Many of us struggle to get enough sleep every night, but is the sleep we get any good? While it's important to get enough sleep, better sleep is a greater ally than more hours of sleep. We sat down with a sleep expert and a stack of studies to help you get a better night's sleep and need less in the process. Here's how.

Most of Us Have a Hard Time Getting Enough Sleep in the First Place

Let's make sure we're on the same page from the start: You need sleep, and odds are, you may not be getting enough as it is. This guide will help you improve the quality of your sleep, so you can survive on less, but it'll be useless if you don't know how much sleep is right for you to begin with. The truth is, each of us needs a different amount of sleep to be productive, and the whole "8 hours" thing is more of a guideline than a rule. In fact, some research suggests that sleeping too much can actually be harmful to your health. Photo by Toshiyuki IMAI.

We've discussed how to get on a good sleep schedule and ditch a dysfunctional relationship with sleeping, so if you're having trouble sleeping, make sure to follow that guide first. Our goal in this post is to walk you through improving the sleep that you get to the point where you can fine tune and dial back the amount that you get to match what you really need. You'll spend less time tossing and turning, and more time getting truly restful sleep.

Why Better Sleep is More Important than More Sleep

We frequently hear about the dangers of too little sleep, but there's also research to suggest too much sleep is a problem too. One study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research concluded that quality of sleep is more important than quantity of sleep when it comes to feeling rested and rejuvenated.

So where does that leave us? First, start tracking your sleep, and find your perfect bedtime. There are great apps that can help. Eight hours of sleep is worthless if you spend all of it tossing and turning, or you only sleep for about 3-4 hours of it. Trying to fix poor sleep habits by going to bed earlier is like trying to lose weight by spending more time at the gym without actually changing the duration of your workout. Once you've learned to optimize your time, you'll see better results.

The Keys to Better, Quality Sleep

Optimizing your sleep depends heavily on three things: preparation (building good sleep habits), environment (tweaking your surroundings for optimal sleep), and timing (getting the sleep you need when you need it). We sat down with Dr. Nitun Verma, MD, a Stanford University trained specialist in sleep medicine and Medical Director of the Washington Township Center for Sleep Disorders in Freemont, to come up with some tips to help you improve the quality of your sleep so you'll need less in the long-term. Photo by Joi Ito.

Preparation

The first step is to build the habits that will help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and be more comfortable while you rest. For example:

• Exercise regularly. The goal here isn't to wear yourself out, but The National Sleep Foundation has said exercise in the afternoon can improve sleep in the evening. Specifically, morning or afternoon exercise helps you fall asleep faster with less trouble. Just be sure not to exercise right before bed, as that had the opposite effect.
• Set a kinder, gentler alarm. Ditch your incredibly loud, annoying alarm clock and try something new that will make waking up easier and more natural. Grab an alarm clock app that will wake you to music or soothing sounds, or try a wake-up light that slowly rises the light level in the room as you approach your wake-up time.
• Ditch the alcohol, cut out the caffeine, and watch the cigarettes. This one study, published in 1994, approached all three topics, and concluded that alcohol can be relaxing and help you get to sleep, but it's damaging to the sleep cycle once you're out. The end result is a choppy, restless night where you wake more frequently than you would. Caffeine has a different effect. It lengthens the 2nd phase of your sleep cycle (where your brain starts reorganizing itself and processing the day)—which is great for naps, but not for a night of deep sleep. Caffeine shortens phases three and four, where REM sleep and dreaming occur. Cigarettes on the other hand, or specifically nicotine, can be relaxing in small doses, but too much keeps you awake and prevents the onset of sleep entirely.
• Cut back on screen time. We've mentioned it before, but study after study all point to the notion that electronic devices harm our sleep cycles. Dr. Verma suggested turning off your gadgets at least 1-2 hours before bedtime, even those e-ink devices. Two hours is best, but admittedly impractical for many people. "The screens on tablets/phones/tv's are so bright, that they can confuse the brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN," he explains. "Bright light too late at night can confuse the brain into thinking it is 2pm when it is 2am. Even if sleep occurs, it will not be as deep, and therefore less restorative." Photo by Dreaming Poet (Shutterstock).
• Meditate before bed. We've shared one sleep-oriented meditation method designed to help you fall asleep, but there are many others. Try visualizing a dream you'd like to have, or if you've woken up in the middle of the night, relax, focus on sleeping, and try to visualize where your dream left off.
• Improve your evening ritual. Your evening ritual is important, and if you're not working in everything from a snack (you don't want to go to bed hungry, you'll wake up or sleep restlessly) to going to the bathroom (waking frequently to go to the bathroom can lead to shallow sleep all night and throw off your sleep cycle), you may suffer for it. Start a healthy "sleep routine" of winding down that starts long before your head hits the pillow.

