I installed a plug-in called Spam Karma 2 to see if that can reduce the amount of spam comments I’m getting.  It’s hard to believe that 8 days have already passed since my last entry.  Work has been keeping me busy and when I get home I’m working through a long list of new games.  I’ll have more info posted probably in the next 2 or 3 days.  If you notice that your comment was not added, please email me to verify.  I’m not sure if this plug-in will work, but I had to try something.  I’m getting infinitely more spam than real comments….and that’s just plain dumb.  Someone needs to violently stab some of these spammers.

I suppose the inevitable side effect of doing this kind of blog is that eventually you’re going to start receiving spam posts as well. Currently I have this beast set on manual administration so any time a new user posts anything I have to approve it first. If I approve you and you use your same email every time then you’ll have nothing to worry about.

The problem is that there are quite a few, what appear to be, blog bots running around logging my pages because of some of my most recent posts. It seems that talking about the music industry and video games are hot topics for getting spammed. I’m kind of curious to see whether or not just mentioning this two words will get me recorded by the blog bots. Looking on the bright side however, at least if I’m getting spammed, that must mean that someone is visiting my blog.

Originally the internet was created to transmit information from one scientist to another. This goal has obviously been met, but what the internet has become is, for better or worse, so much more. Anything you can possibly think of is available at your fingertips, and it’s really hard to imagine what this world would be like without this easily accessible source of information waiting to be accessed. The only problem with this is that the access never stops. The mind becomes dependent on this constant flow of input, and much like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, the ultimate quest becomes less about quality and more about quantity.
With that said, I find myself searching web sites late into the night on that journey to become more informed. I don’t even care about the topic, to be honest, as long as I understand what is being said. It’s never static either. One minute I’ll be reading about Marvel super heroes and the next I’ll be investigating the principles behind flight. Does anyone else find themselves craving more knowledge?

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Despite the excessive length of these blogs you might be surprised to know that for the most part I’m writing these on my cell phone. Usually on my way home from work I’ll have an idea pop into my head and since I’ve got around two hours to kill, it becomes a great way to pass the time. In this way it’s also interesting to see how the phones here have developed differently to match the needs of the market. The whole idea of texting as it exists in America and Europe never materialized here, and instead most people either send actual email from phone to phone or sometimes a lighter,more text-like message. It costs around 3 to 8 cents to send an email based on the length and attached pictures and it can be cheaper or free if that person is in your family. Unfortunately for Europeans and Americans cell phone companies saw how popular this technology could be and jacked up prices even for the bastardized format that is texting. Lrn2grmmrnoob … The future of our children is oh so bright.
Yesterday I talked briefly about a group of rocketeers making a replca X-wing and I was thinking that I’d focus on that topic more. Of course I’m interested in the project itself, but what I’m actually really happy to see is this kind of casual teamwork still alive in the US. I’ve always believed that what made Americans great was that sense of individualism and curiosity of our surroundings being applied to teamwork and ingenuity. It’s not so often that you see this kind of community activity anymore, and even more-so for one related to a scientific venture. Perhaps I’m simply uniformed or just plain wrong, but it really feels like times have changed a lot even in my short lifetime.

Also, as an update to last week’s X-wing replica story, you might check out the story again to see the launch video. The launch was a great success, but the X-wing fell to pieces very quickly after rocketing into the sky. It’s really a cool thing to see and a perfect time to cue the Porkin jokes.

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Ooohhh!  I found a great story about how a few antique planes were “pulled over” by F-16s because they took off while Bush was in town.  The planes were part of an air show but had no radios so they didn’t know about the no-fly zone.  That would be seriously scary to see one of those things coming right at you.

I’ve done some housekeeping and changed things around a bit. Feel free to use the smiley faces and various other stuff in comments now. I was having trouble getting them properly displayed in the last design, but that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Enjoy!

I was browsing around to my various regular sites and came across this absolute gem of information. I’ve always been a big Star Wars fan (although my interest has waned along with the veritable meltdown of Lucas’ sanity) but seeing something like this brings a tiny bit of the Star Wars spark back to my heart.

It seems that a group of rocketeers has decided to make a 21-foot long replica of the X-wing fighter that will be powered by four jet engines and will actually fly. The beast has a 19-foot long wing span and it’s just a thing of beauty. The model won’t be able to land without the aid of parachutes, but here’s hoping that it has a successful flight. They will be launching it on Oct. 10th. Keep an eye on this one.

Today I’m going to fly off into ultra-bizarre land and explain to you a hobby I’ve had for a few years. I don’t have a name for it or anything because it’s essentially just walking, but it makes crowded places like Tokyo really enjoyable. I have to say that you could probably apply this to cars as well but after you read the below description you’ll understand the inherit risk.

To start off with, you need to walk really fast. Not just a little bit, but pretty much twice as fast as the normal flow of traffic. This sounds stupid, but this is the main, if not the only, rule that you have to follow. The object of this hobby is to move from place to place as fast as possible while maneuvering around the other pedestrians and without stopping. While you’re traveling at that speed the biggest risk is bumping into someone else. This becomes especially dangerous in crowded train stations where there are lots of people moving in different directions, and at night in Japan you also have to watch out for those stopping suddenly to bow and say their farewells.

