Nerds Amalgamated

It's 2022. And since we've decided to use a recent, arbitrary date as the marker of the completion of a solar revolution, which is a specific period of time, it's time to review everything that happened in the last 3.154e+7 seconds. We'll cover the best and worst games, movies and science news from the last year. It wasn't all bad, promise.2021 in GamingPsychonauts 2WildermythUnpackingGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogy2021 in MediaDuneSquid GameSpiderman No Way HomeThe Synder CutDaniel Craig final Bond movie : No Time To DieCowboy Bebop Live Action2021 in Science James Webb Telescope LaunchIngenuity helicopter launch in MarsPerseverance Rover deployed on MarsSARS-CoV-2 Omicron variantNFTShout Outs 31st December 2021 – Betty White's passed away at 99Betty White, TV's perennial Golden Girl, has died. "Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told in a statement on Friday.31st December 2021 – 10th anniversary of NASA succeeding in putting the first of two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory satellites in orbit around the Moon.The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure.Wackiest movie 31st December 1931 – Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde premiered theatricallyOn this day in 1931, the good people of New York City (U.S.) were treated to a limited theatrical premiere of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. Here's the plot summary: "Dr. Jekyll faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde." IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 13th Doctor has been incredibly controversial. Jodie Whittaker is worried that she's ruined the idea of a female Doctor. Whose fault is it really though? Is the concept really ruined forever?An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but the doctor teams up with rotten oranges to diagnose early stage cancer.A New Challenger Joins The Mobile Gaming Battle. Qualcomm has paired with Razor to develop a new handheld gaming dev kit. It'll run on Android and they claim it'll run anything.The 13th Doctor - A Legacy Of Failure?- https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/04/jodie-whittaker-on-saying-goodbye-to-doctor-who-i-thought-what-if-ive-ruined-this-for-actressesNewest cancer tracker tool : Rancid Oranges- https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2021/12/06/spoiled-oranges-shine-light-on-malignant-cells.htmlQualcomm Mobile Gaming Dev Kit- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-12-02-qualcomm-announces-handheld-dev-kit-powered-by-its-first-gaming-chipShout Outs 4th December 2021 – Magnus Carlsen wins longest game in World Chess Championship history - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-04/magnus-carlsen-wins-longest-game-world-chess-history/100674464 7th December 2021 – 20th anniversary of Ocean's 11 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240772/8th December 2021 – 15th anniversary of the Wii being released in Europe - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii#Launch Wacky movie 7th December 1979 – Star Trek: The Motion Picture premiered theatrically - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079945/ That moment so, so many Trekkies, Trekkers, and general Trek enthusiasts had waited for -- had pined and prayed for -- finally arrived on this day in 1979 (well, at least for the people of Los Angeles) when Paramount Pictures proudly presented Star Trek: The Motion Picture for its theatrical premiere. IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

