3) Set up an in-house music server (or set up an online radio tuner)

Of all of the things we’ve learned to do with our computers, it seems that music and video became top priorities after we figured out that we could fit tons of albums onto a relatively small amount of disk space. When record labels (finally) realized that this was going to be the primary way of accessing music, services like Pandora and iTunes popped up and changed the world. Suddenly music on a computer wasn’t just a novelty; it was how people would primarily listen — be it on a desktop computer or a pocket-sized music player (that might run Linux).

If you’ve got a music library on the computer small or large, chances are that you run it by clicking on the mouse and setting up playlists. If you’d like to try that wirelessly and with far more control over your computer, read on.

Where to start:
MPD is an impressive program that allows you to run a music server on a computer and control it from anywhere. While the most obvious answer is to keep it running off a local wireless network while controlling it from another computer (or phone), it is possible to run this and control it over the internet with the right tools. In addition, it is also quite simple to make your own playlists that fire off with a touch of a button, or create a preset that will play online radio as you wish.

MPD is a bugger to configure, but with the right amount of research and patience you can control your music library from anywhere on a local network from another computer or a cell phone. For the far more adventurous, you can attempt to hack an extra wireless box to act as a Wi-fi radio, playing local music and online stations that you can control elsewhere.

4) Make it look like a Mac

On one hand, making your computer look like a Macintosh might feel like a step backward, or at least an unnecessary makeover. On the other hand, there seems to be a healthy, thriving world of Linux users that make it their goals to make Linux look better than any other operating system out there. Linux usually has a reputation of looking rather ugly and utilitarian, which isn’t all that surprising considering it’s heritage as an OS for servers and tech geeks. Yet the look of Linux has improved dramatically over the years, much to the point that it competes, if not outright exceeds, the look and ease of its Windows and OSX counterparts.

Where to Start:
Macbuntu is a simple compilation of freebie add-ons and settings that can make an Ubuntu-friendly distribution look like a Mac. It’s quite the simple procedure — unzip the package, open a terminal (right-click in the unzipped folder) and type “./install – force” and it should work. Just follow the directions and simply hit Enter if you’re stumped. Try it out on a Live USB or CD first if you’re nervous, or just want to annoy a Mac cultist at the office. At the very least, this can make your desktop look quite familiar if you’re used to the simple look of a Mac.

Here’s my experiment running Linux Mint off of a CD:

5) Scan for viruses and other malware in a Windows computer

Since this is a blog with “geekery” in its name, we’re certain that you’ve been called on by a family or friend for some free tech advice or repair. And since we’ve got the word “faith” in our name, we celebrate things like the fruit of the Spirit such as kindness and patience one might need when dealing with obstinate hardware.

So when called to help someone out, it’s not that hard to guess what is going on: spyware and other junk has kept someone’s computer from doing more than putting ads on the screen. Or the startup fails, or virus warnings keep coming up from outdated programs. There’s plenty that can go wrong, and instead of going the usual geek route of complaining about Windows, do one better: Save their computer with a Linux rescue disc.

Where to start:
Since Linux was created as an open-source project, and the abundant add-ons are often free as well, it isn’t too difficult to find a few projects aimed at burning a distribution to a CD. BootMed is a live CD that is meant to be used by Windows users not familiar with Linux. They say the project can help with booting issues and a few other projects, such as virus scanning.

Trinity Rescue Kit is another project with an impressive list of things it can accomplish: backup computers, multiple scans for viruses and other malware, clean temp files, and plenty more that could help get a computer up and running again. Maybe keeping a copy on a USB or CD when visiting the families over the holidays might be a good way to impress distant relatives who worry that you’re stuck behind a computer all day.

These five projects are just the beginning of what you can do with Linux. What sort of projects have you tried?

The annual San Diego Comic-Con has been taking place for the last several days and there’s a lot of news coming out of the event — too much, really, for any one place. Rather than offer an ongoing barrage of announcements, we’re collecting all the biggest headlines right here (for a source of much more complete coverage, I’d recommend checking out IGN). If we’ve missed a particularly tasty tidbit of info, please let us know in the comments!

• Recently rumored, now confirmed: Mark Ruffalo is replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers movie.
• Speaking of the Avengers flick and recent rumors, also confirmed is the rumor that Joss Whedon himself will be directing Marvel’s giant team-up movie. Whedon has also since revealed that Hawkeye will be joining the Avengers, played by Jeremy Renner.
• Disney is going to try again with a film adaptation of The Haunted Mansion (sans Eddie Murphy this time). Directing this new attempt will be none other than Guillermo del Toro (whose Spanish-language production The Orphanage was one the creepiest and most well-done ghost movie I’ve ever seen).
• There has been lots of news about the upcoming movies for Marvel’s Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, including production stills, movie posters, concept art, and the launch of  official websites for both films.
• Oh, and hey…how about a new trailer for Tron: Legacy? Thought you’d like that.

That’s really about it for the big news (so far), but I’d recommend going out and digging up the details on whatever else is of specific interest to you; there’s a lot out there.

One last bit of exciting news for me is the tantalizing tease that Marvel threw out about the return of the Crossgen comic universe. Back in the early 2000′s, Crossgen Comics debuted with comics about pirates, ninjas, space heroes, and all kinds of fun, non-superheroey stuff. The comics were great and while each title stood on its own, they were all tied together with threads of an all-encompassing larger story. After several years of publication, this larger story was building to a payoff in an epic mini-series — which stopped after issue #2 because the company went bankrupt. The story has remained unresolved ever since.

Disney, however, snapped up the assets when the company hit the auction block, and now Disney owns Marvel, too. Regardless of whether or not Marvel plans to finally give fans the end of the story or not, I’m very interested to see what they do with some of the original Crossgen properties.

Personally, I’ve never been much for making New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that I think I don’t need to change anything in my life; it’s more that flipping over a calendar page doesn’t really hold any associations of a “fresh start” or anything like that for me. I tend to take more of a view that if something is amiss in my life, I should take steps to change it as quickly as possible rather than waiting for January.

Regardless, many people do make resolutions, and while the stereotypical view is that such things are abandoned mere weeks into the new year, for many people it’s a serious, life changing thing. In a fit of curiosity this morning, though, I started looking around the web to see what sort of resolutions my fellow geeks were making this year, and I found some interesting ones. Perhaps they may inspire you to make some geeky resolutions of your own!

• [I] will try very hard to make sure my kids spend at least as much time reading as they do playing video games, even if that means occasionally buying or borrowing cringe-worthy novelizations of High School Musical or something similar, because even reading something lousy is better than not reading. (From Wired‘s GeekDad blog post of 2010 resolutions, part 2; part one is here.)
• I resolve that I will not get all worked-up over upcoming television shows and movies. The disappointment is just too great. I still haven’t gotten over Firefly being canceled. (From TechRepublic‘s 2010 geek resolutions.)
• [Take] a little time every week to get my digital and tech life in order. That means cleaning out my inbox, closet, and cryptic Post It messages I wrote at 3 a.m. on Thursday and reminding myself to follow my own advice. (From GeekSugar’s guide to organizing your tech life in 2010.)
• Switch from Braaaaiinnnnsss to Diet Braaaaiinnnnsss. (The folks at ThinkGeek are always paying attention to the important things.)
• Adjust my physical form to more resemble Red Five (Luke Skywalker) than Red Six (Jek Porkins). (Geeks need to make the “lose weight” resolution, too, but we’ll use our own preferred phrasing for it. From another TechRepublic list.)
• Organize my files better…My documents, photos, music, etc. are all over my hard disk. (Me too. Ugh. From ForeverGeek.)

For those of you who are making genuine resolutions, there are plenty of geeky ways to help yourself stay on top of them. Lifehacker has posted some good ideas as well as links to free tools that can make achieving your goal easier or just help keep you accountable.

What are some of your geeky goals for 2010 (whether humorous or serious) and how do you plan to make sure you accomplish them?

AM radio is a strange beast that’s been a boon to radio hobbyists for as long as it has been around. Due to the nature of the AM radio dial, the signals can bounce off the atmosphere and are received far from their place of origin. At night, layers of atmosphere dissipate, meaning that the “skip” of the signal can be even further. An AM station with little interference and moderate strength can be heard thousands of miles away at night, and even the smallest of stations might be heard many countries away. So if you’re on the road after dark this Christmas, start with a few of these suggestions to make the hours go by.

650 WSM, Nashville.  This station, located in the country-music holy site of Opryland, has been on the air for over eighty years. The station has a deep connection with country music and the music scene in Nashville — enough so that listeners and musicians joined in protest when owners threatened to change the station to a Sports Talk format. The music is a mixture of old-time country and bluegrass, and new music you’d expect the old-timers to respect, with announcers that seem to exude the down-home feel of the music.

740 CFZM, Toronto. It’s undergone a few name changes, but for the past decade or so, this has been a beacon of “Adult Standards,” the big-band era of the 40s and 50s, on the AM dial in the midwest and northeast United States. The station’s website plays this up with pictures of the announcers in the dress of the era and nicknames from the time. Other programs on the station dive into love songs, radio dramas, and oldies countdown shows, giving the station a bit of an old-time feel to match the music.

830 WCCO, Minneapolis. The “Big 8-3-0″ is still something of a standard in Minnesota. It’s one of the few stations receivable in almost any corner of the state, and while its influence has faded somewhat thanks to the loss of sports coverage and media changes in general, WCCO still keeps itself relevant by being featuring local news, announcers, and information 24/7 — a rare thing these days.

860 CJBC, Toronto. How is your French? Canada’s French public-broadcaster Société Radio-Canada broadcasts news and talk programs most of the time, but also has been known to veer into musical programs. You might even hear a little French rap music now and then.

870 WWL, New Orleans. This station has changed hands and formats numerous times in its 80+ years of operation, these days focusing on news and the New Orleans Saints games. While still worth listening to, the station became famous nationally in 2005 during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. WWL was one of the very few stations still broadcasting live during the storms (at one point broadcasting from a makeshift studio in a closet). During the height of the confusion and disaster, they joined with other stations in town to form “United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans,” a group of stations within the affected areas that worked together to get as much information out to victims as possible.

990 Winnipeg/540 Regina – CBC Radio One. Canada’s English Public Broadcaster has a few AM stations in major cities, but these two cover quite a bit of the northern US at night. Listen for news and insightful talk programs that sound much like NPR, but with a much more Canadian angle. For an extra treat for late-nighters, check out their international overnight programming from other countries.

And here’s a few long shots. You might get them just fine, you might barely hear them, or you may strike out, but it’s fun to at least try:

- 530 CIAO, Brampton, Ontario. Other than tiny stations aimed at informing travellers, the 530 frequency is not assigned to any full power stations in the US. In fact, one of the few on the continent is CIAO. It’s also unique in the music and programming they play — much of the music and news is aimed at the minorities in their listeneing area, specifically those from Southeast Asia, Poland, or the Philippines. The station itself has somewhat low power, but since little else is in the way, give it a shot — there’s not much else like it on the dial.

- 1610, The Carribean Beacon, Anguilla. The island country east of Puerto Rico unfotunately does not originate its own programming on this station. It’s from a deceased television preacher named Gene Scott and his widow Melissa. Years after his death the station runs taped programs of him preaching, with his wife now adding her voice along. Admittedly, it’s not the most compelling thing to listen to (although Dr. Scott was known to chomp on a cigar while preaching, occasionally meandering into talking about his prized horses; even in the world of TV preachers, he was a bit of an odd duck), but it is a chance to hear a station from far off lands from the comfort of your own car driving down the road.

The last month or so has seen the arrival of preview trailers for some much-awaited geeky movies, and while some of them have been on the web longer than others, we’d still be remiss if we didn’t call your attention to them.  You know, just in case you haven’t already run across them.

For starters, we have the first real trailer for Tim Burton’s upcoming take on Alice in Wonderland.  Starring some of his usual favorites (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter) as well as some other well-known actors (Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman, and many more), this film is not just an adaptation, but apparently a sequel of sorts, as it’s about Alice’s return to Wonderland.

As is also par for the course with Tim Burton, this movie is clearly full of dazzling, imaginative, and slightly twisted imagery that should make it a real treat.  It arrives from Disney next March.  (HD trailer at the official site.)

Next is the final trailer for James Cameron’s much-hyped Avatar.  This is the first feature film he’s directed since Titanic, and he’s certainly looking to make a splash with it.  As he has done with other films like Titanic and the Terminator and Alien movies, Cameron has worked long and hard to develop new technology and techniques to help him tell this story.

The story goes that Cameron’s had the idea for this film in his head ever since making Titanic, but only after he saw Gollum in Lord of the Rings did he believe that technology had advanced enough to make it possible.  The movie is allegedly comprised of a full 60% photo-realistic CGI characters and elements, so I suppose that only time will tell if he was right and if Avatar is everything it’s cracked up to be.

With a December 18th release date, we don’t have long to wait to find out if Avatar fully lives up to its hype.  If this trailer is to be believed, though, one way or another it will be an epic sci-fi fantasy.  (HD trailer at the official site.)

Finally, we have another offering from Disney.  With Pirates of the Caribbean 4 simmering in a slow-but-certain development cycle, The House of Mouse needed another quasi-supernatural adventure to put audiences in theater chairs for a little while.  Having successfully adapted a theme park ride into a blockbuster movie series, they (with returning Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer) have now turned their attention to a medium that has seen very few (if any) successful quality film adaptations: video games.

Think about the last time you saw a movie based on a game that was actually any good.  Kudos to you if you can come up with one, because I’m at a loss.  Thus it’s with guardedly optimistic feelings that I watch this debut trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (HD trailer here).

I’m a fan of all of the recent Prince of Persia games; while they may float in the shallow end of the plot pool, they’re full of fast-paced, fun platform-style gameplay, witty dialogue, memorable characters, and gorgeous locations.  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has a great cast, with Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular prince, Sir Ben Kingsley as the villain, and both Alfred Molina and Gemma Arterton playing key roles.

If Bruckheimer and company can successfully turn a 40-year-old boat ride populated with jerky animatronic swashbucklers into a successful film franchise, I see no reason why they can’t be the first to put together a quality video game adaptation.

Here’s hoping!

I have explored the hidden realm of Neverwhere, trekked through the fairy tale world of Stardust, sifted through the bewildering theological milieu of American Gods, gone through the door with Coraline, and am currently well on the way to finishing Anansi Boys.  In the process, I’ve added another author to my list of favorites and a lot more books to my reading list.

Neil Gaiman has a wonderfully overactive imagination that concocts vivid fantasy worlds that are often just barely separated from our own; he frequently writes about and captures worlds that exist just beneath the visible surface of our own world, populated with fantastic, colorful characters that exist in the oblivion of ordinary people whose ordinary lives keep them too busy to notice.  He also writes with a wonderfully dark, dry sense of humor that’s only ever possible or effective when attempted by a British person.

Gaiman’s fantasies are particularly engrossing because of what they reveal.  They make us confront things that we’d rather not think about — shortcomings and insecurities both personal and societal, the ugly and lazy and selfish aspects of life and relationships.  At the same time, he revels in the joys of living, loving, and learning, despite the difficulties present in all of those things.  Although he is clearly not writing from a Christian perspective and some of his stories (or even merely elements in them) are critical of the Christian faith, there is much that we can glean from what he has to say.

The very excellent blog Filmwell has recently posted a two-part series by Jeffrey Overstreet that examines the movie adaptations of Coraline and MirrorMask — the ups and downs of both stories, the correlations between the two, how they relate to similar classic stories, and what we can take away from them.  It’s an excellent series and worth checking out.

