Erd's Nothing In Particular, Ed cetera

Are you Racist? Find Out!

ed.cetera@rocketmail.com (E. E. White) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:42:00 +0000

We hear a lot about police racism in this country ever since Rodney King Jr., and if you read anything on the subject, it's clear that officers are bigots. Malcolm Gladwell's Blink discusses that fraction of a second cops have to guess whether or not a person is pulling a weapon. Unfortunately, it seems that race is an overriding factor in that determination. Why? Because their job primes them to act this way. Crime happens in lower economic areas, so we send the cops there. They see non-whites committing violent crimes day in and day out and it becomes an unconscious expectation. If a black guy reaches in his pocket to grab his wallet, in that instant, it becomes a gun to a cop.

Canning the policeman is obviously the response, but that's after the mistake already occurred. Is there a way we can pre-empt these situations? One possibility I've always liked is to send officers to areas based on their ethnicity. Black cops have more black role models and thus are less primed to have a negative image of coloreds in general. If you've seen how test results can be skewed by priming people with images of clean, articulate black men like Barack Obama or Bill Cosby, then you know my idea isn't that preposterous! Really, though, I think the best solution is to bury racism and just about any discussion of it until the issue dies out.

Anyway, now for the fun part of the post, finding out if you're racist, again courtesy of Blink (the URL is in the book's Notes section). In this test (direct link), you're asked to determine if a target is holding a gun or something benign like a cell phone or wallet. You'll see blacks and whites, with or without weapons, all in rapid succession. If you're anything like me, you'll be surprised to find that you shoot black innocents more often, that it takes you longer to identify when a white person is holding a weapon, and that it takes you longer to identify when a black person isn't.

Average reaction time:
Black Armed:566.76ms
Black Unarmed:715.28ms
White Armed:690.52ms
White Unarmed:604.2ms

I'm the furthest thing from racist, and even I botched the hell out of this test. Enjoy, and post your results in the comments!

This one's for the ladies: Rape is a pre-existing condition

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:33:00 +0000

Click title, read article, and decide which bureaucrat you want: the one that whores for your vote (government officials) or the one that won't let you get healthcare because you were raped (any insurance company).

Yeah... the free market has some holes. Who could have imagined that making pre-existing conditions a bottom-line issue would have bad results?

Interracial couple denied marriage license

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Click that title, read the article, and then join me in saying "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

I suppose I'll tell my cousins that they will later suffer and that our family does not accept offspring such as them.

You know what... nevermind. Ed already said that he won't talk about it. Maybe that's the best way to go (you know, because ignoring a problem always fixes it).

TSA agents took my son

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:17:00 +0000

(click title, read, be appalled)

An interesting demonstration of the eternally genius Benjamin Franklin quote: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

I'm all for airport screenings, but there's a line where it becomes invasive and oppressive. Orwell would be horrified.

Japanese Porn Game Comes With Breasts, G-Cup Bra

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

(Click title) Not Safe For Work

Gotta love controller innovation. Hooray for the Japs!

Ralph Lauren And Its Lawyers Discover The Streisand Effect On Bogus DMCA Takedown

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:48:00 +0000

(Click the title for the offlink)

Hehe. I love the internet. Someone criticizes a Ralph Lauren ad. Ralph Lauren gets pissed and sends a cease and desist citing DMCA violations. Google (the blog's host) pulls the post, of course. If you don't understand why, read my previous post about the DMCA and\or Bruce Everiss' elaboration on British libel law.

But there's always the Streisand Effect in play on the web. Draw enough attention with your nonsense, and the world will respond.

Healthcare: Wendell Porter

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:49:00 +0000

I'm still somewhat open to alternative solutions, but single-payer does seem the best way to go.

From some news site:

One of the panelists, former Cigna Health Insurance executive-turned whistleblower Wendell Potter, said in his opening statement that if Congress “fails to create a public insurance option to compete with private insurers, the bill it sends to the president might as well be called the Insurance Industry Profit Protection and Enhancement Act.”

Forgive the use of a random-ass site. I just wanted to make sure you saw that I didn't pull reformed smegma-sucking asshole Wendell Porter's quote out of my ass (he's still a putz for his past, but at least he realizes it now). Those guys framed it in a way that explained who he was and gave the quote without requiring me to use ellipses between the two. Now for the PBS interview with the same guy (if YouTube sucks at buffering it, try this instead):

The interview plays like an advertisement, but there are some fundamental points in there that people all too often don't actually consider. More on healthcare in the future no doubt.

Kingory is not copycat. (Evony\Civony v2.0)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:45:00 +0000

If you liked even one of my Civony\Evony posts in the past, you need to click the title and read the most recent development. I swear I want this to end as much as all of you, but God damn they make it easy!

Also, in case you haven't noticed, I disable comments on almost all of these offlinks because I don't want to split the discussion. Comment me on NFO if you've got something to say. The Akismet can be horrible at times, but as long as you're not posting a bunch of links, you'll get through.

So yeah: click that title. Read. Laugh. And click some of the articles I link in that post too - most of them are great as well!

Thanks to Jim of All's Fair (in the Friends blogroll) for the tip :3

Kanyelicio.us

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:06:00 +0000

Image yanked from Encyclopedia Dramatica, an intarwebs site
I don't intend to make a bunch of micro-posts, but damn it I've got a lot of games to play and many people to talk to! At any rate...

Just found this through a friend: http://kanyelicio.us/http://www.google.com I've chosen not to roll it into some "5 Sites You Should See" kind of thing because it's unlikely they'll keep it up for too long (as the joke will get old). Go watch Kanye West's publicity stunt at the VMAs if you don't get it.

If you haven't seen a site like this before, here's what you do: Type http://www.kanyelicio.us/{ANY URL} into your address bar and replace {ANY URL} with the URL of the site you want to see Kanye interrupt.

Erd's Nothing I- BEYONCE HAS ONE OF THE BEST....

Also...

Samurai Sword-Wielding Student + Robber = Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:14:00 +0000

This was too badass to not offlink. I've linked the secondhand post rather than the original article because the original reads like 3 separate people wrote it (at least one of which wants to sell swords).

Never Forget

ed.cetera@rocketmail.com (E. E. White) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:38:00 +0000

I don't know why Erd hasn't posted in a while, and frankly I can't blame him since neither have I. But, at the very least I wanted to talk about this date in history, because it's obviously significant. A part of me died on September 11th, 2001. Let me tell you about it.

I was in class when I heard the news about the World Trade Center. The school assembled the students in the cafeteria to watch the coverage. An hour goes by. We get to leave early... not because The-middle-of-fucking-nowhere, New Jersey is some prime target for terrorist groups, but because - as one might expect - a few of our classmates had relatives that worked in the New York Metro. We drove around, thanks to an upperclassman's car, talking about the attacks. A friend suggested we get something to eat.

We pull into a plaza, grab a bite, and saunter through a record store, still bewildered by the news. I flipped through racks of CDs, perhaps looking for something to dull the sting of our country being attacked, but there seemed to be no salve in stock. Then, I saw it: "Glitter," the soundtrack. Could this be the pill I sought? Could this be the bright spot in an otherwise dark day? There was only one way to find out. Debit card in hand, I deflected insult after insult from my friends. It's not their fault. They don't understand Mariah like I do. They were just venting. They'd see what a great album this would be - like all her others before it.

That afternoon, once I'd had my fill of the media, I retreated to my room: prize in hand. It was time for an escape... to passionate vocals of love, joy, and the struggles of a mixed race woman's journey to stardom. Life is much simpler in the world of music. Unfortunately for me, life was far worse. I thought "How could this be? Why would someone do this? Who would produce such a tragedy? Who was behind this? Such beauty, such majesty... crumbling down!" I could take no more. I smashed my CD player to pieces in anger and screamed at the top of my lungs! What a waste of money this was, what a waste of time, what a waste of... FUUUUUCK!

A part of me died that day. Specifically, the part that would continue to buy Mariah Carey albums. I of course calmed down, and a couple weeks later, I decided to go see the movie itself. It was just as bad... perhaps worse.

And if for no other reason, September 11, 2001 will go down in my memory as a truly tragic day. A day I try my best never to revisit, but inevitably do year after year. Never forget.

Evony: It's official... worst ad campaign ever.

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:49:00 +0000

Another small update on Evony was posted to NFOpocalypse. You'll enjoy this, all of you.

Click title, read, and masturbate.

August 22nd: The linked post on NFO was updated to include yet another ad. I want to be done talking about this scam game, but it's a bottomless well of pathetic video game marketing.

ROMiniscing: Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (PC)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Click title, read, and realize why games have the potential to be the best form of media.

Day of the Tentacle is made of so much awesome that I managed to write a post that diverged a bit from my "robotic fanspeak" tendencies.

