MDMorse.com » Geekdom

Breaking the Fourth Wall

Michael — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:34:10 +0000

Here’s a little short by Nathan Fielder with Katie Crown about a guy and a girl having a “moment”. It’s a little awkward, and gets more so as the clip goes on. Of course, I was laughing the whole time…

Check out NathanFielder.com for more shorts.

Current Mood: Amused

Because I Love Design…

Michael — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:32:15 +0000

And because I was a kid in the 70′s. I think I experienced this kind of design in our neighbors houses. Ok, it was my house and included green shag carpet. Anywhoo… for a blast from the past and some grrreat design, check out “Ugly Rooms for the Beautiful People” at lileks.com.

70's Plaid Hell

Posey Bathroom

Current Mood: Silly

The Oatmeal: How to Suck at Facebok

Michael — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:44:20 +0000

To all my Facebook friends out there, here’s a humorous rant about the typical Facebook types. If you’re easily offended, you may not want to read this. It’s a little bit o’ smartass, but I like it.

I’ve started following TheOatmeal’s posts since reading “How to use an Apostrophe“. I think his illustrations are fun and his site is a great example of simple, clean web design.

Current Mood: Relaxed

The Passenger

Michael — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:30:27 +0000

This animated short by Chris Jones is a dark and humerous style that I love. “Beware the Goldfish” is an apt description from io9.

Meet the Eigenharp

Michael — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:04:56 +0000

These guys remind me so much of my days in college as a music major. Not to mention the crazy-cool Eigenharps they’re playing. And if you like Moby and James Bond themes, definitely have a listen.

Thanks Boing Boing and Alan.

Take the Yellow Lane to Dallas

Michael — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:48:52 +0000

Here’s a fantastic Disneyland video from 1958, “Magic Highway USA” that explains all the wonderful technology we should be seeing today. This includes, color-coded lanes (apparently, yellow leads to Dallas), Ceramic keels that creates bridges as it traverses the crossing, and escalators for cars for crossing difficult or steep mountains.

Unfortunately, it seems that we’ve only slightly improved our roads over those that the Roman’s built. Our usage has increased so quickly that we are in a never-ending loop of repairs and relaying pavement.

I wonder what will happen with the crisscross pattern of highways when we all switch to transporters or flying cars… perhaps we’ll finally have plenty of green space like Boston’s Big Dig central artery re-purposing.

I wonder what the no hover-car parking signs will look like…

Current Mood: Curious & Nerdy

How NOT to use Apostrophe’s

Michael — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:48:28 +0000

It’s just one of those minor annoyances, but every day I see apostrophes used where they’re not needed.

Apostrophe.me is a simple and easy to follow “flow chart” explaining when and how to use apostrophes.

The parent site, TheOatmeal.com, has several fun reads including “How Web Design Goes Straight To Hell”

Thanks to Lifehacker.com

Current Mood: Awake

ATU Marching Blast From the Past

Michael — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:45:19 +0000

I’ve recently been doing a little cleaning up of boxes from my college years at Arkansas Tech University and ran across some marching layout/designs from 1991-1992. For all you band geeks out there, this may be a little bit of cool.

Unknown Show, 1991-1992

Here’s a show from before our director made the switch to computer-based show design.

“Ouachita” Show, 1992

If I remember correctly, this was the first show that Mr. Cooper designed using the computer, and I think it was the first show of our season. I believe the design (not to mention the readability) was greatly improved by computer-based design.

“Gavorkna” Show, 1992

This was our main show of the season, and was a bit more difficult. For one thing, it began with entire band expanding from between the 40 yard lines to the 10 yard lines in about 16 counts. I remember practically leaping backwards carrying my tonal bass and, oh yah, playing Gavorkna Fanfare. If you haven’t heard it, see the video below (and note that the guys in the video are stationary).

Current Mood: Hyper & Nerdy

Blue Devils take 2009 DCI Championship

Michael — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:21:54 +0000

Well, we made it back from Indianapolis, and had a great time. While the Blue Devils have never been my favorite corps, I was impressed with their show this year titled “1930″. They performed an encore after the event and we came down to get a closer view (pictured).

