GeekSugar

Vintage Geek: What I Learned From '80s Computer Games

GeekSugar — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:30:02 PDT

It was a gorgeous weekend here in San Francisco, so I took advantage of it to go on a night walk with some friends. We started talking about how Jupiter was the closest to Earth in 50 years (if you noticed a bright star close to the moon last week, that was it!) and how you could see four of Jupiter's moons with just binoculars. I realized that everything I knew about these moons was straight from one of my top geeky computer games of yesteryear - Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego?

That feisty fugitive taught me a lot of facts about space, not least of which are that Io looks like a pizza and that Europa is a frozen ball of ice with water underneath. Who knew that while I was chasing all those V.I.L.E henchmen around I'd actually retain the information years later?

So, fellow Carmen Sandiego fans, which game was your favorite? Where in Time? Where in the World? Or did you have another go-to geeky computer game?

Want to reminisce about the olden days of tech? Join our Vintage Geek Group and get in on the fun, and your story could be featured on GeekSugar!

Photo source: Moby Games

Computer Games a Threat to Bhutan's New Democracy?

LibertySugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:30:58 PDT

The Asian nation of Bhutan has banned members of parliament from bringing laptops to work since they apparently cannot control their urge to play computer games. The lawmakers in the new democracy reject the accusation, saying that their computers are needed and do not distract them from their work. But their protests do not compute with the National Assembly's Speaker credited with the ban, reports BBC.

Eating, smoking, and other electronic gadgets are also banned at the National Assembly. The isolated Himalayan country just got Internet and television nine years ago, and held its first elections last March. A Bhutanese contingency traveled to Washington, DC, this week, with plans to introduce the small Buddhist constitutional monarch to America.

View 5 Photos ›

Would you rather have a lawmaker who is distracted by computer games, or one who cannot use a computer at all? Do you think motivations for the ban on food and technology, likely to result in less time spent at the Assembly, go beyond innocent? Could a mix-up over computer games shake up this fragile democracy?

Source

Library of Congress Classification Game to Tests Your Wits

GeekSugar — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:11:33 PST

No really, I'm not kidding. If you have a few minutes to spare check out the Library of Congress Classification Game, which offers a timed test of your knowledge of the Library of Congress classification system (yes, it's different from the Dewey Decimal System you learned in grammar school). Sure, it sounds less than extraordinary, but it's actually a ton of fun. You pick up the books from the cart with the cursor and have to place them on the right shelf, in the correct spot in an allotted time frame. First the Library of Congress joins Flickr and now this?! I'm sensing a geek trend.

Statetris: It's Tetris On A Map Of The US

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:00:54 PDT

In search of your afternoon distraction? Check out Statetris, a free Tetris game based on a map of the United States.

You chose "easy," "medium" or "hard" options and proceed to fit descending state pieces into a map of the U.S. The "easy" option provides you with both a colorful state piece and its name, while the "hard" option shows just the state piece without any name. Clearly, I took the easy route.

See if you remember anything from third grade. I dare you.

Source: Neatorama

5 Perks of Dating a Geek

Annie Scudder — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:23:22 PDT

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg married longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan last night in a surprise ceremony in his backyard. Priscilla, who just finished med school last week, has been dating Mark for almost a decade, after they met at Harvard. The Social Network makes the case that computer nerd Mark created Facebook to help him get chicks. But if all women knew that dating a technology lover comes with so many perks, they wouldn't need to be convinced. And in reality, Mark and Priscilla have been together since before he released "The Facebook." Here are five reasons to seek out a geeky guy.

They're genuine: There's a good chance a geek has spent more time playing video games than practicing his game. And if he's used to being the dating underdog, he'll likely appreciate having you in his life.
They set up your electronics: Can't get your WiFi to work? Dream of an awesome entertainment setup but frightened by cords? Find a guy that looks at setting up electronics as a form of entertainment itself.
They fix your computers: Your time spent waiting in line at the Genius Bar or on the phone with technical support will drop drastically. And if they can't fix it, they know someone who can.
They expand your knowledge: If you think of the Internet as a series of tubes, spending time with a computer nerd can make technology seem like less of a mystery. And if they have a thing for nonfiction books, they'll probably share what they've learned.
They can find anything on the Internet: Geeks can call on their superior online research skills when you're planning a vacation or looking for a new restaurant for date night. How romantic!

