Charlatans and hustlers

I was just made aware of the fact that the self-proclaimed psychic and healer Lisa Williams is coming to Norway, and I find I'm getting aggravated at the very prospect of it. My problem, however, is not with Lisa Williams per se, but with any and all people that make a living by exploiting and hustling the gullible and the naive. No "psychic" has ever been able to replicate his/her abilities in rigid scientific studies, and most will never attend such studies obviously because they know the results would be negative. There is no way to quantify or measure "psychic ability", but neither is there any proof at all that such abilities exist.

Any and all "psychics" with their own TV-shows, book deals, performance tours and such are in it for one thing, and one thing only: money. To be able to do what they do they employ and perfect various techniques for various settings, and I will talk about the most common.

Cold Reading.
From Wikipedia: "Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, illusionists, fortune tellers, psychics, mediums and con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do."

An experienced cold reader is quickly able to deduce many things about a suject simply by observing the subject's facial expressions, hairstyle, style of clothing, jewelry and so on. The cold reader is forcing - or coercing - the subject to cooperate, and blatantly guessing with various questions of high-probability.

Example:

Reader: "Did your husband linger on in the hospital, or did he pass quickly?"

Subject: "Oh, he died almost immediately!"

Reader: "Yes, because he's saying to me, `I didn't suffer. I was spared any pain.'"

In the above example the reader is coercing the subject to believe that the reader knows something he/she didn't. The information was supplied by the subject to be verified by the reader. Why should the reader, for instance, have to aske the question he/she did in the above example?

And that's what cold reading is. The medium is throwing out suggestions and guesses while expecting (and usually getting) feedback from their subjects. "I get an older man here" is a question, a suggestion, and a guess by the "reader" who expects some reaction from the subject. And while the reaction may be very subtle, the reader has trained himself/herself to pick up even the most unnoticeable of changes in facial expressions. The reaction might just be a nod, or a subtle change in the subject's expression or body language (or the occasional gasp), but the affirmation is supplied by the subject, and not by the reader.

Then the reader might start throwing names out into the audience. "They're saying, John, or Johnny. Do you know this man?" is another wild guess, a question and a suggestion. If there was a John or Johnny the subject will affirm and strengthen the identification, but if there is none the reader will move on whilst brushing it off saying that John or Johnny is there, but was not immediately recognized. If, however, Johnny is remembered later, that will be integrated into the farce.

From James Randi Educational Foundation: "You should observe and listen to a video of a reading. In one such by Van Praagh, prepared by the "48 Hours" TV program, a reading that lasted 60 minutes, we found only TWO actual statements made, and 260 questions asked. Both actual statements--guesses--were wrong. Van Praagh was looking for the name of the woman's deceased husband, and he came up with it by asking, "Do you know anyone named, Jack?" The woman answered, "Yes! Jack, my husband!" But Van Praagh didn't identify "Jack" at all. He asked her if SHE would identify him. By that time, Van Praagh had already tried on her 26 other men's names--all wrong. But, the woman--the subject--forgot about those failures, because they were not important to her. "Jack" was important."

Unfortunately I couldn't find that exact video easily available online, but here is another one showing van Praagh failing during a cold-reading session: van Praagh.

Every psychic, medium or stage clairvoyant (Lisa Williams included) has been using the same set of techniques since time immemorial, and since time immemorial their audience has allowed themselves to be deceived in spite of the fact that common sense should tell them not to. Personally I don't understand why. Why this urge or interest in talking to dead relatives?

Now there are probably some that would argue that some people are just seeking some kind of closure after having their spouse unexpectedly and suddenly die, and that their closure is more important than the methods of achieving it. That makes it even worse. Then the so-called medium, or psychic, is not only preying on the gullible, but they're also exploiting someone else's pain and loss for their own gain. Make no mistake; the ones that make it to the big time with their own TV-shows, performance tours and books deals make millions this way.

So now you probably ask why I am so upset about what other people believe. It's their beliefs and I should just respect them right? Wrong. I see no reason why I should respect and condone a set of beliefs that allow some people to prey on the less fortunate, the emotionally scarred or the gullible in order to line their own pockets. I am a fervent supporter of rationality and logic and what constitutes provable reality, and as such I can not, and will not, respect a system of belief that relies on willful and blatant deception in order to be maintained.

