Hey Kiddos, welcome to episode 48 in which we talk about:

Tara’s  been playing Mass Effect2  and her clan has another win in Game Battles

Cassandra geeks out at the annual Lord of the Rings marathon, wonders what’s up with all the dominating women in Legend of the Seeker, and checks out Caprica

Cassandra provides a music segment in which she shares songs that are good to listen to when you’re frustrated about work.

In the news….

The MAXiPad

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/editorial-engadget-on-the-ipad/

eHarmony Settles Lawsuit, Will Merge Gay and Straight Dating Sites

http://mashable.com/2010/01/28/eharmony-lawsuit/

Don’t Drink, Drive, Kill someone, Drink, and post to the photos facebook.

http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/01/dont-drink-drive-kill-someone-drink-post-on-facebook.ars

It’s the first podcast, of our second year, and the first podcast since the last podcast, which is the benchmark of a year ago’s last podcast— erm…  well, Cassandra explains it much better. If I think about it too much, it makes me nerd rage like the top Paladin in an MMORPG.

This week in the news… (ticker-ticker-ticker)

Hillary calls China out on it’s espionage and censorship.  This comes in the wake of recent hack-attacks on Google.

Spying and censoring is okay…. unless you decide to hack your spy. Has anyone seen my sarc-mark laying around?

In the social networking arena, Kevin Rose, founder and CEO of Digg announced that Digg will be getting a facelift to be more in line with Facebook and Twitter.

Speaking of Facebook and Twitter, what would news look and sound like, if you only received your news from the posts of people in your social circle? Some reporters in Europe are about to find out.

And lastly, Cassandra and I gush about Neil Gaiman and the American Gods Festival that is being planned. The Venue: House on the Rock.

Episode 46
Tara plays Batman Arkam Asylum; Tara update on Game Battles/her clan; Vikings/Cowboys playoff game; Sassy playing dragon age; Tara sees Sherlock Holmes movie; Sassy watches Legend of the Seeker; Song of ice and fire again; Sassy sees Avatar

Lego Universe MMO
http://universe.lego.com/en-us/Splash/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fen-us%2fDefault.aspx

Start Trek Online
http://www.startrekonline.com/

List of Pre-order items for STO
http://www.rarityguide.com/forums/star-trek-online-sto/15133-cryptic-published-star-trek-online-pre-order-retailers-page-full-list-preorder-bonuses-inside.html

Mass Effect 2:
http://masseffect.bioware.com/

SarcMark
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6995354/Sarcasm-punctuation-mark-aims-to-put-an-end-to-email-confusion.html

Wired’s Sexiest Geeks 2009
Google Nexus 1
Chicago Transit Authority Cannot Ban Mature (M) or Adult Only (AO) Video Game Ads
Apologizing for past tweets

Welcome to Ep 44!
Purging the Queen’s English

FCC Dude gets banned from Facebook

Sepukoo follow up story

Born of Hope

We couldn’t let 2009 end without saying Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! Thanks for listening and we can’t wait to see what the new year brings.

Ding!  Level 43!

While Sassy was out fighting crime with a bucket in one hand and a sword in the other, I kept myself entertained by counting flowers on the wall, answering market research telephone interviews, and pondering the great mysteries of life, such as… what happened to my first MMORPG love - EverQuest?

Nicole, a/k/a Vapour of the Maelin Star Pyre server stopped in to TMPGOTI studios.  This level 85 magician and level 1 pod-caster patiently educated me, while giving the dish on what it’s like to be in a super-duper über guild .

Although this not a very lengthy episode, we still had enough time to make one of my lifelong dreams come true.  No, not the dream about sitting in a hot tub between John Travolta and Gil Gerard.  I mean the other one where Nicole gives a dramatic reading of a genuine, “Boo-hoo, I’m leaving the guild” post.

I have no apologies for my behavior in this episode Sorry!

Don’t forget to send your comments to tmpgoti@gmail.com

Good day to you, fair internet traveler and also to you, dearest facebook user who is trying to look busy at work while your browser is minimized to a tiny box ever so slightly behind an excel spreadsheet.

