Ultimate Shave

I'm always looking for ways to improve my shaving experience, basically because I hate to shave. I often have gotten cuts and have looked like Dracula after dining out.

Well with each new generation of shaving system the experience keeps improving. Almost to the point of liking it. Almost. My current shaving setup is the Gillette Fusion Power with Gillette Fusion HydraGel Moisturizing Shave Gel with Aloe and Cocoa Butter - 7 oz. I've also started experimenting with Aveeno Shave Gel With Natural Colloidal Oatmeal - 7 Oz, so I'll let everyone know if it's better than the Gillette product (I've heard it was).

Keep Those Tires Properly Inflated

We all know that for a variety of reasons it's important to keep your auto tires properly inflated. Probably the best reason is to maximize your gas mileage. With gas prices as they are, that's good enough reason for me!

I used to go drive to the local gas station to do this, but that's not so convenient, so I didn't end up doing it as often as I should. So I decided to buy an inflater. I didn't want one of the portable battery powered ones (tried one of those years ago and the inflation rate was veeery slow...). I wanted a plug-in kind that inflated quickly and didn't cost an arm and a leg and I found the one that fits the bill!:

Bon-Aire BA121L 120V Air Compressor/Inflator

Make Ice Cream!

Do you love ice cream? Of course you do! Then the best ice cream is homemade! I've been making homemade ice cream for many years and with the latest machines it is so easy. In the "old" days you had to deal with ice and salt and a big mess. No more. With the latest machines you just put the gel filled container in the freezer overnight and the next day you're ready to make ice cream! Of course I recommend just keeping the container in there so when the mood strikes, you're ready.

30 minutes from ingredients to delicious ice cream. Mmmmm...

This is the maker I have and highly recommend: Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker

Healthy Teeth and Gums?

I should floss more than I do... But I do use Listerine every day, which I recommend everybody do, because it is very effective at eliminating the bacteria that cause Gingivitis. Gingivitis is a VERY bad thing to have. Why? Because it's not just about your teeth and gums, it's about inflammation. Inflammation can cause all kinds of problems in your body. Click here to learn more.

So to help keep my teeth clean and my gums as healthy as possible I use the best electric toothbrush I've found: Philips Sonicare Advance 4100 Sonic Power Toothbrush

So, brush twice a day, use Listerine everyday and floss (more than I do!).

To your health!

Canon MP610 All-In-One Photo Printer

If you're looking for a great all-in-one printer then the Canon Pixma MP610 is the one to go with. I've had great luck with Canons for the past several years and I've tried them all!

It makes great photos, crisp text and has a flatbed scanner for photocopying. What more could you want!

Enjoy!

iPod Touch

If you're looking to upgrade your iPod or you're a first time iPod buyer (with a budget of at least $275) then the iPod to buy is the Touch. I have one and it's amazing and a real game changer. Listen to music, watch movies, surf the web, check your email.... All on a truly amazing screen. Pick the one that meets your budget:

Apple iPod touch 8 GB
Apple iPod touch 16 GB
Apple iPod touch 32 GB

I have the 16 GB model. I have 1200 songs on it and 4 full length feature movies and I use less than 8 GB. I figure 16 GB will be enough for me for a very long time.

Vitamin D & Cod Liver Oil

Did you know that most people are deficient in Vitamin D? It's true, and it's not good. There is tons of evidence that Vitamin D supplementation can help in the prevention of cancer, improve bone health and many other benefits. Click here to learn more.

According to the reading I've done you should be consuming at least 1000 IU per day and no more than 2000 IU. If you spend lots of time in the sun you may not need supplementation because that is where we get a lot of our Vitamin D needs. Your body synthesizes Vitamin D from sun exposure. The problem is that we don't get much sun in general, particularly in the winter months. And during the summer we're told to cover up! Most food doesn't have much Vitamin D, with the notable exception of Cod Liver Oil (which I take for it's many benefits).

I recommend the following Vitamin D supplement: Source Naturals Vit D 400 IU, 200 tablets

I also recommend this Cod Liver Oil (it really doesn't taste bad! Very lemony!): Carlson Laboratories - Norwegian Cod Liver Oil - Lemon, 16.8 fl oz

Cod Liver Oil is rich in Omega-3's and Vitamin D. I don't need to tell you how amazing Omega-3's are, it's all over the news. Just fantastic.

Just add up the Vitamin D content in the Cod Liver Oil and the supplement and get it between 1000 and 2000 IU's. Go for the higher end in the winter months when you have less sun exposure.

Altec Lansing InMotion iM7

If you want a great portable speaker system for your iPod and don't want to shell out for the Bose, then the Altec Lansing inMotion iM7 is the one you want. It's half the price of the Bose and the sound is just as good. In other words, the sound is fantastic!!

