Guy Low Price Electronic: 17 Oct 2010

Sunday, 17 October 2010

Pneumatics - construction staplers, stapler

A very solid staple gun. So far I have shot almost 10,100 staples through it without a jam. Depth adjustment is decent. haven't used that to much so far. I turn my compressor down or up according to application anyway. If you are using kiln dried white cedar shingles you don't want to be hitting them with 110 psi even if the depth is set, get me? I have also used this tool for Sheetrock strapping using 2" staples, but primarily cedar shingle siding. A great multipurpose and light gun. Hitachi N5008AC 1-Inch to 2-Inch 7/16-Inch Medium Crown 16 Gauge Stapler

I bought this stapler new, and I must saw the thing is beautiful to use. I use it for framing so the thing gets a lot of use every day. The only issue I have with it is the magazine for the staples is made of plastic. I did not think it was a big deal until one of my employees let it slide off the roof we were sheating. The magazine broke cleanly in two. The rest of the stapler is very well built, but I think that the magazine should be made of some sort of metal, say magnesium or aluminum. This would make a good stapler, the best stapler in my opinion.

I'm a redwood/cedar fencing contractor. I've tried many brands of nail guns - Senco, Porter Cable and others, only to have them go belly up and face a repair bill which is greater than the cost of the original gun. Several years ago I switched to Hitachi framers and (15 gauge) finish nailers and have never had a single breakdown - and they're used day in and day out. Recently I contacted to build a 300+ foot wire fence. Not wanting to hand hammer 4 to 5 thousand staples, I bought a Hitachi N5008AC Stapler. It was superb! Not a single glitch in that many firings. I highly recommend this stapler.

product is light weight and balanced, which makes for ease of use during longer periods of use. It is easy to load or change size of staples. I have not had any jambs or misfires since purchasing tool.

This is simply another high quality Hitachi Pneumatic Tool! Please note the style of the housing on this nail/staple gun! It is this style of pneumatic tool from Hitachi that is high quality. The newer (mostly plastic) frame nailers are not anywhere as good. Hitachi made a huge mistake by gradually discontinuing this style of pneumatic nail guns!

This stapler is awesome! I have found it perfect for installing sub-floor, siding, and most anything else in construction or renovation work I do. The best part is the long staples this gun will drive. This is the value of this device. The versatility it provides is the overall value this tool has to anyone who does any construction or remodeling work. I do hardwood flooring installation. This offers great versatility in applying sub-floor and shimming luan, and shingle shims, into uneven sub-floor before I do my installation of the flooring. - Stapler - Construction Staplers'

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Cordless Nailer - nail gun, cordless nailer

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This latest offering from Paslode is the next iteration of their venerable cordless framing nailer (IMCT). The unit has addressed some issues that existed with the original design and has added some new features. Some people found the firing rate of the previous design to be a little slow so this new nailer does fire faster. The nose of this nailer actuates in more positions and with less pressure than the older model making the nailing process a little easier when toe-nailing in tight areas. The fuel cell has been redesigned so that it is a simple drop in as some people apparently had issues with the fuel cell not mating properly with the metering valve; I never experienced this myself. This unit holds more nails per load and the rafter hook has been redesigned so that it can actually be hung on a rafter as the older style was to narrow. Finally they redesigned the combustion chamber with the intent of increasing the time that the nailer will operate reliably before needing to be cleaned. I have no reason to doubt this but it is too early for me to tell if it has been achieved.

All in all the unit itself is a nice redesign that fits well in the hand and addresses a few deficiencies with the earlier design. However this offering does bring a whole new and in my opinion a show stopping issue to the table. Paslode management has decided to package the fuel cells for this product with the nails. This mean that they must be purchased together so if the cell runs out, is defective or you lose a fuel cell you have to get more nails. This also does not bode well for those who have stocked up on nails. The fact that the redesigned fuel cells are not compatible with the older units is a problem in itself and forcing customers to buy nails with the cells just adds insult to injury. Paslode claims that this will ensure that the customer has enough fuel for the lot of nails but i think there is an ulterior motive lurking.

In my opinion Paslode is showing very little commitment to the customer by selling fuel cells only with nails... I think their true reasoning for this may be to ensure that you buy Paslode nails. In addition, in terms of space there seemed no practical reason to change the fuel cell design other than to ensure that it was not compatible with older guns. The "drop-in" installation could of been achieved by redesigning the nozzle and slot retaining backwards compatibility. I am sure that someone at Paslode is planning on sun-lighting the older red fuel cells forcing owners of the older Framing nailer (IMCT) to upgrade. Sorry Paslode this is not the sign of a top company that supports its loyal customers... I hope that the management at Paslode see fit to offer the new cells both separately and for a reasonable price. I also hope that they find a way to ensure that older framing nailer's will continue to have fuel available. Homeowners who may not use the guns very frequently expect that their purchase(Expen$ive) of a commercial quality tool would function for a very long time, let's not let them down. Paslode CF325 902200 Cordless Framing Nailer

the gun works like a charm! toe nailing is greatly improved with this gun because of the new tip that you can change depth with your hands. I used this gun all day for framing a big deck, went through half a box of ACQ 3 1/4" nails and every time I pulled the trigger the nail drove home, not one miss fire. when gun gets hot it still keeps working perfectly (new stainless O rings) the fuel cell is easier to load and unload. Much improved over the previous 900420 cordless Paslode framer. The only reason why this gun gets a 4 star is because you can't buy the fuel cells without buying a box of 1000 Paslode nails. New orange fuel cell is different than the red fuel cells and you can't switch the cap of the fuel cell. they say that you should be able to drive over a 1000 nails with one fuel cell, well from what I've experienced with the 900420, if you don't have the perfect weather conditions (like 15 degrees) your fuel cells don't last that long and you need to keep an extra cell warm in your pocket, so while the one in your gun is getting too cold to work, you can switch with the warm one in your pocket. If they start selling fuel cells separately I will change the 4 star rating to 5.

I recently purchased Palsode's new and improved CF-325 cordless framing nailer when my 10 year old Impulse bit the dust. I like the rubberized hand grip which helps in keeping the gun under control as my hands are dripping with sweat, which is almost all the time down here in southern most Key West, Florida. (hot, hot, hot). I can toe nail like a dream with this gun. The gun hanger has a cool improvement, as it will hang off my tool belt or when switched around can hang on joists. Very handy. The new fuel cell set up keeps the fuel cell firmly in place so that it does not dislodge while firing, like in the older gun. The door for the fuel cell compartment is much beefier with metal parts, rather than just plastic. The depth setting is a breeze as you can do so by hand rather than having to break out the tools. I have gone through 4500 nails with no problems. I was very frustrated trying to find replacement fuel cells. None of the lumber yards in the Keys had heard of this new gun, let alone sell fuel cells. My only complaint is a ditto on the previous reviewer in that Paslode is not selling fuel cells by themselves. You have to buy nails and fuels cells toghter in a combo pack. I had plenty of nails from Home Depot and did not want pay the shipping fee for more nails just to get fuel cells. I hear that Home Depot is going to be selling the combo packs and the new gun in about 1 month. Fortunately, I was able to buy separate fuel cells on ebay and get back to nailing.

I am a DIY person who enjoys framing. I purchased the CF325 last week for a job building a stage in our church where I could not use a compressor. Opened the box, read the directions, inserted the fuel cell, loaded a rack of the largest diameter (.131") X 3-1/4" long Paslode nails and in less than 5 minutes, from opening the box, I was nailing 2 x 6 framing members together and a 3/4" OSB floor on top. On the second lowest setting for nail depth, it drove them perfectly, just slightly below the surface. No need to readjust going from 2 x 6 framing to nailing down the 3/4" OSB subfloor. You can justify the small cost of the fuel cell against the time to position an air compressor, it's operating and maintenance costs, and the hassle of the air hose. This tool is amazing. I could not believe how fast the whole job went. Outside in the winter, keep a second fuel cell inside your jacket where it can stay warm. As they lose pressure from the cold air, just rotate them back and forth. Takes only seconds. This tool, if it holds up as well as others seem to indicate, can revolutionize framing. - Nailers - Nail Gun - Cordless Nailer'

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External Hard Drive For Mac

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I bought this hard drive about 7 months ago prior to my deployment to Afghanistan. The weight and size were great. Seemed perfect. I get to afghanistan, and may have only plugged it into my Sony VAIO ten times, when suddenly it would not be recognized. Like it didn't exist. I kept unplugging it and plugging it back in. I then tried it on a bunch of other laptops. Nothing. So, I thought, maybe it's just in a "mood". I turned off my computer, went to sleep, and tried it the next day. Still nothing. Now, it has been seven months, and I still occasionally plug it in to see if it works, but to no avail. Luckily, everything I had on the WD hard drive was backed up on another hard drive, so I didn't lose anything. I would just return it, but seeing that I'm not in the United States and where I'm at, the mail system doesn't work, I now use it as a paper weight, which it would recieve 5 stars if that was what it was meant to be used for.

I looked it up online and found that there are thousands of other people with the same issue. WD keeps giving the lame excuse of "some computers don't supply enough power". That's bull... Then why doesn't it work on ANY computer? And why make something that doesn't work all the time? And, using simple logic, my buddy who has the same hard drive plugged his into his computer, and it worked. I plugged mine into his computer, and it didn't work. He then plugged his into my computer, and it worked. I plugged mine into my computer, and it didn't work. Hmmm... Sounds like it's more than a power issue. I'm meeting my wife on R&R soon and will give it to her. Hopefully, she can return it, but she can't find the receipt, so I'm sure we're stuck with it.

I can't tell you to buy or not buy it. Most people have great luck with it. But that's what it is...luck. So, you may buy this, and it will probably work. Or, there's a chance it won't. So, why not buy a hard drive that works ALL THE TIME? No risk, no chances. I think I'm going to order a Toshiba and have my wife give it to me on R&R. It seems that their hard drives don't suddenly decide to not work. Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Ultra Portable External Hard Drive (Metallic Blue)

This is an easily portable hard drive with generous 1 TB capacity. It is compact, lightweight and runs nearly silently.

It was instantly recognized when connected to a desktop machine running Windows 7 Professional (32-bit), to a laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), and to a netbook running Windows XP Home.

None of these machines is USB 3 equipped; since all of my data transfers were via USB 2, I can't comment on the USB 3.0 performance. USB 2 transfers to/from the desktop internal hard drive took about 3 minutes for every 1.5 GB of data.

Since this is a recent purchase, it's not possible to address the reliability/service life of this drive.

This drive is powered via the USB cable, eliminating one power cord (and wall wart!) from the rear of my desk (and increasing its portability)

Some reviewers have commented on issues with the included backup software. My experience with the offerings from both WD and other vendors is that significant shortcomings in features and functionality are often part of these applications.

