Featured List

Epic Portal Party!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Brooke I. may not be able to play Portal herself (it makes her too dizzy), but that didn't stop her from throwing a triumphant Portal birthday party for her science-loving sons:

There were fun inflatable turrets, Aperture t-shirts, and goodie bags filled with orange & blue candy, mini Turrets, and Aperture iron-on patches for everyone.

The table was set with a mini Portal gun and canisters of the orange and blue "propulsion" & "repulsion" gels from Portal 2:

 
(The gels are edible, btw, and stored in clear-topped dollar tins from Micheals.  Brooke shares how she made them on her blog.)

[Correction: Oops, sorry, guys; these gels are NOT edible - but Brooke does have edible versions on her blog!]



Plus there were portals everywhere: painted on tunnel entrances, boxes, and even glowing mirror versions made with rope lighting!


For a party game they played pin-the-name-tag-on-the-Cave-Johnson-portrait:

BRILLIANT.


And the pièce de résistance?

CAKE:


 ...that's a lie!

Yep, that "cake" is actually meatloaf. (I'm making a note here, Brooke: HUGE SUCCESS.)

Head over to Brooke's blog to see tons more pictures, and for the recipe for those gels and the meatloaf "frosting." And thanks for sharing, Brooke!

Posted by Jen at 3:30 PM   |  14 comments  |   Labels: ,

The Shat Loves Deep Fried Turkey

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Here's a Thanksgiving giggle for you: William Shatner singing about the dangers of turkey fryers.

I can't even make this stuff up, you guys.

The original PSA came out last year, but this year Statefarm asked John Boswell, the famous Youtube auto-tuner, to remix it for them, with glorious results.

Not only is it equally catchy and cheesy, this PSA marks the first time I've ever heard William Shatner sing in tune. FASCINATING.



Now I'm going to have "dingle dangle!" stuck in my head all day.

Happy Thanksgiving, guys! (Unless you're somewhere it isn't Thanksgiving. Then happy regular weekday!)

via Mashable

Posted by Jen at 10:00 AM   |  16 comments  |   Labels: ,

Hilarious Gangnam Style Automaton

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

By now you've all heard (and perhaps grown sick of) the international sensation that is Gangnam Style, but I'm betting a papercraft Psy horsey-dancing on your desk will STILL make you grin:


"AAAAA, SEXY LAY-DAY!"


This work of genius is by Kamilbox, a German papercraft designer, and you can download the template and get complete assembly instructions - for free! -  here on Instructables.

Now let's all cross our fingers for an Elevator Guy version.  [evil grin]

Thanks to Michelle H. for the link!

Posted by Jen at 10:00 AM   |  12 comments  |   Labels: ,

Steamy Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Amy H. recently made these foam pumpkins for a steampunk-loving co-worker, who plans to use them for her Thanksgiving table:

Aren't they great? Amy tells me she was inspired by my pumpkin roundup post. I love the mix of metallics, and they really do make a great centerpiece grouped all together! 

(Hey, there's still a day to go for us here in the 'States - and I bet you could find some small pumpkins really cheap right now! Just sayin'. :D)

 Thanks for sharing, Amy!

Posted by Jen at 8:30 PM   |  1 comments  |   Labels: , , , ,

Jen's Gems 11/20/12

John and I hosted an early Thanksgiving for our families yesterday, which is why I've been MIA over here the past several days. Sorry!

So now I have some catching up to do! Let's get right to it, shall we?


First up:
GREMLIN WEDDING TOPPERS!!

Mark C. spotted these at Freak Lunchbox

There's been quite a resurgence of 80's action figures being used as wedding cake toppers, and I've gotta say: I APPROVE.


The Star Wars Snowflakes are back again this year, but now with even more fantastic designs!



I think Chad W. was the first to send these in, and they're all by Anthony Herrera Designs.
Hit that link to see all 24 designs - and the best part? You can download free templates for all of them! Hellooo, easy stocking stuffers! Just print them out, roll them up, and tie the paper roll with a pretty ribbon!


Did you guys see the story about the Dad who hacked his daughter's Legend of Zelda game to turn Link into a girl? 


 (I especially love this story given all the geek girls I see cosplaying as Link anyway!)

"I'm not having my daughter growing up thinking girls don’t get to be the hero and rescue their little brothers," Hoye explains on his blog here, where he has described exactly how he changed the game and offered his patch for free so other Super Parents can change "Wind Waker" if they like.

And how cool is that - now other techie parents can do the same! Go read the rest of the article here, and thanks to Jessica, G. for the Link link. ;)
And finally, Annaliese M. pointed me to yet another amazing Kickstarter I somehow missed while it was fundraising, though happily it's been massively over-funded. In a nutshell, GoldieBlox is an engineering toy for little girls:


However, you've really, really got to see the video for it. I was a bit skeptical when someone mentioned it made them cry, but darned if I didn't get a little something in my eye by the end:

I love this. I love that we live in world where people like Debbie can make their dreams for future generations a reality, and I love that we get to help.

Speaking of which, the Kickstarter may be over, but you can still pre-order GoldieBlox on the official website for $29.95. There are also already plans in motion for a whole series, with each new story and toy exploring a new engineering principle. Like Debbie, I wish I'd had this as a kid - and my dad's an engineer! He started as an electrical and software engineer, though, so at some point I hope Debbie explores stories with basic circuitry principles. Heck, I'd get those for me NOW.

Hope you're having a great week, everyone!

Posted by Jen at 12:43 PM   |  26 comments  |   Labels: , , , ,

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