I don’t mean that euphemistically, because these are varieties of the cocoa bean that have been discovered in the Amazonian jungles of Peru. One of the varieties was recently developed by a Swiss chocolatier who sold them for $60/pound. And the reason it’s on the Geeky News? Scientists are sequencing the plant DNA and plotting the mineral contents of the soil where the varieties grow to figure out what makes them taste different.
Speaking of tiny malicious organisms, scientists have sequenced the genome of the strain of the Black Death (y-pestis) that killed 50 million people back in the 1300’s. Hopefully to better understand it, and not to ransom the world for 1 billion dollars.
So there’s this hotel in Finland that will rent you this cute little cabin specially designed for star-gazing and seeing the Aurora Borealis. Why are they perfect for it? Because they’re geodesic domed “cabins” made of thermal glass (remember, this is Finland, it’s a wee chill).
The DeLorean Car Company is releasing an electric car in 2013. Yes, a gull-winged, all-electric vehicle. No, it’s not powered by fusion. Not yet, anyway.
It’s an off-the-grid, semi-buried, earth-friendly house in Wales. Not exactly a hobbit house, but strongly similar. Looks pretty cool, too.
It’s a Game AND Science!
Protein folding is part of bimolecular science trying to figure out the ideal structures of proteins, and it has possible applications to all sorts of things — HIV/AIDs research, cancer cures, Alzheimer’s. So instead of throwing a fancy screensaver at the problem (ala SETI@home), some clever bunch have come up with a game, and are letting smart-ass gamers find the best folding strategies. That’s right, it’s a video game where winning means curing cancer! Details and science here:
Prosaic title; amazing results. Science fiction means never believing what you see ever again. These guys have come up with a method for inserting computer-generated objects into a real photographic scene, either statically, or as part of an animation, so that they look real. Seriously real. Watch the video if you don’t believe me.
Who doesn’t love airships? All the fun of flying without the jet-fuel headaches. Plus a HECK of a lot more room in the vehicle. Well, now there’s a company working on airships (actual heavier-than-air models) that are powered entirely by photovoltaic panels on the hull. They call them SolarShips. Watch the video to see what the giant-sized cargo hauler looks like.
Only Two Hands!
So this guy is juggling three Rubik’s Cubes. Not that interesting, right? Just juggling. But he’s also solving one of them at the same time as juggling the other two. See for yourself:
There have been a few scifi novels that used bioluminescence for lighting, but no one has really brought the concept to … er … light. Until now! Phillips, yes, the other light-bulb folks, have a working prototype. They power it methane and compost drawn from their concept-home microbial loop system (food waste from the kitchen, basically).
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
More than 700 odd tunnel networks have been discovered in Bavaria, most dating back to Medieval times. Almost nothing has been found in them, “almost as if they were swept clean”. Weird, huh?
For 37 years — since 1974. It’s the city of Nicosia in Cyprus, abandoned when the island was divided between Greek and Turkish parts. Wild photographs worth the stop-over.
So some clever hackers have pieced together an interface to various cracking tools via the Microsoft Kinect — so that you can see the computer like a first-person shooter, and move around by simply waving your arms.
For when you break a bone, and want the hi-tech treatment. The cast monitors the situation with your muscles, the bone’s healing progress and let’s doctors monitor everything in real-time (or later over a martini, if they want).
It could be good. They’ve got Ridley Scott directing it. What’s up in the air is whether it’ll be a prequel (blah), a sequel or just set in the same universe.
It really isn’t — it’s a real live news report. Here’s the headline: “Orange Goo at Alaskan Village Found to be Fungal Spores, Not Eggs”. I just can’t make up stuff that good.
So this 13-year-old kid uses the Fibonacci sequence and the pattern of leaves on trees to create a solar-panel array that is 20-50% more efficient than conventionally arranged arrays. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of this kid in the future — hopefully not as he ambles down main street in his death-ray equipped juggernaut armor.
Ok, so not as exciting as it sounds, Copper Man is the name of the all-copper mannequin that US Army researchers used to gauge how well the standard flight gear insulated the crews of airplanes during WWII. Wacky, huh?
Or 1984, or 1384, or whatever floats your boat. Historical weather reports. Handy for those of you writing novels set in the past, rather than the future.
I know, it sounds like I’m describing some kind of Lovecraft-inspired horror movie which is just a remake of a better Japanese horror movie, but no. We’re talking about Portal, the video game, and some fan’s amazing conversion of the portal gun idea into a tiny cinematic romp.
You may, or may not, be familiar with the Beloit College Mindset list, which is a big list of things the incoming freshman class has either always had, always known or never known in their lifetimes. Depending on your age, it’s a frightening and hilarious list. In answer to that, here’s a list of what the class of 1915 (the freshman class from 100 years ago) thought or knew:
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
Guess what folks? It has been one year of the “Geek Month in Review”! I’m so pleased that at least once a month there is a place for comics, science, games, technology, and other geeky things to live here on The Magical Buffet. And if the comments and website views are to be believed, many of you have been amused by this now one year old tradition here on the site too. Sure, I poke fun at the volume of 3D printer or Doctor Who stories John opts to include most months, but at the end of the day….I knew a whole heck of a lot about 3D printers before they showed up on The Colbert Report…..and doesn’t everyone love Doctor Who?
So happy birthday to the “Geek Month in Review”!
By JB Sanders
Writing the Geek Review article has been a lot like sharing links with my friends — with less “seen it” than real life. I read a lot, and frequently come across the oddest little news items. Putting them together into one article has been really a lot of fun — it’s much different than blasting one link across FaceBook. When you see them all pushed up into one place like that, grouped together, it’s a far more surreal and yet somehow pleasant experience.
