WOW is just like real life
Posted by Ray @ 12:41 amThe reason you haven’t seen me post anything is because I’ve been spending many hours on World of Warcraft. I’ve gotten myself a level 43 Paladin, pretty decently decked out, and something struck me while I was playing:
WOW is just like real life.
See, back when I was a lowly 37, I’d toiled and grinded my way to about 56 gold. It wasn’t easy, seeing as money making items are hard to come by, but ceaseless mining and skinning expeditions had gotten me enough bronze, silver and leather that I’d finally reached 56 gold. And with that money, I happily purchased a pretty buff weapon, Sword of the Magistrate, which also happened to have a +7 attack enchant on it, for a whopping 38G.
A friend of mine who is also playing, started out just about the same time that I did. He is now a puny level 27, but he’s decked out in all blues. He casually mentioned that his dagger cost him 200 gold, and he got that money from friends in high places (level 70 dudes with too much money from the Outlands).
Life lesson learnt: it’s better to have friends in high places, than it is to work hard and become good at what you do.
Heartwarming
Posted by Zeng @ 6:46 pm Digg Users Are Revolting
Posted by Ray @ 11:53 amPerson A: “Digg users are revolting!”
Person B: “I know!”
So goes the joke (paraphrased from the movie Chicken Run).
But if you visit digg, you’ll see the entire front page covered with nothing but stories leaking the HD-DVD encryption key.
“It’s nothing short of a revolt!” they proclaim. A riot on the internet, a powerful negative reaction to DRM. Well done, give yourselves a pat on the back, you’ve shown The Man…
…absolutely nothing.
It’s a start, to be sure, but what effect will it really have on DRM? Jobs has already announced that the iTunes store will sell DRM-free music from EMI, presumably with others soon to follow. Sure, it’s a completely self-serving gesture, but it’s also the right thing to do, and it’s actually making a difference. A difference to people who are disconnected from their customers (read: the music industry), a difference to the customers themselves, a counterpoint to Captain Copyright and his band of seriously lame propaganda spouters.
But the “revolution” on digg? There’s a phrase that describes the mass riot on digg perfectly. It’s called “preaching to the choir”. A bunch of guys who agree with each other decide to give each other mutual hand jobs.
Yes, it’s one step up from masturbation, but it ain’t sex, if you know what I mean.
That being said, it’s really cool to see the entire front page covered in nothing but links to an obscure hexadecimal number.
thegreatsze on Female Mediocrity
Posted by Ray @ 2:36 amThey do not think: If I drive a car, I should learn about its maintenance and upkeep. If I utilize technology on a daily basis, I should familiarize myself with it above and beyond just consuming. They wail instead: “But why? I have my brother / father / uncle / husband / boyfriend to do it for me.” And this wail is final, a comprehensive answer to life’s vicissitudes.
This is not an exercise in misogyny. Rather, it is a general diatribe against modern society. We - and by this, I mean both men and women - have unconsciously conspired to allow mediocre women to stagnate happily in their mediocrity. I do believe that we are all born mediocre, save for the talented, God-gifted few. All is hard work.
…
This is not just the fault of the female, though it is arguable that she has let herself down by falling so comfortably into the unchallenging role that society has carved out for her. It is the fault of us all; we prize female beauty to such an extent that all else that she does has no real effect on our judgment of her. It is of course our loss; when an entire gender expects little from its collective self, it is the entire species that suffers.
Yes.
The comments are exactly what you would expect, and a good read in themselves. I suspect a lot of people are misreading the essay; it’s not a diatribe against women so much as a diatribe against passionless, soul-less mediocrity. Women just happen to be a convenient smoking gun… believe you me, there are plenty of mediocre guys around, too.
“A Man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently and die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
- Robert A. Heinlein
I’d add to that: drive a stick shift, play an instrument, read widely, stay healthy, write the rules, break the rules when the rules are stupid, respect someone who deserves it, disrespect someone who doesn’t, please a woman, please himself.
Specialization is indeed for insects. Don’t be a liability to humanity.