The Publishers League

December 16, 2009

The EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Goggles V2. Authentic Night Vision Technology

Filed under: Comp & Tech — Tags: , , , , , — damon @ 5:42 pm

There are two reasons why many people consider the EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Goggles V2 an advancement over the original version. The first is price. Consumers will be happy to know that the new goggles are cheaper than the original night vision goggles, but will be curious to know if they are of a similar quality. In terms of the technology used, the new EyeClops Night Vision Goggles uses exactly the same technology. Real Infrared technology gives you the ability to see, even in pitch black conditions and there operational specifications of the two versions is similar as well.

There are two modes offered in both goggle versions. Long-range surveillance mode allows you to view a scenario from up to 50 feet away. This mode does emit red LED light however, making you detectable. Stealth mode however does not emit any incidental light that might blow the cover of a delicate operation.

Both versions of the Jakks EyeClops Night Vision Goggles have similar features and use the same material, so the unaware consumer might be wondering what the difference is.

The difference between the two versions is in the shape and how you use them. The Version 2 “goggles” are not goggles as such, but are shaped more like binoculars that are wearable around your neck (a strap is provided), whereas the Version 1 pair are more the standard goggle shape that attaches to your head and allows you greater freedom of arm movement. The Version 2 stealth “binoculars” are an improvement in several areas however. For one they give a superior field of view when compared to the original. The original only offered a screen in one of the eyes, where as the newer version offers you screens in both “eyes” of the binoculars.

A fault of the original version was the lack of depth perception which made it easy for the wearer to become disorientated and especially given the fact that looking through one eye took quite a bit of getting used to. While the new EyeClops Night Goggles, don’t provide depth perception either, but are more easily taken off when you need to re-orientate you with your surroundings.

While it may be claimed that normal vision can be restored by flipping the original version’s eye-piece, thus achieving the same effect as simply placing the new version aside, proponents of the original EyeClops night vision glasses will also claim that the originality did not “leak” light from the sides of the eye-pieces when you used them, potentially blowing your cover in pitch blackness.

When all is said and done, the EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Goggles V2 work well and deliver on what they say they do. Both versions have their advantages and disadvantages. Some would say the goggles are more in the true spirit of night vision technology and free your hands for other things (albeit you do require a little time to get used to looking through them), the binoculars offer you more freedom and flexibility and can be cast aside much more freely if you decide you wish to return to normal vision.

Direct TV DVR and NFL Sunday Ticket

Filed under: Sports and Games — Tags: , , , , , , — damon @ 3:24 pm

Fall is the best time of year. No not because of the cooler temperatures and the leaves on the ground, but because it is now football season.

The NFL season is great because after several weeks of virtually nothing on television as far as sports, suddenly you are drenched with plenty of games every weekend. A baseball game is great in person, but sitting and watching it on TV puts a man to sleep. At least the Beijing Olympics provided some sports action this year.

I love both the college and the pro games for several reasons. The excitement involved in the college game isn’t like anything else. Every Saturday, thousands of rabid fans fill up local stadiums in an effort to push the home team to victory. With the increase of network TV money, there are usually great games on every Thursday and Saturday night as well. While I don’t really like the BCS system that is in place in the college ranks, one benefit to the arrangement is that every regular season game really is big. A college team may get away with one loss during the year, but if they want a shot at the title, then they cannot afford to lose more than once.

The NFL is a different animal, but just as good in my opinion. Again the passion is amazing, especially in the great NFL cities like Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Kansas City. What makes the NFL great for many fans is the expansion of fantasy football. Sure some guys go a little crazy, in that they spend all of their free time evaluating their players and proposing ridiculous trades to the other fantasy players in the league. But if you get in with the right set of guys and gals, then fantasy football makes all of the games much more interesting.

This year I had to re-evaluate my TV, as Cox continued to let me down me as far at their service and pricing. Fortunately, I had multiple options, as AT&T cable service is now in my area, as well as satellite television. After looking into my options, I found there are great satellite TV deals going on currently. So then it became the old DISH Network vs Direct TV debate Being the huge fan that I am, I just couldn’t pass up the NFL Sunday Ticket package that they offer. On top of that, they offer new college football premium packages, such as the Gameplan from ESPN. Overall, there is just more for your money when comparing DirecTV to Comcast. Plus, you just can’t beat the DIRECTV DVR.

