the nerdist

"The Nerdist" Is Moving To Its Own Server

Yes, I have decided to pull my blog's limp body off of Typepad and give it its own server with the Wordpress vibe. What's more exciting than hearing about the nuts and bolts of a person's operation??? GETTING TO EXPERIENCE THE SCREW-UPS IN THE PROCESS.

This will be happening over the next few days and you may experience turbulence while the DNS propagates...ladies???? This also means that you will need to re-subscribe to the RSS when the new site goes up and give up on any links you may have re-posted. The Nerdist 2.0 (and believe me, I hate using "2.0" as the refresh code. "2.0" seems so over-used but I had no other ideas.) has been re-imagined by my genius art pal Chris Glass, who is responsible for my favorite t-shirts at Wire&Twine.

The launching of this site in August was really just an experiment to see if I would stay consistent with it. I believe I have done that, for the most part. Also, the response has been good thanks to you Nerdists out there who keep the geek dream alive. For this reason, you deserve a better site with more, MORE, MORE!!!

Salt & Vinegar Chips,
Chris

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

I REALLY dug this thing. I'm hoping the company will offer handwriting-to-text soon, but it's still a nifty device with boatloads of potential.

from the official Gadget Pr0n site:

*  While you're writing, the smart pen will pick up any audio near you and you can adjust the mic settings, so it'll work well even if you're taking notes in a lecture hall
    * Then, all you have to do is play the session back and it plays your audio along with it, either from the pen or through the livescribe software
    * The software recognizes words so you can search through your notes, even if your handwriting is terrible
    * It won't convert notes into computer text, but there's already third party software to do so
    * You can make a flash movie out of your notes and audio, and it's fun to see how everything played out while you were drawing or writing
    * Upload your notes and audio to your Livescribe account so you can access it anywhere
    * The main graph is used to get to each feature, and this is at the bottom of every page along with the other shortcut buttons
    * You very rarely have to tap twice and there's very little lag while navigating
    * This makes all the other features work well too
    * The translator demo will translate a word you've written from English to a few different languages
    * The piano app lets you draw a piano that you can play
    * Developers have already started writing apps for this, so it has serious potential
    * If you're always taking notes for college classes, meetings, or stand-up, it works like a charm
    * PRICE: $150

The Official WIRED Store Tour

AOTS Set Tour feat. Aquaman

I did a quick walkthru of the "Attack of the Show" set a couple of hours before taping the show today. On the way, I ran into a VERY SPECIAL Justic Leaguer...

Aussie Rules Baby Swinging

To be more accurate, it's really New Zealand's fault for this one. A Kiwi chap got busted for child abuse after posting footage of himself swinging his kid around airplane-style, so the NZ PSA Strike Force issued this commercial. At first you think that it's either a joke or that the new season of the Conchords has taken a melodramatic turn. BUT NO--but both of those are erroneous. It is real, proving once again that Kiwis are HILARIOUS, no matter what they do.

In order to warrant a whole PSA it occurred to us that this must be some kind of national sport, so naturally Kevin and I had to be the first to play it on American soil.

The WIRED Store in Under 10 Minutes

I am really enjoying live streaming video on qik. Every year WIRED mag opens a brick and mortar store around the holidays, so I decided to do a herky and jerky iPhone-camera walkthru of the store to give you the full breadth of lifestyle tech that it has to offer. The store is also online but you can't rub germs all over stuff on the Web.

REVIEW: Canon EOS 50D

This was a super-fun field review of the Canon EOS 50D. It takes amazing pictures, but is a tad more complicated and expensive than the Nikon D-90. It's a shame that I don't really understand or care about football. That's right, I don't care about football and I am not ashamed! Though, I hope I don't get stripped of my citizenship. Anyway, I've always abhorred the meathead stereotype that "dudes just think about beer and football." We straight guys who are indifferent to watching this sport must unite! Unite and...I don't know...do something else...I guess.

Hardwick Stand-Up Clip: Hicks.

I think I'll start posting stand-up clips. Why not? Technology makes it remarkably easy thereby closing the gap between excuses and intention. Will they be audio clips? Video? IT COULD BE EITHER!!! In this case, though, it's video, or "eye-food" as I call it. It was recorded on November 22nd @ The Comedy Works in Denver, which is a phenomenal club.

As an aside, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

My T-Shirts and Where to Get 'Em

I enjoy t-shirts. Far more than a man in his 30s should, but our generation seems to enjoy extended adolescence that likes of which Mankind has never seen. Despite troubled economic times were are smack dab in the middle of a thriving Irony Bubble which is evidenced by the content of our t-shirts. I'm often asked by sprightly nerdfolk, "Chris Hardwick, where do you get your t-shirts?" There's no one place that I find all of the shirts that strike chords deep in my brain, but a good place to start is Wire&Twine. I own most of their male catalog and am impressed by their consistent homeruns in the design department. If only these acute skills could be applied to national policy and finance, the United States might be in healthier shape. I enjoy W&T so much, in fact, that I've asked one of its overlords to redesign the very site that is reflecting light into your eyes at this very moment, so look for that soon.

The following images are a few of my absolute faves, with the hot-off-the-presses "Special" shirt, which some of you older kids might remember from CBS television in the 70s & 80s.

 

Below is the actual promo package from CBS's Special programming, courtesy of Nerdist Senor Shutter. Ironeato! Nostalgiariffic! Blastfromthepastastic!

REVIEW: Blackberry Storm

I wanted so much to like this phone...