Image: Courtesy of Chris Fenton

Back in August of 2010 the NYC Resistor blog had a post about Chris Fenton’s a 1/10h scale Cray 1-A Supercomputer. Chris built the scale model to great detail, including wraparound pleather seating, a popular design feature of the ’70s.

The problem Chris faced was where to get genuine software to run on his creation. According to a post on the NY Resistor blog, that problem is one step closer to being solved: Chris was able to get his hands on a copy of a Cray Operating System backup disk. Chris is asking for help reverse-engineering the disk and has provided the recovered code to anyone who wants to help him get this up and running.

So if any GeekDad readers have reverse-engineering skills and a desire to see a cool project taken to the next level, they should head over to Chris’s blog and get the lowdown on the project and the code.

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle, and the previous day’s answer (in invisitext) posted here.

SPOILER WARNING:
We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer. As such, if you want to figure it out all by yourself, DON’T READ THE COMMENTS!

Also, with the knowledge that because others may publish their answers before you do, if you want to be able to search for information without accidentally seeing the answer somewhere, you can use the Google-a-Day site’s search tool, which will automatically filter out published answers, to give you a spoiler-free experience.

And now, without further ado, we give you…

TODAY’S PUZZLE:

In Texas they’re called tarragon, in South America they’re turned into perfume, and in England you put them on to wash dishes. What is the more common name for these flowers?

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER (mouseover to see):

Search [White House] in Google Maps and find Scott Circle directly north on 16th Street. Search [Scott Circle] to find that it is named after Brevet Lt. General Winfield Scott. Search [Winfield Scott presidential election] to find that Scott lost the 1852 election to Franklin Pierce.

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle, and the previous day’s answer (in invisitext) posted here.

SPOILER WARNING:
We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer. As such, if you want to figure it out all by yourself, DON’T READ THE COMMENTS!

Also, with the knowledge that because others may publish their answers before you do, if you want to be able to search for information without accidentally seeing the answer somewhere, you can use the Google-a-Day site’s search tool, which will automatically filter out published answers, to give you a spoiler-free experience.

And now, without further ado, we give you…

TODAY’S PUZZLE:

Starting at the White House, walk directly north on 16th Street NW to reach a traffic circle named for a famous American general. This man ran for president and lost to what Democrat?

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER (mouseover to see):

Search for [liszt rimsky-korsakov d'Abbadie] and discover they all shared the experience of “synesthesia.” Use the search [define:synesthesia] to learn that synesthetes often see letters in color, or taste shapes.

Image via Wikipedia

Rob Deakin is a Lego fan and incredibly passionate about supporting children with developmental issues through organized Lego play.

Rob has seen first hand the powerful benefits of Lego for children with Autism and Asperger’s in helping them to communicate, learn to play and develop social skills. There is increasing research and evidence that Lego is useful because it is both open-ended, but with a specific structure and order when building. Rob is part of a team that has established a foundation called ASD Aid. GeekDad recently featured a piece on ASD Aid that is committed to supporting the development of children on the spectrum through the use of Lego-based therapy and play.

Together with a number of people, Rob is looking to establish two Melbourne-based Lego play clubs specifically for kids with Autism or Asperger’s and their families and he is holding a benefit on the weekend of Melbourne’s annual Brickvention Expo which showcases the best of Australia’s AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) creations.

On Saturday evening of the expo, ASD Aid will be launching their program for 2012. I’m told it will be a fairly informal event where you can wander around and see the amazing creation whilst enjoying a glass of wine with significantly less crowds than the 15,000+ expected through the exhibits over the weekend. The evening will include the opportunity to hear a talk from Ryan McNaught – Australia’s only Lego Certified Professional.

If you are in town, this is one worth supporting on Saturday, January 21. From 6.30pm onwards there will be finger food and a bar will be available for drinks - you can book here.

Or, if you’d like to know more about the work Rob has been undertaking and supporting you can drop him an email at info@asdaid.org.

While the GeekDad team hides away in bunkers and basements planning their grand appearance at this year’s Maker Faire, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean (also known as “the future” due to timezone differences) a small group of intrepid Aussie makers and tinkerers are bringing the movement to the antipodes.

