Ponder This

Personal update. If you’re into XNA, there’s nothing to see here. Move along, people. Move along.

Won just left for Laos, for a work-related meeting. She was not looking forward to it. At least it’s half-vacation, half-meeting, just like always with government organizations. She’ll be gone a week, so I’ve got my evenings to myself. That’s good, and bad, at the same time. (c:

I’ve been very busy most of January and February, but some of the load is lifted in March. At first I thought I’d get a break in February, but that didn’t happen. I’ll have time to get back to XNA in a more productive way now. The first thirty videos were a breeze, but the second thirty have to be better planned. It has taken a lot of time to piece everything together so that things are presented in the right order, yet keeping progress up on the actual game, so people don’t get bored.

I’m learning Blender. It’s a great tool, really easy to use. It used to be mostly for mechanics, or low-poly organics, but with the new sculpting functions, it’s a breeze to make high-poly organic models. Maybe I ought to make tutorials about that some day. But, I’ve got a lot of work left on XNA that I want to finish first, though.

I bought pipes, troughs, and stuff to build a hydroponic system. The commercial kits are overpriced, so I figured I should make one from scratch myself. I’ve drawn plans and started to put it together already, and it’s going great. The only remaining purchase is hydroponic nutrient solution, and I was a bit worried about finding it. But the neighbor knows a store where I can get that, so I’m not worried anymore. At first, I was thinking I should mix my own solution, but some ingredients are really difficult to find here in Thailand.

I found a string of three outdoor stores on Lad Prao, between sois 71 and 101. Between them, they have a better selection of outdoor goods than all the main shopping malls put together. I’ll try to refrain from stockpiling stuff I only “may” need. (c:

They opened two steakhouses in our neighborhood, one fifty meters from our house. A beef steak covering your plate costs $3, so I guess I’ll be going there until I’ve eaten them out of business.

I’m working my way through A Brief History of Nearly Everything, but at the speed I’m reading, I’ve got months to go. It’s a good book, although the science part is too basic. It has been great to see just how crazy (or wanna-be weirdos, if you read between the lines) many of the old scientists were.

We bought a washing machine, and decided to install it on the roof. There was neither plumbing nor electricity available, so that required several evenings. I’ve also made clothes racks, and the remaining thing is a roof-on-the-roof, because the rainy season is coming, and clothes won’t dry then. I’ll start looking into that after finishing the current project.

We bought iron, iron board, and paraphernalia, and made an ironing corner in the TV room. It’s still difficult to watch a movie while ironing, because you have to split your attention, but at least its more fun.

Extended Family

Lawan keeps working hard instead of smart. We had another dust-up, where I and Won tried to get her to listen to some ideas on how to ease her burden. She didn’t want to hear it. That was the last time I tried, I hope. She thinks her job is to cook food, when actually her job is to manage the restaurant, making sure someone else cooks. It seems to be a common problem among self-employed to not be able to change from “owning a job” to “owning a business”.

Virot enjoys his fishes, and they have grown pretty big. That’s good, because he has nothing else to do. He still hasn’t learnt how to close a door, or take off his shoes, but we’re working on it.

Somboon said he would quit his job, for the umpteenth time. He seems to be stuck on that track, because its all he talks about. At least he got out of town for the extended holiday (coronation day substitution). and got to relax at the beach.

Varanee came during the weekend, helping out with the lack of employees. That was nice, because that took the load off of Won. We want to Raku Raku for some Japanese in the evening, and they have improved their chef, and lowered their prices, so now it’s worth going there again.

Kin is doing okay in school since they moved him down one grade. On the papers it still says he is in third grade, but he’s actually in the second grade classroom…

Employees

The employees live their own weird lives.

Dum got pregnant, and had to get married, so she went home for that. She’ll be back once she has calmed down her mother, who didn’t even know she had a boyfriend.

Jit finally quit, after five years of saying she would, and went home. She did leave some clothes in one of the closets, though, so I think she plans on coming back.

Ben’s husband had to leave the country, because he didn’t have a work permit, not a visa, so Ben had to go to Laos and get him ID card, house registration, a passport, and then help him apply for a visa. He can’t read, and neither can she, so that ought to be exciting.

Tua Lek ran away. She found a better job, and gave five minutes notice. As usual. She promised to keep in touch, mostly for her sake, in case she ever needed to come back. She hasn’t called a single time, to anyone. As usual. She could be dead for all I know.

That leaves Gong and Nang. Lawan has managed to get four temporary replacements, but as their learning curve is years, not weeks, I’m going to have to clean the house, wash my clothes, and iron my shirts myself until some of them find their way back. Sigh.

Cheers!

Jöran

This is a Private Update. If you don’t know me, you might want to read only the XNA tag.

Hej!

Karin: ”Vad gör ni annars då? … Länge sen vi hörde nåt från er. Det verkar som om ni inte [lever] iallafall. Din blogg har ju inte uppdaterats på mer än en månad.”

Jag har uppdaterat min programmeringsblogg senaste månaden. Vi har jobbat så mycket att vi har inte haft tid att skriva på sista tiden. Won har ju börjat på gym, och jag jobbar med att programmera XNA.

Jag hade glömt hur roligt det är att programmera, så det är ganska intensivt nu när jag tar upp det igen. Medans jag lär mig gör jag små videosnuttar där jag förklarar vad jag lärt mig, så att andra kan ta del av det. Jag tar inte betalt, inte än i alla fall.

Det är otroligt, men de flesta fattar ingenting. Jag menar jag kan mer om C# och XNA programmering än de flesta andra som har publicerat någonting i communityn, och de har hållit på med det i flera år, medans jag hållit på ganska exakt två månader. Jag har flera ”studenter” som har programmerat i tio år eller mer, och jag har fått flera emails från folk som jobbar på Microsoft, som skriver till mig och berättar hur inspirerande och lärorikt det är att titta på mina videosar. Jag menar, videosarna är ju inte ens bra – bara ett första utkast.

Det finns dock en hanfull killar som producerar kvalitet, och jag börjar bygga upp dem som kontakter. Jag kör Hollywood-varianten, med mycket smicker på publika kanaler, så de ser bra ut, och kvalitetsfeedback i de mer privata emailen. Det verkar funka bra, både för att de uppskattar det, men också för att det är sant. De är duktiga, och jag vill hålla kontakten med dem.

Microsoft har begärt in länkar för att sätta upp en community page, som ska länka till det bästa materialet gjort av hobbyutvecklare. De kontaktade mig för att vara med på den sidan, vilket är mycket ovanligt. Det normala är att folk kontaktar Microsoft. Så det har varit lite diskussioner om copyright, lagar, och kontrakt, vilket betyder att jag förmodligen får en länk på deras community page.

Men det hjälper inte. Målet är att hamna på Microsofts första sida för XNA. De väljer alltid ut en person från community pagen som de sponsrar med pengar för att göra en mer professionell version, som de vågar stå för, om inte någon redan har bra kvalitet, och de kan länka till honom direkt. Jag jobbar just nu på att omdesigna videoserien som jag gjort hittills, så att den ska hålla den kvalitet som Microsoft begär, redan innan de väljer ut någon till förstasidan.

Om man hamnar på förstasidan så går det att leva på det. Antingen genom att Microsoft sponsrar, eller, mer troligt, genom besökare till ens egen sida. Man blir också uppmärksammad och får jobberbjudanden. Jag tror att man får förslag på jobb redan vid community pagen, för jag har redan fått två förslag på jobb, som jag tackat nej till. Ett skickade jag till Pierre, och han var intresserad, men han har ju just fått jobb.

Men även om man inte hamnar på förstasidan så lär jag mig ju programmering till en så pass hög nivå att jag kan göra egna program och sälja. Så det är backup-planen.

Men det är lång väg kvar. Beta nummer två ha rjust släppts, vilket innebar att mycket måste göras om. Så pass mycket att jag börjar om från början, med en ny videoserie. Den slutliga versionen kommer kring jul, och då blir det stressigt som tusan, för allting måste vara färdigt innan dess. Långt innan dess. Jag tror Microsoft väljer någon till sin förstasida runt tiden när ni kommer hit, vilket innebär att jag har två veckor från beta två tills allting måste vara färdigt. Därför förbereder jag så mycket som möjligt just nu.

