Reviews and More

I was lucky enough to receive a Burn Notice Press Kit containing the Season 2 premiere about a week ago. I wanted to watch it right away, but since the Season 1 finale aired way, way back on September 20, 2007, I figured it would be better to watch the last few eps of S1 just to refresh my memory about what was going on.

It’s a good thing I did that, because the S2 premiere, called “Breaking and Entering”, picks up right where S1 left off. Namely, Michael is sitting in his car in the back of an 18-wheeler waiting to find out what’s going to happen to him next.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about this episode since it hasn’t aired yet (I’ll save that for my recap, which will be posted Friday morning), so let me just say that it was every bit as entertaining and engrossing as the better eps from Season 1 were. We see Michael use his ingenuity and past experience as a spy to help him get out of tight situations; we meet a new character who is obviously going to play a major role throughout the season; and of course we reunite with series regulars Sam, Fiona, and Madeline.

All in all, “Breaking and Entering” was a fantastic way to kick off the season! Be sure to tune into USA Network on Thursday July 10 at 10pm/9C to catch the action, and check back here on Friday morning for my detailed recap!

With the summer finally here, my family plans to spend a lot of time out on our dirt bikes and ATVs. We love to go for trail rides in approved recreational zones, and often spend hours upon hours riding through the woods on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

Since it’s quite easy to get separated from the group or veer away from main trails, it’s important for us to have some way of communicating with each other in case we get lost or injured. Cell phone service is nonexistent in the woods, of course, so we have to carry walkie talkies instead.

We’ve had our current set for about 10 years now, and only have two units (when we need three), so it’s definitely time for an upgrade. That’s why I was thrilled to see this Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio as one of Buy.com’s Weekly Deals.

This Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio is a small, compact communication device that would be perfect for our needs. It features 22 channels, is voice activated, can operate in both GMRS & FRS frequencies, alerts users to calls, has a backlit LCD display, and boasts unparalleled sound clarity. Plus, it has a removable belt clip, so we can easily attach it to our riding gear or stow it in a tool pouch.

Right now, the Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio is on sale at Buy.com for just $10! That is an unbelievable price, and means we would be able to get three units (one for each of us) for less than we’d usually pay for a single walkie talkie from other stores! Toss in free shipping and it’s no surprise that this product is currently the #1 seller on Buy.com.

I better go on over and place my order before these things get sold out!

Last night was the two-hour season finale of Lost, which was actually a continuation of episode 4×11, titled “There’s No Place Like Home”. As longtime viewers have come to expect from a Lost finale, a couple of questions were answered, but many more surfaced in turn. There’s no way I’d be able to recap everything that happened in the two hours, so I’m just going to post a few thoughts here.

– Desmond and Penny were never a favorite couple of mine (this just doesn’t seem like a show where couples or relationships are even important), but it was still nice to see them reunite. I didn’t swoon or tear up or anything like that, but was glad that at least someone got a happy ending — at least for the time being.

– So it was Locke in the coffin from way back in last season’s finale! Most fans guessed it was either him or Ben, so the reveal wasn’t quite as shocking as it could have been. Since I’m not exactly a Locke fan, I didn’t care that he was in there. It did make me wonder, however, why he ended up leaving the island. I guess he had to move it again?

– Speaking of moving the island, I’m sorry, but that was just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen on network television. Ben goes down a shaft, turns a frozen wheel, and causes the whole island to get swallowed up in the ocean?? WTF? Dumb.

– Sun’s reaction to Jin’s death (if he actually did die in the explosion) was heart-wrenching. The actress did a tremendous job of conveying her utter helplessness in that scene on the helicopter. Poor Jin… now that was one character that I actually did like. It figures he would get written off!

– Hmm, it seems that Charlotte has a bit more of a backstory than it appeared at first. I’ve read some theories saying that she’s actually Annie, Ben’s long-lost childhood friend, the one who gave him a hand-carved doll for his birthday. I guess that would make sense, since the producers of the series have said that Annie will end up playing an important role.

