Why Starbucks succeeds in China and others haven't

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-02-12/cnbc-starbucks-secrets-of-china-success/53040820/1?csp=34money

Megaupload Trial May Never Happen, Judge Says

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-trial-may-never-happen-judge-says-120420/

The US is awfully fond of trying to apply its laws outside its jurisdiction.

6 Completely Legal Ways The Cops Can Screw You

http://www.cracked.com/article_18620_6-completely-legal-ways-cops-can-screw-you.html?wa_user1=5&wa_user2=Weird+World&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=recommended

Genetically modified crops' results raise concern

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/30/MN1O1O5SS0.DTL&feed=rss.pageone

Why caring for my aging father has me wishing he would die

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/daddy-issues/8890/?single_page=true

Move Over Diablo III, ArenaNet Unleashes Guild Wars 2 Beta

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/04/26/move-over-diablo-iii-arenanet-unleashes-guild-wars-2-beta/

“If you and I attack a creature, we both get loot and experience, which completely eliminates that feeling in a traditional MMO when you’re playing and someone steals your kills,” said Jeff Grubb, lore and continuity designer, Guild Wars 2. “We don’t think that’s what MMOs are about. You should be playing with other players, not alongside them. We reward players for playing together. You gain experience for resurrecting other players. We’ve seen with beta tests that players form groups where people work together and build a sense of community. We’ve seen these people who don’t know each other and might be annoyed if other players were around in other MMOs, actually like being around others and exploring this world together.”

This is what MMOs need to do more of. What makes MMOs differ from other games, is playing with other people. Devs need to do everything they can to encourage, enable, and assist teamwork and cooperation in MMOs. Otherwise, the players may as well just go play a single player game that doesn't need internet.

Another GW2 preview:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/previews/9593-Guild-Wars-2-Preview

[update: adding more links]
"Guild Wars 2's map exploration is my new addiction":
http://www.gamezone.com/products/guild-wars-2/previews/guild-wars-2-s-map-exploration-is-my-new-addiction

"Exploring the beta and beyond in Guild Wars 2"
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/05/exploring-the-beta-and-beyond-in-guild-wars-2/

As I began to go through the typical RPG character creation process in Guild Wars 2, choosing my race, class, gender, hair color, etc., I reached a set of questions asking me about my parents, whether I was raised rich or poor, how I react to certain situations, and more.

For those who have had an opportunity to take part in the game's first pre-release beta weekend, these questions may still linger in your mind.

In making these decisions, it didnt really strike me that this was anything other than a way to work my answers into a shoehorned moment later in the game, but as I explored Guild Wars 2, I realized that the person playing the game next to me during a recent ArenaNet studio tour event was in a completely different area, despite us choosing the same race and class.

"When you create a character, you fill out this biography and your answers on that determine which set of the first ten hours you get," Colin Johanson, game designer on Guild Wars 2, explained. This ten hour figure seemed pretty hefty to me, so after a few hours, I restarted and chose different answers. I didn't see any of the same areas with my new selections. "Individualization is the one thing that players want the most. Two players shouldn't have the same story, both choices and instances should change the experience," Continuity and Lore designer Jeff Grubb said. It's an interesting experiment at providing players with a different experience every time.

Woah.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2012/05/01/guild-wars-2-beta/

I’ll be honest up front: I’m not an MMO player. Yeah, I dabbled in Champions Online, and I spent more than a few sessions puzzle-solving in Uru Live (a.k.a. Myst Online). But when an MMO-obsessed friend sent me a Guild Wars 2 (GW2) beta key, I gave in to curiosity and fired up the game. The first thing that went through my mind was, “These graphics are pretty decent.” The second was, “Ah-hah, I’m playing Dragon Age: The MMO.” The third was, “I wish I had more than an afternoon to power through this.”

