In honor of leap day I’d like to invite you all to start jumping to conclusions. Thanks to modern science we are all able to easily jump to conclusions by simply leaping forward in a particular direction. Simply amazing. Also included in the official Office Space Kit is a mini red stapler, Initech mug, TPS reports, starter “flair”, “Is this Good for the Company” sign, and a sticker for a copy machine that says “PC Load Letter.”

All this for only $12.99.

What does this mysterious “Jump to Conclusions” Mat look like? Find out.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Fun
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Gadgets are a part of daily life for pretty much everybody in 2007, so gadget gifts aren’t just for computer nerds anymore! We’ve rounded up some great tech gift ideas for everyone on your list. Whether you’re shopping for a business professional, social network butterfly, or any gadget-lover in-between, keep reading for some retail inspiration.

6 Device Electronics Charger: This little beauty is going to simplify a lot of lives. It’s six tentacles contain “six adapters that fit most portable devices, allowing an entire briefcase-full of electronic office tools to be fully powered in an average of two hours”. Comes with a regular and car charger so that you can also power up on the go.

Roomba 500 Series Robot Vacuum: It’s December 2007, and jet packs are still not available yet. The next best thing would definitely be the cleaning robots available from iRobot. Not only is the new 500 series vastly improved from earlier models, but there are also robots that mop your floors, vacuum up your shop, and clean your gutters. Also, with no AI chip* there’s no threat of your Roomba leading an electronic revolt. *(You’ll need iRobot Create developers kit for that)

Chaotic-Artistic Gadget Organizer: Shopping for an oxymoron? This beautiful tangle of wires is named Harry, and he is as unique and tech savvy as his future owner. Inside his guts you can have fun nestling not just gadgets, but keys, wallets, and whatever else you’re likely to throw on the table as soon as you get home.

DIY Laptop Sleeve/Bag: The laptop bags that we featured in our Indie Christmas part 1 post were amazing, but sometimes totally custom is the way to go. Let your laptop lover design every detail of their bag with the Skooba customizable sleeve that also cleverly transforms into a handled bag.

Bluetooth Rear View Mirror: Between cell phone laws and sloppy drivers, Bluetooth devices continue to prove themselves invaluable for traveling. The only question is, which will make you look crazier: talking to an earbud or talking to your rearview mirror?

USB Podcast Studio Kit: Blogging is so 2006. All the cool kids (and pretty much everyone else) know that podcasting is where its at. With this kit, give your nouveau podcaster “everything needed for crystal clear audio recording and editing”, packed up all cool into an aluminum briefcase.

Check back in a couple days for some last minute gift ideas in our Gadget Gift Roundup Part 2.

Posted by Lauren in Nerd, Gadgets
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Remember the 8-bit days of running and jumping from left to right and trying to avoid those carnivorous plants that arose from sewer pipes? Yeah me too. I was a rough life. Well fast forward 2 decades or so and now we are dealing with wireless controllers with like 8x more buttons and visual effects that we swear look totally real. If you or someone you know likes to reminisce of the simple 8-bit days then this pixelated style clip-on tie, dubbed The 8-Bit Tie, is a unique gift sure to be enjoyed. It has a silk-like feel, and each one is handmade for that special touch. Wear it with a button up, regular t-shirt, or snap it on your dog, where ever it goes it screams video game nostalgia and lets others know you are an old school techie fan.

For other novel ties with a techie flair check out ThinkGeek’s “Ties Suck” Tie and their Power Tie.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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You know you’re an Internet nerd when you actually LOL at shirts like this… which I did. Several times. Internet memes spread like wildfire, taking a decently funny or interesting idea and morphing them into something even better. A joke is always more enjoyable when you can look around the room (metaphorically, when it comes to Internet stuff) and see that other people get it, too. Internet memes are like that. Now that Think Geek has made a writable/washable shirt about it, it probably qualifies for the Internet Meme Hall Of fame. The possibilities are endless with this phrase (as seem in the galleries linked below), so get creative and be sure to keep the included marker handy. As TG says “Bored with what you wrote this morning? Throw the shirt in the wash and think up a new saying. It’s like Mad Libs meets Photoshop in a head-to-head deathmatch on your chest.” Yep, it’s exactly like that. You can also just use water and wipe the marker off, for rapid-fire slogan changing.

