Geekly

December 2011

ANONYMOUS: Hacktivists or Terrorists?

A Stagnating Beast: The Death of Creativity My Little Ponies: Popular With Men of Ages 13-45

Cover Art Courtesy of Peter Wallace

Dear Reader, Welcome to the first issue of Geekly. We would like to take a moment to thank you for taking this endeavor and supporting the indie magazine industry. Upon reading this magazine you will find detailed articles on all aspects of technology from the latest computers to geek subculture. By the time you finish reading Geekly you will leave with the knowledge to live in the ever growing culture of technology.

Whether you want to learn about the latest innovation in technology or the newest memes Geekly will be sure to satisfy your taste.Even if you want deep philosophical insight you can find that here as well. Again thank you for reading and please enjoy.

-Fabian M, Dylan D, Jacob B, Luis C

Biographies

Fabian Magallan

Fabian Magallan is the leader of Geekly, responsible for both the name and the majority of all work. Fabian is a rather unique case amongst his fellow LASA students as he is a massive republican, like seriously the biggest republican you will ever meet. Obviously he has an interest in technology, particulary relating to computers and video games. He has been playing videogames since he was seven, citing Grand Theft Auto 3 and Starcraft(so awesome) as some of his first games. Most of his free time is spent playing videogames or swimming at Barton Springs. He hates country music which is contradicting to his being an ultra republican. Instead he is an avid listener of rap and appreciates it for what it is, lyrical genius.

Luis Cruz Luis- Luis Cruz is a Freshman at LASA were he enjoys the challenges that the magnet program offers. He also has a major interest in Computer Science and the Programming behind it. He joined Geekly since he saw the magazine as an opportunity to educate readers about the benefits of playing videogames. He would also like to inform the readers about the rapid progression of technology and the upcoming technology. During his free time he loves to play FPS games. These games include the prestigious Call of Duty series where he eradicates noobs and campers. He also loves to play Minecraft where he destroys creepers for fun and then makes cake.

Dylan Danzeiser

Dylan is a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy who has interests in technology and the sciences. His favorite subjects include physics and chemistry, and he hopes to be a theoretical physicist when he grows up. He joined geekly because it fit his interests, and he has really enjoyed the fact that we can choose what to learn and write about. In his free time(what free time?), he likes to swim, run, and play videogames such as starcraft(much better than fabian) and minecraft.

Jacob Burnette

Jacob Burnette is the main guy, the hardcore boss of the internet who is also the biggest most non-polluting, environmentally conscious liberal democrat in in all of the world. He is also the most hardcore Pink Floyd fan in the whole world. Contradicting? Nope. (chuck testa) Obviously he has an interest in ponies, particularly relating to computers and video games. He has been playing videogames since he was 4, and enjoys many of them except most fps’.

Minecraft, Zelda, PokĂŠmon, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Goldeneye 007 are currently the best games.

5 New Spin on an Old Track 6 Helpful Hacktivists 7 A Stagnating Beast 8 T h e New Space Race 11 Robotic Gold 13 Solar Power 15 My Little Ponies, A Perplexing Puzzlement Plaguing People Everywhere 21 T h e Programming Pedagogue

Jeep Wrangler Features "Call of Duty: MW3 Special Edition" graphics on the front fenders and spare tire cover.

Unique powerdome Hood

"Combining our new, more powerful, exciting

Jeep Wrangler with

the latest version of one of the most popular gaming experiences in the world.".

MW3 Special Edition

New Spin On An Old Track

I

by Jacob Burnette

think that vinyl records should displace the cd’s control over the music market.

You may be wondering, “How in the world can vinyl records replace the CD?” right now. “Why should I switch?” or even, “What makes vinyl sound better?” If you’re thinking one of these, well, read on then, dear reader.

A record in good shape should, in theory, produce a warmer and richer sound than a cd. You see, digital sound contains these things called, “audio snapshots,” that are like a picture of sound. There can only be 44,100 in one second. That may seem like a lot, but vinyl includes no such thing as a snapshot.

Analog sound does not use any “snapshots.”

The groove of the record looks like the readout on an oscilloscope- there is no separation at all; the spectrum is one continuous line from the beginning of the album to the end of the album. A record is usually made from the artist’s original recording. The producers perfect the recording in the studio, then the master record is made. A steel press of that record is then produced, so finally pressings of the record begin.

On a digital format, there are only 65,536 possible values. If a track includes a value outside of those 65,536 values, then the value is lost and not replayed for you to hear.

Analog formats do not use values. The signal is read by the groove in the vinyl twisting and waving around under the needle, causing the needle to vibrate and produce the sound, then the signal follows the wiring until it gets to the speakers, and then into your ear. The compression of the CD also further removes information so it can fit onto that tiny little disc. The parts of a track most often lost are the higher and lower ranges. Vinyl does not compress the tracks, so this issue is completely avoided.

Sure, the grooves might seem impossibly small upon sight, but have you felt the little bumps on a cd? Did you even know that a cd had little bumps before now? That’s how much cds compress music, you can’t even feel the bumps.

One of the many appeals of vinyl is that the songs are tangible in your hands; you can feel the music in the grooves without playing it.

