Last posts on shopping

Scientists Create Beer That Could Extend Life

2008-11-18T03:17:41+01:00

Beer drinkers might actually have something to celebrate about. Scientists at Rice University have created a beer that could extend your life.They have named the beverage BioBeer, and the way it works is that it has three genes spliced into a specific brewer’s yeast that produces resveratrol, which is a chemical in red wine thought to protect against diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and other age-related conditions. But don’t expect to toast to this special beer just yet. The team still needs to remove certain genetic markers in the yeast cells, which will also need FDA approval. By filtering the beer they would be removing the medical benefits as well.As far as the drug resveratrol goes, which is currently seeking FDA approval to treat diabetes, the team claims that a glass of BioBeer would have less of the drug than an average glass of wine.More...

Would You Pay $190 for a Burger? at Burger King?

2008-11-14T02:54:00+01:00

The world's unofficially most-expensive burger made its debut in London today, costing nearly $200 for patrons with enough money to visit the fast food chain that makes it. That's right, the bourgeois burger is made by Burger King. After six months in development, Burger King today launched "The Burger," a limited edition hamburger selling for $190.Chef Mark Dowding, the director of new product development and innovation for the fast food chain, says his creation targets a certain type of consumer. The burger is made of Wagyu beef and sits atop an Iranian saffron bun with organic mayonnaise, white truffles and pink Himalayan rock salt. It's garnished with onion straws fried in Cristal champagne and Pata Negra ham drizzled in aged Modena balsamic vinegar.Dowding says each burger takes approximately five minutes to prepare. The Burger is available in just one Burger King store in London. It will be offered once a week, and Dowding says orders are being accepted for June 26. But its continuation will depend on sales. All proceeds from sales of the burger go to Help a London Child, a charity that helps London's less advantaged children.But few Londoners seem willing to pay up for the prime product. At lunchtime on the first day of The Burger's unveiling, eight had been purchased, but Dowding said he hoped that more than 100 would be sold by the end of the day.

For sale at £20m: Saddam’s floating palace

2008-11-01T02:55:00+01:00

A super-yacht built in secret for Saddam Hussein and put on sale by the Iraqi government last week is so outdated a shrine to the dictator’s love of gold, marble and mahogany that brokers say it will need an overhaul costing at least as much again as its £20m asking price.The yacht, Basra Breeze, has Arabesque arches, dark wood carvings, deep pile carpets in lurid colours, rugs woven with views of holy cities, and gold taps. Workers at the Danish shipyard where it was built had to sign secrecy agreements before its launch in 1981 to ensure the Iraqi people never learnt about their ruler’s extravagant tastes. Saddam’s obsession with his health is indicated by the yacht’s layout: there are two doctors’ surgeries and a mini-operating theatre. Also in evidence is his paranoia about security. Basra Breeze has a secret passage running her entire 272ft length that would have allowed him to escape to a fast patrol boat kept on board in case of trouble.The vessel may even have been fitted with surface-to-air missiles, although that detail is missing from the brokers’ specifications making the rounds in London. more...

Remodeling? Consider $1,000,000 Diamond Floor Tiles

2008-10-16T02:55:00+02:00

We've all heard stories about far away kings and queens that were so rich they never went anywhere without having rose petals (or some other lavish item) sprinkled beneath their feet as they walked. But as much fun as it is to imagine living like that it's not something that really realistic, is it?Pietra Firma thinks it is, and for the perfectly realistic (*cough*) price of just $1,000,000 per square meter they offer floor tiles not made of roses but instead each featuring over 1000 genuine diamonds, along with thousands of insets of precious materials like mother of pearl, abalone, and black onyx. more...

BUDWEISER & CLAMATO CHELADA

2008-10-14T03:49:00+02:00

It's been done in Mexico for decades, now it's available in the USA! As one of the hottest new products to hit markets in California and Texas cities, followed by tremendous success in Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska, Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada will arrive in convenience stores, supermarkets and grocery stores nationwide. Latinos, specifically those of Mexican descent, have been mixing beer with Clamato for decades. Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada honor that tradition by combining Anheuser-Busch’s classic American-style lagers with the spicy, invigorating taste of Clamato Tomato Cocktail.“The combination of Clamato with Budweiser and Bud Light provides a refreshing beverage – one that Clamato fans have been mixing themselves for ages,” said Andrew Springate, vice president, marketing, CSAB.The name Chelada is a shortened form of the Spanish word michelada which loosely translates to ‘my cold beer.’ To order Budweiser or Bud Light & Clamato Chelada, one might say: “Una michelada con clamato, por favor.” To shorten that but still keep the beer recognizable as the traditional recipe, Anheuser-Busch focused on the name Chelada. Based in St. Louis, Anheuser Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.4 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country’s best-selling premium beer.more...