The holidays are creeping upon us like a warm, fuzzy spider - one that creeps on things.  This week, Tara the Scrooge grumbles about her crashed computer which contains the ghosts of TMPGOTI past.  No worries, when you’re thrifty, you don’t need a new computer when there are so many parts from other dead computers within arm’s reach.  Go, Frankencomputer, go!

Admittedly, the “Interesting, Like, Yanno’, I dunno’” count goes up slightly through the roof, but we make up for it with tips on how to tell if your new workplace is either a good fit, or a trap door into the salt mines.  We revisit major ISPs accusations of bandwidth hogs are eating all of the goodies, and the question of - what is a bandwith hog?

Also, a lo0k at the new privacy settings on facebook, and how to commit facebook suicide.

With unemployment rising in the United States, Sassy gives some great tips for interviewing as a contractor during this barren job market.  Later on, I get wishy-washy about Javelin Glitchers in Modern Warfare 2, and it brings up a discussion about the desires and expectations of gamers for bug-free code, versus the world of marketing, development and QA testing.

Also, Internet Bandwidth Hogs - fact, or fiberfiction?

This week’s featured Nerd Rage is a shining example of kindness of humanity via Ventrilo; one man’s professed love for the game we know as,  World of Warcraft.  I just lied to you in that last sentence.  Beware: Nerd Rage is generally not safe for work, small children, your mom… or nuns.

Hello! Still trying to recover from that overdose of turkey? Or perhaps that sprained ankle you suffered wrestling over the last copy of Dragon Age on Black Friday?
Or if you aren’t in the US, maybe you just had a hard week?
What ever it is, the Most Popular Girls on the Internet are here to bring you that post-Thanksgiving holiday cheer!

News

• Google Publishes Google Wave Feedback
• Sex in Video Games
• The Cloud  in London 2012

Listener Contributions

• Dispair, Inc Calendar 2010

We are so thankful for all our listeners! We hope you have lots to be thankful for in your lives.

Hello internet adventurerer!

Golly gosh, I’m tickled as pink as a drunk uncle’s nose that you have surfed over to our obscure corner of the internet.  Perhaps you arrived here with the purpose of  gaining a deeper understanding of the world wide web, or maybe it’s because you were looking for Mango porn.  Whatever the case may be, we highly encourage you to just relax, digest a bite of  tryptophan, and strap on your headphones.  Your pleasure centers want you to listen to the smooth and sultry sounds of The Most Popular Girls on the Internet, Episode 39.

In this week’s show, we peer into the internet glory-hole of Black Friday ads.  We gape in surprise at people who gape in surprise, at an anonymous poster running amok on a newspaper blog post,  “What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?”.  We placed tinfoil hats upon our heads to learn about smartphone spyware, and last but not least, we conspired about the possible benefits of brain control* in lab animals and humans - asking the important  question: Are we zombie-slaves to our brains?

Afterwords, there will be cake.

* Thanks to  TJ, for the fantastic links!

Welcome to episode 38!
This week both Tara and I are in love with Dragon Age - a new rpg that’s out on xBox, PS3, and PC. It’s so awsome!! You all must play NOW!

Tara catches us up on the progress of her PMS clan initiation. I bought a DS Lite for my Mumsy (don’t tell her - it’s for Christmas!). I also started reading A Feast for Crows, the latest book in George R R Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire.

Also, Tara bought me an xBox headset (which I haven’t used yet).

In the news (chicka chicka chicka)…

• Water Found on Moon, Researchers Say
• SPDY: Google wants to speed up the web by ditching http
• Aviary - free online creation tools
• Play Warhammer Online forever! For Free!

Then we end things with the Ultimate Showdown!

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-ca80fbd18a69b52051728b1bff79d3d5}

Why, hello there “Bob Johnson”.  I am so glad that you’ve found our  show!  Please, sit back and enjoy a frosty beverage of alcoholic or non-alcoholic variety while we titillate your senses.

The internet is abuzz with the release of the Android versus iDon’t. and AT&T versus Verizon - there’s a  map for that.   You know, if the Apple iPhone had a LiveJournal update, it might read something like this:

“Dear Livejournal… Verizon is out to get me.  Android didn’t respond to my quiz.  Well, I have to go now, and do a different task. - kthxbye.”

mood: smug.

And in the news: (*ticker*ticker*ticker*)

Twitter’s has a list of lists, Game of Thrones is finally done with casting and the Google dashboard wants you to know how much you are being spied on.  This week’s show includes some really good (albeit strange) discussion.  We began with waxing psychological, posing the most perplexing questions:

1. “Why does Cassandra prefer swords and axes to guns?”
2. Does my zeal for competitive First Person Shooter (FPS)  games actually mean that I wish I had a schlong, err, wait no… veined meat pipe,  uhm, love sausage - male genitals?
3. “What would you do if a giant spaceship flew over your city?”

This week we discovered that podcasting and Jagermeister do not mix, but in a good way.

Welcome to episode 35! We’re back in the studio this week where we talk about Brutal Legend, Craigslist’s Adult Services, and the first time we saw the Internet. Then, we answer a question from our listener, TJ.

The song during the break is from this video:

We are all connected

Hello! Welcome to the extra-special, super long episode 34. This week, I (Cassandra) am joined by our sometimes co-host and always good friend, Michele, as well as Faruk Ates, web standards and accessibility advocate, web designer, and definitely one of the most popular boys on the internet.

We talk about everythingn from Brian Eno to Google Wave to real amazons to killer muppets. Welcome to episode 33.

Hello! Here’s Episode 32 for you - recorded on my birthday. We’d just come back from mojitos and dinner at Jake’s so we are feeling kind of mellow. Instead of following a format, we just wander from topic to topic. Okay, maybe that’s not much different than most of our episodes…

We talk about everything from Katamari Forever to which famous scientist we’d do it with.

Oh, and here’s the picture of the burnt wiener. You’ve been warned.

Too much port + codeine cough syrup + international talk like a pirate day can’t lead to anything good. Well, except for this podcast. Enjoy!

In this episode, we discuss Fable II and Mass Effect in our touchbase, ponder the changes in nostalgia in the age of instant access, then go onto the news where we:
Drool over Beatles Rockband
and
Discuss a case in Eve Online where a bank CEO embezzled in game money and then sold it for cold, hard, American greenbacks.

Of course, there’s some nerd rage thrown in there, too.
Enjoy!

We’re back on our home turf this week and decided to take a look at some funny stories because the internet was just kinda boring last week. Same ol’ same ol’

I’m catching up on Lost and have learned that Katamari Forever is coming out two days before my birthday!

Tara’s “tackling” Madden and improving

Here’s the links to the odd stories we covered:
What does your UPS guy steal from you?
Trek Spring Collection Preview: First Look At Genki Star Trek Fragrances
State govs saying ‘No thanks’ to mystery laptops

Deadliest Warrior (sound)

Honestly, we tried to follow a format this week, but as soon as we sat down in the Pink Ninja Studios with Carolyn and Jennifer (formerly of Tech Snark) things just spun out of control. I don’t think it’s possible to rein in these women!

Tech Snark is the podcast Tara co-hosted last year and it was tons of fun to reconnect with these snarky women.

We talk about what we’ve been up to and then attempt to talk about some news stories after the break, but we get distracted by zombie bars, Brett Favre, and old man butt coozies.

I didn’t edit much this week, so I hope you like the crazy, raw, and uncut feeling of this episode.

Snark Fu
Fringe Festival
Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den
Brett Favre
Carl Sagan’s Cosmos

Video in Print Ad
Star Wars Uncut

It’s hot and steamy in the studio this week as the dog days of summer roll over Minnesota. Tara and I manage to record the podcast despite the heat and humidity, although we are a bit sluggish and meander from topic to topic even more than usual.

