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GPS and Television and Condoms, Oh My!

If you had to guess the top three pages visited on Buzzillions today, what would you say? Well, fortunately, you don’t have to guess. In fact, you can always check out what our users are reading about and researching by clicking the Sitemap link found at the bottom of every Buzzillions page.

So, today I went to the Sitemap page to get a sense of what’s popular right now. I probably could have guessed the top page, GPS Reviews, without much trouble. It’s summer, people are traveling, they’re hiking, and really, GPS is just cool. The second one, Television Reviews, is fairly predictable as well. Starting February 17, 2009, all television signals will be digital, so it’s understandable that people are starting to research (and buy) their digital TV options.

But number three came right out of left field. The number three most visited page today is the Trojan Elexa Ultra Sensitive Premium Latex Condoms product page! This means that this single product is getting almost as much “play” as the entire GPS or Television category! Let’s see if they can keep it up ;)

VeloGlide Review

Rave

Review of the Day – 08/19/2008
Review date: Aug.112008
Review by: Mary from Libertyville, Illinois
I am: Competitive Cyclist

VeloGlide
Spring Special! The VeloGlide allows you to store all your bikes safely and efficiently in your garage or basement. The hooks slide easily to…

Veloglide Changed My Life

5 stars
5out of 5

Pros: Easy to Use, Genius design, Versatile, Lightweight, Durable

Best Uses: Road Bikes, Mountain Bikes

Reviewer Comments: My job is teaching piano out of my one bedroom apartment. My passion is competitive cycling. When my Mom died in Aug 2005, I got the grand piano. Then in Nov 2005 when my parent’s house was sold I lost the storage space for my 4 bikes. My apartment consists of a kitchen, living room, small bedroom and bathroom. At one point I had 3 pianos and 4 bikes and piano students coming and going all afternoon. I was going NUTS. The one good thing was that I had 9 1/2- 10 foot ceilings. Dave [...] told me about VELOGLIDE in early Dec 2005 and I called up and Bill Ferron himself came down to Illinois and installed it on my bedroom ceiling, thereby saving my sanity AND allowing me the opportunity to aquire even more bikes…right now I have six hanging from my bedroom ceiling. I’m 5′4′ and the ceiling is just high enough so I can easily walk under my bikes and not too high for me to hang them up. Before VELOGLIDE I was tripping over my bikes…they were leaning against my desk, my bed, the fridge, you name it- the bikes were IN THE WAY. Now they are perfectly stored ..OUT OF THE WAY. The gliders allow me to easily push the bikes apart to extract one and then push them all together again to consolidate. Iv’e had the system for 2 and 3/4 years and it has worked PERFECTLY! You can hang 4 hooks from a rail and store lots of wheels too. AND from the handlebars of the hanging bikes I hang up washed bike clothes to dry. I love it! I cannot say enough superlatives about Veloglide…if you have bikes, this is ABSOLUTELY the BEST bike storage system ever invented.

Originally posted at Wheel & Sprocket (legalese)

Elmo Face t-shirt Review

Photo

Review of the Day – 08/18/2008
Review date: Aug.112008
Review by: Lisa the Mommy from Carlise, PA
I am: Casual

Elmo Face t-shirt
With this Sesame Street shirt on, everyone will know who your favorite character is. This shirt makes your body become Elmo’s face. There is a small Sesame Street logo on the upper back. This shirt is composed of 100% cotton.

Great shirts!

5 stars
5out of 5

Fit: Feels true to size

Pros: Flattering, Comfortable, High Quality, Washes Well

Best Uses: To School, Special Occasions, Leisure Wear, Casual Work Days, Birthday parties

Reviewer Comments: We bought these shirts to match the Elmo shirts that my daughter and son wore for my daughter’s 2nd birthday party. We all matched and everyone at the party thought that is was really great! My daughter loves to look at pictures from her party to see all of us in our matching shirts. She also gets a kick out of seeing us wear the shirts!

Elmo family photo!

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Image Tags: Using Product

Originally posted at 80sTees.com (legalese)

Jumbo Baby Cubes Review

Informative

Review date: Aug.122008
Review by: Star from Charlotte, NC
I am: First Time Parent

Jumbo Baby Cubes
By popular request: our best-selling Baby Cubes just got bigger! If you like the healthy benefits of fresh, homemade baby food, you’ll love the ease of these 2 oz., single-serving containers. They go right from freezer, to microwave, to dishwasher — and they’re the only ones with tethered lid…

An Innovative Solution

5 stars
5out of 5

Pros: Compact, Easy To Use, Easy To Clean

Cons: Don’t sit on tray well

Best Uses: Infants, Meals

Reviewer Comments: These baby cubes offer Moms tremendous advantages over prepackaged food.

PROS:
1. LESS WASTE: Cubes allow you to freeze exactly what you need per serving reducing waste at each meal
2. NUTRITIONAL VARIETY: Frozen cubes don’t have the ‘three day’ spoilage/refrigeration time limit allowing you to offer baby more variety each day
3. QUALITY CONTROL: Cubes can be clearly labeled; you can be sure food was frozen quickly and hasn’t been comprimised, and with respect to the food - you know what is in it because you made it!
4. REDUCED COST: Homemade baby food allows you to offer baby organic and whole foods at about 2/3 the price of prepackaged organic baby foods, making the cost of the cubes well worth it.

CONS
The only con I can see is that the manufacturer shows a picture of baby food cubes in their tray, turned upside down, but still secure in the tray. We tried this and they all fell out. They are truly individual food cubes that do not attach to one another and sit individually in the larger tray. A minor issue, particularly when the pros far outweigh the cons.

BOTTOM LINE: A sensible economic alternative to prepackaged food. These cubes are the way to go.

Originally posted at One Step Ahead (legalese)

Staples Economy Rubber Bands, Assorted Sizes and Colors Review

Funniest

Review of the Day – 08/14/2008
Review date: Jun.192008
Review by: Steve from Fairview, Oregon
I am: Quality Oriented

Staples Economy Rubber Bands, Assorted Sizes and Colors
High quality rubber bands that are ideal for everyday office use Assorted sizes - Assorted colors 1/4 lb.

  • Resealable bag
  • Shoots further than other rubber bands.

    5 stars
    5out of 5

    Pros: Durable, Versatile, Lightweight

    Cons: Hold fingerprints

    Best Uses: Occasional Use, Interoffice squabbles

    Primary use: Business

    Reviewer Comments: The great variety of sizes is helpful when shooting them at co-workers who may be 1, 2 or up to 5 cubicles away. This also allows you to choose what pain level to inflict. The large size is well within range of the drinking fountain.

    Originally posted at Staples (legalese)

    Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 13 Piece Cookware Set with FREE 7 Piece Mixed Utensil Crock Set Review

    Rant

    Review of the Day – 08/13/2008
    Review date: Apr.282008
    Review by: Big Guns from Long Island, NY

    Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 13 Piece Cookware Set with FREE 7 Piece Mixed Utensil Crock Set
    The best tasting food begins with the best cookware! This 13 piece cookware set from Calphalon includes everything you need to create all your favorite recipes from start to finish! Also as a special offer, with your purchase is a FREE 7 Piece Mixed Utensil Crock Set!13…

    Don’t be fooled by the price

    1 stars
    1out of 5

    Cons: Low Quality, Bad Value

    Reviewer Comments: For the price of these pots I should be cooking like a professional chef. I have never had so much food stick to the bottom of a pan before. No need to work out my arms at the gym, I just need to try and clean the bottom of these pots. I will never buy them again.

    Originally posted at Cookware.com (legalese)

    Jet Powered Concept Wheelchair Review

    OneOfAKind

    Review of the Day – 08/12/2008
    Review date: Jul.252008
    Review by: Steve, tester of great wheelchairs from Florence, Oregon

    Jet Powered Concept Wheelchair
    Jet Powered Concept Wheelchair The Jet Chair combines todays advances in jet propulsion with modern wheelchair design to make a practical, general-purpose sub-sonic everyday chair. The wheelchair finally meets the jet age in this aggressively styled, weekend warrior -type chair. Perfectly at home …

    Return Request

    2 stars
    2out of 5

    Pros: High Quality, Durable

    Cons: No roll cage, Expensive

    Best Uses: Town Park Novelty Item

    Reviewer Comments: This has been quite an experience! I purchased the Jet Chair for Grandpa Fred, as he is retired from the Air Force, and a former FAA administrator. Having the dare devil spirit all his 90 years of life, Grandpa Fred was very excited to give it a try. Since I’m the cautious type personally, I told GP Fred to let me use the chair first to see if I thought it was suitable for him at his elder-care facility. We trucked the Jet Chair to a local drag strip for my evaluation run. It was the center of conversation there, and the strip officials matched me for a run against a AA fuel dragster to see what the chair would do. After igniting the engine, I realized that I should have worn ear plugs. As the light came up green, I saw the dragster take off in a flurry of white smoke from his tires, so I initiated full thrust on Grandpa Fred’s new Jet Wheelchair. By now, the other driver was nearing the half way point of the quarter mile strip. The next few seconds are a blur, but I do recall a very powerful thrust as my tongue was shoved to the back of my mouth from the G forces. The Jet Chair catapulted me past the other driver so fast that he was only a black spot in my periferal vision. It was at this time that I realized one little problem: the final fencing of the dragstrip was going to meet my face before I could stop my wheels! Well, eyewitness accounts say that I flipped several cartwheels before landing in the small lake beyond. Needless to say, the new wheelchair was badly damaged, and I spent the next six months in intensive care … but hey, it was the ride of a lifetime! I later found out from dragstrip officials that my elapsed time for the quarter mile was 3.47 seconds, with a top speed at the lights of 407 mph (this chair exceeded even your own advertised online claims). Furthermore, although Grandpa Fred claims he can fix the shortcomings encountered with this first attempt (by the addition of a huge parachute), and dragstrip officials plan on installing a soft catch fence at the end, I have instructed the staff at his elder-care facility to not allow him use of his credit card to purchase a new one. Besides, if he bought another Jet Chair, it would exhaust his savings and he could no longer pay his $3,000 per month fee for his room and meals. All things considered, I respectfully request a refund, and hereby promise not to initiate any litigation. I must hand it to Allegro Medical for once again being on the forefront of technology - just needs a wee bit more R&D however! Take care (oh, and Grandpa Fred sends his best wishes to those engineers of yours for their bravado in bringing this product to market).

    P.S. Even with these issues, it all turned out for the best. I have been booked on several late night talk shows, approached for book rights, and requested by the military to be a test pilot, so it appears that I shall not be in want of finances anytime soon. Thanks Allegro for all you’ve done for me!

    Originally posted at AllegroMedical.com (legalese)

    Disproportionate blog coverage

    The other day Robert Scoble wrote a pretty good post about how some companies like Twitter gets a disproportionate amount of blog coverage compared to other companies like Meebo (who has a significant amount more engagement and traffic than Twitter) and is under represented.

    His very realistic theory was that Twitter is a tool most bloggers actively use, thus have a strong bias to cover the company frequently, while Meebo isn’t a tool most technology centric writers use. The disappointing thing about this truth is that readers don’t get a diversity of startup and technology news, since the top bloggers end up covering the same story about every single (often uninteresting) move Twitter makes.

    Recently we got coverage on VentureBeat “PowerReviews aims to become the AdSense of product reviews” which highlighted our goal to be the OS for retailers of every size to collect customer reviews. It got a decent amount of pickup, but it was definitely no $999.99 for “I am Rich” iPhone app story.

    What do you think about the news, analysis, and coverage of technology in the blogosphere?

    The Taco Bell Challenge

    What’s next in the food challenge series? We’ve had several Wendy’s challenges. I would go so far as to say we’ve pretty much exhausted the Wendy’s possibilities (that said, I’m sure someone will read this as a challenge and come up with something even worse than the fries and milkshake challenge).

    Thank goodness for Taco Bell.

    Gautam (aka The Unsung Hero) had come up with the idea of eating 20 Taco Bell original tacos (those are the hardshell crunchy ones - 89¢ each) in an hour during one of our many reminisces over previous food challenges. Unfortunately, he came up with this idea on his last day of work before taking a couple of weeks vacation. Everyone thought this was a great idea but understandingly, did not want to proceed without Gautam (even though he said he would come back from his vacation just to witness this challenge we didn’t really think this would be fair).

    So now that Gautam is back and all caught up with work, it’s time to get the ball rolling.

    20 Taco Bell tacos don’t sound like a lot. I mean, I order 3 of those suckers every time I eat at Taco Bell (because they taste great at 2 AM and we all know they aren’t that filling). So what’s the big deal? 20? No problem.

    But think about it…..

    20 tacos in an hour means you have to finish a taco every 3 minutes. For an hour. When was the last time you ate food steadily for an entire hour? We’re not talking a normal dinner with conversation and wine.

    Steady eating.

    For a whole hour.

    20 tacos.

    The talk is this is going down this week. So I hear… I’ll keep you posted.

    Note: as an aside, I was going through the office working up enthusiasm for the new Taco Bell challenge. Of course that dredged up stories about previous challenges, who had participated, how they went. The one that brought up the mose fries and milkshake in a blender challenge. Mark B was describing how he tested out this challenge ahead of time and how the coldness of the milkshake made all the fat from the fries congeal so that the resulting goop was the consistency of cement. It was so thick it had to be eaten from a spoon. In fact, if you scooped some out then held the spoon upside down, none of it would fall. You would think such a colorful description would deter anyone from trying this challenge again, but nope, instead this long store only stoked the passions of some of our eaters. So there may be rematch… stay tuned.

    Bell Delirium Euro MTB Helmet Review

    LifeSaver

    Review of the Day – 08/11/2008
    Review date: Jul.202008
    Review by: Duey from NY
    I am: Casual/ Recreational

    Bell Delirium Euro MTB Helmet
    Fusion In-Mold Microshell with Internal Reinforcement offers protection, durability and impact resistance for whatever you might encounter on the trail 18 whopping vents bring cool air in through the front, allowing it to pass over your head and then flushes warm air out of the rear ports so YOU …

    Saved my head

    5 stars
    5out of 5

    Sizing: Feels true to size

    Reviewer Comments: This helmet saved me. I was going downhill (30-35 mph) around a corner when my front tire skidded out. I don’t remember, but as far as I can tell, my head hit first. The helmet microshell has 5 cracks in it, all I had was a headache, along with broken collarbone and rib, and multiple scrapes & bruises across my body. It would have been way worse without this helmet. Maybe the best thing is that my 15 year daughter started wearing her helmet without being told.

    Originally posted at Performance Bike (legalese)