When you stop and think about it, evolutionary science is pretty amazing stuff. On one hand you’re dealing with infinitely complex systems that are constantly changing to adapt to myriad elements of the environment in which they exist. Continue reading
Twine and Spool
Unless you’re living in Bill Gates’ house, chances are most of the objects around you aren’t Internet-connected. In fact, the vast majority of appliances, mechanical systems, and even doors/windows are “dumb” with respect to their ability to tell you much of anything unless you’re standing immediately in front of them. Continue reading
Wikipedia blackout
Now that SOPA and PIPA are effectively dead (okay, shelved but not actually dead), it is worth circling back and looking at what the world would look like without some of the sites that have transformed the Internet. For example, YouTube announced yesterday that it is streaming over four billion videos a day - a figure that is up 25% from just eight months ago. Continue reading
Robot babies
Despite the misleading title, this post is not about robots creating their own offspring which in a way would be more unsettling – especially if they were of the fire-breathing variety – than the actual topic of discussion. Below are two videos of special effects professional Chris Clarke’s animatronic babies. Continue reading
Geek-out Sunday part XX: science party tricks
Ever since I was a kid I’ve been a sucker for the fine line where science and parlor magic seem to coexist thanks to the likes of Don Herbert (a.k.a. Mr. Wizard) and others. Thanks to his Mr. Wizard’s Supermarket Science I had my parents and grandparents constantly running to the grocery store to pick up random odds and ends that on more than one occasion required clean-up efforts on par with an EPA Superfund site. Continue reading
Stop SOPA and PIPA

I’m not going to rehash what is already getting a tremendous amount of press today, but as of midnight several of the leading Internet services and destinations have “gone on strike” to protest the proposed Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). Continue reading
Movies as business metaphors
If you’ve spent enough time working in the corporate world, you’ve likely been subjected to thousands of business metaphors and clichés. Some of the very best (and worst) examples of these abstractions are illustrated by often questionable clips from popular movies (which are frequently used out of context). Continue reading
Get hired!
Aside
Skip to the end of this article and read the section called "How to Win the Interview" ow.ly/8wSJu—
Marshall Stanton (@marshallstanton) January 17, 2012
Geek-out Sunday part XIX: geeks vs. nerds
Since the dawn of man there has been a war waging between two immovable forces and throughout the ages this war has spilled out into the streets of the unsuspecting world. No, this is not the plot of Priest or any one of the Underworld films (although you deserve some geek cred points for relating to those references). Continue reading
Coolest flight attendant
If you’re like me then you spend a lot of time on airplanes and if you spend a lot of time flying then you can probably recite the required pre-flight safety speech in the same unenthusiastic tone as any one of a thousand flight attendants. Continue reading
