Experimenting with different techniques with this second batch. The strong tone brown is quite dark so is great for clothes but I feel some areas of the mini need a stronger contrast. So with this second group I gave their muskets a wash of black. Also their equipment is very dark too so while I had the ink on the brush I tried on their blue uniforms and a little on their faces. Watching a lot of references and from my own re-enactments, I know the black power gets all over the face with biting cartridges etc, so a bit of black contrast on the face wouldn’t go a miss.

This extra shade on the face did bring out the expressions and characters of the figures a lot more. Again, really quick to do and gave another level of detail to the mini. I will compare the two batches at the end and see which I prefer.

I’m finding that painting them in little strips of five or six minis is actually really fun and gives a much more instant and rewarding experience.

As I paint these guys I try to use the brush in such a way that I leave areas of black undercoat still showing in the recesses. This should help the should help the shading later with the brown tone.

There is one more technique I would like to try on a third batch, using two tones of Army Painter at the same time. A black Dark tone for the equipment/uniform areas and a Strong tone for the trousers etc.

The 1996 Ig Nobel Prize for biology was awarded to Anders Barheim and Hogne Sandvik of the University of Bergen, Norway, for their tasty and tasteful report, “Effect of Ale, Garlic, and Soured Cream on the Appetite of Leeches.” Recently, Bradley Allff, writing in Atlas Obscura, looked at the role medical leeches sometimes play in medicine in the USA. […]

Harrisburg University proudly announces, in a press release: HU facial recognition software predicts criminality A group of Harrisburg University professors and a Ph.D. student have developed automated computer facial recognition software capable of predicting whether someone is likely going to be a criminal. With 80 percent accuracy and with no racial bias, the software can […]

Readers of Language Log will certainly be aware of Tocharian, but when I began my international research project on the Tarim Basin mummies in 1991, very few people — only a tiny handful of esoteric researchers — had ever heard of the Tocharians and their language since they went extinct more than a millennium ago, […]

Today's xkcd illustrates why topic modeling can be tricky, for people as well as for machines: The mouseover title: "As the 'exotic animals in homemade aprons hosting baking shows' YouTube craze reached its peak in March 2020, Andrew Cuomo announced he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a bronze pangolin in a chef's hat." […]

Two years on, and still my favourite Chinese mistranslation…. pic.twitter.com/0EHeQjybeB — Antiokhos in the East (@AntiokhosE) May 6, 2020   How did it happen? There's no problem with "xiǎoxīn 小心"; it just means "be careful [of]; pay heed to". The problem comes with the second half of the warning, where luòshí 落石 ("falling rocks") is […]

This headline puzzled me: I interpreted it as Doctors are showing a buried CDC report to top White House officials And I wondered, what was that report? and why did the CDC bury it? And who are the doctors digging it up? What the headline actually meant, of course, was Documents show that top White […]

Hi all.  Check out some of the really great party ideas some of you have added to my last post.  Watch the What’s New on the homepage.  Soon we’ll be doing some of them.  Continue to send me your party ideas – you guys rock. I have a challenge for you – how many NEW friends can […]

Introducing the world's least versatile camera. The slogan says it all: "we can't all be heroes."

A lot of people didn't like this movie because of the religious overtones throughout the movie. I'm not one who's particularly religious but I thought this was a brillian movie and a welcome change to the post apocalyptic genre

Posting videos on YouTube can be a great way to show off your video editing skills, post video blogs, or even your own mini series. Because YouTube is the largest video sharing site it’s also a great way to promote products, or your website to thousands new potential viewers. But what happens when you post a video and it’s either slapped with a copyright infringement or banned all together, and what are the consequences to your account?

Using social networks, building backlines, and article writing are just a few free SEO tools you can use to get traffic to your website or blog. But you don’t always need to be in front of your computer all day to boost traffic and get your site noticed. There are lots of ways to get noticed using offline SEO tactics. I’ve tried to include as many free or as inexpensive ideas as possible, some of them will be on the more expensive side and will probably be out of your budget for. But as your site grows and your revenue (if your making money from your site) goes up there worth considering.