Karin: ”Den 17 december lämnar vi Sverige, och är i Bangkok nån gång mitt på dagen den 18:e. Återkommer med exakta tider.”

AoB: ”Vi kan höras om hur vi tar oss från flygplatsen. Men det är ok för vår del att komma med taxi. Ungefär priset? Bara så att vi inte blir lurade. Kan ni skicka oss en lapp där er adress står på thailändska, så vi kan visa chaffören?”

När jag tittar på kartan uppskattar jag att mätaren borde stå på runt hundra baht när ni är framme. Plus extraavgiften på fyrtio baht (om det är samma som vid gamla flygplasten) för att flygplasten är ute i bushen. Get det här till chaffisen:

ถ.สุขุมวิท 101 (ปุณณวิถี)

Karin: ”Vi firar ju gärna julafton i Bangkok med er om ni vill. Kanske vi skulle kunna leta i affärer efter sån mat som gör att vi kan plocka ihop ett något så när svenskt julbord.”

Jo, vi har redan planerat lite matgrejer. Det blir julskinka med äppelmos, knäckebröd, kanske sill, ägg med Kalles Kaviar, och lite till. Det enda vi inte hittat är lingonsylt och messmör. Men jag skickar en lista med önskemål i ett email, om någon har plats i väskan.

Karin: ”Jag vill gärna besöka klädfabriker eller grossister som säljer barnkläder. Finns det nån möjlighet för det om man bara är en vanlig privatperson?”

Jag har redan planerat in besök hos grossister, både för kläder, Thailändska produkter, och direktimportörer av billiga saker från Kina.

Karin: ”Vi skulle också vilja bo hos er, men om det blir lite mycket med både oss och AO+BO går så kanske det finns nåt hotell i närheten som vi kan ta in på?”

På tisdag kommer en kille och installerar fönster i vardagsrummet. Sedan ska jag fixa dörr vid trappan, och så ska vi beställa aircondition. Då vinns det gott om plats för alla att sova. Det blir nog en halvtät lösning just nu, så lite kallusft läcker nog ut under dörren, men jag ska titta på lösningar på det.

Jag tycker inte om att det är öppet överallt inom huset. Om någon slår på radion i köket hörs det i vårat rum, vilket jag störs av.

Det går att maka plats så det finns ett rum ledigt i gamla huset också, men airconen och hålen i väggen är så taskiga att det är inte att rekommendera. En aircon behöver man, för Bankok är inte som landsbygden. Det finns inga träd som samlar värme, och det finns ingen vind som blåser bort värmen.

Madrasser och kuddar är redan löst. En del madrasser är inte världens nyaste, men det verkar som att det kommer att räcka till allihop.

Karin: ”Vi kommer att bli 31 dagar i Thailand. Vet ni om vi måste skaffa visum för den ynka 1 dagen som blir över 30 dagar? Lars trodde att man bara kunde betala kanske runt 200 bath på flygplatsen istället.”

AoB: ”Om vi ska stanna 64 eller 68 dagar pga flygbiljetten, tror ni vi kan söka visum för 60 dagar (+) eller måste det bli 90 dagar då?”

Sist jag kollade var det 200 baht per dag. Vi kan kolla om det ändrats sista tiden senare, men jag tror inte det. Om polisen tar en innan man når flygplatsen är det dyrare böter, men det gör de ju inte.

Om man kommer utan visum får man trettio dagar. Med visum får man sextio dagar, och så kan man förlänga i Bangkok sju dagar till, inte trettio. Det finns inget nittiodagars visum, det ska vara borttaget.

Men sjudagarsförlängningen kostar 1900 baht per person. Ibland låter de en smita utan att betala på flygplatsen, så det kan vara värt att chanse. Vi kan diskutera det närmare när ni kommer hit.

Won blir i Stockholm en vecka, sedan kommer hon tillbaka. Lite längre än vad vi tidigare trodde, då vi sade att det skulle bli fyra-fem dar. Men det ska nog gå bra. Vi jobbar på att installera de program hon behöver för att kommunicera på hennes bärbara, och nästa vecka tror jag att jag får tid till att sätta ihop vår serverdator. Då får vi äntligen Skype och MSN och allting sånt som man vill ha.

