Author Archives: Matt-Blum
When I Was a Kid, We Got Our News From Kermit the Frog
When I was a kid, children’s TV programming meant Saturday morning cartoons and PBS. There weren’t a half-dozen cable networks devoted to kids’ shows around the clock, and it was therefore very difficult for kids to keep up with the day’s news. Fortunately, for those of us who loved Sesame Street, there was always Kermit […] Continue reading
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Tagged Armchair Geek, kermit the frog, Sesame Street, Video
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A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything
You know that feeling when you see something that somebody much younger than you has done, that blows you away with its creativity and execution, and you realize that you couldn’t make something that awesome now, let alone when you were that age? That feeling, gentle reader, is called “humility,” and, if you’re at all […] Continue reading
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Tagged animation, Electronic Geek, History, Science and Education, stop-motion, Video
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LEGO Rings: The Most Romantic Geeky Valentine’s Gift Ever?
So, there are only two days left until Valentine’s Day, and you’re stuck for something really romantic to get for your significant other. Or maybe you have some ideas, but find yourself frustrated with the difficulty of finding something that meets your (and your significant other’s) geeky sensibilities as well as your romantic ones.
Well, you […] Continue reading
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Tagged Hacking the Holidays, Jewelry, Lego, rings, Toys and Technology, Valentine's Day
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Top 10 Tragic Love Stories in Geek Fiction
There are many great love stories in science fiction and fantasy. From Robin Hood and Maid Marian to Han Solo and Princess Leia, we all love the stories that end with some variation of “and they lived happily ever after.”
But what about the great love stories that don’t end happily? Because loss is just as […] Continue reading
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Tagged Armchair Geek, Fiction, love, Top 10
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February 10, 1996: The Machines’ Takeover Begins
Today marks the anniversary of a watershed moment in human history. In Philadelphia, the IBM computer named Deep Blue became, on February 10, 1996, the first machine to beat a reigning chess world champion, Garry Kasparov.
While nobody could have known at the time, this was the moment when machines truly began their conquest of Earth. […] Continue reading
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Tagged Chess, Computers, deep blue, Electronic Geek
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The Top 10 Lessons We Learned From Super Bowl XLIV’s Ads
If the numbers are true, 106.5 million people in the U.S. watched Super Bowl XLIV this past Sunday, making it the most-watched program in American history. It stands to reason, therefore, that a lot of geeks were among the audience: some watching for the game, some for the ads, and some for both.
There were no […] Continue reading
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Tagged ad, Armchair Geek, commercial, super bowl, Top 10
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The 10 Most Useful Gadgets From Science Fiction and Comics
Every geek occasionally suffers from gadget envy. Even if you’re such an early adopter that you’re already waiting in line to get an iPad, your personal collection of gadgetry is limited by that pesky thing we call “reality.” Go ahead, tell me you haven’t, while watching Star Trek, thought about how handy it would be […] Continue reading
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Tagged Armchair Geek, doctor who, Gadget, Star Trek, Star Wars, Top 10, Toys and Technology
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Please Join GeekDad at PAX East 2010!
If you enjoy gaming, or the webcomic Penny Arcade, or (if you’re like most of us at GeekDad) both, you’ve probably heard of their annual PAX festival. PAX, short for “Penny Arcade Expo,” has been held every summer since 2004 in Washington state, and it’s become a much-celebrated geek event. This year, for the first […] Continue reading
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Tagged PAX East, Penny Arcade, Penny Arcade Expo, People, Places
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Review: Crush the Castle for the iPhone Is a Smashing Good Time
The beauty of many, if not most, video games lies in their ability to distance players from the real world by taking them into a fantastical alternative reality. So imagine, if you will, that you live in a world covered with elaborate castles made from wood, iron, and stone, but that are held together without […] Continue reading
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Tagged Armchair Geek, armor games, crush the castle, iPhone, review, Video game
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