Geeks Blog » Books

Game of Thrones Season 2 Trailer Out

Hannah — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:23:53 +0000

Before HBO made the Game of Thrones mainstream, George RR Martin fans already knew how awesome The Song of Fire and Ice is. I remember the first time I picked up a copy of the Game of Thrones, I was a little skeptical at my sister’s overly enthusiastic review of the book. A few minutes in, and I was hooked. A couple of days later, with creaking joints and puffy eyes from reading too much, I had finished book one and ready to go out to buy book two.

I need not get into the details about why George RR Martins writing is beyond great (in depth exploration of each character), since this is supposed to be about the HBO series that introduced it to the public. Needless to say, every Song of Fire and Ice fan must have been on edge waiting for HBO’s adaptation of the Game of Thrones, fearing that it wouldn’t live up to expectations. But of course, we all know by now that most everyone’s pretty happy with how things turned out. True, I would have liked the direwolves to be a little bigger, but when it comes to the wall, I guess my spatially-challenged mind couldn’t imagine it to be as tall as that before…I love it. As for the characters, much everyone is spot on, not only in their look but also the way they carried it all off.

So why am I raving about the Game of Thrones now? Perhaps it’s because I can’t wait till Season 2 comes out on April (2 more months!!!), or perhaps its because I’ve been watching the Season 2 trailer over and over since yesterday. If you haven’t seen it yet, prepare to be left hanging.

As for me, it’s time to hit the books and brush up on the plot in time for Season 2!

FREE Geeky Activities That Can Make You Feel Better

gecko — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:57:54 +0000

I had a bad day. No, I am having a bad week. Let me correct that again, I have had a bad month…maybe the first half of the year, even. Oh well, thank goodness I have some spare time and I can think of FREE things that can make me feel better. Maybe you can use them too…

Mooch a book.
This weekend, why don’t you hole yourself up in your bedroom? Borrow a good book from one of your friends. Better yet, get a free e-book somewhere and use your e-book reader (I use my PSP). You don’t even have to get dressed for the day. Just stay in and immerse yourself in a wonderful fantasy novel!

Oh, and check out this site called BookMooch. You can give and get books all you want!

Play a game.
You can do this alone or with friends. With the mood I am in, I am probably better off playing Guitar Hero by myself. Otherwise, I might end up hitting someone with my guitar (and no, I cannot afford to buy a new one). Anyway, this is a perfect blues chases. Get out your favorite video game and forget the world.

Play around with Wolfram Alpha.
Wolfram Alpha, in case you haven’t heard (shame on you!), is the newest in search engine technology. Heck, its creators do not even call it a search engine. It’s a computational something…yeah, I need to play with it a little more.

The Geek Atlas: The Ultimate Travel Guide

gecko — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:04:18 +0000

Aside from spending virtually all of my time in front of my laptop, I like to travel. Yes, if I had the money to do so, I would spend my time hopping from one destination to the next. From Asia to Europe to Australia to Africa to the Americas – I would visit every single place that I could. I do not have a concrete plan, well, I DIDN’T – until I got wind of The Geek Atlas.

Its full title is The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science And Technology Come Alive. Need I explain more? Every self-respecting geek, nerd, or dork (or whatever you want to call people) would jump at the chance to go through this book’s pages AND then actually go and visit the places featured.

This is a one of a kind travel guide, which showcases the most significant locations on earth; significant in that they were (or are) places where a scientific, mathematical, or technological discovery was made (or being made). To give you a taste of what’s inside the pages, take a look at these:

• Bletchley Park in the UK, where the Enigma code was broken
• The Alan Turing Memorial in Manchester, England
• The Horn Antenna in New Jersey, where the Big Bang theory was confirmed
• The National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Maryland
• The Trinity Test Site in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was exploded
• The Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California

If you are not familiar with the concepts, then go Google it! But I am pretty sure I got you at Enigma. Head on over to O’Reilly and get your copy now for $29.99.

New Life To Kindle?

gecko — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:10:47 +0000

E-books are no match for the real thing – or are they? To be honest, my preferences depend on my mood. There are times when I prefer the convenience of reading an e-book on my e-book reader or even my PSP. However, I do get these urges to actually hold a book made of real paper. The feel and smell of a real book just can’t be matched at times. Then again, the ease of using an e-book reader cannot be matched either.

No matter which route you prefer to take, there is no doubt that e-book readers are all the rave and that one of the most popular is Amazon’s Kindle. And in February 9 of this year, Amazon is holding a media event at Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. Experts in the industry are predicting that this event will be the time that we will be seeing a revamped Kindle, Kindle 2.0.

Why would anyone need a new Kindle when it seems that it is always sold out in Amazon? For one, the original Kindle is not really much to look at. It is bulky and the casing is not really pretty. Perhaps the new Kindle will be sexier and will provide more eye candy? Perhaps with the new Kindle, more people will actually be seen holding the gadget in subways and planes? Yeah, come to think of it, I have never really seen people using the Kindle the same way we use iPods. Then again, that could be due to the fact that people like to listen to music more than to read.

In any case, we just might see some changes with the rebirth of this educational and entertainment device.

Kaku is a physic rock star

gecko — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:38:10 +0000

One of my personal heroes is theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. I think he’s one of the rock stars of Physics world. His ideas on string theory, M theory and all of the other esoteric branches of physics just beggar my imagination.

I’m such a big fan that I try to collect as many of his books as I can. Case in point is his new book The Physics of The Impossible. In this amazing book, Kaku talks about stuff that we only hear about in science fiction novels–perpetual engines, telekinesis, teleportation, time travel, invisibility. The thing here is that Kaku explains it using current physical laws and suggests that for some of these fanciful flights of the imagination, reality could well be possible.

Frankly, this book is miles better than the pulp SF books I devour.