tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4927900194276272242024-03-06T04:23:57.509+02:00The Empires of the Future...Renascence, ennui and odyssey. Allegories of dissonance in axiomatic dissidence. Dichotomies, ambivalence, contradictions and decisiveness.DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-43449515245013742212008-09-01T17:06:00.009+03:002008-09-01T18:22:34.465+03:00Once more, with feelingOk, I've become a bit of a Palin news junky over the last few days. It's led me to strange places... But consider the decision making process that led up to the fateful decision.First, we find out that Palin was a rushed pick; the dark horse among a short list of 5. Then, we find out that Lieberman was the preferred veep, but McCain was forced to change his mind at the last minute. Then, this is DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-46914860535536707362008-02-16T03:59:00.004+02:002008-02-16T04:38:09.413+02:00It can only be attributable... to human errorWhich shift to you like better?The one from Armor Games...or these other guys?The second one made me think of the Sephirothic System. This is a document from ancient Judaism, one of the most ancient religious documents we have (or we have recreated). It shows the path from mere immoral soul to divine entity, in an uncertain number of steps.Having recently heard that some early religions made DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-84996048435563682512008-02-08T00:52:00.000+02:002008-02-08T00:54:31.253+02:00Have you any clients from Saudi Arabia named bin Laden?Decartes wondered if we could put the world in equation; clearly this is not an uncommon goal. The British have an excellent weather prediction system--they have simulate the atmospheric conditions over all of Great Britain, in one big fluid dynamics petri dish. As a result, they can tell when the rain will hit your part of London, almost down to the minute: just feed in the state of the world asDJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-62624413414833912172008-02-06T23:15:00.000+02:002008-02-07T00:34:45.808+02:00Putting the World Into EquationIt may be propaganda, but I have to post this because it's extraordinary. It's the soul of the web and the strength of the mind; the product of a modern will. They may be famous, but it's talent and skill that gives it credibility. Here they're all just voices, no more or less than Lessig (for example). He just wants to say something, and would otherwise have no particular means to do so.Karl DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-54943552836499013592008-02-05T18:59:00.000+02:002008-02-05T19:53:59.142+02:00Intangible celebrityThis is very good:http://lessig.org/blog/2008/02/20_minutes_or_so_on_why_i_am_4.htmlLessig is a lawyer who is well know and respected on the internet and has, for a long time, been at the forefront of technology law and the modern outlook on intellectual property. In the video, he talks about Obama and Clinton and why, as it seems to me, that he shares a certain scene of solidarity with DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-58359606585181270632008-02-05T18:17:00.000+02:002008-02-05T19:40:28.184+02:00California Done By the BritishWill the economic situation in the US effect the Australian games development industry? Well, I guess we generally expect it to do so, but how much, exactly? I’ll use my modest understanding of economics to make some guesses and some analysis.Of particular interest in the local development industry are the US:AUD and GBP:AUD exchange rates, for obvious reasons. Almost all Australian development DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-84204013027316535982008-02-03T20:00:00.000+02:002008-02-03T20:17:32.387+02:00Scacchic Sages; or the King is Greatly DiscommodedWhile working with the the Android API, I've found that it's impossible not to wonder where Google is going with this, even if only for a moment. Generally we expect that Google's major projects are focused on one of two goals: to organize the world's information, and to facilitate advertising on the web. Generally their major web apps, research projects and acquisitions fall into one of these DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-17864772276886019532008-02-01T23:17:00.000+02:002008-02-07T01:02:42.822+02:00Stand Alone ComplexI've recently come across the idea that the Christian laws against incest were put in place in order to stop the practice of rich families marrying internally (see post below). Families would do this in order to keep their fortunes, dowries and inheritances within the family, rather than see their heightened economic status slowly dissipate into the surrounding general society. Perhaps they also DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-6778875088985218322008-01-14T14:14:00.000+02:002008-01-14T14:27:35.070+02:00Sins committed while inside the wombIt turns out that the Clinton win in the greatest show on earth is actually impossible to explain using modern statistical methods, after all. More anomalous incompetence associated with Diebold machines and their handlers, perhaps.As with things of this type, there appears to be at least a little misinformation and confused statisticians floating around; but the above link seems a little more DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-18314673240881934392008-01-14T00:40:00.000+02:002008-01-14T00:46:03.865+02:00Alien of Extraordinary AbilityI'm posting this because it says "tempus incognito." That is all.Except for this:The situation is so uncomfortable that by far the best thing to do is declare oneself an agnostic.DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-48260326129800722522008-01-13T21:37:00.000+02:002008-01-14T01:08:33.134+02:00The School of AthensRecently there have been some reports floating around about a married couple who found out, in a classic and