Myr

So, when Forum 4.2 was released, they added a new feature called "Fluid View". This is a whole new way of looking at the forums. It basically lists all new topics based on when they were posted and gives you a color-based tag on which forum it belongs to. The forum company is recommending now that new forums start with it. This ties into me taking the time to colorize the forum icons awhile back. You can check out the different options here: The Standard forum view is the button the left. The Middle button is "Grid View" which is frankly pretty odd. The Fluid view is the option on the right. Give it a click and check out the options. It really shows active posts a lot easier. When in the Fluid view, you get filter boxes on the left-hand side of the page. This allows you to show topics only from selected forums. If you don't select any, it shows you all topics from the forums you have access to. Each topic has a color-coded tag indicating which forum it is from. As soon as you select a few forums, you'll show only the posts from those forums. For example, Announcements and The Lounge: This view is an option if you're not a fan of scrolling through all our different forums looking for updates. It might surface content easier and it more likely you'll see something. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Coming soon, I'll go over the Activity Streams as another way to view new content.

Well yeah, I said that in my post

Me too... but I like Batman... and new Robin is looking yummy... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043813/?ref_=nv_sr_1

This is the best DC movie I've seen in awhile. Probably the best since the Dark Knight. It is way better than the Superman movie, and Batman V. Superman. I also enjoyed Chris Pine in this movie. Though, to be truthful, I seem to like the job Chris Pine does in all the movies I see him in. For the movie itself, it has a good solid plot. It explains the picture from Batman Vs. Superman very well. The movie has action and character. It's good to see a kick-ass woman kicking ass because she's supposed to be versus some Hollywood virtue signaling deal. They did a great job with this movie.

Yes. Please try posting the next chapter live instead of post-dating it.

They sure are. for games like @BHopper2, you can print your own miniatures. In fact, there is a company out there that specializes in selling you 3d models to print for gaming. Just one of many: http://www.fatdragongames.com/fdgfiles/?page_id=2567

I'm an engineer and I tend to keep current on technology. I've been watching 3D printing for the last few years. I can tell you that we have 3 massive 3d printers at work that are basically running 24/7. The amount of stuff we can do with them would blow your mind. But the interesting thing is that there is a company out there that brings the power of this stuff right to your home. https://www.prusaprinters.org/ The guy in charge of our industrial grade machines has one of these at home. As do 3 others that also use work's 3d printers. That's a pretty big ringing endorsement for me. Of course, the fact that the demo picture is printing a dragon helps I plan on picking up a Prusa printer when I have completed stage 2 of my mancave project. I need a nice temperature regulated place to keep my new printer before I go and buy it. I figure putting it in the new workshop I'm designing and building would be the best bet. Is anyone here playing with 3d printing yet?

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

The more we learn about the Mayans, the more interesting everything is becoming... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42916261

Good Lord... which pile Tim? I can see 10 different bookpiles from just where I'm sitting.

@CassieQ yeah... I've found that to be the case from the ones I've read.

As I said in the reply to Carlos, we are aware of the problem and looking into it.

@Carlos Hazday Once again per the big red header in the forum, please post a new topic when you have a new issue. We have a story feed issue reported to us that we are checking into. I do not think it is tied to post dating, but more likely the software update we recently completed.

This week I want to bring up the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. All of her books seem to touch on one LBGTQ issue or another. Nightrunner though stars the adorable, naive Alec. From Amazon: I really enjoyed this book. It is a slow burn on the Alec thing. This is a pretty long series and I don't think I've even read the last two yet. I think the first one is my favorite though. If you like fantasy stories, this is absolutely one that is worth checking out.

This week's Anthology Flashback brings back to the Summer of 2007 and for Endings and Beginnings. As always, we thank all these authors once again for participating so long ago. If it is not too much trouble, would you be willing to write a review for these authors? Even if some of them are no longer around, I'm sure other readers will appreciate the effort. The authors are are still with us surely will.

