Today a press release regarding a new game store to open in Seattle appeared on one of the Seattle Gothic bulletin boards (no, I'm not a member). It's quite a long bit explaining how ex WOTC employees are opening up a gaming store in Seattle. To paraphrase, they've got rooms for Mini's and CCG's and already have their extensive tournament schedule laid out, although their web site isn't up yet. The rumors have been flying that a new games store was in the works (even I heard them, and I'm about as far from the WOTC crowd as can be). I gotta say I'm pleased, although I still wish it was on Capitol Hill.

"On February 11th, James Lewis, Dan Tibbles, Christopher Holt, and Stephen McLaughlin will open the doors of Cardhaus Games to the public. The store has two large rooms dedicated to miniature gaming, seating space for nearly 200 CCG players, a fully enclosed RPG room, a small arcade, and 12 networked gaming computers connected to the internet via a dedicated T-1 line."

The web address is www.cardhausgames.com, but there's nothing there as yet.

Grand Tournaments 2002

As astute readers will have noticed, there has not been an announcement of the Seattle Grand Tournament. We’ve decided to hold off hosting the Seattle Grand Tournament in the first half of this year. We have enjoyed spending time in Seattle the past three years and we look forward to holding more events on the West Coast in the future. In order to provide you, the customer, with bigger and better events we needed to revamp our schedule so we could improve on not only our Grand Tournaments but other events as well. We thank you for your support and understanding in this matter and we look forward to seeing you in the future. In the meantime look for a possible Grand Tournament in Vancouver and our return to Los Angeles.

I don't like the sounds of this at all...

A new urban ruins site, this time in Japan! Warning: site is in Japanese.

For the interested, I just posted up some pics of my Warhammer 40k army.

What is Pakistan's Direction for the Future?

"President Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that Pakistan is an Islamic democratic State and it was founded in the name of Islam. As such Pakistan will be made a modern Islamic welfare State and not a secular State."

They've kidnapped Americans, and George Jr. has identified them as a possible next target. So why hasn't anyone heard of Abu Sayyaf

"The ASG is the smallest and most radical of the Islamic separatist groups operating in the southern Philippines. Some ASG members have studied or worked in the Middle East and developed ties to mjuahidin while fighting and training in Afghanistan. The group split from the Moro National Liberation Front in 1991 under the leadership of Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani, who was killed in a clash with Philippine police on 18 December 1998. Press reports place his younger brother, Khadafi Janjalani, as the nominal leader of the group, which is composed of several factions."

Judge Orders God To Break Up Into Smaller Deities

"In the end, however, God was unable to convince Schofield that He did not deliberately create a marketplace hostile to rival deities. God's attorneys attempted to convince the judge of His openness to rivals, pointing to His longtime participation in the 'Holy Trinity,' but the effort failed when Schofield determined that Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are 'more God subsidiaries than competitors.'"

Thanks to Philos for the link.

Can Virtual Worlds Have Real Economies?
"The cloak of flames is the best melee cloak in the game, [...] It's a rare drop-off by Lord Nagafen and is a highly wanted item. I accept payment by postal mail order, personal check and Paypal."

• Last week I blogged an article from ZDNet: Will Gamers Pay-to-Play? This article asks the question, but doesn't offer any real answers. It kind of wobbles around talking about Everquest and the Microsoft Gaming Zone, but ignore the numerous attempts to create a viable pay-to-play environment that are now in the works. The truth is, no one seems quite sure how to make pay-to-play work, or even if it can happen.
  
• Then there's this story that I didn't blog at the time because I found it silly and annoying at the time. Virtual World Grows Real Economy. It seems that Norrath's economy (by some voodoo calculation) is only just slightly smaller than Russia's. Naturally, this is just plain silly. Nevertheless, it is slightly amusing to note that the Norrath Platinum Peice could hold its own as a real currency. That is, it could if it was a real currency. This also ignores the problem of a currency which can be turned off at the source.
  
