6-14-09 catch up post

DVD news:
* Torchwood season 2 & 3 will both be released on DVD on July 28th for Comic Con.
* There is a new boxed set of Jack Lemmon films. How is that I like Jack Lemmon but have somehow not seen any of these movies?

RIP David Eddings. The fantasy author died June 2nd at 77. Source: Locus, Tor.

Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder is available as a free audiobook from Audible for a limited time. This was a fun book. Check it out. Sources: Tor, SF Signal.

The Suvudu Free Library has 3 new ebooks (including Terry Brooks and Alan Dean Foster).

Apple unvieled the new iPhone 3G S:
* The older 3G phone dropped in price to $99. Source: Zap2It.
* Overview of features for 3G S hardware and 3.0 software (available for existing iPhones June 17th). Sources: SF Gate,
* Specs have been leaked online that imply it might really be twice as fast as the current iPhone.
* CNet look at the new camera.
* In-app microtransactions. Source: Pocket Gamer, CNet

List of the 10 Best TV shows for nerds. I like 6 of these, dislike a couple, and have never seen the rest. YMMV.

We just passed the 25th anniversary of Tetris, a game that has absorbed many hours of my life. SF Gate has a retrospective article. CNet Digital Home article. Guardian article.

USA announced the start date for Psych and Monk: August 7th. ABC also announced fall start dates for all their shows, ranging from September 5th to October 16th.

My Name is Earl isn't going to change channels after all, so it is now officially dead.

3 interesting recent articles on teenagers:
* Meteorite hits a 14-year old boy. Source: Space.com
* An 18-year old girl diagnosed her own long term illness in AP science class. Source: CNN
* A 14-year old student identifies the weakest supernova yet identified. Source: Space Fellowship

DVR timers for the week:
Sun 6pm? True Blood (season premiere)
Mon 5pm Greek (season finale)
Mon 6pm The Closer
Tue 10pm Cupid (if no NBA game)
Thu 6pm Burn Notice
Thu 7pm Royal Pains
Sat 6pm Primeval
Sun 6pm True Blood
Sun 8pm Merlin (2hr pilot - NBC)
Sun 9pm Masterpiece Theater: Poirot: Cat Among the Pigeons (PBS - encores several times over 24 hours)