Nerdology

Be Cautious Of Black Friday Deals

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Ok, so I’m doing this as a public service announcement to anyone who is (like myself) doing their holiday shopping online. Just some very basic protocols to follow to keep yourself out of trouble. It’s really one protocol… if it sounds too good to be true it is. Don’t think that your google search for some impossible to find item turned up some place that not only has stock but also has a great deal… it didn’t, and you’re about to be scammed. ProTip: Buy from reputable sources.

“How do I know what a reputable source is?” you might ask. Great question. There are two ways. You can buy from a place you’ve heard of (chances of Amazon or Best Buy screwing you are very slim, as they are huge and well known) or you can check out this link. Apparently it will tell you if you can trust that site. A good resource to have all the time, but especially now.

Honestly though, the best advice I could give you is to just do all your shopping on Amazon… I really couldn’t recommend it more. However, if you are looking for elsewhere just be safe.

Dear (some of our) readers:

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:01:49 -0500

copycats:

You take this blog — and likely all of the internets — too seriously.

So we’re clear, we all post here for fun! It’s not a profession… Yes, sometimes we will get information wrong; sometimes we make the error, other times we pass along someone else’s…

We’re sorry that we posted a Weezer cover once, that was really by Deftones.

We’re sorry some of you think Iron & Wine wrote “Such Great Heights.” (They didn’t.)

We’re sorry some of you think we can’t tell the difference between the real Neil Young and Jimmy Fallon’s impersonation. (We can.)

Also…

We do not actually think every cover or remix we post is good. Sometimes they’re just awful and it’s kind of funny.

But for 10 different people, with different tastes in music, living in different parts of the world amassing close to 2000 posts now — I’d like think our track record is pretty solid.

Thank you all for following, subscribing, listening, linking, and submitting. If you’re not there — then there would be no point.

I applaud direct conversations with readers. That said, you should check out Copy Cats if you’re not following them already. It’s usually not as funny as the above post, since it’s usually strait up music… You literally have nothing to lose.

jeffrubinjeffrubin: From Dell.com. This is everything...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:42:12 -0500

jeffrubinjeffrubin:

From Dell.com.

This is everything that’s wrong with Twitter. Am I the only one aware that Twitter was made to work with standard cell phone text messaging inputs? Marketing a computer that’s ‘Perfect for Tweeting!’ actually sickens me.

Twitter launching paid business accounts

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

Twitter launching paid business accounts:

Don’t act so surprised. We all saw this coming. Too many companies use Twitter as an email blast, letting customers know about deals, or products, or tech help. It’s about time that Twitter as a company started seeing some money for this very convenient service. The real question is are companies going to play ball. Starbucks has one of the most followed Twitter accounts, but will they stick around if they have to pay?

Zombie Island of Dr. Ned Boarderlands DLC is out today. Tear...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Zombie Island of Dr. Ned

Boarderlands DLC is out today. Tear yourself away from Call of Duty for a second at least to watch the IGN preview. What they didn’t mention is, unlike some other DLC, you don’t have to play this new area in any specific order, or have to worry that the enemies will be too difficult. Why? Because they scale with you. So if you’re a level 25 Soldier (like myself) or a level 40 Tank, you will find the island challenging but not impossible.

Brian Murphy is killing it. His latest gem is 5 Star Wars...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:07:11 -0500

Brian Murphy is killing it. His latest gem is 5 Star Wars Status Updates.

More nerdy apparel for you to wear. You can pick one up for 34...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

More nerdy apparel for you to wear. You can pick one up for 34 dollars if you are so inclined.

[LikeCool]

20th Anniversary Pumps I don’t get to report much on...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

20th Anniversary Pumps

I don’t get to report much on sneaker technology… mostly because there isn’t that much of it, and when there is it’s just boring. Pumps, however, are a horse of a different color. This is 20 year old technology we’re talking about, and something that (at least for a little while) changed sneakers and kept me hitting my to make my shoes as tight as possble.

Reebok has started a year long honoring of the pump. They have just re-released the original basketball sneaker and they will follow that up with the re-release of other sneakers until next november. Unfortunately they’re not making these shoes readily available. Only 19 outlets in 19 cities world wide are getting these and New York isn’t on the list. But if you’re a sneaker junkie and live near any of these hubs you should check them out:

atmos (Tokyo), Kasina (Seoul), Juice (Hong Kong), Stolen Riches (Toronto), Espionage (Sydney), KICKS/HI (Hawaii), UNDEFEATED (L.A.), Bodega (Boston), Saint Alfred (Chicago), HUF (San Francisco), Commonwealth (Virginia), Packer Shoes (New Jersey), Size? (London), Sneakersnstuff (Stockholm), Patta (Amsterdam), colette (Paris), Solebox (Berlin), Hanon (Scotland) and 24 Kilates (Barcelona).

[OhGizmo! via Acquire]

boxart: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. 1982, Atari 2600,...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:39:59 -0500

boxart:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

1982, Atari 2600, US ver.

One of the first games I played on the Atari. Fantastic!

My friend Adam who runs Sorry Mom, Sorry God (read it,...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:58:00 -0500

My friend Adam who runs Sorry Mom, Sorry God (read it, it’s good) recently got the infamous Red Ring of Death on his Xbox. He decided to make art out of sending it to Microsoft… and is trying to bribe them into getting an HDMI unit.

I cursed the heavens realizing that not only would I have to wait to play Modern Warfare, but Left4Dead would also be released next week. There was never any doubt in my mind that I would experience a Red Ring at such a time but not like this… not like this.

I was going to send it right out in anger, but during my morning commute I had another one of those ‘train ride ideas that make no sense’ that Im known for. I figured since MS was paying for shipping on this thing I may as well have fun with it and suck up at the same time. This “Kool Aid and Oatmeal” marketing package could very well be the first of many.

It’s a great idea to spice things up. At the very least maybe they’ll put his in the front of the line so he can get back to gaming. We’re with you on this Adam.

Google Chrome OS Explained Google had a big Chrome OS event...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:09:51 -0500

Google Chrome OS Explained

Google had a big Chrome OS event today and they showed the above video.

What gets me is the “nothing is stored on your computer” bit. So my music library is gone. All of my documents and photos are gone. I have no way of using them. It’s not as if my music and playlists are stored somewhere on the internet. All of my photos aren’t saved somewhere on the web. And even if many of them are on the Internet they can only get there once I download them to my computer. And what about my documents. Not everything I write or have written has been converted to a google doc. Most of it is in MS Word as a real .doc.

While much of what I’m doing on my computer is on the internet… writing this post for example, how am I supposed to get the assets I need for this post. If a post needs an image I have to put the image somewhere, (most likely) edit the photo and then upload it through tumblr. I can’t do that with Chrome OS.

So Chrome seems like a good idea for an operating system as soon as you really think about the things you do on your computer, you realize that you need more than just a web browser. Google would like to think you watch all your videos on YouTube, have all your chats in GChat, and write all your documents in a Google Doc… I don’t know where they think people listen to music (Pandora or Last FM?), but the I don’t think most of the world can make the switch. I know I can’t.

Epic Punch Out Rap I was just listening to the Mega Man rap...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:19:27 -0500

Epic Punch Out Rap

I was just listening to the Mega Man rap yesterday by the same artist. This one is just as good. Although correct me if I’m wrong, but if Tyson punched you in the game you went down every time right? There was no blocking a Tyson punch.

Snuggie: Star Wars Edition [LikeCOOL]

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

Snuggie: Star Wars Edition

[LikeCOOL]

Ace Attorney is coming to the Wii! I am completely open about my...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Ace Attorney is coming to the Wii!

I am completely open about my lawyer game problem… the problem is that I love them… specifically the Ace Attorney franchise. In weird news Capcom isn’t making a totally new game for the Wii, they’re just porting the DS games over to WiiWare. Kotaku got some infromation which I have copy and pasted for your viewing pleasure.

What Is It?
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was a crazy-popular adventure crime-solving game for the DS in 2005 where players gather evidence to present at trial to convict criminals. Now it’s being ported to the Wii via WiiWare in all its investigative glory.
What We Saw
I played through a segment late in the trial where the murderer in on the stand spouting lies for Phoenix to rip apart.
How Far Along Is It?
It’s a straight port with no fancy extras or overhauled graphics, so consider the game done. Ace Attorney hits the United States in January with Justice for All and Trials & Tribulations following in March and May respectively. The bonus fourth episode will also drop in May for an as-yet unspecified low price.

I’m a little let down that Capcom hasn’t crafted an all new adventure for the spikey haired lawyer. I’ve played through the first game twice and don’t really care to do so again. I do hope it sells well though, it would be nice to see an Ace Attorney game made for the Wii.

Internet Application For Adults This is two days in a row of...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:32:00 -0500

Internet Application For Adults

This is two days in a row of really funny/kind of nerdy articles from College Humor that went up in the evening. If this were implemented it would keep my entire family off of the internet and thus keep me free from having to constantly answer extremely basic questions… Click on for the full, brilliantly crafted, application.

[CollegeHumor]

"At a hundred and twenty dollars, [DJ Hero] rests on the same lofty economic perch as the recently..."

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:11:00 -0500

“At a hundred and twenty dollars, [DJ Hero] rests on the same lofty economic perch as the recently released Tony Hawk Ride. It is as though Activision came up with the price point first, and then arrayed products against it, in some feat of holiday tactics.”

- Jerry Holkins (aka Tycho from Penny Arcade)

You’re Friends With a Website Breaks down 6 websites to...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:31:26 -0500

You’re Friends With a Website

Breaks down 6 websites to their core… and then trasposes them onto your friends. Turns out we all know people like Digg and Wikipedia. Pandora has my favorite description on this list… click on for more fantastic writing.

[From Tom]

Going through spam I try and remove myself from as many lists as...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:16:14 -0500

Going through spam I try and remove myself from as many lists as I can. This screen was particularly funny. After clicking the ‘remove’ button in the email I wonder how many people then have second thoughts…

5 Famous Last Status Updates History and Facebook come together...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:04:05 -0500

5 Famous Last Status Updates

History and Facebook come together to make an awesome article at College Humor.

[reblogged form mattedits, streeter, susannawolff, conormckeon]

Spotted in a drug store. Notice it say’s Feature not...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

Spotted in a drug store. Notice it say’s Feature not Featured. Also many of the books in that section are books that have been turned into movies… so one can only assume that they meant Feature Film Bestsellers.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is A) not a movie and B) not out for another few months. Who reads the book version of a videogame? You know what, I wasn’t going to ‘let people answer this’ but it showed up when hit the question mark and now I genuinely want to know.

Have you ever read the book version of a videogame… not one based in the world, or a book bridging a game and its sequel, but an actual book version of the game you can buy?