Galactic Watercooler

#12: Motivations and Self Image

Chuck — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:49:52 +0000

We dive deep into what motivates us to go back to the gym each week and ponder how self-image can both motivate and de-motivate. We also take a great listener question about food tracking apps and on-the-road food options.

#324: Growing Up Geek/Flight of the Navigator

Chuck — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:44:34 +0000

We kick off a new arc in which each of us choose one media object that had a significant effect on our development as a young geek. Up this week is Audra, who takes us on a tour of Flight of the Navigator. And we run down the week in geek, including the awesome Big Bang Theory wedding, news on the upcoming Fast Six flick, and some killer Mass Effect 3 buried dialog.

#33: Monk Massage

Chuck — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:39:31 +0000

Audra tells us about her bookstore massage. Unh huh. Your crew this week: Audra, Chuck. and Juan.

#37: S05E04 Friendly Fire

Chuck — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:34:07 +0000

In what would normally be considered a “filler” episode, Eureka shows us why that moniker isn’t worthy: Friendly Fire takes a short break from major story arc to explore what the show’s recent changes mean to the characters, imbuing them with a depth and complexity we’ve come to expect. Also: Wil Wheaton finally gets the opportunity to play a non-douche, and he kills it, delivering an awesome performance bring both his inner geek and inner professional to bear. Awesome!

#42: Juan Chooses a Tablet

Chuck — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:59:00 +0000

That’s right — Juan finally stepped up and chose his tablet. We share our detailed personal process for selecting the perfect gear, a process you, too, can follow to make sure that when you throw down the big bucks you get something that’ll serve your purposes well for years to come.

#11: Finding Your Core

Chuck — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:44:47 +0000

There’s more to “working your core” than abdominal crunches. We explore the deeper meaning, seeking to find the core of our workout routines — what we need to achieve our goals. We discuss the lesser-known core muscle groups, including the obliques and glutes. We talk about avoiding absolutes to see best results. And we think about what foods work best for what situations, considering nutrition, ease of preparation, and ease of digestion. Remember: You can call in your own questions at 214-296-9229. We’d love to hear from you!

#323: Avengers Pt. 6, The Avengers

Chuck — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:10:49 +0000

Finally! We watch the new Marvel Avengers flick and offer our comments and analysis. Excuse this short (but spoiler-free!) description, but suffice it to say that we had a great time and found lots of interesting moments/meanings. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say, too.

#32: The Audra Show

Chuck — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:02:30 +0000

Audra takes center stage this week, making the show totally worth a listen despite the other hosts’ lameness. Your hosts this week: Audra, Chuck, Audra, Juan, and Audra.

#36: S05E03 Force Quit

Chuck — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:25:41 +0000

We learn to understand and come to grips with last week’s shocking happenings though this week’s offering, diving into what it means for each of the characters and how it’ll affect the remainder of Eureka’s final season.

#41: The Most Popular Android Tablet

Chuck — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:11:45 +0000

We discuss the Kindle Fire, the fact that it’s the best selling Android tablet by far, and what this means for the non-iOS tablet market. We add our thoughts to Woz’s recent evaluation of the Windows phone. We discuss Firefox’ move to automated updates and how it’s time for business apps to build to standards instead of browsers. And we ponder the news of Oracle’s decision to provide direct OS X Java updates. Will it mean better or worse updates going forward?

#10: Personal Networks, Personal Decisions

Chuck — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:55:46 +0000

Being a geek is awesome, and we look at some of the ways your geekdom can help you along the path to fitness. We delve deeper into methods for re-wiring habits. We look at social networks and their effect on fitness decision-making. And we put some thought into becoming ok with making your own decisions — and in the process making those around you more comfortable with your decisions, too.

#322: Avengers Pt. 5, Captain America

Chuck — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:39:49 +0000

Avengers releases this upcoming week, so we’re wrapping up our pre-Avengers re-watch of recent Marvel flicks with 2011′s Captain America. We discuss Steve Rogers’ unsung true superpower and the movie’s interesting selection of rogues. And we run down the week in geek — plus some fun general geeking-out over The Guild and other awesome web vids.

#31: Default Steamer

Chuck — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:25:52 +0000

This week needed especially specially effing, and as usual, we’re there to eff it up right. Your crew this week: Audra, Juan, and Chuck.

