GeekNights: Recent Episodes
Rym and Scott
The late night podcast for geeks, covering technology, gaming, comics, anime, and all other topics under the moon.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss data centers. Once as positive thing, they have become a blight on the Earth in the ever-growing wake of the AI bubble. Rym and Emily are back from Cedar Point and will have a couple of special episodes about it in the near future, and also have a secret VR project that's slightly less secret than it was before. In the news, the AI slop factory wants help flagging AI slop, and ZGM is an open source gaming mouse firmware.
Related LinksForum Thread* Data Centers
Discord Chat* Data Centers
Bluesky Post* Data Centers
Things of the Day* Rym - Cedar Point x Made to Thrill * Scott - Milwaukee Transit Passes
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Ghost in the Shell (2026) animated by Science Saru. It's the original manga faithfully animated with a lot of style. In the news, The Last Blossom (HOUSENKA) will be in North American theaters for two nights, and Crunchyroll is destroying their own store (RIP Right Stuf).
Related LinksForum Thread* The Ghost in the Shell (2026)
Discord Chat* The Ghost in the Shell (2026)
Bluesky Post* The Ghost in the Shell (2026)
Things of the Day* Rym - Spokanki - Tjovane (the Thieves) * Scott - Pro Beach Hockey | Heavy Metal vs. Xpress 1998 (FULL BROADCAST!)
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the growing trend of seeking retro technology. From the Charmera to flip phones to audio cassettes, it's part aesthetic and part anti-consumerist anti-capitalist pushback to the ravages of modernity. In the news, Mamdani announces new Click-to-Cancel rule for New York City, workers in Acklam discover Medlar fruit trees (also known as dog's arse), and no technology is going to make exercising effectively take less time. Also, we did it.
Related LinksForum Thread* Intentionally Retro Technology
Discord Chat* Intentionally Retro Technology
Bluesky Post* Intentionally Retro Technology
Things of the Day* Rym - How the K-line got its name * Scott - MiniPCs.zip
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider ice cream. In the news, DUNC 3 has a trailer, ICE appears to have covered up another brazen murder this time in Houston Texas, and the situation in Russia is destabilizing in a way that evokes 1917.
Related LinksForum Thread* Ice Cream
Discord Chat* Ice Cream
Bluesky Post* Ice Cream
Things of the Day* Rym - A short comic about Lenny * Scott - pizel skylines
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the game of Association Football. More commonly known as soccer, it's a game of high drama, clever play, and FIFA corruption that is cemented in societal and cultural history.
In the news, a Manhattan skyscraper is collapsing, XBOX is collapsing, YOASOBI x Overwatch slaps, and the new Ghost in the Shell slaps.
Related LinksForum Thread* Association Football
Discord Chat* Association Football
Bluesky Post* Association Football
Things of the Day* Rym - EVANGELION BRAND NEW SERIES PRODUCTION CONFIRMATION * Scott - Free Printable Graph Paper
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. It's a fantastic continuation of Adventure Time, which we reviewed in 2013, reviewed again in 2014, shared our final thoughts in 2019, reviewed Distant Lands - BMO in 2020, and Distant Lands - Obsidian also in 2020. It's also deeply metacontextual.
In the news, Science Saru is bringing us Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, the Lefebrvistes are schisming over Vatican II (again), and two people climbed to the top of the Empire State Building today.
Related LinksForum Thread* Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
Discord Chat* Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
Bluesky Post* Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
Things of the Day* Rym - you know the frog but not his story * Scott - Why The Price Is Right has hidden mics everywhere
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the current state and evolution of bicycle technology. Not all advancement in modernity is "good" advancement. In the news, delivery robots are a menace, the illegitimate and fully compromised Supreme Court's broken clock was correct on geofence warrants, climate change is killing us, and AI slop music should be demonetized.
Related LinksForum Thread* Bicycle Technology
Discord Chat* Bicycle Technology
Bluesky Post* Bicycle Technology
Things of the Day* Rym - I am a person, you are not * Scott - Dirty Little Zine
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Mina the Hollower (2026). It's fantastic, evoking the feeling of old NES games but with modern design sensibilities. In the news, the Steam Machine is actually here and still a reasonable price (considering the unreasonable pressure the AI bubble is putting on computer components), Civ VII added hotseat multiplayer, and Deltarune chapter 5 drops TOMORROW.
Related LinksForum Thread* Mina the Hollower (2026)
Discord Chat* Mina the Hollower (2026)
Bluesky Post* Mina the Hollower (2026)
Things of the Day* Rym - "I Never Read The Animorphs," a poem by Neil Cicierega * Scott - Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the challenge of company-managed devices. In the news, Britain has banned the kids from all social media, Nvidia is issuing $25 Billion in corporate bonds, and Verizon screwed a guy over with MDM.
Related LinksForum Thread* Company Devices
Discord Chat* Company Devices
Bluesky Post* Company Devices
Things of the Day* Rym - Jinxxy * Scott - Anthropeum
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider museums we've been to. In the news, XBOX is in trouble, and the GOP's incompetence killed FISA. Also the MoMA Design Store (not an ad).
Related LinksForum Thread* Museums
Discord Chat* Museums
Bluesky Post* Museums
Things of the Day* Rym - Uncursing Money * Scott - programming a gba game on an iphone
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider what happens when one chases the meta. This is especially a problem when competitive and casual players mix and is the topic of several GeekNights lectures. In the news, Furality was phenomenal this year, and the Nintendo Direct was underwhelming.
Related LinksForum Thread* Chasing the Meta
Discord Chat* Chasing the Meta
Bluesky Post* Chasing the Meta
Things of the Day* Rym - Furality Ultra: Tsop B2B Loprov (Full Stage Visuals) * Scott - NTSC-RS
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the evil cameras all around us. In the news, Nvidia introduces an underwhelming chip to make underwhelming PCs, the US gestapo are trying to buy advertiser datasets in a dangerous escalation of the police state, and Furality is this weekend!
Related LinksForum Thread* The Evil Cameras All Around Us
Discord Chat* The Evil Cameras All Around Us
Bluesky Post* The Evil Cameras All Around Us
Things of the Day* Rym - HD remaster of "Rejected" * Scott - Because We Feud
Tonight on GeekNights we consider cinema. We both love movies, and have for our entire lives. In the news, the K-shaped economy means the Steam Deck is expensive and also sold out, chemical disasters are occurring in the US, Hawaii is using state power to fight back against the disastrous Citizens United ruling, and Delaware is doing the literal opposite.
Related LinksForum Thread* Cinema
Discord Chat* Cinema
Bluesky Post* Cinema
Things of the Day* Rym - Incentive per diem * Scott - hallucinate: Massively Multiplayer Online Rave
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider games where the numbers go up. Like Balatro or Slay the Spire or 9 Kings or Vampire Survivors. These games might intersect with deeper societal problems related to the signifier and the signified and the trap of hyperreality. In the news, the NAACP calls for a boycott of southern public school athletics due to their extreme gutting of voting rights, Ferrari launches the Luce, and nobody is booking rooms for the World Cup.
Related LinksForum Thread* Games where the numbers go up
Discord Chat* Games where the numbers go up
Bluesky Post* Games where the numbers go up
Things of the Day* Rym - Otakon 08 Geeknights promo * Scott - Sales & Dungeons
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Ray Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea. Recommended by the staff at LIC Book Culture it's a cyberpunk novel about minds and consciousness (among other things). It's worth a read.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Mountain in the Sea
Discord Chat* The Mountain in the Sea
Bluesky Post* The Mountain in the Sea
Things of the Day* Rym - ヨルシカ - あぶく（OFFICIAL VIDEO） * Scott - ANIMEVOX
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of spam in the current era. We last talked about spam in 2007. (Note that spam is distinct from slop. In the news, Rym is back from Hong Kong, supply chain attacks remain a major threat, the kids are booing AI people at graduations, Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI, deepfake software is getting better, and Meta is laying off 10% of its entire workforce.
Related LinksForum Thread* Spam in 2026
Discord Chat* Spam in 2026
Bluesky Post* Spam in 2026
Things of the Day* Rym - NASA Didn't Even Know!! * Scott - UnDUNE II: The Demaking of a Dynasty
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Running Man (2025) directed by Edgar Wright. This completes our full tour of the Runnings Man, as we previously reviewed the original Running Man novel from 1982 and the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger Running Man. There are no more men to run. Also look at the difference in mood between the 1987 ending credits and the 2025 ending credits. The latter seem like they're saying something, but I can't quite put my finger on it...
In the news, The American World Cup transit situation is a disaster, and the new Steam Controller sold out once already.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Running Man (2025)
Discord Chat* The Running Man (2025)
Bluesky Post* The Running Man (2025)
Things of the Day* Rym - Geddan (Get Down) - Goblin Mode * Scott - Cursor Camp
Tonight on GeekNights, it's a Tech News Roundup! Madison Square Garden's insane surveillance machine, Github's ongoing collapse, Mac minis being hit by the ongoing RAM crisis, Ask.com is dead, a trivial-to-exploit Linux vulnerability, OpenAI won't stop talking about goblins, Apple fixes a notification vulnerability with Signal, iOS finally adds end-to-end encryption to RCS, AI slop podcasts are spreading, Roblox can't make money if kids can't sign up, and Tim Apple is replaced by John Apple.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech News Roundup May 2026
Discord Chat* Tech News Roundup May 2026
Bluesky Post* Tech News Roundup May 2026
Things of the Day* Rym - What do other animals think of human music? * Scott - Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in the same photo
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider a bunch of anime that struck us in some way. In the news, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" is coming, new Ghost in the Shell is coming, and Coyote vs. Acme is coming. Also we're back!
Related LinksForum Thread* Notable Anime in Various Categories
Discord Chat* Notable Anime in Various Categories
Bluesky Post* Notable Anime in Various Categories
Things of the Day* Rym - The Bloody Mary (PILOT) * Scott - Frugit
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the games we played at PAX East 2026, including Spokes, Magical Athlete, The Third Man, Take Time, Tezuma Trick, Big Wave, QE, Catch the Moon, Robokraft, False Kingdom, Juggernaut, Peanuts Talent Show, and John Company 2.0. In the news, there's a Halloween game (not that one, and there's another Mario movie.
Related LinksForum Thread* Games we played at PAX East 2026
Discord Chat* Games we played at PAX East 2026
Bluesky Post* Games we played at PAX East 2026
Things of the Day* Rym - YUNBYUL BALLET COMPANY Ballet GAT * Scott - How to fold the UNICORN
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how you must tax the rich if you wish to have a society. In the news, Mayor Mamdani ends those ridiculous criminal summonses for cyclists, BTS returns, and America's war against Iran endangers the world.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tax the Rich
Discord Chat* Tax the Rich
Bluesky Post* Tax the Rich
Things of the Day* Rym - What's my What's My ΔEOK JND? * Scott - JE8086 Emulation
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the assessment of risk. Apropos of nothing Rym talks about his broken arm. In the news, Washington state moves forward on taxing rich people, and New York City moves forward on banning foie gras.
Related LinksForum Thread* Assessing Risk
Discord Chat* Assessing Risk
Bluesky Post* Assessing Risk
Things of the Day* Rym - Max don't have sex with your ex (NSFW) * Scott - Glass Armonica (spinning glass bowls... that break)
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider puzzles in games. In the news, New York is suing Valve over illegal gambling, Valve's new hardware release timeline is heavily impacted by the RAM crisis but might still come in 2026, Blades 68 is launching (Rym was in the playtest), and Nintendo is suing the United States over our president's illegal tariffs.
Related LinksForum Thread* Puzzles in Games
Discord Chat* Puzzles in Games
Bluesky Post* Puzzles in Games
Things of the Day* Rym - Introducing Reg! * Scott - Modern Illustration
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the dangers of trying to mandate age verification on the Internet. In the news, Discord embarks on a disastrous age verification scheme, Anthropic is mad that other "AI" companies are using their product, and Goldman Sachs launches an AI-free index.
Related LinksForum Thread* Age Verification on the Internet
Discord Chat* Age Verification on the Internet
Bluesky Post* Age Verification on the Internet
Things of the Day* Rym - Unicode Explorer * Scott - The Sharp PC-2000 Computer Boombox from 1979
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about The Muppets. They were formative in the youth of our generation, and they are timeless. In the news, Ryan Dancey found out how little gamers like generative AI, the US president is about to attack Iran to distract from the Epstein files, and the Democrats have rightly denied the DHS funding until it reigns in ICE. Write your senators every day with a simple message: "abolish ICE."
Related LinksForum Thread* The Muppets
Discord Chat* The Muppets
Bluesky Post* The Muppets
Things of the Day* Rym - Every Time the Halo Saved a Driver's Life * Scott - Flashpoint Archive
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Paris Connection, also known as SNCF: France & Germany. It's no 1817, but it's a distilled real train game that's worth playing. In the news, Overwatch 1 is back and Diablo 2 is back.
Related LinksForum Thread* Paris Connection
Discord Chat* Paris Connection
Bluesky Post* Paris Connection
Things of the Day* Rym - Canada Curling Controversey * Scott - Battlegroup Clash: Baltics
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss our respective morning routines. How do you spend your mornings? In the news, skyrocketing RAM prices delay the Valve Steam Machine (along with the controller, and Steam Frame), NVIDIA isn't releasing new videocards for the same reason, bitcoin is (finally) collapsing, and someone left Horatio at the Goodwill.
Related LinksForum Thread* Our Morning Routines
Discord Chat* Our Morning Routines
Bluesky Post* Our Morning Routines
Things of the Day* Rym - The Bird Someone Has To Take When Your Aunt Dies * Scott - ReKindle
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the early access version of 9 Kings. It's got some good things going on. In the news, the Switch is now the highest selling Nintendo console and the Switch 2 is the fastest selling Nintendo console. Swords Without Master is launching more broadly, and Scott is considering running a game. Also Congress has a chance to dismantle ICE: Call your senators.
Related LinksForum Thread* 9 Kings (early access)
Discord Chat* 9 Kings (early access)
Bluesky Post* 9 Kings (early access)
Things of the Day* Rym - How to operate a Carbon Arc * Scott - Emudevc
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss webcams. In the news, ICE murdered another person in broad daylight with video and witnesses, and Senate Democrats are willing to shut the government down over continued funding of ICE. Call your senators today. No funds for ICE: abolish, dismantle, and prosecute.
In other news, Europe may ban Elon Musk's nonconsensual porn machine and France is planning to build a video conferencing tool to reduce dependence on American technology.
Related LinksForum Thread* Webcams
Discord Chat* Webcams
Bluesky Post* Webcams
Things of the Day* Rym - RESOURCE: Just how advanced WERE the Maya? * Scott - Ignoring Lithium Battery Safety Warnings.. For Science!
Tonight on GeekNights we review The Running Man (1987 film) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Dawson. In the news, the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO along with regional bodies throughout the state have called for statewide labor action in Minnesota over the brutality of ICE. The crazy house we rented once in Wildwood NJ is for sale, and the New York Sirens are on the verge of selling out MSG despite drawing tiny crowds in New Jersey (proving once again that few want to go to New Jersey on purpose).
Related LinksForum Thread* The Running Man (1987 Arnold Version)
Discord Chat* The Running Man (1987 Arnold Version)
Bluesky Post* The Running Man (1987 Arnold Version)
Things of the Day* Rym - Puppet tests from Fantastic Mr Fox * Scott - “Food JPEGs” in Super Smash Bros & Kirby Air Riders
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Big Shot (2001). If you want some vicious auctions this is the game for you. In the news, the United States is in extreme crisis threatening to invade Greenland, invade Minnesota, terrorize the city of Minneapolis, and end the global world order as we know it. Also Mothership has good videogame journalism. Call your reps to tell them to defund ICE.
Related LinksForum Thread* Big Shot (2001)
Discord Chat* Big Shot (2001)
Bluesky Post* Big Shot (2001)
Things of the Day* Rym - Here's Why New Year's Eve is Bad Now * Scott - Multi-Year Diary Gate
Tonight on GeekNights, we review a card game called Magic: The Gathering. It's 32 years old, so you may not have heard of it. In the news, gamers don't like generative AI and The Game Awards happened. Rym posted his [video editing process](https://community.frontrowcrew.com/t/the-geeknights-lecture-video-process/3683 for producing GeekNights panel and lecture videos. We will be live at Super MAGFest 2026!
Related LinksForum Thread* Magic: The Gathering (1993)
Discord Chat* Magic: The Gathering (1993)
Bluesky Post* Magic: The Gathering (1993)
Things of the Day* Rym - The Shoebody Bop * Scott - The Big Laugh 1 Hour Better Loop
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Jacqueline Harpman's phenomenal I Who Have Never Known Men.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman is a dystopian sci-fi novel. It was originally written in French and published in 1995. It was not very well known until recently it surged in popularity.
This renewed interest in the book is not unfounded. Although it is only thirty years old, I was convinced it was at least twenty years older. It reads much like the foundational dystopian sci-fi novels like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, or Brave New World.
It tells the story of a woman who has lived her entire life in a prison. She has no memory of anything else. In the prison cell are only women. The other women do remember life before the prison, but nothing else. They don’t know why they are there, and assume they will never be let out. From that point, various events begin to unfold.
Related LinksForum Thread* Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men
Discord Chat* Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men
Bluesky Post* Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men
Tonight on GeekNights, we share our early thoughts on Dispatch and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. In the news, Frankfurt's Christmas market is lit, and the Netflix x Warner Brothers Discovery situation is even more dangerous than the baseline danger of capitalist consolidation of media.
Related LinksForum Thread* Initial Thoughts on Dispatch and Metroid Prime 4
Discord Chat* Initial Thoughts on Dispatch and Metroid Prime 4
Bluesky Post* Initial Thoughts on Dispatch and Metroid Prime 4
Things of the Day* Rym - Wabie - Crazy Beans! * Scott - Flipbook of the Rings
Tonight on GeekNights we review the historical and topical 23 Knives (2025). It's worth playing, and Rym is probably going to buy it. In the news, PAX Unplugged 2025 was smooth as butter, Doodle Puzzle is a good idea that's hard to make work, Gingham is more vicious than it appears, and Scott surprisingly is enjoying Octopath Traveler.
