Aug 01

• Yep, in case you'd forgotten, Blizzard is still owned by Activision. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/01/diablo-iii-no-mods-online-only-cash-trades/
• I feel terrible for the people for whom "get to play Diablo 3" vs. "don't have to put up with corporate scumbag bullshit" is a hard choice.
• Edsger Dijkstra wrote: "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes."
• As soon as we figure out a better way to reach the stars I am leaving this rusty old shit behind.
• Thank goodness for all the telescope fetishists out there, though. Can you configure remote debugging in Visual Studio for me?
• What actually happens when you try that trick where you pick up girls using a falconer's glove as a prop: http://riotclitshave.com/2011.07/110525_011.jpg
• When I compile "hello world" in Turbo C, the exe file is 6k but in Microsoft C it's 9k! WHERE ARE THOSE EXTRA 3K COMING FROM MICROSOFT
• Belle and Sebastian, "Marx and Engels" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ihsxw_1n0
• RT @RAgamesound I usually just mute the art when I play videogames.

Aug 02

• http://www.aosabook.org/en/index.html "The authors of twenty-five open source applications explain how their software is structured, and why."
• The line past which you can ascribe culpability to a subordinate for his or her organization's crimes is fuzzy, but it exists.
• On one side of the line: the adolescent soldier fighting for an African warlord; the janitor who's lucky to have any job in this economy.
• *Way* on the other side of the line: everyone with the luxury of choosing to work for a media company rather than one that's not as "cool."
• "I mean, look where the religious studies major got me! I'm a floating alligator head in the goddamned desert!" http://nonadventures.com/2007/10/06/gator-aid/
• Michael Pachter's idiocy is usually harmless, but here he's actively working to change people's lives for the worse. http://www.develop-online.net/news/38317/Unpaid-crunch-deserves-no-sympathy-Pachter
• The sole Twitter archival service that actually functioned properly, without forcing you spam your followers, went down in the past month.
• It's partly my own fault for not publicly praising them for being competent. I'm so sorry, Searchtastic! (Yes, it was the awful name.)
• SoulEye, "Potential For Anything," from the VVVVVV soundtrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj8MsbgpjaQ

Aug 03

• Bill Corbett: "My wife turned me to me recently and said kindly, but seriously: 'Honey, stop riffing breakfast.'" http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/j6zmm/iama_writer_and_performer_at_rifftraxcom_and/
• Please stop paying Euclideon attention. If they had something worth using, they'd be talking to developers directly, not the general public.
• "Swedish man caught trying to split atoms at home" http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/03/international/i083333D22.DTL&tsp=1
• I already had to play Rage, of course, but recent coverage actually makes it seem super promising. http://www.giantbomb.com/news/rage-the-first-three-hours/3544/ http://kotaku.com/5826646/rage-is-the-id-software-comeback-ive-been-waiting-for
• I guess people who grew up with Amiga get nostalgic for hard panning. Have they tried wearing only one headphone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqspYDC59qE
• Scientists put knights on treadmills; opine about the effects of heavy armor in battle. Also knights on treadmills. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14204717
• Has anyone researched standing desks? Anything you'd recommend over putting up my existing desk on cinderblocks?
• Son Volt, "Windfall" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYoidn4QRMI
• @Johnicholas Not sure I follow. You mean other than the floor?
• @Johnicholas Ah, I see. Maybe could get a high stool or something for sitting.
• @KateSherrod Mrr, even non-powered adjustable desks look expensive. Thanks for the data point.
• RT @Kurt_Vonnegut True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

