Pepperkaker or pepper cakes or cookies or crisps or snaps or whatever you want to call them are somewhat like a spicy and crispy version of ginger bread. They are very tasty and have a nice smell of Christmas.

Pepperkaker (Norwegian Christmas Cookies)

NB: This recipe is very large and is enough for a huge pile of cookies as well as a couple of houses so I suggest you reduce it to half the first time you try it.

Ingredients:

• 500 g (17.6 oz) butter
• 3 dl (1.26 cups) fancy molasses
• 6 dl (2.5 cups) white sugar
• 3 dl (1.26 cups) whipping cream
• 20 dl (8.45 cups) white / all purpose flour (you’ll probably need a lot more – see below)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 5 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp baking powder (not baking soda)

Making the dough:

Mix butter, molasses and sugar in a heated pan until sugar is melted. Be careful because the mixture will be very hot and if you get it on your skin it will burn like nothing you have ever felt before! When everything is melted, mix in the whipping cream. The different ingredients do not mix well and will constantly separate. That’s normal.

While the mixture is still hot, take about 5 dl of the flour and mix in all the spices and the baking powder. This will ensure that the spices are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Mix in the flour bit by bit to ensure that the dough gets an even consistency. As you add in more flour it will get really tough so if you have one of those kitchen machines with a kneading arm I suggest you use it instead of wearing yourself out like I did.

The dough is finished when it has a light brown colour and a slightly sticky consistency. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, cover it with a towel and put it in the fridge for a day or so.

Making the cookies:

When the dough is well rested, cut out a fist sized piece and place it on a sheet of unwaxed parchment paper or another non-stick surface like a Silpat. When you roll it out the dough will be too sticky to lift off the surface and place on a cooking sheet so I just roll it right onto the sheet and cut the cookies there. Roll the dough out till it is about 1 – 2 millimeters thick and cut out shapes with standard cookie cutters. Pepperkaker are actually better the thinner they are so try to avoid making them as thick as regular ginger bread. They also don’t rise in the oven which helps.

Place the tray in the middle of your oven and cook for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When the cookies come out of the oven they will still be a bit soft so take them off the tray and let them rest on a cooling rack for a while minutes before putting them away or eating them.

A note on flour

Over the years I have realized that flour is different depending on what continent you are on. In Norway this recipe works fine with 20 dl of white flour, but when I made the dough this year I used close to 30 dl of all purpose flour to get the same consistency. Unfortunately this means you have to experiment. I think you’ll be safe with about 25 dl but that might also be way off.

That’s it! Good luck and don’t eat too many cookies all at once!

During the US Presidential Election there was a lot of talk about so-called “clean coal technology” and organizations such as the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity have been blanketing news outlets, CNN in particular, with ads claiming that clean coal is “closer than you think” implying that the coal that produces 60% of America’s energy will soon be clean. The fact however is that this “clean coal technology” is years away, and many years at that. Apart from a pilot project in Germany run by Swedish hydropower company Vattenfall, there are no true clean coal power plants in operation. And the Vattenfall project which uses oxyfuel technology, is both expensive and inefficient because of the technique used to extract CO2 from the process.

The fact remains: According to everyone, even the US Department of Energy, burning coal is the dirtiest way we produce electricity and it is a leading source of global warming pollution.

Fortunately the people behind ThisIsReality.org have stepped up to remind us all that clean coal is nothing but hot air. Go to their site to learn more and remember that if you are in the USA, every time you turn on a light bulb you are burning a lump of coal.

It’s that time again fellas: Movember is upon us. And you know what that means. Moustaches for everyone – even if your main squeeze, girlfriend, wife, sister or daughter says you look like a 70s porn star. Why? Because Movember is prostate cancer awareness month, and by adorning your upper lip with some serious fur you are making your fellow men as well as their women aware of the fact that although less talked about, prostate cancer is actually more common than breast cancer!

Dabbler has been on hiatus for some time. Both Angela and myself have taken on some major projects that make it impossible to stay on top of this site as well. But since Movember is such a good cause we felt the least we could do was repost the video to get everyone in the mood for some mo-growin’.

