Clerk Foils Robbery Attempt with Samurai Sword in SC (VIDEO) - Crimesider - CBS News

Clerk Foils Robbery Attempt with Samurai Sword in SC (VIDEO) - Crimesider - CBS News

As a geek who loves fantasy stories, I can't help but wonder how much crime might go down, if everyone carried a sword.

An armed society is a polite society.

--Robert A. Heinlein

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• Longview man pleads guilty to samurai sword threat (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Slow-Motion Samurai Stunts - The UltraSlo Fruit Ninja Makes Slicing Stuff Hot (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
• To a Fellow Ex-Samurai & Blogger (labofevolution.wordpress.com)

Geek Trading Cards

ThinkGeek :: Geek A Week Cards

I wonder if there's a card for me ...

A live reenactment of RoboCop, with cardboard sets and explosions

A live reenactment of RoboCop, with cardboard sets and explosions

I can't decide whether to admire this, be frightened, or just be sad. I think I'll do all three.

I mean, I think it's awesome they took the time to do this. But on the other hand, why not take the time to do something ... else.

People Are Not Logical About Spending Money

Image via WikipediaThis is how I feel about buying apps - The Oatmeal

People are Predictably Irrational. Many people are sadly proud of being bad at math, but most people do not realize how bad our "instinctual" math is. It is easy to get caught in VERY wrong estimates and assumptions.

Related articles

• Too Many Options? Try Closing Some Doors (psychcentral.com)
• Book Review: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions -- Revised and Expanded Edition by Dan Ariely (blogcritics.org)

Star Wars + D&D. You can't go wrong!

Image by Diablo Azul via FlickrWeregeek - 2010 - August - 27 (Great comic, BTW)

When you combine Dungeons and Dragons with star Wars, how can a geeky joke go wrong?!

And everybody knows: you should always check for traps! Even if you're a Jedi.

Speak With Monsters - Displacer Beast

Speak With Monsters - Displacer Beast

Now, this is funny. What geek would not like a humorous combination of quantum mechanics and Dungeons and Dragons rule lawyering/lobbying?! Good fun.

TMNT Snuggie Forces Us To Wonder: Is The World Ending Soon?

TMNT Snuggie Forces Us To Wonder: Is The World Ending Soon? | Best Week Ever

After seeing this, I think it is clear: we are all doomed. Doomed, I say.

Photos and Computer Zoom in Movies and TV - nedroidcomics: Crime Lab

nedroidcomics: Crime Lab

So true. But I still love the scene in Blade Runner.

If Star Wars had Facebook

If Star Wars had Facebook | The Movie Blog

As I read this and laughed out loud, my wife said I was having entirely too much fun. So, it must be good.

Andy Ihnatko's CelesA Night of Round Table With Monty Python

Andy Ihnatko's Celestial Waste of Bandwidth (BETA) � A Night of Round Table With Monty Python – ArtsBeat Blog – NYTimes.com: "Spanish Inquisition skit for the Pythons"

It is very cool that they would bring a little girl up on stage and even greater that she would do a great job. Great fun.

Here's the original for your entertainment:

The Search (for Intelligent Life)

Image by thebadastronomer via Flickr

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like we may be overly restrictive in the types of intelligence and even life that we might find out in the universe.  I cannot say that I understand the rationale for expecting other life and other intelligence to resemble ours so closely.

Is it impossible for some other form of life to be based on something other than water and carbon?  And I think I once read a good argument that advanced communication would be of the "spread-spectrum" variety and be very difficult to distinguish from noise.

On the other hand, I would personally love to see what the oceans (or other water) might look like on Enceladus, Europa, and/or Titan.  But I can't help but wonder what environments we might not pay enough attention to simply because it does not closely resemble what we know.

xkcd - A Webcomic - The Search

Windows 7 Party - Sometimes I Wonder If Microsoft Is Trying to FAIL

Microsoft is actually publishing tips on how to throw a Windows 7 release party. I'm a geek and all, but jeez! This original video can be found on YouTube (oh, the irony!), and watching it made me want to put a bullet in my head. Very painful. Even if they are trying to self-parody, it does not come off well.

But the real fun begins, when the video is "modified" to make it seem ... more interesting. Make sure you watch it. Hilarious.

10 Best Things We'll Say to Our Grandkids

Image via Wikipedia

10 Best Things We'll Say to Our Grandkids

(via JMB)

Good list. Geeky and yet funny too.

And don't forget:

• "A floppy was a disk that held very little data, but took up a fairly good amount of space and was fragile."
• "I remember a time before the Internet.  Yes, you used computers that weren't connected to any other computers or servers."
• "No, Google didn't exist then."
• "No, really.  Kbps. 2400 baud was a big upgrade."
• "A keyboard?  How quaint."

Shatner on the Mountain

Whether it is intended or not, Shatner does some of the funniest things. This little love poem to Kirk climbing the mountain is class and hilarious. Please enjoy it.

xkcd - A Webcomic - Lease

xkcd - A Webcomic - Lease

More geeky humor for ... geeks. I know a few people like this, even if they won't admit it.

Hilarious Anti-Windows 7 Mosspuppet Video

Context: For those who are not familiar, Walt Mossberg is the primary tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal. While I think he is generally correct, some think he is biased towards Apple. He is considered very powerful due to the effect of his recommendations and columns, and I believe he has gained a reputation for a bit of arrogance.

With that context in place, enjoy the video:

There's evidently a whole slew of these puppet videos including Emperor Palpatine, among others. Funny stuff.

Transformers 2 Review and FAQ That Nail It (and a bonus video)

Topless Robot - TR Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Finally. An accurate review of the new Transformers movie. It is really hilarious and ironic that this review is better than the movie but wouldn't exist without it.

Topless Robot - Bonus! Rob's Transformers 2 F.A.Q.s!

If you saw this movie, and it made your head hurt, this is the FAQ for you. While the movie ostensibly made an effort to make sense, it is clear that neither logic nor good storytelling were used as guides.

I found it quite cathartic to read this. Some little piece of my lost sanity and faith in all that is good has been returned to me.

Topless Robot - Watch Transformers 2 for Free!

So, save your self some time. Watch this clip. It's really better than the movie.

Design Dungeons & Dragons Shoes for Wizard of the Coast, Never Be Cool Ever

Topless Robot - Design Dungeons & Dragons Shoes for Wizard of the Coast, Never Be Cool Ever

This is frightening. And scary. Very weird. A contest to design D&D shoes?! Is there a big demand? Did I mention that this was scary?

Geek Smackdown! - Google mocks Bing and the stuff behind it

Google mocks Bing and the stuff behind it • The Register

Google gives a geeky bitch slap to Microsoft.

John Hodgman at Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner

John Hodgman at Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner | quietube

Nice video of Hodgman's speech including the slides of his presentation. Geeky highlights include references to Dune, hobbits, Conan (the Barbarian), and of course ... Star Trek (mainly Spock and the Vulcan salute).

And the three-part answers are (from geeky memory): Shai-hulud, a thumper, and the Water of Life.

Enjoy