), but decide not to fight that fight.

So now I have my data, my own ROM, and a little over a month's bill waived (between the two credits). I'm not totally pleased with the way it turned out, but at least it's over. I think that may have been Rogers' plan all along, to just wear me down until I gave up.

First Issue: Dead Roomba, iRobot

My poor robo-buddy just up and died some time around the New Year. It stopped charging, giving no response whatsoever to being plugged in or to any of the buttons. No rhyme or reason, jut got up one day and decided to not work. I was not impressed, I had only had it since October.  I did some testing using the charger and battery from somebody else's Roomba, and determined that it was the robot itself. Great. To make matters worse, I dropped my Roomba while I was working on it, snapping the front wheel assembly clean off.

This is not good.

I contacted iRobot support via their web page and explained the situation, my accident and all.  After a couple diagnostic questions, they decided to replace my robot, charger, and battery. Outright. With a better model, with more features, with no cost to me. They even gave me an upgraded  'fast' charger and let me keep the old robot/battery/charger to use as spares (well, they suggested recycling it, like that's going to happen).

I think that went well.

So to iRobot customer service, I say good job. Excellent job, in fact. At best I was expecting them to have me ship it in for repair or perhaps ship me a bare-bones replacement and have me ship the dead one back minus the accessories. Shipping me an upgraded unit is certainly going above and beyond. I just hope the new robot lasts longer than the first one.

And dirt detection is an awesome feature. I don't know how it works or how reliable it really is, but I love it.

Second Issue: Mandatory Android Update, Rogers

Now this is a totally different beast; It requires some back story. A bug was discovered in Android 1.5 back in September that prevented 911 calls under certain circumstances. Google fixed it, T-Mobile issued an OTA patch with the fix in October and they moved on. Rogers, with the exact same phones running pretty much the exact same software, ignored the problem until last week. When they finally realized the problem existed on their phones, they issued a quick software update for the Magic that both fixed the problem and included the promised Sense UI update. OK, fine. A little late perhaps, but at least they got an update out and including a promised major software update at the same time. The problem came in when they decided to make the update mandatory... and cut off the data for everyone that didn't upgrade. Because that makes sense.

Now the problem is that I don't want to run their upgrade. I'm perfectly happy with the software I have on my phone. In fact, their upgrade would actually downgrade my phone from 1.6 to 1.5, losing all sorts of neat features that I like (new market, faster camera, new map/nav, Google Goggles, and so on and so on). In return I would get... a non-standard replacement for the default UI (which I happen to like). That would be like Shaw cutting off your cable internet because they wanted you to apply an update to Windows XP after you moved on to Windows 7, and they refuse to reconnect you until you can prove you've done it.Time to talk to Rogers.

So call number one. I give them a ring, sit on hold for about fifteen minutes, talk to some fellow named Henry or George or Alfie or something like that, and explain the situation. I've already upgraded to 3rd party software, the 911 problem is already fixed on my phone, I don't want to run their update, and so on and so forth. Hank hems and haws, checks with 'level 2' and finally tells me that I'll be fine, as I am running a newer version than the one that has the problem. No guarantees, but my data should not be cut off when the deadline rolls around. That is exactly what I wanted to hear, so I thank him and go about my business.

Kind of pretty, but so very much not worth it.

Then Sunday rolls around and I have no data. Fun times. I did read in several places that they may be cutting off data to everybody - even those that did the official update - for a minimum of 24 hours. Fine, I'll let it wait. Two days later, no data. Of course, data is 90% of what I use my phone for, the actual 'phone' functionality is secondary to the ability to search the internet and check my email. Time for call #2. This time I'm on hold for well over an hour. When I finally get through (to Craig or Brian or Morty or something), the conversation pretty much consisted of me saying I don't want to run their downgrade for something that doesn't effect me and him saying that there was nothing he could do about it, so just install the update and deal with it. He tried to make it sound like he was breaking some giant rule by suggesting I could re-root my phone after the data was updated, but it was clearly just an attempt to get me to go away.

So... I 'updated' my phone. I took the long route in order to make sure it didn't give the perfected SPL (much harder to root later), and installed Rogers's terrible ROM. Long story short... it is terrible. Slow, buggy, non-standard. Cool features from 1.6 don't work and nothing it adds are worth it. HTC's Sense UI is alright, though very dark (and slow, laggy, and so forth). I may tough it out until the 2.1 update hits just to give it a chance (and to make sure Rogers doesn't cut me off again), but I definitely prefer the stock UI.

So all in all from Rogers? A terrible experience with idiotic customer service practices combined with incredibly unhelpful phone support. The end result is me having a slower phone with less features than I had a month ago, all to 'fix' a problem I didn't have.

They should have just sent me a robot.

Once I finished my first Zelda stitch, I went back to the series that I started with, Super Mario Brothers. The logical next game to do was Super Mario Brothers 2, the bizarre non-Mario Mario game that was actually a modification of the Japanese Doki Doki Panic created when it was decided by Nintendo that the 'real' SMB2 was too hard for western gamers. Interestingly, SMB2 (the North American version) was the first one I ever played, and one of the few games on the NES that I actually played to completion. It's still a little weird, though.

Turnips? Seriously?

I really like the colors in this one, particularly the greens and reds (which yes, do make up 85% of the piece). Mario looks a little washed out, but he does in the actual game as well.