Related LinksForum Thread* 23 Knives
Discord Chat* 23 Knives
Bluesky Post* 23 Knives
Things of the Day* Rym - Villainess * Scott - So After 8 Years, I Released Super Dram World 3
Tonight on GeekNights we review Ugo Bienvenu's Arco (2025). Set in the future and the far future, it's a very French Science Fiction animated feature that's definitely worth seeing. In the news, we'll be at PAX Unplugged this weekend, as will the Night Market, and the Internet relies too much on one service.
Related LinksForum Thread* Arco (2025)
Discord Chat* Arco (2025)
Bluesky Post* Arco (2025)
Things of the Day* Rym - Why Can’t We Fix NYC’s Penn Station? * Scott - Coding Trance Music
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider anti-intellectualism. In the news, Valve has new hardware including a new VR headset Rym is going to get, and you should learn about the 1981 Air Traffic Controller strike. We will be live at PAX Unplugged 2025!
Related LinksForum Thread* Anti-Intellectualism
Discord Chat* Anti-Intellectualism
Bluesky Post* Anti-Intellectualism
Things of the Day* Rym - Jesus Didn't Have Long Hair....So Why does Jesus Have Long Hair? * Scott - Using OSINT to track US military murders at sea
Tonight on GeekNights, we review (without spoilers) the third installment in the Knives Out Mysteries: Wake Up Dead Man. Benoit Blanc is a character for the ages, and it's worth seeing. In the news, Zohran Mamdani is the next mayor of New York and his victory speech is worth a watch. Democrats overwhelmingly vote to fight for democracy. Kodak quietly begins selling film again.
Related LinksForum Thread* Wake Up Dead Man (2025)
Discord Chat* Wake Up Dead Man (2025)
Bluesky Post* Wake Up Dead Man (2025)
Things of the Day* Rym - Porcupine Screenwriting Tool * Scott - HyperRogue
Tonight is a very special GeekNights. This is our 20th anniversary stream. GeekNights began on October 31 2005 and has continued for 20 years with no real breaks. We did a series of "beta" episodes even earlier to work out the show format and learn how to podcast. We've done 317 talks at conventions. We had a massive forum which we replaced with a smaller forum. And somehow we're still going!
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights 20th Anniversary Special!
Discord Chat* GeekNights 20th Anniversary Special!
Bluesky Post* GeekNights 20th Anniversary Special!
Things of the Day* Rym - Otakon 2006 - THE MUSIC VIDEO * Scott - WNUF Halloween Special
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about when one messes up the rules in games. In the news, EA is being aquired by Trump-linked private equity, and VRChat has recaptured some of the magic of the Old Internet.
Related LinksForum Thread* Messing Up the Rules
Discord Chat* Messing Up the Rules
Bluesky Post* Messing Up the Rules
Things of the Day* Rym - Project Gemini: The Most Dangerous Space Program * Scott - MESSENGER
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss tech bubbles like the Dot-com bubble. Unrelatedly here's a video by Hank Green titled The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out, and a video by Adam Conover titled Sora Proves the AI Bubble Is Going to Burst So Hard. In the news, nearly 7 million Americans marched in defense of democracy, Amazon AWS went down Sunday night reminding us how fragile the Internet has become, and the end of Windows 10 shouldn't be ignored.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech Bubbles
Discord Chat* Tech Bubbles
Bluesky Post* Tech Bubbles
Things of the Day* Rym - The Hammond A-100 Organ * Scott - Mac Source Ports
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Stephen King's Richard Bachman's The Running Man (1982). In 2025, the world's economy is in shambles, and America has become a totalitarian dystopia. The better-known Arnold movie is loosely based on it, though thematically it was spot-on. The 2025 Edgar Wright film will be much closer to the original.
In the news, No Kings Day is October 18th: find the march nearest you! The next GeekNights book club book will be I Who Have Never Known Men.
Related LinksForum Thread* Book Club: The Running Man (1982)
Discord Chat* Book Club: The Running Man (1982)
Bluesky Post* Book Club: The Running Man (1982)
Things of the Day* Rym - DC Juries Refuse to Indict Protestors * Scott - The Most Important Device in the Universe
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss fitness tech like heart rate monitors and Strava and Dance Dance Revolution. In the news, Tik Tok has a dubious deal to keep operating in the US and the regime has plans for the algorithm. Also go see Perfect Blue remastered while you can. And read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
Related LinksForum Thread* Fitness Tech
Discord Chat* Fitness Tech
Bluesky Post* Fitness Tech
Things of the Day* Rym - KNIGHTS OF GUINEVERE: PILOT * Scott - 86box
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Gang, a fantastic cooperative tabletop game about pulling bank heists by ranking poker hands. In the news, there's lots to say about the Nintendo Direct, Borderlands 4 has angered gamers with its poor performance and Gearbox isn't handling it super well. 'Pitchford told people to “code your own engine and show us how it’s done, please,” and declared Borderlands 4 “a premium game made for premium gamers” whatever that means.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Gang
Discord Chat* The Gang
Bluesky Post* The Gang
Things of the Day* Rym - Hammer of Justice - Deltarune Gerson Fight Animation * Scott - Vintage Computer Festival East XX walk around w/ commentary
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about specific mice. Mice we've used over the years, since the days of balls. In the news, Google dodges consequences in the US but not in the EU, Google is sued yet again for their advertising monopoly, and Google is looking to flood the phone lines of tiny businesses.
Related LinksForum Thread* Specific Mice
Discord Chat* Specific Mice
Bluesky Post* Specific Mice
Things of the Day* Rym - Ti-85 Megademo (Calculator demonstration) * Scott - The Old Robots Web Site
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the modern marvel that is video chat. In the news, Perplexity is using undeclared crawlers to scrape content, Samsung has a crazy Micro LED TV, real life ad block is possible, and Trump is forming the American SS.
The next GeekNights Book Club book will be The Running Man, by Richard Backman, who you may know better as Stephen King.
Related LinksForum Thread* Video Chat and Teleconferencing
Discord Chat* Video Chat and Teleconferencing
Bluesky Post* Video Chat and Teleconferencing
Things of the Day* Rym - Survival food - dandelion seeds * Scott - blahaj goes to waffle house at 3am
Tonight on GeekNights, we share our thoughts on Donkey Kong Bananza. In the news, Gamescom happened, PAX West badges aren't sold out, and you should see The Relationship Between Game Design and Art Direction with Naoki Yoshida and Hiroshi Minagawa.
Related LinksForum Thread* Donkey Kong Bananza
Discord Chat* Donkey Kong Bananza
Bluesky Post* Donkey Kong Bananza
Things of the Day* Rym - Babalu Music * Scott - Lone Wolf
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss audio interfaces. Rym uses a PreSonus Studio 1810c to record GeekNights, and as his general purpose "sound card" in the studio.
In the news, the CEO of GitHub steps down, you can consider Forgejo if that worries you, Reddit will block the Internet Archive, and Trump illegally forces the National Guard to deploy to the streets of Washington DC.
Related LinksForum Thread* Computer Audio Interfaces
Discord Chat* Computer Audio Interfaces
Bluesky Post* Computer Audio Interfaces
Things of the Day* Rym - Map of Queens NY, Explained * Scott - The Pianolizer
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Alex Michaelide' The Silent Patient. It's a fine mystery novel, and we both enjoyed our time with it.
In the news, Texas Democrats have fled the state in a bit to fight fascism, and Disney's ESPN acquires the NFL Network in the continued consolidation of all sports media into one big casino.
If you enjoy GeekNights panels and lectures, here's a list of all 315 we've done to date!
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Book Club: The Silent Patient
Discord Chat* GeekNights Book Club: The Silent Patient
Bluesky Post* GeekNights Book Club: The Silent Patient
Things of the Day* Rym - Nail gun trick in sync - Penn & Teller are professionals * Scott - Yorkshire’s Largest Old Penny Arcade
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the popularity of anime over time. In the news, CITY The Animation continues to crush it, it's GUNDAM season, The Boy and The Beast is pin theaters August 18th[(https://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/mamoru-hosoda-the-boy-and-the-beast-theaterical-release-crunchyroll-248944.html?cbtr=LATPOS), and expect this The Bad Guys 2 anti-AI statement to appear in more movie credits.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Popularity of Anime Over Time
Discord Chat* The Popularity of Anime Over Time
Bluesky Post* The Popularity of Anime Over Time
Things of the Day* Rym - Raw Otakon 2002 Footage * Scott - Archived Geocities Tiles
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider fancy restaurants. In the news, noted racist Terry Bollea has died at 71, Donald Trump is getting even more dangerously unhinged than usual, and the Canada World Junior assault case has ended.
Here is a list of every significant lecture or panel that Rym and Scott have ever done, going back to the year 2002.
Related LinksForum Thread* Fancy Restaurants
Discord Chat* Fancy Restaurants
Bluesky Post* Fancy Restaurants
Things of the Day* Rym - Secret Train Station Apartments * Scott - IAMMP Piano Roll Archive
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Tower Defense games like the famous Desktop Tower Defense (2007). In the news, Ozzy Osbourne made it to 76, the PS5 Store is full of AI slop, Steam is caught up in the war on "pornography", and Deltarune is fantastic.
Rym's solo version of Every Game is the Same Game from Zenkaikon is live!
Related LinksForum Thread* Tower Defense Games
Discord Chat* Tower Defense Games
Bluesky Post* Tower Defense Games
Things of the Day* Rym - 1984 TSR D&D Role Playing Games Commercial * Scott - Card Game Rules
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Keiichi Arawi's City the Animation. It's delightful; we reviewed the manga in 2018. In the news, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a surprisingly popular game, though we had a meh opinion of the anime it's based on.
Related LinksForum Thread* City the Animation (2025)
Discord Chat* City the Animation (2025)
Bluesky Post* City the Animation (2025)
Things of the Day* Rym - Most Iconic Plugin of all Time * Scott - Pigeon Won't Let Man Take A Shower
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why there, broadly, aren't major consumer technology developments lately. In the news, Debian reduces support for i386 and Chrome OS is combining with Android. Also we'll be live at PAX West!
Related LinksForum Thread* Why there's no big tech news
Discord Chat* Why there's no big tech news
Bluesky Post* Why there's no big tech news
Things of the Day* Rym - The ‘Goal’ That Changed The NHL Forever * Scott - Hot Spring Shark Attack
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052-2072 Despite several compelling aspects, its ultimately was a frustrating read which we discuss at length. That said, it's important to have post-apocalyptic works that imagine a better world rather than a worse one, however naive some of the interrogation of the subject ends up being.
Related LinksForum Thread* Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune
Discord Chat* Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune
Bluesky Post* Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune
Things of the Day* Rym - dogs with a loving family when the frontdoor is slightly open * Scott - ET Book is a Bembo-like font
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider auction and bidding mechanics in games. In the news, DriveThruRPG chose cowardice, and Microsoft lays of 9,000 people. GeekNights will be live at PAX West with an all new lecture on the same topic as this show! Our talk The Everlasting Game from PAX East is on youtube!
Related LinksForum Thread* Auction and Bidding Mechanics
Discord Chat* Auction and Bidding Mechanics
Bluesky Post* Auction and Bidding Mechanics
Things of the Day* Rym - I turned down a [REDACTED] show * Scott - PAC-MAN Superfast!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Chris Sanders' The Wild Robot (2024), out of Dreamworks. It's fantastic animation and overall a good film. In the news, Rym has ascended to the open comb razor, Diamond's bankruptcy saga continues to be more and more insane by the day, and Rick and Morty has matured into a very good show.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Wild Robot (2024)
Discord Chat* The Wild Robot (2024)
Bluesky Post* The Wild Robot (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - ReBoot - CGI making of (1994) * Scott - Caveat Emptor
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the blinky lights and LEDs the kids are putting on everything including their computers. In the news, Windows 10 has extended security support, Broadcom is desperate to monetize VMware, and the EU forced Apple to comply, at least in the EU.
Related LinksForum Thread* Blinky Lights
Discord Chat* Blinky Lights
Bluesky Post* Blinky Lights
Things of the Day* Rym - NHL: Refs Mic'd Up Part 2 * Scott - Balatro for the Nintendo E-Reader
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider toilets, washlets, and bidets. (Oh my). In the news, some context on the current Iran conflict, and Apple WWDC25 was mostly uneventful other than keeping old devices going for a while yet.
Related LinksForum Thread* Toilets and Bidets and Washlets
Discord Chat* Toilets and Bidets and Washlets
Bluesky Post* Toilets and Bidets and Washlets
Things of the Day* Rym - Explaining the Most Bizarre Piano Etude of the 19th Century * Scott - Restoring the Buran
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider day one of having a Nintendo Switch 2. In the news, Fortnite on the Switch 2 will support objectively superior FPS controls, REMATCH might do what Scott has always wanted, the Blades '68 playtest is done and you will soon be able to play Blades '68! The Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is actually worth buying, and Mario Kart World is fun but the tracks are too wide.
Related LinksForum Thread* Nintendo Switch 2: Day One
Discord Chat* Nintendo Switch 2: Day One
Bluesky Post* Nintendo Switch 2: Day One
Things of the Day* Rym - The History of Hockey's Most Controversial Strategy * Scott - Droneboy
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the keeping of houseplants. In the news, the fascists are going after Harvard, but Harvard is fighting back in multiple ways. I recommend the free course "U.S. Public Policy: Social, Economic, and Foreign Policies." More interesting is the (not free) Public Leadership Credential. Long Island City finally has good bagels, and next week brings us a bunch of exiting nerd stuff including John Wick: Ballerina, The Phoenician Scheme, and Deltarune. Also Rym got a 1/4 scale Dig Dug machine.
Related LinksForum Thread* Houseplants
Discord Chat* Houseplants
Bluesky Post* Houseplants
Things of the Day* Rym - Pizza * Scott - Real Real Japan
Tonight on GeekNights, we review two Spiel des Jahres 2025 nominees — Flip 7 and Krakel Orakel — plus Context, a game that's harder the smarter you are. In the news, Rym has been diving deep into VRchat's true value, Shadow Labyrinth's mazes are revealed, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 dropped roll cancels from Capcom vs SNK 2, and Apple bought the creators of Sneaky Sasquatch.
Related LinksForum Thread* Flip 7, Krakel Orakel, and Context
Discord Chat* Flip 7, Krakel Orakel, and Context
Bluesky Post* Flip 7, Krakel Orakel, and Context
Things of the Day* Rym - Climbers Really Out Here Grabbing Glass Now * Scott - Six Degrees of Ryu
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss capacity management. It's changed a lot over the years. In the news, evil people are trying to accelerate climate change, and a silly camera is coming.
Related LinksForum Thread* Capacity Management
Discord Chat* Capacity Management
Bluesky Post* Capacity Management
Things of the Day* Rym - Lemmings: How DMA Design Redefined Puzzle Games * Scott - What's the Longest Trip You Can Make With a MetroCard?
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the painting of minis, from Ral Partha to Ralidium. In the news, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) will likely (and justifiably) strike, here's a starting point if you are interested in the dynamics of a broader anti-fascist General Strike, and the Twitter AI is obsessed with defending South African white supremacists.
Related LinksForum Thread* Painting Miniatures
Discord Chat* Painting Miniatures
Bluesky Post* Painting Miniatures
Things of the Day* Rym - The Violent World of Football Ultras * Scott - KUNG FURY 2 FILTRADO!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Quacks, previously released as The Quacks of Quedlinburg in 2018. It's a push your luck game that is fun, but just short of greatness. (That's rare praise from GeekNights). In the news, Greater Than Games is forced to reduce staff in light America's ridiculous tariff war, and tabletop companies are suing our president over America's ridiculous tariff war.
Related LinksForum Thread* Quacks (of Quedlinburg)
Discord Chat* Quacks (of Quedlinburg)
Bluesky Post* Quacks (of Quedlinburg)
Things of the Day* Rym - The Horn of Geddon * Scott - CYBRLICH and the Death Cult of Labor
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about surgery. Warning: we talk about surgery. In the news, capitalism has destroyed Polygon and a federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from deporting people to concentration camps using the archaic Alien Enemies Act of 1798, setting up an existential supreme court showdown.
Related LinksForum Thread* Surgery
Discord Chat* Surgery
Bluesky Post* Surgery
Things of the Day* Rym - Stealing Power !! * Scott - Joon Lee
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the acquisition of new gaming consoles. In the news, Overwatch competitive mode adds hero bans, the fourth of the old scrolls are remastered, and Scott has Hemorrhoids. The GeekNights content you crave.
Related LinksForum Thread* Getting a New Game Console
Discord Chat* Getting a New Game Console
Bluesky Post* Getting a New Game Console
Things of the Day* Rym - Playing & Designing for Transformation in Nordic Larp * Scott - Archipelago
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Apothecary Diaries anime. It's worth a look, and is on both Crunchyroll and Netflix. In the news, Science Saru is bringing us a very good looking Ghost in the Shell, the Star Wars manga is getting a fancy artbook, and the Rose of Versailles movie is coming to Netflix April 30th. Also get on your Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Apothecary Diaries
Discord Chat* The Apothecary Diaries
Bluesky Post* The Apothecary Diaries
Things of the Day* Rym - Bone Music * Scott - The Evolution of PBS Idents
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫). This 1997 film is a masterpiece. In the news, Donald Trump destroyed global trade, Murderbot is coming, the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga gets a deluxe edition, and Spider-Verse 3 is coming on June 4 2027. Also Rym continues to love Common Side Effects.
Related LinksForum Thread* Princess Mononoke
Discord Chat* Princess Mononoke
Bluesky Post* Princess Mononoke
Things of the Day* Rym - Why the Summit of the Great Pyramid is Missing * Scott - Bracket City
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Heat: Pedal to the Metal (2022). It's a car racing game with well-tuned push-your-luck mechanics that is definitely worth a play. It's even better over multiple races. In the news, Cory Booker heroically and historically holds the Senate floor for over 24 hours in a powerful rebuke of Donald Trump's fascism (beating Strom Thurmond's vile "record"). Also torpedo bats are a deeply baseball thing to happen, Nintendo Direct number 1 brings virtual game cards and a bunch of games, and Nintendo Direct 2 will announce the Switch 2.
Related LinksForum Thread* Heat: Pedal to the Metal (2022)
Discord Chat* Heat: Pedal to the Metal (2022)
Bluesky Post* Heat: Pedal to the Metal (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - Behind-The-Back Save * Scott - Famicom 3D System
Tonight on GeekNights, we muse a bit on the problem of discoverability. Nearly all experience is mediated, and this includes deciding what web site to look at. In the news, Rym is back from Zenkaikon, Moon Zooz is continuing to rock it, the cosmological constant might not be, niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor, and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a dangerous idiot.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Discoverability Problem
Discord Chat* The Discoverability Problem
Bluesky Post* The Discoverability Problem
Things of the Day* Rym - I Drove to Every McDonald's in America * Scott - FamiTracker
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Friedemann Friese's sequel to Power Grid titled Power Grid: Outpost. We highly recommend reading the second page of the rulebook closely. In the news, Pokémon Go (and all your location data) were sold to Scopely, there's something to this nemesis system, and this is the most important thing you can pay attention to in America's ongoing crisis.
Related LinksForum Thread* Power Grid: Outpost
Discord Chat* Power Grid: Outpost
Bluesky Post* Power Grid: Outpost
Things of the Day* Rym - How To Cliff Jump - Tutorial for Beginners * Scott - Solving the World's Oldest Board Game
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Sakamoto Days anime. It starts with a strong premise, but in the end it's just a shounen fighting show. In the news, Flow wins Latvia's first Oscar, The Day The Earth Blew Up actually looks pretty good, you can see Princess Mononoke restored in theaters, and Common Side Effects is real good.
Related LinksForum Thread* Sakamoto Days
Discord Chat* Sakamoto Days
Bluesky Post* Sakamoto Days
Things of the Day* Rym - You must hide * Scott - Vietnamese Graphic Design
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about MIDI. The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which is still in use today. In the news, Donkey Kong ‘94 is re-released on Switch, Youtube adds translated dubbing, and Ontario (rightly) taxes Americans using their energy.
Related LinksForum Thread* MIDI
Discord Chat* MIDI
Bluesky Post* MIDI
Things of the Day* Water your yard FOR FREE !!! * Rym - Sound Blaster AWE32 2MB (MIDI bank) * Scott - Heated Driveway in Buffalo
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Windows 11 and the fools who refuse to upgrade. In the news, the iPhone 16e arrives, Gmail is (correctly) dropping SMS two-factor, Twitch is capping uploads for 0.5% of streamers, and Germany represents a profound realignment of global politics.
Related LinksForum Thread* Windows 11
Discord Chat* Windows 11
Bluesky Post* Windows 11
Things of the Day* Rym - SS United States — finally — departs South Philly * Scott - Dragonsweeper
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of retirement. I know what my plan is. In the news, James Bond is captured by an evil megacorporation, and supplements will destroy your liver.
Related LinksForum Thread* Retirement
Discord Chat* Retirement
Bluesky Post* Retirement
Things of the Day* Rym - Tom's Diner (Cover) * Scott - The 88x31 GIF Collection
Tonight on GeekNights we review Shogun, released as part of the Milton Bradley Gamemaster series that we reviewed back in 2006. Renamed to Samurai Swords and then to Ikusa, we revisited it with pro tabletop players this past weekend. We're a lot wiser about game mechanics and game design here in 2025, and this game holds up surprisingly well except for a few notable flaws.
We're also trying an experiment. Rym is writing new rules in an attempt to refurbish this old game. Comments appreciated!
In the news, the Four Nations Face-Off has been lit, the Nintendo Switch 2 is coming, Nintendo is dropping their coupon pricing, we're playing the newly released Civilization VII to prepare a grand review, Magic: The Gathering announces Final Fantasy commander decks, and NetEase fired the people who made the hit game Marvel Rivals..
Related LinksForum Thread* Shogun (1986)
Discord Chat* Shogun (1986)
Bluesky Post* Shogun (1986)
Things of the Day* Rym - Someone Beat the Donkey Kong Kill Screen * Scott - HACKED DOUBLE TRUMPET
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss electronic payments. We grew up in a world where credit cards were imprinted on carbon paper and cheques were on physical paper. In the news, the Baltics have disconnected from the Russian power grid, Football Manager 25 will be skipped, and there's one weird trick to stop Google's terrible AI summaries.
Related LinksDiscord Chat* Electronic Payments
Forum Thread* Electronic Payments
Bluesky Post* Electronic Payments
Things of the Day* Rym - Sounds between the Crowns (2020) * Scott - Destroying and Reprogramming the Sprite Engine of Ghosts 'n Goblins
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Ryan North's Fantastic Four (2022). It's kind of fantastic. In the news, Diamond Distributors is dead and AnimeNEXT appears to be dead.
Related LinksForum Thread* Fantastic Four (2022)
Discord Chat* Fantastic Four (2022)
Bluesky Post* Fantastic Four (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - The Union Pacific Big Boy * Scott - Landing the Nostromo
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider all the ways to sell software. From shareware to software-as-a-service to "just buying it" it's evolved quite a bit over the years. In the news, CES happened, Republicans killed net neutrality, and Pornhub is blocked in the entire US south. Also we will be live at MAGFest, which is imminently about to sell out.
Related LinksForum Thread* Ways to Sell Software
Discord Chat* Ways to Sell Software
Bluesky Post* Ways to Sell Software
Things of the Day* Rym - Rondò Veneziano - La Serenissima * Scott - Blade Runner-Electric Unicorn fan release- deleted scenes
Tonight on GeekNights we review Moorland (2023). We played it twice at PAX Unplugged and it's a solid game with two novel mechanics. In the news, New York's congestion relief pricing is already fantastic, Valve makes insane money per employee, and two Gundam tabletop games are coming.
Related LinksDiscord Chat* Moorland (2023)
Forum Thread* Moorland (2023)
Bluesky Post* Moorland (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - Temperate Lake Dashboard Simulator * Scott - Obsolete Sony
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about Terminals. From the VT100 to any modern Terminal Emulator, they are still a part of the computing world and are worth knowing about. In the news, Jimmy Carter has died at 100, Chinese state-sponsored hackers attacked the US Treasury, and a hero has defeated a fake Nintendo lawyer.
Related LinksDiscord Chat* Terminals
Forum Thread* Terminals
Bluesky Post* Terminals
Things of the Day* Rym - Line * Scott - Natural Number Game
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about fear. Rym was on a panel about fear at PAX South back in 2016, plus a video essay. In the news, it turns out Santa Claus is a myroblyte, ChatGPT went down, Russia shot down another commercial airliner, and Finland seized a Russian sabotage tanker.
Related LinksDiscord Chat* Fear
Forum Thread* Fear
Bluesky Post* Fear
Things of the Day* Rym - Caga Tió de Nadal * Scott - What Happened to the World's Largest Tube TV?
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about drones. In the news, the common clay of the New West think they're seeing nefarious drones everywhere and we have WordPress vs WP Engine.
Related LinksForum Thread* Drones
Discord Chat* Drones
Bluesky Post* Drones
Things of the Day* Rym - 1-900-490-FREAK * Scott - Elevator Music
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about knives. Learn to use the right knife for the right task with the right technique in the kitchen, and your life will be better. Also learn how to care for them. In the news, the assassination of a health insurance CEO brought a deep simmering anger to the surface of American society, surprising many, and the Interstella 5555 "remaster" isn't.
Related LinksForum Thread* Knives
Discord Chat* Knives
Bluesky Post* Knives
Things of the Day* Rym - Restored - Star Trek The Animated Series Public Service Ad * Scott - Lord of the Maps
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider PAX Unplugged 2024. It was a top tier PAX. In the news, the Rangers aren't doing well, Marvel Overwatch is exactly what it looks like, and Fortnite has to pay back the kids it ripped off.
Related LinksForum Thread* PAX Unplugged 2024
Discord Chat* PAX Unplugged 2024
Bluesky Post* PAX Unplugged 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - when the solo is so good the band forgets to finish * Scott - IMG_0001
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider blogging. In the news, Roblox is making a closed ecosystem Discord competitor, the US gave Intel a pile of money, and Intel's CEO hit the bricks. Rym has also consolidated all of his social media into rym.social and talks about how he set up cross-posting across microblog, Mastodon, and Bluesky.
Related LinksForum Thread* Blogs
Discord Chat* Blogs
Bluesky Post* Blogs
Things of the Day* Rym - Staring at Rupees for 17 hours * Scott - The Network of Time
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Obelus. A re-implementation of Dark Spires designed by Chris A. Williams, it's a quick abstract two-player game that's worth having in your bag. In the news, The Magic Commander Format, recently embroiled in capitalist drama, is getting a digital version, and the itch.io Creator Day sale is this Friday!
Related LinksForum Thread* Obelus (2024)
Discord Chat* Obelus (2024)
Bluesky Post* Obelus (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO 10, 11, 12, & 13 * Scott - Tony Hawk wanted to track down a mysterious skateboarder from 1979
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the remake of Ranma 1/2. It's a solid remake of the classic anime based on the classic manga by Rumiko Takahashi. In the news, stay strong as the fascists take control of the US government, and Sony is trying to buy Kadokawa.
Related LinksForum Thread* Ranma 1/2 (2024)
Discord Chat* Ranma 1/2 (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - The Ghosts of Misery Mire * Scott - curl -v https://google.com
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble tradition of carving pumpkins. You may recall in 2006 when we reviewed Pumpkin Scissors or our review of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but we have never dedicated an entire episode to the carving of pumpkins.
In the news, tonight is the 19th anniversary of GeekNights. (The brave can listen to the remastered pre-launch beta episodes (with commentary)). Also jaywalking is no longer illegal in New York.
Related LinksForum Thread* Pumpkin Carving
Discord Chat* Pumpkin Carving
Things of the Day* Rym - Megilat Ḥam-Ed — the Scroll of the Steamed Portions of Cham * Scott - What is the first American graphic novel?
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Terminator Zero anime. It's a worthy Terminator entry, though we'd suggest watching Terminator and Terminator 2 (and nothing else) before watching it. Eight episodes on Netflix and produced by Production IG, Skydance, and Netflix. In the news, John Wick is getting a prequel anime, and Animation Speak Easy is this Friday in Brooklyn.
Be sure to make a plan to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. Don't be a sucker.
Related LinksForum Thread* Terminator Zero (2024)
Discord Chat* Terminator Zero (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - he single worst seat at Guaranteed Rate Field * Scott - Protecting a Dust Jacket
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about widgets. Mostly status and telemetry widgets that people like to put on their desktops or their phones. They have their uses, but are usually useless. In the news, Cloudplane is shutting down in December, Adobe's Project Turntable is stunning, and Tesla's robots were (obviously) fake.
If you are able to vote in the United States, make a plan to vote. You can't sit this one out. You can't vote for a "third party." It's frankly unethical to do anything but vote straight ticket for Democrats.
There are two power-seeking coalitions in America. Choose the one that you want setting the rules for the next election. The Democrats are the literal best option we have. Do the right thing.
Related LinksForum Thread* Widgets
Discord Chat* Widgets
Things of the Day* Rym - An undulating thrill * Scott - Asian Hockey Card Collection
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of debt. In the news, the FTC makes a move against dark patterns in subscriptions and North Korea blows up its connection to South Korea and decrees that unification is no longer possible.
Related LinksForum Thread* Debt
Discord Chat* Debt
Things of the Day* Rym - Wireless Non-Electrical Remote * Scott - The woman who revolutionized the fantasy genre
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. It's a Zelda game and you probably should play it. In the news, the big Nintendo leak isn't that exciting and Reiner Knizia’s SHOCKING Confession.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Discord Chat* The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Things of the Day* Rym - BART Speedrun Records * Scott - BigBoxDB
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Look Back. Directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama and based on Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga of the same title. You may know Tatsuki Fujimoto from Goodbye Eri and Chainsaw Man. In the news, Rym's flight home from Singapore has its own wikipedia page, Anno is producing a new Space Battleship Yamato film, and the Uzumaki anime has some drama.
Related LinksForum Thread* Look Back (2024)
Discord Chat* Look Back (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - T-Bar Problems * Scott - BBC Sound Effects
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about cores and concurrency and threads and such. Also Rym and Emily fought a bear. In the news, Intel's chip instability saga has concluded, and Python 3.13.0 is pretty good.
Related LinksForum Thread* Multicore Multiprocess Concurrency and Such
Discord Chat* Multicore Multiprocess Concurrency and Such
Things of the Day* Rym - How Mei Blows Up the Game * Scott - Popular Science (May 1872)
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the evils of web trackers and analytics. They are used almost exclusively to feed the ad industry and you should block them wherever possible. Rym has installed the microcode patch for some Intel chips and you should too if you have one of them.
In the news, Microsoft is moving to a security-first posture, nostalgia accounts on social media are making up nonsense, and chatbots are intruding into and slowly ruining online social spaces.
Related LinksForum Thread* Web Trackers and Analytics
Discord Chat* Web Trackers and Analytics
Things of the Day* Rym - We Spent $20 To Achieve RCE And Accidentally Became The Admins Of .MOBI * Scott - Magician's Brick
Tonight on GeekNights we review the absolutely fantastic LUPIN III Kabuki Production. Even if you have never experienced kabuki and know nothing about it, this is 100% worth watching. It's a top tier experience. In the news, everything on Temu and Shein is full of poison and the updated Chicago Manual of Style just dropped!
Related LinksForum Thread* LUPIN III Kabuki Production
Discord Chat* LUPIN III Kabuki Production
Things of the Day* Rym - Consciousness * Scott - The Podcast Index
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Friends vs Friends. It's a fantastic quick arena-duel FPS with cards. It evokes the feeling of playing weird mods against your friends online in 1998. In the news, PAX Unplugged is December 6-8, the keynote speaker is Elizabeth Hargrave (of Wingspan fame), "hard mode" is a great way to frame handicapping in games, Microsoft lays off even more people, and Sony's Concord failed in legendary catastrophic fashion.
Related LinksForum Thread* Friends vs Friends
Discord Chat* Friends vs Friends
Things of the Day* Rym - Corndog Delight * Scott - Visiting Area 5150: Investigating a PC Demo
Tonight on GeekNights, Rym begins a series of short episodes where he talks about something that's stuck in his craw. Join us in the forum thread to prove him wrong or ask questions. Whatever threads get the most engagement will lead to "part two" episodes of those topics going deeper.
This is why you can't let Scott go out of town. Mods asleep, post about structural concerns of government!
Related LinksForum Thread* A Fourth Branch of the Federal Government with Rym
Discord Chat* A Fourth Branch of the Federal Government with Rym
Tonight on GeekNights, Rym begins a series of short episodes where he talks about something that's stuck in his craw. Join us in the forum thread to prove him wrong or ask questions. Whatever threads get the most engagement will lead to "part two" episodes of those topics going deeper.
This is why you can't let Scott go out of town. Mods asleep, post quantum physics.
Related LinksForum Thread* Quantum Physics with Rym
Discord Chat* Quantum Physics with Rym
Thing of the Day* Rym - A Brief History of Quantum Mechanics - with Sean Carroll
Tonight on GeekNights, Rym and Emily review Slay the Princess. It's a graphic novel philosophical horror game in a sense. It'll give you a lot to chew on and it's definitely worth playing! From Black Tabby Games, you may recognize Abby Howard from Penny Arcade's Strip Search!
Related LinksThings of the Day* *
Forum Thread* Slay the Princess
Discord Chat* Slay the Princess
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Scavengers Reign, a science fiction drama television series created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner for Max, based on their 2016 short film Scavengers. It's not bad. In the news, Deadpool & Wolverine is worth seeing if you like Deadpool, Arcane and Terminator Zero are already leaked, and the Rick and Morty anime is coming August 16th.
Related LinksForum Thread* Scavengers Reign
Discord Chat* Scavengers Reign
Things of the Day* Rym - Fever Feels Horrible, but is Actually Awesome! * Scott - DanceDanceRevolution THE SAMPLES (1st-5thMix)
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss fragrances. You may recall in 2013 we covered the opposite side of the smell spectrum. In the news, GeekNights officially endorses Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for President and Vice President of the United States, the world's first medieval electronic instrument has launched, and this is the kind of thing you only expect to see in movies.
Related LinksForum Thread* Fragrances
Discord Chat* Fragrances
Things of the Day* Rym - The World’s Fastest Bomber: The XB-70 Valkyrie * Scott - Can You Tune A Fish?
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Four Swords, which was released in 2002 on the GBA as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords. It's basically a tech demo/proof of concept for the real game released on the Gamecube which we reviewed back in 2009. You can play it online with friends on the Switch, and you probably should. In the news, Game Informer is no more, Go AIs can be attacked via exploits, and the new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has engaged the hype machine.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Discord Chat* The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Things of the Day* Rym - Turkish sharpshooter Yusuf Dikeç * Scott - Chicken Pod #1
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the 2023 French animated neo-noir science fiction film Mars Express. Just watch it. It's Robocop Bladerunner 2001 Terminator 2 Total Recall Ghost in the Shell Murderbot (and more). In the news, The Time Masters is getting a theatrical 4k remastered release, the creator of Centaurworld is making a musical feature, and Ranma 1/2 is getting a redo.
Related LinksForum Thread* Mars Express
Discord Chat* Mars Express
Things of the Day* Rym - DITCHING SCHOOL * Scott - The VOTOMS Hub
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the insidious and underestimated problem of noise pollution. We've previously talked about computer noise specifically. In the news, GeekNights endorses whoever the Democratic candidate for President is in the 2024 election, the Russian government plotted assassinations in Europe, red light cameras remain controversial, and the Jersey Shore played itself.