Sexual Isn't Sensual: The Word I Want Back

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brenna-cammeron/sexual-sensual_b_1232515.html

New service lets you post to Twitter and Facebook after you die

http://www.webpronews.com/stay-active-after-you-die-with-deadsocial-2012-04

(Skyrim) Todd Howard DICE 2012 Keynote

http://www.gamespot.com/shows/gamespot-live/?event=skyrims_todd_howard_dice_keynote20120208

5 Gender Stereotypes That Used To Be the Exact Opposite

http://www.cracked.com/article_19780_5-gender-stereotypes-that-used-to-be-exact-opposite.html?

How To Be Mean To Your Kids

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/09/how_to_be_mean_to_your_kids.html

What Your Klout Score Really Means

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/04/ff_klout

Something I fear, has already begun. The future is coming, whether we like it or not.

"even if you have no idea what your Klout score is, there’s a chance that it’s already affecting your life. At the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas last summer, clerks surreptitiously looked up guests’ Klout scores as they checked in. Some high scorers received instant room upgrades, sometimes without even being told why. According to Greg Cannon, the Palms’ former director of ecommerce, the initiative stirred up tremendous online buzz. He says that before its Klout experiment, the Palms had only the 17th-largest social-networking following among Las Vegas-based hotel-casinos. Afterward, it jumped up to third on Facebook and has one of the highest Klout scores among its peers."

Cooking Up a War? Don't Forget the Piss

http://www.vice.com/read/take-a-stroll-war-piss

The Web

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/state_web_spring

7 Things You Don't Realize About Addiction (Until You Quit)

http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-things-you-dont-realize-about-addiction-until-you-quit/

Dear Young Ladies Who Love Chris Brown So Much They Would Let Him Beat Them

http://therumpus.net/2012/02/dear-young-ladies-who-love-chris-brown-so-much-they-would-let-him-beat-them/

The Women Men Won't See

http://thefourthvine.livejournal.com/149532.html

The 7 Most Baffling Things About Women's Clothes

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-7-most-baffling-things-about-womens-clothes/

6 Real People With Mind-Blowing Mutant Superpowers

http://www.cracked.com/article_19661_6-real-people-with-mind-blowing-mutant-superpowers.html

Online piracy: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em

http://sinocentric.co.uk/?p=1618

False Equivalence

http://www.shortpacked.com/2011/comic/book-13/05-the-death-of-snkrs/falseequivalence/

Social Media And The Loss Of Uncorrelated Wisdom

http://www.fastcompany.com/1801214/the-downside-to-social-the-loss-of-uncorrelated-wisdom

Path of Exile

I discovered a game being developed called Path of Exile. One of it's most striking features is the Passive Skill Web. That thing is massive. It's like a gigantic puzzle that rewards taking the time to examine it and plot out a course for one's character to take through it.

The next key point, is the skill system. It's basically a more complex version of Final Fantasy 7's materia system, which was my favorite thing about Final Fantasy 7.

Combining a dark atmosphere, skills and spells picked up as loot, and randomly generated magic items, it reminds me a lot of Diablo 1 (I liked Diablo 1). Path of Exile is expected to enter an open beta in a few months and is something to look forward to if you like researching complex skill web layouts and plotting the destruction of worlds, planning out powerful combinations of skills and supports.

I actually gave them some money to get into the closed beta and try to break it before they launch it, but so far haven't had much success (at breaking it). I'd like to see them succeed, so I'm trying to help out. (I haven't been at it long, yet)

The Kids Are All Right

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MikeLanglois/20120204/9275/The_Kids_Are_All_Right.php

Wasting Hackers' Time to Keep Websites Safe

http://www.technologyreview.com/web/39521/page1/

If Men Had Periods, Women Would Know All About It

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yashar-hedayat/if-men-had-periods-women-_b_1241322.html

D&D 4e’s Out… And It’s Awful. Here’s Why

http://geek-related.com/2008/06/06/dd-4es-out-and-its-awful-heres-why/

This is rather old, and probably not very relevant so late after 4e's release. However, I really liked how he described what made an RPG an RPG, and what made DnD, DnD. Key points in his argument that 4e failed.

Shadow Workers of the World, Revolt!

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/02/03/Shadow-Workers/

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bronnie-ware/top-5-regrets-of-the-dyin_b_1220965.html

Sugar May Be Bad, But Is the Alternative Worse?

