Friday the Sixth of November, 2009

Lost Garden: Testosterone and Competitive Play
"The ability to tell player stories, communicate, discuss and joke with one another are all features that enable the core delivery of value to the player. In some sense, the actual competition is secondary to the bonding that occurs around the activity." (filed under: games psychology design)
OblivionWarthogsGlanced at: The Last of Sheila - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • The Last of Sheila - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal • How Teenagers and Adults Consume Media | Futurelab An international marketing strategy consultancy • Autism Blog - AoA Circulates H1N1 Hoax << Left Brain/Right Brain • Newspapers claim that chocolate prevents wrinkles, ageing and skin cancer • Interview Archive - Hello, Cruel World • Man convicted of murder after police overheard prayer for forgiveness jailed for life | UK news | guardian.co.uk • Jimmy Carr: 'I thought my Paralympics joke was totally acceptable' | Culture | The Guardian • Grant Morrison Pitches Stephen Fry Project To BBC Scotland (UPDATE x2) | Bleeding Cool Comic News & Rumors • Human microbes are picky about neighbourhoods on body - life - 05 November 2009 - New Scientist • YouTube - WellcomeFilm's Channel • Government backs down on science freedom demands - Times Online • An Entirely Other Day • RCA student radically improves the UK plug | ICON MAGAZINE ONLINE • Sky Player on Xbox 360 - impressions, thoughts and pricing details | Technology | guardian.co.uk • Bicolor cat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • List of cats with fraudulent diplomas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Achievement Unlocked: Navigate the pedestrian subway at Elephant & Castle without getting lost." 2 days ago on Twitter
Recently listened to:
Lights Out For Darker Skies British Sea Power
Apocalypso The Monochrome Set
8 Ball Underworld
Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash
Public Service Announcer Mull Historical Society
Malayan Jelutong Half Man Half Biscuit
When Britain Refused to Sing Black Box Recorder
London Cinerama
Zombie Me No More Kings
Blue Light Bloc Party

Recently played on the Xbox 360:

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Wednesday the Fourth

A Common Nomenclature for Lego Families by Giles Turnbull - The Morning News
"Six-year-old Raimi often builds spaceships, but has never referred to the pieces by name, until prompted by his father - at which point he revealed that he possessed names for all of them in his head." (filed under: lego language)
The sun sets early coming into WaterlooLast Night, the smoking power station...Glanced at: Congress Approves $500 Billion For Monument To Human Folly | The Onion - America's Finest News Source • 221B.sh Homepage • Chris Heathcote: anti-mega: all watched over by screens of loving grace • Tom Gauld - latest • YouTube - Joe Brown - Sid James - Bermondsey - Three Hats For Lisa • Anacrusis Chell • BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Man cleared of BNP racial abuse • Swine flu vaccine fears allayed - bengoldacre • Frolix-8: It's A Marvellous Night For A Moondance • not falling down >> SO EXCITED • Overheating : AMUSEMENT • Police cars since the 1950s | Art and design | guardian.co.uk

Tuesday the Third

24 Hours of Inform : Results of the Fourth Contest
Two submissions this time around: "Semi Intelligent Design" from Andrew Dean, and "The Stone Cage" from me. (filed under: games if creations)
Story Generator - TV Tropes
"We say 'story generator', but it should probably be 'story idea generator'. These elements from the trope indexes should spark an idea or two." (filed under: narrative random television)
on Flickr - Photo Sharing!Autumn in GreenwichGlanced at: Gamasutra - Features - Valve's Writers And The Creative Process • Why do we have an IMG element? [dive into mark] • Jennifer's Body: a feminist slasher film? Really? | Film | The Guardian • BBC NEWS | Technology | File-sharers are big spenders too • Can we share the road in London? • Papercraft Self Portrait - Art Portfolio for Eric Testroete • Why dolphins are deep thinkers | Science | The Guardian • Suttree >> Casual Games, Social Software >> Fictive Worlds • The Major Fun Awards! • The Prototype Experience • Faded London • Drom • UK's first 1,000 train fare revealed | UK news | guardian.co.uk • Mind Hacks: Final destination, Golden Gate Bridge • BBC NEWS | Health | Feeling grumpy 'is good for you' • Gratuitous Space Battles - The Game • The App Garden on Flickr • Research shows chronically ill might be happier if they gave up hope | University of Michigan Health System

Monday the Second

A New Theory of Awesomeness and Miracles, by James Bridle, concerning Charles Babbage, Heath Robinson, MENACE and MAGE
"MENACE is a machine that plays noughts and crosses, built out of 304 matchboxes." [...] "When it is MENACE's turn to play, the operator simply selects the matchbox corresponding to the current state of play, shakes it, and opens it to see which move has been chosen." (filed under: games computers history)
Sketchbook page 23Hello little cyberman fellabluetooth RFID-enabled cakeYes, but which one way?Halloween Ig FestHalloween Ig FestHalloween Ig FestGlanced at: http://www.freeweb.hu/neuwanstein/primer_timeline.html • The Daily Mash - TWITTER USERS DARE YOU TO EVEN THINK IT • Reasons To Look Forward To Just Cause 2, No. 13, by Tom Francis • The Carphone Warehouse Ltd • Just Cause 2 Video Game, Exclusive No Ordinary Mission Trailer HD | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com • B3TA : FEATURES : PHALLIC LOGO AWARDS • Hide and Seek Sandpit >> Blog Archive >> Hide words, find words, win prizes • Stop SMIDSY | Stop SMIDSY • Meals to help the medicine go down - Times Online • Monitor calibration and gamma • Tories should ditch BBC licence fee, Greg Dyke panel suggests | Media | The Guardian • Banner Ads Attached to Flies Defy Gravity and Logic [VIDEO] • Bent spoons, flying saucers and remote control donkeys: military myths explained | Mark Pilkington | Film | guardian.co.uk • The cashless man responds to your comments | Mark Boyle | Environment | guardian.co.uk • Yfrog - 7da - Uploaded by BatterseaPkSW11 • London fireworks displays 2009 - Time Out London • Bioshock Playlist | Share Spotify Playlists at ShareMyPlaylists.com • Man accidentally ejects himself from plane | World news | guardian.co.uk • Trade in two titles and get COD MW2 PS3/XBox for 4.99 + Explanation how to end up getting it for just 24.97 (PS3) or 24.99 (XBox) at Gamestation - HotUKDeals Forum • BBC NEWS | England | London | Oxford Circus 'X-crossing' opens • Google Wave: we came, we saw, we played D&D - Ars Technica • The emperors new gym << A canna change the laws of physics • Byzantine Perspective - IFWiki • Reverse perspective - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Big Ben (big_ben_clock) on Twitter • Dreher: Pervasive Games • WARNING: Twitter Money Scams Spreading Through DMs • STRANGE GAMES: Straitjacket Softball

Sunday the First

Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine
"The Soviets had taken game theory one step further than Kubrick, Szilard, and everyone else: They built a system to deter themselves. By guaranteeing that Moscow could hit back, Perimeter was actually designed to keep an overeager Soviet military or civilian leader from launching prematurely during a crisis." [...] "No matter what was going to happen, there still would be revenge. Those who attack us will be punished." (filed under: war apocalypse technology russia history politics weapons) (via: lmg)
York Zombie Walk 2009BT Tower 2012 fireworksBeijingBeijingP1000454PaphosThe greatest Halloween costume everGlanced at: Marco.org - In defense of ebook readers • 1st Floor Graphics >> Blog Archive >> I dont know what I did before the Internet • Alternative Postal Services • Morse or Blair? Now that's a tricky one | David Mitchell | Comment is free | The Observer • Political woo Bad Science • How to Win the DARPA Network Challenge | Mssv • STRANGE GAMES: Rubber Band Escapology • Steampunk zombie killer army on Vimeo • Why virtual economies defy the rules of your old college textbooks | VentureBeat • The Story

Thursday the Twenty-Ninth of October

dswiki - Project Hosting on Google Code
"Get the complete Wikipedia on a Nintendo DS. The English language edition fits on a 4GB storage device." (filed under: ds wiki)
Off diary: Volunteers flock to help cut council costs | Society | The Guardian
"The council says the cost of grass cutting and baling has risen to around £25,000 a year, with one of the most significant increases being disposal of the cut material. In contrast, the urban shepherd scheme costs around £1,800 a year." (filed under: sheep cities money brighton) (via: joh)
09tsDrop a clonewhat if this was a touchpoint for a pervasive game?Glanced at: Study: Your Brain Thinks Money Is A Drug : NPR • Review: $99 WikiReader is a pocket encyclopedia : NPR • Cell Size and Scale • YouTube - Simon Quinlank - King of Hobbies - Internet • The Curious Case of Racism in Second Life - Pixels and Policy • How to Carry Your Office on a Stick (USB Flash Drive) • "A Simple Plan" - Pop Culture, Gaming T-shirt by Neil Gregory • Central place theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • in Crysis... • Mozilla Labs >> Raindrop • Infographic of Mars missions - Boing Boing • Marsnik program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • LastTube | A Last.fm - YouTube mashup • The National Blood Service - do something amazing give Blood • ROTTEN TOMATOES: RT's Movie Location Guide - London as Elsewhere • Yfrog - comd - Uploaded by misterwallace • FT.com / Reportage - The man who invented exercise • Where to Drink in London When You're Dead - Spoonfed London • Riverthames (Riverthames) on Twitter • Kung Fu Monkey: Waid Wednesdays #18: Don't Waste My Time • Google Friend Connect • Just A Theory >> Want to quit smoking? Crush cigarettes in a video game

Friday the Twenty-Third

Time doesn’t really freeze when you’re freaked - Behavior- msnbc.com
"This watch-like device flickered numbers on its screen [that] were too fast to see. If the brain sped up when in danger, the researchers theorized numbers on the perceptual chronometers would appear slow enough to read while volunteers fell [from 150ft]. Instead, the scientists found that volunteers could not read the numbers at faster-than-normal speeds." (filed under: time illusions delusions science)
a project to transform London's Bus journeys | Bus-Tops
"The project intends to install a number of LED displays on the roof’s of Bus Shelters across London and providing the tools for the public and established artists to create content to be seen on them. [Its] core aim is to democratise public art." (filed under: transport art london)
Testing Reality exhibition, Customs HouseBayamon, PR Oil Refinery Fire 10.23.09Wild Ideas on the telephoneGlanced at: YouTube Comment Snob • YouTube - This American Life • YouTube - Living with First-Person Shooter Disease • Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal • The Houdini Seance Live on the Internet • Scientists oppose plan to fund research according to economic value - Times Online • Crowdflower and Gambit: Is this Child Labor for Virtual Goods? - ReadWriteStart • London Paranormal • Super Concrete in the U.S. Military, Iran and the Pyramids? | Danger Room | Wired.com • Quote Comparison: Nick Griffin vs The Daily Mail (and Jan Moir) | The Lay Scientist • Angry Mob Play Set - Archie McPhee & Co. • A Dress A Day: Finally: Tetris Dress! • Mind Hacks: Time is of the essence • YouTube - Cassetteboy vs Nick Griffin vs Question Time • YouTube - The Internet in 1969 • Times Online - Eureka Zone - WBLG: Nick Griffin's bad science • Ants spread collective immunity through contact : Not Exactly Rocket Science • Fake AP Stylebook (FakeAPStylebook) on Twitter

Monday the Nineteenth

Join in the murder game at Battersea Arts Centre | Stage | The Guardian
"Here, the show is both drama and game. Audience members – there are about 30 per performance – play characters in an imaginary French town. There is no script; every audience member plays a part in developing the story, and thus becomes responsible for its outcome." (filed under: games theatre secrets lies)
AdviceSketchbook page 22Uncertain Eastside: images from walk and talk eventGlanced at: tomgauld | TweetPhoto • ONE MILLION FROZEN MIXED FRUIT PIES 70g 'Fruit Puff' on eBay (end time 21-Oct-09 20:00:23 BST) • 185. Spying on Flickr - Photo Sharing! • Poles, Politeness and Politics in the age of Twitter << The New Adventures of Stephen Fry • The Fun Theory • Priest Shortage Forces Vatican To Hire Temps To Deliver Sacred Rites | The Onion - America's Finest News Source • Small Town Anywhere • BBC NEWS | UK | Author Ludovic Kennedy dies at 89 • INTERVIEW - Charlie Brooker (Part 1) | A MCV Feature | MCV • Twenty questions for the BNP | Sunny Hundal | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk • Gedim Lurch !

