Ever since the original Star Wars movie came out in 1977, fans of the science fiction universe created by George Lucas have always wanted to be able to dress up as their favourite characters, including the evil Darth Vader, wise-cracking Han Solo and the formidable Stormtroopers. When the prequels came about, the troopers were missing at first. In the first prequel, The Phantom Menace, there were Battle Droids, but a distinct lack of trooper action. Thankfully, with Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the Star wars universe gained its troopers in the form of Clone Troopers, the precursors to the legendary Imperial soldiers from the original trilogy.

Now, with the release of the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie and TV series comes a new version of those Clone troopers, and young Star wars fans everywhere are getting a treat at Christmas 2008 with the advent of the Star Wars Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet, the latest in the ever growing range of voice changer toys that have been released in conjunction with TV and movie franchises.

Other big names in the world of official Voice Changer toys include Doctor Who, Transformers and more hits. The Star Wars Clone Trooper Voice Changer helmet is a great gift for Christmas 2008, and has some great features to keep young Star wars fans amused through the twelfth helping of Turkey and stuffing.

The Clone Trooper Voice Changer helmet, set in sturdy plastic, comes with button-activated sound effects that transform the voice of the wearer into the famous voice of the Clone Troopers. Now your young Star Wars fans can sound just like the Clone armies, seen in the Star Wars Clone Wars movie and TV series!

The Star Wars Clone Trooper Voice Changer Helmet is the must-have gift for young Star wars fans for this festive season, and one of the most wanted Christmas gifts for 2008. With great technology and a dead-on replication of the famous helmet, kids will be having adventures in a galaxy far, far away for a long time to come.

On 27 August 2008, Sharp Corporation issued a press release that may someday be recognised as the true beginning of mankind’s war against bird flu! Incorporated in its ionic air purifier, the Plasmacluster Ion Technology (more on this in a later post) has just been scientifically proven to be 99.9% effective in eliminating the bird flu virus known as H5N1.

With increasing regularity, the press reminds us that bird flu is the prime suspect to cause mankind’s next pandemic. Pandemic does not just sound terrifying. It is. That’s when a highly contagious virus goes global, in a very negative sense. The 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 50 million people worldwide is the worst pandemic in human history! That was blamed on the H1N1 virus which was only recently confirmed on 5 October 2005 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a bird flu virus.

If fear is gripping you right now, is it time to PANIC?

Not just yet. Statistically, as recorded by WHO as at 10 Sep 2008, “only” 245 people have died from the H5N1 virus. This is since 1996 when the virus first surfaced in China. So what’s the fuss? Mutation of the bird flu virus to achieve human-to-human transmission capability is the ultimate horror of the scientific community. As of today, there has been only one probable case of human-to-human transmission recorded in Thailand in September 2004. Don’t be surprised by the global pandemonium in the event that the dreaded virus mutation actually occurs.

Like other countries, Singapore (where I live) is conscientiously preparing for the worse (more on this in a later post). At the individual level, we should start making preparations too.

Ok, so what’s all this got to do with Sharp’s ionic air purifier. Isn’t it just another ionic air purifier? Yes, because it takes care of the usual pollutants (dust, dirt, smoke, dander, pollen, cuisine odors, pet odors, allergens etc) that contaminate the air that we breathe and live in. But if we can get protection from all these and more in one ionic air purifier, especially one that is a tested defense shield against a potentially deadly virus, why not? That’s what Sharp is saying, get the all-in-one air purifier with their Plasmacluster Ion Air Purifier.

If you’re value-conscious like me, the obvious question would be “yes, that makes a whole lot of sense but at what cost”? At no extra cost, Sharp claims! They go so far as to say it may in fact be cheaper than any other ordinary ionic air purifier when measured over 5 years. A case of over-delivering by Sharp? But, how is this possible in this nothing-is-for-free world?

Well, in promotional materials, using the Plasmacluster Ionic Air Purifier Model FP-N40CX as the basis, Sharp contends that it is much better value for money as there is no filter replacement costs for the first 5 years. Upfront costs at US$399 for the Sharp model is higher than the typical competitor’s US$160. But the latter requires annual filter replacement costs of US$100, adding to a total cost of US$560 over 5 years.

Any feedback on the competitor numbers would be greatly appreciated. Do let me know if you have recent actual data.

Meanwhile, I’m going to scrutinise intently the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology. Especially since bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.

Today is the day to get started. I have been there. Recall the last disaster movie when you saw people with terror in their eyes, many with the famed N95 face mask covering their noses as they commute to work. But it was no movie but real life in motion in many Asian cities. Those who could not find the scarce N95 face mask could only pray that they were not the next victim of the near-pandemic scenario that swept across Asia. For those of you who did not hear of it, it was the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus that hit 8,096 people around the world and resulted in 774 fatalities. We all know that being well prepared is half the battle won.

Watch this space as we track exciting developments in our pursuit of safe, pure and clean air with nothing more than an ionic air purifier.

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There are hundreds if not thousands of different tests that you can do online that can test your intelligence. The truth is that the majority of these free tests are totally useless or inaccurate, therefore if for that reason only, you must prepare both you and kid if they are going to be tasking a free kids iq test online.

Here are my top 5 preparation tips:

1. Find a test which really will suit your kid. You don't need to do as much research if it is just being done for fun. If you need to take a test which is recognized, then you should carry on searching. You can probably do this by visiting the website of the school or organization and find out which free IQ tests for kids they suggest.

2. Much of doing will in a Kids IQ Test is to make sure that you have a great mental state beforehand. What I mean by that is that you will endeavour to answer every single question as well as you can. The vast majority of Kids tests do not penalize your child if they get a question wrong. They just don't receive a positive mark.

3. It is up to you, the adult, to make sure that you kid knows that even if they don’t do so well in the IQ Test, then you will still love them and support them. The point is that the child is not stressed or worried about the test itself and the pressure is taken away from them.

4. Make sure that the child sleeps well the night before. This may sound obvious, but I would go as far as to say that if the child has not slept well then it is not worth them taking the free kids iq test as it is likely that it will kill their confidence.

5. Tell your child that before they answer any question in the test, they should breath first and be 100% sure that they answer that they choose seems the most correct out of all the choices.

Please note, that the way to get the best results from any test is to go a professional that has experience of doing them and is certified to carry out the tests.