ThePowerGeeks.com

We are LIVE on Ustream . This week we talk C2E2, Batman Sex Cave, Sexie Chewie, Blizzard is a tease, and the the disaster in Japan

Intro Jeremy
Intro Natali
Tweet up Friday night 3/18/2011 at Dave N Busters Addison, IL starting at 8pm CST

1155 N Swift Road Addison, IL Items of Interest

• Geeks With Heart Japan Response (udg)
  • If you are listening to this podcast, odds are something that has come out of Japan has touched or even changed your life at some point. Technology, games, movies, anime, ramen, the list of things that have become a part of our daily lives that started there is huge.
  • And right now they need a whole lot of love sent back to them. That’s why my item of the week is the Geeks With Heart Japan Response. Geek Girls Network has once again teamed up with the good people at Mercy Corp to help us send some of that love on over. Mercy Corps, with their longstanding partner, Peace Winds will use the donations to meet the immediate and longer-term needs of the survivors of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that has leveled and paralyzed this county.
  • I know times are tough her for a lot of people. Every little bit helps. Skip that Starbuck’s for a day and send it their way. Rent a movie instead of going out. Skip ordering pizza and have ramen. One little change for one week could make a difference. If you can, please click the link and show you’re a geek with heart.
• Batman Sex Cave (SM)
  • Eden Erotic motel in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
  • $50 for 3 hours and the Decor is spankin’
• What if Chewie were a sexy chick??? (JP)
  • The sexiest SciFi costumes you’ll see…

Gold Sponsors:

Natali’s Etsy!!!

• Need your noms????
• @UberDorkGirlie’s etsy is the way to go
• Whether it’s Woookie Cookies, Bark Maul, or Hothballs, every sweet tooth needs to try them out
• Need a present and don’t want to bake? then Natali’s Etsy store is the way to go

• Convention Schedule
  • C2E2 – March 18-20

Big Exciting News… We are very close (depending on Apple) to being able to test and release our first iPhone app!!! (@JebsApps) it’ll be Movie History… with lots of new features (that we can’t make androids do… yet) but both will be getting a huge update to the Database!!! and right on the heels of that will be Geek History with a bigger update to the Database!!! So… More Geekiness… = More GeekyGoodness!!
Get yours today if you have an Android for only $0.99 to keep up with facts like:
Today in MovieHistory 3/16/1971
Alan Tudyk is born in El Paso, Texas, and went on to play Wash in Serenity  & Alpha on Dollhouse

Deals of the Week / New Release

• Walking Dead Plushies Giveaway! (udg)
  • No one knows how to dangle freebies for us geeks like the folks at Geek Chic Daily. This week’s, as usual, is the awesome!  They are teaming up with their friends at Robert Kirkmans’ Skybound Entertainment that just opened up a brand spankin’ new store spreading zombie gore all over the world. What better way to do that than by giving away 13 Walking Dead Zombie Plushies.
  • Don’t miss your chance to win a zombie of your very own you can hug and squeeze and hell even call George.  Oh and don’t worry if his head pops off, it’s meant to do that. So, head on over to their site and then snag a bonus entry on their Facebook page.

• • (list of new games released this week)
  • (list of new dvd’s released this week)

• The Fighter – Christian Bale
• Gamera vs. Zigra!!!

• Paul Opens In Theaters This Week (udg)
  • If you don’t know who Simon Pegg & Nick Frost are, you really need to learn. Trust me on this. They are brilliant. In fact, you have an assignment from me- go rent Shaun of the Dead. Now. T
  • They have given us so many epic moments whether its their own movies or Robot Chicken or even the voice of Reepicheep in Narnia. And now they are about to give us so very many more.
  • This week, their newest film, Paul hits the theaters. The dynamic duo play British buddies who decide to end their first voyage to SDCC with a road trip through the southwest. Being the hardcore sci-fi fanboys that they are- they are on a pilgrimage to see the likes of Area 51 and Roswell. All good movies have a one dark night. Well on this one, the two of them stumble onto a real life alien, Paul, who is voiced by Seth Rogen. Paul’s been stranded on Earth for decades after crashing his spaceship back in 1947 and now he wants out. He’s engineered an escape but he needs these two to help him pull it off.
  • Paul is being declared “a movie about nerds, written by nerds, made for nerds, in which the word “nerd” appears in the dialogue at least a dozen times.” And this is one nerd who can’t wait to see it!
  • Oh!!! I should probably mention- leave the nerdlings at home for this one, it’s rated R.

Geek Speak

With C2E2 kicking off the major Con season for this year, we thought it was important to give you our How To for Con Surival.  Hello,  my name is Natali and I’ll be your Fairy Con Mother

• #1- SURVIVAL FIRST! You will need a COMFORTABLE bag of choice (backpack, messenger) A. for the haul of freebies, B. for the stuff you’re gonna buy there 3. for your survival kit.
• Survival Kit:
  • 1. WATER (plastic bottles only) You need to stay hydrated peeps
  • 2. Energy boosts!  The fun doesn’t end when the doors close and that doesn’t usually happen until at least 9pm. With parties, tweet ups, you name it-  sleep is for the weak during the epic 4 day weekend. Whether it’s energy shots, craisins, Steven’s cases of NOS, you’re gonna wanna have a stash in your bag to keep you going.
  • 3. Camera- Don’t be proud. Yes you have an iPhone. That iPhone has a battery life peeps.
  • 4. Chargers!!!! – Be it battery for cams, phone, laptop, you need it! Do yourself

a favor, match up all your chargers to your toys and pack them together.

• • 5. Tiny Power Strip- For realz, you snag an open outlet, you best charge all your stuffs. I’ve seen hair pulled and blood shed people, it’s not pretty. Recommend: Monster
  • 6. Sketch Pad & Pens- if you’re hoping of any autograph, artist’s work, jot notes, snag a booth  babe’s number- you’re gonna need this.
  • 7. For Summer Cons- Sunscreen- Seriously. The lines for some of the halls run outside. W/ no shade.
  • 8. COMFORTABLE SHOES This is not the time to try to sport some new kicks. If you’re cos playing, again don’t be proud, giant blisters and limping is not sexy. Sport the shoes that go with your outfit for a bit, but make sure you’ve got back up comfies in your bag.
  • 9. Meds, Inhaler, etc. Passing out in front of Eliza Dushku doesn’t mean she’ll  give you mo 2 mo. Don’t be proud, whip out the inhaler if you need it. (There goes my super plan for next year… I’m out! JP) (if I see yvonne S. from Chuck… I may still try this trick…)
  • 10. ANTIBACTERIAL GEL!! CON CRUD EXISTS AND IT IS EVIL!! I’ve been there people- load up. I’ve got a bottle and a purse spray of it already in my backpack after the curse of Anime Milwaukee. USE IT LIBERALLY AND OFTEN. You’ll hug me for this later when your friend is couched up and praying for death for a good 3-5 days because they were a nonbeliever.

• #2 A Plan

• • Plot out the panels you really want to see. Rule out seeing a panel right before it if it’s not in the same hall. For the biggies a 3 hour line wait is not unheard of. All of the big Cons have an app now, dl it to your phone, it may be a BIG help.
  • If you’re staying at a hotel-don’t forget your shuttle or schedule or the number to a cab service!! Schedules for events change daily! Make sure you pick up the flyer they have all over w/ changes on them
  • How are you getting your loot home?? Make sure you have a plan in advance whether it is extra luggage or plotting out the closest shipping center to the con. Some cons, like SDCC, actually have shipping services located within them.

• #3 Hygiene Even if you’re not facing summer heat, 140,000 people + cos players that wear the same outfit the whole 4 days can = O M Stinky G (x it by hangovers from partying the night before = yeah…. ) SHOWER & be kind, toss a stick of travel size deodorant in your survival kit! And Febreeze, Axe and all kinds of girly sprays all come in tiny lil travel sizes #justsayin. And I know I mentioned it before- but ANTIBACTERIAL GEL!! Please note, it is NOT a substitute for a shower.

