blog posts in geek
09/04/2010 • comments ()
The Geek Solar System
Posted by Zadi Diaz

Lately, Stephen Hawking has been on a roll with the doom and gloom - evil aliens, Earth's extinction, no God. Just know, we have options, people! :)

[ Via: Armored Heart ]

filed: geek, graphics
tags: fiction, planets, sci-fi
06/05/2009 • comments ()
Conan's Mushroom Kingdom Set
Posted by Zadi Diaz

Does Conan's new set look familiar? That's because it's the Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario Bros. The guys over at Serious Lunch caught the coincidence, and Kotaku got the scoop on the backdrop. When they asked Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, if he would send a cease and desist, Reggie said "No. For Conan, we'll let that one slide."

05/07/2009 • comments ()
xeni jardin is online culture personified
Posted by Steve Woolf

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We had the privilege to hang out and talk to Xeni Jardin, and I have to admit I was a little nervous. I'd talked to her at industry events and social gatherings, but it's not often that Zadi and I spend time with people who, like us, have such a vast knowledge of the web and its culture going back ten or more years. There is something special about the people who came of age with the first Internet boom and worked online during the transformation of the web from a tech curiosity into a mainstream cultural force. Luckily for us, she is completely charming and down to earth, and considering her efforts over the past two years with Boing Boing video, we had tons of common experiences.

» This article continues

04/21/2009 • comments ()
is twitter losing its intimacy?
Posted by Steve Woolf

Ashton Kutcher's Twitter page, with over 1.3MM followers

With all the recent hubbub around Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN in the race to a million Twitter followers, a lot of people are getting self-conscious about follower numbers. We've been using Twitter since Fall 2006, when only a handful of our friends were active on it. Over the years, and especially in the last six months, we have seen an explosion of Twitter users, to the point where I think we can safely say that Twitter has gone completely mainstream. If the Ashton vs. CNN thing wasn't it, then Oprah joining up a day later certainly sealed the deal.

» This article continues

04/18/2009 • comments ()
super mario theme - laser cutter edition!
Posted by Paul Dateh

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A while back, a man named James Houston combined old gadgets, computer peripherals, and an array of failed hard drives to create a motorized ensemble that performed a version of Radiohead's "Nude." Now, a guy named Jed from HackLab has written code that controls the motors of a laser cutter, allowing the machine to resonate specific pitches and carry a tune of its own. In the above video, you can see the machine performing everyone's favorite Super Mario theme.

James and Jed both show that music can truly be found everywhere and in everything. I can't wait to see what other cool musical things the d.i.y. tech world will build next!

[ Via: boingboing ]

filed: diy, geek, hacks, music
tags: hackers, hacks, lasers, motors
12/01/2008 • comments ()
hacker + mad scientist + macgyver = bre pettis
Posted by Steve Woolf

We've known Bre Pettis for years now, and I have to say that no one epitomizes the web DIY ethic more than him. In the course of his varied career, he has been a puppeteer, a teacher, a videoblogger, a web show producer, and a television host, not to mention a founder of NYC Resistor. Phil Torrone of Make Magazine said in The Wall Street Journal that Bre was like Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye "The Science Guy" rolled into one. That's a cool description, but I think eventually Bre will be a brand all his own.

» This article continues

11/19/2008 • comments ()
bike hero!
Posted by Zadi Diaz


What do you get when you mix Guitar Hero and bike riding? Do you even need to ask? Only the most amazing bike ride ever! Apparently it took Madflux and the Brierwood Vandals more than a couple of times to produce this video. It was well worth it.

filed: geek, sports
tags: bicycles
11/19/2008 • comments ()
forget super mario, this is super obama world!
Posted by Steve Woolf

I'm not sure if we've ever had a president inspire a video game where he isn't the object of ridicule, but this might be the first. Super Obama World is a lot of fun! Watch out for the pigs and the bailout barons! MIX member Edward pointed it out on the forums.

And if you use Firefox, you might want to try out the Flash Game Maximizer plug-in that Mike Ambs pointed out to us. Super Obama in fullscreen!

[ Via: Via: Edward on MIX ]

11/07/2008 • comments ()
amazing visualization of barack obama wikipedia page edits
Posted by Steve Woolf

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Bravo to our friend and colleague Jamie Wilkinson, who created this video visualization of the edits made to the Barack Obama Wikipedia page using the open source code_swarm and his own wikiswarm script that ties into the Wikipedia API.

