Asteroid Stackpole- March 27, 2008 Asteroid 165612 (2001 FP86) has been named "Stackpole" in honor of novelist and game designer Michael A. Stackpole. Congratulations, Mike!You may know Mike for his many Star Wars and Battletech tie-in novels, his own DragonCrown War fantasy series and other original books, or his many roleplaying games and supplements for FASA, Mayfair, and Flying Buffalo, among others. But the asteroid christening, according to 165612's co-discoverer Jeff Medkeff, honors Mike for his decades of worthy work in..http://www.costik.com/paranoia/2008/03/asteroid-stackpole.html The Lives of Others- March 24, 2008 Though I always search for inspirational reference material for PARANOIA, I never expected to get a good lead from my mom. But she recently saw and loved the German film The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen, 2006), directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (about as Germanic a name as I can imagine). The Lives of Others scored a remarkable 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Having read the IMDB synopsis, now I'm all afire to see it. Thanks, Mom!Set in (appropriately) 1984, The Lives of Others...http://www.costik.com/paranoia/2008/03/lives-of-others.html Singapore's Happiest Citizen contest- March 23, 2008 Attention, citizens of Alpha Compl-- I mean, Singapore! Does your recorded Happiness Quotient meet the following qualification levelsSingapore citizens above 18 years of ageHappy smiling disposition others feel good to be around themAbility to be happy no matter what life presents themHas a strong sense of community and belonging family and friendsStays consistently happy not up one moment and down the nextContributes to society by bringing happiness to othersIf you, Singaporean citizen, are.http://www.costik.com/paranoia/2008/03/singapores-happiest-citizen-contest.html PARANOIA in the real world: In-flight shock bracelets- March 21, 2008 Boing Boing has the story:Lamperd, a "firearm training system" company, has patented a bracelet that delivers debilitating shocks when remotely triggered. Their killer app for this is aviation safety: They're proposing that the TSA could force everyone who flies to wear one of these, and then flight-attendants could zap us into a stupor if we turn out to be Al Qaeda.Check the comments on the Boing Boing thread: "Don't tase me ma'am!" -- "Why not just skip this step and go straight to the Battle.http://www.costik.com/paranoia/2008/03/paranoia-in-real-world-in-flight-shock.html New Drug Generator- March 20, 2008 "Would you like more drugs, citizen" -- "Yes, Friend Computer!"In Alpha Complex, life -- if you can call it that -- slides along a rut heavily moistened by medication. The PARANOIA rulebook includes a drug name generation table, but Gamemaster, if you want to show your Troubleshooters the whole label (including indication and side effects), head to Generatorland's New Drug Generator and keep clicking the pill until you feel all mellow inside.Kriloxx(for Pankerwhipoid Palsy)Potential side...http://www.costik.com/paranoia/2008/03/new-drug-generator.html |