Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

Electronic musicians are always looking for new ways to expand their arsenal of sounds. There are lots of different off-the-shelf synthesizers out there, but some of the coolest instruments are the homebrew designs out there. I recently stumbled onto this cool little touch-based synth, and it offers up some really nifty analog sounds.

Despite some early worries, Japan has so far managed to keep the COVID-19 outbreak relatively well contained in their country. It certainly could spike, but I’m hopeful that their efforts to reduce social interaction, and to quarantine people with the virus have paid off.

You know what the ghosts from Pac-Man could use? Plants growing out of their heads, that’s what. Yeah, that makes them much more adorable, and less intimidating for sure. That’s why I love these Pac-Man ghost planters from Dips and Prints.

Whether you have the heat cranked up during cold weather, or live in the desert or mountains, extremely dry air can be quite hard on your system. The best thing you can do besides gulping down buckets of water is to get yourself a good humidifier.

With the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 in the works, it’s an exciting time for the future of console gaming. We know that both consoles will tout impressive hardware, and backwards compatibility with today’s games, and now Microsoft is showing off the detailed specs and internals of its next-gen console.

If you’re into Dungeons and Dragons or any other tabletop gaming, then you might want to give this lamp a tumble. You see, it looks just like a 20-sided die (aka “D20”), only bigger… like 10 times bigger.

LEGO bricks are some of the most awesome things on earth. They’re incredibly versatile for building all kinds of structures, and you can make some pretty impressive machines with them when you combine them with Technic and Mindstorms parts.

With all the craziness about COVID-19 going on, there’s been a major run on toilet paper. Now why everyone has made wiping their bottoms one of their top priorities during the virus pandemic, who knows? I’d think maybe food and water might take priority, but that’s just me.

With Easter coming up, it’s almost egg decorating time! A few years back, LEGO builder Jason Allemann aka JK Brickworks made his own version of Evil Mad Scientist’ Eggbot using the parts that are in the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 kit 31313.

One of the best parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Avengers has got to be Mark Ruffalo as Hulk. He’s my favorite actor in the role, and does a great job doing the whole Jekyll and Hyde routine as the bounces between mild-mannered doctor and angry green monster.

When it comes to telling time with an analog clock, the idea of gear reduction is a very critical piece of the puzzle. Basically, a set of multiple gears work in concert to gradually rotate at slower speeds.

Star Wars fans, it looks like there are a couple of nifty new LEGO sets coming that you’ll want to add to your collection. This duo of Stormtrooper and Boba Fett busts do a great job replicating the curves of the on-screen helmets, and will look great sitting on your bookshelf.

Until now, the only duck heroes I was aware of were Howard the Duck and Duck Dodgers. Maybe Duckman if you want to stretch things. But what if there was a real superhero duck? That’s what we’ve got here.

If you ask me and my sweet tooth, the only thing better than candy is bigger candy. Thankfully, the sugar gods are shining down upon us with a new blessing today, in the form of Skittles Giants.

If there’s one thing Minecraft fans can rely on, it’s those green and block Creepers, and their ability to blow up at the most inopportune moments. Well, now you can keep a Creeper right on your desktop to keep an eye on it, and I’m pretty sure it won’t blow up the place.

Ready for another marathon gaming session? You might think a highly caffeinated drink like Mountain Dew or Red Bull will help you stay awake and alert, but there’s a company in Japan that thinks that’s wrong.