Episode 965

Oh, Brother!
Dane's brother Jay Golden, of Gorilla in the Greenhouse, who appeared in Jumping Monkeys Episode 49, was the first Skype video guest on any TWiT Network podcasts.  He's in the TWiT Studio during the recording session.  Jay's mother-in-law is an avid MAD fan, and has the entire collection of MAD magazines.

Fixing the Market
Listener John found that the latest Daily Giz Wiz shows were not showing up on the Zune Marketplace.  He emailed about it to Dick, who forwarded it to Dane Golden, and it had been fixed by the time John checked again an hour later.  John hopes that the Daily Giz Wiz will go on to 7 digits, and by the one-millionth episode, they can do the Hover Spork.

A New Convention for Files Names of TWiT Shows
The problem at the Zune Marketplace was possibly due to TWiT's new file naming system.  The file name for any DGW show (starting with Episode 956) is now dgwnnnn, with 4 digits (such as dgw0965) in anticipation of Episode 1000 and beyond.  The change has been implemented across the board for all of TWiT's shows.

Episode 1000 - Change of Plan
Dick and Leo have planned for a while now doing Episode 1000 live at CES 2010.  That was on the basis that they will take a week off before then.  Now that Santa Ford has arrived early with Ford SYNC, they won't be taking a break, and they won't be doing Episode 1000 at CES, but maybe Episode 1005.

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Episode 964

Happy Birthday to Joe
Today is the birthday of DrMom's son, Joe.  Leo forgot to mention it during the recording of the show, but he made it up in the intro.  Happy Birthday to Joe.

MAD DISCO
Unearthed from the depths of Dick's Gadget Warehouse is another gem - a special edition of MAD, called MAD DISCO, that comes with a vinyl record of spoofs of disco hits such as "Barely Alive" and "Disco Suicide", with lyrics by Dick and music by Norm Blagman.  The record also includes a disco version of the MAD classic hit "It's A Gas".  Disco was and remains Dick’s favourite genre, and the idea of MAD DISCO was conceived by Dick himself. You can buy a copy (or at least read about it) here on Dick’s site, at MAD Collectables.

MAD DISCO - MAD special edition
The Pains of a Listener
Steve Miller, one of the foremost gadget fanatics among the listeners, thinks that it was great to have Alex Lindsay stand in for Leo, but it came at a price.  It is bad enough for Steve to buy the $20-$100 gadgets that Dick talks about (including most recently the Verbatim Insight in Episode 929), but the Gigapan Epic which Alex recommended and Steve felt compelled to buy cost a lot more!

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Episode 963

Alien and Human: Switching Roles
Rick Barber from Rock Island, Illinois heard Alessandro Abate's letter in Episode 954, about the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", which was re-made in Twilight Zone: The Movie.  In the film John Lithgow played the human who interacted with a gremlin.  Ironically, later on in the TV series 3rd Rock From The Sun, Lithgow played an alien who interacted with humans.

Canadian Fay Wray
Rick also remembers reading an article somewhere, when the original Nightmare at 20,000 Feet came out, in which William Shatner, who was so good at screaming in the episode, was described as the Canadian Fay Wray.

The Mustang
After watching the video of Leo's test drive, Rick knew it was a Mustang.  Rick has been a Mustang enthusiast and sometime owner, since 17 and he is now 55.  Thanks to Lee Iaccoca for coming up with the idea of the Mustang.

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Episode 962

Sonos ZonePlayer S5
As mentioned in Episode 947, Leo did get a review unit of the Sonos Zoneplayer S5, and has bought another one already.  At least one Zoneplayer S5 or a Sonos Zonebridge BR100 has to be wired to your home network.  The other Zoneplayers can work wirelessly.  Remote control is enabled either using the Sonos Controller 200 (sold separately), or using an iPhone or iPod Touch (with the free Sonos Controller app), or via your Mac or PC by installing the Sonos Controller desktop application.

In the picture below (prepared for Episode 887 when Leo first mentioned the Sonos system), at the bottom left corner is the back view of the Zonebridge, and to its right is the Sonos Controller remote control.

Sonos Music System
Podcast Awards
Things at the Podcast Awards are a little confusing this year for the TWiT Network.  In previous years, usually Leo decided which podcast or podcasts would try for an honour.  This year it's free for all at TWiT.  The Daily Giz Wiz is nominated for People's Choice, along with This Week In Technology (which has won before).  DGW is also entered in the Comedy category (along with This Week In Fun).  Then FLOSS Weekly is nominated in the Technology category along with This Week In Tech and Security Now (both of which have also won before).  TWiT is also entered in the video category (presumably for all the TWiTLive shows).

You can vote now (valid email address required, you may or may not be asked to verify), and may do it again every day until voting closes.  Why not vote for the Daily Giz Wiz in both categories?  Let's hope it's Dick's turn this year.

Beyond Bed and Bath
In Episode 954, Leo asked what's beyond the bed and bath in Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Opher Banarie answers it for Leo, that if you go by what they sell in their stores, it's kitchen, backyard, garage and practically any room that needs better organisation.

Beyond Pesticides
Opher would also like to point out that Triclosan, the active ingredient found in most anti-bacterial soapEpisode 954), is so diluted that it makes little difference to traditional soap but over time it causes a significant environmental impact.  See the various reports by the Beyond Pesticides Group.  Leo also points out that one needs a healthy exposure to bacteria to build up one's immunities. (which Dick and Leo discussed also in

Beyond Ignorance and Apathy
Dick learned from 60 Minutes Plus that people who have lived through previous flu outbreaks are more likely to have an immunity or resistance to swine flu.  So Leo needn't worry.  He should, however, be worried about something else: ignorance and apathy.  Is that a problem for him?  "I don't know and I don't care," quips Leo.

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Episode 961

The GizWiz Toaster
Inspired by Michael Jackson's This Is It, Dick and Leo do the Toaster Dance, just without the giant catapult.  Video thanks to the folks at odtv.me.

The Woon
Ken Ronckovitz of Ronkville, who learned never to delete a Daily Giz Wiz show (see Episode 844), has more to contribute to the Giz Wiz Compendium of Portmanteau Gadgets.  Ken has found out that although the term Spork, a combination spoon and fork, was already  in current usage by 1901, it was not patented until 1970 by Van Brode Milling Company.  The "Woon" is the name given to the curved wooden spatula in the old days for your ice-cream, a wooden spoon.

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