Environment

Before you lay down to sleep, you should also make sure your environment is conducive to a good night's rest:

• Make sure your bed is actually comfortable. We've said this several times before, but put your money where your time goes. Since most of us will spend an average of 24 years of our lives asleep, your bed deserves serious investment. Buy the right mattress, pick some good pillows, and pick up some good sheets. Don't underestimate the power of a more comfortable comforter, a pillowtop over your old mattress, or even a cooling pillow. Your bed is important, and you should make sure it improves your sleep, not hinder it. Photo by Alliance.
• Adjust the temperature. Some studies have shown that optimal sleeping temperature for most adults is between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Too much warmer than that and you start having difficulty with insomnia. Again, studies say one thing, but find your sweet spot—sometimes a cool room and a hot water bottle in bed, or maybe a fan going over your body is all you need to feel just right.
• Filter out the light. LEDs and standby lights from electronics can cause just as much havoc with your sleep cycle as a glowing phone or tablet screen. We've already banished your electronic devices—or at least turned them off, but make sure to cover up that pulsating light on your laptop while it's charging too. Cover up those lights on your cable box, TV, or any other devices in standby near your bed while you're at it. There are products for this, but even some tape will do. If you live somewhere lit at all hours like I do, invest in a sleeping mask. Whether you shell out for the expensive adjustable kind that mold to your face and have cushions or just grab a dollar-store mask that's essentially cloth with an elastic band, it'll work wonders for your sleep. Plus, if you work off-hours and have to sleep through sunrise or during the day, it'll help you get better rest.
• Cut out the distractions. Kids waking you up? You may not be able to do much about that, but if your phone is waking you up, buzzing with notifications or new emails, it's time to turn it off, set some quiet hours, improve your notifications so they help you sleep, or just set it to silent when you go to bed. If your neighborhood is noisy and that keeps you from sleeping, try a white noise generator or some soothing music to drown it out and help you rest. Photo by maxriesgo (Shutterstock).

Timing

You already know that how long you sleep is important, but for the best possible sleep, you really should go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. The debate rages over the concept of "sleep debt" and whether it can be "paid off" by sleeping in, and different experts say different things about it.

Dr. Verma suggests an alternative: "An often overlooked way for people to optimize their sleep is to wake at the same time every day, or at least within the same hour. So rather than oversleep on off days, waking at the same time and then taking a nap allows the extra sleep without disrupting the normal wake/sleep schedule."

He continues, "Many of my patients have such a different weekday/weekend wake schedule that they are experiencing the same sleepiness that people who are jet-lagged. Even two hours difference hurts, especially if they are already sleep deprived." If that's the case, and you still don't want to adjust your sleep schedule, maybe our tips on beating jet lag can help.

Get Help From the Experts

Finally, if you're having trouble getting quality sleep, or even if you sleep for long periods and don't feel rested, it may be time to talk to your doctor. There could be any number of medical issues causing your sleep problems, all of them treatable. You may be suffering from chronic insomnia, which is treatable with mild sedatives. You could also be suffering from sleep apnea, or some other undiagnosed condition that, once treated, can turn the hours you get into the most restful you've ever had. Ultimately, the only way to know for sure is to check with your doctor, and possibly submit to a sleep test that'll settle the issue once and for all. Photo by Eric Schmuttenmaer.

Once you have your sleep issues sorted out, whether by the professionals or through our tips above, you can start to fine tune the amount of sleep you actually get to make sure you only take away as much as you actually need. If you've been sleeping nine or ten hours because it's the only way to feel rested, but once you start wearing a mask and ditching the gadgets before bed, you find that you feel just as rested after eight, you can start to edge back to see what happens. Bonus: you'll get two extra hours in your day to do the things you want to do, and your mind and body won't be worse for the wear as a result.

Dr. Nitun Verma, MD is a specialist in sleep medicine and the Medical Director of the Washington Township Center for Sleep Disorders in Freemont. He has offered his tips for better sleep here before, and he graciously volunteered his expertise for this piece as well. We thank him.

Officials mutilated the start of an overtime period last night in Milwaukee, casting doubt on the outcome of what would eventually be a 82-76 Marquette victory over UConn and tarnishing the already-black reputation of referee Karl Hess.

Hess, last seen in this space ejecting former NBA players Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani from the stands, lined the teams up in the wrong direction to start overtime—which was then complicated by a Marquette goaltend on a UConn shot.