NASA's DART mission has lifted off to protect humanity from rogue asteroids. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test will attempt to change the orbit of threatening asteroids by... hitting them with a rock. Hopefully that'll be enough to save Earth from future threats.Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, wants console developers to preserve old games and avoid NFTs. Legal emulation will help bring classic games to a new audience, while Phil thinks NFTs will be exploitative. Professor agrees. HEAVILY. Is Phil once again the saviour of the console industry?Amazon plans to expand their sci-fi stable with a Mass Effect show. Professor and DJ think this is an awful idea. Mass Effect, the story all about making your own decisions, probably won't translate well into a fixed story television show.Go Go Planetary Defence System- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-24/nasa-dart-mission-lift-off-space-x/100647884Phil Spencer : Hero or Villian?- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-18-phil-spencer-calls-for-industry-to-work-on-legal-emulation- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-17-phil-spencer-says-nft-games-feel-more-exploitive-than-about-entertainmentMass Defect the TV Show- https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/11/24/amazon-reportedly-nearing-deal-to-produce-mass-effect-tv-series/Wacky movie 25th November 1977 – Logan's Run Sprinted Into Spanish Theatres - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074812/ - https://ascmag.com/articles/logans-run-and-how-it-was-filmedOn this day in 1977 in Spain, audiences were treated to one of the best Dystopian thrillers from the 1970's when Logan's Run enjoyed its debut. Here's the plot summary: "A police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth."IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Animal kidneys. Some people like them in pies, but pig kidneys go just as well as replacements for human kidneys. A new GMO pig can provide kidneys that are completely compatible with the human immune system. This could have a big impact on transplant waiting lists, and is also a new step in transhumanism. Half Man, Half Pig, He's Pig Man.Facebook are rebranding their parent company as a Metaverse company, and this is a bad thing. Professor really doesn't think Facebook have our best interests in mind and will try to control the Metaverse when it should be federated and free. Facebook are going to be worse than IOI in Ready Player One.David Zucker, who directed Airplane!, thinks the movie could only be made without jokes. Which is kinda funny considering Airplane is just a script from another movie with jokes stuffed in. Is Zucker right, or is he just being a boomer? I think the answer is clear.Pigney- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-20/us-surgeons-tests-pig-kidney-transplant-in-human-patient/100555282The Zuckerverse- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-20-facebook-reportedly-rebranding-around-metaverseAirplane...now without jokes - https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/10/19/director-david-zucker-says-airplane-could-only-be-made-today-without-the-jokes/IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You'll want to pack your umbrella for a trip to TOI-3362b, it rains molten aluminium there. We discuss alien weather, and the reason why we're very unlikely to ever take a holiday there. Surprisingly, the molten aluminium isn't the biggest barrier to visiting TOI-3362b.Microsoft have promised to do better with Right to Repair for Microsoft hardware after pressure from shareholder group As You Sow. They've made a commitment to provide training and replacement parts, along with easier to repair hardware. PAY ATTENTION APPLE. We know they won't, the iPhone 13 is deliberately crippled if you attempt to repair it yourself using genuine hardware.Yet another Marvel writer has criticised the current state of the comics industry. Somewhere beneath the outrage, there are some really good points for why comics aren't as good as they could be.The Metal Planet- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-15/new-planet-toi3362b-extreme-seasons-rare-orbit/100539088Microsoft Helps Right To Repair- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-07-microsoft-expands-right-to-repair-optionsWhy Are Marvel & DC Comics Bad- https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/10/14/chuck-dixon-diagnoses-why-dc-and-marvel-comic-books-suck/IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Twitch got hacked. It's bad. Someone's learning a very important cybersecurity lesson right now. We now know a lot more about how they work on the inside, including payouts for top streamers and private chat messages. Let's hope nobody does anything malicious with this. NFTs might be coming to gaming to help keep track of player owned items and let characters move between games. Yep, we've combined NFTs and the multiverse. There's still lots of implementation details to flesh out, but based on what we know, Professor still thinks it's a bad idea. Prepare for in depth technical explanations of how crypto and NFTs work. This week brings us two major pieces of news about moons. First, that our own moon is significantly younger than we thought. Second, the first clear images of exoplanet moon formation have come in and they're looking pretty damn cool.The Twitch Papers- https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2021/10/06/updates-on-the-twitch-security-incident/?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/ - https://www.wired.com/story/twitch-streamers-earnings-exposed-now-its-a-meme/ NFTs, gaming and the Multiverse. Buzzword Bingo! - https://coingeek.com/the-possibilities-are-endless-as-nfts-bridge-gap-between-comics-gaming-and-character-universes/ Moon News- https://www.sciencenews.org/article/moon-rocks-china-lunar-lander-sample-lava-volcano - https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2111/ IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is the measure of a man? Is it the number of totally awesome robot body parts he has? We hope so. Transhumanism has reached another stride with a biomechanical replacement for kidneys that could eliminate the need for dialysis and transplants. What else can we replace? How long until we can be uploaded into the internet and send Von Neumann probes out to colonise the galaxy?We're getting a new Mario movie, and the cast is absolutely ridiculous. The big question is: Does Chris Pratt do a bad Italian accent?Marvel are getting sued again. The rights to Spider-man and Doctor Strange might go back to Steve Ditko's family, and Marvel are Not Happy. On the plus side, some of their other cases wrapped up so their lawyers should have some free time now.Biokidney : The Next Level- https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2021/09/kidney-project-successfully-tests-prototype-bioartificial-kidneyA New Mario Movie- https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2021/09/23/super-mario-bros-movie-cast-chris-pratt-jack-black-anya-taylor-joy-lead-star-studded-cast/?sh=4ef2c06b69f2Marvel Lawsuits Aplenty- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/marvel-suing-avengers-copyright-termination-1235020110/ - https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/09/24/steve-ditko-estate-files-to-terminate-marvel-copyrights-over-spider-man-and-doctor-strange/ - https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/09/25/marvel-strikes-back-counter-sues-to-keep-rights-to-multiple-characters-including-avengers-and-spider-man/ - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/scarlett-johansson-disney-settle-black-widow-lawsuit-1235022598/IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rusty is coming back to Doctor Who. No, not that one. It's Russell T Davies, back to regenerate the greatest show on TV with his old production team. It remains to be seen whether he can recapture the magic, but the BBC must be desperate. Gaming PCs are incredibly rare, and they're likely to get even rarer. This means people will pay a massive premium, and that entry level parts don't really exist anymore. This makes us sad. Everyone should have the opportunity to build a PC and learn about electronics. Maybe in the post apocalyptic future there will be enough supply to meet demand. An Aussie team has created a significantly cheaper and easier to make solar panel that outperforms traditional panels. The sunniest place on Earth could really use some of those. They still need to scale up, but it's great to see Aussie scientists making huge strides. Doctor Who: A New Hope? - https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1441405833997217798 Affordable PCs are now a pipe dream- https://www.pcgamer.com/rip-cheap-graphics-cards/Tech Start Up makes new Solar Cell- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-21/australian-start-up-creates-world-s-most-efficient-solar-cell/100476152Other topics discussedBBC - 5 things the Doctor does in any worrying situation | @Doctor Who - BBC- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0ED6CGmjm4Russell T Davies (a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include Queer as Folk, The Second Coming, Casanova, the 2005 revival of the BBC One science fiction franchise Doctor Who, Cucumber, Years and Years and It's a Sin.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_T_DaviesTorchwood (a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who, it aired from 2006 to 2011.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TorchwoodBad Wolf (production company) (a British television production company founded by Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter in 2015, with its headquarters in Cardiff, Wales.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wolf_(production_company)Olly Alexander set to be new Doctor Who as first gay actor to play Time Lord- https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/15405348/olly-alexander-doctor-who-actor-gay/Ruth Clayton (a human identity assumed by the Fugitive Doctor, who hid on Earth using a Chameleon Arch.)- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Ruth_ClaytonJo Martin (Jo Martin played Ruth Clayton/Fugitive Doctor in the Doctor Who television stories Fugitive of the Judoon and The Timeless Children, alongside Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. She was the first non-white actor to be cast in the role of the Doctor in the DWU.)- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Jo_MartinDoctor Who: actor Christopher Eccleston reveals he has anorexia- https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49719101Christopher Eccleston is the Doctor!- https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/christopher-eccleston-is-the-doctorMurray Gold (an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for Doctor Who from 2005, until he stepped down in 2018 after the tenth series aired in 2017. He has been nominated for five BAFTAs.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_GoldDaleks and Cybermen- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCsXO7r6-z4Bob Baker (scriptwriter) (a British television and film writer. Baker and Martin devised for Doctor Who the robotic dog K-9 (created for The Invisible Enemy), the renegade Time Lord Omega (created for The Three Doctors, Doctor Who's 10th anniversary story) and the Axons. K-9 was originally intended to appear in one story only, but the BBC decided to make it a recurring character. )- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Baker_(scriptwriter)Elisabeth Sladen (an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who, appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprising the role many times in subsequent decades, both on Doctor Who and its spin-offs, K-9 and Company (1981) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_SladenSarah Jane Smith (a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series Doctor Who and two of its spin-offs.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Jane_SmithThe Sarah Jane Adventures (In addition to Sladen, the first series of the programme stars Yasmin Paige as Maria Jackson, Sarah Jane's 13-year-old neighbour in Ealing, west London, and Tommy Knight as a boy named Luke, who is adopted by Sarah Jane at the conclusion of the introductory story.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sarah_Jane_Adventures#Cast_and_crewSadie Miller (an English actress and author. She is known for her portrayal of Natalie Redfern in the Sarah Jane Smith audio drama series by Big Finish, her novel, Moon Blink, from Candy Jar Books's series, Lethbridge-Stewart, as well as her association with the science fiction series, Doctor Who. She is the daughter of actors Brian Miller and Elisabeth Sladen.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadie_MillerSean Pertwee (the son of Jon Pertwee, who played the Third Doctor. He briefly appeared as himself in the 50th anniversary story The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.)- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Sean_PertweeJon Pertwee (played the Third Doctor from 1970 to 1974, beginning from Spearhead from Space to Planet of the Spiders.)- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Jon_PertweeGotham (TV series) (an American crime drama television series developed by Bruno Heller, produced by Warner Bros. Television and based on characters published by DC Comics and appearing in the Batman franchise, primarily those of James Gordon and Bruce Wayne.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotham_(TV_series)Showrunner Russell T. Davies wants a Doctor Who Cinematic Universe- https://winteriscoming.net/2021/01/25/doctor-who-cinematic-universe-russell-t-davies/The Day of the Doctor (a special episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, marking the programme's 50th anniversary.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_DoctorJourney's End (TV story) (Journey's End was the thirteenth and final episode of series 4 of Doctor Who. It was the final regular appearance of all the Tenth Doctor's companions, though they would all appear in cameos in The End of Time (barring Catherine Tate and Bernard Cribbins who prominently feature) to commemorate David Tennant's final story.)- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Journey%27s_End_(TV_story)Torchwood: Miracle Day (the fourth series of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running show Doctor Who.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood:_Miracle_DayDay One (Torchwood) (the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. The episode centres on Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) working her first case with the alien hunters Torchwood in Cardiff, when she lets loose a purple alien gas that survives on the energy of orgasms. Over the course of the episode, the team hunt for Carys before the gas kills her.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_One_(Torchwood)Everything Changes (Torchwood) (the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006. The story is told from the perspective of Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), who comes across the Torchwood team through her job as a police officer with the South Wales Police, who are investigating a series of strange deaths in Cardiff.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Changes_(Torchwood)Resurrection gauntlet (The resurrection gauntlet — also known as the resurrection glove or just the glove, and, jokingly, the risen mitten — was a metal gauntlet that had the ability to revive the dead for a limited time, though with unfortunate and usually deadly consequences.)- https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Resurrection_gauntletTorchwood: Children of Earth (Children of Earth is the banner title of the third series of the British television science fiction programme Torchwood, which broadcast for five episodes on BBC One from 6 to 10 July 2009.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood:_Children_of_EarthRyzen (a brand of x86-64 microprocessors designed and marketed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for desktop, mobile, server, and embedded platforms based on the Zen microarchitecture. It consists of central processing units (CPUs) marketed for mainstream, enthusiast, server, and workstation segments and accelerated processing units (APUs) marketed for mainstream and entry-level segments and embedded systems applications.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RyzenWhy is there a chip shortage?- https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58230388Nvidia sold $155 million in crypto mining chips last quarter, but PC gaming remains its biggest market- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/nvidia-pc-gaming-still-more-important-than-crypto-for-revenue.htmlThe Life of a Miner - Crypto Mining Farm at Apartment | August 2021 Update- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB7NV7SR3bAChubbyemu - A Bitcoin Miner Heatstroked In His Sleep. This Is What Happened To His Organs.- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr8bp8a2QS4PCPartPicker - Asus Radeon RX 580 8 GB DUAL Video Card- https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/jkFXsY/asus-radeon-rx-580-8gb-dual-video-card-dual-rx580-o8g?history_days=730China's top regulators ban crypto trading and mining, sending bitcoin, rivals tumbling- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-25/chinas-top-regulators-ban-crypto-trading-/100491122Chrome OS (a Gentoo Linux-based operating system designed by Google. It is derived from the free software Chromium OS and uses the Google Chrome web browser as its principal user interface. Unlike Chromium OS, Chrome OS is proprietary software.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OSSolarCity (a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SolarCityElon Musk's Battery Farm Has Been a Total Triumph. Here Comes the Sequel.- https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a34598095/elon-musk-battery-farm-sequel-australia-tesla-powerpack/Hornsdale Power Reserve (a 150MW/194MWh grid-connected energy storage system owned by Neoen co-located with the Hornsdale Wind Farm in the Mid North region of South Australia, also owned by Neoen. During 2017 Tesla, Inc. won the contract and built the Hornsdale Power Reserve, for a capital cost of A$90 million, leading to the colloquial Tesla big battery name.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornsdale_Power_ReserveHornsdale Power Reserve (Elon Musk placed a wager that the battery would be completed within "100 days from contract signature", otherwise the battery would be free. Tesla had already begun construction, and some units were already operational by 29 September 2017, the time the grid contract was signed. The battery construction was completed and testing began on 25 November 2017. It was connected to the grid on 1 December 2017. The 63 days between grid contract and completion easily beat Musk's wager of "100 days from contract signature", which started when a grid connection agreement was signed with ElectraNet on 29 September 2017, 203 days after Musk's offer on 10 March (in Australia).- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornsdale_Power_Reserve#ConstructionNorwich Games Festival - Ashens - Gallery of Shame - 1 June 2019- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFF9O73iwkoS.S. Antarctica (a battleship owned by the penguins of Antarctica.)- https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/S.S._AntarcticaSS Penguin (a New Zealand inter-island ferry steamer that sank off Cape Terawhiti after striking a rock near the entrance to Wellington Harbour in poor weather on 12 February 1909.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_PenguinElden Ring (an upcoming action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is a collaborative effort between game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elden_RingBandai Namco Selects “My Dark Souls Story” Contest Winners- https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2016/03/11/bandai-namco-selects-my-dark-souls-story-contest-winners.aspxNerdy, Inc. - My Dark Souls Story: Biography of the Chosen Undead - The Dark Souls Story- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbiLl-m0Ry4NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity Had Planetary Protection Slip-Up- https://www.space.com/13783-nasa-msl-curiosity-mars-rover-planetary-protection.htmlAmazon Women in the Mood (the first episode in season three of Futurama.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Women_in_the_MoodApocalypse Now (a 1979 American epic psychological war film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford, and Dennis Hopper.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_NowCast Party: A Dungeons & Dragons Podcast (TNC podcast)- https://www.patreon.com/CastPartyShout Outs 20th September 2021 – Mick McGinty, Legendary Video Game Artist, passes away - https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/09/legendary_street_fighter_ii_artist_mick_mcginty_has_passed_away Mick McGinty, an artist that produced cover art for video games like Street Fighter II and Streets of Rage 2, has died. While many gamers might not know McGinty by name, those that grew up in the '90s will immediately recognize his art. The artist contributed some of the most iconic images in all of gaming, telling stories that immediately captivated players. McGinty was an immensely talented artist, as is evidenced by the impressive collection of work on his personal site, but for gamers of the '90s, his output will be almost synonymous with video game covers. He is perhaps most famous with Nintendo fans for creating the western cover artwork for the SNES version of Street Fighter II. While many people took issue with the 'westernisation' of the artwork at the time, it was very common practice for companies like Nintendo to commission entirely new artwork which was better suited to a particular region. McGinty's cover – which features Chun-Li fighting Blanka over the prone body of Ryu – has gone down as one of the most recognisable video game covers of all time. McGinty's association with Street Fighter would continue with Street Fighter II: Champion Edition on the Mega Drive / Genesis, Street Fighter II Turbo on the SNES and Super Street Fighter II.21st September 2021 – Endangered South African penguins killed by swarm of bees near Cape Town - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58622482Sixty-three endangered African penguins have been killed by a swarm of bees in a rare occurrence near Cape Town, bird conservationists in South Africa say. The protected birds, from a colony in Simonstown, were found on the shore with multiple bee-stings. They had no other physical injuries. National parks officials told the BBC this was the first known attack at the world-famous Boulders Beach, which attracts up to 60,000 visitors a year. "Usually the penguins and bees co-exist," said Dr Alison Kock, a marine biologist with South Africa's national parks agency (SANParks). "The bees don't sting unless provoked - we are working on the assumption that a nest or hive in the area was disturbed and caused a mass of bees to flee the nest, swarm and became aggressive," she added. "Unfortunately the bees encountered a group of penguins on their flight path." Post-mortems found that the birds had been stung around the eyes and on their flippers. That is because "those are the parts that are not covered by feathers," Dr Katta Ludynia, from the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob), told the BBC. Penguins have pink sweat glands around their eyes and "that area is particularly thin - similar to human fingers," explained Shanet Rutgers, senior penguin keeper at Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium. One of the penguins had been stung 27 times. African penguins are distinctive for their small size, and live on the coast and islands of South Africa and Namibia - though some have been spotted as far north as Gabon.Their populations are rapidly declining, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says. The national body said in a statement on Sunday that it was still conducting toxicity and disease checks on the birds, and would continue to monitor the situation.22nd September 2021 – 10th Anniversary of Dark Souls - https://www.glitched.online/landmark-rpg-dark-souls-celebrates-its-10th-anniversary-today/ Ten years ago to the day, Japanese video game developer From Software released the critically acclaimed dark fantasy action RPG, Dark Souls, which would go on to change the gaming landscape forever. Refining the formula already established in Demon's Souls while introducing a bevy of new mechanics that have been adopted and replicated by other titles, Dark Souls would spearhead an entirely new sub-genre of gaming. Today, Dark Souls officially celebrates its 10th anniversary. Dark Souls‘ history is relatively straightforward in comparison to many other success stories in gaming. From Software first dabbled in the dark fantasy setting with Demon's Souls, showcasing their ability to tell epic but narratively mysterious tales featuring fantastical beasts, ambiguous NPCs and deceptively challenging gameplay. The last part has remained the foundation of all From Software games since, increasing their difficulty in newer titles like Bloodborne and Sekiro while still retaining their creative power for captivating and immersive stories, worlds and characters. Dark Souls was well-received by fans, often cited as their favourite game of all time. It's success went on to spawn two sequels, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III; two creative spiritual successors in Bloodborne and the upcoming Elden Ring; and a Tenchu-styled action title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice that heavily borrowed elements from From Software's trademark style. Demon's Souls may have been the first, but it was really Dark Souls that put the Japanese studio on the map, leaving behind a legacy that has been the source of inspiration for a number of games like the Nioh series, The Surge, Lords of the Fallen, Mortal Shell, and numerous others. Dark Souls is not only remembered for its staple difficulty, but inspired world design, creative boss encounters, a plot that simply begged to be dissected and explored further, and a blueprint for a new style of game that bounced off the success of this defining RPG.24th September 2021 – 20th anniversary of Ico - https://www.nme.com/en_au/features/gaming-features/ico-minimalist-masterclass-in-cinematic-and-emotional-storytelling-3051674 Released between those two films in 2001 and 2002, Ico (pronounced ‘ee-ko' – but don't worry if you get it wrong, I did so too for a very long time) is a single-player action-adventure game developed by Sony's Japan Studio. This game kicked off the career of Fumito Ueda. It was the first in a series of games that featured similar themes, including beloved titles like Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Ico is special in the way it handles abandonment and isolation. Devoid almost entirely of all dialogue, Ico essentially works like a silent film. There's a clear sense of loneliness that's present throughout the entire game. But there's also a feeling of hope. Ico's soundtrack is almost suffocating at times, though it also presents a number of beautiful pieces. “Heal,” for example, is one of the best save themes in any game. Ico's soundtrack is almost suffocating at times, though it also presents a number of beautiful pieces. “Heal,” for example, is one of the best save themes in any game. One of the game's fans is also Hidetaka Miyazaki of FROM Software. Miyazaki, the creator of Demon's Souls, and in turn the Souls series, is one of the biggest game industry figures of the last decade. Much in the way the game would inspire Straley and Druckmann, Miyazaki cites Ico as a game that showed him the different possibilities that video games as a medium had to offer.Remembrances21st September 1954 – Mikimoto Kōkichi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikimoto_K%C5%8DkichiA Japanese entrepreneur who is credited with creating the first cultured pearl and subsequently starting the cultured pearl industry with the establishment of his luxury pearl company Mikimoto. He was inducted into the house of peers by imperial decree and posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure. On April 18, 1985, the Japan Patent Office selected him as one of Ten Japanese Great Inventors. The company was ranked as one of the world's most luxurious brands by Women's Wear Daily Magazine and Mikimoto was considered one of the best Japanese financial leaders of the 20th century by Nihon Keizai Shimbun. He is also known as the founder of Mikimoto Pharmaceuticals, a company specialising in beauty products containing pearl calcium. Mikimoto Pearl Island is named after him. In addition, the "Phoenix Mikimoto Crown" used by Miss Universe winners as well as the pageant crown used by Miss International is credited to his patented work. Mikimoto began his search of an alternative method to produce pearls as the chairman of the Shima Marine Products Improvement Association. At this point the demand for pearls had severely outweighed the supply, prompting the consideration of an effort to protect the oysters. In 1888, Mikimoto obtained a loan to start his first pearl oyster farm at the Shinmei inlet on Ago Bay in Mie prefecture with his wife and partner Ume. On 11 July 1893, after many failures and near bankruptcy, he was able to create the hemispherical cultured pearls. The pearls were made by seeding the oyster with a small amount of mother of pearl. In 1927, Mikimoto met with inventor, Thomas Edison, who was in awe of Mikimoto's cultured pearls as it was "supposed to be biologically impossible". He died at the age of 96 in Japan.Famous Birthdays21st September 1902 – Allen Lane - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_LaneA British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fiction to the mass market. In 1967 he started a hardback imprint under his own name, Allen Lane. He rose quickly at Bodley Head, becoming managing editor in 1925 following the death of his uncle. After conflict with the board of directors who were wary at first—for fear of being prosecuted—of publishing James Joyce's controversial book Ulysses, Lane, together with his brothers Richard and John, founded Penguin Books in 1935 as part of the Bodley Head. Penguin Books became a separate company the following year. The legend goes that on a train journey back from visiting Agatha Christie in 1934, Lane found himself on an Exeter station platform with nothing available worth reading. He conceived of paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine; the first was set up outside Henderson's in Charing Cross Road and dubbed the "Penguincubator". Lane was also well aware of the Hamburg publisher Albatross Books and adopted many of its innovations. Most booksellers and authors were against the idea of paperbacks. They believed that paperbacks would result in individuals spending less money on books. Lane was a person that was very stubborn when it came to his company. He operated mainly on intuition and imagination. "He thrived in an atmosphere of crisis and came most fully alive under the challenge of great dilemmas." He was a creative genius that once he had an idea he would not stop until it came to fruition. Once he decided on creating paperbacks he set about in deciding what the books should look like and finding a name. He had decided that the books would be reprints so he also needed to approach other publishers to see if they and their authors would be willing to sublease the rights of the books. He was quoted as saying, "I have never been able to understand why cheap books should not also be well designed, for good design is no more expensive than bad." He was born in Bristol.Events of Interest21th September 2003 – The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_project#End_of_mission_and_deorbit When the exploration of Mars was being considered in the early 1960s, Carl Sagan and Sidney Coleman produced a paper concerning contamination of the red planet. In order that scientists could determine whether or not native life forms existed before the planet became contaminated by micro-organisms from Earth, they proposed that space missions should aim at a 99.9 percent chance that contamination should not occur. This figure was adopted by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council of Scientific Unions in 1964, and was subsequently applied to all planetary probes. The danger was highlighted in 1969 when the Apollo 12 astronauts returned components of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft that had landed on the Moon three years before, and it was found that microbes were still viable even after three years in that harsh climate. An alternative was the Prime Directive, a philosophy of non-interference with alien life forms enunciated by the original Star Trek television series that prioritized the interests of the life forms over those of scientists. Given the (admittedly slim) prospect of life on Europa, scientists Richard Greenberg and Randall Tufts proposed that a new standard be set of no greater chance of contamination that that which might occur naturally by meteorites. Galileo had not been sterilized prior to launch and could have carried bacteria from Earth. Therefore, a plan was formulated to send the probe directly into Jupiter, in an intentional crash to eliminate the possibility of an impact with Jupiter's moons, particularly Europa, and prevent a forward contamination. On April 14, 2003, Galileo reached its greatest orbital distance from Jupiter for the entire mission since orbital insertion, 26 million km (16 million mi), before plunging back towards the gas giant for its final impact. At the completion of J35, its final orbit around the Jovian system, Galileo impacted Jupiter in darkness just south of the equator on September 21, 2003, at 18:57 UTC. Its impact speed was approximately 48.26 km/s (29.99 mi/s).21st September 1994 – Dinosaur Island premiered in Japan - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109627/ On this day in 1994 in Japan, Dinosaur Island enjoyed its premiere on home video. The Fantasy/Comedy feature starred Griffin Drew and Michelle Bauer, and here's the premise: "An army captain is flying three misfit deserters home for a court martial when the plane has engine trouble and they must land on an uncharted island. There they find a primitive society of cave women who routinely sacrifice virgins to appease The Great One, the top dog dinosaur on the the island. Mistaken for gods, the men must destroy The Great One or face death, but meanwhile they fall in love."The cavewomen's ranch was constructed on a remote portion of David Carradine's ranch.Shot in 12 days.Almost every day was extremely hot during the shooting of this film except one.A sequence with a stop-motion animation dinosaur attacking people on the beach was changed to a hand puppet dinosaur in post-production.The filmmakers paid an additional four thousand dollars for the poster art used to advertise this film.Antonia Dorian said she was nervous filming her first love scene in this film, especially since she was going to be topless. She'd danced topless in Vegas shows and in videos, but that wasn't the same as being on a small set surrounded by male actors and crew just a few feet away, all staring at her. Jim Wynorski gave her wine to calm her nerves. He also limited how many people would be on set. That and the wine helped her finally get through the scene.When the female warriors are chasing the dinosaur towards the ocean, you can see Malibu homes in the background hills.Wynorski said that Roger Corman asked he and Fred Olen Ray to make the film after Jurassic Park came out. "It wasn't so much a Jurassic Park rip off as a cavewoman movie", Wynorski said.Wynorski and Ray said they rewrote the script entirely. They knew who they were going to cast, employing actors they had worked with before, and tailored the script accordingly. They based the characters of the soldiers on characters in Stripes. Another influence was The War that Time Forgot, part of the Star Spangled War Stories comic book series.The movie was shot at Vasquez Rocks and David Carradine's ranch at Sun Valley over ten days. Wynorski says he and Ray made it "on a wing and a prayer".Wynorski later said, "I'd never co-directed a movie before, but it was smooth sailing all the way. When one of us got tired, the other would take over. I'd usually go back to the comfort of the air-conditioned motor home and hang out with the girls. You really can't beat that."Wynorski says he was at a party when he met Joe Pesci who told him he loved the film, saying "everytime I watch it I feel like I want to go there."IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A judgment has been handed down in the Apple Vs Epic lawsuit. Now Apple has to allow third party payment systems. This could be the foot in the door to breaking Apple's monopolistic tactics.Concrete made from Astronaut blood is a potential solution to building on Mars. Let's hope it never gets to the point of keeping people locked up and farming them for building materials.Denis Villeneuve has joined the battle against Marvel movies turning everybody into zombies. A bit dramatic, but he's really not a fan. And his Dune movie is getting great reviews, so maybe he knows a thing or two.The Apple App Store Lawsuit : The Epic Conclusion & Star Grift Drama- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-17-the-epic-vs-apple-judgement-leaves-much-undecided-opinion- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-09-cloud-imperium-receives-asa-warning-over-marketing-concept-ships-in-star-citizenFrom the makers of Soylent Green comes Bloodcrete.- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210913135713.htm?fbclid=IwAR1Z3_WegQ3pQPBq7EZuZCP3KSTTy9l4H5mDsZCAR5kwcrXIKluLTbPuQBMAnother Director Slams Marvel Movies- https://thedirect.com/article/marvel-denis-villeneuve-movies-zombiesOther topics discussedSouth Korea bans Apple, Google from blocking third-party payments- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-31-south-korea-bans-apple-google-from-blocking-third-party-paymentsEpic Games v. Google (The events and initial actions on Epic's lawsuit against Google were brought on the same day as Epic's suit against Apple, but Google stressed the legal situation around their case is far different.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._Apple#Epic_Games_v._GoogleEpic Games v. Apple (a lawsuit brought by Epic Games against Apple in August 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, related to Apple's practices in the iOS App Store.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Games_v._AppleFortnite - Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite - #FreeFortnite- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euiSHuaw6Q4Duke Nukem Forever (a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms and published by 2K Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem_ForeverSilk Road (marketplace) (an online black market and the first modern darknet market, best known as a platform for selling illegal drugs.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_(marketplace)alyankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic - White & Nerdy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdwStar Citizen on Kickstarter- https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizenElite Dangerous (Braben had previously discussed crowdfunding as a possible solution in April 2012. Public fundraising commenced in November 2012 using the Kickstarter website, the campaign lasting 60 days, with the aim being to raise £1.25m and deliver a finished game by March 2014. Braben described the campaign as a way of "test-marketing the concept to verify there is broader interest in such a game", in addition to raising the funds.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_Dangerous#FundingList of most expensive video games to develop (The following is a list of the most expensive video games ever developed, with a minimum total cost of US$50 million and sorted by the total cost adjusted for inflation.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_video_games_to_developThe Great British Bake Off (a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, attempting to impress a group of judges with their baking skills. One contestant is eliminated in each round, and the winner is selected from the contestants who reach the finals.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_British_Bake_OffI Made Meringues Out of My Own Blood and Ate Them- https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xgq4e/i-made-meringues-out-of-my-own-blood-and-ate-themThe Cask of Amontillado (a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cask_of_AmontilladoSoylent Green (a 1973 American ecological dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young and Edward G. Robinson in his final film role.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_GreenImmurement (a form of imprisonment, usually until death, in which a person is sealed within an enclosed space with no exits.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImmurementScott Dickerson's tweet about Marvel movies- https://twitter.com/scottderrickson/status/1438679063036502020?s=19&fbclid=IwAR22tA8qShtHB_WGGgMTU6tfaUi3PZnb2hYYYIfP0j1otOinqlwtkTFCMqQHot racking (the sanctioned practice within military organizations of assigning more than one crew member to a bed or "rack" to reduce berthing (sleeping) space.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_rackingWii (a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, following the GameCube, and is a seventh generation home console alongside Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiiPissed Off Video Gamer Archive - Nintendo Shitcube Review (Original)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2asDPQrv0Nw&t=140sCartoon Time Machine (TNC Podcast)- https://anchor.fm/cartoontimemachineShout Outs 10th September 2021 – Spider-Man's First Appearance In Amazing Fantasy #15 Sells For Record-Setting Comic Book Price Of $3.6 Million - https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/spider-man-first-appearance-amazing-fantasy-15-record-setting-sale/Spider-Man is now the hero behind the biggest comic book sale in history. While Batman and Superman previously set records with the sales of their debut comics, Spider-Man has officially taken the crown, thanks to a recent sale by Heritage Auctions. Amazing Fantasy #15 is the first issue in which Spider-Man, Marvel's most iconic superhero, appeared in comics. A copy of the original issue was sold this week for a whopping $3.6 million, making it the most expensive single comic issue of all time. The 1962 Marvel Comics issue breaks a record that was set by DC's Superman debut earlier this year. An issue of Action Comics #1, which debuted in 1938, previously sold for $3.25 million, which was the biggest sale at the time. The issue of Amazing Fantasy #15 that broke the sales record this week is one of the highest-graded issues of that comic in the entire world. That specific issue is graded CGC 9.6, meaning it's in near mint condition. It is one of only four issues to receive that grading. There are no copies graded CGC 9.8, the next-highest grading on the scale.14th September 2021 – 20th anniversary of Gamecube released in Japan - https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/09/the-nintendo-gamecube-turns-twenty-today/On September 14, 2001, the GameCube first went on sale for the first time in Japan. Two months later, on November 18, the console was released in North America. Facing off against the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, the GameCube was the first Nintendo console to use optical discs — though, the console wasn't designed to play DVDs or CDs like its rivals could. While the console was no all-inclusive living room entertainment hub, the GameCube did the video gaming part extremely well and boasted a solid library, including Super Smash Bros. Melee, Metroid Prime, Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Chibi-Robo!, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, among many others, such as third party exclusives like Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader as well as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, which was a Metal Gear Solid remake co-developed by Silicon Knights that featured new cutscenes by filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura of Godzilla: Final Wars fame. One of the most last legacies of the GameCube has been its controller. This is a controller design so good — so perfect — that Smash pros were getting their old ones repaired and that Nintendo even re-released it just for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch. Nintendo launched the Wii in 2006 and a year later, the previous gen console was discontinued. It wasn't the success that Nintendo hoped, but it occupies an important place in game console history.16th September 2021 – 100th anniversary of Sir Norman Brearley's first scheduled air service - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-16/brearley-commemorative-flight/100463236 A century after an accomplished young pilot made his mark on aviation history, 55 people have boarded 23 planes for a flight to commemorate his daring feat. The fleet departed Geraldton today as part of a tour following the route of Australia's first scheduled air service, which left the city for Derby on December 5, 1921, under the leadership of Major Norman Brearley. Later knighted for his services to aviation, Major Brearly had returned from the aerial battlefields of World War I with a swag of awards for bravery. He had survived being shot down in no man's land during the war and crawling back to English lines with bullet holes in both lungs. But the experience did little to dampen his enthusiasm for flying, and after the war he won a contract to launch the first scheduled air service in the country. The service was to change the lives of remote West Australians who had previously relied on boat and rail for mail and passenger transport.17th September 2021 – Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair dies passes away at 81 - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/16/home-computing-pioneer-sir-clive-sinclair-dies-aged-81 Sir Clive Sinclair, the inventor and entrepreneur who was instrumental in bringing home computers to the masses. Sinclair invented the pocket calculator but was best known for popularising the home computer, bringing it to British high-street stores at relatively affordable prices. Many modern-day titans of the games industry got their start on one of his ZX models. For a certain generation of gamer, the computer of choice was either the ZX Spectrum 48K or its rival, the Commodore 64. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief, commented on Twitter on an article calling Sir Clive the father of the ZX Spectrum: “RIP, Sir Sinclair. I loved that computer.” In the early 1970s he designed a series of calculators designed to be small and light enough to fit in the pocket at a time when most existing models were the size of an old-fashioned shop till. “He wanted to make things small and cheap so people could access them,” his daughter said. His first home computer, the ZX80, named after the year it appeared, revolutionised the market, although it was a far cry from today's models. At £79.95 in kit form and £99.95 assembled, it was about one-fifth of the price of other home computers at the time. It sold 50,000, units while its successor, the ZX81, which replaced it, cost £69.95 and sold 250,000. Many games industry veterans got their start typing programs into its touch-based keyboard and became hooked on games such as as 3D Monster Maze and Mazogs. Sinclair became a household name as his products flew off the shelves and was awarded a knighthood in 1983. But he would also become synonymous with one of his less successful inventions – the Sinclair C5 – which would cost him financially. He died from an illness related to cancer that he had for over a decade, in London.Remembrances14th September 1712 – Giovanni Domenico Cassini - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Domenico_CassiniAn Italian (naturalised French) mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the County of Nice, part of the Savoyard state. Cassini is known for his work on astronomy and engineering. He discovered four satellites of the planet Saturn and noted the division of the rings of Saturn; the Cassini Division was named after him. Giovanni Domenico Cassini was also the first of his family to begin work on the project of creating a topographic map of France. The Cassini space probe, launched in 1997, was named after him and became the fourth to visit the planet Saturn and the first to orbit the planet. Cassini observed and published surface markings on Mars (earlier seen by Christiaan Huygens but not published), determined the rotation periods of Mars and Jupiter, and discovered four satellites of Saturn: Iapetus and Rhea in 1671 and 1672, and Tethys and Dione (1684).Cassini was the first to observe these four moons, which he called Sidera Lodoicea (the stars of Louis), including Iapetus, whose anomalous variations in brightness he correctly ascribed as being due to the presence of dark material on one hemisphere (now called Cassini Regio in his honour). In addition he discovered the Cassini Division in the rings of Saturn (1675). He shares with Robert Hooke credit for the discovery of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter (ca. 1665). Around 1690, Cassini was the first to observe differential rotation within Jupiter's atmosphere.Cassini initially held the Earth to be the centre of the Solar System, though later observations compelled him to accept the model of the Solar System proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus, and eventually that of Tycho Brahe. "In 1659 he presented a model of the planetary system that was in accord with the hypothesis of Nicolaus Copernicus. In 1661 he developed a method, inspired by Kepler's work, of mapping successive phases of solar eclipses; and in 1662 he published new tables of the sun, based on his observations at San Petronio." Cassini also rejected Newton's theory of gravity, after measurements he conducted which wrongly suggested that the Earth was elongated at its poles. More than forty years of controversy about the subject were closed in favour of Newton's theory after the measurements of the French Geodesic Mission (1736 to 1744) and the Lapponian expedition in 1737 led by Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis Cassini was also the first to make successful measurements of longitude by the method suggested by Galileo, using eclipses of the Galilean satellites as a clock.Attracted to the heavens in his youth, his first interest was in astrology. While young he read widely on the subject of astrology, and soon was very knowledgeable about it; this extensive knowledge of astrology led to his first appointment as an astronomer. Later in life he focused almost exclusively on astronomy and all but denounced astrology as he became increasingly involved in the Scientific Revolution.In 1653, Cassini, wishing to employ the use of a meridian line, sketched a plan for a new and larger meridian line but one that would be difficult to build. His calculations were precise; the construction succeeded perfectly; and its success gave Cassini a brilliant reputation for working with engineering and structural works.In the 1670s, Cassini began work on a project to create a topographic map of France, using Gemma Frisius's technique of triangulation. The project was continued by his son Jacques Cassini and eventually finished by his grandson César-François Cassini de Thury and published as the Carte de Cassini in 1789 or 1793. It was the first topographic map of an entire country.Famous Birthdays14th September 1921 – Paul Poberezny - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_PobereznyAmerican aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting homebuilt aircraft. Poberezny is widely considered as the first person to have popularized the tradition of aircraft homebuilding in the United States. Through his work founding EAA and the organization's annual convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he had the reputation of helping inspire millions of people to get involved in grassroots aviation. Many attribute his legacy with the growth and sustainment of the US general aviation industry in the later part of the 20th century and into the early 21st. For the last two decades of his tenure as chairman of the EAA from 1989–2009, he worked closely with his son, aerobatic pilot and former EAA president Tom Poberezny, to expand the organization and create several new programs within it, including an aviation education program for youth and the EAA Museum, among other initiatives. Poberezny was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2002, and was ranked fourth on Flying's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation; he was the highest-ranked living person on the list at the time of its release. Poberezny founded the Experimental Aircraft Association out of his Hales Corners, Wisconsin home in 1953. It started as predominately an aircraft homebuilding organization in his basement, but later went on to capture all aspects of general aviation internationally.Poberezny flew over 500 aircraft types, including over 170 home-built planes throughout his life. He was introduced to aviation in 1936 at the age of 16 with the gift of a donated damaged WACO Primary Glider that he rebuilt and taught himself to fly. A high school teacher owned the glider and offered to pay Poberezny to repair it. He hauled it to his father's garage, borrowed books on building/repairing airplanes, and completed the restoration soon after. A friend used his car to tow the glider into the air with Poberezny at the controls; it rose to around a hundred feet when he released the tow rope and coasted to a gentle landing in a bed of alfalfa. A year later, Poberezny soloed at age 17 in a 1935 Porterfield and soon co-owned an American Eagle biplane.After returning home from World War II, Poberezny could not afford to buy his own aircraft, so he decided to build one himself. In 1955, he wrote a series of articles for the publication Mechanix Illustrated, where he described how an individual could buy a set of plans and build an airplane at home. In the magazine were also photos of himself fabricating the Baby Ace, an amateur-built aircraft (and the first to be marketed as a "homebuilt") that he bought the rights to for US$200 a few years prior. The articles became extremely popular and gave the concept of homebuilding worldwide acclaim.He designed, modified, and built several home-built aircraft, and had more than 30,000 hours of flight time in his career. Aircraft that he designed and built include:Acro Sport I & II"Little Audrey"Poberezny P-5 Pober SportPober Jr AcePober PixiePober Super AceHe was born in Leavenworth County, KansasEvents of Interest14th September 1914 – HMAS AE1, the Royal Australian Navy's first submarine, is lost at sea with all hands near East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_AE1#Deployment_and_loss At 07:00 on 14 September, AE1 departed Blanche Bay, Rabaul, to patrol off Cape Gazelle with HMAS Parramatta. When she had not returned by 20:00, several ships were dispatched to search for her. No trace of the submarine was found, and she was listed as lost with all hands. The disappearance was Australia's first major loss of World War I. After the discovery of the submarine in December 2017, Rear Admiral Peter Briggs, retired, said the likely cause of its loss was a diving accident. He added: The submarine appears to have struck the bottom with sufficient force to dislodge the fin from its footing, forcing it to hinge forward on its leading edge, impacting the casing. On 14 September 2018, a team of researchers headed by the National Maritime Museum director Kevin Sumption concluded their investigation into the sinking of AE1. They concluded that a ventilation valve, which was likely open to make the tropical conditions a little more bearable while the submarine was cruising on the surface near the Duke of York Islands, was insecure when the submarine dived, causing a flood of the submarine's engine room and total loss of control of the AE1. The submarine subsequently sank below 100 metres and imploded, killing everyone on board instantly.14th September 2007 – The Dark Hour premiered in Spain - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484273/ On this day in 2007 (in Spain), The Dark Hour enjoyed its theatrical release. The SciFi/Horror starred Omar Muñoz and Pepo Oliva, and here's the plot summary : "The eight year old boy Jesús has been living in a crumbling underground facility since he was born with eight survivors of an apocalyptic war: the leader Maria and her lover Pablo; the gays Lucas and Mateo; the astronomer Magdalena and the teenager Ana; the soldier Pedro and the lonely Judas. They are permanently under surveillance, threatened by the contaminated mutants The Strangers and once a day they have to lock themselves in their rooms without heating to protect against the dangerous ghosts The Invisibles that attack in the Cold Hour. They cannot go to the surface, destroyed by a nuclear war. When they need supplies, medications and ammunition, they organize expeditions to a store. When the menace of The Invisibles affects the safety of the group of survivors, they need to reach the surface."IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Big Brother is finding ways into your home through your games. You'd be surprised just how much they can tell about you from the way you play. China has decided to take effeminate men off TV, along with a whole bunch of new criteria. This echoes the Tik Tok ban on ugly and fat people. China, you have some issues with representation. Maybe take a look at that. An asteroid is coming close to Earth. Prepare now, just in case. South Australians are also complaining about rocket launches. Finally, Australians can go somewhere that isn't overseas to see rockets, which is awesome.Surveillance in Video Games- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3881279 China's New Law : Sissy Man Ban- https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/09/02/china-bans-sissy-men-tv-encourages-more-masculinity/5694333001/ Space News- https://comicbook.com/irl/news/asteroid-close-encounter-2021-ny1-close-call-nasa-september/- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-07/whalers-way-first-commercial-rocket-lift-off/100440154 Other topics discussedWhat are the Security and Privacy Risks of VR and AR- https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/security-and-privacy-risks-of-ar-and-vr‘Doomba' turns your Roomba's cleaning maps into Doom levels- https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/12/26/18156600/doomba-roomba-cleaning-maps-doom-levels-rich-whitehouseHow Does the YouTube Algorithm Work in 2021? The Complete Guide- https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-algorithm-works/The cheapest Oculus Quest prices and Oculus Rift sales in September 2021- https://www.techradar.com/au/news/gaming/oculus-rift-deals-1329262It's 2019 — which VR headsets can you actually buy?- https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/16/18625238/vr-virtual-reality-headsets-oculus-quest-valve-index-htc-vive-nintendo-labo-vr-2019 General Data Protection Regulation (The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). It also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation Electronic Frontier Foundation (The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet civil liberties.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation Loot box (In video games, a loot box (also called a loot/prize crate) is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomised selection of further virtual items, or loot, ranging from simple customization options for a player's avatar or character, to game-changing equipment such as weapons and armor.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_box Regulation and legislation (Because of their use of random chance to gain items after committing real-world funds, games using loot boxes may be considered a form of gambling. While gambling laws vary from country to country, a common theme that tends to distinguish loot boxes from gambling is the inability to transform the contents from a loot box back into real-world money by legitimate means within the video game.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loot_box#Regulation_and_legislation Wii Fit (an exergaming video game designed by Nintendo's Hiroshi Matsunaga for the Wii home video game console. It is an exercise game with several activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral. As of March 2012 Wii Fit was the third best selling console game not packaged with a console, with 22.67 million copies sold.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_FitHow ISIS Terrorists May Have Used PlayStation 4 To Discuss And Plan Attacks- https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/14/why-the-paris-isis-terrorists-used-ps4-to-plan-attacks/?sh=23b8e4e70554Man jailed 6 years for threats made in Runescape finally released- https://www.pcgamer.com/au/man-jailed-6-years-for-threats-made-in-runescape-finally-released/‘It's a long bow': Social media ID push dubbed ineffective, a privacy risk- https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-s-a-long-bow-social-media-id-push-dubbed-a-privacy-risk-20210402-p57g7d.htmlChina steps up its war on underage online video gaming and not everyone is happy- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-04/china-cracks-down-on-children-online-video-gaming/100428138TikTok 'tried to filter out videos from ugly, poor or disabled users'- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/17/tiktok-tried-to-filter-out-videos-from-ugly-poor-or-disabled-users Tilda Swinton (a British actress. Known for her leading roles in independent films and supporting roles in blockbusters, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilda_Swinton Zhao Wei (Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, and one of the highest paid actresses.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhao_WeiAlibaba founder Jack Ma appears for the first time since crackdown on his tech empire- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/20/alibaba-founder-jack-ma-reappears-after-crackdown-on-his-tech-empire.htmlZhao Wei Controversy (On 27 August 2021, all films and television dramas featuring Zhao disappeared from Chinese video streaming services like Tencent Video and iQiyi, and her Weibo account is deleted. No explanation is given by the Chinese government.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhao_Wei#Controversy Mulan (2009 film) (a 2009 Chinese action war film starring Zhao Wei as the titular protagonist. The director, Jingle Ma, has explained that this film is vastly different from the 1998 Walt Disney animated film and that the looks from the character in this movie adheres more to his imagination.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_(2009_film)Uyghurs (The Uyghurs alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China.- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UyghursI.T. Crowd – Judy (a horribly ugly woman that Roy gets entangled with while trying to meet a woman named Julie. Roy claims she has hair on her eyes and three rows of teeth.)- https://theitcrowd.fandom.com/wiki/Judy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CWqMAOHS4A Steve Buscemi (an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for acting in various supporting roles and as a leading man starring in a number of successful movies including Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992), Robert Rodriguez's Desperado (1995), Simon West's Con Air (1997) and Armageddon (1998), the black comedy Ghost World (2001), Tim Burton's drama Big Fish (2003), The Island (2005), and Armando Iannucci's political satire The Death of Stalin (2017).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Buscemi Sean Penn (American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the biopic Milk (2008).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Penn Meat Loaf (better known as Meat Loaf, is an American singer and actor. He is noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. His Bat Out of Hell trilogy—Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose—has sold more than 65 million albums worldwide.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf Tim Curry (English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London and 1974 Los Angeles musical stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_CurryChina calls for boycott of ‘overly entertaining' entertainers and ‘sissy idols' in continued purge of popular culture industry- https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3147354/china-calls-boycott-overly-entertaining RAAF Woomera Range Complex (The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately 450 km (280 mi) north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a division of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAAF_Woomera_Range_ComplexMeteor Hits Russia Feb 15, 2013 - Event Archive- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpmXyJrs7iU Chelyabinsk meteor (a superbolide that entered Earth's atmosphere over the southern Ural region in Russia on 15 February 2013 at about 09:20 YEKT (03:20 UTC). It was caused by an approximately 20 m (66 ft) near-Earth asteroid that entered the atmosphere at a shallow 18.3 ± 0.4 degree angle with a speed relative to Earth of 19.16 ± 0.15 kilometres per second (69,000 km/h or 42,900 mph).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteorFootage of last-known surviving Tasmanian tiger remastered and released in 4K colour- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-07/tasmanian-tiger-footage-digitised-and-colourised/100439870 Bunyip (The bunyip is a creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunyip Yowie (Yowie is one of several names for an Australian folklore entity reputed to live in the Outback. The creature has its roots in Aboriginal oral history. In parts of Queensland, they are known as quinkin (or as a type of quinkin), and as joogabinna, in parts of New South Wales they are called Ghindaring, jurrawarra, myngawin, puttikan, doolaga, gulaga and thoolagal.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YowieFuturama - Planet Express Ships Engine- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RtMMupdOC4Battle of Cartagena de Indias (The Battle of Cartagena de Indias took place during the 1739 to 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear between Spain and Britain. The result of long-standing commercial tensions, the war was primarily fought in the Caribbean; the British tried to capture key Spanish ports in the region, including Porto Bello and Chagres in Panama, Havana, and Cartagena de Indias in present-day Colombia.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cartagena_de_Indias Gordon Bennett Trophy (aeroplanes) (an international airplane racing trophy awarded by James Gordon Bennett Jr., the American owner and publisher of the New York Herald newspaper. The trophy is one of three Gordon Bennett awards: Bennett was also the sponsor of an automobile race and a ballooning competition.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Bennett_Trophy_(aeroplanes) Glenn Curtiss (an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_CurtissSincerely Unqualified (TNC podcast)- https://sincerely-unqualified.simplecast.com/Shout Outs 11th September 2021 – 20th anniversary of 9/11 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-11/ceremonies-for-20th-anniversary-of-september-11-attacks/100454922 Thousands have gathered in New York and across the United States for ceremonies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Memorials were held in New York City, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania — all sites where hijacked planes were crashed in a coordinated Al Qaeda attack 20 years ago. Americans are honouring the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the attacks, while reflecting on how they shaped the country's view of the world and itself. Music legend Bruce Springsteen performed I'll See You In My Dreams before the names of victims continued to be read by loved ones. Mr Biden then travelled to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed into a field after passengers overcame the hijackers and prevented another target from being hit.5th September 2021 – Michael Keaton's 70th bday - https://movieweb.com/michael-keaton-70th-birthday/ Over the past several decades, Keaton has appeared in a variety of major roles, though he is particularly beloved for his run as Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton's Batman and its sequel Batman Returns. He is also known for playing as Jack Butler in Mr. Mom (1983), Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice (1988), and Adrian Toomes / Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Morbius (2022). Contrary to popular belief, he is not related to Buster Keaton or Diane Keaton. Nor did he name himself after them. He needed an alternate last name, so he went through a list of possible surnames and when he got to the "K's," he decided "Keaton" sounded inoffensive enough. In 2014, Keaton garnered critical acclaim for his performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu's black comedy film Birdman, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Tim Burton cast him in the title role of Batman (1989) because he thought that Keaton was the only actor who could believably portray someone who has the kind of darkly obsessive personality that the character has. There was a great deal of fan anger over his selection, forcing the studio to release an advance trailer both to show that Keaton could do the role well and that the movie would not be a campy parody like the television series Batman (1966). A longtime Pittsburgh resident and fan of its sports teams, negotiated a break in his Batman movie contract in case the Pirates made the playoffs that year, although they ultimately did not. He also wrote an ESPN blog on the Pirates during the final months of their 2013 season.7th September 2021 – 85th anniversary of the last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial named Benjamin, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine#Benjamin_and_searches The last captive thylacine, often referred to as Benjamin, lived at Hobart Zoo until its death on the night of the 6 September 1936. The thylacine died on the night of 6–7 September 1936. It is believed to have died as the result of neglect—locked out of its sheltered sleeping quarters, it was exposed to a rare occurrence of extreme Tasmanian weather: extreme heat during the day and freezing temperatures at night. This thylacine features in the last known motion picture footage of a living specimen: 45 seconds of black-and-white footage showing the thylacine in its enclosure in a clip taken in 1933, by naturalist David Fleay. In the film footage, the thylacine is seen seated, walking around the perimeter of its enclosure, yawning, sniffing the air, scratching itself (in the same manner as a dog), and lying down. Fleay was bitten on the buttock whilst shooting the film. After the thylacine's death, the zoo expected that it would soon find a replacement, and "Benjamin"'s death was not reported on in the media at the time. Although there had been a conservation movement pressing for the thylacine's protection since 1901, driven in part by the increasing difficulty in obtaining specimens for overseas collections, political difficulties prevented any form of protection coming into force until 1936. Official protection of the species by the Tasmanian government was introduced on 10 July 1936, 59 days before the last known specimen died in captivity.9th September 2021 – 25th Anniversary of Crash Bandicoot - https://au.pcmag.com/games/89368/25-years-ago-crash-bandicoot-gave-sony-its-first-gaming-mascot Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise, originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console and has seen numerous installments created by numerous developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games; in 2007, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.In August 1994, Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin began their move from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California. During the trip, Gavin and Rubin decided to create a 3D action-platform game, taking inspiration from 16-bit-era games such as Donkey Kong Country, Mario and Sonic. Because the player would be forced to constantly look at the character's backside, the game was jokingly code-named "Sonic's Ass Game".Development on the game started in the very early days of the PS1. There wasn't even a dev kit for the system, just a PCI board that you'd insert into your work PC. So they had to start from scratch with the simplest of tasks, like rendering geometry on the screen, then learn as they went along. Just the very concept of a full 3D platformer was totally new. Super Mario 64 hadn't even been released, and although the PS1 would get titles like Jumping Flash, they were far from the lively, character-filled experiences that 16-bit consoles were delivering in 2D. So the team at Naughty Dog built things from scratch, first learning how to display polygons on-screen and then working to translate their art to a game environment. Needing a lead character for the game, Naughty Dog recruited American Exitus artists Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson and met with them weekly to create the characters and environments of the game, eventually creating a character named "Willy the Wombat". The marketing director of Universal Interactive insisted that the character be named "Wez", "Wuzzles" or "Wizzy the Wombat". While playing the game during development, Rubin realized that there were many empty areas in the game due to the PlayStation's inability to process numerous on-screen enemy characters at the same time. Additionally, players were solving the game's puzzles too fast. Rubin soon came up with the idea of a box and putting various symbols on the sides to create puzzles. Breaking these boxes would serve to fill in the boring parts of the levels and give the player additional puzzles. The first "crate" was placed in the game in January 1996, and would become the primary gameplay element of the series. Willy the Wombat's destruction of the crates would eventually lead him to be renamed "Crash Bandicoot". Remembrances7th September 1741 – Blas de Lezo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blas_de_Lezo Admiral Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta, a Spanish navy officer best remembered for the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1741) in modern-day Colombia, where Spanish imperial forces under his command decisively defeated a large British invasion fleet under Admiral Edward Vernon. Throughout his naval career, Lezo sustained many severe wounds; he lost his left eye, left hand, complete mobility of the right arm, and had his left leg amputated in situ after being hit by the projectile of a cannon. He perceived his wounds and physical limitations as medals, he refused to wear an eye patch to hide his blind eye. Wearing his past battles history on his flesh won the respect of his peers and soldiers. Lezo's defense of Cartagena de Indias against a vastly larger British fleet consolidated his legacy as one of the most heroic figures in the history of Spain. He is often recognized as one of the greatest strategists in naval history. In 1704 he fought in the War of the Spanish Succession as a crew member in the Franco-Spanish fleet against the combined forces of Great Britain and the Netherlands at the indecisive Battle of Vélez-Málaga. During the battle, his left leg was hit by cannon-shot and was amputated under the knee. Participating in the 1707 defence of the French naval base of Toulon cost him his left eye. In 1714 he lost use of his right arm in the Siege of Barcelona. Later in this campaign, his ship captured the Stanhope commanded by John Combes, sometimes claimed to be a 70-gun but actually just a 20-gun merchantman. Thus, by age 25, depending on the sources, de Lezo had lost his left eye, his left leg below the knee, and the use of his right arm. Modern sources often focus on these salient features and refer to Lezo with nicknames such as "Patapalo" (Pegleg) and "Mediohombre" (Half-man). There is no contemporary proof that these (or others) were actually used during Lezo's lifetime. Blas de Lezo died four months after the battle of Cartagena de Indias at the age of 52 in Cartagena de Indias, New Granada.Famous Birthdays 7th September 1829 – August Kekulé - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Kekul%C3%A9 Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz, a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekulé was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry. He was the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure and in particular the Kekulé structure of benzene. Basing his ideas on those of predecessors such as Williamson, Charles Gerhardt, Edward Frankland, William Odling, Auguste Laurent, Charles-Adolphe Wurtz and others, Kekulé was the principal formulator of the theory of chemical structure (1857–58). This theory proceeds from the idea of atomic valence, especially the tetravalence of carbon (which Kekulé announced late in 1857) and the ability of carbon atoms to link to each other (announced in a paper published in May 1858), to the determination of the bonding order of all of the atoms in a molecule. Archibald Scott Couper independently arrived at the idea of self-linking of carbon atoms (his paper appeared in June 1858), and provided the first molecular formulas where lines symbolize bonds connecting the atoms. For organic chemists, the theory of structure provided dramatic new clarity of understanding, and a reliable guide to both analytic and especially synthetic work. As a consequence, the field of organic chemistry developed explosively from this point. Among those who were most active in pursuing early structural investigations were, in addition to Kekulé and Couper, Frankland, Wurtz, Alexander Crum Brown, Emil Erlenmeyer, and Alexander Butlerov. Kekulé's idea of assigning certain atoms to certain positions within the molecule, and schematically connecting them using what he called their "Verwandtschaftseinheiten" ("affinity units", now called "valences" or "bonds"), was based largely on evidence from chemical reactions, rather than on instrumental methods that could peer directly into the molecule, such as X-ray crystallography. Such physical methods of structural determination had not yet been developed, so chemists of Kekulé's day had to rely almost entirely on so-called "wet" chemistry.Kekulé's most famous work was on the structure of benzene. In 1865 Kekulé published a paper in French (for he was then still in Belgium) suggesting that the structure contained a six-membered ring of carbon atoms with alternating single and double bonds.The empirical formula for benzene had been long known, but its highly unsaturated structure was a challenge to determine.More evidence was available by 1865, especially regarding the relationships of aromatic isomers. Kekulé argued for his proposed structure by considering the number of isomers observed for derivatives of benzene.The new understanding of benzene, and hence of all aromatic compounds, proved to be so important for both pure and applied chemistry after 1865 that in 1890 the German Chemical Society organized an elaborate appreciation in Kekulé's honor, celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his first benzene paper. Here Kekulé spoke of the creation of the theory. He said that he had discovered the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake seizing its own tail (this is an ancient symbol known as the ouroboros).He was born in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse.Events of Interest7th September 1909 – Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Lefebvre Eugène Lefebvre was the first engineer and chief pilot of the Wright company in France. He, Louis Blériot and Hubert Latham were selected as France's representatives during the contest for the Gordon Bennett Trophy on 22 August, after poor weather made the morning's planned qualifying run impossible. When the weather lifted around 6 o'clock that evening, Lefebvre was one of the pilots who took to the sky in an exhibition, giving one of the earliest displays of stunt flying. The New York Times described his maneuvers thus: "Lefebvre...came driving at the crowded tribunes, turned in the nick of time, went sailing off, swooped down again till he made the flags on the pillars and the plumes on the ladies' hats flutter, and so played about at will for our applause." He was subsequently fined $4 by the judges for displaying excessive "recklessness and daring." During the running of the race, he placed fourth, behind Glenn Curtiss, Blériot and Latham. Only nine days after the end of the Reims event, Lefebvre was killed in a crash at Juvisy, when the plane he was testing dropped to the ground from a height of 6 metres (20 ft). 7th September 1958 – Queen Of Outer Space landed into theatres - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052104/ A star is born! On this day in 1958, the Queen Of Outer Space enjoyed her royal U.S. theatrical premiere. Directed by Edward Bernds, the SciFi feature starred Eric Fleming and Zsa Zsa Gabor, and here's the plot summary: "American astronauts are drawn by a mysterious force to the planet Venus, which they find to be inhabited only by beautiful women and their despotic queen." The Three Stooges and the Bowery Boys director Edward Bernds recalled that, after producer Walter Wanger was released from prison for shooting agent Jennings Lang in the groin for having an affair with his wife Joan Bennett, Wanger could only find work at the low-rent Allied Artists (formerly Monogram Pictures). In 1952, Wanger brought a ten-page idea for a screenplay by Ben Hecht called Queen of the Universe that was a satirical look at a planet run by women. Several years later, with the idea of science fiction films being more common, Allied Artists revived the project with Wanger replaced on the film by Ben Schwalb, who was then producing the Bowery Boys films. Allied Artists retitled the film Queen of Outer Space as they thought the original title sounded more like a beauty pageant. The central plot of a planet ruled by women was recycled from other science fiction productions of the era, including Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), and the British feature film Fire Maidens from Outer Space (1955). Queen of Outer Space also recycled many props, costumes, and other elements used in earlier films of the 1950s, most prominently the C-57D crewmen's uniforms and Altaira's wardrobe from Forbidden Planet (1956); models, sets, and special effects from Bernds' World Without End (1956); stock footage of an Atlas missile taking off; and a model rocketship built for Flight to Mars (1951). The film takes place in 1985. In an interview, director Edward Bernds said that Zsa Zsa Gabor got very "testy" with the actresses playing the Venusian girls. They were mostly beauty contest winners, and were many years - and in some cases a few decades - younger than her. When she noticed that the crew was paying more attention to the tall, leggy, mini-skirted "Venusians" than they were to her, she became very difficult to work with. He said that Gabor gave producer Ben Schwalb such a hard time on the picture that Schwalb eventually wound up in the hospital with ulcers. The film opens with a 15-minute prologue before the opening credits. It is somewhat of a coincidence that the colors of the uniforms of the armed women on Venus (red, blue, gold) match the basic colors of the uniforms of the original Star Trek (1966) series. The "Star Trek" uniforms in the pilot were different--blue, gold, beige. The production company spent most of their funds on landscaping the planet Venus and makeup for the Venus women. In a world where everyone speaks in the same, "midwestern" accent, only one character speaks with a thick accent, Zsa Zsa. IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us on Facebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Audio glitches again. They're less obvious on speakers. Hopefully we've actually fixed it this time.The director of Wonder Woman 1984 has joined the crusade to stop movies being released on streaming. She thinks they look fake. It's a good cause, but we're not sure the world is ready for this.Junk food lowers your life expectancy. Fruit is good for you. A new study has put numbers to just how good and bad some foods are for you.It's time to step into the Multiverse. Actually, not so fast, it's not a thing yet. But it will be soon, and people are really into it. And hopefully this time it won't involve insane developers killing player's meat bodies, or using it to make society even more monetised.Streaming Movies Are Fake- https://comicbook.com/dc/news/wonder-woman-director-patty-jenkins-says-streaming-service-movie-look-fake/- https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/newsletter/2021-08-31/how-wonder-woman-1984-director-patty-jenkins-really-feels-about-streaming-movies-the-wide-shot Fact : Junk Food Lowers Your Life Expectancy- https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/one-hot-dog-knocks-36-minutes-off-your-life-study-claims/ Screw The Multiverse..There Is The Metaverse- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-20-what-is-the-metaverse-and-why-is-it-worth-so-much-money Other topics discussedDune's Theatrical Release Date Has Been Delayed in Australia- https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/09/dune-release-date-delayed-australia/Dune 2 is not a sure thing – but director Denis Villeneuve is optimistic- https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/dune-2-is-not-a-sure-thing-but-director-denis-villeneuve-is-optimistic/ Writers Guild of America, East (a labor union representing film and television writers as well as employees of television and radio news. The Writers Guild of America, East is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America West.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America,_East Writers Guild of America West (a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers_Guild_of_America_West New Farm Cinemas (a cinema at 701 Brunswick Street, New Farm, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Farm_Cinemas 2001: A Space Odyssey (a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. )- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film) Screen Actors Guild (The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_Actors_GuildIMPACT World+: a globally regionalized life cycle impact assessment method- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-019-01583-0 Frankfurter Würstchen (A Frankfurter (German for Frankfurt sausage) is a thin parboiled sausage made of pure pork in a casing of sheep's intestine.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_W%C3%BCrstchenAn Australian 'wellness guru' says staring directly into the sun is 'one of the best forms of free medicine'- https://www.businessinsider.com/pete-evans-says-staring-into-the-sun-is-a-form-of-medicine-2018-12?r=AU&IR=T Second Life (an online virtual world, developed and owned by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life Mastodon (software) (free and open-source software for running self-hosted social networking services. It has microblogging features similar to the Twitter service, which are offered by a large number of independently run Mastodon nodes (known as "instances"), each with its own code of conduct, terms of service, privacy options, and moderation policies.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon_(software)How an avatar on Second Life sparked a real-life court case- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/nov/25/second-life-internet Ready Player One (film) (a 2018 American science fiction adventure film based on Ernest Cline's 2011 novel of the same name. Directed by Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Cline, it stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One_(film)Fortnite Is Letting You Relive MLK's 'I Have A Dream' Speech- https://www.npr.org/2021/08/27/1031674883/fortnite-mlk-i-have-a-dream-speech-martin-luther-king Guide to roleplaying a wedding (Although weddings are not recognized by World of Warcraft in any way (one does not get any benefits), couples can still get married simply for roleplaying purposes.)- https://wowwiki-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Guide_to_roleplaying_a_wedding Dwarf Fortress ((officially called Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress) is a construction and management simulation and roguelike indie video game created by Bay 12 Games. Freeware and in development since 2002, its first alpha version was released in 2006 and it received attention for being a two-member project surviving solely on donations.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_Fortress Sword Art Online (a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the near future and focuses on protagonist Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_Art_OnlineShout Outs 29th August 2021 – WA researchers make history with first locally-made satellite launched into space - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-29/first-wa-satellite-binar-1-launched-into-space/100415996?fbclid=IwAR0Vtn6QTsYMHFVfZOVoHY4RqMOCA2D7seRFRmAHxXibQPABSbHGjepoJbo A small group of Perth researchers have made Western Australian history, using a device not much bigger than a vegemite sandwich. The Binar-1 satellite was launched into orbit on Sunday afternoon (Perth time) aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US. The craft, which takes its name from the Noongar word for fireball, will now head to the International Space Station, where astronauts will release the satellite into low-Earth orbit. It marks the first time a WA-made satellite has been launched into space. Phil Bland, the director of Curtin University's Space Science Technology Centre, which built the device, says it won't be the last. "You're not succeeding in space unless you're flying stuff, so we are building the technology that is going to allow us to fly all the time," Mr Bland said. The Binar team are hoping to launch at least seven small spacecraft over the next two years, to prove their technology works. If it does, it could make a massive difference to the way Western Australians are able to access space. Binar researcher and PhD student Ben Hartig wrote about how important that would be for Australia. "By developing completely home-grown technology, we can avoid relying on expensive imported components, meaning the Australian space industry can stand on its own two feet while reaching for the heavens," he said.29th August 2021 – Astra Test Flight (Launch Vehicle 0006) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Tdm797BzM&t=5612s Astra launched its fourth Rocket 3 vehicle, Rocket 3.3 (LV0006). The flight carried an instrumentation payload for the United States Space Force under the Space Test Program, and a separation of payload from the launch vehicle was not planned. Shortly after liftoff, a single engine failure caused the vehicle to drift horizontally several tens of meters sideways off the launch pad before ascending vertically. The vehicle deviated from its licensed trajectory and range safety terminated the flight at approximately T+2:28. The rocket reached a peak altitude of 50 km before crashing into the ocean downrange of the launch site. No injuries or damage to property were reported from this incident.30th August 2021 – Actor Ed Asner passes away at 91 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-30/ed-asner-dies-aged-91-up-mary-tyler-moore-lou-grant/100417378?fbclid=IwAR2JabVjk-9-u9xa5mmjdKjjiOprn1NIXQOcpFOrNGdIA-orQN0CkGp-bSM Asner, whose diverse credits also included a key voice role in the acclaimed 2009 animated film Up, died at his home surrounded by his family, Asner was known for his liberal politics and his stint as Screen Actors Guild president in the 1980s when he criticised US involvement in Central America during the administration of a previous head of the actors' union, then-president Ronald Reagan. In a career of remarkable longevity, Asner acted into his 90s. Asner was integral to the success of the situation comedy Mary Tyler Moore, which ran on CBS from 1970 to 1977 and boasted one of the best assemblages of actors and writers in US TV history. Later in his career, Asner became a successful voice actor for animated TV shows and films and played Santa Claus in several projects, including the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy Elf. In the sentimental 2009 animated film Up, Asner provided the voice for the main character, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen, who after the death of his beloved wife ties balloons to his house and floats off to fulfil his fantasy of exploring South America, only to find he has a youthful stowaway. The movie won an Oscar for best animated film and a nomination for best picture. Asner remained a busy actor into his 90s with appearances in such series as Dead to Me and Cobra Kai. He died of natural causes at his home in the Tarzana, Los Angeles.1st September 2021 – 15th anniversary of Idiocracy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy The film, written by Beavis & Butthead creator Mike Judge and Tropic Thunder co-writer Etan Cohen, imagines a world 500 years into the future, when civilization has all but collapsed because humanity has become irretrievably stupid. It illustrates how this happened with a voice-of-God narrator and a comparative case study: the high IQ yuppie couple who sensibly wait and wait to have kids until they can't anymore on one side, and the trailer trash meatheads (really no other way to describe them) with the giant brood of neglected children and Maury Povich-esque sex life who keep procreating at an alarming rate on the other. The film was not screened for critics, and the distributor, 20th Century Fox, was accused of abandoning it. Despite its lack of a major theatrical release, which resulted in a mere $495,000 gross at the box office, the film received positive reviews from critics and has become a cult film. During the 2016 presidential primaries, writer Etan Cohen and others expressed opinions that the film's predictions were converging on accuracy, a sentiment repeated by director Judge during the general election. At the time, Judge also compared Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump—who later won and became President of the United States—to the film's wrestler-turned-president, Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. When asked about predicting the future, he remarked, "I'm no prophet, I was off by 490 years."Remembrances31st August 1965 – E.E.Smith - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Smith Edward Elmer Smith, publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the Lensman and Skylark series. He is sometimes called the father of space opera. Smith's work is strongly identified with the beginnings of US pulp sf as a separate marketing genre, and did much to define its essential territory: galactic space dominated by Galactic Empires, these usually being run by humans, though Aliens appear frequently, not only as Villains; Space Opera plots, featuring Heroes and their Inventions, are the norm; Wars rage across the parsecs. But although Smith's his protagonists fit comfortably into this universe, it is the case that his greatest protagonists, the Lensmen, are also soldiers: willing employees in a higher cause. His earlier heroes may be freelance, and seem in retrospect singularly detached from the universes they dazzle, but his later heroes – like Kim Kinnison himself – advance through promotion, and rule their universes as dictators in all but name, for the cause of Good. When in 1915 Smith began to write the first novel of his Skylark series with Mrs Lee Hawkins Garby, a neighbour seconded to help with feminine matters such as dialogue, no prior models existed in popular fiction to source the combined exuberance and scale that The Skylark of Space (written 1915-1920; August-October 1928 Amazing; 1946; rev with cuts 1958) demonstrated when it finally began to appear in Amazing Stories, two years after the start of that magazine, in the same issue as Philip Nowlan's "Armageddon – 2419 A.D." (August 1928 Amazing), the story which introduced Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. It was not until he began to unveil the architectural structure of his second and definitive Series that Smith was able to demonstrate the thoroughness of his thinking about Space Opera. And it is with the Lensman series – or The History of Civilization, the over-title for the 1953-1955 limited-edition boxed reprint of the original books – that his name is most strongly and justly associated. The Lensman series inspired one of the earliest of sf WarGames, Lensman (1969). Two Japanese Anime adaptations, the film Lensman and the Television series Galactic Patrol Lensman (1984-1985), unfortunately poisoned Hollywood interest in Western versions of the saga. Smith was widely read by scientists and engineers from the 1930s into the 1970s. He was posthumously inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004. He died at the age of 75 in Seaside, Oregon. Famous Birthdays 31st August 1821 – Hermann von Helmholtz - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_von_Helmholtz A German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields. The largest German association of research institutions, the Helmholtz Association, is named after him. In physiology and psychology, he is known for his mathematics of the eye, theories of vision, ideas on the visual perception of space, color vision research, and on the sensation of tone, perception of sound, and empiricism in the physiology of perception. In physics, he is known for his theories on the conservation of energy, work in electrodynamics, chemical thermodynamics, and on a mechanical foundation of thermodynamics. As a philosopher, he is known for his philosophy of science, ideas on the relation between the laws of perception and the laws of nature, the science of aesthetics, and ideas on the civilizing power of science. His first important scientific achievement, an 1847 treatise on the conservation of energy, was written in the context of his medical studies and philosophical background. His work on energy conservation came about while studying muscle metabolism. He tried to demonstrate that no energy is lost in muscle movement, motivated by the implication that there were no vital forces necessary to move a muscle. This was a rejection of the speculative tradition of Naturphilosophie which was at that time a dominant philosophical paradigm in German physiology. In fluid dynamics, Helmholtz made several contributions, including Helmholtz's theorems for vortex dynamics in inviscid fluids. Helmholtz was a pioneer in the scientific study of human vision and audition. Inspired by psychophysics, he was interested in the relationships between measurable physical stimuli and their correspondent human perceptions. For example, the amplitude of a sound wave can be varied, causing the sound to appear louder or softer, but a linear step in sound pressure amplitude does not result in a linear step in perceived loudness. The physical sound needs to be increased exponentially in order for equal steps to seem linear, a fact that is used in current electronic devices to control volume. Helmholtz paved the way in experimental studies on the relationship between the physical energy (physics) and its appreciation (psychology), with the goal in mind to develop "psychophysical laws." Helmholtz studied the phenomena of electrical oscillations from 1869 to 1871, and in a lecture delivered to the Naturhistorisch-medizinischen Vereins zu Heidelberg (Natural History and Medical Association of Heidelberg) on 30 April 1869, titled On Electrical Oscillations he indicated that the perceptible damped electrical oscillations in a coil joined up with a Leyden jar were about 1/50th of a second in duration. He became interested in electromagnetism, and the Helmholtz equation is named for him. Although he did not make major contributions to this field, his student Heinrich Rudolf Hertz became famous as the first to demonstrate electromagnetic radiation. He was born in Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation.Events of Interest31st August 1422 – King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France. His son, Henry VI becomes King of England at the age of nine months. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI_of_England#Child_king He succeeded to the throne as King of England at the age of nine months on 1 September 1422, the day after his father's death; he remains the youngest person ever to succeed to the English throne. On 21 October 1422, in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes of 1420, he became titular King of France upon his grandfather Charles VI's death. His mother, the 20-year-old Catherine of Valois, was viewed with considerable suspicion by English nobles as Charles VI's daughter. She was prevented from playing a full role in her son's upbringing. In reaction to the coronation of Charles VII of France in Reims Cathedral on 17 July 1429, Henry was soon crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on 6 November 1429, aged 7, followed by his own coronation as King of France at Notre Dame de Paris on 16 December 1431, aged 10. He was the only English king to be crowned king in both England and France. It was shortly after his crowning ceremony at Merton Priory on All Saints' Day, 1 November 1437, shortly before his 16th birthday, that he obtained some measure of independent authority. This was confirmed on 13 November 1437, but his growing willingness to involve himself in administration had already become apparent in 1434, when the place named on writs temporarily changed from Westminster (where the Privy Council met) to Cirencester (where the King resided). He finally assumed full royal powers when he came of age at the end of the year 1437, when he turned sixteen years old. Henry's assumption of full royal powers occurred during the Great Bullion Famine and the beginning of the Great Slump in England. 31st August 1956 – The Forbidden Planet landed in Ireland - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/ On this day in 1956 (in Ireland), Forbidden Planet arrived in Earth's theaters. Here's the plot summary: "When Adams and his crew are sent to investigate the silence from a planet inhabited by scientists, he finds all but two have died. Dr. Morbius and his daughter Altaira have somehow survived a hideous monster which roams the planet. Unknown to Adams, Morbius has made a discovery, and has no intention of sharing it (or his daughter!) with anyone."First mainstream film to have the music performed entirely by electronic instruments.The famous poster for the film shows a menacing robot carrying a struggling pretty girl - a staple of "monster movie" posters from the 1950's. In fact, no such scene occurs in the film itself and the robot portrayed in the poster is of course actually the very likeable Robby the Robot.Robert Kinoshita, who is credited with building Robby the Robot, was also Art Director for the TV series Lost in Space (1965). Many of the "Lost in Space" robot's features are similar to Robby's: glass "head" with animated elements; rotating antenna "ears" (although the "Lost" robot's ears rarely moved after the pilot episode); flashing light "mouth"; chest panel with more animated elements. For that matter, much of the layout of "Forbidden Planet"'s spaceship is mirrored by "Lost"'s Jupiter 2: saucer shape; integral landing gear/entry stairs; lower external dome with animated lights; central, plexi-domed navigation station; vertical hibernacula arranged along perimeter. In addition, Robby and the "Lost" robot had a couple of "family reunions" in two "Lost in Space" episodes: Lost in Space: War of the Robots (1966) and Lost in Space: Condemned of Space (1967).Robby the Robot was originally operated by stuntman/actor Frankie Darro. He was fired during filming after almost falling over while in the expensive prop, following a five-martini lunch.With the death of James Drury (Crewman Strong) on April 6, 2020, Earl Holliman (Cookie) is the last surviving member of the cast.According to Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon loved to disrupt takes by reciting dirty limericks in the middle of his dialogue.IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us on Facebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The audio quality can be a little wonky this week. We've identified the issue and resolved it. Sorry about that.We've heard for years that gamers are violent. But what if gamers were more peaceful in game than the people around them in real life? A really interesting new study has identified that gamers behave differently in EVE Online depending on the type of community they live in.The Nirvana Nevermind baby isn't happy about his nudes being plastered all over record stores and the internet. Now he's suing. We're not legal beagles, but we've got opinions.Roblox is bad. It isn't the simple gameplay, the child targeted community, or the memes. Actually, it's bad because it's one of the worst deals for game devs out there. Roblox seem intent to make it hard to make money from developing on their platform. That's a really nice way to treat the people who made your game popular. People are also trying to recreate mass killings in a game for children. It's a mess.The Link Between Videogames And Violence Is Not What You Think- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240196#sec012Smells Like A Lawsuit- https://deadline.com/2021/08/baby-nirvana-nevermind-album-cover-sues-band-exploitation-1234821540/Roblox Drama- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-20-roblox-business-model-criticized-as-exploiting-children- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-06-03-parent-watchdog-group-warning-about-robloxOther topics discussedMilk crate challenge has doctors warning it's ‘worse than falling from a ladder'- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/25/milk-crate-challenge-tiktok-doctors-warningsWhat is the Milk Crate Challenge, how did it explode out of nowhere and why are people doing it?- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-25/what-is-milk-crate-challenge-viral-videos-doctors/100404942Ice Bucket Challenge (sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease and in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease) and encourage donations to research.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Bucket_ChallengeJack Thompson (activist) (American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. He is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games. During his time as an attorney, Thompson focused his legal efforts against what he perceives as obscenity in modern culture. This included rap music, broadcasts by shock jock Howard Stern, and the content of video games and their alleged effects on children.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(activist)Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence (a parody and satire hoax organization created by sophomore Parsons The New School for Design student David Yoo as a final project in December 2002.)- https://gyaanipedia.fandom.com/wiki/Mothers_Against_Videogame_Addiction_and_ViolenceEve Online ((stylised EVE Online) is a space-based, persistent world massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by CCP Games. Players of Eve Online can participate in a number of in-game professions and activities, including mining, piracy, manufacturing, trading, exploration, and combat (both player versus environment and player versus player). The game contains a total of 7,800 star systems that can be visited by players.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_OnlineEve Online's ‘million dollar' battle came up a little short last night- https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/24/16927594/eve-online-million-dollar-battle-resultsFIFA (video game series) ((also known as FIFA Soccer, FIFA Football or EA Sports FIFA) is a series of association football video games developed and released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localised into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the FIFA series has sold over 325 million copies as of 2021. It is also one of the best-selling video game franchises.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_(video_game_series)Australian Classification Board : Adult (18+) ratings for video games (Many games were banned before 2011 on the basis that the R18+ rating did not apply to video games at the time. This was the subject of complaint in the gaming community, who argued that there is no reason why adults should be prevented from seeing content in games that they could see in a film.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Classification_Board#Adult_(18+)_ratings_for_video_gamesVideo game addiction (also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time. The World Health Organization included gaming disorder in the 11th revision of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addictionSurgeon Simulator : Surgeon Simulator is an over-the-top operation sim, stitching together pitch-black humour with life-saving surgery.- https://store.steampowered.com/app/233720/Surgeon_Simulator/Corrupted Blood incident ((or World of Warcraft pandemic) was a virtual pandemic in the MMORPG World of Warcraft, which began on September 13, 2005, and lasted for one month. The epidemic began with the introduction of the new raid Zul'Gurub and its end boss Hakkar the Soulflayer. When confronted and attacked, Hakkar would cast a hit point-draining and highly contagious debuff spell called "Corrupted Blood" on players.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood_incidentCorrupted Blood Incident : Comparison to the COVID-19 pandemic (The Corrupted Blood incident has been compared to the COVID-19 pandemic, and epidemiologists who studied the Corrupted Blood outbreak are using the research from the incident to better understand coronavirus's spread - primarily its sociological factors.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood_incident#Comparison_to_the_COVID-19_pandemicCall Of Duty (a first-person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold War, futuristic worlds, and outer space. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then also by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_DutyUS man sues Nirvana for using his naked photo on iconic 'Nevermind' album : Spencer Eldon recreating the photo he took when he was a four-month-old baby in 1991.- https://www.malaymail.com/news/showbiz/2021/08/25/us-man-sues-nirvana-for-using-his-naked-photo-on-iconic-nevermind-album/2000325Viva Frei - Nirvana's "Nevermind" Baby Lawsuit is BOUND TO FAIL! Lawyer Explains - Viva Frei Vlawg- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXY_nlfZ_dI&t=257sGamer Chad - Roblox / Ultimate Slide Box Racing / Into the Toilet! / Gamer Chad Plays- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqLTCT0vc4Columbine High School massacre : Doom connection and the Harris levels (Eric Harris was an enthusiast of the Doom series, owning some of the Doom novels and having designed Doom levels under the nicknames "REB", "Rebldomakr", and "RebDoomer". In a videotape recorded before the massacre, Harris expressed enthusiasm for the planned shooting, saying it would be like Doom. He also pointed out that the shotgun was "Straight out of Doom".)- https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacreSuper Columbine Massacre RPG! (a role-playing video game created by Danny Ledonne and released in April 2005. The game recreates the 1999 Columbine High School shootings near Littleton, Colorado. Players assume the roles of gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and act out the massacre, with flashbacks relating parts of Harris and Klebold's past experiences. The game begins on the day of the shootings and follows Harris and Klebold after their suicides to fictional adventures in perdition.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Columbine_Massacre_RPG!Robux ((R$) is the currency on Roblox. Robux was introduced on May 14, 2007 (alongside Tix) as a replacement of ROBLOX Points. Robux was one of two currencies on the platform alongside Tix, which was removed on April 14, 2016. Robux is known as Roblox's primary currency by the community and staff; all paid items within the avatar shop are sold for Robux, including user-created content such as microtransactions and game passes. The name 'Robux' is a portmanteau of Roblox and bucks.)- https://roblox.fandom.com/wiki/RobuxAttack on Pearl Harbor (a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States (a neutral country at the time) against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00, on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' formal entry into World War II the next day. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, and as Operation Z during its planning.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_HarborSix Days in Fallujah (an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Highwire Games and published by Victura. Described by Highwire Games as a tactical shooter, it is slated to be the first video game to focus directly on the Iraq War. The game's plot follows a squad of U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines (3/1), fighting in the Second Battle of Fallujah over the span of six days in November 2004.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Days_in_FallujahBattle of Hastings (fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_HastingsHistory (American TV network) ((formerly The History Channel from 1995 to 2008; stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainment Content division of the Walt Disney Company.The network was originally focused on history-based documentaries. During the late 2000s, History drifted into reality television programming. In addition to this change in format, the network has been criticized by many scientists, historians, and skeptics for broadcasting pseudo-documentaries and unsubstantiated, sensational investigative programming.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_(American_TV_network)The Curse of Oak Island : What Is the Oak Island Money Pit?- https://www.history.com/shows/the-curse-of-oak-island/articles/what-is-the-money-pitForged in Fire (TV series) (American competition series that airs on the History channel and is produced by Outpost Entertainment, a Leftfield Entertainment company.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forged_in_Fire_(TV_series)The Secret Playboy Mansion Games Room With Hidden Bedrooms, Mirrored Walls, Gambling & Arcades ?‍♀️- https://www.celebritywotnot.com/celebrity-homes/the-playboy-mansion-games-room-secret-cabin-hidden-bedrooms-mirrored-walls-gambling-arcades/Red Hat (an American IBM subsidiary software company that provides open source software products to enterprises. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat- https://www.redhat.com/enHistory of union busting in the United States (The history of union busting in the United States dates back to the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century which produced a rapid expansion in factories and manufacturing capabilities. As workers moved away from farm work to factories, mines and other hard labor, they faced harsh working conditions such as long hours, low pay and health risks.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_the_United_StatesAmazon is using union-busting Pinkerton spies to track warehouse workers and labour movements at the company, according to a new report- https://www.businessinsider.com.au/amazon-pinkerton-spies-worker-labor-unions-2020-11?r=US&IR=TActivision Blizzard ‘suppressed' evidence in sex discrimination lawsuit, California claims- https://www.polygon.com/22641099/activision-blizzard-dfeh-gender-discrimination-lawsuit-amendmentThe Fly (1986 film) (a 1986 science-fiction psychological body horror film directed and co-written by David Cronenberg. Produced by Brooksfilms and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. Loosely based on George Langelaan's 1957 short story of the same name and the 1958 film of the same name, The Fly tells of an eccentric scientist who, after one of his experiments goes wrong, slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1986_film)The Fly II (a 1989 American science fiction horror film directed by Chris Walas. The film stars Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga, and is a sequel to the 1986 film The Fly, itself a remake of the 1958 film of the same name.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_IIThe Fly (1958 film) (a 1958 American horror science-fiction film produced and directed by Kurt Neumann and starring David Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, and Herbert Marshall. The film was released in CinemaScope with color by Deluxe by 20th Century Fox. It was followed by two black-and-white sequels, Return of the Fly (1959) and Curse of the Fly (1965). The original film was remade in 1986 by director David Cronenberg.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fly_(1958_film)Arrival (film) (a 2016 American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted by Eric Heisserer, who conceived the movie as a spec script based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. It stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker. The film follows a linguist enlisted by the United States Army to discover how to communicate with extraterrestrial aliens who have arrived on Earth, before tensions lead to war.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film)Verge Science - We decoded NASA's messages to aliens by hand (In 1977, twin golden records were sent into space on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Still sailing through space at nearly 60,000 km per hour, the records contain sound, songs, and images from earth.)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRuovINxpPcWTF is Happening! The Podcast (TNC Podcast)- https://anchor.fm/wtfihpodShout Outs 21st August 2021 – Nick Davatzes, Cable Pioneer Who Launched A&E Network and History Channel, passes away at 79 - https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/nick-davatzes-dead-79-ceo-ae-networks-1235046271/ Nickolas Davatzes, longtime CEO of A+E Networks who steered the launch of A&E Network and History Channel has passed away. Davatzes joined the company as CEO in 1983 just as A&E Networks was formed through the merger of fledgling cable channels Entertainment Network, owned by RCA and the Rockefeller family, and ARTS Network, owned by Hearst and ABC. A+E Networks today is a 50-50 joint venture of the Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Corp. Davatzes served as CEO emeritus. Davatzes led the company's launch of the signature A&E Network (an amalgam of Arts and Entertainment) in 1984 and History Channel in 1995 (History formally dropped “Channel” from its moniker in 2008). He served as CEO of the parent company through 2005, when he was succeeded by protege Abbe Raven, who started at the company as a secretary. Davatzes was known for promoting educational outreach and the importance of industry R&D during his run at A&E Networks. The company later expanded to include the Lifetime cable channel as well as more recent entries like lifestyle channel FYI and Lifetime Movie Network. Disney executive chairman Bob Iger hailed him as a “towering figure in the early days of cable television (who helped) build some of the most iconic brands in the media landscape.” Iger added that he was “a person of true integrity.” He died in Wilton, Connecticut.24th August 2021 – Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts passes away at 80 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-25/rolling-stones-drummer-charlie-watts-dies-at-age-80/100404658Charlie Watts, the drummer who provided the backbone of the Rolling Stones' songs for more than half a century, has died. Watts "passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family," his publicist Bernard Doherty said. "Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones, as one of the greatest drummers of his generation." The quiet, elegantly dressed Watts was often ranked with Keith Moon, Ginger Baker and a handful of others as a premier rock drummer, respected worldwide for his muscular, swinging style as the band rose from its scruffy beginnings to international superstardom. He joined the Stones early in 1963 and remained over the next 60 years, ranked just behind Jagger and Keith Richards as the group's longest lasting and most essential members. Watts stayed on, and largely held himself apart, through the drug abuse, creative clashes and ego wars that helped kill founding member Brian Jones, drove bassist Bill Wyman and Jones' replacement Mick Taylor to quit and otherwise made being in the Stones the most exhausting of jobs. The Stones began, Watts said, "as white blokes from England playing black American music" but quickly evolved their own distinctive sound. Watts was a jazz drummer in his early years and never lost his affinity for the music he first loved, heading his own jazz band and taking on numerous other side projects. He had his eccentricities — Watts liked to collect cars even though he didn't drive and would simply sit in them in his garage. But he was a steadying influence on stage and off as the Stones defied all expectations by rocking well into their 70s, decades longer than their old rivals The Beatles. He died in London with his family around him.25th August 2021 – Linux turns 30 - https://www.zdnet.com/article/linus-torvalds-on-linuxs-30th-birthday/ In 1991, Unix was an important but secondary x86 operating system. That year, on August 25, a mild-mannered Finnish graduate student named Linus Benedict Torvalds announced on the Usenet group comp.os.minix that he was working on "a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." No one knew it, not even Torvalds, but the technology was going to change forever. Thirty years later, Linux rules IT. Almost all major websites -- including Google, Facebook, and Wikipedia -- run on Linux. It's the same with the clouds. Even on Microsoft's own Azure, the most popular operating system is Linux. As for supercomputers, all 500 of the world's fastest 500 supercomputers run Linux. Thanks to Android, Linux is also the most popular end-user operating system. Not bad for a hobby operating system! In those very first days, Linux wasn't formally known as Linux. Torvalds explained, "Linux was my working name, but I never wanted to release it as Linux. Linux was a perfectly good working name, but if I actually used it as the official one, people would think that I am an egomaniac and wouldn't take it seriously. So I chose this very bad name, "Freax," for "Free Unix." Fortunately, the first Linux administrator Ari Lemmk, decided Freax was a silly name too. Hence, he actually named it Linux because he thought this internal project name was Torvalds first choice.Remembrances25th August 1822 – William Herschel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_HerschelGerman-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Lucretia Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover, William Herschel followed his father into the military band of Hanover, before emigrating to Great Britain in 1757 at the age of nineteen. Herschel constructed his first large telescope in 1774, after which he spent nine years carrying out sky surveys to investigate double stars. Herschel published catalogues of nebulae in 1802 (2,500 objects) and in 1820 (5,000 objects). The resolving power of the Herschel telescopes revealed that many objects called nebulae in the Messier catalogue were actually clusters of stars. On 13 March 1781 while making observations he made note of a new object in the constellation of Gemini. This would, after several weeks of verification and consultation with other astronomers, be confirmed to be a new planet, eventually given the name of Uranus. This was the first planet to be discovered since antiquity, and Herschel became famous overnight. As a result of this discovery, George III appointed him Court Astronomer. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and grants were provided for the construction of new telescopes. Herschel pioneered the use of astronomical spectrophotometry, using prisms and temperature measuring equipment to measure the wavelength distribution of stellar spectra. In the course of these investigations, Herschel discovered infrared radiation. Other work included an improved determination of the rotation period of Mars, the discovery that the Martian polar caps vary seasonally, the discovery of Titania and Oberon (moons of Uranus) and Enceladus and Mimas (moons of Saturn). Herschel was made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order in 1816. He was the first President of the Royal Astronomical Society when it was founded in 1820. He died at the age of 83 at Observatory House, Windsor Road, Slough Herschel's epitaph is Coelorum perrupit claustra (He broke through the barriers of the heavens).Famous Birthdays25th August 1819 – Allan Pinkerton - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_PinkertonScottish–American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Pinkerton first became interested in criminal detective work while wandering through the wooded groves around Dundee, looking for trees to make barrel staves, when he came across a band of counterfeiters, who may have been affiliated with the notorious Banditti of the Prairie. After observing their movements for some time he informed the local sheriff, who arrested them. This later led to Pinkerton being appointed, in 1849, as the first police detective in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. In 1850, he partnered with Chicago attorney Edward Rucker in forming the North-Western Police Agency, which later became Pinkerton & Co, and finally Pinkerton National Detective Agency, still in existence today as Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations, a subsidiary of Securitas AB. Pinkerton's business insignia was a wide open eye with the caption "We never sleep." As the US expanded in territory, rail transport increased. Pinkerton's agency solved a series of train robberies during the 1850s, first bringing Pinkerton into contact with George McClellan, then Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Illinois Central Railroad, and Abraham Lincoln, the company's lawyer. When the Civil War began, Pinkerton served as head of the Union Intelligence Service during the first two years, heading off an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland while guarding Abraham Lincoln on his way to Washington, D.C. as well as identifying troop numbers in military campaigns. His agents often worked undercover as Confederate soldiers and sympathizers to gather military intelligence. Pinkerton himself served on several undercover missions as a Confederate soldier using the alias Major E.J. Allen. He worked across the Deep South in the summer of 1861, focusing on fortifications and Confederate plans. This counterintelligence work done by Pinkerton and his agents is comparable to the work done by today's U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agents in which Pinkerton's agency is considered an early predecessor. He was succeeded as Intelligence Service chief by Lafayette Baker; the Intelligence Service was the predecessor of the U.S. Secret Service. His work led to the establishment of the Federal secret service. Despite his agency's later reputation for anti-labor activities, Pinkerton himself was heavily involved in pro-labor politics as a young man. Though Pinkerton considered himself pro-labor, he opposed strikes and distrusted labor unions. He was born in Gorbals, Glasgow.Events of Interest25th August 1957- The Invisible Man Vs. The Human Fly premiered in Japan - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204691/ A star is born! On this day in 1957 (in Japan), The Invisible Man Vs. The Human Fly took to the silver screen for a monster of a pairing! Directed by Mitsuo Murayama, the SciFi/Fantasy starred Ryûji Shinagawa and Yoshirô Kitahara; and here's the plot summary: "A ruthless serial killer with a peculiar method of stalking and killing his victims comes face to face with a police officer turned invisible by a scientific experiment. Who will emerge triumphant?" In the late 1950s, in the United States this film was announced, and stills were published, under the English language title "The Murdering Mite." This film shares part of its Japanese title with the Japanese release of the much better-known 1958 U.S. science fiction film The Fly, which was released in Japan as Fear of the Fly Man (ハエ男の恐怖 Hae Otoko no Kyōfu), though with the 'Fly' in "Fly Man" spelled in katakana rather than kanji characters. While both films feature "fly men," The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly actually predates the latter film by almost an entire year.25th August 1989 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the last planet in the Solar System at the time, due to Pluto being within Neptune's orbit from 1979 to 1999 - https://www.wired.com/2010/08/0825voyager2-neptune/ Voyager 2 makes its closest encounter with Neptune, passing just 3,000 miles above the cloud tops of the most distant planet in our solar system. The Voyager 2 space probe has been our most productive unmanned space voyage. It visited all four of the outer planets and their systems of moons and rings, including the first visits to previously unexplored Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 2 found four rings and evidence for ring arcs, or incomplete rings, above Neptune. That means all four of the gas giants in our solar system have rings. Neptune's, however, are very meager compared to the magnificent rings around Saturn. In the late 19th century, astronomers thought that an unseen Planet X was influencing the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. The observed positions of the two planets and their calculated positions differed. Among those astronomers convinced of the existence of Planet X was Clyde Tombaugh. In 1930 while scanning areas of the sky for Planet X, he found Pluto. When Voyager 2 flew by Neptune, it took very precise measurements of Neptune's mass and found it to be about 0.5 percent less massive than previous estimates. When the orbits of Uranus and Neptune were recalculated using the more accurate mass figure, it became clear that the imprecise number for Neptune -- and not the gravity of an unseen planet -- had caused the observed orbital discrepancies. After its encounter with Neptune, the spacecraft was rechristened the Voyager Interstellar Mission by NASA to take measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field, plasma and charged-particle environment. But mostly it's searching for the heliopause, the distance at which the solar wind becomes subsumed by the more general interstellar wind.IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The UN has asked game developers to be more green. It would make a nice change from every brown military shooter of the early 2010s. Oh, wait. They want us to use less energy. The UKIE has written a Green paper on methods for developers to reduce their carbon footprint.SMS is an awful, insecure method for 2FA, but we still use it because anything better is too hard. Maybe this latest string of hacks will help us move on.Movies are still going straight to streaming even as vaccination rates increase. This used to be a sign of a bad movie. Now we'll have to rely on Rotten Tomatoes, or, god forbid, talk to people about movies.Game Development for Green Thumbs- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-17-games-london-to-discuss-the-environment-at-best-places-to-work-awards-uk- https://whitepapers.gamesindustry.biz/greenPhone hacking taken to a new level- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-17/hackers-using-mirroring-apps-to-see-your-texts/100381366Streaming Services Vs Cinemas : Who will win- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sonys-hotel-transylvania-amazon-1234998312/Other topics discussedOnlyFans, a social media platform known for porn, is banning 'sexually explicit' content- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-20/onlyfans-banning-seuxally-explicit-content/100395154NSW breaks COVID-19 case records with 825 infections, three deaths- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-21/nsw-records-825-covid-cases-three-deaths/100396208Explicit content banned from OnlyFans but 'the show has to go on', say sex workers- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-21/only-fans-explicit-content-changes/100394776Jimmy Rees - Meanwhile in Australia- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU0uDN_Bi_UoLnUkbeHFlZ9imdbI_AQDNHow Much Electricity Does My Game Console Use?- https://www.redenergy.com.au/living-energy/appliances/how-much-electricity-does-my-game-console-useHow Much Electricity (Power) Does a PS5 Use?- https://www.thehomehacksdiy.com/how-much-electricity-power-does-a-ps5-use/Want to fight climate change? Have fewer children- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/12/want-to-fight-climate-change-have-fewer-childrenWhat is Embodied Carbon?- https://www.carboncure.com/concrete-corner/what-is-embodied-carbon/Halo: Combat Evolved (also known as Halo: CE, is a first-person shooter game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released as a launch game for Microsoft's Xbox video game console on November 15, 2001. Halo is set in the twenty-sixth century, with the player assuming the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier. The Chief is accompanied by Cortana, an artificial intelligence. Players battle aliens as they attempt to uncover the secrets of the eponymous Halo, a ring-shaped artificial world.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_Combat_EvolvedIron Sky, smartphone powered computer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziVpqh9UXmIIron Sky, cell phone and computer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv3fcwx2TUYIron Sky (a 2012 Finnish-German-Australian comic-science-fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola and written by Johanna Sinisalo and Michael Kalesniko. It tells the story of a group of Nazi Germans who, having been defeated in 1945, fled to the Moon, where they built a space fleet to return in 2018 and conquer Earth.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_SkySkyrim 10th Anniversary Edition Announced for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S- https://www.ign.com/articles/skyrim-10th-anniversary-remaster-ps5-xbox-series-xPlaying For The Planet (The Playing For The Planet Alliance was launched during the Climate Summit at UN Headquarters in New York. In total, the members of the Alliance have the ability to reach more than 1 billion video game players.)- https://playing4theplanet.org/Playing For The Planet Members & Commitments (The Playing for the Planet Alliance is a group of gaming-companies who have made voluntary, ambitious, specific, and time-based commitments for people and planet.)- https://playing4theplanet.org/members/Playing For The Planet Green Game Jam (Over 25 studios from around the world – with a collective player base of over one billion – have collaborated and committed to implementing green activations in and out-of-game such as new modes, maps, themed events, storylines and messaging. Guiding the studios is a theme centred around conserving and restoring forests and oceans.)- https://playing4theplanet.org/greengamejam/Ubisoft (a French video game company headquartered in the Montreuil suburb of Paris, with several development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include For Honor, Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, Far Cry, Rayman, Rabbids, Watch Dogs, Just Dance, and the Tom Clancy's series.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbisoftGreen leap forward: China boosts renewable energy capacity- https://www.upstreamonline.com/energy-transition/green-leap-forward-china-boosts-renewable-energy-capacity/2-1-1047867The 20 most popular passwords stolen in Adobe hack- https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-20-most-popular-passwords-stolen-in-adobe-hack-20131106-2x03o.htmlA crossword based on the Adobe password leak.- https://zed0.co.uk/crossword/';--have i been pwned? (This site came about after what was, at the time, the largest ever single breach of customer accounts — Adobe. I often did post-breach analysis of user credentials and kept finding the same accounts exposed over and over again, often with the same passwords which then put the victims at further risk of their other accounts being compromised.)- https://haveibeenpwned.com/SIM-Jackers Can Empty Your Bank Account with a Single Phone Call- https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kx4ej/sim-jacking-mobile-phone-fraudYubikey (a hardware authentication device manufactured by Yubico to protect access to computers, networks, and online services that supports one-time passwords, public-key cryptography, and authentication, and the Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) and FIDO2 protocols developed by the FIDO Alliance. It allows users to securely log into their accounts by emitting one-time passwords or using a FIDO-based public/private key pair generated by the device.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YubiKeyRSA SecurID (formerly referred to as SecurID, is a mechanism developed by RSA for performing two-factor authentication for a user to a network resource. The RSA SecurID authentication mechanism consists of a "token" — either hardware (e.g. a key fob) or software (a soft token) — which is assigned to a computer user and which creates an authentication code at fixed intervals (usually 60 seconds) using a built-in clock and the card's factory-encoded almost random key (known as the "seed").)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_SecurIDDirect-to-video (refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than a theatrical release or television broadcast. Direct-to-video release has also become profitable for independent filmmakers and smaller companies. Some direct-to-video genre films (with a high-profile star) can generate well in excess of $50 million revenue worldwide.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-to-videoPiracy : Its a Crime TV Ad- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZm8vNHBSUThe IT Crowd - Series 2 - Episode 3: Piracy warning- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzgScarlett Johansson sues Disney over streaming of Black Widow- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58017445Freelancer (a space trading and combat simulation video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a chronological sequel to Digital Anvil's Starlancer, a combat flight simulator released in 2000.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freelancer_(video_game)Starflight™ 1+2 on sale at GoG- https://www.gog.com/game/starflight_1_2J. Robert Oppenheimer: "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb13ynu3IacPart of the Einstein exhibition. - The Manhattan Project- https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/peace-and-war/the-manhattan-projectWB Kids - Looney Tunes | Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½th Century | Classic Cartoon| WB Kids- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukTuKnIZCUUCast Party : A Dungeons & Dragons Podcast- https://thatsnotcanon.com/cast-party-a-dungeons-dragons-podcastShout Outs 15th August 2021 – 35th anniversary of Starflight - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarflightStarflight is a space exploration, combat, and trading role-playing video game created by Binary Systems and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. Originally developed for IBM PC compatibles, it was later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, and Commodore 64. Set in the year 4620, the game puts players in the role of a starship captain sent to explore the galaxy. There is no set path, allowing players to switch freely between mining, ship-to-ship combat, and alien diplomacy. The broader plot of the game emerges slowly, as the player discovers that an ancient race of beings is causing stars to flare and destroy all living creatures. The team coded the game mostly in Forth with a few key routines written in x86 assembler. Forth was chosen since it is easier to use than assembler and more compact. This was important because the game had to fit into 128K of RAM. It took "fifteen man-years" and three actual years to develop the game. The group designed what they called a "fractal generator", which took six man-years to develop and allowed them to increase the number of planets in the game from 50 to 800. The game was one of the earliest to use procedurally generated content for planets and everything on them. The techniques used created a type of roguelike environment on each planet, with the contents randomly distributed. The story network was also one of the earliest examples of a sandbox game design. They created a separate ecosystem generator over the course of two man-years of work. The alien names were created by randomly combining syllables until they had names they liked, and their code for simulating communications was rewritten four times before completion. The game has been widely praised by both contemporary and modern critics. The game has been widely praised by both contemporary and modern critics. It led to the development of a sequel, Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula, and influenced the design of numerous other games for decades after its release17th August 2021 – Panda gives birth in Singapore - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-17/giant-panda-gives-birth-in-rare-event-for-endangered-species/100385386 A Chinese giant panda at a Singapore wildlife park has given birth to a cub — the first born in the South-East Asian country and a rare event for an endangered species. Pandas Kai Kai, 13, and Jia Jia, 12, entered their seventh breeding season in April this year with the aid of artificial insemination, after arriving in Singapore in 2012 on a decade-long loan from China. Weighing about 200 grams, the cub was born on Saturday but the sex has yet to be determined, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) told Reuters, adding mother and cub were doing well. WRS said female giant pandas can display hormonal and behavioural signs of pregnancy even when not pregnant, but the organisation detected signs last month that a cub was on the way and Jia Jia's pregnancy was confirmed on August 10. China has been sending its black and white ambassadors abroad in a sign of goodwill since the 1950s as part of what is known as "panda diplomacy".17th August 2021 – Creator and 'godfather' of Sudoku passes away at 69 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-17/sudoku-creator-dies/100385554 Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life's work was spreading the joy of puzzles passed away. Known as the "Godfather of Sudoku," Mr Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn't want to think too hard. Its name is made up of the Japanese characters for "number" and "single," and players place the numbers one through nine in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them. Originally, Sudoku was called "Suji-wa-Dokushin-ni-Kagiru," which translates to, "Numbers should be single, a bachelor." It wasn't until 2004 that Sudoku became a global hit, after a fan from New Zealand pitched it and got it published in the British newspaper The Times. In recent years, Sudoku, believed to be the world's most popular pencil puzzle, has come out in digital versions. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer.18th August 2021 – 15th anniversary of Snakes On a Plane - https://gizmodo.com/snakes-on-a-plane-15-years-of-expletive-snakes-and-exp-1847474744Snakes on a Plane was released on August 18, 2006, which means it's celebrating its 15th anniversary this week. However, the film's legacy begins a little before that; in July 2006, Snakes on a Plane took its hilarious title and premise into San Diego Comic-Con and blew the roof off the place. There, fans and bloggers alike were wowed by the gory, fun footage. The event created huge buzz all over the internet and, as a result, people who got their film news online expected it to be an instant cult hit. Then it opened. While it did hit number one on its opening weekend, it barely grossed $14 million on its way to $34 million domestic (and $62 million international), which was way under expectations. The story is credited to David Dalessandro, a University of Pittsburgh administrator and first-time Hollywood writer. He developed the concept in 1992 after reading a nature magazine article about Indonesian brown tree snakes climbing onto planes in cargo during World War II. He originally wrote the screenplay about the brown tree snake loose on a plane, titling the film Venom. He soon revised it, expanding upon the premise to include a plague of assorted venomous snakes, then—crediting the film Aliens—revised it once again to include "lots of them loose in the fuselage of a plane." More than 450 snakes were used for filming to represent 30 different species of snakes. The different species include a 19-foot (5.8 m) Burmese python named Kitty (which the crew called Kong for film purposes), scarlet kingsnake (the non-venomous double for the eastern coral snake), milk snake, corn snakes, rattlesnakes, and mangrove snakes. The scarlet kingsnake and Pueblan milk snake stood in for coral snakes, while another species of milk snake and Florida kingsnake filled the role of the venomous Australian taipan (which attacks the couple having sex and the man using a restroom respectively). About two-thirds of the snakes seen throughout the film were either animatronic or CGI. The snakes that were real were mostly the non-venomous ones that are never seen attacking anyone. The scenes where someone is clearly bitten were often done with a mix of animatronic and animation. According to the DVD, all the snakes had production names, but only Scarface (an animated pit viper), Peanut (a cobra), and Kong are mentioned by name in the audio commentary. During filming, Samuel Jackson did not come into contact with any live snakes, due to a contract clause preventing snakes from being within 8 m (25 ft) of the actor. When the film was released in theaters, "pranksters" released two live western diamondback rattlesnakes at the AMC Desert Ridge 18 theater in Phoenix, Arizona during a showing of the film on August 22, 2006. One snake made its way into the lobby of the theater on its own, the other was found in the parking lot. No one was harmed and the snakes were released back into the desert.Remembrances17th August 2012 – Victor Poor - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_PoorAn American engineer and computer pioneer. At Computer Terminal Corporation (later renamed Datapoint Corporation), he co-created the architecture that was ultimately implemented in the first successful computer microprocessor, the Intel 8008. Subsequently, Computer Terminal Corporation created the first personal computer, the Datapoint 2200 programmable terminal. Poor continued his research and development, trying to develop a method for sending photographs and pictures wirelessly. In 1969 while working his notice period from Frederick Electronics, during the Thanksgiving holiday, Poor and fellow amateur radio colleague Harry Pyle produced the underlying architecture of the modern microprocessor on a living room floor. They then asked fellow radio amateur Jonathan Schmidt to write the accompanying communications software. Pitching the idea to both Texas Instruments and Intel, the partnership developed the Intel 8008, the forerunner of the microprocessor chips found in today's personal and computing devices. In late 1969, Poor joined start-up computer company Computer Terminal Corporation as Technical Director in San Antonio, Texas. Founded by two former NASA engineers, Phil Ray and Gus Roche, they asked him to approach Intel to see how much of his design could fit onto a computer chip. Pitching a $100,000 proposal to place the architecture onto silicon and into production, the project became the Intel 8008 master chip, the world's first 8-bit microprocessor. Poor and Pyle then developed the instruction set architecture which enabled Ray and Roche to design and develop the mass-produced programmable Datapoint 2200 computer terminal. As a result of the success of this product, the company changed its name to Datapoint. Datapoint remained one generation ahead of Intel until the Intel 80286. Overseeing the development of ARCNET by lead ARCNET architect John Murphy, an early local area network, Poor stayed with Datapoint until 1984, after they had lost their technical microchip lead to IBM and been bought out by corporate raiders. Poor died at the age of 79 in Palm Bay, Florida.Famous Birthdays17th August 1896 – Leslie Groves - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_GrovesLieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves Jr. a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project, a top secret research project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II. In September 1942, Groves took charge of the Manhattan Project. He was involved in most aspects of the atomic bomb's development: he participated in the selection of sites for research and production at Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington. He directed the enormous construction effort, made critical decisions on the various methods of isotope separation, acquired raw materials, directed the collection of military intelligence on the German nuclear energy project and helped select the cities in Japan that were chosen as targets. Groves wrapped the Manhattan Project in security but failed to prevent the Soviet Union from conducting a successful espionage program that stole some of its most important secrets. After the war, Groves remained in charge of the Manhattan Project until responsibility for nuclear weapons production was handed over to the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1947. He then headed the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, which had been created to control the military aspects of nuclear weapons. He was given a dressing down by the Army Chief of Staff, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, and told that he would never be appointed Chief of Engineers. The Manhattan Engineer District (MED) was formally established by the Chief of Engineers, Major General Eugene Reybold on 16 August 1942. The name was chosen by Groves and MED's district engineer, Colonel James C. Marshall. Like other engineer districts, it was named after the city where its headquarters was located, at 270 Broadway. Unlike the others, however, it had no geographic boundaries, only a mission: to develop an atomic bomb. He was born in Albany, New York.Events of Interest17th August 1978 – Double Eagle II becomes first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it lands in Miserey, France near Paris, 137 hours after leaving Presque Isle, Maine. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Eagle_II Double Eagle II, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman, became the first balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours 6 minutes after leaving Presque Isle, Maine.It can be regarded as a successful crossing at the point that the Double Eagle II crossed the Irish coast, on the evening of 16 August, an event that Shannon Airport notified the crew about when it happened. Newman originally intended to hang glide from the balloon to a landing, while Anderson and Abruzzo continued to fly, but the hang-glider had to be dropped as ballast earlier on 16 August. While flying over France, they heard by radio that authorities had closed Le Bourget Airfield, where Charles Lindbergh had landed, for them. The crew declined the offer as they were running out of ballast and it would be too risky (to themselves and anyone below) to pass over the suburbs of Paris. They landed in a field of barley, owned by Roger and Rachel Coquerel, in Miserey, 60 mi (97 km) northwest of Paris. Television images showed a highway nearby, its shoulders and outer lanes crowded with stopped cars, people sweeping across the farm field to the landing spot. The gondola was protected, but most of the logs and charts were stolen by souvenir hunters. The flight, the fourteenth known attempt, was the culmination of more than a century of previous attempts to cross the Atlantic Ocean by balloon. Some of the people who had attempted it were never found. Larry Newman won a draw among the three to sleep in the same bed at the United States Embassy that Lindbergh slept in. British balloonists Don Cameron and Christopher Davey feted the trio at a party that included a balloon shaped like the Double Eagle II. The trio and their wives planned to return to the United States aboard the supersonic Concorde. Upon the successful crossing, the trip was accommodated by Air France at no charge to the trio and spouses.17th August 1939- Buck Rogers premiered in Portugal - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032290/ On this day in 1939 (in Portugal), Buck Rogers took a trip into the future after waking up from a long sleep. Here's the plot summary: "A 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane." In the original comic strip, Buck Rogers is actually a former World War One pilot who was working as a mine surveyor at the time he came to fall into his long (500 years long) sleep. For some reason, the regulations would not allow the screenwriters to use the comic strip's continuity, so the serial is actually a completely original story with the comic strip characters added. The character of Killer Kane was changed, too: in the original strip, his real name was Oba Kane, he had a twin brother named Nova and a pistol called "Baby". He also had a girlfriend named Ardala Valmar. The regulations would not allow any of this background to be used, either: instead, Oba "Killer" Kane is presented as the despotic ruler of a future Earth. This serial is probably based on an unofficial Flash Gordon story in which Flash Gordon travels to Saturn; this story was not and has never been part of the original Flash Gordon universe (it was illegally published in 1936). After the serial came out, a second origin appeared in the comic strip in which Buck fell into a crater while looking for a meteor made from impervium, an indestructible metal used in the making of spaceships. Due to having hit the meteor when he fell in, Buck released the gas from inside and it put him to sleep for 500 years, only to be found by scientists and awakened. Again, this origin took place on Earth and not in space. There was a character in the strip who was in stasis in a satellite for 500 years, but his name was Dr. Laika; the story was inspired by the launch of Sputnik II. This is the origin story used in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). Henry Brandon hoped to play chief villain Killer Kane but was cast as Kane's henchman Captain Laska instead. When Brandon complained to his agent about this he was told, "The lead heavy works for one day, the henchman works for three weeks. Which part did you say you wanted again?" The film takes place in 1938 and 2440. IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've got a very important issue to talk about this week. Apple wants to look at your private pictures. They've made such a big deal about privacy for years, so what's changed and why can't we trust them anymore? What have you done Tim Apple?The Australian government really hasn't liked supporting the games industry, despite years of lobbying and studies into how great the industry is for the economy. Someone's finally got through to them and we'll be getting changes to tax and visas to help encourage AAA development.Jason Mamoa thinks superheroes are like Greek mythology. Turns out the only reason he's joining the Scorsese comic genre battle is to remind everyone he wants to talk about climate change in his movies. Anyway, we all know his best role will be Duncan Idaho in Dune. It better not get delayed againApple's controversial new child protection features- https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/10/22613225/apple-csam-scanning-messages-child-safety-features-privacy-controversy-explained- https://www.ask-solutions.org/blog/2021/08-11-01?fbclid=IwAR1M731S3OrleR84O6134H-ZWXb5EtBoTY9tyXlIs0TiUXBVFwgHpP8Qmvc- https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-apples-child-protection-features-spark-concern-within-its-own-ranks-2021-08-12/Australian Games Industry gets a Government Injection- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-08-10-how-australia-is-creating-a-sustainable-video-game-development-ecosystem?Jason Mamoa's take on superhero movies- https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/08/09/aquaman-star-jason-momoa-defends-superhero-movies-as-an-art-form-in-response-martin-scorseses-genre-criticisms/Other topics discussedWorst Cooks in America (an American reality television series that premiered on January 3, 2010, on Food Network. The show takes 12 to 16 contestants (referred to as "recruits") with very poor cooking skills through a culinary boot camp, to earn a cash prize of $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worst_Cooks_in_AmericaFBI–Apple encryption dispute (The FBI–Apple encryption dispute concerns whether and to what extent courts in the United States can compel manufacturers to assist in unlocking cell phones whose data are cryptographically protected. There is much debate over public access to strong encryption. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wanted Apple to create and electronically sign new software that would enable the FBI to unlock a work-issued iPhone 5C it recovered from one of the shooters who, in a December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, killed 14 people and injured 22.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93Apple_encryption_disputeHow Does the YouTube Algorithm Work in 2021? The Complete Guide- https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-algorithm-works/Perceptual hashing (the use of an algorithm that produces a snippet or fingerprint of various forms of multimedia. A perceptual hash is a type of locality-sensitive hash, which is analogous if features of the multimedia are similar.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptual_hashingreCAPTCHA (a CAPTCHA system that enables web hosts to distinguish between human and automated access to websites. The original version asked users to decipher hard to read text or match images. Version 2 also asked users to decipher text or match images if the analysis of cookies and canvas rendering suggested the page was being downloaded automatically. reCAPTCHA is owned by Google.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReCAPTCHAThe Shadow Brokers (a hacker group who first appeared in the summer of 2016. They published several leaks containing hacking tools, including several zero-day exploits, from the "Equation Group" who are widely suspected to be a branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadow_BrokersElectronic Frontier Foundation (The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet civil liberties.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation- https://www.eff.org/WarGames (a 1983 American Cold War science fiction techno-thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film, which stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Ally Sheedy, follows David Lightman (Broderick), a young hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGamesHackers (a 1995 American crime film directed by Iain Softley and starring Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Jesse Bradford, Matthew Lillard, Laurence Mason, Renoly Santiago, Lorraine Bracco, and Fisher Stevens. The film follows a group of high school hackers and their involvement in a corporate extortion conspiracy.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_(film)Shodan (Shodan is the world's first search engine for Internet-connected devices. Discover how Internet intelligence can help you make better decisions.)- https://www.shodan.io/PhotoDNA (PhotoDNA creates a unique digital signature (known as a “hash”) of an image which is then compared against signatures (hashes) of other photos to find copies of the same image. When matched with a database containing hashes of previously identified illegal images, PhotoDNA is an incredible tool to help detect, disrupt and report the distribution of child exploitation material. PhotoDNA is not facial recognition software and cannot be used to identify a person or object in an image. A PhotoDNA hash is not reversible, and therefore cannot be used to recreate an image.)- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/photodnaThe Trauma Floor The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America- https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizonaMortal Kombat 11 Developer Was Diagnosed with PTSD Due to Graphic Violence- https://segmentnext.com/mortal-kombat-11-developer-ptsd/Facebook will pay $52 million in settlement with moderators who developed PTSD on the job- https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/12/21255870/facebook-content-moderator-settlement-scola-ptsd-mental-healthArtificial neural network (usually simply called neural networks (NNs), are computing systems inspired by the biological neural networks that constitute animal brains. An ANN is based on a collection of connected units or nodes called artificial neurons, which loosely model the neurons in a biological brain.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_neural_networkBob's Burgers – The Snake Song- https://genius.com/Bobs-burgers-the-snake-song-lyrics- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tvhw7jnYi0Financial crisis of 2007–2008 (also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a severe worldwide economic crisis. Prior to the COVID-19 recession in 2020, it was considered by many economists to have been the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008Halfbrick Studios (Australian video game developer based in Brisbane. The company primarily worked on licensed games until 2008. The company released Fruit Ninja (2010) and Jetpack Joyride (2011).)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfbrick_StudiosUntitled Goose Game (a 2019 puzzle stealth game developed by House House and published by Panic. Players control a goose who bothers the inhabitants of an English village. The player must use the goose's abilities to manipulate objects and non-player characters to complete objectives. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untitled_Goose_GameFruit Ninja (a video game developed by Halfbrick. It was released April 21, 2010 for iPod Touch and iPhone devices, July 12, 2010 for the iPad, September 17, 2010 for Android OS devices.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_NinjaFiverr (Israeli online marketplace for freelance services. The company provides a platform for freelancers to offer services to customers worldwide.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FiverrActivision Blizzard Lawsuit Alleges Horrific Mistreatment Of Women- https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2021/07/22/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-alleges-horrific-mistreatment-of-women/?sh=56144afb166cYongYea - Scummy Amazon Policy That Steals Employees' Personal Game Projects Dropped After Backlash From Devs- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQtKfutVFTIMotion Picture Production Code (a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Will H. Hays, who was the president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) from 1922 to 1945.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Production_CodeBreaking Bad (an American neo-Western crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show aired on AMC from January 20, 2008, to September 29, 2013, consisting of five seasons for a total of 62 episodes.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad‘Simpsons' Episode Featuring Michael Jackson Kept Off Disney+- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/simpsons-episode-featuring-michael-jackson-kept-disney-1254609/2012 (a 2009 American science fiction disaster film directed and written by Roland Emmerich. It was produced by Harald Kloser, Mark Gordon, and Larry J. Franco, and written by Kloser and Emmerich. The film stars John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oliver Platt, Thandiwe Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_(film)Geostorm (a 2017 American science fiction disaster film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Dean Devlin (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris, and Andy García. It follows a satellite designer who tries to save the world from a storm of epic proportions caused by malfunctioning climate-controlling satellites.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeostormVolcano (a 1997 American disaster film directed by Mick Jackson, and produced by Andrew Z. Davis, Neal H. Moritz and Lauren Shuler Donner. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Jerome Armstrong and Billy Ray, and is inspired by the 1943 formation of the Parícutin volcano in Paricutin, Mexico.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano_(1997_film)Thanos (a genocidal warlord from Titan, whose own main objective was to bring stability to the universe by wiping out half of all life at every level, as he believed its massive population would inevitably use up the universe's entire supply of resources and condemn this. To complete this goal, Thanos set about hunting down all the Infinity Stones, being confident that the combined power of the Stones would achieve his goal.)- https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/ThanosNo Man's Sky Gameplay Trailer | E3 2014 | PS4- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtmEjqzg7MAngryJoeShow - No Man's Sky Angry Review- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTTPlqK8AnY&t=1897sInternet Historian - The Engoodening of No Man's Sky- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5BJVO3PDeQ&t=59sAgent Orange (a herbicide and defoliant chemical, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It is widely known for its use by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand,during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It is a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. In addition to its damaging environmental effects, traces of dioxin (mainly TCDD, the most toxic of its type) found in the mixture have caused major health problems for many individuals who were exposed, and their offspring. )- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_OrangeThe Tramp (also known as The Little Tramp, was British actor, Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character and an icon in world cinema during the era of silent film. The Tramp is also the title of a silent film starring Chaplin, which Chaplin wrote and directed in 1915.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_TrampApple – Think Different Commercial- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAB83Z1ydEAnti-Monopoly (a board game made by San Francisco State University Professor Ralph Anspach in response to Monopoly. The idea of an anti-monopoly board game dates to 1903 and the original Monopoly created by Lizzie Magie.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-MonopolyAnti-Monopoly, Inc. vs. General Mills Fun Group, Inc. court case 1976–1985 (Starting in 1974, Parker Brothers and its then corporate parent, General Mills, attempted to suppress publication of a game called Anti-Monopoly, designed by San Francisco State University economics professor Ralph Anspach and first published the previous year.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Monopoly#Anti-Monopoly.2C_Inc._vs._General_Mills_Fun_Group.2C_Inc._court_case_1976.E2.80.931985The Rageaholic - Begun, The Comic Film Crash Has - A Rant- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlk3-NtOFkkTerror Australis Podcast (TNC podcast)- https://anchor.fm/terror-australis-podcastShout Outs 9th August 2021 – 5th Anniversary of No Man's Sky - https://www.nomanssky.com/2021/08/no-mans-sky-5th-anniversary/No Man's Sky is easily one of the most infamous titles in video game history, thanks to its extremely rocky launch and poor state at release. The game lacked many of its core promised features when it launched, resulting in heavy fan backlash. Within two years of its rollout, the tide started turning in No Man's Sky's favor, thanks in large part to updates that transformed the experience. NEXT counted as the first of such changes, ushering in multiplayer gameplay options that Hello Games teased in the lead up to launch. This particular update also overhauled the graphics and introduced refined base-building mechanics. Hello Games' efforts didn't stop there either; as such, the redemption arc for No Man's Sky has been rather impressive to watch unfold. With the game now celebrating its fifth year anniversary, Hello Games has put out a short video looking back at all of the updates we've seen so far, along with a tease of what's coming next.9th August 2021 – 25th anniversary of Escape from L.A. - https://movieweb.com/escape-from-la-25th-anniversary/Stylized on-screen as John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. A 1996 American post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-scored, and directed by John Carpenter, co-written and produced by Debra Hill and Kurt Russell, with Russell also starring as Snake Plissken. A sequel to Escape from New York, Escape from L.A. co-stars Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Bruce Campbell, and Pam Grier. The film gained a strong cult following. The film was in development for over 10 years. At one point, a script was commissioned in 1987 and was written by screenwriter Coleman Luck, with Dino De Laurentiis's company producing. Carpenter later described the script as "too light, too campy". In time, Carpenter and Kurt Russell got together to write with their long-time collaborator Debra Hill. Carpenter insists that Russell's persistence allowed the film to be made, since "Snake Plissken was a character he loved and wanted to play again." At the beginning of the film, Kurt Russell wears his costume from the original film, which still fits after fifteen years. The film takes place in 2013.10th August 2021 – 60th Anniversary of Operation Ranch Hand, spraying an estimated 20 million US gallons (76,000 m3) of defoliants and herbicides over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the Viet Cong of food and vegetation cover - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ranch_HandOperation Ranch Hand was a U.S. military operation during the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971. Largely inspired by the British use of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D (Agent Orange) during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, it was part of the overall herbicidal warfare program during the war called "Operation Trail Dust". Ranch Hand involved spraying an estimated 20 million U.S. gallons (76,000 m3) of defoliants and herbicides over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the Viet Cong of food and vegetation cover. Areas of Laos and Cambodia were also sprayed to a lesser extent. Nearly 20,000 sorties were flown between 1961 and 1971. The herbicides were sprayed by the U.S. Air Force flying C-123s using the call sign "Hades". The planes were fitted with specially developed spray tanks with a capacity of 1,000 U.S. gallons (4 m3) of herbicides. A plane sprayed a swath of land that was 80 meters wide and 16 kilometers (10 mi) long in about 4½ minutes, at a rate of about 3 U.S. gallons per acre (3 m3/km2). Sorties usually consisted of three to five aircraft flying side by side. 95% of the herbicides and defoliants used in the war were sprayed by the U.S. Air Force as part of Operation Ranch Hand. The remaining 5% were sprayed by the U.S. Chemical Corps, other military branches, and the Republic of Vietnam using hand sprayers, spray trucks, helicopters and boats, primarily around U.S. military installations. The use of herbicides in the Vietnam War was controversial from the beginning, particularly for crop destruction. The scientific community began to protest the use of herbicides in Vietnam as early as 1964, when the Federation of American Scientists objected to the use of defoliants. In 1967, seventeen Nobel laureates and 5,000 other scientists signed a petition asking for the immediate end to the use of herbicides in Vietnam. According to the Vietnamese government, the US program exposed approximately 4.8 million Vietnamese people to Agent Orange, resulted in 400,000 deaths due to a range of cancers and other ailments. The Vietnamese population has suffered a range of ailments with three million Vietnamese people suffering health problems, one million birth defects caused directly by exposure to Agent Orange, and 24% of the area of Vietnam being defoliated.12th August 2021 – 40th birthday of the IBM 5150 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer#DebutOn August 12, 1981, Don Esteridge, who was unknown at the time, announced the release of the new personal computer created by his company. The head of development at IBM Entry Level Systems presented the 5150, or IBM PC, a concept that would revolutionize the computer industry forever. The machine was based on open architecture and a substantial market of third-party peripherals, expansion cards and software grew up rapidly to support it. The PC had a substantial influence on the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world, and the only significant competition it faced from a non-compatible platform throughout the 1980s was from the Apple Macintosh product line. The majority of modern personal computers are distant descendants of the IBM PC.Pricing started at $1,565 for a configuration with 16K RAM, Color Graphics Adapter, and no disk drives. The price was designed to compete with comparable machines in the market. For comparison, the Datamaster, announced two weeks earlier as IBM's least expensive computer, cost $10,000. IBM's marketing campaign licensed the likeness of Charlie Chaplin's character "The Little Tramp" for a series of advertisements based on Chaplin's movies, played by Billy Scudder. The PC was IBM's first attempt to sell a computer through retail channels rather than directly to customers. Reception was overwhelmingly positive, with sales estimates from analysts suggesting billions of dollars in sales over the next few years, and the IBM PC immediately became the talk of the entire computing industry. Dealers were overwhelmed with orders, including customers offering pre-payment for machines with no guaranteed delivery date. By the time the machine was shipping, the term "PC" was becoming a household name.Remembrances10th August 2010 - David L. Wolper - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L._WolperAmerican television and film producer, responsible for shows such as Roots, The Thorn Birds, North and South, L.A. Confidential, and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985 for his work producing the opening and closing ceremonies of the XXIIIrd Olympiad, Los Angeles 1984 as well as helping to bring the games to L.A. His 1971 film (as executive producer) about the study of insects, The Hellstrom Chronicle, won an Academy Award. On March 13, 1974, one of his crews filming a National Geographic history of Australopithecus at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was killed when their Sierra Pacific Airlines Corvair 440 slammed into the White Mountains shortly after takeoff from Eastern Sierra Regional Airport in Bishop, California, killing all 35 on board, including 31 Wolper crew members. The filmed segment was recovered in the wreckage and was broadcast in the television series Primal Man. The cause of the crash remains unsolved. In 1988, Wolper was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. For his work on television, he had received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died from congestive heart disease and complications of Parkinson's disease at the age of 82 in Beverly Hills, California.Famous Birthdays10th August 1889 – Charles Darrow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_DarrowAmerican who modified the design of Lizzie Magie's original invention The Landlord's Game. He became the first millionaire game designer in history, and although Magie patented her invention she received only $500. Parker Brothers falsely credited Darrow as the original inventor. While Darrow eventually sold his version of Monopoly to Parker Brothers, claiming it to be his own invention, modern historians credit Darrow as just one of the game's final developers. Monopoly is a board game which focuses on the acquisition of fictional real estate titles, with the incorporation of elements of chance. After losing his job at a sales company following the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Darrow worked at various odd jobs. Seeing his neighbors and acquaintances play a board game in which the object was to buy and sell property, he decided to publish his own version of the game, with the help of his first son, William, and his wife Esther. Darrow marketed his version of the game under the name Monopoly. In truth, Darrow was just one of many people in the American Midwest and East Coast who had been playing a game of buying and trading property. The game's direct ancestor was The Landlord's Game, created by Elizabeth Magie. The Darrow family initially made their game sets on flexible, round pieces of oilcloth instead of rigid, square carton. Charles drew the designs of the properties with drafting pens, and his son and wife filled in the spaces with colors and made the title deed cards and Chance and Community Chest cards. In 1970, three years after Darrow's death, Atlantic City placed a commemorative plaque in his honor on The Boardwalk, near the corner of Park Place. In 1973 Ralph Anspach, an economics professor at San Francisco State University, produced Anti-Monopoly, a game similar to Monopoly, and for this was sued by Parker Brothers. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Events of Interest10th August 1960 – Dinosaurus! was released - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053768/ On this day in 1960, it was 'Jurassic Park' all over again with the release of Dinosaurus! The feature starred Ward Ramsey and Kristina Hanson, and here's the plot summary: "After undersea explosions near a Caribbean island, prehistoric creatures are unleashed on the unsuspecting population. Freed from his watery tomb, as well, is a very friendly Neanderthal man who proceeds to befriend a local orphan boy. The boy, Neanderthal and irritated dinosaur make for an interesting dramatic climax." The leading role was intended for Steve McQueen, who starred in The Blob two years earlier, also produced by Harris and directed by Yeaworth. McQueen passed on the film to make The Magnificent Seven instead. The dinosaurs were filmed using the technique of stop-motion animation as well as puppets for close-ups. The film promulgates the naïve idea that herbivorous animals (such as the brontosaurus) are not dangerous (a similar claim was made in Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park', 1993). The cape buffalo is one of the most aggressive and dangerous animals in Africa (and only weighs about 5% of what a brontosaurus is estimated to have weighed). Marcel Delgado was given less than half the time originally agreed upon to create the dinosaur models used in the film. The studio initially agreed to give him five to six weeks, as he requested, but two weeks later he was told that they would begin production on Tuesday. When Betty is captured by the neanderthal and taken to his cave, she's wearing a white dress and a pearl necklace. Combined with her red hair, she bears a striking resemblance to Wilma Flintstone, one of the stars of the TV cartoon series "The Flintstones" (1960), which would debut on American television one month after this movies US release (coincidentally, Betty is the name of Wilma's best friend).10th August 1990 – The Magellan space probe reaches Venus. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellan_(spacecraft)#Orbital_encounter_of_Venus On August 10, 1990, the American Magellan probe, named after the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, arrived at its orbit around the planet and started a mission of detailed radar mapping at a frequency of 2.38 GHz. It began the orbital insertion maneuver which placed the spacecraft into a three-hour, nine minute, elliptical orbit that brought the spacecraft 295-kilometers from the surface at about 10 degrees North during the periapsis and out to 7762-kilometers during apoapsis. During each orbit, the space probe captured radar data while the spacecraft was closest to the surface, and then transmit it back to Earth as it moved away from Venus. This maneuver required extensive use of the reaction wheels to rotate the spacecraft as it imaged the surface for 37-minutes and as it pointed toward Earth for two hours. The primary mission intended for the spacecraft to return images of at least 70 percent of the surface during one Venusian day, which lasts 243 Earth days as the planet slowly spins. To avoid overly-redundant data at the highest and lowest latitudes, the Magellan probe alternated between a Northern-swath, a region designated as 90 degrees north latitude to 54 degrees south latitude, and a Southern-swath, designated as 76 degrees north latitude to 68 degrees south latitude. However, due to periapsis being 10 degrees north of the equatorial line, imaging the South Pole region was unlikely. The resulting maps were comparable to visible-light photographs of other planets, and are still the most detailed in existence. Magellan greatly improved scientific understanding of the geology of Venus: the probe found no signs of plate tectonics, but the scarcity of impact craters suggested the surface was relatively young, and there were lava channels thousands of kilometers long.IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Steam Deck is not coming to Australia yet. WHY, GABEN, WHY? WHY HATH YOU FORSAKEN US? Professor was pretty annoyed that the Index had never released here, but realised researching for this episode that it's finally here. So at least that means maybe the Deck will get here eventually. It has very exciting hardware and has Professor gushing over Valve's push to save us from Microsoft and let us game on Linux.Amazon's Lord of the Rings series has a release date. Hopefully Jeff Bezos won't make us regret letting him come back from space. The series covers events of the second age. We still have a lot to learn, but so far all the pieces look great.There's a bit of a stereotype of autistic kids liking Minecraft. Turns out it can be used to help children learn social skills. Obviously it can't entirely replace real world experience, but the next generation of helping autistic children learn social skills at a more relaxed pace is exciting to seeSteam Deck- https://www.techradar.com/au/news/steam-deckAmazon's Lord Of The Rings- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/lord-of-the-rings-amazon-series-premiere-date-1235032768/Minecraft helping kids with autism- https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030713-100-how-is-helping-children-with-autism-make-new-friends/?fbclid=IwAR16Oec1CQchRkqxJd2Lk9U21Bvj9SbPzL0mIjW6xTZHPErXQGXaXZwkaQMOther topics discussedLinus Tech Tips - I tried Steam Deck early and it's AWESOME!- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SElZABp5M3UValve Index Finally Comes To Australia In August- https://uploadvr.com/valve-index-australia/How To Preorder A Steam Deck In Australia- https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/07/steam-deck-australia-how-to-preorder/Steam Deck (an upcoming handheld gaming computer developed by Valve Corporation. It is expected to be released in December of 2021.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_DeckPlayStation Portable (a handheld gameconsole developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the first handheld installment in the PlayStation line of consoles. As a

