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Posts tagged trivia
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. 293 – A Very TechTalk XMas!
Dec 26th
TOPIC: Dave and Jay and Mike have a wonderful Geekmas together, celebrating new news and reviewing some old stories as well as discussing Psy’s billionth view and the death of the water cooler – but the rise of the meme! We also continue the Dragon Naturally Speaking giveaway … sign up today!
Jay Garmon Provides the thought provoking geek trivia of the week with this whopper:
What historical figure came in to buck up the morale of the crew of Apollo 8 before their pre-Christmas launch?
To top everything off like a star on top of the proverbial tree, we even get some great cool sites of the week in!
- Impact Earth! – Find out what will happen in your neck of the woods when the big one drops!
- Ultimate Gift List – Just what it sounds like, gives you some great suggestions for gifts this season!
- Lekh Diagrams – iOS app that helps with charts and graphs. Cleans ‘em up, makes ‘em look great!
Just for fun, and somewhat in the spirit, we finish off with Tom Lehr “I’m Spending Hannukah (in Santa Monica)!”
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. 278 – Deep Geek
Sep 4th
TOPIC: After listening to the sounds of his own voice rattling around the station for a while (talking Facebook security changes, an unfortunate TechTalk email implosion, and more), Mike brings Jay Garmon back to the studio. Deep geek ensues, and Jay asks this well-timed question:
Who were the two individuals or organizations that Neil Armstrong sued to keep them from profiting from his name?
We have so much fun there’s not much time for coolsites, but we do get a couple in:
- ScanMyEssay.com – Worried about plagiarism (from either side of the pedagogical podium?) Upload it here and find out if you’ve got a copying culprit!
- DyingLinks.com – Like Bit.Ly, but with an expiration date … and more! Check it out and let me know if you can think of some legitimate and friendly uses
Podcast only song of the week is the very apropos “I’m Good, I’m Gone” by Lykke Li!
Ep. 276 – Mars Keeps Getting Curiouser and Curiouser
Aug 16th
TOPIC: Between that news, discussion on Best Buy, security issues, database protocol and our usual nonsense you could almost forget that we’ve been gone for nearly a month! Jay Garmon helps get us back up to date however, and even whips out another fantastic geek trivia question for us:
How many TRS-80′s were originally produced, and why was the number that small?
We have a themed “cool sites” this week, with a focus on apps that can be used for exploring your creative bent on the iPad. All are free and all can be found easily in the app store:
- Draw: Not a lot of feature here, but it does a great job at being a real simple pick it up and start drawing tool. Includes some tic tac toe and dots games for the kids too!
- Drawing Box: Lots of features and functionality here, and is geared towards a younger set, with stamps and brushes that they will love to play with.
- SketchBookX: The best of the bunch if you are serious about drawing something on your ‘pad, this entry from Autodesk is a truly full featured drawing app with layers, color wheels, custom sizing of brushes and shapes, plus more!
Podcast only song of the week is the mellow “Misread” by the Kings of Convenience!
Ep. 273 – Back to what constitutes normal around here
Jun 28th
TOPIC: The title pretty much says it – technical issues, phone problems and all! We discuss what little we know surrounding Windows 8, more tablet talk, share some great coolsites of the week and even a visit from Jay Garmon gets squeezed in:
How many women have now flown in space, and what % of space travelers through history have been women?
- Textbooks-R-Us: By my experience, one of the better sites to get good value for your used textbooks!
- 8Tracks: Playlists generated by users make for an interesting take on new tunes!
- Stitcher: I resisted this one for a long time, but it turns out it’s a pretty awesome way of getting your TechTalk on (and any other podcasts that float your boat)!
- RecycleBank: Vouchers, coupons and other deals for being a good Earth resident!
Podcast only song of the week is “Down at McDonnelz” by Electric Six … jamming!
Ep. 270 – 50 Shades of Faraday
Jun 5th
TOPIC: You know there’s no love lost here for the RIAA, and we consider them to generally be against all progress … but this time they got a bad rap! Mike swallows his pride (and credulity) to give the straight scoop on this one. Jay Garmon schools us on Marvel canon, and then drops this bomb:
What company has been included in the DOW Jones industrial average for it’s entire 115 year history?
Coolsites of the week are !
- ComicBooksArchive – Free classic comics. Did I mention, free!?
The podcast only song of the week is “RockIt” by Gorillaz.
Ep. 269 – Monkey swipe, monkey do!
May 16th
TOPIC: That’s right, tablets so easy even an orangutan can use them! Teaching an old orang tech may be just as difficult as getting your parents to stop inappropriately tweeting however … We also cover all the class action and other tech suits that seem to be all the rage this week. Between google and oracle, and all you ipod owners and Apple (you mean you didn’t realize you were suing Apple? Now you know!). After some more Ebook pricing discussion and a comparison of reading Ebooks on kindle vs ipad, Jay Garmon give us this stumper:
What special version of chess was the first version ever played by a computer?
Coolsites of the week are !
- SF Signal – In the ‘Podcasts better than this one’ category … don’t stop listening to us, but by all means you should be listening to SF Signal too!
- Draw Something (iOS, Android) – Tablet only game that lets you play virtual pictionary against strangers. More fun than it sounds!
- OnLive Desktop (iOS, Android) – Windows 7 desktop for your iPad! Upload docs to the OnLive cloud for editing and management.
- CloudOn (iOS) – Lets you edit and use Office2010 docs and apps, but doesn’t force you to use their cloud to do it! You can connect with dropbox, box, or google docs!
- Pocket (iOS) – Save websites, pictures and articles for later, offline reading. Similar to the more popular Instapaper, but more seamlessly integrated and usable IMHO.
The podcast only song of the week is “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye.
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.
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