GeekSugar

Gina Trapani Champions Keyboard Shortcuts, Low Tech Tools

GeekSugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:30:00 -0700

I might like to feature male tech titans and their ladies, but I know you're more interested in tech girls! Gina Trapani, whose book, Upgrade Your Life which I mentioned a couple of months ago, is a geek girl role model for us all - as a web developer and programmer and editor of Lifehacker.

In an interview with the New York Times, she does a Q&A with advice on what her book and blog is about, and all of it is refreshingly simple. The most basic of her tech advice is to learn keyboard shortcuts to reclaim wasted time going from peripheral to peripheral:

"Moving your hand from keyboard to mouse, double clicking, moving the pointer, putting your hand back - that’s a lot of movement and it’s inefficient versus just hitting the keyboard combinations while your hands are on the keys."

To hear the old-fashioned device Trapani calls "the ultimate tool" just read more.

I like that she is not completely go-go-gadget and appreciates low-tech options - she mentions the most simple of tools: a pen and paper.

"Technology is deeply embedded in my life, but nothing can replace the feel of a pen against paper. . . It’s the ultimate tool. It’s affordable, compatible with everything, widely available."

Source

Lisa Katayama of Tokyomango: Geeky Girl We Love

GeekSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:00:23 -0700

If you're into gadgets you've probably realized some of the coolest, strangest and geekiest gadgets and gizmos come from Japan. If you're a real webmeister, you've probably noticed the hottest Japanese items are often premiered to the US (and the rest of the world) via Tokyomango, a site started by Lisa Katayama nearly a year ago.

Lisa, who grew up in Tokyo and now lives in San Francisco, has been sharing her insight into Japanese culture and gadgets (as well as her general knowledge of techie things) with Wired Magazine for two years and is also the associate editor at PLANETº Magazine. She has a book coming out in Spring 08 about secret Japanese tips and tricks and has quickly gained a reputation for her witty, hilarious and insightful pieces. Think golden poop. Think cell phone straps. Think beer for dogs. Think anything you ever wanted to know about Japan's "Beauty Adviser" Nintendo DS games. Think where does Lisa find all this goofy stuff?

When she's not writing, she's game for any team sport or activity (like speeding down hills on skis or a bike), crafting, eating, watching chick flicks, playing video games and traveling all over the world. I managed to snag an interview with her and asked her a couple questions about her site and well, overall coolness. Click here to read more

Geeksugar: You seem to have an endless supply of amazing gizmos and off beat news, without revealing your secrets and sources, please tell us about your experience and how you came to love Japanese culture and gadgets so much.
Lisa: I was born and raised in Tokyo, so Japanese culture and gadgets are just a part of my existence. It was only when I started working at Wired that I realized that people considered things like Tokyo street trends and novelty gadgets to be newsworthy. I started Tokyomango as a dumping ground for stories that wouldn't get published in the magazine, and also for a place to debunk common myths and sensationalized conceptions of Japanese pop culture and lifestyle. A lot of people write about Japan, but most of them aren't Japanese.

Geeksugar: Do you use a PC or Mac?
Lisa: I use my 15" MacBookPro at home.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Lisa: 8-10. On weekends, I try to stay completely offline.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Lisa: Sony Vaio.

Geeksugar: How many gadgets do you carry in your purse? What are they?
Lisa: My cell phone (Nokia 5300) and if I remember to bring it, my iPod video. I don't like carrying too many things around, it gets confusing.

Geeksugar: What’s your favorite item or news story you’ve ever written about?
Lisa: A couple months ago, I walked around my neighborhood investigating the life and death of a homeless man I was good friends with. That was really meaningful and fascinating in a much more human kind of way than the tech/culture stories I usually do.

I also put some galleries together for Wired.com showcasing adult toys, cell phone straps, and doggie gadgets from Tokyomango.

Geeksugar: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
Lisa: 112.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 3 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Lisa:

Astro Boy -I want to sweep him off his rocket-jet-fuelled feet and get intimate with his nuclear reactor heart.
Brendan Fraser in Blast From the Past - Why can't hot, courteous guys emerge from nuclear holocaust fallout shelters more often?
That dude with the iPhone-Have you seen how those fingers roll smoothly across the touchscreen? Hot!

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek” or “techie”?
Lisa: Am I a geek? I think you're the first person to call me that. But I'll take it as a compliment.

Geeksugar: What are a couple tech/gadget trends you adore?
Lisa: love that video game music has taken on a following of its own. Have you seen the Mario Piano Guy or the dude who plays the Zelda track on two guitars? Pretty cool. Other than that, I'm not so into tech trends. I follow them, sure-but only in an objective, journalistic way. My day-to-day life is pretty analog.

Geeksugar: What is one item you’ve featured that you had to purchase?
Lisa: The golden poop cell phone strap. I actually bought these in bulk and had a contest where I gave a bunch of them out to people who best answered the question: Why do Japanese people love poop so much? We really, really love poop. I just Googled my blog for the word "poop" got 156 hits. That means I've written about poop every other day since I started Tokyomango.

Geeksugar: What’s the most useless thing you’ve featured?
Lisa: I don't know where to start! When looked at a certain way, everything on my blog is utterly useless; but take into consideration the odd, quirky ways in which the esoteric few will find these products pleasurable or convenient, and anything has the potential to be surprisingly useful. Take the portable heated wooden toilet bowl, for example. Why would anybody want to carry around such an expensive, awkward toilet contraption? But maybe some people would really appreciate the butt shower. Aside from that, this CD crusher is probably the stupidest thing ever.

