{"id":1193,"date":"2010-10-05T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-05T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2010\/10\/05\/geek-month-in-review-september-2010\/"},"modified":"2010-10-05T12:10:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-05T12:10:00","slug":"geek-month-in-review-september-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2010\/10\/05\/geek-month-in-review-september-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Geek Month in Review: September 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JB Sanders<\/p>\n<p>Here it is, the September Geek-a-view:<\/p>\n<p>All things geek-related in September 2010. Well, all the things I thought were cool enough to mention.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/dvice.com\/archives\/2010\/09\/scientists-disc.php\"target=\"_blank\">Self-replicating Solar Cells<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nThe future of power generation or one of the signs of the Impending Robot Overthrow of Humanity? You decide.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lastexittonowhere.com\/\"target=\"_blank\">How Good is Your Geek Movie-Fu?<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nNo, 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 &#8220;Huh?&#8221; because the reference is just THAT obscure.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gaming\/news\/2010\/09\/the-death-and-rebirth-of-duke-nukem-forever-a-history.ars\/\"target=\"_blank\">Duke Nukem&#8217; Forever<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nThe 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.<\/p>\n<p>* Not as old, but more long-running than the &#8220;When is In Nomine coming?&#8221; in RPG circles. And In Nomine actually did come out. Eventually.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blastr.com\/2010\/09\/doctor-who-moon-win-hugo.php\"target=\"_blank\">Hugo Awards<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nAll the year&#8217;s best SciFi. Because this stuff is just that cool. Also, Dr Who nominated for an award.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/dvice.com\/archives\/2010\/09\/holy-moly-tract.php\"target=\"_blank\">Tractor Beams Coming Closer<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nTo you! Really, scientists have cooked up the precursors in their lab.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/marijn.haverbeke.nl\/js1k.html\"target=\"_blank\">A Game So Small&#8230;.<\/a> <\/strong><br \/>\nThis java-script game is so small, it fits in 1k. That&#8217;s SMALL. Like, play it on your watch small. Play it on the fancy controls for your refrigerator small.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dentsulondon.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/14\/light-painting\/\"target=\"_blank\">Making Stop Motion Animation With Light<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nTake 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? <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dentsulondon.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/14\/light-painting\/\"target=\"_blank\">This<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pok\u00c3\u00a8-what?<\/strong><br \/>\nFor 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&#8217;s 50\/50.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Apok\u00e9lypse: Live Action Trailer HD\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sDX1m0Y2Vkg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/media\/reviews\/2010\/09\/monsters-defies-sci-fi-horror-conventions-to-tell-invasion-story.ars\"target=\"_blank\">Monsters Close Up<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nA more detailed review of that giant monsters <a href=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/2010\/09\/05\/geek-month-in-review-august-2010\/\"target=\"_blank\">movie I mentioned last month<\/a>, only this time with more technical production info. The movie was made for very little money (comparatively), and with mostly off-screen gore.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/bldgblog.blogspot.com\/2010\/09\/las-vegas-death-ray.html\"target=\"_blank\">Las Vegas Death Ray<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nIt&#8217;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 &#8230; 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? &#8220;The surface of the building acts like a parabolic reflector, concentrating solar heat into a specific target area.&#8221; Yes, Archimedes would be proud.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/consumerist.com\/2010\/09\/anti-theft-lunch-bags-make-thieves-think-your-sandwich-is-moldy.html\"target=\"_blank\">Social engineering with fake mold<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nQuick blurb about a sandwich bag (ziploc-style) that makes your home-made sandwich look moldy. How cool is that?<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/38\/20100929\/twl-first-world-war-officially-ends-on-s-6ae0455.html\"target=\"_blank\">WWI Ends October 3rd &#8212; 2010<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nNo, really! Apparently Germany&#8217;s debt for starting the war, set by the Allied victors in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, gets it&#8217;s last payment October 3rd.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/john1.bmp\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/john1.bmp\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"240\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2629\" \/><\/a> <strong>About John:<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>John&#8217;s a geek from way back. He&#8217;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&#8217;s on his desk).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Geek Credentials:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>RPG:<\/strong> Blue box D&#038;D, lead minis, been to GenCon in Milwaukee.<br \/>\n<strong>Computer:<\/strong> TRS-80 Color Computer, Amiga 1000, UNIX system w\/reel-to-reel backup tape<br \/>\n<strong>Card games:<\/strong> bought Magic cards at GenCon in 1993<br \/>\n<strong>Science:<\/strong> Met Phil Plait, got time on a mainframe for astronomy project in 1983<br \/>\n<strong>His Blog:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandtyler.blogspot.com\"target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/glenandtyler.blogspot.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monsters, death rays, the Hugo Awards, and more!  JB Sanders gives us the recap of September&#8217;s geekiest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}