The Onion strikes again:
Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?
Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?
Thursday, February 26
Tuesday, February 24
Sunday, February 15
Wednesday, February 11
Reddit Reddux
Don't Wake Up the Programmer! is an interesting read for programmers, and (especially) for non-programmers.
The real cause of the financial crisis, and the real solution - An MIT Blackjack Team Perspective.
The Pauli Effect is the (mystical?) effect of borking things up by your mere presence, and it was named after Wolfgang Pauli.
Apparently Female hysteria was once a common diagnostic, that even lead to the development of the sexual toys (?); Either way, it's an interesting read.
That's it for now ... more to come later.
The real cause of the financial crisis, and the real solution - An MIT Blackjack Team Perspective.
The Pauli Effect is the (mystical?) effect of borking things up by your mere presence, and it was named after Wolfgang Pauli.
Apparently Female hysteria was once a common diagnostic, that even lead to the development of the sexual toys (?); Either way, it's an interesting read.
That's it for now ... more to come later.
Monday, February 9
EA rant ... redirected...
Well ... it seems an apology is in order, for my post regarding Mirror's Edge: it turns out that the many many problems I've had with the game came not from EA's developers, neither testing nor bad karma, but from Windows Vista.
The game should not have had BETA plastered over it, just a disclaimer:
"This game is only partially working with Windows Vista. Use at your own risk."
I installed XP (details to come in a future post) and finished the game through the weekend. It was nice (though a bit shorter than I expected).
The game should not have had BETA plastered over it, just a disclaimer:
"This game is only partially working with Windows Vista. Use at your own risk."
I installed XP (details to come in a future post) and finished the game through the weekend. It was nice (though a bit shorter than I expected).
Sunday, February 8
Saturday, February 7
Monday, February 2
karma, or why am I dressed in gray and black today
I am dressed in gray and black today, because they're the last clean clothes I have left, so I have no choice in the matter.
This is logical, and it cannot be argued against (I really have no other clean clothes, I need to be clean and so on).
I can safely say I have little choice in the matter.
On the other way, the situation as it is is the reflection of my choices past. I could have made a different choice yesterday (perhaps), or the day before that would allow me different choices now.
This is karma.
People usually thinking of karma though, say I don't believe in karma. or I believe in karma. In that context, karma is predestination, the fact that some things "just happen to you", that you're a victim of circumstance destiny. If you put it that way, I don't believe in karma either.
In my context though, karma is just another word for responsibility: the fact that you can do whatever you want, but you will probably have to face the consequences of that sooner or later, in one form or another. It is not a matter of clearing your karma, getting a good or bad karma (though I think you may call it that if you really want) or having to pay for bad karma. It's just the fact that you 'lay your own bed' so to speak.
Maybe it's an invitation to pay attention.
This is logical, and it cannot be argued against (I really have no other clean clothes, I need to be clean and so on).
I can safely say I have little choice in the matter.
On the other way, the situation as it is is the reflection of my choices past. I could have made a different choice yesterday (perhaps), or the day before that would allow me different choices now.
This is karma.
People usually thinking of karma though, say I don't believe in karma. or I believe in karma. In that context, karma is predestination, the fact that some things "just happen to you", that you're a victim of circumstance destiny. If you put it that way, I don't believe in karma either.
In my context though, karma is just another word for responsibility: the fact that you can do whatever you want, but you will probably have to face the consequences of that sooner or later, in one form or another. It is not a matter of clearing your karma, getting a good or bad karma (though I think you may call it that if you really want) or having to pay for bad karma. It's just the fact that you 'lay your own bed' so to speak.
Maybe it's an invitation to pay attention.
Thursday, January 29
Mirror's Edge A.K.A. Caveat Emptor ... for software
As the Good Google teaches us, "Beta" is the new "Release".
Nowhere is this clearer than in the new EA release, Mirror's Edge.
It works like this: you buy the game (for a mere 50EUR :(), wait for it to download and after a day and a half of waiting, it doesn't start.
You have to browse the forums (Google search: Mirror's Edge stuck at splash screen, Mirror's Edge crashes, etc.), then start playing with your settings:
The game finally takes of and it's all good.
Except it's not.
It's crashed twice on me, and at some difficult parts in the game (usually where you are most immersed in the game) it started crawling, drawing the frames at one-two frames per second, and mainly became unusable.
Come on guys!
I know you had a deadline to keep, but what you did here is BETA QUALITY.
The game-play is great and looks polished-enough, but all that can't be enjoyed if you have to fight it to play it.
These are the kind of problems that should have gone away after beta testing, so it's either a problem with the testing, or with the bug-fixing, or it's a problem with management sticking their tails where they don't belong and forcing the deadlines.
I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that the only way I'll buy another EA game is if I download it first from torrents, and decide it's streamlined enough to be worth the money (as this one definitely wasn't).
