Hasta La Gadget!

The Tauntaun was the best way to get around the frigid surface of the ice planet Hoth. It was also the place to keep warm if you were hypothermic, assuming you have a friend with a lightsaber ready to cut the beast open. ThinkGeek has a cute little Tauntaun plush that you don’t have to gut to keep you comfy at bedtime.

The little stuffed animal looks like a cuter cartoon version than the rather ugly horned animal Luke rode in The Empire Strikes Back. When you squeeze the stuffed animal it makes authentic sounding noises that you’ll recognize from the film. You know, things like “RRREREOREROOERRRRR….”

The plush toys were made for Star Wars Celebration Europe II, and carry that name on the foot. Each one measures 12-inches toes to ears and 15-inches nose to tail.

ThinkGeek says that these are very limited edition and once they’re gone, no more will be produced. So put on your warmest winter garb and head over there now to pick up your own stuffed Tauntaun for $29.99(USD).

I wonder if you could install a zipper into its chest and stick your Luke Skywalker action figure inside.

Rockstar has announced that the update that sends GTA Online will be available today. In fact, the update should available right now with Rockstar having said this morning that the update was expected to be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation gamers by 7 AM Eastern Time.

Once you have a copy of the game, you can download a small online update and then get access to the GTA Online world. The world of GTA Online is set a few months prior to the events that happened in GTA 5. The online world you see now isn’t all players will have access to, with Rockstar planning significant enhnancements in the future.

Sometime this fall Rockstar plans to launch a Content Creator tool that will allow players to set up custom Race and Deathmatch Jobs. The online game also offers an extensive character creation system that lets players fine-tune every aspect of the character from looks to personality.

You can find more details of GTA Online over on Rockstar’s website, or if you already own the game, you should be able to dive right in by now. And if you have any issues accessing the game, check out this page for status updates.

One of those games I always saw in the arcade quite, but never quite understood was foosball. I get that it’s sort of like playing soccer on a table, but I always thought it was boring after just a few minutes of play. I might be able to get behind playing some 21st century foosball using these soccer playing robots from BeeWi.

The robot is called the BBZ150 and it uses Bluetooth connectivity and a smartphone application for control. Each of the little robots comes with numbers for its shirt, a little soccer ball, and a little soccer goal. The control app is available for Android, iOS devices, and Windows Phone.

If you’re not into soccer, you can just cruise the robot around like any remote control toy and you can play sumo wrestling with it using a downloadable sumo ring you can print at home.

The BBZ150 robot will ship in October for £29.99 (~$48 USD) each.

I’ve never been a fan of garden gnomes, honestly they are little disconcerting. I always had the sense that they’re watching me and is waiting for nightfall when they’ll creep into the house and stuff Tic-Tacs up my nose until I suffocate. For some reason I don’t find these zombie garden gnomes nearly as creepy as the regular ones – go figure.

These would be perfect decorating your garden for Halloween. ThinkGeek has four different zombie garden gnome styles including the survivor, zombie, rising, and evil versions. Each individual zombie garden gnome is between nine and 11.4-inches tall and made from resin.

The only exception is the zombie version (the one with the blue outfit), which is actually made from terracotta.

I particularly like the survivor gnome because he has a machine gun and it says “Say hello to my little friend” underneath. The gnomes sell for $19.99(USD) each, or you can get the survivor and zombie version in a bundle for $29.99. We’ve seen some other zombie gnomes in the past, but ThinkGeek has machine guns (plus they’re cheaper.)

Every time I went to my grandmother’s house growing up she was always working on a quilt of one sort or another. She offered to make me quilts multiple times but I didn’t care anything for handmade blankets back in the day. If she were still around, I would be calling her right now to make me one of these Jean-Luc Picard quilts.

Apparently, the owner of a quilt making outfit called Candy Coated Quilts and made his particular blankie using two-inch squares of cloth. How exactly she was able to make this pixelated looking photo of Picard with the squares is beyond my pay grade, but it’s awesome.

The quilt was made for a queen-size bed and required 4,500 fabric squares to complete it. It’s even got the Captain’s Starfleet uniform on the backside. Its creator made it as a wedding gift for a couple of friends who happen to be Trekkies. This is easily the best wedding gift ever.

[Candy Coated Quilts via Nerd Approved]