I think I’m going to call it my Museum of the Geeky Weird. I’ve found some really interesting Curiosities (to me, anyway) and glommed them together into my own Cabinet*. So, please, wander the exhibits, press your nose against the glass, and whatever you do, don’t feed the monkeys.
Below are the best of the best, or what I thought were the most endurably interesting of this past year.
Behind the Scenes Photos
From little movies like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Other shots:
• How they did the Empire Strikes Back text crawl (you’ll be surprised).
• A shot of Alfred Hitchcock, Tippi Hedren and some birds.
• A shot inside the giant alien spacecraft in Alien.
• A picture of Max Schreck lounging creepily. (Bonus geek points if you know the Other Movie this ties into, all too eerily.)
• Really, why are you still reading this blurb? Click on the link already!
This is How Science-Fiction Becomes Reality
Austrian scientists have developed a new way to do what rotors on helicopters and airplanes have done before now. Heck, their flying machines don’t even need wings. They produce thrust by using rotating turbine-like blades, and because those blades can be adjusted, the D-Dalus can produce thrust in any direction, 360 degrees. It’s also fine with rough weather and nearly silent.
The Amazing Transforming Apartment
Anyone else reminded of Bruce Willis’ guy from Fifth Element? Watch what this guy packs into 24 square meters:
Concrete Tent
Brilliant, simple idea. Ship a canvas tent that’s been impregnated with concrete, put it up with an air blower, dose it with water and in 24 hours, you have a permanent concrete structure. Awesome!
Lost Pyramids Found
It’s not really news that infrared satellite imaging will reveal hidden structures. It’s certainly not news that Egypt has pyramids. What is news is that these researchers found 17 pyramids, over 1,000 tombs and over 3,000 ancient settlements, all previously unknown. Oh, and the city of Tanis. You remember that one, right? From the first Indiana Jones movie? Buried in the sands thousands of years ago, Ark of the Covenant? Yeah, that Tanis.
Squishy Circuits
Ever wanted to teach your 4-year-old about electrical engineering and circuitry? No? Why not!? How about you show them about battery packs, LED lights and play-dough. Yeah, did you know that regular commercial play-dough can conduct electricity? Or that with a little work, you can make your own play-dough? With a slight variation of the recipe, you can even make a resistive play-dough to help create play-dough circuits. Very cool stuff.
How Much is Smaug Worth, Anyway?
And of course, look no further than Forbes magazine for that answer. The article is a behind-the-scenes (“showing a little ankle” as the author amusingly puts it) look at how Forbes goes about evaluating the “Fictional 15”, or the 15 richest fictional characters. It’s humorous and a little surreal seeing a mainstream discussion of what I would have thought was just a fan-boy discussion of relative fictional fortunes. Possibly the geekiest article I’ve ever linked to.
Who Stole My Volcano?
A blog article about an interview with the man who was the production designer for such movies as “Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang”, “Dr Strangelove” and numerous Bond movies. The subtitle of the blog post is “Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dematerialisation of Supervillain Architecture.” Totally worth a read.
All of Doctor Who in 6 Minutes
A light, and lightning-fast, overview of all of Doctor Who’s 47 years on television in 6 minutes. Fun!
Spacewar, 50 Years On
The venerable first video game, originally coded on a PDP-1, has been ported up to the web. It’s using the original Spacewar code, running on a PDP-1 emulator. Originally the emulator was running in Java; in the latest version it’s been ported to HTML5 tools. Enjoy!
You’re Playing With Them Wrong
Because nothing you did as a kid was as awesome as these Star Wars Lego(tm) action shots. Seriously.
How Much Radiation?
Ever wonder how much radiation you can suck up and not have a problem? Want to see that comparison visually, with solid science behind it? Well, look no further than xkcd, not only a great comic, but purveyors of fine graphs and maps.
Teenager Builds Solar Death Ray
And oddly, doesn’t burn down school. See the sun’s concentrated rays burn through concrete! Steel! Other stuff!
It’s Old, But Still Indecipherable
Remember the Voynich manuscript? That seemingly-old document written in a language no one can understand, and filled with unintelligble diagrams? Yeah, well, they know how old it is now, anyway: about the 15th century. Or 100 years older than everyone thought it was.
Underground Master Plan
And no, I don’t mean mole people invaders. The folks of Helsinki Finland are planning on expanding their city below-ground, forming a master plan that encompasses subterranean sea-water-cooled data centers, municipal swimming pools, coal storage, 60km of tunnels, the city-wide heating system, factories and whatever else “doesn’t need to be seen”.
Once Forgotten Caves Laser-mapped
A series of caves, now thought to be a sand-mine, were recently laser-mapped, providing smoke-like maps of their winding, twisty corridors. It’s thought the “caves” were a working sand mind in the 1700’s and were re-discovered in 1892. Some basements in Nottingham actually open onto the caves. Be sure to watch the movies — there’s a virtual fly-through.
Make It Better
Fun little typographic animation perfectly showcasing the geek’s need to fidget with things until they’re “perfect”. Plus it’s cool.
Voxels Make It More Fun
THere’s a new shoot-em-up video game coming to the Mac/PC world, and it looks like a game that escaped from 1984 and then was hit with the 3D wand. But cooler than I just made that sound.
Avoiding data charges in 1906
Text messages are hardly new to communications — just ask anyone who remembers 1906. Back then, it was called the telegram, and this farming equipment company came up with a great way for their customers to avoid additional charges for ordering: codes.
