Not even walls can stop Disney’s and ETH Zurich’s new four-wheeled robot called VertiGo that can quickly transition from rolling on the ground to climbing obstacles like a gecko—and without those sticky feet.
Jon.9836
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Disney's New Rolling Robot Climbs Walls Like a Gecko
What the moon will look like for each day in 2016
Jon.9836For Jason.
If you want to know exactly what the moon will look like (to those in the northern hemisphere, at least), this video by NASA has got you covered. It tracks all the phases of the moon for 2016, that is you’ll see the moon wax and wane as it corresponds to each day of the year. It’s a really cool look at the movements of the space rock.
Electron "Lifespan" is at Least 5 Quintillion Times the Age of the Universe
Basic physics suggests that electrons are essentially immortal. A fascinating experiment recently failed to overthrow this fundamental assumption. But the effort has produced a revised minimum lifespan for electrons: 60,000 yottayears, which is — get this — about five-quintillion times the current age of the Universe.
The Power of Three: Innate Magical Abilities
'Mutants & Masterminds' Shoots For the Stars
RPG Review: Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook (2015)
Top 10 Tips for Having a Perfect, Stress-Free Vacation
Jon.9836For Jason!
For all your medieval world-building needs: Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources.
For all your medieval world-building needs: Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources. Knightwine is particularly inspiring. [via Metafilter]
Magic Duels Is Free To Play, Finally Gets Everything Right
This Infographic Shows You Nine Ways to Spice Up Common Ketchup
Adding big flavor to simple condiments you already have in the fridge can make your dishes even more delicious. This infographic shows you how to make nine types of flavor boosted ketchup with some simple additions.
Controversial RPG Blue Rose Returns With More Intrigue, Psychic Powers
Controversial RPG Blue Rose Returns With More Intrigue, Psychic Powers
When the first edition of Blue Rose was published 10 years ago, it found a core audience of gamers that loved its unique take on romantic fantasy—and a few who pushed back against the game’s progressive push for inclusiveness. Now Blue Rose is back, and it’s found a better system and a wider audience.
‘Magic: The Gathering Arena of the Planeswalkers’ Now Available!
Jon.9836I hope this is very cool.
Back in October, I wrote about an as-yet-to-be-named Magic: The Gathering board game. The concept was pretty exciting – Hasbro was working with Wizards of the Coast, pulling together designers from HeroScape and other great games like Risk Legacy, to develop a strategy board game set in the MtG universe.
Since then, the folks at Hasbro have been busy pulling together the finishing touches. And just in time for the long holiday weekend, Magic: The Gathering Arena of the Planeswalkers is now available on Amazon and at select game shops! The game will be everywhere else, including HasbroToyShop.com, on August 1.
The final product looks great and manages to capture that HeroScape vibe while, very obviously, still being a MtG game. My only complaint at first glance is that I wish the White mana units were, well, white. But that’s nothing a little paint can’t fix. I’m waiting for a copy to review here at GeekDad HQ, so I can’t tell you how it plays yet; but in the meantime, I can give you a teaser of what’s in the box:
Components:
- 6 modular board pieces
- 4 plastic terrain pieces
- 3 plastic glyphs
- 2 temple ruins
- 5 Painted Planeswalker Mini Figures
- 30 Squad Mini Figures
- One 20-sided die
- 8 Combat dice
- 30 Damage Counters
- 60 spell cards
- 10 Squad stat cards
- 5 Planeswalker cards
If you love Magic: The Gathering and have been looking for a new way to bring the game to the table, or if you’re a fan who’s been wanting to branch out into new formats, like tactical miniature gaming, or maybe you just miss HeroScape, this is going to a great game to bring to the table this summer!
If you value content from GeekDad, please support us via Patreon.
A Proportional Perspective of the World's Native Languages
This fascinating infographic by Alberto Lucas López shows how 23 of the world’s mother tongues are proportioned, and how they’re distributed around the globe.
This Graphic Explains How Lack of Sleep Can Negatively Affect Your Brain
Fully-Functional TRON Lightcycle Sold For $77,000
Jon.9836Holy moley!
Watch DARPA's Scary Self-Guided Bullets Swerve to Hit Moving Objects
Military researchers at DARPA have been developing ammunition which can change its path in mid-air to ensure it always hits its target. Now, it can even correct itself mid-flight to hit a moving target.
