CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-18 16:52:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Tech News Today with classic hosts today. (That means no guest)

Yahoo buying failed startups, More stores to sell Chromebooks, LG is BACK baby! http://live.twit.tv/

2013-06-14 00:31:47 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

TWIS needs to cancel tonight's show :(

+Kiki Sanford has no voice.
+justin jackson is in an undisclosed location.
+Blair Bazdarich ... she could do it...

maybe you should talk her into talking science with you just for the fun of it.

2013-06-13 20:07:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

We're almost to next round of voting for the Geek Beat Van in the +Chrysler Work Like a Pro contest - help push us over the top with your daily votes!
http://geekbeat.tv/geekbeatvan 

2013-06-13 08:37:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 6

Record #147-56-91

Notes From the Body of Unidentified Wanderer

50th Day after the Fall (estimated)

Day 1 - Kicked out of the group today. Fat lot of good it’ll do them to lose me. I was the only one holding them together. Mark my words, they’ll be at each other’s throats within a week, whether they turn or not.

Day 2 - Didn’t make as good time as I’d hoped. Held up by the search for water. Never considered that much before all hell broke loose. Can’t believe how thirsty I get.

Found a clean stream or spring or something. Hope it was clean anyway. Didn’t see any bodies near it, human or otherwise. Was tempted to stay a while, but I’ve got to keep moving.

Day 3 - Running low on water again. Should’ve stayed longer at that stream I found yesterday.

Day 4 - Found a pondtoday. It was a l... more »

2013-06-13 08:37:31 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 6

Record #147-56-91

Notes From the Body of Unidentified Wanderer

50th Day after the Fall (estimated)

Day 1 - Kicked out of the group today. Fat lot of good it’ll do them to lose me. I was the only one holding them together. Mark my words, they’ll be at each other’s throats within a week, whether they turn or not.

Day 2 - Didn’t make as good time as I’d hoped. Held up by the search for water. Never considered that much before all hell broke loose. Can’t believe how thirsty I get.

Found a clean stream or spring or something. Hope it was clean anyway. Didn’t see any bodies near it, human or otherwise. Was tempted to stay a while, but I’ve got to keep moving.

Day 3 - Running low on water again. Should’ve stayed longer at that stream I found yesterday.

Day 4 - Found a pondtoday. It was a l... more »

2013-06-12 23:17:15 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 12 +1s)

How rude of the NSA not to share!

2013-06-11 04:08:38 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Another new +Geek Beat post up. Game over, Microsoft. Sony's Playstation 4 wins this generation. One is done.

http://geekbeat.tv/e3-ps4

2013-06-11 03:56:41 (15 comments, 125 reshares, 274 +1s)

Well played, anonymous contributer; well played.

#burn   #e3   #sony   #microsoft  

2013-06-10 20:11:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My latest +Geek Beat post is up; I followed Microsoft's E3 event about the Xbox One and Xbox 360 today.
http://geekbeat.tv/microsoft-e3-2013

2013-06-10 15:59:23 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Big day of coverage on TWiT today. 

In Pacific Time it's

9AM Tech News Today/Microsoft E3
10 AM Apple WWDC/Microsoft E3 continued (Leo, Sarah, Alex Lindsay and me)
12:30 This Week in Enterprise Tech
2:00 Home Theater Geeks
3:30 Frame Rate
6:00 Sony E3 (Brian Brushwood, Iyaz Akhtar, Scott Johnson, Nicole Spagnuolo, Brian Dunaway and me)

2013-06-09 17:36:45 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

RIP Ian M. Banks. :/

2013-06-09 17:36:24 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

RIP Ian M. Banks. :/

2013-06-07 16:48:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Tech news Today with guest +Darren Kitchen and illustrated by +Len Peralta 

Government says we should trust them with spying, Apple signs Sony for iRadio, Google Wallet a little short http://live.twit.tv/

2013-06-05 09:16:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 5

Record #168-13-23

Transcript from The Bertrand Jamison Podcast

45th Day after the Fall (estimated)

“Good morning, everyone. All of you who are left, anyway. I can’t believe I still get comments on this, but I swear to you all, I will keep recording and publishing as long as the power and my connection holds out.

If you hear this show, I can’t stress enough how important it is to comment. This living hell we’re experiencing is hard enough to bear without thinking we’re alone. Even if you’re with a group, it’s critical to embrace the idea of community. Let your voice be heard. You’re not alone. I’m here. Others are here. Let us hear from you.