Fly-over of New York City
You’re expecting this to be some footage from 1982 or something, right? I mean, come on! Who can do a fly-over of NYC in this day and age? These guys, that’s who. In an RC airplane at 7am in the morning (when regular air traffic is light). And sure, the TSA and NYC police talked to them — but no arrests or nasty exchanges. Amazing!
Oh, and for the RC enthusiasts out there, a link to the setup they used:
Burning Liquid Sulfur: Blue Flames!
Ever wonder what a sulphur mine inside a volcano might look like? Wonder no more — awesome photos ahead!
Lego Antikythera Mechanism*
That’s right, you read that correctly. Combine the worlds best make-it-yourself toy (Legos!) with an ancient device discovered in clay jars in a shipwreck. What’s the result? Pure concentrated awesome! (thanks to Alex for the heads-up)
Here There Be RPG’ers
I just love me some maps. This is a beauty sent in by a faithful reader (Hi, Matt!). It shows all the RPG-related forums online, in good-old-fashioned hex-map format, where 1 hex equals 1000 members, and then organized into vaguely related islands. My favorite RPG country? The Sunken Ruins of Usenet (an ancient empire).
Read by the Light of the … Trees?
Scientists have found a way to use gold nano-particles to make tree leaves bioluminescent. Interesting, but what if you turned that into a large-scale civic project to replace street lights with trees that GLOW?
Fishing in a Manhattan Basement
It’s a surrealist picture of an actual life event: in a stream bubbling through the basement of a building in Manhattan, this guy caught a fish. It’s a bit like a scene from an unlikely urban fantasy novel.
Map of Online Communities
What if there was a map, like you get at the front of your better fantasy books, that showed the online communities sized to their relative daily bandwidth? That would be one of xkcd’s wonderful virtual maps. I should have one of these things in every monthly article.
It’s All Tommy Westphall’s Fault
This isn’t new, and it isn’t terribly October-y, but BOY is it geeky. If you’re just about to watch St Elsewhere on DVD for the first time or something, look away now, because I’m going to ruin it all for you. Follow along with the crazy, will you? At the end of the TV series St Elsewhere, the last scene has an autistic boy (Tommy Westphall) shaking a snow globe with a miniature version of the hospital in it. The scene right before that had snow falling on the hospital. And the two other characters in the room with Tommy idly wonder what the boy sees in that snow globe. So the obvious interpretation from this is that the WHOLE series has just been inside Tommy’s head, kind of like a giant “and then she woke up” moment.
Weird, but that’s not the Crazy part. See, several characters from St Elsewhere made cross-over and/or cameo appearances on other TV shows (e.g. Homicide). So that means, by some Law of Contagion, that those series are ALSO all in Tommy’s head, or meta-fictional (fiction within fiction). Cross-eyed yet? Wait, there’s more. If you assume that:
A) St Elsewhere was all in Tommy’s head, and
B) any TV series where a St Elsewhere character also appeared is ALSO in Tommy’s head
Then it logically follows that
C) any characters on a B tv show who themselves appear on another tv show is … yes, you guessed it, in Tommy Westphall’s head.
Which makes like 90% of TV shows in the same damned virtual imagined autistic universe.
Evolution of the Geek
How could I pass this up? It’s a biological evolution flowchart showing how the “geek” has evolved over time, from head-biting to Elite Geekdom.
(For those of you opposed to evolution, just assume that the first geek sprang forth from the forehead of the chicken-biting guy and leave it at that.)
How Good is Your Geek Movie-Fu?
No, not another mindless multiple choice quiz-of-the-week. Not a quiz at all. Just a seriously great bunch of t-shirts with extraordinarily obscure references to some great movies. Man, wish I was getting a cut from these guys. Note: mouse-over the t-shirt to see where the reference comes from, then smack yourself in the head for not remembering it.
Making Stop Motion Animation With Light
Take an iPad, add some custom software to generate animation frames for you, and then a custom app on the iPad to show the frames as you move around. Result? This:
When Computer Keyboards Were Made Like 1950’s Cars
You know, with steel. There are people who swear by their ancient, clunky keyboards and will get violent if someone tries to take them away. And when your keyboard is, in fact, made of steel (NOT plastic), that’s a problem.
But there are different brands of “my favorite keyboard”.
The SciFi Airshow
So, it’s like an air show, only all the “planes” are scifi space vehicles. (It’s not real, though.)
Gore Factor Five!
I know, Dragon Age: Origins has been out, like, forever. The review I’m linking to is even months old. But it’s so damn funny, who cares?!
Best. Map. Ever.
Or even, all maps ever made of the earth, the stars and the universe in general, smushed together. Found out about this amazing map by seeing it on TED, and if you don’t know about the TED talks, I’m sorry. You’re about to have a lot of your free time sucked away by amazing speakers and mind-blowing technology.
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
Need a Post-Apocolypse Movie Location?
Then just fly on down to the Big Easy and check out the former Six Flags New Orleans. All this destruction was a result of 1 month of brackish water (averaging 7 feet deep) and then leaving the front gate of the park open for a few years. Seriously, it’s only been six years, not 100 like these pictures make it seem. Yikes.
Bionic Glasses
For real, people. These glasses sample what the person is seeing (or should be able to see) and figures out what’s there by interfacing with a computer in their pocket. Not an “in 5 years” product, a real thing right now.
The Cartilage Car Fuels Itself
It’s 3D-printing and weirdo concept cars of the future all in one. The car was created using the 3D-printing technique, and the composite artificial material most closely resembles cartilage, which makes the car nearly impervious to impacts. It also creates it’s own biofuel. How? Algae reservoirs (with LED’s for night-time production) in the places in the artificial cartilage body that would otherwise be bone marrow in a creature. Freaked out with the scifi yet?
