Universal Geek

Thank you all for your patience while we revamped our podcast. We hope you enjoy the new format. The Universal Geek podcast is now once a month instead of once a week. This makes the 90 minute runtime a bit more easy to consume seeing as you have 4 weeks or so to listen to it all. And instead of discussing geek news, which honestly there are so many blogs doing such a good job of it we barely can scratch the surface, we are doing ‘deep dives’ on specific topics. This week, we are discussing the new mobile gaming sensation Pokemon Go. Sit back and turn the stream to maximum bandwidth – the new Universal Geek podcast is about to start! Record Date: 8/30/2016 Release Date: 9/6/2016 Panel: Bleu Caldwell, Jeff Couturier, Ryan Bond, Sean Francis The General History of Pokemon from Video Game, Card Game, and Cartoon The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995 Shared between Nintendo, Game Freaks, and Creatures – Nintendo owns the trademark Originally a pair of games for the Nintendo Game Boy. http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/History_of_Pok%C3%A9mon   Created 1995 Target audience born 1985 (10 year olds) That audience is now in late 20’s/early 30’s (25 to 35) They are parents now! The Security/Privacy Issues of Pokemon Go http://www.politifact.com/ohio/article/2016/jul/14/pokemon-go-rnc-it-security-risk/ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/technology/personaltech/how-to-protect-privacy-while-using-pokemon-go-and-other-apps.html?_r=0 http://www.wired.com/2016/08/ethics-ar-pokemon-go/   Using AR Games like Pokemon Go for Marketing and for Criminal Activity http://www.forbes.com/sites/miketempleman/2016/07/14/how-to-use-pokemon-go-for-marketing/#5eb2ce6e7929 http://searchengineland.com/pokemon-go-augmented-reality-future-local-marketing-254015 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/10/pokemon-go-armed-robbers-dead-body   Pokemon Go and Fitness http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/news/a61203/pokemon-go-workout-routine/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/07/15/pokemon-go-leading-to-a-population-level-surge-in-fitness-tracker-step-counts/   Pokemon Go: Nostalgia Fueled Fad or The New Trend in Gaming? https://medium.com/@amitt/is-pok%C3%A9mon-go-a-fad-be074935135#.gvw2ygeyh http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/08/pokemon-go-sheds-more-than-10m-users/   Harry Potter Go? http://www.movienewsguide.com/harry-potter-go-update-harry-potter-fans-petition-pokemon-go-like-ar-game/270902   Pokemon Go Fading? http://www.cnet.com/news/pokemon-go-fever-shows-signs-of-fading/   Loyola Dunes Pokemon Problems https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160808/rogers-park/after-pokemon-go-players-trample-protected-north-side-dunes-city-steps   and community: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160713/rogers-park/pokmon-go-meetup-rogers-park-offers-voter-registration-4-lured-stops   Heavy Metal Jigglypuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1YXDFRonPM Pokemon Go Questions What has been your exposure to Pokemon in general before Pokemon Go? Do you play? What has your experience been either playing or observing other’s play? Do we need to begin developing a code of behavior when it comes to games played in public? (compare to geocaching, Frisbee, street hockey, skateboarding, etc.) Do game makers need a code of acceptable gameplay they encourage within the game? (http://gizmodo.com/why-people-keep-trying-to-erase-the-hollywood-sign-from-1658084644) Should there be regulation on apps/games limiting what information they collect? Do games like Pokemon Go create a new kind of criminal activity? Do games like Pokemon Go create a new kind of marketing activity? Does Pokemon Go actually have an effect on fitness? (Dance Dance Revolution?) Is it just a nostalgia fueled fad or is it helping pioneer AR gaming? What will Pokemon Go need to do in order to sustain itself over time? What is the next trend in Augmented Reality gaming?       Link to this post!

Hello Geeks, this week on the show we discuss drones. Drones delivering coffee. Drones helping fish for tuna. And Drones snooping on people in very creepy ways. Keep those bits streaming and listen to the latest geek podcast from Universal Geek. Coffee Delivered By Drone Guy Fishes For Tuna With Drone (Ubergizmo.com) Speaking of drones – this from Slashdot MAY Book of the Month The Regional Office is Under Attack by  Manuel Gonzales “In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization—the Regional Office—and its coterie of super-powered female assassins protects the globe from annihilation.” Both Sony and Samsung have filed a patent for Smart Contact Lenses  Jonathan Coulton + Paul & Storm coming to Chicago soon: 6/18, 8pm at the Vic Interesting? Alien Audiodrama by Audible  Link to this post!

Geeks Assemble! This week on Universal Geek, we discuss video games.  We’ve got cyberpunks games, Minecraft, and World of Warcraft. Death Trash Dex The Minecraft Generation Crown & Council – free Risk-like strategy game from Mojang Magic Leap, Holo Lens’ empty promises?, Occulus, and Cardboard – general VR discussion Vanilla World of Warcraft Server Gets 200K Petition Signatures to Keep It Alive Link to this post!

Happy day, Geeks! There are new Game of Thrones episodes coming at us starting yesterday.  Aren’t you excited? I know I am. So this week we put together a show that will spoil every key moment of Game of Thrones, so you don’t have to bother watching any of it. Okay, okay, no spoilers. This is the most unspoiler show about Game of Thrones you’ll find on the Internet.   Link to this post!

Hi there geeks, we’ve got another episode of Universal Geek where we discuss recent movie trailers and the controversies (real and imagined) they created. Hit the play button and sit back for an hour of geek discussion. Rogue One Trailer Dr. Strange Trailer Ghost In The Shell live-action movie already pissing people off. He Never Died Halt and Catch Fire – Season 2 on Netflix Outlander’s Back! Link to this post!

Hello geeks and welcome for another ride on the geek train, next stop, CryptoTown.  We are going to talk about the FBI and Apple and what the FBI actually accomplished with their brinksmanship. We also have creepiness in robotics, a fighting game starring some of our favorite scientists, and much more. Don’t hit pause, get ready for a podcast filled with … FBI, Apple, and Encryption Clipper Chip Your Favorite Scientists Are Now Superheroes (b) More gifs of gameplay BIBLE FIGHT!. Man builds ‘Scarlett Johansson’ robot from scratch to ‘fulfill childhood dream’ (j) CERN Seeks International Artists For Full-Time Residency (b) Scientist May Have Discovered Alternate Universes (b) Firstmenonthemoon.com – experience the Apollo 11 moon landing (j) Link to this post!

Hey there geeks, welcome back to another week of grokking geek. In this week’s episode, we chat about C2E2 a bit, the announcement of another Indiana Jones movie, NASA space science, and Daredevil on Netflix. This is good stuff and we don’t want you to miss out on it.   Indiana Jones 5   Setting Things on Fire… In Space Link to this post!

Comic books are in the air, along with the scent of spring. This week we discuss the Captain America: Civil War trailer along with the presence of Spider-Man. This episode is all about comic books coming to the big and small screen as well as C2E2 and ECCC. Load up the episode and start streaming, this is Universal Geek, the podcast that groks all things geek! Captain America: Civil War Why people are going crazy for Spider-Man More about Spider-Man’s costume Batman vs. Superman – why the public isn’t very enthusiastic about it. (maybe?) While we’re at it: X-Men, Apocalypse Daredevil, season 2 : Electra, Punisher, etc. The Tick TV series coming back, thanks to Amazon C2E2 ECCC Link to this post!

Geeks! Hey… over here! Yeah, we have a podcast thing we want you to listen to.  This week we are talking about the creator of email, the death of a video app, zombies, Neil Gaiman, and the exploration of game worlds. Cool, eh? Yeah, we think so too, so what are you waiting for… hit play! And don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! Thanks, you’re our favorite listener! Ray Tomlinson – RIP – Dead at 74 (Inventor of email) Periscope Killed Meerkat Real Life Zombie Run A New Type of Travel Show – Exploring Game Worlds JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT LEAVES “SANDMAN” ADAPTATION Ian McShane to Star in ‘American Gods’ for Starz Universal Geek Book Club – March Book Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor Link to this post!

