{"id":940,"date":"2012-12-07T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-07T14:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2012\/12\/07\/geek-month-in-review-november-2012\/"},"modified":"2012-12-07T14:58:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-07T14:58:00","slug":"geek-month-in-review-november-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2012\/12\/07\/geek-month-in-review-november-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Geek Month in Review: November 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JB Sanders<\/p>\n<p>Turkey time!<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/magazine-20170787\"target=\"_blank\">What&#8217;s Your Blood Type?<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nIt&#8217;s the new &#8220;What&#8217;s your sign?&#8221;, at least in Japan. Several popular books have promoted the idea that blood type determines personality, with about the same scientific validity as the horoscope (perhaps less!). <\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.insidehighered.com\/views\/2012\/11\/07\/essay-necronomicon-and-georges-minois-atheists-bible\"target=\"_blank\">Necronomicon in Academia<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nThe blasphemous (and fictional) book of the Chtulhian mythos has popped up in an odd context &#8212; review by an academic. The article is also wonderful for links to various Necronomicon-related websites, including the Miskatonic University site, and a link to the paper discussing the phenomenon of the &#8220;believers&#8221; in the Necronomicon. Yes, there is nothing so weirdly fictional that a group can&#8217;t come to believe a complete fiction is really true.<\/p>\n<p><Strong>Is YouTube Making Us Smarter?<\/Strong><br \/>\nShort answer: mostly yes. Long answer: see the IDEA channel video below. Basically, if you can avoid looking at dogs riding on turtles long enough, you can find a video to teach you just about anything on YouTube. So: yes.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"280\" height=\"157\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8qjge9U_MiA\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.treehugger.com\/culture\/kirlian-flower-photography-robert-buelteman.html\"target=\"_blank\">Because Kirlian Photography is Always Cool<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nStop by to see some photographs that use high-voltage electricity to make amazing pictures of flowers. No PhotoShop used, seriously!<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2012\/11\/09\/not-your-average-balloon-_n_2092406.html?ir=Arts\"target=\"_blank\">Balloon Bag End<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nFile this under the crazy mis-use of balloon technology. This total fanboy has used his balloon-shaping skills (you know, like with balloon animals) to create Bag End (Lord of the Rings) in his living room. And it looks pretty good.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/uformia.com\/uformiablog\/fabricating-nature.html\"target=\"_blank\">Fabricating Nature<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nInteresting start-up in Norway whose aim is to create software modeling tools that will let 3D printers duplicate nature. Rather than concentrating on surface maps or voxels, they focus on natural structures.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/doomsdaypreppers\/top-places-to-survive-the-end-of-the-world-7nya\"target=\"_blank\">Top 10 Places to Survive the End of the World<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nSome of which have been featured in previous Geek Reviews, but bear repeating. Not sure about #10, but I guess the country (Switzerland) as a whole might be a swell spot to start with.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2012\/11\/17\/3655442\/restoring-verizon-service-manhattan-hurricane-sandy\"target=\"_blank\">Pictures: Repairing the Lower Manhattan Internet<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nRead about, and see pictures of, the massive job which is repairing the internet in Lower Manhattan after Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/thenextweb.com\/shareables\/2012\/11\/21\/inspired-by-a-beetle-that-draws-water-from-the-air-scientist-creates-self-filling-water-bottle\/\"target=\"_blank\">Self-Filling Water Bottle<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nAnother win for bio-mimicry. It pulls moisture out of the air to fill it with water.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.touropia.com\/largest-statues-in-the-world\/\"target=\"_blank\">Largest Statues in the World<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nQuick, what&#8217;s the tallest statue in the world? You&#8217;re thinking either the Statue of Liberty (US) or the Christ the Redeemer (Brazil), right? Wrong, both counts.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.strangebeaver.com\/2012\/10\/wedding-rings-for-geeks\/\"target=\"_blank\">Wedding Rings for Geeks<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nSo, you&#8217;re in the marrying mood, your significant other is a geek, and you just don&#8217;t want to go with the run-of-the-mill simple gold band, right? Try one of these on for size. Included are: the Stargate portal ring, the mobius strip ring, and your choice of one of the elvish rings (there are five in the picture, but I have to assume two of them are duplicates). Plus many more.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/21699317\/ns\/technology_and_science-science\/#.UK_U9OOe-0Y\"target=\"_blank\">Caldera Floor Rising in Yellowstone<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nYou know, the one above the super-volcano. I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-2236952\/Phantom-island-shown-Google-Earth-does-exist-Australian-scientists-discover-outcrop-Pacific-voyage.htmlhttp:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-2236952\/Phantom-island-shown-Google-Earth-does-exist-Australian-scientists-discover-outcrop-Pacific-voyage.html\"target=\"_blank\">Island Missing<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nSeriously, authorities in Australia report that an island some geologists went out to investigate is missing. And not just &#8220;global warming&#8221; underwater missing, either, but simply not there. It&#8217;s not clear that the island ever really existed.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2236509\/Your-chance-king-castle-Ruined-15th-Century-Scottish-fort-goes-sale-220-000.html\"target=\"_blank\">Castle For Sale For \u00c2\u00a3200,000<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nBut don&#8217;t get your hopes too high. It&#8217;s being billed as a &#8220;unique fixer-upper opportunity&#8221;. That means ruins, boys and girls. Still, at the small asking price, you tack on another \u00c2\u00a31 million for &#8220;renovations&#8221; and you&#8217;ve got a real fine home.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-20458792\"target=\"_blank\">Help the UK Crack This Code<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nSo, builders in England find a dead bird up a chimney in Surrey with a capsule attached to its mummified leg. It looks like a coded message circa World War II, but after a few weeks, no one has cracked it. See the message and a video about it.<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/space.jpl.nasa.gov\"target=\"_blank\">Solar System Simulator<\/a><\/Strong><br \/>\nGet a picture from any angle and any spot in the solar system (from space, anyway). It&#8217;s the JPL&#8217;s solar system simulator!<\/p>\n<p><Strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vulture.com\/2012\/11\/which-james-bond-villain-plan-would-have-worked.html\"target=\"_blank\">Which Bond Villain&#8217;s Plan Might Have Actually Worked?<\/a> <\/Strong><br \/>\nFascinating article exploring which of the various James Bond villains would have actually gotten away with it, you know, if wasn&#8217;t for that crazy kid in the tuxedo.<\/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>JB Sanders put together a really great &#8220;Geek Month&#8221; for us this time!  Wedding rings&#8230;.for geeks, the Necronomicon&#8230;.for academics, blood types&#8230;.for dating, and more, um, er&#8230;.for enjoyment!<\/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\/940"}],"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=940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}