My wife may not like that selection, but of course she will know where to find me, right in front of the TV this fall!

The Reasons To Use Lasers In Cosmetic Eye Surgeries

Filed under: Health & Fitness — Tags: , , , — damon @ 3:24 pm

Lasers can be used to perform cosmetic eye laser surgery on both the upper and lower eyelids. The tissues around the eye can have certain age-related changes; the elasticity decreases causing the skin tone to change, the eyebrows start to droop and additional skin accumulates on the upper and lower eyelids.

Additionally there may be small bags under the eyes where fat collects. Then there are eye diseases like facial nerve palsy or disthyroid which can also cause these skin problems even with youthful guys and gals; so do you have questions about the types of laser eye surgery you want answered? Carry on with this article.

Some information on Blepharoplasty, one of the most common laser eye surgeries: Blepharoplasty is a commonly used cosmetic surgery technique to put right the problems discussed above. In essence during the procedure the surgeon will remove all unwonted skin by making incisions with a laser.

With this technique even fatty deposits located under the eye can be removed. A series of smallish Sutures are used to help the incisions around the eye heal themselves after the operation, normally within 4 to 5 days these will be removed.

The Benefits Of Lasers: Using lasers for cosmetic eye laser surgery provides several additional benefits. One big advantage is that the surgeon can see the organ he’s working on much, much better since he has the ability to very quickly seal any blood vessels. Better precision of the surgeon is the main advantage here. Also a patient who undergoes cosmetic laser eye surgery will normally suffer far less swelling after the operation. What to expect once the procedure is over

One must be prepared for some discomfort from bright lights and possibly some blurred vision soon after the operation.

However, these symptoms are normal and your doctor will often give you an oral medication or eye drops to help relieve the symptoms. It shouldn’t be long before these side-effects cease and you can enjoy perfect vision once more. Before any procedure your doctor will perform a thorough examination of your eyes to make sure you are a candidate for cosmetic eye laser surgery. Remember to go through as much information as possible on the subject of Blepharoplasty Cosmetic Laser Eye Surgery because you should be certain you know what you’re doing. As with all surgical procedures there are both benefits and risks that should be weighed carefully before proceeding.

Web Software Testing: Ensuring Web Software Security and Functionality

Filed under: Comp & Tech — Tags: , , , , , , , — damon @ 3:24 pm

The software development life cycle (SDLC) is composed of various stages.Software testing is one of the most essential stages. There are different testing types and they are useful at different stages of the software development cycle. These methods are employed during various stages of the SDLC. The software itself also comes in different varieties, which all require testing before they’re released on the market.

There are many different classes of software and software for web applications is one of them. With the advent of the Internet web software has significantly increased in importance, as the Internet has had a substantial impact on our daily lives. Most security risks come from Internet. Therefore it’s crucial to test the software thoroughly prior to releasing it on the market.

While web software testing is important, there’s always a rush in developing and testing it.There are different methods that the test engineers use to test this software. They are code testing, load testing, compatibility testing, functional testing and regression testing.

The web software is usually released using a pattern of software release known as alpha/beta testing.This is a simulated or actual operational test conducted by potential users or an independent test team at the developers’ site. Because during alpha testing the software is actually still being developed only small modules of the software are tested during this stage. Alpha testing is frequently employed for off-the-shelf software as a method of internal acceptance testing. After being alpha tested software will only be released when all the main functional sections have been both coded and tested.

After the alpha testing is completed the software is permitted to undergo the beta phase of testing. In beta testing the web software I completely built. The software is made available for use to a restricted number of customers intended for software testing previous to the official release. The alpha/beta testing method is not the standard procedure when testing web site design. This means they can build and test one page at a time. After completion they can move onto the next one, with each page independent of each other.

When software testers or development engineers are code testing they are checking for the presence of software bugs. Because the time involved in web development is small it is important that the software is free of bugs. Paired-programming is one of the popular methods used by highly qualified technicians to achieve error free coding .

Paired programming is a software development method in which two programmers work together at one keyboard. The developer typing the code is called the driver while the programmer that checks every line of code as it is produced is called the observer or the navigator. Support for this methodology is provided by some research data produced by Laurie Williams at University of Utah in Salt Lake City. According to this research paired programmers produce code with 15% less bugs while only being 15% slower than individual programmers.

