tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103905562024-03-13T09:02:33.266-04:00The Atomic AgeThe blog of Ken Newquist, writer, web designer, gamer and geek dad.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.comBlogger429125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-44021662597624086662012-11-15T08:09:00.002-05:002012-11-15T08:09:50.522-05:00Nuketown-in-ExileThe Nuketown Redesign 2012 is entering the final stretch, and the production web site is no longer being updated while we upgrade our stage environment to Drupal 7 and implement make the last round of tweaks to the theme.<br />
<br />
I'll be posting updates to <i>The Atomic Age </i>from time to time so folks know how the process is going. The plan is to have the new site up and running by the end of Thanksgiving weekend 2012.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-7041784442051569472009-05-20T12:24:00.001-04:002009-05-20T12:25:05.242-04:00Recruiting a new RPG player in the Lehigh ValleyMy gaming group is looking for a new player. <a href="http://www.nuketown.com/games/news/recruiting-new-players-in-lehigh-valley">Full details on <span style="font-style: italic;">Nuketown</span></a>.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-37851197269981001292009-05-01T17:16:00.001-04:002009-05-01T17:16:18.264-04:00mcall.com: Easton Farmers' Market draws a fresh crop of farmersThe Morning Call has <a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/all-b1_3market.6875462may01,0,7778127.story">a nice article about the Easton Farmers' Market attracting a bunch of new farmers this year,</a> due in part to young, second-career farmers joining the industry. Just as importantly, they're going to be running trolley service from downtown to College Hill, which means if it gets <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> hot this summer, we can still walk down with the kids and then ride back on the roll.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.redtaildesigns.com/2009/05/01/the-weekend-in-the-lehigh-valley/">Hat tip to my wife for finding the story</a>.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-64920162664053325022009-04-29T12:46:00.004-04:002009-04-29T13:00:22.608-04:00Easton Farmers Market Returns!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6X1pe3JpPYM/SfiHoKKBe7I/AAAAAAAAADc/rfs1U6leBbs/s1600-h/easton_farmers_market.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 115px; height: 95px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6X1pe3JpPYM/SfiHoKKBe7I/AAAAAAAAADc/rfs1U6leBbs/s200/easton_farmers_market.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330159282983893938" /></a>Winter is over, spring is in the air and <a href="http://www.eastonfarmersmarket.com/">the Easton Farmers Market returns this weekend</a>! Our family makes regular pilgrimages down from College Hill to the Easton Centre Square because of the Farmers Market throughout the late spring, summer and fall, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the habit.<div><br /></div><div>An added bonus is that May 2 is Free Comic Book Day; you can pick up your comics at Slacker Comics, which is also located on the Easton Centre Square. It's a win-win for geeks and their significant others!</div>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-78765094821491640542009-04-20T08:44:00.002-04:002009-04-20T15:30:15.747-04:00IronPigs in Facebook<a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Lehigh-Valley-IronPigs/1331381119">The IronPigs have a page in Facebook</a>. There's not a lot there; a handful of pages for players, a bunch of photos from games, and a few of their "As the Bacon Turns" promotional videos, but it is good to see them using social media. Here's to hoping they keep using it, as I'd much rather hear about the 'Pigs then get 30 more invites to "vampires vs. werewolves".Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-68237211418005529952009-04-17T08:15:00.000-04:002009-04-17T08:39:39.257-04:00Pubcrawl for Celtic Classic<a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_4celtic.6845640apr07,0,321903.story">According to the </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_4celtic.6845640apr07,0,321903.story">Morning </a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_4celtic.6845640apr07,0,321903.story">Call</a></span>, Bethlehem's Celtic Classic has been hit hard by hurricanes and rain; first Hurricane Ivan swept through a week before the show in 2004, and then last year it rained all three days. As a result, they've accumulated a boatload of debt, laid off their three employees, and gone back to their roots with a new pubcrawl fundraiser.