Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

You know what? I’m surprised that they never came up with a vaccine for Pac-Man Fever. I mean, I’ve had it for nearly four decades, and it’s not getting any better. I suppose if you’re still a Pac-Man fan like me, you might want something like this sweet Pac-Man-themed synthesizer by Swedish artist and vintage gadget fan Love Hultén.

Ramen is delicious. While I much prefer the taste of fresh-cooked noodles and meats at a Japanese restaurant, instant ramen will do in a pinch. Nissin Cup Noodles are a staple among college kids, bachelors, and lazy cooks everywhere.

The biggest screen I’ve ever had in my house measured 96″ diagonal and used a front projector and a traditional movie screen. The room had to be totally dark to really enjoy it, but it was cool having a screen that big.

When you think of AT-ATs, you think of these giant mechanical beasts stomping along the snowy surface of Hoth. But what would happen if the Empire’s war machines ran on fossil fuels and their CO2 emissions, resulting in a greenhouse effect?

I’ve never been a fly, so I don’t know what it’s like to be eaten by a carnivorous plant. Suffice it to say, I’m sure it’s rather unpleasant. Still, I’ve always been fascinated by these plants that can open and close to grab their lunch, and then digest them for nutrients.

I’ve played a whole lot of arcade games in my lifetime, but one that I always go back to is Namco’s classic Galaga. It’s every bit as playable and challenging today as it was the day it came out in 1981, and now I don’t even have to spend quarters to play it.

Thanks in large part to the genius designs of the late H.R. Giger, the Alien universe is filled with some of the creepiest creatures and environments in the history of science fiction. You wouldn’t want to encounter a xenomorph at any of its life stages, let alone have one staring you in the face on your dinner plate.

Can you imagine waking up every morning and looking up to see an Imperial Walker towering over your head? Well, if you’ve got $8500 lying around, your kid could experience that thanks to the guys at Tiny Town Studios.

Do you or your kids like to collect LEGO minifigures? You could leave them scattered around the room where you could step on one, or the dog could try to eat them, or you could store and display them in a more appropriate place.

If someone asked me to make an origami swan, I’d have a hard time doing it, so I can’t imagine being able to construct a complete globe of the Earth by folding paper. But those with more patience and papercrafting skills than I should check out this tutorial that was recently posted on Instructables.

As a fan of classic video games and LEGO bricks, I was pretty stoked when they released the official LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System in 2020. The 2600+ piece set lets you build a detailed model of an NES along with a TV set, a game cartridge, and a gamepad.

Rémy Vicarini and his cat Cathode have made a name for themselves on the Internet. Not because his kitty does tricks or anything, but because Rémy likes to dress Cathode up in tiny, custom-made helmets. I’m not sure if they actually offer any protection, but it’s not like human cosplay armor does either.

Switzerland based design firm Kross Studio has teamed up with Warner Bros. to create this 1989 Batmobile X Kross Studio Desk Clock. Limited to 100 pieces, the desk clock costs a staggering $29,900. Even already knowing how much it cost I couldn’t stop myself from doing another spit-take as I typed that.

Halloween is less than eight weeks away, so it’s never too early to get your costume figured out. If you’re ready to bust through some walls and scare your neighbors this year, I highly recommend this inflatable Kool-Aid Man costume.

When I was a kid, the best way to get my brothers to stop talking was to repeat what they said right after they said it. Now, the U.S. Navy has taken that simple concept and expanded upon it to disrupt people from speaking at a distance.

Summer is almost over, but I’m sure your kids would love to run around under a sprinkler until the snow hits the ground. I can think of no better way to keep kids saturated with a constant stream of water but with a 7-foot-tall inflatable dinosaur lawn sprinkler.