Yes, you can close the gap. By reducing speed. I reject that the only way to deal with freeway congestion is to engage in reckless driving.
As far as increasing carrying capacity, we need more areas to focus on multiple approaches--effective public transportation, HOV lanes, carpool programs. Too many people are driving, and too many people are driving alone. But the lack of capacity should lead us to go slower, take a long time to get home... It shouldn't lead us to trying to kill each other.
Ultimately, driving with one car length in front of you at a crazy speed, but with excellent visibility, is a compromise designed to cram more bandwidth into the highway with "reasonable" latency times and humans do it naturally.
No, that's not a compromise; that's crazy dangerous tailgating. If we're going 70mph, and you're one car length behind me, and I need to slam on my brakes for some reason, you will definitely crash into me. 70mph... roughly 100 feet per second. Assuming your brakes will stop you instantly and a car length is a generous 20 feet, you have how much time to react?
Right. In the area I'm in, I see that kind of behavior all the time. And you're right that it's a mentality and habit that follows the driver everywhere. I've had people tailgating me through 20mph school zones. For that matter, I've had people tailgate me in parking lots.
Another interesting aspect of the problem is how many people who aren't these kind of habitual tailgaters will become tailgaters when speeds drop, e.g., on exit ramps. They maintain a safe distance until the speed gets down to 50 or 40mph. Then it's as if they forget that much past 30mph is fatal crash territory, and they plant themselves one foot off the next car.
I think the root cause for all this is a lack of respect for how potentially dangerous driving is in general. You won't find large numbers of gun owners who play with guns like toys (though they're out there), but you can find plenty of people who treat driving with all the care and attention they put into watching TV. There just isn't enough respect for driving. If there were, accident rates would plummet. I'm just going to hold out hope for a day when reckless driving is rare.
I like the 3 second rule better than the car length rule. Regardless of your speed you should be 2-3 seconds behind the next car.
And yes. Tailgating certainly is a HUGE problem. What's most astonishing to me is how many people shrug it off as no big deal or even justify their own tailgating behavior by saying something like: "Well, it's much worse and more dangerous to be driving slow on the freeway." This is of course utter nonsense. Tailgating is insanely dangerous, leads to a huge number of accidents, and in my mind is the equivalent of pulling a knife on someone for taking too long getting their wallet out at the grocery store.
(I would love to see widespread police crackdowns on tailgating, but I'm guessing it's just easier to prove speeding in court so that's where the tickets go. Anyone know if that's it?)
That was my experience, too. But it was probably especially easy for me, since I had called the corporate MS number after a long delay in getting my console back and was already assigned to one of their executive support people (escalation specialist, I think they call it). I think with the main Xbox support number, you're flipping a coin at best. I've called about problems and gotten excellent responses, and I've also gotten bad answers/no answers/outright hostility.
Remember how cool the concept was for Black & White and how shit the reality was? I'm officially anti-hyping myself by anticipating another Daikatana. I will be pleasantly surprised if I hear otherwise. The concept is so cool, I just know I'll be disappointed if I start looking forward to it.
I don't think Spore will have the problems Black and White had. Will Wright has referred to Spore as more of an "evolution toy" than a game. B&W's problem was it wanted to be open-ended but wasn't. It was like having a nice convertible on kiddie rails. Spore might still end up sucking, but it'd be in the details, I bet. Things just not clicking together, poor execution... B&W was fundamentally broken at a much higher level, in that its key promise was simply missing.
Everything I read about this game makes it seem like this is either going to be the greatest game ever released or the most disappointing.
The thing that fascinates me the most is that the progression through the game's stages seems in some ways to mirror the evolution of video games themselves, from simple Atari games to the modern day. Or to look at it another way, the idea of having an arc throughout the game in both the objectives and the style of gameplay itself sounds amazing.
1. The 360 is popular because it's a very good product. As is. If someone from "free software land" buys it, they're presumably not buying it to install Linux and turn it into a networked bagel toaster control center.
2. Even if the 360 were highly-moddable and could easily run Linux and function as a workstation and do all kinds of unexpected and exciting things, why should we let the modded Xbox on Live? And why would the modder care at all about being banned from Live? The only modders who would care about that are "pirates" and people who cheat at games.
3. Finally, MS doesn't make much money on things 360. Not yet, anyway. And really, regardless of how I feel about MS's style of competition and no matter what I might like or dislike about them, I don't lose sleep whenever I think about them making money. It's not like they're using the money to burn down forests and put lead in grade school water supplies.
