Crave

(Credit: Warner Bros. Interactive)

Do you feel like you need one more music game for the holidays? It's getting pretty strained, isn't it, between The Beatles: Rock Band, Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, Band Hero, and now this very family-friendly-oriented spin on Harmonix' franchise, Lego Rock Band. Taking two gaming hits--games based on Lego, and Rock Band--and combining them sounds like a slam dunk, but how does this all work out? We played it and have our thoughts.

Good news: you won't need new instruments. Lego Rock Band uses the same drum/mic/guitar compatibility system that's finally starting to become an industry norm. The other fun thing about Lego Rock Band is its weird, whimsical settings and sense of humor. All the Lego games, from Indiana Jones to Star Wars, have shared a Charlie Chaplin-ish winking humor with frequently cute/bizarre overtones, and the rock "battles" aboard pirate ships and other settings makes for music videos worth watching in the background. Other than that, it's standard Rock Band stuff. The game is developed by TT Games, the group responsible for all the other Lego titles, so it feels consistently similar to what you might be expecting, except with a Rock Band engine attached.

Lego Rock Band gallery

Bad news: 45 included tracks span pop and mainstream, and the game will also access the online catalog of Rock Band DLC tracks--but only ones that are considered family-friendly. That means some songs won't make the import cut. The censorship is annoying, but the Lego versions of rock stars almost make it worth it. ... Read more

In the world of submicroscopic physics, things happen that really can't be observed. So when scientists at Johns Hopkins University need to see an example of interactions between various nanoparticles, they simply make blown-up versions of what they're studying--with Legos.

In the video above, Manuel Balvin demonstrates how different sized ball bearings move differently through a gravity-driven field of pegs. The same reaction can be assumed to work at the nano level, meaning the research can be done more practically.

And these aren't special science Legos, these are the same off-the-shelf toys that we've all loved for years. I'm imagining if we gave them a set of Robotix they could invent practical time travel.

(Credit: Lego)

Even though I'm an adult, I'm known to pull out the bucket of Legos and play fairly often. They're great for sparking the imagination--and that's now true in the kitchen, as well.

The Rolling Cookie Cutter from Lego allows you to make cookies in the shape of Lego bricks. The roller cuts cookies into 2x2 squares, one of the standard sizes for Lego pieces, with each cookie measuring about 1 inch by 1 inch. The Rolling Cookie Cutter uses plastic for the actual cookie cutter, mounted on a stainless steel handle with a silicone grip.

The Rolling Cookie Cutter can be a little harder to use than a standard cookie cutter: you have to get the dough to just the right thickness to be able to easily cut through it, while still keeping the dough from sticking to the roller.

While shortbread or sugar cookie doughs seem to do particularly well with the $9.99 Rolling Cookie Cutter, I think it would be fun to experiment with different colors of cookie dough--you may not be able to build anything with your Lego-shaped cookies, but some colors could make the cookies even more fun without having to decorate them.

(Credit: Hans Andersson)

Lego Mindstorms are futuristic toys for creative kids. But who knew these DIY robots can get creative themselves and solve puzzles?

Swedish programmer Hans Andersson bought a programmable Mindstorms NXT kit for his two daughters and then began tinkering with it himself. The result: a toy that can autonomously solve Sudoku puzzles in what looks like a matter of minutes.

The Sudoku Solver scans the entire puzzle with a light sensor before determining the missing digits in each square. Its computer performs image processing with a thresholding algorithm to make sense of the sensor data. Recognizing the existing numbers in the puzzle seems to be the most difficult part of the process.

Solving for missing numbers is easy with a backtracking algorithm, according to Andersson. "But since the Mindstorms processor is rather slow, and since it doesn't allow for recursive functions, it took some care to optimize it," he writes. The toy can still do Sudoku better than me.

Andersson has also created a Mindstorms robot called Tilted Twister that can autonomously solve a Rubik's Cube in about six minutes.

Gotta love robots. Now they're playing with our toys; next they'll be playing with us!

The Guggenheim

(Credit: Lego)

As the flawed human beings we all are, from time to time, each of us needs a break from swine flu fears and waterboarding debates. As a 35-year-old man-child, my distraction of choice is video games. For others, it's Lego.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation on Thursday announced that "The Lego Group is now the exclusive licensed manufacturer of Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) Collection Lego Architecture sets." Good for them, since it would have been pretty embarrassing if someone else won the Lego license. And earlier Friday, we mentioned the set in a brief, but here's some more info.

The new FLW Lego series is part of the Lego Architecture line that debuted last year. The line currently consists of six buildings: The Sears Tower, John Hancock Center, The Space Needle, The Empire State Building and now FLW's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and "Fallingwater."

Fallingwater

(Credit: Lego)

Both Frank Lloyd Wright Lego Architecture sets contain booklets that feature traditional building instructions along with archival historical material and photographs of each building.

Lego appropriately released the first set, the Guggenheim, at the opening of the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit: "From Within Outward" at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on May 15.

If I was the kind of guy who'd choose Lego as my distraction of choice and was a FLW fan, I'd be a little disappointed in the pics released of these sets so far. Is it just me or do these look a little too simple and not detailed or complex enough? I guess that's why they're Lego and not scale models.

If it's not a right angle, it's a wrong angle. That's exactly the ethos that has inspired the type of precise, structured and rigidly useful gadgetry that we highlight in today's episode.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 138

The perfect father’s day gift for the Type A griller

Size your burgers your way

Cocoon’s laptop bag is perfect for type A personalities

Sensor-laden kokoro adjusts playlist to match the rhythm of your heart

GameDr destroys recreation of youth

Sony’s 400-disc BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray Mega Changer reportedly coming soon

Treat your pets right this Mother's Day! We spend equal time talking about gifts for mom and for fluffy. Go figure.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 136

Petairways.com–for the pet who loves to travel (Thanks Sheala!)

Honda unveils dog-friendly car

The Tweeting Cat Door (Thanks Nathan!)

New worm-like floor-cleaning robot threatens Roomba’s dominance

Digigrade Leg Extensions

Dog poo recycler

Special Edition Mother’s Day Gender Gap
Danielle Steel Limited Edition Reader Digital Book is More of the Same just in Red (No! Don’t do it! Get a Kindle instead!)

Mother of the Year video

Mother’s Day shirt for the geeky mom-to-be

A propos (of) nothing
Lego sunglasses let you build your own fashion

What a concept
Portable toaster

Why didn’t I think of that?
PermaFLOW Self Cleaning Drain System

Pretty
Gorgeous iphone cases (thanks fernando!)

Good Vibrations (Thanks Fred!)
DIY Steam punk vibrators

Mega Man suspended in animation

(Credit: Flickr/notenougbricks)

I've done the research, and it looks like Legos are well on their way to surpassing bacon as the Web's most popular trend, at least in the last year.

Sure, there's been a whole truckload of bacon iPhone cases, bacon floss, and even bacon bracelets, but Legos are hot on bacon's heels with the recent release of Lego video games, Lego boom boxes, and this collection of Lego mosaics dedicated to video games past.

Each intricate design is put together by hand by Flickr user notenoughbricks, an avid Lego fanfreak whose other builds include replica Renegade Racers, model space ships, and even a whole city street of his own invention.

In his Lego video game collection, Mr. notenoughbricks used his own collection of multicolored bricks to fashion various video game characters including Pac Man, Megaman, Mario, Luigi, Link, and Scrooge McDuck. Most of the squares measure 16 inches by 16 inches, except for Mega Man, who required a 32 inch by 32 inch base plate.

Check out the collection in its entirety, and to see more of Notenougbricks' Lego talents, head over to his profile on BrickShelf.

It's just the three of us today, but that's when we have the best shows. Before we get into stories, please be sure to check out the preshow some time at the404.cnet.com or watchbol.com. During the weekdays, around 11 a.m. EST, Jeff, Justin, and Wilson spend about 20 minutes goofing off, and it becomes a riot.

(Credit: T-Mobile)

Today's show is jam packed with stories. First, Pizza Hut is trying to hire an intern, who's only job is to Twitter for the company. We think they should have advertised this yesterday on 4/20. So-called "beer googles" don't really exist, according to scientists. We never believed they did either. We just think that it makes most guys say, "Why not?" Last story for the first half is the release of the new T-Mobile Sidekick LX. It's no longer a brick. Justin is still intent, though, on keeping his iPhone since Hulu announced it would release an app.

Second half of the show, we've got Tuna Tuesday again! This time from Amsterdam! Also, the press seems to hate "Sit Down, Shut Up." Jeff and Wilson aren't big fans of the pilot, either, from "Arrested Development" creator Mitchell Hurwitz. Further along, we find out there's a Lego Rock Band game and a DJ Hero game! Finally, vote for CNET TV for the People's Choice Award at the 2009 Webby Awards. Our jobs depend on it... not really, but it would be nice to play dress up.

Follow us on the Twitter at @the404, and send us your comments. We listen. We promise.