Site of the Week: DrinksMixer.com

Hi all,

Apologies for the delay this week. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Western Power had a lot to do with the delay, being unable to sustain power to my suburb on Sunday. We also had a couple of extra power points added to our house today, so it wasn't until now that I am able to sit down and type up my review of my latest site of the week.

So lets get this show on the road!!

Site of the Week: DrinksMixer.com
Site URL: http://www.drinksmixer.com/

Visit this site if...: If you happen to be planning a cocktail party anytime soon, this is THE site for you. If you happen to be curious as to what makes up an Irish Car Bomb, a Red-Headed Slut or a Well Greased Dwarf, then this site is also for you. Of course, if you like a drink here and there, and feel up to trying a different mix, this site is certainly worth your while.

Synopsis: What drew me to labelling this particular site my Site of the Week was its simplicity. Upon visiting the website's home page, you'll see what I mean.

The front page has a simple search function, allowing you to search by recipe or by ingredients. Alternatively, if you happen to know the name of your cocktail of choice (such as the ones I named above, or as found in the popular Tequilla song by A.L.T. and the Lost Civilization), simply navigate to the top of the page, and click on the letter that corresponds to the cocktail's first letter, and follow the links.

Whilst I have been referring to cocktails for the most part of this review, this is not the only type of drink you will find on the site, for you will find the recipes for drink from shots and liqueurs to non-alcoholic drinks such as tea, coffee and fruit punch, making sure that the site caters to all tastes and pleasures.

However, this site simply isn't just a database for drinks of all tastes, colours and sizes, no siree bob! The site also has guides on how to mix drinks effectively, as well as what certain terminology on the site actually refers to (such as layering, straining, shaking and stirring; and the degree to which you do each), which I think is a handy feature for novices and those who are trying to make the perfect drink.

And finally, for all of you competitive types, there is a drinking games section, which is particularly good, especially if you're tired of bouncing coins into an empty glass as a means to reason why you should scull another drink :P

So until next time, 再见!

Site of the Week: ThinkGeek

Hi all,

Another week over, and another site of the week on the cards!

Site of the Week: ThinkGeek
Site URL: http://www.thinkgeek.com/

Visit this site if...: If you're having trouble getting a gift for that special nerd in your life, or if you've ever watched a Star Wars movie and though "Man, I wish I had a lightsaber!", but never really though much of it? Or if you're the type who simply likes to buy a lot of gadgets, such as a device that will cool your favourite drink by plugging the device into your computer (via USB port), then this site is for you!

Synopsis: I found this site while browsing the web a few weeks ago. How I stumbled upon it is not that important (browsed a links page, then browsed that link's links page, and bingo bango, sugar in the gas tank!). I guess the appeal of the site is greater for me, having been around computers a fair bit for the last 10 years of my life, and with most of my mates being Computer Science majors at Murdoch University, you sort of just fall into things like this.

When you first visit the site, you're greeted with a page showing the most popular items on the website (including the aforementioned lightsabers; and not just some shoddy cheap plastic version that Mattel or whatever company that the Star Wars franchise use to make merchandise, we're talking quality here!). It's always good to see websites that show what their most popular items/features are. To me, that means it meets the approval of other users, and is a good yardstick for me.

The site is easy enough to navigate around, with products split into different categories (shirts, toys, gadgets, etc). They have everything here you could think of, from a blank keyboard, to a Skype cordless phone, to a Nintendo Controller Alarm Clock (OK, get this, its an alarm clock, in the shape of the old NES controller, that plays sounds from Super Mario Bros when it goes off! Oh, you can also "unlock" other alarm sounds by playing the mini games on the alarm clock. How cool is that??)

For the security-conscious among us, ThinkGeek uses the latest 128-bit encryption for transactions, meaning those credit card details remain confidential. One of the features of the site that I particularly like, is the fact that you can purchase things on the site through Paypal, through which i've purchased things before, and found to be safe (not having purchased through ThinkGeek myself however, I cannot say, as i've only ever used Paypal with my eBay transactioning). For the readers of this site who do not live in the USA, yes, they do ship to you too, although you'll have to create an account and follow the check-out process to actually figure out how much it will cost to get items out to you.

Anyway, i'll leave it to you all to nerd it up a little and have a browse over this website (bear in mind, it is just over 2 months until Christmas, so this site could provide you with that awesome gift you've been looking for). It should be note that the site is not only for guys, and does cater for girls too (mainly in the clothing department; I mean who wouldn't want their girl to be wearing this Street Fighter-themed shirt or this amusing poem shirt?)

Oh, and if anyone out there likes giving random gifts to people, I have my eye on a couple of items, and you need only contact me through this site to get my postage details and my eternal gratitude! :)

Until next time, adeus!

Site of the Week: GameTab

Hi all,

With my new motherboard up and running (a big thanks goes out to Sean for his help in locating what was wrong with my computer, then knowing how to fix it), its time for this week's SITE OF THE WEEK!

Site of the Week: GameTab
Site URL: http://www.gametab.com/

Visit this site if...: If you're a gamer, this site is for you. It has up-to-the-minute news, the latest reviews and previews, as well as forums and a pricetabber. Right now, you're probably asking, "Well, how is this site different to other gaming sites that I go to?". Well, I encourage you to read on!

Synopsis: I found this little gem whilst trying to find out some info for a few Nintendo DS games I was planning on getting.

The first thing you'll notice when you visit this site is its centralised news area, which is in essence, one giant RSS feed for all things gaming. This is probably the best part of the website, as you can remove news feeds that don't interest you, and add others that do. For example, if you don't like the reviews and news that the guys at Gamasutra News have to offer, then simply click the little "X" there to close off that news feed. Want to add your favourite gaming website's feed? Go right ahead!

This site also monitors which games are getting the most attention, and ranks them accordingly in its "Top rated" and "Lowest rated" section based on reviews by the top gaming sites out there, saving you time by not having to visit all those sites individually to get what ranking they felt the game deserved. Handy, given that different sites sometimes critique games differently to others.

The other feature of this site is the PriceTabber. Simply put, this feature of GameTab watches the price of games on four websites (Amazon, EB Games, GameStop and GoGamer), and lets you know if a title you've been wanting to get, but not had the funds to and get it, has dropped or increased in price withing the last 24 hours, 48 hours, or a week (depending on the criteria you selected). This feature is particularly good, since you're always looking for the best price when it comes to purchasing anything, and the little tagline below the game will tell you how much you save, or can save at other vendors.

I'll keep it short and sweet this week, and leave it to you guys to explore the site a lot more. Trust me, it will be worth it.

Until next time, 안녕 !

Delay for a day

Hi all,

Site of the week is delayed for 24 hours due to the motherboard on my pc going on the blink.

Thanks for your understanding,

Pete

Site of the Week: The radius of ugly

Yep, you guessed it folks, its that time of the week again!

Site of the Week: The radius of ugly.
Site URL: http://apathyprevails.com/

Visit this site if...: Ever had those days where you look in the mirror and think to yourself, "Damn, you are one sexy mutha f**ker!", only to be shot down in flames by the opposite sex, who have a far more subjective view of the situation? Are you the "ugly duckling" in a group of "beautiful swans"? Ever wanted to know how your taunts of "you ugly bastard!" affect the person in question? Well then this site is for you my friends, and trust me, you will not be disappointed!

Synopsis: A little caveat before I go into the details. Again, I happen to know the proprietor of this website, and I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible.

The website is run by a guy named Lee, who isn't the world's most unattractive man, but isn't exactly blessed with model looks either, who's motivation for starting and running this website is a tear-jerker if there ever was one! The guy's first attempt at asking a girl out was met with a swift, yet accurate, knee to the balls. I mean really, who does that?? For the guys reading this, i'll give you a minute to compose yourself (I once copped a cricket ball in the nether region when I was young, so I totally understand and feel for him). There are a couple of other reasons why he started this experiment/analysis, but i'll leave that to you guys to read up about.

