You're currently playing a heated game of Scrabble or Words with Friends. The game is close, too close for comfort. But you're not sweating because you're confident. You play a huge word that puts you in the lead, but then when your letter tiles are drawn...
Last week's challenge brought up a good question (thanks Lisa) regarding the functionality of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition, both online and in print form. The word TACTICAL was the answer to the first puzzle in that challenge, but when you search for the word directly in the print version, it can't be found. Likewise, when you search the online dictionary on Hasbro's site, you won't find it either. Go ahead, try it. You won't find it looking for TACTICAL specifically.
Let's face it, not every logophile is addicted to Scrabble. Without the use of a timer, Scrabble can be a pretty slow game. Even in clubs and tournaments where the standard time limit is 25 minutes per person for a two-player game. Now, take away time restrictions and add two other players and you've got a game that could take up to 2 hours! It all really depends on who the competition is.
Last year, Hasbro unveiled Scrabble Flash, an electronic version of the popular word game which consists of five SmartLink letter tiles that can communicate with one another using near field communication (NFC) to spell and score words. It's an interesting (and fun) way to build your Scrabble vocabulary for words ranging from two to five letters, but that's about it.
Getting started on the loom? START HERE for your first cast on and stitch technique. First Loom Stitch: E wrap or Single Stitch
There are two basic stitches in knitting. One is the Knit Stitch. The other is the Purl Stitch. All knitting patterns are based on these stitches, so you'll want to know how to do both of them. The Knit side of your work is generally called the Front or Right side, whereas the Purl side is generally called the Back or Wrong side. This is important to remember when you're following a pattern.
Sometimes your pattern will ask you to purl in the back of a stitch. This tends to twist the stitch and make it tighter. It's easy, and here's what you do.
Sometimes your pattern will instruct you to CAST ON AT THE END OF A ROW. CASTING ON AT THE END OF A ROW is quite easy. Here's how to do it:
The bamboo stitch is a beautiful, versatile stitch that can be used for lots of different kinds of projects. I especially love using it for baby blankets and scarves. It is an easy, reversible stitch. Both sides aren't the same, but both are very nice looking.
The rice stitch is another easy and versatile stitch. Both sides are different, however they both look nice. This means the work can be used on either side. Pictured in the thumbnail image above is side one of the rice stitch. Pictured below is side two of the rice stitch.
Julie provides a recreation of Lady Gaga's nails from her music video "Poker Face." Before the actual painting, use a clear base coat to protect the surface of your nails from the nail polish. Start off actually painting your nails with a black base and let it dry.
The morph modifier in 3ds Max is mostly meant for storing animation procedures like facial animations, but that's not all it can do. In this tutorial you will learn how to use 3D Studio max morph modifiers to store modeling deformations. Using the Morpher modifier to create a bi-directional blend between two conditions. In this case we build a modular panel system in which one can quickly test different patterns in 3ds Max. Use morph modifiers to store deformations in 3ds Max.
Try this exciting manicure inspired by Victoria Beckham. This instructional manicuring video demonstrates how to paint a hot pink nail design with zebra print tips. It's hot! You will need three colors of nail polish to paint this nail design. Don't forget to use a protective base coat of clear nail polish. You may want to reference a zebra print pattern as you paint your nails. Paint Victoria Beckham's pink nails with zebra tips.
If you want to play the guitar well, you have to learn from the masters, like AC/DC. Learn how to play "Jailbreak" by AC/DC on the guitar with this two part tutorial. This lesson focuses on the strumming pattern, and chord structure of the song "Jailbreak." This song is geared towards intermediate guitarists because it assumes prior knowledge of guitar playing. With this how to video you will be able to sing and play "Jailbreak" like AC/DC. Play "Jailbreak" by AC/DC on electric guitar.
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to fix a wobbly toilet. Steps:
With divider and bevel in hand, Tommy walks viewers through the layout and design of the fret work trim pieces for the upper pediment. A little prep work on the pattern layout makes it a fairly simple process. Slow and steady wins the race -- or finishes the Bombe Secretary, in this case.
Tommy gets a second wind now that he can see noticeable progress on the Bombe. He draws and cuts the dividers for the pigeonhole assembly and inserts them from the back. Using scrap wood from previous cuttings because it has the same colors, tones and textures, he designs a pattern for the valances. Now the top row is almost complete, and Tommy is “feeling energized again.”
Seamlines that incorporate sharp inside corners are cropping up in more and more patterns these days, including most designs with gussets, all shawl collars and some full-roll collars. Shirley Smith demonstrates her technique for creating a crisp, 90-degree corner, but it works for any angle. The only out-of-the-ordinary supply you'll need is a scrap of Swiss cotton organdy. So click the Real Player or Quicktime link and get started on learning how to conquer inset corners! Conquer inset corn...
As much as I love Scrabble, the iPhone and Android versions of the game are just not as much fun or as fast paced as Words with Friends. I play both, but I'm most active on Zynga's version of the mobile word game because it's quicker to make moves, doesn't take as long to update, and gives more immediate competition, due to the fact that it's not as intimidating as Scrabble is to a lot of my friends. It's laid back... which means I have a bunch of games going, and I like that.
Since the beginning of last year, every six months or so the fine folks at Wolfire Games have gathered indie developers together to release a combo gaming pack called Humble Indie Bundle. Not only are the included games good, but the way one buys them is what makes Humble Indie Bundle one of the coolest products in games. Even better, Humble Indie Bundle #3 just came out last Tuesday and is available here for two weeks only.
