GeekSugar

Which Travel Planning Website Is Your Favorite?

GeekSugar — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:05:00 PDT

Ahh, Summer. Although I love Fall (hello, gadget fashion!), I can't help but get a pang of sadness knowing that this is really the last warm holiday weekend to look forward to this year. Summer is the quintessential time of year to travel and lounge around in the sun, and if you've headed out of town this season, you've most likely used a travel-planning website like Trip Advisor or Diddit to help you get there.

Besides the excellent deals you can find on sites like this, they make it super easy to book a room, get insider details on your destination, and mark that off your travel to-do list. Have you used travel-planning sites, and if so, which one is your favorite?

10 Sites That Help You Plan Your Honeymoon

GeekSugar — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:55:55 PDT

Seriously, how much planning can one person take?! First you spent endless amounts of time planning your wedding, now you have to plan your honeymoon? Let some of these sites take a load off your checklist - not only are these sites great for planning travel, but help you in other ways too. Like making a vacation budget, giving you great suggestions about what to see, and tips on where not to go after dark! Check them out, and make your travel (and honeymoon) planning life a whole lot easier.

Source

Website of the Day: Trazzler

GeekSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:00:16 PDT

I come across a fair amount of travel websites on a regular basis - OK, more like I seek them out, because you know how much I love them! A co-worker mentioned this site to me the other day and I was overjoyed to actually take it for a test drive. What's great about Trazzler is the fact that it will provide you with wonderful trip recommendations based on a certain location. It's soo easy to use, the suggestions are fabulous and it's not cluttered with a ton of info. Once you find something you like, you can add it to a wishlist (which will categorize according to country) or share it with a friend! Oh, and it's free to sign-up!

Do you have a favorite website you want to share with us? Submit your faves to our Website of the Day group! To learn how, just

read more. I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post.”
Give your story a “Title.”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click “Next."
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop-down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets.”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click “I’m done” to submit content.

Take Your Taste Buds on Global Valentine's Day Adventure

Camilla Salem — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:10:22 PST

If a classic evening or an indoor picnic don't have enough adventure for your liking, take a culinary tour of the world with your Valentine's Day date. Serve up dishes and cocktails from around the world and create a music playlist to match each course. By the end of the night, you and whoever you've shared this experience with will have bonded over all of your "travels." Here are some ethnic dishes that we recommend.

What to Expect When You're Expecting Set Visit: Elizabeth Banks on Her Fake Bump and Personal Baby Joy

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:05:11 PST

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood will share the big screen in the upcoming comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting, which follows different mothers-to-be as they prepare for the arrivals of their bundles of joy. Cameron Diaz, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick, and Elizabeth Banks are among the famous ladies who strapped on fake baby bumps to portray different kinds of pregnant women, and Banks's character, Wendy, doesn't exactly have an easy time of it.

I visited the Atlanta set of the film last year, where Banks was shooting a climactic scene in which her character addresses all the woes of pregnancy - in an auditorium with a rather large audience. The hilarious meltdown, which you can see in the opening of the trailer for What to Expect When You're Expecting, includes harsh truths like "I'm calling it: pregnancy sucks." It was great fun to see Banks film the passionate speech again and again, especially since the funny lady mixed up her one-liners from one take to another. What was even more interesting was seeing all of the extras who played the audience members, since the group of women was a mix of actual pregnant women and women rocking fake baby bumps.

I chatted with Banks about her own experience filming the movie, and she revealed that she actually felt like she was in her own little movie, since she doesn't have much screen time with her costars. Banks was refreshingly honest about not having any parenting tips and also admitted that though welcoming her son, Felix, has brought her a great deal of joy, it hasn't changed her stance on how she feels about kids in general. Here's more of what Banks had to say about pregnancy and motherhood:

What inspired you to take this role?
Elizabeth Banks: I cried when I read the script. It has a really great ending: at the end of the movie, everybody has a baby! It really is just a very relatable story for everyone: anybody who is a parent, has considered being a parent, has a baby, whatever. It's just very universal, what happens in the film. We really explore so many great storylines and different paths to getting a child. I had a unique path to getting my son, so I understand how everybody's path to their child is different.

How does it feel to wear the bump?
EB: It's sweaty! [Laughs] I think it's probably a decent approximation; it weighs a good 10 lbs. The boobs weigh about 6 lbs. They are really unbelievable. It's fun. It definitely makes you sit and walk in a totally different way. As an actor, it's a great prop.

How did you change when you became a mom?
EB: I get drunk much faster and easier, and it's a big problem, so I can't go out very much. I find that I underestimated the amount of joy. I'm really learning about my capacity for joy through my son.

To see what Banks had to say about baby fever and her parenting tips, just keep reading.

Gas Prices Are Up! What You Can Do to Save

Emily Co — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:20:33 PST

Unrest in the Middle East and the closing of American refineries have gas prices going up, up, and away for US consumers. Analysts are predicting that the prices may continue to rise.

But don't worry, there are a number of methods to save on refueling your car. Here are some tips:

Spend to Save: Look for deals around you that will help you save on your gas. For example, you can choose to frequent wholesale stores like Costco, which will give you a little bit of cash back on Costco gas. If you're a real gas guzzler, check out this full list of gas rebate cards on CreditCards.com.
Don't Top It Off: Topping off your gas may result in a higher gas bill, because you might be paying for gas that goes back into the station's tanks after your gas tank is full, says the Environmental Protection Agency. You can also ruin your car's vapor recovery system if there is no room for the gas to expand in your tank.
Smooth Trip: Starting and stopping excessively can shorten the life of your engine, transmission, brakes, and tires. Go easy on your braking and accelerating. Remember to also turn off your engine if you know you'll be waiting for a long while. Staying put without moving means you're getting 0 miles per gallon.

For more gas-saving tips, read on.

Honoring Some of Our Favorite Geeks For Black History Month

Michele Foley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:01:38 PST

We may have Valentine's Day on the brain, but February also marks an important time of the year - Black History Month. In honor of Black History Month, let's take a look at some of our favorite geeks, both past and present. Everyone on this list has made vast contributions to furthering tech as we know it.

Dwayne McDuffie - The recently passed McDuffie wrote comic books for both Marvel and DC (including Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America) before founding his own company, Milestone Media, which helped pioneer the use of multicultural characters as its heroes.
Mark Dean - Nerd alert! Without Dean, there may not have been a PC - he holds three of IBM's original nine PC patents, leading the teams that developed the ISA bus and the first one-gigahertz chip.
Mae Carol Jemison - It doesn't get much geekier than space travel; Jemison was the first black woman to travel in space.
Philip Emeagwali - We can all blame Emeagwali for our Internet addiction. He developed the fastest supercomputer software in the world. His IQ is too high to be measured by conventional standards, and he's won a Gordon Bell Prize, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science.

See the rest of the notables when you read more.

Increase Your Income With These 5 Ideas and Other Savvy Hits of the Week!

Emily Co — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:15:25 PST

Increase your income with these five ideas.
How to profit from your breakup.
Thinking about planning a trip? Find great deals at these travel flash sale sites.
Make your Ikea furniture look high-end with these modifications.
Love don't cost a thing: 10 money-free Valentine's dates.
How to save thousands of dollars.
Why women need to stop nodding.
Thrifty tips to celebrate your love on V Day.
Big money issues couples need to prep for.

New Year's Resolution: Journal More!

Elka Karl — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:41:29 PST

How are your New Year's resolutions going? One of my resolutions was to carry a journal everywhere I go to jot down notes and ideas. Sadly, I still have to buy a journal! If you've resolved to keep a journal as well, I've rounded up some fun choices.

Keep track of your adventures (both naughty and nice) with the Shenanigans Letterpress Journal ($10). It would be perfect for party planning or keeping track of great new cocktail recipes - or however you choose to participate in your own personal shenanigans.

For the guy in your life, give him the Pelle California Handmade Leather Travel Journal ($40). Handmade in California, these journals are made with FSC-certified, eco-friendly linen and paper and US-sourced oil tanned leather. Each journal comes with a stringed book marker, a protective cloth travel bag, and an extra elastic band.

Looking for a lovely feminine option? The Rifle Paper Co. Botanicals Notebooks ($13) from Chronicle Books are a perfect choice. These colorful notebooks feature oil-stamped covers and vintage-inspired interiors. I love the gorgeous colors and dreamy blooms that decorate the cover.

Have your eye on another choice? Click on the image to shop!

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Yoga Mat

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:36:43 PST

Buying a yoga mat is like buying a new pair of running sneakers. It takes careful consideration and research to find the right fit. Since there are hundreds to ~~confuse you~~ choose from, narrow down your search by asking these important questions.

How Much Do I Want to Spend?
Your budget is a huge factor in the mat you end up with. Do you have the dough to lay down for the priciest one on the market or are you happy buying a cheaper mat? The upside of buying a more expensive mat, like the Manduka PRO Black Magic ($104), is durability, which will actually save you money over time.

How Thick Do I Want It?
If you're new to the mat-buying scene, you might not realize that mats come in different thicknesses. A quarter-inch is the standard mat thickness, probably like the one you've borrowed from your studio. Think about how your body feels on this mat in certain poses where your bones are pressing into the floor. If you've felt discomfort, splurge on a thicker mat, but make sure it's also dense. A thick squishy mat makes balancing postures more difficult.

Keep reading for more things to consider when purchasing a new yoga mat.