Nerd Tunes - Laser Destroyer Team

First time plugging some music on the site! I've been listening to Laser Destroyer Team's album, AUTODESTRON while working the last couple days and I'm completely in love, and figured I should pass the good music on to you all. If you like video game inspired music then you should definitely check them out! I mean, the first song on the album is "Spoopy Streets" how could you NOT check them out?

Best known for their work composing the score for the indie game Always Sometimes Monsters, which won "Best Writing" and "Best Indie Game" at the 2014 Canadian Videogame Awards. For their work on the game, Laser Destroyer Team received a nomination in the "Best Original Music" category.

In January 2014, the group released AUTODESTRON, their first non­game release.

For all you indie devs out there, Laser Destroyer Team is also available to compose music for your project!

Listen:
http://laserdestroyerteam.bandcamp.com/

Follow:
http://laserdestroyerteam.tumblr.com/

Even Cuter Cat 3DS XL Covers

Previously I posted about these adorable 3DS XL cat covers, but now they're available in more colors! Orange Tabby, Black and White, and Calico!

Where to buy:
Orange Tabby 3DS XL Cover
Black and White 3DS XL Cover
Calico 3DS XL Cover

Nerd Fashion - Hoodies and Sweatshirts

Link's Hoodie

Available on Etsy from skyrimfox

Nerd Fashion - Leggings!

World of Warcraft Leggings

Available from WildBangarang

Nerdy Home Goods - 10 Unique and Adorable Tea Infusers

It's almost winter, and you know what that means! It's hot tea season! 

Here are 10 creative and cute tea infusers to help get you through until spring.

Rocket

Available on Amazon from $8

Beer List

Update 8/1/2017: This list has not, and will not, be updated anymore as it's just too unruly to do. If you'd like to keep up with my beer adventures please add me on Untappd! I'm currently just past 2600 unique beers. The list below I'll keep around for posterity's sake.

Last Updated: 1/5/2015
Number of Beers: 1382

Nerdy Gift Guide - For The One You Love

Pixel Heart Heat Changing Mug

Available on Amazon from $9.00 USD with Prime shipping!

Things I love - Garmin Forerunner 210 GPS Watch

Back in early May I finally finished a major part of my journey into fitness by completing the Couch-to-5k program. Since finishing I've tried keeping up with my running and pushing myself to improve my pace and go further. I even ran my first 5k race last month (although according to Runkeeper, the course was short by half a mile). Running has definitely become a hobby that I love and one that I want to continue for a long time and especially one that I wish to improve at.

In celebration of finishing my first race, and partially because of the race length discrepancy and this thread on Reddit, I decided to look into getting a GPS watch. I started looking at the maps of my runs from Runkeeper (and Nike+) and my route always seemed to be all over the place, through buildings and cutting corners. I even spent one day moving all the points of one map so that they actually followed my route, and after I did my run came out to a further distance and faster pace than it had been before. I did a little more Googling on the issue of phone GPS vs dedicated GPS watch, started looking up reviews, and finally decided on the Garmin Forerunner 210.

It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!

It's finally done and ready!

The Triforce Claddagh ring is now available to the public, in various sizes, materials and colors!

You can purchase your own ring here.

And be sure to follow the designer, Ben, on twitter to see what else he ends up creating!

Read the original making of post!

---

Mango Banana Smoothie

One of the first things I did when I started my journey into fitness was try to start incorporating more fruits and veggies into my diet, and what better way to do that than with smoothies!

I just found a new smoothie recipe on Pinterest yesterday (I'm not sure why, but I've recently been on a Pinterest kick) and just happened to have a good majority of the ingredients. I decided to tweak it a little bit to fit more of what I have in my kitchen and give it a bit more protein. After my run today I decided to make this for my post-run protein.

Mango Banana [protein] Smoothie
(makes 1 smoothie)

1 small banana
1/2 cup frozen cut mango
1/2 cup fat-free milk (or your milk of choice, add more if you like a thinner consistency)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Designer Whey's French Vanilla)
1 tbsp flax meal

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 345 calories, 27g protein, 54g carbs, 5g fat

Directions:

Combine all items in a blender.

Blend.

Pour into glass and enjoy!

Things I love - Camelbak Eddy Water bottle

It's been a while since I wrote up a post on something I love, so today's BEDA post is dedicated to an item I never leave home without.

My Camelbak Eddy water bottle.

Back in January, right in the beginning of my journey into fitness, I determined I needed to drink more water. I started tracking my water intake with MyFitnessPal and...I was probably getting about 5 or 6 cups worth of water a day, when I should be having 8 AT LEAST. I noticed I really only drink water at work, and very rarely at home, even though we have this nice, fancy Brita water pitcher and everything.

