Staples and large format prints
A reminder that Staples prints large format (eg 36"×48"), black and white, engineering drawings at a very reasonable cost. They is currently having a sale on printing 24"×36" engineering drawings for $3.59. So, the next time you want a map of your dungeon crawl, space combat, 40K coloring poster, or you have the need to Feel the Bern (source) get it printed at Staples Copy & Print.
A mostly disorganized and violent tennis match audience
I am going to say it. I hate the giant spaulders, that bulbous shoulder armor, that so many 40K and Warmachine figures & factions have. I like my fantasy armies to have some grounding in practicality. How can the fighter use peripheral vision to see anything to his or her left and right? Will fantasy combat newsreel footage look like a mostly disorganized and violent tennis match audience? Heads wildly swinging from left to right and back again as they attempt to keep aware of the battlefield! Or perhaps spaulders are just the result of retinitis pigmentosa becoming rampant along with other degenerative, inheritable DNA mutations -- like shoulders wide enough to hold up the damned things. I should pity them.Ok, back to your normal work.
(And yes, I am well aware that the Cryx Bane Thralls I bought have them. And yes, I feel the hypocrisy.)
Slack, "Jump to conversation", and a global shortcut
Slack's "Jump to conversation" Cmd-K shortcut is really useful to quickly contact one of our burgeoning staff or channels. Unfortunately, Cmd-K only works when Slack is the front-most application. Further, since Slack does not provide a "Jump to conversation" menu item you can't use the Keyboard System Preferences to make a global shortcut. So I wrote a small Service, SlackCommandK.workflow [1], that when run sends a Command-K to Slack. I then assigned it the Ctr-Cmd-K global shortcut. (I need to add Ctr as Cmd-K is used in other applications and their use of Cmd-K trumps the global use.)
To use the service download it, unzip it, launch it, give permission [2], install it, and then go to the Keyboard System Preferences to add the Ctr-Cmd-K shortcut.
[1] This is how tiny it is
To use the service download it, unzip it, launch it, give permission [2], install it, and then go to the Keyboard System Preferences to add the Ctr-Cmd-K shortcut.
[1] This is how tiny it is
tell application "Slack" to activate[2] Since this Service is not signed you will also need to override the default restriction on unsigned applications using the Security & Privacy System Preference. Go to its General tab and press Open Anyway button next to the text
tell application "System Events"
keystroke "k" using command down
end tell
"SlackCommandK.workflow" was blocked from opening because it is not from an identified developer."
I needed a quick and dirty worker pool within bash. Easy parallelization with Bash in Linux worked well. In short,
create-a-stream-of-bash-commands | xargs --max-procs=3 -I CMD bash -c CMD
Where did that data come from?
I have several reporting scripts that send me email overnight. When receiving such an email it is useful to know its origins. Using something like Rundesk that centralizes a catalog of scripts to be run on machines would be best, but I am not yet prepared to install and support this tool. And so, for now, I am just adding a line at the end of each message with its origin using the command
echo -e "\nSource $USER@$HOSTNAME:$(readlink -f $0)"which, for the hypothetical script at $HOME/bin/reports/tellme.sh on host42, outputs
Source ag@host42:/home/ag/bin/reports/tellme.sh
Weekend workbench 2016-02-27
I finished priming and painting the faces and arms of the 6mm Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. I like priming with black gesso as it is very matte and masks no detail, but I never seem put enough on to account for its extreme shrinkage during drying. So lots of spot touch ups were needed.I bought a painted band of 12 Warmachine Cryx Bane Thralls at CaptainCon a few weeks back. The band consists of a leader, a banner holder, and 10 soldiers. This was an impulse purchase, something I don't normally do, and while I do intend to sell them I decided to find a use for them until then. So I am making a Saga warband and battleboard. The band was 2 thralls short to make 3 hearthguard units so bought 2 from GAV Games and painted them up this weekend. Now I need to think about the battleboard ... perhaps there is something on the Revenant battleboard that I can use.
Book of sci-fi artist Simon Stålenhag work
I have several of sci-fi artist Simon Stålenhag's prints. I just discovered that he has a new book, Tales from the Loop, of them out now.
Weekend workbench 2016-02-20
Weekend workbench saw painting of a dozen 60mm × 20mm blue and red bases for use in learning To the Strongest while I prepare the actual figures and bases. A long time ago I bought some Baccus 6mm Vikings and Anglo-Saxons to play DBA and so am preparing them while I contemplate which 6mm ancients to buy. Which is really a non-decision as by the end of this year I am likely to have Rome and all her enemies.Side note: While looking for map examples (and finding the kids book!) I also found these 3D models of ancient battles (DecoBoco Map Sengoku).
Unsettled note: Star Wars X-Wing is still in the box. Sigh.
Alcatraz by Jimmy Treehorn
I really enjoy seeing how others build things. In software development, at least the kind I have mostly been a part of, very little of what is designed and implemented ever gets used. So, one has to have a mindset of the journey being the reward. Seeing other people's journeys is rewarding too.
Beautiful opposition & equivalence:
Taylor Mali's "Totally like whatever, you know"
Melissa Lozada-Oliva's "Like Totally Whatever"
Armada surrender
I am having a very hard time settling down and anteing up for a space combat miniatures game. After a great deal of exploration and consideration I had settled on Star Wars: Armada. Its fleet combat action with the concomitant large vessels, lots of fighters, and played on a big table is what I am looking for. And I really like the setting. So a few weeks back I bought the starter kit, but since it arrived the box has been unopened. Why?
Even after buying it I remained a little uneasy about the large number of custom components: the specialized dice, unique movement jigs, uncommon vessel stands, specific crew & vessel cards, the tokens, etc. What happens when Fantasy Flight Games discontinues the game? Can the game stand up without the support of the manufacturer? Should I care as long as I enjoyed the game for a few years (my ROI)? A specific game is not eternal afterall.
