Design Diary: Dice-y Issues

http://www.sandandsteam.net/2012/05/11/design-diary-dice-y-issues/

6 Scientific Discoveries That Laugh in the Face of Physics

http://www.cracked.com/article_19668_6-scientific-discoveries-that-laugh-in-face-physics.html

Google Builds Largest Database of Links to Pirated Media

http://torrentfreak.com/google-builds-largest-database-of-links-to-pirated-media-120717/

In which i discuss friendship … again

http://allfookedup.com/in-which-i-discuss-friendship-again/

Go to beach, make metal furniture like it's nothing.

http://www.wimp.com/metalfurniture/

2012 vs. 1984: Young adults really do have it harder today

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/2012-vs-1984-young-adults-really-do-have-it-harder-today/article2425558/

"Canadian Real Estate Association data show the average national price of a home in mid-1984 was $76,214. If houses kept up with inflation – and that would be a pretty good result all on its own – the average house would now cost $154,587. In April, the actual average was $369,677."

" Data from a 2011 Conference Board of Canada study on income inequality shows the average family after-tax income in 1984 was $48,500. In 2009, the latest date included in the study, income levels had risen to $60,000. In 1984, a house might have cost a family 1.6 times its annual income. Today, we’re looking at a multiple of something around six."

The Decline in Durability

http://www.alternet.org/visions/155238/Is_Your_Stuff_Falling_Apart?_Thank_Wal-Mart/

Bleach Amv "Move your Body"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQMX-61ozZE

Why NikolaTesla was the greatest geek who ever lived.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla

Somalia: New gaming rage keeps teens off the street

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20120504/somalia-video-game-popularity-pros-and-cons-120504/

Rethinking (Instead of Eliminating) Recess at Low-Income Schools

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/rethinking-instead-of-eliminating-recess-at-low-income-schools/256679/

Tend and Befriend

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200009/tend-and-befriend

7 Basic Things You Won't Believe You're All Doing Wrong

http://www.cracked.com/article_19121_7-basic-things-you-wont-believe-youre-all-doing-wrong.html?page=full

Playing God: On Death, Motherhood and Creating (Artificial) Life

http://kotaku.com/5880635/playing-god-on-death-motherhood-and-creating-artificial-life

Rapid Cell Regeneration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m129fV_h9pk

Holding Birth Control Hostage

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/04/doctors-holding-birth-control-hostage

George Hotz, Sony, and Anonymous Hacker Wars : The New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/07/120507fa_fact_kushner

The Self-Made Myth

http://www.alternet.org/visions/155149/the_self-made_myth:_debunking_conservatives%27_favorite_--_and_most_dangerous_--_fiction_/

Copyleft?

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html

I find it rather frustrating when people arguing for greater freedom decide to be just as restrictive regarding distribution of their software as those arguing for control. Ultimately, both systems produce software that is useless to many businesses and entrepreneurs. If I want to make a game with the intent to sell it, I need software I'm allowed to sell, not something restricted to being used in free works. Such restrictions greatly hamper the spread of software tools, slowing down progress. (Copyright restricts distribution to owner permitted methods, Copyleft restricts distribution to free methods).

I much prefer the WTFPL.
If you intend to sell it, use copyright. Otherwise, just put it out there for all to use, so it can spread as far as possible. Copyleft is just another way of using copyright to set rules on how software and other works can be used.

P.S. Copyright laws in general need to be heavily reworked.

EVE Evolved: Building stronger communities

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/17/eve-evolved-building-stronger-communities/

Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

E-mail needs this:

One thing I think emails need: a way for an email to tell the email server (like gmail) to request another login verification before allowing the person to view it. This could prevent a stranger from viewing certain emails if the owner forgets to log off when they leave the computer.

The Definition of Insanity is...

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-therapy/200907/the-definition-insanity-is

5 Ways Modern Men Are Trained to Hate Women

http://www.cracked.com/article_19785_5-ways-modern-men-are-trained-to-hate-women.html

Wait, what? Really? That's... scary.

