When a person, typically a man, thinks of men’s wedding bands they will often shudder at the thought of having to wear a traditional gold, silver, and in some cases diamond rings. Not that some of things rings aren’t striking in their own right but most men find these types and style of rings to be somewhat less macho than they would prefer. Having known several men who got engaged recently I can tell you that this is absolutely true.
One of these people happened to be a close friend of mine of many years who got engaged only a couple of months ago. This person is the type of man that wears no jewelry and finds the majority of it feminine. As he’s a compromising person he had no objections to wearing a wedding band but wanted to find one that looked less like a woman’s accessory and more like something a man could be proud of wearing.
As fate would have it, I was invited by both my good friend and his fiancée to help them look for Mens Wedding Bands. This is normally the type of thing I really try to stay away from but I wanted to go if for no other reason that to razz my friend about the ring he was going to be wearing for the rest of his life. As it turns out however that opportunity would never arise as almost immediately after we started searching we came across some rings made of titanium and others of Tungsten.
These rings where far different that anything any of us had ever seen. I saw a few too that I would even consider purchasing if I were not already married. The one ring in particular that really caught my eye and his as well was a titanium ring with multicolored inlets. The ring itself was solid black but the inlets where a bluish silver which really made the ring look great. This ring however was a bit outside of his fiancée’s budget and so he ended up with a grey titanium ring with crisscrossing in cut lines.
I’ll say this about men’s wedding bands. They’ve come a long way in a short amount of time. When I got married five years ago I never saw anything like I saw out with my friends. The tungsten and titanium specifically made the more traditional gold and sliver men’s rings look pale and weak. Now that I’ve seen these types of rings I will be suggesting them to the remaining friends of mine who have yet to find or even look for a ring.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Electric Airsoft Guns: My Passion
I’ve been an avid collector of electric airsoft guns and all different types of bb guns for the majority of my life though the last few years have seen my enthusiasm for collecting wane just a bit. Things like a wedding, the birth of my first child and a promotion at work have eaten up the little free time I once enjoyed. I still love my air guns mind you, these days it’s just a matter of prioritizing things and my love of collecting and shooting usually falls by the wayside as the family must come first.
Even with all of the new responsibility I have recently taken on, my new neighbor shares the same passion for air and bb guns that I do. As the last two years have been extremely busy for me I ended up moving all of my guns into storage as I found no time for them, however with my neighbor being so inquisitive as to just how extravagant my collection is I have been bringing a few of my air rifles out to share with him. I’ll be the first to admit too that his collection dwarfs mine and I’ve always considered myself a hard core fan of bb guns and the like.
After sharing our collections and stories with each other I was invited to shoot with him over in his back yard. Upon receiving this invitation I took out a few more of my air guns and cleaned them up for the upcoming weekend. I was pleasantly surprised at how some of my guns had held up over the past two years as I expected them to be much dirtier and in need of quite a bit of work. This made the process of cleaning them more enjoyable and all that was left was to do was to buy some pellets and bb’s.
Our weekend of bb guns and BBQ came quickly which was nice as I was overly anxious to shoot again. When I arrived my neighbor immediately showed me his back yard and I was flabbergasted at just how much detail he had put into making a makeshift shooting range. There where of course four shooting posts complete with targets on them, a launcher for clay pigeons, and a row of cans lined up for us to shoot at. Seeing all of this harkened me back to the days when I had first started collecting as a young teenager.
My neighbor and I spent what felt like an hour, but was actually six hours shooting everything we could get our hands on. The action stopped only because we both ran out of bb’s and pellets. I came with two handguns and one air rifle and all three guns got a well deserved work out. Finding the time to spend a few hours anywhere but my own home is difficult but luckily my wife understands how important something like this to me and so we now have a schedule set up that allows me to partake in my hobby once more, and on a regular basis too!
Even with all of the new responsibility I have recently taken on, my new neighbor shares the same passion for air and bb guns that I do. As the last two years have been extremely busy for me I ended up moving all of my guns into storage as I found no time for them, however with my neighbor being so inquisitive as to just how extravagant my collection is I have been bringing a few of my air rifles out to share with him. I’ll be the first to admit too that his collection dwarfs mine and I’ve always considered myself a hard core fan of bb guns and the like.