We reminisce and discuss forums we used to admin or frequent. Druzzil Ro for Tara and Fantasy Freak for me.

I give an update on my progress in Mass Effect and then we hit the news.

First we discuss a blog called Gamer’s Girl, which talks to women who date gamers and how to deal with them.

Then, it’s onto a thesis on mathematical models of zombie infestation.

After nerd rage, we revisit a couple stories from last week and share listener feedback on them.

Also, we announced at the end of the show that next week we’ll be recording with the women from TechSnark - it’s a reunion!

Aww, did this past week put you on your toes as your favorite social networking sites went on the fritz?  Did you feel suddenly cut off from the rest of the big wide world?  Well Sunshine, don’t worry, because we’re here for you! That is, unless your internet is out too, in which case you wouldn’t be reading this. Unless you are me. And if you are me, then stop that damn screwing off and finish posting the podcast already.

This week’s show has us drinking Cassandra’s new alcoholic concoction, “The TarRAWR” (recipe here) while pondering on what people really do when Twitter goes down since you can’t actually Twitter about it.

Also, we get past the brass knuckles and discuss EA’s Dante’s Inferno contest, of diabolical-public-relational-proportions.  If you wonder how we personally feel about such contests, take a listen. At one point, I ask about how the “booth babes” viewed this advertisement. While I can’t take a general consensus, here is one self-proclaimed attractive woman’s opinion given on the Ars Technica forum.

Lastly, whether or not you have the right to modify your computer  hardware after you buy it.  Is illegally modifying your XBOX  illegal? How about modding them for other people? Apparently so. Cassandra and I had a little debate going on this one, slightly obscured by the TarRAWRs that we’d consumed.

So grab a frosty beverage, because you’ll find all of this and more, in the show below!

This week, we talk about George RR Martin, Twitter’s new home page, and Xbox’s dashboard update.

Sorry for the lateness - life got in the way. Damn real world!

This week we do a recap of Geek to 5k and CONvergence, as well as talk about  Google vs Microsoft, Amazon pulling an Orwellian move on a couple Orwell books, and the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

Enjoy!

This week, Tara is sick with the plague, so I spent some time digging through the archives and came up with a few gems from our first 6 months of recording.

We’ll be back in the studio next week, though. I can’t wait!

The sound isn’t that great (on of our mics wasn’t working too hot), but here is the promised CONvergence 2009 live broadcast!

I hope you enjoy it. Welcome to any new listeners who found us through cvg, too. Can’t wait to see you all next year!

I’ll post later this week with pictures and videos.

This podcast is dedicated to the memory of Emma, our big, fat momma cat mascot. She was good people.

Emma helps us prep for the show

This week Tara is on vacation, so Michele joins me in the studio to talk about Sims3, TruBlood, Twitter in Iran, Michael Jackson killing the internet, Geek to 5k, and look forward to CONvergence!

This show we touch base, hit a couple of news stories, and then get into a discussion on women gaming clans, as well as booth babes.

Touchbase

New soundboard

Samsung Instinct

Flip Cam (sound)

News

Actual Great Moments in De-Evolution

Women Gaming Clans, Booth Babes

Frag Dolls

PMS

Booth Babes video

Welcome to the Barely Legal Episode 18 of The Most Popular Girls on the Internet. This week, we give our first impressions on Sims 3 and then talk about a few of the most interesting announcements to come out at E3 this year:

• Microsoft’s Project Natal
• Sony announces new PS3 motion controller
• Microsoft details Games on Demand, Avatar Marketplace
• Mass Effect 2
• Beatles Rock Band

Two episodes in one week! What is this world coming to? heehee

This week we touch base (poor Tara sprained her ankle and I’m reading a great book called The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss)

Then we discuss President Obama’s Cyber Security Office, a new Cyber Czar, and the Defense Dept developing offensive cyber attacks. Innnteresting (and a little sexy).