– So is half of the action next season going to take place off the island while the other half takes place on? That’s going to be weird. And now it looks like Jack’s mission will be to try to convince the rest of the Oceanic 6 to go back. Oh, and don’t forget that he and Ben have to lug John’s dead body around. Sounds like fun.

That’s about all I remember from the two hours right now. I have to say that most of the finale was pretty boring, but the few answers that we did get made the whole thing worthwhile viewing. I can’t believe we’re going to have to wait until February for new episodes! That damn writers’ strike cost viewers at least 9-11 episodes this season!

If you like card games but are getting tired of the usual poker and blackjack options that most online game rooms offer, then I’ve got a cool website for you to check out. It’s called Spadester.com, and is dedicated to bringing players live, nonstop gaming action around the clock. I just spent a few hours going over the different aspects of the Spadester.com site, and can tell you that it looks great. This is definitely the place to be if you’re into playing spades online!

Getting Started

Getting started on the site is a very simple matter that can be completed in just two or three steps. The first thing you need to do is download and install the special Spadester software that will allow you to connect to their game rooms right from your own home. There’s no adware or spyware in the software, so you don’t have to worry about anything like that.

The second thing you need to do in order to start playing at Spadester.com is create a new account. This merely consists of coming up with a user name and password, as well as a valid email address for confirmation. Once you finish this step, you can immediately begin playing spades for fun.

If you’d like to put real money on the line, you’ll have to go through one additional step, which is to deposit funds into your account. Spadester.com accepts several different credit cards, and all transactions are completely secure.

Game Options

To keep things fun and exciting, Spadester.com offers its players three different game options: Individual, Cutthroat, and Partnership. In Individual games, you play at a table against three other people. Cutthroat games are made up of three individual players and have slightly different rules than Individual games. And Partnership games consist of two pairs of partners playing against each other (four players total).

The rules for all of the different game options are clearly spelled out on the site, so you’ll be able to find out exactly what’s required before you sit down to play.

In addition to these three game options, Spadester.com also hosts tournaments and freerolls (tournaments with no buy-in or fees), giving players even more variety and opportunities to win.

Tutorials and Guides

If you’re brand new to the game and are trying to learn how to play spades online, then Spadester.com is all you really need. That’s because they have tutorials and guides posted right on the site to help beginners learn how to play spades and how to use the Spadester.com software program. Navigating the lobby, choosing a game and joining a table, player rankings, and a spades dictionary are just a few of the informative pages designed to get you up to speed as quickly as possible. Everything is written in a clear, concise way that is easy to understand, plus there are plenty of graphics to help illustrate the concepts even further.

Promotions and Bonuses

If you’re anything like me, then playing a card game for fun just doesn’t cut it for very long. In order for the game to be truly exciting, I need real money at stake.

Spadester.com understands that most players are like this, so they offer regular bonuses and promotions to sweeten the pot even more. For example, new players get $4 so they can try out the site without putting any of their own money at risk. In addition, there’s a 100% Welcome Bonus, referral bonuses, and special weekly deals available exclusively to members.

Extras

Besides all the features I’ve talked about above, Spadester.com provides a number of extra benefits to members. Among these are a discussion forum where you can talk about game tips or betting strategies; strong support staff presence; and chat capabilities. Moreover, I was particularly impressed by Spadester’s commitment to transparency, as outlined on their Fair Gaming page.

The Bottom Line

After checking Spadester.com out thoroughly, I have to say that it has everything that I look for in an online gaming site. From comprehensive instructions to prominently displayed contact information, and easy-to-use software, there’s no doubt I’ll have a great time playing spades over there!

We like to take a family vacation every summer, so we’re always looking for interesting new places to go. We’ve been to all of the good theme parks, tourist attractions, historical sites, and museums in a 300-mile radius (give or take), which means that we now have to travel a bit farther away from home to hit someplace worthwhile. When a friend of mine recently suggested Branson, I initially dismissed the idea since we’re not country music fans. But after doing a bit of research, I’ve learned that there’s far more to Branson than just music and shows.

I checked BransonGetaways.com for activity ideas, and found plenty of options that my family would love. For example, we’re all big on roller coasters and rides, so Silver Dollar City would definitely be tops on our list of Branson attractions to visit. This 1880s-themed park has 25 rides (including several for smaller children), tons of restaurants and specialty shops, and of course a bunch of fun shows to help keep us entertained.

Other Branson-area activities we’d be interested in include Go-Karts, miniature golf, natural caves, and shopping.

BransonGetaways.com makes it easy to put together a complete fun-filled family vacation from beginning to end, including special packages that feature lodging, shows, meals, and more. From useful maps telling us how to get around the area to discount tickets and affordable accommodation, everything we need is right on the website. Plus, if we have additional questions, helpful staff members are standing by to share their knowledge and expertise.

The more we look at what Branson has to offer, the more we want to drop everything and go there now!

These days, there are so many different credit cards to choose from that it can be a nearly impossible task trying to sort through them all to find the best one for your needs. Between the various rewards programs, balance transfer opportunities, and other specialty cards, there’s quite an overwhelming amount of information to sort through. That’s where a website like CreditCardSpecialist.com comes in handy.

CreditCardSpecialist.com is a site that offers free financial information and advice, as well as comprehensive credit card comparisons. The site is extremely well organized and easy to navigate, making it a simple matter to search for and compare available credit cards.

Are you looking for 0% Credit Card Deals or instant approval cards? CreditCardSpecialist.com can help point you in the right direction. Perhaps you’d rather have a rewards card or a low-interest rate card? Or maybe a card for people with bad credit is in order? No problem! The best deals are presented in a table form, thus allowing you to make comparisons very quickly. (Click for larger.)

Moreover, if you come across a credit card offer that you like at CreditCardSpecialist.com, you can immediately apply online. This convenient feature helps ensure that you don’t lose track of all the good deals that you find.

Overall, I found the website to be a terrific resource for finding the best current credit card offers on the market. If you’re looking for a new card, I’m sure you’ll discover the perfect one at CreditCardSpecialist.com!

It’s been a heck of a long wait, but Grey’s Anatomy finally returned with a new episode on Thursday night called “Where the Wild Things Are”! I know I’ve been down on Season 4 for the most part, but there’s no question that I missed this show while it was off the air, so I was very happy to get back into the swing of things. I didn’t watch a single rerun during the writers’ strike and therefore forgot nearly everything that was going on before. Fortunately, it didn’t take very long to get back into the swing of things.

Most of the episode focused on a competition that the Core Four (Meredith, Izzie, Cristina, and Alex) were having whereby they received a certain number of points for performing various tasks. For example, a suture was worth one point, observing a surgery was worth three, and solving a medical mystery was worth 80.

Apparently, the contest had been going on for two weeks already, during which time they all lived at the hospital in order to be on hand the minute something good went down.The winner — Meredith — ended up receiving a sparkly pager giving her first dibs on any surgery that passes through Seattle Grace for the next three months.

Here’s what else happened:

Meredith: She’s currently seeing the hospital psychiatrist because she hasn’t been able to sleep in five weeks. She doesn’t want to believe that the problem is Derek’s new relationship with Rose, but the signs are all there. On the professional front, she lost her mind and joyfully exclaimed, “Tumor!” when one of her patients ended up suffering from more than just a hand wound, and then she made up for it by potentially discovering a way to treat that kind of inoperable brain tumor. Of course, she needs Derek’s help to run the clinical trials, so….

Cristina Cristina is still trying to figure out a way to get Hahn to like her, but hasn’t been able to make any headway. Meanwhile, Hahn is now Callie’s new BFF, and they sit and socialize in Cristina’s apartment — while excluding her from their gossip sessions.

Derek/Rose/Sloan: Derek and Rose are still going strong, much to the amazement of Sloan. He’s especially baffled by the fact that Derek spends so much time with Rose despite not having slept with her yet. Sloan thought that he and Derek would be hitting the bars and picking up women together, so he’s very disappointed with the latest developments. As for Rose, she inadvertently lets it slip that she “loves” Derek at a time when Meredith happened to be within earshot.

Lexie/George: They moved into a roach-infested apartment together, with George complaining about it the whole time. Lexie decided to try to make the most of the situation by stealing stuff from the hospital to decorate and furnish the apartment with. George ends up appreciating the effort, so he vows to stop complaining so much and just enjoy things for a change.

Izzie: Made yet another huge misstep by putting a patient through $120,000 worth of painful, unnecessary tests all in the hopes of uncovering some hidden ailment so she could win the competition. The Chief chastised her a little bit, but not nearly as much as she deserved.

Alex: Didn’t do much of anything this week. He did have one nice scene with the Chief, where he refused to accept the “underdog” label, insisting that all he does is try to make the most out of whatever hand he’s dealt.

My Reaction: This was not a great episode, but it was a lot better than most of the stuff that has gone before it here in Season 4. I loved seeing Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, and Alex competing with each other again. That was such a key element to the success of Season 1 and Season 2, in my opinion, so it was great to see that aspect back again.

I find Meredith and Derek to be infinitely more likable when they’re not a couple. I didn’t roll my eyes at them once during the entire ep, which is a good sign for sure! Hopefully, they’ll stay separated at least for a little while longer. I have a feeling that creator Shonda Rhimes thinks of them as the show’s super couple, so her ultimate plan is probably to have them together, but for now, I’m glad they’re broken up.

Izzie… what is going on with her? She has fallen so far in the past two seasons that I’m really having a hard time believing she’s still a doctor. I don’t follow GA gossip in the tabloids or anything, so tell me: does Katherine Heigl want out of her contract so she can pursue film roles? It seems that the writers don’t know what to do with Izzie at this point, and they’re letting her stagnate just to make it easier to get rid of her later on. Who knows, though.

Anyway, I’m happy that Grey’s is back, and I can’t wait to see what happens next week when Addison returns for a visit!

I first started running my own websites about a year and a half ago. My initial intent was to have a place where I could showcase writing samples for prospective clients and perhaps make enough money to cover hosting and Internet fees. Eighteen months later, things are going better than I ever could have imagined, and I’m making far more than the $250 per year that my sites cost me in fees and service charges!

Because of this initial success, I’ve been thinking about different things I can do to help increase brand awareness and give my sites a more professional look. So when I was presented with an opportunity to test out the do-it-yourself logo design wizard at LogoYes.com, I jumped at the offer. A custom logo is precisely what I need to take my sites — and my business — to the next level, and I was eager to see what I could come up with.

The LogoYes logo creator is extremely easy to use. The process consists of six simple steps that will take you from idea to professional-looking logo in no time at all. Here’s a screen shot of the logo creator so you can see what I’m talking about (you can click all images to enlarge):

In Step 1, I just had to choose the image style that I was interested in. There are currently three choices, High Tech, Bold, or Flair, as well as helpful hints about which style to use given the type of company I represent. I went with Flair, because I like to think I have some!

In Step 2, I selected the industry that I’m in. This narrows down the symbol and image choices to those that are most relevant to my company. For my Reviews and More website, I clicked the Arts & Entertainment option.

In Step 3, I browsed through nearly 100 images ranging from cameras, film strips, and easels, to musical notes, flags, and abstract symbols. I couldn’t decide on any of the ones I saw, so I opted to use the letter “R” instead, and found the perfect image in a cursive “R” being drawn by a fountain pen.

