Propeller.com Stories voted on by Wil

13 Geeky Baked Goods

Wil — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:37:50 EDT

From classic geek memes like "All your base..." to Mario Brothers and Tetris and robots, here are thirteen cakes, cookies and snacks that geeks will love.

Channel: Food Tags: Geeks Cupcakes Science Fiction Robots Mario Brothers Cookies Awesome

Marriage Equality Bill Introduced in Minnesota

Neophile — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:28:44 EDT

The Marriage and Family Protection Act was introduced by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, on Friday. The bill would make marriage a gender-neutral proposition in Minnesota, allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Channel: Gay & Lesbian Tags: minnesota marriage equality legislation

Rocketman flies over Alps with jet-pack strapped to his back

TheVisionary — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:16:06 EDT

Yves Rossy likes to jump out of a small plane with a pair of jet-powered wings on his back and loop the loop above the Swiss Alps. The self-built contraption took the former fighter pilot five years to build and perfect - and yesterday he gave it its maiden flight.

Channel: News Tags: cool iron man rocketman alps flying

AntiPhormLite confounds BT's spyware by simulating random browsing

Wil — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:39:25 EDT

AntiPhormLite is an app that generates a never-ending string of spyware radar-chaff, running a second browser that continuously, plausibly browses the web, screwing up your profile and confounding the snoops. They've posted the full source for audit as well.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Privacy Phorm Spyware Snooping BT AntiSpyware Internet Web Browsing

Conyers: 'We're Closing In On Rove'

Wil — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:58:19 EDT

Conyers told us that Rove has a week to appear before his committee. If he doesn't, said Conyers, "We'll do what any self-respecting committee would do. We'd hold him in contempt. Either that or go and have him arrested."

Channel: Politics Tags: Rove Conyers Congress Karl Rove Contempt of Congress

Hobbit Watch: Jackson, del Toro to Chat With Fans

Wil — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:56:45 EDT

On May 24, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro will host an "unexpected party" to answer questions from fans about their upcoming collaboration on The Hobbit.

Channel: Movies Tags: Hobbit Peter Jackson Guillermo del Toro Fans Geeks Fantasy Movies Lord of the Rings

What to do if the police stop you

Wil — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:17:36 EDT

Being stopped by the cops is scary. This Instructable gives you everything you need to know to safeguard your rights when you are dealing with the police. All of the information here is straight from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Channel: Do-It-Yourself Tags: ACLU HOW TO Civil Rights Constitution Law Enforcement Police

California Supreme Court approves gay marriage

SonOfTheMask — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:31:03 EDT

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry, rejecting state marriage laws as discriminatory.

Channel: Gay & Lesbian Tags: Gay Marriage California

Study: Cox, Comcast Internet subscribers blocked

Ousama — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:26:23 EDT

(AP) Cox Communications appears to be interfering with file-sharing by its Internet subscribers in the same manner that has landed Comcast Corp. in hot water with regulators, according to research obtained by The Associated Press.A study based on the participation of 8,175 Internet users around the world found conclusive signs of blocked file-shari

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Cox Comcast I nternet subscribers blocked

The Original Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products

TweekerchickQC — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:34:22 EDT

For the first time ever, information and pictures of all ACME products, specialty divisions, and services featured in Warner Bros. cartoons (made by the original studio from 1935 to 1964) are gathered here, in one convenient catalog. For more information about any ACME product, simply click on the thumbnail picture.

Channel: Humor Tags: humor looney toons acme catalog

Charter to Spy on Customers' Web Histories for Ad Networks

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:36:16 EDT

Charter Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs, plans to begin eavesdropping on customers' web surfing activity, to help web advertisers deliver targeted ads.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Phorm Charter Spyware Tracking ISP Internet Advertising Intrusive Advertising

Top Shelf launching webcomics site

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:28:22 EDT

Top Shelf Comix is launching a new webcomics site this Friday, to be edited by Top Shelf Publisher Brett Warnock and co-editor Leigh Walton. Entitled Top Shelf 2.0, Walton says "it's short, catchy, and it has obvious connotations of digital technology. It just feels like the right time."

Channel: Books Tags: Online Comics Webcomics Top Shelf Comix Publishing Geeks Comics

Interior Dept. Declares the Polar Bear a Threatened Species

TechnologyExpert — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:24:56 EDT

The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday because of the loss of Arctic sea ice but also cautioned the decision should not be viewed as a path to address global warming.

Channel: Science Tags: Polar Bears Global Warming propeller eco news

SixApart announces native TypePad application for BlackBerry

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:07:54 EDT

If you have a BlackBerry Curve or Pearl you can also take photos and quickly and easily upload them onto your TypePad blog. The camera integration lets you capture images and publish them on your blog in two clicks.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Blogs SixApart TypePad Mobile Blogging Blackberry

Entertainment Industry Leaned On Los Angeles Politicos to Declare Piracy a 'Public Nuisance'

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:50:21 EDT

A Los Angeles County ordinance adopted last week giving authorities the legal muscle to shutter property used to produce counterfeit DVDs and CDs was the result of intense pressure from Hollywood and the recording industry.