[ Via: via: jamiew on Vimeo ]

10/29/2008 • comments ()
halloween top 10 web themed/meme costume ideas....
Posted by Zadi Diaz


MIX member DeadPianoPlayer asks the question "So whatcha gonna be on Halloween" on one of our MIX threads. Some very amusing responses have floated around already, including an unshaven swimmer (just insert wig in said place), and a human tornado (just pin little houses and animals on self and do a 360 turn).

So what are YOU going to be for Halloween? Join in on the discussion.

If you're anything like me, you probably haven't decided just yet. So in service to those of you out there who are struggling for ideas, here are our top 10 Internet themed costume ideas:

» This article continues

filed: community, diy, geek
tags: halloween
10/07/2008 • comments ()
master inventor: andy stanford-clark
Posted by Zadi Diaz

Photo courtesy of IBM.


So how exactly does one become a master inventor? What makes someone qualified to be a master inventor? Those are exactly the questions we asked Andy Stanford Clark, IBM Master Inventor and home automation guru.

Andy looks like a pretty unassuming guy, but don't let the smile fool you. He's a visiting Professor at Newcastle University, a member of MIT Media Lab Steering Committee, has been granted 11 patents, has 33 patents pending, and has 30 additional invention disclosures. Whew... and that's not even the tip of the iceberg.

» This article continues

tags: twitter
09/28/2008 • comments ()
hilarious: you're no one if you're not on twitter
Posted by Steve Woolf

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I found this via Amber MacArthur's blog while perusing my feeds. Not sure how I missed this one by a fellow named Ben Walker from the U.K., but now I can't stop singing the chorus of this song! For all the good humor on the Internet, I'm still waiting for a huge backlash against the insiderishness of videos like these. For now, though, enjoy this gem!

Oh, and, duh, here's Ben Walker's twitter and Amber Mac's twitter.

[ Via: via: AmberMac ]

09/26/2008 • comments ()
so excited for history hacker with bre pettis, on TV tonight!
Posted by Steve Woolf

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Our amazing friend Bre Pettis has been a staple of innovative online video for years, and has a television pilot on tonight called History Hacker! From Bre's blog:

My TV show pilot called "History Hacker" airs this upcoming Friday at 8PM and Midnight on the History Channel. I'm the host of the show and I check out inventors in history and take a hands-on look at their inventions. I need your help to make the show go from a pilot to a real TV show.

The pilot is all about Nikola Tesla and the war of the currents between Tesla and Edison. In the show I learn how to blow a neon tube, explore wireless electricity and build an AC generator from a bike. I also go to Boston to visit an MIT space lab to see how the principles that Tesla pioneered are being applied to space propulsion.

The look of the show is awesome. The folks at History gave the producer, director, and director of photography permission to take my DIY style of making videos with lots of jump cuts and direct talking to the camera and push it forward into a longer format. It doesn't look like anything else on TV.

It really does look amazing -- just check out the sizzle reel embedded at the top of this post! If anyone should be the mainstream media emissary for DIY video makers, it's Bre Pettis. You rule, Bre!

09/15/2008 • comments ()
cookie monster slayer!
Posted by Zadi Diaz


Poor Cookie Monster -- but this is a pretty bad-ass costume. Wondering now whose head I can put on a stake for Halloween.

The photo was taken by Dot D at DragonCon 08. Check out her website Dabbled, she creates the cutest things!

filed: geek, style
tags: cookie monster, costume
09/15/2008 • comments ()
everything needs more cowbell!
Posted by Steve Woolf

One thing that Bruce Dickinson has taught me: everything needs more cowbell. And now thanks to morecowbell.dj every song you own can have more cowbell. And more Christopher Walken.


That SNL sketch (linked here, unable to embed) has taken on a life of its own that really amazes me. It must be 5 or 6 years old already, and people still quote it all the time. Ha!

09/15/2008 • comments ()
beware the invasion
Posted by Zadi Diaz
space invaders


Old school games meet new school possibilities.

[ Via: via: northerngeek ]

09/02/2008 • comments ()
geekgasm: jonathan coulton and felicia day sing still alive
Posted by Steve Woolf

How cool for the people at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) in Seattle this weekend! The awesome Jonathan Coulton and the multi-talented Felicia Day did a duet of "Still Alive" with the crowd. Enjoy!