Step 4 asked for my company name. Since I don’t really have a formal company, I used the name of this website, Reviews and More. It helped that I had a basic idea of what I wanted my final logo to look like so I could make some tweaks in this step to help get me there. For instance, I wanted the “R” symbol from Step 3 to be used in the word “Reviews”, and I wanted the “and More” part to be offset on a separate line. Knowing this, I was able to enter the name appropriately in this step. I also picked a handwriting font style that would more or less match with the cursive “R” from above. Take a look:

In Step 5, I got to play around with colors and layouts to get my logo to look just the way I wanted. Here’s a screen shot so you can see all the different tools I was able to work with, including Rotate, Flip, Size, Zoom, and a variety of colors. I have to say that the grid marks were extremely helpful and allowed me to make sure I had everything lined up perfectly.

After testing out a bunch of different colors, I settled on a dark red/maroon shade (I don’t remember the exact color, and I know my monitor is not the best at rendering these things). Here’s how the final logo turned out. I think it’s actually pretty cool, considering the fact that I spent about 10 minutes creating it and that I have zero artistic talent whatsoever!

Step 6 presented me with the option of buying my logo file so I could use it on my website, on letterheads, or on promotional materials. I also had the opportunity to use it on different business card templates right on the LogoYes.com website, which I did. I came up with two cards that I think look good, and would certainly give my business that professional feel that has been missing from the start (I’ve blanked out my last name and address for publication purposes, but they’re actually on the design).

Overall, I was very impressed with how easy the LogoYes.com logo design wizard was to use. The wizard features an incredible number of image, font, and color choices that gave me an amazing amount of flexibility every step of the way, and I was able to generate a professional-looking logo very quickly — even though I had no prior experience with this sort of thing.

If you’re looking for a simple, affordable way to brand your company, I recommend heading on over to LogoYes.com right now. You can test out different logos in the wizard with no obligation to buy, so why not give it a whirl? Hey, if I can come up with a nice logo all on my own, then anyone can!

I should have known my first attempt at college was destined for failure given how little effort I put into the research and application process. Here was my strategy: Wait until my best friend figured out where she wanted to go to school, and then follow her there.

I ended up being miserable all through freshman year as the school we went to didn’t have the major I wanted. I eventually transferred and got back on track (after a few more false starts), but I sometimes still wonder how different my life would have turned out had I gone my own way right from the beginning.

Choosing schools on a whim is probably not that much of a problem these days, especially since most colleges and universities have a significant online presence that allows prospective students to get to know more about the institution without ever having to leave home.

For instance, I was checking out the Kettering University website last night, and soon got caught up in watching a bunch of short videos featuring a character named Stickman. These videos show Stickman going through various stages of the college selection process, including choosing a school, visiting campus, and applying for admission. The videos are laced with humor, so they were a lot of fun to watch (I’ll embed one here for you).

Just from watching the videos, I learned that Kettering has one of the top mechanical engineering programs in the entire country, with US News and World Report ranking it the #1 university in America for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in the “America’s Best Colleges Guide for 2008″. Moreover, a majority of Kettering’s seniors have jobs lined up or are accepted to grad school before they even graduate, which is definitely the mark of a top-notch program.

Anyway, if you’d like to learn more about this Flint, MI school that was named on the US News Best Colleges list, be sure to visit admissions.kettering.edu today!

Oh, and here’s that Stickman vid that I promised you. This one is my favorite, as Stickman tries to figure out what he’s going to do with his life. Check it out:

If you’re a regular visitor to this site, then chances are you’ve encountered an error or two at some point in the past few months. That’s because I experience frequent problems with my current web host. Whether it’s database connection errors, slow page loads, or unexplained downtime, I’ve had more setbacks than I care to remember.

Obviously, I didn’t choose the best hosting company around, so now I’m paying for my mistake. It’s just too bad that I didn’t know about WebHostingBluebook.net back when I first started this blog.

WebHostingBluebook.net is a site that provides reviews of leading web hosting companies so that webmasters can make the best hosting decision based on their needs and budget. Besides reviews, the site also contains a lot of educational pages, including this hosting glossary that explains the meaning behind all the jargon you’re likely to encounter while shopping for a web host.

