The WEIRD Show

By the Encaffeinated ONE

A weekly roundup of weird news, strange views and odd ideas.... more

· Comedy

4.7

77 ratings

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FAQs about The WEIRD Show:

How many episodes does The WEIRD Show have?

The podcast currently has 10 episodes available.

The WEIRD Show episodes:

March 08, 2018TWS401: K is for Kilometer, not Savings
On the show this week:
A Different View
Tech We Didn’t Know You Needed
Sec3
CQ: Have we fundamentally changed as a civilization in the last two hundred years — and will we change again in another 200? Or are all the changes really superficial and circumstantial?
Full list of 10 articles after the jump!
A Different View:
For the last time: phones are not demons, they are perfectly normal technology. DOOM.: Newsweek – The Vatican Is Training More Exorcists, With Reports of Demonic Possession Soaring
Will the sasquatch get it’s day in court?: WSDU – Woman suing California agencies for not recognizing existence of Bigfoot
Don’t tell the animals; it will hurt their feelings…: Vox – The surprisingly weak scientific case for emotional support animals
Are rockets ships more metaphor than they should be?: NBC/THINK – The patriarchal race to colonize Mars is just another example of male entitlement
Tech We Didn’t Know You Needed:
(EXTRA) Actually, one could see this as a lesson in persistence against obstacles more than violence.: LiveScience – The Day Humans Taught Robots to Fight Back
(EXTRA) Any sufficiently developed biology is indistinguishable from magic. And probably smells.: LiveScience – These Bacteria Eat Toxic Metal, ‘Poop’ Gold Nuggets
(EXTRA) It’s the beginning of our underground future.: LiveScience – Whoosh! Virgin Unveils Hyperloop that Will Travel 760 Mph
(EXTRA) But… it’s right there. In the mountain. And it needs to be wound.: LiveScience – This Giant Clock Will Tick for 10,000 Years, But You’ll Never Find It
(EXTRA) Bonkers? Or the only way we’ll know the passage of time in the year 9 thousand, 2 hundred and five, after the ‘planetary mobility’ accident of 9 thousand 2 hundred and one..: Gizmodo – Jeff Bezos Begins Installation of His Bonkers 10,000 Year Clock
(EXTRA) Watch out for the roaming charges!: Metro – Vodafone and Nokia to install 4G on the moon in 2019
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1h
March 04, 2018TWS400: Lookin’ Good At A Distance
On the show this week:
Space Enough For Anyone
Slyborg
Making It Up As We Get Along
CQ: If you won the big lottery tomorrow, would you have 100% leisure time, or would you choose to work for a salary still?
Full list of 16 articles after the jump!
Space Enough For Anyone:
And we all know that the universe conforms to simple math, just look at rocket science.: NBC/MACH – Simple math shows how many space aliens may be out there
Personally, I’m in favour of Star Watch: Exterrestrial Alien Recon.: LiveScience – ‘Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence’ Needs a New Name, SETI Pioneer Says
So far, my RPG scenario from 1994 has not held up.: Reuters – Chemical sunshade to slow warming may not be feasible: U.N. draft
Suddenly space doesn’t seem so sexy..: NY Daily News – Human waste turned into astronaut food
Our 1000-year plan for future space habitation depends upon that car surviving.: Gizmodo – So Like, If You Could Bring Elon Musk’s Tesla Back From Space, Would it Still Work?
Well, *someone* had to!: Unknown source: – Yup, Flat-Earthers Think the Falcon Heavy Launch Was a Conspiracy
Maybe he should have put a car on top.: Unknown source: – Flat-Earth Rocketeer Fails to Launch (Again)
Slyborg:
Good bye, glassholes! Welcome intelligeeks?: The Verge – Intel Made Smart Glasses That Look Normal
(EXTRA) Considering that we’re still a bit baffled by our own intelligence, this is pretty much a definite thing.: Ideas.ted.com – Why we need to create AI that thinks in ways that we can’t even imagine
(EXTRA) Along the lines of Douglas Adams, I expect the revelation of the meaning of the manuscript to immediately cause the book to transform into something even stranger..: Science Alert/CP – AI May Have Finally Decoded The Bizarre, Mysterious ‘Voynich Manuscript’