<div><br /></div><div><div>The Hell or High Water Kilted Celt Crawl and Walk will be held 2 p.m. May 17. The registration fee is $25. For more information: 610-868-9599. The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Call</span> article says they're hoping to raise $50,000.</div></div>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-67277617779653298842009-04-16T08:00:00.001-04:002009-04-16T08:09:03.461-04:00Local contributors increasing presence of Lehigh Valley on WikipediaThe <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Express-Times</span> has an article up <a href="http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2009/04/local_contributors_increasing.html">about local folks contributing Lehigh Valley articles to Wikipedia</a>. There are a bunch of articles about Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown, as well as the region's history; you can learn more about what LV content is available on Wikipedia through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:WikiProject_Lehigh_Valley_articles">Lehigh Valley Wikiproject</a>.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-52862197768089684682009-04-14T09:56:00.003-04:002009-04-14T09:59:19.511-04:00Online AdventuringI've got two posts up on Nuketown reviewing about ways to scratch your online-adventuring itch. The first is the <a href="http://www.nuketown.com/games/reviews/legends-of-zork"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Legends of Zork</span></a>, which is a sort of lightweight MMORPG inspired by Zork (but without the innate cleverness you'd associate with Zork). The second is <a href="http://www.nuketown.com/games/reviews/dnd-tiny-adventures"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">D&D Tiny Adventures</span></a>, which is also a straightforward hack'n'slash game, but bulks it up with an enjoyable narrative.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-73105889444878396542009-04-13T12:24:00.003-04:002009-04-13T12:28:36.321-04:00IronPigs, Twitter and Baseball<div>Baseball returned to the Lehigh Valley last week as the <a href="http://www.ironpigsbaseball.com/">IronPigs</a> had their opening game at Coca-Cola Park against the Scranton Yankees (and, ahem, proceeded to get swept by said Yankees). On a geeky note, the <a href="http://twitter.com/ironpigs">IronPigs are on Twitter</a> now. They've been tweeting their games, which is very cool, and it's a great way to keep up with how the team's doing.</div>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-25555667688433350822009-04-13T12:22:00.001-04:002009-04-13T12:23:56.101-04:00Powering up Atomic Age...The Atomic Age has been slumbering for the last few months, but I'm going to be powering it up again. Don't expect having blogging, but there will be the occasional geek/baseball/Lehigh Valley related posts.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-44367396944438616562009-04-13T12:18:00.003-04:002009-04-13T12:21:05.218-04:00Radio Active #77: Footsteps in the Night<img src="http://www.nuketown.com/files/images/radioactive_0.thumbnail.jpg" width="125" height="125" align="left" hspace="4" /><p>On this episode of <i>Nuketown Radio Active</i>, Neutron Lad gives up diapers for good, StarGirl and I get in a game of<i> Settlers of Catan</i>, I head back to the gym (again) and set some goals and I share my reviews of a bunch of new games, including<i> Resident Evil 5, Star Ocean</i> and <i>Ticket to Ride</i>.</p><p>In Netheads, I take a look at the Launchy fast-application launcher for Windows and Linux, and share some Tor.com-inspired thoughts about the future of comic books. </p><p><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/77">Get the episode from </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/77">Nuketown</a></span>.</p>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-44126797224685323372008-12-04T11:16:00.000-05:002008-12-04T11:17:05.358-05:00Radio Active #74: The Sound of Distant Crashing XboxesOn this episode of Nuketown Radio Active, I dream of a good night’s sleep, remember the adventure that is potty training my son, recount my Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death" woes and talk about the boatload of games I’ve been reviewing. In Netheads, I try out the “Is Gd” url shortner, test drive the Obsidian Portal gaming wiki, and round out the show by geeking out over the Star Wars RPG game master’s screen.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/74">Get the episode at Nuketown.com</a>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-27297636343657251422008-10-22T08:33:00.002-04:002008-10-22T08:35:05.029-04:00Radio Active #73: The Cold Touch of Autumn<img src="http://www.nuketown.com/files/images/radioactive.thumbnail.jpg" align="left" height="125" width="125" hspace="4" /><p>The kids are getting over colds and we've got another round of home<br />improvement under our belts as Nuketown Radio Active returns for more<br />adventures in geek parenting.