This week on Universal Geek we are doing something different and I’m going to tell you a love story as part of a Valentine’s Day celebration. Before I begin the story of geek love, I want to share with you this message: If you like Universal Geek  and want to support what we do, please write a review on iTunes and Stitcher.  And if you more than like this podcast, then please, let other people know about it. Sharing is caring. The inspiration for this week’s program came from an old Radiolab show – Ultimate Mix Tape – where Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich told their listeners the story of Ann Druyan and Carl Sagan. These two marvelous people fell in love while working on the Voyager program. The Voyager interstellar probe was a tangible symbol of their love for each other as it grew over time. I’m always moved by two aspects of this love story. One, just how genuine it felt with Ann describing their fragile feelings in the first moments of discovery and two, just how geeky it was.   I wanted to find other true life geek love stories. The non-traditional love stories Universal Geek listeners would relate to, understand, and appreciate.   The love story I want to share with you is about a shared passion for science. Maria Sklodowska Maria Sklodowska was born in Russia controlled Warsaw Poland in 1867.  Polish citizens were required to be educated by Russian standards. This made Polish nationals upset and they rebelled by creating the Flying University. The Flying University was a unique educational institution created so Polish citizens could be educated in the tradition of Polish standards. Avoiding Russian mandated education was dangerous. This was a danger Maria Sklodowska was willing to take because Russian universities didn’t allow women to enroll. If Maria was going to pursue her interests in chemistry, physics, and mathematics she would have to risk studying at the Flying University.   Studying at The Flying University would only take Maria’s education so far. Due to her family’s ongoing patriotism and involvement in popular uprisings against the Russians, Maria and her sister were left without the assets needed to pay for their ongoing education so they made an arrangement. Maria would work and pay for her sister’s education in Paris and then her sister would work to pay for Maria’s education afterwards. In 1890, Maria began her practical science training by working at the Museum of Science and Agriculture.  Just a year later, Maria left Poland for Paris where she studied at the University of Paris. By 1894, Maria (now known as Marie) took a job studying the magnetic properties of various types of steel.   In 1894, Marie needed lab space for her research. A friend, Polish physicist Józef Kowalski-Wierusz, introduced Marie to Pierre – a French scientist who was also studying magnetism. Pierre Curie Born in Paris in 1859, Pierre Curie excelled in math and science. By the time he was 16, he had earned a degree in math. Despite having done the equivalent work of earning a Ph.D., Pierre Curie could not pursue an advanced education due to lack of funds. Instead he took a job as a laboratory instructor until he could continue his education. In 1880, Pierre and his brother demonstrated when crystals were compressed they had an electrical potential.  This is a phenomenon known as piezoelectricity which became the basis of sonar, gas stove ignitors, and a bunch of sensors from devices detecting light to devices detecting sound and motion. Pierre was appointed supervisor of School of Physics and Industrial Chemistry in 1882 where he began studying magnetism. Fourteen years later, a friend, a Polish physicist Józef Kowalski-Wierusz, introduced Pierre Curie to Marie Sklodowska, the Polish scientist who was studying magnetism in different types of steel and who needed lab space to continue her research. The Meet Cute It wasn’t love at first sight for Marie and Pierre.  Pierre worried Marie would be a distraction for his own research. This worry was put aside as Pierre moved from the role of instructor to partner. He then began to refer to Maria as his muse. She encouraged and inspired his research. The Courtship Marie and Pierre shared a passion for science. This shared passion brought them closer together. Pierre proposed marriage, and like a good scientist who wanted to perform science in her homeland, Marie refused. She went back to Poland and Pierre said he was willing to follow her. She was refused a place at Krakow University because she was a woman. At the encouragement of Marie, Pierre wrote up his research on magnetism and finally received his own doctorate in March of 1895. Long bicycle trips and traveling to foreign countries intensified their feelings and their relationship. The Nuptial Just four months later, Marie and Pierre were married. Neither scientist wanted a religious service. Marie wore a dark blue outfit which she would use as her laboratory outfit for many years after. Their wedding occurred on July 26, in 1895. In each other they not only found a friend, a scientific partner but a lover to share their accomplishments with. The Epilogue Of course we know the work of Marie and Pierre Curie. Their research into Uranium discovered Polonium and Radium. Together they shared the honor of winning a Nobel Prize in Physics.  They also had two daughters, Irene and Eve.  The Curie family made long lasting contributions to science. [music interlude] Love is Chemical Roses are #FF0000 Violets are #0000FF All My Base Are Belong to You Geek love is just like any other love. It is filled with the same complexities, the same doubts, the same joys as everyone else’s. It might be discovered online, while playing World of Warcraft. That vicious Orc and powerful Troll might learn they share more in common than a desire to crush the Alliance. Or maybe two geeks meet at a game store to participate in a Magic the Gathering draft. After trading some cards, one thing leads to another, and they start building custom decks for each other. Thank you for listening to our tale of geek love on this week’s episode of the Universal Geek Podcast. Happy Valentine’s Day – or Valloween – whichever you choose to celebrate. I’m Sean D. Francis and I can be found everywhere on the Internet by visiting about.me/seandfrancis. Remember, my dear geeks, even though love is elusive and can lead to tragedy, it can also be wonderful and uplifting – so don’t panic. aThe first song was Oh, Love by Ayla Nereo and used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license The second song was Love is Chemical by Steve Combs and used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license Link to this post!