nbajerseys

As some of you know, I'm a fan of Rocky movies. In fact, I went on record the other night stating that the upcoming Rocky VI is the only movie I'll make any sort of effort to watch in the theater.

I'd like to preface this article by stating that I have not seen the previews for Rocky VI, nor do I know when it is coming out. In fact, I don't know anything about the story. The only thing I've heard is that Rocky will be fighting in the ring again, which may or may not be true. Let's assume that it is true. How do we justify it?

If you've kept up with the Rocky movies up until now, then you know that Rocky was severely brain damaged (meaning more than usual) in the 4th installment by Ivan Drago, and therefore was unable to fight in the ring in the 5th installment (although he did engage in street fighting). How is it believable that Rocky, now in his late 50s to early 60s is fighting in the ring again?

At this point, we must backtrack in a non linear fashion throughout the 1st five installments, picking and choosing passages of interest which prove to be useful (much like Evangelical Bible Thumpers do with their favorite book). Remember what Ivan Drago stated to his trainer about Rocky in the fourth installment: “He is not a man. He is a machine.”

When I first heard this line 21 years ago, I thought it was a metaphor. But was it? Also refer to installments 1 and 2 with the passage describing Apollo Creed as “The Greatest of All Time”. How is it that Rocky could defeat “The Greatest of All Time”? The answer lies in the fourth installment. Rocky is not a man. He is a machine. Literally.

Apollo Creed was the greatest of all time and he still is. But Apollo was human: the greatest human of all time. He was such a great human that he was able to defeat a machine named Rocky by decision in the first installment. But how?

This one's easy. Rocky was indeed a machine, but a crudely built one and he was a multi-purpose machine; having been designed not only for boxing, but for loitering in pet shops in search of his soul mate, buying drinks for Paulie while tolerating him in general, and part time leg-breaking for a loan shark named Gazzo. Not only was Rocky crudely multi-purposed, but no one possessed the owner's manual, except for Mickey; and even he had it locked up in the vault for 10 years, having decided that it was of no use to him.

Then came the big novelty fight and Mickey decided to dig up the owners manual. It was worth a shot, right? But it wasn't good enough. Apollo was such a good boxer, that Mickey would have to wait until the second installment to make the proper maintenance adjustments to the machine called Rocky.

Now I know what you're thinking. Where does Clubber Lang fit into all this? You thought I forgot about Clubber didn't you? What was Clubber? Was he a machine also? After all, he did defeat Rocky once in the third installment didn't he? And what about Apollo Creed? If Clubber Lang could defeat Rocky, could he not then defeat Apollo Creed?

The answer is no. Clubber Lang never fought Apollo Creed. And Clubber was not a machine. He was human. Creed was the greatest, and no human can defeat Creed (Yes, Drago was a machine; but I'll get to that later). Notice, that I didn't say a human could not defeat a machine. A human can defeat a machine, but a human cannot defeat the greatest human; and a machine can defeat any human, but not always.

So how did Clubber defeat Rocky? Easy. Rocky had not been properly maintained by Mickey for several years after the defeat of Creed. Clubber was simply so strong that he knocked Rocky out in the second round. Rocky simply wasn't ready for that first fight against Clubber.

In walks Apollo Creed, the greatest human of all time with an intuitive owner's manual that Mickey simply never possessed. After the proper maintenance by Creed, Rocky was able to simply outlast Clubber through conditioning alone and avoid Clubber's deadly hook and jab. No contest. Clubber Lang, with his superhuman strength, simply could not match proper conditioning. If he had fought Apollo, Apollo would have destroyed him.

So how did Drago destroy Apollo? Well, you already know part of the answer. Drago was not human. He was also a machine, and a powerful one at that. And Apollo was simply too old, too cocky, and too out of shape at that point. So how was the machine Rocky able to defeat the machine Drago?

Easy. Conditioning. Rocky simply trained harder with what he had, and what he had was a bigger heart. But the fight against Drago took its toll, and even though he defeated Drago; he was never the same. And I can assure you that Drago is the same. But the Cold War is over and we no longer have any use for him.

