Arc Attack Rockin with Science at Dorkbot SXSW 2010

[Sorry RPGrs for the Nerdgasim]

Science rocks, literally when Arc Attack is in the house. As happened recently in Austin, TX during Dorkbot SXSW 2010. They play, via MIDI, two giant transistorized Tesla Coils that rapidly switch on/off their arcs.  In other words they use flippin lighting to vibrate the air aka make sound (for the scientifically challenged).

A robotic drummer provides the back beats.

On top of being too dark (brighter == not seeing lighting, still it's pretty darn good for a cell phone, Nokia n900 ftw ) recordings are absolutely nothing like having lighting arc out 10' from your head. Lighting that is "playing" the Legend of Zelda Tune, 10' from your head.

"Popcorn" played at 500,000 volts per channel!  [btw my phone didn't pick up the hundred fractal filiments of electricity spreading out from the main bolts]

500,000 volt Tesla coil in the light of day.

Making music with lighting, flippin awesome.  Playing nostalgic geek favs such as "Legend of Zelda" and "Mario Brothers" game theme songs, crowd pleasing. But Arc Attack took it to the next level.  Come on, how can anything top using Telsa's (the greatest modern inventor/scientist btw) invention to rock out, you ask?

Um, dressing dude in chainmail and having him dance in/with the flippin lighting that is cranking out the Dr. Who theme is how.

"Conducting" Dr. Who theme song

Science Fucking Rocks!

Awthumfetht

I dig these RPG inspired? posters

The Most Awesome Talk on Future of Games Evar

"Real", not RPG games. Although, there's a great quote about teacher instead of grades giving out xp and leveling up students. This talk blows my mind and the end totally scares me.

D&D Game Room

Proly everyone and their monkey is posting this as it's been on Reddit.com but yo! Awesome game room ahoy!

More Pics

Read an RPG Book in Public

Can't say it better than The Escapist's Read an RPG Book in Public.

Welcome to The Escapist, a web page devoted to the betterment of role-playing games and the education of the public and media of their benefits to society.

Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons are an engaging and intellectually stimulating activity that promote teamwork, problem solving, and creative thinking. Even better, in hands of a parent, guardian, or educator, they can be a fantastic teaching tool.

Too many "adult" gamers are embarrassed (or whatever excuse they claim in place of embarrassment) to strut their game geekness in public or even to non-gamer friends and family! Everyone's has a right to keep their secrets. Still, I say grow a pair and help our hobby get the legitimacy it deserves.

Update to MS Surface D&D Game Table

The very idea of this is sure to make the traditionalists rant, the edge bleeders rave and the rest to go, meh? Short vid, but looks like they've improved some stuff compared to original MS Surface D&D Table. Still, dice response is too slow. [They really need to keep physical dice and use camera to read values, or something.] See also, other electronic game tables.

CNET Story with claims of coming soon to a store near you.

Even if you rage against mixing electrogadgetry with your RPG you gotta give the Carnegie Mellon crew credit for doing interesting research that will spread well beyond games.

Get off my Lawn!

In case you missed original post, your stereotypes are wrong.

Tripple Barreled Gun Mace

Henry VIII didn't mess around. His Triple Barreled Gun / Holy Water Sprinkler makes me want to include firearms in my D&D! Check out the rest of that gallery, some pretty cool stuff. Impressed by the totality of coverage of that Footman's Plate.

Multi-touch MS Surface D&D Proof of Concept

This is the anti-Luddite gaming experience.

A walk-through of the current build of our proof of concept for a Dungeons & Dragons experience on the Microsoft Surface. Created by the Surfacescapes team at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University.

Kind of lame actually, I've seen better mini integration/tools before. I like the menu and control tokens. But the animations and virtual dice are stupid. And what's with the bright white grid of permanent retina damage?

The first Digital Game Table in that post is better overall experience.

Although, this new one seems perfect to use for mixed in person and online game.

