Geekerific!

Oh, man, this is cool!

Radio-Controlled Millenium Falcon

First step, the design, tricky part is to have the whole setup balanced. It will be carried by one of my quadcopter (some call it a "drone", they are wrong, that's a RC helicopter that happens to have 4 motors).

Main material is this insulant, expanded polystyrene, in 20 and 30mm thickness. It's heavier than classic EPP, but also much stronger, and easy to cut clean. Also, it's almost the proper color of the spaceship.

Just look at it:

(Pic from link)

Man, but that is cool, and from the looks of the instructions, not horrifically difficult to do. I've got a good friend ({cough}{cough}SCI-FI{cough}{cough}) that's a fair hand with 3D printing and modeling. I'll bet he could whip something like this together in his sleep.

Heck, I used to be fairly good with modeling glue and rockets. I'd wager given a quadrocopter frame and some foam I could pull something together as well. Of course, I'm far more of a Trekkie than a Star Wars fan (the Star Trek universe would kick the CRAP out of the Star Wars universe), so I'd have to go old school classic and make the body into the NCC-1701...

Oh, I could envision sinking a LOT of money in something like this...

That is all.

I Couldn't Resist...

...pointing out that it's 10:11, 12/13/14.

Hello, my name is Jay, and I'm a geek.

That is all.

Okay, This Is Both Weird and Awesome...

Iconic Simon & Garfunkel Hit Recreated Using Floppy-Disk and Hard-Disk Drives

"The Sound of Silence" is a song released by Simon & Garfunkel in 1965. It was written by Simon following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The chart-topping single boosted the duo into the national spotlight and is one of their most popular songs. Now, the track is receiving new life, but not thanks to a dance remix or a contemporary artist covering it.

Of course, you have to hear it:



Yeah, that's about the reaction I had, too...

Apparently there's a program that recognizes tones and can be used to mimic them using the computer's drives. They've done similar conversions with other songs like the Back To The Future theme. Of course, it is only a matter of time before a smartphone replaces John Williams...

I can't tell if I'm impressed or horrified...

That is all.

In A Galaxy Not So Far Away...

Abu Dhabi Firm: 'Star Wars' Shoot Has Begun

The rumors began swirling a long time ago. Now the United Arab Emirates is finally acknowledging it is standing in for George Lucas' galaxy far, far away.

A media company backed by the Gulf federation's capital of Abu Dhabi announced Wednesday that the next installment of "Star Wars" is currently filming in the oil-rich Middle Eastern emirate.

The geek in me *immediately* thought, "Ah, so they're setting at least part of the movie on Tatooine. I still don't really know what to think about this latest installment in the Star Wars universe. Even by "Return of the Jedi" it was obvious that the franchise had become more about marketing and merchandising than about a grand space opera. The three "pre-quel" stories were obviously geared at a much younger market than the original Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back, continuing this trend.

With Disney at the helm of this new series, I'm not terribly hopeful. They took Pixar, which churned out thoughtful, well-written stories that delighted adults and children alike, into yet another marketing arm that puked out Cars 2 on demand. I don't see that trend getting better with the Star Wars cash machine franchise.

I hope I'm wrong, but I fully expect to see a line of dancing Jar-Jar Binks/Ewok hybrids in #7...

That is all.

Another dispatch from...

(image courtesy of Robb Allen)

Yes, I Need One Of These...

I am such a geek...

I *HOWLED* at this:

Then again, I'm such a geek I thought "What if it was during Pon Farr? Huh???". I do need this shirt, though. If for no other reason than to threaten my children with wearing it out in public...

Yeah. Definitely a geek.

That is all.

For C&H Fans...

I brave the wilds of HuffPo for you...

These Disturbingly Creative Snowmen Would Make Calvin And Hobbes Proud

Bill Watterson's classic comic strip always took an extra sharp turn for the weird around the season's first snowfall. And although there hasn't been a new "Calvin and Hobbes" printed in the last twenty or so years, Calvin's mischievous spirit has quite clearly lived on.

Without further ado, here are some of the strangest snowmen to grace the cold, white earth.

My favorite? Why, it's got to be this one, of course:

Heh. A snow AT-AT. That's one lucky kid right there - I'll bet it took quite a bit of time to create all the tiny snow X-wing fighters needed to round up one snow AT-AT... Some of the snowmen creations are obvious recreations of some of the Watterson originals. Others are riffs on the subject; still more are fresh material (i.e. the snow outhouse - well done!).

Why, yes, I *did* hear that the Northeast is going to get socked with snow, why do you ask?

That is all.

That's No Moon...

...it's a fully operational cookie jar! WANT...

Death Star Cookie Jar

Yes, that is exactly what it appears to be. It is a cookie jar that looks like the Death Star from Star Wars. The only way this could possibly get nerdier is if the cookies were baked in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. Or Princess Leia's hair buns...