Star Trek Geeky
I would like to posit that this app is one of the most geeky things in all Geekdom. We’re talking an iPad app that not only looks and acts like it’s out of Star Trek (NG, but still), it also is an an interactive encyclopedia of Star Trek lore.
Food Photos by a Science Geek
See cake sprinkles, chocolate cake, sugar, pineapple, and blueberries (among many other things) through the lens of an electron microscope. Yes, that means everything is very small.
New Evil Dead Movie!
Bruce Campbell has confirmed that there is a new movie in the works.
A Ship So Big…
It needs it’s own zip code? This beast will be 6 times larger than the largest US aircraft carrier. Let that sink in a moment. Six times bigger than those nuclear-powered floating islands. Check out the illustration showing one of those liquid natural gas carriers (with five giant domes on deck) docked next to it.
Looking for that Ideal Island HQ?
For a mere $750,000, this island fortress (circa 1850) could be yours. Comes complete with island. May require some upgrades. Cable-car permit included.
Super Yacht
When super villains build their super-yachts, this is what they wish they looked like. It’s got it’s own escape sub, a missile defense system, an anti-papparrazi laser and a pool that turns into a disco.
Spatially Impossible Hotel, Cheap
So someone was building a level for Duke Nuke’em based on the Overlook Hotel from the movie the Shining. Cool, right? Well, they noticed that there were parts of the hotel, as portrayed in the movie, that were just impossible. They mentioned this to a film professor, and the result is a walk-through of the unworkable.
Wait, Monopoly Can Be Fun?
Ever wonder why a game invented in 1930 is still around, even though everyone agrees it’s boring and takes too long? Here’s why: the house rule in practically everyone’s house has been to ignore one of the fundamental rules of the game, making it … you guessed it, slow and boring. Seriously.
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
Crocheted Reef
An entire reef made from yarn. Yes, it’s a real thing. And odd.
Dr Who Auction**
Bring your truckload of money, because you’ll need it.
Drilling Causing Earthquakes?
So Arkansas experienced a 4.7 magnitude quake Sunday (February 27th). Arkansas. Let that sink in for a moment. Arkansas. It’s not exactly a hotbed of quake activity. The article here discusses some research that suggests that the recent spate of earthquakes in the state might be the result of over-zealous natural-gas drilling. Seriously, is anyone other than me thinking it’s a precursor plot to some kind of James Bond film?
Walking Cactus
Not a typo, not a surrealist painting (although it might resemble that, strongly). This is a fossil found recently in China. It’s a “creature” that could be related to a worm or a lobster, with spines. Lots of spines. Be sure to check out the speculative movie for what it might have looked like.
Spacewar, 50 Years On
The venerable first video game, originally coded on a PDP-1, has been ported up to the web. It’s using the original Spacewar code, running on a PDP-1 emulator. Originally the emulator was running in Java; in the latest version it’s been ported to HTML5 tools. Enjoy!
Beer Bricks
So in 1963, Heinekin came out with beer in a bottle that, once emptied of beer, could be used as a brick. Yeah, how progressive is that? Plus it looks like a pretty cool glass wall.
BLDBLOG Interviews China Mièville
Love that BLDBLOG. Here he interviews the celebrated urban fantasy author China Mièville. Fascinating stuff.
Here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite:
“And in his 2004 novel Iron Council, Miéville imagines something called “slow sculpture,” a geologically sublime new artform by which huge blocks of sandstone are “carefully prepared: shafts drilled precisely, caustic agents dripped in, for a slight and so-slow dissolution of rock in exact planes, so that over years of weathering, slabs would fall in layers, coming off with the rain, and at very last disclosing their long-planned shapes. Slow-sculptors never disclosed what they had prepared, and their art revealed itself only long after their deaths.”
You’re Playing With Them Wrong
Because nothing you did as a kid was as awesome as these Star Wars Lego(tm) action shots. Seriously.
NASA Space Nerd Broadcasts
Like space? Or rocket science? Want to see what NASA is doing RIGHT NOW? Try out their live broadcast web feed. It’s like c-span in space.
Your Alien Invasion Will Be Graded
Speaking of space, scifi author and columnist John Scalzi grades a variety of movies featuring alien invasions. Not on how good the movie is, but on how successful the invasion was. Fun!
The Mathematics of Juggling
For you juggling geeks and you math geeks, a talented juggler with a PhD in Mathematics discusses high-end math as it applies to juggling. There might also be some balls flying through the air.
Atlantis Found – Again!
But maybe for real this time. The research team found the concentric rings described in Plato’s story (which is a first, in terms of Finding Atlantis), submerged where they think a tsunami hit it. In Spain.
The Missing 9th Legion
Back in the days of Roman Britain, the ninth legion went north to quell a rebellion and was never heard from again. Read about the theories of what may have happened to it. Whatever became of the 9th, the results of their disappearance were dramatic. Rome sent reinforcements, and at the head of the 6th Legion was Hadrian. Yes, that Hadrian. The guy who’s wall defines the border of England and Scotland to this day. (Hadrian’s Wall)
Shelterbox
Ok, maybe it’s the survivalist in me, but these “everything you need to survive” kits are pretty cool. They’re designed to go to areas after a disaster, or be available to emergency services to distribute to those lacking homes or shelter. The kit includes a 10-person tent.
Seedboms!
It’s called Guerrilla Gardening. You take these bits of compost & dirt shaped like grenades, wet them and toss them into abandoned urban blight. Boom! Mother Nature takes over and the seeds in the center of the “Seedbom” puts out flowers. Such an amusing idea, now commercialized into purchasable throwers.
