1TO10REVIEWS

My Review: 1

I froze. How totally, terribly, embarrassing.  Don’t let this happen to you.

Think about what you’re going to say before the camera starts rolling.  For this, I get a 1 out of 10.

My Review: 8

I would not say that my daily morning coffee is essential.  But it is something I have nearly every day, and I miss it when I don’t have it.  I love the taste and especially the smell, though honestly I like it best with a healthy shot of half-and-half in it.  Black coffee doesn’t actually do much for me.  And I don’t like sugar or sweeteners in it either.  Nor lattes, mochas, cappucinos, americanos or espressos.  Good old fashioned american drip coffee, that’s my pleasure.

Right now at home we are brewing Peet’s New Guinea blend, and I care for it a great deal.

I got started drinking coffee at independent coffee shops when I was in college, but I’ve ended up drinking a lot of  Starbucks and Peets.  Some people say the big national (and international, I’ve been to Starbucks in Japan and it’s awesome!) coffee chains are killing good coffee, but I don’t feel that impact.  I do like the fact that those chains are consistent.  I may not get the best coffee in the world, but I know what I will get, and it’s good every time.  I like my coffee really strong, and really dark.  Some people call it Charbucks, but that’s how I like it.  “I like my coffee black, like my men.”  (Airplane, 1 nothing. )

I am not the only person who digs their coffee.  My friend Rochelle (who likes coffee herself) told me about a great blog called Stuff White People Like.  Know what the #1 thing white people like is?  Coffee.

My daily coffee routine gets a solid 8 out of 10.  I like the taste, it perks me up, and it keeps me regular.  That’s right, I poop better after coffee. 

My Review: 8

This was too funny to pass up.  I personally try to never do this to other people’s pictures, though I often make funnies in my own pics.  :)  Found the story first as a linkover from the Atlantic.com.  But the real source is the guys at ListOfTheDay They have some really funny posts.

The basic story is about messing with people’s pics, ruining an otherwise awesome photo:

I would check out the rest at LOTD.  And as I said, personally I try not to do that to others’ pics.  Though I am generally goofy in my own:

My Review: 9

Real quick, let me just say: this is my 100th post.  Yay 1to10.  Ok, now on with the review.

I’ve had the same Swingline stapler for 8 years.  I bought it in 2000 with my expense account when I was selling drugs (read: pharmaceuticals.)  I decided to review my stapler for two reasons:

1. I love Office Space and it was the best homage I could think of right now
2. This is hands down the strongest, ablest and most dependable stapler I’ve ever had the privilege of using

I think number one speaks for itself.  But regarding my second reason for this review, what makes it so darn special?  Well, I’ll tell you.  First, the aesthetics of the stapler alone make it stand out.  It’s sleek, silver, and the red plastic bumper on the front of the stapling mechanism really pops.  Don’t you think?

Also, the heft and feel of the stapler is impressive.  It’s solid and weighty in your hand.  15-20 pages of heavy bond paper at once is no problem for this king, this champion of office accoutrement.  And the long handle up top extends way past the business end, providing a great deal of leverage to the stapling.  Also, the bottom is a firm yet tactile black rubber that holds tight to a slick desktop without slipping, yet doesn’t mark or stain the surface.  Here are some pics of my shining prince of affixment:

I’m not the only person who cares about staplers.  Kevin, a guy trying to blog professionally actually put “stapler” into the header of his blog. That’s a big step.

I looked on Swingline’s website, and this is the closest I can find to the same model as mine.  They are selling this one for $44.78, and if it really is the same one as mine then it’s worth every penny.

What’s your favorite office tool?  Do you have a stapler (or scissor, pen, mechanical pencil, etc.) that you love and can’t live without?  Tell me - I want to know.

My Review: 2

twhirl’s website is down.  I can’t download the app from them.  download.com will let you download it successfully, though of course you need Adobe Air installed in order to open and run the app.  I’ve done a bunch of news and blog searches, but I can’t seem to find any information.  The twhirl blog is still up, and even has links to the home page to download the latest ( 0.8 ) version.  But that link is dead too.

I don’t know if I’m on crack and this is old news, or if I’ve happened on something new and troubling.  But I don’t like it.  So twhirl being down gets a 2 out of 10.  Boo.

UPDATE: The site appears to be back up and working fine now.  Everyone relax.

My Review: 10

OK, so maybe it’s biased to give your friend’s blog a high rating just because they’re your friend. But I don’t really care. Shaan writes a cool blog, and you should read it. And then go watch the movie he recommended, because it sounds awesome.

Yum.

This get’s a 1 out of 10.

I found it here.  Brutal.

My Review: 10

My friend Allison (not my wife) likes to use the phrase “on a scale of 1 to 10″ in unusual ways.  Rather than finishing the sentence with a number (like 3 for instance) she’ll say something like: “on a scale of 1 to 10 that’s awesome.”  Or: “on a scale of 1 to 10  this sucks.”

I think it’s brilliant, and on a scale of 1 to 10  she’s fabulous.

My Review: An 8. Or a 2.

I so often feel as though this cartoon embodies my life.

That makes me both happy and depressed. Generally I have to just smile my Jim Halpert smile and shrug my shoulders.

An 8. Or a 2. I still can’t decide.

My Review: 1

On Thursday January 10th, driving from Las Vegas back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I felt my throat tightening and my energy level dropping. During the 8 and a half hour drive, I grew steadily more congested as well. When I finally reached home around 1:30 AM, I knew I was definitely sick. I did not, however, realize that I was about to spend the next 4 days in bed, sweating and fever-filled.

I don’t get sick all that often, about once a year, and sometimes less. I haven’t taken a sick day home from work in almost 2 years. This year’s CES-Flu knocked me on my ass. I was full of snot, overcome with fever, simultaneously shivering and sweating, and losing my battle with with a bad headache. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I hardly left my bed. On Monday and Tuesday I felt well enough to sit on the couch and ache. Wednesday I tried to go to work, and came home early after a doctors appointment. This was a bad flu. No, I did not get a flu shot. I don’t know if it would have helped or if this was a different strain.

You spend most of CES face to face with total strangers, shaking hands with dirty people all the live long day. There’s not enough Purell in Nevada to kill all the germs. Late nights and long hours don’t help your immune system either. I think I just shook one too many hands and breathed one to many people’s germy breath while glorifying in all the technology.

This year’s CES-Flu laid me up pretty bad, in spite of repeated handwashing and lot’s Airborne and Emergen-C. I was bummed to get so sick, and I can’t really think of any redeeming factors to the flu. So it gets a 1, a rare grade here on 1to10, but I think it’s deserving.