Australia’s very first Maker Faire is being held at Swinburne University in Melbourne on January 14. Tickets are available online.

As with all Mini Maker Faires, this day-long event will stay true to the traditions and culture of Make:

(Maker Faire Melbourne will be) celebrating do-it-yourself creativity and tinkering, but will be smaller in scale and – although predominantly showcasing the wonders of the local Melbourne Maker community – will include exhibitors from around Australia and beyond.

Of course, I’ll be there with my GeekDad t-shirt on, looking after my Lego Poetry table. So, feel free to pop by and say hello. But, there are going to be a great bunch of Australian Makers there. Check them out as they are featured on the Melbourne Maker Faire blog.

Teens playing tabletop RPGs at the Game Loft in Belfast, Maine, a teen center that uses D&D and other games to teach leadership, social skills and community service. (photo: Ethan Gilsdorf)

A teen center called The Game Loft that teaches Dungeons & Dragons as a path towards leadership, socialization and community service needs the help of the geek community.

In tiny Belfast, Maine, you’ll find this unique after-school program for middle and high school kids in the attic of a game shop called All About Games. Here, miracles happen. Shy kids learn how to solve problems, find friends, and fellowship. They play games, get a free meal, and have fun.

I’ve visited the center and have written about it. I can attest The Game Loft is a wonderful place, run by two tireless, dedicated leaders, Ray and Patricia Estabrook.

The participants think so, too.

“Role-play groups help you have new experiences and connect with people in your group in a way that would not be possible otherwise,” says Dakota Wing, a high school junior who has attended the program for four years. “You share things, you experience new things, and you develop intense friendships in a role-play group.”

“We have a large percentage of kids who are struggling either with behavior or academics at school,” says co-founder Patricia Estabrook, who with her husband Ray (both lifelong gamers) realized their store had become an ad hoc gathering place for youths who wanted to learn and play games, and opened their community center in the 1998 in their game shop’s attic. The innovative hangout is the only gaming-focused youth center in the country.

“We mostly serve youth who do not participate in other after-school or community activities,” says Ms. Estabrook.  Most are boys and primarily low-income. The Game Loft programs are free to all.

But The Game Loft is in financial trouble.

In 2009 it was bought by Spurwink Services, the largest social service program in Maine. At that time its budget was $100,000 and it served some 80 kids. Over the past two years, Spurwink helped fund an expansion that included more experienced staff, more staff training, and an increased membership to 160-plus members, not counting drop-ins. The Game Loft even launched a satellite program in nearby Unity, Maine, serving 20 kids per week.

Co-founder Ray Estabrook, left, with teens and staff at The Game Loft, planning their next gaming session. (Photo: Ethan Gilsdorf)

Then, this November, Spurwink got hit with funding cuts. The result: The Game Loft had to trim $35,000 from its budget. Now it’s down to operating on $95,000, which meant laying off one full-time employee, drastically reducing all the other three staff members’ hours, and cutting how many days they’re open. Even Patricia Estabrook is down to 20 hours per week.

“I know that in Maine it’s hard to look at things like ‘gaming program for kids’ versus ‘heat assistance and basic needs,’” said Monique Bouchard, co-founder of SnowCon, a northern Maine gaming convention (coming up Jan 13-15). ”But I think that a program like this makes the youth it serves better prepared for life — and likely less likely to need assistance down the road. That’s kind of a leap maybe, but I believe in the power of inspiration.”

Ms. Bouchard asks the geek and gamer community help publicize the program and its urgent need for assistance. Any help, she says, would be “a life-saver.”

She adds: “It serves a very low-income community and is not only, in my view, a dream-maker and hope-creator that teaches real life skills through gaming — diplomacy, cleverness, wisdom, math — but for many kids, [it's] a safe place to go and a hot meal as well.”

Clearly, sitting around a table munching snacks is about more than just fun. In my case, as a troubled teen, D&D saved me. I was able to absorb myself in an engrossing activity, and finally find a group of friends who “got” me.

