Antec, makers of everything from computer cases to powersupplies, has hit a goldmine with the Quadro 850 Watt. Coming in at a standard ATX form factor, this power supply fits nicely in any case, though I recommend a larger case due to heat that is produced. This whisper quite power supply is on 24/7/365 in my room, so keeping noise minimal with this machine was almost as paramount as gaming qua...

I have been through a handful of blow dryers in my life. I have medium to long straight hair (depending on my mood when I go get a haircut!). I picked this one up at Walmart after my last one stopped working. I was looking for something that wouldn't cost too much. This one looked like it had nice features for the price. The idea behind an ionic blow dryer is that it is supposed to reduce f...

I have been using the General Electric Crystal Clear forty-watt light bulbs in my ceiling fan lights. You get two bulbs in a pack for under a few dollars at Wal-Mart. I usually use the regular sixty-watt soft light bulbs in the house, but these crystal clear bulbs just give a nicer look in the lights where the actual bulb is visible, such as the ceiling fans, chandeliers, and sconces. These are...

The Magnavox 200 Watt 5 Disc DVD Home Theater System was my one and only Black Friday deal.  It was on  sale for $79.99 at Target, normal price being $99.99 so you get a $20 savings for fighting all the mayhem.  It comes with 5 little speakers and one sub woofer.  The "background" speakers actually had long enough cords to place them far enough away in good spots t...

With the price of just about everything rising, my husband and I are constantly seeking out bargains where we can find them.  I admit that we do some very serious penny-pinching in terms of finding less expensive household products when we can, so when we ran out of our usual higher-priced light bulbs, we decided to have a look in the nearest 99 Cents Only Store to see if, by some cha...

This inverter plugs into a 12V vehicle power source and provides enough 120V power for a laptop computer, battery charger, radio, game consoles, etc. It also has a 5V USB power source.After looking at inverters a number of times and always deciding that I didn’t need one, I finally decided to buy this one.  It proved very useful on my most recent trip, and I’m glad that I have ...

I've been waiting for a couple of years now to see these CFL energy efficient bulbs come out with a shape similar to incandescents as I have some lamps that the usual CFL bulb with the swirl shape just don't work in.  The other day while out shopping I saw a display filled with incandenscent shaped bulbs  and each package had a $4 off coupon attached to it.  Cool.The bulb...

My daughter had an old baseboard heater in her bathroom that was still working, but was pretty dented up, so she decided to install a new one. The heater we found at Mendard's to replace it was the Cadet brand baseboard heater. This heater is 500 watts and needs a 240-volt electrical supply.To install the heater we needed a Phillips screwdriver, straight screwdriver, Wire strippers, drill, ...

Just about my favorite thing on a hot day is chilled, fresh glass of juice. The breville juicer makes this so easy, the first time I used this thing I was amazed by how quick it worked, I had my juice ready in five seconds after pressing the button. Cleanup is also very easy, I remember having blenders that took ages to wash. This is quite the opposite.This juicer is powerful! It feels as ...

If you were standing in our kitchen & heard what sounded like a swarm of bees there is no need to be alarmed.  It's just our microwave Benny.  She was getting louder & louder so we figured she was on her last leg.  It was time to get a replacement.  Yes, she did serve us well for years but, it was time to move on.  My husband would joke that we were goi...

When I first saw this, I was pretty surprised. 7.1 speakers for under $100? I picked them up because they were pretty cheap. When I installed them, I was fairly surprised at the pretty good sound quality. I'm not an audiophile or anything so I don't know any fancy terms but the bass and the treble all sound really good. Sometimes the mid seems a little soft though but I'm not audio ...

Everyone who cooks should own a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  So versatile, they can be used not only for mixing doughs for bread and cookies (one of the attachments is a dough hook), but also for whipping your own cream or even something as simple as mixing mashed potatoes.  It comes with a wire whisk attachment, a dough hook and a flat beater, and the neck unlocks to raise the attachmen...

Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown: A Mountain Journal by Alan Watts is easily one of my favorite books by the great man who helped bring Eastern thinking to the Western world.  The book covers Alan Watts final writings in his mountain home at the foot of Mount Tamalpais, California. Written in a journal fashion and broken up into separate ideas and thoughts, Cloud-hidden is a great glim...

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are is one of Alan Watts's most accessible works.  Watts's philosophy is very eastern-thinking oriented and this book reads very much like a Tao primer, although he twists and changes thoughts here and there to create a unique and interesting approach to metaphysical philosophy.  The best thing about Alan Watts, especially this ...

This hair dryer is convenient and does a great job, with 3 settings for speed and 2 settings for heat intensity, as well as a "cool shot" button to help set your style as you dry.  It also has a Turbo button which increases airflow.  The only issue I have with this hair dryer is that the airflow concentrator is constantly falling off.  It is supposed to clip on to the n...

Thank goodness for warranties. Without my warranty on my Inspiron 1505E laptop, I might be out of luck when it came to power. Not only are the batteries pretty bad, but the AC power adapter I got with mine was also not durable.Normal usage took it's toll on my power adapter, causing the plastic coating to tear after only a few months of use (about 8 I'd estimate). The wires were exposed...

The shark vacuum is amazingly powerful, the cleaning power was great, it is very easy to change the bag, and its reuseable. The bag lock is this vacuums downfall; a small piece of plastic held on by a thin piece of wire. After a few changes of the bag, this latch just broke. I tried to see if it was replaceable, but it isnt. It needs to be sent in to be repaired. If your willing to void your wa...

What better way to light your way at night than with a set of exterior garden lights. We purchased a set of solar powered lights and set them in our garden. Awaiting for them to light up when the sun went down, we were extremely disappointed. They took forever to come on and they were very dim. Needless to say, we took them back to the store. Initially, we had looked at a set which needed to be...

I bought these on an extended shopping trip and noticed them while waiting for my wife, there was a big midway display all about energy saving and such. I had never tried these before because when I bought light bulbs i would always do the same thing and by whatever was least expensive. Well to make a long story a little shorter, I purchased these because they were at great price from what I ha...

This heater was purchased for my office. I tend to like it warm, and my office has a huge window (which has a nice draft), and of course, winter in upstate NY tends to be cold.This little heater does just the thing I need, keeps my office warm. It has an adjustable thermostat, so you can set it for 70º and it will get there, and shut off. This also swivels. You can turn that feature on or ...