Check out the entire series.

Blue Devils encore performance at DCI 2009

Current Mood: Happy

Off to Indianapolis

Michael — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:14:43 +0000

We’re off to Indianapolis for the Drum Corps Internationl World Championships tomorrow. It’s are annual “thang”, and I’ll get to try out my new camera this year. Out of the 12 corps that perform, I usually take 200 or so pics that I’ll share here and on flickr.

This will be our 7th year, and I’m like a kid at Christmas… don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. Marching band has always been a love of mine, and these guys are the best of the best.

I’m ready for the goosebumps…

Current Mood: Hyper

Are We Hard-Wired with the Pentatonic Scale?

Michael — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:48:15 +0000

Boing Boing posted a video of Bobby McFerrin creating a musical piece from audience participation and Pentatonic Scale. The interesting part is that it’s completely unrehearsed and spontaneous. There seems to be something about the scale that is almost mystical and pervasive in music throughout the world. I’m pretty sure the audience isn’t made up of musicians, either.

To me, it’s just one of those surprising moments when another mystery of the human mind is revealed.

Current Mood: Curious

A Future Message from the ADHD Council

Michael — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:33:56 +0000

io9 has shared 3 hilarious future public service announcements:

from io9:
Don’t Talk To Robots, Use Caution With Hyper Speed and Look Out For Time Machines. The more you know, right? Check out these super-informative commercials from the future, and heed their message to you.

Current Mood: Amused

Susan Boyle, eat your heart out

Michael — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:32:01 +0000

Music theater and science…. what more could you want? Here’s everything you need to know about Nano technology.

The Nano Song

45 Minutes of Genius

Michael — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:53:34 +0000

Got 45 minutes? It’s the approximate length of this video, but it’s also about the amount of time it takes Daniel Tammet to recite Pi to the 3300th decimal. And that’s just a fraction of the 22,000 decimals of Pi he can recite. And he doesn’t recall it from memory, but actually sees numbers as objects with shape and form in his mind.

Current Mood: Enthralled

New Pet Shop Boys – Love Etc

Michael — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:01:25 +0000

I’ve always like the Pet Shop Boys, but after seeing them in concert in Oct 2006, I’ve been a fan. The latest release from their soon-to-be-released album “Yes” is entitled “Love, Etc”. The video is a romp through the video game world of love. You can find a limited edition version of the album at Amazon.co.uk, which includes a second CD of remixes. I’ve ordered mine.

If You Haven’t Seen Star Wars…

Michael — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:09:05 +0000

Here’s a summary of the original 3 movies. From someone who hasn’t seen it (with visuals added for entertainment). Thanks, io9

Current Mood: Hyper

7 Deleted Battlestar Galactica Scenes

Michael — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:55:04 +0000

For all my fellow Battlestar Galactica fans, io9 has posted 7 deleted scenes from Battlestar’s 4th season that help clarify some loose ends. Whether you’re seeking enlightenment from the church of BSG, or just looking for some geek trivia to share with your friends when the show (finally) returns next year, these are a must see.

And if your a scifi dork like me and don’t already know about io9, take a look around while you’re there. There’s plenty of geeky-goodness amongst their pages.

Thanks to io9 and Michael.

Teach the Controversy!

Michael — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:45:07 +0000

I’m all about teaching alternative theories to evolution, so I bought a T-shirt to prove it. (Hey, if you buy the T-shirt, it makes it so). Wearscience.com has some great designs promoting “Teach the Controversy”, including the aliens-built-the-pyramids, the-devil-planted-fossils-to-trick-us, and the earth-as-center-of-the-universe. They even have a design of the Great A’Tuin for you Discworld fans out there. You can read more about the Teach The Controversy “Intelligent Design” campaign to discredit the crackpot theory of evolution here.

Personally, I believe that if we teach “Intelligent Design” in schools alongside evolution, then we must include theories that aliens created us. See The Flying Spaghetti Monster.

