Friday, May 31, 2013
Cave Paintings in Mexico
A recent article on the Independent.co.uk website featured the discovery of roughly 5,000 cave paintings discovered in Burgos, Mexico. See more here!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Revealing Asteroids with Radar from JPL News
Over on the JPL News YouTube channel, they have uploaded a video titled "Revealing Asteroids with Radar." Some interesting stuff for those who wish to follow near-Earth objects in 2013 and utilize such knowledge in their tabletop roleplaying setting. Enjoy!
Update -
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Century Old OK City Time Capsule
Over on LaughingSquid.com, there is an article titled "After Being Sealed for 100 Years, Time Capsule in Oklahoma City Reveals Pristine Artifacts." See and read more here!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Old Blue Eyes
While you're mulling over ideas for your tabletop roleplaying setting, consider the following real world situation regarding the origins of blue eyes in humans. The linked article from ScienceDaily.com is five years old but has some interesting thoughts on the origins of blue eyes in our world. Read more here!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Prehistoric Dog Lovers Liked Seafood, Jewelry, Spirituality
A recent article on news.discovery.com proffers that "Prehistoric Dog Lovers Liked Seafood, Jewelry, Spirituality." Read more here!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
2013 One Page Dungeon Contest Winners Announced
Over on CampaignWiki.org, the 2013 One Page Dungeon Contest winners have been announced. See more here!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Film of Mark Twain from 1909
A Facebook Friend pointed out a website that is linked to a video of a converted film made by Thomas Edison of Mark Twain and some of his family. Learn more here!
Friday, May 24, 2013
The History Blog - In Viking Footsteps
A good website to bookmark, The History Blog has a recent post about a "Bored Viking [who] carved [an] outline of his foot on ship deck." Read more here!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Flesh-Eating Robots
A fellow EN Worlder pointed out an article on Wired.co.uk from early 2010 that I had missed which shows design work on robots meant to convert organic matter such as insects and even rodents into energy for power cells. The one pictured below is based on the idea of a pitcher plant. To quote the narrator of the accompanying video, "Each robots will evolve over time by both its programming and owner interventions as the host develops a relationship and understanding of the robot's requirements, perhaps moving it from room to room or even feeding it artificially when energy levels are becoming low." Sounds a little ominous. See more here!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Nasa Buys into 'Quantum' Computer
A recent article on bbc.co.uk revealed that "Nasa buys into 'quantum' computer." Any near-future tabletop roleplaying setting would benefit from its technology doing likewise. Read more here!
Monday, May 20, 2013
3D Walkthrough of Lascaux Cave
Over on lascaux.culture.fr there is a 3D walkthrough of the Lascaux cave complex with all the prehistoric art one would expect. While there, be sure to explore the various panels and make note of the levels of the cave system. The walk-through has a clever way of denoting how you climb deeper into the earth that feels rather natural. Below is the Panel of the Wounded Man but see more here!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Escaping an Eagle Attack
The National Geographic YouTube channel has a recently uploaded video titled "Escaping an Eagle Attack" that shows how a small water chevrotain manages to avoid capture by a crowned eagle. Enjoy!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Mummy Born to Aged Mother
"Mummy Born" sounds a bit like one of those portmanteau concoctions used for a game system creature when designers are at a loss during the naming process. However, in this case it denotes the by-product of a strange and tragic situation for Zahra Aboutalib that began in 1955 and culminated nearly five decades later. Read more here (Warning: perhaps not for sensitive readers)!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Flying Car
A recent article on Discovery.com discusses a hybrid car-plane design that surely needs to be added to many tabletop near-future setting. Read more here!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
World's Oldest Flowing Water
A recent article on the cbc.ca CBC News Technology & Science discusses how the "World's oldest flowing water [was] found deep in Timmins mine." Read more here!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Haunted Rait Castle
Standing for 710 years in Scotland, somewhat the worse for wear, some believe Rait Castle is haunted. Read more here!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Science Fiction Ghost Towns
Over on Cracked.com, there is a recent article titled "7 Modern Ghost Towns That Look Like Sci-Fi Movies." See more here!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Healing Salve
Recently Mashable.com ran an article titled "College Student Creates Gel to Stop Bleeding Instantly."
Add something like this to your tabletop roleplaying setting. Read more here!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Science of a Cheetah's Speed
A recent National Geographic YouTube channel upload highlights "The Science of a Cheetah's Speed." Enjoy!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
6 Horrifying Animal Kills Science Didn't Think Were Possible from Cracked
Over on Cracked.com, there is a new article titled "6 Horrifying Animal Kills Science Didn't Think Were Possible." See more here!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Rodent Multiplication
A short National Geographic video on their YouTube channel shows how rat populations can get out of hand. Enjoy!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Zombie Ants
There is a fungus, called ophiocordyceps unilateralis, that transforms ants into zombies in order that the fungus may procreate. Read more here!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Living with Man-Eating Crocs
National Geographic has a new YouTube video on "Living with Man-Eating Crocs." Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Dublin’s Oldest Road
A recent article on IrishArchaeology.ie discusses "Dublin’s Oldest Road?" Some nice maps and illustrations are included. See more here!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Tilt Shift Photos and Perspective
Many ideas one can get for setting development for tabletop game settings come from photos of real world locations. That in mind, check out some real world locations presented in tilt shift perspective from dailymail.co.uk and see if it also shifts your ideas a bit. See more here!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Baboon Attack!
Over on the National Geographic channel, they have uploaded a new video titled "Baboon Attack!" Enjoy!
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Mongooses vs. Giant Storks
A recent National Geographic YouTube video features "Mongooses vs. Giant Storks." Enjoy!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Short Order Heroes Kickstarter
I don't often blog about two Kickstarters back-to-back but this Short Order Heroes project looks pretty cool, is well-funded already, and has just a few days left. See more here!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Character Cards Kickstarter
There is a Kickstarter with a couple weeks left titled "Character Cards - Instant NPC Just Add Water" from Stephen Coffey that is already well-funded. See more here!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Life Without Breathing
There is a fascinating article on TechWench.com from last year called "Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing." A neat idea for a tabletop science fiction scenario. Read more here!