I simply deleted this software without installing it, and continued to use this drive with a separate back-up application (I've been using Centered System's "Second Copy" with great success for both automated and manual back-up tasks for 5 years).

One minor gripe about this device: the included data cable is *very* short (about a foot long), limiting drive placement options (I don't know if this is related to the USB 3 capability or not).

Note: I purchased the blue version (not currently offered on Amazon). I included pictures on the product page and the only the color is different; specifications, form factor and performance are identical to the black model.

This WD 1TB drive is a good value, but the backup software [SMARTWARE] should be called DUMBWARE. The software assumes that you are expected to be an idiot and they are all knowing.

The previous software, WD Anyhere Backup, is a much better product. What it doesnt do that Anywhere did:

1. Backup to drives other than WD Smartdrive;

2. Let you have duplicate file names in different folders;

3. Doesnt have the feature to purge files from the backup that are no longer on the source drive.

4. Since it ignores folders you can only backup by file type. This means that it backs up videos, for example, that you dont need or want to backup. These files may be multiple GB and eat time and space needlessly.

5. The picture catagory doesnt know that a NEF file, Nikon's raw format, is a picture.

6. There is no way to add file types to a catagory.

7. Can not be paused til idle or til resumed. This means that it kills high useage programs like Photoshop CS5. The only choice is to turn the drive off while you are using photoshop.

NTS, I uninstalled this product and use the older SMARTER Anywhere Backup. The older software was the driving item that led me to choose WD, which was a bad move. Maybe 3 stars is to kind.

It was awesome - for the week that it worked. I have a Macbook and for the week prior to the HD crapping out, it worked beautifully. The software it came with is cool and easy. The drive is a little bigger than my phone - perfect size and super portable. I only had about 200gb's on it, and i plugged it in one day, and all of the sudden my laptop wouldn't recognize it. I tried it on 3 other laptops and nothing happened. I called WD and talked to two different people - they both said the same thing. "Alot of laptops don't have enough USB power to power up a portable hard drive over 500gb's"....whats the point of having a portable drive if your lappy can't power it? Granted I only have USB 2.0 - but what's the point of being portable if my laptop can't power it?

Good thing Amazon is awesome and is giving me a full refund.'

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Cd And Dvd Polisher - cd and dvd polisher, dvd

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After a hard drive going bad scratched up several discs, I had two options...toss the old discs and buy new ones or invest in a disc repair kit. I started researching repair kits and was less than impressed with the plastic hand-held type that seemed most popular. Someone else had recommended this product, so I took a look.

Since there were no reviews at the time on Amazon, I did a more extensive look around the web for reviews of this product from Alera. I really never found any, but I was impressed with the fact that for about the same price as a competitor's hand-held unit, this one came with several different kits (cleaning, repair, etc.) and was fully automatic. So, I decided to buy it.

Wow, am I impressed! Within ten minutes of getting it home, I had it up and running and repairing a disc. Three minutes later, the damaged disc was playing again with no problems. I've repaired five discs so far and have cleaned about ten. The cleaning and repair kits are easy to use, though I'd recommend reading through ALL the instruction manual before beginning, as the simplest process (cleaning) is listed last in the manual.

This kit can repair CD, DVD and video game discs. Since the unit is fully automatic, all you do is screw in the repair wheels, add three drops of repair goop to one of the wheels, put your damaged disc in, close the lid and press the button that says "repair". Three minutes later, your disc should be fixed. Of course, this kit is not going to repair deep cracks or magically replace missing chunks of data, but for surface scratches that are causing your disc readers to come up with errors or producing glitches on your DVD player, this kit is wonderful. The cost of the item is more than made up in being able to save your collection of more expensive games, CDs or DVDs! Aleratec DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus

Wow I have over 400 CD/DVDS some were in horrible shape I figured I'd have to buy new ones But, i came to Amazon and read the good reviews for this product and I bought it. Well, it works great!!! I repaired discs that had some bad scratches in them and thought hopeless!! Before throwing those old discs out give this product a try!! I am very happy!!! karen

I have a couple of scratched DVDs that I wanted to fix. After reading the reviews here and elsewhere, I ordered the Alera DVD/CD Disc Repair Plus.

I was able to successfully repair the two damaged DVDs, but it took hours of effort due to the poorly-written instructions that have been noted by others here.

I developed my own method for repairing one stubborn scratch I had on one of my DVDs. After determining that the repair mode alone (yellow pads) would not repair the scratch after a number of passes, I used the pink pads, followed by a number of passes with the yellow repair pads.

The problem with the repair process is that it is difficult to get the exact amount of repair polish on the disk. Too little, and the scratch is not repaired, too much and the disk doesn't play right. The instructions call for three drops of repair liquid to be applied to the pads. This works if the drops are exactly the right size. I found another way to get the amount just right.

Start with two drops of repair liquid, or three very small drops. Play the DVD at the spot in the movie where it skips, and see if it is fixed. If it is not fixed, run the disk through the repair process again, putting just one drop on the yellow pad this time. Play the DVD again to see if it is fixed. Repeat this procedure, one drop at a time until the skip is fixed. You do not have to clean the yellow pads in between passes (until you are finished with the repair). Do not wash the DVD between repair passes. Washing the DVD puts you back to square one.

The repair liquid seems to be a polish that works somewhat like wax. It appears to be similar to the polish/cleaner used ceramic stovetops. It fills in the scratches and polishes over the repaired area. Running a repaired DVD or CD through the disk cleaning cycle seems to clean off the repair polish, exposing the scratches once again.

So when your disk is repaired do not wash it in the future. If it needs to have dust cleaned off, wipe it off gently with a soft cloth. If you do need to wash the disk in the future, you will probably have to run it though the repair cycle again to reapply the polish to the disk's surface.

I hope this helps. The Alera machine does work, but it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to make it work due to the inadequacy of the instructions shipped with it.

A couple of other things not covered in the instructions, the cleaning and repair pads screw counter-clockwise into the machine. The wet and dry sides are not labled on the pads themselves, but on the machine. The wet cleaning pads do not have to be filled to 80 percent capacity like it says in the instructions. That is wasteful, unless you are cleaning a lot of DVDs or CDs all at once. A 20 percent fill works just as well. You are going to lose what cleaning liquid you don't use immediately due to evaporation. - Cd - Disc - Cd And Dvd Polisher - Dvd'

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Certification - 220-701, 220-702

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First off, if you're planning to use this as a primary reference for your A+ exam...DON'T. There are errors in the material. Second, if you're one of those who is able to memorize questions and answers and recall them at will, this book won't help you at all, because the CompTIA exam questions are NOT those in this book. Having said that, if you pair it up with a Meyers or Lammle text and use it for review, it will do its job, which is to prepare you for the actual CompTIA examinations. Yes, I know, the Meyers and Lammle books have their own practice tests included on their CDROMs. If you're at all uncertain about how well you've studied, pay the extra money and buy this book, and take the practice tests it provides.

As to the actual practice tests, both those on the included CDROM and from the authors' Web site, you may find them more difficult than the actual CompTIA exams. This is a good thing, because if you are able to pass the practice tests, you're likely to score well on the CompTIA exams. An example? I squeaked out a 76% on the two Practical Applications practice tests from the book and Web site, and then after studying the suggested "weak" areas, scored 850 on the CompTIA exam.

In short, if you're not comfortable with your knowledge and abilities, pick this up and try the tests to see where you need to build yourself up. If you ARE, pick it up anyway and see if you know what you think you know. CompTIA A+ Certification Practice Exams (Exams 220-701 & 220-702) (Certification Press)

This book is great, it is almost identical to the questions i have seen on the test and i would recommend this book to anybody that is going to take there a plus exam. There is plenty of practice exams to take to further prepare your selves.... i would recommend this book to anybody

I bought this book hoping to have a good source of practice tests. However there are too many mistakes for this to be a good reference.

Examples: One question asks which motherboard form factor is designed to take advantage of Sata, usb 2.0 and PCI Express. All form factors listed have all those features but for some reason the answer states that only BTX was takes advantage of that.

Another question asks to identify one AMD and one Intel processors that has Hyper Threading. No AMD processor has Hyper Threading it is an Intel trade name.

Another asks to identify Hexa-Core cpu's. The answer states the 980x (correct) and the Phenom II X2 545. Wrong! It's a dual core.

These are just wrong answers in the first practice test! I don't feel I can even use this book after this as a question I don't know could have the wrong answer and I would not know.

CompTIA A+ Certification Practice Exams offers questions and in-depth exam answers for exams 220-701 and 220-702, packing in over 1,000 exam questions and four full MasterExams. Windows 7 is covered in this in-depth self-test, which comes from two CompTIA A+ experts and outlines objectives, keys for success, and more to accompany the CompTIA A+ Certification Study Guide, now in its seventh updated edition.

This has to be one of my favorite study books for the A+ Exam. The price is reasonable, and I feel it's a better study experience over brain dumps and other resources I've studied with. I've let 2 other people borrow this book with the main A+ book this accompanies and it helped them pass the test.

My class used this book as final preparation before taking both A+ exams. We all passed both exams. The questions in this book and CD are much tougher than the ones on the real exams. So we were well prepared. Thanks for a great book! - 220-702 - Comptia - 220-701 - A Plus'

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Water Recreation - water recreation, inflatable boats

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Obviously the designers did not build this for whitewater, but if it can hold up to that - for the price, it is outstanding. We had it loaded with camping gear, food, and three people for 4 days, and it didn't even loose air. It will sit three comfortably. 5 is a stretch unless you are VERY comfortable with each other. Weight is no issue. This boat was filled to the brim with water several times and still skidded through shallow water. A pit stop to let the water out and we were cruising again. At one point, the raft was lashed against a rock and turned into the shape of a taco by the raging waters. I was sure it would break, but it didn't!

pros:

*The oars come in 4 parts that snap and screw together. Assembly is easy. The oar locks work well and allow one person to use two oars.

*The seats are comfy. They inflate and latch into the raft.

*It comes with a patch kit, but I doubt you will need it.

*Three air chambers make it sturdy. We could pump it up in less than an hour.

cons:

*No quick release on the bottom air chamber.

*1/4 inch rope is a tad too thin. Buy some 3/8 inch if you want to secure it.

*Only two oars. Intex Excursion 5 Boat Set

Note that I haven't used the boat yet in the water, we will be using it the following weekend and I will update my review in a couple of weeks after we actually use it. But I wanted to rant and rave about the boat nevertheless since it didn't have any other reviews, so I was a bit hesitant about ordering it. DON'T BE.

This boat is excellent quality, the plastic is very thick and durable looking, and it has excellent features to it. First off, the thing is HUGE. It measures 12' by 5' approximately, and it has PLENTY of room for four adults, or like us, 2 adults and 5 little ones. The weight limit is high as well, I've seen it listed at 880 pounds but it says 1000 on the box. It has easy instructions in spite of all the bells and whistles it has. I highly suggest ordering a Coleman quick-pump to pump it up, it is well worth it and I can't imagine blowing it up with the pump they provide, this thing TAKES A LOT OF AIR. Paddles are excellent quality, unlike cheaper brands that have complaints against the paddles.

Note that there is a LITTLE plastic ruler in the package somewhere that you use to put the correct amount of air in the boat. Keep an eye out for it, we lost it initially until the I discovered the toddler had found a new toy!! LOL It works perfectly, you set it on the same ruler on the boat and blow it up until the measurements match. Little features like this that make it easy for non-boaters to figure out are really what makes this boat wonderful. It has 4 areas to put your fishing pole in, paddles can be one double or you can make them into two smaller ones and have nice, long "paddles" on the end.

All in all, the boat looks wonderful and was easy to set up with the simple directions they provide. I highly recommend it at this point, but will update after we actually use it in the water. I believe this will boat will last us a LONG time in the water with proper care, and for the price of less than 150, can you really beat it? Only thing I would add to the set would be an additional paddle set, since the boat is large and it does have two oar holders, I recommend another set.

************

Update: After using this boat on the Buffalo National River, I have to say that we REALLY liked it. It would be near impossible to flip it in calm waters, there is lots of room, the oars work wonderfully and are easy, it is tough plastic and stood up to our scraping on rocks and gravel easily with no wear, etc... What more can I say? It's everything I expected it to be after receiving it, and I am very pleased!! I was VERY happy with the fact that it would be hard for it to flip in the water as well, my hubby climbed in and out of the boat and it didn't even threaten to flip. So I highly recommend it!!

My wife and I purchased this after a lot of research and we have had no regrets. It is quite spacious (we loaded it with 3 adults and gear) and extremely durable, with no experiences of air loss despite hours on the water. We also purchased the motor mount and a Minnkota motor along with a deep cycle battery for leisurely stretches (do NOT get the battery that you can purchase in combo with this - you'll need at least a 75 amp hour rechargeable battery). We have had ours on lakes, rivers as well as to the beach. So convenient and rugged. Its great to purchase something and be so pleased with the results on all points. (Note!!! - if you take this out with a motor you WILL need to register it and display the registration on the side of the boat!!!)

I debated long and hard between getting the Excursion 5 and the Seahawk II. I wanted a boat that I could immediately take out and go rowing, but one that is durable (sometimes there are branches sticking up in the shallow river here) and comfortable. I also wanted to get a boat that I could eventually mount a motor on in the future.

After reading tons of reviews -- and going to the Intex website and other forums -- I bought the Excursion 5 because some forums said the Seahawk II doesn't have motor mount points (this is not true) and some people on here commented that the Excursion 5 is made out of the same "Super-Tough" material as the Seahawk II (this is also not true, but it's very confusing and even the Intex website doesn't make it clear. The Seahawk II is more rigid, can be inflated to higher pressure, and is more puncture-resistant because it is actually a 3-ply system including Super-Tough PVC OVER a nylon fabric layer)

As soon as the Excursion 5 arrived, I realized I had bought the wrong boat for rowing my girlfriend and I around. The boat is too wide and oars too short to really reach into the water well, and the oar locks are fixed in place -- not rotational like the Seahawk II. These two factors make the boat nearly impossible to row.

I immediately ordered the Seahawk II and have taken it out and it is great to row around in (comfy for 2 people, I don't see how you could fit 3.) I thought about what to do with the Excursion 5, and I've decided to keep it because it is a bigger boat and seems like it could be fun to take a larger group (up to 4) people out on it, once I get a motor and mount.

So I want to set the record straight if you are debating between these boats like I was:

1) The Seahawk II is more rigid and durable than any other Intex boats except the Mariner. The Excursion 5 vinyl is nice and thick, but it's still soft and I am still concerned it could rupture if I hit a branch or rock the wrong way.

2) Many of the Intex boats have motor mount setup, including the Seahawk II -- the Excursion 5 can only support up to 1.5 hp because it is not as rigid (the Seahawk II is rated up to 2 hp and Mariner up to 3 hp)

3) The Excursion 5 is a bit bigger, so if you need to fit 3 or more people, it might be the boat for you.

4) Don't expect to go rowing in the Excursion 5. Get a narrower boat, preferably with rotational/swivel oar locks. Maybe if you had 4 people paddling (with an extra set of oars) the Excursion might work okay. - Inflatable Boats - Boating - Water Recreation - Intex'

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Lab Coats - womens, labcoats

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After looking at several other labcoat's reviews, I decided to buy this one. It was exactly what I was looking for. I needed a labcoat for a tall person, and this did not disappoint. It was a tad big, but I took it in anyways. The fabric was wonderful and it was very sturdily put together. I love the three pockets as well as the slits in the sides so you can reach your own pockets. It was very easy to handle and doesn't wrinkle as much as I anticipated. Full Length Lab Coat tall, 42T, White

This lab coat was of excellent quality. The only down side was the shipping cost to Alaska was as much as the Lab coat itself. When I voiced my concern, the company refunded my shipping cost. I would definitely recommend this company to others. - Coats - White Lab Coats - Labcoats - Womens'

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Puzzler World - puzzle, word games

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-I'm a puzzle lover, so when I saw this game for sale on Amazon.com I preordered it and it arrived yesterday Friday December 11, 2009.

-The game has over 1,000 different puzzles on it which will keep you busy for a long time.

