Restaurant Coupon 50% off
Restaurant.com has a coupon code SWEETHEART for 50% off gift certificates at a decent selection of local restaurants. You also automatically get a $10 certificate on every purchase. They have $25 certificates for $5 after coupon.
Dutch Clinic Treats Those Addicted to Games
Keith Bakker, the American director of the Smith & Jones clinic for gaming addicts in Amsterdam testifies that “the phone has been ringing constantly. Computer game addiction is obviously an even greater problem than we imagined.” Mr. Bakker is a former drug addict himself, and in his mind a computer-gaming addiction is just as severe as any narcotic addiction because they share similar symptoms:
It is not a chemical dependency, but it’s got everything of an obsessive-compulsive disorder and all of the other stuff that comes with chemical dependency
One of their patients, a 21 year-old from Utrecht, said that he barely left his room during a 5 year gaming stint because he was so fixated with his electronic fantasy world. Such cases are quite rare indeed, for most people who game do so in moderation. Quite frankly, I think we should do away with these clinics. Addiction to video-games is a harmless and voluntary occupation, and individuals should be able to do as they will with their lives. Let Darwin do his work.
WoW Offline, Unavailable, Down
I think it’s unacceptable for any MMORPG to ever have “down-time,” and especially World of Warcraft, the most advanced of its kind. Consumers are paying $15 or so a month, and they have the reasonable expectation to be able to play their game whenever they wish, and for how long they want. Of course, Blizzard can do whatever it so desires, but it would be nice if WoW’s maintenance were seamless, such that it never interrupted or disturbed actual gameplay. You can check the status of your realm here.
Above is a screenshot of WoW as of this morning, with its notification of a 6-hour downtime for today. That means the masses of eager gamers cannot play for 25% of today, yet they are paying the full subscription fee. Fans, however, are for the large part used to this. It’s a phenomenon that occurs with great regularity; think once-to-thrice weekly. Ultimately, the ethical question is this: how much disservice are we willing to take with our monthly bill for our favorite MMORPG? Blizzard needs to make a non-intrusive method by which we can play WoW night or day, 24/7 if we want, and still have all the subtle benefits of a well-maintained game.
Update: Much to my chagrin, but not to my surprise, Blizzard has delayed the maintenance an additional two hours today. That makes the amount of game time lost to performance-tweaking maintainance (or whatever they do in the down-time) 8 hours, or 33% of today.