Recent Upgrades to the Site

You might have noticed a few changes in the site design in the past couple days. Instead of doing a full-scale redesign, I'm implementing some of the smaller changes I wanted to make that don't require days of work. Also, I'm working on replacing the current custom BBlog CMS with WordPress. This will allow easier updating for me, tagging and comments on each BBlog post. The tough part for me will be creating a template that integrates well into the site.

The other change I rolled out was the updated navigation bar across the top of the site. This one is lighter and cleaner than the previous and brings the search box up to the top of the page where it's more visible. There's no button, but hitting Enter will submit your search query.

If you have an opinion on the changes (good or bad) or suggestions for further improvements on the site. Please let me know at briggsb@bbspot.com. Thanks.

That's all I've got for today. Stay geeky!

Daily Links - 2/9/10

More Accurate - Won't lose a second in 3.7 billion years. How can anyone verify this?

Star Trek Future - Scientists have discovered how to teleport energy. Can people be that far behind?

Crazy Juggling - This guy looks like he has three arms when he's juggling.

Serving Size - No surprise that food companies make servings sizes too small on their packages, so they look healthier than they really are.

Stock Photos - Bad stock photos of people playing video games.

Dancing Robots - The hexapod dance competitions for 2009.

Chewbacca Bars - This is why you are fat.

Daily Links - 2/8/10

Windows 7 Libraries - Get to know them, they're useful.

Ending Anonymity - On the Internet you can't end anonymity and that's a good thing.

New Sonic Game - Sega fans rejoice.

Epic Mario Rap - There's some F-Bombs in this one so be careful at work with the speakers up.

Steam Punked Home - I'm not into steampunk but this house looks cool.

Demon Sheep - In case you were wondering what all the demon sheep talk was about.

The Art of Akira - My friend Joe has worked on putting this exhibit together on the art of Akira (a BBook of Geek movie).

Daily Links - 2/5/10

Unreliable Payment Network - A site that is exactly what the title says. I wonder if I can buy my next car with this one.

The Hurt Locker - The Netflix deal with Warner Brothers is a bad idea.

Big Bang Minus Laughs - Here's a video of a scene from The Big Bang Theory with the laugh track removed.

Primordial Soup - Not such a hot theory any more.

HTML 5 Savior? - Gizmodo explains why HTML 5 isn't going to save the Internet. I wasn't aware the Internet needed saving.

Smart Mistakes - Since there are a lot of smart people who read BBspot, here are 5 mistakes that you probably are making.

Generic News Story - Looks like news in the UK is the same as it is here.

This Week on Survivor, a Contestant Emails BBspot

I wrote (actually I'm not even sure about that even though my name is on it) this story about Survivor II contestant Mike Skupin almost 9 years ago. At the time, I was a big Survivor fan and watched the show each week. I was bummed when Mike fell into the fire and had to be taken out of the game. Now, I haven't watched Survivor in years, and had completely forgotten about the story until just yesterday when I get an email from...

From: Michael Skupin
Date: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 3:25 PM
Subject: Where did you get your facts for this Mike Skupin story? Mike Skupin
To: briggsb@bbspot.com
Cc: Michael Skupin

Now, you're thinking that's not the real Mike Skupin. It's just someone pulling your leg. It's not. I verified the email address and it's him.

Why does he care about this anyway? I thought. Well, it's the #2 result on Google when you search for Mike Skupin. That's right, it even ranks ahead of Wikipedia and CBS's pages on the guy. LOL.

I haven't responded to him yet, and not sure I will. I found it funny, and thought you would too. Enjoy.

Oh, and please don't email the guy and give him a hard time. He didn't threaten me, or ask me to take it down. He's a nice guy and a fellow Michigander so leave him alone. Thanks.

That's all for now. Stay geeky!

Daily Links - 2/4/10

Office 2010 - I think my copy of Office 2003, Google Docs and OpenOffice will satisfy my needs for a long long time.

Gaming Keyboard - Lets your press 26 keys at once. oo bredfw3ew3eb2

Extraterrestrial Life - Director of District 9 gives a talk on extraterrestrial life and what it might be like.

War and Peace - A one-button civilization game.

The Same Cover - I think I see a trend here in these covers. Warning: bad music.

Spray-on Glass - This glass is a liquid.

Models - Great pictures of model cars and cities.

Where in the World is Mrs. BBspot

For those of you playing the "Where's Mrs. BBspot" game at home, you can move your markers from Sweden to Amsterdam then slowly move it towards Tehran. I'm eagerly awaiting her Skype call here at BBspot world HQ.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but I showed my son and the 8-year-old who's staying with us how to play Civ 4 over the LAN. Tomorrow I'm thinking of introducing them to Doritos and tomorrow heroin. What do you think?

I finished Pyramids by Terry Pratchett last night. Enjoyed it, but didn't like it as much as the previous ones I've read. I'm waiting for the library to send over the next Discworld novel, and while I'm doing that I'm reading a self-published fantasy novel that I'll be reviewing on the site.

In other news, I've started the geek exercise program on the Wii Fit my son got for Christmas. I'm up to 30-40 minutes a day of exercise on the thing. Not sure how well it's going to work, but it has to be better than my previous exercise program (moving the mouse fast while sitting at my desk). Has anybody out there had succes with the Wii Fit?

That's all for now. Stay geeky!

Daily Links - 2/3/10

Star Stories - Star stories in Google News so you can follow them.

Literal Billie Jean - A literal version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

Falling Down - How to survive a 35,000 feet fall, or at least try to.

64 Geek Things - Another one of those list that proclaims to know what every geek should know. At least this one is appropriately numbered.

Watterson Speaks - Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson does an interview, and of course I have to link to it.

Apple Not For Tinkerers - Apple has been trending away from tinkerers for a long time.

Chrome Monkey - Greasemonkey now natively supported in Google's Chrome browser.

Daily Links - 2/2/10

Comedy Gold Mine - College Humor explains why the iPad is a comedy gold mine.

Changing States - Mapping out the US into 50 states of equal population could solve a lot of problems, however, I'd end up in the state of Detroit, so I'm not so sure.

iPad to Geeks - The iPad explained to geeks.

iPad vs. Rock - Rock beats iPad.

Huzzah! - Your renaissance festival has been PWNED!

Jam Session - Musicians across continents get together to create some great music.

The Nerd Commandments - 20 nerd commandments that you must follow if you're to be a proper nerd.

A "Laptop" SNAFU

Greetings and felicitations!

I have a SNAFU with my laptop. A few weeks ago the battery died. I found a replacement battery for about $50, not a bad deal I thought. Unfortunately, the laptop does not see the battery, and refuses to charge it. I did some research and found that Sony laptops have some issues with non-Sony replacement batteries (note to self: never by a Sony product again).

The laptop store was kind enough to take the battery back, so now I have a laptop that only works when plugged in.

I could order a battery directly from Sony to see if that works. However, the cost of the Sony battery is $199. I also run the risk of it being a problem with the charging circuitry, and having Sony be not so nice about the return.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I need a laptop, but $199 for a battery is ridiculous, and I don't have the cash to buy a new laptop. Right now, I'm just using my battery-less laptop as a stationary computer, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a laptop. Does anyone have any ideas? Let me know.

Also, Mrs. BBspot had to take an unplanned trip to Iran for the next week or so, that has also put a bit of a dent in the BBspot finances. Now would be a very helpful time to send over a donation. Thanks!

That's all for now. Stay geeky!