Smile, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum + Labs & BRZRKR

Has Professor finally found a way to keep DJ in the time limit? Some say yes.

Can a smile really make you think better of someone? What if it would make you think worse of them? This study looked at the perceived trustworthiness of people with various disorders, but the Nerds think it's not particularly rigorous.

Microsoft Flight Simulator will come with a physical edition including a lovely hardcover flight manual, and ten discs. TEN discs. It's going to be a pretty significant drive eater but if you don't have a good internet connection or want a pretty book this is the way to go.

It's time to say goodbye to Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum + Labs. Paul's museum is the only place a regular civilian can access the classic Big Iron mainframes of the 60s and 70s, but they've recently announced their temporary closure which is sounding more and more permanent as more news comes out. Now if you'll excuse us, Professor needs to have a bit of a cry.

Keanu Reeves is writing a comic book called Brzkr which sounds like the most Mary Sue self insert fanfiction a man could write. We'll have to wait for the full story to come out, but the main character sounds annoying. Maybe it'll have good art though.

This week, Professor sat around waiting in Forager, DJ jumped around in Nohra and Dev-i-Boy formed an army in VRChat.

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Half-Life projects, Comic-Con program guide, Playstation Factory & Esports Mental Toughness

First, Dev-i-boy found a list of Valve games that never came out. These games were created in the dark times before Half Life: Alyx was announced, and include some interesting looks at what Half Life 3 could have been.

You can't go to Comic-Con this year, but you can watch it online. There's a great program with tons of shows including comics, television and gaming news. It's also probably the most accessible Comic-Con ever, since you don't need to leave your house and the shows are free.

First the robots came for the car factory jobs, and I said nothing. Then they came for the Playstation 4 assembly jobs, and I said "Cool, that's some nice tech". Sony has almost fully automated their assembly line and only use four people on the ends of a single assembly line that makes one console every 30 seconds. It's awesome.

Esports are stressful, and high skill players show the same signs of stress as their analogue counterparts. This doesn't surprise the Nerds at all, but it's an interesting study.

This week, Professor played a chaotic real time dice rolling game, DJ kept the peace in Agents of Mayhem and Dev-i-boy got distracted by job applications. Wish him luck.

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Pokemon Snap, Apple Lootboxes, Super Collider & Cyberpunk 2077 featuring Stephen from Sigmate Studios & Comics2movies

This week, Deviboy returns from his exile, and Stephen from Comics2Movies and XCT joins us to discuss a new comic.

Devi brings news from the far off land of Nintendo. It's time to get your cameras out for the New Pokemon Snap. Apart from Nintendo's hopeless naming, it's shaping up to be an expanded photography game for the new generation. We all hope they fit in the fun easter eggs and interactions.

Oh no, Loot Boxes! Apple are being taken to court for exploiting children via the App Store. We think we've got a solution to the problem too, so be ready to send us your opinions on the system.

Supercollider? I hardly know her! CERN are designing a 100km collider almost 4 times the size of the Large Hadron Collider. The LHC failed to open a portal to hell and lead to a demon invasion, but maybe the Future Circular Collider will. Somebody get Doomguy on speed dial.

Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed again, but to tide us over until the release a comic series titled Trauma Team. This also gives it the accidental honour of being the first piece of Cyberpunk 2077 to release. Until then, keep working to create a hyper corporate dystopia so we can all live out our Cyberpunk fantasies.

In gaming, Professor went up against space card sharks in Star Realms, Deviboy relived his childhood in Raze 2 and Stephen fell in love with Hearthstone.

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Nintendo Lawyers, Home Gardening & Comic-Con At Home featuring Shaun from Comics2Movies

This week we invite our special guest Shaun Keenan, creator of Xtreme Champion Tournament (in which mythical and legendary heroes face off) to share his thoughts on some news from San Diego Comic Con.

Kicking things off, the Nerds discuss Nintendo's itchy DMCA trigger finger, they’ve taken down the tragically short-lived DirectX 12 Super Mario 64 Port. This was a fan work based on the Mario 64 decompilation project, reformed into a gorgeous 4k Ultra-Widescreen rendition of everyone's favourite plumber. And they also lost 2TB of data including user account details, which are now being used to hack people. Oops.

There's now one less reason to leave the house, since gardening provides a boost to your emotional well-being that is as powerful as going out for dinner or taking a run. Grow chickens and you have an excuse for a dinner and a run as well. So, is gardening the ultimate weapon against millennial depression memes?

Lastly, Shaun chips in to talk about SDCC's move to being an online only event. Pros: Better food. Better chairs. No lines. Cons: No costumes. No crowd excitement. It's a tough sell for some of us, but the rest of us are perfectly happy to stay at home.