Geeky Girl We Love: Ingrid Diaz of Play Girlz

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:04:19 -0700

Ingrid Diaz is one of those women that proves geek is chic while bashing the misnomer that girls can't love video games and celebrity gossip. She's the co-editor of Play-Girlz, a fun site that "proudly shows that gaming isn't just a guy sport," and the editor of Grey's Anatomy News and Top Model Gossip. Besides being a great ying/yang combo, Diaz is pretty hilarious and not afraid to admit she likes to frighten the neighbors by singing loudly and off-key while she plays video games. She's also the first geeky gal to admit she thinks Bill Gates is sexy...or maybe that was her joking again... For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell the geeksugar fans how you became a blogger.
Ingrid: Hmm. A little about myself. Well, I’m a level 70 human mage. Currently fire/frost specced, though this changes … Oh. You meant the “real” me. Ahem. Well, my professional career began at the ripe age of eight when I became the President of the Nintendo club on my street. It came complete with uniforms (white t-shirts with Nintendo logo patches expertly stitched on by un-talented eight-year-old hands…) Then came the obsessive collecting of video game consoles whenever they’d come out.
Then came the moment a couple of years ago when I was offered the chance to get paid for my video gaming obsessions. A good friend of mine, Erin Harvey, emailed me out of the blue and said, “Hey you want to write on this video games blog with me?” and I was like “Hm. Write about video games? For money? Let me contemplate this deeply and in the lotus position…” and then I had a phone meeting with Jeremy Wright of b5media and Play Girlz was born.

Geeksugar: The most obvious question: So many people think girls aren’t gamers or geeks – what do you say to them?
Ingrid: Well I probably wouldn’t say anything. I’d email them, or IM them, or send in-game tells with disapproving emotes. And then it’s likely that I’d challenge them to a “friendly” PvP duel, pwn them, and then do a little victory dance … and then I’d do my nails.

Geeksugar: What are your three favorite video games?
Ingrid: World of Warcraft, SingStar (I like to frighten the neighbors by singing loudly and off-key), and Grand Theft Auto (I like stealing cars… in the game … not in real life … erm…)

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Ingrid: Depends on the day, but usually anywhere from 12-18.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Ingrid: Desperate attempt by a 10-year-old to create a super computer out of duct tape, construction paper, and a series of other household items that didn’t work out quite the way she’d planned. She was then forced to turn it into a space ship (this didn’t work out very well either…) My first working computer a Texas Instrument something or other that only had a chess game on it. I played a lot of chess.

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about the sites?
Ingrid: It gives me a chance to re-label all of my dorky, geeky, and previously known as “procrastinating activities” as “working.”

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Ingrid: Noooo … this is a very serious business. SERIOUS. No laughing allowed. *whispers* This conversation isn’t bugged, is it?

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Ingrid: Uh… 543. I have an unhealthy addiction to the subscription button…

Geeksugar: What are some of your non-geeky hobbies?
Ingrid: Um. Er. Hrm. I like to juggle … that’s not geeky, is it? Oh! I like shop! …. Online. Hm.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Ingrid: Marshall on Alias, Bill Gates (so sexy), and the Lone Gunmen on X-Files (does that count as 3?)

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Ingrid: Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Brennan from Bones, Oracle on Birds of Prey, Elphaba on Wicked, and Abby on NCIS.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Ingrid: Caitlin R. Kiernan. Well, she’s not really a professional blogger per say, since she’s actually a fiction author, but her online journal is a must-read for me. I love her style and her beliefs about writing and I’ve always found her to be a big inspiration. Her books are awesome if you’re into dark fantasy type stories.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Ingrid: I feel warm and fuzzy inside. I love it. It’s so much better than being told I’m “normal.” What a dreadful tragedy that would be.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Ingrid: After much contemplating and running it through my super computer (still made out of duct tape and construction paper) I have calculated that the geekiest thing about me is 7.82.

Geeksugar: Anything else you want to share?
Ingrid: Gum. I have gum. Would you like some?

Check out our other interviews with geeky girls.

Geeky Girl We Love: Mia Kim of Popgadget

GeekSugar — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:32:00 -0700

Last month we featured some of the cutest geeky couples and bachelors in the blogoshere, which left many of you wondering - what about the women? Fear not my fine friends, we were just saving the best for last. March is Women's History Month so I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the smartest, most creative and successful women on the internet.

Mia Kim is the founder and editor-in-chief of Popgadget, a lifestyle magazine that embraces technology as a regular and essential part of women's lives. Not only do I look up to her as a leader in the geeky girls movement, but I'm inspired by her business savvy and natural chicness. For part one of the interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger?
Mia: I went to NYU Film School with the idea that I was going to write and direct movies, and filmmakers are so in demand that I became.... a statistical programmer. But I didn't love programming, and wanted to do something that merged tech with something more creative so I went to NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program for my Master's. I graduated at the height of the dot com boom, and had fun jobs with monied startups and then of course, it all exploded and I ended up doing a much more traditional media job, as the new media director of a huge traditional entertainment company. I felt stifled again, and had to get out- so I started my own tech consulting company and dreamed up Popgadget. There were zero publications for women that had any significant technology coverage, online or offline, and that drove me crazy. After percolating in my head for several years, I just opened up a Blogger account and started Popgadget on my own in April 2004.

Geeksugar: What are your hobbies besides blogging?
Mia: Cooking, especially baking. Making an intricate dish is meditative for me and I dream now about going to culinary school someday. I will always be in love with movies so I like to go see everything. I still write screenplays, hope to do something with them someday. Mostly though, I'm obsessed with my dogs and pop culture so if I'm not working I can be found in my bedroom surrounded by a couple of naughty dogs, a stack of magazines (US Weekly perched on top, most likely), newspapers, a ton of books, and some homemade cookies. I love to travel, and my husband and I make plans all the time to do an all-around-the world trip just as soon as we have the time and the means.

Geeksugar: Tell me a little about the Popgadget team...
Mia: For about the first year of Popgadget, it was pretty much just me writing at night after work. Then a couple of amazing women, Camilla Beltrami and Regine Debatty (We Make Money Not Art), both in Italy at the time, started helping me out with the writing, just because they loved the idea and they both totally upped the game, and made me realize that we had something good. My sister, Hoyun Kim, who was a corporate lawyer then decided to help me turn Popgadget into a real business and she's now the publisher and we have two sites (Babygadget is the second), with at least seven more in the pipeline and nearly 20 writers from all across the world.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Mia: I was going to say that I am rarely online for more than 10 hours a day because I just literally get eyestrain and have to unplug but that's not strictly true. My Treo is never off, even when I'm in a movie theater, and so I check emails, texts, and IMs pretty much 24/7. I also have a Verizon wireless broadband card so if I'm going to be away from my desk for any significant time, I will have my laptop with me and can get online without having to look for a wifi signal.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Mia: I wish I could say I had serious geek cred and came out of the womb programming a Commodore 64, but no such luck - I think I was 20 when I got my first computer, and it was a tiny, and incredibly slow Gateway notebook that barely worked. It was a hand-me-down of several generations. I didn't own a brand-new computer until I got a Dell Latitude notebook which could hold a maximum 32 mb of RAM. I thought it was awesome and used it for 6 years. Since then, I probably average a new computer a year, alternating between a new notebook and a new desktop.

Geeksugar: What are three things you featured on the site that you really want?
Mia: Not a day goes by that I don't long for the Sony Vaio G1. It's only released in Japan (but available from Dynamism.com) and is just over 2 lbs, with the optical drive built-in.

The Kinetix Blender from Breville. Again it's not yet available in the US, but it moves around the ingredients in the jar so you can make smoothies without having to stop the blending to break up the fruit and ice.

The Just In Time watch. This is still in development, so you can't buy it yet, but it's a watch that not only tells time but uses GPS to track you and traffic conditions so it will let you know how long it's going to take you to get to your next appointment. I'm late for everything but I swear it's the traffic every time! I so need this.

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about Popgadget?
Mia: I love that my job is to be clued in to all things new and innovative- I'm a total neophile. I love reading the speculation about what's ahead. My favorite thing about Popgadget is that it's turned out to be exactly the thing that I had in my head about 10 years ago. I wanted something that melded together techie stuff with things that are silly, fun, sometimes even frivolous. Tech isn't a chore, it's fun and I wanted other women to be able to see that.

This is part one in a series of two interview with Mia Kim. Come back tomorrow to check out who Mia thinks are the sexiest geeky girls and guys on the internet!

Geeky Girl We Love: Amber Mac

GeekSugar — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:00:00 -0700

Amber Mac is a Canadian journalist and geeky blogger whose site, Amber Mac, has been one of my favorites since day one. It features videos from her TV reporting, her insight on techie subjects and top headlines. She also happens to be a Mac-addict, which leads me to believe we were meant to be BFF. For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger and when did you start the site?
Amber: I started blogging in 2004 on Blogger.com. As a journalist, my personal blog helps me to have a forum to really post what I find interesting on a daily basis whether it's suitable for a story or not.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Amber: I probably spend at least 8 hours a day online, maybe more.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a...
Amber: My first computer was many, many years ago. I'd like to say it was a Mac, but it was definitely a PC (it used 8-inch floppies).

Geeksugar: What the vision for your site and some of the stories you're most proud of?
Amber: My vision for my site is simply a place for me to share things that I find interesting, funny, and clever.

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about the site?
Amber: My favourite thing about my job is that I get to actually try to bridge the gap between new media and mainstream media. As for my site, I love that no one monitors what I'm posting so I can say whatever I like. It's pure web freedom.

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Amber: The funniest story I have about being a blogger is when I posted that I had free Joost invites (40 of them) and I got hundreds and hundreds of replies.

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Amber: I read dozens of blogs, but mostly I love BoingBoing.net.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Amber: I wake up at 7am, surf the web, eat some breakfast, go for a run, head to Citytv for our daily news meeting, and then it's game-on for the day. I file a news report every day, so it's busy but fulfilling.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Amber: I admire Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing because he's always finding cool new stuff.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek"?
Amber: I love being called a geek, it's an honor.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Amber: I love web usability.

Check out our other interviews with geeky girls.

Geeky Girl We Love: Mia Kim - Part Deux

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:15:49 -0700

This is part two in a series of two interviews with Mia Kim, the founder and editor-in-chief of Popgadget, a lifestyle magazine that embraces technology as a regular and essential part of women's lives. Not only do I look up to her as a leader in the geeky girls movement, but I'm inspired by her business savvy and natural chicness. For part two, read more

Yesterday, Mia shared some of her background and hobbies, which include cooking and not programming a Commodore 64.

