Happy New Year Baktun!
ROAD TRIP: Jørgen visits Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West and Paolo Saleri’s Arcosanti and other locations in the southwest.
SLEEP STUDY: Alan looks at sleep stages and is using some apps to measure and testing some variables to get better sleep.
Spoiler Alert:
BAKTUN-IN-REVIEW: Brendan leads off our annual tradition with his list of 2017’s best movies, and there were a bunch!
Don’t be SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder is A Thing. Sometimes it can be solved with light therapy.
Spoiler Alert:
We combat our winter blues with the light therapy of movie watching. We discuss:
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Disaster Artist and The Room
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
We have an update for Bitcoin!
Perhaps it has room to go up or John McAfee will eat his own d*ck.
If you’re still not in the know, you can read this article only published last week.
Maybe Bitcoin is holding our energy grid behind.
Most likely, though, it’s a bubble.
Automation is A Thing, and it seems to be taking more jobs that are traditionally filled by men, and stats already show men are already working less on the whole.
The former Soviet “Academic City” of Akademgorodok is the subject of a youtube video and sounds impossible and fantastical all at once.
The Dadabots have a new album of neural-network generated black metal.
Infrequent Flyer: Las Vegas Convention edition reminds you to hydrate and wear comfortable shoes.
Spoiler Alert:
Past performance does not equal future results, but Alan bet with bitcoin and is now covering the hosting costs of the podcast for the year.
We recorded the show on Black Friday The Friday That Shall Not Be Named.
Data Privacy is eroded further after breaches at Equifax, Uber, the NSA, and Germany takes an interesting stance on it.
Net Neutrality dealt a blow this week as FCC stonewalls investigation into fraud in the public comment section. A reminder that this podcast believes Net Neutrality is A Thing.
Our robot-making friends at Boston Dynamics imbued a bi-pedal robot with the ability to leap platforms and maintain balance even through a backflip.
Moviepass seeks to increase theater viewership – A Thing we wholly support.
Spoiler Alert:
<Tentative>Karl Urban will be on the show next time.</Tentative>
We speak of Thor:Ragnarok and Justice League. One is A Thing. The other is not.
Bonus: Team Thor Part 1 and Part 2 with Thor’s roommate Darryl.
Infrequent Flyer: A short collection of tips for flying that even regular folks can enjoy. Short form: seatguru.com for seats, chelsea boots for max style and easy TSA passage, and asking for a “side shot” with a beer.
Jørgen brings us through a spirited discussion of Blade Runner 2049 including the short films bridging the original movie and this one, and a behind-the-scenes clip emphasizing practical effects.
Alan and Jørgen talked to AI Chatbot ReplikaAI for a week. Possibly more fascinating is the story of its origin.
Brendan speaks to agrobiodiversity and there’s some hope from the UN’s Convention on BioDiversity.
Spoiler Alert:
Did we mention WE’RE BACK! (again)
We are back! You can’t keep a good podcast down. We even picked up a new co-host! A hearty podcast-welcome to Jørgen!
Alan’s Resident Expertise: Intermittent Fasting
Brendan details The BFR (Big “Falcon” [aka “Fucking”] Rocket) from Elon “tony stark” Musk with bonus video.
In Jørgen’s first gig at co-hosting, he visits LEGO as it reinvents itself… again!
Alan ate the Impossible Burger.
Jørgen also brings us the joy of the Blade Runner press junket.
Brendan noticed a musical trend in this year’s movies.
Spoiler Alert:
Did we mention WE’RE BACK!
Baktun in Review!
We talk (mostly) movies including Brendan’s top 10 of 2016.
We also will be taking a break to review the podcast and look forward to where we can take it.
Spoiler Alert:
James Bond… Douglas MacArthur… The Not A Thing! Podcast will return.
Star Trek Fan Film Axanar settles out of court with Paramount.
The return to TV for Star Trek is delayed again.
Western Union admits to not doing enough to prevent money laundering.
American Airlines announces “Economy Basic” to compete with low cost airlines.
Supersonic jet company Boom moves out of the wind tunnel and into working prototypes.
DARPA makes a “one-way drone” for deliveries that biodegrades after use.
Researchers prototype a soft robotic pump for people at risk of heart failure.
Encrypted email company Lavabit relaunches.
SF Sketchfest has been happening!
Spoiler Alert:
American Airlines Middle Seat is a better name.
Episode 213
Norway to shut off FM broadcasts.
Google moves to shut off the Hangouts API.
TOR browser for iOS is now free.
A Crowdsource group raises enough money to fight the UK Snooper’s Charter.
In France they are legislating the right to disconnect.
The Augury AI listens to your machines to tell when they will break.
Bonus: the Peep “Network Auralizer” to monitor your computer via sound.
Researchers uses stem cells to rebuild teeth.
Spoiler Alert:
We talked about Norway without a Norwegian present.
Episode 212
Fan film Star Trek Axanar gets held up in a copyright infringement trial.
Bonus: Chief O’Brien at work!
The FTC sues D-Link over insecure routers.
Oakland passes laws to limit surveillance capabilities of police department.
CES was this week and the @internetofshit was there.
The Classic NES is “jailbroken” to allow playing games beyond the built in ones.
Barcelona looks to implement Superblocks to reduce traffic and pollution and increase open space.
Researchers look to elevate the mesentery to the status of a human organ.
Mark Hamil records a reading of a Donald Trump tweet as The Joker.
Bonus: Billy West reads Trump tweets as Zap Branigan.
Bonus 2: Trump tweets rewritten presidentially from @MatureTrumpTwts
Spoiler Alert:
There are FOUR lights.