A Special Towel Tip for Geek Pride Day

May 25th is here again and you know what that means … you don’t, do you? Well, for the uninitiated, today is recognized by dozens of people all over the world as both Geek Pride Day and Towel Day.

Geek Pride Day
Image courtesy of ThinkGeek.

So, in honor of the festivities that doubtless are going on in at least one geek’s parents’ basement, here is my favorite towel tip.

Sorry if this is too much info, but when I work out I sweat buckets. I keep a towel handy to mop my face, my arms, and to wipe off my gym equipment. It doesn’t take long for the towel to become so icky that I prefer letting the sweat drip off my brow rather than using it to dry my mug.

Midway through a grueling workout you may feel a little hesitant using your nasty gym towel to wipe your sweaty brow.

Don’t Panic!

Towel Tip (Brown Betty)

The best way I’ve found to keep my towel drier and/or more hygienic is to designate one side to be used only with my face. For simplicity’s sake I always look for the tag and then turn over the towel—that side is designated for my face only. The opposite side is for my arms and the flip side is for gym equipment.

This is a simple towel hack, but I’ve found that it keeps things from getting yucky.

Gym rats, Steelers fans, and interstellar hitchhikers the galaxy over can all agree on one thing—the towel is about the most massively useful thing ever invented.

Do you have any geeky tips for today? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

The Avengers: The Best Hulk Movie Ever

Avengers #001

Sorry Spider-Man and Batman Begins; I’ve got a new favorite superhero movie. Today I saw the Avengers. Again. And guess what? It’s … still … awesome! This time I took Bongo & Lulabelle and they loved it, too.

Incredible Hulk #321

I’ve never been a huge fan of the Avengers. To me the team was always just the big three—Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor (none of whom were particular favorites of mine, but whose recent movies were all very, very good)—and a rotating cast of B-list superheroes who couldn’t hold their own titles.

Incredible Hulk #102

Why do I like the movie so much more than I ever did the comics? There’s one major reason and he’s the “ enormous green rage monster” who stole every scene he appears in. The physical humor that played through in his fight with Loki and later in his sucker punch to teammate Thor were priceless! I can’t remember laughing so hard during an action movie ever.

Incredible Hulk #006

Nothing against Eric Bana or Edward Norton, they’re both fine actors in their own right, but Mark Ruffalo played a better Bruce Banner than either of them ever were. I believed that he was equal parts genius and monster.

Incredible Hulk #314

Have you seen the Avengers, yet? What did What did you think about Marvel’s not-so jolly, green giant? Sound off in the comments below.

All images via Cover Browser unless otherwise noted.

Marvel Comics Seven Best Super Hero Catchphrases

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). Cover...

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). Cover art by John Romita, Sr. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We’re going to see the Avengers tonight, so to commemorate the occasion I thought now would be the perfect time for me to post my all-time favorite super hero catchphrases.

I’ll be restricting this post to only characters from the Marvel Comics pantheon of heroes. So without further ado …

1)

Hulk Smash

What the Hulk lacked in the speech and brains department he more than made up for in brute strength and rage. Unable to eloquently express what he intends to do the simple “Hulk Smash” sums it all up.

2)

Clobberin Time

Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew, the everlovin’ blue-eyed Thing was the main muscle of Marvel’s First Family of Comics—the Fantastic Four. This is the comic book equivalent of Popeye’s “That’s all I can stand, and I can’t stand no more!”

3)

Sweet Christmas

Luke Cage (AKA Power Man) was the first African-American super hero I remember that didn’t have the word black in his name—I’m looking at you Black Lightning, Black Panther, Black Goliath, etc. Obviously, he was written by guys who were neither African-American, nor had actually spoken to an African-American themselves or else they never would have made this poor excuse for a jive turkey of a catchphrase.

4)

Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth

I’m at a loss for what this actually means. I know what a host is, but I’ve never seen a hoary host. And don’t get me started on Hoggoth! It’s only memorable to me because it’s the only thing I remember Dr. Strange every saying.

5)

Spider-Sense

One of the best things about Spider-Man was that Peter Parker was an equally great character in his own right. At the heart of it all, he’s just a kid. He’s got amazing, spectacular, and sensational powers mind you, but he’s still just a nerdy, wisecracking kid. When he said that his senses were tingling you knew something was gonna happen.

6)

Avengers Assemble

Captain America may have said it first, but it’s been used by every other chairperson of the Marvel’s premier super squad.

7)

Nuff Said

Stan, the Man, Lee is a comic book legend. He penned nearly every single of the above idioms. What else can you say when you’ve said it all?

Well, true believers, there you have it—my list of the best catchphrases in all of Marvel Comicsdom. What are your favorite super hero quotes? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Favorite Things: PlugBug

This past Christmas Santa was puzzled by one particular item on my wish list—the PlugBug from Twelve South.

PlugBug Dual Charger

PlugBug Dual Charger (Photo credit: Photo Giddy)

Now, I’d been a good boy, so despite his initial misgivings Santa obliged and Christmas morning had a shiny, red PlugBug waiting for me in my stocking. Since then, it’s earned a spot amidst my favorite things.

The PlugBug is a small device that slips on your standard MacBook Air/Pro power adapter to give it a turbo-powered USB charger. It provides a full 10 watts of power via the USB slot, so your iPad or iPhone charge much (much, much, much) quicker than leaving it plugged into your Mac’s standard USB slots.

PlugBug 1 (This Is My Boom)

Small enough to toss into your laptop bag, the PlugBug is great for those occasions when you don’t have enough outlets to go around for all your gadgets whether you’re at home, in the office, or on the road.

If none of this is making any sense to you, check out this video from the Twelve South.

