Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

While I prefer my ramen noodles to be made fresh these days, there were many times back in college when instant ramen was as staple food, due to its incredible ease of cooking and budget pricing.

These days, it’s impossible to look back at the movies of the great Mel Brooks without somebody getting their panties in a bunch about their lack of political correctness. To that, I say, “lighten up.” Comedy is supposed to push boundaries, and poke fun at people’s sensitivities and societal norms.

If you like to read, you probably have at least a few books lying around and not neatly placed on bookshelves. There are lots and lots of choices for bookends to keep them tidy, but I really like the idea of these bookends that look like books.

Growing up, I was always more of a LEGO kid than a Playmobil kid. I always liked how LEGO bricks and minifigs left more to the imagination than Playmobil, so I felt I could be more creative with their toys.

If you like to cook, it’s important that you measure your ingredients properly. It’s especially critical for baking. That said, every kitchen needs a set of measuring spoons and cups. Here’s a cool design for a kitchen gadget which combines a variety of measurement sizes into a single cube.

It’s hard not to love Baby Yoda aka The Child from The Mandalorian. How can you not be gaga about this adorable and precocious little dude that also possesses the power of the Force? Just one look at those big eyes staring up at you, and your heart will melt.

When it comes to robots, most of them are powered by batteries or plug-in electricity, which in turn drive servos or other motors. But if you’re trying to build insect-sized robots, it’s tough for them to get around them without an external power source.

Those familiar red 7-segment LEDs are designed to each display an individual digit, or if you’re 8-year-old me, maybe to string together some letters, like “8008135” that I used to think was me being clever with my old Texas Instruments calculator.

Those of us who grew up playing video games back in the 1980s have a special place in our hearts for the pixel art characters from the 8-bit arcade and home console world. From Pac-Man to Dig Dug to Donkey Kong to Galaga, game artists had to really stretch their creativity and imagination to give us memorable and identifiable characters using the most primitive of blocks and limited color schemes.

Sometimes things are just a little too far away for you to reach with your monkey paws. While you could just move your lazy butt off of the couch, you could also just use one of those reacher claws you sometimes see old people using.

Since the advent of e-mail, the internet, and text messaging, the need for amateur radio communication has definitely diminished. But there’s still a small but dedicated group of enthusiasts out there who enjoy communicating via amateur radio, also known as “Ham radio.”

Did you get a boo-boo on your finger? Don’t be normal and wrap it in an ordinary Band-Aid. Instead, be a surrealist and protect your cuts and scrapes with a slice of pizza. No silly, not actual searing hot pizza.

Unless you happen to be in a seaplane, if your airplane lands in the water, you’re probably in big trouble. The only other exception is if your airplane is actually an inflatable pool float, like this air-filled jumbo jet.

If you’ve ever owned an iPhone, you know how expensive they can be. So you can imagine how much it would cost to decorate a fence with thousands of them. Apparently, that’s what one guy in Vietnam has done, embellishing the exterior of his house with iPhone after iPhone.

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.

Do you love Star Wars? Well here’s something new you really need to add to your collection. Yes, kids, it’s an official Star Wars tauntaun magnet, courtesy of the creative minds at Regal Robot. Based on Han Solo’s trusty steed on the ice planet of Hoth, this hefty magnet measures 3″ tall, and is cast from solid polyurethane resin and handpainted to bring out all of the details of the tauntaun’s head.