Barb, MeeplePhD (she/her)

I'm continuing my slow walk through the alphabet, looking at a few faves for each letter. Next up is O.

A to Z Gaming: Super Mega Lucky Box We crossed out numbers to try for some mega combos in Super Mega Lucky box, the next game in our A-Z game shelf play-through. Super Mega Lucky BoxPlayers: 1-6 Time: 20 MinutesDesigners: Phil Walker-HardingArtists: Serge SeidlitzPublisher: Gamewright Super Mega Lucky Box is a quick-playing flip-and-write game where you are ticking off numbers on cards in a 3x3 grid.

We crossed out numbers to try for some mega combos in Super Mega Lucky box, the next game in our A-Z game shelf play-through. Check out this blog for my thoughts.

Happy #CephalopodWeek! If you were a cephalopod, you’d deserve a fancy name.
Using your first initial, last initial, and favorite color, you can make one for yourself! 🐙

Share yours in the comments, and check out our cephalo-bration: buff.ly/mlzthqQ

I'm continuing my slow walk through the alphabet, looking at my game collection and choosing a few favorites for each letter. Next up is N.

Photo of a player's tree in Kodama: The Tree Spirits. The tree has a large card as the trunk. Smaller cards have branches drawn on them and several are laid out to form long and short branches sprouting from the trunk.

Unwound after another stressful day (nothing new, just the constant chaos) with some familiar and comfortable games.

A to Z Gaming: Sunset Over Water We sought out beautiful landscapes to paint in Sunset Over Water, the next game in our A-Z game shelf play-through. Sunset Over WaterPlayers: 1-4Time: 20 MinutesDesigners: Eduardo Baraf, Steve FinnArtists: Beth Sobel, Helen ZhuPublisher: Pencil First Games In Sunset Over Water, players are artists planning their days as they trek through the landscape, pick scenes to paint, and later sell their paintings to patrons.

We sought out beautiful landscapes to paint in Sunset Over Water, the next game in our A-Z game shelf play-through.

Support Homepage The Trevor Project is a non-profit suicide prevention organization that provides 24/7 crisis support services, research, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ young people.

I understand legal hesitation and "breech of contract" are real issues to be avoided, and have experienced circling the corporate fucking wagons myself. But you know... how about 10 cents (or more) out of every dollar goes here @czechgames.com www.thetrevorproject.org (or any relevant place)

Photo of a hand holding a card from Deep Regrets with their player board in the background. The card has a weird looking fish-like creature with long, spider-like legs. The card is titled Skitterfin."

Lots of games this weekend! The LOOP, Wingspan, Deep Regrets, Dominion, Lost Ruins of Arnak, and Wishland. Whew!

The Loop board game on the table. A green figure stands on a circular board. The board has a number of red cubes, green cubes, and cardboard disks scattered around. I. The center the board is a purple cube tower.

Squeaked out Employee of the Year in the L.A.S.E.R. Centrifuge scenario of The Loop tonight, even though we had two vortexes pop off on the third turn (!!)

A black cat looks up to the left. Sunshine bathes him from behind.

Just a reminder to find the light when you can.

Hundreds of scientists are set to take part in the first performance of a new Scottish country dance inspired by the ripples in spacetime whose existence was first theorised by Albert Einstein.

More: gla.ac/3ICip4Q

#GR24Amaldi16 #GravitationalWaves #Glasgow
@uofgravity.bsky.social

YouTube video by Meeple, PhD Title: Line Drawing | Board Game Mechanisms in the Universe

What do games like On Tour and Welcome to Dino World have to do with astronomy? I talk about it in my latest video! youtu.be/Ae8T1xK_pgU?...

I remember my mom dusting the leaves on her plants as a break from homework 🤣

This may come in handy in about 90 days....

"O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation’s ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder."
- Frederick Douglass
July 5, 1852

Advocacy Action Center The Planetary Society is organizing a new space constituency that is educated, empowered, and loud.

What can you do?

The House is marking up the NASA budget on July 7, so call your Representatives NOW.

The Senate will take it up later this month, so call them, too, while you're at it!

This site from the Planetary Society makes it easy: www.planetary.org/save-nasa-sc...

NASA mission development leads benefits to humanity. Among many others, development of detectors for X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy has led to advancements in medical imaging technology, allowing faster and even portable scanners.

