Author Archive: Paul Strauss

UK print studio Dorothy reimagined a bunch of influential video games in the style of an oversized stamp sheet, with each game displayed in a minimalist abstract style along with the year it was released. The artwork celebrates 50 years of gaming and features a lot of the most celebrated games of the past half-century.

In Back to the Future, Marty loved to play the guitar. I’m thinking if he ever asked Doc Brown to make him a musical instrument, it might have looked like this. Sure, he’d have to learn to play the bass, but I’m sure he’d be fine with that.

Does your office mate talk too loud on the phone? Is your dog barking too much when the doorbell rings? Or do you have a kid that just won’t stop whining about some toy they want you to buy them?

If there’s one thing you can count on in the Star Wars universe, it’s that if you build a big round killer space station, it’s sure to have some kind of major weakness that can be exploited to blow it to smithereens.

If you live in a house constructed with a wood frame or wooden siding, this is the last thing you ever want to buy. But if your dwelling is made from brick, concrete, stone, metal, or glass, read on… Do you want to see what termites can do to a piece of wood?

When it comes to healthy living, McDonald’s is one of the last places that comes to mind. I mean, did you ever see the movie Super Size Me? Well, at one McDonald’s location in China, you can work off a little of your high-fat and high-carb lunch while you eat.

The Millennium Falcon is best known for its ability to do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. But did you know it’s also suitable for cutting parsnips? Or chopping onions? Or julienning carrots? Well, it is if you pick up this Millennium Falcon cutting board from Promi Design.

It’s that time of year. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. It’s time to set up the Christmas tree, string the lights, and hang the ornaments. But if you’re tired of all the jolly and festive holiday traditions, maybe you need to go with something a little darker for your decorations this year.

Recently, I wrote about the Thumby, a teensy Game Boy-inspired gaming system that you basically need to be Ant-Man to play. If you like the idea of a miniature Game Boy, but your thumbs aren’t small enough to play that thing, you might want to consider the ZMKC Pocket Game Console Artisan Keycap instead.

Did you get a boo-boo on your finger? Don’t be normal and wrap it in an ordinary Band-Aid. Instead, be a surrealist and protect your cuts and scrapes with a slice of pizza. No silly, not actual searing hot pizza.

Do you long for the days when software shipped on a bunch of floppy disks? Yeah, me either. But I do have a soft spot in my heart for collecting retro technology and art that celebrates it out of a sense of nostalgia.

It’s been a few months since I’ve seen R2-D2 rolling around, but the last thing I remember, he was still shaped like a garbage can on wheels. Well, I guess our little Astromech droid has been hitting the gym because he’s looking quite slim and leggy these days.

Remember that scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when Violet Beauregard chomps down on the 3-course dinner chewing gum? Well, this is kind of like that, though it’s not going to turn you blue when you get to dessert.

Star Wars fans, what’s better than sipping coffee from a Darth Vader helmet mug? Sipping coffee from a chrome-finish Darth Vader helmet mug. The Sith Lord’s black outfit is so shiny you could comb your hair in its reflection, but this mug is even more reflective thanks to its mirrored ceramic finish.

Do you like creepy, crawly stuff? Then this LEGO construction should give you quite the thrill, as it’s about as gnarly looking as anything we’ve ever seen built from bricks. This awesomely creepy black widow mech was created by LEGO artist Markus Rollbühler, who put it together for Creations for Charity, a non-profit organization that raises funds for underprivileged children during the holidays by selling LEGO builds donated by its community.

I like to think I’m pretty adept at Microsoft Excel.  Whenever I show some neophyte how to use a Pivot Table, I feel like a spreadsheet god. Despite my skills at manipulating rows, columns, formulas, and macros, I don’t have all the Excel keyboard shortcuts memorized.