After several minutes of debate, the goaltend was waved off (as UConn had been shooting at their own basket) and Marquette awarded the ball on the alternating possession. The opening tip blunder notwithstanding, did Hess and his fellow officials follow the right procedure to right the ridiculous wrong? No, says NBC Sports' Rob Dauster. His interpretation of the rules (and we're inclined to believe it) states UConn's basket should have counted, since it occurred before referees recognized the mistake. Color us unsurprised Karl Hess made a bad situation worse. [ESPNU]

Happy New Year, folks! As a fake mailman wandering post-apocalyptic America, I love the holidays, mainly because of the few things I actually remember about the U.S. Postal Service, I remember Federal holidays. So far, I've managed to convince a few folk that they involved federally mandated backrubs and foot massages for yours truly. As always, email your questions to postman@io9.com, and now, on with your letters!

General Who-liganism

Jake:
I love io9, there's strictly no other place like it and I visit everyday, a few times a day. However, I just can't understand why your staff write about Dr. Who so much, so often. Like any other show, movie or story franchise, I can understand little spike in activity in particular series from time to time but you guys have this uber-persistent hard-on for writing about Dr. Who. I never really got into the show, so I'm not your target audience but it's besides me how you think to write about Dr. Who three to five times a day. It's like Apple and the tech blogs, what gives?

I won't deny there's a lot of love for Doctor Who around these parts — personally, I enjoy it, although I don't feel the need to own it or anything — but I know io9 does try to keep its coverage of pretty much everything balanced, whether it be Who, Wars, Trek, or whatever. I believe what you're referring to are the days around Christmas, when 1) there was not a lot of news happening and 2) almost all of it was Who-related, mostly because of or inspired by the Doctor Who Christmas special.

I won't pretend to speak for io9 — that's Annalee and Charlie Jane's job — but having run a news website myself, I know it's an awkward position to be in. Do you not cover the news, because it's all Doctor Who, or do you still cover it because it's news? There's no right answer, really. But rest assured the abundance of Who-ness around the holidays was noted by us, drove us crazy too, and was certainly not our preference.

Crystal Ball

Crystal M.:
What are you most and least looking forward to in 2013?

Well, the easy answer is Iron Man 3. I mean, an Iron Man movie written and directed by Shane Black of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang fame, the movie that relaunched Robert Downey Jr.'s career? Yes, please. I mean, watch that movie and you'll see exactly why Marvel originally decided to cast RDJ as Tony Stark. I'm also weirdly excited for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, despite the first one being pretty mediocre and the sequel getting delayed to inject more Channing Tatum into it. It genuinely looks like a live-action G.I. Joe movie to me — guns, vehicles, ninjas, no ridiculous accelerator suits, and a Cobra Commander who's actually recognizable as Cobra Commander.

As for Least… well, although I'm more apprehensive about Man of Steel than most people — I really think DC, WB, Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder are trying to make Chris Nolan's Superman, and I don't think Nolan's approach will work for the character - I can't say I'm dreading it. What I am dreading is King of the Nerds, TBS' reality show/contest with the Revenge of the Nerds guys. I assume it will set my people back several decades.

Weighty Affairs, Part IV:

The Effervescent One:
Dearest Mr. Postman,
In response to the age-old question, "How much is in a shit-ton", I had asked an Engineer (with a capital "E") of the Computers persuasion. He pondered, he contemplated the tip of his nose, his eyes glazed over after a while.. but eventually that "EUREKA!" spark flashed over his head and he announced thusly: "A fucking-lot!".
So, as the Answer to the Ultimate Question is "42", the Answer to the measurement of A Shit-Ton is "A Fucking-Lot".

I thought a fucking-lot was a lot where people fucked.

The Drinking Dead

George E.:
Can zombies get drunk? And if you're drunk and they eat your flesh and brains, could they get drunk off you?

Well, while the popular opinion seems to be that zombies don't have working circulatory systems, which would be necessary to get booze to the zombie's brain and thus make it "drunk," there's actually decent evidence that it does have one. After all, the zombie's nervous system still works in a rudimentary way. Moreover, as the Zombie Research Society points out, if zombie blood actually acted like a dead person's blood, it would inevitably pool at the zombies feet until they exploded, and the zombie would be left to shuffle on skinless, muscle-less feet. Since zombies are all too ambulatory, I think it's safe to assume there's some sort of blood flow happening there.

So if zombies have a partially working brain and circulatory system, I don't see any reason why, if you dumped a bottle of vodka down a zombie's throat, it wouldn't get drunk. What that would mean, though, I'm not sure. Zombies stagger around already, so it seems likely they'd very quickly fall down. I imagine they'd forget their hunger for brains and/or human flesh for the time being. If they got too drunk, I'd think they'd just sort of lock up, like a computer trying to process bad information.

But could a zombie get drunk off a person? The human body only processes about half an ounce of pure alcohol per hour, i.e. one beer or a glass of wine, or about 2/3rds of a standard mixed drink like a rum and coke (things like martinis are usually more, obviously). But the first question is how many ounces of alcohol can a person get into their body for a zombie to ingest?