Alan Moore's Intro To His New Favorite Fantasy Novel Is A Glorious Rant
Alan Moore really, really loves the fantasy novel The Vorrh by B. Catling, which he calls the new century’s first landmark work of fantasy. He’s so spellbound by Catling’s strange vision, he’s written a long, beautifully ranty intro. Read Moore’s intro exclusively at io9 — and listen to him reading it aloud!
Stylish Swimmers in Qingdao
Qingdao, China, north of Shanghai, is a city of over 2.7 million people. Every morning, local swimmers gather at Qingdao’s downtown beach. Philipp Engelhorn brought his camera to the beach every day for a week to document their stylish attire. The homemade “funky” outfits are colorful, patterned and mismatched, but they also serve a purpose. “They are protecting themselves from the sun (as they do not want to get suntan) and from jellyfish stings,” Engelhorn told PDN via email.
Engelhorn used natural light for the series, shooting each portrait between 5:45 am and 8:00 am. “I was trying to shoot this as consistently as possible, without a whole studio set. The Chinese are very shy in front of the camera, and I would have never gotten these relaxed postures and attitudes with a full studio set-up.”
Inspired by a photo of one of the swimmers in a Chinese newspaper, Engelhorn thought this project would be a good way to try something new. Much of the Hong Kong-based photographer’s work is reportage. “Personal projects always work the best, are the most fun, bring the best PR,” he notes. “Working on assignments and jobs for too long can really kill or destroy your creativity. I think it is very important to go out and do projects to find yourself in your own photography once in a while.”
The series recently won Engelhorn second place in the 2015 LensCulture Portrait Awards.
Related: Big Donuts: Jim Mangan and Rally Car Driver Ken Block Put the Landscape in Motion
Dozens Of Dinosaur Eggs Unearthed By Chinese Road Workers
Deadspin Do Not Fuck With Bees | Gizmodo Now You Can Download Your Google History—Or Better Yet, Del
Jon.9836Shared for the Gizmodo article, which I think a few of you would like to know if you don't already.
A New York Judge Has Granted Legal Person Rights To Chimpanzees
For the first time in U.S. history, a supreme court has granted a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of two lab chimpanzees, effectively recognizing them as legal persons. While the future of the chimps has not yet been decided, it’s a huge step forward in establishing personhood status for highly sapient animals.
Ant-Sized "Ant-Man" Billboards Pop Up in Marvel Marketing Stunt
Jon.9836Pretty funny!
Ebola Survivors Are Being Urged To Abstain From Sex
Jon.9836Interesting.
"Weird Al" Yankovic Talks His "MAD Magazine" Dream Come True
Took less than one round of combat for Jon to kill my character. That's a new record.
World's Oldest Stone Tools Found, Predate Homo Genus By 500,000 Years
Welcome to Lankhmar: City of Thieves!
Jon.9836Love this setting and I need to get the book and PDF of this. I'm curious how well the very cinematic SW system works for gritty Lankhmar.
Danger lurks in every dark alley of the City of Sevenscore Thousand Smokes. Can your merry* band of misfits survive sinister sorcerers, treacherous rogues, mysterious assasins, and—most questionably—each other in your pursuit of money, happiness, and power? Are they really even three different things?
Your wait is ended, and Lankhmar: City of Thieves is now available for immediate PDF purchase and print preorder from the Pinnacle Web Store. Come to Fritz Leiber’s world of swords and sorcery, action and bravado! This all-new book contains details on the world of Nehwon and the City of Lankhmar, including Setting Rules, Savage Tales, monsters and foes, and persons of wide renown—including Fafhrd, the Gray Mouser, and their sorcerous sponsors.
You shouldn’t be caught dead in the Smokes without this book. Then again, you should probably avoid being caught dead anywhere. Knowing where you are and what’s around would probably go a long way to that end—consider grabbing the Lankhmar/Nehwon Poster Maps. One side details Lankhmar itself, center of the world of Nehwon, from the Plaza of Dark Delights to the dankest of docks. The other side brings you the whole world, from the lands of the East to the Steppes of the Mingols, from the Inner Sea to the Parched Mountains, and far more! Not only is the map ready to handle your adventures, but it’s wet, dry, and permanent marker erasable—”leave no trace behind” would be my motto if you could remember I was here…
* Merry is definitely optional. “Surly” and “lethal” are perfectly acceptable choices, among many others.