When was the last time you wrote something down?  Well for those rare occasions, you need to have a quality pen on hand.  Since we write so rarely these days, it’s not worth investing in a high-quality fountain pen when there are so many cheap alternatives of excellent quality. Here are my favorites, all available in bundles at your local office supply store.

Pilot G2 - An early favorite of mine, G2s writes with very smooth and thick ink. Just be careful cause these fun clicky pens can leak, so keep your pocket protectors handy. On the plus side, you can stain your clothes in just about every color from pink to orange to blue, black, and more.

Bic GripRoller - I keep the most of these on hand. They feign the professional look with all the silky smoothness of the best brands.

 Uniball Roller Grip - For extra fine lines, the Roller Grip (not to be confused with Bic’s GripRoller) is an excellent and inexpensive fine tipped pen for extra precision.

Pilot Dr. Grip - For the larger handed or those that like some weight to their pen, the Dr. Grip is for you.  This ergonomic yet chubby pen has been commended by the Arthritis Foundation.  So if your laptop is getting repaired and you’re away from your desktop and you can’t write on your iPhone, this would be a great option for lengthy writing sessions. 

We all know New Year’s is the best time to make promises you can’t keep.  It’s also a great time to make out with strangers and drink too much, best if done at the same time.  But since this is a blog, it’s easier to make the promises rather than do the fun stuff.  So here are some of my New Year’s resolutions.

• I will not use the Wii as my only form of physical activity
• I will make friends outside of the mystical land of Azeroth
• I will beat at least one of my hundred unfinished video games
• I will make no more than three Star Trek references a day
• I will wait for the 2nd generation of hardware
• I will learn what sex is like outside of Second Life
• I will complain about something that matters

Happy New Year everyone. What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I’ve been hearing from a lot of readers who want more information about wearing belt buckles, so let’s take the time to explore this fashion forward practice a little further. This advice can be used by men and women though I have some specifically female advice at the bottom.

In Part 1 of How to wear geeky belt buckles, I talk about tucking in your shirt and/or wearing a sports jacket/blazer to dress up the outfit. But there are many ways to style belt buckles for many occasions. The key is to consider if the belt buckle will be the focus of your outfit or an accessory. This is simple to figure out. Large, ornate, or multi-colored belt buckles will be the focus of your outfit and should be paired with solid colored shirts or shirts with a little embellishment (like a little writing on the chest). Small belt buckles with a simple design and limit color can be paired with busier shirts. Basically, when you look in the mirror, you should focus on one thing, be it the belt buckle, shirt, shoes, or rainbow hair. Having too much going on creates chaos for the eye and can ruin and outfit even when all the pieces alone are fashionable.

All belt buckles pictures link to their sales pages. Prodigeek does not receive any compensation for these referrals.

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Holiday clothing more often then not looks tacky rather than festive, but with some advice from you Geek Chic guru, you can put your show Santa just how much you love this holiday.

Geek holiday shirts - Available in a variety of shapes and colors, from white t-shirts to polos and turtlenecks, you can pick from some of these flattering and at the same time hilarious holiday shirts. Whether you enjoy from programing humor or just want some nice ASCII art (well, binary, but only real geeks will know), these are the shirts for you. Available at CafePress.

Geek LED belt buckle - You can wear this belt buckle all year long. Just change the LED letters to customize your own message specific to the event, whether it’s Happy Holidays or I<3 LARP. How you wear this belt buckle is up to you and isn’t that kind of control what the holidays are really about. Find it at ThinkGeek.

Quality holiday music - You’ve heard the best, now try the rest. Why settle for Gene Autry when you can have Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo. Yes, this pop culture icon from the wholesome family show South Park has his own collection of classic holiday songs including “The Lonely Jew On Christmas” to “What The Hell Child Is This?” and the all-time favorite “The Most Offensive Song Ever.” Remember your holiday memories with this unforgettable treasure. Available at Amazon. Parental advisory recommended (that’s a sales pitch, actually).

Geeks and collecting go together like a keyboard and mouse.  Whether it’s comic books, video games, Star Wars action figures, or something more obscure, geeks are known for having something of a pack rat mentality.  But how can you keep track of your 10,000 most prized possessions.  Here are some ideas to know what you own and even show it off to the world.

