Monthly Archives: June 2012
The Debut! – The PractitioNERD Show, Episode 1
Despite a faulty camera, a day of lost work, and computer issues, here is the debut episode of “The PractitioNERD Show.” After a brief introduction to myself and the blog, I’ll discuss :
1) Architecture
~Fundraiser to publish a book about London’s Art Deco architecture (http://goo.gl/d81G6)
~A beautiful Brazilian bungalow getaway house (http://goo.gl/PRiam)
2) Technology/Gadgets
~A CPU fan/heatsink combo (http://goo.gl/WPTV6)
~A DIY HDTV Antenna (http://goo.gl/z2IB4)
3) Video Games
~Mega Man’s 25th Anniversary soundtrack collection (http://goo.gl/BMph2)
~The Legend of Zelda baby nursery (http://goo.gl/LdbWq)
4) Professional Wrestling
~Booker T wins the WCW Title in 2000 (http://goo.gl/hCjpj)
~Daniel Bryan wrestling in the Texas Wrestling Alliance in 2000 (http://goo.gl/keCVG)
PLUS, the QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!
D.I.Y. Paper-Thin, Cheap AND Super-Powerful HDTV Antenna
While you can buy any HDTV antenna from the plentiful options available at your local electronic and/or department store, you could always build your own. Here’s the kicker: this do-it-yourself project actually looks nice enough that you would want to hang it in a window, PLUS it’s powerful enough to pick up over-the-air HD channels in your area. The best thing about this option is, of all things, it’s really cheap to make.
Texas Wrestling Alliance: Board of Education vs. American Dragon (Daniel Bryan) & Spanky (Brian Kendrick), 2000
Once again wrestling fans, we take a trip back to the year 2000. This time, the match above is from the Texas Wrestling Alliance (TWA), an independent professional wrestling promotion based in San Antonio, Texas, owned and operated by WWE Hall of Famer “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels; TWA has since been rechristened as Texas Wrestling Entertainment. Back in 2000, the TWA had a weekly show on local television called Total Impact, and in this edition, the current TWA Tag Team Champions Jeromy Sage & Ruben Cruz (known collectively as The Board of Education) take on the team of the American Dragon (WWE’s Daniel Bryan) & Spanky (a.k.a. Brian Kendrick) from the Far West Rodeo (now Cowboys Dance Hall) San Antonio, TX in early 2000.
Man, time sure does fly in 12 years…
Awesome Future-Father makes “The Legend of Zelda” Theme in Nursery
Coming off the heels of Father’s Day a little over a week ago, let’s continue to chronicle the efforts of awesome gaming fathers out there. Above is the work of loving father-to-be Cole Bradburn, decided that The Legend of Zelda would be the nursery theme (particularly the art style from Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks). Teaming up with his buddy Wes — you remember, the other awesome father who created the equally amazing Yoshi’s Island nursery room – the pals spent at least 150 hours over the course of three months creating this masterpiece of a nursery. The artwork by Wes was done COMPLETELY BY FREEHAND! Can you believe that?!?
Cole, you are going to great among the greatest fathers ever! I tip my fedora to you, good sir!
[Thanks Cole Bradburn & YouTube]
Support this Fundraiser for “Modernism London Style” by Niels Lehmann & Christoph Rauhut
The architectural style of Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style (ranging from art to architecture, jewelry, fashion, etc.) that began in Paris in the 1920s, and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s and well into the World War II era. It represents a built visible expression of the period’s enthusiasm and splendor between World Wars 1 and 2. In London, buildings of this era that were inspired by the Art Deco style reflected the refinement, progress and boldness that describe the modern, big-city metropolis age. Even now, many of these Art Deco buildings have yet to lose their spirit and interest, however (like many buildings) they are not properly documented. Thankfully, that is all about to change…should the funding be enough. Read the rest of this entry
Combining a PC Fan AND the Heatsink can Cool CPUs 30x More Efficiently?
