Lester Ward

lward@social.divnull.com

Location:: New York USA

Gender:: Male

Status:: Married

Homepage:: http://divnull.com/lward/

Lester Ward

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 03:46:06 -0500

Back when Google+ was the best social media space for role-playing games, there was a circle dedicated to posting RPG cover images featuring "three angry heroes brandishing weapons". There are probably hundreds of games with covers like this (such as the prototypical example shown below). Did anyone out there have the foresight to archive or export this collection? Or has it been lost for all time?

Image/photo

#3ahbw

Lester Ward

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 15:48:55 -0500 last edited: Thu, 03 Dec 2020 15:50:51 -0500

Finally cleared out the big jar of coins in the kitchen. Inside was:

361.92 USD
24.93 EUR
2.00 CAD
0.30 KYD
0.60 XCD
0.03 GBP
1 Chuck 'E' Cheese token
4 squished pennies with tourist attractions embossed on them
4 rack mounting screws
2 paper clips
1 blue button
1 CR1225 battery

Lester Ward

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 10:51:57 -0500

Changing a cow’s diet such that 0.2% of it is seaweed reduces the animal’s methane output by 95%. (As a greenhouse gas, methane traps heat much more severely than CO2 does.)
#^Mitigating the carbon footprint and improving productivity of ruminant livestock agriculture using a red seaweed

Climate

Lester Ward

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 18:37:59 -0500

!Hacking Ptolus
With the new version of #Ptolus coming out soon, I'm finally getting around to building a list of the various battlemaps that have been made for the setting. I've been meaning to do this since the demise of G+.

#^Ptolus Battlemaps

Monte Cook Games provides few of their own 1″=5′ battlemaps for their Ptolus campaign setting, but have been permissive in letting others develop them. They can, however, be a little hard to find. This page aims to collect links to the various battlemaps available for the setting in one place.

battlemaps rpg

Lester Ward

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 10:18:03 -0500

!Hacking Ptolus
Found this very nice site supporting the #Ptolus setting, including an interactive map. If you can prove you on the book, it also offers hyperlinked text of the setting.

#^Ptolus City By The Spire | Fully Interactive Map | Mobile Book

Convocation Prime released

Lester Ward

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 16:05:26 -0400

#^Seed: Convocation Prime

I have released #ConvocationPrime, my medium-weight #Pokemon -esque hack of #AnimaPrime on itch. Maybe now the pounding in my head to make it will stop. I've not yet released the InDesign and Illustrator source of the game, but that should be coming before long. If you hate it, tell me. If you like it, tell someone else.
#rpg #ttrpgs #DivNullSeed

Lester Ward

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 20:38:08 -0400

Drinking game for Disney+: watch a Nat Geo show that deals with using new tech to search for stuff (e.g. “Lost Cities”, “Drain the Oceans”) and drink any time the phrase “for the first time” is uttered.

TeeDeeMiniatures

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 13:05:03 -0400

Hello Mr Ward

I'm glad to have finally found somewhere to contact you. I'm TeeDeeArt and I'm a tabletop miniature sculptor, I digitally sculpt, then 3d print and paint minis. And I believe you may be the rights holder to an old orc I'd absolutely love to bring into the world in 3d, an orc commissioned to amberharris? She's since unfortunately lost the contact info for whoever commissioned that excellent piece. It was the art for this character: #^https://rpg.divnull.com/wiki/index.php/Lostwhite .

That this character page was last updated a couple of days before amber herself posted the art to her own socials tells me it might be yours? If so please contact me. I'll check back here of course, but TeeDeeArt@outlook.com is my email.

Lester Ward

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 17:10:39 -0400

Feel free to sculpt her.

TeeDeeMiniatures

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 23:12:12 -0400

Thank you! I much appreciate it, it really is a fantastic engaging design. I see folks everywhere using it for their own rpg characters and I had a few ideas for it myself.

Now that would be for private purposes, but I was actually looking to eventually release some of my creations onto kickstarter in both the physical and digital world, effectively selling the stl files for other people to 3d print, as well as printing them myself for people without a printer. The most similar kickstarter to what I'm thinking would be this one: #^https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boldminiatures/the-best-friend-bust-collection a series of rpg character busts which I absolutely adore. It would be my first kickstarter and I've only got one of my own 3 mostly ready, so I'd be looking to do it around Christmas. As this kickstarter-plan would be commercial it goes beyond permission to sculpt. Could I please, with Amber's permission as well, secure the rights to distribute like that? You're pre-support for my kickstarter endeavour in this way would be very much appreciated.