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/artificial-sweeteners/

Adventures in Depression

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html

Link to part 2
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com.ar/2013/05/depression-part-two.html

Abortion saved my life

http://www.salon.com/2011/05/26/abortion_saved_my_life/singleton/

We tell boys not to cry, then wonder about male suicide

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/17/boys-cry-male-suicide-dean-windass?CMP=EMCSOCEML657

Not public property

http://thisiswheremovement.com/?p=1245

Keeping the Demons at Bay

http://www.vice.com/read/keeping-the-demons-at-bay

The NSA Is Building An Artificial Intelligence System That Can Read Minds

http://redicecreations.com/article.php?id=16155

On Playing Dance Central 2 While Male

http://kotaku.com/5876059/on-playing-dance-central-2-while-male

Piracy - Trying To Kill It Makes It Stronger

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/5308-Piracy-Trying-To-Kill-It-Makes-It-Stronger

7 Foods Even Food Safety Experts Won’t Eat

http://www.ecokaren.com/2010/02/7-foods-even-food-safety-experts-won-t-eat/

Fire in the Library

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

Zoologger: Unique life form is half plant, half animal

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21353-zoologger-unique-life-form-is-half-plant-half-animal.html

Hey, Google: Here's What Fragmentation Means

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398783,00.asp

Right versus pragmatic

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

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.

Inside a failed Anonymous attack: report

http://www.zdnet.com.au/inside-a-failed-anonymous-attack-report-339332608.htm

The Consistency/Relevancy Paradox & the Facebook User Interface Changes

http://www.jonathanroseland.com/web-a-marketing/210-the-consistencyrelevancy-paradox-a-the-facebook-user-interface-changes.html

Why Doctors Die Differently

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203918304577243321242833962.html?fb_ref=wsj_share_FB&fb_source=home_oneline

Proof that Policies Informed by Evolution can Succeed where Other Perspectives have Failed

http://scienceblogs.com/evolution/2011/11/proof_that_policies_informed_b.php

Encryption and the law (in USA):

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/119855-us-appeals-court-upholds-fifth-amendment-right-to-not-decrypt-hard-drives

Satire: Democracy’s Most Unexpected Enemy

http://www.disinfo.com/2012/01/satire-democracy%E2%80%99s-most-unexpected-enemy/

Would We Have Drugged Up Einstein?

http://www.alternet.org/health/154225/would_we_have_drugged_up_einstein_how_anti-authoritarianism_is_deemed_a_mental_health_problem/

Ars Book Review: "The Pirate's Dilemma"

http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/05/book-review-2008-05.ars

Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Myth of the Vampire Bite

http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/childhood-sexual-abuse-the-myth-of-the-vampire-bite/

Kids, Minivans, and Drug-Dealing: How the Recession Pulls Ordinary Families Into the Weed Game

http://www.alternet.org/story/153586/kids,_minivans,_and_drug-dealing:_how_the_recession_pulls_ordinary_families_into_the_weed_game?akid=8079.306037.XkmKyj&rd=1&t=6

Here’s what I’ve noticed – a Social Phenomenon

http://pleasestopsmoking.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/heres-what-ive-noticed-a-social-phenomenon/

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/

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/

Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/01/144550920/physicists-seek-to-lose-the-lecture-as-teaching-tool

You are what you surf, buy or tweet

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/you-are-what-you-surf-buy-or-tweet-20120221-1tlol.html

19-Year-Old Improves Solar Power Capacity by 40%

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/19-year-old-improves-solar-power-capacity-by-40.html?campaign=th_rss

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/

How Trade Policy Cost The X-Men Their Humanity

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2011/12/29/are_mutants_human.html

Tearing Down Barriers: How to Bring MMO Players Together

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6710/tearing_down_barriers_how_to_.php

How Atari games showed me the power of a child's imagination

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/12/how-atari-games-showed-me-the-power-of-childrens-imagination.ars

The death of meritocracy

http://www.economist.com/node/21547239

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.

Have Bees Become Canaries In the Coal Mine? Why Massive Bee Dieoffs May Be a Warning About Our Own Health

http://www.alternet.org/story/154039/have_bees_become_canaries_in_the_coal_mine_why_massive_bee_dieoffs_may_be_a_warning_about_our_own_health?akid=8246.20390.CRwLeS&rd=1&t=12

Pentagon Regrowing Soldiers’ Muscles From Pig Cells

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/11/regenerative-medicine-muscles?tXFd&mbid=su_ppc_Nov_170&tQZd

Save the Troy Library "Adventures In Reverse Psychology"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw3zNNO5gX0

Why health care competition won't work

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/27/opinion/etzioni-health-care-competition/index.html

Al Murray on the Twitter joke trial: 'Problem is, the law don't do funny'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/feb/11/twitter-joke-trial-al-murray

Porn Star Publicly Breastfeeds Her Baby, Gets Accused Of Promoting Pedophilia

http://jezebel.com/5831637/porn-star-publicly-breastfeeds-her-baby-gets-accused-of-promoting-pedophilia?popular=true

Why Going 'Back To Normal' Is No Longer An Option for the American Economy -- And Where We're Headed Now

http://www.alternet.org/visions/154056/why_going_%27back_to_normal%27_is_no_longer_an_option_for_the_american_economy_--_and_where_we%27re_headed_now

The Curse of Cow Clicker: How a Cheeky Satire Became a Videogame Hit

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/12/ff_cowclicker/all/1

6 Laws You've Broken Without Even Realizing It

http://www.cracked.com/article_19450_6-laws-youve-broken-without-even-realizing-it.html

Once Routine, Autopsies Now Scarce At U.S. Hospitals

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/12/15/143775369/once-routine-autopsies-now-scarce-at-u-s-hospitals

‘Tribler’ software makes Internet piracy impossible to stop

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/08/tribler-software-makes-internet-piracy-impossible-to-stop/

Why Women Need to Support Each Other. I’m Dead Fucking Serious.

http://www.smaggle.com/2011/09/19/why-women-need-to-support-each-other-im-dead-fucking-serious/

Thought: Do We Own Our Steam Games?

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/01/thought-do-we-own-our-steam-games/

Ordering the vegetarian meal? There’s more animal blood on your hands

http://theconversation.edu.au/ordering-the-vegetarian-meal-theres-more-animal-blood-on-your-hands-4659

Moral Psychopaths: Blizzard's community policy is a sense-free zone

http://brindlebrothers.blogspot.com/2012/02/moral-psychopaths-blizzards-community.html

TEDxDartmouth 2011- Thalia Wheatley: How the Brain Perceives Other Minds - March 6, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXRgbl4TtQ

At the end of the video, she discusses a discovery that seems very interesting, and potentially very important regarding how people of different races perceive each other.

Bonuses Are Good, But Clawbacks Make Them Better

http://www.businessweek.com/management/bonuses-are-good-but-clawbacks-make-them-better-02032012.html?hXFr&campaign_id=spnbw.invrel.mgmt.cap&hQZr

Vulnerability allows hackers to open prison doors, hiding activity from central command

http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/07/prison-door-hack/

Zap your brain into the zone: Fast track to pure focus

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328501.600-zap-your-brain-into-the-zone-fast-track-to-pure-focus.html?full=true

For one Kickstarter employee, Double Fine's project is literally a dream come true

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/40261/For_one_Kickstarter_employee_Double_Fines_project_is_literally_a_dream_come_true.php

Scientists say they’re getting closer to Matrix-style instant learning

http://io9.com/5867113/scientists-say-theyre-getting-closer-to-matrix+stw-?instant-learning

Why Being Sleepy and Drunk Is Great for Creativity

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/why-being-sleepy-and-drunk-are-great-for-creativity/

This Week in Poverty: James Q. Wilson Peddles Poverty Myths

http://www.thenation.com/blog/166052/week-poverty-if-its-sunday-its-myths-press

Insight from men who have worked as women

http://gender.stanford.edu/news/2011/breaking-down-barriers-women-workplace

"Portal 2" meets "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in fun music video

