Funny Stuff is all around

Archive for July 12th, 2008

So many adjustable air beds models promise the ability to customize your mattress firmness, but they aren’t affordable or don’t deliver on the quality needed to offer a durable, non-tear and non-leak air mattress. For a helpful overview of customizable air mattresses that actually work and will last, keep reading.

Choices of ComfortAire Mattresses

ComfortAire has been building premiere air adjustable bed mattresses since 1981, making them the country’s longest product of air bed mattresses.

The company focuses on using high quality materials like Latex foam, Sensus, a TPU air core, Geo-Matt response systems and Intense mattress fabric, which is designed to absorb your body’s static discharge and tension.

All Comfortaire mattress models come with a dual or single air chamber system that lets each sleeper adjust their own personal side of the bed. So, if your husband prefers a firm bed but you like it soft, you can each have your way without disturbing the other.

Sleep Number Bed Mattresses

The Sleep Number air adjustable bed systems by Select Comfort are perhaps the best known, thanks to their aggressive advertising campaigns.

The Sleep Number bed comes in 6 systems, ranging from the Sleep Number 3000 to what they call their deluxe Sleep Number 9000. The basic model in a Twin will cost about $450, while their luxury model in a California King can cost as much as $4700 with added accessories.

Because people are so skeptical about the comfort or quality of an air-chamber mattress, Select Comfort has invested in over 478 bricks-and-mortar stores where you can actually try their Sleep Number bed and see exactly how they work. Visit their Store Locator online to find a store near you. You can also try a Sleep Number bed in your home for 30 days, thanks to their money-back, 30-day guarantee. Be aware that you would be required to pay return shipping.

RightTouch by Sealy Mattresses

Made by one of the world’s premiere mattress manufacturers, the RightTouch air-adjustable bed by Sealy appears to represent one of the best values on the market. Like most air mattresses, the RightTouch lets each sleeper adjust their own side of the bed, setting a specific firmness and inflation.

The RightTouch system is also protected by a comprehensive 20-year limited warranty, alongside the 30-night trial period offered to all Sealy customers.

The Sealy RightTouch typically retails for about $1700 for a full Queen set, including the box spring, and about $1400 for just the RightTouch mattress.

While many air adjustable beds available today can be prone to malfunctions, sagging or leaks - these three brands have routinely demonstrated that they represent some of the best in the industry.

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Tea comes in many different varieties and has been a primary drink in many cultures throughout the ages, but it’s only only in the last century, or so, that tea bags were introduced to aid in being able to quickly brew a cup of tea and make it fast and easy to clean up.

The majority of tea bags have strings attached for easy removal from the tea pot or tea cut and are designed to hold the tea vertically suspended in the hot water to steep thoroughly so that the most flavor possible is released from the tea leaf.

One of the most important elements that constitutes a good tea bag that can produce wonderful cup of tea, that it must allow enough space so that the leaves are not stuck in a clump, but can move around in the bag and allow the brewing water to pull the flavor from the leaves.

herbal tea
For some who are true tea bags lovers, there are concerns about any mass manufactured tea because such tea bags are said to be filled with the poorest quality of tea from a batch and contain the smallest pieces of broken leaves and even dust of the leaves, sometimes called floor sweepings.

Teas of this quality release the tannin faster resulting in a final cup of tea with a harsh and bitter taste, rather the a rich smooth flavor which is preferred. Another reason for manufacturers to use the small, broken tea leaf is because a tea in such a condition takes less time to brew, which seems to appeal to the consumer who is always in a rush and impatient for things like steeping time.

With that in mind, it is interesting that in the marketplace, tea bags are often perceived as being the more high-end product. However, it is the convenience, not the taste that stands out.

iced tea
While loose tea leaves enjoy a wide base of loyal consumers, who mostly consider themselves tea connoisseurs, the tea bags are marketed more toward the professionals and middle and upper middle class who prefer the convenience over the taste.

However, a good compromise is developing because more of the gourmet tea companies are finding ways to bring handmade gourmet tea bags into the market that allow for proper steeping, are filled with good quality tea leaves, and offer a whole new experience in flavors for afternoon tea drinkers, both in the quality of the taste and in the variety of blends that can be enjoyed at the gourmet level.

herbal teas
One of the newer developments for delivering a better quality cup of iced tea, has been bags that are triangular in shape, as opposed to the common square variety and the less common round bag. The triangular shape allows for packing larger tea leaves and also including flowers which are common to many herbal tea blends and this shape also is said to allow for a better flow of water around the leaves and resulting in a better brew.

While any improvements in tea bags are welcomed, those true tea lovers who want to really savor their teas will say that the best way to go is using an infuser and loose leaves, which allow for much more control in the process of brewing the perfect cup of tea.

