Rod G.

Excellent advice and easy to read - WebMD has become a very commercial site now with articles written for the general public. They have a great search system, videos, Q&A by doctors and they have pretty much dominated this sector of the market. I would say just be careful not to confuse the real articles with the advertisements on this site. Most importantly, this information can be used to supplement what your own physian's advice and NOT be used to diagnose yourself. As a physician, I have seen so many patients who read something on the internet, completely convinced they have a particular disease. Upon seeing them in the office they are completely wrong and misguided by information they read on the internet. For the sake of being safe, leave the diagnosing to an experienced physician and use great websites such as these to supplement your doctors advice.

Best sounds for your HDTV - If you think you need to spend huge bucks for an amazing surround sound system, then you are wrong. Most really really good surround sound system cost about $1500 for a good receiver and then another $3-4K for speakers to go with it. And, even then you do not have complete control over how your system sounds. Music and sound is very individual and what sounds amazing to someone may not to someone else.

The most inexpensive way to achieve the best sound quality for your new HDTV is to actually use a PC with a high end creative labs sound card and THX 7.1 speakers like their gigaworks. A PC with their highest end sound card will run you about $1K, the same as a good receiver. Except now, you can hook it up to their THX speakers and get 7.1 surround sound and complete control over your sound quality. Combine that with the fact that you do not have to also buy a DVD player now because your PC can do a better job of scaling the video to 1080p than a $500 sony DVD player.

The big disadvantage is the look of these types of speakers, otherwise they will provide sound quality far surpassing that of higher end 5.1 surround sound systems.

Gigaworks 750S speakers a creative labs

Typically, if I want to take a photo, I will use a full frame camera like a canon 5dMiv and a prime lens or a more portable sony a7riii. I detest taking photos with my iphone as the sensor size is so tiny. This app has definitely made me rethink using my iphone for more serious photography. It gives me raw images, complete manual control of the camera and video control as well. I just wish I found this app years ago. Great job and the tutorials on how to use the app on your iphone are easy to follow. Simply the best $4.95 or whatever it costs I ever spent on an app.

Disposing of medical waste can be a very expensive process. Medical waste disposal has to be properly shipped, stored, and disposed according to a number of rules and regulations to protect against blood borne diseases. Having a local pick up of your medical waste can be expensive, but this online company called sharpsinc or sharpsinc.com has simplified the entire experience and made it much cheaper. They provide you with mail labels and the packaging material to ship off your medical waste for a fraction of the price (about 20% of what it could cost to have a local pick up). Highly recommend the website and service.

I ordered a sink from New Look Plumbing through amazon.com and needed to make a return. While I did have to pay for return shipping, they did refund my credit card and the return process went very smoothly. I commend them for having such great customer service and providing an expedited refund to my credit card. One of hallmarks of a great company is how they deal with returns and this company I feel did a remarkable job.

It has been a long time since I built my own pc but I do remember it being significantly cheaper than buying online. Currently when you configure your system through a major company you are seemingly paying much more than if you just bought it off the shelf. This company is located around the corner from where I grew up and has a real address/phone etc which is rare these days for internet companies. I took a look at their prices and they were far below what is currently being sold at retail for the same specifications. If you are looking to buy a new computer, I would recommend seeing what your money will get you at a larger internet retailer such as Dell, gateway, sony, HP and then compare the specs to what you can get here. You might be able get some significant upgrades for not much more money. Often times upgrading a HD will cost you hundreds extra... here an upgrade to 1.5TB cost an additional $26 from what I saw... Just try finding that deal on other more commercial sites.

I was out having drinks with a few friends and one of them pulls out her iPhone and says "Let's see who else is in the bar worth talking to". Within seconds the entire group is pouring over foursquare on the iPhone and evaluating potential networking opportunities. The bar was full with about 50 people and 8 of them showed up on foursquare. The rest of the group at that point in time was amazed at this app and then they all downloaded it, filled out their profile and within minutes ended up using it to talk to random strangers thanks to foursquare. It was socially viral in a way that seduced everyone around us to all join foursquare just to be a part of the social network and see who else was in the bar. A number of these apps have existed for awhile now for the iPhone but none of them ever reached critical mass like foursquare. When an entire bar starts breaking out their iPhones to download an app, you know foursquare has hit internet gold. The badges are also pure genius... I plan to become the mayor of a local starbucks... or maybe I can earn that barista badge...

I have ordered from this site before and they gave me excellent service and shipped the items in a very timely manner. They have a huge selection of products designed for child safety and I would recommend any new parent to take a look at this site to help protect their children. Accidents are always the top of the list in child injuries and many of them that I have seen in my career in pediatrics could have been prevented. You may not even need to buy many of the items sold here but just looking at them will give you ideas on how you can child protect your own home.

The AHRQ is the government agency for healthcare research and quality. They have a very well written section that explains health insurance to the public. In my experience as a physician, I have realized that most people have little understanding of what they are buying in terms of health insurance or what they are being given by their companies. Only when they get sick and really need health insurance do they ever bother to read their policy -- but then realize it was too late to make any changes. Everyone should have a basic understanding of health insurance as Everyone eventually will get sick and end up in the hospital as it is only a matter of time. This site does a great job of educating the public on the basic principles of health care insurance so people can make an informed decision when they choose their plan. Here is a link to the page that discusses it

http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/insuranceqa/insuranceqa3.htm

Well designed way to use a bittorrent client. Easy to use and very fast. HD player is also very convenient and looks great.

Good site for overall knowledge about anti-aging medicine and they do carry a wide range of supplements. I personally haven't used their supplements before but I have heard good things about this company from other anti-aging doctors. Their magazine is also worthwhile reading if you decide to get that subscription.

Marc Silber is a wonderful photographer that has this site set up to share his photography knowledge with the world. His site and videos are sponsored by SanDisk, which seems to be a solid partnership for him. I have found the video extremely valuable in terms of teaching me new photography techniques and they are entertaining to watch as well. These very well produced videos. I recommend any photographer to take a look at this website.

VAERS is the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System and is a very important part of evaluating new vaccines. In particular the new H1N1 vaccine. Many people do not report to their physician all of the adverse effects of a vaccine, and many doctors are not staffed properly to report all adverse effects. If you get the H1N1 vaccine or any vaccine and you experience an adverse effect, it is important to go to this website and report it. It does not take very long and you would be doing your part in helping to both develop effective vaccines and stop the spread of disease.

The website of the Medical Library Association has put together a great resource for the general public in terms of helping them learn how to evaluate medical information people find online. There are so many medical websites out there it is challenging to say which ones have accurate information, so their guide serves as a method for people to figure out if a site has reliable information on it. Here is a link to the page that discusses how to evaluate the content of a medical website

http://www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html

Do you want a genetic test to see if your hair is going to fall out? This company markets a genetic test to see if the patient has a genetic marker for hair loss. Most people wait too long to start treating themselves for hair loss and have already lost up to 50% of their hair by the time they visit their doctor. There are great treatments, even new laser treatments, that can prevent and restore hair loss, so if you think you are going bald... try taking this test. Our office has used it on many patients already and all of them were happy to have taken the test. Either they discovered they had the genetic marker and now can do something about it before it is too late OR they don't have it and can relax that they probably won't lose their hair.

One of my favorite TV channels is the travel channel and it is a great way to find your next vacation. Nothing better than actually seeing where you might be going. The website is just as good as watching the TV channel and you can specifically look for your next trip there. Be sure to check out Bizarre Foods by Andrew Zimmerman.

Great company which can streamline your medical office - We have used JMA for years and have been exceptionally pleased with them. They are a great resource and have allowed us to focus more on the business and medical aspects of our office rather than HR issues.

Baytechwebdesign custom designed a great site for me (www.kaliaskincare.com) - They are a very reputable firm and I would trust them again to build a website for me. After they give you the quote they stick to it and keep working on your site until it meets your satisfaction. I recommend them all the time to my colleagues. Their design skills are also excellent.

Use this if you have a cold - the study at UCLA showed that if you use zicam at the very first sign of a cold you can reduce the duration of the cold by about 2-3 days. But you have to use it every 2 hours and really be consistent with it. And, you have to start almost immediately at the first signs and symptoms. I have recommended this product to all of my patients and friends throughout the years. Get the one that is zinc based and meant for colds.

Get their catalog - while their website is amazing, if you are on this website, you owe it to yourself to get their full catalog as it is easier to browse through all of their professional products. Just email them and ask to be on their mailing list.