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Mia: The funniest thing about being a blogger is that you develop real relationships with other bloggers- but you rarely meet in person even if you IM, email all the time and become good friends. At this year's CES, Popgadget had a three person team: me, Stuart Memo from Glasgow, and Evan Hosie who's in California. Our first night there, we were meeting in the hotel lobby, and despite the fact that we were colleagues who knew each other pretty well, we all walked around and around the hotel passing each other because we'd never seen each other. We kept circling each other until Evan called and said, "I think you're standing right in front of me."

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Mia: Yikes, it's over 350. But I have to admit that there are only about 20 that I read every single day. The others get a weekly scan and yet I'm still constantly looking for new feeds.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Mia: I just can't do the 15-hour "blogger in their underwear" routine anymore. I was feeling like I wasn't a part of the human race anymore so I break up my work day, make sure I do other things like eat and walk the dogs.

Mornings are rough because I'm a terrible sleeper and have probably been up half the night but I always want to get to email straight away and check on Popgadget posts and start IM chats with the other writers. Then I'm in research mode for a few hours- reading everything in sight. Pop Life Media (the umbrella that publishes Popgadget and Babygadget) also has another side, new media consulting, so I need to set aside a few hours for working with clients and coordinating that work. We don't have a publicist so I'm on the phone a lot, talking to companies and to news people. We also don't have a full-time tech person, so I'm often doing the troubleshooting of the site. We had a server crash a few weeks ago, and after we migrated, I was working on getting the site back up for about a week straight. Never been so tired or stressed in my life.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Mia:

Grant Achatz- the chef-owner of Alinea in Chicago. He'd make you dinner, 22nd century style: vaporized cocktails, lobster in the form of edible paper, and an exploding souffle for dessert.
Matt Mullenweg, founder of Wordpress. I'm surprised he's not a bigger tech celeb because who doesn't love a 22-year old genius with a hot property, but he's a soft-spoken, thoughtful guy who'd probably shy away from all that. I'd put him on the cover of Tech Teen Beat.
Masi Oka, who plays Hiro on Heroes. He may not have superpowers, but he's a real-life CGI effects artist, so he could just fake it. And maybe he'd give you some Heroes' spoilers.
Douglas Krone, the owner/founder of Dynamism.com , which imports the most amazing computers and gadgets from Japan about a million years before we'll see them here. I consider myself an early adopter but anytime I see Douglas he's got a phone that does, like, satellite communications with Mars Rover, and is also a high-def video camera and personal MRI scanner.
Ray Kurzweil, the futurist and writer of The Singularity is Near. I believe we are all spiritual beings, I do, but I have doubts and dark moments, and during those times I'd love for Kurzweil to preach to me about how in 500 years, I'll be sitting around with my family and my dogs, in our cyborg bodies, with our holographically assisted brains, and we'll still, essentially, be ourselves. And in 500 years, finally, we will really be driving flying cars. Wouldn't you want to be there too?

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?

Gina Trapani, of lifehacker.com. Lifehacker is the site I wish I'd created and Gina just seems like the type of woman I'd love to be friends with. I can just imagine our PC vs Mac conversations over french fries and highly caffeinated drinks in a Brooklyn diner. Sadly, I really can.
Molly Wood, from CNET. At CES this year, I was a bit under the weather and kept complaining that we weren't seeing anything interesting. Then Stuart told me that he spotted Molly Wood at some event and I spent the rest of CES trying to find her so I could casually tell her that she's my favorite podcaster and that I get a thrill every time she mentions Popgadget.
Katherine Moriwaki, of personaldebris.com , who is an interactive artist and new media lecturer. She writes for Popgadget and is a good friend, but I'm in awe of how much she knows about technology, and she's the most uncompromising person I know. She and her husband Jonah Brucker-Cohen are THE tech geek supercouple as far as I'm concerned.
Katie Salen game designer and director of the Design Tech program at Parson's School of Design. She's one of the most engaging speakers I've ever encountered. She's so good that when she came to speak at a class I was teaching, my students had so much fun, it completely changed the chemistry of the class for the rest of the semester.
Rebecca K. Rowe, whose first novel Forbidden Cargo blends hard sci-fi about genetic engineering with politics and lots of action. It's the antithesis to the the unicorn and space princess type type book that so many people tend to associate with women science fiction/fantasy writers.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Joseph Stirt of Book of Joe. Joe, unlike so many bloggers, doesn't play the blog game at all, meaning he doesn't just read blogs and link his favorite posts. His posts are about books and art and things he encounters offline. He says he reads no blogs at all and I believe him. That's what makes him a great blogger.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Mia: I don't mind being called a geek at all. I don't think it means what it used to-bringing to mind someone of questionable social skills and even more questionable grooming. Being a geek is just about being enthusiastic, about really loving something and needing to talk about it, write about it.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Mia: My friends know it drives me crazy knowing that their virus definitions are three years old and they've got porn pop-ups all over their screen from some site they "accidentally" visited, so I do a complete tech checkup whenever I go over to their houses. After that, I can relax.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for the site?
Mia: It amazes how far we've come and now we're at a point when we're talking to big media companies and investors and trying to figure out the next step to help us grow into a bigger network of sites providing innovative content for women. We are also planning a lot of things outside of the blogs- we want to be a lifestyle brand.