When it comes to how to get website traffic, not all traffic types are equal and hold the same value. Many who are new to websites or blogs think that all traffic is one and the same. And while the number of visits might look good you have to actually look at the numbers to see the real story behind those numbers. This is one reason why using sites like Google Analytics or other traffic stat sites is important when it comes to unstanding what kind of traffic your getting. To understand if the traffic you’re getting is good or not you have to know what types of traffic are out there, they are 1. Social Traffic 2. Paid Traffic 3. Word Of Mouth 4. Search Traffic 5. Return Traffic

When it comes to getting your website traffic, there are some SEO tricks that don’t work. There either outdated, over abused, or never really worked that well to begin with. So to help clear up some confusion about what SEO tactics will work and which SEO tricks that don’t work, here is a list of 12 items to consider forgetting about to save yourself some time and frustration.

This is a Star Wars tribute video to the original movies using the song map of the problematique by Muse.

It used to be that if you wanted to rank well you only had one search to target, which was the main search page. It didn’t matter if you were going to share content with Google or another search engine. If you wanted to rank for a specific keyword or phrase you cold only do this through SERP’s. Fortunately those days are long gone and site owners can promote their content through a number of different channels. The search engines are very hungry for this kind of content, especially Google which is…….well a total whore when it comes to vertical search content.

Let say you found a video you want to share with some friends. Or perhaps you want to post it to your website. The problem is that it’s long and the stuff you want people to see is in the last half of it.

With all the talk about Google and their new social network Google Plus, (Or Google+) it looks like there could soon be a new player to what appears to be a rapidly growing social network feud. Recently either by accident or on purpose Microsoft unveiled a new site called Tulalip. Personally I don’t think this was by accident, rather a clever way at generating some buzz..............

Google Adsense it’s usually the first place people go who want to monetize their websites and blogs with the hope those Adsense earnings will net them some big cash. Normally these ads will be matched to your site based on the content and browsing history of the people visiting your site. The goal is to tailor make ads that will hopefully be appealing for people to click on......................

I like making videos on Youtube, its fun. And while I’m far from being a pro I learn new tricks with each new video. One of the things I’ve learned from trial and error is what songs work and what doesn’t. Sure it doesn’t really matter if your videos are only for a hobby or just to show something off. However if your looking to get your name out there, get your videos popular, and not have people leave after 10 seconds then understanding what songs work and don’t is important.........

NIH clinical trial testing antiviral remdesivir plus anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib for COVID-19 begins  National Institutes of HealthView Full coverage on Google News

1. In pictures: Last supermoon of 2020 rises on a world grappling to overcome pandemic  DAWN.com
2. May's flower moon lights up the sky around the globe  ABC News
3. Hurry up: Last chance to see a supermoon this year  Euronews
4. Last supermoon of the year, Photos News & Top Stories  The Straits Times
5. Stunning supermoon lights up New Zealand's skies overnight  New Zealand Herald
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We rank the 20 best Australian TV characters of all time  Herald Sun