Channel: Politics Tags: Los Angeles RIAA MPAA Piracy Law

Schwarzenegger to propose lottery borrowing to ease deficit

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:46:01 EDT

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose borrowing against state lottery income to help close a projected $15.2 billion deficit when he updates the state's budget today, according to administration officials.

Channel: Politics Tags: California Schwarzenegger Lottery Budget GOP

Cory Doctorow: Show us your "Little Brother" HOWTO videos

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:41:51 EDT

Today on Boing Boing tv, Cory Doctorow invites you to create and share HOWTO videos based on an ongoing series of Instructables posts that draw from his latest book, Little Brother.

Tom Friedman's latest declaration of war

Wil — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:30:11 EDT

After years of desperately searching, we've finally found our New Soviet Union. Opponents of the New War may try to point out that Iran's defense spending is less than 1% of our own, has never invaded another country, and could not possibly threaten us, but...Iran is our new implacable foe in Tom Friedman's glorious, transcendent struggle.

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: Tom Friedman Iran Neocons Cold War Glenn Greenwald

Five Lessons in Punctuation

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:42:25 EDT

Indispensable advice for writers on the correct usage of punctuation, from mental_floss.

Channel: Do-It-Yourself Tags: Writing Punctuation Reference

Clinton's big win in West Virginia doesn't really matter

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:17:53 EDT

Hillary Clinton clobbered Barack Obama in West Virginia Tuesday, but her late win in a small state likely did little to slow rival Barack Obama's march toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

Channel: Politics Tags: Obvious West Virginia Democrats Clinton Obama Primary Analysis Election 2008

Cult of Scientology Conspired to Destroy Skeptic Organization CSICOP

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:14:29 EDT

In the late 1970s, the Cult of Scientology conspired to discredit and silence the Committee for Scientific Investigation of the Paranormal, CSICOP, an organization headed by world-renowned Humanist leader Paul Kurtz, who also heads the Center For Inquiry.

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: Skeptics CSICOP Cults Cult of Scientology Scientology 1970s

Why Net Neutrality Matters

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:03:30 EDT

Those who want the market to set the rules of fairness know full well that once the practice of throttling some traffic over other traffic is entrenched, it will be near-impossible to reverse the trend. Pretending that major corporations "will do the right thing" shows either a financial stake in that entity or a willful ignorance about t

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Network Neutrality Analysis Internet Comcast Big Business

NBC's Plan to Make The Zune Even Worse

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:53:28 EDT

Hollywood loves this move. It's one of those ideas that must sounds great in a board meeting. "Hey, why don't we just stop piracy by preventing portable media players from playing unauthorized content?" In reality, this is yet another consumer hostile move that has no chance of actually working.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: NBC Zune Microsoft Television Online

Superdelegate Roy Romer pledges support for Obama

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:37:11 EDT

Former Colorado Governor Roy Romer has endorsed Barack Obama for President. Romer, who is a superdelegate, announced his endorsement on a campaign conference call. Romer says he's coming out for Obama because he believes the math indicates Obama will win the nomination.

Channel: Politics Tags: Primary Colorado Roy Romer Obama Democrats Superdelegates Election 2008

Press Spotting: Grand Theft Coverage

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:34:54 EDT

As much as Grand Theft Auto IV is being hailed as a revolution in gaming, its release also seems to herald a revolution in mainstream coverage of gaming itself.

Channel: Video Games Tags: Grand Theft Auto IV GTA IV Rockstar Take Two Media Criticism

Get Used to It. Sky-High Oil Prices Are Here to Stay

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:32:23 EDT

We've gotten a a little relief in recent days, but the stubborn upward spiral of oil prices isn't going to let up to any significant degree. Yes, there's some debate between economists and industry analysts who fall into two camps -- Bubble, Not-a-Bubble -- but the evidence suggests high prices are here to stay.

Channel: Autos Tags: Gas Gas Prices Oil Economists Analysis

Jim Baen's Universe open to submissions

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:30:26 EDT

Jim Baen's Universe is once again, temporarily, reading submissions. They've already filled up their June 2008 issue, and "don't like to be more than six to nine months ahead of publication date." They warn writers that they will "re-close on an unspecified future date, but not before June 2008."

Channel: Books Tags: Writing Science Fiction Online Magazines Jim Baens Universe Writing Submissions

"The Power of Blogging": A Free Webinar on May 21st

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:27:24 EDT

TypePad has teamed up with Bella Web Design to offer a free webinar on May 21st at 1pm EDT. Your webinar hosts will be Desiree Scales, CEO of Bella Web Design, and Andy Wibbels, TypePad team member and author of the book Blogwild! A Guide for Small Business Blogging.

