May 10, 2024: Race Into The World Of Car Wars With CARnage 2!

Return to the autoduel arenas of the future! Car Wars fans can now back the next part of our CARnage STL series on Kickstarter.

CARnage 2 is a massive set of STL files that will allow you to 3D print dozens of Car Wars scale models: cars, crew, accessories, arena terrain, and more!

The two newest cars, Meteor and Boomslang, can be printed in armed, "naked," or wrecked forms. You can also print wrecked versions of existing cars Sawtooth and Pure Energy. Add Superfans Billy Bob and Esteban, with three of their friends, to toss an occasional shot into the speeding chaos. Pick weapons from the Fake Machine Gun to the Super Magnet and the Wrecking Ball. Accessories range from the valuable (more classy spoilers) to the, ahem, personal (truck nutz and longhorn hood ornaments). And drive around, or through, new arena obstacles. You can do it!

The most exciting pledge level is the $1,000 Superfan . . . [more]

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May 9, 2024: App Recommendation: Joplin

I take a lot of notes and visit a lot of webpages for research. I find it invaluable to be able to scoop up info from interesting pages, copy bits of code or ephemera that have proven useful, and save recipes. (I have a lot of recipes . . .)

As far as software that does what I need, I can recommend Joplin. I've been relying on it for over 5 months, and it works great. It lets you type in "fresh" notes as you think of them, or – with a suitable extension installed – copy bits of websites that catch your eye. All its data is stored locally (encrypted, if you like), and it can sync via Dropbox or any similar service you might use.

Joplin is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and iOS. Oh, and it's free and open source. It updates often, so I feel pretty confident I'll be able to use it for a while. It's a bit finicky to set up, especially if you want to be clever and sync . . . [more]

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May 8, 2024: Eurovision Fever!

It's flashy and fun. It's colorful and vibrant. It's a spectacle of songs and props and pyrotechnics and costumes. It's the biggest music competition in the world.

It's the Eurovision Song Contest!

Each year beginning in 1956, countries across Europe (and in later years, Australia) have sent their very best performers to compete for the trophy. From Albania to the United Kingdom, Eurovision has drawn hundreds of millions of watchers each year.

Even if you've never heard of Eurovision before, you most likely know two of the most famous winners: Celine Dion (1988, representing Switzerland) and ABBA (1974, representing Sweden). You may have seen the extremely popular Will Ferrell movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

This year's event, with the theme United by Music, will take place in Malmö, Sweden. The host country is the home of the previous . . .

[more]

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May 7, 2024: Winner Takes All . . . To The Game Closet

I can't figure out if I've shared this anecdote before; if I have, Google is failing me. But, to borrow an old quip, "Don't stop me if you've heard this one; I want to tell it again."

My wife's family has a tradition at their gaming table. It stemmed from her childhood, where certain parties (let's call them "her younger brother, Matt") would be less-than-gracious players. The behavior of these players – whomever he may be – would be such that it hampered the enjoyment of games in general for the non-winning participants . . . especially because such winner(s) were particularly skilled at games and thus won a lot.

The parents wanted to do what they could to promote unity at the table, so they had a rule: Whoever won the game had to put it away. This encouraged gracious behavior during the game (why risk alienating potential help with putting the game away?) and shifted the act of post-game . . . [more]

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May 6, 2024: Shattered Pixel Dungeon

There are a ton of great tabletop and digital roleplaying games out there, but sometimes you just want to enjoy some dungeon delving, monster slaying, and treasure hunting. If that sort of thing appeals to you, consider picking up Shattered Pixel Dungeon as soon as you can. It's a simple but addictive game that is easy to play but tough to master. My husband and I have become increasingly obsessed since downloading it to our phones a few weeks ago.

Shattered Pixel Dungeon is based on Pixel Dungeon, a roguelike game that came out in 2012. Shattered Pixel Dungeon retains the charm of the original, but builds on its predecessor with new music, new unlockable characters, new items, and plenty of other surprises. You start with the option of playing either a Fighter or a Mage. As you continue to play and earn achievements, you'll unlock the Rogue, the Huntress (my personal favorite), . . .

[more]

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Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule

The untouchable couch is frozen. May 10, 2024: Race Into The World Of *Car Wars* With *CARnage 2! Return to the autoduel arenas of the future! Car Wars* fans can now back the next part of our CARnage STL series on Kickstarter. CARnage 2 is a massive set of STL files that will allow you to 3D print dozens of Car Wars scale models: cars, crew, accessories, arena terrain, and more! The two newest cars, Meteor and Boomslang, can be printed in armed, "naked," or wrecked forms. You can also print wrecked versions of existing cars Sawtooth and Pure Energy. Add Superfans Billy Bob and Esteban, with three of their friends, to toss an occasional shot into the speeding chaos. Pick weapons from the Fake Machine Gun to the Super Magnet and the Wrecking Ball. Accessories range from the valuable (more classy spoilers) to the, ahem, personal (truck nutz and longhorn hood ornaments). And drive around, or through, new arena obstacles. You can do it! The most exciting pledge level is the $1,000 Superfan . . . [more] Share this post! May 9, 2024: App Recommendation: Joplin I take a lot of notes and visit a lot of webpages for research. I find it invaluable to be able to scoop up info from interesting pages, copy bits of code or ephemera that have proven useful, and save recipes. (I have a lot of recipes . . .) As far as software that does what I need, I can recommend Joplin. I've been relying on it for over 5 months, and it works great. It lets you type in "fresh" notes as you think of them, or – with a suitable extension installed – copy bits of websites that catch your eye. All its data is stored locally (encrypted, if you like), and it can sync via Dropbox or any similar service you might use. Joplin is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and iOS. Oh, and it's free and open source. It updates often, so I feel pretty confident I'll be able to use it for a while. It's a bit finicky to set up, especially if you want to be clever and sync . . . [more] Share this post! May 8, 2024: Eurovision Fever! It's flashy and fun. It's colorful and vibrant. It's a spectacle of songs and props and pyrotechnics and costumes. It's the biggest music competition in the world. It's the Eurovision Song Contest! Each year beginning in 1956, countries across Europe (and in later years, Australia) have sent their very best performers to compete for the trophy. From Albania to the United Kingdom, Eurovision has drawn hundreds of millions of watchers each year. Even if you've never heard of Eurovision before, you most likely know two of the most famous winners: Celine Dion (1988, representing Switzerland) and ABBA (1974, representing Sweden). You may have seen the extremely popular Will Ferrell movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. This year's event, with the theme United by Music, will take place in Malmö, Sweden. The host country is the home of the previous . . . [more] Share this post! May 7, 2024: Winner Takes All . . . To The Game Closet I can't figure out if I've shared this anecdote before; if I have, Google is failing me. But, to borrow an old quip, "Don't stop me if you've heard this one; I want to tell it again." My wife's family has a tradition at their gaming table. It stemmed from her childhood, where certain parties (let's call them "her younger brother, Matt") would be less-than-gracious players. The behavior of these players – whomever he may be – would be such that it hampered the enjoyment of games in general for the non-winning participants . . . especially because such winner(s) were particularly skilled at games and thus won a lot. The parents wanted to do what they could to promote unity at the table, so they had a rule: Whoever won the game had to put it away. This encouraged gracious behavior during the game (why risk alienating potential help with putting the game away?) and shifted the act of post-game . . . [more] Share this post! May 6, 2024: *Shattered Pixel Dungeon* There are a ton of great tabletop and digital roleplaying games out there, but sometimes you just want to enjoy some dungeon delving, monster slaying, and treasure hunting. If that sort of thing appeals to you, consider picking up Shattered Pixel Dungeon as soon as you can. It's a simple but addictive game that is easy to play but tough to master. My husband and I have become increasingly obsessed since downloading it to our phones a few weeks ago. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is based on Pixel Dungeon, a roguelike game that came out in 2012. Shattered Pixel Dungeon retains the charm of the original, but builds on its predecessor with new music, new unlockable characters, new items, and plenty of other surprises. You start with the option of playing either a Fighter or a Mage. As you continue to play and earn achievements, you'll unlock the Rogue, the Huntress (my personal favorite), . . . [more] Share this post! Previous Illuminators • Steve's Appearance Schedule		Latest Videos You are the 1127th alien being here today. (29849243 since August 1, 1995)