#also i cant support the kickstarter so this is the only way i can give any money to the devs

[eeveekitti]

congrats on over 1,000% funding on your plush rambley!!!

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 2

And here’s the next part of the long answer set of the day!

When will OL: N&F take place? Beginnings and Always took place during summer breaks, will now and forever take place during a fall break or will the characters be going to school at the time of the events we play through? 

It takes place over all of the fall season, so school will be happening in OL2. Some events do take place in school, though many times events only start after school is already out for the day, haha.

Hey!! I have kind of a weird question?? I’m sorry if it’s been answered before and I just haven’t seen it but is OL 2 taking place during the same years as OL 1? I’m just curious, thank you for such amazing games!!! 

It’s a similar time frame, but not 100% exactly same.

Do you have any idea when the demo for now and forever will be available? 

Hopefully this fall! But that’s not a guarantee.

Okay the crime show in Step 2: Growing up. Long blonde hair, police station, crime series? Was it The Closer? Because I’m the same age as MC and Cove and my mom was constantly watching that when I was 13. 😂 

Haha, yeah! The Closer and, to a lesser degree, Medium were the kind of shows I was referencing there. My mom also used to watch those back in the day.

Hey um this might be an odd question but if the setting of OL: N&F is  fall/autumn, what country or city will it take because my mind tells me it is either Poland or Canada. Also I can't wait for the game I am hyped 

It’s set in the USA again. We’d like to be able to have cameos and that’s easiest to do if the OL games take place in the same country.

Is it possible for the PC of OL to have non-seriously dated other people in the in between years even if they’ve had a consistent crush on Cove? 

You can causally date Baxter in Step 3 if you get his DLC and then ultimately choose Cove in Step 4. If you mean off-screen people, it doesn’t really come up, but you can certainly headcanon that. The game never says Cove is the only partner you’ve ever had.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Now and Forever as well? For like voiced names and stuff again? Didn’t find B&A until after it was released and I’d really love the opportunity to hear my name in the game 🥺 

Yeah, we are gonna have a Kickstarter with getting a voiced name as a reward! Though, it will be more expensive than it was for OL1. I feel bad to raise the price but we realized too late the first time around that it was being super undersold for the amount of work it took, aha.

Do you know how much the remaining DLC for OL will cost? (Step 4, Derek, Baxter) 

Step 4: Free

Wedding DLC: $2.99USD

Derek DLC: $4.99USD

 Baxter DLC: $4.99USD

Has an artist for the new position been picked yet?! I'm super excited for the new game! 

We did fill that spot. Thank you so much for taking the time to apply!

hmmm what would it take to get each of the XOXO jerk squad to feel the need to hug you? 

They’d have to first like you a fair amount, otherwise the most you’d get is maybe a pat on the shoulder. If they were attached, they might hug you if you broke down crying or if you gave them super good news.

Unless it’s Shiloh, of course. If you want a hug you only have to ask!

May i ask how the Derek DLC will work? I believe that there aren’t any memories in step 4 and doesnt derek’s dlc take place during that step? So will the dlc add memories? Thank you! 

Derek’s DLC will add five Moments to Step 2 (a new page will appear on that screen if you get the DLC). Then in Step 4 you’ll have to choose between playing the default epilogue or going through the Derek romance story.

Is the pc version on itch,io different from the steam version? Like an offline one or something? 

Steam has achievements, but that’s about it. Both can be played offline, if you prefer.

I've been wondering this for awhile, what determines if cove winds up with a ponytail in step 3? I've done multiple runs with different MCs with varying hairstyles. Or does it have to do with a particular moment in step 2? 

I’m afraid I can’t say exact choices that determine things. But generally it’s preference based options in the Step before that decide those things.

Any Floret Bond updates? 

No, the artist had to leave the project and it’s been on-hold. I’m not sure if I want to try working just with what we have or replacing it all entirely. The design is a bit too specific for us to easily find someone who could mimic it. Hopefully we’ll work things out later, though.

In step 3 is Cove's plan always to stay in sunset bird? 

Yeah. He is never ready at 18-years-old to make a big life change.

I love your content! If it's alright to ask, you answered in a previous ask about how Jeremy was too particular with what he likes his types to be romanceable with just any MC and it's sort of got me wondering.. What /are/ his types and/or preferences and such? Sorry if it's a lot! 

Jeremy likes stubborn jerks and will not date someone who’s sweet or even generally a decent person, haha.

uh, excuse me if you said this somewhere before, but how will step 4 be actually? Will it he like an actual step and have moments and dlc and all? Or will it be more like a long epilogue of some sort?

Will the step 4, the wedding and extra routes dlcs be paid too? Im just confused, sorry if im asking too much

Step 4 is only an epilogue, so it’s just a long series of scenes one after the other rather than a collection of Moments you can choose from.

The Step 4 epilogue is free, the wedding DLC, Derek DLC, and Baxter DLC cost money.

i’m not sure how much of the wedding dlc you have planned already, or if this would be to spoilery, but what kind of wedding traditions will be included? i keep thinking about how flustered cove would get over a garter toss & was wondering if we’d see a scene like that haha. obviously no worries if it’s not included, i’ll enjoy literally anything cove related 

I don’t know for sure yet, haha. Right now we’re focused on the parts before the big day. We’ll see how many scene alterations we can include for the wedding itself later on.

Hello! Firstly, thank you for creating such an amazing game like OL, and I couldn’t be more excited for OL2! Out of curiosity, are you looking for any writers to come on for OL2 or are you all pretty much set in that department? Just thought I’d shoot my shot haha but I’m still excited regardless ^^! 

We will be hiring writers for OL2 later this year! Thank you for the interest.

Will we be blessed with a spin-off Yandere Cove, like XOXO Blood Droplets? 

Sadly, no. It’s a shame but there’s not enough time to keep making OL1 bonus/spin-off content.

How is Q pronounced?

I’m afraid Q’s full name hasn’t been publicly announced yet so I can’t answer here (Q and T are the first letters of the names for the new LIs in Our Life: Now & Forever).

Question; is the steam version getting a Mac update?  I purchased the dlc there thinking it had Mac support without realizing it and just wondered if I’d need to refund it to purchase on itch.io 😭 

I’m really sorry, you will need to get a refund from Steam. We do hope to have it there for Steam eventually, but have no idea of when it’ll happen. Apple requires special notarization to be an officially accepted app for their devices. We don’t have that. Steam requires having that, Itch will let you release it as an non-notarized third party app. That’s why Itch is the only place that has the Mac version right now.

would you mind posting outfit sheets for Cove in every step? it would make things a lot easier for us artists. it would save a lot of time spent looking for references 

I think we did do the earlier steps when they were finished way back in 2019 (this game took a long time to make, aha), but we can probably repost them sometime!

In our life n&f, will we be able to get into qprs/will there be more options in regards to having deep platonic relationships with the love interests? Because as an aroace individual, it would be great if there could also be emphasis on platonic love so that it's more aspec inclusive. 

It’s a little hard to say at this point. There may not be things like a wedding DLC for OL2 and so the relationship for platonic and romantic feelings might not go as far as it did in the first game. We’ll kind of have to see how much we can do based on timeframe/budget constraints that will only be set near the end of the year. But we will be keeping things like that in mind at least.

hi! i really really like your game and im absolutely in love with it! i cant wait to try your other games like xoxo droplet and future OL NF :))

during the step 3 erands moment i got curious, which fudge flavor is his favorite? it seems like he likes all of them, but which 4 do you think he would like best?

also i noticed that in some playthroughs cove would let me give him a piggy back ride, and in some he wouldn't, how come?

how does your choices affect cove's interests or looks? i replayed the game without changing any choices but i got cove to look different, is it just random?

thank you!

Cove’s favorite flavors are ones with nuts and that are fruity! But he appreciates them all. Whether or not you can give him a piggyback ride depends on if your MC is fit/large enough to hold a muscular 6-foot-tall beach boy, haha.

Cove’s appearance does depend on choices and it’s generally tied to choices that are preference based rather than emotion/action based, such as which key chain you pick in Step 1.

Is it possible for cove to reject MC's proposal at the end of step 3? 

Nope. He’ll always accept.

hi! i was wondering how heavily the side characters will be featured in the our life wedding dlc? obviously it'll be cove & mc focused, but i was thinking it'd be sweet if we could take lizzie dress / suit shopping or dance with cliff at the wedding or something. 

The side characters are there about as often as they are in normal events. So, it’s clearly focused on Cove but he’s not the only person you have any meaningful moments with.

When will responses be sent out to applicants? 

I’m afraid we don’t send responses out to all applications, only ones we’re interested in offering the position to. Not everyone likes rejection emails and the amount of applications is too high to contact them all to say we’re not hiring them. We post updates on the job page when a position has news. Right now we’ve filled every role that was open.

Is there also going to be the option to keep your relationships with the love interests platonic in Our Life: Now and Forever? That's something I really appreciate in Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Yeah! OL will never force you to end up in a romantic relationship with someone.

I was wondering, in the Step 3 Happiness moment, what are the different fishes Cove can compare MC to? I got "you'd be a paradise fish, because being with you is paradise," but my friend got "you'd be an angelfish." Are there more variations? 

He says paradise fish if you’re a couple, angelfish if he’s just crushing, and then a royal dottyback/queenfish/emperor tetra (based on your gender) if he likes the MC platonicly.

Hello! So, in one of the Step 3 DLCs, Cove's arm was gone. I think it was to show him putting his arm behind his back. But if that wasn't the case, did it get yeeted? 

Thanks for letting us know. That was an error we tried to fix a little while back. When did you make the save file you were playing? If it was older that might be why it happened. Or maybe the error wasn’t fully fixed after all.

Asking for your opinion, but do you think Cove would at all be into ABBA? Because all I could imagine during the car trip in step 3 was him and the MC belting to Mamma Mia. 

Haha, yeah, there’d definitely be some ABBA songs he was into.

So throughout the game, Cove can develop different interests depending on the player’s choices; does this mean that he can have different careers in Step 4? Or his is line of work in adulthood never mentioned at all? 

He can have different career paths in Step 4!

Hi!! I'm so so sorry if this has been asked before but I just acquired knowledge about the so famous nsfw dlc for OL and nearly chocked on my bubblegum 💀💀💀 So, my real inquiry is if that specific moment will have any kind of impact at some point of the fourth step OR if it will just be treated as a side-story-ish “what if” scenario.Also, is there any chance there'll be something similar for Step 4? Haha jk,,, unless 😳Questions apart let me thank you profoundly for making the best visual novel I've ever played 😭 Really really looking forward the epilogue and OL2 💕 Have a nice day 

It’s just a bonus side story that’s fully separate from the main game.

It would be nice to have one for Step 4 too, but I sadly don’t see us having time to actually do it. I don’t know, if people are still asking for more OL1 content several months from now it might be doable and worth doing.

I'd just like to ask, when is Baxter's birthday :0 -- I'm really curious esp with their zodiac signs so ;w; 

I don’t know, haha. Maybe I’ll come up with one someday.

Please help!! I bought the Step 3 DLC but I still have no idea how to get to where you can propose to Cove - any tips? 

&

How do I get the option to propose to Cove at the end of the game?

You can click HERE for a discussion on that.

I love that Miranda and Terry are getting together! I'm curious if you have canon sexualities for them? Also just wanted to say how much I love OL and how much joy it brings me everytime I play it <3 

Terry likes ladies and Miranda likes dudes!

ngl Step 4 Terry's design reads like y'all see trans guys as their assigned gender more than you see them as men to me (a trans guy)... like maybe if he isn't heavily dysphoric, I could see it, but everything you've said about him doesn't line up with that. Even then, immediate warning bells go off in my head looking at him. I wouldn't have touched the game if I saw him ahead of time.

I’m sorry you aren’t comfortable with the way the design looks. The situation with Terry is that he’s now open about who he is, but the body he was born with is still physically the same. He only came out recently as an adult and hasn’t gone through any treatments/procedures yet (his chest is flatter because he wears a binder). However, even though his body hasn’t transitioned at the point Step 4 happens, no one treats him as anything other than the guy he is. Having a trans character who’s identity is supported/respected from the start is what we’re going for in this case. But what we’re doing with Terry isn’t the only trans content we’ve ever had/ever will have in the future.

how would baxter react to bae pyoun and vice versa? and can you please detailly explain both love interests personalities from our life 2: now and forever? i was just curious, sorry for dumb question!! 

I imagine it’d be pretty opposite experiences, haha. Bae would initially think Baxter is pushy and thoughtless, but would quickly realize, oh, he’s instead a soft, considerate boy. Very cute. Baxter would first be struck with the impression that Bae is charming and gentlemanly, but then would realize that, no, he’s a sarcastic asshole. And I’m afraid we can’t reveal the personalities for the next game yet.

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I have a question about the patreon exclusive moment you're working on. I was wondering if it's mainly going to be CGs or if it's mostly character sprites + backgrounds with some CGs.

Either way, thank you for doing the Lord's work and not only making Cove, but making this bonus moment as well 😌😌😌

It’s mostly sprites/backgrounds with two CGs!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for the interesting questions everyone :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[autumn-foxfire]

While im on topic of dabi i think he suffers from jogging in place too much. Like what do we know about him? Hes a mysterious emo n his regular level not caring assholery is sometimes punctuated by points of delighted sadisam. He has plans seperate from shigaraki but we arent sure what exactly those plans are aside fromhhhhh kill endeavor

Like i cant even really say that his character arc is stretched out too much, because its more like prequel to his character arc is stretched out. Like all of his character is leading up to the reavel of his identity and while that was fun to theorize about one year ago, now everyone and their mother acepts that hes Touya. Its old n its honestly not very engaging and it doesnt really make me want to explore his character more because their is nothing that interesting for me to work with.

Like i feel his character arc will properly start once the truth is out and once we see his fellow villains, heroes, public at large and especially his family react and cope with this knowledge. Like dabi was introduced saying that he'll reavel his name later so that really makes me think hes waiting for the right opportunity to kickstart his plan with reaveling his identity (while also being the absolute worst in actually manipulating sittuations in his favor)

Ok dont take this next part too seriously cuz i just thought of it while typing n it has 1.5 thought put into it but with this arc really shaking up the status quo and all the injustices about endeavor n comission being made clear to the reader, i hope the next arc will be like about dealing with the flaws in hero systhem n trying to come up with better solutions. With that in mind i think it would be really interesting for dabi to kinda rise up n take shigarakis spot (or share it, depending on what happens to shigaraki) as the final boss cuz after all isnt he all about the flaws of the hero systhem n odd one out in the league for having a hero personally turn him into a villain. Idk i just thought of that so i might mull it in my head a bit more. Maybe i just want dabi to have an actual character arc to sink into cuz the wast majority of what we have for him now are easily disaprovable headcanons.