Or for the ultimate crossover, cookies baked in the shape of the Enterprise-A...

That is all.

Oh, Those Evil Corporations!

A feel-good story for Friday...

Disney Replacing Hippo Statue Taken From Child’s Grave In Hudson

HUDSON (CBS) – Michelle Roderick was devastated after a thief stole a dancing Hyacinth hippo statue from her 4-year-old daughter’s grave site in Hudson last month.

The statue, which was discontinued, had enormous sentimental value to the family, and was essentially irreplaceable.
...
On Thursday, someone at Disney called Roderick to tell her they had caught wind of the story through a number of emails.

Disney managed to track down the original mold of the statue and had made a replacement made.

Kudos to Disney. They took what was an otherwise HORRIBLE story, went through not inconsequential difficulty, and turned this into something positive. I can't imagine what that poor family went through, first losing their child so you, and then having some callous lowlife steal the monument they chose for her. BZ to the Disney Corporation for making it right. Major props.

And for whoever took that statue, I hope you slide under a gas truck and taste your own blood*

That is all.

*Hat tip to the late, great Sam Kinison...

When Nerds Collide...

Heh. Mopar sent this in. I can honestly say I believe every word of this. If you think "Glock vs. 1911" or "9mm vs. .45 ACP" can lead to a heated argument, you haven't seen anything compared to "Kirk vs. Picard" or "Star Wars vs. Star Trek"...

Who Obi-wans some?

COPS were called to break up squabbling Star Wars fans and Doctor Who buffs amid a bust-up at a sci-fi convention.

The enthusiasts squared up to each other dressed as a Sith Lord, Judge Dredd — and two incarnations of the telly Time Lord.

Competing science fiction conventions. It makes my blood run cold, it really does. If you think that gunnies get themselves wrapped up in their "platform", or their tactical outfitter of choice, or a particular brand of ammunition? Oh, you haven't seen anything even remotely close to that. Any time you get a group of people that have strong feelings about their chosen "thing" - whether that "thing" is a firearm platform, a sports team, or a science-fiction franchise - you're bound to see conflict when other, competing "things" are brought up.

They're just lucky there wasn't a "sci-fi vs. fantasy" p**sing contest...

That is all.

Geek Cred: Established...

Mopar sent this in. It's also been all over Facebook, but just in case you hadn't seen it, here it is in all its geeky glory:



Yeah, I know, it's a commercial for Audi, but it's got it all - the obligatory "Hobbit" reference, Trek 2 ending, Vulcan nerve pinch, and even "fascinating". I have no idea what possessed them to set up the two actors who have played Spock for this set-up, and the only drawback I can see for Audi here is that this will become known as the "Spock Commercial" that everyone remembers is about a car, but which one???

It's still geektacular enough to share...

That is all.

Geektastic!

Sent in by - who else - SCI-FI, may I present to you something so incredibly geeky that you know it must be banned in Massachusetts?

Homemade Taser Sword created, just because you can

There are some of us who never grow out of the desire to shoot fire or lightning from our bodies after reading a comic book or playing a video game. Fortunately, if you’ve got some electrical tape and a bit of know how, you can choose between growing up and owning a Taser Sword.

It may be hard to imagine a scenario in which you are surrounded by swords and tasers and you think to yourself “I sure wish I could combine these things into something even better,” but that’s exactly what happened.

You have to see it, you just do:



It is banned in MA, in that Tasers are banned. Would I be tempted to try this otherwise? Oh, hell yes. Would there ever be any sort of application for a taser sword? The more I think about it, the more I realize it doesn't matter, BECAUSE TASER SWORD.

That this is about as close as we'll come to lightsabers *or* Jedi lightning is reason enough...

That is all.

A Little Levity...

There's plenty more doom 'n' gloom to come, but this showed up on my inbox earlier from friend and blog shoot/dinner attendee Andrew, and it made me laugh...

Inside the Battle of Hoth

How did the Galactic Empire ever cement its hold on the Star Wars Universe? The war machine built by Emperor Palpatine and run by Darth Vader is a spectacularly bad fighting force, as evidenced by all of the pieces of Death Star littering space. But of all the Empire’s failures, none is a more spectacular military fiasco than the Battle of Hoth at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back.

Yes, you got it, they do a full deconstruction of the military battle in the second Star Wars movie. It's a real, honest-to-goodness look at the tactics involved in the battle, complete with an analysis of the plan's weaknesses and where they went wrong. It's chock-full of sci-fi geekery and goodness, but the real winner was the very first comment:

Have you even served with the Imperial forces? Sure it's easy to take potshots from your military blog in some no-name star system while the fleet and its legions fight the rebel insurgents, but combined space/air/ground operations are a lot messier than any infographic could ever portray.

