So, what awesome stuff did you get?

I had a nice, if not very relaxing, Christmas.  My work schedule was on the crazy side, so being off for Christmas eve and day was great.

Somehow my sister-in-law found an amazing store (or stores, she won't tell me where she got them) that stocks dragon and other medieval themed stuff.

Like dragon bookends:

Dragon jewelry (the one on the left curls around - and through - your ear):

And medieval armour/weapon pens:

So, how were your holidays and what awesome stuff did you get?

Geek Gifts: Books Based on Internet Comics/Sites

I know I haven't done as many Geek Gift posts as I'd intended, but better late than never.  And just in time for the holidays!  You may - or may not - know the websites, but did you know they had a book? 

As with all my lists, this one isn't comprehensive.  For the most part they're books we stock at my store and so are a planned endcap for the holiday season.  If you know of a book to add, mention it in the comments (just be aware that I'm working more this month and it may take a day or two for your commented books to make the main post).

Click on the book title to see their websites.  Most, but not all of these, are humour books, so the sites themselves are good for a browse when you're feeling blue or to kill a few minutes - or hours.

Hark! A Vagrant – Kate Beaton

Awkward Family Photos – Mike Bender & Doug Chernack

Sh*t My Kids Ruined – Julie Haas Brophy

Lackadaisy – Tracy Butler

Fail Harder – Failblog Community

Passive Aggressive Notes – Kerry Miller

I Am Maru – Mugumogu

xkcd – Randall Munroe

There, I Fixed It – Cheezburger Network

I Can Has Cheezburger – Happycat Professor

Chinglish – Oliver Radtke

The Brick Bible – Brendan Powell Smith

Simon's Cat – Simon Tofeld

Valve Presents: The Sacrifice & Other Steam-powered stories – Valve

Cyanide & Happiness – Kris Wilson

Geek Gifts: Jigsaw Puzzles

Now, I know what you're thinking, you can get jigsaw puzzles everywhere.  Why are you mentioning them?  But I don't think most people realize how diverse jigsaw puzzles have become, or how cool.

For example, Bits and Pieces in Canada (I've used this company several times), and The Puzzle House (found using a quick google search, I've never bought from them before) list quite a number of different puzzle types: 1000 piece, glow in the dark, shaped, 3D and 4D to name the more unusual.

My husband bought me a glow in the dark puzzle from Bits and Pieces (unfortunately they don't have that particular one on their site anymore).  Not only was it challenging to put together - the pieces not being the traditional jigsaw shape - it looked fantastic in the dark (once you ran a strong flashlight over it to 'charge' the glow in the dark paint).   Here's one they do have in stock, under normal lights and our train puzzle, glowing.

Shaped puzzles look cute, so if you can find a shape your recipient likes, that's a bonus.  They're usually smaller puzzles though, so don't pick one of those if you want to give them a challenge.
 

I came across 4D puzzles at the Toronto Science Center.  We haven't put ours together yet, but they sure look cool.  Here's New York: 

3D puzzles are fairly common now.  You can find them in a lot of games shops, toy stores, science stores and department stores.  Some of the things you can make are pretty awesome, like globes and castles.  My husband's got the CN Tower, a working grandfather clock (it's tough to change the battery),R2D2 and more.  Here's a globe and Neuschwanstein Castle:

If you want more story with your puzzle, I stumbled across mystery puzzles at a boutique shop on a trip up North.  You can buy similar things online at places like The Puzzle House or Are You Game.  The one I bought was an Alfred Hitchcock mystery jigsaw that requires you to read a small book about various characters who, in this puzzle, have 'an unusual "obsession" with Alfred Hitchcock and his films'.  You then assemble the puzzle - which doesn't match the cover (so you can't cheat and see what the puzzle's supposed to look like while assembling it), and then solve the mystery.

Or you can just go with nigh impossible black and white 1000 piece puzzles, like High Security by artist Thomas Barbey (available, among other places, at Boardgames.ca) which my husband recently finished.  I helped with the castle.  :)

Geek Gifts: Multi-Tools

Geeks love tools, but don't try to pawn off single tools on them.  A screwdriver that just puts in screws?  What use is that?  Not only do those tools take up extra space, they're just so... ordinary.  What geeks want are tools that are functional and just look COOL.

Like these.  I did a quick google search and came up with more than I can display.  Here are some companies and sites where you can find awesome multi-tools.

First up is Gerber.  Don't think baby food, this Gerber makes some pretty hard core tools, knives and camping equipment.  Like this, the multi-plier 600 blunt nose with tool kit.  It contains: "Blunt nose pliers, wire cutter, wire crimper, fine edge knife, serrated knife, cross point screwdriver, small, medium and large flat blade screwdrivers, lanyard ring, can opener, bottle opener, file, and ruler. Tool kit with six bits and adapter."  