Also i want more todorokis, especially rei natsu n fuyumi i know they are supporting cast but i really wanna know how they react to reavel, do they try to shield rei from it, how it effects fuyumis longing for a complete family and how it effects natsu as the one closest to touya

Not me interested in dabi development for every reason other than dabi himself.

Fuck now im thinking about dabi being the next big bad n he n hawks having a rematch aaa i should not be allowed to send asks i always loose track

I do agree that Dabi can be a very stale character (and I honestly don’t think the League is helping him here because he just falls back on them whenever he fails. I’d love to see him have to develop himself as a character/villain outside of the influence of the League due to his current actions with Hawks causes him to become alienated from them).

As you said, we haven’t really gotten a chance to see Dabi really shine as a villain due to the fact that Horikoshi is building up to that big reveal. The times we see him be an interesting character actually is when he’s in the middle of conflict (when he approached Hawks and Endeavor after the Hood fight, when he fought Geten by himself during the MLA arc and this arc with his fight with Hawks) because that’s when his character moves forward. It’s the same reason I liked his scenes with Hawks because during them, Dabi felt like an actual person rather then the distant emo long ranged fighter for the League.

Horikoshi hasn’t really done Dabi any favours by stretching out his reveal though I understand why he did though, I think. Originally, Dabi revealing himself as the fourth abused child of the awful Endeavor would have almost been cathartic to see, Endeavor is finally facing justice for being a horrible person and so it would almost belittle every horrible thing Dabi has done to reach that point. However, by making Endeavor have a atonement/redemption and change his ways, we actually see how Dabi’s actions are selfish and how his goals are nothing but for personal revenge and it won’t have an impact on anything as Endeavor has already changed without having to be shocked into doing so by Dabi. I think Horikoshi is trying to show us that Dabi’s actions aren’t justifible, even if he has an understandable reason why and I think that’s pretty cool and has turned the “getting revenge for abuse” on it’s head by showing us that Dabi’s actions have done nothing but hurt the innocent.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Dabi double down and become even worse because of this either but a part of me is hoping that because Endeavor was able to see the error of his ways and change, that Dabi might be able to do the same (but still pay for his actions against others). However I wouldn’t mind if Hori makes Dabi the antithesis of Endeavor and has him go in the opposite direction.

It really depends on what he wants to do with him.

(Also if the reveal doesn’t focus on all the Todoroki members then what’s the point? Endeavor and Shouto aren’t going to be the only ones effected, give me that Natsuo, Rei and Fuyumi angst as well XD).

[themoonstarwarrior]

PLAYLIST SHUFFLE TAG!

Okay, so @viterbofangirl tagged me in this and I need to start learning to post my own shit, so what the hell, why not?

Rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to! put your favorite playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 15 songs, then tag 10 people. no skipping!

(I couldn’t stop at 10 so I added 5 more, sue me)

I have very random music taste and I listen to my music on shuffle alot, so I made a playlist of the ones I like the most (that way I don’t hafta skip 150 songs to get to the one I feel like) so I’m gonna use that one.

1) History of Violence - Theory of a Deadman

Hoo boy starting off light huh?.... Yeah so, I was in the drive thru at Sonic when I first heard this on the radio and was immediately like “holy shit”. Instead of like metaphors and poetic subtlety, it’s just straight up like “here’s a poor abused woman who resorted to murdering her shitty boyfriend/husband cuz she couldn’t take it dum dum dum”. Even though the actual situation is not the same, this song is perfect for getting across the internal issues and turmoil of my character Mikey. Its so perfect I’m even planning to animate something for it...... if I ever get around to learning animation that is.....     

2) The Vengeful One - Disturbed

Two songs in and I look kinda emo.... But hey this song is soooooo cathartic! I love me a good heavy rock song, and the drums and electric guitar are perfect for my ears to absorb. This song gives off a feeling of overwhelming power mixed with a coldness and disdain for the bad in the world. Obviously, thats not my usual temperment, but its an interesting one to explore! Especially when I’m trying to get into the head of characters that exude that like my OCs Spark or Ryu. Plus its fun to sing in the car X)

3) Enter Sandman - Metallica

Okay this one is just a classic! Same thing with the drums and guitar they both slap SOOOOO GOOD. I don’t really associate this song with any of my characters or fandom favorites, but it DOES give me a super strong urge to learn the drums. EXXXXXXXXIT LIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! OFF TO NEVER NEVERLAND!!

4) We Are Giants - Lindsey Stirling ft. Dia Frampton

I don’t really to listen to music by band or artist, but I LOVE Lindsey Stirling!!! She’s probably my favorite musician! This is such a good song, especially for someone like me. Its a positive song that talks about feeling alone in a crowd and unimportant to the world, but how you really do matter and shouldn’t be afraid to dream big and shoot for the stars. It really speaks to me and the vocalization is so good (especially for singing), not to mention the official music video is animated and AMAZING!

5) Cetus - Lensko NCS

I dunno if anyone knows this song, but damn its good. Its one of those Royalty-Free songs that people look up for their channels, which is how I found it in the first place, but I loved it immediately. Its a peppy 8-bit electronic bop that turns a little Irish jig at the end and honestly I think if I ever start an animation channel I’m totally gonna use it! (Also go support Lensko he make good beats!)

6) Sanctuary - Utada Hikaru

I did not grow up with Kingdom Hearts, and only played KH2 within the past year n’ a half. But good God, the moment that Cinematic Opening came on and this song started playing I swear I astral projected into a daze of feelings without names. I know that “Simple and Clean” is the quintessential Kingdom Heart song that gives everyone feelings, but IMHO Sanctuary blows it out of the water. As beautiful as the animation was, or how curious the occasional backwards lyrics are, or how weird it is having high-res Goofy and Donald in what is essentially an anime opening, I really can’t be distracted from this song when I play.

7) Chemical Plant Zone (Rock Remix) - Zerobadniks

Chemical Plant Song is like, one of the TOP Sonic songs by popular vote (and we know how awesome the Sonic series is musically so thats saying something!), but I could never quite vibe with the normal 8-bit version. I think I first heard this as someone’s ringtone and was immediately like “THATS PERFECT THATS EXACTLY HOW I NEED IT!”. The rock makes the song soooo much better and honestly gives the song the perfect vibe. Unfortunately, it took FOREVER to find cuz none of the Rock Covers of this song were the right one. In fact, tbh, I’m not even sure whether Zerobadniks is the correct artist..... that’s just who everybody was crediting when I found it. 

(imma include the link i found since its a little hard to find: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqJiZEM6aPI )

8) The Wolf - SIAMES

YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEOS???? THIS IS A GOD-TIER ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO. I found the video first, and seriously, if you haven’t seen it YOU NEED TO!!! The beat works perfectly with the images on screen and the story being portrayed is really intriguing, with the lyrics adding to atmosphere without necessarily describing the visuals shown. Even without the animation, the song itself is a banger. It bring to mind the feeling of intense motion forward, but unable to decide whether its movement TOWARD something or AWAY from something. I love listening to this on a nighttime drive.

9) Burn the House Down - AJR

If you ask me, the best way to make a pop song better is to add either violins or trumpets. For this song, it was definitely the trumpets that first caught my attention, and the rest of the song kept me listening. I don’t really know how to describe the vibe of this song, and I don’t have a specific character or story in mind when I listen to it, so its a little hard for me to talk about it. I think the best way I can describe this song and what draws me to it is a feeling of nonchalant go-with-the-flow attitude to shenaniganry. Almost an undertone of “We’re hooligans in a situation that we probably should get out of, but hey we’ve got life and each other so why worry?” At least that’s the closest I can get to a verbal description heh...

10) Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell - The Offspring 

DANCE, FUCKER, DANCE, LET THE MOTHERFUCKER BURN!!!

So this also has a KICKASS animated music video, but its technically combined with the song “Dividing by Zero”. Now the video works SO well with both, and the shifting artstyles reflect the differing tones of the songs PERFECTLY. However, I have a preference for both the animation and the song on the Slim Pickens half. Its fun to listen to and sing at the top of your lungs and its SO CATHARTIC. Again I cant really describe what my head does when I hear it, but I think you can probably feel a similar vibe if you watch the music video. 

11) No Heaven - DJ Champion

The first time I finished the original Borderlands, I had been playing for days on end, had just finished a long battle with the Destroyer, and sitting back relieved to have beaten it and reflecting on how much I had enjoyed the adventure. Then this song started playing. For what I believe was forty minutes this song looped on my TV while the credits rolled. By the time the credits finished I was pulling up the song to listen to again! What an absolutely PERFECT cherry to add to this experience. This song perfectly encapsulated the chaotic, trigger-happy, morally ambiguous craziness that I had enjoyed and absorbed in this game. Every time I hear it now, I imagine myself in the wastelands of Pandora, driving haphazardly across the sandy dunes as my companions and I shoot and blow up everything in sight. You know, living the dream.......     

12) Hit & Run (Wolfgang Lohr Remix) -  The Electric Swing Circus

I fucking LOVE electro-swing! The electronic beats and rhythm blend so well with the wild and energetic freedom of swing. A lot of electro-swing gives me a vibe of wild movement, reckless abandon, and freedom from constraint. I think this song melds all of these feelings the best! As the last song might have indicated, despite my general nice and sweet temperament, there is a part of me deep down that is an absolute gremlin secretly enamored with chaos, insanity, and a general disdain for law and authority X). But whereas anything Borderlands related has a more “morality is an illusion blowing shit up is real” air about it, this song is far more peppy. More of a “good-hearted but insane” type of chaos, like an 100mph car chase where you end up sailing over the train tracks JUST as the train passes.

.... I may have gotten a bit off track lol 

13) Kickstart my Heart - Motley Crue

I love this song, but I have to be VERY careful when and where I listen to this. I love songs that make me feel like I’m going a million miles per hour, like I’m gotdam Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, I may or may not have had multiple instances of listening to this song in the car and abruptly realizing that I’m going like 15mph above the speed limit...... So yeah, regardless of absolutely perfect it feels to play this song while speeding down a nearly empty highway, please be careful and drive responsibly!!!

14) I’m Born to Run - American Authors

Imma just up and say it. This song is a Sonic song; like not like actually from the series but a song for the character. This song encapsulates Sonic as a character better than some of his ACTUAL THEMES (and remember Sonic music are bangers!). Its a song about freedom, living life as it comes, and not letting anything slow you down. Frankly I’m surprised they didn’t make this song FOR the Sonic series, or even the movie! Speaking of which, ironically I heard this song right after watching the Sonic movie in theaters, so yeah there’s no way I can associate it with anything else. 

15) Opa Opa - Antique

Oh, what a PERFECT way to end this list! This may be one of my absolute favorite songs of all time! I don’t remember exactly how I found this song... I think I had just relistened to Dalar Mehndi’s “Tunak Tunak Tun” and was looking for other catchy non-english songs and BOY HOWDY I found one! I know nothing about the band or what the song’s about (its in greek and i dont speak it), but this song is just a masterpiece of retro, pop, and dance sounds. This song feels like the musical and lyrical manifestation of dance and movement. I really REALLY wish I could dance JUST so I can express how happy and free this song makes me feel! This is the BEST song for me to end this list with!

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JESUS, this got long..... Sorry about that XD. It was fun though, and hopefully somebody was vaguely interested in my ramblings.

Guess I need to tag people now? How about @tharkflark1, @rockmilkshake, @neonbuck, @drawingsdrawingseverywhere, @birthgiverofbirds, @puccafangirl, @kalcat, @biblestudybussybopsbabey, @monstrous-milktea, and @memecage! I think there are a couple of people here I haven’t talked to though soooooo..... hi, I hope you don’t mind the tag X)

 Anyway hope you enjoyed and/or want to do this too! This took for-fucking-EVER to type, so imma go fuck off and watch youtube or something now...

[abundantchewtoys]

HS Epi: Meat p12 reaction

Back to Earth C presumably.

I gotta say, I'm curious to find out the final page count of Meat. The way we liveblog, the experience is stretched out, so with theories surfacing and such, we might be caught off guard when things are really over. There's only so far that things will be taken, though I guess we're still in for those "original Male/Female characters", I guess. :P That shouldn't refer to the new Reload timeline John created, I think, with copies of all the people mentioned in the rest of the character list. So, uh, yeah, guess the reason Arquiusprite wasn't mentioned in there was because he remained unseen, voided out if you will. And I guess we shouldn't expect an alternate Equius to have a talking role, either?

---

==>

Well! Talk about jumping straight into the action, this page opens with a dialoguelog! Back to Dave, Karkat and if my eyes didn't deceive me, we'll get some lines for Jade, too! Supportive Jade will be supportive.

"hit jane right in her neoliberal austerity measures" ... Hah. Well, I didn't think that would get referenced again at all, but it seems after all these years since John's 18th birthday Dave still has issues with the ol' N.A.M. So, Jane's a neoliberal AND a fascist now, Dave? Is that... even feasible?

"DAVE: now shes gonna spin some shit about supply side economics but we cant let her control the narrative on that one cause the first thing thats gonna happen once she begins deregulating the baking industry is that some sweet dumb crocodile down in consort land is gonna start putting sparkle glue in the cupcake mix which isnt even the real issue thats just surface issues KARKAT: RIGHT. JADE: definitely" ... Like, Dave I admire you're getting so into this, but you realize they aren't following, right? Also, why would Jane want to deregulate the baking industry if she's the leader of the foremost power in said industry, as well as running for president? Plus, Jane can't control the narrative because Caliborn is already controlling it! :mspa:

"DAVE: i mean earth c has just been play acting capitalism the last five thousand years while we timeskipped ahead to live rad lives as gods without bothering with any of the boring shit that goes into making a civilization DAVE: which is fine i mean you cant really expect a bunch of teens who didnt finish middle school to set up a sustainable form of social democracy that isnt just blatantly ripped off whatever we incorrectly thought obama god rest his soul was doing back in the day" ... Gee, Dave's given this a real lot of thought. Props to him, but I hope that aside from becoming 'an activist' he's also got some legitimite action points to improve Earth C's situation.

Guess Sburb really does a number on players, huh? "Congrats, you won, you're all gods now, and also, here's this whole civilization on the brink of collapse, have fun with that. Don't mess this up, I need those people to start the apocalypse in say, 2000 years, k thx bye." (The fact that this civilization, being outside of the Green Sun's influence, may never implement Sburb, is a bit besides the point since I think the trolls would have had the same issue tossed onto them had they actually gone through the victory door.)

Right, but the trolls had their home planet already effectively run by children, I wonder if that will come again? Even though they had carpenter droids at their disposal to run some things for them, they might actually be a bit more self-reliant than the humans!

