all together now
Star Wars Supercuts: The Best of R2-D2, Blasters and Chewie's 'Dialog'
14 hours ago
-
Tips for Atlantic Hurricane Season 2012: Be Prepared!
The 2012 hurricane season starts on June 1st (technically) and continues through November 30th. I want to provide you some tips and resources here to help our readers be aware and prepared.
05.22.12 -
Lego’s BuildTogether.com — a Parent’s New Friend
Just have a few minutes to spend with your kid? Lego's new website can help with building suggestions for even the smallest time period.
05.22.12 -
Despite Chinese Hack, Google Still Uses Microsoft Windows
In the wake of the late 2009 attack on Google's internal systems that saw Chinese hackers pilfer proprietary software code, the rumor was that the search giant had resolved to eliminate the use of Microsoft Windows on employee machines. But two years on, Google CIO Ben Fried tells Wired that Google never banned the use of Windows and that the company continues to offer Windows as one of the options available to new employees.
05.22.12 -
A Stunt Driver Speeds Through Hollywood’s Best Car Chases
There's a highly scientific explanation for why so many films feature car chases: Car chases are awesome. And there are so many good ones that to safely navigate a timeline of the best, we handed the wheel to an actual stunt driver -- Darrin Prescott, who orchestrated the car-fu in The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum and Drive.
05.22.12 -
Light-Emitting Gadgets: Where Technology and Luminescence Collide
Gadgets can be captivating sources of light. Here we present 11 curiosity-piquing examples of the clever intersection between gadgetry and illumination -- spanning the range from antiquated tungsten filaments to modern lasers.
05.22.12 -
Garmin’s Zabriskie Voice Pack Tells You Where to Get Off
In Dave Zabriskie, Team Garmin-Barracuda has one of pro cycling???s most colorful personalities. Garmin has taken advantage of this by offering a free Dave Zabriskie voice pack for its n??vi in-car GPS systems.
05.22.12 -
It’s a Good Fit With Shimano’s ‘Easy-Bake’ Bike Shoes
Shimano’s 2012 R315 road shoes aren???t exactly custom, but once they???ve been properly fitted, no two pairs are exactly alike. That???s because the fit process involves baking the heat-moldable shoes and insoles in a special oven and vacuum-fitting them to the wearer???s feet. I was recently set up with a pair for this week???s Wired [...]
05.22.12 -
El-P Blasts Drone-Filled Dystopia on Cancer for Cure
Drones overhead and smartphones in hand, we drift through panoptic lives and push-button wars. It sometimes feels like most songwriters couldn't give a crap, but not hip-hop visionary El-P: He's still raging with feeling against the machine, from within the increasingly dense machine music he painstakingly crafts. The Brooklyn rapper's latest round of literate but inflammatory blasts comes on arresting new record Cancer for Cure.
05.22.12 -
Geeking Out Over Astoria
This past weekend my wife had a meeting in Astoria, Oregon, so we decided to tag along and make a short vacation. We'd never been to Astoria before and I didn't know much about it (other than that The Goonies was set and filmed there). We only spent most of one day there, but my kids and I learned a whole lot about a wide range of topics, and I'm hoping we'll get a chance to go back and explore things in more detail in the future.
05.22.12 -
Leaked Memo: Afghan ‘Burn Pit’ Could Wreck Troops’ Hearts, Lungs
For years, U.S. government agencies have told the public, veterans and Congress that they couldn't draw any connections between the so-called "burn pits" disposing of trash at the military's biggest bases and veterans' respiratory or cardiopulmonary problems. But a 2011 Army memo obtained by Danger Room flat-out stated that the burn pit at one of Afghanistan's largest bases poses "long-term adverse health conditions" to troops breathing the air there.
05.22.12
-
Making Brave: From Page to Screen
Pixar has been making feature-length computer-animated films since Toy Story in 1995, and all of them have been artistic and popular successes; the latest is Brave, which is notable for being both Pixar's first "fairy tale" (in other words, a magic-based story set in a mythic "once upon a time" past) and first female lead role. Like its predecessors, Brave is notable for the filmmakers' dedication to detail and quality; every element is carefully researched and designed, and the crew-members took multiple trips to Scotland to study the environment and history. In early April, I spent three days in San Francisco as Disney/Pixar's guest, where I saw several demonstrations of various aspects of this process. Over the next couple of days, I'll be sharing these stories with you.
05.22.12 -
SpaceX In Orbit – Successful Launch of Falcon 9 Rocket
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — The second time’s the charm for SpaceX. This morning at 3:44 a.m. EDT the company’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off of Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. After a faulty valve led to an aborted launch on Saturday, today’s successful flight marks the third of the Falcon 9 rocket, the second [...]
05.22.12 -
Your Chance to Appear on Geek & Sundry’s Tabletop
If you've ever shared the grief of getting destroyed by diseases while playing Pandemic, consoled a friend over continuously bad dice rolls during an entire campaign of Dungeons & Dragons, or done a victory lap around the table after finally winning a marathon game of Puerto Rico, you know that games have the power to create incredibly strong bonds between friends and family. Those bonds are evident every week on Geek & Sundry's wonderful gaming show, Tabletop.
05.22.12 -
A Week of Witchblade Contest ??? Issue #152
In conjunction with Top Cow, GeekDad is offering our own exclusive contest for GeekDad readers, and it's a big one. We've already seen Witchblade #151. Solve the cover image riddle for Witchblade #152, enter the clue in the form below for not one, but two chances to win.
05.22.12 -
Where Is D&D; Headed Next? An Update with Mike Mearls … And the Public Playtest Begins
If you've been following role-playing game news, you know that the fate of Dungeons & Dragons is somewhat in peril. Many younger gamers flock to video games, not table-top games. Some old school gamers have abandoned the hobby entirely, or else they play outdated (but perfectly playable) versions of the rules. Others prefer Pathfinder and other fantasy RPGs. Factions squabble over what edition of D&D is the best.
05.22.12 -
Keep Those Solar Glasses Handy
On June 5th or 6th much of the planet will be able to watch Venus move across the face of the sun.
05.22.12 -
GeekDad Puzzle of the Week: That Darn Achilles
That darn Achilles has been joyriding around the walls of Troy again, and with Hector stuck to his bumper, no less! The city's best archers have hit Achilles with a thousand errors, but cocky Achilles doesn't seem to get wet in rainstorms and certainly isn't bothered by Troy's rain of arrows. But you have a feeling you might be different. Yes, Paris, something tells you if you could shoot an arrow far enough, it would have a simply divine chance of finding its mark.
05.22.12 -
SpaceX Ready to Launch First Dragon to the International Space Station This Morning
Startup rocket company Space Exploration Technologies (we all know them as SpaceX) is set to launch their Dragon capsule to the International Space Station early in the morning (3:44am EDT!) on Tuesday. SpaceX will be webcasting the launch on their website, SpaceX.com, starting at 3:00am Eastern Time. You can also follow along as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posts live updates to Twitter from Mission Control!
05.22.12 -
New Horizons II (2004-2005)
A plutonium shortage in 2004-2005 nearly deprived the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt spacecraft of its full load of nuclear fuel, jeopardizing its planned Kuiper Belt Object flyby. The shortage led to a proposal for a New Horizons backup mission that would have flown past Uranus and visited at least two Kuiper Belt Objects. Space historian David S. F. Portree describes New Horizons II and its targets.
05.22.12 -
A Google-a-Day Puzzle for May 22
Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.
05.22.12
-
As Seen on YouTube! Orabrush Reinvents the Infomercial
We've all spent a sleepless night??channel surfing at 3 a.m. Flicking around at that hour, you're sure to come across an infomercial for a Revolutionary Floor Cleaner or an Abs-of-Steel Machine urging you to be one of the first 500 callers and get a free set of steak knives. Bolstered by breathless, off-their-meds hosts, these feature-length commercials are wildly profitable.??Now Orabrush, a 20-person company based in Utah, is using that formula to become the QVC of YouTube.
05.21.12 -
Skaters Young and Old Take to the Drainage Ditches in Annual Contest
Albuquerque has 83 miles of glass-smooth concrete drainage ditches, making it heaven on earth for longboarders the world over. Dozens descended on the city this month for the week-long competition and celebration called "Ditch Slap."
05.21.12 -
Google-Supported Autonomous-Car Legislation Passes California Senate
California Senate Bill 1298 passed the State Senate today in a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 37-0, paving the way for safety and performance standards that cover autonomous vehicles operating on the state’s roads and highways. The bill, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), is on its way to the State Assembly for consideration, and it’s [...]
05.21.12 -
Windows Now Welcome to the GitHub Hacker Party
The cool and popular GitHub source-code sharing site just got a little easier to use. On Monday, GitHub released its first client for Windows, giving users an easier way to set up a Git source-code repository on their PC that can then be shared with the GitHub website.
05.21.12 -
Gesture Controls Get a Huge Boost with New ‘Leap’ Interaction System
From the Wii Remote to the Microsoft Kinect, gesture-based controls have been about gaming. The Leap brings the technology to computers with an impressive amount of accuracy.
05.21.12 -
Bomb Threat at NSA’s Massive Top-Secret Data Center Halts Construction
A bomb threat against the NSA's massive new top-secret data center under construction in Utah has led authorities to evacuate workers and call in dog-sniffing teams.
05.21.12 -
Star Wars Supercuts: The Best of R2-D2, Blasters, the Force and Chewie’s ‘Dialog’
Everyone has their reasons for loving Star Wars (or not) -- some live for Stormtroopers, others are fans of Luke Skywalker, and still others just really like Wookies. Now, thanks to the glories of video editing, it's possible to watch just the things any particular fan wants to see. Or some of them, at least. The folks at the Cussing Channel -- who previously brought you all the gear-shifting in the Fast and the Furious flicks -- have now compiled eight supercuts from Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope.
05.21.12 -
BitTorrent Inc. Sues Germany’s BitTorrent Co. for Infringement
BitTorrent Inc. of San Francisco, the developer of the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol, claims in a federal lawsuit that a German company is ripping off its intellectual property. BitTorrent file sharing, aka torrenting, is a protocol often used by online pirates to obtain free music, games and software.
05.21.12 -
Many Foolish Characters Mar This Week’s Game of Thrones
In this week's episode, Brienne undertakes a cross-country road trip, Arya gives Jaqen the name of her third and final victim, and Cersei tries to use Tyrion's whoring ways against him. But mostly we get a bunch of characters who don't act quite as smart as they do in the George R. R. Martin books upon which the HBO series is based.
05.21.12 -
James Bond Toughs It Out in First Skyfall Trailer
The first teaser for Skyfall gives star Daniel Craig a terse mission statement that could pretty much sum up every 007 adventure over the past five decades: "Some men are coming to kill us. I'm going to kill them first."
05.21.12
-
The Future of Stuff: Vending Machine That Prints in 3-D
No matter how fast postal delivery gets, nothing beats the immediate gratification of pushing a button on a vending machine and having your purchase tumble down into the delivery box. The Chinese live crab dispenser and Art-O-Mat are old news, but the machine of the moment is the DreamVendor, a set of four MakerBot Thing-O-Matics that sit behind glass and 3-D prints your tchotchke of choice.
05.21.12 -
Looking for a Coding Job? Better a Ninja Than a Brogrammer
Companies are looking for ninjas, Jedi's, and rock stars, but nobody wants a brogrammer.
05.21.12 -
Bi-Liquid Success at Copenhagen Suborbitals
Over the weekend a do-it-yourself space program called Copenhagen Suborbitals successfully test-fired the largest amateur-built bi-liquid rocket engine in the world. Co-founder and Rocket Shop blogger Kristian von Bengtson reports.
05.21.12 -
California Considers Bill to Require Permission to Collect, Analyze DNA
California is considering a proposed bill that would guard against surreptitious DNA testing by require authorities to obtain written permission from California citizens before collecting, analyzing, storing or sharing their genetic information.
05.21.12 -
How Science Entered My Brain
This Tuesday evening, May 22, I’ll be part of the “I Am Science”??story-telling and music mash-up in Brooklyn. To celebrate the two-year anniversary of the wonderful StoryCollider outfit, neuroscientists Joy Hirsch and Joe LeDoux, science cheerleader Darlene Cavalier, and I will tell how science got into our heads. Joe LeDoux’s fearless band, The Amygdaloids, will [...]
05.21.12 -
Gadget Lab Show: Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, LaserSaber and Raspberry Pi
This week on the Gadget Lab Show, the gang checks out the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet, Wicked Lasers' Laser Saber, and the Raspberry Pi microcomputer.
05.21.12 -
U.S. Customs Approves Some HTC Phones for Sale, But Blockade Continues
HTC says that some of its phones delayed for delivery by U.S. Customs have been released and are shipping to retailers. But HTC didn't say which phone models were approved, how many handsets were released, or when the issue would be resolved.
05.21.12 -
Will Today’s Coders Embrace Microsoft’s Cloud?
With word that Microsoft is going after Amazon with a big cloud move the first week of June, the question on this cloud watcher’s mind is: Even if Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud goes, as it has recently teased to analysts, big on infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), supports Linux (as is expected to be the big deal about [...]
05.21.12 -
Review: Diablo III Was Worth 12 Years of Hell
Diablo III is a video game. A pretty, well-designed, acoustically impressive video game that makes 12 years seem worth the wait. I???d say that by those standards, Diablo III is pretty great.
05.21.12 -
Microsoft Drops ‘Aero Glass’ User Interface in Windows 8
Microsoft announced on Friday that it is dropping its Aero UI in the final version of Windows 8. Instead, the new user interface will adopt a cleaner, flatter look and feel.
05.21.12
-
‘Battle-Kites’ Eyed for Afghan Spy Duty
The latest addition to the U.S. military's blimp arsenal could be a "battle-kite" of war.
05.21.12 -
High Court to Hear Warrantless Eavesdropping Challenge
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether to halt a legal challenge to a once-secret warrantless surveillance program targeting Americans' communications that Congress eventually legalized in 2008. The announcement is a win for the Obama administration, which like its predecessor, argues that government wiretapping programs and laws can't be challenged in court.
05.21.12 -
Former Apple Employee Explains Origins of Upside-Down Logo
Those new to the cult of Mac may not realize it, but there once was a time when that iconic logo that shines from the top of Apple notebooks used to be positioned, well, upside down. But now we know exactly why Apple opted for its original logo positioning.
05.21.12 -
Time-Lapse Video of Incredible Annular Solar Eclipse
Watch a time-lapse video of yesterday's incredible annular solar eclipse.
05.21.12 -
Social + Mobile + Cloud = The New Paradigm for Midsize Business
IBM and many others have been extolling the real business benefits of Enterprise 2.0, or more recently, social business, for several years: improving customer engagement; increasing workforce productivity; and speeding and improving product and service innovation. Lately, though, I and my colleagues have seen social business adoption move from ???nice to have??? to a strategic [...]
05.21.12 -
How One Faulty Nitrogen-Purge Valve Forced SpaceX to Abort
SpaceX engineers were able to trace the high-pressure problem that caused Saturday's launch to be aborted to a valve that controls the flow of nitrogen used to purge the engine before ignition. Wired aerospace reporter Jason Paur explains exactly what went wrong.
05.21.12 -
The Eephus League Magazine: Pitch-Perfect Web Design
The Eephus League Magazine gives baseball nerds something to do between games, but it also proves, along with Ian Coyle's Edits Quarterly (which inspired its design), that you can make an online magazine that doesn't suck.
05.21.12 -
Sony: Vita’s ‘Real Battle’ Begins Now
Establishing the PlayStation Vita platform is Sony's "top priority," said Japan's game chief Hiroshi Kawano in a recently published interview with Famitsu magazine.
05.21.12 -
Dork Tower Monday
Dork Tower is an online comic created, written and drawn by John Kovalic. It chronicles the lives of a group of geeks living in the fictional town of Mud Bay, Wisconsin.