Abandoned home sold for $1.75 on eBay

2008-10-06T00:47:00+02:00

With a winning bid of just $1.75, a Chicago woman has won an auction for an abandoned home in Saginaw, Mich.Joanne Smith, 30, recently was the top bidder for the home during an auction on eBay, The Saginaw News reported. Her bid was one of eight for the home."I am going to try and sell it," she told the newspaper. "I don't have any plans to move to Saginaw."Smith said she hasn't seen the property or visited Saginaw, which has been hard-hit by economic troubles in recent years.There's a notice on the door of the home saying a foreclosure hearing is pending, the newspaper said. She must pay about $850 in back taxes and yard cleanup costs.

Anti-age perfume

2008-09-26T02:15:00+02:00

Engineered to make you smell younger. No other product available today offers this technology. Research proves that men around women who used the perfume thought they were on an average 8 years younger! The Essence of Youth, this precious youth elixir is a blend of pink grapefruit, mango, anti-oxidant rich pomegranate, jasmine and musk. The formula is based on natural bio chemistry. This psycho-stimulant elixir is available is created with one goal in mind: to make you smell younger!Buy it here...

Dining with the Dead: Last Meals Delivery Service

2008-09-25T02:50:26+02:00

It's Friday night and you're feelin' a bit peckish. Y'wanna order something but you don't know what. Thai? Pizza? Chinese? Nah, all of those have been done to death. Is a morbid appetite piqued somewhere deep in that reptilian part of your brain at the chance to dine at the same table (in a metaphysical sense, natch) with Ted Bundy or Aileen Wuornos? Well for a paltry $20--the state allotted maximum for an inmate's last meal you can nosh death row and eat a replica of the final meal consumed by a death row prisoner courtesy Last Meals Delivery Service.

”Dream” phone prototype semi-revealed

2008-09-23T01:47:42+02:00

Apparently the phone is one of roughly five prototypes that Google had built to demonstrate the Open Handset Alliance software to potential members, and HTC's Peter Chou says in the two years it's been working on OHA designs, "this is the best one we've seen." The device itself, which measures about 3 x 5-inches, sports a touchscreen, navigational controls at the base, and a full swivel out keyboard. When swiveled the screen goes from portrait to landscape mode, but unfortunately that's the limit of info on the actual hardware. The software apparently has "time-sensitive" touch controls that expands your area control the longer you touch. Icons for your most important apps -- which are apparently email, text documents, and YouTube -- are lined up across the top of the screen. There's also some fancy stuff under the hood to keep an ongoing browser session open to speed launch times, and the browser downloads large files in stages to speed delivery. HTC is considering a commercial version of the phone, which we could be seeing as soon as the second half of 2008.

World's Smallest Mobile Phone w/ Camera & MP3 Player

2008-09-14T19:46:23+02:00

This cute little Chinese phone is 67mm long, making it arguably the smallest phone available anywhere. But - somehow it crams in a VGA camera with video recording, a video player, photo editor, MP3 player w/EQ settings, voice recorder, 121 MB of memory, a 260,000-color touchscreen, handwriting recognition, multimedia messaging, web browser, GPRS, calendar with multiple alarms, handsfree speakerphone, vibrating alert, games, calculator and unit converter! Despite its amazingly small size, it's still usable...SMS addicts, however, will quickly get frustrated trying to peck out long messages with the tiny onscreen keyboard, or with handwriting recognition.It has room for 300 contacts including mobile, home, work & fax numbers, company name, email address and birthday. You can also link a picture, video, and / or sound file to play back when a particular person calls you.Available in blue or pink colors. Includes 2 batteries, stylus, handsfree earbuds w/ mic & mute button, USB cable, 100-240V AC charger w/ adapter as needed for your country.Buy it here...

Goodbye bike chains, hello belt drives!

2008-09-09T18:09:35+02:00

Bikes with chains may be becoming an endangered species. Belt-driven bikes, which were introduced by boutique bike makers a couple of years ago, are just starting to hit the mainstream. Trek has introduced two new urban bikes for 2009 with belt drives rather than chains, and they look pretty sweet.The benefit to a belt drive system over a chain and shifters system is that it won't stretch and break over time like a chain, weighs significantly less, stays clean (and keeps your cuffs clean) and is quiet. The downside? It's more expensive. The two bikes Trek has unveiled, the District and the Soho, will run you $930 and $990, respectively. But as with all new tech, the prices are always highest right when it starts hitting the mainstream. Look for bikes with belt drives to start coming from many more big bike companies for much less in the coming years.

