Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

Hunger isn’t just your stomach growling at 11:30 A.M. in anticipation of lunch. Hunger for millions of people is a debilitating condition faced daily, that drains resolve, crushes enthusiasm and stifles growth. As you read this, more than 500 million people are living in "absolute poverty" and more than 15 million children die of hunger every year. There are estimates that 1/3 of the world’s population is starving and another third is chronically hungry. Guess where that puts you, the third that is striving to lose weight and stay fit, rather ironic. Even in our good old US of A we have people going hungry, every single day. In this economy, the food pantries are be overwhelmed by not just the traditionally impoverished but by white collar, formerly middle income folks who are suddenly jobless and destitute. Heifer International is partnering with Bloggers Unite to heighten awareness of a endemic problem that we are all loathe to face. Pause for a moment the next time the Bo...

ACER is attacking the laptop industry with renewed aggression. They have released so many new models, I am not even going to address them all. One surprise to me was that ACER owns the Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachine brands. I’ve only been out of the reseller business for 3 years but I was surprised at that. As a reseller we had far fewer problems with the ACER laptops than we had with competing brands. Frankly we always looked a eMachines when they came in for service as disasters waiting to happen. Perhaps they have improved under the ACER umbrella. Take a look at the reviews of the new models here . In my experience even though I no longer sell equipment, the ACER is a good choice. This is not a paid blog.

According to Segway and GM the Personalized Urban Mobility & Accessibility vehicle will reinvent urban transportation. Perhaps the enormous pressure the government is putting on GM to reinvent themselves has helped to put this puppy on the front burner. They claim it will seat two people but one of them better be diminutive. The PUMA makes the Smart Car look gargantuan. It appears to be a tricked out wheelchair but Segway claims it will do 35mph. A fender bender in this “vehicle” would most likely be more like a fender eater. Although for those of us who have hit the open road on bikes of any type, cycles, scooters or pedal, the result would be the same in a fender bender so I don’t think that should preclude considering this as your ride. Guys, it has automatic curb appeal to eco-chicks. Girls, your date will be happy to pop it in the back of his SUV if you run out of juice. The makers claim it will go 25 to 35 miles per charge and that each charge will be approximately $0.60. I ...

Kodak has been advertising heavily that their printers will save you major bucks on the price of ink. We have all known for years that many of the inkjet printers have been sold at production cost or below to hook you on their exorbitantly prices ink. Many of us have had mixed experiences trying to use compatible inkjet cartridges. Back when I was repairing printers, we had an inkjet come in looking as if a small animal had been slaughtered in the printer. Think about how fast that print head moves and then picture a leak in a refillable cartridge, pretty ugly it was! Compatible inks have come a long way and that is one method of cutting inkjet printing costs. The new Kodak printers seem to have similar specifications to it’s competitors. I compared the $149.00 range and there were distinct similiarties and all of them had more expensive ink than the Kodak. I did notice that the Lexmark X6675 has a five year warranty if you register it. That is 4 years longer than the rest of the pack....

Notebooks are always a volatile purchase. It is practically inevitable that on the way home from picking up your hot, new, great value notebook, you will see or hear an advertisement for a better, cheaper, sexy notebook. The best compromise deal (balancing features, performance and price) I have found recently is the HP Pavilion dv6-1030us Entertainment Notebook PC at Staples for a final down and dirty price of $599.98. I found the same notebook at Amazon for an additional $200.00. The price involves rebates so be prepared to wait for some of your money back. This notebook is a better value than the one Staples seems to be pushing for $50.00 less which doesn’t have as large hard drive, has no bluetooth and a smaller screen. If you don’t need the size and the DVD burner, I would look at some of the netbooks. They are pretty darn sweet and in the $299.00 range. Specifications Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6400 16.0" Diagonal High Definition(8) HP BrightView Display HP Mesh Imprint fi...

Sadly one of the more dismaying aspects of an economic downturn is an increase in property crimes. Video surveillance has progressed as rapidly as the rest of the tech area. In addition, video surveillance equipment can allow you to keep an eye on the kids when they are in the recreation room, backyard or pool area. The costs today are significantly lower than even two years ago. From the Costco site Q-See 4 Channel H.264 250GB DVR w/ Mobile Phone Surveillance & 4 CMOS Camera Kits Item # 379578 for $299.99 plus shipping and handling. Costco has a wired system that should meet many small business and most home owner needs. Note, it is a wired system, not wireless. It includes a DVR complete with hard drive installed. Be careful in comparing systems, many include a DVR but don’t clearly mention that you have to add the hard drive at an additional cost. (DVR is digital video recorder) The DVR is particularly useful for proof purposes in crime. In one situation at a local cyber café, ...

I blogged on Sanyo Eneloop batteries back on February 27, 2009 I have now had the batteries in two of my cameras for over 6 weeks. I pulled out one of the cameras last night and it fired up, flash worked and the shutter lag was diminished. I wasn’t really aware that the a big chunk of the dreaded shutter lag was based on the ability of the batteries to handle recharging the flash. I took 5 flash pictures almost as rapidly as I could depress the shutter. I am totally impressed with that. In addition the Lenmar, Sunpak and Energizer rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries don’t hold a charge in the camera for more than two or three days. I find that a bit odd in that they hold up fine in a little flashlight that my grandson wanders around with and leaves lit on a regular basis. Bottom line is if you are dismayed with your rechargeable batteries I strongly recommend the Enloop batteries. This is not a paid blog nor do I have any financial interest in any of the brands mentioned but...

I’ve noticed that my grandchildren have a tendency to turn on a light and keep on going, never to look back and never to turn off the light. I suppose that over time that has an impact on the electric bill. My supposition is apparently accurate since Black and Decker have a product that will turn off the lights automatically. Moreover it is a very simple product which means it may actually continue to work for awhile. It is call the Lights Out AutoSwitch and will be available in a few weeks. It is $30.00 which if you translate to a 100 watt bulb running 10 hours or 1000 kWh at $0.25/kWh, you would have to save about 1200 hours of that 100 watt bulb running to pay for the switch. Of course less hours would be needed if your electric is more expensive and more hours if it is cheaper. In a room with 6 ceiling fixtures of 100 watts each on one switch you would pay for the autoswitch rather quickly. Of course if you replace each of the 100 watt incandescent lights with compact fluorescent ...

Autism seems to be the most recent ubiquitous disease. There are many definitions and even more arguments regarding those definitions. Bottom line is if you have someone you care about suffering from some form of autism it can be searing. It is extraordinarily difficult to watch a child grow up unable to conform to social boundaries. An inability to conform to acceptable behavior whether it is 1st grade or church, tends to isolate and alienate the child thusly compounding the effects of a disorder with emotional issues. Early diagnosis of autism can have a major impact on the life an autistic person may live. Frequently providing a consistent emotional environment with a clearly defined structure can help a child develop internal controls. I recently saw the results of an out of control child moved from a inconsistent environment into a structured environment. In merely a matter of months, a child that was impossible to be around, has made remarkable social progress. On the other hand ...