GeekSugar

Geek Tip: Save and Organize Content to Read Later

GeekSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:30:54 PST

Even though I love Google Reader, it is far too easy to get overwhelmed by the number of unread items that show up in my feed. Seriously, even if I spent all day just reading blog posts, I don't think I'd be able to get to them all. This is why I love Read It Later, the Firefox plugin that allows you to mark items in your reader that you'd like to come back to. These stories are saved and accessible even when you're offline.

What I didn't realize was that there's also a mobile application to allow you to add things to your Read It Later list on the go. The free app has iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Pre applications that give you easy access to your saved content. In the latest, just-released update, Read It Later organizes saved headlines into a "Digest," grouping by category. This way, you're not presented with a long list of unorganized, unread items. While the add-on and applications do the sorting automatically, you are able to edit your preferences and add new categories and share your digest with others.

Daily Tech: Barnes & Noble to Design a New eReader?

GeekSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:02:28 PDT

Sounds like everyone is cashing in on the e-book reader craze. Rumor has it that Barnes & Noble has been in talks with Verizon and now Sprint about a possible eReader partnership. - Switched
Wal-Mart and Amazon are following in Apple's footsteps by adjusting the prices for their digital music. - USA Today
Find out what etiquette rules Tyra Banks suggests practicing when using Facebook and Twitter. - Techie Diva
Read It Later app is a Firefox extension that will allow you to bookmark a page's text or all of the content to read offline later on your iPhone. - Lifehacker
The HTC Touch Diamond will be coming to Verizon Wireless this month and will cost a whopping $300 even with a contract. - Engadget

Download of the Day: Read It Later

GeekSugar — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:09:00 PDT

My devotion to Google Reader has been well-documented here, and I relish any new opportunity to get more of it (though I'd have to be a superhuman to read everything in my reader daily).

Read It Later is a free Firefox extension that just adds little empty check marks to stories in your feeds, and when you come to a post you want to read but don't have time to, simply click the check marks.

All checked stories are then saved in a separate reading list - either from Read It Later's site, in your RSS Reader, or for reading offline later!

Source

Ashley Madekwe Spills Her Ultimate Summer Shopping List

Hannah Weil — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:00:37 PDT

One season of Revenge later (did you see last night's finale?!) and we're totally addicted, not to mention completely smitten with the ever-adorable Ashley Madekwe. We know her best as the show's impeccably dressed Ashley Davenport, but the England-born actress is just as much of a style pro off screen, showcasing her styling expertise on her very own blog, Ring My Bell. Now she's dishing on her Summer must-haves and giving us an exclusive look at her ultimate seasonal shopping list. With a penchant for dip-dyed cutoffs, neoprene-injected jewels, and clear acetate shades, plus designer goodies from the likes of Proenza Schouler and Miu Miu, Ashley's list reads like a how-to in crafting cool-girl Summer style. Step inside for Ashley's awesome Summer essentials and why she's loving every piece.

Photo of Ashley Madekwe courtesy of Iddo Goldberg

5 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Paying For College

LearnVest — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:15:23 PDT

Paying for college is such a complex issue. LearnVest helps simplify it by answering some key questions in regard to paying tuition.

If you believe everything you read, then you might think you need to be a Rockefeller to have kids.

That, of course, isn't the case.

Yes, kids are expensive, and thinking about paying for a college education can be scary and frustrating . . . but that's where we come in.

As with everything else in life, figuring out what to do about your kid's college savings is all about the planning, says Stephany Kirkpatrick, CFP, LearnVest's director of financial planning. Depending on where you are in life right now and how old your kids are, you may have questions about how to set up a 529 plan (which is an education savings plan designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs), what to look for, and when to start saving.

