Reviews and More

A friend of mine recently went through a horrible experience at the hospital, and thinks she might have been the victim of medical malpractice. She wanted me to help her find a malpractice attorney, so I decided to go online to get some basic information first.

While I was sifting through my search results, I came across a site called Encyclocentral.com that has a huge collection of articles for users to read. The articles are very short, but I think they’re still useful and gave me a good starting point. Plus, many of the articles on the site are related. For example, when I was reading about malpractice attorneys, I also learned about legal service plans, which I bet my friend wishes she had right about now!

I bought a C de Cartier ballpoint pen from a duty free store a little while ago as I was passing through an airport. Prior to that, I’d never purchased an expensive pen from a maker other than Mont Blanc, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But I liked the looks of the C de Cartier so much and I wasn’t actively using a nice pen at the time, so I caved in and bought it.

The C de Cartier is a very slim pen, almost delicate-looking pen that in my mind is more suitable for women than men (I am a woman, so it’s not a problem for me). It has a simple design consisting of the double interlocked “C” logo repeated all over the platinum-plated barrel. The pen also has the word “Cartier” engraved in vertical script along the clip. I think it looks elegant without being overly ostentatious.

In order to expose the tip of the pen and use the instrument to write, you twist the very top. the ballpoint retracts when you rotate the top in the opposite direction. It takes both hands to accomplish this, which I guess some people don’t like in a ballpoint pen.

Writing with the C de Cartier is smooth and comfortable. I had no problems using the pen for several hours on end because it’s so lightweight. I wish the black ink were a bit darker, but other than that, I really have no complaints about this pen.

The C de Cartier is a bit pricey considering that it’s just a ballpoint pen, but I’ve been completely satisfied with my purchase. It’s a beautiful pen to add to your collection!

I recently submitted my tax paperwork to a CPA and I am extremely anxious to know what the outcome will be. You see, I learned that I made several key mistakes on past returns, so my accountant is now looking at the past four years to determine if I need to file amended returns or not. Of course, this is making me worry about the possible tax debt I’ll have if it turns out that I owe money from years ago.

I am kicking myself for not taking advantage of professional tax services as soon as my filing situation got too complicated for me to handle on my own. Hopefully things will turn out ok, but in the meantime it’s no fun having to wait around for an answer.

I like to send handwritten letters to my friends every now and again because I think those are so much more fun to receive than just emails or IMs. So for those occasions, I need to have some nice, personalized stationery to use. I don’t like the cheap stuff, and don’t mind paying extra money for thick paper and lined envelopes. I tried several different stationery stores before settling on Alden Grace.

I chose Alden Grace because they have a wide selection of stationery designs and styles, including foldover notes, lettersheets, note cards, and invitations. All of these can be personalized with either your full name or initials in a variety of fonts and colors.

I found the entire shopping process to be quick and easy. The sample pictures are clear, there are helpful prompts for every step in the personalization process, and there are even tips to assist you in making the best choices. Plus, before Alden Grace proceeds with your order, they will send you a black and white PDF proof of what the finished product will look like and they will wait for your approval before moving forward.

I ordered the Ecru Embossed Lettersheet (pictured above) with my monogram on the top, second sheets (with no monogram), and lined envelopes with a printed return address on the flap. I spent about $120 on everything, got free shipping, received my pacakge approximately five business days later, and couldn’t be happier with my stationery.

If you’re in the market for fine stationery, I recommend that you check out the offerings at Alden Grace.

I know a lot of bloggers who are looking to move off free platforms such as Blogger, LiveJournal, and Wordpress.com to their own domains and are now shopping around for good hosting packages. One option they have is Net Actuate, a company that formerly went by the name VR Hosted.

Net Actuate offers two basic hosting plans, thereby making it very easy for you to compare the features and prices to see which one you should go with. I remember struggling to find a hosting plan that I would be satisfied with when I first moved to my own domain, so I can appreciate the effort Net Actuate has made to simplify the process.

The Web One plan offers such features as 5gb web space, 100gb/mo transfers, unlimited subdomains, webmail, and 10 addon domains for a fee of $10 per month. For $5 per month more, you can get 10gb web space, 200gb/mo transfers, and 20 addon domains (plus all the other features).

I did a lot of research before choosing a hosting plan and moving to my own domains, and from what I can recall, the Net Actuate plans are very competitive both in terms of pricing and standard features. So if you’re looking to start your own sites or to change hosts, one of these plans might be right for you!

As a consumer in my early 30s, I enjoy buying products from people who are close to my age because that practically guarantees that I’ll find something that I’m interested in. This personal rule of mine applies to everything from movies to electronics to apparel.

Take clothing, for instance. I used to be content to buy designs from 50- or 60-year-old men, but I’ve recently realized that they very rarely “get” what I’m all about. In the past couple months, however, I’ve been paying more attention to Peter Belisi, the 31-year-old founder of Belisi Fashions. Belisi seems to know exactly what people our age want, and he knows exactly how to reach out to his target market. He has several blogs and a MySpace page — just like I do — and he designs clothes that people in our age group would be excited to wear.

Keep an eye on this guy; I have a feeling that he is going to move higher and higher through the ranks of the luxury fashion industry!