Last night we attended the grand opening of the WIRED Holiday Store 2009, which is open November 21st through December 27th both in the form of an online store as well as a physical location in Meatpacking District of Manhattan.

Welcome to the Fifth Annual Wired Store. Here, you’ll find all that’s new & next in the world of WIRED: Cutting-edge technology & design… The latest in games & gaming… Cool new music & books… Hot new gear & gadgets… Indoor & outdoor inspiration… Products to help you lead a greener life… And the opportunity to own your very own WIRED-branded stuff.

Photo Gallery: Wired Holiday Store 2009

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Computer security expert Jacob Appelbaum and renowned computer scientist Donald Knuth demonstrate the recursive homeboys principle.

current iteration:

“We’re recursive homeboys this year, Don.”
“Nested and recursive parens. … We can square it every year.”

previous iteration:

“Oh wait, let me stand behind you. Nested Parens”
“Don, do you mind if I put this on my home page?”
“Gosh no, you’re my homeboy after all!”
“Nested Parens”

The shirt Jacob is wearing in the photo is “Knuth Is My Homeboy” by Geekz Shop. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the shirt go to support the EFF and the FSF.

Has Donald Knuth got your back? Computer scientists need groupies too.

Bold two colour screen print featuring the father of the analysis of algorithms. Is this the Art in the Art of Computer Programming? No

The image on the t-shirt is based on a 2005 photo Jacob shot of Donald.

photos by Jacob Appelbaum

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Madrid based illustrator and comic artist Carla Berrocal created an awesome 8-Bit Wedding Invitation for one of her clients that was inspired by 1980’s Atari games.

via The Daily What

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“I Be Au Sm”, a Threadless t-shirt by Lawrence Villanueva that celebrates geek pride.

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“El Vetica”, a marvelous new type geek t-shirt by our pal Mike Monteiro, is now available in the Mule Design Studio Feed Store.

Celebrating the career of Mexico’s only typographer/luchador. El Vetica, also known as El Kernudo, fought out of the small town of San Serif. He held the Mexican Inter-Continental belt for an unprecedented 7 years, from 1977–84. He also starred in several telenovelas, most notably Las Esposas do Luchador and El Santo e Super Amigos.

See Previously: Keming and Other T-Shirts for Type Nerds

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photos by Scott Beale

Here are a few photos I shot last night at w00tstock v1.0, a wonderful geekfest featuring Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and Paul and Storm, Molly Lewis, Kid Beyond and Kasper Hauser. Tickets are still available for tonight’s October 20th show in San Francisco and tomorrow’s October 21st show in Los Angeles.

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Last week on The Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien interviewed Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB port, who was recently portrayed by an actor in an Intel Nerd Rock Stars commercial. Later Conan recreated the commercial with the real Ajay.

via Engadget

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guest post by Burstein!

The hackerspace Noisebridge is one of San Francisco’s cultural and artistic gems. Its members have contributed a wide variety of art, hacks and local culture.

Noisebridge is a space for sharing, creation, collaboration, research, development, mentoring, and of course, learning. Noisebridge is also more than a physical space, it’s a community with roots extending around the world. We help people build neat and awesome things.

On Friday, October 2nd, these über-makers and geeks are having an open house for their one year anniversary that will show off what they have done and can do. This alone is worth the price of admission, which is free. Things to see include:

The Brain Machine (which you can learn to make at noisebridge)

A Compass Vibro-Anklet (which you can learn to make at noisebridge)

A Makerbot Robot (which can be used at noisebridge)

Also at the event will be the Reverse Engineering Bar with only the geekiest of drinks and music by DIY-band Corpus Callosum and Cally McMorrow, circuit bender of legend.

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Here’s a handy Nerd Venn Diagram to help determine if you are a Geek, Dork or Dweeb.

via Craig Newmark

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poster by Len Peralta

w00tstock, three hours of geeks and music featuring Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and Paul and Storm, takes place October 19th and 20th at Swedish American Hall in San Francisco and October 21st at Largo in Los Angeles.

For decades, geeks were ostracized, picked on, laughed at and punished by the sun’s harmful UV rays. But there is only so long that a people can be kept down before they rise up against their oppressors; and, indeed, the dawn of the 21st century has seen the ascendancy of geeks and geek culture.

We now celebrate that rise to power–and let’s face it, nerds pretty much run everything now–with w00tstock, a special event for geeks of every stripe. Television host/special-effects artist Adam Savage (”MythBusters”), actor/author/blogger Wil Wheaton (”Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Stand By Me”) and music-comedy duo Paul and Storm (hey; that’s us!) present a night of songs, readings, comedy, demonstrations, short films, special guests, and other clever widgets born from and dedicated to the enthusiasms, obsessions, trials and joys of geek pride.

This is the dawning of the Age of Geekdom–and its voices will ring true at w00tstock.

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photo by Scott Beale

Happy System Administrator Appreciation Day to all the awesome sys admins out there who keep our servers running. We would like to give a special shout out to Laughing Squid Web Hosting sys admin Frank Escamilla.

Here’s helpful advice on the proper use of the System Administrator’s valuable time.

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Here a few photos I shot this weekend during MaxFunCon 2009 at Lake Arrowhead, CA. It was really fun conference that focused on creativity, comedy and general geekiness, organized and curated by Jesse Thorn of the public radio show The Sound of Young America (see my previous post on MaxFunCon 2009).

