Mother’s Day – A Geek’s Guide To Being Prepared

Mother’s Day is almost upon us. Are you Prepared? In our day to day routines, we often overlook the most obvious things in our lives. Take a moment now to plan your Mother’s Day and don’t wait until the last minute. Yes, I’m talking to all of you geeks out there. Right now.

The most important thing is to let her know that you love her and that you appreciate everything that she’s done to help get you where you are. Of course, if you wait until Mother’s Day to do so, you’re not doing it enough.

If you’re in the market for a gift and are running in circles trying to decide what to do, believe me when I say that two tickets to the Star Trek movie is not the way to go. Well, maybe it is, but that’s another discussion.

Here are a few places to go online to get some really cool gifts for that very special person in your life and the best thing is that you don’t have to make them yourself.

Proflowers offers some great deals on fresh flowers starting at $19.99. Users also receive a free vase with purchase or a discount off a premium vase.

Cherry Moon Farms offers a huge selection of seasonal and holiday gifts such as spa gifts, fresh fruit, gourmet gift baskets, etc. starting at just $29.99.

Secret Spoon Sweets offers gourmet sweets such as chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolates, cookies, cakes, brownies and other assorted gift packages starting at just $19.99.

Clever Cookie – Looking for great Mother’s Day Gifts! For the best selection of Mother’s Day Cookies look no further. They have tons of cookie gifts for mom, grandma, sisters and daughters! Wish her the happiest Mother’s Day with their delicious cookie gifts.

Remember, get ready now and make plans for Mother’s Day before it’s too late.

New Moon’s ‘Wolf Pack’ Image – What Do You Think?

Exciting news, Twilighters! USA Today just published the first official photo of the Quileute werewolf pack from “New Moon.” The four actors featured in the photo are Chaske Spencer (Sam), Alex Meraz (Paul), Kiowa Gordon (Embry) and Bronson Pelletier (Jared) — all have some Native American heritage. Though we got a glimpse of a few of Jacob’s friends in the first movie, the characters will have a much bigger role in the sequel, as Bella gets very close to Jacob after Edward’s departure.

Twilighters everywhere were really excited about the casting of the Quileutes a few months ago — obviously, the studio went for authenticity with this group of little-known actors who all have some Native American heritage. Tons of fan sites did some digging right away and found some pictures of Chaske, Alex, Kiowa and Bronson. But the boys look a lot different in this new official picture than they did back then. They’ve clearly been cleaned up a bit — and it’s obvious they’ve been working out to live up to their buff descriptions in the books.

But while every fan was thrilled with the casting since it meant the film would be striving for legitimacy rather than just trying to get big names (i.e. Vanessa Hudgens), this particular fan — who is Native American — is slightly confused. The guys all look hot. But I have to be honest: They just … don’t look very Native American anymore. They look vaguely Spanish. What do you guys think?

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” will be released on November 20. In the meantime, weigh in with your thoughts.

Source

Earth-Like Planet Discovered

Several gigantic gaseous planets have been spotted orbiting distant stars, but Planet Gliese 581 e could be the lightest planet outside our Solar System ever detected. Located 20.5 light years away from us, it’s 1.9 times the mass of Earth, indicating there are probably billions of Earth-sized planets revolving around stars throughout the universe.

The only problem with this planet is that it’s so close to its star, it would be uninhabitable. However, three other planets revolve around that same star, and scientists say one of them, Gliese 581 d, could be covered by a large and deep ocean. It’s situated far enough away from its star to be habitable. The catch with that one: it’s seven times more massive than the earth, which would make human explorers feel awfully sluggish.

These are remarkable discoveries. Now we’re getting somewhere. While none of these newly discovered planets are quite right for human habitation, this is exciting news because it shows the likelihood of spotting a planet that’s very much like our own. Now all we need to do is solve that pesky problem of traveling the speed of light to get to any of these places. At the speed of today’s fastest space probe, to get to Gliese 581 d would take about 350,000 years.

