Life, Photography, and Security

←June →
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

2005-06-27

No news in the news?

For some time now, I have played a small game with the yellow press. In Finland, we have two leading tabloids, “Iltalehti” and “Ilta-Sanomat”. I challenge myself to find one piece of news on display, and sofar I have always managed to find one piece. Too often, though, that’s all.

A colleague then jokingly asked me to define what I mean by “news”. Although I laughed it off at the time, it’s actually a very valid question. I really should be able to express my intuitive feeling for what is news, or newsworthy. At least beyond the dictionary definition of “Of sufficient interest or importance to the public to warrant reporting in the media.”

After thinking about this for a while, and reading up a bit, I realized that what I mostly object to is actually things I do not consider newsworthy. The journalistic definition I stumbled upon noted that prominence is a factor: If you break your arm it won't make the news, but if the Queen of England breaks her arm it's big news. I can buy timing, significance, proximity, and human interest, but prominence?

There is an amount of circular reasoning behind citing prominence as a source for newsworthiness. News is by definition prominent, thus anything in the news becomes prominent. This leads to a vicious circle where seemingly “prominent” persons figure repeatedly in the news—exactly what today’s celebrity culture flourishes on.

I believe that news should have an element of objectivity, that is, a foundation similar to that of science. This means that news is not entertainment or advertisement, which is often overlooked nowadays. News items that are based on how famous or prominent someone is cannot be news. Actually, I believe that the opposite should be true. The less prominent the news is, the more newsworthy it is.

[/life/society] permanent link

2005-06-22

Light, Sight and Photochromics

It’s that time again. When I read stuff on a PC, or a book, or a magazine, or do anything that requires focused vision, I get the feeling that my eyes aren’t quite up to the task. Time to get a vision check.

Turns out, I’m not getting younger. For the first time, my vision has actually improved. It has actually changed so much that my old glasses don’t cut it anymore. Which means that my prescription made sun glasses have the same problem. With my fairly high astigmatism, getting two new pairs of prescription lenses would cost a small fortune. Living in Finland doesn’t help either, as prices are just ridiculous.

Enter photochromic lenses. I spent a while reading up on them, and the technology really seems to have matured. There is even a fairly decent paper called Light, Sight and Photochromics which makes a good case for chosing photochromics. Not surprising, as it is sponsored by the most visible brand of photocromic lenses. The paper tells you anything you need to know about vision, protecting your eyes, and photochromics. Actually, it tells you a lot more than you’d like to know, including some “nice” photos of cancers.

My optician gave me a two year satisfaction guarantee on a set of photochromic lenses, so now I’m waiting for my new glasses to be delivered. Let’s see how they turn out.

[/technology] permanent link

2005-06-14

BF2 Tactics

The demo has been out for a few days, and already it is very clear that gameplay is radically different. I have managed to get into the top five twice on a 64-player server with only a handful of frags. The key to this is teamwork. BF2 awards cooperation, and the awards are significant.

If teamwork is important, what is the “perfect squad” setup? Any fairly balanced squad will probably do well, but I can already point out a few things that may be important to a killer squad.

Medic: Any squad needs a medic, and the medic should not be the squad leader. If the squad leader is killed, the medic needs to revive him quickly to keep the squad together. OTOH, if the medic is killed, he will respawn with the squad anyway.
Support: To be able to operate for extended periods, any squad needs support. I think that the squad leader is a good candidate—he can set up a supply spot wherever he chooses, and has the option to duck and cover if things get too hot.