Sunday, 21 February 2010

Pneumatic Stapler - stapler, upholstery


I purchased this Surebonder 9600 stapler to use for completing an exterior remodeling job involving a lot of aluminum trim. I considered electric staplers but I needed the ability to finely regulate the striking force to make sure that the staples didn't shoot all the way through the aluminnum as well as that they didn't end up getting only partially sunk. Electric staplers don't provide very good regulation compared to an pneumatic/air tools. This stapler worked great. Worth every penney of its ridiculously cheap price. As far as I know Surebonder is the only company making an air powered stapler that is compatible with standard Arrow T50 fine wire staples. I highly recommend this product. Surebonder 9600 Pneumatic Narrow Crown Stapler with Carrying Case

So far I am happy with my 9600. It works great on many surfaces. But do not buy the staples with it. The ones Amazon advertised to go with the 9600 are surebonder 300-38-5m 3/8-inch 22 gauge upholstry staples. They DO NOT FIT. Amazon change your ad!!!! F.Y.I. go to a home improvement store and by the Arrow T-50 staples. They FIT and work great and are available in multiple lengths as well as light duty to heavy duty, Arrow also makes a rustproof staple!

Got this redo the seats on my jetskis. Works great. No more pushing like crazy to compensate for the kickback on electric staplers. I redid one seat w/ an electric and had probably 10% bad inserts. The seat base is pretty thick plastic and the staples loved to turn if you didn't give it major push when firing, but even then sometimes wouldn't go. No worries with this guy. Did a big seat and didn't have a single bad insert. Just hold this in place and let it rip, no upper body workout required. I've probably shot about 700 staples and it hasn't jammed yet or let a staple turn strange (except when I had bad angle, basically my fault). I'd definitely buy this again.

Surebonder 9600 Pneumatic Fine Wire Staple Gun with Carrying Case

Picked this up for 28.60 shipped. I loaded standard, easy to find, Arrow T-50 narrow crown staples in and set my compressor to 100 psi (max it's rated for) since that is what my roofing gun likes to run at. This way I can run both guns off one tank setting on the roof. I sent two drops of pneumatic gun oil down the inlet. I also added a ball swivel connector (Lowes or Amazon) so that the hose flops around more freely off the gun. I then ran 200 staples through it into very old and hard fir and some super old oak at an unrealistic pace (fast as I and it could go) and it only fired a blank twice. What a great little machine. I need to restretch Harley seat leather on a plastic pan so I tested it on an old plastic pan with perfect results.



I'll add to this review for durability ratings after I've done an entire house roof with felt and batt insulation later this year, but with it's compact and sturdy construction I think it'll be fine for those applications. I have a lot of expensive quality tools, and this inexpensive little gun is going to probably turn into one of my favorites because it'll remind me that now and then you don't have to break the bank to get something that works the way it should. Great buy.



UPDATE: ONE YEAR AND ONE HOUSE LATER. This tool has never let me down and has been used extensively. It spent a lot of time on the roof getting tossed around. Insulation is a breeze - a standard hammer tacker is just too brute force around insulation. Bunch of other little projects. Tough little guy. It has jammed only once in thousands of staples and it was due to the air pressure being much too low, not the gun. If you shoot a blank, its about 99.9% certain you didn't have the little tongue depressed all the way.



Only one problem - this thing shoots staples so quickly and easily that you tend to blast through more staples than you need to.



UPDATE 21Mar2010: Still banging staples, and a pleasure to hook up to the hose. What a great little gun. Did that Harley seat modification and it worked fine sinking staples in the plastic seat pan. Have had three 'all-stop' jams in not less than 20,000 staples. One was the previously mentioned low air pressure. The others give the same result (a little piece of staple stuck on the firing pin). It is very obvious but it takes a little operation to pick that little wedged piece out of there. A non-issue really as the jams were simple to clear and who knows why the staples exploded... did they hit a nail, or was that particular staple a reject? I'll take one of those jams every now and then for a roughly thirty dollar gun, and 20k staples.

