Dork Tower Monday

Dork Tower #898 by John Kovalic

Read all the Dork Towers that have run on GeekDad.

Find the Dork Tower webcomic archives, DT printed collections, more cool comics, awesome games and a whole lot more at the Dork Tower Website

Tags: ,
Back to top

Another (Homemade) Advent Calendar

Jenny put a post up last week about Advent calendars and I thought that in the spirit of of calendars, I’d share mine. We just put up our Christmas decorations this past weekend, and this Advent calendar has been part of our collection for many years. Back when I had a little more time on my hands (that would be pre-kids), I spent a few weekends making this one out of plywood, balsa, cedar shims, modeling clay and a whole lot of tiny hinges. Plus a re-purposed Santa and Mrs. Claus tree ornament behind the doors of the the 25th. I wasn’t anticipating having three children at that time, but fortunately, I made the compartments large enough to accommodate three candies. My Maker skills are apparently adequate, because it’s stood the test of time, through 18 years, multiple moves, and the aforementioned three kids. I do kinda like that Lego one too, though…

Photo by Brad Moon

Enhanced by Zemanta
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Back to top

Kuru Shoes: Preserving My Feet With Technology

I’ve had a few requests lately to test out high tech footwear —  not sure if it’s the hiking or constantly running after kids- but I decided to take up a Utah based company on their offer. I have to admit, it was largely because I hadn’t heard of them before and the name was kind of cool. Plus, I’m a sucker for the “high tech” pitch, even when it’s footwear. However, when I looked a bit deeper into the technology behind their product, I was a little more intrigued. Their active wear shoes compete against national brands and are priced competitively, but what Kuru brings to the game is an emphasis on comfort and orthotics. As a guy who’s all about comfort and also developing some concerns about the punishment I put I my body through during decades of contact sports and generally operating on the (completely incorrect) principle that I’d remain intact forever, I pay attention to these things now. A rebuilt knee, a handful of cracked teeth and all the other assorted signs of wear and tear now making their presence known will do that to you.

Kuru Men's Insight. Image from Kurufootwear.com

Kuru sent a pair of their Men’s Insight shoes to try out. They’re attractive enough -actually the design grew on me considerably- and relatively devoid of the flashy logos that usually adorn athletic shoes. They are there (in case you forget what kind of shoes you’re wearing), they’re just more subtle than usual. As mentioned, one of the key selling points is that the design is based on providing a low cost alternative to custom orthotic support in an active shoe. I discovered this as soon as I pulled them on. They definitely felt different. The arch and heel support was much more “in your face” than I’m accustomed to and at first I didn’t care for it. The shoes felt a bit tight and restrictive. However, I stuck with them for a few days. And, just like the look, the feel of the Kurus also grew on me. They loosened up and my feet quickly grew accustomed to the additional support. I notice it particularly in the heel and this makes sense given that the shoe includes a heel cradle (they call it a “HeelKradl”) that’s designed to keep protective fatty tissue under your heel in place, ensuring proper cushioning with each step. Sounds kind of gross, but it makes sense. There’s also a reinforced arch and an active midsole

Continue Reading “Kuru Shoes: Preserving My Feet With Technology” »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Back to top

Learn How to Read a Word

Photo: Oxford University Press

I wouldn’t say words are my passion, but they have always fascinated me, like something that I knew about but couldn’t fully understand. I am always open to the opportunity to learn more, to fill even one of the many holes in my knowledge of the world of words.

Not that long ago, I had the chance to read and review Damp Squid, which was an excellent study in the history of words and word origins, plus old and modern day usage. More recently, I’ve been able to spend some time with How to Read a Word by Elizabeth Knowles. This book is just as entertaining as it is useful. While both books have a common subject matter, How to Read a Word takes a more personal look at words. It does address the idea of the dictionary and the corpus, but it also helps with what questions to ask about words, where and how to look for answers and what to do with the answers you find.

If words fascinate you, along with the history of them and origins of new words, this book will appeal to you. From George W. Bush’s “strategery” to the “staycation,” from “Scouse” to “couth,” this book is filled with specific examples. The book is filled with quotes from writings, speeches, and more, that lend support to the points being made. In addition to these examples filling the paragraphs, there are a few spots in which the book takes on individual words and breaks them down in isolation, talking about their origins and importance.

Continue Reading “Learn How to Read a Word” »

Tags: , , , ,
Back to top

5 Ideas To Get Cthulhu into Your Christmas

The holiday season is a time when we all reflect of the important traditions and beliefs that we hold no matter what our religion or creed. So, as an avid fan of H.P.Lovecraft and in the interests of engaging with our readership who spend their days worshipping the Great Old Ones, I’d like to present five ideas for celebrating a Cthulhu Christmas.

Send a Card: But, as we all know the best cards are those we make ourselves and over at GiggedyGeekMom there is an excellent step-by-step blog post ion how to wish your friends and family a safe holiday season with the Great Cthulhu.

Hang a tree ornament: Last year, ThinkGeek offered us Cthulhu Christmas Decorations, and they are still available this year for those interested in a bit of prehistory on the Christmas Tree or mantelpiece. Perfect for when you invite the local Deep Ones over for a drink.

Sing a Cthulhu Carol: Nothing like a rousing rendition to stir the sanity and hail the names of the Great Old Ones. Bring Yog-Sothoth, the Wendigo or even him, yes the Unspeakable right into you living room or out and about on a neighborly caroling jaunt on Christmas eve. The folks at the HP Lovecraft Historical Society have all the lyrics you need.

Invite a Cthulu Elf into your home: Artist Amy Rawson continues her annual tradition of creating a Christmas Cthulhu. (see 2007, 2008, and 2009). She sells her wares through Rawson’s Etsy store.

Give a Gift (and lose some SAN): Of course, smartphones are all the rage and if something is all the rage then we should expect every good alien creature that dwells somewhere in the Pacific is working hard to control the mind and ways of some unsuspecting human and making sure they are a part of it. This is exactly what the Great Cthulhu has done, and you can purchase a Cthulhu Cellphone holder this year for your dearest loved ones.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Tags: , , , , , ,
Back to top

Giveaway and Review: Mixamajig Ups The Ante With More Fun, Options and Giggles

Ever since Steve Jobs mentioned “one more thing” nearly four years ago, we’ve reviewed hundreds of gigabytes worth of iPhone and iPad apps. But one of our favorites has been a fun little game called Slideamajig that allows users to create countless funny creatures by swapping out body parts. Slideamajig was a good buy — not only because it was ridiculously fun, but because the app’s creator, Chuck Gamble, was very good about updating the game and keeping it fresh.

Now, Slideamajig has received an overhaul. Launched last week, Mixamajig is a fresh take on the original app’s premise. Kids and adults can still create creatures like before, but there are many, many more options that take creativity to a whole new level. Creatures now have a formal name, Kooks, and there are — as before — hundreds of possible combinations. But with Mixamajig, you can customize your Kook with downloaded or photographed images. (Check out my dog wearing a Wil Wheaton sweater in the Kook on the right.)

What’s more, backgrounds are now subtly animated and, if that’s not good enough for you, you can add your own photos as backgrounds. Plus, if you played Slideamajig as we did by inventing weird noises and voices for each of our creations, you will be excited to learn that Mixamajig now allows you to record a sound or voice for each of your original Kooks. Don’t worry, you can turn off sounds very easily too. And what would an app be today without sharing? Mixamajig allows you to share your Kooks via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook. Or you can just save them to your photo library for later use.

Complete Kooks glow when assembled properly, so a fun little game we came up with was to shake the iPhone to create a random Kook and then try to quickly assemble the Kook as it was meant to be, beginning with the feet and working up.

Mixamajig is a superb improvement on one of our all-time favorite apps. It’s the rare game that is truly fun for all ages – I’ve seen toddlers having just as much fun with the app as grandparents. And with all the new options, I can almost hear a new chorus of giggles now.

The iPhone version of Mixamajig is just 99 cents and the super HD iPad version is just a dollar more. But because Chuck loves GeekDad readers and he’s so excited about Mixamajig, he has given us 5 iPhone codes and 5 iPad codes to giveaway. Just leave a comment below (mention which device you’d prefer) and we’ll pick 10 lucky winners at the end of the day tomorrow.

Disclosure: GeekDad received a review copy of this application.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Tags: , , , ,
Back to top

GeekDad Puzzle Of The Week: { }

Image by Flickr user Public Domain Photos, used under CC Licensing

Good morning, loyal GeekDad readers. For many years, we’ve brought you a puzzle every Monday morning and for many years, you have e-mailed us your answers. Now, for the first time in a long time, we’re going to take a little break to recharge our batteries (and get a little holiday shopping done). But don’t worry – we’ll be back as soon as the calendar reads 2011 with a new, fun, and different competition.

In the meantime, you can still have a crack at a $50 gift certificate from ThinkGeek. Just tweet the following message between now and Friday. We’ll pick a random winner on Friday evening.

Read @WiredGeekDad for great news, reviews and analysis.

It’s everything a geeky parent needs. Check it out! http://bit.ly/e45R4U #geekdad

Enhanced by Zemanta
Tags: , ,
Back to top

Top 10 Geeky Christmas Decorations (GeekDad Wayback Machine)

Image copyright © Toy Vault

Image copyright © Toy Vault

We’ve all seen the ornaments Hallmark comes out with every year, and to be fair, some of them are excellent. There are a few Star Trek ones each year, and Star Wars ones, and other somewhat geeky ones, but they’re mainstream — and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with mainstream Christmas decorations, we are geeks and geeks tend to prefer things that are at least a little outside of mainstream.

So, as a public service, and because it’s fun, here is our list of the top 10 geeky Christmas decorations we could find. Please let us know if we’ve left out your favorite by leaving a comment.

Image copyright © Kurt Adler

Image copyright © CBS Studios & Kurt Adler

10. Captain Kirk With Ripped Shirt Statue
The only reason this isn’t higher on the list, because it’s completely awesome, is that it may not actually be available for sale. It’s listed on designer Kurt Adler’s website, but we couldn’t find anywhere to actually buy it. Nevertheless, the idea of Kirk getting a new shirt for Christmas while wearing a ripped one is, really, sheer genius (and if you can find it for sale somewhere, please let us know!).

9. Star Wars Holiday Waterball Ornaments
How else could you create a miniature snowfall around the disembodied head of Chewbacca, Darth Vader or C3PO?

8. Cardboard Skull Wreath
Sure, it’s nontraditional. And yes, it’s a bit on the macabre side. But if you’ve ever wanted a way to show your Christmas spirit by decorating while at the same time proving that you’re a rebel against mainstream tradition, you could hardly find a better way. Plus, it’s really cool.

7. R2-D2 and Yoda String Lights
Yes, even your lights can be geeky. Are they any weirder than the popular chili pepper lights? Well, OK, yes, they are … but that’s just part of their charm!

6. Flying Spaghetti Monster Ornament
If the religious aspect of Christmas isn’t that important to you, or if you’d just like to be inclusive of other belief systems, why not include an image of His Noodliness on your tree?

Continue Reading “Top 10 Geeky Christmas Decorations (GeekDad Wayback Machine)” »

Tags: , , , , ,
Back to top

Dads Share Their Passion for R/C Cars

It’s not very often you get to enjoy a new piece of technology with your wider community. But our R/C car club for dads had just that pleasure the other week. We started the club as an excuse for us dads to get together on a Sunday event. We each purchased Carisma GT14 R/C car, and set about customizing them ready for our weekly meetings.

Carisma GT14 Club

Carisma GT14 Club

It’s all gone well and we have about ten people, each with Carisma cars, in our tight-knit little radio-controlled community now. Then last week, one of the dads turned up with a new version of the car, the GT14 Mk 2.

Everyone gathered round to see the piece of kit that promised to offer a range of new racing setups for us. We ended up spending a good chunk of our time that evening talking through what we thought of the new design, which bits were better and which were worse. Here’s what we decided between us:

The carbon fiber Chassis and Top Deck have both been remolded on the Mk2 and eliminate the need for a motor vent hole. This should not only avoid burnt fingers that stray onto the hot metal, but also reduce ware and tear on pro motors. With these changes the chassis adopts a squarer shape, that produces a stiffer more positive driving experience.

More subtle changes to the chassis include the front and back digits that flank the wishbones and enable you to define the ride height and suspension movement with greater accuracy. Underneath a combination of alum key bolts and screws are used and look to offer more secure and flush fixing of the standard parts – such as the front and rear differential.

