Monotremes and Obscenity

Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-11T00:08:26Z

17:32 @annetrent - now you just gotta convince. Sig to get one ;-) #

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Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-10T00:04:49Z

15:54 Holy crap. Bike insurance is WAY cheaper than car insurance. #

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Open response to Aaron Greenberg.

2008-05-09T20:30:07Z

In response to this bunch of spindoctoring and headline grabbing: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=188658

Aaron -

You ask how come Blu-ray did not result in better games? You ask where is the complete 1080p game library we were promised?

Simple. Developers are developing for the PS3 *and* your shitty XBox 360. All of the platform exclusive titles *have* been better games exactly *because* of their exclusivity. The platform exclusive titles *have* been running at 1080p.

Unfortunately, for the developers that must cripple their game by putting it on a console that doesn't have the capabilities of the PS3, they're forced to leave content out, or scale features back because the Xbox 360 simply doesn't have the capability or runs the very likely risk of dropping dead from the inability to effectively cool your console. There was even a developer who recently came out and said as much.

Is Sony blameless? Hell no. As you accurately point out, nearly every single tech demo from GDC and E3 of years past has been delayed. But are delays really something to crow about? I seem to remember some truism about people in glass houses. It might apply here.

You ask where are the achievements?

I ask, why do I need achievements to cover up for a lack of gameplay?

I played through all 10 hours of Heavenly Sword. I don't see that I gain anything from repetitively replaying it simply to gain some merit badge that declares my ability to withstand the same content over and over and over again.

I would much rather play games without achievements simply because I believe that achievements are a crutch that is employed when the game can not stand on its own without them. Again, Heavenly Sword is a great example of this. Ten hours of gameplay is not worth my sixty dollars. I'm so happy I rented this instead of buying it and subsequently feeling cheated out of my hard earned money. I'd feel similarly cheated by paying normal movie ticket prices for a forty-five minute movie. Achievements are simply not a solution to a short game. It does not enhance your game. It does not add playable content to your game. It simply distracts the gullible from the fact that you've shipped a shorter game. It dupes the buyer into spending the same money for less actual content.

I'll take games like Echochrome and Patapon over merit badges every time.

Overall, Mr. Greenberg, your questions appear to have been shat out of your word hole without adequate employment of your think-box. You're an idiot who can't see beyond the end of his own nose. With GTA4 out and demonstrating better graphic quality and less pop-in on the PS3, and MGS4 around the corner, we're now seeing the global sales of PS3 accelerating past the Xbox360. Your mediocre console is quickly becoming less and less relevant to the console war.

Microsoft took second place last generation. This time around, I hope you guys can be content with dead last this time around.

YAY!

2008-05-09T15:21:48Z

Last night I got my bike back from the mechanic. So, in a few minutes I'll be riding it to work.

The bike ended up needing a new chain & sprockets, battery terminal leads, plus a new front tire.

Overall, I'm really happy that the repairs were all basic maintenance stuff and nothing major.

Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-09T00:06:29Z

12:08 I really enjoy swapping out old tools for new ones. #
13:59 Yay! The mechanic is done with my bike! #

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Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-08T00:05:40Z

09:17 Traffic on aurora & fremont bridges sucks. Was there a jumper? #

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Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-07T00:08:48Z

10:31 This little dutch boy is tired of plugging holes. #

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Job Opening.

2008-05-06T23:22:26Z

Anyone need a job?

My employer is looking for someone to do Windows server administration and desktop support for our ~50 person company.

There's likely to be some light Linux admin stuff, but this is mostly a Windows-focused position.

Ping me if you want a copy of the full job posting.

NIN

2008-05-06T14:55:39Z

If you haven't yet gotten it, NIN has a new album out. They've released it for free under the Creative Commons.

Get it here: http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup

Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-05T00:05:13Z

18:14 Looking for something to do with our evening. Anyone doing anything fun? #

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Twitter cross-pollination.

2008-05-04T00:07:26Z

18:21 Waiting for the drawbridge to close. Fun. #
19:01 Trick-taking card game idea: coitus interruptus. How many times will you score before the mother-in-law surprises you? #
00:31 Aggravated at GTA4's lock-ups. #
15:16 Seeing Harold & Kumar 2 at Oak Tree with the wife. #

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Funny because it's true.

2008-05-02T21:25:11Z

Yanked from here.

Movies!

2008-05-02T05:50:22Z

Just got back from Iron Man. Best. comic. book. movie. yet.

Last week, we watched Sleuth, which has Michael Caine and Jude Law in a couple of fantastic roles that are well outside their usual fare. Definitely worth seeing.

Also saw Angel-a, which is a really cute Luc Besson film. Being filmed in black and white is a really nice touch. This one's a date movie, and totally worth renting.

Java - Because Ada is too simple.

2008-04-26T00:19:40Z

So... here's one of the things I don't like about Java.

