Nate On The Net

There’s an interview floating around on Yahoo! News where Bill Gates is raving about China’s “new capitalism” and how great it is. According to Gates, the best part is:

It is a brand-new form of capitalism, and as a consumer its the best thing that ever happened…[the Chinese model is characterized by a] willingness to work hard and not having quite the same medical overhead or legal overhead”.

The translation, of course, is that Chinese workers are willing to work hard because they have no alternative and would otherwise starve. They have no medical benefits, work long hours, and have no freedom to engage in strikes if they don’t like their working conditions. And China-based corporations have less of a burden or incentive under Chinese law to make sure that their products are safe.

I’m quite sure that Bill Gates would love to have such working conditions imposed upon every employee of his. This is the man, after all, who equates free software with communism and seems to believe that corporate intellectual property rights should be unlimited – notwithstanding the fact that “rights” ultimately derive from the people. I guess it doesn’t matter because corporations are people too and obviously they’re much bigger and richer people than the rest of us.

I wonder how he sleeps at night? I guess it’s the giant band-aid on his conscience. Of course, the cynic might suggest that he just wants to make sure he has healthy slave…er…workers for his future corporate-totalitarian society…but I’m not a cynic, of course. Nope, not lil’ ol’ me.

If you’re an Earth: 2025 player, you might be interested to know that I’m remaking the game. There have been a number of problems with it that have gone unrepaired despite player complaints, so I’ve always wanted to address them. The idea has been on the back burner for a few years, and I’m finally getting around to doing it.

While I’m starting out with a straight clone, a few potential changes – some with code in place – are:

• No more “magic” land; the game will be map-based
• No more private market; there will be a realtime (no 6-8 hour delay) public market instead
• Alliances will be directly supported in-game, complete with GT-style utilities

Other things are in the works, but always first things first, right? I’ll post updates as I go, so feel free to check in here!

Happy new year to everyone reading this! A few minor updates to chew on while I wait for my next flash of brilliance to entertain you.

I have made a poem and a nonfiction piece availabe on my writing page, and I intend to make one or two more available each week until I have the bulk of my collection available.

I’m in the process of writing my second novel now. The response to the first one has been encouraging – at least sixty downloads, of which I can hope at least five were genuine reads. Considering my tiny readership, this is very acceptable. The feedback I’ve gotten so far has been generally positive. I’m always willing to take more feedback though!

Since I don’t believe in New Years’ resolutions, my only resolution is that I will laugh at everyone who has made one. Seriously, if you made the resolution it’s probably because you’re being too wussy to do something that you know you have to do anyway. Suck in your gut, stand up straight, and stop being a lazy bitch.

There, a dose of new year motivation – it was my pleasure!