Amber too was wanting to contact you to secure the rights to this piece, she's recently released her own fantasy art colouring book for example with other pieces, generously giving that book out for free during the pandemic. And so Amber is interested in securing the rights as well, we're both so enamored with the design and wanting to use it for things.

Amber: "I had wanted to many times ask them for permission to keep the design but alas, I don't think I will ever know."

And also crediting you, we are both interested in crediting you properly if you desire, the original art is unfortunately without a name, as though it is an anonymous commission. Should we write "character created by wordman" with a link to your prefered profile for example?

#^https://www.deviantart.com/amberharrisart/art/Envisage-A-Fantasy-Coloring-Book-834021799 Amber's colouring book.

Lester Ward

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 12:13:08 -0400

Switched everything on my domain to use Let's Encrypt certificates. Way less hassle. Should have done that a long time ago.

Lester Ward

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 02:13:17 -0400

Using #jenga as a way of thinking about #threatmodeling:

#^Whitepapers From Shostack & Associates

Lester Ward

Thu, 14 May 2020 19:51:10 -0400

Is there any version of #Cinderella that explains why her clothes turn back to rags at midnight, but the glass slippers don’t?

Venus Fly Trap Flower

Lester Ward

Sat, 09 May 2020 17:26:59 -0400

My history caring for venus fly traps is…well, let’s say spotty. This one I have kept long enough to flower, so I’m getting the hang of it. (Still, you’re not actually supposed to let captive fly traps bloom, as it takes a lot of energy for no gain when they are alone indoors.) Pretty, though.

Not that kind of Apple watch

Lester Ward

Sat, 28 Mar 2020 16:27:47 -0400 last edited: Sat, 28 Mar 2020 16:33:52 -0400

I found this #applewatch digging through some boxes I haven’t looked at in years. I don’t remember how I got it. Had to have been in the 1990s sometime, probably. Maybe at a WWDC? Anyone recognize where this came from?

apple watch

freelabs federation

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 00:39:02 -0400 from Diaspora

could be worth a fair bit: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-mac-watch-apple-multi-color-100049485 (doesnt say, but some-- possibly older vintage apple watches are going for up to 2500. this isnt the only vintage design, apple has made others.)

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/apple-branded-watch-priced-2500-year-after-being-worth-just-54-1496260

Lester Ward

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 18:46:18 -0400

Some of the cheap #macos apps in #^BundleHunt's latest bundle are either part of my now-ancient list of #^recommended OS X software, or are otherwise useful for #rpg creators. In particular:

Leap
DupeZap
Typinator
Mellel
KeyCue 9

Lester Ward

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 17:55:50 -0400

I've started messing around with Hubzilla. If this message shows up in your feed, could you let me know that you can see it? Much obliged.

freelabs federation

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 00:39:32 -0400 from Diaspora

congrats, you made it to diaspora. but will you get this reply?

freelabs federation

Sun, 29 Mar 2020 00:39:49 -0400 from Diaspora

congrats, you made it to diaspora. but will you get this reply?

Lester Ward

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 23:59:04 -0500

!Hacking Ptolus
#MonteCookGames has launched a Kickstarter to update #Ptolus to #5e and #CypherSystem. The campaign will recreate the 650+ page hardback version of this fantasy urban campaign setting. Looks like they are also recreating the vinyl map.

rpg ptolus

Hubzilla and ModSecurity and Plesk

Lester Ward

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 10:26:48 -0500 last edited: Tue, 04 Feb 2020 10:33:32 -0500

!Hubzilla Support Forum
I’ve installed Hubzilla on a server managed by Plesk, which uses ModSecurity (a “web application firewall”). Some of what Hubzilla gets up to collides with the default rule set Plesk feeds to ModSecurity. For example, some URLs Hubzilla creates for the “chanview” page embed the URL of the channel to view as an argument of the chanview link. ModSecurity interprets this as a potential RFI attack, and blocks the request. Fixing this requires an adjustment to Plesk’s default ModSecurity rules. I’m wondering if anyone has written up details of making these kinds of adjustments, or of installing Hubzilla on Plesk-managed servers in general. In particular, what other rules might need adjusted? Thanks.

Lester Ward

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 22:30:27 -0500

Apple's Remote app works again! Apple's Remote app works again!

ios

Lester Ward

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 23:45:35 -0500

Lester Ward updated their profile photo