Drunk
Latest
Uber could teach its AI to know when you're drunk
Problematic transportation outfit Uber is thinking about a way to use your phone to determine if you've been drinking. A patent application was uncovered by CNN, entitled "Predicting user state using machine learning," which outlines the general idea. Essentially, by watching how you behave day-to-day, the system can pick up when your behavior is normal (for you) or abnormal. That could be, for instance, how you use your phone, the angle at which you hold it, and even how you're walking.
Man arrested after knocking over a 300-pound security robot
Sure, the K5 isn't the cutest robot making its first steps into human society, but that doesn't mean drunks get to knock it over. One of the five-foot droids took a tumble last week in Mountain View, when a drunk man took umbrage to its whistlin', patrolling ways. (Knocking it over is a bit of feat in itself: The thing weighs 300 pounds.) It's not the first robot to suffer either. Softbank's (more adorable) Pepper has felt the cruelty of mankind while working in a phone store, while Hitchbot lasted just two weeks when it tried to cross America. It suffered a vandal attack in Philadelphia that cut its journey short.
Uber is using smartphone data to alert it to bad drivers
Although Uber's review system allows both riders and drivers to submit feedback on a recent journey, it can be hard for the company to know what really happened. Did a driver constantly break the speed limit or was a customer totally unfair with their feedback? Without evidence, it's simply one person's word against another's. Uber has a plan to change that, though. Using gyroscopes and GPS chips built into driver and passenger smartphones, the company's new scheme will log when a driver is (or isn't) driving dangerously. Feedback will still be welcome, but the idea is to back up words and scores with cold hard data.
Uber's breathalyzer kiosk gets you a ride home if you're drunk
Uber sees its ridesharing service as an ideal way to get you home safely when you're drunk, and it's trying out some relatively unique technology to prove its point. The company recently set up an Uber Safe kiosk in Toronto that gave sloshed Canadians a free ride if they blew into a breathalyzer -- much safer than stumbling on foot or struggling to hail a cab, if you ask us. The Toronto device was largely a promotional stunt, but Uber tells us that it's "thrilled" with the early response and to "stay tuned" for the possibility of more kiosks going forward. We can't imagine that Uber would continue to offer the Safe service free of charge if it catches on, but it's easy to see systems like this popping up in bar-heavy neighborhoods.
Uber teams with a breathalyzer company to tackle drunk driving
Many will tell you to take a cab home if you're too drunk to drive, but that can be expensive -- wouldn't it be more effective to hail a ridesharing car instead? Uber and Breathometer, a mobile breathalyzer company, think so -- they're teaming up to promote Uber as a safe option for getting home when you're sloshed. To start, Breathometer's app will give you a free Uber ride (up to $20) if it's your first time. If you're an experienced Uber passenger, you can still get a free lift if you're one of the first 100 people to order a ride through Breathometer's software. And if you don't get a gratis trip, you'll still get a 10 percent discount on a Breathometer device if you buy it before March 7th. This isn't the largest offer, but it could make a difference if you'd otherwise be tempted to take the wheel after a boozy party. [Image credit: Getty Images]
One day, your voice could keep you from driving drunk
Smart breathalyzers have long tried to help people deal with the serious issue of drunk-driving. But, ultimately, those options won't physically prevent anyone from getting behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol -- much like the Ignition Interlock Device provided by some states in the US do. To aid with this deliberate problem, researchers from Germany have came up with the Alcohol Language Corpus, a database made up of drunk speech patterns, the first of its kind.
On the hazards of drinking and driving the Oculus Rift
"You know, it's funny. People, when they are intoxicated, don't enjoy the Rift nearly as much."Oculus Rift inventor and co-founder Palmer Luckey shared a cautionary tale of sorts when we asked for anecdotes on the VR rig's testing procedures. After a short pause, Luckey dropped some sage advice for future Rift owners and developers alike.The Rift, which has been known to cause motion sickness in some users (Joystiq staff included) due to the disarming intensity of the experience, apparently has the ability to exacerbate one's inclination toward intense nausea after a night of partying."What happens is, when you get severely intoxicated, you end up throwing up," Luckey said. "One of the reasons for that is that your body knows something is wrong; your reaction time is slow, things seem to blur. And if it gets bad enough, it says 'Wow, I'm screwed up, I need to get whatever it is out of my stomach that's causing this.' The Rift doesn't do that much, but when you stack it on top of someone already being intoxicated, they tend to not enjoy it nearly as much."Under normal, non-intoxicated testing conditions, the disconnection between what a Rift user sees and what their body experiences – the cerebral disparity that can cause nausea - wasn't much of an issue."So, use the Rift sober."
