Geeks have proven, time and time again, that they’re an extremely creative bunch, especially when it comes to wedding proposals. From fake iPads to custom video game level proposals, to Kinder Surprise proposals, geek guys and girls have gone the extra mile to surprise his or her significant other with the proposal of a lifetime.
This Pictionary proposal is simplistic at best, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome or endearing.
Here’s how it went down: Reddit user justmli had decided to pop the question and he decided to do it on Pictionary game night. He went through the pile of cards, found one with ‘Marry’ on it, and stenciled in the word ‘Me’ after it. He then rigged the game so that his girlfriend of a year and a half would end up with it.
Sure enough, when she drew the card, everyone began guessing, and eventually he yelled out, “Marry me!” After his girlfriend replied with “Yeah!”, he then pulled out the ring and asked her to marry him.
When a foodie happens to be an artist, you know what to expect next: food art. Personally, I find that nobody does it better than Hong Yi. She certainly found a creative way to create plated masterpieces that integrated the actual food items she used with the backgrounds that were also created using food.
I like the one of the doggy Oreos best. But maybe I’m biased, because I happen to like Oreos and it’s not exactly a secret that I love dogs.
Check out some more of Hong Yi’s work in the gallery below. And if you’re starving for more, then you can follow her project on Instagram.
I’m not sure, but the reason why most early video games had coins or gems for currency was because of graphical limitations. It’s easier to present a recognizable coin than paper money. But if Link was real I’m sure he’d rather have these neat banknotes instead of Rupees. Especially if one of them has a drawing of him on it.
These lovely bills were made by deviantART member G33k1nd159153, who says that he makes stuff for fun and incidentally would like to “get paid to have that kind of fun someday.”
Well G33k1nd159153, perhaps your fake money will be your ticket to getting real money. Your link to the bank, so to speak. Sorry. Check out G33k1nd159153′s deviantART page to see the images in high resolution.
Etsy artist and Protoss fan Robyn Dean made these cute and stylish square pillow cases featuring a chunk of minerals and a Protoss probe. I like the art style; I can see them blending in even with non-geeky surroundings. You should watch out for Zergling pillow cases though.
You can buy both pillow covers from Robyn’s shop Patch Notes for $30(USD) each or $59 for both designs. Note that these are just covers; you’ll have to supply the pillows yourself. Or maybe the probe can warp some in for you.
A year ago we saw a set of awesome military-style pins for console gamers. But what if you’re not just a gaming nerd? Many of us also love other geeky things like science fiction shows, tabletop gaming and the like. If you’re a dork of all trades, you’ll love the Decorated Nerd T-shirt.
Designed by our pals at Nerd Approved, the shirt’s graphic is filled with references to various technological and recreational endeavors, many of which were bound to have your butt kicked in school just a couple of decades ago. Now practically everyone is a gamer. Come to think of it, if you’re under 20 years old you don’t deserve to wear this shirt. Just kidding.
Brave and anonymous young warriors can order the Decorated Nerd t-shirt from SplitReason for $19 (USD). No, it doesn’t come in any colors other than poop green. Stop complaining, Private! Why don’t you earn your stripes by fighting against oppressive DRM, lazy DLC and all the other acronyms that us old folks don’t care for or understand anymore! Use your 3D-printing, Kickstarting, motion-controlling powers and make your elders proud. Don’t use petitions though. That’s just lame. Your enemies react to numbers, not letters, if you know what I mean.
ThinkGeek has released what may be the only arcade cabinet that the kids of tomorrow will be able to touch. He’s called Tomo, an Arcadean – an anthropomorphic arcade cabinet – that should please kids while making their elders weep for the old days. Why he doesn’t have a coin sidekick is beyond me.
Tomo not only has a joystick, a button and even a power cord, he also makes retro arcade sound effects when you shake him. Thankfully you can remove his sound box if the nostalgia becomes too much for you.
You can order Tomo from ThinkGeek for $13 (USD). The folks at the geek store are implying that they may make more Arcadeans if Tomo sells well. Never mind ThinkGeek, we know you’ll just replace Tomo with Consoleans before long. Don’t rub it in.
Japanese researchers from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology recently announced that they have cloned one mouse a total of 581 times. They did this by making clones, then making clones out of its clones and so on for 25 generations. The Nutcracker is screwed.
