Thursday 30 December 2010

Panasonic ES8109S Vortex Wet/Dry Shaver with Nano Technology and HydraClean System

I've used electric shavers for over 20 years, both linear and rotary, and this one is by far the best. I loved my previous Panasonic Wet/Dry, but the ES8109S is substantially better. I've used it for about a year now.

It is definitely important to allow a few weeks for your skin to adapt. Reports of razor burn might come from those who are too impatient, pressing too hard or too long in one place while shaving, especially in the first few weeks of use. Keep the razor moving!

The battery lasts well between charges and maintains strong motor power throughout the discharge cycle, rather than fading slowly as the battery discharges.

The pop-up trimmer works really well too. I use it to clean up my neck, sideburns, ears, nose, and unruly eyebrows.

I prefer not to use the pivoting head, so I'm glad that it can be locked in place.

I don't use the cleaning function in the base, I only use the base for charging. Manual cleaning is quick and easy.

Easy to use, easy to charge, easy to clean, great battery life... A real gem.

Wednesday 29 December 2010

LifeSpan Fitness R3 Recumbent Bike

Sturdy and smooth.
Many exercise bikes have one thing in common - they flex and creak way too much. This one does not. It will slightly flex when giving it high RPMs at very high resistances, but it's not more flex than an actual bicycle would give you. The resistance and action feels very smooth.
NO BS.
No bells and whistles. A couple of programs displayed on a small screen with four buttons. No stupid computer fans, elaborate magazine racks, sporty graphics, memory or any of that crap.

Appropriately comfortable.
Many exercise bikes have seats that look like they would stink from soaking up your sweat. They're too thick, feel like a couch. You need firm support that's easy to clean and won't make you go numb - and this seat does that. Excellent lumbar curve, and if you grip the back of the handlebar, you can maintain proper posture during sprints.

Bottom line:
It feels almost as good as the commercial one I use at physical therapy - and that is a $4,000 machine. It also feels a million times better than the common ones like schw___ and naut____. This is one of those rare occasions where you will get more than you paid for. If this bike proves to last more than a year of heavy use, I would say that it's worth the price. However, I'm thinking it's going to last at least 5 before it needs replacement parts.

Oh yeah - it looks good too. It's the simplest, cleanest design out there. Get an equipment mat and put it in your living room - it won't look bad.

LifeSpan Fitness R3 Recumbent Bike

Soft Hea®t Luxury Micro-Fleece Electric Heated Warming Blanket Queen Size-Natural

I have to say this is possibly the best blanket I have every had the privilege of owning. Not only does it keep me warm all night, but I can hardly even tell that there are wires inside the blanket.

Also because it uses a very low voltage the risk of it causing a fire or of the unit malfunctioning and causing bodily harm is significantly less than other more traditional electric blankets.

overall I am giving this unit 4 out of 5 stars. 1 star is taken away because I would have preferred to have the ability to turn off the automatic pre-heat feature, otherwise this is good buy.

Soft Hea®t Luxury Micro-Fleece Electric Heated Warming Blanket Queen Size-Natural

Tuesday 28 December 2010

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector's Edition - The Review

Instead of giving the overall book a review, I'll review each story separately.

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot: 5 out of 5. This is because it's a very enjoyable tale about a cold-hearted wizard who learns his lesson. The references to Harry Potter are also enjoyable. To quote the editorial long review of the 5 tales on Amazon, "the kindly old wizard at the beginning of this tale reminds us of Dumbledore quite a bit." Dumbledore's commentary (a nice touch) is hilarious because of the sugar-coated fictional version of this story presented at the end of it. I loved how it said that Hermione Granger translated this book. It made it seem more of an authentic wizard's story book.

The Fountain of Fair Fortune: 5.1 out of 5. This tale, in my opinion, may win the prize for the best written down fairy tale of all time. J.K. Rowling's beautiful illustrations to it are a treat to look at. The tale itself is well written, like all of them, and its characters are very real. It really makes the task of climbing up the hill to the Fountain seem extremely hard. I loved the ending, too. It was very unexpected. Dumbledore's commentary is at its highest point here, describing the catastrophic attempt to put the play on at Hogwarts. It's also interesting having one of the Malfoys complain about the story.

The Warlock's Hairy Heart: 4.5 out of 5. This particular tale is a bit more gruesome than the others. It should not be read to the easily frightened. It depicts a warlock who thinks that falling in love makes people act foolishly. He finds a way to prevent himself from falling in love, but after meeting a talented and rich witch, his mind might not stay the same. The rest of the tale I'll let you read. It also has frightening illustrations, once again, like all the other illustrations in the book, drawn by J.K. Rowling. She is a very talented illustrator; it's very difficult to draw a human heart accurately, and she pulls it off.

Babbitty Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump: 4.9 out of 5. An award should go to this one for having the funniest title. The story here is that our amazingly smart fairy tale king orders the execution of all wizards and witches and then orders a wizard to be his personal wizard despite the previous order. After hiring a fraud, it seems like this charlatan can pull it off, until a poor washer woman named Babbity cackles, leaving the king impatient to learn magic and a very bad situation for the charlatan. Dumbledore's commentary on form-changing wizards makes one think.

The Tale of the Three Brothers: 5 out of 5. This story I won't bother giving part of the plot away, since anyone can either read Harry Potter 7 to see it, or hear it in the movie. It's a very interesting tale though, and Dumbledore's commentary is riveting. It offers a new history to the Elder Wand.

My overall rating of the book is a ......

4.987987 ..... out of 5. This book adds the perfect finish to the Harry Potter series!!!

Sunday 26 December 2010

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit

This game is amazing. Graphics rock, online multiplayer is genius, and the cars... fantastic. I was hesitent about buying because of the other bad reviews. Good thing i went with my gut, this game rocks. I dont know what those other people were talking saying it is no good, it is better than good!

I am not a video game player myself, but my 12 year old son is having a blast with this game!

The difficulty level is a little higher than the previous games and it takes getting used to.The feature or shifting from Cop to racer is also pretty cool allows you to sample the best of both worlds. All in all an excellent game and would recommend it to all the NFS and car racing fans.

Thursday 16 December 2010

Flavored Coffee - Coffee Bean - Chocolate Coffee

Flavored Coffee - One thing I take first thing in the morning is my lovely hot coffee. For me, it helps to kick me into life and set me up for a good day. While others do different things to wake them up, like smoking, getting something warm definitely does it for me.

I love flavoured coffee, but I prefer to stick with old flavor like Vanilla, Hazelnut or a good Irish Cream and coconut flavor. There are quite a few new ones, but I have yet to try them out. There are many different types out there, so it is almost impossible to sample them all.

But how do they make these flavored coffee? Making them involves roasting and applying flavoring syrups and chemicals. Different flavors are used to achieve any of the required tastes. This is something that is done within a factory condition. So, making your own personal flavored coffee is not easy. But lately, a new breed of syrups have come into the market that you too can use to change the flavor of your traditional coffee.

Torani Sugar Free - this is one of those syrups that you can get off the shelf. It comes in a pack of 6 bottles - each with different flavor. The reason I like Torani Sugar Free is that it allows you to sample all the different flavors with just one purchase.

If you are not familiar with Torani, they are one of the best flavoring producers for your coffee, oatmeal and ot chocolate. We bought the packet last month; and would definitely recommend it anytime.

Great Taste - Great Price - Great Product. My husband only wishes that the cherry flavor came in this deal, but hey, that means I get to use all of them.

Wednesday 15 December 2010

Call of Duty: Black Ops racks up sales record

Overall a solid game and kind of must-have/definitive member of the COD franchise. Some of the positives of the latest installment include the increased variety of weapons and attachments available, the fresh killstreaks, the inclusion of video recording and sharing, and return of the nazi zombies gametype.

One of the negatives is the unstable and just downright sketchy multi-player matchmaking, which was absolutely abyssmal from the start and still suffers from major issues even after being patched. Another negative is the annoying perk-pro challenges which force you to play certain gametypes to get your pro perks.

COD: Black Ops is a great multi-player via XBOX Live game but probably takes a backseat to COD: MW2 in terms of multiplayer experience.

1 Million copies sold in the last week alone --

Monday 13 December 2010

PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Limited Edition

I will not get into the details about privacy issues - since other reviewers already got on the topic. I'm not saying that's not important - I'm just reviewing the rest of the product.

As an amateur photographer I have been a Pro X3 Photoshop user for more than 10 years and I love it. PaintShop photo works well with a Windows7 machine and I even asked another photographer friend to check it out and he was well pleased with the effects and available photo manipulation scenarios. Unlike other reviewers, I found the software to be working fast. Our conclusion: Photoshop (and it doesn't hurt to add Lightroom) still rules, if you have the money get it over this one.

If you want a free software or you are just getting into Photography, get Gimp which is available for free over the internet, at least for the beginning. Then, if you don't think you want to get too sophisticated with pictures, get this one - at below $50 it is still very attractive.

Saturday 11 December 2010

Jamie's 30-Minute Meals - #1 On Bestseller List

Jamie's 30-Minute Meals - Jamie's new book has 50 meals that can be cooked in 30 minutes - as the title suggests!  Main meals include pasta, risotto, chicken, curries, fish, steaks, pork, lamb. Each main meal includes a salad and vegetable dish and also a pudding and sometimes drinks as well.

Here's a few examples:

Trapani style rigatoni, griddled chicory salad, rocket and Parmesan salad, limoncello kinda trifle.
Tray baked chicken, squashed potatoes, creamed spinach, strawberry slushie  Tasty crusted cod, my mashy peas, tartare sauce, warm garden salad  pork chops and crispy crackling, crushed potatoes, minty cabbage, peaches and custard.

Some of the recipes seem quite expensive, although at the beginning to the book it states that they have been costed against the equivalent ready-meals or take-aways or eating out, although personally I think some of the recipes are a lot of food for a mid-week meal. However as ideas for feeding larger groups of people (some recipes are for 6 people) it has lots of good ideas and guides you through step by step to bring the whole thing together.Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

Another good point about the recipes is the inclusion of a salad and/or vegetables make them balanced and healthier, something a lot of celebrity chef books don't seem to include.

This book is very attractively set out, lots of step by step pictures and you can access further help from the jamie oliver website. You could use it to just cook individual recipes if you didn't want to follow the principle behind it.

Friday 10 December 2010

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 with 1080p Video

I like this webcam, I also have the Logitech 9000 another good webcam which I have on another computer. I haven't had a lot of experience yet with the C910 but it does take better videos and pictures, one thing I've learned from another reviewer is turn off the auto focus for both the C910 and 9000, I also don't use the right light feature which I believe the reviewer recommended too.

Having a good webcam such as this allows the other viewer to see a great picture, a buddy I Skype with has a cheaper webcam and the quality on my end isn't as good, I've used both of my systems on a Skype call at the same time just to see how the video compares and the Logitech C910 and 9000 are superior.

See full review

Thursday 9 December 2010

When to get a Decent Camera

It is that time of year again - parents, guardians and carers - all going to go to their child's school Christmas performance. Parents showing off their latest gadgets: still cameras, latest phones and all sorts of hand held devices. For me, I have never really given into the hype, this is because I could never afford something expensive. The little camera I had was several years out of date.

So, to be seen with something that old would have made me look like I was from another planet. I know, I know... I shouldn't be concerned about what people would say. If only it was that easy.

Because of that, I never really take the camera with me. It wasn't until last month that I decided I would give in a spend money on something worth pulling out in public. Luckily enough, Amazon was doing one of those deals on a range of digital camera last week. So, I quickly snapped up one of these.

