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Posts tagged geek
Ep. 309 – A fount of fun fonts!
May 31st
TOPIC: Dave’s not here, so Mike gets to rant about Google Reader and Hangouts again and talk about anything else that comes to mind … but Jay Garmon sticks around to discuss the news of the day and share this geek trivia question of the week:
Of all the “blockbuster” summer movies released Memorial Day weekend, what was the only one that ever won the best picture award?
With guests and regulars like we had today it’s no surprise that our coolsites of the week bit got a little squished (as in “completely out of existence”) but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some sites you should check out:
- EveryStockPhoto.com – Just what it sounds like, a huuuuge collection of royalty free stock photos that you can search and find and use to your heart’s content!
- FontSquirrel.com – Similarly, but with fonts. Lots and lots of fonts. Free, delicious fonts!
- LeagueOfMovableType.com – Like FontSquirrel, but slightly less so.
- LostType.com - This site focuses on providing high quality, interesting fonts and less on sheer quantity. Excellent curated (and free) font choices here!
- SmashingMagazine.com – A wonderful collection of articles and links to design and graphic insight and information. Check out the seasonal wallpapers!
Keep listening for the distinctly Bronski-beat sounding “Blind” by Hercules!
Ep. 307 – Just Say No to 3D Printing!
May 16th
TOPIC: Dave’s in Europe, and as you know when Sparky’s away Jay Garmon and I take the opportunity to go whole-geek on your ears! This week we’re talking about signing up for a one-way ticket to Mars, Commander Riker’s bizarre seating methods in TNG, and about a dozen other things (other than the one thing I promised we’d discuss of course … 3D printing! Maybe next time?). Jay delivers a fantastic geek trivia question as always:
Who was the only guest star who played themselves on Star Trek?
Only time for one coolsite of the week this week, but it is a lot of fun -
- GigWalk - Hire or become part of a smartphone army! Very interesting idea – People can earn money doing jobs for businesses through the Gigwalk mobile app, and businesses can hire people instantly!
We finish it the show off with “Rich Girls” by The Virgins!
Ep. 289 – Fantasy Football Fail!
Nov 19th
TOPIC: It’s Sunday, noon. The big game is just about to kick off and all you need to do to guarantee a win in your fantasy football league is to swap that defense. What do you see as you log in to make the change? 404 website fail! If you were using Yahoo! this weekend to get your fantasy on, this is literally what happened to you – and Mike knows your pain! We also get into a little General Betrayus discussion, and our good friend Jay Garmon spends probably far more time than he expected on-air chatting and getting into detailed info about this and more – plus asks this brain bender for the week:
Why did Nolan Bushnell really have Atari develop the Pong video game?
And we finally get a chance for a few coolsites of the week:
- NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month! Get help, insight, advice and direction for writing your first novel right here!
- Stykz – Make your own stick figure animations for free! Download the software and have at it … no strings attached.
- Stamen Maps – Make your plain Jane Google maps look artistic and cool!
- EBM First – Great place to get started on finding out where to spend your health dollars. Evidence-Based Medicine First will disabuse you of any illusions you might have concerning your “healthcare” provider, and give you ammo to fight against quackery everywhere!
We end up with the podcast only song “Gravity” by The Whitest Boy Alive. Enjoy!
Ep. 260 – A Leap Year for Geeks!
Feb 29th
TOPIC: Mike, Dave and ubergeek Jay Garmon have a great time this week talking books, authors, new publishing ideas and leap years! It doesn’t hurt that Jay has just returned from (yet another) really cool fiction con to rub our noses in. 
Leap years and leap days are so much fun that we enhance our enjoyment with a themed geek trivia question from Jay Garmon who asks:
What day in February is the day that was actually inserted into the month for leap year, that by result creates February 29th? (Hint: it’s not February 29!)
Another great set of coolsites comes along this week too:
- PlayFic – Play and make your own text adventures!
- Etymonline.com – Online etymologies at your fingertips!
- OldTime Radio Archive – Radio classics, free and available for download!
The podcast only song of the week is “Female Doctor” by Miniature Tigers.
Ep. 255 – Reddit’s Erik Martin talks SOPA!
Jan 10th
TOPIC: You’ve heard Mike rant about SOPA often enough … it’s about time he got someone on-air knowledgeable about the darn thing! If you’ve been wondering what it is, or why we should hate it, Reddit‘s GM Erik Martin provides a much needed clear head and informed insight into the topic.
Not to let a show go without some sort of rant, Mike also gets his whine on about ereaders and newspapers and why they don’t combine forces offering low-cost ereaders with a subscription contract … which, judging by the news today somebody must have listened!
Jay Garmon joins us to answer last week’s geek trivia and present a great new one:
Who was the famous inventor that had the year 4000 exception suggestion to replace the leap year idea, and why was this suggestion not made into a rule?
We skip the whole coolsite of the week thing again (too much cool stuff going on with the show), but some places you should check out include:
- SOPA on Reddit – We discuss this on air, and it’s a great place to start for in-depth and current info about SOPA!
- Reddit.com – If you haven’t gotten there yet, well, it’s about time you did!
- TechTalk on Facebook – Don’t forget to “like” us if you’re a fan!
The podcast only song is the awesome “She Only Sleeps …” by David Byrne!
Ep. 254 – The year in review (and other random stuff)
Jan 4th
TOPIC: Happy new years, listeners! Can you believe we’ve finished another trip around the sun so quickly? And that so much happened this last 12-months? We have a great and quite random discussion about this, talking about top stories of 2012 and spending altogether too much time discussing the loss of Steve Jobs.
Jay EncycloGarmonica does us the service of answering the previous question and provides a new and quite current “ripped from the headlines” trivia question for you:
Why is the US Government looking to rule whether the X-Men should be considered human beings or not?
No coolsites this week – but check our Facebook page http://facebook.com/techtalkwrlr for some “Best Of”‘s for 2011!
Podcast only song, after the break, is “Help, I’m Alive!” by Metric.
Ep. 252 – Popular Science Top Innovations of 2011!
Dec 14th
Corinne Iozzio and Popular Science Innovations 2011 [ 1:01:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (146)TOPIC: We’ve got a full house and an exciting show today! Not only is Dave here, but Scott Andraschko of Round Lake Area Schools drops in to add some much-needed insight and expertise to our conversation. But of course, that’s not all! Corinne Iozzo of Popular Science helps us out by breaking down some of the coolest innovations of 2011 as published in the Popular Science magazine and website! This is one of those must-listen episodes that makes it worth slogging through the rest of the garbage we usually post
In other news; Dave has gadget fever, portable speakers are all the rage, and Mike can’t keep his hands off of his wife’s Christmas present. And yes, that is a euphemism for a Samsung Galaxy 10.1″ android tablet!
We finish up with some coolsites of the week:
- DocumentaryTube – Free documentaries? How is this possible, you ask? Go check out DocumentaryTube and find out now (plus learn yourself a little something)! Free. Educational. Mmmm, documentaries.
- Presentify.Me – Make those groupons you’re buying for friends and family look good enough to wrap!
- TimeSearch.info – With keyword searching, it puts events into a timeline and highlights the most important milestones. You’ve got to check this out to understand and appreciate!
And our podcast only song of the week is “Don’t Kick the Chair” by Dia Framton with Kid Cudi.
Ep. 251 – Talking Turkey
Dec 1st
TOPIC: That’s right, Mike is talking turkey in this special post-Thanksgiving pre-Cyber Monday show! Not only does Mike describe how he Alton-Browned the heck out of that bird, but you get some great prep coupon apps for your holiday shopping!
Jay “Encyclopedia Garmonica” returns with one answer and a new question, plus breaks down how things are going at the mid-season break for all the geek shows you should be watching (Warehouse 13, Grimm, Fringe, Supernatural and more!). The question he asks is:
In what US city, and for what reason, was the term “Black Friday” first used to describe the day after Thanksgiving?
We even crank out a couple cool sites of the week!
- ConTXTs – Ever wound up somewhere with no business cards, and desperately need one? Want to send your contact info to a bunch of people at once? Check out ConTXTs and have them text your ID to 50500 and immediately receive your contact info! Works with any phone with SMS.
- SearchResearch – Fun Google search puzzles that will be sure to test your searchability (and maybe learn you something too)!
- TwistyNoodle – A seemingly limitless and well selected set of coloring pages and fun sheets for kids!
The podcast only song of the week is “The Drumming Sound” by Florence and the Machine.
Ep. 196 – The Germans are Coming!
Jul 15th
TOPIC: Sonja auf Deutschland joins us today to bring a listener question right to the studio! We do our level best to give her a useful and informative answer, and do a pretty darn good job! I hope so because you really don’t want to get those Germans mad at you …. 
We get Jay Garmon on the phone to answer last week’s question and ask us this burner:
What Silicon Valley legend creates “custom” yet legitimate versions of US currency?
If you can believe it after all that we still have time for an awesome coolsite of the week:
- GiftCardGrannie.com – Make any site look like it’s been nailed by the oil spill! It’s fun, and easier to clean than a can of 5W40.
The podcast only song of the week this week is Count of Monte Christo by The Noisettes!
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!
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