if your fs is case-insensitive, please make globbing case-insensitive...
$ ls -l | grep -i graphics
drwxr-xr-x 7 nharkins nharkins 238 Apr 9 23:20 Graphics
$ ls -ld graphics
drwxr-xr-x 7 nharkins nharkins 238 Apr 9 23:20 graphics
$ ls -ld graph*
ls: graph*: No such file or directory
(reformatted the drive case-sensitive for a while, but various osx apps don't like it)
$ python -c 'print -1**0'
-1
$ perl -e 'print -1**0 ."\n";'
-1
$ echo '-1^0' | bc
1
$ python -c "print pow(-1,0)"
1
Ever since the introduction of fourth edition, I’ve been defending the system against claims that it doesn’t allow for real role-playing. These criticisms have comes from multiple types of RPGers: hard-core story gamers, D&D 3.5 power gamers, and everyone in between. My argument is simply that the rule set does not dictate the gaming experience (although certainly it sets the tone: a hundred pages of combat rules means the game designers expect your characters to fight). There’s nothing in fourth edition, I argue, that makes the game more or less conducive to role playing than D&D 3.5 or Shadowrun or World of Darkness or any other game with an elaborate combat system. In fact, I think that the fourth edition DMG is written with an emphasis on building an enjoyable story that was notably absent from its 3.5 counterpart.
The game has been out for long enough now where I’ve played and DMed more than a few published adventures. Unfortunately, most of these adventures give credence to the assertion that fourth edition D&D is nothing more than a glorified combat system or miniatures game. I’ve played all of the 1-1 RPGA modules and they range from appallingly boring to merely uninteresting. They are uniformly a mishmash of combats and gratuitous skill challenges. The few that add some role-playing bits into the mix tend to run long, so the role-playing part gets blown by in order to finish the module on time. Keep on the Shadowfell, as written, was a whole lot of combat grind and not much else. Yawn.
Now I’m starting a homebrew campaign and it’s time to put my gold pieces where my mouth is. I’m a seasoned gamer who’s played my share of storytelling games and rules-heavy RPG’s. I’m totally rules-agnostic and prone to using DM Fiat. I’m much more worried about creating an engaging narrative for my players than about following the letter of the rules. since this is my first homebrew campaign under fourth edition D&D, however, I’m intrigued: can I create and run an ongoing fourth edition D&D campaign that isn’t hack and slash using the techniques outlined in the Dungeon Master’s Guide? If I can’t, why not? What needs to be tweaked or changed in order to make it work? Most importantly, are those changes so fundamental that I’ll be forced to admit that the rule set does not in fact support a story driven role-playing experience?
Got asked about bigint math last week, and although I know how it's done, I don't think I ever actually coded it (instead relying on the dozens of libs that surely were built for speed), so yesterday I wrote one, and while checking some results, I learned something interesting about Apple's Desk Calculator app:
Just heard about what sounds like a new spammer technique from my dad: apparently, someone signed up a myspace account using his email address, and now he's getting friend requests, and no doubt the link about the other person has spam links on it. Somewhat similar to the old the-bounce-is-the-spam technique, the spammers are banking (their time and effort) that mail from myspace will get through the intended victim's spam filters.
Of course since read access to an external email address is the most common, albeit high-latency, form of delegated authentication (sorry openid, maybe someday! :), my dad could easily claim control of the myspace account via a Forgot-Password? link, change event->email preferences, and most importantly also change the Forgot-Password? question/answer if it exists (tangent: I wonder how many bloggers have mentioned their Mother's Maiden Name, First Pet, or Elementary School publicly).
But ideally no spams (or confusing links to links to spam) should ever arrive, so in my opinion, all web2.0 sites should add an email confirmation step (same as if they lost their password) to their signup process, and keep accounts in limbo/unable to ping others until it is completed.
I'm sure usability freaks (i say that with much love, a dear friend is one :) will cringe at this suggestion, as they likely did to captchas ("now you want both!?"), but it's common sense, really. It prevents devaluing your product's communications (if your company's emails are blocked everywhere and you can't get it unblocked by cooperating, might as well close up shop!), and it provides a trail. It took 10 years for the feds to figure out how to catch email spammers, so it'll be a while until web2.0 has the same level of attention, but if you can force the criminals to use the known vector of email, you're making it easier for them to eventualy get caught, and stop abusing your service. (Just finished watching Season 5 of HBO's The Wire, and yes in some things I'm hopelessly optimistic. :)
Wooohoooo! Richmond Wrecking Belles smashed the Oakland Outlaws last night at Herbst Pavilion, 96-64. The Outlaws were undefeated going into this bout, so I was a little nervous - but Richmond's defense shut down the mighty Oakland jammers and Oakland couldn't return the favor.
My day job as an interaction designer involves a lot of user research. I recently did a project for an online music distribution service where I talked to a bunch of "music junkies" in the SF Bay Area about the way they listen. I was surprised to find that most of my participants (all btwn 18 and 35) were still pretty album-focused - even though they're mostly listening on computers or iPods, where other sorting methods (artist, genre, playlist) are easily accessible. It's a listening paradigm that's deeply entrenched in popular culture.
"It's like the Ramones had sex with the B-52s."
I made myself a promise when I bought my shiny new ESP. It's a "real" guitar (the first I've owned, really) and I'm going to learn to play it for real. I've been faking my way through with power chords, a couple of scales, and a handful of open chords for years. I've essentially treated guitar like a bass with teeny strings that are close together. My technique is terrible. That was OK for recording (ah, the magic of digital editing) with my cheap Les Paul and Strat knockoffs, but I've reached the point where my lack of ability is really starting to hurt my songwriting.
