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Gifts for Valentine's Day, 2002?
Telemakhos asks: "This was asked last year, and though hardware may come and go in the course of a year, the mid-February question is eternal: What's Geeky and Good for St. Val's this year? Moreover, if roses aren't yet too bleeding-edge, whence is it best to order them?" Guys, while you are suggesting presents for the ladies, aside from the obvious, what would you like for Cupid Day?
Mandrake 8.2 Beta 1 burned on red CD's,
what linux geek wouldn't love getting a beta of a distro burned with love...
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Someone to whom presents may reasonably be given on Valentine's day.
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
My gift for Valentine's day must be hand lotion.
Because my right hand is suffering from dry skin.
"Guys, while you are suggesting presents for the ladies, aside from the obvious, what would you like for Cupid Day?"
Well, I suppose one or two of them ladies you talk about would be nice. Do they run Linux?
-Shaunak.
Still, it would have been nice...
I think it's a gift option that's always overlooked, primarily because the buyer isn't sure what the recipient would want. But I've always believed that books can be a timeless gift, treasured for years. Whether it be fiction, non-fiction, reference, or a little of each, I know that I always appreciate books. Heck, go to FatBrain to find a huge collection of technical books, or maybe to ThinkGeek for options like fiction, non-fiction, programming reference, and so on. And if you're not sure, DO get a gift certificate for your loved one at a bookstore (or even for the aforementioned websites!). Then they can pick out the books themselves, and they can't hardly go wrong.
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
How about for V-day, no tech toys, but a nice evening alone with your lady? Dinner, wine, etc...
but I usually get death threats and restraining orders.
--------
It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
Megatokyo Megabear
gotta love that
--IronHelix
ThinkGeek has got a great little baby tee (God why do I love these so much!) It's all black with the words "I love my Geek."
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/apparel/5981.shtml
Very appropriate.
What I would love to have? Get me a nice OpenBSD tee shirt.
A sweet note telling how Emperor Claudius beheaded St. Valentine in 270 CE, and compare this to your relationship somehow.
(Quality(Rose)* totalroses) + Quality(dinner) = total_sex_time
Where Quality() is a seperate program for each chick, based on past total_sex_time :)
"I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
Well, since I already have this to match my boyfriend, nothing would be nicer than another T-shirt to proclaim my geekiness to the world.
And, boys, don't forget to make it a night she won't forget of champagne, roses, chocolates, and patching your kernels together.
"Equal bytes for women!"
i think "the obvious" was referring to having your girlfriend's younger sister give you a blowjob.
Hello Kitty sub-notebook computer powered by the Transmeta Crusoe chip!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/17055.html
"Black holes are where God divided by zero." - Steve Wright
Every time the People's Jewellery Ad comes up on the TV with the heart-shaped diamond pendant, she turns to me and says, "Don't get that for me. No REALLY".
Every year, I look for something that:
a) Is something she wants,
b) Is something that will signify my love for her, and
c) Is something I deem has any value.
Every year, I don't find it, and get her flowers. This always seems okay in the end.
A Nice musuem tour would be romantic enough, and still give me a place to make a short movie on the new DV camcorder that she can get me.
I'm not going into details about the other movie I'll make that day, though.
I really hate Dan Patrick.
"Now with that kind of a day, you're sure to get your significant other in the mood for love as John Lee Hooker would say. "
With all THAT food? She/he is going to be seriously ill. Might I suggest an addition? Antacid.
-Shaunak.
As a geek, everyone gets me stuff on every holiday for my computer, but never anything I need. ("Oh, wow, another computer tool set, thanks, I can never have too many of these!" Incidentally, I'm up to 9 sets now). But as a drummer, no one ever thinks of things to buy me, even though I ALWAYS need things! Sticks are always breaking, drum heads always need changing, cymbals always need polishing, wingnut threading eventually wears down...
The best gifts I have ever received have all been drum-related items. Just about anything from Sabian, Tama, and Vic Firth are always welcome gifts to me! Plus, it makes me happy when the significant other in my life actually takes an interest enough in my playing to know what I need and/or want as a drummer.
Amen, reverend. This, after I constructed the perfect valentines for her... Homemade breakfast in bed, dozen long stems, cards, candy and a poem. I say, give me a girl who would appreciate that for valentines, or you know... Carmen Electra or something.
-dewhite
...a Router shaped like a heart!
Someone ever tries to kill you, you try to kill them right back!
A date with the Frick-meister!
My girlfriend proposed a 5$ cap on all (total) items purchased this valentines day -- partly to save money, party to spur creativity. Gotta love that. There's no reason whatsoever to blow hundreds of dollars on a Hallmark Holiday.
~jeff
... sounds like it's time to spring for the big diamond ring, buddy, if you want her to stick around till next V-Day. If you're already married, you're home free. Flowers, chocolates, a couple of steaks on the grill with a bottle of cheap wine, just about anything will do.
I suggest the QueerAsFolk first season DVD set. If it's too late to get it.... order up showtime :)
But beyond that... you can also consider gifts that are not just for valentines day... such as a trip to Hawaii (buy your lover the airplane tickets and present them)... or a cruise... or learning how to scuba... etc.
What's Geeky and Good for St. Val's this year?
I'm not sure what my girlfriend is getting this year, but after her last birthday I can assure you that it won't be any sort of kitchen appliance.
You know, you'd think that if she said so many times she wanted a toaster over, she'd appreciate it more.
I'm such a lummox.
--saint
I look forward to reading of someone making millions off this idea.
Something for romantic geeks whose work causes them to spend long nights hacking separately.
Perfect especially if one or both are putting in late nights apart slaving over hot workstations...
2 x wireless linux PDAs
Each PDA has a harness and can be worn inconspicuously under clothing.
Eash PDA is connected to several unique peripherals.
Each such peripheral is thin, flat, about 4-9 square inches, consisting of pressure pads on the top, and vibrating pads on the bottom, and can also be worn inconspicuously under clothing.
When one geek touches one of the peripherals, the pressure pad senses the touch, and sends a message to other geek's PDA, which triggers the vibrating function of corresponding peripheral on their own body, and vice versa.
For instance, male geek can stroke just below his navel, and in response, female geek feels caressing vibrating sensation just below her navel. Female geek then rubs below her left armpit, and male geek feels vibrating sensation under his left armpit.
Advanced software configuration could cause random mappings between geeks, even sending telemetry about blood pressure, body temp etc.
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
I've decided that I'm giving out these. Maybe I'll get lucky and won't have to worry about spending a load of money for an ounce of sex. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Long, cute, or funny Sigs are just another form of over compensation, used by geeks, nerdz, etc.
And your SO is geeky enough to accept and appreciate it...
Make an electronic heart - get a piece of perfboard, a bunch of red LEDs (and other assorted electronic parts - bias resistors, etc) - and wire up a electronic heart.
Use red-flashing LEDs for a trippy effect (might be expensive, but so is a diamond ring). If you are really good set it up to make a rotating pattern with the LEDs (like a marquee). If you want to try something even better, get a 16x1 HD44780 based LCD, a PIC stamp - have the PIC drive everything, put the LCD in the center, and put a scrolling message ("I Love You!" or similar) on it. Or put a picture of you in the middle of it...
One thing I did for Valentines day - because my GF isn't as geeky - was I built an automaton - a box with wheels and belts, pulleys, etc - and waving hearts on the top - powered by a little motor. I made it so you could remove the panels - it was all built out of balsa wood, painted - the whole thing - took about a month to construct and tune. She loves it to this very day (that was a few years back).
Really - anything you take time on, given with your heart - is what you want to give. Something that really says "I love you" - it could be as simple as a card you made - or a piece of jewelry, or a romantic evening out. Take the time and thought - and you will have a day to remember...
Slashdot - the place where you can look like a genius by restating the obvious
Her: "Happy valentine's day!"
You: "Happy valentine's day!"
You: "Here's your valentine's day present!"
(hand her big wide, long, flat box)
Her: (looks at the wrapping) "Oh wow... you got me a pizza
You: "nonono! take off the wrapping!"
(rip rip rip)
Her: (looks at the box) "Oh wow... you got me a big box of chocolates
You: "nonono! open the box!"
(rip rip rip)
Her: (looks inside the box) "Oh WOW!!! YOU GOT ME A RACKMOUNT SERVER!! Let's have sex!!"
You: (air guitar)
Like, say, dot-com stock certificate wallpaper.
My wife is majorly into gardening. My most successful Valentine's Day present ever was a dump trailer for her garden tractor.