"DAVE: but janes got this old school mentality you just know she wants to restrict grist alchemy for the sake of “growth” and when that goes down itll take three seconds flat for some nobody in new dersetown to drop the earth c communist manifesto" ... New Dersetown, I like the ring of that. Would call it New Dersey for short, though. :P Again, valid points there, Dave! If any revolt started, it doesn't have to be in the troll community, it could just as much be an angry carapace uprising! They're only docile if there's no one to rally behind.

Blaperile has this idea that the new society in a universe is not supposed to be seeded with the remains of the session nor the universe that came before it. That's actually a valid point; the only reason this society got kickstarted was through the cloning apparatus that was on the meteor! The consorts and carapaces seem like they would be able to reproduce biologically though, so I'm not sure how Sburb normally ensures the planet is a clean slate for a new species to emerge. ... Okay, so the planet itself doesn't really need to be the place where a new Sburb-playing species rises, true. There's a whole new universe out there.

Maybe through "importing" old Sburb technology, the "alpha" planet designation went to Earth C automatically, though.

Or maybe First Guardians are expected to 'cleanse' the planet from outside influence normally, but since this society's outside of the Green Sun's influence, that ain't happening. And Jade won't be going Thanos on Earth C.

"KARKAT: OH YEAH. JADE: of course DAVE: are you two even listening or are you just making noises with your mouths" Dave realizing he's monologuing? What character development is this. :O

"KARKAT: I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M BEING ACCUSED BY DAVE STRIDER, REIGNING EMPEROR OF SPEWING ENDLESS VERBAL DIARRHEA DIRECTLY INTO MY INNOCENT HEAR DUCTS EVERY DAY OF MY FUCKING LIFE, OF MAKING THOUGHTLESS MOUTH NOISES. KARKAT: JADE, ARE YOU HEARING THIS? JADE: im scandalized JADE: especially when JADE: there are much better things we could all be doing with our mouths....." ... Jade, your animes are showing again. ... I think that maybe Jade doesn't want this relation to be going where Dave and Karkat want it to go.

"It’s been a really nice day they’ve been having, and then Jade had to go say something like that. The air in the hive changes in a way that is palpable, in a way that she can’t seem to accurately gauge despite having both superhuman and superdog senses." ... Ah. So I guess maybe Jade just can't get a lid on some of her more... canine inclinations, at time. Welp!

"Elements of her outfit resemble her god tier jammies: peasant skirt, sparkly flats, and a bold choice in striped tights." Nice! That's only the third person who created an outfit based on her god tier outfit that we know, aside from Meenah and Rose.

"the couch where she crashed last night, and the night before that, and the better part of the seven years before that." It would seem Jade has the wanderlust then, she's more like the vagrant dog that comes visiting from time to time? More GCAT in demeanor than Becquerel, in practice. Heheh. Good for her, after being isolated on an island and then a battleship for so long, she's finally going out & seeing things!

"There are other personal effects of hers in the living room too: plants on the windowstill, her bass guitar sitting in a corner" Cool, so when she comes over, she typically lounges here then. Guess the flute never made it over, though. :p

"a horrific-looking periodic table that Dave made her for her seventeenth birthday pinned above the stairwell. He typed it in Comic Sans, and then deep-fried it to oblivion with JPEG artifacts." ... Next up, on For Fans By Fans...

"And Dave, with his preternaturally perfect timing, sweeps a hand over his tablet to bring up a new PowerPoint slide on the TV. He returns to his Comic Sans-written political presentation, gruesome artifacts and all" Dave, Dave that isn't professional at all!

", with the grace and proficiency of a man who has diffused an awkward situation in his own household many times per day, every day, for many years." Well, okay, that is really mature. But when Dave is the adult in a situation, the situation is very awkward per definition.

"DAVE: alternia: brutal eugenics based space dictatorship KARKAT: NOT UNTRUE." Succinct, brutal, but not dishonest.

"DAVE: troll homeworld: lord of the flies nightmare scenario where kids murder each other just to get the chance to get to grow up and murder other aliens instead KARKAT: IT WASN’T THAT BAD." Karkat. Karkat that isn't a valid rebuke.

"KARKAT: YOU MADE THAT LAST ONE UP. KARKAT: ALSO, IT WAS DISGUSTING?? KARKAT: GROW THE FUCK UP, YOU UTTERLY CONTEMPTIBLE, POTTY MOUTHED *CUNT*." ... The irony is stark.

"JADE: also you know trolls dont actually have two dicks dave thats an offensive stereotype" Are we really doing troll anatomy? Well, I guess it's good to know that the fan theory about Sollux at least isn't applicable to the entire species.

"DAVE: trolls: literally ate babies KARKAT: ONLY THE DEFECTIVE ONES. DAVE: like you my dude KARKAT: ...YEAH. DAVE: so thats why our campaign can work" Yeah, Karkat ate grubs, though they weren't troll babies. Also, yeah, Karkat was a mutant, but I wonder if that would really help his case here.

"DAVE: btw im gonna be giving a long form exam at the end of this to make sure youre retaining info because this is only like the most important thing weve ever done collectively" Well he ain't wrong.

"KARKAT: ARE YOU ASKING ME WHETHER I’VE HEARD THIS EXACT SPEECH ALMOST WORD FOR WORD, INCLUDING REHEARSED VERSIONS OF BOTH THE COLORFUL METAPHORS AND “JOKES,” TEN OR TWENTY TIMES ALREADY? KARKAT: BECAUSE THE ANSWER WOULD BE KARKAT: YES, OF COURSE I FUCKING HAVE." Poor, poor Karkat.

"Karkat elbows Dave in the thigh, a move that is obviously meant to be an action of pure, brotherly jest. But instead it comes off as affectionate and overly intimate. Jade’s clever eyes don’t miss this. Her pupils follow the motion of Karkat’s arm, and then they follow the movement of Dave’s mouth as he smiles in what he probably thinks is a totally neutral expression that reveals exactly 0% of his true feelings toward Karkat Vantas. In reality, his veneer is as thin and transparent as cellophane. He is the only person who can’t see through it.

Jade does some calculations in her head. Two kinds of calculations, in fact: mathematical ones and personal ones." So, is Jade reading too much into their relationship, or are the dudes just... Both too shy?

"JADE: soooooo JADE: do you want a projection of her first years hit on the economy down to the decimal with a 0.3% margin of error JADE: because thats a thing i can do if itll make you stop talking about this stupid election for ten minutes" I didn't know that were First Guardian powers! :p I suppose it might be her natural intellect though, but we've only known her as the hands-on science type until now.

"She proceeds to dazzle the two boys with explications on complex math utilizing taxation rates, GDP figures, and some damned thing called the “Laffer curve,”" Dang, Jade is as much committed to this as Dave! (Or maybe she learned all this because it means so much to him, that could be it too!)

"The thing about Jade Harley is that she’s not as good at personal things as she is at other things. Like science, or mastering fraymotifs, or kissing, the last of which she has definitely put a lot of levels into over the past few years because, well, what else are you supposed to do with immortal godhood once you hit the age where the dog hormones start kicking into overdrive?" Guess for dogs, kissing isn't that personal. :p And well, I guess Jade's only now learning the real consequences of turning into a real-life furry. At least she won't have had lack of candidates to practice kissing with. She might even have become the Witch of Spacing Out Young Adults.

"Her high-prescription lenses make her eyes look anime-huge. They might literally be glittering, she’s so completely serious about the issue she is trying to stress." And the fan artists rejoiced for all the new descriptions they have to work with!

" JADE: im about to lay out some cold hard evidence so pay attention! KARKAT: OH, HANG ON, LET ME GET A PEN." You can't live together with Dave for years without learning when it's time to start taking notes and grab a fucking pen.

"JADE: evidence about..... JADE: our relationship! KARKAT: FUCK" Pfff, okay, never mind. I think Jade might have hit a wall several times over before, trying to either define their relationship or take it to the next level. These dudes are really sensitive about their feelings, after all.

But it would be interesting, learning Jade wants to know where they stand just as much as the outside world does.

"JADE: you let me live in your hive when im in town KARKAT: I CAN’T BELIEVE... JADE: im preeeetty intimately entwined in both your lives KARKAT: THAT YOU’RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS? JADE: AND you dont disengage from about 86.234% of my flirtations KARKAT: WAIT, WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU KEEP TRACK OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT? JADE: so....... are we doing this or not?" So, just like with taking on Lord English and acknowledging the lit fuse that is Earth C society, I guess the coming around of April 13th 2019 is when Jade had enough of all this silly business and wants to know what's what. (Also, I suppose the level of intimacy they shared on beforehand will be left to speculation.)

"KARKAT: DOING WHAT?! JADE: dating dummy!!!!!!!! KARKAT: OH. KARKAT: THAT IS KARKAT: THAT IS... A COMPLICATED TOPIC IN MY CULTURE THAT I’M NOT SURE HUMANS ARE EQUIPPED TO TALK ABOUT." Smooth, Karkat, real smooth. Maybe Karkat fears commitment will lead to some of their relationships shifting into other quadrants. And he wouldn't like to be moirails or auspistices with either of them.

"DAVE: also totally unrelated to the economy" ... Nice try Dave, but I think this can't be steered back into that track.

"DAVE: which not gonna lie is the only thing i want to talk about for uh DAVE: for however long it takes for this other conversation to stop happening JADE: so say no!!! DAVE: well KARKAT: UHHHHH JADE: im not just forcing this conversation for my sake! its for you two as well JADE: i mean after all this time have you two even kissed yet?????? DAVE: wha" I think Dave and Karkat might actually have been both content to stay uncommitted and fearful to put a label on it. Also Jade's question will presumably remain unanswered, it's already surprising it's confirmed she hasn't seen them kissing. And that is ignoring the matter of whether either Dave or Karkat kissed Jade before. I guess it's only fortunate for this situation that this instance of Jade never dated Davesprite, it would only complicate things further.

"DAVE: wha KARKAT: WH-WHY WOULD DAVE: uhh KARKAT: WHY WOULD WE KISS?? DAVE: thats KARKAT: THAT’S... YOU... I MEAN, HE’S... HE’S DAVE. DAVE: we KARKAT: AND I’M KARKAT." PFffffffff, hilarious! I can just see them blushing like tomatoes right now. Can't keep staying in denial bros!

"JADE: yes hes dave and youre karkat and everyone we know always calls you that JADE: “dave and karkat”" Hah! Yeah, but they also think you're part of the item, Jade. Care to shed some thoughts on the subject?

"JADE: i cant remember the last time i heard anyone mention one of you without the other JADE: the two of you have basically been together since your days on the meteor its SO obvious" Jade has turned this from a personal matter into a fandom matter. "Everyone and their dog knows you're dating, guys! Stop pretending otherwise!" It's interesting to note the different ways Dave has been seen handling relationships. When he dated Terezi in the GO timeline, it went south due her troubles in the black quadrant. When Davesprite dated Jade, it went south due to unresolved Dave issues, presumably having to do with his bros. With Karkat, Dave's been in a stable-ish thing for the longest time, though.

" KARKAT: VERY CLOSE FRIENDS WHO UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER ON A DEEP AND EMPATHETIC LEVEL THAT GOES BEYOND HATE OR PITY. YOU COULD EVEN SAY THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP... KARKAT: ...TRANSCENDS QUADRANTS." ... PFfffffff, so this could have been what it was like for the Sufferer and the Disciple, then! They were just never ready to commit? That would actually be funnier than it being this deep and fulfilling relationship. It would also make Doc Scratch' misgivings on the relationship even more hilarious.

"JADE: yeaaaaaah not gonna lie karkat but that sounds totally kinda gay KARKAT: UGH YOU HUMANS AND YOUR UNFATHOMABLE GENDER BASED QUADRANTS." ... Heh. Actually. Too trolls, the whole gender-based romance thing we have going must indeed be as unfathomable as leprechaun romance.

"Jade faceplams." Well that's a new verb. ;) What part of the body is the 'plam', exactly?

" KARKAT: ANYWAY WEREN’T YOU... DATING THAT CARAPACIAN COUPLE? LAST TIME WE CHECKED?" Lolwut. Jade. Jade are you... are you being a Ms. Casanova, a paramour or two in every city you frequent? If WV and PM turn out to be alive for the sole purpose of dating Jade, I'll choke on my drink.

" DAVE: wait you saying we arent fun JADE: whens the last time either of you left the house??????" I know Jade means it as in, she'd like to date them for keeps. But I also fulheartedly believe Dave and Karkat can sustain themselves on delivery pizza and chinese chow.

"In her other hand, she tries to grab Dave’s wrist, but he flash-steps to the other side of the couch." Well that's a new use of the power, guess Dave must really have felt alarmed. :p

"JADE: i wanna try dating for real KARKAT: HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED KARKAT: SORRY IF WHAT I’M ABOUT TO SAY TOTALLY BLOWS YOUR MIND KARKAT: DATING A SINGLE PERSON, FOR MORE THAN HALF A SWEEP, FOR REASONS OTHER THAN INITIATING THE CONCUPISCENT EXCHANGE OF FLUIDS?" Karkat is trying to throw the issue back into Jade's face by saying she should try dating for a longer period of time. But that's exactly what she's trying to do here! She knows who she wants that with! That poor little troll, he's not getting out from under this.

"JADE: third of all karkat arent you from a culture where people are expected to engage in romantic relationships with up to like five people at a time?? KARKAT: THAT’S NOT KARKAT: THAT’S NOT THE SAME THING AT ALL." If he's trying to avoid getting dragged into quadrants with people, he should stop upholding the validity of the quadrants to hold people off. :p

"DAVE: ok jade i think theres a flaw in your approach here cause you seem to think winning an argument on super clever logical grounds is gonna get a couple dudes to break down and fling themselves at you in like, a sexual way JADE: wellll it usually does ;B DAVE: oh my fucking god" So she swoons people by way of her big brain. Jade's got CLASS.

"This earns Dave a look. A long, sad one that has Jade messing with her glasses again so that she can peer right at him and apply some more of that faulty personal math to his facial expression." Just confirmation here that Jade isn't necessarily correct in all her assessments due to not being objective.

"JADE: dave are you in love with obama? DAVE: jade jesus where do you get this shit from JADE: is it about jesus then??????" Aaaaaand this has been derailed again.

"DAVE: no! DAVE: jesus wasnt even real JADE: i know he wasnt real! JADE: wait... JADE: are you saying JADE: obama was real? DAVE: ... DAVE: yes" Wut. Wai- I- Jade. Honey. Please. Guess for all her involvement in politics since, those isolated years on the island sheltered her WAY too much.

"DAVE: obama was real DAVE: he was the president KARKAT: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA JADE: all this time i thought obama was like JADE: an aspirational fictional character that you modeled your life after KARKAT: AHAHAHAHA I CAN’T AHAHA BREATHE... JADE: like snoop dog or nicolas cage" ... Jade. Jade no. You're just making this worse on yourself. For Jade, there would have been almost nothing in Homestuck she'd have seen as a reference to 'real life', would there?