AoB: ”Jag tycker att det låter som om Won mår ganska bra nu. … Träningen på gymet flera ggr i veckan måste ju vara perfekt!”

Won ber om ursäkt för att hon inte skrivit på länge heller. För det mesta jobbar hon tills hon kommer hem och stupar i säng. Men hon ville ha sagt att hennes avvänjning går framåt, även om det går långsamt. Det är två år sedan hon slutade, och vi räknar med runt två år till innan humöret är tillbaka till normal nivå.

Det har dessutom varit komplikationer, eftersom immunförsvarte är uselt, så hon kämpar med att bli äv med an bihåleinflammation hon gått omkring med i ett och ett halvt år. Men nu när hon har rätt diagnos märker man redan en skillnad. Hon är inte lika trött på kvällarna, vilket gör att hon är klarare i huvudet under dagen. Så det går bra, men långsamt.

På grund av inflammationen har hon inte varit till gymet lika ofta som hon velat. Men hon var dit igår, och det kanske blir en sväng imorgon, så hon börjar komma igång med det. Jag brukar säga till henne att det är bättre att fara dit och bara promenera, basta, och dusha, även om det inte blir något annat, för då kommer man in i rytmen.

Jag har gjort färdigt den dator Allan och Britta ville ha. Jag har installerat allting ni behöver, och lite till, för jag använder den då och då just nu. Vi har diskuterat med Sida, som knorrat lite om priset. Det verkar som att slutpriset blir 2000 kr, inklusive allting utom Windowslicens. Men vi står för det, eftersom ni hjälper till med att fixa vardagsrummet.

Datorn har en ganska bra skärm, 1,7 Ghz processor, 20 GB hårddisk, 256 MB ram på moderkortet, och 128 MB ram på grafikkortet. Men grafikkortet är inte superbra – vill man spela spel kan det vara värt att köpa ett nytt.

AoB: ”Varför har Varanee ändrat sig ang skilsmässan? Vill dom prova på att fortsätta att leva tillsammans?”

Förtydligande: Varanee har inte ändrat sig. Det var Tam som nämnde ordet skiljsmässa en gång. Det har aldrig nämnts sedan dess.

AoB: ”Fråga Won om man kan komma som gäst till hennes gym. Eller om man kan lösa biljett vecka för vecka.”

Man kan inte vara Wons gäst, och att lösa in sig för en dag kostar 500 baht. Inte riktigt värt det. Men det finns badmiontonbana på våran soi, och en pool runt hörnet. Så det blir nog åtminstone pool, kanske badminton också.

Allan: ”Tipsa gärna om fler roliga spelprogram.”

Jag vet inte om jag skickat dessa länkar än. De är spel som liknar Samorost i stil. De ger en rolig timme. Ett, två, tre, och fyra.

AoB: ”Hem till byn, en svensk serie som har gått i tre omgångar under 30 år. Med samma skådespelare. Världens första och längsta såpa. Fast det är inte en såpa.”

Doctor Who, som KLF sjöng om, har gått mindre oavbrutet sedan sextiotalet på BBC. Det är en science fiction serie/såpa, och det kom just en filmversion.

I övrigt har det inte hänt så mycket. Vi har som sagt mest jobbat. Jo, jag har lärt mig göra kotletter. Och Won beställde 1.3 kilo rökt lax från Norge via jobbet. Och så har vi hittat jättegoda fullkornspitabröd. Så idag lagade jag kotletter, gjorde både brun sås och bearnaise sås, och Won kom hem med laxen. Så idag åt vi gott. Won har tagit ledigt imorgon, för hon fich fel dyngsrytm under helgen, så vi kände att vi kunde unna oss tiden att laga mat. Det var gott.

Vi var till parken under helgen, för vi har har haft en ganska ”lugn” helg. Det betyder att vi inte jobbat, även om det känts som det, för Kin har varit på besök, vi har städat i skåp, och levererat mat. Det var inte förrän söndag kväll som vi kände att vi hade paus.