Awesome Paper Money Props

Check out this awesome paper money the Eiglophian Press made! The Eiglophians are curious what you think of them, if there's a market for a pdf download, and what handout/prop resources you know of. Go there and let'm know.

What Shows Aliens are Watching

Ze Abstruse Goose gives us this map of what TV shows are galactic neighbors are watching. [click on link or image for readable version]


Random thoughts I had and that spurred me to post this (If I had random thoughts, so might others...)

Why do star names sound so totally alien and pulpy? Pollux, Formalhaut, Zeta Reticuli, Mu Arae, Procyon.

Shows clearly, to me, how signal strength weakens. Say you start with power of 11 around nice small circle near earth. Go 20 Ly out and the circumference, it's huge, your 11 power is now spread thin. aka weak signal.

Time & Space, one and the same.

I never liked Traveller's information travels as slow as ships. It's probably easier to handle in a game and produces plot options. It just don't seem right.

Pliosaur is Science Talk for Swims Well has Big Teeth

If you think this image and it's implied subject matter is totally rad, you might, as I have the last couple days, enjoy the Tetrapod Zoology blog (warning non-gaming content, there be science and academics) from whence I stoles it. The artist, Robert Nicholls, totally deserves to be in every RPGs bestiary and he's totally gonna come here and kick my ass for ripping his image. But, his eBay store is MIA [update your webpage dude, you just lost a sale].


Oh, and I still completely back my assertion Nature has the best Monsters.

Attack of the Lego Monsters

Can you guess what D&D monsters these are? More examples and answers here. I wonder how many people use Legos for terrain/minis?

This one's maybe difficult?


Don't think too hard on it.


This is by far the funniest Lego D&D monster I've seen all week. I appreciate the little detail of churned Lego earth around the the *****.


Iconic and obvious but too cool to skip.


Can't mistake that nose.

Future of Game Tables

Ever since seeing rear projection video table I've dreamed of using them for games. I'm less excited these days having become less excited about tactical miniatures game play in RPGs. They are still geekly awesome. The more rules a game has the more I desire to computerize those rules so I can ignore them and get to playing. So, I still dream...


This one is display only, no feedback of mini position, no touch (well there is the light pen so I guess it's halfway to feedback). On the other hand it's relatively simple to put together. They get mad props for using it for their actual RPG and having fun!

I'm kind of meh on this one. I don't think the UI is very good, the single state and requiring use of activation token looks PITA. Any successful electronic table has to be at least as fast and easy as just using miniatures.

The UI here is much more. I adore radial menus, learned about them long ago from some CS paper but actually used them in ToEE, a totally freakin awesome game. Those menus would be perfect for picking 4ed powers. Interesting use of minis, I thought they would be too small for fiduciary markers. This is comes very close to my vision of ultimate electronic table for tactical minis based RPGs like 3-4ed D&D, miniatures games such as warhammer, and numerous wargames. Too bad it needs darkness to work.

But these days this is probably closer to my ultimate game table!

The Hunt for Gollum

http://thehuntforgollum.com/

Everyone knows about this right?

An outstanding piece of fan made video nicely filling in a gap the Big Screen trilogy glossed over. Extremely well done.

A Trailer

I present the Dice-O-Matic

"It is a 7 foot tall, 104 pound, dice-eating monster, capable of generating 1.3 million rolls a day."

With 72,000 stat rolls I should finally get one that qualifies for 1st ed Paladin in a day or two.

Awesomeist Cake Evar

Couldn't resist posting this quicky link to geekologie blog of the awesomeist cake evar! Clicky for more better images.

How could you eat such a beauty?

Do you hide the fact you play RPG's?

News article that gets under my skin. The condescending tone is irksome but what really pisses me off is people believing they have to hide their hobby from society at large. That's bullshit.

Recently, Jan/Dec, (sorry can't find post) one of the many rpg blogs I read posted on this subject. Many agreed that they would not admit they played RPGs in "polite" company. Many excuses were given, some valid. But ya know what? Unless you come out as a gamer the stereotype and societies ignorance and disdain for our hobby will endure.