Next is Leatherman.  They've got a nice line of multi-tools and knives.  Take the Juice XE6.  It comes with: "420HC clip point knife, 420HC sheep's foot serrated knife, needlenose pliers, regular pliers, wire cutters, hard-wire cutters, extra-small screwdriver, med/lg screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, scissors, wood/metal file, diamond-coated file, saw, bottle opener, can opener, awl, corkscrew with assist".

We got our Kelvin 23 from Canadian Tire, but this image is from Tech-Styling, which also sells it.  It contains: "a snap action screwdriver that locks at 90 degrees for extra torque, 16 screwdriver bits, 2 metre tape measure, a magnet to hold screws and rescue the ones you’ve dropped, steel hammer surface, spirit level, an LED torch to light up the work area".






Another good company to look at is Sheffield, which has several pages of multi-tools.  Like this Camper 12-in-1 multi-tool you can buy at Home Hardware.  It comes with: "Axe, Hammer, Hex key, wrench, 1/4" slotted screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, Drop point, blade, Saw, Bottle opener, Fish scaler, Hook remover, Ruler, File, Bonus Belt Pouch".

And don't think you have to be hardcore into tools or camping to find nifty multi-tools.  It's not all about knife blades and screwdrivers.  Evriholder has come up with a pair of scissors (EvriScissors) that have multiple uses - and are very sharp (I got a pair for Christmas, and they're sharper than the sewing scissors I bought). "Uses include: scissors, knife, screw driver, wrench, can opener, bottle opener, jar wrench, nut cracker, magnet, wire stripper, wire cutter, and fish scaler."

 

 We'll end with a few unique multi-tools.  I found these at Added Touch, a Canadian mail order store.  The first is a Magnetic Laser Level/Screwdriver Set.  This is the sort of tool that makes hanging pictures a breeze.  You've got everything you need nicely contained.  it also complements some of the other multi-tools by not doubling up on too much, and giving you a few things they don't.  "This set includes an accurate built-in bubble level, a laser pointer for line-of-sight marking, a 5-inch ruler and a screwdriver with two Phillips bits one flathead bit. Aluminum case with magnetic base."







Last on this list, but definitely not the last you can find, is this Personalized Tape Measure.  Sounds pretty standard until you realize that it contains a calculator, sticky note pad and pen in addition to the lighted spring-loaded tape.


Ultimately, you can find multi-tools in a myriad of places and can fit them to any budget (that laser level's only $15  and depending on the number of blades you want, the other companies have products below $20 as well).

If you're in Canada, a great place to shop for camping equipment and multi-tools is the Mountain Equipment Co-Op.  They've got a category for multi-tools which includes goods by Leatherman and Gerber.  Also check out army surplus stores and general camping and hardware stores.

Geek Gifts: Rare Earth Magnetic Balls

There are several companies selling rare earth magnet balls, or neodymium balls.  You've probably heard of a few of them already: Buckyballs (from whose site the photo to the left came from), NeoCube, ZenMagnets, CyberCube and more.  I bought my husband a set of NeoCubes a few years back (the only ones I could find in Canada at the time). 

With most of the sets you get 200+ mini balls that you can put together in any number of designs.  They're quite amusing and will occupy a geeks and non-geeks alike for many, many hours.

One thing to be aware of, the companies who make these have designed them all to be slightly different sizes from each other.  Even within manufacturers your balls could be differently sized (for example, if you get CyberCube's 7x7 green box the balls are 4.76mm, if you get the 6x6 blue box, they're 6mm).

So, though NeoCubes were the only ones available in Canada back when I bought them, I can't find them here anymore, but also can't supplement them with a set from another company either.  So take care when deciding which company to go with.

If you're not into balls, here's a site that sells rare-earth magnets of different shapes and sizes, MagCraft.

Seriously though, magnets are a lot of fun.  Just play safely.  Each site contains a warning against letting children get their hands on them (swallowing magnets can lead to injury or death).  You can buy them from their respective sites, a lot of game/puzzle sites online and science stores.

Here's a video from MRJeffsoable's youtube page, showing some of the shapes you can make:

Geek Gifts: Electroluminescent Clothing

In the interests of finding new gift ideas for my husband, I'll be starting this monthly feature: Geek Gifts.  The US has a lot of nifty sites but since I don't like ordering from the States (because you have to deal with surprise taxes, duties, high shipping fees and unknown currency conversion) I'll try to mention both US and Canadian sites where you can get the items mentioned.

And if you have gift suggestions for future posts, feel free to mention them in comments.

The first gift idea is electroluminescent clothing, ie clothing that lights up!  It's mostly shirts, but you can find other things, like ties and hats too.

In Canada you can get a limited selection of t-shirts from the Geek Chic Boutique and the Glow Authority Canada (I've purchased items through Glow Authority Canada's website and had no problems).

In the US, you can try T-quilizer or Light Up Decal, which has a large selection of shirts.  These are just the first two sites that came up under my search.  I'm sure there are dozens of places that carry light up clothes items now in the States.