"It was certainly bad judgment for me to play a computer game even for just a few minutes during the final House session on the budget," Rep. Jack Hennessey, of Bridgeport, wrote. "I am embarrassed, and I apologize to each and every person in the North End and to people across the state."

The Associated Press photo, taken Aug. 31, caused a category three foofaraw because, naturally, few things convey such disrespect as to play goddamn Solitaire when the opposition's talking about the budget. Hennessey could have at least played Bejeweled or Peggle or something. Not only that, he's playing the unwinnable Canfield. His colleague to the left, Rep. Barbara Lambert, was absorbed in either Freecell, Forty Thieves or Montana. Hard to tell. Guy back and to the right is reading about Andy Pettite on ESPN.com. What in the hell is the matter with you people!

Rep. Larry Cafero, the dissed House Minority Leader in question, faced off with the state House Speaker on a local public affairs program. "This has made international news because it captures the frustration of the public. While Rome is burning, they're playing solitaire.''

Yes. How dare someone fool around with games, the Internet, whatever, during a super important speech.

Rep. Jack Hennessy Apologizes For Playing Solitaire at State Capitol During Late-Night Budget Debate [Hartford Courant via GamePolitics]

The article raises a number of interesting points — how the temptation of playing Solitaire at the workplace, for example, might have trained an older generation of computer-illiterates to use the mouse well, to minimize windows and swap between applications quickly (like you do when the boss is coming).

Among other things, what does it mean to the game industry that Solitaire is the most-played PC game of all time? If we're talking metrics, then that means that almost everybody is a PC gamer, right? And how might the gaming landscape have changed if every Windows PC came bundled not with Solitaire and Minesweeper, but a platformer or a point-and-click adventure?

Solitaire-y Confinement [Slate, Via Rock Paper Shotgun]

But the Web site B3TA tracked down Mr. Cherry and, by all appearances, got a legit Q&A with him. A bunch of their commenters sent in questions and according to the article, Cherry got back to them about a year later. The big question, would he play ball with this kind of an interview? Oh yes, he did.

Q: Exactly how much time and money has been wasted globally as a result of office workers playing Solitaire? A: There was a global recession in 1991/1992, just after Solitaire was released. Thank you very much. Oh, and you can't have your time back.

Q: Is there a way to change the speed of the card trail thing at the end? I've found it at different speeds on different OS'.
A: Yes, upgrade to a IBM 286 running at 16mHz. That should slow it down right good. Or install Norton Antivirus. I'll leave it to Mr. Moore and his law to make things faster.

Q: Why didn't you call it Patience in the English version?
A: Because I speak English, and I call it Solitaire.

Interviews: Wes Cherry [B3TA]

Proof positive that any idea, taken too far, can be utter crap. Just what were the good folks at Hoyle thinking when they licensed out the rights to use their respectable name for a cheap ass plug and play system, which lists Mahjong as its triple-A title?

The thing, which is shaped sorta like a big stack of Mahjong tiles, only comes with 11 games and none of them are good. Among the list of Family TV Gaming System titles are Old Maid, Go Fish and High Card.

The worst part is that this is the sort of bargain bin fodder that unknowing grandmas always buy by the cartful as presents for their spawn.

Somewhere a 7-year-old is sitting in a crumpled heap of gift wrap with a still sealed Family TV Gaming System in his lap, bawling his eyes out. Brian Crecente

Well, Windows Vista and DX10 are supposed to be the next big thing for PC gaming. Halo 2, after all, will be the first game that requires Vista and DX10... and, I mean, you just know Vista's gonna rock for games if it's the only OS that can render a two year old game running on a 700mhz processor in full glory!

But what about the crappy free games that Windows ships with? Solitaire and Minesweeper and the like? How's Vista going to pimp them up? Will there be any new additions to the arsenal? Here are the games Gamespot takes a look at:

• Solitaire
• FreeCell
• Spider Solitaire
• Hearts,
• Minesweeper
• Chess Titans;
• Mahjong Titans
• Purple Place;
• Inkball

They look blandly attractive, as you'd expect. It's nice to see Windows start shipping with a chess program and a mahjong program, though. Florian Eckhardt

Ed's Note: Halo 2 actually requires DX9.

Windows Vista Free Games [Gamespot]

Gamasutra reports that according to a recent study, the elusive "casual gamer" is not as flighty a beast as previously thought:

A new report released by Macrovision Corporation, which operates the Trymedia Network for the digital distribution of PC games, reveals that, according to a recent worldwide survey, 37 percent of those who use casual games play nine or more two-hour 'sessions' each week.

This contrasts with assumptions that these mostly female, mostly older gamers were getting in a game of Solitaire or two during the gridlocked part of their morning commute and then returning to their lives as upstanding citizens.

"Just one more game," mutters Granny "Nubk1lla" Grace, gritting her dentures in front of the Xbox. Her wide-eyed grandchildren huddle in a far corner, clutching each other and praying mom and dad will return from vacation sooner than later, and then maybe they'll get something to eat and someone will check on the baby, who hasn't cried in an awful long time... Eliza gauger

Study: 'Casual' Players Exhibit Heavy Game Usage

I wonder if those New York City cops ever got the boot after being busted for playing Freecell on their cruiser laptop.

Oh, and did I ever tell you about the guy I know who beat Baldurs Gate at work? No? I think he also worked his way through the expansion pack on the company's dime, too.

Solitaire Game Gets NYC Worker Fired [AP]