So now you understand the extremely silly basics of this game that I play. The fun part however comes when you start adding additional tricks to make sure you aren’t stopping. These are just a few (and I added names to these just for the heck of it):

Shielding- Shielding is extremely useful in very large crowds of varying speeds where you can’t seem to move forward. In order to shield you actually have to find someone slow and preferably big. This person actually affects the flow of traffic in their favor and you can use this to your advantage. They usually create natural openings in their wake and this is where you want to be.

Taking up wingman- This is just like it sounds and is the opposite of shielding. You take up a position either directly behind or diagonally from someone faster and more aggresive. Some people are jerks when they walk and expect others to get out of their way. These people are great for being a wingman because they are forcing openings in crowds. Just remember that you still need to be making forward progress so you need to ditch this person the first opportunity you get.

Backdrafting- Especially in train stations you’ll find people moving perpindicular to traffic flow. For a split second, you’ll find that a rift opens behind that person as others move to avoid him. Just like fire rushing to eat up pockets of air, you can use that rift to make great speed.

I already know that this game sounds ridiculous, but when you consider that a lot of people here walk like zombies, you can probably picture how fun this is. As I mentioned before these techniques are probably already being used by professional race car drivers, but I’ve just applied them to walking. It’s not as fun doing this game in the US unless it’s really crowded but you should give it a try.
If anything, you’re moving so fast that it’s going to be great exercise.

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I learned a new expression today that is actually pretty useful: the Streisand effect. It’s kind of complicated to explain in such a short space, but essentially it is a backlash against censorship on the internet. You can find out more about this term on wikipedia, but it originates from an incident involving Barbara Streisand. Apparently she sued a photographer, who was trying to document coastal erosion, because her house was in some of the photos and she wanted them removed from the internet. In response to the suit filed against the photographer, the denizens of the internet spread the pictures of her house everywhere essentially making it impossible to remove them.
This isn’t the only time this kind of event has occurred, but for the most part the Streisand effect takes place when corporations try to manipulate information.

I’m posting two entries today. I actually wrote the one below a while back, but I was lazy and never got around to posting it. Scroll down the page to see that other entry.

For now however, I’m going to talk about videogame politics and also try to clear up some misconceptions. I mostly want to focus your attention on a crazy lawyer by the name of Jack Thompson. The name probably isn’t familiar to most people, but if you have heard any news linking video games to violence in the past 10 years you might be surprised to find out that it’s, for the most part, the work of this one individual.

I hear over and over (especially from my mom) about the concerns related to video game violence. Obviously there are violent games out there, but there is one crucial factor that seems to be ignored – games also come with ratings. Video game ratings are exactly the same as movies only with different lettering. For example, G (General) in movies is the same as E (Everyone) in games, and R (Restricted) is the same as M (Mature). The reasons why these ratings are given for each particular game are detailed on the back of every box, and in most stores now, you can’t actually buy M games without a parent present or unless you’re 17 or older. The ratings are done on a voluntary basis by the ESRB in the United States and there are similar groups all around the world making sure parents know what to expect when buying games. Video game violence is exactly like movies. If you would never take your child to see a Rated-R movie, then you should never be purchasing an M-Rated game. This distinction needs to be clearly made and especially if you are under the impression that games = children. For most people my age (late 20s) games have almost entirely replaced television as a source of entertainment. We are not children and as such have come to expect adult oriented content that maintains our interest, that doesn’t necessarily mean sex and violence, but also doesn’t rule it out. The same could be said for watching Disney’s The Lion King versus watching Friday the 13th. If I want to be entertained as an adult I watch Friday the 13th, if I want to enjoy family-friendly fare I watch The Lion King. I would never take a young child to see Friday the 13th. Period.

Jack Thompson is trying to confuse this issue however. He has spent his whole career trying to lump all games (whether they are for children or not) into one large violence-causing category. He was the person that got everyone to believe Columbine was caused by video games, he was again seen trying to prove that the Virginia Tech shooting was caused by video games (despite the shooter not actively playing games), he was the one creating unnecessary publicity concerning the “Hot Coffee” scandal related to Grand Theft Auto, and he continues to aggressively pursue any game company with litigation simply for the purpose of publicity. He is repeatedly used by the media in an attempt to create a link between violence and games and has actually sunk to threats and litigation against those who have criticized him. Jack Thompson’s role in strengthening the rating system of video games is a good one, but aside from that, it becomes a parenting issue. Any publicity regarding violent video games and high-profile shootings is merely a play by Jack to keep his name in the news and ultimately makes it harder for uninformed parents to figure out what is really going on. There has been no direct correlation found between games and violence (it may be one of many factors but not the sole one), and the idea that games are only for children needs to be fixed in order for this whole topic to move forward responsibly.

Before I go, I might remind you that Jack Thompson is the same man who actually gave a note to Janet Reno in order to learn if she was a homosexual, the same man who actually tried to get the Florida Bar Association voted unconstitutional because he felt they had a vendetta against him and his religious beliefs, and also the same man who has had disbarment proceedings filed against him due to his inappropriate behavior as a layer. I recommend checking out his wikipedia page to see everything he has done over the years. It’s very interesting and actually only the tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t negate that violence and video games needs to be evaluated, but it does show you that you can’t always believe everything you read or see in the news.