Collected by The Manolith Team

There has been a sharp rise recently of so-called geek girls, and the sad fact is that many, if not most, of these women are nothing near geeky. While the elusive geek girl does, in fact, exist, she’s much less common than most would care to admit. There are criteria that must be met to make a proper geek girl; she must be geeky, she must be a techie, and she must be hot. Too many misconceptions are throwing off the curve, and people need to understand that receiving a 300 page phone bill does not make a girl geeky. It makes her a stereotype that is far older, and less respectable. We’re here to set the record straight, with these 12 women who all qualify as the hottest geek girls to have graced the Internet’s tubes of fame.

Marina Orlova

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This 28 year-old Russian vixen doesn’t spend her time bouncing around in front of a camera just for kicks – she’s out to educate in the process. Originally an etymologist, Marina found that applying her considerable knowledge in an unorthodox fashion was a quick way to beat the economy, and in 2007 Hot for Words was born. Averaging at over two million views per video, Marina pretty much owns YouTube. She’s been singled out by Wired, G4, and Cosmopolitan as one the world’s sexiest geek girls, and we’re tipping our hats as well.

Jade Raymond

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She may be one quarter Aussie, a quarter Chinese, and half Canadian, but this geek girl is 100% awesome. She produced Assassin’s Creed in 2007, and she’s the sequel’s executive producer this year. She’s spent time working for Sony Online and Electronic Arts, two of the biggest names in the industry. One thing’s for certain; Ubisoft is one lucky gaming company to have her guiding their code.

Marissa Mayer

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She may be called The Cupcake Princess, but Marissa Mayer is no joke. She’s Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at Google. What’s that mean? It means within the walls of Google, what she says goes. She studied artificial intelligence at Stanford, and before she became the first woman to work at Google, she worked for UBS in a Zurich lab.

Veronica Belmont

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Gorgeous and aptly named Veronica Belmont began her career as an A/V nerd out of Boston’s Emerson College. She’s since hopped coasts and now spends her time in San Francisco, attending tech events and hosting tech shows for people like Sony and Revision3. That’s when she’s not busy podcasting, or logging hours on her PS3.

Jolie O’Dell

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Jolie has a pretty solid history as a writer and journalist, and though she’s technically freelance, spends most of her time these days over at Read Write Web. Unlike most geeky goddesses, this redhead is actually pretty down to earth, even downright girl next door in the way she interacts with people. Add this girl to your reading list – You won’t be sorry.

Olivia Munn

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No man can make it through a day in the life of a modern geek without the sight of Olivia Munn somewhere in his periphery. Whether she’s in a Wonder Woman outfit, or a Princess Leia bikini, she’s everywhere. And for good reason – She’s gorgeous. She’s become the face of not only G4, but all geekery as well, due to her long-running success as co-host of Attack of the Show.

Jessica Chobot

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Born Jessica Lynn Horn, it’s understandable that Ms. Chobot prefers a pseudonym. With looks like hers, the constant threat of bad punnery must have been stressful, to say the least. She’s a huge anime nerd on top of being a staff-writer for IGN, and if that’s not enough, she dabbles in Maxim and FHM in her spare time. She’s been on G4’s Attack of the Show several times, and is most noted for licking what is arguably the luckiest PSP ever built.

Morgan Webb

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Morgan’s shown her resilience matches her geekiness by outlasting nearly every other employee who worked alongside her at TechTV before it merged with G4 in 2004. Since then, she’s steadily cemented her fame by not only hosting X-Play, but also making appearances in nearly every other tech show and convention possible. She’s even spent time writing for FHM, responding to despondent, horny gamer nerds once a month in her own column.

Amber MacArthur

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Another Canadian, Amber came down from the deep north to work for Microsoft, and even spent time in San Francisco working for Razorfish. She hangs out with Leo Laporte on a regular basis, and she’s hosted or made appearances on a laundry list of tech shows and podcasts over the years.

Felicia Day

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Felicia may have started off in the realm of pure acting, but she drifted into something much deeper when she helped create The Guild. Geeks everywhere suddenly became aware of the notoriously pale, gorgeous internet-star when episodes of the severely under-funded show began popping up in their inboxes. She’s now a full-blown web-celebrity now, and unlike many, works hard to earn her place in geeky lists everywhere.

Natali Del Conte

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This native Californian now hangs out in New York, and she’s serious business. She’s one of CNET’s senior editors, and she’s worked with Wired, TechCrunch, PC Magazine and a host of newspapers and other publications. She’s an experienced podcaster, and she’s made appearances on numerous other tech shows and broadcasts, including G4’s Attack of the Show.

Leah Culver

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Leah Culver was a co-founder of Pownce (now defunct), and now codes for Six Apart. She’s largely responsible for OAuth, which you probably used on at least one website today. She’s obscenely cute, and codes better than you do. She’s got a thing for old VW’s and Diet Coke, which pretty much makes her awesome.

Written by Gimundo

Ever heard of Stanislav Petrov?

Probably not—but you may very well owe him your life.

Petrov, a former member of the Soviet military, didn’t actually do anything but that’s precisely the point.

In 1983, Petrov held a very important station: As lieutenant colonel, he was in charge of monitoring the Soviet Union’s satellites over the United States, and watching for any sign of unauthorized military action.

This was the Cold War era, and suspicions were high; on September 1, the Soviet Union had mistakenly shot down a Korean aircraft it had believed to be a military plane, killing 269 civilians, including an American Congressman. The Soviet Union believed that the United States might launch a missile attack at any moment, and that they would be forced to respond with their own arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Several weeks after the airplane disaster, on September 23, another officer called in sick, so Petrov was stuck working a double shift at a secret bunker, monitoring satellite activity, when “suddenly the screen in front of me turned bright red,” Petrov told BBC News. “An alarm went off. It was piercing, loud enough to raise a dead man from his grave.”

According to the system, the United States had launched five missiles, which were rapidly heading into Soviet territory. The U.S.S.R. was under attack.

All Petrov had to do was push the flashing red button on the desk in front of him, and the Soviets would retaliate with their own battery of missiles, launching a full-scale nuclear war.

“For fifteen seconds, we were in a state of shock,” he told The Washington Post. “We needed to understand, what’s next?”

Though the bunker atmosphere was chaotic, Petrov, who had trained as a scientist, took the time to analyze the data carefully before making his decision. He realized that, if the U.S. did attack, they would be unlikely to launch a mere five missiles at once. And when he studied the system’s ground-based radar, he could see no evidence of oncoming missiles.

He still couldn’t say for sure what was going on, but “I had a funny feeling in my gut,” he told The Post. “I didn’t want to make a mistake. I made a decision, and that was it.”

Luckily for all of us, he decided not to push that button. Later, his instincts were proven right—the malfunctioning system had given him a false alarm, and the U.S. had not deployed any missiles. Thanks to Petrov’s cool head, nuclear war had been narrowly averted, and millions of lives were saved.

Unfortunately, Petrov didn’t exactly receive a heroic reward from the Soviet military: Embarrassed by their own mistakes, and angry at Petrov for breaking military protocol, they forced him into early retirement with a pension of $200 a month. Petrov’s brave act was kept secret from the outside world until the 1998 publication of a book by one of Petrov’s fellow officers, who witnessed his courage on that terrifying night.

Since the book’s publication, Petrov has been honored by the United Nations and presented with a World Citizen Award, and there has been talk of giving him the Nobel Prize. Still, the humble Russian scientist plays down his role in averting a nuclear crisis: “I was simply the right person in the right time, that was all,” he said in the upcoming documentary, The Red Button and the Man Who Saved the World.

We’ve got to disagree with him. Sure, he may have done nothing but in this case, it might just be the hardest thing to do.

By Kathryn Hawkins for Gimundo, the site for good news, served daily.

Written by B. of STFU, Parents

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on Facebook, shaken my head and thought, “I haven’t seen you in 10 years, but I know your infant son is constipated?” or “Where did we meet again? And why do I know that your 4-year-old is still breast-feeding?”

You don’t have to be a parent to overshare, and not all parents do. But to those moms and dads out there telling the world every detail about little Catharyn or Jackson, this list is for you. Here are the Top 10 Reasons Not to Talk About Your Kid on Facebook:

1. The Gross-Out Factor / I’m Eating Over Here

Just because you’re a parent now doesn’t mean you’re allowed to gross me out. As tempting as it may be to show the world Mackynzie’s potty-training accomplishments, her bathroom habits do not qualify as news. And if what you’re eating for lunch can be classified as ‘afterbirth,’ I don’t need to know how it was prepared (or that you ate it at all). Keep your gag-worthy observations to yourself, please.

2. Our Parents Didn’t Do It

Our parents’ generation didn’t make daily announcements to all of their friends about diaper explosions, so why should you? “Because I can” isn’t an answer. Tell us what we want to hear: First steps, first ‘I Love You’s. The nice stuff. Then maybe tell us about you. Your friends miss you.

3. No One Cares

Everyone is thrilled you’ve made the ultimate sacrifice and become a parent. But no one is as thrilled as you are. Keep that in mind.

4. They Will Grow Up to Hate You

There’s one sure way to ruin the years of trust you’ve built with your children, and it’s putting their puberty on blast. It is not OK to post about your adolescent daughter’s reproductive milestones, nor will your son think it’s funny if you joke about his “long showers” on the Internet.

