Chris Knowles
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tarrenam.com
Chris Knowles
@tarrenam.com
1.2K followers 350 following 750 posts
Christian, indie game developer of optimization puzzle game Hexahedra. Blogs about geekery and Christianity at the same time.

Former RuneScape engine dev at Jagex.

Hexahedra: https://s.team/a/1248420
Blog: https://blog.tarrenam.com
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It is time
A photo of a decorated Christmas tree, with baubles, fairy lights, and a crocheted Wall-E at the top. In the foreground, a hand holding a hacksaw.
January 5, 2026 at 11:09 AM
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The prizes are set up for the annual family Sprout Bowling session.
A long room with furniture cleared to the sides. At the far end are various sweets and jars of fudge or marshmallows on the floor, ready to be won by the nearest-bowled sprout.
December 31, 2025 at 4:49 PM
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Image macro, with a young boy at the bottom of the image facing a fork in the road. To the left, a path leading to a black, thorn-riddled castle in a thunderstorm, labelled "Godzilla". To the right, a glowing, clean castle on a sunny day, labelled "Professional Modelmaker"
December 31, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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What's the stupidest picture you own?
A wooden fence interrupted by a fallen tree. One section of the fence has been installed ABOVE the tree trunk, with some chicken wire filling in the gaps underneath.
December 21, 2025 at 2:34 PM
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Our tree is up! This year the position of angel stand-in goes to WALL-E.
Christmas tree in our living room. The tree is decorated with fairy lights and baubles, and a crocheted WALL-E is at the top of the tree. Close-up of the top of the tree, showing crocheted WALL-E more clearly, as well as a few baubles.
December 17, 2025 at 3:07 PM
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Browsing the Good Old Game section of the GOG store and discovering that the original Crysis is 18 years old 😨
Screenshot from the GOG store, showing that Crysis is tagged as a "Good Old Game".
December 15, 2025 at 11:31 PM
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I got home from a LAN party yesterday to find that my wife had numbered 125 tiny plastic ducks and hidden them round the house. She'd made a list and stuck it to the fridge so I could mark them off.

I've found about 85 so far. She's tracking my progress so she can make a graph.
A bag of tiny, numbered plastic ducks stuck to our fridge. Most of them are yellow, a few are other colours.
December 2, 2025 at 3:14 PM
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No, Google, I did not "sign up to use Gemini", I accidentally pressed the middle button at the bottom of the screen longer than usual.

Get this non-consensual AI nonsense off my phone.
Tiny text from the bottom of an email I received after I accidentally activated Gemini on my phone. It reads: "This message was sent to you because you signed up to use Gemini".
November 30, 2025 at 12:36 AM
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Wearing the skin of your slain enemies is a totally normal thing to do, right guys? Guys?
Five Necron Flayed Ones (the old, metal models). They're metal skeletons wearing the skin of their victims. Going from left to right, numbers 1 and 3 are wearing white skin, and number 3 has a Skitarius head on its base. Numbers 2 to 4 are wearing black skin. Number 5 is wearing a Tau's blue skin.
November 21, 2025 at 12:12 PM
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Today in "sinister email subjects":
Screenshot of an email subject line, which reads "Your supporters are closer than you think ❤️"
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
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I remember this in meme form from years ago.
A Demotivational-style meme. The image shows all the Bond actors against the backdrop of the rifled "inside the gun barrel" view from the start of the films, coloured in gold. Underneath, the text "James Bond Time Lord"
November 11, 2025 at 12:59 PM
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They mocked me for painting a (Necron proxy) Mummy holding a ball, but this was the unlikely moment when, having unexpectedly caught a bouncing ball on a 6+ roll, he succeeded in grinding forward 9 squares in the last 3 turns to score a last-minute equalizer.

#BloodBowl
A Necron Overlord standing in for a Shambling Undead Mummy in a Blood Bowl Sevens game. He's standing on the touchdown line having just scored. I've used green stuff to turn the resurrection orb into a ball, and removed the void scythe, so he looks like he's about to throw the ball. He's got one foot up on a Space Marine captain's shield.
November 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
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Mistakes were made.

(This was a sevens game, so it's a foul by the entire opposition team...)

#BloodBowl
A photo of a game of Blood Bowl, Shambling Undead vs Skaven. A Wight Blitzer (represented by a Necron Lychguard) is lying prone on a stone Blood Bowl pitch, having fallen over on its own turn. The entire team of seven opposing Skaven have surrounded it for a foul.
November 8, 2025 at 9:38 PM
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Lychguard...er...sorry, *Wight* Blitzer for my Suspiciously Metallic Shambling Undead Blood Bowl team.

"A weapon, ref? No, just a very sharp shield..."
A modified Necron Lychguard model. It has a voidblade, centred in the shot and seen from slightly above, painted blue and white, but no weapon in its other hand. It is striding forwards, using the shield to bash a theoretical opponent out of the way. It has a desert base, and is standing on a grass Blood Bowl pitch. The same model, photographed from the front in a light box. Its glowing ribcage can be seen.
November 1, 2025 at 6:08 PM
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This is where I'm posting from.
Picture of an Acorn Electron computer. It looks like a very thick, chunky, beige keyboard - all the rest of the components are inside the keyboard case. Four cable sockets can be seen on the left-hand side. Photo credit: Bilby (Wikipedia user), Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
October 26, 2025 at 11:37 PM
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More progress on the Suspiciously Metallic Shambling Undead team for Blood Bowl.