Quote from their website: “Guerrilla Gardening is taking ownership of abandoned urban spaces and bringing them to life with plants and flowers.”
3D Loom Creates Objects With Carbon Fiber
So it just isn’t a Geek Review without some kind of 3D printer-type post. This time, it’s one of only two machines in the world, used to create parts for the Lexus LFA. Mesmerizing video.
Alfred Has Died
The actor, Michael Gough, who portrayed Batman’s butler (Alfred Pennyworth) in several of Tim Burton’s Batman movies has died. He also (watch how I work in a Dr Who reference) portrayed the Celestial Toymaker in the first season of Dr Who. Plus he had a 65-year career in stage and screen. A more worthy obituary linked to title.
How Much Radiation?
Ever wonder how much radiation you can suck up and not have a problem? Want to see that comparison visually, with solid science behind it? Well, look no further than xkcd, not only a great comic, but purveyors of fine graphs and maps.
Famous First Words in Tech
Not just the first words spoken on the telephone, but also the first transatlantic phone call, the first email, and the first twitter. Amusing!
Sneaky Bots**
Scientists are developing autonomous surveillance drones that know when and how to hide while watching. Creeeeepy!
Digital Currency
Some hackers have actually figured out how to make it and to make it in an interesting way. Video helps explain some of it.
How Insanity Helps SciFi Writers**
Especially that Phillip K Dick guy. Who if he had lived and kept up his output, would have surpassed Isaac Asimov as most prolific SciFi author.
Slow Sky
Another great time-lapse video of the starry sky. This time from South Dakota in the depth of winter. For you astro-geeks, there’s details on the equipment used to capture it.
HD version highly recommended.
Spiders!
Ten of the strangest spiders you’ll ever see pictures of — unless you’re a spider scientist, in which case, more work.
Water Powered Car
And no, I’m not kidding. It breaks down the hydrogen out of the water and uses it to generate electricity. It can run for a hour on just a liter of water — though it has a longer overall range.
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
Hey there Boys & Ghouls!!! Your favorite scream queen on wheels is back with another delicious holiday horror countdown. Let me paint a paint a lovely Valentine‘s Day picture for you.
Your amazing boyfriend/girlfriend spends all day setting up a special romantic dinner complete with mood music, rose pedals and scented candles to boot. As you arrive, much to your surprise, you get a beautiful bouquet of your favorite kind of roses, undertaker roses; very gothic of you. You notice safely nestled in your roses a beautifully hand written note that reads: “Roses are red, violets are blue I’m going to kill you and put you in our romantic fondue!” Well, now that you’ve got that chunky cannibalistic fondue in your head, I give you my top five Valentine’s Day flicks!
#5 My Bloody Valentine 3D
I know what you are thinking, “Alice have you lost it?” “My Bloody Valentine 3D?” I know it’s not the best film ever made but it is on my list for bias reasons. I took my then new girlfriend to see it for our second date. Knowing full well that she was not a horror fan whatsoever! She went with me anyways and sat though the whole thing. I was impressed to say the least. She has been my valentine for the past two years and still going strong. Cue the awwwwwwwww’s. This is a Valentine’s post after all.
Aside from my sappy story, “My Bloody Valentine 3D” has one awesome scene that made me happy. The deranged miner killer uses a mine pick to kill the desk clerk who happens to be a “little person”. Now, most people would say that offing a person with disability is a low blow in the script and offensive. Well, as a person with disability myself it made me laugh and smile. We can be killed in horror movies too!!
#4 Bride of Frankenstein
First off—DUH! This 1931 Karloff gem will always remain a classic. I think we all can agree that Frankenstein and his Bride, played by Elsa Lanchester will always be an essential romantic image in the history of cinema. Lastly, I dare you and your mate not to shed a tear or sport a quivering lip at the end when Karloff delivers his last line….“You stay. We belong dead.” Good Stuff!
#3 Shaun of Dead
I personally feel that this film should be put in every film list possible! Not only is it one of the best zombie films made in the last ten years, it also introduced us to a new kind of cinema romanticism—The Bro-mance! The chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost cannot be denied. I personally feel that your best pals make the best valentines, screw the significant others!
#2 Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Just a few reasons why this film was a shoe-in. 1.) Coppla . 2.) Wynona Ryder. 3.) Gary Oldman 4.) Lastly, they try to kill Keanu Reeves!
Francis always wondered why cinema never portrayed the original story of “Vlad Dracula” a member of the “order of the dragon” in 1462. He returns from battle only to find his beloved bride dead from suicide. She took her own life after rumors of her Prince’s death. Enraged at the notion of his wife being damned for committing suicide, Dracula desecrates his chapel and renounces God, declaring that he will rise from the grave to avenge Elisabeta with all the powers of darkness. What’s more romantic than that, ladies???
Watch it, it’s awesome!
#1 King Kong “Twas beauty that killed the beast…” Thanks to Willis O’Brien who ingeniously created the stop-motion animation for this 1933 film achievement, I really feel that Kong is the ultimate miss-understood romantic. It was also the first film that made us really re-considered who “the monster” really was—Us! Powerful stuff and it still remains relevant even after all these years.
Well, there you have it the top five horror film for Valentine’s Day! Snuggle up close and enjoy!
About the Author: Alice has been a horror movie buff since she was a little girl. Particularly the “Halloween” series. She hopes to be the first scream queen on wheels. She’s also an advocate for LGBT as well the disability communities. Been a nerd since conception. So proud! You can catch her on www.mynerdgirl.com as well her Facebook page.