Normalt brukar jag klämma in en timme programmering innan sängdags, medans Won sover till nyheterna, men idag skrev jag till er istället.

Jöran

Richard Bryant has a story about his evening with EVE.

At first, I thought it was just another rant about EVE, but when I got to the punch-line quote at the end, I actually laughed out loud.

Joran

This is a comment to the roundup of public, open source, XNA projects at xbox360homebrew.com. Mark, you should maybe include the two over at SourceForge.net as well.

Visual3D.NET are porting their 3D game engine to XNA as well:

“RealmForge - The .NET 3D game engine predecessor to Visual3D.NET (www.visual3d.net), which is a framework and toolset for the visual design and development of 3D games, simulations, and interactive environments using C#, .NET 2.0, and XNA.”

And the second one:

“CGEmpire Community Game Project - The first CGEmpire community project. Members of CGEmpire.com will develop a full game using XNA technology with the free XNA Game Studio Express in C#.”

Both RealmForge and CGEmpire have blogs with announcements as well.

Cheers!

Joran

I decided against posting about this news when I heard about it a week ago, but then I saw Gregory’s post, and figured I’d give him some feedback.

Gregory, you should show your ex-teacher the links below. Microsoft Research External Research & Programs (ER&P) is trying to bring game programming into the curriculum, and are willing to sponsor academic XNA projects with up to $100′000!

They did a good effort last year, with lots of material for teachers, and several sample games handed in by students. Last year, they focused on game engine or curriculum development and modest assessment, and didn’t use XNA, of course.

This year, they are at it again, and they want you to use XNA. The projects they want to fund this year focus on the creation of laboratory assignments for use in CS1/CS2 classes and robust assessment.

If your teach is still unsure, show him the paid cruise he will go on, if he takes the bait and is selected.

I tried posting this as a comment on your blog, but I guess the three links made me end up in the spambox…

Cheers!

Joran

I like your chart, David, very illustrative of your thoughts! I agree with you that there are barriers. Let me expand on how I see it, as I got inspired by your chart. (c:

Creating Stories

Story Listeners. The masses are the story listeners. In our XNA world, they are the gamers. These are by far the majority of humanity, and they have no intention of ever creating their own story. They don’t mind participating in a story, though a game for example, as long as they don’t have to be extremely creative themselves.

Storytellers. Then there are the storytellers. These are the guys who have great, epic sagas to tell. They are happy as long as people want to hear their stories, no matter what form they may take. In this modern society, there are books, movies, and computer games, but there have always been bards, priests, and other storytellers.

Arrows Down. All arrows pointing down show ways in which storytellers get their stories out there.

Distributors. The guys which help storytellers get their stories out there, much as Reflexive.com or Warner Brothers is doing, are very important.

Editors. There is a need for quality consultants, which is not a field yet fully developed in the gaming industry. Yes, there are quality filters, on for example the Xbox Live Arcade, but there are not so many people providing the service of improving the quality, to make a game pass that filter.

Now, that might be a very fun job! This job is called an editor in the world of books. I propose that the next step for the casual gaming portals will be gaming editors, designers, programmers and artists who work with the indie developers to polish games with potential.

Listener Tools. Even Microsoft is helping out with distribution, with their OneClick installation system.

Creating Storytellers

There are also a whole batch of activities to help people advance from story listener to storyteller. The reason I draw it like a pyramid, is because people strive to reach the top. Arrows pointing up indicate things which help people become storytellers.

Teller Tools. XNA Game Studio Express is just a tool for telling stories, much like a typewriter is for an author. There are game programming tools of varying quality, just like that are pen and paper, typewriters, and word processors.

Uplifters. Some people out there are happy improving on these tools. Improvements range from spell and grammar checkers, through Georges Polti’s book “Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations” and reimplementing Shakespeare’s plots.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to marginalize the game component writers. The better the tools are, the smaller the barrier is for people to move from being a story listener to a storyteller, so these game component makers are providing one of the greatest services there are. Yes, everybody wants a good game, but everybody dreams of making a good game, and for making that easier, you guys are have my respect.

