Tobold wrote an article today on his blog about the future of story-telling in MMOGs. In it, he states, It would be a lot easier for a new MMO to stand out from the competition with a unique and better coherent story, than to create a better virtual environment. And the AoC example of Tortage even shows how a well staged story can give the players the illusion that they actually had an impact, changed something in the virtual world, even if real change remains elusive due to the multi-player aspect of virtual worlds. Epic stories and better story-telling could really be the “next generation” of MMORPGs. ...

David Allen had a smash hit on his hands when he created and shared his GTD (Getting Things Done) system with the world. What he may not have counted on is that the system would be so popular that the GTD “industry” that sprang up around it has made it so complex as to defeat the purpose. So what are we to do? It’s a fantastic system and has been proven to work for even the most busy of people. Of course, there are some of us who are not quite so busy, or some who are not always able to stay connected to the Internet, or even some who just do not trust technology or cannot use it well. ...

MediaDefender is a company that was hired by the RIAA and MPAA to perform DoS and DDoS attacks on BitTorrent tracker servers suspected of hosting illegal files. Over the Memorial Day weekend this year, they attacked Revision3 (Louderback, 2008), a Web2.0 and Internet media company that hosts multiple audio and video podcasts. Because they were being flooded with over 8,000 SYN requests per second, they could not keep their site up. What added insult to injury was the fact that Revision3 found out who was performing the attack, but could not reach anyone at MediaDefender as it was a holiday weekend, and apparently they left the attack running and headed out to the picnics. When Revision3 finally did contact MediaDefender on Tuesday morning, it took an additional one and a half hours to stop the attack on the Revision3 servers. The attack was directed at port 20000 of the Revision3 BitTorrent tracking server (Louderback, 2008). BitTorrent is a form of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing that uses a tracking server, or trackers, and distributed files to provide quick and efficient file transfer, particularly for large files over the Internet or other networks. Rather than hosting the files themselves as in other P2P networks, a BitTorrent tracker simply keeps track of the files that users are sharing and which users have which bits. By doing so, it can enable other users to connect to the network and download all of the bits into one cohesive usable file on their computer, all the while sharing out the relevant bits that they have already received. ...

Technology differs greatly from the common American societal viewpoint. It is not simply about personal computers in the home of every person, or touch screen interfaces, or even cloth that will make the wearer nearly invisible. Rather, technology is that which can be put to practical use. Often the practicality is extended to suggest an ease of use or a simplification of the task that the technology addresses. The Oxford English Dictionary defines technology as a. A discourse or treatise on an art or arts; the scientific study of the practical or industrial arts. b. transf. Practical arts collectively. c. With a and pl. A particular practical or industrial art. d. high-technology applied attrib. to a firm, industry, etc., that produces or utilizes highly advanced and specialized technology, or to the products of such a firm. (OED, 2008) Given this general definition, it is easy to see how many modern objects and practices can fall under the umbrella of technology. The Oxford English Dictionary supplies several additional definition including Special Combs.: technology assessment, the assessment of the effects on society of new technology; technology transfer, the transfer of new technology or advanced technological information from the developed to the less developed countries of the world. (OED, 2008) ...

In the past few months, a couple of new Web 2.0 services have sprung up with the intent of handling your web site comments for you. These two services are Disqus and Intense Debate. The common goal of the two is to track comments across sites and centralize the conversation. This, in theory, creates a social network of sorts, or even just a community that can span corporate sites and personal ‘blogs. I had seen Disqus in use on several other sites, and was intrigued. With the availability of a simple to install WordPress plug-in, I could not resist giving the service a try. The first hurdle to overcome at the current time is the inability to import current site comments into the Disqus system. The developers have assured users that this feature will be in an upcoming release, so that’s a good sign. ...

The New York Times online ran an excellent short article on finance last Saturday. In it, Ron Leiber gives five common sense personal finance practices that we should all be doing and expounds upon each, providing links and resources along the way. I found the article compelling because of Leiber’s adaptation of Michael Pollan’s mantra. The author Michael Pollan offered an elegant seven-word mantra in his best-selling book “In Defense of Food” that provides clarity amid the bounty of choices on supermarket shelves: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” ...

Leo Babauta over at Zen Habits continues to inspire with his recent post about getting leaner and fitter. He gives some solid tips on creating and sticking to a healthy routine. Most importantly, Be accountable. My training blog has been a great way for me to stay accountable for my exercise and eating — it’s very motivational. I highly recommend starting such a blog to keep yourself accountable. Online forums, such as the Zen Habits forums, are also good ways to stay accountable, especially if they have daily reporting threads where you can tell people what you ate and what exercise you did every day. Sites such as The Daily Plate, where you log your food and exercise and other people can look at your log and post comments, are also good accountability tools. If you don’t use one of these online tools, at least have a group of friends and family to whom you give updates on your training, in person or through email. ...

If you listen to podcasts, then you should not miss You Look Nice Today. If you don’t listen to podcasts, then this is the time and place to start. The podcast is the creation of Merlin Mann, Scott Simpson, and Adam Lisagor. They describe it as an audio-based Journal of Emotional Hygiene. The show is quite funny and was apparently inspired by some followers of the “three amigos” on Twitter.

Hunter S. Thompson is revered and reviled depending on who you are asking. In either case, he managed to make quite a few valid and memorable points in his writing. Yesterday, I happened upon one of his quotes that I hadn’t read in quite some time. Who is the happier man, he who has braced the storm of life and lived, or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? ...

So the vacation is over, and I have returned home. At least the weather is pleasantly warm and the sun is out. Some updates will be forthcoming after I unpack and get organized. I’ve learned quite a bit from this vacation. Living life to the fullest every day is something that I thought I was doing, but perhaps I can do even more. New places always give new perspective.