Friday, February 25, 2005

Hasbro Launching Musical Toothbrush

This is pretty screwed up.

Hasbro Launching Musical Toothbrush

"Toymaker Hasbro, Inc. is injecting music into the act of brushing teeth. The company announced Friday that it's launching 'Tooth Tunes,' a toothbrush that transmits music through the jawbone to the ear when its bristles touch teeth.

"'You can clearly hear the words and the music,' said Brian Goldner, president of Hasbro's U.S. Toys unit. 'You can hum right along if you like.'

"For someone standing near a person brushing, the noise would be a muted hum, Goldner said.

"The battery-operated toothbrush contains a tiny microchip that stores the song. When the user presses a button and starts brushing, the sound vibrations pass through the tooth, to the jawbone and directly into the inner ear. The song plays for two minutes, the amount of time dentists recommend people spend brushing their teeth."

Thursday, February 24, 2005

American Science & Surplus

Is it dorky? I think it can be. It is certainly a cool site. If you can't find some ool here then you just aren't looking hard enough. Start your Holiday Gift Shopping now!

American Science & Surplus

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

F.M. Busby (1921-2005)

F.M. Busby (1921-2005)

"Both fandom and prodom suffered a loss today, Feb. 17, with the passing of F.M. 'Buz' Busby, who died this afternoon after battling an abdominal problem that put him in the hospital about a month ago. Buz, probably best known for his 'Rissa Kerguelen' series of science fiction novels, was also a BNF in the fandom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He and his wife Elinor edited Cry of the Nameless, winning a Hugo for best fanzine in 1960. Buz underwent another operation a few days ago, and was moved yesterday to a care facility because his Medicare coverage ended. He was 83 years old, born Francis Marion Busby on March 11, 1921. You can leave notes of condolence or memories on this CaringBridge page page, where additional details will be posted; I'll pass on any notes posted below to Elinor."

Superman is a Dick

I guess that this requires no further introduction then. It is a National Lampoon site, but the covers appear to have been legit and not doctored. It is worth it, if only for the name of the page.

Superman is a Dick

De gustibus non est disputandum.

De gustibus non est disputandum

(day GOOS-ti-boos nohn est dis-poo-TAHN-dem) Latin for “There’s no disputing about taste.” Another version of this saying is “There’s no accounting for taste.”

Words to live by.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

The Wold Newton Universe - Chronology Central

Originally created by SF author Philip Jose Farmer for his "biographies" of Tarzan and Doc Savage, the Wold Newton concept has been used and refered to by a number of authors looking to link the worlds (and families) of the great heroes and villains of the past.

The Wold Newton Universe - Chronology Central

Any GM interested in running an RPG campaign in either the Pulp or Victorian eras (or even in modern times) would do well to look over the information contained on this website. There is a lot of good, usable information contained there. I cannot reccomend it strongly enough.

The Dorkland Shop

Ok, I need the money. Proclaim your dorkiness for all of the world to see with Dorkland shirts, stickers and messenger bags. Check out the shop and the snazzy logo that I designed for Dorkland. I will probably be adding some other merchandise as time goes by. There is some nice stuff, and the quality is pretty good. Eventually, this should become your one stop dork shopping place!

The Dorkland Shop

"Welcome to my store of dorkiness. By purchasing Dorkland products and proudly wearing them you can proclaim your dorkiness loudly and proudly. Join the nation of Dorkland!"

Monday, February 21, 2005

Writer Hunter S. Thompson kills himself

This was some pretty shocking news for me to wake up to. This is a great shame...I am just at a loss for words. He will be missed, he already is.

Writer Hunter S. Thompson kills himself

"Hunter S. Thompson, the hard-living writer who inserted himself into his accounts of America's underbelly and popularized a first-person form of journalism in books such as 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,' has committed suicide.

"Thompson was found dead Sunday in his Aspen-area home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, sheriff's officials said. He was 67. Thompson's wife, Anita, had gone out before the shooting and was not home at the time."

Sunday, February 20, 2005

DigitalGlobe -- Images For The Media

Do you want those high-res satellite photos for your game sessions like the ones that you see on the nightly news? Here is a place where you can find them. A great resource for GMs and Publishers as well.

DigitalGlobe

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Classic Marvel Super-Heroes RPG

I know that I have this main site linked in my Dorkroll, but it is worth having an entry for it to bring attention. The original Marvel Super-Heroes RPG (as published back in the day by TSR) is one of my all time favorite RPGs. This site is great, and I have been a fan of it for at least five years now. It reproduces the core rules, and a few of the supplements, for the game in PDF form. If you like super-heroes and/or simple RPG systems and you missed this the first time around...you should go to it now.

Classic Marvel Super-Heroes RPG

"In the early eighties, TSR put out a roleplaying game called, aptly enough, 'Marvel Super Heroes.' The set was less numbers-based, and geared toward first-time players, people unfamiliar with role-playing games.

"The system really took off with the release of the Advanced Set in 1986. New powers and rules were added, the rank system made more flexible, and a number of supplements were released afterward to make for an even richer gaming experience."

This page has a link to a compendium of PDFs of the old Marvel-Phile articles that TSR ran in Dragon Magazine to support the system. There's some good stuff, plus official stats for Howard the Duck (of course I think that would be good stuff too).

Both of these sites are worth checking out. Good games don't die anymore...thanks to PDFs and the internet...they just become something that gets supported by the fan base instead. One day there won't be any more out of print RPGs.