Sunday, March 31, 2013

Organic Wheat Grass

Review of Organic Wheat Grass


Updated
It's been over two years now since I've been taking the wheat grass. I mix it with a protein powder and that is my breakfast. The protein powder makes it tastes so much better and I still get the benefits of the wheat grass. I can tell a difference on the days I don't take (lower energy, more tired). This is a great product for those of us who can't get enough vegetables in our diet.



I started taking this while starting the Tim Ferriss 4 Hour Body Diet. The diet is no form of sugar (carbs) whatsoever! no fruits, breads, starch, pasta, rice, sweets, potatoes...... You're asking what can you eat?
Well slow carbs, like beans, nuts, vegetables and lean protein. This is about the wheat grass, not the diet.
I bought it through Amazon here.

Taste(bad news)

I'm not going to lie, this is not chocolate double fudge cake. It's a very fine powder and will get everywhere if you are not careful. It actually tastes best with water. It has a bit of a nutty, leafy taste. I think the name "Wheat Grass" gets embedded in your mind so you transfer that into the taste. It does taste like you are drinking some grass. No way around it. Make sure it is mixed, very, very, well. Globs of green dry wheat grass will make you cough.
You will get use to the taste. After a while (a month for me), you really won't mind the taste. If you still mind the taste, I would suggest using cold water and drink it as quickly as possible. How you will feel after you drink will start to condition you to overcome the bland taste. 

Effects (good news)

When I first tried it, I didn't notice a huge difference in how I felt. I felt a little bit more energy. I did notice that once I drank it, I wasn't hungry for about 4 hours. I'm always hungry and I was really surprised that it suppressed my appetite. I drank it every morning for about a month. I did feel better drinking it and I was not hungry for at least 4 hours. 
I stopped drinking it because I didn't feel it was doing anything. wow...
I noticed a huge difference in energy. I felt more tired, more lethargic and cranky. The wheat grass really did make a difference. I just didn't notice it until I stopped taking it.
I'm back on it again drinking it once a day 6 days a week and some days, twice a day when I'm really tired. It's quick, it's easy and it lasts. The 100 serving size lasts me about a month and is the best value. 

It's been about 6 months drinking it and I feel really good. I think this will always be a permanent part of my diet for a healthy lifestyle.  


Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Croods

Review of the movie: The Croods


The Story

It follows a prehistoric "caveman" family as they struggle with everyday life and the major environmental changes that are happening to their cave. They set forth on a journey to find a new home and adjust to change which is against the mantra of their entire lives to never try anything new, anything new is bad and basically anything outside of their routine leads to death.
There were some very funny moments throughout the story and it tried it's best to bring the viewer in emotionally but lacked teeth to keep you. It was aimed for children so they wanted to keep it light, however they could have played more on the adjusting to change and the father daughter relationship.

Animation

It was played on Sony's digital 4K format. This is the next generation of high definition that is coming to a TV near you next Christmas. There were several scenes that made you think twice to determine if it was animation or a real live picture. The animation in the high definition format was beautiful. Dreamworks did a great job especially with the skins tones and textures of the family members. 

Overall  

I would recommend this movie for children and families. Dreamworks is top notch when is comes to animation but has some catching up to do with Pixar in terms of story telling.

9 Year Old Review

"It was good and I liked it. It was really funny"

4 Year Old Review

"It was too noisy"

Friday, March 29, 2013

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

My Review of "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"



This is a documentary about a person who became THE master of Sushi. The presentation was good, there is a lot of great morals to derive from the film however, I wish they had focused more on his personal struggle to get to where he is, so you formed a closer emotional tie with him instead of the sushi; which you do. You can't help it.
My favorite lesson is to fall in love with what you do instead of searching for and trying to find work that you love. Very different perspective then what most of us are taught. When you fall in love with your work, you are able to elevate that work beyond the tasks, beyond the result and make it love. He accomplishes this by doing the work and doing the work and doing the work. A lot of our current culture is based on an entitlement we feel that is owed to us. We put in our time and work, we deserve to be paid back. For Jiro, the love of his work, is the payback. Through that love is able to take his work beyond what anyone thought possible. He is giving his love, his service and his life to something that will outlast him.
 I am reminded of Rabindranath Tagore quote,
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
The only thing in life we can give is our service. When you infuse that service with your love, it creates that love to others.
The film shows how to be a master of a craft. Start by being an apprentice for 10 years, then work that craft with routine for 75 years. That's all it takes.

With his Japanese upbringing, which turns everything into a ceremony, and his hard work, he has made making sushi into an art form.

This film will make you hungry. Hungry for sushi. It will make you appreciate fine food and the painstaking details that goes into great food. It will also help you discern what isn't great food as well.

Overall I do recommend this film and there are many valuable lessons from it. 

Winegard Indoor Antenna

Review:
Winegard Company FL-5000 FlatWave HDTV Indoor Digital Flat Antenna 

PCT 1-PORT BI-DIRECTIONAL CABLE TV HDTV AMPLIFIER SIGNAL BOOSTER WITH PASSIVE RETURN PATH

Both purchase through amazon.com.

You definitely need the signal booster in order to get the best and most channels. It helps that I am less then 25 miles from central DC.
I think the max range is about 33 miles from a tower but terrain affects it as well as weather. 
Set up was a breeze, however you will need at least 3 addition coaxial cables (less then 6 feet each) in order do my set up.

the signal booster came with the booster and power adapter and that's it!! you'll need a coaxial to power the booster. Why they couldn't include a piece of coaxial that would have cost them an addition $.45, is beyond me.



The antenna comes with double sided tape to hang it up. Right now I have it on the window with scotch tape so it was easy to move around while I found the best placement.
Placement of the antenna is the vital part of this whole set up. I originally had on the window next to the window it is now and it made a 20 channel difference. I picked an additional 20 channels just by moving it 3 feet. 


The only negative I can think of is that it doesn't blend in with the rest of the furniture that well. I could care less but some other people in the household was not crazy how it looked. I'm not mentioning any names but her name rhythms with Sun, and starts with an S and has a O instead of a U. 

You may have to rescan for channels several times in order to get all the channels. 
sidenote: why the F do I get every single fricken spanish channels??

The picture in HD is amazing!!! if you watch HD on cable or satalite, they suppress the signal to preserve bandwidth. With an over the air antenna the picture is stunning!!
You will get some pixilation with fast moving pictures. My setup picked up 58 channels, 35 of which are spanish. Just kidding, it was more like 34.
I get 2 NBCs, 2ABCs, 3 PBS, ION, CW, 2 FOX, CBS, a british channel, 2 chinese CNN like channel, a korean channel, and Al Jazerra. Don't ask.

It's been over 6 months with the antenna and I love it. The fact that there isn't a monthly cost is the best part. The weather does play a part in the reception once in a while but it is usually the exception. The picture is nothing short of amazing and is a great long term investment.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Red Ring of Death Xbox 360

How to fix the Red Ring of Death for Xbox 360

I have an xbox 360 from a client that had RRD or an E74 error. Microsoft didn't deem it wise to spend an extra $0.75 per xbox to ensure they use a high quality paste to ensure the heatsink dissipated the head from the cpu and video cpu. So they thought it was better to spend over a $1Billion on repairs for in warranty fixes.
The one I have is out of warranty so I'll take you through the steps on how to fix it.

First you need to take apart the xbox. This is best video I found that gives step by step instructions:


Next you will need a special solvent to clean the mess from the Microsoft paste that is on there.
I'm using the ArticClean from Arctic Silver. You can purchase it from Amazon here.
This is a good video of the process: