Nintendo Leaks, The Witcher Prequel Series & Smallpox

August 4, 2020

It has happened. The DJ kept within the time limit.

This week the Professor took a sabbatical and its Dev-i-boy’s last episode before he takes his own sabbatical.

We saw some big big leaks from Nintendo which might have some massive reveals such as a Luigi in Mario 64. Could this help or hurt Nintendo, who knows but one is for a certain we might some leaks from other companies in the near future.

Toss a coin to your Witcher, O Valley of Plenty, O Valley of Plenty, and this time we are gonna see plenty of backstory in the new Witcher series, The Witcher : Blood Origin. We might have more insight about the Witchers...

Speaking of insight, there is now a new theory that what killed the Vikings was not the penguins but smallpox…

This week, DJ embraced his inner child by playing M.A.S.S Builder and Dev-i-Boy played good cop bad cop in The Red Stare.

Half-Life projects, Comic-Con program guide, Playstation Factory & Esports Mental Toughness

July 21, 2020

First, Dev-i-boy found a list of Valve games that never came out. These games were created in the dark times before Half Life: Alyx was announced, and include some interesting looks at what Half Life 3 could have been.

You can't go to Comic-Con this year, but you can watch it online. There's a great program with tons of shows including comics, television and gaming news. It's also probably the most accessible Comic-Con ever, since you don't need to leave your house and the shows are free.

First the robots came for the car factory jobs, and I said nothing. Then they came for the Playstation 4 assembly jobs, and I said "Cool, that's some nice tech". Sony has almost fully automated their assembly line and only use four people on the ends of a single assembly line that makes one console every 30 seconds. It's awesome.

Esports are stressful, and high skill players show the same signs of stress as their analogue counterparts. This doesn't surprise the Nerds at all, but it's an interesting study.

This week, Professor played a chaotic real time dice rolling game, DJ kept the peace in Agents of Mayhem and Dev-i-boy got distracted by job applications. Wish him luck.

Pokemon Snap, Apple Lootboxes, Super Collider & Cyberpunk 2077 featuring Stephen from Sigmate Studios & Comics2movies

June 29, 2020

This week, Deviboy returns from his exile, and Stephen from Comics2Movies and XCT joins us to discuss a new comic.

Devi brings news from the far off land of Nintendo. It's time to get your cameras out for the New Pokemon Snap. Apart from Nintendo's hopeless naming, it's shaping up to be an expanded photography game for the new generation. We all hope they fit in the fun easter eggs and interactions.

Oh no, Loot Boxes! Apple are being taken to court for exploiting children via the App Store. We think we've got a solution to the problem too, so be ready to send us your opinions on the system.

Supercollider? I hardly know her! CERN are designing a 100km collider almost 4 times the size of the Large Hadron Collider. The LHC failed to open a portal to hell and lead to a demon invasion, but maybe the Future Circular Collider will. Somebody get Doomguy on speed dial.

Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed again, but to tide us over until the release a comic series titled Trauma Team. This also gives it the accidental honour of being the first piece of Cyberpunk 2077 to release. Until then, keep working to create a hyper corporate dystopia so we can all live out our Cyberpunk fantasies.

In gaming, Professor went up against space card sharks in Star Realms, Deviboy relived his childhood in Raze 2 and Stephen fell in love with Hearthstone.

Nintendo Lawyers, Home Gardening & Comic-Con At Home featuring Shaun from Comics2Movies

May 18, 2020

This week we invite our special guest Shaun Keenan, creator of Xtreme Champion Tournament (in which mythical and legendary heroes face off) to share his thoughts on some news from San Diego Comic Con.

Kicking things off, the Nerds discuss Nintendo's itchy DMCA trigger finger, they’ve taken down the tragically short-lived DirectX 12 Super Mario 64 Port. This was a fan work based on the Mario 64 decompilation project, reformed into a gorgeous 4k Ultra-Widescreen rendition of everyone's favourite plumber. And they also lost 2TB of data including user account details, which are now being used to hack people. Oops.

There's now one less reason to leave the house, since gardening provides a boost to your emotional well-being that is as powerful as going out for dinner or taking a run. Grow chickens and you have an excuse for a dinner and a run as well. So, is gardening the ultimate weapon against millennial depression memes?

Lastly, Shaun chips in to talk about SDCC's move to being an online only event. Pros: Better food. Better chairs. No lines. Cons: No costumes. No crowd excitement. It's a tough sell for some of us, but the rest of us are perfectly happy to stay at home.

This week, Professor broke his brain in HyperRogue and DJ confronted his fear of the dark in Alan Wake.

Come back next week, we miss you.

Gaming Hotels, Money & Nebula

February 3, 2020

Hello, welcome, and G’day, we are so happy to have you join us again for our latest episode. When we say episode we don’t mean Buck having a rant and all that; just thought we should clarify that up front. Now we have a bumper episode this week with lots of stuff for you to enjoy.

First up we have Professor bringing us news about Atari’s plan to open a chain of hotels. They have announced that they will be themed and focus on developing E-sports functionality. But we wonder is it going to be presented with the old style timber/brown laminate like we used to see on the old Atari? Guarantee that it won’t be the first option for the honeymoon market, although, any ladies who think that would be cool let us know that we are wrong once again. Following this Professor has the ESA’s environmentally unfriendly stance against the right to repair and modify your machines/consoles. BOO HISS!!! How lame can these idiots be, I mean, don’t they realise that advancements in technology have come about by people looking under the hood and figuring out ways to do things better?

Next up we have DJ talking about IDW losing money and what they are planning to do about it. Apparently they have announced they are struggling in various markets with the material they are presently distributing. Of course the solution would be to develop new material, breathe new life into the company instead of just pumping out more of the same thing. But, no, they are hoping that their partnership with Netflix will save them. Then DJ brings us news on the critic’s reviews on Birds of Prey for us to laugh at and make fun of. Seriously, does anyone actually take them serious anymore? Buck suggests that if Rotten Tomatoes give a film a bad rating it must be good, and if it is good then stay away. What do you think, does that sound like a good approach to use?

Then Buck has the latest on the Spitzer Space Telescope, which has just retired. After being on mission since 2003 it has provided heaps of data for scientist, with the first images and data being of the Tarantula Nebula. In homage to its origins the last images and data developed by Spitzer were also of the Tarantula Nebula. Which honestly is a hotbed of activity, with the explosion of a supernova that was first discovered in 1987 (interestingly called 1987a) and still sweeping through space creating some awesome images. Also there is a collection of 40 massive stars at least 50 times the size of our sun all in a tiny area together. If this isn’t enough for you Buck also brings us news of the latest evolution of robot tanks. Before anyone gets all Terminator Judgement Day on us, they are not all armed and those that are still need a person involved to fire on a target. But for those who are looking for an alternative to a trailer that hitches to your car, we might have a solution for you.

We hope you enjoy this bumper episode this week. As normal we have the usual shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and special events. Let us know what you think, make requests if you have a topic you are interested in having us dig into. Or just drop us a line and we will give you a special shout out. As always, remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

Nintendo America, Comic-Con 2019, Microrobots

July 28, 2019

Yes, it is that time at last; the latest episode from the Nerds is here, so everyone can relax, the wait is over. Once again, we bring you an awesome show that is jam packed full of the topics that are crossing our desks. First up we bring you news that many of us will find refreshing, Buck does. Now hold tight to your pencils as we tell you about how the all-powerful Nintendo are being sued in a class action because of faulty equipment involved in the Switch. Want to know more to see if this can help you with that dodgy gadget playing up? Well it is the first topic and there is some truly interesting developments arising from this.

Next we have a brief news update from San Diego Comic Con, with the talk from Marvel and also some from DC. No, we still aren’t getting paid by them, contrary to the way it appears. But there are some really cool things coming up to look forward to from both groups. We hear about the Marvel Phase 4 universe and the various upcoming movies. DJ is excited about these and is quite eager to see these unfold. There is the news about the various DC series with some shows seeing a possible end and others announcing the latest seasons.

