This one's a bit of a stretch… but then, what am I talking about? It's never a stretch when it comes to Valve.

People are already parsing the video that the company showed at last weekend's Spike Video Game Awards show, in which the Portal 2 character Wheatley put in a humorous, short plea to the audience to A) give him the "Character of the Year" award and B) help him get home.

This being a Valve video, viewers are convinced that the video also contains clues to the studios inevitable (but maddeningly mysterious, eternally unannounced) follow-up to Half-Life 2. Found via Rock, Paper Shotgun, this 1/2-speed video helps to parse whatever clues there were in the 30-second video.

For starters, Wheatley ends his speech by saying "one, one, one," which of course adds up to… three. Also, the text in the video reads "Observation Satellite "Lanthanum," which (apparently) is Greek for "To lie hidden." It is also a medication for use helping those with kidney disorders, and is a chemical with the atomic number 57.

It could be a reference to just about anything, including Wheatley himself ("lying hidden"), but as RPS points out, the first letter of "Lanthanum" in Greek is indeed a Lambda, otherwise known as the symbol for Half-Life.

Hmm. Seems like a stretch to me, but then again, why the heck else would they choose to include a greek word beginning with "L" in their video? Oh, Valve. How you taunt us.

Source: Rock, Paper Shotgun

It can be a challenge to buy a gift for your brainy, science-obsessed friend. What kind of games might he or she like? The science brains among us can be so intimidating, partly because it's always scary buying things for smart people, but partly because who knows what those science people even like? Do they want beakers? A scale perhaps? Maybe some sort of assistance in covering up their secret meth-cooking operation?

This list is for you, weary gift-giver. It's here to help you find some fun science-ish gifts for the egghead in your life. And always remember: if none of these sound good, you can always tell them that your gift-selection process is "still in the hypothesis stage." Scientists love that kind of stuff.

SpaceChem

One of the smartest games in recent memory, Spacechem and science go together like peas and carrots. I mean come on, it's called "SpaceChem!" And it lives up to that name. It's an ever-more complex game that involves creatively coming up with combinations of molecules to form new chemicals. It's open-ended, hugely brainy, and rewards lateral thought and creativity.

($9.99 on Steam)

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell

While we're talking about things that smart people like, Tom Bissell's 2010 book Extra Lives: While Video Games Matter, while not particularly sciency, remains one of the most purely enjoyable pieces of video game writing you can buy. Think of it as a more holistic alternative to Jesse Schell's book (later)—well-written, humorous stories about games and the people who make them.

($15.61 at Amazon)

Portal 2 "Science to Do" T-Shirt

Since it's a safe bet that your friend will already have played Valve's smart and sciency Portal 2, what better way to celebrate both their love of games and their love of Portal than with a fun Portal T-shirt? This one, from ThinkGeek.com, seems particularly appropriate. One of the best things about Portal T-shirts is that they hold up even if the person viewing the shirt doesn't get the reference. There's science to do!

($18.99 at ThinkGeek.com)

Fate of the World

Fate of the World is a game that cries out for a scientific mind. A complicated and unforgiving simulation about global climate change and strife, it requires players to carefully navigate a minefield of potential disasters while working towards some sort of accord. Which usually never comes. A knowledge of world economic, political, and environmental affairs is required, and even the most seasoned leader will learn something after a few games. It's not easy, and it's not forgiving, but science never is.

($18.99 online)

The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell

One of the smartest and most accessible game-design books out there, Jesse Schell's The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses strikes a great balance by being both hugely informative about the process of making games while not shutting out readers who may not know a ton about the nuts and bolts of game design. Schell himself—former Disney imagineer, professor at Carnegie Mellon, all around cool dude—is the main attraction here, and his inviting style makes for a tremendously enjoyable and educational read.