It’s a little bitty, teeny weeny, thing they call the PlugBug…

When I first saw the PlugBug I knew I wanted one. The concept is so simple that I’m surprised Apple hadn’t thought of it themselves. If they don’t buy the company, they should at least license the idea from them. After using it (all the time) for the past few months I love it just as much as when I first received it.

PlugBug 2 (Warm)

If you’ve got a MacBook, an iPad (or iPhone), and $35 then you owe it to yourself to pick up a PlugBug. You won’t regret it.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Why Minor League Hockey Is Better Than the NHL

Aeros 4 (Booster)

Last Saturday we went to see the Houston Aeros take on the San Antonio Rampage—two teams in the AHL, professional hockey’s minor league—and I loved … every … minute … of … it!

I used to think I did’t like hockey. It turns out though, that I just don’t like NHL hockey. Growing up, my Czech aunt took me to more than my fair share of LA Kings games. I always enjoyed the experience, but I never really cared about the actual game.

Despite the fact that I attended games regularly and even got to see the Great One play, I never became fan. After the game on Saturday, however, I’m convinced that it’s just the NHL I don’t like and not hockey itself.

My major gripes with NHL hockey games are that

  1. The games are too low scoring. Every game I’ve ever seen to was like 1-0 or 2, 0. I want to see goals!
  2. The NHL has legislated fighting out of the sport. Hockey without fights is just Men’s team figure skating.
  3. I always had trouble following the game. It doesn’t help that at NHL games good seats are so expensive. I can never see the puck from up in the nosebleeds.

Aeros 6 Cropped + Focus

So, how did the Aeros game change my opinion about hockey? The score was 5-3, there were a couple of decent fights, and we sat ten rows behind the goal without breaking the bank.

I don’t care that I don’t know the rules of the game, consider me sold on AHL hockey. I’ll be back for more.

Do you prefer professional or minor league sports? Who’s your favorite team? Sound off in the comments below.

All images are from my flickr, unless otherwise noted.

Grab a Ton of Free Music from Google Play

I love music. I listen in the car, when I work out, when I do chores—whenever I can. As such, I’m always on the look out for great music I don’t have to pay for.

Music Manager

Fortunately, the Internet is full of places to get free music. Some of them even let you download it legally, too!

Apple has a whole section devoted to music (and movies, and apps, etc.) that are Free on iTunes. Not to be outdone, Amazon lets you browse their MP3 Store for free downloads. Now Google is getting in on the game.

Enter: Google Play

If you haven’t checked it out already, be sure to head over to Google Play. Their interface is nothing special and the selection of music is no better than iTunes or Amazon MP3. However, they’ve got a much, much better selection of free music.

Head over to the Free Song Archive at the Google Play Magnifier Blog. Currently, they’ve got over 200 fantastic songs from the likes of Train, Social Distortion, “Weird Al” Yankovic, System of a Down, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood, Whitney Houston, John Mayer, etc.

Google-Play-600x300
Image via freebee360

As a bonus, be sure to check out this playlist full of quality tracks from Radiohead, Snoop Dogg, Gorillaz, Daft Punk, and more Coachella Music Festival All-Stars.

What’s your favorite source for great, free MP3 downloads? Sound off in the comments below.

The Seven Most Epic Unibrows of All Time

In this edition of Lucky 7s, I tackle the seven unruliest unibrows ever. Read on below to see who made the cut.

1. Anthony Davis

Arkansas-Little Rock v Kentucky
Image via Business Insider.

This past March, I wasn’t so much obsessed with NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as I was with fierce-looking unibrow of University of Kentucky basketball phenom, Anthony Davis. Don’t worry about him though. He’s getting ready to count the millions he’ll be getting when he is drafted into the NBA later this year.

2. Gerald Samson

Gerald Samson
Image via Simpsons Wiki.

Gerald, AKA “The Monobrow”, Samson is the arch-nemesis of Maggie Simpson. How could a baby possibly have any enemies you may ask? She probably didn’t like the way he was looking at her.

3. Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo self portrait
Image via Wikipedia.

I’ll say this for Frida, at least she was honest. She painted how she looked. I mean, if I had her talent as a painter I’d have been tempted to not fill in the space above and to the center of my eyes.

4. The Red Bird

Angry Birds for iPhone
Image via Rovio.

It’s no coincidence that the angriest looking of the Angry Birds is the one with one big, honkin’ eyebrow. Known only as the Red Bird, this avian antagonist flings himself at anything shielding his sworn porcine adversaries.

5. George Harrison

George Harrison
Image via ZTams.

George Harrison was my favorite Beatle not named John or Paul. Amazingly, he also wrote all of the best Beatles’ songs not written by John or Paul. What George lacked in the not being John or Paul department he more than made up for in the having a giant caterpillar over his eyes department.

6. Bert

Bert Smile
Image via Muppet Wiki.

Oh, Bert! He’s the nerdy half of my favorite Sesame Street duo. From his pigeon obsession to his love of checkers and the letter W, everything about him reeks of lameness. Not being able to grow a mustache under his nose he decided to grow one over his eyes instead.

7. Wally Moon

WALLY MOON LOS ANGELES DODGERS 1964
Image via Frank Kelsey’s flickr.

I’d never heard of Wally Moon until I stumbled across this blog post about the worst baseball cards of all time in which Moon’s brows are prominently featured. Wally Moon is to unibrows what Tom Selleck is to mustaches—in a word, epic.

“Eyebrows. There should be two.”

Yes, I know I totally just quoted Miss Congeniality right there. However, truth is truth regardless of the source. Remember—tweezers—they’re not just for splinters.

Am I missing anyone from the list of epic eyebrows? Sound off in the comments below.