Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

I have used this type of film protection on my Cell phones for years. This film went on easily and the bulk of the bubbles smoothed out. I have a bubble in the bottom left that would not smooth out. I used the cleaning cloth that was included to clean the screen prior to application. The bubble on the bottom is not an issue as it is on the border and not on the visible screen. I recommend the product and $3.99 was the price.

Back in August 2011 I reviewed the Cooler Master Model R9-NBC-8PBK-GP NotePal U2 laptop cooler. I still think this unit does a nice job cooling but I am grossly disappointed in Cooler Master’s customer service. Admittedly the unit does a good job but the original fans now groan like Eagle fans watching old Donovan McNabb throw a bullet to TO’s feet. To me, a major selling feature of the unit was the “easily replaced” fans. They snap out and are readily available. Well they do snap out, they are NOT readily available and Cooler Master parts was the only place I could find them. The price is reasonable, $6.99 for a pair of fans but the shipping of $9.98 simply means that you are putting out $16.97 to replace the now very noisy fans. What is frustrating is that you can go to Amazon, New Egg, Buy.com or E-Bay and replace the entire unit for as little as $5.00 including shipping. I found a Targus unit that was very similar for $6.99 and free shipping at Ama...

Proud to be MODERATE When did Moderate become a spurious slur? How has the democratic process become a choice of lesser evils? I’m proud to be an American! I’m not so proud of our political process. We have allowed our nation to become polarized. Red states and blue states, conservative and liberal, zealot and fanatic seem to be terms that are used so loosely. If you live in a red state or a blue state, it is unlikely that everyone in that state agrees with your personal political convictions. Yet the pundits revel in lumping the population into trite sound bites to capture air time. I personally, have some views that would be considered conservative in some circles and I have views that would be considered liberal in others. I like to think this makes me a moderate, someone willing to look at the facts and base my decisions on intelligent thought rather than being swayed by emotional and mostly negative stereotypes. Our nation has spent lives, b...

However old your child is turning, it’s another year and another dollar to celebrate. No matter what age here are a few ideas and tips to keep in mind before you send out those invites: Park Party : A park makes a nice fun and easy setting for a birthday party. There is no cost and lots of space for the kids to run around. Bring bread to feed the ducks, blow bubbles and bring a few sports balls. The best part is there is no clean up in your home! Super Hero Party: Little boys and girls love their superheroes! Host in your home and have everyone (including parents) dress up as their favorite superhero. Think of activities like ‘Best Costume Contest’ and superhero power contest (paint whiffle balls neon green and call it kryptonite, see who you can throw the farthest or use their super power mind to guess what object is in a box, give hints.) Board Games and Pizza Party : Host at your home and place all board games out on the center of the table (great for a centerpiece idea). ...

DropBox Extends Free Storage Limit If you're not already "in the know" about DropBox , you should be. It’s a free remote data storage service that allows you to save all of your files and documents so that you can access them from any computer—no need for a flash drive. It's exceptionally convenient and stores a pretty good amount of files too— 2GB of storage space to be exact. But for those who already have a Dropbox account and are itching for more data space, account users can earn up to a whopping 4.5GB of additional data storage space, again, for free. The catch? The file-sharing service wants your photos. No worries, it's not going to do anything with them. Rather, it's just trying to build up a new feature which is still in its beta stage that allows users to automatically upload video and photos on to his or her account. For helping the new feature take flight, those that participate get additional storage space as a reward. That said, to learn a b...

, TCL L40FHDF12TA 40-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV with 2-Year Warranty First this isn’t a bargain, it is a steal. I got it at Amazon for $319 including shipping. It is a measure of TCL’s confidence in their product that they have a 2 year warranty included. Some TV’s have as short as a 90 day warrantee which to me means they don’t have a whole lot of confidence in their product. Packaging on this TV was superb. It was well protected and if I would have looked at the diagram on the box, I would have just cut the shipping straps and been able to lift the box off. Instead, I pulled the staples and lifted the TV out to discover how difficult I made it. Alas, such is l ife. Setup was simple and the picture is excellent. HD is terrific with no adjustments, color calibration or skull cracking needed. I was not seeing the scores on the football game and discovered I had inadvertently zoomed in, once I zoomed out everything was perfect. The remote has a solid fe...

A Guest Post Whether you have started your own business or put yourself through school, many of us are now faced with a sizable debt that must be re-paid. And if the majority of your debt is on one or more credit card, dealing with repayment can become even more complicated. That's what is so cool about the new iPhone app, Pay Off Debt. If you are one of the many people juggling credit card debt, Pay Off Debt is designed specifically to help with managing credit card debt and is a great tool to manage your finances 24/7. Once you download Pay Off Debt, you can enter all your debts, and the app will help you figure out the most effective way to pay them off. You start by entering and labeling your debts and organizing them by types, such as student loan, credit card, or car loans. You will also enter the balances, interest rates, and payment information. As soon as you assign a label to each debt, the app will automatically sort them into categories. The app keeps track o...

Every guy needs a place where he can go and just be a guy . No, work and the local pub don't count. You need a room in your own home that's just yours, with your things, and where you can do the things you like to do that maybe don't interest the rest of the family. You need a man cave. Or man room. Call it whatever you like, you need one. No room can be called a man cave if it's just a TV, a recliner, and a table to hold your snacks. That's basically the living room. No, this room needs to be decked out with gadgets and electronics to indulge your senses and your hobbies. You could easily go into debt when outfitting your man cave, choosing the latest, most expensive electronics. But that's not necessary. You can create just as enjoyable an experience while adhering to a budg et. Here's what you need, and how to get it without taking out a loan. Television With so many options to choose from, what TV to get will probably be the most difficult decision you m...