On a CD you cannot feel

Geekly issue 1

“No distortion, mishaps, or changes.” the billions of little bumps, they appear to be perfectly flat. Another problem with digital formats is that they are not always mastered well.

When you have a have a poorly mastered song, it just doesn’t feel quite right. Sometimes the pitch can even be noticeably off when it is poorly done. Again, on vinyl, the recording on the vinyl is exactly the same as it was in the recording studio. No distortion, mishaps, or changes. On a record, you can hear the singer take a breath before a verse, the fingers swipe on the guitar, and the sound is clearer than any cd’s reproduction. Of course, it is up to you to decide whether you’re willing to switch over from cds to vinyl.

Given the facts, vinyl sounds homologous to a much more superior format for home listening.

There are artists releasing new albums in vinyl, and they’re packaged with a code to allow you to download the album onto your iPod free after buying the record. The vinyl format has seen a rise in popularity for several years now, and the cd is now starting to rapidly decline in sales.

Long story short; the record is slowly killing the cd.

05

Need tips for getting started with vinyl? Here’s a few of mine- Look for a good, suitable turntable. A Technics SL-1200 is the choice of many DJs and audiophiles. Don’t opt for a USB turntable- they’re of much lesser quality and don’t sound as great. A simple Right/Left to 3.5mm headphone jack cord plugged into your computer is sufficient. Crosleys are also not your best bet.

- Look for more well-known record stores in your area. They’ll usually not sell vinyl in bad shape. If they do, it’s most likely a rare record for collectors’ purposes.

- A used turntable possibly needs a new belt if it’s belt-driven, a new cartridge, and sometimes needs the tonearm rebalanced. When looking for a cartridge, make sure it’s suited for your needs.

If you’re looking to do some scratching, don’t get a cartridge that isn’t made for that. That can cause “record burn,” which violently degrades the sound quality.

- Don’t fall for the companies trying to sell you record cleaning kits. A wash under gentle water from a sink with liquid hand soap is sufficient.

Just gently work the soap into the grooves on both sides under a gentle stream of water, rinse completely, and dry. A bit of warning, though: do NOT play a wet record. It may seem like a good idea, but if you play it wet, every time you play it, it must be wet. This also increases the chances of skipping.

December 2011

Helpful Hacktivists

W

by Luis Cruz

hen you think of a hacker, you might imagine a geek living in his grandmother’s basement where he types in codes faster than most people could speak English, in his high tech computer system.

When most people envision a hacker they think of a person who “hacks” for selfish reasons, but believe or not, not all hackers hack for the same reason shockingly there is a group of hackers who “hack” for political reasons. Anonymous grew to be famous after a large number of hacks on companies. The group infiltrated the websites of Visa, PayPal and Master after they prohibited patrons that financially supported WikiLeaks. This became one of the many operations performed by the group Anonymous, whose ideas revolve around the annihilation of censorship in the Internet, and as they try to reach this goal, they put more companies to justice.

Moreover, as they show their real objective to the people their Internet Fighting Group grow more rapidly.

When people think of the group Anonymous, they think of cyber-terrorist because of misleading information about the group and the confusion with hostile groups like 4chan and Lulsec, groups that terrorize people through the internet. This confusion leads people to believe that the group Anonymous executed the infamous 2011 attack on the well-known Playstation Network owned by the prestigious Sony.

This attack supposedly performed to get revenge on Sony after they press charges on George Hotz for releasing an exploit to the ps3. Due to the framing of the group, more and more members blamed; it was not until then that anonymous group members revealed themselves to the public, to fight their case about the attack. From a recent report, one of the members quoted “No one who is actually associated with our movement would do something that would prompt a massive law enforcement response.” They also declared, A group of standard online thieves would have every reason toframe [us] in order to put law enforcement off the track.” As more and more hostile attacks continue

Geekly issue 1

“No one who is actually associated with our movement would do something that would prompt a massive law enforcement response.”

to be performed more events like this are happening giving the public misleading information of anonymous’ real intentions.

Believe or not there are numbers of organizations that supports Anonymous. One of Anonymous supporters is the famous Julian Assange the creator and founder of Wikileaks. Wikileaks is an organization that publishes private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources. The community praises the organization since information that the government is hiding from them is release through his website. As months passed progressively more governments of the world begin to get irritated since classified information was given to the public, one of the ways they tried to stop the website was prohibiting banks to financially aid the organization.

In the form of revenge and justice, the Anonymous members started to “hack” the banks’ websites who followed this policy. These attacks claimed by the members to be acts of justice towards the banks.

They justified this statement in a interview with one of their members, “Anonymous has never been known to have engaged in credit card theft” This quote assured the public that the attacks were made towards the bank and not the customers since there have been no reports of credit card theft.engaged in credit card theft,”

23

Through the life span of the group there have been non-hostile acts from the group since they have other non- hacking methods to fight for what they believe in. For example, the non-violent protest on Wall Street where they fight against the financial industry’s crimes.

During the occupation there have been no the reports of any of the members to be involved in any kind of violent act. On the contrary, there has been news about cops unreasonably attacking the protestors. Another example of a non –hostile act is the creation of their new social media website or as anonymous will call it AnonPlus. The creator of AnonPlus declares “The new service, AnonPlus, will be free ‘of fear...of censorship...of blackout’ and ‘for all people, not just Anonymous” In other words this website will allow you to give your opinion without the fear of being judge by others and at the same time stay anonymous.