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Nowadays, most computers use a two-step process to cool the CPU (and/or GPU). First, a heat-exchanging thermal paste on the processor draws the heat away from it, then a combination of the heatsink and fans disperses the heat away from the processor. However, how do you feel about this more novel idea of combining those two steps into one? Should this piqué your interest, then you’ll be happy to hear about this spinning cooler that doesn’t just get the job done with fewer parts, but also provides something more valuable in terms of efficiency. Read the rest of this entry
Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett & The WCW Championship at WCW Bash at the Beach, July 9th 2000
Any professional wrestling fan who was paying attention to the sport in 2000 may recall the schizophrenic horror/feel-good story that was World Championship Wrestling’s Bash At The Beach pay-per-view event. While I realize that most wrestling fans may describe WCW in the year 2000 as a whole as something of a macabre horror story itself, it can be said that the silver-lining on the dark cloud of miserable was that this year was the first time WCW mainstay Booker T would capture is first World Heavyweight Championship. However, as with most happy endings, there was an incident of shocking and controversial proportions that took place beforehand, much like the dangerous storm that comes before the rainbow could be visible. Read the rest of this entry
Capcom to release 10-disc Mega Man soundtrack collection in an E-Tank; Not Available in the US
With everyone’s favorite blue bomber Mega Man turning a quarter-century old (or “25″ for the mathematically deficient) this year, video game publisher Capcom has decided to celebrate by compiling the music from the series’ 10 main games into a single collection. On September 19th, the collection will be available for ¥14,700 (or $183.56), but unfortunately won’t be available in the United States, so you’ll have to venture into the wilds that is the completely Japanese online shop, E-Capcom (or just use Google Translate). Darn, first Capcom takes away Mega Man Universe and Mega Man Legends 3, and now I’ll have to import this or learn Japanese. Woe is me….well, except for learning Japanese…that would be awesome. Read the rest of this entry
Behold this Beautiful Brazilian Bungalow
Have you ever dreamed of having a house with a private pond? That way, when you felt like it, you could walk onto your patio, down toward the pond and just enjoy the nice, cool water. Sounds great, right? Well, allow me to proposition you with this: how about having your patio located directly OVER your private pond! Yup, you can go from living room, to patio, and as your look down….YOUR OWN POND!! Read the rest of this entry
What if The Roxbury Nightclub was a Science Lab…
Good luck getting through the weekend without having Haddaway’s “What is Love” stuck in your head and bopping your head back-and-forth…..
Amron Experimental’s ‘Rinse Toothbrush’ with Built-In Rinsing Fountain
Amron Experimental’s original model of their Rinser Toothbrushes were well-received and were a delightful experience to many of its customers. Fast-forward to this week, and Amron Experimental has shown a couple of updates to the both the Rinser Toothbrush line and the common practice of brushing first, then rinsing second; something we’ve all grown accustomed to since learning how to brush our own teeth. What kind of additions, you ask, are included in this upgrade? How about a “power fountain?” Read the rest of this entry
Google Glasses: From First Looks to Parodies
Genuine Excitement followed by some TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!
Hooray for OLD NEWS! Still, the Google Glasses project (also called “Project Glass”) is definitely one of the most interesting and popular tech stories of the entire year, and we’re only about half-way through 2012. For those unaware, Goggle Glasses is a research and development program from the “big G” — Google — to develop an hands-free augmented reality head-mounted display. Sure, the first image to come to most people’s minds during the project’s reveal back in early April was Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: TNG (you know, LeVar Burton; Kunta Kinte/Toby Walker, Reading Rainbow anyone?), but the potential of what can become of this technology is mind-blowing, technically and creatively. However, as with anything new, while new updates and images of the project at work are released, so will the amount of people to jump on board to make fun of it. Read the rest of this entry
Kirby’s 20th Anniversary Compilation revealed for Japan; U.S. soon? YES, PLEASE!
Nintendo recently released information about the release of Kirby’s 20th Anniversary Compilation (which now is Japan-only, but is likely to be localized for North America and Europe). I absolutely love the Kirby video games; not as much as Sonic the Hedgehog, but still the games are very fun and I have yet to play a bad Kirby game. The key thing is that since the original Kirby’s Dream Land on the old-school Nintendo Game Boy and up to the most recent Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, the gameplay is simple and has been relatively unchanged (save for Kirby’s Tilt ‘n’ Tumble on Game Boy Color — using tilt controls–, Kirby’s Air Ride on Gamecube–a racing game–, Kirby’s Epic Yarn on Wii –inhaling is replaced by yarn– and Kirby’s Canvas Curse & Mass Attack on DS –controls similarly to Line Rider and an RTS-ish action game). Read the rest of this entry
Return of the London Olympics: The Summer Game’s Shooting Venue
And now…the long awaited “Part 3″ of my “coverage” of works of architecture being erected for the upcoming 2012 Olympic Summer Games that start next month in London. First I covered the nomadic basketball arena, second was the natatorium, and now I’ll be covering the London Olympic Shooting Venue. This building will accommodate the 10, 25 and 50 m Sport Shooting events for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and after the Summer Games have concluded, the three temporary and mobile buildings will be dismantled (a’la the basketball arena before mentioned) and rebuilt in Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Read the rest of this entry