($30.87 at Amazon)

Portal 2

When buying games and gifts for a person who loves science, it's important not to forget the most science-tastic game of all, Portal 2. While it's likely that most science fans have already played the game, it's worth making sure, since Portal 2 was easily one of the smartest and most enjoyable games of 2011. The puzzles are first-rate and make you to really use your brain, and the story is hilarious—you'll never look at robots (or potatoes) the same way again.

($42.75 at Amazon, Cheaper Used at Half.com)

What happens when one of the world's best tower defense games meets one of gaming's most beloved power-mad robotic villains? Fans line up to pay $4.99 or 400 Microsoft points for the Defense Grid: You Monster expansion, that's what.

Coming December 7 to Xbox Live Arcade and Steam, Defense Grid: You Monster is the first full story expansion for the award winning futuristic tower defense game, featuring eight new maps, 35 challenge missions, and one hell of a crazy cameo.

Warping her way over from Valve's Portal franchise, GLaDOS is extremely curious about what the player and his more civilized artificially intelligent computer are doing with all of these towers, and when the all-powerful machine scientist gets curious, it's time for some tests. Players will be responsible for managing their defenses across a series of Portal-themed levels. That, and dying. Lots of dying. Don't worry; it's all for science.

On December 7th Portal's GLaDOS comes to Defense Grid [Hidden Path Entertainment]

Every year since 1957, the Good Design Award (aka "G Mark") has been awarded to a standout Japanese product. The award marks excellence in Japanese design. A committee of sixty designers is given in a broad category of products that enter in the selection process, whether that be home electronics, apartment buildings or apparel.

Today, let's look at some awesome Japanese-designed socks. They're called "Kutsu-Kutsushita" or "Shoes Socks".

Made by Sunayama Socks, these socks were awarded the G Mark back in 2009. They were inspired by the Japanese tradition of removing your shoes when entering a house. These playful socks allow Japanese people to keep wearing "shoes" while they are in their stocking feet inside.

From the socks' official site: "Imagine how good it feels without shoes, pretending 'with' shoes, on the airplane, at home, at the office, or wherever you are." Like many Good Design Award winners, the product packaging proudly has the G Mark, often as an effort to drum up sales. The original Xbox 360, whose outer shell was designed by a Japanese studio, also won a Good Design Award (and we know how that turned out).

Since people do take off their shoes indoors, careful attention is paid to socks in Japan. Before moving to Japan, I'd often try to squeeze some extra life out of socks that started to wear thin or have holes. Not here—little kids are especially quick to point out holes in socks. Thus, since so much time is spent in socks, having ratty socks is embarrassing.

In America, socks didn't matter as much (shoes did!), because nobody saw them. In Japan, people see your socks all the time, so having holes in them is a bit like wearing a white shirt covered with ketchup.

Of course, not all Japanese socks are stylish or interesting like these. And American socks have made quite the impact on Japanese feet. Those infamous "loose socks" worn by Japanese schoolgirls in the 1990s? Those were E.G. Smith, American designed and produced socks re-appropriated by Japanese schoolgirls.

The Sunayama designs available are "Campus" and "Midtown", and while they did have the jump on many of the more recent "shoes-socks", they do bring memories of the recent, official Portal 2 knee socks screaming back. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

To learn more about the Good Design Awards, check out the official site. For more photos, check out Gigazine.

Portal's Aperture Science got its start in 1953 producing shower curtains for the US Army. So it's poignant that in 2011 the company goes back to its roots, and produces shower curtains for...your bathroom.

These curtains don't talk, don't sing and don't flash lights. They're just curtains. Good, honest curtains. The kind of curtains Cave Johnson would sell to the Army. Only without all the mercury*.

They cost $20, and you can grab one from the link below.

*WARNING: They may contain less than 1% mercury.

Portal 2 Aperture Laboratories Shower Curtain [ThinkGeek]

This video has been out there for a month or so, but I've never seen it and I bet a few of you haven't either.

In it four floppy drives render Portal's "Still Alive", by Jonathan Coulton. The music was created using Arduino and Java applications. Enjoy.