The Geekbox: Episode 20

[Rydog]

Give our awesome 20th episode a listen right here. Sheesh, never thought we'd make it this far...

[docbrown976]

Have just finished listening, was great. It helped pass an hour or so of work this morning...
That Fitch chap might have a shock when he visits Essex, its not as 'country' as he made out. It is a complete shit hole. Manchester isn't, he should visit there. He'd be able to pass Liverpool too, and i'm a southerner promoting the north here...

Also, Fitch's voice wears on me. Anyone else?

[Charmed Quark]

I've just downloaded the episode and haven't listened yet, but wanted to comment on this post.

Not all parts of Essex are crap - just the parts near London...it's nice out near Saffron Walden etc in the north of the county. Why promote the industrial wasteland that is the North , the South is way nicer and he should visit the south coast, Devon and Cornwall. It's awesome there - if the weather doesn't suck which, sadly, it kinda does

[GiantAsianMan]

Quick Burn Notice note- at the end of this past episode, where Michael bluffs the threat on Brennen's kid's life, it wasn't just "you take aim at my family, I take aim at yours", it was a reference to the first time we saw Brennen. In that episode, Brennen kidnapped the kid of a woman who Michael used to date/work with and in the process of the story, Brennen strapped a bomb to the kid's chest. So when Brennen calls out Michael for endangering a child and says that its "not him" (and really, I think we can assume that Michael Weston would never actually endanger a child), Michael justifies his actions to Brennen by playing the "turnabout is fair play" card. This tactic only scares Brennen because of the history of their previous encounter.

Great episode, as always. I mean, where else can a discussion of Jon & Kate Plus 8 segue seamlessly into talk about Bowser and his kids? Genius.

[docbrown976]

It isn't an 'Industrial Wasteland' in the north you silly bastard!
Did he say Dagenham Essex? If he did he's fucked.

[AdamGS]

If you go to Manchester be sure to avoid Moss Side. Unless you're wondering what GTA would be like in real life. I'm from Stoke-on-Trent and that is the real definition of shithole.

[Valke]

The part of the show where Karen discusses learning to drive should be called "Karen's Carmageddon"

[heart-attack]

w/ karen still being so apprehensive about driving here's a quick story/ tip.

when i was teaching my mom how to drive i had her start in an empty parking lot.
from the entrance we switchd places (*this was her first time behind the wheel) and had her slam on the pedal to peel out then gain some speed. at the middle of the parking lot i had her turn as hard as she could, causeing the car to spin out. after yelling her head off and getting pissed at me, she started laughing and simply said; "hey that wasnt too bad. were not dead right?" from then on she had enough confidence to go through the lesson w/o a hitch. she stayed calm and collected durin the rest of the lesson and i even had her drive home.

btw this happened last year and got her license after only a week of lessons, and my mom is in her mid 50's.

[Xorn]

I can't help but feel as though I was a part of the Geekbox crew.

Also, I'm Canadian, not English.

[shota]

Hey Ryan Higgins, speaking as a roadway designer, every signaled intersection must have a minimum of 1 second yellow. It's not a Federal mandate but for most states they use 1 second yellows. There is also a time for all red. I've only designed Florida and Georgia roadways but there has to be a 3 second minimum of all red, which means every single light at the intersection must be red. So when you run a yellow remember that you have at least 3 seconds of red on the other lights. If the light seems faulty and you drive by it alot you should contact the district engineer and get that checked out. Alot of accidents are caused by faulty signals.

[MeanBadger]

Manchester is a very good place. Lots of live music, clubs for different music, good shopping and the Urbis museum currently has the Videogame Nation exhibition. http://www.urbis.org.uk/page.asp?id=3296

Its as good as London but smaller and closer together. Within 15 minutes you can also be out in the countrysie in either Cheshire or The Peak District and then it is an hour from the Lake District.

If you are going to Liverpool for the Beatles thing, I would recommend staying in Manchester over Liverpool any day. Make Liverpool a day trip.

[Excellent_Choice]

Salutations! new listener, great podcast guys, makes my 12 hour shift in a building by myself a little less boring.

A response to the discussion on game reviews: When i read a game review im looking for a solid description of the gameplay, storyline, the flow of graphics, roughly how long the game is, etc. The same thing id look for if i had one of my friends who bought a game sit next to me and tell me about the game experience (minus any spoilers). I really dont care to hear if the writer disliked the game for whatever biased reasons he/she has on the genre/game company. Its one thing if a game gets a low score for choppy graphics, a rediculous storyline (mk vs dc) and boring boss fights. Your guys are right, everyone is going to have some sort of biases but what makes a good writer is one who consciously withholds personal biases from a review and just shoots the facts. As far as someone with a formal education having an advantage over an amateur writer: i think the only advantage is having been taught how to coherently convey your thoughts on paper as opposed to an overweight gamer in his basement still struggling with there, their and theyre.

that having been said, nib high football rules!!

