XKCD!

Three person chess and rules

When CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" recently joked about nerds coming up with complicated new rules to the age old game chess, they probably had no idea that nerdom had already thought about that.

the rules

and another variation

Unedited Youtube Videos

I've noticed a few nicely unedited youtube videos. Actually to be honest they are edited to look unedited, but the punchline ends up being something completely unexpected, which is nice. I've seen far to many youtube videos that start with a guy on a roof, or with a chainsaw beside a tree, we know how these are going to end, we've seen it a million times before. Here's two examples of what I mean,

Retro iPohone

I will never understand the appeal of a home phone, but I know I need it, it's like a warm fuzzy blanket. Technology like this has been around for a while, but it's never really taken off, maybe there is too much of a void between celular and home phones.

Now Hiring- Anyone but Hipsters

Word Wednesday

Heteronyms. I won't permit this permit. A word which can sound different to produce a different meaning. Not to be confused with Homonyms which are two words which sound the same but are spelt differently producing two meanings like, "I have two too". Here's even more heteronyms, there are surprisingly many http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cellis/heteronym.html. "I am number from reading this number."

This is the price we pay to be connected

Imagination, Dreams, and Tetris

Do you know what makes us geeks? Not the braces, not the social awkwardness, not even the overwhelming health problems. The reason why we are geeks is because we can bring things from imagination into reality. We geeks bring dolls and graphs into life defining games, designs and lines of code into huge financial success, and most importantly, the things that interest us into reality. Here are a few things geeks have brought forth from the ether for the pure joy of it.

1. Laser-cut trebuchet
Kickstarter is a brilliant design on its own, but one of the current projects is a couple of nerds who have decided to build and sell mini trebuchets that 100% laser cut materials. That is correct, using the most futuristic technology imaginable to build an ancient weapon. Why? For the love of it.

2. XKCD Tetris
Everyone was reading XKCD before it was big. Randal Monroe possesses a rare talent for being aware of what it is that affects all of us but we never truly examine. A true virtuoso of the finer than "what's up with airplane food, am I right?" Mr. Munroe is the droll prestige of the New Yorker, and the exuberant hyperbole of Calvin and Hobbes rolled up into something that is totally free. Once every few comics, though, XKCD stirs the ambitions of lesser (other) nerd into bringing his thoughts into reality. Recently XKCD posted this-

all credit to XKCD- Randal Munroe

Almost everyone who saw that comic has had a moment in tetris where they wished for that impossible piece, a piece that would never come. Randal, by suggesting that the tetris gods might have mercy on us some day, brought that thought that tickled the back of our mind right to the front. For most of us, that fanciful reminder of the feeling was enough, for others, it wasn't.

Heavenly Tetris

This tetris game is similar in most ways to normal tertis (left/right/ up to rotate/ space to drop) except every once in a while, the perfect piece will appear and save the day. Play you cards right and it is actually a solid tool.

enjoy!