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-57368371-10391705/portal-2-meets-the-nightmare-before-christmas-in-fun-music-video

WikiLeaks: A tale of two worlds

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/201112884026597856.html

Inequality...

http://www.postfunz.com/this-is-what-the-99-are-talking-about-5292.html

The Hot Spotters

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/24/110124fa_fact_gawande?oXFy&mbid=su_ppc_98&oQZy

Governments are not content to mind their own buisness.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120124/11270917527/what-is-acta-why-is-it-problem.shtml

"Some European nations, for example, already have a history of seizing shipments of perfectly legal generic drugs in passage to somewhere else. For example, say that a pharmaceutical company in India is shipping drugs to Brazil that are legal in both countries. However, those drugs violate a patent in Europe. If, during transit, those drugs pass through Europe, customs agents may seize them."

Wtf.

What phantom limbs and mirrors teach us about the brain

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15938103

Rarity

In MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) a problem that many developers have run into is something that got called mudflation. It's when items which were ment to be rare and valuable, end up becoming easy and cheap to obtain on the player market.

A common solution to mudflation is to make items that cannot be traded or sold to other players after they've been equipped. This causes any item that players actually use, to disappear from the player market preventing the market from getting flooded with hand-me-downs.

I've started wondering if perhaps a game seeking to maintain a strong player driven economy, might be better served by instead examining the issue of rarity. If an item's market value gets driven down by how numerous they are, then perhaps it simply isn't rare enough.

Many MMOGs balance their loot drops using the same methods used by single player games. However, in a multiplayer game, a player driven market will be filled with items acquired by the many, many hours of gameplay already enjoyed by previous players. A single player game does not have this, instead the number of hours worth of loot acquisition is restricted solely to the hours put in by the current player. This drastic difference pretty much guarantees that a system designed for one game type won't work well in the other game. The standard system is to just have a % chance of a given loot item dropping from specific monsters. As the total number of monsters slain steadily increases over the life of a MMOG, this results in an ever increasing number of items in existence that were ment to be rare.

Alternate methods of creating rarity and value:

Limited quantity: In EVE online, there were some ultra rare items of which only a specific number were ever given out. Some might even be described as priceless. These items can be traded and often go for crazy high prices when compared to the price of other items with similar functional ability. Having the total quantity of certain items be limited based upon the size of the player base might be an effective way to keep certain items rare.

Increasing utility: A very basic way to increase value is to provide a way for players to make use of old gear. The most common method I'm aware of is to let it be broken down for parts to use in crafting. If the price of the good goes too low, people will start buying it for scrap. If the devs think an item's market price is too low, they can increase the amount of scrap it gives to raise it's value. This can also be a form of item destruction.

Item destruction: EVE Online makes heavy use of item destruction to keep rare items rare. Death in that game results in most of the gear which was in use, being destroyed. Thus, items which are most useful also end up getting destroyed frequently, keeping them from ever being too abundant. Personally, I think it might work to have games with two modes: normal without gear destruction, and a hardcore mode with gear destruction. Then if the two modes share markets, the destruction by the hardcore players can help drain the entire market of valuables. Not everyone wants to deal with gear destruction, but some people do like it, and letting them get stuff destroyed could help the games economy. An alternate form would be to have some regions with gear destruction, though it would be important to make it clear to players that entering such areas is dangerous, as anyone who lost stuff by accident would be rather upset.

Ultimately, the experience some games are trying to create doesn't fit well with an MMO environment: the idea of an item simply needing X hours of effort to acquire item Z runs into problems when people who have done it can give the item away to someone else. It's like trying to fit a single player game into a multi-player environment instead of trying to focus on what creating a living world full of players really means.

Nano Paint Could Make Airplanes Invisible to Radar

http://www.technologyreview.com/article/39238/

Sounds like a really neat technology. It also sounds potentially dangerous. What scares me most is the possibility that someone might use it to develop a stealth ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) and then nuke someone thinking no one will be able to figure out who fired it. Hopefully enough resources will be put into better detection methods to thwart any efforts at creating a stealth ICBM.