Anonymous was created by a small group of people whose ideas was to delete censorship from the Internet and as they shared their intention to others the group grew bigger in size since people realized this was a real problem. Through the years, they have done whatever is possible to reach the goals carefully trying not to hurt the people but the companies and the government who cheat their way through the system for their own benefit. Anonymous originally created to help the people and to take those who cheat their way to the top to justice.

December 2011

A Stagnating Beast

L by

Fabian Magallan

The Death of Innovation in The Gaming Industry

et’s look at the ‘90s with the release of the N64. Innovation is at its peak.

Games like Mario 64 solidified 3D graphics as the norm. Zelda Ocarina of Time forever changed the definition of a good game. The release of Golden Eye 007 revolutionized the first person shooter genre and paved the way for multiplayer today. Yet today we are absent of game changing releases. Every year we see piles of repetitive FPS releases, another grind of a RPG or a boring and linear action game. What happened to this innovation so long gone from the industry? The lack of innovation slowly kills the industry every year, getting closer to becoming a stagnant beast.

As Josh Olin of Treyarch, one of the developers of Call of Duty, said in his own public statement “the popularity of shooters has caused stagnation in my own company and the development of others.” If the developers themselves admit to this fault, isn’t it time for a change? Even if the developers decide to create something new, their fan base would only get aggravated, likely being a financial blunder. The same thing happens to commercial companies.

Such as when coca cola stopped selling the original coke, this led to massive loss in sells and

“The popularity of shooters has caused stagnation in my own company and the development of others.”

a boycotting of the company. This relates easily to what would happen to a gaming company.

Imagine if Treyarch long rooted into the Call of Duty series stopped making Call of Duty games and created an entirely different game from its norm. Is it not plausible the same thing could happen to them? Fans expect the same thing over and over; that’s why they like the company.

It is not the fault of Treyarch, it is the fault of the gamers. We need to support the branching out of a company before they stagnate. Already Call of Duty is just a rehash of the previous with fancy graphic. I played both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the game play felt the exact same between the two, the only difference being the graphics. Halo is similar; Reach, the newest Halo game, made a couple small changes in game play but as a longterm fan of the series, it didn’t do enough to laud it as anything significant.

Geekly issue 1

revolutionary game play. The fact that games like Call of Duty, which have been polished and refined over the years, have become the standard to base things off contributes wildly to this scrutiny of innovative games.

You can read it on the site itself, reviewers compare shooters to Call of Duty or Halo and action games to God of War. Setting a gold standard doesn’t work for game companies with much less experience.

Perhaps a more obvious problem is the commonality of sequels. A problem caused by the gamers and the companies themselves. If you watch X-play you can see the focus of the show is on these blockbuster sequels like Modern Warfare 3 or Gears of War 3. Every gamer wants a sequel to a game they love but continuing on that path only leads to a company being boxed in. Not balancing this out with new ips again leads to stagnation like previously discussed.

Yet some gamers still believe innovation is going strong in the industry.

Paul Stevens of Innovation Exchange, a company dedicated to helping young, developing companies start up, states that “Games like Mass Effect 2, Bioshock, and Portal prove that innovation is not coming to an end.” I will admit to the fact that these Can you tell the difference between these two games did impact the gaming industry and games? sold incredibly amounts of copies. Mass Effect seamlessly blended shooter combat with rich RPG elements and Bioshock took

I cannot blame everything on just the gamers. However, reviewers like Imagine shooter combat and combined it with an immersive horror setting and a beautifully Games Network (IGN) need to start woven story. However at the core of these realizing that an innovative game definitely will contain flaws. Take for example Mirrors games lies the shooter mechanic, the same cookie-cutter combat you see in Call of Edge, a game that not only brought a new look to games but a drastically different style Duty. Even the games the industry considers innovative rely on shooter combat to attract of game play. Instead of shooting, you freefans. run across a gigantic city. Without nearly any source material to base this off of course Gamers need to prove to the developers that they are willing to buy innovative games flaws will be present. IGN however didn’t and just branch out from shooters into take this into account during their review, other genres. This in turn will encourage the only seeing minor flaws and glitches in the developers to branch out as well. With these game. IGN even cited such arbitrary things huge companies with their vast resources like “a simple three button control scheme,” creating new games, a virtual renaissance is and the fact that “no true multiplayer” comes with mirror’s edge as problems. These achievable. minor problems resulted in a score of seven out of ten, horrible considering the Pictures Courtesy of David Wong

07

December 2011

2029: by

Dylan Danzeiser

The Scientists had seen the asteroid years before, a single speck out in space, seemingly innocent and harmless.

When they finally saw its true nature; an implacable, merciless enemy inexorably advancing on the ignorant blue green world below, the government gave NASA an almost unlimited budget, but this failure was predetermined by the bad decisions of previous generations. Because of the stagnation of innovation in the beginning of the century, we didn’t have the capability to redirect an object of that size. And so, the asteroid fell to earth, burning a beautiful fireworks display, celebrating the end of mankind.

If we are to avoid this kind of catastrophe, we need to fund NASA now. NASA is beneficial in many ways, because it produces technological innovations that would not happen elsewhere, because it protects against threats such as asteroid impacts, and because space development is crucial to the future of mankind.

