Knotty Geeks

In this episode of Knotty Geeks, we are on the rooftop at Oakridge Mall, in full view of a beautiful parking lot. We go over the poll results from the last episode, and then utterly, completely, and totally fail to achieve the results of that poll. I try and fail to remember the name of the physicist I’d seen a couple of weeks ago (it’s in the show notes) and then I try and fail to explain his theories on Physics and then I try and fail to steer the conversation to a specific topic.

This episode also features special guest Brian Palfrey, who has certain views about 3D in movies.

img src=uploads/Knotty_Geeks_Parking_Lot_Ep23.jpg

Links from the show:

Lee Smolin, physicist, author of a href=http://www.amazon.com/dp/0547511728Time Reborn/a

a href=http://jeremyreimer.com/uploads/Knotty_Geeks_Episode_23.mp3Download mp3 file directly/a

In this episode of Knotty Geeks, we travel to the beautiful Queen Elizabeth Park and enjoy sunshine, fountains, and non-stop weddings. We talk a bit about podcasting, flat design and Windows 8, and for the first time, we ask our audience what direction we should take the podcast in!

Behold, the first ever Knotty Geeks poll! Please vote!

img src=uploads/Episode22-QE_Park-web.jpg

a href=uploads/Knotty_Geeks_Episode_22.mp3Download mp3 file directly/a

h4What should Knotty Geeks focus more on?/h4

[poll]

[radio]Knotty_Geeks_Episode_22_-_Parks_and_Polls value=0 checked=yes[/radio] More technology news and reviews of new gadgets!

[radio]Knotty_Geeks_Episode_22_-_Parks_and_Polls value=1[/radio] A single topic for each week that we cover in-depth!

[radio]Knotty_Geeks_Episode_22_-_Parks_and_Polls value=2[/radio] More off-the-cuff and spontaneous conversation!

[radio]Knotty_Geeks_Episode_22_-_Parks_and_Polls value=3[/radio] More reviews of science fiction books!

[radio]Knotty_Geeks_Episode_22_-_Parks_and_Polls value=4[/radio] More discussion about old computer history like the Amiga! [/poll]

In this episode of Knotty Geeks, we go to a random Starbucks in Burnaby and brave the weather and traffic noise to talk about how we’re basically missing the forest for the trees.

What forest? What trees? We’re basically talking about how society is changing and how technology accelerates this change. From washing machines to quantum mechanics, we cover it all!

img src=uploads/dyson-washing-machine2.jpg

Links from the show:

Quantum theory - galaxy observing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler’s_delayed_choice_experiment

Ars Technica rise and fall of AMD

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/04/the-rise-and-fall-of-amd-how-an-underdog-stuck-it-to-intel/

Washing machines and how they changed society

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Dont-About-Capitalism/dp/1608193381

Gun control and Australia

http://www.castleawesome.com/2013/04/22/jon-stewart-gun-control-and-australia/

John Birmingham novels - alternate history of WWII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Time

In this episode, recorded ONLY A WEEK after the last one, we head out to the University of British Columbia and sit outside the Student Union Building. Topics include playing Starcraft, the gap between trying something and succeeding at it, the rise of good television, and the movie Battleship compared to real battleships.

img src=uploads/battleship.jpg

img src=uploads/KnottyGeeks-19-Location.jpg

In this episode of Knotty Geeks, we try something different and record directly to our iPhones, then mix the two sources together.

Surprisingly, it worked! However, we messed up and recorded the audio at a criminally low 11kHz sample rate. That mistake will be rectified next week. WHAT?? NEXT WEEK?? Yes... we are going to be doing these a LOT more regularly now with our new setup!

The hardest part about mixing the two recordings together was getting them perfectly synced. Terry let out a big "BEEEP" at the beginning but it turns out that isn’t the best waveform to sync two sources with. I had more success just going off individual words, zoomed in at the highest level of detail, in the middle of the podcast. Also I discovered that putting one person on Left channel and the other on the Right seems like it would sound cool but ends up being kind of disconcerting to listen to. Putting both on one channel works better.