Yup, a turnip.

This was a fair bit easier to stitch than both the first Mario and the first Zelda, partially due to the size. It's also the first one that I did where all the elements are connected, so no counting of blank spaces was required, which removed a lot of the difficulty. It was a fast project, but I really like the results. It's possibly one of my favorites of all my video game projects. Plus, the lowest level of the ground reminds me of Dad's brand chocolate chip cookies, so it has that going for it. Here's the gallery, plus some highlights in all-new Can't-Be-Bothered-To-Line-Them-Up Vision!

So very red... but not a turnip. Radish, perhaps?

Turnip Action Man Strikes!

He is so doomed. Referring, of course, to that poor turnip.

There could be anything under there! Anything! It's probably just another turnip, but it could be ANYTHING!

Rise, my loyal robot minion! Rise, and vacuum your foes!

I'm still not totally sure why I bought it. It was on sale in my store for a decent price (just over $100), though it was still way more than I usually spend on a whim. Heck, I don't even buy $60 video games until they go on sale. Still, somebody brought one into the department to ask a few questions when I was working and it got stuck in my head. I did a bit of research on my phone on my lunch break, and decided after work to buy one for myself. It was a little odd, I have to admit. Definitely one of the largest impulse buys in a very long time.

So, how well does it work? Actually, I was quite surprised. It took me about fifteen minutes to 'Roomba-proof' my room by tucking away all the loose cables and making sure it couldn't get under things it shouldn't be under, but once I did that, it was pretty much flawless. I hit the button (the only button) and it scampers off, sucking up all sorts of crazy stuff. The pattern isn't quite random and it certainly ends up in some places more than others (especially in my very oddly-shaped room), but it gets everywhere eventually in it's cycle (about an hour or so, though I usually let it run when I'm at work so I'm not sure). It never gets stuck in a weird corner or under a desk, and it moves from linoleum to carpet like nobody's business. When it finishes, the floor looks great, and all I have to do is empty the little bin and plug it back in. Eventually I may get the charging dock so it can do that last part itself, but that may just be the first step towards the inevitable robot rebellion. Best to keep them dependent on us humans for the time being.

So far I have really been pleased with the purchase. The floor is looking a lot better and is certainly vacuumed more often now that I don't have to pull the crazy old upright out and fight with its crimped hose every time. I run the Roomba every two or three days, depending on how bad the floor looks, and it does a fairly good job. I keep the floor neater in general (no large items left around, no loose cables, etc) so that I can be sure that the Roomba will run on its own, so my room is neater even before it is vacuumed. The only consumable to worry about is the battery (which should hopefully last a long time before needing replacement) and the filters (which are a every couple of month thing, according to their recommendations), so the long term costs should be pretty good. It may not work as well as a dedicated vacuum (bigger stuff is occasionally missed and it certainly takes longer), but I am vacuuming more often than I was before (it's so easy...), so the floor is better. Plus, I have a ROBOT THAT CLEANS MY HOUSE. This is the future, people.

Oh, and my first little robo-buddy? My Android, duh.

So why is it that I keep finding these universally acclaimed games to be such a disappointment? Is it because I usually play them after the hype has been bubbling away for a while in my mind and the real thing can't come close to what I expect, as with Bioshock? Is it perhaps because I can't help but compare and find them wanting next to other games from my youth that have the advantage of being looked back at through rose colored glasses, as with Mario Galaxy? Or is it because the game just isn't my cup of tea?

For Braid, I think it was a bit of all three. I'd been hearing for quite some time how great it is, how deep it is, and how earthshatteringly original and mind-bending it is, and while it was good, I don't think it was significantly better than the dozens of other games that I have played and enjoyed over the years. Braid is also quite weak on the platforming side of things, especially compared to the gold standard Mario games. The jumps aren't high enough, the timing doesn't feel right, and the whole thing seems a bit like a flash game in the way it controls, not nearly as solid as a platformer needs. The puzzles (which are much more important to Braid than the platforming) were, for the most part, fairly inventive and used the time twisting gameplay variants quite well. Some of the solutions were a little too obscure, but it never really felt cheap once you figured them out. The rewinding aspect seemed ripped straight from The Sands of Time, but the other level gimmicks were new and fun to play around with.

By far, the biggest problem that I had with Braid, and the reason I think I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected, was the story and narration. The story, like the gameplay itself, played around with time, putting the beginning at the end and letting you figure out how it started once you finished. This could have been a neat concept if executed correctly, but I found that Braid overplayed it, like it was the game's giant gift to originality. The written narration sprinkled throughout also drip with this sense of trying to be 'deep and adult' like a poorly written film noir detective narration;  Max Payne without the wink and the nudge that makes it bearable.  It gets particularly bad during the epilogue, where the text seems to hint at and refer to things that have little significance to the game itself, but seemed bolted on after the fact to make the game 'mature'. The fact that there is almost no connection between the dark and somber themes of the story and the bright and colorful tone of the actual game may have been intentional, but I think it was a mistake.

Now, I don't feel that Braid is a bad game by any stretch.  I had fun playing it and don't at all think it a waste of the time or money I put into it. I also absolutely loved the music and the visual style. It just doesn't seem to have that extra something that makes it a great game, even though it certainly thinks it does.