For those of you unfamiliar with emulation or torrenting, here's a brief step-by-step to get you playing DotT:

Buy the game or pirate the torrent (you'll need a free BitTorrent client and a torrent site like The Pirate Bay that you can search)
Pop in the CD or mount the image (you'll need a CD emulator like the free Daemon Tools Lite)
If your system is old enough to run the game as-is, enjoy! If your computer is even remotely modern, download ScummVM (also free)
(Optional) Copy the Dott directory to your computer so that you don't need to remount everytime you want to play
Run ScummVM. Choose Add Game... and point it to the directory (either on the CD\image or your hard drive, depending on step 4). For settings, just choose whatever sounds good. You can always come back and tinker with it by clicking DotT from the list and choosing "Edit Game". If you're running it from the CD or an image, make sure you give it a directory for your Save path (where the saved games go)
Have fun playing (F5 brings up the menu when you're in-game, Esc lets you skip cutscenes)

Sounds like a lot of work for one game, but it's really not. Besides, ScummVM can handle a huge library of Graphic adventure classics, so you're doing yourself a favor.

If you have any questions about getting this running, I'll leave the comments section open. I'm not going to link you a torrent, so don't waste your time nagging. Also, if you post a link to illegal content, I'm obligated to delete it.

Also, check out the other two posts from today here on NIP, Edc (don't want them to get too buried).

What the... somebody reads NFOpocalypse?

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:24:00 +0000

Click that title. Even if you never follow these offlinking posts, click that title and scroll down to the bottom.

Apparently, NFO's audience is greater than its writers and their parents. Who'd'a thunk it?

Philadelphia to Become Gaming's Hollywood?

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:20:00 +0000

THIS! (click the title)

I wish there was more meat to that article. The thought that game industry people are looking to my hometown and true love, Philly, to become an East Coast mecca has me creaming my pants. One of the reasons Philly is so economically distressed is because, except for the pharmaceutical industry, our major players are companies full of low-wage cubicle jobs (law, insurance, banking). I'm sure that's a gross overstatement. Don't fact-check it.

Point is: I've always loved computers and video games, and up until reading that article, I'd figured my best chance at combining my interests with my hometown was to be an IT Consultant. As fun as that is, it can be quite stuffy and tedious too.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Awe-Some Jams

ed.cetera@rocketmail.com (E. E. White) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:05:00 +0000

I haven't updated in a while and unfortunately I don't have anything too important to say today... so we'll keep it light-hearted! A couple friends of mine recently linked me some music, and if I say so myself, it's great shit. The guys in these bands are fucking visionaries.

First, here is a cover of "Such Great Heights" (The Postal Service, another band I adore) done by some badass metal dudes called Confide. Don't let the "Love" and "Hope" tattoos on the one guy's fingers confuse you: it'll melt your face.

This next band, known as Entropy, has some pretty dark lyrics, but hilarious names and shit. The bassist refers to herself as "mAlice" and says that "strawberries are a metaphor for blood." Where do they come up with this great sense of humor!? They're hardcore about their music, even carpooling their fans to shows and stuff (apparently the Lexington music scene isn't ready for their level of awesome). They're activists too in a sense, as demonstrated by this blog post about the educational system in America.

Excerpt

How do I know why America’s public school system was designed the way it was (age-segregated, six to eight 50-minute classes in a row announced by Pavlovian bells, emphasis on rote memorization, lorded over by unquestionable authority figures, etc.)? Because the men who designed, funded, and implemented America’s formal educational system in the late 1800s and early 1900s wrote about what they were doing. Almost all of these books, articles, and reports are out of print and hard to obtain.

These dudes are digging up some really obscure and important information and converting it to lyrics. Check out their music on their MySpace. As an aside: lol at their URL, it's "entropy is pretty awesome in most measurable ways i mean wow." This was funny enough to be both their URL and a blog post title where they give out awards to people for being "Punk as Hell," "Because Entropy said so" and because they can do wicked shit with their arms.

Here's another YouTube, this time a band called "Attack Attack!" with their song "Stick Stickly" (fucking Nickelodeon references ftw). I love their headbang\hop, the Crabcore stance, and the guitar swinging choreography. It's so fresh and cool looking. Listen at least to the 8th or 9th breakdown, where it goes all super-cool Electronica (who DOESN'T love Electronica?) The blonde chick in the video keeps covering her ears. If she doesn't, they may shatter her brain with their metalitude.

And lastly, here's a band in the same vein as "Attack Attack!" called BrokeNCYDE with their single "Freaxxx." I assume the three X's are like how you rate liquor, cause this shit will get you seriously drunk on the devil's brew. It's hardcore, man - just look at all the gang signs, smoke rings, and beer they spill for their homies. I'm 99% certain they'll get famous because they combine the best elements of the best genres (Electronica, Screamo, and T-Pain autotuned Hip hop... such a kewl effect).

Anyway, that's all for today. These guys are real music revolutionaries combining music styles and stuff. All these bands are pretty small right now so you can become one of us true fans that support them before they sell out their musical genius and start becoming catchy trash!

ROMiniscing: ActRaiser (Super NES)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:00:00 +0000

This week, it's a clever mix of hack-and-slash and city-building. If you like platformers with a twist, click the title.

