Published in About Me Stories·PinnedMember-onlyAbout me — Dale ThomasOkay, me me me, here we go! — I am a middle-aged British man living in Nara, Japan with my wife and two wonderful Border Collies. I have been a programming nerd since I was 10 years old when I got a second-hand Spectrum 48K computer and a basket of pirated games for my birthday. …Autobiography3 min read
PinnedMember-onlyDale’s Triple-Feature — IntroductionMy suggestions for three related movies for you to enjoy — For a long time, I have enjoyed watching movies in threes. I like to do that because I get more out of them that way. …Movies3 min read
Mar 12Member-onlySuper simple example of adding Lua to C++A minimal example of adding scripting to your C++ project This article was born out of two particular frustrations I have with learning new things. First, I need to start with a very rough, overall, global idea of what it’s all about, before I learn the details. …Lua3 min read
Jan 4, 2021Member-onlyDale’s Triple-Feature — Town Terrorizing TentaclesNobody wants to be groped or grabbed by a slimy tentacle — This is part of a series in which I suggest three related movies to watch. You can find more information and the list of recommendations here. Don’t you just love slimy, mutated, tentacled, Lovecraftian monstrosities? …Movies2 min read
Jan 3, 2021Member-onlyDale’s Triple-Feature — Scandinavian Folklore CreaturesSomething’s creeping through those expansive North European conifer forests — This is part of a series in which I suggest three related movies to watch. You can find more information and the list of recommendations here. Here are three Scandinavian movies exploring the humanity of folklore creatures. …Movies2 min read
Jan 2, 2021Member-onlyYet Another Top Writer is Leaving QuoraAnother dirty rat flees a sinking ship — For those of you who may not know, Quora is a question-and-answer website. It’s a bit like Yahoo Answers, but it has a strict policy that forces people to be respectful of others, and so the overall quality of the answers and the experience is much nicer. I have been…Quora5 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Dec 25, 2020Member-onlyI’m Done With NaNoWriMoI finally realized how it’s holding me back — What Is NaNoWriMo If you are a writer, you have probably heard of NaNoWriMo (hereafter called ‘NaNo’). No doubt many of you participate, just like me. It stands for “National Novel Writing Month,” and essentially it is where people try to write a fifty thousand word first draft of a novel in the…Na No Wri Mo7 min read
Dec 24, 2020Member-onlyDale’s Triple-Feature — Killer RobotsTechnological monstrosities out for blood, human blood — This is part of a series in which I suggest three related movies to watch. You can find more information and the list of recommendations here. From an age of rapid technological progress, here are three movies that tap into our fear of it getting out of control. After decades…Movies2 min read
Dec 23, 2020Member-onlyDale’s Triple-Feature — Warrior WomenBroadsword-wielding, butt-kicking women — This is part of a series in which I suggest three related movies to watch. You can find more information and the list of recommendations here. Today's list looks at three barbarian women from the 80s. …Movies2 min read
Dec 20, 2020Member-only8 Real Animals that Inspired the Design of the XenomorphSometimes reality is just as terrifying as fiction — Ridley’s Scott’s 1979 science fiction horror movie “Alien” is a beloved sci-fi classic. A simple plot, gorgeous visuals, sympathetic characters, and a very memorable creature design. Swiss artist Hans Ruedi Giger was brought on board to design the monster. …Aliens4 min read