Geek culture

Star Wars: The Old Republic embraces same-sex romance

Same-gender romance will soon be in the air in Star Wars: The Old Republic, meaning your Jedi Knight or Bounty Hunter will have more opportunities to get some lovin' in the online game.

To date, characters' romance options have been limited by class and gender. But in a blog post today, Jeff Hickman, executive producer of the BioWare/EA title, revealed that that's shifting come spring -- to an extent.

The upcoming Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion pack, he said, will make it possible for players on the new planet (called Makeb) to flirt with same-gender non-player characters, created by BioWare to give quests, sell items, and otherwise move the story forward. Players will not yet, however, be able to put the moves on same-sex companion characters, the NPCs that accompany them on their intergalactic escapades as a major plotline piece. … Read more

Moebius House a super-sized strip of math wonder

The Moebius House doesn't look or sound real. It's designed to be built on a Korean island in a forest growing on volcanic rock. It's inspired by the unending brain teaser known as a Mobius strip.

Design firm Planning Korea has tackled some creative projects in the past, including designs for a mega-bridge over the Han River and a cocoon-shaped house that looks like it could hide a giant insect inside. It's no wonder those same architects saw a Mobius strip as a good basis for a house.… Read more

The 404 1,185: Where 50 euros go a long way (podcast)

Bathroom break video: iPad magician at the world famous German "Hofbraeuhaus" in Munich, the beer capital.

Show title credit: Beatmaster (join us live at noon Eastern everyday to suggest a show title. The most-used suggestions at the end of every month will win a prize!)

Episode 1,185

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Earth cozies up super close to the sun today

Looking out my window, it's a beautiful sunny day. Perhaps it's even a bit sunnier than usual here in New Mexico. Turns out, there may be a reason for that. The Earth is as close to the sun today as it will be for the whole year of 2013.

How close is close? The Earth is a mere 91,402,560 miles away from the sun today. Usually, we're right around 93 million miles. The phenomenon of getting all cuddly with our closest star is called perihelion. "Peri" means near and "Helios" was the Greek god of the sun. … Read more

Robotic space 'hedgehogs' under development

We already know how to explore planets with relatively low gravity, like Mars. The Curiosity Rover is engineered to hang onto the planet's surface, despite it having just 38 percent of the gravity we enjoy on Earth. What happens if you want to check out a small moon or an asteroid with a fraction of that gravity? You design a robotic hedgehog, of course.

Stanford University researchers and NASA are working together on spiky space balls that could dance across the surfaces of moons and asteroids whose low gravity and rough surfaces would bog down a regular rover. … Read more

All Batmans morph into one super Bruce Wayne

Take equal parts Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and Christian Bale. Import head shots into Photoshop. Add a dash of Sqirlz Morph morphing software. Mix well. Enjoy your new Bruce Wayne!

Redditor morphinapg is on a tear, combining multiple actors into single images. So far, the intrepid graphic artist has tackled Batman, Superman, James Bond, and Doctor Who.

I have to say, this new Bruce Wayne looks pretty good. He could be a real person, and I could even see him getting cast in some Batman reboot down the line.… Read more

Stephen Hawking sucks opera singer into black hole (in an ad)

Once you're famous, you get inundated with offers to appear in ads.

But which ones to choose? Should you peddle soap or Siri? Should you declare your love for Buick, while secretly pootling around in your Mercedes?

Stephen Hawking made an interesting choice to advertise auto insurance -- Go Compare's online auto-insurance comparison service, to be precise.… Read more

Geek pasties turn 'Star Trek,' Grumpy Cat into bosom buddies

The words "geeky" and "sexy" haven't always seemed like they should go together, but a line of geek pasties from Etsy is looking to change that perception.

Pasties, for those unfamiliar with the term, are patches that cover part of the bosom for modesty or decorative purposes. In my mind, the highlight of MontabahnPasties' offerings is the "Star Trek" pasties. The famous logo/uniform insignia is available in either silver or pink versions with coordinating tassels. Though these look like the insignia from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," they're not likely to trigger your communicator when tapped. … Read more

Typical Mac user is a freckly, glasses-wearing gal

When you think of a typical Mac user, you may imagine a young Silicon Valley go-getter type with hipster glasses and a tongue-tying Starbucks order involving half-caff, soy milk, and foam. According to an unscientific composite created by app maker BlueStacks, you'd be way off base.

BlueStacks compiled data from Nielsen and 1.1 million Facebook fans to determine what the typical Mac lover looks like. It turns out that Ms. Mac 2012 is a freckled, T-shirt wearing lady with long, black hair.

Ms. Mac also happens to be from North America. She's under 20, has OS X Lion installed on her Mac, wears jeans, and rocks a pair of sneakers. There are no geek hoodies to be found anywhere on the infographic, though.… Read more

Study: Earth microbes could survive Martian conditions

The Mars Curiosity rover recently detected signs of organic compounds on the Red Planet, but NASA won't call the findings definitive. One holdup is the issue of contamination. The trace amounts may be the result of contamination from the rover itself.

The contamination issue could rear its head again should the rover or future expeditions turn up any microbes. Finding microbes on Mars would be a cause for scientific celebration, but a study published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America" shows that Earth microbes could very well survive in the brutal conditions on Mars.… Read more