Essential Back to School Gadgets

2008-08-12T09:03:12+02:00

Five Gadgets Every Student Needs to Avoid a Computing Disaster It's only the beginning of August but already time to start shopping for the high tech necessities every student is going to need to succeed at school. Whether you're buying someone's first laptop computer, upgrading the old one, or looking for advice on essential gadgets for today's student, Here are some suggestions for what to buy along with some tips on good deals. A Reliable Computer, seriouslyComputers don't last forever. If your student is using the old hand-me-down computer with 512 MB of RAM running Windows 98 it's probably time to upgrade. First, you’ll need to decide between a desktop and laptop, or you could buy one of each. You’ll also have to decide between Windows and the Mac OS. Mac’s can run Windows applications easily but not the other way around. A desktop can deliver a lot more performance than a similarly priced laptop. With a desktop you'll get more storage, a real keyboard, better graphics processor, bigger monitor, and more expansion options but laptops are what every student wants so what are you going to do? eMachines recently announced some new desktops including the T3656 which comes with 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive and sells for around $299.99. The T5274 has 2GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive and retails for $399.99. Hot Back to School Deal from Apple Apple launched a Back to School promotion campaign that offers a free iPod when you buy a qualifying Mac. You need to purchase both products and then submit a rebate to get up to $299 back on the iPod. A good anti-everything applicationIt's too easy for anyone, especially students to click on the wrong link and find their computers loaded up with malicious software like virus' or spyware. There are many commercial applications to choose from like McAfee and Symantec. These companies maintain expensive labs to identify and combat malware. Unfortunately, you end up paying an annual fee for these programs which can add up when you're maintaining multiple computers in a household. Fortunately there are some very good applications like ones from Avast who offer "home" versions for free. PCPitstop.com offers some free tests for anything that could adversely affect your computer. Extra InkYou can often find third party ink cartridges for sale on ebay and other places. The ink may not be the very highest quality but we’ve found them to be quite adequate for most tasks and we’ve saved a lot of money too. Just in case the ink is out of stock or too expensive you should consider upgrading the old printer to a new model. A fast, high resolution, inkjet printer can be amazingly inexpensive. Maybe it’s because manufacturers know they’ll make up for giving the printer away when you buy lots of expensive ink cartridges. The HP Photosmart D7460 is a wireless printer and it’s a fast color inkjet that gets good reviews. A mutifunction printer might make a lot of sense for a student. They can copy and scan documents and many of these devices produce high quality photo prints. The Canon Pixma MX850 that gets high marks from users .External Backup DiskIt would be a terrible shame to spend a lot of money on computer gear only to lose that important term paper(not to mention that photo and MP3 collection) from a hard disk malfunction. External hard drives that hook up to the computer through a high speed USB connection and very often include back up software can be relatively inexpensive. Removable StorageTwo forms of storage we highly recommend are flash drives and optical discs. You can get 2 GB flash drives for under $20 which will store 4 years worth of term papers. Blank DVDs not cost around $.30 each and hold over 4 GB of data. You can back up all your docs to a few of these in spread them around for safe keeping.

My to - do list isn't going as planned.

2008-07-09T18:20:00+02:00

Here is my original to-do list of the day, timed when I should do it and everything, updates are to be written after this list.Things to do tomorrow before going to work:10:00am - ~~Rise and shine, star shine. The sun is bright and the world says, "Hello!"~~10:05am - Have a thank you for waking up cigarette!10:10am - Wash your face!10:15am - Turn on hair straightener, so it is ready when you are! Time to put on the makeup! No eyeliner today, just mascara and eyeshadow!10:30am - Straighten hair! Also style it!11:00am - ~~Throw on that new bikini and go suntanning! One hour!~~11:30am - ~~Baking baking in the sun!~~12:00pm - Do one half hour of schoolwork!12:30pm - Organize purses, as well as take inventory!01:00pm - Get last minute things ready for work, also enjoy a power snack (granola bar).01:30pm - Toodle oooh! Time to leave for work!01:45pm - Stop in Save-On-Foods and grab a pack of Diet Pepsi!02:00pm - Clock in, try to get in a bit earlier than 2:00.

Shopping Camp at the Mall - Patriotic!

2008-07-08T14:40:00+02:00

In news related to status anxiety, ruling class ideology, materialism, and creating desires: Marketplace reporter Benjamin Barber lauds shopping camp -- held at a mall, at which girls ages 6-12 visit stores to learn how to accessorize outfits -- as patriotic. I'm pretty sure he's being sarcastic .... More here. And Jezebel readers have something to say about it, too.

Infibeam - Online Shopping Portal in India out of Beta!

2008-03-18T10:34:31+01:00

Going full throttle, leading B2C Shopping portal in India http://www.infibeam.com has come out of its Beta version to be a full-blown web portal with new look, feel and user-friendly experience.Since its debut in September last year in beta version for consuming India, infibeam.com has been making waves on the internet.Infibeam.com today has become full fledged website or rather a web portal and marketplace with a spanking new layout and user friendly features.Infibeam.com offers a host of products and services like New Cars, Bikes and Scooters. In addition, the company has made it easy for anyone to list their Used Cars and Bikes for Sale on Infibeam.com in less than 5 minutes to make it available for its millions of visitors. It has now added services like Customer Reviews, Industry News, Finance Options, EMI Calculator and Featured Car Section with advanced search facility. Facility for review and rating of a particular vehicle can also be seen before arriving at a buying decision for a particular model.Spelling more details, Infibeam.com Founder and CEO Mr Vishal Mehta says, "Besides offering special deals to purchase products, we offer Cars on rental hire to Individuals and Corporate for the benefit of our valuable members and visitors. Our introductory car rental scheme for all vehicle segments including SUVs like Tavera or Innova at Rs 999+ per day with unlimited mileage is proving to be a boon to all executives, business persons and individuals with families, wishing to travel in brand new air conditioned comforts and safety."The website is now visited by millions of visitors who discover useful product information and benefit from attractive prices and convenience from shopping at their leisure.Although Infibeam.com has not disclosed any forward looking plans to date, they are already looking to hire buyers to source consumer electronics products on several employment portals. Thus, Infibeam.com has become a full blown website or web portal which thrives on superb customer experience, choice selection and very attractive pricing for all products offered on the portal.

Got to be done!

2007-12-10T23:50:00+01:00

This Christmas shopping has got to be done. I know, I know. It's only a couple of days to cover, our local Spar shop is open for a few hours too. Bet it won't have any bread or milk. lol

So, off we went to sunny Morecambe. Cold it was too. Had enough time to take pics. Hard to believe that behind those hills / mountains is Scotland. The Lake District first though.

Disappearance

2007-05-27T00:50:00+02:00

A rather strange thing happened while l was shopping in town on Saturday.

l was holding a small handbag, then bought a couple of items wihich l put in a plastic M&S carrier, but after half an hour or so of browsing around various stores l looked down and ... no carrier!

Odd. l have no recollection of losing it, and l'm normally safety conscious, always aware of suspicious looking people who might, at the first available opportunity, nick my stuff.

lt was unnerving to say the least. Was l suffering from a mental block? Had the carrier self-destructed? Or maybe l was merely pre-occupied with loftier matters and left it somewhere? (Loftier matters being 'what shall l have for tea when l get home' and 'l hope the buses are running on schedule'.)

lt could have been worse as the sum total of the missing goods was just £4.49, and l didn't have the time or inclination to re-trace my steps to search for it, but it's the principle. lf it's happened once, what's to stop it happening again? Hmmm. Another valid reason for ordering via the internet, l think.

Saturday evening saw the second installment of the excellent series on BBC 2 - The Seven Ages Of Rock. This week saw footage of Pink Floyd (with and without Syd Barrett), Lou Reed, David Bowie, Roxy Music, and Genesis (with Peter Gabriel).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/

Yes, please!

2007-04-24T07:50:09+02:00

When the sunshine she's been accustomed to over the last few months disappears and the doom and gloom of winter is setting in, what does every girl want...?...New Boots of course! I'm having problems finding any that aren't made from leather, something i've never been a big fan of. If i didn't have a heart i'd splurge on these babies:

Or maybe these:

However buying boots will use up the money i should be spending on new contact lenses. I've spent the last month either stuck in glasses or walking around half blind because i'm too self concious to wear them. Why i never chose more inconspicuous frames i will never know. They make me look like a cross between a mutton-dressed-as-lamb emo and Dame Edna.

It's payday tomorrow and i plan to drown my inevitable hangover with retail therapy. Two books i'm on a mission to find:

AND

Ice storm

2007-02-14T00:22:56+01:00

It's so cold today, beautiful, but cold, and more, you can feel a storm coming, the air feels like sucking on a pepper mint. the weather website said there might be an ice storm tomorrow. I'm excited but scared, I've never seen one before. I think I hate the anticipation of waiting for a storm even more then I hate the storm itself.

Ned's sleeping, I'm trying to get myself to do something, anything really. I started cutting pages for a book yesterday, so I finish that, but before starting on the sawing and binding I pick up a small block printing book plate I started and work on that a little bit, then I go to the computer and read the 2 swaps I can already send out, one of a self portrait and the other of any hand made item, I can do that now but not quite feel like doing either, then there's some magazine who's excepting submission, but I need Ned to wake up and print some image for me to do that. I actually feel like doing nothing, but that just make me feel bad about myself, and there's the flash movie I started a few days ago and there's the website I haven't worked on in ages, and the other website and a letter to write, fuck it, and that drawing I started 3 weeks ago and a few found objects I can start on.

I got an e-mail this morning, from a fetish art site which I signed up for about a year ago and forgot all about it. They made me "featured artist" which means a small box with my name and art work will be on the homepage of their site for the next 6 months. I should be happy about it, but I'm not, I feel like I don't deserve it. Even writing about this here makes me feel like I'm bragging or pushing myself in someone's face too much. I remember a few exhibition I was in with the illustrator society in Israel and how I never told the people in the office about it or anyone aside of my parents really, how being in something like that felt as if I'm doing something wrong. receiving and honor I'm not entitled to.

Yesterday, we mat his parent for brunch, it was hard, his dad were talking a little more openly about the cancer. It somehow went between the lines of other conversation, we were talking about headphones for the iPod he has and then he mentioned that the DR. in the hospital suggested he get a new pair if he's going ot bring the iPod to his next chemo treatment, cause the sponge in the the headphones he's using now might have a lot of germs in it. Then he said of how the iPod was being a lot of help cause laying down for 8 hours, being all tired and groggy from the treatment, he wasn't feeling up to reading and it was nice to listen to music. We talked on other things then, funny stories from the park, funny stories from the past.

A few hours later, we went to the computer store. We were talking about getting another screen and a wacom for my computer. And then we just went and did it, I don't think I ever spend or had so much money spent on making my computer work better. On the way home, on the train, I felt like I should feel happy, excited, grateful, but what I really felt was stressed, pressured, scared.

I'm not doing too bad, I'm learning new programs, I contacted an online gallery that might show and sell my work next month, Ned and I might have our design on a tee shirt for some fashion company, and now this Retro kitten thing. I'm doing pretty good, I think. But somehow that just scare me, not being quite out of the game by doing nothing and not being quite in the game, or rather a head of the game - I feel like I'm tailing in the back. I feel more of a looser now then I have in a while, and I feel like that cause things are actually going well.

I'm so scared of taking any space in the world.

My life problems.

2007-01-26T19:49:32+01:00

Theres this guy i like.. and i've liked pretty much all my life.. we dated berfore but he broke up with me for someone else.. they just recently broke up and i still have strong feelings for the guy but he only sees me as a friend.. nothing more.. i want to be with him... but i know he wont be with me.. everyone says get over him.. what should i do? try and get him back or just forget? im sooo confused about it.. i mean.. i thought he really liked me and i really liked him.. and then.. bam its over... Directory design. I had that same thing happen to me then I found out the guy still liked me but he didn't want anyone to know so I forgot about him. I making web directory. You should try to forget about him if a guy leaves you for another girl then he's not worth it. Tell me was the relationship (his last one) long and how long was it and if it was short how short was it? Sorry hun, but you should just move on and forget about him. I love shopping and internet marketing. It's easier said than done, but you will eventually. With my ex boyfriend he was like a guy I probably loved the most out of all the relationships I had, and when he broke up with me I was devastated. I love web directory. People told me I would get over him, but I couldn't imagine doing that, I thought I never would. Then after a bit, I found out their's a lot of other better guys, and now he doesn't even cross my mind anymore. Just try and forget about about him babe, I know it's really cheesy saying this but their is a lot more fish in the sea. ;)

jeden tag, eine neue welt (german)

2007-01-05T20:19:08+01:00

das ist die tchibo-welt. dort gibt es nicht nur interessantes über kaffee zu entdecken, sondern auch über reisen, versicherungen und noch vieles mehr. wer bspw. auf der suche nach einer wirklich günstigen haftpflichtversicherung ist, der wird dort auf jeden fall fündig werden. einfach mal reinschauen und entdecken unter: http://www.tchibo.de/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/de/-/EUR/TdTchBrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=angeboot&source=NAVI&BannerID=3460&SourceID=855

Merry Cha-Ching-Mas!