The Ultimate Machine - part 6 - Completion

Yesterday I finally completed my Ultimate Machine Mk.I.
Following part 5 there really weren't much left to sort out, but the last finishing touches were required. Today I present to you the final pictures of this build, and at long last a video of the machine in action.

As I left you from part 5 I had a couple of things left to do: staining the arm and the hold-down blocks and modifying the switch. Also, as it turned out, I had to modify the forward lid as well as the force from the arm retracting had the lid pop open. This simply would not do, and so I solved the problem by embedding a couple of neodymium magnets into the frame and the bottom of the lid, very effectively securing the lid while allowing it to be opened if needed.

As you can see I also had to modify the arm slightly because occasionally the arm would stop before completing it's cycle, thus locking the machine. I got around this problem by extending the arm with a small piece of wood (which now also needs to be stained obviously).

The simple, yet in my opinion quite effective, modification I made to the switch involved a couple of short lengths of brass tubing. I used a 3mm brass tube inserted into a 4mm brass tube, superglued them together and filed the top round before gluing them to the switch handle. The result is a lengthened handle, and a better looking switch.

So, Mk.I of my Ultimate Machine is done. The design is not perfect, but for some reason I find the semi-scruffy appearance quite suitable. However, when I build the next one I will refine the design a bit as Mk.II I intend to build to keep at my office - and I think Claude Shannon would approve.

There you have it, the machine is completed and functional. And as promised, here is the video of it in action (I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed building it):

The Ultimate Machine - part 5

The machine is now almost done, and while I have had some good advice given to me for improvements in the finish of the box, I am quite happy with it so far. I might take the advice to heart though, and attempt to improve on the finish provided I have time to do so, and if it is not too late. It will, after all, necessitate smoothing out the edges with spackle, sanding it down smooth, an re-staining and lacquering the edges. Hopefully this is possible to do with the machine in its present condition, but if not I'll just make a mental note of remembering to do so for the next machine I build.

So, the machine has been fully assembled and only a few last tweaks and finishing touches remain to be done. I can gleefully report that the machine works flawlessly, though I will need to modify the switch somewhat in order for the servo to be able to flip it. As you remember from my last post my suppliers sent me the wrong kind of DPDT switches (on-off-on instead of on-on), and so I had to run with it and hope for the best. Well, it turns out that using the DPDT on-off-on switches is possible, and it will work, but the toggle function is a little too stiff for the servo to accomplish. Therefore I will modify the switch with a length of brass tubing for added leverage, and this will also have the effect of tying the looks of the switch in a little more with the looks of the rest of the box. Hopefully I'll get this done tonight, but that depends on whether or not the stain on the arm and two hold-down blocks has dried out sufficiently by the time I get home from work.

Here is today's round of pictures.

The switch has now been mounted roughly 2.5cm from the edge of the lid, and while the switch unmodified is too stiff for the arm to flip, it works flawlessly when the switch is aided with improved leverage. Oh, and by the way, I simply could not be bothered to remove the date-stamp from the pictures, and now that I notice it I am unable to as I'm posting this from work and I have yet to get Photoshop reinstalled.

  

 

This next pic shows an internal view. Here you can see the arm mounted to the forward lid, and you can see the hold-down block for the microswitch mounted to the bottom. If you squint a little you can just about make out the microswitch being held down by the arm, and underneatht the forward lid you can see the front edge of the servo. 

Here's a shot of the same view but from a different angle. I'm showing the controller board along with the battery pack and the various cables being plugged into the board. Also you can see the business end of the arm peeking out from under the closed lid.

Next I'll flip the forward lid, and you'll see how the servo and the arm is mounted. You can also see the hole I routed out for the switch if you follow the leads. By the way, the leads I've used were originally intended to be used in a project to build my own computer case (I will complete this project as well of course, but for now it's in hiatus), and the ones that are pink were supposed to be red. I think the pink colour is due to these cables being fluorescent, but I still feel they should look a good deal more red than they do.

