1 Jan

• Cat-substitute refrigerator poetry: follow ant values on-line / what wisdom truth!
• So many beach weddings happening in La Jolla right now.
• More joggers than usual, too. Keep up with those resolutions, resolvers!
• Uncomfortable Truthasaurus tells it like it is: http://bit.ly/fDwY8h

2 Jan

• Japanese vs. US military recruitment ads: http://bit.ly/giqgqr
• Camera attached to tip of sword: http://bit.ly/fohNE0 -- So does this qualify as a Second-Person Stabber?
• Dragonforce really needs to partner up with Bernie Taupin or something: http://bit.ly/9A45CH

3 Jan

• @westquote Congratulations!
• This four-year-old is super excited about every aspect of Starcraft 2: http://j.mp/fGQMBV
• Hell, my mp3 player is usually a podcast player, so I totally forgot that it bricks up for 6+ hours if I try to play music on it.
• I should've started a timer when this someone-leaned-on-the-emergency-exit alarm started blaring, because it sure has been a while.

4 Jan

• @thealawson It was pretty much a joke, but yeah, the composer royalties are pretty crucial for making a living as a musician.

5 Jan

• Things aren't looking good for Harmonix: http://bit.ly/gGoFvz
• 2010's robots in review: http://bit.ly/ewMK4q
• Penny Arcade takes on Pepsico's newfound drive to explore the boundary between a snack and a drink: http://bit.ly/gnzEcX
• Consider: Gogurt is definitely a snack. Mango lassi is definitely a drink. Is there a crossover point? The boundary is fuzzy and elusive.

6 Jan

• http://bit.ly/e8WLQW -- "Men love confidence in bed, so as you climax, yell 'I’m way out of your league!'"
• Drumming on your thighs is a lot more fun when you have change in your pocket. Recommended!

7 Jan

• Thanks to sloppy RNG, crackers discover the private key used to sign PS3 binaries. Eurogamer describes the ramifications: http://j.mp/fS0zzD
• They also put forth the theory that the reason it stayed secure for so long was that you could already run Linux on it.
• Oh, *was* that an earthquake? I just assumed it was the tumble dryer shaking the whole goddamn building again.
• "Inventables is the innovator’s hardware store." http://bit.ly/bXtWXE -- A lot of this just looks fun to play with regardless of function.

8 Jan

• The only way to write music and plan traffic patterns on an isometric tropical island at the same time: http://j.mp/fuK5NY (To my knowledge)

9 Jan

• No-fly list, here I come. RT @wikileaks all 637,000 @wikileaks followers are a target of US gov subpoena against Twitter http://is.gd/koZIA
• OMCA has an exhibit that's a recreation of a museum curator's office and another of a museum storage room. How deliciously meta!
• Other OMCA highlight: the bust of a topless woman with her hair modestly arranged to cover her nipples -- but they're poking through anyway.

10 Jan

• "Filippino politician captures his killer on camera" http://bit.ly/gY6LmO
• I want to link to this great photography blog, but not to its terrible presentation. Tell you what, here's the RSS feed: http://j.mp/gYqxXs
• Side-by-side comparison of the Back to the Future final scene to the version they reshot for inclusion in the sequel: http://bit.ly/ezDoqF

11 Jan

• It ain't easy being Octodad: http://bit.ly/bpFLsY
• "Twitter introduced a new feature last month without telling anyone about it. Twitter beta-tested a spine." http://bit.ly/gaJ8Rk
• "The Heinz Automato is challenged to dispense ketchup on 6 items in an obstacle course in under 30 seconds." http://bit.ly/fWKIP2
• @mrasmus Just consider the table one of the items, and you're golden!
• "New research finds using bargain-brand products may deflate your self-image." http://bit.ly/eFYBXa

12 Jan

• Fascinating Gamasutra interview with Rebecca Heineman, one of the secret important figures in early PC game development: http://j.mp/hpT7Gg
• SMS of death, targeting non-smartphones: http://bit.ly/hOodSw

13 Jan

• OMCA highlight I forgot: wicker chair; nearby paper for visitors to note reactions. "It's a chair." "Looks comfy!" [Sketch of cat in chair]
• It's for putting socks on. That's all. http://bit.ly/bNwBJQ
• Breaking news! Earth's position relative to Astrological constellations shifts over millenia, changing your sign: http://bit.ly/fxTx1v
• This changes everything! "While the sign many people were born under may now be different, it shouldn't affect horoscope readings." Oh. Huh.

14 Jan

• Change one little physical constant in GTA IV, and the cars start breakdancing all over the sidewalk: http://bit.ly/hbUffC
• "Why Won't Copyright Holders Run Studies On The Actual Impact Of Piracy?" http://bit.ly/gQ5JuS
• Things Real People Don't Say About Advertising: http://bit.ly/eCAM0O
• The official web site for Space Jam, immaculately preserved in amber since 1996: http://bit.ly/1ONXk
• "I can’t in good conscience call myself an actual atheist. I don’t have the energy to disbelieve in every single god." http://bit.ly/gqgmqP
• Trying boxers again. I don't get it! Where is the support I need for my active coding lifestyle? At this rate why bother wearing anything?

15 Jan

• Boxer update: Maybe feeling like wearing nothing is the *point* of boxers. Even with pants on, it's like a little slice of nothing.
• Someone at Fantasy Flight thought at automated Arkham Horror encounter dealer was a good idea too: http://bit.ly/gnJbvv

16 Jan

• "I Am A Low-Risk Sex Offender." http://bit.ly/hIOjVD
• Chernobyl, 25 years later: http://bit.ly/ezJSlJ
• The Top 14 Astronomy Pictures of 2010: http://bit.ly/gBoDKB
• "Ceiling fan fail." http://bit.ly/gIiqsX -- If only every fail were like this, we'd be drowning in roiling seas of success.

17 Jan

• Stuxnet worm revealed to provide even stronger evidence that we're living in a sci-fi dystopian future: http://bit.ly/hU4u0C

18 Jan

• "The Writer," the final DLC chapter for Alan Wake, brings back the inventive recontextualization of level/art design I loved in Max Payne 2.
• It pretty much delivers on the promise of Alan Wake's setting and pedigree, stealing more than a little from Psychonauts in the process.
• But it also involves a lot of platforming, which works about as well mechanically as it does in any other shooter. So there's that too.

20 Jan

• "Statistical Prediction Rules Out-Perform Expert Human Judgments" http://bit.ly/hiyQhs
• "Reaction from the wine-tasting industry ... has been 'somewhere between violent and hysterical.'" I'd hate being replaced by a formula too.
• Oh man, somebody tell me these "classic postmortem" lectures at GDC 25 will be recorded and made available: http://bit.ly/ht2gIm
• Prince of Persia, Pac-Man, Elite, Another World, Marble Madness, Doom, Pitfall!, Maniac Mansion...
• It says "Incredible!" right on this bottle of upholstery cleaning solution, but the results may be the most credible I've seen all day.
• If you're wondering why Zeit² controls so wonkily, it's because the developers played a little prank on those who play FPSes with inverse-Y.
• "In praise of the sci-fi corridor" http://bit.ly/fXrdN

21 Jan

• @therealcliffyb Does the status quo really need a champion?
• Scanning objects into Minecraft using Kinect: http://bit.ly/eUaKGG

22 Jan

• Release date announced for Duke Nukem Forever. (The news here isn't so much what the date is as that there is one at all.)
• Huh. Apparently like the stimulant effect you seemingly get from caffeine is just relief from caffeine withdrawal. http://bit.ly/hD9Cje
• Really enjoying Jaime Griesemer's game design blog: http://bit.ly/eh5FBO -- More of a book in progress, actually.
• Trying to make sense of the California Driver Handbook. I want to mark it up in red and send it back to the publisher. "See me after class."

