Sam King's Verbose Letters

Intro

Human Computer Interaction is basically designing computers and computer programs so that people can use them well. HCI has existed for a long time (ie, consider the invention of the mouse).

Hi

I made samking.org!

The Pando Daily rated me one of the top 5 Computer Science students at Stanford.  The interview is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UwibnLjjOc

Bastion is an indie game on steam.  It's an action RPG.  The plot: a calamity struck, destroying much of the world around you.  You go to the Bastion, a safe haven, and collect artifacts from the world in an attempt to reconstruct it.  The game was superb.

Limbo is an indie game that was just released on Steam.  The plot: you're in limbo, and you need to find your sister. 

The game is macabre, but very artistic and enjoyable.  It's a physics-based platformer, and from the start to the end, each of the challenges is unique.  You die a lot (because the puzzles are hard), but that's expected, so there are frequent respawn points. 

It's very immersive.  The controls are simple (arrow keys plus a "do stuff" button), and the full screen black and white art and subtle sounds let you get into the game.

Intro
Two of my friends managed to convince me to read Patrick Rothfuss' "Name of the Wind." That and its sequel, "Wise Man's Fear," each caused a week of work to disappear. Those two books and an unreleased sequel comprise Kvothe's story of his life. Kvothe is a famous wizard who grew up in a travelling troupe and, thus, has an appreciation for putting on a good show. In other words, it is a story about a storyteller, a story with an emphasis on stories. Needless to say, it is told well.

Contents

• Social Entrepreneurship and Intro
• The Social Sector
• The Ecosystem
• Organizational Logic
• Strategy
• Needs Finding
• Messaging
• Pricing
• Fund Raising Models

SLE was reading "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" instead of "Seasons of Migration to the North."  Since I enjoyed "Seasons of Migration" a lot when I read it over the summer in Cambodia, I thought I might enjoy the book that filled its slot.

It was interesting.  The book is an extended monologue, where the narrator and protagonist tells his life's story to a stranger.  It's similar to Camus' "The Fall" in that sense.  It was also similarly jarring. 

Thanks to my roommate’s recommendation, I played the Witcher.  It’s a pretty good European RPG.  The game has a rich story, setting, and philosophy, which I like.  It stands as a novel.  It was based off of a novel. 

It’s very hard to be a part of every movement.  To stand up for everything that we believe in, we would need to change a lot.

We would need to actively support compassion.  In addition to being compassionate, this means boycotting intolerant organizations and being politically engaged in favor of tolerance.  There are many issues of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, class, culture, religion, imprisonment, nationality, language, citizenship, and statehood that need to be addressed.