Even with the Empire's full spectrum dominance of the battlespace, you can't just leverage fleet assets which are optimized for ship-to-ship combat into a large scale ground invasion force. A Star Destroyer might have more firepower than the entire militaries of less advanced worlds but you still need a proper ground assault ship to support infantry landings.

Unfortunately, the do-nothing blowhards in Coruscant couldn't get funding for the promising alternative designs from Sienar Fleet Systems and we ended up (as usual) with Kuat Drive Yards' overpriced, overdue, and underperforming AT-AT mess.

I stand in awe of you, sir. Huzzah!

That is all.

Geekin' Out!

Heh. Brad_in_MA sends in this supremely geektastic story:

William Shatner will atend ceremony for the USS Enterprise

From 1966-69, Capt. James T. Kirk piloted the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).

On Saturday at the Norfolk Naval Station, William Shatner - the actor who played Kirk - will attend the inactivation ceremony for the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

I'm sorry, but that's so damn cool it hurts... Yes, I know, Shatner's Canadian, blah blah blah. Shut up. ENTERPRISE. Hello? How freaking cool is it that Captain James Tiberius Kirk will be on hand for the final voyage of the warship Enterprise? The man who commanded a fictional starship will be on hand for the final run of the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

I can't stop geekin' out here!

That is all.

2M

At some point today, I'll have kicked over 2,000,0000 unique visits according to Sitemeter. Yeah, I know, Sitemeter underreports, blah blah blah; I've already hit 2 mil according to Google Analytics - but I've been using Sitemeter since day one (well, actually, about day 20 - but back then it really didn't matter much). I hit my one millionth visit just about this time in 2010 - taking me 3.5 years to do so. I cut that figure in half this time around; obviously y'all don't mind my brain droppings.

Like I said the last time I kicked over a million hits (heh), thanks to everyone that reads this blog. It still floors me that you come here to read my silly blathering - although I do wonder how many stop in, like TOTWTYTR, to see the train wreck. Thanks to everyone that sends me blogfodder - Les, Gerry, Scott, Mopar, Stickman, PISSED, Joseph, Jacqueline, and everyone else. I don't always use the stories sent in, but I really appreciate y'all taking time to send them to me!

Even if sometimes it seems like you only send me stories just to hear me sputter... ;)

That is all.

Saying Thanks...

A few weeks back, I stumbled on this post by North where he had some paracord bracelets up for grabs. Being a fan of the genre (and having made a few with the Cub Scouts), I asked about one that turned out to be spoken for. North very kindly offered to make me one, pick a color - so, naturally, I chose Cub Scout blue & gold. The end result was awesome:

Thank you, North - I'll be sure to wear it in September as part of my ensemble...

That is all.

Holy Traffic Jam Batman!

Heh. Sent in by SCI-FI:

Bat-gridlock!

I have no idea what the backstory on this picture is - heck, I don't even know where the picture came from. Obviously, the first one is the original Batmobile from the campy TV series; the second one is from the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton "Mr. Batmom" series in the late 1980s; the last one is from the new series with Christian Bale, and I surmise that the two remaining are from different stages in the Kilmer/Clooney Batman series.

Just too cool to see all the Batmobiles lined up!

That is all.

For The Geek In All of Us...

Reader Joseph sends in this bit of geeky whistleblower goodness...

Why I am leaving the Empire, by Darth Vader

TODAY is my last day at the Empire.

'I no longer have the pride, or the belief' After almost 12 years, first as a summer intern, then in the Death Star and now in London, I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its massive, genocidal space machines. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.

It's a clever riff on the NYT Op-Ed resignation of Greg Smith from Goldman-Sachs. There's enough adherence to the original for the parody to really bite, plus plenty of Star Wars references to sweeten the pot.

Well worth a read, especially if you're a sci-fi geek who grew up on the franchise.

That is all.

To Boldly Go Where No Mail Has Gone Before...

Heh. Pissed sent this in...

USS Mailterprise

Gawd, I am such a dork...

That is all.

Anyone Got a Spare $3K?

A friend sent me a link to the perfect coffee table for me:

(picture from link)

That is just so stunningly geeky - and impressive workworking skills - that if I had the money to spend, I'd have bid on it already. I've got a buddy who's a fair hand with a chisel and sander; he built an absolutely stunning cradle when he found out that he was going to be a father - I wonder if I could commission him for another one of these?

You know I'd have to find one of the ST:TNG PADD covers for my iPad and leave it on the table...

That is all.

A *New* Cunning Hat!

My #1 blogdaughter is awesome. But you all knew that. However, she's outdone herself this time. She made me a cunning hat just like Mike's!

Thanks Nancy!

Jay-ne

Man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.

That is all.