• #4 The Sign The day you check into your hotel, on the back of the door- “HEY DUMBASS DO NOT FORGET YOUR BADGE” Trust me, this isn’t just for n00bs. I’ve seen many a veteran con goer get all the way to the convention center and have to turn their self around and go back and get their badge.

• #5 The Realization There are three major things you need to realize before you start this adventure to mecca:

• • • 1. There will be an INSANE amount of people (if you’re crowd phobic) and you need to stand in line for hours w/ them.
    • 2. You will NOT, I repeat NOT see everything on your list. It’s impossible.
    • 3. Your main mission: Snag the fun badge. That’s it.

(JP ) come up with a treasure hunt list of things for you and your friends… IE Pic with Felicia Day, Pic with Wil Weaton, Photo with @GEEKGIRL at her Panel, etc… be creative

• #6 The Moment My assignment to you- I don’t care if you have to set a reminder on your phone to accomplish it, whatever works. But, take one moment to stop, take a deep breath, look around and realize the sheer awesomeness that you are surrounded by. You made it, it is awesome. YOU are awesome. Now go back to having fun.

• Talk about C2E2
  • Presentation to celebrate the life of Jim Henson
  • New Graphic novel, “A Tale of Sand” – Lost Screenplay by the master himself
  • Boy Wonder Preview

• Super Debuts at SXSW – The Review
  • everybody put their expectations here
  • (SM) everybody is saying that the movie delivers but fails in the ending… maybe thats the point? Still looking forward to this movie

Tech,Gaming, and Geek News

• Play Katamari Damacy on Any Web Page (UDG)
  • If you have ever owned a PS2, odds are you’ve played or own one of the Katamari. Never heard of Katamari? For shame! It’s a puzzled-action game Namco put out that sees the player rolling an adhesive ball all around a landscape picking up as many objects as possible. The goal is to get it large enough to become a star.
  • Katamari and its sequels were super popular on Sony’s hardware and all you need now is a web browser to play a version of it.  Alex Leone, David Nufer and David Troung created what they call Katamari Hack which allows any web page to become a play area for the game. Obviously it doesn’t look as good as the Namco games, but the mechanics are the same.
  • Using a bookmarklet for activation, a JavaScript file is loaded into your page of choice and splits all the text and image into separate blocks. A ball is then added to the page which is controlled via the mouse and by holding down the right mouse button. When this is done the ball rolls towards your mouse pointer collecting and text and images as it goes.
  • The end result is a highly playable game of Katamari. There’s also options such as whether to play background music or not, controlling the maximum number of objects that can attach to the ball, and the speed of the ball growth. You can even toggle realistic pickups on or off. We also found you can click the bookmarklet multiple times to get more Katamari balls active at once.
  • To give it a go yourself just visit the Katamari Hack website and drag the bookmarklet to your Bookmarks/Bookmarks Toolbar. Then load a page of your choice and click the bookmarklet. This will bring up the options box and allow you to start playing.
  • (SM) How about URL Hunter? a game that is played on the location bar

• Happy 40th anniversary Computer Virus (SM)
  • This year marks the 40th anniversary of “Creeper”
  • Name some of the most prominent viruses out there
    • Creeper (1971) – ARPANET based, hopped from comp to comp and displayed image “Catch me if you can”
    • Elk Cloner (1982) – Apple II computer, spread by floppy, 15 yr old writer, displayed a poem as an ode to the virus
    • Jerusalem (1987) – Every year on Friday the 13th, deleted every file on the computer
    • Melissa – One of the first HUGE email viruses, propogated via infected Word docs mailed through outlook. 20 mths in jail $5000 fine, named after a stripper
    • 2000 – I Love You, attached virus w/ I love you in subject, then emailed all your contact list
    • 2001 – Code Red – 400,000 IIS web server, Hacked by the Chinese
    • Stuxnet –  Gov’t created virus that exploited windows and eventually destroyed a targetted system (probably a nuclear power plant in Iran)
    • CIH, also known as Chernobyl It is one of the most damaging viruses, overwriting critical information on infected system drives, and more importantly, in some cases corrupting the system BIOS. (JP) I actually got hit with this by Yamaha… I had a CDR400 and the firmware update shipped with it infected… Thanks Yamaha!!!
  • Mind Blowing statistics:
    • 1,300 in 1990
    • 50,000 in 2000
    • over 200 million in 2010
  • From geeky prank to malicious nuisance to business savvy criminalsk, These pieces of code are our bane, Happy B-day the Virus