Note that for the latest generation of iPod Nano's you'll need a free adapter you can get directly from Altec Lansing. Also note that the iPod Touch will fit, but you can't close the door that the iPod fits in. Though it does work with the Touch. All other iPods fit perfectly!

Craig

VMware Fusion

Hi Everyone!,

If you have an Apple Mac (which I recommend!) and have a need to run some Windows only software (as I do...) then you have basically two choices if you want to be able to run Windows in parallel with the Mac OS (A third option is to boot exclusively into Windows): Parallels and VMware Fusion. I recommend VMware Fusion because I use it and it works absolutely flawlessly. I did lots of research and came to the conclusion that I'd go with Fusion, because for the most part it runs Windows programs faster than Parallels.

I must say it's odd to see the Windows screen in the middle of my Mac screen, but hey, it works!

Craig

White Tea

You've heard of Green Tea. You've heard of Black Tea. So what's White Tea? All these teas come from the same plant (Camellia Sinensis) and the difference is in the level of processing:

White Tea - Picked and dried
Green Tea - Picked, dried and fried (or steamed)
Oolong Tea - Picked, dried, fried (or steamed) and partially fermented
Black Tea - Picked, dried, fried (or steamed) and fully fermented

There is much evidence that White Tea is the healthiest of the bunch in terms of anti-oxidant content. I also find that it's a very pleasant taste that's hard to ruin, like you can with Green Tea by over-steeping it (it gets bitter). White Tea doesn't get bitter.

I drink Rishi Organic Silver Needle Loose Tea. Silver Needle is one of a few varieties of White Tea. White Tea is somewhat more expensive than Green Tea, but I steep a tablespoon twice to get two cups. And since you can steep it for a long time, the second time I steep it, I steep it for a least 15 minutes. This way I get every last drop of the good stuff!

Enjoy!

Craig

Nikon 55-200 Zoom Lens

If you got a Nikon with kits lens (as described in my previous post), then you may want a zoom for the further away shots. The Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lensis a fantastic lens. Read the reviews!

It's got a built in system (the "VR" in the letters of the name) for reducing/eliminating blurring due to shaking, so you can take those far away shots without a tripod.

Craig

Nikon D40 SLR

If you're looking for a camera that will take fantastic pictures, but doesn't cost an arm and a leg (it's under $500!), then the Nikon D40is the one you want. It's an SLR, so if you're looking for a camera that slips in your pocket, then this isn't the one.

It's a 6 Megapixel camera and it comes with a fantastic zoom lens. If you're thinking, "only 6 megapixels?", don't! Unless you're planning to print posters then 6 Megapixels is more than enough (you can print up to 11x17 and still not see pixels!). This camera will actually take much better pictures than a compact camera with 10 Megapixels! How's that possible? Well two things: The sensor is physically far bigger in this camera than you'll find in a compact camera, so there will be much less noise (and it's much better in low light since it has more area to receive the light). Also the optics in this camera are MUCH better than in the compacts.

Another note is that the Nikon has a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor as opposed to CMOS (you don't want to know...) in the Canon SLR's and all compact cameras. I'm an electrical engineer (and I've spoken to image sensor engineers!) and trust me, CCD's produce better images.

One important note: Don't be fooled by vendors advertising very low prices (even the marketplace vendors on Amazon are suspect). These are scam artists that will screw you over. Cameras sold be legit vendors are sold in a narrow price range. Good legit vendors include Amazon (like I said, direct from Amazon, not the marketplace vendors) and Adorama.

Nikon D40

Craig

The Magic of Thinking Big and The 4-Hour Workweek

For my first book recommendation, it has be The Magic of Thinking Big. This book inspired me when I first read it over 10 years ago (I saw a student at Harvard walking through the campus with this book!) and continues to on re-reads.

This book has been in print since it was published in 1959. That tells you something. If you've heard of the new bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek, look in the list of books that he recommends. The first one is the Magic of Thinking Big! I Highly Recommend The Magic of Thinking Big!!

I just finished reading The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich and really enjoyed it. The guy is obviously very smart and goes through step-by-step how to work less, still make money and travel the world!

Enjoy!

Craig

Introduction

Hi All,

Since many people seem to come to me for recommendations for various products, I figured it made sense to make a blog with all my recommendations. I have no shortage of opinions, so why not?! Whenever I buy anything I do TONS and TONS of research. So now you don't have to! I'll recommend the absolute best products for various budgets for many product categories. Just click the tag links on the right to go to all the posts about that category.

This blog will not only be recommendations, I may just have a random daily thought that I hope people would enjoy reading.

Please use the RSS feed so you can be automatically informed if I've posted something new.

If you're going to buy something I recommend, please use the links I have in the post. You don't pay even one cent more, but I do make a few cents commission. With a kid in college, the few cents can add up! Maybe even enough for a textbook!

Thanks and I hope you find this useful!!

Craig