$16.99

• History and some example images
• Animal-based IM IN UR (blank) images
• in ur base, killing ur doodz

Posted by Lauren in Nerd, Clothing and Accessories
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Do you have a bunch of CDs, cassette tapes, vinyl, VHS tapes, etc. that you want converted to digital format for future preservation? This iPod converter can convert any media directly to your iPod (video or otherwise). Although this is aimed directly at the iPod enthusiast it can be extremely useful to anyone who wants to convert their media to digital format (MP3 for audio and MPEG4 for video).

Simply plug your audio or video device in the iPod converter with the included RCA connections (add S-video for video conversion), and plug the other end into your iPod or USB hard drive and press the magic button. Voila! Now your media has been converted to digital for you to listen, edit, or watch on your computer or iPod.

I envision this being plugged into a 250GB external hard drive and converting an entire music collection (vinyl, tapes, CDs, etc) plus old family videos (VHS, DVD, etc) directly to the external hard drive. Then plug that external drive into your PC and enjoy. Imagine all the space you can save if you converted all your VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and vinyl to digital format (MP3 for music and MPEG4 for video).

$199.95

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Gadgets
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If you haven’t already noticed it’s the 30th anniversary of Star Wars (1977-2007); so we all have a reason to celebrate the entire year. Well, at least Star Wars fans, like myself, have a reason to. What’s the universal sign of celebration? Cake! Everyone loves cake, and most people love Star Wars, and I just want to bring those two things together.

If one were so inclined they could adorn their Star Wars costume and fly hundreds of miles to the official Celebration IV to be surrounded by Force sensitive people and the creators of Star Wars. Or perhaps you can join me and others with bad motivators and just buy a Star Wars cake pan off eBay and celebrate at home with friends and family.

I can envision multiple weekends being filled with Star Wars movies and cartoons coupled with delicious cake shaped and frosted like Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-3PO, Boba Fett, and more.

Does your sweet tooth require more than just cake? Check out the Star Wars cookbook or the Star Wars Party Book and supplement your celebration with Wookie cookies and other Galactic specialties.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique
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Ever used your sink directly after someone else and were unpleasantly surprised with scalding hot water? Well now you can color code your water with this heat sensitive LED faucet adapter from ThinkGeek. Just to state the obvious; red water means hot (89 degrees or higher) and blue means cold.

I’m a little leary about the fact that this extends your faucet quite a bit (2.25 inches), but if you have the room in your sink, then I’d definitely join the cool kids on the block and get one. Midnight trips to the bathroom, tooth brushing, even simple face washing would become fun just by using this technological marvel. This LED faucet light attachment comes with two universal adapters for use with almost any standard faucet in the USA. Be sure to check out the customer action shots to see all the fun others are having.

$12.99 - $19.99

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Gadgets
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When a simple hand gesture just isn’t enough, use an emoticon to tell them exactly how you feel. The driving LED emoticon suction cups to your rear window and is controlled via the included wireless remote. This handy little gadget has 5 different messages: smiling face, frowning face, “Thanks”, “Back Off” and “Idiot”. Just be careful which button you press when the fuzz is behind you. Watch this YouTube video to see it in action.
$29.99

I’ve always wanted something that could express my true feelings or send a message out to others while driving, but I always envisioned some scrolling text. Another option in road-based communications is the scrolling LED license plate frame. Most geeks prefer blue LEDs because of their elite status, and this license plate frame not only has all blue LEDs, but is made of rust proof aluminum alloy for that extra bling. Programmable with up to 120 characters per message it can hold 5 messages and is controlled via included remote control.

39.99

This is only the beginning since it looks like Volkswagon’s Electronics Research Laboratory has designed a programmable electronic bumper sticker that can be used to communicate in real time with an unlimited amount of messages. [via] - Link

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Gadgets
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Want to learn how to use the Force? Need to lift your X-Wing from the swamp? You want to be a Jedi.
Now you can learn from the best, just like Luke, every time you wear this Yoda plush backpack.

