Remember that test card, you know, the one with the slightly bemused girl, noughts and crosses encrusted chalk board and the very sinister clown, which incidentally had no arms (what's that about?). Can I just say - did anyone else find it creepy to see a little girl on their TV screen, playing games with her (creepy) clown doll to the sound of a relentlessly high pitched bleep? Just me then?

Has your descent into old age mean you now go to bed waaaay before the test card rears its head in the midst of the night? Do you miss seeing that assortment of colourfully visual diarrhoea? Get the test pillow and you can tune in (geddit?) whenever you want. Albeit it's the test card sans little girl and disturbingly creepy clown, but you get the gist... and the memories for £27 here. It gives the saying 'curl up in front of the TV' an entirely new meaning.

Facebook may currently be hailed as the primary source of lurv for web 2.0 children, but it seems that meeting a mate may now be possible in person. And I don't mean awkward conversation regarding your job description in a noisy bar, no, there's now a geeky way to decide whether the hot blonde at the bar is compatible with you.

So, you're absolutely desperate to get your body into the latest House of Holland look - as demonstrated by the lovely Pixie Geldof (I would have assumed Primark otherwise). So what do you do? Scrape those pennies together, in the hope that one day you'll be able to afford at least one part of the outfit's ingredients? Seems like the most feasible option, right? WRONG! Well according to the House of Holland team it is. According to a bunch of people who might possibly have smoked something illegal, the next best possible solution would be purchasing the exclusive and limited edition HOH O2 Mobile Broadband dongle instead! Funny, I wasn't aware broadband dongles possess the ability to clothe people!

Vending machines are a sneaky pleasure as they tend to be full of food that will really scupper that diet. Well, your feelings of embarrassment may be raised with the human operated machine, as your chocolate addiction is now obvious. Kit Kat have added a human element to vending, as anyone foolish brave enough to purchase chocolate from their new machine in London Victoria train station can now have a friendly chat with the unlucky person stuck inside it. It's enough to put anyone off their dessert...

[Via Frank PR]

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Salt and pepper shakers that look like the infuriating cube? What geek household should be without them? Imagine if they refused to let you season you're food till you'd lined up the sides! The salt and pepper mills are the exact dimensions of the real thing; in fact Rubik's have even officially licensed them! Rotate the cube to grind up the pepper and sprinkle away!

£11.95 from Gift Monger

[via Gizmo Diva]

The dictionary definition of Twitter is 'To utter a succession of light chirping or tremulous sounds'. It's also 'To speak rapidly and in a tremulous manner: twittering over office gossip' and of course, 'The light chirping sound made by certain birds.' In case you were unsure and thought it only referred to the micro blogging site, this necklace is a good way to remind yourself of where the term came from- and that your own tweets are merely shrill discords in a sea of many excited birds.

$5 from Etsy

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I have officially run out of wall space in my house, but discovering these prints is making me seriously consider adding some kind of extra wall a la Hartbeat's Gallery. It also reminds me that I need to go and revise my Mac shortcuts.

Incidentally, this is my last ever week here on Shiny Shiny. What better way to mark it than to drop massive hints to anyone looking into a suitable leaving present under the guise of informing you, the reader?

From $12 to $100 depending on the size here.

[via Buzzfeed]

I suspect these crystal rose USB necklaces are the result of Argos' favourite jeweller, Elizabeth Duke, bumping into Mr Brando somewhere in a hotel bar, where they spent the night hammering sambuca, before stumbling off into the night vowing that they would be friends forever. If Destroyed Still True (for those not familiar with IDST, find a full and marvellous background, including the phrase 'your mum's face just tapers off' here).

Still, the big advantage of these over, say, the Philips Swarovski necklaces, is that just $37 will bags you 8GB of storage, as well as pints and pints of class.

Brando [via GeekSugar]

Gamers aren't considered the cleanest of beings, being rather more inclined to spend hours pressed into the sofa than lathering in the shower. Well this cool themed soap might not get their gaming juices flowing but it certainly adds a geeky element to your everyday shower. They're available in a variety of colours and textures, and are seriously adorable (cat not included).

$5 from Digital Soap [via Technabob]

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This card is pretty cool and quirky but if this was handed to me with a long stemmed rose I think it might get rammed down the presenters throat.

Hmm.

You can get them personalized though, so there are probably worse options, such as 'I love you more than my ex...'

Get one from Etsy
[ via Technabob]

Related: Ten Valentine day Gifts to get you dumped I Techie Valentine's gifts I'd like to get

I don't think I'd ever wear these shoes, but there's no denying that they're very eye catching.

The heel is crafted from carbon fibre, and they look extremely lethal (and crippling).Perhaps if they resembled a Mini or an Audi I'd be more inclined to place them on my feet. What do you think?

[via Luxury Launches]

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It's probably not at all far-fetched to say that substantial amounts of the music listening population are now all digital punters. Those still stuck in the 80s/90s using CDs or *gasp* cassette tapes probably have justifiable reasons for sticking with these old skool formats (I know I do - my car's audio options are cassette only). But, perhaps you've succumbed to the digital age pier pressure just to put a stop to the bullying and being called names such as "cassette lover", while having tapes thrown at your head as you strut with your old skool Walkman in hand. Is that you? Why not pledge your love to cassettes in a much subtler way with a hand made Cassette Wallet from Boom Desk for $39 USD here.

However, if you fancy yourself as a bit of a crafts-girl, you could probably make your own (now don't you wish you didn't throw all those tapes away?).

[via Pop Gadget]

More geek chic this a' way

OK, so I have a question. Do you think it would be seen as weird if I start hanging out in maternity wards, waiting for a cute baby girl to be born who I can then give this ohmyfreakingodsofreakinadorable space invaders outfit to? I'm trying to decide whether that's 'whimsical mysterious fairy godmother' or 'nutter'.

When making your decision, please bear in mind the unicorn legwarmers, and the gift box it comes in. Surely any new mother would be willing to overlook the slightly unorthodox situation when faced with such loveliness? Oh come on. They totally would.

$32 from Etsy [via Wonderland]

Nothing screams dedication to the iPhone like a pair of shrunken down iPhone 3G earrings dangling from your ear lobes. They're great for those whose iPhone is akin to their right arm. If you can't bear to be away from your iPhone for any lengthy period of time, say, when it needs a recharge or you've (shock horror) accidentally left it at your mate's house, this is at least one way to ensure you're close to your iPhone at all times. You'll be the biggest geek in the room that's for sure.

You can nab yourself a pair from where else, but the home of bespoke jewellery extraordinaires - Etsy for $22 USD.

Like this? Check these out: Mac jewelery from Etsy| My absolute favourite site: Etsy

This necklace is seriously sweet and will appeal tremendously to the Twitter generation. Hey, Stephen Fry is doing it; Jesse Jane is involved, so why shouldn't you celebrate your devotion to those witty 140 character conversations with a stunning acrylic necklace?

And to make it more deliciously pertinent- I discovered this beauty by the tweetings of the lovely @Jemima Kiss. Small world, eh?

$20 from Couch Objects

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This top should appeal to the Susi's of the world who'd like nothing better than to roll around on one of these all day. Then again, as I've been working my way through Arrested Development (first time around) I think I'd be quite happy with one as well.

Sadly the price tag is a little too high for me, but I can still wear the T-shirt and dream...

$24.99 from Ex Boyfriend

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Since Christmas I've been a big fan of the Watchmen series, so any pics of the forthcoming film send me into a frantic whirl of anticipation (plus the sugar I'm consuming from working at home). I've been guiltily perusing the net for snippets of the film, and think these pics are pretty impressive,

True, I'd always envisioned the Night Owl in more a of a earth brown get up, but hey, this is hi-tech Antarctica gear, y'know, for the final showdown...

See the Silk Spectre looking sexy after the jump.

The problem with being a grown-up is that there aren't enough opportunities for people to validate you and your choices. No one ever gives you a certificate for getting up in time to get the early train, for making sure your drunken friend got home OK or for not stamping on the foot of the person trying to push in front of you in the queue. Until now.

It's difficult to believe Nerd Merit Badges haven't existed before. Collecting and validating and joining an exclusive club? The Venn diagram for geeks and badge lovers makes it a no-brainer. They're going to be released over time, with the first fully embroidered velcro-backed badge being awarded for making a commitment to any open source project. You can register to be alerted when the next is released, with each costing $3.99. It's kind of difficult to predict what future badges will be from the picture, but if you've got any idea, let us know in comments.

Get yours here.

When you think Baby G watches (which some would argue are the ultimate sturdy and robust timepiece) do you think Valentines Day? No? Me either. So, I got the info and accompanying images of a line of Baby G watches in a press release with the email header Valentine's gifts...! I don't know about you, but I'd be more than a little thwarted if I unwrapped my Valentines prezzie to reveal one of these. Yep, they're nice (if you're into Baby G) but as Valentines Day presents... when there's much jewellery, chocolate, flowers and netbooks to be had this would rate pretty high on the disappointing scale.

Maybe you're more of a worker bee then I am, but sometimes I find myself longingly gazing at the clock, wondering when it will be time to go home. Well this watch will make it abundantly clear just how fast the time is going, as every hour a cuckoo icon appears above the clock face. As this is still a prototype, I couldn't tell you if there's also a sound to go with it (wouldn't that be great) but it is bright enough to put a smile on your face.

Get it at Hannes Grebin [via Pop Gloss]

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