Circuit Board Cake

Ryan Nelson got a cool circuit board-inspired cake for his 40th birthday (click link or image to see full cake design). Ryan and his wife are a wonderfully geeky couple - their wedding cake topper was Han Solo and Princess Leia.

(Via Craftzine.com blog)

Science Fiction-themed Drinks

If you are looking for a geeky twist for your New Year's Eve party, you might want to consider some of the concoction on this video about Science Fiction-themed drinks by  SciFi Scanner's  Ken Maher.



A Soylent Green anyone?

Ask Me About My Death Ray

Retropolis Transit Authority's "Ask Me About My Death Ray!" T-Shirt is perfect for those days when you wish you could be zapping away all your annoyances.

Dead Tech Corset

Gallery Serpentine's Dead Tech Corset is sexy geeky chic. This model was worn by computer scientist Ellen Spertus when she won the 2001 Sexiest Geek Alive contest, so it has serious geek cred.

You can also get an Edwardian style corset printed with the same design.

io9's SciFi T-shirt gift list

Science fiction blog io9 has rounded up a list of cool science and science fiction T-shirts that would make perfect gifts! And if you purchase a tee from io9's Neighborhoodies collection, all the proceeds go to the Carl Brandon Society.

Shown: Live Long and Prosper from Design by Humans

Droidel, Droidel, Droidel

StarWars.com gives you all you need to create your own "Droidel" for Chanukah. From the description:

Some religious scholars believe that the dreidel game originated during the times of the Greek-Syrians, and is closely connected to the Chanukah holiday. Because the ruling Greek-Syrians outlawed Jews from learning the Torah, the Jews needed a way to hide their studies. The dreidel became a clever decoy. When Jewish students saw the Greek-Syrians coming, they would hide their books and play with dreidels instead, which tricked the Syrians into thinking they were just playing a harmless game.

In this Star Wars variation, the dreidel and the droid R2-D2 combine to make Droidel!

 Just print out the design (pdf), glue to to thin cardboard, cut along the lines and assemble. Easy and fun!

(via Popgadget)

Dalek Christmas Tree Cards & other Doctor Who geekery

The Dr. Who Dalek Tree cards by Etsy seller babywalls are ideal for spreading the Dr. Who spirit during the holidays. 

Or if your girl geek prefers snuggling up to the TV screen this time of year, perhaps a Doctor Who video collection would be the perfect gift.

And just for fun, here's the BBC promo for this year's Doctor Who Christmas special:

Johnathan Coulton

Johnathan Coulton is the favorite singer-songwriter of the geek set (at least he's one of my favorites).  How could any geek resist songs like "Code Monkey", the futuristic Christmas tune "Chiron Beta Prime", Chiron's ode to Pluto "I'm Your Moon", or the molecular biological "That Spells DNA"? 

You can download MP3s from his web site - some of them are even free! -  or  order CD's through Amazon.com.

Make Your Own Alien Costume

Still looking for last-minute Halloween ideas? Check out "How to Make an Alien Costume" on Mahalo. There are some ideas there that you could easily put together at the last minute.

More Geeky Halloween Costumes: Last Minute Edition

Still not sure what you will be dressing up as on Friday night? Here is a bit more inspiration: 

• The Discover Discoblog has the Top Ten Science Halloween Costumes, from a quickie squid to a recyclebot to a biohazard suit . Read part 1, part 2.
• io9 has 10 awesome SF-themed costumes you can get done by Friday. Why not show up to your Halloween party as an off-duty Battlestar Galactica personnel, or a random Stargater? Easy and fun.

I think the biohazard suit could be made doubly awesome by carrying a vial of chemiluminescent chemicals casting an eerie glow.

Tufted Yoda Ears

It's getting a bit late to order Halloween costumes, but I think these lovely Yoda-like ears sold by CreaturesbyChelsea might be worth the investment. They probably could be worn at other times too - maybe the next Comic-Con?

Evil Mad Scientist Halloween

If you haven't carved your pumpkin yet and you're handy with a knife and soldering iron, you might want to check out the Halloween projects at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. I especially like the old-school Cylon pumpkin, with glowing eye.