And for you crazies who believe in science, Wearscience also has a series of designs right out of 50′s B-movies. You can also customize your designs; I added “I Believe in Science” to the back of my shirt with a scientist blowing up the moon on the front. Link

Current Mood: Amused

The History of Spaceflight

Michael — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:56:54 +0000

I’ve started collecting a few books on “futurism” from the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s. I love the illustrations and ideas about the future from a time when mankind was just going to the moon. It seems there was no limit to where they thought we’d be 100 years from now (then). Matt over at Paleo-Future has posted a clip from the DVD History of Spaceflight featuring Wernher von Braun‘s ideas of the future of spaceflight. Check out the post for more retro-futurist images.

A Better Way to Browse Amazon

Michael — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:47:01 +0000

Our friends over at Lifehacker have shared a great new way to browse Amazon.com just like browsing shelves at a bookstore. Zoomii displays books on “shelves” grouped by Bestsellers, New Arrivals, Science Fiction, etc. You can drag around the bookstore or even create your own shelves by using the search feature. And when you find something you like, you can order right from Zoomii.

It’s a great way for someone like me who can spend hours browsing “brick and mortar” bookstores. I often purchase a book because the cover caught my eye.

The Norwegian Meets the “Reverend”

Michael — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:43:16 +0000

One of my favorite flickr-ites, “The Norwegian” has posted a great story (along with photo, left) about his experience of a recent visit to the Church of Scientology.

I agree with his opinion of “The Church”, but read it for yourself. He also makes a great suggestion for those seeking enlightenment: Venganza.org. Of course, there are other paths; I’m just saying…

Oh, and check out his photo stream… he’s a great photographer.

Current Mood: Determined

A Science Fiction Legend Dies

Michael — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:20:18 +0000

Arthur C Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, died yesterday at the age of 90. Though he wasn’t my favorite author, anyone who loves science fiction should at least have read some of his work. I’ve read the entire 2001 series (2010, 2061, 3001), as well as the Rama series.

Another lesser-known work was The Songs of Distant Earth, which was also an album by Mike Oldfield released in 1994. I stumbled across this album during the Enigma era, while looking for more of the same style. I bought the Enhanced CD, which included some pretty cool CGI video that accompanied the ethnic chants and trippy ambient rhythms of the album.

I think I need to dig up the CD and remember a sci fi genius.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- Arthur C Clarke

Current Mood: Sad

Frozen in Grand Central

Michael — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:45:03 +0000

I want to be a part of something like this. I’ve followed their exploits after I first heard about them on “This American Life”. Ira Glass interviewed the organizer of a “stunt” where they picked a guy out at random at a bar and threw him a birthday party . They brought gifts, bought drinks, and called him Ted all night. He at first protested and eventually gave in.

After watching the video, check out some of their other uber-cool improv at their site .

Current Mood: Amused

Mathematical Chaos

Michael — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:45:18 +0000

I’ve been playing around with a very cool 3D rendering software called Chaoscope. It has some pretty mathematically intensive settings, but also a “search” function that randomly creates “viable” combinations. You can then tweak away at the criteria until you get the perfect imaginary universe. Here’s a few of my creations; (click to view large)…

And this series are of the same “universe” rotated in the 3D space.

Tags: mathematics, 3d

Current Mood: Okay

Robot Art

Michael — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:57:34 +0000

Kirsten Anderson over at Right Some Good has posted some great art by fellow artist Brian Despain. His work has the sort of tone I love (a la steampunk/Myst) and features another geek fav – robots! What more could you ask for. I’d hang this on my wall.

Perhaps I should check into that…

Meanwhile, check out Brian Despain’s website .

Current Mood: Weird

Strung out on science fiction.

Michael — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 02:23:44 +0000

Being a dork, I love all things sci fi – be it movies, books or technology. Browsing my newly-subscribed RSS feed, I read about the upcoming Indiana Jones movie, an interview with the horned-rim glasses guy from Heroes, a article lamenting the USA’s lack of futuristic vision when it comes to architecture, robots and maglev trains, and a review of fuels used in all the great sci-fi franchises. (Did you know the Battlestar Galactica takes Tylium in its tanks?)

This site definitely satiates my need for all things geek.

Thanks, Lifehacker !

io9. Strung out on science fiction.

Current Mood: Happy

The Road Ahead

Michael — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:29:58 +0000

Thanks to Jeff Pepper over at 2719Hyperion for sharing this clip from the 1958 Disneyland “Magic Highway USA”. You can read more background from his earlier posts here and here. Apparently, we aren’t as advanced as predicted. It would be cool to have my car wash and refuel itself.. I really hate stopping at the gas station.

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Tags: Disney, futurism, transportation

Current Mood: Relaxed

Thinking of Switching (again)

Michael — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:00:16 +0000

In my office I have a PC & a Mac G5. Even though I do most of my work on the Mac, I just can’t give up my PC for gaming and Quicken. But with the new Intel-based Macs, and Parallels , I can run Windows XP as a 2nd OS on the Mac (forget about Vista… I don’t want to run that POS).

So this video seems appropriate for my current opinion of the ole’ Microsoft.

SeatQuest Visual Ticket Finder

Michael — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:00:35 +0000

If you love shows and concerts, this is the best tool for finding tickets. It’s a visual map of the venue with available seats indicated as blue dots. Just find your seat and click buy.

This is the biggest pain I find with “other” ticket sites; I have to find the seating chart which is usually not very clear as to where the seats actually are.

The program is still in beta, but I hope to see it continue to develop. It’ll be my first choice for finding tickets.

Current Mood: Stressed

The Dragon Queen and The Wanderer

Michael — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 01:47:30 +0000

Wanderer of Space, Vargo Statten, 1950 Scion / Planet Stories, Summer 1941, Love Romances

I just finished reading Worlds of Tomorrow – The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art by Forrest J Ackerman. I picked it up at Half Price Books a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been trying to learn more about design and art from the 1800′s up through the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s, especially involving predictions of the future.There are several magazines that were published in 30′s, 40′s and 50′s that featured science fiction shorts by sci fi greats like Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, and Robert Heinlein. They had titles like Wonder Stories Quarterly, Amazing Stories, and Startling Stories. The cover art was just as fantastic as the stories within. Worlds of Tomorrow features these covers and includes narrative about the history of the culture and writers that envisioned them.

If your a sci fi fan or a fan of sci fi art; or even if you are just looking for a good laugh, check out this book.

I shared these two because half-naked women were a staple of many of these covers. I just thought it was interesting to see half naked men for a change. I’m just not sure how practical a g-string would be for wandering space, or riding dragons. And how about the name “Dragon Queen”?

DCI 2007 Highlights

Michael — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:08:21 +0000

Just a few of my photos taken at this year’s Drum Corps Championships in Pasadena, CA. You can see them all, including scores, here.

I made this with animoto, the best slideshow generator out there. You can upload your own photos or import them from photo sharing sites like flickr. You can also upload your own music you pick from their library. animoto then generates the video complete with effects. The free service is limited to 30 second videos, but you can create full-length videos for $3 each or $30 unlimited for a year.

Tags: animoto, DCI, drumcorps, marching, band

Current Mood: Energetic

Where Do I Sign Up?

Michael — Wed, 30 May 2007 16:50:58 +0000

I want one of these… remember Tom Cruise manipulating graphics in The Minority Report?

The Paleo-Future is Here (or not)

Michael — Thu, 17 May 2007 22:34:43 +0000

There’s a certain class of design I’ve always been attracted to; I find it fascinating to see how the past saw the future, either the one that has come and gone, or is still yet to be (or not to be). My favorite sci fi reads are those heavy with scientific speculation on the big questions… faster-than-light travel, moving stars, encountering bewilderingly advanced species. But I also enjoy classic sci fi like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. More than just the plots, I love to see how the greatest scientific imaginations of their time saw the future. It often comes out as a mix of new ideas blended with now outdated ones; like a man traveling home from work in his self-driving car only to be greeted by his wife who meets him at the door with a cocktail, a back rub and dinner on the table.

I also love to explore design from yesteryear looking forward. Interestingly, this often comes back to Disney’s Imagineering. But thanks to great finds like Paleo-Future, I can finally get my fill of this odd attraction. And what an apt name for something I’ve been unable to easily define.