Related LinksForum Thread* Noise Pollution
Discord Chat* Noise Pollution
Things of the Day* Rym - What's that pipe for? * Scott - TASER Chess
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the games one can play at the beach. We've previously talked about the beach, and also Yard Games, so now we bring an intersection of the two. Also Beach Soccer and Terraforming Mars. In the news, the Nintendo Direct had some good stuff (especially the long awaited Metroid Prime 4) and you don't need an Xbox to play Xbox games.
Related LinksForum Thread* Beach Games
Discord Chat* Beach Games
Things of the Day* Rym - High Power Rocketry FAIL COMPILATION * Scott - Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB by Peanut Butter the Dog
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the anime version of Ōoku: The Inner Chambers from 2023. In the news, the Lupin III Kabuki Stage Play streams live with English subtitles on August 11 and Dandadan is opening in theaters on September 13th.
Related LinksForum Thread* Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (2023 Anime)
Discord Chat* Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (2023 Anime)
Things of the Day* Rym - When you steal an Arab's car * Scott - Super Mario Maker 2 - If You Jump 4 Times You Die
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the sad state of the technology creeping into car dashboards. In the news, the US Supreme Court has disastrously ruled that the president is above the law in extreme and shocking complicity with authoritarian takeover. In other news, some good Python development practices and Apple cramming AI into their largely failed Vision Pro.
Related LinksForum Thread* Car Dashboard Tech
Discord Chat* Car Dashboard Tech
Things of the Day* Rym - Small BIRDS 8K ULTRA HD with Names and Sounds * Scott - Can You Make It Bigger?
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of bosses in videogames. In the news, the Panthers win the Stanley Cup in the longest season in NHL history, Connor McDavid is awarded the Conn Smythe trophy but doesn't come out to claim it, and Founders of Reyvick might someday come.
Related LinksForum Thread* Bosses (in videogames)
Discord Chat* Bosses (in videogames)
Things of the Day* Rym - Perception check but the Dark Urge is a ✨BARD✨ * Scott - FOOTSIES TRILEMMA
Tonight on GeekNights, it's a Tech News Roundup! Mouse movers are getting people fired but are also a sign of late stage capitalism, social media is messing up the kids, don't operate your i9 at turbo voltages when it's overheating, Adobe is mostly wrong here but also read what you buy, this is a good car that will never reach the US, data breaches are getting worse as people care less and less that they happen, Wine patches bug 7955 after 17 years, the Pentax 17 is bad, Apple cancels Apple Pay Later, New York gets digital IDs (sort of), Microsoft slow rolls Recall after backlash, and Voyager 1 still lives!
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech News Roundup Summer 2024
Discord Chat* Tech News Roundup Summer 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - ZEUS, POSEIDON & HADES * Scott - TerminalTextEffects
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Animal Well. It's a beautiful and well made metroidvania. In the news, Civilization 7 is coming and Blades in the Dark is fantastic from session zero to terminal endgame.
Related LinksForum Thread* Animal Well (2024)
Discord Chat* Animal Well (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - Don't touch AM transmitter towers * Scott - Project Random
Tonight on GeekNights, we make some technology predictions for one, five, and ten years into the future. We did this once back in 2010. In the news, Ticketmaster and Santander have massive data breaches, Google accidentally published its secret search sauce, Twitter adds pornography, and Rubin is the next generation AI chip.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech Predictions for 2025, 2029, and 2034
Discord Chat* Tech Predictions for 2025, 2029, and 2034
Things of the Day* Rym - Balance (1989) * Scott - The Panzerbike
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss markup languages like Markdown. In the news, Rym posted an analysis of strange noises in Sportsnet NHL streams, the ship that broke Baltimore Harbor has been removed, you can read a paper exploring The consequences of generative AI for online knowledge communities, and there are new iPads.
Related LinksForum Thread* Markup Languages
Discord Chat* Markup Languages
Things of the Day* Rym - Come stay in a $40 2/10 hotel with me for an evening. * Scott - Non-Euclidean Doom:
Tonight on GeekNights, in light of one of many Helldivers 2 kerfuffles, we consider yet another way that late capitalism is ruining the games industry: the stores make more money than the games. In the news, a Roblox game's attempt to fix its in-game economy causes a bunch of gamers to lose their minds, Sportsnet streams have freaky noises, and Animal Well is good.
Related LinksForum Thread* Don't Make a Game, Make a Store
Discord Chat* Don't Make a Game, Make a Store
Things of the Day* Rym - 3 Brilliant Moments of Blocking * Scott - Very Good
Tonight on GeekNights we talk about when technology fails. Dead PSUs, dead hard drives, and the like. In the news, there is a vulnerability in practically all VPNs and Tesla is firing everybody after they fired a bunch of people.
Related LinksForum Thread* Technology Failures
Discord Chat* Technology Failures
Things of the Day* Rym - Why Stomping Wigglers Glitches Super Mario World * Scott - The Unique Urination of Cicadas
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss The Night is Short, Walk on Girl by Tomihiko Morimi. You may recall its anime adaptation we previously reviewed on GeekNights.
It's sort of a surreal and mystical romantic comedy. A college student heads out into the night and encounters various people and wild surreal happenings. Another student who has a crush on her has decided to confess that night, and ends up along for a wild ride. If you had a certain kind of university experience it is very true to that experience.
Related LinksThings of the Day* *
Forum Thread* Book Club: The Night is Short, Walk on Girl
Discord Chat* Book Club: The Night is Short, Walk on Girl
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how to ruin your competitive card game. Scott shares the original Sins of CCG design. This is all in the context of Marvel SNAP. In the news, the Rangers sweep the Capitals, Square Enix reported extraordinary losses, Dave & Buster's introduces real money gambling, and Fallout games don't work on modern PCs.
Related LinksForum Thread* How to ruin your competitive card game
Discord Chat* How to ruin your competitive card game
Things of the Day* Rym - Man's Best Friend * Scott - Was Green Hand a Mistake?
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the delightful Pokémon Concierge on Netflix. In the news, Dungeon Meshi grows a plot if you watch past the first bit, Chinese Indie Feature Art College 1994 is in theaters this Friday, and Tonari no Yokai-san looks super cute.
Related LinksForum Thread* Pokémon Concierge
Discord Chat* Pokémon Concierge
Things of the Day* Rym - Kinko Best Moments * Scott - GUNDAM EVOLUTION Private Server Project
Tonight on GeekNights we consider what A New TV in 2024 looks like. In the news, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, GameCube and Wii emulators won't work on iOS due to Apple's ban on just-in-time compilation, and Meta really makes money from all the data they collect about you.
Related LinksForum Thread* A New TV in 2024
Discord Chat* A New TV in 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - 90s computer room ✨🛰️ 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝟗𝟓 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 🎧 extended version * Scott - MAPSCII
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Klask. It's a well-designed extremely fun tabletop sport adjacent to but significantly distinct from Air Hockey. In the news, the Rangers are number one in the NHL, the Coyotes are moving to Salt Lake City, and Visions of Mana has quite the trailer.
Also if you ever need to help out an injured pigeon in New York City, you have a lot of good options.
Related LinksForum Thread* Klask
Discord Chat* Klask
Things of the Day* Rym - The Snailfish * Scott - Descent3
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Orbital Children. It's an excellent short hard science fiction show written and directed by Mitsuo Iso. In the news, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM is in theaters May 7-8 and somebody bought Superman again.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Orbital Children (2022)
Discord Chat* The Orbital Children (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - What is the range of Sting's Orc-radar? * Scott - Truncate
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the nature of the Easter Egg. They're good for society. In the news, the mayor of New York lost a duel, and it's not just you.
Related LinksForum Thread* Easter Eggs
Discord Chat* Easter Eggs
Things of the Day* Rym - So THAT'S where Bugs Bunny got it from! * Scott - Sweet Home (1989) [Full Film, Domesday Capture, Subbed]
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Balatro (2024). From LocalThunk and published by Playstack, it's a roguelike deckbuilder in the vein of Slay the Spire, but in Video Poker. It's good. In the news, PAX East was all right but it's still a ghost town when the expo hall closes, the Rangers are top of the NHL coming into the playoffs, and you may not have played Crime No Crime before (but you should).
Related LinksForum Thread* Balatro (2024)
Discord Chat* Balatro (2024)
Things of the Day* Rym - The End of Evangelion: When I Watch Something Unforgettable * Scott - Original Pirate Material
Tonight on GeekNights, with Rym back from the plague and Scott back from PAX, we review the hot new anime Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi / ダンジョン飯). From Studio Trigger, it's part light fantasy part cooking show. It's worth your watch. In the news, The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story dropped in partnership with the Kevin Love Fund and two lost Astro Boy episodes were recovered!
Related LinksForum Thread* Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi)
Discord Chat* Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi)
Things of the Day* Rym - 2 days into college * Scott - Joby Carter
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the fantastic Robot Dreams, a Spanish-French animated tragicomedy was saw at the New York International Children's Film Festival. It has no dialog and you will remember the 21st night of September. In the news, Akira Toriyama has died, and the creator of X-Men 97 has been fired.
Related LinksForum Thread* Robot Dreams (2023)
Discord Chat* Robot Dreams (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - Attack the Gas Station * Scott - How to Fold the Miura Ori
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the ramifications of a ridiculous Texas law being argued before the Supreme Court, and its ramifications for the imperfect but valuable Section 230. In the news, A lot of Redditors hate the Reddit IPO, Reddit is selling your data to Google for AI training, and Reddit admitted that your moderator protests are working. Also Rym has some notes on his new workstation.
Related LinksForum Thread* Moderation, Section 230, and Free Speech
Discord Chat* Moderation, Section 230, and Free Speech
Things of the Day* Rym - The Oldest Room in the House * Scott - GifCities
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss noodles. In the news, Alabama Republicans decide that embryos are literally children with extreme and harmful legal consequences, and Fubo has raised an antitrust suit against the coming massive sports streaming consolidation.
Related LinksForum Thread* Noodles
Discord Chat* Noodles
Things of the Day* Rym - Which is Worse? * Scott - GoPro Ride Through an Electron Beam Irradiator at Full Beam Power
Tonight on GeekNights, having previously talked about Cheating we now consider Anti-Cheat. How do you prevent cheating? In the news, the Nintendo Direct is Feb 21 but the Switch 2 is likely 2025, and Helldivers 2's ugly anti-cheat in a PvE game leaves a bad taste in our mouths.
Related LinksForum Thread* Anti-Cheat
Discord Chat* Anti-Cheat
Things of the Day* Rym - Wario Addresses His Nation Amidst Its Destruction * Scott - Game Font Forensics
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne. If you enjoyed the first show then your vampire cup overfloweth. In the news, PAX has an official Discord and Bong Joon Ho is working on a new animated film about deep sea creatures.
Related LinksForum Thread* Castlevania: Nocturne
Discord Chat* Castlevania: Nocturne
Things of the Day* Rym - Putin’s Story | The Puppet Show Banned In Russia * Scott - Clarke Jaxton Motorbike
Tonight on GeekNights, 18 years after Rym tried to switch to Mac, Scott switches to Mac. (Except for gaming). In the news, Rym is building a new primary workstation,, Tim Sweeney calls out Apple's "malicious compliance" in light of The Digital Markets Act, and the Superb Owl went to overtime.
Related LinksForum Thread* Scott Switches to Mac
Discord Chat* Scott Switches to Mac
Things of the Day* Rym - Why It Was Almost Impossible to Make the Blue LED * Scott - No Vehicles in the Park
Tonight on GeekNights, after talking about people who use their phones in public at full speaker volume, we review the fantastic convention that was Super MAGFest 2024. We previously covered the games of this MAGFest in MIVs. In the news, the Superb Owl is the least interesting it's ever been, and late capitalism claims another digital victim.
Related LinksForum Thread* Super MAGFest 2024
Discord Chat* Super MAGFest 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - The Odd History of Goalie Masks * Scott - pinaffo & pluvinage's cardboard installation
Tonight on GeekNights, we riff on some of the ideas we're exploring for our new talk for PAX East 2024: All Games are the Same Game. Turns out you can factorize games into other games. Also we're back after Rym was gone skiing for a week. In the news, the Logitech G PRO X wireless headset is all right, it turns out US presidents aren't immune to all laws, and Roblox has a universal translator.
Related LinksForum Thread* All Games are the Same Game
Discord Chat* All Games are the Same Game
Things of the Day* Rym - The Best Keyboard, According to Science * Scott - Card Games Historically Played by the Black Community
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the extremely good games we played at MAGFest 2024, which itself was possibly the best MAGFest that has ever happened to date. Particularly, the MAGFest Indie Videogame Showcase (MIVS) and a shout-out to Nothing Good Can Come of This. In the news, Palworld surged onto the scene with massive sales and weird controversies, tabletop game bootlegs are becoming a major problem, and anime is mainstream.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Games of MAGFest 2024
Discord Chat* The Games of MAGFest 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - Extremely rare penalty called ⚠️ * Scott - Brutal Delayed Penalty Own Goal
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the year 2023. Sort of a personal retrospective. In the news, Donald Trump argues in court that a president has the right to assassinate their enemies, and 2023 was the hottest year in human history,
Related LinksForum Thread* 2023 (2023)
Discord Chat* 2023 (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - Adults giving you directions * Scott - Sauna Security
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Whale Street. It is a solid concept, combining the stock/operating round structure of an 18xx game with poker hand mechanics, but it doesn't quite stick the landing on execution. In the news, Wizards of the Coast has an AI art problem, and Free to Play games like Overwatch and Marvel Snap have a new card/character power creep problem. PixelMeat is back. If you care about unions and good working conditions, consider calling Arsenal Scaffold to tell them workers need living wages.
Related LinksForum Thread* Whale Street (2023)
Discord Chat* Whale Street (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - Hearse of Strahd * Scott - moai.games
Tonight on GeekNights, we review several anime, cartoons, and comics that only one of us has experienced. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Chainsaw Man, Hilda, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus, and Twins in Paradise. In the news, Mickey Mouse has actually for-real entered the public domain and Disney is facing a huge internal power struggle. Also Rym and Emily saw the Field of Light.
Related LinksForum Thread* Several Cartoons and Comics Only One of Us Watched
Discord Chat* Several Cartoons and Comics Only One of Us Watched
Things of the Day* Rym - Hilda - Early Animation Test * Scott - PAKU PAKU
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Lethal Company from Zeekerss. Rym tried out that Zelda 2 remix. In the news, Nintendo killed the Wii U and 3DS servers early, and Valve banned people who deserved it in a fantastic way.
Related LinksForum Thread* Lethal Company (2023)
Discord Chat* Lethal Company (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - Disco Elysium | Pixel Animation | Петь в тишине * Scott - Curt Bloch's Antifascist Zine
Tonight on GeekNights we review Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron (How Do You Live? / 君たちはどう生きるか). In the news, the final season of Hilda is live, and Scott has a low opinion of LAX.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Discord Chat* The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - PUNCH PUNCH FOREVER! * Scott - Haunted Mirror Maze Puzzles
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the vicious smartphone upgrade cycle. Try to use your phone for more than a year or two at least. In the news, Apple has to halt new Apple Watch sales, Adobe gives up on buying Figma, and Scott had fun on the Star Wars ride at Disneyland.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Smartphone Upgrade Cycle
Discord Chat* The Smartphone Upgrade Cycle
Things of the Day* Rym - Why do Americans Pronounce it Zee? * Scott - Battle of Cherbourg (1864)
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss The Murderbot Diaries. They're pretty good, and you should read them.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Murderbot Diaries
Discord Chat* The Murderbot Diaries
Things of the Day* Rym - weevils * Scott - Sleepbaseball
Tonight on GeekNights we review Ahoy (2022). In the news, kids want Robux for Christmas, ByteDance is restructuring Nuverse in a "retreat" from gaming, and Nintendo has to make an 18+ version of the N64 app.
Related LinksForum Thread* Ahoy (2022)
Discord Chat* Ahoy (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - 2017 Ohio State Drum Major Tryouts * Scott - No-Bullshit Games
Tonight on GeekNights, against the backdrop of ongoing tech layoffs we talk about layoffs. (No, neither of us has been laid off). In the news, New York's Clean Slate Act is good news for millions of people trying to get their lives back together, Apple shocks the world by adopting RCS, and
Related LinksForum Thread* Layoffs
Discord Chat* Layoffs
Things of the Day* Rym - The Insane Engineering of the F-16 * Scott - RECOIL - Retro Computer Image Library
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Cobalt Core. It's a cross between Slay the Spire and FTL, taking the best aspects of both. It's also super cute. In the news, the Pickleball people are facing increasing drama, and it's good to "cheat" at Pokémon. We also make fun of AMD for a while.
Related LinksForum Thread* Cobalt Core
Discord Chat* Cobalt Core
Things of the Day* Rym - AI Tom Scott talks about Sneed * Scott - Better Rockem Sockem Robots
Tonight on GeekNights, Rym and Emily review Star Trek: Lower Decks. Based in part on the high concept TNG episode Lower Decks, it's worth your watch. If you've never seen any Star Trek before, perhaps try the first episode of this and the first episode of Strange New Worlds to see if it's your cup of tea.
Tonight on the 18th anniversary of the first episode of GeekNights, we review The Jackbox Party Pack 10. It's got the streamlined TKO 2 and a trivia game that's like the ones we like. In the news, Rym keeps playing Overwatch, Super Mario Wonder is good fun, and Deltarune 3 and 4 will come out sooner than anticipated.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Jackbox Party Pack 10
Things of the Day* Rym - i could probably beat ramiel in a fight * Scott - This is an Aaronson Oracle
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider scams. In the news, the first malaria vaccine slashes early childhood mortality, Hookworms used to ravage the southern United States, the statue of the traitor was melted into slag, and Travis Dermott singlehandedly forced the NHL to change a terrible policy.
Related LinksForum Thread* Scams
Things of the Day* Rym - Nothing's Working Out - Waluigi * Scott - Puzzmo
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the the idea of remote access. In the news, here's a list of all the tech layoffs so far in 2023, and Twitch changes its simulcasting guidelines.
Related LinksForum Thread* Remote Access
Things of the Day* Rym - Star Trek + Design * Scott - Homeward
Tonight on GeekNights we are back with a new web site! In the news, there is tragic war in Israel and Palestine, the House is paralyzed by Republican incompetence, Twitter has destroyed itself in a way that requires us to invoke the "Jack Thompson Rule," and Apple makes a minor change to podcast downloads.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Thursday - Back with a New Web Site
Things of the Day* Rym - Bohemian Rhapsody in 9 different scales * Scott - Castlevania Speedrunners Discover Nuclear Fusion
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Warwick Applefest. If we can review a concert or a convention, we can review a small town apple festival. In the news, America has yet another political crisis as Republicans oust their own Speaker of the House while engaging in extreme pettiness, and there is a "crisis" in ticket reselling arbitrage after people aren't that interested in seeing Travis Scott live for some reason.Related LinksForum Thread* The Warwick Applefest
Things of the Day* Rym - Speed Racers VEHICLE of VIOLENCE * Scott - Classic Video Poker
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Counter-Strike 2. We have been playing some form of Counter-Strike since 2000... We reviewed Counter-Strike in 2006 and Counter-Strike GO in 2012. In news that is as little as it is late, Unity backs down on much of their new monetization model, Epic lays off 16% of its staff, and Scott GeekBites Heretic's Fork.Related LinksForum Thread* Counter-Strike 2
Things of the Day* Rym - oo ee oo * Scott - One Revolution Per Minute
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Janelle Monáe Age of Pleasure Tour which we saw at Radio City Music Hall. It's a hell of a show and you must go to it if you can. In the news, "Detroit Pizza Kitchen" is a lie, the Nikon Z f cometh, the WGA lifts its strike with a huge victory, and the evil companies lose their bid to block a minimum wage for delivery workers in New York.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - What That Famous Gorilla Suit Study Didn’t See * Scott - Paulie B
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the current state of search engines and why Google increasingly doesn't work anymore. In the news, iOS has multiple zero-day zero-interaction vulnerabilities (update your devices immediately) and Reddit is trying to embrace the worst parts of phpBB. 12 years ago we gave two short talks about how game mechanics (and UX design) literally make the communities that use them.Related LinksForum Thread* Search Engines (suck now)
Things of the Day* Rym - Imaginary Numbers Are Real * Scott - The best hockey goal in the history of Australia
Tonight on GeekNights, we review and discuss PAX West 2023. The new venue is fantastic and it felt a lot like PAXes from the golden age of PAX. In the news, Scott suffered Airport Adventures yet made it to Chicaco, Steam (and our Steam accounts) are 20 years old, and the Unity game engine destroys itself with an actively hostile monetization model that is somehow worse than we expected from their 2022 merger with evil.Related LinksForum Thread* PAX West 2023
Things of the Day* Rym - Bentley vs Steyr * Scott - Yellow Brick Ramble
Tonight on GeekNights, in light of Twitter's dying husk removing the ability to block people, we consider the concept of "blocking" in social platforms. The root problem is, as always, the twin evils of advertising and capitalism. In the news, the inability to warn the residents of Maui to the rapidly escalating wildfires requires significant government technology investment, and Dolby Atmos FlexConnect might prove interesting for home theatre setups.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - Quantum Fields: The Most Beautiful Theory in Physics! * Scott - The process of making fake food.
Tonight on GeekNights, having somehow never talked about Quake (except for Quake Live in 2009, we discuss Quake 2 and the Quake 2 Remaster. In the news, the Atari 7800 is back legit, Charles Martinet is moving on, and Marvel Snap is paying people to watch Twitch streams with .pngs in their app.Related LinksForum Thread* Quake 2 Remastered
Things of the Day* Rym - Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Chess Gambit * Scott - Tour de France - Drinking Raids
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of Halls of Fame. In the news, the ravages of climate change have caused an ongoing crisis in Hawaii, and the fascists lost an election in Ohio,Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - Say Less * Scott - Michael Chabon's Book Store
Tonight on GeekNights, we review PitchCar (1995). It's a flicking game. It's a sport. It's pretty fun. In the news, a livestreamer guy caused a riot in New York for which he is facing charges, Gen Con continues to live up to its reputation with a disaster over unmanaged Lorcana lines (remember Lorcana is the subject of a lawsuit from Upper Deck) and some extremely identifiable nerds who stole $300k worth of collectible cards from the floor.Related LinksForum Thread* PitchCar (1995)
Things of the Day* Rym - What's with those big helmets? * Scott - CLAW MASTER
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. It's short and worth a read, but it's not going to blow your mind like some people on the Internet are saying (unless you haven't read much science fiction). A little Singularity, a little Instrumentality, and a story told partially as an epistolary.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss when, how, and if you should upgrade your technology. From phones to cameras to TVs to skis, it comes mostly down to what problem you're trying to solve. In the news, Web Environment Integrity is a potentially worrying but not yet apocalyptic threat to the World Wide Web, the BBC has launched its own journalism Mastodon, and the US has a new nuclear reactor.Related LinksForum Thread* Upgrading Your Tech
Things of the Day* Rym - Feed the Machine - Metropolis Music Video * Scott - Bruce Lee and Me
Tonight on GeekNights, we review two games by the legendary Sid Sackson: Can't Stop (1980) and All My Diamonds (1969). They're both worth playing, but for different reasons. In the news, Overwatch League is in deep trouble along with much of the global esports ecosystem.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - German Community Gardens (Schrebergarten) * Scott - Chip Player JS
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the surprising challenges of throttling and rate limiting. In the news, Twitter rate-limiting reading twitter and broke Tweetdeck while also blocking non-logged-in views , Norway has 100 years of phosphate rock deposits, and the US Supreme Court is wholly illegitimate.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - Dr. Bunsen Honeydew & Beaker Montage - 24 Clips * Scott - A Candid Conversation with Miles Davis
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss worker placement as a game mechanic. We intend to turn this into a series of shows and panels following on from Mastering Game Mechanics as presented at PAX East 2013. In the news, Marvel Snap's Conquest mode is fantastic, and Valve is dropping Battle Passes for Dota 2 because "nobody buys them."Related LinksForum Thread* Game Mechanics: Worker Placement
Things of the Day* Rym - its not always about the money spiderman * Scott - Zone of Death
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the food that is served on airplanes and in airports. You're trapped there, and they know it. In the news, Donald Trump is arrested again, and the Boomers are dying out but somehow Henry Kissinger is still alive.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - The Balearic Sling * Scott - Creative Astrophotography
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It might be the best cinematic animation ever made. It's the longest animated film every produced by an American studio at 140 minutes. It's a classic for all time. Everyone should watch it immediately. You will never see Rym and Scott this giddy about anything. That aberration alone warrants that you must watch this film as soon as possible.In the news, the American northeast is a dangerous hellscape currently, Hayao Miyazaki's "How Do You Live" hits theaters July 14th and there will be no trailer, and Image Comics leaves Diamond Distributors.
Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - The End of Honeysuckle * Scott - his Man Makes 3,000+ Bagels by Hand Every Day
Tonight on GeekNights, we briefly consider when and why to adopt a new technology. In the news, Apple WWDC 2023 brings a $3,500 AR/VR headset in 2024 (we've talked about AR (Augmented Reality) before), and Reddit is pulling a Twitter and possibly destroying the best third party app it has.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - The FIRE TOILET * Scott - Learn x86-64 assembly by writing a GUI from scratch
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. Steeped in allegory and endlessly interpreted, it is a fantastic book that is well worth your read.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Book Club: The Satanic Verses
Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's one of the best pieces of entertainment software ever made. 11/10. S-Tier. A case study in good game design. Just go play it if you aren't already. In the news, Overwatch 2 is banning 5,000 cheaters a week, Street Fighter 6's control modes are looking pretty good, and Wizards of the Coast called the Pinkertons on a youtuber.Related LinksForum Thread* The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Things of the Day* Rym - THE CARTWHEEL - Banned Shot Put Technique! * Scott - Rating Strangers Shots
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Makoto Shinkai's 2022 film Suzume (すずめの戸締まり). It's a road trip movie about shared and distant trauma. And a chair. In the news, The Owl House stuck the landing and Shin Kamen Rider is screening in the US!Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - ALL Old Modem Sounds (300 baud to 56K) * Scott - Material Properties Database
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the noise that computers make. It used to be a lot worse, but most of you are probably too young to have experienced this era. In the news, Rym went to a Star Trek convention, Google supports passkeys, actually read this article and not just the headline, and Rym is running in the New York Marathon in November!Related LinksForum Thread* Computer Noise
Things of the Day* Rym - The Heisenberg uncertainty principle * Rym - The more general uncertainty principle * Scott - Counter-Strike Steganography for Ukraine
Tonight on GeekNights we talk about GeekNights. Particularly, GeekNights Wednesdays. It's the odd duck of the show, focused not just entirely on the passive consumption of media, but constrained to specific types of media. A meta show! In the news, the Venture Brothers Movie is coming, the original Ken Sugimori Pokemon artwork is on the Internet, Makoto Shinkai's Suzume is in theaters, and there is some important meta information about this movie.Related LinksForum Thread* Retooling GeekNights Wednesday
Things of the Day* Rym - 60s-70s Japanese Instrumental Cinema Funk Breaks & Beats * Scott - The Men Who Made Macross
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Magic and illusions. In the news, Rangers, and America's openly fascist "news" network FOX admits they lied about voter fraud.Related LinksForum Thread* Magic
Things of the Day* Rym - CLOWN ROOM * Scott - I hope you will never see this letter
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider lore in games. You know, all that text you didn't read in the tooltips of the inventory. Or what characters told you in Half Life while you tried to clip out of the room. In the news, the Rangers begin their first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a real game, SGDQ 2023 is imminent, and Ingress is getting a Monster Hunter skin.Related LinksForum Thread* Lore
Things of the Day* Rym - Do you want to take this train? * Scott - High Pressure Water Main Repair
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider computer fonts. In the news, the world lost a legend with the passing of Al Jaffee, why "trucks" have taken over America, and Mac sales are down 40%.Related LinksForum Thread* Computer Fonts
Things of the Day* Rym - Starship Velociraptor * Scott - merlin
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Colosseums, Stadiums, and Arenas. In the news, the NHL Playoffs are imminent, Republicans in the state of Tennessee are going mask-off fascist in the (breaking) expulsion of Democrats from the chamber. Rep. Pearson had poignant words that you should watch and listen to.In at least some lighter news, there are actually a lot of good movies coming up. Some that we might even go see.
Related LinksForum Thread* Colosseums, Stadiums, and Arenas
Things of the Day* Rym - Neighborhood Nostalgia Comes to Life * Scott - Calling The Rich Out on Their Bluff
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Muneyuki Yokouchi's fantastic Cat in the Box. This is an S-tier trick taking game. A must-own. It takes about two minutes to teach (three if the player is unfamiliar with trick taking games) and we've had a blast with it so far.In the news, the world is safer today as Finland formally joins NATO, a Florida man is indicted for fraud, Klaus Teuber, the designer of the timeless classic Settlers of Catan, has passed away at age 70, and the new D&D movie might be good.
Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - COFFEE IS AN EYE OPENER FOR SURE * Scott - Resident Evil 4 Anime PV Resident Evil Masterpiece Theater
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the immense challenge of archiving the Internet. This is a critical era of human history, and historians centuries from now will be desperate to know things we all think are "common knowledge" today. In the news, the Internet Archive flew too close to the sun, the emerging geopolitical blocs will likely end TikTok in America, and Nvidia (correctly) says cryptocurrencies do not "bring anything useful for society"Related LinksForum Thread* Archiving the Internet
Things of the Day* Rym - Evolution of Kantele (Finnish Harp) * Scott - Touring a Startup Fiber Optic ISP
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Stacklands (2022). In the news, Counter-Strike 2 is likely coming, Disco Elysium gets a collage mode, and DPReview falls victim to Amazon layoffs and capitalism.Related LinksThing of the Day* Rym - Masami Okui - Live in Hibiya 13 - Toki ni Ai wa (ITARU ver.).mpg
Tonight on GeekNights we review the 2023 animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. The animation and style are fantastic, and if you have or know kids this is a show for them! In the news, Rym bought a new wallet, don't watch any more Made in Abyss, the NHL did a cool telemetry-driven hockey broadcast, and Ghibli Fest 2023 is on!Related LinksForum Thread* Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023)
Things of the Day* Rym - What's Inside A Ships Lifeboat? * Scott - Joe Rinaudo Discusses the American Fotoplayer
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider what to do about E-Waste and worthless old technology. Old cables, old smartphones, 500MB hard drives, and the like. It's OK to get rid of it (and you probably should), but don't just throw it in the garbage unless you're a bad person. In the news, new open gangway subway cars debut on the A train in New York, and Silicon Valley Bank collapsed.Related LinksForum Thread* E-Waste and Worthless Tech
Things of the Day* Rym - The Thermador Car Cooler * Scott - FD Displays
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the technology and ramifications of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) and autoregressive language models in general. We further explore other similar machine learning tools and their short and long-term ramifications for humans. In the news, Discord Stages have low bitrate limits, the US Department of Energy concludes with low confidence that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak in China, the UK wasn't content with ruining its economy with Brexit and is also considering ruining its technology with the Online Safety Bill, and a terrifying toxic new Dust Bowl is descending on Utah.Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - Cold Starting Diesel Locomotive Engines * Scott - The Gatekeepers of New York’s Most Coveted Tables Tell All
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss gamer furniture of the non-chair variety. In the news, Nintendo adds Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to Switch Online, Microsoft adds Call of Duty to Nintendo, and Magic: The Gathering adds Lord of the Rings. We also streamed this show live on the Discord Stage in the official GeekNights Discord!Related LinksThings of the Day* Rym - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Season 1 (1989) * Scott - Math Breakdown: Anime Homing Missiles
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we discuss G. Willow Wilson's Alif the Unseen. A magical realism cyberpunk thriller set in the Middle East, it'd definitely worth your read! We enjoyed it, and there's significant interesting allegory about what it means to see (or not see) things, places, and people.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Book Club - GeekNights Book Club: Alif the Unseen
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss games that are not fully dead, but are mostly dead. Dance Dance Revolution (at home), the resurrected Netrunner, The Realm, Steel Battalion, and whatever game you're mad we didn't include in this short list just now. In the news, The Last Rockstars have debuted, Rym has a high opinion of the L-TEK EX PRO 2 DDR pad, the Nintendo Direct is tomorrow, and the Nintendo Switch is the third best-selling console of all time.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Mostly Dead Games
Things of the Day* Rym - Wario Lore * Scott - Turrican II PC-DOS Remake
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the 1993 anime movie Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama. It's long, and there are fighter jets. YMMV on this one, but if you enjoy Dynasty Warriors it might be for you. Also Hanuman is OP. In the news, the live-action sequel to Whisper of the Heart will be in theaters February 3. Shin Ultraman is exactly what you'd expect.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1993)
Things of the Day* Rym - The Biggest Lie Anyone Ever Told Me * Scott - The Vostell Concrete Book Mystery
Tonight on GeekNights, Rym is back from his ski trip, so we resume our regularly scheduled shows with a review of online advertising and adtech. In the news, the Department of Justice is seeking to break up Google in some trust busting over online advertising and tech layoffs foretell difficult times ahead.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Online Advertising and Adtech
Things of the Day* Rym - Lackadaisy TRAILER * Scott - 【完全再現】『バブリーダンス』踊ってみた！【令和版｜伊原六花】
Tonight on GeekNights, we review BRZRKR from Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, Ron Garney, and Bill Crabtree. It might hit you like a truck. Also Reaves is really into Wolverine. In the news, the United States House of Representatives is frozen as the Republicans repeatedly fail to elect a Speaker (something so unthinkable it literally hasn't happened in a century), Eurobeat is confirmed for MF Ghost, and Cartoon Saloon is moving forward with Julián!Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - BRZRKR
Things of the Day* Rym - So...Orange Juice isn't What it Seems... * Scott - Octopush - The British Underwater Hockey Championships * Scott - Underwater Hockey
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about everybody's favorite operating system: Microsoft Windows. In the news, Youtube contracts NFL Sunday Ticket, America is subsidizing a road at $1 Billion per mile, and it's 2023.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Microsoft Windows
Things of the Day* Rym - A Friendly Little Guy in Your House * Scott - Ripes
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider animated Christmas specials and special Christmas episodes of animated shows. From Frosty the Snowman to The He-Man & She-Ra special to Claymation Christmas to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, nevermind the classic-for-all-time Charlie Brown Christmas. In the news, the legendary Ichiro Mizuki has passed away, and the new season of the Dragon Prince is... uneven at best. (I hope you like farting elves).Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - Animated Christmas Specials
Things of the Day* Rym - Behind Bob's Burgers - Gravy Boat * Scott - Mari Iijima Music Videos from 1984
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the concept of Zero Trust Security. It's a pain, and it's not necessary in all environments, but it's something you should understand. In the news, a company is suing to put profits over preventing harm to children, disgraced former president Donald Trump has been referred for criminal prosecution over his coup attempt, Apple introduces Advanced Data Protection, and Google introduces client-side encryption to paid gmail.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Zero Trust Security
Things of the Day* Rym - 『Push and Pull』 * Scott - The hockey game in the background of Gremlins
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Hanukkah. We've previously talked about Christmas. You're lucky we did a show at all since the Rangers game is about to start. Send your show ideas to the GeekNights Forum. In the news, Rym bought a new devil carriage, Rym cried watching Ted Lasso, and Fusion Power has reached a critical milestone.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Thursday - Hanukkah
Things of the Day* Rym - Look at this bike * Scott - The Best Damn Barbershop in Town
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider teams. Playing on teams, forming teams, team sports, team games. All that team stuff. In the news, Dwarf Fortress with graphics is here (recall we interviewed Tarn Adams on GeekNights back in 2008), the FTC sues to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Blizzard will need someone new to offer World of Warcraft in China in a story that keeps evolving, and we hope Diablo 4 will let us click until we kill satan.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Playing on Teams
