Website Review: Hookah Shisha

 

Business: Hookah Shisha: Selling hookahs, hookah pens, and a variety of hookah products

Website URL: http://www.hookahshisha.org/

This is an e-commerce website, focusing on hookah products, obviously.

They don't have a nav bar, all of the categories of the items they sell are listed in a left hand column, which you can scroll down by scrolling down the entire page.

There's a lot of info listed here - plenty of FAQs on the health aspects of hookah pens (if you smoke fruit flavored liquids, that of course is a lot healthier than nicotine!) how old you have to be (18) how to operate the various hookahs  - from the full size ones (over 3 feet tall) to the tiny, portable ones known as hookah pens or hookah sticks.

There are also videos, testimonials, oh, a wide variety of information for you to check out!.

The site suffers from a lack of paragraph breaks.

 

Website Review: Fife Towing - Seattle towing company

Business Name: Fife Service & Towing
URL: http://www.fifetowing.com/services

This is a nice website. Everything designed to be easy to find. The nav bar across the top consists of Home, Commercial Towing, Services, Redeeming a Vehicle, Coupons,  Blog and Contact.

Their blog seems to be updated once a month - and has some good tips there.

Their services are for both normal car owners and for commercial vehicles - i.e. over the road trucks. (And they do tow away for the city, as well.)

They tow cars, motorcycles, 5th wheels, motor homes and containers.

But they do more than that - although this isn't easily seen - just on their services page.

They'll unlock your car for you if you lock yourself out, do pull starts deliver fuel to your car, change your tire, and if you've been a bit too wild and crazy and ended up in a ditch, they'll winch you out.  This Seattle towing company does it all.

Website review: Mr. Sparky of Seattle

Company name: Mister Sparky
URL:      http://www.mistersparkyofseattle.com/                                                                 
Business: West Seattle electrician

This is a nice website - very much an electrician's website, with bright yellow and red colors. Has a slider going across the top offering their on-time guarantee; their promise to be clean, friendly and courteous; and the assurance that they take the qualities of applicants seriously - not everyone off the street is hired to be one of their electricians.

The nav bar across the top is simple to use: About Us, Services, Products, Guarantee, Blog, Appointment, and Contact Us.

Perhaps I'm an old fuddy duddy, but I don't like drop down menus that don't drop down ALL the menus. For example, if you click on the About button you get a drop down for Testimonials. Well, newbies to the net (and even oldies like me) might not realize that the About Us button, clicked on its own, takes people to the About us page.  All sites that I've visited do this - if there's a drop down the top button isn't listed - annoying.

Website Review: Luck's Food Decorating Company

Website Title: Luck's Food Decorating Company
URL: http://www.lucks.com/

There is a general myth that boys like blue, and girls like pink.  Well, I have to say that I really, really don't care for pink, or tan.....or whatever the colors on this site are.

There are lots of delectable edible images on the site. The buttons on the other pages are extremely large... you have to click twice to get to where you want to go...

It's a wholesale e-commerce site, so of course only companies can log in and purchase. Individuals looking to buy items are encouraged to go to their local stores.

They do provide decorating tips for all.

Website review: Pac Rite Inc.

Business name: Pac Rite Inc
URL: http://www.pacriteinc.com/

Pac Rite Inc., produces and sells shipping tubes,  label cores (those small cardboard circular thingies in the middle of a roll of packing tape, or on a roll of sticky labels or something of that nature, and concrete forms - which just means that they recycle concrete somehow into light weight tubing, and converting cores - something I don't actually understand, but I *assume* it means they can produce cores to any size and shape that their customer wants. (Hopefully - and presumably - their potential customers understand this terminology.)

They also do concrete forms. It took me a while to figure out that, too, I have to admit, until the word "forms" clicked. So they do circular tubes strong enough to hold concrete, for businesses that want to make concrete columns or things of that nature. 

Shipping tubes and label cores are within my understanding, and since they produce 100% green products, and can produce these products in a cost -effective way, their prices are reasonable.

Website Review: MIchael Atkins Law

Website title: West Seattle Attorney: Atkins Law Group
URL: http://www.westseattleattorney.com/

West Seattle lawyers include attorney Michael Atkins, who performs family law, estate law, and personal injjury law.  Well, not him alone, obviously, presumably he has several associates who specialize in each particular avenue.

The site is attractive to the eye and pleasing. Nice simple nav bar at the top. Below the fold the branches he specializes in are listed again in more detail. There's a free consultation form, and a Google map.  Simple and elegant.

Hookah Town: Electronic hookah sticks

Hookah Town (url http://www.hookahtown.com/)  is a very "busy" site. It's an e-commerce store, selling a variety of hookahs, from the full size version to the tiny, portable hookah sticks (also known as hookah pens).

The logo is teeny tiny in the left hand corner - very easy to not notice. Their left hand size nav bar needs some work as well.

Other than that, it's a typical e-commerce site. They've got about a hundred products, such as replaceable cartridges for the hookah pins, or new hookah sticks if you prefer the disposable kind.

Hookahs have been used for centuries to vaporize nicotine in order to smoke - you may have seen Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes smoking a hookah in a turkish bath in one of his episodes, and kids will have seen the caterpillar in the 1950s Alice in Wonderland smoke a hookah and blow smoke rings. (He's doing this in the book as well).

These days, people who are concerned about the harmful effects of nicotine will use fruit-flavored liquid cartridges instead.

Website Review: Premier Roofing

Nashville roofing companies include Premier Roofing.

URL:
http://www.premierroofingtn.com/ 

Their nav bar consists of: Home, About Us, Services, Blog, Photos, Testimonials and Contact Us.

They do roofing for both residential and commercial (i.e. business) roofs.

The do new roofs, re-roofs (i.e. tear off and recovers) repairs, and gutters and downspouts. They will also remove debris from the roof.

Premiere Roofing is one of the local Nashville roofing companies - which means they know all about Tennessee weather.

They're accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and are on Facebook and Twitter. Although they have a Pinterest button it is not yet active.
 

Website Review: Budget Rooter

If you're looking for plumbers in Mason County or plumbers in Pierce County, one plumbing company that services in all areas is Budget Rooter.

I liked these guys immediately, when I saw (under their sponsorship tag) that they offer discounts to the military and to senior citizens.

But more than that, they're really involved in the community, sponsoring local kids sports teams, for example the Blue Jacket’s baseball organization and Pee Wee football.

And of course they offer plumbing services too. They give free estimates, so if you're looking for plumbers in Mason County or plumbers in Pierce County, it might be worthwhile giving them a call to see what they can do for you.

They use their blog for customer testimonials rather than for fascinating articles on local plumbing issues,  but I suppose it's one good use of the space!

Website review: Snowater Lodge, Mt. Baker, Washington

If you're looking for Mt. Baker lodging, think about Snowater Lodge.

I certainly am.

Next year, I'm going to travel through all fifty states, and I'm  making my plans now. So I've been spending a lot of time on the web, searching out lodgings in the various states near the places I want to visit.

Snowater lodge is located on the Nooksack River, "surrounded by beauty" according to their website... but without internet!

Well, you can't expect internet in certain remote areas, even in the USA> so that's no problem.

I'm up for a little beauty.

I looked at Mt. Baker lodging and decided Snowater was pretty attractive = not to mention I like the name.

If you're planning on going to Washington State, chances are you'll fly into Seattle, From there, the mountain ranges are your oyster!

Website review: Chris's Country Essence

One feature I'm going to add is to do website reviews as well as blog reviews, and we're going to start with Chris's Country Essence, a site that offers a variety of products from the honeybee, from beeswax candles to bee pollen enriched products.

These days, "natural" is in.

I've been reading up on the Paleo diet, for example, which advocates us going back to the diet are Stone Age ancestors used.  And this was *before* land cultivation came in - so no grains, no corn, no bread, etc.

But the science behind it seems pretty sound.

Then there's organic and natural stuff like beeswax pillar candles, or cute little beeswax candles in the shapes of teddy bears, beehives, or even bees. (Pretty large bees, obviously - pretty scary if they were real!!!!)

According to the site, "Chris's Country Essence is the leading supplier in Bee Pollen Enriched products, a very fast growing category of body wash products. Bee Pollen Enriched products come unheated, unfiltered, and unprocessed; this leaves bee pollen enriched body wash and shampoos with all of the natural enzymes, vitamins and minerals!"

So, if you're looking to remove today's excessive additive-stuffed products from your shelves and your lives and go back to natural stuff, check out this site.

Website review: Thrive Nutrition

Thrive Nutrition is a site dedicated to helping people improve their health by finding out what they eat and modifying their diet. Nutritional therapy is the key here.

URL: http://thrivemindandbody.com/main/

Location: Seattle, Washington

Business: Local only

The nav bar consists of Home, About, Blog, Services and Contact buttons.

From Janice's website:

The key when consulting a nutritional therapist is to understand what works best for you and implement a strategy that calls on the body’s natural propensity for wellness to bring about the desired results.

