Hi guys. I'm so sorry the blog
has seen only This Week in Geekdom posts for the past few weeks. The
combination of holiday frenzy and a rash of administrative edits on my graduate
thesis before the latter gets sent off to the bindery has effectively sucked
away any and all free time. Honestly, sometimes it seems like the thesis has
more regenerative powers than the quarterly Workish Elder Hydra, but soon that
nigh-unending tome will be out of my hair for good and we can return to a
regular posting schedule. In the meantime, let's get down to This Week in
Geekdom!
Science/Technology
Though the helical shape of DNA
has been an integral part of biology for decades now, the cause behind that
unique formation has been a source of debate for just as long. This week,
physicists at the University of Singapore released their findings that quantum entanglement may be a significant factor.
It was not a good week for the
International Space Station (ISS). On Wednesday, NASA was forced to reroute some of the Station's coolant systems in order to prevent overheating.
Fortunately, this week wasn't all
crisis-management for NASA. Tuesday gave us our first glimpse of the Valkyrie,
their humanoid robot and entry to this year's DARPA Robotics Challenge. Click here for more pictures and check out the video below that will make you glad we're living in the future.
Speaking of robots, Google got in
on the mecha-party this week with their purchase of Boston Dynamics. This was the eighth robotics company that Google's bought in the past six months. Can we officially start calling them the makers of Dkynet?
It's easy to take the moon for
granted, so regular in its orbit and rotations. However, the origins of our
lunar satellite remain a point of contention for many researchers. The latest
issue of Nature seeks to pry apart conventional impact theories and pinpoint how the Moon came to exist.
The European Space Agency has its
sights set on a harrowing, impressive feat of extra-atmospheric dexterity:
landing a probe on a moving comet.
An invisibility flashlight.
Science fiction? Yes, but perhaps not for long...
Games
Xbox One and PS4 have each only
spent a few weeks in the public domain, but already programmers are working to
build emulators for these new-generation machines. Read here for details on this quest to bring the console experience to your desktop.
While Microsoft and Sony vie for
market share, Nintendo struggles to maintain relevancy. The Wii U has its work cut out for it if the console is to survive.
YouTube has not elicited too many
smiles from its users in the past few weeks. The ruling by parent/overlord
company Google mandating the use of a G+ account in order to comment on videos
was not too popular to say the least,
and said edicts only appear to continue. Earlier this week YouTube sent thousands
of notices to users who had posted clips containing video game footage claiming copyright infringement and demanding that these posts be removed.
There's video gaming and then
there's video gaming as practiced in South Korea. The East Asian nation is famous
for its voracious appetite and national esteem for video games, so it is not
entirely surprising that a proposed new anti-gaming statute is starkly dividing
the country. Read here for details on how video games may be classified as an addictive substance.
Tuesday was the 20th birthday of Doom. Two decades later, the game's creator reminisces about the title and its impact on video games as a whole.
TV
Watch the new, longer trailer for
the Dr. Who Christmas special, The Time
of the Doctor, here.
General Awesomeness
File this under Needed This When
I Was a Kid: this understandably overfunded Kickstarter for Australian start-up
Squishy Forts. Yes, those are structurally reinforced cushions designed
explicitly for fort-building. Hell, forget being a kid...those would make an
excellent addition to our Game Haven right now.
As always, best wishes for an awesome week ahead. I leave you guys with this amazing video footage from the JUNO spacecraft.
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