Episodes
-
This episode contains: It's our 501st extravaganza! Except due to technical difficulties, it’s not really. Steven tells us about the M. Night Shyamalan trilogy of Unbreakable, Split and Glass, which is now available on Netflix. Ben watched the classic 1991 Addams Family movie and Devon wonders if the new Munster’s movie by Rob Zombie is any good. It was panned when the trailer dropped but Devon thinks it actually looked kind of fun, and he’s a fan of Rob Zombie (more on that later). Devon also correctly identified MC Hammer as the artist who performed the theme for the Addams Family movie. Weird flex, but okay.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14813212/
Ben talks about Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire again, which is like speed racer meets The 5th Element. Ben’s taste is very specific for Ben.
https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/browse/entity-6b4f6834-0f00-4e3e-8a79-e5aa05ba0495?sharesource=iOS
Devon and his wife Jen started Dark City (on Tubi) but then switched to Fallout! Devon gives Fallout a positive review, despite some issues with inconsistent tone. Devon played the last three Fallout games to Steven’s surprise. Also, Deven gets cancelled for making fun of Polish people. We then lament the cancellation of Lower Decks, which will conclude with the upcoming 5th season. Will there be anymore animated comedy Trek?
https://trekmovie.com/2024/04/12/breaking-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-renewed-for-season-4-lower-decks-to-end-with-season-5/
Book Club: Just Out of Jupiter's Reach (The Far Reaches collection) by Nnedi Okorafor. This was different kind of story than we were used to. Steven drank the Kool-Aid and listened to this episode. Steven and Ben enjoyed it but don’t think it’s for everyone. Devon was lukewarm on it. We discuss the diverse cast of characters, new points of view and a different type of storytelling.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4QR4SX7?ref_=dbs_m_aos_rwt_calw_tkin_4&storeType=ebooks
Next week we will be discussing the story The Long Game by Ann Leckie.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/151908306-the-long-game
We conclude with a discussion of Rob Zombie being a vegan, a non-drinker and a non-drug user. Apparently he’s just like that normally. We also try to analyze his recent album titles, such as The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy and The Electric Warlock Acid With Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser.
-
This episode contains: All three of your co-hosts are back to prove that 500 is just another number. We recorded on Rex Manning Day (you know, from Empire Records) and we missed First Contact Day (you know, from First Contact). Nobody remembers the Genetics Wars (you know, from nothing at all), or was it the Eugenics Wars? But you know what it really was today? It’s the Great American Eclipse! “I actually live in the path of totality” - Devon, and like several thousand more people. What kind of bedlam and absolute riot would there be at a ren faire during an eclipse? Shouts of “BURN THE WITCH” and whatever. Ben didn’t record last time because he had date night in the middle of Spring Break. Date night did NOT include seeing Dune, but did have terrible service, cold tacos, rain, and allergy medicine. Steven traveled to DisneyLand again (does he, like, live there now?) and there’s been some major updates to the tech in the queues for rides. Even with the new games you can play on your phone while waiting for the rides, the Peter Pan queue is just too skinny (it was made for people in the 1950s, and I guess we didn’t have an overweight problem in the US back then). Steven’s ready for war to never change, cause this upcoming week is the new Fallout TV show. You lucky dogs, reading this in the future… you’ve probably watched it all, haven’t you?
Death comes for us all and other light musings: What happens in the brain during the process of death? A woman named Patient One who suffered cardiac arrest became the subject of a study by neurologist Jimo Borjigin. When Patient One's brain activity was monitored after being taken off life support, unexpected electrical activity was still detected. Devon goes through the historical context on scientific interest in near-death experiences (NDEs) and consciousness after clinical death. More recent technological advances have allowed many more people to be resuscitated after cardiac arrest, providing new opportunities to study what happens in the brain during the dying process. Science may be on the verge of new discoveries about death, consciousness, and the relationship between the mind and brain.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/02/new-science-of-death-brain-activity-consciousness-near-death-experience
This odd mindset shift regarding death could cure procrastination forever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC4jcrB4RHc
What does an eclipse sound like? Once upon a time, there was light in my life / But now there's only love in the dark. (Ben sings it!) An app called Eclipse Soundscapes was developed to help blind and visually impaired people experience solar eclipses. It provides audio descriptions of the eclipse's progress matched to the user's location, and also includes recorded sounds of animals reacting to the dimming light as if night has come, and a "rumble map" feature allowing users to feel the eclipse's stages through vibrations on their smartphone screen. The app aims to make the experience of the eclipse more accessible through multiple senses.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/what-does-eclipse-sound-180964203/
https://eclipsesoundscapes.org/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eclipse-soundscapes/id1262152991
Science fiction: Netflix’s Three Body Problem has dropped, and it’s so Game of Thrones in the best way. Ben presents Star Trek episodes 909 and 910. That’s right, Disco is back, baby! And it’s a wild Indiana Jones adventure this season, with strong ties back to a Next Generation episode that really should have been revisited a long time ago. Even though Devon and Steven poo-pooed Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire last week, Ben saw it, and he LIKED IT. Kinda weird Ben wasn’t excited about Ghostbusters: Afterlife before Steven gave his review of it all those years ago, and this time the tables have flipped. Kumail Nanjiani steals the show in the new Ghostbusters, but have you seen him in The Big Sick? Devon recommends. How do you like the new Science Faction website? It’s actually legible! https://sciencefactionpodcast.com/
Next week our book club will cover Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach (The Far Reaches collection) by Nnedi Okorafor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4QR4SX7
-
Missing episodes?
-
This episode contains: Devon is single dadding it, while Jen is in Buenos Aires. Devon also admits that he didn't "get" Starship Troopers. Steven is about to spend soooooo much money at Disney, again. The duo go on and on about Easter, it's kinda pathetic. But then Devon starts talking about Kafka and a life sized Tinker Bell. Either you get it or you don't.
Robot Overlords: Scientists have decided that robots need to smile and everything is going to end soon, so why not? They built a robot face, then gave it a mirror so it could learn how to make faces like a human. Then it was trained on people smiling and learned to detect when a human is going to smile about 840 milliseconds before they do, so that they can make a co-expression with them. They named this robot 'Emo'.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240327154854.htm
This Week in Space: Two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks identified. Astronomers have identified what could be two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks: Named 'Shakti' and 'Shiva', these appear to be the remnants of two galaxies that merged between 12 and 13 billion years ago with an early version of the Milky Way, contributing to our home galaxy's initial growth. It turns out that the metals in some stars were a dead giveaway that they were much older than the stars around them. As amazing as this is, Steven gets distracted by the name Shakti and immediatly stars talking about the Jedi Shak Ti.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240321155515.htm
Book Club: Falling Bodies (The Far Reaches Collection) by Rebecca Roanhorse.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4QJBCFV?ref_=k4w_ss_details_rh
Devon starts us out with a stellar summary of the story. We chat about the Genteel and make allusions to what they mean in the context of the story. Devon slips into some Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes to talk about the Cardassians and the Bajorans...and Nazis.
Next book we will cover is Just Out of Jupiter's Reach (The Far Reaches collection) by Nnedi Okorafor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4QR4SX7?ref_=dbs_m_aos_rwt_calw_tkin_4&storeType=ebooks
-
This episode contains: Ben and Steven brave the spring sunday morning to bring you a 100% pure podcast experience. Where is Devon? Who knows?! Ben attended a symposium for work, and his badge did not work. Total Benergy. There was a live coding excercise where taco emoji were added to a website. Good? Bad? Who knows?! Steven is gearing up for a Fallout Wasteland Warfare game day and he is super excited to use his Gunner faction to melt some heads. Steven also has a double Disney trip coming up soon. Again?! Why?! We also talk some X-Men '97 and Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.
https://www.theverge.com/23794032/kizazi-moto-generation-fire-disney-plus-animation-streaming
Rama-lama-ding-dong: Montana traffickers illegally cloned Frankensheep hybrids for sport hunting. Conspirators used the genetic material of Marco Polo argali sheep from Kyrgyzstan to breed entirely new animals. We talk about how this real life John Hammond created his own private Sheep-rassic Park and then got caught. It's illegal if it's not on an island 120 west of Costa Rica.
https://www.popsci.com/environment/sheep-hybrid-hunting/
Let's Talk: Speaking without vocal cords, thanks to a new AI-assisted wearable device. The adhesive neck patch is the latest advance by UCLA bioengineers in speech technology for people with disabilities. A thin flexible device adheres to the neck and translates the muscle movements of the larynx into audible speech. We also take this opportunity to talk about AI speech in movies and how hopefully in the future you'll be able to have a Darth Vader voice all the time.
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/speaking-without-vocal-cords-ucla-engineering-wearable-tech
Movie Trailers: Here's a bunch of links to the trailers we talked about!
Alien: Romulus
https://youtu.be/GTNMt84KT0k
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
https://youtu.be/e6yDanmWI1E
The Penguin
https://youtu.be/DQghiGQi6Lo
House of the Dragon (Black)
https://youtu.be/csSaSrJJPRs
House of the Dragon (Green)
https://youtu.be/gnxB9xZByyQ
Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver
https://youtu.be/UEJuNHOd8Dw
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
https://youtu.be/FVswuip0-co
Star Wars: The Acolyte
https://youtu.be/BtytYWhg2mc
-
This episode contains: We start off with two hosts and are eventually joined by a third. We talk about Ramadan and fasting in religion. Steven has been spending money on the CCG Star Wars games, Star Wars Unlimited. Devon finally wakes up and joins us. Steven and Devon have been playing Helldivers 2 and Devon built the Lego Ornithopter from Dune. Devon talks about the recent Space X launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htMpR7mnaM&ab_channel=ScottManley
Ben played Cocoon on Xbox Game Pass.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1497440/COCOON/
Steven also talks about 3D printing for Shatterpiont, which has gone hard into Return of the Jedi. We are looking forward to the next season of Black Mirror, which will include a sequel to the Star Trek inspired episode “USS Callister.” And yet another Star Trek feature film has been announced. Should Star Trek even be a movie?
https://trekmovie.com/2024/03/15/the-black-mirror-star-trek-inspired-uss-callister-is-getting-a-sequel/
Lasers Make Everything Better: Earth Received a Message Laser-Beamed From 10 Million Miles Away in NASA Test. NASA successfully demonstrated a key technology for interstellar communication by laser-beaming messages across a distance of 10 million miles, approximately 40 times farther than the distance from Earth to the Moon. This achievement, part of NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, represents the first time that optical communications have been sent across such a distance.
https://www.notion.so/sciencefactionpodcast/Home-Page-79a3bb96145f4d3b8ca685fdeedd44e8?p=d8838d0ae925465385f00bc7b29a44fa&pm=s
Book Club: Devon returns from finally drinking some coffee. We read the short story by James S. A. Corey, “How it Unfolds.” This is a story of human Von Neuman probes, space exploration and love. We discuss how some good short stories could be expanded into full books. Next week we will be discussing “Falling Bodies” by Rebecca Roanhorse, which is also part of the Far Reaches Collection.
-
Patreon only pre-pod: mike check, Devon’s epic phone and family journey, and only Siths deal in absolutes. Have YOU ever dealt with unreasonable family members? NEVER, I’m sure!
This episode contains: We three hosts record on MAR10 day! Ben played so much Mario Kart, not in celebration but just alone, to be cool. Steven’s plans to watch comedienne Taylor Tomlinson in Los Angeles fell through. Steven finally played Fallout Wasteland Warfare for real, shout out to Gordon’s Good Games! Alliteration! What’s up David!? You Fallout Collector you! There’s a local Discord for tabletop games, and Steven has found his people. Ben watched 2010: The Year We Make Contact with his son, and that film holds up! It’s a hard sci-fi film made for normals (not quite like the first film 2001: A Space Odyssey). It’s almost like an entire season of For All Mankind, only filmed in 1984. Why don’t they make film versions of 2061 or 3001? Devon managed to survive an Ewok attack, and then proceeds to discuss doors and rooms. Ahem, SECRET doors for SECRET ROOMS! Devon’s R2D2 replica will get weathered if he puts it in a secret room for sure. Devon then considers making the ultimate scifi Halloween garage.
Hey! Books are smart: Autogenerating a Book Series From Three Years of iMessages. Software engineer Ben Kettle wanted to be able to easily browse through old iMessage conversations from years past, so he developed a process to extract the iMessage database from iPhone backups, query it with SQL, and generate LaTeX source code to create printable books from the messages. How does one pronounce LaTeX? LAY-tek! He made an on-demand printed book containing the longest thread he’d had over three years. He had some issues supporting emojis, but was able to work around it. He split the conversation into three volumes and was able to inexpensively print paperback books through Barnes & Noble Press. The source code is available online for others to generate message books from their own conversation histories. We’re not going to make books like this… will you?
https://benkettle.xyz/posts/message-book/
Brain matters: Lack of focus doesn't equal lack of intelligence -- it's proof of an intricate brain. A new study provides insights into how the brain coordinates focus and filtering of distractions to pay attention. Lead author and neuroscientist Harrison Ritz has a cool name! Researchers used an fMRI task where participants had to distinguish colors and motions of dots. The anterior cingulate cortex tracks task difficulty and directs the intraparietal sulcus to adjust its "focusing and filtering knobs" - increasing focus on relevant information like color and reducing sensitivity to irrelevant information like motion. This shows the brain coordinates attention through multiple regions working together, rather than a single capacity limit. Understanding these coordination mechanisms provides insights into both effective attention and attention disorders. The research suggests lack of focus does not mean low intelligence, but rather shows how complex the brain's coordination of attention is.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240308122958.htm
Patreon only mid-pod: Did y’all finish Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix? Ben discusses. Remember Wizards First Rule / Legend of the Seeker?… Ben loved to get drunk and angry at the show. Will they get to do a live action Legend of Korra? That would be cool. 3 Body Problem (Netflix) reviews are out, Devon talks about it. Fallout trailer! What’s a good cadence to release streaming television?
Book Club: You Have Arrived At Your Destination by Amor Towles. Devon picked this one because he really enjoyed Towles’ book A Gentleman in Moscow. The audiobook for You Have Arrived At Your Destination was read by David Harbor. We go over it. Is it about choice? Is it about a multiverse? It’s confusing, but not if you apply True Lies logic to it. We discuss predestination: How accurate can the prediction be? What affects the choices we make? If they can be that accurate, how much does feee will affect the outcome? Do we have free will at all? Do our lives fit a three act structure? What act are you in in your life? Is this act structure about what happens to you, or is it about the perspective you bring to your life? Are you just waiting to die? Is that bad or good? Which of three lives would you pick for your child? Ben gets irrationally angry at the possibility of a different structure for the story that is only hinted at. Steven and Devon give it a high rating, but Ben gives it 1/5 of a star out of 4 stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49665863-you-have-arrived-at-your-destination
Next week, our book club will be covering How it Unfolds by James S. A. Corey.
Patreon only post-pod: Next week, Devon may talk about Determined by Robert M. Sapolsky. Do you listen to books at 1x, like a MONSTER?!
-
This episode contains: Devon, Steven and Ben all host this episode. Unfortunatly we end up talking about gurd and vomit right off the bat. Ben helped some kids play The Zone. Devon took another journey to Lousiana. Ben did a poem at an Ekphrastic poetry workshop, and it's good.
https://play.thezonerpg.com/
https://beaconartshow.com/#gallery
Robot Overlords: AI outperforms humans in standardized tests of creative potential. In a recent study, 151 human participants were pitted against ChatGPT-4 in three tests designed to measure divergent thinking, which is considered to be an indicator of creative thought.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240301134758.htm
Brain Matters: Surprisingly simple model explains how brain cells organize and connect. A new study by physicists and neuroscientists describes how connectivity among neurons comes about through general principles of networking and self-organization, rather than the biological features of an individual organism.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240117143741.htm
Surprising Human Tricks: Tai chi reduces blood pressure better than aerobic exercise, study finds. Why electric bikes actually give more exercise than pedal bikes. A new study that found tai chi is more effective than aerobic exercise at lowering blood pressure in people with prehypertension. Electric bikes provide more exercise than traditional pedal bikes based on multiple studies, this is because e-bike riders tend to ride for longer periods of time and distances since the motor assistance makes biking less strenuous, especially on hills.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/14/1231232197/tai-chi-aerobics-exercise-blood-pressure-hypertension-mindfulness
https://electrek.co/2024/02/20/why-electric-bikes-give-more-exercise/
Book Club: Slow Time Between the Stars by John Scalzi. We discuss. Devon has some additional thoughts on last weeks story, Randomize.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/151908304-slow-time-between-the-stars?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=HpJzWGPkkH&rank=1
-
This episode contains: Steven and Ben host this all new leap year episode. Ben thinks about how his life would be if he had kids at an earlier age. Steven has also been going through a midlife crisis, which has caused him to start journaling. Steven wants to stop wasting his life on his phone using focus mode. “How I Setup My iPhone — So It Doesn't Ruin My Life...” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrQHz-1UJ3g&ab_channel=TimKoa Ben reminds us at the phone should be the tool, not you. Ben is having an Obsidian Obsession. Steven recommends Pacific Drive, which has big Half Life 2 vibes. https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1458140/ We also talk about the live action Avatar on Netflix. Listener Hank points out that the HeLa Cells were in Emergency Skin were a reference to an historical wrong done to Henrietta Lacks. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02494-z Thanks Hanks! And thanks Henrietta Lacks!
