Every now and again, changes occur around here. Most notably, I’ve changed the order of the sidebar and added another widget: Twitter.

Yes, yes, I’ve finally joined in the crapfest that is Twitter. I think it’s more than a little stupid, but so many people are on it including those I know personally.

Back in November, I spoke with Bobby about this

Bobby: oh, do you twitter?
Steneub: no no… no faggoty micro-blogs. That’s what YOU’re for, so I can just dump whatever I’m thinking on YOU rather than the rest of the world
Steneub: and I also already have a big-boy blog
Bobby: haha
Bobby: you mean old like the dinosaur blog
Bobby: twitter is the new hotness
Steneub: you’re just jealous ’cause you can’t afford a REAL webpage

See! I hated it before I succumbed, I swear! It was true though about me dumping on Bobby whatever popped into my head. I would simply message him the biggest non-sequiturs and the best paet is he would roll with it most of the time.

Now I have all of you to dump on! Muahaha!

I know this is old news, but whatever. I’ve been looking forward to this going live for months, and I’m very happy that it’s up and running. It’s still technically beta, but the core is there, and that’s what matters to me.

If you don’t know what it is, it’s Quake III Arena plus a lot of extra tweaks (namely, a game that’s actually finished) and it runs directly in your web browser. Best of all, it’s free, and funded by in-game advertising while you frag. I think the model works, and I’m glad to see it being seriously attempted by id software.

See if you can find me, or better yet: add me as a friend.

Hello [carpal tunnel], my old friend,
Ive come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

The Internet’s got some stuff on it, and I’m republishing, here, and without permission, Terry Bisson’s short little essay on intelligent life I originally saw a link from slashdot. I thought it was poignant, so I’m sharing it with you. It’s not super long, so please check it out.

“They’re made out of meat.”

“Meat?”

(more…)

God, I hated that phrase growing up. Of course, now I realize they very likely didn’t know in the first place, they were just being assholes. This recollection was sparked by Comcast recently disclosing their network policies. With many ISPs, there are rules for how to use their services. If you break those rules, then you are at risk for disconnection. That’s simple, right? But you’re not allowed to ask what the rules are! How can you possibly play by the rules if you don’t know them? On the one hand, I understand the ISPs don’t want to disclose that information because they don’t want their users to step right up to the line that the Terms of Service outlines. If every user did that, their networks would crumble. Like airlines, they oversold their network. But on the other hand, I (we/you/your neighbor) paid for services and should know what is paid for and use it how can be used.

Away from ISPs, the worst case I can remember of non-disclosure of rules was a card game. A group of us, I think at Kyle Naziaxier’s place, wanted to play some cards. We couldn’t agree on a game to play, and the asshole of the group was pushing for poker. We didn’t have any chips or anything to bet with, so it was a stupid idea to begin with. We still couldn’t agree, so the asshole said, “Alright, let’s play ****** (I don’t remember the name of the game).”  Frustrated, we gave in; it was an idea no one had suggested yet, and I’d never heard of it. “How do you play?” I asked. “You’ll figure it out,” he replied and started dealing.

After some inexplicble game-events, never in my favor of course, I started getting mad. But I realized, don’t get mad, get even! This game didn’t have any rules. All of them were made up on the spot, that was the only rule. It was like Calvinball. When my turn came around, I made a play that made no sense to make in my favor – not too much though, just enough for a little bump and I certainly wasn’t in the lead. They all looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. Enter asshole: “That’s… not in the rules,” took the card I played and gave it back to me. I was done with this nonsense, “Fuck this, you’re a prick. How am I supposed to play the game if you won’t tell me the rules? I’m out,” threw my cards down and stormed off.

Recalling this though, I realize soemthing even more unsettling. There really were no rules to the card game, but the objective was not to “win.” The objective was to make me mad enough to leave the table so they could play poker.

Assholes.

I’m sure this has been touched on before, by others, more often, and longer-winded, but dammit, I have to play ball too!

Wikipedia is a wonderful place. It’s a great starting point, just like any encyclopedia, for knowledge. If what you find is intriguing, look at the original research and learn more yourself – just like any other print encyclopedia. This isn’t a rant about whether Wikipedia is a legitimate source. It’s flat out not simply because it’s practically the same as an encyclopedia which is also not a legitimate source.

I didn’t say it wasn’t a rant though!

Agreed-upon reality. Wikipedia users submit their thoughts and ideas about the way the world works. There are rules to conform to like weasel words and original research, of course, and anything submitted can be edited by anyone else. The noble goal is a consensus is reached with the best data possible or available and everyone becomes more or most knowledgeable in the process. An article is never complete, but as it approaches completeness, it follows that the number of new edits decrease. Put pessimistically, fewer and fewer people disagree on the reality presented in the article. Completely subjective.

What is reality though? The not-so-simple answer is it is our perception of the world. Following this rabbit hole means that our own personal reality is subjective as too! We even don’t perceive the world “as it happens” either. We are limited by the speed of light. Even things happening on the inside of our brains aren’t instantaneous; there is a lag there as well. Perception of events is inherently behind the times.

Wikipedia helps us codify our collective perception of reality. Sort of like a zeitgeistionary (woah, meta!). Wikipedia, because it is so convenient, is becoming a more common point of reference. Within this reference, it somewhat replaces someone’s own reality with Wikipedia, lowering the number of unique realities. With the number of unique realities approaching one, that makes the world very small.

I feel as though I’m on the cusp of some epiphany here, but it’s just out of my reach at this point; Like I can’t quite wrap my head around the next step. Of note is I mentioned The Zeitgeist, the collective unconscious, the “time spirit.” If it’s written down, it ceases to exist! The power of the zeitgeist is in that it is not documented, it just… is. But for now, I’ll have to ponder on this, and I’d love to hear some feedback on this.

The continuum transfunctioner is a very mysterious and powerful device and its mystery is exceeded only by its power.