Mooch a book.
This weekend, why don’t you hole yourself up in your bedroom? Borrow a good book from one of your friends. Better yet, get a free e-book somewhere and use your e-book reader (I use my PSP). You don’t even have to get dressed for the day. Just stay in and immerse yourself in a wonderful fantasy novel!

Oh, and check out this site called BookMooch. You can give and get books all you want!

Play a game.
You can do this alone or with friends. With the mood I am in, I am probably better off playing Guitar Hero by myself. Otherwise, I might end up hitting someone with my guitar (and no, I cannot afford to buy a new one). Anyway, this is a perfect blues chases. Get out your favorite video game and forget the world.

Play around with Wolfram Alpha.
Wolfram Alpha, in case you haven’t heard (shame on you!), is the newest in search engine technology. Heck, its creators do not even call it a search engine. It’s a computational something…yeah, I need to play with it a little more.

Plasma Televisions do not come cheap. They cost roughly thrice the price of a normal television set. With the various brands such as Sony, Pioneer, Samsung and AOC fighting for supremacy of the consumer nod, each would have their own version. Of the brands, it is of course Sony that still leads the race for the proven brand. But the other brands cannot be taken for granted. They have had their own share of patrons and this is not only because of price but more on the quality of their plasma TV product today.

It won’t take long before everyone would be craving to have their own plasma TV at home. Taiwan for example goes as far as having them in all their elevators today, much made from different brands. But in reality, it has become psychological that plasma TV ownership becomes a status symbol as well.

There have been a lot of portable DVD players launched but not all people are buying them. One reason is their pricing which may double or even triple the price of the standard DVD players we see today. While being portable is one of the forefronts of their marketability, people just don’t see the logic how anyone would want a portable DVD player for such outrageous prices.

This development is what one would call an overlooked product offering. True that some people want portable stuff but why such when the demand for DVD players is already satisfactory for the standard and component type DVD players. Status symbol perhaps? For what it’s worth, unless these portable DVD players can find something to be different outside being handy, it may not last long in the market.

Photography has rampantly grown and a lot of people have invested largely in making photography as a hobby and a lot has to do with the advanced features that imagery offers.

The beauty of objects are indeed enticed all the more and with the modifications through the use of such photo imaging software like Adobe Photoshop and Ulead Visual Studios, a lot of people have become adept with making unique creations with raw images taken from their very own digital cameras.

Chances are, once these people become less satisfied, going for the more expensive camera lines such as Canon and Nikon is not far behind. Aspiring photographers will simply build on their interest and aim for perfection in digital imaging at its fines resolution possible.

While such is a given, there are people who can give their two cents worth of opinions and stored knowledge as well. This all stems from these individuals who have put emphasis on certain areas of interest that include electronics, travel and history. Not all people are expected to invest such effort and time since every individual would want to cater to a lot of things with nothing particular to specialize in.

Ideally, such knowledge from people which are tagged geeks at some time would go as far as holding technical information such as content, components and workflow processes. Such areas are not given much attention in the normal phase of life. But such are investments to which one day; such stored and solicited knowledge shall be of big use towards other people and big entities who seek better knowledge as well.

So how is it supposed to work? Currently undergoing testing right now, the wireless laundry scheme connects washers and dryers to the Internet or cellphones. When a cycle is done, the user can be notified wherever he or she may be, whatever he or she may be doing. The system can also inform the user if the wash load is too much or if there is a clog in the machine.

The whole experiment is getting a lot of mixed reactions. Some think it’s a brilliant idea. Indeed, not having to run down to the basement every few minutes to check on the laundry is convenient. Yet some think that it’s like trying to fix something that isn’t broken. In other words, frivolous.
As for me, I think it could work, although it’s not really a need. Convenience is the name of the game here. If you can save up several minutes to do other things instead of wasting time checking on the laundry, then why not. Then of course, there is the issue of cost.

Call me a cheapskate but if this little “innovation” is going to cost me big bucks, then I’d rather stick with the old ways.

If you’re into discovering new music every now and then, here’s the perfect application for you: TuneGlue. The idea behind this site is nothing new. It points you towards the direction of other artists that you may not have heard of, based on the artists that you already like. I am sure that other sites like Pandora are coming to mind right now.

So how does it work? Obviously, you first need to go to their site: TuneGlue. (Now if that wasn’t too obvious, then you might need to get yourself checked first.) Anyhow, once you get to the site, you simply type in an artist that you like. TuneGlue will then show you an network of related artists.

The cool thing about it is that you can choose to “expand” each node (a node represents an artist) and get more and more choices. In this sense, your choices are practically limitless! Take a look at how my search expanded. I started with Muse, then expanded Radiohead, then expanded Blur. I also liked how you can click and drag the nodes around to make the network fit – they kinda bounce around, it’s hilarious.

As for the quality of the suggestions, the site is backed up by information from LastFM and Amazon – you can’t really go wrong with that.

So, in spite of the rain and the cab drivers who make their passengers’ lives hell, I decided not to wait till Saturday to go. Needless to say, the moment I got the unit, I went straight home and lovingly set it up. It’s been almost two whole days of having the PS3 unit now – what’s my verdict?

Initial thoughts – I couldn’t believe how cheap the PS3 Slim is! My first PS3 (60G bundled with MotorStorm) cost me double the price of the Slim! That is why I had to double check the price with the saleslady and I had to make sure it was the US version.

Regarding the looks, well, it is definitely much smaller, thinner, and lighter. Sony did not exaggerate about the size and weight. I have to admit that I am still getting used to seeing a flatter black thing beside the TV, but it still is a pretty sight. Some people complain about the matte finishing (the original one had a sleek glossy finish), but I think it is just as nice – no danger of fingerprint smudges on this baby.

The performance? It is very very quiet! With the sounds from the TV and other ambient sounds, I cannot hear the PS3 at all! The gaming experience has not changed much at all; at least from what I have seen playing GTA, NFS Prostreet, and Guitar Hero – but that is hardly anything to complain about. With a 120G hard drive at this price, the PS3 Slim is definitely worth it.

Ever heard of Keane? This is the European band that brought us hits like “Everybody’s Changine” and “Somewhere Only We Know.” Musical style aside, the reason for the group being labeled as geeky is the fact that they did something along those lines.

On the night of April 2, Keane became the first band ever to broadcast one of their concerts on the web. Even geekier, they did it through 3D. Now is that cool or what???

They performed a set at the world famous Abbey Road studios while all the wizardry of technology surrounded them, bringing their performance live to all their fans who were avidly watching this groundbreaking event. Naturally, the fans who heard about this gig were rushing out to the stores before the event – to get themselves a pair of 3D glasses. That is, if they didn’t have them lying around the house somewhere.

And what do they have to say about being called geeks? Well, true to form, the band members are loving it! Come to think of it, they have never been strangers to technology – even their music is filled with it. What can I say? Geekiness is an art. It is artistry!