Channel: Do-It-Yourself Tags: Blogging Bloggers TypePad Six Apart Webinar

Imeem Unseats Yahoo: Top U.S. Music-Streaming Site

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:39:33 EDT

Yahoo, which had acquired large music sites like Broadcast, Launch Media and Musicmatch in order to become the top-ranked music-streaming site in the country, has slipped into second place behind imeem in Compete's list of the top 20 U.S. streaming music sites for March.

Channel: Music Tags: Imeem Yahoo Online Streaming Streaming Music

Review: HobNox AudioTool

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:37:17 EDT

This free online electronic music studio lets you compose with two TB-303 Bass Line generators, Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines and two banks of effects pedals including three delays, crusher, detune, flanger, reverb, a parametric equalizer and a compressor. You can drag virtual cables between any output and any input to customize the setup.

Channel: Music Tags: Audio Editing HobNox AudioTool Reviews Online Tools

Even Luddites Will Enjoy Recording with TapeDeck

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:33:15 EDT

If you've ever used an old school-style tape deck with the tilty buttons on the front, you'll be able to use TapeDeck to record your voice or anything else. The resulting "tapes" can be sent to your iPod or Apple TV via iTunes, or family and friends via email.

Channel: Music Tags: Apple iTunes TapeDeck Audio Apple TV Nostalgia

Have You Changed Your Opinion On eBook Readers?

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:29:33 EDT

The Kindle made waves when it came out, but they've now had the chance to calm. How many of you have been using your eBook readers since you've received them? How many of you forgot you had one, and how many of you swear by your reader?

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: Books eBooks eBook Readers Kindle Survey Geeks

diesel sweeties does Iron Man

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:08:31 EDT

In this strip, Diesel Sweeties mastermind R. Stevens manages to take a jab at both Stan Lee and everyone's favorite drunken industrialist turned armor-plated superhero. It's titled "Radical to the Extremis." [via ComicMix]

Channel: Humor Tags: Iron Man Marvel Web Comics R Stevens Movies

Peter Pan coming to Fables

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:03:23 EDT

Bill Willingham had some great news for Fables fans at the DC Nation panel at the Emerald City ComiCon this weekend: he's been given the ok, presumably from DC's legal department, to use Peter Pan in Fables. Expect to see the character show up sometime after issue #75.

Channel: Books Tags: Comics DC Fables Peter Pan Bill Willingham

More Batman Gotham Knight images

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:01:23 EDT

Per the press release, the segment "falls chronologically as the fifth of the six segments" and "explores an early chapter of Bruce Wayne's training, as a mysterious and exotic Indian woman named Cassandra introduces Batman to techniques that would help him to conquer the physical and spiritual consequences of what he does."

Channel: Television Tags: Comics DC Batman Anime Movies DVD Bruce Wayne Gotham Knight

Wikipedia in your pocket from Instructables

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:59:24 EDT

This Instructable will set out how to construct what I believe to be a unique implementation of Wikipedia in an offline, portable device. It involves installing a stripped-down distribution of Linux on a Psion 5mx handheld, and installing a static HTML version of Wikipedia for use with one of two browsers. [via io9]

Channel: Do-It-Yourself Tags: Gadgets Wikipedia HOWTO Linux Open Source Geeks

Poll: Pick The Worst Scifi Movie Sequel Of All Time

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:56:38 EDT

From the crazy dancing in The Matrix: Reloaded to the crazy dancing in Spider-Man 3, few genres have created as many horrific sequels as science fiction. But which SF movie sequel is the absolute worst? Only you can decide.

Channel: Movies Tags: Science Fiction Geeks SciFi Polls Bad Sequels Comic Book Movies

Adoption's Not for Sissies

Shay — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:44:14 EDT

Momlogic's Jackie: When I flew across the world to see the daughter we're adopting, not only did I meet the most precious little girl, but I discovered so much more about myself.

Channel: Family Tags: momlogic adoption taiwan baby children parenting fostering court system

S.F. parking meters retooled to aid homeless

Deidre — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:41:13 EDT

Rather than tossing loose change into a panhandler's empty cup, San Francisco officials want you instead to slide your spare quarters and nickels into a homeless meter.

Channel: Do No Evil Tags: homeless parking meter san francisco

The Greatest Cocktails From Science Fiction

Wil — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:43:18 EDT

Science fiction has a huge selection of bizarre cocktails, from the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster to the Flaming Rum Monkey. Sure, some of them may be poisonous to humans, but that's just part of the fun. Here's our round-up of the awesomest cocktails from SF. Just make sure to strap your drinks tray down, and away we go.

Channel: Food Tags: Science Fiction Drinks Humor