Warning: wearing this backpack may result in large muscles, rock balancing abilities, and freaky visions in a cave. Well I saw it in a movie once, OK more like a hundred, but every time I watched it the same thing happened, so it must be true.

$37.99 at ThinkGeek

Related: Most Jedi build their own, but they probably didn’t have the Internet, so get your very own lightsaber replica to complete the look.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Clothing and Accessories
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The vinyl versus CD debate has been going on since since CDs first became available to consumers in the early 80’s. We’ve had 20+ years to acclimate to the crystal clear sound of compact discs, but vinyl enthusiasts still long for recordings “the way they were meant to sound”; fuzz, pops and all. As someone who falls in the middle of these camps, I’m dying to see what my old records would sound like when converted to MP3 files. I appreciate the sound of vinyl, but just can’t be bothered to flip the record every 20 minutes each time I want to hear some tunes. In addition, sometimes it’s nice to let an album (or perhaps 5+ of them if you’ve got a multi-disc player) repeat several times while I’m busy working for hours at a time. Vinyl has several selling points, but convenience just isn’t one of them.

With the InstantMusic Vinyl & Cassette Ripper, you just hook it up to a turntable or cassette deck then plug it in into a USB port on your PC or Mac. The included software lets you to convert your music to MP3 files, or burn directly to CD. It also has an awesome feature that detects the gaps between songs to divide old LPs into individual MP3 files. Just a couple years ago I remember lamenting that products like this were really expensive and/or hard to find, but now Think Geek makes them available for a mere $50. Thank you, technology!

The only problem this doesn’t solve is the room that vinyl takes up. If you’re anything like me, even if you’ve got a digital copy of your records, it’s not like you’d even consider getting rid of the originals! At least you can listen to them anytime you get the hankering, and without all that fuss of flipping, flipping, flipping…

$49.99 Windows
$59.99 Mac

Posted by Lauren in Nerd, Gadgets
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Valentine’s Day for us nerds can be a little confusing because of it’s emotion-based themes of love, romanticism, and all that gushy that stuff computers and science can’t explain. Have no fear fellow nerds and geeks because ThinkGeek is here to make it easy for you to express those feelings that can be so tricky to say.

Sonic Boom Alarm Clock
Sure to get anyone’s attention, even from miles away, is the Sonic Boom Love Clock Not only can it wake the dead with it’s 113 decibel alarm (louder than a jackhammer), but it can shake your bed to wake you up. This heart shaped alarm clock features a rainbow colored display and bed shaker attachment. The bed shaker is placed under your mattress and will send vibrations throughout the bed when the alarm goes off. Yes, you can disable the audio and just use the bed shaker. $39.99

DIY Blood Type Test Kit
Bleeding for a loved one can be a very endearing gesture, and using science to determine your blood type makes it an activity you’ll both be gushing over. Find out what your blood type of you and your Valentine is with the DIY Blood Type Test Kit and truly see if you are a match. Added bonus; this kit comes with a laminating sheet so you can carry the card with you once it dries. $8.99

Valentine’s Day Talking Tapes
They’ve been called “the audio equivalent of a flipbook“. They made action figures talk in the ’90s (remember Talkin’ Turtles?) and now they are here to tell your 5 Valentine messages. This Valentine’s Day package of Talking Tapes say “Be My Valentine,” “I Love You,” “Hello Sweetheart,” and “You Turn Me On” and to show off that lovely sense of humor “I’m a Jackass.” For those Polygamist and others interested; amplify your message for more than one person to hear by using an ordinary drinking cup (see video). $5.99

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique
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Over the years iRobot has brought us the ever useful Roomba vacuum, a robot that vacuums our floors, and more recently Scooba, a floor washing robot. Now iRobot has given every one the chance to make the next amazingly helpful robot with the iRobot Create. In their own words; “The iRobot Create is an affordable programmable robot, pre-assembled to facilitate the development of new robots.” Unfortunately this isn’t for the everyday person just yet as some computer programming skills are required.

In nerd speak the iRobot Create is a fully assembled programmable robot with out-of-the-box operation. 10 built-in demos and 32 built-in sensors allow you to control Create and experiment with robotics. An open cargo bay and 25-pin expansion port allow you to add your own sensors, grippers, wireless connections, computers or other hardware. Learn more about the details at the iRobot Create Crib.