• Which is of course, exactly what Sony's done. It turns out that they consider the online trade in artifacts to be a nuisance, and they've taken steps to shut it down. This article, however, also misses the point and does not dig nearly deep enough. Here it sounds as though Sony is just slapping down some nuisance gamers. But they're not. They're making an economically significant move in how they've chosen to deal with the problem. More on this below.
  
• Project Entropia is a new game in the works where Players will pay real money for virtual equipment. It's not clear how Project Entropia plans to guarantee the security of their currency, or even if the game will ever launch, but clearly somebody plans to make money from all this. As far as I can tell, Entropia doesn't look like it's going to fly, but it's an interesting idea.
  
• Which brings us back to Sony. What they've actually done to curb the virtual economy is join Ebays Verified Rights Owners program. In essence, they have asserted that you can't sell Everquest items on Ebay because those items belong to Sony. You can bet that somone at Sony is examining the viability of setting up their own trade in Everquest artifacts online. I can imagine how that might work. You pay Sony money to play a game in which your undertake a quest to win some item that actually still belongs to Sony. If the quest is too hard, of course, you can buy the item outright from Sony, in which case it still belongs to Sony. Now that's an economic model for you.

news.com.au - How I survived being gulped by a giant fish [27jan02]

"'In the beginning, it was fun,' he said, speaking for the first time of his bizarre ordeal. 'Me and my diving buddy had never seen such big fish. '"

ROSOBORONEXPORT Web Site

"For Armies the Enterprise offers the T-80U and T-90S Main Battle Tanks, which are the best in the world in a number of features. We also market the BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, with combat-proven efficiency and reliability, as well as the BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, with fire power unsurpassed by counterparts. The Enterprise is also offering the SMERCH Multiple Launch Rocket System with combat effectiveness comparable with that of high-precision weapons."

I was going to pick myself up a BMP, but it looks like this web site doesn't do E-commerce yet. Maybe they should set up an Amazon.com Z shop!

Here's what tony.dowler.com would look like if I was an inner city drug pusher.

BBC News | TALKING POINT | Should Catholic lawyers refuse divorce cases?

"In an unprecedented move the Pontiff said divorce was "spreading like a plague" through society, and lawyers should refuse to be part of the "evil"."

I'm amazed. I've always been a fan of JPII. On the one hand, this just sounds impossible. On the other hand, he's right. Divorce is like a plague to us. It's caused unbeleivable suffering. But what is the solution?

I swore I wouldn't do any more of these, but...

Take the What Pulp Fiction Character Are You? quiz.

and anyone who thinks different has the Wolf to talk to about it.

Salon.com People | Pippi Longstocking creator dies

"Popular children's writer Astrid Lindgren, creator of the braided, freethinking Pippi Longstocking, died Monday. She was 94."

It feels creepy, bloggin the Brunching Shuttlecocks tribute to Pippi yesterday, then reading this headline today. I first encountered Pippi in the Saturday monning matinees at the small theatre in my home town. I had no idea at the time that the movies were based on a series of book, otherwise I would have run out and read them right away. Pippi Longstocking was as fine a work of children's literature as any.

The Brunching Shuttlecocks | Why Pippi Longstocking is a Great Book

Salon.com News | Fort Detrick's anthrax mystery

"The day after hearing from the FBI, Assaad met with special agents J. Gregory Lelyegian and Mark Buie in the FBI's Washington field office, along with Assaad's attorney, Rosemary McDermott. They showed Assaad a detailed, unsigned, computer-typed letter with a startling accusation: that the 53-year-old Assaad, an Environmental Protection Agency scientist who filed an age discrimination suit against the U.S. Army for dismissing him from a biowarfare lab, might be a bioterrorist."

Peter Gzowski, Canaidan Journalistic Legend, Dies

"Gzowski was also named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992, and has honourary doctorates from 12 Canadian universities. He began donating his papers to Trent University long before he became its chancellor."

News: Will gamers pay to play online?

"The 29-year-old freelance writer is a dedicated patron of "Jeopardy Online," the multiplayer Internet version of the quiz show. He spends an average of 15 hours a week playing the game. But if Sony Online Entertainment ever asks him to pay for the game, he'll leave faster than you can say 'potent potables.'"

