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Nphyx - who has written 15 posts on ArsGeek.

Nphyx (aka Justen) is a web developer and all-around geek. His interests include everything from pen and paper roleplaying to open-source software to robotics and artificial intelligence, and pretty much everything geeky in between.

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Mind Rot: A Video Game Addict or an Obsessive Personality?

Sunday, September 14, 2008

13 Comments

In this recent article at Bohemian.com, Gabriel Fransisco describes a lifestyle lost to an overwhelming obsession with video games. But is this attempt at a heart-wrenching anecdote evidence of the addictive nature of video games, or is it evidence of a man with an obsessive personality who has the uncanny ability (or curse) of overwhelming focus on his personal goals? My own positive relationship with video games provides a stark contrast with Gabriel's self-destructive obsession.

Fourth Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide: Half Good

Saturday, August 23, 2008

11 Comments

Fourth Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide: Half Good

In the second of three Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition core rulebook reviews I take a critical look at the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Nuclear Fusion… In Your Garage? (Image Gallery)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

2 Comments

Nuclear Fusion… In Your Garage? (Image Gallery)

Yeah, it sounds crazy, but according to This article from the Wall Street Journal there are at least 42 functioning home-built fusion reactors worldwide. Mind you, they suck down quite a bit more energy than they produce; like expensive research reactors, they don't produce self-sustaining fusion.

D&D 4th Edition Reinvents Itself, but in a Good Way

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

6 Comments

D&D 4th Edition Reinvents Itself, but in a Good Way

WotC's Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition introduces a slew of changes to the venerable franchise, from a new modern look and feel to streamlined gameplay rules and a completely redesigned class and skill system. Today I take a look at the Player's Handbook, and I will review the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual in upcoming articles.

USAF’s Cyber Command Canned

Saturday, August 16, 2008

4 Comments

This may not come as a surprise, but the United States Air Force's fumbling attempt to dominate the internets got axed shortly before it was declared operational. Read more about it over in Wired's blog post.

Zoomquilt

Friday, August 15, 2008

5 Comments

Zoomquilt is a collaborative art project unlike anything you've ever seen. I could try to describe it, but I won't. Just go check it out!

Wheel of Time Coming to the Silver Screen

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

7 Comments

Wheel of Time Coming to the Silver Screen

For better or for worse, Variety magazine reports that Universal picked up the film rights to the Wheel of Time series.

Deep Political Analysis of The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

2 Comments

Deep Political Analysis of The X-Files: I Want to Believe

If your geekery crosses into politics, check out Reason Magazine's Modern Day Frankensteins: the Return of Muldur and Scully.

Lifehacker Debunks Common Windows Tweaks

Thursday, August 7, 2008

2 Comments

Lifehacker Debunks Common Windows Tweaks

Lifehacker points out some common optimization myths and the reasons why they don't work, including clearing Windows prefetch data, registry optimization, and memory cleaners.

Google Announces Indexing Appliance for Enterprises

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

2 Comments

Imagine fully indexing every document ever written for your business - up to 10 million - with the help of just one little box. That's exactly what Google aims to do with its latest invention. Read more about it in Google's Official Blog.

Readius, Featuring World’s First Rollable Screen

Sunday, August 3, 2008

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Readius, Featuring World’s First Rollable Screen

Readius, the upcoming pocket eBook reader, features the world's first roll-up screen. It also boasts a 3g wireless connection and native PDF support, squarely whooping Amazon's Kindle reader.

Japanese Robots Dominate Wrestling Today, Globe Tomorrow

Sunday, August 3, 2008

10 Comments

Japanese Robots Dominate Wrestling Today, Globe Tomorrow

If you thought early-2000s shows like Robot Wars and Battlebots were the pinnacle of competitive robotic sports, check out this clip from Wired Science's Geek Dad segment in Season 1, Episode 5.

Inkseine: Note taking++

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

5 Comments

If you own a Tablet or UMPC and you're like me, you're constantly looking for new apps that take full advantage of its unique interface and capabilities. Last weekend I came across a killer app in development by the guys over at Microsoft Research.

Unfair Competition? Internet Radio struggles

Monday, July 28, 2008

14 Comments

Unfair Competition? Internet Radio struggles

I ran into more discussion about the Internet Radio Equality Act today at The Tech Observer. There seems to be a lot of misinformation going around as to what this is all about. Apparently many people believe that copyright royalties are unregulated, and that Pandora and the independent net radio industry is trying to impose special regulations on the recording industry in order to support their business model. This couldn't be farther from the truth.

Ditko’s Objectivist Tracts

Monday, July 28, 2008

3 Comments

As a geek, you're likely to know that Steve Ditko created Spider-Man. Amongst his lesser known creations are a series of Objectivist comics presenting his unconventional political beliefs. If you're a follower of Ayn Rand yourself, or you just get a kick out of Jack Chick-style political tracts, check out this post over on Dinosaur Gardens, where one of his full comics entitled "The Avenging World" is presented in PDF and Comic Book Archive format.