So how can Rocky be ring fighting again in the 6th installment after not being able to fight in the 5th installment? Well, keep in mind that Rocky was broken in the 5th installment and there was no one around who knew how to fix him (Mickey and Creed are both dead, remember?). Furthermore, that was over 10 years ago. Not only has technology advanced since then, but I suppose that there is someone around somewhere who not only possesses the owner's manual to Rocky but knows how to use it as well.

St. Patrick's Day in Hot Springs, Arkansas – Hot Springs, Arkansas is always a wonderful town to visit, especially now when gas prices have risen so high. Most of us in Arkansas can arrive there on less than a tank of gas. The best part is that all the luxury, fun, and themeparks of other larger farther away cities can be find in this convenient, scenic location. There are several upscale restaurants with full scale bars to go to have dinner and a drink. There are several wonderful restaurants in the downtown vicinity in walking distance of quaint downtown shops, spas, and hotels: Fugi's Japenese Steakhouse, Bohemia's German Restaurant, Brau Haus, and many more.

The spas and hotels downtown which are very elegant and many are suited for the visitor on a budget such as the comfort in and other locally owned motels. All of the spas and hotels are in walking distance of the city attractions. There are many specialty shops downtown such as a handblown glass shop, a specialty pet store, and a quaint little gift shop.

However, if you chose to visit Hot Springs on St. Patrick's Day you are in for a treat. You can visit the restaurants any day of the year, but on St. Patrick's day the city hosts a Pub Crawl that includes many of these excellent restaurants.

The pub crawl begins by signing up for your participants green t-shirt at one of the downtown hotels. You show your ID (proving your 21 or over), pay $10, then recieve your t-shirt which entitles you to visit any of the restaurants participating to receive free or reduced price drinks. This includes the infamous green beer that is traditionally served on this holiday.

Hot Springs also host the world's shortest parade on St. Patrick's day every year. Each year the parade is marshalled by a different celebrity. There are so many floats in the parade that they have trouble fitting onto the small street. The people on the floats throw candy, beads, and t-shirts.

I hope you make your way down to Hot Springs for St Patrick's Day this year. I was there last year and I will be there again this year. It was so much fun!

Although most orchestral film scores (such as the ones for the Star Wars/Star Trek franchises) are contemporary compositions written in the classical idiom, there have been many instances where true classical music has been used as either partial or complete underscore for a motion picture. Both versions of Walt Disney’s Fantasia, for example, are essentially animated classical music videos with beautiful vignettes of mischievous sorcerers’ apprentices, mythological creatures, and even dinosaurs set to the music of Dukas, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Stravinsky. Other directors and film composers are content with featuring one or two memorable orchestral works interspersed with original music cues. Michael Ritchie’s The Bad News Bears (1976) not only has a score composed by Jerry Fielding but also features The Toreador Song from Georges Bizet’s Carmen, while Phil Alden Robinson’s The Sum of All Fears (2002) contains Romance: Io la vidi e al suosorriso from the opera Don Carlo by Verdi and the aria Nessun dorma from Puccini’s Turandot

Here, then, are five classical music pieces that have been used as themes in major theatrical releases.

1. Also Sprach Zarazustra, Richard Strauss (2001: A Space Odyssey): Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction classic is a rarity – a serious, plausible vision of the 21st Century that uses a score consisting solely of classical music. Strauss’ brassy fanfare Also Sprach Zarazustra (Thus Spake Zarazustra), which is heard three times in the film, is so associated with the movie that on some albums it’s listed as the Theme from 2001. (Incidentally, Kubrick’s decision to use an all-classical score almost tempted George Lucas into doing the same thing with Star Wars, but composer John Williams convinced him that this approach wouldn’t work well. Still, if you listen closely to The Imperial Attack, you’ll notice a certain similarity to Gustav Holst’s Mars: Bringer of War from The Planets.)

2. Adagio in G for Strings and Organ, Tomaso Albinoni & Remo Giazotto (Gallipoli): Featured to good effect in the soundtrack to Peter Weir’s 1981 film about the disastrous World War I battle on the coast of Turkey, this is Remo Giazotto’s famous forgery of a work he attributed to Tomaso Albinoni, the hauntingly beautiful Adagio in G minor for Organ and Strings . As the story goes, Giazotto was working on a biography of Albinoni in 1945; he came upon a fragment of one of the Baroque composer's works – less than a page's worth of notes – and cunningly extrapolated the Adagio in G, which is perhaps one of the most brilliant musical forgeries ever composed.