We're back, tell your friends. Let us know what you think of our new format.California isn't actually banning gaming PCs, despite what you might have heard. Yet again clickbait channels are using lies to drive clicks, which isn't really a surprise. But California IS requiring minimum power consumption for devices in idle state. So get back to gaming and have fun.Dogs are better than children at knowing when someone is lying. Is this an evolutionary response to owners with laser pointers and hidden treats?A live action Pokemon series is being produced by Netflix and Joe Henderson. We don't know much about it yet, but hopefully it's more Detective Pikachu and less live action Ghost in the Shell.California vs Gaming PCs- https://www.pcworld.com/article/3627491/why-california-isnt-banning-gaming-pcs-yet.html- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxs5YxY2xXILiar, Liar, Dogs on Fire- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2284611-dogs-will-ignore-you-if-they-know-you-are-lying-unlike-young-children/A Live Action Pokemon series in the works- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/pokemon-netflix-series-live-action-joe-henderson-1235026390/Other topics discussedThe Olympic opening ceremony was full of video game music- https://www.polygon.com/22590146/olympics-2020-games-athletes-parade-of-nations-video-game-music-dragon-quest-kingdom-heartsManga featured in opening ceremony for Tokyo Olympics- https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/manga-featured-in-opening-ceremony-for-tokyo-olympics/2021/07/23/0c893c08-ebac-11eb-a2ba-3be31d349258_story.htmlDune Official Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g18jFHCLXkScarlett Johansson sues Disney over Black Widow streaming release- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-30/scarlett-johansson-sues-disney-black-widow-streaming/100335880Emma Stone Reportedly Considering Suing Disney Over Cruella Release- https://screenrant.com/cruella-movie-emma-stone-disney-lawsuit-rumors-updates/JayzTwoCents - Will California Ban Gaming Monitors? Explaining the New Monitor Law-