4 Zombie Linemen, ready to stumble slowly in the direction of the ball.

#PaintingWarhammer #Nerdlings
4 modified Necron Warrior models. These are from the current 2020 kit. They've had their weapons removed, so they look as though they're shambling forward while swinging their fists. The front two are facing towards the camera, the back two are facing away. They're posed on a grass Blood Bowl pitch. They're painted primarily with Leadbelcher, with joints and other metal highlights painted in Brass Scorpion over Warplock Bronze. The metallic parts were then washed with Nuln Oil. Some parts have been highlighted or weathered using Runefang Steel and Necron Compound. The Triarch symbols on their sternums are in Liberator Gold. Their shoulder pads are purple, Naggaroth Night transitioning through Xereus Purple to Genestealer Purple. Their ribcages are glowing, painted in Naggaroth Night, Xereus Purple, Alaitoc Blue, Lothern Blue, and Baharroth Blue. Their eye sockets are Naggaroth Night, with the pupils in Lothern Blue. They are based using Armageddon Dunes, Agrax Earthshade, and Tyrant Skull, with some flocking to create yellowed grass. The same 4 models, arranged in a line against a black background. The two on the edges are facing away from the camera. On the bottom edge of their shoulder pads are markings showing the one on the left is Number 2, and the one on the right is Number 4 - this allows them to be differentiated easily during games. The two in the middle are facing towards the camera.
October 20, 2025 at 8:46 PM
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Grr, another "please tick this box if you would like X", on a form which, it turns out, refuses to submit if the box is not ticked.

Poor showing from myenergi.com
Checkbox with text highlighted in red (because I didn't tick the box and tried to submit the form). Text reads: In the event, you are not contacted by your chosen Installers, please tick the box if you would like us to pass your details to a nationwide installer to contact you to discuss your requirements. As above, myenergi does not guarantee to secure an installer on your behalf and is not responsible for any works carried out. This field is required.
October 17, 2025 at 1:02 PM
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Purplecrons!
A Necron Doom Scythe, with the wings transitioning from purple at the roots to bright blue (and then copper) at the front. The base includes a damaged brick stone wall and a dead Skitarius. The model is on a piece of desert gaming terrain, with a flat-roofed stone house on the left. Front view of a Hexmark Destroyer, painted in purple and blue, on a desert base. Back view of an old metal Necron Lord, with a purple-blue cloak and Staff of Light. A single Necron Deathmark carrying an enormous rifle (longer than the Deathmark is tall). The model's cowl and upper legs are painted in Naggaroth Night, a dark purple. Desert base.
October 17, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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If you see this, quote your favourite Pokémon!

(Wrong answers only)
The Puckmaren from Flight of the Navigator, being stroked by David.
October 12, 2025 at 8:08 PM
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A redheaded gnome sorceror in a red casting circle.

Both one of the few red, and the few non-Warhammer things I've painted!
A female gnome sorceror, on a flagstone base which has a red-yellow magic circle on it. She has a staff in her right hand, and a potion and scroll case on her belt. She has her arms spread wide as she casts a spell. Her eyes are glowing yellow. Model by Reaper Minis (https://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/bones+female/latest/77031) The same mini, viewed from behind and to the left. The full staff can now be seen, with a metal cog on its lower end.
October 10, 2025 at 10:29 AM
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Bryan Cranston, best known for his role as Ranger Ericsson in the Babylon 5 episode "The Long Night" (1997)
Still from the Babylon 5 series 4 episode "The Long Night". In the foreground, Bryan Cranston playing the role of Ranger Ericsson, dressed in the standard Ranger uniform, on the bridge of a White Star ship. In the background, three religious caste Minbari wearing yellow robes.
October 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
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I finally understand why timezones are so hard.

#gamedev
Results of a Google search for "2025-10-01T07:00:00+01:00" Before the traditional search results, Google shows a section called "How to solve your problem". It has interpreted the search query as an equation: 2025 - 10 + (-T * (7/0))/0 + 1/0 It then says "Simplify". Step 1 is "Division by zero is undefined". Here it shows the same equation twice more, with an arrow pointing down from the first copy to the second. The "7/0" part is highlighted in red each time. Presumably this would show an actual simplification if it wasn't complaining about division by 0. Below this is a section that reads "Result: The expression 7/0 is undefined."
October 3, 2025 at 10:29 PM
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I'm making a robotic Blood Bowl team! This is a Mummy, Obduron the Sizeable.
Front view of a modified Necron Overlord, with his void scythe removed, and a Lychguard shield instead of a resurrection orb. He's on a 32mm base to fit the Blood Bowl grid. Side view of a modified Necron Overlord, showing the Lychguard shield which has replaced his resurrection orb. The void scythe has been removed. He's on a 32mm base to fit the Blood Bowl grid.
October 3, 2025 at 9:22 AM
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Rider is capabable of being a lot weirder about your use of language:
A grammar suggestion from JetBrains Rider, suggesting that "mid" should be followed by a hyphen. It gives the example of "He woke up mid-sleep and screamed".
September 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM
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If you see this, QTP with a video game that transports you back to your childhood!
"Load New Commander" screen of the Acorn Electron version of the original Elite.
September 19, 2025 at 8:23 PM