Rubénerd!

Flick My Switch! An initiative being spearheaded by my good friend Sashin! Spread the word :D

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Cranky Geeks is one of the best video podcasts I watch... probably because it's one of the only video podcasts I watch. No but seriously it's a fantastic show, I encourage you to check it out especially if you enjoy lighthearted and cranky discussion of tech trends and the well-deserved ridiculing of stupid news stories.

This was my review Episode 080 dated the 04th of September 2007.

"Yeah well the Zune phone STARTS in the toilet!" Guy Kawasaki definitely seemed like he was having a great time, I wish I could have been there... unless that would mean I have to use one of those Vista microphones he mentioned!

Adam Curry dragged on a tad (as I seem to always do) a bit with some of the points he was making, but he was definitely an interesting guest and a great guy to have on considering the discussion points. He made a great point about crime in the US versus the Netherlands, which I think could easily apply to many, many places. And I hadn't thought about not being able to drive away in a flying vehicle after landing at an airport. That would be a real bummer.

Sebastian and Adam's point that the "green" label is being used to sell things is increasingly true in so many consumer products, but as with both of them I can't help but feeling skeptical at the same time. Woolworths in my birth country of Australia was recently busted because they claimed their tissue products were from sustainable forests when actually they were from endangered rainforests in Indonesia. If a company is sincere in it's efforts to be greener that's great, but if they're just using it as a marketing ploy without much real substance its a bit of a worry.

Sebastian was really sharp this episode, he really looked as though he knew what he was taking about. Not that he usually doesn't, that didn't come out right! I thought his comments about blog linking, spamming and Wifi were right on the mark.

What's with the "paper" newspapers though? Do they still make those stone-tablet-era things? And does anyone still use Yahoo Messenger anymore? Or ActiveX? Or Monster? Or flying cars?

I was in Malaysia when the DVD sniffing dogs were there and it really seems like their authorities are finally starting to crack down on piracy. Its much easier to find them there still than most places, but many of the shopping centres that used to be full of discs are being boarded up. Whether this is just a token move like the Russians shutting down AllOfMp3 to appease American copyright owners or whether its a genuine effort (pun intended) remains to be seen.

I couldn't care less about American football (I'm a nerd at university and jocks are my sworn enemies) but perhaps not wearing the suit jacket allowed John to be a bit less formal. Hookers. He certainly looked better this episode too because I watched this episode on my laptop instead of my iPod. That didn't come out right either.

The Elke and Ruben discussing stupid news episode!

Rubenerd sister Elke joins us to discuss ridiculous news articles, stalker arguing social networking page was misleading, debating seedy MySpace profiles, gyrating at nightclubs, wasting time on Facebook and Friendster, Ruben's and Elke's Twitter pages, giving away personal details, Aussie PM John Howard trying to filter the internet, easy to stumble on sleaze online, Ted Steven's series of tubes, is there blame-shifting going on, oxymoronic fuel efficient SUVs, combatting efficient Japanese cars, hugging trees, good publicity without substance, Elke's mass communication studies course thing, actually learning nothing useful, chemistry and economics, high school friend Boyd Anderson's site is mysteriously down, friggen mouse pointers, Blackle is my new favourite search engine, lesbians in The Sims, dark background on light text, energy efficiency tips, Freddo Frogs, comparing American to British, Aussie and Belgian chocolate, Hershey's Kisses are icky, New Zealand accents, Russell Crowe on South Park and throwing phones, no breast implants in space, voting Green not Libertarian, Ruben's heterosexuality, hacker webmasters, reading Twitterrific posts from Felix and Frank Nora live, furnaces in the tropics, Japanese and Aussie expats in Singapore, friggen ang mohs, caucasian guys like being special, Elke's immaturity and unpleasantness, mysterious Champs-Élysées song discovered by surrealist, faulty Nokia phone batteries, URL redundancies, random women forcing themselves on you, Frank's QuarkXPress woes, The Sunscreen Song and John Howard's contorted facial expressions.

Download MP3 to listen ↓ 51:00 minutes, 23.40MiB

You can also stream this episode and view its Internet Archive page.

Tonight's guest: Elke Schade in the Rubenerd Studios!

Wearing a tutu, the Malaysian powerpoint culture in coffee shops, signs you may have a nerdy son, Rubenerd Show host Ruben turns 21, the flotation ability of glass deodorant containers, irresponsible environmental wastage in razor packaging, reviewing Twitter, Rubenerd Interview (Ruben's sister Elke), Principal Skinner from the Principal's office, stupid product packages, Ruben's hopes and dreams, tornadoes on Taiwan, Ruben's half-arsed MySpace page, how to pronounce MyMyMyMySpace, evil apostrophes Billy Connelly, George W. Bush losing the war on drugs, coffee is disgusting apparently, getting a MacBook), and drying your hair in the shower!

Download MP3 to Listen ↓ 45:00 minutes, 20.6MiB

You can also stream this episode and view its Internet Archive page.