It’s True, All Of It: Scientists scanning the seafloor discover a long-lost Stone Age 'megastructure'. In the fall of 2021, a marine geologist and students mapped the shape of the seafloor at high resolution and found something interesting. Not quite 70 feet below the surface, they stumbled upon a stone wall more than half a mile long that dated back to the Stone Age — one of the oldest such megastructures on the planet. In research published in PNAS, Geersen and his colleagues say this piece of ancient hunting architecture may have been used to corral and hunt reindeer, adding a level of sophistication to the prehistoric hunter-gatherers who lived 10,000 to 11,000 years ago.
https://www.npr.org/2024/02/22/1232694592/blinkerwall-stone-age-megastructure-hunting-underwater-baltic-sea?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us
This One’s For Devon: Deliverance Forevermore!: Power Metal: is it really about dragons? Some years ago, Matt Daniels wrote a great article on who has the largest vocabulary in hip-hop, comparing Shakespeare to famous hip-hop artists. What about Power Metal? People know metal or heavy metal but not necessarily power metal. Power metal has speed (remember that last song on Guitar Hero), clean vocals (you can understand the words, looking at you grind metal) and lyrics about dragons. Is it really only about dragons? Running Wild (2949 unique words) has the biggest vocabulary, followed by Helloween (2641) and Elvenking (2505). Bands from Spain, Germany and Finland have an average of more than 1600 words vocabulary; in comparison native countries like UK, US and Scotland have an average of 925, 1383 and 1501 words respectively. The most metal words are deliverance, defender, honour, forevermore, realm and the least are shit, baby, fuck, girl, verse. The most negative song is Condemned To Hell by Gamma Ray and the most positive There's Something In The Skies by Dark Moor.
https://notes.atomutek.org/power-metal-and-dragons.html
Book Club: We read the short story by Andy Weir: Randomize. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49661162-randomize As you likely already know, Andy Wier is the author of The Marian and Project Hail Mary. This is a SPOILER filled discussion. The story concerns quantum computing, random number generation and gambling. The story presents the craziness of quantum computing to the lay person using a casino as the backdrop. But was the story racist?
The next short story is Slow Time Between the Stars by John Scalzi.
-
This episode contains: We're recording just after Valentine's Day. Sorry, we didn't get you anything, EXCEPT FOR THIS PODCAST! Ben was a bit disappointed in Valentine's Day this year... he's also working on "not wasting his midlife crisis." He chats about layoffs and opportunities and productivity, but Steven thinks that perhaps Ben's having a midlife revelation. Ben's reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris. Steven and Devon have been managing democracy in HELLDIVERS 2. Devon doesn't know how to define video games, or perhaps he knows too much how to define video games. HELLDIVERS is pretty much the video game equivalent of Starship Troopers, with all the satire involved. Steven also really enjoyed Blue Eyed Samurai on Netflix. Not science fiction, but it's worth your time. Guess what? Ben's dental company had a major data breach. It's time to freeze your credit FOR FREE at the following addresses to to avoid ID theft:
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/ https://service.transunion.com/dss/login.page https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.htmlUnless you're planning on taking out a new credit card or buying anything in the next few days, you should freeze your credit. If they are asking you for money, you're in the wrong place. It took Ben 15 minutes to do it, big thanks to password managers. Ben is now the Credit Score Fairy.
This Week on the Internet: Not all TLDs are Created Equal. In light of the recent cancellation of the queer.af domain registration by the Taliban, the fragile and difficult nature of country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) has once again been comprehensively demonstrated. When the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union, it fell foul of the EU’s rules for the registration of domains under the “eu” ccTLD. To register (and maintain) a domain name ending in .eu, you have to be a resident of the EU. When the UK ceased to be part of the EU, residents of the UK were no longer EU residents, and lost their .eu domain names. Also, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukranian Vice Prime Minister asked ICANN to suspend ccTLDs associated with Russia. While ICANN said that it wasn’t going to do that (they should change their name to ICANT), because it wouldn’t do anything useful, some domain registrars (the companies you pay to register domain names) ceased to deal in Russian ccTLDs, and some websites restricted links to domains with Russian ccTLDs. Generic TLDs (gTLDs) like .com, .net, .gov and other really cool new gTLDs like .rocks, .ninja, and .supplies are far better to register.
https://www.hezmatt.org/~mpalmer/blog/2024/02/13/not-all-tlds-are-created-equal.html
This Week in Space: Tiny moon of Saturn holds young ocean beneath icy shell. Saturn's moon Mimas harbors a global ocean beneath its icy shell, discovered through analysis of its orbit by Cassini spacecraft data. This ocean formed just 5-15 million years ago, making Mimas a prime candidate for studying early ocean formation and potential for life. This discovery suggests life-essential conditions might exist on seemingly inactive moons, expanding our search for life beyond Earth. Guess where else we've discovered oceans? Devon says "Earth." Ben knows he got that info from SeaQuest DSV. Saturns rings may have always been there for us, but what have they done for us lately?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/02/240207120512.htm
Patreon-only mid-pod: Ben has changed his note taking game, using Obsidian. Steven has rewatched Deadpool and Deadpool 2. Will X-Men 97 be terrible or radical?
Science Fiction Book Club: This week we're doing a spoiler-filled review of the novella Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin. An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet’s finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind—hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49669410-emergency-skin
TLDR: Ben and Steven loved it, but Devon was a little lukewarm and wished it was longer and more nuanced.
Next week in the Science Fiction Book Club we'll discuss Randomize by Andy Weir. Get it for free if you have Amazon Prime and be informed for next week's discussion: https://www.amazon.com/Randomize-Forward-collection-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B07VDJBKNJ
-
This episode contains: Devon, Ben and Steven are here this week to give you live coverage of the Super....nah, just kiddin'. We do talk about the Super Bowl though, and with that comes Taylor Swift talk, becuase of course it does. Ben chats about roller derby practice and Devon wonders why us Californians get extra days off of school. We also talk about the death of baseball as it pertains to Star Trek Deep Space Nine. There is also some cricket talk and what would this episode be if we didn't talk about Bluey? Before we get to the science, Ben and Steven recount a gaming experience they had with The Zone RPG.
https://play.thezonerpg.com/
We were not DISAPPOINTED.
Ben is The Password Fairy: I Know What Your Password Was Last Summer... and we talk about why. Ben tells us of old passwords, how they are typically cracked and why having passwords at all is not a great idea. We talk about password creation, and the different options available to have super secure passwords that you would never have to memorize.
https://labs.lares.com/password-analysis/
Don't Worry, This Is Not A Threat: Low voice pitch increases standing among strangers. According to researchers, if you're looking for along-term relationship, or to boost your social status, lower the pitch of your voice. Researchers found that lower voice pitch makes women and men sound more attractive to to potential long-term partners, and lower pitch in males makes the individuals sound more formidable and prestigious. Devon tells us about Elizabeth Holmes from Theranos, and how she lowered her voice as part of her schemes. Steven and Ben had no idea who she was, and Devon was shocked.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/02/240208142418.htm
Science Fiction: Ben is ready to talk about B words! We start of with a lengthy chat about Barbie, which Ben just watched, and we talk about which awards it was nominated for (and which it was snubbed). Ben then once again talks some Beacon 23, which we recommends. Finally, we get a chat about Babylon 5 and Ben tells us the plans for season 4, and how that impacted season 5.
Book Club: We're starting a book club, kinda! Steven recently found some amazing short fiction, and we've decided to start a sort of book club. Our first story that we're going to read id "Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin. It can be found as part of the Forward Collection on Amazon Prime. If you're Devon, you can pay extra for the audio version, or just use the kindle app and get it for free (with Prime of course).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WK7PVFT?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1707678484&sr=8-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin
We'll have a spoiler filled discussion on this story next week and announce the next title to read. Join the discussion! Read a Book!
-
This episode contains: We’re coming to you from a rainy Sunday. Devon is BORING, but also has rearranged a room in his home. Ben has Star Trek trivia night, which Steven had to miss to play D&D (BG3 actually). Ben’s team won, of course. Ben then gives us some of his great Star Trek team names. Also, Ben showed up in costume. Steven’s family is healthy. Steven finished a full game of Core Space and paint some minis. Steven also got to watch a movie: Self Reliance on Hulu.
Brain Matters: The theory that consciousness is a quantum system gains support. Hameroff and Penrose’s Orch Or Theory sees consciousness as the outcome of a quantum collapse of a wave function.
https://mindmatters.ai/2024/01/the-theory-that-consciousness-is-a-quantum-system-gains-support/
Other reading: Quantum Approaches to Consciousness.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qt-consciousness/
Wikipedia: Quantum mind
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind#:~:text=The%20quantum%20mind%20or%20quantum,entanglement%20and%20superposition%20that%20cause
Da-Na, Da-Na, Da-Na: First-ever sighting of a live newborn great white. Great whites, the largest predatory sharks in the world with the most fatal attacks on humans, are tough to imagine as newborn babies. That is partially because no one has seen one in the wild, it seems, until now.
https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240129122437.htm
Hurt Me Plenty: “Can it run Doom?” (Gut bacteria edition). Ramlan explains her bacterial grid display model and how it fits into the wider " Doom runs on everything" tradition. Simulated 1-bit, 32x48 cellular grid runs at a blazing 0.00003 fps.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/01/can-it-run-doom-gut-bacteria-edition/
The Big Question:
Time travel is possible, but only into the future. How far would you go? Why?
Time travel is possible, but only into the past. How far would you go? Why?
Rules: Travel is one way. You can affect the past/future, but may result in a different timeline. You cannot bring anything with you.
We discuss.
-
Pre-pod Patreon-only: Is Matt our constant? A blank minute with Flint Lawless, Palworld and AI, your parents aren’t cool anymore
This Episode Contains: Steven and Ben grace your ears this time 'round, having a chill time. Why are we on our best behavior when Devon’s around? He’s not our dad! Ben has to get dad energy sometimes when dealing with crossing guard stuff, especially when it turns into fight club. The Domingues house has been sick, so that’s been really disordered. He’s excited to continue to overdose on the board game Core Space (Thanks Damon!) https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/240271/core-space. Ben’s sketchbooks he’s been creating are now on Amazon!
A Woman Holding a Weasel:
Sketchbook : Da Vinci's Doodles, a Woman holding a Weasel Funny Notebook for Sketching, Drawing and Doodling: Perfect gift for art lovers with a sense ... (Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches | 150 Blank Pages)
Cats versus Sailboat:
Sketchbook: Cats versus Sailboat, Wrong Turn, A Cat-Themed Notebook for Sketching, Drawing and Doodling: Perfect gift for school-age birthday (Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches | 150 Blank Pages)
Come On You Apes, You Wanna Live Forever?! The fountain of youth is… a T cell? It’s Osmosis Jones meets Palworld: Scientists have discovered that T cells can be reprogrammed through genetic modifications to target and eliminate senescent cells, which accumulate in the body with age and contribute to inflammation and age-related diseases. When these modified "CAR T cells" were used to clear senescent cells from mice, the mice showed benefits like lower weight, better metabolism, and protection against conditions like obesity and diabetes. Even a single dose of CAR T cells early in life provided lifelong protection in mice. This suggests reprogrammed T cells could potentially be developed as a "living drug" treatment for aging and age-related disease that only requires one administration.
The fountain of youth is ... a T cell?
Reasons To Never Leave The House Again: Disney Unveils the HoloTile Floor, Inching Us Closer to a Real-Life Holodeck. Alongside announcing that Lanny Smoot will be the first Disney employee besides Walt to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Disney also shared one of his newest projects called the HoloTile floor, which just may be a game changer for VR and could bring us ever closer to experiencing the Holodeck from Star Trek. This floor is made up of a bunch of tiles that all work to keep people in the center of them. The HoloTile floor can do more than just let people walk on it, as it can also move objects around. In a video, we see an object being moved around the floor and an arm extending at the corner of the screen, as if they were using the Force to move an object.
Disney Unveils the HoloTile Floor, Inching Us Closer to a Real-Life Holodeck - IGN
Can we just stop for a bit and talk about how amazing it is that we’re putting man-made structures on the moon for the first time since 1972? Japan’s lunar lander landed.
