Daily Illuminator Archive for April 2005

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April 1, 2005:
And it is amazing indeed. So head on over to the e23 page and read with disbelief! . . . read article

April 2, 2005:
You've heard all the endless reports: Nanotechnology is the next, uh . . . big thing. What would you do with it? . . . read article

April 3, 2005:
This is the latest release from Steve Jackson Games, now on its way to the shelves of a game store near you: Munchkin "Lovely Loot" Shirt This high-quality, 4-color, completely evil shirt depicts the Super Munchkin and the Munchkin Babe, surrounded by their ill-gotten loot. It includes special rules allowing the wearer of the shirt to get extra treasure . . . read article

April 4, 2005:
At 10am Sunday, our provider, Birch Telecom, suffered a beaut of an outage, affecting Austin, Houston, and other parts of Texas. We didn't get our service restored until almost 6pm . . . read article

April 5, 2005:
Steve Jackson Games announces for release in July, 2005: Super Munchkin Fly through the city. Smash the villains . . . read article

April 6, 2005:
Teachers are being pressured to give up red ink because it intimidates the students. Green and purple are friendlier . . . read article

April 7, 2005:
GURPS Fourth Edition has over 150 advantages, over 200 disadvantages, and over 250 skills! How can a GM communicate which traits are vital to his campaign, and which will be just a waste of points? . . . read article

April 8, 2005:
The Second Coming has arrived, and his name is Ted Jesus Christ GOD. He's got some great ideas for bunkers, should he ever become president, and he calls them Ted Jesus Christ GOD Deep Underground Eco Enclosed Cities . . . read article

April 9, 2005:
Around noon on Friday, the guys in Production complained of smelling smoke. Sticking our heads outside, we indeed saw smoke -- and it was coming from our balcony! . . . read article

April 10, 2005:
The long-awaited GURPS Vehicle Builder Update 2 for Third Edition is now available for download. Registered users can access this update from the Vehicle Builder Update Page . . . read article

April 11, 2005:
How'd you like to be handcuffed and dragged to jail because you made a payment in U.S. currency? I don't think much of people who respond to casual annoyances by filing suit, but this is no casual annoyance . . . read article

April 12, 2005:
We are thrilled to announce that e23's first full-length original GURPS book, GURPS Mysteries, is now available. Mysteries is the result of much perseverance and hard work on the part of author Lisa Steele, who also wrote GURPS Cops. We almost published this book last fall, but then we realized that by the time e23 was actually up and running, GURPS Fourth Edition would be out – so Lisa went back and updated the entire manuscript, and now Mysteries is also our first GURPS Fourth Edition supplement on e23! . . . read article

April 13, 2005:
People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! . . . read article

April 14, 2005:
Sometimes we think the Pentagon has a copy of GURPS Ultra-Tech and is mining it for ideas . . . Now they're asking for proposals on a remote battlefield "trauma center." Okay, it's not actually a true autodoc, but it's the first step . . . read article

April 15, 2005:
Better men have tried, all have failed (unless the dolphins pulled a fast one and we didn't notice). Wiping out our planet (not "all life on it," mind you) isn't as easy as summer blockbusters would have you believe . . . read article

April 16, 2005:
I got several interesting responses to the "no more red ink" story . . . Names withheld, of course . . . read article

April 17, 2005:
As reported last Saturday, some of us got to see a handy firefighting gadget in the hands of the guys from Truck 35. We described the gadget, which allows firefighters to see through smoke to the source of a fire, as "nifty." Turns out, the U.S . . . read article

April 18, 2005:
Steve Jackson Games announces for release in August, 2005: GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars The transition between the First Imperium, governed by the Vilani, and the Rule of Man, led by the Terran Confederation, has always been a pivotal era in Marc Miller's Traveller universe. Now, for the first time in any game system, Traveller players can explore the depths of this rich setting. GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars covers the 200 years of war, peace, and overwhelming change as the ancient Vilani Imperium falls to the upstart Terrans . . . read article

April 19, 2005:
Yes, Virginia, there is a Dork Street. Read the CNN story, which advises us that ". . . residents believe it was named after someone called Dork." Gee, you think? . . . read article

April 20, 2005:
A police department in Arizona is looking for a grant to train a capuchin monkey for their SWAT team. Capuchins are highly intelligent and sociable and are often trained to aid paraplegics . . . read article

April 21, 2005:
Wednesday night I got to do something fun and interesting. I had the privilege of acting as a judge for the STS Game Court at the University of Texas . . . read article

April 22, 2005:
Crank Dot Net offers itself up as a clearinghouse for strange and esoteric information. Want a weird website on Planet X or the Loch Ness Monster? . . . read article

April 23, 2005:
This is the latest release from Steve Jackson Games, now on its way to distributors everywhere and soon to be on the shelves of a game store near you: Ninja Burger 2 - Sumo-Size Me! Be a ninja! Deliver fast food! . . . read article

April 24, 2005:
I continue to have way too much fun with the Chaos Machine. For those who haven't heard, this is a large collection of the Chaos educational building set, which I take to conventions and, with the help of anybody who feels like helping, build a HUGE NOISY THING . . . read article

April 25, 2005:
Sten was one of the buyers in the Super Munchkin card auction. He made his payment on time . . . and dropped off the face of the earth . . . read article

April 26, 2005:
Sony Electronics has recently been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain. They hope to create video games which you can smell, taste, and touch . . . read article

April 27, 2005:
Just Released – GURPS Casey & Andy, new for GURPS Fourth Edition and now for sale on e23! GURPS Casey & Andy is based on Andy Weir's hilarious webcomic Casey & Andy, found on the Web at www.galactanet.com/comic/index.htm. The title characters are 21st-century mad scientists dabbling in time and dimension travel, instantaneous cloning, and increasingly complex apocalyptic doomsday devices . . . read article

April 28, 2005:
We are advised that toads in Germany are exploding. Read the BBC story. . . . read article

April 29, 2005:
One of the most popular game aids we did for GURPS was the spell prerequisite charts, showing the exact (and sometimes very complex) relationships between spells. Even as we were working on GURPS Magic, we knew we wanted to do a set of charts for the new edition . . . read article

April 30, 2005:
Steve Jackson Games is looking for an Office Manager. Job responsibilities would include answering phones and email, making copies, general officekeeping, and managing office supplies . . . read article

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