Doug Cornelius .com

Cake decorating, humor and a blog sound like an odd combination. Jen Yates of Cake Wrecks manages to mix them all together with hilarious results when professional cakes go hilariously wrong.

Now Jen has compiled some of her best cakes and a whole lot of new content into a new book: Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong.

Jen was nice enough to send me a copy of the book, so I told her I would shamelessly plug its release. (Plus, I owe her for all the laughs she has supplied from her blog.)

There is plenty of new, exclusive content and commentary that has not been in blog. But some of the best stuff from the blog has also made its way into the book. There is also some great background on the Cake Wreck classics.

You can also read my interview of Jen on GeekDad: Cake Wrecks: The Blog Becomes a Book.

You can pick up your copy of Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong (The Book), read the blog, or see Jen on her book tour.

Today, like every September the 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Talk Like a Pirate Day became a hit when this column, written by Dave Barry, was published in 2002.

We have some coverage on GeekDad: Arrrrrr You Ready for International Talk Like a Pirate Day?

This NASA image, taken from the International Space Station, speaks for itself:

Given my real estate background, it’s probably no surprise that I am a Monopoly junkie. I am a purist of the game and not enthusiastic when Hasbro starts messing with the classic game. (I have no problem with the editions for different cities and renaming the properties).

It looks like they are messing with it.

The Monopoly City Edition is coming out this fall. You no longer need a monopoly to start putting up buildings and there are different types of buildings. Sounds like an impending failure.

To publicize the new edition, Hasbro is launching Monopoly City Streets. It’s limited-time online version of Monopoly that allows players to buy, build up and trade streets based on Google Maps, competing against participants all over the world in real time.

Read more in my latest post on GeekDad: Play Monopoly Using Your Street.