I have had my Slendertone belt for a while now, but i dont really use it religiously. For this reason, it is hard to tell if it actually works or not. I am going to use it more and more, and when i first got it it did work a little bit. Dont expect to get a 6 pack using this and sitting around for the rest of your time, it is supposed to be an addition to a healthy diet and workout.

I am going to start using it more and more, and along with running, crunches and situps see what happens. When i was using it everyday before, it did some work. It does tighten up your stomach a little, but like i say, it is to be used in ADDITION to exercise, not instead of exercise.

If you dont know about Slendertone, basically it is a belt you wear which shocks you with pulses of electricity. This can be turned up and down, and ranges from 0 – 99. The idea is you start on a low number, and build yourself up. There is a computer system which keeps it all in time, and 9 programs for you to follow. If you use the belt, it will move you onto the next program when you are ready. The programs vary in terms of time and frequency of the pulses. You typically use the belt for 30 minutes on the first few programs.

They say you can use this and forget about it, and do your normal daily routine. But i have found if you want to use it properly, you will need to sit or stand or not move around much, because you will want to keep moving it up to give yourself stronger shocks as you are using it.

Hello peoples!

So, i need a new camera, i blogged about that the other day. My choices i gave myself were an SLR, the Canon 1000D or the Lumix FZ38 which is a bridge. I currently have a Lumix FX55 which is good, and is still around the £200 even though its around 2 years old.

The good points of these 2 cameras speak for themselves. The biggest problems with these 2 cameras are:

• Ease of Use: How easy are they to use, how long does it take to get it out of your bag and snap an amazing photo
• Size and weight – You cant put it in your pocket, which means wearing it round your neck or carrying a bag
• Geek factor – If you are in a city taking photos or where there are people, you will look like a camera nerd
• Cost – Especially the Canon, which is now around the £400 mark on Amazon, you can get the 450D or a better model for just a little more

I have to consider what i am looking for. And what i want in a camera, for general use is:

• A Camera which takes a stunning photo
• Must be small, and fit in a pocket
• Must be able to take photos in low light

Those are the 3 most important things to me at this stage. If i get more into photography i can get an SLR and have that to accompany my compact. I do not care about HD video, For me its a camera, and nothing else. So after lots of reading and researching, i have found a Lumix LX3.

Everyone says good things about this camera. It is bigger than a small compact, but it is still a compact. It has a large sensor, larger than other compacts, which means that it can/does/should take a brilliant photo, with 10MP. The things which worry me are that it doesnt look nice, with a horrible pop-up flash and lens cap, not an electronic lens shutter like other compacts. The price is around £320, which is expensive for a compact, and i dont wanna spend such an amount if the differences to my FX55 arent noticeable. With £320 i can get the FZ38, The bridge camera, and have more “camera real estate” for less money. But then the whole point of this is that its NOT an SLR.

Not only that, but there are rumors of an LX4 which could be coming this year. But these are rumors, no doubt there will be an upgraded model, but the question is when will this come out…If i wait i could be waiting for a long time, or be waiting for a disapointment, as some have suggested that they will drop RAW from it, it could be even more expensive, or anything, who knows until they make an announcement.

Hello peoples!

You may have read a previous post where i wrote about King of Shaves, and a product i bought of theirs. It was their advanced gel, which isnt a gel it is a foam which i find horrible to use.

Well the nice people at King of Shaves read my blog and sent me some of their other gels to try

They have sent 3 products, an oil, and 2 gels. The blue tube is their standard gel, alphagel. It is a nice gel, cool and my razor glides nicely. The black tube is the more expensive gel, and it to is very smooth, and comfortable to use.

It is nice stuff, so i will be getting some more, and use this everyday. If you would like to buy these, you can find them at places such as Boots, who sell the alphashave (blue tube) for £3.20 (150ml), the shaving oil for £4.20 (20ml) and the black sse for around £4.

I LOVE THIS SHOW! Hosted by Paddy Mcguinness Take Me Out is basically Blind Date for 2010, without the blind. 30 women are on stage and have a button to tell him and the people watching if they are turned on or turned off. Once the girl has turned her light off, she cant turn it back on for that man.

The guy comes down and introduces himself, which is round 1. The girls see him and can then turn their light off if they dont like what they see. There is a further 2 rounds, they see a video of him describing himself, and another where the man has to either impress the girl, or a video is shown of him which is usually done by his friends or family. At the end he goes on a date with a girl if 1 is left, if more than 1 is left then he turns off the lights himself leaving 2 girls, then asks them a question and decides from there.

The program is so entertaining because of the girls. They are all more or less the same. They all havent had a boyfriend for so long, and you dont need to wonder why. Usually when they turn off their light they give such a stupid reason like “i dont like his shoes”, or go for something more superficial. Its funny to see the mass turning off of the lights, when a man even hints he might have money, with the “money doesnt impress me” lines, but then you get an average type of guy and that isnt good enough for the girls.

The funniest thing was in last weeks show, when some poser man had a BMW 3 Series M Sport, which is not an M3, its a normal 3 series with a few extras, so why bother saying it, especially to a girl…Anyway the girl said something like “i will go out with him if he doesnt mind me having a better car” and Paddy asked, “what kind of car do you have?” And she replied, “Aston Martin”. hahaha! So much for your great M Sport Mate!!! Anyway, the girl she is obviously stuck up, with a snotty attitude He almost rejected her, he went upto her to turn her light off and she said “are you serious, youre joking right?” She was actually disgusted that he was going to turn her down…I would of just for that reason.