The researchers, who began their experiment back in 2005, used a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer. That in itself is nothing new; in fact it’s the same technique that was used to clone the legendaryDolly the sheep. However, according to Live Science and the researchers themselves, repeated cloning was usually highly improbable, if not outright impossible, probably because successive clones had genetic defects in them. Interestingly enough, Dolly lived for only 6 years, even though domestic sheep live 10 to 12 years on average.
To counteract the defects, the Japanese used trichostatin, a histone deacetylase inhibitor or HDI. HDIs are compounds that stop certain genes from being expressed. As a result, not only is my nose bleeding because of all these advanced biology terms, the 581 mice clones (seen above) “were all fertile, they gave birth to healthy pups and lived a normal lifespan of about two years, similar to normally conceived mice.”
The leader of the research team Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama said that they hope their breakthrough could be used to make “superior quality animals” for conservation and agricultural purposes. All I know is that it is imperative that these people not get their hands on Jango Fett, or we’re all doomed.
If you’ve played any of the Mass Effect games, then you’re familiar with the series’ Medi-gel. It’s a potent salve that instantly cures wounds and restores health, regardless of the source of the damage. It can even be administered remotely! It does have one crucial flaw: it’s not real. But two college students from NYU-Poly have invented something similar to this miraculous substance.
The product is called Veti-gel, a plant-based gel that can stop bleeding and hasten blood clotting, supposedly regardless of the size of the wound. It was invented by Joe Landolina and Kenny Mai, two junior college students at New York University. In fact, in 2011 Landolina and Mai were still calling their invention Medi-gel. I don’t know why they changed it though.
Tech News Daily spoke with Landolina and reports that the gel “jump-starts the clotting and healing process so quickly that even wounds to internal organs or major arteries are able to close up instantaneously.” Landolina was even quoted as saying, “One of my other colleagues … he went to a bonfire. One of his friends fell into the fire and got second-degree burns. He put the gel on, and the next day is [sic] was healed[.]“
Apparently the gel’s plant-based polymers turn themselves into a replica of an animal tissue component known as the Extracellular Matrix or ECM. The ECM has many functions, one of which is related to healing wounds. Once applied, Veti-gel forms a tight seal around the wound and helps with clotting and healing. In the short video below, Veti-gel is applied on a 3″ incision is made on a piece of raw pork loin that’s been pumped full of blood. Aside from being very gross, the video also shows how fast the gel does its job.
Because we live in an amazing world, it doesn’t surprise me that there are already substances similar to Veti-gel. One is called QuikClot and the other is called Floseal. But according to Tech News Daily QuikClot requires that you apply pressure over the wound for several minutes, whereas Veti-gel can fly solo. Floseal on the other hand is partly made from bovine gelatin. Veti-gel is made from plants, which are not as adorable as cows and oxen and thus can be harvested without remorse. Just kidding. Kind of.
But don’t be reckless when you’re assaulting the Reapers just yet because Veti-gel is still in development. Also because there are no Reapers. Landolina and Mai have started a company called Suneris to further work on and market their invention. Maybe these geniuses can make the Omni-tool real as well.
No matter what kind of geek you are or what you are into, you will find something to love on this awesome knitted blanket. Ravelry member Leilaniac designed it in Excel and then knitted it with Shibui Knits sock yarn.
It has everything that any self respecting geek could want. There are Cylons, Spock’s hand, the TARDIS, squares devoted to cats, dinosaurs, Serenity, the Millenium Falcon proclaiming that Han shot first and more. Oh, and the center square is binary for the name of Leilaniac’s nephew, who she made this blanket for.
This blanket will not only keep you warm, but it will also warm your geek heart.
Mobile developer Jim Rutherford’s son Owen loves to play Minecraft. To enhance his Owen’s gaming experience – or perhaps to gently remind him how long he’s been playing – Jim made it so that lamp on Owen’s desk changed color and intensity to match the game’s day and night cycle.
The hack is made possible largely because of the new Philips Hue LED bulb, which can produce light in a variety of colors and intensities and can be controlled over the Internet. The other half of the project is an iPad app that Jim himself wrote. The app not only controls the LED bulb, it also allows Owen to match the time on the app with his game. Skip to around 3:35 to see the hack in action:
Jim has posted the source code for the app on Github. He also said that he’s going to submit the app to the Apple App Store. If it’s passed, he won’t charge a cent for the app. Which is nice, considering the Philips Hue is freakin’ expensive.
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Tomo not only has a joystick, a button and even a power cord, he also makes retro arcade sound effects when you shake him. Thankfully you can remove his sound box if the nostalgia becomes too much for you.