This week, Professor broke his brain in HyperRogue and DJ confronted his fear of the dark in Alan Wake.

Come back next week, we miss you.

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DRM, Spring Anime & COVID-19

Crack and share. Until it is done. At least, if there's anything to crack. For the second time Bethesda have managed to release a game with a built-in crack for the Denuvo DRM. What's the story behind it? Incompetence, a rogue agent, or are Bethesda secretly the DRM free heroes we don't deserve? Doom Eternal is the latest casualty of Bethesda's DRM mistakes, and Professor wants to know why.

DJ has a list of the newest anime to watch this spring, or autumn if you live in the south. Southern Hemisphere Best Hemisphere. Get the latest ridiculously long anime names here!

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside after the fires, COVID-19 swept in. Where did it come from? A lab has dissected the DNA behind this threat and all signs point to COVID-19 not being a Chinese bioweapon. Keep the conspiracies coming, science knows what's what.

This week, both nerds played a Doom related game. Professor plays an official series game, but DJ plays a parody.

As usual, the Nerds discuss the latest shoutouts and events of interest. RIP Al Worden, Albert Uderzo and Kenny Rogers.

We'll be back next week for another episode. We're not going anywhere, and by the looks of things, neither are you.

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Gaming Hotels, Money & Nebula

Hello, welcome, and G’day, we are so happy to have you join us again for our latest episode. When we say episode we don’t mean Buck having a rant and all that; just thought we should clarify that up front. Now we have a bumper episode this week with lots of stuff for you to enjoy.

            First up we have Professor bringing us news about Atari’s plan to open a chain of hotels. They have announced that they will be themed and focus on developing E-sports functionality. But we wonder is it going to be presented with the old style timber/brown laminate like we used to see on the old Atari? Guarantee that it won’t be the first option for the honeymoon market, although, any ladies who think that would be cool let us know that we are wrong once again. Following this Professor has the ESA’s environmentally unfriendly stance against the right to repair and modify your machines/consoles. BOO HISS!!! How lame can these idiots be, I mean, don’t they realise that advancements in technology have come about by people looking under the hood and figuring out ways to do things better?

            Next up we have DJ talking about IDW losing money and what they are planning to do about it. Apparently they have announced they are struggling in various markets with the material they are presently distributing. Of course the solution would be to develop new material, breathe new life into the company instead of just pumping out more of the same thing. But, no, they are hoping that their partnership with Netflix will save them. Then DJ brings us news on the critic’s reviews on Birds of Prey for us to laugh at and make fun of. Seriously, does anyone actually take them serious anymore? Buck suggests that if Rotten Tomatoes give a film a bad rating it must be good, and if it is good then stay away. What do you think, does that sound like a good approach to use?

            Then Buck has the latest on the Spitzer Space Telescope, which has just retired. After being on mission since 2003 it has provided heaps of data for scientist, with the first images and data being of the Tarantula Nebula. In homage to its origins the last images and data developed by Spitzer were also of the Tarantula Nebula. Which honestly is a hotbed of activity, with the explosion of a supernova that was first discovered in 1987 (interestingly called 1987a) and still sweeping through space creating some awesome images. Also there is a collection of 40 massive stars at least 50 times the size of our sun all in a tiny area together. If this isn’t enough for you Buck also brings us news of the latest evolution of robot tanks. Before anyone gets all Terminator Judgement Day on us, they are not all armed and those that are still need a person involved to fire on a target. But for those who are looking for an alternative to a trailer that hitches to your car, we might have a solution for you.

            We hope you enjoy this bumper episode this week. As normal we have the usual shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and special events. Let us know what you think, make requests if you have a topic you are interested in having us dig into. Or just drop us a line and we will give you a special shout out. As always, remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

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2019 Year Review

So, we come to the end of another calendar year, wow, thank you for all the support and listening to us each week as we look at topics we feel deserve more attention. Now this episode we are doing a year in review and discuss what some of our favourites were, what we felt were some of the highlights and what was just downright funny. So strap in as we look back on a year full of robots, space travel, recycling, and the energetic joy of Katie Bouman, and that is just the start. We also go for a ride looking at the movies and tv series that have made us laugh, cry, scream, and sit in awe throughout the year. We discuss the controversy of crazy violence and insanity in movies such as Rambo – Last Blood. Yep some one has claimed it is… Nope you will need to listen in to know what is happening. Also we look at the year in games and take stock of what has happened. We laugh at some of it, get annoyed at some, and shake our heads in bewilderment at others. We recap what has been some of the most exciting and stand out moments for us this year in terms of topics. We also include some special shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and events for the end of the year. So as the year draws to a close and the dawn of a new one creeps over the horizon we once more ask you to take care of yourselves, look out for each other, and stay hydrated.