(EXTRA) Just don’t get on to her bad side.: LiveScience – Meet Erica, Japan’s Next Robot News Anchor
Making It Up As We Get Along:
(EXTRA) Well, that’s clearly the way that language works.: Detroit Metro Times – Michigan Court of Appeals officially ruled emoticon denotes sarcasm
(EXTRA) Maybe they’re just sarcastic?: LiveScience – Why Are So Many People So Unhappy?
(EXTRA) Maybe they just aren’t trustworthy..: LiveScience – This Is Why You Trust Some Strangers and Not Others
(EXTRA) No? Wait.. what do you know?: The Aeon – Are you sleepwalking now?
(EXTRA) What, no one chose back tentacles?: NBC/MACH – 10 top science minds tell what strange new body part they’d like to have
...more
1h 8min
March 03, 2018TWS399: As Smart As You Wanna Be
On the show this week:
From Here To Beyond
CQ: Isn’t gravy just really thick soup?
Full list of 9 articles after the jump!
From Here To Beyond:
Not sure how you land something going straight up.: LiveScience – Flat Earth Rocketeer Says He Will Launch in Two Weeks
It’s really just taking drones to the next level..: The UK Daily Mail – The ‘Segway of the sky’ that ANYONE can fly: French Flyboard inventor Franky Zapata reveals new Ezfly hoverboard that uses jet thrusters to zoom you through the air at 80mph
I do not really want to hear a dog speak.: NBC/MACH – Dogs can’t speak human. Here’s the tech that could change that.
Why would we make animals dumber?: SingrularityHub – If We Could Engineer Animals to Be as Smart as Humans-Should We?
Isn’t the Internet changing *everything*?: LiveScience – Is the Internet Changing the Way People Feel About Religion?
What even exists? (And how did the X-Files know?): Metro – Jim Carrey believes he doesn’t exist and is just an ‘idea’
Are any of us really here?: Boston Review – Philip K. Dick and the Fake Humans
(EXTRA) I hope they have a department and aren’t working alone..: LiveScience – Why the UK Just Appointed a Minister of Loneliness
(EXTRA) Survival of the social media fittest?: boingboing – Crowdfunding for medical costs is turning health-care into a reality-TV competition
...more
1h 1min
March 03, 2018 TWS396: Moving To A New Flat
This episode is a continuation of articles from episode 395.
...more
1h 1min
March 02, 2018 TWS394: Second Pass At First Things
This episode is a second-half of articles collected in episode 393.
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59min
March 02, 2018TWS395: Let’s Get Off This Rock (and Roll)
On the show this week:
To The Moon, Alice
Post-End of the World
Disruptive
CQ: What song would you send to greet our alien cousins?
Full list of 19 articles after the jump!
To The Moon, Alice:
Probably not a bad idea to start making more baskets..: New Scientist – Should we seed life through the cosmos using laser-driven ships?
Seeding the near earth orbit is a start, right?: New Scientist – The ‘space nation’ Asgardia just launched its first satellite
C’ing the universe, one chord at a time..: Mysterious Universe – Scientists Transmit Songs to Planet With Potential Alien Life
Because who says science can’t be cool looking.: Youtube – SÃ³nar Calling GJ273b
I’m pretty sure he can’t fire it in a curve, because curves don’t exist.: AP – Self-taught rocket scientist plans to launch over ghost town
How do I want him to fail at succeeding, rather than fail to try?: Gizmodo – Flat Earth Researcher Told He Can’t Blast Himself Into the Sky at 500 MPH on Public Lands
: AP/ABC Australia – ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes eyes Monday for new launch date of homemade steam-powered rocket
Yeah, but aside from all the evidence, what more proof do you have?: Forbes – Five Impossible Facts That Would Have To Be True If The Earth Were Flat
Therefore: science is *all* wrong.: The LA Times – Mars may not have the water we thought it did, study shows
Post-End of the World:
Seems like we should burn it or something..: Phys.org – ‘Trash islands’ off Central America indicate ocean pollution problem
On the burning edge of fashion.: Bloomberg – A Power Plant Is Burning H&M Clothes Instead of Coal
Seems like it would smell better than burning t-shirts.: Engadget – London buses to be powered by coffee grounds
