Episode 522: Incomprehensibly Gravelly

The Science Faction Podcast

https://traffic.libsyn.com/sciencefactionpodcast/SFP_EP522.mp3

This episode contains: Devon contemplates the endless debate over his name and how it’s pronounced. Is it Devon? Devin? Or maybe Devawwwwn? Rembember Final Destination and the infamous log scene? Emergency 911 and rebars? These have left an indelible mark on how millenials drive on the freeway. Ben shares how The Blair Witch Project made him a skeptic of everything he sees in media. Meanwhile, Star Wars Outlaws is still… fine.

We brainstorm inspiration for Shatterpoint terrain. Wouldn’t it be crazy to play as the Sarlacc Pit?

Exciting news for music lovers: Linkin Park is back with a new album and single featuring a fresh lineup!

Watch the Linkin Park: FROM ZERO Livestream

Tech Talk: Future or Now?

Ben talks accessibility and how Apple’s Personal Voice can preserve your voice using on-device machine learning. This feature is game-changing for people at risk of voice loss. It’s private, secure, and allows users to communicate via Live Speech on their Apple devices. Also, the film Taika Waititi made about the feature (“The Lost Voice”) makes Ben feel ALL THE FEELS.

Learn more about Personal Voice

Devon gives a thumbs-down review of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Too many underdeveloped ideas. He also shares his disappointment with The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey. Not exactly his cup of tea.

It puts the Doritos on its skin: Scientists make tissue of living animals see-through. Weird science this week from Steven. In a pioneering new study from the University of Texas at Dallas, researchers made the skin on the skulls and abdomens of live mice transparent by applying to the areas a mixture of water and a common yellow food coloring called tartrazine.

Doritos science explained

Also, a warm welcome to our new patron Johnny, and thanks to Josh for his comments on last week’s episode!

Book Club

This week we read Falling Down (The Boy in the Iron Box Book 1) by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. We got into the gritty details of the story, but had mixed feelings about Ralph Ineson’s incomprehensible gravelly narration.

Amazon link to Falling Down
Goodreads link to Falling Down

Next week, we’re tackling The Pit and the Box, part 2 of The Boy in the Iron Box series.

Grab the next book here