The QQ Cast

Monday, October 13, 2014

QQ News: October 5th, 2014

A fire hose of geeky news headlines for the weeks leading to October 5th, 2014.

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Headlines

00:00 - Date and Introductions
01:15 - Mojang Joins Microsoft; Founders Leaving (EscapistMagazine)
07:15 - eSports 'Not A Sport' Says ESPN President (Kotaku)
14:15 - Forget 9: Microsoft Introduces Windows 10 (EscapistMagazine)
19:50 - iPhone 6 Sales Pass 10 Million Mark In First Weekend (IGN)
27:05 - iOS 8.0.1 Update Breaking Touch Id, Cellular Reception (IGN)
28:55 - The Potato Salad Kickstarter Festival Actually Happened (Kotaku)
29:30 - Nintendo Celebrates Its 125th Anniversary (NintendoLife)
30:00 - Smash Bros Sells One Million Copies in Two Days (EscapistMagazine)
30:40 - Sony Financials: $2.2 Billion Net Loss This Year (EscapistMagazine)
31:30 - Woman Suing Disney: Claims Frozen Is Based On Her Life Story (IGN)
32:25 - First Dragon Quest Game Heads to iOS and Android (Rpgamer)
32:50 - Destiny Ships $500 Million (Joystiq)
33:20 - League of Legends Completely Restarts its Lore (IGN)
35:00 - Final Fantasy XV Director Leaves, Focusing on Kingdom Hearts III (IGN)
36:25 - TGS 2014: Here's the new Final Fantasy 15 Trailer (IGN)
37:00 - Final Fantasy 15 Director: Gender Bias Is "Not Healthy" (IGN)
38:35 - The Man Who Saved Final Fantasy XV (Kotaku)
41:00 - Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Adds Easy Mode, Cuts Co-op (Kotaku)
42:40 - Final Fantasy 13 Trilogy To Launch On PC Starting Next Month (IGN)
44:10 - Wrap up and rapid fire news reel!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

QQ Recommends [Web Series]: SF Debris

"Just a science fiction reviewer with an opinion."

Do you enjoy Star Trek, Doctor Who, Stargate, Farscape, or science fiction movies in general? Do you like to learn about behind the scenes writing, production, and development of these franchises? If so, then all you need is a sense of humor and you'll love SF Debris video reviews!

Charles Sonnenburg creates three videos every week for various science fiction television shows and movies. His "opinionated guides" offer humorous commentary and insightful behind the scenes production information about your favorite series.

http://sfdebris.com/

Enjoy,
Tom

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Quest 31: What are enemies of productivity for a Software Engineer?

Special Guest: Sans Dan!

Quest 31 shakes out a few things that reduce the productivity of Software Engineers (and really, everyone (but mostly software engineers)).

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Minutes

00:00 - Mic Check and Introductions
02:20 - What is Tom up to, or is the Walking Dead on Patreon?
10:40 - What is Jordan up to, or is Apple his new Destiny?
20:00 - Why do programmers need to be productive?
21:45 - Are meetings really necessary?
26:15 - How long should you schedule a meeting for?
31:00 - What should be on your meeting agenda?
34:40 - Do you always take action items from meetings?
36:00 - Is it bad to read your email in real time?
41:30 - How do you not forget about follow-up emails?
45:15 - Are you sending the right emails?
50:20 - How can new hires perfect help you optimize your process?
58:20 - Why is automation the ultimate productivity tool?
67:30 - Should you be time boxing more activities?
78:15 - Wrap up!

Music

Final Fantasy VII 'A World of Piano'

Monday, September 8, 2014

QQ News: September 1st, 2014

A fire hose of geeky news headlines for the weeks leading to September 1st, 2014.

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Headlines

00:00 - Date and Introductions
00:50 - Dragon Quest Heroes coming to Dynasty Warriors (Joystiq)
02:15 - Report: More Dragon Quest mobile ports on the way (Joystiq)
03:35 - Nintendo Just Announced a New 3DS, Has Another Analog Stick (Kotaku)
07:20 - Xenoblade Chronicles Gets A Port, But Only For The New 3DS (Kotaku)
09:00 - Who The Hell Is Watching Porn On a 3DS? (Kotaku)
10:05 - Mario Kart's Most Hated Item Is Actually Its Best (Kotaku)
11:40 - Xenoblade Protagonist Shulk Joins the Smash Bros. Roster (Kotaku)
12:30 - Amazon Buys Twitch For $970 Million (Kotaku)
13:55 - Why Google Backed Out of Buying Twitch (EscapistMagazine)
14:20 - Amazon Exec: We Don't "Want to Change" Twitch (EscapistMagazine)
15:00 - Report: 92 percent of PC game sales in 2013 were digital (Joystiq)
16:30 - Online Attacks Cripple Sony, Riot, Blizzard (Kotaku)
19:55 - Valve Taken To Court Over Its Refund Policy (Kotaku)
21:25 - Go GOG! 30 day money back guarantee (GOG)
23:45 - Around 335,000 attend Gamescom 2014 (Joystiq)
26:30 - Lohan Just Wants Publicity, Rockstar Alleges (EscapistMagazine)
27:50 - Most Pics In IKEA Catalogues Aren't Photos, They're 3D Renders (Kotaku)
31:45 - The World's Most Expensive Comic Sold For Over $3 Million (Kotaku)
32:55 - Guardians of The Galaxy Becomes #1 Film of 2014 (EscapistMagazine)
33:45 - Nintendo Reveals Pokemon Fighting Game (EscapistMagazine)
34:35 - Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Gets Its First Major Update (Kotaku)
35:30 - Zelda And Animal Crossing Mario Kart 8 DLC (EscapistMagazine)
36:45 - Wrap up and rapid fire news reel!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Quest 30: Are we finally living in the future?

Special Guest: Bobby Ross VI!

Quest 30 wonders if we're living in the future now based on our expectations of Science Fiction, dreams, and conventional media.

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Minutes

00:00 - Mic Check and Introductions
03:00 - What is Jordan up to, or what's in a presidential library?
07:30 - What is Bobby up to, or how mobile is his hot spot?
12:25 - What is Tom up to, or how fast is the FZ-09?
18:15 - Are we finally living the future?
22:45 - Is there anything that you can't just order online?
28:20 - When do we choose to not use digital distribution?
34:10 - Did any science fiction predict streaming?
38:50 - Is social media a primary means of communication?
47:15 - Are we already driving in the future?
53:15 - How amazing is modern medical technology?
64:15 - Is the future more ecologically friendly?
70:40 - Wrap up and hot seat!

Music

Super Mario Bros. 'The Life and Death of the Mario Brothers'

Recommended Links

Motorcycle Crash Rider Flips Onto Moving Car

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

QQ News: August 17th, 2014

A slightly solemn fire hose of geeky news headlines for the weeks leading to August 17th, 2014.

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Headlines

00:00 - Date and Introductions
01:15 - Robin Williams Dies at 63 (IGN)
03:35 - Fans Want A WoW Tribute To Robin Williams (Kotaku)
05:20 - Obsidian Lands Paizo's Pathfinder License (EscapistMagazine)
06:15 - Pokemon Trading Card Game Coming To iPad (Kotaku)
07:00 - XCom: The Board Game Needs You, Commander (EscapistMagazine)
08:00 - Kojima promises Silent Hills will make players ruin their pants (Joystiq)
10:40 - TMNT Remains No. 1; Expendables 3 Misfires (IGN)
13:30 - TMNT Sequel Already Confirmed For 2016 (EscapistMagazine)
15:30 - Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition hits 58GB in EU (Joystiq)
16:25 - Rise of the Tomb Raider Isn't Really An 'Xbox Exclusive' (Kotaku)
18:55 - Sierra Returns With Geometry Wars & Kings Quest (RockPaperShotgun)
21:30 - Flappy Birds is Back- But Only On Amazon (EscapistMagazine)
22:15 - Beta characters won't transfer to full version of Destiny (Joystiq)
24:15 - Square Enix Enjoys Strong Financial Results (IGN)
25:45 - Big Bang Theory Stars Gets $1 Million Per Episode(EscapistMagazine)
27:10 - Diablo 3, Reaper of Souls condemn 20 million souls (Joystiq)
27:45 - Twitch Comes Down Hard On Unlicensed Music (IGN)
31:15 - Twitch CEO Admits 'We Screwed Up' With New Policies (IGN)
33:40 - Dargon Quest 4 Launched on iOS (Kotaku)
36:00 - Wrap up and rapid fire news reel!

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Quest 29: What is some advice for aspiring programmers?

Special Guest: Sans Dan!

Quest 29 gets personal with programmer talk; advice, tips, origin stories, and mantras included! Batteries, however, are still not included.

Direct Download

Minutes

00:00 - Guardians of the Galaxy QQ Reviews and Introductions
05:00 - What is Jordan up to, or how awesome is Bioshock Infinite?
10:50 - What is Tom up to, or is who did he kill in Walking Dead Season 2?
14:10 - When did Tom first start programming?
18:45 - How did Jordan first start programming?
23:40 - Is learning to program an iteration of hitting brick walls?
30:50 - How can people start learning to program?
36:40 - Do we have any advice for parents who want their kids to code?
40:55 - Why are personal projects important?
48:00 - Are there any programming mantras that we like?
57:45 - What is the 80/20 rule?
65:20 - Can you work with software and not be a programmer?
72:50 - What is one piece of advice to give new developers?
74:00 - Wrap up!

Music

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link 'The Temple Revisited'

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