"senary numeral systems that allow me to do complex equations in my head" ... Why is Base 6 good for complex equations? I'm probably not good enough at math to know.

"KARKAT: WHY IS IT LIKE SOME SORT OF *TRAGEDY* HOW SHE WAS RAISED? KARKAT: BECAUSE SHE WAS RAISED ALONE BY AN ANIMAL?? KARKAT: *I* WAS RAISED ALONE BY AN ANIMAL!" There! It's getting acknowledged again, how Jade's upbringing more resembles a troll than a human's! Becquerel the lusus.

"There’s a ripple in the room that makes it clear their god tier powers have just clashed against each other. He shifts his arm through time and Jade warps the space around them so that she’s the one holding the tablet. This is not the first time that they have rearranged the fabric of reality for a petty reason like this. Karkat has permanently sworn off playing board games with them." ... Lol. First real use of the god tier powers in Earth C, and it goes like this! Wait, couldn't Jade have snapped... Right, no, she actually wouldn't have First Guardian powers anymore now, I forgot. Still, what did Dave try to do, move the tablet to another point in the timeline?

"The moment Jade brings the paint program up on the television, Karkat stops laughing. KARKAT: NO!" Oh boy. Time for the Penis Quadrant scene, this time with three people. ... This would actually fall under both definitions of a "sketch", actually.

"He tries to grab the tablet from her, but she’s hovering well above the ground and he simply is not tall enough to reach. With a shit-eating grin and deliberate care, Jade begins to draw a grid." He's going to jump up to grab her leg, to disturb the drawing, isn't he?

"She gives Karkat a pair of fuzzy, angry eyebrows" Now I'm starting to think of the Karkat expressions in that one Paradox Space.

"all he accomplishes is turning the redrom trajectory between her and Dave into a redrom loop-de-loop." This is all I could want from a reprise of this scene.

"JADE: see me and karkat have great black chemistry! KARKAT: IT IS NOT BLACK CHEMISTRY YOU HORRID NON-CHITINOUS WINDBAG!" A+ denial there, Karkat, props on the response.

"JADE: and now that daves all chill hed make a great auspistice" Jade just wants all Karkat's quadrants filled by the three of them, somehow.

"JADE: because you and karkat are kind of like moirails DAVE: no JADE: and you and i JADE: well yknow its always been pretty flirty DAVE: jade JADE: EXCEPT!

Jade finishes drawing a shaky heart directly into the paint program. It’s so big and bright on the TV that it fills the entire room with red light." She's putting all these names and symbols to the relationship, it might just be too much for these poor boys to handle. :p

"JADE: i call this political arrangement: JADE: fully automated luxury polyamorous space-time communism!!!!!!!" That is not the shipping name I would've chosen, but it's the shipping name we deserve. And hey, communism! Get it? Cause Karkat had a sickle.

I wonder what Karkat's take on polyamory outside of the ashen quadrant is, actually.

"Jade rolls her eyes and tosses both the tablet and pen over her shoulder. Dave flashes across the living room to catch his very expensive computing device in both arms. The pen bounces off his forehead." This. Entire. Scene.

"JADE: i have to go talk to roxy and callie about the election anyway" Well, she's going to let them stew on this for a while. But I'm eager to find out who Roxy & Calliope would back. You might think Jane's a given, but if she's been busy maybe they have grown closer to Jade & Dave!

"Jade clicks her heels together to propel herself back into the air and actually winks at them before absconding through an open window." Think happy thoughts! Also, I just realized becoming a god sadly never gave Karkat the powers of flight.

"Dave and Karkat both stare after her, silently caught in their own private rationalization spirals.

Karkat needs to verbalize part of his out loud." Ah, but can they stay in that spiral or will they have no choice but to break out of it?

"KARKAT: WANNA PLAY SOME TROLL TONY HAWK? DAVE: hell DAVE: yeah" Yyyyyeaah, they are not going to have changed when Jade comes back, will they?

So even Karkat calls it "Troll Tony Hawk", not whatever absurdly wrong name it'd have on Alternia, and not whatever Tony Hawk's duodecimal name in Alternian would be. :P

[boyfae]

Hi! You were really helpful in answering my questions about kpop (i was the anon whose brother had recently gotten into it and asked for an over view) i kinda have a couple more questions if thats okay?

The first one is kinda stupid but my brother's birthday is coming up and i wanted to get him some holland related stuff. But i literally cant even find like a physical album to buy him or any merchandise. Am i being really stupid and missing something or are those things just not available cause he doesn't have a label and is (relatively) smaller?

Second off this is also kinda stupid but ive kinda understood that your bias is your fave but is that your fave overall or your fave in a specific group? Like would you have a bias in shinee and a bias in bts ?

Thirdly whats the deal with the like mass streaming parties? Is that something thats just cause of inter fan group competition or is there and external reason why that seems to be such a thing?

Thank you! Feel free to ignore this if your busy

no problem! here’s ur answers in order:

1. unfortunately holland doesn’t have any official merch available for sale at the moment and the only physical album he’s released was through a makestar event, which is sort of like kickstarter for albums, so if you didn’t back him at the time i believe it’s now currently impossible to get one. you could try lurking on ebay on the off chance that one pops up, but harlings (what holland fans are called) tend to be very devoted fans so i’d be surprised if they go up for sale very often. i’m sure you CAN find offbrand holland merch on like etsy and redbubble, but again that’s a very murky area since it’s unlicensed. i guess it’s up to u to decide how u feel about it and if u wanna support that ecosystem.

2. so your bias can mean either! mostly you just gotta depend on context clues, but it’s usually used to refer to your favorite in a group. for example, my bias from exo is sehun, my bias from onlyoneof is yoojung, my bias in shinee is key, etc. however some people have what are called ult biases, which means they’re like their favorite of all time. for example, one of my ult biases is new from the boyz, which basically means i go out of my way to support him and his group.

3. mass streaming parties are to support the groups both monetarily and with music show wins! monetarily from ad revenue and just general exposure, and music shows often take views on youtube into consideration when giving out wins. if your group’s new music video has a lot of views, they’ll have a higher chance at getting a win. also, kpop stans just like to see their faves have really high view numbers, lol. it’s been a part of our culture since kpop came to youtube (just look at the kind of numbers snsd’s gee and 2ne1′s i am the best did way back when) but i think it really got ramped up after gangnam style. big fan groups push for big view numbers for clout, basically.

hope that answers everything!

[expired-blueberries]

oh ABSOLUTELY i agree, frank definitely has a better relationship with verdona than carl does. i imagine, like you said, verdona might have even tried to train him to use anodite powers on occasion because of the spark that he had, in hopes it might kickstart it into full gear. 

i feel like there could been an au where frank DOES  have the spark and IS an anodite, and where carl in turn actually became a plumber (remember when he shot that.... space bazooka.... at the highbreed without even BLINKING??? a weapon he had NEVER used before in his life, against an alien that was steps away from killing his son who was at the time HUMONGOUSAUR??????) and honestly the family wouldve been more functional probably. for one thing, max wouldnt have been leading a second life so the resentment from that wouldve been gone, and thats definitely been a cause for stress, at least between carl and max but presumably frank and max as well. 

im not sure about sunny though. rather, i can almost imagine verdona coming through and being like ‘oh, by the way, im only passing through your galaxy right now, but what if i stop by so gwen can meet her cousin?’ and frank just going with it because he doesnt mind and because natalie wasnt there to say no in time

carl is on not-great terms with both of his parents. max, for hiding his plumber double life, and even more so for letting ben keep the omnitrix and fight aliens as a ten year old and never tell them, and verdona for.... well. being verdona. that is to say, frank exhibited signs of the spark, but we were never given evidence that carl did the same. so if he didnt.... verdona probably spent even less time with him than with frank. she still cares for them, of course, and she still took proper care of them, but... you remember all those little comments shes prone to giving? the multiple times she talked to frank about his not having the spark so there was ‘nothing she could do for him’, her disregarding and disengaging from ben after she asked him if he could do what gwen did, hell, even the time(s?) she told gwen, IN FRONT OF BEN AND SUNNY, that she was her favorite grandchild.

i imagine that frank, for a while at least, would probably be the go-between for carl and verdona. it might be that after verdona starts coming back to earth more frequently (for gwen), that carl is forced to... maybe not forgive her, but at least to keep his cool around her. i imagine if he tried to bring up any issues he had with her though, she would probably dismiss them in the same way as frank, saying ‘there was nothing she could do for him’

to an extent i dont blame verdona. to an EXTENT. because like i said, she definitely shouldve been more present in their lives and didnt hold their lack of being anodites over their heads. but, that said, she was living on a planet that wasnt her own, without any of her extended support group with her, her husband canonically never told her about the plumbers/his second life (i cant remember if that was retconned in the episode where max told the kids about his and verdonas meeting or not, but it was said in either Grounded or What Little Girls Are Made Of), and she was taking care of human children rather than anodites. i get why she left as soon as she could - her children were out of the house, she and max has grown apart, and she needed to find herself again. but she definitely wasnt worlds best mother. (sidenote - i can almost see comparisons between her and natalie, like the little comments they make and the way they try to make gwen be exactly like them - polite people dont glow vs verdona wanting to rip gwen open and reveal her anodite self) 

and i also agree that carl was definitely trying to be a better parent to ben than his parents were to him. and honestly hes absolutely CRUSHING it, the man definitely deserves a ‘worlds best dad’ mug or something for his troubles because he loves his son SO MUCH 

Ooh what’s the headcanon for frank tennyson you mentioned in the tags in that one post??

okay so forgive the delay in answering but i wanted to rewatch the single episode we ever saw frank in (What Are Little Girls Made Of, aka the one where we first see verdona) just so i could be sure i had my facts straight lol

ANYWAY this is actually gonna be a two part answer, but ill put the headcanons in a list and then ill put more of an analysis (not really an analysis because i dont have time but more of a rambling of my thoughts lol) under a readmore 

- i cant remember if its canon that frank is a lawyer or not. i feel like i remember it being mentioned in canon once but im not positive. so if thats not canon then thats the headcanon

- following that, lawyers work long hours; frank probably isnt at home very often (and we also know this because he only shows up in One. Single. Episode), opting instead to work late at the office. 

- my guess is that natalie is more of the disciplinarian both because of his long house but also because natalie is more uptight than frank is. frank has to be some measure of Not Uptight by virtue of his upbringing with verdona (if he were completely rigid in all things he Would Have Snapped at this point) 

basically frank just isnt in gwens life as often as would be best. i am NOT absolving him of the blame, he 100% should have told gwen of their alien heritage and took more of an interest in her life, but theres only so much time in the day i guess and at the end of it if your only daughter is healthy and seemingly happy, theres only so much you can do.

- also my last headcanon (that does not in any way relate to the previous headcanons) is that frank (and carl and ken and ben) DOES have anodite energy locked away inside of him, but that anodite dna is dormant... until its given a reason not to be. (remember, frank can sense when verdona is around even when shes invisible, despite, in verdonas words, ‘not having the spark’ 

 gwen was able to learn magic and use powers BECAUSE she was exposed to high levels of magic (hex and charmcaster fights when she was 10, along with the charms of bezel)  and also high levels of STRESS (literally her entire life). frank and carl were both kept in the dark about max being a plumber; they both knew he had a double life but they werent sure what it was (carl says this in the episode Grounded, the one where bens parents find out about the omnitrix). frank and carl all told have a pretty calm life, even when they were kids, and despite being around verdona and her mana for some of the time (i imagine she was still just a free spirited then, and probably especially as they got older and were more capable of taking care of themselves, she probably stayed around less and less until she finally left them). if they were put under a high level of stress and a more constant stream of mana, then they would unlock their powers. frank has gwen around, but low stress. carl has decidedly more stress (remember the highbreed fight? also his son is literally the most famous, and most sought after person in the galaxy), but a lower stream of mana. i imagine the omnitrix probably lcoks down the anodite dna so it can keep the human dna sample (ben) as close to human as possible. ken, now in college, has zero mana stream near him, but a relatively high amount of stress (both the dnalien attack and also, just, college). i imagine he might unlock his powers if he were to ever become a plumber and spend more time with gwen. 

when i rewatched the episode, one of the things that stood out to me was frank commenting on not being allowed into gwens room for ‘quite some time.’ thats pretty normal for a teen, but then we remember that gwen has been studying magic for the last five years, since she was ten, so i think thats probably originally when she stopped letting him into her room, so that she could hide her spellbooks and magical artifacts etc. BUT we also know that frank is the one that she invites into her room and the one she tells about meeting with verdona. she DOESNT invite natalie into the room, despite natalie being just downstairs. gwen trusts her dad more than her mom and believes he wont dismiss her concerns (he does dismiss her magic ‘hobby’ but then goes on to explain that there is no such thing as magic, just aliens, so im willing to let that one slide) .

frank smiles when gwen talks about possibly going with verdona, then frowns when natalie talks about ‘wishing [gwen] had taken after [natalies] side of the family’, but then smiles when gwen talks about going again, and says they wont stand in her way. more than anything, including his interactions with verdona, this tells me he (and natalie) have been thinking on this for a long time. he says he and natalie had both thought gwen wasnt an anodite since she hadnt shown any sign of the spark by alien force, but my guess is that, like his mother leaving for anodyne as soon as carl and frank were out of the house (probably late teens or early 20s), he expected that if gwen WERE to be an anodite, she would follow the same path. gwen, however, is sad that they ‘wont stand in her way’. 

gwen needs to feel like shes wanted around. her parents arent telling her to go, but they arent telling her to stay; same with ben. later in the episode, gwen talks about loving her life, but she specifically mentions crime fighting and hobbies, not bringing up family. she isnt as close with her parents as she could/should be, same for them with her. 

theres a few things throughout the episode (usually done or said by verdona) that hint at the type of life frank had growing up. verdona talks multiple times about frank not having the spark, even saying ‘there was nothing [she] could do’ in regards to him at one point. verdona refuses to listen to gwen not wanting to leave at first, dismissing it as a tantrum. she outright says that 16 is too young to make up a mind. verdona is curt with kevin because he isnt an energy being, and doesnt really care for anything ben has to say because hes the same way. once she left, verdona hadnt visited the family for ‘quite some time’, presumably ever since ben and gwen were born, and once she noted they werent anodites, she left again. 

basically, frank (and carl) grew up with a dad with a double life (which they knew about but were NEVER told the NATURE of, not until they forcibly found out during af) and a freespirited mother who seems hung up on her children not being what she wants them to be, and who left as soon as she could. frank, i imagine, probably had to take care of carl a lot as the older brother, especially with a flighty mother around. frank doesnt seem to harbor any hard feelings towards verdona, but seems to take it more as a ‘this is the way she is, there is no changing it’ sort of way. so i guess frank is more used to having to go with the flow than anything else 

(this isnt a jab at verdona - she was away from her home planet and her people, she and her husband were growing apart, and neither of her children were like her; she was effectively alone and i dont necessarily blame her for wanting to leave. granted, i still think she was probably in the wrong more than in the right, but still.) 

listen im SO sorry this is so jumbled i wanted to organize it better but its 7 am and i havent slept yet lol 

[cdrforea]

Awesome Tech You Can't Buy Yet: This Week's Top Crowdfunding Projects

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Awesome Tech You Can't Buy Yet: This Week's Top Crowdfunding Projects

Around a dozen different crowdfunding campaigns take place on the Internet at any time. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you won't find a shortage of strange, useless and downright stupid projects – alongside some real gems. We cut through the fidgety spinners and nervous iPhone cases to summarize this week's most unusual, ambitious, and exciting new crowdfunding projects. Remember that any crowdfunding project – even the one with the best intentions – can fail. So do your homework before issuing a check for the gadget of your dreams.

April 5

Eyesy – video synthesizer

When it comes to creating and mixing sounds, you have countless tools at your disposal. We have musical instruments, MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loop pedals, drum pads and all kinds of digital audio workstations that you can use to mix everything together. But when it comes to visuals, artists don't really have many tools at their disposal. Eyesy wants to change that. It is a video synthesizer that allows you to create reactive graphics that respond to music in real time.

Arebo – full body dryer

Do you know the high-speed “Airblade” blow dryer from Dyson, which dries your hands so quickly that towels are no longer required? Now someone has taken the same concept to the next level and developed a device that blow-dries your entire body and thus makes the use of bath towels unnecessary. Strange? Yes. Tempting? Also yes.

Tau – keychain power bank

This thing has no revolutionary technology under the hood. If you tackle it, it's really just a portable battery. But what makes it brilliant is the fact that it's designed to work like a keychain – making sure you have it with you whenever you leave the house. The best? It also comes with a wall-mounted docking station and makes charging the battery as easy as hanging the keychain. Pretty smart, isn't it?

Astro Slide – 5G smartphone with physical keyboard

Physical keyboards on cell phones are a rarity these days, but apparently there is still a passionate community that keeps them alive. The latest addition to this category is the Astro Slide – a kind of smartphone / laptop hybrid. It not only runs on Android and works like a real smartphone, but also has a pull-out screen on which you can use the phone like a miniature laptop. I'm not going to lie – despite the fact that I know this thing is a typing nightmare, I still want one.

Talobrush – ultra-fast toothbrush

Are you tired of all the squeezing, scrubbing, spitting, rinsing, gargling and flossing that is needed to keep your pearl white hair clean? For decades, the electric toothbrush has been your only use for this tedious task. While these automatically oscillating tooth washers are definitely a step in the right direction, they don't remove the hassle and time spent brushing your teeth. This is where Talobrush comes in. It's a new age toothbrush that (supposedly) ends work in a fraction of the time.

March 29

Supercalla – magnetic, self-organizing charging cable

Cables are an annoying but necessary part of life. No matter how hard you try, they always seem to get tangled and disorganized. But what if they didn't? What if they could organize themselves and stay tidy all the time? This is exactly the idea behind Supercalla – a clever new cable system that snaps together with a series of magnets so that it is always organized.

Hygiene hand – EDC door opener

Thanks to the unprecedented virus outbreak we are currently living in, it may not be 100% safe to touch public door handles and press buttons for a while. So what do you do when you are inevitably in a situation where you have to push a button or pull a handle? Answer: You blow this cute little EDC hook / push button tool out and open the door. I would not be surprised if these things soon appeared everywhere.

Arcade Blaster – FPS Motion Controller

Do you remember the cute handgun controller you played Duck Hunt with in the good old days? Well, that's so on meth. It's a system that lets you get rid of your regular joystick controller and play FPS games by pointing / shooting at a pistol-shaped controller – a controller that's filled with high-precision accelerometers To give you additional accuracy.

Waffle Wow – building block waffle iron

This is perhaps the most brilliant thing I've seen on Kickstarter for months. It is a waffle maker that, thanks to its unique design, creates waffle pieces that can be torn apart to create Lego-like bricks that can then be stacked together into things. I honestly feel cheated that it didn't exist as a child.

Deskspace – relief plate for the lunar surface

Deskspace was created using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and shows the topography of the other side of the moon – in high fidelity – using concrete. It's definitely not the most useful thing on this list, but it's certainly a conversation starter. How many people can say that they have a real 3D relief map of the lunar surface in their house?

March 22

Keyboardio Atreus – ultra-minimalistic mechanical keyboard

Kickstarter has done thousands of keyboard projects in the past decade, but this is definitely one of the best ever. It is a wired mechanical keyboard that has been reduced to the essentials without compromising on comfort and performance. Indeed, it is so reduced that, despite the lack of a folding or collapsing function, it is still small and portable enough to fit easily in a backpack.

Photonbar – programmable light wand

One of my favorite Kickstarer projects of all time is the PixelStick: an electrified rail with 200 programmable LEDs, with which you can take the most amazing light painting photos of all time. Photonbar is essentially the same idea, but in a smaller and somewhat less cumbersome form factor – and also at a significantly lower price. If you are interested in creative photography, you should definitely take a look at this thing.

Sensforce Chair Extreme – haptic feedback gaming chair

Modern video games are pretty much chosen in terms of picture and sound, but when it comes to physical feelings, they're still relatively boring. The best we get is really just vibrating controllers. Sensforce wants to change this with an innovative new haptic gaming chair that vibrates in three different zones. The coolest thing about it is that it relies solely on audio signals, so you don't need any special drivers or plugins to work with your system. Just plug it in and let's go!

The Babymaker – secret electric racing bike

There are umpteen e-bike projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but only a few are as sophisticated as this one. It is an e-bike that intentionally does not look like an e-bike, but still offers all the advantages of an e-bike. The Babymaker's battery is hidden in its normal-looking frame and has variable pedal support – but this is where the modern bells and whistles stop. You won't find any unnecessary mobile apps or annoying software updates on this bike, and that's on purpose.

Techwrap – electronic multi-purpose gear protection

This thing is just awesome. It's easy, because all it really is is a well-designed cloth that you can use to wrap your camera equipment and electronics. It is brilliant because this simple design enables it to perform multiple functions. It can be a waterproof / dirt-repellent gear packaging, a platform for your lenses, or even a microfiber cleaning cloth. It is entirely up to you and can be changed at any time.

March, 15

Tucktek – origami kayak

Kayaking is amazing, but one of the big downsides of the sport is the cumbersome nature of the equipment. To participate, you usually need to buy special frames for your car to transport them. But what if it didn't have to be that way? What if your kayak could fit in the trunk of your car? This is exactly the idea behind Tucktek's foldable kayak. Thanks to some origami magic, this little sucker collapses into a shape that is so small that you can easily install three of them in a normal trunk.

Oros Apparel – Airgel-insulated outerwear

In general, most insulated jackets use animal-derived materials (or are inspired by them) – such as wool and down. But while natural materials certainly do the trick, there are certain artificial materials that are far better insulators. Take airgel for example. Airgel is a synthetic substance that is obtained from a gel that weighs almost nothing and yet has the lowest thermal conductivity of all available materials. In fact, it's so good that NASA uses airgel as the primary thermal insulation in spacesuits – and now Oros has figured out how to put it in a number of jackets.

Himo – ultra compact folding e-bike

Folding bikes keep getting better and at this point I'm not sure how it's possible. This latest entry in the category is called Himo and is not only smaller than any other folding bike I've ever seen, but also fully electric. If you live in a place where there are hardly any suitable bicycle parking spaces, or if you are only worried about thieves, this is ideal. Instead of locking it, you can simply fold up the frame, pick up the entire bike, and carry it to the safety of your office or home. Pretty neat, isn't it?

Atypical cosmetics – AI-curated skin care

Every skin is different. Why are skin care products basically still a one-size-fits-all solution? Sure, there are some brand-to-brand and formula-to-formula differences, but lotions and moisturizers definitely don't consider your exact needs. Atypical cosmetics wants to change that and has an A.I. Supported customization platform to make this possible.

A-Zero – compostable plastic bags

There is currently a big movement going on to end the use of single-use plastic, but while it is all good and beautiful, there is no denying that plastic bags are still extremely useful and practical for certain situations. But what if you could still get all this ease and convenience without harming the planet? This is exactly the goal of A-Zero bags. They are made from plant cellulose and are broken down quickly after being thrown away.

8th of March

Prompt – eye-free watch

I'm kind of obsessed with the concept behind this watch. It's designed to be completely “eye-free” – so you don't have to look at it to determine the time. Instead, hold your finger on your face and there will be a brief burst of haptic vibrations telling you what time it is. The idea is that since there is no screen and you can check it without looking at it, you can be present in conversations and meetings.

Fire ant – fire starter for Swiss Army Knives

This thing is definitely one of the most brilliant products I've ever seen on Kickstarter. Do you know all the empty space in the corkscrew of a Swiss Army knife? The fire ant fills this room with something extremely useful: an ultra-compact fire start kit. The outer shell, which is screwed neatly into the corkscrew, consists partly of scale covered with wax. If you remove that, you'll find a flint that you can hit the back of your knife to create a spark that ignites the above-mentioned tinder. How awesome is that?!

Moft Z – flat desk stand

Standing desk kits are certainly nothing new at the moment. These devices, with which you can transform your existing desk into a standing desk by lifting a platform, have been around for almost as long as standing desks. Although Moft Z is the youngest participant in an already full category, it's something special. Thanks to its clever origami-like design, this sucker sits almost completely flat when not in use.

Freebord 5x – snowboard-like skateboard

Skateboards are undoubtedly a great tool for getting around a city, but they also require some practice to get used to – and much of that practice is usually spent learning how to brake properly. Freebord circumvents this problem with a super clever truck and steering wheel system that makes it easier for you to carry out a sliding brake – similar to a snowboard. This is the fifth generation of this design. As someone who drove (and crashed!) A few times in the first generation, I'm here to tell you that this is a massive improvement.

Impossible table – Tensegrity desk toy

If there is one thing, there will always be enough at Kickstarter, it is desk toys. Specifically, machined metal desk toys that have some sort of inspiring physical or mechanical phenomenon. Impossible Table fits this description to a T. It is a machined metal desk toy that demonstrates the concept of tensegrity: the characteristic property of a stable three-dimensional structure, which consists of connected elements under tension and not compressed elements.

1st March

Litta – solar powered bike light

Solar-powered bicycle lights are not a new idea at the moment, but they are not particularly common either. Why? Until recently, small solar panels simply couldn't absorb energy quickly enough to be useful in a bicycle light. This is different. Thanks to its high-end solar module and energy-saving LED lamp, Litta can fully charge in just a few hours and will work for years without ever having to be plugged in – even if you live in an area where this is not the case don't get much direct sunshine.

Locomoco – Screenless Coding Teacher

Robots that teach children to code are a dozen these days. Most take the same idea slightly differently, but Locomoco is different. Of all the coding robots we've ever seen on Kickstarter, it's probably one of the coolest. Why? It not only looks and works like a normal toy train set, but is also meant to teach children (or adults!) The basics of coding and computer logic without forcing them to stare dead-eyed at a tablet or smartphone screen. In this way, users can learn through a more tactile and practical process.

Kolude KD-1 Keyhub – multi-port keyboard

Warning: this keyboard will annoy you. Why? Because it's so easy that you wonder why no computer or peripheral manufacturer has ever done this. It is a keyboard with all the ports you could ever need: HDMI, USB, SD, USB C and a handful of others. This essentially means that you can connect it to everything, connect everything to it, and not have to reach for the back of your computer tower every time you plug in a flash drive or connect a new display. Seriously, why isn't this already a standard design feature on all keyboards?

Solid State Watch – buttonless, immutable wristwatch

This is one of those artistic, high profile Kickstarter projects that are unlikely to be mass appeal but are also so fun and extensive that I couldn't resist including it in this summary. Here's the idea: When you order one, the developers basically take the courage out of a Casio F-91W and pour it permanently into a transparent resin shell. Once this is done, you can no longer mess with it. No buttons, no functions, no nothing. Similar to time itself, it is immutable and beyond your control. It will just continue until the battery runs out and dies.

Ultrasound – ultrasonic cleaner

Ultrasona is a portable ultrasonic washing machine. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? How it works: When the transducer is immersed in water and turned on, it emits ultrasonic vibrations that create tiny cavitation bubbles in the water that violently move dirt, grime, and bacteria on everything you wash – wash and disinfect at the same time. This exact same technology is used on a larger scale in chemical laboratories, where it is referred to as ultrasound treatment. With Ultrasona, you can finally get this technology in a practical and fully portable form factor. Imagine – you could wash your clothes in a hotel pool!

February 23

Rocketbook Orbit – reusable notepad

If you haven't heard of Rocketbook yet, miss it. The company makes these amazing notebooks that are infinitely reusable and also allow you to sync / store your notes in the cloud. I'm a big fan. However, the company's newest product is not a notebook at all – it is a notepad that comes with a single, infinitely reusable sheet for your notes. Stop wasting paper just so you can write things down!

Vector Unleashed – Open source toolkit for Vector

Do you remember Vector? The adorable little A.I. Anki robot? After conquering the hearts of geeks around the world, the creators of poor little guy went bankrupt in 2019 and no longer offered updates / support. But now, if this Kickstarter project reaches its funding goal, vector owners may soon be able to revive their little robo friends and keep them moving for years to come.

Clicbot – modular robot system

Robots that teach children to code are a dozen these days. Most just pick up the exact same idea, but Clicbot is special. Of all the coding robots we've ever seen on Kickstarter, it's probably one of the best. Why? Not only is it incredibly simple and modular, it is also intended to teach children (or adults!) The basics of coding and computer logic without relying solely on a screen. This way, they don't have to stare into a tablet with their eyes dead and can learn through a more tactile and practical process.

Midea – U-shaped window AC

If you have ever installed a window AC unit, you know firsthand how cumbersome and annoying the process is. Not only do you have to build a suitable platform for the device, you also have to close the gap in your window. If you are like me it usually means that you chop up a box and accidentally tape it up to you I have a decent seal. Midea mitigates it all. It is equipped with an integrated mounting system and a clever U-shaped design, with which you can better close your window and avoid large gaps. One wonders why AC devices were not designed in this way from the start.