Photo Gallery: MaxFunCon 2009

Here are more photos of MaxFunCon 2009 by Noe Montes, Nicole Lee, Douglas Dollars and Jenny Ryan.

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Here are a few short videos that I shot this year at Maker Faire 2009.

Calliope by Neverwas

Soma by Flaming Lotus Girls

Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing plays his cigar box guitar

kid vs. robot in a chess match

Cupcake CNC by MakerBot Industries

Geneva Wheel, part of 10,000 Year Clock Project by The Long Now Foundation

Hand of Man by Christian Ristow

R2-D2

Jacob’s Ladder by Omega Recoil

Skull by Alameda County Computer Resource Center (ACCRC)

Video Gallery: Maker Faire 2009

Here are my photos from Maker Faire 2009.

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Here are my photos of Maker Faire 2009, which took place Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st at the San Mateo County Event Center.

Photo Gallery: Maker Faire 2009

Here are the videos that I shot at Maker Faire 2009.

photo by Scott Beale

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guest post by Al Ridenour

So the new Star Trek film made a good at drawing kids into their parent’s (or grandparent’s) sci-fi franchise, but it’s not like Roddenberry wasn’t trying to get with the kids back in 1969. What else would explain this exquisitely ham-fisted jam by the “Space Hippies” of episode #76, “The Way to Eden”, wherein Spock grudgingly breaks out his Vulcan harp for a bit of musical diplomacy.

Of course, the real-life Nimoy was anything but grudging in his pursuit of musical stardom, and these strivings — along with the occasional nod to the breathless rhapsodies of Shatner and other ST notables — are admirably documented at Maiden Wine, with troves of all-but-lost treasures including never-before-seen footage from Nimoy’s notorious “Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” music video.

Naturally, all of this has inspired fans to join the musical chorus in a variety of ways, whether it’s hand-carving “an exact working replica” the aforementioned Vulcan harp. (It’s tuned to a diatonic, dontcha know!), dressing up as the “Mugato” and moshing with Sacramento’s Trekker punks, The No Kill I or recording novelty rockers like “Jim Beam Me Up” with Sacramento’s OTHER rival Trekkie band Warp 11.

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Intel’s amusing new ad campaign “Sponsors of Tomorrow” celebrates nerd rock stars, such as USB co-inventor Ajay Bhatt (that’s not really Ajay in the ad, Intel hired an actor to play him).

via Waxy

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Make and Craft present Maker Faire 2009, the world’s largest DIY festival, which is returns to the San Mateo County Expo Center for its 4th year next weekend, Saturday, May 30th and Sunday, May 31st.

Following on President Obama’s call to “begin again the work of remaking America”, Maker Faire 2009 will be organized around the theme of Re-Make America. Held in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 30-31, Maker Faire celebrates what President Obama called “the risk takers, the doers, and the makers of things.” The fourth annual Maker Faire will showcase individual creativity and grassroots innovation in the largest festival devoted to DIY culture and technology in the country.

Here are my photos from Maker Faire Bay Area 2008.

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guest post by Burstein!

Ladies and Gentlemen, from the brilliant minds of MIT Media Lab, we give you The WoW (World of Warcraft) Pod! The WoW Pod is an environment that is specifically designed for the advanced WoW player that will “provide and anticipate all life needs.”

Inside, the gamer finds him/herself comfortable seated in front of the computer screen with easy-to-reach water, pre-packaged food, and a toilet conveniently placed underneath his/her custom-built throne.

The WoW Pod is does a lot more than merely provide the gamer with water, food, and a toilet – it will provide you with cooked meals! The gamer selects their meal by scanning a packet of food. the game recognizes the meal, and then adjusts a hot plate to cook it at the right temperature. When the meal is done, the player’s avatar will announce it to the player, and the rest of the game-world, by bouncing joyfully and clapping.

The gamer who plays “Cavara”, a level 80 Dwarf Paladin, tested the WoW Pod and noted gleefully, “I think it is the best way to isolate yourself from reality for a good five days straight (giggle).”

via Kotaku

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guest post by Burstein!

This video of ancient computer equipment playing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” is utterly amazing. Artist bd594 clearly has been playing with old computer equipment qua musical instruments for a while, as shown by his floppy disk rendition of Star Wars music and Funkytown.

There are millions of computers sitting idle at home consuming phantom electricity. Let’s see where all that power is going. This is dedicated to all fans of Queen and hey let’s not forget about Mike Myers and Dana Carvey of Wayne’s World.
Please note no effects or sampling was used.

What you see is what you hear (does that even make sense?):
- Atari 800XL was used for the lead piano/organ sound
- Texas Instruments TI-99/4a as lead guitar
- 8 Inch Floppy Disk as Bass
- 3.5 inch Harddrive as the gong
- HP ScanJet 3C was used for all vocals.

via mental_floss

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guest post by Burstein!

Although the tag line for Dork Yearbook is “the way we wish we weren’t,” I find these photos exceptionally sweet and endearing. They truly take me back to my excitement of going over to my friend’s house for a sleep over where we would dissemble his 486 and pretend we were adults on BBSes.

Joel Johnson began Dork Yearbook as a series of posts on Boing Boing Gadgets and they were so successful that he turned it into its own Tumbler blog.

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