new Object

Top 10 Reasons #SocialGames Still Suck

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 00:13:07 -0700

1) Background music on the web = fail.

2) Whether I’m playing Zombie Zone or Furry Faire it’s the exact same mechanics.

3) Daily deals and bonuses that would make an infomercial barker blush.

4) Your stupid game falls below the fold (probably okay, just missing more “invite friends” tabs).

5) Getting cross-sold while I’m actually trying to play THIS game.

6) Fekking tabs.

7) I don’t play the game *with* my friends, I play it … *at* my friends?

8) Using Flash always makes me feel like I’m playing with a $20 plastic toy.

9) So linear my ruler is starting to look squiggly by comparison.

10) Games are about interesting choices, social games are about exploiting the human psyche.

Const: The Final Chapter

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:25:24 -0700

I was more or less weaned on C/C++, and one of the many *-isms I developed from that weaning (like ++pre-incrementing variables in for-loops for efficiency’s sake) was placing constants on the left side of comparisons to avoid accidental assignments (e.g. NULL == x). This practice has carried over to my Java code, serving no purpose other than to make people not used to writing code this way go cross-eyed when they read mine. Sorry, co-workers.

I also went through a “const correct” C++ phase where everything in my code was decorated with const. I even learned how to speak const-ese, and parse a “const pointer to a const pointer to const” and all its perverted little cousins. With Java’s weaker “final” concept, I never really went on a similar jag, although the temptation did occur occasionally.

Looking at some Java code recently, I noticed a combo of my constant == x idiom and my simultaneous urge to make x (a function parameter) final. Kind of like a couple being on the pill and using condoms at the same time. Then I had a thought: why aren’t all function parameters implicitly final/const/([insert language]’s concept of immutable)? It seems like it would automatically ratchet up the safety (and potentially performance) without all the syntactic bloat of variable decoration. What is the use case for actually wanting to alter function parameters? What do other non-Java/C languages have to say about this? I’m sure there are insurmountable legacy code issues, but is there any reason this is not a good idea in theory?

My JS1K compo entry - "The Legend of Ecma"

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:01:11 -0700

My JS1K compo entry - "The Legend of Ecma"

via flylighter @ selectbutton

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 10:29:22 -0700

via flylighter @ selectbutton

Joseph “Red” Kittinger currently holds the record...

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:57:40 -0700

Joseph “Red” Kittinger currently holds the record for highest parachute jump. This is it, at an altitude of 102,000 feet, on August 16th, 1960. via Wikipedia

iloveimages:

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:32:55 -0700

iloveimages:

Link Dump - Thursday July 29th, 2010

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:53:00 -0700

Adventures in fashion, food, photography, art and street style in Seattle and beyond.

Awesome palette cycling demo with HTML5 canvas. Suddenly it’s 1988 again.

Startup Lessons Learned at Dropbox.

The Chipophone (via lftkryo)

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:16:56 -0700

The Chipophone (via lftkryo)

mackro: 1987’s Computer Beach Party - playing at the Found...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:42:29 -0700

mackro:

1987’s Computer Beach Party - playing at the Found Footage Festival at the Central Cinema in Seattle, 7 and 10pm Saturday 7/24. Hat tip to David Schmader at The Stranger via Slog.

Here’s the IMDB description.

I’m shocked yet relieved that I never knew of this movie as a kid.

The latest from Cactus…

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:53:03 -0700

The latest from Cactus…

Video

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:45:57 -0700

For posterity's sake

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:02:20 -0700

I added some really old code to github tonight, I guess just to semi-immortalize this stuff that I sunk untold hours into for no apparent reason.

http://github.com/newobj/taz - a general purpose game/simulation engine. (ca. 2000-2004)

http://github.com/newobj/ffwd - audio/video code, VSTs, standalone apps. (ca. 2002)

235 Free Indie Games in 10 Minutes via Pixel Prospector

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:17:39 -0700

235 Free Indie Games in 10 Minutes via Pixel Prospector

Is it prime? This regex can answer that question: /^1?$|^(11+?)\1+$/

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:39:02 -0700

Is it prime? This regex can answer that question: /^1?$|^(11+?)\1+$/

The new TIGSource competition, A Game By Its Cover, is going to...

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:14:00 -0700

The new TIGSource competition, A Game By Its Cover, is going to be fantastic.

I (heart) Tumblr

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:35:00 -0700

Posterous has taken a nasty war footing lately in trying to draw users off other services and onto theirs. There’s something odd about this overt competition in a space where people traditionally play nice, and more importantly, is not zero-sum. In short, it’s soured me on Posterous, whereas before I was actually slightly positive, since they have some features I like (like password protected blogs, which on one including Tumblr can seem to get right.)

But I’ve been meaning to address my old Tumblr theme (Cargo), which despite its sexy minimalism, was not very text/reader friendly. So I came back to Tumblr today and browsed the new (?) paid theme gallery. Tumblr actually just got $9 out of me for the Scaffold theme (the one you may be looking at right now.) And while I was back at Tumblr tweaking my config, I was reminded of how warm, artistic, and human Tumblr is. It’s a product that’s always felt right. It’s a stark contrast to Posterous’ total utilitarianism. I ♥ you, Tumblr. I need to visit more often. (Now that I spent $9, I’m going to have to.)

By the way, d’oh: http://bit.ly/a2xB0G (apologies if this link dies)

Design Outside The Box - Jesse Schell at DICE 2010. Full...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:54:00 -0700

Design Outside The Box - Jesse Schell at DICE 2010. Full playlist here.

Released a first cut of nginx-x-rid-header...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:04:15 -0700

Released a first cut of nginx-x-rid-header module: http://github.com/newobj/nginx-x-rid-header. Funny that I have an instantaneous mental connection of the word ‘rid’ to PJ Harvey.

Announcing the release of Heymon, an open-source Rails-based...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:19:08 -0700

Announcing the release of Heymon, an open-source Rails-based frontend for Collectd. Get it here: http://github.com/newobj/heymon

Blood splatter outside of Petsmart.

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:20:00 -0700

Blood splatter outside of Petsmart.