When I went to Ohio in January I bought a big bottle of water while waiting for my flight out of SFO. For the rest of the weekend toted this disposable water bottle around with me, constantly refilling it when I needed. I even took it on my trip back from Ohio (took it through security empty and refilled once past security). So many airports have water bottle refilling stations now too!

I decided I really just needed to get a water bottle, that way I could have water on my walks and would (hopefully) drink more when at home. Plus it would be a lot easier to carry around and refill when dealing with airports. But which bottle to get? I knew I wanted BPA free (but who even makes non-BPA free ones anymore at this point, right?) and I would prefer one with straw-like part, since I notice that I tend to just mindlessly sip with a straw.

So I started my Google search, and came across this interesting little study from Pepperdine University where participants drank 24% more water when using the Camelbak bottle than other bottles.

Plus the bottles were available for relatively cheap (with Prime shipping) on Amazon AND you can get one in bright orange?

Sold.

Since getting mine I've definitely been drinking A LOT more water at home, work and everywhere in between! The bottle I got holds 750ml which is a little over 3 cups of water and I try to have at least two (if not three) full bottles done by the time I leave work and tend to probably average around four (~12 cups) a day. Definitely an improvement from before!

Rich even liked mine so much that he bought his own!

One (Zelda) Ring to Rule Them All

I've always admired Claddagh rings, and have quite a few friends who wear them. They're simple, yet beautiful and have meaning and history behind them. However, whenever I look at one...all I can think of is this:

It seemed like such a simple idea to think of, but for all the internet searching that I could do, it didn't seem anyone else had thought to make a Claddagh ring holding a Triforce rather than the heart and crown.

A few months ago, I posted some of my geeky finds from browsing Shapeways.com, where pretty much anyone with an idea and some great 3D modeling skills could make their idea come to life. I hoped that maybe someone had made the Triforce Claddagh a reality here, ready for me to purchase for myself, but alas, no.

So now, I have this idea and a possible way to make it a reality, but absolutely no 3D modeling skills. I tried my hand at the open-source modeling tool Blender, but had no idea what the hell I was doing and could barely even make a ring-like shape.

Shapeways.com does have a forum where you can post your idea and find a modeler, but I feel too awkward doing that for some reason, so I sent a message to a friend in design that I knew. Or maybe I tweeted about needing a modeler and he contacted me? I can't remember. Either way, he asked me to send him a mockup of the basic idea and he'd pass it along to his friend and get us in touch.

So I whipped out my terrible Photoshopping skills and voila!

from milkool's etsy - I have one! It's amazing. 

+

=

Benjamin, the designer/modeler, got in touch with me and agreed to help me out and make a model. He had previous experience designing for Shapeways, and knew their file and model nuances, so it was probably easier for him than any random designer I could have found on Twitter.

We corresponded over a few months, tweaked the design here and there, and within a month he had two versions (one with sleeves and one without) available to be printed in a cheap plastic. From there we could determine the fit, and see how the finger details would turn out.

I ordered both, sleeveless and sleeved (pictured) plastic versions. The fit was absolutely perfect, as were the details. I let Ben know and he said he would have to tweak the design slightly for metal printing, since metal usually prints smaller. So I wore my plastic ones around for a bit while he tweaked and got started at a new job. A few months passed and then, an email with links to order metal ones!

I ordered the sleeveless version, since I found wearing the plastic ones more comfortable - at least slightly. I had a bit of trouble deciding on a metal, but since the stainless steel (~$20) isn't polished and has more of a worn look to it, I decided to shell out the extra money and order it in polished sterling silver (~$50).

And then the hardest wait began.

I got my email saying my order was processed. Then a few days later one telling me my order was being sent to the printers. Then, finally, after about two weeks, a shipping confirmation.

And finally, today, I saw the Shapeways box just waiting for me.

It is perfect. In every single way.

Thanks SO much again to Benjamin Peters for his help, time, amazing work and for making this idea a reality.

EDIT: Ben has seen the popularity of this post and mentioned he will be working to make this ring available and in more sizes over the coming weeks. I'll update with a link to purchase as soon as I have one. The Triforce Claddagh ring is now available to the public, in various sizes, materials and colors! You can purchase your own ring here!

Making geek dreams come true

I have recently fallen deeply, madly in love...

...with Shapeways.com

Shapeways is a 3D printing marketplace and community where one can upload a 3D model (in a STL, Collada or X3D file) and have it printed out in a variety of different materials. There are other sites like this, but Shapeways seems to be the only one offering sterling silver as a possible material option.

I had known about the site for a while, but I didn't make the connection until last night that this idea for a ring that I've had bouncing around in my head for months could be made a reality with this site!