Teachers. However, For many, a great tool is not enough, and there is a need for a push to use it too. There are teachers lifting people from story listeners to storytellers, such as literary teachers and tutorial writers.

As I see it, much of the XNA community right now has the wrong focus. Yes, there is a need for people who educate the Uplifters. There is a bunch of really advanced tutorials already out there, which is great.

But there is a much greater need for people who show story listeners the ropes, so they can become storytellers. That’s what I’m trying to do with XNAtutorial.com.

I’m suspecting that this is temporary. Right now, during the beta of XNA, all the l33t programmers are moving to XNA, which is why there is such a large amount of advanced tutorials in production. This will change.

By next year, there will be an influx of total beginners, who will want to know how to tell their stories. I propose that the very best stories to come from those future beginners, will be the ones that thoroughly understand the storytelling tools they use. For this, they need help.

This need to teach beginners is partly done by for example GarageGames and their TorqueX engine. They are on the right track, but only half-way so. Their focus is on receiving feedback through their forums and support system, to be able to provide a better product. In a way, their arrow points down, as part of the distribution system.

It doesn’t make business sense for them to turn that arrow around to point up. They don’t need to waste their time teaching their storyteller-wannabe customers the internal workings of their game components.

Beyond

Last, there is a small group of people, who have broken free from the human need for storytelling. These hard scientists and business leaders are spending their lives trying to find the truth of the universe and the human condition instead, trying to advance mankind in real life.

In a way, they are not telling a story, they ARE the story. Who would this be in the world of computer games? Maybe the Architect of the Matrix? (c:

Now, where are the tools, supporters, and teachers of those who want to reach this level? Maybe it will be geography, like in so many science fiction stories which liken the colonization of the Americas, and the creation of the greatest nations on Earth, with the colonization of the Moon and stars?

I’m off on a tangent (barely) to your post again, Daniel… Hope it made sense, at least partially.

Cheers!

This is in response to Daniel Crenna’s post about where XNA and game programming is heading.

I think you are making a very strong point! What you say is one of the reasons I decided to niche myself towards teaching programming using XNA. My focus is on programming, at least for my first batch of XNA tutorials, and not on show how you can drag and drop other people’s code.

However, isn’t it like with all new technology? Every time mankind advances science, and its applied offshoot technology, people start by imagining how it will change the way they do their job. Then they start getting worried, because the new technology replaces them. Next, they start to ask what people will do with all their free time. Finally, most people find new things to do.

This was the case with the agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, the computer revolution, and all the minor revolutions in between.

In a way, it is the definition of of humanity. Humanity changes its environment, and themselves along with it. No other animal really does this. Its one of the best definitions of humanity I know of. It holds up much better than defining humanity by, say, physical form, rational thought (babies are humans, right?), language, or work.

The last one, work, is definitely in flux all the time. I’m not even sure a hunter-gatherer from 15000 years ago would consider us human, seeing as how different our lives are compared to his.

The one other definition of humanity which I have found not breaking apart is the storytelling monkey. The only thing that hasn’t changed with the millennia, and probably won’t change in the future, is our insatiable need for stories. No other creature has this urge.

There are, however, two distinct groups of people. One group chooses the passive route, the other a more active approach.

Every time a new technology come along, a small group chooses to sit down and listen to stories. With each new technological breakthrough, that group grows bigger. In my hometown in northern Sweden, where the unemployment rate closes in on 50% (unofficial), the TV, with it stories, pacifies the population.

The second group choose to be better than their instincts. They don’t want to listen to stories, they want to tell them. It doesn’t matter if it is in the form of an authorship, or trying to add to the greatest story of all time, the story of human advancement. There are, however, few who really care about this story.

Now, we game developers belong to this second group. We are working on the next step of storytelling for the first group. We will, one day, create the ultimate game for the masses, or the ultimate story, for a story is what a game is.

That ultimate story for the masses is the story of their own lives. They want to be the hero, but can’t get off the couch. Well, when they play Halo, they are the hero. They are Master Chief. Why do you think nobody has seen his face? Because he is the player.