The testing process continues through out the software development cycle so that at the time of final release it is free of bugs. Load testing is performed against heavy loads or inputs such as multiple user log-ins and mail servers to determine the point at which the web-site/application fails or the point when performance degrades. Load testing will provide information regarding the amount of users that could connect simustaneosly to a site, the number of transactions that the system can cope at the same time and its responsiveness under different circumstances or amount of traffic.

Compatibility testing evaluates the application’s compatibility with the computing environment like the operating system, database, browser compatibility, backwards compatibility, computing capacity of the hardware platform and compatibility of the peripherals.

Functional testing confirms its specifications and accurately performs all of the required tasks. This involves doing a series of tests that perform a feature by feature validation of behavior, utilizing a wide range of normal and erroneous input data. The Regression testing the type of testing done to make sure that improvement, defect corrections or any additional changes to the software has not broken down any existing functionality.

When interative methodology is used to develop software regression testing is crucial. Iterative software development is a method in which new functionality is added to existing software. In this case one should make sure that the new addition has not affected any of the existing functionality. Regression testing is done to find out any of such instances. The above mentioned methods are essential tests to complete the web software testing.

Make the Most of Your Fireplace with a Heat Exchanger

Filed under: Home and Furnishings — Tags: , — damon @ 3:24 pm

A lot of people nowadays use a fireplace to help save on heating bills throughout the cold months. As a general rule, this is a good move just as long as they do not forget about safety. But there are those who sense that they are not getting as much heat as they could from their wood fire.

In reality, rooms often become colder than usual if a fire is burning, and it seems that the only way to stay warm is to be right by the fire. Many individuals end up wondering how other homeowners use their fireplaces to create a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The answer is both easy and complicated all at the same time. If many areas of your house feel particularly chilly when you have a fire burning, you likely would derive benefit from a fireplace heat exchanger. This is the straightforward part; the more challenging component is figuring out just why you need it.

In reality, an unenclosed wood burning fire will use up lots of the air in your home that was already heated to room temperature. As the fireplace uses up this air, it also puts some back; sadly, the substitute is unheated exterior air. That is the reason why a burning fire in one room leads to the rest of your house turning chilly.

While fireplace doors that are airtight can reduce the effect you must consider the benefits that a fireplace heat exchanger and various other fireplace accessories that you can purchase can in some case be a more effective option. The good news is that all you really need is a fireplace heat exchanger to resolve the problem. If you install a heat exchanger in addition to some glass doors, you can eliminate that cold air throughout your house.

Too many people haven’t invested in a fireplace heat exchanger since they don’t realize how essential it is if you have a wood burning fireplace. In the end, they wind up staying chilled or wasting more time and cash endeavoring to heat a home that is always being hit with cold air from the outside. If you do not have this important fireplace accessory, you are fighting an endless battle that you can’t win.

A fireplace heat exchanger will cost you somewhere around five hundred dollars. Plus, if you do not install glass fireplace doors, you’ll simply end up wasting the money you spent on the heat exchanger.

How to Buy a House with Bad Credit

Filed under: Personal and Corporate Finance — Tags: , , — damon @ 9:57 am

Trying to find financing for a house? With bad credit it can be tough. For one thing, try everything you can to improve your credit. If you have money saved up, a bigger down payment will help also. There are many mortgage companies that specialize with people with bad credit. So do some searching and talk to mortgage specialists in your area. Buying a home with bad credit, you will need to know where you stand. You have to know the steps needed to get on the road of home ownership.

Make sure you don’t get in over your head. Be able to afford the house. Many American families borrowed more than they could afford and lost everything. Best case scenario: be able to afford the mortgage with one family members salary.

Difficult financial situations require different actions. With new alternatives for debt consolidation, there are many ways for individuals to find relief from debt. People who are in debt and are in need of debt consolidation have three main choices to consider. A secured bad credit consolidation loan, an unsecured credit consolidation, or enrolling in a debt consolidation company. It is usually much easier to obtain a Secured loan than an Unsecured loan.

Unsecured loans for people with bad credit mostly are for lower amounts. Even with those smaller amounts there will be very high interest. If you consider an unsecured loan, consider your ability to pay off that loan. High interest could hurt you significantly.

Bad credit debt consolidation is not impossible. Obtaining loans can really help you recover your credit. Closing some accounts by consolidating will also help, as well as making your payments on your loan. It just requires action and hard work.  Search around for the best lender, and possibly a lower interest rate. Search in your local area first, then go from there.

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