Browsing CategoryReview

Why You Should Buy a Wii

The Wii is unlike any other gaming system out there: it features motion sensing controllers, which were recently enhanced to increase accuracy and speed, multiplayer games that encourage playing with your friends, and many games lacking the depth of story that it’s counterparts the PS3 and XBOX360 both have. I’ve complained about the games in the past, but I’m starting to see that a Wii and it’s games can find a place in any household and can complement the other systems.

You won’t find Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed, Fable 2, or Metal Gear on the Wii, much less a game that has made headlines on its own. With the Wii, you’ll find Fast Food Panic, Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing, games that don’t have much in the way of storyline, but are easy to pick up and play and put down. The games are clearly secondary to the system, most people can name Wii Fitness or Wii Sports, both of which have the system in the name of the game but it seems like Nintendo is more focused on the Wii name as opposed to any one game, and the attention is soley on the system.

Most games on the Wii are not going to grab you by the collar and refuse to let you go until the end credits like many games on the 360 and PS3 will do. Wii games are meant to be played in quick bursts, where you can play a level in Mario before school or work, or shoot a couple deer in the Big Game Hunter before you turn off the system. The difference of game style between the other systems and the Wii can be a good thing, however, especially in this day and age where the next generation of gamers is overweight and slothful; a game that is played in stages doesn’t necessarily instill that desire to keep playing for hours at a time. So after playing, for instance, you may want to check first your stats tracker for Fortnite or any games you play.

This approach to gaming reminds me of the arcades that have unfortunately all but vanished from the modern day gaming scene. I remember going to the arcade as a kid and while I would spend a couple hours there, I would play many different machines instead of sticking to just one; and that’s what was fun about arcades, you could hop around and try out every game there. The Wii attempts to accomplish this by breaking down games into much smaller time frames. For example, the Wii sports resort game allows the gamer to select which level they want to play which doesn’t take more than a few minutes to beat. This allows the player to get in a little game time but still go about their everyday life without a large time commitment.

The Wii just lowered its price again, so now it’s even more tempting to pick up the system. Even if you were like me and didn’t think the Wii has much to offer you in terms of it’s games, you may be surprised at how enjoyable it can be.

Review of the Panasonic MC-4620: A Vacuum for the Budget Conscious

If you’re on a budget and looking for a vacuum cleaner under US$75, I strongly recommend the Panasonic MC-4620 bagless, straight-suction, canister vacuum. It’s the best vacuum I’ve ever used.

I’m a stay-at-home father of three toddlers and I vacuum the kitchen and dining room floors and the living room carpet every night. I’ve used many different vacuum cleaners over the years, including a handheld Dirt Devil, an upright Bissell and a Eureka canister – all requiring bags – but none have come close to cleaning as well as the Panasonic MC-4620.

As an added bonus, it is a boon for people who are allergic to dust as it is their first preference as staubsauger für allergiker as it has the capacity to evaporate dust into thin air.

What sets this machine apart is its amazing suction. When the filter is clean the vacuum is so powerful it sucks up dirt I didn’t even know was there, and works equally well on both hard floors and carpets. And cleaning the filter is unbelievably easy. You pop off the cover of the canister with the push of a button, and pull apart the two-piece filter. Then you simply dump the contents of the cover in the trash and scrape the hair and dust off the outside of the filter with your finger nails (or a tool, if you prefer).

The inside part traps fine dust, and you clean this by holding it upside down and turning an ingeniously designed handle that causes the filter to vibrate and release the trapped particles. The whole process takes no more than five minutes. I clean it right before I use the vacuum, to ensure maximum suction.

Once a week or so you’ll want to use a tool to clean out the deep crevices in the filter (a screw driver works fine). But this only takes an extra minute or two. The filter is made of plastic, not paper, and never needs to be replaced. You can rinse it with water too, if you like.

The Panasonic MC-4620 is small (18 by 12 by 5 inches, not including the hose) and light enough to lift with one hand, which makes it easy to carry up and down the stairs (unlike the heavier Bissell upright and Eureka canister vacuums I owned). It also comes with a 17-foot power cord that – wonder of wonders – retracts automatically when you push a small release lever. There’s no need to gather up the cord and wrap it, as with upright machines.