Officers' Quarters: Too much Stormstout ale
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Adult raiders are free to enjoy a few adult beverages while they raid. This week, a guild leader wonders what to do when a raider has a few too many and ruins a night of raiding. (He also asks about raid scheduling, which isn't nearly as interesting, but we'll talk about it anyway.) Hi Scott, Yes, it's me again, Apocalyptic GM, sorry to be bothering you again, but you did such a good job last time of giving advice, that i felt the need to come to you again, especially now that two further large problems have arisen within my guild. Firstly, the issue of raiding days. Currently i work shifts of 4 on 4 off at night time, which means i am only available for every 4 out of 8 days. We raided fine with this for the last 6 months ... but recently there has been some descent among the ranks, and complaints that people aren't happy with the current raiding days set up, and this hampering our time raiding. Now I could easily change to a fixed raiding days, but that would leave me frequently absent from raids, which is not something i would prefer. And this leaves me in a pickle as to what to do. As guild master and raid leader I feel I should be able to set up raids to suit me, but then I also feel I should better accomodate my guild.
Age of Wushu invites you to be a beggar
MMO players are definitely used to being recruited to fill heroic roles, but what about jumping into the shoes of a street bum? That doesn't happen as often. Don't tell that to Age of Wushu, however, as this contrarian sandbox is looking to make an entire class out of martial arts panhandling. That's right: One of the classes in the game is the Beggar. This isn't your average drunk wino (well, not too drunk); the Beggars are tough as nails and can go toe-to-toe with the best of the rich kids. Beggars fight in a similar fashion to the Drunken Master style, using booze to fuel their flexible attacks and witty comebacks. The class relies mostly on hands and feet to do damage, although the occasional quarterstaff is wielded as well. Go slumming with the Beggars in a video after the break!
Scientists develop pair of algorithms that could enable thermal cameras to pick out drunk people
We're not sure if Georgia Koukiou and Vassilis Anastassopoulos of the University of Patras in Greece like a tipple or not, but the pair have developed two algorithms that, when used with thermal imaging, could pick out drunk people in crowds. What is it that betrays your best intentions to look sober? As always, your face. Booze causes the blood-vessels in your visage to dilate, and the researchers used this principle to compare facial scans against a database of tipple-free mug shots. Likewise the duo found that when under the influence, the nose gets warmer, while the forehead cools -- another visual check that the infrared can help identify. The hope is that using this technology, law-enforcement can make a judgement call based on more than just your wonky walk. But in our experience, the troublemakers are pretty good at outing themselves.
Gmail updates: good news for globalists, bad news for drunks
Ever used Gmail's automatic message translation feature, which lets you receive and send emails without even bothering to notice the native language of your contact? If not, that's probably because it's been lurking in the Labs section along with other ideas undergoing live experimentation. As of now though, translation should be right there in front of you as a regular feature, and honestly, it brings a whole new life to foreign spam. Meanwhile, other Lab features have been sacked, such as the Old Snakey time-frittering game and also Mail Goggles, which tested your sobriety with math puzzles before letting you click 'Send' in the wee hours of the morning. Ah well, the best labs are often the least crowded.
CCP investigates player panel amidst controversy [Updated]
EVE Online's annual Fanfest is an opportunity for players from across the world to share stories of the year's big events, political actions, and epic battles won and lost. Each year, player speakers from the game's biggest and most influential alliances are invited to take part in the Alliance Panel at Fanfest, where they can talk about their organisation and what it's done over the preceding year. GoonSwarm alliance speaker The Mittani gave a talk on some of the year's most memorable alliance activities, from shutting down Ice Mining operations across several regions to scamming people with fake supercapital ship trades. During a Q&A session after the presentation, he said something that has become the focus of a great deal of controversy. Massively got a hold of a copy of this year's Alliance Panel to find out what all the controversy is about. [UPDATE: The Mittani has issued a public apology for his behaviour during the Alliance Panel and has vowed to make all restitution necessary.] [UPDATE: This post has been updated as part of an apology for covering this in a sensationalist manner]
Capcom invites you to pop a bottle, not a cap, with new bar in Japan
We've all been there -- you just owned C. Viper with Ryu and you think to yourself, "Dang. I could really pick up some drunk chicks with these awesome moves." Capcom just answered that thought with, "Wanna bet?" Capcom has partnered with Pasela, a karaoke-bar chain based in Japan, to open a Capcom-themed entertainment bar in Shinjuku, Tokyo, called Cap Bar. Cap Bar is scheduled to open in January on the first floor of Shinjuku's Pasela Resort and will have game-demo kiosks, merch, and Capcom-themed food and drink menus, as well as serving as the filming location for Capcom's webshow, Hagi Toko. Personally, we can't wait to sip on a "Chun-Li Chugger" and watch the carnage unfold. %Gallery-142395%
The Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble!
Considering that Fellowship of the Ring begins with a huge party -- thrown in honor of Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday -- I think it's appropriate that Lord of the Rings Online is conducive to parties. I'm not just talking about dev-designed festivals, although those are great; I'm referring to parties that the community whips up from time to time. Part of the appeal of LotRO to me is that it isn't just all about killing and leveling; it's also about exploring and living in this virtual Middle-earth. Life for the Free Peoples means celebrating even in the midst of oppressive evil, and it's in keeping with the spirit of the enterprise to throw a shindig now and then. Turbine's given us quite a few tools and resources to use when assembling a party, and I thought that today we'd take an unusual detour from the Road to Mordor and go through the steps of throwing a memorable and enjoyable soirée. Ready to cut loose? Footloose? Good! Let's tear up the dance floor!
