http://www.darkademic.co.uk Darkademic.co.uk Blog RSS Feed en-gb Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:48:08 GMT Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:48:08 GMT Copyright Darkademic 2012 http://www.darkademic.co.uk/images/buttons/darkademic.co.uk_120x60.png http://www.darkademic.co.uk http://backend.userland.com/rss darkademic@darkreavers.co.uk (Darkademic) darkademic@darkreavers.co.uk (Darkademic) http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=203 Just before new year I created the new [DkR] recruitment video for Guild Wars 2. If you're interested in joining please head on over and apply. Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:47:24 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=203 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=202 Due to the length of the article, a brief "executive summary" was requested to encapsulate what I'm trying to get across. The purpose of the article is to explain how Guild Wars 2's "endgame" differs from the raiding model commonly found in other MMORPGs, and explain why concerns about its longevity or its appeal are largely unfounded. It is not an attack on raiding as such, but I do point out the flaws I see in the raiding model used in other MMOs, and also identify why these flaws... Mon, 6 Feb 2012 20:09:42 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=202 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=200 You often see debates between those who favour racism/ethno-nationalism/religious nationalism, and those who favour multiculturalism/tolerance, as if these represent two ends of a spectrum. It's the short-sighted, backwards desire to preserve (i.e. enforce) racial, ideological or cultural hegemony within a given geographical area, versus the naive, careless and dangerous desire to tolerate any and all cultures. The value of a specific group, versus the value of all groups... Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:14:09 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=200 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=199 I've been debating on TheStudentRoom.co.uk these past few weeks, and I just posted what I regard as one of my most succinct yet crushing arguments against racism/ethno-nationalism. After a long back-and-forth speaking in terms of abstractions; the concept of race, definitions of pride, whether race is a scientifically valid category etc. I decided to finally boil everything down to a real-world choice. I asked him to state whether he'd prefer a violent, leftist, moron of a white person... Sat, 7 Jan 2012 01:14:35 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=199 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=198 I've decided to write in detail my reasons for being excited about Guild Wars 2, because I think it looks absolutely amazing and I want to express my thoughts on it. Maybe this will help to stir up even more enthusiasm for what I hope will be an incredibly successful game. I should also mention that my guild is starting recruitment early, so head over and apply if you're interested. I played the original Guild Wars since its release in 2005, consistently for maybe a year, and then... Thu, 9 Jun 2011 18:58:22 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=198 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=196 I've been playing StarCraft II since it was released and it is really amazing. I got into the 1v1 gold league after my placement matches and I've since been promoted to platinum. So far I've had a roughly equal number of wins and losses, so the system seems to work pretty well. I've also got into platinum for 3v3, diamond for 4v4, and silver for 2v2. I've beaten the campaign on brutal and earned all of the campaign achievements. Although quite a lot of people say they're disappointed with... Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:52:20 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=196 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=195 I recently quoted Penn Jillette in my Facebook status: "By any definition at all, alcohol is a mind altering drug; it's the drug: The most popular, lethal and fucking pointless, fucking stupid drug in the world." It'd be difficult to express my thoughts more clearly than the above quote, but I can go into more detail. First of all, I agree that all recreational drugs are potentially lethal, as well as extremely stupid and pointless; it's just that alcohol is by far the most prevalent and... Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:48:38 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=195 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=194 After watching most of the two UK election debates these past two weeks, I've become infuriated with Gordon Brown because of his pathetic lack of understanding of economics. Brown has accused David Cameron — leader of the Conservatives — of planning to "take £6 billion out of the economy" by not implementing the NI increase and/or by cutting funding to public sector institutions. This is patently ridiculous. Gordon Brown seems to be oblivious to the (obvious) difference between... Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:34:03 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=194 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=193 A while back, I searched for some guidance on this subject, and whilst there are plenty of articles discussing colour profiles in general, and a few on their applicability to web design, none of them really answered all of my questions so I had to do some experimentation. Colour profiles are something which graphic designers are most likely already familiar with (and if not, they should be). Web designers on the other hand, have probably never had much experience with them. They are... Fri, 9 Apr 2010 20:43:15 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=193 Blog Entries http://www.darkademic.co.uk/blog?id=192 I've decided to retire the name DarkReaver13 as of Monday and I've since been updating my details on a ton of websites. I've used the name for many years (since 1999 if you count when it was the shortened variant "DReaver13"), but I felt it was time to change it for a few reasons: Firstly, the name Dark Reaver is used by several other people on various websites and games, and even DarkReaver13 itself is used by at least one other person (meaning I had to use "D4rkReaver13" on several... Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:56:33 GMT http://www.darkreavers.co.uk/blog?id=192 Blog Entries