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I am very excited when new service comes to Boston because the lack of competition here on direct routes leads to very high fares. Also, the traditional carriers have made flying so miserable that it does not take much to impress me anymore. I have always been a big JetBlue fan and Virgin America seems to be improving on their playbook (new planes, reasonable fares, good amenities and friendly service). On a recent business trip, I flew the new Boston to San Francisco direct route. The price of the ticket was about $350 and the new plane had Virgin America’s trademark mood lighting, interactive entertainment system (where you can order paid meals and have them delivered to your seat) and a noticeably friendly crew. However the really big news was the Wifi service, which worked flawlessly and for $10 let me work online for the entire flight, which was a reason to choose Virgin America alone. Instead of arriving to 100 e-mails, I was all caught up and ready to go when I landed. The only negative is that the basic coach seat is a little tight on legroom, but they do offer a variety of upgrade options. Virgin America, like JetBlue and Southwest before it is helping to bring civility back to air travel. Count me in as a fan and I am hoping for more Boston routes.

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Who says patience isn’t a virtue? After almost 20 years, Weber has finally given an overhaul to its tried and true Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.  The old 2820 model is replaced by the new Weber 18.5″ inch smoker which finally has a built-in thermometer as well as improvement to the legs, water pan and door design. Weber has also added a second bigger smoker to the line called the 22.5” which is the radius of a large Weber Kettle grill and has three cooking levels. If you have held off on getting a smoker, now is the time.

Read the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Review

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If you are looking for a high quality air purifier at a reasonable price (around $150 dollars), then the Honeywell HFD-120-Q is a great option. Its really quiet, has washable filters (which is a huge convenience and saves money) and has a built in ionizer that delivers extra cleaning power to filter the air in your room about every 12 minutes. The purifier’s True HEPA filter says that it removes 99.97 percent of all airborne particles that pass through, such as pollen, cat dander, household dust, tobacco smoke, and mold spores. There is also an electronic filter check indicator telling you when the filter needs to be cleaned. We have been using this in our bedroom and don’t even notice that it’s on, but when I went to clean the filter, I could see that it’s working. My only complaint is that the fan is pretty strong so that it can move around the air and the in winter that can create a bit of a draft in your room if its pointed anywhere near your bed.

The Honeywell HFD-120 has a sleek tower design and comes in black or silver. The oscillating fan moves around at 3 different speeds which you can control. The recommended room size is about 170 sq ft and the product comes with a 5 year limited warranty. This is the second Honeywell product I have tired out recently and I have been impressed with the design and ease of use.

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For many, the start of winter means the start of colds and bringing down the humidifiers from the attic, especially if you have forced hot air heating, which tends to be very dry. My biggest beef with humidifiers is the filter, which can cost up to half the price of the humidifier itself. With models changing from year to year, it’s very hard to find a replacement filter for your system and often it’s worth just buying a new one instead and throwing out the old one. I also don’t trust the indicators that are supposed to tell you when to change it.

I have been really happy with the recently released Honeywell HCM-800 humidifier which replaced an older Honeywell model we had. For starters, it has a removable permanent washable filter which will save you a lot of money and makes it easy to keep the humidifier clean. Two simple knobs control the humidity setting and the strength of the fan. Also, unlike all humidifiers I have owned had in the past, this one has a very wide mouth opening for filling the tank, which makes the process much faster and easier. It also lets you get your hand in the tank to clean in out. A fill will last you about three nights.
The one other unique feature of the HCM-800 is an illuminated waterfall window which quietly indicates that the unit is running with a soft blue glow. The running water is more of a soothing sound than the traditional humidifier fan. When it reaches the desired humidity, the light changes from blue to green.

While the HCM-800 costs a little more up front, it will definitely save you money and aggravation in the long run.

Check the latest prices and reviews at Amazon

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