Next up we need to go grab our magnifying glasses as we look at micro bots. That’s right micro bots, tiny little robots that are going to help change the world. One operates in response to specific frequencies and is called a Bristle bot, totally cool. The other is even smaller and is operated by optoelectronic tweezers (OET), which use light patterns to directly interact with the bots. That’s right – LIGHT FEAKING TWEEZERS!!! Sorry about that, but that is so cool, these bots are so small normal tweezers are too big. Would you like to know more? Well then, you are going to love this, listen to the episode and you will hear a lot more.

As normal we have the Shout outs, Remembrances, Birthdays and Special Events for the week. What do you me and a poltergeist have in common, probably more than you would realise, to find out more head over to our friends at the great new podcast from TNC by that very name (You, me and a poltergeist). Now that is a Segway, now it is time for me to go, time for this to end, but before I vanish let me just say this last little thing. Look after yourselves and take care of each other, stay hydrated and keep Nerdy. Catch you all next time.

Dr Stone, Brain Circuits & G2A

July 8, 2019

Well once again we have an amazing show for your entertainment, DJ brings us news of a new anime series, Buck has news about brain circuits, good and bad decision making, and finally the Professor brings us news about fraud and scams. But first up we wish to just say welcome ad thank you for joining us once again.

Now the new anime series is called Dr Stone, set in a post-apocalyptic world where everyone has been turned into… Statues and society is to be rebuilt using science. So the premise is looking interesting, the promo gives some comedic content to look forward to. It looks like it will be worth checking out for a laugh. We wish to advise that no DJ’s were harmed during the recording of this and he was ok, just a bit stranger than normal. Which in itself is quite remarkable really, but we digress. Dr Stone has 24 episodes at this point and aired from 5th July on Crunchyroll. So, check it out and let us know what you think.

Now, have you ever wondered why people continue to make the same silly decision repeatedly? For example, people repeatedly using harmful drugs, voting once again for moronic politicians, and reality television shows still being watched. Seriously who watches that stuff, can they just stop it please so we can get better content that doesn’t make us want to claw our eyes out! Umm, yes, bad decisions, well a recent study has been conducted and shows support for the hypothesis that three particular regions of the brain are involved. That’s right, it is not just the frontal lobe, it bounces between various sections and is actually quite involved. If one section is not working right then the result is an individual with a predilection for bad choices, like the foolish nut job mumble rappers like lil stump, or is that bump, whatever, no one cares really. This is when Buck starts to get technical with some of his explanation and has to pause to calm down.

Professor tells us that game developers would rather we pirate games from something called file sharing, whatever that is. They urge this be done instead of using G2A due to a constant amount of fraudulent activity causing problems for both consumers and developers alike. That’s right folks, game developers are apparently tired of nasty vermin cheats who are ripping off everyone, this is a very interesting topic that has a number of issues involved and hits at the heart of our gaming recreation. So check it out and see what exactly is happening.

As usual we have the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and special events of interest for the week. We also wish to say that a surprise mechanism is a trap, and so are loot boxes, so please EA, stop treating us as morons. But other than that, please remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated. Also check out the folks at Off with the Fairies and tell them we said hello.

We will return next week at the same Nerd time, on the same Nerd podcast channels, and at the same Nerd place (preferably over a cup of Earl Grey, hot). Catch you next time.

Robotics, Pokemon & Sonic the Hedgehog

May 13, 2019

Here they come, blowing up your phone, getting funniest looks from, everyone who hears;, hey hey it’s the Nerds. That’s right folks, look out, strap in and enjoy the ride of yet another fantastic fun filled episode of chaos and laughter. Also I know you started to sing along with us in that opening sentence, just go with it and enjoy. First up we look at a robot using origami to pick things up. It is truly spectacular! The boys get Nerdy and geek out over this and the applications it could be used for. When you look at what it can do you will understand.

Then as we wander through the show the DJ giggles constantly like he fit to burst, we aren’t sure what was in his milk that morning but hey, it worked. The next stop on our magical mystery tour is Pokemon and the Brain, that’s right folks Pokemon and the Brain, not Pinky. Although this has been more successful in taking over the world then Pinky; note, we need to copyright that idea before….too late. Anyway, we take a look at how watching pokemon is affecting people’s brains, and we don’t mean the crazy people running out in traffic to catch Jigglypuff.