Makeway – modular marble track

Do you remember the reconfigurable marble toys you had as a child? Makeway is basically that, but with a handful of modern twists. First and foremost, all parts are magnetic and designed to adhere to vertical surfaces such as a refrigerator or whiteboard, so they don't take up space. Second, they are completely modular and can therefore be rearranged to create a virtually infinite number of configurations.

February 9th

Lomo Perzval 80.5 – Bokeh Art lens

Are you tired of the pictures you can take with your standard camera lenses? Check out Lomography. The NYC-based lens company has been manufacturing oddball lenses for years and is now back at Kickstarter with its twelfth (twelfth!) Project, the Perzval 80.5 Art Lens. It is essentially an artificial lens inspired by a 180-year-old 19th century design by photographer Joseph Perzval. It is equipped with some unusual functions that give your photos a unique bokeh effect and make the lens particularly suitable for portrait photography.

Solidtekniks Bigga – wrought iron pan

Cast iron pans are in many ways the best cooking device ever. They offer extremely uniform and even warmth. You can put them in the oven. If you take good care of them, they will last a lifetime. But they also have some disadvantages. Not only is it a pain, it is also ridiculously heavy. Fortunately, Solidteknics has come up with an ingenious solution to this problem: use wrought iron instead of cast iron. The company's new range of pans is said to cook and behave just like traditional cast iron, but without being so heavy and stubborn.

Fork knife – reusable flatware

As the movement to reduce disposable plastic continues to gain momentum, there are dozens of startups that are trying to sell you collapsible / reusable straws and dinnerware – especially at Kickstarter. While these products are undoubtedly useful, they are also not very practical. You have to remember to take them everywhere so they are useful. That's what makes Forkaknife so neat. It is a fork and knife that can be stowed in a wallet-sized tote bag so you can easily put it in a handbag or wallet and have it with you at all times.

Nireeka Prime – fat tire e-bike

Electric bikes are certainly nothing new at the moment. Electric mountain bikes are also not. But electric fat tire bikes? There aren't many of them on the market right now – but funding Nireeka Prime would help change that. It is essentially a standard e-mountain bike equipped with ultra-wide tires that allow you to ride on a wider variety of terrain types – including sand and packed snow. The result is that fat bikes are usually a little harder to pedal, but the electric motor will help you overcome this and plow through any terrain you encounter.

Hunu – collapsible, reusable coffee cup

Disposable paper cups may not sound as bad as plastic bags or Keurig bowls, but despite their recyclability, most of them still end up in landfills. For this reason, a duo from London has developed a solution as part of their ongoing efforts to get disposable items out of circulation: a cleverly designed cup that thanks to its unique shape can be folded up so that you can take it anywhere and avoid it first Line the use of disposable cups.

February 2nd

Round – smart ring

Smart rings are certainly not a new idea at the moment, but this is probably one of the best ever. In addition to all the “intelligent” features we expect from wrist-wearables – things like step tracking, heart rate monitoring, and sleep monitoring – it's small enough that it doesn't interfere. That is the big deal here. Unlike most smart rings we've seen in the past, this one is actually quite slim and discreet. Despite its impressively small dimensions, the battery is somehow full enough to last two full days between charges.

Jollylook – vintage style instant camera

Instant cameras are currently very popular. Maybe it's nostalgia for the Polaroid days of yore, maybe it's a manifestation of our unconscious desire for tangibility in a world where everything is digital. Who knows. Regardless of the reasons behind it, instant cameras are experiencing a renaissance. Jollybook is the latest entry into this booming subcategory and was designed with an aesthetic that's even older than the Polaroid cameras that started the trend.

The Mars Atlas – detailed map of Mars

Who doesn't love a good map book? This is probably a little bit different from the one you saw in the past as it is a different planet than the one you and I inhabit. "The Mars Atlas is the first of its kind to contain amazingly detailed maps of the entire Martian surface," the book's authors explain. “With the Atlas, designed by a team of astrocartographers, you can unleash your inner explorer and learn more about the Red Planet to your heart's content. No more science fiction, now you can discover Mars mountains, valleys and river beds – many of which are still unnamed. "

Last Tissue – reusable handkerchief system

Disposable items follow the path of the dodos. It started with plastic bags. Then we went to plastic straws. More recently, there has been a movement to eradicate things like plastic utensils, plastic wrap, and even cotton swabs. When it comes to last tissue, disposable facial tissues like Kleenex tissues are used next on the chopping block. How? To make this possible, the company has developed a sophisticated reusable handkerchief system that makes using old-school handkerchiefs a little more convenient and hygienic than before.

Bay – redesigned litter box

Cat toilets are hardly well designed. Most are just injection molded plastic boxes built exclusively to hold cat litter. But they could (and should) do much more. That's the thought behind Cove – a well thought-out cat litter box with built-in tools (like a shovel and broom to clean up stray debris) that address the reality of owning a cat and cleaning it up afterwards.

January 26th

Nebia by Moen – highly efficient shower

If you haven't heard of Nebia yet, you've lived under a rock. The company basically produces crazy, efficient shower heads that use 65 percent less water than conventional shower heads – and yet pour over enough to provide an adequate shower experience. After two extremely successful Kickstarter campaigns, it is again available with a third generation product – this time in collaboration with Moen. If you're looking for a water-saving shower head on the market, you've come to the right place.

Glamos – Lidar-based gesture control

The thing looks pretty cute. It is essentially a small electronic component that allows you to use gesture control for any screen thanks to extremely clever technology – regardless of whether it is "intelligent" or not. The secret? Lidar: The same technology with which self-driving cars “see” their surroundings. This technology records what you do with your hands, translates those movements into commands, and then sends them to the screen to which you connected them. Pretty cool, isn't it?

Bilby – waterproof silicone headlight

Headlights are a dozen these days. They are available in almost every shape, size and configuration that you could ever need. Regardless of what sport you do, there is likely to be one that is specifically designed for this activity – unless you need a sweat-proof sport. Virtually all of them are equipped with elastic fabric headbands that tend to absorb sweat and get nasty over time. But not this one! The Bilby is made of 100% silicone (and is also waterproof!) So that it doesn't absorb your forehead sweat.

Baha – shovel multitool

Multitools are certainly not a new idea when it comes to outdoor / survival gear, but the Baha shovel is fundamentally different from the leathermans and pocket knives you are probably used to. Instead of putting a few tools in the handle of a folding knife, the creators of this monstrosity decided to put them in the handle of a shovel. The result is a multifunctional outdoor tool with 21 different functions, most of which are simply not available with something as small as a pocket knife.

Porfee – blackhead vacuum

This is definitely one of the roughest, yet strangely appealing things I've ever seen at Kickstarter. Do you know these hand-held facial vacuum cleaners that suck blackheads out of your pores? Das ist es, aber mit einer Kamera, die in die Düse eingebettet und mit einem Video-Uplink ausgestattet ist – so können Sie sie mit Ihrem Telefon synchronisieren und in Echtzeit beobachten, wie sich die Mitesser aus Ihrer Haut winden. Und ja, es gibt sogar eine soziale Funktion, mit der Sie Clips aufnehmen und in sozialen Medien teilen können. Wer daran gedacht hat, ist ein ekelhaftes Genie.

19. Januar

Platyball Elite – Stativkopf mit automatischer Nivellierung

Hier ist ein kurzer Ausschnitt aus dem vollständigen Artikel, den wir Anfang dieser Woche über dieses Gizmo geschrieben haben. „Anstatt eine kleine Nivellierblase zu verwenden, verwendet der Platyball Elite ein elektronisches Nivelliersystem – ähnlich dem System in einigen Digitalkameras, das anzeigt, wann der Horizont schief ist. Durch dieses elektronische Design kann auf das Nivelliersystem über einen hintergrundbeleuchteten Bildschirm zugegriffen werden. Dieser Bildschirm ist nachts sichtbar, zusammen mit der Option, die Kamera so zu positionieren, dass der Bildschirm von der Vorderseite der Kamera aus sichtbar ist.

Die elektronische Wasserwaage ist nicht das einzige merkwürdige Merkmal am Stativkopf. Laut Platypod ist das Design des Kopfes auf den Kopf gestellt, wobei sich der Schwenkteller oben statt unten befindet. Mit diesem Schalter können Fotografen und Videofilmer die Kamera in einer geraden Linie schwenken, auch wenn die Stativbeine selbst nicht perfekt waagerecht sind. "

Tribotex Transmission – Reparatur von Nanotech-Getrieben

Trotz der Tatsache, dass Tech-Experten seit Jahrzehnten das Lob der Nanotechnologie singen, hat dies das Leben alltäglicher Menschen noch nicht wirklich beeinflusst. Zum Glück holt unsere Technologie endlich unsere Vorstellungen ein und taucht in der realen Welt auf. Ein typisches Beispiel? Dieses verrückte neue Reparatursystem für Nanotech-Getriebe von TriboTex. Es ist eines von wenigen nanotechbasierten Produkten, die nicht nur praktisch sind, sondern auch dem Durchschnittsverbraucher zur Verfügung stehen. Normalerweise wäre ich so etwas ziemlich skeptisch, aber das erste Produkt des Unternehmens war absolut legitim, daher habe ich hier keinen Grund, daran zu zweifeln.

Sinex – 3-in-1-Laptoptasche

Dies ist eines der einfachsten und zugleich brillantesten Designs, die ich seit Jahren bei Kickstarter gesehen habe. Es handelt sich um eine Laptoptasche, die sich aufgrund ihrer cleveren Konstruktion zu einem Laptopständer entwickelt – einer mit gepolsterter Handballenauflage. Es ist sogar in verschiedenen Größen erhältlich. Unabhängig von den Abmessungen Ihres Laptops gibt es wahrscheinlich ein Modell, in das es passt.

Shark Electric – elektrisches Skateboard

Elektrische Skateboards sind heutzutage ein Dutzend, aber dieses sieht aus verschiedenen Gründen interessant aus. In erster Linie ist es das erste elektrische Skateboard, das wir von Shark gesehen haben – einem Unternehmen, das damit begonnen hat, die seltsam geformten Räder herzustellen, die Sie im obigen Video sehen. Zweitens ist es anscheinend auch das dünnste Board im Spiel und verfügt über Geschwindigkeits- / Reichweitenangaben, die einige der derzeit beliebtesten und am besten bewerteten Skateboards auf dem Markt übertreffen. Farbe uns fasziniert.

Foldyroll – wiederverwendbare Tasche im Akkordeonstil

Wenn Sie noch keine Papier- und Plastiktüten weggeworfen und auf den wiederverwendbaren Taschenwagen gesprungen sind, ist es höchste Zeit, dass Sie dem Planeten einen Gefallen tun und sich der Party anschließen. Wiederverwendbare Taschen können jetzt fast überall gekauft werden, sodass Sie zu diesem Zeitpunkt keine Ausreden mehr haben. Wenn Sie jedoch immer noch auf dem Markt für eine wiederverwendbare Tasche sind, sieht diese ziemlich süß aus. Es hat ein Akkordeon-Design, das es ermöglicht, es in der kompaktesten / bequemsten Form aller Zeiten zusammenzufalten.

29. Dezember

Onpark 3 – elektrisches Skateboard

Electric skateboards are a dime a dozen these days, but this one has a feature that puts it a cut above the rest: a swappable battery system. That means that if you’re riding and the battery dies, you don’t have to find a charger and wait for an hour while the battery tops off. Instead, you can just click in a new cell and keep riding. It’s honestly a mystery why this feature isn’t more common on electric skateboards.

Flash Forest — drone reforestation squad

Ever since the industrial revolution, humanity has been fighting an uphill battle against deforestation. Despite the best efforts of conservationists, the world either burns or cuts down about 10 billion more trees than it replants each year — a problem that has big implications for climate change. Environmental organizations have been trying (and failing) to reverse this trend for decades, but Flash Forest thinks it can succeed where others have failed. How? By enlisting an army of seed-bombing drones to autonomously replant trees faster than mere humans ever could.

Skill board — 360-degree balance board

Balance boards are an amazing training tool, but the vast majority of them — the ones that are basically a plank that sits atop a cylinder — only teach you how to balance from left to right. The Skill Board is different, though. This cruel bastard puts you on top of a mildly-squishy sphere, thereby forcing you to engage more muscles in order to keep your balance and stay stable. If you’re looking to build your core muscles and boost your balance skills, this thing is worth checking out.

Alfred — robotic AI assistant

AI assistants have progressed in leaps and bounds in the past few years, but Alfred wants to kick things up a notch further. He’s basically an AI assistant with a robotic body. This allows him to do things that Siri and Alexa can’t — like following you around your apartment, understanding his environment, and projecting images and video onto your walls. It’s a neat idea, and could very well usher in a new era for AI assistants

XEV Yoyo — 3D printed electric car

This one is pretty sweet. It’s a 3D printed electric car that’s made with just 57 components — a massive step down from the thousands of parts that make up a conventional car. This essentially makes it cheaper to produce, which allows XEV to sell it for under $7K. In terms of specs, the Yoyo’s 10-horsepower electric motor gives it a 43-mph top speed, while a 9.2-kilowatt-hour battery pack provides enough juice for a claimed 93 miles of driving.

December 22

Mantour X — self-balancing e-scooter

This thing is a self-balancing scooter — but it’s not self-balancing in the way you’re used to seeing. Instead of balancing for you while you ride, it’s designed to balance itself on one wheel when you’re not riding. The idea is that this makes it easier to transport, since you don’t actually have to carry it. Pretty clever stuff!

JBL Reflect — solar-powered headphones

What if you never had to charge your wireless headphones again? What if they could juice themselves up as you walked around and went about your day? Well, that’s basically what JBL is promising with it’s new Reflect headphones. Thanks to a headband that’s covered in solar cells, the phones can allegedly stay powered indefinitely with just 2.5 hours of light exposure per day

Cameradactyl Bracopan — 3d printable film camera

This project is awesome. This dude Ethan Moses has been designing and selling amazing 3D printed cameras for the past few years, and now he’s on Kickstarter selling the STL files so that other people can build them, using their own tools and equipment. The best? You can get your hands on all the files and instructions you need for just $1. That means he’s going to need a LOT of people to back the project in order to meet his $12K funding goal!

Fingerbot — multi-use IoT switch

Want to transform your home into an internet-connected smart home, but don’t want to spend a fortune on upgrading every single switch, thermostat, and appliance you own? Fingerbot is for you. It’s essentially a little IoT module with an adhesive patch on one end and an actuator on the other. The idea is that you can stick it onto the things you already own and use Fingerbot to activate them remotely by physically flipping the switch or pressing the button.

Boost — powered surfing fin

Why paddle your surfboard when you could slap a motor on it instead? That’s the premise behind Boost, an exceptionally clever surfboard fin that’s equipped with a propellor. When not in use, the fin’s design allows your board to glide through the water just like any other board — but when you power it on, the propellor provides a quick power boost to kick you forward. No more laborious paddling out to the surf, or missing swells due to lack of speed!

