The dream of the Jetpack is an old one - just strap enough power to a human’s back and he will fly. Yves Rossy - a longtime pilot and madman - decided to take the dream into the 21st century and built his own cool jetpack.
He sacred a lot of cows, when he screamed through the Swiss alps.
He might be a great dreamer on one side - but I like his pacifist approach on the other. The military asked him to deliver a prototype - which he promptly refused. It’s made for fun only.
Good man!
Hardly any game had such a cultural influence on modern culture than Dungeons & Dragons. It was the very basis of the Nerd culture of the 1980’s - and still is in the heads of many great makers of software, computers, gadgets and other important technology.
Gary Gygax -God of the Game Masters, Inventor of D&D in 1974 and overall storyteller - just passed away.
Since I grew up playing D&D - and then producing a role playing fanzine (on paper) I owe him a lot of inspiration, because it was that very hobby that got me into writing and publishing - and later into computer. Not to play, but to write about Role Playing Games.
More? a nice interview and some video over at BoingBoing and the ultimate Nerd discussion about his death and his influence on Slashdot.