This MatCatz Street Fighter IV Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition:  The Femme Fatale Edition was submitted by DarkMethod 10k, who stood in a very long line at PAX 2009 to get this limited edition fighting stick.  To be honest, I was hoping someone would submit this because I had heard about it and knew it was a rare piece.  Thanks, DarkMethod 10K!

This piece of barbarian goodness from Civilization Revolution was submitted by ATC 1982.  This piece get props because ATC 1982 says it’s his favorite piece.  Out of the ones he submitted, this is one of mine of his.  I love the detail on this figure!

Lizzie Johnson submitted this cool piece of swag from when the Halo ODST firetruck visited her hometown.  Very cool, Lizzie!

This piece of gaming bling was submitted by Spookty, who won this award at at a Game Stop competition playing Star Chase.   He placed in a few different games, but won the Star Chase event.  Grats, Spookty, and thank you!

See all of our great entries at the Show Me Your Swag flickr Photostream!

I want more entries for next month!!  Send me an e-mail at jennabee25 @ yahoo.com with your name, the name you want credit as, a jpg photo of your swag, and tell me about it!  I want to hear from you!  I’ll pick my favorite three or four entries for the month and all entries will be posted on the flickr stream.

It’s the component in many of our favorite sodas. It makes our coffee worth it in the morning. You can get in mints, gum, and now even sunflower seeds (I am not making this up.). I am talking about caffeine and in all its stimulating and wonderful glory.

I know many of you would not be able to properly start your day without a cup of coffee, a bottle of Mtn. Dew, or any of the other energy drinks that contain caffeine. It’s the stimulating factor that we are going for and we all need to survive our jobs when we’d rather be playing video games or doing other geeky pursuits.

Just about every hardware tech I have worked with loves to drink Mtn. Dew. They go through bottles like crazy. Computer techs that have more desk-based jobs tend to lean toward coffee and such. I myself prefer coffee.

Preferences vary as much as tastes. Some may drink Coke over Pepsi, Mtn. Dew over either, or whatever. My personal favorite is Dr. Pepper. There are some stronger caffeinated energy drinks out there on the market such as Jones Whoopass, which has the awesome slogan of “Revitalizes Attitude and Restores Faith in Humanity.” That is a mighty claim. Other caffeinated energy drinks include Brawndo (The Thirst Mutilator!), Monster, and Bawls.

Interested in other caffeinated products other than sunflower seeds? How about soap and cookies? Caffeine is a very versatile chemical. Don’t forget wonderful caffeinated things like Black Black gum and Penguin Caffeinated Mints.

The question is why do geeks love caffeine? Simple! It gives us the drive to play our games, be they video or tabletop, work on the computer, and tolerate stupid idiots. Ta-da! It helps us hold on to our sanity and keep going. It is another geek thing that binds us all together. Plus, you can get caffeine just about anywhere.  Here is my case and point.

I was at a local gas station and just took in the wonderful cooler shelves of caffeinated energy drinks.  And then there were the sodas.  And the teas.  And the coffee drinks.  There was caffeine everywhere and in many forms and for any taste.  When going to pay, I noticed many energy drink companies also make these “shots” drinks that are highly concentrated and give you a fast burst of energy that lasts for a few hours.  You have to be careful with these, but hey, it’s still caffeine!  Oh, and if you think someone is trying to make you cut back, you can always use this handy tool.

Now, caffeine is also beneficial. It’s the stuff that it’s mixed in with that isn’t, all that sugar and high fructose corn syrup.  That’s in your sodas and carbonated drinks.   Looking at a glass of coffee, here are some health benefits from caffeine:

• Two cups of coffee a day may reduce your risk of colon cancer by 20 percent
• Two cups a day may cause an 80 percent drop in cirrhosis of the liver
• Caffeine has also been found to be beneficial to those suffering from asthma and headaches.

Pretty interesting stuff! Of course, the downside caffeine that it can make some hormones in your body go wacky if you drink too much and too late in the day. It’s all about moderation! But geeks usually aren’t known for caffeine moderation, are we!

Sources: Caffeine, Stress and You’re Health: Friend or Foe: http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/caffeine.htm

How Caffeine Works: http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine5.htm