Anything to add, geek lovers?

Source: Facebook user Priscilla Chan

11 Tech Items to Consider For Your Wedding Registry

Laura Marie Given — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:55:12 PDT

Technology may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your wedding registry, but the gifting possibilities go beyond traditional fine china, fancy flatware, and bedding. If you depend on geeky gadgets on a day-to-day basis, feel free to add a few to your list. This isn't to say that you should go nuts at Best Buy scanning each and every dream gift, but it's important to include items that you genuinely want and need.

A good place to start: learn the proper registry protocol. Etiquette experts at Emily Post offer smart wedding registry rules to help you navigate the formalities. Anna Post confirms that it's perfectly OK to create a more unconventional registry with camping or tech items, but you should also provide guests with a more traditional list, too. Hoping to include some technology, but not sure where to start? Here are a few basic items to consider:

DSLR camera, like the Nikon D800
Laptop computer
iPad
Flatscreen TV
Record player, like this affordable Wood Turntable
iPod speakers
Blu-Ray player
Gaming system
Stereo system with surround sound
The Nest Thermostat
High-tech washer/dryer

Current and former brides-to-be: Did you include any technology on your registry? If so, which items? Share your suggestions in the comments below!

Daily Tech: Amazing Seven Foot Tall Samus Papercraft

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:10:00 PDT

This insane papercraft Samus is seven feet tall - Geekosystem
Parents are suing Apple over "addictive" kid apps - Newser
This was the first computer font - FWD
An Escalade with a very Flintstones-like feature - Dvice
Things you learn when breaking into Diddy's house - Cracked
New Ender's Game photos! - SlashFilm
Classic fine art with a geek twist - GeekTyrant

Part 2 of Our Interview With Hunger Games Set Decorator Larry Dias

Elka Karl — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:07:06 PDT

Earlier today, we shared the first half of our interview with The Hunger Games set decorator Larry Dias. Keep reading to learn more about what went into the process of creating the set!

CasaSugar: Where was the chandelier above the dining table sourced?

Larry Dias: The "chandelier" was actually comprised of 50 to 60 separate fixtures from Arteriors that we arranged off site and installed into the cantilevered overhang on stage. It was built into a wedge that floated over the dining table that came to a very shallow point. We had to put one of the set dressers inside the wedge to do the installation and wiring so we picked the smallest guy and in he went. A claustrophobic environment to say the least.

CS: The chairs at the dining table are so futuristic, and I love the pleating effect. Where were these sourced?

LD: Those chairs are made by the Phillips Collection [note: photo above is from Phillips Collection, not from the film]. Buyer Margaret Hungerford found them in High Point in North Carolina. We decided they were perfect for the set since we were looking for something that was a little "off center." They are made of strapping similar to seat belting and are woven around a wooden frame. The texture and silhouette of the chairs read wonderfully on film.

CS: Since Lenny Kravitz also has a design firm, did he have any feedback about the set? Did you collaborate together at all? (The high pile rugs in the penthouse reminded me a bit of his designs.)

LD: He gave some really positive feedback. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy the sets. By the way, the high pile carpeting was area rugs that we fused together because we had to cover an area that was quite large.

CS: I loved Katniss's bedroom quarters. What went into your look for her room? How did you choose the color palette?

LD: Phil and I were trying to come up with a bed that anchored the room, and we were really playing with color. We couldn't find anything that wasn't too recognizable so he designed it on his computer and we built it. The paint is a high-gloss lacquer, and the upholstery was this amazing patterned velvet Margaret had found. The faux fur spread was an homage to Katniss's hunting prowess.

CS: I also loved the row of organic, macrame-look pendants behind Katniss's bed. Where did you source these? How did you come up with the idea for these lights as a focal point?