It's an attractive site, lots of photos of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Website Review: Benton Development

Benton Development is a Seattle custom home builders site.

Their nav bar consists of Home, About us, Photo galleries, Services, and Contact us pages.

Their services page lists a great deal of what they do:

Architectural design of the house
Permits and inspections
Foundating and concrete
Framing
Plumbing
Electrical
Roofing
and of course permits and inspections


On their About us page, they list a great deal many more services.

In addition to building new homes, they also remodel older homes, and build on additions such as decks and patios.

Website Review: Turtle Trove Ancestry

Website: Turtle Trove Ancestry
URL: http://www.turtletroveancestry.com

In business since: 2012

This is a nice site. I particularly like the fact that their logo, the turtle, has a shell in the shape of a heart.

They are ancestry researchers, who specialize in preparing the family tree book. Basically the book just puts together all of your family history, including photographs and other interesting objects, and prints several nice copies to give out to relatives.

Their nav bar consists of Home, About Us, Services, Links, Upcoming events, Blog and contact pages.

The links page has links to heritage societies, like the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons and Daughters of the Oregon Trail, and so on.

Back in business...

I have to apologize to all my loyal readers who have been waiting around, wondering where my blog reports were!

Well, I'm back in business and will be reviewing at least one blog a week from now on - hopefully more than that.

So please stay tuned.

A-Z of Senior Care

REVIEWED BY: Marguerite Zelle

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: A-Z of Senior Care

WEB ADDRESS: http://comforthands.net/blog/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Should your loved one move to a nursing home or assisted living facility? How do you find a competent caregiver? How to balance life and work while taking care of your loved one. From Alzheimer's (AD) to Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES), you will find everything you need to know about caring for your elderly parent.

MY REVIEW:

RECENT POSTS:
--Celebrating the Holidays Can Be Difficult When You Are the Primary Caregiver --Caregiver: If You Don’t Take Care of Yourself, Who Will? --Skilled Nursing VS a Standard Nursing Home – How to Decide --“Please Son, I Want to Go Home!” --“I’m Not Moving in With a Bunch of Old People!” Part 2 of 2

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Reviews published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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Check out my kindle BOOKS!:
Whose Body, by Dorothy Sayers (the Annotated Edition)
The Coldest Equations (science fiction)
Volcano Seven: Treasure and Treasure Hunters
The Lady and the Tiger...Moth

Baseball Blogs: Bleed Cubbie Blue

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: Yes, wth reservations

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Bleed Cubbie Blue

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: This blog is dedicated to the Chicago Cubs fan community and features game recaps, bleacher reconstruction news, and book reviews. All sides of being a Cubs fan are covered in this informative site.

MY REVIEW: There is such a wealth of information fed by this blog to your Kindle, that at a cost of 99 cents a month to have it delivered, it's not a bad deal, especially if you're a diehard Chicago Cubs fan.

Unfortunately, like most of the SportsBlog Nation blogs, many of the features available on the website aren't available on the Kindle. There's videos, audio, and probably even game threads that you won't see unless you actually visit this blog web's page.

However, I frankly anticipate that once the season actually begins and the posts really start coming, they'll mostly be text-based, and Kindle users will be able to enjoy having the articles delivered directly to their Kindle.

RECENT ARTICLES:
-Kung Fu Panda Slams Z: Giants Beat Cubs 5-1
-First Pitch Thread: Cubs vs Giants, Wednesday 3/10 (gamethread, unreadable on Kindle)
-What Will We See on Opening DAy? Cubs vs Giants at Mesa Preview, Wednesday 3/10
-2010 BCB Community Projections: Starting Position Players (Corrected)
Parker Lets Inglett Park One: 9th inning HR leads Brewers over Cubs, 5-3

Take your blood pressure medication!

Spent most of yesterday in the hospital, where my mother was admitted. Her doctor had changed her blood pressure medication a couple of weeks ago, it wasn't doing the job. Unfortunately her doctor was out of town and a home therapist said we should take her to the Emergency Room.

Bad idea, as far as I'm concerned. Put her back on her old medication which was working, just causing her to cough.

Instead we brought her to the emergency room, and since she's old and deaf, this got her more stressed out and scared than ever, because they were all gathered around her shouting questions and wanting to run tests and I'm sure she thought she was dying or something, which sent her blood pressure even higher.

She spent the night there, and is still in today for more tests, which I don't think she needs but I guess since they've got her in there they want to get their money's worth out of our insurance...  she's in a private room which must be costing a fortune....

The reason for my headline... she was about 40 when she was first diagnosed with high blood pressure...took pills for a couple of days but didn't like how they made her feel....so she stopped taking them and tried to do the "natural remedy" thing.

Result, 20 years later she had congestive heart failure, and now instead of taking 1 pill a day she has to take 4. And has to go into the hospital periodically on occasions like these.

Moral of the story - go get your blood pressure checked, and if you have high blood pressure make sure you take your meds, otherwise believe me you'll wish you had, when it is too late...

Ground Report - International Politics

REVIEWED BY: Ms. Cairo

MY RECOMMENDATION: YES

AMAZON SUBSCRIPTION LINK: Ground Report

WEB ADDRESS: http://www.groundreport.com/

BLOG DESCRIPTION: Global news reporting and opinion from eyewitnesses.

MY REVIEW: I'm not quite sure about this blog. Let's just say it has political views I disagree with. (I'm all for the ban on burkas, and I wish a ban on the Muslim religion was not far behind. And I seriously doubt if Pat Tillman was murdered because he was about to become an anti-war icon!)

So...check it out for yourself. Several writers contribute to the blog, from around the world, from their own viewpoint.

Sample post:

Is Europe reverting to Religious Witch Hunting?
by SamRatan1 May 23, 2010

Hardly a day goes by without news about the restrictions that European countries have been introducing on Muslim proponents, much of which appears to touch upon a sign of visible expression of faith as is the case with the Burqa, a female full body veil that can make a woman literally invisible. The Belgian government has now made it unlawful for women to be veiled in public places. France, a leading light in the secular democratic world, has prohibited the use of veils in public places. The Swiss population in a majority vote has banned minarets; A mosque yes, but no minarets may be built in Switzerland. And some politicians want to introduce a general Burqa ban, though Swiss hotels, banks and other businesses that profit from these customers prefer not to proscribe such dresses; Understandably, considering their dependence on such customers.

Looking at the practical aspects of being confronted with someone who is masked makes it impossible to identify the person in question. Recently, a local flight in India made a priority landing because a fully veiled passenger, who could not be identified, refused to lift her veil for identification. Some countries have implemented legislation prohibiting the use of masks in public places, this as a form of protection, when identifying people by law enforcement agencies. Some put up the argument that the woman has the right to decide whether she wants to be veiled, others say that the veil is not a religious requirement and is the right of the woman in deciding to wear one or not.

Today this appears to have seriously cut into the freedom of religion enshrined in democratic governments. We need to recall that women have been veiled for ages both for religious and other secular reasons such as fashion or plain protection from the elements.

We seem to be attempting to tackle a problem in dealing with symptoms that have far reaching implications in a secular world. In looking for a panacea for many of our questions, we seek answers in the metaphysics of religious justification for the present and future expectations. Our yearning for paradise has not diminished and religion has been able to offer answers that science has yet been unable to do, albeit answers that merely promise rewards with no proof.

Oil and water do not mix and attempts to find commonality between common concepts of universal law and religious tenets of right and wrong have been not successful. Every attempt at a common civil code that is universal and acceptable has not been successful, where religion is relegated to the private arena of one’s beliefs. This is like asking someone to be a KKK member in private (if that is the person’s choice) but at the same time swear allegiance to the US Constitution in public. Politics cannot be yet bereft from religious faith and here lies the conundrum.

Without going into the discordant and disparate notes that major monotheistic religions have evoked and the continuous attempts to interpret these in varying contexts, it appears to be an impossible task to reconcile these to come to a common and universal agreement. The deliberations of many learned men and women have brought us no closer to what can be perceived as common and universal understanding of what is acceptable. Are we doomed to continue to perish at the religious battlefields that have torn man asunder, or does the answer lie in a complete disavowal of religion?

RECENT POSTS:
--"Greening" Fisheries Could Calm Troubled Waters
--Is Europe reverting to Religious Witch Hunting?
--EPA Officials Weigh Sanctions Against...
--Furnished Summer Sublet in NYC's West...
--Florida Regulators Stop Admissions to...
--NFL Star Pat Tillman, Anti-War American Hero…Was EXECUTED! 3 M-16 Shots To His Face….VIDEO
--Ecotech Institute Launches as First a...

Never get involved in a land war in Asia

and never agree to transcribe 20 hours of meetings from an Australian business meeting.

That's what I've been doing for the last 4 days...utter nightmare. Could NOT understand their accents. Making it worse were the bad audio levels and the fact that a lot of the people preesnt insisted on talking over each other from all around the room except in front of the microphone... I will never transcribe ANYTHING every again.

Anyway, so sorry to be MIA from my blogs.