Just ask Stephen Colby, another high school junior and Game Loft regular: “I have discovered things about myself. I volunteer. I know that my work makes a difference in the community. I have experienced new things that I would never have known existed  … What we do is fun but it helps you learn.”

“Unlike other places where there is a division between adults and youth, at The Game Loft we are respected and genuinely liked by adults,” says Dakota Wing. “We share games and activities and they expect us to rise to their level.”

“The conversations at The Loft are intense and in-depth,” adds Stephen. “You can trust people there. You know that both the staff and the other members are there for you. They are all my friends and they all support me.”

Here’s how to help:

• Make checks payable to: Spurwink Services, 899 Riverside Street, Portland, ME 04103.  Donors are welcome to request that the funds be used for the general benefit of The Game Loft.

• Contributions can be made online through Network for Good www.networkforgood.org

• For more information about the program visit the website www.thegameloft.org

Face from LEGO bricks

The works display a depth of imagination that would be impressive in any medium; the fact that they are built with Lego, something we’ve all fiddled with at one level or another, just makes them more astonishing. Life-size people, a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex, an artist’s studio, a wall of colorful skulls – there’s a great range of work exhibited. And putting the artistic expression to one side, if you are into building things with Lego the pieces provide some great ideas on how to go about making a three-dimensional object work with bricks.

On the downside, I was a bit disappointed to find that Sawaya uses glue. His pieces travel the world so I guess it makes sense; but for a Lego-purist that seems a little like cheating as the idea of fragility is part of what makes Lego great.

Sawaya has shows running in several U.S. locations and The Art of the Brick is currently in Sydney, Australia, for a relatively pricey A$50 for a family. The show is certainly worth a visit if you’re into Lego but it’s not the best value for money by itself. Book ahead for the add-on chance for the kids to build things themselves and the outing starts becoming more worthwhile.

Details of the Sydney show and ticket purchases are here; other current and upcoming shows are here.

Tempo can be defined as how fast or slow a piece of music should be sung or played at. Tempo is what listeners are talking about when they refer to a song as being “upbeat” or “slow.” Musicians measure tempo in B.P.M. or Beats Per Minute. Even though one beat per second sounds like it would be fast, 60 B.P.M. is actually a very slow tempo. Most pop songs fall in the 85 to 125 B.P.M. range. Some genres of music are defined by the tempos that they employ (Speed Metal and Downtempo Electronica being the most obvious examples).

Let’s experiment with the GarageBand app on the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch to shed some light on the significance of tempo.

Fire up the app and touch the “Gear” Icon in the upper right hand corner.

Tap the “Song” button and then press “Tempo”.

From here, you have two options:

1. You can press the up and down arrows to manually set the tempo by number.
2. You can tap a steady beat directly on the “Tap to set Tempo” button. It takes at least 4 taps for this to work.

Let’s set our tempo manually to 96 B.P.M.:

Finish by pressing the blue “Done” button in the upper right hand corner.

Let’s pick some drums to play a beat to our tempo.

Press the “down arrow” button in the top left hand corner and the tap the “Instruments” button.

Swipe until you get to the “Smart Drums” Icon and select it.

Put your finger on the “Bass Drum” Icon and slide it into the grid.
Continue by “sliding” the snare drum and high hat icons into the grid.

You now have a cool beat grooving along at 96 B.P.M.!

Want some more fun? Tap the “die” icon. This will randomize the elements of your beat. Each time you press the die, a new beat will be created at 96 B.P.M.

To really see how different tempos can affect the feel of music, tap the “Gear” Icon followed by the “Tempo” button and experiment with faster and slower tempo settings.

Forget your gun, your sword, your axe, and even your chainsaw. One on one, these are suitable weapons against a slow or fast zombie, but when you’ve got dozens, maybe even hundreds of zombies coming your way, you better run! Pause to fire off a round or take a swing at the nearest zombie and the rest are that much closer to making a meal out of you.

Nope, when you’re outnumbered, the only thing you can do is run for your life. And when you’ve got hundreds more survivors surrounding you, all trying to evade the horde and make it to safety? Well, that’s when you know you’re at the Run for Your Lives 5K Obstacle Course Run.

