Blog

  • Episode 73: Sex Lemonade

    FEMA determines how bad a hurricane is by checking if the local Waffle House is open.  Listen in to find out how to determine how old your globe is.  Domino’s plans to open a pizza joint on the moon.  A company has devised a “green” way to dispose of human remains by liquifying the corpse.  Germany introduces “prostitute meters” to collect taxes.  The German ban on Doom has finally been lifted.  The Pirate Bay founders go legit with BayFiles.  Plus, a Recent Study, an Epic Fail, and “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/73

  • Episode 72: Overextending the Metaphor

    We explain how to use an RJ-45 keychain amd a wall dock to never misplace your keys again.  A man uses Portal 2 as an engine to propose to his girlfriend.  Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple, nothing changes. IBM builds a data drive that can back up the entire Web 60 times.  Donnie and Mark Wahlberg plan to open Wahlburger’s Burger Joint.  Google Street View team takes on the Amazon River.  Listen in to find out the 10 scariest hacks exposed at Black Hat and Defcon.  Fox delays Hulu availability, piracy surges.  CmdrTaco resigns from Slashdot.  All this and an Epic Fail, some Science News, and an “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/72

  • Episode 71: Flim-Flams and Charlatans

    Henry Morgan’s long-lost flag ship discovered.  All of the Internet went down last week thanks to Amazon Web Services.  Abercrombie and Fitch cancels a customers account for being too loyal.  The Hipster Trek Tumblr is the best site on the Internet.  Anonymous vows to destroy Facebook on November 5th.  The first annual Defcon for Kids occurred in conjunction with Defcon 19 was designed for kids and even had some child presenters. Chuck talks about how much he hates Lifehacker now based on one article.  Plus, this week’s “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/071

  • Episode 70: The Squirmy One

    What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?  Skedaddle hides a secret, password-protected file drawer underneath you Mac’s desktop.  Virtual pets starve after bungled resolution to Second Life.  Is itching psychological?  Savvy bettors have learned how to beat the Massachusetts lottery.  A vindictive Walmart security guard accused a couple of shoplifting, gets husband deport, wife fired, and costs the couple their house and car.  PLus, the Study of the Week and this week’s “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/70

  • Episode 69: Monkeys + Typewriters = Space

    Malware could be hidden in your smart batteries.  War texting lets hackers unlock car doors via SMS.  A Manhattan man tests the limits of the Apple Store’s hospitality.  Scientists discover that an ancient black hole contains 100,000 suns worth of water.  A new moon is discovered orbiting Pluto.  Plans are in the works to build a solar tower twice the size of the Empire State Building in Arizona.  All this, plus the Study of the Week and “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/69

  • Episode 68: The Rantmobile

    PETA demands that there be an extra tax on meat.  Police bust tweens for operating an unlicensed lemonade stand.  Jammie Thomas judgement lowered from $1.5 million to $54,000.  Plus, “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!” and the “Fail of the Week.”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/68

  • Episode 67: Conversatin’

    Google releases a new social network to compete with Facebook.  Finally!  Flying cars!  NASA’s final mission sneaks up on us.  Plus, “Oh Asia, You So Crazy!”

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/67

  • Episode 66: Ryder Sings Holy Diver

    The title says it all.  Enjoy!

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/66

  • Episode 65: I Bet You Didn’t Expect to See Us in Your Feed Again!

    So we’re ramping up from the mega-break to start recording again!  As a teaser, here’s an outtake episode for your enjoyment!  We’ll be posting a new episode in two weeks at the regularly scheduled time (Tuesday at noon), and I have a special surprise for you next week.

    Show notes available at http://wiki.whatstherumpuspodcast.com/65

  • Libyan Rebels Hijack Cellular Network

    We try to avoid talking too much about politics, but one piece of news this week caught my eye.  The Libyan rebels, with the help of some Middle Eastern and Libyan-American friends, were able to hijack Gadhafi’s Libyana cellular network.

    In the early days of the rebellion, Gadhafi shut off cell phones and internet to stem the flow of information out of Libya.  Since then the rebels have had to communicate via semaphore, and while flag signals are kind of a bad ass way of communicating, it sucks as a primary communication tool. 

    Ousama Abushagar, a Libyan-American telecom executive, got together a few childhood friends and raised funding in order to infiltrate Libyana and pirate their cellular signal.  The United Arab Emirates and Qatar both provided the millions of dollars worth of equipment needed to make this plan work, showing their support of the rebel government.  Etisalat, a UAE cellular service, provided use of one of their satellites for the pirate cell phone network.  Eventually the plan rolled out and Free Libyana was born.  International calls are extremely limited currently, but hey… who can complain when all domestic calls are free.  Beat that AT&T!