So, I picked these up on sale over the Christmas season this year. I've really gotten into the habit of using them. I have Hue lights in my living room and in my mancave and it is so nice to say "Alexa, turn on the lights," when I have my hands full. Or to turn them off. Or, since they are Hue, change them to any color as the mood hits. I'll do a separate post on Hue soon. I also get my weather now from Alexa, usually a couple times a day. It's really handy. She can do other things as well, and is getting better all the time. As for the devices themselves... if you are planning on using them for streaming stuff like music or audio books, then I'd strongly recommend the Echo. If you're just asking about weather or interacting with smart home devices, then the echo dot will do. As it stands at the moment, I have an Echo Dot in my living room, an Echo in the Family room and an Echo Dot in the mancave. I'm watching sales and I'll be deploying more Echos so most of the house is covered. Have any of you tried these yet?

I thought I would talk this week about the use of quoting and mentions while you make posts and comments on the site. There is a certain etiquette to this to keep topics flowing smoothly without making a nuisance of yourself. So, first up, some definitions: Quoting is when you press the "Quote" button and it pulls in the entire comment Quote This is when you highlight a portion of text and a small "Quote This" box pops up that you then click. It functions the same as Quoting, but only for the highlighted text. Mentions are when you type the "@" symbol followed by a name. The system prompts you to create a mention @Myr Users are then alerted that someone mentioned them. (example of "Quote This") You shouldn't ever really use the first option unless the post you are quoting is short. Most people have just read it and there is no reason to repeat the whole thing, especially if it is long. That ends up being more irritating than helpful. A great alternative is to highlight the small section you are referring to and using "Quote This" instead. Now, I understand that this is harder to do on mobile devices as well as other circumstances, so a great alternative there is to use Mentions. The system can get squirrelly if you use a lot of them in a row, but you usually shouldn't need such a thing. Just a note that is forum software bug more than anything, if you are using post dating feature, if you use a mention, the person will be alerted, even if the post/blog/whatever has not posted yet. I think that is supposed to be patched, but I know from experience that it sends the notification as soon as you submit it, not when it posts. Of course, I have previously made a video on how to use mentions. It is here on YouTube: Would you be willing to like and subscribe if you found the video helpful? It lets me know whether or not making further videos is worthwhile.

That's on my list. Since I only read the first two books and never read the other two. However, I'm reading "Closer to the Chest" by Mercedes Lackey. (finally)

This movie is very clearly aimed at visual delights. This is where my you must pay attention comment comes in. There is a lot of things that are left to visuals only so if you're not giving it attention, you miss stuff. So, I don't see it working at all if you can't see it.

A bug issue with the software control. You should be able to link in notes now.

It is a sign that Chapter Text is for Chapter Text only. Notes, links and the like belong in the Chapter Notes and Chapter End Notes.

Well, this movie is a bit different. So, right up front, let me say that I liked this movie a lot more than the critiques. Sci-fi and fantasy are definitely in my wheelhouse. I also enjoying watching Dane DeHaan. Kris Wu is also a nice in the eye-candy category too. The movie's special effects are outstanding. The plot, which those critiques complained about, requires you to pay attention. Not Inception levels of attention, but not casual watching either. I enjoyed the movie enough to watch again. It's worth checking out if you like Sci-Fi, for certain.

Welcome back! I think most people will be happy just seeing a steady flow of new stuff. So bring on whatever you feel like writing

For those of you that haven't figured it out by now, I'm a compulsive researcher in far too many ways. I end up all too often with far more research than writing what I was supposed to write. Having said that I picked up these two books a number of years ago to give a story I was working on more accurate flavor. It didn't get posted, but it is in the backlog of things that I'm sure I'll polish up, complete and post some day. Anyway, I found both of these books interesting and informative. The SAS guide is more technical and the other guide is more hippy gone wild. They both serve their purposes, especially if you're writing about a disaster-struck modern world.

Summer Anthology 2006 in no particular order: