Category Archives: Weekly

Around the Web September 5, 2014

Most geeks I know are looking forward to the premeire of Gotham in just a few weeks.  Unfortunately, most of the people I know also lead busy lives and might miss an episode or two. With DVRs that’s less of a worry, but is not completely alleviated. I know from experience that I have both forgotten to record shows or the DVR has screwed up and only recorded five minutes. As far as Gotham is concerned, it’s no longer a worry because Netflix has already acquired the rights to the show. In a fairly unprecedented move, Netflix has obtained the rights to a completely untested show (that isn’t a Netflix original), and it will be the international source for video-on-demand services.

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It’s worth noting that Amazon did something similar with Under the Dome, though not to the same extent as Netflix. Continue reading

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Winning Science August 22, 2014

Until recently, most scientists thought that the difference between species was fairly clear cut and typically involved the inability for cross species mating. Thanks to modern technology however, that distinction has become much less clear. In a comparison of different crow species, it was discovered that only an incredibly small difference in DNA separated two species. While the crows in question were still able to cross-breed, there were very few examples of it actually happening. Scientists are currently working on various theories as to why these two compatible species might not prefer to mate with one another.

This might not be the crows they were referring to...

This might not be the type of crow they were referring to…

New information like this will make it more difficult to classify different species, though it has significantly improved our understanding of those things that make us different.

Like most people my age, I rarely use cash, instead relying on one of several credit or debit cards in my wallet. While they are convenient, they are still pretty low tech. Cards are really only a piece of molded plastic with a magnetic strip on the back encoded with some information encoded. One company, Coin, is working to take credit cards into the 21st century. The Coin is a digital credit card that can actually replace several different cards. All one has to do is swipe an existing debit or credit card using a reader and phone app and then upload it to the device, which allows you to select any card uploaded to it, and then use Coin like a normal credit card. Although the device is still in beta testing, it shows great promise to at least do what it says it will.

Whether it will become more than a novelty is still up for debate, though.

It is with some sadness that I read that Kari, Grant and Tory will be departing Mythbusters. Over the years I’ve really enjoyed the show and have come to appreciate the entire cast. While their methods were not always perfectly scientific (and they have on occasion had to revisit myths) as a whole, they’ve done a great job of digging up urban myths, breaking them down, and seeing whether there was actually anything to them, or if they were full of hot air. I was always a big fan of the sheer joy and excitement these three put into their jobs, as science doesn’t always provoke these responses from people.

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I’m also more than a little jealous of how many things they got to smash and blow up without being arrested.

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Around the Web August 16, 2014

This has been a pretty good week for anybody who is following the production of Star Wars: Episode VII. First was the leaking of what appears to be the helmet of a Stormtrooper. Although it has been updated, it is still obviously a descendant of the iconic black and white helmet. Of course the picture popped up on Twitter and disappeared from the original source about as quickly, but given that this is the internet, nothing ever truly goes away. At this point, a quick Google search will bring you a ton of images of the new helmet. There is the possibility that this is just the doing of some fan and that it’s not a real movie prop, but we should be accustomed to this kind of thing by now.

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I wonder if the new helmet will help them aim better.

On to the second bit of Episode 7 business. We’ve also gotten what looks like costume designs for everyone’s favorite scoundrel. While the first does look something like a mix between Jedi robes and his old costume, the second one looks an awful lot like his costume from Hoth. The one thing that did catch my eye is something that looks quite a bit like an Imperial rank insignia on his chest. It might turn out to be nothing, but then again, there might be something worth looking into later.

Harrison Ford having some fun at a photo shoot for Star Wars.

Also, it appears that Ugg boots have invaded a galaxy far, far away. These are truly sad times.

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The last thing on today’s agenda is something that has nothing to do with Star Wars, but is in fact a short tale from my own day today. I got into comics about eight years ago, right around the time of World War Hulk, a Marvel event by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr. At the time I was new to comics and didn’t really understand what exactly makes comics valuable (I’m still working on this one, don’t judge) and so Joseph De Paul and I bought up the whole set of them and got Greg Pak to sign them. Despite our best efforts, we never did get Romita Jr. to sign them. Only after all our hard work was done did we realize that absolutely nobody wanted signed copies of these books because I don’t think anyone turned out to be a real fan of the series. On top of all that, my local comic store had an insane amount of World War Hulk back issues due to a customer who bought hundreds of copies just to get the varient cover. Every time I would go looking though back issue boxes, there they were, mocking my failure. Needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson.

Today, however, into my inbox drops an email from Comixology informing me of the sale on the “fan favorite epic” that was going on right now. After my personal experience, my first reaction was to fight the overwhelming urge to take a rolled up newspaper and whack someone from Comixology on the nose like a bad dog and say “NO” in a stern and authoritative voice.  In my opinion, they can think themselves lucky I didn’t rub their noses in it

 

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Winning Science August 10, 2014

For most of history scientists have been forced to experiment on animal brains if they wanted to test the way a brain works. Obviously it’s unethical to experiment on a living human, and a dead one doesn’t really give you quite the same insight. With the use of stem cells however, scientists have been able to start growing mini-brains in the lab that can model certain brain functions. While these mini-brains won’t ever become fully functional brains, they develop all the same kinds of tissue that the real thing has, which then allows scientists to study their functions better.

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