Through these encounters, Lee has stumbled upon the theory that he dubs "The radius of ugly", which he simply says is an area around him that's "invisible to the naked eye whereby women will not exist under normal circumstances."

Armed with this substantial evidence, and being a university student with clearly too much spare time on his hands, he has setup this website as a way of documenting his day-to-day encounters (well, those days in which he actually has radius theory-related contact and evidence, which is normally 3 times a week), which has been running for 5 months now.

One of the best features of the site (in my mind), is when Lee does video replies to emails. Questions such as "What type of car do you drive?" to "What type of music do you listen to?" to personalised replies to emails questioning his sexuality and quirks. It gives the reader a better insight into the guy behind the website, and the ability to ask questions that might help you better understand why the women react to him in such fashion.

For male readers of this site, some of you will sympathise with Lee, and may have even gone through something similar. For the other male readers, like myself, it will provide an amusing read, and will make you appreciate the fact that this kind of behaviour does not happen to you (in one story, he gets called a rapist for crying out loud!).

For the female readers, this website could be an eye-opener as far as how a guy can react to some of the abuse you can dish out (Lee seems to me like a decent guy, and I know the girls who I work with are appalled at the way other girls seem to treat and react to him). For the same reason as for guys, the ladies can also find the website an amusing read too.

Well, thats it for me for another week. My brand spanking new iPod is due to arrive within the week (thank you to online poker for financing this purchase!), and I can't wait. Special hello goes out to Aaron and Chau, both of whom in the last month have made the journey from Western Australia to the British Isle. Keep in touch!

Until then, さようなら!

Almost Done!

Hi all,

Just a quick post to let you know that my site of the week will be updated in about 14 hours from this post, due to a successful weekend of online poker! :)

Pete

Site of the Week: AskMen.com

Greetings and salutations!

Site of the Week: AskMen.com
Site URL: http://askmen.com/

Visit this site if...: If you're a guy, you must visit this site at least once. It contains everything that guys need to know about fashion and lifestyle, to health and sports, and also covers finance and dating tips.

Synopsis: Where to begin? I first found out about this site about a year ago whilst reading through FHM magazine, who at the time were doing a feature on their own 50 must-see websites (or something like that, as there were a number of sites that you could do without seeing). From memory, their description of AskMen was something along the lines of "as guys, we often don't ask for help (be it for directions to places, or fashion and grooming advise), so this site is perfect, as it offers up the answers for the questions you don't want to ask."

At the time of reading the article, I was just beginning to get back into exercising and trying to gain a good level of fitness (I am still fighting this seemingly lost battle against myself), and thought i'd give the site a browse to see if it offered any tips on how best to lose weight, or how to workout more efficiently. Imagine my surprise when I went to the website, and not only found tips on how to exercise properly (cardio for weight loss, machines for certain body areas; obvious to most people, less obvious to me though), but also dietary tips for keeping the weight off.

The above paragraph is just an example of how I found the site to be useful. As noted above, the site also offers up dating tips (everything from approaching ladies to body language and pick-up lines, as well as articles picking the brains of females to offer an insight into how they see things) for those unlucky-in-love guys out there, who just need a little bit of help. For those who have no trouble attracting the ladies, the site also offers tips for the bedroom (everything from one night stands to sex positions and much more).

As the site is so massive, I am only going to gloss over the other features, and if they're things that might interest you, go check them out. Those other features of the site include fashion and lifestyle, power and money, and gaming. As is typical of most magazine-style sites like this, it also features galleries of females for guys like me to check out!

Well, thats another week over. I'm still on a high from yesterday's win by the Eagles (it was only 12 months ago that I was on a massive low after the Eagles had lost the AFL Grand Final against the same team they played this year), and I hope this is a sign of things to come for the guys. As always, feel free to leave any comments on the site review I gave, or any suggestions for future site's of the week.

Until then, au revoir!