Things of the Day* Rym - The Interesting Inertia of a Potato * Scott - SEAHAC 2022
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the 2022 anime TV series Spy×Family. It's a solid regular anime with all the crowdpleasers you could want from an anime club screening circa 2003. In the news, we are back from PAX Unplugged, Saga volume 10 continues the... saga (which we reviewed the beginning of back in 2013), Funimation's acquisition of Crunchyroll continues with SKU changes, Makoto Shinkai's Suzume will be in American theaters April 14th one night only, and Shin Ultraman is in theaters soon!Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - Spy×Family (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - Disco elysium animatic [party time] * Rym - The Northern Boys * Scott - The Amazing Adventures of Pac-Man - Side 1
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss Federated Architecture in light of the collapse of Twitter. Federation is how most of the Internet works, and you should understand the ramifications of it before you dive into platforms like Mastodon. From XMPP (formerly Jabber) to ActivityPub, even the nature of an email address, federation is how the Internet was intended to be used. In the news, the FCC has a more accurate broadband map, and the rail unions are (rightly) threatening to strike over intolerable working conditions.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Federated Architecture
Things of the Day* Rym - Sim Copter on the N64 * Scott - The Last Ridge Racer
Tonight on GeekNights, similar to our episode on Indian food, we consider Chinese food including American Chinese food. We're big fans, but we are not experts, so don't expect to learn anything from two white guys in New York. In the news, snow's a-comin', Democrats defied history, and Ticketmaster is as evil now as it was in the 90s.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Thursday - Chinese Food
Things of the Day* Rym - Get tf out (the Test Chamber) * Rym - get tf out (of Disco Elysium) * Scott - dani daortiz
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss comms in games. Text chat, voice chat, open versus restricted, and the like. In the news, Pentiment is available, and Rym is obsessed with Disco Elysium.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Comms in Games
Things of the Day* Rym - Digital database documents vital infrastructure created by the New Deal * Scott - Adversarial Policies Beat Professional-Level Go AIs
Tonight on GeekNights, in the shadow of Twitter's collapse at the hands of a narcissistic failure of a man, we discuss the best way to protect yourself from the inevitable collapse of every platform: the POSSE model. Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - The POSSE Model and The End of Twitter
Things of the Day* Rym - The Most Important Algorithm Of All Time * Scott - How I Dumped an Arcade Game for MAME
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Beetlejuice. The timeless classic movie from 1988, the bizarre animated series, even the musical, loom large (with the possible exception of the latter) in cinema history, and luckily we've never talked about it on GeekNights until now. In the news, late capitalist dystopia attacks the city skyline, late capitalist dystopia attacks the concept of color (making a lot of Adobe users rightfully angry), and Scott's Chair finally broke.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Thursday - Beetlejuice
Things of the Day* Rym - [Himari and bear] Test of courage * Scott - Card Magic: Impossible Card Trick DEFEATS the Internet
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the surprisingly elegant Marvel Snap. Released this year on phones and PCs, it's essentially a flavor of Knizia's Battle Line (2000), itself in a narrow class of similar games of a shared lineage.In the news, Ross Chastain changed the meta in NASCAR with "Some Video Game Shit," Embracer rebranded Square Enix Montréal as Onoma before immediately shutting Onoma down, Dwarf Fotress with Graphics is coming in December, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 disabled Steam Family Sharing, a feature you should probably be using.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Marvel Snap (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - You can only drown men in Zoo Tycoon * Scott - Pokemon Cards V2
Tonight on GeekNights, we reveal the secrets of How to Not Suck at Smartphone Security. There is a lot of drama that can arise from mishandling your smartphone. Tonight we'll walk you through a simple set of rules that, if you follow them, will nearly guarantee such drama does not befall you.In the news, KakaoTalk loses millions of users after a massive outage not only cuts people off from their primary means of communication but reveals sensitive personal information related to multiple profiles. This is on the heels of Google taking their cut and has now led to calls for a monopoly probe. Also Leica has a new camera for a lot of money and Scott has written about it in the forum.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - How to Not Suck at Smartphone Security
Things of the Day* Rym - Microsoft 3D Movie Maker is Open Source * Scott - Mini5 Word Crusher
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we review and discuss Binti. Because it was short and also extremely good, we ended up reading and will be discussing the complete trilogy. Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.The first in Nnedi Okorafor's trilogy, it won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novella. You know if there's one thing GeekNights is into, it's space universities.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Book Club - GeekNights Book Club: Binti
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Unknown Worlds' Moonbreaker (2022). It's a turn-based digital miniatures game that shares a lot of lineage with Hearthstone, Magic, and possibly Neuroshima Hex (at least in terms of the net effect of some of its mechanics). It's all right, but it has a lot of issues and remains in early access.In the news, Discord's Watch Together shows you ads and is broken by adblock (and also doesn't actually work very well), Discord launches a cheaper Nitro Basic, Rym is playing a lot of Overwatch 2 which itself is struggling with its new free-to-play model that you can ignore if you just pay for the game, and GUNDAM Evolution is terrible.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Moonbreaker (2022)
Things of the Day* Rym - 360-degree action * Scott - Game Boy Carts on the Steam Deck
Tonight on GeekNights we review Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island and Star Trek Prodigy. Scott hasn't watched the latter and Rym hasn't watched the former. In the news, Cartoon Network celebrates its 30th anniversary, Cartoon Network is kind of screwed, and there's somehow a bunch of anime worth watching this season!Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - Cucuruz Doan's Island and Star Trek Prodigy
Things of the Day* Rym - The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years * Scott - Self-help Singh
Tonight on GeekNights, after a surprisingly long hiatus between Rym going to Europe for work and Rym & Emily biking 480 miles across the state of New York, we talk a bunch about IPv6 woes with Intel NICs, and happenings in the street before we get to the news that companies shouldn't spy on their employees, and the GTX 4090 is coming. Eventually, we talk a bit about web scraping and why it is noble and just.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Web Scraping
Things of the Day* Rym - The Most Disturbing Lego Set Ever: Lego Castle 1981 - Knight's Procession * Scott - What 99% of Hitting Coaches Do NOT Understand
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the history and current state of online game servers. Rising primarily out of competitive FPSs like Quake and Counter Strike back in the day, they were often the only way to play with a reliable community of people. There weren't matchmaking or friend lists or anything like that. In the news, Rym and Emily are back from PAX where they did a panel on losing, Scott is back from Costco, the Nintendo Direct had a bunch of things to talk about, and GeekNights will have a roughly three week hiatus between Rym and Emily biking 500 miles and Rym going on a business trip.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Online Game Servers
Things of the Day* Rym - Spooky Swing - Electro Swing Halloween Mix 2021 * Scott - He won the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider single player tabletop games. Distinct from Solitaire and Simple Games or Solitaire Puzzles, expanding on our discussion of The Number of Players, we look at what it takes to have a regular old tabletop game for one. We cite Why No One Will Game With You in the course of this, but there are plenty of great single player experiences (so long as they are official rules and the game was designed with a solo mode in mind).In the news, Blades in the Dark continues to be fantastic, Cult of the Lamb is moderately disappointing to Rym, Moonbreaker holds promise, the fake Amazon-buys-EA story was debunked before we even saw the bunk, and Disney is throwing the weight of its intellectual property around with a high-production TCG: Lorcana.
Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Single Player Tabletop Games
Things of the Day* Rym - L.U.I.G.I * Scott - Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the feature films of Hayao Miyazaki. They are instantly recognizable and every one of them is worth seeing. In the news, Joe Biden has cancelled a huge amount of student debt (more than you probably realize), the nightmare that was the attempt at a 90s American live-action Sailor Moon has been found in its full glory, the new Beavis and Butthead is fantastic, the novel Paprika was based on is getting a live-action series, the AMC meme-stock is doubling down on this nonsense, and Evangelion Voice Actor Motomu Kiyokawa has passed away at 87.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - The Films of Hayao Miyazaki
Things of the Day* Rym - It's like jumping off a roof (on the Giant Slide) * Scott - The Rise and Fall of the Warner Brothers Studio Store
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how to not suck at buying a new smartphone. Android or Apple, you actually do have a choice, and there are some basic things to think about. In the news, you can't park there, this program is illegally packaged in 14 distributions, BeReal is pretty cool, this is why schools are banning smartphones, and the lack of transparency in algorithmic CSAM detection is causing harm.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - How to Not Suck at Getting a New Smartphone
Things of the Day* Rym - How Sake Was Made in 1850 * Scott - I turned my 80s typewriter into a Linux terminal
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider casino games like Roulette, Poker, Craps, Blackjack, and Slot Machines. In the news, Unity is having significant woes, Cult of the Lamb looks cute, MultiVersus is something we will review in the future, Nintendo is just like every other games company, Gen Con struggles with the evil government of Indiana, and TwitchCon again requires masks.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Casino Games
Things of the Day* Rym - Night Sky Jelly * Scott - Custom Mouse V1.0
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Masaaki Yuasa's Inu-Oh (2021). (trailer). Per William Bibbiani in The Wrap it is best described as a "feudal-Japanese hair-metal-demonic-curse serial-killer-political-tragedy rock-opera" anime movie. Go see it. Don't wait. In the news, Daisuke Jigen Voice Actor Kiyoshi Kobayashi Passes Away at 89, Crunchyroll buys Right Stuf in the continued consolidation of all media industries, and Natasha Allegri's new Bee and Puppycat has a new trailer!Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - Inu-Oh (2021)
Things of the Day* Rym - 15 things to make you a better skater. * Scott - I BOUGHT MY DREAM PUZZLE (24,000 Piece Puzzle - Part 1 of 6)
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble vacuum cleaner.You definitely don't want to be in a situation where a shop vac would be the solution to your problem and you do not have a shop vac. Also these are "not a scam." In the news, necrobotic spiders are a thing, Amazon continues to rush toward being a full-on dystopian megacorb, and Netflix has 90 seconds to get your attention.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Vacuum Cleaners
Things of the Day* Rym - Pixel Inferno (FTL) * Scott - Live Cultivation in China
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Vending Machines. In the news, HBO Max is being destroyed, two of the worst airlines in America are merging, noted fascist propagandist Alex Jones is going down in the trial over his harassment of the parents of mass shooting victims, and Girls' Generation is BACK!Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Thursday - Vending Machines
Things of the Day* Rym - The evolution of HBO's Sonic IDs * Scott - A closer look at Padmount Transformers
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Sonic X (2003). An anime TV series based on Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog video game series, adapted poorly by 4kids, it's not too bad. In the news, convention "leaks" are always funny, retroactive editing is becoming more and more common, someone leaked the entire 87 minute animatic of the (sadly) canceled Genndy Tartakovsky Popeye feature, and Anime Matsuri remains one of the worst anime cons in the world, and it's spinning off a "dubbing studio" with a known sex pest.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Wednesday - Sonic X (2003)
Things of the Day* Rym - Music Video VFX Magic With ATARASHII GAKKO! * Scott - Tiny Cable Bridge
Tonight on GeekNights we discuss Software as a Service (SaaS). This is one of the most lucrative, important, and enduring ways software is created and sold. In the news, a chess robot attacked a kid, Amazon buys One Medical as we edge ever closer to cyber-capitalist dystopia, Minecraft (rightly) bans blockchain (and nothing of value was lost), and warming rivers due to human-caused climate change threaten the nuclear power that is crucial to transition us off of fossil fuels.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Software as a Service
Things of the Day* Rym - The Brighton Seaside * Scott - Efficient Dehumidifier
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Zoos. In the news, Rym finally ran out of razor blades, climate change is destroying the world, and we're loving this purported Fake IPL Scam.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Thursday - Zoos
Things of the Day* Rym - MEGAVALANCHE 2022 * Scott - Wikipedia:Long-term abuse
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we review and discuss Yoon Ha Lee's Ninefox Gambit. Far future calendar-fueled space battles abound, and we had a good time with it. It's book one of the Machineries of Empire series, and Rym is already well into the rest of it. We also announce that the next book club book will be Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Book Club - GeekNights Book Club: Ninefox Gambit
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider streaming games. Not to Twitch, but to devices. From Google Stadia to Steam Link to Steam Remote Play to adjacent game library services like Xbox Game Pass it's a space that continues to evolve. In the news, blue states in America are trying to save lives, Scott geekbites Nobody Saves the World, Asmodee sells Keyforge, Ubisoft kills 15 multiplayer games, Counter-Strike is still the #1 game on Steam by a wide margin, Pokemon cards are now easy to get, and video cards are now easy to get.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Tuesday - Streaming Games (to devices, not Twitch)
Things of the Day* Rym - The San Diego Fireworks Mistake of 2012 * Scott - The Biggest Firework in the World
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider refrigeration. In the news, the illegitimate Supreme Court of the United States has taken away basic human rights, Google Hangouts is shutting down, and Google is merging Meet and Duo.Related LinksForum Thread* GeekNights Monday - Refrigeration
Things of the Day* Rym - 15th century German bathhouse * Scott - Modern reproductions of vintage sound cards
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss software libraries. Most of you are probably too old to remember DLL Hell, but you probably don't want to be proving how square roots are calculated just to calculate them in your program. In the news, Amazon has had multiple outages, the log4j zero-day is a nightmare, and VR is edging into the mainstream with its first real consumer maturity milestone.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider documentation. Client documentation, user guides, service runbooks, developer notes, and the like. We've previously covered Documentation Systems, as well as in a game design lecture on game rules. In the news, Rym finally dressed up as Zed from Zardoz, Facebook's name change to "Meta" isn't fooling anyone, a theoretical unicode-based attack on compilers is being patched, Roblox had a massive outage, and the LIRR is now able to run trains into Grand Central Terminal, a feat of engineering in the making since 1963.
This is also the 16th anniversary episode of GeekNights! We started on October 31 2005, and we made "beta" episodes well before that!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider upgrades of and migrations between Operating Systems. We may need to consider that the concept of an Operating System has changed and continues to evolve as computer technology matures. In the news, Apple Day told us about new MacBook Pros and AirPods (plus how people apparently aren't actually using Siri), and a kid accidentally shot himself immediately after assembling a 3D printed gun.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Leopard that is social media. It is difficult to summarize the myriad ways that social media has materially harmed society despite its great promise. From Orkut to Facebook to Twitter, it's been a destabilizing force. In the (possibly too on-the-nose) news, Facebook had a major global outage today (see our episode on outages), Facebook has a whistleblower revealing terrible revelations about the harm Facebook causes, a new tool can reveal who actually owns companies, and Europe is looking to (rightly) standardize on USB-C for charging electronic devices (much to Apple's discomfort).
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider gaming magazines. Notable mentions include Electronic Games, Nintendo Power, Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Magazine, Scrye (for those MTG prices), InQuest, GamePro, Game Informer, PC Gamer, Games Magazine, and more.In the news, Asmodee is for sale for €2 BB, SEGA Genesis games are coming to the Switch (but you won't get the good controller in the US), Activision Blizzard is still in deep shit including an $18 MM settlement, and they released their Diablo 2 remake during all of this.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the archaic "computer magazine" that you may have heard old people talking about. From PC Gamer to Maximum PC to Computer Shopper, the pre-Internet was a wild time. In the news, Western Digital "My Book" users had all their data deleted in a convoluted story, Western Digital tried to trick people into buying inferior drives, Google's internal dysfunction led briefly to Google News failing for all Google Workspaces users, and Sir Clive Sinclair has passed away at 81. Also Rym was nearly attacked by a crazy driver biking from Poughkeepsie to Queens on Sunday.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble beverage. From soda to pop, orange juice to bourbon, milk to yilk, and even good old reliable "water" we consider the general concept of drinks. In the news, the IATSE is mobilizing for a possible strike, we encourage you to murder Spotted Lanternflies if you live in New York, and we encourage you to delete your Facebook account.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider collecting in games. Specifically, we consider "new in box" cartridges and people who like to tell you how many board games they own. In the news, Advance Wars 1 and 2 are coming to the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch Pro is exactly what we expected rather than what people seemed to imagine, someone buys a new-in-box copy of Super Mario 64 for way too much money, and we will be live at PAX Online East this weekend!If you want Rym's copy of Ogre, you can have second dibs on it. If no one takes it before Rym has an excuse to see a certain person, you'll miss your chance.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider hotels and motels. We kind of miss them. In the news, Pokémon Unite is a MOBA, the US Supreme Court made one good decision and one abhorrent decision, and if you wondered why Batman was trending recently, well, now you know. Also we'll be live at PAX East Online!
Tonight on GeekNights, we accidentally do a June tech news roundup. So, in that news, US carries share vertical location data for 911 calls, Apple adds additional safety measures to AirTags (though there are still workarounds), Facetime is (sort of) coming to the web, and there's a ton of WWDC news.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES. It is hard to express how revolutionary this games was in 1988-1991 (depending on where you lived), and it holds up pretty well today. (Rym just beat it on a lark last week). In the news, Tom Wilson should be expelled from the NHL, Ravenloft gets a much better look, Twitch took action against 7.5MM fake accounts, the Epic Games store is not only losing money, but also doesn't lead to actual game sales.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how multi-factor authentication works. We've previously talked about single Signon, biometrics, the levels of security & privacy, and the like, but we've never actually talked about how TOTP and other multi-factor authentication schemes work.
In the news, the ship is no longer stuck, New York opens up vaccines to everybody, fake ai-generated and fake stolen-profile-photo twitter accounts are spreading Amazon's anti-union propaganda, and the Free Software Foundation has ruined its reputation by bringing Richard Stallman back on board, with many others joining the denouncement. Also note that there is a vulnerability in 2FA keys that allows cloning them.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Golf. This includes mini golf. In the news, Microsoft is likely buying Discord, Xbox Live is dead, Emily is Away 3 brings us to the Facebook era, Shredder's Revenge brings us a solid-looking TMNT game, and Magic: Legends is now in open beta.
Tonight on the GeekNights Lounge, we consider leftovers. Food left over from cooking and/or restaurants. In the news, the megathread around bullying accusations against K-Pop idols continues, the incremental cost of such things remains near zero, and the only unconfirmed element of Dyatlov Pass has been plausibly resolved,
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider a number of upcoming animated movies and shows we're looking forward to (and in some cases looking forward to more of).
In the news, Studio Ghibli's Earwig and the Witch came out to deeply scathing reviews despite no one talking about how low-budget of an affair it actually was, a bunch of shows are coming to Crunchyroll, Mamoru Hosoda's BELLE has a teaser trailer, and Disney is shutting down Blue Sky, killing the previously upcoming Nimona movie.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the anime movie Lupin III: The First. In the news, The Real Ghostbusters is back, Wandavision is a nice sendup to classic American television, and One Piece is bigger than any comic you're reading.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the latest (free-to-play) from Zachtronics with NERTS! Online. It's a live online implementation of the classic card game Nerts, and is worth your while. In the news, a Republican mob led by disgraced president Donald Trump stormed the capitol in an ongoing coup attempt. Twitch rightly removes the PogChamp emote after the person it's based on supported this coup. Twitch replaced the PogChamp with a very cool idea that also reminded us just how racist gamers are. Thankfully, the first new PogChamp is a champ. LucasArts is basically back with LucasFilm Games, and they have announced a nazi-fighting game that we're all excited about. We also have a trailer for Bowser's Fury.
Tonight on GeekNights, apropos of nothing in particular, we talk about outages. In the news, Slack started the new year with a major outage, Google employees are unionizing, and Scott found Turbo Vision. Welcome to 2021!
Tonight on GeekNights, at the end of the year they'll write songs about and the end of a decade, we consider what's changed in the last ten years. We'll be doing this for all four nights of GeekNights in the coming two weeks.In the news, GitHub removes that annoying cookie banner in the best way possible, and the supply-chain hack of SolarWinds is a historic mess.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the longevity of technology. From computers to bikes, proper maintenance can greatly extend the life the right tool, though some more easily than others. We've talked about computer maintenance specifically before in 2006 and then in 2020.In the news, Apple may be working on a 32-core processor, Pornhub runs into trouble with its payment processing, the Arecibo Telescope is sadly no more, and the devil cars sell their self-driving unit. Also don't forget to check out the Advent of Code this year! Scott's doing it!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the second installment in Adventure Time: Distant Lands with Obsidian. In the news, Rym got his Index and finished Deca-Dence, The Art of Wolfwalkers is very good, Funimation adds many Gundams, Venture Brothers is cancelled (but also possibly un-canceled), and the publishing industry needs some antitrust action ASAP.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the hoodie. In the news, don't travel for the holidays, Scott has the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., Rym is getting an Index, the new Unsolved Mysteries is a apparently not too bad.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of ghosts. From haunted bunk beds to haunted paintings, Fate Magazine to ghost stories, ghosts are actually a fascinating subject. In the news, The Amazing Randi has passed away, Artzie Music was destroyed by copyright, the Twitch Copyright Strike Apocalypse has resumed with far more dire consequences than last time, and it is a terrible idea to require a license to stream playing a game.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Star Wars: Squadrons. It's great. It lacks some polish, but the gameplay is sound, the game is solid, and it's almost definitely worth your while. In the news, online chess has a cheating problem, Golden Axed was the product of unethical crunch, and some people are having problems using their Quest 2 due to Facebook.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss what really happens with source code leaks. In the news, troubleshooting audio can be moderately complex, you'll die without the new Apple watch, we were correct that Firefox Send is gone forever, there are problems with the 3080s, you should learn what a "founder's edition" of a video card actually is, and IFTTT goes pro.
Tonight on GeekNights we consider the werewolf. Not to be confused with the wolfwere, they are popularly portrayed in a fairly limited number of ways. In the news, Facebook threatens to quit the EU, Facebook Denies Threatening to quit the EU, cops are liars, and the world is on fire. (Vote for Joe Biden).
Tonight on GeekNights, we are joined by Epidiah Ravachol to talk about his fantastic Wolfspell. The tabletop roleplaying game of adventurers who turn to wolf flesh to fulfill a knotted quest. First appearing in issue two of Worlds Without Master, Wolfspell has been reborn now in print as the liner notes of a trifold album cover and illustrated in glorious proggy/metal fashion by Shel Kahn!We also talk about calculators. It's great. Be a wolf.
Tonight on GeekNights we review Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart's fantastic Wolfwalkers. Don't wait for us to tell you about it: just see it as soon as possible. In the news, Irresponsible Captain Tylor is getting a collector's ultra edition, Discotek has a number of fantastic announcements, the Game Devs of Color Expo is this weekend, and we'll be at PAX Online on Friday!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the award-winning 2019 Korean film Parasite. We hope you didn't make plans. In the news, Scott's still Zwifting, Wolfwalkers is also available on itunes, and Millennials shouldn't have to work until they're 70.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in all his incarnations. In the news, check out Bingo Love if you haven't already, the Crunchyroll Expo is this weekend, and Nintendo made a big mistake with pokemonmastersex.
Tonight on GeekNights, we revisit a topic we covered once in 2007 to update it for current times: removable media. USB sticks and such. Rym spent some $20 for a 2GB USB stick in 2007. Times have changed. In the news, Epic Games has kicked off a massive legal battle with Apple and Google, as things continue to escalate.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss power tools. In the news, New York City is humid subtropical, the House Committee tech antitrust hearing was actually pretty good, and Herman Cain has died of COVID.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider exercise games like Ring Fit Adventure, Dance Dance Revolution, and Super Team Games. Also those arm wrestling arcade cabinets. (Don't break your arm). Games where the game plays the player and not the other way around. In the news, join us for some train games at 18xx.games, the Nintendo Gigaleak is a fascinating moment in games history that will take us months to fully explore, and Internet trolls take out the US Army on Twitch.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the (largely unwise) idea of bug bounties, as well as the questions and concerns around responsible disclosure of bugs and exploits in software and services. We did talk about this once back in 2009, but times have changed.In the news, Twitter was hacked for a bitcoin scam, Deep Fakes are getting dangerous quickly, and there are a lot of reasons you should avoid using TikTok.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble act of modding gaming consoles. From video-output mods to the Playstation "backup" chips to enhanced GBAs, it's a golden (and possibly final) age for the hobby. In the news, Rym's still using his ancient phone, Microsoft Flight Simulator is returning in August (get your HOTAS ready for this and Star Wars: Squadrons), the SGDQ 2020 schedule is live, Shantae is getting a retro re-release, Quest for Glory is just on Steam if you want to play, as is Death Stranding, and the Game Devs of Color Expo will be online in September!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the hot new Trigger anime BNA: Brand New Animal. It's another anime that saved anime, and it's definitely worth watching! Our friends over at the Gay Breakfast podcast consider it from a Queer perspective.In the news, Cheetos ain't worth it, Gary Larson returns with more of The Far Side, and the Slayers light novels are getting an English release! Also keep an eye out for us appearing at the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the food subscription box. Things like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron or Big Plumb or Purple Carrot. One of those is a made up name.
In the news, Rym ran afoul of a kerosene-adjacent mystery, Scott's gym is closed, Block Together is shutting down, removing a powerful anti-harassment tool that Twitter needed despite Twitter removing their OWN anti-harassment tools (even though they used to promote such tools).
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the ends of games. When and how do orthogames end? When and how should they end? We're workshopping a new game design panel for a future convention.In the news, Crucible recedes back into the dark recesses of a closed beta after a unilaterally mediocre reception, a whole chunk of the games industry is rightly called out (there are too many articles to list them all), Superliminal is coming to Switch on July 7, Natural Selection 2 not only still exists but is on sale, and we're beginning to livestream the show again.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how hard it is for an online-only anime convention to succeed (compared to nearly any other kind of convention). In the news, Annecy Online is still going, A Whisker Away is on Netflix, Scott has finished reading Lone Wolf and Cub. Black lives matter. Donate if you can.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about pencils, pens, and stationery. In the news, keep up the fight, Apple vs Hey, and remote school didn't really work.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about our computer maintenance schedules and procedures. We talked about this once back in 2006, but a lot has changed in 14 years.
In the news, Black Lives Matter. That should go without saying, but we're saying it again. Help any way you can. If nothing else consider a donation to the cause or call your local, state, and federal representatives. The protests are working, bit by bit, but we all have to keep the pressure up.
In other news, Google Currents (not the original Currents) replaces Google Plus for G Suite users, and SMITE developer Hi-Rez Studios did a full review of their chatlogs and banned over 5,000 racists. This is easy to do, and more companies should enact this kind of retroactive banning rather than relying on their communities to have to flag and report. The Internet Archive is also in danger due to lawsuits by book publishers.
Tonight on GeekNights we review a variety of things. Coppertone SPORT, Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2, Presonus E4.5 2-Way Near Field Studio Monitors, Candycare Packs, DIYMAG 40x20mm Super Strong Neodymium Disc Magnet, Rollerblade Casters for Office Chairs, and TROND Power Strip with 3 USB Ports, and Opalpix. No, we haven't sold out =P
In the news, the NHL may have its playoffs, and Twitter adds a feature.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Rolling Stock (2011). A Björn Rabenstein tabletop game that's adjacent to 18xx games like 1846: The Race for the Midwest, 1889: History of Shikoku Railways, or 2038: Tycoons of the Asteroid Belt, we've been playing it asynchronously online!In the news, Smash Brothers' online mode isn't suitable for Evo Online 2020, Amazon's Crucible experiment is actually coming out, Gen Con is (rightly) canceled this year, and the Doom Eternal updates has a hot helping of malware.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Katie Cook's Nothing Special. It's on webtoons.com, which is a great place to find a ton of similarly good webcomics. In the news, it's easy to stream recent hot anime movies like Promare or The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, Miyazaki's next Ghibli film's production is continuing, the 23rd Pokémon movie is delayed, Sweet Tooth is getting a Netflix series, and Sazae-san is airing reruns for the first time in 45 years.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about playgrounds. It's Thursday: what do you want? In the news, HBO Max is going to carry 17 Crunchyroll anime (nevermind the four post-finale Adventure Time specials), Philly transit is out of money because cars are terrible, and Valorant's dodgy anti-cheat software appears to indeed be dodgy, Who knew?Check us out on Patreon, on our forum, and everywhere else we may be!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review 1889: History of Shikoku Railways, an 18XX game by Yasutaka Ikeda. We've previously reviewed 1846: The Race for the Midwest and 2038: Tycoons of the Asteroid Belt. In the news, cars are terrible, Valorant is a thing, Cloudpunk is pretty good, Overwatch Hero Pools may only apply to the top tiers now, and that Valve source code leak was basically nothing. If you want to play some 18xx games online, that is an option.
Tonight on Geeknights, we review the Beastars anime. It's pretty great. If you're looking for a dark psychosexual thriller that somehow evokes both Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sanctuary, this is the show for you! In the news, Japan Post has suspended international mail to many countries, if the Olympics are delayed past 2021 they will be canceled instead, Diamond Distributors plans to resume operations on May 20th, Ducktales season 2 is pretty good, and Tomm Moore's highly anticipated Wolfwalkers is still coming, but it might be an Apple exclusive stream.
Tonight on GeekNights, we revive the ancient "How to Not Suck" series with an episode on baking. How to not suck at baking. It's a rising hobby during the quarantine. In the news, PAX is not currently canceled, with further clarification in the Reddit, Dune (2020) appears to actually be happening, and Rym and Emily's Disney animation podcast continues!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Luigi's Mansion 3 on the Nintendo Switch. It's all right, and is probably the best of the Luigi series to date. In the news, we live streamed this episode with a new RTMP setup, Torchbearer 2e will scratch that "old style Dungeons & Dragons but with a modern sensibility" itch, and Mario Maker is finally complete.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider PostgreSQL, the open-source relational database. It's basically the one to use. Most people just call it "postgres." If you're not sure what we're on about, check out our previous episode about relational databases. In the news, new laws mean new COBOL code, John Conway was taken from us, there's a gravity clock (sort of), and Discord is adding group video chat so you can replace Zoom. Also, Brian Swords of York has been rediscovered.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Animal Crossing: New Horizons! If you want chill times mooching around on an island and talking to animals, this is the game for you! In the news, Overwatch League has replaced hockey for Rym, Cooking Mama isn't mining bitcoins despite what some people are claiming, the Watcher makes Slay the Spire is worth revisiting, Curse of the Dead Gods is pretty cool, and the tabletop industry is in trouble.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Nobuyuki Fukumoto manga Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI. Not to be confused with the gambling anime Akagi that we reviewed in 2006. This manga covers the events planned in Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues. In the news, Masaaki Yuasa has retired as president of the prolific Science SARU studio, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is good to the end, and Viz licenses the Super Mario Bro. manga.
Tonight on GeekNights, still recording remotely we consider the concept of insurance. Please, if you have better Thursday show ideas throw them at us! In the news, Jojo Rabbit (2019) is extremely good, apparently Henry Kissinger is indeed a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, and Netflix Castlevania is definitely worth continuing.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review two new-to-us tabletop games we played at PAX in First Look: No Return: Es gibt kein Zurück! (2019) and Square on Sale (2005). The former is distilled game mechanic. The latter is... interesting, but heuristically a mess. In the news, for the first time in over 15 years GeekNights was recorded remotely (so let us know if the audio sounds weird), Rym is building an annoy-o-tron, Segata Sanshiro appears to have risen from the grave, Pistol Whip is a VR rhythm rail shooter, and Half-Life Alyx is out!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the delightful new anime from Science Saru, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (映像研には手を出すな！). In the news, Anime Boston is canceled, there is an Evangelion gunpla, and Sonic topped Detective Pikachu!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble Randomizer. Scott is into ALTTP, and Rym is obsessed with FFIV Free Enterprise. Randomizers were not foreseen, and they will likely have a significant impact on game design and esports in the years to come.
In the news, Facebook and Sony pull out of PAX East and GDC due to Coronavirus, the mayor of Boston is oddly mad about it, and PAX has a statement for you. (Wash your hands). Also, Animal Crossing and Doom share a birthday now. We'll be live at PAX East, and a ton of our standalone tabletop reviews are on youtube!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the latest animated film from Science Saru, Masaaki Yuasa's Ride Your Wave (きみと、波にのれたら). It's exactly what it looks like, but masterfully executed and definitely worth watching. Its themes overlap heavily with Lu Over the Wall, using water as metaphor for death and/or transformation. In the news, another water-based anime movie Children of the Sea is also in theaters, Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It is definitely an anime, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power continues to get better and better with season four, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is so far delightful with some Adventure Time vibes, and the secret entrance to Anime Boston is now gone.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the fascinating topic of cleaning. It is Thursday, after all. In the news, the Oscars included a pleasant surprise despite our general feelings on award shows, stay away from cruise ships, never trust a doctor who believes in homeopathy, watch The Good Place (and then read Surface Detail), vote for Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic presidential primary, and vote for literally every Democrat in every race in the general election no matter what.
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You can also find us on Patreon, on Rym's Youtube Channel, on Scott's Youtube Channel, in our Forum, in our unofficial official Discord server, and several other places!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the extremely elegant Rumble Nation (天下鳴動). It's shockingly deep for how quick it plays, with some nods to both El Grande and Settlers of Catan (but not in the ways you might imagine). In the news, Scott remembered that Camp Hyrule existed, awesome hackers are dropping extremely aggressive two-headed skeletons into Red Dead Online, and OWL's Paris Eternal will practice in New Jersey for reasons. Also, Scott has GeekBites of both Neonimo and Death Crown!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Makoto Shinkai's latest movie Weathering With You. It's beautiful, but its themes are muddled. We reviewed his The Place Promised in our Early Days back in 2005, and more recently Your Name in 2017. We can forget Children Who Chase Lost Voices, which we talked about in 2011.In the news, Queens bus route meetings attract a particular kind of person, Ride Your Wave is in theaters one night only on February 17th, Funimation dropped a terrible porn anime for which the fandom seems to overlap entirely with the "ahego shirt" crowd, and we will be live at PAX East 2020!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how to get rid of stuff (as opposed to buying stuff). In the news, the news is dire and it feels like a lot of things are on a precipice of disaster. But at least we're getting rid of our stuff.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Time of Crisis: The Roman Empire in Turmoil, 235-284 AD (2017). It's a deckbuilder wargame that basically functions as a highly abstracted rondel. We like it. In the news, Blizzard is getting better at classic CTF, Rocket League drops 0.3% of its active playerbase, Pokemon Bank will be free for a month while you get your Pokes into Pokemon Home, Half-Life 2.75 (Alyx) is coming to VR, and Activision Blizzard esports will move to a Youtube exclusive escalating the content wars of game streaming platforms. Also we will be live at PAX East 2020!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the all-time classic Batman: The Animated Series. We talked in ancient times about the tv shows of our youth in a general sense, but BTAS is important enough to warrant its own episode! In the news, Weathering With You is worth seeing, Ride Your Wave continues the unstoppable Masaaki Yuasa train, Saint Young Men is coming to English audiences, and The Dragon Prince was good to the end!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the new hotness we played at PAX Unplugged's First Look, Yusuke Matsumoto's Nokosu Dice. It's a trick taking game like nothing you've ever played before, and we're already obsessed with it. A perfect complement to Wizard, this one is a must-buy!
In the news, Old Man Scott doesn't want you to listen to GeekNights, Fantasy Flight Interactive shuts down, AGDQ was pretty solid this year, Oath is probably going to be good, and Slay the Spire got even better.
Come see us live at PAX South 2020 with an all new panel!
Tonight on a very special GeekNights, we consider GeekNights. We've come a long way since we did a meta episode in 2005. We are back from the usual end-of-year hiatus with bold ideas and some fun new things to come! From the ancient original forum to Radio Free Equestria, Rym doodling on his keyboard to Lunch with Scott , we've done a lot of things over the last 15 years. Here's to another 15!
