Diary of a Network Geek

The trials and tribulations of a Certified Novell Engineer who's been stranded in Houston, Texas.

9/21/2018

Explore the Universe From Your Desktop

Filed under: Art,Fun — Posted by the Network Geek during the Hour of the Hare which is in the early morning or 7:00 am for you boring, normal people.
The moon is Waxing Gibbous

Fly around the universe, virtually, from your Windows desktop.

Yes, sadly, this is for Windows users only. I try to make these posts as universally appealing as possible, but, sometimes, what I’m offering up is specific to an operating system and just too good to pass up. This is one of those.
Now, of course, I’m a big science-fiction geek and I love the fantasy of zooming through space to other planets and star systems. I suppose it has something to do with growing up watching Star Trek or seeing the original Star Wars (ie. Episode IV) in the theater as a little kid. Whatever the reason, I’ve never gotten past the idea that I’d like to leave Earth and discover the wonders of the universe like the captain of my very own interstellar craft. Sadly, the laws of physics are working against me on realizing that dream. So, until then, I’ll have to just explore the universe with my imagination. Thankfully, according to Lifehacker, there’s a desktop program called SpaceEngine that will help me do just that. If you head over to SpaceEngine.org, you can download the app for free. It’s huge, so it will take some time, but it’s worth it. You may get some warnings from your antivirus when you try to download it, but I found that the fifth “mirror”, which was a Google drive space, seemed to be okay. Once you have it installed, you can soar off to distant stars and planets and let the wonders of our universe wash over you. Frankly, it seems like the perfect escape for a Friday afternoon, especially if you’re reading this blog instead of working.
You’ll want to make sure to read the manual and be patient with the program, though, it is still in beta, after all.
So, check it out and come see what I have for you next week!

This post originally appeared on Use Your Words!

8/18/2017

Free Comics

Filed under: Art,Fun — Posted by the Network Geek during the Hour of the Hare which is terribly early in the morning or 6:00 am for you boring, normal people.
The moon is Waning Crescent

Comic books are cool.

No, seriously, they’re cool again. All those super popular movies, like the Avengers? Totally all comic books. But, also, Atomic Blonde. Yeah, that’s right, that spy thriller set in the last days of the Cold War was a graphic novel first. The thing is, comics have been around for a pretty long time. They got super popular in the Forties and then again in the Eighties and, well, now. And, yes, most of us are familiar with the most famous comic heroes, like Superman and Batman, or more recently, Captain America and Ironman and Spiderman and Wolverine, but there are way more to comic books than that. And, if you want to see some of the older comics, the comics that started all this fun, for free, you’re in luck!
Now, thanks to Comic Book Plus, you can browse through a massive archive of old comic books. There are spy and espionage comics, and sci-fi comics and, yes, even superhero comics. You name the category and it’s probably there. Though, keep in mind that these are mostly pre-1960 comics, so some of our more extreme tastes may not be catered to!

In any case, they’re free and fun and it’s Friday and you can’t convince me that if you’re reading my blog you don’t have time for a classic comic book.
Go check it out!

This post first appeared on Use Your Words, my other blog.

9/18/2015

Best Air Show Ever!

Filed under: Art,Fun,Ooo, shiny...,Photography,Red Herrings — Posted by the Network Geek during the Hour of the Hare which is terribly early in the morning or 6:00 am for you boring, normal people.
The moon is Waxing Crescent

I don’t know about you, but I sure could use a little escape this week!

Seriously, with IT staff and consultants visiting from another country for the launch of a super important project at work this week, I’m pretty wiped out.  I could use a little escapism.  So, nothing to learn this week, or even make you think too hard, really.  Just a bit of science-fiction fantasy to feast your eyes on.
As a kid, I grew up literally under a flight…
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