by Christopher Paul on February 15, 2014 Polygon has a long article on the history of how the legendary game, Street Fighter 2, came to be and the fallout that came from its success.
In 1985, artist Akira Yasuda showed up to a Capcom job interview dressed in pajamas and a tie. He left his portfolio at home, saying fans stole his work because it was too good. Asked why he chose pajamas, he replied he wanted to look presentable and that was the only thing he owned with a collar.
Capcom developer Yoshiki Okamoto sat on the other side of the room, amused by Yasuda’s antics. Okamoto, himself known for pranks and outlandish behavior, liked Yasuda’s work.
Yasuda got the job.
Without realizing it at the time, Okamoto was recruiting a team that, five years later, would develop the competitive fighting game Street Fighter 2. The franchise would go on to sell more than 30 million units. It would become a cologne.
I’ve written about my love of Street Fighter before here and here where I did a mini-review of the port for the iPhone. This is a must read for any game aficionado – especially if you loved SF2 as much as I did.
by Christopher Paul on February 14, 2014 We’re a little closer to achieving sustainable energy production from nuclear fusion:
The power of the sun has edged a little closer to Earth. Under x-ray assault, the rapid implosion of a plastic shell onto icy isotopes of hydrogen has produced fusion and, for the first time, 170 micrograms of this superheated fusion fuel released more energy than it absorbed. Experimental shots of the 192 lasers at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have reproduced such fusion at least four times since September 2013. The advance offers hope that someday in the far future scientists might reliably replicate the power source of the sun and stars.
This is one of those achievements I hope to see humankind reach in my lifetime. It’s like getting to the moon was to those in the ’60s.
by Christopher Paul on February 13, 2014 
A group called the Efficient Passenger Project is hacking the New York City Subway with unofficial signs telling people where to board.
“We recognize that it’s a common tactic for street-smart New Yorkers. But it’s complex and almost impossible to navigate for visitors or if it’s your first time to the station,” said the person behind the signs, who requested anonymity because “the MTA has been very adamant about hunting us down.”
As much of a marvel the Subway is, it’s terribly old. It runs on DC power – like a AA battery – instead of the now, common, AC power that every other modern transit line uses. There are almost no signs to indicate when the next train will arrive. And my biggest gripe is there is no crowd control or queue management like other cities.
Over time, I’ve learned these tricks – most of them from my wife who was born and raised in New York – and the rest with Exit Strategy and my own experiences. But there’s nothing wrong with a little help from some gorilla civic activists helping out a tourist or two.
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by Christopher Paul on February 13, 2014 Rate Beer released a list of the top brewers in the world. It’s no surprise that some of my most favorite brewers are there.
The list is alphabetical but they tell you who are the top 5.
Some of my favorites:
- Allagash
- Ommegang
- Dogfish Head
- Founders
- Goose Island
- Lagunitas
- Southern Tier
Be sure to check out their list of the best specific beers from those brewers.
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by Christopher Paul on February 13, 2014 Fred Wilson has a great post on conflict. It’s certainly geared toward VCs and startup investing but this can be applied in almost any circumstance.
When someone feels that something you invest in is encroaching on his or her territory, you have created a perception of conflict with that entrepreneur. Even if he or she is dead wrong about that, it doesn’t really matter because they are now in conflict with you in their own mind and they won’t listen to you the same way again…
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So the meta point I am making in this post is that it isn’t the facts that matter when discussing conflict. It is the perception that matters. If anyone in a relationship with you perceives that you are in a conflicted situation, you are in a conflicted situation whether you agree with them or not. Your only choice is to try to convince them otherwise before you obligate yourself to the conflict situation. Once you’ve obligated yourself, it is too late.
I take this idea to heart given my own line of work. But without going too much into it, conflicts – especially conflicts of interest – are very dangerous. I would never want to be in a situation or cause a situation where I or someone I knew felt conflicted. It affects the quality of my work and my reputation as a professional. And I can see why Wilson felt there was a conflict in the particular situation that inspired the post.