23 Jan

• @ibogost Sometimes additional difference in degree is what makes a difference in kind. Sometimes there are fuzzy in-between states. Sorry!
• Finished Dead Space again. Despite my impressions at release, I suspect it's going to end up being one of my favorites this generation.
• (Alongside, for reference: Portal, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy and Bioshock.)
• Great moments in parenting: http://i.imgur.com/3if99.jpg

24 Jan

• Wolfenstein 1D: http://bit.ly/eVhIYn
• Safecracking robot tries every possible combination within "a few hours": http://bit.ly/cvuE2T
• P.S. You can do the same trick by hand with those three digit bike/briefcase locks, in about half an hour.

25 Jan

• "Can we take your picture? C'mon, look mean! Can you call my friend a butthead on his answering machine?" http://bit.ly/ijLPem
• Mrr, the Dead Space 2 demo is pretty bad. Dumped right into combat with no story or gameplay context, the player is lost in both respects.
• Dead Space, at least, started with a fantastic slow burn of a buildup, and the tutorial was perhaps a little *too* exhaustive.
• My take on the whole thing: if you can see the difference between one space and two after a period in a proportional font, sucks to be you.

26 Jan

• 18 new Celebrities in Prison story nodes: http://bit.ly/2H3cIC -- "Oh lordy, it's a shoggoth. Jus' like in the basement at Graceland."
• Engineer, heal thyself: http://bit.ly/eNntIh
• Where's the respect for "girl gamers"? Well, uh, not on Kotaku: http://bit.ly/e9H6wH
• http://fuck-yeah-qwop.tumblr.com/

27 Jan

• Bryan Lewis Saunders' self-portraits-on-drugs series: http://bit.ly/gGUw2d
• The new official pronunciation of "vegan": http://bit.ly/g89OpS

28 Jan

• Adjacent couple at Venus: "You know what the wave of the future is, babe?" "What's the wave of the future, Eric?" "Semaphore flags!"
• "I've already invested our life's savings!"
• "Would-Be Suicide Bomber Killed by Unexpected SMS From Mobile Carrier" http://j.mp/gEP3SP -- "[It] reportedly wished her a Happy New Years."
• That Ellie Krieger, she's a wizard in the kitchen: http://bit.ly/hGeY61
• Alright, I'm doin' it: http://www.formspring.me/mogwaipoet -- Let's see if it lasts longer than my Cow Clicker phase.

29 Jan

• Saw my first wild animals in the Sierras, if you count raccoons foraging near the dumpster.
• Why does Yosemite have all these trees blocking the best vistas?

30 Jan

• Snow, rain, snow, rain, snow, make up your mind!
• Best hair physics ever: http://bit.ly/fT2wP5
• Guess I'm still doing this. Ran out of questions to answer on Formspring: http://www.formspring.me/mogwaipoet
• "Planets viewed from Earth as if they were at the distance of our moon" http://bit.ly/eK8ZKV -- Surprisingly terrifying!

31 Jan

• The lengths competitive Rock Band players will go to to avoid copyright infringement takedowns: http://bit.ly/i5p3N3
• More brilliance from Perfect Drug A Capella dude: what Judas Priest would sound like if they only had 5 distinct notes: http://j.mp/hFt8Js
• 31 guidelines for would-be Utopia designers: http://j.mp/Qp11S "You'll know you're really doing it right if you find your ideals changing."
• As it turns out, Democrats make everyone richer: http://bit.ly/gmoC8g -- "Economic prosperity isn't a zero sum game."
• How get a job in Australia as a bartender and have 8x the discretionary income of a systems analyst in Silicon Valley: http://j.mp/eTL6nW
• Podcast excerpt: Chris Remo on STALKER: Call of Pripyat: http://bit.ly/hswRDp (From Idle Thumbs Ep. 2: http://bit.ly/e8Xzwd)

On Twitter: @mogwai_poet