The servo is held in place by being screwed to a small wooden block screwed tightly to the lid. I tried glueing the block down first, but that didn't take all that well, so in the end I just screwed it down tightly.

Finally here's a full shot of the internals exposed. Not much in the box really, but much of this space is taken by the motion of the arm. This post is made the day following these events, and after these shots were taken I stained the arm and the hold-down blocks. Hopefully these will have dried out by the time I get home so that I may lay down the last few finishing touches such as making the final modifications to the switch. Must remember to go out during lunch to get 3 and 4mm brass tubing.

The next time I post the machine will be done, and I will have a video of the machine in action to show you. Trust me when I say that it's hilarious, and that during beta testing yesterday, I couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably.

The Ultimate Machine - part 4

Still feeling peeved at being sent the wrong components, I started soldering the circuit board for the machine. This was refreshing and pleasant work which, accompanied by a couple of glasses of red wine, was highly satisfying. The chance to wield my soldering iron again felt quite exhilarating.

The circuit consists of:

• 1 220k resistor
• 1 27k resistor
• 1 15k resistor
• 1 1N4148 diode
• 1 0.1uf capacitor
• 1 NE555P timer chip
• 1 4xAA battery holder
• 1 Futaba 4.2kg servo
• 1 DPDT on-on switch (current setup uses an on-off-on switch)
• 1 microswitch
• 8 three pin connectors (four he, four she)
• A few feet of wire - red, yellow, black and blue
• 1 project board

And after putting it all together, this is the result:

Now all that remains is mounting the board in the box, fitting the servo and the switches and fabricating and fitting the arm. With a little luck I just might get it finished this weekend, but as the arm will have to be stained the drying time might make this impossible. Also, as I am using an on-off-on switch instead of an on-on switch, the result might not be practical. I have registered an order for a couple of replacement on-on switches, and these will hopefully be delivered during next week. So, if my vain hope of making it work with an inappropriate switch fails, there are replacements coming. I aim to have it completed by next weekend.

Rage II - Ultimate Machine Part 3.5

Yesterday I finally received my order from my electronics supplier of choice, and excitedly I went about building the circuit board for my Ultimate Machine - relishing the chance of wielding my soldering iron once again.

I set up the board nice and tidy using three-pin connectors for the switches, power source and servo output, organizing all components logically and neatly across a small board - for practicality as well as for show.

The first thing I noticed was that the electronics suppliers had sent me the wrong diodes, but that was no biggie as I could use the ones they sent me, though it was annoying. Then, after soldering the whole thing together, measuring across the circuit and attempting to start it up for the first time, nothing happened. The circuit is powered, and all looks good, but for some reason the servo doesn't get signals.

Eventually I had to call it a night, and thus I promised myself to sort it out this weekend. Today, as I arrived at the office, I had a thought: yesterday the DPDT switches they had sent me made something in me twitch, but I did not quite react to it. Today however, I suddenly realised that the switches they had sent me are also wrong. I ordered DPDT on-on switches, but they sent me DPDT on-off-on switches - not nearly the same, and very aggravating.

However, I should be able to test the circuit with the wrong switches, but I immediately registered an order for two new DPDT on-on switches on their webshop, and then I sent a copy of the order confirmation to their sales office to make sure they get it sorted.

So let's sum it up:

1. Electronics supplier misplaces my order, making the components over 1 month delayed
2. Electronics supplier sends me the order, but asks for payment for the second time
3. Electronics supplier sends me wrong diodes and wrong switches

The problem is that if I want electronics over here, I will have to use this company as they are the ones most likely to stock what you need.

Rage!

So I contacted the company that I had ordered my precious NE555P timer chips (and various other bits and bobs such as highly important DPDT switches) from, and I asked them when I could expect my order to be delivered. I felt it had taken too long to get it shipped to me, and as such they should explain themselves. I'll let you know how this conversation went.

Me: "Hello, yes, I'm calling regarding order number xxxxxxx which I have been expecting for quite some time. The order was placed about a month ago, so now I'm wondering when I might expect to get it."

