Word of the Day -- Shock Wave

A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. When a wave moves faster than the speed of sound in a liquid, gas or plasma (a "fluid", in physics terminology) it is a shock wave. Like an

ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy, and can propagate through a medium. It is characterized

by an abrupt, nearly discontinuous change in pressure, temperature and density of the medium. In

supersonic flows, expansion is achieved through an expansion fan.

Unlike solitons (another kind of nonlinear wave), the energy of a shock wave dissipates relatively quickly with distance. Also, the accompanying expansion wave approaches and eventually merges with the shock wave, partially cancelling it out. Thus the sonic boom associated with the passage of a supersonic aircraft is the sound wave resulting from the degradation and merging of the shock wave and the expansion wave produced by the aircraft.

When a shock wave passes through matter, the total energy is preserved but the energy which can be extracted as work decreases and the entropy increases. This, for example, creates additional drag force on aircraft with shocks.

Shock waves can travel through any medium, including solids, liquids, gasses, and plasmas.

Daily Cosplay Gencon 2015

Game Theory

Have fun.

I think that is the most coherent game theory there is. Have fun. At Gencon I had quite a few discussions about game mechanics and set up, but at the end of the day, if the game is fun to you, play it.

For me, rules, whether in a RPG or board game, are tedious and take away from what I'd rather be doing  . . . which is really fighting zombies in the apocalypse . . .  and keep me from getting to the meat of things. But there is another side of the discussion.

Some gamers really enjoy mechanics, the complexity of figuring something out, with equal emphasis put on the playing field that allows them to better figure out their odds of survival. If I have  X and X skill and he has X and X skill, then I have an X chance of overcoming it. This is gambling at its heart, which is what most games are, some form of gambling, however complicated.

It all began with the caveman running the odds against spearing the cave bear!

Tales Retold

Our collective memory is one long story. It starts quick and changes almost as fast. When you know someone, or experience an event, you remember it later, but you don't remember it perfectly. These memories become embellished with hopes, desires, fears and other thoughts that linger always at the edge of what we are doing and thinking. These alter the remembered reality and become tales told over and over again.

Those retold tales alter as well, aspects that seem to garner the greatest reaction are enhanced and those that do not are set aside. Thoughts of what could have happened mingle with memories of what did happen and the experience becomes slightly altered.

In time generations retell these tales and stories and the whole become part of the mythic fabric of what was, though not what was.

Mythologies.

Movie Trailer ~ Zealander 2

LOL

Imaginarium ~ Deep Waves

To The End

At Gencon we rolled out a short film we did last month. We posted it all over the place, so you may have seen it already. If not you can view it HERE.

Its absolutely nothing like you expect, so be sure to check it out.

It was really a departure for me from what I normally do. I wrote the script and two others (one I've lost) as kind of a new approach, but once we were on location things shifted in my head. I watched these wonderful actors really put their all into what I had written and Hop, the director, was make real magic before my eyes. It was really cool. Several times the deviated from what I had written, but it only made it better.

Its was fun sitting there, really doing absolutely nothing except making the occasional comment about this or the other and watching it unfold.

Very cool.

Tiny, Tiny Lander

So you don't ever expect these things to be this small, but if you take a few minutes and watch this video, you'll see the Phlae Lander that is sitting on the asteroid way off in the far away asteroid belt even now. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but not this!

Very cool.

Adventure Lies Before You

Alexandr Komarav

Word of the Day -- Combat Helmet

A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of helmet, a piece of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat.

Helmets are among the oldest forms of personal protective equipment and are known to have been worn by the Akkadians/Sumerians in the 23rd century BCE, Mycenaean Greeks since the 17th century BCE, the Assyrians around 900 BCE, ancient Greeks and Romans, throughout the Middle Ages, and up to the end of the 17th century by many combatants. Their materials and construction became more advanced as weapons became more and more powerful. Initially constructed from leather and brass, and then bronze and iron during the Bronze and Iron Ages, they soon came to be made entirely from forged steel in many societies after about 950 CE. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from cutting blows with swords, flying arrows, and low-velocity musketry.

Military use of helmets declined after 1670, and rifled firearms ended their use by foot soldiers after 1700[3] but the Napoleonic era saw ornate cavalry helmets reintroduced for cuirassiers and dragoons in some armies which continued to be used by French forces during World War I as late as 1915. World War I and its increased use of artillery renewed the need for steel helmets, with the French Adrian helmet and the British Brodie helmet being the first modern steel helmets used on the battlefield, soon followed by the adoption of similar steel helmets, such as the Stahlhelm by the other warring nations. In the 20th century, such helmets offered protection for the head from shrapnel and fragments as well as for specialist roles such as Paratrooper helmets.

To the End