:skyecade online

I’m driving down route 495 the other day, minding my own business, when I notice a little green blob moving across the rear window of my car. The little green blob then proceeded to jump from the middle of the window to the rear windshield wiper. All this while speeding along at 61 knots (that’s 70 miles per hour for you landlubbers).

Needless to say, I did what every other true American would do. I sped up to see how long he could hang on! It wasn’t that long. — Alright, relax! I pulled over and let him off. I almost killed us both while taking that picture though. They say not to talk on a cell phone while driving, but I’ve never heard anyone say “don’t turn around and take a picture of a frog on your rear window while traveling 70 miles per hour” (that’s 112.65 Km/h for you metric lovers).

     

Filed under: Life, Random Bits
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I was snooping around the Google Labs today and I noticed a new service called Google Voice Local Search. How intriguing! It’s Google’s version of 411, but instead of using the conventional methods of other phone directories, this service seems to be tied in directly with their search algorithm, or more likely a tweaked version of their search algorithm. Simply call this number - 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) and follow the prompts. It seems to work pretty well considering that it’s fairly new.

From Google:

Welcome to Google Voice Local Search

Google Voice Local Search is Google’s experimental service to make local-business search accessible over the phone.

To try this service, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone.

Using this service, you can:

* search for a local business by name or category.
You can say “Giovanni’s Pizzeria” or just “pizza”.

* get connected to the business, free of charge.

* get the details by SMS if you’re using a mobile phone.
Just say “text message”.

And it’s free. Google doesn’t charge you a thing for the call or for connecting you to the business. Regular phone charges may apply, based on your telephone service provider.

Note: Google Voice Local Search is still in its experimental stage. It may not be available at all times and may not work for all users. We’re fine-tuning the service to get better at recognizing your requests. It’s currently only available in English, in the US, for US business listings.

If Google can iron out all the kinks in this technology, the possibilities will be endless. Why limit themselves to a mere phone directory. You’re already connecting to (and searching through) Google’s massive databases via a phone connection, why not pass them other search terms? For example, need to know John Adams birth date in a pinch? - Just bare with me.- With this technology, Google could simply forward the user’s query to a site like Wikipedia, or even use their own built in define operator, i.e., define: John Adams. Now all Google would have to do is read you the results, which is what they are already doing in Goog 411.

It will be interesting to see where they take this.

     

Filed under: Google, Technology, Design / Development, Internet
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Good times on Father’s Day is right, at least for my 6 month old nephew. For some reason, he finds my daughter to funnier than Will Ferrell, Jim Carey, and Elmo all put together.

Personally, I just think she spikes his oatmeal.

     

Filed under: Life, Mind, Body, Soul, Random Bits
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If I had more space, the title would have read, “The top five greatest female characters in a live action science fiction movie and / or television series.” But that’s just obnoxious. — Okay, here we go…

Seven of Nine

“We are the Borg.” - My personal favorite. She is also what prompted me to create this illustrious list. I’ve been on a Star Trek Voyager kick for the last month or two and have decided to re-watch all the old episodes in chronological order. I never realized how utterly boring the show was until they added Seven of Nine to the cast of characters in the fourth season. This buxom Borg made the pain of enduring the previous seasons well worth it. Seven is a by far one of the more interesting characters I have come across in realm of science fiction.

Star Trek: Voyager

Kara Thrace

“Frak.” - Battlestar Galactica is, without a doubt, my favorite television show ever to be aired. When I first heard that they were remaking the original series, I was ecstatic. When I heard that the part of “Starbuck” was going to be played by a women, I was worried. Maybe even a little offended. But all my fears and doubts were laid to rest the moment I actually watched the show. Kara Thrace is a more complex version of the former Starbuck. She is also far better looking and much tougher than her male counterpart ever was. Sorry Dirk, Kara for the win.

Battlestar Galactica

Princess Leia Organa

“I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.” - For all of you younglings out there still daydreaming about Padme, stop it. She couldn’t hold a candle to Princess Leia Organa (Skywalker) (Solo). At age 20, this young spitfire was the leader of the Rebel Alliance against the well established and all powerful Galactic Empire. She even told Grand Moff Tarkin that he stank, right to his face. Let’s see Padme do that! Oh, and this is all while she was being escorted by the Dark Lord of the Sith, the most feared being in the universe. Don’t be fooled by her cute little buns people. By that I mean hair buns naturally. This princess is the kick ass mother of all sci-fi women to follow. Except for Padme of course, who actually is her mother…

Star Wars: A New Hope - Empire Strikes Back - Return of the Jedi

Leeloo

“Multipass.” - Every geek, male or female, has had a crush on Leeloo at some point in their life. Perhaps it’s her flowing orange hair or the fact that her whole outfit looks like one big distorted belt. Maybe it’s her cute incoherent babble or her innocent blue eyes. No, it’s more likely the fact that she could kill you without even breaking a sweat. Sweet and deadly, sort of like a twinkie.

The Fifth Element

Trinity

“Dodge this.” - Finally, this brings us to one of the most celebrated female characters in the realm of science fiction, Trinity. The Matrix spawned a slew of iconic figures and Trinity is at the top of that list. Clad in latex, this cyber-goth-goddess is one hacker that isn’t to be trifled with.

The Matrix - The Matrix Reloaded - The Matrix Revolutions

And there you have it, my top five greatest women in sci-fi list is complete. This list was not an easy one to make mind you. Quite a few of my favorite sci-fi vixens didn’t make the cut for various reasons. Take the women of Firefly for instance. After BSG, Firefly could be my favorite TV series, and a lot of that had to do with the great cast, both male and female. Alas, I didn’t feel that as individuals they could bump anyone off this list. Sorry girls. Below are some of the other gals that almost broke into the top 5, but were snubbed out at the last minute.

The Runners-Up

	Sarah Connor - Terminator 1 & 2
	Max Guevera - Dark Angel
	Mystique - X-Men 1, 2, & 3
	Ripley - Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, & Alien Resurrection
	Lara Croft - Tomb Raider 1 & 2

Discuss or post your own list here…

     

Filed under: Top Fives, TV / Video, Zen Geekery, Movies
8 Comments

June 17th.

Put that date in your Google calendar!!

     

Filed under: Geekculture, TV / Video, Cyberculture
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This thing looks great. I can’t wait to actually hold one.

     

Filed under: Apple, Gadgets, Hardware
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I am constantly tweaking my Firefox browser and this, my friends, is my latest and greatest creation. I visit these sites at least once a day, some more than others. Have a look.

     

Filed under: Firefox, Productivity, Web 2.0, Internet
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