NASA research has benefited industry many times in the past by introducing new technology that came about because so many smart people worked on the same project. In fact, 1 in every 1,000 U.S. patents are granted to someone working on a NASA project, says Patrick Kiger of HowSuffWorks. Much evidence exists of this occurring in the past, with the most prominent being CAT scans, cordless tools, and freeze-dried food. A perfect example of this kind of innovation is memory foam. Our satellites needed a material that would cushion the impact of a hypersonic particle of space debris. The genius engineers at NASA came up with memory foam, which has now traveled over to the private world in countless products. If we are to continue having such advances, we need NASA to fuel them.

Second, NASA is the only thing standing between a large asteroid collision and ourselves. On average, large asteroid collisions happen every 1000 centuries or so, which means that we are overdue for an impact. NASA currently tracks 100 ½ to 1 km asteroids in this range, but there are assumed to be 10 times more that remain undiscovered, says David Rabinowitz, on behalf of the JPL Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) team. If NASA gains funding, this number could rise so that the human race could eventually predict when the next asteroid hits. This represents a huge milestone in the evolution of the human race; for the first time,

Geekly issue 1

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

An ares 1-X on the launchpad we have the ability to see when we will die, and possibly prevent it.

Only with appropriate funding will NASA have the capacity to continue its breakthrough work, and possibly serve as the savior of us all, because NASA is already developing methods to destroy or redirect asteroids on a collision course with earth. These include using nuclear weapons on the asteroid and conventional explosives to pushing the asteroid with a spaceship and even pulling an asteroid using the gravitational pull of the spaceship. Nevertheless, funding is essential to let NASA continue with its breakthrough work, protecting us from the biggest threat humanity has ever faced.

NASA is also key to keeping our status as the forefront of technology in the 21st Century. Great civilizations have always come about because of exploration and development of new technologies and lands, says Michael Griffin, an administrator at NASA. The British Empire became one of the most powerful empires in the world by conquering the sea and lands beyond.

Likewise, America’s legacy will be the conquering of space, he says. As threats of overpopulation, global warming, and resource depletion plague earth, the space program will find a way out, be it Mars or some other extraterrestrial environment.

08

Second, from the start of time, civilizations have quested for knowledge, no matter the practical uses that may come later. NASA is key to understanding the origin of the universe and other mysteries of modern science, but NASA needs more funding to investigate further. Being one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, we have a duty to continue exploration for its own sake. Our technology defines us, and there is no greater technological achievement than spaceflight.

Our technology defines us, and there is no greater technological achievement than spaceflight.

Whenever an increase in space program funding is proposed, every time opponents will say that instead of wasting millions of dollars on spaceflight for the wealthy, we should spend that money on helping the disadvantaged. While this goal is morally right in theory, in practice NASA’s budget is very small compared to the amount of innovation and economic activity that it creates, which can then help the poor. Instead, we should cut defense spending, which has a budget many times bigger. In fact, Jeff Brooks said, “For every $1 the federal government spends on NASA, it spends $98 on social programs. In other words, if we cut spending on social programs by a mere one percent, we could very nearly double NASA’s budget.”

NASA has done, and can do, so much for the world that it is worth its funding many times over. Write to your senator to vote to increase NASA funding, before it is too late.

December 2011

Alienware PT Tower Case Cool, Sleek Look Optimal Upgradeability

NVIDIA速 SLI technology

Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor

Optimal Thermal Performance

The Computer You Always Wanted

HAVE IT

Robotic Gold

By Fabian Magallan

The Future Of The Human Workforce

Robotic Gold The Future of The Workforce

by Fabian Magallan

A

soft mechanical hum emanates from a massive machine in the center of a glaring white room. A lone worker huddles over a computer screen typing in pieces of code. Robotics fly overhead lifting and carrying wafers to a unknown destination. The worker’s name is Bryan Lassiter and he is on the forefront of human advancement.

From this scene you see the future of the human workforce. Robotics taking the role of cheap human labor and humans put in the place of safe keepers. Bryan Lassiter plays this role. The gigantic semi-conductor does the actual production, he maintains and fixes it. A synthetic symbiotic relationship.

Bryan Lassiter has had a deep history with electronics, for the majority of his life he has been in the subject

“Ever since I was ten I always participated in the science fairs at school, I remember I had made a miniature steam boat, it was really amazing,” says Bryan.

His interest kept expanding all through his younger years. By the time he was 17 he had built his own computer, all he had to start with was the case. Eventually he decided to pursue his first job in the tech industry.

Bryan says when he was 17 he “Undertook a freelance electronic career, I helped out friends who in return recommended me to other people, near the end of high schoolI was making a couple hundred a week.”

After graduating high school with a 3.83 GPA and few hundred dollars saved up he was expected to go on to college but only a year after high school he enlisted in the navy.

After two years he achieved his first official job in the tech field.

“I was working on the radar system for the planes. It was a pretty simple job once you knew the technical aspects,” says Bryan.

For the next seven years Bryan worked in the navy. Serving aboard four different ships and gaining invaluable experience. He decided he didn’t want to make a career out of the navy, he left after ten years of service.

After a brief hiatus from work he immediately knew which job to choose.

“After I left the navy obviously I wanted to work in the technology field and Samsung was offering enormous pay and Samsung is on the forefront of technology so I figured I’d be more at home,” says Bryan.

Money wasn’t Bryan’s sole motivation. He Geekly issue 1

Art Credit: Petersham Lane

Pictured Above: A semiconductor which will soon be placed in a cellular

Had a particular interest in one of Samsung’s facilities. He says he “Knew about the semiconductor fabricator and how it was one of the largest fabrication facilities in the world.”

Semiconductors are responsible for the mass production of micro chips which go to phones and other mobile devices around the world. Samsung has invested a billion dollars in just the Austin fabricators alone

“Robotics are the future of industry and I like to be at the front of this massive advancement.” and now Bryan is in charge of the safekeeping of these massive machines.

“I monitor the big semiconductor which makes micro chips that go in phones all over the world. I make sure it runs smoothly and no problems come up,” says Bryan

Bryan notes that the job is, “very similar to what I did in the navy...like with the radar systems, I plug in a device which shows what is wrong with the machine and then I fix it, pretty simple.”

12

Upon visiting the fabrication facility it is easily see what he means. The fabrication room is painted pure white. The machines are darker in color which in Bryan’s opinion, “provides a cool contrast,” to the rest of the room. “It is almost in a stereotypical sci-fi style,” says Brian.

Unfazed by the scope of the room Bryan walks towards the semiconductor he has been assigned to. A computer station is attached to the beginning of the conductor and Bryan takes his position leaning over the console. The computer identifies a problem and Bryan gets ready to work. Opening up a panel a few feet away from the station a jumble of wires is visible. Replacing a corroded wire fixes the problem leaving Bryan free of work.

He walks off to assist his coworkers.

That is the extent of his role at Samsung, Bryan says, “My sole purpose in the company is to make sure they work, no other human assistance is needed.”

This reality may cause some people to seem negligible in face of the semiconductor which does the production humans used to do. Yet Bryan sees past this.

“If I mess up the company loses thousands of dollars and I get fired, even though the semi conductors are huge they are still very sensitive,” says Bryan.

Bryan’s view on the future of the workforce is incredibly optimistic despite the waning significance of human workers.

“Robotics are the future of industry and I like to be at the front of this massive advancement, not many other people witness the advance of progress and I’m one of them,” says Bryan

As businesses slowly revolve towards the high tech model of industry soon we will all be like Bryan Lassiter. Electronics make Electronics and humans are there for the finer details. The workforce is getting closer to the sci-fi movie level of advancement even though you may think we are still far from it.

“I feel good about the future advancement of technology. I think pretty soon we will be there in that sci-fi world,” says Bryan.

December 2011

A

ll life on earth owes its existence to the sun. The plants use the sun’s energy for food, and animals eat the plants. Wind and weather is caused by the warming of the earth by the sun. In fact, all the atoms in the earth were once part of a sun.

Because of 5 years in the solar power business, Stan Pipkin and his wife have cultivated a unique ideology towards their work. “everything is solar”, he says. It has the potential to solve all of our energy problems, but some things are holding it back.

Plants absorb about 2% of the solar energy that hits them, while photovoltaic cells can absorb up to 15%, and solar water heaters an astounding 70-80%. Plants are able to thrive and have spread across the entire world, building huge ecosystems from this small percentage of energy. This shows that the problem is not the efficiency of the cells; the problem, stan says, is our energy consumption.

“People that own mansions come to me and ask, is ‘solar a viable option for me?’

Of course not, but the problem is in the usage, not the solar.” Stan believes that solar power is the way that we will fix this.

With solar, he says, you can cultivate a society in which we are more energy conscious. With solar, we can solve our major energy issues before it is too late.

When asked to compare solar to other forms of energy, Stan says there are different questions we should be asking.

“Gas is far more efficient than electricity” he says. “Electricity is essentially a second tier energy. Gas is ultimately, for better or worse, the most direct, most efficient fuel, it has the most energy density.”

So we should all use fossil fuels, right?

Wrong.

“If we develop our arguments based on fossil fuel logic, our arguments will always loose.” he says. ”A solar powered car isn’t going to go as fast as a regular combustion engine, but it solves a different problem.”

“Some say [the US is] the laughingstock of the world. I would say Austin Energy is among the top 5 utilities in the country in terms of their expressed commitment to solar but if you look at Austin, the adoption, the amount of solar in Austin is relatively low.”says stan, pointing out the fact that although there are many reasons to switch to solar in the area, many of us Austinites don’t do so.

However, Texas and the US have the capability to have very high solar and other

Geekly issue 1

renewable energies. He says, “Texas is strong in wind, we have a large wind capacity. We are coming.

They actually imagine the US will quickly become the leader. There is a lot of interest, a lot of plans.”

This has worked well so far, he says. A lack of large scale federal incentives for solar is very significant, but perhaps not bad.

“The industry is going to grow because people make it grow, not because somebody says that’s what you have to do. IF the feds said everyone needed to do this, it would be huge. It would likely be the oil companies; they would become solar companies, like, overnight.” He says. As a small business owner, he

“...healthy relationships should be maintained between the supplier and the consumer to raise awareness for solar power and energy efficiency in general.”

It is key to solving all of our energy problems.

Austin also has a very favorable location.

Stand said, “Austin is reasonable. Sit just north of tropic of Capricorn. Our sun days are over 300, we are in the top tier.

El Paso is 20% better, Arizona 10% above that. Germany is 60% of what Austin is at its best.”

Stan frequently reminds people not to think of the cell by itself, but to look at environmental factors as well. He says, “if you think about the cell independent of its existence in the world for 30 years, you are kind of missing that that’s why efficiency is part of it, but also what program structures are put in place to make sure you are getting the most out of that technology. You may have paid extra for a higher efficiency panel, but because you never took care of it, you may have lost it. For us, those are re ally critical to get [people] to understand is that you aren’t buying technology in a vacuum you are buying a system that you are going to live with and maintain. “ Over time the efficiency of solar cells has improved, but not by a large amount. This is not bad, says Stan. Instead, the prices have come down, enabling the industry to get involved with solar, allowing more financial machines to take the technology and make it viable on a large scale.

has a unique point of view of these energy companies switching over. “in my opinion what we stand to gain by having very local interactive relationships to energy whether its solar or anything else is that we stand to gain more as a society if you grow up understanding the efficiencies of solar heating and power, that’s just second nature, then that’s a very different future.”, he says. He maintains that very healthy relationships should be maintained between the supplier and the consumer to raise awareness for solar power and energy efficiency in general.

“Companies say that they are just going to build this big power plant of solar, wind, whatever, out in west texas, it doesn’t address the real problem of getting in someone’s face, and being there for 30 years.” This awareness of the energy problems is very important.

14

December 2011

Art by MaximillionVeers and Moongaze Ponies

My Little Ponies, A Puzzlement Plaguing

Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie. Applejack. Rainbow Dash.

Rarity. Fluttershy. You might have thought all of these are from the older, less accredited generations of My Little Pony.

Nope. Chuck Testa. They’re all from the new, hip and enjoyable one. The older generations were considered “grotesque”, feminine and unlovable among internet frequenters one day, however, the new one is embraced, loved and adulated the next.

These colorful equines are captivating, fascinating, and encapsulating multiple generations of internet users. If you ask a “brony” (a portmanteau of “bro and “pony”) why they watch the show, many are baffled themselves, yet they continue watching anyway.

“To be honest, I don’t really know. There’s just something extremely cute about the show,” John Cox, one of my Brony friends said.

“That they’re cute and colorful.

That’s what first brought me in, they weren’t... I hate to use it, but ‘grotesque’ like their previous generations were,” Ayumu, another brony under a false name said.

Occasionally, you will get some reasons as to why this the brony phenomenon happened.

The work and time spent on animation is great. When the ponies walk, their manes bounce and pebbles are kicked up. Plants Geekly issue 1

sway back and forth in the wind.

The backgrounds and scenery is not recycled, a new one is made for each and every scene that gets written. The style of animation is praised for how colorful, welldone and attention-grabbing it is.

There are no dull black borders around objects, creatures, and other stuff; the borders are a complementing color on the same end of the spectrum. Some bronies watch it, “for the plot.” The stories are always well thought-out and written nicely. Every episode ends with a lesson in friendship that the characters have learned after the main events that happened in the episode. Each letter is written by the main character’s dragon, then sent in a magical fiery breath to Princess Celestia. The letters are all compiled in the Princess’ Friendship Report, and are documented in the royal archives for use in the study of Friendship. As of season 2, the “Mane” cast, a pun coined by bronies, all have to write a Friendship Report to the Princess at the end of each episode. Each Friendship Report as of November 26, 2011 is here, they can be very useful in real life, not just for the purpose of a storyline.

Some Bronies try to adhere to these, not because it’s from their favourite E3 I’ve learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings. But when there’s not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make 17

you feel pretty awful. E4 My friend Applejack is the best friend a pony could ever have, and she’s always there to help anypony. The only trouble is, when she needs help she finds it hard to accept it. So while friend ship is about giving of ourselves to friends, it’s also about accepting what our friends have to offer.

“To be honest, I don’t really know. There’s just something extremely cute about the show.”

E5 Today I learned that it’s hard to accept when somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony who’s not so nice. Though it’s impossible to control who your friends hang out with, it is possible to control your own behavior.

Just continue to be a good friend.

In the end, the difference between -a false friend and one who is true will surely come to light.

E6 I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a showoff that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it’s okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it’s appropriate to show them off... Especially when you’re standing up for your friends.

E7 I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend Fluttershy who convinced December 2011

Perplexing People Everywhere

By Jacob Burnette

taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.

E8 It’s hard to believe that two ponies that seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other’s differences, you just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all...E9 My friends and I all learned an important lesson this week: Never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary.

But you have to look past that and learn who they are inside. Real friends don’t care what your “cover” is; It’s the contents of a pony that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever.

E10 I’ve learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It’s a good idea to stop and listen to your friends’ opinions and perspectives... Even when they don’t always seem to make sense...

E11 Winter Wrap Up was one of the most special things I’ve ever been a part of here in Ponyville. It helped me to learn that we all have hidden talents, and if we’re patient and diligent we’re sure to find them. And as always, with good friendship and teamwork, ponies can accomplish anything...