• Valve Teaches Kid a Lesson When He Tries to Sell His Steam Account (JP)
  • Kid tries to sell his acct that has over $1700 worth of games on it
  • Posts on Reddit, apparently somebody at Valve read the post (pun intended)
  • Its a violation of TOS to sell your acct or lease your acct to others
  • Ban hammer comes out, no more playing games for the kid
  • Kiddo has since been re-instated

• Blizzard Teases Diablo III For Consoles Yet Again (udg)
  • Could one of the biggest fanboy PC games of all time could be coming to major video game consoles by the end of 2011? Blizzard Entertainment, producer of Diablo III, recently posted an online job listing for ‘Senior Producer, Console’. This can only mean one thing, right? The Diablo franchise is finally set on making the transition to next-gen consoles. Right?
  • Yeah, not so fast.
  • “We are looking for a couple of console developers, yes,” Blizzard CEO and first-rate tease Mike Morhaime told video game trade journal MCV. “At this stage though, it’s basically an investigation to see if it makes sense for Diablo to be a console game as well as a PC game. “We haven’t made any decisions yet, but a lot us feel that if ever there was a Blizzard franchise that could play well as a console game, then that’s probably it.”
  • Mike, I’m gonna bust out a phrase my grandma used to love to use “Honey, you need to shit or get off the pot.”

• Court OK’s Posting pics w/out Permission on Facebook (SM)
  • Mother lost custody due to a facebook pic showing her drinking
  • Appeals saying that the prosecution improperly used the photo
  • Court  promptly rejects assertion that Facebook is inadmissible
  • Published from the court “[t]here is nothing within the law that requires [one's] permission when someone takes a picture and posts it on a Facebook page. There is nothing that requires [one's] permission when she [is] “tagged” or identified as a person in those pictures.”
  • Before everybody gets panties in a wad: there might be issues with ppl who use tagging to harrass
  • You do something stupid in your personal life and post it in public, you can get in trouble and it just might stick

• Facebook Rolls Out Anti-Bullying Tools (udg)
  • Faceebook has announced two new safety features in conjunction with a White House summit on bullying.
  • A new reporting will now allow all users to privately report troubling content, not just to the site itself but to parents, teachers and others in their support system.
  • Facebook said the “social reporting” feature is intended to get reports of bullying to the people with the best chance of stopping it.
  • Under the new system, a user could identify a photo, status update or other item as bullying them, then privately send a message to someone in their friend network about it.
  • “Safety and child psychology experts tell us that online issues are frequently a reflection of what is happening offline,” Facebook wrote. “By encouraging people to seek help from friends, we hope that many of these situations can be resolved face to face.”
  • The second feature is an improved Safety Center, due out in the next few weeks. It will provide educational videos, articles and other content created by bullying experts to help adults address the problem and will constantly be updated with new information and tools.