(EXTRA) Are we wasting a precious resource — again?: LiveScience – Here Come the Macy’s Balloons, There Goes Our Helium?
(EXTRA) Evil or just amoral?: The New York Times – How Evil Is Tech?
Disruptive:
(EXTRA) OHMYGODIWILLLIVEFOREVERGIMMEMOREESPRESSO: The UK Telegraph – Even seven cups of coffee a day cuts risk of early death, study suggests
(EXTRA) They should probably drink more coffee (and have a burger).: ACSH – Vegetarian Men are More Depressed – Are Steaks a Treatment?
(EXTRA) Don’t be alone until it’s good to be alone.: StudyFinds – Study: Being Alone Can Be Good For Your Mental Health, Sparks Creativity
(EXTRA) A new feat for high level Ranger characters!: Sploid – This Mind-Bending Archer Fires Arrows That Change Direction in Mid-Air
(EXTRA) It’s the end of the term, as you know it, but I feel fine..: TwinCities Pioneer Press – ‘Zombie apocalypse’ writing assignment leads to controversy at Minnesota high school
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1h 2min
March 02, 2018TWS393: Things In The Way of Food
On the show this week:
Someone Made This Real
Unusual Science
Missing Things Found
Unreal Intelligence
CQ: When we bring dinosaurs back from extinction, will we use them on the moon, on Mars or on Earth first?
Full list of 18 articles after the jump!
Someone Made This Real:
‘They were so busy wondering if they could, they never stopped to think whether they should.’: The UK Independent – Cheese tea is a thing – and it’s coming to the UK
And yet, we still hear people fart in the public bathroom..: The Daily Dot – You can now buy a $130 ramen fork that cancels out slurping noises
There’s a certain segment that is probably really interested.: The UK Daily Mail – Love the scent of fried chicken? KFC releases BATH BOMBS that will leave you smelling like the 11 secret herbs and spices
I’ve heard of bar deodorant, but that’s ridiculous!: KDVR/FOX – Pit Liquor: Colorado inventors make whiskey-based deodorant
It’s not what you think, but it could have been done a hundred years ago..: The UK Telegraph – Farmers urged to bury their underpants to improve quality of their beef
Most of the world already seems ludicrous to me right now..: News.com.au – 12 things that’ll seem ludicrous in our lifetime
Unusual Science:
In what ways do we cross science over with art?: LiveScience – This Video of ‘Dancing Braids’ Will Change How You Think About Mathematics
Shouldn’t we all?: Fox43 – U.S. Army in Maryland using urine to generate power
The first stage of the replicator?: New Scientist – Kitchen counter bio-lab lets you make edible gloop from cells
Oh yeah? See you in a hundred years, pal!: Inverse Science – Immortality Is Impossible, Say Scientists Studying the Mathematics of Aging
Missing Things Found:
They found it by looking everywhere else first. Whatever remains, must be nothing.: The Daily Grail – Scientists Find Suspected Hidden Chamber Within the Great Pyramid
So now you’re telling me that there’s nothing there — but isn’t that the same as the other guy?: Phys.org – Egypt archaeologist criticises pyramid void ‘discovery’
Let’s remember that games are still art, and art is for representation..: Ancient Origins – New Assassin’s Creed Has the Most Realistic Reconstruction of Ancient Egypt Ever Produced
(EXTRA) You might say this work is transformative..: Quanta Magazine – The Atomic Theory of Origami
Unreal Intelligence:
(EXTRA) Why not? Corporations are people, so why not machines?: LiveScience – Lifelike ‘Sophia’ Robot Granted Citizenship to Saudi Arabia
(EXTRA) Let’s hope the stories weren’t aspirational..: New Scientist – ‘I Wake Up in a Pool of Blood’: These Horror Stories Were Written by an AI
(EXTRA) Inevitability or pipe dream?: Scientific American – Falling Walls: The Past, Present and Future of Artificial Intelligence
(EXTRA) That’s what the debate over AI sometimes feels like..: The Verge – I spent seven months living inside a conspiracy thriller and it’s not over yet
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58min
November 23, 2017TWS392: There Are Worlds Without Us
On the show this week:
Revisible
Off-planet Casual
By the Numbers