In the Java API, you'll find:

WHICH ONE DO I USE?!?!?!

I can has motorcycle!

2008-04-22T04:49:09Z

Welp. In my usual display of expedient consumerism, I shopped for, found, and bought a motorcycle tonight.

I bought one of these:

It's a 2000 Honda Shadow 750 ACE.

I rode it home tonight, which is a whole long post in itself. It was quite the adventure. I'm certain I have a few new grey hairs for it.

However, my legs are numb and I'm gonna go watch a movie now. So, I'll post about it later.

The weekend.

2008-04-21T15:01:04Z

Friday night, we watched AVP:R, which was long and kinda mediocre. Not terrible, but not very good either.

Saturday and Sunday were spent in motorcycle training. The weather was mostly shit. I guess I can happily say that I'm not worried about riding in varying conditions.

Now, the only thing left is for me to hit the DOL and have them put the endorsement on my license. After that, I'll be purchasing a bike for commuting. Right now I'm looking in the 500-750cc range.

Also, on Saturday night we saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was awesome. Not quite as many jokes per minute as Knocked Up, but definitely hilarious and definitely worth watching.

Guns make you happy, wealthy, and generous.

2008-04-20T05:23:40Z

Stolen from guns:

Original Source

Choice excerpts:

"According to the 2006 General Social Survey, which has tracked gun ownership since 1973, 34% of American homes have guns in them."

"Furthermore, they [gun owners] earn 32% more per year than nonowners."

"In 2002, they [gun owners] were more likely to give money to charity than people without guns (83% to 75%). This charity gap doesn't reflect their somewhat higher incomes. Gun owners were also more likely to give in other ways, such as donating blood. Are gun owners unsentimental? In 2004, they were more likely than those without guns to strongly agree that they would "endure all things" for the one they loved (45% to 37%)."

-----

I think this data says something important. It says that firearms ownership is an essential part of the culture and heritage of a significant number of Americans.

This is exactly why I'm proud to be a gun owner. Ours is a cultural identity that breeds happy, successful, self-reliant people who are giving and care about their community.

I can walk into any firing range or firearms store, and strike up a conversation with anyone in there, and know with certainty that I have something in common with every one of them that is larger than simply sharing similar choices as a consumer.

Now, that's not to say we're all identical, or even that we all have the same political views. On the contrary. We're as varied and different as any other culture. However, we all fundamentally believe the same thing: firearms are an integral and vital part of our lives, and we're better people for it.

I'm a lemming!

2008-04-10T23:20:05Z

[blentz@blentz ~]$ history | awk '{a[$2]++ } END{for(i in a){print a[i] " " i}}'|sort -rn|head
224 ls
167 cd
137 ssh
97 sudo
64 svn
30 rsync
28 vim
20 rm
19 cat
15 grep

Movie Watchin'

2008-04-09T22:26:22Z

Last night, it was:

There Will Be Blood - Brilliant. Totally deserving of all the Oscars it won.
Walk Hard - Humorous, clever at times. Not great, but funny enough to be worth renting if you like low-brow humor.

Movies I've seen recently

2008-04-02T19:11:17Z

It's been a couple of weeks since I've recapped the movies we've watched recently. So, here's a big list of stuff I've seen in the last month or so:

2 days in paris - A vulgar, funny indie romantic comedy.
casshern A live action remake of an old anime. Lots of anime cliches everywhere. Effects are reminiscent of a low-budget version of 300. cthulu_bunny would like this one.
the company - Excellent. Much better because it's a mini-series and has the time to fully develop all of its characters.
love in the time of cholera - Fucking Brilliant even for a romance, which isn't a genre I really like much. Javier Bardem is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. He's extremely skilled at his craft.
atonement - I have mixed feelings on this one. It was good, but through the whole movie I kept wondering what the story's point was. The ending is perfect and answered my question excellently. I'm just not thrilled that I had to get through the whole movie to understand why I was there to begin with.
southland tales - Terrible. It was trying to be way too clever and failed at even telling a halfway good story.
revolver - I'm not certain I fully understood what was happening enough to really have an opinion. This was a very confusing movie with rare moments of clarity.
dan in real life - Meh. Completely mediocre.
hitman - Not as bad as I thought it would be. Not as good as I wanted it to be.
bee movie - Meh. Mediocre kid's movie.
no country for old men - Brilliant. I didn't want this one to end.
outlaw - Awful. Only got about 10 minutes in. The camera work is worse than the Bourne movies, which I didn't think was possible.
american gangster - Quite good. Solid acting from everyone involved. Nothing makes a better story than true events.
30 days of night - Good for what it was trying to be. A neat new vampire movie.
beowulf - Dismal. I fell asleep inside the first half-hour.
the invasion - A brisk-paced remake of the classic Body Snatchers story. It was okay, if a bit hasty in the pacing.
king of california - Cute, quirky father-daughter movie where the father is batshit insane. Hijinks ensue. Very enjoyable.
martian child - Cute, quirky father-son movie where the son is batshit insane. Hijinks ensue. Less enjoyable, attempts at being heartwarming are too predictable.
to kill a king - Incredibly good. A tale about the relationship between Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. Excellent spin on an important event in British history.