• • • Bonus link to what happens to when a bully has enough

• Microsoft Launches IE9 at SXSW (JP)

• From SXSW: How to Raise Digital Native Children (SM)
  • Has your kids been bugging you for a facebook account? Twitter? The Latest Iphone? starting at age 8?
  • Dan Sinker and John Bracken led  discussion at SXSW about this very thing
  • We’re all plugged in and our kids are even MORE plugged in
  • Some issues brought up at the discussion include:
    • When do you start registering online identities
    • Monitor Internet usage
    • Let your kids on Facebook / Twitter / etc
    • Teach them programming languages
  • One person mentioned that they teach 2 languages in the home, English and C++
  • Example: Bracken won’t let his daughter watch TV but will let her watch Netflix, etc.
  • Where do we draw the line on what content is allowed into the home

• Etsy Reveals Users Real Name and Purchases (udg)
  • I firmly stand by my statement that Etsy is like crack. Okay, so I’ve never done crack, but holy addictive batman. And I know there are other addicts out there. So, if you have an Etsy account and have ever ordered anything with it, you may want to listen up because what you bought may be showing up now in Google search results for your real name.
  • People Search, Etsy’s newest feature rolled out last week. It seems to be an attempt to add more of a social network feel to it by allowing users to connect to each other and create “Circles”, which then allow users to see which products their friends have favorited or purchase on Etsy. To accomplish that, it now allows people to search but real name in addition to username and links both of those to purchase history.
  • Unfortunately, Etsy didn’t announce this chance to any one except sellers and they took a page out of Facebook’s play book by automatically opting all of its current users into the program. Once all that wonderful search able info was available, it starting popping up all over Google search results. Think that doesn’t sound all that bad?
    • Etsy sells ALL KINDS of things. A privacy concerned poster in a forum was looking up research for a reporter. There on the first page of the person she was looking for, right under her resume, was her Etsy purchase. Let’s just say that person now knows the color and curvature choice of a very personal item.
    • Another forum goer found it was possible to start with an item, see who was interested in it, and eventually make your way to their Facebook page.
  • So, if you do have an Etsy account, here’s, thanks to Etsy Bitch,  how to opt out of People Search:
    • Log in to Etsy (you’ll have to do this for each store you have)
    • Click “Settings” on the left top sidebar
    • Choose the “Privacy” tab
    • You have three decisions to make (who can see your favorites, who can see your purchases, and can people search for your email). Be sure to click the update button on the bottom.
    • To change your ‘real name’ on file, click “Profile” in the left sidebar while logged in to your account.

• Before and Afters of the Japanese Earthquake (SM)
  • Web 2.0 at work
  • The pictures here are mind blowing
  • Before and after shots using google earth/ with a manual wipe bar
  • Dare you to try it and not feel your jaw drop

• Apple Comes to the Aid of Japan(udg)
  • I know you mock my love of Apple, Steven, but this is one of the many reasons I will always be loyal.
  • The world watched last week as Japan was devastated by a giant earthquake and Tsunami that followed. With that power cuts and communication links are going down. My friend in Japan that was close enough to have been shaken but safe enough to be okay continues to talk of scheduled power outages there.
  • We have seen people and companies band together over there and Apple is no exception, in fact it may be setting the example for everyone else to follow.
  • Kevin Rose, founder of Digg and a tech angel investor, has posted on his blog detailing how Apple Stores and their staff in Japan have come to the aid of those caught up in the disaster currently being experienced in the country.
  • He has a friend in Japan who works at an Apple Store. When the earthquake hit all the staff led customers to safety outside his store. As it is a more modern building, it withstood the shaking and remained structurally sound. That’s when the store and other Apple locations like it took on a different purpose.
  • With the backup power still on, and the hardware and networks still operational, people flooded in with their mobile devices to get a signal and check on friends and family. Others huddled around the MacBooks on display to catch up on the news using UStream, Twitter, Facebook, news sites, and through e-mails.
  • As well as offering a way to find out what’s happening, the staff also brought out adapters and power cables so people could charge their devices, they even left the wireless connection active after closing at night to allow anyone passing by outside the chance to get a usable signal.
  • For Apple employees the company went even further. As transport links were down it was agreed that any Apple staff, be it retail or corporate, should use the Apple stores nearest to them to sleep, and family members were welcome too. Senior managers also went and got food and drink supplies to ensure everyone had access to them at the stores. Anyone wanting to try and journey home was told that all their food, drink, and transport costs would be reimbursed. Employees attempting this and getting stuck were also having their hotel costs reimbursed as well.
  • This aid is set to continue for as long as Japan remains in a state of emergency. Apple’s quick decision to forget about everything except the welfare of its employees and people in general has seen it turn into a much needed port in the storm, and the company should be commended for deciding to take on that role. It has surely made all the difference to a lot of people desperate to get in touch with loved ones and who have nowhere else to go right now.