Note: The discussion in this episode wanders all over the place. We start by talking about the imminent release of my new article on the history of the Amiga on Ars Technica, and somehow end up discussing North Korea at the end. Somehow, though, it all works!

Link from the show:

Old-school Modem demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxM_0BguTkE

a href=./uploads/Knotty_Geeks_Episode_19.mp3Download show directly/a

On this episode of Knotty Geeks, we talk about software startups and how they might use various methods of marketing. Terry insists that viral marketing isn’t, and also disdains DropBox, which he will definitely live to regret.

In a special Knotty Geeks recorded deep inside the new Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University, we look at our accelerating world and ask if technology is really progressing in all areas or are we sliding backwards in some? From flying cars to asteroid mining, what does the future really hold?

Links from the show:

Ray Kurzweil on acceleration: http://www.amazon.com/The-Singularity-Is-Near-Transcend/dp/0670033847

Ronald Reagan declared GPS should be free to everyone: http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/February/20060203125928lcnirellep0.5061609.html

Flame virus: http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/05/spy-malware-infecting-iranian-networks-is-engineering-marvel-to-behold/

Where are the flying cars? http://www.thebaffler.com/past/of_flying_cars

You are not so smart: http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Not-So-Smart/dp/1592406599

This will make you smarter: http://www.amazon.com/This-Will-Make-You-Smarter/dp/0062109391

In this episode, we take a look back at the entire history of Knotty Geeks since the show started on September 6, 2008. We try to understand where we came from, who we are, and where we are going.

As a bonus, Brian Palfrey stops by and makes history by becoming the very first guest of Knotty Geeks!

Links from the show:

- A look back on 15 episodes!

- Tech news is boring - http://gawker.com/5824908

- New Amiga X1000 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmigaOne_X1000

- The Machine is Using Us - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

- Did you Know - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

- Us (Den of Thieves) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=CAandhl=enandv=_yxHKgQyGx0

- The Coming War on General Computation - Cory Doctorow - http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html

- Wikileaks Julian Assange - http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/julian-assange-the-rolling-stone-interview-20120118

- The Decline Effect - http://declineeffect.com/?page_id=24

This time on Knotty Geeks, we review the three methods of management, deal with our lizard brains, and come up with a way to fix reality. That’s next, on Knotty Geeks.

Links from the show:

- Joel Spolsky’s Three Management Methods: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/08/07.html

- Cognitive Dissonance

http://youarenotsosmart.com

- The Lizard Brain: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/quieting-the-lizard-brain.html

- Freakonomics: http://www.amazon.com/Freakonomics-Economist-Explores-Hidden-Everything/dp/006073132X

- Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work: http://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work.html

- The Forever Recession: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/the-forever-recession.html

- Reality is Broken: http://www.amazon.ca/Reality-Broken-Games-Better-Change/dp/1594202850

Book of the month:

Incandescence by Greg Egan: http://www.amazon.ca/Incandescence-Greg-Egan/dp/1597801283

In this exciting episode, we brave the cold outdoors again to bring you the exciting battle of Big Truck vs. Even Bigger Truck, and the heart-stopping drama of tiny little loud birds!

Oh, and we also touch on how our entire society is changing right before our eyes, from the collapse of the venerable British University System to the fall of traditional publishers. It’s all part of the theme of Acceleration, marked out by Data Points!

All this, plus the rise of Starcraft!

Links from the show:

http://www.lambdassociates.org/blog/decline.htm - The decline and fall of the British university

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/03/the-dawn-of-starcraft-e-sports-come-to-the-world-stage.ars - The Dawn of Starcraft: e-Sports come to the world stage

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/tech-giants-to-enable-ipv6-on-world-ipv6-day-in-june.ars - World IPv6 day

http://www.the-gutters.com - good comics about comic industry

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/ebooks-and-self-publishing-dialog.html - Self publishing beats traditional publishing

http://www.pvponline.com/2011/03/26/rube-goldberg-de-vicing/ - Scott Kurtz gives up on National Cartoonists Society

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=14andt=1139619andstart=120 - Great discussion on the cloud and open source goals