Mobstar

Mobstar seemed like a neat idea - think dungeons and dragons meets James Bond. You begin the game as a lowlife crook and work your way up, striving to one day be a mafia godfather. You can kill people, commit crimes, form gangs, steal cars, smuggle drugs, and do all the other fun things mafia members get to do.

But becoming a mafia member was too good to be true. After spending the last four days playing, I've learned that most of these features are only available to members after the $27 yearly signup fee. So I've wasted my time - because I have better things to spend my money on. Like this.

Student Sample

Blogomaniac

Livejournal was my first glmipse into the world of blogging and web 2.0 culture. I didn't have any interest in collecting friends with sites like friendster or tagworld, and I still don't feel the need to create an account for photo hosting sites like flickr or photobucket. Yes, I was happy with Livejournal - if anything, it was a way to keep in touch with some friends, and occasionally post funny/offensive stuff.

The problem is that LJ is going the way of the buffalo, and I have a hard time letting go. I still use my LJ, yet I feel compelled to keep up with all these new blogging trends. I have a Myspace account, this newly created blog, as well as accounts with social bookmarking sites Digg and de.licio.us.

How many sites and services do I need to expose myself (not literally - like I said, I'm not huge on photo hosting) to the world? If the answer is "one more," then take a look at my newly created Twitter account.

If Tim Armstrong deserves a solo album, so do I.

http://epitaph.com/artists/album/500

OpenOffice and DarkRoom

I found a program the other day that someone made called Dark Room. It's a bare bones writing application designed for those who are easily intimidated by a blank Microsoft Word screen and an ominous blinking cursor. It's a black screen with no menu bars, no tool options, and bright green text. The idea is that it's supposed to get rid of any distractions or anxiety for the procrastinating writer.

I'm a victim of procrastination, so I thought I'd give it a try. I actually found the simple black background more intimidating that a Word document. But it got me thinking about some other possible writing applications.

I've heard a bunch about OpenOffice, but never got around to trying it. It's basically a Microsoft Office clone, but it's free and has loads of extra options. It's also pretty much compatible with its Microsoft counterpart. I just installed it, and although it's still a white screen with a blinking cursor, perhaps the slight change of scenery is just what I need to become more productive.

Helvetica

I found someone who is a bigger dork than I am. He wrote about dedicated to the font, Helvetica. My birthday is in November. Just thought you'd like to know.


http://www.amazon.com/Helvetica-Homage-Typeface-Lars-Muller/dp/3907044878

Roadkill

This article is actually a pretty clear indicator of how bad it is in other part of the world, but I actually found myself smiling. As soon as I read the title, a familiar picture that is an Internet favorite popped into my head. So perhaps by posting both the article and the picture at the same time, you'll see why I smiled.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2007-05-08T141119Z_01_L07317596_RTRUKOC_0_US-ISRAEL-ACCIDENT.xml