Technorama

Show #148: WooT!

1. Mysteries of the ages revealed
2. Prizes you can win
3. Evil Cylon Snowmen Robots

Show notes #148

Podcast: Download

Best quote of the day. From Glen Daily’s webpage, he is a fee-only insurance agent. I found this gem through the Freakonomic’s Blog.

How do I know that I can trust you?

You don’t. But trust is overrated. Numerous studies have shown that most people are not good at judging who is trustworthy and who isn’t. They think they are, but they’re not. How many times have you seen a story about someone who got duped by a supposedly trustworthy person?

My job is to help you make informed decisions about insurance, and you have every right to ask me to defend what I say. You can trust me if you want, but it’s not necessary and I don’t encourage it.

Cat Gives Birth to Puppies via Digg

Yeah, right. I’m waiting for the paternity test results before commenting on this one.

NES Paul and the DIY NES Guitar via Digg

What happens when you cross a guitar with an NES? And will it work with Guitar Hero 2?

Cup Communicator via Boing Boing

Remember when…you used to stretch a string between two cups so you could talk to your friend. Now that trick will work without the string.

Marv

Good joke: Murphy’s Lesser Known Laws via Clipmarks

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Chocolate ‘cuts blood clot risk’ via Digg

Hooray for science!

Platelets from those who stayed away from chocolate clotted faster, at 123 seconds, compared with 130 seconds for the chocolate group.

But then they had to ruin it.

“Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is a far better way to get heart-protective flavonoids without having to worry about the fat and sugar packed into each chocolate bar.”

Animator vs. Animation II via Digg

Marv

40 Things That Only Happen in Movies via Digg

Cars will explode instantly when struck by a single bullet.

Anyone can land a 747 as long as there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.

One man shooting at 20 men has a better chance of killing them all than 20 men firing at once (this is known as Stallone’s Law).

BSG Gag Reel Pt. 1
BSG Gag Reel Pt. 2

BTW, which genius at Youtube scheduled site maintenance during the middle of the week?

Top Ten 007 Gadgets via Digg

Is it just me or have these toys become less impressive since the iPod and Treo came out?

Marv

Freddie and the Chocolate Factory via Digg

See the Mac Classic in all its chocolate glory.

Greatest Nerd of All Times: Jonathan Vos via Netscape

Among others, his qualifications are:

• Owns a company called
  

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Show #147: Good News Everyone

1. Nothing
2. We’re just going to sit here for 45 minutes and talk
3. See ya!

Show notes #147

Podcast: Download

Thief tricked by David Copperfield pleads guilty via Digg

And all he used was the see-my-pockets-are-empty trick. Now, if his assistants had that trick nailed, they wouldn’t have been robbed.

How Alphabets evolved via Digg

From Phoenician through Greek and to present day Latin characters.

Director says that “Watchmen” movie will remain true to the comic book via Digg

I’m still skeptical on whether this adaptation will succeed. I read Watchmen back in high school and it is a story that can only be told in the context of the Cold War. If the audience can’t relate to the atmosphere of impending nuclear war, the conflicts in the story just seem trivial or overly paranoid.

In several ways, Watchmen reminds me of Battlestar Galactica (in its current incarnation). Watchmen along with Dark Knight Returns were as groundbreaking in the superhero comic book market as BSG is in sci-fi TV because their storylines are mature and complex whereas their peers tended to play to the safe mainstream audience.

A pool filled with non-newtonian fluid (cornstarch + water) via Digg

Extremely cool video of people running across a pool of non-Newtonian liquid. Thier footprints in the surface leave ripples and if they stand still, they sink in the liquid like quicksand.

The First Photo From Space via Digg

Taken in 1946 from a V2 rocket 60+ miles up. The first photo to show the Earth against the blackness of space. See the stitched panorama photo here

Marv

‘Air shower’ set to cut water use by 30 percent via Digg

The scientists have developed a simple ‘air shower’ device which, when fitted into existing showerheads, fills the water droplets with a tiny bubble of air. The result is the shower feels just as wet and just as strong as before, but now uses much less water.

Expected cost will be about $20 AUD and can be installed by the homeowner.

Robot mistakes human flesh for bacon. And so it begins via Digg

A robot designed to identify various delicacies such as wines and cheeses was tricked into identifying a live human hand. The ‘bot returned a result of “bacon”. So now they’ve developed a taste for H. Sapiens…we all know what comes next.

Marv

Lucas killed Indiana Jones 4 via Reddit

Well, it seems that Spielberg got tired of rewriting the script to appease Lucas. It’s a shame, and perhaps for the best if the Star Wars prequels are any indicator of Lucas’ judgement.

A Trip to the Dentist May Look Like a Scene from Star Wars via Digg

Bio-medical research and the advent of cold plasma needles could eliminate the need for drilling teeth.

Mars Rovers Ready for New Duties via Digg

3 years on the Red Planet and still chugging along.

You may be a geek redneck if… via

…you’ve ever worked on a “deenus” server.
…your email program says, “Y’all got mail.”
…your monitor has a nerf-gun-rack.

50 movies in this picture via Digg

Zoom in on the picture and figure out the movie titles. A pretty fun distraction, much more interesting than you’re average crossword puzzle.

Marv