Researchers adapting new AI techniques may one day create video games that never end. The Liquid Narrative research group is drawing on narrative theory to create convincing stories that explore the consequences of player actions.

What do you do when software attacks? Wired has an article on a sneaky toolbar that hijacks Internet Explorer. Once active in a system, it periodically changes users' designated homepages to xupiter.com, redirects all searches to Xupiter's site, and blocks any attempts to restore the original browser settings.

So last night's State of the Union address only mentioned weapons of mass destruction four times. That's kind of disappointing considering WMD was 2002's phrase of the year. Just for a brief history lesson, here is a chronology of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Or we could just sum up the history with this cartoon. But is the burgeoning field of nanotechnology the future of WMD?

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.
-- U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section III

President Bush's State of the Union address will be broadcast tomorrow night. To add a bit of excitement, how about playing the State of the Union Address Drinking Game 2003? If I was even a drinker, I'm confident I'd pass out within 10 minutes.

"Let me explainify the war against Iraq a little bit in Texas terminologragy."

Just in case you forgot, we're still in the middle of a telecommunications revolution. Economist.com has a nice summary of the dilemmas we still must face: privacy, security, intellectual property and the nature of government itself. Also today, in a small victory for privacy, the US Senate has voted to ban funding for the Total Information Awareness program.

Three-dimensional tubes of living tissue have been printed using modified desktop printers filled with suspensions of cells instead of ink. The work is a first step towards printing complex tissues or even entire organs. I guess that's a faster way to get a new organ than growing one inside a mouse.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm excited about the second season of American Idol. The advertisements show a laughable selection of awful singers. Why do these people think they have talent? And I love the show, but how did it inspire a video game? I think the game would be more fun if you played as one of the judges.

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! I'm starting up my blog again, and this is my first post since November. Did you miss me? My first link of the new year is to the Words of the Year list. It's funny how a few carefully selected words can sum up a year or an entire decade.

Remember when video games didn't have advertisements? Well, The Sims Online goes beyond simple product placement. Sims players can open their own McDonald's kiosks and consume the virtual food to improve their game stats. Alternet has an article on how to protest the fastfood giant in the Sim universe. I wonder how many virtual picketers would ever protest something in real life? Oh and while I'm on the subject of The Sims, I should mention the crazy Sim Survivors web site.

Michigan Studies Weekly recently reported that whales migrate to Lake Michigan. The newspaper, published as a teaching aid, later retracted the story explaining that the false information came from a different Internet site intended as a joke. On a related note, here are ten tips for making your internet hoax more believable.

Do you doodle? Check out the doodle of the day every day.

Alien creature, fetus, animal, or hoax? My bet is on hoax. Oh, wait. It's already been determined to be a Chilean animal. Well, that mystery was fun while it lasted.

These are some of the scariest Halloween masks I've seen in a while (You can click the images for full-size, printer-friendly color masks). Also, these classic costumes are kind of scary too. I think Casper and Witchiepoo were two of my first costumes.

I might have donated to this worthy cause, but it seems they've already reached their goal.

Yeah, I haven't written in my blog in a while, but I thought I'd start off this week on a positive note. Here is A Collection of End-Of-World Scenario's.

NewZoid describes itself as "The World's #1 Source of False Headlines." Two of my favorite headlines for today are "New Anthrax Vaccine Moved To Protect Keith Richards' Privacy" and "Drug Companies Charged With Murder In Murder Trial."

What lies beneath the keys on your keyboard? Well, it's probably pretty gross. I still don't understand how a rat can get stuck in a hard drive though.

I have nothing against video games like this, but when will a video game company cater to the desires of female gamers like me?

Finally, the origins of the smiley have been unearthed. :-)