In case you missed it in our huge photographic timeline of the Lego minifig, today is the deadline for the Giz Lego Minifig video contest. We have got a ton of entries, some of them really amazing ones (one of these actually came in the mail literally two minutes ago). So if you are just about to finish it, hurry up because it ends today before 12AM). If you have sent it already or you are a lazy person, you can sit down, relax, and enjoy all Gizmodo posts celebrating the most iconic figure ever:

Videos

• Exclusive Video: How Lego Builds the Minifigs.
• Minifigs can also time your chicken pies.
• Instead of doing a Lego minifig of yourself, buy a $60,000 natural-sized replica.
• The secret imperial Lego Stormtroopers clone-making factory.
• Lego employees use custom Lego minifigs as business cards, as that's why we hate them.

Galleries and images

• Exclusive: The Lego Minifig Timeline.

• Why are minifigs yellow? Why there are no blonde minfigs? All you ever wanted to know about them is in our Lego Megaguide. And yes, that's me "minifiged" in the image.

• Steve Jobs minifig commanding a real Mac Pro Lego clone.

• He can also deliver Lego MacWorld keynotes.

• If you ever wanted to see how 35,310 Lego Clone Troopers look like together, click here.

• Lego is not limited to Star Wars: check this custom Cylon minifig with LED eye.

• Iron Man got the LED too for his arc reactor.

• Of course, the Lego clonetroopers also got the LED treatment.

• The Anatomy of a Lego Minifig: How a minifig really looks inside.

• Baseball to break minifig legs.

• Imperial Stormtrooper minifigs participate in the Beijing Olympics.

• The Beijing Olympics in minifig scale.

• 80,000-brick Lego Ferrari requires giant Schumacher minifig.

• Somebody once loved me even when I was a minifig obsessed noodle, and I still love her more than all the Lego bricks and minifigs in the world.

• Army of Lego transvestites celebrate the minifig anniversary.

• Lego men minifigs also go to the beach and wear thongs, to the horror of other minifigs.

• Lego minifig skull can hide your secrets.

• Lego minfigs can also be armed and go to war thanks to custom weapons

• In Lego land, there are also iPod ads with black silhouettes of minifigs dancing against primary colors.

[Lego Minifig Contest Rules]

Fortune's Techland blog is reporting that with Vodafone's recent announcement that they would fully subsidize the Blackberry Storm, Verizon might be considering similar low cost options to compete against the iPhone. While some inside sources claimed Verizon may go as far as to make the phone free with a two-year contract, other anonymous blabbermouths from the Verizon camp shot that notion down.

Most analysts believe the Storm will be equally priced to the 8 GB iPhone at the very least, but its realistic to see it at a $99 or $150 price point. The goal is to move some serious units during the holiday season, but for that to happen, Verizion needs to actually release the Storm first. [Techland]

It goes unsaid that Halloween have bigger deals than even Black Friday. Just think about all those tiny, defenseless kids walking around with pillow cases chock full of candy. Oh, and you can score deals on TVs, DVDs and other stuff, too.

HDTVs

• Corion Digital Lifestyles 42'' 720p HDTV for $599.99 plus free shipping (originally $999.99 - use coupon code "TV1027100").

• Refurbished Toshiba 42'' 720p HDTV for $649.99 plus free shipping (originally $2,299.99).

Laptops

• Toshiba Satellite Notebook Pentium Dual-Core with 3GB Memory, 200 GB HD, and webcam for $589.99 (originally $1,299).

Gaming

• Nintendo Wii System - Mario and Sonic Bundle for $399.99 (originally $499.99).

• Xbox 360 Live Vision Gold pack bundle for $49.99 (originally $79.99 - in store only at GameStop and Best Buy).

• Guitar Hero Aerosmith for Wii for $19.98 (originally $39.99).

• Guitar Hero Aerosmith for Xbox 360 for $29.98 (originally $49.99).

Halloween Dealz Movies Special

Blu-rays

• The Nightmare Before Christmas Widescreen, Collector's Edition on Blu-ray for $22.86 (originally $39.99).

• Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Widescreen on Blu-ray for $15.99 (originally $28.99).

DVDs

• The Exorcist DVD for $3.99 (originally $19.98).

• The Addams Family Compete Series for $26.99 (originally $69.98).

• Tales of Terror - 50 Movies Megapack for $13.27 (originally $29.95).

• The Complete 6-Disc Omen Collection for $21.99 (originally $39.98).

