#FollowFriday - @Etherius: Podcaster, Shaper of Minds, and ReShaper of Bodies

Welcome back for another Follow Friday! This week I'd like to direct your attention to @Etherius, aka Chris Lester, high school teacher, podcaster, and creator of the Metamor City Podcast, and two time Parsec Award winner. Metamor City is a sci-fi/fantasy anthology set in a world where magic and technology work together. It is a city piled upon itself where skyways held up by magic and anti-grav divide the city into four social levels. Walking the streets of Metamor, you could meet gods, werewolves, vampires, psis, wizards, or even Eli's own prophet. A place where the citizens can accept an ancient threefold curse and reshape their very bodies, or live out their lives as mere mortal humans. Oh, and there is the occasional elf, too. Chris presides over an open world where he allows others to come in and act out stories in his world. These stories are done as full cast productions and paint a vivid picture of a rich world, and demonstrate how we strive to create our own certainties in a world where anything is subject to change without notice.

Scrambled Bits - Part Two: BitLocker To Go

Previously on "Scrambled Bits" I told you about how to encrypt your computer's hard drive using a Windows tool called Bit Locker. It's fairly straightforward and better yet it's free. Even more important than encrypting a PC's hard drive, is encrypting the ubiquitous USB drives that so many people carry in their pockets. It's easy enough to misplace them and without encryption any stranger can plug one into any PC and read its contents.

#FollowFriday - @jack_daniel: InfoSec Curmudgeon, Reluctant CISSP, and Amateur Blacksmith

The gentleman to the left is not an aging rock star, at least not in the traditional sense. As the blurb above suggests he is a well rounded individual and one well worth a follow. I got the opportunity to meet Jack (and yes I assume that's his real name) at BSidesATL, an open source security conference in Atlanta and have been following him since then.

#FollowFriday - @SimonPegg: Actor, Writer, and Silly Bugger.

If you thought perhaps I had been detained by the TSA, or hospitalized in a holiday traveling accident, then I am happy to report that I have only been detained by an insane holiday schedule. But it is still Friday, so there is still time for a Follow Friday post! This week I'd like to turn your attention to @SimonPegg, an internationally known character actor and author. Doesn't sound familiar? Well, maybe you know some of the roles he's played. Do you remember Tim Bisley from the TV series Spaced? No, too obscure, perhaps? How about Shaun from the 2004 cult classic film Shaun of the Dead? Or maybe you remember him as The Editor from the 2005 season of Doctor Who? Or Benji Dunn from 2006's Mission: Impossible III? That's the guy that helped Tom Cruise's character track down his girlfriend. Or you might have seen him as Nicholas Angel in 2007's hit comedy Hot Fuzz. But I imagine that most people will recognize him as Scotty from 2009's re-boot of Star Trek. And in a few days, you'll have a chance to hear him as the voice of Reepicheep in the upcoming movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Simon also wrote Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz, and a variety of other screenplays over the years. His quirky sense of humor has made him into an icon of British Comedy. You can find more about what Simon is up to at his official website Peggster.net, or via his new iPhone app.

ZOOM H1 Handy Recorder - A microphone shootout.

This is a review that has been a long time in coming. For some of you I'm sure it seems like it was too long. But we won't review something on The Nifty Tech Blog until we have had a chance to work with it for at least a month, so if you've been waiting anxiously for this review since we posted the Zoom H1 Unboxing back at the beginning of September, we're sorry for the wait. We've spent that time learning the Zoom H1 thoroughly and determining how it stacks up against other products. We hope that you'll agree that the wait has been worth it.

#FollowFriday - @Braindouche: Audio Mad Scientist

Today's Follow Friday recommendation is Braindouche aka Meredith.

One thing I've never understood is following a bunch of people just... like... you. When I cast a tweet into the Grand Canyon of the Internet I don't just want an echo back. So I follow people like Mer.

#FollowFriday - @Brandg: Author, Web Programmer, and Operator for Cthulhu.

This week's Follow Friday features Brand Gamblin, aka @Brandg, a man who turned his back on the fast paced world of the computer game industry to work at making network security software easier to use. Oh, and he created what may be the most popular internet puppet show ever. That show, would naturally be the soul swallowing classic, Calls for Cthulhu. Oh, and he's a two-time NaNoWriMo winner. His first NaNoWriMo effort has been edited and polished and finally published as a free podiobook, an e-Book, and the print book Tumbler. His second novel, a steampunk adventure, is in the process of being edited, dragged over the coals, and whipped into shape. And he's doing NaNoWriMo again. Glutton for punishment. You can find out more about the thrashing and screaming at his web site http://brandg.com/. Oh, and he's one of the founders of the virtual convention DragonCan't.

November Poll: What would you give for better Nifty Tech Blog?

Chaos has reigned in my life as October ends and November begins. In last month's poll, I asked everyone how well they liked the polls and if I should continue them, or just halt them and move on to something else. I have to admit that I'm still concerned about the fact that each month a smaller percentage of readers are responding to the polls. I'm wondering if I'm really asking the right questions. So how did things turn out for October's poll?

Scrambled Bits - Part One: BitLocker

[This week we are pleased to bring you the debut review from Scott Roche, our Windows corespondent for the Blog. Please welcome Scott, and enjoy part one of this three part series. - Editor]

Security is, unfortunately, not number one on many peoples' minds when it comes to their home computers. Oh sure, they think about anti-virus and anti-spyware software, but that's about the extent of it. When it comes to a bit more intensive precautions I've seen eyes glaze over or roll completely back into the individual's skull. I can't blame them. Most people who own computers aren't geeks and they aren't as aware of the dangers out there as the pros. Or, if they are aware, they're often scared or confused to the point of immobility. Hopefully, with a few simple pointers, we can change that.

#FollowFriday - @planetx: Uber-geek and Creative Beast

Today's Follow Friday recommendation is Jared Axelrod. His profile says that he's an inventor, an innovator, and a world changer. When you read someone's profile you can never be entirely certain that they are what they say they are. I can say that in Jared's case he is.