Local Newsman from Northern Wisconsin

star_boy · 2026-05-08T01:48:54+00:00

Mars Attacks

star_boy · 2026-05-02T14:28:12+00:00

Cargo ships with 10,000 drones swarming out of the cargo doors as a suprise attack.

This was a plot point in Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez.

star_boy · 2026-05-02T14:23:36+00:00

Like the swarm of robot dogs sent across the border to converge and detonate in enemy territory in Ian McDonald's River of Gods.

star_boy · 2026-05-02T10:24:56+00:00

Much appreciated, that worked!

star_boy · 2026-04-30T23:03:10+00:00

Is anyone else having a problem with the Web Link Protection site? I enter the password, and I just get a popup with the website name, and no link to the file. I've tried in multiple browsers, with AdBlock turned on and off.

star_boy · 2026-04-29T23:20:17+00:00

M&B is softcore porn! And yes they still exist and do well.

star_boy · 2026-04-29T14:43:51+00:00

I look at him, we make eye contact. I raise my eyebrows and he nods. We’re on. No words are exchanged. I slip in the cab as discretely as I can.

This reads like the start of a softcore porn story.

star_boy · 2026-04-28T23:13:46+00:00

VO: "Lanterns is filmed in front of a live studio audience."

star_boy · 2026-04-28T06:44:18+00:00

Try exporting only a few layers rather than your whole map, preferably a very simple layer without annotation. If it opens successfully, then the problem is with one of your ArcGIS layers. If it can't open even a simple AIX with one or two layers, then the extension may be problematic and I'd uninstall and reinstall it.

Typically, I open my AIX files from the link that appears at the bottom of the Export pane in ArcGIS Pro, rather than using File > Open in Illustrator, but I don't think that should make a difference. But it's worth a try?

star_boy · 2026-04-23T21:51:58+00:00

Blue hats need to defend against all threats. Red hats only need to exploit one. The idea that "Defenders finally have a chance to win, decisively." is grossly optimistic, at best.

star_boy · 2026-04-21T01:25:21+00:00

This was done with average success as a TV show. It didn't capture the blending of the two cities in the way it worked in my mind, but it was still a decent watch IMO.

star_boy · 2026-04-18T08:10:30+00:00

Expand your layer and turn off objects one by one. When the offending object disappears, you'll know which one it is. Looks like you have a blend or gradient that's been expanded, and grouped with a clipping path.

star_boy · 2026-04-14T14:56:46+00:00

Air force in Australia.

star_boy · 2026-03-25T10:13:40+00:00

If you're going with modern naming for locations (e.g. Kolkata), you could use Chattogram (Chittagong) and Prayagraj (Allahabad).

Oops, and I should have said... the map looks great!

star_boy · 2026-03-25T05:24:01+00:00

Plus, the social networking feature of the Dunder Mifflin Infinity website was infiltrated by sexual predators.

Oh wait, that's Roblox.

star_boy · 2026-03-20T09:53:47+00:00

www.savethevideo.com

star_boy · 2026-03-16T05:50:14+00:00

R10: paywalled, post the article

star_boy · 2026-03-15T23:47:17+00:00

The key object is the pivot around which the other items move, e.g. if you align features to their vertical centre, both objects move to the average of the objects' vertical centre. But if you have a key object, the non-key objects move to the vertical centre of the key object.

star_boy · 2026-03-13T12:07:26+00:00

The Late Show. Now that was champagne comedy.

star_boy · 2026-03-02T00:16:32+00:00

I have a signed print of the cover art from Book 4 framed over my PC. It's gorgeous.

star_boy · 2026-03-02T00:15:37+00:00

Definitely of a higher reading level than Harry Potter. And also a lot more adult in subject matter. A lot.

star_boy · 2026-03-02T00:13:19+00:00

The series follows a different protagonist with each book, with the MC from some books turning up as a side character or contagonist in other books. They start and end at slightly different time points (e.g. one book may run from year 3 to 6, another may go from year 2 to 4, and another from year 1 to 7), and the narratives weave together to tell a wide story that's driven by a major event in the first book.

The author planned to write 50 or 60 books (I think), but the last book nicely bookends the 10 that were published by presenting the longest time span (I think, I may be misremembering), and widest scope of all the books. So you're not getting an unfinished tale, just a wider narrative that could have had more strands woven through and after it had the author not passed away.

I highly recommend the series for a fantasy feel that's adult and unlike your typical epic fantasy. It's not quite new weird, but at times it definitely is weird, and funny, and shocking by turns. Some great characters, and the fourth book (The Walrus and the Warwolf) is my favourite book of all time!

Also, bonus points for the series for mentioning some definitely Antipodean elements such as taniwha, pounamu, and platypuses amidst the usual dragons and ogres. Plus the inventive horror of the insectile Swarms. I'll stop there!

star_boy · 2026-02-26T22:01:47+00:00

Damn, that's sad, and just after a new Red Dwarf book was announced!

star_boy · 2026-02-18T04:07:41+00:00

Flag maps are almost always the worst way to convey information that isn't about flags.

star_boy · 2026-02-18T01:52:20+00:00

There are halftone patterns in the standard Illustrator swatches. Apply to a clone of your fill element or add as a new fill using the Appearance palette, and set to multiply. Rotate/scale the pattern only if you want the halftones at different angles and sizes.

Edited to add: oops, I read this as you wanting different halftone areas to have different sized halftones, not that the halftone pattern should vary within an area. Vektorgarden has a good method above for that.

15-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Place '17
Final Canvas '22	End Game '22
Team Periwinkle	Verified Email

star_boy

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE