Happy Halloween

The Legend of Neil

There is a growing number of quality web video series that are mostly target towards geekier audiences, in large part because geeks are the web pioneers, and geeks are also the early adopters of this kind of stuff.

With that in mind, I present to you, The Legend of Neil.

The Legend of Neil is a web series that is based on the classic videogame, The Legend of Zelda. Basically, a loser named Neil is sucked into the videogame where he is the game where he assumes the role of the hero.

The show is ridiculously funny, but it’s one of those things where you probably should have played at least one Zelda game to fully appreciate. For instance, if you don’t know that the hero of the Zelda games is a guy named Link, you most likely won’t have enough background knowledge to completely enjoy the show.

Actress and geek queen bee, Felicia Day shows up to costar in a few of the episodes as the Fairy. All I’ll say is that Ms. Day is usually typcast as the crazy cat girl or the geeky friend by Hollywood… her role here is absolutely not the crazy cat girl or the geeky friend.

Finally, The Legend of Neil is not safe for work. In terms of humor, it takes quite a bit to really shock me. The Legend of Neil made me blush on a number of occasions.

You can watch all 14 (4-9 minute) episodes on the show’s website: http://effinfunny.com/legend-of-neil

The UpSouth Twisters

I have been taking guitar lessons with a guy named Billy Roues for the last few years. Aside from being a great teacher, exceptional guitarist, and all around good guy, he is also puts on one hell of a show. He performs with a number of different bands that span quite a few genres, and I go to see him play whenever I have time.

Last weekend he played at the Turning Point in Piermont, NY (near where I grew up) with his band, the UpSouth Twisters. Whenever Billy plays, he mashes genres, techniques, and styles into a sound that is uniquely his own (and he has a few of them). He plays with his brother and bassist/ blues harp extraordinaire Muddy Roues; accordion wizard Kenny Margolis (if you don’t like the accordion, watch Kenny, he will change your mind); master of the washboard Boris Kinberg; and the difficult to see, but easy to hear Billy Rankin on drums. The UpSouth Twisters play an fun combination of Cajun zydeco, rockabilly, and blues that is easy to love.

They play mostly original material during their shows, but they always cut loose on their cover of Canned Heat’s “Going Up the Country.” Their rendition is stunning, and as far as I’m concerned, blows the original out of the water. To prove it to you, I recorded their last performance. The audio isn’t perfect, and the video didn’t quite capture the power of their performance, but it certainly gets the point across.

You can purchase their CDs or see their tour dates on their website: www.upsouthtwisters.com

If you get a chance, go see them live; they are really worth it.

This is the Droid You Are Looking For

Let’s add to the hype, shall we?

I’m so excited about the Motorola Droid that I stopped by a local Verizon Store to check and make sure that nothing with my account would prevent me from getting one. No joke. In case you worried for me, I will have no problems attaining one… except for the fact that my friend just has to get married on Droid’s release date (seriously Eric, WTF?).

So on that note, we do have a release date for the Droid, and it’s November 6th. It will cost $199.00 with a contract after a $100.00 mail-in rebate. That’s more good news because I budgeted a bunch more money than I will need.

Engadget got their hands on the Droid, and this is what they had to say:

“* That big screen is killer. Bright, crisp, and tons of room for your icons and widgets.

* Speed is noticeably improved — particularly when moving from app to app. We did notice that some of the home screen scrolling looked laggy.

* Android 2.0 is definitely cleaned up — but it’s most definitely still Android

* The browser seems significantly improved — pages now load up in a fully zoomed-out mode, and the load times and scrolling are way snappier.

* The keyboard takes some getting used to, and it suffers from a similar hand-position issue as the G1, but it’s fairly usable. We think it’ll be second nature once we spend some time with it.

* Facebook is integrated into accounts, which means some of that BLUR functionality is here (though now it’s part of Android 2.0 natively). The good news is that when you add a Facebook account you can choose to pull all Facebook info and contacts, or just info related to your existing contacts — a real clutter buster.”

They also have some video of the phone, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Finally, Droid is going to have free Google Maps GPS Navigation. Score. Again.

my parents were awesome dot com

Oh BoingBoing, you give me the greatest gifts… and now I’m sharing.

Behold! My Parents Were Awesome.

For the record, these people are not my parents.

Yeah, that’s right, people can submit photos of their parents from long forgotten era (perhaps they never remembered in the first place).

~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com

“Castle” Successfully Pandered to this Geek

I’m not ashamed to admit that I need to turn my brain off, and just take in some mindless television for an hour or two a week; I find it incredibly relaxing. Without fail, Castle always fulfills my compulsive need for something easy to watch. It’s not a cerebral show, it’s never hard to follow, and you don’t have to remember much of anything from week-to-week. However, the characters are amusing, and the murders stories never cease to hold my interest.

Anyway, this week Castle had a Halloween episode that seriously pandered to the sci-fi & comic geek crowds. The show opened with star Nathan Fillion, formerly of Joss Whedon’s sci-fi classics Firefly and Serenity, suit up in his Captain Malcolm Reynolds garb, bust into his living-room while drawing his pistol, and striking a one of his famous poses. I was amused.