They live in my Wii remotes and really do hold a charge waay better than normal nimhs. And as a bonus the white and blue design of the batteries makes them look like they were made for the Wii. (Seems like a missed co-branding opportunity.)
The interesting question is what taxing authority has jurisdiction over those Hong Kong sellers who sell items to US buyers?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that taxing authority would be somewhere in Hong Kong.
For driving people to their Wii every day or two, they've got another trick up their sleeve. Once a poll you've voted in is complete, they will send a message reminding you to check in on the results. Which means your disc slot will be glowing blue when you wake up, get home from work/school, what not... So even if your curiousity isn't enough to drive you to check back in, the little white box will lure you in with its pleasant blue light that says, "turn me on, play with me..."
Execution and presentation are the keys to good storytelling. Originality is cheap.
I will now avoid the cliche of citing most of Shakespeare's work as a key example of this--Whoops, there I go.
That said, I doubt the story will be any good for an Area 51 game. Though I don't see anything about the basic storyline that would make it hard for someone with enough skill to weave a good story, one better than Deus Ex, even.
I think as much MS hate as there is around here, the thing with the 360 is that it is a good product. A very good product.
The Xbox LIve features alone--single account for multiplayer, achievements, the arcade, etc.--make it a great console. And fortunately, the story doesn't end there.
So as someone pointed out, some might see it as a guilty pleasure. Others might just partition Xbox and MS into different areas of their brain/taste matrix. But it's hard for a geek or nerd type to dislike the 360.
And I'm the presumably unusual (around here) example of someone who has gained a huge amount of respect for MS because of the 360. I think there's a chance they're beginning to understand what solid products and customer satisfaction are (though it'd be nice if they could hire people who can speak in complete sentences for the Xbox support phoneline...).
Generally, I do think people exaggerate the seriousness of "Warcraft addictions". But I have seen some people who definitely border on addictive behavior. Ignoring most of their friends for weeks at a time, skipping sleep, not working, not eating regularly, etc.
I mean, to turn your question around, have you ever heard of someone with a serious gambling problem or heavy drinking problem who was positive they didn't need any help, someone who needed help but didn't look for it?
Slashdot Mirror
Look at rock
Pick up rock
Eat rock
When I experimented with writing text adventures, typing those commands was how you won my first test game with full points.
Yes, you can close the gap. By reducing speed. I reject that the only way to deal with freeway congestion is to engage in reckless driving.
As far as increasing carrying capacity, we need more areas to focus on multiple approaches--effective public transportation, HOV lanes, carpool programs. Too many people are driving, and too many people are driving alone. But the lack of capacity should lead us to go slower, take a long time to get home... It shouldn't lead us to trying to kill each other.
No, that's not a compromise; that's crazy dangerous tailgating. If we're going 70mph, and you're one car length behind me, and I need to slam on my brakes for some reason, you will definitely crash into me. 70mph... roughly 100 feet per second. Assuming your brakes will stop you instantly and a car length is a generous 20 feet, you have how much time to react?
And will you pull a knife on me if I take my wallet out too slowly at the grocery store?
I've had that exact same thought before.
I wonder if it's already patented...
Right. In the area I'm in, I see that kind of behavior all the time. And you're right that it's a mentality and habit that follows the driver everywhere. I've had people tailgating me through 20mph school zones. For that matter, I've had people tailgate me in parking lots.
Another interesting aspect of the problem is how many people who aren't these kind of habitual tailgaters will become tailgaters when speeds drop, e.g., on exit ramps. They maintain a safe distance until the speed gets down to 50 or 40mph. Then it's as if they forget that much past 30mph is fatal crash territory, and they plant themselves one foot off the next car.
I think the root cause for all this is a lack of respect for how potentially dangerous driving is in general. You won't find large numbers of gun owners who play with guns like toys (though they're out there), but you can find plenty of people who treat driving with all the care and attention they put into watching TV. There just isn't enough respect for driving. If there were, accident rates would plummet. I'm just going to hold out hope for a day when reckless driving is rare.
I like the 3 second rule better than the car length rule. Regardless of your speed you should be 2-3 seconds behind the next car.
And yes. Tailgating certainly is a HUGE problem. What's most astonishing to me is how many people shrug it off as no big deal or even justify their own tailgating behavior by saying something like: "Well, it's much worse and more dangerous to be driving slow on the freeway." This is of course utter nonsense. Tailgating is insanely dangerous, leads to a huge number of accidents, and in my mind is the equivalent of pulling a knife on someone for taking too long getting their wallet out at the grocery store.