-There are two different puzzle modes which are:

Challenge mode- where you are given a large scrolling menu that contains all 560 main puzzles and the bonus puzzles which are given to you after you complete each of the puzzles

Quick play- in this you could play all of the different types of puzzles except for the bonus ones, but they give you easier puzzles and will give you a hint of what you will see in the challenge mode

- There are eight different types of main puzzles which are:

Wordsearch- my favorite and one of the reasons why I brought this game. In this they give you a list of words and you have to find them in the grid

Fitword- another one of my favorites and why i brought this game. In this they give you a list of words and you have to fit them into a grid

Sudoku- I basically just thought myself how to do this type of puzzle- You have to fit numbers into the grid.

Link-A-Pix- I have no idea how to do this type of puzzle, but I think when your done it will make a picture

Crossword- I don't like them that much, but maybe I'll try them

Silhouette- this is kind of cool. In this game they give you a grid of different shapes, and you have to fill in the ones that have a dot in them and when your finished it will make a picture.

Spot the difference- this is another one of my favorites. They give you two images of a picture and you have to spot the differences

Codeword- I have no idea how to do this type of puzzle either. I think you have to fill a grid with letters corrsponing to numbers to make words.

- The bonus puzzles consists of:

Hangman

Equate- which is a type of math puzzle

Jigsaw- you have to unscramble the pieces to make a picture.

Picture quiz- you have to look at a picture for 30 seconds and memorize all that you can and afterwards you are given three questions about it.

Chain letters- that give you six letters and you have get the correct sequence to make a word

Missing piece- a picture game where you see a picture with a missing portion and you have to pick the correct piece to complete it.

Overall I love this game and I also have other puzzle games for my Nintendo DS such as: USA's Today Puzzle Craze, Crosswords DS, Margot's Bepuzzled, and this one. Out of all the puzzle games I have on my DS I think I like this game the most.

I would recommend it for people who are puzzle lovers like me because this game gives you a lot of different puzzle types. Puzzler World

I'm a "senior" (over 65) and I bought this game because it looked like something I would enjoy, since I love doing puzzles. I was not disappointed, for the most part. In the beginning levels (I'm only at the 65th puzzle out of a total 560), some of the puzzles (especially the Bonus ones) seem a little too easy, e.g., Equate, Hangman, Anagrams, Wordsearch, but from some of the other reviews, I see the puzzles will get more difficult as I get to the higher ones. After each puzzle is complete, you get to pick a prize - which is usually 5 hint tokens, 10 hint tokens or a letter for the word PUZZLER. Once you get all 7 letters, you get 100 hint tokens as a prize. You can use these hints in increments of 5, 10 or 20, when you get stumped and need a little help. Currently, I have over 600 hint tokens accumulated, so you can see the puzzles haven't been too difficult and I haven't needed to use many!

My favorite puzzle is Link-a-Pix. It's a little confusing at first, but doesn't take too long to figure out. My daughter, son-in-law and grandkids have all taken my Nintento away from me to do this particular type of puzzle! It is everyone's favorite. One reviewer said there is no replay value once you've completed a puzzle, but that's not really true since the puzzles are timed and you can try to beat the "personal best" time for some of the ones you don't really remember after awhile.

I just wish you were able to link with another player so you can work on a puzzle at the same time to see who gets to finish quickest. However, this is not an option. You can set up three different profiles, but can't link up and work at the same time.

All in all, this is a great game!! In fact, I'm buying one right now for my daughter, so she will leave mine alone :).

Puzzler World is a MASSIVE collection of simple puzzle games. There are 560 individual puzzles of various types. When you complete one, you unlock a bonus puzzle, for a total of 1120 puzzles. The main puzzle types are:

- Wordsearch: find words hidden horizontally, vertically, or diagonally on a board full of letters. All the words are related to a particular theme, eg. dogs, marine animals, birds.

- Sudoku: self-explanatory.

- Crossword: self-explanatory.

- Fitword: the reverse of a crossword. Fit a list of words onto the crossword board.

- Spot the difference: find 10 differences between the 2 pictures. You can tap randomly on the screen until you get it right, as there's no penalty. Not much thinking involved.

- Silhouette: not really a puzzle. It's a paint-by-dots coloring book. Just fill in the shapes with a dot to complete the picture.

- Codewords: using a crossword board, but filled with numbers 1-26. Each number corresponds to a scrambled letter and you have to figure out the cipher. 3 numbers are filled out for you as hints. I find this very hard.

- Link-A-Pix: Probably the most confusing and ill-conceived of the game types. You get a huge board scattered with differently colored numbers (like Minesweeper). You're supposed to connect the same colored number with each other using that many squares. Example, if you see a red 4, it means to link it to another red 4 using 4 squares. The numbers go up to 14. The lines can snake around and bend to achieve the required number of squares. When you've connected all the numbers properly, you're supposed to have drawn some sort of picture. You can think of it like a knitting pattern. This game type is somewhat difficult, but only mildly interesting, as the resulting picture is doesn't really look like much, just a mess of big pixels.

When you complete any of these, you get to choose 1 of 3 gift boxes. They contain either 5 coins, 10 coins (used to buy hints), or a letter. Spell out "PUZZLER" for a 100 coin bonus. Then you can play a bonus game:

- Missing Puzzle Piece (timed): Choose the missing piece from the 6 jigsaw pieces presented.

- Equate (timed): Fill in math symbols to make the sum shown. eg: 1 [+] 2 [/] 3 = 001.

- Chain Letters (timed): Solve the anagram by stringing together the scrambled tiles.

