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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Esports, Green Lantern & Lego

Not that it matters, talking is a free action and we'll talk your ears off.

Starting this week, Valve's integrity has been called into question over Esports. Yes mum, Esports are real sports.

The Flash needs to stop messing with the timeline. It's 2011 again, and Green Lantern is getting a TV series, written by one of the comic authors. And there's two lanterns, so the British are coming by sea. Oops. Barry. Stop. Paul Revere doesn't belong here.

But next take the time machine to the far future to find out how long it takes for Lego to break down, based on research done by recruiting beach combers to hand over all the lego they find. Surely this isn't just a scheme to get people to give you lego.

Professor played Noita, the Roguelite version of Powder Toy, and DJ chose to go to Japan in Total War: Shogun II.

Come hear us again next week.

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Dr Who, Bubbles & Dreams

Doctor Who has finished another season with the biggest bombshell in nearly 60 years of stories. What does this mean? Why is it happening? And why does it taste like caramel and marzipan? Nobody except the leakers could have known what was going to happen this time, and it's more controversial than politics. Doctor Who has time traveled back to the 80s to pick up some plot ideas from the Dark Times between the cancellation and revival.

Hello Ducky, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. Because a bathtub slowly filling is behind this week's scientific breakthrough. The Sound of Bubbles is key to understanding the physics behind their growth and collapse. Aren't you glad I didn't choose "Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from Bubbleeye Joe?" as the musical reference.

And then it's time for Dreams, the newest evolution in a long history of amateur game development tools. Some developers have already been picked up by a company thanks to their work on a No Man's Sky clone. Professor is excited for the resurgence of amateur game development and hopes Dreams will rise up to be the next generation's rapid prototype and release tool.

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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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Loneliness, Sweating & Ben Affleck

Welcome everyone to another episode of Nerds Amalgamated, we would like to take a moment and congratulate all those who are graduating university, school, or just having an excellent week. “The pursuit of knowledge is never ending. The day you stop seeking knowledge is the day you stop growing. Brandon Travis Ciaccio.” So, no we have set a serious mood let’s look at the first topic, which is that video games are an excellent way to combat loneliness. Also, that video games are helpful for men to combat issues such as social isolation and stress for men in today’s society. That’s right, read that correctly, video games are beneficial to men’s health and should be encouraged. What to know more to help develop those arguments for the girlfriend or boss, listen in and find out what we are talking about.

Next up Buck has decided to bring us a mystery to try and solve. Now who doesn’t love a good puzzle? If like Buck you love sitting down with a crossword, a Sudoku or reading a good detective novel then you will love this. We have a mystery that is 500 hundred years old, has some of the most baffling elements and to top it off has stumped many professional investigators over the years. We are talking about a mass murder that struck fear in the hearts of the population of England. This is a mystery that is guaranteed to get you remembered in history if you solve it. Want to know what Buck has unveiled for us to ponder, listen in and find out.

Now Ben Affleck is not someone who we get excited about, in fact he makes Buck yawn at the mere mention of his name. In fact I just yawned at the thought, crikey why are we talking about him? Well, it appears that he has a movie in the works that is looking kind of good, it is a topic that we hope he does justice to. Now we know that Hollywood has failed to deliver anything great for some time now, but this story has potential. We aren’t going to hold our breathe, and not just because of Benny boy of the sleep inducing performance. The reality is that the story is one that needs to be told with a sensitivity and care that is hard to deliver. This is something the likes of Spielberg should be directing. Want to know what it is we are talking about? You know what to do.

As usual we have the regular shout outs, birthdays, remembrances, and special events. We hope you enjoy this episode and if you want to give us feedback we are always happy to hear from you. Take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

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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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