Despite the universe conspiring to prevent us releasing this week, we've finally got this episode done. Things will be a bit hectic for a few weeks while we sort out moving, but we'll be back to our usual schedule soon.The Powerpuff Girls, created from sugar, spice and everything nice, were nearly rebooted into a weird dark alternative universe where the Powerpuff girls gain some additional bitterness and relationship issues. It's pretty bad, and the leaked script has gotten the entire concept dumped for a rewrite.The Xbox Series (Dumb name) has joined the PS4 as another example of restrictive DRM that will inevitably lead to more ewaste and cultural loss. Yep. Professor's mad again. Console developers lock games to their specific hardware then make sure that you can only play it as long as they'll let you.Invasive crazy ants are killing all the famous Christmas Island crabs. Scientists are fighting back with micro wasps. Kinda the opposite of what we all thought science would do in 50s B movies.This week DJ watched the new DOTA anime (apparently it's really good) and Professor watched Edge of Tomorrow (also really good).Live Action Powerpuff Girls...a Colossal Diaster- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/powerpuff-girls-pilot-reworked-the-100-prequel-1234981201/DRM vs Xbox Series- https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/xbox-one-series-x-drm-problem/Crazy Ants vs Red Crabs - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-25/scientists-work-to-curb-crazy-ants-on-christmas-island/100161132Nerdful thingsDJ- Dota: Dragon's Blood - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota:_Dragon%27s_BloodRating: :4/5 Professor- Edge of Tomorrow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_of_TomorroRating: 4/5Other topics discussedDiablo Cody (American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper (2005). Cody received critical acclaim for her screenwriting debut film, Juno (2007), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Disco Elysium is the latest victim of Australia’s Classification Board, those evil boomers who want to stop you having fun. Ok, I’m only exaggerating a little. It took us this long to get R18 games, why do they keep getting banned? Why does the ACB treat games differently to movies? There’s a long history of video game censorship in Australia, and we spent way longer than planned talking about it.Some ants live significantly longer than others, being waited on hand and foot by the workers. But they aren’t the queen, they’re just workers infected with tapeworms. This is the most interesting example of parasitism I think I’ve ever seen, and I’m really hoping we work out how to do it to people soon.DJ couldn’t pick just one thing to talk about in pop culture, so we got the merger of Warner Media and Discovery, and Japan’s pick for the next live action Hollywood anime movie. They’ve got some very interesting views on the reason Hollywood should adapt their pick, and it might even be an anime you’ve never heard of.Disco Elysium Unbanned- https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/05/disco-elysium-has-been-unbanned-in-australia-gets-r18-rating/The Curious Case of the Immortal Ants - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-never-aging-ants-with-a-terrible-secret/ar-BB1gSGNuPop Culture Wrap Around- Future of DC comics - https://bleedingcool.com/comics/what-does-warnermedia-discovery-merger-wmd-mean-for-dc-comics/- Japan says no to live action anime movies by Hollywood - https://soranews24.com/2021/05/15/japanese-fans-make-landslide-pick-for-next-anime-they-want-a-hollywood-live-action-adaptation-of/Nerdful thingsDJ- Jupiter’s Legacy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter%27s_Legacy_(TV_series)Rating: 2.5/5Professor- Love Death & Robots Volume 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love,_Death_%26_Robots#Volume_II_(2021)Rating: 2.5/5Other topics discussedSnowpiercer (an American post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller television drama series that premiered on TNT on May 17, 2020. It is based on both the 2013 film of the same name, directed by Bong Joon-ho and the 1982 French graphic novel

ABC's Four Corners has done a report on predatory microtransactions. It's nice to see a layman's description to help explain to non gamers why this matters so much. We discuss a solution. Maybe. Let us know if you can see any issues.The Colonial Pipeline has been hacked, resulting in fuel shortages across the South Eastern United States. Is this the start of a new generation of cyber crime? Are people really dumb when it comes to shortages? Probably and yes. SECURE YOUR BACKUPS PEOPLE.The new He-Man reboot character art has been revealed. DJ thinks it's pretty good, but thinks Teela looks like Rhonda Rousey.This week Professor developed an unhealthy fear of light in Into the Night and DJ was disappointed by family drama in Jupiter's Legacy.4 Corners Report On Gaming- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-03/video-games-you-play-are-using-sneaky-tactics-four-corners/100098826?fbclid=IwAR2_YMW3BvLIGciY4ralT-upT8uUiHt4iPJqi1oSOc9lvd5nTp18cRo2KzwCyberhack 2021: Petroleum Wars - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-10/cyber-attack-fuel-pipeline-united-states-darkside-colonial-pipe/100127554The First Look At The New He-Man Series...Nah She’ll Be Right - https://ew.com/tv/masters-of-the-universe-revelation-photos-premiere-kevin-smith/Nerdful thingsDJ- Jupiters Legacy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter%27s_Legacy_(TV_series)Rating: 3.5/5Professor- Into The Night - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Night_(TV_series)Rating: 4.9/5Other topics discussedAT&T and Discovery to create new streaming giant- https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57139433AT&T Is Preparing to Merge Media Assets With Discovery- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-16/at-t-is-said-in-talks-to-combine-content-assets-with-discovery-kor6r2uj?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=business&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialNBA 2K20’s loot boxes aren’t gambling? You wouldn’t know from this trailer- https://www.polygon.com/2019/8/28/20837104/nba-2k20-myteam-loot-boxes-ball-drop-triple-threat-slot-machines-trailer-pc-xbox-one-ps4-switchAngryJoeShow - NBA2k20 is a Gambling Casino! - Angry... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Epic and Apple's case is going through the courts, and we're on the sidelines gobbling up any juicy news on the industry. Xbox hardware has never been profitable. Only 7 percent of Fortnite income is from iOS. And the Epic Games Store is a long way from being profitable. However the case turns out, we'll have a much better picture of the industry.AI is a fancy buzzword, but sometimes there's a project that uses it really well. In this case, an AI can diagnose prostate cancer long before the traditional testing would have revealed the condition. And since cancer is better treated sooner than later, it could have a huge impact on mortality.The team behind Radix think Marvel's Iron Man and Ant Man movie costumes are stolen from their comic. There's definitely some similar parts, but the courts will have to decide if Marvel really are another name for Dodgy Bros. Comics.This week DJ ran out of room in Final Space and Professor grappled with the ethics of killing to save lives in Stowaway.Epic Games Store vs Apple : The Court Case- https://twitter.com/thedextriarchy/status/1389980935479824384?s=20- https://twitter.com/simoncarless/status/1389297530341519362- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-04-epic-expects-epic-games-store-to-be-profitable-by-2024- https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/28/22407939/fortnite-biggest-platform-revenue-playstation-not-ios-iphone- https://twitter.com/IdleSloth84/status/1390779050260631555 Cancer Tracking A.I. - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-04/artificial-intelligence-changes-prostate-cancer-detection-/100112458Marvel Is Getting Sued Over Body Armour - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/comic-book-artists-sue-marvel-791224/Nerdful thingsDJ- Final Space S3 E8 - https://final-space.fandom.com/wiki/ForgivenessRating: 3.5/5 Professor- Stowaway – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stowaway_(2021_film)Rating: 3/5Other topics discussedElon Musk says he is ‘first person with Asperger’s’ to host Saturday Night Live- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/may/09/elon-musk-says-he-is-first-person-with-aspergers-to-host-saturday-night-liveDogecoin sinks as Elon Musk calls it ‘a hustle’ on SNL-

Another year, another Oscars ceremony. We're more interested in the Razzies though. This year's worst performances include politicians and the Oscars themselves.505 Games, the publisher behind Control are pulling some dodgy deals with providing the DLC for Control. It's not clear why they're doing this or what they plan to do, but it's a really big problem for people who got Control in Humble Choice.It's a teeny tiny black hole called The Unicorn, and I'm blaming it for my weight gain. It's only three times the mass of the sun which makes it adorably cute. It's also the smallest black hole ever discovered.This week DJ read part 2 of the Keanu Reeves self insert fan fic BRZRKR and Professor finally caught up on Season 5 of Black Mirror.Razzies and Oscars highlights and the disastrous aftermath - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-26/oscars-worst-moments-long-serious-dull-chadwick-boseman-snub/100095580- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-25/2020-razzies-awards-rudy-guiliani-sia-music-absolute-proof/100093720- https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/oscar-ratings-lowest-ever-1234960615/Drama at 505- https://www.reddit.com/r/games/comments/mxernz/_/The Unicorn Black Hole - https://www.space.com/tiny-black-hole-unicorn-closest-to-earthNerdful thingsDJ- BRZRKR #2 - https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comic/4288481/brzrkr-2Rating: 4.5/5 Professor - Black Mirror Season 5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mirror#Series_5Rating: 3/5Other topics discussedMike Lindell (also known as the My Pillow Guy, is an American businessman and the founder and CEO of My Pillow, Inc.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_LindellOne America News Network (also known as One America News (OAN), is a far-right, pro-Donald Trump cable channel founded by Robert Herring Sr. and owned by Herring Networks, Inc., that launched on July 4, 2013.- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_America_News_Network20 Incredibly... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We blame our recording bot for our late release. The bot has been taken out and shot.Ingenuity has finally lifted off and begun proving that heavier than air flight is possible on Mars. Also Perseverance is creating oxygen. Very soon, the Martian Colonies will be open for business!Sony don't want you being able to play games you've bought, or using the PlayStation you paid for once they say enough is enough. This is a Very Bad Thing and Professor is very upset. This flies in the face of everything we should be working towards as a society in terms of reducing our waste and preserving our culture.Marvel and DC are cracking down on former illustrators who have taken to selling original art based on characters they drew as NFT. Big Comics have decided that even though they could sell their art at conventions. So what's the difference? Why do Marvel and DC care?This week DJ read the mediocre RWBY/Justice League crossover and Professor Urbexed his way through crumbling powerplants in Infra.The Flight Of The Ingenuity - https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-04-19/nasa-ingenuity-helicopter-makes-historic-first-flight-on-mars/100056708Single Use Gaming- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QOVj9cZJr7OKHqGmp7RAM3nuHZIVYgJ3/viewOld Man Makes Millions Selling Comic Book NFTs - https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-04-14/nfts-intellectual-property-marvel-dc-comics-who-gets-to-make-millions%20%20 Nerdful thingsDJ- RWBY/Justice League - https://www.comixology.com/RWBY-Justice-League-2021-1/digital-comic/924702 Rating: 3.5/5 Professor- INFRA - https://store.steampowered.com/app/251110/INFRA/Rating: 3/5Other topics discussedFull Video of Mars Helicopter Ingenuity First Flight Showing Ascending & Landing in HD- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfHfQamhimE Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed 2nd flight to 5 meters altitude- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9HHH_H5KoU NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Successfully Completes First Flight- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia6S1jZmwWcSolar Flare (a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun, usually observed near its surface and in close proximity to a sunspot group.)-

Why does the Professor's sign off always cut out? Why does DJ always repeat himself? Why does Sony hate retro gamers? All these questions may never be answered. Sony plan to kill the digital storefront for older PlayStation consoles. Combined with C-Bomb, that means these consoles might become completely useless within six months. Gamers and Developers are very upset.Sci-Fi often predicts future tech. This time Professor is sure he's heard this one a lot, but can't remember where. Researchers have discovered plants that create a high concentration of metals in their sap. Agromining might just be a way to mine in more ecologically friendly ways, but it isn't without downsides.Now DC has given in to the hashtags, new hashtags have joined the battle. Now people want to #MaketheBatfleckMovie. Ben Affleck has been Batman for years now, but hasn't had his own solo movie. Meanwhile, the Star Wars character nobody wanted to see has had his own Solo movie ;). Now, how can we convince Warner Brothers to make a movie entirely based on popular hash tags?This week DJ checked out the rebooted Children of the Atom and Professor dug into the criminal underbelly in the CyberNoir Anon.The Great Sony Shutdown- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-03-26-sony-has-a-responsibility-to-preserve-its-gaming-history-opinion- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh8UhKMikA4- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNTOLRLUqWwAgromining : The Future of Mining - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-09/trees-that-bleed-metal-could-help-power-the-future/100051066#MaketheBatfleckMovie - https://comicbook.com/dc/news/batman-ben-affleck-makethebatfleckmovie/#1Nerdful thingsDJ- Children of the Atom - https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/78663/children_of_the_atom_2021_1Rating: 2/5 Professor- Anon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anon_(film)Rating: 4/5Other topics discussedBackwards Compatibility (a property of a system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially in telecommunications and computing.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backward_compatibilityDOSBox (a

Author and illustrator Rebecca Burgess has announced a new graphic novel about Autism, aimed at 8-12 year olds. She definitely seems to have a history of writing well rated books about neurodiversities, so this should be good for helping children learn about Autism.Operation Chicken Drumstick sounds like a name for a sneaky run to KFC, but it's actually a Chinese police sting against a major hacker group with millions of dollars in assets, including luxury cars. We're in the wrong line of work. But these ones got caught, and we aren't tough enough for jail, so maybe not.Kirigami is an ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper, and scientists have worked out how to use it to create nano scale parts for robots. The secret? Very small scissors.An Autistic themed Graphic Novel- https://bleedingcool.com/comics/speak-up-a-new-autistic-themed-graphic-novel-by-rebecca-burgess/Operation Chicken Drumstick- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-02/video-game-cheat-uncovered-china-chicken-drumstick-tencent/100043804- https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56579449Newest application of Kirigami : 3D Nanostructure- htps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210402095932.htm- https://news.psu.edu/story/652729/2021/03/30/research/kirigami-style-fabrication-may-enable-new-3d-nanostructures- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e9HTcG_L8Q&feature=youtu.beNerdful thingsDJ- Among Us - https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/Rating: 4/5 Professor- Ravenfield - https://store.steampowered.com/app/636480/Ravenfield/Rating: 3.75/5Other topics discussedPrince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, has died- https://news.sky.com/story/the-duke-of-edinburgh-prince-philip-has-died-12270325Prince Philip pranking The Queen by dressing as a Palace Guard.- https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/comments/mnh2sb/prince_philip_pranking_the_queen_by_dressing_as_a/Blue Bottle Mystery An Asperger Adventure by: Kathy Hoopmann- https://www.booktopia.com.au/blue-bottle-mystery-kathy-hoopmann/book/9781853029783.htmlThe Curious... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professor has survived his man flu, and celebrates by derailing the conversation onto the bloodier aspects of everyone's favourite chocolate themed weekend.The Demoscene is now listed as national heritage in both Finland and Germany, bringing it one step closer to becoming UNESCO listed. Demoscene projects are about squeezing the most impressive graphics out of very limited software and hardware. We'll put some of our favourites in the notes.Now prosthetic limbs can feel. You'd better not swear, or they might stop working right. By linking a user's brain to the limb, it can be controlled and relay touch sensations back to the human mind. I, for one welcome our cyborg overlords.Japan has decided that posting the dialogue text of a manga on spoiler sites counts as piracy. Let's hope the law doesn't overreach into arresting people for posting any spoiler, or DJ is going away for a long time.This week, DJ wrapped up the torment of watching Ex-Arm and Professor died in the vast blackness of space because he touched a live wire in Tin Can.Demoscene now UNESCO approved- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-04-16-finland-recognises-the-demoscene-as-part-of-its-cultural-heritage- http://demoscene-the-art-of-coding.net/2021/03/20/demoscene-accepted-as-unesco-cultural-heritage-in-germany/Prosthetic Hand Now Comes With Feelings In Every Box - https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190724144150.htm- https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/32/eaax2352- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xl6rFvuR08Time to Copyright Spoilers - https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-31/tokyo-court-posting-manga-dialogue-without-authorization-is-copyright-infringement/.171343Nerdful thingsDJ- Ex-Arm : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-Arm Rating: 1/5 Professor- Return of the Obra Dinn - https://store.steampowered.com/sub/184160- Tin Can - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1315980/Tin_Can/Rating: Return of the Obra Dinn: 5/5Tin Can: 4/5Other topics discussedThe Passion of the Christ (a 2004 American biblical drama film produced, co-written and directed by Mel Gibson and starring

This is the last time DJ is ever allowed to talk to me about the Snyder Cut.It's finally out. Are you happy now? It's in 4:3 because Superman is vertical when he stands up, which is true for basically all bipedal creatures. It probably wouldn't have happened without lots of people complaining on Twitter, so go watch it if you like superheroes who don't lie down.To get all the characters you want in an EA FIFA game you could spend tens of thousands of dollars, or you could just go to the black market and get an EA employee to sell you one for a few thousand dollars. Because nothing says your product is reasonably priced than a thriving black market where the street price is more than most people get paid in a week, for a virtual character you can only use for a year. Maybe you just really hate surprise mechanics.Cone Snails have learnt the art of catfishing. Using mating pheromones, they attract single worms, who expecting a romantic night out, become the main course. Nature is brutal.This week, DJ watched the Snyder Cut. Please, make him stop talking about it. PLEASE. Professor vanished in a bottomless cave in Spelunky.The Origin of Zack Snyder's Justice League - https://comicbook.com/dc/news/zack-snyder-justice-league-origin-revealed/ - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/14/movies/zack-snyders-rough-and-tumble-ride-with-justice-league.htmlEA Gate - https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-03-13-ea-suspends-all-discretionary-fifa-ultimate-team-content-granting-indefinitely-amid-ea-gate-scandalHunting Prey Using Cone Snail Venom - https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cone-snail-venom-sea-worms-pheromones- https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/11/eabf2704Nerdful thingsDJ- Zack Snyder’s Justice League - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zack_Snyder%27s_Justice_LeagueRating: 4.5/5 Professor- Spelunky - https://store.steampowered.com/app/239350/Spelunky/Rating: 3.5/5Other topics discussedZack Snyder's Justice League (often referred to as the "Snyder Cut" is the 2021 director's cut of the 2017 American superhero film Justice League. It presents Justice League—the fifth film of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and based on the... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, it's a bad week for Microsoft based businesses. Hackers have breached more than 30 000 businesses and it'll take a lot of fingers and toes to count up all the damage they've done. Luckily, we have a new Switch model to look forward to. The leak shows a model with an OLED screen. But will they finally fix the joycons?Ensign, Warp speed 10. We'll have to give him a few years for the drive to be finished, but a new model for an Alcubierre drive seems very promising. And once warp speed is possible, we can go anywhere. Maybe even far enough out to catch the traces of the original broadcast of the lost Doctor Who episodes. Yeah, that one's probably a stretch.Christopher Eccleston has finally chosen to return to Doctor Who, in a series of Big Finish audio dramas. The series shows all the signs of being a quality Big Finish production, including some great returning cast members.This week, DJ dove into some video game history with a documentary about Jack Thompson, and Professor booted up the retro OS themed Kingsway.The Future of the Nintendo Switch/Microsoft Hacked- https://www.whathifi.com/au/advice/nintendo-switch-pro-everything-we-know-so-far-about-the-oled-nintendo-switch-2- https://gamerant.com/nintendo-siwtch-pro-2022-hardware/- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-08/microsoft-outlook-hack-white-house-patching-not-enough-backdoor/13226262A Real Working Warp Drive - https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a35728928/scientists-say-physical-warp-drive-is-possible/New Dr Who Audio Drama Details - https://bleedingcool.com/tv/doctor-who-big-finish-shares-christopher-eccleston-return-details/Nerdful thingsDJ- Absolute Mad Lads - The Video Game Lawyer, Jack Thompson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rnyZThWlQ4Rating: 4/5 Professor- Kingsway - https://store.steampowered.com/app/588950/Kingsway/Rating: 3.5/5Other topics discussedThe Sun - Elon Musk's epic Cybertruck 'bulletproof' window smash fail- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMWwImDX3ksNintendo Switch (a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be

Now the robots are coming for the writers' jobs too. The first AI written play has been performed. And it gets dark and raunchy. BONK. Go to Hornybot jail. GPT is a really amazing piece of tech.Bethesda are being sued for advertising the season pass as containing ALL the Fallout DLC. Players are upset that it doesn't contain the Creation Club content. Does this look like a man who has had ALL the DLC? Frogwares are saying you shouldn't buy The Sinking City, because the publisher pirated the game. This is some wild publisher drama. Apple demanded sales data from Valve. Valve didn't want to give it over, but the judge says Apple can have a little sales data, as a snack. This is all in defence of Epic's lawsuit about monopolising the app store.CDPR still haven't unlocked their computers after the ransomware attack, so it'll be taking a bit longer for the big post launch Cyberpunk 2077 patch. Let's see if they can sort this out before 2077 actually happens.This week DJ read Keanu's self insert BRZKR and Professor whacked zombies that finally work in DayZ.Introducing William Shakesbot - https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/kinky-and-absurd-first-ai-written-play-isn-t-shakespeare-it-has-its-momentsNot another Bethesda lawsuit/ Do not buy this game/ Epic vs apple update- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-24-bethesda-faces-lawsuit-over-fallout-4-dlc- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-26-the-sinking-city-developer-asks-users-not-to-buy-its-game-on-steam- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-26-valve-ordered-to-hand-over-sales-data-for-epic-vs-apple-case- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-03-03-nacon-accuses-frogwares-of-sabotaging-our-investments-in-the-sinking-cityCyberhack 2077 updates- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-24/cd-projekt-hack-severely-disrupts-work-on-cyberpunk-game-updates- https://www.cadosecurity.com/post/punk-kitty-ransom-analysing-hellokitty-ransomware-attacks- https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/10/22276664/cyberpunk-witcher-hackers-auction-source-code-ransomware-attackNerdful thingsDJ- BRZRKR - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRZRKRRating: 4/5 Professor- DayZ -

There's nothing funny about NVIDIA's ridiculous CMP cryptocurrency mining cards, from taking chips away from gamers to being single use electronics. Hopefully this goes better than anyone outside NVIDIA thinks it will, but we'll have to see. Maybe AMD will keep their cards competitive and keep out of trouble so we have one consumer neutral producer to buy from.NASA's Perseverance Mars Lander touched down recently and is sending out awesome high quality videos of the landing and some interesting rocks. Percy really likes rocks.Game Freak have announced a new Pokemon remaster and an experimental open world game. Nobody cares about the remasters, but Arceus Legends looks amazing. But can Game Freak pull it off? Probably not.Stephen King's Firestarter is getting a new movie focusing on emotion. Not a bad thing, but it'll have Zac Efron, so the most horrific thing will be his singing.This week DJ returned to Tsushima, Professor advanced his Kardeshev level and Dev-i-boy got his funk on.NVIDIA Cypto Mining - https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/02/18/geforce-cmp/The Landing of Perseverance - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-19/nasa-rover-perseverance-lands-on-mars/13170902 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-02-23/mars-perseverance-rover-nasa-releases-high-res-images-video/13178646New Pokemon Game : Pokemon Legends Arceus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbIA8FKhwl0Firestarter Reboot - https://comicbook.com/movies/news/firestarter-reboot-stephen-king-keith-thomas-tease-details-updat/Nerdful thingsDJ- Ghost of Tsushima - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_TsushimaRating: 4/5 Professor- Dyson Sphere Program - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366540/Dyson_Sphere_Program/Rating: 4.5/5Dev-i-boy- FRIDAY NIGHT FUNKIN' - https://ninja-muffin24.itch.io/funkinRating: 5/5Other topics discussedElderly patients show no adverse reactions after being given incorrect dose of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-25/coronavirus-queensland-covid-vaccine-dosage-error-aged-care/13188724COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine incorrectly administered to two patients at Brisbane aged care home-

The Microsoft AI and Gaming summit is about to begin. How long until I get strap on a VR headset and go into a game perfectly designed to keep me interested forever and ever?Strange creatures living at the bottom of the ocean under a polar ice cap is probably not a big issue, but just in case we should be equipping Antarctic research sites with nukes. It's the only way to be sure.Facebook and the Australian government are going to war over the proposed laws requiring sites like Facebook and Google to pay news outlets to link to their sites. Big tech really doesn't like this, but the Australian government won't back down.Finally, a trailer for the Justice League Snyder Cut trailer has been released. It only took years of super fans begging. Let's see what else can happen. Firefly reboot, please?This week DJ got down to business to defeat the Mongols, Professor picked a really insensitive time to play a game about freezing and Dev-i-boy went back to Uni and ran out of time to have fun.Microsoft A.I Summit - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/event/aiandgaming2021/It Came From Beneath The Ice - https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-discover-strange-creatures-under-a-half-mile-of-ice/Facebook vs Australia - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-18/facebook-to-restrict-sharing-or-viewing-news-in-australia/13166208 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-18/facebook-credibility-brought-into-question-health-emergency-news/13166318Justice League Snyder Cut trailer dropped - https://www.cbr.com/justice-league-snyder-cut-trailer-new-footage/- https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2021/02/14/the-new-justice-league-snyder-cut-trailer-the-five-most-notable-additions/?sh=364fd65c27d2Nerdful thingsDJ- Ghost of Tsushima - https://www.playstation.com/en-au/games/ghost-of-tsushima/Rating: 5/5 Professor- Frost Punk - https://store.steampowered.com/app/323190/Frostpunk/Rating: 4.75/5Dev-i-boy- DNPRating:Other topics discussedTexas weather: Deadly winter storm sweeps Texas and US southern states- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56076686Burst Pipes and Power Outages in Battered Texas-

Last week we had some terrible ideas. And we are sorry, because we've had more. There's a reason none of us are allowed to work at CSIRO anymore.The Australian games industry grew last year, following worldwide trends. We've got some interesting statistics on the industry and why it isn't doing as well as it could be.Last week we spoke about your gut microbiome affecting your parenting skills. Well now we know that your childhood diet has lifelong impacts on that biome. This is making that salad look extra tempting.CDPR has lost control of the source code for Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. If I had a dollar for every time a game dev making a game about hacking gets hacked, I'd have two dollars. Which isn't a lot, but it's surprising that it's happened twice.Australian Game Development Industry 2021 report - https://igea.net/2021/01/australian-game-development-industry-counts-185-million-in-revenue/- https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/2954/australias-gaming-industry-grows-to-34-billion-amid-covid-19Childhood diet has lifelong impact - https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210203090458.htm- https://jeb.biologists.org/content/early/2021/01/10/jeb.239699Cyberhack 2077 - https://press-start.com.au/news/2021/02/09/cd-projekt-reds-servers-were-apparently-hacked-with-the-witcher-3-cyberpunk-2077-source-code-stolen/- https://twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/1359048125403590660Superbowl Ads 2021 - https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/super-bowl-ads-2021-we-round-up-the-teasers-and-spots/Nerdful thingsDJ- EX–Arm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-ArmRating: 0/5 Professor- Snowpiercer (TV series) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowpiercer_(TV_series)Rating: 3.75/5Dev-i-boy- Mermaid Saga - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid_SagaRating: 4/5Other topics discussedScary Movie – Whats Up scene- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vfs9ncmHC8Scary Movie (a 2000 American comedy horror film directed by Keenen Ivory... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The infamous Gearbox, creator of many mediocre licensed games, has now been bought by the former THQ Nordic, now Embracer Group, owned by Deep Silver, the publisher owned by the Koch Brothers. Yeah, this is why it's so hard to track down the correct owners of game IP.Before Minecraft and Roblox, there was Garry's Mod. And Garry's back, with a fully overhauled sequel on the Source 2 engine, currently named S&box. Us old timers aren't done kicking yet.Last week Dev-i made a big deal about Wolfwalkers, and how there's no way it'll win awards because of Soul. Now both are in the running for a Golden Globe.Next time your stomach isn't agreeing with you, it could be your microbiota gut brain giving you advice. Rat mothers infected with specific E. Coli strains are worse parents than rats with unmodified gut biomes. What else could be controlled by your stomach? Hopefully not your video game preference.Gearbox now bought out - https://screenrant.com/borderlands-developer-gearbox-buyout-1-billion-embracer-group/Garry’s Mod 2 : The Sequel - https://sbox.facepunch.com/newsGolden Globes 2021 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/78th_Golden_Globe_Awards#NomineesMicrobiota controls rat maternal behaviour - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/5/eabe6563Nerdful thingsDJ- EX-Arm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-ArmRating: 0/5 Professor- Return of the Obra Dinn - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn Rating: 3/5Dev-i-boy- The Cat Returns - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_ReturnsRating: 4/5Other topics discussed8 Mile (a 2002 American drama film written by Scott Silver and directed by Curtis Hanson. It stars Eminem in his film debut, alongside Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Shannon, Anthony Mackie, and Kim Basinger.)-

What does thousands of dollars of VR tracking gear get you? A way to compete in fully virtual breakdancing battles. South Koreans are still at home, and are working hard on creating Ready Player One’s Oasis in order to show off their sick dance moves. And the tracking is surprisingly good.If you haven’t invested in GameStop, it’s probably too late. If you have, you already know what we’re talking about. Reddit users have discovered an infinite money glitch and are really upsetting the billionaires who aren’t going to make quite as much this year as they did last year. Also, this story developed so much quicker than we expected and most of what we talked about has come to pass.Google might withdraw their search engine from Australia. Microsoft are probably waiting in the shadows to pounce and be able to claim that someone, somewhere on the planet actually uses Bing.JK Rowling's Harry Potter projects just won’t die. Now HBO are working on a Harry Potter series featuring the Marauders. The original Harry Potter fans will all be adults now, but there’s a whole generation of younger fans so let’s hope HBO don’t make it as adult as Game of Thrones.This week DJ continued suffering through Ex-Arm, Professor checked out a Wall-E Simulator, the Burnable Garbage Day, and Dev-i watched artistic animated films.VR Chat Breakdancing Battles - https://www.roadtovr.com/vr-dance-battle-vrchat-breakdance/GameStop stocks rising - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-22-gamestop-share-price-reaches-record-high-amid-reddit-user-driven-short-squeeze - https://gamerant.com/gamestop-stock-reddit/Google vs Australia - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-25/google-may-pull-search-engine-from-australia-what-happens-next/13086712 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-22/google-stop-search-engine-australia-news-media-code/13079912Harry Potter TV Series in the works - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/harry-potter-live-action-tv-series-in-early-development-at-hbo-max-exclusiveNerdful thingsDJ– Ex-Arm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-ArmRating: 0/5 Professor- The Burnable Garbage Day - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameon.anohiwa&hl=en_AU&gl=USRating: 2.7/5Dev-i-boy- Princess monoke - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Mononoke- Wolfwalkers -

If you're old enough, you might remember NBA Jam. This old basketball game has enough of a following that modders add new characters based on yearly rosters, and now there's going to be a documentary about NBA Jam and the start of sports video games.What would you write in 72 bits? Currently, that's the amount of data that can be stored in a self replicating colony of E. Coli. You can't quite fit Shakespeare in there yet, but the team are working on multiplexing the data across multiple cells. Is your refrigerator running? You might want to check if your console is. New consoles draw more power than last gen, including significantly more when running video content than a dedicated streaming device.The Opera Browser developer (Wait, that's still a thing?) now owns GameMaker. Well this is the weirdest development in 2021 so far.This week DJ continued the suffering of EX-Arm, Professor went back to the flawed Master Chief Collection and Dev-i took the battle to a long time ago in the New Star Wars Battlefront 2.NBA Jam doco in the works - https://variety.com/2021/film/global/nba-jam-game-documentary-1234886255/Info storing bacteria - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00092-1 - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-020-00711-4Next gen console energy consumption - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-14-ps5-and-xbox-series-x-energy-consumptionOpera buys YoYo Games - https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2021/01/19/game-maker-creator-yoyo-games-bought-by-browser-developer-opera/Nerdful thingsDJ– EX-Arm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-ArmRating: 0/5 Professor- Halo : The Master Chief Collection - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo:_The_Master_Chief_CollectionRating: 4.2/5Dev-i-boy- Star Wars Battlefront II (2017 video game) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Battlefront_II_(2017_video_game)Rating:Other topics discussedSpace Jam (a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and starring basketball player Michael Jordan.)-

We have another long one for you, but that's ok because LucasFilm is back to making games. EA's tyranny is over! Rejoice!2020 was an interesting year for the games industry. It turns out people really like Animal Crossing when they can't go outside. Gamesindustry.biz have provided a detailed article of numbers from the year in review.Staying inside might make you crazy. It also makes you slightly more eco friendly. Air pollution dropped massively in places that locked down to avoid COVID. Unfortunately, it's springing back to regular levels, but now there's tons of data to analyse.There's a list of new anime to come out in "winter" 2021. The weebs in the team like some of it, including Doctor Stone. And they hate Ex-Arm. All looks the same to me.A LucasFilm comeback and what a comback- https://www.wired.com/story/lucasfilm-games-star-wars-ubisoft-indiana-jones-bethesda/- https://www.starwars.com/news/indiana-jones-game- https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/01/ubisoft-massive-is-making-an-open-world-star-wars-game/Games Industry year in numbers report - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-21-gamesindustry-biz-presents-the-year-in-numbers-2020Pandemic reduces air pollution - https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid19-coronavirus-pandemic-air-pollution-ozone-shutdown- https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/12/3269/2020/ Winter 2021 in anime - https://comicbook.com/anime/news/winter-2021-anime-preview/Nerdful thingsDJ– Ex-Arm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-ArmRating: 1/5 Professor- Creeper world 4 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/848480/Creeper_World_4/Rating: 5/5Dev-i-boy- Re:Zero - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re:Zero_%E2%88%92_Starting_Life_in_Another_World_(season_2)- GTA 5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_VRating: Re:Zero – 4/5GTA 5 - 5/5Other topics discussedBrazil (a 1985 dystopian satirical black... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we bring you the terrifying story of an AI that knows too much. It taught itself to count, which is pretty cool.Flash is dead, long live Flash. Now it's all gone, it's time to find out more from the people behind some of the big games on Flash Game HistoryShould art be valid as evidence in court? Some courts think so. The nerds have a debate about art as criminal evidence.Apple leaks indicate a folding phone. Never to beat anyone to the punch, Apple must think they have some special sauce.This week DJ examined biohacking and esports, Professor marathoned the weirdest Bowie projects and Dev-i played the eternal GTAVVisual Number Sense & A.I. - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/1/eabd6127The Death of Flash - https://www.heypoorplayer.com/2020/12/31/flash-games-2020/Rap lyrics now admissible in courts as evidence - https://variety.com/2021/music/opinion/rap-lyrics-admissible-evidence-dangerous-precedent-1234878315/Apple’s newest idea : The folding phone - https://www.macworld.com/article/3602628/apple-is-reportedly-testing-two-folding-iphones.htmlNerdful thingsDJ– Meta Runner - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_RunnerRating: 4/5 Professor- Lazarus - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_(musical)Rating: 5/5Dev-i-boy- GTA 5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_VRating: 5/5Other topics discussedMulti-time Classic Tetris World Champion Jonas Neubauer passes away- https://gonintendo.com/stories/375128-multi-time-classic-tetris-world-champion-jonas-neubauer-passes-awJonas Neubauer - Tetris 99: Jonas and Heather Hot Pass Win Streak!- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_wjY9RRvE8Two Minute Papers - OpenAI Plays Hide and Seek…and Breaks The Game!- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu56xVlZ40M&t=198sNumber Sense (In mathematics education, number... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we offered remembrance to all the victims of COVID-19. Rather than the 500 000 we quoted, there are more than 1.8 million COVID deaths.It's early days for 2021, and things seem to be going well. So far. I'll try not to jinx us.So we're taking a chill week to talk about some of the most significant things that happened last year.This week DJ watched a retro anime and Professor was pleasantly surprised by the Doctor Who special.2020 in Science - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_science2020 in Movies/Anime & Comics- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_film- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_anime- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_comics2020 in Games - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_video_gamesNerdful thingsDJ– Fist of the North Star - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fist_of_the_North_StarRating: 5/5 Professor- Revolution of the Daleks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_the_DaleksRating: 3.5/5Other topics discussedCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It has since spread worldwide, leading to an ongoing pandemic.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.htmlHow mRNA vaccines work, and how they might protect us from the flu and other diseases- https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-11-22/mrna-vaccines-covid-19-pfizer-moderna-influenza-emerging-disease/12891308SpaceX Crew-1 (the first operational crewed flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft.)-

