GeekSugar

Check Out the Stars Inside With a Personal Planetarium!

GeekSugar — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:00:54 PDT

One of the drawbacks to living in a city is how all the streetlights extinguish the stars overhead. I don't have the car or the time to drive somewhere far away enough to see those stars, even though stargazing is one of my all-time favorite no-electricity-required pastimes.

Though it's not as good as the real thing (because nothing could be), this Personal Planetarium from Restoration Hardware could be a fun substitute for those nights when you ache to lay back and lose yourself in a glitter-flecked sky.

Get in your recliner and just think, "In a galaxy, far, far away. . . "

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

Neil deGrasse Tyson's 8 Must-Read Books

Kelly Schwarze — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:46:52 PST

Science enthusiasts' favorite astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson signed on this weekend to take part in an online Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) chat, which allowed Reddit users to submit questions on space, concepts of the universe, and life in general.

One literary commenter asked Neil which books should be read by every person on the planet, to which the director of the Hayden Planetarium offered the following eight books. Consuming these books, he said, provides "profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the Western world."

The Bible
The System of the World, Sir Isaac Newton
On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift
The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine
The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
The Art of War, Sun Tzu
The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli

Have you read any of the books on Neil's suggested reading list? If so, how did it impact your life?