The first RFYL event was held last year in Baltimore, but the event coordinators have since added many more cities, including Boston, Seattle, Austin, and my own Atlanta… plus many more.

Now, this is no typical 5k run. First, it’s got obstacles that will likely vary from city to city. If you watch the video, you’ll see water, hills of hay, and other obstacles that require you to climb, crawl, and duck. The event planners promise you’ll get dirty, wet, and maybe even a little bloody (probably from skinned elbows and knees). But the obstacles aren’t the only thing you’ll be dealing with if you participate. Nope… you’ll be chased by zombies, both fast and slow varieties.

Each participant will be given a number of flags (like flag football) that will be worn by the runners. It’s the job of the zombies to take your flags, reducing you to a card-carrying member of the undead should you lose all your flags. I can’t speak to all the cities, but the Atlanta run that’s scheduled for March 3rd promises 12 obstacles and dozens of waves of runners released in packs of 300 or more at intervals to make the run from Start to Finish.

Does it sound fun? Oh, yeah. I’m not much of a runner, but between now and March 3rd, I’ve decided to prep for it by getting my running shoes out and at least trying to make an effort to survive the walking dead. I’m also trying to recruit some local friends to participate — like the old joke about being chased by a bear, I don’t have to outrun the zombie, I just need to outrun my friends. But given that the event planners are not releasing details about how many zombies will be covering each of the twelve obstacles, I have a feeling it doesn’t matter who’s the fastest since based on snippets from the video, it appears that dozens of zombies will be placed directly in the paths of runners.

The rules state that the zombies cannot trip, hit, or bite runners; their sole job is to grab a flag. And what’s really interesting about the event is that instead of paying to be a runner, your can pay a reduced fee to be a zombie. You’ll need to arrive 2 hours before your scheduled shift to get a complete zombie makeover from some professional special effect makeup artists… and they encourage you to dress the part! Zombie spaces are apparently limited, so if that’s more your speed, you’ll want to check the official website and your city to see if space is still available on Team Dead.

But I’m a survivor. I plan on making it to the Finish Line, be it a waiting helicopter, an Army personnel carrier, or some pizza and drinks and live music. And I’m hoping to have some other geek dad survivors join me on March 3rd. We all know that in the movies, the scientists (geeks) rarely make it out alive, but maybe it’s time to prove that brain beats brawn, huh?

Video below:

I’d like to thank Kerry O’Neill for kindly providing two free tickets to run that I’ll be awarding to two lucky GeekDad.com readers who would like to run on Team Geek Dad on March 3rd. If you would like to participate, leave a comment telling me exactly how you plan on surviving the Atlanta zombie infestation. I’ll pick two lucky winners from all comments submitted by 11:59pm EDT on January 12, 2012, who will each receive a free admission ticket as a runner in the Atlanta-based race. All comments are welcome, but if you’re submitting a comment to participate in the contest, add the line “I Want To Run With Team Geek Dad” somewhere in your comment. And please only do so if you really do intend to participate as I want to make certain the free tickets are put to good use. I’ll be posting a follow-up after the run, including whether I survived or now enjoy brain-soufflee, so stay tuned.

Images provided courtesy of HGL.

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle, and the previous day’s answer (in invisitext) posted here.

SPOILER WARNING:
We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer. As such, if you want to figure it out all by yourself, DON’T READ THE COMMENTS!

Also, with the knowledge that because others may publish their answers before you do, if you want to be able to search for information without accidentally seeing the answer somewhere, you can use the Google-a-Day site’s search tool, which will automatically filter out published answers, to give you a spoiler-free experience.

And now, without further ado, we give you…

TODAY’S PUZZLE, BY MASON FROM MENLO PARK, CA:

Franz Liszt, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Antoine d’Abbadie all shared what perceptual variation that allowed them to see the world differently?

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER (mouseover to see):

Search [oldest subway system] to find that it’s located in London. Search [London sovereign residence flag] to get Buckingham Palace, and read to learn that it’s the Royal Standard flying.