(sorry but I couldn't resist putting this in here)
Courtesy of Engadget
Posted Jul 15th 2006 10:01PM by Stan Horaczek
If you're worried your World of Warcraft habit might be getting a little out of hand, you might think about checking yourself into the Wild Horses Center in Amsterdam. Their video game rehab program, which was started by addiction specialists Smith and Jones, is designed to help you replace the excitement of the fantasy world with real world experiences such as therapy sessions and group interaction. The 16th century town house, in which the patients reside, has no access to gaming of any kind, making it the perfect place to take in the non-polygonal sights the real world has to offer. Unlike the novelty cellphone addiction program being implemented at a Chicago Hotel, Wild Horses is staffed with certified psychologists and addiction specialists that can offer legitimate help to those unwilling to leave their games to have a social life or even use the bathroom. With impressive next-generation consoles like the Wii and the PS3 promising an even more engrossing gaming experience in the near future, we can't help but think this kind of facility might start popping up in other parts of the world as well. Since there probably isn't one in your area yet, we suggest you follow these instructions for making your own game addiction patch. First, tear off two pieces of duct tape. Second, place one piece of the duct tape over the A/V inputs on your TV and the other over the ASDW keys on your keyboard. Then go outside already, would you?
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Blog Design and What We Want Out of Them
There are a number of new styles of blogs around at the moment and the most common thing that I've seen is the way they are being set up.
There is a real drift away from the older style blog similar to this one and thousands of others from a generic blog, to a very sleek style blog that you can tell just oozes money being poured into it!
That's not a bad thing at all but for most of us to try and compete for any sort of 'market share' then we must figure out what it is exactly that we want out of our blog and what we are willing to put in to it.
If I think of what it is exactly that I want out of blogging then it would simply be to have my say and earn the respect of fellow bloggers. No amount of money that I put into the look of my blog will alter what they think of me.
There is always the thought that my blog might take off and start making some descent money but I know that with the amount of time and money that I put into it, that it's pretty unlikely to happen.
I guess the most important thing that I'm trying to say as best I can is that if your looking at making quiet alot of money out of your blog then be prepared to put a fair bit of time and money into it.
You may want to do heaps of research on different types and styles of blogs and be one of the growing many who subscribe to a sleek looking blog designs.
If not, then maybe blogger is the one for you.
Matt
There is a real drift away from the older style blog similar to this one and thousands of others from a generic blog, to a very sleek style blog that you can tell just oozes money being poured into it!
That's not a bad thing at all but for most of us to try and compete for any sort of 'market share' then we must figure out what it is exactly that we want out of our blog and what we are willing to put in to it.
If I think of what it is exactly that I want out of blogging then it would simply be to have my say and earn the respect of fellow bloggers. No amount of money that I put into the look of my blog will alter what they think of me.
There is always the thought that my blog might take off and start making some descent money but I know that with the amount of time and money that I put into it, that it's pretty unlikely to happen.
I guess the most important thing that I'm trying to say as best I can is that if your looking at making quiet alot of money out of your blog then be prepared to put a fair bit of time and money into it.
You may want to do heaps of research on different types and styles of blogs and be one of the growing many who subscribe to a sleek looking blog designs.
If not, then maybe blogger is the one for you.
Matt