• Mortal Kombat Demo Out on PSN (JP)

Intarweb Goldmine

• What’s Almost as Awesome as Ninja Monkeys? Pirate Monkeys! (udg)
  • Louisiana wildlife officials confiscated four monkeys in pirate costumes from an autistic woman visiting New Orleans for Carnival.
  • Joan Newberger, 66, and her caretaker, James Poole, said they and the four monkeys were dressed as pirates on Bourbon Street when police and wildlife agents approached them and seized the small primates, WWLT-TV, New Orleans, reported.
  • Newberger said the seizure was illegal because the primates are registered as her “service monkeys” with a group in Texas. However, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said the monkeys do not meet the Americans with Disabilities Act’s definition of service animals.
  • Possession of primates has been illegal in Louisiana since 2006.
  • Newberger is scheduled to appear in the Orleans Parish Municipal Court in July to attempt to get her monkeys back.
  • “This isn’t some wild animal that we snatched out of the swamp in New Orleans and we’re running around making money on it,” Poole said.
  • Seriously? Giver Joan her monkeys back dbags!!!
• He REALLY likes Julia Roberts (JP)
  • Most movie fans would settle for an autograph, but when it comes to celebrity ink, Miljenko Bukovic draws his own lines.
  • He’s a Mexican-born newspaper vendor who has spent roughly $4,000 over the past 10 years tattooing his body with sketches of his favorite American actress, Julia Roberts, according to The Sun.
  • Why? you might ask. “Because she’s beautiful,” he says.
  • All of Bukovic’s tattoos draw on scenes from Roberts’ 2000 classic “Erin Brockovich,” which he readily admits is his favorite movie. And with 82 tats and counting, he plans to continue building the body art collection as long as there’s still space on his skin and cash in his pocket.
  • Don’t bother searching his torso for scenes from “Pretty Woman,” though. Bukovic says he doesn’t approve of his Hollywood heartthrob playing a prostitute.

• Best Employee Termination EVER (udg)
  • In honor of Pi Day and thanks to Tim Hunt!

• • If you can remember Pi to the 46th digit, hallucinogens or not, you are way too overqualified to work at Domino’s.

• Car Crash Victim Sues Paramedic That Stole His Foot (JP)
  • She stole his foot — and now she might have to foot the bill.
  • A former Florida paramedic who snatched a man’s severed foot from the scene of a car crash is being sued by the victim.
  • Cynthia Economou — a former St.Lucie County Fire District firefighter and paramedic — admitted that she took Karl Lambert’s mangled foot in hopes of using the limb to help train her cadaver-sniffing dog after a wreck on I-95 on Sept. 19, 2008.
  • She pleaded no contest to petty theft charges and was sentenced to six months’ probation. But now Lambert is taking her to court in a civil case, seeking unspecified damages, according to TCPalm.com.
  • During sentencing in 2009, Economou said she only took the mangled appendage for her dog because she didn’t think it could be reattached to the victim.
  • “It was an unrecognizable mass of flesh,” she said. “It wasn’t a clean cut. You couldn’t even recognize it as a foot. … If I had thought it was somehow reattachable and usable, I would have gone to my commander.”

Extra Links

• One in Five Brits Believe Light Sabers Exist
• Unique IPad Cover Breakdown
• From SXSW: Guide to Geek Sex

Contact Info

• On Twitter: Steven is @DarthMolen, Jeremy is @jpuent, Natali is @UberDorkGirlie
• email us: darthmolen@thepowergeeks.com and jpuent@thepowergeeks.com and uberdorkgirlie@thepowergeeks.com (yay!)
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