Have you ever been gaming and had that pesky call of nature pull you away from the raid? Well now there’s the WoW Pod - a real world hut that’s built to meet all your physical needs while gaming.

And we’re both excited by the announcement of the new Zune HD and possibilities of a new combined xBox and Zune marketplace.

And, of course, there’s Nerd Rage, which continues the them of cyb0r. heeheee

Yes! It’s finally here!
In this week’s episode, we invite Michele back to join us for our Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) slumber party.
We review the new Star Trek movie (spoiler alert! If you come in at about 9 minutes, you’ll miss any spoilers) and then we head off to watch the first MST movie - Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
When we return, we’ve imbibed many MSTeas (our version of the Long Island iced tea) and procede to talk the entire time about the geeky guys we’d have on our “list” - yes that list. The list of people you can boink once with no questions asked.
Then we head back to the living room to watch I Accuse My Parents, which was hilarious!!

We had good intentions on recording another segment in the morning, but hangovers and having other fun got in the way, so Tara and I wrap things up after Michele headed home.

Hope you enjoy!

Here’s a pic of us the morning after the slumber party:

Links to come, I swear - but right now I’m getting ready to watch the Lost season finale!

Welcome to episode 14.

This week in our touch base  we talk about seeing Franz Ferdinad at First Ave (which was awesome!), I revisit my job hunt and my progress on the geek to 5k run (running makes me angry!), and Tara is revisiting some old games (like Oblivion).

Then we review Wolverine, which we saw right before recording. Best thing about it? Sexy boys!

Tara talks about the Wolverine video game and Assasin’s Creed 2, which is coming out soon.

After a little nerd rage exctiement:

We talk about those times when you’re with people who are even too nerdy for you (the “I don’t know this pen” situation)

And finish up with a little listener feedback.

Couch to 5k

Steampunk Segway

Best of the Twin Cities

Apologies for the sound quality! There was something wonky going on with my mic in the second half of the show.

This week we touch base and then hit a couple news items:

• Susan Boyle
• Pirate Bay trial

Before we preview some of the movies that are coming out this summer.

• Star Trek
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine
• Terminator Salvation
• Land of the Lost
• Year One

This week we talk about steampunk novels, EA accidentally sending illegal brass knuckles in their promo kits for Godfather II, the death of David Arneson (we’re joined by Jeff and Jim to discuss table top gaming), and the surprise premiere of the Star Trek movie.

I guess I found it all very cool.

This week we catch up, talk about the news and take a strange turn down our high school memory lanes. We’re just crazy women.

This week we’re joined in the studio by our good friend Michele and a pitcher of Margaritas. Needless to say, there’s a lot of laughing and we may digress from time to time, but I think you’re really going to enjoy this one.

Links:

Hello Kitty AK-47

Google Mail Goggles

Obama’s Online Townhall Meeting

http://themostpopulargirlsontheinternet.com/shows/TMPGOTI_Ep9.mp3

http://themostpopulargirlsontheinternet.com/shows/TMPGOTI_Ep8.mp3

http://themostpopulargirlsontheinternet.com/shows/TMPGOTI_Ep6.mp3

Hi! Look at me - I’m actually adding the links to this post in a timely manner! I have to since Tara was totally awesome and got the podcast edited in record time.

This week we start out with our usual touchbase. I’ve been playing Beautiful Katamari until my eyes bled (well, maybe not that much).

Tara has had an epiphany about what improves her gaming skillz, which leads us into drinking stories and discussing living under a bridge.

As for the news, our first story is one in which we learn that EQ2 has given it’s raw data logs to researchers. These researchers are studying this data for socialogical findings. Here, I digress into my lovefest for data and databases. Yeah, I’m a freak.
Science gleans 60TB of behavior data from Everquest 2 logs

Then I go into a whole-lotta talking about Facebook. It was everywhere in the news this week! I get a whole bunch of things off my chest about the social networking phenom. I probably shouldn’t spend this much time analyzing Facebook.

Terms of service bru-ha-ha
Everyone else is on Facebook. Why aren’t you?
Why Facebook is for Old Fogies

Then we wrap up with some non-traditional nerd rage - this time with British accents!