Unfortunately, I don't know jack shit about 3D modeling. So, I'm currently looking at tutorials for Blender and SketchUp to see if maybe I can figure it out, seems pretty unlikely though. But I did manage to make a ring-like shape...kinda...

But, in between my tutorial videos and watching television, I'm browsing all the amazing items already available by talented artists on Shapeways. Mostly I've been looking at jewelry, but there are so many other items available!

Here are some of the many many items I've fallen in love with.

The Legend of Zelda - Winged Triforce Ring 
Created by ugoh

LEGO Ocarina of Time Swords 
Created by MINGLES

Deathly Hallows Dice Set Created by avandius

Assassin's Creed Ring V4 

Created by edrice

Mass Effect Omni Tool Ring 

Created by Ammnra

Stormtrooper Ring 

Created by henriquelana

Triforce Ring (pictured in silver glossy) 

Created by nakamura_shop

So many awesome things on this site! You can even have your character and creations from Minecraft printed!

Now, back to my lesson in 3D modeling... how the hell do I make a triangle in this program?

Custom Orange 360 Controller - Trial Run

(also check out my custom PS3 controller and my pink/orange 360 controller!) 

After seeing this awesome pinkified 360 controller I really wanted to do my own in orange. Started researching paints and sandpapers when someone told me that tons of sites sell already colored custom parts.

Sweet.

So I went about ordering some orange parts (and accidentally ordered two sets of them) and a new white controller.

Tried to order a set of parts from Extremerate, but the payment page was really weird and I got an error message and no confirmation email, so I went to Amazon and found the same set (for more money, but with the torx 8 screwdriver) and ordered it. Go figure that two days later I get a shipping confirmation from Extremerate.

So my Amazon parts got here yesterday and today the set of gradient ABXY buttons I bought from Modjunkiez arrived, so I figured why not do a trial run on this older, slightly wonky controller I have? I'll be good practice to learn how everything goes together and if I break anything then oh well!

Why did I order extra buttons? Cause LOOK at those buttons on the Modjunkiez site, they look SO pretty compared to the ones posted on the Amazon parts I bought. Imagine my disappointment when I opened up the package and saw these ugly things.

Oddly enough, the Amazon order's ABXY buttons weren't nearly this ugly! They were all kind of the same color though. I mixed the ABXY buttons and managed to make a color combination that isn't hideous, but isn't that great either.

The wonky controller before:

New parts with my chosen ABXY colors:

There are 7 screws to open the case, which need the Torx size 8 screwdriver. The first 6 are pretty obvious, but the 7th is in the battery area underneath a barcode sticker. You can kind of see in the below picture the hole in the sticker where the screw was.

A comparison of all the ABXY buttons (actual controller buttons, Amazon order buttons, Modjunkiez buttons). I'd warn anyone that you really don't know what you're getting when ordering these online. See the button on the bottom right? It barely fit past the casing because it was made at such a strange angle.

I regret not taking more pictures of inside the controller, I figured I'll have another chance when I do the second controller. The analog sticks pop right in, as do the bumpers and the bottom piece. The buttons you just kind of place in to the front of the controller until you put it all back together. The triggers are a little more difficult, and I found this excellent guide that helped me with that.

The D-pad is actually secured by two, tiny phillips head screws, so I had to wait for this set of mini screwdrivers to come in before I could replace the stock gray D-pad with the orange.

The finished product:

I love it, and have given it the name Orange Soda. I didn't like the orange Xbox Home button at the top, so I left it at the normal 360 logo button instead. The ABXY buttons turned out a lot better than I expected them to as well.

Till next time,

Ky

Things I Love - Mascara

I love mascara.

This statement would probably catch anyone I know in real life a bit off-guard since pretty much anyone who knows me can tell you I rarely wear makeup.  I'm more of a sleep-in-as-late-as-possible girl than a get-up-early-and-get-pretty girl. I usually only do my hair and makeup if I'm going out somewhere or I have someone to impress.  I don't really think I need makeup, I'm pretty decent looking enough as is, but there is one item of makeup that I feel is absolutely essential to my arsenal.

Mascara.

I could not live without mascara (or bronzer I guess when it's cold outside and I have no tan, otherwise mascara is basically all I need). I still don't really wear it on a daily basis (unless it's sunny outside, some reason I love putting on mascara to get ready for a beautiful day), but if I feel like just sprucing up my look for the hell of it mascara is definitely my go to.

I couldn't help but write this blog post today when I realized I had four different mascaras in my laptop back. Four. Who the hell has four mascaras on them at one time? This girl apparently. I know a lot of girls will have multiple lip gloss/stick/color but me? Mascara.

