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Posts tagged book
Ep. 291 – Do Facts Have a Half-Life? Sam Arbesman Says “Yes!”
Dec 5th
TOPIC: We have a great interview today with the author of the book “The Half-Life of Facts,” Sam Arbesman! It’s a fascinating and deep book, and Sam does a wonderful job of explaining how all of the “facts” we know are constantly being overturned … and that this is occurring at a mathematically definable rate. If that scares you, don’t worry, we also spend a lot of time talking about Popeye, astronomy, and who exactly discovered the last major organ in the human body!
The show wouldn’t be complete without Jay Garmon on hand to ask us this geek question of the week:
How and when did the first reported lottery in history occur?
No cool sites of the week this week, but make sure you check out these links for more info about Sam Arbesman and his book:
- “The Half Life of Facts” Book website: http://www.halflifeoffacts.com
- Sam Arbesman’s website: http://www.arbesman.net
Finishing it all off is a fantastic new song by Alt-J called “Fitzpleasure.” It’s also one of the creepiest videos I’ve seen in a long time – go find it on YouTube when you get a chance!
Ep. 288 – Alexandre Montagu on Intellectual Property
Nov 14th
Alexandre Montagu Intellectual Property: Money and Power in a New Era Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (87)
TOPIC: Alexandre Montagu, founder of MontaguLaw – a leading intellectual property law firm – joins us to talk about all things IP! Did you know that the color red can be considered intellectual property, and sued over? We don’t stick with fashion, but have a very interesting and in-depth discussion about what IP is and how it affects you and the technologies you use every day. We even have time to freewheel some ideas on just exactly what is wrong with IP law today!
We also have the pleasure of Jay Garmon coming on air via the wonders of wireless to answer last week’s question and provide this nugget for next week:
What was the training technique developed specifically for use in Gemini 12 (still in use today) and what mission objective was it used for?
Once again we get so involved in our discussion there just isn’t time for any coolsites, but you should definitely follow the links here to get more info about the book Intellectual Property: Money and Power in a New Era, and if you’ve got any other legal questions go to MontaguLaw directly!
We end the show with a special podcast only song of the week, an ode to everyone who is still arguing about the election … just listen and you’ll understand 
Ep. 266 – Who’s #1?
Apr 25th
TOPIC: No, I’m not trying to beg for praise – that’s the title of the fascinating new book that authors Carl Meyer and Amy Langville have written … and we have a great time talking to them about it today! We cover some of the more interesting ways that math, sports, ratings and rankings all get together – it may not help you make your first million in Vegas, but then again, it won’t hurt!
Rusty Silber, from WRLR’s own Sports Corner joins us to add a much-needed sense of balance and insight.
There’s a few news stories in the beginning and then Jay Garmon also jumps in for a quick Geek Trivia fix:
What was the first linewide change of the Coca Cola formula in 1935 – and why was it performed?
We have too much fun talking with Amy and Carl this week, so the coolsites are little slim:
- Who’s #1 – You can buy it on Amazon today, either hard copy or e-reader.
- Carl Meyer’s Web Page
- Amy Langville’s Web Page
The podcast only song of the week is “Pickpocket” by Fujiya & Miyagi.
Ep. 236 – Chip Bell is “Wired and Dangerous”!
Jul 12th
TOPIC: Author, businessman, consultant, vet, raconteur and man-about-town (well, I’m making that last one up) Chip Bell and collaborator John Patterson bring us the insightful new book Wired and Dangerous: how your customers have changed and what to do about it. Chip spends a great half a show with us talking about how things move by “word of mouse” these days, and if you own a business, have ever written a review online, or are simply wondering what all the fuss is about, you’ll want to tune in!
We take a few minutes out to get some great geek trivia from our good friend Jay Garmon:
Which Manhattan project scientists won the pool to determine the explosive yield of the trinity nuclear test?
We manage to get a couple of photog related coolsites in too:
- Pixlr – Tired of not being able to join in all that instagram fun, just because you don’t have an iphone? Just upload your pics here and edit away!
- TiltShifter – Tiltshift your pics automagically with this online app; post your pics and download ‘em tiltshifted minutes later!
The podcast only song of the week is by The Decemberists; “Don’t Carry it All” Enjoy!
Ep. 230 – Transhuman Much?
May 23rd
TOPIC: Just Mike this week, but in addition to all his regular junk he manages to squeeze in a fascinating interview with Braden Allenby and David Sarewitz, authors of the book “The Techno-Human Condition.”
Jay Garmon finally joins us again and regains our trust with some awesome geek trivia (as usual)!
Why will the final shuttle mission in July have only 4 crew members?
We have such a great conversation we don’t even have time for coolsites of the week! We do however get in a great podcast only song “Sadie Hawkin’s Day” by Yip Deceiver.
Ep. 198 – The Book is Dead; Long Live the Book!
Aug 12th
TOPIC: Wondering about whether you should pull that paper mill investment out of your portfolio? Eric Ginsberg of Bookswim comes on air to tell us why you just might want to hold onto your bookshelves for a little bit longer in a really great talk this morning. You can also read the really great follow-up article on Slate – after listening to us, of course!
Jay Garmon then graces us with his inimitable presence, and unlike last week it all goes off without a hitch in this newest installment of geek trivia:
What famous, golden-age actress holds a patent for the underlying technology of wi-fi?
