Popular Culture, Movies, History, Games, Castles and Crusades. The musings of the Brothers Chenault. Troll Lord Games
Friday, April 26, 2013
Did They Find the Rules?
Archeologists have discovered a virtual treasure trove of artifacts in a dig at Burrough Hill in the United Kingdom. This iron age hill fort has been the focus of several digs but recently they unearthed all manner of tools and items. These include hooks, knives, broaches, spears and more. These items seem to have been set in some type of storage pit and the pit filled in with refuse.
Also found was a bone dice, looks like a six sider, and some gaming pieces. These lay with a flute and some other personal items.
Now if they can only find the rules.
Science Daily.
Also found was a bone dice, looks like a six sider, and some gaming pieces. These lay with a flute and some other personal items.
Now if they can only find the rules.
Science Daily.
Evil! You Lose Again.
At the CERN Collider they have discovered a particle that decays unevenly into matter and anti-matter. Now this discovery is important as scientists are attempting to discover why matter exists but anti-matter does not, when it is theorized that after the Big Bang equal amounts of the both were hanging about the Cosmos. What is difficult to explain is why the one is absent and the other not.
This isn't necessarily new, as it was discovered at Brookhaven back in the 60s that Kaon particles suffered asymmetry in decay rates between the positive and negative charged; then again in Japan around the turn of the century with mesons. The CERN Collider has discovered another particle that suffers this, B0 particles.
Read on.
"Third times the charm," as my mother likes to say.
Evil, you again lose!
This isn't necessarily new, as it was discovered at Brookhaven back in the 60s that Kaon particles suffered asymmetry in decay rates between the positive and negative charged; then again in Japan around the turn of the century with mesons. The CERN Collider has discovered another particle that suffers this, B0 particles.
Read on.
"Third times the charm," as my mother likes to say.
Evil, you again lose!
Star Trek, Z, and More
Somehow I missed this preview. The first one made me raise my eyebrows, it didn't look like a movie unfolding in space . . . which is essentially why Star Trek is so bad ass, because its in space (well that and some cool characters and such) . . . and the wreckage of the Enterprise forced my eyebrow to rise.
However, upon seeing this preview I'm a little more encouraged. It looks like we'll have at least one titanic struggle in space.
However, upon seeing this preview I'm a little more encouraged. It looks like we'll have at least one titanic struggle in space.
Second Trailer for World War Z. I'm really looking forward to this. Be a complete turn around from the Walking Dead (which I can't stop watching).
And here the next Riddick, the teaser trailer at any rate. I hope he goes back to what made Pitch Black a very good sic-fi film. Setting, mood, suspense, all set to an alien landscape from whose dark channels we don't know what's coming.
Hobby Market Uptick
We're watching with curiosity the Senate's wrestling with the online sales tax. States with overblown budgets had been struggling with this issue for awhile, but more importantly brick and mortar stores have found the lack of online tax one more thing to compete against. If it passes it will probably help stores at least a little.
This comes on top of the news that the Hobby industry has seen four years of growth, at least according to Internal Correspondence where board games follow card games in pushing the market up 5-20% per year since 2008. This joins anecdotal evidence from distributors and consolidators that TLG works with. Kickstarter has of course given publishers and manufacturers a boost in capital, allowing them to invest in larger lines which help all the way around. The Kickstarter model reduces the risk considerably for a publisher as an item's worth is determined long before 10s of thousands are pumped into it.
Hobby Sales Up.
So all good news for the industry!
This comes on top of the news that the Hobby industry has seen four years of growth, at least according to Internal Correspondence where board games follow card games in pushing the market up 5-20% per year since 2008. This joins anecdotal evidence from distributors and consolidators that TLG works with. Kickstarter has of course given publishers and manufacturers a boost in capital, allowing them to invest in larger lines which help all the way around. The Kickstarter model reduces the risk considerably for a publisher as an item's worth is determined long before 10s of thousands are pumped into it.
Hobby Sales Up.
So all good news for the industry!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Quantum Physics
Quantum Physics, also known as quantum mechanics, is an abstract science that deals with the mechanical properties of the microscopic world. The wave-like behavior of energy and matter as it interacts is understood through a series of mathematical equations. These theoretical mathematical constructs originate in the works of mathematicians such as David Hilbert. The first application of quantum mechanics lies with Max Planck and Planck's Law
This law deals with the electromagnetic radiation emitted by any physical body (this is the energy emitted that causes an item to seem normal to use, or at extreme temperatures, to emit heat and appear yellow or in very hot to be invisible to the human eye such as ultraviolet radiation). Plank's law tackles the radiation emitted by a body with thermal equilibrium, such as a concave surface with black walls. Mathematics is used to determine the energy emitted by this theoretical construct.
The mathematics set the stage for a host of mathematical constructs that lead to the very diverse and wide open field of Quantum mechanics.
This law deals with the electromagnetic radiation emitted by any physical body (this is the energy emitted that causes an item to seem normal to use, or at extreme temperatures, to emit heat and appear yellow or in very hot to be invisible to the human eye such as ultraviolet radiation). Plank's law tackles the radiation emitted by a body with thermal equilibrium, such as a concave surface with black walls. Mathematics is used to determine the energy emitted by this theoretical construct.
The mathematics set the stage for a host of mathematical constructs that lead to the very diverse and wide open field of Quantum mechanics.
Weird Science
Literally. It would seem that Universal Pictures is set to remake a classic movie from the '80s, Weird Science. The original starred Anthony Michael Hall and Kelly LeBrock and was directed by John Hughes. This is going to be a hard turn to take as John Hughes was a master at the craft, creating such classics as Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and Home Alone.
It also had Robert Downy Jr and Bill Paxton in it and Bill actually survived!
It also had Robert Downy Jr and Bill Paxton in it and Bill actually survived!
Kickstarter Movie Part 2
As you all probably know Veronica Mars movie kickstarter project hammered home over 5 million dollars in backer money. Zach Braff has now joined the fray with his own project, Wish I was Here. Braff is most commonly known for his work on Scrubs, but also in Garden State, a movie he wrote and directed. Braff hit 1 million in less than a day and as of this writing he's at about 1.2 million. He'll hit his mark and then some.
Its an interesting paradigm, the growth of kickstarter to fund such a variety of projects, and honestly its welcome as we can see movies made more to the liking of the actual movie makes with less of the idiotic changes we often here proposed by studios. With crowd funding artists can certainly maintain their original concept and avoid some of the crazed pit falls we've seen in movies before.
Its an interesting paradigm, the growth of kickstarter to fund such a variety of projects, and honestly its welcome as we can see movies made more to the liking of the actual movie makes with less of the idiotic changes we often here proposed by studios. With crowd funding artists can certainly maintain their original concept and avoid some of the crazed pit falls we've seen in movies before.
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