#35: S05E02 The Real Thing

Chuck — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:30:29 +0000

Wow. No spoilers in the description, but the shockers continue in this final season of Eureka. We discuss this week’s, um, big change. We talk about what “dark” means in Eureka vs. other SyFy series, like BSG. And we express our eternal love for Felicia Day. We’re gonna go watch some Flog now. Or The Guild. Dammit.

#40: SSD Price Drop, Apple II 30th Anniversary

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:39:48 +0000

We note continued SSD price drops, including Intel’s new sub-$90 60GB model. We share some Apple II experiences in honor of the “computer for the masses’” 30th anniversary. We discuss the pseudo-open-source release of the original Apple II Prince of Persia game source code along with documentation — plus the widespread adoption of older game tech to get new game ideas to market. We review the recently-released Windows 8 product lineup. And we take a look at what might just be the best iPad keyboard/case on the market.

#9: The Many Effects of Diet (Besides Weight/Appearance)

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:22:03 +0000

We discuss the many effects of diet beyond simple weight and appearance. We share our experiences with diet change and what it does to us in terms of energy, hydration, feel, attitude, and sleep. We also take on some listener questions, including whether or not it’s’ ok to eat badly on heavy workout days, the value of Gatorade, and where to find motivation when you’ve experienced many setbacks.

#34: S05E01 Lost

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:12:43 +0000

Eureka is back, and we get to finally dive into the fifth and final season. We discuss the epic plot twists Eureka’s creators take us through, explore the love lives of almost every Eureka character, and speculate on what’s to come.

#321: Avengers Pt. 4, Thor

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:06:07 +0000

The Avengers release grows ever closer as we take a look at the general public’s introduction to Marvel’s Norse god Thor. We find inspiration in Thor’s each-day-at-a-time attitude. We dig into the similarities between Shakespeare’s plays and comic superhero stories, concluding that superhero tales may have a much longer lifespan of cultural significance than many suspect. And we run down the week in geek, including hope for new Star Trek on TV and a re-imagining of one of Audra and Chuck’s favorite XBox console games, Baldur’s Gate.

#30: Own The Meme

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:56:28 +0000

If there ever was a week that needed Effing, this was it. So we effed it. We effed it all up. Your crew this week: Audra, Juan, and Chuck.

#8: Workout Scheduling, BMI and Personal Goals

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:30:52 +0000

We dig into the tricks of finding time in your schedule for a workout and keeping a positive attitude when life happens. We talk about BMI, what it means (and what it doesn’t) and how you can use it and other measurement metrics to work toward your own personal goals. And we take a listener question about working out during pregnancy.

#33: Season 2 Wrap-Up

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:16:04 +0000

In preparation for Eureka’s return to broadcast with new episodes next week, we’re discussing the remaining three episodes of season two this week: Maneater, All That Glitters (Part 1), and A Night At Global Dynamics (Part 2).

#29: 8-Bit Bore

Chuck — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:03:45 +0000

Guess what stupid game young Chuck used to play with his geek friends? On second thought, don’t. Consensus says it’ll bore you to tears. Your crew this week: Audra, Juan, and Chuck.

#320: Avengers Pt. 3, Iron Man 2

Chuck — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 03:37:34 +0000

Our Avengers lead-up arc marches on with a re-watch of Iron Man 2.

#39: Google Goggles, AT&T Unlocks, YouTube Channels

Chuck — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:34:19 +0000

We talk about Google’s theoretical Goggles. We note that AT&T will soon begin unlocking off-contract phones on request. And we cover some of the new grant-funded YouTube content for geeks and how it makes sense of the whole YouTube channels system. Also, we hear from a listener who has first-hand experience with Time Machine backups.

#319: Avengers Part 2, Iron Man

Chuck — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:24:53 +0000

We continue our Avengers arc with the first Iron Man movie. Chuck relates why he connects so much with Tony Stark. We question whether we finally live in a world where a new Iron Man-like story could feature a female protagonist. And we run down the week in geek, including our celebrations of First Contact Day (complete with discussion of Trek’s alternate future) and Nyan Cat’s first birthday, release dates and filming news for a number of superhero sequels, and more.

#7: Habits and Fitness

Chuck — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:15:04 +0000

We discuss the power of Habit (including some information from the new book by Charles Duhigg available this week) and how it fits into the fitness journey. Chuck shares some of his similar experiences, and we apply the concepts of new habit development to everything from visiting the gym regularly to choosing the right foods. We combine habits with a small grey area of forgiveness for best results and talk about how that works.