Yes, new programming technology, such as XNA, but Torque X even more, will make it easier for us to make that story for the rest. It might change the way we do tell stories, but it won’t take away storytelling. Because that is what defines mankind. There will always be stories, and people who listen to them. I intend to be a storyteller.

Sorry, ranted a bit. (c: Hope my point was reasonably clear.

Cheers!

Joran Omark

A military represenative came on TV last night, with a speech prepared by Army General Sonthi Boonyaratglinand, and said that the military will take over Thailand because the two major political parties, Thai Rak Thai (Thaksin’s populist party) and the Democratic party (left-wing), cannot come to a civilized conclusion in their debate.

Another reason given was the escalating protests by the PAD. He said the army has taken temporary control of Thailand, but only until the two sides can come to a agreement. The army will reinstated democracy as soon as things settle down.

Mr. Thaksin’s party, Thai Rak Thai, or Thais Love Thais, has won three elections by landslides, in 2001, 2005 and again in April. Because of his broad support among rural voters, he was widely expected to win any new election. He had no intention to step down, despite the intelligentsia in Bangkok screaming for him to get out. Therefore, the military stepped in, and forcefully removed him.

Thaksin did a lot of good things for Thailand. For example, he improved infrastructure in rural areas, which is one of the few things I’m actually ready to pay tax for. But fundamentally, he was a populist, taking money from the Bangkokian middle classes and giving it to the poor as loans. The poor then bought luxury goods, and nobody was better off in reality.

The World Bank’s does surveys every now and then, and concluded that corruption has lessened under Thaksin, as opposed to the opposite under the Democrats.

Also, Transparency International has stated that corruption in Thailand has fallen since Thaksin took office.

The whole move by the military is a bit strange, as a new Election Commission had just been appointed. If anything, the country was moving closer to an election. The real reason is, of course, Thaksin would win again. Idiot rural voters. It kind of reminds me of the first military coup, in 1932, when the junta said they would introduce democracy when 50% of the population had finished primary school.

Anyhow, Thaksin’s party contains the most ambitious of the Thai people, possibly some of the brightest as well, including many local strongmen and business tycoons. These people are probably very nervous right now. How deep will the military go witht their arrests and investigations into profiteering? There might at least be quite a few barred from future political life.

There is of course no corruption among the military officers who staged the coup. (c:

During the last twenty-four hours, there have been rumors flying all over the place, some even perpetuated be international press as the truth. Let’s go over a few of them.

Rumor: A curfew was declared, to calm down the calamities in the street.

My view: Partially true. A curfew was declared, but it was lifted two minutes ago. The curfew was not because pepole are panicking. People are calm. As many of the oldsters say, the last time was much more intense. People were more afraid. This time, people go to the movies.

Rumor: Phone networks have been shut down, to stop the opposition. Pantip.com, one of the major Thai political forums on the internet, was taken down.

My view: False. Yes, the phone connection was slightly more spotty than usual, because a lot of people are calling their friends. I’ve been able to call all the time, except when I went to fish outside Bangkok. Pantip.com was down becuas eof the increase of traffic. There were troops at Communication Authority of Thailand, so they could have cut off internet and phone networks. But they didn’t. It was just a precaution from their side.

Rumor: There are no BBC, CNN, and CNBC showing anywhere. There is also no local channels reporting.

My view: Partially true. The biggest cable operator dropped the news channels, and the local channels were gone during the night. Everything was back on in the morning. Sattelite TV has of course worked like a charm. I think there were fear by the junta that Thaksin would speak to his rural supporters on television.

Rumor: The king is hiding in Hua Hin.

My view: WTF? The king is not hiding. On top of that, he spoke to the junta on TV last night, from Chitrlada Palace, in the middle of Bangkok.

Rumor: Thaksin is coming back today, but will land in Phillippines, with a Commando Team as protection.

My view: Why would he come back, when he has a nice mansion in England? Also, who the hell wants to go the the Phillippines? It’s even worse there! His wife left for Singapore, so if he does decide to go to Asia, he will most probably go there.

Rumor: The chairperson of the Administrative Court of Thailand, Akrathorn Jurarat, was declared as new prime minister. Later Rumor: Retired General Surayudh Chulanont, a respected former military commander, now a member of the royal Privy Council, was announced as new prime minister.

My view: The power will be with the “leader of the reform”, as reported on TV by the junta. The leader of the junta is Commander-in-Chief Sonthi Boonyaratglinand. They also reported that there will be no ministers.

Rumor: There is an opportune army of armed terrorists coming in from Malaysia to take over the four southernmost provinces, which are muslim.

My view: Why would they want to mess with the military more than with Thaksin? No such thing.

Rumor: Everything done by the old government will be annulled, such as the 1997 Constitution.

My view: Possible. However, the constitution was really good, except that politicians ignored it. The politicians should be removed, not the constitution.

Rumor: Curfew laws were posted: no gathering, no distributing printed materials, no broadcasting, and no transports allowed, including boats, cars, and planes.

My view: I went by car to fish this morning. Went smooth, just as always.

Rumor: There was a gathering at Muang Thong Thani. They were being shot at by the military.

My view: I had friends in the area. No such thing.

Rumor: The king is behind the coup. The junta had an audience with the King at midnight. All troops wear yellow armbands, the kings color, and the name of the junta is “Committee for Democratic Reform under the Monarchy as Head of State”. The message on TV changed, to say that police and army should not move unless given orders from king Bhumibol. The claimed represenative of Sonthi has said they are sanctioned by the Royal Family.

My view: False. It’s just propaganda, because the rural areas rever the king so highly, that this might swing them from supporting Thaksin. The junta used royal imagery in the last coup as well, and the king eventually crushed that coup.

Rumor: Thaksin’s cabinet and politicial figures plan to set up a satellite government in Singapore. They hope to lobby the UN to support them as the true representatives of Thailand, in Taiwan fashion.

My view: Yeah, sure.

On a more personal note, we’re fine. Life goes on over here. Thai people take it a bit easy, and I’m back to work tomorrow. Won had to work today, answering phone calls from Sweden at the embassy, so she didn’t even get a day off.

Cheers!
Joran

A few months ago, a coup here in Thailand was a bit far fetched. Then, I really thought the last coup Thailand would have have was the one 15 years ago, especially that were 22 coups attempts, some very successful, during the 60 years before the last one. Well, rack one more up.

I actually first started thinking that a coup was on its way two months ago, when the army chief suddenly re-assigned over a hundred Thaksin supporters within the army. Thaksin has slowly been trying to fill the army with his old buddies.

Then, a few weeks ago, Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra decided to tour the world for a month. Hmmmm. He’s avoiding Thailand? Maybe with good reason.

As I write this, a military junta is on national TV, declaring that they are behind the tanks that have been rolling into town this evening. There is a special feeling, seeing tanks in the capital.

However, the informal phone network has been ringing since morning, so I got an early warning to not go out tonight. I didn’t think much of it, until my dad called from Sweden and asked if we were alright. I turned on the news, and there the tanks were.
It’ll be a quiet evening for us. Maybe I get work off tomorrow, and can work on some XNA tutorials! (c: Update: I went fishing with my brother-in-law!

The REALLY sad news is that we are invited to a cocktail party tomorow. Maybe the event will be canceled. I’d hate to miss out on free food… (c: Update: No cocktail snacks for me! )c:

The guys over at 3dEvolution.net are publishing the Evo FX Engine Platform, which is a 3D engine. They are Andreas Husballe, Kenneth Jønsson, and Michael Hansen, from Denmark.

“The Evo FX engine is to be released 31.12.2006. We [will] provide a sample 3d Fps game with Source code in the Sdk package.”

This roughly coincides with the sharp release of XNA Game Studio Express.

They claim support for the following platforms: Xbox 360, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Mobile 5.0.

On top of this, their old tutorials target managed DirectX. All this probably means they are using XNA.

Windows Mobile 5.0 is interesting. I haven’t given it more than a fleeting thought before, but considering that casual gaming is popular on the Skytrain, this would be an awesome target market.

It would mean that you have to exclusively use calls to .Net Compact Framework, but you already need to do that anyway, if you are to target the Xbox.

I just found their 3D engine interesting, and I’ll throw them an email, and ask them if they use XNA. I’ll update this post when I get the answer.