As the World Series of Backgammon attempts to attract a mainstream audience, they've got to do one little thing first: make backgammon cool.
A stone faced Gus Hansen + martial art guru pose + crunching guitar power chords = WTFBBQSauce
Pass or take.
Do or die.
Mice or men.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Academic Earth Review: Free Video Lectures
Academic Earth is a fascinating new website that presents an absolute goldmine to anyone who is interested in furthering their education but does not have the time or the resources to do so. With a mission statement of giving everyone on earth access to a world-class education, Academic Earth offers users access to the syllabus, video lectures and other study materials to sit in on courses offered by the top educational institutions in the country. Regardless of your field of academic interest, Academic Earth has full course loads of materials provided completely free of charge that allow you to further your education from the comfort of home. Unlike many online courses, however, the video recordings of actual class room lectures give you the ability to enjoy the class room dynamic of students and professors hashing out topics in a traditional academic setting.
At Academic Earth, users from around the world can easily find video courses and lectures covering undergraduate and graduate level topics from Ivy League universities and other important educational institutions. Whether you are a lifelong student of the world or you never had the chance to enjoy the benefits of a traditional college education, Academic Earth offers the average person unprecedented access into the academic world of the nation's most elite institutions.
Complete courses and individual lectures are posted at Academic Earth on nearly every subject possible, ranging from philosophy courses dedicated to investigating matters of political courses or death to advanced courses on higher mathematics and the physical sciences.
Academic Earth's offices are located in San Francisco, California.
At Academic Earth, users from around the world can easily find video courses and lectures covering undergraduate and graduate level topics from Ivy League universities and other important educational institutions. Whether you are a lifelong student of the world or you never had the chance to enjoy the benefits of a traditional college education, Academic Earth offers the average person unprecedented access into the academic world of the nation's most elite institutions.
Complete courses and individual lectures are posted at Academic Earth on nearly every subject possible, ranging from philosophy courses dedicated to investigating matters of political courses or death to advanced courses on higher mathematics and the physical sciences.
Academic Earth's offices are located in San Francisco, California.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
How to Pass as a Football Fan at Your Super Bowl Party
To the best of my knowledge, I have successfully passed as a very opinionated and enthusiastic football fan with my friends and family, despite the fact that I have not watched any regular season or playoff game in at least five years. By doing a little character preparation and sticking to your story no matter how transparent it is that you are oblivious, you to enjoy this year's Super Bowl party as one of the guests who everybody thinks cares about the game.
First off, I'll double check that I know who's playing and spend about fifteen minutes reading up on each team and do my best to memorize the names of at least three names of key players on each team. Next, visit a few major sports websites and blogs and read some of what the talking heads are saying about the game. Pick out a few random opinions on the teams and players and dedicate yourself to making an emotional dedication to committing yourself to these opinions with all of your heart. For example, a quick glance at SportsCenter informed me that the Saints "could be the team of the next decade" because of A, B and C, and, for the rest of the day, I couldn't agree more. If you have a background in acting or sales, this experience will come in handy.
Once you make it to the Super Bowl party, its time to get into character. As every bullshit artist knows, the keys with getting away with knowing less than you do is by asking questions. Keep things simple and try to keep the conversation toward anything that requires you to provide any actual football relate information in order to keep things going. As the evening progresses, however, you are bound to get cornered from time to time. If someone comes out and asks you a direct question about the game, it's time to fall back on those opinions that your looked up this morning. Par example, a football expert that I am passing with turns to me during a commercial break:
Football Expert #1: The announcers keep saying that this is going to be an air game, but, I'm telling you, the numbers don't lie. New Orleans is, like, the fifth in league when it comes to rushing yards.
Me: I think that the Saints could be the team of the next decade.
This is where we come back to the commitment that I spoke of above. Football Expert #1 is going to notice that I did not actually respond to his statement, but I have placed the ball back in his court. This is where patience and dedication to character is crucial, because I am almost definitely going to have to simply wait him out. Eventually, he is either going to respond to what I said about the Saints and the coming decade of dominance or try again to get me to respond to his topic. Let's say he goes in for a second shot.
Football Expert #1: I mean, both teams have solid quarterbacks, obviously. Still, I bet we're going to see a whole lot of running the ball through the first half.
Me (unfazed): That's what I'm saying, man. Given A, B and C, the Saints are going to be dominating the league for years.
At this point, he really doesn't have much of choice to get on board. Chances are that he'll leave me alone until I want to talk about the commercials or beer or something. However, even if he still wants to talk about football he knows that it is going to be about either the validity of A. B and C in determining the Saint's future, I'm still ready to just sit there and repeat myself over and over until the storm passes.
With a little bit of research and dedication to character, you too can enjoy the Super Bowl festivities without admitting that you have no business being at the party. Remember, drinking a little bit too much can help deflect suspicion, and half time is your time to shine.
First off, I'll double check that I know who's playing and spend about fifteen minutes reading up on each team and do my best to memorize the names of at least three names of key players on each team. Next, visit a few major sports websites and blogs and read some of what the talking heads are saying about the game. Pick out a few random opinions on the teams and players and dedicate yourself to making an emotional dedication to committing yourself to these opinions with all of your heart. For example, a quick glance at SportsCenter informed me that the Saints "could be the team of the next decade" because of A, B and C, and, for the rest of the day, I couldn't agree more. If you have a background in acting or sales, this experience will come in handy.
Once you make it to the Super Bowl party, its time to get into character. As every bullshit artist knows, the keys with getting away with knowing less than you do is by asking questions. Keep things simple and try to keep the conversation toward anything that requires you to provide any actual football relate information in order to keep things going. As the evening progresses, however, you are bound to get cornered from time to time. If someone comes out and asks you a direct question about the game, it's time to fall back on those opinions that your looked up this morning. Par example, a football expert that I am passing with turns to me during a commercial break:
Football Expert #1: The announcers keep saying that this is going to be an air game, but, I'm telling you, the numbers don't lie. New Orleans is, like, the fifth in league when it comes to rushing yards.
Me: I think that the Saints could be the team of the next decade.
This is where we come back to the commitment that I spoke of above. Football Expert #1 is going to notice that I did not actually respond to his statement, but I have placed the ball back in his court. This is where patience and dedication to character is crucial, because I am almost definitely going to have to simply wait him out. Eventually, he is either going to respond to what I said about the Saints and the coming decade of dominance or try again to get me to respond to his topic. Let's say he goes in for a second shot.
Football Expert #1: I mean, both teams have solid quarterbacks, obviously. Still, I bet we're going to see a whole lot of running the ball through the first half.
Me (unfazed): That's what I'm saying, man. Given A, B and C, the Saints are going to be dominating the league for years.
At this point, he really doesn't have much of choice to get on board. Chances are that he'll leave me alone until I want to talk about the commercials or beer or something. However, even if he still wants to talk about football he knows that it is going to be about either the validity of A. B and C in determining the Saint's future, I'm still ready to just sit there and repeat myself over and over until the storm passes.
With a little bit of research and dedication to character, you too can enjoy the Super Bowl festivities without admitting that you have no business being at the party. Remember, drinking a little bit too much can help deflect suspicion, and half time is your time to shine.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Write or Die Review
No matter how much experience you have as a writer, you have probably been faced with the difficulty of making yourself sit down and crank out writing copy from time to time. With all of the distractions that are available on the internet, it is dangerously easy to tell yourself that you get cracking on an assignment just after you check your email account, and then make a quick post on Twitter, maybe glance through the news headlines, and, well, those Farmville crops aren't going to harvest themselves. Write or Die breaks through a writer's natural inertia through good old negative reinforcement.
The way that Write or Die is simple. After reaching the site, you simply enter in your word goal and the amount of time you expect to have your assignment finished. You then select a grace period based on how quickly you expect to type and a "consequences" mode that punishes you whenever you stop working. The consequences can vary from a gentle reminder window to words being deleted from your screen depending on the mode you select. When you are ready, simply hit "Write!" and get to work. You'll be amazed by just how useful this little tool really is.
As an experienced writer once told me, writer's block is about as really as worker's block when it comes to churning out the sort of content that puts bread on your table. Write or Die is a perfect tool to keep those fingers tapping when you are finishing assignments that just need to get written, regardless of whether the writing actually sings. Even you are working on something more serious, swinging by Write or Die is a great way to plow through an section that you are having difficulty by forcing you to just keep writing until you come up with something that will work.
Dr. Wicked's Write or Die App can be found here.
The way that Write or Die is simple. After reaching the site, you simply enter in your word goal and the amount of time you expect to have your assignment finished. You then select a grace period based on how quickly you expect to type and a "consequences" mode that punishes you whenever you stop working. The consequences can vary from a gentle reminder window to words being deleted from your screen depending on the mode you select. When you are ready, simply hit "Write!" and get to work. You'll be amazed by just how useful this little tool really is.
As an experienced writer once told me, writer's block is about as really as worker's block when it comes to churning out the sort of content that puts bread on your table. Write or Die is a perfect tool to keep those fingers tapping when you are finishing assignments that just need to get written, regardless of whether the writing actually sings. Even you are working on something more serious, swinging by Write or Die is a great way to plow through an section that you are having difficulty by forcing you to just keep writing until you come up with something that will work.
Dr. Wicked's Write or Die App can be found here.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Arrested Development Haiku
bone broth and carrot
baby gotta stew going
bless you Carl Weathers
---
punctuality
different from percussion
you're out of the band
---
pudgy fingered pup
ann on the nose of plain's face
the egg hog cometh
Military's Top Brass Oppose "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
It appears that the inevitable repeal of the military's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy concerning gays in the military may at long last be at hand. Military officials at the highest levels of every military branch were quoted on Tuesday as being opposed to the policy instituted by congress in 1993 requiring homosexuals to keep their sexual orientation a secret if the wished to serve in the military. In recent years, this policy has led to the discharge of countless homosexual soldiers who simply wished to serve their country, including military personnel who were performing mission critical duties, such Arabic translators.
When the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was first put into place during the Clinton administration, it was done so as a compromise between progressives seeking to further gay rights and conservatives who harbored a wide range of complicated feelings concerning homosexuality, particularly when it came to military service. Democrats accepted the compromise as a stepping stone toward broader acceptance of homosexuals in the military and assured supporters that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy would be take out of place in due course. Now that military's top officials are openly calling for the ban on homosexual's serving in the military to be lifted, it is up to Congress to act.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put it best in a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee:
"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
Well said.
When the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was first put into place during the Clinton administration, it was done so as a compromise between progressives seeking to further gay rights and conservatives who harbored a wide range of complicated feelings concerning homosexuality, particularly when it came to military service. Democrats accepted the compromise as a stepping stone toward broader acceptance of homosexuals in the military and assured supporters that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy would be take out of place in due course. Now that military's top officials are openly calling for the ban on homosexual's serving in the military to be lifted, it is up to Congress to act.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put it best in a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee:
"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
Well said.
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