As much as I love this vacuum, it does have one drawback. The long attachments to the hose are not screwed on or locked in place; they fit into and over each other. As a result, they can become loose and come apart. This doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it’s irritating. Thankfully, the pieces can be quickly and easily fitted back together.

 

Hardwood Floors in a Bathroom?

So you like the look of beautiful, shiny wood floors so much you even want them in your master bathroom. But is that a good idea? Will the wood hold up to the moisture that is common in bathrooms? Are you making a very expensive mistake by laying down that warm golden oak floor instead of ceramic tile?

That, of course, depends on you and how you use the room. If, for example, your husband takes a shower and half the water ends up on the floor, then wood floors might not be a good idea. If he’s that messy, you might save yourself a lot of stress of worrying about the floor by going with ceramic. Water won’t hurt it at all if it is sealed properly. On the other hand, you could ban him from the bathroom and install an outside shower for him. Just kidding. Well, partially, anyway.

But all joking aside, the amount of moisture in the common bathroom could take its toll on a wood floor. But there are ways around this problem. You can simply install a powerful bathroom exhaust fan to pull the moisture from the room. These fans come in different shapes and sizes. You can even buy some that have the light combined in with the fan. Just make sure these fans are installed properly. The hose or pipe that vents the moisture up and out of the room should be extended all the way to the eave of the house. After all, you don’t want to pull that moisture up into the attic and leave it there. You want it to go outside. If not, you’re just transferring the moisture from one area of your house to another. Remember, the attics are just above your ceilings. And you sure don’t want that moisture settling on the backs of the ceilings.

An exhaust fan will handle most of the moisture and steam from a shower or bath. However, that doesn’t help the floor if the shower curtain gets left on the outside of the shower. To prevent this from happening, consider installing doors on your shower. These are especially good if the shower has only a small lip or edge. And doors can actually add beauty and style to the shower and bathroom. Clear glass doors are very popular today and help make a room look larger by not closing off part of the room. You have protection for your wood floors and it really looks good. Believe me, you’ll be slapping your head and saying, “Duh, I coulda had glass doors a long time ago.” But, hey, better late than never.

And last, but certainly not least, keep a large, rubber-backed bath rug or mat in front of the shower or tub. Make sure it is in the correct location for anyone stepping out of the shower or tub. No use having it if no one steps on it.

And then you may have to set a few little ground rules. That may be the hardest part of keeping the floor nice and dry. Insist he dry off in the shower or tub. You’d be surprised at how many people think they have to get out of the shower before they can dry off. Oh, I do mean turn the water off first. And teach him not to drop his wet towels on the wood floor. Either keep a laundry basket close by or have him leave them in the sink.

So you see, you can have those beautiful wood floors in your master bathroom if you want. Remember, where there’s a will, there’s always a way. When it comes to cutting tools there are two best options in this category. There is a huge difference between kreg k4 and k5 as they offer different features and option to their users.

Wristwatch Review: Sharp Turbine-style Men’s Analog Watch from Kmart

The Perrelet Turbine watch series is an innovative collection of fine European timepieces that incorporate a turbine blade motif into the dual rotors of its automatic movement. Sold only by exclusive high end jewelers, Perrelet turbine watches cost around $4000 or even more. But, ATTENTION KMART SHOPPERS, ATTENTION KMART SHOPPERS, if you are lucky, you can find a quartz watch with a similar look from Sharp for only $19.99 in the giant retailer’s watch department.

At first, I thought the styling similarities were purely coincidental, but my friends on MyWristwatch Forums quickly picked up the similarity. After a member mentioned it, I remembered seeing a Perrelet advertisement in an old copy of Watch Talk magazine. A close examination of my Sharp watch reveals that the budget-priced Sharp watch pays homage to the premium Perrelet. It has many very similar styling cues to the Perrelet Turbine A1047/1.

Instead of getting a watch steeped in a prestigious Swiss watchmaker’s history that stretches all the way back to 1777, when you buy the Sharp brand watch, you get a watch made by MZ Berger that uses the Sharp name under license. While the premium Perrelet features a hand built movement made by experienced craftsmen working for the company that invented the automatic watch movement, the Sharp watch has a quartz movement made by workers in Singapore.