You can see more ways NASA touches your life here: spinoff.nasa.gov

It will take decades to recover from the damage these cuts cause. For example, 19 active missions are slated for cancellation. Most will not be recoverable. Each represents years (and $billions) of work. Recovering their capabilities will take decades, even if funding is restored in a year or two.

Purple slide with planets, stars and asteroids along the edits. Text reads: Save NASA science. The presidential budget request cuts NASA by 25% overall, but science takes the biggest hit with a 47% cut. This, along with other cuts to NSF and NIH, will put the US behind by decades.

Purple slide with a planet and asteroids in the corners. An image shows a multwavelngth view of the Crab Nebula. Text reads: NASA science isn’t just about pretty pictures Among many other achievements, technology development for X-ray and gamma-ray telescopes has led to advances in medical imaging like faster or portable scanners.

Purple slide with planets in the corners. A large graphic shows many small squares arranged in a 16x18 grid. This represents the overall U.S. budget. One of the squares is colored in - it is the NASA budget. Text reads: Cutting NASA’s science doesn’t save much money, and does more harm than good to our technological future.

Purple slide with asteroids, a planet and star. Text reads: What can you do? Contact your members of congress https://bit.ly/NASAAction Let others know Get more information https://bit.ly/SaveNASASci

CALL FOR ACTION!
The presidential budget request cuts NASA next year by about 25%. Hardest hit is science, with a 50% cut. Along with other science cuts across the government, this is an extinction-event for science in America.

More from the Planetary Society: www.planetary.org/save-nasa-sc...

A player's final tree in Kodama:The Tree Spirits. A central card serves as the trunk, and many other cards are played off of it, each depicting a branch and a few different icons which include clouds, stars, caterpillars, flowers, fireflies, and mushrooms. One tile shows a white creature on a swing with "50" on its belly.

Got in a little mid-week gaming tonight. It's a much needed break from...well, everything.

Yes every conservative social media site becomes a tropical rainforest of school shooters and Ponzi schemes but did you know that there is a left-wing social media site where people are rude to the nation’s center-right political pundits

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by it all, you’re not imagining things. This moment is heavy. But it is not calling for perfection or a hero. It’s asking us to do simply what we can, where we are, with what we have. 

americansofconscience.com/everythings-falling-apart/

Sending love and strength to those for whom Mother's Day is difficult. 💐

#BlackHoleWeek

Hey I've been busy grading, but that doesn't mean it's not #BlackHoleWeek! Have burning questions about black holes? Join me and some of my colleagues from @ehtelescope.bsky.social for a Reddit AMA, today from 3-5 PM ET (19-21 UTC)!

Dr Andrew Spencer and Dr Rachel Grey practising the steps with Lewis Hou of Science Ceilidh on the fiddle. They are in font of a white board relating how the inspiral, merger and ringdown phases of a binary black hole coalescence can be turned into a dance.

So much spinning! Andrew and Rachel are a blur. Lewis looks pleased.

Celebrating #BlackHoleWeek, some of our scientists are working with the Science Ceilidh #SciComm team to create a binary black hole themed dance. This will be shared with participants at the upcoming #GR24Amaldi16 conference.

📷: @daniel-williams.co.uk @uofgravity.bsky.social

It's #BlackHoleWeek! How will NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory help scientists learn about these dark and mysterious cosmic entities? ⚫️Rubin won't observe black ho... Happy #BlackHoleWeek!

It's #BlackHoleWeek!

You might not expect it, but NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's observations in visible light will help us learn about these dark and mysterious cosmic entities. But how?

🧵
youtu.be/-S__WQO7dMw

An open sketchbook with two acrylic paintings: one of a black hole, and one of an orange and turquoise nebula

Hi new followers! Sorry I don't post much these days, life has been a bit mad since I moved and started my postdoc!

But it's still #BlackHoleWeek so here's an old painting:)

🔭🐡

An oil painting of a black hole in reds, oranges and yellows.

An oil painting of Sagittarius A* in reds, oranges and yellows.

Apparently it's #BlackHoleWeek!

Here's a conceptual black hole and our very own Sagittarius A*.🥳

Did you know if you get to close to a black hole you'd be spaghettified?🤭

🧪📷🐡🔭