Make A Space Suit Costume for Cheap!

Here's a cool video about how to make a science fiction-style astronaut costume for less than $50 (and lots of elbow gease):


(via io9)

Halloween Throwdown

Tor.com is sponsoring "The Great Halloween Throwdown of 2008", which allows members of the Tor.com community to share their pumpkins, costumes and other Halloween creations. There are entries both geeky and not, but all are in good fun!

Best Halloween Costumes for the Inner Geek

ShinyShiny has a gallery of the best Halloween costumes for your inner geek.

And if you haven't found a costume yet, you can still order one from Amazon.com. Free shipping on most orders of $25 or more through October 23. They have a few geekalicious options.:

• Star Trek ToS SCIENCE UNIFORM Classic Adult Blue T-shirt
• Star Trek ToS ENGINEERING UNIFORM Classic Adult Red T-shirt
• Star Trek The Next Generation Jumpsuit Uniform Costume (Red)
• Deluxe Deep Space Nine Star Trek Uniform Costume Jumpsuit (Teal)
• Official Battlestar Galactica Kara Thrace (Starbuck) Dog Tags
• DC Comics Deluxe Wonder Woman Adult Costume
• Adult Jedi Robe Costume
• Mad Scientist Lab Kit Halloween Haunted House Prop (681a-b)
• Astronaut Suit Adult Costume
• Adult's Adventurer Halloween Costume Kit
• World of Warcraft Night Elf Latex Prosthetic Kit

Sci-Fi Pumpkin Carving Templates

Pink Raygun has been rounding up an excellent collection of free science fiction-related pumpkin carving templates. My favorites are great sci-fi couples:

• Apollo and Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica
• Ianto Jones and Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood
• Dr. Who and the Tardis (the Doctor's only long-term companion)

Check them all out.

Geeky Bento Boxes

Bento are traditional Japanese packed meals. Unlike American lunch boxes which tend toward the garish, bento boxes themselves are usually pretty simple. The food inside, however, is another story. It's often elaborately arranged into the shapes of flowers, animals or other designs. But it doesn't have to be cutesy. PlanetSurfer.net has a nice roundup of geeked-out bento box designs - perfect for hungry geeks. 

Geek Halloween Costumes for Women

VideoVoo has 10 suggestions for geek costumes for women:

• For Silicon Valley geeks there's Google executive Marissa Mayer, who apparently has a distinctive laugh. 
• If you want to go historical, 19th century programmer Ada Byron Lovelace would be an excellent choice.
• On the other hand, if science fiction is more your style, you might consider dressing as robotics expert Dr. Susan Calvin (Asimov's version, rather than the movie version if you are true SF geek)

Check out the full post for more suggestions. 

I would add Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper to the list. She not only was a great programmer, but also wore a chic uniform.

Check out my other suggestions for Geeky Halloween Costumes.

Geek Knits: Become a Science Fiction Hero

As the last post in this week's wearable geek knits roundup, I present a few options that will help you turn into a science fiction hero while keeping cozy warm and perfect for chilly Halloween evenings! Click the links below for pattern information: 

R2D2 Beanie Hat

(yes, I think R2 was a hero)

Princess Leia Knit Wig

Dr. Who Scarf (Tom Baker era, natch)

Jayne Cobb hat- you can also buy a kit

(could there possibly be a female version of Jayne? why not?)

And last, but not least:
Vulcan ears

Also, if fantasy is more your style, you might like: 

• Pippin's scarf
• Hogwarts scarves and Harry Potter hat
• Flying Spaghetti Monster knit costume (is it fantasy? is it science fiction? or is it just fun?)

Roslin For President T-Shirt

Now that the US Presidential election season is in full swing, you may have come to the realization that none of the options is sounding right for America. We need someone who is willing to make the tough decisions, knows personal suffering, and has overcome adversity. Laura Roslin fits the bill. Get your Laura Roslin for President t-shirt to show your allegiance:

Roslin 08 t-shirt from HijiNKS ENSUE

Roslin For President Bumper Button! by andreoli1

Roslin For President Dark Shirts by andreoli1