There are a range of other adjustments to tighten up the design all round. The battery housing for instance now only has the (universally preferred) rear placement – rather than the forward or back options of the MK1. The top chassis deck is also now in one piece to provide greater stability.

It was a little like someone bringing a new toy to school and everyone wanting a go in the playground. Only here we didn’t have to go in for lessons — it’s great being a grownup sometimes, isn’t it!

Carisma GT14 Mk2

Carisma GT14 Mk2

What I most appreciated about all this was the community aspect of it though. So often the new technology that I find most exciting, like the Nintendo 3DS for instance, is something that my immediate friends don’t really “get.” I end up swooning over the tech specs and press releases on my own.

At the Carisma R/C club we were all on the same page and could talk in detail about what we thought of it. This sort of group experience is commonplace while you are growing up, but is quite rare for busy parents.

Where do you get to enthuse about your gadgets and tech with people face to face?

Photo credit: Tim Pestridge Commercial Photography

Tags: , , ,
Back to top

What is a Sing-A-Ma-Jig and Why Do My Kids Want It?

About twelve years ago the Furby hit store shelves. This furry little toy chirped and cooed and made the world fall in love with it. They quickly became the hot toy for the holidays that year. I remember adults paying hundreds of dollars for these toys at Christmas, much like the Zhu-Zhu Pets last year. The Furby was hailed as a modern marvel. You could pet it, talk to it, and pretend to feed it. It would also “learn”: the more stimulation it was given the better it would begin to talk. Now that I think about it, Furby was pretty scary. I thought they were neat because they also had receivers built in that could pick up the signals of other Furbys nearby. They would then proceed to talk to each other. I think they were actually the first incarnation of SkyNet.

Now in the holiday season of 2010, Mattel has given us Sing-a-ma-jig. This colorful little creature jabbers incomprehensibly at random times and sings little melodies that will haunt you in your sleep. Like Furby, when you get these little guys together they communicate and will harmonize with each other. Don’t get me wrong, the kids love these things. They are age appropriate for children ages 3-6, but everyone is playing with them. Sing-a-ma-jigs are so addictive apparently; there should be a warning on the package. What is it about jabbering, chirpy, cutesy creatures that makes everyone swoon? Are we all in Gizmo (the Mogwai from Gremlins) deficiency?

Well if Furby has taught us anything, it’s that this too shall pass. If your children ask for Sing-a-ma-jig for Christmas, purchase cautiously. If you already have them in your home, buy earplugs.

What do you think? Is your home infested already? Let us know in the comments. Share your pain.

Tags: , , ,
Back to top

Don’t Miss This Great Robot Christmas Book! The Twelve Bots of Christmas (And A Funny Interview with Nathan Hale)

Photo: Walker Books

If you don’t know the name Nathan Hale, I’d like to be the one to introduce him to you. He’s a geekmom treasure who needs to be discovered. No, he’s no relation to the historical figure (who was a spy for the Continental Army and was best remembered for saying, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”). I’m sure Nathan Hale, the author, is very patriotic, but just for the record, he had nothing to do with the Revolutionary War.

The author Nathan Hale has a great new book, a Christmas classic for any geek kid, or geek parent who reads to a geek kid. It’s called The Twelve Bots of Christmas, and is just the thing for the mechanically minded who might have grown weary with the same old holiday songs and books.

As you can guess, this clever book is a takeoff on the Twelve Days of Christmas song, and it’s robots and gears all the way. The first stanza, along with its bright, humorous illustrations, is enough to make you crave more.

“On the first day of Christmas, Robo-Santa gave to me … a Cartridge in a Gear Tree!”

[To read more about the book and to read the interview, head on over to Judy Berna's post at GeekMom!]

Enhanced by Zemanta
Tags: , , , ,
Back to top

GeekDad Puzzle Of The Week Solution: Magic Rats

Image by Dave Giancaspro

Well looks like we’re at the end of another puzzle week. Not a lot of you attempted the puzzle which combined a few concepts from past puzzles. Magic Squares and moving counter problems. A few of you the less musophobic did take a shot and this weeks winner of the ThinkGeek $50.00 gift certificate is Federico Rodriguez who correctly solved the puzzle in 19 Moves. Let’s take a quick look at the problem again and we’ll look at Frederico’s solution.

