Sunday Reading – April 29 – featuring @siracusa, @kickstarter, @msfitbc, @fitforakingtv
For Us Nerds
If this is the method you have used in the past to calculate then I would have to contend that your entire list is flawed. First of all, as pointed out before, you have grossly underestimated the size of the dragon. As for the true reason why your estimate is off you stated “There are certainly other valuable items in Smaug’s hoard – rare suits of armor and so on – but the point of the exercise is to establish a minimum, conservative, net worth and the total value of a pile of ancient weaponry is probably no more than a rounding error in a fortune measured in the billions of dollars.” which is your greatist mistake. If you are going to base your research on AD&D, which was itself based on LotR, then you have to consider that all of those weapons and armor are worth ten times their weight in gold, and thousands of times that for the “ancient” variety.
You opened up a can of worms on this one sir.
This quote is from How Much is a Dragon Worth, Revisited, an article that demonstrates both the power of the internet, and the ire of nerds. Michael Noer had worked out an estimated value for Smaug, the dragon from The Hobbit, for the series about the 15 richest fictional characters. People wrote in to nitpick every aspect of the article, so he took the time to recalculate the numbers. Both the article and the final amount are impressive.
Cargo-Bot is apparently the first game to be made entirely on an iPad. It involves programming a robot to move boxes into different sequences. It’s free on the iTunes App Store, and a fun puzzle game. The link is to a story on Cult of Mac for the backstory.
Podcasts
Hypercritical #65 – Look Right into the Eyes of Your Sweetie
Hypercritical #63 – Talking to the Bear
Build & Analyze #73 – One Cell Taller
Three episodes of the shows that aired in the past few weeks. Hypercritical is hosted by John Siracusa who writes at Ars Technica who goes on some lengthy discussions about the new Gmail interface, gaming as a form of art, paid upgrades in the App Store, and other stuff. Marco Arment on Build & Analyze carries forward some of John’s ideas into his show, sparking a conversation about whether a customer will pay more than an advertiser for something (i.e. will people pay for Twitter to remove the advertisements). I would listen to Hypercritical #63 before Build and Analyze #73.
Home is where the heart lies
The first season of Fit For A King is currently in production, being filmed entirely in the Okanagan Valley (in the heart of Western Canada’s wine country), in British Columbia.
In each episode, hosts James Blonde, and Lisa Kilgour, leave their “home” at picturesque God’s Mountain Estate, in search of an outdoor adventure nearby, featuring and exploring the beautiful surroundings the Okanagan has to offer.
Fit For a King – Official TV Promo Spot
Some Treats
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cups – @Angelique Kronebusch
Gluten-free Pizza Crust – @YourLighterSide
Kickstarter Campaigns
I have been aware of Kickstarter for a while now, but these are the first projects I have actually backed.
Battle of the Bulge is a turn-based iPad game in the style of gameplay like the tabletop game Axis and Allies. I’ve long been fascinated with those games, but never had the network of friends to play them. Now I can! (after the game is finished, that is)
Shadowrun Returns – I discovered this extremely late, only a few hours before it was going to close. Shadowrun is a RPG based upon a cyberpunk world from William Gibson, Neuromancer. I first got in touch with it as a teenager playing the game on the SNES and have fond memories of the game-play. When I heard that the original developer was returning to do a new game, well, I clicked on “back this project” fairly quickly, and I wasn’t alone. The original goal was $400,000. It’s going to receive $1,836,477. Here’s a World of Shadowrun Primer PDF for people who want an introduction to Shadowrun
And, finally
A Ford commercial, but rather funny.
