Friday, July 13, 2007

Where do games begin? In the anarchy of paidia, we play without rules and without limits. It is amusing, creative and chaotic, but it is also short lived, as when the natural play of a toy becomes formalised, it becomes a game. Children find paidia in every corner of their lives, while adults may struggle to ever make it back to a place where they will permit themselves the affiliate showcase reedom to play. But if we can construct games that harness paidia, we might become able to make games for a wider audience than we ever thought possible. In 1958, the eclectic intellectual Roger Caillois identified four patterns of play - Agon (competition), Alea (chance), Mimicry (simulation), and Ilinx (vertigo). Caillois was aware that these patterns did not cover the entire spectrum of play, but was working towards a sociological model, relating these games to the way societies are organised. Caillois' model for play also includes an axis of distinction, between the formal, rule-focused state of ludus and the anarchic state of spontaneous play he refers to as paidia. He describes paidia as follows: [Games] can also be placed on a continuum between two opposite poles. At one extreme an almost indivisible principle, common to diversion, turbulence, free improvisation, and carefree gaiety is dominant. It manifests a kind of uncontrollable fantasy that can be designated by the term paidia.

Link: Ensnared on the wireless Web - Los Angeles Times . In the hacker world, and con language, a honey pot is an attractive nuisance. vegas dice t attracts computer users, who are then caught in a trap. One of the best reasons to pay $59 to $79 a month for EV-DO wireless broadband from Verizon is that you won't get caught in one of the fastest growing honey pot schemes: the fake wireless hotspot. As this L.A. Times article points out, many hackers are setting up fake hotspots near legitimate sites, with a small change in the SSID. For instance, when you sit down at Panera's, you may see several other nearby networks with names like Linksys, DLink, or other names. These may just be local yokels who aren't bright enough to change their SSID; or, and more often now, they are hackers who lure you in to their hotspot, and then mine your private data, such as credit card information. Read this article, and learn how to protect yourself. Or, better yet, sign up for EV-DO.

Link: Ensnared on the wireless Web - Los Angeles Times . In the hacker world, and con language, a honey pot is an attractive nuisance. It attracts computer users, who are then caught in a trap. One of the best reasons to pay $59 to $79 a month for EV-DO wireless broadband from Verizon is that you won't get caught in one of the fastest growing honey pot schemes: the fake wireless hotspot. As this L.A. Times article points out, many hackers are setting up fake hotspots near legitimate sites, with a small change in the SSID. For instance, when you sit down at Panera's, you may see several other nearby networks with names like Linksys, DLink, or other names. These may just be local yokels who aren't bright enough to change their SSID; or, and more often now, they are hackers who lure share files ou in to their hotspot, and then mine your private data, such as credit card information. Read this article, and learn how to protect yourself. Or, better yet, sign up for EV-DO.

The following shows some of the decisions the Canadian government is facing as sea otter numbers recover off the coast of British Columbia. The article skips around a lot, so I've moved a few paragraphs to try to give it some sort of order. Sea otters once inhabited the Pacific Rim from Japan to Baja, Calif. They might have numbered 150,000 to 300,000 throughout their range before the commercial fur trade. Fewer than 2,000 remained in 1911, when the sea otter was protected internationally. Today, sea otters have bounced back to 150,000 in the Pacific Rim, occupying about half their historic range. ... The sea otter, well hobby nown for its dense fur and for floating on its back with its feet poking out of the water, disappeared from B.C. waters for decades due to excess commercial hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries. But between 1969 and 1972, 89 Alaskan sea otters were reintroduced along the west coast of Vancouver Island. Those sea otters multiplied in that area, due to rocks rich in shellfish. B.C. now has about 3,200 sea otters, with 2,600 off Vancouver Island and another 600 near the Goose Islands (the outer coastal waters near Bella Bella). Canada declared the sea otter endangered in 1978, and reclassified it as threatened in 1996. The population estimates above don't count the sea otters around Prince of Whales Island in neighboring Alaska...some of those otters frequent Canadian waters.

