Expand Your Options With Seagate

It's summer, you're planning a vacation of a lifetime: maybe abroad, the Bahama's or Route 66. You're planning to take hundreds maybe thousands of photos. You want to write in your digital journal every day. You might even interview the locals, shoot some video and you can already see your laptop choking on all the saves. You need to travel light, but you want to capture, store and retain as much as possible. Do you pack your terra book? It's got the storage, but it's so bulky, so heavy! all those wires...

 No! Seagate Hard Drive to the rescue! Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive STBX500100 comes in a sleek, low profile design. It's slightly larger than my fiancee's wallet and about the same weight. It requires only one plug in to work : a USB 3.0 cable (included with a quick start guide) and unlike the book, doesn't require an additional power source in addition to the port.

 The super speedy USB 3.0 is "backwards compatible" with USB 2.0 ports, is automatically recognized by the Windows operating system. No time-consuming installations and nothing to configure. This has my vote for portability, compact space saving design and ease of use. I plugged it in and within 10 seconds, I was dragging and dropping photo files to store. Not only that, it fits inside my netbook bag. I will be recommending this to everyone of my digital photography travelers, and business associates.

A Big FAT No to Feather Pillows

My assistant and I have been talking about pillows. Bed pillows. How difficult it is to find something light, fluffy with enough support to keep a neck from kinking. We had found some inexpensive ones at a discount store (which shall remain nameless.) I tried to remember why I hadn't owned or bought a feather pillows in years, so we each got one.  I left, feeling like I'd got a pretty great deal, and with a smile, I looked forward to the wonderful experience of sleeping on a real feather pillow.

The question floated in the dark recesses of my mind, did I not like feather pillows?  I laid my head down for a relaxing night’s sleep. A single feather poked me in the head. So, I pulled it out and let it fall to the floor. The next day, we went to the store to get cases for the pillows. That night, I slept pretty well. If a feather scratched out, I pulled it out and let it fall to the floor. After a week, there were enough feathers on the floor to wing a small bird. A second pillow case was obtained.

This worked for awhile. But eventually, after a month, they began emerging all over again, scratching my cheek, head and neck until I pulled them out.

When we couldn't stand it anymore, we removed the pillow cases to shake them outside. That’s when we saw how many barbs had actually migrated through the fabric. Try as I might, the feathers didn’t want to shake free; barbs stuck to everything. It was also when I noticed the pillow tag: Contains chopped waterfowl feathers. Uh… gross.

After washing the cases, pillows were stuffed back inside them. That night as I tried to sleep, bizarre imagery swirled in my mind. Pictures of dismembered birds, their feathers being unceremoniously plucked and boiled clean. Were these feathers from oil-spilled waters?  Feathers harvested from dead water birds? Couldn’t they have put a little better spin on this? Used prettier sounding words? But even I couldn’t come up with anything that sounded pleasant.

When the chopped feathers began poking through again, another pillow case went over the pillow. How many cases can I put on one pillow? How many would it take before they stopped coming through?

I developed a-middle-of-the-night coughing spell. A dry hacking cough that went a few rounds before it allowed me to fall back asleep. This went on for a week or so, until I noticed on the dark colored sheets, what looked like a layer of dust at the head of the bed. Every time I moved them, fluffed, settled my head, shifted or turned the pillows, out sifted tiny white curls of waterfowl debris. The pillows were degrading. I felt nauseous. I removed the pillow from the bed and set it on the floor. I refused to sleep on it another night. I advised my assistant to do the same.

Interestingly, that night, I didn’t cough at all. The next day I and my assistant, who it turns out had not been sleeping well either, drove to a national chain store and looked at lots and lots of pillows. Foam, memory foam, cotton fiber filled, polyester, firm, soft, medium soft. Pillows for stomach sleepers, pillows for back and side sleepers. Prices from seven to twenty nine dollars.

We both settled on the same one: a firm/extra firm with a 2inch gusset. We took them home and slept like babies in cradles of clouds (I got a new body pillow too). I couldn’t believe the difference. So, I am one more step closer to a vegan mindset as a result.

I will not recommend feather pillows to anyone, and if you are suffering from respiratory illness of any kind, you may want to remove feather pillows as a first step toward improved health.

illy issimo delicious!

I'm an avid coffee drinker. I like it hot, iced and on certain days, room temperature. I also like it black with cream on occasion and sweetened slightly. I could not have imagined how great illy issimo Caffe Coffee Drink would taste. 
I poured half for my assistant and myself and after drinking it, we both agreed that this coffee tasted bold without being overwhelming and pleasantly sweet. The flavor was clean, brisk and refreshing.

