November 7, 2009
Shopacc.com specializes in parts and accessories for electronic equipment. Think twice before ordering from them, however. I recently purchased a replacement cell-phone antenna from them (a very small item). Six dollars for shipping a 3 dollar item was acceptable, until the 6 became an 9. They used a third-party shipping service for the item, but screwed-up the shipping type. What happens? I get charged postage-due to pick-up the item. (more…)
November 5, 2009
My opinion of VOIP communications has oozed through my blog before. I keep hoping it becomes user-friendly. I keep hoping it becomes reliable. I keep hoping.
A while back, I was looking at USB ‘phones’ in the store (most of which were in the bargain bin). I had this idea. I have a computer. I have a high-speed internet connection. I have an old telephone. I have a dial-up modem… Just like the ones on every computer ever made! I can connect all these things together. That means I have an electrical pathway like this: Phone to POTS modem, modem to computer, to cable modem, to Internet.
Why the hell do I need a USB phone? (more…)
November 4, 2009
Finally, Ohioans were able to get casinos legalized. Unfortunately, it took a constitutional amendment to force it’s existence. And, as written, it only allows casinos in Ohio’s 4 major cities. But, the legal door has been opened for future development outside those areas. The process is started, and that’s what’s important. Bring-on the crime, drugs, poverty, addiction, and prostitution that comes with it. Oh..I forgot. We already had that, but without the casinos.
To all those detractors, I just have this to say: The wife and I enjoy driving to the casinos near us. People in Ohio always point to Detroit and Niagara to show that problems follow casinos (forgetting that Ohio already has state-sponsored gambling). We have noticed that the only problem with casinos is that they always look equally as good as all other casinos, regardless of the area they’re in. This ironic image easily fuels the fire of ‘evil-casino’ rhetoric from anti-gambling advocates. It’s bull, but with those types of images, it’s easily believable bull. But, the truth is simpler.
Windsor and Pennsylvania are nice casinos in nice areas.
Niagara has nice casinos in a nice city block (don’t go too far).
Detroit has nice casinos in crap areas.
The casinos aren’t different. The areas are. I’ve complained about these arguments before. Nice cities will be nicer with casinos. Bad cities will remain bad with casinos. The only difference is fun.
November 3, 2009
Non-healing wounds are a severe problem for people with compromised immune or circulatory systems from (common in diabetes, cancer treatment, etc). Treatments to accelerate wound closure after injury in problem patients are rare and usually require special outpatient care- even for seemingly innocuous cuts and scrapes.
I want to throw this out there just for people who are in the know. Has anyone tried, or even heard-of, a poultice of the following products for wound-treatment?
1. Xylitol (100%only)
2. Lactoferrin powder (not Colostrum)
3. Hamamelitannin (i.e. Thayers Organic Unscented Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera Formula)
Have family members that might be helped by this, but don’t feel like making them guinea pigs. Comments encouraged.
November 2, 2009
What a crappy Halloween. Sure, the trick-or-treaters were nice, but what about the television? My wonderful Television? (more…)
November 2, 2009
With new healthcare legislation, I feel I must re-publish an entry of mine from almost 2 years ago. Though written for the democratic convention to choose the candidate for the upcoming presidential election, it seems as relevant now as it did then. (more…)
November 2, 2009
I want tough skin, but I don’t want to have to do anything to get it. Like..activity. So I try a bottle of Vaseline MEN body and face lotion . “Fortifies”, “build healthy skin resilience”, “more efficient”- whatever. Getting it home, I squirt a little out. Wife liked the smell, but I found something oddly familiar about. Sticky. Strange. Couldn’t quite place it.
Something from long ago..
from childhood..
..Kindergarten? (more…)
October 31, 2009
For the last 5 months, I’ve been noticing something different in my grocery store. My eggs seem smaller.
No, it’s not a personal problem.
The normal “large” size eggs we usually buy seemed to be shrinking every week we’d go shopping. I thought it was just the brand carried by our local Meijer store, until I was mixing-up some batter for a perch-fry at my mom’s house in September. Her Wal-mart extra-large’s seem a bit medium-ish. An industry trend, or am I just seeing things? (more…)
October 29, 2009
This isn’t a master’s thesis. Not even an essay for an anthropology magazine. This was just a minor project I undertook to save an entire culture. A day’s research and writing snowballed into something much more.
(more…)
October 27, 2009
While starting a new business this September, I fell victim to a scam. It was an old scam, but packaged in a brand-new way.
