Mr. Shark offers his advice to a steam punk enthusiast

Dear Mr. Shark,

I'm jumping head long into this steam punk thing and I need some advice. What kind of hat should I buy? 

Thanks, 

Maurice E.

Portland, OR

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Dear Maurice,

Good to hear from you again.  I see you are making great strides since our last chat. Apparently steam punk obsession is second only to LARPing in it's ability to attract human women.  

As for your hat, I recommend the old stand-by, the seal-head hat.  I wore one to my last steam punk meeting and everyone was both delighted and befuddled.

Making the hat is quite simple.  First, you'll need to find an appropriate seal, one with a symmetrical, round head-shape is ideal. Once you have found your target, you'll need to dive down at least one nautical mile beneath it.  Then, gather up all the strength you have and swim full-force at a 90 degree angle towards the seal.  If you get the angle right, you will easily be able to remove the head of the seal with a clean cut. Be careful once you've made the bite not to sever the spinal cord though. You'll need that later.  

After you've secured your head, you'll need to gather a few pieces of decor to give it that classic Victorian-industrial steam punk aesthetic. I've eaten several divers over the past few days, so you'll easily be able find everything you need by foraging though my poo. Plus, the mixture of my stomach acids and the ocean's salt water has added a nice aged patina to the metal parts. A mask bitten in half, for example, makes the perfect retro-futuristic monocle, and adding a regulator to your seal's mouth gives it bit of ironic whimsy.  I also recently swallowed an analog computer, so if you'd like, you can use some of it's gears and assorted parts for extra flair.

Voila, you now have the perfect steam punk hat. Just place it on your head, tie the spinal cord around your chin and prepare to be the belle of the steam punk ball.

Love,
Mr. Shark