Geekologie - Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome

MC Escher Inspired Interlocking Wooden Floor Lizards

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:46 -0500

These are the wooden floor tiles cut by Spanish flooring company Arbore. They were inspired by MC Escher's famous 'Reptiles' drawing, even if the company refuses to admit it. They did admit it though, so we're cool. No need to make signs and go stand out front of their offices picketing. I mean unless you want to, in which case I'm down. I've never been to Spain before and I think I could write it off as a business expense. Or as a giant mistake, depending on whether or not we get arrested. Hit the jump for Escher's original drawing and a couple more of the floor.

5-Million Piece Full Size LEGO X-Wing Fighter Model

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:00:24 -0500

This is the 5,335,200-piece LEGO X-wing fighter, a full-scale version of the 560-piece set the company actually sells. It's not pure LEGO though, it has a steel armature inside so the whole nose doesn't fall off when some tourist turns around and farts at the thing. Facts and figures:

Weighs 45,979.61 pounds (including bricks and steel infrastructure) Height: 11 feet / 3.35 meters Length: 43 feet / 13.1 meters Wingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters 32 builders spent 17,336 hours (about 4 months) to construct

Wow -- 5,335,200 LEGO pieces, that's a lot of plastic. And as much as I love the end result and want it in my backyard so I can play space everyday and die happy, I can't help but wonder if that plastic could have gone to better use. Like, are we being wasteful? Is this going to cause plastic prices to rise? Because if they start charging for sporks at Taco Bell we're gonna have a problem. And I'm not talking about regular Taco Bell problems like shitting your pants either. Hit the jump for a couple more shots but head over to Gizmodo to see even more in high-res.

Lil' Girl Cosplaying As Stan Lee Sitting On Stan Lee's Lap

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:30:49 -0500

This is a shot by Vincent James Cracchiolo of a little girl cosplaying as Stan Lee and sitting on the real Stan Lee's lap at the recent Motor City Comic-Con. No word if Stan was insulted by the girl's lack of teeth but I'm assuming not because Stan seems like a pretty nice guy. Did you know he's already 90? Did you know he's going to live past 400 thanks to anti-aging superpowers? That's true -- a man dressed as Spider Man on Hollywood Boulevard told me. "And you believed him?" He was shooting silly string out of his hands! "And?" And was charging people $5 to have their picture taken with him before he wandered into the street and got hit by a car. "So...?" SO CAN WE AT LEAST HONOR A STREET PERFORMER'S DYING DREAM? Thanks to carey, who told me she's had her picture taken with Stan Lee before too which sounded like bragging to me because why would you need to bring that up if you're just sending a tip? Well of course I'm jealous.

LEGO Alien Facehugger Hugging Some Poor Sap's Face

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:43:49 -0500

This is the Alien facehugger made entirely out of LEGO by DeviantARTist AL13N163NA, which then decided to hug dude's face and put an alien baby in him. You know how chestbursters are called chestbursters because they always hatch out of a person's chest? Well that's not entirely true. Sometimes they get lost crawling around in there and wind up bursting out of their host's ass (assbursters), but you don't hear about those because who the hell wants to hear about those? I regret sitting in the back of the school bus that day. Hit the jump for a couple more shots.

Guy Has Awesome 'Gears Of War' Scene Featuring His Wife And Two Dogs Drawn For Their First Anniversary

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:30:20 -0500

Note: This shot really don't do the piece justice. Click HERE to see it even bigger. This is the 'Gears of War' scene Redditor Xioo had he and his wife and dogs drawn into to celebrate their first anniversary. Should those dogs have guns on their backs? Probably. And for the record, the entire piece wasn't drawn just for the anniversary, it was a piece the artist had already created and just altered for the couple. Maybe not as insane as having an entire picture drawn just for you, but also nowhere near as expensive. You're typically not made of money your first year of marriage, you know? You're usually buying a house, saving up to have children, fixing up a man-cave real nice so you can spend a lot of time in there alone -- that sort of thing. Thanks to Darren, who informed me it's traditional to give a paper gift for first year anniversaries because why risk buying something more expensive when you've only been at it for a year? Daaaaw, such a hopeless romantic!

Would Hang: Beautifully Designed Video Game Posters

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:56 -0500

This is a series of beautifully designed video game posters by artist and illustrator Marinko Milosevski. He did a whole series of Zelda and Metal Gear ones, plus a couple BONUS ones for Metroid, Super Metroid, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. They're all available as limited edition prints in Marinko's shop for $35 apiece. Hit the jump to see the rest, and if you don't like at least one I'll let you come over to my apartment and punch me in the neck. You can't miss me, I'm the one wearing the 'Geekologie Writer' t-shirt. Now if you'll excuse me...dammit Derrek, I have friends coming over -- put this shirt on. Hit the jump for the rest, then buy them all for me.

4-Year Old Girl Showing Off Her Marvel Superhero Trivia

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:30:38 -0500

This is a video of 4-year old future heartbreaker Mia Grace showing off her Marvel superhero trivia in a game of 'The Car Trivia of Superheroes With Daddy And Mia...On The Way To The Store'. She does really well. Way better than her mom does at not holding a camera in vertical mode. Hit the jump for the video.

