The Chronic Consumer

I’m not one of those people who thinks everything Google touches must be gold just because they’re Google and they do no wrong (or evil). So forgive me for not being as excited about the T-Mobile G1 Google cell phone as most of the other fan boys and girls are. I mean, the first thing that crossed my mind is why on earth is Google getting into cell phones? Aren’t they big enough and omnipresent enough already?

Anyway, the G1 phone is supposed to be an “iPhone killer” — I guess because it has a touchscreen just like the iPhone, but also has a QWERTY keypad and can handle all the popular Google apps like Gmail, chat, Maps, and Street View. Moreover, it supports multiple browser windows (that does actually sound cool) and something called Compass mode that also sounds kinda cool.

The phone is slightly thicker and heavier than iPhone, and initial reviews indicate that it doesn’t handle or play music nearly as well as the Apple product. Well, duh.

The T-Mobile G1 Google cell phone will retail for $179, which is significantly less than iPhone, and has two data plans available ($25 and $35 per month).

I’m sure a bunch of people will snap these up, but I don’t think I’ll be buying this — especially not just for two cool features that I probably wouldn’t even use very often anyway!

I have two teenage cousins who are beginning to experience the early stages of acne. They’re getting oily skin, clogged pores, blackheads, and a few scattered pimples here and there. Both of them (boys, by the way) are understandably freaking out, and are asking about what kind of skincare regimen they should be following.

I think it’s important to try to nip this problem in the bud, so I’ve convinced their dad (my uncle) to take them to the dermatologist for a checkup. Then they can ask the doctor to recommend a cleanser and the best acne treatments so the boys can start taking care of their skin properly.

I know a few discount online beauty supply shops where they can buy their soaps and moisturizers. I’m going to pass that info along later so they can save money on all this stuff.

Seeing my cousins go through this brings back memories of my own teenage skincare battles — battles that are still going on even in my mid-thirties. I sure hope the boys fare better than I did!

I’m interested in being able to connect my laptop to my TV so I can watch streaming videos on a bigger screen, but I have no idea how to do this. Of course Google was my first stop in the research process, and while I’m usually pretty good at deciphering How-To tutorials, the ones I found were incomprehensible to me. After spending several hours reading through different sites, I’m still completely lost.

I know that I need a couple of cables to connect the laptop to the TV. I think one of the cables needs to be an HDMI cable and one needs to be an audio cable, but again I’m not completely sure. It depends on the kind of laptop and the kind of TV, as well as various other factors that I don’t feel like listing right now.

Who knew that this particular task could be so hard?

Even though I’ve been making a conscious effort to eat healthier foods this year, I know I’m still not getting all the essential vitamins and nutrients that my body needs. I’m a very picky eater, and many fruits and vegetables are simply off limits to me because I can’t stomach them. That’s why it’s very important for me to take a good vitamin supplement every day to make up for whatever my diet lacks.

I used to just buy whatever was on sale at the grocery store, but I’m not sure how beneficial those products actually are. I’ve been looking at alternatives to the usual brands, and came across the extensive Orovo product line. I’ve read lots of good things about the different health supplements and drinks that Orovo offers — including their multivitamin, which is supposed to be the best on the market. It actually sounds like it’s very effective, so I’m going to look into trying out a bottle soon!

I’ve had the same eyeglasses for four years now, which is far too long — especially considering the fact that I haven’t changed the lenses in all that time.

So I figured this is as good a time as any to get rid of my scratched old frames for something new. I’ve got an appointment with my optometrist on Thursday morning, and have already been looking at frame options. I found a pair of red titanium frames that I like, but am going to keep checking around a bit in case I come across something better.

At any rate, I’m planning on being in completely new glasses within a couple of weeks, so I can’t wait!

With the NFL season set to open on Thursday night, I spent some time getting my living room ready for game day. That meant moving my recliner into a more prominent position, bringing two end tables up from the basement to accommodate all the snacks and drinks I plan on consuming, and just generally arranging the tv furniture so that my friends and I can get a better view of the game from every seat in the room.

