Author Archive: Paul Strauss

When it comes to things we can do to mitigate the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing is definitely at the top of the list, right up there with wearing masks, washing your hands, and not touching your face.

If you love the retro look of pixel art, check out this little desktop accessory that not only can display custom pixel art, but can play music and work as an alarm clock, among other things.

Among classic arcade and console games, light gun shooters are some of my favorites. The problem is that the technology used for older video game systems required the scanning beam of a cathode ray picture tube to detect where you were pointing the light gun.

Some people like to use their time on the toilet to read books or surf social media on their phone, while others use it to solve crossword puzzles. But I’ve never heard of someone trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube while sitting on the pot.

You know what makes a good drink coaster? A good old 3.5″ floppy disk. But real floppies have moving parts and irregularities that can make them less than ideal surfaces for balancing some glasses. Never mind that they just don’t look as cool as these colorful pixel art floppy coasters.

The idea of using solar panels to give electric cars a little extra boost is nothing new. In fact, the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has a solar roof that helps to run its electronics, and can give it a couple of extra miles of driving range each day.

Since it’s a fictitious creation, nobody really knows what a Kraken looks like. But the one thing we can all agree on is that the thing is a gigantic sea monster, and almost certainly has tentacles that it uses to snatch ships and drag them to the bottom of the ocean.

If there’s one food that I could eat on a whim just about any day or time, it’s pizza. My personal favorite has to be Lou Malnati’s here in Chicago, but I also love a jumbo New York style slice, an ultra-thin Italian brick oven pizza, or one of those crispy 8-corner Detroit slices from Jet’s.

The game Animal Crossing: New Horizons is all the rage with Nintendo Switch players these days. If you’re a fan of the series, then here’s a cool way to store and display your game system. Etsy artist Violet Senpai makes these awesome 3D-printed Animal Crossing island docks, which have been lovingly painted to look like they came right out of the popular world-building game, and look great alongside your Amiibo characters too.

So you spent a pretty penny on a pair of Apple’s pricey AirPods Pro earbuds. You can’t just carry them around in their nondescript white charging case now, can you? You need something special to go with your fancy wireless audio gear, and I think this case definitely meets that criteria.

Who doesn’t love Baby Yoda? He’s adorable, inquisitive, and a little badass. We also don’t know anything about where he came from or why he has his abilities, which makes him a bit mysterious. Eventually, I’m sure these things will be revealed, and hopefully he’ll continue to be as cute as the day we first laid eyes on him.

A while back, we checked out a silly triceratops that doubled as a taco holder. The same company would go on to create TACOsaurus Rex, and now we have the NACHOsaurus, a snack set inspired by the spiny-backed herbivore known as the stegosaurus.

If you’re into the steampunk aesthetic, you know that it’s loaded with gears – lots and lots of gears. And if you like gears, you’ll love this wall lamp. The lamp uses a reflector light bulb and a precision-cut sheet of gloss black plexiglas to cast shadows onto the wall.

The currency of choice in the Mushroom Kingdom is the Gold Coin. But here in the real world, it’s pretty rare that you’ll come across coins made out of anything besides nickel, zinc, copper, or if you’re really lucky, silver.

Well, now that I’ve thoroughly grossed you out with that headline, let me clarify. I’m not talking about poop. No, this article is all about the OTHER kind of stool. You know, the kind they made in Blaine, Missouri in Waiting for Guffman.

If you’ve spent any time over in Japan, you know that those stick-on beauty masks are everywhere. They come in all kinds of designs, from panda bears to Hello Kitty. Now, Star Wars fans can get in on the moisturizing goodness too!