Aperture Science Portal Bike (Isn't As Cool As It Sounds)

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:30:36 -0500

This is the Aperture Science Portal themed fixie for sale on Craigslist in San Jose, CA. And by Portal themed I mean it's black with an Aperture Science sticker and orange and blue rims. Plus BONUS My Little Pony stickers! Those are probably worth the $300 themselves.

I'm selling a nice dicent fixie 300 obo just got the rims a week ago but I don't even ride bikes so I don't need it anymore every thing works fine and looks good I paid over 450 for every thing on text me at (408)359-8177 text only I can take off the stickers if wanted will trade for wii u

Wait, so you paid over $450 for everything but don't even ride bikes? You might want to reevaluate your buying habits. Also, "will trade for wii u"?! AHAHHAHAHHAHHA. Just learn how to ride the bike bro. Hit the jump for a closeup of the BONUS My Little Pony stickers.

CG Star Wars Versus Star Trek Battle In San Francisco

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:17 -0500

This is a computer graphics clash between the forces of Star Wars and Star Trek in and above San Francisco. Who wins? I'm not saying, that would be a spoiler. I'm joking, the video's called 'Death Star Destroys Enterprise'. It's a special extended re-release of this crappier version made in 2009. Can you believe I remembered that? ME NEITHER. It's like how some days I can't remember my ATM PIN but I could easily stand there singing the entire f***ing DuckTales theme song. Whoo-oo! Hit the jump for the video.

Sunbathing With Satan: The Pentagram Bikini Top

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:28 -0500

This is the Pentagram Bikini sold by Etsy shop MASSBlack for $55. Thankfully, that price includes a top and bottom, so the '666' you shaved into your bush can remain you and the devil's little secret. Hit the jump for another shot where she kind of looks like Kim Kardashian if Kim Kardashian were a real human being and not a government conspiracy to keep morale at an all time low.

Teensy 'Nanoflowers' Grown On The Surface Of A Penny

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:56 -0500

This is a gallery of tiny 'nanoflowers' grown on the surface of pennies and glass by engineers at Harvard University. They're not actually flowers though, they just look like them. In reality they're microscopic bits of carefully grown crystals. "Like meth." Exactly like meth.

To get a sense of just how small these flower sculptures are, grab a penny and flip it on its back. Right in the middle of the Lincoln Memorial, you'll see a faint impression of Abraham Lincoln. These roses would make a perfect corsage for the president's jacket lapel. The flowers sprout up spontaneously when a glass plate is dipped into a beaker filled with silicon and minerals (specifically, barium chloride). Then Wim Noorduin at Harvard coaxes the salts to spiral and swirl into smooth, curvaceous shapes, like vases, leaves and petals. He sculpts the stems and blossoms by slightly tweaking the environment in which the crystals grow. Lowering the temperature makes the petals thicker. Bursts of carbon dioxide send ripples through the leaves and blossoms.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Give your girlfriend a penny and say you grew her a nanogarden on it even though you just found it tails-up on the sidewalk?" What? No! Well yes, but damn it sounds pretty shitty when you say it out loud. Hit the jump for a bunch more.

Climbing Out Of The Cup: 3-D Coffee Foam Art

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:00:00 -0500

This is a small gallery of 3-D foam art created by Osaka barista Kazuki Yamamoto. He's clearly got some foam skills. I'm not even sure what I'd say if a barista called my name and then handed me a drink that looks like this. Probably something like, "Awesome, but I ordered my coffee black." Hit the jump for several more including Vault Boy.

But Why?: Skateboarder Ollies Onto Piece Of Molten Glass

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:30 -0500

This is a video of glassblower and skateboarder Robert G. Burch riding his skateboard through a puddle of molten glass. Why? Presumably to combine his two passions in life. Like me when I'm laying down AND playing video games. Hit the jump for the video.

Death Wish: 163MPH On A Rocket Powered Bicycle

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:17 -0500

This is a short video of French bicyclist François Gissy setting a new world record by hitting 263km/h (~163mph) on a hydrogen peroxide powered rocket bike. That seems dangerous. I've probably hit 25mph on my bike before and I felt like my face was going to melt off. Then I hit a curb trying to dodge a dead opossum and melted both my knees and the palm of one hand off. People at work would get all offended when I wouldn't shake hands and I'd have to show it to them and they'd be all, "Whoa -- you've got a Two-Face hand!" Then I'd flip a coin to see if I was going to sneak up on them at their desk later and squeeze the back of their neck with it. Hit the jump for a couple worthwhile videos (skip to the last 20-seconds of the second one to see the takeoff from behind).

Harp Twins Perform Star Trek The Next Generation Theme

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:34 -0500

Because everybody ran out to see the new movie this weekend, here's a video of Harp Twins Camille and Kennerly performing a Star Trek: The Next Generation theme duet ON AN ALIEN PLANET. Jk, I think they're in Utah. Smart decision both wearing yellow command uniforms though, it would have been a shame if one opted for a red shirt and the next video had to be a solo. Or, should I say, Sulu? "That doesn't make any sense." Nothing does anymore. *throws smoke bomb, retreats to bathroom* Hit the jump for the video.