Euro 2008 Update

Here's how I did with my Euro 2008 fantasy team.

Total Points: 226
Overall Rank: 2,324 /77,051
USA-Region: 415 /13,218
Dutch Fans: 247 /7,161

Pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

Wikileaks is just that sweet.

Here is the title: Foreign Internal Defense Tactics Techniques and Procedures for Special Forces

Here is the link.

Here is the Slashdot description:

The document, which has been verified, is official US Special Forces doctrine. It directly advocates training paramilitaries, pervasive surveillance, censorship, press control and restrictions on labor unions & political parties. It directly advocates warrantless searches, detainment without charge and the suspension of habeas corpus. It directly advocates bribery, employing terrorists, false flag operations and concealing human rights abuses from journalists. And it directly advocates the extensive use of 'psychological operations' (propaganda) to make these and other 'population & resource control' measures more palatable.

I will definitely be sitting down to read ALL of this at some point in the near future.

CentSports.com

On another betting note...

Wayne Allyn Root (aka W.A.R.), myself, and I'm sure quite a few others of our political persuasion weren't happy a few years ago when online gambling prosecution suddenly, well, began occurring. Never fear. Online (low-stakes at least) betting is possible due to some innovative methods. A few days ago a friend introduced me to CentSports.com. I could take the time to explain how it works but Forbes does it better.

All I'm going to say about is the following:
-It's free (they start you out with a dime and you have to work your way up) but you can you still earn significant money doing it.
-You can bet on a huge number of sports including MLB, NBA, WNBA, NFL, MMA, International, US, Mexican, and Argentinian soccer, etc.
-By clicking one ad you can significantly increase your payout.
- You can bet on spreads, moneylines, or total points.

Unfortunately, I've lost every bet I've made so far (but disclaimer: that includes the Lakers losing last night and Croatia beating Germany).

Prediction Markets, Electoral Maps

I was fooling around on Wikipedia and discovered the Intrade Prediction Market. This idea is so cool, it blew my mind. I had assumed stuff like this existed but never realized how detailed it was. For instance, you can buy or sell the event "The US or Israelis will launch an overt air strike against Iran." This reminds me of that CSI:Miami episode that discusses death pools, where bettors wager on which celebrity will die next (which as I understand it, really do exist legally outside the US).

Anyway, apparently some folks used Intrade's data to predict the General Election's outcome state-by-state and came up with the following electoral map.

I'll let them describe it for me:

The electoral map below is a forecast for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election in which the presumptive nominees are Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. The electoral vote value for each state is shown, and the states are shaded according to the probability of a win.
The data for this map come from the Intrade prediction market where there are real-money contracts for each individual state based on how it will award its 2008 electoral votes. Traders who predict the outcome correctly are rewarded with the money of those who don't. For more information visit Intrade.com. This map is updated at least weekly.

LP Shiz

On June 4, 2008, Bob Barr invited the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain, and the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to weekly presidential debates through an official press release.
-Wikipedia

PS. Hey Blogger, it is about time to update your spell checker to recognize two words: Barack and Obama.

Sandra Day O'Connor is making a video game.

Oh. God. I can't even write about this.
Just read the article.

Stupid. Wasteful.

The product called Flexplay has actually been around for 5 years or so but it is just now getting noticed due to its distribution deal with Staples. Flexplay DVDs are one-use 5 dollar DVDs that are rendered unplayable 48 hours after opening the product by use of some special adhesive on the disc that reacts with oxygen.

See title of post. This is one of the stupidest things I have EVER heard of.
1. Stop repeating history when it comes to doomed technologies. Functionally this tech is very similar to Divx (player not codec) and that failed miserably.
2. This is an incredible waste of resources.
3. Five dollars to buy a disc you can watch once?
4. The target audience (people who dont want to pay the money to buy a real DVD or are too lazy to go to the store or return a rental to the store) ALREADY HAVE NETFLIX.

80% of the stuff I post about is directly stolen from Slashdot.

In a fairly bold (and quite possibly stupid) move, the Sci-Fi Channel has announced plans to use missions and campaigns of players in their own developed MMO to shape and guide a new 'ongoing' television show. They hope to have the project up and ready to air by 2010, as they work with game developer Trion World Network to create 'the ultimate merging of the TV and gaming mediums.'

Dave Howe, CEO of the Sci-Fi Channel commented:

"A television show that is on once a week isn't enough. The fans today want the experience to go beyond that. For example, we can tell them that there will be an alien invasion at a certain place in the game, at a certain time, and to be there with all their friends and be ready. The outcome depends on them. And then that battle will be part of the universe in the show."

Originally, Sci-Fi had planned a similar project for Battlestar Gallactica, but instead decided to start fresh so they would be allowed to create a world in which the players decide who the heroes and villains are.

The only other real crossover of computer game and television show came last year when CSI used Second Life to create a virtual experience where players wandered around looking for clues that corresponded to the episode.

This project is unique in that the players are actually shaping the world, instead of reacting to the events of the show. The show's creators will also be able to get instant input on how viewers feel about the direction the plot is taking them and adjust accordingly, even launching expansions and new areas based on stops players visit in the game.

Little is known about the world being created for the crossover; it will take place about 100 years in the future on a very unfamiliar Earth. Sci-Fi plans on revealing more about the project later this year at the San Diego Comic-Con.

-Slashdot / Snagwiremedia.com

Exploit Big Brother!

Much consternation has been expressed by UK residents over the use of Closed Circuit Televisions all over the country for general surveillance and watching. I recently came across a novel way of using these intrusive devices for personal benefit.

Unsigned and broke British band The Get Out Clause performed in front of 80 such cameras across Manchester, England. Then they asked for the videos under the Freedom of Information Act (and got 20 back). Voila, plenty of free footage for a music video.

Genius.