I guess the reason I end up with so many mascaras is because I'm determined to find that elusive PERFECT mascara. I even have colored mascara in my makeup kit too! Blue is such a fun color to wear especially when it's sunny.

So how do they compare?

Maybelline Great Lash (Waterproof): I love this mascara, it's been voted one of the best mascaras year after year for a good reason.  It doesn't add much length or volume but it's great for just an everyday, basic look.  I go waterproof mainly because my contacts and I don't get along so I tend to get watery eyes and the last thing I need is mascara smeared all around my eyes. I sometimes also use this one over the other two since the other two are not waterproof. Definite must have for me.

Covergirl LashBlastLength (Water resistant): This one is okay, it was a buy one get one free deal at Jewel-Osco months ago and I bought two and still haven't finished this one up.  Water resistance isn't that good, I end up with it all over. Does definitely lengthen but I wish I had bought the LashBlastFusion for volume and length, or maybe one of this and one of LashBlastVolume.  The water resistance thing kind of bums me out too, probably why I don't wear this one much.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator: I just bought this one last week while at Ulta since I had seen it on TotalBeauty as their #1 rated drugstore mascara. I don't really believe the claims of 117% longer lashes after 30 days of use, but then again I'm also not wearing it everyday so I couldn't tell you if it's lash growth serum works.  So far I have a love/hate relationship with this mascara.  Some days it goes on GREAT, no clumping at all and looks near perfect. Other days I do one swipe over my lashes and it clumps like hell, which is so frustrating. It's not waterproof (at least I don't think it is) but I haven't had any issues with it running either. For the most part I'm liking it so far.

I've used a few other mascaras in the past, some Mary Kay ones that were alright. The only one I remember that really stands out as a favorite was Maybelline Full 'N Soft (waterproof of course) which I remember loving too.

If anyone has any mascara suggestions please let me know in the comments!

Things I Love - My Pocket Knife

This is my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife (or as I call it, just my pocket knife).

It's one of the best things I own, and I have it with me almost all the time.  I grew up with my dad ALWAYS having a pocket knife on him and it was such a handy little thing.

When I moved away from home to go to college I found myself in positions where a pocket knife would've come in handy, but for some strange reason I was too lazy to actually go and get one for myself.

A few years ago I was recognized by my old job for having worked there 5 years. As thanks they gave me a little catalog of stuff I could pick from as a gift, I couldn't help but choose this little guy.

It's awesome and I love it. I think it's something everyone should have.

I mean, just look at all the stuff it has!

You get scissors!  Broke a nail and now it looks all wonky?  Got a runaway string on your shirt? Tag on your new pair of sunglasses? Something in that plastic packaging that is harder than shit to open? Long nose hairs? No worries!  You have a fucking pocket knife!

You also get a knife!  I mean what would a pocket knife be without a knife?!  The one on mine was hella sharp at first and I almost seriously hurt myself at one point, these aren't something to just fuck around with.  With the knife you get an increased sense of security!  I hold it in my hand sometimes, knife out, when walking home alone in the dark. Yeah, that'll keep those nasty muggers away!

The knife is also useful for cutting things and opening packaging (and cleaning your nails if you're careful).  It's my go to item when I get a new box in from Amazon!

Below the knife you'll see the file and flat head screwdriver!  Yeah that little weird squared off part is the screwdriver.  I don't really use it that much as most of the screws I have that need screwing are much smaller than that, but I've tried it before on bigger screws and it works pretty well!  You can also use the screwdriver part to clean your nails if you're not risky enough to use the knife.

The file is pretty self-explanatory. I don't have many things to file with a file, except my nails, and since I manage to break my nails so often it comes in handy quite a bit.

You also get a reusable toothpick and a pair of tweezers!  To be honest, I don't use these two very much.  I'm not much of a toothpick user to begin with.  I don't know if it shows well in that picture but my toothpick is bent at the bottom since I tried to use it to open my Xbox 360 case (gotta stick something through little holes to pop the case open) and it wasn't really strong enough for that and I bent it a bit.

The tweezers are good for splinters probably some other things that I can't think of, but I don't care for them when it comes to plucking my eyebrows.  I carry another pair of tweezers on me at all times for that purpose though.  I guess I'm just picky!

I know mine is just the basic, everyday model, but they have some really fancy ones with can and bottle openers and corkscrews and Philips head screwdrivers and saws and other awesome shit.  You can see all the different awesome ones here.  Some of them even come in fancy colors and designs!

I mean, how could you NOT want one of these?

Dear Hot Shower,

I love you.

I wish I could stay in your warm embrace for hours.

But then I'd get all wrinkly and gross.