(I would love to see widespread police crackdowns on tailgating, but I'm guessing it's just easier to prove speeding in court so that's where the tickets go. Anyone know if that's it?)
That was my experience, too. But it was probably especially easy for me, since I had called the corporate MS number after a long delay in getting my console back and was already assigned to one of their executive support people (escalation specialist, I think they call it). I think with the main Xbox support number, you're flipping a coin at best. I've called about problems and gotten excellent responses, and I've also gotten bad answers/no answers/outright hostility.
What can I say? Sometimes, I just like to hear myself type.
I don't think Spore will have the problems Black and White had. Will Wright has referred to Spore as more of an "evolution toy" than a game. B&W's problem was it wanted to be open-ended but wasn't. It was like having a nice convertible on kiddie rails. Spore might still end up sucking, but it'd be in the details, I bet. Things just not clicking together, poor execution... B&W was fundamentally broken at a much higher level, in that its key promise was simply missing.
Everything I read about this game makes it seem like this is either going to be the greatest game ever released or the most disappointing.
The thing that fascinates me the most is that the progression through the game's stages seems in some ways to mirror the evolution of video games themselves, from simple Atari games to the modern day. Or to look at it another way, the idea of having an arc throughout the game in both the objectives and the style of gameplay itself sounds amazing.
I mean... For just one example, this was so bad it was good:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chex_Quest
1. The 360 is popular because it's a very good product. As is. If someone from "free software land" buys it, they're presumably not buying it to install Linux and turn it into a networked bagel toaster control center.
2. Even if the 360 were highly-moddable and could easily run Linux and function as a workstation and do all kinds of unexpected and exciting things, why should we let the modded Xbox on Live? And why would the modder care at all about being banned from Live? The only modders who would care about that are "pirates" and people who cheat at games.
3. Finally, MS doesn't make much money on things 360. Not yet, anyway. And really, regardless of how I feel about MS's style of competition and no matter what I might like or dislike about them, I don't lose sleep whenever I think about them making money. It's not like they're using the money to burn down forests and put lead in grade school water supplies.
The Eneloops are great.
They live in my Wii remotes and really do hold a charge waay better than normal nimhs. And as a bonus the white and blue design of the batteries makes them look like they were made for the Wii. (Seems like a missed co-branding opportunity.)
It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes.
What? Did someone unplug it again?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that taxing authority would be somewhere in Hong Kong.
For driving people to their Wii every day or two, they've got another trick up their sleeve. Once a poll you've voted in is complete, they will send a message reminding you to check in on the results. Which means your disc slot will be glowing blue when you wake up, get home from work/school, what not... So even if your curiousity isn't enough to drive you to check back in, the little white box will lure you in with its pleasant blue light that says, "turn me on, play with me..."
Execution and presentation are the keys to good storytelling. Originality is cheap.
I will now avoid the cliche of citing most of Shakespeare's work as a key example of this--Whoops, there I go.
That said, I doubt the story will be any good for an Area 51 game. Though I don't see anything about the basic storyline that would make it hard for someone with enough skill to weave a good story, one better than Deus Ex, even.
I think as much MS hate as there is around here, the thing with the 360 is that it is a good product. A very good product.
The Xbox LIve features alone--single account for multiplayer, achievements, the arcade, etc.--make it a great console. And fortunately, the story doesn't end there.
So as someone pointed out, some might see it as a guilty pleasure. Others might just partition Xbox and MS into different areas of their brain/taste matrix. But it's hard for a geek or nerd type to dislike the 360.
And I'm the presumably unusual (around here) example of someone who has gained a huge amount of respect for MS because of the 360. I think there's a chance they're beginning to understand what solid products and customer satisfaction are (though it'd be nice if they could hire people who can speak in complete sentences for the Xbox support phoneline...).
Wow. If the controllers could move backward and forward in time, I'd finally be interested in a PS3.
They should have called it the ++DUALSHOCK2--
Tone down the player names slightly and that's not terribly far from the pro gaming stuff I've stumbled across on cable.
Dangerous. What if security ends up trusting the terrorists that are +5 Funny?
Generally, I do think people exaggerate the seriousness of "Warcraft addictions". But I have seen some people who definitely border on addictive behavior. Ignoring most of their friends for weeks at a time, skipping sleep, not working, not eating regularly, etc.
I mean, to turn your question around, have you ever heard of someone with a serious gambling problem or heavy drinking problem who was positive they didn't need any help, someone who needed help but didn't look for it?