If you are organizing a bachelorette party and want to include some naughty games, the possibilities are endless. The games and activities can just barely stretch into the naughty category or they can be all-out embarrassing dirty games.

Before organizing any of these games, make sure the bride is willing to play long with them and is outgoing enough for the “public naughty” games. You don’t want to put her on the spot or make her feel uncomfortable. However, if she’s game and willing, many of these games are very popular and extremely fun for girls who enjoy a good time.

First up is “Suck for a buck”. Buy a plain white T shirt and letter on it with fabric paint, “suck for a $”, attach Lifesavers candy to it and have the bride-to-be wear it. When you go out that evening, try to solicit men to suck the lifesavers off the T-shirt. At $1 a man, this is a nice way to pay for a few drinks while you’re out as well!

If the bride isn’t comfortable with the Lifesaver idea, have her wear a candy necklace or bracelet instead and have the men simply bite off a piece of the candy necklace/bracelet.

How about the game where you ask the guests which of them would like her virginity back? The women who say yes line up and are each given a maraschino cherry in a bowl. They are told they have to eat the cherry without using their hands. Doesn’t sound so hard, right? In fact, it gets a little tougher and messier when the host then adds a squirt of whipped cream to each bowl and the women have to find and fish out the cherry all without using their hands.

This activity isn’t quite so naughty, but it could be, depending on the bride’s expressions. As she opens her gifts, and this is assuming there are gifts at this bachelorette party, someone writes down all her expressions as she opens each gift. So there might be “oohs” and “aaahs” and “how cutes” coming from the bride. Once she is done opening gifts, someone says, “If we were outside (bride’s name) hotel room on her wedding night, this is what we’d hear” and you then list the various expressions and comments she made while opening her gifts.

Believe it or not, there are hundreds of products you can buy for steamy bachelorette parties. From fake penises to pin on pictures of hunks on the wall to portable stripper poles, it’s all out there. How about a penis piñata? You could make a game out of who gets to hit the piñata. Turn any drinking game into the piñata game. For example, if the guest would normally take a drink, instead they hit the penis piñata. You could fill the piñata with the always- popular candy, but you could also fill it with sex toys, just to add to the spiciness of the game.

If the bachelorette party is going to be held at a bar or somewhere other than home or in a hotel room, there are a myriad of activities you can come up with to entertain the girls. For example, create a series of challenges. One challenge might be to wander up to a man at a bar. If he were munching the bar-supplied nuts, the challenge would be to say, “Mmmmm. I love a man with salty nuts”.

If you have not already chosen your wedding MC then you really must check out these articles. Come to think of it, even if you have picked your MC you should still read them!
Wedding mc duties
Wedding mc tips
Wedding master of ceremonies

The answer is, as usual, it depends. Voice over IP is evolutionary, not revolutionary, technology. If you are moving into a facility where you need to completely build out your infrastructure, then installing voip devices makes sense. It can be very competitive with traditional POTS switched networks. Some companies put a Voice over IP blade in an existing POTS switch. They feel that it gives them the best of both worlds, but I suspect that they might be hedging their bets a bit too much and not benefiting fully from either technology.

Advantage Of Voice over IP
There are some other ways that you can take advantage of Voice over IP technology. In a “green field” installation, you have a number of attractive choices that can give you more network flexibility. One possibility is eliminating the wires entirely. There is nothing preventing you from installing Voice over IP over wireless 802.11x networks.

Unified Messaging
Unified messaging is another example. Unified messaging is one-stop shopping for all your voice mail, email, and fax communications (Email Fax). Unified messaging lets you retrieve all your messages with one phone call or visit to a website. While unified messaging sounds great, the technology has not entirely jelled yet. It can be costly and complicated to implement, and the services have not been perfected, including problems with voice to text translation. Unified messaging is dependent on the Voice over IP technology so as that application matures, there will be more incentive to implement a Voice over IP solution.

Investing in Voice over IP
It is claimed that a Voice over IP service technology will save 50% over the costs of maintaining the old equipment.
Of course, it isn’t sure if or not renewing an old system with a more modern switched system would result in similar savings. IT departments are real pragmatists. They will not invest in a technology unless there are demonstrated cost savings or substantial improvements in the quality of service..
Here’s a checklist of things to watch for when considering if to invest in Voice over IP or not:

If you answer Yes to most of these questions, then you should seriously consider Voice over IP Service Technology as part of your IT infrastructure mix.
- Does your company have enough bandwidth to the Internet?
- Does your company have enough bandwidth for all your voice and data requirements?
- Are you planning on implementing unified messaging and other integrated data/voice services?
- Is your existing POTS system overdue?
- Does your company have more than one location?
- Does your company have a substantial international presence or communication requirements?