They followed up with a generally geeky episode filled with Buffy references, comic book art, vampires, and the pretty female detective costar (Stana Katic) drawing a distinction between comic writer / artist Frank Miller’s work with publishers Dark Horse Comics & Epic Comics… It was a nice homage to Fillion’s past, and (what I’m assuming are) the Firefly fans that watch Castle simply because Fillion is in the show.

Guitar Hero 5 Review

This is the first of a few “better late than never” game reviews.

The Good

The revamped multiplayer mode is exceptional. Having the game boot right into a party play mode that never stops is brilliant. Players can join or drop at will, no one fails out, and anyone can play any instrument on any difficulty (which means you have have four people playing guitar). It’s perfect during big geeky parties.

The graphics are very pretty.

The ability to use your own Xbox Live avatar in game is freakin’ awesome. I love that I am able to import myself into the game, make a guitar that looks just like my wine red Gibson Les Paul Studio, and rock out on stage to a song like The Derek Trucks Band’s Young Funk.

The Not So Good

I’m not sure this is really a problem with the game, but the track list is so broad and diverse that inevitably you spend a fair amount of time jamming on songs that you just plain dislike (even if you have broad musical tastes). I’m not sure there is a way around this other than band, or genre specific games (Like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and The Beatles Rock Band).

The Ugly

Why the hell can’t Activision make a guitar controller with a silent strum bar? I hate all of the incessant clicking, and so does everybody in the room when you are playing.

The Bottom-line

If you like music rhythm games, it’s worth the money. If you don’t, this probably won’t convert you.

Smart Phone & Data Plan Comparison Chart

This is incredibly an incredibly useful chart if you are looking to buy a new mobile device.

AT&T doesn’t even look good on paper.

Thanks to @takabanana for making and sharing this spreadsheet.

Don’t Make Me Do My Special Move!

My friend, coworker, and designer extraordinaire RJay Haluko photoshopped the hell out of a picture of me from a company bowling outing.

I saw a videogame called “Dragon Punch” and couldn’t help but strike my best Street Fighter pose… he did the rest in about 15 minutes while I was picking up lunch.

P.S. – If you found this site by googling “RJay Haluko,” who are you? Fess up to your stalking here. You know who you are.

Windows 7 is Available Today, What Version Do You Need?

Windows 7 is available and has been well-received (especially compared to Vista). If you are running Vista, you should upgrade.

The tricky part for consumers is that in typical Microsoft fashion, they have released a number of different versions. Which version is right for you?

Fortunately CNET has released a chart of functionality that compares the four different versions.

Check out the full chart; it’s extensive yet digestible.

Only you can determine what version will meet your needs, but my basic suggestion is that “Starter” is just too lean, and “Home Premium” should suffice for most day-to-day users with an average PC. If you are running a beefier powerful computer (two physical CPUs), you need “Professional” or “Ultimate.” If you are a power-user… figure it out for yourself.

Windows 7 or Snow Leopard

If you are reading this site on a computer running Windows XP, Vista, or something unspeakably older, you are probably trying to decide what computer and/or operating system you are going to buy over the coming months.

With the launch of Windows 7 on 10/22, and the already available Snow Leopard, there are actually two competitive operating systems to choose from.

Windows is a solid choice

Let’s get this taken care of immediately. If you are a dyed in the wool Microsoft or Mac person, just stop reading. Your mind was made up a long time ago.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on.

CNET did a review of the two platforms benchmarks which you can read in great detail.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version:

Snow Leopard performed a better in the study than Windows 7. It also has better battery life.

However, Windows 7 had better benchmarks for gaming… which is good since damn near any serious PC gamer is running a souped up monster PC anyway.

Your decision should be based on four criteria:

1. What can I afford? If you are broke, don’t get a Mac. They are expensive.
2. What will I use it for? If you are thinking about getting a Mac, make sure that the current software meets all of your needs (This really isn’t a big issue anymore, but it was a few years ago).
3. Do you have any crazy peripheral devices that you need and are platform specific? This isn’t too common anymore, but if you do, compatibility will dictate your choice.
4. Do you game a lot? If yes, you already had your answer.

Personally, I will stick with Apple for now, and run Windows 7 on Parallels, not because I need it, but because I can.

That’s about it.

In a week or so we will be posting a Windows 7 PCs buyer’s guide that will list a variety of PC’s in all price ranges that are worth purchasing.

~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com

Droid Cometh (UPDATED)

The first real challenger to the iPhone looks like it will be Droid. I haven’t read anything but great stuff coming from the people who have seen the über smart.

It has an iPhone look complete with touch screen, but it also has a slide out QWERTY keyboard (WIN)

The device is made by Motorola; powered by Google’s mobile operating system, Android; and it will be sold through Verizon, thus it will be on Verizon’s awesome network.