Person on the other end: "Hang on one second and I'll check it." *sounds of typing*

Person on the other end: "I can't seem to find an order by that number, are you sure you got it registered?"

Me: "Yes I'm sure. I've got the confirmation e-mail from your website right here."

Person on the other end: *sounds of typing* "Could you e-mail me a copy of your receipt?"

Me: "Sure. What address do I use?" *after being given address, mail is sent*

Person on the other end: *sounds of mouse clicks and typing* "I'm sorry. We seem to have misplaced your order, but I promise we'll get it shipped out to you today. How would you like to pay?"

Me: *getting annoyed* "I've already paid for it ... it says so right there on the receipt."

Person on the other end: "Oh so I see. Well then, we'll get it shipped today, and you should have it no later than tuesday of next week."

Me: "That's a little late as I needed my components in order to complete a project by tuesday next week. Can you not ship it to me by express?"

Person on the other end: "I'm sorry, but we don't do that."

Me: "No? But misplacing orders is okay?"

Person on the other end: "Of course not, but even so; there's no express delivery service from our company."

Sensing that the conversation could only deteriorate from there I bid him farewell, donned my coat and went downtown in search of a DPDT switch.

The Ultimate Machine - part 3

The external staining is done, the lacquer has dried and the box is ready to be reassembled. I'm still a little peeved that I decided to take the box apart for staining, rather than doing it while assembled because I did not want to risk discolouring the screws. But regardless, the parts look gorgeous now, though a little distorted from the staining process - it's not much, but enough to set the edges off ever so slightly.

After the lacquer had dried I looked over the parts, and determined that they were ready for reassembly yesterday night. Gleefully I put the various parts back together, and watched as the box grew back into shape. I think (and hope) you all will agree that whilst it is not perfectly aligned, or perfectly even, it does look very good. Unfortunately I don't have the proper means to take photographs that do justice to the wonderful richness of the dark cherry combined with the high gloss lacquer, but at least you get an idea from these shots.

The box is reassembled, and you can just about make out the shine and reflections from the sides. I hope I can set up a proper (albeit temporary) photography "booth" somewhere in the house for when the machine is completed and take some final shots for you, but for now these will have to do.

Here you can see how the staining has thrown off the lid by just a mm or two, not a lot, but enough to leave something of a gap. It's really not a big deal, and we'll see when the electronics and mechanics are in place, if I may decide to put a brass strip over the gap - or something like that.

The insides has not yet been stained, but I am planning to do it for consistency, however, I will not lacquer the insides.

And here's a final shot of the finished box with the plaque nailed to the lid. Was I right or what? The brass looks gorgeous against the dark cherry stained and lacquered wood.

This was all I had for this update, but I'll see you again in part 4 quite soon. I'm just awaiting the delivery of the ever important timing chips, and hopefully it'll arrive today or tomorrow. Well, it'll have to arrive by saturday because this is intended to be a birthday present, and as such it must be completed by next tuesday.

The Ultimate Machine - part 2

The weather was good on sunday as well, so I was able to make the lid and complete the box. After planing the lid, and all edges once more with 180 grit followed by a quick planing with 240 grit, I took the box apart and stained it. In retrospect I learned that I shouldn't have taken it apart for this because the staining process distorted the wood just enough to throw it slightly off at the edges. This can't be helped though, and it doesn't really have to be perfect - this is the prototype after all, and I am planning to build at least one more.

I chose an aptly named oil-based colour, "dark cherry", and in my opinion it's a gorgeous stain that really brings the wood to a different level. I have not applied it evenly, but that was not my intention anyway as I was hoping for a sort of weathered antique look, and we shall see if I succeeded in this after applying the lacquer.

Additionally I was able to make the plaque for the lid. This was my first attempt at engraving, and I did it freehand using my trusty old Dremel. In my opinion it came out rather well, and again; it doesn't have to be perfect. The plaque was cut from a sheet of 0.5mm brass, and it looks gorgeous against the dark cherry wood.

As the stain had dried out sufficiently by yesterday evening, I was able to find the time to apply the lacquer. I chose an oil-based high-gloss lacquer for wood, and spread it out nice and even with a soft brush. Hopefully this will dry out evenly and leave a slick and shiny surface, however, I am prepared to polish the pieces if necessary. So as you can imagine, I am terribly excited to come home from work this afternoon to check it out. Expect sexy images of the freshly stained reassembled box with a high gloss surface coating.

See you in part 3.

The Ultimate Machine - Part 1

Work has finally begun on my take on the legacy of Claude Shannon and his Ultimate Machine.

Fortune favored us today with nice and warm weather allowing for work to be done outside, and the twins were at their best behaviour thus providing ample oportunity and time for me to begin this project. For the time being I'm having to do this kind of work outside because my workshop is not yet finished (that's yet another project begging to be begun and completed), and though I will be doing the electronics indoors, woodwork is inherently messy which necessitates doing it outside.

Anyway, I began by collecting a previously purchased plate of wood intented to be used as shelving, and started marking out the various pieces. The wood I'm using is 16mm solid pine, though initially I planned on making it out of oak. However, as I was planning to stain the wood anyway, I opted for something less flamboyant.

I love tools. Hence I use any and all chances and oportunities to acquire new ones. So, as I'm also a big fan of machines, I first opted for cutting the various pieces using my jigsaw. This didn't turn out too well. For some reason the blade kept bending, and as a result every cut I made got slanted. Therefore I've made the mental note of getting a circular saw as soon as oportunity allows for it. In the end I went for a more analogue approach and cut the parts manually using a regular hand-operated saw. This worked wonders. All edges needed planing afterwards, but that would be necessary regardless of how I got them cut.

Unfortunately I didn't remember to collect my camera for the process of cutting the pieces, but at this stage of the build I am drilling holes for the screws and the wood nut inserts.

During this process a couple of other bits went onto my mental shopping list as well. I currently own no countersinking drill bits, so I had to make countersunk screw holes using a slightly large drillbit to countersink the screw heads, and then a narrower drill bit for the actual screw. It worked out beautifully, but it was an arduous process in which I had to drill at very small increments constantly checking the depth of the countersink hole, before changing bits to do the screw holes. I also broke one of my vice grips, so new ones are needed.

After having drilled the holes through the walls of the box and into the bottom plate, I screwed in some wood nut inserts for M4 machine screws. I have selected some very attractive M4 hex-head stainless steel screws. My design would work even better with brass screws, but I have so far been unable to find M4 hex-head brass screws, so stainless will have to do.

And here is the finished wall screwed to the bottom plate. The screw heads are nicely flush with the wood, and they are very solidly locked together. I think the screws, even though they are not brass, will stand out quite nicely against the wood after it has been stained.

A couple of hours of doing this to all the sides, and the result is a wodden box, though still missing the all-important lid. Unfortunately I did not have time to finish the lid as well today, so I hope to be able to do it tomorrow. The lid is the most important part, and will have to fit precisely - It will also need to be split along the middle.

The box was still a little rough though, so I rummaged around in my would-be workshop to dig out my electric planer and some 180 grit sandpaper. Here is the final result after planing. All sides are now nicely flush, and their surfaces are very smooth. Maybe I will make another couple of passes with the planer using a finer grit paper, or maybe I will simply polish it after staining and the mandatory couple of coats of lacquer. We'll see.

This is as far as I got today, but quite soon the box will be finished and ready for staining. Soon I am ready to start work on the electronics, but as I am still awaiting delivery of the all-important NE555P timer chip, I am, until it arrives, focusing my attention on the box. Tomorrow I plan, and hope, to do the lid and hopefully the staining.

Until next time I hope I have piqued your interest. See you in part 2.

A stroke of genius

I thought I had finished writing mini reviews of flash games for the time being, but that was until I stumbled across one that is truly brilliant, and truly different. It requires logical thinking on a different level than all other puzzle flash games I've come across so far, and the puzzle complexity has nice incremental steps to them.

The game is called "The Codex of Alchemical Engineering" and it's a work of art.

You play as an alchemist having to distill, synthesize and blend various compounds by the aid of robotic arms and various alchemical glyphs. The game screen makes out your alchemical workbench, and this is where all the action takes place. There's no tutorial, and no real aid of any kind, but reading the "help" pages tells you all you need to know.

