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First Person Shooters (Games)

Combat Vets On CoD: Black Ops, Medal of Honor Taliban 93

Posted by Soulskill from the not-as-messy-as-the-real-deal dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Thom 'SSGTRAN' Tran, seen in the Call of Duty: Black Ops live action trailer and in the game as the NVA multiplayer character, gets interviewed and talks about Medal of Honor's Taliban drama. '... to me, it's a non-issue. This is Hollywood. This is entertainment. There has to be a bad guy if there's going to be a good guy. It's that simple. Regardless of whether you call them — "Taliban" or "Op For" — you're looking at the same thing. They're the bad guys.'" Gamasutra published a related story about military simulation games from the perspective of black ops veteran and awesome-name-contest winner Wolfgang Hammersmith. "In his view, all gunfights are a series of ordered and logical decisions; when he explains it to me, I can sense him performing mental math, brain exercise, the kind that appeals to gamers and game designers. Precise skill, calculated reaction. Combat operations and pistolcraft are the man's life's work."

Comment Newer Only Matters a Little (Score 1) 291

by j_f_chamblee (#32845714) Attached to: Good Database Design Books?
Basic relational database design is about logic and structure. When compared with other areas of computing, I would argue that the the original materials worked out by Codd and Date have not changed nearly as dramatically. There are certainly exceptional sub-areas where there have been major changes (e.g. the introduction of the object model and development of XML and RDF, to name but two prominent examples), but if I were you, I would suggest doing two things:

1. Do some research into existing relational database platforms (e.g. SQL Server, Oracle, PostGRES), figure out which model will ultimately work best for you, and get a book on that implementation of SQL and RDMS. Every intro to databases book has a chapter on relational database design. That will get you started. You can also skip the platform selection process if you are already stuck with a database.

2. Read this: Date on Database: Writings 2000-2006 by C. J. Date

Codd (now deceased) and Date are still the authorities, IMHO, and this latter book will give you a good overview of major conceptual issues in relational database design.
Image

Prince Says Internet Is Over 450

Posted by samzenpus from the it-was-fun-while-it-lasted dept.
the_arrow writes "According to the artist currently known as Prince, 'The internet's completely over.' At least that what he says in an interview with the British newspaper Mirror. Quoting Prince: 'The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you.'"
Education

3rd-Grader Busted For Jolly Rancher Possession 804

Posted by samzenpus from the step-away-from-the-candy dept.
theodp writes "A third-grader in a small Texas school district received a week's detention for merely possessing a Jolly Rancher. Leighann Adair, 10, was eating lunch Monday when a teacher confiscated the candy. Her parents said she was in tears when she arrived home later that afternoon and handed them the detention notice. But school officials are defending the sentence, saying the school was abiding by a state guideline that banned 'minimal nutrition' foods. 'Whether or not I agree with the guidelines, we have to follow the rules,' said school superintendent Jack Ellis."
Handhelds

Apple Removes Wi-Fi Finders From App Store 461

Posted by timothy from the you've-been-very-very-naughty dept.
jasonbrown writes "Apple on Thursday began removing another category of apps from its iPhone App Store. This time, it's not porn, it's Wi-Fi. Apple removed several Wi-Fi apps commonly referred to as stumblers, or apps that seek out available Wi-Fi networks near your location. According to a story on Cult of Mac, apps removed by Apple include WiFi-Where, WiFiFoFum, and yFy Network Finder."
Earth

Officials Sue Couple Who Removed Their Lawn 819

Posted by kdawson from the revenge-of-the-lawn dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "The LA Times reports that Orange County officials are locked in a legal battle with a couple accused of violating city ordinances for replacing the grass on their lawn with wood chips and drought-tolerant plants, reducing their water usage from 299,221 gallons in 2007 to 58,348 gallons in 2009. The dispute began two years ago, when Quan and Angelina Ha tore out the grass in their front yard. In drought-plagued Southern California, the couple said, the lush grass had been soaking up tens of thousands of gallons of water — and hundreds of dollars — each year. 'We've got a newborn, so we want to start worrying about her future,' said Quan Ha, an information technology manager for Kelley Blue Book. But city officials told the Has they were violating several city laws that require that 40% of residential yards to be landscaped predominantly with live plants. Last summer, the couple tried to appease the city by building a fence around the yard and planting drought-tolerant greenery — lavender, rosemary, horsetail, and pittosporum, among others. But according to the city, their landscaping still did not comply with city standards. At the end of January, the Has received a letter saying they had been charged with a misdemeanor violation and must appear in court. The couple could face a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for their grass-free, eco-friendly landscaping scheme. 'It's just funny that we pay our taxes to the city and the city is now prosecuting us with our own money,' says Quan Ha."

Comment Mark Zuckerberg.... (Score 5, Insightful) 415

by j_f_chamblee (#30730124) Attached to: Facebook's Zuckerberg Says Forget Privacy

...is 25 years old. One of the sentences in TFA begins "When I was in my dorm room at Harvard."

So, a rich, successful, right-place-at-place-at-the-right-time twentysomething makes a self-serving comment born out of the hubris and inexperience of youth. This is like Paris Hilton saying "It doesn't matter what you do, as long as its *hot*" and it is only newsworthy because Paris Hilton isn't in a position to take a great deal of the intellectual capital I've invested in Facebook and simply passing it to whomever suits her fancy. Perhaps some of Zuckerberg's older business partners could recommend that he shut up.
Image

Best Man Rigs Newlyweds' Bed To Tweet During Sex 272

Posted by samzenpus from the nice-feed dept.
When an UK man was asked to be the best man at a friend's wedding he agreed that he would not pull any pranks before or during the ceremony. Now the groom wishes he had extended the agreement to after the blessed occasion as well. The best man snuck into the newlyweds' house while they were away on their honeymoon and placed a pressure-sensitive device under their mattress. The device now automatically tweets when the couple have sex. The updates include the length of activity and how vigorous the act was on a scale of 1-10.

Comment Seriously? (Score 1) 323

by j_f_chamblee (#27815903) Attached to: Pentagon Lost Billions, Pennies At a Time
10 Billion dollars may seem a lot, but given its based around 40 years it cuts it down quite a bit.

Ok, just to be clear, the math is: $10,000,000,000 / 40 years = $250,000,000 per year.

Now, from the United States Government Printing Office, the President's 2009 Budget says:

Promotes stability in the Middle East. Approximately $75 million for the Palestinian people to promote good governance and invest in education and public health. Approximately $142 million to continue support for the democratic government of Lebanon.

So that's $217 million for 2009 alone, for a major portion of the State Department's Middle East Peace Program. And the argument here is that $250 million per year, over 40 years, isn't that much?

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