Hunter S. Thompson alters the enhanced photocopy.

July 22, 2026: Seven-Part Pact's Wizard Week With Tony Vasinda

We've passed the first week of Seven-Part Pact's crowdfunding, and I am beyond honored that we've already raised more than half a million toward making this fantastical, ornate dream of a TTRPG.

I spent four years playtesting this game before bringing it to crowdfunding. This means I've worked with hundreds of incredibly talented playtesters, friends, and colleagues over the years trying out different iterations of the game. In the months before the crowdfund, I worked with my dear friend and former MIB Tony Vasinda to devise a way to showcase the variety of perspectives that helped shape this game. Every day this week, Tony and I will be sitting down to interview a couple of the game's playtesters. On Monday, we talked to Demon Darling Eclipse and Brian Flaharty about their experience with the Necromancer. Yesterday we talked to Dr. Emily Friedman and Seraphina about their experiences . . . [more]

July 21, 2026: I Like Physical Games

For those who keep up with videogame news, there's been a bit of a kerfuffle in recent weeks about how physical media for gaming consoles is probably on the way out. As an avid video-game collector (and shelf-stuffing devotee of all manner of gaming), this news makes me sad.

It's also made me appreciate how darn awesome physical games are in general, and how fortunate I feel to be part of a gaming hobby that does survive so well and so long in the physical space.

I've explored the archives of game companies and seen titles that have gone back decades. I've cobbled together pieces from and taken inventory on decades-old titles from thrift stores. I've checked out games from the library. I've replayed titles from my childhood, revisiting games from last millennium. (The Star Trek III board game from 40 years ago had tremendous solo gaming value in the pre-computer-game era, including . . . [more]

July 20, 2026: The Pegasus Nominees: A Must For The Filk Library

I'm listening right now to The Pegasus Nominees: Songs of Space, Science, and Science Fiction, a compilation by Prometheus Music. The Pegasus Awards are given annually at the Ohio Valley Filk Festival to honor the year's best in filk.

(A digression: If you don't know what filksinging is: It's music, original or set to existing tunes, springing from the world of science fiction and fantasy. Most of it is fiction-related – or, these days, media-related. Still, as most SF fans are lovers of science, some filk is about the "science" side and not the "fiction" side. And, as many of us SF fans are very silly-ass people, many of our filksongs are humorous . . . or worse.)

At any rate, the Pegasus Awards have been given every year since 1984. Almost all of the winning writers and performers are amateur, both in the sense that they don't do it for a living, and in the sense that they love . . . [more]

July 19, 2026: Clearing The Air

The old atmospheric quality in recent days hasn't been great, what with pollen, allergens, world being on fire, etc. I recently tried a project I first heard about a few years ago (during the height of COVID): a Corsi-Rosenthal Box.

The idea is quite simple: Take four large air filters (the kind you'd put in your heating or AC unit), arrange them into a "box" (to use a technical term), then use a bog-standard old-fashioned box fan on top to force air through the filters.

Unlike many "this is so easy" at-home projects, this one did turn out to be as easy as I'd hoped, without so much as an adhesive bandage needed to mop up errant hemoglobin. The resultant filtration system has improved the air quality of my office considerably (based on the air-quality sensor built into my other, more-expensive-yet-less-effective air purifier).

Those who are curious can check out the Wikipedia pag . . . [more]

July 18, 2026: Can I Avoid Making A Spaceballs Reference? Nope, I Guess Not

For those looking for an idea for their space, atomic horror, or GURPS Monster Hunters campaigns, I humbly direct your attention to the mysterious metal spheres that have washed up in Queensland, Australia.

Also, special shout-out to CNN for going with the "space debris" story; the Illuminati appreciate avoiding any mention of Orbital Mind Control Lasers . . .

-- Steven Marsh