2006 STREET TECH HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE (Part 1)
TOYS FOR KIDS of ALL AGES
 MAKE Kits (from $18 to $150) We're thrilled that MAKE Magazine, which is quickly distinguishing itself as the Whole Earth/Popular Mechanics of the 21st century, is now co-producing DIY kits. We hope they do a bunch more, but we're honestly impressed by how many they're already offering. First came the MAKE Controller ($149), a very exciting 32-bit modular microcontroller created in partnership with MakingThings who have already done amazing things with their Teleo system. Then came the Daisy MP3 kit ($115), an open source build-it-yourself MP3 player. Then there's the very cool Mini-POV (Persistence of Vision) kit ($18) created by the always-impressive Lady Ada. DropOut Design got in on the MAKE kit fun with a Game of Life kit ($20), an easy to solder project to create a Cellular Automata (CA) simulator with sixteen LEDs and an Atmel AtMega48 microcontroller. You can even tile the boards together to create larger CA wall displays!
 And, we still haven't mentioned hardware hacker extraordinaire Joe Grand and his Build Your Own Electronic Game ($40) or the XGameStation ($80), the DIY game developer's hardware kit. An embarrassment of riches, if by riches you mean cool, kick-ass electronics projects. Okay, so maybe "cool" & "kick-ass" plus "electronics projects" still don't seem right in the same sentence, but MAKE is doing their damnedest to see to that. For all of these kits and more, check out the MAKE Store.
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 Herbie the Mousebot (Solarbotics, $40) Before there was MAKE and MAKE kits, before there was SparkFun, there was Solarbotics. We've followed these guys from nearly day one, have ordered many a part and kit from them over the years, covered them in the tech press, and worked with them on some projects. We've never NOT been impressed with their product or their dedication to it. We're especially excited about this new kit. I have a soft spot for the Herbie circuit (built around the LM386 op-amp chip) because I used this circuit in my Mousey the Junkbot project used in my robot book and in the MAKE Vol. 2 cover story project. This "Mousebot" even LOOKS like a mouse (of the biological kind) and the circuit has been tweaked to add *two* touch "whisker" sensors to the front and a tail switch in the back to help keep Herbie from getting cornered. The PCB is available in back, red, blue or white.
 Solarbotics Turbot Kit (Solarbotics, $60) I built this kit recently and really enjoyed it. It has a very unique type of movement and is very entertaining to watch. It's the perfect kit for a teen or adult who wants a project that's slightly challenging, only takes a few hours to build, and has a nice pay-off in the strange, aggressive and twisty robo-critter you end up with. Here's my full review of the kit.
Operation Damocles AT-43 (Rackham, $60) Anyone who's spent time on Street Tech knows that I'm strangely obsessed with tabletop miniature sci-fi wargames. I love everything about them: the little futuristic toy soldiers, the amazing terrain boards gamers build, the sci-fi universes that you as a gamer get to help co-create, the dizzyingly complex rules and the strategy and tactics in applying them on the battlefield. The only problem is, I rarely have time to paint the endless units I want to add to my armies, not to mention the terrain pieces, the terrain boards, etc. This really is a hobby for people that either don't have jobs or don't have social lives (at least not outside of their gaming group). So, I'm increasingly interested in the games with pre-painted minis (verboten in the miniatures gaming community, but screw it). The French game company Rackham is known for their very beautiful and highly detailed fantasy miniatures. Now they're releasing AT-43, a sci-fi game that has a starter set (Operation Damocles) with pre-painted miniatures and terrain. It looks like the kind of game that has enough depth and detail to be engaging, but doesn't have to become a life's work. The minis look really cool, too. Gimme! You can download the rules (PDF) for free to see if you like the game mechanics.
STOCKING STUFFERS
 CRAFT ($35/yr). Last year we had MAKE in our gift guide. This year, we're recommending CRAFT, its sister pub. We could be sexist about it and say that CRAFT is a girl's answer to MAKE, but since I write for CRAFT too and don't want to be called a sissy, we'll just say that CRAFT covers the softer, less electronic side of makin' stuff. It's the same DIY spirit and McGuyver-esque cleverness, but the projects in CRAFT are more likely to take you to Michael's than to Radio Shack. If MAKE is the "Martha Stewart for Geeks," CRAFT is the "ReadyMade for Riot Nrrrds" (or something like that).
 Battlestar Galactica 2.5 DVD (Amazon, $32) It's not often you get to say that maybe the best show on television is a sci-fi series and it's never that you get to say that about anything on the Sci Fi Channel. Until now. BSG is amazingly well-written, powerfully acted, thought-provoking and ballsy, and offers more twists and turns than a Colonial Viper/Cyclon Raider engagement. This 3-DVD set covers the final 10 episodes of season 2, with an extended version of the last episode, "Pegasus." There are also comment tracks, exec producer David Eick's video blogs on series production, and more goodies.
 HeadBlade (HeadBlade, $13) I have a shaved head. While I like the Mr. Clean look I get, and the fact that it obliterates my Bozo the Clown-like pattern baldness (you know, with those oh-so-attractive tufts of hair on the sides), keeping it shaved is a pain. This daily task is made a lot easier and more fun thanks to the HeadBlade, a shaver optimized for close chrome-dome grooming. The HeadBlade is designed to become an extension of your hand. Rub it over your head like Marlon Brando mopping away sweat in that spooky scene from Apocalypse Now! and you end up with a glassy-smooth pate. Takes the hassle out of trying to look like Telly Savalas. "Playa's Club, baby! Tell 'em Gar-o sent ya."
 b2d2 Scraves (Bits 2 Die 4, $56, shipped from Europe) I've been lusting after these scarves ever since I saw Cory's post about them on Boing Boing. Insanely cool 8-bit fashion statement woven from 100% Merino wool. Note to CyberSanta: THIS is the one I want. I've been really, really good. No really. Okay, there was that one night with the three midget strippers and a tubful of tapioca pudding. C'mon, a guy's gotta cut loose once in a while!
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 Moleskine Cahiers Pocket Journals (Moleskine, $7/3 books) It's always been hard for me to find an organizational system I want to stick with. I think I've found one in the GTD TiddlyWiki in-browser organizer, the Hipster PDA for pocket-borne organization and planning, and these babies, the Moleskine Cahier Plain Pocket Journal for brainstorming, sketching, and longer-winded ideas. I've been using these three tools for a year now and am really satisfied with them as a workable system I can trust. These notebooks have off-white acid-free paper, a back-cover inside pocket, and 16 pages in the back that are perfed for easy removal. These little books are pretty durable too and can take a fair amount of pocket abuse. The only negative is that, with a lot of bending and flicking through the pages, the perfed pages can start to unzip themselves. I keep buying up packs of these journals 'cause I'm afraid they'll stop making them and I've grown too attached. I have a pack of the grid-based pocket journals too and use those for electronics design, robot ideas, and more technical journaling.
On to Part 2 of our 2006 Gift Guide.
To see even more awesome gift ideas, check out last year's Street Tech Gift Guide. One of the fringe benefits of only including tech and toys we know are great is that they tend to stay great. See for yourself. Not a fruit cake in the bunch.
Gareth Branwyn -[Friday, November 24, 2006]
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