This Thursday, November 19, is the date of the annual sexiest night of the year: The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. It's taking place at the Lexington Avenue Armory in NYC, hosted by mama Heidi Klum (right), and do you know what cocktail they'll be serving at the after-party at M2? You're about to.
The Stoli Angel Elixir has been specially crafted for the event and will be available at M2's official Victoria's Secret Fashion Show After Party. This is a must-have for any viewing soiree (the show will be aired on CBS December 1), and we've got the recipe:
Stoli Angel Elixir 1 oz Stoli Gala Applik 3 strawberries Sprinkles of vanilla sugar Rosé Sparkling Dessert Wine
Muddle strawberries and vanilla sugar. Add Stoli Gala Applik, shake well and strain into a flute. Top with rose sparking dessert wine. Garnish with edible gold dust & pink aphrodisiac rose petal.
If you're baffled by the gold dust, don't worry, it's perfectly safe. You can grab a jar at PastryChef.com for $107.99.
After 12 months of unbroken Conservative dominance in the polls, today's figures � showing the Tories on 40%, down two, Labour on 31%, up two, and the Liberal Democrats on 18% � are likely to increase calls for Brown to go to the ... Read More... [Source: Conservative - Google Blog Search]
The holiday slowdown is in full swing, with almost all regular shows off-air or in reruns, but don't think that gets you out of your television duties: There are Vampire Diaries and Doctor Whos to catch up on!
Monday
Get your day started off in the right way with Syfy's Highlander: The Raven marathon, from 8:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. Wait, did I say "right"? I meant, "It's Highlander, surely you can find something better to watch on another channel."
The CW, meanwhile, takes advantage of everything else in primetime being on holiday break by starting a weeklong catch-up for The Vampire Diaries at 8pm, with two episodes running each night until Friday.
Tuesday
You know you're in trouble when a new episode of Syfy's Outer Space Astronauts is the highlight of the day (It's on at 9pm). Otherwise, it's an Early Edition marathon on the same channel from 8am through 3pm and another two hours of The Vampire Diaries on the CW at 8pm for you. Suddenly, NBC's Glee/American Idol mash-up The Sing-Off seems very tempting, doesn't it...?
Wednesday
Again, it's a Syfy marathon from 8am to 3pm (Today, Moonlight) and two hours of Vampire Diaries (from 8pm on the CW) to keep you busy today, although your sanity may be regained with the help of a brand new Mythbusters on Discovery at 9pm (It's called "Hidden Nasties," which can only bode well) and you can always wash your brain out at the end of the day with Eastwick's new episode, "Tea and Psycopathy":
After Jamie reveals to Roxie that Darryl is his father, she sets about having a dinner party where father and son can bond. However, Jamie has a secret, darker plan for the evening. Meanwhile, Kat embraces her newfound power by healing every patient she is exposed to, but her compassion leads to drastic physical consequences. Max asks a reluctant Joanna to help him crack a famous unsolved Eastwick murder, but their snooping leads them to a perilous situation with Eleanor.
Admittedly, after a plot description like that, I'm not sure anyone needs to actually watch the show.
Thursday
I don't remember Level 9, but Syfy definitely does; that's their 8am through 3pm marathon for the day. Aside from the CW's two hour Vampire Diaries block - 8pm until 10pm, remember - your night is both free and clear for you to tune into the special Christmas compilation of Saturday Night Live sketches on NBC at 8pm, just to see if "Dick In A Box" is still funny years later.
Friday
Finally, Syfy's daytime marathon comes through with the goods! It's Stargate SG-1 all day from 8am to 3pm.
As well as (an old) Christmas episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, you can be advance-grateful for Dollhouse's latest double bill ("Stop-Loss"/"The Attic", Fox 8pm) for giving you something new to watch instead of another couple of episodes of The Vampire Diaries on the CW at the same time. If you need any more reason to tune into the Whedon world, this double bill includes the episode where Victor's contract expires...
Saturday
Syfy put in a strong showing with a monster movie marathon (9:30am: Mutants, 11:30am: Lockjaw: Rise of The Kulev Serpent, 1pm: Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, 3pm Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed, 5pm: Ice Spiders, 7pm: Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, 9pm: My Name Is Bruce, 11pm: Alien Apocalypse and finally at 1am, the infamous Mansquito).
But U.S. viewers who haven't already found a way to watch it will be much happier with BBC America's Doctor Who afternoon, which runs old episodes from 2:30 before the 8pm Inside The Tardis behind-the-scenes episode, and the 9pm premiere of the uncut The Waters Of Mars. Thank you for being so good to us, American Beeb.
