Daily Illuminator Archive for August 2009

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August 1, 2009:
Or rather, next millennium. Turns out it's not the oldest monument in that neighborhood by about a thousand years . . . read article

August 2, 2009:
In less than two weeks, we'll be heading out to Indianapolis for GenCon. Most of us will be on the clock, running demos, dancing in the Munchkin mascot suit, and having Very Important Meetings . . . read article

August 3, 2009:
Treasure is, at the end of the day, pretty much the whole reason you went into the dungeon in the first place. Yeah, yeah, "rescue the whoever," "save the village," "evil lich," blah, blah, blah. All dungeon crawls, regardless of their launching point, rapidly become a "kick door, kill thing, take stuff" affair . . . read article

August 4, 2009:
I got interviewed for The Setup, a website on which people talk about the tech gear they use to get the job done, and what they might LIKE it to be. I enjoyed reading the others, and writing up my own . . . and since I'm about to go computer shopping, this gives me access to the ideas of some very savvy people . . . read article

August 5, 2009:
We spotted a couple of new Revolution! reviews this past weekend. First, Adam Hoffman posted an excellent description of his experience at Vault of Midnight in Ann Arbor, Michigan . . . read article

August 6, 2009:
Nope, just not as catchy a title as "The Stars Are Right." That's good, 'cause otherwise the boxes that arrived in our warehouse yesterday wouldn't be nearly as useful. Our translation of Pegasus Spiele's Die Sterne Stehen Richtig has survived the trans-Pacific crossing (although tales tell of six officers who will never be able to sleep in the dark again), and made its way to our warehouse . . . read article

August 7, 2009:
As everyone knows, a good portion of the Austin crew will be at Gen Con Indy this year. (Come see us at booth #1321!) . . . read article

August 8, 2009:
At Gen Con, we'll have a box or two of our newest Munchkin experiment: fin-seal packs! Each will be 15 non-randomized cards, with foil highlights, for classic Munchkin. Fairy Dust will hit store shelves in late September or early October; Waiting for Santa will start shipping about a month later . . . read article

August 9, 2009:
Because someone (Paul) has to get the Daily Illuminator queue nice and full before he departs for Gen Con, someone (still Paul) is making me write a piece about my thoughts on Gen Con. You, the lucky reader, get to join me on this rambling journey of forced autobiographical musings . . . read article

August 10, 2009:
I don't care what anybody around here tells you. Ninja are where it's at, buddy . . . read article

August 11, 2009:
Revolution! Blackmail the printer. Threaten the innkeeper . . . read article

August 12, 2009:
Today's the day the Austin crew flies off to Indianapolis for "the best four days in gaming" aka Gen Con. Our flight leaves quite early -- not a problem for Phil, but I expect to require some extra caffeine . . . read article

August 13, 2009:
You like your robots, right? So do firefighters, if it means not getting blown up . . . read article

August 14, 2009:
Alchemy gets an update for the new century: It now comes in powder and liquid forms. The Blue Emerald wants to usher you through the Membrane so you can see Truth as it truly is and not as part of the Faketrix, as the site settles on calling it . . . read article

August 15, 2009:
Nanuk Winter is coming. The doomsayers are sure your hunt will fail . . . read article

August 16, 2009:
According to experiments done by the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, the human brain can quickly incorporate mechanical tools into its "body map." This may make advanced prostheses a little less science fiction, and a little more "tomorrow." Read the full story here . . . read article

August 17, 2009:
We interrupt this ad for a brief news report. (Yes, we know it usually works the other way . . . read article

August 18, 2009:
Take one part YouTube, one part augmented reality, and one part competition. Mix with a bunch of geeks in an open-source setting . . . read article

August 19, 2009:
We've all done it -- the game is too good to stop, so we power up with a highly caffeinated beverage. Turns out, an inventor in New Mexico is thinking the same thing for gas-powered engines . . . read article

August 20, 2009:
With all apologies to Wolfgang Petersen. The picture shows one of our two prototype Munchkin dice rollers, hand-crafted by Matt Drake of VixenTor Games . . . read article

August 21, 2009:
We all made it back from Indy earlier this week. Despite a rash of travel-related mishaps reported from other attendees, and the threat of "significant weather" in Chicago, none of our crew was delayed more than a few minutes . . . read article

August 22, 2009:
If you like video games and have a wicked sense of humor, you likely already read Penny Arcade, a webcomic with enough followers to pull off their own massive convention. How big? . . . read article

August 23, 2009:
After 14 years of running GURPS by myself, stealing hours from staff editors when I desperately needed help, I have a full-time accomplice: Rev. Pee Kitty, otherwise known as Jason "PK" Levine or simply PK . . . read article

August 24, 2009:
Hey, Pyramid, you just reached the tenth issue of your latest incarnation! How do you feel? . . . read article

August 25, 2009:
A couple of weeks ago, e23 (our digital publishing project) passed a milestone that we think is pretty neat. All of the items in the Top 20 "What's Hot" list have sold at least 500 copies each . . . read article

August 26, 2009:
It seems the Marines have banned Facebook, Twitter, and a host of social networking sites from its bases. Not too much of a surprise; after all, you don't want soldiers to get sucked into Mafia Wars, right? . . . read article

August 27, 2009:
Wait, no -- wrong kind of Sherpa. The Munchkin Sherpa is a sturdy holder for a pen or marker (particularly those with a brand name that rhymes with Harpy) . . . read article

August 28, 2009:
If you'd like to learn more about the cryonics organization Alcor, the open-house session at SJ Games has been rescheduled for this Saturday, August 29, from 4 to 5 pm. This is an opportunity to talk with both Alcor members (including yours truly) and Alcor staff . . . read article

August 29, 2009:
Can science create zombies? Well, not as far as YOU know . . . read article

August 30, 2009:
Josh Levin recently wrote an article for Slate Magazine in which he discusses various scenarios for the end of America, at least as we know it. One of the experts interviewed for the article was futurist Jamais Cascio, author of the Transhuman Space books Broken Dreams and Toxic Memes . . . read article

August 31, 2009:
The first two entries into the Action series gave us nearly everything needed for campaigns modeled after the summer movie blockbuster. Car chases, clever crooks, big guns, explosions -- fast, fun . . . . . read article

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