News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Nerf toys have come a very long way since I was a kid. The Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS is a fully-automatic Nerf gun that shoots Nerf darts. It comes with three 18-dart magazines and another that holds 6, for a total of 60 darts (included). It also has a riot shield and bipod. See the Hasbro website for a demonstration video showing it in action.
Link: http://arstechnica.com/…
TechRepublic has posted a list of 75 must-read books for geeks. I’ve read slightly more than half (43 total) and 7 out of the top 10. There are a few I completely disagree with, including Steve Wozniak’s iWoz (long-winded and boring) and Neal Stephenson’s Anathem (overcomplicated and boring). I started both of these books but eventually gave up reading them.
TechRepublic recommends 10 interview questions to help assess the true geekiness of a job applicant. For me, the answer to question #8 is that real programmers write self-modifying code.
For the geek in your life, Victorinox is releasing a Swiss Army Knife that includes a secure USB drive.
Link #1: http://www.realwire.com/…
(via engadget)
Link #2: http://www.swissarmy.com/…
Can’t figure out what to buy for the geek in your life? Consider this wall hanger that looks like an 8-bit pointer.
Link: http://www.meninos.us/…
(via engadget)
Over at UserFriendly, artist J.D. “Illiad” Fraser lists five movie concepts that will terrorize your inner geek. My favorite is “Windows Me: The Rebirth.”
“When you finally stretch and kick back from the laptop keyboard, it takes you a minute or two to remember where the hell you are. There’s the usual moment of disorientation, a kind of existential dizziness as you re-enter the everyday time-stream in which most people spend their lives: Hours have slid by unnoticed, feeling like minutes (except for the ache in your neck and the gritty heat in your eyes). Sometimes you doubt that any time has passed: But when you look at your clock you realize it’s nearly ten at night. … [You] blink as you stumble out of the office, noticing for the first time that you’re really hungry.” —Charles Stross, Halting State, pp. 66–67
The linked article has a top 25 list of individual comic strips related to computer programming. I think it’s an indicator of xkcd’s greatness that it makes up more than half the list.
Link: http://slashweb.org/…
(via digg)
Here at Chad’s News, we believe in being prepared for all eventualities. Regular readers will recall the galactic road map for use with alien abductions, but what if you’re transported back in time? Fear not, for you will be wearing the Time Traveler Essentials T-shirt! Need some penicillin for an infection? Instructions are on the shirt. Need to build an airplane, and the Wright brothers haven’t been born yet? It’s there. Tired of reading by candlelight and want some electric lights? No need for Thomas Edison when you have the shirt. Even better, you can take the credit and be the Leonardo da Vinci of your time. It’s a win-win situation for reluctant time travelers.
On a side note, Chad’s News is celebrating a milestone today. This is our 1000th post.
Link: http://www.topatoco.com/…
(via Sci Fi Wire)
The linked article has a nice selection of geeky t-shirts. I bought “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1” and am leaning towards shirt #2. Now if I only had a girlfriend I could get her shirt #11.
Link: http://www.geeksaresexy.net/…
(via Neatorama)
The ultimate gift for the geek in your life.
Link: http://dsc.discovery.com/…
(via Bureau 42)
Here are some nice posters for the geek in your life. My favorite is the world map with each country’s top-level domains.
Link: http://royal.pingdom.com/…
(via The Presurfer)