Geeksugar: What else is up in the Popgadget world?
Mia: We just launched our email, which is weekly, and will have all kinds of content that isn't on the site, and will have exclusive discounts and giveaways. We'll be giving away some very cool things and saving some of our best stories for the email. And it's free so people should sign up.

Geeky Girl We Love: Katie Lee of Shiny Shiny

GeekSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 09:01:23 -0700

Katie Lee is the editorial director of Shiny Media, the UK's biggest blog publishing company. She edits Shiny Shiny, a spunky, smart and fun UK gadgets blog that every geek girl should put on her "must read" list. For the full interview with Katie, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger?
Katie: I was a technology writer working at What Laptop magazine and felt like gadgets weren’t really being covered in women’s magazines. It seemed crazy to me, but after getting one tiny piece in Marie Claire I was still frustrated by their reluctance to feature technology. Then I met Ashley Norris (another technology writer) at a press launch. He already had Tech Digest, which he’d set up with Chris Price (yet another tech journo) and I was a blogging obsessive – reading loads of them when I should have been working. So it seemed natural that we should set up a partnership, which is how Shiny Shiny developed. I joined them in the freelance world and we set up Shiny Media, which we ran in our spare time until this year when all three of us went full time.

Geeksugar: What are your hobbies besides blogging?
Katie: There are things beside blogging?! Actually, I’m fully hobbied up: I like crochet, yoga, reading, playing computer games, cutting things down in the garden, DIY, going for long walks, watching LOTs of TV. Occasionally I hit a guitar and attempt to sing along.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Katie: I’d say anything from 9-15 a day.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Katie: One of the old green screen Amstrad PCWs. We had one at home so I used to show all the other girls how to do stuff in the IT classes. I was (then, as now) an insufferable know-it-all. Before that, my primary school also had an old BBC Microcomputer which I was totally besotted by and used to stay late to play on. Sad sad sad.

Geeksugar: What are three things you featured on Shiny Shiny that you really want?
Katie: I’m really lucky to have pretty much every gadget my heart desires, but there are a couple of things left that I’d like. An HD JVC Everio would be nice, one of Denon’s obscenely expensive sound systems and I’d also really like an electric car or scooter so I can attempt to kill myself on the mean streets of London (or spend the rest of my adult life sitting in traffic, which is more likely).

Geeksugar: What is your favorite thing about your job? What is your favorite thing about Shiny Shiny?
Katie: When I worked on a magazine I used to feel terrible about the amount of time I spent skiving off on the internet. Now that’s my job. Yay me!
My favourite thing about Shiny Shiny? The fact that it’s a funny website for women – turns out women do have a sense of humour (something I’ve long suspected).

Geeksugar: Any funny stories about being a blogger?
Katie: There’s nothing we love more at Shiny Towers than a morning spent comparing the levels of craziness represented by our various web-stalkers. And we like the hate mail on YouTube as well.

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Katie: Well, I have quite a few different RSS readers now (which, on reading this back, I realize makes me sound like even more of a saddo), but my Bloglines has 142 blogs in it. I’m not sure if that’s a lot or not. I still go crazy and actually *visit* some of the blogs I read (sheer madness, I know).

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Katie: Get into the office at 9ish, read emails, read blogs, type lots of emails, send lots of Skype messages, phone a few people, go to some really boring meetings, occasionally actually *write* a blog entry (don’t get to do that as much these days), meet up with new bloggers, old bloggers, journos wanting to blog, non-bloggers wanting to blog, check on new blog launches (design, copy etc), read more blogs, chat to Shiny girls, have a pointless argument with Susi about something trivial, mock one of the Shiny girls for being a geek (or vice versa), drink tea, eat food, have a disagreement about what music to listen to, laugh at something on YouTube, send more emails. Then I go home and read more blogs, write the odd blog posts, watch TV (on computer or on TV), fanny around on the internet. I live a full and varied life.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Katie: Surely the two are mutually exclusive?! I have no idea what he looks like, but Joel Johnson is my geek hero – for making Gizmodo so funny for so long.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Katie: Gizmodo put me in their top ten blogging babes list. I wasn’t best pleased (though, perhaps perversely, I felt all fuzzy when Nandini picked me).

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Katie: God, where to start?! Tom Reynolds for writing a blog that’s endlessly compelling, shocking, exciting, funny and passionate. Eurotrash, for sharing too much and making me laugh. And the Underpaid Kept Woman for writing a blog about being a mother that is funny even if you don’t have/like/want kids.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a “geek”?
Katie: I did the Geek test and only came up 36.09 geek. I felt cheated.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Katie: The fact that I wanted to score higher on the geek test.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for Shiny Shiny?
Katie: I'd like to teach the world to sing.

Check out our other interviews with geeky girls.

Geeky Girl We Love: 14 of Gallery of the Absurd

GeekSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:00:56 -0700

There are hundreds of bloggers I admire for their tenacity, drive, humor and innovative ideas, but very few who embody the combination of artistry, sarcasm and wit that 14, the founder of Gallery of the Absurd does.