<br /></p><p>In this episode I've got a run down the video games I'll playing over the next few weeks, I take a look at Green Ronin's new <i>Wizards and Warlocks</i><br />role-playing game and find kindergartners playing chess with spaceborne<br />astronauts. Rounding out the show is a review of Apple's iPod touch,<br />the one geeky gadget that could conceiveably replace my trusty black<br />iPod...<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/73">Get the episode at Nuketown</a>.</p><p><br /></p>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-37689685451570921212008-10-12T17:49:00.006-04:002008-10-12T17:59:50.853-04:00Haunted Walking Tour of EastonThere's going to be a "Haunted Walking Tour of Easton" on October 24 and 25, 2008 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tours leave from Centre Square, Easton, Pa. The cost is $7 in advance, $10 on the tour date. Tickets are available at Pearly Baker's Ale House, Porter's Pub, the Csmic Cup, Partyology, Connexions Art Gallery, Easton Yoga and the Easton Farmer's Market.<br /><br />Learn more by visiting the Scarecrow Festival page on MySpace at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/eastonscarecrowfestival">http://www.myspace.com/eastonscarecrowfestival</a>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-61994255504473983112008-10-07T08:30:00.002-04:002008-10-07T08:33:59.944-04:00Mike's Mets: Mets 08 Lament (with an eye to 09)OK, technically it's Dave Mills writing, but I think he sums up the Mets season pretty well. There were some bad breaks throughout the season (probably the worst of which was the loss of Wagner as a killer closer), but they fought hard, and this September's defeat doesn't feel nearly as numbingly awful as '07. Fans can always rally around cries of "Next Year!" but in this case I think they've got a lot of the foundation in place, they just need to make some tweaks, figure out their closer situation, and they'll be in prime position for another run at the pennant.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-47623448457096647122008-09-29T09:56:00.001-04:002008-09-29T09:57:42.750-04:00In Your Schools for 9/26<a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/all-b4_5yschool0926.6597295sep26,0,3684945.story">The Morning Call has posted their "In Your Schools" column for 9/26</a>. Nothing earth shattering there, but useful all the same.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-35181542714142718442008-09-28T14:42:00.001-04:002008-09-28T14:48:00.242-04:00Radio Active #72: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition<img src="http://www.nuketown.com/images/radioactive_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4" width="100" height="100" alt="Logo: Nuketown Radio Active"><p>Radio Active #72 contememplates the best way to organize a geeky bookshelf, takes another turn at chess with kids, finds out that Neutron Lad has a lot to talk about, asks questions about Nuketown's long-dormant RADIATIONS newsletter and finally reviews <em> Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, </em>the latest edition of the venerable role-playing game by Wizards of the Coast.</p><p><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/72">Get the episode at Nuketown.com</a>.</p>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-26292308517452789482008-09-15T14:54:00.002-04:002008-09-15T14:58:04.774-04:00Radio Active #71: Summer's End<img src="http://www.nuketown.com/images/radioactive_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4" width="100" height="100" alt="Logo: Nuketown Radio Active"><p>Summer's over and Nuketown Radio Active's back in the saddle as I talk about a different kind of game day, dodge a bullet with a crashed hard drive, get ready for a Western-themed NukemCon 2008.</p><p>My promised review of <i>Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition</i> has been bumped to Radio Active #72, and instead I talk a little about the challenges of reviewing the game, and what my gaming group's decided to do with the new edition.</p><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/71">Get the podcast</a>.