Month: December 2013

Issue 7 of The *Nixed Report Available

Linux Mint Debian Edition
Linux Mint Debian Edition is the final destination for the 2013 Distro Journey Series.

The final issue of the magazine for 2013 is available for popular consumption.  Here’s what’s covered:

  • Social Networking Ads and How they may backfire.
  • Linux Mint Debian Edition
  • Google Drive being used on the construction of this year’s final issue as well as a preview of things to come in 2014.

 

The magazine may be downloaded here.  The clouds on the cover page courtesy of Kamil Porembiński via Creative Commons.

Friday Epic Fail: Fake AIDS Vaccine

Research Trolled.
Original image available from here under Creative Commons.

Ah, wonderful glorious scientific research.  It can bring about amazing discoveries, such as cures to diseases.

Unfortunately, one of those so called “possible cures” for AIDS turned out to be a false positive.  According to the New York Post:

Dr. Dong-Pyou Han spiked a clinical test sample with healthy human blood to make it appear that the rabbit serum produced disease-fighting antibodies, officials said.

$19 USD in grants were received, his “findings” were published in journals, and others wondered how he managed to pull it off.  Things were hunky dory until the National Institutes of Health checked the so called “serum” to find it had been spiked.

So remember, when someone says, “follow the science,” trust only after verifying.

Throwback Thursday: Santa Claus!

Yesterday was Christmas Day.  Though there has been much discussion and debate over the true origin of the holiday, the most well known figure of modern day Christmas is none other than Santa Claus.

Santa Claus
Image courtesy of LadyDragonflyCC under Creative Commons.

While there is plenty of information on the history of this classic figure, it turns out that Coca Cola was the company that popularized the modern image of the big jolly guy in the red suit with white fur.

The soda company wanted a way to market their products during the winter, which was the slowest during the 1930’s.  When Haddon Sundblom was commissioned in 1931 to create a modern depiction of St. Nick for advertising purposes, they got the imagery they wanted; a larger than life figure that was realistic at the same time.

With that said, what holiday do you celebrate in December?  Feel free to sound off in the comments below.  😉

Good News Saturday: The Blind Teen Sportscaster

Blake Tarrants
Screenshot of Tarrants came from video footage from KMBC 9 News.

Many have had those dream careers in mind growing up.  Some wish to be in the military.  Others wish to be emergency workers.  Blake Tarrants wants to become a sports broadcaster.

He’s a senior at Blue Springs High School who broadcasts various games like basketball over the radio.  He knows the stats, the moves that the players make, and much more.

By the way, he’s blind.

The lesson for today is to never give up on one’s dreams, no matter the obstacles.  If Blake Tarrants can pull it off, then the sky’s the limit when it comes to dreams.

Friday Epic Fail: Mom and Daughter Busted for Hot Tub Photo

Camera's in phones may not always be a good thing.
Original image available via Wikimedia Commons.

With the advances made in technology and social media, blunders are bound to occur.  This one happens to have occurred not too far from St. Louis, Missouri.

Considering the fact that St. Louis itself has been the subject of experiments against civilian populations among other weird things, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

According to The Smoking Gun,

The 50-year-old woman and her child posed for the photo last month at their home in Wentzville, a city 40 miles west of St. Louis. According to a probable cause statement, the pair “were covering up their nipples in the picture.”

The hot tub photo, investigators reported, was subsequently “circulated throughout two high schools in the Rockwood School District.” As a result, the woman’s son “was ridiculed by classmates for the picture of his mother and sister.”

The photo was snapped by the teen’s sister, who used her sibling’s phone.

Remember kids: When taking certain pictures, don’t let them circulate in high schools.  If the judgmental peers don’t get to you, prudish authority figures will.

Throwback Thursday: The A-Team

The A-Team!
Courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons.

The A-Team was an 80’s show about a team of mercenaries wanted by the government.  One of the more prominent characters of the show was B.A., played by Mr. T.

The show brings back many memories.  Chief among them were the numerous overturning vehicles and big explosions.  What was your favorite show growing up?

 

Wednesday Weekly Links: December 18, 2013

Steam OS
The new OS is creating quite a stir.

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s links involve a plethora of technology updates and some geek and movie culture.

Unix

  • Fedora 20 Released (LXer): Carla Schroder talks about the new release of the OS sponsored by Red Hat.  What’s interesting to note is the improved support for the ARM architecture.
  • Steam OS Review (Muktware): Swapnil Bharttiya takes a look at Valve’s new OS, currently in beta.
  • HP Chromebook 11 Chargers Recalled (MaximumPC): While Chrome OS can be seen as stable, the hardware can be another matter.  Certain chargers for HP’s Chromebook 11 are overheating and as a result have been recalled.

 

Overlooked Pop Culture

Wednesday Weekly Links: December 11, 2013

Galaxy S4 Depicted in Flames
The phone’s specs are amazing, but it can also catch houses on fire.

As we head deeper and deeper into Winter, more people are going to stay indoors to avoid the cold weather.  Eventually, people will get bored and will start killing time on the Internet.  To make things a bit more pleasant for those who happen to be bored, never fear!

Our weekly links will have you laughing, crying, and cursing multibiollion dollar corporations all at the same time.  With that said, here’s this week’s links.

Unix

 

Overlooked Pop Culture

  • There are people who are here to help you poop: We aren’t making this up.  There is a product called Squatty Potty that helps the person squat instead of sit on their toilet.  Something about making it all come out easier…….
  • Foolish users brick their XBOX One consoles (Daily Dot): Thanks to a convincing looking image via 4Chan, a number of uses enabled the developer mode on their XBOX One consoles in the hopes that they’ll be able to play their XBOX 360 games.  Unfortunately, the instructions rendered said consoles inoperable.  Remember, kids…. never follow instructions from an image board, and for crying out loud, stay out of /b/!
  • Martial arts demo curating (The Stick Chick): A martial arts expert explains why it’s best to practice certain things in a dojo before demonstrating them to the public.