Very generally each drink raises your blood-alcohol content 0.025%. When you have a BAC of 0.2-0.3%, you're likely black-out drunk; when it's 0.3-0.4%, you're likely piss-your-own-pants drunk; and above 0.4% you're pretty much unconscious. But say you're fed up with the zombie apocalypse, and want to go out in a blaze of drunken glory, and manage to drink enough that your blood-alcohol level is a terrifying 0.5% when the zombies get you.

Technically, as shit-faced as you are, you're still only a lightly brandy-soaked ladyfinger to a zombie. Even if zombie managed to drunk all your alcohol-sodden blood in the process of eating your flesh and brains, that's still only a drink with a proof of 1%. But surely some post-apocalyptic despot could get, say 50 people shit-faced drunk, put their unconscious bodies in a room with a peckish zombie, and see what happened.

Green Power:

Wiley1gh:
What's the nerdiest food to make?

Huh. Well, there's a lot of nerdy foods (more beverages) but the two nerdiest foods I can think of are Soylent Green and lembas bread from Lord of the Rings. I'm going to assume the best here and say that making Soylent Green isn't an option for you, so here's a recipe for lembas bread, courtesy of The Geeky Chef:

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 c. honey
3 fruits of the Mallorn tree (kumquats)
2 tsp. orange blossom or rose water (optional)
3 oz. chopped almonds or macadamia nuts
¼ c. melted butter
2 ¼ c. flour
½ tsp. salt

Directions:
Put the eggs, honey, kumquats, rose or orange flower water, and nuts in a food processor or blender. Blend on high for 2-4 minutes. Add 1 cup of the flour. Blend for a minute or two. Put mixture into a bowl and add the remaining flour and the salt. Whisk or stir until well blended. Bake lembas on a pizzelle or iron about 15 seconds each or until lightly brown. Cut into desired sized pieces. Wrap in a leaf and tie with a string!

The site has many more recipes if you're not in the mood for kumquat bread.

A New Hope

KilowogTrout:
This has been on my mind since the Disney-Star Wars merger of 2012.
Who, how and what would have made the Star Wars prequels good?

I have literally lain awake some nights, unable to sleep because I was so consumed with the idea of how I could make the prequels better. I won't go into my entire diatribe, but here's a few ways I'd at least have started the saga:

• Anakin is a teen Luke's age, not a young kid.
• Anakin is the prequel's equivalent of Han Solo - fun, dashing, adventurous, whose cockiness and volatile emotions help lead him to the dark side.
• Anakin blames the Jedi for refusing to free the slaves in general and his mother in particular, meaning he blames them for his mother's needless death.
• The Jedi are losing their sense of the Force because they've become too regimented and cut off from society and others, exemplified in their "no love" rule. Yoda realizes this, but far too late.
• Only one primary villain in the trilogy, preferably Count Dooku (because Christopher Lee is the best, although his character can be named something other than Dooku).

A good prequel trilogy is of such importance to me that I've actually sat down and written some plot summaries — which means yes, I have effectively written Star Wars fan fic (non-erotic, mind you) — which are much too long and embarrassing to print here. So sorry.

Do you have a letter for or to the Postman? Questions about nerd culture? Theories you want to share? Advice you need? Email postman@io9.com!

This is the year it all finally happens. This is the year where we cross the trips off the bucket list and get the project car running. This is the year that has Jalopnik readers delivering on their promise "next year, in Monaco!"

Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

It seems like automotive New Year's resolutions are the only resolutions we keep. Who really needs to go to the gym anyway, when you can work out wrenching on a project car, or driving with no A/C or power steering?

Of course this isn't the first year we've made these resolutions. Last year we resolved to buy a classic car, damn the bureaucracy. Today Matt has a busted Merkur in the garage and I'm headed to get a very questionable $1,500 '73 VW Baja Bug inspected in Manhattan. We've kept up our resolutions, then. What about you guys?

If you made a resolution that we missed, or if you finished one from last year, let us know in Kinja below.

Photo Credit: Niklas Emmerich Photography

10.) Learn To Drive Stick

Don't let anyone tell you you're not a real gearhead if you don't use three pedals, but you should learn how to use a clutch anyway. It's just fun to have it at your disposal, and while it's never as fast, there's something satisfying about slotting in a perfect shift, or just clinching a perfect heel-toe downshift. Don't worry, we'll show you how.

Suggested By: Sun_Tzubaru and Therealminigearhead, Photo Credit: Garret Voight

9.) Get A Motorcycle License

For some reason, even our own Patrick George is going to get his bike license and enter the world of #TwoWheelsBad. We look forward to seeing his accident photos, and remind him over every set of stitches when he talks lane splitting and back roads bombing.

Suggested By: Patrick George, Photo Credit: Madhavi Kuram

8.) Tune The Daily Driver

We at Jalopnik love ourselves some oddball cars, and it's going to take everything in our power to keep them from becoming beaters. Vacuum leaks need fixing, brakes need upgrading, suspension needs dropping, and engines need rebuilding. The list never ends.

Suggested By: Biased_Waffles, Photo Credit: Biased_Waffles

7.) Get On The Track

It's time to get off the road and onto the track this year. We're talking more karting, more trackdays, and finally, finally get ourselves in the seat in LeMons. Definitely LeMons. We love the backroads as much as the next guy, but there's nothing like wheel-to-wheel road racing, even if it's in a rusty Honda Civic deathtrap.

Suggested By: Clown Shoe Pilot and ninjacoco, Photo Credit: Telstar Logistics

6.) Impress At My First USF2000 Test

There are those among us that already have plenty of track time under their belts, and eharken123 is even working his way up the pro ladder. We're behind him 100%.

I want to finish what will hopefully be my last year of karting with a bang, and impress Afterburner Autosport, at my first USF2000 test. Look out Indy here I come!

Suggested By: eharken123, Photo Credit: IMS Photo

5.) Head To Monaco

It's time to start crossing trips off the life list. We've got a whole list of ultimate trips to take, but DJHerbert is headed to the carspotting capital of the world, Monaco. We're pretty jealous.

Suggested By: DJHerbert, Photo Credit: Alexandre Prévot

4.) Go To The Races

It's simple; you've gotta get to a race track. Much as we dream of faraway places, there's so much car culture happening within our reach. We at the Jalopnik offices made it to the Canadian Grand Prix, the US Grand Prix, and a half dozen other tracks down in the Lone Star State, and every experience was eye-openingly awesome. Even if you're not racing, get yourself to the nearest drag strip, road course, or rally route and get involved.

Suggested By: Astonman1985, Photo Credit: Matt Hardigree/Jalopnik

3.) Road Trip More

All we want to do, really, is drive more. It almost doesn't matter where you're going, it just about enjoying the thrill of the road. We can't say it enough; just get in your car and drive.

Suggested By: bobbycrumpley and Xedicon, Photo Credit: Raphael Orlove

2.) Buy My Dream Car

This year we bite the bullet; this year we buy our dream car. It doesn't have to be a new car at all (not that we would turn away a VW Phaeton or a Mazdaspeed3 or anything), but it's time we stop talking about the cars of our dreams and just buy them. Our readers have plans to buy a deuce coupe, a Saab Turbo, a Plymouth Superbird (so long as that lottery ticket is a winner), and a Maserati BiTurbo. Yes, even a Maserati BiTurbo.

Suggested By: Hoccy, Photo Credit: Maserati

1.) Finish The Project Car

Of course, there are those among us who resolved to buy their dream cars in years past, and now they are saddled with fixing their totally-unjustifiable four-wheeled paperweights. We have British sports cars, classic American land yachts, a vintage muscle truck, dedicated autocross machines, and one particularly hot ‘65 Mustang that we can't wait to see on the road.

Suggested By: Everyone, Photo Credit: Cortex Racing

Speak Up on Kotaku may be no more, but its legacy lives on in The 2012 Speakys, organized by and voted on by our readers.

Longtime commenter GiantBoyDetective is administering the voting once again. (He also made the logo.) Votes are being tallied for best games on all platforms, with write-in options if your favorite isn't among them. The survey is here.

To gab about your picks, here's the discussion thread over on Talk Amongst Yourselves.

First it was the Lego Batman action figure. Then it was Lego Spiderman. And now Gizmodo friend Michael McCooey has created another awesome, fully posable Lego superhero action figure: Iron Man.

If you want to see this turn into reality, please vote it up in its Lego Cuusoo page.

Also, remember to vote his Lego Spiderman and Lego Batman.

There's a notion among amateur photographers that spending thousands of dollars on high-end DSLRs will instantly turn every shot into a masterpiece. But in reality, a talented and skilled photographer can create magic with any caliber of hardware—even a $20 Buzz Lightyear camera designed for three year-olds, as David Hobby of Strobist proves.

Accompanied by only a trio of low-end flash units, David joined DigitalRev's Kai Wong on a Hong Kong shooting challenge that forced him to rely on his skills and resourcefulness in lieu of highly customizable hardware. And not surprisingly, the results are far more impressive than what most DSLR-touting tourists are able to capture.

[YouTube via PetaPixel]

Every year on December 25th, Jesus throws himself a huge birthday party and everyone is invited and everyone brings a present for someone else (unique gifting idea coined by Jesus) and it is just, like, known that this day is Jesus' birthday so you shouldn't make any other plans.

So of course, textbook mean girls Brad and Angelina chose to upstage Jesus by throwing their wedding on his special day. (Allegedly.)

The Telegraph reports that the frenemies of Christ were married Christmas Day in Turks and Caicos, at an estate owned by Donna Karan. All of the couple's children were in attendance, even Knox who is like whatever, as were Brad's parents and siblings.

Know who was not in attendance? Donna Karan. A source revealed to Page Six that the designer was not observing Island Time over the holiday, which means that Brad and Angelina must have guessed her security passcode (80085), broken into her house, forced a kidnapped yacht captain to marry them in the pantry, and successfully defended the complex against pirates and the island police via a deadly combination of guns with the serial numbers filed off and "squatters' rights," for several days.

The Telegraph reports that, like the couple's children, Karan's Parrot Cay estate is "styled in a hybrid Indonesian/African style." Karan has described it as "a cocoon of serenity."

Representatives for Pitt and Jolie have yet to officially confirm that the nuptials indeed took place, but if you wanted to get married at Donna Karan's house without any news outlets or Donna Karan knowing about it, Christmas does seem like the perfect day to do it.

In November, Brad Pitt said of the much-anticipated wedding would happen "The time is nigh. It's soon."

A spokesman for Jesus has yet to comment on the slight.

Telegraph // Image via Getty

Anyone who's ever writhed in pain after crushing a Lego block underfoot will appreciate Australian-based Luxford St.'s take on the classic Ottoman. Crafted from recycled pool table felt and stuffed with sturdy polyurethane foam, the footrest is a perfect 1:20 scale version of a size four Lego block and is perfect for putting your feet up. Or building life-sized forts.

At $89 it's a great way to scratch your nostalgia itch, but you might want to hold out until this golden yellow Block Bag is available. It's a 1:10 scale version of the classic six-stud Lego block that of course doesn't have to be used for hauling around plastic brick. But why not?

[Etsy via Pocket-lint]

In July, after the NCAA swung its sledgehammer and imposed sanctions that turned the Penn State football program into a bunch of porcelain shards, we argued that the school actually had a good antitrust case against the NCAA if it wanted to bring a lawsuit. Two leading sports law experts told us that the NCAA's legal authority to punish its member institutions didn't extend as far as the association thought it did. Only Penn State's acquiescence to the punishments made them legal.

But it was Penn State president Rodney Erickson who agreed to the sanctions, and he has a boss: Governor Tom Corbett. In a press conference later today, Corbett will announce that Pennsylvania is suing the NCAA over the sanctions in federal court. Penn State reportedly has no involvement with the lawsuit; the school has been overruled.

The Associated Press almost says but doesn't say that the suit will have something to do with the NCAA's nationwide disbursement of Penn State's $60 million fine. Pennsylvania legislators had hoped the money, to fight child abuse, would be spent in the state. But Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel, who broke the story, says that the suit would likely "transcend" that issue. We anticipate a similar transcendence. That's a political matter, one that could probably be fixed through negotiation.

It's the large-scale competitive sanctions against Penn State, though, which constitute a potential overstepping of the NCAA's powers. The state could argue that, 2012 success aside, Penn State's scholarship cuts, fine, and bowl bans make it more difficult for the university to recruit students, donors, and faculty. The courts might construe that as an illegal restraint of trade—the Supreme Court ruled in NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma that the association can't regulate big business.

All that said, the complication lingering near Pennsylvania's case is the same one that could have thwarted a potential Penn State case: Do jurists really want to strike down sanctions—however excessive and opportunist—that nominally punish child abuse and the coverup thereof? The NCAA is nothing if not supremely canny.

Paula Papen found her 8-year-old son using her iPad to mess around on eBay, so she did what any parent who doesn't mind scarring their children for life would do: She convinced him he'd accidentally purchased a $50,000 Ford Mustang and there was no way to cancel the sale.

Though she did let the prank wander deep into trauma territory, to her credit, Papen did eventually tell Kenyon the truth. "Trust me, my son is fine, no permanent damage," Papen wrote in response to criticism. "And if there is, we know some really good therapists."

[Viral Viral Videos]

Will we ever reach the point of saturation when it comes to celebrating a person's pregnancy? Added to baby showers and gender reveal parties, we now have ultrasound parties, in which an expectant mother can hire an ultrasound tech to bring a sonogram machine to her house so that her friends and family can take a look at her insides. At least the gender reveal parties have cake.

As Today reports, the trend for the ultrasound parties is growing, and companies are forming to accommodate the demand. Baby Face and More, Peek-a-View, and Miracles Imaging charge $100 - $350 to perform 3D/4D ultrasounds in a party atmosphere.

But as one OB/GYN Dr. Amber Sills points out ultrasounds are used to "diagnose chromosomal disorders, malformations, and to aid in estimating fetal weight or the amount of amniotic fluid." They aren't intended for entertainment, or even to reveal gender. Technically, they are only approved under a prescription because the long-term effects are still unknown. Additionally, in 2008 the FDA took an official "unapproved" position on ultrasound keepsake photos and videos.

What if an ultrasound tech sees something troubling? That would really poop a party.

Image via lexan/Shutterstock

Ultrasound parties: New frontier in pregnancy oversharing [Today]

A good way to do check if something is an inherent right or just a privilege is to see if women are being denied it. Suffrage? Inherent right. Free speech? Inherent right. Driving? Inherent right. It's what our "Drive free or Die" motto is all about. The freedom of movement largely means the freedom to drive, and women in large parts of the world don't have the same access we enjoy here.

For example, female passengers in the strongly Islamic city of Aceh, Indonesia are banned from straddling motorbikes — a common mode of travel — because the position is "improper." Granted, women can straddle the bike if they're driving so long as they are dressed "in a Muslim way"

That sounds totally safe but is, sadly, better than many other places. Where's the worst country for women drivers?

(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of the Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)

(Hat tip to Chookasaurus

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Windows: Windows 8 has a new boot loader with a graphic interface and options like troubleshooting problems. It's harder now, though, to quickly get to advanced options or load a different OS (e.g., by pressing F8). Boot UI Tuner solves this problem, allowing you to configure your boot options and tweak the boot loader.

The small, portable utility enables you to very quickly and easily tweak Windows 8's boot screen and options at startup. Just check off the ones you want—e.g., show advanced options like using safe mode or bring back the Windows 7-style boot loader. The changes will take effect when you restart.

You can also disable the Windows logo, loading circle, and messages, potentially speeding up your start time with this free utility.

Boot UI Tuner | Winaero via Tweaking with Vishal

Samsung is kicking off 2013 with a the Series 7 SC770 Touch Monitor that's optimized for Windows 8. The 24-inch LCD supports up to 10 points of simultaneous touch on its 1080 x 1920 display and rotates 90 degrees to a vertical portrait setup so you can take full advantage of Microsoft's flexible new OS. Still no word on pricing or availability, but hopefully we'll hear more at CES next week. [Samsung]

You'd think after the first mishap, the Today Show's producers would have learned that wine, heels and dogs don't mix. They did not.

Wednesday on Today's fourth hour of giggles and secrets, co-host Hoda Kotb, herself a wild Egyptian goddess, attempted to hold a white dog, wild in his own way; neither could be tamed. As the dog attempted to free himself from Hoda's boozy grasp, a word that dare not be uttered escaped from her lips.

Like a fart in church, "shit-gate" was ignored and Hoda's wild spirit lived to drink another day.

Penguin is releasing new editions of five of books by George Orwell, with covers by designer David Pearson. Perhaps the best of the new designs is Pearson's simple but brilliant idea for 1984, with the title and author's name apparently censored with black foiling.

The black bars only obscure the text at a glance, however; they'll still be visible in the right light. Pearson acknowledges that the design is a bit risky, but it's a dramatic look, almost as if some government ministry had tried to hide the book from the public.

Creative Review has the rest of the covers from Pearson's Orwell series.

Orwell, covered up [Creative Review via Geyser of Awesome]

It sounds a little wild, but egg membranes are purported to be helpful in stopping bleeding and keeping wounds intact until further medical assistance can be found. A National Institute of Health study found that egg membrane might be an ideal covering for skin graft dressings due to properties of wound protection, pain relief, and promotion of healing so it might not be so crazy after all.

Of course you won't throw away a box of Band-Aids for a dozen eggs but if you don't have any sterile bandages on hand it's an alternative worth considering. The membrane can be difficult to remove without practice, so give it a try when you're making breakfast—once you've cracked your egg and poured out the egg white and yolk, you should be able to grab a small amount of membrane with your fingertips and gently peel it away.

Again, we don't recommend making this your go-to solution for cuts and scrapes but it's worth knowing in the same way that the ability to weld metal using your car battery or how to bake a cake inside an orange peel might be handy to know someday.

Note - I originally found this tip on Pinterest and the link below is the best source I've found, but it references a Tumblr site that no longer contains the post. If anyone can find the original source please let me know and I'll credit it.

Use an Egg Membrane to Stop Bleeding | Tips on Food Storage

The brain is all about connections. Little jolts of electricity jumping from between thousands of interconnected neurons to send a message. It's a crazy house up there. This brain is sort of the same way, made with hardly anything but thousands of drops of solder—metal neurons, if you will—and coursing with the energy to light up an LED. Sure, that's not quite the same as thinking, but it's still pretty cool.