LD: Those fixtures are actually made of wire. They are a group of pendants from a company called Shine Labs in the Bay Area. I thought they had great silhouettes so I bought a number of them and played around with some configurations, and that's what we ended up with.

CS: What went into your inspiration for President Snow's Capitol home? What
time period particularly influenced you?

LD: This was a funny one. The script called for an opulent room in the Capitol, but being sort of landlocked in Charlotte limited the options available for Phil to choose from, and since it was at the very end of our shooting schedule it was impossible and not cost effective to do a big company move. A film crew has quite a lot of people working between all of the departments. So after futile attempts to find something appropriate, Phil asked me to join him to look at a space in the Philip Morris facility that we were using as our home base. The room was a former screening room/meeting room of sorts that looked out onto an amazing interior courtyard. We had the neglected plants pruned and added about 50 rose bushes to the garden. We built some interior walls that were clad in a faux travertine and did mica inlays that were very luminous. It tied into the brutalist architecture very well and to me had the feeling of the '30s Milanese Villa Necchi Campiglio, one of my favorite places ever.

Have you seen The Hunger Games yet? What was your favorite part of the set design? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Film photos courtesy of Lionsgate

4 Details to Look Forward to in Pixar's Brave

Kelly Schwarze — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:16:16 PDT

The magic of Pixar's Oscar-winning films is in their ability to take seemingly ordinary story lines about childhood toys or a garbage-collecting robot and transform them into emotional narratives about love and life. The studio's upcoming Summer film Brave is its first foray into the familiar coming-of-age tale, this one as told through the experiences of a defiant teenage girl. Pixar's first female lead, Merida, is a princess with an affinity for archery in ancient Scotland who refuses to give up her freedom by submitting to an arranged marriage and sets off to change her fate.

Though the movie isn't due for release until June 22, 2012, we caught an unfinished preview of the first 30 minutes of Brave, and there's a lot to get excited about in this Pixar period piece. Here's why the film is worth the wait:

Pixar Technical Wizardry - Brave demonstrates the studio's technical prowess at its best. Merida's gorgeous curls (seen in the above picture) are no easy feat of animation. There's a reason so few of your favorite animated characters have big, curly hair - it's very difficult to create on the computer. Over 111,000 individual curls were hand-drawn for Merida's mane, which was then digitally rendered as 1.8 million strands. Pixar then had to create a physics simulator to mathematically control how the waves move in the wind and exist within gravity.
The Art - Without verging into awkward moments of uncanny valley, Brave has moments of startling realism amid its fantasy story line. The overcast skies and moss-covered landscape of Scotland have been painstakingly studied, drawn, and shaded to create a setting worthy of this new legend. By the time filming wrapped, 111,394 storyboard drawings were created, a number that far exceeds the preproduction that went into most other Pixar films.

Keep reading how the film's great for gingers and view the official trailer after the break.

Flying Cars and Other Future Tech the Movies Got Right

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:50:53 PDT

The flying car is finally here! Well, almost. Though it doesn't look like The Jetsons' floating bubble or Marty McFly's Delorean, the Terrafugia Transition is street legal and can be preordered for the low price of $279,000. That's more than a space flight aboard the Virgin Galactic, but at least you'll be able to drive it (and pilot it!) again and again. Requirements for piloting are pretty tame: passing a test and logging 20 hours of flight time. You can get a closer look at the Transition at this week's New York Auto Show, but expect those preorders to roll out within the next year.

Of course, flying cars aren't the only sci-fi and future tech that movies and TV shows have predicted. Check out this list of other technology that has sprung from screen to real life, below.

Iris scanners - Those crazy iris scanners that identified everything from your identity to your last purchase at The Gap in Minority Report are here now.
3D Holograms - Though we can't yet watch 3D versions of ourselves on home movies, we can chat with others like CNN did during the 2008 election, and dance alongside a few holograms in Vegas.
Gesture-based interfaces - Not just for video games anymore, the gesture-based interfaces like we saw in Minority Report will soon be a real way of life - crazy gloves and all.

Check out the rest after the break.