On Tuesday I was in northern Massachusetts and so drove over to Hobby Bunker to get a couple of back issues of Wargames Illustrated. The shelves had lots of X-Wing, lots of Star Trek Attack Wing, and almost no Armada. I should have asked the staff about the discrepancy, but my gut told me that Armada just did not have the following of the other games. Having others to play with is also what I want in my space combat miniatures game.
I returned Armada today, and I am back to not knowing what to choose.
ps If you are a D&D Attack Wing player and looking for more components Hobby Bunker has a dozen or more in their remainders sale.
pps Wargames Illustrated US subscription price is far too high at £80.00 / year (currently $114). So I choose to just buy a few issues a year to get my glossy magazine fix.
Update: I have bought Star Wars: The Force Awakens X-Wing Miniatures Game Core Set. Seeing the X-Wing Builder tool and some of its results, for example, here, here, and here (by way of The Woofboot Chronicles), put me over the top. I picked up the newer version of the core set as I have read that the manual is much improved over the original (and there are very few new rules or rules changes between the two).
Even after buying it I remained a little uneasy about the large number of custom components: the specialized dice, unique movement jigs, uncommon vessel stands, specific crew & vessel cards, the tokens, etc. What happens when Fantasy Flight Games discontinues the game? Can the game stand up without the support of the manufacturer? Should I care as long as I enjoyed the game for a few years (my ROI)? A specific game is not eternal afterall.
On Tuesday I was in northern Massachusetts and so drove over to Hobby Bunker to get a couple of back issues of Wargames Illustrated. The shelves had lots of X-Wing, lots of Star Trek Attack Wing, and almost no Armada. I should have asked the staff about the discrepancy, but my gut told me that Armada just did not have the following of the other games. Having others to play with is also what I want in my space combat miniatures game.
I returned Armada today, and I am back to not knowing what to choose.
ps If you are a D&D Attack Wing player and looking for more components Hobby Bunker has a dozen or more in their remainders sale.
pps Wargames Illustrated US subscription price is far too high at £80.00 / year (currently $114). So I choose to just buy a few issues a year to get my glossy magazine fix.
Update: I have bought Star Wars: The Force Awakens X-Wing Miniatures Game Core Set. Seeing the X-Wing Builder tool and some of its results, for example, here, here, and here (by way of The Woofboot Chronicles), put me over the top. I picked up the newer version of the core set as I have read that the manual is much improved over the original (and there are very few new rules or rules changes between the two).
Listen to Wikipedia
Listen to Wikipedia is wonderful and a good example of an ambient display. Reminds me of listening to the music of the stars in Carl Sagan's Cosmos series.
d0x3d!
A year or so ago I bought the d0x3d! board game. The theme is network security and the players are hackers cooperating to retrieve stolen information and escape the network before detection. The mechanics are very similar to Forbidden Island. I finally organized my coworkers and bribed them with a selection of Rhode Island beers and we played it today. It was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to other engineering types that might be adverse to playing a board game. Most telling was Mike's comment that playing the game together was the best team building exercise we had ever done. That was not my intention, but I am glad the game play achieved that also.
Regarding the beers, the two winners were Captain's Daughter and Revival White Electric Coffee Stout.
Regarding the beers, the two winners were Captain's Daughter and Revival White Electric Coffee Stout.
Looking for laser cutting service
Anyone know of a laser cutting service in South Kingstown or vicinity? AS220 Labs has a low cost service (4 hours / $25), but I normally only need an hour and don't want the cost of driving to and parking in Providence. Does URI have a maker space or have plans to create one?
Playstation 4 Tax
Macintosh users once talked about the "Microsoft Tax." This was the additional hardware you needed to buy in order to effectively use a Microsoft Word upgrade. Today I discovered a "Playstation 4 Tax". This is the additional wireless networking hardware you have the buy in order to play Call of Duty with teammates and not effectively block other family members from using the internet. I am thinking my son will need to pay this tax.
FYI: How bad are things (in schools)?
Tom Hoffman's How bad are things (in schools)? posting (and the one it draws from) is related to the complexity of childhood's problems that often come up when talking about social engineering education reform. The "script" he talks about is a small computer program that when run prints the condition(s) of a random stranger. Well worth reading.
Update: Hoffman's original code is now at archive.org.
Too much beer and ardent talk
The planning and execution of 9/11 took several years to complete. Oklahoma City took 2 years. These guys' plan seemed to be based on drinking too much beer and speaking too ardently the night before. Blockade the facility and let 'em starve. I give them 5 days before they quite.
Update: Their humiliation will likely to be the spark that sets this fiasco on fire. And that outcome WILL cause serious problems for this country.
Update: Regarding humiliation, "Hungry and cold, Ammon soon found his limbs entwined with Trevor’s. He was unsure where he ended and Trevor began. ‘It’s for warmth,’ he told himself. He pulled out his Magnum and gripped the barrel, locking eyes with Ammon. Ryan held the cold steel to his brother’s naked flank. Ammon gasped with pleasure and desire." Y'all Qaeda erotica fan-fiction.
Update: Their humiliation will likely to be the spark that sets this fiasco on fire. And that outcome WILL cause serious problems for this country.
Update: Regarding humiliation, "Hungry and cold, Ammon soon found his limbs entwined with Trevor’s. He was unsure where he ended and Trevor began. ‘It’s for warmth,’ he told himself. He pulled out his Magnum and gripped the barrel, locking eyes with Ammon. Ryan held the cold steel to his brother’s naked flank. Ammon gasped with pleasure and desire." Y'all Qaeda erotica fan-fiction.
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