Aug 04

• The latest viral video craze: tiny women injuring themselves firing enormous guns. http://thehairpin.com/2011/08/women-shooting-virals
• One objection to that article, re the Desert Eagle: scaring the shit out of somebody is totally a practical real-world application.
• Can anyone explain to me why SF and Fantasy are so often conflated? Is there some deep connection or is it really just "geeks read both"?
• "Astronaut Suicides" http://www.astronautsuicides.com/
• That glitchy-looking horizontal line is a scroll bar, by the way. Our pedestrian interfaces are never good enough for these artist types.
• @Laroquod @halsted Seems perverse to create a label "Y" meaning "anything but X," but them sharing the positive act of "worldbuilding" fits.
• Whales love mariachi music, as it turns out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS_6-IwMPjM
• "E.T. Researchers Say 'Cowboys & Aliens' Distorts Truth About Aliens In Wild West" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/01/truth-about-aliens-et_n_915601.html
• Junko Tamiya, "Leap of Faith," arranged for the Bionic Commando Rearmed soundtrack by Simon Viklund. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGocPHsc8Ls
• @Satchamobob Yeah, I almost linked to Heat Wave instead.

Aug 05

• Bethesda sues Mojang over "Scrolls" title. "Reached for comment by Kotaku, Notch said he had to eat dinner first." http://kotaku.com/5828135/bethesdas-lawyers-object-to-name-of-minecraft-creators-next-game
• The color range that we can see vs. the color range that RGB-based systems can display. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamut
• An example of a color outside the RGB range: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Klein_Blue -- The photo and RGB triplet are necessarily approximations.
• The Jargon File, properly maintained again after nearly a decade! I inhaled that thing in book form when I was 14. http://www.cosman246.com/jargon.html
• John Carmack's Quakecon 2011 keynote. Goes into considerable detail on Megatexture. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zgYG-_ha28
• Doom 3 source code to be released by the end of the year. http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/04/2129223/emDoom-3em-Source-Code-To-Be-Released-This-Year
• At some point you have to wonder if you wouldn't be a more effective savior if you got some sleep and some downtime now and again.
• Fascinating Q&A with prosopanosia (face-blindness) sufferer. http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/j83y5/iama_person_with_prosopagnosia_face_blindness_ama/
• This Saved-by-the-Bell-inspired Final Destination 5 promotional music video is kind of fucking amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lNEQAXX43g
• Sebutones, "Games" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOF0Cb7jONA
• Millimeter wave machine at Southwest gate in SFO now. They didn't send me through it, though. Not sure how they chose their subjects.
• Also, in San Diego for the next two weekends.

Aug 06

• @mrasmus Yeah, let's make it happen.
• Jim Crawford facts: about once a year, I get email asking for medical advice re earlobe cysts. Google for earlobe cyst and you'll see why.
• I accidentally bought sugar-free Gatorade and discovered that what I like about Gatorade after going running is the sugar.
• And yet the idea of drinking soda after running is repulsive. Go figure.

Aug 07

• Cosplaying as QWOP guy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlgOodQnFS4
• "Things That Kill More People Than Sharks." Texting; hot dogs; falling out of bed; high school football. http://www.damncoolpictures.com/2011/08/things-that-kill-more-people-than.html

Aug 08

• "Getting Bin Laden: What happened that night in Abbottabad." http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle?currentPage=all
• IED-neutralizing "lightning gun," sold to Pentagon for $30 million, discovered to be insecure, unsafe garbage. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/08/pentagons-lightning-gun/
• Control and video data sent over open wifi. "At one point, the kill switch failed and the device continued to fire bolts of electricity."
• "There are a few things people forget to tell you. Each year of your twenties is worth three in regular time." http://thehairpin.com/2011/08/what-we-have-going-for-us
• RT @jorm Food for thought: In the most secure airport in the world (Tel Aviv), I did not have to take off my goddamned shoes.
• Rob Pardo says Diablo 3 should be as fun as working in a Chinese sweatshop. Good luck living up to that standar
• "The robot can shake its head, gag, and get tired of keeping its mouth open." Perfect! I'll take a dozen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhzbFaNueKU
• Photoset: bark. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2010/11/02/cedric-pollet-bark/
• "President Obama has gone after more whistleblowers using the Espionage Act than all other Presidents combined." http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110805/01550815399/judge-slams-feds-its-attempt-to-punish-another-whistleblower.shtml
• Tom Waits, "Grapefruit Moon" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc8nwdkzn_8