From this episode, I have determined that I say exactly waaaay too much!

Episode 5

This’ll be a short description because I slacked off and haven’t post yet. So, here’s the show.

I’ll update with links later!

http://themostpopulargirlsontheinternet.com/shows/TMPGOTI_Ep4.mp3

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Most Popular Girls on the Internet!

Episode 3 of The Most Popular Girls on the Internet

As usual, we start out by talking over our geek adventures from the last week.
I attended a Lord of the Rings Nerd-a-thon (watching all three extended versions back to back) and almost have to quit the podcast when Tara reveals the shocking truth about her feelings towards the movies.

Tara has been owning newbs in Rainbow Six and had some clan invites, but she isn’t sure whether the invites are because she’s a good player or because as a woman she’s being “collected” by people to make their clan cooler.

We also plan a trip to the going out of business sale at Circuir City to get a router - so I can finally get my wireless working and stop just talking about it!

Then we talk about the interesting news of the week:
KAAAAAAAHN!
We start talking about the death of Ricardo Mantalbon, but soon digress into memories of 70s pop-culture…and Tara’s crush on Mr. Roark. From there, somehow we end up talking about KISS, Winnipeg, MST3K, Second Life, and Benny Hill. Yeah, I’m scared at how our minds work, too.

Obama is dreeeeeeamy (and is having his Blackberry taken away)
We talk about the hunkiness of our 44th president as a segway into the fact that he probably will have to leave his Blackberry behind once he gets in the Oval Office.

Steve Jobs - cancer or MANopause?
We speculate on what will happen with Apple if Steve Jobs has to leave do to illness and complain about the media coverage that treats Jobs kinda crappily (at least on msn)

What World of Warcraft Did to Me
Just click on the link after you listen to the show. It’s so sad.

New gaming label legislation
We start talking about how stupid warning labels on games are and end up talking about teddy-bear f***ing. I said it before and I’ll say it again - Sometimes we are frightened by how our minds work.

We give you your weekly dose of nerd rage

And end by answering the age-old (or at least decades old) question:
My girlfriend is jealous of the time I spend gaming, what should I do?

Keep listening! Comment here or email us at tmpgoti@gmail.com

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Most Popular Girls on the Internet! I apologize in advance for all the giggling, but Tara and I imbibed White Russians throughout the show and I was tipsy. Maybe we need a two drink minimum for the show.

Download the show (right click, save as)

In this episode, we start by touching base on the geeky things we’ve been up to. Tara’s hand is now deformed from playing too much Xbox and I finally got to see the Daily Show and Colbert Report for the first time, as well as the X-Files movie, which is a big bummer.

Then we get into some interesting  stories of the week:
OH NOES LJ IS DYING!!!
Virtual London West End for cyber shoppers
New Actor Selected to Play Doctor Who
Sacrafice a Friend (or 10) and get a free Whopper

Links to stuff we mention:
MyShape.com
Otherland
Snowcrash

We end with some nerdrage that is both terrifying and hilarious. You should really check out the YouTube video because there are hilarious subtitles.

At this point, we should have dolled out some geek advice, but we were way too tipsy to go on and decided we’d be better off ending things

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Most Popular Girls on the Internet!

Inaaugguuurralll Episode of TMPGOTI (best if you right click and Save As)

In this episode, we talk about our backgrounds in geekery, new years resolutions, and Tara flashes me a boob (this is before I even talk about the dildo picture).

We hit some of the topics of the day including:

Micorsoft Patents a F**king Realtime Censor

Wired’s Sexiest Geeks of 2008
Twitter breaking major news stories

Then we give you your weekly dose of nerd-rage:

You don’t fucking deserve to kill Illidan!

And finish up with by answering a question for our Geek Advice Segment, in which Jim shows us his Klingon forehead ridges.

Jim's Klingon Ridges

Let us know what you think - comment here or email us at TMPGOTI@gmail.com