#28: Nyan Nyan Nyan Nyan Nyan (Cat)

Chuck — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:06:40 +0000

That’s right. We celebrate Nyan Cat’s first b-day with some serious nyanitude. It’s nyaneriffic. Nyantacular. Your hosts this week: Audra, Chuck, and Juan. Nyan.

#32: God Is In The Details

Chuck — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:01:29 +0000

As we eagerly anticipate the return of new Eureka we continue our rewatch with the episode God Is In The Details.

#6: Evaluating Health and Fitness Choices

Chuck — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:27:29 +0000

We discuss the cost/benefit method of evaluating health and fitness choices to pick the path that offers the most returns for your investment of time, effort, and sacrifice when it comes to eating, exercising, and choosing your support system.

#38: Win 8 Consumer Preview, Trackpad Challenge

Chuck — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:13:26 +0000

We download the Windows 8 consumer preview, install it on a VM, and offer some early thoughts as to its functionality and originality. Short version: We love Metro, but we’re not yet sold on its integration — and some of the features scare the hell out of us. Also, Juan takes up the Trackpad Challenge, ditching his beloved mouse for two weeks and replacing it with a multi-touch trackpad, reporting back this week with the results.

#318: Avengers I, Hulk

Chuck — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:03:27 +0000

We kick off our epic Avengers arc leading up to the release of he 2012 movie with a re-watch of the 2008 flick, Hulk. We discuss the magic of comics and what draws people to identify with one hero over another. We examine the Hulk’s history and speculate as to his involvement in the upcoming Avengers team. And we run down the week in geek, including changes in the in-the-works Ninja Turtles film, the story of the lost Star Trek episode and CBS’s reaction to the fan group Phase II’s desire to bring the episode to life, and a robot scrub nurse.

#31: Sight Unseen

Chuck — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 23:29:24 +0000

An invisibility potion gone awry brings Carter and Zoe closer together while moving the Beverly plot forward and threatening everyone’s well-being.

#27: Kick the Missile

Chuck — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:57:16 +0000

Ever been to Pigsknuckle? Yes, you have. But you probably missed the missile. Your hosts this week: Audra, Chuck, and Juan.

#317: John Carter (Live from Meetup)

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 02:01:19 +0000

During the GWC Meetup we took a group of GWCers to see the newly-released John Carter movie, then hit a local bar for beers, snacks, and some podcasting — which you can hear as a segment in this week’s cast. Also, we run down the week in geek, including discussion of the awesome leaked BSG Blood & Chrome sizzler trailer (squee!) and lots more.

#37: Draw Something/360 Cloud Sync Fail

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:56:20 +0000

Juan shares a story about using Skype and Google Hangout to attend his mother’s birthday party while sick with the flu — and even recruit friends from around the country to sing the famous happy birthday song. We discuss the new viral iOS game app Draw Something and how it netted its creator around $200 million this week. And we relate our experiences with the new Xbox 360 cloud sync for game saves as well as some best practices to avoid inadvertently leaving your saves “locked” to an Xbox 3000+ miles away (cough, cough, JUAN).

#36: Modern Geeking the GWC Meetup

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:48:01 +0000

This week we run down some of the fun gear we use to live-stream the 2012 GWC Meetup podcasts and take questions from the live audience.

#30: Meetup Eureka/Our Favorites

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:42:33 +0000

We’re joined by a couple of Eureka fans who skipped dinner at the 2012 GWC International Meetup to talk Eureka. (They’re big fans, like us, yo!) We run down some of our favorite moments, favorite characters, and favorite storylines. Note: We talk full season 4 in this episode, so if you’re watching for the first time, you might want to save this episode for later.

#35: The New iPad/ME3 Dynamics

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:37:01 +0000

We walk you through the details of the New iPad announcement including iOS 5.1 (and all its changes), the new Retina display, the updated camera, voice dictation, new 4G LTE radios, a slightly-more-portly weight and size, and a new battery to keep battery life similar. We also note Bioware’s awesome decision to include a dynamic range setting in Mass Effect 3′s config menus, allowing you to dial up and down the game’s audio dynamic range to simplify play on high-end sound systems or in noisy environments.

#316: Live from the 2012 Internat’l Meetup

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:29:51 +0000

We spend an hour and a half or so hanging out with some of our favorite people in the world — the 2012 GWC International Meetup attendees! It’s a pretty free-flow podcast, so if this is your first GWC ‘cast, you might want to back up one or head forward one to get a better idea of what we do each week. But if you’d like to hear from 50 or so GWCers, you’ve come to the right place.

