Dumping Grounds

I should say something funny to introduce this link… but words escape me. Just click.

I personally wanted to congratulate the University of Texas Longhorns on continuing their long held tradition of fair play, honest competition, and good sportsmanship.

After the heavily favored Longhorns were thoroughly trounced by Cal State Fullerton (committing 6 errors in only two games and featuring a bullpen flameout worthy of the 2002 Texas Rangers) they graciously accepted defeat by refusing to accept the runner up trophy, and by closing their locker room (against NCAA rules) to all media following the game. I suppose this was so that they could whine and cry in peace, without any pesky media asking questions like “We thought choking was exclusively the domain of Longhorn football… did Mack Brown give lessons?”

While Texas’ coach Garrido claims the whole thing was a misunderstanding, it should be noted that none of the previous 17 runners-up of the College World Series failed to find their way onto the field to collect their trophy. Apparently it is not a requirement to attend the university to actually be able to follow simple instructions.

The Texas Longhorns have, and will remain for the foreseeable future, a shining example of poor sportsmanship, lack of accountability, and an attitude losers everywhere can seek to emulate when they get their asses handed to them. They are a shame to college athletics, the Big 12, and the State of Texas, as well. Continue Reading »

Well, here it is folks, my first attempt at an actual social commentary. Of course, I had to pick something dark, disturbing, and all about sex. Oh well, despite the fact that my parents sometimes read this, here goes nothing…

From the time that people first logged on to a BBS system, and had the ability to become someone else behind a keyboard, they have lived out sexual fantasies by typing them on a computer. IRC, the Internet’s original chat rooms, has always been dominated by channels such as #sex, #bisexual, #b&d and the like.

Instant messengers such as ICQ and Yahoo! get plenty of use for describing what folks might like to do to one another, sight unseen.

Online games, from the very original MUDs (Multi-user domains [or dungeons]) have always featured the possibility of a virtual escapade. Once graphics were added (Ultima Online, Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, Asheron’s Call) although the animations to support such activities were not there, people continued to type descriptions to one another, all while either imagining (or not) what the face behind the computer graphics were like. Cyber-sex now didn’t even require a particularly vivid imagination.

Those that know me well know that I have my reasons for strong feelings on the matter, but I have always felt that this was an extremely dangerous environment for those who may have trouble separating their real life from a virtual world, and vice versa. A friend of mine at work (who I didn’t tell I was writing this, so I won’t use their name) have often debated the ability of a virtual world to be more and more realistic, and exactly how realistic we wanted it to be. The crux of the debate often returned to the point that in order to have a realistic virtual world, freedom of behavior must be allowed. Anti-social behavior must be possible, but regulated in some way. Regulating unpleasant, anti-social, or even criminal behavior in a virtual world is extremely difficult. A virtual world has two great differences from the real one.

The first is anonymity. Reputations function in the real world to regulate behavior. If a given individual routinely behaves like an ass, then respectable individuals who are possibly more pleasant to be around will avoid this person. This does not work in a virtual world. Tomorrow the blonde, burly, bodybuilder who was harassing you could easily be a short, demure redhead with a couple of extra pounds on her. Your body, your look, is not something that you have to live with every day. Change it. Simply make another avatar. Since there is no risk that the reputation of your avatar will reflect on the real you, there is no incentive to behave in a say that the virtual society deems “acceptable.”

Of course, reputation does not solve all of society’s ills. We have crime in the real world, and for those times when reputation is not enough, we have punishment. Punishment works no better in the virtual world to regulate behavior than reputation did. There are only three types of punishment in our real world.

• Physical pain
• deprivation of privileges or freedom
• death

While punishment on a very personal level between two people may focus on pain (they have a fist fight), “official” channels of punishment through a court system focuses almost exclusively on the second (deprivation).

