I have visited a number of blogs in the past and wondered what those little avatars on the sidebar were all about...














Since joining BlogCatalog, I realise that my avatar will show up every time I visit another BlogCatalog member. And they can then see my profile and check out my site. I am amazed at the number of messages I have received from BlogCatalog members so far. It's sort of annoying I didn't think of doing this before.

Here's the link to my BlogCatalog profile. And this is what it looks like:

















You can send messages to other members, add people as contacts, join communities and rate other blogs. It's a great way to widen your blog audience. If you want to join BlogCatalog, just follow the link and register your blog.

Technorati Tags: BlogCatalog Blog Catalog Mass Buzz




The step by step blueprint to attract a flood of subscribers. Become a six figure blogger by following these steps. Free ebook.

Paintball Emporium's site proudly states itself to be "home of the paintball bodybags". Let me explain. The rather grisly term refers to a waterproof, multi-chambered bag to hold all your paintball equipment.

















There is some pretty heavy duty stuff here - with a range of fierce looking Paintball Guns - featured here is the creatively named "Psycho Ballistics Delta .68" paintball gun.










The design of Paintball Emporium's site is subtly reminiscent of a computer game welcome screen. And paintball is the next logical step up from a computer game - more fun and a lot messier!

Have you ever been curious as to what paintballs look like? This packet looks a bit like frozen peas - but you wouldn't want to be hit by one of these! Paintball Emporium carries a large range, including glow in the dark, so you must endure your shame even at nighttime!









According to some paintball enthusiasts, the important points are whether or not a paintball will break in your chamber or on impact. The cheaper brands can sometimes get broken by the bolt in the chamber, creating what is termed a "chop", which is not what you need when you are trying to fire at someone.

Other things to look out for are the quality of the shells - specifically whether any of the paintballs have dimples or deformities as this can affect accuracy. Furthermore, you don't want a paintball that bounces, for the obvious reason that your hit will not be shown on your target, much to their amusement! It is also important to have a certain thickness and visibility in the paint so your opponents can't just wipe it off when nobody is looking.

Paintball Emporium is a kind of one-stop-shop for paintball supplies. The prices are close to wholesale and the range includes everything paintball: clothing, goggles, guns, sights, harnesses, air systems, squeegies, plus videos and magazines for the enthusiast.

According to their info page, products are shipped directly using UPS and you must be 18 years or older to purchase from the online store. It also contains a disclaimer just in case you do something silly with a paintball gun and decide to blame the suppliers. Paintball is not a game to be taken lightly - it is important to learn the ins and outs before just blasting away. Get some good training, watch the safety briefing video and find out everything you can. As far as supplies go, Paintball Emporium could be a good place to start.


Important Note: This has been a paid review. This does not mean I am paid to have an opinion that pleases others. My review contains my own observations about the subject matter - both positive and negative. The review may contain criticism, suggestions and comments of my own choosing. See disclosure policy for more details.

Technorati Tags: Paintball Emporium paintball supplies paid posts

I have been very frustrating trying to locate my Technorati Rank of late. The new Technorati system seems to display "authority", but for the life of me I can't find the rank anymore. After a bit of searching I have finally found a good Technorati Rank Checker. The site is called RankWidget and it will give you the option to display a widget on your site with the Technorati Rank displayed. If you are like me, and just want the "your rank is..." part, then this is a good place to find out.

Technorati Tags: Technorati Rank Checker

I bought this book on Ebay last week. The seller marked the postage as $6.00 and soon after I won the book, they upped it to $10.00 - hmmm. I wasn't impressed actually. I sent back an email politely pointing out that they had added the wrong postage amount and they sent one back to draw my attention to the fine print at the bottom of their ad, stating that the postage is increased for other states and all items are posted via registered post. Infuriatingly, their contradictory ad states that their postage is $6.00 flat rate, and that there will be no registered post option.

What can you do? You can't reason with these people, they are like snakes or lizards. They just listen to you, nod, and slither away. It is impossible to get them to realise they have made an error and should therefore cover all costs, rather than forcing the buyer (me!) to cover the costs of their misleading ads. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Aside from this, the book appears to be a comprehensive Pilates manual. I already own "Pilates - The Authentic Way" by Dina Matty and Keft Burdell, which is a mini-pilates book packed with great exercises. You really feel like you have exercised after doing a few repetitions of these exercises! It hurts!

"The Pilates Body" by Brooke Siler contains the same exercises found in "Pilates - The Authentic Way", plus a number of exercises I have not yet seen, such as the "Bicycle" and the "Boomerang".
I am more familiar with Yoga than Pilates, and I am fast realising that the two are completely different. For one, pilates hurts more but I can really feel how it will make a difference over time. There is a quote by Joseph H. Pilates on the back cover, reading "In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in twenty you will see the difference, and in thirty you'll have a whole new body." In other words, you won't recognise your ass when you walk by a shop window.

My only criticism of the book is that the illustrations aren't in colour. Aside from this, I am looking forward to working through this book slowly. In "Pilates - The Authentic Way" I learned that it is best to do only a few exercises at a time and get them right, rather than do a lot of exercises at once. This is great advice and makes sure you take time to learn the principles rather than rushing through without paying attention to detail.

I'm off to dust off the Pilates mat!


Technorati Tags: The Pilates Body Brooke Siler Ebay

It's happened again. Can't think of a damn thing to write. I haven't bought too many things recently, but I have lost of bunch of stuff. When my hand knocked the glass of water off a table the other week, I lost 2 of my favourite books.

The casualties:



*Sigh!*
*Double Sigh!*
F#@&

I miss this book terribly. I used to refer to it almost daily. Now it's gone. It was one of my favourite books. Sadly, the pages were stuck together when I finally discovered the damage. And it had begun to get mouldy. And it smelt. Can you believe it?



Well. I ask you. I had only read this one once or twice and it gets mangled when I'm halfway through reading it. Hmmphf.

I mean, really. Couldn't my copy of Dean Koontz "Midnight" been waterlogged? Or perhaps that Womens Weekly cook book? But noooooooooooooooooooo. It had to be my yoga book and my Patricia Cornwell book. Oy veh.

To cheer myself up I bought "The Last Precinct" on Ebay for $10.95, which included $4.50 of postage, which is reasonable. So far it's the best one yet.



I think the most outstanding books so far in the Kay Scarpetta series are:

• Postmortem - Wait for the scary bit. You'll know.
  
  
• The Body Farm - Scary $h!t when you find out what's really happening
  
  
• Point of Origin - Yikes!! That's all I need to say. Emotionally draining and freakish. But whatever you do, don't read this one before the other ones.
  
  
• From Potter's Field - It's dark, exciting, I like it.
  
  
• Cause of Death - Spooky
  
  
• The Last Precinct (even though I haven't even finished reading it)

Clearly, I love all the Kay Scarpetta books but the ones I have just described have that extra special "something". That's what I think anyway. Feel free to comment on your favourite ones, or am I the only Patricia Cornwell / Kay Scarpetta fan in the world?

P.S. I haven't read "Trace" or "Predator" as yet.

Technorati Tags: Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta Waterlogged Book Damage