1861: Fridtjof Nansen is born. He will become a towering figure in Arctic exploration, the natural sciences and international diplomacy.

Nansen, born outside of Oslo, Norway, grew up hard and fit … and intellectually curious. He developed an early interest in science and studied zoology at the university before shipping aboard the Norwegian sealer Viking in 1882.

He made extensive observations of the Greenland fauna, especially bears and seals, and returned to serve for six years as zoological curator at the Bergen Museum — meanwhile earning his doctorate by defending the neuron theory as it p...

Alan Parsons' Art and Science of Sound Recording 3-DVD Set

Music is a big part of GeekDad and when I recently had the opportunity to interview famed producer and musician Alan Parsons, I jumped at the chance. In particular, I was curious about how someone who had established a certain notoriety for being a music obsessive (reflected in his award winning work on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Beatles’ Abbey Road and his own Alan Parsons Project, among other credits) felt about a number of growing trends in the industry, particularly the ease of access to simplified recording tools on...