Lego Mugs = things taste better

What has twitter done for you,Or Your Business? Has it ever made you coffee? Try as i might I hadn’t been able to make twitter give me anything good, until recently that is.

Twitter has been called everything from a frivolous nonsense website, to a fantastic business tool. And on many different levels both assertions are correct. However now I have Twitter to thank for some of the best coffee I’ve had in quite a while. Thanks to the Barista On Duty a Pan Roasting Coffee Fanatic Supreme! Read the rest of this entry »

As anyone who reads this site regularly already knows, I like coffee. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a snob, but I know what I like. If you serve me swill I’ll drink it, but i don’t have to like it. I recognize both goof coffee, and equipment which allows for the production of good coffee. Today I’m lucky enough to talk about the Friis Coffee Savor.  Friis, pronounced “Freece” was kind enough to send me a model to try out and report my finding on.  The claim is that this canister will allow Carbon Dioxide out of the can, while not allowing Oxygen in, and by doing this keep coffee fresh longer. And anything that keeps Coffee fresh is alright in my book. Come with me as we test this neat idea out.

The Claims:

I like simple  and easily provable claims to judge products on. Most companies that make simple statements don’t have anything to hide, which is what I like. Cut the buzzwords give me the facts.

• Claim #1: Prevents a buildup of Carbon Dioxide inside the canister
• Claim #2: Keeps Coffee at peak freshness for longer than traditional storage

Simple claims and a very thirsty reviewer make for an easy review to write.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hot Summer months are now upon us and we have spent no small amount of time talking about the wonder that is iced coffee. I was recently sent a product to review which promises to make the production of Cold Brewed Iced Coffee that much easier. The Ronco Coffeetime Brew System. Ronco the same company who makes all sorts of As Seen on TV goodies have tried their hand at a coffee system. And the best part is that I get to try it out! One more reason why i love running this website.

The Claims:

I like simple  and easily provable claims to judge products on. Most companies that make simple statements don’t have anything to hide, which is what I like. Cut the buzzwords give me the facts.

• Claim #1: Brews Coffee with much less acid
• Claim #2: Easy to Use
• Claim #3: Saves money over expensive coffee drinks

Simple claims and a very thirsty reviewer make for an easy review to write.

But wait… There’s More!

Read the rest of this entry »

A short time ago i was approached about reviewing a caffeinated water product called Avitae, pronounced  ah-vee-tay. I jumped at the chance because their hook is that there are no extra flavors or chemicals in the beverage, just water and caffeine. I was intrigued, and frankly after trying and panning more than a few syrupy sweet energy drinks I was looking for a refreshing change.

The Claims:

I like simple  and easily provable claims to judge products on. Most companies that make simple statements don’t have anything to hide, which is what I like. Cut the buzzwords give me the facts.

• Claim #1: Water, Caffeine Nothing else
• Claim #2: Tastes like nothing
• Claim #3: Gives you a boost

Like I said Simple enough for anyone to give it a run down. Read the rest of this entry »

Overall Concept:

Its not very often that I get a technical book to come across my desk that makes me smile just from the cover. A Manga Guide to Databases seems absurd, as a concept. Seems overly cute as a book and a cover graphic. But could the concept actually work? Kids these days have cartoons teaching them about absolutely everything so why not comics doing the same.  Thinking about this book and this series from No Starch press as Schoolhouse Rock for Adults helps too. I have a couple other books by No Starch with my favorite being The Guide to Overclocking.

The author Mana Takahashi and Illustrator  Shoko Azuma have structured this book in a very logical way, but managed to weave a lesson into the story as well. The concept, comic art as instruction takes a bit of getting used to if you are used to strict technical manuals. Read the rest of this entry »

Overall Concept:

You can’t really judge a book by its cover, but you simply have to judge a book by its concept. Does the subject matter make sense to cover and do the methods that the author proposes actually make sense? The subject matter of this book, i.e. The Principles of Successful Freelancing are pretty self evident, and in times like these more people than ever are considering working for themselves, or attempting to turn their existing skill set into a source of direct income.

The author, Miles Burke, does a very good job laying the information out in an  easy to understand progression, designed to take one from an having an idea to starting a business with that idea. Read the rest of this entry »

How many people know the worth of their files?

You will only truly know after they are gone. I was recently asked to review a piece of backup software. Siber Systems Goodsync Pro. I have to tell you i was excited by the opportunity because this is one of the areas in my computer life where I am the least vigilant. As a technical support person I often tell people to backup their documents, on occasion I even do it myself. The process, either via Windows Briefcase, in house backup solutions or simply burning items to a CD is time consuming and frustrating. Quite often the users don’t end up backing anything up and I’m forced to try and recover their files or my own. I have had hard drives fail. All of my experiences have taught me something. The dirty truth about backing files up is that no one likes to do it because its boring, and is often justified as time that could be better off spent doing something else. Since no one likes to do it, its hard to figure out and takes up your time, no one does. And this is a problem waiting to happen.

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