5. We Don’t Want to Go to Jail

Your toddler is in a naked phase, and it’s totally healthy and adorable. But creepy perverts don’t exclusively visit “pervert Web sites,” so keep the crotch shots — innocent as they may seem — to a minimum. Thanks.

6. You Sound Like an A-hole

Don’t bring your child to an adults-only event, and definitely don’t brag about it on Facebook. Announcing gift registries when you’re pregnant or for your kid’s half-birthday party over your status is just plain tacky.

7. Uh, Shouldn’t You Be Doing Something Else?

If your child accidentally bonks his head or falls off the couch — especially while you’re on the computer — it’s a bad time to update your status.

8. You’re Scaring Us

The girl we were friends with would not upload a birthing video where we can see her “Britney” or photographs of her newborn’s “exit.” You are frightening your friends. Who are you?

9. It’s Just Weird

Starting a Facebook page for your kid is as weird as starting one for your cat. I don’t want 8-week-old Elijah to “comment” on my status about health-care reform. And please stop using sonograms or pictures of your kid as your profile image. It’s one thing to post a picture of the two of you together; it’s another for your identity to completely disappear the minute you get pregnant.

10. Your Child Comes Off as Annoying

Less is more. I’m happy to hear about your child, but using Facebook as a prop to remind me of his every development (“OMG, Aiden just rolled onto his back!!”) kind of makes me resent him. Not to mention, why would I want to babysit your rambunctious toddler when I know he prefers to poop in the grass? Some things are better left unsaid.

Written by Katharine Shilcutt

It’s official: flu season is here and it’s hit with a vengeance. Television news reports deliver frightening messages from the Director of Health and Human Services while we’re forced to watch Matt Lauer get a flu shot on the Today Show, and our moms keep calling us to remind us to get plenty of rest and not to share drinks with the other kids in the office.

So while we’re slathering ourselves in Purell and homeopathic elderberry tinctures in what will surely be a futile effort to keep the swine flu at bay, here’s a list of our favorite comfort foods and drinks for when the flu inevitably strikes.

Photo courtesy of Tammy’s Recipes

5) Milk Toast: A foodstuff that seems to have dropped off the radar as of late, milk toast was popular up through the 1950s and 60s as a digestive and calming agent for sick children everywhere. It’s still just as good today. Toast a piece of bread and melt some butter into it. Meanwhile, heat some milk (on the stove in the microwave) with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar in it. Pour the hot milk over the toast. Voila — instant comfort food, we promise.

4) Hot Tea: Sure, it sounds simplistic. But there’s nothing like a steaming mug of green tea to cleanse your snotty palate or a hot cup of chamomile to help you sleep off the aches and fever of the flu. Not to mention the steam will help clear your sinuses, and the hot water will help rinse that nasty gunk from the back of your throat. (A little hit of whiskey and honey in there never hurt, either.) Drink up!

3) Macaroni & Cheese: Perhaps the ultimate comfort food, sick or well, there is no one who will turn down a bowl of creamy macaroni and cheese no matter how poor they feel. The good money in this situation is on Luby’s mac & cheese to go, although the Kraft blue box is passable, too (but who wants to “cook” when they’re sick?).

2) Ginger Ale and/or 7-Up: Sure, they’re mostly sugar and carbonation, but sips of these cold beverages between nibbles of Saltines do wonders to calm the stomach and bring to mind fond memories of your mother tucking you into the couch on a weekday afternoon as you watch old Three Stooges episodes and recuperate. Yes, orange juice or Pedialyte is probably better for you. We don’t care. Sugary soft drinks are where it’s at when you’re sick.

1) Chicken Soup: Oh, that seems obvious, does it? Well that’s because it’s the best thing on earth for making you feel better when you’re a phlegmy, sweaty, sore mess with bedhead that would scare Nick Nolte. While a can of Campbell’s will do in a pinch, the real deal — made with chicken thighs, real chicken stock, lots of carrots and onions and celery, and fresh noodles — is what will cure what ails ya.

Written by Cory Jones and Justin Halpern

Relationships are a lot of work.  They can end in happiness, but most often, they end in a passive aggressive battle.  We decided we’d show you the stages of most relationships.

Collected by holytaco

This money is funny. LOL

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Written by Stacy Rapacon

Our insider’s guide to snagging the deepest discounts on hotels, airfare, cruises and more.

The travel industry continues to smart from the recession, so deals abound. You just need to know where to look. Search no further than our 21 tips to save on lodging, airfare, vacation packages and cruises:

Book a bargain stay

1) Check TripAdvisor.com for 25 million property reviews from real travelers and professional critics. For details on cozy and often less-costly venues, go to BedandBreakfast.com.