Urban Legends Reference Pages: snopes: the TV series?

We're excited to report that filming began today on the pilot episode of a television program provisionally titled 'snopes,' based on the legends, stories, and rumors chronicled here at Urban Legends Reference Pages. We're hoping that, once completed, 'snopes' will land a spot on a network schedule, and that within the year you'll be able to watch your favorite stories from snopes.com play out as part of a weekly TV series.

Cool! Snopes is one of the best sites out there!

STRIDER LIVES!

Got the link from Zannah

GameSpot Presents: The History of Video Games

"In 1949, a young engineer named Ralph Baer was given an assignment to build a television set."

I, Cringely | The Pulpit

"After years of watching their customers suffering billions of dollars in losses caused by security problems, why is Microsoft suddenly changing? Why now? The analysts and pundits are saying this is Microsoft's response to negative news that might have eventually affected sales and some just see it as a public relations move. I'd say that rather than a marking a real change, this announcement is more a matter of executing a strategy that has been coming for a long time. It is neither a response to the insecure nature of Microsoft products or a PR move. Rather, this is Microsoft's new way to get us all to buy more stuff."

I have to say I don't entirely agree with Bob this week. Well, OK, Microsoft IS trying to make us buy more stuff, but I think the new security commitment at Microsoft (and it IS real) is actually motivated by the embarrassingly bad PnP loophole. They quite simply realize that bad security practices are no longer acceptable. It's too bad it took a massive outcry to get to that point, but there you have it.

As usual of late, Bob moves on to a discussion of his .NET paranoia, which is interesting in its own right.

It looks like a Radio Shack exploded inside...

Gleaned (like so much else) from Metafilter

BBC News | WORLD | Worried Pope prays for peace

"More than 100 religious leaders are travelling to Assisi. Between them, they represent all the world's major faiths."

news.telegraph.co.uk - Anti-Christ of the green religion

"From the moment that Lomborg first published his ideas as a series of articles in the Danish newspaper Politiken, campaigners have been lining up to assault him as an intellectual fraudster who is motivated by a fascistic desire to discredit the environmental Left."

The Sun

"SWEDES were fuming last night after their country was depicted as a limp WILLY on the new euro coins."

Yeah, this EU thing is really going to fly, NOT. Then again, that's what we said five years ago.

Loxser John put me on to this little bit of massive stick-fu!

Loxser John pointed out this little bit of massive stick-fu.

Product Release Schedule - War in Afghanistan Role-Playing Game

"The first in our new RLR line, Afghanistan: d20 is a stand alone game supplement providing rules, background, equipment, settings and scenarios that give players a chance to roleplay in the war against terrorism. Organize Northern Alliance operatives, track down terrorists, and outwit al Qaeda operatives. This complex conflict is examined from multiple perspectives, including the history of the region and other nations' roles in it."

This release produced such a storm of controversy in the gaming community, that the creators felt compelled to respond. Bill Bridges, from HDI, the Publisher, publicly chided the Fading Suns group at Yahoo for making a big deal of this. Ken Lightner, the developer of the game, had this to say:

"This product came out of our own need to understand what’s going on over there and what happened here. I believe it is the patriotic duty of every American and every world citizen to understand the background and the issues involved in any conflict of this magnitude. I say this with an understanding that our government hasn’t always made the right choices and sometimes needs reminding that it answers to the people. The people who make up Holistic Design Inc. hold a wide spectrum of political beliefs from the Green Party to the Libertarians, but all of us hold a healthy skepticism of the use of force by any government."

The current time is...

Ethiopian Christians treasure Ark of the Covenant

"Like the vast majority of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, nearly everyone in this dusty, windswept town believes the ark is tucked neatly away in a stone chapel on the grounds of Axum's biggest church, safeguarding Ethiopia as it has for nearly 3,000 years. "
Ethiopia has been Christian for thousands of years, even though it was completely separated from every other Christian country in the world and completely unknown to Europe until very recently. It also traces back it's monarchy in a single dynasty to biblical times.

BBC News | EUROPE | Giotto's fresco soon on display

"The restoration of one of the world's most famous fresco paintings - Giotto's masterpiece in the Scrovegni chapel in Padua - is nearing completion and will be open to the public again on 18 March."

Synergy Learning Products 1000 Blank Playing Cards - possibly the best gaming product every (scroll to the bottom).

I'm off to Bremerton this AM (in about 5 minutes) to play in the Rogue Trader tournament at Discordian games. Wish me luck!

Was Aristotle the First Physicist

"The image of Aristotle we have today is profoundly affected by Galileo's attack on his physics and on his world view. We are left with the idea that Aristotle represents all the worst aspects of medieval philosophy. Plato, on the other hand, is still cited with approval by theorists and mathematicians, who love to imagine that their ideas represent some underlying reality about the universe."

The only reason "we" have this view is because "we" haven't actually read the books in questino. I mean, hello, Aristotle INVENTED physics. Is it no wonder that most of the people in America today think that one of the three muketeers looked just like Oliver Platt? And how about that ancient Roman galdiator who overthrew the emperors and established a republic?

Here's the solution to all your commuting problems!

Someone from Seattle sent me an email about the I-695 article I posted this week. I thought his response was worthwhile, so here it is:

"It was a cleverly written article that hid the true problem. The state did not adjust its spending to its new income level. The first year I was out here, I paid $128 for the Geo. Now, with other taxes included, it is about $42. The real point that is missed is that no matter how little your car was worth, you would still pay more to register without I-695 than with I-695.

In looking at the graphs again, the majority of the tax burden was picked up by people with cars worth 10k-20k. These are not luxury vehicles. These are mini-vans and tauruses and other family cars that everyone has."

The origonal bloggin is here.

By the way, if you're wondering what I'm wasting all my waking moments on these days, check out Hattrick, the international online fantasy soccer league.

Click here for Something truly amazing.

Ananova - Rafts carrying human skeletons washed ashore on Pacific islands

"Pius Choitulag, chief of police on the Federated States of Micronesia, says the find is mystifying officials."

Welcome to M-LAW

"This product not intended for use as a dental drill."

Link thanks to Loxser John.

eBay item 1061797199 (Ends Jan-18-02 07:06:40 PST ) - Enron Code of Ethics book

Salon.com News | Report: Shady states abuse anti-terror campaign

"The Bush administration's war on terror has become a popular excuse for world leaders cracking down on opposition groups and silencing dissent, a human rights group said Wednesday."

Tyrants have been quick to pick up on George's tough-talking rhetoric of anti-terrorism. Amid all the overblown praise of George's merely adequate rhetoric, I think it's time to take a look at the speeches of the great father of all American rhetoric, Abrahm Lincoln.

"Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came." -- Second Inaugrual Address

"If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?" -- Second Inaugrual Address

"Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether" -- Second Inaugrual Address

I-695 saves owners of cheaper cars the least

"'It was for the people who can buy the luxury cars. And people who are in the lower income bracket get screwed once again,' said Linde."

Again, thanks to my lovely wife for the linkage.

It's spelled "MiddLE Earth"!

Raelians, The Pope & Aborigines

"A Group of UFO enthusiasts who support human cloning and
eugenics has offered to pay the travel and legal costs of
Aborigines who might like to go to Belgium to sue the Pope."

For the record, these "UFO Enthusiasts" are a cult who believe life on earth was genetically engineered by an alien race called the Elohim. So is anyone going to pay MY airfare to Alpha Centauri so I can sue the pants off the Elohim for inflicting us with such a ridiculous and annoying cult? At this printing, even the Aborigonies are asking "What the F---?"

The Nando Times: Harvard biologist's death was accidental, medical examiner says

"A Harvard University biologist whose body was found in the Mississippi River last month died accidentally in a fall from a bridge, the Shelby County medical examiner said Sunday."

A note on this story I blogged in Dec.

States Seek National ID Funds (washingtonpost.com)

"State motor vehicle officials today plan to ask Congress for up to $100 million to create a national identification system that would include high-tech driver's licenses and a network of tightly linked databases of driver information."

GameSpy.com - Top 10 Least-Played Dungeons and Dragons Classes

Dungeon Master: Clamping toward you on the roadway you see a noble Knight of the order of the Rose, astride his great white stead. He addresses your party --
Horsethief: Whoa, on a fully trained warhorse?

Thanks again to Zannah for the link!

The Deadly Follies of Stick Figure Warning-Man and Family

"My entire purpose in life is getting hurt so we can put up signs to protect people who are stupid and/or illiterate. Is it really worth it to go through all this pain and humiliation just to ensure the safety of someone who doesn't realize that if they stand under a parking garage gate long enough it will eventually hit them in the head."

Cringely: Why the New iMacs Will Be Successful No Matter What They Look Like

"Neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs is anywhere close to what one might define as 'normal,' but in these procedural things, Gates is a lot more normal than Jobs."

RXC is cool, and he reads my blog! Well, OK, he doesn't. But he's still cool.

Boston Sunday Globe

"Changing the definition of hero to accommodate tragic victims may actually weaken us by diminishing the idea of role models who perform truly extraordinary acts."

TopCoder

Where coders go head to head in Coder Arena!

The Ease of Use Initiative - Concept PC

Freaking Hell (dang, now I have to put a quarter in the curse jar)! This page proves that it takes more than money and stupidity to come up with some really, really incredibly bad ideas for concept computers. Some of these look like a magnet that's been dragged on a chain through a scrapyard, or a watermelon that's been thrown down the stairs into a can of turquoise paint. I can't decide which of these is the stupidest, the "Aztec" (a step-pyramid shaped tower), the "Ottoman" (yeah, it's shaped like an Ottoman. You open the top, and there's the keyboard), or the "Cabana" (looks like... well I don't know WHAT it looks like). And the worst part is, they just keep coming and coming! Apparently Intel has HUNDREDS of dumb ideas.

Thanks to JettJag, the ever vigilant hardware sleuth, for the link.

Evidence of St. Peter in Rome

"The area above a series of graves cut into the soft walls is painted with illustrations of biblical events. The chamber takes its name from a three-part fresco called the Veiling (Velatio) that fronts the entrance. Celebrated by art historians for the mastery of its painting technique, the fresco was named by early scholars who thought that one part of the painting, the image of a seated man extending his right hand toward a woman and young man, represented part of a Roman wedding ritual. The meaning of the painting has remained a puzzle."

Carvings Spark Debate on Origin of Abstract Thought

"Added Steve Kuhn, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona: 'It could be just doodlings.'"

My blogger code is: B5 d t k s u f i o- x- e l c-

Bootleg Toys The Undiscovered Playthings: Powerpuff Girls Keychains

Those PowerPuff girl keychains that so many people have hanging off your backpacks? Apparently they're 100% bootleg (sort of like the Slytherin shirt I bought right now). As I recall, you could buy these things at Games & Gizmos at one point. Anyway, this site has tons of cool and completely bootleg toys. Check it out!

FunToies

"We take special pride in delivering products that will become the new name brands in undiscovered categories of products. Our first is Timed Release Handcuffs for newly weds."

I'm not even telling you where I found this.

Jihad Seethes, and Grows, on Indonesian Island

"In battle, he dresses for death and heaven in a white Arab-style robe, wielding a cutlass and heavy homemade pistol. His own troops invoke Allah; the enemy, he says, shouts 'Hallelujah.'"

Philos suggested this article: Please Lick This iMac / Yet another utterly annoying, nearly perfect gizmo gem from those shameless bastards at Apple

"We are in the middle of a snarling economic sociocultural downturn. We are depressed and angry and war-embittered and everything is bleak and mean and black as Donny Rumsfeld's beady eyes. No one is supposed to be offering gear like the new iMac right now. "

Which Internal Organ are you? Find out at willaston's lounge!

Just one more...

Nothing at all happened today.

Backwash - Content - Pseudo-Goth Library Chick

"jinnet's profile: Take one girl, a lot of books, a fascination with the paranormal, and a love of baseball. Add one library career and a dozen long black skirts. Shake well. Bake in Ohio for several years. Yields an infinite amount o