The DJ continues to giggle as he tells us about Sonic the Hedgehog and the change that is happening to rectify the massive failure that was released to so much anger. This is serious folks, some idiot somewhere is trying to make something look even more ridiculous then Will Smith in body paint…and that is a really hard thing to do. Then as normal we have the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays and events of the week, which has some pretty funny moments for your enjoyment. We apologise if this is too informative for some listeners, also hello to the NSA, CIA and the rest of the alphabet soup, we know you are listening. Also we wish to acknowledge the Penguins as the Earths Alien overlords, they rule the galaxy. As always, take care of each other, stay safe and keep hydrated.

GB Studios, Batman & Human Gene Editing

April 29, 2019

Hi, hello and welcome to another amazing episode from Nerds Amalgamated. Once again we enjoy bringing you this slice of entertainment from the world of the NERD pop culture news, where all are welcome. We pause for a moment to pay our respect to the victims of the cowardly bombings in Sri Lanka over Easter. Also we pause to honour the ANZACs, those individuals who have helped defend Australia and New Zealand for over a century.

First topic is from the Professor, and it is about an open source game making program that enables the creation of 8-bit type games. Useable on web-browsers and portable devices such as the Nintendo Gameboy (All trademarks acknowledged – so don’t sue us please Nintendo, Buck is still not happy with you). This is looking like a fun way of making your own games and also introducing coding and game development to a new generation.

Then we look at a birthday celebration for Batman, 80 years old and still giving crime a beat down. Yep, there is a return of the quadrilogy from the 90’s to cinemas. So grab you friends, dig those happy pants out of the cupboard and shake up that hair spray and head on down. You get to see the two Michael Keaton Batman movies, followed by Val Kilmer and then George Clooney. We discuss Bat-nipple gate and how fun these movies were. Plus we hear how tragic Buck was at decorating his bedroom as a teenager.

Next up we look at further plans to make use of CRISPR for gene editing, this time to prevent hereditary diseases. Say hi to the start of Gattaca folks, we have a group of mad scientists running around with questionable ethics who don’t watch movies. Next they will be telling us about how they want to remake dinosaurs and release them into the wild, like that other movie. Don’t these people ever learn to think about the consequences of their actions?

We finish off with the usual shout out, remembrances, birthdays and events. As always take care of each other and stay hydrated.

Episode 43: No Propellers, Nintendo & Neon Genesis

December 4, 2018

So, I was going to be clever and lead in with a Kermit the frog intro and a Fuzzy B Bear joke, but we would probably get in trouble with Henson productions and Disney. So instead, Like sands in the… nope, that’s been taken too. Like a case of athlete’s foot, it is Nerds Amalgamated, here with the latest episode for you all. We hope everyone is safe, with massive fires in Queensland and devastating storms down south, Australia is reminding us of how unpredictable it is. We wish to say thank you to all the people of the various emergency services that are out saving lives in horrendous conditions.

This episode we start with Buck and a plane without propellers, in fact it is Star Trek inspired as it utilises an ion drive. That’s right folks, a plane that is taking a page out of science-fiction. So, my fellow Nerds, once again a piece of fiction is moving to the non-fiction section of the library, whoop whoop! Buck and the Professor are both excited about this one, and at some point the DJ gets beamed up by Scotty because he fries the Dilithium Crystals. Aww, for goodness sake man, we canna take much more of this…

While the DJ disappears Buck and the Professor talk about Nintendo closing the Nintendo Creators Program. That’s right, people who show video’s containing images of any games etc have had to submit it to the NCP for authorisation. Out of curiosity am I the only one thinking NCP sounds like OCP from Robocop? My goodness, Nintendo are going to give us Robocop in the future!!! I’ll buy that for a dollar.

The DJ returns to tell us about how Neon Genesis is coming to Netflix, and some other items that are going to be live action remakes. Let’s hope they don’t screw these up like they did with Deathnote and Full Metal Alchemist. Rest assured though, if they do screw it up we will tell you about it and make more terrible puns. At this time we wish to say thank you to our listeners who have been with us each week, you are why we do this.