Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

The first time I came across the concept of a robot dog was Doctor Who’s pet dog K-9, and then Rags, the talking dog in Woody Allen’s Sleeper. While both of these science fiction dogs were charming in their own ways, they’ve got nothing on the latest version of Sony’s Aibo robot companion, a true wonder of 21st-century engineering. Sony first released an Aibo robot dog the way back in 1999, with new versions released every year until 2006.

Over the years, R2-D2 has proven to be a highly versatile and useful droid. He can hack security systems, relay holographic transmissions, electrocute enemies, extinguish fires, and even serve cocktails to guests on Jabba’s sand barge.

If you’ve got kids, you know how it can be hard to get them to eat when you want them to. Anything you can do to make meal time more fun and entertaining is likely to help.

Let’s face it, life as an action figure is hard. You just stand around all day, and occasionally somebody picks you up and bends your stiff joints to their whim. Their muscles have got to ache from all of that.

Penguins are some of the most adorable creatures on the entire planet. But I’m not sure they would be quite as cute if they were the same height as humans and could peck at our carotid arteries.

Do you imagine a world where humans and dinosaurs live in peace and harmony? I love that idea, but the Jurassic Park movies have taught me not to get my hopes up too much for friendly raptors and and brontosauri roaming the streets anytime soon.

FTC Disclaimer: Technabob was provided with the hardware tested in this review by VIZIO at no cost. Our reviews are the unbiased opinions of our authors, and in no way represent the views of the manufacturer represented here.

Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is one of the all-time classic movies across all genres. It melded science fiction, adventure, humor, and warmth, and tugged at many a heartstring. Of course, a big part of what made the movie work was just how endearing and expressive its title character was.

The Hangrees are a joyfully tasteless series of slime collectible, plop culture parody figures that are hungry for punny, satirical snacks. Just feed ‘em, shake ‘em, and excrete ‘em for slimy, poop-tastic results. Once the dookie has dropped, the slime can be stored in a resealable container for reuse. Nine characters in Series 1 made their debut August 2, 2019: Harry Plopper, Ninja Turdle, Chewcaca, Fartnite, 5 Nights of Farts, WWPee Wrestler, Cacacraft, and Roplops, plus a rare “chrome” character.

Doctor Who fans have a huge selection of merchandise to choose from, so if you’re going to add to your collection, it better be something unique. I’ve seen lots of TARDISes before (or is it TARDI?),

Stephen King’s IT offered up some truly terrifying moments, both in its 1990 TV miniseries run and its 2017 movie incarnation. While Pennywise the clown is super creepy, you might not want to have his head sitting on your desk every day.

The only thing better than a good piece of sushi is one that comes delivered right to your face on a train, ready to eat. The sushi train is quite popular in Japan, but has also popped up in cities around the world in recent years.

If you’re into playing the electric guitar, you probably have a bunch of foot pedals on the floor, ready and waiting for you to add noise, wah-wah, echo, and other effects. But I bet you don’t have an effects pedal this cool. Built by Sizzorfite Studios for Vinyl Ventures, this awesome foot pedal is built into a Batmobile.

Godzilla is one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. We’ve seen the creature take all kinds of forms over the years, but I can say with a high degree of certainty that this is the first time I’ve seen Godzilla as an electric guitar. The handmade instrument was inspired by Japanese musician Takamizawa Toshihiko of the rock band The Alfee.

The next time you want your “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” you may want to serve it in this awesome Star Trek Captain’s Tea Set. Who said that tea parties were just for little girls? You calling  Jean-Luc a little girl?

When it comes to augmenting the human body with technology, video games and science fiction movies have us dreaming of giant mech-like exosuits, arm-mounted missile launchers and flamethrowers, and superhuman vision and hearing. What we’ve got for now is a robotic tail. Developed by researchers at Japan’s Keio University, the Arque is a robotic appendage that gives its wearer a mechanical tail.