Collectorz

Collectorz.com provides possibly the best suite of collection software available.  You can purchase software for movies, video games, comic books, music, books, and even MP3s and photos.  Each comes individually or in logical bundles.  The software itself is worth every penny.  The movie, games, comics, and music programs have user generated databases to help fill-in all the information so you don’t have to, and the software will find additional info on Amazon when needed.  Books are handled by Amazon and the Library of Congress.  This includes providing images, customizable interfaces and fields, and powerful search and filtering tools.  For the ritzy consumer, you can even buy a barcode scanner to quickly add all your stuff.

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Emulators have a special place in a geeks hard drive - in a secret folder in between the illegal movies and porn. You may have those hundreds of old school games locked on your desktop hard drive, but that limits your enjoyment of many classic video games. There are other ways to enjoy your games, freed from the confines of your bulky desktop.

PS3 Linux - Yes, the PS3 makes it very easy to set-up Linux right on the system. So with this open source operating system, why not throw some of the excellent Linux emulators on the system for the N64, PSX, and SNES.

Media center PC - For those with an extra couple of bucks, trying buying a small PC hooked up to your big screen TV. Not only can you surf the internet and boring stuff like that, but you can keep all the top Windows emulators. Plus your moving watching gets a lot easy, assuming you have the same ethics with movie files as video games.

PSP - Emulate wherever your heart desires. You will have to hack your PSP (naughty, naughty), but once you do, you can unlock the PSP’s built-in Playstation emulator as well as install some quality SNES and Genesis emulators.

Xbox Media Center - Yup, it’s a very complicated procedure, but with a built-in hard drive and some kick-ass hardware, you can have some excellent MAME and SNES games on your TV all the time (and it gives you some reason to keep your Xbox around).

Every Thursday, Prodigeek tries to help geeks live a more fulfilling, geek-life, complete with video games and social skills. But mostly video games.

For my four years of college, I went to a fun, little comic shop in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass. I knew the manager and kept a subscription with a nice discount for all my regular purchases. I then moved closer to my comic store, but discovered another comic store only a short walk from my new apartment. My current comic store held comics for me, talked comics with me, and suffered with me through the hard times (Superman’s “For Tomorrow” for instance).

But what of this new, tempting comic store. I have always enjoyed exploring new back issue collections but should I switch my entire comic store when I could still have access to my current one. Do I have to be loyal to my comic book store?

The stores offered about the same discounts, so money wasn’t so much the issue. It’s basically a matter of convenience. I seriously questioned staying with my out-of-the-way comic book store. I didn’t have a problem traveling before because there wasn’t a closer option before. Now, a comic book store rested a short walk from my apartment. So I decided to change my comic store.

In many cases comic book stores are a safe haven for us geeks - a place to talk comics, TV, and play a serious game of Magic: The Gathering. There are few places you take a weekly trip to with such regularity and anticipation.

Maybe I’m over analyzing this. It’s not like I would travel across the entire city of Boston just to go to my old Chinese restaurant. There’s a new one down the street. Or what about my old local market? Why should I give my comic book store special treatment? Which is why I made the change.

And now I’m moving again, far from both comic stores. So which should I go to now?

Every Thursday, I put my geeky gayness to the task of bring geek culture to the fashionable mainstream. This is your geek life guide.

What a wonderful time to spend with family. Thanksgiving brings distant relatives together and college kids home with dirty laundry. But in between the eating and “I have seen you since you were this big” comments, going home, away from my video game consoles and big screen TV can be jarring. So for those of who’s parents also still live in 1996 with CRTs and DSL, here are some ways to make the holiday week more user friendly.

With the family -

• The Wii hype is real - Bring home your Wii and Wii Sports for some family fun. Then watch everyone at the table be thankful for you.
• Use your iPhone/regular phone - Make videos and photos of the family fun, then edit them on your laptop right in front of everyone. Create real time family memories.
• See a movie - Beowulf looks awesome, though the kiddies might not be able to handle Angelina. If you’re forced into it, Bee Movie ain’t that bad.

