Duncan Rawlinson created this image using artificial intelligence and digital art techniques. Two open palms rise into view, fingers cupped to hold a glowing stream of light that shifts from coral pink at the edges to bright white at the center. Small points of color—orange, teal, and rose—drift upward like sparks or distant stars against a gradient field of deep blue and violet. The figure’s torso appears as a smooth dark form, anchoring the composition while the hands and their glowing…

GARINDAN (Kenner Flavor) The Retro Collection Target Exclusive 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set Item No.: No. G2554 Manufacturer: Hasbro Number: n/a Includes: Blaster, communicator, soft goods shawl Action Feature: n/a Retail: $64.99 Availability: July 2026 Appearances: Star Wars Bio: Rediscover the classics with The Star Wars Retro Collection - inspired by the Kenner originals! (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.) Image: Adam's photo lab. Availability: Click here to buy it at…

As you are almost certainly aware, the government is having to pay much more in interest on its debt than it used to do. Here is a chart based on the last OBR forecast, and the likelihood is that their next forecast will revise these numbers upwards. An increase worth 2% of GDP may not sound big, but it is nearly as much as the current defence budget. Should this additional spending on debt interest be matched by higher taxes or reduced spending elsewhere? It has to be one or the other to meet…

Experiments into predicting GPT2 completions via Qwen models Next token prediction is a magical objective. To predict the correct token in such a vast variety of texts present in the pretraining corpus, the model must infer a tremendous amount of hidden and latent causes that generate that text. Only if you know that the ball comes down when someone throws it up can achieve low loss at texts related to balls. Of course, the pretraining corpus doesn’t just contain texts related to balls. It has…

Kartfahren auf Eis, mit dem Schneemobil über einen zugefrorenen See, eine Hundeschlittenfahrt durch die blaue Stunde und ein Besuch im Eishotel: Rund um Levi kannst Du Lappland im Winter auf sehr unterschiedliche Weise erleben. Ich habe alle vier Aktivitäten selbst ausprobiert – mit viel Begeisterung, einer Panikattacke im Tiefschnee und am Ende sogar mit einem gebrochenen Zeh. Mein Favorit? Ganz klar das Ice Karting. Wenn Du die verschneite Landschaft möglichst intensiv wahrnehmen möchtest,…

If you’ve been around the mechanical keyboard scene for a while, NuPhy’s name has probably come up at some point, most likely attached to one of their Air series low-profile boards. Over the past few years they’ve put out keyboards that look better than they have any right to at their price point, with a sound and feel that punches above their weight class and without the pretentiousness that usually comes with enthusiast hardware. The Kick75 is one of their more interesting releases so far,…

I spent three weeks in Laos and I loved it as much as I could without having the luxury of sleeping on my pillow back at home. But there was one thing that really bothered me about my stay, and … Continue reading →

Slightly late shiny links gathered from around the web. For more, try last weeks set found here or the weekly r/OSR blogroll or check the RPG Blog Carnival. Bloggie-nominated. Originally inspired by weaver.skepti.ch, delinked by request. Thriftomancer shares Hexcrawloween 2 The Nothic's Eye writes Inadvisable Decisions (GLΔG) Bat in the Attic shares Why is the Ogre there? Blog of Forlorn Encystment shares Developing the Sandbox: The Campaign Calendar Games Workshop posts Necromunda RPG Rise Up…

The Visitor Center for Saratoga National Historic ParkLast month we wandered over to New York state to visit Fort Ticonderoga and the Saratoga National Historic Park. I had ancestors fight in both locations in the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars. In preparation of the trip I had already researched these ancestors, and I had placed queries with the historians at both parks. See below for how to contact the historican at Saratoga.During the American Revolution, in 1777, the British…

In Nilay Patel’s Decoder conversation with Mark Gurman about John Ternus and Apple’s next big thing, Gurman describes something camera-equipped AirPods might eventually do: look at an email on your computer screen and help add an event to your calendar. And that was when he lost me. The email is already on a computer, and by all accounts of how computers have worked for the past decade, the software running on it ought to be able to add an event to a calendar. Introducing a camera seems like a…

We went to a comedy show this weekend. The comedian was Reece Kidd, and he was hallrous, however, there were three people in the front row with NO intention of interacting. A lot of comedy these days is crowd-work, and this was no exception. So, why sit in the front row if you don’t contribute.

The Full Moon is Sunday September 27. Saturn is rising before astronomical twilight. The Full Moon is close to Saturn on the 27th. Mars forms a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux. Jupiter is low in the morning sky. In the evening, Venus is slowly sinking and Mercury is close to the bright star Spica in the twilight on the 26th. The Full Moon is Sunday September 27. North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday, September 26 as seen from Adelaide at 4:35 ACST (90 minutes before…

I know that you all love Pins From the Bag, and anxiously await the next installment. Your anxiety and waiting have come to an end!Did you know that 1961 was the year of Kansas' centennial? I sure didn't. I wasn't born yet, so I didn't get the memo. I also didn't know that Olney, England and Liberal, Kansas were rivals in Pancake Day Races (this would be the 12th International event), a sport that would soon eclipse the World Cup. I'm not a big fan of store-bought orange juice (though the…

Listen to this episode here. Further reading Our Lives in the Wood episode 5 This Game Takes Place in Your Home Town Socials Kendo on Bluesky and the web Sam on Bluesky and itch The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.com Our logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey. Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show! Dice Exploder on Patreon Credits Our logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is…

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

Dignity in a Digital age is Ro Khanna's attempt to address the economic inequality brought on by tech companies. He wants to see tech empower everyone, instead of disrupting most people while a very few gain crazy amounts of wealth. He breaks the book up into two parts. First he addresses expanding the tech opportunities around the United States. Second he attemps to address the reforms that are needed to ensure that tech doesn't harm the standing of citizens in the United States, and that it…

The nice thing about keeping a blog is that I can say at precisely 9:51am, Wednesday 5th February 2025, I discovered that macOS 15.3 had enabled a feature that was phoning home every 15 minutes with personal data. And that I said “no” and turned it off.At the time Apple were generous enough to provide a setting to disable this feature.Although they hid the second part deeper, because why should saying “no” be easy?Last week I succumbed to Apple’s harassment and upgraded macOS 15 to 27. I only…

I wrapped up progress on Defiance on Sunday with some card mock ups. Regulars may remember that a similar approach worked well on Denton Road - and for those interested in the specifics, this time used a supermarket own brand wheat biscuits box…I have no dimensions, nor do I miss them. This is a painting in three dimensions and all by eye - do the mock-ups look right against the models, cut and adjust. It is not just about one structure either, but a balance between them…So despite all of this…

Last year I posted about going to Bob Baker Day, a kind of puppet/clown festival at a park in Los Angeles. I went again this year! I had a much more interesting time this year, honestly - mostly because I attended with a friend of mine who actually makes puppets. I got to watch them chat with other actual puppet makers, and I learned a lot about something I don't do at all!! I wish I could talk more about it, but it was really more about my friend sharing puppet passion I don't myself…

Is this what the kids call “cinema”? Developer: Daou Infosys Corp. Publisher: Daou Infosys Corp. Release Year: 1992 (some sites say December 1992) Available On: Sega Master System Genre: Beat ‘Em Up Prior to this week, I had no idea what Janggun-ui Adeul was. This is considered an unlicensed game, so I wasn’t sure if it was an original concept or based on an existing property. It’s common for unlicensed titles to pull from popular things in order to increase the odds of people buying them, but…

We left Huddersfield in last week’s post in 1951 planning for the future. Nationally, the Conservatives had succeeded to power though the party was then endorsing a broad post-war political consensus, social democratic in some respects and still committed to a significant programme of council housebuilding. In Huddersfield, the Liberals were for the moment the majority party though on the cusp of a slow decline. Huddersfield’s 1951 Development Plan portended a brighter future for the borough…

One thing that has been tripping me up with Jev is the difference between choice and score. I keep mixing them up.I finally took the time to debate it with my digital assistant, and I came up with a better way of describing it to myself, which I will share here.They're both actually returning probabilities. So I was like, well, if they're both choices that are scored by probability, why not call them both choice? Or more importantly, why have a score one that's separate from choice, if score is…

For the second part of the study, the researchers relied on detection dogs. They placed cameras where the dogs alerted to possible weasel presence, resulting in 16 new camera locations. The researchers captured 77 weasels on camera in just over 200 nights. That’s a camera success rate of 81% compared with 1.5% without dogs. Not only was the camera placement more successful in detecting weasels, but it also cost about 10 times less than traditional methods. The study is among the first to…

Australia’s favourite and most significant art award opened in Shepparton Art Museum for a Victorian showing of the annual Archibald Prize. Judged by the Art Gallery of New South Wales/NSW trustees, the prize is awarded to the best portrait. Since 1921, it has highlighted figures from all walks of life, from famous faces to local heroes of our times. Australia’s most significant art award is annual Archibald Prize is eagerly anticipated by artists and audiences alike. This touring exhibition is…

A few years ago, I read Hindle’s first book, A Fatal Crossing, and the experience hadn’t left me wanting to seek further titles out. However, I was tempted to come back and give this author another go, after the Puzzle Doctor reviewed it earlier this year. I was also intrigued by the use of Costa Rica as a setting. A Killer in Paradise is another mystery that I have read this year which is centred on the reunion of friends. The Inconvenient Corpse by Elizabeth Fenwick (which I read this year),…

Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck A reflection on the Gospel of Matthew 13:24-30 Dear Friends in Christ, There was once a boy, not much older than fourteen, who wandered the dusty back roads near a small farming town at the turn of the century. He was an orphan, left to fend for himself in a … Continue reading Rest for the Weary: Trusting Jesus to Lighten Our Burdens The post Jesus, Our Faithful Friend first appeared on The Simple Catholic. The post Jesus, Our Faithful Friend appeared first on The…

There is nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of homemade potato soup, especially one rich with cheddar, garlic, and plenty of hearty goodness. This Easy Cheddar & Garlic Potato Soup is the kind of recipe that comes together quickly, uses simple everyday ingredients, and fills your kitchen with the most irresistible, cozy aroma.Creamy, flavorful, and wonderfully satisfying, it's perfect for busy weeknights, chilly days, or any time you are craving a warm hug in a bowl. If you love easy comfort…

Today's post is a little on the short side, and may be a shade below par. (Z) is still ill, to the point that he had to cancel classes yesterday (which he hates to do). On top of that, the Internet went out, so most of this was written in (Z)'s car (with a cell phone acting as a hotspot; the cell phone gets poor reception in the apartment, due to a nearby skyscraper, so can't be used there). FAFAFO That stands for "Fool Around with the First Amendment and Find Out." At least, that's the G-rated…

Those who saw you being born, their friends, their relatives - all will probably die before you. With them, they will bring their identities, relationships - their shared culture. Left will only be you, and those who came after you. I've always seen society and culture as being steered by the older generation. Culture is something that is placed upon me, for me to embrace or reject. However, I'm not really sure exactly what culture is? I find most eplanations to be quite reductive. Culture…

Love a good “electpic” horn. (And yes, I know it said “electric” before part of the R got rubbed off, but first, for a while after seeing the sign, I thought it said “elliptic,” like a descriptor of the sound running up and down in cycles, or something like that.)