So here’s to the Paleo-Future and the future that never was! And to commemorate the occasion, here’s a great sample, “Transportation Exhibits at the New York World’s Fair (1964)”

Tags: paleo, future, transportation

Current Mood: Nerdy

It’s Easier Than You Think

Michael — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:29:14 +0000

One Man’s Blog has written an enlightening post about how easy it easy to crack passwords. I never realized how much a difference a single letter (and using upper and lower case) can make.

Here’s a table from his post reflecting how much (or little) time it takes to crack your password. It looks like I’ll start using 7 character passwords with both upper and lower case characters. And I’d definitely think twice about using a pin number for anything!

And if you use 14 characters, only Q would have the time to crack it.

Password Length	All Characters	Only Lowercase
3 characters 4 characters 5 characters 6 characters 7 characters 8 characters 9 characters 10 characters 11 characters 12 characters 13 characters 14 characters	0.86 seconds 1.36 minutes 2.15 hours 8.51 days 2.21 years 2.10 centuries 20 millennia 1,899 millennia 180,365 millennia 17,184,705 millennia 1,627,797,068 millennia 154,640,721,434 millennia	0.02 seconds .046 seconds 11.9 seconds 5.15 minutes 2.23 hours 2.42 days 2.07 months 4.48 years 1.16 centuries 3.03 millennia 78.7 millennia 2,046 millennia

I encourage you to read the entire post, but he makes one very important point:

If you use the same username and/or password for several different sites, (like most of us), you’re at greater risk, because a hacker won’t try for your bank account first (since it’s probably the most secure). Instead, he’ll try to hack your info from say, an e-card account. And since your browser’s cache will contain info about the sites you visit (you can prevent this), he’ll have a convenient way to find out that you have an e-card account. Since this type of site might be easier to hack, he can use a brute force attack to obtain your username/password. And once he has it, chances are he’ll be able to use the same username and password for your credit card and bank accounts.

So you might want to revisit your passwords; I know I am.

Thanks One Man’s Blog and Lifehacker.

Current Mood: Awake

RocketDock (you’ll always be…)

Michael — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:24:42 +0000

If, like me, you’re a Mac and PC user, then you’ll probably love RocketDock. It’s a freeware (!) Mac OSX dock for Windows (including Vista). Here’s are just a few of the features (from their website):

Minimize windows to the dock
Real-time window previews in Vista
Running application indicators
Simple drag-n-drop interface
Multi-monitor support
Supports alpha-blended PNG and ICO icons
Icons zoom and transition smoothly

So if you’re a tweak freak like me or just like trying out new fangled widgets, check it out.

Tags: osx, dock, windows

Current Mood: Hot

Springfield, USA

Michael — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:00:06 +0000

If you’re a fan of The Simpsons (as I am), you have to check this out. It’s a map of Springfield complete with Evergreen Terrace. It’s best viewed on flickr, so you can see all the notes. You can view a much larger version on flickr as well.

Guide to Springfield – The Simpsons
Originally uploaded by Dan_Cameron.

Tags: TheSimpsons

Current Mood: Hyper

Online Desktop?

Michael — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:23:54 +0000

In me never ending search for a solution that will keep my contacts up to date on my laptop pc, my home pc and my Mac, I stumbled across a very cool Web 2.0 site. DesktopTwo is a web-based app package that looks and acts like your personal desktop; complete with email, address book, rss reader, instant messenger, file browser and 1GB FREE (for now) storage.

I haven’t yet decided if it’s any kind of solution for what I was searching, but it’s always nice to find an example of great design and origina ideas. I know there have been other similar attempts, but I don’t think any have been this successful or nice looking.

Current Mood: Curious

My first HDR

Michael — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:10:23 +0000

Magazine Mountain, Arkansas

I’ve been trying for some time now to get around to making an HDR image. I first learned of HDR when I started following Arnold Pouteau’s work on flickr. He’s posted alot of amazing HDR images of NYC.

If you’ve never heard of HDR (High Dynamic Range), it involves combining 3 different exposures of the same scene into one enhanced image. I used Photomatix which makes it easy.

