Reviews and More

Not too long ago, consumers didn’t have very many choices when it came to credit cards. The big banks offered cards that were very similar in terms of interest rates and fees, so the only thing that separated one card from the next was the actual credit line. Regular, gold, or platinum cards were the only options, and the issuing bank decided which card you’d get based on your credit history.

But these days the consumer credit industry is so competitive that banks have to offer much more than just higher credit lines in order to entice customers to sign up for and use their cards. That’s why there are rewards cards that pay consumers back in the form of frequent flier miles, hotel or rental car points, gift certificates to national retail stores, and cash back on purchases. Plus, there are even cards that offer 0% balance transfers, which can really help save you a lot of money in unnecessary interest payments.

Small and mid-sized business owners aren’t left out of the picture, either. There are a wide variety of business credit cards available, all with special perks and features designed to make it easier to track company-related expenses.

Having more choices is a good thing because it forces the industry as a whole to remain competitive, but how is anyone supposed to keep up with all the different cards out there in order to take advantage of the best ones? Well, an online credit card comparison site like ApexCreditCards.com is a great place to start!

ApexCreditCards.com makes it easy to compare credit cards based on user-specified criteria, and then to apply for those cards right there on the site. So for example, if you’re currently in college and are looking to build some credit history or gain a bit of financial independence, you can check out all the student credit cards that are available and pick one with the benefits that interest you the most. Or, if you currently have bad credit and need to work on repairing your rating, there are several cards that can help you achieve those goals as well.

The bottom line here is that there’s no reason to sit back and wait for the banks to come to you with their credit card offers. All of these choices prove that the consumer is once again in the driver’s seat, which is exactly how it should be. So check out ApexCreditCards.com today and select the cards that are best suited to your lifestyle!

I was impressed enough by the Burn Notice pilot last week to make a point of tuning in again for the follow-up. I wasn’t as captivated by episode 1×02, but I still think this show is going to be a keeper. I can tell that the people involved are still trying to get a feel for the characters, setting, and tone, so I expect these initial eps to be pretty uneven as the details get worked out. Anyway, here’s what happened in “Identity.”

Recap (with possible spoilers): Last week’s episode ended with Michael opening an envelope full of surveillance photos that someone took of him. This week, the ep opens with Michael trying to figure out exactly where those photos were taken from. He matches up the backgrounds of the photos to his mom’s street, so he goes and asks her if she has noticed any strange people in the neighborhood in the last few months.

Madeline did have a conversation with two men who came to the house asking about Michael. Michael presses his mom for more info because this could lead him to the people who issued the burn notice. But Madeline will only talk after she extracts a favor from her son: help out a neighbor who was recently scammed.

So we go back to the same format that the pilot episode followed, with Michael taking on a side job while still looking for the people who burned him.

The case of the week involves a con artist named Quentin who makes a living from bilking retirees out of their life savings. Along with assistants Bonnie and Greg, Quentin sends his targets a letter telling them that they’ve won a contest. Then, when the targets call in to get their prize, Quentin says they’ve got to fill out tax paperwork first. That’s how he gets credit card and bank account numbers in order to clean his targets out.

Michael enlists the help of both Sam and Fiona for this job, and it doesn’t take long for them to take Quentin and his assistants down. Michael ends up getting Quentin to just hand over his own bank account info, and Michael then returns everyone’s money.

Later, Michael finally gets his mom to tell him about the guys who came around asking questions. She gives him a phone number and when he calls it, the person on the other line immediately knows its him. The guy basically warns Michael that the whole thing is far from over, and that’s the end of the ep.

My Reaction: Gabrielle Anwar, the actress that plays Fiona, must have received some pretty negative feedback from test audiences because she drops that horrid Irish accent in this ep! The character explains it away by saying that she doesn’t want to stand out in Miami, so she’s going for the All-American girl look. Uh huh. At least we don’t have to listen to that accent anymore, but Anwar’s acting still brings the show down IMO.

I kind of like the plot-within-a-plot formula that these episodes have. I think it would be hard to keep the show interesting if all Michael did was look for the people who burned him. The current format provides a nice way for Michael to show off his spy skills while giving viewers different situations, villains, and victims each week.

I’m not sure what kind of look the editors were going for last night, but I wish they would quit with all the damn freeze-frames followed by quick cuts. That was pretty annoying!

Burn Notice dropped down a couple of notches in my estimation, but like I said before, I know things will be uneven at the beginning here. Hopefully things will work out soon enough!

I received a sample of Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion in the mail about six weeks ago. I’ve been meaning to write up a review of the product, but wanted to wait until I actually used it so I could give you guys a proper opinion on how it works. I think six weeks is a sufficiently long time to test out lotion, so here’s my assessment.

First of all, I have to admit that I’m not big on moisturizing. I know I should do it, but I just can’t stand the greasy, oily feeling that regular lotions give me. Plus, once I get that greasy stuff on my hands, I can’t touch my face because I have very sensitive skin that’s prone to breakouts. Most over-the-counter lotions set me off, so it’s just a big hassle to use them.

That’s why I was glad to discover that Skin MD Natural is not like those over-the-counter brands at all. It goes on very smoothly, feels extremely light, and is instantly absorbed by the skin! I mean, I couldn’t feel any trace of the lotion after about 5 seconds — no joke! Moreover, there’s no obnoxious fragrance added to Skin MD Natural, so I didn’t have to contend with any awful smells either.

Now that’s all fine and dandy, but does Skin MD Natural actually improve your skin as explained in the doctor reviews section of the website? In other words, does Skin MD really help restore “your skin’s natural ability to protect and hydrate”?

After six weeks of use, I would have to say that yes, my skin is in much, MUCH better shape than when I started. As I noted earlier, I don’t habitually moisturize, so there were several days during this six-week trial period where I simply forgot to use Skin MD Natural. But my skin still felt noticeably soft and smooth on those days, which is not ordinarily the case at all. So the only conclusion I could reasonably draw is that Skin MD is indeed helping my skin repair itself.

I’m really excited about what this product is doing for my skin! Seriously, I haven’t been this happy about my legs, hands, and arms in over a decade. Once this sample runs out, I’ll definitely be ordering refills!