Mid-pod Patreon-only: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On follow-up, Droids in training at Galaxy’s Edge, Droid Lightsaber Caddies
Science Fiction: Did we need a mashup of Simpsons and AKIRA? No, but it’s pretty awesome! BARTKIRA!
http://www.bartkira.com/
Ben finished A Closed and Common Orbit, and his son knows that TRON is superior to TRON: Legacy but seriously, why do modern CGI films have trouble making amazing cinematography a la TRON: Legacy? How come modern CGI blockbusters are so sterile in their cinematography? We have some thoughts but this video sums it up:
https://youtu.be/VvLk9G9XuPw?si=e3PmXJCHktxomoR8
Yo, there was a TRON 2.0 video game in 2003 and it was originally meant to be a canon sequel to the original? You can get it on Steam and on GOG:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/327740/TRON_20/
https://www.gog.com/en/game/tron_20
Post-pod Patreon-only: Ben finished Star Trek Resurgence
-
This episode contains: Devon, Ben and Steven are all bright eyed and bushy tailed this fine episode. Steven played Palworld until 4am, and Ben doesn't recommend playing the Xbox version. Ben had an amazing poetry reading with Rock Star Poets. Devon has had some plumbing issues, but he's going to solve them (spoiler, he didn't), plus it's snow-ish in his part of Texas. Steven and Devon both missed the latest Walkabout Minigolf course, but Ben fills us in on the amazingness of it. We eventually get to the science...
Follow up to Moon's Haunted: What Went Wrong With Astrobotic's Moon Lander? And What Happens Next? Instead of landing on the Moon, Peregrine is set to burn up in Earth's atmosphere later this week. Re-entry won't pose any safety risk to anyone on the ground. A valve between the spacecraft’s oxidizer tank and a tank of high-pressure helium got stuck in the open position, so there wasn't enough oxidizer for a safe landing on the Moon.
https://www.inverse.com/science/astrobotic-moon-lander-peregrine-what-happened
Supposed Cicadapocalypse: Cicadapocalypse Returns To The US With First Double Brood Emergence In 221 Years. We talk about the emerging cicadas, specifically Brood 13 and Brood 19, which emerge every 17 and 13 years, respectively. We also talk about sensationialized journalism, and how these cicadas emerging isn't really that huge of a deal, although only happening every 221 years is cool. Their brood locations don't really overlap, so there isn't much to panic about.
https://www.iflscience.com/cicadapocalypse-returns-to-the-us-with-first-double-brood-emergence-in-221-years-72445
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/cicadas-2024-emergence-periodical-brood-2024-map-cicada-rcna134152
Science Fiction: Ben gets a recommendation from Patron Joe: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Mirror Universe Collection which leads us into a chat about the Mirror Universe.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Generation-Universe-Collection/dp/1684057647?keywords=star+trek+the+next+generation+mirror+universe&qid=1705866286&sr=8-1
We're getting Nintendo 3DS Emulation on the Quest, which is an amazing sentence. The 3DS famously had two screens, so it is difficult to emulate on one screen. However, in a virtual display, both screens are easily seen.
https://www.uploadvr.com/quest-3ds-emulator-citra-vr/
Steven recentlt watched a breakdown video of Back to the Future Part 3, and that leads to a little chat about BttF and breakdown videos. Plus, Ben has to bring up the 'B to the F: The Novelization' tumblr account that is wild. https://btothef.tumblr.com/ Check out the Heavy Spoilers channel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yXzSQszt78
We also talk more about Beacon 23, since Ben has now watched it and he gives us a little breakdown of what to expect in the show. Devon recommends Bodies, a Netflix mini-series which has some time-travelish components.
That's all folks! See you next week!
-
This episode contains: Steven and Ben take the reins while Devon is off at his son’s birthday party. We discuss relaxing mornings, and delightful dinners. Shout out to Barley & Boar which has some high end, delicious food and phenomenal drinks. Also, make sure to ask for the specials. Steven spends the Christmas cash that was burning a hole in his pocket. He bought Castle Panic and Core Space.
(https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/43443/castle-panic)
(https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/240271/core-space)
Ben tells us about his new book design. Also, check out Ben’s poetry reading on January 20, 2024 at 2 p.m. in the SLO Library Community Room at 995 Palm Street in downtown San Luis Obispo. Ben is very excited so you better attend!
Magic Time!: Largest diversity study of 'magic mushrooms' investigates the evolution of psychoactive psilocybin production.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240109183555.htm
I Brake for Machine Learning: Why autonomous trucking is harder than autonomous rideshare. Freeways were supposed to be easy. What happened?
https://kevinchen.co/blog/autonomous-trucking-harder-than-rideshare/
Science Fiction: We discuss the trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Kingdom, Beacon 23, For All Mankind (including discussion of the final episode with SPOILERS and were the show might go in the next season), and Star Trek in For All Mankind. And of course, so much more!
-
Pre-pod Patreon-only: The joys of passive agressively pretending you didn’t hear what other people say, 2022 is now 2 years ago (when did that happen?).
This episode contains: Three hosts check in for the first episode of the new year. Steven’s speech impediment comes back for a hot moment. Devon fervently rejects New Years resolutions, because as his wife says “he’s perfect the way he is.” Why wait till New Years to make yourself better? Ben resolved to not see a barber this year, as he’s shaved his head. Steven wonders about the bandaid on the back of Marcel’s skull in that OLLLD movie “Pulp Fiction.” We go through all of Ben’s discovered fears about having a completely bald head. Steven’s now getting a bunch of bald head stuff in his algorithm. But really Steven’s just geeking out over Remedy’s newest video game “Alan Wake II,” but he’s been a fan since the original “Max Payne.” Hey, what’s up with our newest member/non-member Dave? We guess some Patreon members cancel because they were looking for a different Science Faction podcast.