I am a DIYer and using this stapler to install insulation in the basement ceiling. The stapler is light and compact, and has worked perfectly well for me, no misfires. I have Milwaukee and Senco nailers, both high quality, and this stapler has so far worked as well as either of those, for a fraction of the price. The company has also re-worked their instruction manual so that it is now written in comprehensible English. The Arrow T50 staples I used worked just fine. Perhaps the only down side to this stapler is the capacity. It is so easy to use that I have fired more staples than the job might require, towards ensuring the insulation stays where I installed it. While Surebonder has a similar gun with greater staple capacity, at a slightly higher price, I am happy with mine despite having to replenish staples more frequently.



Update 11/24/08:

After approx 3,000 staples, the unit crapped out. I was 97% complete with a project stapling insulation to the basement ceiling and the unit seized and would no longer staple. Fortunately I had the old reliable Arrow stainless steel manual stapler to finish the 100 or so staples that completed my project. The Surebonder was great while it lasted, making my job so much easier, but 8 days and 3,000 staples later, I have an ungainly paperweight rather than a pneumatic stapler.



After advising Amazon of my plight and being told by them to go away, and contact the manufacturer, I had little choice but to do just that. I contacted the manufacturer to advise of my problem, and to my delight, they responded right away with an offer to repair the stapler. I was surprised at Amazon, but the manufacturer made up for it with their handling of the situation. Kudos to them. - Stapler - Pneumatic - Power Tools - Upholstery'


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Bonnie Jean


This dress is THE perfect party dress for your little one. My daughter couldn't have looked cuter with her white socks and black mary janes. The colors were exactly like the picture. And I like that I can take the "birthday girl" balloons off of the dress and use it as her party dress for the summer. Love, Love, Love this dress! Bonnie Jean Girls 2-6X Multi Dot Birthday Dress, White, 3T

My daughter loves polka dots! And this dress has it in the best way! Lots of color, great quality, lined with somefrufru tule on the bottom!

Bellow the bow, there's an embroidery with "birthday girl", which was perfect for me cause i bpught it for her to wear on her bday party. I believe it'sremovable...

I will buy more dresses of this brand.'


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College Banners


Great graphics and looks amazing on the wall,... however the stickiness of it lets it fall off of textured walls. Fell off my wall onto the ground one day while i was gone.. just glued it on there now... too bad another company doesn't make giant stickers like these... Fathead TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HELMET

I love this fathead. It's huge on the wall but is a must for a NFL fan. What a nice addition to the Mancave! I highly recommend this product. You won't be disappointed with its quality and appeal. WOW!'


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Image Stabilization - canon lenses, image stabilizer


I was determined to love this lens based on the specs and price point alone. Canon really needed to come out with this lens at this price because Nikon offers a very decent Vibration Reduction lens at roughly the same range for the same price, leaving me to make apologies for Canon and their neglect to all my Nikon friends.



The IS can be switched off to save battery life but I haven't noticed a difference in battery performance with it. The IS is only activiated when you press the shutter halfway for auto focus. Although it FEELS like there is a small lag for the IS to start, I don't think I've had any photos messed up because of it.



You can HEAR the IS. A little bizarre after using point and shoots that have IS that is silent, but it doesn't seem to affect performance



Pro: Great price for an image stabilized zoom lens. I paid 299 and am very pleased even though Amazon is selling it for 280 a week later. ALso arrive 2 months sooner than Amazon initially promised. This lens has NEVER been 400 dollars. Its MSRP from Canon prior to release was 299.00. Shame Amazon!



Pro: Images are very sharp.



Pro: Image stabilization does a VERY nice job. Four stops as advertised by Canon? I'm not so sure. GREATLY enhancing the composition experience at 250mm? Absolutely.



Pro: Much smaller and lighter than the 70-300 of any manufacturer and much sharper than my Sigma 70-300.



Con: Cheapish feel. But just use it, quit feeling it already. Plastic mount. But if you NEED a metal mount, may I suggest you are being a little rough with your camera. *UPDATE* The plastic flanges on back were able to hold the camera securely to the lens, but NOT hold the rear cap securely to the lens. I've tried many different rear lens caps that fit snugly on other lenses. So I think this is beyond cheap feel and has to be called CHEAP BUILD.



Con: This lens is a little (ok, maybe not so little) slow to focus in dim light, sometimes it misses altogether when I think other lenses of mine would have had no difficulty.



Con: I never gave Inner Focusing much thought on my other lenses until I used this. The front of this lens rotates AND moves in and out a LOT while focusing, so much so that you MAY even want to recompose your shot. The length of this lens changes almost an inch across the focus range. I just checked my Sigma 70-300 and found that it does also, but I've never seen it make as much difference in the viewfinder as I have with this Canon. Your perception may vary.



This lens and the soon to be arriving 18-55 IS as the XSi kit lens will allow me to carry one less lens to achieve an 18-250 IS range. For a little more money than the cost of both lenses you can get the Tamrom 18-250 but not have Image Stabilization. And now Sigma has an 18-200 WITH Optical Stablization for about what these 2 lenses cost retail, but in testing the 2 Canons produced better images.



Conclusion: A great EF-S lens for Canon users. (even if Nikon had to force Canon to make it for us.) Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

I have a 18mm-55mm lens, and was in search for a telephoto, I read so many reviews that were so complex I didn't know what I was reading. I bought the 55mm-250mm lens and now understand some of the reviews.



To break it down in simply terms:



55mm (the lowest setting on the 55mm-250mm) you can not stand right on top of a subject, the lens makes you too close everything won't fit in the frame. That is Not what the lens is for & might be were some of the bad reviews come from. (Buy the 18-55mm for those close up shots)



It takes time for the auto focus, it still Fast but not as fast as my 18mm-55mm. Still your not going to miss taking a picture of a bird sitting in a tree far away. But at baseball game of a kid catching a 50mph ball I missed some shots (why I gave 4 stars). Not the lens fault more mine I should have used manual focus!!



On auto focus, after all it has a LOT of setting to go through 55 to 250mm settings. No duh the 18-55mm auto focus faster. Think of it as a deck of cards, you (and auto focus) can flip through 18-55 cards faster then a deck of 55-250 cards. Some of the reviews complain about the auto focus, it does work of course just not as fast as smaller lens.



No matter what if you are in the back row and your son on the stage at a school play, your picture will be Prefect and it will look like you were in the front row.



That is what this lens is for, where you can take time to set it up, adjust and take time to snap a picture. At a baseball game you need to use Manual focus, (you can turn the ring faster then auto) and you can get great pics, auto might let you down during fast action but not with still pictures!!



I suggest getting 18mm-55mm for everyday use, for those great up close, fast action, birthday shots; I Love that lens. Then get the 55mm-250mm for those far away school plays, scenery vacation, and birds sitting in a far away tree the lens is prefect for those kinds of pictures.

This is the first lens that I've purchased and kept outside my kit lens (18-55). I mentioned kept because believe it or not, I bought the 70-200 F4L non-IS. I won't be giving any technical review about this lens as that is pretty much covered by the other reviewers here. I'll just share my story to help out other beginners who are having a hard time as well contemplating on what lens to get to complement their kit lens.



At first, I definitely wanted to buy a telephoto lens so I can shoot objects from a distance and I really like to try the lens out in a zoo. I then narrowed my choices between EF 70-300 IS USM and 70-200 F4L non-IS (didn't want 55-250 then because I didn't like the plastic mount). Since the latter would end up costing almost the same or even less (comes with hood and pouch plus the free filter amazon offers), I went for it without even thinking. Before the package arrived, I already had second thoughts and tried to cancel the item. Since I tried out the amazon prime 2 day shipping, the package came really fast so I wasn't able to cancel but returned it as soon as I got it.



So why did I return the 70-200 F4L and settled for an EF-S 55-250?



- I don't get paid taking pictures, it's just a hobby.



- No one will really sit down and scrutinize the pictures I take. All Canon lenses take great shots compared to other brands. It's not like I'm posting the pictures I take in the net for public view.



- The beige color of the L lens is somewhat too loud for me. I don't want people to think I have that much cash or evern comment that I only have an XS body.



- No IS, I realized that I really need IS because I don't have any plans of getting a tripod soon and my hands are really shaky.



- Cost!



- Weight.



- Performance of 55-250 that I was able to research over the net. Of course it's nothing comapred to the L lens, no doubt about that. But if the pictures are viewed alone, without comparing to L lens, they are great.



- Max range is only at 200, I get an extra 50mm with 55-250.



- Missing the 56-69 mm.



Ok, the last 2 are just for my piece of mind because I opted with 55-250 but they don't really matter if you have the L lens. If you do become a pro in the future, you'd definitely get something better than the 70-200 F4L.



Bottom line, this lens is no where in the league of L lenses. As one of the reviewers mentioned, it does the job. For value of money, I really love this lens. About the plastic mount, I realized that I wouldn't be using my camera that hard anyway. Plus, it'll be lighter.



I'm going to steal one of the reviews I read, it basically says that if you like the performance of your kit lens (18-55), you'll defintely like this as well. I totally agree, fast AF, sharp pictures, longer range version of 18-55.



Note that this is NOT a comparison between L lens and 55-250, or even 70-300. Just a decision experience that I wanted to share with a number of beginners out there. - Canon Lenses - Image Stabilization - Digital Rebel - Image Stabilizer'


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Ipad Stand - ipad stand


Really 3 1/2 stars, but rounded up because my particular use is probably not what it was designed for.



Holds the ipad securely, wide enough base that it doesn't feel tippy. Speaker quality is better than ipad native, but not anything to get particularly excited about. External volume is nice.



Oddly enough the speakers point backward (away from you as you look at the device). Since I use this mostly when I'm in the kitchen (for recipes and music and to keep the ipad up off the counter) and I use it on the kitchen counter/bar, this means that to have it as loud as I want it, I have to turn it up enough to annoy the person in the next room. Partly solved by putting a solid cardboard box behind it for the sound to reflect off of, but that's pretty kludgey for something that costs nearly $100. PadDock 10 Stand for iPad with Speaker Charge and Sync Rotate

This PadDock 10 Stand for IPad W/ Speaker,charge and Sync rotate stand is just what I was looking for for my office. This will let me listan to music, watch movies and get on the internet. This PadDock 10 Stand does exactly what it says and more. I am very pleased with this stand and I highly reccommend this stand for anyone that has an IPad.

The PadDock 10 stand is a very efficient tool for listening to music on my iPad. The sound is good from the speaker. I also use it in the kitchen when retrieving a recipe and then cooking. It rotates for an easy read, keeps it off the counter, and charges it while I'm using it! I am very satisfied with the Paddock 10 and would highly recommend it!

At first I was excited to find that there was an IPod docking station with speakers that moved to a horizontal position. I ordered it immediately because it was the only one. I was VERY disappointed to find that it did not come with a wall plug, only a usb port plug. If I wanted to connect it to my computer I would! That is ridiculous. The speakers are horrible, static and no depth at all. The speakers face to the rear. Really? The dock frame does not angle up/down, so it has to be directly on a plane with your view. Wait until JBL comes out with one! - Ipad Stand'


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Hitachi Brad Nailer


This is one of the best tools I have ever had. Operates flawlessly every time. I use Bostich nails/brads because they are easier to find (all sizes up to 2") and the nailer works perfectly. The "height" adjustment is easy. The "jam release" mechanism is great - but the tool has never jammed. Excellent Product! James Willard Hitachi NT50AE2 18-Gauge 5/8-Inch to 2-Inch Brad Nailer

This is by far the best brad nailer I have ever used in my 20 years as a trim carpenter. It is very light weight ,powerfull, and looks great too! Hitachi has always been a pro-quality grade tool and this brad nailer is a great addition to there collection of pro-quality tools.

The one thing that swayed me to this model was definitely a key advantage. With this nailer, the safety slide peg is mounted behind the nail channel, which means you can get nails into tighter spots with this model than you can with others. The Bostich and others have the slide out in front of the nail channel which means the brad comes out about a quarter inch back from the forward-most part of the tool tip. With this Hitachi the brad comes out at the very front, which is very nice when putting nails in tight corners.



This tool is so handy and does such a nice job, I wonder what would ever make me buy a finish nailer. I'm pretty sure this brad nailer would do those jobs for me too.



Three minor disadvantages drop this to a 4-star rating (reallly 4.5), but it's not because I think there's a better one out there, it's just that there's room for improvement.



1. It's not oil-free. Not a big deal but it would be nicer to not have to bother with oil.

2. The lightest (shallowest) nail depth setting is still a little too powerful. With short brads in soft material many were penetrating too deep. It would be nice to be able to go a little shallower by a step or two.

3. The case is compact and handy, but there's no extra space in there to put nails or oil. Luckily they molded a spot for safety glasses (included) which I have emptied out to store my oil and a few brads there instead. I always have safety glasses with me anyway so that space is better used for nailer-specific items. There is extra volume inside there but its molded over in plastic so you can't use it. Again, nobody else seems to do a better job of this, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be improved.



In summary, a great tool. I can't believe I lived so long without it. A brad nailer makes many jobs much easier, allowing me to do things I couldn't do before with just two hands.

The price was more than right. This is an excellent deal. I used Milwaukee brads for it, and no jams so far. It would be nice if it had a better tip on it though. Comparing price and value with other brands, I would buy this one again. Up until 6 months ago I never knew Hitachi made good tools. Hitachi is my preferred brand for pneumatic right now. The only guns I probably wouldnt buy are their framing nailers, only because the PC is so much cheaper and does the job so well. Buy this gun, you can't go wrong. Along with the tip, the thing that really puzzles me is, I can go buy a $20 no name gun kit, and IT INCLUDES OIL IN THE CASE! (not to mention a couple thousand nails) Here I buy a Hitachi, and not a drop. How about including a small bottle of oil guys? The fifty cents it would cost the company would be well worth it to build greater brand loyalty.

I got this brad nailer as a back up to my Stanley Bostitch nailer and it feels more balanced than my Bostitch.



As others have mentioned, the the gun ships in a case without oil! I don't really mind it at all because I have lots of oil lyring around. But for those who are just starting out with pneumatic nailer, you should get some oil before you start firing nails with it.



I like that fact that it has the sequential trip and the bump fire built into the gun at the flip of the switch, a feature that my Bostitch does not have. It sinks nails well and countersinks it to the right depth once adjusted properly. I use combination of Porter Cable as well as Bostitch brand brads and not had a jam or misfire yet. I have test fired it very rapidly (3-4 brads per second) in sequential fire and bump fire mode and also not jammed.



I would have given it 5 stars if not for 2 small things which I found can be improved. The depth of drive adjustment wheel is easier to turn. It's located between the magazine and the nose. Not the easiest to turn if your fingers are not dexterous. My Bostitch had the adjustment wheel located in front of the nose. Secondly, the exhaust swivels 360 with some detents. But I think the exhaust can be improved because it 's only a cheap piece of plastic held in place by a ring groove. Not very easy to adjust the exhaust unlike the bostitch which has the exhaust adjustment incoporated into the top cap.



But overall, it's a well built gun and will buy it again and will recomend to friends if the sale comes around once again. Much better than some POS that is made in cheap china factory with no QC.

I had used a Bostich brad nailer of the same configuration and I found the Hitachi to have a better feel to it; it is lighter and packs a nice punch. There is one feature the Bostich has that I wish the Hitachi had and that is the oiling; the Bostich does not require oiling while the Hitachi does; no big deal, it is just not convenient and easy to feorget.

Pro: Excellent feel and worked flawlessly during two weeks of remodeling. Great on baseboards, moldings, cabinets, etc.. This is the perfect nailer for working around the house. Got this from Amazon for less than $60 with no tax and free shipping. $90 + tax at Lowe's.



Con: The no-mar tip could be better because it made very small dents. No oil included. A bit loud.



Still 5 stars because it's a wonderful tool compared to other nailers I used before.'


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Survival Horror - ebook, kindle devices


Kids... I hope you brought your notebooks, because the story of how I met your mother is a lot longer than you might think...



You get the feeling with each passing season that Ted Mosby's "story" is not so much about how he met his wife, but a cleverly disguised series of lessons for his adolescent kids as they enter young adulthood. That's not to say his quest for "the one" is actually just a footnote in the story, though. Many of the things Ted learned along the way were directly connected to his search for the elusive Mrs. Mosby. It just so happens that after five seasons, information has leaked regarding the wife's identity, but we've still yet to "meet" her. I know CBS has a good thing going with this show, but I'm wondering how much longer the writers can stall this inevitable meeting without the story becoming completely absurd.



**Possible Spoilers in Next Section**

For HIMYM fans who are drawn in by Ted Mosby's journey to find his soul mate, Season 5 may come as a mild disappointment. The 100th episode was monumental, not just for the show itself, but for fans thirsting for details on the future Mrs. Mosby. However, outside of that episode there was very little advancement made in the whole "meeting your mother" facet of the show. Now for fans who might be more indifferent to the sentimentality of the show, or just have no problem with the stall for the sake of prolonging the series, this is a fantastic season. S5 more than any was centered around Barney Stinson, whose story ranged from serious relationships to sexual escapades more unique and insane than ever before, "The Playbook" (ep.8) and "The Perfect Week" (ep.14) in particular. As simple as it seems, my favorite single moment of the entire series came in the first episode of this season when Ted is teaching his first college class and is panicking because he doesn't know if "professor" has one "f" or two.

The first seven episodes focused mainly on the evolving relationship between Barney and Robin, a real leap of faith taken by the writers given the fact that Barney's "womanizer" status had always been a major theme of the show. Daring as it was, it didn't disrupt the flow of the show and the aftermath made for some hilarious episodes and epic moments.

** ** **



High Points of the Season:

- Barney Stinson's song & dance number in "Girls Versus Suits" (ep.12) (also the 100th episode)

- "The Window" (ep.10) - We all know that one person who is never single

- New York Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher's guest appearance in "The Perfect Week"

- Ted's literal "double" date in "Double Date" (ep.2) displays some of his most endearing... and annoying mannerisms

- "Last Cigarette Ever" (ep.11) for its realistic portrayal of the difficulty in quitting

- Ted makes an impulse purchase in "Home Wreckers" (ep.20)

- We get a full dose of Ted's intellectual side in "Robots Versus Wrestlers" (ep.22)

- The introduction of the doppelgangers and the impact it has over the course of the season

- The yellow umbrella (we assume) makes its way back to its rightful owner in the 100th episode

- The fourth slap in "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap" (ep.9)

- Robin's path to U.S. citizenship in "Duel Citizenship" (ep.5)



One of the things I like most about the show is their tendency to bring past themes back to the present. For example, the famous "naked man" routine makes a surprise appearance in Season 5. There are still consistent references to Ted's ex-fiance Stella and even her beau, Tony, makes an unexpected contribution to one episode. Lily can't seem to shake her old flame, Scooter, and Ted unveils the blue french horn one more time.



I honestly don't think the show is declining at all. The amazing thing is that I thought the writers would have trouble coming up with stories for Marshall and Lily once they got married, yet they're still coming up with great ideas for the couple. The originality is bewildering for having written 112 episodes. How I Met Your Mother is still one my favorite shows and I'm looking forward to the 6th season.

* I will update on Special Features, etc. when I buy the DVD set.



Season Grade: A- How I Met Your Mother Season 5

I purchased this item as a present for my sister. The third disc was all scratched and wouldn't play without skipping. Luckily when we discovered this it was still within the return period. I returned the item and got a replacement from Amazon the next business day. All the discs work perfectly fine in the replacement.



About the season: Season 5 is a great one! Enjoy!

As Friends began fading from public consciousness, it left an undeniable hole in the primetime television lineup where the "group of young professionals in a big city" sitcom sits. It's a tradition that stretches back to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but it wasn't until friends that the genre commanded such fan loyalty that it was a throne worth holding. And, wouldn't you know it, CBS, the current king of television, managed to find the perfect show to fill Friends's shoes. How I Met Your Mother follows a group of five friends in varying degrees of romantic involvement: a married couple, a man searching for his soulmate, a womanizer, and a single woman convinced she doesn't want anything long-term. It's not rocket science, but the consistently funny writing, the unending in-jokes, and great performances by Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and Cobie Smulders make it one of the best plot-driven sitcoms running today.



After four seasons, with the fourth devoted almost entirely to a decoy relationship for Ted (Josh Radnor), the man ever in the process of meeting the titular mother, audiences were getting a little burnt out with the idea that the mother might be an eternally distant goal towards which the writers would head without ever getting there. And so, with the fifth season, they made it quite clear that the eventual meeting of Ted and the kids' mother was just over the horizon, even going so far as to giving us a tantalizing glimpse of her (even if it was just her ankle). We now know Ted and the mother are inhabiting the same social circle. Yet, do we care anymore? Ted has become an increasingly annoying character whom the audience tolerates because he's part of the package deal of Marshall (Segel), Lily (Alison Hannigan), Barney (Harris), and Robin (Smulders). He's rarely funny and at his best reminds us of every obnoxious friend we've ever had who obsesses over the girl who got away while never adjusting their personality to be less the schmuck that drove the girl away in the first place. We see glimpses of a decent character in Ted, but most of the time he's just unbearable.



So why watch? When the lead character whose quest is the very name of the show, how does How I Met Your Mother keep the audience hooked? Through the other four friends. The entertaining foursome has a collection of plot points that don't just entertain but warrant some level of emotional connection. Starting with the final resolution(?) of Robin and Barney's will they-won't they drama which began mid-season 2 but started going full-steam in season 4 and culminating in Marshall and Lily taking the next big step as a married couple, it's not hard to see where the real growth amongst the show's characters is actually taking place. To make things worse for attitudes towards Ted, the characters of Barney, Marshall, and Robin are infinitely more entertaining than his. Lily has her moments, but she's become more of a back-up character for jokes involving Robin or Marshall or the voice of maturity [read: wet blanket] that keeps some episodes grounded. As expected, Barney steals the show more often than not; Harris has become the show's de facto star in lieu of Ted's current state of being obnoxious, and the writing always tilts in his favor - and it doesn't hurt that Harris is naturally pretty funny. The show's 100th episode even comes to a head with Barney belting out a choreographed musical number about his suits; it's a great television moment.



The season as a whole is an improvement over the fourth, but until they get Ted back on track, it will never be as good as it was in its first three seasons. However, if the other four cast members hold up their end, the show's future is still brighter than most.



DVD Bonus Features



For a season of television, HIMYM's fifth DVD set has a rather amusing collection of extras including a solid blooper reel (6 minutes of actual bloopers and 2 minutes of the season's biggest laughs), music videos of the season's three songs ("Super Date", "Nothing Like a Suit", and Marshall's "It was the Best Night Ever), and an extended trailer for the plot point film "The Wedding Bride". While those are all well and good, the real meat of the extras are the two making of videos for the 100th Episode dance number and the quick, though effectively revealing green screen process behind "Super Date". To top it off there's a "Season Recap" which ABC should look at and use as a model for their seasons, as instead of just being a voice talking about the past seasons' events, it's a song covering every great in-joke from the series up to this point. - E-reader - Zombies - Kindle Devices - Ebook'


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