2) Visit Hotels.com every Thursday for its new last-minute deals. While you’re there, watch for other rate sales and package specials.

3) Book directly through the hotel’s Web site. Many places offer special online-booking and prepaid deals. You can also opt in to hotels’ free rewards programs and receive e-mails about special promotions and discounts.

4) Book blindly for rock-bottom rates. The auction-style booking pushed by William Shatner’s “Priceline Negotiator” in the popular commercials really can cut up to 50% off regular hotel rates (and 40% off airfare and car-rental rates). And Hotwire.com’s “Hot Rates” can knock up to 60% off retail room prices. With either, you specify your length of stay, preferred neighborhood and a guaranteed minimum star class. But you won’t know the exact hotel or location until after you pay – an especially big risk when visiting unfamiliar areas, particularly overseas. (Blind booking is a safer bet for car rentals; a sedan is a sedan is a sedan. But it’s a big gamble for flights because you won’t know exact flight times or airlines.)

5) Call your hotel to confirm an online reservation, especially if you made one at the last minute, and ask about any additional fees you should watch out for. Most hotels are especially willing to waive fees for frequent visitors or rewards-program members. Also, request a copy of your bill the night before you check out so you have time to dispute any extra charges.

6) Consider specialty lodging, such as condos, villas and vacation home rentals, especially when traveling with a big group. These options often offer more space and amenities for prices similar to or less than hotel rates. HomeAway.com offers the biggest selection of rentals, with more than 176,000 listings worldwide.

Fly for less

7) Use Kayak.com to quickly scan hundreds of travel Web sites for the best airfares. And don’t forget to check Southwest.com; Kayak does not include the discount airline’s fares.

8) Sign up with airlines’ free loyalty programs to get the best bargains delivered straight to your in-box. Or visit Airfarewatchdog.com, where the site’s employees join airlines’ rewards programs to snag those promotional codes and special offers to share with you.

9) Plan your purchase at Bing.com/travel, formerly Farecast.com. The site’s “price predictor” forecasts whether fares on major domestic routes will go up or down. Enter your itinerary and it will return a list of airfares with a recommendation to either buy now or wait for a fare drop.

10) Try flying at less-traveled times; flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturday afternoons typically see the least demand and therefore offer the best rates.

11) Choose your destination based on the cheapest flight. For example, if you’re interested in a Caribbean vacation but don’t have a specific location in mind, you can use Kayak’s Buzz tool to search for flights to anywhere in the Caribbean and then pick the place with the lowest fare.

12) Dodge flying fees. To avoid charges levied for buying tickets in person or by phone, book directly with the airline’s Web site or with one of the big three online travel agencies – Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz- which recently dropped their flight-booking fees. . And pack lightly to dodge baggage costs. At FlyingFees.com, you can compare the baggage fees carried by 30 major airlines, and other types of fees charged by 20 major airlines.

Save a bundle on vacation packages

13) Online travel agencies Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz are well known for their bundled bargains. But don’t forget to check packages offered by airlines such as United Vacations and smaller operators such as Apple Vacations for some of the sweetest deals.

14) Check the cost of add-ons, such as rental cars, show tickets, tours and museum passes, when booking packages with online travel agencies. Sometimes the agencies offer those extras at a discount.

15) Get one price on your trips with all-inclusive deals from resorts such as Club Med and Sandals.

16) Add travel insurance to your bundle. With Expedia’s Package Protection Plan, for example, you’re ensured a refund if you need to cancel or change plans. You’ll also be reimbursed for trip delays, baggage losses and medical expenses. The package costs $40 to $89, depending on your destination. If you’re not offered this protection when you book, or if you need more insurance than what you are offered, go to TravelGuard.com.

Cruise to savings

17) The best deals are close to the departure date — just don’t expect the really cheap tickets to get you a stateroom with a view.

18) Understand the different elements of a cruise, including theme, cabin types and ports of call. CruiseMates.com provides useful reviews and advice columns to get you started. But if you’re a first-timer feeling overwhelmed, consider using a travel agent.

19) Visit CruiseCompete.com, where you submit your cruise preferences and more than 300 travel agents compete for your business.

20) Book your flight separately. Using Kayak or Bing.com/travel, you can often find fares that are lower than what a cruise line will package in for you. Make sure you allow enough time to reach the departure port; the ship won’t wait for you if your flight is delayed.

21) Sail into big savings with a repositioning cruise. Ships need to take these one-way voyages in order to relocate for the season. For example, ships that cruise near Alaska in the summer head south once fall arrives, and cruise lines invite passengers aboard for the ride at deeply discounted rates.