Strange Terrestrial Life
NASA announced that a form of bacterium that uses arsenic instead of sulphur as one of its basic building blocks has been discovered. This is odd because no other form of life on the planet — not mushrooms, not bugs, not animals, not us, not anything (even slime-mold!) — is built that way. Freaky!
Fly-over of New York City
You’re expecting this to be some footage from 1982 or something, right? I mean, come on! Who can do a fly-over of NYC in this day and age? These guys, that’s who. In an RC airplane at 7am in the morning (when regular air traffic is light). And sure, the TSA and NYC police talked to them — but no arrests or nasty exchanges. Amazing!
New Leonardo DaVinci Codes Discovered
Well, not “new” exactly. “Previously unknown” is probably a better way to put that. Sill, Leonardo was one of the biggest geeks of all time, so any new codes from him is note-worthy. This is some more of his un-deciphered mirror-writing. Good stuff!
You Got Virus in My Battery!
Scientists are working on a way to take a virus that typically afflicts tobacco plants, coat the little beasts in nano-particles of metal and stuff them into batteries. Because there are so many of them and they’re so small, the coated viruses will provide much more surface area for the electrode, dramatically increasing the battery’s storage capacity. Nifty!
Real Light Cycle
So these guys built a real working replica of the Light Cycles from Tron (and not to be confused with the flyers from Return of the Jedi, like I did the first time I heard of these things). Neat looking, but it looks about as maneuverable as their movie counterparts.
Who Started It All?
Ever wondered who created the longest running science-fiction tv show? Want to see some still pictures of them? Click away!
If Day-Old Soup is Better … How Awesome is This?
Archaeologists in China uncovered 2,400-year-old soup. That’s right, it’s been stewing for 24 centuries. That’s some concentrated awesome right there. The soup was found still liquid in a sealed bronze container.
Burning Liquid Sulfur: Blue Flames!
Ever wonder what a sulphur mine inside a volcano might look like? Wonder no more — awesome photos ahead!
Lego Antikythera Mechanism*
That’s right, you read that correctly. Combine the worlds best make-it-yourself toy (Legos!) with an ancient device discovered in clay jars in a shipwreck. What’s the result? Pure concentrated awesome!
Lovecraft eBooks*
Did you know his stuff was public domain now? No? It is! Download away!
Map of the World: Facebook Style
Fancy ray-of-light visualization of all the users on Facebook, based on geographic location on the globe. Bonus: dense math explanation about how the map was generated based on friendship relationships. Neat!
Lost Your Head? Found!
Among the types of “antiques” and “collectibles”, a mummified severed head is not one that immediately makes my “must have” list. Anyway, what a great find to discover that your mummified head is Kingly. Woo!
What Happened to the Water??
Ever wonder what Niagara Falls would look like without all that pesky water everywhere? Wonder no more!! Bonus: grainy 60’s video.
Air Condition the Whole Outside
You’ve heard your Dad say it countless times, but now it’s Real. Some brain trusts have come up with a sculpture that produces cooler air simply by the nature of it’s structure. Oh, and of course, it’s made from 3D-printed sand. The idea being you set up a few hundred of these near buildings and micro-climate those hot days away.
Changing Wallpaper
You’re expecting some kind of funky, new-fangled “paper” that users computers and gizmos, right? Nope. It’s just standard-old wallpaper with various color images overlaid on it — and then depending on what light you provide, you get different images. It’s almost Victorian!
Fish Keys
Great little stop-motion animation of underwater zen — all done using various metal implements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWOebTREVU
You Want Real Faces? You Can’t Handle Real Faces!*
Behind the scenes of the fantastic-looking, realistic faces in the new video game LA Noir. Figure out if someone is lying to you by actually looking at the character’s face in-game. Video link is a behind-the-scenes of the tech.
A Very Zombie Holiday*
Not sure about baking etiquette during a zombie outbreak? Have no fear, this instructional 1950’s-style video is here. Best line? “Kids? It’s time to give Gammy her Christmas gift.”
Bonus points for the Serenity/Firefly reference.
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
I received an email about an event that I thought some Buffet readers may want to participate in. The folks over at The Pluralism Project have brought to my attention that the Interfaith Film Festival is accepting submissions! Submissions are due on January 31, 2011, which doesn’t leave us with much time to lollygag about. Here’s some details:
This is a showcase, a platform, and a foundation upon which to present your religion and beliefs in a good and positive light. The InterFaith Film Festival collects and shares stories about religious experiences that inform and inspire, whether religiously specific, inter-religious, secular, or otherwise.
What They Wants from You:
We invite you to contribute short films, with a duration of less than ½ hour, that inform and inspire, including: amateur or professional videos, documentaries, short stories, fables, lectures, sermons, parables, comedy, interviews, speeches, animation, slide shows, variety programs, musical performances, poetry readings, Scriptural recitations/chanting, and additionally; (you are also welcome to enter feature films longer than ½ hour, and we may post links to these films).
How the System Works:
All entries and selections are made in good Faith and on the honor system.
You can upload one or more entries through your own YouTube account, and then send us an email at ifff2011ce@gmail.com with:
1.) your notification of entry or entries to the IFFF 2011CE,
2.) the link to each entry on YouTube,
3.) your designation of the specific religious/secular affiliation or affiliations or inter-religiousness of each entry, and
4.) your synopsis, of 100 words or less, of each entry.
Instead of creating your own YouTube account, you are welcome to log into the YouTube account, “UndergroundGriot”, with the email address, undergroundgriot@gmail.com , and password, “interFaith”, and upload entries through the “UndergroundGriot” YouTube account, and proceed with steps 1.), 2.), 3.), and 4.).