05.21.12 -
When Will Baekdu Caldera Erupt (or How to Misuse Volcanologic Data)
Possibly second only to Yellowstone in its appearance in fearmongering, the Baekdu (Changbaishan) caldera on the border between China and North Korea tends to get more attention than it deserves. Over the course of its known history, the caldera has produced a single VEI 7 eruption in ~1000 A.D. and a number of smaller explosive [...]
05.21.12
-
Supreme Court Lets Stand $675,000 File-Sharing Verdict
The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a $675,000 file-sharing verdict that a jury levied against a college student for making 30 music tracks available on a peer-to-peer network.
05.21.12 -
Design Students Draw Up Tires for Cars of the Future
A group of student designers have rethought the humble car tire, developing concepts that tilt into turns, articulate off-road and peel off when in need of a change. The new shoes were the results of a class project for third year transportation design students at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, with sponsorship from [...]
05.21.12 -
Trucks Use GPS To Anticipate Hills, Save Fuel
Daimler has debuted a new speed control system on their long-haul trucks that uses GPS data to automatically choose the right gear for going up or down a hill. Available on the Mercedes-Benz Actros, Predictive Power Control takes advantage of topographic data programmed into the truck’s GPS in order to properly shift the truck’s 12-speed [...]
05.21.12 -
The Ubiquitous School Volcano Project
Our oldest son, who's in 3rd grade, brought home the classic "build a volcano and make it explode" class project. We started with several items that were essentially recycled: an empty soda bottle, a leftover piece of plywood for the base, a cardboard box and our old phone book. In class, the volcano was subjected to the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment to simulate an explosion. Our son told us that his volcano had the most powerful explosion in the class.
05.21.12 -
Anxiety and the Geek
Since I was a child, I have suffered from high anxiety. When I was growing up, it was just referred to as being shy. As an adult, I learned that what I have is not something you always grow out of. In fact, as an adult, it can get worse if you don???t learn how to deal with it as a child. It took a few years to learn exactly what I have and how to deal with it. I went from therapist to therapist looking for answers on how to "fix" myself. A few times I went on medication to help alleviate the feelings I had. Eventually, I decided I had enough of both and started on a new path to find out how to deal with the anxiety and panic attacks.
05.21.12 -
Hasbro: Your Battleship Sets are Full of Awesome. But…
Two weeks ago the UPS man dropped a 3-foot box of fun from you on my front porch. The outside of the box was printed to resemble the studded helm of a battleship while the inside of the box was covered with dials, readouts, and flashy lights, as well as a red button that when pushed produced a sustained sonar ping. I am 44 years old and I have to tell you: this box all by itself was a delight!
05.21.12 -
GeekMom Book Club: Pilgrim of the Sky ??? Week 4
Join the GeekMoms as they discuss May's Book Club selection - Pilgrim of the Sky by GeekMom's Natania Barron and vote on what book to read for the next Book Club.
05.21.12 -
Love Letter to My Custom Converse
Converse Design-Your-Own Chuck Taylor line is perfect for design geeks and comic book geeks. The newest custom choices include DC Comics designs: Batman, the Riddler, the Joker, and Catwoman.
05.21.12 -
5 Nuclear Sites That Could Launch War With Iran
This week, the U.S. and its allies will sit down with some of their arch-nemeses: the Iranians. Big, unresolved questions persist about Iran's nuclear program, which Iran swears exists just to produce peaceful nuclear energy. In particular, those questions primarily concern five installations that concern the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the world's nuclear watchdog. And unless you're a nuclear wonk, you probably don't understand them. Here's a crib sheet.
05.21.12 -
Secret Agent 23 Skidoo’s New CD – Make Believers
A review of the new CD, Make Believers from hip hop children's musician, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.
05.21.12
-
Alt Text: 5 Horrifying Combo Monsters for Syfy Creature Features
It's been nearly two years since Sharktopus premiered, which I think you'll agree is too long. In hopes of inspiring Syfy to pick up the pace and go beyond the upcoming hybrid horror Piranhaconda, I present the following six movie ideas.
05.21.12 -
How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads
Scott Widdowson is a specialist, one of 10 reverse-engineers working??full time??for a stealthy company??funded by some of the biggest names in technology: Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Sony, and Ericsson.??Called the Rockstar Consortium, the 32-person outfit has a??single-minded mission: It examines successful??products, like routers and??smartphones, and it tries to find proof that these products??infringe??on a portfolio of over 4,000 technology patents once owned by one of the world's largest telecommunications companies.
05.21.12 -
Nexus Smartphones: Who Wins, Who Loses if Google Launches Android 5.0 in Multiple Handsets?
This fall, Google is expected to release not one, but five Android 5.0 flagship phones, each running a pure, unadulterated version of the new OS. Who wins -- and who loses -- if this bold shift in policy comes to pass?
05.21.12 -
May 21, 1927: Lucky Lindy Flies His Way Into the Celebrity Ranks
Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris, completing the first nonstop transatlantic flight in aviation history.
05.21.12 -
Laser Levels and Motion Capture Show Everything You Know About Bike Fit Is Wrong
Even from 20 yards away, Eddie Borysewicz knew from the arch of the rider???s back that his position was off. The famed coach, who led the U.S. squad to nine Olympic medals in 1984, ending a 72-year drought, didn???t need to take any measurements. He didn???t need any tools. He didn???t even need the rider [...]
05.21.12 -
7 Social Networking Apps for When Facebook Jumps the Shark
Facebook fever is everywhere. If you need to escape, here are seven social networking apps you can use to fill the void.
05.21.12 -
New NPR Puzzle Show Ask Me Another Is the Geekiest Thing on Radio
The new NPR trivia quiz/puzzle show "Ask Me Another" is awesomely geeky - it even has geek icon Jonathan Coulton as its house musician!
05.21.12 -
A Week of Witchblade Contest ??? Issue #151
Witchblade Rebirth Volume 1 collects the first story arc (issues #151???155) by the new creative team by Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, and Revival) and Diego Bernard (The Man With No Name) with covers from John Tyler Chrisopher??(Artifacts). In celebration of the trade paperback being released this week, GeekDad and publisher Top Cow have a little something for you.
05.21.12 -
A Start Up Trek – Resource Management
To recap, I have enough funding to start MindGear, but not quite enough to do the full lab pictured here. I'll look at my financial options and at doing a crowdsourcing campaign soon. My attempt to economize by doing work I could farm out to others (website design, hiring efforts) is taking too much of my time. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I need to farm out whatever I can to people who are passionate about what they do. That way I can concentrate on what I'm competent and excited about doing, making this business a success.
05.21.12 -
Thinket Quantum-Ripple Generator
Wouldn't you like to have a device which can generate quantum ripples, guaranteed to alter your path in space-time? Well, you're in luck! The Thinket Quantum-Ripple Generator "sends out wave after wave of pure quantum-ripples" that do just that! Now, the manufacturer can't tell you exactly how it works (that's proprietary information, of course), but they do ensure that anyone who uses their device "will have a different future than they would have had, had they not chosen to use it."
05.21.12
-
How to Spoil Your Dad for Father’s Day: Meze Headphones
I'm a bit of an audio junkie. Not an audiophile, mind you; I don't believe for a second I can tell the difference between an Ogg Vorbis and a Lossless FLAC. But I can tell when the bass is muddy and the highs are clipped. And I believe that when great music is delivered through great hardware, emotions can be magnified and experienced like an earthquake.
05.21.12 -
Waking Up Is Hard to Do, But Uniqlo’s App Can Help
If the prospect of waking up to a GLaDOS-esque-yet-cheerful voice speaking over catchy piano music sounds intriguing to you, then I've got an app to recommend. Uniqlo Wake Up claims to provide a more peaceful rousing from bed by using calming vocals and music influenced by the weather.
05.21.12 -
GeekDad 2012 Father’s Day Gift Guide
Your go-to guide for the best Father's Day gifts around.
05.21.12 -
Less Than Meets the Eye: The 12 Most Ridiculous Transformers of All Time (GeekDad Wayback Machine)
As I sat with my young son on the couch watching the "plot" of our first episode of the new Transformers: Animated series unfold, I couldn't help but state the obvious.
