Daily Illuminator Archive for December 2005

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December 1, 2005:
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found a brown dwarf which may be exhibiting planet-forming disks. Little Cha 110913-773444 is only eight times the mass of Jupiter, which prompts the question: will its orbiting bits be classified as planets, or moons? . . . read article

December 2, 2005:
A couple of gaming-related podcasts have come to our attention recently. First, Mark Johnson's Boardgames To Go series covers, well, boardgames . . . read article

December 3, 2005:
As GURPS Powers draws ever closer to your local game store, we've got yet another excerpt to keep you on the edge of your seat until it arrives. -- Paul Chapman . . . read article

December 4, 2005:
Eric Zimmermann, coauthor of the excellent game design text Rules of Play, has drafted A Game Developer's Bill of Rights. He's talking about the computer game industry, rather than paper games, but some of the points he makes are relevant to paper game designers too . . . read article

December 5, 2005:
Over the last week I read two good and very different books, from two authors I had known for very different sorts of things. So I'll share . . . read article

December 6, 2005:
With great gratitude to Steve Sopko for flying this thing for me for the past few months . . . Wow, is that a mixed metaphor, or what? . . . read article

December 7, 2005:
I see boxes. Lots and lots of boxes . . . read article

December 8, 2005:
Senior Staff meeting today was talk of the move. But things are under control . . . read article

December 9, 2005:
Fosfor Gadgets page offers an illustrated list of the Top Ten Weirdest USB Drives for our amazement, and coveting, and possibly squickage . . . read article

December 10, 2005:
Here is our December release, likely already on the shelf of a retailer near you, just in time for the holidays. GURPS Powers Save the World . . . or Destroy It! GURPS Powers is the ultimate book for the ultimate characters in the new Fourth Edition of GURPS! . . . read article

December 11, 2005:
Joe Kushner is saying good things about GURPS Banestorm on RPG.net; you can read his review here! . . . read article

December 12, 2005:
It proves to be unreasonably difficult to get really, really random numbers out of a computer. But most people have better things to do than roll dice all day, every day . . . read article

December 13, 2005:
The big Move Day is rapidly approaching. On Friday, December 16, the movers will come in and take all of our boxes away . . . read article

December 14, 2005:
Today was a day of packing and back-and-forth truck driving. What's really impressive to me, though, is that the people here are keeping up with the "must do" tasks with one hand while packing with the other . . . read article

December 15, 2005:
Many boxes have been packed, and we have now entered the exciting "tear stuff down to make the move easier" phase. Today's (yesterday by the time you read this) victim was the last wall of the old miniatures casting area . . . read article

December 16, 2005:
Today's the big day. Movers are tromping through our offices, both old and new, bearing boxes and furniture . . . read article

December 17, 2005:
It's hard to tell when you're surrounded by boxes and movers, but it looks like the move went very well. There were no disasters, and we should be up and running when Monday rolls around . . . read article

December 18, 2005:
Okay, now just what are the characters doing in this The Tao of Geek strip? Yep . . . read article

December 19, 2005:
Monday's our first Official Day in the new office. "Giddy with excitement" and "Monday" don't usually go together, but what the heck . . . read article

December 20, 2005:
So here are two superheroic recommendations that have nothing, nothing whatsoever, to do with GURPS Powers. They're just neat . . . read article

December 21, 2005:
Okay, that's a moving target. There's always SOMETHING else coming along . . . read article

December 22, 2005:
A couple of nights ago, while trying to sleep, I had an idea for a dice game. I staggered out of bed and made notes . . . read article

December 23, 2005:
The bulk of the move went off without a hitch. Now comes the frenzied task of salvaging all those bits that weren't important enough to have the movers haul, but are worth gathering up -- stuff like corkboards, garden hoses, and AC units (groan!) . . . read article

December 24, 2005:
The office will be closed for the holidays December 26 through January 2. We'll be home, eating too much, shredding pretty paper, and playing games . . . read article

December 25, 2005:
Newly posted for all our fans is a brand new free game aid for GURPS Fourth Edition, GURPS Combat Cards. The cards are the brainchild of two of our fans, Robert L . . . read article

December 26, 2005:
Before a printer actually prints a book, they run a series of "proof sheets." The publisher reviews these proofs for color correction and text reflow. (Ah, yes, reflow . . . read article

December 27, 2005:
One of the artifacts dealt with during the move was Alex's Tower of Cups -- six years' worth of (rinsed out!) soda cups from local fast food eateries. Before dumpstering them, Alex couldn't resist showing off . . . read article

December 28, 2005:
ApNano, manufacturers of the world's first nanotechnology-based lubricant, is experimenting with inorganic nanotubes as shock absorption material. The idea is to create armor for people and vehicles that is five times stronger than steel, yet light and flexible . . . read article

December 29, 2005:
Today we moved the archives. Sounds simple . . . read article

December 30, 2005:
Not only can you not find real wood paneling at the big-box home improvement places, the quality of the fake paneling they sell has become laughable. Most of it is pictures of wood, glued to heavy cardboard . . . read article

December 31, 2005:
Very soon now. Very, very soon . . . read article

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