Droid will run the latest version of Android, which looks incredible (see The Boy Genius’s write-up).

If the hardware reports are true, then Droid will have the same processor core as the iPhone, making it far more powerful than previous Android phones (Engadget).

Google CEO Eric Schmidt is decrying Android’s imminent explosion in the marketplace, while analysts’ are talking about Android’s potential for market domination by 2012.

Verizon is also going all out with their marketing. In the lead up to the announcement of Droid, they have been bashing AT&T’s flimsy network with their cleaver, “There’s a map for that” ads.

Then their Droid announcement ad launched a flurry of attacks on the iPhone’s limitations.

“The Droid poses a different and more significant challenge to the iPhone than any other phone to date. The Palm Pre could have been that challenger, but it lacked the Verizon network, and users were unimpressed with the hardware. According to people who’ve handled the device, the Droid is the most sophisticated mobile device to hit the market to date from a hardware standpoint. When you combine that with the Verizon network, you’ve got something that is most definitely a challenger to the Jesus phone” (TechCrunch).

If Droid is everything that Motorola, Google, Verizon, and the tech writers are claiming it should be incredibly exciting (The claims are pretty much confirmed). Better still, Droid should be available within a few weeks.

Pay close attention to the oddly placed umlaut under the "r"

It’s clear to me that Droid means business because it has an unnecessary umlaut in its name.

~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com

Teaching History is Tough

A few days ago I had an in-depth discussion about why so many people seemed to hate history as a child.

I love history, I loved it as a child, throughout grade school, it was one of my majors in college, and I continue to study history on my own as an adult. So, why did I like it where so many others didn’t?

I think it might be because I learned it outside of the classroom.

History is incredibly tough to teach because it is a subject without limit. Take for example early Cold War history.  The Cold War lasted from 1945 – 1991. I spent countless hours in a number of different courses studying that 46 year war… but even within that short span of time,  the overwhelming majority of my study hours were on the Eisenhower and Kennedy years (roughly 11 years). Within that, my primary focus was on the Cuban Missile Crisis, which lasted a whopping 13 days… I spent far more time studying the Crisis than it lasted.

Adlai Stevenson kicks ass on the floor of the UN during the Cuban Missile Crisis... my favorite moment in world history.

I know Cold War history, really know the Eisenhower and Kennedy years, and I could talk for days about the Cuban Missile Crisis. My other area of focus was on early Constitutional history (another 50 years or so). I could talk your ear off about the genius of the Founding Fathers.

Basically, after studying history for four years and spending a ton of time reading on my own, I have mastery of the Cold War, early Constitutional history, the history of the guitar in the Western world, and the history of the comic book industry. If I were to teach history, those are the areas that I truly be able to speak about with authority (and two of them are might narrow niches).

However, all I would need to teach high school history is a teaching license. This is the case for all history teachers. The topics are so incredibly broad, the wealth of material on any given subject, so deep. No one can master it all. No one can be passionate about all of it. What happens are tremendous gaps in the classroom.

Math, science, English, languages all have rules, and well-defined curriculum. History is so insanely ill-defined… and that’s before you look at the differences in interpretation of events. As a general rule, I don’t think high school history even attempts to analyze the fact that historians don’t agree on a universal history. The past really isn’t clear.

The best path to enjoying history is to find a topic or era that you like, and read on your own. Everything has history, companies, industries, musical instruments and movie genres. The comic book industry’s history overlaps with the history of the organized crime, and the contraceptives industry, as well as Jewish-American and WWII history, in a beautiful web of intrigue and chance.

History isn’t just about the old white guys on our money (although I find most of them very interesting). When I get passionate about something I learn it’s history, music, videogames, the Constitution, or nuclear deterrence. I don’t think it’s possible to understand and fully appreciate anything in life without learning where it came from, and how it evolved over time.

History teachers have it tough. No one will find all of world history interesting (even the most devoted history student), and there is no way that each teacher can have a thorough understanding of all of the classroom material, sometimes they will have to phone it in.

~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com

Computer Virus Protection on a Budget

If you are running Windows, you need to have virus protection. It’s just that simple.

I typically recommend McAfee because it hasn’t caused as many headaches for me over the years as some other virus protection has (I really don’t like Norton).

However, virus protection like McAfee can be pretty pricey, sometimes you just need a free alternative. If that’s the case, give AVG a try. It’s a download, and it’s free (so you don’t have an excuse to go online without some form of virus protection… you don’t even have to wear clothes to get AVG). The latest version (which was just released) installed fine for me, and seems user-friendly enough for a virus scan.

In my experience with older versions of AVG, it doesn’t catch as much as McAfee, so this shouldn’t be your first choice, but it is a solid temporary solution if you can’t afford pricey virus protection.

Practice safe computing on a budget by downloading AVG.

Bringing the Funny

It’s been a long day of air travel and unnecessary BS. Before I pass out I’d like to share an epic YouTube video of a candid camera gag going horribly wrong somewhere in Europe… incidentally, this video is a perfect metaphor for my day.