Who let the geeks out?

Geeking out at Geeks Night Out.

I am a Mini Me Dolly Diva. Thanks Dacia!

Set phasers on stunning!

My Steam Team has my back.

These are not the stormtroopers you are looking for.

At last! Another æthernet traveler!

Madness takes its toll.

It's hip to be square

Tonight's the night! 

It's the City of Tempe's Geeks' Night Out!

Join us (including Me!) for Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives Geek Week and Geeks’ Night Out. We’re blending science, technology and fun to celebrate the Arizona SciTech Festival. Best of all, the events are free.

Tempe loves geeks. They're smart, fun and want to change the world for the better. They've cured diseases, built robots, and yes, even helped us get to Mars.  

What is Geeks' Night Out presented by Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives?
Be part of a very special Third Thursday on Mill Avenue on Feb. 20 from 4:30 to 9 p.m., themed to bring out the curiosity within. There’s science behind everything you love and we want to show you how it works. From science fiction to the business of science and everything in between, we’re celebrating smarts. Join us. It’s fun, smart and very Tempe. And best of all, it's FREE! 

The event is family-friendly. Tempe students from preschool to the university level will have several booths showing how the next generation of our workforce is using science to solve the world's problems. ASU, University of Advancing Technology, Rio Salado College, Kid Zone, Devry, Tempe Elementary School District, Tempe Union High School District and many others will be there.   

What is Geek Week presented by Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives?
One night is not enough! Geek Week extends the fun with a week of fun activities throughout Tempe schools and city facilities. Check for programs from Feb. 14-24.  

Geeks' Night Out activities:
Invade City Hall! (Or at least walk around it in your costume)
Phoenix Comicon hosts its annual Geeks' Night Out costume contest. Strut your stuff before the judging. Members of the Tempe City Council will lead the zombies, super heroes, super villians and creatures of all kinds on a walk around Tempe City Hall. Parade starts at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to participate. 

Pop Culture and Sci Fi Dr. Who?
Step into a full-size replica of Dr. Who's Tardis, which will be located at the corner of Sixth and Mill in present time, brought to you by Az Tardis.   

Phoenix Comicon Costume Contest + Photo Booth
Dress like your favorite inventor, invention, science project gone wrong, whatever. Show off your Star Trek and Star Wars gear. We want to see your favorite SciFi costume on Mill Avenue! Strut your scientific stuff in front of Tempe City Hall. Prizes! 

Comic Book and Graphic Novel Signings Pop Culture Paradise is bringing several graphic novelists to sign their goods. Their display will be located in the ground floor retail space of the City Hall Parking Garage located on Fifth Street adjacent to Tempe City Hall.

Desert Dolls Roller Derby
Desert Dolls Roller Derby will show how they can thwart gravity. Find them as they roll through our downtown. This year, their kids' division will join them. 

Steampunk Addie
The exploits of this doll and her friends make for good, clean, sci-fi fun. Check out this table.

Herbie the Love Bug
Take a look at this replica of Herbie the Love Bug, built by Jeff Lewis. Learn what it takes to turn a car into a dream car.

Arizona Fun Services
Stop by this locally-owned costume and party store for free cotton candy and prizes. Talk with AZ Fun Staff to plan your next costume or fun event.

Bookmans
Looking for something to read? Something to watch? Something to play? Bookmans has it.

Tempe Center for the Arts
Learn about the latest Gallery exhibition, "American Pop! From Comic Books to Science Fiction ... and Beyond!" and discover how STEM is used to create art. TCA also offers an amazing online art curriculum that you may like to explore. 

SCIENCE
Walton Sustainability Solutions Festival
Get your picture taken at the Sustainability Super Hero Photo Booth and learn how you can become a sustainability super hero. Learn about bumble bees and do a craft project using recycled materials. 

Dignity Kids
Feel the power of changing acceleration or changing mass while trying to attempt to break plastic boards of different strength levels. Discover how applied physics create the explosive power of the martial artist. 

XPlore BoX 
Build and test BristleBots and learn about XPlore BoX.    

Arizona SciTech Festival
These are the people responsible for the state's festival celebrating all things STEM. Stop by to learn about other great events.  

University of Advancing Technology
Thanks to UAT for this year's fantastic Geeks' Night Out video. Learn how the special effects came to be.   