[Karen]

that having been said, nib high football rules!!

O'DOYLE RULES!

[MeanBadger]

4th Edition Rules!

[Blackie62]

WAIT! Fitch needs to know that cobblestone roads and alcohol only end in bruised and cut up faces.

(yes this my first post...hi.)

[kyuzo]

as a bonafide resident of essex im not sre where youve got the country thing from. go a little beyond to suffolk / norfolk and sure, thats getting pretty damn rural in places but essex is really just suburban london to be honest.

anyway that aside shizzle to do when youre kicking about london other than bumbling along oxford street and tottenham court road at a snails pace irritating the locals:

- tate gallary: on southbank (huge free modern art gallery
- globe theatre: shakespears old digs and its not far from the tate
- covent garden: near soho, lots of street performers, bars, restaurants, genuinely funky shops. that doesnt make it sound very cool but trust me its ace - a great place to take dates.
- soho: more a place to have a wander around in the evening. lots of very 'trendy' bars, restaurants shops, record shops, book shops - tis where the young hang out. also a lot of gay bars and strip clubs around there so something for everyone! also conveniently where my office is located
- st pauls: home of the church of england, royal family marriages, christenings and funerals, lots of graves, mad art, memorials and things.
- speakers corner: located in hyde park which is the big park in london where individuals stand and give lectures on usuall quite random topics. sometimes insight, sometimes very close to the bone or outright bigotted but always entertaining. anyone can go there and talk about anything they want so its definitely something to see.
- british museum: not the one with the dinosaurs, this ones about human history and culture - not just british, its full of stuff from ancient egypt, south american and that - mummies and shrunken heads - you cant go wrong!
- houses of parliament: home of british politics and more recently expenses scandals. its possible to book a tour but it can be kinda tricky to arrange because the place is actively in use.

if its a nice evening just have a wander down southbank to the london eye. theres a load of nice bars / resturants you can chill out in all the way along there, some flea markets, second hand book stalls, a mad bit that skaters use but all quite safe al the way along. theres the namco center along there just past the london eye if you want to get your geek on

when you get around to doing the essex thing have a think about checking out a place called hampton court. youre not going to be too impressed with the 'home of blur' frankly i can safely say as a resident but if you want to see some old school english manor house type thing hamptons the way to go.

anyway, that should give you a few cooler options than just browsing john lewis and selfidges, or wandering aimlessly around leceister square where is absolutely nothing to see. if you want any more details on the bits above or want to hook up for a bevvie while your over give us a toot.

[kyuzo]

oh i mentioned the [b]london eye[/] but yeah, thats pretty cool too. essentially a huge ferris wheel with glass pods that give you a birds eye view of the london skyline from southbank, just down from parliament, big ben and all that. some of the comedy clubs near covent garden are cracking as well and shit, i alsmot forgot to mention [b]ronnie scotts jazz bar[b] - definitely check that out.

you can download some free guides from itunes if you just want to have a wander round london, and i believe theres some for the tate as well. one final thing to say i guess when trekking the uk is to look up - many of the buildings in london for example have mad designs, mosaics and things on the outside of them most folk very see to appreciate.

[GiantAsianMan]

that having been said, nib high football rules!!

O'DOYLE RULES!

SANDIMASHIGHSCHOOLFOOTBALLRULES!!!

[casuallyhardcore]

Fitch has been told rather accurately what Essex is like. Basildon especially, if he does stop off at the station there he'll walk 20 feet and then get back on the train. I guess you have to realise that a lot of train stations in the UK normally just end up at small high streets with some local shops or are a bit of a walk away from the town centres.

Hope he does visit the London Dungeon, yes it costs a lot but i went there earlier this year and had such a fun time, it's a bit like a theme park ride now rather than being informative. Good times.

[kenzo]

To Karen:
Learning how to drive for the first time is not that dissimilar to handing your grandfather a 360 controller for the first time and telling him to play Halo. In the beginning, there is so many different levers and pedals and street signs to keep track of that it seems very scary and overwhelming. You mentioned in the podcast that you didn't want to learn from your husband because you didn't want someone uptight yelling at you. But the fact of the matter is, no matter who you are, you're probably going to need stern lecturing during your learning process. I really suggest getting a good driving instructor, who will go out and teach not just how to drive, but to keep in mind all the things that you have to keep in mind while taking your driving exam. Your friend or husband probably will not tell you helpful driving hints like: don't just move your eyes, turn your head while looking at cross traffic (something they'll mark you down for), or the minimum distance you should come to a stop behind another car (leave enough room to see their tires). Since you live in Berkeley, it's especially important to know how to drive well and defensively, since everyone here drives like a lunatic and the pedestrians & bike riders are plentiful and have no qualms with jumping out in front of your car.