Why? Why not?

The morning link roundup:

There’s water on Mars. Lots of water. Cool.

Ahhh, the computer game industry, haven of misogyny. At E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, you can ‘Get lei’d with the Dead or Alive girls‘ (other photos) or perhaps Lara Croft would be more your thing. Or perhaps elves. I could link for hours. But I suppose that it’s not only the game industry that does this – the few trade shows that I’ve been to in Oz have ‘booth babes’ as they’re called, as well. I believe the phenomenon is also continued at car shows. Sex does sell, after all.

Oh, I forgot to mention the other day about Google’s Labs site. The have a few very funky new searching prototypes that you can play around with, including a ‘related’ search that returns sets based on a couple of members that you supply. Ah, just try it.

There’s a couple of interesting items in the SMH today.

First up is the negative: an interestingly insulting rant about how all Star Wars fans are socially inept males who never grew up and ‘who wouldn’t know what to do with a real woman if you put the instructions in large print on the back of a still-sealed action figure of Han Solo’, according to the supposedly scathing wit of Bernard Zuel, the author. Now if I’d seen this online, I would have thought ‘troll’ straight away and ignored it. Perhaps the SMH is trolling for foolishness? Another example of the so-called humour:(and the author is referring to Elvis Costello)

While you’re still wondering whether the first date is too early to ask the girl in accounts to dress like Queen Armidala, most of the Costello-nerds were with wives/partners/female fellow fans: you know, fleshy human types not dressed in any way like a character from a Costello song.

I think the thing that I found most offensive is that if something like this had been said about other groups, for example gay people, black people, etc. there would be an almighty outcry. But no, it’s OK to insult people under the guise of an ‘opinion’ article.

I’ll shut up about this now. I could go for hours.

The second, far more positive article worthy of mention: The Chinese have revealed a plan to have a manned landing on the moon by 2010. Here’s hoping that this pushes the always competitive Americans to push some of that tasty defense money instead towards their space program.

Fingers crossed.

It’s been a busy time the last little while. It began with Episode II Wednesday night/ Thursday morning.

I liked it in some ways (the action scenes, mainly), but disliked it in others (the ham-fisted ‘romance’ scenes). However, seeing Yoda fighting with a lightsaber was well worth the price of admission. In fact, I went and saw it again on Friday night mainly to see that scene again.

On Friday, I also bought Final Fantasy X International. I love Squaresoft games. In fact, good old Mr Lucas could take a tip from this game on how to script an adolescent romance. But that’s not what’s so good about the game. Apart from the intruiging new game mechanics, the switch to full voice acting and quite realistic characters really makes it like watching a movie, or perhaps more like watching a TV series, as it’s so extended. It really gives you a chance to build some empathy with the characters, and I’m only 20 hours in! (heh).

Sunday was also an interesting day. After spending all day and night Saturday playing FF, I felt the need to do something. A call to Shay and Sal was placed, and they fortuitously had a free ticket to the AFL game yesterday. So off I went, thinking that a day outdoors watching sport was a positive step after a day indoors playing games. The day took a turn for the even more surprising when, after the celebrity match and the first half of the full game were over, it transpired that Shay’s friends who we were sitting with were connected in some fashion with Adam Spencer (of Triple J et al fame). So we finished the game in a corporate box, drinking free beer (beer is palatable when free, I find…), eating free food, and enjoying the game and the company. Thanks Shay and Sal for a very nice day indeed.

Wow, long post. Can’t wait to get cable net so I don’t have to do this from work.

New musing/rant available.

I’m (almost) done moving. Hoo-bloody-ray. Just have to do the picking up of the last few bits and bobs this evening, the cleanup tomorrow, and then be there for the inspection on Thursday. It’s going to be nice to be really done.

On a more positive note, the new place is really nice. I got up a bit early this morning, and ended up watching the sun rise through my bedroom window. Cool.

Well, I’m about to leave work. It was sort of strange this morning, realising that today was the last day I’ll get up and walk to work from Darlinghurst, through the park. I am looking forward to being moved, but not very much to the actual moving.

Anyway, gotta go home and pack.

Acronym Finder is a cool idea. However, being a bit of a fan of Pinky and the Brain, I couldn’t resist:
Acronym Finder Search Result for narf.

Unfortunately, no poit or zort.

Update: fixed the link so that it actually points to a Pinky and the Brain site. Sorry.

Reasons not to have public comment systems #573832:

At The Petition to change the name of ‘The Two Towers’ movie because it’s obviously a reference to September 11(funny enough on it’s own), there is, strangely enough, a petition. Now, given that this petition is an online petition, people can put whatever details they like in. Even more amusing is that the creators of the petition have created a ‘comments’ field, leading to such gems of wit as:

1198 – Falseen T. Ryvoided – I made my wife have a breast reduction because her breasts always reminded me of the Two Towers.
1207 – Bill Clinton – I agree, America. When I’m fucking my twin interns I shed a tear for 9/11

Then there are the Zen Masters:

1179 – Runs With Scissors – I like tuna, I like liver, Meow Mix, Meow Mix Please Deliver!
1220 – Glen Pearce – My wife gave me the bird. I didn’t want it.

Some people can get religious prophecies from anything

1128 – Omid – TOLKIEN WAS A PROFIT, HE PREDICTED WTC BOMBING 47 YEARS BEFORE THE FACT, AND THE THIRD MOVIE IS RETURN OF THE KING. JESUS IS COMING BACK YOU HAD BETTER RECOGNIZE

There’s a good piece by Natasha Stott Despoja on the ‘anti-terrorism’ laws the government is trying to push through . read it.

Packing can be depressing. I found this yesterday, while packing up my desk at home. However, I applied my anti-depression magic bullet, namely playing ‘What a wonderful world’ on loop until I felt better. There’s definitely something to be said for relentless positivity.

I finished watching Serial Experiments Lain on Monday night. All I can say is – wow. Actually, that’s not true. The series really is philosophy disguised as entertainment. It’s one I’ll be forcing as many people as possible to watch…

For those of you who haven’t seen it, I can give an illustration of the series by giving a brief synopsis of the first ten minutes: A schoolgirl commits suicide, and then her classmates, including the main character, get a series of emails that seem to be from her, telling them that she is still alive online, or in the ‘wired’ as it is called in the show.