05.21.12 -
GeekDad Puzzle of the Week Solution: Carets and Vees
Congratulations to everyone that sent in a correct response for this past' Mondays Geekdad Puzzle of the Week, "Carets and Vees." Here is the puzzle as presented: For your shot at this week???s $50 ThinkGeek gift certificate, send in the count of counting numbers less than 2 million that are carets and vees. Carets are numbers that increase initially and then decrease, increasing and decreasing for at least one digit, and only "bouncing" one time. Repeated digits are acceptable in determining an increasing or decreasing sequence, i.e., 12231 is a caret, as is 1221, but 1233 and 1335 are not. Vees are the mirror image of carets, save that they initially decrease and later increase, with the same ability to utilize repeated digits, and the same restriction on having exactly one "bounce."
05.21.12 -
A Google-a-Day Puzzle for May 21
Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.
05.21.12 -
Kevin Smith Riffs on Spoilers, His New Show for Movie Geeks
Kevin Smith likes to talk. He'll riff for hours on pretty much anything -- comics, farting, hockey, Bruce Willis, the general state of the internet -- but mostly he likes to talk about movies. A lot. With people. And with his new Hulu series, that's pretty much all he has to do. The master of the Star Wars reference talks at length about Spoilers, fandom and how the internet changed everything.
05.21.12 -
Watch Live: Annular Solar Eclipse Creates Ring of Fire
Join Wired Science for some live feeds of the annular solar eclipse, which will be visible today over eastern Asia and western North America.
05.20.12 -
Fuego in Guatemala has Largest Eruption in Years
Fuego had one of its most explosive and vigorous eruptions in years over the weekend. The active Guatemalan volcano, located ~40 km from the capital city of the country, was producing an ash plume that topped out at almost 5 km / 16,000 feet and, if the reports can be believed, a fire fountain at [...]
05.20.12 -
Identify These Diabolical Follicles
To be a pop star in the 1980s you needed two things: a good set of chops and a whole lotta hair mousse. Actually, the chops might have been optional. See if you can identify these '80s singers by their impressive tresses.
05.20.12
-
LIVE – TM65 Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine
Ignition Time: 7 pm Copenhagen time Watch live streaming video from csscph at livestream.com Ad Astra Kristian von Bengtson
05.20.12 -
GeekMom Puzzle of the Week ??? #6
Each Sunday, a new quiz will be posted and you will have until 11:59 pm PST the following Friday to submit your answer. The kind folks over at ThinkGeek will be providing a $50 gift certificate for each week's winner. In order to be in with a chance of winning, you simply need to send your puzzle answer to the email address below.The winner will be chosen at random from all correct answers.
05.20.12 -
Off Your Rocker Card Game Review
Do you want to be a psychiatrist? Are your friends crazy (more importantly, are you)? Then look at Off Your Rocker! The new game from Stratus Games is a card-based party game where you and your group of friends take turns diagnosing each others mental issues.
05.20.12 -
How to View Sunday’s Eclipse (Safely) with a Telescope
If you're lucky enough to be in the path of the eclipse, and you don't have eclipse glasses or a special solar filter for your telescope, you can use the same technique we used to look at sunspots. To protect your eyes from radiation damage, DO NOT look directly through your telescope or binoculars! Instead, project the image onto a piece of paper.
05.19.12 -
TM65 Liquid Propellant Rocket Engine Ready – T Minus 21 Hours
Quick message… The TM65 engine is ready for testing tomorrow Sunday, 7 PM Copenhagen Time. This LOX/Alcohol engine has an estimated thrust of app. 7 tonnes. Stay tuned here on this blog for a high-res live feed link. You can download the flight operation procedures here (pdf) Ad Astra Kristian von Bengtson
05.19.12 -
Microbes at the Edge of Space
A citizen group devoted to science and space exploration for and by the masses is sponsoring a $10,000 competition to detect organisms at the edge of space. Astrobiologist and Extremo Files blogger Jeffrey Marlow reports.
05.19.12 -
GeekMom Puzzle of the Week #5 – Solution and Winner
On Saturday's I get to announce our Puzzle of The Week winner who was selected at random from all the correct entries.