Iron Man

By the way, if you haven’t seen Iron Man, do.

Anyways, in addition to being a good actor, Jeff Bridges is also (apparently) a pretty good photographer, and he’s put together a “book” of artful photos from his time on the set of Iron Man.  For people like me who enjoy glimpses into the movie-making process, it’s fun to look backstage a little, and especially to see the actors in circumstances outside of the protection of makeup, lights, and theatricality that movies, professional interviews, and red-carpet coverage usually afford them.

It was also fun to see what were probably some of the last photographs of Stan Winston before his all-too-early death, as well as get a glimpse into his studios.

(Photo courtesy of JeffBridges.com.)

To get a refresher on the point system, check out the original post.

Now…first the answers, then the winners.  And to see how individual people did, or who competed, or even to remember your own answers, the submissions have been approved and are now posted at the original quiz linked above.

Answers and Winners: Movie Quotes Quiz 2!

1. “I can do anything I want!  I’m eccentric.”
   Donald Sinclair (John Cleese) in Rat Race
2. “The line must be drawn here!  This far, no further!  And I will make them pay for what they’ve done!”
   Captain Jean Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: First Contact
3. “Well, think me up a cup of coffee and a chocolate doughnut with some of those little sprinkles on top, just as long as you’re thinking.”
   Deputy Marshall Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) in The Fugitive
4. “Come in, my child.  We mustn’t lurk in doorways.  It’s rude.  One might question your upbringing.”
   Ursula (Pat Carroll) in The Little Mermaid
5. “I just want to talk with you.  We know all about the hoax.  We already took some of your friends downtown in a paddy wagon.”
   Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) in Signs
6. “Search the skies if you must, Minister, but now I think I’ll have a nice cup of tea, or a large brandy.  Oh, and executioner, your services are no longer required.”
   Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
7. “Would you like to see him crush me like a worm?”
   William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart
8. “I can’t look.  Could somebody please cover my eyes?”
   Rex (Wallace Shawn) in Toy Story II
9. “I would trade three hundred thousand coconuts and every ounce of your blood for a quart of gasoline!”
   Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) in Superman Returns
10. “There hasn’t been a murder in six years.  The system, it is perfect.”
    John Anderton (Tom Cruise) in Minority Report
11. “I have ice in my glass… And I’ve lost her all over again.
    Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) in Cast Away
12. “You know, I’ve had more rewarding friendships than this one.  Although I do get to keep telling the same jokes.”
    Officer John “Teddy” Gammell (Joe “Joey Pants” Pantoliano) in Memento
13. “I think my eyes are getting better.  Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big light blur.”
    Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
14. “So tell me, what’s become of my ship?”
    Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
15. “Why do we even have that lever?”
    Yzma (Eartha Kitt) in The Emperor’s New Groove
16. “Well, there’s this pirate… In truth I have not written a word.”
    Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) in Shakespeare in Love
17. “Can you think of a plan that doesn’t involve your ten-year-old sister joining the army?”
    Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) in War of the Worlds
18. “No wonder this circuit failed!  It says ‘Made in Japan.’”
    Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) in Back to the Future Part III
19. “Somebody help me, I’m being spontaneous!”
    Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) in The Truman Show
20. “When was it you started thinking you were better than me?”
    Nick Wells (Robert DeNiro) in The Score

And now to the points (due to some very close answers, I’m giving half-points for “almost correct” movie guesses, like guessing the wrong movie in the correct series):

• Suzanne: 13.5 points
• David Norris: 48 points
• Drew: 20.5 points
• Lauryn: 21 points
• Lee McKusick: 9.5 points
• Triton: 15 points

And to nobody’s surprise, David Norris (who seems to have the world’s best brain for movie quotes, characters, and actors) wins by a wide margin.  David, I’m always impressed.  Congratulations to you…I wish I had more to give you, but my amazement will have to do for now. 

Thanks, everyone for playing!  Until next time…