Why We Have to Go Back to a 40-Hour Work Week to Keep Our Sanity

http://www.alternet.org/visions/154518/americans_are_worked_to_death:_how_going_back_to_40-hour_weeks_will_save_our_sanity,_health_and_productivity

DayZ – What have I become?

http://leviathyn.com/blog/review/dayz-review-what-have-i-become/

Not Okay

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/5436-Not-Okay

How I learned to stop worrying and love Anonymous

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-anonymous/article2366626/

Why Diablo 3 is less addictive than Diablo 2: a “scientific” explanation

http://www.alexc.me/a-scientific-explanation-why-diablo-3-is-less-addictive-than-diablo-2/417/

The 8-Hour Sleep Myth: How I Learned That Everything I Knew About Sleep Was Wrong

http://www.alternet.org/health/154424/the_8-hour_sleep_myth:_how_i_learned_that_everything_i_knew_about_sleep_was_wrong/

The Science of Happiness...

http://www.alternet.org/health/90411/the_science_of_happiness:_is_it_all_bullshit/

A Lengthy Analysis of D3 (specifically, it's flaws)

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5573701013

AI designs its own video game

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328554.900-ai-designs-its-own-video-game.html

Anonymous ‘Might Well Be the Most Powerful Organization on Earth’

http://www.virtualthreat.com/2012/05/18/anonymous-might-well-be-the-most-powerful-organization-on-earth/

Q: It seems like there’s a war going on between hacktivists or information activists and law enforcement. (At least 40 alleged members of Anonymous have been arrested around the world in the last year.) Who do you think is winning right now?
A: I think it’s a stalemate at the moment. I think eventually we’ll win. I’ve always believed that right will always prevail. But at the moment the arrests have had a chilling effect on the movement. For a 30-minute online protest I’m facing 15 years in a penitentiary. For the moment that’s the only indictment against me but I expect there will be more. And it’s not just about the potential penalty but it’s the trial itself for which they delivered a terabyte of discovery. That’s about 150,000 pages for a 30-minute protest. That means my trial will be two years long and during that time I’m under strict surveillance by the FBI. I can’t access Twitter, Facebook or IRCs (Internet Relay Chats)– I can’t contact any known member of Anonymous – who are about 50,000 people around the world.

So basically it shuts me down as an activist. Even if I prevail in court, I’m still shut down for two years.

...

Yes, Chicks Dig Jerks

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/292424/yes-chicks-dig-jerks-kevin-d-williamson?pg=1

How you can use metrics to predict when players will quit

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/170546/How_you_can_use_metrics_to_predict_when_players_will_quit.php

Rant: Even If No One Listens, Let The Diablo III Review Bombs Fall

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/05/rant-even-if-no-one-listens-let-the-diablo-iii-review-bombs-fall/

I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor

When Games Allow Mods, Beautiful Things Can Happen

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120516/09044318944/when-games-allow-mods-beautiful-things-can-happen.shtml

Anonymity, Darknets and Staying Out of Federal Custody, Part One: Deep Web

http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/blog/anonymity-darknets-and-staying-out-federal-custody-part-one-deep-web-0133455/

Is YouTube Killing Music Piracy?

http://torrentfreak.com/is-youtube-killing-music-piracy-110605/

Why Patriarchal Men Are Utterly Petrified of Birth Control

http://www.alternet.org/visions/154144/why_patriarchal_men_are_utterly_petrified_of_birth_control__and_why_well_still_be_fighting_about_it_100_years_from_now

BitTorrent is the New Radio, Says Counting Crows Frontman

http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-is-the-new-radio-says-counting-crows-frontman-120514/

Japanese TRON light suit dance routine

http://www.wimp.com/suitdance/

Animal Crossing: A Touching Story

http://www.noddegamra.co.uk/animal-crossing-a-touching-story/114/comment-page-1/

If Modern Humans Are So Smart, Why Are Our Brains Shrinking?

http://discovermagazine.com/2010/sep/25-modern-humans-smart-why-brain-shrinking/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C

Gmail's Security Hole Could Lead to Mass Harvesting of Accounts

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27863/

This 28-Year-Old's Startup Is Moving $350 Million And Wants To Completely Kill Credit Cards

http://www.businessinsider.com/this-28-year-old-is-making-sure-credit-cards-wont-exist-in-the-next-few-years-2011-11?page=1

Family Secrets: What My Son's Diagnosis Revealed About Our Past

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victoria-costello/post-50-time-to-unload-your-family-secrets_b_1274878.html

Chomsky: “Jobs aren’t coming back”

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/08/chomsky_jobs_arent_coming_back/singleton/

Emerging Drug of Abuse: OXI

http://www.addictionts.com/2011/12/11/emerging-drug-of-abuse-oxi/

[Portal 2] Want You Gone - Fan Music Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ClYY5mwbc

Diablo III is doing partial free play wrong.

Diablo III has a Starter Edition (currently requires guest pass) that makes it possible to play a limited amount of the game for free: http://www.geek.com/articles/games/how-to-play-diablo-iii-for-free-20120515/

"As for what the Starter Edition includes: you get to play through Act I of the game up to the Skeleton King. You can’t take a character past Level 13, there’s no access to the Real Money Auction House, and matchmaking is limited to fellow Starter Edition players. Even so, this is just a (free) taster of the gameplay by the end of which you should know for sure if you want to buy the full version."

I call this doing it wrong. That's nothing more than a demo. Doing it right, is what Hellgate: Global does. They claim to be free-to-play, but that's only for the first half of the game. Halfway through, there's a paywall. However, it's possible to buy the needed pass with in game currency from other players. This is very similar to EVE Online's PLEX system, and makes it possible for people with more time than money to get access to the game for free, while also undermining the black-market gold sellers. It also can bring in lots of money.

D3 already has a real money auction house, so it seems silly to me to not allow free players to obtain real money in the auction house by selling goods, and then use that real money to buy the game. Locking them out of the real money auction house just makes it harder for fans to buy Diablo III.

The Best Way to Ruin Your Appearance

http://en.paperblog.com/the-best-way-to-ruin-your-appearance-65283/

The Secret World's Buisness Model

Update: My links died :( Fixed! I think...
http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showthread.php?t=20339
http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=20339

"At the presentation we revealed that The Secret World will feature a traditional paid subscription model combined with micro-transactions through an in-game store."

This sounds like a really bad idea to me. Two other MMOs I'm looking forward to are Guild Wars 2, and Firefall. Guild Wars 2 is asking for initial box fee, and micro-transactions, but no subscription. Firefall is going with no box fee, no sub, only a micro-transaction store. The Secret World is competing with those two games for my attention and money, yet they are asking for box fee, subscription fee, and a micro-transaction store that is likely to have things I want (if it doesn't, then it's a crappy store). That's a lot of money to spend on one game, when there's other games I'm interested in that ask for a lot less. At that kind of price, The Secret World will have to somehow convince me that it's totally amazing, or I'm not gonna spend any money on it. It will have a hard time doing that if I never play it.

A post on the problem of mixing subscriptions and micro-transactions as well as some other random related things: http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showpost.php?p=532090&postcount=303 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:3vpMzy_SDXAJ:www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showpost.php%3Fp%3D532090%26postcount%3D303+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

P.S. I find it kinda weird how hard it was to find info on the business model they are using. Most MMO web sites have an F.A.Q. that's easy to find and answers the question of how they will be funding themselves. The Secret World didn't. I had to visit the forums to find out if they would have subs or not.

The Lengthening Arm of Uncle Sam’s ‘Pirate’ Justice

http://torrentfreak.com/the-lengthening-arm-of-uncle-sams-pirate-justice-120506/

Pathfinder Online Technology Demo

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/pathfinder-online-technology-demo

My mom often said that it takes money, to make money. This is an example. They have potential investors who need to see some work done before they are willing to invest, and potential workers who need to see some money before they are willing to work. So they need to raise money to fund the work that will help them raise money.

Teachers urged to address porn factor

http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/teachers-urged-to-address-porn-factor-20120210-1sjtl.html

Worlds Apart – Portrayal of Women in Guild Wars 2 and Tera Online

http://geek.pikimal.com/2012/05/03/worlds-apart-portrayal-of-women-in-guild-wars-2-and-tera-online/

Busted: the politics of cleavage and a glance

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/busted-the-politics-of-cleavage-and-a-glance-20120211-1sy7e.html

Google May Face $10 Million Fine Over Safari Cookie Hack

http://www.webpronews.com/google-may-face-10-million-fine-over-safari-cookie-hack-2012-05

Google is failing at their motto of don't be evil.

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/