Now that I’ve figured it out, I hope to do more with HDR.

Tags: HDR, MagazineMountain, Arkansas

Current Mood: Happy

For Music Lovers

Michael — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:02:16 +0000

One invaluable find for a music lover is Pandora. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. It allows you to specify a favorite band/artist as a starting point, and plays music in the same genre. It learns your tastes and is a great way to learn about new artists; especially if like me, you have a knack for for non-mainstream music.

I just discovered another cool service called Musicovery, which does much of the same thing but has a very cool interface that allows you to visualize similar artists in a map-like layout.

Tags: musicovery, pandora

Current Mood: Exhausted

UFO Photoshop Contest

Michael — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:26:53 +0000

Worth1000.com has some great Photoshop contests. A recent one was for UFOs, and I think this is one of the best. It as a bit of a Myst feel, which has some fantastic art. Check out the rest of the contest entries; and if you don’t already, check back at Worth1000.com for other great Photoshop contests.

Current Mood: Happy

To the Stars

Michael — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 13:54:38 +0000

I look forward to the day when we step off our little blue sphere and begin to live in space. Of course, this won’t happen in my lifetime, but maybe in my grandchildren’s lifetime.

NASA has a series of artist’s renderings of space colony concepts from studies conducted at Ames in the 70′s. Being a Sci Fi dork, I find these fascinating; I’m always fascinated by ideas about the future as seen from our past.

Hear me Now and Listen to me Later

Michael — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 20:01:58 +0000

I’ve found a very cool interactive listening service at pandora.com, where you can build your own radio stations simply by suggesting an artist. I suggested BT, and they began playing similar music. As you listen, you guide them by indicating whether you like what you hear or not. And they don’t just suggest music by genre; for any song, you can click “why did you play this song?”, and it’ll tell you why. Here’s an example of why they played “Greece 2000″ for me recently:

Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features trippy soundscapes, prevalent use of groove and many other similarities identified in the music genome project.

Very cool, very cool indeed…

Tags: pandora, "music, genome, project"

Current Mood: Stressed

Don’t Try This at Home, Kids

Michael — Wed, 17 May 2006 14:29:10 +0000

Or apparently, for $30, you can. Flickr user tesla1000 has posted a series of home made Tesla coils. Woudn’t you love to greet your friends with this for your next party?

More than likely, they’d be afraid to come too close to your house.

They’d be smart.

Tags: tesla, coil, DIY

Current Mood: Shocked

Finally, A Smart Fuel!

Michael — Fri, 12 May 2006 13:46:37 +0000

It seems they’ve finally found something useful for all the BS in the world. No, really!
Scientists in New Zealand how made biodiesel using algae floating on sewage ponds. The company claims to be producing 1 million litres of fuel by the end of the year!
Now, if we can just build windmills to capture all the hot air coming out of Washington…

Tags: biofuel

Current Mood: Hyper

What If?

Michael — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 14:04:31 +0000

What if I could put Nancy Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Hasselhoff, and LaToya Jackson in a White House sanctioned music video? Oh, wait, it’s been done!

Current Mood: Amused

Frackin’ Awesome!

Michael — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 14:09:02 +0000

Ok, you sci fi geeks will know what I mean by “frackin’ awesome”. It looks like Sci Fi is creating a mini-series prequel to Battlestar Galactica based on the creation of the Cylons on Caprica.

I know, I know those of you who haven’t seen it are thinking “you mean that cheesey show from the late 70′s?”; but believe me, the reincarnation of the show is enthralling. It even won the network’s first Peabody Award.

I must admit that I watch Stargate SG-1, Atlantis, and even the new Dr. Who. The writing is predictable and seems juvenile at times; I find myself predicting the next line often and feel like I need to be a hyper active teenager addicted to Doom and Quake to be in the target audience. But I do stick to it, waiting for that 1 in 3 episode when I’ll get to see some above-average special effects and maybe be surprised by the story line.

But Galactica is nothing like anything else on Sci Fi… I rarely am able to predict dialogue and am usually so entranced by the show that I don’t even think about such things.