Problem:
We have an intern at GeekDad Puzzle Central named Willard who has a unique project he’s working on.
Willard trained the group of rats to rearrange themselves into a magic square whenever he rang a bell. Willard trained them so well, as a matter of fact, that the rats could arrange themselves in the fewest moves possible.
The picture at the top of this post shows the rats at the starting point just after their cage doors opened.

Willard decided to try and get some funding for his rat training program. He invited a bunch of investors to see his demonstration. After a nice dinner Willard brought the rat’s out to do their thing. He rang the bell and opened their cages but one of the doors got stuck and one rat was unable to move into place. Well these were some pretty smart rats because they were still able to make a magic square in the least number of moves even though one of them was stuck.

Continue Reading “GeekDad Puzzle Of The Week Solution: Magic Rats” »

Tags: , , ,
Back to top

Farmers Can Be Geeks, Too

TCA Show Setup: Farm 2

"TCA Show Setup: Farm 2" photo by Bill Ward's Brickpile via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License

Back when I used to get a daily newspaper—remember those? large unwieldy sheets of low-quality paper with ink that rubbed off on all your fingers, out of date by the time it arrived—there was a comic strip in it called “Pluggers.” It’s about the “hardworking people the world depends on,” the people who keep “plugging along.” I hadn’t read it in a while and it looks like recent strips are as much about getting older as they are about being middle-class, but what I remember was the kludges, things like using a riding mower as a ladder or a cinder block as an emergency brake.

While “Pluggers” is still plugging away, nowadays I find funny examples of DIY repair at There, I Fixed It. While the attitude of the site is usually making fun of the supposed fixes, occasionally you come across something that’s pretty brilliant, or at least fairly clever.

Although I don’t often think there’s a big overlap between farmers and geeks (believe me: I’ve been trying to get some regulars for game nights since I moved to western Kansas three years ago and it’s still hard to get people to come), I recently came across an example of farmers who would might feel at home at a Maker Faire — well, if they didn’t mind all the crazy people. Being a farmer (as I’ve learned from my father-in-law and the many fine folks here in my small town) often means making do with what you’ve got, repairing things yourself and finding creative solutions to problems.

Continue Reading “Farmers Can Be Geeks, Too” »

Tags: , , , ,
Back to top

Mix Up Some Music for the Season!

Music note bokeh cutout
Image by rob.wiss via Flickr

Holiday music always puts me in a great mood. But even I have to admit that after a little while the same songs, over and over, can get a bit old. (Though there are a few that I will never tire of. I’m looking at you, Good King Wenceslas.) Putting together a good Pandora station, or trying the SomaFM stations are good options. But what if you want something a bit less random?

You can always get good holiday CDs or mp3 albums online. But which ones? Or what if you want a mix of music? For me, Twitter has provided the answer. I came across Twitter user 20Tauri a while ago; I don’t even remember how. We share a love of astronomy, though hers is probably much stronger and more based in education than mine. But she’s also put together some very interesting compilations of holiday music. There are some old standbys like Gene Autry’s “Here Comes Santa Claus,” but most are unexpected delights, or traditional songs sung by nontraditional artists. One of my favorites is “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses. Check out 20Tauri’s compilations for 2007, 2009 and 2010. Hopefully they will inspire you to create your own holiday mix. If you do, please share it with us!

Enhanced by Zemanta
Tags: , ,
Back to top

Kinect Takes to the Slopes

My family have enjoyed the various sporting and exercise Kinect games that the new controller launched with. But recently we’ve been looking for some different experiences – particular those that offer a more traditional game experience with the new hardware.

This led me to stumble upon a duo of snowboard racing games that make use of the motion sensing controller: Adrenalin Misfits from Konami and Sonic Free Riders from Sega. Both experiences offer a lot more than the usual mini-game fare that plagued the Wii’s early third party titles.

Sonic Free Riders ($39.96 Amazon) is the most exuberent of them, and asks a lot of both the player and camera. Our kids like the idea of this one the best and took to it quickly, but after a while they became a bit frustrated with it. I was called in to see if I could get on any better, and although it did respond a little better to my larger gestures I still struggled to pull off the complex movements it was asking of me.
Continue Reading “Kinect Takes to the Slopes” »

Tags: , , ,
Back to top
« OLDER POSTS
See more GeekDad