Aug 09

• Stephen Totilo on The Witness: structured like Metroid, except the upgrades occur in your brain. http://kotaku.com/5828705/two-hours-with-jonathan-blows-the-witness-an-abbreviated-wonder
• Photo set: the Mark Duggan riots in London. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/08/london_riots.html
• Related: riot baton sales up 40000%. Buy, buy, buy! http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/movers-and-shakers/sports/ref=zg_bs_tab
• There's a lot to love about Alice: Madness Returns, but it's stretched way, way too thin. Halfway through each chapter I'm well sick of it.
• "Unschoolers learn what they want, when they want." http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/03/unschooling.sudbury.education/?iref=obnetwork
• You know your API blows when: it takes less code to just open up a pipe to ls(1). http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Walk_a_directory/Recursively
• 7th-circuit court rules Donald Rumsfeld can be personally sued and held liable for torture of U.S. citizens. http://www.slate.com/id/2301176/
• Darren Korb, "Mother, I'm Here," from the Bastion soundtrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlfUcnSbKDA
• Podcast interview with Darren Korb on the audio production for Bastion. http://www.playerfive.com/blog/2011/08/08/interview-with-supergiant-games-darren-korb/

Aug 10

• "Warrantless 'emergency' surveillance of Internet communications by DOJ up 400%" http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2011/08/warrantless-emergency-surveillance-of.html
• "Undoctored panels from the Nancy comic strip. Strictly Bushmiller." http://nancypanels.tumblr.com/
• "Klee Kai Puppy Freaks Out Over Lime" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdrY7kXv7Bg&t=0m15s
• Al Lowe involved in Leisure Suit Larry reboot. http://www.replaygamesinc.com/blog/2011/06/replay-games-aquires-the-rights-to-leisure-suit-larry/
• Ryuichi Sakamoto, "Plastic Bamboo" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL0cqFoocoo

Aug 11

• "Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. One follower transforms a lone nut into a leader." http://sivers.org/ff
• RT @marcoarment If Tim Berners-Lee had patented the World Wide Web, we'd be able to use it freely starting today.
• How about this one, guys? Instead of addressing the social problem, let's turn the UK into even more of a police state. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/social-media-and-facemasks-are-targets-after-british-riots/
• Making minor modifications to make a word superficially *look* like a strong password doesn't actually make it strong. http://xkcd.com/936/
• "Accuracy takes power: one man's 3GHz quest to build a perfect SNES emulator" http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/accuracy-takes-power-one-mans-3ghz-quest-to-build-a-perfect-snes-emulator.ars/1
• "How America criminalised poverty" http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/aug/10/america-poverty-criminalised
• First two "Trenches" strips use the exact same joke. Also, lead character's name is Isaac Cox -- no homophone. Not impressed.
• Frank Zappa, "Peaches en Regalia" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grmeznspMIc
• Bonus material: Gerry the manualist covers Peaches en Regalia with the assistance of a Digitech Whammy Pedal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyN5FhcU-tU

Aug 12

• What do you see as the spiritual descendants of Joust? Mario Bros., Balloon Fight, obv. Bubble Bobble, maybe? Except it's not wave-based.
• @halsted I'm not sure that's what you call it when a single person sets out to deliberately break the commons.
• HIV-based leukemia treatment "exceeds wildest expectations." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44090512/
• ISPs hijacking search queries to insert ads. http://gigaom.com/broadband/if-you-cant-trust-your-isp-who-can-you-trust/
• "The idea that one could simply get turned down and roll with it... well hot damn, that was a road-to-Damascus moment." http://noseriouslywhatabouttehmenz.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/rejection-part-one/

Aug 13

• Jonathan Blow's response to critics calling his games "pretentious": not every game has to be for every person. http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/braid/news/is-braid-pretentious-creator-jonathan-blow-answers-his-critics/a-20110808161349113082/g-2009042813242290092
• Perishable foods in unrefrigerated bagged lunches tend to reach unsafe temperatures before being eaten. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-brown-bag-lunches-overheating-possibly.html
• RT @TychoBrahe My son made his first cipher today. The message had a one letter word, then four letters, then three; as such, I had no need of the key.

