Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince didn't quite live up to it's expectations, however I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Being a Harry Potter fan, I can say that even though the movie left out a lot of scenes that should have been in the movie, I still can't quite give it a less than 4 star rating. You can look at my rating as somewhat biased because of this. But if you're also a Harry Potter fan, then you won't be too disappointed and you'll watch the movie regardless what people say!

The beginning of the movie started out differently than I expected, or perhaps it's just been a while since I've read the books, but I didn't quite remember nor expect Harry to be hitting on a muggle girl or vice-versa. The introduction of the movie was a little scattered, as you're not quite sure what's going on, except that Harry meets up with Dumbledore and gets apparated to Ron's house and suddenly they're on the train going back to Hogwart's. I know that the book obviously always has a more in-depth story and is more detailed, but I can't help but feel wanting more out of the introduction.

I won't go into detail about the rest of the movie, so as not to spoil anything for those that haven't watched it or read the books, but I can talk about the graphics. The graphics were up to par to any other previous Harry Potter movie, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and has about the same action or a little more than the last movie. I would have liked to see more fighting and all, but making the movie more than 3 hours would probably not work out. I felt that they put in a lot of other unnecessary or overplayed scenes, which would have made more room for other fight scenes.

There should have been more of a fight scene in the end, but somehow nothing much was shown besides the climax (which I won't ruin for those that don't know).

The love story throughout the movie was a little off. Lavender's character was pretty spot on because she seemed so annoying and I felt bad for Ron. I also felt bad for Hermione, and wished there could have been more personal interaction between the two.

This book was supposed to be all about Ginny and Harry falling in love and hooking up, but it seemed to be cut short and only developed in a few, innocent scenes. I thought they could have put more into Ginny and Harry, rather than Ron and Lavender. I wanted to see how Harry really fell for Ginny, but the movie just makes it seem like it just happens without cause or much reason.

All in all, I give it a 4 star rating just because I like the Harry Potter series and can stand watching them all over and over again. I thought this wasn't the best out of the series, but it is still worth watching. The story development of Tom Riddle aka Voldemort was really good. They really made this movie as dark as it should be and I enjoyed watching the back story of Tom Riddle. The only parts they could have fixed and made better were to have more fighting scenes and fix the love scenes around. Other than that, I liked the whole movie and will probably watch it again later when it comes out on DVD.

Star Wars Bobble Heads – 6 Pack

It's a little hard to rationalize purchasing this set if you're not a big star wars fan, BUT if you are, then this is a pretty great deal! Woot has this for sale with a special zing to their product of the day! Six for Tuesday is what is going on today on these Star Wars Bobble Heads. With just under $5 a piece, you'll get a choice between two different sets. I personally like Series 2 over Series 1, but they are both really great sets.

With Series 1, you'll get a Darth Vader, Tuscan Raider, Storm Trooper, Boba Fett, C-3PO, and a Greedo Bobble Head. With Series 2, you'll get a Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jawa, Chewbacca, Darth Maul, Princess Leia, and a Jango Fett Bobble Head.

If you:
1) Aren't hurt by the current economy
2) Love Star Wars
3) Have friends that love Star Wars

Then you REALLY have to get BOTH of these sets. They could make great little gifts as well as occupy your car, desk, and anywhere else you can think to put these bobble heads! I personally keep the ones I like and give away the rest to friends that I know like the leftovers.

If you're wondering if this is really a good deal or not, check ebay or other sites. They should come down to about $8 a piece, so you're netting $3 off each one you buy. Just a word of caution, these are not tiny bobble heads. They stand about 7" tall, so they are somewhat on the larger side for bobble heads. May the force be with you during your purchases!

Hewlett Packard Q8744A Hp Q8744A 4X6.5 Advanced Photo Paper Glo

HP makes some decent printers, and their advanced photo paper is pretty good as well. I have tried a few different brands in the past, (as I used to work at a copier/printer manufacturer and I had to compare different papers for customers), and the HP brand advanced is pretty good all around. It's not the best, but for the price that woot is offering, it's a really great deal. It's only $4.99 for a pack of 200, with 5$ shipping, it's still cheaper than most places online. If you get 3 orders, that would only be a little shy of $20, which is a really really good deal for 600 4x6.5 photo papers.

One thing to note though, that it's costly to print at home if you print a lot. If you print occasionally, the ink cost isn't too high. However, if you print a lot for scrapbooks or special events for family or friends, it will cost a lot of ink. The quality that comes onto the HP advanced photo paper depends on your printer/copier as well, so don't look down just because the picture quality isn't great.

What you get from the HP advanced photo paper is that pictures that you print out will dry fairly fast, unlike some other more premium ones that cost a lot more. All in all, this is a good buy to have in storage for future use, if you use 4x6.5. I have all sizes just for fun and in case I want to print something out for the occasional scrapbook.

I take my nicer photos to print shops that can print for cheaper. The reason I say this is, for higher quality photos, such as wedding or what not, you want a good color copier with advanced color mechanisms built in to get the best and crispiest color for your photos. Copier shops will have these expensive machines already for you, and the cost for each print isn't too bad.

But yea, if you print occasionally at home, this is a good photo paper to print in 4x6.5.

TAYLORMADE Tourino Stand Bag

TailorMade makes great golf clubs and pretty good bags to match. This TaylorMade Tourino bag is a pretty good one, hence the 5 stars. It's also pretty fair in price, so for the amateur, this is a nice bag to upgrade to. The bag comes with all the usual holes to fit pretty much all your clubs needed for the day out on the green. It comes in 3 attractive colors, Blue and White, Red and White, and Black and Titanium. It also comes with a nice towel which is pretty nice to clean your golf clubs and golf balls with. This bag is also equipped with an umbrella holster and a large water bottle holder.

This bag has 5 pockets, but sometimes it's not quite enough for some of us that like to stick everything in there when you're playing (ie. extra water bottles/Gatorade/beer, keys & wallet, extra golf balls, extra tees, gloves, cell phone, etc.)
However, it should still be fine, you will just have to cram a little if you really have THAT much stuff. The nice thing about this bag is that it has a backpack style strap to carry from your car to the golf cart, or if you don't use golf carts, then it's a lot more comfortable on your back rather than on one shoulder. The straps even out the weight so that the bag weight doesn't put too much on one side. It's just perfect so that your clubs don't fall out either.

To me, a lot of these bags are pretty much all the same. There are a few small, noticeable differences between each, and if you want the best of everything, be prepared to pay for it. But if you're just an amateur like me, this is a pretty nice bag to play with. It's comfortable on your back and is attractive to the eyes.

Garrity 8 Led Touch/desk/wall Light Free Shipping

Ever get up in the middle of the night for whatever reason and can't find the light switch? Well then the Garrity 8 LED Touch/Desk/Wall Light is just right for you! I don't know how many times in the past I've fumbled around looking for that light switch and could never find it! I always ended up just feeling the walls to get to the bathroom or to find my way to other rooms, but after I got a few of these, it made my life a lot easier.

The pros:
- Not too big and will fit in a lot of places.
- Convenient to put in hallway entries, in dark areas of a room/closet/drawers.
- Lasts a long time if you use it only when you need to.
- Very portable to use anywhere else such as work stations, working on a car, etc.

The cons:
- Can't use it for a normal light for very long
- If you use it as a normal light, the batteries will drain very fast.

So if you have places where you could use these portable lights, I'd recommend getting a few! They are very convenient, and this brand has a life time warranty (except the batteries and bulbs - although they claim the bulbs never need replacing). The price on the Garrity lights are pretty affordable as well, so get a few for yourself or even as gifts!

Missile Launcher With 3 Foam Missiles Usb

Ever bored at work? Then this fun little missile launcher will give you hours of trouble making fun. The Dream Cheeky Missile Launcher is just what it sounds like. A missile launcher with foam rockets, sorry no real explosives here!

There are many possibilities to what this missile launcher can do for you. Whether it's setting up a prank at work, shooting your co-worker in the head, over their cubicle, or simply trying to see who can hit what targets, the possibilities can be endless. This comes with 3 foam missiles and connects easily to your laptop or computer via USB. It even has software that allows you to control the angle and direction of the launcher. Mac drivers can be found for this unit as well, so it's not limited to PC's.

The price is what it is. It's totally worth it for some naughty trouble makers, and might not be for those that don't like to cause havoc in their office. So it's up to you if you want to splurge on something you totally do not need, yet could entertain you for hours, or to be prudent and save your money.

One note of warning: While aiming (angle or direction), it is noticeably loud. Well, loud enough for someone to wonder what's going on at least, but maybe not loud enough for them to know what's about to hit them! Have fun!

Lexmark X9350 All-In-One InkJet Printer

"UGGHH the COPIER is DOWN AGAIN!!!" "I HATE THIS STUPID COPIER!!!"

If that is something you're used to hearing or saying, then think twice before even thinking about picking up this unit. The Lexmark X9350, although very taunting with it's wireless capability, is not as great as it claims to be. Of course it's pretty cheap, especially on woot tonight, and much cheaper than what those copier reps are quoting you, but really, you get what you paid for.

First off, let's list the main specs and see how they really fare out in the real world:

-Built-in Wireless: Sweet! But not if you can't keep the connection up! A lot of users have not been able to keep their connection constant on this Lexmark unit, and can't seem to print. Lexmark wireless units have always been difficult to set up, but once you are able to set it up properly, it shouldn't cause any problems if you leave it on. However, some have claimed bad units, and still have this problem regardless.

-Lexmark Software/Printer Driver: NOT GOOD. Lexmark has really complicated such an easy print driver, by making it really confusing and hard to work. Setup is easy, however, figuring out what to do and troubleshooting is another story. Also, this doesn't work on the new Mac OS X's.

-50 page auto doc feeder: This sounds good, but on cheap units like this, you're going to face jamming problems. Not all the time, but once you get used to it, it shouldn't be too bad. It depends how thick the stock of paper you are trying to feed in, and if you're trying to feed in photos, DON'T! Photographs and hard/thick papers need to go under the lift-up part and onto the glass.

-Copies up to 27ppm b/w (26 color)/Prints up to 32ppm b/w (27 color): This is about right. Although if you are going to choose to print in a higher quality, print/copy speed will be significantly reduced.

-Print Resolution B/W: 1200x1200 dpi / Color: 4800x1200dpi: I don't find this to be accurate. The resolution definitely doesn't seem to be that clear and defined as a 1200x1200dpi would be. If you're using this for home office and it doesn't really matter, then that's fine.

-Scan Resolution 1200x4800dpi (or enhanced to be higher): The scanning works fine, but isn't as clear as they state. You're not going to get the amazing clarity that you'll get with a bigger, more commercial unit. But then again, you only paid about 3% of the price of a real commercial unit.

-PictBridge: This is a nice function to have on such a low end unit. Print pictures direct from your camera.

-Duplex: Duplexing is a great feature to have on a unit of this price. A lot of higher end units cost a lot to add on the duplex function. However, since you only paid roughly around $180, you're not going to get a great duplex add-on. This will jam, and spread ink at times, and may frustrate you too.

All in all, if you're willing to test it out, I would buy from a store that has a good return policy. If it get's set up right away and doesn't cause any immediate issues, then this should be a good unit for a while. However, if problems arise right out of the box, I would take it back. The live phone support is outsourced to India, etc. and can really frustrate you trying to get everything to work perfectly.

This is strictly for home office use. If you're running a decently sized business, cough up the dough and get a commercial unit. Leases on the units can turn out to be pricey at first, but it's well worth it for the unlimited ink and repairs during the contract. At the end of the contract, you'll get upgraded to the latest unit, which is good, because you didn't have to cough up all that dough ahead of time and have to try to resell the older unit later.

Either way, if you're considering this unit, I would recommend you look at other competing products. Spending a few hundred more isn't really that bad. It will be well worth it because you won't have many problems or issues with it, and you will know that you are getting what you paid for. If you're the type of person that needs a heavy duty unit, look into these. Otherwise you can save on the bucks and get a much cheaper unit if you're barely using it.

On a side note, inkjets are very costly for refills/new cartridges. Lexmark, following after their competitor, HP, are expecting to make money from selling ink. Just be aware and ready to shell out lots of bucks for all your black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks, that will need refilling VERY often.

Good luck and good hunting!

Oster OW0912H6H 12 Bottle Wine Cellar

The Oster 12 Bottle Wine Cellar looks great from the outside, but buyer beware. Looks isn't everything and hopefully you've all learned that by now. As the saying goes, 'never judge a book by it's cover,' never judge electronics by how bad OR good it looks. Some of the worst looking electronics have been known to be really reliable and great, and some really good looking electronics, turn out to be total lemons.

At first glance, the Oster Wine Cellar seems to be the perfect size for the amateur wine collector. Having a 12 Bottle capacity, it's the ideal storage size to collect your first few bottles for your future wine collection. Although it may not be the classic wood cellar, this is a cheap way to store your goods. The Oster wine cellar looks great open and closed. This is about the only good thing about the Oster Wine Cellar.

A few things you should know before even considering purchasing this unit:
1. It's loud/noisy (the fan doesn't seem to stay quiet at all, instead it's really loud and seems like it's working overtime)
2. There have been many complaints about the fan dying between 1-6 months after purchase.
3. The company that has ownership of the Oster license has filed chapter 11 bankruptcy, so no warranty's will be honored. Check this link out for more information:
Go to http://www.oster.com/specialannouncement.aspx

All in all, if you really want to spend money and want to take a pretty big risk, then this might be for you. If you like to play it safe with everything you buy, then this is a safe bet to steer away from the Oster Wine Cellar.

Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur - The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives

If you are a Star Wars fan or know someone that is, this is a really great bundle to buy. The Star Wars Vault is a great collection of artwork, memorabilia, stickers, and a lot of other random, but cool Star Wars items, coming from the six star wars movies. Get it for yourself, for Christmas, or for your birthday, or get it for a friend, family member, or even your boss or manager. If you love Star Wars, you won't be disappointed.

The 30th year anniversary illustrated book is really amazing in itself. Spend hours reading and flipping through everything, then show off to your friends. This book actually has a lot of substance to it and you won't be bored reading through it. It also comes with some pretty rare memorabilia and other items you won't see in any shop, besides in this Star Wars Vault bundle. Included are also two CD's with a lot of neat stuff on it. If you want to get into details, you can look at the description on the product page where it's sold. Other than that, I won't spoil the goodies this comes with.

It all comes down to how loyal a Star Wars fan you are. Either you are and you buy it, or you're not and you don't. Simple as that.

Kingston (SDC/2GB) (2 GB) MicroSD Card

Kingston has always been a reliable brand for me, and it didn't disappoint with the 2GB MicroSD Card. I picked up 4 of these on woot.com a few months back, and they have yet to have a problem. The price is really low, and makes it worthwhile to pick up a few of these for all your different electronics that can hold MicroSD cards. It comes with an adapter that will fit in SD slots or USB SD adapter slots for your computer. 2GB is a pretty decent size, as I use this with my pda phones and other random media electronics where I can store pictures/music. You really can't go wrong with Kingston, especially with how low prices are on these cards nowadays.