E12 I am happy to report that one of your youngest subjects has learned a valuable lesson about Geekly issue 1

friendship. Sometimes, the thing you think will cause you to lose friends and feel left out can actually be the thing that helps you make your closest friends and realize how special you are...E13 It’s important to remember that the friendship is always more important than the competition.

E14 This week my very talented friend Rarity learned that if you try to please everypony, you oftentimes end up pleasing nopony, especially yourself. And I learned this: when somepony offers to do you a favor, like making you a beautiful dress, you shouldn’t be overly critical of something generously given to you. In other words, you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth *giggle*.

E15 I am happy to report that I now realize there are wonderful things in this world you just can’t explain, but that doesn’t necessarily make them any less true. It just means you have to choose to believe in them. And sometimes it takes a friend to show you the way.

Honk.

18

E16 I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground, and be there for your friends.

E17 I really learned the hard way not to bite off more than I can chew.

E18 And instead of forcing ourselves to do something that’s not meant for us... We each should be embracing our true talents.

E19 Just because somepony is lady-like doesn’t make her weak.

In fact, by using her wits, a seemingly defenseless pony can be the one who outsmarts and outshines them all.

E20 Being a good friend means being able to keep a secret, but you should never be afraid to share your true feelings with a good friend.

E21 Friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing. Even the worst of enemies can become friends. You need understanding and compromise. You’ve got to share. You’ve got to care.

E22 I’ll ask before taking matters into my own hooves.

December 2011

E23 Today I learned something amazing! Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection with her friends, maybe even before she’s met them. If you’re feeling lonely and you’re still searching for your true friends, just look up in the sky. Who knows, maybe you and your future best friends are all looking at the same rainbow.

E24 This is Spike, writing to you about my adventures. This week, I learned that being jealous, and telling lies, gets you nowhere in friendship. I also learned that there’s plenty of love for every friend to share. So, from here on out, I promise that I, Spike, willE25 I am writing to you from the most delightful party. I’m not only having a great time with my friends, but also was given the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson about friendship. Always expect the best from your friends and never assume the worst. Rest assured that a good friend always has your best interests at heart.

E26 Friends have a way of making even the worst of times into something pretty great.

E27 We’ve learned that friendship isn’t always easy. But there’s no doubt it’s worth fighting for.

E28 We learned that you should take your friends’ worries seriously.

Even if you don’t think that she has anything to worry about.

And that you shouldn’t let your worries turn a small problem... : ...into an enormously huge entire-town-in-total-chaos Princess-has-to-come-and-save-theday problem!

E29 When you first sent me to Ponyville, I didn’t know anything about friendship. I met some Geekly issue 1

pony tonight who was having the sameproblem - your sister, Princess Luna! She taught me that one of the best things you can do with friendship is to give it to others, and help them find it themselves! And I’m happy to report that all of Ponyvil le has learned that even though somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you’ll discover a whole new pony underneath. And even if my Star Swirl bearded costume didn’t go over, this still turned out to be the best Nightmare Night ever!

E30 Having a sister is just about the bestest thing in the world. But it sure isn’t the easiest.

I agree that being sisters is a wonderful thing, but it takes teamwork.

Sometimes it’s about compromising. Sometimes it’s about accepting each others’ differences. But mostly, it’s about having fun together. Even if it means getting your hooves a little bit dirty.

E31 Waiting for what your heart desires can be really hard. So, you may try to take a shortcut. But this dishonesty never works, because you didn’t earn what your heart desired. The only cure is being honest with yourself, and others. And that’s something every heart desires.

E32 I used to think the most important traits to look for in a pet, or any best friend, were all physical competitive abilities. But now I can see how short-sighted and shallow that was. Today I learned what the most important quality really is. A certain kind of spirit. A stick-to-itive-ness. A never give up, can-do attitude that’s the mark of a real winner. And this tortoise has it.

E33 It’s great to be really good at something, but it’s important to

19

act with grace and humility. And I guess I should’ve also acted with grace and humility when others outshine me. Each Report can be helpful and educational for children and adults alike, because making and keeping alive friendships is an essential skill for people of all ages to have. Knowing how to do this can help people in the real world, and they can learn this from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Another excellent feature of the show enjoyed by bronies are the songs that are in some of the episodes. All of them are composed and executed by Daniel Ingram, who is amazing at writing music. A fan favorite is Winter Wrap Up, which appeared in episode 11 of the same name. It includes backup chorals, many ponies get a chance at melody, and it fits into the episode like how Legos™ fit together, just perfectly. The feature composure in the recent episode, May the Best Pet Win!, has been compared to Winter Wrap Up as one of his best works. It is a Broadway-inspired piece, with excellent harmonies, rests, and would be a perfect duet. The second half just oozes pure excellence, it leaves chills down your spine in the last few measures. As I have stated previously, Bronies have coined some of their own terms using bit from the show. “Love and Tolerance” is their stance on how they respond to haters. When asked how he responds to haters, John Cox said, “Love and Tolerance, obviously!”

The main cast is sometimes referred to as the “Mane Cast,” like I said before. “Brohoof,” is just “Brofist,” only changed to December 2011

reflect that ponies can’s make fists.

Instead of “Thank God,” they say “Thank Celestia!” Even in this show, they have expletives. “Ponyfeathers,” “featherbrain,” “hayseed,” and “horseapples,” are some.