In addition, WebHostingBluebook.net also features a free newsletter, a blog, an active forum, and many more resources that will appeal to both new and experienced webmasters alike.

If you’re trying to figure out which web hosting company you should go with, I recommend checking out all the info available at WebHostingBluebook.com. As soon as my current hosting contract expires, you can be sure I’ll be heading straight over there to shop for a new one!

I’ve had dogs my entire life, and can’t imagine a home without pets. I currently have a 10-year-old miniature Dachshund and a 6-year-old Beagle, both of whom keep things very lively and energetic around here. They’re great with my son too, which is obviously an extremely important point to consider. All in all, I couldn’t ask for better canine companions!

I’m interested in connecting with other pet lovers out there, so I today I checked out a website called AnAmigo.com. It’s a social networking community that operates more or less like a MySpace for animal aficionados, meaning users can create profiles, upload pictures, post messages, and interact with like-minded people.

I signed up for an account today, and appreciated how easy the process was. I just had to provide basic information (name, address, birthday, pet details), wait for a confirmation email to arrive, and click a link to verify my registration. In less than 3 minutes, I became a full-fledged AnAmigo.com member, and was able to browse through other user profiles. I soon found other Beagle owners on the site, and discovered this picture of a dog named Jasper. Too cute!

After signing up, I spent a lot of time surfing through the site. I love all the useful resources on AnAmigo.com, such as the Service Directory that helps me find pet-friendly businesses and care providers in my area.

AnAmigo.com just recently launched, and to celebrate, they had an official Launch Party at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Celebrity pet lovers Nicky Hilton, Jack Black, Felicity Huffman, Simon Rex, and other stars were in attendance, so hopefully they’ll end up submitting profiles to the site!

I have a feeling AnAmigo.com is going to turn into one of the top pet-related websites on the Internet, so be sure to check it out for yourself!

With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what kind of gifts I can buy for my husband and son. I have a few ideas already, but it’s going to be tough to pull off these purchases with the limited budget I have to work with. I’m going to try to stretch my dollars a bit further by checking out Coupon Chief for online shopping coupons, so hopefully that will do the trick.

My husband is an electronics geek and really has his heart set on getting a home theater system sometime soon, so I’m going to try my best to save up and buy one for Valentine’s Day. I found several good Best Buy deals at Coupon Chief, including one for 10-15% off on home theater systems, receivers, and speakers. That kind of discount can really help me out — as long as I can find an affordable system to begin with!

My son is much easier to shop for, as he likes just about everything. While I would love to be able to get him the mini Yamaha ATV that he’s been begging for, that’s not going to happen this year. Instead, I’ll probably end up buying him a fun toy or game. Coupon Chief has a few good KB Toys coupon codes, so I can definitely save some money that way.

If money wasn’t an object, I’d go right out and buy a couple of fancy cars and expensive toys for my family. But since we’re average, middle-class people, I’ll have to make do with much smaller gifts!

As a lifelong fan of professional sports, I’ve learned that there are a couple of surefire ways to make each game more interesting. One thing you can do is play in a fantasy league. This will require you to keep track of players that you normally wouldn’t follow and to watch games that probably otherwise wouldn’t be on your viewing schedule. It’s definitely easier to become emotionally invested in these games when you’ve got something on the line — even if it’s just bragging rights among your buddies.

A second thing you can do to make sporting events more interesting is to put real money on the games. If you know what you’re doing (and have a little bit of luck on your side), you can make a nice profit from sport betting. Of course, you’ll also need to find a trustworthy sportsbook to place your bets with, something like Bet365.com.

Bet365.com offers a range of online betting facilities for those interested in sports betting, online poker, and other interactive games. Their sports betting encompasses everything from NFL games to greyhound racing, and allows you to choose from a variety of prop bets in addition to just a straight win-lose outcome. In addition, Bet365 uses a one-wallet system, which means it takes only one account for your to be able to enjoy all of their services.

I’ve been thinking that this would be a great time for me to jump in and put some money on the Bears. They’re not winning on the field, so I should take advantage of that fact and bet against them. I’ll probably clean up if I do!

It was never my intention to focus solely on movie and TV show reviews on this site, but looking back over my posts of the past few months, that’s precisely what I’ve been doing. It gets boring for me to write about the same things all the time, so I want to move away from entertainment a little bit and get back into reviewing great websites that I come across on my daily web wanderings — like I used to do when I first launched this blog. Towards that end, I want to tell you about shadesshuttersblinds.com, a site I found while shopping for blinds a couple days ago.

The first thing that struck me about the shadesshuttersblinds.com website was the nice selection of products available. I was originally thinking about just purchasing something basic — like mini blinds — for the living room and maybe the bedroom, but once I started browsing through all the different styles and materials on the site, I knew I’d end up changing my mind.

That’s because shadesshuttersblinds.com has such great prices on Plantation shutters, Roman shades, sheer shades, faux wood blinds, real wood blinds, and cellular shades as well. All of these products are available in hundreds of different colors, so there’s not going to be a problem matching my purchase to the existing color scheme in my home. Many of the products are on sale for even lower prices now, which means this is the perfect time for me to buy!

Another thing I like about this website the fact that it’s extremely user-friendly. The navigation menu made it easy to find precisely what I wanted with just a few clicks of the mouse. In addition to browsing through the products, I was also able to find a couple of great tutorials showing me how to measure my windows for blinds and how to install my blinds once I receive them.

And finally, I loved how the contact information (including a phone number) for shadesshuttersblinds.com was located in a highly visible area on the site. It’s always comforting to know that the retailer I’m choosing to do business with is actually interested in hearing from customers before, during, and/or after the transaction. In fact, I never make a purchase from a website that doesn’t have their contact information prominently displayed, so that would have been a deal-breaker here as well.

Overall, I think shadesshuttersblinds.com is a great place to start if you’re looking to purchase affordable blinds or window coverings online. Check the site out today; I’m sure you’ll find the entire process to be as straightforward as I did!

One of my favorite ways to relax and unwind after a tough day is to play a few hands of blackjack. I live about 20 minutes away from a riverboat casino, so I’m sure to hit the tables out there at least once a month. But for those times when I can’t get away from home or simply don’t want to deal with traffic, crowds, and an enormous amount of cigarette smoke, I enjoy playing online as well.

Like most gambling enthusiasts, I’ve got a favorite online casino or two that I play at more than others, but I also like to broaden my horizons from time to time and try out different game rooms as well — which is why I find a site like Pro360.com to be so helpful. Pro360.com is a site that provides comprehensive reviews of online casinos so that players like me can make informed decisions about where to spend our money.

Right on the front page of the site, there’s a table listing some of the top-rated casinos on the Internet. I can take in a particular casino’s Pro360.com rating, player rating, max bonus percentage, certification, and whether or not they accept U.S. players all in a single glance, or I can click through for a full review from the experts on Pro360.com’s staff.

From there, it’s just a matter of selecting a casino that meets my own personal criteria, and I can find myself playing blackjack within a few minutes. How cool is that?!

If you’re serious about playing online poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and more at only the best-rated websites, then you’ve got to check out Pro360.com. They’ll get you started in the right direction!

Like most movie fans, one of my favorite sites on the Internet is IMDB.com. I check that place several times a day to get the latest information about new releases, get movie recommendations from the Top 250 list, and check celebrity screen credits and bios. It’s a great resource, and one that I couldn’t do without.

But I just cannot stand all the ads on that site! Seriously, my popup blocker has to kick into overdrive whenever I’m on IMDB.com. It seems that every single page I land on has at least two popup adds on it, which gets to be very annoying.

I realize that I’m using a free site and that they have to defray costs by selling advertising, but still… Isn’t there a less obtrusive way to do so than by having popups going off all over the place?

Choosing a long-term care facility for a loved one is a major decision that will have a lasting impact on your entire family. No doubt you’ll have a lot of questions about what services to look for in a facility, what kind of costs you can expect to incur, and the quality of care your loved one will receive. As such, it’s best to gather as much unbiased information about nursing homes and other care options before making your final selection, which is why I think BetterCaring.com is such a valuable tool in this process.

BetterCaring.com is a website that is designed to give real answers to all the questions you may have about care for yourself or a beloved family member. You can read about all the options that exist so you can choose the right facility for your needs, you can get tips and advice from care experts, and you can share your experiences with other members on the site. And of course you can locate long-term facilities in your area by searching BetterCaring.com’s database.

The bottom line here is that if you’re looking for answers about care facilities in the UK, then BetterCaring.com is the place to go!

I know a lot of people who are interested in making money online through legitimate avenues. From stay-at-home moms to burned out office workers to folks with debilitating illnesses, there’s no shortage people looking to earn a decent income from the comfort of their own homes. Since I’ve been working from home for a couple of years now, I’m often asked for advice on how to get started. My usual response is, “Start a blog.”

Blog advertising is one of the fastest growing online marketing trends around, and as such, articulate bloggers are in great demand right now. That means you can get paid to blog by signing up with companies like Smorty. Once your blog is approved, you simply choose which products or services you’d like to write about, make a post on your blog, place a link, — and get paid via PayPal. It’s fast, easy, and fun!

A year ago, I thought the only way to get paid for blogging was to put Google ads on my site and wait for the pennies to add up. But now I know better, and am making more money each month than I ever thought possible. Finding companies like Smorty and others has truly been a blessing, and my family is much better off today than we were before I started to blog for money!

I’ve been gambling ever since I was old enough to enter a casino for the first time. Over the years, I’ve become a part of several online communities that cater to like-minded people. I spend a lot of time reading and sharing general advice, casino reviews from around the world, and war stories about marathon gambling sessions.

One of the hot topics on these forums in recent months has been the effectiveness of various poker tools in helping players gain an edge in online games. While there were of course a few skeptics here and there, it seems that the people who actually used the tools reported very good results. For example, the Poker Pro 2007 online poker advisor earned a lot of praise from longtime forum members. This software is available from PokerProLabs.com and sounds like a must-have for all serious players.

Another tool that has gotten excellent reviews is the poker calculator, also from PokerProLabs.com The calculator instantly tells you your odds of winning — without requiring you to input your opponent’s hand first. That would obviously help with decision making, so there’s another indispensable tool for you.

Anyway, if you play a lot of online poker, you should definitely check out PokerProLabs.com. After all, you can never have too much of an advantage!

It’s been a while since I’ve given a shout-out to a favorite website, so I thought I’d fit one in today. I first discovered the parody newspaper The Onion back in 1998 when I spent six weeks in Madison, WI for a training program near the UW campus. The Onion is distributed free, and could pretty much be found in every cafe and bookstore in Madison back then — not surprising since the paper originated with a couple of UW students in ‘88. Now that The Onion is online at TheOnion.com, it has developed a truly international following — and deservedly so.

The first thing you’re likely to notice about The Onion is how well written the stories are. It’s hard to do satire and to make it funny week in and week out, but the staff at TheOnion.com definitely succeeds in this area. Whether they’re lambasting the president or making fun of the Patriots videotape scandal, the headline stories always make me laugh.

Oh, and I want to mention the regular columnists as well. “The Cruise” by Jim Anchower is the column I look forward to the most, and that’s followed up almost immediately by Jean Teasdale’s “A Room of Jean’s Own.” I don’t know who actually writes that stuff (I think there have been several writers over the years), but they are truly awesome! I just wish The Cruise was updated more frequently…

Anyway, if you’ve never visited TheOnion.com, you are really missing out on some great articles. Check it out!!