I survive traffic safety class with sanity intact by mocking the excessive detail and strange factoids included. So far I've learned that,
"...a cow is rarely alone."
Honking at cows is against the law.
A vehicle carrying explosives may not travel over 55mph.
Antihistamines are medically classified as "deleriants", the same as "BZ" nerve gas.
"...a cow is rarely alone."
Honking at cows is against the law.
A vehicle carrying explosives may not travel over 55mph.
Antihistamines are medically classified as "deleriants", the same as "BZ" nerve gas.
I miss Berlin already. My last night there, I took another walk to pick up a couple books. My route carried me past Unter den Linden again, the old tree-lined boulevard through the heart of the city into the park. Before that, there was Alexanderplatz, the plaza in East Berlin where protestors had gathered, chanted, sung, and finally cheered as The Wall fell. That night, someone had chalked "We Are the 99%" on the concrete. I smiled to see it written there.
Last night I got back to Oakland. The news tells me police broke up the Occupy protests in our downtown that same night using tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets. I couldn't remember any reports of East German police using tear gas, stun grenades, or rubber bullets against the Alexanderplatz protestors in '89.
The night before, nearly 100 protestors were arrested in downtown Oakland. At the rate protestors are being arrested nationwide, we are a few days away from the number of jailed protestors eclipsing the number of people who died in the Twin Towers attack.
Last night I got back to Oakland. The news tells me police broke up the Occupy protests in our downtown that same night using tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets. I couldn't remember any reports of East German police using tear gas, stun grenades, or rubber bullets against the Alexanderplatz protestors in '89.
The night before, nearly 100 protestors were arrested in downtown Oakland. At the rate protestors are being arrested nationwide, we are a few days away from the number of jailed protestors eclipsing the number of people who died in the Twin Towers attack.
Random snaps for the Essen games tradeshow.
Nerf Gatling Tripod: No one needs that kind of power
There was also a nerf sniper rifle. A NERF SNIPER RIFLE.
Jeff Allers, Game Designer, eats prototypes for lunch.
Nerf Gatling Tripod: No one needs that kind of power
There was also a nerf sniper rifle. A NERF SNIPER RIFLE.
Jeff Allers, Game Designer, eats prototypes for lunch.
A layover day in Berlin, running about the favorite sights at the town center.
Viktoria, atop her column. The friezes below had been freshly repainted, hiding the verdigris trails off the shrapnel pocks. I look forward to her aging anew. Her scars are much of her beauty.
A walk in the Tiergarten. The pools were feeling reflective, and many of the lindens had not yet taken on their autumn colours.
Ich isst ein Berliner!
Viktoria, atop her column. The friezes below had been freshly repainted, hiding the verdigris trails off the shrapnel pocks. I look forward to her aging anew. Her scars are much of her beauty.A walk in the Tiergarten. The pools were feeling reflective, and many of the lindens had not yet taken on their autumn colours.Ich isst ein Berliner!Travelling again, just for a bit. There should be pretty pictures soon. The camera wasn't brought along for this trip, so we'll be seeing if the one built in to the newest iPhone is as good as Apple said it'd be.
Today: Back in Berlin, which would be my home city if the Bay weren't. Then a train ride to Essen, and 4 days of toys and games there. Literally. Essen Spieltage is the board game tradeshow for the world, and I'm there to talk shop.
Today: Back in Berlin, which would be my home city if the Bay weren't. Then a train ride to Essen, and 4 days of toys and games there. Literally. Essen Spieltage is the board game tradeshow for the world, and I'm there to talk shop.
I'm ringing in the day in proper mad-scientific fashion: Having robots carve the latest creation. All part of the plan for world domination to make a new prototype of the game to show off at Essen, where the all the new games for the year get shown. This is also a convenient excuse to revisit Germany, walk the Tiergarten, give a nod to the Vicktoria atop the Victory Column, and ride the S42 around Berlin for a couple laps.
The pink stuff is insulating foam. I test the first prototypes of the game's box-organizer by carving it. As the design gets more final, I move to wood, and finally aluminum.
- - - - - -
Word is that Dennis Ritchie has just today. Ritchie was a titan in the computing world, whose inventions were a foundation for nearly everything that came since. And they've lasted. Your car runs code that was written in a language that Ritchie invented. Your Mac runs an operating system that derives from Ritchie's creation.
The pink stuff is insulating foam. I test the first prototypes of the game's box-organizer by carving it. As the design gets more final, I move to wood, and finally aluminum.
- - - - - -
Word is that Dennis Ritchie has just today. Ritchie was a titan in the computing world, whose inventions were a foundation for nearly everything that came since. And they've lasted. Your car runs code that was written in a language that Ritchie invented. Your Mac runs an operating system that derives from Ritchie's creation.
People say we should count ourselves lucky to be born in such rich countries, with clean water, no malaria, and on and on. But tonight I'm appreciating how lucky it was to be born at the cultural epicenter of the world.
I'm looking at publishing companies in other nations, and wanting to talk them into carrying my game. My cultural offering. And I'm looking at their catalogs, and it's all things from far away. "World of Hobbies" in Russia brags only about carrying games that started their lives as English language ones. Lautapelit in Finland, the same. Coming from English, it's only one step to translate my ideas into any other language. This is the hub language. If I'd been a Finn or a Russian, wanting to share my creations, they'd have been converted to English first. Two translation steps. Exponentially more barrier to bringing one's creations to the world.
It's not fair, really.
I'm looking at publishing companies in other nations, and wanting to talk them into carrying my game. My cultural offering. And I'm looking at their catalogs, and it's all things from far away. "World of Hobbies" in Russia brags only about carrying games that started their lives as English language ones. Lautapelit in Finland, the same. Coming from English, it's only one step to translate my ideas into any other language. This is the hub language. If I'd been a Finn or a Russian, wanting to share my creations, they'd have been converted to English first. Two translation steps. Exponentially more barrier to bringing one's creations to the world.
It's not fair, really.
The new logo for the new game publishing company. Hopefully, you like. After the first round of voting on a logo, it was evident that no logo was going to make everyone happy, so after the second round of design was done, I chose my personal favorite. This one has the simple look I wanted.
Also, this logo will carve easily into aluminum. And in the end, isn't that all you can really ask for?
