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save money by using Zenni Optical

retroDan — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:17:19 +0000

I recently had to purchase a pair of eyeglasses for my son who’s currently in middle school. He noticed that he couldn’t see the blackboard that well when seated at the back of some of his classes. Without much thought, I took him to the lenscrafters at the mall. But honestly, I regretted it once I got the bill. It’s not like my son needs those “high-index” glasses (to reduce the thickness of the lenses) but we still got stuck with a nearly $300 bill. yikes! I’m definitely not going back there again. Especially now that I’ve seen this recent article by the Brooklyn Liberal Examiner. The writer recommends purchasing your next pair of eyeglasses online via a site called Zenni Optical. Zenni cuts out the expense of the middleman and retail outlets and sells direct to the consumer. And by running their business this way, Zenni is able to offer high quality lenses and frames at low prices. If only I knew about them before purchasing my son’s glasses!

Two things to keep in mind when purchasing glasses online. It’ll definitely take longer to get your glasses. According to the Examiner article, the manufacturing lab is located in China so the turnaround time seems to take a couple weeks. They also require the PD (pupilary distance) number which isn’t usually written out on the average prescription. It’s something to remember to ask for the next time you see your eye doctor. But even so, I’d have to say the huge savings in cost is definitely worth the hassle.

Joel and Victoria Osteen – The Power of Money

Unitard featured in new super bowl ad

retroDan — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:22:32 +0000

Here’s a preview of a funny commercial that’ll be shown during the Super Bowl this year. It’s a vacation rental commercial featuring the official Vacation Rental.org mascot/superhero, UNITARD. The video does a good job in reminding viewers that hotels aren’t the only game in town during family vacations. Why limit yourself to a cramped hotel room when you can stay at a roomy vacation home or condo? And it’s as simple as a click of a mouse by using the vacation rental website. And just think, by renting a spacious vacation home on your next family outing, you’ll not only make your whole family happy but good ol’ UNITARD as well.

Allison Maslan’s brand new book titled Blast Off!

retroDan — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:20:15 +0000

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Allison Maslan, author of “Blast Off!”. All opinions are 100% mine.

As major corporations continue to shed jobs, many folks have found themselves unemployed and feeling powerless. For most people, their identity and self-worth were intricately linked together with their careers. And once the job is removed from the picture, they are utterly lost. Interestingly enough, many have found Allison Maslan’s brand new book Blast Off! helpful in getting one’s own personal and professional life back on track. Maslan is a renowned life/business strategist that wants to help inspire others to take charge of their lives during these troubled times. In her book Blast Off! Maslan shares her secrets of success and provides her readers the tools needed to reach their own life goals. I find this book very timely and inspirational and I look forward to applying her techniques to my own future endeavors.

The new book was released on January 19th and is currently available on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble, Borders and other fine bookstores across the nation. It normally retails for $24 but Amazon has it on sale right now so be sure to add it to your shopping cart today! Don’t let the state of the economy get you down. Empower yourself and make your dreams a reality.

Mockingbird by Allison Moorer

Boost Mobile offering CDMA Sanyo Incognito phone

retroDan — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:48:50 +0000

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

Over the past year, Boost Mobile had a hugely successful ad campaign with their $50 monthly unlimited plan. Millions of savvy cell users flocked over to Boost where there are no long-term contracts and no hidden fees. It’s simply $50 bucks for unlimited calling, texting and web access with no additional fees and even tax is included. The hurdle that Boost was facing with all these additional customers was the strain put on the old Nextel iDEN network. The iDEN technology was never designed for multimedia and high speed internet access let alone the incredible demand from all the new customers wanting unlimited access. Well this month Boost unveiled a new line of phones utilizing Sprint’s CDMA network. Boost seems to realize the limitations of the iDEN network and is now offering an option for those users that want Boost’s unlimited plan WITH the power of Sprint’s 3G web access.

SANYO Incognito is one of the new phones available now through Boost. The Incognito™ SCP6760 features a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2MP camera, video/music capabilities, bluetooth and GPS. The phone is the perfect choice for those wanting to take advantage of the speed of the 3G network but not wanting to pay a premium for it. I’m glad to see Boost expanding their line of phones beyond those iDEN based Motorolas. I like the iDEN band for their ability to get their signal through thick office building walls better than other networks but I was never impressed by those cumbersome Motorola phones. With the new Sanyo Incognito™, you lose the iDEN signal advantage but you end up gaining a whole lot more with access to the 3G network.

