I hope when I'm 70 that I'll still be able to see, let alone play video games. Barbara St. Hillaire is not your ordinary 70-year old grandmother. She's been a gamer for 25 years--and is quite good at yet. In fact, Electronic Gaming Monthly named her Grandma Gamer of the Year for 2005. She's played everything from Resident Evil 4 (in which she has beaten three times), Animal Crossing: Wild World, World Championship Poker, and God of War.

Recently, she had the chance to try out Guitar Hero during her first trip to MTV Studios. (Yes, grandma is a video correspondent on MTV.com's game show, G-Hole.) She likes playing Guitar Hero, but she wishes the guitar felt more substantial. The grandson, whom writes about her gaming experiences on a blog called Old Grandma Hardcore, says that his grandma's favorite song to play is David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust." Who knew?

According to her grandson, Barbara has a decent size TV in her room with GameCube, XBox, Playstation 2, SNES, and Genesis. (Someone get the woman 360!) So while other grandmothers are baking cookies, watching game shows, and doing crossword puzzles, Barbara is playing video games 12 to 16 hours a day. Wow.

[Found via Chip Chick]

Hey, it's not quite a High-Tech gadget, but it is neat.  Across the pond in Europe, the day isn't complete without a bracing beverage, so in that spirit the fittingly named HomePub combines a fridge/freezer with a door-mounted beer tap.  Similar home taps have followed the coffee-maker style model, but the HomePub looks to be a good space-saving compromise.  The HomePub website favors Warsteiner, but it looks like the fridge will accept other standard 5-liter mini kegs. 

I see the market for this being twenty-something trust-fund kids that had their dad "lend" them the down payment for their Murray Hill or Upper East Side 1BR condos, but it's still neat nonetheless.  Look to shell out around $1,100 (and figure some way to import it) for the ultimate home bar fridge.  I think I want one once I hit the Mega Millions jackpot so I can build that dream home with the uber-home theater.

[Thanks to Gizmodo for buying the first round!]

I just love astronomy. In fact, Contact is one of my favorite movies. It would probably take me a lifetime to learn the names of all the objects in the sky, but with Celestron's SkyScout Personal Planetarium ($399), it will explore the sky for you.

Sebastian Rupley of PC Magazine reports that the SkyScout instantly identifies over 6,000 objects, including planets, constellations, star clusters, and galaxies. All you do is aim the device toward the sky, hit the Target button, and you'll receive information on what you're looking at via text or audio.

The SkyScout weighs 15.2 ounces and features a GPS function, four-way navigation control, 3- by 1-inch LCD with red LED backlight, USB connection, and included earbuds. You'll also find a customized list of the 20 best objects to view for your exact date, time and location wherever you are in the world.

While the SkyScout won't be available until April 2006, you can preorder it now at many Celestron dealers, including B&H Photo, Amazon, Astronomics, and Hands On Optics.

Got a video-capable iPod? Like pop icons? Then protect your iPod with XtremeMac's collector's series of Iconz cases. The cases cover the entire face and back of the iPod offering play-through control and built-in screen protection.

Choose from Tweety, Darth Vader, Speed Racer, Homer Simpson, Batman, and Superman. What, no Spiderman or Incredible Hulk?

Available for a limited time for both the 30GB and 60GB versions, $29.95 each.

[Found via Ubergizmo]

Sounds like getting Blu-ray into the PS3 could delay the U.S. launch of the PS3 until the Fall, putting it nearly a year behind the Xbox 360. Boy, is my son going to be pissed. I have been plying him with promises of Spring ever since the Xbox shipped. With as many PlayStation games as we have, it isn't like we are going to change platforms, but still, this is starting to hurt.

Sony still says it is "shooting" for a Spring release, but it doesn't seem like it matters that much to the company. According to Yuta Sakurai, a senior analyst at Nomura Securities:

"I don't think it matters when Sony launches in the U.S. as long as it's in time for Christmas," Sakurai said. He expects Sony to try to launch the PS3 in Japan in early summer, in time for the big selling season when schools go on holiday in July.