geek

We've featured our share of geeky marriage proposals (and even weddings) on Crave over the last couple of years, but they generally revolve around the unique, geeky ways the asker asks the askee the big question. Not much attention has been paid to the physical element of most proposals: the ring itself.

Thankfully, we've found this Ivy Carat multimedia ring box. It's the size and shape of your normal ring case, but it has 128MB of storage, a 2-inch full-color LCD screen, and a small speaker. When opened, the box displays a short video or photo on … Read more

I'm not a T-shirt kinda guy; I feel like if I'm not wearing things with buttons, at least around the neck, then I'm in my underwear. If I did wear T-shirts, though, they'd have to be handy, like this T-shirt from ThinkGeek that opens beers for you.

The BeerBot Bottle Opening Shirt features an image of a robot inspired by Bender from the Futurama. The beerbot on the shirt has two claws, one of which is metal and is used to pop the tops off beer bottles so you don't have to use, you know, … Read more

The recent popularity of GPS functionality built into smartphones and stock vehicles might eventually phase out third party portable navigation devices entirely, but folks who currently own Tom Tom systems can now hear their driving directions read by classic Star Wars characters like Yoda and Darth Vader. Tom Tom will release one Star Wars character a month, available as a $13 download- check out this hilarious promo for the Yoda version.

July 13 is the official Embrace Your Inner Geek Day so we're celebrating this annual holiday by doing...the same thing...we normally...do. And just for kicks, … Read more

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.--I've just begun Road Trip 2010, my annual journey in search of the best geek-centric spots this country has to offer, and I've got a hole in my schedule. Can you help?

Starting Sunday, I'm going to be in Washington, D.C. I'm booked up through Monday, but on Tuesday, I'd like to give the nation's capital one more day of my reporting time--and I'd love to get your help in deciding where to go.

I'm looking for spots that are very geek-friendly and that photograph well. I'm … Read more

I'm about to start Road Trip 2010, my fifth annual journey through a region of the United States in search of some of the most interesting places to write about and photograph.

As in previous years, the trip will focus heavily on what interests me--and hopefully my readers--as a self-professed geek. After all, this blog is called Geek Gestalt. And that will take me to high-tech research labs, military bases, a motorcycle factory, NASA facilities, and much more.

Being a traveling geek reminded me of the great book "The Geek Atlas" by British author John Graham-Cumming. That … Read more

Sometimes lawyers don't always spend their time in the most productive ways. Indeed, one wonders whether the lawyers at the firm of Faegre and Benson spent their time productively in reportedly sending out a 12-page cease and desist letter to the japesters at ThinkGeek.com.

I have no nag in this spat, as I can no more understand geeks than I can understand lawyers. Yet ThinkGeek.com is adamant that this cease and desist is heartily genuine and deeply critical of its attempt to sell unicorn meat. Specifically, canned unicorn meat.

Should you be frustrated at missing the opportunity … Read more

If you don't like broad patents on potentially world-changing scientific developments like scientific genomes, well, then, build your own! Also, does the $97 iPhone 3GS mean the 4G model will be on sale at launch? And we find out why five inches just isn't enough. Sorry.

I cannot predict (though I can dream it) Kobe Bryant being sunk by Los Suns de Phoenix in the NBA playoffs. Can the alleged Superman Dwight Howard defeat those hardy assailants from Boston? My heart says probably not. My brain says absolutely, positively no way in this lifetime or any other.

But these are mere emotions. They fail us. And the more our emotions fail us, the more money the left-brainers make. (Look at Google, having invaded our laptops, now marching its armies toward our TVs.)

Yet what is lovely about some left-brainers, especially mathematicians beyond Wall Street, is that … Read more

Who says geeks don't know how to do romance right?

Among the geeky gestures of amour we've seen, there was the guy who popped the question in Super Mario World, the guy who engraved a proposal on an iPod, and the man who asked for his love's hand via patent application.

The latest inductee into the Geeky-Proposal Hall of Fame? Google software engineer Corey Goldfeder, who went so far as to stage a fake Michael J. Fox retrospective at a local movie theater and then digitally edit himself into "Back to the Future" to pop the question to Andrea (and about 20 onlookers he recruited so the theater wouldn't look suspiciously empty).

The proposal was fitting for the couple, who met at a costume party where Goldfeder came as Marty McFly, the time-traveling protagonist in the sci-fi action adventure comedy, which they both call a favorite.

Goldfeder used some borrowed chroma key equipment to digitally replace Fox's face with his own. With some splicing and voice-over work, he staged a conversation between time machine inventor Doc Brown and Marty McFly (wearing Goldfeder's visage) about whether the time was right to propose.

"At the end of this conversation, the movie me then turned to face the camera and prompted the real me to propose," said Goldfeder, 27. "I got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of my pocket, and asked the love of my life to marry me." She said yes, and both families entered from another room to congratulate the newly engaged couple. (See a video of the proposal after the jump.) … Read more