Geek Quote of the Day
It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be…
Archive for February, 2009
This Day in Geek History: February 28
1826
Wilhelm von Biela, an Austrian military officer, discovers Biela’s Comet during its perihelion approach. It is the third periodic comet to be discovered.
1885
The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated as a subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone company in New York.
1935
Nylon is discovered by Dr. Wallace H. Carothers of DuPont.
1939
The word “Dord” is discovered by an editor in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation. Dord turns out to be a typographic error which had been intended to be printed as “D or d”.
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Geek Media Round-Up: February 27, 2009
Art
- I know it has made the rounds of the net already, but I never get tire of browsing photos of the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store run by 826NYC.
- Over at Deviant Art, Sora1589 envisions Calvin, Hobbes, and Susie years into the future.
Comics
- A copy of Action Comics No. 1 is coming up for auction. Got a space hundred thousand?
Link Round-Up: February 27, 2009
From Around the Web
10 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads – This tutorial runs down the settings you should start out with when you turn to bittorrent to find your media. Most people just download a client and jump in, but a small bit of refinement goes a long way.
20 Best iPhone Photo & Video Applications – A directory of some great 3rd party apps that enhance iPhone photography by letting you edit and share your photos easily with friends.
Etherpad – This online collaboration tool is unique in that it allows multiple people work on the same document at the same time, in real time. For a cool demo, watch Paul Graham write a thread in real-time. It could be a tool for coming to a better understanding of your own writing process.
Jurassic Web – Slate Magazine takes a look at the Internet of 1996 through the eyes of the Internet Archive with more that a bit of nostalgia.
Programming Contests and Puzzles Online – GrokCode encourages users to practice their code-fu by participating in this directory of competitions, exercises, and puzzles.
OneSwarm Turns P2P into F2F – Oneswarm is an application that allows users to control how they share files, allowing them to limit transfers to a select group of friends, thus avoiding RIAA entanglements.
Tircd – Tircd presents twitter as an irc channel. You can connect to tircd and twitter through your irc client.
Turn a Dell Mini 9 Into the Ultimate OS X Netbook – Create a 9-inch, 3G-equipped, nearly pocket-sized computer to run OS X on a budget.
The Ultimate Guide to Kindle 2.0 – Online Degree World offers up a directory of hacks, support, tips, and news stories about the new Kindle.
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Geek Quote of the Day
A home without books is a body without soul.
This Day in Geek History: February 27
1812
The poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of the Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
1813
The first federal vaccination legislation is enacted.
1900
Felix Hoffman is issued a patent for Aspirin. (US No. 644,077)
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T-Shirt of the Week: How we Roll
Check out this t-shirt over at Shirt.Woot!. It was designed by Wil Wheaton (yes, that Will Wheaton), and it is a prime candidate for your next gaming night t-shirt. It comes in one color, “Rolling Asphaltout” gray, and in sizes Small – 3X-Large for US$15.00.
…Hmmm… I’m just dying to make some clever remark about electron levels, but nothing comes to mind at the moment.
Source: Shirt.Woot!
Geek Media Round-Up: February 26, 2009
Art
- Awesome!!! A look at the Secret Life of the StormTrooper.
- Wired speculates on what the Truck Stop of the Future will look like.
Comics
- Over at The Geek Files, Joss Whedon explains Why it’s so hard getting DC Comics heroes on the big screen.
- Wired has posted a gallery of The 25 Best Superman Symbols of All Time.
Film
- Airlock Alpha lists Top 10 Science-Fiction Films Based on Short Stories, Novels and Novellas.
- Is it just me, or do “good fanboy years” only occur about every other year… cuz 2010 is Going to be a Great Year for Fanboys.
- The ScienceBlogs examines the science of Watchmen, from Dr. Manhattan’s origins to Rorschach’s grappling gun.
- Watchmen Director Zack Snyder reveals differences between the novel and the upcoming film.