I have to spend some time thanking those of you who commented yesterday. Davis from Syracuse is holed up in his local police precinct with a band of 7other survivors. ... more »

2013-06-04 17:55:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My latest GeekBeat.TV post is up. I take a look at some new developments in natural light LED technology!

2013-06-04 02:00:12 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My Gimpy Life Season 2 Kickstarter

The ever-awesome +Teal Sherer has a kickstarter going to fund the second season of her web series My Gimpy Life, which is well worth looking at for anyone who appreciates good web content.

2013-06-04 01:51:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Bill Doran (@chinbeard) is awesome people, and working on a very cool kickstarter:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1875825140/the-prop-space-gun-project

2013-06-03 08:26:45 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 4

Record #115-22-00
Transcript from Audio
42nd Day after the Fall (estimated)

[muffled thumping and fumbling]

“Uh, hey. Whoever hears this—if anyone hears—”

“Seriously, Neal? Nobody’s ever going to find this, and if they do, they’ll never play it.”

[additional fumbling and bumping as though someone is trying to turn the recording device off]

“Hey, knock it off! This is important, for like posterity.”

“They won’t have the power to play it! Oh for—fine, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

[footsteps recede, the original speaker (Neal, presumably) clears his throat several times]

“Sorry. If anyone hears this, this is a record of what life is like now. We’ve been lucky—”

[sounds of derisive snorting in the background, sounds likeseveral individuals, and at least o... more »

2013-06-02 09:26:25 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 3

12th Day after the Fall

I think I’m going to be sick.

I’ve felt this way all day, since I saw the other trucks. Or one of them anyway.

I wasn’t supposed to see, and if any of the guards ever reads this, I’m dead, but I don’t think I care anymore.

They tried to be careful, parked the one truck out of sight of all the others. They had screens up to keep us from seeing, but one of the corners was torn and I saw enough.

They had those things in there! I saw my neighbor. The one who’d disappeared. What was left of her anyway. They dragged her—it—out of the truck. Then made it walk off in chains and a muzzle.

I thought they were supposed to be saving us? Why are they bringing them in? What could

- The journal ends here. J.T.

Record #127-08-03
Blog of JoeNesmith
35... more »

2013-06-02 00:16:27 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Trying out Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic for the iPad. I love it! A great port so far.

2013-06-01 19:46:00 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Awesome Covers - Necronomicon iPad Mini Case

This awesome case is a book "cover" for the iPad Mini, based of course on the Necronomicon design from Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series.

The case was designed by Freakshowclothing at Etsy, and kind of makes me wish I had an iPad Mini instead of a full-sized iPad 2.

#evildead   #necronomicon   #ipad   #books  

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/6/1/awesome-covers-necronomicon-ipad-mini-case

2013-06-01 09:18:33 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 2

Today brings several more days of journals, and in addition, the beginning of JuNoWriMo 2013. This means way more updates and longer stories each day as I once again try to reach the goal of 50,000 words in one month. Wish me luck!

8th Day after the Fall

People are getting kind of cranky today. We spent the whole day crammed in the truck, only a couple of breaks to stretch and relieve ourselves, and that was maybe 5 minutes at best.

Toward the end of the day, someone really freaked out, started screaming and wouldn’t stop. Must’ve gone on for fifteen minutes before they pulled the truck over and let us out. I’m not sure what happened to the guy. I am sure I don’t really want to think about it too hard.

Phil said he saw them lead him out into the woods, but didn’t see him return. I just know the rest of thetrip was ... more »

2013-05-31 00:40:23 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Mythbusters on Superman Shaving

Yup, you read that right. It all stems from a campaign that Gilette has going in advance of the new Man of Steel movie in which Superman is seen with a beard early on, but it's gone later; how exactly did he shave it, presuming that his hair is as tough as the rest of him? They asked the experts, including Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of the

Science FTW! You can see the other theories at Gilette's YouTube page, with theories from such luminaries as Bill Nye the Science Guy, Kevin Smith and Mayim Bialik.

#superman   #mythbusters

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/30/writers-distractions-mythbusters-on-superman-shaving

2013-05-29 08:57:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Journals of the Fall, pt. 1

Journals of the Fall is a  new series of no planned particular length. Little Things really put me in more of a zombie mood and this should give me a wonderful excuse to explore some ideas I have about them in more detail. This will probably become the basis of my JuNoWriMo project as well.

Year 56 Post-Fall

West Huron Reclamation Base

For General Distribution

_The following records include collected diaries and journals of the time immediately following the Fall. These include transcriptions of audio recordings and videos posted to the remnants of the global Internet, which remained accessible for a brief time.

It is our hope in collecting these records that light may be shed on the troubling events that we have experienced in the decades since the Fall. Records will be added to this collection as they are... more »

2013-05-28 17:16:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Tech News Today with guest +Jonathan Strickland 

Opera now based on Chrome engine, FoxConn wants to make software, Microsoft and Google team up http://live.twit.tv/

2013-05-27 20:45:48 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Darth Malgus Cosplay

I haven't played The Old Republic in a while now, but damn, this does tempt me a bit. The detail this guy put into his costume is just astounding. He looks like he could have wandered off the set of a TOR movie set or something. 

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/27/writers-distractions-darth-malgus-cosplay

#StarWars   #DarthMalgus   #Cosplay  

2013-05-26 17:21:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Little Things First Draft

Little Things is my second zombie story, written in a frustrated attempt to overcome the writer's block that has kept me from actually finishing a story in quite some time now. Things started out a little rough with this, but by the end it was flowing pretty decently. Look for edited drafts of this soon!

“Ow! You little bugger!” Jake slapped the mosquito from his arm with several choice curses and nearly broke his leg tripping over debris on the road. A long string of curses filled the air. He’d known they shouldn’t have chosen to travel so close to the lake. He was going to itch for days, if he lived.

“Jake, shut up! You wanna bring ‘em all down on us? We barely escaped the last pack!”

He forced the anger down deep within, favoring his left leg and trying to ignore the rising itch on his arm. They were right.They were far... more »

2013-05-26 09:28:00 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Little Things, pt. 5

And here we end our little tale of the zombie apocalypse. Thanks for reading! Full story will be posted as a draft tomorrow.

The going was faster with the improved light, and they soon left the lake behind them. Jake grimaced as a dull pain spread out from where he’d gashed himself. “Hey,” he said a short time later. “We got anythin’ left in the pack? This ain’t stopped bleedin’ yet.”

Oliver gave him a pained look. “Might be somethin’. If we press on, we can be there soon.”

“Yeah, and we’ll be trailin’ a line of the dead right behind us. Every step I take, I’m leavin’ blood behind.”

The other man sighed in resignation. “Right. We’re low though, man. Real low. This’ll clean us out but good.” He snapped the lid open on their travel kit and passed over a bottle of disinfectant,relatively clean rags for bandages, and t... more »

2013-05-26 04:11:42 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Misquotations

Gord McLeod May 26, 2013

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Nope, not Ghandi, apparently.

Misquotations sometimes bother me, but I have to KNOW they're misquotations for that to be true! Mental_floss to the rescue, educating people about the quotes they think they know and making me more likely to be annoyed when I see those misquotations elsewhere.

Hrm... wait a minute...

#quotes   #misquotations  

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/26/writers-distractions-misquotations

2013-05-25 21:55:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I created this image for an unrelated project, but the words hit me and I had to share it.

#ruinum   #zombies  

2013-05-25 08:02:46 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Little Things Artwork

Google+ has gotten a lot more art-heavy lately and so I have to return to my old habit of creating images for each thing I write. I've got one now for Little Things, and for zombie stories in general.

#zombies   #writing   #art  

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/25/little-things-artwork

2013-05-24 18:47:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Stonehearth

I have a serious weakness for game kickstarter projects, especially sandbox style games. My latest discovery is Stonehearth, a project nearing the end of its funding round and which has already made its goal several times over. It looks like a sort of combination of Starcraft, Towns and Minecraft, and looks really fun.

It's currently in pre-alpha mode, meaning it's not actually a playable game yet. There are some pretty cool looking videos of what game play there is though that give me high hope for the final product.

Check out their site at http://www.stonehearth.net or their Kickstarter page at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1590639245/stonehearthhttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1590639245/stonehearth

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/24/writers-distractions-stonehearth

... more »

2013-05-24 07:54:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Little Things, pt. 4

They picked their way slowly through the ruin of the road until it was Jake’s turn to nearly open himself on the rusted remains of some metal structure. He hissed in pain as it scratched—but didn’t cut—him, and he stumbled, only barely keeping his feet.

“I’m tellin’ you, we need to open up the light,” Oliver growled. “If we keep it off, we’ll draw ‘em just as surely by sound anyway. We’re gonna get cut—”

“Aw hell,” Jake panted. Something had broken the skin. “I jus’ did. Fine, open it. Just as little as you can.” He strained to hear the slightest whisper of movement around them, but the breeze was rustling branches not far off the road, and the lake shore was splashing gently beside them.

We’re gonna regret this choice, he thought as the light opened and spilled onto the ground in a small areaaround them. “I can’t hear nothin’ over... more »

2013-05-24 03:30:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Why do I keep forgetting to tell everyone that we are on the air! We're on Now! This Week in Science (TWIS) - Episode 417

Chatroom: #TWIS at http://webchat.freenode.net

Join us!

2013-05-23 17:57:35 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Enormous LEGO X-Wing Model

"I can't. It's too big." - Luke Skywalker

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?" - Yoda

This 1:1 scale model of the Star Wars X-Wing fighter was constructed from over 5 million bricks of LEGO. I'm sorry to have to disagree, Master Yoda, but in this case, size makes this thing damn cool.

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/23/writers-distractions-enormous-lego-x-wing-model

#starwars   #LEGO  #X-Wing

2013-05-23 16:51:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Tech News Today with guest +Rich DeMuro 

Guess who's having the best post-PC era ever? Mailbox invades iPad, Xbox will take over your house http://live.twit.tv/

2013-05-22 22:05:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Er Shun the Panda

Er Shun is a 5 year old female panda at the +Toronto Zoo.

#autoawesome  

2013-05-22 22:04:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Tree Kangaroo

Tree Kangaroo at the +Toronto Zoo. Thanks +Blair Bazdarich for helping me remember what this was!

#autoawesome  

2013-05-22 17:07:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Tech News Today with guest +Julio Ojeda-Zapata 

IS the XBox One another Google TV?, HTC falling apart in public, The right pronunciation of GIF. http://live.twit.tv/

2013-05-22 02:11:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

More Animation

Another animated awesome photo from +Google+ Photos taken at the +Toronto Zoo yesterday. This makes this little guy look pretty speedy, but I had a long time between photos to grab these shots.

2013-05-22 02:10:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Panda .Gif

Oh hey look at +Google+ Photos go! A magical awesome animated gif of one of the pandas at the +Toronto Zoo. 

Animating it sure emphasizes just how popular that place was, too. And that was NOT the busy time of day.

2013-05-22 01:45:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

A few selected and manually corrected photos from my trip to the +Toronto Zoo yesterday. It was a very tiring but fun trip.

2013-05-21 20:19:10 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I wrote this! 

Space will be made by you and me...

2013-05-21 20:02:34 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Enterprise-D RC Submarine

A few days ago I posted a video of the USS Enterprise-A RC submarine, and it proved to be pretty popular. Over on Google+, I promised someone I'd dig up some of the other similar videos I've seen, and here's my favorite; the Enterprise-D.

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/21/writers-distractions-enterprise-d-rc-submarine

#StarTrek   #Enterprise   #submarine  

2013-05-21 19:36:50 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Doctor Who Theme on Dual Harps

Camille and Kennerly, harpist twins, have done a pretty fantastic rendition of the Doctor Who theme. It's now stuck in my head pretty firmly, probably owing to my having the Doctor on the brain this week after the season finale.

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/21/writers-distractions-doctor-who-theme-on-dual-harps

#music   #doctorwho   #harp  

2013-05-21 19:33:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My latest +Geek Beat post is up; I covered Microsoft's unveiling of the Xbox One console.

2013-05-21 15:47:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Tech News Today (early) with guest +Kevin Purdy 

Microsoft announces the new Xbox, Apple faces the Tax man and Yahoo's attempt to revive Flickr http://live.twit.tv/

2013-05-19 17:53:29 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - A Reader's Dream Home

This is an actual house in Japan. The entire interior space is lined with book shelves. Even the stairs are more shelves.

Even though I've gone pretty much 100% digital except for signed copies and other special collectibles, I love the look of this place and could see wanting something similar some day.

#books   #shelves   #reading  

2013-05-19 17:17:49 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 3 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - Enterprise-A Submarine

You'd almost think I had Star Trek on the brain or something lately...

This is an absolutely gorgeous retrofit of a model of the Enterprise NCC-1701-A into a remote controlled submarine. The resulting film is outstanding and shows the grace with which these ships can move.

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/19/writers-distractions-enterprise-a-submarine

#startrek   #enterprise   #rc  

2013-05-19 01:51:13 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Writer's Distractions - First Star Trek Enterprise to Fly in Space

it's been a big month for Canadians and space. First Commander Chris Hadfield released his Major Tom video and returned to Earth, now Steve Schnier has launched the Enterprise into space.

http://www.fictionimprobable.com/blog/2013/5/18/writers-distractions-first-star-trek-enterprise-to-fly-in-space