Recently in Geek Stuff Category

Shortly after the puppytoes.net store opened for business, I added a Safety and Warning Signs section to our shop. I was inspired to do so after sitting in on a safety meeting where the main topic was exactly that - Safety and Warning Signs.

I've seen that particular presentation several times before (in fact, I've even presented Safety and Warning Signs training before), so instead of focusing on the actual training, I found my mind wandering. I began taking the signs out of context and realized they would be really funny on t-shirts.

The first one I thought of was of course, Irritant, because seriously, don't we all have someone irritating in our lives? Someone we could just go up to and say, "You know, I was shopping online today and I saw the perfect shirt for you!" Frankly, I know a lot of people I could give that t-shirt to.

So we started adding more of these standard warning signs - the ones that when taken out of the laboratory (or any workplace, for that matter), would elicit a good chuckle when seen on a t-shirt.

But last week I guess I started to get the itch for the dramatic. Maybe dramatic is the wrong word - but specifically, how could I incorporate some of these safety warning symbols in a more stylish way?

I started thinking some of the warning symbols would look really neat if they were done in a runny and splattered spray paint effect. After going through several prototype designs, I didn't like the effect. But I came up with a new idea.

What if these warning symbols were done in a negative-spray-splatter-stencil type effect?

What the hell am I talking about? Well, read on...

Well, there's nothing like a stomach bug to knock me off my game plan. This should actually be the day to announce our sixth newest design, but instead I got to spend a lot of time admiring my newly remodeled bathroom. And one other thing while I'm on the topic of the dreaded stomach bug... can someone tell me why, after all the time Pepto-Bismol has been on the market, no one has reformulated the damn stuff to make it taste a little better? I'm not asking for much here, but when I'm taking something to prevent me from hurling, the taste of that something should not make me want to hurl. I'm just sayin'....

Anyway, on to important business:

Day "4", Design 4
"Hot Chocolate"
Men's, Women's and Kids' Apparel, $14.99 - $39.99
Mug, $17.99

One of the most successful designs at the puppytoes.net store has been our "Chocolate" design. It's another fun tribute to the periodic table, with our familiar spin on the word "element". They were so popular over this past holiday season, I was beginning to think there was a bug in our order reporting system! If we owned a brick and mortar store, I'd imagine little tshirts with wings just flying out the door.

One night as I was getting ready for bed, it hit me. Hot Chocolate. Everybody loves our "Chocolate" design, so why not come out with some Hot Chocolate? Of course we couldn't spell the word, "Hot" with the periodic table, so we just added the word itself along with some chocolate-y flames to the existing "Chocolate" design. We also replaced the wording.. it "protects me from the elements"! You know... the cold, bitter, winter elements.

So the new Hot Chocolate design was born. It's available mostly on apparel, but you will find one sweet little mug to hold your favorite hot chocolate.

And before I wrap up, let me add one more thing about hot chocolate. I usually have a very difficult time falling asleep at night. My average falling-asleep-time is usually somewhere between 1AM and 3AM, regardless of when I have to get up. It's not on purpose, I just can't fall asleep sooner, no matter what I try. Since the weather has turned colder, however, I've found there are some nights when I can fall asleep faster than others. After trying to establish a pattern, I realized they were the nights I had a cup of hot chocolate before bed. So after doing a small bit of reading (nowhere near comprehensive, mind you), some research indicated that hot chocolate consumed before bedtime promoted better sleep.

Whoda thunkit?

I must be reforming my slacker ways. Two days of posting in a row. Well, I did promise, didn't I?

In My Element
Men's, Women's and Kids Apparel, $14.99 - $39.99
Mousepads, tiles and buttons, $5.99 and up

I've been involved in chemistry for a very long time. When I was quite young, I was always interested in science of some sort, and it just turned out that chemistry was the direction I chose. I'm not saying those years in college were a piece of cake, like I chose chemistry and it was all a breeze from there, because it wasn't! Things like Calculus, Physics, and even Physical Chemistry kind of put a kabash on the whole doing well thing. But I've always been "in my element" around science-y stuff.

So, the science geek in me started spelling out stuff with the periodic table. I'll write another post on those designs later, but the lastest periodic-table inspired offering is "In My Element", featuring none other than Indium. See, get the whole In, element, periodic table thing... I told you I was a science geek! I thought it was pretty funny.

I'll continue tomorrow (Day 3) with yet another new periodic-table inspired design!

Until then...