I found the original book, the Space Mavericks in a Soho bookshop in the late 80s, it was remaindered and only 20p. It wasn't a classic by any means but it was a page turning pulp standard with a nice turn of phrase and some clever ideas. However the story ended on a cliff hanger and I never got to find out what happened. I found the book again when tidying up a forgotten part of my sci-fi collection and re-read it. Thankfully in 2013 we now have Amazon and the Internet so I can search for old books like this and see if a sequel was ever published. And here it is. It's a strange book with a mildly different tone from the original work. The characters have moved on somewhat and the political landscape of the book reflects a more paranoid point of view. Again it's a page turner with further expansion on some of the ideas, alas it too ends on a cliff hanger and Micheal Kring never published any more books. Looks like I'll never find out what happened.....

When I opened the packet to check on them, I nearly decided to keep them for myself. They are truly excellent and a near perfect present for anyone with an interest in 80s IT or the excellent styling of the original. I've got my own pair ordered now. Very highly recommended for the management grade geek in your life.

I really like this book, it' captures the atmosphere of the well trodden mysterious artifacts left behind my a precursor civilization trope and turbo charges it with a believable, complex and interesting society and back story. It's not a complex drama, explore, stay alive and understand but the scope of Sheffield's vision is impressive and his snap characterisation is excellent. It's great to have this on Kindle, I think it's been out of print for a decade or so. The rest of the series, of which there are four books, is available as well. Recommended.

In today's world of electronic devices and the proliferation of tablets et-al in meetings, sometimes it's nice to just write your notes and observations. Cheapo ball-point pens lack a certain classiness and over the top fountain pens can come across as a bit smug and overly precious. I find I need something in the middle, something better than a plastic disposable but not something I need to wrap in cotton wool. This pen is excellent. Classic design, great build quality, stainless steel construction. Uses standard inserts and lasts for ages. I've had one of these pens somewhere on my for my whole professional career and in over twenty five years, I've only ever bought four of them, they last for years. Very highly recommended.

Well made, compact, sturdy AA battery powered shaver/trimmer for tidying up on the go. A very compact handheld, There are a couple of different modes, the first is like a nano-shaver with a foil for general shaving/trimming, and the other is a trimmer which has 3 compact trimming guides for various uses. It can be used as both a wet and dry shaver/trimmer. Great for on the go but not as a main shaver obviously. Recommended.

I work in IT and as part of a mild rebellion against the proliferation of tablets, phablets, phones and laptops which clutter up any meeting I've always used a notebook as my reference and recording method of choice. I love this notebook from Moleskine, it's gridded not lined which helps with diagrams, it's a soft cover which means it's more pleasingly tactile than others, it's tough enough to survive life in my laptop bag as it's toted around and its got the usual Moleskine accessories like a band to hold it closed, a page marker to show where you are and a small wallet at the back to hold loose bits of paper etc. Highly recommended.

It's hard to review a light-bulb, even a very superior light-bulb like this. The basics are that this is a LED bulb, so it's conversion of electricity to light is vastly more efficient than a traditional incandescent or halogen bulb. It converts far less electricity to heat so it's brighter, more energy efficient and a lot cooler to the touch than an equivalent halogen spot. it fits in a standard fitting, and the light is bright and clear and seems more natural than the halogen equivalent. The bulb gets warm but isn't hot or searingly hot like a halogen and whilst I've not dug out a multimeter to directly measure flow, the bulb is brighter and patently more efficient (based on looking at the electricity meter go around when it was the only thing on) than the equivalent.

Visually it's got a funky design look which makes it appear very futuristic. I can't yet speak for it's longevity, but I've had LED bulbs before which have lasted several years so I don't anticipate any change to that. The economic balance for these bulbs depends on their efficiency and longevity offsetting the purchase price. If you have a spot which you currently light with two 50 watt bulbs, this will match that with one, using a tenth of the electricity and should pay you back in under two years of frequent (nightly) use. Highly recommended

I've not had this trimmer and kit long, so this review is based on early impressions. So far I find this a decent bit of kit. It feels well made, the motor is powerful and has that reassuring gyro-torque effect in the hand when you turn it on. It charges ok, about 8hrs to full charge I think, and seems to last quite well. The attachments are a bit of a curates egg with some which appear to be quite useful (I admit I've only used the standard beard trimmer bit so far) and some which look like an attachment too far. Basically I'm saying that I don't fancy using the nose hair trimmer on my delicate nostrils. It's great value, and does the job. Recommended.

It's hard to review a light-bulb, even a very superior light-bulb like this. The basics are that this is a LED bulb, so it's conversion of electricity to light is vastly more efficient than a traditional incandescent or halogen bulb. It converts far less electricity to heat so it's brighter, more energy efficient and a lot cooler to the touch than an equivalent halogen spot. it fits in a standard fitting, and the light is startlingly white, almost like daylight instead of the more buttery yellow from a halogen spot. The bulb gets warm but isn't hot or searingly hot like a halogen and whilst I've not dug out a multimeter to directly measure flow, the bulb is brighter and patently more efficient (based on looking at the electricity meter go around when it was the only thing on) than the equivalent.

Visually it's got a funky design look which makes it appear very futuristic. I can't yet speak for it's longevity, but I've had LED bulbs before which have lasted several years so I don't anticipate any change to that. The economic balance for these bulbs depends on their efficiency and longevity offsetting the purchase price. If you have a spot which you currently light with two 50 watt bulbs, this will match that with one, using a tenth of the electricity and should pay you back in under two years of frequent (nightly) use. Highly recommended.

I approached this spray tan kit very warily. Visions of bright orange and streaktastic results glittered briefly before I opened the box. The kit contains the main device, a mains adapter which plugs neatly into the main unit, 2x 100ml bottles of the tanning solution, a decent length of tube, spray nozzle & head and the solution tank. There is also an exfoliating glove which is to prepare the skin before you spray away.

Given the "home user" market I was expecting some spatter from the spray or droplets of the solution to fall on the floor or clogging of the nozzle to cause splattering, but this didn't happen. The effective range of the high density fine mist is about 20 to 25cm, closer and it will cause streaking and overloaded skin. There are a three speed/power settings which impact how closely you can spray, 1 for close up work and small areas, 3 for further back and bulk spray. The quality of the spray is good but I wouldn't attempt self spraying as it's not easy to contort or to control the spray head and ensure a consistent distance and therefore coverage. Despite the high quality spray the tanning solution does get around so I would recommend using it in the shower stall or somewhere else you can easily rinse it down.

Replacement solution is available in packs of two for around 20 quid but I've not used up the original supply yet.
In short a good quality home spray kit.