• The Complete Nightmare on Elm Street Collection (8-Discs) for $22.99 (originally $60.98).

• The Chucky Collection for $19.99 (originally $29.93).

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD for $7.26 (originally $14.98).

• Bram Stoker's Dracula/Mary Shelly's Frankenstein 2-Pack DVD for $8.99 (originally $19.94).

• Halloween DVD for $7.97 (originally $14.98).

• Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition (4-Discs) for $30.87 (originally $49.98).

• The Evil Dead Ultimate Edition (3-Discs) for $14.99 (originally $34.98).

• Army of Darkness DVD for $6.99 (originally $12.98).

• Night of the LIving Dead for $2.81 (originally $4.98).

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre DVD for $6.99 (originally $29.98).

Hey Brian,
It's my first Halloween since I moved into my new house, so I really need to make sure I have enough candy so the neighborhood kids don't change my exterior paint to eggshell white. That means no fun size candy—only the good stuff.

I finally got a chance to play with the New Xbox Experience on my own home console, which Mark reviewed Wednesday, and it's pretty fantastic, but I still have some complaints. The biggest one is that there aren't enough avatar feature choices, so it's just about impossible to make an asian dude that looks like me. The guy I have now looks like Hiro Nakamura and Frank 'Grimey' Grimes from the Simpsons. It does have something like nine different levels of receding hairline choices; something that would have pleased Peter Moore if he were still at Microsoft.

But back to H-Ween.

• Sean has a good Gizmodo haunted house for you to pee your pants through
• Frasier's dad is up on his H-Brew for Wii, distilling dozens of incomprehensible forum posts into something your brain won't explode while reading
• Want a 1TB hard drive for $99? There ya go

The Gadget: EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles, the cheapo-version of the spy favorite that'll allow you to go exploring, play wargames, or stalk your ex-girlfriend in the dark.

The Price: $80, but going for $60 just about everywhere.

The Verdict: Good goggles for the price. While they aren't exactly battlefield quality, the goggles work well enough to light up your path in the dark. The close-up setting is okay if you only care about what's right in front of you, but you won't be able to check up on your former lover from a tree without turning on the long-distance setting which will give up your position with a bunch of bright red lights.

Friends who've tried on the goggles complain that the night vision is only displayed in one eye (the other is covered with a piece of plastic), but I think that cameras in both eyes could get more confusing than necessary. The only problem I have is that it takes 6 AA batteries, which is too many to hold on your head comfortably if you're going to be wearing them for a long time. But again, they are way cheaper than the next level of night-vision gear, so if you want to feel and look like you are from the future without spending future prices, these goggles are the way to go.

Today, a Federal court of appeals ruling definitely caught the attention of tech companies world wide: in a 9-3 ruling, the court effectively made patenting anything not directly related to an actual machine or object—most purely software-only patents, for example—against the law. As you might imagine, this has massive implications, and the battle is likely to carry on to the Supreme Court.

The case originally centered on a patent for "a method of managing the risk of bad weather through commodities trading"—which falls more under the "business process" bucket, but the same ruling effectively makes patenting a specific software process impossible. The previous ruling allowed such patents, so long as computers were involved and the process produced a "useful, concrete, and tangible result." This ruling rejects that premise, favoring instead an older test that only allows patents for things involving an actual machine or a transformation of a tangible object into a different state.

So basically, for the moment, our patent law has been brought back to the 19th century. But a shift in this direction for more of a compromise will help curb the ridiculous, constant, non-stop patent war, along with the associated big-time litigation and the shaft that gets handed down to open-source projects trying to abide by the laws.

Either way, this case is almost certainly headed for the Supreme Court. [eweek]

So tonight's the night, my friends: Halloween. You've been planning for weeks or you're going to toss some half-assed costume together from stuff in the back of your closet, but either way, you're dressing up as something. What is it? And is it… sexy? Me, I'm going as Zombie Jimmy Stewart. Not gadgety, I know, but I'm hoping it'll go over well. So, what about you? Are you doing something really ambitious? Let's hear about it! Pictures and video are greatly encouraged! And if you need ideas, hit the jump for the classic web video Girl's Costume Warehouse.

Circuit City took a major blow today, according to a reliable inside source, when Sony's merchandise that was being delivered to nationwide Circuit City distribution centers was stopped in transit and ordered to return to Sony "among worries that Circuit City couldn't pay for the shipments." This development means that Circuit City is not getting any Sony products replenished until they are able to convince Sony that their credit line is reliable. And with as bad as things are looking for Circuit City at the moment, that day may never come.

