Since, one of the popular trends on Twitter right now is #geekpickuplines, we thought it was time for a contest.  There are a number of geeks with pretty smooth and subtle moves out there.  Help out your fellow geeks.  Select a t-shirt from our Crazy Like That store and post a comment with the smoothest geek pickup line you can think of to go with it.

The best pickup line wins a t-shirt of his/her choice.  Contest ends Friday, June 12th 2009 at 11:59:59 PM.

Rules:
1. Entries must be posted to this blog entry as a comment.

2. Entry must include the t-shirt name or description the pickup line goes with. Help geeks wearing one of our t-shirts to utilize it to the best of their advantage.

3. No dissing real people in the pickup line.

4. It must be geeky.

5.  As long as you follow rules 1-4, enter as many ideas as you like. Some people have talent. Share it with those of us who don’t.

6. The Crazy Like That team will select the best one and contact you via the e-mail associated with your blog comment.

Pluto will always be the 9th planet.

Let me get you started.

Would you like to ride my rocket ship to the moon, meet up with the Alliance and take back the Planet?

Good luck! We can’t wait to hear your smooth moves!

Anastasia at 3 Cups coffee house in Chapel Hill, NC demostrates coffee brewing methods. Left to Right: Vacuum, Eva Solo, Cone Drip, French Press

I’ve heard many a geek talk about their love for coffee, but I was never able to find a correlation between coffee and being a geek.  This Saturday, May 30th, I found the link at 3 Cups (@3cups)in Chapel Hill, NC. They offer free, rotating coffee brewing and cupping workshops, every Saturday at Noon.

There are three important factors in making coffee.

1. Freshness of the beans (You’ll want 2.3 oz of ground coffee for a 32 oz pot)
2. Quality of water at a temperature of 200 degrees +/- 2.6
3. Coffee maker

While the fresh beans and good water are consistently important, the coffee maker choice varies by taste preference.

For our coffee brewing class, Anastasia covered 4 types of brewing and a demonstration on how to make iced coffee.  All methods utilized Idido Misty Valley by Counter Culture. It is a medium roast unique Ethiopian coffee.

Method 1: French Press

Grind: 5.0

Anastasia preheated each apparatus by running hot water over them and used a special metal pot from Japan to pour the water over the coffee grounds for each method.  This special pot has a smaller spout hole, allowing for more even water distribution.  To my surprise, pouring the water straight into the glass French Press container and slapping the plunger on top of it is not the way to go.  Instead, slowly distribute the water in a circle like pattern around the edge of the container. When the French Press is about half full, gently stir the mixture 4-5 strokes to distribute the coffee and give all the grinds a chance to contact the water.  You will notice the coffee grinds bloom, similar to yeast during bread making. Add the rest of the water. Wait 3 minutes, plunge and serve.

Results: A flavorful coffee full of natural coffee oils.

Myth or Fact: You can use a giant press and use it to keep your coffee warm, pouring out what you want as you finish each cup.

Myth: Even though the French Press plunger has been pressed, the remaining hot water in the press will continue to cook the coffee, leaving you with less than satisfactory results.  Instead, immediately poor the coffee into a thermos or share with friends.  It would be a shame to waste good coffee.

Method 2: Cone Drip

Grind: 3.5

As with the French Press, preheat the apparatus by running hot water through it.  Place a golden filter into the top with the grounds. Pour the water in a circle around the edge of the filter.  The grounds will begin to bloom.  Stir them 4-5 strokes and then continue pouring water until the pot is full.

This method is suppose to remove a little more oil than the French Press method.  We found it to have a slightly smoother, taste than the French Press.

The gold filters are reusable, but need to be gently cared for to prevent damage.

Method 3: Eva Solo cafesolo

Grind 5

The cafesolo coffee maker is a design by Eva Solo that looks a lot like a wine flask with a drink koozie zipped up around it.

After preheating the container, place the coffee grounds into the bottom of the carafte and pour hot water around the edge until it is about half way up the container.  Let the coffee bloom before stirring it for 4-5 strokes and then add the rest of the water.  Place the funnel shaped filter in the top of the carafte. Wait 3 minutes, then leave the filter in place as you pour.