Where do games begin? In the anarchy of paidia, we play without rules and without limits. It is amusing, creative and chaotic, but it is also short lived, as when the natural play of a toy red hat club ecomes formalised, it becomes a game. Children find paidia in every corner of their lives, while adults may struggle to ever make it back to a place where they will permit themselves the freedom to play. But if we can construct games that harness paidia, we might become able to make games for a wider audience than we ever thought possible. In 1958, the eclectic intellectual Roger Caillois identified four patterns of play - Agon (competition), Alea (chance), Mimicry (simulation), and Ilinx (vertigo). Caillois was aware that these patterns did not cover the entire spectrum of play, but was working towards a sociological model, relating these games to the way societies are organised. Caillois' model for play also includes an axis of distinction, between the formal, rule-focused state of ludus and the anarchic state of spontaneous play he refers to as paidia. He describes paidia as follows: [Games] can also be placed on a continuum between two opposite poles. At one extreme an almost indivisible principle, common to diversion, turbulence, free improvisation, and carefree gaiety is dominant. It manifests a kind of uncontrollable fantasy that can be designated by the term paidia.

When I first started posting the comely mugshots of selected arrestees from Des Moines' Polk County Jail faculty email h/t State 29 ), I had no idea so many readers shared my fascination with caged pulchritude. To commemorate the anniversary of this popular feature, I think it's finally time to select the official Hawkeye Hoosegow Honey of the Year. But make no mistake: this will not be a beauty-only pageant. It is important that the winner be well-rounded, and that is why I have added a talent portion to the program. In addition to the raw votes she receives from readers, each candidate will receive 1 bonus point for every $100 in bond set by her assigned magistrate. So please review the cavalcade of incarcerated corn country cuties, and vote for the one that sets your heart a-twitter. If you'd like more information on the candidates, Google "Hoosegow Honey" or simply rifle through the archives. Voting closes Friday July 7. Good luck, and may the best gal win! Left-Right, Top-Bottom: #1 Michelle, #2 Jesika, #3 Brandi, #4 Erica, #5 Jessica, #6 Ashley A, #7 Carmen, #8 Ashley B, #9 Becki, #10 Robin, #11 Tammi, #12 Rebecca, #13 April, #14 Megan, #15 Lacey

When I first started posting the comely mugshots of selected arrestees from Des Moines' Polk County Jail (h/t State 29 ), I had no idea so many readers shared my fascination with caged pulchritude. To commemorate the anniversary of this popular feature, I think it's finally time to select the official Hawkeye Hoosegow Honey of the Year. But make no mistake: this will not be a beauty-only pageant. It is important that the winner be well-rounded, and that skin care review s why I have added a talent portion to the program. In addition to the raw votes she receives from readers, each candidate will receive 1 bonus point for every $100 in bond set by her assigned magistrate. So please review the cavalcade of incarcerated corn country cuties, and vote for the one that sets your heart a-twitter. If you'd like more information on the candidates, Google "Hoosegow Honey" or simply rifle through the archives. Voting closes Friday July 7. Good luck, and may the best gal win! Left-Right, Top-Bottom: #1 Michelle, #2 Jesika, #3 Brandi, #4 Erica, #5 Jessica, #6 Ashley A, #7 Carmen, #8 Ashley B, #9 Becki, #10 Robin, #11 Tammi, #12 Rebecca, #13 April, #14 Megan, #15 Lacey

The following shows some of the decisions the Canadian government is facing as sea otter numbers recover off the coast of British Columbia. The article skips around a lot, so I've moved a few paragraphs to try to give it some sort of order. Sea otters once inhabited the Pacific Rim from Japan to Baja, Calif. They might have numbered 150,000 to 300,000 throughout their range before the commercial fur trade. Fewer than 2,000 remained in 1911, when the sea otter was protected internationally. Today, sea otters have bounced back to 150,000 in the Pacific Rim, occupying about half their historic range. ... The sea otter, well known for its dense fur and for floating on its back with its feet poking out of the water, disappeared from B.C. waters for decades due to excess commercial best interest savings accounts unting in the 18th and 19th centuries. But between 1969 and 1972, 89 Alaskan sea otters were reintroduced along the west coast of Vancouver Island. Those sea otters multiplied in that area, due to rocks rich in shellfish. B.C. now has about 3,200 sea otters, with 2,600 off Vancouver Island and another 600 near the Goose Islands (the outer coastal waters near Bella Bella). Canada declared the sea otter endangered in 1978, and reclassified it as threatened in 1996. The population estimates above don't count the sea otters around Prince of Whales Island in neighboring Alaska...some of those otters frequent Canadian waters.

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