Time Sinks

Places on the 'net that the Web Diva thinks are cool, fun or just plain weird. Click on the links below to jump to the topics.

Steampunk
Peeps!
Lexicons
Space
DIY

Steampunk
Steampunk, in a nutshell, is the marriage of modern technology and Victorian style. It can be found in literature (The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling), movies ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") and well, stuff. Just about anything that isn't nailed down can steampunked, clockworked and filligreed to the nth degree and the net is full of it. Check it out:

Jake von Slatt's Victorian All-in-One PC
Jake von Slatt is a true artist and craftsman. He has steampunked everything from a Fender Stratocaster to an RV, but the all-in-one is a personal favorite. He even tells you how he does it. You can view the rest of his portfolio at Jake von Slatt's Steampunk Workshop

Crabfu Steamworks
Totally amazing and completely real working steam-driven robots created by I-Wei Huang. Look for the steam-powered R2S2. I-Wei is also an animator and conceptual artist; go to crabfu.com to see the rest of his stuff. Oh, yeah - and he needs a job

Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators
A.K.A., steampunk rayguns. These limited-edition weapons are a joy to behold - click on the illustrations on the right-hand side of the page for a more detailed explanation and photos; the Victorious Mongoose 1902a Concealable Ray Pistol is especially fetching. Brought to you by Weta Collectibles

Steampun Star Wars
Cool custom action figures by Sillof's Workshop. Look around when you get there, there's lots of other custom action figures, like the Gaslight Justice League and the Victorian Avengers.

Brass Goggles
A lovely steampunk blog - has lots of links to other steampunk sites and blogs in case you need more…

Peeps!
Peeps Research
This is what happens when you apply the principles of scientific research to everyone's favorite Easter treat, Peeps. Our fave: surgery to separate conjoined Peep quintuplets!

Peep Wars
Neat strategy game by Invisisble City Productions, and a great way to use up all those leftover Easter goodies.

Lexicons
Buzzwhack: the Buzzword Compliant Dictionary
Dedicated to de-mystifying buzzwords, Buzzwhack provides the buzzword deficient a place to go and get a fix. As of this writing the Web Diva's favorite is electile dysfunction - the inability to become excited about any of the candidates for president.

The New Hacker's Dictionary
Originally known as the Jargon File, this document has been around since 1975. There are a gazillion copies on the net, in various stages of revision and you can buy a book version from Amazon. This particular incarnation is simple, easy to navigate and in spirit is true to the original.

Space
HubbleSite
Way cool photos from out there that-away. Go to the Gallery page to get gorgeous free wallpapers without the nasty spyware.

DIY
wikiHow
A collaborative writing project to create the world's largest how-to manual, wikiHow has how-to's for just about anything, from delivering effective presentations to crocheting a hat for your cat (band-aids optional).

Instructables
Calling itself "The World's Biggest Show and Tell", members submit instructions for anything and everything, but the best: How to build an Amazing Tesla CD Turbine. And it's about time - the weight of all of those free AOL cds was begining to throw the earth's orbit off.

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