Source

Is Captain America Coming Back From The Dead?

Is Captain America coming back from the dead?

Circumstantial evidence seems to point that direction. Marvel’s solicitation release for the upcoming “Reborn” mini-series in July lists “solicit to be revealed soon” coupled with the teaser pictured with this article have many assuming that Captain America’s coming back. Add in a lack of description for “Captain America #601″ and you’ve got a lot of evidence pointing to Cap’s return.

The new mini-series is a collaboration of Ed Brubaker and Bryan Hitch with covers from John Cassaday and Alex Ross.

Captain America was famously killed off in 2007 during the Marvel Comic’s Civil War storyline. The character has remained deceased since that time with the exception of flashbacks and an appearance by his ghost.

Apple’s iPhone Puts AT&T Earnings Above Estimates

AT&T may have had a challenging first quarter with net income falling nine percent, but its wireless business kept the company strong enough to exceed Wall Street expectations. The company had earnings per share of 53 cents and net income of $3.2 billion, down from 57 cents and $3.52 billion in last year’s first quarter.

"These results demonstrate focused and disciplined execution as we work through a tough economy," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO.

Thanks to its exclusive deal to offer Apple’s iPhone in the U.S., AT&T’s wireless business kept the company steady. The carrier had an overall decrease in net income, but wireless revenue rose 8.8 percent to $12.9 billion and wireless services revenue, which doesn’t include handsets and accessory sales, was up 9.6 percent to $11.7 billion, AT&T said.

Wireless data revenues were up 38.6 percent to $3.2 billion, more than double the total for the first quarter in 2007. The increase in data revenue was based on messaging, e-mails, Internet access, and access to applications and other services.

AT&T also added 1.2 million wireless subscribers for the quarter, for a total of 78.2 million.

Credit Goes to iPhone

More than 1.6 million iPhone 3Gs were activated during the first quarter and the number of postpaid wireless subscribers with integrated devices more than doubled over the past year, according to AT&T. More than 40 percent of iPhone 3G activations were by customers new to the company.

"I am particularly pleased with the success of our iPhone 3G initiative, which has driven strong high-end customer growth and delivered financial benefits ahead of our original outlook," Stephenson said. "Business and consumer expectations for mobility are on the rise, wireless innovation is flourishing, and the opportunities ahead are substantial."

AT&T is also investing in its 3G network. Currently, the carrier offers 3G…

Source

Fantasy Flight Games July ’09 Releases Announced

Fantasy Flight Games’ July release schedule includes a number of expansions to its existing card and board game lines, including a new expansion for Kingsburg, new cards for A Game of Thrones TCG, and a book of scenarios for Descent, written by some of the top names in gaming.

Kingsburg: To Forge a Realm (MSRP $29.99) expands on the basic game by adding new territories and provinces, as well as governor cards to administer them and soldier tokens to help defend them. To Forge a Realm also adds more buildings, row overlays, and a destiny deck to the game. These new features can be added individually or all at once, allowing players to customize their Kingsburg experience.

Two expansions for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game are also scheduled for release in July. The Kings of the Sea (MSRP $29.99) contains 60 cards and adds House Greyjoy as a playable faction. It also comes with the Arms of the Kraken, a resin crafted house card and a multiplayer variant, “The Kingsmoot.” The Tower of the Hand (MSRP $9.99) is the third Chapter Pack in the King’s Landing series, focusing on the Shadow mechanic and characters and circumstances surrounding the Hand of the King.

The Descent: Quest Compendium, Volume 1 ($29.95) is a 96-page hardcover book containing 16 scenarios for the Descent dungeon-delving board game. Contributors to the book include such notables as Kenneth Hite (Where the Deep Ones Are), Keith Baker (Gloom, Eberron), and John Kovalic (Dork Tower). Each scenario includes notes from and a brief bio of the designer.