As always, the first compound (or puzzle if you like) is the easiest one. You've just got to move five atoms (the game is so good that you just don't care that water is not made up of a single atom, but rather a molecule of Hydrogen and Oxygen) of water from the water source, to the large recepticle glyph in the upper area of the screen. To do this, we must select a "manipulator arm", place it on the screen and program it to move water units from one place to the other.

Programming the robotic manipulator arm is simply done by dragging and dropping the symbols on the left into the dark grey "rod" also on the left. Hovering your cursor over each symbol gives you a short text describing what each symbol (or command) does, and from there it's up to you to put these in the correct order. Trust me when I say that when you get to the stage where you have four or more manipulator arms on the screen at the same time, choreographing their movements become tricky. However, that's not to say you necessarily need four arms to do the job - setting the whole thing up for efficiency, and streamlining your production lines for as few cycles as possible is part of the fun. After setting up your program, or whenever you're happy with your program, and feel ready to give it a go, simply click "run" to see how it behaves.

I know this setup of five robotic arms and two glyphs of binding is not the most efficient, however, I am a person who relish in the chance of making something unnecessarily complex and getting it to work that way. Tweaking the programs for the setup shown above took some time and a a little effort, but in the end all the components worked together in a beautifully choreographed dance of mechanical splendour. And as a person who comes just short of being brought to tears by watching the automated production lines at car factories dance their carefully choreographed mechanical ballet, I find this highly satisfying, and this is only level 4.

Anyone with the patience and the resolve necessary to figure out the first two levels will then undoubtedly get hooked. That's a promise. And while I paint a somewhat glum picture of complexity, programming and mechanical dance numbers, the game isn't all that hard. You just have to see the logic in the various components, how they all work together, and then find a way of devicing a sequence of events to distill the required end product in order to make it to the next level. Besides, since when has challenging one's mental faculties been a bad thing?

It's a truly great game, a masterpiece of online flash games.

And this is not just because it appeals to me because I personally love constructing machines in the most difficult and complex way possible, but also because it is different. It stands out from a crowd of what has become a a plethora of available online flash games, most of which are of questionable quality. This one, however, is a stroke of genius.

Procrastination

Online Flash games are, by their very nature, designed for procrastination, and for casual gaming/gamers. And as an avid gamer I enjoy both the quick romp of an online flash game, just as I enjoy the depth of the full-size large installations such as Mass Effect 2. However, for a bout of procrastination (say at the office, school or any other such venue where you find yourself with a computer, an internet connection and boredom begging for some procrastination, you really can't beat a good flash game.

So, there are numerous sites dedicated to flash games, and I'm going to talk about one of them and point out a couple of brain teasers which I find entertaining to help you sort through the chaff. Because, as with large games, movies or pretty much any form of entertainment, there are bad ones as well as good ones, and there are obviously the ocassional great one.

Here I will talk a little about three highly addictive time sinks that will tax your skill, willpower, patience and resolve. I take no responsibility for any mental strain or psychological trauma resulting from indulging yourself with these little nuggets of flash game brilliance.

1. Perfect Balance 2
If you like brain teasers that test your patience this one is for you. It's a simple little game with a plethora of available levels (5x20 levels), and, as has become quite mandatory, an achievement hierarchy. The game involves stacking different items on top of eachother in a game area where you work against both the clock as well as gravity. Some levels are quite simple, others are tear-the-hairs-from-your-skull aggravating in that their way of testing both your patience as well as your dedication is bordering on sadism. Highly recommended.

Once you get to the fifth tier of levels the difficulty soars rapidly. Stacking a bunch of sqaures on top of a tiny ledge along with two balls is taxing to say the least, and then there's the level where you've got to stack a bunch of angles, triangles and edges on top of a hemisphere. It's good stuff, but it will surely test your patience. And when you've finally managed to get all the game pieces balanced precariously on top of eachother, you've got the option of racking up some bonus points by adding round gems.