2006-11-18T16:20:00+01:00

Ha! I thought of a non-baby entry! Are you thrilled? Because I worked very hard to pull my head out of my uterus. It's almost Thanksgiving! Which means that it is almost Christmas! I love Christmas with a mad passion, the type of passion reserved for someone who doesn't focus on the religious aspects at all (that sound you hear is my Catholic mother sobbing) and can concentrate all of her energies on gift-giving.Yes, I am the person that sincerely religious people bemoan as missing the "real meaning" of Christmas. It's totally true. I dumped the real meaning by the wayside to make room in my car for more gifts. After years of holiday shopping, I have my own system down to a science. This system is not for the faint of heart, but because I love you, I am willing to share it with you. You're a girl, aren't you? I'm convinced all my male readers left…well, probably three days ago. Here are the rules to gift buying:1. Decide how much you can spend on the entire holiday. You must do this first. Your Christmas gift to yourself is starting the new year without holiday debt. 2. Write down every person you need to buy a gift for, including the annoying grab bag gifts that you have to give at parties in exchange for gifts you will never use. 3. If you have kids on the list, include their ages. Otherwise, you will buy a Lamaze toy for a 10-year-old. 4. Start with the grab bags, since they usually have set spending limits. Fill out the amount you are supposed to spend on those gifts. Tally it up and deduct that from your total amount available to spend.5. Divvy up the remaining amount between all the people on your list. If I run out of money, I usually knock off $5 or $10 from the amount I am going to spend on the grab bag gifts, because I know that I will get those gifts on sale. The original amount might match the total I was supposed to spend, even if I got it on sale. 6. Once you have individual amounts that don't exceed the total budget, start hunting for gifts that fit that price. The hardest thing is not going over budget. If you find something that is totally perfect for so-and-so but is over-budget, figure out who gets a smaller gift so you stay within your budget BEFORE you buy the perfect gift for so-and-so. 7. Carry the budget and your latest tally of gifts with you at all times. If you find something when you are least expecting it, you'll know if you can afford it. Remember, the most important gift is giving yourself a debt-free new year. My dog agrees with this strategy and is willing to help wrap:

Reduce and Reuse

2006-11-11T23:32:57+01:00

Beth was kind enough to take a picture of my shopping bag that I've knitted. She also sent it to me. Further, she has been kind enough to sew together my green cardigan. I suck at sewing - on top of that, I don't like to do it. She's been a real knitting pal and stepped forward to get the job done correctly. Now that's a knitting buddy indeed!

Isn't it great?!

This picture is right in time for Reduce and Reuse Day on November 15th. I no longer use as many bags when leaving the grocery store. It can fit many more items than the regular bags at the grocery store.

Speaking of Beth and her great knitting abilities...she has designed a great looking mosaic blanket that we will be giving away to a charity. The purpose of the blanket is growth, so we decided on the baobab tree as the center.

Check 2 knitted of the squares out:

And guess who has to catch up with her on knitting? Yep, me. Going to to knit. You should too.

am a slave for shoes.

2006-10-19T16:45:00+02:00

I went shopping today. HmM.. okie I didnt really intend to shop but how can a girl resist herself from getting these black sexy strappy sandals (which also look like I-want-to-sex-you-up sandals) from "Nose". Plus it wasnt really expensive. It was on SALE!! :)

I think I'll manage to squeeze a bit of my budget this month (and next month.. hehe).

I have also got the eyes for a pair of Nine West. I fell in love with that brand when I was shoe searching in Singapore. The pair I fell in love with have my name all over em. but sadly.. not my shoe size ;( I went looking to almost 5 stores around the erea.. but still no avail. Even in KL, they seem to have problems having my size; which is size 9 (ahh.. thanks to my dad's big feet) and the largest they have so far is 8. I think I should have my feet size reduction. Or better yet, maybe if I soak them long enough, they would shrink to a smaller size. Hehe. I just have to get a pair of NW ;(

Anyway, am planning to get a new pair of white or light-brown pumps. Top Shop has a line up of very very lusciously sexy patterns but most of them are with pig lining (Well, if you don't know.. I'm a Muslim so I have issues ;)).

hMmM.. Perhaps I should do some research on this pig/pork stuff. I have heard before that Muslims are not allowed to eat the freaking animal but no issues on touching it. So how far is it true? Who knows if it is, I can own a bloody pair of TS pig-lining-shoes after all ;) - hehe.. Let's cross our freaking fingers ;)

Shopping for electronics: Recreational shopping

2006-08-31T09:39:34+02:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I track electronics like sports fans track their favorite teams. I'm not an expert on every product, but for a select few pieces of merchandise, I can tell you EXACTLY how much something costs, at which store.I love shopping for electronics. Not really the buying part, just the shopping. I do it online, I do it offline. For example, I read Google news everyday. And everyday i click through to stories in their Science and Tech Section, and pretty much click on at least one electronic add every single day. Not only that: when I see a new product featured, very very often I'll do a quick web search, just to read more about the product.And it doesn't matter if I already own the product or not. For example, pretty much every day I look for news about Ipods and LCD tvs. I have an iPod. I want and LCD tv.So fun.For some products, I've actually been going to Best Buy's website every day for almost two years. TWO YEARS! That's a major investment. In fact, I might suggest that I've gotten more enjoyment out of not buying the product than if I'd actually purchased it.Buy online, look online, buy offline. No matter how much I spend on electronics, I always want to buy more. Am I alone in this?