As always, ZSNES is the way to go. I hope everyone is enjoying their summers!

ROMiniscing: Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (Super NES)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:45:00 +0000

Click title. Read. Download. Enjoy.

This is one of those games that surprised the hell out of me because I had literally never heard of it until about two years ago when a friend recommended it. It's not 100% polished, but it's still damn good. It manages to be original even with all the Tactical RPGs that have come since.

Anyway, this shit's worth playing. Absofuckinglutely it is.

ZSNES is best.

ROMiniscing: Adventure (Atari 2600)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Adventure. Geez, what is there to say? I mean, it's such a painfully simple game that I don't think today's gamers can appreciate it, but at the same time it's such a masterpiece for its time that it deserves to be talked about for decades to come. It manages to be simultaneously timeless and dated somehow.

Clearly, the only solution is for you to play and judge for yourself. Click the title, read the piece, and dig up Stella or some other emulator.

ROMiniscing: Kid Chameleon (Genesis)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:00:00 +0000

I was always a SNES fan myself, but I didn't completely miss out on the fun shit Genesis had to offer. This week, I'm spotlighting a game I spent far too many hours on as a kid: Kid Chameleon.

Click the title, read the article, then go download the game on one of the many ROM sites out there. If you don't have an emulator for Genesis, I've found "Gens" to be fair. The interface is piss-poor, especially compared to ZSNES, but it's leagues better than Hu-Go!

Anyway, go play some games.

Everyone Loves (Pandering to) Parents!

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:10:00 +0000

It's not some controversial topic, so I'll keep this short: Enough fucking pandering already. Parents especially don't deserve it. Their jobs are necessary for the continuation of humanity and an act of choice (or an act of failure-to-make-a-choice). For these reasons and more they definitely don't need holidays or, at the very least, they don't need the kind of pandering nonsense they receive from the media on these holidays.

The local news down here in Nowheresville, Maryland is quite abysmal to begin with. I originally figured that the news networks down here, what with being located in the nation's capital, would be at the top of their game. This could not be farther from the truth. They read teleprompters like a dyslexic 4th-grader and have the comic ability of a TGIF sitcom. For Father's Day, one of the anchors said this:

One of the douchebag sports anchors on NBC\DC4:

Without fathers, there'd be no baseball... think about that!

What a fuckwitted segue. Seriously? You thought that was clever? I took the bait and thought about it. In roughly a tenth of a second I realized:

Without fathers, there'd be no human race
Without stromatolites, there'd be no land creatures
Without cataclysmic extinction events, there'd probably be few, if any, of the lifeforms we know on the planet.
A decade or so from now Project Natal-like gesture-based user interfaces could be standard and the middle finger I threw at the screen could appropriately change the channel like I wanted it to.

On the other hand, sometimes the ball(s) of a particular type of pandering can be quite amusing. If you've ever watched USA, you know that House, MD reruns make up at least 60% of their schedule. They try to justify this by having constant marathons, such as "End of the Weekenditis," "Seven Deadly Sins," and perhaps the best yet: the Mother's Day "Mother of All Marathons."

One final note: Hooray for people who read blogs (clicktheadclicktheadclickthead)!

ROMiniscing: Uniracers \ Unirally (Super NES)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Click the title for a tip on some high-octane, fast-paced racing fun... ON ONE WHEEL! Uniracers really is a relic of a time when games rose and fell on their originality and uniqueness rather than graphics and marketing shock and awe.

As usual, ZSNES for the win and enjoy your Monday!

ROMiniscing: Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team (NES)

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Commemorate National Man Day by playing a classic Beat 'Em Up. There are a couple of stages (including the Dark Queen boss fight) where you get to beat women! Now that's a celebration!

But seriously... click the title and go read that shit. Then, download that shit. Then, play that shit. Then, take a shit. These are your duties as a man.

The Huffington Post: Top 10 Reasons Sarah Palin's "Outrage" is Misplaced and A Little Late...

ed.cetera@rocketmail.com (E. E. White) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:21:00 +0000

Click the title for some lols about Sarah Palin and the daughter joke controversy.

I'd hit it, if they weren't inbred hicks.

Fuck yeah Sunny! Fuck yeah Danny DeVito!

noreply@blogger.com (Erd Tird Mans) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:24:00 +0000

This needs no introduction:

For those of you who need to catch up on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, It's Always Sunny Episodes (a blog with embedded streaming episodes) seems to have its shit together. Better yet, go buy the DVDs. Amazon's selling them for less than FX does, but I assume you could find them cheaper elsewhere. Still, $52 bucks with free shipping for both sets plus a pre-order ain't bad.