The other side

 I recently posted a picture of one of the projects I've been working on - a paper currency. However, I only posted a picture of one side of it. This was because there were a couple of small errors on the other side. However, I can now report that those errors have been fixed, and here's the picture you were waiting for!

Commemorative bank notes produced for MicroCon 2027
San Diego (top) and Aigues-Mortes (bottom)

As the caption says, these are being produced specifically for MicroCon 2027 - one variant will be distributed in San Diego, and the other variant will be given out in Aigues-Mortes, so the only way to get both will be to attend both conferences! (On a side note, MicroCon 2027 San Diego only had a limited number of seats available, and those have all been sold now - the queen-consort and I will be there!)

I'm quite proud of these, even though the artwork was AI-assisted (because the engraving would have driven me insane if I had to do it myself, as previously stated). The paper is a "high rag content" (75%) blend, much like what many of the world's banknotes are printed on, and it incorporates two holograms. The one on the left has a unique serial number for each and every bill, and the one on the right has the word "genuine". (in case there was any doubt).

Something I've been working on...

 The last couple of posts have been more about what other people have been doing - attending the documentary screening at Tribeca, using me to advertise for MicroCon 2027... But today I want to show you all something I've been working on myself.

The picture below shows one side of our new paper currency - the currency name is the New Llama, and it's symbol is the Ł (a capital L with a line through it - which is actually the 16th letter of the Polish alphabet). The currency is printed on high rag content (75%) paper, which is similar composition to what macronational currencies are often printed on. The bill design was generated with the help of Google Gemini AI, mainly because without it I wouldn't have been able to get the engraving without going insane, broke, or both. For the most part I'm not a fan of using generative AI for things that I can do for myself (or teach myself to do), but I made an exception for this, and it turned out very well.

Hot off the printer, new paper currency!

The other side is also cool, but I'll make that a separate post. Gotta keep making content for the content-machine!

Five Reasons NOT to Start Your Own Micronation

 I previously posted "Ten Reasons You Should Start Your Own Micronation". So, to be fair, here are five reasons you should not start your own micronation:

5. You're happy with things the way they are. You think the government is doing a fine job, and have no reason to wish things were run better or differently.

4. You think it's silly, dumb, or immature. But maybe you could ask questions before judging?

3. You have absolutely zero free time or money, ever. That's actually very sad.

2. You don't want to make new friends. That's also very sad, in a different way.

1. You're a very boring person with zero creativity. Speaking of sad, that might be the saddest of all... 

Picture for the Algorithm

Ten Reasons You Should Start Your Own Micronation

 From the home office, here are ten reasons you should start your own micronation!

10. You have a lot of creative ideas. Micronations offer many opportunities for creativity!

9. You want to make new friends. The micronational community is large and very friendly!

8. You're a "political science geek". Micronations allow you to simulate various forms of government to "see what would happen".

7. You need a conversation-starter. There's nothing like "Well, actually, I'm a king/prince/duke" to get people's attention!

6. It's good practice for the seemingly-inevitable "balkanization" of society. (I wish I was kidding...)

5. You feel the need for more pageantry in your life. A little pomp and circumstance, so to speak. (But also see my series on "Making your life more royal")

4. You're quite sure you know how to run things better than those idiots in [insert name of capital city here]. So prove it!

3. You have too much money. Seriously, this can get rather expensive!

2. It can be a lot of fun! (Although there's also way too much drama sometimes...)

1. Because you want to. And in a modern society, that might just be the best reason of all!

EDIT: Bonus reason! Because as a ruler you're a fons honorum which means you can bestow royal titles on your friends and family!

Picture "for the algorithm"

Administration - What am I working on this week?

 "And I discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand" (Coldplay, Viva la Vida)

Although, in this case, you can substitute "plans" for "castles"...

So I don't think I'll be able to do the Great Lakes Regional Micro-Summit this year. Between a lack of action on the part of someone who was supposed to get back to me, and my own life "stuff", it's just not going to come together in time.

But I've already got two new ideas to replace it that I'm working on! (Neither of which, sadly, is any sort of event, in-person or otherwise.)

First up, Slabovian Geographic: I'd mocked up a cover a few years ago (see picture), and I used Slabovian Geographic as a "backstory" for my expedition at the end of last year. Now, I think I want to figure out how to make a "zine" using Slabovian Geographic as the theme/title. If nothing else, it might make an interesting giveaway at the next MicroCon-type event. Although, to do it "right", I'd want glossy printing, which would be expensive. Sigh. Big ideas, small treasury, as usual. 😖

The Slabovian Geographic cover I mocked up

The other idea I had sort of harkens back to my childhood. I was growing up when the "Choose Your Own Adventure" (CYOA) books became popular, and today I came up with the idea of doing a MicroCon-themed CYOA. The idea would be that you're attending your first MicroCon, and you are presented with various choices about who to talk to and what to do, and based on those choices you end up with a good or bad experience at MicroCon. I'm still workshopping the idea a bit, but I think it's got potential. I might even do it as an online experience using Twine, "an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories" which would hopefully allow me to embed pictures from previous MicroCon events as part of the story.