For more information and to sign up go to Movember.com, then send your friends or loved ones who think you’ve gone insane here or to YouTube to watch the video. And while you’re at it you can read the original article after the jump.

A little action in the bedroom is good but did you know it’s also good FOR you?

If your man is using this as a reason for gettin’ a little somethin’ somethin,’ it ain’t no ordinary line ladies. He’s actually right! Such a release is good for his prostate and if you knew how common it is for men to develop cancer in this gland, you wouldn’t take his request so lightly.

Even though the subject is brought up every once in a while, people (generally of the male variety) are usually quick to change it or simply tune it out because it’s an uncomfortable issue. But why? We hear about breast cancer on a daily basis now it seems, and you can buy pretty much anything in pink these days so why is there this great imbalance?

Well, for one thing, just as you’d rather see bare breasts than full frontal male nudity, women just have a prettier package and pretty things are easier to talk about. The fact that breast cancer surgery is a lot more traumatic also warrants the attention. Consider that women can actually lose a whole breast, something that is more physically and psychologically damaging than losing an organ that you can’t see or touch. That’s why I think prostate cancer never gets the spotlight…until now!

And it’s about time! Did you know that prostate cancer is actually more common than breast cancer?! The numbers are staggering. Just this week alone, 429 Canadian men will have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and according to the Canadian Cancer Society, 1 in 27 will die from it. That’s why early detection is so critical. Like any other cancer, doctors the world over are still hard at work finding a cure so if a cancer is left to grow, it could not only be debilitating, but fatal. Prostate cancer develops very slowly so by the time you experience any symptoms, it may already be too late. However, if you are diligent about your annual checkups, early detection will ensure that you receive the right treatment so you can continue to live your life to the fullest. It is strongly recommended that men 40 and over be examined regularly but men in their mid-30s are now beginning to do so as well. Can’t hurt right? Well…maybe a little…

Granted, a physical examination of your prostate is more than unpleasant, but consider the repercussions if you ignore such a serious condition. Mad Morten’s grandfather discovered a tumor that eventually spread to his back, paralyzing him during his latter years of life and only through sheer stubbornness did he still live a relatively long one. The cancer can engulf any part of your body, not just your back as in this case. You guys out there will be happy to know that there is an alternative to being poked and prodded. As Alan explains in the video, there is a blood test called the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test that is less invasive and which produces the same results, so please consult your family physician, ask lots of questions, and learn more about it.

All this education is where Movember comes into play. Now that you’re armed with potentially life-saving info, it’s time to spread something of the good kind…awareness. And how will you do that? By sporting a MO (an Aussie slang for mustache) and becoming a Mo Bro! Unless you’re Magnum P.I., these facial accents are a rarity. That’s why when you wear one yourself, you’ll naturally attract attention and as people begin to ask you why you’re wearing such a pimpin’ look, you can enlighten them about a worthy cause. Women may be challenged in the facial hair department, but they have a part to play as well, by becoming Mo Sistas and supporting and recruiting Mo Men. This is one of the most creative ways of approaching a delicate subject and you’re encouraged to have fun with it. Conduct Mo-offs at your office! The teachers at Midland Secondary School in Ontario are raising money by selling ballots to vote on which teacher will don which ridiculous-looking mustache for the remainder of the month. All the money raised will fund each participating country’s leading prostate cancer research foundation so all the money raised in Canada will stay IN Canada. Our country’s beneficiary partner is the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada so sign up at Movember.com, start your own competition, and at the end of the month, celebrate with all your Vancouver Mo Bros and Sistas at a Gala Parté on November 29th at Caprice Night Club (check Movember.com for listings in other cities).

Knowledge is power babeh!

The Office Ultimate kit contains not only the staples such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint but also a series of tools that will greatly enhance learning and collaboration in the form of Groove, InfoPath and OneNote.

The name of this promotion couldn’t be more accurate; this truely is The Ultimate Steal. Makes me wish I was a student again just so I could get my hands on it. But be quick: Who knows how long this is going to last…

To help you get a better idea of what kind of computer you should get for school (whether you are a high-school student, at university or college or even a parent looking for something for your kid), here is Dabbler’s guide to buying a computer for school.

Vital Stats

Reading ads and articles on computers it might look like you need the latest, greatest and fastest one available. Things couldn’t be further from the truth: The faster and more current the components, the higher the price. But when it comes to actual performance, the differences in the top eschelons are very small and only really noticeable if you are running benchmark programs. For the everyday user the difference between a $700 pc and a $2700 pc is negligible. This is because with everyday use you are never tapping the full potential of the components in these computers. Even watching and recording videos puts minimal drain on modern processors. The more expensive PCs are targeted towards 3D gamers and business people and by buying them you are basically paying for things you will never use. Sort of like getting a Hummer for city driving. In short, price doesn’t necessarily reflect performance.

For a student PC, the elements you should be looking for are

• quality of build and physical strength
• battery
• weight
• ease of use

Quality of Build

Since you’ll probably be lugging your PC around and throwing it in a bag all the time it’s vital that the thing doesn’t fall apart after a few months. Sadly many PC manufacturers sacrifice the physical strength of their notebooks to reduce weight. And that can cause huge problems down the line. The key here is to find a PC that feels rugged and doesn’t have a lot of pieces that seem like they can come off easily. The easiest way to do this is simply picking up the notebook in the store, shake it a bit, pick at every piece that looks loose and open and close the screen from one of the corners. If the screen bends noticeably when you open it, it’s too weak.

What to look for: A notebook that feels solid, doesn’t have any loose components and has a screen that doesn’t bend and twist when you open it.

Battery

If your notebook has a crappy battery it’s a solid waste of money. So make sure you check the battery life of the one you are looking at before buying it. There are tons of web sites out there that review notebooks and they all list battery life. Anything lower than 3 hours is unacceptable. Most notebook manufacturers offer larger replacement batteries that give you a lot more juice. But these are heavier and protrude from the body so it’s not necessarily a trade off you want to make.

What to look for: A minimum battery life of 3.5 hours on full power.

Weight

Although notebooks have gone drastically down in weight over the years they are still surprisingly heavy to lug around. And not surprisingly the larger the thing gets, the heavier it gets as well. For this reason many students opt for smaller and slimmer models – but with smaller size comes a higher price. As an example we currently have a 15 inch laptop that I find way too heavy to carry around. My sister-in-law (who is a student) opted for a tiny 12 and some inch computer and I’m now very envious of her. For my next notebook I am getting a 13.3 inch model. The downside to getting a smaller form factor is that the screen is smaller as well so you need good eyes to read what you are writing. On the other end of the spectrum there is the desktop replacements that are 17 inches and above. Although these behemoths technically qualify as notebooks, they really aren’t meant to be carried around and if you get one you should also get yourself a physiotherapist to straighten your back.

To assess the weight of the notebook, pick it up and hold it in one hand on your side as if it was a book. This way you’ll quickly see if it hurts your back to carry and you’ll get a true sense of the weight.

What to look for: As small a form factor as you are comfortable with. Anything above 15 inches is unfeasible when it comes to carrying the notebook around.

Ease of Use

If your notebook is hard or annoying to use you’ll be kicking yourself for buying it. Therefore it is imperative that you feel comfortable with the way the notebook works before you buy it. I am thinking here specifically of the feel and layout of the keyboard and track pad. Surprisingly different notebook manufacturers choose different keyboard layouts and some of them are quite counterintuitive, especially if you are used to a full-size keyboard. There are also a myriad of different types of keys that feel and work quite differently. Some are heavy to press while others are light, some make a lot of sound while others are quiet, some are indented while others are flat. This is all down to preference and before you decide on what notebook to get you should always try to type out a few sentences or even paragraphs to make sure you like what it feels like. Same thing goes for the positioning and functionality of the trackpad. Although for the most part these navigational tools work the same way, the positioning of buttons and other extra features differs between manufacturers and not all of them are convenient.

