Three Authors Who Changed Books Forever

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If you get a kick out of books, one thing that will help you gain a new perspective on the books you read - and that will also help you to enjoy many of the books you read a lot more - is for you to understand what each writer did in order to "change the game" when it comes to literature. And while most of the well-known authors have, at some point, or in some way, changed writing at least a little bit, there are some writers who have changed the game more than others.

Mark Twain: One thing that many people these days are unaware of is the fact that Twain's most famous works (ever heard of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn?) were quite controversial at the time of their publication; not only is Twain considered one of the funniest men to ever write literature, but he was also a groundbreaking author in his time, exploring ideas and issues that other writers were unwilling (or unable!) to explore.

Ernest Hemingway: There are certainly plenty of readers who read Hemingway and find that they "do not get it," but even if you do not enjoy Hemingway yourself, it helps to understand the impact he had on literature; Hemingway was the first writer to make literature accessible to everyone - shedding the high-brow approach, and instead writing books that anyone could read, and that anyone could enjoy - and this influence has continued to echo throughout the ages that have followed.

Hunter S Thompson: "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" was Thompson's most well-known work, but he wrote many stories that were in a similar vein - what he called "Gonzo Journalism"; Gonzo Journalism entailed putting your own self in the story, and living wildly enough that you became the centerpiece of the story you were covering, and this new approach to writing changed the way many journalists viewed their craft.

Of course, you do not need the historical perspective in hand to enjoy any of these authors, but with this understanding of the ways in which these writers changed the game of literature, diving into their books will be an experience that is that much more enjoyable!

Record All of Your TV Shows in One Place

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Television today offers a wide range of options when it comes to finding something to watch. The choices become endless when you broaden the rage out to cable television. People find a huge amount of shows that they like to watch more often than not. Staying up to date on all of these shows is an issue since most people have such busy lives. Recordable DVDs and VCRs are a couple of options to use for recording these shows.

These options are unfortunately not very efficient though. The space they can record on is very limited for both. By far the worst of the options is the VCR since it doesn't allow you to pinpoint parts of the shows. Instead you will need to watch the tape through or fast forward and guess where to stop. The same issues are not had with a DVD recorder, but the DVDs are expensive. The space for recording on each DVD is very limited though.

TiVo TCD746320 Premiere DVR.

A DVR is the best option for recording your television shows. No actual media is needed to record on when you use a DVR device. Instead the shows are recorded directly to the device. A tremendous amount of space is available on DVRs when they are compared to a VCR or a DVD. A multitude of shows that you can watch on your time can be recorded. The same shows every week can be set to record on a DVR as well. This eliminates the need to set it up for every recording.

Stop using technology that has been left in the past to record your TV shows. A DVR is a much better option that can record all of your shows more efficiently than ever before. Digital TV is great to pair up with your DVR as well, allowing the DVR to pinpoint shows you want to watch and record them with ease. The solution to all of your recording needs is the DVR.

Gifts for the Sci-fi Fan

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Do you have a friend who really loves the sci-fi genre? If you do have a person like this in your life and you are not a sci-fi geek, you may be at a loss as to what to get them that they will really love. There are a number of great sci-fi box sets available. These classic series and/or movies can make a wonderful addition to their collection

Farscape was a longer running sci fi series that was created by the Jim Henson crew. The series does well with it's character development and has a great tongue and cheek dialog. Drawing you into the plot, you will find yourself hooked within the first few episodes. The premise of the series is main character John Crichton tries to get back to earth while his fugitive shipmates are all trying to get back to their home planets while avoiding being captured by the peacekeepers. The satirical humor in this series does a wonderful job lighting up the sci-fi feeling. 

Firefly, which gained a large following, was pulled form Fox before they finished the first season. The series ended very suddenly and there were many things left unanswered. A full-length feature film cleared up all of the mysteries left form the series. What makes this sci-fi series stand out is the distinct western feel they added. The characters are what really makes this series stand out. The dark humor threads it's way through the series bringing a lot of life to the story. This show has a completely different feel then some of the more traditional sci fi but holds its own following that is very strong. It doesn't take more than an episode or two to find yourself hooked.

Stargate started it's self as a full length film and quickly was adapted into a long running series on the sci-fi channel. The series has such a large following that they have done a number of spin offs and movies along the way. The premise of this show is interplanetary travel through gates to different planets. This series is great because not only is it rich visually but it is also full of twists and turns! The main series is SG-1 and the off spin is Stargate Atlantis. This series has a total of well over ten seasons.  This will provide hours of watching entertainment.

I have listed only three of many different sci-fi classics that have been created. If you like these you may want to check out other series such as Babylon 5, and Deep Space 9. Almost everyone has heard of Star Trek and Star Wars, but there are just so many other great options out there to consider.

How To Give Your Room A Thorough Cleaning

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There are two types of cleaning when you are going to clean your bedroom: the "surface cleaning," which is what most people do (and then wonder - a week or two later - how things got so messy again) and the "down and dirty cleaning," which will take care of the mess in your room for a long time! If you want to truly get your room clean - to a point where you can be happy with the way it looks, and where it almost feels like you live in a new room - follow these three simple steps to reach this point.

The first step of giving your room a thorough cleaning will actually end up making your room look like it is even more cluttered and messy than it was before, as the first step is that you dig out all the clutter that is hiding in drawers, closets, shelves, and corners, and that you throw away anything from this mess that you do not actually need!