Do you enjoy hiding an important part of who you are? Slinking around the internet with pseudonyms always fearful a coworker or friend might discover your "shameful" secret. Personally I couldn't stand it. I've never been "normal" and as a young teenager lost any ambition to fit in or interest in conforming to societies mores. So, my entire life I've always expressed who I am and felt if society doesn't like it then too fucking bad. It's not my responsibility to change or hide who I am. It's society that needs to adapt.

Others have taken different routes and now find themselves with impediments built up all around them. Worry that boss will judge their hobby. Fear friends will laugh at them for playing "child's games". Need to be polite to inlaws even though they're religious nutjobs who would scream Satanist at the mention of D&D. Etc.

I understand. You can't just put on your umber hulk costume and jump out of the closet one day. You aren't free like me to just say "fuck em". It's very hard and worrisome to make that first move. But I implore you to try. It will make the world a better place for everyone.

Geek Pride Bitches

Austin Game Scene 2009

Austin Area FLGS's

Battleforge Games - Central, "home" of the Austin D&D Meetup.

Dragon's Lair - Central, huge! Got some of everything and lots of somethings.

Great Hall Games - Central, specializes in all the non-RP games.

Kings Hobby - Central, lots of models and wargamey stuff, used RPG books area.

Pirate Ninja - NE Pflugerville, awesome friendly place, used RPG books area.

Rogue's Gallery - North Round Rock, strip mall.

These stores also have strategy games, comics, miniatures, CCG's, and lots of fun stuff. Check them out. A google map showing their locations.


Austin Area Game Conventions

OwlCon Feb 6-9, 2009 Rice University, Houston - RPGA, LARPs, Boardgames, Miniatures, Historical Minis.

ChimaeraCon Mar 14-16, 2009 San Antonio - Boardgames, CCGs, Miniatures, The Beastmaster!

ProtoCon ?? 2009 Texas A&M - RPGA, Boardgames.

MillenniumCon Nov ??, 2009 Round Rock - RPGA, Historical Minis, Boardgames.


Meetups & Other
Meetup.com isn't the best thing out there, but it is out there.

I started the Austin RPG Meetup. It got going fairly well, then I quit going/organizing, quit playing games, pretty much quit talking/socializing with anyone... (depression seriously suxes). I lack the energy/excitement/time to work on this meetup again. In April '09 my "organizer" subscription runs out. Maybe another local will pick it up.

With needed encouragement and assistance from Flynn I helped build momentum for the Austin D&D Meetup. Of course the "retreating into oneself period of depression" mentioned above disconnected me from this as well. Not sure of its current status, looks strong and active. I hope to find out for myself in the new year.

Pen and Paper is an online player/game registry which I've used successfully to find fellow Austin area gamers.


Euro Style Boardgames

Great Hall Games - Saturday afternoons, Fridays until midnight!

Dragon's Lair - Mondays starting 7pm.

Gives me Stone, I am the Shaffen Master!

First Post!

After spending a couple hours setting up this blog I actually have to post something? What a scam.

Remember "First Post! Wars" on slashdot? Before Hot Grits Down Pants and Nekkid Petrified Natalie Portmans were things <- (what they were before hipsters hiply named them meme's). Back when Beowolf Clusters were the new hotness Linux Nerds could use to impress their gir... each other. I do, I'm old, I've seen a lot. Not everything, but enough. I might post about it.

Oh, what's this blog about? Stuff Norm likes. That probably means mostly Tabletop Role Playing Games and Tech / Software Development. I'm sure to stray cause there's just too much I like. Which sucks for my mythical readers since no one likes the all same stuff I do. Maybe these Tag things will help.

I'm prone to depression, cynicism, flaming, trolling, and ranting. Although, for this blog I'll try hard to let my inner norm rule. The inner norm is acceptably approximated by this totally posted without permission sinfest

Understand that inner norm or not and even if my posts are 1/10th as awesome as Jeff Rients' or the Evil DM's this blog will never be able to hold a candle to Monkey Sword Fight.