42 Lounge: Nerds in Downtown Milwaukee

As a science blogger, I love to talk about all things science related with like-minded people. I had my spots in Philadelphia, which was my home for the last 6 years .. until now. I've moved to Milwaukee, and one of my main concerns is making sure I can find places where I can geek out about space, Iron Man 3, and the latest video game.  Luckily I've found a great place to hang out at the 42 Lounge in downtown Milwaukee.

Watching live video game matches like Starcraft at a bar is heaven.

The great thing about places like 42 Lounge is that it has a nerd theme. Video games, tabletop games, and general science and tech talk rule the day - along with alcohol of course! Speaking of drinks, there are some great geek themed drinks from this list - my favorite so far is the Pokemon drink Lavender Town Syndrome (Hpnotiq, Vodka, Grenadine, Sprite).  

Check out the videos below for an interview with 42 Lounge co-owners Tony and Lynn Nilles, as well as a tour of the bar itself.

This post also appears at TWIB.

Forbidden Tech #6 - Fridges

Forbidden Tech is my video series where I talk about pieces of technology that I was not allowed to have as a kid, scarring me forever. Check out the earlier Forbidden Tech videos here.

Why didn't my mom let me have a fridge has a kid? We investigate the case.  Check out the video! If you can't see the video below, click here.

A Moment of Silence for Boston

I try hard to keep this blog science related but I've been overcome by the tragedy in Boston. Instead of sharing pictures of this horrific tragedy, please keep everyone affected in your thoughts. Regular science news will continue tomorrow.

Forbidden Tech #4 - Power Wheels

I had the Big Wheel ...

Couldn't get the Power Wheels ...

Forbidden Tech is my video series where I talk about pieces of technology that I was not allowed to have as a kid, scarring me forever. Check out the earlier Forbidden Tech videos here.

I wanted Power Wheels so bad! I could traverse the terrain of my neighborhood fairly easily with my Big Wheel, but I wasn't rocking in style. Funny thing is, I don't remember seeing many kids in my neighborhood with Power Wheels at all, but that commercial (Pow-pow-power wheels) was the best branding of that time. The song is still stuck in my head.

How do Power Wheels work? A simple rechargeable 12V battery provides power to turn the wheels when a kid presses on the accelerator. Yeah, I definitely wasn't getting one of those.

Check out my video on this - if you can't see it, click here.

International Women's Day: Math is For All

Today is International Women's Day, and we should all celebrate the wonderful women that have made impacts in our lives. Google has an amazing doodle on its homepage to serve as a great launching point.  But y'all know that I'm all about the math and science, and making sure that everyone gets into it. 

Well, everyone except "math is tough" Barbie:

I ran into that video while reading about the stereotype of gender issues between men and women. I've often heard that men are better at math, and it becomes a bit of a self fufilling prophecy when I hear some of the women that I tutor repeat this myth. What boggles the mind is that some of these women repeat it even when they are damned good at math.

An interesting piece of data that comes out of the story is that we focus so much on tests, even though tests don't necessarily reflect classroom performance. We all know that women are beginning to dominate college, and I remember my advanced math and science classes in high school containing men and women. Despite that, repeatedly hearing "women can't do math or science" does have an effect, and at times can be a self fulfilling prophecy. I've tutored women that are stellar in math, yet still believe that they are not.   

Also, there's this:

Math aptitude (even measured at the levels of outstanding instead of average performance) doesn’t explain sex disparities in science careers (most of which, incidentally, only require you to be pretty good at math, as opposed to wildly genius at it). In any case, scoring high in math is only loosely related to who opts for a scientific career, especially for girls. Many high scoring girls don’t go into science, and many poor scoring boys do.

This is key - you only need to be proficient at math and problem solving to be successful in a technical career. You don't need to be AMAZING at it unless you want to be a theorist or go for the PhD.

Let's celebrate International Women's Day by making sure that math and science reflect the diversity of the world!

CES: Stuffing Tech Into a Small Bag

Fresh off of my flight to Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, here's all the tech that I fit in a bag small enough to slide under an airplane seat.

If you can't see the video, please click here.

Merry PiXmas!

Happy holidays! Yes, this is a Christmas stocking in the shape of the math symbol Pi. I got it from ThinkGeek.

Forbidden Tech #3: Ninja Stars

Some kids build nice things. Other kids build dangerous things. But they're still building - same skills that can be used for good! Join my dog Leia and I as we take another stroll down Forbidden Drive in the Germantown area of Philly and talk about tech that we were forbidden to use.

Catch up on other episodes of Forbidden Tech here!

#1ReasonWhy We All Must Stand for Diversity

I've posted in the past about gender diversity in the sciences. There have been gaffes, such as the EU attempt to get women more involved in science by making it "sexy". But there has been plenty of positivity out there too - women like Adria Richards, Clara Ma, Andrea Deveaux, Sally Ride, and the ladies of Nerdgasm Noire Network.

Iit disgusts me to read stories that women in the gaming industry are sharing via the #1ReasonWhy hash tag on twitter, and covered by publications such as Mother Jones and GamesIndustry.biz. Women are not being valued for their contributions to the gaming community and it had to stop if we ever want to be the true center of innovation and excellence that we claim to be.

When women are being asked about husbands and body parts more than there science and tech skills, is there a question why less women wan to enter these industries?

The more women we have making games, the more games we will have that accurately represent the full human condition. Lets face it - a male dominate industry is not good for any of us, especially given the purchasing power if women in our economy.

Discrimination within the science and tech industries only harms us all. Lets put a stop to it.

More Tapes, More Problems: The YTSW3 Aftermath

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on my latest Yeah They Still Work (YTSW) video on cassette tapes. Many people asked to see my collection, so here are some pics!

The motherload.  Not as organized as usual, but the tapes go two levels deep.

i always labeled my mixtapes with a number.  I added the date for later ones.  Here's close to the end of my mixtape era in 1999.

I also labeled the backs with Title and Artist. if I didn't know, I just guessed

I also had plenty of store bought tapes ... Don't Be Cruuuueeelll

I always loved the font choices for album covers. This one is particularly fancy, especially given Bobby Brown's content

I'm a huge fan of liner notes, and I miss them from most digital downloads.

And of course, you get amazing album art!

Presidential Science - Vote!

Today is Election Day in the US. No matter what your political affiliation is, make sure that you exercise your right to vote! Among the many things that the president can influence in four years is science and technology.

Several presidents were science geeks. Truman signed the bill to create the National Science Foundation, Carter helped fund the Hubble Space Telescope, and Kennedy helped launch space exploration by promising to put a man on the moon before anyone really knew how to. Also, President Garfield proved that #ScienceLooksGood by submitting a proof for the Pythagorean theorem, which I'm sure you learned in high school and can recite on command.

T.C Scottek has a lengthy article on The Verge detailing the stances of the four main presidential candidates on various science and tech issues such as the Internet, cyber security, war, and space.. Read up, and vote, vote, vote!!!!

Oh yeah, and vote!

Thank You

Thanks to everyone that voted for this blog during the Black Weblog Awards. I'm pleased to announce that we've won the award for Best Science & Technology blog!
 

This blog is nothing without you. Thank you so much. I love breaking science down into fun, easily understandable chunks of awesome, and I appreciate your support. Now, on with the show!