Tuesday, April 22, 2008

If I lay out in the sun for a while, one of my eyes sees colors differently than the other. The colors in one eye become much more washed out.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Not the best start

I went on a date once with a girl whose name was Veronica, except that I called her Victoria on the date. Let's agree to say she wasn't exactly taken with me. :)

Monday, April 14, 2008

Anyone who tells you what they make per year should be required to tell you what they make after taxes, they'll feel much less powerful.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Get the attitude right

I read the book on picking up women "The Game" last summer, or at least I read half of it because I found the writing grandiose and unbearable after a while. It describes all these tricks and techniques for picking up women, but it strikes me that if you get the underlying attitude right, (like allowing any woman to walk away from you, that she doesn't owe you a single thing, that if she doesn't respect you then you'll walk away), all the "techniques" will just flow naturally.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

two movies

Gattaca and Solaris are both moving films. Solaris is haunting, with scenes about loss and betrayal that I'll never forget. Gattaca is more emotional, a story about love and sacrifice and obsessiveness. The music in both are gorgeous.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Game development as experimental trials

When we were crunching on Horizons, I was in the strange position of being pretty damn sure the game would fail because it was not fun and had major issues, both design and technical. But I had also never shipped a commercial game before, and management was saying that everything would be ok, and I had to be open to the idea that I was wrong. So I ran it like a science experiment, expecting the worst but trying to work as though it would be a success.

In the end my instinct turned out to be right, but I also know that this was only one data point. Still, there are some warning signs that I know to fear now.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

a real college textbook

If the title of Chapter 1 in your calculus book is named, "To Deliver You From The Preliminary Terrors" and the author calls himself a "remarkably stupid fellow" in the preface, this is a sign that you've found treasure. (Calculus Made Easy)