For other potential buyers: if you want to buy the game, wait a few months until they get some patches out (if they do at all). Otherwise, only buy the game if you don't mind a few hours making it run.
Edit: It seems the game actually works after all. Just, not for Windows Vista.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the new EA release, Mirror's Edge.
It works like this: you buy the game (for a mere 50EUR :(), wait for it to download and after a day and a half of waiting, it doesn't start.
You have to browse the forums (Google search: Mirror's Edge stuck at splash screen, Mirror's Edge crashes, etc.), then start playing with your settings:
- update drivers a couple of times
- read the forums again
- try a couple of hacks (rename a DLL, set the antialiasing manually in some config files to a low value, etc)
The game finally takes of and it's all good.
Except it's not.
It's crashed twice on me, and at some difficult parts in the game (usually where you are most immersed in the game) it started crawling, drawing the frames at one-two frames per second, and mainly became unusable.
Come on guys!
I know you had a deadline to keep, but what you did here is BETA QUALITY.
The game-play is great and looks polished-enough, but all that can't be enjoyed if you have to fight it to play it.
These are the kind of problems that should have gone away after beta testing, so it's either a problem with the testing, or with the bug-fixing, or it's a problem with management sticking their tails where they don't belong and forcing the deadlines.
I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that the only way I'll buy another EA game is if I download it first from torrents, and decide it's streamlined enough to be worth the money (as this one definitely wasn't).
For other potential buyers: if you want to buy the game, wait a few months until they get some patches out (if they do at all). Otherwise, only buy the game if you don't mind a few hours making it run.
Edit: It seems the game actually works after all. Just, not for Windows Vista.
Wednesday, January 28
Monday, January 26
some more pictures
The weekend is over. I arrived back from Moldova on Friday night, and spend most of Saturday outside. Today I got my rest.
I don't have anything interesting to say right now, except that I finally took the time to process four more holidays pictures.
Enjoy:
I don't have anything interesting to say right now, except that I finally took the time to process four more holidays pictures.
Enjoy:
Friday, January 23
11:23 in Chisinau Airport
I'm a busy bunny today - places to go and (no) people to see.
I'll be flying out of here by 12:25, to Istanbul. Then, I'll be on my way to Athens, then from Athens to Larnaca. I could have taken a more direct flight, but where's the fun in that?
Actually the "more direct flight" would have made miss the weekend, but fun sounds ... well ... funnier.
Instead, I'll be flying for close to twelve hours today (not really, but the breaks will be spent in airports, so there's no difference really).
I think I'll have enough fun today to get stuffed with it.
I'll be flying out of here by 12:25, to Istanbul. Then, I'll be on my way to Athens, then from Athens to Larnaca. I could have taken a more direct flight, but where's the fun in that?
Actually the "more direct flight" would have made miss the weekend, but fun sounds ... well ... funnier.
Instead, I'll be flying for close to twelve hours today (not really, but the breaks will be spent in airports, so there's no difference really).
I think I'll have enough fun today to get stuffed with it.
Thursday, January 22
Moldova is ...
.. a bit of a culture shock, and familiar at the same time.
I've been here since Monday, so here are a few minute impressions:
That's it for now (or were you expecting something meaningful?).
I've been here since Monday, so here are a few minute impressions:
- the food is great(like the good Romanian food I've been missing, though there are differences).
- Grigore Vieru (respected poet) died, and there was a national mourning day, declared by the president. It was a huge event and everybody kept talking about it for a few days.
- the hotel is nice (I remembered that since last visit, but that doesn't make it less nice)
That's it for now (or were you expecting something meaningful?).
Friday, January 16
about rebirth
I was reading a Buddhist discussion on rebirth (How do Buddhists deal with the idea of rebirth?) and found a comment I really liked (not quoting):
You don't survive death because the "you" that you think you are doesn't really exist. Why would a construct in your mind survive death?
Another good point in the discussion: the "rebirth" concept is mainly metaphoric - to really live every moment, you have to die every moment, and be reborn.
You don't survive death because the "you" that you think you are doesn't really exist. Why would a construct in your mind survive death?
Another good point in the discussion: the "rebirth" concept is mainly metaphoric - to really live every moment, you have to die every moment, and be reborn.
Thursday, January 15
Wednesday, January 14
Tuesday, January 13
Back on Earth
I'm back in office, working.
We arrived at five in the morning and it was a pleasant change to walk outside in temperatures over the freezing point.
I'm in office now, muscles still aching from the skiing, tired and busy.
I'll post some pictures over the week, and try to answer my mail backlog.
back to work ...
We arrived at five in the morning and it was a pleasant change to walk outside in temperatures over the freezing point.
I'm in office now, muscles still aching from the skiing, tired and busy.
I'll post some pictures over the week, and try to answer my mail backlog.
back to work ...
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