There’s this online thingy which can analyze your text and supposedly tell you who you write like, and this is what it told me:

I think it is actually cleverer than it lets on and said that just to mess with me. I even pasted some text from an old post complaining about what a terrible writer Dan Brown is, and once again it told me that I write like he does. The nerve!

[in desperation I kept entering different excerpts until it finally told me I write like David Foster Wallace. I've never read any of his work but I'll still take him over Dan Brown]

Adobe Ideas is the first Adobe application in ages that makes me think that the company maybe isn’t all bloat. It’s rather similar to what I had in mind with JujuSketch, ie very bloody simple spline based sketchbook. Still, I really really wish the iPad had proper stylus input. ‘twould be awesome…

(the closest solution I’ve seen is the Pogo Stylus, basically a fake metallic finger that makes it a little easier to draw with, but still, no pointy tip and no pressure or tilt sensing)

The picture you see here is my own little geek-themed motivational poster… I am having ENORMOUS trouble focusing on work right now.

…because by comparison Sony and Microsoft look like stupid corporate dinosaurs.

Stupid Corporate Dinosaur

If you want to develop a game for iPhone or iPad

• You’ll need a Mac
• Install the free developer tools (XCode) from DVDs that came with your computer
• Register for free as an Apple Developer and download the iPhone SDK
• Create applications and test them in the emulator
• Once you feel like you are not totally wasting your time, pay about $100 to register as an iPhone developer, which lets you
• Test your applications on your own devices (and those of friends if they want to help)
• Submit your application to the App Store
• Assuming it is accepted, which most are, everyone can now purchase your app and you can make your first million

If you want to develop a game for Xbox 360

• You’ll need a Windows PC
• Sign up for Xbox live
• Register for dorkily named XNA Creators Club
• Download free XNA Game Studio add-ons for Visual Studio or Visual C# Express (so far so good)
• Since there is no emulator, the only way to build for 360 is to buy a premium membership, $120/year, which you have to pay even though you don’t yet know how hard this is going to be
• Build and test your game on your 360
• Submit it for peer review to the Kreator’s Klub
• Realize that the only people who can see/download/purchase your game are the other poor schmucks who joined the club; Regular xbox users will never see your beautiful creation
• Further realize that even people who have joined this stupid club can only download your game if they are registered in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom or United States. Australians are shit out of luck, as are the majority of other countries in the world

If you want to develop for Zune

• As above but you don’t need to pay for the premium membership, so that’s one less impediment to cashing in on the enormous market for Zune games we keep hearing about… …*chirp* *chirp* … …

If you want to develop for PS3

• Buy a PS3
• Now fuck off – Sony hates you and provides no tools or access to the platform for independent developers

I mean sure, Apple’s iOS platform may not be the most open thing out there, but that’s only when comparing it to other computers and operating systems. Start comparing it to other entertainment systems and you’ll realize just how much worse things could be!

Since I’m always telling people they should listen to podcasts, here is my current top 5 list as a reminder:

• Savage Love – excellent sex/relationship advice podcast from Dan Savage.
• Jordan, Jesse GO! – a rather big podcast which makes me think that a couple of people shooting the shit actually can be a good format for a radio show.
• A Life Well Wasted – just found this one, it’s all about computer games and the inspiration/history/culture surrounding them. Great production values, with music and fancy editing and whatnot.
• NPR’s On the Media – great analysis of news media focusing on current issues with a skeptical eye.
• Little Atoms – skeptical interview show, getting into just the right amount of depth with some very interesting people.

If you have any favorites you think deserve to be heard, please add them in the comments!