Shoe cleaning products - Atsko Sno Seal

You've got a great pair of boots, but how do you make them last long? If you don't want your brand new Wolverines or Bates to get worn off within a season, you need to take a good care of them.

As you might know, I recently purchased these wonderful boots from amazon.com Men's Bates M-6 Gore-Tex. The quality is amazing: they sit well, appear very breathable and easy to use. Very easy to get in / out due to the side zip. Vibram outsole provides excellent traction and is very sturdy. Finally, the leather upper, supported by surrounding Gore-Tex inside, is very beautiful, healthy, shiny and strong.

Having paid $128.00 + $5.00 shipping dee for this must-have equipment, the question I'm asking myself is - how do I keep them new for the years to come?

And the answer is, suggested by my girlfriend, suggested her by her uncle shoe-expert, is - Atsko Sno Seal wax.



Of course, you can buy it on Amazon, but the website by Atsko.com is very interesting too. Here is the description of this wax from their official webpage:

Sno-Seal Original Beeswax Waterproofing protects leather from rain, sun, snow, and salt. The beeswax formula dries to a solid wax that "stays put" in the surface of the leather so it lasts longer.
Our competitors' greases, oil, and animal products are able to migrate through the leather till they clog all the pores. These waterproofing products fill the natural spaces that are supposed to absorb perspiration and insulate.
In addition, animal fats weaken and rot leather. The tannery worked hard to remove the fats and preserve the leather, so it's hard to imagine why you'd put it back on.
Sno-Seal will help you feel more comfortable in Gore-Tex® fabric lined boots because it allows the Gore-Tex®-absorbed perspiration to escape out of the leather.
And not only will Sno-Seal keep you warm and dry, it'll also help you from getting tired. A typical leather boot can soak up to a pound of water. That means you lift an additional 2,212 lbs. to walk one mile. Sno-Seal keeps the whole boot dry, warm and light.




As you can see this wax is especially good for the Gore-Tex fabric, which is another advantage to buy it together with the Bates boots.


Enjoy!

Thanksgiving is coming!

What are the best thanksgiving ideas? Food? Any nice recipes with turkey? Thanksgiving games? Fun for friends / family? What do you do in your country? Is it popular? Anything similar? Do you travel? I know many people go south to visit relatives in Florida. I did it once, and it is really a gorgeous time of year there around Thanksgiving. The air is magnificent and magic. It has like this beautiful blueish color, and calming, enriching ozone smell. Not too hot, not too cool - the truly best time of year. Highly recommend to do it once at least if you have chance!

It is funny - yesterday I met a couple of friends while shopping in the local organic grocery store, and we were discussing the travel opportunities - it seems the best deals you can get for flights during thanksgiving weekend is those which depart on Thursday evening (when everybody is eating) and which return on Saturday day time (when everybody is having fun)... The fares otherwise are like $500+ from Boston to California! It's totally crazy.

Amazon.com has some great thanksgiving deals, as I heard from Landy:

Question of the day:
Q: Do they celebrate Thanksgiving in Turkey?

IJAS - winter tires

Winter Tires
ij advising service series


Landy asks:
Hey! I am looking for a new tires to put-on my car for coming winter season. What do you have on this?


The selection of winter tires is a tough process. In many U.S. states the Department of Motor Vehicles requires you to switch to the winter tires during winter season. Amazon.com has a wide selection of winter tires for your automobile. Since different brands have different characteristics and aesthetic attractiveness we highly recommend to explore the entire collection before you make a decision:
Search Amazon.com for winter tires
   




























Remember - safety first. Make a wise choice!

Winter waterproof hiking boots

Tired from spending $50 every month on low-quality footwear? It's better to invest once and then be happy and warm for the next few years.

The best boots are those which combine Vibram soles with Gore-Tex powered full leather cover. The best candidate is therefore Wolverine Branson:















The price is too high though... An alternative is Bates footwear: they don't have single slice leather cover, but have a nice zipper for quick access instead:

See the piece of material on the side? My previous Bates (desert version) started to leak severely after 1.5 years use in the points where two different materials merge. But Bates M-6 has Gore-Tex layer which will hopefully keep the feet dry and the boots breathable.

More affordable price-wise as well.









Question of the day:
Q: How much better is Gore-Tex compared to the nearest competitor technologies?

Giovanni Tea Tree Shampoo

Great treat for your hair - wakening up in the morning, refreshing at night.
Tea tree + peppermint + eucalyptus

15% off and free delivery when you use subscribe & save!

Headphones for iPhone

There are a lot of headphones out there, but if you are a true fan of high quality music and like to be in control of your sounds - you want the headphones to be durable enough to withstand everyday use, powerful enough to deliver undistorted sound and have that little volume control and answer buttons right there on the wire for quick and easy access.

Luckily for us, there are such headphones: iPhone / iPod headphones by apple with remote & microphone















The problem with these headphones, however is the short length of the cable and mediocre durability: the original pair I bought (for $29 back then) was broken after soem time, and the pair that came with the iPhone, didn't last long either, despite the care I took of it (well, basically I tortured them too much, but still - they should withstand everyday tortures, eh?)

So I suggest that you have a look at this piece by Phillips:

Theн offer amazing sound quality and come with built in microphone and remote control which works both with your Mac and iDevice. The cable is long enough and they are pretty durable. Also they have a benefit of not canceling outside noises, which is a great safety feature for walking / jogging in busy places.











Question of the day:
Q: Should one invest once in high quality headset ($500+) or use cheap versions (~$1) changing them once they break every week?

Canon EOS Rebel T2i

This is the greatest camera ever hitting the market. It offers 18 megapixel CMOS sensor capable of capturing up to 3.7 frames per second. Add to it the ability to ramp ISO from 100 up to 6400 - you can get out with stunning pictures from nearly any low-light situation. To finish up the wow-shock and leave you craving for the product, Canon has added live view support and the stunning ability to record High Definition videos. But be careful - the producer inside you will eat up your camera memory in no time. Luckily, there is support for SDXC memory cards that will bring you to the top of the film industry.

Buy it now on amazon:

the kit version: Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

or, the body only version:

Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)

which you can finish up with an amazing Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 lens, which fits your budget and gives your photos unbelievable look (great for videos, where you can selectively focus on a specific targets, and also performs amazingly well in low light situations):

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Question of the day
Q: should Canon make further efforts to increase the resolution of the cameras, or concentrate on noise reduction, keeping low MP?