December 2005 - Posts

My rules of investing
Published 12-30-2005 11:46 AM | Mark
I am a big believer in the philosophy of Warren Buffet and Peter Lynch, so my rules are simply restatements of theirs: 1. Invest in what you know. Do not buy "hot" stocks because someone told you to. Don't buy the stock of a company in an industry you...
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Problems with miniaturization and memory
Published 12-27-2005 10:08 PM | Mark
I had a wonderful Christmas. I got too many great gifts to count, and I hope I managed to give a few as well. One of these gifts has caused me some problems, however. My father and stepmother got me Mario Kart DS, which is an excellent racing game for...
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Most played online games
Published 12-23-2005 1:47 PM | Mark
As you can see , my current obsession, Battlefield 2 is pretty damn popular right now. What I find odd in that link is the immense unflagging popularity of Counterstrike (Half-Life and Half-Life 2 are number 1 and 2 solely because of the Counterstrike...
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Innovation in gaming
Published 12-21-2005 10:34 PM | Mark
Every other week or so, an article like this appears declaring that innovation in gaming is dead. The argument goes like this: video game publishers demand easily-marketed sequels in established genres that they can foist on an advertising-brainwashed...
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Great Ajax fights on
Published 12-19-2005 3:37 PM | Mark
Like a stubborn ass some boys lead down a road... stick after stick they've cracked across his back but he's too much for them now, he rambles into a field to ravage standing crops. They keep beating his ribs, splintering sticks - their struggle child...
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Taking the Christ out of Christmas
Published 12-19-2005 1:45 PM | Mark
Though I am an atheist, I am a big fan of christmas. This is the time for showering the ones you love with the fruits of our capitalist economy. I am all for the "commercialization" of christmas. I agree wholeheartedly with this essay by Leonard Peikoff...
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Bolivia degenerates
Published 12-19-2005 12:52 PM | Mark
I have mixed feelings about this . On the one hand, the War on Drugs is retarded, and if I were a coca farmer in Bolivia I would be pissed off too. But on the other hand, a socialistic eat-the-rich orgy is only going to make things worse. The leader of...
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Altruist of the Year
Published 12-18-2005 4:44 PM | Mark
Even more pointless than movie awards is Time Magazine's Person of the Year . This year the award is split between Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono. I can see Gates getting an award. Here is a man whose company has transformed the world. Microsoft brought...
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Nuclear batteries
Published 12-17-2005 12:07 AM | Mark
The nuclear age is stalled, and we desperately need to kick it into gear. Nuclear is the most efficient, cleanest, safest, and most bountiful source of power known to man. Now we have the means to create nuclear batteries. As this excellent Forbes article...
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Another pointless movie award season is upon us
Published 12-14-2005 3:41 PM | Mark
The Golden Globe nominees were recently announced. The Globes, like the Oscars, follow rather simple rules for distribution of their awards: 1. The nominee must reject heroism by offering a hero flawed by disease or physical or psychological disability...
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Battlefield 2
Published 12-11-2005 1:34 PM | Mark
It's very possible for a gamer to partake of his hobby without spending a dime, other than to his ISP. Case in point: Battlefield 2. The free multiplayer demo (Windows only, you Linux posers) is infinitely replayable. If you have never experienced the...
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Smoking is bad, mmkay?
Published 12-10-2005 11:22 PM | Mark
The government funded alarmist anti-smoking websites like to report figures such as "400 thousand people die of smoking each year". The studies they use for these statistics are also government funded. It is no coincidence that the recent deluge of anti...
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The soul of the United Nations
Published 12-10-2005 10:35 PM | Mark
Samizdata has a must-read post about statements made by Louise Arbor, High Commissioner for Human Rights at the UN. Arbor says it is "unacceptable" for a Danish newspaper to publish cartoon depictions of Muhammed. In the world of the UN, the right of...
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Blackness came swirling down over his eyes...
Published 12-10-2005 9:22 PM | Mark
A common death line from the translation of the Iliad I am currently re-reading. It would be difficult to overstate the Iliad's importance, as it marks the birth of the novel. Yes, the form is embryonic, and over the millennia we have greatly improved...
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Nine Inch Nails returns
Published 12-05-2005 5:05 PM | Mark
A second leg of the tour has recently been announced and NIN will be coming to Portland on February 28th. My joy cannot be expressed in words. For those interested, tickets are general admission, 32 dollars, and they go on sale December 10th. Buy yours...
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