The Gear Ring

You may have seen this in early 2010. A few geek and gamer sites reported about a new ring design. It was innovative, it was creative, it was moving...literally! Allow me to introduce, if you haven't seen it before, the gear ring.

Created by Kinekt Design, this stainless steel ring actually moves. The gears inside are lined by strips of steel that are independent from the ring itself; rotate either edge of the ring, and the gears inside move with it. It's absolutely perfect for the man or woman who can't help but fidget when they have a ring on.

I personally have a special place in my heart for this ring - it's the ring I gave DM on our wedding day. As soon as I saw it, I knew this was his ring. I can't praise the ring and the company enough. Before ordering, they responded quickly to the questions I had. The ring arrived within two days of making the order and after the wedding, it got more attention than my own ring! I think DM was starting to get tired of me telling him to stand still, I want to spin it. I kinda want one just to have something to do in class. Even strangers were asking to see it, and anyone who got to try it couldn't stop playing with it (I still can't). When the ring was accidentally damaged, the lifetime warranty that came with it got us a free replacement, no questions asked. I didn't hear about the replacement... AWESOMESAUCE. I remember making a sad face when I heard it was damaged. Kinekt Design is a wonderfully run company, and I can't say enough about how much we love the ring. They've since developed a few other products, including a toy, a shirt and a papercraft model. Give them some time, and I think they may be competition for ThinkGeek.

Happy Rolling Spinning!

As Promised...

Ravi here.

I promised drinks, and goshdarnit you're gonna get 'em.  Today's drink was originally designed and photographed by OXM UK, but I personally prefer the tutorial on The Drunken Moogle.  The Poison Arrow (so named after The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) has a visual appeal that makes me want to take that shot anyway even though I KNOW I will regret it.

Isn't that beautiful?  Fair warning, though: that pretty design is caused by a curdling effect... you know, the reason you drink an Irish Car Bomb as fast as you can.  Personally, I plan on having a friend taste-test this before I down it myself.

Moogle says to put 1 part lime cordial in a glass, add a dash of grenadine to the top, then slowly pour in 1 part Bailey's (or other Irish creme) and use a straw to gently twist the curdling into that prettiness you see there.  (For directions with prettier wording, click the link to Moogle above!)

Expect an update, we don't have any lime cordial here, so I can't try this right away... I need to pick up a few other things at the local store attached to our local liquor shops, though, so soonish?

Next time Indeah lets me update, expect something some people may liek lotz.

Happy Rolling!

Ravi Likes Shiny Things.

Ravi here.

If you know me in real life, you know I LOVE to look at shiny things. She does. All you have to do is jingle your keys in a ray of light to get her attention. You also know I rarely wear them. However, occasionally something shiny will come along, and I will refer to this thing as "The Precious" until it is in my possession.  Then I will call it "My Precious."  It is an important distinction to make. The secret is Ravi is actually Gollum. Falling in a volcano does weird things to you.

Anyway, I recently was playing around on the internet, and something showed up in my advertisements.  It was THIS:

*puts on scholar's hat* This is an Irish claddagh ring. Typically, it's a ring signifying love, friendship and loyalty by depicting two hands clasping a heart that usually has a crown on it. Interesting fact: there are four distinct combinations of direction, finger and hand you wear it on that can be used to signify your relationship status. You can read more on Wikipedia.

If you've spent ANY time on the internet, you know EXACTLY what this looks like and why I want it.  I have trollish tendencies occasionally, after all.

I should leave hints for the boyfriend to get me this.  He IS Irish, after all...

Seriously, though, if you have no clue what I am talking about, just look around on the internet for a while.  Safe search on if you're scared, safe search off if you've got a strong stomach. Do not do this. This is horrible. Why would you suggest this? If you don't get the reference, for the love of god don't go looking!! Especially not with children in the room.

Sometime before the month is up, I will promise you... BOOZE! =D

Happy Rolling?

Tuesday Food Day (Name still in discussion) - Now Edible!

Good news, bad news, readers. The bad news, we still don't have a name for our Tuesday special yet. The good news, you won't be reading about a hot mess of a meal this week. I'm starting us off with an easy snack that's perfect for around a gaming table.

There are some snackfoods that are undoubtedly "gamer fuel". Anything cheesy, crunchy, sugary, or overall unhealthy is welcome around the table, including but not limited to: Cheetos, Doritos, Cheez-Its, beef jerky, pizza, and countless sweets. What I would like to do with this segment is introduce both new gaming foods and new ways to cook with old favorites.

Oreos are always on the top 10 lists of gaming foods (or at least, on two of the three I found with a Google search.) They're delicious, crunchy, perfect alone or with milk, and a normal bag can last a gaming group, well, let's be honest, a few minutes. Allow me to introduce the Oreo Truffle, better known as chocolate-covered deliciousness. I was introduced to them from my friend at Hudocks to Haddocks: The Life, Times and Food, made a batch for Christmas, and was promptly ordered to make more. The recipe is easy, and any fan of Oreos and chocolate should love it!