05.19.12 -
Stop the Tarbosaurus Auction!
A Tyrannosaur fossil suspected to have been smuggled from Mongolia is set to be auctioned May 20. Scientists want the fossil to be donated to science and say the sale would further fuel illegal looting of fossils.
05.19.12 -
Which of These Insane Stunt Crews Will Be the Jackass of the Future?
The trio of films from the Jackass crew has grossed more than $334 million globally (emphasis on grossed). But they haven't cornered the global market on smart-stupid stunts. There are plenty of insane clown posses eager for fame. Who's got the goods?
05.19.12 -
Shrek on Over to Gaylord Palms for the Summer
For Mother's Day weekend, I was given the opportunity to take my family to the Gaylord Palms Resort for a Dreamworks Experience weekend.I've taken my husband and 6-year old son to ICE! in the past and it was a really nice, family friendly experience. As for the hotel, I've always seen it as more of a hotel for weddings or business guests. I was interested to see if the Dreamworks Experience would change the opinion I already have of the resort.
05.19.12
-
SpaceX Launch Aborted As Engine Ignition Begins
This morning???s scheduled launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was scrubbed with less than a second remaining on the countdown clock due to higher-than-expected pressure in one of the rocket???s engines.
05.19.12 -
Mo Willems’ Pigeon and Pals DVD Set
Scholastic Storybook Treasures is a great DVD series that brings beloved children's books to life. Their newest DVD set, Mo Willems' Pigeon and Pals, features the stories from the famous author/illustrator.
05.19.12 -
Piloted Split/Sprint Mission to Mars (1987)
In 1986-1987, astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, led a team that proposed a fast manned Mars mission as one of four "leadership initiatives" for NASA. Among the most realistic blueprints for NASA's post-space station future yet conceived, the Ride team's proposals marked an early break from the traditional space station-moon-Mars progression that guides most NASA planning to this day.
05.19.12 -
Microsoft to Launch Amazon EC2 Rival. Again
The rumor du jour is that Microsoft is just two weeks away from launching a competitor to Amazon's massively popular EC2 service. This seems like big news, until you consider that Microsoft already offers a competitor to Amazon EC2.
05.18.12 -
Kickstarter of the Week: A Portable Scanner for Smartphones
Using your smartphone to take a photo of a document is one of those things that seems like it should be easy, but just isn't. First you have to futz with the angle and the distance. Then there's the flash: on, it's too bright and washed out; off, it's dark and blurry.
05.18.12 -
ITC Awards Microsoft an Import Ban on Motorola Phones, Tablets
The ITC decided on Friday that Motorola's phones and tablets should be banned from sale in 60 days due to a violation of a Microsoft patent. President Obama could possibly overturn the sale ban.
05.18.12 -
The Launch Pad: SpaceX Falcon 9 Ready for Liftoff
Take a tour of the launch pad where SpaceX will attempt to make history May 19 by launching its Dragon capsule for a rendezvous with the International Space Station.
05.18.12 -
The Ultimate Counterfeiter Isn’t a Crook—He’s an Artist
Want to design the ultimate counterfeit $100 bill? Hire an artist.
05.18.12 -
Amazon Pitching Kindle Fire Welcome-Screen Ads for $600K
Amazon is reportedly pitching Kindle Fire welcome-screen ads. If they can pull it off, it could lead to an even cheaper Kindle Fire.
05.18.12 -
7 Most Intriguing TV Shows Coming This Fall
What will fill television's black hole after Fringe ends next season? The rash of new shows announced by networks over the past week include a few prime-time contenders that will offer an alternative to the usual doctor/lawyer/cop and sniggling singles/smug family fodder. Which ones will nail their fantastical high-concept premises when they air this fall? Hard to say at this point, but here's our short list of the most tantalizing shows set to debut during the 2012-2013 TV season, with teaser videos to give you a taste.
05.18.12
Services
Quick Links: Contact Us | Login/RegisterLogout | Newsletter | RSS Feeds | Tech Jobs | Wired Mobile | FAQ | Sitemap