Each can contains 6.8 fluid ounces and can go just about anywhere you want to take it this summer, running errands, on the way to work, on vacation, or even camping. I recommend this to anyone who drinks coffee and enjoys it sweet and black.



I received illy issimo Cappuccino Coffee Drink from the Amazon Vine program. It arrived the same day as the Caffe but I tried them on separate days. The Cappuccino flavor was nutty and sweet, the same great flavor as the Caffe but creamier. The espresso style coffee contained low fat milk and cocoa. This 8.5 oz can contains only 100 calories but tastes like dessert. I love these ready to drink energy beverages. They come in lightweight aluminum cans with a push pop tab.


I wasn't able to get much of a break at work and I had packed Cappuccino as a "just-in-case" measure. Turns out I really needed it that day.
Cappuccino contains sugar also, 18 grams as compared to the Caffe which is 10. I enjoyed it but the sugar wreaked havoc with my head.If you don't mind sugar you are in for a treat. Give it a try. I will be looking for their sugar free versions.

Big Help form Janet Majure

A month ago I tried again to start another blog on Word Press, thinking, what the heck is the draw? But what I figured out is that looking different is very attractive when you want to get noticed. I had figured out enough to post but not much else. When the Amazon Vine Program offered TEACH YOURSELF VISUALLY WORD PRESS by Janet Majure I grabbed it.
A lot of my writing friends were moving away from Blogger to Word Press almost 6 years ago. I tried to follow them, I really did. But the amount of time I had to invest bore very little fruit. I used to think it was just me, that everything about Word Press seemed complicated. Six years ago, I wasn’t even sure what to talk about, and the options available in Word Press overwhelmed me.

I considered getting help. At the time, I had a stream of constant distractions and opted for the less time consuming option to blogging.
Since then, I’ve heard a lot about Word Press, how customizable it was. The blogs of writer friends were looking impressively professional and really polished. Very unique. I couldn’t believe it: I had blog envy.

This comprehensive book takes you step by step through Word Press, from Chapter one Introducing you to setting up the .com and .org (Word Press offers free and for purchase sites). It goes through the creation of that which makes each site unique : appealing visual and written content, then on to tools, widgets and plug ins. Chapter 9 is a how to on building traffic, so you can have an audience for your site. Majure rounds out the book with Tweaking Theme, Content Management and Maintaining the blog.

Even though I learned a good bit on my own, this book has been enormously helpful. It’s like having someone sitting in the room with you helping you each step of the way. I recommend this highly for people who have been frustrated and/or overwhelmed by Word Press. If you are trying to put together a unique and professional looking blog, this is a must read.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Applause for Avitae

Who knows what I expected when a bottle of
Avitae Caffeinated Water arrived from Amazon Vine program, but what I found was a nicely tapered 16.91 oz bottle with caffeinated water. I put it in the fridge and went about my day until my energy started to flag.
I have two jobs and on the way to my second one, I drank the water. At first, I really didn’t notice a difference. Within twenty minutes I started feeling a little more alive. I don’t like feeling my heart pounding in my chest like I get with some energy drinks. Avitae hydrates without all the hype and has no calories, carbonation or flavorings, no dyes or artificial ingredients. With 90mg of natural caffeine, it’s a little less than a regular cup of Starbucks (260mg).
I'm not always in the mood for tea and like the idea of getting a caffeine lift from water, especially with summer right around the corner and this answers that problem for me. I will recommend it to my friends and co-workers. Try it, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Is Bloggers Boot Camp for You?

I’ve been blogging for almost 8 years. In that amount of time, I‘ve put them up, taken them down, restarted, deleted renamed and rewrote several.
Once, I had a blog that I faithfully posted on three times a week, (The Radical Write) and on a dare, took the challenge to post once a day for a year (One Lap Around the Sun.)

BLOGGERS BOOT CAMP, written by Charlie White of Mashable.com and John Biggs of Crunchgear.com. takes blogging to the next level by showing you how to set up your blog, post several times a day every day, how to find your sources and a plethora of helpful hints.
This is well beyond what I'm interested in, but I decided to see what they had to say, figuring the very least that could happen is that I’d become a better, slightly more focused blogger.
The book is laid out like a workbook, with wide margins for writing notes and ideas. I generally hold books in sacred regard, choosing not to highlight or write in them. This one practically screams write in me. So I did and dog-eared a dozen and a half pages of information that I want to re-read and absorb every drop of information; from Chapter 3 Target Practice “Writing begets more writing”, Chapter 5 What to Write About and making the most of previous posts to Chapter 8 Building Traffic, Making Money and Measuring Success. White and Biggs take their years of impressive experience from several fields and combine it to give you a current, thought provoking look into the professional realm of blogging.
BLOGGERS BOOT CAMP is filled with timely and useful information but it is at times overwhelming. I am not someone who blogs full time, nor am I a journalist. But if you're putting together a website for news, marketing or public relations this book is definitely worth a look.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

Weather Alert Radio

ETON American Red Cross FR-X2 Hand Turbine NOAA AM/FM Weather Alert Radio I come from a long line of outdoorsmen. I also happen to believe in having the right tool for the right job. That’s where the ETON American Red Cross FR-X2 Hand Turbine NOAA AM/FM Weather Alert Radio comes in. Whether on land or sea, this solar and hand turbine powered AM, FM, weather radio is a must have. It comes with a USB smart phone charger, which allows you to charge your phone no matter if you have access to electricity or not. The LED flashlight can easily replace the battery operated one I used to use and comes with a handy carrying strap. “It’s like the Swiss Army Knife of radios,” said my assistant. Additionally, the FRX2 has a DC-input (mini-USB) for AC power and a headphone output port for individual radio listening, something my green ETON FR160GR Microlink doesn’t have. The case is hard plastic and seems more fragile than the less expensive matt green FR160. What I would like even more, is a meter of some sort to show how charged the unit is. But, overall I’d recommend it to all my traveling friends and as a really nice unit to have on hand in case of emergency.

Pleasing Peugeot Pepper Mill

I’ve had a lot of pepper mills in my life, some tall, some wood, some acrylic. When I find one I like, I used it everyday. With many of them, they became useless or broke under the stress of daily use.
I prefer wooden pepper mills for this very reason, and the harder the wood the better for the sheer longevity factor. The Peugeot Peppermill has some real heft to it, it’s not too light, made from beech wood and has a soap-smooth matt finish that doesn’t show fingerprints. It’s pleasing to hold and a pleasure to grind. The horizontal crank at the top appears to be brushed aluminum and feels sturdy. The grinder turns clockwise for fine or counterclockwise for coarsely ground. The grinding mechanism is guaranteed for life.
The pepper it came with is flavorful and pungent. Each turn of the crank delivers nearly 1/8 of a teaspoon of pepper, which is far more than most of mine gave.
It makes an aesthetic elegance to any dining table. I would recommend this to everyone who enjoys freshly ground pepper.

I began reading the Max Allan Collins' Triple Play: A Nathan Heller Casebook with the first short, Dying in the Post War World.
Collin's second story, kisses of Death employed the use of the iconic Marilyn Monroe which put an interesting spin on the tale.
 I enjoy most crime novels, but prefer suspense and thrillers.I found the language a bit dated, but accurate for each short. Because this case book retells three of the most spectacular crimes of the twentieth century which, there isn't a lot of suspense.
 I enjoyed the portrayal of Nathan Heller because he just keeps plugging away and doesn't seem to get ruffled easily. Because of Heller, I enjoyed the stories. Because they're shorts, they read quickly. I'll recommend Triple Play to anyone interested detective stories.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

Strong Branding, Weak Flavor

I received my box of gourmet Marley Coffee through the Amazon Vine program. I’ve been a big fan of coffee ever since I had to wake up at 4 am to bus tables at the Ramada Inn Hotel when I was a teenager. Back then, drinking coffee saved my job. In the 30 years since then, I’ve come to appreciate the multiple nuances about the classic brew. While I don’t consider myself a coffee snob, I know what I like.
One Love, according to the package, is Organic coffee and Fair Trade Certified, and a piece of the family dream,  which I don’t mind standing up for. I still harbor a fondness for the music of the Marley men, and it was with great anticipation that I tossed a pod of One Love into my coffee maker.  For me the coffee was more on the light side of medium. Actually, it tasted on the light side of light.  I prefer a dark bold flavor but don’t mind a good medium roast. The package also said Exotic Floral and Berry. Try as I might, I just couldn’t pick the Floral and Berry notes or much of a coffee flavor and strangely, no real fragrance. Honestly, I could take it or leave it. I wouldn't recommend this.

Take Thule Crossover Sling Pack

I tend to carry a lot of gear. I’m on the go a lot and I like to travel. I used to commute far enough that it was easier to carry all I needed in one bag. A back pack was too bulky and an Ameribag wasn’t big enough.

THULE makes a great Crossover Sling Pack. The low profile design is attractive and sturdy and allows easy access to all contents while wearing it. The wide strap disperses weight over a larger area which is great if you pack heavy like I do. A zippered compartment in the strap lets you stow sunglasses, mp3 player or smaller cell phones for easy access. The back of the bag is soft material over padding to protect your Mac or laptop.

