Fantasist's Scroll

Cool article at Wizards…

At least, if you’re into the new d20 Modern game. The article is about “crossing over” from a fantasy world to “real” world and all the problems that might be encountered. Very cool and well thought out.
The article addresses things like getting ID when one is from another reality. Dealing with the “locals”. How to make money, or otherwise deal with the harsh realities of life. Written by one of the veteran gamers who actually wrote the d20 Modern rules, the article is both insightful and thought-provoking.

It’s also useful to an author who may be interested in writing about some of the same issues. How would an elf who’s found themselves alone in the big city react? What would be their first goal? What kinds of challenges would they face? All excellent material for a story.

Yes, it really does exist!

And, some of it is pretty good. What, you don’t believe me? Well, there’s a website dedicated to that very subject, Adherents.com. They list pretty much all the big hitters, both in science-fiction and religion. You can search here based on author, religious affiliation, and title. It’s really fascinating to see what some of my favorite authors think about religion and how it fits into their work. Or, doesn’t, as the case may be.

I did find it interesting that two notables were apparently left out. First, there was Single Combat by Dean Ing, which has numerous references to the Mormons/Latter-Day Saints. Second, there was The Man of Gold, Flamesong, and the rest by M.A.R. Barker. These don’t reference any particular existing religion, but religion is a central theme in all his books and his created religions are influenced by the Mayan, Incan, and East Indian religions. In fact, Professor Barker has written at least one article about the role religion plays in fantastic fiction and role-playing games. Fascinating stuff!

In any case, it struck me as an interesting website. Well worth a look.

No, really!

At least, according to this article on Wired News, they’re investing in some technology that really sounds like science-fiction. Specifically, it’s the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, or NIAC, for short, who invest in some rather “odd” technology that might pay off with big results one day. Among the projects being funded are: shape-shifting space suits, antimatter-powered probes to Alpha Centauri, a robotic armada to destroy incoming asteroids, and my old favorite, weather control. Of course, my favorite part about the article is that the person behind the “weather control” system is a Hoffman. (Gotta’ watch out for them Hoffmans!)
Fun stuff here and all of it great fodder for science-fiction stories. Check it out!

Sea ranch.

Call it what you will, but it’s still fish wrangling of some kind. According to this article on Wired News, it’s out there and, apparently, working. These kinds of aquaculture setups have been a staple of science-fiction for as long as I can remember. Harvesting the ocean’s bounty is definately a recurring theme. In any case, it seems to be a reality. A nice, healthy, hopefully profitable, reality.
Of course, this is the first of it’s kind, but it’s an idea who’s time has come. I mean, the ancient Hawai’ians were doing something like this on a smaller scale centuries ago, so it’s about time we caught up! Really, we have to learn to manage our resources so that they’re there for future generations. And, it looks like these folks are on the right track. So, eat your fish!

brought to you by Wizards of the Coast.

Or, is that Hasbro? Well, I can’t keep track anymore, but whoever they are this week, they’ve collected a bunch of desktop backgrounds into a single page. Over the past couple of years, gamers have been treated to a new set of Dungeons and Dragons rules and a whole new set of rule books. As part of that marketing campaign, the current creators of D&D 3E have made some of the art from those books into desktop wallpapers. And, finally, they’ve collected most of them on one page. So, here they are, the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy wallpapers! (Oh, there are some d20 Modern wallpapers, too.)

Enjoy!

Not sure this is really a good thing…

I use MoveableType for this blog as well as the Fiction Blog on this site. I also use it on my other site and my wife uses it, too. So, we have a lot invested in this free software. But, I’m willing to pay for it. Especially if they’re adding features. And, there’s the rub. They’ve updated it, okay, and they added a comment registration feature, which is good, but that’s all they did. Well, they made changes to the API to make it easier to write plug-ins, but in the process, they may, or may not, have broken existing plug-ins. Now, that I’m not willing to pay for… On the other hand, what else is there? Nothing else seems to be as robust or extendable. At least, nothing that I’ve found yet. So, I have an e-mail in to them regarding my particular licensing issue, and we’ll see what they say. I may pay for the commercial version, based on the idea that this site will have commercial content, but we’ll have to wait and see…

UPDATE: Don’t panic! By commerical content, I mean that I might start selling things off the site, not that I’d start to charge for what is already here.

No, not the political kind.

According to this article on Wired News, someone has invented a gun that will not fire for anyone who’s not implanted with the correct chip. It’s the latest idea in “smart guns” designed to protect police officers.
The idea is simple: implant a chip in the officer’s hand that’s linked to the gun. If the scanner in the grip of the gun doesn’t see the chip, it doesn’t fire. Simple. Keeps the officer safer, since a criminal can’t turn his own gun against him. And, of course, it could be a great home safety tool, too. If, that is, you can chip every adult in the house for the same gun. It’d be sort of useless otherwise, at least, in my opinion.

Anyway, it’s an interesting thought, eh?

At least, the end of LA.

And, really, we’ve been waiting for this for a long time, haven’t we? Well, according to this article on Wired News, scientists predict that LA will be hit by a 6.4 magnitude quake on, or about, September 5. Is it “the big one”? Not sure, but we could see LA slip off into the ocean later this year.
(No, I don’t really believe it either, but I can dream, can’t I?)