Dork Tower #1089 by John Kovalic
Read all the Dork Towers that have run on GeekDad.
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Polyphemus Moth Metamorphosis in Photos
- July 4, 2012 |
- 6:30 am |
- Categories: Science and Education
The fat green caterpillar, done eating and ready to cocoon.
Like any good parent I’ve read my kids The Very Hungry Caterpillar (in English and Chinese) countless times, and it’s a fun book both for its subtle anti-junk food propaganda as well as the fun depiction of one of nature’s most impressive magic tricks: the metamorphosis from a this crawly worm-like thing into a beautiful fluttering creature. However, it’s not one that we often get to see ourselves. My kids and I have found a few small caterpillars in the past and fed them leaves until they cocooned. Most of the time we just ended up with Miller moths which, let’s face it, aren’t really impressive in their moth state. I’ve got photos of a caterpillar (nicknamed “Shiny”) from a few years ago and the resultant pupa, but none of the final moth stage — apparently I didn’t feel the need to get a photo of a dead brown moth.
Awww, look at that face.
Continue Reading “Polyphemus Moth Metamorphosis in Photos” »
Imagine Cup Alumni Spotlight: Making Better Drivers With CleverMiles
- July 4, 2012 |
- 6:00 am |
- Categories: People, Science and Education, The Internet
Team Hermes presenting at the 2011 Imagine Cup in NYC (Photo: Chuck Lawton)
The 10th Annual Microsoft Imagine Cup starts on July 6th in Sydney, Australia. GeekDad is profiling Imagine Cup alumni leading up to the world-wide finals. For more information, be sure to follow Daniel Donahoo’s coverage of the event.
A car collects a lot of data about itself. Sensors can tell us how well our engine is performing, detect problems and adjust to help keep us on the road and in control. But what if we could put that data to use in order to make us better and more active drivers, both in terms of immediate feedback and reporting about our habits? What if we could use this system to get lower car insurance premiums or to work with our kids on being better drivers when they first hit the roads? Those were some of the questions that Ireland-based Team Hermes asked themselves as they competed in the 2011 Imagine Cup in New York City. And success at the cup has led to the launch of their startup, CleverMiles.
Like so many Imagine Cup participants, competing in the event itself took precedence over starting a company. But the competition’s format, which stresses marketability as well as technical functionality, lends itself to thinking past the Cup itself. I asked James McNamara, now CEO of CleverMiles, about whether his team had entered the Cup thinking they’d start a company. He said, “Definitely not. We simply wanted to get to work on a fun project together that could actually solve a global problem. As we research the project and got closer to the global finals in New York we started to realize that the project may have some commercial potential, especially as we worked on the business model as part of our presentation. Winning the competition, in my mind, sealed the deal; we were committed to commercializing it.”
Continue Reading “Imagine Cup Alumni Spotlight: Making Better Drivers With CleverMiles” »
What Finding the Higgs Boson Doesn’t Mean
- July 4, 2012 |
- 5:30 am |
- Categories: Everything Else, Science and Education
Particle tracks from a Proton-Proton collision in the Atlas experiment. Real science. (Image: CERN)
The upcoming announcement of the results of the search for the Higgs Boson are promising to be groundbreaking from a scientific point-of-view. There is a lot of information that may be confusing to some and will be misinterpreted by many. The practical application of being that closer to understanding the secrets of the Universe won’t be realized for some time. It was decades from the discovery of radiation to the point where we could harness the power of the atom for power. As I sit here and write this post, I am still awaiting my Mr. Fusion device promised in 1985.
For a great look into the physics behind the Higgs Boson, check out What Finding the Higgs Boson Means over on GeekMom. Here, I want to focus on what the discovery of the Higgs Boson won’t mean. Continue Reading “What Finding the Higgs Boson Doesn’t Mean” »
Beasts of Burden: GeekDad Interviews Battle Beasts‘ Bobby Curnow
- July 4, 2012 |
- 5:00 am |
- Categories: Armchair Geek, People
Battle Beasts incentive wrap-around cover by Ulises Farinas
I recently described IDW Publishing as “the anti-George Lucas.” It’s a loaded statement, for sure, but hear me out.
