Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

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.

Do you love unusual watches? Well Tokyoflash Japan has been a great source for strange and wonderful timepieces since the year 2000. While many of their designs are eye-catching, they’re also often difficult to read at a glance.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, LEGO has revealed several new sets inspired by the film. My favorite of them is this set that lets you create some larger minions for your minion minifigs to hang out in.

If you are more aligned with the Dark Side than the Light Side of the force, I just found your new office chair. Just sit your butt on the Emperor’s Throne Armchair and you can watch space battle from your throne room, with your withered face and evil smile.

Sure, she may be made of paper and is susceptible to fire. Sure, she can be crushed easily, but this Millennium Falcon origami ship can deliver some killer paper cuts to the Empire. She’s a fast ship alright, but fast to build?

Marble runs can be a whole lot of fun to build and watch in action. But most of the ones I’ve seen are made from wood or maybe plastic. If you’re looking for something a little more substantial, check out this marble run kit that includes towers made from bricks.

Drawing with an Etch-a-Sketch can be quite a challenge. After all, it’s nearly impossible to illustrate anything with curves thanks to its simplistic X/Y movements. Even the most talented Etch-a-Sketch artists end up with jagged little “stairsteps” instead of real curves.