Video Game Talk with Devon: 13-Year-Old Boy Becomes The Only Human To Ever Complete Tetris. Hell has frozen over and Devon talks about the only game he’s ever played: Tetris. (Naw, he’s played other games. I digress.) Want to up your game? Tap buttons faster. An AI player can get up to level 237 recently, but a human player has crashed the game at level 157, essentially “winning” an unwinnable game. Eventually a glitch happens where the game switches from reading instructions from the code to reading the RAM as if it were code. Devon played Tetris as a kid on his computer, but Steven and Ben were Game Boy Tetris fans. We’ve seriously got to see the new Tetris film, and also stop snacking in the evenings. Ben recommends flossing nightly and going to the dentist yearly.
https://www.iflscience.com/13-year-old-boy-becomes-the-only-human-to-ever-complete-tetris-72267
Rawr: 'Juvenile T. rex' fossils are a distinct species of small tyrannosaur. How do scientists distinguish between young dinosaurs and a completely different species? Turns out it’s really hard to do.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240102190920.htm
Moon’s haunted: White House responds to Navajo Nation request to delay mission that would land human remains on the moon. This week a commercial flight to the moon will carry human remains (among other things) to the lunar surface. Ben considers the ecology impact of humans and our waste (including human remains) on ANY environment, terrestrial or otherwise. Devon discusses whether anyone should change how they are behaving based on other’s opinions. This is all vanity, and is dumb, but perhaps there is an ethical angle we should consider.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/05/world/peregrine-moon-mission-navajo-nation-objection-human-remains-scn/index.html
Mid-pod Patreon-only: details on “corpses on the moon,” anybody can have a podcast… but does everyone deserve to be heard? One Piece anime adaptation, cheap anime, roller derby showers and glow parties.
A Big Question: Does knowledge have intrinsic value or does it need to have a practical use to have value? We spend a lot of time discussing what value even is, and whether it’s important to synthesize data with a more complete understanding of unrelated information. 2024 is all about Tetris, T-Rex, and Tiny bits of yourself on the moon.
Post-pod Patreon-only: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.
-
This episode contains: All three amazing hosts lead the charge into the New Year, but have a few things to get off their collective chests first. Devon's got a wild child on his hands, and details some holiday destruction. Ben has had enough with his hair, and took matters into his own hands. Steven got a chance to let his true Disney self out, and finally played Lorcana (with Ben). He also finished a video game, which hasn't happened in a long time. Who wants a cart racer that's Disney themed? Ben and Steven do.
Let's Talk About the Public Domain: Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle. What's going in here? It's complicated. Disney pushed for the law that extended the copyright term to 95 years, which became referred to derisively as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.” This extension has been criticized by scholars as being economically regressive and having a devastating effect on our ability to digitize, archive, and gain access to our cultural heritage.
https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/
Science Fiction: We do some movie reviews to round out the year. Ben and his kid watched 1984's Gremlins. Devon watched Leave The World Behind, and tries to do a spoiler free review. Devon also finally watched Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which goes about as expected.
What We're Looking Forward To In 2024:
Presedential Moderation Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 on Netflix Dune Part 2 Deadpool 3 Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse Digital gaming with friends Playing boardgames Borrowing boardgames from the local librarySEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
-
This episode contains: Welcome to our post-Christmas episode. We discuss how the world’s going to hell, personally and socially. Devon thinks hating the year that’s gone by is a meme but Steven and Ben present there reasons why the world is actually burning down. We then move on to discussing our Christmas’s and Ben not doing his homework. Also, Ben made a youtube video for his mom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JckIYYXhw98
Ben then teaches us all about Kwanzaa. Ben reminds us that all holidays are “made up.” In the spirit of Umoja we celebrate unity.
https://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/umoja.html
100 Positive News from 2023: Despite not planning on doing science on this episode, Ben felt guilty about not doing his homework an so brought some science:
Elimination of malaria close in Ghana Child mortality rate (probably) lowest ever Big drop in aids deaths World’s largest solar farm activated Most new electricity was renewable First green cement that can be used for buildings First fossil fuel-free flight over the Atlantic Women finally allowed to vote everywhere, Vatican City was the holdout More people than ever have clean drinking water Seven countries progressed to a higher income group Largest ever re-introduction of an “extinct in the wild” species Paris river to become swimmable for first time in 100 years Scientists find plastic-eating microbes Oryx back from extinction First Arab woman in spacehttps://www.gapminder.org/news/100-positive-news-from-2023/
Science Fiction: Steven and Devon both watched some movies. Ben did not however, but he still gives us his summary of the movies based on the trailers.
Steven saw Rebel Moon: Part 1: A Child of Fire. Ben thinks a child emerges from a lava planet, who then leads a ragtag group of minors against a fascist government from another planet. Steven says he got about 80% correct. Rebal Moon is Star Wars. That’s all. Zach Snider outdoes himself with the slomo. We note that there will be a directors cut.
Devon saw Oppenheimer. Ben thinks this is a science film about the man that worked on the atom bomb. Devon gives a not so brief summary of the movie and ultimately recommends it. Devon also talks about the book The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer.
Devon also saw The Creator. Ben thinks the AI attack LA and then become monks, then there’s a new AI in town in the body of a human child. Then humans want to destroy it as the perceive it as a threat. Devon then gives us his honest opinion that the movie is not that good.
See Y'all Next Year! 2024 IS GOING TO BE THE BEST
-
This episode contains: It’s December, it’s a big battle getting through the month, and Ben and Steven just can’t wait to be done with 2023. Ben is left alone by his family for the afternoon, and did a real long bike ride! All was well and good until he got a flat. Luckily he has friends. Friends with trucks. Steven was out of town hanging out with Devon, and they didn’t record a podcast. Instead he and Devon hung out IRL with their D&D group, playing an “artisinal cooperative experience” called Oathsworn. Lots of fun but not an easy game to play. The companion app to the game was narrated by Jeor Mormont himself, James Cosmo. Is Jeor just another way to spell “Jeff?” No, Steven. Ben then talks more about biking, specifically in the rain.
Oathsworn: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/251661/oathsworn-deepwood
Robot Uprising: OpenAI's reported 'superintelligence' breakthrough is so big it nearly destroyed the company, and ChatGPT. Thanks to our Patron Joe Kohr for suggesting this article! ChatGPT, or as the French say “Cat, I Farted”, is reportedly dealing with a breakthrough towards a generative AI gaining “superintelligence,” or reasoning outside of it’s programmed models. As in, it will be no longer “faking it”. Now, there’s a new OpenAI research group with the goal of developing safeguards against superintelligence. This all reminds Ben of something he heard on another podcast: where there’s a potential for using generative AI to create apps… but what if there’s no more productivity apps anymore? Where you ask questions and get data presented to you? The operating system could remove the need for productivity apps, because in 10 years the ways we interact with our phones and computers will be different. Steven runs a website but he doesn’t GO to websites. Where does anybody learn things on the net now? Social media? Empire and the East India Trading Company: the first company with shares.
https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/openais-reported-superintelligence-breakthrough-is-so-big-it-nearly-destroyed-the-company-and-chatgpt
The podcast about generative AI creating apps: https://www.relay.fm/connected/479
Empire Podcast: https://pod.link/1639561921
Tonight on The Ocho: ‘You didn’t just succeed, you Exceled’: Sydney man dubbed the ‘Annihilator’ wins spreadsheet world championship. You might not have known this, but there’s a Microsoft Excel World Championship. Now that your mind has finished exploding, you can watch it yourself. This year was newsworthy not because of it’s existence, but because the winner this year was eliminated in the first round. The values Andrew Ngai received from the first round didn’t match the answer key… but it turned out the answer key was WRONG! We then continue to yak about EVE Online for a bit. One of the contestants eliminated in the finals thanked his wife, who “never made fun of me, even once, for competing in the Microsoft Excel world championships.” Ben gets made fun of for doing the dishes!
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/15/you-didnt-just-succeed-you-exceled-sydney-man-dubbed-the-annihilator-wins-excel-world-championship
Watch the championship here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDGdPE_C9u8&t=288
Science Fiction: Has For All Mankind got too much character drama this season? Steven and Ben disagree. Steven wishes there was something more Mars-y on Mars, like red dust everywhere. You know, science fiction stuff! Netflix got The Batman and got Steven to drop everything and watch it yet again. Amazon got Merry Little Batman and got Ben to drop everything and watch it for the first time. Ben a synopsis of the really adorable film where Batman’s son has a Home Alone Batman moment. This Batman has definite Devon energy. Is that enough Christmas Batman for Ben? Not in the slightest. Ben played five hours of Batman: Arkham Origins, the most ignored Arkham game. But… it’s actually good? And Ben just shut his eyes and pretended it’s not an Arkham game at all, since the voice cast does not include Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. It looks good, for a ten year old game.
-
This episode contains: Ben and Devon lead the charge this week because Steven is tired. Devon took his kids on The Polar Express, and everyone was wearing pajamas. Ben just realized that when a kid is in a sport, it consumes the entire family. Ben has a confrontation with a random. How does a pork dish taste like steak?
Gone Rogue: Gigantic Wave in Pacific Ocean Was Most Extreme 'Rogue Wave' on Record. Rogue waves are fun and terrifying; they are rare giant waves that can capsize boats. A 58 foot high wave, three times the height of the waves around it was recorded by a buoy in 2020. Rogue waves were thought to be ocean folklore until an 85 foot wave struck an oil-drilling platform in 1995. The intensity of rogue waves are measured against 'normal' waves around them. We talk about the differences between tsunamis and rogue waves.
https://www.sciencealert.com/gigantic-wave-in-pacific-ocean-was-most-extreme-rogue-wave-on-record
This One's For The Birds: Researchers Taught Parrots to Video Call Other Parrots. The parrots were taught to make calls to other dometic parrots using Facebook Messenger. The researchers wondered if given the choice, would the birds call each other? The answer is yes. Strong social dynamics started to appear. The calls lasted 5 minutes, and some of the birds created strong bonds (and still call each other after the study). Devon questions how making a video call is different from the 'mirror test'. Did pirates domesticate parrots? Devon is "well read" because of South Park and The Simpsons.
https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/04/21/parrots-talking-video-calls/
Science Fiction: Devon is reading and listening to Sun Eater series: Empire of Silence which is well written but borrows liberally from other scifi. Ben talks about the lit-verse of Star Trek novels. Ben has been reading the Typhon Pact series of Star Trek novels and is on book 4, Paths of Disharmony. Devon continually re-watches Star Trek and loves Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation, Enterprise and everything Trek. Do some alien cultures in Star Trek come across as too racist or stereotypical?
Patreon Only: Steven bails, Notion Problems, Another Disney Trip and Switzerland.
-
This episode contains: Steven, Ben and Devon are all present for this episode. This episode drops on Steven’s birthday. We discuss real v fake Christmas trees, the Guardians of Galaxy Holiday Special, Beep Beep I’m a Sheep by LilDeuceDeuce, letting kids use Discord, and Devon’s trip to Great Wolf Lodge.
Stop Calling Me: Receive robocalls or text message spam? Help shut the spammer down. Most reputable telecom carriers don't want unsolicited messages on their network or phone numbers. In order to disconnect their abusive customers, they need to hear about the abuse. That's where you come in. Here's how to report abuse to the telecom carrier that is responsible for the spammer's phone number – so the carrier can terminate their service.
https://reportphonespam.org/
Hot Rocks: A new solar system has been found in the Milky Way. All 6 planets are perfectly in-sync, astronomers say. The innermost planet completes three orbits for every two by its closest neighbor. It's the same for the second- and third-closest planets, and the third- and fourth-closest planets. The two outermost planets complete an orbit in 41 and 54.7 days, resulting in four orbits for every three. The innermost planet, meanwhile, completes six orbits in exactly the time the outermost completes one.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-six-planet-solar-system-in-perfect-synchrony-has-been-found-in-the-milky-way/
Big Question: Assume that in the future there will be huge leaps in human augmentation. Given a scale from completely human to completely machine, how far would you choose to augment yourself with robotics? What parts would you augment and why?
Ghosts with Sh*t Jobs
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1671570/
- Show more
