Dangerous Ink magazine

Posted on 2009-10-06 at 09:19 by Doppelbock

I happened to see issue #2 of Dangerous Ink magazine at the store a few weeks ago [actually I had this drafted in July and never published it] and a quick flip through it interested me enough to buy it. Unfortunately the “read issue 2” link on the web site goes to an issue that is totally different than the one I have (which has the Señorita Muerta skeletal bride on the cover). After reading down the page it looks like they had four issues previously and then “relaunched” this year so my copy is really like Volume 2, Issue 2.

Señorita Muerta by Laurie Lipton

Señorita Muerta by Laurie Lipton

The various comic strips were good (Kreepy Kat, Mooks, Johnny 2K9) but what really got me to buy was the article about Jessica Joslin’s work with found object sculptures of animals that incorporate real bones. Aster (from the Clockwork Circus series) is impressive due to the hornbill skull & beak but the paired pieces like Admiral and Luce from that same collection are really cool.

Admiral and Luce by Jessica Joslin

Admiral and Luce by Jessica Joslin

My next favorite part of the mag was the article about Jason Limón’s work. He has a really awesome style of artwork that I don’t even know how to describe. The artist says that his “work is filled with characters, some happy and some not so happy made up of electrical, mechanical and organic elements.” Drop Dead might be my favorite piece from the article, make sure you check out his Flickr page to see a larger representation of his work than his regular web site has.

Drop Dead by Jason Limón

Drop Dead by Jason Limón

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Android finally coming to Verizon

Posted on 2009-10-06 at 09:16 by Doppelbock

It’s a good thing I didn’t pick up a new handset from Verizon yet since I just read that they should have an Android handset out in October. I don’t know what it will be (haven’t had time to research it yet) but it looks like the Motorola Calgary should be out in the December/January time frame (although that’s old news; image below. The only downside is that VZN will probably lock the crap out of their Android stuff like they do all the other handsets.

Gizmodo article on Android at Verizon

PC Magazine article from today quoted below:

Verizon Wireless will launch a range of Android-powered “feature phones, PDAs, netbooks … speciality devices” and smartphones for the United States’ largest wireless carrier beginning “in a few weeks,” Verizon Wireless chief executive Lowell McAdam said Tuesday.

“This is a family of devices – it’s not just a smartphone or PDA,” he said.

McAdam was speaking as part of a joint announcement with Google of a comprehensive partnership between Google and Verizon, where the two companies will “co-develop a family of Android based devices … with innovative applications from both our companies,” McAdam said. Two phones will arrive this year, with many more devices coming in 2010, he said. The two companies have been talking about a partnership for at least the past 18 months, McAdam said.

Posted in Geeky Computers | 1 Comment

Neat article about NAT and port 666

Posted on 2009-09-29 at 07:59 by Doppelbock

I found this article interesting reading and haven’t even touched the comments yet. It’s about how NAT really isn’t a security measure and explains why. Extra bonus: a Star Trek TOS story to open the article:

How many Star Trek classic fans are in the house? Man, I just love that show. I honestly believe that is was Star Trek that generated my interest in engineering and of course kept me from getting dates until college, but that’s a story for my therapist. There is an episode called “The Corbomite Maneuver,” where the intergalactic King of Cool Captain Kirk bluffs a goober alien into thinking he has a heavy duty bomb onboard and the alien backs off. Then he, Spock and Scotty drink a case of Newcastle and ash out a Cohiba. OK, I am kidding about that part; Spock wasn’t there.

Port 666 at Network World

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Godspeed Sam

Posted on 2009-09-26 at 15:05 by Doppelbock

We laid to rest a high school friend of mine named Sam yesterday. That was depressing as hell and I was surprised at just how emotional I got. Godspeed Sam, we miss you.

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Game Master Dice Store, now that’s dice overload!

Posted on 2009-09-19 at 07:13 by Doppelbock

Wow, I didn’t know dice overload until I saw Game Master Dice Store, Game Dice, RPG Dice and Board Game Dice. They have got some really nice dice sets in metal and as long as you are buying a lot the flat $7 shipping charge isn’t bad. I am thinking of these bad boys for my Hunter game.

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Dice Overload in WFRP

Posted on 2009-09-05 at 08:10 by Doppelbock

I’m not sure whether to be horrified at the complex mechanics or excited at so many dice. Apparently the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game has seven completely different kinds of dice. You have a different colored dice pool for different functions, there are some eight-sided, some ten-sided and some six-sided. None of them use pips, the each have a combination of custom symbols and blank faces.