I bet her date didnt go well…Not to worry, she has her Aston Martin to keep her warm at night…or maybe not

UPDATE

Take Me Out Series 2 Girls  are here

I was out running again today, and wore my Adidas Techfit clothing. It really does fit well and gives you better comfort when running or working out. It is also very small, and it actually hard to get out of when you finished working out

I have taken some shots with normal fitting clothes behind them to demonstrate the size. There is a regular T-Shirt (Polo Jeans) and some J. Lindberg Jeans.

Since i am using my blog lots, and taking more pics, i have decided maybe i should get a new camera. But i am lost as to what to get. I am not a professional photographer, but i am interested in taking pics to some degree, and i like messing around in photoshop. So should i get a DSLR, keep my current camera, or get a bridge camera?

My current Camera is a Panasonic Lumix FX55. It is a very good compact camera, i got it because it is very small for the quality it can produce. It can fit in my pocket, and i still get a good lens with 10MP. However, i have noticed that indoor shots, and detailed shots dont seem to have the good quality i want.

The big step up is a DSLR. I have been reading really good things about the Canon EOS series, in particular the EOS 1000dwhich i have heard from several photographers is “the one” to have if you are starting out taking pics and want to get into photography. You can get one of these for around £370-£400 which includes a lens kit. The big drawbacks for me for any SLR is that it is not small, its not like i could take it on a night out for example. Another drawback is the ease of use. I want a good camera, but i dont want to spend an hour setting it up to take a few pics then have to set it up again.

There is a 3rd Alternative, which is a bridge camera. This is basically halfway between a compact digital camera and a DSLR. It is a similar size to a DSLR, but does not have changable lenses and it more focused on ease of use, aswell as taking a good pic.
The one i have looked at is a Panasonic Lumix FZ38. I have seen the FZ28 in action and it is good. The drawbacks are once again the size, but it seems thats something i am going to have to get used to if i wanna take a great looking pic. It is a 12MP camera with a good lens, and lots of features such as 18x Optical zoom and HD recording which the EOS 1000d does not offer. It also comes in at £265, which is around £100 cheaper than a EOS 1000d.

If you read my blog you will know that i got my teeth whitened when i went to London last month at a professional health centre. They told me that i may want to top up my teeth at some point, and i could go to my dentist and get some moulds made and do some at home bleaching. This is a good way to top up the whitening, because you can target certain teeth, because they will not all be the same shade of white because of day to day eating, drinks etc.

I found online a company called BDazzled who make a few different whitening solutions, including some ‘make your own’ moulds, where you get 2 mouthpieces and you place them in your mouth to create impressions of your teeth. You get some whitening solution in syeringes to apply to the mouth pieces, and wear them for 20 minutes a day for 2 days.

They came and i tried them out. However i could not make the impressions of my teeth in the mouth pieces, it did not seem to work. The idea is you are supposed to put them in boiling water for 4 seconds, quickly put them in your mouth and the impressions can be made. I tried for over an hour and could not get impressions of my teeth made. It simply did not work. I followed the instructions properly, and still nothing. I tried heating them for a shorter time, and a longer time, and nothing worked.

I finally gave up on them.

My advice, dont get this product! It claims to be easy to use, as i learned it is not difficult, more like impossible! Good job my professional laser treatment lasts for 1-2 years, it would of been nice to make them even whiter though :mrgreen:

Update

The nice people at BDazzled sent me some replacement mouthguards. Read my followup here

Update 2

I have used a BDazzled whitening pen, and it really works! Read my Teeth Whitening Pen Review

I got an energy drink last week which i havent seen in many places, its called Pussy. No supermarkets seem to have it, and i havent seen it sold in bars or clubs. I heard about it, so decided to try it.

The cost is basically the same as Redbull, you can pick up single cans or a pack which work out at just over £1 per can. The can size is 250ml the same as a standard Redbull. They brand it as “natural Energy” and it has some interesting sounding ingidents such as Guarana, Gingko Biloba and Schizandra. It contains 32mg/100ml of Caffine, which is the same as Redbull. More or less all the nutritional things (kCal, Fat, Carbs etc.) are the same as Redbull.

The taste is very different.  It has more of a fresh taste, it tastes very similar to Lilt. I tried it with Vodka aswell, but it didnt taste all that good, it definatly cant replace Redbull there.

I like Pussy, it does taste good. But it comes at a hefty pricetag. If i had to choose 1 energy drink, i would go for Redbull.

I saw the 2009 TMF Awards the other day, and Sidney Samson was performing (term used loosely) with the song of some peoples summer, Riverside. I like the TMF Awards, this year there was Sylver Lasgo and Milk Inc, with great performances as usual. For Riverside being such a club song, it was possibly the worst performance i have ever seen of any ‘hit’. It was so boring, it did nothing!! See for yourself below.

Riverside has gone into the UK chart (only about 6 months later) at number 2, which coincidently is what i would describe the song as if i was in a really kind mood.

Worst performance ever…

The Followup to one of the best songs of 2009 “Whatcha Say” is In My Head. Jason Derulo has talent, i like this song. Only heard it once or twice so far, so its a bit of a grower, i like Whatcha Say better. There is no video for this song yet, but it is supposed to be his next release, and an album will also follow.