Once you have thrown away all the accumulated "nothingness" that has found nooks and crannies in your room over the years, you can start to clean up the clutter that you have created; in order for this portion of your cleaning to be successful, you will need to make sure you are putting everything back in a neat and organized manner, rather than creating new messes by tossing everything back in a hodgepodge manner.

Once you have your trash bags full of all the things you are getting rid of and have put back everything that you took out, you can take on the final, surface task of dusting and vacuuming; take the time to dust and vacuum right, also - getting every surface and every bit of floor space clean.

Accomplishing this task might take a bit of time and a good deal of work, but once you have completed it, you will feel extremely refreshed, and it will be a long time before you have to give your room such a thorough cleaning again!

Instructions For Making A Latte At Home

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If you are a big fan of lattes from Starbucks, but you do not feel like spending all that money each day, you may want to learn to make lattes at home. And actually, considering how much lattes at Starbucks cost, you can buy the equipment to make lattes at home (in fact, the equipment does not cost that much), and you will still be saving tons of money, as you can make each latte for about 20 cents!

A latte contains espresso, steamed milk, and (depending on preference) some sort of flavoring, so if you want to make a latte at home, you will have to be able to make espresso. When you buy beans to make espresso, make sure you buy espresso beans instead of regular coffee beans, and make sure you grind them until they are extremely fine. There are a lot of espresso machines out there as well, and these machines can range from inexpensive to downright outrageous! The Mr Coffee 4 Cup Espresso Machine is a solid machine that works well, and if you are buying on a budget, it is a perfect machine - on Amazon, it only costs $35!

The next thing you will need if you want to make a latte at home is some steamed milk. When it comes to steaming milk, there are milk steamers you can buy, or you can save money by simply steaming the milk right there on your stove. You will be good to go as long as you keep in mind the fact that the milk needs to be constantly stirred, rather than just sitting there.

Once you have two to three shots of espresso prepared, pour these shots into a 16 ounce cup and add the flavoring you usually get in your lattes. You can purchase latte flavoring on Amazon for a great price, and a single bottle will last you a long, long time!

After you have added the flavoring to the espresso, you can add the steam milk that you have prepared and can stir the whole thing up; you will now have a delicious latte that compares favorably to what you usually buy at Starbucks! In this way, you can have your special coffee treat every day without going broke in the process!

What Tools will you Need for Tiling?

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Have you ever walked into someone’s house and were jealous that they had nice tiled floors in their kitchen and bathroom? Believe it or not, you can have these beautiful tiles too. Tiling is actually pretty easy to do when you have the correct tools at your disposal. Start off by doing a bit of reading to aquaint yourself with the steps required to tile. Though easy to do, you do need to know the steps involved. One book that can provide you with the steps and lots of ideas are Stanley Complete Tiling. After you understand the steps, you have got to get your hands on some tools.

One of the most important things you will have to purchase is a 7" wet table saw.  This will be a absolute necessity when you have to cut tile. The tile will be completely chipped and shattered if you attempt to use a dry table saw to cut the tiling.  A wet saw is a must. Because of how loud the cutting is, and the amount of chips that go flying from the tile having protective equiptment is highly recommended.  Gloves, ear protection, and safety glasses are highly recommended purchases.

You will also need to purchase a laser level, or even better a laser level square, which will aid you in lining the tiles up straight. The appearence of your flooring can be made or broken by the way your tiles are lined up. A mortar trowel will also be necessary when you go to lay your tile onto your mortar. The purpose of the trowel is to help keep the amount of mortar consistant under all of the tiles. Grouting is one of the final steps in the tiling process.

You can grout with a little less mess by using a grouting bag. Grouting can be incredibly messy work, so plan on also needing to purchase sponges and rags to assist in the cleaning off of extra grout. Finally after everything is set, dried, and cured, you will have to seal your grout as the final step to the process. The key to tiling is basically having the right tools for your use, the rest is just following the steps.

Changing Your Oil and Its Importance

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Changing your oil is the most important maintenance you will do on your automobile. It will determine how long the vital parts in your motor will last. A car will be able to be driven for many years if the owner makes sure to constantly change the oil in it. A failure to change oil on cars will result in them lasting only short periods of time and major mechanical issues over their life. Only a top end oil filter on your engine should be used for this exact reason.

Mobil is one of the top names in oil. Quality motor oils have been their creation for many decades. Knowing this it should come as no surprise that they also make one of the best oil filters in the industry. Many oil filters only have a few leaves of actual filtration inside the filter. Actually taking a look inside the filter after opening it is the only way to tell for sure. Mobil has been tested and cut open by many of the top consumer reporting agencies. Most of them have the best listed as the Mobil brand.

Mobil is able to trap a majority of dirt and grime inside your oil with their extra filtration. These filters really outperform the other filters on the market. Another advantage is their proven ability to hold twice the amount of contaminants as their competition. This allows you to have confidence that your oil system will stay clean. Even when you go past the normal intervals for oil changes, the Mobil brand of filters are built to with stand the extra stress.

Use a Mobil filter the next time you need to do an oil change on your car. As well as the filter, you should use the Mobil One full synthetic oil for your next change. Your engine will have the best protection available when you choose to use these two products on each oil change. Your car will go well beyond the normal mileage that its predecessors have gone.

Mobil 1 Extended Performance Oil Filter