Be wary

http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2010/08/09/painting-by-numbers.aspx

Just because someone tells you to, doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Welfare Myths

https://www.msu.edu/user/skourtes/myths.html

One person's great regret.

http://web.archive.org/web/20101015211817/http://www.mybiggestregretever.com/post/958025738/saying-i-didnt-care

Saying I Didn’t Care

My biggest regret ever is saying I didn’t care. When I was ten I told my dad that I didn’t care if he ever picked me up from school again. He killed himself that night. I wish I had told him that I cared. That I care so much, every single day that it consumes me.

[Female, 19]

Guinness fail.

http://failblog.org/2009/07/13/omg-u-fail-so-hard/

A review of League of Legends

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/09/17/land-of-the-free-league-of-legends/

I found it to be an interesting read, though I have not played it, nor have I played any of it's predecessors. Maybe I'll take a closer look.

Fredrik K T Andersson

http://andersson.elfwood.com/

This guy has some awesome art.

09-19-2014 edit: That link doesn't go to the same place it used to... I'm not sure how to find the stuff I used to be linking.

Beautiful Video

http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/this-time-lapse-montage-will-blow-your-mind-20100925/

Kasane Teto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qucz-rYnnMc&feature=related

A story of Kasane Teto's origins.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/10/if-im-drunk-youre-a-jerk.ars

What is Watson?

http://wimp.com/ibmjeopardy/

I expect the hardest part for a computer, is understanding the question.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110708152549/http://thebeautifulstruggler.com/2010/09/embracing-feminism-and-the-pleasure-of-pleasing/

Memory is not reliable.

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/suggestion-can-implant-false-memories.htm

The hackers are winning.

http://theweek.com/article/index/203969/the-last-word-the-ultimate-computer-worm

http://hotelier.typepad.com/hotelier/2010/08/to-blame-for-the-indestructible-indian-superbug.html

An unwanted name change.

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-nemesis-has-name-changed-by-pranksters-090607/

Sounds like it's a little too easy to get a name change in Sweden.

Kids...

http://web.archive.org/web/20100916211521/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Nintendo+have+problem/3373784/story.html

Nintendo, Wii have a problem

By Roger Collier, Citizen Special August 8, 2010 Comments (6)

On a humid Saturday afternoon, inside the neutral-coloured walls of a home in suburban Ottawa, two children, ages four and six, engaged in a debate that has bedevilled mankind since 40,000 B.C., when Homo sapiens adopted spoken language as the primary means of human communication, replacing calligraphy.

"I'm Mario!" the four-year-old yelled.

"No, I'm Mario," the six-year-old protested. "You're Luigi!"

"No, you're Luigi!"

"I'm Mario!"

"No way! I am!"

And so on. Though this sounds like a heated discussion you might overhear at the annual Congress of Italian-American Plumbers with Amnesia, it was actually a fight between my daughter and son. I had just set up our fresh-from-the-box Nintendo Wii video game console and started a game called New Super Mario Bros. On our television screen, two overalls-clad characters -- Mario, dressed in red, and Luigi, wearing green -- waited for my children to guide them through a world of killer mushrooms and grenade-chucking turtles.

"This is going to be fun," I told Ella, my six-year-old daughter. "You have to save a princess."

"You can shoot fireballs at the bad guys," I said to Jack, my four-year-old son. "And you can smash bricks with your head."

Though each held a Wii Remote, the controller that makes the game characters run and jump and duck, Ella and Jack just stared at the television, arms limp. After a few seconds, Jack awoke from his trance, looked over at the couch, where I was sitting, and said he wanted to be Mario.

A look of extreme displeasure immediately flashed across Ella's face. Uh oh. Soon, angry shouts filled our living room. The epic Mario/Luigi debate had begun.

There are several certainties in my life. I know that every time I sleep for more than seven hours, I will wake with a stiff lower back. I know that every time I turn on my computer, I will be prompted to download a new version of iTunes. And I know that every time my kids are in the same room, they will fight over something ridiculous.

If one of them wants something, no matter what it is -- a sticker, a toy neither has played with for months, a rock in the backyard -- it immediately becomes the most desired object in the universe. If Jack wants his lunch on a yellow plate, that plate instantly becomes the only one worthy of carrying Ella's grilled cheese sandwich. If Ella finds a marble underneath the couch, well, how can Jack possibly be expected to survive the next five minutes of his life without that marble?

I had hoped the Wii would be different. The only reason I bought it was to provide my kids with an activity they could both enjoy at the same time. At least, that is what I told my wife. The truth is, I bought the console so I could play Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, a video game that is just like real golf, without all the walking and fresh air. But I figured that when I wasn't pretending to hit 300-yard drives down digital fairways, Ella and Jack would have fun playing games together. Boy, was I naive.

Then again, perhaps my desire for my kids to get along is not so much naive as selfish. I don't like all that fighting. I like peace. I like quiet. Conflict, however, is a defining element of almost all sibling relationships. According to psychologists, aggression between siblings during childhood and adolescence is the most common type of conflict in all of society. Some studies even suggest that all this squabbling is productive, that it helps children set personal boundaries and build identities separate from their siblings, while learning about the limits of acceptable behaviour.

Still, a parent can only take so much kiddie conflict. And after 10 minutes of Mario-based verbal warfare, I had reached my hourly limit. It was time to bring the Mario/Luigi debate to a close.

"Guys, guys, calm down," I said. "It doesn't matter who's Mario and who's Luigi. They do the same things. If you don't stop fighting, I'm turning off the Wii."

Jack and Ella stopped shouting. They looked again at the television, where Mario and Luigi patiently waited. They were quiet for a while, mulling over their dilemma. Finally, Jack turned his big blue eyes toward me and, in a voice many decibels lower than it had been moments before, broke the silence.

"Dad," he said. "Which one is Mario?"

Roger Collier appears every second week. E-mail: rogercollier@hotmail.com

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://web.archive.org/web/20100916211521/http://www.ottawacitizen.com

/life/Nintendo+have+problem/3373784/story.html#ixzz1mef3kJu4

http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/why-students-teachers-dont-reason.cfm

Julius Von Bismarck

http://thecreatorsproject.com/creators/julius-von-bismarck?no_research=true&no_tracker=true

The second project seemed like photo sabotage.

Economics vs Economics.

http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/08/09/is-economics-ideological-by-nature/?xid=rss-topstories

Ooops, ACS: Law makes an expensive mistake.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/28/acs_ico/

A seed monopoly.

http://disasterandemergencysurvival.com/archives/monsanto-the-seed-monopoly-that-caused-genetically-modified-food-to-start-showing-up-on-nearly-every-dinner-table-in-the-united-states

A free market cannot exist without regulation, because free markets inherently favor the creation of monopolies.

Great importance?

http://www.dorkly.com/article/1731/a-quest-of-great-importance

One of the reasons I so often find MMO's boring. Too many of the quests just aren't very compelling.

Patients to be frozen into state of suspended animation for surgery

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8024991/Patients-to-be-frozen-into-state-of-suspended-animation-for-surgery.html

http://www.andrewkelsall.com/spectacular/the-20-dollar-knee/

Unbalanced

http://www.arcadebliss.com/game/unbalanced.htm

Fighting and music, what more does one need? Don't answer that.

Information is also a reward.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-we-addicted-to-inform

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-therapy/201009/sound-mental-health-think-again-about-your-thinking

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/from_divided_minds_a_specious_soul/

The brain is always active.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-brains-dark-energy

Bad PR move.

http://doublebuffered.com/2010/09/22/good-old-games-wtf/

wtf, Japan?

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/17/gal-gun-preview/

Abortion isn't easy.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/9/5/898979/-Too-easy

Intuition is powerful.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/38/klein.html

For long term storage of information:

http://blog.longnow.org/2008/08/20/very-long-term-backup/

My mom likes paper, and finds the idea of a paperless office to be a silly one.

Americans still not tolerant of the mentally ill

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68F59B20100916

A story of eternal despair.

http://web.archive.org/web/20101105025551/http://dosmasks.com/2009/01/03/strength/

Ancient Virus Gave Wasps Their Sting

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2009/02/12-02.html?etoc

Some people have difficulty with the unexpected.

http://www.sfwchan.com/index.php?id=2980

PSA: Challenging a YouTube Take Down with Fair Use

http://vimeo.com/11331632

Hatsune Miku - World is Mine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJ6UR_pD5s&feature=related

I thought this was cute.

http://www.rocket.ly/home/2010/4/26/top-ten-reasons-you-should-quit-facebook.html

World's Most Generic News Report

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zYYCCsSjkw

I hate Real ID.

http://us.battle.net/en/realid/faq

So, basically, if I want to chat with people across games using b.net, I have to share my real name, along with the real name of all my other friends I've shared my real name with. That combined with using email as a login name makes it seem like they are trying to get people's accounts and ID info stolen. On top of that, the password has significant restrictions on what characters can be used, further helping brute force password hacks. B.net seems severely unsafe to me.