This week, my son will be performing in a school play and I can't wait to make my own entrance with a decent Sanyo video camera in hand.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Amazon: Corel Paintshop Photo Pro 3X for $25 Shipped!

Posting software deals is something I don't do often - but this seem like a great deal, so I thought I would just throw it out there.

Amazon is doing a fantastic deal on this Corel Paintshop Photo Pro with their Amazon Gold Box Deal  if you into photography or know someone who is, then this is a great Christmas deal not to be missed for $25 including shipping. See full details here.

The list on this item is $129.99, and yesterday’s price was $67.65, so it looks like they’re dishing out a really good discount for a limited time.

This will likely go quick, so be sure to check it out sooner than later if you’re interested: Amazon Corel Paintshop Deal.

Monday 6 December 2010

World of Warcraft Cataclysm Signature Series Guide


This is the best new guide for World of Warcraft especially now since the "world" has changed pretty much completely! All the class roles are displayed, all the new character combos and races.

If you've been playing forever or just now starting and know nothing about the game before hand this book is for you! All your old guides you can toss out =D

See full reviews here

Sunday 5 December 2010

Amazon: Speck Products PixelSkin Case for iPhone 4 - $4.00


Amazon ix selling of these iPhone 4 cases for only $4 - See details here

Love this bumper! Good absorption from accidental impact. Bright color helps to easily find your phone sitting on anything dark !

Have an iPhone? You should buy this case NOW!

Click here to buy

Amazon: Invicta Watch - only $49.99 (reg. $495)


I just bought this watch after a friend sent my a message to let me know that Amazon is doing a clearance deal on thousands of high end products. As part of the clearance, this Invicta Watch is going for only 49.99 - regular price of $495. Now, that's more than $400 savings.

Seeing that there are still some left, I went back and bought 3 more. I will give them out as Christmas presents. What better way to buy an expensive product and hand them out as presents.

See the deal here on www.amazon.com/watches for a complete list of watches and other products.

Buy one NOW!

Friday 3 December 2010

LOST Encyclopedia Now Available at 40% off on Cyber Week


As part of Amazon's Cyber Week which ends today, Friday 3rd 2010, the full LOST Encyclopedia is available at 40%. If you are a Lost fan, you should get this box set, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own this awesome series.

You can get the special offer right here >>

Amazon: Wii Hardware Bundle - Red : Good for the Body, Good for the Pocket


I am not a huge gamer so I have no idea what the graphics are like to compare the Nintendo Wii to the Xbox to the PS3 BUT this Wii Hardware Bundle is awesome and for a great price you get a Netflix streamer, an internet browser (right on your tv through the wiimote), channels that offer news and whether, photo viewing, oh yeah and it plays really fun family games that have my kids squealing in delight!

My four year old can manage to move the remote to actually play the game and my older girls love the sports games and Mario.. I know this doesn't play dvd/blue-ray but I already have a dvd player so why spend over $100 more on other systems, I know the graphics are better on the more $ ones but for family's this seems like the perfect player! Or at least for my family it is, couldn't be happier...

One last thing, this Wii Hardware Bundle is on sale and will be ending today, so make sure to grab one now!

Thursday 2 December 2010

Amazon: SwissGear Computer Backpack for $49


As part of the Cyber Week, Amazon is doing a massive clearance deal on millions of product until the end of this week. One of those products include this awesome SwissGear Computer Backpack for $49 - the offer end this Friday, so hurry up and grab one quick. See details here

I just bought one myself and thought I would post here in case someone else would like to take the opportunity to get one as well.

If headphones are your thing, they are also going very fast. See this Shure SRH840 Professional Monitoring Earphones. they are flying of the site too. If that's too much for you, consider this JBuds J3 Micro Atomic In-Ear Earphones with Travel Case for only $19.

Shopping for Christmas? Now is the time to start saving on a huge range of presents and products.

Click here to See the backpack