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Category: Opinionated

SLIMQUICK Cleanse: Final Review

I know I said I would document it daily for those playing The Home Game, but honestly, there was nothing to report most days. Every other entry would have looked much like Day 3, and wasn’t worth writing home about.

The final tally wound up being 5.6 pounds less than I started at, which isn’t bad at all. I still really think it was all water weight, and noticed the slowdown right at Day 4, which I assume is when I ran out of excess water to drop. Measurements are all about a half inch lower, except stomach which is a full inch lower. Not really a visible difference but not a bad start.

I don’t know that I can confidently say that the SLIMQUICK Cleanse had much, if anything to do with this though… I honestly think that drinking a lot of water (which I am notorious for not having done before starting this program) and eating reasonable food did it all. I’m going to hit all the points that The Cleanse says it helps:

1. Eliminate TOXINS: SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients which help eliminate toxins from the digestive tract.  Toxin elimination is a key process in any cleansing or detoxifying regime.

It’s hard to comment on this specific point. What do toxins look like when they vacate the premises? How do you feel after? I don’t feel any cleaner… *shrug* No ideas on this one.

2. Increase METABOLISM: An increase in metabolic rate helps contribute towards weight loss by increasing calories burned throughout the day. SLIMQUICK cleanse contains clinically researched key ingredients to boost metabolism.

Another one that’s hard to comment on, as you can’t really *feel* your metabolism. Can’t really weigh the weight loss results against anything either as I drank more water and ate less calories while my metabolism was “faster” so there’s no way to measure this claim.

3. Improve functions of DIGESTIVE TRACT: SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients to help with daily functioning of the digestive tract as well as ingredients to help promote a healthy intestinal flora.  Healthy intestinal flora is central to the functioning of the digestive tract.

My digestive tract did not seem improved. More on that in Point 5, which may be a bit TMI.

4. Increase ENERGY: Increased energy expenditure or calorie burning through physical activity is a key factor in any weight-loss program. SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients shown to elevate one’s energy levels.  By increasing energy, women are able to get through their busy days and still have energy to undertake regular physical exercise and maintain an active lifestyle.

Not at all. I felt just as tired the whole time I was on the cleanse than I did before it… moreso on some days. I even cheated one day and had a cup of coffee in the morning and was still not more energized.

5. Cleanse the COLON: SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients which have been shown to help increase one’s ability to achieve effective bowel functions by increasing the frequency of bowel movements and improving the efficiency of the colon.

NO. No, this did not happen at all. If anything, I pooped less than I usually do. I feel rather constipated and would love nothing more than to have an “effective bowel function” right about now. The only effect SLIMQUICK Cleanse had on my poop was making it softer (which wasn’t necessary, my poop was not rock hard thx), smaller and stinkier. I think I’m more backed up now than I was before.

6. Balance BLOOD SUGAR: SLIMQUICK cleanse is designed with ingredients to help balance blood sugar (glucose) and promote healthy blood glucose homeostasis. It is important to maintain blood glucose homeostasis for overall maintenance of bodyweight and good health.

This point, however, I am more than happy to give them. I am inclined to say that it did help stabilize my blood sugar, as I didn’t get dizzy when I got hungry, which happens to me often. My blood sugar has been known to tank with no warning, leaving me feeling horrible on top of being hungry. This did not seem to happen during my cleanse. I was, however, chronically hungry all week.

So, over all, it seems like many of these claims are not really measurable. I did lose 5 pounds during the week long cleanse and am very happy about that, but I just don’t know that I believe the Cleanse had anything to do with that. Drink plenty of water and eat reasonably, and I suspect those first 5 pounds will come off easily… if it works like I think it does you’ll simply pee them away. In a nutshell: I wouldn’t do it again.. at least, not without trying the water-and-healthy-food thing first, to have something to compare to.

I do have the SLIMQUICK Caplets, which I intend to try out starting tomorrow (I really need a break from swallowing ginormous things, ugh!) and will share my thoughts on as they come up. Stay tuned.

SLIMQUICK Cleanse series: Intro · Day 1 · Day 2 · Day 3 · Final Review

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Oh Twitter… Please #fixreplies

In what has been dubbed “the dumbest move Twitter has ever made”, Twitter made a “small settings update” that turns out to not be so small after all, and has the Twitter community up in arms.

Their blog post doesn’t even hint at the gravity of the change. They took away people’s ability to choose what they saw. So really, they made things worse for everybody.

One of their reasons was that only 2% of their users were opting to view @replies to people that they weren’t following. I admit- most of the time I had the feature turned off. But I’m still mad that they took it, and here’s a few reasons why.

1: I did occasionally go in and turn on @replies to people I didn’t follow, because it was a good way to find new, interesting people. This is why the 2% that had it on did so, I assume. It was nice to be able to pick and choose when I saw those replies.