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Magnetic Waves, Piracy & Valve

We hope that everyone is well and enjoying the start of the holidays season. This week we have the answer to the mystery of why the Sun is so hot and the dispersal of magnetic waves during solar flares. That’s right, one of those little mysteries that has been confounding scientists for years appears to have been solved with evidence supporting the rejection of the null hypothesis. Ooops, sorry, in other words research that explains why it appears to happen has been developed. So if you would like to know more about why that is then please listen in and enjoy this discussion that does wander off topic occasionally but in a fun way.

Next we look at the effect piracy is having on Marvels profit margin (which as a Disney corporate entity we must acknowledge are very slim margins). We discuss this and consider the alternatives such as going digital like XCT and some of the other projects from our friend Shaun at Comics2movies have begun to do. Buck wanders down memory lane reminiscing about when he was a boy (OK Boomer does not apply here as Buck isn’t that old). Can you believe that comic books used to only cost 15 cents? These days it is $10 and has less of a story in some cases, although XCT is cool if you want a great read.

Last topic is Valve news and what is happening with them. For example did you know that they are in the process of ending their controllers? Also did you know that they have recently had a sale on these controllers? Professor did and has bought one, even though they weren’t on sale here? Also Half-Life Alyx the VR experience game is looking downright awesome, if the promo video is anything to go by this is a game to get into.

As usual we have the regular shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and events for the week. Until next time remember to look out for each other, take care of yourselves and stay hydrated.

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2019 Supernova review featuring Shaun from Comics2Movies

Roll up, roll up, roll up, or if you are in Queensland and melting in this heat wash up instead. Wow, this week we have an awesome and exciting show full of fun and laughter for you to enjoy. We also have a special guest joining us to recap the fabulous Supanova Brisbane!!! That’s right folks, Supanova again (we need Kermit the Frog here running off waving his hands). We talk about some of the cool things we saw, some of the things that made us laugh, and why Buck seems to fear lycra, although to be fair it is a valid point.

We also announce the winner of the Nerdy Bag of holding competition. Congratulations to Jessica on winning our inaugural Supanova competition. We hope to have it again next year so, make sure you listen to get involved, also next year we will make entry available for our international listeners. Now I can give you no more spoilers or teasers on this week’s episode as there is just sooooo much to look forward to other then yes, Buck did argue with some people at Supanova.

Oh, we do have the games being played, the regular shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and special events for the week. We also wish to give a special thank you to some awesome people, the legends at Sons of Obiwan, the heroes at SuperTee, and the Rockstar Shaun at Comics2Movies, they all contributed gear to the Nerdy Bag of Holding. Thank you so much for helping to make this happen. Also a huge thank you to the all-powerful Podfather (All hail the Podfather) for helping us be at Supanova and the Baroness for all her hard work in organizing the event, also her patience when we were misbehaving like little boys with all the excitement.

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Russians, Komodo & Apps

Welcome back, we have another fun episode for you all this week. First up we have an absolute idiot in Russia insulting adult comic book readers. Now, we must apologise for the response to this segment, we Nerds love our comics and really enjoy reading them. As fans we love the artwork, the complexity of the stories, the downright fun of it all, and the insane gadgets that end up becoming a reality. Although we are still waiting to see the Fantastic 4’s flying car. Now things get heated in this as you might expect, but wow, you will love this. Would you like to learn more?

Next up we have Australian Dragons and their last surviving cousins living overseas. For all those people who have decided to live abroad after they finish university you aren’t the first. Oh no, not even close. You are a few thousand years behind these guys. Now as typical Aussies they like to relax over a nice steak; enjoy a bit of time in the sun, and when they get angry fighting like a legend. Just in case you are wondering who we are talking about it is the, yeah nah. You will need to listen in to find out.

Do you wish you could go play certain games you had on an old phone but are having trouble finding it? Perhaps it is a game on a friend’s phone and no matter how hard you look you just never seem to know where they got it from. Well things are about to get worse, because Infinity Blade are no longer supporting some of their games. So, better check out what this means for that bundle of games you have in your library and read those acknowledged agreements and game licences. Are you freaking out? Well listen in to find out what is happening before it is too late.

As usual we have the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and special events of interest. We would like to say thank you to all the awesome fire fighters battling the numerous bush fires raging around Australia. For all those people who have lost homes, businesses, jobs and all those things that make a life we hope you are safe. As always, stay safe, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

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