The only real difference between the cafesolo coffee maker and the French Press is the shape of the filter.  The cafesolo produces a much drier coffee.

Method 4: Vacuum

Vacumm Press, prior to heating.

Water pulled to top.

Grind 4.5

The vacuum style coffee maker is what our fellow observer Abe Crystal (@abecrystal on Twitter and maker of @getencouraged) describes as the Rube Goldberg method of making coffee.  It has more complicated apparatus, but it is a lot of fun to watch.

Place the bottom coffee pot, filled with water onto a heater or stove top.  When the water is not quite boiling, place the top bulb on.  A seal is created between the two pieces and water is pulled into the top bulb — which holds the grounds — in a short amount of time.  Once the water is at the top, stir the grounds slightly. Leave it on the heater for a little while (I forgot, but let’s say around 3 minutes like the other methods.) Remove the apparatus from the heat.  As it cools, the brewed coffee will fall into the bottom container. Nathan (@base10) described it as toasty and even drier than the cafesolo method.

Iced Coffee

During the class the cone drip method was used for preparing the iced coffee.  You can use whichever is your favorite.  Fill a coffee pot to the 6 cup mark with ice and drip your hot coffee into the container.  Stir slightly and allow the ice to melt.  Pour into a tall glass with ice and enjoy!

Myth or Fact: Keeping coffee beans in the freezer will preserve their quality and freshness.

Opinions vary.  Some say keeping coffee beans in the freezer removes flavor. Barista’s blind taste studies say testers could not tell the difference.

Myth or Fact: Drinking 3-5 cups of coffee a day could drastically lower risk of dementia.

Maybe: According to several studies, this appears to be the case.  Note: The article linked to does not specify the researchers or the exact publication date of the finding; hence without looking at the exact findings and methods, I leave you with a maybe.

Between all the gadgetry and methodologies, how could coffee not be for geek.

Many thanks to 3 Cups coffee for holding these free coffee classes every Saturday at noon.  If you are anywhere near the Chapel Hill area, I highly recommend you stop by to enjoy a cup of delicious coffee and take a class.

We have a couple of coffee related products coming to the Crazy Like That store in the very near future.  Please check back, you are going to like what we have!

Substrate meet enzyme.

While pondering days gone by, I realized the current Crazy Like That t-shirts were not my first attempts at geek shirts.  My very first design was created for the biochemistry club at NC State University.

The t-shirt sported the title “Biochemistry Life at the Molecular Level.”  In the center, I struck up a conversation between a substrate and an enzyme.  What would these two say to each other in order to complete the process they are a part of?  In the back of my head, I kept hearing Marvin Gaye singing “Let’s get it on”

“Hey, Baby … If you rotate to the right a little, I think we can make something happen!”

Many students seemed to genuinely enjoy the concept, but I somehow doubt many wore it home to see their folks during summer vacation.

Biochemistry Redesign: Enzyme meets Substrate

I decided it is time to bring “Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level” to Crazy Like That.  This geeky tee will be a bit different than the original.  For one, the design is going on the front!

Updated June 1st.  Pre-orders are now being accepted for the redesigned biochemistry t-shirt. We added a bit more crispness to the design and chose a Metro Blue Gildan Ultra 100% Pre-shrunk Cotton t-shirt to sport the design.

Second Crazy Like That Logo

Nothing says, “cute” like an adorable, goofy faced dog.  As much as I love puppies and anything else with four legs, Crazy Like That’s puppy dog logo did not speak geek.

After spending many hours coming up with logo design alternatives, mostly with mathmatical symbols, I ran my creations past @base10.  We both agreed, some were ok, but none of them said, “run with it.”  Frustrated and feeling disappointed, we discussed what says geek.  @base10 wanted to look at the matter logically. I wanted to pay professionals who knew what the heck they were doing.

Our current italicized Minon Pro font said, “crazy”, but it left out the geek aspect.  He suggested we start by updating the text to use the Monaco font, since it has a computer style to it. As he mentioned this, he stared longingly at his terminal window, calling him back to his programming.  The terminal glared back and said, “you are such a geek.”

New Logo

Within five minutes, he stepped through the entire process of “what says geek.”  We tossed in a couple of dots between words for readability and ta-da,  we had something that fit the doctor’s orders.

