Friday Night Party Line Podcast
Smart guests. Eclectic topics. Really, anything is fair game.

Because we had such great conversation in the last show, we had two topics left over for this week.  We had Nathan, David and Marc as guests.  Here are the topics:

Have you played Brain Age on the Nintendo DS? Can video games or Sudoku or cross-word puzzles really keep you smart or is this more Mozart effect nonsense?

Does clock speed even matter anymore? AMD and Intel continue to compete fiercely to be your computer chip. Is there a need for these new, faster chips? What can you do with them? With the advent of dual core architecture, does it matter what a chips GHz rating is?

Those crazy neighbors. How do you like your neighbors? Neighbors come in all sorts of varieties; whats the ideal type of neighbor for you?

Cell phones part deux. Is the Nokia N93 or N95 the solution to my cell phone woes?

Why can't we have our own Maker Fair here in Cleveland?

Have you ever been to a comic book, anime, science fiction or computer convention. What was it like? Would you go back? Did you meet any interesting people or see any interesting events?

Have you heard any pieces played by Martin Leung, the Video Game Pianist? What do you think of him?

Chinese Karaoke and how you too can have your own Pepsi commercial.

Squirrels in the attic, foxes in the yard.

David Copperfield convinced robbers he didn't have any money, why didn't he just make them disappear?

For additonal info, see  http://thaed.wordpress.com/ and http://saturn49.blogspot.com/

Direct download: Friday_Night_Party_Line_Episode_6.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 11:27 AM
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Here are this week's topics:

From normal pets to extreme pets; from 1 or 2 pets to hundreds, what is it about people keeping animals?  Does it go back to ancient man as herder?  Is it companionship?  Is it a human need to care for something?  Why are we so focused on our pets and willing to spend so much money on their health and well being?

Do know or work with or are friends with a person obsessed with shoes?  Normally this would be a shoe girl, but it’s possible (in theory anyway) to have a male in this category.  What is the driving nature of this passion?  Is it harmful?  Should it be encouraged? 

There is a well publicized story out now of a guy who is trying, through a series of trades, to trade up from a red paper clip to owning a house.  Where is he now?  Will he have tax consequences?  Can anyone do stuff like this or is it just a gimmick?

Has English become the Lingua Franca to people of all nations?  What about Mandarin?  What about Spanish?  Is there a case for bringing back Esperanto (with William Shatner as it’s spokesman?)

What is your commute like every day?  How do you pass the time?  Do you subscribe to the philosophy of live where you work and travel to where you play?  There was an article recently about a guy who commutes 186 miles each way to work 5 days a week.  Would you do this if the money was right?

Panasonic has a 103 inch plasma TV out now.  How big is too big?  How large a living room would you have to have to comfortably watch something like that?  What is your ideal TV size.

In the spirit of further multi-monitor use, have you seen the new Matrox Triplehead2Go card?  This card allows you to use three monitors with one computer even if the display only supports a single screen output.  Would you use this?  Is it going to be common place for people to have three screens on their desk?  Why not six?

Blackberries, Treos and Sidekicks, oh my!  Business people love their convergent devices.  What’s the all round best multi-use phone?  What do you use?  What do you wish you could have in such a device?

For additonal info, see  http://thaed.wordpress.com/ and http://saturn49.blogspot.com/

Direct download: Friday_Night_Party_Line_Episode_5.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 12:32 AM
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Which of the following celebrities has the coolest house and why (you have to do a little HOME work on this one—google the houses):

-John Travolta

-Oprah Winfrey

-Ted Nugent

-Bill Gates

What (or where) is your sanctum sanctorum? Where do you go to do your best thinking or working? Where is your fortress of solitude?

What city has the best food in the world and why?

You have a $50,000 budget to buy a car. What do you get? Why? What options and gadgets do you put in it?

There are now 10 online video post to the internet companies led by Youtube. Have you used any? For what? Are they real businesses?

Is myspace inherently evil? Do you use it? What are the alternatives?

Have you seen some of these videos from emo people online? Can someone explain the whole emo thing to me?

Harvard has a new SETI telescope that looks for laser beams. What do you think of the state of the SETI movement right now? What is the prognosis for future efforts?

Did you see the tank missile defense system video? They were billing it as a force field, but it’s really just a gun that shoots missiles before they hit the tank, right?

Direct download: Friday_Night_Party_Line_Episode_4.mp3
Category: general -- posted at: 12:55 AM
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Surfing theme: What's your favorite junk food while surfing? Test your junk food knowledge. Do you think you could pick out the following potato chips in a blind taste test? Pringles, Lays (classic), Ruffles, Grandma Shearers and Snyders of Berlin?

Surfing Fashion: What do you wear while surfing, gaming, blogging, etc?

What are your favorite shopping sites online?

Can you name one good thing Martha Stewart has brought into the world?

Korea has promised a robot in every home by 2015 or 2020. Can they do it? What are the challenges?

There is a new cell phone use and brain tumor study. Do you still stick your phone against your head?

How Bill Gates works. If you knew how a billionaire worked, would you change your ways to emulate him?

Why is Bose audio equipment so popular? (From Home Theater Blog).

What are your favorite Internet radio stations. Do you have any internet radio guilty pleasures?

Re: favorite retro tv shows. With the advent of online distribution, what would you like them to bring back?

Direct download: Friday_Night_Party_Line_Episode_3.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 3:37 PM
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This weeks topics are:

-What did you think of the DARPA race coverage on Nova this week?  What do you think about the field of robotics generally from the Asimo to the Scooba?
-Have you seen some of the Blogging trends lately like the 13 list and other things which seem to be the next evolutionary phase of the chain letter? Where is this going?
-Where has depth gone in our society and why don't people want to dig deeper into things anymore?
-Are adults who watch Anime weirdos?
-Should we wait for more 1080p options or buy an HD TV now?
-Will you buy all your movies again in an HD format when they come out?
-What are your favorite mixed drinks?
-What are you reading these days?
-They say that you should imagine what you would do if you won the lottery to help establish your goals in life. What would you do if you won the lottery?
-What’s on your you gadget buy list?

Direct download: Friday_Night_Party_Line_Episode_2.mp3
Category: podcasts -- posted at: 11:50 PM
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