#5: Working Out and Eating on The Road

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:22:03 +0000

We discuss the difficulties (and tricks to) working out and maintaining diet while traveling for work and pleasure. And we take a ton of listener calls, addressing topics including how to know when it’s ok to *not* work out, how to get back on the fitness track after an injury, how shoes can affect your workouts and body, what are the best times to work out, and how to make time for fitness in a busy schedule.

#26: The Effing Meetup

Chuck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:12:44 +0000

Your crew this week: Audra, Juan, Chuck, and about 50 others fresh from the hotel bar just around the corner from the 2012 GWC International Meetup podcast room. We’re all a little punchy, but hey — it’s the meetup.

#315: Mass Effect 2/3, Jennifer Hale, Maggie Baird

Chuck — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:37:52 +0000

We roll through Mass Effect 2 and some non-spoilery ME3 discussion joined by guests Maggie Baird (voice of Samara) and Jennifer Hale (voice of FemShep). Ms. Baird introduces us to the world of voice acting and specifically the Mass Effect interview and recording process. And Ms. Hale offers some insight into breathing life into a character which the actor can’t see or control — all of which just gets us completely wound up to play our copies of ME3.

#29: E=MC

Chuck — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:28:39 +0000

Yet again Carter saves the day with some simple logic in E=MC. We check out the first appearance of one of our favorite characters, Zane, and chat about what each character’s “dumb” version says about them and the show.

#25: Podcast Number One

Chuck — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:24:23 +0000

Wow. Just when I think a podcast title couldn’t get more apt. Your crew this week: Audra, Juan, and Chuck.

#34: Apple Pre-Event, Win Skype

Chuck — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:32:13 +0000

We put a little thought into this week’s Apple event and its likely launch of the iPad 3. We discover that Microsoft Flight is going free-to-play. We talk about Microsoft’s push for Win-phone Skype compatibility. We discuss AT&T’s latest wireless data bandwidth fiasco. And we think about HBO’s future with the XBox.

#314: Mass Effect 1/2

Chuck — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:21:38 +0000

We continue our Mass Effect 1 discussion, running down characters and races, then tread briefly into the second game’s more advanced storyline. Also, we run down the week in geek, including an analysis of the latest super-awesome Avengers trailer and Black Widow’s bring-a-gun-to-a-God-fight, um, participation.

#4: Choosing and Using a Trainer

Chuck — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:12:01 +0000

We discuss how trainers work: what they do, how to choose one, and how to make use of one. A good trainer can help you create a customized workout plan, help with nutrition, introduce you to equipment and exercises, and generally help you feel at home at the gym, but finding the right trainer for you is critical to success. Mitch shares some great insider knowledge about how to tell whether your trainer is a match, and Chuck shares some band geek private lesson experiences that informed his selection. We also take a number of listener questions sent in via voice mail, Facebook, Twitter, and email.

#28: Family Reunion

Chuck — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 03:58:59 +0000

We discuss Carter’s history and reasons for his overprotective nature with Zoe. We enjoy Fargo’s ascension to main character status. And we discuss Carter’s decision to deny Zoe coffee in detail, leading to recollections of some of our own childhood caffeine foolishness.

#24: Holy Dick in a Box

Chuck — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 03:37:59 +0000

Yeah, so that happened. In the words of some famous showmen, this episode has proven very effective at offending the easily offended. So if you’re one of them, don’t listen. Favorite chat room quips: “Only the penitent man will pass” and, of course, “THAT’s the foreskin of a carpenter.” Your crew this week: Audra, Juan, and Chuck.

#3: Nutrition

Chuck — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:42:12 +0000

Exercise is only part of the fitness equation. In this episode we discuss nutrition and how to develop both long-term and short term food plans to reach your goals. We walk through the basics of estimating your calorie burn (with or without electronic aid), converting your weight loss/gain/recomposition goals into calorie goals, and choosing food that makes sense for your needs. Most importantly, we discuss how to nurture your own “BS detector” when it comes to fad diets and extreme changes. Finally, we talk about some of our favorite foods and how they fit into our fitness plans. Note: This is the last of our pre-recorded podcasts. Your next episode of FitSmart will arrive next week and will include listener calls! You can call in your questions, comments, and concerns at 214-296-9229.