Jim Francisto
Internet Belephony Blog

In today’s computing age, having a compact USB hard drive or a removable USB hard drive is a standard extra that most people end up buying at some point. Over the past decade technological developments and reduced prices has allowed many people to own personal computers or laptops. With the way both computers and the Internet have been used, many people have numerous large files they store on their desktop or laptop. Some people hold thousands of songs on their mp3 music player and many people have entire movies stored on their machines. For some, these are the only files that are important to keep backed up and safe. For others, everything from their favorite pictures to their favorite songs are important enough so losing them would not be a pleasurable experience. With that being said, perhaps a portable hard drive or a larger external hard drive with a bigger storage capacity are two tools that make it painless to store and back-up files. Which one is better? It all depends on your needs.

Portability

One of the major differences between a USB drive and a standard size external hard drive comes in the form of simple portability. A USB hard drive is often marketed smaller is physical size than an external hard drive. While an external hard drive is not necessarily large (generally about the size of a small hardcover book), a USB drive can easily fit into laptop carriers, purses, backpacks and even in pockets. If you are worried about true portability, a small USB drive is probably a better way to go.

Size

The size of the USB drive is significantly smaller than the size an external hard drive. For some people, this may not be much of a concern. For others, this could make or break the purchase, depending on what they are looking for. While a USB drive is smaller in terms of actual dimensions, they can be smaller in terms of storage space, but this is rapidly changing . If you need to back up an entire computer, you may be better off with an external hard drive but this may not necessarily be 100% accurate in all cases, since small USB drives are increasing in storage capacity all the time. If you simply need to hold a few or a few important things, a tiny USB hard drive may be better for you .

Price

Price is another differing relationship seen between a USB drive and an external hard drive. Generally speaking, an external hard drive has more space , and therefore tends to be more expensive than a smaller USB drive. If price is a major factor for you, you consider purchasing an external hard drive and be ok. If you are planning on purchasing a drive with a larger storage capacity, you should expect to pay a little more money. If you simply need a small drive for a few files, spending the money on a larger external hard drive may not be the best thing for you.

As you can see, the choice between a USB drive and a larger external hard drive fully depends on personal needs . If you are looking for something more portable and more cost efficient, a USB drive may be right for you . If you need something larger that can hold larger files, a standard dimension external hard drive is probably the best choice. Whatever you need, however, having a removable drive to store and back up files can be exceptionally helpful.

You may have heard of some people paying anywhere from $2,000 to $50,000 for the PlayStation3 when it first came out. Since there was a limited number, people went crazy for the new technology. Now, those who have patiently waited can buy a PS3 for just $399 and still enjoy all the benefits.

The new Blu Ray HD craze will likely run its course in much the same way. Early buyers paid the penalty of having a less advanced machine, while newer Blu Ray players came out, allowing firmware upgrades via the internet and more interactive capacity. Waiting may be the best way to save money, but there are some great options now for the eager buyer as well.

ray disc
Now that the bidding war is over between Sony and Toshiba, there is good news on the horizon for consumers. By the time Christmas rolls around next year, those looking to buy a Blu Ray HD player will likely see many deep discounts in an effort to inspire people to upgrade their systems to ray hd.

Of course, they will be much more difficult to find at that time, too. This summer Sony is expected to unleash its next generation high-definition hd dvd blu ray that includes internet connectivity, faster memory, more interactivity and more advanced menu options. The best way to buy cheap is simply to wait.

blu ray player
Next we’ll look at where to find cheap Blu Ray HD discs. Since the cost of manufacturing BR discs is so high (just a blank BD-R costs $25!), the cheapest way to buy is to look for all the deals from various retailers.

Since the technology is so new, you can bet retailers will be marking down prices like crazy to offset the “start-up costs” of changing over from DVD to High-definition Blu Ray DVD. For example, Amazon.com has “Buy-2-Get-1-Free” Blu Ray sales right now. Similarly, Circuit City and Best Buy are dropping many titles down to $19.99 for a limited time!

You don’t have to spend over $1,000 on the Sony VAIO to get a laptop that plays/rips Blu Ray discs. In fact, Dell has released the blu ray format equipped Inspiron 1525 laptop for as low as $879.

blu ray hd dvd
If you’re looking to get into Blu Ray HD DVD authoring, then you may want to wait until prices come down. The blank discs alone will run you $25 and the burners take 45 minutes or more. You’ll also need software to bypass the advanced copyright protection.

For now, eager consumers may see higher prices but like anything, prices will drop as the demand goes down and technology finds cheaper production modes.