PAX 2011: Wakfu reveals the Pandawa class
No, it's not that MMO and its panda-people, but Square-Enix will probably forgive you if you get Wakfu's newest class confused with another game. As Square-Enix shows off its tactical anime MMO at PAX this weekend, the company is proud to announce the latest addition to Wakfu: the Pandawa class. One of the game's 14 classes, the Pandawa are tough fighters that fight best when completely and utterly sloshed. You read that right -- Pandawa change their fighting style depending on how much they've had to drink. Sober and they're great as a support class, but get them drunk and they'll open up a can of bamboo on your butt. Pandawa wield axes and use the art of the right-hook to deliver the pain. Square-Enix recommends putting these warriors on the front lines of any battle to smack groups of enemies around at the same time. Wakfu is currently in closed beta, and we'll be keeping an eye out for it at PAX.
Android trash can robot begs the question: 'Why are you hitting yourself?' (video)
We've seen robots that look like they've had one too many, but we're pretty sure this little guy needs to check into rehab. Despite its absolutely adorable appearance, this Android seems hell-bent on destruction, literally beating itself up, and eventually falling on its face. Built using the requisite Arduino, a trash can, some LEDs, and a slew of other components, this little guy was apparently created in three days on a budget just barely exceeding $100. You can see a video of the waste-bin bot hitting rock bottom at the source link below, but please refrain from laughing; Android alcoholism is a serious issue.
One Shots: Is he ever going to stop talking?
The final bug screenshot for this week's One Shots comes to you courtesy of Aevyn: Guild Wars characters have the ability to become drunk in game and spam random emotes, including the "/bored" emote. When bored, a character will sigh, slump, and look idly around at nothing. Sometimes the drunken state will carry over into a cutscene, and this was the case while this party leader was listening to Vizier Khilbron pontificate during a Prophecies campaign mission. Tomorrow kicks off endgame week here at One Shots, so send your best screenshot of endgame gameplay to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and then give you the thanks! %Gallery-112285%
Grog and drunken sailors arrive in Guild Wars for Talk Like a Pirate event
Ahoy there, Cap'n Tightpants! No, you haven't wandered into a Firefly revival, that's just one of the nonsensical phrases your Guild Wars character will spout while under the influence of pirate grog. If you're (un)lucky enough to have post-processing effects turned on, you'll get an eye-spraining visual effect too, as seen above. So where do you find this wonderful stuff? Luckily for you, ArenaNet is about to kick off its annual Talk Like a Pirate event and acquiring grog is as easy as killing a level two grawl. PvE enemies throughout the world will be dropping grog beginning at noon PDT Friday, and you'll find that the NPCs in Lion's Arch and Kamadan are joining the festivities as well. They've got a swashbuckling new look, and if you take a moment to chat with them, you'll find some interesting dialogue as well. If you need a place to store all the extra grog, ArenaNet's got you covered. A surprise update today introduced a sale in the NCsoft store, and extra Xunlai storage tabs are now half-price. The tabs are marked at $4.99 rather than their usual $9.99, and it's listed as a limited-time offer, so hurry and get your grog storage tab! The Talk Like a Pirate event lasts through Tuesday the 21st, and the storage pane sale ends the 19th.
One Shots: I am not under the alfluence of incahol
The worst part of having a great night of partying is always that blasted morning after! Whether you're talking about real-life overindulgences like cookout food and frosty beverages, or in-game happenings like too much ale at the Summer Festival in Lord of the Rings Online, there's always that period where you're staggering around. Today's drunken screenshot comes to us from Ocholorin on the Elendilmir server, who writes in: "Hi. My name is Ocholorin, and I'm an alco... What? Just a game? Oh! Then I'll have another!" There is something to be said for virtual hangovers fading much faster! If you've captured an amusing screenshot from an in-game event, we'd love to see it. All you have to do is to email it to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit! %Gallery-85937%
The Bad Decision Blocker prevents dialing mistakes
Enough of the fart apps -- here's an iPhone function we really need. The Bad Decision Blocker (BDB for short) is an iPhone app that will let you block any of your phone's contacts for a predetermined set of time. We've all been there -- you go out Friday night, get a few drinks in you, and suddenly calling up your former friend, or a girl you're trying to ask out, or a girl you used to go out with (who decided not to hang out with you any more thanks to all the drinking) becomes something you're suprisingly willing to do. BDB, however, will say no, and keep that contact out of the contact list, until whatever time you'd said it was OK to let it back in. And, presumably, by that time you can be in a more sober state of mind, and realize that you don't need any girl whose idea of a good time is keeping you from having fun. Take that, Susan!It's helpful for sure. All the program seems to do is erase (and rewrite) whatever contacts you choose in your address book, so you've got to re-open the program after the set time if you want your contacts back. Also, the app doesn't actually block the phone, just the contacts you choose, so if you have their phone number memorized, you might still end up doing a little drunk dialing. But you never know -- BDB might be just the thing to help you leave that old relationship right where it is, or at least come to your senses long enough to not sabotage that new one. It's in the App Store right now for 99 cents.
