Let Me Explain

You'll go blind if you stare at the sun... unless scientists tell you it's OK. In that case, go ahead and stare away! (disclaimer: don't be dumb and stare at the sun without the proper protections).

I feel like I don't actually need that disclaimer, but it's never a bad idea. In this podcast we look at how NASA has posted real time images of Mercury passing across the sun. For all you sun "watch paint dry" enthusiasts this was a great day.

Actually... I might be downplaying this. It only happens about 13 times every 1,000 years.

Did you know that you can win all kinds of money piggy backing on the smarts of Einstein? Scientists will share $3 million for detecting gravitational waves.

Also... a new research paper titled, "A New Empirical Constraint on the Prevalence of Technological Species in the Universe" says thousands of former civilizations could have existed. First, I don't believe it... and second... couldn't you have come up with an easier name to remember?

Scientists now set their sights on 3 planets around a tiny, cold star in hopes to find some alien life. They say it's easier for us to observe with a smaller star, as a large star drowns out a lot of what we can observe.

AND you might have a mental disorder and not even know it. There's a report that 50% of teens are addicted to their phones. I for one prefer not to communicate with people if I don't have to.

All of this and more in the latest episode of Let Me Explain! Follow us on Twitter @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplainPod

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I didn't want to miss an upload, but this week in Indiana has been heavy on politics and short on time.

I wouldn't leave you guys in the dark! Here's an update of what's going on with me, and we'll have a full update next week.

My mom always told me to wear fresh underwear in case I'm abducted... hopefully by aliens and not angry conspiracy theorists for saying aliens don't actually exist.

Int his episode we continue to look at science, space, technology and some nonsense.

What's more likely - a meteorite traveled billions of miles across the universe to make you rich, or you have some furnace slag that you call a meteorite? That's what auctioneers and lunar geochemists have to go through every, kind of like the space version of Antiques Roadshow.

If I were to change careers, I would definitely be a space meteorologist. Thanks to new legislation introduced in the United States, we're going to do a better job at monitoring what's going to be threats from outside of this planet, mostly from our own sun. It might help prevent or lessen a world wide catastrophe by dodging the electronic and power issues of things like severe space weather.

Would you leave Earth if given a chance to live on Mars? You're not alone. A new poll from Think Geek shows that only 13% of people say Earth is the only place for them. But imagine living on Europa or Mars. You wouldn't have to deal with crazy neighbors or mosquitoes.

In technology, it's a good reminder that the US Government has no right looking at your phone... unless they have a warrant. Don't give up your rights. Know them.

AND the US Government is also giving drivers a hard time if they're caught texting and driving. It's a serious matter, so many some social shaming could change some habits or make them think twice.

All of this and more snarky-ness in the 13th installment of Let Me Explain.

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Call me Mr. Pragmatic.

In this episode we look at the mystery of thy Wow! signal some 40 years after astronomer Jerry Ehman discovered it in 1977. Could we be just a few years away from confirming or denying one theory of it's origin? One scientist thinks so, and he's will to put up your money to solve the puzzle.

Stephen Hawking doesn't think we'll find aliens any time soon. Mainly because aliens don't exist. But it won't stop him from planning a fly by of Alpha Centauri thanks to a Russian financial backer. The idea is to create dozens giant lasers on Earth to point at a sail-like probe to shoot across the universe. Will it work? Who knows, but who cares. We're going to build our own Death Star like laser!

I also look at self driving cars, and why you'll never find me in one. I'm not letting you put me in a hackers dream.

There's also no way to defend my fellow millennials when it comes to listening to voicemail. NPR says we can't be bothered to listen to take the time to hear a message that someone left us. It might be a combination of laziness and more laziness.

All of this and more in this weeks episode of Let Me Explain. Follow me on Twitter @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplainPod

It's episode 11 of Let Me Explain, looking at technology, space and peanut butter.

Are there wanted signs across the universe with a photo of our sun? If the scientists that ruined my childhood by demoting Pluto are correct, the mysterious Planet Nine may have been captured from another star. Some say it was stolen without any apology.

We also talk about someone that may or may not be an alien herself, Hillary Clinton, and the pandering to E.T. lovers. She's not fooling me.

There's some good news from Kepler. We're now in communication with it and hopefully back on track. It's lonely in space. It would be terrible if that heap of metal and ice had to travel alone.

Also, do aliens prefer chunky or smooth peanut butter? What if we weren't talking about peanuts, rather we were talking about people? A gym in England put up billboards that say, "They're coming... and when they arrive they'll take the FAT ones first."

Plus we look at security risks and why the U.S. Government is against keeping your private digital information secure.

This is a lot of stuff to jam into one podcast, but somehow we manage.

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This week we look at the shady Oculus Rift Terms of Service practices from #Gizmodo, a #Google engineer who reviews USB cables on #Amazon, a great article from Kevin Burke regarding the TSA Randomizer #iPad app, #SETI's search for life update and using lasers to hide from #aliens.

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Give a boy your WIFI password, he'll troubleshoot for the day. Give a boy a programmable computer board, he'll love computers for a lifetime... or something like that.

I'm not sure that makes any sense.

A new initiative in Britain is giving away mini-computers to 11 year old boys and girls in hope to get them interested in computer sciences. It's a small investment to excite the imaginations of the youth. Hopefully this will be the new standard in places like the United States.

We also look at a new satellite that's lost in space, seeing a "face" many light years away, and the big Microsoft mistake of creating an AI monster.

Follow me on Twitter -- @RyanWrecker

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You’ll never see me in a self driving car.  I can’t get over the fact that hackers could take control of my car and cause general craziness.  

In this episode, I take my wife’s advice and talk more about technology and things happening here on Earth.  We look at the FBI vs Apple, hacking cars, mustaches, pumping coffee into kids, and yes even some aliens.

There’s a lot of people that are smarter than me.  That includes Mark Masters, Chair and Professor of Physics at IPFW in Fort Wayne and also Steve Gillam, Assistant Professor of Physics at IPFW.  Both have their Ph.D. in smarts, and both helped me understand the complexity of gravitational waves.  

As part of a series at IPFW, they’ll be hosting an open forum called LIGO & Gravitational Waves on Friday, March 18th.  The event is in Kettler Hall 132 starting at 7:30 p.m. and will feature much of what you heard in this podcast.  

I like my chips rippled, but as Mark and Steve explained it’s not the same thing.  We talked about the machines used to discover these waves, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the breakthrough in physics, the speed of the new wave, folding the universe and if they believe in aliens.

Aliens are not friendly.  If they do exist (which they don’t) it’s better that we leave them along and not welcome our own demise by asking them to take over our planet.  

In this episode we look at Stephen Hawking, alien life, alien technology, John Podesta, UFO’s, the Transit Zone and why I think it’s a bad idea that we reach out to alien life.  

Looking at basic human nature, why would aliens trust us with their technology?  And if they’re not our equals, why should they treat us as such?  Let’s not bring any more troubles to this great planet.  We should be hiding from aliens.