10.21
Allright. Something to go check out AFTER we’re off the air:
The Independent Film Channel is midway through it’s Monty Python-athon. In what is probably a nod to the troop’s birthday, the channel is running several hours of Python fare each night, including episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, interviews, and most (if not all) of their movies. Python fans already possessing their own personal Python library may not need to run to the DVR right now, but this is a great chance for the noobs to indoctrinate themselves in Python fare.
And getting back to our birthday tradition, this week marks the 125th anniversary of the International Meridian Conference which decided that the Prime Meridian would run through the United Kingdom and that Greenwich would sit at a Longitude of zero degrees, zero minutes and zero seconds. At the time, over 70% of the world’s shipping charts keyed off Greenwich as the initial meridian, so it was a natural fit. This was also the conference that shot down Sir Stanford Flemming’s idea of having a single world time. Contrary to popular belief, while the idea of cutting up the world into timezones was introduced, it wasn’t actually voted on at this conference. We fall back an hour on November first, so take my advice and mark your calendars now.
Now, I don’t know if anyone took my advice last week on attending the Linux Workshop that wrapped up an hour or so ago, but if you didn’t: not to fear. The workshop happens every Wednesday evening from six to eight at the Houston Area League of PC Users Headquarters, aka HAL-PC HQ. It’s situated oh-so-conveniently close to Microcenter, for those of you who navigate by way of circuit board dispensaries. You’re welcome to bring both questions and hardware to the workshop, but if you are bringing your desktop box rather than a laptop, be sure to bring all the necessary cords and a keyboard and mouse, as generally just the monitors are supplied in the lab. So that’s everything except the monitor.
If you want some more info on the workshop, surf to www.hal-pc.org and check out the SIG Calendar.
Crypticon happened last weekend, and with both Oni-Con and Halloween right around the corner, costumes may be on your mind. If you have enough time, cardboard and paint, you can create some pretty impressive anime fare. This is an especially good choice because of the double-duty the costume can put in at both Oni-Con and at other activities (door to door or otherwise) you may attend over the Halloween weekend.
With enough *luminescent* paint and a willingness to slather it all over your body, you could be Marie Curie. Or is that too soon to be funny?
OK, with enough *blue* paint and a willingness to slather it all over your body, you could be the Blue Screen of Death.
And don’t gloss over found costumes; you’d be surprised what kind of geekery you can pull off with an old pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. For instance, if you’ve got an old pair of 501’s, a black mock-turtleneck and an iPhone, Fake Steve Jobs is a costume possibility for you.
If you have the ability to talk in a very monotone voice about very mundane things, then the scientist Neils Bohr should be at the top of your list. It’s kind of a stretch, but we’re on a budget here. Luckily, having to repeatedly explain your costume will give you plenty of opportunity to get Bohring part down cold.
If you can meet the aforementioned requirements for Neils and you happen to be exceptionally hairy to boot, then maybe this is the year you break with tradition, leave the Hobbit costume in storage, and don the monotone to become Neil’s brother, Harald Bohr. For all of our science school dropouts, that would make you a Harry Bohr.
Access to a wheel chair and a speech synthesizer? Stephen Hawking.
A blue dress shirt, khaki slacks and a small spray bottle to keep the sweat stains fresh? Steve Ballmer.
Something with which to cover your face and a command of all things BSD? Our own phliKtid.
A laser, a head band and a shark fin? You get the idea.
You’ve got nine or ten days to get something together before the Oni-Con anime convention that kicks off Friday, October 30th at the Houston Marriot Westchase. The con will bring in voice actors, animators and script writers from anime such as Desert Punk, Samurai 7, Speed Grapher, Burst Angel, Full Metal Alchemist and One Piece. I’ll give you some time to get your costume together before breaking down the highlights of the con next week.
For now, hit www.oni-con.com for details and directions and costume inspiration.
That’s it for your secret to becoming a costume contender and that’s that for BarretTime.