All entries are screened for appropriateness before inclusion within the InterFaith Film Festival in April 2011.
For more information, contact ifff2011ce@gmail.com
Ptolemy Code Broken
Historians have figured out some maps of ancient Germany that hadn’t made sense until recently. Penned in 150 AD by Ptolemy, the map of what is now Germany was always believed to have wild inaccuracies, owing partly to the fact that Ptolemy never left Alexandria, Egypt. Well, it appears that when Ptolemy was wrong, he was wrong in a consistent and accurate fashion. Scientists have figured out a mathematical match-up system to correct the errors, and now the origin date of quite a few German cities has been made older by about a thousand years.
Ten Years of Smart Phones
From mega-bricks you could commit murder with to tiny plaques that we’ve long seen in scifi books and movies, the smart phone has come a LONG way in just a decade. Ars Technica has a great gallery of pictures.
Ninjas and Cowboys
Really, what more could you ask for in your epic action movie? Just watch the trailer.
Periodic Table of Swearing
A graph of all the naughty words and their relative weights. Obviously, this is so NSFW. In fact, it’s probably NSFMP (Not Safe For Most People), as they really don’t spare any of the circus of vulgarity available. Extra bonus: it’s UK English swear-words, so some of them are extra funny (to American ears).
Zombie Head Cookie Jar
Has to be seen to really get the full effect. It’s VERY cool. I think some kind of salmon-pink cookies would be best.
Remote Control Wand
This is not your standard goofy remote control redo, it’s a wand. A not-quite-real, use-gestures-to-control-things wand. For your TV. Or whatever. Watch the video at the bottom of the blurb to see it in action. Buy it, then change the channel with a mere flick.
Not Quite Dead Languages
According to the website, every 14 days a language dies. The Enduring Voices Project, a National Geographic program, is documenting as many languages as they can as quickly as they can. It has a nice interactive graphic showing the “hotspots” around the world, with info on each. Interesting if you’re into languages. Or intensely useful if you need some esoteric background stuff for a novel or gaming adventure.
And here’s a nice trivia bit: “Di’nisbaas” means ‘I’m in the process of driving a vehicle into something and getting stuck’ in Navajo.
Map of Online Communities
What if there was a map, like you get at the front of your better fantasy books, that showed the online communities sized to their relative daily bandwidth? That would be one of xkcd’s wonderful virtual maps. I should have one of these things in every monthly article.
Quadrocopter!
Do you need more than that? You do? Ok, how about is has two built-in cameras, runs a Linux flavor on-board and you can control it via iPhone software? Ok, yes, it’s $300, but it comes with games you can play through the cameras — like first person shooters where the real world is your “level”. No real guns included though. (Article includes video of the quadrocopter in action.)
It’s All Tommy Westphall’s Fault
This isn’t new, and it isn’t terribly October-y, but BOY is it geeky. If you’re just about to watch St Elsewhere on DVD for the first time or something, look away now, because I’m going to ruin it all for you. Follow along with the crazy, will you? At the end of the TV series St Elsewhere, the last scene has an autistic boy (Tommy Westphall) shaking a snow globe with a miniature version of the hospital in it. The scene right before that had snow falling on the hospital. And the two other characters in the room with Tommy idly wonder what the boy sees in that snow globe. So the obvious interpretation from this is that the WHOLE series has just been inside Tommy’s head, kind of like a giant “and then she woke up” moment.
Weird, but that’s not the Crazy part. See, several characters from St Elsewhere made cross-over and/or cameo appearances on other TV shows (e.g. Homicide). So that means, by some Law of Contagion, that those series are ALSO all in Tommy’s head, or meta-fictional (fiction within fiction). Cross-eyed yet? Wait, there’s more. If you assume that:
A) St Elsewhere was all in Tommy’s head, and
B) any TV series where a St Elsewhere character also appeared is ALSO in Tommy’s head
Then it logically follows that
C) any characters on a B tv show who themselves appear on another tv show is … yes, you guessed it, in Tommy Westphall’s head.
Which makes like 90% of TV shows in the same damned virtual imagined autistic universe.
And download the PDF for the full explanation of all the crazy connections.
It’s like a Unified Conspiracy Theory for TV.
Danny Elfman & Tim Burton Music Box
Do I need to say more? Ok, it’s the 25th anniversary music box, collecting CDs from all their wonderful collaborations over the years. It’s a limited series of 1000 and it sells for $500. Perfect gift except for that last part. But it looks cool.
Dresden Codak
It’s even fun to say! Wait, I should begin at the beginning. It’s the usual thing to do, I guess. This is a webcomic that not only has really great art, but robots, esoterica built into the narrative and funny bits. Enjoy!
The Alternate World of Marty McFly
What if Eric Stoltz had played Marty instead of Michael J Fox? Wonder no more! Actual mind-bending Eric Stoltz / Marty McFly footage!
700 Hobos
That’s it, just 700 hobos. With names and quirky illustrations. Would I make this up? Look at the URL! http://www.e-hobo.com/
Number 4!
No, not a Prisoner remake or anything. Some kind of superhero movie, maybe? Who cares, it looks cool.
Got Coal?
This is a computer that requires a handy turn of the coal shovel to operate! Mr Babbage’s Analytical Engine, not to be confused with his Difference Engine (which was little more than a calculator by comparison), is the true first computer. It’s reprogrammable, has a printer, a CPU, expandable memory and a plotter. In Babbage’s time, the Analytical Engine was never built (partly because it would be the size of a friggin’ locomotive), but all that’s about to change. Now someone is raising money to really build one. Steam Power!
Now That’s Bling
How about a phone that costs millions of dollars? I’d love for this to be some kind of super-phone that works absolutely anywhere, but no, it’s just encrusted with gems. Still, how great a job is “phone jeweler”?
This Cable Isn’t Wireless!
And other priceless quotes this Retail Hell escapee jotted down in the course of over 3 years.
Water from Water
As in, de-salination. MIT has developed a prototype for a portable, solar-powered de-salination plant capable of converting 80 gallons of water in all sorts of weather conditions. Can you say “better disaster relief”?
From the Earth to Orbit
I know, infographics are all the rage now. Well, this one is especially cool. It shows the various layers the atmosphere in scale (which means it’s TALL) and all the various phenomena that happen at each level.
Fun With Gummi Bears
What happens when you put a gummi bear (red) into a solution of potassium chlorate (with a drop of sulfuric acid)? Fun! Fun is what happens.
Evolution of the Geek
How could I pass this up? It’s a biological evolution flowchart showing how the “geek” has evolved over time, from head-biting to Elite Geekdom.
(For those of you opposed to evolution, just assume that the first geek sprang forth from the forehead of the chicken-biting guy and leave it at that.)
Spaceport Open for Business
Really. Virgin Galactic officially opened it’s spaceport. I believe this would be the very first commercial spaceport.
Drive Your Own Spaceship
Speaking of spaceports, behold Artemis, the multi-player (Windows-based) computer game, where each person (up to 6) takes one station of a simulated starship. Another person sits back, and as the game so amusingly puts it, “tells everyone else what to do”. It’s like Star Trek on your laptop! (No, not the movie, you buffoon, like YOU driving the ship around, or firing the weapons.)
Update: apparently the interface isn’t that fantastic (usability-wise), but I’m holding out hope that future versions will be better.
You are standing in an open field, west of a white house.
Ever wanted to write your own interactive fiction? You know what I’m talking about, right? Stuff like Zork, or Planetfall, or the Lurking Horror (with real screams!), or Leather Goddesses of Phobos [cough!]. Well, it’s the Modern Age, and you no longer have to know crazy complicated programming language stuff to pull it off. You just have to know mildly complicated, word-problem style stuff. No really, it’s cool.
Watch the screencast and you’ll see what I mean. If you can write fan-fiction or a blog post, you can write yourself a game.
From Dust
Did you know that “god games” is a category of simulation game now? I didn’t. This new one allows you to control terrain in a direct and interesting way, allowing you to change the course of rivers, pull up lava and form the rock like clay. It looks spectacular.
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
All things geek-related in September 2010. Well, all the things I thought were cool enough to mention.
Self-replicating Solar Cells
The future of power generation or one of the signs of the Impending Robot Overthrow of Humanity? You decide.
How Good is Your Geek Movie-Fu?
No, not another mindless multiple choice quiz-of-the-week. Not a rabidly obnoxious FaceBook app. Not a quiz at all. Just a seriously great bunch of t-shirts with extraordinarily obscure references to some great movies. Man, wish I was getting a cut from these guys. Note: mouse-over the t-shirt to see where the reference comes from, then smack yourself in the head for not remembering it. Or go “Huh?” because the reference is just THAT obscure.
Duke Nukem’ Forever
The longest running joke in computer game history*, born from one of the best first-person shooters ever made. Ars Technica (a tech site largely without peer) has done a detailed story on the long, twisted tale of a computer game promised since 1997. Let that sink in a moment. 1997. Bill Clinton was just beginning his second term. Pathfinder landed on Mars. Steve Jobs returns to Apple (and Microsoft bought $150M share of Apple). Titanic was on the big screen. That 1997.
* Not as old, but more long-running than the “When is In Nomine coming?” in RPG circles. And In Nomine actually did come out. Eventually.
Hugo Awards
All the year’s best SciFi. Because this stuff is just that cool. Also, Dr Who nominated for an award.
A Game So Small….
This java-script game is so small, it fits in 1k. That’s SMALL. Like, play it on your watch small. Play it on the fancy controls for your refrigerator small.
Making Stop Motion Animation With Light
Take an iPad, add some custom software to generate animation frames for you, and then a custom app on the iPad to show the frames as you move around. Result? This.
Pokè-what?
For those of you who remember this particular card-game and cartoon-based craze, this video may amuse you. It may also cause you have seizures. It’s 50/50.
Monsters Close Up
A more detailed review of that giant monsters movie I mentioned last month, only this time with more technical production info. The movie was made for very little money (comparatively), and with mostly off-screen gore.
Las Vegas Death Ray
It’s even the title of the article! Apparently some badly-planned hotel in Vegas has mirror-style windows all curved and fancy. Which is great, only … certain times of the day (and during a specific seasons), the sun hits the building, focuses it and super-heats the pool area in a very Archimedean fashion. As in? “The surface of the building acts like a parabolic reflector, concentrating solar heat into a specific target area.” Yes, Archimedes would be proud.
Social engineering with fake mold
Quick blurb about a sandwich bag (ziploc-style) that makes your home-made sandwich look moldy. How cool is that?
WWI Ends October 3rd — 2010
No, really! Apparently Germany’s debt for starting the war, set by the Allied victors in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, gets it’s last payment October 3rd.
About John: John’s a geek from way back. He’s been floating between various computer-related jobs for years, until he settled into doing tech support in higher ed. Now he rules the Macs on campus with an iron hand (really, it’s on his desk).
Geek Credentials: RPG: Blue box D&D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee. Computer: TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w/reel-to-reel backup tape Card games: bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993 Science: Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983 His Blog:http://glenandtyler.blogspot.com
About John:
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