14, who is an artist first and a blogger second, has wowed the web with what the New York Post called "Portraits of Shame" - as in satirical paintings and drawings of tabloid favorites like Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin. While gossip blogs talked about the Hollywood Skeleton Girls, 14 painted them - as skeletons. When Star Jones got canned from The View following her shameless quest for wedding freebies and the denial and controversy surrounding her dramatic weight loss, 14 painted her as a fish about to sink her teeth into a giant and shiny bite of "free" bait. No matter what the scandal, 14's hauntingly hilarious images seem to begin where tabloids end and her collection, which is archived on Gallery of the Absurd is an addiction in its own right. I recently found out she resides in San Francisco and that she's a major geek. She was gracious enough to let me pick at her brain. For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: You've said you love the celebrities you paint because they bring you so much joy and laughter. How do you decide when a celebrity moment or trend needs to be immortalized in a painting?
14: The frequency of the celeb's appearance in the blogs and tabloids plus the ridiculousness of the celeb's actions equals my interest in painting them.

Geeksugar: Which celebrities inspire you the most?
14: Celebrities with huge notions of entitlement are my favorites: Tom Cruise and Paris Hilton. I also love painting the public train wrecks: Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid. Anyone who causes me laughter is ripe for my pen.

Geeksugar: Is there anyone you wouldn't paint?
14: I focus my attention on tabloid celebrities rather than serious actors/actresses. I've avoided actresses such as Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johanssen because they conduct their private lives with dignity. However, if they became involved in a Paris Hilton-style scandal, they would quickly become candidates for Gallery of the Absurd. Also, I'm scared to draw Oprah...I dunno, just am.

Geeksugar: Tell me a little about the artistic process. I read you use ink, acrylic, pastels and oils on paper or canvas, as well as digital enhancement.
14: First, I make a pencil sketch by turning the reference photo upside down and drawing it that way. Then I dance around in my studio for a bit and then go back to sketching. I'll do several sketches and to save time, I'll often scan the sketch in Illustrator and convert to a vector and then color and layout in Photoshop. Other times I take several days to paint an oil or acrylic. I'm still teaching myself to draw and paint, so I experiment a lot with different mediums and styles. Now I'm teaching myself Flash and am working with some animators on a Gallery of the Absurd cartoon.

Geeksugar: How many hours do you pour into most works?
14: The average time spent on a finished illustration is about 8 hours each. Sketches with digital color take less time and paintings can take up to a week.

Geeksugar: Do you use a PC or Mac?
14: MAC only. A PC would never enter my studio.

Geeksugar: What non-celebrity websites do you read everyday?
14: I visit art blogs such as Drawn!, I read "alternative" news sites such as a Rense.com and Alternet.org, a few political blogs and...I redden as I type this...I read UFO blogs and paranormal news sites. Blush.

Geeksugar: What are your guilty pleasure TV shows?
14: I really hate TV and can't keep my attention focused on it for very long, but shows such as The Office, Entourage and Wife Swap snagged me in their net and I'm a little pissed about it.

Geeksugar: What do you snack on while working?
14: Raw almonds, strawberries, and olives...but not all at the same time.

Geeksugar: I define about 60 percent of your "interests" as geeky (that's a plus in my book). Do you consider yourself a geek?
14: I am a major geek and I wear it as a badge of honor. I devour a wide range of non-fiction books weekly and enjoy taking things apart and fixing them without the use of directions. I find enjoyment in both a hardware store as well as Sephora.

Geeksugar: I read you have a huge crush on Stephen Colbert. Who do you think is the sexiest geek ever?
14: When I watched Stephen Colbert speak to Bush at the White House Correspondents Dinner, I immediately fell in love. Geeky men with balls and razor wit turn me into mush and make my heart go a'flutter. I'm sure there's other sexxay geeks out there, but I can't think of one now.

Geeksugar: What are some of your other hobbies when you're not painting and creating art?
14: Hiking, people watching, gardening, ufo investigation, yoga, rabble rousing.

Geeksugar: Are you going to buy an iPhone?
14: No, but maybe someone will buy one for me.

Geeksugar: Do you listen to music while you paint, and if so, who are you listening to these days?
14: All the time! Lately I've been listening to The Residents, The The, Amon Tobin, Manu Chau, Sufi music, Mozart and some weird crystal bowl healing stuff that is supposed to "raise your vibrations," but so far I've not noticed anything different.

Geeksugar: Tell us more about your background, how you got started as a blogger and what you've learned from it.
14: My background is in high-tech marketing and public relations, but I quit 7 years ago because I was having more fun drawing my bizarro co-workers than writing marketing plans. After that, I became a free-lance art curator and artist and created several multimedia art shows and events. A sudden move from Seattle to Los Angeles turned my life upside down, so I started Gallery of the Absurd to cope with not knowing anyone in a new town. Now it's my job and I looooove blogging. Who cares if I don't make as much money as when I had to market software? I'm far happier and free now.

Geeksugar: Any celebrity you are dying to meet?
14: I'd love to meet George Lucas. I have so much admiration for him and they way he brought his imagination to life. I'm not so much a Star Wars fan, but I am a fan of Lucas himself. Most of the tabloid celebs I draw don't really fascinate me that much and I'd likely not take notice of them unless they were acting like clowns. I'd love to be invisible and follow Tom Cruise around for 24 hours just to see the full spectrum of whackiness he'd reveal. Maybe it would be fun to have a drink with Courtney Love too.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite places in the San Francisco?
14: One of my favorite hobbies is people watching and this city has the BEST! I put on dark glasses and trek miles all around this fine city and am entertained for hours. I also spend lots of time at the SF Botanical Garden, Land's End, and Sutro Park. I love the lychee cocktails at Cafe Claude and the dark chocolate salted caramels from Recchiuti.

14's prints are available for sale on Gallery of the Absurd. Check out more interviews with Geeky Girls We Love.

