June 4

READER SUBMISSION: Geeky Coffee Cozies

geeky-coffee-cozyCoffee is a really special thing. By special, I mean an absolutely necessary, absolutely delicious morning ritual that could never be done with out. Something so special, necessary, and delicious should also have the opportunity to look really cool on a regular basis, so when Tara from SewTara linked me to her Etsy shop full of Geeky Coffee Cozies, I immediately logged in to show them to you. Well, immediately after I finished my cup of coffee. That’s okay, though, Tara understands coffee induced procrastination.

In addition to the Geek Coffee Cozy, she is also selling this Procrastination Coffee Cozy. Being

procrastination-coffee-cozysomeone who is always putting things off “until I’ve finished my coffee”, I couldn’t resist showing this one as well. You can also flip it around so the “Do stuff” box is checked, but I figure, why lie?

Never  one to marginalize, and always one to appreciate some cool binary stuff, I couldn’t leave the tea drinkers out of this (I am, after all, British by marriage). So, don’t fret it coffee isn’t your thing. I admit, I will never understand how someone couldn’t love a nectar so sweet, but, at least Tara is looking out for the geeky tea drinkers with this awesome Binary Tea Cozy. That says, quite simply, “Tea”.

There are way more geeky-awesome hand sewn cup cozies in her Etsy shop, including Scrabble Tile inspired cozies, and even one with a little gnome. Who doesn’t love gnomes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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June 3

Elvish ABCs Prints

Elvish ABC PrintsHaving been raised in a bilingual home, I know how helpful it is to introduce a child to both parents’ languages as soon as possible. However, what do you do if your partner is fluent in a fictional language?

Thankfully, Denise Giffin is two steps ahead of the curve. Her charming and educational Elvish ABCs for baby’s nursery will have your little geekling learning that “A” is for “Aras” (deer), “B” is for “Brog” (bear), and “C” is for “Cabor” (frog).

You can buy the set of three at Denise’s Etsy shop, Tie Dye Jedi, which is full of lovely J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired prints.

Now, if only there were resources for those half-Klingon households…

Category: Books, Craft, Geek | 2 Comments on Elvish ABCs Prints
June 2

Giskin Anomaly Detector

Giskin Anomaly ContestIf you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting San Diego’s Balboa Park, you’ll know what a beautiful place it is. With its Spanish-Renaissance architecture and landscaped gardens, you feel like you’ve truly stepped back into another time.

It seems like I’m not the only one who feels that way. The Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) recently launched an interactive cell phone game called Giskin Anomaly, to encourage visitors to fully explore the park’s historic treasures.

Guests can dial in to hear the adventures of two people who use a memory-sensing device (called the Giskin Anomaly Detector) to retrieve WWII-era recollections throughout the park.  

As part of the game’s launch, BPOC hosted a contest inviting artists to create a Steampunk-inspired model of what this fanciful device would look like.

San Diego-area artist John Hosford walked away with the grand prize. His intricate model, dubbed “Sir Tellabeem’s Tempress Mark II” took him over 80 hours to construct, involving cutting and dying the leather of the glove by hand.

Though there was only one grand-prize winner, the competition was fierce indeed. Check out the Flickr pool showcasing the winners, and the afternoon their costumed creators spent playing with the contraptions in the park.

A moment of full disclosure: I used to take karate classes with John and his siblings, back in the day. I knew he was a creative kid, so it’s great to see how his talent has blossomed over the years. Congrats on the win, John, and keep up the awesome work!

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