While the hyperbole surrounding what Lucas has done with the cherished Star Wars saga abounds – and there are apologists that maintain that George has every right to deal with the series as he sees fit – I think that most of us can agree that the manner in which he’s curated the franchise has been less than ideal. By skewing the fiction so as to allow Greedo to shoot first or providing a fairly convoluted character arc for young Anakin, it feels as though he has been taking away, surgically excising, portions of the story. IDW, on the other hand, has made a habit of adding to a number of big name licenses from our childhood. Apples to oranges, some might say, but an enjoyable tale from anyone’s hands is still an enjoyable tale.
From the expansive universes of G.I. Joe and Transformers to leaner but no less significant worlds of Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, IDW’s writers have provided additional layers of narrative sheen to what were, at least in their earliest forms, fairly straightforward stories. By killing off and replacing the original Cobra Commander or adding an air of underlying mysticism to the Turtle’s mutation, they’ve provided an updated, more distinctly contemporary take on the properties that never seeks to undermine the legitimacy of source material. Continue Reading “Beasts of Burden: GeekDad Interviews Battle Beasts‘ Bobby Curnow” »
Deadlight and Wreckateer Headline Xbox 360 Summer of Arcade
- July 4, 2012 |
- 4:30 am |
- Categories: Toys and Technology
Wreckateer
One of the many pleasures of stalking the show floor at E3 was bumping into some of the smaller developers. Two such encounters were with Dave Lang of Iron Galaxy whose new game Wreckateer was featured in the Xbox keynote and is coming later this year, and Tequila Works CEO Raúl Rubio Munárriz whose game Deadlight is also due out soon.
Both these titles are slated to be part of the Xbox 360′s Summer of Arcade program, and I think families should look forward to both of them — although for very different reasons.
Firstly, Wreckateer (as you can see in the interview below) is a combination of Angry Birds, Burnout and Boom Blox. That’s quite a trio of games to reference for any developer. Iron Galaxy has taken those three seeds and added Kinect controls. The result is a super-simple and super-destructive tower attack game.
Continue Reading “Deadlight and Wreckateer Headline Xbox 360 Summer of Arcade” »
Explosive Independence Day Safety Tips
- July 4, 2012 |
- 4:00 am |
- Categories: Hacking the Holidays
Today is Independence Day and that means Barbecues, family get-togethers, sunshine and perhaps the beach. It also means fireworks. Tons and tons of fireworks. Ranging from hand-held sparklers to homemade explosives bordering on illegal or actually being illegal. Here at GeekDad, we know all about the D.I.Y. mindset that is ingrained in all the GeekDads out there. We also feel that there is one simple rule before starting any D.I.Y. project, and that is “safety first.”
We understand that as GeekDads it is our obligation to modify and upgrade pretty much everything that can be upgradable. We just can’t leave well enough alone. Frankly, why should we? So keeping that in mind, and knowing that the Independence Day weekend provides many opportunities to make something explode bigger, flame higher or drive faster – here are a few safety tips to keep in mind. When the S.W.A.T. team shows up with 12 fire trucks and Homeland Security, you won’t be able to say you weren’t warned.
These Lego Flowers Won’t Need Your Water
- July 4, 2012 |
- 3:30 am |
- Categories: People, Places, Projects and Activities
Image by Legofestival.com.au
Australia is famous for a lot of things: amazing landscapes, endless beaches, laid-back surfers, kangaroos, wine and many more… including Lego. And it seems that the Australian Lego community has been fairly spoiled lately! After launching the “Build” program in collaboration with Google Chrome, the Danish toy maker has blessed some lucky fans from the New South Wales outback with a giant Lego forest, yes, just that!
As a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the plastic brick arrival in Australia, the Lego group has put together the Festival of Play, an amazing calendar of events, including this Lego forest, spanning over nine months and designed to encourage creativity and play.
This Lego forest is composed of perfectly proportioned flowers and trees, well known by the young Lego fans and their unfortunate barefoot-walking parents. But in this case, there will be no risk of stepping on these bricks, as they come 66 times bigger than their original size. These “now” perennial flowers and trees are just big enough to look life size and fit like a charm in this astonishing outback landscape.
The same Lego forest has been seen in April, as part of the same festival, but this time in downtown Sydney. Such a show leaves me fairly curious about what comes next in the Lego Festival agenda, but this information seems to be kept highly secret.
