Via Preston Blog, the National Retail Association is forecasting 17% growth in 2008 for the Internet sector – with sales ranking in at $204 billion.  While the rest of the retail industry is expecting flat sales, it makes sense that growth will continue online.  As the economy depresses, more people will look to the web for the best deals, particularly on big-ticket items.  That said, 17% might be a stretch if the economy is hit worse than expected.

A few years ago I bought a headlamp for hiking, camping, night bicycle riding, and other rough-and-tumble activities. What I never expected was that it would become an invaluable tool that I’d rely on nearly every day in modern life.

You see, my girlfriend generally likes to go to sleep at a time that is a little too early for me (she also wakes up a little earlier)… I’d like to keep reading for another hour or so. So what’s a guy to do? I have a few options:

1. Turn the lights off in the bedroom and go read in another room
2. Keep the lights on and ask her to put something over her eyes
3. Turn the lights off, and use a freakin’ a headlamp

I’ve exercised all of these options countless times… but the first two are not optimal. Using the headlamp is the best way to go in most situations. I know what you’re thinking: Wow, what a dork. Well, you’re right. But it’s also pretty fun(ny), and I have no shame.

If you’re thinking of telling me I should use one of those crappy book lights, let me save you the time. I’ve tried a few of them and they are awful. They only really work on a few types of books (nothing too old, no small paperbacks), and they definitely don’t work on most magazines.

The headlamp is the way to go – a powerful, highly-focused spotlight shining only on the section you’re reading…. and compatible with all paper-media formats.

I recommend the Princeton Tec EOS, but really, any headlamp should do the trick. Happy night reading!

Yan Bezugliy at ProBargainHunter.com created a Shopzilla WordPress Plugin that makes price comparison integration within a blog post insanely easy. Users just need to provide their own Publisher ID and API key to use it (those can be attained by registering for the Shopzilla Publisher Program).

Here’s an example of the plugin in action, comparing the prices on Robert Fagles’ translation of Virgil’s Aeneid: