Random Places

Billions of fans lined up to get their copies of the latest “Call of Duty” game this week, a day before Remembrance Day. I am positive most of the fans were still giddy with joy and playing at home during the “holiday” instead of doing any remembering. While Globe and Mail was being a bit sensational with the Canadian Forces’ recruitment “shortage” (see the National Post take on our over-populated infantry battalions), it does bring to mind how many are so ready to play a brave but battle-torn soldier in a game but can’t possibly run a lap on the track without dying.

This isn’t an attack on video gamers, as I am one myself (or I used to be until school started). However, there are some games that I just can’t get into (or don’t play anymore) because I would rather go out and do the same activity myself. The Wii Sports were fun for a little while, until you figured out you can pretty much beat the game while being stationary on a couch. The game did got me into trying tennis over the summer break, which was infinitely more fun in real life. While I wouldn’t say I’m down on all military games, because I wholeheartedly love the Command & Conquer and Metal Gear Solid series, I honestly wouldn’t have been able to imagine (a tiny bit) what hell soldiers had gone through in the past if I did not go through basic training this year. While our training was obviously not as demanding as it used to be, just the day in and day out of physical and mental exhaustion gives you a different perspective on life.

Video games allow us to escape reality and do the things that we’ve only fantasized about (like being a fighter jet pilot), but why does it have to be just a dream? Instead of sitting behind your TV or computer, if you’re not disabled or otherwise disqualified from participating in certain activities, you should go out and make it a reality (as long as it’s legal). Go play hockey, or go skateboarding. It will hurt a bit more in reality, but you’ll enjoy the pain.

As of October 27, 2009, Yahoo’s free and popular web host of the yesteryear, GeoCities, discontinued their service. I remember Geocities quite fondly because it was one of the first few webhosts I’ve used. It was a time when Internet was still innocent and free (okay, maybe it was myself that was innocent). Hell, my first actual email address was something called “…@swimmail.com”, I think it was a service that was advertised on a swimming magazine I’d received as a swim club member. I remember creating a test website using Office FrontPage when our family first got a computer (Windows ME *gasp*), and then not satisfied with it being generated automatically, decided to learn HTML and coded my website manually. Even before taking my first official computer class in middle school (which involved Pascal programming, Photoshop, website creation, etc.) I was learning HTML, image manipulation, writing Hello World programs on my own. In a way, it was this curiosity into these languages and technologies that slowly nudged me into the Computer Science program.

With the emergence of Content Management Systems (like a blog), PHP, MYSQL, AJAX, and the whole web 2.0, websites nowadays look much neater and (generally) more intuitive. It actually took me a while to adopt this newfangled thing however, as I was so adamant in my belief that everything should be coded and updated manually…in strict XHTML and CSS and conform to every W3C standards. Another reason, I think, was because I really hated the word “blog”, especially when it was still in its infancy, and everytime it’s mentioned in the news the reporters would overemphasize the pronunciation. And now, look at where I am today, using a Wordpress blog that I downloaded and just copied and pasted to my server, using a theme someone else wrote, and not really knowing too much about PHP and MYSQL.

I’m going to miss you GeoCities.

Finland makes 1Mb broadband access a legal right

By July 2010, everyone in Finland will be entitled to a 1Mb broadband as one of a citizen’s legal right. Earlier this year, France also made internet access a human right. I find it a little bit depressing that the internet is deemed so essential that it is now a considered a right in a few countries. I have to wonder though, are telephone access, electricity, clean water, food and shelter also part of their rights as well? What would be the point of providing people internet access when some don’t have the means to even access it, like a computer or wireless device? I have to admit I’m not aware of the current living condition in Finland. Perhaps they have no lower/poverty class over there. After all, even their post secondary education is free.

If you read my last few entries, you probably remember that I lived without internet for 2 months. It would certainly become a hassle if i had to continue living without internet for the rest of the school year, since most of my courses require online researches and assignment submissions. But hey, if I require it, I can certainly afford it myself, there’s no need to delve in taxpayer money just to provide individuals mere convenience. If all “luxuries” in life become free, wouldn’t all of us just be slobs?

Steve Andrews. Polk undercover drug investigators play Wii during raid. Tampa Bay Online. Retrieved September 23, 2009, from http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/21/undercover-drug-investigators-embarrass-polk-sheri/…….

Less than 8 hours since I posted my last journal entry, I came across this gem. Not only are the criminals good at multi-tasking these days, but even the law enforcement officers as well. They didn’t even bothered to put the remote strap on, just unprofessional.

Whedon, J. (2009). Dollhouse. US: Fox Broadcasting Company.

“If I think I can figure things out, is that curiosity or arrogance?” – Topher Brink (3 min clip from “Epitaph One”)

* NOTE: Contains spoiler for the Dollhouse TV show.

The Dollhouse is an underground organization (owned by Rossum Corporation) that employs various individuals as “Actives”, wipe their minds and then program them to do whatever mission is needed at that time. These missions can include sexual encounters, negotiation, friendship, and so on. When the Actives are not “imprinted” with a memory, they spend their time in a calm, spa-like environment and mostly have the intelligence of a child.

When the show first started, similar to Adelle DeWitt (highest ranking official of the L.A. branch Dollhouse), I was able to rationalize the morality behind such an organization. Each Actives signed a contract to work with the Dollhouse for 5 years and at the end of the contract they get paid a large sum of money. Some were recruited as an alternative to spending their life in prison, while others possibly just wanted to escape their past. In general it was a win-win situation for the Actives and the Dollhouse.

It was unclear whether the Dollhouse would honour their contract however, since once you’re wiped, ideally you won’t even remember entering this contract in the first place. Later in the season, it was revealed to the audiences that some Actives were actually forced into this job. Some were also sexually abused (either in the state of imprint or not) by the Dollhouse staff. The ethic became murky in an instance. The Actives may have signed up to do any mission, including those sexual in nature, but to be taken advantage of by staff was another matter. With that trust broken, you can’t pretend to be righteous anymore.

It wasn’t until the last episode of the season “Epitaph One” (not broacasted, only available on Season 1 DVD) that Rossum’s ulterior motive was finally revealed. By imprinting someone else with your own memory, essentially there would be immortality as you can live on in another body once your old body dies. It’s a good question whether you consider this immortality in the first place, but something else is more important. Not only was the contract broken (ie. Active gets to return to their own lives after 5 years), but you can claim that the Actives, even though their body is still alive, living as another mentally, are essentially dead, “murdered”. The problem became even worse as the episode revealed, but I will refrain from disclosing more of the plot in case anyone would like to watch the show.

This “take-over-the-world” plan, unintentially, was hatched due to Topher Brink’s (scientist at L.A. branch) advancement of the imprint technology. In this last episode, Topher, now mentally unstable from his guilt, said “If I think I can figure things out, is that curiosity or arrogance?” Even though scientist have the knowledge to do something, does it mean they should apply them? Specifically, was it wrong to invent nuclear bombs? Should we clone human and other animals? I don’t think technology and invention need to be stifled because we as human beings are innately programmed to be competitive and to survive (sometimes destroy ourselves in the process). If it were, we wouldn’t have cars as transportation due to so many accidents or knives to cut food as it can be used to stab people. Whether to use something for the good of society or for nefarious reasons should ultimately be left to individual decision. The scientists should not be blamed for how other people use their invention. In fact, war and military-funded research have advanced many technology we enjoy today.