Vi får de folkevalgte vi fortjener
Hvordan er det i det hele tatt mulig å bruke flerfoldige tusen kroner på Å RINGE TIL ANGIVELIG SYNSKE PERSONER? Jeg laster selvsagt ikke telesigøynerne som utvilsomt leser høyt fra krystallkulen live over telefon - kan man egentlig sies å være moralsk uansvarlig når alt man gjør er å utnytte idioter av slaget som hopper opp og ned mens de venter spent på neste nigeriabrev? På denne måten forblir iallefall midlene i den nasjonale økonomien.
At frk. Khan så velger å fare med usannheter om sitt forhold til spåkjerringer slår meg som enda mindre gjennomtenkt - har vi ikke fått grundig demonstrert nå, gjennom saker som involverer franskmenn/kvinner fra UDi og utleide stabbur i gokk, at dersom den kvasikulørte siklepressen på østlandet representert ved VG og Dagblaget vil avsløre et eller annet om en eller annen, så klarer de til syvende og sist det? Dersom Saera Khan virkelig har såpass tiltro til disse svindlerne at hun bruker et femsifret beløp på å prate med dem, må hun ha blitt umåtelig skuffet da hun omsider forstod at Klarsynte Klaus hadde glemt å tipse henne om at karrieren hennes kom til å fordunste over natten dersom hun fortsatte å benytte seg av deres tjenester.
Vi får den økonomien vi fortjener
Nå har vi prøvd markedsliberalisme, og Island synker - sammen med USA. Skal du fremdeles stemme FrP?
Vi får de spillene vi fortjener
Spore er et moderne makkverk av et spill. I 2007 var Spore et dypt, komplisert, engasjerende og innovativt spill med så stor spennvidde at det var vanskelig å begripe. I 2008 er Spore en samling flash-spill som finnes i langt bedre utgaver hver for seg, med noen kunstig begrensede skapelsesmotorer slengt med på toppen.
Spore er delt opp i et par minispill:
1. Spis fiskene som er mindre enn deg, unngå å bli spist av dem som er større enn deg. Som sett i et utall flash-spill.
2. Drep andre dyr, eller syng til andre dyr og bli venner. Kontrollsystem og gameplay minner om et primitivt MMO, bortsett fra at man er helt alene, og at det er gørrkjedelig.
3. Drep andre stammer, eller bli venner med andre stammer. Litt som gamle gude-RTS-er av typen Populous, bare mye mindre komplekst enn spill som ble utgitt på 80-tallet.
4. Drep, konverter eller kjøp andre nasjoners byer med fly, båter eller biler. Hvilken metode du velger betyr ingenting. Litt som Empire Earth i de siste par fasene, bortsett fra at det er ikke noen strategi involvert, bare å spamme kjøretøyer og zerge i vei.
5. Dra ut i rommet og ignorer alt som muligens er der ute, fordi rompirater angriper hjemplaneten din hvert 3. minutt, uansett hva du ellers foretar deg, og til tross for at disse tar 10 sekunder og ett velplassert skudd å bli kvitt, er fullstendig umulig for de automatiserte forsvarsverkene på planeten å hanskes med.
Innimellom får du lov til å bygge ting, noe som er morsomt i begynnelsen - helt til du krasjer med en tingest kalt Complexity Meter, som egentlig bare er en cockblock som skal hindre deg i å lage morsomme dyr, ved å begrense antall deler. Videre oppdager du også at normale anatomiske forutsetninger ikke har så mye med saken å gjøre - et rombeformet kreatur med ett bein vil alltid være mye raskere enn et strømlinjeformet monstrum med tre par hestebein - så lenge førstnevntes bein koster mer penger (eller, uh, DNA) å kjøpe (uh, utvikle).
I tillegg kommer ZE THIRD REICH DRM - også kjent som SecuROM, kopibeskyttelsen fra helvete, som ikke bare benytter seg av rootkit-teknologi for å rote med PC-en din, men også begrenser antallet installasjoner av spillet på tvers av alle PC-er til tre. Du får selvsagt ikke en installasjon tilbake dersom du avinstallerer spillet, og bruker du mer enn tre (senere økt til hele fem!) installasjoner, må du ringe EA og allernådigst be om å få lov til å installere en gang til. Da krever de selvsagt at du tar bilde av kvitteringen, spillesken, baksiden av manualen slik at du får med product key-en, og at du pantsetter 28% av sjelen din. Fordi du er selvsagt en pirat.
Protip: Kopisperren virker ikke. Spore var ikke noe unntak. 24 timer etter release fløt bukten og andre frihavner over av frigjorte utgaver av Spore. Om man nå var en Spore-pirat, hvorfor i frelseren jesu kristi navn skulle man ringe EA for å få hjelp til å omgå kopisperren? Piratutgavene er allerede kvitt begrensningen, det er ikke de som kommer til å ringe brukerstøtten til EA om noen måneder og lure på hvorfor spillet forteller dem at de er en dirty pirate i det de forsøker å installere for sjette gang.
