How much sleep do you get every night? As a geek, I find that there are many days I don’t rest nearly enough. We’re always busy, right? There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we have on our proverbial plates.

Getting enough rest is critical, though. When our bodies don’t recharge, our brains can become sluggish and unresponsive. Pushing yourself by staying up an extra couple of hours will actually end up hurting you. You will be too tired to do the things you have to do, and you’ll fall further behind than if you had just gone to bed on time.

Sleep is definitely a good thing.

I could do this all night long…

What Kind of Rice Would You Like?

What’s in Your Glass Tonight?

My Star Wars Comic Collection

Too many people feel that the Internet is there for them and them alone. Why do some people have such a sense of entitlement? I create content for others to enjoy and interact with. However, I cannot begin to please everyone all of the time. That would be a fruitless effort, and it’s one I’m not going to even attempt to take on. The simple fact is that none of us are going to make everyone happy. I generate content of my own – and promote that of others – which I think a majority of you will enjoy. At the end of the day, that’s really all I can do.

There are those who feel that the Internet is their personal playground. They think that every piece of information, media and news was created specifically for their entertainment. If they don’t like something, they turn vicious. Trust me on this! I see it every day in comment threads on various websites, such as with our YouTube channel. What makes them tick? Where do they get off believing that the world revolves around them?

Look. We all have our preferences. We have different tastes, ideals and morals. We like what we like. If you come across something you don’t like, why attack the person it came from? Simply move on to something else.

Putting the “Me!” in Social Media

This weekend is one of the biggest in the fashion industry. Cities all over the country will be celebrating with Fashion’s Night Out events, including Seattle. Yours truly has been asked to be a VIP red carpet walker – arm candy, if you will. There are numerous activities going on tonight in any number of locations during the Seattle Fall Fashion celebration.

You’ll find parties, prizes, games, discounts, entertainment and some of the best food you’ll eat anywhere if you come and hang out with us tonight. I’ll be dressed to the nines. Well, I’ll be dressed, at least. Hopefully I choose the right shoes to go with my outfit. I’m told that shoes make the outfit. Why does coordinating everything have to be so difficult?

Which Brown Shoes Should I Wear Tonight?

I am afraid of heights. That fact has been established on more than one occasion. I also don’t much care for needles. Let’s face it: they’re a pain in the ass. We’ve also established that I adore my LEGO creations. What could be more amazing than being able to have a needle that I’m not afraid of… without having to go up a bajillion flights of stairs?

The Seattle Space Needle LEGO kit is a fairly detailed replica of the original landmark. It comes with a little book that will give you a peek inside of the design and history of the structure. This awesome little desk ornament only measures about 8.7″ tall and 3.1″ wide. It doesn’t take up much space here in my office. That’s a good thing, considering all of the other LEGO things sitting around in here.

I’m starting to think I need a bigger office. What do you think?

The Only Needle I Don’t Fear: Seattle Space Needle LEGO

Your eyes are not deceiving you! I have a review copy of Halo:Reach in my possession, and I cannot wait to put it to the test this weekend. I know – you’re exceedingly jealous right now. You’ve been telling me all day on Twitter and Facebook. I’ve even gotten a couple of “OMG I HATE YOU! NO FAIR!” emails. It’s okay, though, I can handle the heat. At the end of the day, I get to sit down with my Xbox 360 and enjoy the goodness inside of this box.

In Halo: Reach players will be experiencing the moments leading up to the Halo legend. This version is the story of Noble team. They’re a squad of Spartan soldiers. The story tells of their final stand on the planet Reach – humanity’s last line of defense between the Covenant and Earth. This story is said to be much darker than previous releases. It has grittier visuals set in jaw-dropping environments. The characters, enemies and environments are rendered in what is said to be “amazing” detail. We’ll see about that the first time I sit down to play.

Are you one of the masses who are anxiously awaiting the release of this game? What are your thoughts on the reviews and write-ups you’ve seen so far? Keep your eyes open for my review coming soon!

Guess What I Have? Halo Reach!

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The family that gets geeky together stays together. That’s how the saying goes, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter, I suppose. I happen to know that it’s very true.

My parents – Joe and Judy Pirillo – and my brother Adam were all here to help with the Gnomedex conference. While hanging around at the house late one night after the event had ended for the day, I noticed that everyone was playing with some type of gadget.

Here you see Dad shooting things on the iPad while Mom is griping at a game on her iPod Touch. Adam, of course, couldn’t resist stepping in to help Dad get his game on.

Does your family get geeky together?

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Family Technology Trends

We’re entering the home stretch, preparing to launch Gnomedex 10 here in Seattle. Wow – ten years of Gnomedex. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for so long! Planning a conference of this magnitude is no easy feat and this year has been no exception to that rule. However, I have a fantastic team of volunteers without whom this tenth year would not be happening. They’ve all worked incredibly hard to help pull together what promises to be an excellent weekend – and I guarantee you will regret it if you miss out.

Over the past several weeks, we used our @gnomedex Twitter account to ask previous attendees what their favorite memories have been from past years. We took all of the responses and created a top-ten list for your enjoyment – and to help you remember why it is you love Gnomedex as much as you do. It’s funny… a few people have accused us of not being Geeky enough – not technical enough – not hard-core nerd enough. However, looking at the top ten it’s easy to see that the hard-core Geek stuff is not what people remember most.

Gnomedex is all about YOU. We focus a lot on humanity, community and communication. We aren’t a tech conference in the traditional sense, and that’s okay with me. People have repeatedly told me that they have come away from Gnomedex with a new outlook on life… that the conference has changed their life in some way. Something strikes a chord deep within our attendees each year, and that is priceless to me. I was pleasantly surprised by this list, and enjoyed the trip down memory lane. I hope you will, as well.

Without further ado, here are your favorite Gnomedex memories, in reverse order:

• Watching Miss Gnomedex Christine Juhnke earn her title at Gnomedex 1 in Des Moines.
• Microsoft giving the first public look at IE 7 during Gnomedex 5, showing off the built-in RSS capabilities.
• Television actor Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) speaking at Gnomedex 4.
• Raising thousands of dollars in a short time to help send Cambodian women to college with Beth Kanter.
• Not one single attendee took their eyes off the stage during the Mars Rover presentation given by “driver” Scott Maxwell during Gnomedex 8. Every Geek in the house had a serious case of jealousy going on.
• Nearly 2/3 of the attendees jumping on stage to dance spontaneously with Matt Harding (of Where the Hell is Matt? fame) during Gnomedex 8.
• Having our perceptions drastically changed by Mark Horvath’s presentation about the plight of homeless people. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the auditorium when the money we quietly passed the hat to raise was given to James… the homeless but hard-working man who appeared on stage with Mark.
• Watching our buddy (and long time Gnomedex supporter) Drew Olanoff tell his cancer to take a flying leap off of a short pier. I’m beyond happy to report that Drew beat his cancer, but his fight against it continues – on behalf of the millions of others still battling the disease.
• Multi-year Gnomedex attendee Derek Miller couldn’t be with us in person back in 2007. Derek’s fight against cancer began that year, and he was unable to travel. SO – we brought Gnomedex to him via a live video feed from his home in Canada. Derek is still fighting the good fight, and we continue to follow his story and wish him well.
• Gnomedex 6 keynote speaker Senator John Edwards being told by Dave Winer that he needed to make net neutrality his campaign platform in order to successfully run for President.

What was YOUR favorite Gnomedex memory of all time? Will you be joining us this year? Tickets are going fast – I hope you’ve already reserved yours.

Top Ten Gnomedex Memories

My countertop gets great reception in the morning. I won’t take this strong signal for granite. Thanks, AT&T!

Of course, if I lean up against it “the wrong way,” the bars seem to disappear – which would lead me to believe that there’s a problem with the counter.

More Bars in More Kitchen Places

I didn’t realize cupcakes could be so… punny.

Legalize Frostitution

Oh, I bet your taste buds wish they could be half as patriotic.

Red, White, & Blue Cake for the Fourth of July Picnic

Now, there’s a happy rainier cherry! I’m not quite sure why it’s smiling, though? Perhaps I’m holding it upside-down in this photo.

I guess we’ll never know the mystery of why the cherry is so jubilant… because two seconds after this moment was captured, I ated it.

Happy Cherry

My Facebook profile picture is looking at @SeattleWineGal’s Twitter status update with great interest. I just thought it was too funny not to snap and archive for posterity.

I change my personal Facebook profile picture regularly, but I just might keep this one for a little while longer. That particular face of mine was snapped at a recent Chic Meets Geek event. I was mugging for the camera.

Go figure.

Yes, this was a live screen shot of the Yahoo TV widgets on my Samsung TV that I just blogged about.

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