Geeky Girl We Love: Gina Hughes

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:30:09 -0700

Words like "geek," "techie" and "diva" can drum up some nasty stereotypes, but Gina Hughes, the Chief Editor and Founder of TechieDiva, seems to embody only the sugar-sweet aspects of each and her site is anything but diva-driven. Like geeksugar, TechieDiva showcases fun gadgets, iPods, cell phones as well as practical services and killer applications. We fell for Gina because of her inherent ability to merge technology and style and her aptitude for keeping us entertained and coming back for more everyday. Turns out she's a karaoke fan (big props here!) and she thinks Gizmodo's Jason Chen is a dead sexy geek...following her hubby of course. For the full interview, read more

Geeksugar: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a blogger?
Gina: Soon after my four-year tour in the Marine Corps ended, I moved to Austin, TX where I worked as a Web Designer for several years. Colleagues introduced me to blogging, mainly to learn the code, but I ended up creating my first business blog in 2003. I launched Techie Diva in 2005 all by myself, mainly to stay up-to-date on the latest technology out there. Blogging has opened up many doors for me, including the opportunity to write a column for Yahoo! Tech which has really exposed me to a broader audience, and gives me the opportunity to help tech novices around the world. I love it!

Geeksugar: What are your hobbies besides blogging?
Gina: Anyone who blogs for a living, might as well say good bye to any kind of social life they had. It can become an unhealthy obsession! I completely shut off my
computer on weekends to get my weekly overdose of Vitamin D playing tennis, running, biking, hiking, or golfing. I also enjoy watching foreign movies, playing
board games (yes, board games), shopping, playing guitar and guitar hero, reading, entertaining friends, and chilling out with my hubby. My geeky hobbies have me slaving away on the computer editing home movies, digitizing my photo collection, burning DVDs of old home videos, and helping my friends and family with any techie needs. I try to change things up all the time, and love to try anything at least once.

Geeksugar: How many hours are you online everyday?
Gina: I refuse to spend any time on the computer on weekends - that's my time. But during the week, I can literally spend 12-15 hours a day online - and it feels
more like a guilty pleasure than work! I have to remind myself to take breaks often, since sitting down all that time can be really bad for your back. I started doing some yoga to stretch out the muscles. It works great.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Gina: A very old and slow one, that I'm quite embarrassed to talk about. I was a poor student at the time, and it was within my budget. But ask me about my computer
now...(cough) Macbook.

Geeksugar: What are three luxurious things you've featured on your site that you really want?
Gina: I want them all! I wouldn't mind a Vertu Phone, Muiro iPod Robot, and the NailJet Pro, since I'm terrible at doing my own nails.

Geeksugar: What are some of your favorite websites/websites that inspire you?
Gina: I tend to visit design and celebrity gossip blogs to break up the monotony. My favorite eye-candy blogs are Coolhunting.com, TheCoolhunter.net, Design Sponge, Treehugger.com, Digg.com, Blogher.org, and Valleywag.

Geeksugar: What is your greatest techie luxury in life?
Gina: My car. I drive an Acura RL with GPS, Bluetooth, voice recognition, satellite radio, iPod connections, keyless entry, gosh you name it. That thing can do just about anything, but park itself, but I hear that's coming soon. I also feel really guilty about having a swanky 40" 1080P Sony Bravia in my office so I can watch Oprah. That TV is insane!

Geeksugar: How many blog feeds are in your RSS reader?
Gina: Over 500 feeds! I don't visit them on a daily basis, but I do visit them at least weekly.

Geeksugar: Describe a typical day at work for you.
Gina: The warm weather has motivated me to start working out again, so these days I try to exercise early in the morning or sometime in the afternoon. After the occasional A.M. workout, my day starts out by checking email, IM, posts on my blogs, reply to email, review products, do a little video blogging, go through my RSS feeds, and write up my daily posts on Yahoo! Tech and Techie Diva. After that, I take a long TV break to catch up on my TiVo programming, then I'm back on the computer blogging before I go to bed. Pretty boring, which is why sometimes I hit the bar during happy hour, and on Thursdays happy hour turns into Karaoke night. A girl's gotta have some fun.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Gina:

Mr. Hughes- my daily inspiration and great all around geek.
Chris Null - The man is funny and smart. Funny is the new sexy.
Jason Chen - Any guys who sticks electronics down his pants is pretty damn sexy.
Ricky Montalvo - Ricky is bringing technosexual back!
Sergey Brin ( in drag) - Need I say more?

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Gina: There are so many sexy geeky ladies out there, and I wish I could list them all here. Sexy geeky women are a combo of brains, humor, fearlessness, and inspiration. I think these five ladies fit the bill right now.

Geeksugar: Name a blogger you admire and tell us why.
Gina: I love David Pogue from the NYT because he's so funny, and really out there. I admire the way he has fun talking about tech.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek?"
Gina: Geek is the new chic, don't you know? I consider it a compliment.

Geeksugar: What is the geekiest thing about yourself?
Gina: I spend more time at electronics stores, than a shopping mall. Anyone who really knows me, would be shocked to hear that.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for Techie Diva? What do you want your readers to get when they visit your site?
Gina: These are exciting times, so I hope Techie Diva visitors get their daily fix of present and futuristic technology trends changing the way we live. My goal would be to inspire more women to embrace technology in their own way. It has literally rocked my world, and even I feel like I learn something totally new and exciting every day. I just love it!