By yourself -

• Handheld consoles - This one’s kind of obvious, but bring your DS and PSP home for round the house entertainment. And with the new PSP and PS3 firmware, you can Remote Play onto your PS3 (and maybe play some Lair while your home).
• Backpack your console - For the more intrepid gamer, special backpacks are made for each console. While the PS3 and Xbox 360 are very heavy, the Wii is light and airy and wonderful family fun. The downside is that either people will want to play or worse, watch sports.
• Go to the comic store Wednesday - Don’t postpone your comics this week. If your comic store is open, make sure you get there before traveling. This way you have ample reading material during the downtime.
• Stock up your laptop - Include movies, video games, and emulators before you leave. I beat Final Fantasy VII over a Thanksgiving home. Though watch out for cousins. They like to play your games too.

Every Thursday, I put my geeky gayness to the task of bring geek culture to the fashionable mainstream. This is your geek life guide.

You should want to sit at your desk. Your desk is where you keep your computer. You might even do work there occasionally. So when your boss isn’t looking (or your just messing around at home), you can mix business with pleasure. Taking breaks is healthy and helps productivity, but we need some real incentive. Playing games or playing with toys, here are some ideas to make your desk a more rewarding place.

Action figures

No longer solely for your ten-year-old nephew, action figures appeal to a larger demographic. Based on everything from comic book characters to television shows to historical figures, action figures are the perfect thing to fiddle with while that presentation downloads. Extensive collections based on the Simpsons, Family Guy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer make for excellent entertainment and unique conversation starters. Many figures are now made “super-poseable” meaning you can put them in all sorts of inappropriate positions giving a mature edge to your inner child.

Video games

From Pong to Yahoo! Games, there’s less and less reason to work on your computer. Puzzle or simulation games are quick and stimulating satisfaction. Thousands of variations exist of Asteroids, Space Invaders and Pong giving you a valuable 15 minutes of mindless excitement. You can find dozens of free games online at Yahoo.com or download some from Download.com and GameHippo.com.

Snack drawer

The details of a snack drawer are a very personal choice, but vital for any desk, at home or work. Keeping a healthy stash of unhealthy junk food allows your mind to work while your body feels satisfied (naughty magazines are a full fledged distraction but fulfill similar needs). It’s best to prepare for various potential cravings: chocolate, fruity, salty, minty, chewy, etc. Individually wrapped candies are of course best, but also consider boxes of cereal for light, healthy snacks.

Pen spinning

An amazing distraction for almost any circumstance, pen spinning not only entertains but impresses. Pen spinning is literally spinning a pen around your fingers. There are different tricks: spinning it around your thumb, ring finger, spinning the pen backward and more. It’s surprising how something seemingly mundane can dazzle for so long. Pen spinning takes time to learn, but the people you’ll impress will be worth the effort. Check out Pentrix.com for excellent guides on pen spinning tricks, complete with videos.

Every Thursday, I put my geeky gayness to the task of bring geek culture to the fashionable mainstream. This is your geek life guide.

While we all dream of our own utility belt, the fashion forward know when accessorizing, less is more. To show off your particular brand of geek, try wearing a customized belt buckle. Shops like H&M and Express sell belts where you can interchange the buckle with an emblem of your choosing. Try a Superman shield or Pac-Man’s yellow face. Watch out for buckles with too much color or lines. When in doubt, less is more.

Good	Bad

Pair these eye-catching buckles with simple shirts, either solid color or with mild stripes and a pair of jeans or khakis. Tuck in a button-shirt to show off your buckle or wear a short t-shirt that comes to just around your waist. And for some extra legitimacy, try wearing a sport jacket as well. There’s nothing wrong with mixing formal and casual. It’s fun. Just don’t wear it with a tux. That’s just taboo.

For a more in-depth how to wear geeky belt buckles, please check out our newest belt buckle how to guide.

Try the:

• BuckleShop.com
• BuckleCity.com
• Alley Chicago

Every Thursday, I put my geeky gayness to the task of bring geek culture to the fashionable mainstream. This is your geek life guide.