Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

Smart Phone Rationalization Hey is all that money you got for gifts burning a hole in your pocket?  If so for those of you who have difficulty justifying the purchase of a smart phone I have a few suggestions. A GPS with a 4.3” screen is generally at least $100.00 and you usually have to buy updates. Many smart phones have a GPS app built in and you do NOT have to purchase updates. A tiny 8 megapixel digital camera will cost you at least $75.00. Many smart phones have an 8 megapixel camera today. An iPod or other digital music player can cost over $200.00. Most smart phones can download and play your music and allow you to download movies too. You can get an app for reading bar codes on your smart phone and then compare that barcode with online prices and save a bundle on many purchases. You can check the market and the ball game scores where ever you may be. I don’t sell smart phones but they do bring new meaning to want vs. need. Bottom line is if you wa...

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I looked at Amazon Wireless recently. I considered upgrading my phone through them. The phone was $299.00 with a hundred dollar rebate through Verizon but it was $119.00 through Amazon. I went as far as adding it to my cart, verifying my address and then they asked for my Social Security number. The Social Security number was never intended to be used as a national identity card but it often is used as such. In today’s world though, it is paramount to asking to have your identity stolen by blithely handing out your social security number. What, pray tell, are the people at Amazon Wireless thinking when they ask for your social security number? I did not upgrade my phone there specifically because they asked for my social security#. I do not give that out to anyone and neither should you.

Zwilling JA Henckels International Fine Edge Synergy 13 Piece Block Cutlery Set - 15705-000 SKU #: JAH1456 at CNSstores You can only be married so many years before you need to replace your knives. We have done this piece meal until now. After looking at the mishmash of knives I had to bite the bullet and go for a new set. I researched knives and found this set. It isn’t the cheapest nor is it anywhere near the most expensive. It had good and bad reviews. The biggest complaint seemed to be that it is recommended that you hand wash the knives and they may rust if you don’t dry them. Since I saw that concern on practically every decent knife set, I discounted those factors. The knives are as advertised. They look good and the block isn’t enormous which is crucial for counter space. They cut the way they are suppose to cut and since I am hand washing and drying after each use I see no other issues. If I see an issue I will do an update 6 months down the road. At this point, I think...

How many times have you been in the middle of your grilling when the flames sputter and go out? It usually happens when you have a pool full of people and 20 burgers on the grill, the kids screaming for their food and you are busting your knuckles trying to get the new propane tank hooked up. I finally broke down and researched propane tank gauges and found this one. It was more expensive them some and less expensive than others. It got some good reviews. It installed easily and has clear instructions on how to check for leaks. I do use the Teflon tape designed for gas connections. That has worked great. I have yet to have a leak using that tape. The gauge is simplistic but it gives you an idea of how much gas you have available. I have never been good at gauging how much gas by picking up the tank. This is not precise but it will provide you with an early warning. The instructions say you should shelter the gauge from rain fall. I molded an aluminum foil bread pan over the enti...

A New Giveaway Thrall a new heroic fantasy novel by Steven L. Shrewsbury Inter-Galatic First prize is a copy of the book, a poster and Thrall T-Shirt! (Shipping is restricted to the known universe and this dimension  only, alternate worlds and  universes need not enter.) See Details and Enter At Azure Dwarf !

As much as I love the swivel screen on my Canon PowerShot A95, the camera is getting a bit long in the tooth. 5 mega pixels was a big deal, once. Now it is so so but I would keep on using it for that delightful swivel screen except that is getting a bit squirrelly. Not good squirrelly either. Sometimes the first picture or so isn’t even seen on screen and it doesn’t come out either. So I did some research and found a great price and a camera that is just enough smaller that it fits into my jeans or my shirt pocket. Convenience size was my first consideration. The 14 megapixel and the 5X optical were nice bonuses. It has some very nice features that I will seldom use but are nice anyway. It has 22 scene settings for specific types of photos. Realistically I will leave it on auto most of the time but I liked both the scene settings and manual settings. I’ve only taken a couple hundred photos so far but I have been satisfied with the quality. Overall this is a darn good bang for the ...

A good stocking stuffer! I am anal about protecting my electronics from power problems. I always carry a single outlet surge with my laptop. As so many do, on a trip I left my single outlet surge in the wall socket. It was a Tripplite and it was tiny. It took up very little room in my notebook case. I ordered this unit without checking dimensions, primarily because of the low price ($5.88) and Belkin’s reputation. I have no reason to believe the Belkin isn’t satisfactory as a surge protector. I do take umbrage with the fact that it just doesn’t pack well. My Sanyo battery charger has fold down prongs for the outlet. That enables it to fit quite nicely in the laptop case pocket. The surge however doubles it’s thickness due to the outlet prongs. Since this purchase I have found two that have folding prongs. One is the  Fellowes 9904701 3-Outlet Surge Suppressor with a convenient little night light for $14.99 at Buy.com and $17.00 at Amazon. The other is Belk...

A New Giveaway Thrall a new heroic fantasy novel by Steven L. Shrewsbury Inter-Galatic First prize is a copy of the book, a poster and Thrall T-Shirt! Go to Azure Dwarf’s Horde of SciFi and Fantasy for details.

Sparky the Skunk reviews The Christmas Knot A wonderful children's book by Author William G. Bentrim on YouTube

This is a surprisingly nice piece of furniture for the price. $261.25 got this delivered to the door. Dynamic Home Décor offers free shipping and has been running a 5% off sale on orders over $249.00. The color of this is much more red than the online photos showed. Assembly was astoundingly easy. The entire base comes assembled and is shipped folded. All you need to do is attach the top with the four screws provided and put a knob on the glass door. BTW you may want to put the knob on before you put the top on, in spite of what the directions say. Once the top is on, if you haven’t already put the door pull on the door, you may have difficulty getting the door open to put on the pull knob. It did provide me with a self depreciating laugh as I leaned over the back of the unit and pushed the door open by sticking a yard stick through the cable holes and pushing the door open from the back. I suspect I would not have been as amused at my self if I had missed the door frame and punched...