So if you haven’t seen it, you should at least check it out. And if you happen to get addicted to the show, be sure to check out the mini-series when it comes out!

Current Mood: Okay

Extra Greasey Monkey

Michael — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 15:34:53 +0000

If you’re not using Greasemonkey and Firefox, you should be! Well, maybe you shouldn’t be; but for a geek like me, it’s the coolest thing since CSS…

Greasemonkey is a plugin for Firefox that allows you to add your own scripts. For example, while del.icio.us is also an extremely cool site, I’ve always thought the site design was pretty basic. Greasemonkey allows me to install my own script that changes the CSS (layout, font, color, etc) for the site when I view it.

I found the script to do this on another awesome site called userscripts.org, which is nothing but user-submitted scripts. Ahhh… OpenSource, I love thee…

By the way, I’ve abandoned traditional bookmarking completely and have converted all my old bookmarks to del.icio.us. It’s a free service that allows you to “tag” a website and save it for later. You can explore others’ tags and you can even integrate your del.icio.us tags/bookmarks into your site (like I have… see the link above).

Ok, so I know that some of you are yawning right now, but you those of you who think MicroCenter is a toy store should definitely check these out!

Current Mood: Nerdy

Will Wright’s Spores

Michael — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 03:51:29 +0000

If you’re a big sim geek like me, then you’ve heard of Will Wright. He’s the genius behind SimCity and The Sims. Here’s a video of him demonstrating his latest invention, possibly the coolest Sim game yet… you can take it to the galactic level!

Current Mood: Impressed

VW & Google Develop Real Nav System

Michael — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:41:28 +0000

Being a VW owner, I’ve been waiting for them to come out with a Nav system in their new models. Well, I guess they were saving the best for last.
Together with Google, they’re developing a nav system that combines Google’s 3D satellite maps (Google Earth) with real-time traffic. So you’ll see a 3-D map of the actual area with a color coded path for your trip. So you can avoid the red areas if needed. Read more on automotoportal.com

Tags: GoogleEarth, VW, Volkswagen, Google

Current Mood: Okay

Toys for Boys (and Girls)

Michael — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:16:53 +0000

I’ve stumbled across more than a few new software gadgets and websites lately, so I though I’d share them.

Kristopher Tate, a 17-year old programmer has created a competitor to flickr in 3 months. I visited the site and found that since word has gotten around, it’s currently being moved to handle the volume. But I’m curious and will definitely follow up to check it out.

From the article I read, it’s very similar to flickr, but with improvements, like a large amount of metadata that can be associated with each photo, including audio notation and “geotagging”. I’m not going to reiterate the entire article, but if you’d like read more and see some screen shots, head on over to Tech Crunch.

You know, I need more addictions like flickr in my life!

I’m not a big “social” user of IM’s… but meetro lets you incorporate AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo into one Instant Messenger. But it does more; it allows you to chat with other users based on proximity to your location and/or interests. I think it’d be kinda cool if you were traveling and just wanted to hang out with a local who might like Moby or photography or origami as much as you do.

It’s still pretty new, so I tried it out and the closest person to me is in Chicago, but I’m gonna keep it on the “back burner” and hope it grows

Another awesome service that I’ll definitely be going back to is KeepVid.com, a site that allows you to download streaming videos from services like Google and YouTube. Just enter the URL of the streaming video, and it’ll allow you to download the video to your hard drive.

Now, I have no plans to redistribute videos or otherwise misuse them, but sometimes I find a video that is so funny or great that I just wanna keep it on my computer so I can watch it later! With most streaming services, you’d have to save it in your bookmarks and visit the site again to view it; but with this I can keep my own copy!

Current Mood: Nerdy

View of Tomorrow (from Yesterday)

Michael — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:58:25 +0000

Being a sci fi geek like myself, I’ve always been fascinated by the ideas of the future from those who lived in the past. It’s always interesting when I’ve read ::wikipedia(“Asimov”,”Asimov”):: or ::wikipedia(“Zelazny”, “Zelazny”):: ; sometimes they were right on, and sometimes they weren’t. Here’s a great posting on Tinselman.com, an great site by ::wikipedia(“Robyn Miller”, “Robyn Miller”):: of Myst lore. If you like fantasy and have never played Myst, you should definitely check it out. I’m currently playing the fifth and final game in the series, and I must say it’s an amazing game like no other.

But I digress…check out this posting on EPCOT and transportation that we should (or shouldn’t) be using today!

And if you have time, browse other stuff on Tinselman.com. It’s a great site and there’s alof of really fascinating stuff; Looking around, you’ll began to get the same sense of wonder and imagination found in Myst.

Current Mood: Enthralled

Simpsons Alive!

Michael — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 20:19:46 +0000

This is a live-action version of the intro to the Simpsons, part of a marketing campaign by UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

Being a hugh Simpsons fan, I know they’ve gone through alot of trouble to make this.

Now, when will we get our live action movie?

Current Mood: Impressed

Microsoft-ized iPod

Michael — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 17:05:50 +0000

This is great… especially for all you graphic designer-types!
BTW, found this on YouTube.com, a very cool site.

Current Mood: Impressed

Fun with Anagrams

Michael — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 14:30:26 +0000

I’ve recently seen alot of subway maps of major cities converted to anagrams. In commemoration of my recent trip to Dallas, I found one! I don’t know all the stop names, so it’s fun to figure them out. I’m sure Lisa Simpson would love these…
Thanks, Silon and codeman38 on livejournal.com for your work on creating this!

For those who really have some time to waste, here are some other cities from boingboing.net (a very cool site, BTW): London Anagram Tube Map, Toronto Anagram Subway Map, Amsterdam Anagram Metro Map, Chicago Regional Transit Authority Anagram Map, Maps for Manhattan, Oslo, Boston and Atlanta, Vienna U-Bahn Anagram Map, DC Metro Anagram Map, Stockholm Transit Anagram Map, LA Red Line Anagram Map, Maps for Cleveland, St Louis (x2), BART, and Singapore, Maps for Berlin, Copenhagen, Baltimore (x2), Maps for Calgary, Vancouver (x2), Philadelphia, Buffalo, Rochester, Hong Kong (x2), Seattle, Minneapolis, Detroit, Maps for Miami (x2), Dublin, Ontario, Dallas, Glasgow, Portland, Ottawa, Houston, Maps for Montreal (x2), Helsinki, Monterrey, San Diego, Mexico City, Maps for NY/NJ PATH, Sydney

Current Mood: Awake

Search Engine for Coders

Michael — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:59:12 +0000

I read about a new search for coders on Slashdot called Krugle. It is set to launch in March, but upon visiting the site, I was able to sign up for a preview. It sounds like a very cool idea, so I’m looking forward to trying it out!

Tags: krugle

Current Mood: Hyper

Homemade LED Art

Michael — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:45:10 +0000

I read about this easy way to make LED’s that can be thrown on to any surface, like a building, to create public art. Apparently they’re called “throwies”, and here’s a pic of the art in action:

I think we need to do this here in Kansas City! Thanks to Q-Branch on instructables.com for sharing a great howto on making these easy throwies.

Now, who’s gonna organize it?

Current Mood: Energetic

I am a SciFi Geek

Michael — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:05:18 +0000

I took this quiz to determine what sci-fi crew I would be best as a member of. Apparently, I fit in best with Farscape. I never watched the show, but I do watch Stargat SG-1, and the captain in Farscape is now on SG-1 (Ben Browder).

So for all you sci-fi geeks out there, let me know what crew you best fit in…

Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)

created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Moya (Farscape).

You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes.

Moya (Farscape)

88%

Enterprise D (Star Trek)

81%

SG-1 (Stargate)

81%

Babylon 5 (Babylon 5)

75%

Millennium Falcon (Star Wars)

75%

Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)

75%

Serenity (Firefly)

69%

FBI’s X-Files Division (The X-Files)

69%

Deep Space Nine (Star Trek)

69%

Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda)

56%

Bebop (Cowboy Bebop)

50%

Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica)

44%

Current Mood: Nerdy