Rio Salado College
Partnering with ASU and Science Foundation Arizona, Rio Salado College will showcase the careers and science of nanotechnology. Activities will feature remote access to an electron microscope, and a hands-on demonstration of silicon wafers, polymers and dye-sensitized solar cells. 

ERIC Knows Recycling
What goes in the blue barrel and what goes in the trash? What happens to an aluminum soda can after you drop it in the recycling bin? Meet ERIC, Tempe’s mobile Educational Recycling Information Center – a 38-foot trailer filled with innovative and interactive opportunities to learn about the recycling cycle. 

Ideal Energy
Bringing it's semi-truck of energy conservation tips, the folks at Ideal Energy will be on hand to help you find ways to reduce your power bill. 

Tempe High School
Students will demonstrate robotics and a SimCity-like energy game. The HOPE Sophmore Biology team will explain how food is grown and why it is important to eat organic foods. They will also have samples of foods to taste. 

McClintock High School
Students will show a sustainability project.

Desert Vista High School Engineering
See engineering projects done by students from robotics to alternative fuel and energy experiments. 

Arizona Virtual Academy
Hands-on science fun for the family. 

Macaroni Kid
Find new ways to have fun with the family in this publication. Meet the people who put the magazine together. 

Tempe Elementary School District #3
Science and technology-inspired projects by students will be on display. 

Kid Zone Enrichment Program
The Kid Zone team will have science projects for your family to try their hands at and even some things to take home. 

Girl Scouts - Troop 951
Science rules and Troop 951 will have an experiment to share. 

Will I see you there?

Raising Arizona Geeks

My Steam Team and I have been invited to participate in Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative Geek Week and Geeks’ Night Out in Tempe, Ariz!

Tempe is known for its technology companies, its entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, and groundbreaking research at Arizona State University and many other colleges. And, of course, if there’s one thing Tempe knows, it’s how to throw a party.

Join us for Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative Geek Week and Geeks’ Night Out. We’re blending science, technology and fun to celebrate the Arizona SciTech Festival. Best of all, the events are free.

Geeks are really important to Tempe. About 20 percent of the jobs in our city are tech-related. We are, perhaps, the most tech-heavy town in Arizona, depending on how you slice it. We love geeks. They're smart, fun and want to change the world for the better. They've cured diseases, built robots, and yes, even helped us get to Mars.

Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative Geek Week
Visit the Gallery at the Tempe Center for the Arts, Tempe Public Library, Tempe History Museum for pop-culture, science-related fun throughout the week. Tempe schools will also host classes and bring in special guest speakers throughout the week.

What is Geeks' Night Out?
Be part of a very special Third Thursday on Mill Avenue on Feb. 20 from 4:30 to 9 p.m., themed to bring out the curiosity within. There’s science behind everything you love and we want to show you how it works. From science fiction to the business of science and everything in between, we’re celebrating smarts. Join us. It’s fun, smart and very Tempe.

Invade City Hall! (Or at least walk around it in your costume)
Phoenix Comicon hosts its annual Geeks' Night Out costume contest. Strut your stuff before the judging. Members of the Tempe City Council will lead the zombies, super heroes, super villians and creatures of all kinds on a walk around Tempe City Hall. Parade starts at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to participate.

ROBOTS!!!!
Tempe School District Robotics Clubs
Tempe robotics clubs will bring the amazing robots they've built in class. What was once science fiction is now able to be designed, built and operated by high school and middle school students.

R2-D2 Builders Club
Check out full-size replicas of R2-D2 and other Astromech Droids with the R2-D2 Builders Club. With more than 10,000 members in 30 countries worldwide, the club’s replicas have appeared on behalf of Lucas Films in Deal or No Deal, The Rose Bowl Parade, The Fiesta Bowl Parade, movie premiers, sports events, Star Wars in Concert, the White House, Halloween events and the Today Show.  

Greathouse Labs
Evil robots take over the world! Lance Greathouse has robots that shoot fire and look like they came out of Terminator or the Matrix. Check them out!