After sharing our collections and stories with each other I was invited to shoot with him over in his back yard. Upon receiving this invitation I took out a few more of my air guns and cleaned them up for the upcoming weekend. I was pleasantly surprised at how some of my guns had held up over the past two years as I expected them to be much dirtier and in need of quite a bit of work. This made the process of cleaning them more enjoyable and all that was left was to do was to buy some pellets and bb’s.
Our weekend of bb guns and BBQ came quickly which was nice as I was overly anxious to shoot again. When I arrived my neighbor immediately showed me his back yard and I was flabbergasted at just how much detail he had put into making a makeshift shooting range. There where of course four shooting posts complete with targets on them, a launcher for clay pigeons, and a row of cans lined up for us to shoot at. Seeing all of this harkened me back to the days when I had first started collecting as a young teenager.
My neighbor and I spent what felt like an hour, but was actually six hours shooting everything we could get our hands on. The action stopped only because we both ran out of bb’s and pellets. I came with two handguns and one air rifle and all three guns got a well deserved work out. Finding the time to spend a few hours anywhere but my own home is difficult but luckily my wife understands how important something like this to me and so we now have a schedule set up that allows me to partake in my hobby once more, and on a regular basis too!
Our First Time Buyers Expirience
When one thinks of the purchase of their first home, this person will often have a preconceived notion as to exactly what they want and what they’ll get when it comes to a first home. As I recently discovered both my wife and I had the same misconceptions about our first home that many other first time buyers have. When our budget and reality hit us hard in our heads we had to take a step back and reevaluate things. It was initially a hard pill to swallow but we realized rather quickly that some compromises would have to be made.
As people who regularly entertain guests and host parties both for ourselves and friends alike we envisioned a home containing a larger than life living room and den as well as five bedrooms and four bathrooms. This of course was what we where originally shooting for but as we began to look at homes that offered such amenities we found that these homes pushed our budget to the limit, and in some cases a bit over budget.
As time passed and we had seen our fair of houses for sale, we sat down and made some sacrifices so that we would be able to buy a nice home and make it our own. It was after this moment that we began looking at fixer-uppers. Surprisingly we saw homes that, quite frankly we couldn’t believe where being sold so cheap. Finding such homes brought a new level of excitement to our first house hunt as we relished in the prospect of taking an older home and making it our own.
After a somewhat exhaustive search we were finally able to narrow our choices down to two homes. The first was a bit more expensive however the residential lighting already present within the home and its back yard where very moody and struck me as a great place for our get-together’s and parties, be them businesses or otherwise. The second home was far more affordable but was really lacking in vibe and color and so the choice became apparent to the both of us during dinner following the showing of both homes.
We went with the first of our two choices mainly for its lighting and for the unique design the house brought to the table. We have been steadily making improvements to our new home over the last four months and can honestly say that at first the thought of any type of compromise was a huge turn off however I am now glad that some sacrifices where made. It has allowed us to mold a home to our liking.
As people who regularly entertain guests and host parties both for ourselves and friends alike we envisioned a home containing a larger than life living room and den as well as five bedrooms and four bathrooms. This of course was what we where originally shooting for but as we began to look at homes that offered such amenities we found that these homes pushed our budget to the limit, and in some cases a bit over budget.
As time passed and we had seen our fair of houses for sale, we sat down and made some sacrifices so that we would be able to buy a nice home and make it our own. It was after this moment that we began looking at fixer-uppers. Surprisingly we saw homes that, quite frankly we couldn’t believe where being sold so cheap. Finding such homes brought a new level of excitement to our first house hunt as we relished in the prospect of taking an older home and making it our own.
After a somewhat exhaustive search we were finally able to narrow our choices down to two homes. The first was a bit more expensive however the residential lighting already present within the home and its back yard where very moody and struck me as a great place for our get-together’s and parties, be them businesses or otherwise. The second home was far more affordable but was really lacking in vibe and color and so the choice became apparent to the both of us during dinner following the showing of both homes.
We went with the first of our two choices mainly for its lighting and for the unique design the house brought to the table. We have been steadily making improvements to our new home over the last four months and can honestly say that at first the thought of any type of compromise was a huge turn off however I am now glad that some sacrifices where made. It has allowed us to mold a home to our liking.
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Future of Two Factor Authentication
There has been a lot of controversy lately surrounding Two Factor Authentication. Watching and partaking in the controversy are two camps. One camp of supporters who believe that two factor authentication is the future of security measures and a second camp to believe that because the technology has been proven to be vulnerable that it will slowly fade and give way to a newer more comprehensive security technology.
I stand with the camp who believes it to be the best type of security we currently have. The technology, when used properly online can help makes important sites such as banking and credit sites much more secure than they previously where when only a password was required. Microsoft has even begun implementing various types of Two Factor Authentication into various parts of their business. Further proving that the technology works PayPal made use of this technology recently and has incorporated it into their web services. This has added a layer of security to their services that can’t be found with many other similar services.
Even with these companies adopting TFA and though the technology continues to improve there are many a naysayer all of whom claim that the technology is dead in the water for no other reason that it’s not perfect and has been compromised in the past. A small part of me understands their concerns though I would have to propose this question. What security program hasn’t been circumvented in some fashion? Passwords are an outdated and severely vulnerable technology however many websites, and programs require nothing more.
I have always felt that while it may be an imperfect technology so are ninety nine percent of all others. With that in mind I also feel that Two Factor Authentication is often misunderstood. Certainly many vendors and those in favor of the technology tout it as the be all and end all to security technology which makes it an easy target for detractors looking to downplay its importance and benefits. If you are able to look at like all other technologies, recognize that it’s an imperfect yet growing technology, and that many businesses have found great success with it, it’s not hard to understand why it is the best type of security we currently have.
In closing I’d like to add that while it has its issues, I see Two Factor Authentication becoming an industry standard in a short amount of time. Things like biometrics and Authentication 2.0 further my feelings on the future of this security. With so many businesses adopting TFA, it’s only a matter of time before other businesses follow suit.
I stand with the camp who believes it to be the best type of security we currently have. The technology, when used properly online can help makes important sites such as banking and credit sites much more secure than they previously where when only a password was required. Microsoft has even begun implementing various types of Two Factor Authentication into various parts of their business. Further proving that the technology works PayPal made use of this technology recently and has incorporated it into their web services. This has added a layer of security to their services that can’t be found with many other similar services.
Even with these companies adopting TFA and though the technology continues to improve there are many a naysayer all of whom claim that the technology is dead in the water for no other reason that it’s not perfect and has been compromised in the past. A small part of me understands their concerns though I would have to propose this question. What security program hasn’t been circumvented in some fashion? Passwords are an outdated and severely vulnerable technology however many websites, and programs require nothing more.
I have always felt that while it may be an imperfect technology so are ninety nine percent of all others. With that in mind I also feel that Two Factor Authentication is often misunderstood. Certainly many vendors and those in favor of the technology tout it as the be all and end all to security technology which makes it an easy target for detractors looking to downplay its importance and benefits. If you are able to look at like all other technologies, recognize that it’s an imperfect yet growing technology, and that many businesses have found great success with it, it’s not hard to understand why it is the best type of security we currently have.
In closing I’d like to add that while it has its issues, I see Two Factor Authentication becoming an industry standard in a short amount of time. Things like biometrics and Authentication 2.0 further my feelings on the future of this security. With so many businesses adopting TFA, it’s only a matter of time before other businesses follow suit.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Looking For Designer Baby Clothes?
I'm the type of parent who gets a real kick out of putting her little ones into clothes that are different. As an admirer of high fashion I also like seeing babies dressed in a variety of different things but nothing is cuter than designer baby clothes. I had a really hard time finding these types of clothes in the beginning but once I started looking online I found several sites that carried a whole host of different designer brands. I started with the obvious sites like Target and Babies R Us, both of which disappointed me however Sandbox Couture has yet to let me down!
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