Today across the country most of the children are going back to school. I had the pleasure of waking up at 8am to get my girlfriend’s son ready to go to school. He was really excited to be going back too.

He was looking forward to seeing his friends again and to having fun. It’s been a really bad summer break for the children around this area. We’ve had nothing but rain really. He did get to go to Chester zoo though and apparently it was scortching hot there.

Some of us have to work so it’s not possible to go for an extended holiday abroad and it’s not the best time to travel with the economy in the state that it is. I actually prefer staying at home to travelling.

I’ve never really been abroad that much although I did live in Germany for four months back in the nineties. It was to do with where I was working at the time and it was a real eye opener. Learning German was a bit too much for me though.

Anyhow, now that the children are back at school I’ll start on a series of posts about things that they might need at school. I know that Josh wanted a load of things. To be honest he didn’t actually need anything, just wanted… lol.

I remember when I was at school and the excitement of a new school year would bring. I wish I could go back to that time to be honest, everything was much simpler in those days. No worries, no loans and no stress. Make the most of you time at school children, it’s definately worth it.

If you’re wondering where I’ve been for the past few days I’ll tell you. I’ve been in bed with a stinking cold that’s where.

I was feeling a bit rough last week to be honest, but didn’t think much of it. By the weekend I was bed ridden. I’m male, and I can hear all you women sighing and talking under your breath about “men, a little sniffle and they’re dying”. Well, it’s true, I was death’s door (not literally of course, and you’re right women it was just a sniffle in the end) and no amount of Tomato soup by a certain manufacturer was going to make me better.

By Monday, I was feeling much better, but decided to stay in bed for the day just to make sure it wasn’t bird flu or Swine flu (Can’t be too careful these days!). So I’m back to normal now and will be letting you all know of the cool things that I’ve been looking at whilst lying in my bed being tended on by my wonderful girlfriend.

The weather is still rubbish though, so no trips to the seaside for a while. To be honest I can’t believe how fast these summer holidays have gone by. It’s only a couple of weeks and the kids go back to school. Then I’m off to live to Bolton for a few years to finish off my degree course. I’m really looking forward to that.

When I was a child I always wanted a microscope. I never did get one though. Maybe I will now that I’ve come across the Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope. I remember as a child having a fascination with seeing things really close up. When I got to do biology in school I had grown out of it and was more interested in physics and chemistry.

But as the years have passed by I’ve gone full circle and come back to wanting to know about things in detail. Maybe this is because of the work I’m now doing with Special Effects where attention to detail is very important. I may write a blog post on my degree if anyone is interested in that; let me know.

So the Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope is great if you want to see what a flake of skin looks like in close up, or even what blood looks like. I’m not one for looking at blood at the best of times, but close up it’s totally different (I usually get nauseous if I see blood and have to sit down). Being able to connect the microscope up to a PC via USB is a great advancement over peering down a tiny hole. I think that may have put me off Biology to be honest. It’s either that or having to dissect a sheep’s eye and a pig’s heart.

The Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope is an excellent gift for anyone who has a keen interest in the things around them. Whether it is alive or dead, you’ll be thankful you had a Veho VMS-001 USB Microscope to look at it close up. Having a microscope will give the user a better understanding of how things work and costing just £35 you can’t really go wrong.

Do you have trouble getting up in the morning? Well worry no more. The Flying alarm clock will solve your problem. Actually, you’ll not have a choice but to get up.

With the Flying alarm clock you have to get up in order to stop it. If you’re like me and love your duvet then the Flying alarm clock is the perfect alarm clock for you because of this.

I’ve always struggled to get up in the morning, and it is no different today. I used to have a wind up one, but I would forget to wind it up. Then there was the time I got decided to use my mobile as an alarm, and forgot to charge it…. need I go on…

I suppose you’re wondering why this alarm clock is called the Flying alarm clock. The reason it’s called the Flying alarm clock is simple really. When the alarm goes off, the propeller part flies off and the alarm rings… and rings…. and rings…. In fact, it will continue to ring until you get out of your bed and replace the propeller in the base. Only then will it stop ringing.
Trust me when I say that it’s infuriatingly annoying when you can’t find the propeller. And never, ever place it anywhere near an open window… The milkman doesn’t need to see you in your PJ’s.

Costing under £15, the Flying alarm clock is the ideal solution for the stubborn. And it’s great for students too, provided they remember to plug it in to the electricity supply.

This will be my final post on my theme of back to school. Quite a few of you will be starting back at school on Tuesday, 2nd September. It always strikes me as odd that school terms start on random days after the summer holidays. Tuesday is not so bad, but I remember school starting on a Friday…. I mean… why?

Anyway, if your children, or you, are going to secondary school next week, you’ll be studying chemistry. Exciting stuff.
An important part of chemistry is the periodic table of elements. I remember having great difficulty remembering even the basic of this. That’s where the Periodic Table Mug comes in. You’ll never be stuck for that elusive atomic mass number again! You can even use it to drink your favourite hot beverage from too.

It’s a bit of a tongue in cheek item really, but I love it. You can study chemistry whilst dunking your favourite biscuit in your tea. The Periodic Table Mug is a must for any science fan, it won’t make you the next Einstein, but it might help you along the way. And at less than £6, it’s a fun little gift to give.

And another thing… it’s dishwasher safe too, so no chance of the elements dropping off after you wash it.

What does every good student require to get them up in the morning? Yes, that’s right, an alarm clock. And what better way to start your day than with the Wesco Star Wars R2D2 Projection Alarm Clock. This alarm clock will not only tell the time on its LCD display, but will project it on to your wall too. How cool is that. This is a must have gadget for any Star Wars fan. The Wesco Star Wars R2D2 Projection Alarm Clock is £19.99, which is a fantastic price for such a novel way of waking up in the mornings.
R2-D2 has got to be one of the most loved characters from the Star Wars films, and now you can have the loveable robot to wake you up in the mornings.

Sure there are other alarm clocks out there, but are they as much fun as the Wesco Star Wars R2D2 Projection Alarm Clock? There may be other projection alarm clocks, but they’re not R2-D2 are they.

This is still continuing with my theme of back to school, because we’ll all have to start getting up early again soon. Obviously getting up early will be much easier with the Wesco Star Wars R2D2 Projection Alarm Clock projecting the time on to your wall or ceiling. It might even bring a smile to your face.

Is the force strong enough in you young jedi to get up and get ready for school on time?

Continuing with my theme of back to school, an essential piece of equipment that every student needs in secondary school is a calculator. The Casio Scientific Calculator is by far one of the best valued scientific calculators available. With a price tag that’s just shy of £11.50 you can’t really go wrong. I like bringing gadgets and equipment that I think are good value for money to your attention. Hopefully I’m succeeding in this task.

The Casio Scientific Calculator has a whole host of functions that you’d expect from a scientific calculator, plus more! In total it has 300 functions, which is a lot. It has true algebraic logic, standard deviation, sin/cos/tan, hyperbolics, polar/rectangular conversions, linear regression, permutation and combination, brackets, random numbers, square, factorial, angle units (DEG/RAD/GRA), fractions… the list goes on…

What I like about this calculator is that it has it’s own hard case that slides over the buttons and screen, making it ideal for the busy student who just throws things into their bag… it gives great protection, and piece of mind for you. Another great thing about the Casio Scientific Calculator is the dual power functionality, it has both battery and solar power which makes it exceptional value for money. You won’t be replacing the battery every couple of months with this one.

Students really do need a calculator for school, college or university because maths plays a big part in all three institutions. So why not go for one that you know will perform well and has an attractive price tag. Come September, the Casio Scientific Calculator will be in my arsenal.

Well it’s nearly time for the kids to go back to school and that means that they’ll need new supplies. I’m going to write a few posts this week about back to school. My first post is about Staedtler Colouring Pens. I’ll be buying these pens for myself and I don’t usually recommend things that I’m not 100% confident about. I’ve had Staedtler Colouring Pens before and they’ve never let me down.

The Staedtler Colouring Pens come in packs of 10, so that means that you have a choice of 10 vibrant colours. Being water based is also a bonus as they’ll wash out of your childrens’ clothes quite easily. Being Staedtler, you know that you’re buying good quality pens and these colouring pens are no different. They come in an attractive box which also acts as a stand when you’re using them. You can even leave the cap off for several days before they’ll begin to dry up. Which is good for busy students.

The Staedtler Colouring Pens have a triangular shape to them which makes them a joy to use over a long period of time. Also having pressure resistant tips is a great bonus if you’re a bit heavy handed like myself.

I can’t praise these pens enough, the Staedtler Colouring Pens are essential for any serious student to have. Forget the rest, these really are top of the class.