Drunk hard drive
A Calgary university professor has achieved in software what we all should be avoiding in life: getting completely squiffy and driving home. The software, called Booze Cruise, is aimed at teens, but probably should be a mandatory download for all drivers. According to this Reuters article, players have to drive their vehicle the way it would handle if they were hammered: poor reaction times, blurred vision and a serious case of pink elephants (represented in this game by . . . well, pink elephants).
It’s definitely a step in the right direction and if it helps one dumbass stay smart and sober, then I’m all for it. I’m hoping we can get some sequels, though. How about Drunk Dialler, a social networking game where everything you say sounds like maudlin twallop or a variation on the words “Arrgghhh *gurgle* Phhttppphttt!!!!!!!!!!!”
Megalon vs. Japanese Agricultural Ministry
The civil service is typically portrayed as a dull bureaucracy where good times go to die and pen pushers fall asleep at their desks. Well, in Japan they’ve found a way to pep things up. In the Agricultural Ministry, civil servants pass the time by updating wikis. Not about rice harvests or bamboo yields, but pointless crap. One man working at the ministry was found to have edited 260 entries about Gundam robots, according to this BBC online article. It’s kind of like what Insider does for a living, only I get paid for it. This poor chap was reprimanded, though seems to have miraculously kept his job. I guess, in a manner of speaking, he gets paid for writing about robots too. Maybe if I start post recipes for my famous banana tempura, I’ll get a raise.
A decade of Slashdot
Happy Birthday, Slashdot. You’re 10. Ya know, I kind of expected Slashdot to be older than that, but I guess in Internet years it’s practically a dinosaur. It’s a testament to the folks there that they’ve made it through a decade without a) compromising their approach b) getting bought by a Web speculator or c) giving into the dot-com lifestyle (i.e. blowing your IPO money on beer fridges and a basketball court for the office, then going back to work at Wendy’s when it all goes pear-shaped).