CQ: With the age of the Internet, we can experience things from all over the world in an instant, and integrate them into our personal culture — but does that mean that the notion of “regional” or “national” culture are doomed to fade?
Full list of 13 articles after the jump!
Revisible:
Finally, offal news which is good!: CTV – Scottish haggis coming to Canada for first time in 46 years
I’m pretty sure this is the anti-gravity of the heat world..: New Scientist – Light-filtering paint cools your home when exposed to hot sun
Can we hide the Earth from the Sun when it’s being finnicky?: LiveScience – ‘Beam of Invisibility’ Could Hide Objects Using Light
It’s probably the story of a divorce caused by unfair trade in sheep..: Vice – Settlers of Catan Is Getting Turned into a Movie for Some Reason
Off-planet Casual:
(EXTRA) Not only does the drive continue to make news, it continues to make new science..: Big Think – Is This The Secret Behind the Mysterious Em Drive?
(EXTRA) Real estate with one hell of a view, but the insurance is not comprehensive.: The UK Daily Mail – The MOON set to get its own space station made of inflatable modules in 2022
(EXTRA) A bit of a fixer-upper, and the view isn’t as good, but it’s got character..: The Guardian UK – Discovery of 50km cave raises hopes for human colonisation of moon
(EXTRA) I feel like we’re scaling down the space program a bit much..: Discover Magazine – The Wearable Reentry Spacecraft of Yesteryear
(EXTRA) Ah, but will it hit the moon?: New Scientist – A tech-destroying solar flare could hit Earth within 100 years
By the Numbers:
(EXTRA) How Dundgeons and Dragons paved the way for (obsessive?) self-examination.: Slate – My Quantified Monster and Me
(EXTRA) Do you have the right stuff?: New Scientist – Online game will spot if you have hidden cybersecurity talents
(EXTRA) Aside from all the technical problems, there’s the fact that they were creepy.: LiveScience – Why You Shouldn’t Expect to See ‘Blade Runner’ Replicants Anytime Soon
(EXTRA) Like most fears, it isn’t real — but still has real consquences.: NY Post – ‘Slender Man’ sighting leaves small-town residents on edge
...more
1h 6min
November 23, 2017TWS391: AI, Eh? Uh-Oh
On the show this week:
Think Different. Pray Same.
Space For Filling
Non-Traditional
CQ: Which industry will be disrupted first: the clothing industry, when robotic tailors can custom-make clothing locally rather than ship them, or the travel industry, when we can VR remote into robotic surrogates?
Full list of 11 articles after the jump!
Think Different. Pray Same.:
First, they took chess from me, now this?: BBC – The computers being trained to beat you in an argument
Replace the “return” button with “pray”.: New Scientist – Build an AI god? Beware the downsides of this weird tech plan
Make your own Sistine Chapel.: LiveScience – This AI Helps You Paint Like Van Gogh
And the good Lordbot said, ‘let there be food’.: Live Science – Robotic Farm Completes 1st Fully Autonomous Harvest
Asking for a friend. With a cyber brain plan..: Aeon – When you split the brain, do you split the person?
But what if it wants to eat the table?: LiveScience – To Keep AI from ‘Eating a Table,’ Scientists Make It Read Wikipedia
Space For Filling:
(EXTRA) This will not help.: Fast Company – “If I Were An Alien, I Wouldn’t Feel All That Welcome Here”: Designing An Invite For Extraterrestrials
(EXTRA) I suppose he’s going to tunnel there..: New Scientist – Elon Musk’s new plans for a moon base and a Mars mission by 2022
(EXTRA) Probably trying to get away from.. everything.: Ars Technica – Why octopuses are building small “cities” off the coast of Australia
Non-Traditional:
(EXTRA) It’s all about millenials, and had nothing to do with millenials.: Eater – Applebee’s Deserves to Die
(EXTRA) Not necessarily a bad idea — especially for pointing out other bad ideas.: Slate – Hello, Men! Welcome to Your Mandatory Year of Customer Service!
...more
1h 2min
November 21, 2017 TWS390: Hal-Con 2017 Chat
My friends (Nax, Marie and Pat) join me to chat about what we enjoyed from Hal-Con, what we’d like to see, and what makes a con something we want to attend.
...more
0min

FAQs about The WEIRD Show:

How many episodes does The WEIRD Show have?

The podcast currently has 10 episodes available.