Aug 14

• Jeez, didn't anybody ever tell these guys you're supposed to lift with your legs, not your back? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZxlmi6QE6k
• Watching clean-and-jerk videos now. They look like cheating next to the deadlift. So much abuse of momentum! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi6kfdwNDKw
• RT @techsoc What isolates people is TV, suburbanization, long-commutes, increasing working hours, mandatory two-income families... Not social media.
• Registered for TIGJam. Oct 20th-23rd, at the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View. Who's coming? http://tigjam.com/
• "PLEDGE $100 OR MORE: I will insert a picture of you. Please send a picture 1 pixel wide by 720 pixels tall." http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dachary-zoo/solar-power-for-animated-led-beacon-installation-a
• Hillcrest CityFest 2011: the weird part is that the publicly affectionate gay couples look like they live in San Diego.

Aug 15

• Reginald Spears, saving Wal*Mart music purchasers from themselves, one CD at a time. http://www.countrycalifornia.com/local-man-arrested-for-merchandise-tampering-at-area-walmart/
• Worth repeating on Monday: Registered for TIGJam. Oct 20th-23rd, at the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View. Who's coming? http://tigjam.com/
• Untraceable by TBC, a 1k demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMaNxyHhH6A
• "Vaughn Meader may still be the single biggest crash-and-burn story in the history of showbiz." http://deadspin.com/5829643/dead-comedian-of-the-week-vaughn-meader-assassins-victim
• Can't-fail startup idea of the day: Angry Poop. In the wake of the WTC attacks, you slingshot poop at the homes of vaguely swarthy people.
• "No Luca No," interactive protect-your-breakfast sim, available now on XBLIG. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCXI6hLneyE
• Photo set: Quangxi province, China. http://izhsv.35photo.ru/
• "King Frederick I sent the pelt and bones to a taxidermist who, living in 18th century Sweden, had never seen a lion." http://i.imgur.com/VASEE.jpg
• Virt, "Across Rooftops" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bsL5GJuTs4
• Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet: we'd live in a better world if there were more games about sentient umbrellas with grabby crane arms.

Aug 16

• Back in Berkeley. What are we doing this weekend?
• Can't-fail startup idea of the day: danmaku with bullet patterns designed to train you to see through common optical illusions.
• "Contrary to popular wisdom, mobs act rationally -- a characteristic that suggests ways to prevent riots." http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rabble-with-a-cause
• Cocteau Twins, "Pitch the Baby" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBzwWgFzggw

Aug 17

• PS3 price cut to $250.
• Notch suggests gentlemen's duel to settle Bethesda's trademark lawsuit. http://notch.tumblr.com/post/9038258448/hey-bethesda-lets-settle-this
• "After the surgery, although his working memory was intact, he could not commit new events to long-term memory." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_(patient)
• Gabe Newell on Half-Life Episode 3 protestors: "They stayed for two days. We miss them." http://kotaku.com/5831805/what-did-gabe-newell-say-to-the-half+life-3-protesters
• Can't-fail startup idea of the day: T-shirts with customized QR-code URLs, that change in the wash to point to Goatse instead.
• "New, Undeletable, Web Cookie" http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2011/08/new_undeletable.html
• "A guy who dressed as feminine as I dress masculine would have Transvestic Fetishism, a clinical mental illness." http://noseriouslywhatabouttehmenz.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/on-femmephobia/
• "Our culture has replaced the fear and hatred of women, with the fear and hatred of things commonly associated with women."
• Johnny Gill, "Rub You the Right Way" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUvtlmlBbDg

Aug 18

• Google CEO Eric Schmidt comes out staunchly anti-privacy. Jeez, who could have guessed that's where Google+ was headed? http://techonomy.typepad.com/blog/2010/08/google-privacy-and-the-new-explosion-of-data.html
• Podcast excerpt: the Giant Bombcast tries out a new podcast format for their 8/09/11 episode. http://goombas.org/player.php?mp3=giant_bombcast_tries_a_new_format.mp3
• Scanning a braille issue of Playboy: http://blog.archive.org/2011/08/17/scanning-a-braille-playboy/
• You guys said it was going to be a Glitterpunk wedding, right? http://goombas.org/images/glitterpunk.jpg
• Glitterpunk? Fiction set in the 1980s except with computers everywhere and all the kids are obsessed with hacking? Y'know, like "WarGames."
• "8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance" http://www.alternet.org/vision/151850/8_reasons_young_americans_don%27t_fight_back_--_how_the_us_crushed_youth_resistance?page=entire
• From Dust's PC port: so bad that Ubisoft is honoring refunds. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/18/from-dust-does-need-online-badly-ported/
• This was a level in Super Monkey Ball 2. Hell, as I recall, it was the whole goddamn game. http://i.imgur.com/2rg7l.jpg
• @therealcliffyb Tell me about it. I keep worrying my landlord is going to give me detention.
• Orbital, "The Girl With the Sun in Her Head" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xc2eNFFvzs

Aug 19

• You, too can be buried with man-eating mushrooms that you bred yourself. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/95455
• "83% of iPhone users thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners." That's some strong branding right there.
• I want to see similar data on other brands. Do people get similarly insistent about, e.g., Judaism?
• Charles Stross: "Network Security in the Medium Term, 2061-2561 AD" (More like Charles Stross on The Future, really.) http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/08/usenix-2011-keynote-network-se.html
• Fascinating interview with one of the writers behind the Super Mario Bros. movie. http://www.smbmovie.com/SMBArchive/specials/interviews/16_ParkerBennett_9-18-10.html
• Del the Funky Hompsapien, "Pissin' on Your Steps" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LjjKphDSm0
• @xobs Man, that looks delicious.
• @smbmovie Yeah, I loved the interview. Probably won't be writing about it though; I didn't have much to say past "wow, that's fascinating."

Aug 20

• "Before G+ launched, an internal petition in support of pseudonyms was signed by about 10% of all Google engineers." https://plus.google.com/u/0/110295984969329522620/posts/ExKJZgBAYxM
• "3D Printed Model of a Virus Self Assembles When Shaken" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br-YxeXWx6s
• In case you were doubting that Google+'s "real name" policies are racist as fuck: http://zestyping.livejournal.com/259131.html http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=40356d87de8509c0&hl=en

Aug 21

• RT @ja2ke Choosy moms choose the CompuServe Graphical Interchange Format, 89a Specification.
• "Pioneering electronic instrument rediscovered in France" http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2011/08/pioneering-electronic-instrument-rediscovered-in-france.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Aug 22

• "NOTICE OF PROPOSED LAND USE ACTION" http://www.mygreenlake.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Land-Use-Sign-at-Big-Hole.jpg
• Wonder if you get a bulk discount on that many balls, or if it's even more because you're throwing the whole ball pit economy out of whack.
• "Portal lead Kim Swift to debut downloadable game at PAX" http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/22/portal-lead-kim-swift-to-debut-downloadable-game-at-pax/
• RT @antumbral PHP ships a version with a bug in the crypto code. Their automated tests caught the bug, but nobody pays any attention to them. PHP!
• @antumbral I can't tell whether you mean "PHP!" like you're angry and shaking a fist at them, or like you're introducing PHP on stage.
• The state of science journalism: "How did this confused school science project became international news?" http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/08/blog-debunks-13-year-old-scientists-solar-power-breakthrough/41520/
• "The core of Diablo is a circle-trading game." See this? This is what happens to your brain when you never leave your cultural echo chamber.
• (Then, for bonus points, he explains that always-on is no problem because wifi is cheap and plentiful where he lives.) http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/08/22/diablo-3-lead-designer-on-lack-of-offline-mode-the-game%E2%80%99s-not-really-being-played-right-if-it%E2%80%99s-not-online/
• New viral social networking game: sum up the history of your sex life in one safe-for-work cat video. I'll go first! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAr5Q_VxRGM
• "zeo-x-s," by Quite. A demoscene product, but not, as far as I can tell, real-time. http://vimeo.com/25284552
• Which was a followup to this 4k demo by the same people, incidentally: http://www.vimeo.com/15138486
• The Beatles, "Blackbird" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaSMROk-D-A