Steal a car, and you lose your freedom of movement and association for some period of time. Scam people out of their retirement savings, and get deprived of a sum of your money. Cheat on your spouse, and lose the privilege of their company. That’s the way the world works.

But how do you do that in a virtual world? How do you imprison someone? You can take away their permission to log on for some period of time, but this isn’t practicable for a number of reasons. As above, they can simply create a new avatar. Or go to a different world until they get imprisoned there. Also, the majority of these virtual worlds rely on payment from their subscribers to continue to exist. If someone gets put in “jail” for a lengthy period of time, they will simply stop subscribing, or worse yet, cancel and then start a new subscription, effectively erasing their criminal record. Death has the same issue, in that it either means something (in which case those punished will stop subscribing) or it doesn’t, in which case it is ineffective as a deterrent. The impracticality of physical deterrents in a virtual worlds are self evident.

This is not to say that the difficulty on creating an online society with standards for behavior is impossible, or that people are not trying to do exactly that. A new type of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) is coming, with different approaches to this issue, some quite original. The two that are getting the most attention are Red Light World and Sociolotron. Both of these virtual worlds don’t beat around the bush. It’s not about killing monsters, getting loot, or shooting laser beams from your eyes.

It’s about sex. Lot’s of it. And in the case of Sociolotron, it’s about bondage, domination, rape, and potential of other unpleasantness such as disease, death and pregnancy. Of course, what any of those terms mean in a virtual world is in question. Sociolotron supposedly has a system of justice, punishment, and even trial by your peers, as opposed to by GM [Game Master].

To be fair, I have not downloaded the game. To tell the truth, it’s not my speed. But I wonder about the people that would choose to live in a world where such behavior is expected. It is not without real life precedent. In frontier towns of the old west, many crimes committed by gang members went unpunished because you could always depend on two or three folks loyal to that gang being on any jury. Some of the most famous lawmen in the west’s history (Wyatt Earp for a specific example) earned their reputation by taking justice in to their own hands when it was proven that a courthouse was incapable of rendering a verdict. What happens in the world of Sociolotron when a corrupt jury sets your rapist free? What recourse do you have? Rape them back? Would that even be considered a recourse? After all, the “rapist” is still in charge, they are still controlling your behavior with theirs. It doesn’t take a vivid imagination to see how quickly this would degenerate into complete anarchy (which, while fun for the setting for a first person shooter, is hardly solid ground for starting a virtual society).

More importantly, given the heavy psychological aspect of many sex crimes, what happens if your behavior in a virtual world has real life consequences? I am not saying that the ability to commit rape in a virtual world will cause an otherwise healthy person to want to do so in real life. I am saying that the ability to act out anti-social fantasies online may attract those who may have a real life predisposition in the first place. That is a very, very dangerous idea.

Where does real life stop? Where does the virtual world begin? When does stalking someone in a game leave off, and writing them sexually charged, threatening e-mails constitute a real threat? At what point are actual flesh and blood policemen going to be asked to investigate acts committed while sitting at a computer keyboard?

Because in a virtual world, with virtual cops, virtual juries, and virtual jails, there still aren’t any consequences.

but now it is confirmed. Major media outlet and noted reliable source of breaking news, Weekly World News, has broken the story that Dick Cheney is a Robot. From the same news outlet that claimed that mutant superhero Batboy had captured Saddam Hussein for the US, we learn that Cheney’s designers were “unable to give it emotions and compassion.”

Other highlights of the article include our nickname-happy President’s terms of endearment for the cyborg include “Pinocchio” “Data” and “Mutton Head.” It’s good to be on such good terms with your co-workers, isn’t it?

Questions over Cheney’s legal standing (and whether he can be deemed a “citizen” of the United States) have caused uproar throughout Washington, with many calling for his resignation. Many expect that this will be a major issue in the upcoming Presidential campaign.

Contrary to Jack Palance in City Slickers, this site claims that “For every subject, there are really only two things you really need to know. Everything else is the application of those two things, or just not important.”

Seems silly, until you start to read some of the examples.

Some of my favorites: The Two Things about Computer Programming: 1.  The only way to idiot proof software is to take away their computers. 2.  Simple is better.

The Two Things about World Conquest: 1. Divide and Conquer. 2. Never invade Russia in the winter.

The Two Things about Economics: 1.  Incentives matter. 2.  There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

The Two Things about Star Trek: 1. Don’t beam down in a red shirt. 2. You can always talk evil computers into destroying themselves.

The Two Things about Women 1. When complaining, they donâ??t want your advice, they want your sympathy. 2. Donâ??t you dare tell them you can sum them up with just Two Things.

There was only one on the site that I found disturbing: The Two Things about National Security: 1. Bring overwhelming force to bear. 2. Let them hate, so long as they fear.

I’m afraid this mindset is going to get us all killed. I’m not going to turn this entry into a political commentary, but this idea that others will behave as long as they have a pistol pointed at their head is outdated in a world where not only people, but seemingly entire subcultures are willing to die to inflict damage on their enemies. The western world (who I think in large part subscribe to the “Two Things” above) may need to re-think them a bit. How about this?

The NEW Two Things about National Security 1. Be prepared to bring overwhelming force to to bear on those against us. 2. However, the object of the game is to convince them we are WITH them.

The US has historically been pretty good about number 1, and a dismal failure at number 2 (and this problem extends far beyond the current administration, back through the entire Cold-War era).

Go to South Park Studios to make your very own South Park character. This is me (or as close as I think I can get using their tool). The necklace is a little off, but all in all, not bad. Cool little tool. I’ll try to come up with some amusing quote for me to say… Continue Reading »

Hey, I may have had Dallas Stars season tickets for 7 years or so (and will continue to do so), but I am sitting here watching the Tampa Bay Lightning skate the Cup on ABC, and it still gives me goose bumps. It is the greatest trophy in sports, the hardest championship to win, and the greatest celebration when it has been won.

Extra special congratulations to Brad Lukowich and Darryl Sydor (both former Stars) who get to put their name on the Cup (again, in the case of Sydor).

I’m jealous of the fans of Tampa Bay, who got to see their heroes win the Cup at home. I’ve never been so lucky. Dallas won it on the road in ‘99, and then I saw New Jersey win it live the following year, in Dallas. The strange thing is, I will be in Tampa tomorrow… missed trying to drop a LOT of money to get into the arena to watch this spectacle by one night.

Tampa is a young team, and has the potential to be good for a very long time. Let’s just hope their is some hockey next year for them to potentially dominate. I don’t think much of Gary Bettman, and if it is his watch that sees a very long work stoppage, I hope it is the end of his tenure. (Wow, I look back on that, and I think, “If this is a blog, shouldn’t I be cussing or something?” Maybe I’ll work up to that.)

I’d also like to congratulate the Calgary Flames, they had a terrific run that no one expected them to make, and they handled the whole playoffs and the final game like winners.

I promise, I’ll try to come up with something controversial, that I can cuss about, later.

and more and more i’m coming to rely on my computer’s calendar to remind me of various important points in time; anniversaries, birthdays and the like. over time, will my brain, and the brain of the generations to come, shrink down as this become common practise? – from waferbaby

Besides criticizing his somewhat conservative use of capitalization, I wonder what my senior english teacher would have thought about this post, and about computers and the internet. She referred to the printing press as “the invention that ruined our memories,” I can only imagine what she would have thought of PDAs, bluetooth enabled phones, notebook computers, and (with the use of a GSM-enabled phone) access to Google from almost any place on earth.

This was taken right at the entrance to my tent. Nice view. Of course, those who read my last post will notice the lack of light obscuring smoke, and the photo does not properly portray the baying of the dogs nearby.

It really was a beautiful place, I would just rather go back on a less popular holiday weekend.

Continue Reading »