Is it that time again, Mr Freeman? We hope you've all recovered from feasting, but if you haven't, sit back and relax for another episode of Nerds Amalgamated.First Nerds were uncool. Then they had their Revenge, then their Triumph, then their King was crowned. Now being a Nerd is cool, but now Seth McFarlane thinks it's time for another bout of Revenge. It's a dish best served cold, but when Nerds are on top of the world who are they getting revenge on? Seth wants to reboot the movie, but there are plenty of scenes that just won't fly with modern sensibilities.The UK Parliament has proposed a law banning automated purchases, specifically to combat console scalping. PLEASE. WE BEG YOU. DO IT. I don't think we can be more enthusiastic, but the enforcement is a whole different issue.For the first time, Sony has pulled a AAA game they have certified from their stores. In case you don't know by now, it's Cyberpunk 2077. After taking advantage of Sony by promising to fix the issues by release day, and hiding footage of last gen consoles, CDPR are in hot water.For decades geeks have argued about whether programming is more mathematics than language, and science has stepped in to prove that... It's both. Next time you don't understand some code, it's because your brain is activating in multiple ways.This week DJ enjoyed the final season of Attack on Titan, Professor was terrible at Quake Live and Dev-i-boy gushed over The Dragon Prince.We'll see you next week with our yearly wrap-up. Enjoy your holidays and stay safe.Revenge of the Nerds reboot in the works - https://variety.com/2020/film/news/revenge-of-the-nerds-reboot-lucas-brothers-1234854322/UK Parliment : Bulk buying consoles should be banned - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-16-uk-members-of-parliament-call-for-ban-on-bulk-buying-consolesCyberpunk 2077 pulled off from the Sony store - https://www.pcgamer.com/au/sony-has-removed-cyberpunk-2077-from-the-playstation-store/- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqEMEjJj4hs&feature=emb_titleLearning programming is the best of both worlds: Language and Maths - https://news.mit.edu/2020/brain-reading-computer-code-1215- https://elifesciences.org/articles/58906Games played/media watchedDJ– Attack on Titan: The Final Season - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Titan_(season_4)Rating: 9/10 Professor- Quake Live - https://www.quakelive.com/Rating: 3/5Dev-i-boy- The Dragon Prince - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragon_PrinceRating: 10/10Other topics... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's episode 150! DJ thinks that's an important number for some reason.EA bought a Christmas present for itself. Now they own Codemasters. RIP racing games.If you stream copyrighted content you might soon go to jail. All games are technically copyrighted material, so it has been an honour streaming with you, gentlemen.The Hyabusa2 probe has successfully been retrieved and scientists are studying the makeup of the asteroid. Let's hope there's no alien spores in there.Vin Diesel is leading an animated series based on Ark: Survival Evolved. It has lots of big names in it, so let's hope it's less buggy than the game.This week DJ built towers, Professor dug holes and Dev-i played a JRPG with a very long name.EA’s new purchase : Codemasters - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-14-ea-agrees-usd1-2-billion-acquisition-of-codemastersPrison time for Online Streamers - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-14-us-bill-could-make-streaming-copyrighted-material-a-felony - https://www.protocol.com/amp/copyright-provisions-in-spending-bill-2649260098Hayabusa2 capsule from Ryugu mission opened - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-16/japan-space-agency-soil-gas-asteroid-hayabusa-ryugu/12988510Ark: Survival Evolved the animated series announced - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-11-ark-survival-evolved-gets-an-animated-seriesGames PlayedDJ– AOD: Art Of Defense - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1367760/AOD_Art_Of_Defense/Rating: 3/5Professor- Noita - https://store.steampowered.com/app/881100/Noita/Rating: 4/5Dev-i-boy- Lupin the Third: Lupin Is Dead, Zenigata Is in Love - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupin_the_Third:_Lupin_Is_Dead,_Zenigata_Is_in_LoveRating: TBAOther topics discussedNSW coronavirus cases jump to 17 as Northern Beaches COVID-19 cluster grows, states and territories impose restrictions- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-17/nsw-northern-beaches-covid-19-cluster-grows-to-17/12995276Colin McRae Rally (a racing video game series developed and published by

Christopher Nolan is upset again. Not because we can't hear him, but because all Warner Brothers movies are going direct to streaming.DJ keeps trying to make a terrible nursery rhyme happen and we won't let him. Meanwhile, Damselfish farm algae with the help of their shrimp friends in the first example of a vertebrate species domesticating another species.Cyberpunk 2077 is out, but it's a bit buggy. And it can give you epilepsy. Be careful out there, samurai.Why do some players play their games with the wrong control scheme? Dev-i-boy thinks it's because they're inferior, but maybe it's just flight simulators?This week DJ defended towers, Professor mixed spells and Dev-i-boy slacked off.Fallout from the Warner Bros/HBO Max deal - https://variety.com/2020/film/news/legendary-entertainment-warner-bros-hbo-max-deal-dune-godzilla-1234847605/Old McDamselfish had a farm - https://theconversation.com/we-found-algae-farming-fish-that-domesticate-tiny-shrimp-to-help-run-their-farms-151615 - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19958-5Cyberpunk 2077 is out - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-10/cyberpunk-2077-has-been-released-in-australia/12839484Inverted gamers - https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/dec/02/scientists-studying-why-gamers-invert-their-controls- https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/feb/28/why-do-video-game-players-invert-the-controlsGames PlayedDJ– AOD: Art Of Defense - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1367760/AOD_Art_Of_Defense/Rating: 3/5 Professor- Noita - https://store.steampowered.com/app/881100/Noita/Rating: 4/5 Dev-i-boy- DNP (Did not Play)Rating:Other topics discussedShazam Director David F. Sandberg took to Twitter to throw some shade at Tenet director Christopher Nolan over the audio in his film.- https://twitter.com/IGN/status/1338204872760496131Independent Cinema Alliance Disappointed With Warner Bros.’ HBO Max Deal, Calls for ‘Theatrical Exclusivity’- https://variety.com/2020/film/news/independent-cinema-alliance-warner-bros-hbo-max-1234848342/‘Dune’ Director Denis Villeneuve Blasts HBO Max Deal (EXCLUSIVE)-

THERE IS ONLY METRO. Dev-i and Professor are very excited for Metro 4, the movie, and 4A's continued projects. There's a lot of ground to cover, so hopefully Dimitry keeps writing.China now has the second best submarines in the world. The Fendouzhe has come just 20m short of the world record for submarine depth in the Mariner trench. That's pretty deep.Chris Claremont wants to focus on character, not plot. He's sick of fighting. And that's just fine with us. As long as Avengers doesn't turn entirely into Days of Our Lives.This week Dev-i continued his Japanese holiday, Professor frantically cast spells and DJ tried a crafting Battle Royale.Metro News - http://www.4a-games.com.mt/4a-dna/2020/11/17/metro-10th-anniversary-studio-update - https://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/metro-4-first-info-released-by-4a-games/China now has better submarines - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-29/chinese-sub-reaches-deepest-ocean-trench-mariana-fendouzhe/12932462Chris Claremont Reddit AMA - https://bleedingcool.com/comics/chris-claremont-explains-whats-more-important-characters-or-plot/Games PlayedDJ– Eternal Return Black Survival - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1049590/Eternal_Return_Black_Survival/Rating: 3/5 Professor- Noita - https://store.steampowered.com/app/881100/Noita/Rating: 4/5Dev-i-boy- Yakuza Kiwami 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/927380/Yakuza_Kiwami_2/Rating: 5/5Other topics discussedBlack Friday turnout as low as anticipated- https://www.thetimesnews.com/story/news/2020/11/28/black-friday-turnout-low-low-anticipated/6359649002/Khan ((Metro Character) a wandering soldier, philosopher, and occasional associate of the Rangers. He appears only in the first novel and the games.)- https://metrovideogame.fandom.com/wiki/Khan_(Character)4A Games (a Ukrainian-Maltese video game developer based in Sliema, Malta. The company was founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2006 by three developers who departed from

Christopher Nolan, we need to talk. A group of fellow film workers have sent a letter to Christopher Nolan telling him nobody can understand his movies because of the poor audio mixing. He completely missed the point.If you ordered a Playstation 5, you might have gotten cat food instead. Which is going to be useful since you spent all your food money on a PS5.Nintendo have chosen to target The Big House, the biggest Smash Bros tournament in the US, with a Cease and Desist for using a modified game. Dev-i and Professor think this is rubbish.We discussed the decommissioning of the Arecibo telescope, but our recording glitched and lost some of the audio. Maybe the FAST can catch the reflections of the internet off the Moon and we can get it back.This week Professor finished his journey in Metro Exodus, DJ broke faces with the new characters in MK11 and Dev-i embraced his inner weeb with a trip to Yakuza Kiwami 2.Christopher No Sound - https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/christopher-nolan-directors-complain-sound-mix-1234598386/PS5 Switch A Roo - https://7news.com.au/technology/absolute-shambles-as-ps5-gamers-receive-cat-food-instead-of-consoles-c-1628811 - https://twitter.com/flagwithoutwind/status/1329553605892988929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1329553605892988929%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F7news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fabsolute-shambles-as-ps5-gamers-receive-cat-food-instead-of-consoles-c-1628811Nintendo presents : Super Smash Bros Cancel - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-20-nintendo-order-cancellation-of-smash-bros-tournament-over-mod-use?fbclid=IwAR0Qn-Bs6U0zGC7jsAD4kk0wY7T7GV8KyOYow1RDInL-AzNj7d8GTk3BY4oVale Arecibo - https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/famed-arecibo-telescope-brink-collapse-will-be-dismantledGames PlayedDJ– MK 11 Ultimate - https://www.mortalkombat.com/Rating: 3/5 Professor- Metro Exodus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/Rating: 4/5Dev-i-boy- Yakuza Kiwami 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/927380/Yakuza_Kiwami_2/Rating: 5/5Other topics discussedDunkirk (2017 war film written, directed, and produced by

It's time to vote for the 2020 Game Awards. There's a lot of categories and nominations and we'd probably stay here all night talking about them, but we picked some of our favourites including Best Multiplayer and Best VR/AR.If you have a gaming problem, EA's new tool might help. Yes, I feel just as bad as you do acknowledging that EA has done something at least a little right. FIFA Playtime will let players limit their play time and microtransaction purchases.Disney have announced a live action Lilo and Stitch. The less said about that the better, but since it's been brought up we have to do it.What do you get if you mix human and monkey DNA? Scientists created a hybrid with a larger than normal brain. It's kinda terrifying. The monkeys were aborted as son as enough data was collected, but it's only a matter of time before some mad scientist takes it all the way.2020 Game Awards nominations - https://thegameawards.com/nomineesEA’s new spend-tracking tool : FIFA Playtime - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-12-ea-launching-fifa-spend-tracking-toolLive action Lilo & Stitch director reveal - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jon-m-chu-in-talks-to-direct-live-action-lilo-stitch-movie-exclusiveThe next step in human evolution : human monkey hybrids - https://interestingengineering.com/scientists-grow-bigger-monkey-brains-using-human-genes-replicating-evolution- https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6503/546Games PlayedDJ- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate - https://store.steampowered.com/sub/518699/Rating: 4/5 Professor- Metro Exodus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/Rating: 4.3/5Dev-i-boy- War Thunder - https://warthunder.com/auRating: 3/5Other topics discussedJon Bellion - Conversations with my Wife- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKjzf2j6ZmkMETAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN Just to Suffer meme- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_vJMHMBzLMDOOM Eternal Finally Address Soundtrack Controversy, Reveal Issues With Mick Gordon.- https://loudwire.com/doom-eternal-address-soundtrack-controversy-mick-gordon/So Many Games...Same Face-

Our recurring guest Dev-i-Boy has returned from witness protection.It's time for the new consoles to be released, and on paper, they sound pretty powerful. The Nerds discuss the weaknesses of the hardware and why they might not be as powerful as they seem, including tiny hard drives and giant games.An atomic scale 3D printer has been used to create a model of the Voyager from Star Trek. It's tiny and adorable, and we just need a tiny crew to go with it.Crunchyroll think the West wants to take over anime and strip the Japanese aspects out of it. They can take our Waifus from our cold, dead hands!This week DJ tried his hand at esports in Valorant, Professor fell over himself in Fall Guys and Dev-i-Boy took on Chinese clones in Genshin Impact.Console release news & reviews - https://www.techradar.com/au/reviews/ps5- https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-series-s-reviewBig digital games...small consoles - https://www.polygon.com/2020/11/6/21552741/ps5-storage-space-ssd-hard-drive-sizeStar Trek in a microscope - https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/08/us/star-trek-3d-microscopic-spaceship-scn-trnd/index.html - https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/jq8ddy/scientists_3d_print_microscopic_star_trek/ - https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2020/sm/d0sm01320j#!divAbstractCrunchyroll Admits To The West Wanting Control Over Anime! Says It Must Fit Western Standards! - https://variety.com/2020/streaming/asia/crunchyroll-joanne-waage-anime-growing-i-1234823407/Games PlayedDJ– Valorant - https://playvalorant.com/en-gb/Rating: 4/5 Professor- Fall Guys - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097150/Fall_Guys_Ultimate_Knockout/Rating: 4/5Deviboy- Genshin Impact - https://genshin.mihoyo.com/enRating: 4/5Other topics discussedPS4 Yellow Light Of Death- https://retroconsoles.fandom.com/wiki/Yellow_Light_of_DeathXbox cable replacement program- https://news.microsoft.com/2005/02/17/microsoft-announces-power-cord-replacement-for-xbox/Nintendo discontinues 3DS-

Old games never die. They just get removed from storefronts and put on abandonware sites. But if you want to know the latest news on which games are staying and which are going, it would be helpful if someone kept track. Well they do. Professor and DJ discuss what delisted games actually mean for gamers, and why the industry takes them away.DC has a new series of comics for young teenagers. The Nerds don't think they look very interesting. But it has been a while since either of them were 12, so they could be wrong.Man's best friend is actually pretty new in the grand scheme of things. Dogs have only been domesticated for about 11 thousand years, spreading around the world from a small population.This week, DJ farmed guns and Professor continued a journey across Russia.Delisted Games : a place where dead games live on - https://delistedgames.com/platforms/1/news/page/2/ - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzZ8jigea0Ph0pgUgrX5U-QDC Comics for middle schoolers - https://comicbook.com/dc/news/dc-comics-graphic-novels-2021-middle-grade-green-arrow-constantine/The evolution of man’s best friend - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54690458 - https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6516/557Games PlayedDJ– Shotgun Farmers - https://store.steampowered.com/app/604240/Shotgun_Farmers/Rating: 3/5 Professor- Metro Exodus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/Rating: 4.3/5Other topics discussedBlueMaxima's Flashpoint (a webgame preservation project)- https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/Friday the 13th: The Game loses dedicated servers, gets final patch in November- https://delistedgames.com/friday-the-13th-the-game-loses-dedicated-servers-gets-final-patch-in-november/Friday The 13th: The Game (All Intros)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f0kQ4x6t60Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor losing online features, Achievements December 31st- https://delistedgames.com/middle-earth-shadow-of-war-losing-online-features-achievements-december-31st/Accursed Farms - "Games as a service" is fraud.-

Bringing a fungus eating plant back from near extinction sounds like a bad idea. But it's actually pretty cool. The Bussells Spider Orchids has a special relationship with a fungus that it allows to grow then digests. And if you think mushrooms are gross you can fight me.HTC's FCC filings leaked a new Vive headset. It looks like a possible replacement for the Vive Focus line. More VR competition is good, considering recent Oculus revelations.Yet another Blade Runner comic is coming out soon, concerning the first Blade Runner unit, prototype replicants and the origins of Tyrell Corp.This week, Professor kept steaming out of Moscow and DJ did nothing. LazyFungus eating plant now back from the dead - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-24/bringing-the-bussells-spider-orchid-back-from-the-brink/12784110A new HTC Vive Headset - https://www.roadtovr.com/unknown-htc-vive-headset-fcc-filings/Blade Runner prequel comics : Blade Runner Origins - https://ew.com/books/blade-runner-origins-comic-first-look/Games PlayedDJ– DNPRating: DNP Professor- Metro Exodus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/Rating: 4.5/5Other topics discussedSean Connery, James Bond actor, dies aged 90 with his family around him- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-31/sean-connery-james-bond-actor-dies-aged-90-bahamas/12835952The Biology and Ecology of White Clover (Trifolium repens L.) in Australia- http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/content/clover-3/$FILE/biologywclover2.pdfSvalbard Global Seed Vault (a secure seed bank on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_VaultBiological Nitrogen Fixation- https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/biological-nitrogen-fixation-23570419/The Day of the Triffids (1951 post-apocalyptic novel by the English... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ALERT - THIS IS A DRILL. Tatiana Maslany is not She-Hulk. Or at least that's what she tells us.Wallenius Marine is building a sail ship to carry cars. The Oceanbird is predicted to produce less than 10% of the emissions of the Wallenius Wilhelmsen HERO class carrier, with only a small decrease in carrying capacity. Hopefully we'll see these sailing the seven seas soon.2K have screwed up. Again. This should be old news, but this time 2K have "accidentally" put unskippable ads in the loading screens of NBA 2K21. Professor isn't happy.Michael B Jordan (no relation) is working on a Static Shock movie to further boost Black superheroes. Chadwick Boseman left big shoes to fill but hopefully Michael is up to the task.Come back next week. We like boats.News update : Tatiana Maslany is not casted as She Hulk - https://www.thesudburystar.com/entertainment/local-arts/a-quickie-qa-with-tatiana-maslany-who-denies-shes-she-hulk/wcm/cd891f1a-8377-4ec0-ab92-75e41f78ba05Swedish Super Car Carrier - https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/oceanbird-wind-powered-car-carrier-spc-intl/Introducing NBA 2K21 now with unskippable ads in every loading screen - https://stevivor.com/news/nba-2k21-inserts-unskippable-ads-pre-game-loading-screens/Static Shock the Movie by Michael B. Jordan - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/michael-b-jordan-outlier-society-to-produce-dc-movie-static-shock-exclusiveGames PlayedDJ– Among Us - https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/Rating: 4/5 Professor- Metro Exodus - https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/Rating: 4.5/5Other topics discussedWallenius Marine designs ships powered by wind. We use big data and high level IT security to be able to manage ships in the most efficient and safe way. In addition to that, we have a highly skilled crew that ensures quality at all times.- https://www.walleniusmarine.com/Cool Car Park in Japan: Rotating Carpark- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKWLOptr3sUBrisbane Bunker Fuel Price Historical Chart- https://www.oilmonster.com/bunker-fuel-prices/far-east-and-south-pacific/brisbane/55Volkswagen emissions scandal (also known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandalEA adds, removes in-game ads from UFC 4-... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Osirix Rex mission is about to reach Bennu where it will pull samples from the surface to return to Earth in a few years. Nothing happens quickly in space, but landing on an asteroid, even momentarily, takes some serious skill.Alan Moore has joined the ranks of comic authors who take issue with the state of the industry. We can't blame him, but it would be nice for all the authors to make a statement together.The AGDAs have been awarded, including some great Aussie games from some relative newcomers.Check back next week for more grumpy old men complaining about the comics industry.NASA are gonna land on an asteroid called Bennu - https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-09/nasa-osiris-rex-mission-to-bennu-finds-carbon-and-carbonate/12735090Alan Moore’s interview : The mainstream comics industry is about 80 years old and it has lots of pre-existing health conditions. - https://deadline.com/2020/10/alan-moore-rare-interview-watchmen-creator-the-show-superhero-movies-blighted-culture-1234594526/Australian Game Developer Awards 2020 winners - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-10-08-league-of-geeks-named-studio-of-the-year-at-australian-game-developer-awards- https://gcap.com.au/the-agdas/#toggle-id-6Games PlayedDJ– Shotgun Farmers - https://store.steampowered.com/app/604240/Shotgun_Farmers/Rating: 4/5 Professor- Think of the Children - https://store.steampowered.com/app/573600/Think_of_the_Children/Rating: 4/5Other topics discussedAstronomers spy phosphine on Venus, a potential sign of life- https://astronomy.com/news/2020/09/astronomers-spy-phosphine-on-venus-a-potential-sign-of-lifeAsteroid (minor planets, especially of the inner Solar System. Larger asteroids have also been called planetoids. These terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not resolve into a disc in a telescope and was not observed to have characteristics of an active comet such as a tail.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid162173 Ryugu (provisional designation 1999 JU3, is a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. In June 2018, a spacecraft, Hayabusa2, arrived at the asteroid. After making measurements and taking samples, Hayabusa2 left Ryugu for Earth in November 2019.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162173_RyuguHayabusa2 (an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency,

Kids these days aren't having a punt on the horses, they're betting on esports. The problem is, they're literally kids. Shady gambling companies are preying on underage children.A scarily close supernova might have caused an extinction event. Luckily, it wasn't completely aiming at Earth and it happened 2.5 million years ago. Which is good, because I was worried it would cause movie delays.Wait, movie delays? Damn. Dune and Batman have been pushed back. A looooong way.Robert Downey Junior has announced plans for a Sherlock Holmes Cinematic Universe. More importantly, who asked for this? It's only been 9 years since the mediocre movies came out. I'm sure someone will like it.Esports’ new problem…..Problem gambling - https://theconversation.com/esports-could-be-quietly-spawning-a-whole-new-generation-of-problem-gamblers-147124- https://thenextweb.com/syndication/2020/10/04/how-esports-is-quietly-spawning-a-whole-new-generation-of-problem-gamblers/2.5 million years ago... a supernova nearly destroyed the Earth - https://www.sciencealert.com/a-supernova-exploded-dangerously-close-to-earth-2-5-million-years-ago- https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.031101Dune delayed to 2021 - https://deadline.com/2020/10/dune-drifting-away-from-december-to-october-2021-1234591593/SHCU – Sherlock Holmes Cinematic Universe - https://www.fastcompany.com/90552180/exclusive-robert-downey-jr-on-planning-a-sherlock-universe-with-marvel-style-world-buildingGames PlayedDJ– Among Us - https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/Rating: 4/5Professor- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097150/Fall_Guys_Ultimate_Knockout/Rating: 4/5Other topics discussedNewszoo Global Esports Market Report 2020- https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/newzoo-global-esports-market-report-2020-light-version/Total revenue of all National Football League teams from 2001 to 2019- https://www.statista.com/statistics/193457/total-league-revenue-of-the-nfl-since-2005/Number of child gamblers quadruples in just two years- https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46286945Spot betting: How does it work?- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11137067Victorian men hit with corruption charges over alleged esports match fixing- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-03/men-charged-over-alleged-esport-match-fixing-australia/12209154EA removed a FIFA microtransaction ad that was aimed at kids- https://www.engadget.com/ea-fifa-loot-box-ultimate-team-151637620.htmlSteroids... in esports?- https://www.earlygame.com/steroids-in-esports/eSports Has Its Own Doping Problem-... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A UQ student has shown that paradox free time travel is technically possible. Dr Fabio Costa and Germain Tobar have published a paper showing how the universe will reprogram itself to account for a time traveller's actions. In other words, whatever action you take, the universe will find a way of making sure that in the end, the same results occur. So much for killing Hitler, then.You've heard about simulator racing leagues, but get ready for the Farming Simulator league. Real world equipment manufacturers are sponsoring teams to compete in the GIANTS software Farming Simulator League. This league started a few years ago but is already spreading around the world. But if you want to compete, you'd better make hay while the sun shines and start training now.The creator of the Punisher comics has gone to war against mass produced super hero stories. Wiping out a beloved franchise isn't as popular as killing bad guys, but Gerry Conway thinks this is the best way to save the industry. Is there a point to saving the industry though? DJ thinks so.Join us next week for more news from the kind of people who want more weird gaming leagues.Time travel. Now with 100% fewer paradoxes - https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2020/09/young-physicist-squares-numbers%E2%80%99-time-travel- https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/aba4bcThe Farming Simulator League - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-09-08-farming-simulator-league-bringing-agriculture-and-gaming-togetherHow to save comics…..nuke em all - https://comicbook.com/comics/news/punisher-creator-cancelling-every-superhero-book-save-industry/Games PlayedDJ– Among Us - https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/Rating: 4/5Professor- Mario 35 - https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/super-mario-bros-35-switch/Rating: 4/5Other topics discussedDonald Trump rejects calls for rule changes in next presidential debate with Joe Biden- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-02/donald-trump-rejects-calls-for-debate-rule-changes/12724482US President Donald Trump says he and Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-02/donald-trump-positive-to-coronavirus-melania-hope-hicks-covid19/12725310Causal Loop (a theoretical proposition in which, by means of either retrocausality or time travel, a sequence of events (actions, information, objects, people) is among the causes of another event, which is in turn among the causes of the first-mentioned event.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causal_loopSmart by Design - The Bootstrap Paradox-

It's past your bedtime, somewhere. A new paper from UCLA collates all the reasons why we sleep. So if you get in trouble for sleeping at work just tell your boss science told you to.Facebook is coming to lock down your Oculus Quest 2, but this isn't the only issue with the Quest 2.House Atreides is being adapted into a graphic novel. Meanwhile, She Hulk is being adapted to TV with the excellent Tatiana Maslany. Professor is very happy about this.This week Professor went hunting for stars and DJ ate his crewmates.Why do we need sleep - https://www.college.ucla.edu/2020/09/18/ucla-led-team-of-scientists-discovers-why-we-need-sleep/- https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/38/eaba0398Do not buy the new Oculus Quest 2 - https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/review-we-do-not-recommend-the-299-oculus-quest-2-as-your-next-vr-system/Dune Prequel Comics & She Hulk casting News - https://www.boom-studios.com/archives/dune-house-atreides-1-first-look/ - https://deadline.com/2020/09/she-hulk-tatiana-maslany-marvel-series-1234578701/Games PlayedDJ– Among Us - https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/Rating: 4/5Professor- Mario 3D All Stars - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_3D_All-StarsRating: 5/5Other topics discussedKung Fu Panda – Oogway’s death- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-3OztBnuaMDream (a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical and religious interest throughout recorded history.)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreamNap (a short period of sleep, typically taken during daytime hours as an adjunct to the usual nocturnal sleep period. Naps are most often taken as a response to drowsiness during waking hours.)-... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.