Shop Locally For Your Health

2006-08-20T15:05:00+02:00

Do you actually go to your farmers market and buy food? Most people don’t because it is easier to purchase your food from the supermarket. Most people don’t realize that by buying food from their supermarket helps large ‘corporation’ farmers and doesn’t help the little farmer. What this means is by buying at a supermarket you are paying the rich. These farmers are getting good subsidies from the government on top of selling their produce at what sometimes can be a very, very high price. It is an imbalance of the system.

It is actually healthier to eat local farmer’s food. Most of them are organic and do not use the pesticides that the larger farmers use. What this means is by eating organic you may save your self some cancer treatment in the future.

I don’t know enough about the WTO talks but I do know that republicans back the large corporate farms. Because our government gives them backing we have thrown off world wide trade that hurts many, many different small businesses.

Please support your local farmers. They are the ones who are trying to feed you well and at the same time keep your local economy balanced.

Le Shop Closed for Works

2006-03-03T00:35:00+01:00

The popular streetwear concept store Le Shop (Rue Argout, 2nd) is closed for "travaux". According to the sign, it will reopen as a co-branded "IKKS - Le Shop" store. Judging from a quick peek in the doorway, don't hold your breath. In the meantime, pick up clubbing flyers at Kiliwatch on Rue Tiquetonne, around the corner.

Multimedia Fashion Blog

2006-02-25T00:40:00+01:00

The windows at Printemps have an excellent Pirates of the Caribbean theme (for the upcoming sequel film, "Dead Man's Chest"), with a series of very fashionable damsels in distress on the high seas. There's even a dramatic soundtrack to accompany the scenes:

Consumer Economy

2006-02-02T13:10:00+01:00

Though happiness doesn't come from owning things

we struggle to get more

prepared to loan too much

we risk roof and floor

It's sad because we'll never have enough

and thus we keep on buying

to end up with even more stuff

We've sent moderation flying

TV in every room

two cars in the garage

more and more of the same

crammed solid in our homes

with only greed to blame

for needing high priced loans

Two jobs and double shifts to keep money flow

leave no time for living

our kids grow up alone

Our guilt keeps giving

cell phones overpriced clothes and other thrills

they too can't get enough

but guilt can pay none of the bills

so we fear the bank might call our bluff

TV in every room

two cars in the garage

more and more of the same

crammed solid in our homes

with only greed to blame

for needing high priced loans

Shopping escapade

2006-01-21T11:55:00+01:00

Well okay, it is not really an escapade if you are only at it for two to three hours. But I have never really been much of a shopper so two to three hours is pretty tiring to me. My mom had asked me to keep an eye out for a nice coat for her so today was the day. It also is the day when everybody else in Chengdu decided to go shopping. That means tons of people on the streets. That plus the pre-Spring Festival sales makes today technically one of the worse days to shop. Anyway, the sun was shining brightly so I decided to go out. Funny how the sun went away the moment I hit the streets though…Undeterred, I decided to take the bus and make my way to Kowloon Plaza - the place my friend had told me about. I got a seat and was telling myself, “How cool is that?” until the woman diagonally in front of threw up. Yeah, on the bus. I heard it first, then I saw it, then I smelt it. Gross! Then she threw up again… I was so close to puking, it was scary. At that moment the bus driver decided a few jerks would be good for us so the puke started drifting backwards. The guy sitting directly behind the woman who threw up covered his nose, and raised his feet above the ground. The guy sitting beside her threw the window open wide, never mind the cold air smacking our faces. I got off at the next stop. So, I finally reached the entrance of Kowloon Plaza. It is one really happening place. I feel like everybody who wants a better bargain comes here to buy clothes (instead of the usual shopping district). The people who get the best bargains apparently go to the wholesalers’ market. But I did not want to go that far, and I was not sure about the quality of the goods there. So I started making my rounds. Kowloon Plaza has eleven floors of stores. Wow. And each floor area is pretty big too. It was so packed that if you tried to stand still, you would find yourself being moved forward by the sheer force of people squeezing to get in. I went upstairs to get away from the crowd. I noticed how some stores would have these people standing on chairs and calling out to people to come in to their stores. The funny things was when they started to clap their hands, wave money at people and even bop to the music another store was playing. You got to hand it to them. Anyway, I got my stuff and I think it deserves more exploration. My friend was right, there are a few good stores. I got all my stuff in the second store I walked into. Two coats (my mom can pick which one she likes more) and a pants-suit with matching skirt. I was pretty satisfied with the deal I eventually got. Maybe if I were patient, I might have gotten better deals but it is okay, this is good enough for me. We will go there when you come over.