One fan was bold enough to make a news blog, Equestria Daily, on January 19, 2011. This blog has over 60 million views, 3 main authors, and a post every half-hour. They have many different types of posts: Nightly/Morning Roundup, where they post new fan-made merchandise on ebay, meetup locations, succesful meetups, and when something

Geekly issue 1

new comes to the blog. PMV (Pony Music Video) collections, DrawFriends, where 30-50 new drawings are displayed, and just other things that come about in the brony community.

This phenomenon is definitely interesting. We’ll have to wait to see how this ends, if it even does. I hope it will stay FOR-EVERR, (yet another brony meme,) as over 100,000 people are currently enjoying this amazing show.

20

December 2011

The Programming Pedagogue

A by

Luis Cruz

The Life of a Computer Programming Teacher

s each minute goes by in room 222, the resonance of keys increases as the fingers of LASA students type in complicated codes. For an hour and a half, their brains process the complex problem solving and algorithmic thinking skills they need to succeed in class. Computer Science teacher, Jake Stephens walks around inspecting every small detail of his students’ work, pointing out syntax errors. He knows these teenagers will be the future of the rapidly progressing tech industry.

Being the teacher of Computer Science and Computer Programming, he Stephens believes it is his responsibility to help his students achieve their aspirations regardless of the obstacles and challenges. “To help students develop skills they can use regardless of what career they decide to pursue.” He said, “These are skills students will need in college and beyond to help them be successful.” His students’ high performance on tests and quizzes reflects on his devotion to the course and his intriguing and dedicated tutorials.

“I realized I wanted more out of my life than what those jobs offered.

I made great money, but at the end of the day I never really felt like I accomplished anything worthwhile.

He never knew it but Jake Stephens had an obsession towards the speedy world of technology.

“As a child I remember wanting to take things apart and then attempt to put them back together again,” He said “

Geekly issue 1

I also remember in high school enjoying the basic computer courses I had access to” Throughout the years, the exponential growth of the tech industry enthralled Stephens. Due to this growth, he knew someway somehow he had to be involved in the tech industry.

“The speed at which technology is changing is really amazing. I believe how we handle this growth (the pros and cons) really will dictate a large part of our future.”

His first job out of college required him to work as wireless carrier he kept this job for ten years. As wireless carrier, he worked three different positions: Radio Frequency Technician, System Performance Engineer and Radio Frequency Engineer.

“After working in the cellular industry for 10 years, I decided it was time to try something different,” Stephens said “I explored some ideas and ended up finding an opportunity to teach at an international school in Chiang Mai, Thailand,” Jake Stephens was not certain what he was getting himself into. He was very worried and was convinced he did not belong in Thailand.

“Growing up I never would have thought about becoming a teacher. I have an aunt and uncle who are teachers, and it never appealed to me.”

Never thinking himself as a teacher Jake Stephens was finally aware of what his latest profession would be. The transformation of jobs had to do with many factors he explained. He says that the lack of excitement of his previous jobs had a great affect on his overall decision.

“It did not take very long for me to realize that I enjoyed this job way more than any of my previous jobs” He says that becoming a teacher would allow him to do countless things and explore many different aspects he believed could shape the minds of the youth and really helped them in life.

“Only to the extent that I realized I wanted more out of my life than what those jobs offered. I made great money, but at the end of the day I never really felt like I accomplished anything worthwhile.” Jake Stephens added.

Fabian Magallan is a currently a freshman attending LASA (Liberal Arts and Science Academy). Freshman Fabian Magallan enjoys technology and he knows he cannot live without it. Fabian shows his interest towards to this hobby by continuously updating his blog that informs reader mostly about to learn

21

Art Credit: Terrence Walker

Liberal Arts And Science Academy Current School where Mr.Stephens about programming since one of his major dreams is to create a game from scratch.

“Obviously I have an interest in technology, particularly relating to computers and video games. I have been playing videogames since I was seven” The first week of Computer Programming did really appeal to Fabian but as the class progress, he knew this was a new experience something different but was certain that this class was exactly what he was looking for.

“At first the class seamed dull and boring, our agenda was filled with projects and worksheets” Fabian added “As we came across our first computer program the class suddenly turned into a place where I could get my daily fix towards my addiction with technology”

The classes taught by Jake Stephens have evidently open doors to many students such as Fabian Magallan who all share the same powerful passion towards technology.

This is palpable due to many students who have admitted that the classes taught by Jake Stephens have showed them a diversity of skills and talents that will for sure aid them in any type of circumstances.

Enthralled by technology and its workings in society, he attained multiple good paying jobs in the tech industry. After working many years he believe it was time to undertake something different something that would give him a sense of achievement. After looking for numerous jobs that will quench his thirst for technology, he found a job as a teacher. A job that would satisfies his necessitate to help others and still peruse his craze for technology “There were times were It was hard to successfully balance the demands of being a teacher with trying to have a life outside of work.”

Jake Stephens said “but I never question the decision I took of becoming a teacher.”

December 2011

Finally.

The Nintendo 3DS that you’ve been waiting for is here.

A new 10-hour battery, deeper 3D and second slide pad are all included in this reiteration. No design flaws.

Just pure genius.