"The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive" by John Graham-Cumming could be the answer to the yearly Father's Day gift dilemma.
(Although I know a lot of women who would love this book, too.)
Graham-Cumming's book is not of the tacky so-and-so-slept-here variety, but a compendium of locations of true worth in the history of science and tech breakthroughs.
(Credit:
O'Reilly Media)
The book, which is organized by country, includes latitudes and longitudes for GPS devices, and info like whether a historical site is free or available for a price. It's heavy on U.K. and U.S. sites (it lists the U.S. sites by state) but does attempt to cover the entire world.
Some of the recommendations are little-known science museums that happen to have one or two holdings of great worth, but many are a bit more unusual and creative. Graham-Cumming includes things like the descendant of Isaac Newton's apple tree at Trinity College in Cambridge, England, and the first bridge ever constructed from cast iron which visitors can still walk across at the Severn River in Ironbridge, England.
In addition to listing the historical sites, the author gives background and factoids on the inventor, or team of inventors, and the story behind each breakthrough.
For example, Isaac Newton's official position at the University of Cambridge was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, the title currently held by the British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
Graham-Cumming discusses why Alan Turing's contribution to computer science was so significant and arguably more important than his role in breaking the Nazi Enigma code at Bletchley Park, England. He explains in detail the Turing Machine and Turing's Halting problem complete with formulas.
The thorough stories and science lessons make the book, which includes a lot of photos and illustrations, a fun summer read for the astute armchair traveler as well as a guide for those looking to explore more than the usual church, museum, and park routes of sightseeing vacations.
The author, a former programmer and computer scientist by degree, also used social-network creator Ning to build a companion social-networking site to his book, GeekAtlas.com, where readers and travelers can share their experiences, and post photos and videos of their travels.
While in this economy you may not be able to go to see Léon Foucault's Pendulum still swinging in the Pantheon in Paris, the U.S. list is so comprehensive, chances are you live within easy driving distance from at least two places and probably more.
The "The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive" will be available June 3 with a list price of $29.99 (some sites are also listing it for pre-order at $19.79).
The Creative Coast Alliance and the Savannah (Ga.) Economic Development Authority are offering qualified video game developers up to a year of free rent in a bid to boost the industry's presence in the historic city.
(Credit: The Creative Coast Alliance)They're calling it "the offer," and if you're part of a video game development team looking for a financial boost, it might indeed be hard to refuse: up to a year's free rent in a riverside building in beautiful Savannah, Ga.
The initiative was the brainchild of Brenda Brathwaite, a longtime developer and a professor of game development and interactive design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She says as the recession kicked in and she saw layoffs affecting everyone, including friends and colleagues, she asked herself what she could do to help and stop feeling powerless in the face of the economic storm.
"I wondered," Brathwaite recalled, "'what if game developers had free office space, so...that worry was taken away. It's not a lack of talent that's causing these layoffs."
Given that Savannah and its surrounding area have a number of colleges and universities, including SCAD and Georgia Tech, Brathwaite said there is a plethora of local video game developers looking to get projects off the ground. And so, she took her idea to the Savannah Economic Development Authority where, rather than being politely ignored, her idea was fully embraced.
"Within 24 hours," Brathwaite said, "they said they're going to do it."
In fact, The Creative Coast Alliance, a nonprofit comprised of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, the city of Savannah and Chatham County, had an office building at the ready for the project. And now, the first floor of that building is known as the Game Development and Digital Media Center.
Brathwaite said that in order to be eligible for the free office space--as well as a 30 percent tax credit on "qualified Georgia expenditures"--applicants must be able to demonstrate real potential for making games. That means, she said, that a company has already secured funding, or that it has previously published games. There's no set rules, though. "It's judged on a case by case basis."
And why would a city like Savannah make such an offer?
"It's an opportunity cost," Brathwaite said. Bringing more successful game developers to Savannah will be good for the city, and that, she explained, is worth the investment.
Here's hoping other cities follow suit.
- prev
- 1
- next
