caves

A skilled Lego hobbyist has pieced together a detailed monument to The Dark Knight in time for Comic-Con in San Diego.

Flickr member "Orion Pax" (Alex Schranz) gave CNET and Crave permission to share his Batcave creation. Schranz reports that he "terminated" between 8,000 and 9,000 parts to build the cave.

In other words, the bricks in question are committed to this one-of-a-kind build. Lego Batman's lair stands on a 40-studs square base, 68 standard bricks high. If you don't know the size of a standard Lego brick, what in Gotham did you spend your childhood doing?

Schranz installed a neon lamp behind the scene for its moody lighting, and he took these photos with a Canon EOS 1000D. The entire project took about one week to finish.

"I always felt like doing something with all the collected Batman (Lego pieces)," Schranz said. "I'm working on a new piece now, and it should be done in a week or so."

For a more thorough tour of the Caped Crusader's plastic home, check out our gallery. … Read more

Nissan is angling to broaden commercial appeal of its cargo van by marketing the NV2500 as a mobile man cave.

To support Team Radio Shack on the Amgen Tour of California, Nissan kitted out a cargo van and turned it into what it described as a "man cave on wheels" equipped with satellite TV, bike tools, air hose, espresso machine, and bikes. The vehicle's maximum cargo height of 76.5 inches and nearly vertical sidewalls made it easy to accommodate aftermarket storage systems and cycling gear with enough space to stand and move around the interior. Occupants … Read more

Moving is always a time-consuming, life-upending experience, but it can also be an opportunity to rework, rewire, or completely redesign your multimedia setup. Having just moved 60-odd boxes, plus furniture, from one end of SoHo to the other (well, the movers moved, but I packed), that's the situation I currently find myself in.

As a native Manhattanite, I know going into any new apartment situation requires savvy use of minimal space. And in fact, while my new place is a larger than my old one (with an extra bedroom for the summertime arrival of Ackerman Jr. and a private … Read more

Wine is best enjoyed when it is shared among family and friends. However, the wine experience itself can be improved upon simply by having a bottle (or more) at the ready. After all, nobody is going to want to go on a wine run when the fun is just starting. Add to that the fact that chances are the wine will need to be chilled, and suddenly it becomes apparent that a little forethought goes a long way. However, having wine chilled and ready to drink can be bothersome, clumsy, ineffective and most importantly, space-challenged. That is, unless you have … Read more

Retro is an affordable, slickly produced cave-flyer game, similar to arcade classics such as Lunar Lander and Gravitar. You pilot a small ship that must navigate through increasingly tortuous caverns to rescue stranded scientists, tilting left and right while making judicious use of your main thruster to control your trajectory and overcome gravity's pull.

The interface makes smart use of your iPhone or iPod Touch's accelerometer for the game's core mechanic: you tilt the device to steer, and you tap the screen to thrust. You have to make a series of safe landings on each increasingly intricate … Read more

I've been on the phone with several iPhone application developers this week and the common thread has been that all are excited about the success of the iPhone App Store. But one of the developers wanted to point out that one of his applications that's been around since the beginning, but hadn't seen much exposure yet. After checking it out, I decided to include it in this weeks post.

This week's applications include a free photo-driven social-networking application and a game that plays like a classic stand-up arcade game from the past.

PhotoShare (free) from Big … Read more

White or red? It may be a common question that we ask ourselves when pondering which bottle to open for dinner. Especially when our palates have expanded beyond the simple "white with fish, red with beef" mantra of generations past. I mean, what about tofu? Sometimes a hearty red is what the situation calls for. However, our wine drinking predecessors were right on many an occasion. For example, the delicate flavor of fish usually is best with a white. So the best (and most fun) answer is simple. Open one of each. Ah, but then we will end … Read more

As more bored millionaires spend untold sums on movie-themed theaters, we're pleased to find that not all of them are based on Star Trek or Star Wars. (Just 99.9 percent.)

Yet none of these, in our humble opinion, can compare with the "Bat Cave" seen on Slippery Brick. The latest custom job by Canada's Elite Home Theater Seating provides an impressive subterranean atmosphere, from its dramatic lighting to ersatz stalactites.

As far as options are concerned, the sky's the limit (to mix a few metaphors). The bat-shadow screen cover, however, should be required.

Three college students were rescued Sunday after spending two days in a narrow limestone cave under the streets of Austin, Texas.

What stands out to me about the rescue effort is that high-tech gear was of little or no use to the emergency workers.

Cell phones and even radios were useless in the underground complex. Rescue workers resorted--successfully--to a Vietnam-era phone system, thousands of feet of telephone cable, and glow sticks, according to an article in the Austin-American Statesman. And, oh yeah, just as important were the skinny rescue workers who were willing to subject themselves to the claustrophobia-inducing cave. … Read more