I dig these Lego patches for old buildings:

I lost the link where this came from, but I found this Playdoh recipe in a forum comment somewhere, and it’s great:

3 cups flour
1/3 cup salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
7 drops food coloring

Mix dry ingredients with oil. Add food coloring to water and mix together. Add water to flour/salt/oil mixture slowly, about 1/4 cup at a time and mix together with a spoon. Once you’ve added all the water, knead the dough with your hands.

Here’s a project I can handle: the Speed Demon. It’s basically a rolling kite you can make out of a single paper plate. Next windy day I’ll give it a go with the girls. Oo, maybe a round cardboard pizza insert instead of a paper plate…

Identical to the previously mentioned $30 NeoCube are the $20 BuckyBalls. Can’t decide how I feel about this. Competition is good, saving $10 is good, you can’t protect an idea, just an expression of the idea, etc. But still. Anyway, very cool toy. I’ll have to get one, I’m just not sure from who.

The Orbitwheel skates look like a ton of fun. Kinda like a cross between a skateboard and rollerblades. Best of both worlds, almost. Your feet are independent like rollerblades, but you can just step into them without lacing or buckling, like a skateboard. And could they be more portable? Just chuck ‘em in your backpack.

Following right on the heels of yesterday’s grisly post comes another neodymium link, but this one replaces “grisly” with “cool”: Cool Tools on the NeoCube. I want one.

P.S. NOT for little kids. Having one in one part of your intestine and another in another part, and having them lodged because they attract each other through the intestinal walls would not be good. See, couldn’t quite avoid the “grisly” when dealing with these suckers.

I was sorry the question of a good science birthday present for a six-year-old girl got an answer so quickly; I would have liked to see that one continue on for a bit. I was going to suggest a Hexbug, which were hits here at Christmas (even if calling it a science toy is a stretch), but I have to admit the Eyeclops Bionic Eye does look pretty interesting (can’t link to the specific product, stupid Flash site).

Alrighty, no more Beanie Babies for the girls. Meet "The Common Cold":

Plush Microbes all the way!