horrible twist of Oedipusian fate, that they are actually twin brother and sister, separated at birth. It must have been terribly traumatic for them, something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. After, all, one of the most important social taboos disallows incest, it's also outlawed inDJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-49041671746574955442008-01-10T20:13:00.000+02:002008-01-11T03:17:32.018+02:00The Big Sleep HotelApparently, the recent result of the New Hampshire caucus voting is so astonishing, that it's beyond the realms of modern statistical understanding... Or so it would seem. Anomalies like this tend to make me wonder about the effect polling has on the voting process. Presumedly there's an observer effect style influence caused by the polls on voter behaviour—and perhaps, in this case, it wasn't DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-81237524443407713742008-01-06T21:26:00.000+02:002008-01-06T21:32:22.070+02:00The long, dark teatime of the soulI'm not sure who Teclisen is, but his slagging off of the developers of Vanguard here is pretty classy.To prove that it's worth the click, a quote: Brad Mcquaid didn't do shit. (News Flash?) He's had an opiate addiction for years now, which only got progressively worse as the project failed. His cumulative face time with sigil designers in the most crucial final years of development? Approx: 15 DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-75190930359187013532008-01-06T20:44:00.001+02:002008-01-06T20:55:28.614+02:00The invincible palatial empire of MycenaeIn the south of Australia there is a little state, about the size of England, called Victoria. This state, and it's local games industry, makes for an interesting little case study. Here almost half the game development in Australia takes place, largely a result of the 27 year old legacy of the greatest Australian game ever produced. Much of the rest of the Australian industry is located in DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-84530345552045681182007-12-28T21:38:00.000+02:002007-12-30T20:29:31.659+02:00An Echo, A StainInteresting analysis on the recent high profile assassination from Winter Patriot. Following his line of thought, it is curious to compare the US and Pakistan. I mean, one's a nuclear power with poverty, powerful political dynasties, corruption, questionable elections and an economically uncertain future... And other has only been around for 60 years or so.Ok, that's a little cynical. But if I'mDJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-50200364669273110232007-12-26T22:50:00.000+02:002007-12-28T12:28:39.624+02:00Together, we can oppose hegemonyLet's be clear. Certain games, their mechanics, internal logic and the way they are played, are of endless fascination to those who understand the shape and form of the video games industry. Right about now, World of Warcraft happens to be one of them; though in the case of this game, it is largely due to the way they are played. On line games naturally lend themselves to the study of how they DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-85515935186454111722007-12-20T22:56:00.000+02:002007-12-21T00:08:45.720+02:00Like Drawing BloodRecently, I've been reading two books."JPod", by Douglas Coupland. This is a story about a video games developer, working in a cubical alongside 5 other disillusioned developers whose last names, extremely curiously, all begin with J.and "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk and translated by Erdağ Göknar. This is a story about miniaturists, or book illustrators, working in Istanbul. Four miniaturists DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-46017546280036921332007-12-20T22:31:00.000+02:002007-12-21T00:10:34.531+02:00Dactylic hexameter"Today, in order to determine just how genuine a young painter is, I'd ask him three questions.""And what would they be?""Has he come to believe, under the sway of recent custom as well as the influence of the Chinese and European Franks, that he ought to have an individual painting technique, his own style?"Style and SignatureALIF Once, in ancient times, there DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-40440032525440290902007-12-19T21:16:00.000+02:002007-12-21T00:06:50.629+02:00"I felt like destroying something beautiful" A couple of military leaders from recent history have caught my attention and interest lately. General Tito (mentioned below) of Yugoslavia, and one Mustafa Kemal, otherwise known by the epithet “The Father of the Turks,” Ataturk.Ataturk was the bane of the Ottoman empire. He brought sovereignty to the people of Turkey, ending the Caliphate and causing the last Ottoman rulers to exile DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-54757237865966606422007-12-13T21:36:00.000+02:002007-12-13T23:23:38.736+02:00The Antikythera MechanismThis is a 500 billion Yugosalv Dinar note. 500 billion of of the poor little buggers. How did such an extraordinary thing come to exist? Well, it's certaintly didn't involve Bill Gates immigrating.It turns out, during an uncertain part of General Tito's state, the currency went through an inflation rate of 5 × 1015 percent per month (prices double every 16 hours). To me, that seems facinating-DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492790019427627224.post-33949507229681772052007-12-12T12:03:00.000+02:002007-12-12T18:26:06.821+02:00The Horns of MosesRecently a new game journalism scandal has broken out concerning the termination of a prominent online games magazine editor, which has resulting in a number of allegations being levelled at the bias and credibility of a major web magazine. Scandals of this type break out every now and again though they, perhaps by virtue of the generally juvenile and undiscerning readership, have not yet DJ~http://www.blogger.com/profile/13608921668264293512noreply@blogger.com0