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Big, Big News for Lego Star Wars Fans

Go to Times Square you must! Photo: Amy Kraft

“We’ll send a car to pick you up. We’re taking you to an undisclosed location to show you something big, but we can’t tell you what it is.” Now, I wouldn’t jump in that car for just anyone, but when Lego sends a car, how could I possibly refuse? I doubted myself when we pulled onto a deserted, industrial road, but then I walked into an airplane hangar at the Islip Airport in Long Island and beheld the largest-ever Lego model, the Lego Star Wars X-wing Starfighter. Aw, yeah.

International Space Station Expedition 34 Crew. Pictured on the front row are NASA astronaut Kevin Ford (right), commander; and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, flight engineer. Pictured on the back row (from the left) are NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko, all flight engineers. Photo: NASA/Public Domain

Today, May 23rd, from 3-4 PM EDT, you can join a NASA hosted Google+ hangout with three of the former International Space Station (ISS) astronauts. NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency are back home in Houston, Texas, and undergoing physical rehabilitation after their recent return from their extended time in the nearly weightless environment.

The three are prepared to answer questions about their daily life on the orbiting outpost. As part of their normal onboard operations, the three were involved in scientific experiments, spacewalks, and normal maintenance.

Google+ Hangouts allow as many as 10 people or groups to chat face-to-face, while thousands more can watch the conversation live on Google+ or YouTube. The hangout also will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

If you have a specific question that you would like to ask, submit it on twitter to the NASA social media team! Simply include #askAstro as part of your tweet, and it will be added to the pool of questions that will be answered. Just before the hangout begins, NASA will also be opening a discussion on its Facebook page for questions to be asked. Remember the more original and unique the question the more likely it is to be chosen.

NASA’s Google+ page: http:www.google.com/+NASA
NASA’s TV Streaming video: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Just in Time for Memorial Day: Enjoy the 2013 Doodle4Google Winner

Image: Google

A Wisconsin 12th grader is singlehandedly bringing millions of people — especially military spouses, military children and servicemembers — to tears. For her winning 2013 Doodle4Google contest entry, Sabrina Brady wholeheartedly deserves the $30,000 scholarship, new Chromebook and $50,000 technology grant to her school that come with winning the 2013 Doodle4Google competition.

I’ve been in both of those characters’ shoes and this art brought me to tears. Many times I’ve stood pier-side waiting as my father returned from 6- to 9-month Navy deployments. In 2009, I got to enjoy my sons’ hugs after many months away in the Middle East for my own deployment.

I’m in tears now as I copy and paste the image into this post.

In addition to the moving message, Miss Brady’s art is wonderful. I love the shadows of each of the characters.

For the Doodle4Google contest, students in grades K-12 submitted Google Doodle art that applies to an annual theme. This year’s theme was “My Best Day Ever…” and Miss Brady’s entry commemorated the day her father returned from Iraq after 18 months away from home. She was 10 years old at the time.

The other four national finalists earned $5,000 scholarships. One winner was chosen from each state. Read more about the winning entry and see the finalists’ pieces here.

Are you interested in entering? Stay tuned, in January the new competition and theme will be announced.

Alana Smith – Awesome Geek Girl of the Day!

Photo: Bryce Kanights/ESPN images

The fact that Alana Smith is the youngest person to ever earn a medal in the X Games would be enough to earn her the title of Awesome Geek Girl of the Day. The youngest person to ever win a medal at the X Games is a girl! That’s a lot to celebrate. But the story behind the story is this:

Alana, who is just 12 years old, came very, very close to winning the Skateboard Park competition. As the X Games expands its women’s sports, this was the first time the event has been held. And it was almost won by an amazing sixth grader with a mouth full of braces.

If it weren’t for that crazy McTwist, an inverted 540-degree spin, that she just couldn’t seem to land, Alana just might have taken the coveted gold from the professional, Lizzie Armanto, who is eight years her senior. She’s landed it before, even in competition, but never on concrete. And at the X Games finals, she just couldn’t make it stick.

So Alana accepted her silver medal with a grin, did her television interviews, then turned to clear the course for the Men’s BMX competition. But then she turned back. Alana wasn’t done yet. Read more →

Confessions of a Lonely Geek

$I'm a lonely geek in an office of non-geeks \ Image: Dakster Sullivan$

I’m a lonely geek in an office of non-geeks \ Image: Dakster Sullivan

Most of my life I’ve been the only geek among those I see everyday. As a child, I was usually the only girl in boy-dominated courses and as an adult I’m the only female in my department. I’m also the only geek at my workplace. All of this can make for some lonely days.

The only daughter of three kids (and the middle child at that), I’m the only geek in our family of five. Before I was in high school, I received my first laptop for Christmas and I took it everywhere (even the grocery store). I saved up my allowance for a printer and scanner and eventually my parents bought me a tower PC with a flat screen monitor. When something computer-like broke in my house, I was the one they called to fix it.

At school I was one of two girls in my HTML and PC troubleshooting courses. The guys never seemed to mind and I really enjoyed learning. I experienced the same thing in college when I was going for my Associates of Science in Computer Engineering degree. In my three years in college, I only had another female in my class three times. Read more →

GeekMom: Comic Book Corner — May 22nd, 2013

$Akaneiro \ Image: Dark Horse Comics$

Akaneiro \ Image: Dark Horse Comics

Happy Comic Release Day! Welcome to another installment of GeekMom Comic Book Corner, where we recap our adventures in comics for the week. This week, we look at a new twist on Little Red Riding Hood, give a sendoff to Geoff Johns, take a look at what’s up with the Batgirl family drama and explain why an Archie comics crossover is drawing in readers at GeekMom Corrina’s house.

Dakster Sullivan–Akaneiro: The Path of Cloak and Wolf #1 of 3
Akaneiro: The Path of Cloak and Wolf by Justin Aclin and art by Vasilis Lolos is a three-part mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics. I’ve enjoyed Justin’s other work in the Star Wars universe and I was excited to read this story. The cover gives it away that it’s a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in a more Asian setting.

Our main heroine is Kani, a young and stubborn Ainu girl who feels less like one of her own people than anything else. I can tell she’s a very strong-minded character and she shows it when she saves her father from a fierce yokai (demon with fur). The Red Hunters arrive and save the day, much to the despair of the Ainu people. In an effort to keep the peace, Kani makes a request of the councilors that changes her world forever.

Along her journey we see that not everyone is happy at the prospect of peace between the Ainu and the Red Hunters. This is where the real story begins.

Landmines litter areas of Croatia and other parts of the world. Honeybees are being trained to sniff them out.

Sign warns of landmines that litter areas of Croatia. Honeybees are being trained to sniff them out. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Honeybees are getting sweeter: Even nearly two decades after the end of the Balkan wars, Croatia faces a horrible challenge of unexploded and unmarked landmines. Furthering earlier research, Croatian scientists are training honeybees to sniff out unexploded landmines. Since the end of the war, 316 people, including 66 de-miners, have been killed by landmines in Croatia.

Across the world, landmines are sought using mine-sniffing dogs and rats, but their weight can sometimes trigger the mine. Now researchers in Croatia are training honeybees to fly to landmines and identify their locations by associating the smell of TNT from landmines with their food. Initial trials show the trained bees preferring the TNT-scented food to their unadulterated food.

American researchers have also investigated honeybee bomb sniffers, but eliminated TNT as their food tag because its smell disappears too quickly. To read more about the Croatian research, go to Honeybees trained in Croatia to find land mines.

Bee keeper displays honeybees training to search for mines, with two unfused antitank mines in the foreground.

US researchers investigate mine sniffing in honeybees. In the foreground are two unfused antitank mines. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

It’s The Aquabats! Super Show! On DVD

“The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One!” is now available. Image: The Hub.

Just in case Yo Gabba Gabba wasn’t strange enough for you, here comes the DVD for The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One!

If our masked heroes look a little familiar, it’s because they’ve appeared on the Nick Jr. fan favorite a few times in the past. In fact, The Aquabats’ fearless leader, Christian Jacobs, is actually the co-creator of Yo Gabba Gabba. You can definitely expect some awesome music, great guest stars, and a few very ’70s themes to carry over in The Aquabats! Super Show! Season One!

The JBL Charge Bluetooth Speaker is a fantastic upgrade from the JBL Flip speaker I had reviewed last year. Photo: Patricia Vollmer.

After last year’s review of the JBL Flip speaker, which is perfect for small gatherings and trips to the park or beach, I never dreamed of having the same capability but with an added charging dock for your mobile devices.

But that’s what we have with the JBL Charge. A ruggedized Bluetooth speaker with a USB port. Through the port, plug in your device’s charging cable and you’re on your way! Read more →

Nickelodeon Debuts New Animated Series, Sanjay and Craig, Featuring a Boy and His (Talking) Snake

Sanjay and Craig swing onto Nickelodeon Saturday morning. (Photo: Nickelodeon)

This Saturday, May 25, at 10:30 (9:30 Central), Nickelodeon unveils a new cartoon series filled with the daily challenges and explorations of Sanjay and Craig, a boy and his pet snake. It also harkens to Nickelodeon’s wacky heritage, featuring a talking snake, Craig, and his twelve year-old boy, Sanjay. Together they evade life’s mundanities by creating fun and chaos while exercising their curiosity. Craig the snake knows how cool he is, while Sanjay is blind to considerations of cool factor or impossibilities.

The show’s creators/co-executive producers are Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf, who cite Nickelodeon’s influence on their own youths as a gratifying factor in bringing their creations to Nick viewers now. Naming their favorite Nick shows from their childhoods, they mentioned the Double Dare game show, which inspired an homage in a Sanjay and Craig episode, and Ren & Stimpy and its patented close-ups of grossnesses. The art style is somewhat nonanatomical and exaggerated, reminiscent of Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill, with bright colors. Read more →