In the news, RIP College Humor, and AGDQ is live! We'll be live at PAX South 2020 next weekend!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the various issues around manga distribution in the US. Like, when kids search for manga and find more pirate sites than legitimate ones. In the news, Scott beefs with the city of Philadelphia, BNA is coming from Trigger, the Manga Research and Reading Network in New York is pretty awesome, the Otakon Artist Alley "controversy" wasn't what it appeared to be, and we'll see you at MAGFest, PAX South, and PAX East in rapid succession!
Tonight on GeekNights, back briefly from the hiatus of Rym flying around Asia before we head to PAX Unplugged and MAGFest, we consider the fantastic remake of one of the best Zelda games: Link's Awakening. In the news, we consider Steam Remote Play Together, Baba is You and has level editor (without needing hacks), and the Steam Controller is finally gone.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about mailing things to places. Packages, letters, even the GeekNights Tshirts before we put them on Amazon! In the news, Rym bought a new mattress from the Internet (following on from our show on beds), a bunch of SMS messages from a long time ago just got sent to everybody, the American off-year election went very well (potentially bringing the Equal Rights Amendment back to the table), and we will be live at PAX Unplugged teaching three games and teaching you to take your damn turn!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the delightful Untitled Goose Game. HONK! In the news, the off-year election happened today, griefers ruined a Fortnite tournament, Overwatch 2 is a thing, and we'll be live at PAX Unplugged!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Microphone. In the news, Netflix is reportedly adding a (likely-to-be-abused) 1.5x mode, Adobe got permission to continue to support the people of Venezuela, new AirPods are coming, and algorithms can definitely be racist.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider sleep, having previously covered beds. In the news, Disney needs to be broken up, another strain of polio has been eradicated, and several US House Republicans are dangerous criminals endangering the very fabric of American democracy. Also, PAX East badges are live!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the 1966 Peanuts television special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. From an exploration of PTSD and the horrors of war to the inherent fanaticism of religion, it has some surprisingly nuanced elements. In the news, Makoto Shinkai's Weathering Skis will be in American theaters, but you can see it early at Anime NYC, and Disenchantment season 2 is surprisingly good!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about low power modes. In the news, Facebook should be broken up for having destroyed Internet media, San Francisco explores regulating emerging technology, you probably don't care about AMP or OpenJS, and we hope you remember these things.
Tonight on GeekNights, Scott having just moved, we consider the logistics of moving. We did talk about this on a GeekNights episode from 2006, but we are older and wiser in this terrifying new age. In the news, the Blizzard situation continues to evolve, the impeachment of Donald Trump becomes more urgent by the hour, we learn about the Sergeant at Arms, all utilities should be nationalized, and we hope you enjoyed the meteor showers.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review a train game - 2038: Tycoons of the Asteroid Belt. We assume that you are at least somewhat familiar with train games. In the news, Scott buys some jeans, hockey season begins, China is trying to censor The NBA and Activision Blizzard.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Studio Trigger's first theatrical animated film: Promare. Go see it. It makes Redline look positively tame. It's Studio Trigger: The Anime.In the news, the Lupin III CG trailer looks hot, Carole & Tuesday is utterly fantastic so far, Rie Kugimiya will be a guest at Anime NYC, and the Vic thing is basically over. We've also reviewed a lot of anime over the last 15 or so years of GeekNights. So, here are just the reviews, without the other stuff, on youtube and Patreon! We'll try to get a new one up every week.
Tonight on GeekNights, returning from our hiatus for-real this time, we consider the wonder that is the Global Positioning System. In the news, the corrupt and treasonous president of the United States is being impeached, Richard Stallman has rightfully, finally, been pushed out of the open source movement, and you shouldn't vape any of that vape juice until it's properly regulated.Check out our new Main Bits feed on Patreon and GeekNights Anime Reviews on youtube! We'll see you next at PAX Unplugged!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the smartwatch. What are they really, and do you really need one? In the news, Apple has brought us the expected updates, Rym is back from Europe with a story, and Scott went to a great concert. We are back from PAX West in all our glory!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Dr Stone anime. If nothing else, it moves fast. In the news, Archive of Our Own won a Hugo, Sony keeps Spiderman out of Disney's monopolistic clutches (for now), BronyCon comes to an end, and if you didn't know, Neil Gaiman did the English adaptation of Mononoke Hime.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider fruit (except apples). In the news, someone figured out how to dispose of old TVs for free, China's bot game is mad weak, Youtube's takedown policies have changed for short musical clips, and Scott has some chair woes. Also, Grapefruit.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Mario Maker 2 on the Nintendo Switch. In the news, Loot Crate is bankrupt, Dire Wolf Digital is bringing, among other things, Root to digital, System Shock 2's patch history is fascinating, and it's getting an "Enhanced Edition."See us live at PAX West 2019 and check out the GeekNights Patreon!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the recently re-released Urusei Yatsura manga by Rumiko Takahashi. It's a fine read if you never got ahold of it the first time around. In the news, after some night market adventures and a search for yuzu paste, Aggretsuko is getting a third season, Megumi Hayashibara Joins the cast of Carole & Tuesday, Disney enters the fray (for now) at $12.99, Bananya gets a second season, and She-Ra is really coming into its own with its third season.
Don't miss Rym and Emily talking about Disney theatrical animation!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the cable to rule them all: USB-C. Note that this is not the same as USB 3 (or even 3.1). In the news, Cloudflare de-platforms the hateful and vile 8chan, followed quickly by Voxility de-platforming the equally vile Epik and Bitmitigate, Amazon continues to support white supremacist hate sites, Apple iPhone rumors are probably close to the truth, and there might be an almost usable Android smartwatch.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider cheese. In the news, we wonder what the deal was with Rym's Christmas Cheese, Ninja leaves Twitch for Mixer, a bad person was rightfully denied a panel at PAX, and we remind you that GeekNights has endorsed Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic primary.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Vincent Baker's The Wizard's Grimoire. It's an RPG for one player and two volunteers, and it's definitely worth playing. In the news, professional Fortnite is still amateur hour (though this probably doesn't even matter), Bethesda Bethesda'd Doom on the Switch, the Overwatch role queue is a significant maturation of professional esports, and the 8BitDo SN30 might be the one controller to rule them all.Follow GeekNights on Patreon and see us live at PAX West!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Kunihiko Ikuhara's recent Sarazanmai. This is not a show for children. You need to know more about Kappa than you think you do. It should be watched with the same care you'd use watching Utena. In the news, our hearts go out to the victims of the tragedy at Kyoto Animation, CATS is back, and Rym may test the waters of Fire Force despite how we may have JUDGED it. Also, read Lone Wolf and Cub.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. It's a fantastic addition to the Metroidvania genre, though it suffers from technical problems on the Switch.In the news, Overwatch takes an even heavier hand with cheaters, Overwatch League moves to a division format with some local home games, Civilization VI play-by-cloud has a lot of issues (try Giant Multiplayer Robot or Play Your Damn Turn for now), Fortnite joins the list of games banned in Jordan, and people will do anything to avoid grinding in Destiny 2.
Be sure to subscribe to both Scott's Youtube Channel and Rym's Youtube Channel if you want all of our videos! You can also listen to Rym and Emily's new spinoff show on Disney Theatrical Animation on the GeekNights Patreon! Also come see one of our two panels at PAX West!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the entire upcoming Summer 2019 anime season... before we watch any of it. We've been doing this for a while as a youtube show! In the news, New York had another march through the canyon of heroes, Otomo has a new movie on the way, Akira is getting a 4k remaster, Promare is coming, Crunchyroll is partially joining HBO Max, and ConnectiCon is this weekend!Since Evangelion is available on Netflix, recall that we have previously reviewed Evangelion, and also done a deep "final thoughts" show on it!
Be sure to subscribe to both Scott's Youtube Channel and Rym's Youtube Channel if you want all of our videos! You can also listen to Rym and Emily's new spinoff show on Disney Theatrical Animation on the GeekNights Patreon!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Dark Web. In the news, our flights were late, youtube inconsistently enforces its "policy" on "instructional" hacking videos, 7-11 Japan had an egregious security breach, that Grubhub story you heard is more nuanced than you may expect, Grubhub overall is just the same conversation as Amazon is, and the kids are falling for 90s-era phishing attacks.Rym and Emily have launched a spinoff show on Disney theatrical animation!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the complete season one of Bee and PuppyCat. We talked about the first part of the season back in 2014, and we still regularly quote the pilot. Season two is still on the way! In the news, Vertigo comics is no more, Neon Genesis Evangelion is on Netflix with a few problems, we have an idea of what the canceled Mouse Guard movie could have been, and the Netflix Watership Down is... OK.
Tonight on GeekNights, we reconsider a topic we talked about back in 2007 and explore the humble computer mouse. In the news, a big chunk of the Internet was down this morning, surveillance capitalism wants to make your life a living hell, and GeekNights endorses Tiffany Cabán for Queens district attorney in the Democratic primary tomorrow. (Go vote on June 25th).Rym and Emily have started a side-show exploring Disney theatrical animation, live now for GeekNights Patreon Patrons and going public on July 4th!
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we consider our thoughts on Troy Denning's 1996 Planescape novel Pages of Pain. Rym read this when he was young, and remembered it being the best of the Dungeons & Dragons branded novels. Surprisingly, this opinion is not entirely uncommon. Will adult brain see otherwise? Is it merely the bar being so very, very low? The GeekNights Book Club will decide. Take a journey with us to the sensibilities of 1996!
The Lady of Pain, vigilant defender of Sigil, keeps an ongoing memoir of her existence. Here, in her own words, is her eternal story. Interspersed with these memoir passages is a story that takes plae in the maze where threats to Sigil are incarcerated for all eternity.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the delightful Cadence of Hyrule. It's basically Crypt of the Necrodancer, a roguelike rhythm game, crossed with Zelda 3: A Link to the Past. In the news, autochesses are proliferating, Pokemon finally solves the too many pokemon problem, a recent SCOTUS ruling on free speech isn't what you think it is, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night cometh.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the 1995-96 Gunsmith Cats OAV, directed by Takeshi Mori and based on the manga by Kenichi Sonoda. It's a wild and succinct trip into what 90s anime were like. In the news, Looney Tunes are back, the Utena Musicals are covering Black Rose, a creepy guy sued Funimation, a handy twitter blocklist will keep fans of that creepy guy out of your mentions, and Junji Ito was at TCAF!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the challenge, and possibly the necessity, of breaking up the major technology companies. But first, after two unrelated bridge incidents, we consider the value proposition of the new Mac Pro, and Google's conflict of interest regarding advertising revenue may end up ruining Chrome.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Risk of Rain and Risk of Rain 2. They both have a number of unique, interesting, and well-designed mechanics, but in the end feel more like proofs of concept than complete games. In the news, PAX West is live, MAGFest dates are announced, Fortnite banned some cheaters for a little while, but still let them into the World Cup, and Barkley 2 lost its roots.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the 1999 film The Matrix. In the news, nobody wins the Pokémon T-Shirt Contest we discussed on Tuesday, a bill to ban games that abuse children with loot boxes or pay-to-win has bipartisan support in the senate, and I'm Gonna Have Me Some Fun is one of our favorite movies. Also PAX West 4-day badges return, and you should be on HIGH ALERT starting Tuesday.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the unique nature of two player games. In a non-solitaire, non-race game, one, two, three, and four+ players are radically different experiences. Two player games are in a unique and fascinating space. They devolve into either Chess, Tic Tac Toe, or Rock paper Scissors in most tabletop cases. Three player games are political in a very particular way, four or more are all basically the same... but TWO. TWO is in a class of its own.In the news, we're still playing Auto Chess (and Rym is playing a lot of Overwatch), Unity deletes a tweet about gambling features (a timely topic), there are twists and turns in the saga of the Uniqlo Pokemon shirt contest, and Oculus Rift S/Quest will usher in an expanded VR market.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the new remake/redo of Fruits Basket. In the news, Kunihiko Ikuhara directed five episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Detective Pikachu is apparently pretty good, and almost everyone who's mad at Adobe is wrong about what they're mad about.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Windows Subsystem for Linux, now that WSL 2 is coming. Is this the final nail in the coffin of desktop Linux? Will OSX developers start migrating back to Windows? Is WINE finally dead? Time will tell. In the news, SCOTUS is allowing consumers to sue Apple on antitrust grounds, Amazon is trying to trick employees into quitting to become subcontractors, and if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the fundamental divide between the 90% of players who just want to play games, and the 10% who want to win games, in light of Fortnite dropping competitive play. In the news, apparently a lot of people don't know the rules to Uno, the Kentucky Derby had some disqualification drama, Scrabble's meta has been radically changed, and Beat Saber is pretty fun.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about Phishing and how to protect yourself from it. In the news, beware the Inception Bar of phishing on mobile, Apple cracked down on dubious parental control and screen time apps, and the US measles outbreak is growing.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the fantastic 2019 horror film Us. In the news, after some bike fails and overheating, this amazing Super Mario Commodore 64 port is taken down, Star Trek Voyager is better than you remember, and GeekNights formally endorses Elizabeth Warren for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review two tabletop sports with Catch the Moon (2017) and Vollpfosten (2018). They're both dexterity games worth playing! In the news, Subverse shows the power of erotica on Kickstarter, and China's new censorship rules for games have been revealed.Both our Rare Game Mechanics and The Real Harm of Games panels are up on youtube! We also Judged the current season of anime!
Tonight on GeekNights, we have our final thoughts on the full run of Adventure Time. It's a phenomenal show: there's no other way to say it. We did a mini review back in 2014. Rym didn't even start watching the show until What Was Missing premiered. From the original short in 2008 to the perfect last episode, this show is a treasure.In the news, Castle of Cagliostro and Penguin Highway are playing in NYC, Monkey Punch has passed on, and you can finally read the end of Initial D. Our Rare Game Mechanics and The Real Harm of Games panels are on youtube!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble Bookmark. They were more important back when there were more web sites, when we used to talk about things like del.icio.us. In the news, PC Part Picker launches a Bike Part Picker, Cyber insurance doesn't cover acts of war, Notre Dame has burned, Pepsi probably isn't going to advertise in space, but if they do we'll shoot them down, and Brooklyn is under a (completely justified) mandatory vaccination order.Our Rare Game Mechanics panel from MAGFest is on youtube!
Tonight on GeekNights, along with special guest Judith of Gay Breakfast fame, we consider the surprisingly common situation wherein one is confronted with water in the ceiling. In the news, white people are weirdly obsessed with throwing axes, the real NHL draft is something to see, and the next GeekNights Book Club book will be Troy Denning's Pages of Pain.
Tonight on GeekNights, we return from PAX East to review the phenomenal and groundbreaking Baba is You. This game is a must-buy, and is one of the greatest push-puzzle games ever made. In the news, Borderlands 3 cometh, you can get a year of Nintendo Online for free, Crown of Emara is a stand-out game, Smartphone Inc was played incorrectly by a lot of people, and Yu-Gi-Oh has banished players to the Shower Realm.
Tonight on GeekNights, rather than talking about traditional webcomics, we consider the ones we stumble upon ad hoc in our social media feeds. Things like False Knees or webcomicname. Hit up the GeekNights Forum to see the list, and also to share the ones we forgot to mention!In the news, Conan the Barbarian is now an Avenger, returned to Marvel, fought Wolverine that one time, and is available again! Also, watch out for these so-called "Vic" fans: they're basically gomergate all over again. We hope to see you at both Zenkaikon and PAX East!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of algorithmic content creation. It is increasingly leading people to extremist right wing corners of the Internet, for a variety of reasons. In the news, Twitch might have become unwatchable, the 737 MAX situation is a tragic disaster, reminding us of good old Therac-25, and Scott hates cars.See GeekNights LIVE at Zenkaikon and PAX East! And while you're at it, join our 100% nazi-free forum community. It's even in the TOS!
Tonight on the GeekNights Book Club, we consider Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. You may have seen the movie.
In 1968 Stanley Kubrick released one of the all-time classic movies, "2001: a Space Odyssey". Until recently I had thought that this movie was based on the book of the same name. That is not the case.
What actually happened is that Arthur C. Clarke was writing the novel and also working on the screenplay with Kubrick simultaneously. The novel wasn't actually published until after the movie was released.
It would be impossible to maintain our pride as geeks without having read one of the most well known sci-fi novels of all time. It will be fascinating to see how it differs from the movie. I'm especially interested to see how the more psychedelic parts of the movie translate to written language.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the new hotness, a Dota2 mod called Auto Chess. It's buggy, weird, utterly novel, and definitely worth trying, continuing the long tradition of mods becoming transformational to PC gaming. In the news, Baba Is You finally arrives, Nvidia drops 3D Vision support, you can use Twitter to track Nvidia driver updates, and Rym has some Wargroove final thoughts.
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the delightful Tatami Galaxy anime. Adapted from Tomihiko Morimi's novel, it's worth a watch. Especially if you liked The Night is Short, Walk On Girl or Eccentric Family. In the news, Brian K. Vaughan is writing a live action Gundam film, Galaxy Express 999 was remastered, and Funimation is releasing a Dragon Ball Z collector box if they get enough pre-orders.
Tonight on GeekNights, we have a tech news roundup! Youtube comments demonetize videos, police piracy in late capitalism, it's bots all the way down lobbying the FCC, people don't know what VPN to trust, missing the point of what "trust" means (though you can just look here (maybe)), anti-cheating software is wreaking havoc with Windows 10 previews, streaming is king in the mass-market music world, Linux 5.0 exists, W3C approves WebAuthn, and Apple closes two stores in Texas to avoid patent trolls.
Don't forget the GeekNights Book Club exists!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review the most notable spiritual successor to Advance Wars to date, Wargroove. Prior to this, Days of Ruin was the last game that scratched that itch. It's good. In the news, Bowser replaces Reggie ending an era for Nintendo, Thumper is a must-play VR game, and GOG is in some financial trouble.