In case you've forgotten, Jonathan was on our first episode back, and we talked to Felicia Day just before Dr. Horrible came out and she took over the world!

What a special time this is for new media people!

08/01/2008 • comments ()
the guild season one on DVD!
Posted by Steve Woolf

Hey, we love The Guild, we love Felicia Day, we love independent artists doing their thang. So why not pick up a copy of The Guild on DVD and help support production of Season 2! We did!

06/25/2008 • comments ()
classic photos in lego
Posted by Zadi Diaz


Known as Balakov on Flickr, Mike Stimpson recreates some of the most famous photos in our culture in Lego form.

I take quite a lot of Lego pictures.
I love messing about with macro lighting.
Strobist.com taught me everything I know.

» This article continues

filed: art, geek
tags: lego
06/12/2008 • comments ()
geek kama sutra: love your OS longtime
Posted by Zadi Diaz


It is often said that if you love your machine, your machine will love you back. Not quite sure who said that, or if it was actually ever said - but it sounds like something that should be written in stone. I mean, how many times has your OS just decided to crash as that deadline inches its way to your neck? It's almost as if it knows.

» This article continues

[ Via: Digg ]

06/11/2008 • comments ()
awesome flickr photo set: spam one-liners
Posted by Steve Woolf

Rick found this great set of images created by London illustrator Linzie Hunter a while back, and I've kept it in my Google notebook for a long time hoping to find a way to work it into the show. Rather than wait, it's such a cool project that I figured I'd blog about it. Spam one-liners!

More pics after the jump...

» This article continues

filed: art, geek
tags: flickr, spam
06/10/2008 • comments ()
epic spotlight: james houston
Posted by Steve Woolf

James Houston is a student at the Glasgow School of Art in the visual communication program. As he writes on the Vimeo page for the video above, this is his final project before graduating. Quite a way to go out, James.

» This article continues

05/05/2008 • comments ()
geek flowchart!
Posted by Steve Woolf
09opart.large

Created by Sam Potts from the The New York Times. Click the image for a large version.

[ Via: [via technabob] ]

tags: funny
04/10/2008 • comments ()
best lipdub ever! rhianna featuring jay-z!
Posted by Steve Woolf
tags: funny
04/09/2008 • comments ()
super mario mushroom drum pads for rock band
Posted by Zadi Diaz


Just received a message from Vance (Behold the Mundane) alerting me to these super cool Super Mario Drum Pads for Rockband! He and his friend/co-creator Jennifer toiled long and hard on these, so show some love. There are also Flickr pictures.

[Thanks Vance]

tags: gaming, geek
04/04/2008 • comments ()
bbc covers the rickroll phenomenon
Posted by Zadi Diaz


If you scrub to about :53 you'll see that we're now forever stamped in Rick Rolling history. Later in the video you'll see Tim Shey from NNN who was Live Rick Rolled by Rocketboom. LOL.

Is it finally the death of the Rick Roll -- or does this now mean I'll start getting Rick Rolled by my mom? Ooh boy...

04/01/2008 • comments ()
flip that text, bitch!
Posted by Steve Woolf
flip

I saw Andy Carvin link to this little trick on Twitter and I thought it was pretty damn cool. It's a script that matches regular characters to their flipped equivalents. Unless you're a web coder, you might not realize just how many tons of characters can be generated on a computer.

There's another script here, in case the one I linked to (above) goes down in the future.

[ Via: [Via Andy Carvin on Twitter] ]

filed: geek
tags: distraction, funny, tech
03/28/2008 • comments ()
logical awesome
Posted by Zadi Diaz


[via frostfirezoo]

filed: funny, geek
tags: geek
03/28/2008 • comments ()
design code rapper
Posted by Zadi Diaz


If you are amongst the legion of coding noobs, you better listen up to The Poetic Prophet's (AKA The SEO Rapper) Design Code rap. :)

When you use CSS, your page will load quicker
Client satisfied like they eating on a snicker...
tags: music
03/27/2008 • comments ()
cardboard tron!
Posted by Zadi Diaz


For those of you who loved the 1982 classic, you will probably get a kick out of this. It's funny how one of the first computer generated movies is remade here into cardboard stop motion craziness. This definitely follows my rule of: "If you're going to remake something, you better give it a twist." I think introducing cardboard into the equation is a pretty good twist.

tags: geek, movies