Zenni Optical For Glasses

I am usually skeptical of internet sites that are not brand names like the usual suspects of Amazon, Overstock, Costco, Best Buy, etc. However, I wanted to share with readers about a website that some co-workers found for eyeglasses called Zenni Optical. Glasses start at $8.95 a pair with prices at the top end being much lower that at top optical retailers. Shipping is $4.95 per order, so it is easy to order multiple pairs for home and work.

Leaked Black Friday Deals!

Hard core after-Thanksgiving Day shopper, you need to know about these websites: bfads.net, Gottadeal.com or BlackFriday.info. If you want to shop, plan your day out in advance.

According to the New York Times, a big source of the leaks are the retailers themselves, and not some corporate James Bond manuvers. "The unlikely alliance between stores and the insurgent Web sites, once the sworn enemy of the industry, indicates how worried retailers are about the holiday shopping season, expected to be the weakest in five years" according to the article.

Happy Shopping and have a good holiday!

Compare Cell Phone Prices

Start shopping early and compare rate plans for Christmas! Cell phones make a great holiday gift.

High Tech Gifts For TV Fans

TV lovers have never had it better. You don't have to stay glued anymore to the boob tube just to catch a favorite show. You don't even have to be home to watch.

A bumper crop of gadgets and services can grab, deliver and play back television programs and movies anytime or anywhere to give couch potatoes their fix. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection.

Never miss the game or a prime-time drama again. Find a movie to fit your mood of the moment without having to leave home.

A sampling of some of the latest offerings:

VUDU

It's like a video store crammed into a small black box. The machine serves as a gateway for the Vudu movie download service, which offers more than 5,000 movie titles to rent or own. That's significantly more than some rival download services though it still pales next to Netflix's DVD mail-rental service.

But movie buffs will like the convenience of being able to watch a film right away and directly on their TVs.

Vudu also has an intuitive navigation system and smart search features. Narrow your browsing, say, to action films that came out after 2003 and got rated at least three stars. Or preview a movie, then ask Vudu to find similar films.

The catalog ranges from old flicks to new releases that are available on DVD. Rentals of high-definition movies will soon join the mix. The video quality is very good and it'll work with both standard- and high-definition TVs. The contoured remote control with a clickable scroll wheel cradles nicely in the hand. A drawback: purchased movies are stored on the built-in 250GB hard drive and can't be transferred anywhere else.

(MSRP: $399 for the box. Movie rentals cost 99 cents to $4.99 and purchases, $4.99 to $19.99.)

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TiVo HD DVR

Satellite and cable TV operators offer digital video recorders but for those willing to spend a bit extra, TiVo still has the easiest, most intuitive menus.

DVRs let users easily record television shows and pause live TV, and now TiVo has added Internet goodies, such as the ability to rent or buy videos directly from Amazon.com's Unbox download service or access to the Rhapsody music subscription service.

This newest TiVo model sports two high-definition TV tuners so you can record two programs at once or record one while watching another live. TiVo users also can transfer recorded TV shows to PCs or compatible video-playing handhelds, including Apple Inc.'s iPods.

A 160-gigabyte hard drive stores up to 180 hours of standard-quality programming or 20 hours of HD content. A separate external hard drive can be used for extra storage.
(MSRP: $299.99. Requires monthly service fee of $12.95 or other yearly plan.)

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Sling Media Slingbox SOLO

This trapezoid-shaped video-streaming gizmo lets you watch and control your television - from your cable or satellite box, or your DVR - on any broadband-connected Windows- or Mac-based computer anywhere in the world. The Solo is a step up from the basic Slingbox AV by supporting high-definition content.

But like the basic model, it supports only a single video source. The higher-end Slingbox Pro can control up to four video inputs and has its own tuner.

For an extra $29, Slingbox users can buy software that streams the video to Windows Mobile-, Palm- or Symbian-based smart phones.

If you don't have a wired Ethernet connection near your TV setup, a separate adapter can be used to access the computer network via Wi-Fi or a power line. Beware: the Slingbox piggybacks your home system so if you change the channel from a remote location, someone watching TV at home will see the channel flip, too.

(MSRP: $179.99)

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Sony PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360

Confused about high-definition DVDs? The battle between the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats hasn't yet yielded a clear winner, so this holiday season, you'll still see "Spider-Man 3" only in Blu-ray or "The Bourne Ultimatum" in HD DVD.

If you don't want to end up with a useless piece of equipment but still want a taste of the crisp, clear pictures of HD, perhaps game consoles can be your answer. The PS3has a built-in Blu-ray drive and is one of the most affordable Blu-ray players on the market, while an HD DVD player can be added onto the Xbox 360.

With the Xbox Live online service, you can use the console to buy TV downloads or rent standard- and high-definition movies.

The Xbox also can pull multimedia content from a Windows Media Center PC for playback. So if you land on the losing side of the format war, at least you'll be left with a powerful game console.

(Sony PS3 MSRP: $499 for 80GB, $399 for 40GB. Xbox 360 MSRP: $349 for 20GB model, $449 for 120GB model, $180 for the HD DVD player. TV shows on Xbox LIVE are $2 to $3and movie rentals, $3 to $6.)

Frozen Pizza Recall

General Mills Operations is voluntarily recalling approximately 3.3 million pounds of frozen meat pizza products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and may be linked to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The following products are subject to recall:

10.2-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza Pepperoni."

10.2-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Classic Pepperoni."

10.2-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Pepperoni Trio."

10.7-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Combination Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza."

10.5-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Three Meat Sausage, Canadian Style Bacon & Pepperoni Pizza."

10.9-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Supreme Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza with Green Peppers & Onions."

6.8-ounce packages of "JENO'S CRISP `N TASTY PIZZA, PEPPERONI."

7.0-ounce packages of "JENO'S CRISP `N TASTY PIZZA, COMBINATION SAUSAGE AND PEPPERONI PIZZA."

7.2-ounce packages of "JENO'S CRISP `N TASTY PIZZA, SUPREME SAUSAGE AND PEPPERONI WITH GREEN PEPPERS AND ONION PIZZA."

Each package also bears the establishment number "EST. 7750" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a "best if used by" date on or before "02 APR 08 WS." The company applies the "best if used by date" on the package based on a 155-day shelf life, however consumers are urged to look in their freezers for similar frozen pizza products and discard them if found.

The frozen meat pizza products subject to recall were produced on or before Oct. 30 and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

The problem was discovered following an investigation carried out by the Tennessee Department of Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into a multi-state cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses that may be linked to this product. Illnesses occurred in Illinois (1), Kentucky (3), Missouri (2), New York (2), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (8), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (1). Illness onset dates ranged between July 20 and Oct. 10. All patients have recovered. The CDC, State public health departments and FSIS also continue investigation into the multi-state illness outbreak.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact company Consumer Hotline at (800) 949-9055.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.