2. Super Stacker 2
It's the same basic premise as Perfect Balance 2, however the implementation of gravity isn't quite as good, and the game is simpler get a grasp of. Perfect for a quick bout of casual gaming, though gets repetitive quickly. I list it because I like these kinds of construction games, and I expect the difficulty to ramp up as I get to the upper tiers.

As soon as you get to the medium tier, the game becomes more interesting, and the little bricks and pieces are very cute. Also, completing all tiers gives you the option of unlocking the bonus mode, which is when things get really interesting. Unlocking this mode let's you play through all leves again, except this time all the bricks will be produced randomly. Sometimes this will result in impossible levels, but selecting "try again" gives you another order that might be possible. Also, completing levels in this mode gives you gold stars, adding to replayability in that it rewards your efforts.

3. Red Remover

This is a peculiar little game.

It's another blocky teaser that entails removing the red tiles, but leaving the green ones. This sound simple enough, but after a quick and easy initial 10 levels gravity goes bonkers. You have to consider four planes of gravity, and watch the tiles to see which way they'll fall. You even need to worry about timing some of your removals. It's not as good as the above two games, but certainly worthy of a quick romp.

There's also a bonus mode which unlocks after you've completed all 40 levels. This mode blacks out the game area and provides you with a flashlight that illuminates only a small portion of the screen. Successfully playing through the game in this mode will unlock the final five levels, and it will give you gold stars.

So there you have it. Three good games for when the day just screams out for some serious procrastination. I will continue writing articles about good flash games now and again, but considering the amount of games out there I will have to take time to find some new good ones. Until the next time, enjoy these three small games - I did.

Dragon Age - building a module

A few weeks ago I started a project building a new add-in module for the game Dragon Age - Origins. The sudden ending of the main campaign in the game was to me an anti-climax, and left me wanting for more. Initially the DLC's were decent enough, but the fact that the world map is greyed out and none of the locations are available for free-roaming, made me decide to build my own module to tie into the main campaign.

I've designed the module to be added to the main-campaign and thus to be played at any given time, and it should also stay open after the main-campaign is over. Hopefully I might even find the time to build it into a larger campaign, and not just as the single-quest add-in which I am aiming for at the moment.

Building the locations, and setting the module up for the story and the quest is simple enough, but I've run into some issues. While I do dabble in modelling in 3D Studio, and I do believe I should be able to build simple models such as swords, I am currently not at the level where I can build complex models such as creatures. Therefore I wonder if there is someone out there skilled in 3D Studio that might be willing, and who might have the time to help me out. I need a white tiger, and personally I planned to modify a Mabari into a white tiger, but obviously you are free to decide how to attack the problem.

Here's a teaser shot of one of the locations in my module.

That's a view a little elevated from the starting position. It shows the local chantry, a windmill, a few other buildings as well as the looming presence of a very tall tower in the distance. There is a lot more obviously, such as a cave, a few lakes and rivers, and a high level wizard of ambiguous alignment (whose familiar is supposed to be a white tiger). Personally I find the toolkit to be simple in use and easy to learn; particularly when using the model preview function in tandem with the toolkit wiki which has a substantial overview of the model library available.

Needless to say (I imagine) I love this game. As far as I'm concerned it's the best RPG since Neverwinter Nights and Oblivion, and I deeply hope that support and further addition to the world will be made by the developers. However, the lack of an open-ended campaign and free-roam world upon the completion of the main campaign are let-downs. During my initial play-through I had several unfinished quests pending, and only went forward with the main campaign in order to gain a level quickly, and I thought that concidering the RPGs made lately this one would also allow for free roaming after the end.

Nevertheless, it's an excellent game - bordering on terrific - that everyone with a penchant for RPGs should have a go at. Regardless of the lack of the ability to roam freely after completing the main campaign, the game has tons of content, loads of NPCs and a crapload of items. It is well balanced, and the adventure(s) provide ample challenge for both the novice as well as the experienced gamer.

My own addition to the Dragon Age world will be designed as a high level (level 20+) campaign, and I hope to find the time and the oportunity to add to it further with the goal of turning it into a sort of world within the world module. Hopefully I manage to tie it into the main campaign seamlessly by introducing it by means of a travelling sage meeting the player party in camp. We shall have to wait and see.