Blogs about reviews from Pew Pew Laser Blog

Oh! Chocolate.

Last year, I used one of my Groupons at Oh! Chocolate - a Seattle chocolatier / confectioner with locations in Mercer Island, Madison Park and Bellvue Place. I got the lovely box of truffles in this picture, and a delicious bag of "mistakes". The truffles were quite good, but I enjoyed the mistakes (which featured some chocolate-covered marshmallows and fruit) even more.

Tax Tips.

Tax season is upon us! Having finished my taxes for this year, here are some things I'd like to remember for next year:

• "Hobby expenses" can only be deducted if you made money from said hobby. (And, I imagine, you reported said income.)
• The purchase of your tax software can be deducted.
• The time (or "professional services") volunteered to a non-profit is not deductible.
• There is no need to file Schedule H if the household employee is self-employed.

I know that this is all very exciting information, but please remember that I'm a web developer, and you should consult an actual tax professional of some kind if you have any questions.

Pike Pub Picks.

Since MLS season is upon us, the husband and I will be spending lots of time at the Pike Brewing's pub in Pike Place Market. It's our go-to place for a comfortable, reasonably-priced dinner in downtown Seattle with both tasty food and micro-brews. Apropos, here are my picks from their food and drink menu:

• Roasted Garlic Prawns: These shrimp are fat and delicious, and my favorite choice.
• Halibut and Chips: The halibut is baked at a very high temperature instead of fried, and is perfectly creamy on the inside without being greasy, if the chef is having a good night. If not, they're still pretty good.
• Nachos: Fabulous; I recommend the pork.
• Ginger Lemon Drop: This is just what it says, and it's a great cocktail option.
• Chocolate Martini: But this is my favorite drink. The maraschino cherry doesn't hurt.

Pro Tip: The half price Happy Hour (until 6pm) menu includes the nachos and an appetizer portion of the shrimp.

A Cleansing.

At the beginning of the year, I started offloading many of my video games that I don't play any more, and even those that I had just never got around to playing. Before last year's bankruptcy, I always traded-in my used games at Hollywood Video / GameCrazy, but now I had to find new options.

Amazon and Best Buy both offer video game trade-in programs, though only for games which still have their manuals and boxes.

• You can check the video game trade-in prices offered by Amazon here. Amazon will pay to ship the games to them. Since Amazon has such a huge offering of products, the Amazon store credit that they will give you is almost as good as cash.
• Best Buy has an iPhone app to check the trade-in prices, and the iPhone's camera works really well to scan game's UPC. You do the trade-in at one of the best buy stores, and they'll give you a gift card which is good in the store or at the website.

I also found Goozex - a website where members trade games with each other; earning points by sending games, or spending those points by getting games from other traders. The site handles administration and arbitration, and makes it's money with a $2 per trade fee (on the receiver's side). It costs me roughly $5 to ship a game to someone else - $2 for the padded envelope, and $2 or $3 for postage.

I weighed each of these trade-in options for each of the games I was looking to get rid of. (I was surprised by the difference in trade-in values between Amazon and BestBuy.) In the end, I got about $15 at both BestBuy and Amazon by trading in video games. I've also a nearly-new copy of Final Fantasy XIII through trading at Goozex, and I'm on the wait-list for a few more games. And I have less stuff sitting around the house!

Stuck in a Rut?

May I suggest reading something you wouldn't otherwise read? Last year I read several books that were well outside of my standard literary comfort zone of science fiction and web development. Here are the most stimulating books that I read over the past year:

• Outliers. Yes, you've probably heard about this book already - even Weird Al Yankovic has read it. But have you read it yet?
• The Science of Fear. The idea that the millions of years of evolution leads to poor decision-making skills for the modern world has encouraged me to re-evaluate several kinds of decisions.
• Bad Astronomy. Want to give your kids the right answer when they why the sky is blue? Read this.

Of course, you don't have to buy these books solely on my say-so. Do what I do - check them out from your local public library.