My Version Of Heaven

The Twenty Science Fiction Novels that Will Change Your Life

Spring equinox will be here in just a few weeks, and there's no better way to get ready for the seasonal change than to dig into some great science fiction books. io9 wants to help you get in the mood for transformation by offering this list of twenty science fiction novels that could change the way you see the world, and maybe even change your life. Whether it's because they've altered the course of science fiction writing, or simply provide a genuinely alien perspective on ordinary life, these are novels that will rearrange how you think.

Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva

Table Manner Tips Every Guy Should Know

We all remember the basics our mothers taught us about table manners–no elbows on the dinner table and don’t talk with your mouth full. But ever wonder which fork to use for your salad or how to signal a waiter at a fancy restaurant? Read on and learn the basics in table manners that will be sure to impress your date, girlfriend/wife’s parents, employers or whomever you dine with.

Buzzillions

Use our Affinity Recommendation Wizard in select categories to help you find products recommended by people like you, for the specific use you want. So whether you are an enthusiast photographer looking for the best lens for night photos, or a stylish shopper looking for the right casual shoes for travel, our Affinity Recommendations can help you discover the best products recommended by people just like you.

Narrow by customer-contributed Pros, Cons and Best Uses.

We capture keywords from customer reviews that describe Pros, Cons and Best Uses, and allow you to filter and narrow using those keywords. Use these keywords in addition to traditional category, brand, and price filtering to help you find the right product.

Compare top brands within a category.

We present a unique perspective on brands by comparing the average rating of brands within a category (like the top brands in digital cameras), and showing you what customer keywords come up the most often for each brand. This is a quick way to see how brands fare against each other in many categories.

Look for customer-shared images.

We allow customers to upload images along with their product review, so you can see products and services in real-world situations. We figure the more informed you are, the happier you'll be with your decision.

Meebo

meebo.com is a website for instant messaging from absolutely anywhere. Whether you’re at home, on campus, at work, or traveling foreign lands, hop over to meebo.com on any computer to access all of your buddies (on AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber) and chat with them, no downloads or installs required, for free!

Dubai Architecture

50 Weird Science Tidbits & Oddities

Total Lunar Eclipse on Wednesday

Click on article title for more information.

Pool Update

Edge tile work begins.

Looking toward the shallow end.

Waiting for the last piece... the table.

The entrance.

The deep end.

China Now Spooked by Ghost Stories

China has added ghosts, monsters and other things that go bump in the night to its list of banned video and audio content in an intensified crackdown ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

China to the US: Take Our Women!

An interesting piece of history was discovered in a document that the State Department’s historical office released...

HD DVD deathwatch

HD DVD fans, we hate to do this to you, but it's time we called it. HD DVD is now officially on Engadget deathwatch. We haven't put anything important on deathwatch since TiVo in 2005 (which, as you may recall, still stands); but just as then, we have to step back from our personal preferences and investments in media and gear, ignore the rumors and hearsay, and take a close look at where things stand. We don't need Michael Bay to tell us the writing's on the wall.

The Smell Of Space

A Theater Room To Die For!

Way over the top!

Partial Equipment List for the Kipnis Studio Standard Beta CinE:

Picture Elements:
Sony SRX-S110 Professional Video Projector
Stewart 18-by-10-foot Snowmatte 1.0 Gain Laboratory-Grade Motion Picture Screen

Players and Sources:
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player
Sony PlayStation 3 Gaming Console
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player
JVC HMDH-5U D-VHS Recorder
SATA Drive (72 HDTV Hours Total)
Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD/CD Media Player
Pioneer HLD-X0 Hi-Vision HDTV MUSE Laserdisc Player

Surround Processing and Decoding:
Theta Digital Generation VIII 32-bit 8x Oversampling Dual Processors (13)

Amplification:
Mark Levinson N° 33h Amplifiers (2)
McIntosh MC-2102 Amplifiers (30)
Crown Macro Reference Gold Amplifiers (3)

Speakers:
Snell 1800 THX Music & Cinema Reference Subwoofers (16)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Towers (8)
MuRata ES103A Super Tweeters (10)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference LCR-2800 Center-Channel Speakers (3)

We Should Now Have A Clean SIte!

