Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

Disney Parks created an official ‘Ride & Learn’ video which offers a tour of the incredible computer-generated visual effects used in Shanghai Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure ride. Obviously, the first thing I plan on doing after winning the Super Bowl is going to Shanghai Disneyland and riding it.

Here’s some more next-level cake decorating from Natalie Sideserf of Sideserf Cake Studio. The professional pastry chef in Austin, Texas made a video showing how she made this realistic mutant monster toad cake. The toad was inspired by one of the creatures in the recently released post-apocalyptic Love And Monsters movie.

Because sometimes you need to diversify your assets and Disney has decided it wants to add some nightmare fuel to its portfolio, they recently posted a video of a humanoid robot developed by its research division with a “realistic and interactive lifelike gaze.”

The Mandalorian returns this week, so there’s no better time to show your appreciation for the popular Star Wars series. And what better way to celebrate your love for the show that basically made Disney+ than to bring Baby Yoda into your home or office?

When I make a run to The Home Depot, it’s usually because I need some 2x4s, drywall compound, or drill bits. So go figure that while I was shopping on their website for some completely unrelated hardware, this thing popped up on my Facebook page later in the day.

Perhaps it’s because The Next Generation is my favorite Star Trek series, but I have a particular affinity towards the NCC-1701-D version of the U.S.S. Enterprise that was featured on that show. If you’re a fan of TNG like me, and also like shiny things, then check out this golden model of the starship from Eaglemoss.

Do you have an old Macintosh lying around gathering dust? While you might want to turn it into an aquarium, you could also update it to run a much more modern operating system. Modder Travis DeRose of Curiosityness shows us how he cracked open a Macintosh Plus and converted it into a permanent home for an iPad Mini.

Because ghosts need busting and you’re just the person for the job, Reebok and the Ghostbusters franchise have collaborated to release these $150 Ghost Smashers sneakers. Obviously, I must have them and will throw a temper-tantrum when they sell out before I can get my hands on, and feet into a pair.

Want to own your own giant murder hornet (Vespa mandarinia) as a memento to remember 2020 by? Well, you’re in luck, because BicBugs has got some very nice specimens available. Sold with their wings spread, they’re available either unmounted ($47), or pinned and framed ($59), and are sure to be one of this Christmas’s must-have gifts.

Have you ever gotten stuck in traffic behind a funeral procession? Those things move so slowly. Perhaps they’d move faster if the hearse had more horsepower. Something like a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, with its 700+ horses, should do the trick.

This is the life-size Uncle Fester Lamp created by Etsy seller ShrewdApe, based on Jackie Coogan’s Uncle Fester character from the 1964-1966 television series The Addams Family. Obviously, I very much need this staring at me from the dresser while I get ready for bed every night.

This is the Amazon exclusive Monopoly Longest Game Ever Edition (affiliate link). The game doesn’t end for anyone when they go bankrupt; oh no, the game only ends when a single player owns every single property on the board – of which there are three times more than in a regular game.

This is the Mad Fly Sports Raptor Football, a toy football/plane hybrid that can be thrown over 100 yards. So maybe for once when my brother tells me to go long, he’ll actually mean it. The toy does require a unique throw (read: not a football spiral) for the creation of maximum lift and distance though, so there is a learning curve involved.

Because nothing says I’m a fancy gentleman from the future like a light-up bow tie, these are the Glow in the Dark LED Bow Ties created by Neon Nightlife and available on Amazon (affiliate link) for $25. 

The Tesla Cybertruck already features a bonkers design that looks like something out of a 1980s science fiction movie. The angular, all-electric pickup truck has a pretty intimidating presence as shown in factory form, but it’s definitely more of an urban assault vehicle than something you could seriously take off-road.

There’s something about creatures with more than four legs that creeps me out. The more legs, the worse the creepy factor. While spiders sit somewhere in the middle between an ant and a millipede, they can still be pretty terrifying, especially if you’re an arachnophobe.