Video Games GameTruck has been operating mobile video game theaters in the Valley for over five years with over 50 franchises nationwide. Come play with us as we show off the latest multiplayer video games in our state of the art environment. GameTruck will also be demonstrating Evil Controllers so you can experience gaming with the industry leader in modded controllers. The truck is wheelchair accessible.

Pop Culture and Sci Fi
Ghostly Fun
The Southwest Anaomalous Research Center will be at Tempe City Hall showing the equipment they use in researching potential ghostly hauntings. They’ll lead a tour of Monti’s Restaurant, reported to be haunted, at 8 p.m., if you sign up with them at their booth.

The Arizona Ghostbusters are ready to believe you! Check out this group of do-gooders in ghostbusting swag. See the proton packs and check out the rest of their gear. You might even win a ride in Ecto, their car.

Dr. Who?
Step into a full-size replica of Dr. Who's Tardis, which will be located at the corner of Sixth and Mill in present time, brought to you by Az Tardis.

Phoenix Comicon Costume Contest + Photo Booth
Dress like your favorite inventor, invention, science project gone wrong, whatever. Show off your Star Trek and Star Wars gear. We want to see your favorite SciFi costume on Mill Avenue! Strut your scientific stuff in front of Tempe City Hall. Prizes!

Comic Book and Graphic Novel Signings
Pop Culture Paradise is bringing several graphic novelists to sign their goods. Their display will be located in the ground floor retail space of the City Hall Parking Garage located on Fifth Street adjacent to Tempe City Hall. Look for Ecto, the Arizona Ghostbusters mobile, near there!

Desert Dolls Roller Derby
Desert Dolls Roller Derby will show how they can thwart gravity. Find them as they roll through our downtown.

Which will you like better? Their skating, their attitudes or their costumes?

Sustainability
ERIC Knows Recycling
What goes in the blue barrel and what goes in the trash? What happens to an aluminum soda can after you drop it in the recycling bin? Meet ERIC, Tempe’s mobile Educational Recycling Information Center – a 38-foot trailer filled with innovative and interactive opportunities to learn about the recycling cycle.

Chemistry in Your Storage Closet
Tempe’s Household Products Collection Center will demonstrate why you shouldn’t store your pool chemicals along with brake fluid in a cardboard box. Or why it’s not a good idea to have, say, cleaning supplies, paint thinner and paper towels on the same shelf. Many common household products can be dangerous – to your family, your pets and the environment – if not used, stored and disposed of properly. Learn more about how you can help protect the earth and your family by making smart choices about household products.

Schools!
Tempe Elementary and Tempe Unified High School District have outdone themselves with amazing science displays. See how the future of our society is learning STEM and using it to change the world.

Kid Zone
The youngsters of Tempe Kid Zone will have a display of their artistic talents around the railing of Tempe City Hall while Kid Zone staff will provide an interactive science activity for everyone to enjoy.

It's about time I got some public recognition.

To boldly geek

Nichelle Nichols

Pardon me while I squee!

Nichelle Nichols actually Tweeted about Momma, Phoebe, and I!

Just in case you didn't believe me. 

Best.

Comicon.

Ever!

News for nerds

Thankfully the internet cooperated today (I think it ran out of steam yesterday) so here (finally!) are the photos of our adventures at Phoenix Comicon 13.

Phoebe, Clementine, and I had a blast. We hope you can join us next year!

I'll post more this week about various experiences, but for now enjoy the photos and feel free to ask questions.

https://plus.google.com/photos/112240988257177027782/albums/5882735746861350577

I'm a dork-able

What a whirlwind four days.

Talk about blissfully exhausted.

Phoenix Comicon 13 was a blast. In its 13 years it has grown from 400 attendees in one day to more than 30,000 in four days.

Phoebe and I met Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, who signed us and loved us so much she asked for her very own version of Me. (I, of course, graciously agreed.)

We met Wil Wheaton (again) who signed my Li'l Wil and rolled his eyes at my peacebonded knife and leg. (Apparently Wheaton still does not realize what a threat I am!)

Clementine met Jewel Staite, the ship's mechanic Kaylee Frye on Firefly and Serenity, who signed her tummy.

We also go to say hi to Kristin Bauer who plays the vampire Pam on True Blood.

We attended workshops and panels, met authors and illustrators, and watched people in all kinds of costumes.

(Not to mention hundreds of booths filled with geeky goodness.)