December 15

Draft Top — Beer can top remover

If you’re a beer drinker, you’ll want to check this thing out. You know how you can drink beer faster if you poke a hole in the lid? Well the Draft Top lets you you take that idea to a whole new level. Instead of just poking a hole, this clever little tool allows you to completely remove the top portion of the can altogether, effectively transforming your can into a cup. Best of all, it does this without creating any sharp edges, so you’re free to chug as recklessly as you want.

Ode Brew Grinder — variable coarseness coffee grinder

Do you need a $225 coffee grinder? Probably not. You can get a passable one on Amazon for like 30 bucks. But if you are a coffee nerd and you care deeply about quality and consistency, you should probably check this one out. Thanks to its innovative grinder design, the Ode Brew Grinder allows you to dictate the size of your grind and get predictable, precise particles every time. This essentially means you can get the perfect grind for whatever type of coffee you’re making — be it French press, pour over, or even espresso.

EO Blaster — chemical-free cleaning system

What if you didn’t have to use harsh chemicals to clean your countertops? What if you never had to buy those chemicals ever again and could instead use a magical contraption that transforms tap water into a powerful disinfectant using nothing but electricity? Sounds awesome, right? Well, that’s exactly what the EO Blaster does. To clean things around your house, it uses electrolyzed water — which sounds like total BS, but it’s actually legit, and was developed in Japan to sanitize high-bacteria environments like sushi restaurants, without introducing harmful chemicals.

Mova — zip-on waterproof cycling pants

You know those snap-off pants that athletes sometimes wear before a game to warm up? The ones that, due to their unique design, can be put on or taken off without removing your shoes? Well, Mova Cycling has basically taken that exact same idea and applied it to a set of rain pants for cyclists. The only difference is that, instead of buttons, these pants are designed with zippers — so unfortunately you can’t rip them off triumphantly after you finish locking up and head into your office building.

Bagel jeans — made-to-measure jeans by mail

About a year ago, a company named Bagel took Kickstarter by storm with an innovative new take on the traditional tape measure. Instead of metal tape with markings etched onto it, the Bagel tape measure uses a piece of string and a digital readout that displays the current extended length. Now, the company is back with a new project that uses the aformentioned tape measure tech for a specific purpose: generating made-to-measure jeans you can order online. Check out the video — it’s pretty damn clever.

December 8

Space 3D — affordable SLA printer

It used to be that SLA 3D printers were expensive and out-of-reach for the average consumer,  but that’s now beginning to change. Thanks in large part to crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, these kinds of printers have become drastically more affordable and available in the past couple years. Nowadays there are a bunch of them that you can get for less than $1,000, and there’s a boatload more currently in development.

The latest one to hit the crowdfunding scene is Space 3D — a highly affordable SLA/DLP printer that, despite costing just $600 on Kickstarter, comes with a range of high-end features that you typically only see on machines that cost upward of $1,500. Most notably, it has an absolutely massive build envelope that allows you to print bigger parts and pump out more stuff

Gluon — programmable robotic arm

If you’ve ever dreamed of having an automated assistant similar to Tony Stark’s JARVIS robot, you should probably stop whatever you’re doing right now and go check out Hexbot on Kickstarter. In contrast to robotic assistant devices geared specifically towards makers and designers, Hexbot is a robot arm that can serve virtually any purpose around the home, from artistic projects to 3D printing to stirring your coffee. It’s equipped with computer vision and visual processing technologies, so it can be used for an absolutely massive range of different tasks.

Diveroid — universal smartphone case for diving

If you’re going on a vacation and plan to do some diving or snorkeling while you’re there, chances are you probably want to take some pictures in the water. For most people, this means you’ll get a special waterproof case for your phone, use it once or twice, and then toss it out a year later when you get a new phone. Diveroid offers a more sustainable alternative. It’s a universal diving case that’ll work with any smartphone — even the one you might own a few years from now.

Diple — 1000x smartphone microscope

Smartphone microscopes aren’t exactly a new idea at this point, but this one is slightly different than the ones out there right now. Diple, as it’s called, is capable of 1,000x magnification. Functionally speaking that means it’s powerful enough to let you look at individual bacteriums, blood cells, and more — all through your big, bright smartphone screen. You can even pinch and zoom to make the image bigger or smaller. Pretty neat, right?

Bullet SSD — keychain-sized SSD

You know that tattered old USB drive you probably keep on your keychain right now? Imagine if it was smaller, faster, tougher, and had way more storage space. That’s pretty much what the Bullet SSD is. It’s a tiny storage device that, in addition to boasting up to 2TB of storage space, is also IP67 certified — meaning it’s water resistant and dust proof. It’s also encased in metal, so it’ll survive being tossed around for years to come.

December 2

Unocup — lid-equipped paper cup

Disposable, single use paper cups aren’t all that bad for the environment — but the plastic lids that accompany them? They’re not so great. So, as part of the ongoing movement to phase out single use plastic, a startup called Unocup has developed a solution: a cleverly designed paper cup that, thanks to its unique shape, is capable of folding up to create a lid. It basically eliminates the need to top your coffee (or whatever) with a piece of plastic you’ll only use once.

Hyper minimal calendar — redesigned full-year calendar

This is the most low-tech entry on this week’s picks, but it’s just too clever to skip. It’s a full-year calendar with a very practical and human-centric layout. Instead of displaying each month via a series of weeks that don’t line up nicely, months are broken up into four five-day weeks, with two-day weekends between them. Additionally, the first and last days of each month are underlined, so you can easily spot when one month ends and another begins.

Artiphon Orba — palm-sized multi-instrument

Artiphon broke onto the scene a couple years ago when it released the Instrument — a vaguely guitar-shaped electronic musical instrument that allowed users to play practically any sound imaginable via the familiar form of a guitar neck. It was a huge hit, and now the company is back with yet another electronic instrument dubbed Orba. This one is basically the same idea, but squeezed into a much smaller, more open-ended form factor.

Climate neutral certified — environmental product certification

You know how certain things in the grocery store are labeled as “certified organic” or “cage free” or “non-GMO”? In order to get those labels, the company has to actually get certified by an independent organization that verifies the company’s product meets certain standards. Climate Neutral certification is a new one to add to the mix — but instead of signaling that a given product or service is gluten free or non-GMO, it shows that the company behind the product has actively taken steps to offset the carbon impact of its operation. Pretty neat!

Ever Ratchet — ratcheting EDC tool

EDC tools are a dime a dozen on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but this one is arguably one of the best I’ve seen. Thanks to an exceptionally clever design, it’s equipped with a ratcheting screwdriver/wrench setup — which means you don’t have to spin it in a full circle to tighten a bolt or screw a screw. And of course, it’s got a handful of other features stuffed into the tiny little frame — including a pry bar and a bottle opener.

November 24

Epilog — epilepsy tracking wearable

This thing is brilliant. It’s basically a wearable, battery-powered EEG monitor that tracks your brainwaves throughout the day, beams that information to your smartphone, and then uses algorithms to analyze your brain activity and predict seizures. Obviously, it’s not a mass-market device designed for everyone — it’s specifically built to help people with epilepsy. Still, it’s an idea worth supporting even if you don’t have the condition.

Ebo — robotic cat toy

I’ve seen a LOT of so-called “smart” cat toys on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the years, but this might be the most advanced one yet. In addition to standard features like the ability to drive around and encourage your cat to chase, it also has environmental awareness sensors that allow it to map out the room and avoid collisions, a return-to-home function that ensures it’s always charged, and even a built-in camera that allows you to watch as your cat gives chase. It’s nuts!

Mellow Duo — IoT sous vide machine

A few years back, Mello took the cooking world by storm with a groundbreaking idea: an internet-connected sous vide machine that could not only cook your food, but also keep it cool until you were ready to cook. That way, you could dunk a steak in the cooking chamber before you leave for work, keep it cool all day, and then tap a button on your phone to start cooking before you got home. It was nothing short of brilliant, and now they company is back with a bigger, badder version with two cooking chambers. That means you can cook two separate dishes at two separate temperatures, but have them come out at the same time. Genius!

Seesense Air — advanced bike tracker

Trackers and other anti-theft devices for bicycles are a dime a dozen these days, but this one is different. Unlike most existing trackers (which either rely on cellular/GPS connections that comes with a monthly subscription fee, or weird proprietary networks that only work if everyone around you has the exact same tracker app), this one communicates with your phone via Narrowband IoT, which basically allows it to work like apple’s Find My iPhone utility, but without any subscriptions or service costs.

Segway dirt ebike — electric dirt bike

This one hasn’t actually launched yet, so we don’t know a lot about it — but based on the video footage available and the photos on the preview page, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that this thing is going to be awesome. It’s certainly not the first electric dirt bike that’s ever been made, but the fact that it’s from Segway, one of the best rideable tech manufacturers in the world, is exciting. Fingers crossed they sell it for an affordable price!

November 17

Rumpl x Loki — travel dog bed

If you need a sleeping pad for your dog, you can find one quite easily online. Just head over to Amazon and you’ll discover no shortage of pads, bags, and other sleeping solutions designed to keep your furry friend comfy. However, if you intend to take your dog along on a trip, then you’ll likely have a bit more trouble finding a suitable canine sleeping pad. The issue is that very few (if any) dog sleeping systems are designed to be compact and portable. They’re typically made with thick padding that doesn’t compress very easily, so they don’t fit nicely into a backpack. Rumpl decided to change that.

HomeBiogas — backyard biodigester

Believe it or not, somewhere around 40 percent of all the food produced in the U.S. is wasted. We put all kinds of time and energy into producing it, but we still end up throwing a huge amount of it away and sending it off to a landfill. It’s incredibly wasteful, but the folks behind HomeBiogas have a solution. Their cleverly designed biodigester (now in its 3rd generation) allows you to collect pretty much anything that’s biodegradable — dining room scraps, meat, grease, oil, eggshells, grass clippings, and even small sticks or bits of wood — and use bacteria to transform it into cooking gas and liquid fertilizer. Pretty awesome, right?

Hyperjuice — 100W GAN charger block

Charger bricks are probably the least sexy technology of all time, but this one is actually pretty sweet. Despite being no bigger than a standard deck of cards, the Hyperjuice charger, as it’s called, is capable of channeling over 100W of power, and juicing up four devices at once. Thanks to the magical material known as gallium nitride, two of the brick’s USB-A ports support the latest quick-charging standard, and can therefore funnel power to your devices at a blistering pace. The only downside? It’ll cost you $70 bucks. That’s pretty steep for a wall charging station.

Zipbag — reusable food storage bag

As the movement to cut down on single-use plastic continues to pick up steam, there are dozens of startups clamoring to sell you reusable versions of common single-use items like straws, eating utensils, shopping bags, and even Q-tips. The latest piece of plastic in the crosshairs? Ziploc bags. You can already find silicon versions on Amazon for a few bucks, but this one from Twopillars takes things to a whole new level. It’s got a storage pouch, reusable utensils you can tuck inside, a reusable label, and best of all, a lifetime warranty. Get this thing and you’ll legitimately never have to buy storage bags ever again.

Tempest — advanced personal weather station

Home weather stations have been around for decades at this point, but Tempest might be the most advanced one yet. It measures just about everything you could ever imagine. Seriously. It’s not just the basic stuff like rain, temperature, and barometric pressure — it measures all that stuff and more using a variety of different methods, thereby giving you the most complete set of real-time weather data possible. Amazingly, it does all this without any moving parts, and also without wires. It’s 100% solar-powered and can transmit information via Wi-Fi to a base station in your house. It even shares all this data with the National Weather Service so it can make more accurate predictions for the general forecast. Pretty neat stuff!

November 10

Focusbuds — productivity-boosting earbuds

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion things competing for your attention. With all the messages, alerts, emails, and notifications that bombard us throughout the day, it’s increasingly difficult to focus on anything for an extended period of time. That’s exactly what Focusbuds aim to fix. According to their creators, Focusbuds monitor users’ concentration levels using a process called electroencephalogram (EEG) neurofeedback. This is achieved by using embedded sensors capable of capturing this brain activity and proprietary software that analyzes it. The resulting data insights are then conveyed in real-time to the user via audio cues. In doing so, the promise is that the earbuds will help train your brain to concentrate and block out distractions over time.

Castaway — second screen for smartphones

Do you need a second screen for your smartphone? Probably not, but somebody made one anyway. It’s pretty straightforward. The Castaway, as it’s called, is basically a tiny chromium tablet that’s tucked into a smartphone case. Put your phone in the case, and it’ll be linked to the tablet, thereby allowing you to use two apps at the same time.

Fourneau Grande — artisan bread oven

Unfortunately, it’s damn near impossible to make bakery-quality bread in a standard kitchen oven — unless of course, you use something like Fourneau. It’s basically like a souped-up Dutch oven that creates the perfect environment for you to make artisan bread at home. This new version, the Fourneau Grande, is a larger version of the original, which gives you space to make specialty loaves that are longer, bigger, or oddly shaped.

The Big Sphere — Milky Way desk ornament

In 2016, designer Clemens Steffin launched his ‘Universe in a Sphere’ project on Kickstarter, creating a glass orb containing 380,000 perfectly lasered dots, each one representing an entire galaxy. His next project then aimed to re-create just our very own galaxy, the Milky Way, with every dot representing a different star. Now he’s back with a bigger version of that idea, and it’s even more painstakingly detailed than before!

Snowfeet 2 — skates for snow

Here’s DT’s Kraig Becker with the scoop: “At first glance, Snowfeet look an awful lot like a pair of sandals on steroids. Upon closer inspection, however, you’ll soon notice that Snowfeet’s straps look a lot more like a ski binding than anything you’ve ever seen on a flip-flop. Those bindings allow Snowfeet to accommodate any type of shoe or boot, then contract down to hold the footwear squarely in place. Once attached, Snowfeet are effectively skates that you can use on snow.” Sounds pretty awesome, right?

November 3

Gosun Flatware — flat-pack reusable utensils

As the movement to cut down on single-use plastic continues to pick up steam, there are dozens of startups clamoring to sell you collapsible/reusable straws and eating utensils — especially on Kickstarter. However, while these products are undeniably useful, they also aren’t particularly convenient. You have to remember to bring them along wherever you go in order for them to be useful. That’s what makes GoSun’s new reusable utensils so neat. They’re designed to pack up into a wallet-sized carrying case, so you can easily slip them inside a purse or wallet and have them with you at all times.

Ember — heated midlayer

Earlier in 2019, up-and-coming outdoor gear startup Sierra Madre launched a Kickstarter to fund the development of an innovative new insulated stuff sack called the Hot Pocket. To bring that product to life, the company developed a cutting-edge thermal panel that’s both lightweight and highly efficient — and now it wants to bake that same technology into a heated midlayer. The Ember, as it’s called is allegedly “10X more powerful than its competitors.” If that claim holds up, it’ll be well worth the $259 its currently going for on Kickstarter.

