So there's a time when you realize you're about to, in however small a part, speak at one of the biggest conferences for one of the fastest growing modern industries, of which you are not currently a part of, and on a topic which is somewhat controversial.

Apparently that time is around 16 hours before it actually happens.

I have many stories to tell, and I'm sure many more to live through before this is all over, and I assure you, if the cold I decided to catch does not kill me (and it's certainly trying. Con crud is NOT supposed to apply to game conferences!), I'll post them here once I get time to write. Which currently looks like sometime in 2007.

But, to sum up the trip so far:

• Made a pilgramage to San Francisco, sex toy capital of the world. Stopped by Good Vibrations, and contemplated buying a house just so I could take out an extra mortgage at Mr. S. Mr. S is so incredibly full of awesome. Yes it is.

• GDC is overwhelming, and I've just been to the tutorial days. According to just about everyone, tomorrow is going to blow my fucking mind.

I came home early to do final sexbox testing, and pray to whatever diety will still listen to me that the fucking thing doesn't turn into a white smoke generator tomorrow for some reason.

Cross whatever you have that can be crossed for me. I will report back tomorrow.

Never put salt in your eyes.

Also, never book yourself to get back from one conference, and only have 1 day in between before you leave for the next. Bad things happen, like iPods breaking and bad blocks in the reiserfs system sector of your main storage drive. Basically, anything that will take more than a day to fix will happen on that day.

Anyways, off to San Jose and GDC. I'll be there from Sunday to Friday, and will be speaking as part of the Sex In Games talk on Wednesday at Noon, with Brenda Brathwaite of the Sex In Games Special Interest Group.

I will not be liveblogging this conference, unless someone would like to pay me to liveblog it for their blog. Just email the tips address over there. I need all the cash I can get, people, and you know I'm funny, I know my shit about video games, and I'll be smack dab in the middle of lots of new releases. So come on. Support the dildo fund.

Off to do last minute packing checks. See you in San Jose!

The Goo Gobler - Flash Animation

Looks like our old friend Utopex finally found a buyer!

The people at BoinkCams are currently ramping up their site, which will feature the full line of Utopex toys, including their spanker and "Homage to Cronenburg" internet controlled tongue.

But apparently, the tongue was just a little too fuckin' classy, so they've one-uped themselves again, with the Goo Gobler. If you hate flash like I do, I'll spare you having to look at the animation with the screenshot below:

Internet Enabled Bukkake. No, fucking really. Someone hooked up a god damn super soaker to their computer, put a little special sauce in it, and then network enabled the firing button. Aim it at a model, and you've got yourself a technology enabled fake spooge fest.

Yet again, this is one of those times where I get that nice, warm, "Maybe I'm not so weird after all" feeling. I cherish these moments.

Unfortunatly, I can't seem to find any sort of product pages for this, so all we have is the promise of a flash animation that this actually exists. But the idea alone is enough.

via Sex Drive Mailing List

Originally written by qDot for mmorgy.com

Wow, a whole month since we've posted on this! I thought it was over, too.

Blizzard's CEO has now weighed in on the WoW Ungaying issue that we covered to death back in February. To skip to the meat of the response:

"Blizzard has provided additional training to its game masters,"
the letter continues, "in order to give them a greater level of
sensitivity when responding to similar situations in the future.
Blizzard has specifically instructed its game masters that
mentioning or discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in
a non-insulting fashion is not a violation of the anti-harassment
policy and does not constitute grounds for a warning or any other
disciplinary action."

So, there we go. Blizzard apologizes and changes policies. Let's hope that's the end of this.

I can't do it. I just can't fucking doing it.

Everyone at this conference is liveblogging. They sit there in the sessions, typing their notes into wordpress or moveable type or blogger or whatever else. They hurry back to their hotels to podcast or vidblog. And I just... can't. I'm either too wrapped up in the session (Speaking of: Everyware by Adam Greenfield, GO FUCKING BUY THIS BOOK. Absolutely fucking amazing session.), or too bored by the session to blog it so I sit on IRC or SL or whatever other medium being bored. Between sessions, I'm too busy networking. Thank god Tony Walsh of Clickable Culture is enough of an ADD social leper... er, studious blogger that he's getting notes for pretty much all of the sessions I'm in.

So, that's it. No more liveblogging for me. I'm never making that promise again. I'll just write when I have time, and am not sufficiently drunk. Or maybe am sufficiently drunk.

Speaking of sufficiently drunk, I did the first public demo of the SeXBox v5 last night at the Second Life Herald Party (Motherfuckers know how to motherfucking party, BTW), and it went... ok! Especially for me having a cup of tequila and a cup of champeign sitting next to each other and accidently forgetting which is which in the middle of the talk. The serial port seems to have somehow shorted in travel, too, so I'll be spending part of the night in my hotel room soldering when I should be partying. Such is the life of a sex toy engineer.

If you're interested in pictures, I'm photoblogging the conference as I get time, though it's mostly weird floor shots and pictures of tiny ketchup bottles. The important stuff, you know.