I was thinking of putting up some Bears flags and banners as well, but decided against it at the last minute. After all, it’s not the Super Bowl and it’s not as though Chicago actually has a chance of making it to the post-season with Kyle Orton running the offense!

I also went out and bought a mini-fridge to hold drinks and dip, and can’t wait to set that up right next to my recliner.

Can you tell that I love football?!

Last week I wrote a post about how NFL Game Pass from Yahoo! Sports is now accepting sign-ups for the 2008 season. What I neglected to mention, but which several readers have pointed out, is that you need to make sure you’ve got one of the latest video cards installed in your computer in order to be able to enjoy the broadcasts.

There’s a demo video available on the Yahoo! site where you can test your connection and picture quality. I highly recommend that you do this before plunking down $209 for Game Pass. A good video card isn’t all that expensive these days, so be sure you have one capable of handling all the streaming NFL games that you want to watch this year!

Now that I’ve been faithfully (and successfully) working out at a health club for six months, I’ve been thinking about whether or not it would be worth it for me to buy exercise equipment for my home. I know that doing so would save me money in the long run, as I wouldn’t have to pay membership fees and dues anymore. But obviously this would only be the case if I continued to work out as diligently at home as I do at the club.

I wouldn’t be able to buy a bunch of equipment right off the bat, so I think it would be best to start with a treadmill. I like the versatility that treadmills provide, as I can adjust the speed and incline at which I walk or run, which gives me a chance to tweak my workouts according to what I want to accomplish on a particular day.

Also, I’d like some kind of weightlifting station so I can work on my muscle tone in addition to doing cardio exercises.

I don’t have the funds to run right out and get this equipment now, but my husband’s Christmas bonus will be here in just a few short months. That gives me plenty of time to shop around!

Kids across the country will be returning to school in the next few weeks, loaded down with a bunch of new supplies such as backpacks, notebooks, binders, USB memory sticks, and more. And of course with kids being kids, they’re likely to lose at least a few of those items before long.

In order to protect your children’s expensive items from loss or even theft, I recommend labeling everything. There are cool little Dymo labels that you can print from your computer, or you could even just put a strip of masking tape on the item and write your child’s name on it in permanent marker.

Either way, it’s important that you have some way of identifying your child as the owner in case anything happens. After all, you don’t want to have to replace these school supplies unnecessarily!

I first wrote about NFL Game Pass by Yahoo! Sports last year, which was just the second season that the service was offered. A couple friends of mine who live overseas loved the idea of being able to watch all NFL games every week, but balked somewhat at the rather high $240+ price tag for a season subscription. Fortunately, for those of you outside the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda, Antigua, and U.S. Territories, Yahoo! Sports has reduced the price of NFL Game Pass for the 2008 season.

This time around, you can purchase an all-access Season Pass for just $209.99, which is $30 lower than a comparable pass from last year. With a Season Pass, you can watch any NFL game during the regular season as broadcast live over the Internet, and you can access the archives for weekly games until 11:59 PT on Wednesday.

Other types of passes include a Follow Your Team Pass that allows you to watch 1 game per week during the regular season for $159.99, and a Weekly Pass that gives you access to all the games for the week at a cost of $19.99.

Clearly, the Season Pass is the best deal — and is very reasonably priced, IMO.

As I said before, a couple of my friends live overseas, and they subscribed to Game Pass last year. They report that the subscription worked very well, with only a few minor glitches (like occasionally not being able to access the broadcast until a few minutes after kickoff time) along the way.

Other than that, the broadcasts were high-quality, and suffered zero technical difficulties after the initial connection was established. Plus, the ability to scroll through archived games is great for those times when they wanted to see a condensed version of a particular matchup.

Overall, I’ve heard excellent things about NFL Game Pass. I know that free streaming NFL games are available on various sites, but those are of course illegal and the connections are not reliable at all. If you’re a rabid fan and don’t want to miss a single snap of your favorite team’s season, then NFL Game Pass is the answer. I say why risk it. Go ahead and pay the price for this great service!