Sunday
I think you might want to leave the house for the day. Do some last-minute holiday shopping or something, because there's not really a lot to keep you inside and in front of the television... Maybe you should TiVo all those Vampire Diaries and watch them...
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season.
Digital cameras are the bread-and-butter of holiday gadget giving -- everyone wants one, and everyone wants a better one. But you can't just dole out any shooter you can find -- you need to find the right balance of image quality, features, and usability for your intended recipient, and hold the line on your bank account as well. Sounds daunting, but we've pulled up a few of the more interesting models out there to help you out.
Chile's presidential vote had been led by Sebastian Pinera, conservative billionaire, and just on Monday had been seen as the favorite to win a runoff, as well as to lead a regime change over in Latin America's model economy. ... Read More... [Source: Conservative - Google Blog Search]
2010 Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion - click above for high-res image gallery
When Volkswagen rolled out the all new 2010 Polo last March in Geneva, the automaker also showed a revamped BlueMotion version as a concept. That updated Polo BlueMotion is now available for order in European markets. The new high-efficiency Polo is powered by a new 1.2-liter three cylinder TDI diesel that is essentially the 1.6-liter Golf engine with one cylinder lopped off the end. The diesel triple is rated at 73.8 hp, which helps contribute to the 22 percent drop in fuel consumption compared to the last Polo BlueMotion.
Like other BlueMotion models, the Polo is highly optimized for maximum efficiency including features like auto start-stop, brake energy regeneration and aerodynamic tweaks. The result is a non-hybrid car that is rated at 71.3 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined driving cycle. That's up from 56 mpg on the old model. The CO2 emissions are down from 109 g/km to just 87 g/km.
During an awards presentation at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, actor Zachary Quinto revealed that he would be the "voice" for Star Trek Online, the upcoming MMO title from developer Cryptic Studios and publisher Atari. Quinto did not make clear if he would just be an unnamed voice in the game or if he would be reprising his role of Spock in the recent movie revival.
Besides playing Spock, Quinto is best known for his role as the complex super villain Sylar in NBC's Heroes TV series. Hopefully we will learn more about his role in Star Trek Online in the near future.
My mom lived out the last few years of her life in a nursing home. The question, "What can we give Grandma?" was one I would hear every year about this time.
I knew that Mom loved chocolate, playing Bingo and word find puzzles. A rare debilitating disease had robbed her of her fine motor skills and her speech. So much for Bingo and puzzles. With each passing month, it became more and more difficult for her to swallow. So much for giving a box of chocolates.
Even without physical limitations, it can be a real chore figuring out what to get our elderly relatives. In my mom's case, I could buy her a new nightie and she loved getting new tops (clothes tend to get lost in a nursing home.) Another good choice seemed to be body wash that the staff would use for her shower and body lotions as the air is often dry during the winter months.
We love DIY projects here at Lifehacker. Whether we're building computers, backyard projects, or turning office supplies into artillery, we're always tinkering. Today we're taking a peek at the most popular DIY projects of 2009.
Inspired by a tutorial we posted last year, we decided to make our own DIY sun jars. The trendy summer time lighting accessory retails for $30+ but we were able to make ours for around $10 each. The sun jars proved to be our most popular non-computer DIY of the entire year and readers shared their own creations with us.
Building your own computer is a great way to get exactly what you want, the way you want it, without being constrained by the limits and high-prices of mass produced computers. We showed you how to build a computer from start to finish and have fun doing it.
What's standing between you and some office mayhem? Certainly not a lack of Sharpie markers and keyboard dusting spray. Combine the two with this fun DIY project and you've got one of the most awesome pieces of office-machinery we've ever featured.
You need to be properly erasing your physical media: all the time, every time. Our guide will show you how to get the job done and done right whether you use software to scrub your disks or you send them to the great data mine in the sky with a 21-gun salute.
Why settle for a digital picture frame when, in the same wall space, you could mount an entirely functional computer/slideshow player/TV tuner? One Lifehacker reader turned an old laptop into a super-charged digital frame.
We've always been keen on DIY laptop stands, but reader Aaron Kravitz—inspired by an attractive $50 stand—went above and beyond, creating one of the most attractive DIY laptop stands we've featured to date.
If the Hive Five on best home server software got you excited about setting up a home server but you're not keen on another unsightly PC in your home, check out this DIY IKEA NAS.
We've shown you how to make an air conditioner (even for as low as $30), but what if you wanted something you can put in your car and take with you? While it's no substitute for a fully-charged and factory-fresh AC system, it'll keep you cool.
Who hasn't dreamed of having a mystery-story-style secret passageway? While a trick bookshelf is pretty awesome in itself, this secret passage hides a home office with clever style. One industrious Lifehacker reader and his girlfriend had grown tired of seeing their office from their living space, so they hid it behind a wall of books.
You've ripped a movie on your laptop, and now want it on that fancy new home theater PC next to your TV. If you've got the time, wiring your house with Cat-5e cable could make transfer times a distant memory.
We're all about creative cable management here at Lifehacker, so we were instantly drawn to reader Seandavid010's rain-gutter cable management setup. He was awesome enough to send detailed photos and step by step instructions to help other readers recreate his setup.
The lights went out on analog television this year and we were there with a guide to help you build a great DIY antenna for boosting your reception and getting that crisp digital picture you crave.
Lifehacker reader Matt Lumpkin saw our monitor stand from door stoppers post and thought we might like his laptop rack hack as another space-saving desktop solution for laptop-lovers. He was right.
Suppose you were inspired by the cheap DIY home pizza oven—but weren't so sure your home insurance would cover oven modifications. It's time to build a safer, more eye-pleasing oven, and we've got a thorough guide.
Two years ago we highlighted how to crack a Master combination padlock for those of you who may have lost the combination to your bulletproof lock; now designer Mark Campos has turned the tried-and-true instructions into an easier-to-follow visual guide.
We've covered the invisible floating bookshelf once or twice before, but if you liked the idea but weren't keen on ruining a book in the process, weblog May December Home's got you covered.
Instead of storing your books upright on top of the shelf, the inverted bookshelf holds all of your books in place using elastic webbing so you can hang them below the shelf—all the while allowing you to still take them out and put them back on as needed.
If you'd like to have delicious home-grown tomatoes but lack a garden to grow them in, you'll definitely want to check out this ingenious and inexpensive self-watering system.
A few years ago, blogger Jimmie Rodgers's camera was stolen while volunteering in an impoverished Brazilian community, so he did what any sane person would do: He bought a new camera and made it ugly. With his uglified camera, Rodgers was able to snap pictures freely during the rest of his trip without worrying too much that his ostensibly crappy camera would end up stolen.
Nothing adds space to a desk or home theater setup like a simple monitor or TV stand, and weblog IKEA Hacker details how to build your own stand on-the-cheap with a few inexpensive items from IKEA.
You don't need to run out and buy a new TV because of the DTV switchover. If you did anyways, Make Magazine has put together quite a guide to giving old TVs new life.
If you need some cheap and novel ambient lighting for your next party, you're only a box of ping-pong balls and a string of lights away from solving your lighting worries.
DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum, inspired by the cheaper set-top boxes, made his own higher-powered "BoxeeBox" for the free, open-source media center. He posted all the parts, the how-to details, and lots of pictures.
You already shelled out your hard earned cash for a swanky laptop, why drop more cash on an overpriced laptop stand? Cardboard alone can do the trick, as detailed in this step-by-step tutorial.
Have a favorite DIY from 2009 that wasn't highlighted here? Sound off in the comments with a link to your favorite project. Want to see more popular DIY guides courtesy of the ghost of Lifehacker past? Check out our huge DIY guide roundup from 2008.
Of course, as more and more details about the Nexus One have emerged, we’re left with even more questions about this device and its place in the mobile industry. We’ve already discussed what the Nexus One will need to do to compete against the iPhone, but what about other Android devices? What makes the Nexus One different and how can it compete against the Droid? These are our biggest questions and observations about the Nexus One as it stands right now.
How Is it Different?
“An iPhone on steroids” makes for a nice soundbite, but that’s not enough to set the Nexus One — or any mobile phone — apart from the pack. Aside from the Google partnership and the fact that it is already running the latest build of Android, what sets this phone apart from others? What makes this phone different and unique from HTC’s other offerings?
Simply being branded as an official Google device isn’t going to be enough unless the phone has some unique or exclusive features. Right now, it sounds like the phone has a really fast processor and a beautiful OLED screen, but that may or may not be enough for customers to go through the required hoops of buying the device.
Can Google Make Selling Unlocked Devices Work in the U.S.?