About a year ago I added the side bar chat box. This proved to be a feature that everyone likes. It did come with one caveat however, as it had the nasty habit of pushing a pop-up onto your computer. Lately this process started getting out of hand with the addition of some extra tracking components being thrown into the mix.

I spent some time hunting, and now offer you the new and improved version you now see. Hopefully this cleans up the junk.

Management.

Weebly.com

This clever WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) website building tool for non-techies offers a one-step process for adding content that's already somewhere else on the Web, such as Flickr photos, YouTube videos and Google maps.

Note: Host your own web page with no limits completely FREE.

LAST.FM

Do you have a favorite artist? Type it in.

Top 9 Unique Structures Soon To Be Built

Construction technologies are advancing extremely quickly. couple that with multi-billionaires / deep-pocketed companies trying to outdo each other in the quest for the next standout design and you have a near-future filled with mile high skyscrapers and buildings that no longer look like buildings.

Speakeasy — Speed Test

Test Your Internet Speed.

The 23 Best iTunes Add-ons

iTunes may not be the best media player on the market, but let's face facts: with its tight integration with our iPods and its excellent playlisting tools, it's very likely the digital jukebox you're using every day to manage your music. With that in mind, it's time you take iTunes to the next level. We've already tackled the 20 Best iPod Utilities, so today we're taking a look at the 23 iTunes add-ons that can take your iTunes experience from good to great.

Hot Image Your Hard Drive!

You don't need a complicated boot CD or expensive software to create a restorable system disk image for your PC: free utility DriveImage XML can save a full, working snapshot of your Windows hard drive while you work on it. (That's hot.) When your PC crashes and burns or just slows down over time, the best insurance you can have is a mirror image of your operating system, complete with drivers, user settings, software applications, and documents in one place. A while back we covered how to partition and image your Windows hard drive using the Linux-based System Recovery Boot CD, a process that involves command line work, disk-burning, rebooting, and video driver wrangling. With DiskImage XML, imaging your PC's hard drive is a matter of a few clicks, no reboots required. Let's check it out.

100 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups

Need To Burn A Disc?

Why not try some freeware CD DVD Burning Apps applications that can serve as an alternative to Nero Burning ROM for your Windows PC?

50 Great Gadgets That No Geek or Nerd Should Live Without

This is not a top 50 list and is not is any specific order, but the gadgets in this article are the coolest and sometimes most useful gadgets that are on the market presently. These great gadgets are innovative ideas that are interestingly entertaining and useful. No geek should live without the fifty gadgets that dared to be different and won.

For Vietnamese, The Year of the Rat Starts With Lunch

Vietnam -- According to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rat begins tomorrow. But here it may have started sooner: Unexpected changes in Vietnam's food chain and diet have sparked a rodent-eating bonanza.

How To Tie A Tie: The Pursuit Of The Perfect Knot

The Pool: Day 62

How To Haggle

The Goal

In a nutshell, the goal of haggling is to come out of your purchases with a big smile on your face, knowing that you have not been cheated and that you paid a fair price for the product you purchased.

Too many people don't even realize the amount of money they are losing by simply not haggling. Sure, you may feel rude trying to bargain down a price, thinking that you are insulting the shopkeeper/vendor you are dealing with. A quick tip: If the shopkeeper acts like he's insulted, he's a good haggler. Its all an act in the world of commerce; of course the shopkeeper doesn't want to lose money so he will try to defend his set price but he also knows that he can sell for much cheaper and still come out with a profit, so he has priced his items in such a way that he can knock-off a few dollars and still walk away happy.

Do You Need A Hug?

Sunday Morning Snow

Early morning walk.

Time Stops at Grand Central

Blue Man Group

Deb and I saw "The Blue Man Group" in concert last night. Well done! A for certain overload of the senses and a sonic blast to the body and mind!