3. Canon and Gigue in D minor, Johann Pachelbel (Ordinary People): Robert Redford’s Academy Award-winning film (adapted from Judith Guest’s novel) about a family coping with a tragic loss prominently features Pachelbel's Canon and Gigue in D major for 3 violins and continuo to good effect. Not only is it a wonderful if sometimes challenging piece to listen to, but I remember that I first heard it in Seville, Spain on a rainy October afternoon in 1988. Starting out with a single violin playing one melodic idea, the Canon grows more complex as the piece progresses and other instruments join in.

4. “Ode to Joy” from “Symphony No.9 in D- 'Choral', Op.125″, L. v. Beethoven (Die Hard): The late, great Michael Kamen was fond of incorporating different styles of music into the scores of films he was involved with, and 1988’s Die Hard not only features a rap song by Run-DMC and a holiday tune (Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!) by Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne, but it showcases Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, both interpolated into Kamen’s dynamic action cues but also played “straight” in the end credits.

5. ”Largo” from Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” Antonin Dvorak (Clear and Present Danger): Philip Noyce’s second adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel relies heavily on James Horner’s original score, but in a scene where we see the bodies of American officials killed in the Bogota ambush sequence arriving at Dover Air Force Base, we hear a military band striking up the somber tones of the famous Largo by Czech composer Dvorak.

Connel Patrick loves to swim, ride his bike, and run laps around the driveway. He is a typical six-year-old boy…and he has a heart condition called Supraventricular Tachycardia.

Tachycardia means a fast heart rate. Supraventricular means coming from above the ventricle. Commonly referred to as SVT, this irregularity causes his heart to beat very fast. In a normal heart, there are electrical connections called conduction tissue. These connections carry the electrical current through the heart muscle and cause it to beat. SVT happens when a heart has an extra electrical connection. When this connection is turned on, the heart beats much faster than normal. It's not usually dangerous and can be treated with medication, but it can be very scary – especially when it happens for the first time.

Source: Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago Illinois. Resources for Parents and Families. February 2005

At noon on a snowy day in March 2007, Connel, a dinosaur fanatic since the age of two, was living out his dream. He had traveled from his home in Michigan to Chicago and was finally at the Field Museum of Natural History, examining Tyrannosaurus Sue (the most complete T-Rex skeleton in the world) in person. But, in a split second his mood changed from excited to exhausted. “My tummy feels funny,” he told his mother, Jennifer, as he hugged his stomach and hunched over . “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“I took him to the restroom,” recalls Jennifer, ” but it didn't help him.” He complained of being really thirsty, but several drinks from the water fountain didn't help quench his thirst. According to Jennifer, Connel looked very pale and felt clammy. “We found a seating area and rested while my husband took our younger son to look at the dinosaur exhibit. Connel, who had been looking forward to this trip to the museum for years, was on my lap with his eyes closed,” Jennifer recounts.

While resting, Jennifer noticed that Connel's pulse was very visible on his neck and that his heart was beating fast. These are warning signs of an SVT episode, but not having experienced this before Jennifer didn't think much of it. But, when she got Connel up so that he could look at the dinosaur exhibit, he could hardly walk. The Patricks rented a stroller from the museum and placed Connel in it, however, he vomited soon after.

The family went back to their hotel, where, from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., Connel vomited once every twenty minutes. “Since our whole family had been sick with the stomach flu and other viruses throughout the winter, we played down Connel's condition all day and evening as another minor illness,” says Connel's father, Brian.

At 11 p.m, Jennifer and Connel went to the nearest hospital, Northwest Memorial, in a cab. When the triage nurse in the emergency room couldn't get a blood pressure reading on Connel with a machine, she checked his pulse manually and immediately called back to the emergency room doctors and told them to clear a bed immediately.

Connel was rushed to a bed in the emergency room and a doctor was with him quickly. Connel kept vomiting. He was hooked up to machines. They took an X-Ray of his chest to see if he had a chest infection that may be causing these symptoms. His lungs were clear, so they ruled out that possibility. The doctor read Connel's heart rate at 240 beats per minute (bpm) -a normal heart rate is between 80 – 120 bpm. The doctor told Jennifer that Connel's heart needed to be slowed down before his heart was damaged – if it wasn't already. The doctors administered a medicine called Adenosine that blocked the electrical impulses in his heart and got it beating at a normal rate.

Connel was then sent by ambulance to Children's Memorial Hospital around 3 a.m., where he was examined by a doctor who specializes in the heart's electrical currents. The specialist examined Connel's heart with an echocardiogram (a type of ultrasound) and determined that Connel has AV Node Tachycardia. This means that he was born with an extra electrical connection. It may not have been noticed before because often this extra connection isn't turned on until years after a child is born. Triggers can be exercise, excitement, stress, caffeine and certain medications. Blood tests showed that there had been some damage to Connel's heart during this episode because it had gone on for so long. The specialist said that this episode was equivalent to Connel running a marathon for 18 hours.

Connel stayed at Children's Memorial Hospital for three more days. They tried out different medications to control his SVT, such as Propranolol and Atenolol. These medications are also used to treat migraines and aggressive behavior. His partents were given a stethoscope and instructed to use it to check Connel's heart rate once in the morning and once at night. Further blood tests showed that his heart was healing and that there would most likely not be any permanent damage.

Connel was on Atenolol for a month. While he was on the medication, he was very quiet and lethargic. He was referred to a well-known pediatric cardiologist at the University of Michigan Mott's Children's Hospital named Dr. MacDonald Dick. After examining Connel, Dr. Dick decided to take him off the Atenolol. If Connel starts to feel funny in his stomach again, he is supposed to use a valsalva maneuver. This means that he is to pretend to blow up a balloon on his thumb or bear down as if having a bowel movement. These maneuvers may slow his heart rate down. If his heart rate doesn't slow down within an hour, he must be taken to an emergency room.

If SVT becomes more of a problem for Connel in the future, his parents may consider him undergoing a procedure called Radiofrequency Ablation. During the procedure, which usually requires only an overnight stay in the hospital, a doctor burns a small piece of heart muscle where the tachychardia occurs. It's becoming more common now and can result in the tachycardia being destroyed.

It was a warm spring day and I was casually going about my business. Little did I know that soon I would be faced with a decision of great import.

Door-to-door salesmen are not common these days. So I was shocked to find a young African American standing on my doorstep in a suit and tie. He immediately began to relate the difficulties of growing up in the inner city, so I knew he wasn't a missionary. “Have you any experience with life in the inner city?” he wanted to know.

“No,” I said. “But I have experience with being really busy. If you're selling something, please cut to the chase.”

He was more than happy to do this, immediately whipping out a bottle of Advanage(TM) Wonder Cleaner. (No, that's not a typo. There's no “t” in Advanage(TM).) He then knelt and began to scrub a section of my wheel rim, as we were in the driveway. It was warm, and he was sweating has he scrubbed. This conjured up all kinds of racial guilt, of course. Now I'll have to buy this, I thought. Otherwise he's cleaned my rims for free.

But my attention soon returned to the rim, because it now gleamed in the afternoon light. “Nothing will stick to that section I cleaned for 39 days,” he announced.

At this point I had made my decision. Unless the product were ridiculously expensive, I would have to buy it. I simply had to know what would happen on the 40th day. But what occurred next was beyond my wildest expectations. “I see you have children,” he said, as one of my sons whizzed by, barely missing us. “You don't have to worry about them getting into this. It's non-toxic,” and with that he put the applicator, still damp, in his mouth. He had put his money where his mouth was, literally. Maybe he would did of cancer in 20 years, after doing that 20,000 times. In any case, he deserved to be compensated for his faith in the product.

I inquired as to the price, and was told that it would be $108 dollars for 3 one-liter bottles. These can be diluted 20:1 for most applications. This amount would last a while, I decided, and purchased it without hesitation.

Now you want to know, does Advanage(TM) really work as well as he said? I can tell you, nothing dramatic happened on the 40th day. This was somewhat disappointing. But it does clean well, considering that it's non-toxic. Chlorine bleach does clean some things faster, but do you really want to touch it with your hands, or your mouth for that matter?

