Sci-fi author Jared Gray is normally known for his work with the written word, like his book Falling Into Midnight. However, he also refers to himself as a “tinker gnome.”
What most impressed me was how Gray's recent work as tinkerer tied two things very dear to my heart together: sleep apnea and the Alien franchise. Gray took his continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask and combined it with a life-size foam Facehugger replica. If anything, the end result could help you have some fun with a loved one.
On his blog, Gray says, “I’ve been joking for years that if I ever ended up needing a CPAP mask, I’d incorporate it into a facehugger … I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, and now have my own CPAP torture machine. Seriously, these things are awful and create as much discomfort as they prevent.”
Instead of trying to cast and mold his one cuddly facehugger, he found a reasonable one online for about $65. No word on whether or not insurance covered it.
What works out is that the alien's undercarriage lines up nice with the shape of the mask. Gray carved out some foam, adjusted the legs so it would actually hug his face (a little more cut and paste) and splayed open the tail to fit the hose.
The project took about a week to finish, but he — as well as many of his peers and Alien enthusiasts — were more than happy with the end result. Huge geek cred on this one Gray — and, hey, you won't die in your sleep.
