News of the new science fiction webzine SpaceWesterns.com opening for submissions leads of Radio Active #47 as I'm not only a fan of the zine, but one of the volunteers helping to read through its slush pile. The mail bag has responses on my debate over getting a notebook vs. a desktop computer, and as that debate draws to a close I spend some time geeking out over my latest web toy, Twitter.

In Netheads, I take a look at the Steve Jackson Games official Fnordcast and Roll 2d6 in a Random Direction podcasts and discuss the new Double 0 RPG beta. This week's musical interlude is provided by the band Boxed Octopus and their geek song "Science Boy".

Technically, there's no Game Day for me this week -- while the guys are getting together for some Battletech, I'll be joining some friends from work for a Tivo-fueled Battlestar Galactica marathon. I don't know if we can get caught up in one night … but we're going to try.

At some point I want to do a few formal "No Game Day" posts, directly inspired by Berin Kinsman's posts of the same name, for these weeks when I can't play. I've even got Paranoia XP sitting next to me as I write this, in anticipation of doing exactly that.

A series of guided tours to the future ... as imagined by the past. Lots of retro art galleries -- with explainations -- of futuristic topics like transport, food, cities, war and atomic power from the point of view of those living in the mid-20th century.

I want a Google bike helmet.

Midnight Syndicate will be teaming up with Hollywood FX legend Robert Kurtzman (Dusk till Dawn producer, co-founder of the KNB EFX Group) and his production company, Precinct 13 Entertainment to produce the horror-suspense film, The Dead Matter.

Development has been underway for several months and pre-production officially began March 1st. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in Northeastern Ohio this August with a projected release date sometime in 2008. Edward Douglas will be directing the film and producing it through the newly-formed Midnight Syndicate Films division of Entity Productions, Inc. The company is currently in talks with Doug Bradley (Pinhead from the Hellraiser series) and Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster, Air Force One, Lost) to star.

Mongoose Publishing has launched Planet Mongoose, a collaborative blog written by the company's staff and dedicated to news of products, tournaments, and happenings within Mongoose. They write:

"We have just unveiled Planet Mongoose on our web site, a blog that all
members of Mongoose Publishing have access to. Every day or so, you will be
able to read posts from the people behind the books and games you play,
giving you not only up to the minute information on the latest projects we
are working on, but also a sense of what life is actually like within a
hobby games company."

The blog is accessible at http://blog.mongoosepublishing.co.uk/

Need another reason to exercise (other than building that geeky brain)? Then consider this report from CNN: for healthy people, heavy caffeine consumption &em; on the order of six cups of coffee a day &em; had no more effect on their blood pressure than those who abstained from drinking coffee entirely. No word on whether this carries over to Mountain Dew and other essential geek caffeine sources, but one can hope.

Despite having written Game Day columns the last two weeks, I haven't actually played much. Two weeks ago I was sidelined by pink eye, while last week a March snowstorm destroyed our plans to conquer the world with Risk 2210. This week it's raining, but unless the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers rise up to devour Easton again, we'll be gaming.

Reuters reports on a study that demonstrates exercise builds new brain cells, something of particular interest to 30-something geeks like me since:

Tests on mice showed they grew new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus that is known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans.

My memory is bad enough as is -- I can't afford to lose any more. Good thing I've been hitting the gym so enthusiastically for the last year.

Sue Lange's novella, We, Robots is now available from independent publisher, Aqueduct Press. We, Robots addresses the theory of the Singularity, which states artificial intelligence will soon surpass human intelligence. The novella is part of Aqueduct Press' ongoing Conversations Pieces Series.