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Gadgets Priced the Same in Pounds and Dollars

Business, Computers & Electronics, ,

So recently we have been comparing the prices of some gadgets in pounds and dollars and there seems to be a great discrepancy for some reason. So why are a lot of gadgets priced the same in pounds as they are in dollars? (if not more).

One particular item in question is the new cheap Kindle. In Amazon in the US you can get hold of this Kindle for $79 yes in the UK you have to pay £89. Why is this? If you use the current exchange rate of pounds to dollars  of around 1.6 dollars being equivalent to a pound then £89 equates to $142 – which means that the price is 80% higher than in the States – which is pretty ridiculous.

            

If anyone has any input about why the prices of gadgets and technology in the UK are so much higher than in the US then please leave your comments below as we would be interested to hear.

This is just one example but if you look at other gadgets then they also seem to have a similar pricing structure so why are people int he UK suffering with higher prices?

Is IndyCar as Safe as Formula 1?

Sports, ,

With the racing world still reeling from the tragic death of British driver Dan Wheldon, questions must really be asked about how safe motor racing is and in particular IndyCar racing? Wheldon’s death occurred in a 15 car pile up in the Indianapolis 500 race when a number of cars burst into flames in a mass collision.

Trials had been underway for a safer car and ironically Wheldon had been involved in those trials, but in this day and age, with all the safety features that are available in other race series, questions must be asked about ow this can still happen.

Of course motor racing has always been a dangerous sport, there is no other way it could be when travelling at such high speeds in such small and lightweight vehicles, but one should take note of the safety record of formula 1 cars whose last death on the racetrack was that of Ayrton Senna in 1994, and it is hoped that it will stay that way.

Formula 1 has taken great pains to install numerous additional safety mechanisms in the cars and in the rules to hopefully make fatalities on the racetrack a thing of the past.  In contrast, since the death of Ayrton Senna, there have been fatal accidents in IndyCar races with Wheldon’s being the most recent.

Perhaps IndyCar and Formula 1 can take lessons from each other and learn some way to make fatal crashes a thing of the past so that more widows are not left and young children orphaned.

Top 5 Halloween Costumes 2011

Entertainment, Society,

So this year there have been a few unusual Halloween costumes popping up in addition to the standard and everyday Halloween costumes. So I would like to give you my top 5 Halloween Costumes for 2011.

1. Often Halloween costumes follow the trends and this year is no different. With the release of The Smurfs movie starring Katy Perry as the voice of Smurfette, the Smurfette Halloween Costume as become one of the biggest selling costumes of the year, if not topping the list. It is one costume that is quite easy to create and to do a basic version on with say some blue face paint and a white hat or blue stockings – check out this article on the Smurfette Halloween costume for info on where to get these accessories.

2. Another big seller for this year which has come about due to a certain person’s antics over the year, is the Charlie Sheen Halloween costume. You can get full head masks of the ex-two and a Half Men actor or just shirts and a face mask.

3. With the new TV series just launched, the Pan Am Halloween costume is another one that is going to be popular this year – choose from pilot or stweardess in these sexy outfits.

4. Or, to take on the popular game/app, you can get some great Angry Birds Halloween costumes – whether you are looking for costumes for adults or kids these will go down a treat!

5. I wanted to throw in a couple of traditional costumes for my number 5, particularly for the children – there are the kid’s pumpkin costumes and for the girls the princess Halloween costumes.

No doubt next year we will also be on the look out for something new and trending in the Halloween costume arena so we will have to wait and see who fits the bill on that. In the meantime these are my top 5 Halloween costumes for this year.

 

 

 

Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto on Pre-Order

Arts & Humanities, Shopping,

Coldplay’s 5th studio album, Mylo Xyloto will be released on 24th October and is currently available on Amazon on pre-order. With their pre-order guarantee, if the price drops before the release date you will only pay the lowest prices, so it is definitely worth putting in a pre-order for this new Coldplay album that is set to be another best seller.

The new album includes the blockbuster single ‘Every Tear is a Waterfall’ plus a number of tracks that were heard at their big Glastonbury gig and other concerts that they have been playing around the world.

Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto contains 14 new tracks and will be released on 24th October so get your order in now, whether you are in the UK or the US.

 

      

Carrying Golf Clubs on Oman Air

Travel,

I was recently flying to Dubai and trying to find the best priced flight which would also allow me to take my golf clubs on the airplane. The cheapest flight came out with Oman Air so I tried to check their website about whether they let you take golf clubs for free or not.

However, I couldn’t find any information about taking golf clubs on Oman Air on their website at all – in fact I did not find their website hugely helpful to be honest. I did find an email address to send any enquiries to about luggage but that came back with user unknown, so they had obviously not updated their website when that person had left.

Anyway, I did eventually fina another contact email address and sent an enquiry to them to see if you could take golf clubs for free. It took over a week to get a response and that answer was a bit cryptic but the long and the short of it was this:

You can take golf clubs on Oman Air but not entirely for free. Essentially the first 9kg of your golf club bag is free and anything over that you have to pay for. However, your baggage allowance is 30kg so if you do not use up all of your 30kg, say you only use 20kg, then you will only be charged for the extra over 30kg .

For me the information came too late as I had already booked and flown with another airline but maybe this info can help someone else!