Aug 23

• Add DX:HR to the list of games ruined by boss fights. Thanks a lot, boss fights! http://nukezilla.com/2011/08/22/on-putting-things-into-your-game-just-because-you-think-they-have-to-be-there/
• "What causes riots?" The single biggest predictor: the price of food. http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27083/?p1=blogs
• "Persistent pseudonyms aren't ways to hide who you are. They provide a way to *be* who you are." http://www.marrowbones.com/commons/technosocial/2011/07/on_pseudonymity_privacy_and_re.html
• Bitsquatting: "While 'mic2osoft.com' is not a likely typo, it is only one bit different to microsoft.com." http://domainincite.com/bit-squatting-%E2%80%93-the-latest-risk-to-domain-name-owners/
• Who needs physical instruments? Not Al Yankovic! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwV_KNAx00Y
• "A Human Moment in Spam. ... A person made this. For me." http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/3229
• Nan found this peanut butter cookie recipe and suddenly my dinner plans needed recalibration: "1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg."

Aug 24

• @mrasmus Bandpass and distort, and you've got your morning zoo personality voice all up in their grill(s).
• You're not fooling anyone. Stop acting like you know what "pretentious" means and just say "gay" like everyone else.
• "Why Iceland Should Be in the News, But Is Not" http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/728.1?frommailing=1
• Retail vs. digital is getting grisly now: Gamestop is removing OnLive passes from sealed copies of Deus Ex. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/report-gamestop-opening-deus-ex-copies-removing-free-game-code.ars
• Rock doves? More like roc doves, amirite? http://riotclitshave.com/2011.08/110401_003.jpg
• I feel like I'm harping on the G+ pseudonym thing now, but Charles Stross just posted a must-read about it. http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/08/why-im-not-on-google-plus.html
• RT @shaver As a guy who likes kids, I definitely identify with this: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/jt1s0/as_a_male_why_is_it_creepier_if_i_have_any/
• Playing my new project compulsively, like I did with Futilitris. A good sign.
• RT @willwilkinson Class-war fact: Ruthlessly competitive, patent-monopolist, multi-billionaire executives are worth fawning over, if they've got design sense.
• Rock Paper Shotgun talks to Jonathan Blow about The Witness. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/15/jonathan-blow-interview/
• Hiroshi Iuchi, "Metempsychosis," from the Ikaruga soundtrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXzCfactRfk
• (~1:05 to 1:20 was my previous landlord's ringtone.)

Aug 25

• Just occurred to me, since I started taking melatonin a couple years ago, not once have I given up on sleep after trying for two hours.
• Indy got excited at the minimalist cookie recipe, because he's gluten-intolerant. Lots of skepticism at Harper, but everyone loved them.
• "I lay the blame squarely on slut-shaming culture and the myth of 'spontaneous' romance." http://pervocracy.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-means-no.html
• The skip button allowed DX:HR to include the most tedious tutorials imaginable. To any complaint, apologists can say "Hey, you can skip it!"
• Maybe the tutorials do eventually, finally, get around to conveying important information. But I'll never find out.
• Halloween science! http://www.myscienceproject.org/trick.html

Aug 26

• @samuelcole Yeah, I've just been muddling through. Maybe I'll read the manual.
• "Supernova of a generation" unfolding live. http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2011/08/25/supernova/
• "Dr. Who Cut off KY Man's Penis Cleared by Jury" -- Was it Eccleston? I bet it was. http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2011/08/penis-amputee-loses-no-damages-from-ky-jury.html
• @karamisaurus Cool! Did they have any awesome swag?
• Breath of Death VII developer finishing up the Penny Arcade Adventures trilogy: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/penny-arcade-adventures-episode-3-still-alive-zeboyd-at-the-hel/
• @rudytheelder It really is more like a tomato and cheese casserole.
• "Apple Caught Photoshopping Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Look Like iPad for Lawsuit" http://www.dailytech.com/Report+Apple+Caught+Photoshopping+Galaxy+Tab+101 +to+Look+Like+iPad+for+Lawsuit/article22459.htm And more of the same: http://www.dailytech.com/Apple+Caught+Using+Photoshop+ to+Fake+More+Pics+in+Lawsuits/article22500.htm
• Say, wasn't HP trying to unload a bunch of their smartphones for cheap sans contract, too? That's my kind of smartphone.
• Even those who claim to value creative ideas associate such ideas with "words such as 'vomit,' 'poison' and 'agony.'" http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-people-biased-creative-ideas.html
• "One of the most consistent findings is that teachers dislike personality traits associated with creativity." PDF: http://www.itari.in/categories/Creativity/19.pdf
• Alpha Conspiracy, "Defend Yourself" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tal_cefbyjs