Oreo Truffles

• 1 package Oreo cookies, regular
• 8oz (1 container) Philidelphia cream cheese, softened
• 2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. Take 6 of the cookies, finely crush them, and set aside.

2. Take the rest of the cookies and finely crush them.
3. Mix the crushed cookies and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls. After this, stick them in the freezer for a little bit so that they harden. It makes it easier when it comes to dipping.
4. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and dip the balls in the melted chocolate. Place the balls on a wax-covered baking sheet and then sprinkle with the crumbs that were set aside.
5. Refrigerate until firm & ready to serve!

This makes about 40 truffles. It's easy to cut the recipe in half if you don't need that many. Twenty lasted DM and I a week, but then we were holding back! We don't have a food processor, so I instead used a rolling pin and some ziploc bags to crush up the cookies. Reviews of this recipe have been:
"F*ing delicious!" - DM
"I need this recipe. Also, be glad you're married, otherwise we'd be going somewhere that gay marriage is allowed so you can make me more of these forever." - Indeah's coworker #1
"The best chocolate treat I've had in years!" - Indeah's coworker #2

So if Oreos tickle your tummy in good ways, head to your kitchen and give these a try for your next game night! You won't regret it.

Happy rolling! (and eating!)

New Year, New GR20

Hello 2011 readers! It's the last year before the last year of the Aztec calendar, so let's make it rock. You saw Ravi's post on Tuesday with that...well, there's no words for that, except MMM DELICIOUS? but I think it barely qualifies as food. I actually think that falls under the Geneva Conventions' definition of torture. Maybe a little. However, it's the first of a few changes we're making around here.

We love D&D and tabletop games, but sometimes life gets in the way and we can't play. That doesn't mean we don't follow other nerdy or geeky exploits. So, we're expanding! GR20 will be writing about anything and everything in the realm of the geek. Video games, technology, comics, food - if it's geek, it's good.

Starting with our last post, every Tuesday we'll be posting something geek-food related. And we will change the name. It may be something horrible of severely questionable edibility to torment your friends with, like Doritos Ramen Salad. It may be a delicious treat to make for your friends with normal geek foods or an easy snack for your gaming group. At least once a month, Ravi will supply a drink recipe for the geeks who like to get adventurous (as well as drunk). Drink responsibly, geeks. No driving, no bad decisions, no dying. Unless it's in game, in character, with imaginary booze. That is PERFECTLY acceptable. We're still working on the name for this feature.

On Thursdays, for now, one of us will fill in with whatever has caught our attention that week in the world of the geek. If we find we're talking about a certain topic more often, we'll consider making a specific update day for it. For now, we hope you enjoy the new and hopefully improved GR20!

Happy rolling!

Returning To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming OR The Beginning Of Tuesday Tasties

Ravi here.

Thanks for your patience, as we've had life happen to us in particularly painful ways the last few months or so. I have made a full recovery and plan on posting regularly... however, Indeah and I still need to discuss an actual schedule to stick to. Perhaps one day a week dedicated to stories, or interviews, tasties, etc. I promise to keep the alcoholic recipes to no more than 50% of total recipe volume. Because I know Indeah will kill me otherwise. Your liver may beat me to it.

In other news, I fought that same demon from last time (the biggest mistake one), and WON. Take that, foppish demon dude.

...you know what. I'm officially declaring Tuesday Tasties. (Please don't kill me Indeah) Every Tuesday (assuming I'm still living), I'm going to post a recipe or edible product (or Indeah can, if she likes this). I like food. Count me in.

Today, because I have effectively just made something up and have already promised to keep alcoholic content to 50% or lower, I will be providing a silly recipe that I have every intention of force-feeding to my friends because it is all the worst stereotypes of gamer grub in one fell swoop. Behold, courtesy of ramenlicious.com: Doritos Ramen Salad.

Because I know some of you are gonna just jump over that without even clicking, you at least need to see this picture.


YUMMY. Oh dear GOD! What the hell IS that?!

Hopefully, next week, I'll have the results of the taste tests. I predict dead friends, or stomach pumps.

Happy Rolling!

Where Do We Go From Here?

First, let me offer an apology, it's been inexcusably too long since we updated. Ravi and I have both been incredibly busy as of late between traveling, getting sick (SO. SICK.), busy school (one more semester one more semester one more semester), planned events, and busy work. As a result, we also haven't had much (read: any) time to play lately. Much to our rage.

This blog is still new, and I'm not willing to give up on it this early in. You can't get rid of us!!! What I do want to do is take some time between Ravi and I to discuss what we need to do, where we need to go from here. We may need to restructure a bit, make some changes, or at the very least plan some posts ahead of time. We just need to figure out what we're going to do when things get busy for us, maybe make a schedule we can stick to. What we're not going to do is let this fade away. So I'm back now. Not sick. Mostly.

Happy Rolling!