Believe it or not, The Best of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the DVD release from BCI that started it all. While it hasn't been said officially, it certainly appears as though the positive reaction of fans of the series led to BCI's continued dedication to bringing each and every single episode of the classic Filmation epic to DVD release.

As I said in my review for the best of She-Ra (also from BCI), 10-best sets are a great idea for many reasons; not only are they typically much more affordable than buying entire series box sets, they are also a great way for a potential fan to discover whether or not that would be interested in the series as a whole. This is especially true in the case of The Best of He-Man as the ten episodes represented (across two discs) are favorites as voted on by fans.

The set breaks down by including the five fan favorites from season 1 on disc 1 and the five best from season 2 on disc 2. The special features are also broken down similarly whereby each disc contains a feature commentary specific to the five episodes included within. These features include commentary by the show's creative staff (writers, directors, artists, animators, and producers).

As far as the content itself is concerned, the 10 episodes included on this set bounce around from some of the very earliest productions and come close to skimming the outer reaches of the second (and final) season.

Included are the following episodes from Season 1:

Evil Seed
Prince Adam No More
Diamond Ray of Disappearance
Teela's Quest

Season 2:

Into the Abyss
Teela's Triumph
To Save Skeletor
The Problem With Power
Origin of the Sorceress

As has become tradition with all of BCI's impressive He-Man and the Masters of the Universe DVD releases (including She-Ra), this collection began the tradition of including a pair of 4×6″ art cards, this time by artists Bruce Timm and Adam Hughes.

Many question the value of owning this collection, especially if they own the complete series box sets but BCI wisely spices this set with some documentary bits unavailable elsewhere and the pair of unique art cards. Most importantly, however, is that The Best of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe typically retails for around $15 and does a wonderful job of summarizing the 130 episodes of the series for potential fans.

Who doesn't love it when the spotlights on them? When the microphone is held up to your mouth and you sing your most favorite tune, whether it be in private or in a public place? Granted, we can't all be on American Idol, but we can all have a chance to sing to our heart's content to almost any song at any time. If you love Karaoke, I have good news for you.

When I was searching the world of CyberSpace, I came across this website: www.singshot.com. It's almost like the MySpace of music. You fill out a quick sign-up form using a valid e-mail address, and then you're bombarded with tons of songs, old and new, that you can sing as the lyrics go by. If you have a microphone, you can record your songs and save them to make them public, or you can keep your songs in private if you're a little shy about your voice. I have been with SingShot for a little while now, but the SingShot community is wonderful. People have a chance to rate your music and give constructive criticism. They can rate your songs from one to five songs. Surprisingly people in the SingShot community are extremely generous and kind. There is a slight problem, however, affecting many SingShot members. This problem involves people that are making fake account only to go around and give SingShot members one star. And to add insult to injury, these people make very rude remarks on the song of the victim I haven't had it happen to me…yet….but many members from SingShot were and are actually appalled by this, and many members have actually left. But other than that, SingShot is a great medium in which to share your singing and your voice talents. I think that the private feature is wonderful, too, because if you had a sub-par voice, but you still want to sing your heart out, you can! And it's only for you to listen, no one else.

SingShot also allows you to use a web camera so that you can record yourself singing and publish it as a video with song. The only problem with this is that sometimes the camera and the singing do not match up, which causes an awkward video view back. And if you are going to get a microphone for SingShot, make sure to get a good quality one, and to keep it away from your speakers so that the feedback from the speakers doesn't overpower your voice. Something else that's pretty special about SingShot is that they are trying very hard to obtain more rights to more songs, but they have a pretty impressive list of songs as it is. They have everything from Disco to Rock. The song shows up at lyrics at first, but later on when you want to publish the song, you can opt to have a slideshow play instead of the lyrics, of you can even use some of your personal pictures as a slideshow.

But the very best aspect of SingShot is that it is absolutely free. There's no kind of trick to signing up and having access to all the free songs and even your own mini-recording studio. At SingShot, you can view other people's musical performance and rate them yourself. To share your recording with your friends, you can email your songs or even just save the link that appears on your search bar when you're listening to your own song. SingShot makes singing fun, easy, and shareable! If you have never heard of SingShot, I suggest you give it a try. I'm still waiting for them to add a few more songs from Selena and such, but in time, I'm sure their music database will expand for sure!

Yu-Gi-Oh has always been a rather simple game to understand, but now things are bit more complicated with a new mechanic known as Synchro Summoning. This is a special kind of summon that has been introduced to the game in the all new 5D's series. A synchro summon is almost the same as a fusion summon, but with a few little tweaks that make deck construction a very key part of any synchro deck, but the results can be astounding! A well “tuned” synchro deck can be a devastating arch type both to fight with … and against.

Overall think of the synchro monsters just like a fusion monster. Synchro monsters look different then regular monsters, much like fusion monsters. They are White in color and in the text/effect box they have the monsters necessary for them to be summoned. You keep all of your synchro monsters in a side deck and when they are summoned to the field via a synchro summon they come right out of this side deck and then to the graveyard, just like any other monster. See with their very own color, side deck and summoning requirements, a synchro monster acts just like a good ol' fusion monster!

The only way to summon a synchro monster is by “tuning” two or more monsters together. This is a bit more complex then just having any two monsters on the field, because one of them must be a “tuner” monster. In the text/effect box a monster will have its type listed, like warrior, fiend, machine etc. and some monsters have “tuner” in this box. These tuner monsters are the essential ingredient to a synchro summon!

Next you'll need to make sure you meet two specific requirements to summon any synchro monster. First make sure you have the correct monsters to perform the summon. Most synchro summons require 1 tuner + 1 or more non-tuner monsters, and these guys are relatively easy to get out onto the field. Other synchro monsters require a specific tuner monster to summon, like Junk Warrior, who requires Junk Synchron + 1 or more non-tuner monsters to summon. Just keep in mind that you cannot use more then one tuner monster in any synchro summon unless the card states this as a specific requirement.

The second requirement is the real nasty part of the synchro summon. You have to make sure that the level of all monsters used in the synchro summon are equal to the monster you are attempting to summon. This means that if a synchro monster has 5 stars, which means he's a level 5 monster, you must be sure to use monsters whose total level of stars equals exactly 5! This is the really tricky part of the synchro summon, and the key ingredient when putting together a synchro deck.

All of the effort of synchro summoning may not seem worth the trouble, but synchro monsters are very powerful! Synchro monsters have some of the most powerful effects in the game, and their attacks can soar to well over 2500 easily! Aside from some very nice attacks, and awesome effects synchro monsters have massive artillery of support cards. Synchro support is relatively advanced for such a new arch type, which makes this new 5D mechanic all the better.

Yu-Gi-Oh always does an excellent job of updating its game, and here again they achieve their goal. Adding the synchro mechanic has made Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's all the more enjoyable for all gamers, and has yet again added a bit of spice to this trusted card game. Be sure to look for powerful synchro monsters in the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's series like Goyo Guardian, Red Dragon Archfiend, and of Course Stardust Dragon to maximize the power of your synchro deck!

Snap-EZ ™ All in One's are the answer to anyone's prayers when looking for a trim fitting high quality AIO diaper! They hold up to even the heaviest of wetters when used along with the Simple Soaker.

I was introduced to Snap-EZ ™ diapers on a cloth diapering form I had been posting on. I had been offered an All in One diaper as part of a trade. I had already tried Snap-EZ ™ pocket diapers and had fallen in love with them, so I thought I would give the All in One (AIO) diaper a try also.

Just like the pockets I found the AIO diaper to have the same great fit. Even better was the diaper was trimmer then that of the pocket style because it was not stuffed with an insert, yet the super trim soaker was sewn right inside. The super 3 layer insert was even absorbent enough for my pee machine of a son to use as a day-time diaper, which is hard to say with other AIOs. I was impressed.

Unlike the pocket diapers I had previously tried, the AIO came with a Suede Cloth inner. Just like the fleece inside, the Suede Cloth kept my son as dry as can be. The Suede Cloth quickly wicked away any wetness from my son's very tender and eczema prone tush and the build in soaker quickly absorbed the pee.

Also this time around my diaper came in a print. I had only had experience with the solid colored Snap-EZ ™ products before trying my print AIO. I was a bit worried at first because I had had major issues with print diapers in the past leaking. Yet, Snap-EZ ™ did not leak for me. I later found out they use 2 mil PUL under all their print fabric unlike other diaper companies who mostly only put a thin layer of 1 mil pul under their prints. I think the extra mil of PUL really makes the difference in preventing unwanted leaks.

