Paralipsis

Interesting article on rules and rule breaking in the Moscow Times.

Put simply, Russians are used to not making a connection between breaches of rules and laws and their tragic consequences. Breaking the rules has long been a flourishing subculture that can be witnessed everywhere you turn.

The Moscow Times requires a pay subscription to read […]

John Mueller, over at Ohio State University has a wonderful paper about the current phenomenon regarding the demise of war. He discusses the issue in detail, but being a political scientist (and student of Fred Astaire choreography), he doesn’t dwell long on the whole aspect of enconomic ties being a significant depressant to the […]

I like a person who takes their pencils as seriously as ninthwave does.
In my search for a replacement of what I consider the best pencil ever manufactured, I needed to find a pencil that had at least these qualities established by the Blackwing 602:
1. Dark smooth graphite with a slightly waxy feel […]

Git is the Linus Torvalds implemented alternative to configuration management. IBM has a nice article introducing users to git based software development. The context is git’s current major usage which is as the revision control system for the Linux Kernel. Worth a look.
The current iteration of Git is intended primarily for use […]

A few years ago, around 2000, maybe 2001, I signed up with a yahoo account. This was so I could gain access to the yahoo games system and try out word racer. When I signed up I had to give yahoo an email address to confirm the account with. I use custom […]

419eater is a site dedicated to people who turn the tables on Nigerian 419 scammers. The usual bag is to get them to write something dumb on a sign and send in a picture of themselves. One of them, however, inspires them with great riches in exchange for a sample of carved […]

Well, it turns out that the Man of Steel is made of rubber. At least that’s what the over-used, too-close-up CGI made it look like. But the good news is that just like Joe Sixpack, he likes a Budweiser when he’s got woman troubles, though his supporters are cool with Bud Light. […]

Alan De Smet has a nice collection of tips for game masters. Advice for any game player really.

The Golden Rule
Have fun.
Maybe you’re breaking a “rule” from a magazine article or web page. If you’re having fun, don’t worry about it.

The game of levers is a wonderful little toy where the goal is to keep the stuff out of the water. Each time you succeed, the ante is raised by giving you more things to balance. Like a mobile, the key to winning is evening out the weight among all the hooks you […]

Alex Halavais has done an excellent job of providing useful advice on
how to cheat effectively. As a lecturer at a university, I can understand all too well his lament about students turning in work that is strangely not of their own making. Thankfully the small number of students I have had to work […]