One of the new features of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are the custom dice used during task resolution. The core set includes 36 custom dice. With these dice, the characters can perform a wide variety of actions while accounting for changing tactics, situations, and effects. Rather than numbers, these dice feature special symbols.

Of Dice and Men – A look at the custom dice and core mechanics of WFRP

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Poo Trap – it’s wrong, just flat-out wrong

Posted on 2009-09-02 at 09:39 by Doppelbock

I saw this on The Soup the other night and it has got to be the worst pet invention ever. I can’t even imagine what kind of person would subject their dog to wearing a full-body harness that holds a poop bag up to their butt. How lazy/squeamish do you have to be to buy this product? I would be embarassed to have my dog walking around wearing this contraption.

Poo Trap

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New Legion of Everblight Army

Posted on 2009-08-30 at 17:04 by Doppelbock

Yes, I’ve finally branched out. I have been playing a Protectorate of Menoth army (Warmachine) for over a year and decided that for my second faction I would go with the Legion of Everblight (Hordes). I found a second-hand army on eBay at a good discount off retail, even better is that the beasts are all at least basecoated and the Harriers and Seraph are basically done. The rest of the models are either basecoated or at least primed. Below are pics of the new army. My biggest challenge will be getting the remaining paint on the Carnivean to match the quality of the existing paint as well as the flying beasties. I really hope that whatever my next beast is that I can live up to this quality.

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Little Wheel

Posted on 2009-08-30 at 15:06 by Doppelbock

Wow Little Wheel has got to be the most stylish Flash game I’ve ever seen. Great story and the setting/atmosphere was awesome. Too bad it’s a one-shot game, once you finish it there’s not really a reason to play again. Hopefully the authors (OneClickDog.com) in Slovakia will put out another installment.

Play Little Wheel, a free online game on Kongregate.

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LOLcaptions: the game

Posted on 2009-08-30 at 13:59 by Doppelbock

I ran across LOLcaptions over at Kongregate today. For some reason I really enjoy stupid image macros, don’t ask me why. In this game you join a room with other players and create captions for random photos on flikr, then everybody votes on their favorite.


Launch the full version of Whirled

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Is Dick Doper for real?

Posted on 2009-08-29 at 14:30 by Doppelbock

I can’t figure out if this guy “Dick Doper” is serious with his blog or just mocking the far-right loonies. I think that the latest post about pink light atop the Hancock tower in Chicago tips the balance in favor of the mocking theory. Below is a snippet from that post:

A commie code pinko spit in the face from the city that stinks. The city of Sickago. This is the confirmation that Sickago has gone completely liberal/regressive insane.

WINGNUT WEBZINE TOO, Political Blog, Conservative Bloggers, Republican Blogspot, Political Blogs.

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District 9 = Kick Ass

Posted on 2009-08-23 at 20:31 by Doppelbock

We finally went and saw District 9 today and it was a totally kick-ass movie. I knew just the basic premise but intentionally ignored all the commercials for it to avoid spoilers. There was a lot more to the plot than I expected and lots more character development as well.

The marketing web site is really cool, lots of content and buttons for other mini-sites at the bottom as well.

D-9.com

D9 Target

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Prehistoric Yeast Used to Brew Fossil Fuels Beer – Slashfood

Posted on 2009-08-06 at 20:56 by Doppelbock

Prehistoric Yeast Used to Brew Fossil Fuels Beer – Slashfood

Yes, someone did the old “extract some yeast from ancient amber and then use it to brew” trick. Kinda like Jurassic Park but tastier (hopefully). Now I have an excuse to head up to the Bay area (although I’m sure I won’t).

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Comic-Con Quote of the Year

Posted on 2009-07-31 at 21:29 by Doppelbock

A buddy of mine went to Comic-Con last Friday and recited this great quote to me the next day:

There was a Princess Leia costume contest out on the floor and it was so packed you couldn’t get within 100 yards of it. The whole area was fanboys jumping up to snap beat-off pictures for later.

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Sexy People = Comedy Gold

Posted on 2009-07-20 at 21:07 by Doppelbock

SEXY PEOPLE. Yes, this site is absolute comedy gold. A friend of mine (thanks Darana!) got sent a link to this site via Twitter-spam and I browsed around a bit and fell off my damn chair. Check out the Acid Wash and Stache?? pages first. The sub-title of the site is “a celebration of the perfect portrait” so I think he just trolls the Internet for portrait images to use on his site.

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