Anima: Shadow of Omega (MSRP $24.95) will see a reprint in July, incorporating more durable cards and an overall cleaner graphic design, while Anima: Beyond Good and Evil (MSRP $24.95) is a standalone card game for two to four players that can also be incorporated into Shadow of Omega. Three Anima Tactics figures – Grimorium (MSRP $34.99), Momiji ($9.99), and Empire Agent ($9.99) – will also come out in July.

Source

World Of Warcraft ‘Pod’ – A Self-Contained Gaming Environment

Are you a huge World of Warcraft addict? Like, to the point where you don’t really want to have much to do with your real life if it interferes with the game? Well, do I have the hut for you!

The WoW Pod is designed to take care of every need you may have while playing WoW. It’s got food paks, a cook pot and stovetop, a throne with built-in toilet and surround sound, and of course a computer hooked up to the internet. And it’s all built to look like an Orc’s hut in the game! There sure isn’t anything pathetic about this!

Source

Author Kevin J. Anderson Hints At ‘Wonder Woman’ Novel

Science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson isn’t sure which superhero he may take on in his next book, but he hints that he’s very interested in writing a novel about Wonder Woman. He’s also working on a fantasy book series, Terra Incognita, which is coming out in June.

When calling his home in Colorado, SCI FI Wire interrupted him while he was editing the second book of his series. “I just was editing the part where the princess needs to be saved from the desert raiders,” he said in an exclusive interview. “It’s a big fantasy series with sailing ships and sea serpents and the Crusades and such. That book comes out in a couple of weeks, and we’ll do publicity on that one then.”

Source

Daniel Radcliffe Talks About The Two ‘Deathly Hallows’ Films

The Harry Potter series will reach its conclusion a few years from now. If all goes according to plan, Daniel Radcliffe, who was 11 when filming commenced on the first film, will be 23 the week after the last movie opens.

That movie is, of course, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, after the producers came up with the ingenious (and profitable) idea to split the 750-page J.K. Rowling book into two parts rather than try to squeeze all of that info into two-and-a-half hours. The problem is, where do you stop the first movie and begin the second?

Unlike TV, which can end a season with a melodramatic cliffhanger, it’s very unusual for films to complete without resolution. That defies three-act structure, and even though we know there will be another movie to fill in the blanks, open-ended movies are rare and usually disastrous. So there has to be some kind of story conclusion in the seventh of eight movies for it to be considered anything but a bridge.

Daniel Radcliffe and producer David Heyman talked about that very thing when they sat down for a Half-Blood Prince interview with Empire. Heyman said, “We’ve played around with a couple of places and ultimately settled on a place that we think is very exciting, and I think quite bold, in that it’s not necessarily where one might expect.”

Source

Winterweir For Savage Worlds Available For Pre-Order

Savage Worlds pen & paper RPG is such a great system that many companies are pumping out world settings, supplements, and adventures for the role playing core rules.

Phipps Studios has one such product up for pre-order and it looks to be just as good as everything else that’s come out for Savage Worlds so far.

Winterweir

Where the clang of steel rings loudly and the blood of men flows freely.”

The land of Winterweir is a cold and unforgiving nation in the world of Teth-Ammon. A world that is constantly besieged by dark and nightmarish things from the Netherdeep and Far Chaos. A world where racial tensions run deep between the various peoples. A world where there is no obvious good and many accepted evils. It is a world desperately needing heroes, or at least people willing to kill the darkness.

Winterweir is a the first in a series of setting books for the world of Teth-Ammon. A campaign starter that provides an overview of the world and its many political conundrums. It gives all the information necessary to run a Dark Fantasy campaign in a world of horrors gone wild.

Winterweir contains:

A host of new Edges and Hindrances. New Racial Templates for characters. A guide to new magical powers and how to create them. A number of new nations to adventure in. The History of Teth-Ammon. An Antagonists section with a selection of pregenerated villains for Narrators to use. A storytelling guide for the setting. New Rules for Savage Worlds. New Equipment for Savage Worlds. A adventure generator for Savage Worlds.

- Expected approximately April 2009

« Previous Page — Next Page »