Happy Halloween!

I’m all about the Halloween group costume.  Last year we did Peanuts and this year I nerded it up big time! Let’s just say when you’re a nerd and your son is named Wesley, this costume is practically mandatory.

And for the non-nerds out there, no, we’re not the family from the Incredibles. We’re not anyone from Star Wars.* Nope, this costume is straight-up Star Trek: The Next Generation.

via Ex Astris Scientia

Matt makes a pretty awesome Picard, Wesley’s the cutest little Crusher on the planet (#momBias), and I’m supposed to be Beverly Crusher, I just don’t have the hair for it.

Let’s take a closer look at Wesley’s iconic ugly sweater, shall we?

If you really want to be technical, the bottom stripe is supposed to be more tealy-blue, but I DIYed this puppy on the cheap so my options were limited.

I think my son only smiles when he has a stick (then bawls when I don’t let him bring sticks into the house).

Our daycare’s Halloween Party was today, and apparently once his teacher said “Wesley Crusher from Star Trek” there was even some recognition (so I think they would have gotten it if they had seen us all together).  We went to Halloween/Birthday party over the weekend and only 1 person there got it. #nerdProblems

 

*These were all actual guesses. I also had a co-worker ask what we were doing for Halloween.  When I responded that I had a Star Trek family costume planned, she asked if Wesley was going to be the “bear thing.” My new tagline may be “May the force be so Number One.”

Go Watch This: Galavant

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I think every one of us has at least one friend who can always recommend something awesome. I got a message from a friend of mine a while back telling me to watch Galavant because she thought I would get a kick out it. Lucky for me (?) the next day I was stuck with an especially clingy baby so I started binge-watching.

And she was right, it was awesome.

And weird.

But awesome.

But really weird.

I’ll be completely honest, this is probably not for everyone. If you enjoy musicals, particularly odd musicals (think Spamalot) then you may be one of the few, the proud, the nerdy that this appeals too. It’s very tongue-in-check and full of innuendo. If you’re a big fan of musicals you may catch some parody moments mixed in. One the main characters is Timothy Omundson (Carlton Lassiter from Psych) and there are appearances by Anthony Stewart Head, Ricky Gervais,  Jon Stamos, and Weird Al.

As my friend pointed out, it’s kind of miracle it made it through 2 seasons, but I’m still really bummed it was canceled. It does at least wrap-up reasonably well though.

Other things I binged-watched while I was out on maternity leave:

Would I Lie to You (You Tube)

Only Connect (You Tube)

Victoria* (Amazon Prime)

I tried watching Mindhunter (Netflix) and I got through the first season… but I dunno, it just didn’t suck me in like I thought it would. Everyone feels oddly flat and the main character’s kind of a prick.

I did plow through the second season of Stranger Things (Netflix) as soon as it came out.  It was good, but it’s just so hard to top the first season. It definitely sets things up for more seasons though so I may never be able to cancel my Netflix subscription and pare down to just one streaming service (I have to keep Prime because 2 day shipping + baby = winning at parenting).

 

*I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m far more interested in British royals after they’re dead. I really enjoy The Crown (Netflix) too, but with Queen Elizabeth II at over 90 I figure that’s close enough.

Slice of Life: Apathy Division

Setting the scene: Matt’s upstairs working on putting the latch back on our bedroom door and I’m downstairs with a friend of mine playing along with Only Connect.*

Me: Did you just hear Matt?

E: I don’t think so? …Maybe he was calling for help because he broke his hand.

Me: But if he had a broken hand he could still come downstairs for help.

E: Maybe he broke his leg…. But then he could still at least crawl closer to the stairs and yell louder.

Both of us continue watching Only Connect.

…..

A while later Matt comes down and joins us.

Matt: It turns out this lock has a “feature.” If you push this bit in… Demonstrates and shows that part of bolt will pop out, even if the knob was in the “unlocked” position. Well, I didn’t know this and I closed the door.

Me: And you locked yourself in the bedroom?

Matt: And I locked myself in the bedroom.

Me: Ah… were you yelling for me earlier?

Matt: Yes, I was hoping you’d be able to help me get out.

Me: I thought I heard something. We figured if you really needed something you’d keep yelling.

 

To be fair, I was snuggling a sleeping baby and didn’t want to disturb him and I didn’t think Matt was up to anything inherently dangerous.  I also didn’t realize that locking yourself into a room when the lock doesn’t even require a key was even an option. It was, however, our specific choice of lock that led to the problem in the first place.

The door originally had a deadbolt installed on it and it was just chunky and ugly.  “Low-profile” deadbolts apparently don’t exist (except some super-mod and silver varieties), but I did find a pocket-door lock in oil rubbed bronze that would fit the existing hole and blend into the new finish. Instead of a key you can unlock it from the other side with a screwdriver (high security was not a concern of ours for an interior door lock).  Because it’s designed for a pocket door however, part of it pops out so you can pull the door out of the pocket in the wall…. but if that bit’s extended it will act like a lock on a swinging door.

Ooops.

 

 

*Holy crap the puzzles are hard.  It’s even harder because there are a number British and European references that I’m not really exposed to in the US.

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Slice of Life: Chekov Division

Matt’s starting calling Wesley “Wessels” so I came to obvious (seeming) conclusion that he was having a nerd moment.

Me: Nuclear wessels!

Matt: Nuclear…?

Me: Wessels!

Matt: *blank look*

Me: Nuclear wessels! … you do know the reference, right?

Matt: No…

Me: The Voyage Home! Star Trek!! THE ONE WITH THE WHALES!!!

Why yes, I did get progressively more hysterical as I tried to explain.  I’m pretty sure The One With the Whales is the official alternate title for The Voyage Home. I’m also sure I’m not the only one who would immediately think of this scene after hearing the word “wessels.”

And for the non-nerds out there, if you’re wondering why this is such a well known part of the movie, keep in mind that it came out in 1986.

During the cold war.

And there’s a Russian guy wandering around then-present-day San Francisco.*

Asking for nukes.

 

*Yes Star Trek is based in the future, they time-traveled because they needed whales, ok?

 

 

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Sunday Fun-Day: Music Edition

Busy editing a backlog of photos… I’ve got actual projects coming soon (custom door/window casings! drywall!).  In the meantime I hope these make you smile.

The first time I saw James Corden was on Doctor Who and I sort of adored him.  This goes to show he is even more awesome than I originally thought!

 

Cookie Monster can step it a notch too.

 

Not gonna lie, Katie Perry grates on my nerves something awful (she was waaay over-played on the radio station they played at my job years ago).  This is one of my favorite song parodies though!

 

Don’t know if as many people will find this one amusing–it’s definitely for the typography nerds!  If you’ve never seen the music video for Lady Gaga’s Poker Face it’s definitely worth watching because they did a great job parodying the video AND the music.

 

I don’t actually love this song (it’s ok, just not in my personal music collection), but I think the video is pretty powerful.  Related: a list of celebrities who aren’t a fan of crazed Photoshopping.

Nerd Alert: Go Watch This

Confession time: I’ve been feeling a little ADD with house projects recently.  I currently have a primed-but-not-yet-painted upstairs hallway, newel cap trim mostly cut and not at all installed, 2 outlets in my basement work space I need to redo, 1 small section of a cat tree re-wrapped, and a partial side of a workbench built.  I should really step back, take a breath, and refocus.

Instead I just binge-watched Stranger Things on Netflix this weekend.

Short version: it is awesome!

I personally think it’s like a cross between ET and Pan’s Labyrinth with a creepiness level of Children of Earth (4th season of Torchwood and the only season I actually like of that show*). I don’t want to give much away, but it’s full of 80’s nostalgia and the characters are all believable middle/high schoolers (ie totally awkward). Plus the main group of middle school boys are complete nerds and I love them to death.

There is a second season planned but what I’m reading is that it will be more like a sequel than a second season so we’ll see what happens. Matt and I have been thinking about switching over to Amazon Prime but I may have to hang on to Netflix now… Both of them are still cheaper than cable at least!

So have you seen it?  Are you in love?  Do you have another favorite nerdy show?  Let’s be nerd buddies.  Also, has anyone tried both Netflix and Amazon Prime?  Do you have a preference for either’s selection?  I know, I’m just full of questions today.  I’m apparently just trying to put off more work.

 

*Mini spoiler: I lost it after the Cyberwoman episode.  An overly sexualized female cyberman???? Are you freaking KIDDING me???  The only reason I watched season 4 was because it came highly recommended by one of my best friends who is probably even more opinionated than me.

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DIY TARDIS Tablet Case

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If you didn’t already know I was a nerd, well the secret’s out now.  I love Doctor Who and Firefly and Comic Books and Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and Monty Python. I think science is cool and have xkcd bookmarked. I damn near double majored in Interior Design and Biology in college.  I went out of my way to visit Douglas Adams’ grave while we were in London.

You get the idea.

So several years back when Matt got me a tablet for Christmas (a Nexus 7) I looked at it, decided it needed a case, and decided the case was a about the same size as River Song’s TARDIS journal. What to do with these revelations was kind of a no-brainer.

I was going to make a TARDIS journal cover for my tablet.

And in honor of Doctor Who Season 9, here’s how I did it.

Here’s what you need:

  • A blue tablet case to fit your tablet (I used this one in Deep Blue for my Nexus 7)
  • Blue craft foam
  • Several shades of blue craft paint
  • Black craft paint
  • Super glue
  • Xacto knife, straight edge, cutting mat, tape…the usual stuff

And here’s what you do:

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Step 1: Make a pattern.  It will be slightly different depending on your tablet and case.  I started with an image of the journal, then simplified it in Photoshop, and resized it to fit my case.

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Step 2: Cut your foam.  I used craft foam so the case would still be flexible since it was designed to fold into a stand as well.  Cut as few pieces as possible, really only cutting where the spaces in the design belong.

Step 3: Glue it down.  I started by centering the I shaped piece, then the 2 straight pieces on the edges, then the window cut panels, and finally the inset panels.  Dry-fit things first and trim as needed since you want their to be clear gaps between all the pieces.

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Step 4: Paint, coat 1.  I taped off the section of the back that the top folds into to make a stand, and then painted the entire exterior dark blue.  I also dabbed over it with a wet paper towel to give it a more mottled effect.  Since tablet cases probably aren’t designed to be painted, an intentionally mottled paint job will hide an nicks and scrapes it may get subjected to.

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Step 5: Paint, coats 2+.  Now it’s the fun part.  Dab on your other shades of blue with a damp paper towel and blend them together. There’s no really rhyme or reason to this so it may help to keep a reference picture on hand.

Step 6: Black glaze.  Take some watered down black paint and paint over everything, making sure it gets on all the groves, then wipe it off.  The groves should stay black and everything else should just get an aged look.

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And there you have it, your own TARDIS tablet cover.  Obviously this works a little better with the mini tablets (or giant phones), but there’s nothing stopping you from doing this if you have a larger one too.

This guy has also help up shockingly well over the years.  I’ve had no problems with the foam coming loose, and any paint wear or dents in the foam adds to the rather beat up look it’s supposed to have anyway.