If you're pregnant or have a newborn and are starting to think about this, then good for you! The earlier you get started socking away cash for their college, the easier it will be. You'll learn a lot in this article, but you should also check out our Baby on Board Bootcamp, which will tell you everything you need to know - financially - to be ready for a baby. It includes 529 advice, as well as financial tips on everything from putting together a will and picking out a life insurance policy to buying nursery basics.
If your kid is slightly older and you’ve done your research but haven’t yet started saving in a 529 plan, then first read the four mistakes to avoid when choosing a 529 plan, and then check out the different college savings plans available to you.
If this is the first you’re thinking about it, no matter your kid's ageI, then don't worry about it. You have to start somewhere!

Read on for more.

How Not to Destroy Your Marriage

The Good Men Project — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:30:42 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Today, Mark Tyrrell offers eight relationship tools to make your marriage work.

"All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble." - Raymond Hull

So how do you make your marriage work? Or do you just blindly hope it'll take care of itself?

Think of a hot, successful date with someone you’re attracted to. You have fun, great conversation and more sexual chemistry than a warehouse full of pheromones. You don’t have to “work at” the date because it’s self sustaining. It runs as smoothly as the gliding hand of a classical guitar maestro and you can’t wait for another rendition.

Teenage Dating in a Twilight-Hunger Games World

But marriage, or any long term relationship; well that’s a whole other caboodle.

If we’re not careful, marriage can deteriorate into little more than a torturous assault course; littered with routine boredoms, frustrations and resentments. Couple all that with external pressures and sometimes marriage feels not worth the effort. But there are major benefits to being hitched or committed, other than just a beneficial tax regime.

Healthy marriage; healthy people.

Being happily married bestows heaps of health benefits. You might be forgiven for thinking that if you’re married you don’t live longer it just seems like it but, no, a good marriage really can help you clock up more years (1) and married people are happier (2) even though they don’t always look it from the outside.

But when marriage doesn’t work it can feel being manacled to a maniac, marooned with a misogynist or nailed to a nag. And I don’t care what the studies say, that’s not healthy. You may hear couples say stuff like: “We are making our marriage work!” but how do we do this?

Making it work.

We pay lip service to “working on the marriage” but what is the work we need to do? Marriage vows such as “to love and to cherish” and “forsaking all others, for better or for worse” don’t really tell us how to make it work, although they give us a clue.

Fortunately a ton of research has been done on what to do and not do to make your marriage, or any intimate relationship work. Follow the guidelines here to become “good at marriage."

Tip one: Be romantic but keep it real.

We are all (force?) fed romance in movies and novels. The handsome man gets the beautiful woman. But what I wonder is what happens after our romantic couple ride off into the sunset together? What do they do exactly? Bicker? Moan at one another? Start to ignore each other?

After all that romance, our beautiful couple is bound to have massive expectations of their life together. But when rose tinted expectations clash with day to reality, watch out!

Romance is vital in any relationship. Always seeing the best in your partner helps to keep things intimate and love should be expressed. But if you have been raised on Mills and Boon Romance novels or feel-good movies, then your own romantic expectations can work against the sustainability of your long term relationship.

When day to day life fails to live up to the giddy, heady lust-filled days of the pre-settled down romance people can become angry, even blame one another: “This wasn’t what I signed up for." They find it hard to take the rough with the smooth because they never really figured there would be any rough.

Expectations not diluted with at least a dash of realism can be a royal road to relationship ruin. Your partner may be an angel, but they have feet of clay. You must learn to love those feet or at least accept them a bit!

Get the rest after the jump!

Easy Ways to Get More From Your Food Budget

LearnVest — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:15:48 PDT

Go the extra mile with your food budget with these tips from LearnVest.

For years, many people - my husband, mom, sister and even my son - told me to stop wasting so much food.

Throwing away half a piece of chicken here or a handful of grapes there never seemed like such a big deal to me. If I was full or no longer in the mood for that particular food, then I had no problem tossing it.

That is, until I experienced a bad case of sticker shock during a recent trip to the supermarket. The cost of bread, eggs, fish - basically everything I was purchasing - had increased. And, according to the USDA, we can expect prices to rise even higher this year.

As I forked over my money and left with only a handful of bags, I realized just how important it is for me to pay more attention to what I spend on food . . . and to confront how much of it I shove down the garbage disposal.