What to look for: A keyboard that “feels right” when you write on it and has a button layout that makes sense to you.

But what about all the other stuff?

What you’ll notice is that none of what I listed above is actually listed in ads and store shelves. Instead they list processor power, RAM, hard drive space and other technical features. The reason why this is secondary in your choice of notebook is that unless you are getting a really cheap or really expensive one (or a netbook – see below) they are all pretty much the same across all manufacturers and models. Nevertheless you need to know what you are looking for so here is a full rundown:

Processor:

Get an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Anything else is sub-par and old. Intel’s competitor AMD is lagging way behind when it comes to performance and quality and even though these processors might be cheaper they are not worth the money.

RAM

Since all new computers come with Windows Vista installed you need at least 1GB of RAM for it to run properly. Most notebooks these days come standard with 2GB of ram with the option of extending it to 4. 2GB is ideal. Anything less than 1GB is unacceptable and a rip off.

Hard Drive

Hard drives are dropping in price at an incredible rate. Therefore you can get a lot of storage space for very little money. Look for a notebook with a minimum of 230GB of hard drive space. This gives you ample room for files as well as movies and music and whatever else you want to cram into it. If that’s not enough, consider getting an external hard drive. A 500GB one should run you no more than $150.

Other stuff

The notebook must have Wi-Fi, a DVD burner, a minimum of 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA and audio in and out. When it comes to Wi-Fi, Wireless-N is not strictly necessary but could be an advantage. Bluetooth, IR and other fancy stuff is only worht it if you are going to use it (which is highly unlikely). Some newer notebooks come equipped with HDMI and DVI ports but these are wholely unneccesary unless you are going to hook your notebook up to a 1080p HDTV and use it to watch movies. And even then you can get away with using a regular VGA port so it really isn’t something that should be a deciding factor in your purchase.

What about those nifty netbooks like the EEE PC?

The Asus EEE PC was a shocking success last winter that turned the PC world upside down. Who would have thunk that tiny, underpowered and feature weak PCs would become so popular? On the heels of the EEE’s success almost every PC manufacturer is now pushing out netbooks and tiny desktop alternatives. These tiny computers are ideal if all you are doing is word processing, code writing, web, im and email. If on the other hand you want to run heavier applications like image-, audio- and video editing you are out of luck.

What to look for: If you are considering a netbook, wait. In the coming months a myriad of these small form-factor machines will be hitting the market and prices will plummet as performance, storage space and screen qulity will go up. There is a reason why RBC is giving the EEE PC away for free with the opening of new accounts: Even though it’s only 8 months old it is already obsolete and unsellable. I wouldn’t buy a netbook until some time in early 2009.

I hear Macs are great student PCs. Why haven’t you mentioned them?

You’ve probably heard that Macs are great student PCs, that they don’t crash, that they “just work”, that they can stop global warming and that by owning one you instantly become a better person. All of this rubbish is just ingenious marketing from Apple Computers and has little merit in the real world. The fact of the matter is that pound for pound Macs, and especially MacBooks (Mac notebooks), are massively overpriced compared to PCs. In addition with a Mac you are forced to buy Mac software which again is more pricy than PC software. And Macs are proprietary meaning that if something breaks you can’t just take it anywhere to get it fixed – you have to take it back to Mac and their customer support and replacement parts are also overpriced. All in all I wouldn’t recommend a Mac to anyone unless they were very rich and had a lot of money to waste.

One more thing:

You keep hearing about how unsafe and unstable Windows Vista is and how your PC is basically going to blow up in a nuclear meltdown from all the malicious software and viruses it will contract. All of this is untrue: Vista is a great operating system and works extremely well. It is also far safer than Windows XP and harder to hack into than Mac OSes. And when it comes to viruses, 99.99999% of them can be blocked by doing three simple things: Turn on Windows Firewall, download the free version of AVG anti-virus and buy yourself a cheap router to put between your notebook and the outside world. The router will work as a firewall and block pretty much every malicious attack coming from the evil people out there. If you do these three simple things, the only virus you’ll get is the one you download and install yourself either from the web or from an email.

Questions, comments, tips or concerns?

Have any questions, comments, concerns or tips you want to share with us? Drop us a comment and we’ll answer them as quickly as we can.

Spoiler Alert: By reading the following you are totally spoiling the movie. But seriously, you really shouldn’t watch this crap anyway.

Doomsday tells the story of an unfortunate British actor who mistakenly signs up as the lead character in what will become the worst massacre of an homage movie ever attempted. The beautiful and extremely fit ex-Lara Croft Rhona Mitra plays Major Eden Sinclair, orphaned when her native Scotland is ravaged by the horrendous and Ebola like Reaper virus. As the Scots perish the government decides the best solution to curb the pandemic is to build a wall that literally shuts the virus in. Rather than simply leaving the production at this point, Mitra stays on and her character Sinclair becomes a military specialist with inhuman fighting abilities and a remote controlled prosthetic camera eye. Which would be interesting if there was any point to it. But there is none. Sinclair is hired by the British Prime Minister (played by Dr. Julian Bashir who aparently found a time machine in Deep Space Nine) through acriminal political right-hand-man and her mentor Bob Hoskins. The task? It seems some Scots survived the isolation and are still roaming the desolate streets of Edinsburgh. Naturally Bashir wants to find them and an epidemiologist who were left behind so he can use them to find a cure for the Reaper virus that has mysteriously reappeared in the London slums.

Read on for the whole story and our thoughts…

Once over the wall, Eden Sinclair and her cohorts are met by the members of the Scottish Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome Fan Club who bought the entire production warehouse from the film including bad hair, retrofitted cars and blatant stupidity on eBay. Fortunately Doomsday’s low budget didn’t allow for live weapons training so instead the acting troupe – undoubtedly angered at being tricked into appearing in this “movie” – turn to the next logical means of weaponry: Molotov cocktails and medieval clubs. One would think that with their 21st century machine guns and two tanks Sinclair and her merry companions would be able to ward off these F-list stand-ins, but it seems the budget didn’t allow for proper weapons training for them either: They spend all their ammo shooting blindly at walls and cars mowing down only a handful of their attackers before running off leaving everything useful behind.

In true military fashion Sinclair lets herself be captured along with one of her men. While Chandler, the leader of the Mad Max Fan Club (played by Rick Warden), tortures her by pouring stale beer in her hair, her companion is roasted on a fire and served to the angry actors who have now turned cannibalistic (which makes sense seeing as going out of the city to catch some of the thousands of cows the Major and her tanks got stuck in a gigantic herd of earlier in the movie would be way too much work). I’m guessing the captured army officer was actually the head of the British Screen Actor’s Guild and the crew ate him to demonstrate to the world just how much they hated being in this movie.

Anyway, unsurprisingly Sinclair escapes, behands and beheads Chandler’s face-tattooed girlfriend Viper, and runs away with a fellow prisoner who just happens to be the daughter of the doctor she is looking for. Convenient. Oh, and it turns out Chandler is the doctor’s son. So he locked his own sister in the dungeon… Is it just me or is this starting to look like the plot line for some crappy German S&M flick?

After escaping without a scratch the two women make their escape on a steam powered locomotive along with the two remaining members of the team. After a 30 second trek through the Scottish highlands and a trip through an abandoned fallout shelter filled with boxes of unknown content that couldn’t possibly be useful to anyone, they are captured by the the Scottish branch of the International Lord of the Rings Fan Club. Since they are Scottish they skimped out and bought props from Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves and holed up in a tourist attraction castle complete with “Souvenir Shop” signs and other medieval paraphranalia. How very post-apocalyptic. At the throne we meet Maclom McDowell who, pissed off at not becoming the world’s most famous and influential actor after his amazing performance in A Clockwork Orange, decided the best way to prove his worth was to pick up the worst roles his agent could dredge up and mail in performances that make my hamster’s portrayal of Sleeping Beauty worthy of an Oscar.

In accordance with the Official Rulebook of Medieval Movie Reenactments a gladiator scene follows in which Sinclair (smartly dressed in riding boots, yoga pants and a tank top) is pitted against The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Shockingly the knight manages to slightly scratch her before having his head cracked opened. Which is followed by an explosion. I won’t go into the details here but somehow the team realize they’ve been carrying around explosives this whole time and the intrepid quartet manage to blast their way to an escape.

With Robin Baggins and his merry friends hot on their heels they make their way to a fallout shelter. One of those crates must surely contain the perfect weapon against angry and underpaid Scottish actors armed with clubs and longbows, right? And *cue angelic reveal music* there it is: A brand new sparkling Bentley!

Luckily Bentley was looking for someone to shoot their next commercial so why not kill two birds with one stone? After all, nothing makes your luxury sports car look better than a street race against discarded props from a 1980′s post-apocalyptic movie.

The new Bentley makes it’s way across the Scottish highlands with the crazed Mad Max Fan Club hot on it’s heals. Without a scratch. Even though it literally drives straight through several exploding vehicles. Guess those new force fields and self healing body and paint work really are worth the money. Fortunately for the financiers, all the stunt coordinators had left the set in protest at this point and the jury rigged Mad Max vehicles loaded with propane tanks and gas blow up one after another leaving the mangled bodies of the actors splattered across the camera crews and the accountants crossing out names on the payee lists.

To cap off the story Sinclair hands over King Malcom’s beaten and downtrodden daughter to the hugely corrupt statesman (who almost certainly rigged the entire pandemic as some form of large-scale downsizing operation) and returns to her home in the ravaged city of Edinburgh. Here she returns the head of Chandler to the remaining actors (to much applause) and meets up with her mentor Bob Hoskins who proves once again why he should never be cast in any movie ever again.

If you like, have ever seen or ever want to see Mad Max, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, 28 Weeks Later, I Am Legend, Aeon Flux, Lara Croft – Tomb Raider, Resident Evil or any of the other flicks this movie “borrows” from, don’t bother with Doomsday: It’ll ruin the experience completely.

It seems disaster movies in which large portions of the population are killed by rabid viruses and/or famous world capitals are ruined in apocalyptic splendor has become a milking cow for movie makers across the world. To cash in on this trend writer/director Neil Marshall (of The Decent shame fame) has come up with this cinematic mash-up that combines apocalyptic pandemic horrors with hot and dark heroine movies. The result is a sour tasting porridge that smacks more of blatant rip-off than artistry and drags along at a pace that makes watching CNN’s coverage of the lead-up to the democratic convention seem like a heart pounding sprint.

Let me just cover the good part (yes, “part” – singular) before I rip this huge waste of time and money to shreds: Considering the poor quality of nearly every aspect of this movie, Rhona Mitra singlehandedly carries it on her extremely fit shoulders. With what Angela referred to as an “extremely uneven bob” and a body you normally only see in computer games like Tomb Raider, she is nice to look at and her acting is interesting enough to keep you watching. Without Mitra, this DVD would never have been played to the end.

Doomsday is littered with bad music from other movies (most notably one track from Godspeed, You Black Emperor – the band that created the haunting musical landscapes of 28 Days Later is repeated ad nauseum) and plot lines that make absolutely no sense. Throughout the dreadfully long 1 hour and 45 minutes questions like “how did the guy with the train know they were coming?” and “how come they didn’t look for weapons in the fallout shelter?” kept popping up. The whole movie was littered with untold and unexplained plot lines that made absolutely no sense and this combined with bad acting, poorly executed stunts, crappy visual effects and dreadful pacing made the whole experience so underwhelming I’m tempted to demand a refund.

Morten’s Take: This movie proves that although mash-ups occasionally work in music they have no place in movies – especially if the director is incompetent.

Angela’s Take: I thought this was about fighting mutants, not medievals from The Lord of the Rings.

With the introduction of Windows Vista Home Premium with its built in PVR (Personal Video Recorder) capabilities, the PC has taken a giant step toward becoming a permanent fixture in your living room. But who wants a huge and ugly PC tower propped up next to their TV? Sure, there are custom Home Theatre PC cabinets for sale (at exorbitant prices) but they are designed with the HTPC enthusiast in mind and rarely find their way into the homes of normal people. But now all that is about to change.

Dell Studio Hybrid

This week Dell announced their newest offering: The Studio Hybrid. This computer marks a whole new chapter in the way PCs are designed and intended to be used. The Studio Hybrid is a tiny and sleek unit about the size of a regular external hard drive that has everything built in – massive hard drive space, DVD or Blu-Ray player, DVI and HDMI, digital audio and lots of other options. And not only is it small, it’s cheap and effective. The base model is selling for $499 (though if you want to use it as an HTPC you’ll end up spending over $800 for an upgraded model) and Dell claims it uses 70% less energy than a conventional PC.

But what makes this computer interesting is the incredibly small and stylish form factor. Its curved design is accentuated by the ability to choose between a multitude of colored shells including a real bamboo housing. It is also designed to be placed either horizontally or upright to accommodate any space. Finally it has a slot-in disc drive so there are no annoying disc trays that can pop out and break off.

As far as I can tell, the Studio Hybrid’s small design is achieved by using laptop parts. This would also explain the low power consumption and cost. Of course it also means that you are severely limited in upgrades and expansions: For one you cannot install a TV tuner card in the computer so if you want to use it as an HTPC you have to get a USB tuner card for it (can be added to the order during purchase from Dell.com) and you can expect the computer to become sluggish and hard to use after a couple of years.

Is the Studio Hybrid for me?

What are you looking for in a computer? If you want a basic computer to do web surfing and word processing that also looks nice, this is definitely a good and cheap option. In addition it also looks great on any desk or table and ups the coolness factor of your house. If you want a basic HTPC running Windows Vista Home Premium one with a few upgrades like a better processor, more ram, a bigger hard drive and the USB TV tuner will work splendidly. If you are doing hard core video editing however, you should look elsewhere.

Let me put it this way: If I didn’t already have several defunct computers lying around my house I would probably buy one of these and use it in my living room. Though I’d wait until around or right after Christmas to buy it to let the prices come down a bit. That way Dell will also have time to smooth out whatever kinks are present in the early models.

You may have noticed the number of postings on Dabbler.ca has trickled down to almost zero over the last two months. We’ve gotten many queries about why that is and some even think Dabbler is now defunct. Things could not be farther from the truth. But in response to our virtual absence I think a short explanation is in order:

We’ve Been Working!

Over the last two months both Angela and myself have taken on huge projects through the Dabbler mothership Pink & Yellow Media. These projects have been extremely time consuming and have forced us to move this site down on the priority list leading to a sharp decrease in postings. Although Dabbler has become quite successful we still are not at a point where we can drop everything and focus entirely on the blog. Like Angela says:

We got to eat!

So what have we been working on you ask? I’m not going to tell you just yet but here’s a hint: You’ll most likely catch Angela’s work on American network television some time in the fall and Morten’s project will be in book stores world wide in mid October this year. Stay tuned for further updates.

YouTube Loves Dabbler Loves YouTube

In conjunction with the one year anniversary of Dabbler.ca our YouTube viewership hit the 2,000,000 mark (yes, that’s two million!) and we are now racking up about 200,000 new views per month. We were fortunate enough to be invited as one of the first Canadian publishers to be enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program and it has definitely paid off in both viewership and $$$. As a result of the sudden popularity of Dabbler videos on YouTube we are now planning to ramp up our video production.

To watch our videos and interact with other Dabbler fans on YouTube, visit the Dabbler.ca Channel.

Now that our time consuming outside projects are wrapping up we will be getting back to business and posting tons of new and exciting content for you to digest. Stay tuned!

Muneca has a thick coat of black and cream hair that sheds like crazy when summer rolls around. I’m sure I had to clean out the brush well over 20 times before you could tell she even came close to a comb. She seemed to enjoy this long process though, as she first lay on her belly and then on her back and began to let out little snores.

This Siberian Husky Cross takes her time on walks and requires an occasional rest as she is still struggling to lose some extra weight. Muneca is a smart cookie whose listening skills are past ESL level and will wait for your approval before crossing a street. She is sometimes hesitant when meeting new people but warms up quickly if you show her a bit of love (and by that I mean pampering). Muneca would be a perfect companion for a retired senior who enjoys daily strolls, relaxing park bench views and doesn’t mind combing her coat while watching a bit of reality television.

For details on Muneca (Animal ID: 132535), click here.
BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter: 604 879 7721 or vancouver@spca.bc.ca

To read the profile of another dog, click here.

If there’s one person who knows a great swimsuit when she sees one, it’s 36 year old ex-supermodel and former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition glamour girl Monika Schnarre. Coming out of her 15 year retirement from modeling, she is now the new spokesperson for Sea Queen. Never heard of the brand? Neither had I. That’s because the swimwear maker has just returned from a 10 year hiatus from the market. And why should we care? Because this is a brand specifically designed to fit and flatter women 35 and up and has figured out what makes the perfect swimsuit. Check out the video or click on to find out what the secret is!

“Let’s face it – gravity kicks in after you turn 30 – no matter who you are or how fit you are,” says Monika. “Until now, the choice has been limited to padded cups that soak up water; unflattering and uncomfortable underwires or shelf-bras that are added to the swimsuit as an afterthought; or just letting everything sag.”

Understanding that the key to a beautiful beach body is a gorgeous bustline, Sea Queen has reinvented bathing suit construction with its proprietary new SwimTech ContourLift Bra – and designed the latest swimwear trends around it.

Created by an actual bra designer, SwimTech ContourLift Bra features malleable moulded cups that maintain a perfectly natural shape both in and out of the water. Flexible underwires are fused within the cups’ high-tech, ultra-thin foam fabric so they never poke or prod. A comfort band wraps around the rib cage for enhanced support. And because the bra doesn’t retain water like the padded cups found in so many swimsuits, it delivers consistent, curve-enhancing lift for A, B, and C cup sizes.

Made of high-denier Italian microfibre with Lycra / Spandex, some suits offer cuts featuring supportive cup lining, while others also feature a light net lining for a touch of tummy support.

But “of course, all the clever technology wouldn’t mean a thing if the styling weren’t there,” asserts the statuesque Torontonian. “The new collection features the hottest trends in swimwear with hidden support that provides a welcome boost!”

Sea Queen has interpreted the key runway trends in its all new collection of 50 sophisticated one-piece, two-piece and tankini bathing suits – all named after the world’s most fabulous seaside destinations.

Looking for glam? There’s the retro-goddess appeal of Odessa (1), a draped empire maillot. Belts are big now, and Sea Queen’s got them – at the empire waist of the sculpted Monte Carlo one-piece with SwimTech ContourLift Bra (2); and in the obi-like midriff wrap on the two-tone Montecristo maillot (3). Metallics are a must so the Monte Carlo halter bikini (4) and the Monte Carlo maillot (5) make waves in molten gold. Today’s penchant for animal prints is satisfied in the grrreat tiger pattern of the Santorini halter bikini (6), while fashion’s appetite for brights is fulfilled with the exotic jungle print of the Bora Bora halter bikini (7). The current feeling for 40s femmes fatales shows up in the pin-up girl styling of the Odessa bikini (8).

Sea Queen swimwear ranges in price from $80 to $120 CDN and is available across Canada through The Bay, and also here in Vancouver at Swimco, Swimwear Etc, and The Just Cruisin’ Shoppe (also in White Rock at Wishes & Co Fashions). Click here for more information.

Photography Courtesy of: Paco Garcia for Sea Queen