Journals of Doc Surge

Feb 19

Refining the Defining of Games

February 19, 2017 by Chris Billows in Think (Games), Trade (Blogging) 0 comments tags: Game Philosophy, Games Analysis

I came across Oscar Barda’s Gamasutra article where he make a bold attempt to define games. The definition of games is a game in itself, havings its own traps and dangers. There are going to people who are going to vehemently disagree, and people that will simply ignore you. I fall into a third category of people that appreciates his effort, but would like to see it refined. Oscar’s definition of “Games as a formalized fiction of doing” is pretty accurate. There is nothing to fundamentally disagree with, but I think that it doesn’t provide enough depth. While Oscar’s definition can be accurate, I think it is perhaps too broad, captures too many things that makes the definition not helpful when you dig deeper. After all, in saying that human beings are living creatures is an accurate statement, it is so broad that humans are not distinguishable from other animals or even insects. A definition is most helpful when its both broad and deep enough. The problem with “Games being a formalized fiction of doing” is that there are too many other human activities that fall into that definition or neglects game activities that don’t fit his definition, such as: […]

Jan 23

Winnipeg Jets Player Transactions 2015-16

January 23, 2017 by Chris Billows in Think (Hockey) 0 comments tags: GM Tasks, Jets Free Agents, Jets Re-Signed, Jets Trades, Jets Waivers

The 2015-16 season was the fifth season of the Winnipeg Jets since the Atlanta Thrashers were purchased and moved to Winnipeg. On July 1, 2015 Cheveldayoff started his fifth year of building the franchise when the Free Agent season opened. Cheveldayoff had a successful career as a hockey executive. As an Assistant GM He won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2009-10. As a GM he also won two Calder Cups in the AHL in 2001-02 and 2007-08 and two Turner Cups in the IHL in 1997-98 and 1999-2000. So far the team he has built for Winnipeg remains consistently mediocre. There are four kinds of transactions that any General Manager can perform. They can 1) trade players, 2) re-sign existing players, 3) hire new players as free agents, and 4) claim unwanted players off waivers. The transaction season follows a July 1 to June 30 calendar. What follows is the transactions that Cheveldayoff performed in 2015-16. You will see that the ordinal value of each category is a continuation of what occurred from the previous season in 2014-15.

Jan 11

Understanding Socialism in Games

January 11, 2017 by Chris Billows in Think (Games), Think (Politics), Trade (Blogging) 2 comments tags: Blogging, Human Condition, Political Opinion, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse

Brian Green wrote on his Psychochild blog an interesting post about how MMO games are a means to understanding Socialism. First of all, its an interesting post to just think about games in terms of political economics. Second of all, I think Brian makes a typical mistake of associating positive qualities with something he favors, known as the Halo Effect. Games as Socialism… I’ve run into an interesting situation with some people in FFXIV. Many times people have needed items which I have gladly been able to provide (or acquire easily), but people feel bad taking the items from me. They insist on paying for the items somehow, or they want to trade. One friend said she felt bad always asking me for stuff, even if I offer on a regular basis. I wanted to take a look at this, and look at why it really didn’t bother me to offer these items or services to others. Why I’m a big-hearted socialist in MMOs. Okay, I used “the scary S-word” in the title. Intentionally. 😉 Since many Americans have a terrible understanding of what socialism is, let me give a basic definition here. This delves into some economic theory, […]

Dec 18

In A Matter of Aesthetic Preference

December 18, 2016 by Chris Billows in Trade (Blogging) 0 comments tags: Blogging, Change of Mind, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Republic of Bloggers, Virtuous Discourse