We hope you enjoy our new logo and would love to hear your thoughts on our choice.

What you will need:

• Flat head screw driver
• Allen wrench (Try 1/8th inch)
• Bowl – large enough to submerge entire handle
• Vinegar

Instructions:
1. Align the hole in the bottom of the handle with the rod in the faucet base and gently press down. Turn off the running water.
2. Pull the handle straight off, leaving the faucet in the off position.
3. Look for a tiny piece of red and blue plastic set into the handle. It is used to indicate which direction is hot versus cold. It is also used to cover up the screw adjustment hole. Squat down on the floor or find a place you can work without pieces falling down the sink drain. Take the flat head screw driver and place it on the inside of the handle, flatly against the back side of the plastic bobble. Gently apply even pressure until it comes out.
4. Place the handle in the bowl and fill it with vinegar, covering the handle completely.
5. Go find something fun to do for about an hour.
6. Pull the handle out of the vinegar and see if the back of the screw inside the handle is visable. Put the allen wrench in the front and make sure the screw rotates. If the screw back is not visible or does not rotate, place it back in the vinegar until it is.
7. Align the hole in the bottom of the handle with the rod in the faucet. Press down eavenly and firmly to ensure it is attached.
8. Use the front access hole to tighten the screw on to the rod.
9. GIve the faucet a try and make sure it stays snuggly on the rod. If it does not, you probably need to tighten it more. Put the short side of the allen wrench in the hole and use the leverage of the longer end to give a better torque.
10. Align the cute little red and blue bobble back over the hole.  Press gently and evenly until it is back in place.
11. Call it a day.  You’ve done enough hard work.

Why does soaking the handle, scaled with calcium carbonate in vinegar fix the sink? Find out what the geeks at Ask a Scientist have to say or try a little at home experiment with an egg.

What have you fixed around the house using chemistry?

References:
Your Household Water Quality: Corrosive or Scaling Water

U.S. Department of Energy

Pluto 9 T-shirt

It was August 24th 2006 when 424 out of 10,000+ members of The International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided they would take their long week and bad moods out on Pluto and downgrade it to a “dwarf planet”. After all, all the other scientists headed home during the last day of the 10 day conference. How dare Pluto not clear the neighborhood around its orbit? Sorry Pluto, you no longer get to play in the sandbox with the big wigs.

The choice was clear. Declare several of the newly discovered Trans-Neptunian Objects, some larger than Pluto, planets or downgrade Pluto to a dwarf planet. The underwhelming and unconvincing vote details are available for your viewing pleasure on the IAU’s website.

While the vote does not speak of the term “Dwarf Planet”, definitions (.pdf) were established to define “planet”, “dwarf planet” and “small solar system bodies”.

IAU’s resoning can be read in their “Pluto and the Developing Landscape of Our Solar System“.

Honestly, I can see where they are coming from. As more celestial bodies are discovered, they need to be categorized. Please don’t tell me my grade school teacher lied to me though. Certainly, 100s of textbooks are not wrong. Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Being a large, roundish shaped object in the sky that orbited the sun, Pluto was declared our 9th planet. That is how I will always define Pluto.

The State of Illinois agrees with me. On March 13, 2009, another group of self-important people took back Pluto’s planet status. I stand with The Ninety-sixth General Assembly of the Sate of Illinois on Senate Resolution SR0046 (.pdf)

If you want to do more to save the planet (Pluto that is) visit SavePluto.com. Even if Pluto does not fit the new definition of “Planet,” I believe it should be grandfathered in to prevent traumatization to generations raised on the fact that we have 9 planets.

Hearticon t-shirt

Geeks spend a lot of time using their brains and this thing called logic, but deep down geeks have emotions too.

For Valentine’s Day this year, my husband installed PHP on our server for me and wrote me a poem to go with it. Pay attention to the detail, there are hearticons in the title!

The hearticon is a simple way to say I love you; however you might need to explain the visual to someone unfamiliar with emoticons.  You don’t want your loved one thinking you are declaring “less than 3″ for them.

Hearticon <3 Greeting Card

Here’s a conundrum. Would a geek stoop to using a blink tag to say, “My heart beats for you.”?

<blink> < span style=”color: red;”> <3 </span > </blink>