You are responsible for all that you do, all that you don't do, and the consequences thereof.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Fire in the Library

http://www.technologyreview.com/web/39317/

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Right versus pragmatic

http://www.marco.org/2012/02/25/right-vs-pragmatic

Saturday, March 24, 2012

LET'S BE CLEAR, WE ARE LEGION, BUT IT WASN'T US. YOU ARE INCOMPETENT SONY

http://anonops.blogspot.com/2011/05/lets-be-clear-we-are-legion-but-it.html

Oddly, Anonymity which is often seen as a tool of secrecy, actually makes it easier to be transparent. Whistleblowers often don't want their identity known, for good reason. People often find it much easier to be honest, when no one knows who they are.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Ahri (League of Legends)

Started playing League of Legends again, and had the luck to enjoy an Ahri free week. She's a lot of fun to play. Unfortunately, she seems unfocused and difficult to play. Her main strength is probably in the short term mobility granted by her ultimate (three short range dashes) and her Charm skill which is a weak pull and decent stun combined.

Ahri feels like she has a scattered and unfocused skill set, with a passive that provides sustain, an AoE that has true damage (true damage ignores defenses), an uncontrolled homing attack, a single target pull, and a mobility granting ult. Each of these abilities is pretty awesome on their own, but together, they seem somewhat awkward, as each specializes in something different. The AoE skillshot is good at harassment and whittling enemies down. The Fox-Fires seem like a hybrid of single target nuke, and team fight sustained damage. The charm is pretty awesome, but as the only CC in the skill set, it doesn't work well to design a build around it. The Ultimate, can hit three targets three times, and/or be used to move around quickly. It is extremely versatile which also makes it hard to figure out what the best way to use it is.

In my efforts to make use of Ahri, my greatest success has been in staying at the edges of fights, harassing without committing fully. Ultimately, it feels like anything she can do, another mage can do better. She doesn't seem to have enough damage to be a proper mage, and not enough CC to be a tank/support. I've had the most success when I focus on CDR, to make the most of her true damage and Charm, as well as keep her ult available whenever I need it. I just don't feel like it works any better than it could on other champions.

One thing to note: I've mostly been playing Dominion, so I don't know how well she does in Laning. She may have some strength in the laning phase of SR that makes her good. However, she appears to have a weak team fight presence and lacks the burst power of other mages.

Update(2012-07-22): Based on what I've seen of her in tournaments, Ahri's greatest strength may be her ability to punish an opponent's mistakes. Her ultimate's mobility, and her short charm help her to capitalize on any opening an enemy gives her.

The crow paradox

http://www.wimp.com/crowparadox/

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Loneliness...

The ache, the pain. A hole that will never be filled.
Believing that all things can be solved, if I just figure out how, I seek out knowledge.
Yet what I find, only makes the problem ever harder.
In my pursuit of perfection, I only end up ever further from my true goal.
I have lost a lot in my quest for knowledge.
Knowledge, and wisdom, isolate me. The hole was forged of loneliness. Yet my actions only make it bigger.
I am even more alone now, than I was at the start. Surrounded by people who cannot see the world that I see. A world that only continues to grow larger.
I seek ever greater knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, to bridge the gap. Yet doing so makes the gap even bigger.
The more I know, the more distant I become from everyone else.
Building a bridge, becomes ever harder.

All I can do is continue. Hoping that someday I will find a trick or secret that will let me share my world. A way of showing others, what my real life is.

Trans teens turn to YouTube

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/26/trans_teens_turn_to_youtube/singleton/

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

IP laws have gotten messed up.

Part four of Everything Is a Remix examines the history and incentives that shaped current intellectual property laws, and how they are blocking, rather than promoting, innovation.

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/253179/

Friday, March 02, 2012

Cracked...

http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-awful-ways-internet-tainting-everything-else_p2/

Zack Ryder. He was a nobody who had hung around the WWE for five years being completely unspectacular in every way. Until he found YouTube. Donning a bright orange and purple headband, he spiked his hair, sprayed on a fake tan, and adopted the personality of a Jersey Shore-style "bro." He then posted videos of himself, declaring that he was the WWE "Internet Champion" (complete with a toy championship belt covered in kids' stickers). Little by little, "Zack Ryder" signs started to pop up in the WWE crowds. He became a meme, to the point that his T-shirts started selling out without him ever appearing on the show.
That is an example of successfully using the internet.