Aaron Borst

"Hear ye, hear ye," the Newellville town crier bellowed out across the crowded, bustling market. "It is by royal decree, that for the 24 hours proceeding forthwith, respectable denizens of His Highness' Great Sovereign Nation of Valve may acquire the first two entries in the Mass Effect series of merrymaking programmes for $9.99."

"Ad interim," the crier continued, "patrons may avail themselves of substantial discounts on select digital comestibles found within the Royal Steam Marketplace, making it possible to obtain a single issuance of Borderlands 2 for $13.59, or four for $40.79, until May 20. In addition, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be free for interested parties through 1 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday. Should customers enjoy the experience, a 50 percent abatement will be applied to the purchase price."

Steam: Borderlands 2 for $13.59, Mass Effect 1 and 2 for $10, CS:GO F2P weekend originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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America doesn't have many roundabouts because even if you understand how one works, you have to worry about other drivers who don't. But they are a fact of life in Britain. The ultimate roundabout is this one in Swindon that is actually a cluster of roundabouts in one intersection.  

The Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England, constructed in 1972, is the most brilliant and at the same time, the most confusing roundabout ever built. The roundabout, named after the popular children's television series by the same name, is located near the County Ground and consists of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle. At first sight, it might appear to confuse or amuse new visitors and certainly baffle tourists but once you understand how the roundabout works you will realize how revolutionary the idea is.

Other pictures and diagrams at Amusing Planet may help you parse out what is supposed to happen. Keep in mind that driving on the  left side of the road is the correct thing to do in this location. Link -via the Presurfer

(Image credit: Google Earth)

EA and LucasFilm have signed an exclusive deal which will see Star Wars games being developed by Battlefield maker DICE, Dead Space producer Visceral and Star Wars The Old Republic and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic developer BioWare.

LucasFilm's president Kathleen Kennedy commented "Our number one objective was to find a developer who could consistently deliver our fans great Star Wars games for years to come. When we looked at the talent of the teams that EA was committing to our games and the quality of their vision for Star Wars, the choice was clear.

EA Labels President Frank Gibeau added "Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe. Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay."

The EA deal follows the closure of long-time game publisher LucasArts which was shuttered last month following the takeover of Lucas by Disney last year. All production on Star Wars titles already in development, including Star Wars 1313, was shelved as part of LucasArts' closure.

More information on the Star Wars games in development will be revealed over the coming months though it would appear that all games involved will be next-gen titles as EA's Origin Twitter account asked:

Disney grants EA license for next-gen Star Wars games. What are you hoping to see? @ea_dice @visceralgames @bioware #starwarsnextgen

— Origin (@OriginInsider) May 6, 2013

DICE also Tweeted the #StarWarsNextGen trend:

The force is strong in this one#starwarsnextgen #starwars twitter.com/EA_DICE/status…

— EA_DICE (@EA_DICE) May 6, 2013

President Barack Obama has been struggling to wrap his head around the "unimaginable" idea that Congress may "defy" the American people and stop a vote on a gun control package compromise. The notion, he says, resists the "overwhelming instinct of the American people" after the massacre in Newtown, Conn., to pass gun control legislation.

Well, the unthinkable happened. The Senate's sweeping gun legislation came up short on the votes required to move forward. And despite all the idealistic calls for passage and despite the fact that many pundits and advocates seem to believe that something should be law simply because "the vast majority of Americans" support it, not every issue deserves a majoritarian decision.

To begin with, whether Democrats like it or not, this issue concerns the Constitution -- where stuff was written down for a reason. That's not to say that expanding background checks or banning "assault rifles" would be unconstitutional (though you may believe they both should be). It's to say that when you begin meddling with protections explicitly laid out in the founding document, a 60-vote threshold that slows down stampeding legislators is the least we deserve.

The Founding Fathers worried that "some common impulse of passion" might lead many to subvert the rights of the few. It's a rational fear, one that is played out endlessly. Obama, who understands how to utilize public passion better than most, flew some of the Newtown families to Washington for a rally, imploring Americans to put "politics" aside and stop engaging in "political stunts." This is, by any measure, a preposterous assertion coming from a politician piggybacking tragic events for political gain. It would have been one thing, I suppose, if the gun control legislation written in the aftershock of a gruesome massacre had anything to do with the topic at hand. But what senators came up with would have done nothing to stop the shooter in Newtown -- or the one in Aurora, Colo. Passions can be aggravated by events, but in this case, events have little to do with the policy at hand.

Cabinet positions and judges should probably not be held up over ideological concerns. But if Washington is internalizing the 60-vote threshold as the barrier to pass legislation, voters should be grateful. Considering Washington's propensity to politicize everything and its increasingly centralized power (what your health care looks like is now up for national referendums, for instance), slowing things down can only help.

I'm not operating under the delusion that any of this is good national politics for Republicans -- though the arguments about obstructionism's dooming the GOP are probably overblown. No doubt, when the next disaster hits -- and it will -- Democrats will blame the overlords at the National Rifle Association and Republicans for the act of a madman. That's life.

But generally speaking, it'd be nice if Congress occasionally challenged the vagaries of American majority "instinct." Though it might seem antithetical to their very existence, politicians should be less susceptible to the temporary whims, ideological currents and fears of the majority. Theoretically, at least, elected officials' first concern is the Constitution. And if the need for gun control is predicated chiefly on the polls taken immediately after a traumatic national event, they have a perfectly reasonable justification to slow things down. In fact, if Washington internalizes the 60-vote threshold as a matter of routine, voters should be grateful. Considering Washington's propensity to politicize everything and its increasingly centralized power (what your health care looks like is now up for national referendums, for instance), this might be the only way left to diffuse democracy.

For today’s edition of Deal of the Day, Amazon has the LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter 9493 for just $44.97 plus free shipping. That’s 25% off the LEGO X-Wing’s regular retail price of $59.99.

Take to the stars in the classic X-wing starfighter. Featuring wings that fold into attack mode, proton torpedoes, retractable landing gear and opening cockpit, this most iconic vehicle of the Star Wars universe returns to turn the tide in the battle against the evil Empire. Includes 4 minifigures: Luke Skywalker, Jek Porkins, R2-D2 and R5-D8.

-LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter 9493 – $59.99 $44.97 (25% Off)

via: tastyplacement