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It's ladies night on The Weekly Geek, as Colette and Jinny join the very manly Chris and the always testosterone-heavy Mack in what is possibly the ladiest podcast ever. Is Guitar Hero IV going to rock Rock Band? Is Lost Winds Colette's favorite game evar? (Protip: it is!) Other topics include mini map dependence, Emerald City Comic Con, Crisis Core, and more great TV. Enjoy the brisk flavor of this special podcast... ladies.
I love it when I can bring video game sound effects into the context of the real world. I own a couple of those gashapon sound drop keychains, and revel in the fact that the Super Mario Bros death noise scares my small dog enough to make her bark nervously and then hide under the bed. Last night, Herr Bizzleteats received a missive from the ether on his Blackberry, which caused it to chirp as if he had gained an extra life. A plushy question mark block sits on my couch, waiting for unsuspecting guests to sit down and accidentally gain a coin when it drops on their lap. Now, with ThinkGeek's help, I can become invincible. Check out this awesome Super Star, which gleefully grants you doot-dee-dootillies whenever you desire. It's plastic, fits on your desk, and looks amazing. It's battery powered too, so you could feasibly take it into any dangerous situation such as walking home by yourself late at night or if you are going to smash a few of your brothers or there's a mushroom uprising.
This thing is pretty neat. Now if only they did a whole series of classic powerups (no stupid New Super Mario Bros blue shell ridiculousness please) I could further blur the line between fantasy and reality.
[link via BBG | ThinkGeek Product Page]
I remember my first trip to Archie McPhee in Ballard, near Seattle. Right as I walked through the door I was filled with nostalgia, even if most of the objects were from a time not of my own. I described it as a "dollar store on crack" and today it remains the same. There's no better place to find random medical equipment (bedpans!), flight suits (Chinese flight suits, even!), rubber chickens and religious-themed lollipops.
The Seattlest has received an email from Archie McPhees stating that if a certain new toy law is passed in Washington State, they will have to close. The law will increase testing regulations, requiring toys sold in Washington State to reduce their lead content. From the article:
The new testing requirements would cost Archie McPhee's, which stocks over 10,000 different types of toys and knick-knacks, an estimated $5,000,000 a year. The cost of the tests alone would force McPhee's out of business. And it's not just small, local, beloved businesses that are worried about the new law. America's two largest toy companies, Hasbro and Mattel, met earlier this week with Governor Gregoire to try to halt the measure becoming law.
There seems to be some debate in the comments section of the article, however, as the law may allow small businesses caveats. So, should Archie's be worried at all?
Artist Angela Yuan has built this Etch-A-Sketch clock that erases and redraws the time every minute, allowing you to both see what time it is and be reminded at how inept you were at actually using an Etch-A-Sketch.
Meet Office Master and Windows Vista Sensei. They are members of "The Source Fource" a group of super heroes that represent different software applications offered by Microsoft, including such luminaries as ISV Super Gal, a young lady who's family made their money in beef and who left in disgrace after a particularly embarrassing cafeteria faux pas and the cleverly named Virtual Labs Guy, a gentleman who seems to have tried to sodomize a piece of heavy machinery at some point in his life and is now a paraplegic with a set of wheels cruelly fused to the bottom of his torso.
There are seven of these characters, making the misspelling of "force" appear merely perfunctory for, as we all know, nothing says "hip" and "cool" like puns. What's more, there are figurines of all them which can only be received by signing up for MSDN® Webcasts and Virtual Labs and attending events on these services. A few seem to have been given away and are now lost to you forever, but do not despair there are more on the way.
[Link via Super Punch]
So weighted. Such a companion. Soft and fluffy like the cubes in my dreams.
And here we see Qais after the cube has eaten his entire head. Amazing. Is there nothing that adorable cube can't do? Look at it! B'awwwwww I think he winked at meeeeeeee.
When I was a kid my parents were very anti-gun. As a result, I never owned so much as a Nintendo Zapper. I missed out on all the amazing toys of my day. There was no Optimus Prime for little Macky. No Sargent Slaughter's Triple-T Tank for me. No... I'm sorry there's something in my eye.
Just read on before I break down completely.
I love robots, but my love of the mechanical man-automatons will never surpass the Japanese. Toy maker Take-G has this stunning gallery of wooden robot toys on their website, they all look hand-carved and quite impressive. They are so adorable! I wish I read Japanese better. Where's the dang add to cart button?!
I yanked my debit card out of my bacon wallet instantly when I saw this awesome new Mario Kart racetrack set, memories of the old track-based race car sets racing (get a thesaurus, man) through my mind. Remember the smell when you ran one for a bit too long? That kind of burney electronics smell? Yeah, buddy! But the man-child in me can wait, as I have really no use for this. Although, it would make a great present! Hint, hint.
Earlier this month we announced a contest for whoever had the geekiest desk filled with toys, gadgets and other junk. A winner has been decided, and the gold medal/crown/trophy goes to Charlie! He narrowly beat out Sitnalta (who had a freakin' Tesla coil) due to his massive amount of toys, TV tuned to Firefly, copy of Kitchen Confidential and authentic movie memorabilia. Congratulations! For winning this contest, Charlie recieves various adulation for being an obsessive-compulsive pack-rat, a hand-made Weekly Geek statue, a limited edition hardcover copy of the first Penny Arcade collection, a Wii Play gold medal, a Microsoft snowboarding hat, Adobe board wax, a Zelda T-Shirt and whatever miscellaneous swag I can jam into a small cardboard box.
Check out the forum for all the entries. Competition was tight!
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