The Boost version of the Incognito™ is priced at $129.99 which may seem more expensive than what it’s priced for with other providers but you have to remember that Boost doesn’t lock you into a two-year contract. And because there isn’t a contract, there isn’t much of a discount on the phones. But in my opinion, I’d rather pay for the phone upfront than get chained to a wireless phone company for two LONG years. Get smart and say so long to contract-based phone companies. Get Boost Unlimited today!

Boost Mobile Sanyo Incognito™ (SCP-6760) specs:
network: CDMA
main display: 320 x 240 pixels, 65536 colors, TFT
memory: microSD
size: 4.20 x 2.20 x 0.70 inches
other features:
Full QWERTY keyboard
2MP camera with VGA camcorder and digital zoom
Multimedia (picture & video), text & instant messaging
Stereo Bluetooth(R) capable
GPS enabled
Speakerphone with voice-activated dialing
600-entry phone book
Alarm clock, calendar, calculator, to-do list and voice-memo recorder

free pizza coupons and a Tech giveaway from Tony’s

retroDan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:50:21 +0000

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony’s Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently received some coupons from Tony’s Pizza for me to try their new Crispy Crust style frozen pizzas. Since pizzas and our household go together hand in hand, I had no problem going out to the local grocery store to seek these out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these pizzas were priced around $1.50 at our supermarket but you have to take into account that these are “individual sizes” and not one of those super-sized pizzas. But even so, I thought it was a pretty good deal.

I brought home three varieties of the Crispy Crust style pizzas – the Supreme, Pepperoni and cheese. It took around 12 to 15 minutes to heat up in the oven and yes indeed the crust was crispy and not spongy like some other brands. My kids were the official taste testers on this occasion and the pepperoni was the unanimous pick of the three. They thought the supreme had “too many vegetables” on it and they felt the cheese was too plain. From what I tried, I thought the Supreme was the tastiest of the bunch but had to agree with them about the Cheese pizza being too bland.

Anyway, I have FIVE extra Tony’s Pizza coupons that I’d like to giveaway to one lucky RetroBlog reader. Each coupon is good for one free Tony’s Crispy Crust Brand Pizza. All you have to do is post a comment here to let me know you’re interested in the Tony’s Pizza drawing. You can get an EXTRA entry in the drawing by following me on Twitter but be sure to post here to let me know that you did so. I’ll gather all the entries and draw a winner at random on February 10th, 2010. And while you’re at it, why not enter for a chance to win a $500 Tech Prize Pack from Tony’s Pizza. The contest is currently being held on several different blogs. Here’s more info on the tech prize along with links to all the participating blogs. good luck!

2010 tax credit for homebuyers

retroDan — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:30:56 +0000

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Coldwell Banker. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently had a chat with a younger colleague of mine who has been house hunting for the last few weeks. He’s a first time home buyer and wants to take advantage of the 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits that are being offered as part of stimulus package the Obama administration put into place last year. The deadline is fast approaching so my friend is scrambling to find just the right place. Apparently, as long as you have a contract by April 30th and close on the house by June 30th, it’ll qualify you for a tax credit of up to $8,000. It’s definitely a great time to buy especially with the low interest rates and the decline in home prices. According to news reports, the tax credit has successfully fueled a surge in existing home sales the last few months which is a good sign for our economy. I wasn’t aware of this but during our conversation, my colleague mentioned that there’s even a tax credit for existing homeowners seeking to “move up”. It applies to homeowners that have lived in their current home for 5 of the past 8 years and are in the process of purchasing another home. This particular tax credit can go up to $6,500 and the same deadlines apply as the first time home buyers tax credit. Income limits to qualify have increased to $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for married couples. I’ve been in my current house for approximately six years so I’d would qualify for the new tax credits except for the fact that I’m not ready to move on up to a bigger home just yet. There’s no indication that these incentives will be around next year so be sure to take advantage of them while you still can.

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transfer photos wirelessly with Eye-Fi

retroDan — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:30:17 +0000

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Eye-Fi. All opinions are 100% mine.

Like most people, I’ve amassed a number of digital cameras over the years. I still have an old Sony digicam that has been with me for what seems like forever. Even though it’s a bit outdated, it’s small and easy to carry around while on the go. And I also have a newer Kodak super zoom which takes great photos but is a bit bulkier and not as convenient to lug around everywhere. And then my 12 year old son has his own digital camera which he’s constantly using to capture candid photos of the family. He seems to have a knack for capturing the weirdest expressions on my face for some odd reason. go figure.

The obvious drawback of having so many cameras around the house is trying to keep track of all the different USB cables. As most of you know, camera manufacturers require specialized USB connectors for their own brand of cameras. So unfortunately you can’t just use a “universal” USB cable for all the different devices. Why can’t these companies keep things simple and agree to a standard USB connector? I don’t know the reason behind all the different connectors but what I DO know is that I always end up misplacing these cables at some point.

Having to keep around all these tangly cables just to upload photos to the computer is a big hassle. And like most folks, I tend to put off inconvenient tasks like this and I eventually end up with a massive amount of photos stored on a SD card that I have to sort through and organize which compounds the whole ordeal even more.

That’s why I love the new Eye-Fi wireless SD card. It works just like a normal SD card that you’d place in a camera but it also features built-in Wi-Fi capabilities that allows for it to automatically upload photos off the card and onto your computer. Once you configure the settings with the included software and USB card reader, the Eye-Fi card will transfer all your photos and organize them into date-based folders. You can also set up Eye-Fi to upload to your favorite social networking sites like Flickr and Facebook.

It’s simple, fast and easy. Plus, there’s no longer the need to search through desk drawers and closets for those elusive USB cables. The new Eye-Fi card is definitely a must-have for any digicam user. Just think how easy it’ll be to update Facebook now with something like Eye-Fi in your camera!

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easy transfer app

the new Breathalyzer iPhone app by Heineken

retroDan — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:34:23 +0000

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Heineken. All opinions are 100% mine.

When out bar-hopping with the guys it’s sometimes tough keeping alcohol consumption within reasonable limits. Who wants to be the “Debbie Downer” of the group while everyone’s in celebratory mode, right? No one wants to ruin anyone’s buzz but we need to realize that if we care about our friends, we need to take some responsibility here. We all know what can happen when excessive drinking is mixed with driving. But how do you bring up this sensitive issue during the evening’s conversation? Well, why not with an iPhone app? Heineken has come up with a fun little iPhone application called the Breathalyzer. Just start up the app and then get your friend to blow into the iPhone. The app will then characterize the person in question with one of seven profiles including “The Crier”, “The Sleeper”, “The Groper” and “The Stumbler”. Of course, it’s not a REAL breathalyzer but it’s definitely an effective conversation starter and helps remind everyone to provide transporation for those in no-condition to drive home.
You can Download the Heineken Breathalyzer iPhone app for free at the iTunes store. And to learn more, head on over to the The Heineken Know The Signs website. I think it’s great that Heineken is making an effort to be a more social responsible beer brand and the added humor in the app helps the message go down a bit easier.

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Kodak PlaySport HD Waterproof Video Camera

retroDan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:39:06 +0000

I’m so glad I didn’t purchase one of those Flip HD video cameras over the holidays. I was really itching to get one of those little pocket sized cameras but none of ‘em were waterproof. The Kodak ZX1 was “water-resistant” but I wanted one that I could take along to the pool and stuff. Well, Kodak announced today that they’ll be releasing a brand new HD WATERPROOF video camera called PlaySport in March 2010. The Playsport looks to be an updated version of their popular Zi8 camera but can be taken down to 10 feet (3 m) under water. Kodak also claims that the camera is built to withstand some minor drops to the ground which is definitely a plus for me since I’m a bit on the clumsy side. The PlaySport records at full 1080p and also can take 5 MP still photos. The press release doesn’t really state what format the camera records in but if it’s like the previous kodak models, I believe its .MOV which is a bit of a bummer since MOV files don’t work with windows media player (without installing some additional codecs).

Anyway, unless Flip Video (or another competitor) comes out with their own pocket-sized waterproof video camera, this Kodak model is definitely the one to get.

Kodak PlaySport Zx3 HD Waterproof Video Camera Specs:
Waterproof up to 10 ft. (3 m)
Full 1080p HD video
Electronic image stabilization
Brilliant 2.0 in. color display
Capture 5 megapixel HD stills (16:9)
LCD Glare Shield
Smart Face tracking technology
improved low-light performance
built-in video editing software
expandable SD/SDHC card slot (up to 32 GB)
Complimentary HDMI cable
rechargeable Li-Ion battery
ARCSoft media impression software

you can watch the official Kodak promo for the Zx3 on youtube.
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Elton John – The Fray – Bon Jovi items up for auction

retroDan — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:56:38 +0000

There are some neat memorabilia up for auction to support the City of Hope cancer center. A good number of Universal Music artists are involved with this charity auction including Elton John, Bon Jovi and The Fray.

There’s an autographed Elton John DVD with a letter of authenticity from Universal Music. A stratocaster guitar pickguard signed by all four members of Bon Jovi. The Bon Jovi item also includes a letter of authenticity. And then there’s a neat little toy piano signed by members of the Fray. The ebay auctions end at 6 pm PST on Monday (December 21st). So far the Bon Jovi pickguard seems to be the most popular of the three. Be sure to check out these ebay auctions and get your bids in before the Dec 21st deadline.