Fashion session

2006-01-16T16:20:00+01:00

Every time I see them, I go “Ouch”. Practically every woman here wears those pointy and thin-and-high-heeled knee-high leather boots. Is there any worse way to kill your feet, and in such ugly footwear? The afore-mentioned shoes seems to have entered mainstream fashion. I think they are hideous. Other than the fact that your feet probably hurt, the heel can get stuck in the uneven pavement. But somehow the women here have figured out where and how to walk in those monstrosities, so they are still upright.The pointy-tip-with-thin-high-heels-knee-high-leather boots are just an example of my struggle with fashion here. I have not bought any working clothes because I cannot seem to find anything that looks professional enough. So many women over here (in Chengdu at least) wear tights to work, funky clothes (sometimes leather), jackets with furry collars, and look absolutely odd to me. In fact the women who do dress properly seem to be the lower paid ones. I must be sending off the wrong signals with my long sleeved shirts, black pants and square-front-low-heeled shoes that do not cramp my feet. So as much as the clothes are cheaper here, I have not been able to capitalize on that fact. I have bought one of those ubiquitous jackets with furry collars to fit in with the crowd. Makes me look a bit more local. No, it is not real fur - I have neither that sort of moolah or fancy for such material.Speaking of apparel, even dogs have them. Have not seen many big dogs on the streets, but there are numerous rat-dogs being kept as pets. Rat-dogs… you know, those small dogs that are cute to look at but do absolutely nothing except for eat, pee and bark incessantly at you? The kind that some people just look at and want to stick a boot to their butt… Anyway, it has gotten colder here and even the rat-dogs are wearing sweaters. They look incredibly cute but strange at the same time. I almost want to say that their sweaters are more expensive than mine, but I am not sure. I can only say that there is something wrong when you see a dog dressed up as a rabbit.My friend has recommended a place where I might be able to buy some clothes apart from the usual shopping area which has none of the stuff I want. She says I have to be patient and just make my way around the complex. Apparently the good stores are hard to find, but they do exist. She also says it is best that I go around with a big black plastic bag (garbage bag maybe?) because it makes me look like a retailer looking for samples to sell in my store, and the shopkeepers might sell me their clothes cheaper. Maybe I will make some time to check the place out. If there are good buys, I will bring you there. Wish me luck!

Buying a car

2005-11-03T14:55:00+01:00

Last night, we came close to buying a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, manual transmission, with 81,000 miles, from National Motors in Baltimore, MD. It was being auctioned on eBay, selling to someone else around 9:15 p.m. ET for $9,700. We didn't bid but we seriously considered doing so, researching the Hybrid (friends of ours own one, so we'd had a little experience of it) as well as the 1999 Honda Civic EX, which is not a hybrid and which is currently listed for sale in our area on Craig's list. We've had two Honda vehicles and are happy with them. We've also bought a vehicle via eBay and were happy with that transaction.

I am most interested in gas mileage, aesthetic look of the car (especially the interior and dash), low miles, and low maintenance costs (including taxes and yearly registration and insurance costs). These are also important to my spouse, as well as safety (specifically, side airbags), and he would like a vehicle that does well in snow and ice. One vehicle he's suggested is the Toyota Rav4, which is said to get about 25 mpg, less than our older Honda and Acura cars get now. Of course, the RAV4 EV would get over 100 mpg but it's not a 4-wheel-drive.

The Honda Civic Hybrid's gas mileage varies widely, based on what I've read online, from about 32 mpg to 50 mpg, depending, to some extent, on how the car is driven; in all cars, accelerating slowly, braking gradually, driving less than 60 mph, and keeping tires inflated properly will increase gas mileage, all other things being equal, but in hybrids gas mileage is dramatically affected by these things.

The non-hybrid Honda Civics (DX, HX, LX, and EX), years 1999-2002, are rated to get from 29-36 mpg city and 32-45 mpg highway. Actual mileage seems to average as high as 40 mpg. These cars would probably have lower registration costs (because we can buy an older model of a regular civic than of a hybrid, and because the hybrids cost somewhat more than the non-hybrids) and maintenance can be done by our regular mechanic (we live 45 mins from an official Honda dealer). The hybrid has side air bags, though, and these older civic models don't seem to offer them.

So, we didn't bid and we're still looking ...

UPDATE ... 5 March 06: After months of searching eBay, Craigslist, Auto Traders, etc., for Honda Civic hybrids, HXs, LXs, and EXs, we bought a well-maintained, one-owner 1998 Honda Civic LX with 103,000 miles on it for $6,000 earlier this week from someone my spouse knows at work. The car seems to have little rust, which is a big plus for us in coastal New England. We're still on the first tank of gas (and the car is wearing its winter tires), so we have yet to track gas mileage. I'm hoping for at least 36-38 mpg overall.