Don't be fooled. Pedaling around on a bike that chills your beers probably won't result in much weight loss. In fact, you may actually pack on a few as you enjoy the beechwood aged fruits of your labor. The bike has a heat pump attached to the pedals so the more you pedal the cooler the beer set inside the copper coil will get. It is just the incentive the lazy couch potato needs to get up and start moving. Next up, tackling the fresh air of the great outdoors. [PEGE via Treehugger via DVICE]

Welcome to Gizmodo's Haunted Halloween Post. Turn of the lights and prepare to take a blood-curdling journey into the nether regions of animatronic hell. Unlike a traditional haunted house, there are no walls (except maybe the boundaries of your monitor), but each floor of this post is packed with pure evil. The story begins in a creepy looking foyer.

The room is dark except for a dim, flickering red light on the wall next to an old looking elevator. You already feel a mixture of anxiety and excitement welling up in the pit of your stomach—and the name "Hellevator" isn't doing much to calm your nerves. Despite your reservations, you and a few other brave souls muster up enough courage to step inside the lift.

[Hellevator]

Just when you were thinking "did someone just rip ass?", the elevator comes to an abrupt and violent stop. Suddenly, the doors are thrown open and you are bathed in a blinding, pulsating light. Amidst the confusion, you realize that the corridor is spinning—disorienting you even further. And the walls are...lined with thousands of corpses.

[Scare Factory / Corridor of Corpses]

You decide that this is no place for a feeble nerd like yourself and you bolt across the metal walkway. But stiff legs and spinning walls make it difficult to travel in a straight line with any speed. Using the railing for support, you finally emerge into a room with a large altar.

[Scare Factory / Angel of Death]

A siren blares. Men in hazmat suits race past you in a panic. There is screaming in the background and the room is filling with smoke. It's like the aftermath of a nuclear attack. Armegeddon. A man next to you suffers from the poison.

[Halloween Express / Vomit Barrel]

Zombies roam the streets.

[Scare Factory / Geriatric Walkers]

The world has become a barren and lawless place. Crazed criminals run through your group, followed by police with batons in hand. In order to regain control, justice must be swift and brutal.

[Fright Catalog / Jolt]

The guy in a white shirt and jeans next to you laughs. "Disaster Movie was scarier than this!" he exclaims. He has a point. That movie was pretty horrifying. But you think "God I wish that douche would shut the hell up. He has been bitching and moaning this whole..." Just then everything goes black. You jump as someone lets out a blood curdling scream right beside you. The light returns but the man in the white shirt has vanished. You dart quickly around a corner and start down a hallway that looks like the dilapidated wing of a hospital. A fluorescent light in the room to your right flickers to life. You gaze through the door window.

[Costume Find / Tortured]

Screw...this. You make a break for the door at the other end of the room as fast as your legs will take you. The door opens into the brisk October evening. You breathe a sigh of relief and look up into the night sky. Holy crap...a bright flashing light is approaching fast. Turning back would mean re-entering the building—and we know that is no longer an option. Paralyzed with fear you watch as the light approaches. Is...is that a UFO? You can hardly believe your eyes. Indeed, the aliens have sensed weakness in mankind following the chemical catastrophe. They have come to finish us off—and they have a big bag of probes with a picture of your ass on it.

[FHTC / UFO Prop]

By now you are completely frantic as you run screaming towards the exit. Once you pass through the gate back into civilization, you begin to collect yourself. After awhile, you feel ashamed at how poorly you handled the situation back there—running around like a little girl. Hell, you almost peed your pants a few times. Speaking of that, you really need to go. You're still on edge a little, but you head back to the entrance to use the facilities. Hmm...no urinals. Ahh, no matter—you throw open a stall door.

[Monster-Tronics ]

And that is the last thing you remembered before hitting the floor.

Bonus: The top image was captured by closed circuit security cameras at Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace on December 19th 2003. The ghostly figure left everyone baffled:

"It's not a joke, we haven't manufactured it," said Vikki Wood, a Hampton Court spokeswoman, when asked if the photo the palace released was a Christmas hoax. "We genuinely don't know who it is or what it is."

[CNN]

It seems to perfect to be genuine, but to this day the footage is unexplained. Check it out for yourself: