Today Feb 18, 2010 Only!  A very well respected consumer magazine that covers product safety, value, and health.

BestDealMagazines has 1yr subscriptions (13 issues) to Consumer Reports sold at a steep discount. $19.89 – 15% off coupon code:  PXCJ228 = $16.91.

The regular discounted price is $23.95 – 15% off coupon in our right column = $20.36, which is a lot cheaper than the newstand.

Amazon has a new Green Electronics section that features energy efficient ENERGY STAR qualified products. They feature products from Televisions to Home Theater to Computers to Office products.

It is always wise to try to wring every ounce of life out of your Electronics, before you buy new ones.  Buy new energy efficient products and recycle your old electronics.  Try to buy products that will last a long life, rather than just buying the cheapest product.

Among the benefits Amazon touts:

• TVs that carry the ENERGY STAR label are as much as 30 percent more efficient than conventional models
• If every Digital To Analog tuner sold as a result of the digital transition were ENERGY STAR qualified, Americans would save approximately $90 million in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 100,000 cars
• On average, ENERGY STAR qualified battery chargers will use 30-35% less energy than conventional models.
• If every home office product purchased in the U.S. this year was ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save more than $75 million in annual energy costs while preventing 1 billion pounds of greenhouse gases equivalent to emissions of 90,000 cars.
• If all computers sold in the United States meet the ENERGY STAR requirements, the savings in energy costs will grow to about $2 billion each year and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from more than 3 million vehicles.

We were looking for a PC low power consumption PCI Express video card for Windows 7. No need for the latest super fast gaming video card,  just one that has good performance for Windows 7 and its fancy new user interface.

The ATI Radeon HD 4350 consumes less than 20 watts under full load.  Its bigger brother the Radeon HD 4550 uses just a little more power but delivers faster performance.  Both support DirectX 10.1 games and are capable of smooth HD media playback. Most implementations of this chip are fanless, making them extremely quiet, perfect for a HTPC or Home Theater PC. State of the art video cards can consume at most 700 watts of power under load!  Amazon sells the Radeon HD 4350 for under $40.

The Radeon HD 4550 benchmarks under Windows 7 at 4.7 for graphics and 6.1 for gaming.

Disney wants one million people to volunteer a day of service to a participating organization in their communities. They are giving a 1-theme park ticket to the Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort, free.  You need to pre-register on their site.  Ends when Tickets are distributed or 12/15/2010, whichever comes first.

Gotta commend Disney for offering this promo to get people to volunteer. Of course people will spend a ton of money in their theme parks, so they really won’t lose money.

The holiday are here!  The media has reported that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Ouch.  Big dinners, more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods, tempting desserts, and appetizers. How can we work to combat those pounds?

Exercise and keep going. Work out longer or just start to exercise.  Shoot for 30-45 minutes, three to five times a week.

A recent Time Magazine article raised eyebrows with the proclaimation “Why Exercise Won’t Make you Thin”.  The article sums it up with: “In short, it’s what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain”

So we need to focus on eating less and eating right!

1) Fill up your stomach with low calorie healthy foods including fruits and vegetables. Shoot for 7 servings or more a day.  Fill up BEFORE you head to a party.

2) Avoid areas with temptations.  Do not hang out by the buffet table or dining table.

3) Splurge on that fatty item, but limit it.

4) Drink low calorie drinks that will fill you up.  Mineral water anyone?

5) Use a small plate, avoid sauces, load up on low cal salads, and focus on socializing not eating.

Get a dog? Average dog owners exercise up to 6 hours more a week than those who work out at a gym.