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-30428400989836258922008-08-27T18:35:00.002-04:002008-08-27T18:37:19.343-04:00A Lehigh Valley Gaming Club?In my latest blog post, I speculate about the possibility of a gaming club in the Lehigh Valley, Pa. <a href="http://www.nuketown.com/blog/leighvalleygameclubconsiderations">Check it out</a> and if you're interested, post a comment or email me at <a href="mailto:nuketown@gmail.com">nuketown@gmail.com</a>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-34511993397686090372008-08-26T13:39:00.004-04:002008-08-26T13:47:10.248-04:00Easton Garlic Fest 2008The Easton Garlic Fest will be held Saturday, October 4 in downtown Easton. If memory serves, they take over the entire Center Square traffic circle to accomodate the throngs of people that arrive to "Eat, Drink, and Stink". <br /><br />Learn more at their web site: <a href="http://www.eastongarlicfest.com">http://www.eastongarlicfest.com</a>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-24220628183082261012008-08-22T08:29:00.004-04:002008-08-22T09:02:21.187-04:00Reason: Maybe the GOP is Worried About Barr<a href="http://www.reason.com/blog/show/128215.html">The Republican Party's trying to challenge the Libertarian Party's ballot access in the fall 2008 election</a>. Reason's <i>Hit and Run</i> blog explains why that's bogus ... and why the Republicans are running scared from a third party candidate.<br /><br />I haven't decided who I'm voting for yet, but I'm strongly leaning toward Bob Barr (the libertarian candidate) and I'm in Pa., so I'm keenly interested in how this turns out.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-2384956657770761812008-07-21T10:48:00.002-04:002008-07-21T10:48:44.464-04:00Photos from the 7/9 Mets vs. Giants Game<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/newquist/2678009707/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2678009707_7885f7462c_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/newquist/2678009707/">DSC05020</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/newquist/">Nuke_18042</a></span><br clear="all" /><p>I've finally posted my photos from the 7/9 Mets vs. Giants game at Shea Stadium. It was a fantastic game, complete with home runs, rain delays and bright lights illuminating New York night ... and I wish I could go back there tomorrow.</p>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-92090830327870212712008-07-17T21:11:00.001-04:002008-07-17T21:13:12.835-04:00Nuketown Radio Active #70: A Day at the Ballpark<img src="http://www.nuketown.com/images/radioactive_sm.jpg" align="left" hspace="4" width="100" height="100" alt="Logo: Nuketown Radio Active"><p> On this episode of Nuketown Radio Active I talk about my trip to Shea Stadium to watch the Mets, give an update on my summer reading list, and talk about planning the next Nuke(m)Con.</p><p>In Netheads I speculate about this year's PodcampPhilly podcasting conference at Temple University, check out Dark Horse Comics' online preview of the upcoming <i>Solomon Kane</i> comic book, look at the <i>Monsterpocalypse</i> giant monster miniature battle game, and geek out about the <i>Star Wars</i> RPG.</p> <br /><p><a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/70">Get the episode</a>.</p>Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-73999493761911271612008-05-21T08:44:00.005-04:002008-07-21T10:50:32.070-04:00Easton Recycling GuidelinesIt seems there's a huge amount of confusion surrounding recycling in Easton, so I thought I'd help clear it up with a post on ye olde blog.<br /><br />The city government's <a href="http://www.easton-pa.gov/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BE469E149-0D59-49BA-BBE7-CA9D2144C847%7D">Curbside Recycling page</a> spells out exactly what they'll accept, and how they accept it. A big change in recent months has been that they now accept a wider variety of plastics: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #7 (note they don't take #6).<br /><br />This was huge for <a href="http://www.redtaildesigns.com/">my wife</a>, who used to stockpile the #4, #5 and #7 stuff to take over to the Bethlehem recycling center. Another important note is that when you put out newspapers, you should bundle them in paper bags, not plastic ones; the city gets penalized for when you use the plastic ones.<br /><br />Waxed cardboard and food contaminated cardboard (like all those pizza boxes) are still no-nos.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10390556.post-8777369281265643472008-05-10T12:05:00.000-04:002008-05-10T12:06:02.798-04:00Radio Active Promo: Short BumperThis is a short, 13 second bumper-style promo for Nuketown Radio Active. It simply says "Nuketown Radio Active: A podcast dedicated to life, liberty and the pursuit of geekdom. Get the show at nuketown.com. <a href="http://www.nuketown.com/podcast/radioactive/promo/bumper1">Get the promo</a>.Ken Newquisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06183912052353033593noreply@blogger.com0