Just like the pocket diapers, the AIO I have has the same elastic around the leaks. This wonderful Lastin elastic is unlike anything in any of my other diapers and actually does not cause red marks on my child's legs. It is also latex free which is a plus for us, because my son sometimes has issues with latex.

I was impressed how wonderful solid's came off of my AIO Snap-EZ ™ diaper. Just like I had found with their wonderful pockets, the poop just seemed to roll off of the inner liner of the diaper. The suede cloth inner of my AIO was even more easier to get poop off of then my fleece liners of the pockets! It was amazing, I did not even have to do any scrapping with my son's sticky poops.

Washing the AIO was simple and easy also. I washed it as I would any other cloth diaper. And best of all the diaper had a surprisingly short dry time. Unlike my other AIO diapers, the Snap-EZ ™ diaper dried in half the time and was ready to use again in less then an hour! I could not say that about any other AIOs I own! I was shocked.

I heard great things about the Simple Soakers you can order with a Snap-EZ ™ AIO. I thought I would give one a try. I ordered a Simple Soaker directly from the Snap-EZ ™ website and received it in record time. (Less then a week). I gave it the ultimate test of overnight use and when used with the Snap-EZ ™ AIO it stood up to my extremely heavy wetter overnight for 12+ hours! Some of his pocket diapers stuffed with billions of inserts can not even do that. I was about to pee my pants. It was a miracle! and the Simple Soaker was so easy to use, all I had to do was lay it in the AIO.

I was so impressed by the Snap-EZ ™ AIO I wanted a whole stash of them. Of course the only thing stopping me on ordering loads more is the price. The price of the Snap-EZ ™ AIO diaper is a bit on the pricey side. An AIO runs about $27.00 for a medium sized AIO! and the prices grows as you get into the bigger sizes and that is only for a solid colored diaper, if you want a print you have to tack on even more cash out of your pocket. Also if you want the Simple Soaker to go along with the diaper, you have to add on yet another fee. These amazing AIO diapers are not for people on a tight budget at all.

Overall, I love my Snap-EZ ™ AIO and would love to have a whole stash of them if it wasn't for the outrageous price. They are trim fitting and when used with the Simple Soaker are the perfect night time diaper for my heavy wetter son. I love the fit on his body and would recommend them to anyone looking for a high quality All in One diaper.

Speed:  It's something a lot of us yearn to do while in a car.  You're late to your appointment; you forgot your kid gets out early; your boss told you that if you were late once more, you're fired!  All of these things give us reason to speed, but is it worth the ticket?  Absolutely not.  This is why you should consider investing some money in a nice radar detector.  Now I'm not condoning speeding.  On the contrary, I'm all about keeping the roads safe for everyone! 

However, when you are in a hurry, and the only thing stopping you from getting to your destination on time is to speed by the old lady on your left, then you may want to think about getting something to help you keep an eye out for the cops.  The cops have no hesitation to pull over a speeder, and when they do, they usually will write you a ticket.  These things can be costly and will go on your DMV driving record!  If you were thinking that you would like a little help to warn you of police while you are speeding, then I suggest you invest a little money in a radar/laser detector.  If you are still interested, then keep reading, but if not, then this may be a waste of your time, but also very valueable information.

Radar/laser detectors can be anywhere from $40 to $300+.  To keep this plain and simple: there are different brand names you should be aware of, and what their specialty is.  Also if you were thinking about getting one, you may also consider the following:

• Do I speed enough to need a radar/laser detector?
• Do I have the extra money to afford one?
• Overall, is it worth it?

Now if you think you still need one, then go ahead and continue, as you will find very helpful information:

Different BANDS of radars/lasers police use:

X-band – An older band, Almost never used in California, but I'd never suggest to turn it off on a detector.  Picked up on radars from SafeWay electric doors or gas stations sometimes.  A common confusion with all radar detectors. 
K-band – A harder to detect band of radar.  Commonly used in California and many other states.  It's becoming more popular as well.
Ka band – This is one of the latest bands of radars.  Not very common at all, but in California, I've caught a few cops using this one.  It has the secondary name “Ka Super-wide” meaning its almost impossible to detect by regular detectors.
POP – The latest in police technology.  It acts as a laser that “pops” different cars to check speeds much faster than a normal laser gun.  Not popular in most states, however in California, I have caught a ton of cops using this.  Meaning California is pretty up-to-date on thier technology used by police.
Laser – If your hit by this, your toast if your speeding.  It accuratly tells the police your speed and he can now write you a ticket.  However, most radar/laser detectors now-a-days can pick this up fairly easily.

