COLLUSIONI.ST

New Gold Leaf's Fluid CSS Grid System looks pretty useful.

It was my what, tenth time? Logging into TurboTax and doing some taxes was practically an automatic habit by now. This time though - this time I got past the step where everything is going to be OK and I've happily given TurboTax their preparation services dollars.

Then they ask me if I am a human.

It's a question that'd normally trigger a rapid lung emptying sound meant to convey a mixture of incredulity and mocking.

Not this time. This time I was worried. After slogging away through countless menus and double checking countless and ridiculous answers to ridiculous questions, this question wasn't so ridiculous any more. Was I still human?

They wanted to know if the oil splotches and polka dots on my screen were letters and/or numbers. What a peculiar test. If I cannot recognize them and don't mind, am I a robot? If I cannot recognize them and panic, and I a human?

What if I cannot recognize them, don't mind, take a wild stab and succeed?

Would a robot feel as proud as I do for passing the test?

A few weeks ago at SXSW I got to see one of my heros give what was unarguably the best talk I’ve ever seen. I feasted on Will Wright’s every word, and if you watch the video (1 2 3) of his talk, I think you might be able to understand why I rank it so high. Of course, I’ve always ranked Will’s work highly.

I can thank Will Wright for sparking my interest in computers more so than any other individual. We had some sort of Apple II clone in my house as a kid, and Zork and the like were fun, but I really didn’t get into computers until the original Sim City came out.

I spent a month during the summer between junior high and high school working for my dad so I could earn the money to buy the game, and spent the rest of the summer begging my mom for some computing time. My mom was writing a book at the time, so play time was sparse.

The next summer I worked hard manual labor for the entire summer break so that I could earn enough money to buy my own computer. My dedication was impressive, and I kept myself going by reading reviews about the RPGs Ultima 6 and Ultima 7. Ultima 7 had me especially drooling because it had simulated weather patterns. I was thrilled with the idea that at any moment while exploring this land that it could start snowing. At the end of the summer I had $2400 saved up (amazing what $5 an hour will get you as a teen).

My dad and I went to a computer show underneath the Anaheim stadium, bought a 386-33 with 2MB of RAM and a 85MB hard drive. I’m pretty sure he had to match my dollars, because at the time this was a top of the line machine.

I savored Ultima 6 and 7 for a few months until I discovered the modem. Within a year of buying my first computer, I had set up a BBS in my bedroom, and had hooked into Fidonet, effectively putting me on the Internet in 1991. I had several hundred local BBS members. We traded files, swapped stories, and played games like TradeWars 2002 and BRE along with a multitude of other BBS door games. It was a sublime period in my life, and when I look back on it, it’s nearly shocking to think that some of the player to player interaction and community building aspects were stronger then, even with the limitations, than a lot of multiplayer games have now.

Within those first few years of owning a computer I knew, without question, that I wanted to do two things as a career and two things only: build communities, and build games. I’ve spent time doing both of those things in the past 12 years, but rarely both at the same time – I was most recently the community manager for Values of N, and before that built and ran llor.nu.

And now that Values of N has announced its second product, I intend to reorient myself with the original path I set out for so long ago. I’ve left Values of N – no bridges were burned and I wish Rael and crew the best the of luck. I learned an incredible amount about true entrepreneurism and how everything you do matters in a small startup and will use the lessons liberally moving forward.

I need to do some housekeeping first, but within a few months I’ll be putting my focus back on building clever games on the web and building real communities around them. Will’s talk didn’t make the decision for me, but the seed he planted certainly helped remind me of what I enjoy doing: uniting and enabling people to have fun.

I just posted about how Stikkit has been nominated for a SXSW Award in the Technical Achievement category. This is obviously great news, and I spent most of yesterday grinning about it. We’ve been so busy and deep into some really technical stuff – it’s great having that announcement hit around the same time as two other big announcments:

We launched our Stikkit API yesterday (you should read Rael’s announcement post – very good insight into our philosphies).

Merlin Mann announced that he’s joined the Values of n advisory board.

Regarding the SXSW Awards, the People’s Choice voting application went live today, so you’re able to go in and cast your votes for who you think should be the winner. Start voting! For Stikkit!

    <ol>
        <li>Update<br />

We won!

I own the Valentine One radar detector, and this morning saw it pay for itself fully. Right as I pulled onto the freeway it went nuts, as a traffic cop on a motorcycle approached with radar in full force.

He pulled in right behind me and waited a few minutes until someone inched up over 50mph by a few more miles per hour. He pulled that car over.

Minutes later the detector was going bonkers again, showing the signal approaching from behind. He locked onto me again and waited. A few minutes later he pulled someone else over.

And he did the same thing again, zooming right up to me, waiting, then pulled someone else over a few minutes later.

This is just one reason I spent $400 on a device that tells me if there is radar present. In Oregon, the maximum speed limit on a major metro freeway is around 55. 65 if you’re out in the country, but no greater than 55 on my commute. And for most of the way, it’s 50.

Now, people scoff at my idea of paying $400 for a radar detector. They say “well, you shouldn’t speed”. These people have no leg to stand on given they also speed, even if just by a few miles an hour. A speed limit of 50mph was easy for my 1972 Datsun 510 to break. My Subaru WRX STI can break it in first gear. In California, if you drive 50mph on the freeway people will crash into from being at 30-40mph (given you usually do 80-90 there if traffic is moving).

And if the behavior of that police officer is any indication of things, in my car, I need a radar detector even if I’m going the speed limit so that I can be reminded of when I should drop down to 40mph when a cop is approaching.

At $150 per speeding ticket (not to mention moving violations on your record and insurance hikes), $400 pays for itself in no time, and I’m extremely pleased I did it.