Starts at $129.99

While I don’t have all the skills and experience required to make my own awesome robot with the new iRobot Create, I did come up with some ideas that would make my life better and hopefully some others. So if you use these to create the next gem in iRobots arsenal and become famous, just don’t forget to mention where you got the idea!

Idea #1:
I enjoy playing with my cats, and I feel guilty when I don’t have the time to play with them everyday to stimulate their little minds and break up the monotony of domesticated life. That is why an automated robotic cat would make an amazing invention. I’m envisioning an iRobot Create with a fishing pole type arm with cat toy on the end that can continuously and randomly fling the toy. Then continue to reel in slowly or quickly to entice a cat to pounce on the toy. Then possibly move to a new spot and try again. Bonus points goes to a robot that can make the cat toy move slowly around a corner because my cats love attacking their prey at the very last second.

Idea #2:
Everyone could use a little confidence booster now and then, so how about a complimenting robot? It could tell you how well dressed you look today, or compliment you on how well you did the dishes or made dinner. Perhaps with some kind of face recognition software it could compliment your well groomed moustache or new hair color. With a robot like that everyone would be walking a little taller when they leave the house.

Check out some iRobot Create Projects already done and brainstorm for your own ideas.
Have some ideas of your own? Leave them in the comments below and maybe someday we can all benefit from your genius.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique, Gadgets
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Threadless just announced 7 new designs from their loyal artists and 2 reprints of once out of stock designs. Check out their front page for all the latest designs.

We’ve always held a special place in our dreams about sailing away on a big galleon ship and I believe The Captain’s Dream captures this perfectly. I don’t think there is much else to say, other than I’ve got to have this shirt. This shirt would also make a great gift for the pirate ship fan in your life.

Mable’s is well versed in the plight of the nerds and when Nerds Unite we’ve got to represent. I don’t remember seeing this shirt on Threadless before, but here it is again in all its reprinted glory. Nerds unite in the strangest ways, but forming a giant Voltron like beast is more than enough to scare the jocks and get mad nerd points.

Don’t forget that since these are made available via Threadless these shirts aren’t available forever. In fact the more popular they are the quicker they sell out, so act fast. On occasion, as seen here, they will reprint the more popular shirts, but don’t count on it unless enough people vote for a reprint. You can also earn credit towards more shirts if you take a picture of yourself wearing a Threadless shirt and send it in.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique, Clothing and Accessories
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Here is a nice green stocking stuffer for the computer nerd who’s always traveling. A set of 3 recycled circuit board luggage tags complete with blank card in cardholder. These would also make unique, reusable gift tags to place atop technology or eco-friendly gifts.

$12.97

You can complete the theme with these recycled circuit board stocking stuffers as well: Circuit Board Business Card Case ($19.99) and “Circuit Board Coasters In Tin, Set Of 6″ ($17.99).

Posted by Sean in Holiday, Holiday Green Gift Guide, Nerd
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Are your USB ports working for you? Usually we connect a boring printer, web cam, or mouse to these ports, but chances are you have a few ports not being utilized. Manufactures have taken advantage of the fact that USB can deliver power from your PC to a small device by creating fun toys that plug into our computers that don’t even involve the rest of the computer.

You can get a USB powered beverage cooler, a beverage warmer, or an Air Purifier and Clock. Add some fun into your work day with a USB powered missile launcher. If you like the missile launcher make sure to check out this Circus Canon Launcher as well.

For the ultimate in computer desk decor try a mini lava lamp or a 6 color cycling mini Christmas tree. A more useful USB powered item might be a personal fan, or a reading light with just enough light to brighten up your keyboard for all your midnight surfing. For added decor try a mini lamp complete with retro orange lamp shade.

If you don’t have any spare USB ports you can always plug in a USB hub that turns 1 port into more. How many more? It’s up to you, add 3, 4, or up to 7 more ports. 7 free USB ports would allow for quite the arsenal of missile launchers.

Bring these toys along for the ride in your car with a FirePod that converts your any 12V automotive DC power source (lighter) into a USB and Firewire port.

Posted by Sean in Nerd, Unique, Fun, Gadgets
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