I have hundreds of photos to edit and share, but the internet is being g-l-a-c-i-a-l so I'll share them tomorrow.

Of course there will be more to report this week, but for now it is time for us to rest.

Zzzz....

The Proton Resurgence

Geek alert!

Grandpoppa's lifelong comic hero is guest starring tonight on The Big Bang Theory.

Yes folks, that is correct. Deadpan genius Bob Newhart is scheduled to appear when Sheldon and Leonard hire Professor Proton (Newhart), the host of their favorite childhood TV show, to perform. 

Newhart is an American stand-up comedian and actor noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery. Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s with his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.

Newhart later starred in situation comedies: first as psychologist Dr. Robert "Bob" Hartley on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show and then as innkeeper Dick Loudon on the 1980s sitcom Newhart. 

Incidentally, Newhart told a 2005 interviewer for PBS's American Masters that his favorite stand-up routine is "Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue," in which a slick promoter has to deal with the reluctance of the eccentric President to agree to efforts to boost his image.

The mind boggles....

Revenge of the Nerds: The Next Generation

Even an arch nemesis can get it correct occasionally.





Shall I have to rethink my opinion of Evil Wil Wheaton?

Friend or Foe?

I have 22 days until Phoenix Comicon 13 to decide.

Those magnificent men and their flying machines

© Jean-Dominique Billaud

I think, by now, that it is no secret that I am a geek.

Momma is too, so imagine our delight when we spotted this fantastique French carousel while reading one of our favorite blogs, Epbot.

Les Machines de I’île (The Machines of the Isle of Nantes) is a blend of the invented worlds of Jules Verne, the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and the industrial history of Nantes, France on the site of the former shipyards.

Open to the public since July 1, 2007, the project of Machines de I'île in Nantes aims to promote city's image and tries to build an identity as a creative metropolis of dream and of fantasy.

The Great Elephant (2007) is 12 meters high and 8 meters wide, made from 45 tons of wood and steel. It can take up to 49 passengers for a 45-minute walk!

The Marine Worlds Carousel (2012) is a huge carousel, rising nearly 25 meters high and measuring 20 meters in diameter. It features 35 moving underwater creatures on three levels: the ocean floor, the depths, and sea and boats. Visitors will be able to move about amidst a ballet of aquatic animals (The squid! The sea dragon!) and sea carriages, as well as climb aboard and guide the movements of the Machines.

The Heron Tree (2014) is a steel structure of 45 meters in diameter and 28 meters in height, topped with two herons. The project plans to allow visitors to climb either onto the back or onto the wings of the birds for a circular flight over the hanging gardens of the tree.

Momma can only dream of going.

But as for Moi....

Oh my darling, Clementine!

While Momma's busy geeking out over Julie's Car Wash Set (yup, $350!) I'm eyeing this new cutie.

I think it's time I got a new sister to adventure with, don't you?

What do you think of the name Clementine?

And who wants to bet on who gets her first, me or my Big Sister?

Cute as a Bug on a rug

American Girl

Momma is seriously geeking out this week.

American Girl leaked that one of its new releases on June 28 is Julie's Car Wash Set ... featuring a Volkswagen Beetle!!!

The Volkswagen Beetle, officially called the Volkswagen Type 1 (or informally the Volkswagen Bug), was an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.

Momma's parents got their first (yellow) Bug while she was in Kindergarten (1969-1970). It was quickly followed by a pale blue Bug.

Grandmomma learned to drive stick-shift on the yellow Bug while driving Momma to kindergarten. (Grandmomma and her best friend once drove from Ohio to Florida in one of the Bugs with four kids!) Ten years later Momma learned how to drive stick-shift on the same yellow Bug.

Sadly, Momma killed that poor yellow Bug in a car accident in 1982. (The fire department had to cut the roof off to extricate Momma, briefly creating the only VW bug convertible owned by her family.)

So while I'm busy creating a fake driver's license for me, Momma is praying the price for Julie's Car Wash Set will lower than the rumored $350.

Gulp.

If so, we'll be looking for one in the salvage yard.

Sweet Caroline

Momma is such a history geek.

Right now she's happily channeling her inner Neil Diamond:

Where it began,

I can't begin to knowin'

But then I know it's growing strong

Was in the spring

And spring became the summer

Who'd have believed you'd come along.


Why? Because it has just been confirmed at BookExpo America that the next historical American Girl doll to be released in September 2012 is named Caroline Abbott and based in 1812.



Hmm, just in time for the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812?


So far we don't know what Caroline will look like, but girls in 1812 would wear Regency clothing similar to Josefina's.

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

May the Fourth be with you

Happy Star Wars Day!

May 4 is called Star Wars Day because of the phrase "May the Force be with you." Star Wars film fans commonly say "May the 4th be with you" on this day.

When Margaret Thatcher was elected Britain's first female Prime Minister on May 4, 1979, her party placed an advertisement in The London Evening News that said "May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations."

In a 2005 interview on German news TV channel N24, Star Wars creator George Lucas was asked to say, "May the Force be with you." The interpreter interpreted the sentence into German as Am 4. Mai sind wir bei Ihnen ("We shall be with you on May 4").

The first organized celebration of Star Wars Day took place in 2011 at the Toronto Underground Cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Festivities included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show; a costume contest with celebrity judges; and the web's best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies, and remixes on the big screen. The second annual Star Wars Day took place on Friday, May 4, 2012.

May 5 is known as Star Wars Sequel Day; "Revenge of the Fifth," refers to the title of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

The Los Angeles City Council declared May 25, 2007, as Star Wars Day, in honor of the 1977 release date of Star Wars. A separate initiative for observing Geek Pride Day on May 25 is based on the Star Wars connection along with ties to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Discworld.

Let your geek flag fly!

Phoenix Comicon ... again!

Move over Evil Wil Wheaton! I am seriously geeking out over the guestlist for the upcoming Phoenix Comicon:

• William Shatner
• Patrick Stewart
• LeVar Burton
• Michael Dorn
• Marina Sirtis
• Brent Spiner

Shall I see you there?

She blinded me with science

Eek.

I am seriously geeking out and I don't know where to begin.

Do I hum Weird Science or She Blinded Me with Science?

Or should I go straight for the Star Trek theme? 

Join Mad Science as they present Star Trek Live: Starfleet Academy:

Eager to learn from Starfleet’s best and brightest, Captain James T. Kirk and Vulcan science officer Spock, our cadets assemble, anxious to prepare for their first day at the Academy and an exploration of the legendary U.S.S. Enterprise. As we are introduced to the proud legacy of the most powerful and most advanced ship in the fleet, the Enterprise and Earth itself come under attack from alien forces, leaving the fate of the Federation in the hands of our cadets. Our cadets will have to quickly learn the intricacies of living and working in space, modern space travel and the latest in communication and technology as they draw on the achievements of science in the 21st century. It will require all our knowledge, ingenuity, logic and an exploration of science to discover what is happening and how to set things right before it’s too late!

Star Trek Live: Starfleet Academy
1 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.
Mesa Arts Center
1 E. Main St.
Mesa, AZ
Admission is $14

On the Net: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/2011/11/04/20111104star-trek-stage-show-teaches-kids-science.html

Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?

Okay, seriously geeking out right now, am I.

One day it's pirates and the next, it's...

Star Wars!

Look at what Momma found for me.

A mini lightsaber in My size!

There are six available but, of course, I want green! (Rebel Alliance, you know.)

Should I get:

• Luke Skywalker, green, 23cm long
• Yoda, green, 20 cm long

(Lightsabers do not light up or slice effortlessly through flesh. Sorry.)

(Although I might have to agree with Han Solo when he said, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.")

May the Force be with you!

Hailing frequencies open, Captain

photo by EofA/used with permission

I was chatting with my dear friend Phoebe (right) and mentioned that I was going to the upcoming Phoenix Comicon and she nearly swooned!

See, Phoebe is the original "Uhura fangirl" and she likes all things Star Trek (and geeky) too.

(She's adament that she's fangirling as Uhura by wearing the costume whenever she can, not that she is Uhura.)

rabittooth.com

I admit, I like her futuristic look a lot but I refuse to wear what Momma says is a pushpin in my ear!

I'll carry the punk look only so far!

While I don't think she has seen the steampunk light, she does have a great sense of style.

Do you think this "steamy" photo might change her mind?