Two zipper pulls, allow you to adjust for accessibility. Inside the main compartment is a padded drop-in sleeve that will accommodate up to a 14 inch Macbook or laptop. The facing zippered interior pocket, which seems to be semi waterproof, is roomy enough to hold a standard composition book with plenty of space left for magazines or other books. There’s also a plastic latch clip sewn into the pocket for keys or jump drives.

The second large pocket is compartmentalized for smaller items with a double sided mesh pocket that keeps maps, electronics and writing utensils in view. A smaller zippered pocket is where I keep my keys, but you could easily keep cash or credit cards handy. The exterior pocket will hold even the largest water bottles. Two sturdy grab and go handles allow it to be hung on most doorknobs. The textured zipper pulls are a sky blue which carries through on the interior pocket lining. The whole bag filled would fit in the overhead compartment of most commercial flights.

Being of smaller build, I find the bag covers a good bit of my upper body. You can wear it like a backpack or in front of you. I’m looking forward to traveling this summer and giving THULE Sling Pack a real work out.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product free from through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

The EXPATS

EXPATS gripped me from the first paragraph. Kate Moore is leaving her job as a concession for her husband's job transfer to Luxembourg. There she'll raise her sons with her husband Dexter, a securities analyst for a banking firm. Kate has a secret past, and decides against telling her husband what she really did for a living while they were stateside. She promised herself that she would never investigate her Dexter.
In Luxembourg, Kate meets Julia from Chicago and they become fast friends. It isn’t long before Kate's internal alarms begin to sound and she checks into a few things that Julia had said, to find them untrue. Julia and her husband Bill don’t seem to be quite a couple; and even though they pose as husband and wife, Kate isn’t buying it. Suddenly, Kate is suspicious of both of them.
At home, Dexter blatantly withholds information from Kate, who is driven to insane levels of curiosity. Will she give break her own vow to herself and check up on him?

I loved every moment in this story, each chapter ended in a cliff hanger. Like putting together an intricate puzzle, EXPATS had me guessing at every turn, then suddenly, the entire picture emerged. Chris Pavone writes masterfully and more than once I found myself holding my breath waiting to see what would happen next. I will be searching for the next one in what promises to be an engaging series.
Definitely a must read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

Theanine 200: Five Stars

Jarrow Formulas Theanine 200, 200mg, 60 Capsules (Health and Beauty)

L-Theanine 200 is an amino acid capsule containing a Unique Relaxant that is reportedly prominent in tea. It generates Tranquil relaxation with no drowsiness. I've taken it at the end of the day to read in the evenings before I go to bed to maintain focus. I have had great results, as I choose when to leave off in a book instead of crashing unexpectedly.


I have used it occasionally during stressful days and it has helped me. It produces a pleasant platform of well-being, with no grogginess and I've not experienced any feelings that were negative and no "hang-over" or unpleasant after-effect. I would recommend this to anyone who gets jittery at meetings, before making speeches or finds themselves in the middle of anxiety producing moments, as well as those days one is taking a test or has to be at the top of their game, when anxiousness would be a hindrance.

Vitamins Please!

Vitamin Squeeze Energy Drink, Fruit Punch flavor is delicious. It's in an easy to hold, flexible 12-Ounce container with a flip top. The Fruit Punch flavor is fortified with Vitamin C; 120% of the recommended daily total and taurine which is an essential nutrient said to be necessary for retinal health and found in animal protein. If you're a vegetarian like I am this might be for you! I take it with me to work and add it to my afternoon glass of water for a quick pick me up.
On the plus side: The color is a vibrant red, there is no nasty after taste. The flavor can be as rich and full as you like, there are no calories, no jittery feeling and no crash. It includes electrolytes which sometimes need replenished due to aggressive work outs or fluid depleting illness. I like the easy to hold container which is much larger, than the MiO water enhancers.
On the down side, it leaves an odd residue on the inside of plastic bottles, so if you are one that likes to reuse them, you won’t want to keep the bottle for long. Also, because it does that, I’m less inclined to use this product in my stainless steel drinking bottles. If you use it at home in a water glass for example, the residue washes off easily with the slightest hand scrubbing. (But I noticed it after the dish washing cycle finished. I will say it may have been my dish machine soap not being top grade). If you are all about portability, it's a bulkier package than the MiO.

I would highly recommend this product due to the convenience of having vitamins on the go, as well as on color and flavor.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product free through the Amazon Vine program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255