The Geek Tree

Several people have heard me talk about the surprise I had planned for Richard this year... an aptly named "Geek Tree" covered with ornaments from movies, books and cartoons that he loves.

Finding some of these ornaments wasn't easy, but it was a nice distraction from the upcoming holidays, which I knew I would not find pleasant, and it would be something that would bring Richard some happiness.

The thought to use Cornelius from Planet of the Apes as a most unlikely angel topper was sort-of last minute, but he actually works very well as the icing on the top of the cake, so to speak.

Now this is maybe only half of the ornaments that currently decorate the tree and the joy is knowing that we can add more to the tree in the years to come.

This won't be our tree every year; or maybe we will set it up as a small, secondary tree some years.

It certainly makes for something unique, and a conversational piece for those who have seen it.

There are a few pieces on here that may be just a wee more me than Richard, like the Fantasia ornament of Hyacinth Hippo and Ben Al E Gator (below), though my Raggedy Ann and Andy ornament somehow failed to be used... I am not sure how I forgot it, but that's okay, because I can use it next year.

So what ornaments would you include on your own "geek tree"?

Would it be the Ecto1 from "Ghostbusters"? The one I didn't get around to buying, but that I will certainly be adding for future trees?

Or would it be something newer, like Iron Man or Thor? I would have loved adding a Loki ornament if I could have found one.

Would you stick, as I did, with purchased ornaments, or would you try sculpting some of your own?

Would you go with a complete theme, like novels only, or use a eclectic hodpodge of favorites from throughout your life?

So what do you think of our tree for this year? Feel free to comment and let me know.

Oh Happy Day....

It is a geek girl's dream this week, isn't it?

First James Cameron's expedition (squidless apparently) was a success... though he was unable to stay under for the full 6 hours he had hoped for due to some mechanical failures (don't worry, he says he plans to try, try again!)

But now this series 7 trailer for the new season of Doctor Who has been released. I love the glimpses you get of Mark Williams (from the Harry Potter series amongst many other things) running about with our heroes. Rumor is he's playing Rory's father this season! While I am looking forward to the departure of Amy Pond, I admit I am seriously going to miss Rory the Roman....



Richard will be geeking out that the Doctor will once again be running about with his trusty Stetson (sorry sweetie, no sign of the Fez!) Found out a funny piece of information recently that Matt Smith, our current Doctor, originally read for the part of Watson in the BBC reboot of "Sherlock" (amazing series by the way). While the part eventually went to Martin Freeman, Steven Moffatt was impressed by Matt and asked him to read for the role of the Doctor.

Anyway, for those of you not Doctor Who fans, you have no idea what you are missing... but for the rest of us, happy watching.

The Spirit of Exploration

James Cameron is at it again... yes, the Mr Cameron who has given us some truly amazing films (Terminators 1 & 2, Aliens, Avatar, Abyss, Titanic) and even more amazing documentaries (Expedition Bismarck, Ghosts of the Abyss, Aliens of the Deep) is not only a fantastic director, but is also an Explorer-in-Residence for National Geographic.


James and the Deepsea Challenger

Having accomplished over 70 dives in submersibles (over 30 of these to the Titanic wreck) he helped design and build the Deepsea Challenger, in order to visit the deepest place in the world, the Challenger Deep which lies at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, where the trench reaches a maximum known depth of about 6.78 miles.

Catch that kids? Nearly 7 miles down!



Having left the safety of the world above, Mr Cameron reached the trench bottom mere hours ago (after about an hour-and-a-half descent) where he plans to explore and take samples for up to 6 hours before dropping his weights and coming home (another 70 minute or so trip, since buoyancy will be on his side.

What will he find? No one really knows. I know I am keeping my fingers crossed that he comes back with visual documentation of a large specimen of the giant squid, but that's just a wish (scientists don't think we've ever seen a fully grown specimen so they have no idea just how large they really get).


"Say Cheese!"

Still, even without that, scientists are hoping that by exploring the depths of the Trench, that we can get a feel for what just may lie beneath the (possible) liquid ocean beneath Jupiter's icy moon Europa. The things that are discovered in the next few hours could exponentially help with the creation of an unmanned submersible that would be flown to Europa one day to explore the depths of that hidden ocean. How, you ask? Well, by discovering what fuels life in those cold, dark depths (which aren't fueled by sunlight, like here on the planet's surface, and it is not fueled by hydrothermic vents, like we find around underwater volcanoes) any life discovered here would likely be as alien as we could hope to find on any moon.... understanding the life that is in our (albeit hard-to-reach) backyard could be just the step we need to prepare for discovering life elsewhere.



My geek is showing, isn't it?

Am I excited? Oh yeah. While it will be awhile before the details are fully released, 3D cameras are rolling on the submersible, not only for scientific purposes, but for documentaries! National Geographic plans a special edition based around the expedition, but sadly that isn't expected until January of next year. I am sure though that we will be hearing a lot more about this expedition as the days and months go by. I am still literally jumping up and down and squealing with glee over what must be going on now, miles below the ocean surface.

Need more reasons to be impressed? How about the fact that this is a one-man mission deeper into the ocean than Mt Everest is tall? Depths where the pressure outside is over 8 tons per inch! How about setting a record for the deepest one-man dive ever? While this dive was done before, originally by Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard in 1960, they only stayed below for 20 minutes, and could not move around, so visibility was practically nil.

Want to read about it for yourself? Go to National Geographic's website (www.nationalgeographic.com) or just click on the link to follow the news about this awe-inspiring trip to the depths of the ocean.

Update (2 hrs later): quick video highlighting just how far down he is:


and here is a short video of Humboldt squid... not the same as their cousins, the giant squid, but still fascinating (just because I totally <3 geek over this stuff):

Ooh this is cute!

ThinkGeek has these darling little butterflies in a jar that flutter around without dying (well, nothing a quick battery replacement wouldn't fix). There's this sweet Blue Morpho, or you can pick a Monarch or a Yellow Swallowtail. At $19.99 each this would be fun to keep around just to entertain not only me, but the cats as well. Click on the link to see it in motion...

For Doctor Who fans...

Amazing take on the Doctor Who theme as a Belgian Jazz song... love it! Now to see if its available for download onto my iPod...



and for those of us who don't speak French... this should be the interpretation of what Bill Bailey is saying...

It's him, Doctor Who. He travels in the TARDIS, The fantastic phone box from space. The inside is much larger than the outside. And that is the mystery of Doctor Who. - The leader of the Daleks is called Davros He wants to control the universe, He wants to control everybody He has never controlled the universe With the Daleks the Doctor is superior. He laughs, "Ha ha! I am "Doctor Who" Daleks can't go up stairs, it's a tragedy for them. Zut alors! Exterminate! No you cannot for I'm Dr Who