In any case, if no further use of these trees can be identified, my 180 square feet roof terrace is in desperate need for low maintenance greenery, but not too many please.
5 reasons Why Independence Day is the Geekiest Holiday of Them All
- July 4, 2012 |
- 3:00 am |
- Categories: Hacking the Holidays
Flickr user cmduke, from the GeekDad Flickr Pool
Independence Day is secretly a great geek holiday. Underneath all that grilling and baseball and apple pie is a holiday dedicated to those inventors and makers who dedicated themselves to the proposition that all men are created equal. So while you’re at the beach, or the stadium, or while flying your awesome 3D Star Wars Starfighter Kites, pour a cold one in honor of these five* geeky reasons to celebrate the 4th of July:
5. Two if by sea: David Bushnell’s Turtle and Abraham Lincoln’s scheme for a floating drydock. In 1776, Bushnell invented this one-man submarine-cum-bomb-deployment mechanism for sabotaging British ships. Meanwhile, Lincoln is the only president to own a patent, though he failed to monetize it. (I’m assuming this doesn’t include Al Gore, who invented the internet and then won a presidential election.)
4. It’s a little-known fact that America was actually founded by the characters of Independence Day.
3. Fireworks. Especially Even when they’re illegal.
2. Summer Fun: No list of Founding Geeks would be complete without Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. This weekend, in the spirit of grilling out by the pool, let’s pay tribute first to Thomas Jefferson’s dumbwaiters and wine elevators. They bring you food and drink, almost automagically. Don’t forget Franklin’s swim fins. What could be geekier than inventing–as an eleven year old–the idea of swim fins, and implementing it yourself? Not much. (More Franklin inventions.)
1. Family: In The Invention of Air: A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, and the Birth of America, Steven Johnson makes the connection between geekery and freedom explicit: “In the popular foklore of American history, . . . the founders’ various achievements in natural philosophy–Franklin’s electrical experiments, Jefferson’s botany–serve as a kind of sanctified extracurricular activity. They were statesmen and political visionaries who just happened to be hobbyists in science, albeit amazingly successful ones. Their great passions were liberty and freedom and democracy; the experiments were a side project. But the Priestly view suggests that the story has it backward.”
As a backdrop to this larger point about the interconnectedness of science, reason, politics, and faith, The Invention of Air has some great descriptive riffs on Joseph Priestley’s home laboratories, and his efforts to do his work amid the tumult of professional and family life. The very last words of Johnson’s book, from the acknowledgments, tie the activities of Founding Father to modern GeekDad:
Joseph Priestley lived in a world dramatically different from the one I live in, but the one aspect of his life that seems immediately familiar lies in his descriptions of life at home with Mary and the kids: writing in a house filled with the boisterous play of children; the daily intellectual camaraderie of sharing ideas with a lifelong partner.
On Johnson’s account, that boisterous play of children is not an impediment to, but a powerful engine of, creativity. Which is what GeekDad is all about!
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I know the canonical number of items for a blog list is 10, but the steak’s not going to burn itself. Have a great holiday!
Note: This article was originally published on GeekDad on July 4, 2009.
A Google-a-Day Puzzle for July 4
- July 4, 2012 |
- 12:01 am |
- Categories: Armchair Geek, Projects and Activities, Science and Education, The Internet
Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle, and the previous day’s answer (in invisitext) posted here.
SPOILER WARNING:
We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer. As such, if you want to figure it out all by yourself, DON’T READ THE COMMENTS!
Also, with the knowledge that because others may publish their answers before you do, if you want to be able to search for information without accidentally seeing the answer somewhere, you can use the Google-a-Day site’s search tool, which will automatically filter out published answers, to give you a spoiler-free experience.
And now, without further ado, we give you…
TODAY’S PUZZLE:
The part of your brain that controls the production of language is in a region named after a man. The same man also has a disease named after him. What is it?
YESTERDAY’S ANSWER (mouseover to see):
Search [ligne button] to find that a “ligne” is a unit of measurement for the diameter of a button. Read to find that 1 ligne = 1/40 of an inch, and is based on the diameter of a candle wick. Use Google Calculator to multiply 20 x 1/40 and find that a 20-ligne button would have a width of ½ inch. Use Google to multiply 12 x .5 and find that a group of a dozen 20-ligne buttons would be 6 inches wide.