Other:
VG-2 – This is a system used by radar/laser detectors to pick up “radar detector-detectors”.  Police have the detectors that can pick up YOUR radar detector and let them know your using one so they can keep a sharp eye out for you.  Most detectors can pick up one of these however and as a result, the radar/laser detector shuts itself down automatically to be un-detected.

Whistler© – Whistler is a fairly cheap brand of radar detectors.  They carry anything from the low-end models such as the “DE-1742″ to thier higher quality “DE-1756's”.  Whistler is the cheaper brand of radar detector and is recommended to those who aren't as frequent at speeding and usually only travel about 5-10 miles over the speed limit.  These radar detectors can start as low as $40 or less, and can go about as high as $100+.  I have purchased the $100 model one, and it has saved me a good $80 ticket while on the freeway once.  The cop was using POP to catch people (POP-A laser gun that “pops” cars to check various speeds at a higher rate than a regular laser gun). 

Whistler is known for thier “Escort©”-like range when it comes to lasers. 

Cobra© – A common brand, not too shabby.  This is the brand you may want to go for if you only speed fairly often, but only go at a max, 15 miles over the speed limit.  My friend had a $80 Cobra detector once, and it saved him once on a ticket about a mile up the road.  Not too bad, but he wasn't speeding very much.  This is recommended if you only go over the speed limit a bit.

Escort© – An extremely well known brand of radar/laser detector.  This company has earned “Best Radar/Laser Detector of the Year” award before for thier performance with radar/laser detectors.  They are leading in the market right now just above the V1 (Valentine 1), with thier 8500 X50 Passport (what I now have).  They may not be cheap (at all) but they sure are reliable.  I have the $300 Passport, and it has saved me multiple times from a ticket now.  I've caught 5 different cops using POP, 1 using Ka, several using X-band, and a few using the K-band.  Also, it has “VG-2 Immunity” making it 'invisible' to radar detector detectors.  It also has an upgradable chip inside so if new police technology is released, you won't have to go out and buy a brand new detector and scrap your brand new costly one.

Rocky Mountain© – Not very well known, and shoddy quality.
Rocky Mountain has tried to enter the competition with thier so called “radar detectors/jammers”.  They claim you can jam a radar/laser while finding out where they are.  This has failed on many levels of different tests.  Not to mention they are very pricy with thier radar/laser detectors.  I would by all means, NOT recommend this brand at all.  Stick to the Escorts and Whistlers.

Beltronics© – Highly well-known brand of radar/laser detectors. 
These folks have been on the market for a real long time and have been making quality radar/laser detectors for years.  They have a competitor for the Escort X50 Passport, the Beltronics 995.  High prices as well, but very good quality.  Over in the Cobra vs. Beltronics department of your local retail store, I'd chose beltronics anyday.

Now overall, this has just been a review of some brands I've done research on.  I'm sure there are others out there, but this is all I can offer right now.  Bottom line:
Ask yourself how much you speed, or if you even NEED to speed? 

If you are light on the gas but do speed, maybe 10-15 miles over, I'd suggest something simple such as a Cobra or a Whistler.  You may want to take a look at the description on the package as well to see what quality you will be getting.

However, if you are a “lead-foot” on the gas, I'd go with higher quality Escort's.  Personally, I love the most exspensive 8500 X50 Passport, but if you have a budget, I'd shoot for something less, but then you may not want to do too much speeding.

One other thing you may need to know:  radar/laser detectors won't always pick up a cop car just driving along.  They must be using some kind of laser gun to tag you.  But be advised, police can also tail you from a distance so you cannot see them, and clock your speed.  They have other ways of checking your speed than using a gun.

Once more, I do not condone speeding, but I do encourage knowledge.  Hope you enjoyed your read, and have a safe and fun drive!