Right now, the word on the street is that Google is going to offer the Nexus One unlocked for GSM networks. This is a strategy that might work extremely well in Europe, where every wireless network is GSM-based, but in the U.S., it’s a risky strategy. First, let’s acknowledge that unless an unlocked CDMA version is also available, the phone will work only on AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States (assuming that the phone is unlocked for both 3G spectrums), plus a number of regional GSM providers.
Google is going to need a real incentive (either price, features or both) to convince users to buy the phone and take it to another carrier. In Europe, the “compete for my business” tactic might just be brilliant enough to work. However, pitting AT&T and T-Mobile against each other, especially when T-Mobile already has its own line of Android-based devices, doesn’t seem likely unless there are tons and tons of customers looking to ditch existing contracts and buy the phone.
That’s another issue: Being unlocked doesn’t mean that the phone won’t still require a contract just to get onto a wireless network. Sure, existing subscribers can probably just swap the phone for whatever phone they are currently using and not have to worry about resigning a contract — but unless we’re talking a pay-as-you-go sort of option, contracts without term limits are not something that the wireless industry seems ready to embrace.
Will This Splinter the Android Market?
If you’re Verizon and Motorola, you’re unlikely to be happy that the Nexus One is stealing Droid’s thunder. If you’re Sony-Ericson, Samsung or LG, you’re probably equally miffed or at least worried about what the Nexus One means for your Android plans.
Android’s biggest asset — its ability to run on many different devices by many manufacturers — is also one of its setbacks. Both Windows Mobile and Symbian are examples of platforms embraced by lots of different manufacturers that have ultimately suffered because of inconsistencies across models, versions and phones.
Version and device splintering is already a cause for concern for Android, because devices running different versions of the OS (some that can be updated, some that can’t be) already exist. For developers, having to choose which versions to support and what device-specific features to support is an issue that is going to become even more apparent as Android continues to expand.
If the Nexus One is going to be considered the ultimate Android device, will other Android makers need to introduce new and unique features to their own devices to compete? What does that do to the Android Market?
Google Could Shake Up the Industry
Whatever misgivings and questions I might have about Nexus One, I absolutely acknowledge that Google has the potential to shake up the entire industry. Just as Apple changed expectations and user experiences in 2007, Google could change the business of how phones and contracts are sold. Google is not to be underestimated.
Even by risking intra-platform splintering, Google’s personalized take on the mobile phone experience will offer great competition. It prevents industry leaders from sitting back and relaxing. As The Breakfast Club’s Principal Vernon would say, “don’t mess with the bull young man, you’ll get the horns.”
Apple Stores continue to be sizable targets for theft, it seems -- the local paper in Lancaster, PA reports that four young men stole 17 iPhones from the displays at an Apple Store recently, resulting in almost $10,000 worth of losses. The robbery took place during the day; at around 1:30pm, the young men just started grabbing, and walked out of the store with as many iPhones as they could carry.
Not that it'll probably do anything but get them in trouble. All of the phones are already entered in a crime database, and they were removed from the store without SIM cards, so any attempt to officially activate them will probably raise flags somewhere. Of course, from my time in retail I know that most retailers just usually write losses like this off, as it's just cheaper to eat the loss than deal with going after whoever stole the units. But you never know -- the police apparently have video and everything, so if the kids are caught, maybe they will face the music.
Moral of the story: don't leave your iPhone lying around an Apple Store? On the other hand, the warehouses aren't safe either, at least not in Belgium...
This Thursday, November 19, is the date of the annual sexiest night of the year: The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. It's taking place at the Lexington Avenue Armory in NYC, hosted by mama Heidi Klum (right), and do you know what cocktail they'll be serving at the after-party at M2? You're about to.
The holiday slowdown is in full swing, with almost all regular shows off-air or in reruns, but don't think that gets you out of your television duties: There are 
During an awards presentation at the 
We love DIY projects here at Lifehacker. Whether we're building computers, backyard projects, or turning office supplies into artillery, we're always tinkering. Today we're taking a peek at the most popular DIY projects of 2009.
Why settle for a digital picture frame when, in the same wall space, you could mount an entirely functional computer/slideshow player/TV tuner? One Lifehacker reader turned an old laptop into a super-charged digital frame.
You've ripped a movie on your laptop, and now want it on that fancy new home theater PC next to your TV. If you've got the time, wiring your house with Cat-5e cable could make transfer times a distant memory.
The lights went out on analog television this year and we were there with a guide to help you build a great DIY antenna for boosting your reception and getting that crisp digital picture you crave.
