things to keep you safe

I've talked a lot about security in these blogs, but it's a fact of life that we can never be too careful these days. That's why our buyers are always on the lookout for Things to make you safer.

Check out our Camera Sunglasses…the latest in surveillance technology. The glasses have a pinhole camera that captures high resolution color snapshots. With the remote or the button on the frames, you can take pictures of your surroundings as you walk or drive. You can also listen to your favorite MP3 music with the earbuds and you can even control volume and track selections. The sunglasses are polarized and lightweight so they're great for everyday use or for outdoor activities like fishing. If I ever manage to catch a fish, I'll take a snapshot and post it here.

To help ensure your home and family are safe while you're away, hide this Mini Wireless Camera almost anywhere. It's perfect for monitoring children, caregivers, entrances, store rooms—anywhere you want to keep track of what's going on when you can't be there. It comes with a receiver that hooks up to a TV or to a DVR or VCR so you can watch what's happening in real time or play back recordings later. If you don't want to hook a camera up to your TV, our Wireless Camera and Monitor comes with everything you need and it's really easy to set up. The camera transmits picture up to 300 feet without wires so you can put it in any room. What's cool about this Thing is you can connect up to four cameras to a single monitor to watch what's going on in different areas of your home or office at the same time.

This new Stealth Camera is my favorite. I set one up in my living room and nobody even knew it was a camera because there are no pinholes or no cords--it's a plain black box that just blends into the background. You can set it to record video or set up the motion detector to take snapshots when something in the room moves. You can also use the remote control to manually start continuous recording. To play it back, you just connect it to your TV or insert SD card into your computer. It's never been easier to keep an “eye” on your home or office.

For staying safe at home, our indoor/outdoor Motion Activated LED Security Light automatically comes on when it detects movement. What's cool about it is the LED light bulbs. They never need replacing, so you don't have to worry about them being burned out when you need them. I have four of them outside my house and they really come in handy, not just for protection, but also when I forget to turn on my porch light. I just walk up to the door and the light comes on, making it easier and safer for me to get inside fast.

I bought the Electronic Watchdog for my aunt when she was thinking of getting a dog for protection. It gives you all the advantages of a watchdog without the hassle of taking care of a pet. Plus, it can “see” through walls and doors. When an intruder is 15 ft. away, it barks intermittently and then barks louder and more frequently if the intruder draws closer. It also has a built-in siren so you can set it to bark and then sound an alarm. My aunt loves it.

To protect yourself in public, this Street Safe DVD by Paul Vunak, who taught the U.S. Navy SEALS his system of hand-to-hand combat, is a fast easy way to learn real-world self-defense. Paul teaches you how to deal with attackers twice your size. Even if you've never been in a real fight before in your life, you can use his techniques with confidence after just a few hours of instruction.

Until next week, stay safe.
Bobby

sticking to my new year's resolution!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to get in shape in 2008 and so far I'm sticking to it. One of the problems I've had in the past was boredom. If you've ever tried to stick to an exercise regimen, you know that working out can get boring fast if you don't change your routine now and then. Since I don't have time to spend driving back and forth to a gym and waiting in line for machines, I need to have a variety of home exercise options to keep me interested.

Lucky for me, we have some Things that help make exercising fun and interesting while giving you a well-rounded work out. The PushUp Pro™ makes doing push-ups a lot easier, so you can do more of them and maximize your upper body workout. The grips have non-slip bases, so they're easy to use and the set comes with a guide that helps you work all the muscle groups effectively. So you don't get bored working your upper body, try the Ultimate Chin-Up Bar. It's a great workout using your own body weight. The grip handles adjust to help you can target specific muscles and you can also use the bar as a foot anchor when you're doing sit-ups. All you need is a doorway.

I also got this Charles Atlas Kit. It's a great Thing for beginners like me because it's an introductory kit to the famous Atlas program. It includes ten Atlas exercises, a boxing lesson, an information packet on dynamic tension, a poster that charts the exercises for you and a lot more. Another all-around workout aid is the Ultimate Flexibility DVD. My schedule is so hectic that I can't always do a full workout, but with this DVD, at least I can get in a quick session of body stretching. It even has a bonus workout that focuses on stretches for high kicks and splits. You won't see me doing the splits any time soon, but who knows? A little practice goes a long way...

Finally, we have three booklets that target chest, arms and abs. The 10-Minute Chest Builder Book gives you two 10 minute workouts a week based on the chest-building secrets of the world's greatest bodybuilders. You learn what to lift, what and when to eat and when to rest while growing and strengthening your pectorals. And the Massive Arms Book does the same thing for your biceps, triceps & forearms. You learn how and what to lift, what to eat and how to build great arms without injuring yourself. The Ab Blast Booklet gives you four simple exercises to do only twice a week without weights. It uses the latest training techniques to help you first shape and separate your abs, then reveal them by with proven cardio exercises that burn body fat.

After less than two weeks, I'm already starting to see results and I'm starting to feel better, too. I'm determined to stick with it. If your resolution was to get fit, but you're worried about boredom, these Things can help you change up your routines, stick to your program and have a happier, healthier, stronger year without a single trip to the gym.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

things to help you keep your new year's resolution

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.

--Henry Ford

It's the time of year when we make promises to ourselves to change something or improve our lives in the coming new year. Hearing everyone around the office talking about New Year's resolutions made me curious. How did the tradition start? What are the most common promises we make? How often do we succeed at keeping our resolutions. I couldn't find out how New Year's resolutions started, but I did find out that the tradition dates way back to the early Babylonians1 and that for them returning borrowed farm equipment was a popular resolution. Modern resolutions usually have to do with self-improvement like improving our health, giving up bad habits or adopting new positive habits. Not surprisingly, most of us will abandon our resolutions within just a few weeks. Here are some common resolutions and a few Things that can improve your odds of succeeding.

If getting in shape is on your list of self-improvement goals, this Ultimate Flexibility DVD can help you stick to your resolution with a workout thats fits into a busy schedule. There are three workouts -- easy, moderate, and intense that give you a total body stretch with a focus on muscles used in martial arts training. The StretchRite Trainer is a natural companion and makes stretching more comfortable and easier than ever. The trainer has numbered handgrips that allow you to adjust tension and see your progress for positive reinforcement. After you stretch, you can move on to more strenuous activities with the Ultimate Chin-Up Bar and Push Up Pro. Don't forget, before you begin an exercise program, you should always check with your doctor.

A lot of people pledge to learn new skills at New Year's. Maybe you've always wanted to play a musical instrument. With the Guitar For Beginners set, world famous guitar teacher Esteban teaches you essential chords and how to tune your guitar, read music, play rhythm and lead. It's really easy to follow and he makes it fun to learn. And with our fast learning system, Play Piano Instantly, you can learn the "Big 3" chords to accompany the songs you love, including folk, pop, gospel and country. If you don't want to play, you can always learn to dance to the music with dance champion Kasia Kozak's Freestyle Dance or Slow Dance DVD. The slow dance DVD teaches you how to hold your partner, lead and follow steps, learn underarm turns and dips, and how to dance in time with the music. With the freestyle DVD, you learn the freestyle steps you see everyone else doing in no time.

Last but certainly not least, thousands of people try to quit smoking at the beginning of each year. Zerosmoke can help you quit in 30 days. There are no pills, gums, or patches. The system is a safe all-natural form of ear acupuncture -- without the needles. You simply place a 24kt gold-plated biomagnet on your ear for a couple of hours each day until the desire to smoke is gone. The biomagnets stimulate neurotransmitters that gradually reduce your desire to smoke while helping reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms.Maybe we should make sticking to our resolutions a resolution, too. Whatever you resolve to do this New Year's, I know you can do it.