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Nerd Lunch Episode 144 – Adventures in Craigslisting

Posted in internet, podcast, pop culture, technology, websites with tags internet, Nerd Lunch Podcast, podcasts, technology, websites on August 12, 2014 by Paxton

And we meet again. This week the nerds are joined by former Atomic Geek and current Classic Film Jerk Andrew Bloom to talk about that ancient bastion of Internet classifieds, Craigslist.

bill_delivers5

We all delve into our local Craigslist Classifieds and find some nerdy and weird ads featuring VHS tapes, compulsively curated comic book collections, the Fun TV portable videotape player and Bill. Who makes deliveries. It’s a fun discussion with lots of Internet craziness. Come check it out.

Download this episode from iTunes, Stitcher or listen to it on Feedburner. Or listen to it online right here.

I cast an Expendables movie featuring movie hackers…

Posted in computers, hackers, movies, pop culture with tags computers, hackers, LEB, movies, pop culture on March 16, 2012 by Paxton

We have a new assignment for The League this week. Brian borrows a topic from the Nerd Lunch Podcast. He wants us to cast a movie with the ultimate ensemble cast. I’ve decided to join him but I’m sure CT is going to yell at me to “SAVE IT FOR THE PODCAST!”

So, ignoring CT’s protests, I’m going to create an awesome ensemble cast for a movie about computer hackers. I want to create a super team of Hollywood computer hackers. However, I’ve decided to change it up a bit and cast movie characters as opposed to actors (which I guess you can say I’m technically doing actors, but just go with it). All of the actors that played the characters are still alive as far as I’m aware. Also, this topic neatly ties into my last League article about a modern WarGames sequel.

So, let’s move on to my ultimate cast of movie hackers:

(Via Automotive Rhythms)
Kevin Flynn (TRON and TRON Legacy) – Kevin Flynn is the Obi-Wan Kenobi of computer hacking and the leader of my “Ocean’s 11 of computer hackers”.

(Via Nick Step)
David Lightman (WarGames and WarGames 2: DECODR) – Lightman would be the Yang to Flynn’s Yin. Almost as talented, but a little bit more daring and unpredictable. He would be Flynn’s second in command. Notice how I put the title of my own WarGames sequel in the movie list after Lightman’s name? What up, Hollywood? I’m straight up prepared to sell you that idea. Call me.

Chloe O’Brien (24) – The lone girl hacker in this group and probably more intimidating than every other guy but one. I think I’m cheating a bit by putting a TV character in here, but I just couldn’t resist. She’s just so awesome in the show. And I love the idea of her berating the rest of the team the whole movie.

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Nerd Lunch Episode 26: Talking memories of Retro Technology with The Retroist

Posted in podcast, technology with tags Nerd Lunch Podcast, podcast, podcasts, technology, vintage on February 28, 2012 by Paxton

And we are BACK after our 25th episode spectacular. This week we have a very special guest. The guys and I are a big fan of him and I know you are too. This week we are joined by The Retroist, the brains behind the Retroist site and the awesome Retroist podcast.

This week, we take the opportunity of having an expert in “retro-ology” to look back at our memories of retro technology. We talk about things like cameras, Fox Photo, VCRs and the Atari 2600. It’s a lively discussion that will have you skipping down memory lane. And for you youngsters, you can hear what it was like “back in our day”.

Download this episode from iTunes or listen to it on Feedburner. And, of course, Zune Marketplace.

Jeeg tried to find a way to fax the episode to you, but the solution involved an RCA to coax converter and copious amounts of black magic. It seemed like a lot of work.

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18 Slot machines based on movies and TV shows

Posted in casinos, movies, slot machines, technology, TV shows, video games with tags casinos, movies, pop culture, slot machines, technology, TV shows, video games on September 8, 2011 by Paxton

I mentioned last week that I was going to Vegas with my wife to renew our vows with Elvis. While there, we spent some time in a few casinos. I’m not a big gambler but I love walking casino floors and checking out the other gamblers and the various themed slot machines.

Casinos are awesome. It’s like walking into an arcade back in the 80s. Lots of lights and noise. People hunched over lighted consoles hoping to get high scores. I love going to casinos. Like I said, I’m not a huge gambler, but I love looking at slot machines. They are the modern equivalent of upright arcade games. I’ve talked about my love for slot machines before and their taking the torch of the arcade machine.

Anyway, here are 18 slot machines I found that are based on movies or TV shows. You can click any of these images to see them bigger.

The Hangover – I’ll start with this one because it’s the most obvious. Expect to see images of tigers and babies on the reels. “Tootle-loo, mutha-f**kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Alien – As you can see, there are two versions of the Ridley Scott Alien slot machine. One slot machine has the picture of the egg from the theatrical one-sheet and the other has a picture of the alien xenomorph and includes a special Alien Hunt bonus.

Alien vs Predator – You got an alien slot machine, you also get an Alien vs Predator. Unfortunately, there isn’t a standalone Predator machine.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail – One of my favorite movies of all time. This slot was great because it had a ton of quotes from the movie, as well as clips and a special bonus round where you fought the black knight. There were even “hot spots” on the screen you could touch to generate a random quote or sound from the movie.

Star Wars Droid Hunt – This slot machine was pretty awesome. Lots of images and sounds from the original trilogy. Back in the late 90s, there was another Star Wars slot machine called Death Star Escape. It was cool because there was a bonus round that activated a model Death Star built into the housing that started spinning. Funny, I’ve never found a Star Wars slot machine based on the prequel movies.

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Uploading the Mad Magazine Computer issue from 1985

Posted in 80s, computers, Mad magazine, magazine, pop culture, technology with tags Book Report, computers, Mad Magazine, magazines, pop culture, reviews, technology on August 19, 2011 by Paxton

Earlier this week I looked at the awesome Star Wars Q&A Book About Computers from 1983. In there we got to see Artoo and Threepio show us the until then current history of computers including an awesome painting of the droids playing an upright video game.

Then I took at look at the Marvel Super Heroes Computer Fun Book Two from 1984. In there we saw lots of BASIC code for programs based on Marvel Super Hero adventures like the Iron Man Robot Retriever and Doctor Strange and the Computer Gremlin.

Today, I’m continuing my look at vintage computer activity books with Mad Magazine #258 from October 1985.

This particular issue of Mad had a special “computer section” in the middle of the magazine. The feature article in that section was the Mad Computer Program.

The article provided code for three major BASIC platforms that you could enter into your computer and when you run the program, it would print out a special surprise output. You can click the images above to see the code more clearly.

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