Yesterday's installment of a Gamer's Guide to Video Game Software featured Unity 3D; today we'll be covering one of the oldest consumer game making engines, RPG Maker.
This is my fourth (and final) installment on SCRABBLE adverts. I'm sure there's a lot I haven't found, but that's for another day. But this post features all of the remaining SCRABBLE advertisements (prints and posters) that haven't already been listed in my previous posts:
This is a step-by-step video showing an easy way to design a unique skirt pattern. It's for a basic straight skirt pattern. After you have your pattern finished, you can create any skirt style that you can imagine. Don't waist time. Watch below to start designing your pattern to fit your body perfectly.
My palace for a city that has no fewer than 7 100k block structures (will have 15-20 when the central blvds are finished - map link : http://www.minecraftworldmap.com/worlds/_IgOQ ). Today's tip - at the start of the video - how did I put in the lighting for players to navigate the palace hedgemaze (at the start and end of the video).
So, when Christopher brought up Nikola Tesla in his very first post on Fear of Lightning, it got me interested in learning more about the man behind alternating current. There is plenty of info out there on the Internet, widely available for free, but sometimes it's just nice to have a book in your hands... or on your computer or mobile device.
Silhouette photography is a wonderful way to add a hint of mystery and drama to your shots. For this week's Phone Snap Challenge, we want you to try creating some silhouette photography of your own. Post your image to the corkboard by Monday, January 9th at 11:59 pm PST for a chance to win a SuperHeadz Ultra Wide and Slim 35mm Camera.
I was browsing Reddit.com yesterday and noticed this post. User guyanonymous (yes I am really crediting him regardless of his name!) had posted up this string-art picture which has parabolic curves created from straight lines and gave me permission to post it up here on the corkboard. I love the repeating "flower" pattern.
There are tons of mobile apps out there for the gaming logophile, but there's a new word building game taking over iPhones and iPads, and it not only wants you to have fun, it wants you to fight back in the "war against words". It's the Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassessment. But you can just call it W.E.L.D.E.R. Since its release earlier this month, W.E.L.D.E.R. has developed quite a following with its addicting mesh of Bejeweled, Boggle and Scrabble gameplay. It...
Halloween is coming up, so many of you may have a need or desire to carve a pumpkin and turn it into a Jack O' Lantern. This week we are going to explore carving our pumpkins into interesting geometric shapes. In this post, we will carve the pumpkins into spherical versions of polyhedra, and in Thursday's post we will carve 2 dimensional stars and some simple fractal designs into the pumpkins.
Mugshots aren't just for criminals anymore. In the world of competitive Scrabble, no one's safe from the lens of photojournalist Roger Cullman. For the last couple years, Cullman has been hitting up the Scrabble circuit with hopes of immortalizing some of the world's best Scrabble players in headshot pictures of them holding racks with their surnames spelled out in Scrabble tiles.
Here's my version of his icosahedron: I colored it in this one so that you can see the pentagonal faces of a dodecahedron:
It's almost time for the new Xbox 360 dashboard to invade gamers everywhere. Microsoft expects to update the Xbox Live user interface sometime next month, which is said to be the most significant update to the dashboard since the NXE update three years ago. This new Metro-based update is meant to bring a unified and distinctive look across all of Microsoft's consumer products and services, including Windows Phone 7, Windows 8 and Zune.
A recent study in Canada concluded that competitive Scrabble players are twenty percent faster than non-Scrabble players at identifying real words on a Scrabble rack. In light of this news, this week's challenge is actually just a game of Scrabble Sprint from Pogo.com.
SCRABBLE: 14 points; GRAFFITI: 15 points; MARRIAGE: 11 points; YES: 6 points. When playing a game of Scrabble, those are the minimal amount of points for each of the given words (not including blank tiles). But for 28-year-old Jeff Gurwin, it's more than just 46 points on the board, it's a lifetime of happiness.
It's perhaps every male Comic-Con geek's lecherous daydream: Pretty girls slathered in bodypaint, but not just any design or pattern. Superhero bodypaint—a crest of Superman slashed across the chest, a mysterious mask enclosing sultry eyes, a Spiderman hand clutching at… ugh, I just creeped myself out. I sound like I'm composing an Anaïs Nin novel for Marvel geeks. I'm going to stop now so you can scroll down and see for yourself.
Designer Andrew Clifford Capener has made an alternative to the classic Scrabble board that celebrates the expression of typeface. It isn't in production yet, but Capener's set would offer tiles in a variety of different fonts:
One of my favorite sites to go to for inspiration is The Party Dress, featuring the Well-Heeled Hostess. She is so talented and creative I always look forward to perusing her latest project postings. In one of her recent party features, she shared this fabulous Chinese New Year celebration for one lucky 1 year-old. What makes this party extra special? The special birthday boy is son to one of my other favorite design goddesses, Melissa from Project Nursery.
Garter Belt? Garter stitch!
You have two choices for keeping your living room looking fresh: A. constantly update the decor by tripping out on acid—NOT recommended—or B. paint your living room white and get two video projectors. Created by Mr. Beam:
When photographer Gerco De Ruijter set out to reveal "the Dutch culturally defined landscape"—a hard regiment of efficiency, gridded out by urban and rural planners—he came up with a beautiful aerial representation of abstract patterns. The series, entitled Baumschule, was captured using kite photography and curiously enough, a fishing rod.
