If you enjoy a good board game, then be sure to check out BoardGameGeek.
The site is designed to be all things board game, and features reviews, articles, ratings, images, play-aids, translations, session reports and a forum for almost every board game ever made from board game geeks all across the world,
It also claims to be the largest and most up-to-date place to go for all your gaming information needs, so despite a hectic layout, it’s probably worth spending a few minutes to poke around and see what the ‘Geek is all about, since there’s a wealth of knowledge hidden away in there somewhere.
TCHO is a very interesting chocolate company. Founded by a Space Shuttle technologist turned chocolate maker and a grizzled industry veteran who set up chocolate factories for 40 years from Costa Rica to Germany, TCHO takes a decidedly tech approach to the chocolate making process.
As such, they released a ‘beta’ version of their chocolate over a year ago, and have encouraged their customers to help develop the products through limited run, “beta editions” of the chocolate ever since.
The enthusiastic ‘beta testers’ quickly moved their way through 1026 iterations of the chocolate, and after a solid year of very hard work, “Chocolatey”, “Fruity”, “Nutty” and “Citrus” flavors have all arrived and are ready for a “gold master” release, including new packaging and a finalized formula.
TCHO’s chocolate formula might have just graduated out of beta, but their factory certainly has not, as it’s been designed to produce more than 4,000 metric tons of chocolate per year, which makes them one of only a dozen other major chocolate manufacturers in the US.
In addition, TCHO has a social mission as well, and intends to move beyond just Fair Trade, and actually help farmers by transferring knowledge of how to grow and ferment better beans so that they can escape commodity production and become premium producers.
“In the end, there’s only one way to truly understand this story. Just put it in your mouth.”
Given the chance, what would a pilot say about our current airline/airport ‘situation’?
Probably something like:
It’s rarely acknowledged that despite recurrent fiscal crises, major staffing and technology problems, and constant criticism from the public, our carriers have managed to maintain a mostly reliable, affordable, and safe transportation system.
Pilot Patrick Smith dropped that and other bits of knowledge upon Reader’s Digest readers, and it’s actually an interesting read for anyone that wonders what’s going on in the heads of the guys on the other side of the locked cockpit door.
(My other favorite gem: “Before we take off, I would like to apologize on behalf of this and every airline for the hassle you just endured at the security checkpoint. As is patently obvious to any reasonable person, the humiliating shoe removals, liquids ban, and pointy-object confiscations do little to make us safer.”)
Getting good car shots is a mix of art and science that few can master. Designers spend countless hours shaping each curve and crease so that it pleases the eye (and the wind tunnel), but without simple techniques and basic knowledge, you’ll never be able to transfer that beauty onto film.
Motive Magazine has been on top lately with their photography style, capturing the fluid lines and sultry speed of the automotive world in a way that is nearly unrivaled. Thankfully, for the automotive artists among us, they have put together a post that shares some of their tips and tricks that they picked up along the way.
From knowing your equipment and picking the proper camera setting to waiting for the right time of day and the rule of thirds, it might not make you a professional overnight, but it’ll definitely help you get closer to the shots you’re envisioning when you press the shutter.