The power of Netflix

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_39/b4196021822248.htm?cmpid=spn.invrel.BWinnovindex.netflix.movies

Sometimes I think rental services like Netflix could be a greater threat to media companies than Piracy is.

Outlaws of EVE

http://www.massively.com/2010/08/08/eve-evolved-outlaws-of-eve/

{paywall} Living without money

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article6928744.ece

An amusing video about an amusing invention.

http://pogpog.com/v/why-lie-if-you-can-teleport/

Walking on water.

http://www.wimp.com/walkwater/

A lesson about Piracy.

http://vimeo.com/4802347

He's got a definite point about the future: piracy + 3d printers is gonna really mess things up someday.

I'm glad I don't live in Japan.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ValuesDissonance/Anime

I have read a sizable amount of manga, and come to the conclusion that I'm glad I was not born in Japan. I feel like this list of Japanese values in Anime, that don't fly well in America, helps explain why. In general, I'd say the Japanese are too fond of victim blaming, bullying, and abuse.

...

http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2006/10/31/score-one-for-the-rapists/

Wtf?

http://trueslant.com/tassi/2009/12/04/muscle-march-is-everything-that%E2%80%99s-wtf-about-japanese-games-and-its-coming-to-america/

Japan makes some very odd games.

One puzzle after another...

http://www.jibble.org/cyber-security-challenge-uk-winner/

Transcending the nature vs nurture debate.

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/08/03/transcending-the-naturenurture-debate-fallons-brain/

It's the whole mix that matters, not the individual parts.

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/google-guide-infuriating-your-isp

Caramelldansen with english lyrics

https://web.archive.org/web/20130415094147/http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/542566

This one takes a while to download.
So, the original song was from Sweden (I think), then got sped up and made popular in Japan, and now someone has made english lyrics for it. Makes me wonder just how many countries this meme has gotten to.

Prehomosexual?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=is-your-child-a-prehomosexual-forec-2010-09-15

A conclusion, about global warming.

I've concluded that the only solution to global warming, is green energy sources. Regardless of how much we improve our efficiency, our societies will continue to use more energy. So, the only long term solution, is to find methods of generating energy, that don't mess up the environment.

"The Internet is broken. I should know: I designed it."

http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/a-radical-new-router/0

Rocket Jump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XzdZ4KcI8Y

We picked up a prostitute today.

http://web.archive.org/web/20100813121154/http://theadventuresofsuperwife.com/2008/12/we-picked-up-a-prostitute-today/

Posted by Molly on December 28th, 2008.

No, really.

B and I were on our way to the grocery store, and saw a young girl on the side of the road. She was in high heels, and sort of shuffling down the snowy sidewalk. We looped around a parking lot, pulled over and offered her a ride. She said she was supposed to meet a friend, and they didn’t show up so she didn’t really have anywhere to go. It was about -2° outside, so I insisted she get in the car and at least warm up. She gratefully obliged. I could tell she was younger than me, dark hair and makeup on that was a little too dark for her skin. Her eyelids were covered in glitter and she had earrings going up each ear. We drove around the block and I offered to take her up to the convenience store up the street. We pulled up, and B told her to wait in the car, he’d grab her something to eat and something warm to drink.

As B walked away, she looked at me and said “I’m sure you know what I was doing” I nodded my head. Tears welled up in her eyes, and I could tell that she was embarrassed. I smiled and told her it was okay, we just couldn’t let her stand out there while it was so cold out. She smiled, and started telling me about herself… she told me her name, and that she just turned 23, about how she said she had one of her poems published and how she wanted to go to school to be nurse. She wanted to help other people with addictions, as she is a heroin addict herself.

I could see on her face that she was out of her element, that she was so used to dealing with low lives, dealers and junikes that it was almost awkward being around people on the straight and narrow. It was like a jolt back into the real world.

We talked for about 15 minutes, and she told me she was born in a prison in Arizona, and her mother walked the streets with her and gave her heroin for the first time. She had been through treatment twice, and both times did very well, but fell back into her old ways quickly when she was forced to fend for herself.

I was at a loss of what to say, I felt like I needed to say something profound, to give her hope or a shred of inspiration. I just looked at her, my heart breaking and wishing I could hand her a magic pill that would take away her addiction and keep her from having to have sex with strangers for money.

B got back in the car with a small pizza and a big hot chocolate, and a bottle of power aide for the road. She sat in the car and finished the pizza, and we made small talk. She thanked us again, and walked into the gas station. B and I just sat there for a second quietly, then went on our way to the grocery store.

Different photos tell different stories.

http://www.petapixel.com/2010/06/11/exploring-different-perspectives-of-poverty-through-photography/

IE9

http://www.itnews.com/web-services-development/22478/ie9-has-google-chrome-run?source=ITNEWSNLE_nlt_itndaily_2010-09-15

If Microsoft is trying to outdo Google's Chrome browser, then that would mean Google's Chrome browser is a success. The whole point, was to inspire other browser companies to improve their browsers.

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII impressed me in one area: the quality of the characters. While hitting most of the usual character tropes, they managed to give each character a depth usually lacking in these stories. Unfortunately, the deep characters are pretty much the only thing the story has. The plot itself, is rather lacking.

Regarding the gameplay, I felt like the button pressing was there just for the sake of having it. I think the gameplay might've been better with a paradigm assigned to each button, and all characters on auto, with paradigm shifting being the primary focus of combat, but that would probably have made the combat system even less popular. Also, the menu system is really a terrible way to manage combat UI. I guess it's tradition.

Personally, I liked the first 20 or so hours better than the latter 20 or so hours. Many of the reviews I read complained about the first 20 being the worst part due to lack of options and not being able to control who was in the party. I actually liked it better, because it forced me to keep changing my tactics and I felt like I had a greater variety of successful playstyles available to me. After I gained access to all party members, I felt like I got forced into having a sentinal out at all times, which made me feel less free to fool around than I had been previously.

How the FBI defines rape?

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/09/14/rape_hearing

"The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will."

Wow, I didn't realize the FBI definition for rape was so... lacking.

Not enough talking.

One disturbing trend I've noticed in Manga, is a strong tendency for characters to make decisions without consulting the people who are affected by the decision. Deciding what is best for someone else, without asking them if they agree, is foolish. It's important in any relationship, to allow the other party to have a say in what you do, especially if it affects them.

Recettear

I've recently purchased Recettear on steam, and I found it to be a very enjoyable game. It's quite different from anything else I've played, so I can't really categorize it. Personally, I think $20 is a bit too much, and would consider $10 to be a more appropriate price, but I have a tendency to consider most games overpriced. I typically seek to get 2 hours of fun for every dollar spent, if not more, and I'm nearing the end of my interest in the game after 25 hours. Took about 8 hours to beat, the rest was spent fooling around, and trying to beat my own self made records for things.

Stereotypes can cause everyone trouble.

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/09/01/boys_stereotyped/index.html

EULAs are getting scary.

http://www.geek.com/articles/news/an-eula-on-every-book-jacket-court-declares-it-illegal-to-resell-software-20100913/

http://www.calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=416

Berserker - Failed Containment

http://www.sfdt.com/showcase/files/berserker_259.swf

There is a problem in America's debt collection system.

http://www.startribune.com/investigators/101723868.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

"in Minnesota, collectors can take people's money without proving in court the debt is owed."

"When mistakes occur, consumers often must go to court and prove it. Their money already taken, they typically cannot afford an attorney and must navigate the court system alone."

That sounds pretty scary.

We need better therapists.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/200905/emotional-abuse-why-your-individual-therapy-didnt-help-and-

It's scary to realize that as more and more people are in need of good mental help, very few are able to get it, even if they try.

Resonance of Fate

When I read reviews of Resonance of Fate, many of them seemed to think the game was incredibly hard. After playing the game myself, and then watching a friend of mine play, we both got a little confused as to why people thought the game was challenging.

The biggest challenge in Resonance of Fate, was figuring out how to play. While the game's tutorial does explain the rules, it doesn't really explain how to win. It is up to the players to figure out what works and what doesn't.

What I find worrisome, is the possibility that people are getting too accustomed to having games explain everything. If people are always told exactly what they need to do, how will they learn to think for themselves or solve problems that haven't yet been solved?

Beware of Facebook.

http://www.cheerupemokid.net/comic/2010/06/15/girlfriend-3

To link, or not to link?

Lately it seems my posts have all just been links to interesting things I've found on the internet, mostly through StumbleUpon. I can't help but think this isn't the best way to do a blog. Unfortunately, I seem to be running out of things to say that don't require lots of context to understand.

Google planning to make AI more accessible.

http://singularityhub.com/2010/08/25/google-puts-artificial-intelligence-into-the-cloud-with-new-api/

A cubicle toy?

http://www.shoeboxblog.com/?p=16296

A "Mild" Syndrome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ1MRETny3Q

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x227pq_absolut-vodka-protest_auto

Youth happiness is on the decline.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201001/the-dramatic-rise-anxiety-and-depression-in-children-and-adolescents-is-it

Quicktime Vulnerability Found

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/30/apple_quicktime_critical_vuln/

Hormones are not a toy.

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/07/30/4780396-womens-hormone-cream-can-screw-up-your-kids-pets

Interesting Game.

http://www.alexanderocias.com/loved.php

Quite unusual.

http://blog.dianarajchel.com/2010/07/27/feminist-rant-section-so-what-are-we-back-to-she-tempted-me-and-women-who-consciously-hurt-other-women/

Bleach AMV - Falling Apart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKu-UCBs_AI&feature=related

Some freaky special effects in this one.

Wtf?

http://www.harpyness.com/2010/08/09/patriarchy-hurts-babies-too/

I'm curious as to where he learned to use physical violence involving fists as a teaching tool for kids under 2 years of age.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=an-immodest-proposal

Cults can be found anywhere.

http://survivingtheworld.net/Lesson621.html

http://archive.incharacter.org/article.php?article=92

http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/07/do-one-eyed-rule-blind.html

RFID is not secure

http://consumerist.com/2008/08/mythbusters-gagged-credit-card-companies-kill-episode-exposing-rfid-security-flaws.html

Old high-tech weapons.

http://www.cracked.com/article_18687_6-amazingly-high-tech-ancient-weapons.html

Pop song parody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijr4rwb2WbE&amp

I found this amusing.

The Creative Machine

http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/DSS/creativitymachine_12504.html

Random Writings

A dream unfulfilled.
A belief in helplessness.
A desire to die.
A fear of failure.

Bound in torment,
afraid of escape,
What awaits me,
on the other side?

I seek an escape,
from the binds that blind me.
I cannot see,
but I want to.
What is it, that I cannot see?
What is it, that I am looking for?
What, will become of me?
Me, who cannot see?

I must build something I have never seen,
using pieces I never had,
to find an answer, I never knew,
discover a truth, that might not even exist.

More of life's horrors

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_feminism/121426.html

One source of depression is...

A common source of severe depression, is the inability to achieve a goal, combined with the inability to abandon that goal. So long as both conditions continue, a depression caused by it, cannot end.

Valve, you impress me.

Logging in to Steam, I saw an ad that really impressed me: Valve is offering a copy of Portal free until the 24th to "celebrate" the introduction of steam for the Mac. Personally, I see it as an awesome business decision. Trying to get people to sign up for a service they don't currently have need for is difficult. Offer them a free game, and it gets a lot easier to bring people in. Once in, they'll see the ads, and might be tempted to buy more. This will dramatically increase Steam's popularity on the Mac, which is vital to both its sales and success on the platform. I'm not accustomed to seeing this much intelligence from game companies.

To all those, who want to help their suicidal friends:

SHUT UP. I've been depressed for 20 years. I'm 27. The only useful thing you can do, is honestly say you want them to live, and/or offer the means do so. Everything else, is noise or worse: a source of guilt. If you can't honestly support them, without any extra demands or expectations beyond life, you won't be able to help. If you don't honestly want them to stay, in this world, with you, then you don't matter. To save someone, you have to make them a part of your life. Because, a person who wants to die, doesn't have one of their own anymore.

When someone wants to die, the important question isn't why they want to die, but what reason do they have to live? I don't mean bullshit like jobs, GPAs, College, or any other measurement of success. What in their life actually matters to them? For me, it's people. Only two have said and shown that they actually want me to live. Only two. No one else has bothered to make me a real part of their life. No one else has given me a real reason to live. Until you're willing to take on the burden of someone else's suffering, you'll never be able to save them from it. Don't think you can save someone without putting a piece of your own life on the line. It's painful, it's risky, and there's a lot to lose.