An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Wherefore Philosophy? Whence Emotions? at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments! Dear Chris, Thank you for your letter as it was written with such care and attention I could really see your passion for your discipline of Philosophy and your commitment to virtuous discourse. It was heart-warming and welcome. I do feel that you have interpreted my articulated disinterest in the discipline of Philosophy as some kind of failure on my part. There are many topics in the world that we can readily admit to having little interest in knowing more about it, or in actively engaging with it. My interest in this discussion was to see if I could articulate my disinterest to a spectrum of Philosophy. Yet, as I think about it I’m not really disinterested in Philosophy. Disinterest is actually the bane of an engaged person. What I did was think deeply about why when I think of Philosophy (the Discipline) it holds little appeal to me. Most people would just accept their apathy and not even engage with it. I chose to […]

Dec 05

Prototyping Ideas and Life’s Muse

December 05, 2016 by Chris Billows in Think (Speculation) 0 comments

Ideas are important and so is execution to implement those ideas. They go hand in hand. But how do you decide if an idea is worth pursuing? I did a bit of research of how to vet out business ideas. One system of vetting that I came across was from the Fizzle podcast: Corbett’s Vetting List Demand — is it something people want? Competition — who else is doing it? Are they successful? Care — how much personal interest do you have in this topic? Expertise — how much do you know about this topic? Specificity — how broad or narrow will your lens on this topic be? Differentiation — how will you differentiate yourself from others in this market? Likability of Customers — do you like them now? Will you like them later? Can/Will They Pay — do they have moneys and will they share those moneys with you to solve this problem you’re helping them with? Lifestyle — if this became successful, what would your life look like? Would this be a 200 person company? A single laptop on a beach? Does that fit with your personal goals? That is a great list! But since I […]

Dec 03

The Value of Ideas

December 03, 2016 by Chris Billows in Think (Speculation) 0 comments

I really appreciated this post by Derek Sivers. Being the type of person who has lots of imagination and ideas, I can fall into the trap of thinking that ideas are worth something. To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. Explanation: AWFUL IDEA = -1 WEAK IDEA = 1 SO-SO IDEA = 5 GOOD IDEA = 10 GREAT IDEA = 15 BRILLIANT IDEA = 20 ——– ——— NO EXECUTION = $1 WEAK EXECUTION = $1000 SO-SO EXECUTION = $10,000 GOOD EXECUTION = $100,000 GREAT EXECUTION = $1,000,000 BRILLIANT EXECUTION = $10,000,000 To make a business, you need to multiply the two. The most brilliant idea, with no execution, is worth $20. The most brilliant idea takes great execution to be worth $20,000,000. That’s why I don’t want to hear people’s ideas. I’m not interested until I see their execution. This makes sense to me but I would argue that idea must have some kind of power of attraction. Otherwise, you lose your energy to persist and it falls apart. Execution will not happen unless the idea can hold our attention. I highly doubt a weak idea being perfectly […]

Oct 13

Jets Pay Five Years of Debt for Thrasher Draft Busts

October 13, 2016 by Chris Billows in Think (Hockey) 0 comments tags: Atlanta Thrashers Relocation, Jets Draft, Jets Improvement

We are hours away from the Winnipeg Jets sixth season and its a time of new beginnings. It is also a time to recount what’s been accomplished since the Winnipeg Jets have establishing their own non-Atlanta Thrashers identity in the past five years. One word can summarize these years: Mediocrity. A mediocrity that was inherited from the Atlanta Thrashers, who were a poorly run team that struggled to be competitive. The Jets too have not been competitive but we can fairly blame the Thrashers for this. Below is an explanation how the Winnipeg Jets are still paying a debt of mediocrity because the Thrashers were inept in drafting. To start here is a season-by-season summary of the Atlanta Thrashers last five seasons before moving: Season Conference Division Regular season Postseason Finish GP W L OTL Pts GF GA GP W L GF GA Result 2006–07 Eastern Southeast 1st 82 43 28 11 97 246 245 4 0 4 6 17 Lost in Conference Quarterfinals vs. New York Rangers, 0–4 2007–08 Eastern Southeast 4th 82 34 40 8 76 216 272 — — — — — Did not qualify 2008–09 Eastern Southeast 4th 82 35 41 6 76 257 280 — […]

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