Photo Awesome #5: Jon's Shocked, and Gordon Confronts the Coffee Machine

Posted 08/27/2010 at 3:58pm | by Alan Fackler

16

Comments

Print

It's another week, which means another Photo Awesome has been prepared, hot and ready, just for you. Deviating from last week's post, we're back in the office for some more behind-the-scenes looks at our day-to-day lives in the Maximum PC offices. Speaking of "looks," check this one out: 

Now, our Editorial Director, Jon Phillips, is usually a pretty calm guy--it's not easy to surprise or excite him, which makes us all the more excited that we caught this look on camera. But what could possibly have Jon this surprised? 

Not quite what you were expecting, right? That's right. To celebrate all the hard work we put in to make our first quarterly Maximum Tech issue (seriously, no joke, it was hard), we had ourselves a little office party--with cupcakes bearing Jon's face.  And pizza. And lots and lots of beer. 

"The cupcakes, while delicious, were also a bit distrubing to me on a personal level," says Jon. "When someone says, 'I ate Jon's head and it tasted pretty good,' well...it just gives you reason for pause." 

Cupcakes and beer aside, we're really excited to see what you all think of Maximum Tech, an undertaking that was 18 months in the making. We finished strong, and truly hope you, our loyal readers, have as much fun reading it as we did making it. Oh, and speaking of Maximum Tech...

To celebrate the fact that the first issue of Maximum Tech is closed and final, we’re giving you a peek at one more photo of our Wicked Lasers Arctic testing. In this shot, two staffers shine the super-powerful lasers into the night’s sky. While it is legal to own the Arctic, and even legal to shine a laser beam into the sky, it is a crime in California to point it at aircraft. In his Maximum Tech article on the laser, Jon Phillips explains all the safety and legal ramifications of what some are calling the most dangerous laser in the world -- a device that is only made possible by recent advancements in laser diode technology.

EDIT: We would also like to explain why no one is wearing safety goggles in the photo. As our regular readers know by now, looking directly into the beam, or even at the beam's reflection (i.e., "the dot"), is extremely dangerous. Doing so will burn your retina, causing a whole range of injuries, including permanent blindness. However, looking at the beam itself is safe. And because aiming the beam into the sky precludes the possibility of creating a reflected dot, we pulled off our safety goggles during portions of our night time photo session.

But why pull off the goggles? Because, in fact, this is the only way to see the beam at all! Indeed, the safety goggles are so effective at blocking blue light, you can't see the laser's beam with them on. This is yet another reason not to buy the Arctic unless you are committed laser enthusiast.

And finally, due to an overabundance of fan requests, we bring you this: 

This image was taken seconds before Gordon attempted to destroy his mortal enemy, the Future US coffee machine. I say "attempted" only because he forgot that his phaser was set on stun (and isn't real). There's always next week, Gordon. 

What's that you say? Was there too many photos included in this week's Photo Awesome? Sorry, but what do you expect?  We've been drinking beer all day. 

Have an awesome weekend!