Her most successful present ever, for me, was a weekend rental of a New Holland front-end loader.
There's romance in that there back yard, I tell ya....
Although it can be extremely crash-prone, if you can get a dual-processor implementation of this up and running, the results can be quite spectacular.
("Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those!")
-Mark
(ThinkGeek would be bigger than Amazon.com if it offered mail-order Geek brides.)
== Paul Rickard, Editor of The Microsoft Boycott Campaign ====
how about the best chocolates in the world? swiss chocolatier spruengli has the absolute best! check out www.spruengli.ch. you can also place online orders or via email. they ship worldwide via fedex, and believe me, their chocolates beat any belgian crap! that's what i usually get for my (geeky) girlfriend.
Freeze-dried astronaut ice cream, available from NASA, science museums, or camping goods store. You could even include a note about wanting to travel to the stars with her/him.
The new Socket H... it's an option with the Via KT69 chipset. Comes with an optional USMB (Universal Serial Massage Bus) hub connector. The southbridge is a piece of chocolate from Teuscher. And it's perfect for the oh-oh-OHverclocker in your life.
/Brian
"Maybe some more bandwidth"
Cos every girl loves a fat pipe.
graspee
Good thinking, bring your girlfriend into a town that is currently filled with thousands of drunk assholes yelling "Show yer tits". But, if she does, please take pictures...and post them
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
Did the poster of this story even stop to think, for a moment, that this article would probably plunge 50% of the slashdot community, including myself, into a deep deep depression by reminding them how single they are?
..At least my grandma sends me valentines cards
*runs off crying*
Klowner
As a high school senior, I find I am completely and utterly lacking in anything resembling "nerve", "spine", or "courage". So while a statement to the amazingly attractive, intelligent, insightful girl who sits in front of me in Calculus (hope she doesn't read /.) that she is quite possible the most remarkable person I have ever met would be nice, it's out of the question. So instead I'm sending her an anonymous flower and card through the school "Valey-gram" program, and a box of the Oatmeal Square cereal thingies. Ah well, backbones are for other people, I always say.
Enough with this maudlin Valentine's Day related self-pity - a high-caliber site like slashdot doesn't need the mumblings of a sappy highschooler. I say the best possible gift would be a Furby modded to say "Happy Valentine's Day" in as many different languages as possible.
I'm the stranger...posting to
Just had a thought - would it be possible to make a heart-shaped CD/R that would actually be balanced enough for use? If not, could you build an adaptor like for some odd-shaped CDs, and use that in the drive?
I'm the stranger...posting to
My high school has so many old 486s lying around, the school tech regularly begs me to take one (or two or six) home in order to clear some space. Why not install linux on one, slap some sappy love-related program on it to run at startup, and pre-configure the system. In addition, you could use the stuff at robotstore.com to control a servo motor through the serial port. Use the motor to operate some sort of candy dispenser, and you can have a comp that dispenses a candy every time it boots up! Sound good?
I'm the stranger...posting to
Therefore, in reality she is probably an unwashed 14-year old, linux-using male.
Oatmeal sqares? Are you out of your mind? Unless you know for a fact she really prefers them, it's chocolate, baby, chocolate. The flower and Valey-gram are nice in a non-commital, anonymous kind of way, but she won't know it's from you, and besides, she might receive several. The Furby would show off your hacking skills. "Happy Valentine's Day" is not exactly a declaration of undying love, so even if she hates you she would probably think it's cute and keep it. Maybe she's even shyer than you are and waiting for you to make the first move. Actually, for your sake, I hope she does read /.
If there isn't a good geek-inclined pickup bar in the Cambridge/Boston/inside 128 (MA) area, there should be one...
...and if there is, I'd like to know about it.
/Brian
There's more to life than logic, mon amie.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Check out richdate.com
Its where you can win 3 dates and money! its pretty cool
I have 4 mod-points left to spend, but I searched, and sadly there is no +1 Pathetic.
My /. sweetie's favorite film of all time is Mike Jittlov's Wizard of Speed and Time. He's got a laser disc copy but no disc player, so I got him a copy on VHS (from skinnyguy.com) so we can snuggle up and watch it on Valentine's Day. (I've never seen it all the way through.)
Additionally, I've tried to make the day as simple and stressfree for him; like many geeks I know, he's uncomfortable trying to plan something romantic. I suggested a restaurant I'd enjoy and planned the movie, to ensure he didn't have to worry about what would please me.
only the things you never tried. (I'm sure someone famous said it better, but you get the idea).
Take it from a shy geek who is MANY years out of high school. I don't remember the names of any of the women who turned me down, but I do remember the ones I never asked out.
CE stands for Common Era!
You're using her as bait, Master!
Even tech ladies like jewelry! The analytical chemist in my life is getting a diamond ring and dinner at a cozy restaurant.
"Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
I want all the people who are so busy trying to convince me I have to give my wife a box of chocolates or a dozen roses for valentines day that they haven't stopped to notice I'm gay and I'm single and I'm damn tired of being reminded of the latter to get dumped by their spouse on the 13th.
I think that would make a perfect valentines day gift for me.
iPod.
And I guess that dual-gigahertz G4 that it's attached to will get you laid for at least a year...
SIGFEH
This would, of course, be for the girl that has a nice rack?
:)
No, I didn't even try to resist.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is... Oops. Frank, I've got your sig again! Where's mine?
A high school senior. God how I envy you.
The path from high-school senior to middle aged man is maddeningly short with plenty of disappointments, triumphs and lots of experience that really kicks you in the nuts.
Make a play for her. Risk embarassment. The truth is that she'll probably blow you off. But at a minimum, you won't look back with regret.
In my sophomore year of college I spent a lot of time with a young lady that I absolutely found the most breathtaking, wonderful girl (woman?). And I didn't ask her out. I spent 9 months with her and didn't have the gonads to just say "Hey, how about you and me go get a pizza tonight". how foolish. Funny how we learn about courage after we don't need it so much.
And understand that marriage, kids, mortgage and career are just as effective prison bars as the keenest steel and thickest walls. You can't go back for so many reasons. You have people who depend on you, from the littlest baby to the people who work for you and depend on you to point them in the right direction every day.
There's every chance I'm the pathetic middle-aged loser you laugh at. There a sure chance you'll be the same thing in 25 years. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt so much. And I suppose the rewards are worth it.
Revel in your time. Have fun. Don't worry so much, you'll do fine. And just ask her out to talk. Movies are a bad first date, unless you think you'll run out of things to say.
There's even a web site dedicated to it! Hint: click on the link labelled "cunnilingus". And whatever you do, don't complain that it smells!
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
I've been asking Santa for a matter transmitter for years...
I guess I could ignore my disinterest in Valentine's Day if I got one of those...
What kind of sick fucks are women that they want us to demonstrate affection by ripping the sex organs off of plants and presenting them as gifts? I mean, think about it...
Of course, in all seriousness, the most of the employees at my local florest know my AmEx number by heart now...
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
How about a plush Cthulhu?
I got my Linux laptop at System76.
String some resistors, colored wires, LEDs, etc. on ear wire to create geek chic jewelry. I've seen some really nice stuff that would even appeal to non-geeks.
Choose to devote your life to creating new things, not tearing down other peoples' creations. That will make you much more attractive in the eyes of women, friends, and colleagues alike.
Whatever you may think of Bill Gates, he's not the second coming of Genghis Khan, and his company doesn't warrant the degree of emotional and intellectual commitment that you, and countless other unloved, unlaid Slashdotters, devote to its destruction. Instead, consider the possibility that you'll look back forty or fifty years from now and wonder why you have so little to show for the passions of your youth.
Dahlmann tightly grips the knife, which he may have no idea how to use, and steps out into the plain.
The "color matters" bit cannot be stressed enough. I learned this the hard way.
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
It's those biathletes you really have to worry about.
Yeah, but I'm reminded of when the boy child was going out with TWO hot women. When asked how to choose, Al replied (I'm paraphrasing):
"Doesn't matter. Whichever one you end up with, the other immediately becomes hotter, smarter, and less intrusive."
Of course, nobody on THIS site has that problem, but...
ceci n'est pas un sig.
Whatever happened to making your own Valentines?
Because only Martha Stewart would expect her mother to hand-make a Valentine while staying in a hotel in a country where she doesn't speak the language?
And I'm not sure chocolate eclairs would have made it through the mail.
Slashdot's token middle-aged housewife
How about a /. article asking someone to marry you? ;-)