Saturday the Seventeenth

Adactio: Journal—The Chalkboard of the Fourth Wall
"I’m the unluckiest chalkboard in Brighton. Summer’s coming and this side of the building is always in the shade. Please come inside and tell them to move me to the western wall." (filed under: signs meta brighton advertising)
Please do not destroy the machinesbentham?pricesGlanced at: "Steam Crane Bristol Docks" Fine Art Print by grimduke1 [3692832-3] - RedBubble • Jan Moir: I'm thinking she's a piece of shit • YouTube - Gordon McIntyre of Ballboy - "I Am An Indie Pirate and I Will Skuttle Ye," Roxy, London, 7.5.09 • The National Blood Service - Donor Award Scheme • Poring over facts about milk: cow's, goat's, soy, almond, rice and hemp -- latimes.com • DayBreak Fiction: The Very Difficult Diwali of Sub-Inspector Gurushankar Rajaram << DayBreak Magazine • William Anastasi: Nine Polaroid Portraits of a Mirror (1994.316) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art • 16 bitchin' commands and shortcuts for Twitter | Blog | Econsultancy • Neuroskeptic: Deconstructing the Placebo • Tabloid Watch: Will the Mail react to Moir as it expected the BBC to react over 'Sachsgate'? • BlogNomic Declaration of Victory • Compare Book Prices | Book Crawler UK • YouTube - funny goal for sunderland with balloon result is 1:0 for sunderland • The Elmore Leonard Website - Weblog • Flickr: Wandsworth Council's Photostream • Gamasutra - Features - The Birth of Collecting: The Osiris Archetype In Games • The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to The Office • Vampires as Gay Men - New Moon's Homosexual Vampire Connection - Esquire • How I beat procrastination : programming • Six reasons why $250 million for Playfish is a steal >> Games Brief • Ever Dream This Man? • YouTube - Zombies Doing Yoga • Mechanical Turk app on the iPhone Provides Work for Refugees - O'Reilly Radar • Chiropractors cause controversy | Comment is free | The Guardian • Nick Lansley's Technology for Tesco.com Blog: Tesco Finder's Town/City Search Not Working • YouTube - Alive in Joberg by Neill Blomkamp Spyfilms (District 9 director) • YouTube - I've Discovered Something Amazing!

Friday the Sixteenth

subtlemob 09
New project from Duncan Speakman. "If you register to take part in this event you'll be invited to download an MP3 and turn up at a secret location to listen to the track at a specified time." (filed under: sound crowds secrets)
Woman Sues Toyota Over 'Terrifying' Prank
An unclear-consent Toyota email campaign backfires. "Duick claims she had difficulty eating, sleeping and going to work during March and April of last year after she received e-mails for five days from a fictitious man [who] said he was on the run from the law, knew her and where she lived, and was coming to her home to hide from the police." (filed under: delusions law advertising email camrad) (via: holly)
Front page news in PeterboroughIMG_4769SnailCatchy titleI Know I Am Ugly But I Glow At NightWriting a status update on her wall.Glanced at: The Daily Mash - CARTER-RUCK TO SUE EVERYONE • Newsvine - Interracial couple denied marriage license in La. • Leeds student has formula for perfect night out - Yorkshire Evening Post • The enemies of reason: Why there is nothing 'natural' about the life of Jan Moir • Ian from the London Underground Vs an Elderly Man | Jonathan MacDonald • pective - The Actual Size of Stuff. • 'Balloon boy' family denies hoax after son found in attic | World news | guardian.co.uk • Hide and Seek Sandpit >> Blog Archive >> Guest Post: Designing and Running Buttle • Pervasive Gaming Is a Harmful Phenomenon to Whole Larp-Culture << Pervasive Games: Theory and Design • BBC iPlayer - Music Makers: Episode 3 • fisharepeopletoo: You are a reporter. You are not a historian. • Jan Moir: Twitter forces Mail to pull all adverts >> malcolm coles • Journalism.co.uk :: Science libel: It's a 1m bet with a 30% chance of losing, says Simon Singh • 1g3clf.png (PNG Image, 390249 pixels) • A Graphical Representation of Irony for Trafigura and the BCA | The Lay Scientist • Speechbreaker • Cowbirds in Love :: a daily comic by Sanjay Kulkarni • Domesticated silver fox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Charlie Brooker | Why there was nothing 'human' about Jan Moir's column on the death of Stephen Gately | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk • Artangel | Roger Hiorns | SEIZURE now extended to 3 January 2010 • My little zebra: The secrets of domestication - life - 05 October 2009 - New Scientist • Jan Moir hits out at 'mischievous' online 'campaign' - Press Gazette • Google Wave, as explained by Samuel L Jackson • The Google Wave chatting tool is too complicated for its own good. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine • Letters of Note: I miss my brother • danieltenner.com What problems does Google Wavesolve? • Creative Review - 2012 Olympics pictograms launched • YouTube - An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1/3) • Missed Kicks Make Brain See Smaller Goal Post | Wired Science | Wired.com • Mental Imagery > The Perky Experiment (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Wednesday the Fourteenth

Starsuckers celebrity hoax dupes tabloids | Media | guardian.co.uk
"Atkins and his producers decided [to] pose as members of the public and offer completely fictitious stories to the tabloid press about well-known figures." [...] "If it's funny, if it's not too nasty, if you have a name and a telephone number, they will print your story." (filed under: news lies hoaxes) (via: glinner)
Dalbeattie Ornothological Association on Flickr - Photo Sharing!On a clear day... on Flickr - Photo Sharing!End Of An Era? on Flickr - Photo Sharing!Abandoned lab on Flickr - Photo Sharing!All four kinds of radio on Flickr - Photo Sharing!Glanced at: All four kinds of radio on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - Welcome to Area 5. Respect the Game. - CO-OP - WikiReader | Home - Hand from Above on Vimeo - Essay - The Collider, the Particle and a Theory About Fate - NYTimes.com - YouTube - L4DMods.com Presents: Left 4 Teletubbies by flameknight7 - Free, shmee. Here are newspapers options - azeem.azhar - b3ta.com challenge: if america were still british - Oak Paintings - Abandoned lab on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - Kosmograd: Branding the boroughs - cabel.name: The Best Fast Food Receipt - Eating chocolate 'can help relieve pain', study claims - Telegraph - Fourth plinth project ends with cheers, tears and a Hillsborough tribute | Art and design | guardian.co.uk - 100 years of Big Content fearing technologyin its own words - Ars Technica - BBC - London - In pictures: The Surreal Line - YouTube - Fire Hazard: Weapons Training - Simon Singh wins the right to a full appeal | The Lay Scientist - Internet coalescing into lump of Google The Register - Report: Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date | The Onion - America's Finest News Source - POLAPREMIUM - :: Breaking News :: - New routes to retailers | theBookseller.com - Next Game Fire Hazard - iS5vb.jpg (JPEG Image, 797596 pixels) - End Of An Era? on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - BBC NEWS | Technology | Berners-Lee 'sorry' for slashes - On a clear day... on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - The Best Approach for Avoiding Zombies | Current Affairs - ISNS - Spam As Folk Art - Dalbeattie Ornothological Association on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - Video: Stephen Fry wins Gadget Personality of the Year at the T3 Gadget Awards 2009 | T3 magazine - Cheap Train Tickets: how to find hidden fares... -
This is an automatically reformatted view of my del.icio.us bookmarks, with tiny contrails of pages I've glanced at, my Flickr photos, my Last FM recent tracks, and my five most recently-played Xbox 360 games. There's a combined RSS feed of the delicious and Flickr at FeedDigest, if anyone wants it.