Merlins Tower

Wine Saver - The Vacu Vin

Posted on September 29th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Gadgets, Health.

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice glass of wine with their dinner. I know I enjoy a glass every once in a while. With the Vacu Vin you can now save the wine for 3 or 4 days without it going bad. The Vacu Vin uses rubber stoppers that you put into the top and then with their pump you remove most of the air from the bottle. This creates a vacuum in the bottle keeping the wine fresh. I have been using one of these for years and I needed to order a few new rubber stoppers. To my surprise they redesigned them. The new rubber stoppers now will make a clicking sound when you removed enough air from the bottle. This really is a great improvement as before you pretty much had to guess how much air you removed. The reason to remove the air is to slow down the oxidation process that starts to happen when wine is introduced to air. Just remember these are not to be used with “Sparkling” wines doing so will make them go flat.

Now you don’t have any excuse not to open a nice bottle of wine and serve up a nice cheese platter, some grapes and some crackers and enjoy some nice company and a great evening. Plus you will not feel the need to finish the whole bottle as now you can save it for a few days without it turning into vinegar.

But Wait - Don’t know much about wine check out TheWineDoctor.com - Great resource in where to buy wine, How to read a Wine Label, What Wine Goes with What dinner, Nice Advice on Decanting Wine, Wine Serving Temperature, Choosing Wine Glasses, Making a wine Cellar and Most Important How to Taste Wine.

Additional Resources:
Vacu-Vin Website
Purchase One On Amazon

Tags: Wine, Saving, Hints, Tips, Hack, Vacuum, Wine Party, Wine Tasting, VacuVin

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Ionic Air Cleaners - The Good, the Bad, and the SMOG!

Posted on May 12th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, Gadgets, Hack, Health.

I have been looking for a good air cleaner for my home. I enjoy a cigar every now and then and it would be great if there was an air cleaner that would help take out the smokey smell afterwards. Friends have suggested getting one of those ionic breezes as they say it works really well. Like they do on the commercials. I am a skeptic and decided to do some digging on the net before I spent my hard earned cash on one of these units. Low and behold - I found this article today on LiveScience.com - Talking about the dangers and that the Ozone Emitting type of air cleaners are actually creating SMOG in your house. It really is an interesting article and would recommend reading these reviews of the air cleaners before spending your hard earned money on one of these units. So for me I guess it is back outside or to the local bar when I want to enjoy a cigar.

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Caffeine Awareness Month

Posted on March 9th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Health, Sleep.

Well, I love my morning coffee - in fact I just recently purchased a new coffee maker - The Aeropress. (More on that in another day) - But I just noticed that it is currently National Caffeine Awareness Month.

National Caffeine Awareness Month® is a health campaign sponsored annually by the Caffeine Awareness Alliance. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed decisions regarding caffeinated products.

They have a little quiz on their site to see if you are a caffeine addict. Some of the prelim questions are:

Do you drink more then 4 cups of coffee a day?
Do you drink several cans of soft drinks or several cups of tea each day?
Do you often find yourself irritable, depressed, disoriented after drinking caffeinated beverages?
When you don"t drink caffeine, do you find yourself experiencing headaches, drowsiness, or insomnia?

So, I assume I am not addicted - as I only have 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day, and not everyday. I don"t drink soda"s most days - I prefer water as my drink of choice and I don"t get Headaches etc.. from not drinking or not having my caffeine each day. There was a time in my life that this would have been true but I have since cut down my caffeine consumption and have been sleeping better and learned to savor and enjoy the coffee I make hence getting the aeropress coffee maker.

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The Mayo Jar

Posted on February 25th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, GTD, Hack, Health, Journaling.

The following story I received in my email as part of one of the groups I belong to. I really does show how things in life fall together and what is important in life. I have seen various versions of this story but this one just seemed to "Hit Home" - So I am here to share this with you, in hope that it will touch you. Feel free to pass it on or sent them to this site.

So remember when things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are just quite not enough, remember this following story.

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes!

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

Now, said the professor as the laughter subsided, I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.The sand is everything else - the small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first, he continued, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness! Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. I"m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there"s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

Technorati Tags: Anything Else, GTD, Hack, Health, Journaling

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Happiness Manifesto

Posted on February 12th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, Hack, Health, Journaling, Weird Stuff.

While I was working on a web page for a client I ran across this tidbit of info. (don’t ask - Clicked the wrong link)
The BBC - Happiness Experiment

Here is The Happiness Manifesto from there.

• Get physical. Exercise for half an hour three times a week.
• Count your blessings. At the end of each day, reflect on at least five things you’re grateful for.
• Talk time. Have an hour-long uninterrupted conversation with your partner or closest friend each week.
• Plant something. Even if it’s a window box or pot plant. Keep it alive!
• Cut your TV viewing by half.
• Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger. At least once each day.
• Phone a friend. Make contact with at least one friend or relation you have not been in contact for a while and arrange to meet up.
• Have a good laugh at least once a day.
• Every day make sure you give yourself a treat. Take time to really enjoy this.
• Daily kindness. Do an extra good turn for someone each day.

Here is a PDF of the Manifesto so you can print it out.

This is from the BBC TV Series Making Slough Happy. Seems like an interesting TV Show - Wonder if it is on BBS America.

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The Worlds Healthiest Foods

Posted on January 30th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, Hack, Health.

The Worlds Healthiest Foods: Eating Healthy

I was looking for something good to eat for breakfast and came across this site listing some very good Quick and easy Healthy Foods. I got to try the Breakfast Bagel - Highly recommend it and it was quite tasty and very easy to make. I did have to visit my Whole Food store to get some of the things needed. But I had this to eat this morning with my Coffee.

Also on this list beside Breakfast Foods are: Salads, Soups, Fish, Chicken, Side Dishes, and Deserts.

This list is around 100 Ideas for you to peruse.

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How to Get Great Sleep

Posted on January 27th, 2006 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, GTD, Health, Sleep.

Psychology Today: How to Get Great Sleep

Psychology Today has this good article on how to get a good nights sleep even with all the distractions that are all around us. I have read and know how important a good night sleep is but I am always wondering to the PC to check out the latest Email and Reading my RSS Feeds I subscribe to get the latest news and weather reports. This is taking valuable time away from getting a good night sleep. So Psychology Today to the rescue to help all of us to get a better nights sleep.

Zzzz!!

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