Halloween and elections are approaching, and sometimes it's tough to tell which is scarier. Join the CraveCast cabal Wednesday at noon Pacific when we'll talk about remaking democracy in our own image and siccing bears on the undead.
I'd bet on the bear here. AMC's "The Walking Dead;" video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET
Nothing goes together better than politics and the living dead, so plan to join the CraveCast crew live on Wednesday at noon Pacific Time as we celebrate both Halloween and Election Day!
Kelsey Adams, Stephen Beacham, Bonnie Burton, Amanda Kooser and myself will take over the CNET studio to discuss the merits of forming a GNU political party for and by the nerds and geeks of the world. What would it stand for? Help us write our manifesto!
If you have a stronger interest in the zombie apocalypse then the democalypse, we'll also discuss the latest in zombie-proof real estate and answer the age-old question: Zombie vs. Bear -- who wins?
Bookmark this page and come back at showtime, when we'll embed the live broadcast below. Or watch on Xbox Live or on our YouTube Channel.
Send your questions and comments for the show now via Twitter to @Crave and @EricCMack or chat with us live during the show. And...go bears!
Eric Mack Crave freelancer Eric Mack is a writer, radio producer, and podcaster based in Taos, N.M., but he lives in Google+. He's also managing editor of Crowdsourcing.org and has written e-books on both Alaska and Android. E-mail Eric. See full bio
If you install the colorful IllumiBowl light, it will look like someone's hosting a party in your toilet.
Going to the restroom at night gets colorful. Matt Alexander
Nighttime trips to the bathroom can be fraught with peril as you run a dark gauntlet of obstacles ranging from cats to locating the toilet itself. Sure, you can turn on the lights and sear your eyes with the sudden illumination. You could also install a nightlight somewhere in the restroom, but that's not much fun. How about lighting up the toilet bowl instead? IllumiBowl on Kickstarter places a nightlight right onto your toilet.
Toilet lights aren't a new concept. Kohler offers a Nightlight toilet seat with blue LEDs that costs $83. The IllumiBowl will set you back only $15 (about £9, AU$17) for a pledge. It also has the advantage of using a color-changing LED, so the light will slowly rotate through different colors every few seconds. This will be especially perfect if you ever plan on hosting a dance party in your bathroom.
IllumiBowl fits under your toilet seat, attaching with suction to the outside of the toilet bowl rim while a hook reaches over the edge to provide the light inside. Motion detection senses when a visitor arrives. The light turns on automatically and turns off once you're gone.
The lavatory gadget runs on two AAA batteries. Matt Alexander, the creator of IllumiBowl, writes in an update, "We are working with the manufacturer to make it water resistant." Here's hoping that all works out, because a non-water-resistant device hanging out near a toilet bowl could face some serious challenges.
Alexander currently has a working prototype of the IllumBowl and hopes to raise $20,000 to go into production. The project is currently up over $8,000 with 36 days left to go. This is probably going to be a love-it-or-hate-it sort of gadget. You're either the kind of person who wants a glowing toilet bowl, or you're not. But if you are, you're most definitely in luck.
Amanda Kooser Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. See full bio
You've heard that geeks and nerds run the world, but what would it take for us to actually be in charge? Crave's Eric Mack thinks it might be time for a "GNU" political party.
What unites us all as nerds and geeks? Video screenshot by Anthony Domanico/CNET
With Google and Apple ranking among the most successful companies in history, Bill Gates the richest man in the world and Disney in possession of the "Star Wars" franchise, evidence that geeks and nerds run the world is everywhere. But what would it take for those of us who believe in the wisdom of "live long and prosper" to take the reins and really rule the world? Like, in the formal, political sense of the phrase?
Sure, President Obama -- as he's proven with his campaigns' skillful use of social media and data to crush his last two competitors -- is more of a nerd than any other recent commanders in chief, but he's no Larry or Sergey or Alexis Ohanian or Bonnie Burton!
Am I being serious? You tell me. When the Washington Post mashed up favorability ratings for certain "Star Wars" characters and a few likely candidates for the American presidency in 2016, it found that the public has a higher opinion of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Yoda and even Darth Vader than they do of Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, Rand Paul or Paul Ryan. To be fair to our leading politicians, most of them still crush Jar Jar Binks in opinion polling.
If the populace is that much more excited about decades-old characters, perhaps it's time we harnessed this power -- this pop culture Force, if you will -- to remake democracy.
And this isn't just a thought exercise for our American democratic system either. Heck, Darth Vader was actually running a strong campaign for Ukraine's presidency earlier this year before that country's Central Electoral Commission denied the candidacy of the chosen leader of the wacky Internet Party.
If all the nerds and geeks were to unite to organize a political party, I don't think it would resemble any of our existing political parties, be it the Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, Labour, Liberals, LibDems, Communists or whatever. Here in the US, tech, gaming and other areas of nerdery consist of a healthy mix of conservatives, liberals, libertarians and others, but I do think we could all agree that a political party for the world's geeks and nerds should be just that -- for all the world's dorknificence, from all nations.
But what other issue planks might make up the platform of an international political movement of geeks, nerds and whatever the 21st century equivalent of a "dweeb" is? And what would it be called? I'd say the Tesla Party would be good, but that might get confused with Elon Musk's next barbecue.
I propose the Geeks and Nerds United party, or GNU, which is also an awesome triple entendre for fans of both open-source software and wildebeests. It could also be pronounced "new party," since it will also be just that, a new political party.
Great. Now we have at least a temporary name, but what would the GNU Party stand for? What unites us all? Of course, there are the clearly awesome things we often discuss here on Crave, like lightsabers and robot butlers for everyone, building more key government buildings with Legos and resolving all international conflict via massive LARPing tournaments. But what else?
On a serious note, I imagine most of us might be able to agree on the importance of preserving some level of a free and open Internet and to enshrining access to information as a human right. And without getting into any of the typical left-versus-right rhetoric, I imagine we can all agree that we should work to build a world that ensures both ample opportunities for success under the most broad definition of the word, while at the same time striving for equal access to these opportunities for all, be it the chance for a young engineer in Bangladesh to finally build the first hoverboard or for some dude in Alaska to share his amazement over the sound of skipping stones with a global audience.
What do you think? Would you join the GNU Party? To be official, we'll need a manifesto that lays out the vision for a better world that all nerds and geeks share. Let us know in the comments and by tweeting @crave and @EricCMack what that vision looks like to you.
Eric Mack Crave freelancer Eric Mack is a writer, radio producer, and podcaster based in Taos, N.M., but he lives in Google+. He's also managing editor of Crowdsourcing.org and has written e-books on both Alaska and Android. E-mail Eric. See full bio
The Hamilton Beach 73310 PartyPopper Popcorn Maker makes enough popcorn to survive marathon viewing sessions. Hamilton Beach
Chances are if you enjoyed that movie you just watched, it will show up again in a slightly different form. Sure, it will be on Blu-ray or available for streaming to your tablet or smartphone, but it will also propagate in the form of a sequel. And if that sequel happens to strike a chord with the viewing public, then that sequel will spawn a sequel (or prequel) and on and on forever into the luminiferous ether.
It can be tempting to sit down and watch an entire story arc all at once. Ah, but the snacks, they'd never make it through. Or would they?
The $100 Hamilton Beach 73310 PartyPopper Popcorn Maker supersizes popcorn batches perfect for getting through viewing marathons. The popcorn machine makes up to 24 cups of movie-style popped popcorn and the base doubles as a serving bowl. A measuring cup is provided to pour in not only kernels, but also the recommended amount of oil as well.
Considering that the fall television season is ramping up, there is going to be a lot of catching up to do. The weather will cool, the DVRs will fire up and episodic television will cascade into a froth of content as it butts up against the summer blockbusters reaching home TVs; it's probably safe to say there are going to be a lot of eyeballs glued to the boob tube in the coming months. However, as efficient as mega-batches of popcorn may be for TV night, some time management will still have to be adhered to for now -- the popper is due to hit shelves in November.
I'd bet on the bear here. AMC's "The Walking Dead;" video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET 
Eric Mack Crave freelancer Eric Mack is a writer, radio producer, and podcaster based in Taos, N.M., but he lives in Google+. He's also managing editor of Crowdsourcing.org and has written e-books on both Alaska and Android. E-mail Eric. See full bio 
Going to the restroom at night gets colorful. Matt Alexander 
Amanda Kooser Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. See full bio 
What unites us all as nerds and geeks? Video screenshot by Anthony Domanico/CNET 
The Hamilton Beach 73310 PartyPopper Popcorn Maker makes enough popcorn to survive marathon viewing sessions. Hamilton Beach 