The talk with Eric is too interesting to break away from for long, but I do manage to sneak a quick ‘coolsite of the week’ in there too:
- Product Manuals via Retrevo – Don’t have room for all those manuals for stereos, dishwashers, refrigerators, TV’s and so on? Lost them in a fire (that somehow didn’t ruin all the products themselves)? Check here for free downloads in PDF form of consumer products!
The podcast only song of the week this week is Intelligentactile 101 by Jesca Hoop!
Ep. 162 – Windows 7 Unleashed by Paul McFedries
Oct 11th
TOPIC: Wondering about all this Windows 7 hype you’re hearing? Not sure how you’ll figure all the new stuff out, or if it’s worth it? Well, Paul McFedries joins us and provides answers from his 800+ page tome Windows 7; Unleashed! We have a great time and get around to at least a few of those burning questions!
Jay Garmon does his usual Jay thing again, but we’re once again without Dave “Sparky” Saganaki. If you’re missing Dave, send him some love at techtalk@wrlr.fm and see if we can’t beg, con, guilt or otherwise convince him to come back in the studio sometime soon!
We don’t have a huge amount of time for cool sites, but I did pick a real good one – with multiple areas – anyways:
- Aviary - With a whole host of online, free, and very cool products to check out you’ll definitely want to fly up to the aviary sometime soon. I’ve played with the audio creator (named Myna), but you’ll have fun looking at everything if you’re more graphically inclined than me! They’ve got flash image editors, fun color and vector editors, and more … this may be just one site, but it’s got tons of great stuff on it!
And finally, the podcast only song of the week is the totally rocking “Elvis” by These New Puritans!
Ep. 156 – Geeking Out with the Geek Atlas
Aug 5th
TOPIC: We get all geek-a-licious on you this week! Not only do we have our usual ‘Geek Trivia’ with Jay Garmon, but we are also joined by John Graham-Cumming discussing our latest recommended read -”The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive.” We had a great time with the book, and an even better time talking with the author! The Geek Atlas is a wonderful travel guide that not only details locations to go to but the detailed and fascinating science behind why they are some of the most interesting places on earth for the geek in us. Though we didn’t get time for a lot of news and updates, no show would be complete without a whole handful of coolsites of the week:
- GrooveShark – Looking for a tune you just have to hear? This site will find dozens of copies and versions you can stream instantly and for free! Jump on the grooveshark before the RIAA catches wind!
- TwitCam and CamTweet – Both excellent options for getting your face out there to all your tweeps … easy to set up, easy to use, and (of course) free!
- TheUserManualSite – Looking for a manual? Want to throw out those dozens of paper ones you have in the drawer? Check this free site out to combine all your manuals in one place, organized and downloadable!
The podcast only song of the week is “Dear God” by Black Landlord and is truly podcast only thanks to a few questionable words, so beware. There’s a good chance you won’t be hearing from us for a few weeks … we’re on our summer vacation, but pick up a copy of the “The Geek Atlas” by John Graham-Cumming or hang out and wait for us to come back and talk to Plextor on August 22nd!
Ep. 155 – Mike Miller’s Selling Online 2.0!
Jul 22nd
TOPIC: Another fantastic (if a bit rushed) interview with our good friend Mike Miller! This time around he’s sharing with us the in-depth info on how to buy, sell, and market yourself online after the ‘demise’ of eBay (come on and admit it, eBay just isn’t that much FUN anymore!). His new book, Selling Online 2.0 is available at Amazon, or you can check out all of Mike’s library (over 90 books!) at http://www.molehillgroup.com.
We get rushed this week because in addition to another great segment by Jay “Geek Trivia” Garmon wherein Customer Jones becomes an official nemesis, Michael goes on a GoDaddy rant, sharing info on how your important emails might be blocked if you use GoDaddy for webmail (see our related posts here and here).
We received some questions about the TechTalk Ubuntu setup and how that was done, so continued the useful dual-boot configuration tools discussion with this coolsite of the week:
- EASEUS Partition Manager – The safest way to have your system dual-booting is, as Offspring says, to “keep ‘em seperated.” If you’ve got one giant C: drive, or maybe too many darn drive letters sharing the same physical unit, the EASEUS Partition manager will take care of that for you – free for home use!
The podcast only song of the week is “Freedom Highway” by Mavis Staples. We’re off next week, but join us in 2 when we return with another book breakdown of the “The Geek Atlas” by John Graham-Cumming.
Ep. 153 – CIA Spycraft and Gadgets!
Jul 1st
TOPIC: We missed Jay this week through issues that were solely the responsibility of the host (yours truly), so don’t believe the audio where we cuss Jay out (for those with sensitive ears this is of course not true, we would have redacted anything like that!) Speaking of which, on the flip side our error with Jay got us a ton of time to spend with J. Keith Melton and discussion on his new book SPYCRAFT: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CIA’S SPYTECHS, FROM COMMUNISM TO AL-QAEDA. His book and our interview are well worth your time as we cover the first mobile communication devices, evolution of spy gadgetry, and what does miniaturization mean for spies of today!
We decided to do a list of lists coolsite listing this week and came up with:
- Data Recovery Tools – Top 5 FREE data recovery tools, as collected by Lifehacker.
- Online PDF Apps – Top 10 awesome online PDF apps, as collected by CNET.
- Career Sites – Top 20 slideshow of IT professional’s career websites from Dice to The Ladders, as collected by Network World.
- Top 50 Websites – 50 websites you’ll wonder how you ever lived without, as selected by curiousread.com!
The podcast only song of the week is “The Golden Path” by Chemical Brothers feat. Flaming Lips!
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