ROFL

The only way to deal with griefers and cheaters - if only they could bring this to WoW.

http://www.warcry.com/scripts/columns/view_sectionalt.phtml?site=15&id=108&colid=9368

Ahhhhh

So I got the new Wired in the mail today, and they have a section edited by Will Wright about the "new world" of video games. It is really interesting, and got me really jazzed about video gaming again. I also had my business planning class tonight, where my group is developing a business plan for a puppy adoption service.

These two factors have come together in my head and manifested as an extremely strong urge to run out and buy a Nintendo DS and the game Nintendogs.

...must....resist.....!!!!!

the internet: a double edged sword to productivity

I love the internet. I am thankful for all the stuff I can learn and do because it exists.

The problem with it is that I have a hard time controlling my use of it. For example, tonight I have been working on a homework assignment for about 3.5 hours. The time I have spent working on the actual assignment itself, however, is something like 30-45 minutes. The bulk of the time I spent looking at seemingly random, unrelated things on the internet. Really, any assignment I attempt nowadays that requires a computer probably takes me 1000% more time to complete because I waste so much time being distracted.

This is really inefficient, but I don't think it is necessarily bad, as I did learn some things in my surfing. I just think we need to take a perspective from total productivity instead of focusing on the productivity of individual things like one homework assignment.

!

I LOVE FREE MARKETS!
I LOVE CAPITALISM!

this isn't related to anything in particular, I just felt like saying that.

Your Commercial still Sucks

I have noticed a recent trend in television commercials. For a company, it is hard to make up a creative way to get the message across to the viewer. This is especially true if you have a boring product. So instead, a lot of them are just making commercials with a really boring message on a background of something that they think will capture our attention long enough so that we will listen to the message. For example, Vonage has these commercials where they fake interview a people on the street about their service while something interesting is going on in the background, like a guy dancing or a guy in a costume. Charles Schwab has these commercials where they have some middle aged asshole talking about how he or she is rich but is also really dumb and can't invest in stocks. To make it interesting, they use a new technique in digital animation that overlays the real video to make the person look sorta like a cartoon.

While these tactics may catch your attention for 2.3 seconds, it still isn't enough to cover up the ultra-boring messages they are trying to promote. Why don't you do something memorable instead? Ameritrade and Comcast, two companies with similar products, are able to push their goods in a memorable way without having some fake customer preach at you for 45 seconds. In advertising, BORING is BORING, no matter how you package it.

on Japanese

How they could base an entire written system on just question marks blows my mind.

Spore

A very interesting presentation by Sim City/Sims creator Will Wright about his new game, Spore. It isn't just about the game, but also some interesting topics in video game development in general. I really admire this guy's creativity and unique view of video games. I will definitely pick this game up when it comes out.

Spore (Google Video)

It's that time of year again!

So I stop by Safeway after work today to pick up some food for dinner. I was waiting in the checkout line when suddenly I spotted

THE 2006 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT ISSUE

sitting there nestled amongst the tabloids and women's magazines. Naturally, I grabbed one and added it to my pile of items for purchase.

The cover looked very promising - it features seven past cover models huddled together with minimal clothing. Now, if you have seen the swimsuit issues over the past few years, you would notice that there is a definite down trend. Like four years ago it was really good, but the past ones have really sucked, culminating in last year's issue which was just a bunch of ads with some mediocre pictures sprinkled in.

I am happy to say, my friends, that this one officially kicks ass. The models are good, the photography is good, and the ads, while still annoying, aren't that bad. I was pleasantly surprised.

One thing I never understood, though, was the body painting. I understand how it could be appealing to some people, but I just aint feelin it...

Project Runway Finale

Santino is going to win, no question.

Chloe and Daniel are boring, and it will be a HUGE upset if one of them wins. I feel both of them took the safe route to a spot in the final three, something that I think should not be possible. I still think it is lame that Nick Verreos is not a finalist but oh well.

I guess we'll find out on wednesday.

Tipping.

In America tipping plays a much bigger role in our economy than it does in others, where the amount may be much less if they even tip at all. I wonder if this may have an effect on the economic indicators of our country - when economists select baskets of goods to measure inflation and PPP, I don't think they take into account tipping. This could really be distorting the numbers because we on average pay 15% more for a lot of stuff in this country - over time, this adds up! Other countries don't necessarily have this cost of living.

Now, I would like to start out by saying that I am a fair tipper. While I don't tip excessively, I think I tip higher on average than the general population. I have worked a job before where a significant portion my income depended on tips, and there is nothing worse than when someone skimps you when you really deserve it. If you worked to deserve the tip, then I think you should be rewarded accordingly.

The problem happens when people feel like they should be tipped when they haven't really done anything to deserve it. You know the look. After you mark down that 0.00 or strike that line through the space for tip, they just give you that momentary glance as if to say "pony it up you cheap bastard!" But they haven't done anything! Just simply going through the motion of DOING YOUR JOB isn't enough to warrant a tip! At least give me a smile or be friendly or somethin! Although some employers do use tips as an excuse to underpay workers (which I think is inexcusable) that doesn't mean you can expect that extra income just because.

I used to tip everyone pretty much a flat rate, so I didn't have to think too hard about how much they really deserved. Now I realize how destructive this is. It adds to this problem of people thinking they deserve tips when they don't. I think undertipping is pretty bad, but the worst thing of all is overtipping, when you give someone more than they really deserve.

The point...
YOUR TIP IS NOT A DIVINE RIGHT - WORK FOR IT, BITCH!

Clan in da Front

so in the Wu Tang song 'clan in da front' one of the lyrics goes

I don't give a god damn, on the shows you did
How many rhymes you got, or who knows you kid?
Cuz I don't know ya therefore show me what you know

I was thinking about this, and I realized I wish this was how companies hired. I mean my resume and track record here at college is pretty crappy compared to other people's, but I think I would do a lot better in an actual job. I know that really your transcript and resume is really the only thing that hiring managers have to go off of, but that stuff isn't the best indicator of performance. Just give me a chance godammit!!!!