The features of the Sharp Turbine-style watch aren’t quite up the same level as a genuine Perrelet. For example, you won’t actually get a moving twelve bladed dual rotor made from titanium. Instead, Sharp delivers a watch that successfully incorporates a turbine motif with blue plastic disc recessed beneath the surface of a plain black dial. The dial features windows so that the disc appears to be turbine blades. However, the rotor blades of the Perrelet actually moves. The Perrelet model uses red stripes to emphasize the motion of its rotor blades. Like the Perrelet, the Kmart special has a 44 millimeter diameter case. The Perrelet marks time with the numerals denoting minutes at the customary positions for 15, 30, 45, and 60. The Sharp watch marks time with numerals for the hours 3, 6, 9, and 12. Both watches have similar fonts and tick marks for the minutes or seconds.

While the A1047/1 has a black design, Perrelet has many clever turbine watch configurations. The humble Sharp watch has a stainless steel back, base metal bezel, and black resin band. I found the Sharp turbine-style watch to be fairly comfortable to wear. The black resin band is a tad stiff, but that is to be expected with such bands. The Sharp has luminous material inset in the hour and minute hands that works well after exposure to bright light. Surprisingly, the Sharp watch has what appears to be a slightly convex glass crystal. It’s a surprise to see in a world where most budget watches have simple flat circular disks. While we are talking about the watches the bering is a brand which is producing the best and reliable watches which you can trust completely.

Overall, the Sharp Turbine-style Men’s Watch is a nice addition to a low budget watch collection and it makes a great bang-around watch. However, after watching the real Perrelet turbine rotors spin in fascinating web videos, it’s apparent that the Sharp turbine-style watch pales in comparison to the classic watch it emulates.

The High School Musical Phenomenon

Disney just released High School Musical 2. If you are like me and have school age children, this was an event rivaled only by Christmas!

If you have not seen it, let me get you up to speed. The story essentially revolves around two attractive teenagers and their attractive friends. Troy and Gabriella are the leads (played by Zach Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) and are constantly in conflict with Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and twin brother Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel). Troy and Gabriella are nice kids who sing unbelievably well together (yes, their actual voices) and are trying to find their niche in their school.

Many of the kids who watch these movies have no idea what the following reference is, but it reminds me very much of the excitement that surrounded the movie Grease with a young John Travolta and Olivia Newton John as the attractive young couple. There are many similarities. Obviously, both heavily rely on music to shape the story. Both involve kids who come from different backgrounds to find each other. I found there to be many other similarities as I watched High School Musical.

Disney is one of those things where there is no middle ground. You either drink the Disney punch, or you don’t! Personally, I think the productions they put out are great for young kids. Almost all of their Disney orignal television programs and movies have some kind of a moral lesson in them. This would be in stark contrast to some channels for kids which teach violence and rude behavior.

It is also a neat experience for the kids because we live in a time that is run by the internet. There are places on the Disney Web page where you can find out more about the stars and the kids can go to these sites and play games and create yearbooks and the like.

Now I know some of you are saying, “Hey, weren’t Justin and Brittany mouse club members when they were little. Man, look how they turned out! Yes, it is true these are not necessarily the people I want my kids to emulate themselves after, but that is my job as a parent. To me, if a kid is having a good time and is not doing something wrong, mean or rude I am pretty much ok with that.

In closing, let me say this. Even if you do not like Disney and are not into the programs being put out, remember your child looks at these people like you looked at your idol. Are the actors the greatest kids in the world, who knows. I am sure some of them are interesting to handle, but they keep my kids entertained and I have never read bad press about them!

My advice is to take a look at the movie. Even if you have never seen the first movie, check out the second one anyway! Trust me, when your kids go back to school this is going to be a major topic of conversation! Also, try to sit down and watch the movie with your kids. It is fun to watch my very serious daughter really have fun with a movie like this. This movie is a complete Disney experience that you get. Disney Performing Arts programs is a similar and much popular platform that you can opt in order to get the beautiful Disney experience.