Psuke Bariah

http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=7932

Wakey wakey.

Back to something like normal broadcasting today. But first, something to eat, and then to the pub.

(Image: Agent Redhead as shot by Beth Anderson)

http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/6ef6394/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg20A4273310B90A0A0Enicky0Eclayton0Edancing0Ewith0Edarwin0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427331.900

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/8LU2SQDQT-o/the-examined-life-ke.html

Everybody Dies [Jim Munroe]

It was the inclusion of Jim Munroe's Everybody Dies (pictured at top) as a 2009 Indiecade finalist that provided that first hook: a tale of life, death, suburban ennui and toilet-cleaning that inter-weaves the various employees of a remote Cost Cutters department store. Like most IF, it's a story and set of characters that you would be hard-pressed to find outside the text-only genre, and a setup that would be impossible to get through as neatly in almost any other way. Visit Munroe's post to play the game via Java (a necessary conceit to get the full impact of Michael Cho's interspersed artwork).

Playing Munroe's game, though, reminded me that there was a huge body of work at my fingertips that I'd long been neglecting, with the early App Store release of Frotz, an iPhone interpreter that lets you browse, download, and play a staggering number of IF games on the go.

It was with the reinstallation of Frotz that I went back to complete the one game that I'd heard repeatedly referred to as the new modern IF classic:

Photopia [Adam Cadre]

Now already more than a decade old, it doesn't take long to realize why the game's still only talked about in hushed, reverant tones: its own inter-woven tale is told so delicately and subtly, its emotional hooks and jabs hit you so softly you aren't even quite sure until minutes later that you've even been punched. Photopia's also unique in the way it utilizes color -- that is, simply the background color over which the text is overlaid -- as signifiers and symbols tied to the story itself. It's dream-like, sobering, and a struggle to recommend without giving away any information that would spoil the story.

Play it via Frotz, or play in your browser through the free App Engine interpreter Parchment by clicking this link.

Violet [Jeremy Freese]

And finally, the last game I've made my way through in recent weeks took top prize in the IFComp's 2008 competition, Jeremy Freese's Violet. Like both games above, it's a premise that seems virtually untranslatable to any other genre of games, but one universally recognizable: your goal is simply to write 1000 words of your grad school dissertation, hounded constantly by another thousand tiny distractions. What sets it apart, though, is how it plays with the narration of text adventures themselves, as it describes your surroundings and actions via the lovingly chiding and pet-name-calling mental-voice of the main character's (current? ex?) girlfriend, an omni-presence but a player never actually in the room.

Again, it's an essential play and perfect ambassador to the new guard of interactive fiction, playable again via Frotz or via Parchment by clicking this link.

Obviously by no means exhaustive, this article should whet your appetite for the hundreds more games available: please leave suggestions for least of all me as we dig down further via the comments below!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/o_KRBKfiiig/a-fast-food-morning.html

It was lunchtime, and there were a half a dozen cars merging into the drive-thru lane from two entrances to get their fix of Ultimate Cheeseburgers and Jumbo Jacks. A Jeep Cherokee let me cut in even though he was clearly there first. (That would have never happened in my RSX.)

The Roadster Sport looks slick, but it is strangely devoid of typical sports car characteristics in the way it sounds and feels. Like its predecessors, the Roadster Sport doesn't have gears &mdash it has single speed transmission. Instead of a gear shift knob, there are buttons labeled P, R, N, and D. This means there's no rumbling or jerkiness when you accelerate; it just shoots up smoothly and silently like one of those crazy free fall rides at the amusement park. But still, this is one fast machine! It does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds--that's faster than a Porsche Carrera GT.

As I rolled up to the giant menu billboard, some guy in a beat up Toyota revved his engine and winked at me repeatedly. I smiled politely and ordered a coffee with extra sugar and a few packets of ketchup.

The Roadster Sport has one cup holder which folds out from the center console to the passenger side. I like that it provides utility without impeding on the clean design, but that also meant that the coffee resided under my passenger's legs, which made it hard to reach for.

In a way, this car is more like a drivable computer than an ordinary car. It runs on Li-Ion batteries, charges its internal battery at any electrical socket, and needs the occasional firmware upgrade. You never have to go to a gas station or get an oil change. Looking at the company's DNA, it's not hard to figure out why — only a third of the Tesla Motors' 500 employees were hired out of the auto industry. The rest are mostly Silicon Valley types, including industrial designers from Apple and engineers from Google and YouTube.

The company claims that the car averages about 244 miles per charge, driven at a normal speed. Each full charge costs about $4.90 worth of electricity at an ordinary 120V outlet in California. That means that it is very economical and ecological if you're rich enough to afford one. It's not ideal for road trips longer than 244 miles, though — what are you supposed to do if you run out of juice in the middle of a highway?

The great thing about Menlo Park is that, despite its vicinity to some of the greatest tech companies in the world, it is not devoid of good old suburban charm. To my delight, there was a Target just minutes away from the Tesla showroom — the ultimate place-to-go-to-buy-things-I-never-knew-I-needed. Some of the luxurious accessories on my Tesla were things I never knew I needed, too — a USB port, an iPod dock, two screens, inflatable lumbar support, and a carbon fiber exterior from France.

After short stops at Taco Bell (I like gorditas) and Oil Changers (I was just curious what they'd say — a nice Hispanic man politely told me that they do not service Teslas), I returned the Roadster Sport to the Tesla store...

...but not before giving it a friendly Hello Kitty makeover.

http://tristissima.livejournal.com/142177.html

• 11:43 RT @IkaTaii: RT @radicalguy: Just found out that there will be NO transgender people testifying at tomorrow's ENDA hearing. Pass it on!! #
• 12:34 @mel1rose Congratulations! YAY YOU! #
• 12:35 @mikemcgee I follow you on every social media I can, and your duplication doesn't bother me one everlovin whit :-) #
• 17:24 Today, after 2 hours, I managed to finish sorting my inbox, send off several e-mails I've needed to send off, and delete 2455 e-mails! YAY! #
• 19:10 Out the door and off to munch! #

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/vNZyCVdPDeI/folk-covers-of-punk.html

Don't miss the bluegrass "Lust for Life" and the king-hell sweet Japanese acoustic "Lost in the Supermarket."

All Folked Up: The Punk Rock Collection, Vol. 1 (folk covers of seminal first and second wave punk music)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/tVP6JHHsK9Y/gopher-protocol-rebo.html

Cameron Kaiser is a programmer on the Overbite Project, which brings better Gopher support to Firefox versions 2 and 3. When he writes about the relevance of Gopher in a Web world, he rejects the nostalgia for a "simpler time."

"The misconception that the modern renaissance of Gopherspace is simply a reaction to 'Web overload' is unfortunately often repeated and, while superficially true, demonstrates a distinct lack of insight," he writes. Instead, Gopher's advantages lie in the structure that its simple menu-based interface imposes on content.

"Gopher is a mind-set on making structure out of chaos," says Kaiser. "Within Gopherspace, all Gophers work the same way and all Gophers organize themselves around similar menus and interface conceits. It is not only easy and fast to create Gopher content in this structured and organized way, it is mandatory by its nature. Resulting from this mandate is the ability for users to navigate every Gopher installation in the same way they navigated the one they came from, and the next one they will go to. Just like it had been envisioned by its creators, Gopher takes the strict hierarchical nature of a file tree or FTP and turns it into a friendlier format that still gives the fast and predictable responses that they would get by simply browsing their hard drive. As an important consequence, by divorcing interface from information, Gopher sites stand and shine on the strength of their content and not the glitz of their bling."

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/PBkpZznj12U/tell-the-fcc-to-say.html

The battle over your home entertainment equipment is heating up again and the time to make your voice heard is now. Hollywood wants the FCC to grant the studios permission to engage in so-called ""Selectable Output Control." SOC is a tech mandate that would allow movie studios to shut off video outputs on the back of your cable box and DVR during the screening of certain movies over cable.

SOC is bad because it could inhibit future innovation, obstruct interoperability, limit fair use and restrict consumer choice. Worst of all, it could force you to buy all new home entertainment gear in order to watch Hollywood films over cable.

Thirteen public interest groups today said the FCC should not respond to the "whims of industry" and grant the motion picture lobby the ability to control how consumers use their television sets and set-top boxes. As many as 20 million TV sets could be affected.

Take Action Now!

Yes, you read that right. The studios want the right to randomly switch off parts of your home theater depending on which program you're watching. And the FCC is taking this batshit proposal seriously.

So do something.

Tell the FCC to Say "No" to the Cable Kill Switch (Thanks, Alex!)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/dekBw47vA50/bikinia-leia-and-stu.html

Bikini Leia and her stunt double nap in the Tatooine sunshine (via JWZ)

http://agent139.livejournal.com/696831.html

Lilith Y

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/zWtw9qlPpRY/wintertime-on-mars-l.html

New images of the Mars Lander, covered by wintertime carbon dioxide frost on Mars. When it's September on Earth, it's the heaviest time of frosts there, the JPL scientists believe. Something about this snip from the NASA press release makes me feel sad for the little fellow, out there in the cold all by his lonesome -- he's had no one to talk to for an entire year:

The Phoenix Mars Lander ceased communications last November, after successfully completing its mission and returning unprecedented primary science phase and returning science data to Earth. During the first quarter of 2010, teams at JPL will listen to see if Phoenix is still able to communicate with Earth. Communication is not expected and is considered highly unlikely following the extended period of frost on the lander.

Hey li'l Lander? If you can hear me, I dedicate this song to you tonight.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/nOq2p3AVE1k/homophobia-in-venezu.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/x89_Uu5uw-w/fisk-on-usas-role-in.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/UdC3g5scOMc/ken-seagall-on-his-o.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/yKfv6M-rLcc/three-armed-baby-cos.html

This year we were a Nuclear Family for Halloween, with our 4-month-old daughter Corvidae dressed up as a 3-armed happy mutant.

While we wanted to be subtle, this was almost too subtle - she wore the costume all day, and hardly anyone noticed!  But when they finally detected a problem, the responses were excellent.

http://feeds.penny-arcade.com/~r/pa-mainsite/~3/wCwn_i4VX1w/

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/tw9KqhB0euo/richard-metzger-head.html

Our dear friend and guest blogger alum Richard Metzger (show here with his wife Tara in a photo that Coop took) is now in charge of the This Is Brand X blog. Brand X is the Los Angeles Times' entrant into the "alt weekly" market, edited by Deborah Vankin. There are over 100,000 copies in distribution boxes around town.

Richard is the most knowledgeable and most interesting cultural critic I know. The LA Times scored a major coup when they signed him on.

From the press release:

Richard comes to Brand X with a decorated background, most notably as one of the New York Post's "top 20 most important new media executives" and having also been named one of the "top 100 people on the Internet" (twice!) by Silicon Alley Reporter. He's a Webby-award winner and was recently given the "New Business Award" by the Tribeca Film Festival for co-founding The Disinformation Company Ltd., a New York-based book publisher and DVD distributor, where he served as the company's creative director for 11 years.

This is Brand X

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/QtQBDUdxjLY/african-tech-twitter.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/ooaDQoDI8Pw/most-potential-recru.html

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/M83h0z91r3Y/creepy-alien-springs.html