WAAAAAGH.

2008-04-01T19:25:39Z

Wow. Warhammer Online is looking really really really good.

My thoughts on this morning's post.

2008-03-28T23:08:38Z

Earlier today I talked about two similar situations that ended very differently for the people involved.

I figure that it's worth expanding on my views a bit outside of the comments.

First off, it should be noted that, while I enjoy firearms, I do not expect everyone in the world to own one. It's a nice idea, and one I would totally support, were I to pick a particular eschatological cause for which to fight. However, I do believe that it's unnecessary to have 100% ownership. While firearms owners can be shown to have a statistically significant positive effect on the safety of those around them, I also believe that there is a certain tipping point where focusing on this one thing will bring diminishing returns.

So, that said, it seems obvious that having ready access to a firearm is one of the things that played a part in how one of the scenarios went down, but there were numerous other factors as well.

The thing that I wanted to focus on for the experiment is each person's mental state. Each person made a choice based on the information they had available to them. One chose to fight back while the other chose to sit on the phone and wait for help to come.

This is where I have the biggest problem.

Fundamentally, there is a core belief that everyone has about whether they are in control of their own destiny. I believe this is what motivates some to keep looking for solutions in the face of adversity and defeat, and what is the source of the helplessness in others.

Obviously the will to power can only get you so far. Preparation, training, education, awareness, effective tools, and pure random dumb luck are all key elements in whether you successfully prevail in the face of a violent encounter.

However, without that will, I have a lot of doubt that anyone will bother to acquire the other things necessary to maximize the odds of survival.

I find it shameful and appalling that in all of the "call 911 when you need help" propaganda, few, if any, of them include any information about getting to a safe location before you call and nearly all of them tell you to stay on the line until the operator, who is not there and can not possibly be an accurate judge of the danger's immanence, tells you to hang up.

In my opinion, both of these are just plain bad advice when it comes to interacting with a criminal.

My advice:
1. Assure your own safety, by fight or by flight. Its your call. Every situation is different, only you can judge your needs.
2. If the opportunity presents itself, call 911 and quickly give all important information, acknowledge receipt of this information and confirm dispatch, then get off the phone and refocus on assuring your own safety.
3. Do not second-guess any decisions made in #1. Make a plan and execute the plan. Getting caught up in the endless series of what-if scenarios will slow you down and possibly risk your success. Even sub-optimal plans sometimes get enough right to succeed.

It is my hope that others will cultivate the desire to survive, not abdicate their survival to someone else's care, and will take steps to help assure their own safety.

In summary:
I believe in the individual freedom and safety of every human being as an inherent right that must be defended individually by everyone. This should be easy to agree on.
I believe firearms are an effective means to secure and defend both of these. You don't have to agree with me on this.

Statistical Models Ahoy.

2008-03-28T22:13:44Z

Programmers Need To Learn Statistics Or I Will Kill Them All

HELL YES!

I think he could extend this to the general populace, but at the very least, I really want to print copies and hand them out to everyone in my office. Good grief.

I've been meaning to do this...

2008-03-28T17:09:54Z

I had this idea when the incident happened, but I haven't gotten around to it until now.

I'd like to play a little game with all of you. The rules are simple, answer one question. This is simply a Gedankenexperiment. You don't have to tell me the answer, though you can if you like.

Which of these two women would you rather be?

Woman #1
Woman #2

Neither of these women are unique. They are both fairly ordinary. There are literally dozens of news stories about people just like them in the same situation every single day.

Read the articles, and think about it. Which of those people would you want to be?

Fuck the companion cube.

2008-03-25T07:52:17Z

Gamefly has delivered me The Orange Box of Happiness.

Team Fortress 2 is AWESOME, even with the PS3 controller.

I just finished Portal. FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC. Though, I have no idea what all the fanfare was about the companion cube. The turrets were SO MUCH COOLER.

I also recently finished Call of Duty 4 which was above average. I enjoyed playing something other than a WW2 FPS for a change.

In other news, I've been outsmarting myself with my l33t budgeting skills. Let's just say I just discovered the source of a wee discrepancy that's been plaguing us for the last three months. Hoo boy. It's *almost* like we were saving for a rainy day... or something.

I've also been getting the wife into playing Oblivion. So far, it's going fairly well. I have to help out with some of the more intense combats, but most of the time I'm watching her play, which is a fun experience itself.

I'm also having a lot of fun getting into being on the Fedora Infrastructure team. I'm still a n00b and am learning my way around, but I'm already helping out on an issue or two. It's really great to be able to dive a little deeper into contributing to FOSS.