Unfortunately, I'm not the only one with wasteful ways. In 2010, 33 million tons of food was thrown away, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Obviously, wasted food means wasted money, but figuring out how to make your grocery budget go further can be a challenge.

To keep more food in your fridge (and more money in your pocket), try these expert tips.

1. Ward Against Freezer Burn

Those large bags or packages of frozen veggies or meat come in handy when you have a large family, but "each time you open a bag of frozen food, air gets in and will cause freezer burn within two to three weeks," says consumer saving expert Andrea Woroch. Freezer burn will dry out the meat and make it less tasty. Woroch suggests going small.

Read on for more.

What to Expect When You're Expecting: Brings a Surprising Amount of Belly Laughs

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:00:00 PDT

Ever since Love Actually captured hearts and audiences with its huge cast and sweet intersecting story lines, there's been an overflow of ensemble comedies, and fatigue has officially set in. There are usually too many characters and subplots, and while What to Expect When You're Expecting does have a star-studded cast and a lot going on, it's funnier and more engrossing than most of the movies in the genre.

The characters are all dealing with some aspect of parenthood: there's Cameron Diaz as Jules, a trainer on a Biggest Loser-like show who gets pregnant by her dancing partner (Matthew Morrison) from a Dancing With the Stars-like show. There's Holly and Alex (Jennifer Lopez and Rodrigo Santoro), a couple who resorts to adoption, while Rosie and Marco (Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford) have a fling that leads to her pregnancy. Elizabeth Banks plays Wendy, a woman who's grateful to finally be expecting but is disappointed when she feels more gross than glowy, and in contrast, her younger mother-in-law (Brooklyn Decker) is having the most effortless pregnancy in history. Sure, it's way too perfect that everyone conceives their children around the same time, but the movie is filled with enough humor and warmth to compensate. To find out what else I thought about What to Expect When You're Expecting, just keep reading.

Ice, Ice Baby: Creative and Healthy Ways to Use Your Ice Tray in the Kitchen

Michele Foley — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:06:43 PDT

Eating healthy is no easy feat - it usually requires a little more time in both planning and preparation. But did you know that a simple ice tray can make healthy living a breeze? From smarter snacking to a good-for-you breakfast, keep reading for creative and healthy ways to use your everyday ice tray.

Smoothies
A smoothie makes a healthy on-the-go breakfast, but sometimes life is so hectic, there isn't even time to turn the blender on. Save yourself a daily mess by freezing a batch of your favorite smoothie to use at a later date. When you're ready to enjoy, let cubes defrost in a cup overnight and grab it on your way out the next day. We're loving this recipe for make-ahead coconut green smoothie cups. You can also save time by freezing yogurt in ice trays and portioning those cubes into baggies with frozen fruit - just dump the contents into the blender whenever you're in the mood for a smoothie.

Homemade Healthy Treats
Skip sugary store-bought popsicles and ice-cream treats and make your own at home. When using fresh fruit, like in this recipe for homemade berry-banana popsicles, you don't even need to add sugar. Add a little protein (and good bacteria mix) by using Greek yogurt, like in our recipe for Summer berry and yogurt ice-tray pops.

See more creative and healthy ways to use ice trays after the break!

Bachelorette Breakdown: First Impressions From the Premiere

Maggie Pehanick — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:09:48 PDT

Welcome to a new season of The Bachelorette, everyone! First of all, is anyone else as excited as I am to see Emily Maynard take the reigns, or roses, as it were? She is sweet as apple pie and I don't know anyone that doesn't love a Southern belle, least of all the gentlemen vying for her affections. I use the term "gentlemen" lightly, as several of them displayed relatively ungentlemanly behavior on this week's premiere.

As per Bachelorette tradition, the premiere included a basic primer to who Emily is, the limo intros with the guys, some time for Emily to mingle at her party and eventually give out the coveted First Impression rose, followed by the first rose ceremony. Let's have a quick rundown of the episode's highlights, shall we?

Find out our take when you read more.