2: So, when the ability to choose was turned off, people started mangling their replies by starting them with other symbols before the @reply, which forced it on my FL. Ok.. so, by taking away my ability to turn off @replies to people I didn’t follow, I’m actually now BEING FORCED to see them because everybody is dodging the filter. Thanks, Twitter.

3: I hate being given the ability to choose, then have it taken away because “big brother knows what’s best for you.” Yeah. Bite me.

So Twitter has now “reversed the settings change”, except for the part where they only show up if they’re not actually replies. O…k… question! How many of those @replies are not replies? Doesn’t that take away the whole “reply” part of it? Isn’t it then a “mention” which Twitter just recently added that confuses a lot of people? Oh wait. That’s the best part about this whole thing. Apparently Twitter took it off because “it was confusing”.

The whole thing is dumb. Every day I find myself wishing more and more that Google had bought Twitter instead of Jaiku. Twitter shot themselves in the foot with this one- could this be the beginning of the end?

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LG Dare

So, my contract with T-Mobile just ended, and I switched over to Verizon.

Blackberry’s are a bit spendier on every other carrier, so I decided I wasn’t going to get one this time. I am testing The BlackBerry Theory (“once you go BlackBerry, you never go back”). I gotta say… I miss it already. But, that’s not what this entry is about.

I got an LG Dare, and so far, I have to say… I am not at all impressed. Maybe it’s just that I’ve been spoiled. But the point is…. I’m not impressed.

Section One: The Touch Screen
I’ve been spoiled by competent touch screen technology. The boyfriend has an iPhone that I play with from time to time, and I’ve got an iPod touch that I regularly access the internet and type on. I barely have to touch it to get it to register my keys. On the Dare… not so much. It’s slowed down my typing speed considerably to have to go back and hitting keys that it didn’t register that I hit.

Dragging leaves a bit to be desired as well. More often than not, the phone things I selected some option that is on the screen while I am trying to drag, instead of dragging. It’s a little counterproductive one may say.

Section Two: The Other Features
The “full feature” browser is a sad excuse for an HTML browser. I think I would have preferred a normal mobile browser, as navigating and using this one is a pain in the neck. Bah.

Uhm. So, I know there were other things I didn’t like about it but since I took the phone back a couple days ago, I’ve already forgotten about it. I started writing this on Friday and took the Dare back on Saturday.

I traded it in for a Voyager, and oddly enough, the Voyager (which has a full QWERTY keyboard on the inside) has a more responsive touch screen. The browser still sucks, but I like this phone a lot better.

Though, I just saw that RIM put out a touchscreen BlackBerry, and omg, I want it.

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Google Chrome

So, I downloaded the Google Chrome browser today.. I’ve only had a limited amount of time to play with it, but so far, I’d just like to say, wow. This thing is BLAZING fast. *love*

It’s a very simple, minimal looking browser. It’s kind of boring but in a good way I think.

The install was quick and painless, though I don’t recall it giving an option of choosing where to install.. the import features worked well and it grabbed all my stuff from Firefox, though it was kind of annoying that it made me close Firefox to do so.

The blank page shows a list of most visted sites, which is handy. Also, I like how the domain is black, and the rest of the URL is a lighter grey… minimize the spoof!

All in all, there are some features that I’d like to see added, but it’s a pretty solid beta, and I rather enjoy it.

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Bluetooth Headset Thoughts

So, there’s a lot of states that are passing laws requiring hands-free devices while driving. I figure Oregon will pass one in the near future. Also, I want to be one of the cool kids Actually, I’m just too lazy to hold my phone to my ear, and I really missed having a Bluetooth headset (I used to have a Jabra BT125 and was pretty fond of it, up until I dropped it in a puddle and it stopped working). So over the weekend I went and picked up a new one.

I was hanging out at Best Buy and picked up the Jabra BT8040 since I had liked my original Jabra headset… that didn’t work out so well for me. I plugged it in, let it charge for a bit, went to use it… the connection was extremely flaky. When it was connected, it was really static-y and dropped out ever few seconds, then would completely disconnect. No good. Also, pressing the button was not bringing up my voice dialing (srsly? Voice dialing is pretty key to the whole “hands free” thing). So I went to get the firmware update for the headset and started to install it… and it crashed. Fantastic! Do you know what happens when a firmware update fails on a headset? There’s a good chance that it will leave the headset nonfunctional. Which… it did. So there I am with a bricked headset. *sigh*

So the next day I went back to Best Buy and returned the defunct Jabra and got my money back. I had been talking to my friend Shawn and he was telling me about the new Jawbone.. his exact words about it were “Seriously, the Jawbone is one of those techs that is so advanced, it’s close to being magical.” I’ve got to say I’m pretty inclined to agree. The noise cancellation on it is amazing!

Now, in the Jabra’s defense, I did wind up having to update the firmware on my BlackBerry to get the Voice Dialing to work properly, even with the Jawbone… but man, the Jawbone totally put all other headsets I’ve ever seen to shame. I am so pleased! Best.splurge.ever.

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