Aug 27

• RT @zarfeblong I just spent ten minutes trying to debug "for (int ix=0; ix++; ix<height)..." That's a hacker's lay-my-body-in-the-cold-cold-ground moment.
• 17-year-old sentenced to 10 years for consensual sex with a 15-year-old only serves 3 years. The system works! http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/10/27/us-usa-court-sex-idUSN2636043020071027
• "Dogs Shaking Off Water" http://www.sadanduseless.com/2011/07/dogs-shaking-off-water/
• Here at the Hacker Dojo for South Bay Game Jam 19. Time to get shit done and/or socialize endlessly with an IDE window open behind me.
• Ruthlessly writing disgustingly unoptimized code. It's running just fine.

Aug 29

• How do I convey to the player that my platformer's lack of air-steering is a feature? Maybe I should theme it like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
• Maybe I can put it in the EULA and sue them if they complain.
• "Congress today reauthorized funding for Facebook, the massive online surveillance program run by the CIA." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk3I-a3CJdo
• RT @strutting Heed this warning or you too could end up on a date with a guy who likes something and is very good at it. The horror! http://gizmodo.com/5833787/my-brief-okcupid-affair-with-a-world-champion-magic-the-gathering-player
• Memo to the Pacific Northwest: "You rode out the quake? Now you have 15 minutes to get above 50 feet of elevation." http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Totally-Psyched-for-the-Full-Rip-Nine.html?page=all
• Achron, "The first game to ever feature competitive multiplayer time travel." http://store.steampowered.com/app/109700/
• @Rimbosity No, I never played that one.
• @Rimbosity I wonder how many people have tried making a version of Asteroids where rotation also has inertia, then backed away rapidly.
• @Rimbosity In this case, I'm not even paying lip service to realism. It's about exploring the commitment of fixed decision points.
• Creole Ned's hand drawn Infocom game maps: http://quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=66266
• Can't-fail startup idea of the day: psychostimulant giving you the brain chemistry of a teenager. Side effects may include hating parents.
• "Stocking is the New Planking" http://stockingisthenewplanking.com/
• Robbie Fulks, "She Took a Lot of Pills (And Died)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KoW1DBru1k

Aug 30

• Video compilation: photogenic white people have trouble in everyday situations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08xQLGWTSag
• "Ugliness could be protected in the United States by small extensions of the Americans With Disabilities Act." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/opinion/sunday/ugly-you-may-have-a-case.html
• Internet cat videos: pre-pounce pupil dilation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ief2eF-CBco
• Super Mario Bros with Portals. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtcGiZelPfk
• "BAD SITUATIONS ARE EASY TO CHANGE AND IF THIS ISN'T TRUE FOR YOU, DON'T GET LOSER GERMS ON THIS SIGN." http://fengi.livejournal.com/1273178.html
• Bill Budge, of Pinball Construction Set fame, interviewed at Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6470/a_conversation_with_bill_budge.php
• I Come to Shanghai, "Do We Have to Rise Again?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urPoqpdB_AY

Aug 31

• The original Xbox dev kit: http://yfrog.com/z/hskcbrtj
• In-browser Javascript cryptography is doomed: http://www.matasano.com/articles/javascript-cryptography/
• Can't-fail startup idea of the day: Academagia, except instead of being set in faux-Hogwarts, it's set in prison. And with a decent UI.

On Twitter: @mogwai_poet