The piece, called "Light of Thought" was made by Kouichi Okamoto, who painstakingly traced the solder-brain's pathways with his own hands...and soldering iron. The LED in the middle lights up thanks to the negative electrode that's the right "lobe" and a positive electrode that's the left, symbolizing the how two opposite halves work together as a whole to make an idea, or something. Probably that, though.

The whole piece is encased in resin, and is on display at the Libby Sellers Gallery in London from January 10th to the 25th. [Designboom]

Sometimes the New York Times profiles people that are genuine monsters of upper-class naiveté and privilege — like, say, the parents that fly their kids flown to summer camp on private jets or The Ivy Plus Society. But sometimes the NYT does stories on well-meaning people whose lives end up looking really inane in print, like the non-married spouses who fret about the ridiculous names and phrases they call each other.

Here is writer Elizabeth Weil setting the stage for this scintillating trend story:

NOW that we've come to some consensus on same-sex marriage, let's move on to the next puzzle: what to call two people who act as if they are married but are not.

Here's the first thing: that isn't the next puzzle! There are so, so, soooo many more puzzles left to complete. The "what to call two people who act as if they are married but are not" puzzle is so far deep in the puzzle closet that no one is going to look for it for years. And when they find it, there will be three dead spiders in the box.

Here's our first subject:

"I went through a phase of just calling him Eric, even to people who didn't know who that was," said the master wordsmith Ann Kjellberg, 50, editor of the journal Little Star and the literary executor of the poet Joseph Brodsky. Eric Zerof spent 15 years as her live-in not-spouse and is the father of Ms. Kjellberg's child. "I kept thinking, ‘This should not be this hard!' I was very unhappy about the situation. I could never find a word I liked."

It shouldn't be this hard because it isn't this hard. "Eric" is just fine. You could never find a word you liked because you're a master wordsmith that edits a journal. It's your curse.

Next, Weil elaborates on the dilemma:

Everyone agrees that partner sounds awful - too anodyne, empty, cold. Lover may be worse - too sexualized, graphic, one-dimensional. Boyfriend sounds too young. Significant other sounds too '80s. Special friend or just friend (both favored by the 65-and-over crowd) are just too ridiculous.

It's almost — almost — as is if this entire discussion is just too ridiculous, and that adults should just explain the situation with whoever they're talking to. Even though we like to think that we live inside Seinfeld, we don't. There are real problems out there, you guys!

Anne Tierney, 32, a bodyworker in West Palm Beach, Fla., went for "fusband," which, she explains, is a catchall for "fake husband, future husband." (Ms. Tierney's fusband, Ozzy, calls Ms. Tierney "wifey.") Technically the two are engaged, but Ms. Tierney said: "The word fiancé makes me cringe. What am I, in France?"

Fusband!!!!!! You actually have to hand it to Tierney, "fusband" catches just about everything. Funny husband, facetious husband, frustrating husband, famous husband, fanciful husband, farting husband. Definitely farting husband. I love it.

Next suggestion?

Joan Linder, 42, an artist and associate professor of visual studies at the University at Buffalo, lives with the man she winkingly calls her baby daddy

Ahh, steamy. Wink wink.

"It's the last stage of connection to rebellion, punk rock, countercultural - all those pieces of my youth."

Oh.

Being gay does not make the terminology of unmarriage any easier. "I usually go with boyfriend, which makes people ask how long we've been dating," said Brett Berk, 43, who has been not-married to his boyfriend, Tal McThenia, 45, for 23 years. "But partner is disgusting. So it's boyfriend - or antagonist."

Things really shouldn't be getting this serious. They shouldn't! It's just a word. It's okay.

Oh, hey, it's Katie Roiphe.

The culture critic Katie Roiphe, author of "In Praise of Messy Lives," agreed that our lame vocabulary reveals our unease. "We have only stiff or silly phrases - like significant other, partner or baby daddy," she said. "To me this signals a discomfort and a lack of acceptance."

Uh huh.

Ms. Roiphe, unmarried herself, prefers "the older, more comic phrases: consort and paramour."

Now, that's what I call comedy.

Conclusion?

Still, Ms. Kjellberg, who eventually did marry for health insurance, remains puzzled by the lexicographic problem. "Not marrying really seems like a perfectly normal way of going about things," she said. "Do we really need to be stuck with such horrible terms?"

No, we don't. It's okay — here's a suggestion: fusband! I know it's weird, but it's just a word. It will all come out eventually. These poor people, without a single appropriate word to refer to another person. Also, these poor people, made to look like frivolous fools by the New York Times when in reality they're perfectly harmless and are more or less aware of the foolishness of the situation. The paper of record! The Grey Lady! Hey, that's a good one...

[via New York Times, image via Shutterstock]