Rated Best

A great chef's knife is the foundation of the kitchen essentials. And a sharp knife is critical for predictable handling. Most cuts in the kitchen come from knives that are too dull, which required the person to exert too much force, which leads to the knife slipping out of control.

Ceramic knives are getting a lot of attention these days since they are extremely hard. This means they will not lose their edge and require honing or resharpening like a metal knife. I took the plunge with a 6" knife, but I'm finding it a bit short for larger tasks. That's why I recommend a 7" at a minimum, or an 8" if you want to go big.

The blade on the knife is fantastically sharp. It doesn't get hung up on the tough, woody part of mangoes near the seed. I also find I can easily open thick vacuum-sealed plastic containers by running the blade across it on a cutting board. You do have to be a bit careful about not striking the blade too hard, as ceramic is more brittle than steel. it could crack or shatter. However this hasn't been a problem for me, as the sharpness of the blade makes extreme force unnecessary.

Although I prefer white, you can also get the blade in black if you're into a more modern (or goth) look.

Get a Kyocera ceramic knife from Amazon

I saw this video of the iBand in action and just had to get it.



Plus geek in me loves the idea of a product based on a non-Newtonian fluid.

Yes, the band is a bit harder than you might expect; it has to be to hold its shape. And it's a bit bulkier than other cases. But it has to be to offer real protection. This thing is well-designed. No matter how the iPhone lands (even flat on either side), the band absorbs the impact.

Having already dropped my original iPhone an cracked the screen, I'm not taking any chances with my new one. I'll put up with a bit of extra bulk as insurance against breakage. It also fits perfectly in my ProClip phone holder in my car. Just be sure to get the adjustable holder.

Get an iBand from Amazon

If you're looking for a computer to hook up to your TV. You can't go wrong with the Dell Zino HD. It's got everything you need:

• HDMI out for hooking directly to your TV
• Windows 7 Home, which comes with Windows Media Center (WMC), the best free DVR software on the market.
• WMC also supports many useful plug-ins (such as one for streaming NetFlix if you're a subscriber).
  
• A large hard drive to store all of those hours of HD programming you're going to record.

Plus at under $500, it's a great deal.

There are a few extras you'll want such as:

• a wireless keyboard
• a WMC remote
• a USB HDTV tuner

LifeHacker has some great tips on stuff for your home theater PC. I learned about the Kylo web browser from them.

Get a Dell Zino HD from Amazon

My criteria for a streaming music site are simple:

1. An account is NOT required in order to use
   
2. No limit on the number of times you can listen to a song
3. The ability to listen to full songs, not just clips
   
4. Comprehensive collection of songs
   
5. Ease of use in playing the song you want
6. High quality audio
   

GrooveShark is the best for all of these. It meets all of the criteria, and does so quite well. It also allows you to embed songs and playlists on other web pages/blog posts (although the process for doing this is quite obtuse). I also really like how GrooveShark does a pretty good job of de-duping search results. Other sites will list multiple versions of a song of varying length and quality.

Runners up include PlayList and YouTube. PlayList isn't as comprehensive, and doesn't de-dupe, and YouTube has low quality audio. Sites that don't meet my basic criteria include Rhapsody, MySpace, iTunes, and Amazon MP3.

Jeans are a wardrobe staple for me. Working as an engineer in Silicon Valley, one needs to dress the part. While I have tried other jeans over the years (Lee, Gap, Lands End, and even a few designer jeans), I keep coming back to Levi's.

Levi's have a lot of advantages over the competition:

• They fit me well.
  
• They are widely available
• They are inexpensive (~$30 a pair)
• They look good
  
• They are well made. Other jeans I've tried (especally the Gap jeans) stain, rip, or fall apart far too easily.

I used to buy 550s or 560s. Recently I bought 3 pairs of 569s. They were much more stylish and made the 550s and 560s look frumpy in comparison.

Get Levi's from Amazon

I changed my mind. I used to think that the Total Shaving Solution was the best shaving oil out there. But I admit it was the first one I tried. Any shaving oil is a massive improvement over shaving cream or gel, so you really can't go wrong. But I find Kinexium to be a better product than TSS for several reasons:

1. It's easier to dispense. A single squirt from the pump nozzle is all you need.
2. It doesn't have the overpowering menthol smell and feel like TSS.
3. It's slicker, making it easier to spread and easier to shave.

The price per fl oz is about the same as TSS. I found it at my local CVS drugstore. It's available online too from Amazon or eBay.

Get Kinexium from Amazon

Get MX75 headphones from Amazon

I love my Evo pen. I picked mine up several years ago at the MOMA store. I love it. It's the most comfortable pen I've ever used.

Then when I was packing for a long international trip, I stumbled upon the idea of taking one of the Evo cartridges with me in my money belt. It worked brilliantly. At 2.5" long, it's short enough to fit comfortably with my credit cards. But it's long enough to be usable for filling out travel forms and taking brief notes.

They are also very reasonably priced, at only $1 a piece (though you have to get them in sets of 3). I recommend you pick up an Evo pen while you're at it. At only $3, it's a great deal.

Get Evo pen refills from Amazon

I love my Apple aluminum keyboard. The flat keys, short travel, and ample margins between the keys make it the easiest keyboard I've found to type on. Plus it is quiet. No loud clicking to distract me from the thoughts I'm typing.

Of course the annoying thing is that it's designed to work with Macs. Still, that doesn't stop me from plugging it in and using it with my Windows PC. The only real difference is the Command key sends a Windows key event. Personally, I use the SharpKeys utility to remap my keys so that the Command key on the keyboard sends Ctrl and vice-versa.

You can also get a narrower version without the number pad on the right. This gives you a bit more space to operate your mouse on the right without straining your arm way out to the side. (I keep my mouse on the left, so I don't have this issue.)

Get an Apple keyboard from Amazon

Get stainless steel collar stays from Amazon