We're a geek culture podcast and blog covering video games, music, food and more. We are the kinds of people who evangelize whatever we are into - it could be anything - but it's usually pretty geeky. We're casual, conversational, NSFW and hopefully interesting. We hope you enjoy it.
A couple of years back Lifehacker ran a seriesofposts displaying user-submitted shots of readers' Go Bags (what you grab and haul every day) and their disgorged contents. I sat entranced for hours, leering over this voyeuristic yet impersonal display of things usually hidden away. Eventually I made my own.
More recently several editors shared the contents of their laptop bags and a similar spell was cast, I simply had to know each and every gadget and velcro wrap and oh my my is that a stainless steel thumb drive?
Hit the jump for a taste of madness. Or better yet share your own Go Bag over in the Weekly Geek Flickr Pool.
posted by Sparky on September 29, 2009 3:08 PM in Food
Ever since my early cooking days I've been obsessed with noodles and different ways to make/prepare them. Today I want to cover a new technique I'm experimenting with that can elevate fresh egg noodles from their normal lofty excellence to something even better. You heard me: better than excellent! This preparation technique makes for a crispy salted exterior that crunches delightfully in the mouth while still having a rich noodley center with a bit of chew to it.
To follow along with the recipe, click through the jump.
posted by Chris on September 28, 2009 6:25 PM in Podcast
When is enough enough? Franchises losing their luster is a main topic of discussion on this week's podcast with me, Jinny and Ross weighing in on Street Fighter, Katamari and Metal Gear Solid. We also crack open the mailbag, which was filled to the brim this week with your questions. We talk about meeting Internet People in person! We even got a few death threats. Love you all bunches. Tune in for an impromptu puzzle-solving contest, as well!
Every week we feature our community members' excellent photography culled from our Flickr pool. Why not submit your own geeky or otherwise interesting photos to the Weekly Geek Flickr Pool? You'll get your photo featured on the site with the added incentive that I'll pick one photo a week to win a Weekly Geek T-Shirt. Runners up get some sweet Weekly Geek swag. Click here to join!
posted by Sparky on September 22, 2009 1:26 PM in Food
Sometimes you need to take a break from things and kick back with a refreshing drink. This week is one of those times so rather than a big, meaty delicacy for Practical Alchemy I instead present a cool, clean drink to whip up with some friends. The Cape Greyhound lets the sweet essences of a Cape Cod combine with the sour delight of a Greyhound.
The Cape Greyhound
In a cocktail shaker combine the following ingredients with a generous handful of ice
3oz fine Vodka
4oz unsweetened cranberry juice
4oz pink grapefruit juice
a dash of fresh lime juice
Shake well and serve into two rocks glasses. Enjoy with a friend, or if your week requires a bit more refreshment enjoy with yourself. Twice.
posted by Chris on September 21, 2009 6:44 PM in Podcast
This week is all over the board as Jinny, Ross and Qais join me in discussion about the Tesla Roadster (and how I got to drive one!), Scribblenauts (and how Ross hates fun!), the official Buddhist stance on violent video games (and how I like to alienate my friends!), the prospect of Twitter-enabled games and how to make an incredibly good Fallout 3 laser rifle. And then, sometime during the show, Qais finally puts the Kanye meme to bed. We hope you enjoy.
Back in 2007 when we first heard about Tesla Motors opening up dealerships around the country, I never thought I'd get an opportunity to actually drive one. Tesla is a company fighting hard to bring the electric car to mass market, starting with their Tesla Roadster. The roadster could be described as a sporty little golf cart on steroids, but then you'd be missing the point. It's a remarkable piece of technology, but prohibitively expensive at around 100k. Tesla plans on releasing a sedan in 2011 which will be moderately less expensive, but the price doesn't really matter. What matters is that a car company has emerged that wants to do something different.
I'm going to get to the test drive in a second. First, I want you to go to the Tesla website and see what dealerships are near you. Is there one within 50 miles? Good. Now call them. Schedule a test drive. It is so very very worth it.
Now, I am by no means a car buff. I drive an efficient little Scion xA and I am quite happy with it. I don't have to do anything to it to make it go beyond filling it with gas and giving it the occasional oil change, it just goes. I value this in an automobile beyond all else. I want it to just work. The Tesla definitely fits this bill. The roadster basically just has one moving part to its engine: the spindle. The engine is fully electric and is powered by a bank of lithium-ion batteries, the same ones that power this laptop I'm typing on right now. Instead of having to replace one giant battery (and and expensive one in the case of the Prius) you can take them out individually and get them replaced. The batteries supposedly have a 8-9 year lifespan, however, so you probably won't be replacing them any time soon. The Tesla is also completely upgradeable. Because it's mostly electronics and software, you can literally just go in and get the firmware flashed as technology advances and improve the efficiency of your car. Say Tesla develops a way to squeeze a bit more life out of the battery, or a bit more performance out of the already incredible engine, just go into your dealership and tell them to make it so. There's even iPhone apps being developed that interface seamlessly with the car.
It never requires an oil change. It costs around $4 to fully recharge and a single charge lasts around 250 miles of straight up driving. You can get a charging station installed in your garage which charges you fully within 3.5 hours. It comes with a portable charger which you can use at any RV hookup, or as the dealer I talked to pointed out, any Target store (Target apparently always has an RV hookup in the back). It is electronically locked at 125mph, though the dealer tells me it can go up to 200mph. That is ridiculous. As a matter of fact, everything the dealer told me sounded completely ridiculous. I was literally laughing out loud as he told me this stuff because of how magical it all sounds. Like Tesla the man, Tesla the car company seems to be tapping into some mystical space energy to achieve their goals. I was geeking out hardcore.
But how does it drive? I can honestly say that I have never ridden in a ground vehicle that could accelerate so fast, outside of a roller coaster. When you go zero to sixty in five seconds, you can really feel it. This car has G-forces as you accelerate. It's an incredible thing. The steering feels a bit tight and the deceleration is slightly awkward but I can tell it would be easy to eventually get used to. It has no real shifter, as it has no real gears. Driving the Tesla is as easy as driving a Power Wheels.
If you have a chance, I highly recommend trying one of these out. Even if you feel like you could never afford one, you need to experience what is essentially the car of the future. You owe it to your 10 year old self to drive an electric car named Tesla. This is the future, man. Live it. See how happy Jinny is? You could be this happy too.
posted by Mike on September 18, 2009 6:56 AM in Music
Everything is better with some perspective. When I started my tenure as Music Editor for The Weekly Geek, it was 2006. Bird flu was still the most feared contagion, I had a steady job with a mortgage company (you can guess what happened to that in 2007), and Google had just purchased YouTube. Now we're nearing the close of the decade and I'm happy to say that many of my favorite picks are from the first half of it; namely, things I haven't had the chance to cover since coming on board here.
Much has happened in the audio realm and I'd like to culminate it with my Top 10 Albums of the 2000s.
I've tried to be judicious, definitive, and for the sake of my own sanity, not second guess myself (still, I'd have to expand the list to 25 to fit all my "honorable mentions"). And obviously, it wouldn't be fun if all these spots weren't up for vehement debate and thus, I welcome it.
List your choices, tear mine apart - take your pick. But make no mistake: the imprint this decade's music will leave on the world is rich and storied, undeniable in its merit and gravity.
posted by Chris on September 17, 2009 2:36 PM in Music
I've been listening to The XX's debut album approximately twice a day for a few weeks now, and there's no end in sight. I can't get their simple, elegant melodies out of my head. If anything, it's perfect mood music. I've been stressed out at work and my commute in the morning is more of a death march than anything. The XX serve as a relaxing respite before and after the hell that is a less-than ideal work environment.
Pay attention to the very last riff of Basic Space. I had a difficult time choosing just one song from their album (mainly because I believe you should listen to an album all the way through, just as the artist intended) but the riff at the end clinches it for me. Any other artist in the same vein would repeat that riff over and over again, drilling it into your head. By using it sparsely, building to it until one final release, it becomes more effective. It resonates and reverberates in your mind until you can't take it anymore and you set the track to repeat. Be sure to listen with headphones. There's an intricacy to the sound that can't be missed. It's spartan, detailed, precise and lovely.
The worst part is the band is comprised entirely of 19 year olds. It smacks of early Portishead and I can't wait to hear more from these talented youngsters. Now get off my lawn.
Every week we feature our community members' excellent photography culled from our Flickr pool. Why not submit your own geeky or otherwise interesting photos to the Weekly Geek Flickr Pool? You'll get your photo featured on the site with the added incentive that I'll pick one photo a week to win a Weekly Geek T-Shirt. Runners up get some sweet Weekly Geek swag. Click here to join!
posted by Sparky on September 15, 2009 7:59 PM in Food
Today's delicious alchemical concoction is a sweet tangy chicken served over a bed of mushrooms. This entree is something I've worked up over the last few months - it's moist, twice cooked succulence goes great over rice, either plain or a lemongrass rice. It's quick to make requiring about 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes in the oven, thus ideal for a delicious meal after a long day at work.
Click through the jump for the ingredients list and details on the preparation.
posted by Chris on September 14, 2009 6:44 PM in Podcast
There are things we talk about in this podcast that are not Beatles Rock Band related, but those things are inconsequential. Perhaps we discuss Batman: Arkham Asylum (like the last three podcasts) or perhaps we talk more about PAX (which is old and busted by this point) but for sure Jinny, Ross and Qais join me in discussing Bethesda suing Interplay over the Fallout franchise, Disney's D23 convention and the Cheapest Muppet Movie ever made, the new Pirates of the Caribbean, how much Qais hated the movie 9, and the secret internet rivalry between Ectomo and the Weekly Geek. It is a rivalry for the ages, this one.
Every week we feature our community members' excellent photography culled from our Flickr pool. Why not submit your own geeky or otherwise interesting photos to the Weekly Geek Flickr Pool? You'll get your photo featured on the site with the added incentive that I'll pick one photo a week to win a Weekly Geek T-Shirt. Runners up get some sweet Weekly Geek swag. Click here to join!
I recently participated in Tenacious Toys and Delicious Drips' custom toy show Who's Da Bomb?!, where we were tasked to customize Toy2R Kozik Mini-Bombs any way we like. Seen above is my entry, Beppy the Happy Bath-o-Sphere. Check out the rest of the entries on Tenacious Toys' site, there's some spectacular customs from over 80 amazingly talented artists.
As astute readers may have noticed the Penny Arcade Expo was last weekend, and it took Seattle by storm. I attended with our fearless editors Chris and Jinny and was left as amazed and exhausted as they were by the whole event. I got to see some great games, stunning cosplay, and meet some cool new people.
As the exhaustion prevented me from getting into fresh new foods yesterday I humbly submit a few of my favorite photos from PAX in lieu of an article on cooking. Click through below to see my favorite photos, or check out my PAX 09 Flickr set - and of course check back next Tuesday for your regularly scheduled dose of dish!
posted by Chris on September 7, 2009 6:17 PM in Podcast
I know you're expecting us to say something like "we invaded PAX this weekend, and PAX didn't know what hit it" but in all honesty, we went for a day and a half, had some fun, and then went home to play Beatles: Rock Band. In this week's show, I am joined by Qais, Ross and Jinny as we talk about the events of last weekend (including our spectacular community meet-up) as well as Beatles: Rock Band, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Shadow Complex. If you didn't make it out to PAX this year, perhaps this podcast will make you feel better. Or worse. Mostly worse.
You may be familiar with Tettix, the incredible soundsmith who composed the Weekly Geek theme song, but you probably aren't aware of the extent of his geekery. It takes someone with serious nerd cred to compose something like Technology Crisis, but the nerd gene runs deep in this one. Here's Tettix's costume constructed for this weekend's DragonCon. Wander from Shadow of the Colossus never looked so good.
When: Friday, September 4th @7:00 PM Where:Six Arms
We're going to be at the Six Arms brewery on Friday, giving out Weekly Geek buttons and stickers, eating some burgers and enjoying a pint. Won't you join us?
posted by Sparky on September 1, 2009 10:20 AM in Food
The crisp bite bite of a sweet onion balanced by sour cream and Gorgonzola, all layered beautifully with tomato and basil into a not-so-classic caprese salad. This delicious blast of flavor is mere minutes away from gracing your hungry mouth. Being new to cooking I don't feel bound by conventional ingredients, and as such started experimenting with the classic insalata caprese to create my own spiritual successor.
No need to wait to make one of your own - let's make these drop dead simple 5-minute appetizers here and now. Click through to follow along with the delicious.
posted by Qais on September 1, 2009 9:17 AM in Podcast
Every week, your inimitable podcast host, Mr. Chris Furniss, does a little dance to appease the Gods and bring good fortune in the hopes that we will have yet another mind-blowingly excellent podcast.
As any listener can tell you, this works like fucking gangbusters.
This week I decided to share Mr. Furniss' glorious Podcastdance with the world, that we might all know the beauty that is a wriggling anorexic manchild.
Go on, bask in his epic glory. If this doesn't make you want a Furniss of your own, nothing will.
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approximately twice a day for a few weeks now, and there's no end in sight. I can't get their simple, elegant melodies out of my head. If anything, it's perfect mood music. I've been stressed out at work and my commute in the morning is more of a death march than anything. The XX serve as a relaxing respite before and after the hell that is a less-than ideal work environment. 