Pillowdy — hoodie with inflatable neck pillow

Neck pillows have been a staple for air travelers for decades — but why do we only use them when we’re flying? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have one at your disposal wherever you went, so you could catch a quick nap on the bus home? That’s precisely the idea behind Pillowdy. It’s a hoodie with a hidden inflatable neck pillow built into the hood. Whenever you need a quick siesta, just bust out the stowable blow tube and give it a couple of puffs. With less than a lungful of air, your neck pillow will spring to life and provide a place to rest your head.

Square off Neo — automatic chessboard

Here’s a quick cut from our full article, which ran earlier in the week: “Measuring 14.72 inches by 14.72 inches and weighing just 3.3 pounds, the Neo is designed to be a cheaper entryway to Square Off’s smart chess experience. It’s controlled through an app on your phone, which connects to the board via a Bluetooth connection. From there, you can play against Square Off’s built-in A.I. with 30 different difficulty levels. You don’t just have to play against the computer though — the app also connects you to a world of real opponents. Send a challenge and the board handles the rest, transmitting your moves to their chessboard, while theirs are sent to yours.”

Owly Pack — modular backpack

Modular backpacks aren’t necessarily a new thing at this point, but Owly Pack seems pretty remarkable. Thanks to its unique set of swappable modules, you can easily add or remove features as necessary to build out the perfect pack for your particular adventure. For example, if you’re going on a quick and easy day hike and want to keep some drinks cold, you can zip in the cooler module. If you plan on camping where you’re headed, there’s a shelter module that contains a tent/hammock hybrid. And best of all? It’s completely waterproof to boot.

Editor's recommendations

[extraquarterblog]

Hyper Light Drifter, isnt just Great, Its Beautiful

When Hyper Light Drifter first appeared on the scene back in 2014, it was instantly on my radar. The unique art style, beautiful music, mysterious giant robots roaming around. It pretty much captivated me at first glance. Now generally, when I see a new title, I get excited, but when I see its from a new indie studio, Heart Machine, that's running a Kickstarter campaign, I get worried. New Studios combined with Kickstarter, have a long history of failed projects and empty promises. So as much as I wanted to love Hyper Light Drifter and give Heart Machine Studios tons of support through kickstarter, I remained optimistic. 

Thankfully my worries were never necessary. 

Through the following years, Heart Machine studios proved to be hard at work, keeping fans in loop with an occasional art piece or animation. Showing off, that the project was real and moving along. While it was a painful wait, for an indie title, running on Game Maker Engine, it would prove well worth it. Starting up Hyper Light Drifter for the first time, I knew right then, I was in for a good ride. 

Upon entering this world, only seconds into this game, the first thoughts running through my head were What the hell did I get myself into? That's a good thing, within the first moments I wanted to explore, I wanted to learn more of my character, the world and its cast that roam it. For most people, the first thing that will grab you is its fantastic art. Truly some of the best retro pixel inspired art I've seen in a long time, that plays so well for this game. Each area has a great contrast from each other, as you further explore each part of this world, you'll find a great attention to detail. If you ever attempted at making pixel artwork, you can appreciate the effort and love put into Hyper Light Drifter appearance.

Hyper Light Drifter isn't the type of game that holds your hand. It more or less tosses you into this world with very little answers and for you to explore any which direction you like. If I had to compare it to any title, it's what if Journey and Metroid combined together. You'd get this game. There no real spoken language that you can understand, the NPCs are all various animal-like races, and almost all writing in this game is in a foreign language. So you really have to fill in the gaps at times and come to your own conclusion with whats presented. 

It's very much like Metroid in a sense that almost everywhere you go, there lies hidden secrets. You see that random edge at the corner of the screen, with a single lonely bush? Yeah, go over there, check it out, and low n behold, there's a secret invisible air bridge for you to run across. Seriously, practically every location you go, you'll find multiple secrets laying around, giving that very Metroid feel of exploration and discovery. 

My first play-through, I managed to complete a decent amount, beating the final boss around 6hrs. Thankfully to my delight, there was a New Game Plus mode, which I eagerly jumped back in. I would imagine, giving an estimate here, if you were wanting to complete everything, 100%, id imagine it could take you over the +10hr mark, not including multiple play-through for New Game Plus. 

So, it's not the longest game, and it can be a bit repetitive, not to mention pretty straight forward. Here you are, here's the map, and over there is the Boss. Get busy. Rinse and Repeat. I wished that there was more exploration, additional new areas to uncover. Over all, just more content. Because that's what this game does to you, much like Bloodborne, you'll scavenge around trying to uncover any clues to the story, but sadly, desperate as you may search, there just inst much. 

Also I wished there was more to the upgrading or leveling to this game. Most of the game involves around collecting yellow chips that you can trade at various shops to upgrade your abilities for your dash, sword or gun abilities. However even those upgrades are pretty shallow, there's no real skill tree leveling or much in variety. 

Moving past that, though, the game, abate short, it does however deliver a top notch experience. The story details are slim, it hasn't stopped numerous conversations online about it, people desperately scavenging around to find any detail that can help piece together just what in the world is going on. Everyone coming with different conclusions and opinions about Hyper Light Drifter world. 

Typically, when you see a game like this, at first glance, things come to mind like; Retro, Indie, old school, pixel art, ect. But honestly, after diving so many hours into Hyper Light Drifter, I cant imagine it being any other way. The artwork is damn gorgeous and the musical score grips you, shining at the perfect moments to really bring in the scene. Recalling a moment, when almost reaching a top of a mountain on the north part of the game, you see a giant Titan like beast, gripping on the side of the mountain, dead, frozen in place, with the musical score right on queue, kicking it up to eleven. Making you pause, appreciating, then eagerly continue on.  The pacing is done spot on, you never feel you have to grind, nor do you have to constantly deal with the same annoying foes or puzzles. 

The Heart Machine Team have done a fantastic job, not to mentioned much of this sprung forth from a Kickstarter project, being their first go around, I cant really complain all that much and i was able to pick it up for under $20 too. Basically making this game impossible for me to pass up. 

Now I eagerly await for more. 

[ds4design]

Workstation virtualisation

With its new ‘POC in a week’, IMSCAD is providing firms that use graphical apps with a fast-track virtualisation trial and a chance to see which GPU technology — AMD MxGPU, Intel Iris Pro or Nvidia GRID — works best for them. By Greg Corke

On-site data centre virtualisation deployments capable of streaming 3D CAD to thin clients are notoriously complex. With every firm using a different mix of applications, datasets, workflows and IT infrastructure, one-size-fits-all solutions are rare.

Proof of Concepts (POCs) often drag on for months. Some never even get off the ground – with server hardware left in cardboard boxes gathering dust.

That’s the experience of Adam Jull, CEO of graphics virtualisation specialist IMSCAD, who offers design, engineering and architecture firms a much easier way to see if virtualisation can work for them.

The UK-based consultancy’s new ‘POC in a week’ offering is designed to take the pain out of getting up and running with hardware, software and licensing. Rather than an on-premise install, firms instead get remote access to a bespoke, off-site data centre solution that supports five users on up to five CAD applications over a five-day period.

IMSCAD advises clients on the type of deployment – whether they should virtualise specific applications, for example, or deliver a fully virtual desktop to users.

Solutions can be built around Citrix or VMWare, Windows 7/8 or Windows 10. Importantly, and (we think) uniquely, IMSCAD allows firms to try out all three graphics virtualisation technologies capable of delivering graphical accelerated applications, including 3D CAD.

As IMSCAD does not sell graphics or server hardware, Jull says the company is in a position to give firms independent advice on which GPU technologies – AMD MxGPU, Intel Iris Pro or Nvidia GRID – are best suited to their workflows, applications, datasets and user requirements. After an initial phone consultation, it will then configure one or more bespoke POC servers, complete with software. IMSCAD charges a $5,000 fee for this service to cover administration and consultative support.

Nvidia is a great solution but it’s still costly and it’s fairly complex to deploy. Any of the three solutions pose their own complexity, but as long as the end-to-end infrastructure is right, your solution will deliver

The company has servers in London and the USA (both west coast and east coast), so it can serve all of North America and Europe. It also has a pool of software licences, including Siemens NX, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, Catia, Revit, AutoCAD, Inventor, Civil 3D and other Autodesk software. Other applications can be delivered and customers can install their own as well.

Customers upload their CAD files to the data centre and then access the ‘workstations’ from software clients on PCs, laptops or tablets — at home or in the office over a standard Internet connection.

If bandwidth is poor or latency is high, WAN acceleration technologies like Citrix Cloudbridge or Riverbed can be used.

To help users get the most out of the week, IMSCAD does some hand-holding along the way and collates empirical feedback and statistical information.

User experience is assessed through response sheets, where CAD users give marks out of ten for specific actions such as key modelling tasks and model manipulation (for example, rotate, zoom and pan).

Performance of the environment is constantly monitored using Goliath software, to help identify bottlenecks in the system and also give IMSCAD important information as to how the POC might be scaled up to support more users.

At the end of the week, IMSCAD goes through the results and gives advice on what solutions could potentially work for each firm. Of course, it can then roll out a larger-scale deployment on its behalf, either on site or in the cloud.

To enlarge image click here

Graphics flexibility

Nvidia may be the established leader in graphics virtualisation with Nvidia GRID, but Jull believes both Intel and AMD are now capable of offering some healthy competition.

Intel’s ‘Skylake’ Xeon E3-1500 v5 with Iris Pro graphics P580 is a quad-core CPU and GPU in one package. This means there is no need for an add-in PCIe Nvidia or AMD GPU. In the data centre, a server typically has rows of these processors, each housed on a cartridge-based chassis, which is essentially a collection of self-contained mini workstations.

Every CAD user connects directly to their own workstation, so there is no need to get into the realms of graphics virtualisation. This, says Jull, makes confi guration relatively easy. “With Intel you don’t need a hypervisor. It’s a direct bare-metal delivery with direct XenDesktop/App or Horizon/View.”

It is possible to ‘virtualise’ Intel Iris Pro graphics, breaking up the GPU into multiple instances. However, this isn’t something that Jull recommends for most graphical-based applications.

IMSCAD considers the ‘Skylake’ Intel Xeon E3-1500 v5 to be a signifi cant step up from the ‘Broadwell’ Intel Xeon E3-1200 v4 with Iris Pro Graphics P6300 that it used in several POCs last year.

Jull says the ‘Broadwell’ Xeon was a little underpowered for most graphical applications, and that it lost out to Nvidia GRID in several POCs. “Each time it was close,” he says, “but Nvidia GRID won – graphics [performance] was the key issue for the actual users.”

With the promise of up to 30% more GPU power, Jull believes ‘Skylake’ Xeon will be a good fit for CAD and BIM. “I think Revit/AutoCAD workflows can be achieved on the Intel solution. Maybe not Siemens NX and SolidWorks and those sorts of [graphics-intense] applications — but certainly the architectural CAD market,” he says.

AMD made its long-awaited entrance to graphics virtualisation in September 2015 with the AMD Multiuser GPU (MxGPU), pitched as the world’s first hardware-based virtualised GPU solution.

Simply speaking, it means that the GPU is built from the ground up for virtualisation, with all the virtual machine assignments performed inside the silicon, rather than inside software, as is the case with Nvidia GRID.

AMD MxGPU uses SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualisation) technology, a standard way for devices such as network adapters to expose hardware virtualisation.

AMD offers two PCIe add-in boards, the single-height FirePro S7150 (one GPU) and dual-height FirePro S7150x2 (two GPUs). “For an AutoCAD type workflow,” Jull says, “AMD can potentially support up to 32x graphical (CAD) VDIs on a server. If you’re doing SolidWorks/Catia it could be down to about eight.” This is based on there being two double-width GPUs inside a single server.

Jull explains that because AMD’s GPUs are hardware virtualised, there is only one driver to apply and no software licensing [Nvidia charges a per-user, per-year licence for GRID]. This, he says, makes it slightly easier to deploy and brings down the total cost of ownership (TCO).

As users have access to a dedicated hardware resource, performance is also more predictable. “With Nvidia GRID, it can be more variable because you are creating virtual profi les on the GPU,” he says.

In the AutoCAD and Revit space — the architectural space — I think there is definitely a potential shift towards an AMD and Intel mix of solution

The downside of the AMD solution, according to Jull, is it is not as scalable and powerful as Nvidia GRID, depending on the user mix. Because AMD MxGPU uses hardware virtualisation, GPU resources are presectioned off and you can’t go any finer than that.

“With Nvidia GRID – say, in production after three months – if you find there is spare capacity on the GPU, you could add another 16 users by choosing a different profile.”

Nvidia GRID scalability improved significantly last year with the introduction of the Tesla M60, a GPU accelerator that boasts twice the performance of the previous generation Nvidia GRID K2 GPU.

With a range of virtual GPU (vGPU) profi les, the Tesla M60 has the flexibility to support the widest range of users, from low end to very high end, and the highest densities. With a typical Nvidia GRID server with two GPUs, you could support around 32x Revit users or 16x SolidWorks users, Jull reckons. “The options with Nvidia are vast, with [the company] adding the new M10 and M6 for blade servers, they really cover everything from running Windows 10 through to Catia,” he says, adding that the Tesla M60 can even be used for high-end compute, such as the physically based renderer, Nvidia Iray.

“Nvidia is a great solution but it’s still costly and it’s fairly complex to deploy. Any of the three solutions pose their own complexity, but as long as the end-to-end infrastructure is right, your solution will deliver.”

“In the AutoCAD and Revit space – the architectural space – I think there is definitely a potential shift towards an AMD and Intel mix of solution,” he adds.

“Ultimately, you could use all these technologies for your users at some level. This just provides a richer and varied choice of how to centralise your data.”

Conclusion

For a typical POC, bringing all the technologies together for an on-site install can be a lengthy process – and one that is usually tied to a specifi c GPU vendor.

With its new ‘POC in a week’, IMSCAD is trying to streamline and kickstart the process, to give users rapid and valuable experience of working with their own CAD/design datasets, using one or more of the three key GPU technologies.

This is all about companies proving the technology can work for their user groups. Then, at the hopefully successful conclusion, IMSCAD can help them understand what is required to roll out a production environment.

At approximately $5,000 per POC, firms need to be serious about investing in workstation virtualisation, but with deployments often running into hundreds, if not, thousands of users, it’s a small insurance payment that reduces the risk of what will potentially be a much larger investment.

What is workstation virtualisation?

Read DEVELOP3D’s beginner’s guide to workstation virtualisation here