Med spill som Mass Effect er man gjerne villige til å se forbi DRM-tøvet, fordi spillet er såpass interessant som det nå er. Med Spore er dette ikke tilfellet. Gjør verden en tjeneste, og kjøp for alt i verden ikke Spore. Hvis du absolutt må prøve det, last ned ulovlig. Da får du det ikke bare gratis, du får også et bedre produkt, fullstendig uten begrensninger fra Obersturmführer EA.
Vi får den sikkerheten vi fortjener
I've had some time to think and rest, so I'm going to put my thoughts down in writing now.
As some of you are aware, I am not at Blizzcon. Indeed, I am not even in the United States. Something dreadful happened, and I'd like to make sure you know the state of play.
Since June last year, I have been entering and leaving the US under their Visa Waiver program. The idea is that citizens of certain, trusted countries can enter the US without a visa, as long as they comply with certain rules and regs. Those rules and regs are not particularly well documented, but the basic gist of it is 'don't work, don't commit crime, leave before the 90 days is up'. In April, we started our application for the K3 spousal visa, which grants permanent residence. We heard nothing back, indeed from what we've been able to determine, the application hasn't even started. It may not have reached them, it may indeed have been rejected out of hand because there was a vague rule 'somewhere' that says you can't apply while the alien (that's me) is in the United States. One way or the other though, it didn't get processed.
As of October 8th, I fly back from Heathrow to LAX, to enter the US for the purpose of Blizzcon, and then to go and stay with Gen (my wife) until hopefully, the K3 had made some progress. If not, it was my intention to leave before those 90 days were up, go back home, get some work in England and apply for the B2, a stop-gap measure for visitors, which allows you to change status while on it. The Visa waiver program is becoming application-only in January anyway, so I didn't anticipate this would be an issue. I was wrong.
I was detained at LAX because I was 'inadmissable for entry'. Despite my every effort to be honest and truthful, and explain my situation at home, they would not listen (they being Homeland security). I explained to them that I was looking after our 5 year old son. I explained to them that Gen's work was trying to force her to work nights and if that happened, someone would have to be at home to look after Orion. I explained to them that we had been acting in good faith, had received advice from 2 seperate, authoratative sources (homeland security and the USCIS) that it would be ok for me to enter under Visa waiver on this occassion. I explained to them that to the best of our knowledge, the K3 application had been submitted in April. I explained to them that I was attending a convention on invitation. I explained to them that I had not been working, my wife had been supporting the family, and that were I not there, and she was forced to work nights, she could lose her job.
They didn't care.
They seemed determined from the outset to treat me like a criminal, and so they did, accusing me to my face of lying, claiming I had entered the US at one point through Mexico (this never happened) and all manner of other ridiculous things. I was judged 'inadmissable' to the United States and kept in custody to be deported the following day. For most of the time, I was kept in a secure room in their office without access to my luggage or a phone. I was then taken in an armoured van to a detention center, had all my personal effects taken away, including my shoe-laces of all things, and put in a cold cell, consisting of little more than a cold metal bench and a bank of very bright lights. I was supposed to 'sleep' there, but that didn't happen, how could it? It was freezing cold and unbearably bright. There was no indication of time anywhere, it was 9 hours of haze.. I don't remember much from then. When I was removed from the cell I was taken back to another armoured van, hands behind my back and driven back to the airport where I was escorted under armed guard, back to the Homeland security office. It was at this point that I demanded to speak to the British Consulat, who had been working to resolve the situation. I was able to speak to my parents, and to a Consulsar officer for advice, but at 18:00 PST that day, was removed from the United States, along with the majority of the Blizzcon equipment that I had been transporting with me. I tried to leave the suitcase for pickup, they refused to help me. By the time I got on the plane I had not slept in over 48 hours.
So riddle me this, why is it that in a country where 100s of illegal immigrants come in every day, work, claim benefits, commit crimes, does the one guy who's trying to do it all above board, get shot down? What was my motivation for entering the States? To be a father to a child who needed one, and a husband to a wife who needed one. What was my crime? Apparently trying to do that in THEIR country. The US immigration system is obtuse, incomprehensible and broken. It gives conflicted advice at every turn, changes it's mind whenever it feels like it and invests complete executive power in small men with guns. Their supposed discretion for individual circumstances ends up being turned against those who tried to do things the right way, but were held up by ridiculous procedures and ill-documented laws and regulations. Speaking from a legal perspective, the immigration procedures are obtuse and filled with double-speak and vague definitions. It's nigh on impossible to know what you're supposed to do. 2 seperate sources told me it would be ok to enter the US, but it was not. What was I supposed to?
Kilde: WoW Radio
Here's some Benjamin Franklin for you:
""Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
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