1. Researchers build the world's fastest 'soft' robot, THREE TIMES faster than the last record holder  Daily Mail
2. Soft robots can now run like cheetahs and swim like marlins  Engadget
3. Inspired by cheetahs, researchers build fastest soft robots yet  Tech Xplore
4. Meet the world's fastest soft Robot!  NEWS9 live
5. Fastest Soft Robots To-Date Developed by Researchers  Unite.AI
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Microsoft Responds To Xbox Reveal Criticism  Dark Horizons
2. PS5 FIRES BACK against Xbox Series X as EA lets slip PlayStation 5 secrets  T3 Australia
3. The Xbox Series X showcase was disappointing and Microsoft knows it  TechRadar
4. Microsoft "set some wrong expectations" with Xbox Series X gameplay reveal says Aaron Greenberg  GamesRadar+ AU
5. Xbox Series X set to DOMINATE PS5 with monthly reveals – while Sony stays quiet  T3 Australia
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1. Grimes, Elon Musk romance on the rocks before birth of their son, sources say  PerthNow
2. Elon Musk bought properties around him because people use to climb walls to break in  NEWS.com.au
3. Grimes and Elon Musk Have a Difference of X Æ A-12 Pronunciation Opinion  Vanity Fair
4. How to pronounce X Æ A-12? Elon Musk explains  Hindustan Times
5. Elon Musk and Grimes reveal how to pronounce their baby’s name ‘X Æ A-12’  7NEWS.com.au
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, China forces out foreign reporters  ABC News
2. China relations: ‘National security cowboys’ put nation’s interests at unnecessary risk  The Australian
3. Chinese buyers abandon Australian property, replaced by US investors: FIRB report  Domain News
4. Four Things to Know About China's Foreign-Investor Programs  Caixin Global
5. China to scrap foreign investment quotas in financial markets to lure more capital  The Star Online
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Coronavirus: China’s great wall of silence  The Australian
2. The Murdoch media’s China coronavirus conspiracy has one aim: get Trump re-elected  The Guardian
3. Coronavirus: What did China do about early outbreak?  BBC News
4. Part two: China’s great wall of silence: ‘You are the sinner’  The Australian
5. China, U.S. stand by trade deal as coronavirus crisis pushes relations to lowest level in decades  The Washington Post
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1. Queen Elizabeth's VE Day speech says veterans would be proud of coronavirus effort today  ABC News
2. Queen’s VE Day TV address: Tells Brits to ‘never give up’  NEWS.com.au
3. 'Streets filled with love': The Queen gets personal in VE Day broadcast  Sydney Morning Herald
4. King George VI VE Day speech: Read poignant message 'Our will-power is inexhaustible'  Express
5. A message of hope in difficult times  Telegraph.co.uk
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1. Tributes flow after death of veteran journalist Frank Crook  Sydney Morning Herald
2. Editor, broadcaster, raconteur and writer’s writer Frank Crook dies  Daily Telegraph
3. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Barbaro family makes emotional plea as manhunt continues following death of Melbourne mum  9News
2. Ellie Price’s murder investigation ramps up as police from three states unite in manhunt for Ricardo Barbaro  7NEWS.com.au
3. 'Please come forward': Fugitive's step mum pleads for Ricardo Barbaro to make contact  The Age
4. Ricardo Barbaro’s stepmother pleads ‘please come forward’ as police continue manhunt  NEWS.com.au
5. Fugitive suspected of murdering Ellie Price, 26, in Melbourne had just got out of jail  Daily Mail
6. View Full coverage on Google News

"Mad Mike" Hughes, a self-styled explorer and daredevil bent on proving that the earth is flat was killed over the weekend when his homemade rocket crashed in the California desert over the weekend.

Gerson Monje holds up his cellphone to proudly show off his online sex shop. A red banner reading "sold out!" is plastered across half of the products.

The 'Curtain of Distraction' is well known at Arizona State University as a hilarious sports tactic. This time Michael Phelps came out Magic Mike style to prevent a few free throws. Just look at those sweet moves, the opposing team was bound to miss. 

Frank Lee designed this gigantic version of Tetris for Philly Tech Week 2014 in Pennsylvania.

Josh Kelly suffered from epilepsy, a brain disorder that forced him to drop out of high school nine days before graduation. For nearly a decade, Kelly attended Idaho State University working toward a degree in geology, with his service dog, a black pit bull named Cletus, by his side. The pair would dutifully walk two miles both ways to catch the bus to campus.

Unfortunately, Kelly passed away in February just two classes shy of his degree. Nonetheless, ISU granted him a posthumous degree on May 10. In the young man's place, Kelly's tearful father, Terrell, walked across the stage with Cletus by his side and accepted the diploma.