A Really Good Reminder ;)

Dew knot trussed yore spell chequer two fined awl yore mistakes.— Brendan Hills

How Many of Us Need Boot Camp?!

Korea now offers multiple forms of rehabilitation for "internet addiction", including the Boot Camp described in this article. The definitions of addiction seem to be encompassing almost any activity that others deem as too excessive. Is the issue really the internet, or is it a lack of meaningful connections in the "real" world? I sure hope this "rehabilitation" trend doesn't continue to expand without examining the underlying issues that lead to extremes of behaviour. If it does, we could see almost any "passion" that people pursue labelled as an addiction.

From Pong to Portal

When I was younger, my father would take me to an arcade at a small local amusement park. There I played some of the first video games around. They weren't even available for home use yet. Games like Pong and Asteroids were so new and amazing.

It is almost unbelievable how much video games have evolved since that time. The newest game my 8 year old son just received as a birthday gift, Portal, is difficult for me to grasp. It goes way beyond the 3-dimensionality that is already too much of a challenge for me to follow in the standard games of today. The space and time dimensions in Portal can be manipulated in ways that allow my son to solve puzzles and complete tasks that I can barely understand as I watch. And he does it all almost instinctually, without reading any instructions or manuals. Here is a clip of him playing. You can find out more about the game here.