My handmade Skyrim "helmet" beanie

Between Skyrim sessions (while my hubby was playing), I was inspired to design a “helmet” like the Iron Helmet in the video game. Here’s what I came up with! My very own Skyrim-inspired beanie, made with my own little hands. What do you think?

I posted a couple of photos on my Facebook page, and some people asked about buying the Skyrim hat. So I’ve put a listing in my Etsy shop (Skyrim inspired “Iron Helmet” with horns) if anybody’s interested.

Grandpa, between his sister and his wife

Happy Veterans’ Day! I always think about my grandfather on this day. He died a few years ago, and I never heard him talk about his war experiences. He fought in World War II and the Korean War.

He made it home alive, raised children, worked hard, retired, and celebrated 50 years of marriage. During his long life, he shared some wise and funny sayings with us. Here are a few of my favorites:

• “Clean your plate.”
• “Gettin’ old is hell.”
• “I’ll give you 45 minutes to cut that out.” (During a shoulder massage.)
• “You can curl ‘em, braid ‘em, or split ‘em. Just don’t pull them out!” (When we would comb the few hairs he had left on his head.)
• “Gives the mosquitoes a place to skate.” (On being bald.)
• “What, honey? I don’t hear so good anymore. I don’t smell so good, either.”

I would have liked to hear about his days in the military, but he didn’t want to talk about that. I appreciate and respect his service, and I honor him by sharing these memories today.

Thank you, Grandpa. And thanks to all the people who have served our country to protect our freedom and preserve our safety!

One of my favorite things about the Internet is finding something new, funny, intriguing, or surprising to share with my friends. Sometimes, I write about the best stuff and share it here on Geek Mom Mashup. Other times, I just share the link, because I don’t feel like writing a whole blog post.

Scoop.it Dashboard Heading

This is where the curation process starts. You view Scoop.it‘s suggestions and choose which ones are the best. Add your own intro, image and keywords, and click Publish! The story is posted to your own niche microsite, with built-in sharing tools. For an example of how it works, check out my topic pages.

Here are my Scoop.it topics:

• Geek and Gamer Stuff
• Geeky Creations (crafts, food, artwork)
• The Hunger Games Books and Movies
• The Twilight Saga

You can make your topic pages more popular by choosing the best content, weeding out the unrelated or spammy search results, and sharing your published stories. You can also set up your account to automatically post to your other accounts, including Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and WordPress.

Scoop.it‘s still in beta mode, but I have 9 invitations to share! If you’d like to try it, just leave me a comment below. It’s a fairly fun, and amazingly easy, way to gather and share the freshest stuff on the web.

Meta Knight by nerdJERK

Stephanie specializes in Nintendo game characters, and you can see more of her amazing work at her Etsy shop and on her Flickr photostream.

I salute you for your contributions to Global Geekery, nerdJERK! Keep up the awesomeness!

Via Scoop.it – Geek and Gamer Stuff

It’s a camera! It’s a ball! It’s…both! German researchers come up with the Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera that can take a single, instantaneous 360-degree image.
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Via Scoop.it – Geek and Gamer Stuff

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery.
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Steve Jobs Changed the World

I know Steve Jobs was not a god. I don’t worship him. I just have such a great appreciation for his ideas, and the things that grew out of them.

And although it might sound exaggerated, he really did change the world. Even for millions of people who never met him, it’s kind of like he was our friend.

He created things that we use and love. He made devices that we hold against our faces, and keep in pockets over our hearts. Many of us regard our pet gadgets as trusty sidekicks. We sleep with them, eat with them, and emote over them.

He changed the world because he affected every Apple user individually, and gave us something in common where there might not have been anything there before.

Thank you for making the world a better place, Steve.

I’m sad that Steve Jobs has died today. I’ve always appreciated the careful design and engineering of his company’s products. He was a visionary and a Geek Legend. Here is a commencement speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005. It’s a great speech. Rest In Peace, Steve.

Today is the 42nd anniversary of Monty Python’s Flying Circus! To commemorate the date, I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite Monty Python sketches. Cheers to the silliest Brits in history. Well done, chaps! Thanks for the laughs! Keep on silly-walking!

The wildly popular game “Angry Birds” has achieved near global notoriety as an addictively fun, time-gobbling pastime. So it’s really no surprise that you can dress as an Angry Bird or Pig for Halloween, or for your next Bird/Pig costume party. Here are some of the possibilities. Just click a picture to shop!