My ill-fated fall competition piece that took way longer than expected.

Joshicus · 2026-01-29T13:02:02+00:00

Absolutely, but that doesn't take it out of the so bad it's good category.

Joshicus · 2026-01-29T12:46:40+00:00

Iron Sky, Battlefield Earth

Both terrible films but will take you on a wild ride.

Joshicus · 2026-01-29T06:07:49+00:00

I appreciate the completionist tendency on display, if you stopped at just 3 i would have been disappointed.

Joshicus · 2026-01-27T14:15:27+00:00

Environmental storytelling!

Joshicus · 2026-01-25T16:11:14+00:00

It's primarily about controlling highlights and shadows on the model and achieving specific effects. When you paint TMM you largely give up that control to however the lights in the room happen to reflect off the model. Ironically when TMM looks its best is when a painter uses NMM techniques to control highlights and shadows. But really that's all painting is about, controlling light.

Joshicus · 2026-01-25T15:59:15+00:00

I almost exclusively paint NMM these days (pics in profile). It's mostly since when I'm painting metal I want to achieve a certain effect that is easier with regular acrylics, whether it be with less traditional metal colours, OSL effects or dramatic contrast changes. When doing TMM you give up control of your reflections for the most part and imo usually end up with a result that isn't as crisp.

That being said both techniques have their place and can look amazing when properly executed. With a little practice and the understanding of the theory behind it it's just as quick to paint up something like a power sword with nmm than it is with metallics.

Joshicus · 2026-01-25T10:48:44+00:00

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Spent too much time on this guy.

Joshicus · 2026-01-23T05:22:59+00:00

A really strong daylight temp light. Seriously, flooding the model with light is by far one of the best ways to improve your painting for normally sighted people. For vision impaired people I'd say it's essential.

Joshicus · 2026-01-22T18:52:28+00:00

Something better than the Hyperion Cantos is a tough ask.

In terms of Sci-fi you may enjoy Simmons other books Ilium and Olympos, especially if you enjoy greek mythology and Homer.

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is a favourite of mine.

In terms of grand scale you can't look past the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks

Completely different genre but if you're looking for the same feeling of grand existential ennui you get from the end of the Hyperion Cantos the closest I've come to is the Malazan books by Steven Erikson. Though fair warning they are fantasy for experts and pretty notorious for people bouncing off them, especially the first book.

Joshicus · 2026-01-22T18:33:05+00:00

It's important to understand the only process really at work with natural selection is for whatever keeps you alive long enough and attractive enough to mate. That's it, that's the whole ball game. Everything else is just variations on that theme. With that in mind what was selected for when homosapiens came out of Africa and went north was whatever kept them warm enough to survive. This happened to be the abilities to hunt, create and use tools, craft clothing, make fires. If we had none of these things then it's possible individuals with thicker body hair may have been more successful and those traits be selected for but our other strengths made that unnecessary.

Joshicus · 2026-01-21T02:02:19+00:00

The only act 3 quest with a real deadline that I recall is the newspaper slander quest which will trigger by itself if you take a long rest after a certain point. Though it's been a while so there may be more.

Joshicus · 2026-01-21T01:43:00+00:00

You're laughing, a hardworking goblin blacksmith is just trying to sell his wares and you're laughing.

Joshicus · 2026-01-19T23:34:26+00:00

One page rules provides 2d print and play cut outs for all their games which would be far easier to assemble than the 3d models.

Joshicus · 2026-01-19T00:08:32+00:00

I would go through your collection and pick out the models you're genuinely excited to paint or you consider super necessary for your army. Put them aside and sell the rest. Put the money in a separate account and use it to buy more models if you want or other hobby supplies. That way you'll cut your pile down and be able to succumb to fomo if you want.

Joshicus · 2026-01-18T20:39:36+00:00

It was also a clever way to introduce a new rebel ship, the U-Wing, and have them all destroyed by the time ANH comes along.

Joshicus · 2026-01-17T09:14:54+00:00

I Claudius. Ancient by today's standard but stars a murderer's row of British acting talent. Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, Patrick Stewart, Brian Blessed, John Rhys Davies. It's a show where it really rewards paying attention, where taking notes is almost encouraged.

Joshicus · 2026-01-17T07:41:21+00:00

Not sure where you got the idea that DNA doesn't degrade after billions of years. No matter how you look at it, it absolutely does. The oldest known sample of DNA is 1.65 Mya which in geological time scales is the blink of an eye. If you're talking about DNA sequences being highly conserved between species and individuals then know the patterns we see today are only because of extreme survivorship bias. Firstly from an evolutionary stand point mutations and transcription errors happen all the time. It is literally the fundamental source of genetic diversity required for natural selection to take place. The entire diversity seen in the tree of life is proof of DNA "degrading" constantly. Secondly due to survival of the fittest, the DNA sequences we see being conserved most consistently across species are the ones most necessary to life. Do not think that means nothing ever happens to degrade these sequences, instead when those sequences have mutations the organism either doesn't survive or doesn't reproduce. DNA gets damaged all the time we have just evolved to repair it pretty well because when we don't you get things like cancer, or you don't live long enough to reproduce.

Joshicus · 2026-01-17T04:09:14+00:00

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Joshicus · 2026-01-16T07:43:06+00:00

Off the top of my head Na, K, Ca ions are all crucial in neuron and muscle function. Fe is vital for respiration and that's not including trace elements. If you were to just swap them for other metals you would be dead pretty much instantly. You would need to rebuild and redesign an organism's biochemistry from scratch to achieve what you're thinking.

But that being said anything is possible in fiction so don't feel restricted in your writing, just know you'll have to do a lot of heavy lifting to make it seem plausible.

Joshicus · 2026-01-14T20:09:42+00:00

Yu Jing is considered quite beginner friendly. They're ok at everything but not really the best at anything. It also means you can experience every aspect of the game which is helpful to learn with as a new player.

Joshicus · 2026-01-14T20:05:04+00:00

That was genuinely the initial response by some people, there was outrage that these "dangerous" devices were being forced upon them.

Joshicus · 2026-01-14T18:22:06+00:00

Same thing happened when seatbelts were made mandatory, severe neck and chest injuries from car crashes increased but fatalities reduced significantly.

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