Halloween Update

This Halloween update for TF2 has an extremely small amount of new information about the TF2 backstory, even assuming it's true. But all we knew before this was contained in a single paragraph, so this is actually a windfall in comparison.

So, what have we learned? According to the Last Will and Testament of Zephaniah Mann, he ran a company investing in the unsettled Americas, and divided the company between his two sons, Blutarch and Redmond, (Clearly Blu and Red, just look at the family portrait!) leaving an armament company to his Aide and Tracker, Barnabas Hale, who is presumably Saxton Hale's father.

The announcer is apparently the "Maidservant" of Mann, again refer to the family portrait. She was given a fortune of wealth and deeds. I guess the assumption is that Red and Blu are fighting over control of what was left to them, and support of the announcer, who we now know is named Elizabeth.


PS
A portion of the will is covered by sand, describing another beneficiary of the will. This mystery figure is left the "Entirety of [His]... [The Will is cut off here]... and swear you to utmost secrecy in its keeping." This presents two problems:

1. Who's that mystery guy on the right side of the picture, presumably the figure referred to here?
   
2. There doesn't seem to be anything left to endow to anyone. He's already given away his deeds, stocks, lands, and a munitions company.

Typical secrecy from Valve.

The Trouble With Tri-Conspiracy Theories

There are several problems with arguing. The main one is: it never works. People just look for confirmation of their own theory.

Some specific problems: People remember evidence that agrees with their theory, and forget where that information comes from. Particularly, when conspiracy theories are attacked, any evidence is discarded as being part of the conspiracy. In a similar way, evidence against creationism is denied by divine miracles, often to the point of absurdity.

Another problem is the variety of theories. If I try to defeat a particular theory, let's say Astrology, I could point out a bunch of problems. But most Astrologists don't agree, and they would probably agree with much of my criticism, saying that those other Astrologists are "doing it wrong".

Anyway, occasionally people do change their mind in science, but even that is rare. Most scientific (and social) progress is made not when the older generation has a change of heart, but when they grow old and die.

Vaccination

This American Life recently did an episode on people who ruin it for everyone else. They bravely ran a segment about a family that didn't vaccinate their children.

There's a group of paranoiacs out there that believe that vaccinations cause illness, particularly autism. The fact that this is not true is not a concern for these people. There are a group of celebrities who go around on talk shows to spread these lies.

These people kill. When you don't vaccinate, you expose other people to potentially fatal diseases.

Celebrities like Jim Carrey, (one of the paranoiacs,) are responsible for more deaths than any serial killer using traditional means.

The fact that the "arguments" used against vaccines make a mockery of science and reason only disgusts me further.

Shoelaces are Dumb

Shoelaces are dumb. They get untied, get in the dirt, then carry that dirt to pants. Lame. Velcro or a buckle would be faster to attach and would never become accidentally undone. The only reason we use laces is because we're socialized to think it makes sense.

Debt

There is some theory that the National Debt is a good thing. I have never heard a good explanation for that theory. The only version I've even understood was the idea that "If the rich people are owed money by the government, then they won't lead a revolution, because they really want that money back."

That theory seems absurd to me.

Anyway, when you think of a good economy, do you think of:

a) Spain
b) Japan

The reason I bring those two nations up is because they are on opposite ends of this chart of national debts. Despite the theoretical benefits of debt, most of the crappy countries have a debt, and most of the successful countries have surpluses.

Marketing

Microsoft/Bungie has a good marketing campaign right now. They are handing out a small amount of information every other day about Halo 3. They have a semi-exclusive deal with EGM at the moment, where EGM is the only (American) magazine to get Halo 3 details.

I have realized that this is probably not coincidentally timed to cover the entire release of the PS3 and Wii. With two new consoles coming out, EGM's cover story shows a Halo Spartan.

It's as though Microsoft is jingling its keys in your vision, saying "Hey! Don't look over there! Look at the 360! Shiny!" Sure, Halo 3 won't be out for at least half a year, but that's the best thing the 360 has.

Dairy

I'm irritated by the so-called dairy "food group", or whatever they call it since the latest food pyramid. The idea that humans need the highly processed food generated by only a few domesticated animals is absurd.

The domestication of animals is a relatively recent phenomena. Did humans somehow evolve a dependence on a substance they only recently gained access too?

PS3 additional shortage

The PS3 might not be able to live up to its own unimpressive standards. At least when it comes to producing enough copies of the system. We have seen this before! This is either a cynical ploy, or Sony is a completely non-functional company. I can understand it happening once, but this happens every time.

Does it Work? Don't Ask the Salesman!

What gets me about the news is that they placidly accept whatever an authority figure says. If there are two authority figures involved, they let both have a soundbite. There's no concern about what is true.

For example: Is Depleted Uranium dangerous? Authorities say no. some crackpots say yes.

The news does no research into the matter, they just repeat the positions of the two sides. Worst of all, they seem unconcerned that both sides have an obvious agenda. (The military wants to keep using DU regardless of whether it causes cancer, and the "crackpots" want medical care for their cancer.)