- Picture Quiz (tied to the Spot the Difference game): look at the picture for 30 seconds and answer 3 trivia questions.

- Jigsaw (timed, tied to the Silhouette game): rearrange 9 tiles to form the original picture.

At higher levels, the puzzles get harder. For example, at lower lowers, the sudoku squares are only 6x6. At higher levels, they go up to 9x9.

In Quick Play mode, you get unlimited hints, which removes any challenge the game offers. Of course, you don't have to use hints, but there's no penalty, so you can cheat if you want to.

One major complaint: The DS buttons are all turned off. The DS's screen is already small, and interface buttons take up 1/4 of the screen on some games, competing with the gameboard for space. They really don't need to be that big, or even shown at all if the developers had left the DS's direction pad enabled. Up and Down are buttons on the touchscreen, but they could've saved space by letting you use the game pad to scroll lists, instead of having to use the stylus. There's no quick way to quit or reset a game. You have to push Start button then select one of the options. It would'be been better to let you push B, or X, two buttons commonly used in games for canceling.

The game can be set for lefties and righties. The handwriting recognition is a bit spotty, and requires CAPITAL letters for best results. For example, "e" and "y" results in "O" or "J", becoming a big problem if you're playing hangman, though you can train the game to recognize your particular writing style.

To sum up, this game is a good way to kill time for puzzle freaks, especially fans of the printed puzzle books. The large number of puzzles will certainly keep you occupied for a very very long time, though the quality of the games is of inconsistent difficulty and replay value is low. The puzzles and bonus games never change. Once you've completed each individual puzzle, there's no reason to play it again. The questions and answers will always be the same every time you play that puzzle. - Nintendo Ds Games - Word Games - Puzzle - Nintendo Ds'

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Dry Erase

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These are the only dry erase pens that I have found that can be left on a board for several days, or weeks, and still wipe cleanly off. Other pens leave nasty smears. It usually isn't the board, but the markers. Expo Low Odor Dry Erase Pen-Style Markers, 8 Colored Markers (86601)

I use dry-erase boards often and have been very unhappy with most pens. I have no idea why they even make those pale yellow and light pink markers and such. If you can't see the writing, they're worthless. These are very visible. Making packs of the bold colors is a GREAT idea. I've bought them before and these are great. Expo pens seem to last forever, too. This is a great product, and I'll buy it again.

My kids are now 5 and 2.5 years old, but I have used these Expo dry erase markers since they were 1 year old.

For kids you want to use the thin ones so their small hands can grip them. The other bigger kind it too bulky for them.

I teach them drawing and letter and number writing on white boards and books made for dry erase markers. I also highly recommend the use of white boards with the full and dotted lines that guide children writing. I also use regular pencils, but I and they love the dry erase markers where they can easily erase and retry.

I wish Expo and the other dry erase manufacturers would come up with an invention to remind kids to put back the cap on the marker after each use!'

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Casual Watch - watches, casual watch

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Simply gorgeous watch, both elegant and understated. Very exact too: it gains about four seconds per day, which is quite good for a non-regulated, non-COSC certified watch. Looks and performs better than many much more expensive automatic watches. Raymond Weil Men's 2843-STC-00808 Parsifal Automatic Power Reserve Beige Dial Watch

I bought this watch december of 2010, i got it about a week when i ordered it.

when i see this watch first time i thought look little small but now i look at it,

pretty awsome watch, worth a penny on this watch, thank you raymond weil for quality watch.

I just purchased this watch for my wife for Christmas. She had already had purchased a watch on her own. This is a gorgeous watch, Automatic with a real Alligator Band.

I would have loved this watch for her but now have to resell it. Box, papers and Warranty, included. Brand NEW - Watches - Elegant - Casual Watch'

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Power Tool Accessories - 18v battery, flashlight

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The new flat bottom type batteries that power these tools, make this a very handy light, I can set it down, (hands free) aim it with the swivel, and it'll shine anywhere I need it to. A nice change from the stick type battery, from my old cordless drill, light combo. Milwaukee 49-24-0165 18-Volt Pivoting Head Work Light with Clip-Lok Belt Hook, No Battery

I used this light in a crawel space where there is no space to hang a light so the ability to stand upright and pivot was essential. Worked great which is what I have come to expect from a Milwaukee tool. Just wish I had bought it sooner for other jobs around the house.

I had a Porter Cable 19.2 volt drill with a light but evetually my batteries went bad so I bought a Milwaukee 18 volt hammer drill/saw combo. I missed having the flashlight so I bought the Milwaukee light to go with my batteries. I like this light even better than the Porter Cable becuse the on/off switch is so much easier to use especially with gloves on. I highly recommend the light to anyone who had Milwaukee cordless tools because it is well built and very bright. The battery provides a stable base for it to sit on and the pivoting head makes it easy to shine the light where you need it. It is another great tool from Milwaukee.

This light works good, but I was a little dissappointed in the "belt-clip" that was supposed to "conveniently hook" to my belt. The one I received won't clip to anything, and near as I can figure, you need another part of the "system" to attach to your belt for it to work. Now I'll have to find that part or else jury-rig something...

i've had the flashlight for a little while now and it doesn't disappoint at all.regular f lights just don't do it for me,if you have milwaukee tools with batteries then do yourself a favor and spend the 30 bucks and you will have a great flaslight.run time is better than the dewalt i used to have and it ran for about 3 hrs. before recharging.order one today.

I am an electrician and mine stays on for an hour or two at a time. It has also been dropped a few times more that a flashlight should be dropped. It has stood up pretty well. Lasts a couple hours on a fresh battery.

I purchased this light to use the 18V rechargeable battery packs for my Milwaukee drill. I used it extensively when rewiring an older home--often in dark places where it was my only source of light. It is an excellent product--sturdily built, stable when placed on an object and tilted to aim the light, bright light output. Highly recommended.

The only real problem with this light is caused by bulb failure, then when you go to buy one you find out that the price range is from 4 dollars to 7 dollars a bulb if you can find them. I would recommend that something be done to beef these types of bulbs up and that customer know that this is what they are going to run into when they buy this type of light . - 18v Light - Flashlight - Cordless Tools - 18v Battery'

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Educational Toys - geometric, educational toys

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I first saw this toy online, and thought it was a must have for our daughter since she's really getting into puzzles and stacking and things of that sort.

The idea is wonderful - three stackers in one, with varying levels of difficulty. The first two are quite simple, and the third requires a bit more skill and mental energy to piece back together correctly.

So, we bought this for our daughter's first birthday, and it was a hit! Even her noise-making over-stimulating toys were forgotten when she opened this one.

Why only three stars? Well, a couple of things:

First the paint stuck together between the pieces - most significantly on the more difficult stack of the three, and it was quite hard to seperate the pieces. When we finally did seperate them, much of the paint was removed and transfered to the other pieces, and more of the paint chipped off soon after with very little play. Even non-toxic paint I'd prefer she didn't swallow in these quantities. I would have thought this was exclusive to our toy, but a few other reviewers said the same thing.

Second - odd as it may sound - the three prongs sticking up worried me a bit in terms of her falling on them. Since the base is broad, it doesn't overturn as easily as the single stacker. Since she is learning to walk, she does tumble over a good bit. Maybe a needless concern, but worth mentioning.

Ultimately we returned this to the toy store and replaced it with the simple rainbow stacker. I think she's gotten an equal amount of play out of it - and it doesn't seem to carry the problems and hazards of the geometric one.

This one simply needs improvement in construction (let the paint dry before assembling the toy!) and safety (maybe seperate the three parts rather than putting them all on the same base)before I would think of purchasing it again. Melissa & Doug Geometric Stacker

This is a well made toy but my problem with it is that the holes are small enough to get a little finger stuck inside of them. We had to take our 3 year old to the hospital to have one of the disks removed from his finger- he put it on like a ring. Be prepared to go to the ER- unless you want to risk cutting it off yourself!

This is quite a step up from the basic ring stacker that so many toddlers are fond of! I like the fact that the child can stack the pieces in various orders. They are not confined to ordering the pieces by size. This product should provide months, if not years, of experimenting and learning for my 2-year-old. Valuable for teaching early math concepts.

My only complaint is that close supervision is an absolute must with this toy. The long wooden poles pose a threat in my mind. Falling onto this toy, or waving the base around could result in injury. I will only allow my child to play with this toy in a seated position and only with me close by.

All in all, this is a very educational manipulative with plenty of play potential. Great for learning basic colors, too!

I am highly recommending this toy because the little pieces don't have to go on the pole in a set order. The pole is a dowel and the holes in the rings are all the same size thus the child can get them all on at a much earlier age - doesn't need to understand biggest ring first. Secondly, it's size allows it to fit in a carry-bag for a toy on the run; I used it as entertainment in restaurants easily. Thirdly, I am still using it because now we are into learning colors. It was well worth the investment.

Within one day, one of the sticks was broken from the surface of the tray. My 19 months old daughter is a very gentle toy user, hardly breaks anything, so I was so shocked to see it. When I saw the center of the stick, I realized its inside is NOT A SOLID WOOD: some kind of unknown materials look like woods, which also started to make me be worried about other M&D's toys we have. I was disappointed since I am usually satisfied with this manufacturer. I also liked the idea of this toy, however, before the satisfaction of its educational value or enjoyable level for children, I as a parent wanted to have more durable material which won't be broken so easily! Therefore my rating is only one star for its toy's idea. I won't recommend this toy to children who is older than 19 months or very active toy users.

CBC News excerpt regarding this product quoted below:

"The federal agency (Health Canada) issued the barium-related recalls for the seven children's toys between August and October...In August, (recall) notices were issued ...A stacking toy set called "Geometric Stacker" by Melissa and Doug (item 094730, UPC 000772005678, batch ZP1207)."

To begin playing, take the blocks off the poles. At first I was worried she would fall over and hurt herself on these exposed poles. Next, the poles fell off, which then exposes this clear glue which my child wants to chew on.

Just like the sorting cube I bought with this, the colored paint chips off. The square is 2 shapes which fit to be a square. Seems like a good advanced concept, but mostly concerned of the sharp edges. So those were put away.

I should have bought one of the plastic versions of this. The paint would not have chipped off. And maybe the poles would have been attached to the base rather than adhered with toxic glue.

Maybe it's non-toxic but after a half hour of our toddler playing with this - although he enjoyed it - his hands were red and there were red stains on his t-shirt. So its in the garbage now. Is it non-toxic I don't know, though if toy makers used toxic paints for years and lied about them, there's little reason to believe a label that boldly says non-toxic. How many pieces of clothing out there with Gucci labels are not made by Gucci?

I bought this for my 18 month old daughter who loves her plastic fisher-price ring stacker. She loves this one more. She will play with this toy for an hour and she has already learned how to reverse the order of the pieces and moves them from post to post. - Puzzles - Shapes - Geometric - Educational Toys'

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