April 2008

  • Happy Earth Day

    By Anonymous on 4/22/08 10:57am
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    We know you like to shop online—we do too! We try to give you all the news and information you need to save money and make smart purchasing decisions on-line. But, we should never forget that there is an environmental cost to consumption, from production to marketing to disposal. Check out Story of Stuff for a better understanding of the full impact of consumer goods. So, what can you do? The first and best step is to decrease your consumption. Use goods for as long as you can until they wear out. Limit your purchases to only what you need. Still, when you need to buy something, there are many consumer choices each of us can make every day to decrease the impact of our consumption. Check out Greener Choices and Green Home Guide for some good tips.

  • Hop to Pop: Cool and Classy Corkscrews

    By Anonymous on 4/18/08 1:59pm
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    I love to enjoy a glass of wine after work or with dinner. What I don't love are difficult corkscrews. I hate those annoying little serrated blades and uncomfortable grips. And even if I stick to $10 bottles, I still would rather not have any cork bits floating around in the wine. All these annoyances poured away when I went home one Christmas and saw a great new gadget my parents received as a gift, the Metrokane Rabbit Corkscrew.

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  • Fun with USB

    By Anonymous on 4/17/08 5:31pm
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    Little toys and gadgets are the perfect way to get through the work day. USB desk gadgets are perfect because they don't take up too much space and they plug right into the computer. Check out the Brando USB Blender Alarm Clock. Set the alarm for 4:30 Friday afternoon and you'll know just when to start blending margaritas. You can read reviews on Engadget and Gizmodo as well. If you want something even flashier, try the USB Mini Lava Lamp. I think it provides the right relaxed ambience for getting work done. Just don't get too mesmerized by the pretty swirls.

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  • Don't Trust Sites that Don't Support Firefox

    By Anonymous on 4/16/08 4:05pm
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    Many people are now discovering that Internet Explorer is full of security holes and making the switch to Firefox, a far superior browser by Mozilla. Even the Department of Homeland Security recommended that users switch from IE to another browser. However, some people might argue that they don't want to make the switch because all websites don't necessarily support Firefox. However, rather than avoid Firefox, you should just avoid the sites that don't support it. Holes Holes and More IE Holes Those who are up-to-date on internet security, know that Internet Explorer is constantly plagued with security holes. Type "IE Security Holes" into google and you'll get over a million search results listing articles ranging all the way back to 2000 and before. Let's review just a few in chronological order.

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  • Meet Rikey Austin: Creator of Tales from Alice's Bear Shop

    By Anonymous on 4/16/08 4:05pm
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    When they were young, Rikey Austin's three sons listened to her stories about teddy bears and their adventures. Her characters include Cobby, who fell overboard during a boat trip around the bay, and Mary-Jane, who was so busy with shells, buckets, and flags that she didn't notice the tide coming in. Part of Russ-Berrie's Alice's Bear Shop Collection, Cobby is an adorably soft 15� tan bear wearing blue denim overalls. Cobby is also available in a miniature, 6� version. His pal and fellow Alice's Bear Shop cohort, Mary-Jane, is a fuzzy, 14.5� light tan bear wearing a plaid dress and matching bow. Cobby and Mary-Jane's creator, Rikey Austin, lives with her family in Lyme Regis, England, a coastal town that served as the backdrop for the movie The French Lieutenant's Woman and gives her bear tales a hint of salt and sea.

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  • Mills Gifts' Land of the Free Bear Thanks Soldiers, Helps Military Charities

    By Anonymous on 4/16/08 4:05pm
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    The Land of the Free Bear from Mills Gifts is the perfect way to say thanks to the men and women fighting overseas. This plush bear plays heartwarming messages from family members of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines for service men and women to listen to. The Land of the Free Bear, wearing a camouflage fatigue jacket, is reading a letter from home and holds the airmail envelope in his other paw. He wears a dog tag saying "Land of the Free...Because of the Brave," which can be removed and worn. By pressing his foot, listeners can hear the messages of actual military members' families to their loved ones overseas. Some 10 percent of the manufacturer proceeds from the Land of the Free Bear will be donated monthly to two military charities: Fisher House Foundation and Pen Pals for Soldiers.

  • Waterford's Holiday Heirlooms 2005 Ornaments Continue Rich Irish Tradition

    By Anonymous on 4/16/08 4:05pm
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    Few people celebrate Christmas with the zest and zeal of the Irish, and Waterford's latest Christmas ornaments reflect that traditional heritage. The world-renowned Irish crystal maker's new Holiday Heirlooms 2005 Ornaments continue the Irish holiday tradition with both fanciful and familiar icons of Irish heritage and Gaelic lore.   New mouthblown, hand-decorated ornaments for 2005 include the Holiday Heirlooms 2005 Lustre Harp Angel Ball Ornament, which is a lustrous grass-green color with a fanciful handpainted white angel playing a harp. Also new for the Christmas season is the Holiday Heirlooms 2005 Lismore Lyle Snowman Bell. This ceramic bell from the Holiday Heirlooms North Pole Collection features Lyle the snowman dressed in a wintery sweater, hat, scarf, and mittens. He smiles with pleasure as he holds his favorite treat...ice cream! The base of the bell is decorated in Waterford's classic Lismore pattern. It is dated 2005 on the back.

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  • Gunds LIFE Bear Helping Fight Breast Cancer

    By Anonymous on 4/16/08 4:05pm
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    Val Skinner has been an LPGA touring golf professional since 1983. When her friend and fellow golfer Heather Farr was diagnosed with breast cancer, Val and her fellow LPGA golfers were shocked. Twenty-four-year-old women are not supposed to get breast cancer. And they are not supposed to die at 28. When that happened, Val knew she had to do something. That was the beginning of the Val Skinner Foundation and LIFE, or LPGA Pros In the Fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer. Every year the LPGA sponsors a prestigious golf tournament, with the proceeds going to the largest private funder of breast cancer research and education, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (Komen Foundation), and to the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), a National Cancer Institute designated clinical care center in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

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