Diary of a Network Geek

Fly around the universe, virtually, from your Windows desktop.

Yes, sadly, this is for Windows users only. I try to make these posts as universally appealing as possible, but, sometimes, what I’m offering up is specific to an operating system and just too good to pass up. This is one of those.
Now, of course, I’m a big science-fiction geek and I love the fantasy of zooming through space to other planets and star systems. I suppose it has something to do with growing up watching Star Trek or seeing the original Star Wars (ie. Episode IV) in the theater as a little kid. Whatever the reason, I’ve never gotten past the idea that I’d like to leave Earth and discover the wonders of the universe like the captain of my very own interstellar craft. Sadly, the laws of physics are working against me on realizing that dream. So, until then, I’ll have to just explore the universe with my imagination. Thankfully, according to Lifehacker, there’s a desktop program called SpaceEngine that will help me do just that. If you head over to SpaceEngine.org, you can download the app for free. It’s huge, so it will take some time, but it’s worth it. You may get some warnings from your antivirus when you try to download it, but I found that the fifth “mirror”, which was a Google drive space, seemed to be okay. Once you have it installed, you can soar off to distant stars and planets and let the wonders of our universe wash over you. Frankly, it seems like the perfect escape for a Friday afternoon, especially if you’re reading this blog instead of working.
You’ll want to make sure to read the manual and be patient with the program, though, it is still in beta, after all.
So, check it out and come see what I have for you next week!

This post originally appeared on Use Your Words!

I love me some ambient, sci-fi atmosphere!

For you poor souls who are regular readers know I am a little obsessed with science fiction. And, I also am on a constant quest for the perfect background sounds to keep me from cracking up in the silence, without getting to “into” what I’m listening to at the moment. I think that started with an ex who used a white noise machine at night, which started me using one. Eventually, though, when I was travelling, I started using my phone. I tried a number of white noise generator apps, but the most fun was one that had science fiction sounds. It was good, mostly, but pretty limited. Now, though, there’s an alternative; 42 Hours of Ambient Sounds from Blade Runner, Alien, Star Trek and Doctor Who Will Help You Relax & Sleep.

A sound artist who goes by the on-line name of “Cheesy Nirvosa” has been creating these ambient sci-fi soundscapes since 2009 and they are absolutely fantastic. Now you can fall asleep to the comforting background noise of Rick Deckard’s apartment from Blade Runner. Or, use it as background noise while you work on your latest science fiction masterpiece! You can head over to Cheesy Nirvosa’s YouTube channel and play them from there in your browser or even download shorter loops. You can also find “real world” loops like the ambient sounds of a nuclear submarine, which sound surprisingly similar to some of the spacecraft. And, if you want to cut out the middle-man, so to speak, and just download the MP3s, you can check out Cheesy Nirvosa’s Bandcamp, where, for a few dollars each, you can buy the sound files to play on the digital device of your choice. (Don’t tell my wife, but I think I’m going to get a couple!)

Anyway, it’s been the kind of week that leaves me wanting to sooth my nerves, and these seem like a good start.
Y’all enjoy your weekend and come back next week for more!

This post originally appeared at Use Your Words.

Want to watch a free 90 minute Star Trek movie?

No, it’s not an officially sanctioned, studio-made movie, but it still looks pretty good.
And, it has some stars from the franchise in it, reprising their characters, albeit in roles that have changed or progressed from where they were in the series.  Yes, it’s entirely fan-made, and fan-sponsored via three Kickstarter campaigns.  (See?  Sometimes Kickstarter does actually produce things!)

The link comes via Space.com and the movie is on YouTube.  The movie is…
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For those of you who don’t know Star Trek, that’d be “space”.

I’m kind of obsessed with space and space travel, really.  Doubtless, the few regular readers left here have picked up on that.
I guess my obsession is really about getting out and away.  Some days, it seems like the only place to escape is, well, to get off the planet!  And, if the environmentalists are to be believed, I think we’ve done such irreparable damage to this planet that the only way to deal with it is to get off Earth and head somewhere else.  So, yes, space travel and the colonization of other planets seems like a really good idea to me.
Anyway, when I think about space travel, I think about all the science-fiction movies and TV shows that have visuals of all the planets whizzing by at high speed.  I’m sure it won’t look like that to us, but, still, I think it’s an inspiring image.  And, that’s why I liked SpaceEngine, because that’s just the visual they give you.    With their app,  you can zoom to the far reaches of space, showing the celestial bodies with, or without, labels in a theoretical spacecraft you can control.  It’s pretty awesome.

But, hey, it’s Friday, so why not download it yourself?  Or at least go and check out the video on the home page, which gives you the basic idea.

So, who would have thought that Slate would write a piece on the History of Klingon?  Yeah, me neither.

But, um, they did.  So, you know, it’s Friday, why not go read it and see how the rest of the geeks live, eh?
What?  All kinds of geeks are supposed to be cool now!

(And, sorry for a short one today, but this is a long month, right?)

Oh, now this is taking fandom a little too far, I think.

You can now get Star Trek themed urns and caskets. Yes, the ultimate Final Frontier for Trek fans, a casket that looks like the photon torpedo shell from the end of The Wrath of Khan and an urn for cremated remains that looks like it belongs in Jean-Luc Picard’s ready room.

Okay, all geek jokes aside, that urn doesn’t look half-bad!