I have been desperately searching for cherry tomatoes for a salad I am making. For some reason the tomato gods are against me this week - my first foray into cherry tomato picking at the local supermarket turned up blue molded, fuzzy, smelly, watery tomatoes. I understand that the US is going through a difficult time in terms of tomatoes - perhaps it's contagious!

Finally, after my efforts turned up nothing but mank, I decided to try the local greengrocer. Who better to guide me in the direction of crisp, ripe, fragrant tomatoes.

I reached the counter and there they were in front of me...cherry tomato heaven.



I looked up at the lady in the greengrocer for some kind of affirmation.

"Very good." She said. "Very fresh. Beautiful."

And they did look good under those fluorescent lights, all shiny and red.

When outside in the daylight, I noticed a strange phenomenon. Tiny hairs were growing from almost every pore of every tomato. (do tomatoes have pores?) Perhaps it's just lint, I thought. Then I took a closer look later on. It was definitely hair, not lint. I had just bought a bunch of hairy tomatoes. Perhaps they were ok, perhaps this stuff was external and would come off. So I opened the cling film wrapper.

Whiff!!!



If you know the smell of rotten tomatoes, you will know what I was smelling. No fresh tomato could smell like this. But still, I found myself vainly sniffing for a hint of freshness underneath the stink to no avail.

Rule #1 when buying tomatoes - Smell them. If they are covered with cling wrap, be suspicious, try and sniff them anyway. If you can't get in to smell them, move on. It is too easy to disguise stinky tomatoes under plastic.

Rule #2 - Check for hairs.

technorati tags: tomatoes shopping grocery

Sometimes after one of those stressful weeks you just feel like relaxing in your very own bathroom. It's a retreat in which you can soak off the stresses of the day or rejuvenate yourself for a special night out. But there's only one problem. What if your bathroom sucks? I've seen my fair share of mouldy, ratty, leaky bathrooms and quite frankly they could have done with a little help from these guys.



Better Bathrooms has a range of Bathroom Suites for all kinds of bathrooms. The site features claw footed baths (my favourite!), spas/luxury baths, showers and bathroom furniture such as mirrors and basins, even bidets! They have a nationwide delivery service throughout the UK with 3-5 working days for standard delivery for stock items, 7-14 working days for out of stock items. Delivery charges are cheaper for combined orders and the delivery charge can vary between delivery destinations from mainland England to further afield. The delivery page explains in clear diagrams the process of ordering to the point of the item arriving on your doorstop. Better Bathrooms are open 9:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday in Wigan and Lancashire and you can purchase a 120-page full colour brochure from the website.

Many people have an idea of what they want their perfect bathroom to look like. Mine involves a freestanding bath, lots of storage space for towels and a large enclosed shower area. And lots of room for tealight candles! All that's needed now are the bath salts!


This post brought to you by BetterBathrooms

I ordered this laptop stand somewhere around the 20th of May 2008. After much waiting, on the 24th June it finally arrived. It came from China and apparently the Olympics were holding up the postage?!

My favourite feature of this laptop stand is the wording on the packaging.

It sounds like some kind of poem or affirmation. It reminds me of the Irish blessing/saying:

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
The sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

I love this blessing, it's very positive and uplifting.


I'm still trying to work out this one:


I think it means catch the screen before your hands get tired or you'll get a sore back.



Yes, I suppose some instructions can be convoluted.

No using beyond the purpose? It sounds like some sort of cult law.

Don't put the notebook down until you have assured it that everything will be ok.

I'd suggest not jamming the finger at any time, let alone when the angles are altered or adjusted.

Please shopping using? Er...Don't log on to Ebay unless the surface is stable. You could end up bidding on gold bullion by accident.

I'm getting a bit nervous about these unassured situations. You've already reassured the laptop and given it a hug. What more do they want? Also that falling part sounds a bit dangerous.

Long-time placing is prohibited? Who's going to arrest me? Now I'm really scared.

I promise I will not use in the airflow and dusty circumstance. As soon as I can figure out what that means.

Can't wait to see what happens when I open it.

technorati tags: chinglish laptop stand shopping

The science of pinhole glasses as a way to improve your vision is debated in many circles, with advocates for and against the scientific merit of such a device. However the principle of a pinhole is solidly based. It is true that if you are without your glasses, you can make a hole in a piece of paper and look through it to see more clearly. The pinhole camera is based on a similar principle, using the pinhole as a lens to record an image.

Pinhole glasses are said to clear vision by reducing refractive errors. There are a number of claims on the site regarding myopia and various other conditions. It must be made clear that the glasses are generally designed for people with low refractory errors, that is those with lens requirements of less than 6 diopters. For those with lens requirements greater than 6 diopters, it is important to check with your specialist.

The pinholes in these glasses are said to act like a lens, bringing fuzzy images into focus. These pinhole glasses, also known as stenopeic glasses are made to be used while reading or working at a computer to clear vision and reduce eye strain.

These are glasses promoted to be worn in place of prescription glasses, while reading or doing stationary tasks. The glasses also shield peripheral vision quite dramatically so these glasses should not be used while driving a car or operating machinery. The glasses are for stationary viewing only.

In reviewing a site featuring pinhole glasses as their main product, I was able to investigate the possible benefits of using such a device in place of regular prescription glasses. It appears that the greatest benefit to the eye while wearing pinhole glasses is the relaxation of the eye, said to benefit eye health.

The site was clear and easy to navigate, however some minor improvements could be made. In order for a website to effectively display and sell pinhole eyeglasses, I would suggest that the scans of the actual eyeglasses are made larger and clearer. Similarly, the text could be a little larger for ease of readability. It would be quite difficult for potential customers to see the image of the product, the target audience being characterized as people with eyesight problems.

Pinhole glasses are marketed as an alternative to prescription glasses, which can be expensive. The price of the glasses is $14.95 plus free shipping so the possibility to test such a product is made more accessible. As with all matters related to the medical field, if you are unsure, check with your health provider.

Well, it finally arrived. The cute newsboy cap from Ebay. Judging by the time of delivery I think it probably came from Krasnoyarsk.

It's funny, it seemed like a good idea at the time but now I have the cap I keep looking in the mirror thinking "er... does this work?" I think, judging by the amount of times I looked in the mirror over the days, the answer is probably no. It's not that I'm not a hat person, it's just that the hat is all wrong for me. You see how it looks in the picture on this mannequin? Good, yes?


I thought so. But for some strange reason in Krasnoyarsk they all have smaller heads and therefore their mannequins are smaller.

In fact this hat was so small it was sitting tightly around my head, quietly cutting off the circulation. Not only that, but the hat is asymmetrical. The left side is pinned up with a button. Cute idea, yes?

No.

Because the hat is completely black and the button is also black, it makes me look like I have it on crooked. And no matter which angle I try, it still looks like I can't centre my own cap. Imagine a baseball cap facing not forwards, not backwards, but at a 45 degree angle. I might as well leave half of my shirt untucked to match. I'll wear different socks too, while I'm at it.

Similarly, because the hat is so small (built for strange small-headed people), it rides up in the middle, making me look Scottish.




The entire hat is black, so you can't tell if there is a bobble or not. Either way, I might as well be carrying a haggis. Or a golf club...actually that doesn't sound so bad. Hmmm.. St Andrews?

Anyway, I think I'll try to locate another newsboy cap and make doubly sure this time that it doesn't have any hidden eccentricities.

technorati tags: newsboy cap ebay shopping