Halffull.org

Dear Credit Card Companies,

Thank you all for your generous offers this Christmas season. From one of you, I received a card informing me of all the savings I could have – if only I spent more with my credit card. From another of you, I received an offer for this miraculous checking account tied to my credit card where I get free money that is actually credit I will be charged interest on. Of the three of you I hear from most, the remaining member of your group sends me offers monthly for a card. I’ve also been offered travel insurance and even a sort of life-event insurance – if something bad happens to me, I get lots of money. All I have to do is pay now.

I must respectfully decline your offers of imaginary money. I must point to three things. First, the number of us in the country declaring bankruptcy has risen signficantly. Second, the laws for declaring bankruptcy have been changed to make it more likely that someone will have to pay their debts. Third, generalizations lead me to believe that there is simply too much stuff to buy today, and in order to sustain a lifestyle we neither can afford nor should try to, more of us are going into debt. For many of us, all it would take is the loss of our job, even for a short period of time, to drive us into four-to-five-figure debt with interest rates in the double digits. Finally, this is precisely where you want us to be.

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I’d like to take this opportunity to present to you, dear reader, a delightful little game that has caused a huge lack of boredom in our area.

I give you 1000 Blank White Cards, courtesy of the Discordians. Here are the rules:

Make your own game.

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The rioting in France escalated to unbelievable heights over the course of a mere thirteen days. (In case you couldn’t detect it, that was sarcasm.) Violence spread to 300 towns in France, people were killed, a 50-year old disabled woman was even doused with “an inflammable liquid and set afire as she tried to get off a bus” and copycat rioting has been occurring in other European countries. The images are unsettling. France’s President, Jacques Chirac, has been largely ineffectual, as he waited a couple of days before even addressing the rioting, and after he spoke the violence escalated even further. Speaking again, he strongly stated his feelings that the rioting reflected a “profound malaise” in the community. Whoa, let’s not break out the harsh words, Jacques.

After the thirteen days of heavy rioting, the police put a curfew in effect which apparently magically made the rioting all better. Officials claim that the situation has drastically improved since enforcing the curfew. I have been especially interested in the rioting, so I have been following this activity closely. The following is a chart I put together to monitor the situation:

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In case you haven’t stopped by Penny Arcade for the latest comic, go now. It took me a while before I could stop laughing.

Blogging is on the rise and with big names the likes of Google and Yahoo supporting the growth, a backlash has begun. Professional news sources and politicians alike have been arguing that any individual who reports a news blog should follow the same laws and regulations that a “reputable” and “responsible” news source would. The question then becomes: What is “reporting” and what is “rehashing”? Most bloggers out in the intangible area that has been retardedly named the “blogsphere” aren’t really reporting any new news at all. Instead, they compile reports that they see from known, professional news sources and reinvent it on their own sites – pretty much like what we do here at Halffull. The argument against regulating this kind of news blog is that it is opinion and commentary based on other news sources, and not reporting. Regulating this kind of blog would then become a violation of first amendment rights.

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If you’re looking for free downloadable games, head on over to Big Fish Games. They’ve got a great selection of games, and I was shocked when, a few minutes ago, I found out that an old co-worker of mine is now their CFO. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what he said; it was hard to tell since we were both on our cell phones. There are a couple of reviews about the site floating around the internet, and they all give Big Fish Games high praise. Download-free-games.com gives the site an A-.

“Big Fish Games was created back in 2002 by Paul Thelen, a former Real Networks executive who helped launched Real Arcade. Big Fish Games quickly became a major game download portal within 2 years of launch, an incredible feat…

…BigFishGames.com is a solid game download site but mostly focuses on the casual gamer. You won’t find a ton of high energy action games here but there are a few in the arcade section. Those who want to play free game demos but don’t want to give out their email address will be disappointed with the site. However, Big Fish does seem to respect everything in their privacy policy concerning email submissions. The daily updates are great and selection is way above average for the categories the site handles.”

Head on over and check it out; let me know what you think in the comments section. Of course, I always say that, even though I know you won’t put anything in the comments section. Chickens.

Yes, I will have more site updates for you today – the halffull team will be back this week with all kinds of hilarity and goodness. There’s also a new news post coming, and with any luck it will be up today.

Photo courtesy of Epicurious

In a cookie book, the chapters are usually divided by type of cookie. A chocolate chip cookie is your basic drop cookie – there is no rolling or pressing needed, just scoop up some dough and drop your rounded spoonful on your cookie sheet. Anyone who has been able to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch can make 9 out of 10 other drop cookie recipes. Don’t be fooled by the list of ingredients or the length of the recipe or the recipe’s source: what I love the most about drop cookies is that they’re all made the same way as your chocolate chip cookie. Most of them do not require a lot of fuss and they’re really difficult to screw up. Just like your chocolate chip cookie, the important thing is to make sure it’s mixed really well.

Keeping in the spirit of the approaching holidays, I have a new one for everyone. This one comes from Bon Appetit – don’t be nervous because of the source. It’s a drop cookie called “Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies”, and just as easy as your basic Toll House recipes.

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A couple of years ago, some guys got together and started making a movie inside of the Microsoft game Halo. At first no one cared. But after a while, it gained popularity until it became a huge hit. They have since branched out into other games (Sim City, F.E.A.R.) but are still going strong with their original hit, Red vs. Blue. They have a rolling archive for anyone who is not a sponsor, so if you have any interest, head on over and take a gander at Episodes 1 & 2. You will need to download them and there is a bit of cursing involved so it’s not safe for work. I would definitely suggest that you watch both episodes before you decide whether or not you like them – and they definitely get more funny every time.

Be aware that because this is a rolling archive, if you don’t download them by the end of the week, they will be gone and you’ll have to wait until they rotate through the entire series again.

Dear Blue Midget,

Halffull usually has updates every day, but over the past week there have only been a couple of updates to the site. How come you haven’t put much up?

Sincerely,
A Reader

My Dearest Reader,

I write to you under the direst of circumstances. In this place where I have been trapped, the laws of time and space have no meaning. I am trapped in a state of limbo – a purgatory of sorts, if you will. There is little to sustain me in this place and I feel my mind slipping away, succumbing to the strange sound of bad 80’s music whispering so softly in the back of my mind. It is as if I am waiting in an eternal line-up of poor wretched souls, also trapped in the same damned fate:

I have been stuck in a check-out line at the grocery store since Thursday night.

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Although there was not a great deal of participation, last week’s News Haikus turned out to be surprisingly popular. We’ll bring it back again soon and make it a monthly occurrence. Until then, if you spot anything newsworthy that you’d like to contribute to the next haiku news report, write something up and save it. You have about three or four weeks to come up with a little something. Until then, here’s your regular news report.

French President Jacques Chirac decided to stop being a useless tool when, after eleven nights of violent rioting, he finally decided to say something about it. I guess the first ten days of violence and burning are okay, but once you reach that eleventh day, you’ve gone way too far. Reports claim the rioting has spread to 300 towns across France and into Belgium and Germany. Last night a man was beaten to death by a rioter, becoming the first reported death since the violent outbreak. President Chirac is facing extreme criticism for his inability to handle the rioting – why this is such a surprise is anyone’s guess. Reportedly, Chirac has two different plans proposed on how to face the crisis: A) Call in US and UK forces to handle the situation and afterwards harshly criticize them before the UN for occupying France, or B) Surrender. No word yet on what the decision will be.

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