Geeky Girl We Love: Nandini Maheshwari

GeekSugar — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:30:00 -0800

Last month we featured some of the cutest geeky couples and bachelors in the blogoshere, which left many of you wondering - what about the women? Fear not my fine friends, we were just saving the best for last. March is women's history month so I figured there was no better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the smartest, most creative and successful women on the internet. First up, Nandini Maheshwari, editor of Born Rich, a site that makes the stuff of MTV's Cribs look like Salvation Army rejects, and co-founder of the Instablogs Network in India. While Nandini spends her days exposing the glamorous gadgets and accessories of the insanely wealthy, she's a smart, down-to-earth commerce graduate that's championing the geeky girls online movement. Her pick for sexiest geek in the world? Her hubby of course! read more

Geeksugar: So clearly you keep very busy as a blogger, but what are some of your other hobbies?
Nandini: Reading - I am more into magazines and non-fictional stuff. I love to indulge in adventure sports, watching movies (I would like to admit here, I just hate watching war movies, no matter how good they are) and I love to enjoy almost every good thing in life.

Geeksugar: This is my favorite question to ask bloggers - how many hours are you online everyday?
Nandini: I'm online for some 10- 12 hrs on an average.

Geeksugar: Your first computer was a ...
Nandini: My first computer was a XT machine, and I remember playing Chess and Prince of Persia on it.

Geeksugar: Born Rich is filled with amazingly decedent gadgets and luxuries that seem out of everyone's price range are there any luxurious things you've featured that you really want?
Nandini: Diamond-Studded Ego-lifestyle notebook, the Multimedia RUF Cinema bed, and the Calspas Luxurious Bath Tubs With 42" Plasma TV.

Geeksugar: Are there any items you featured that you ended up buying?
Nandini: Yes, I have a passion for mobile phones. So, I ended up buying almost every one of the Nokia N-series.

Geeksugar: How many blogs are in your RSS reader?
Nandini: I have some 200 odd blogs in my RSS reader at present.

Geeksugar: Bloggers have the fortune and misfortune of having unorthodox schedules. Can you describe what a typical day is like?
Nandini: The alarm goes off at 7:00 am, but it's only music to my ears and motivates me to sleep some more. I wake up around half an hour later with my husband bringing morning tea and my laptop. I go through my mails, new comments on my blogs and check out few feeds while sipping my tea. Start forming mental checklist and go over my "To Do List" again and decide what to do for the day (this changes throughout the morning). My husband, Ankit goes to work before me, so I prepare our lunch, watch few morning shows, and scan through my RSS feeds again.

After I head to the office I catch up and eventually drag Ankit from his PC to the lunch table (this happens everyday without fail). Lunch is a great place to bounce new ideas. Also meet few guys around the office. Then I start to panic by evening, since I have done everything except any blogging. But miracles happen and by night I have written around 6-8 posts. Leave office by 8:00 pm and prepare dinner. I welcome Ankit at the door and catch up on the day that he had with me. Catching up is followed by dinner/sitcoms/friends/being a good wife. I check stats, email and back-links again before saying goodnight which is around 12:30 am in the night. Have to drag Ankit again from his laptop to get some sleep.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest male geeks in the world?
Nandini: Oh, that's a sweet one…

Ankit (my husband), he's is a Super Geek and one of the cutest guys I have always met. And, I am not saying this just for the heck of it! Whatever I have achieved would not have been possible without his support that, I often need whenever I am on writer's block or just low at work. He is also full of new ideas.
Charlie White - editor at Gizmodo. I love his blogging, his anchoring on his Sirius Coolness Roundup Show and I love his humble and modest nature too! I have told him this too and telling you now…I would like to make a list of "I have" just like he did…it's another thing that my list won't be half as impressive as his…no exaggerations!
Graham Bell - from TreeHugger. He looks so cute … and his achievements....don't think I need to say! He has led to the term Eco-Geek..in true sense.
Kevin Ross: He is cute too! and I love wasting my time on Digg everyday and watching his diggnation.
Peter Rojas - editor of Engagdet : He single handedly brought Engadget to a super gadget blog.

Geeksugar: Who do you think are the top 5 sexiest female geeks in the world?
Nandini: That would be...

Judie Hughes of the Gear Diary will always be the first one! She is just so amazing as a woman and as a blogger. She have a way with words…wish I would have learned the same vocabulary she had!
Katie Lee - the shiny editor of ShinyShiny
Amanda Congdon - Though no longer with RocketBoom she was kind of a pioneer in video podcasting.
Marissa Ann Mayer - the Vice President of Google - a true example of beauty with brains.
The beautiful and chic editor of geeksugar. I am sure she is responsible for all of the male audience on geeksugar.

Geeksugar: Oh, you make me blush! Who is the only blogger you admire the most?
Nandini: Oh, that's a tough one…I admire so many! As I have to name just one…I will go by the one I took inspiration from for BornRich – Deidre Woollard of Luxist.

Geeksugar: How do you feel about being called a "geek"?
Nandini: I love it! Geek is in.

Geeksugar: What is your goal for BornRich and the Instablogs Network?
Nandini: I want Bornich to be the best luxury blog in the world, and reach out and entertain my audience more in different ways. Instablogs Network's new version "Instablogs Community" has received a tremendous response. Now we are working on our next version where we could truly be an online newspaper by getting into localized blogging as well. We are also working on our own Ad server to help our bloggers monetize their work more.