1/10/09 - CD Review - Pink's Funhouse
Pink released a new album a while back called Funhouse
. Although it was released on October 28, 2008, I didn't actually get the album until about a month ago. Up until that point (and even after), I spent most of my time listening to the NKOTB album, but as soon as I heard it the first time, I haven't been able to change my playlist. I don't want to go through in detail like I did for The Block
, but there were a handful of songs that really deserve to get mentioned. Something I should mention is that this album was recorded during her seperation from Carey Hart (husband of roughly two years). Several of her songs reference relationship problems, and her ability to portray emotion in both her lyrics and delivery is really what sets this album apart from others for me. The first of these is the first song on the album - "So What" which was the first single released. Unfortunately, it has been played to death by local radio stations, so I'm kind of sick of it and have considered removing it from rotation, but even still, it's just kind of catchy and for my money, really sums up Pink's attitude and personality.
Sober is her 2nd single, and also the 2nd on the album. I'm not going to lie, I have no idea what she is trying to get across in this song. Those that can translate her lyrics to something I can understand, please help out in the comments. The part of the song that I love is "I don't wanna be the girl that has to fill the silence...(complete silence for 2-3 seconds)...The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth" For me, there is just a ton of imagery in those two lines.
I really am not going to go through all of the songs, but the 3rd track deserves a mention. "I Don't Believe You" has more feeling than some artists can put in an entire album. Here is a youtube video of the song. The lyrics are in the information bar about the video. The ending of each chorus with her question, "Right?" hits me pretty hard. Her delivery makes it truly sound like she is desperate for answers, for someone to reach out to, or somenoe just to give her a vote of confidence.
Mean, is track 9 and could be an anthem for many relationships gone bad. There is no doubt in my mind that this is basically a portrait of her life. It just goes over several different scenarios of how things look different on the first date versus several months/years down the road. Of course, the line of "How did we get so mean?" is a question that has been asked by virtually any couple. My wife and I have a better marriage today than we did 5 years ago, but no doubt about it, we've had our times when we have to step back and ask each other than very question.
Several other songs that could get their own review are Bad Influence, Funhouse and Boring. None of them are going to be winning awards, but they will be on my playlist for quite a while.
I guess there is only one song that I had to remove from my playlist because it annoyed me, and that was This Is How It Goes Down. I can't explain it, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. For an album of 14 songs though, and only one is not worth listening to, I'd say Pink's album gets very high marks.
Labels: product reviews
4 Comments - Leave one yourself11/18/08 - NKOTB Part 3
It has been a long time coming, and I know everyone has been anticipating the last installment of my review of NKOTB's newest album. Here is is...finally.Of all the songs on the album, Track 11 creeps me out the most. With the name Lights, Camera, Action, I'm pretty sure you can figure out what it's about. The first time I listened to it, I nearly switched songs before the music even started. you can't appreciate it without hearing the voices, but the opening bit is two people talking, the guy asks a question in a really deep voice, followed by a female's voice that sounds scared to death. "[guy]Hey Girl, do you love me? [girl]Yes. [guy]Well, I wanna try somethin' with you so don't be shy, are you ready? [girl]Of course baby [guy] Let's go" I'll save you from the crap that is the rest of the lyrics of this song. Remember, these guys are closing in on 40.
Put It On My Tab is track 12 and features Akon. I really like Akon's stuff and this continues with this song. There really isn't anything creepy about this. It is simply about a guy who goes to a bar and offers to pick up the tab for a particular female. He actually even says that he really just wants to have a drink and he's not "that cat that just wants to hit it tonight". This is one of my favorite tracks.
Track 13 - Stare At You. Based on the title of this song, you would think this is just one more creepy track to add to the list, but it is actually simply a throw back to the a 90's boy band ballad. Cheesy...yes, creepy, not really.
One Song is the title of Track 14. I think this is the track that reminds the most of old school NKOTB. I was never a fan back in the day, but the first thing I imagine when I hear the music is the five guys standing on stage with their mic stands in front of them doing a boy band dance singing. I think this song is a spin off of Track 2, "Single" because again they are just looking for one song with this girl in hopes that they fall in love. This is really one of the worst songs.
Track 15 is Don't Cry. This is a tyipcaly boy band ballad. Very slow, lots of "moaning" type lyrics from the singers. The premise of the song is that he doesn't want his girl to cry if he dies. Lyrics that I really do like on the track is "Kiss me like it's the last time, love me like it's the first time". I don't really have anything bad to say about this track. It's not my favorite...but I just can't bash it.
The title of Track 16 is Officially Over. I hadn't actually listened to this song with it being at the end of the album, it usually is just playing in the background. I really paid attention this time around, and there are no hidden meanings in this song. It's a break up song, and a dang good one at that. I can only imagine a junior higher calling up a radio station and dedicating this to their boyfriend/girlfriend. "There's nothing we need to talk about, And I don't wanna work it out" is one of the lines. Like I said...there's no sugar coating...dude wants out of the relationship, and he nevers wants to talk to her again...period.
The last song on the album is Looking Like Danger. Another quality family type song. Big Idea: once again, dude is out at the club, girl is dancing all freaky like, "rockin the dance floor" and this makes it "hard to be faithful and honest". He mentions that he's got a baby at home (by baby, I believe he is referring to a significant other of similar age, as opposed to a toddler) and this skank ho is making it difficult to remain faithful to her. You would think that after writing several songs on this topic, he would have figured out how to stay out of those type of positions. And besides that, I'm curious how their wives reacted to this album when they found out that half the songs were about the guys cheating on them with girls half (or a third in some cases) their age.
Labels: product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself10/31/08 - NKOTB Part 2
This post is a follow up to the original post where I began reviewing New Kid's On The Block newest album, The Block. There will be one more following this to finish off the album. With that said, enjoy the review of the next 6 tracks.Track 5 is called "2 in the morning" and has some very interesting lyrics. These are two of my favorites, "You know I like it when you've got your back to me, but not when you're mad at me" and "Gotta know if you're mad at me before Grey's Anatomy because we could drag this out all night." The main idea from what I can gather is that they are arguing a lot and the guy is basically fed up with it. It sounds like the guy tries everything to get stuff resolved but the girl just doesn't want to have anything to do with it.
Similar to Track 3, Track 6 is called "Grown Man" and features the Pussycat Dolls. The song basically sucks, but a portion of the chorus is worth putting here for your reading pleasure. "[PCD]Tell me what you want, [NKOTB]I'm gunna give you so grown man (8x)"....again....creepy.
Track 7....LOVE IT. It's called Dirty Dancing, before I go on, I want to specify that I like this song as well for the beat and music...not so much the words. The basic premise of the song is that dude is out in the club, getting his dance on and then decides to hook up with "shorty" even though his "baby" is in bed at home and she's been "blowing up his phone". I do enjoy the part in the song where he compliments the hoochy's "big ol' thighs", and explains that it's getting hotter than "The Block in the summertime". In all honesty, I wish I had the space to post all the lyrics of this song...they are classic.
Track 8 - Sexify My Love...what does that even mean? I've listened to the song several times and I still don't get it. Besides that the song sucks. Well, I decided to actually look up and read the lyrics and I now understand it. They want to "do it like a pro", "out in public", "on the hood of [his] car", and "try every position [they] can dream of". Alright, I still don't get the title, but still that is about as classy as it gets.
Track 9 is Twisted and it is about a chick who is pretty much crazy. Apparently she thinks that cuts and bruises hurt, but she likes that anyways and she also likes the screws and tattoos (what?). So then NKOTB claims that they want to help out and so they ask where it hurts so they can kiss it. They also offer their services in this most romantic exchange "You need me to come and twist for ya, I'll come and twist for ya, I'll even clean it for ya, I'll hurt ya if you like it and then I'll twist it for ya". What girl would not want something like that.
I was really looking forward to listening to Track 10 when I found out that it featured New Edition. What a huge let down. With the name Full Service, I assumed it would have some pretty sexual undertones which I expected from a New Edition song, but the analogies were really a stretch. He mentions filling up her tank because he's got the premium, but then talks about cleaning up after her if she spills her drink and claims he will bring the rain and thunder. I think they probably started out with a really good idea and then got bored and just put in a bunch of other stuff they thought people would enjoy.
Labels: product reviews
1 Comments - Leave one yourself10/28/08 - Everyone laugh at DJ
This is something that I should probably keep to myself as I could get made fun of quite a bit for even stating what I'm about to, but here it is. I really enjoy the most recent New Kids on the Block album.I feel better already, I think I can go through with a detailed review. First of all, it is called The Block
. I'm not sure where their true purpose is with that name, but it comes across as them trying to be "hard" which is something that NKOTB will never be able to pull off, especially since they couldn't do it 20 years ago when they were all still considered "hip" as the kids were saying back then.I had originally planned to only hit on a few of the tracks of this album, but as I started going through each song (all 17 of them), I realized that they each deserve their own entry. The problem with this is that it makes for a very long post. I am going to split it up into 3 different posts, and hopefully everyone enjoys them, because they are going up anyways.
A friend of mine when she first told me about the most recent single released to the radio (Single w/ Ne-Yo) summed it up with one word when it comes to most of these songs: Creepy. These guys are just about 40 years old, yet they are singing to an audience who probably weren't even born when they first hit it big back in the day. This one word summary is a little misleading because it doesn't change the fact that I really enjoy the music of most of the songs.
Track 1 on the album is called "Click Click Click" and is my second favorite song. This is also one of two songs that refer to taking pictures and/or video of different activities that might be going on. This one is much more "romantic" however as they are referring to more of a mental image of what is going on. In all honesty, it isn't so much the content of this song as the actual music that I enjoy. They could simple sing "blah, blah, blah" and it would still be as enjoyable for me.
Track 2 is the one I mentioned earlier which is actually on Ne-Yo's album (Year of the Gentleman) without NKOTB. I really liked the song the first few times I heard it, but it isn't one of my favorites. Considering that I think most of the guys in the group are married and with kids, this is the first of many that seem a little out of place. The song could be summed up in a 15 second track by simply saying "Hey, if you don't have anybody with you tonight, I'll hang out with you for a little while, at least until the song that is playing ends." As far as pick-up lines go, I would have to say this song takes the cake.
Track 3 talks about how they are all grown up. The song features Lady Gaga, whoever that is, and during the course of the song they go back and forth talking about how grown up they are. "With a body like that you've got a grown man ready to blow." Yes, that is actually one of the lines they use...creepy.
Track 4 is Summertime which is currently my ring tone. It is my favorite song on the album and actually reminds me of LFO's "Girls of Summer" in which LFO uses the line "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits, chinese food makes me sick"...if that is not lyrical genius, I don't know what is. Anyways, this song is basically just a feel good summer song about finding love and then losing it when the two parties have to move away at the end of summer, leaving the boy distraught and looking forward to next year.
Labels: product reviews
3 Comments - Leave one yourself10/25/08 - Jumperoo Review
It's been a while since I've done a product review, and the most recent purchase that has been worth every penny is the Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo
.At first, I was a little leery about getting this simply because she didn't seem to jump too much in her Exersaucer. I knew that my parent's had an old style jumperoo that you hung from the doorway, and so I thought it would be a good idea to borrow that and see if Makenna enjoyed jumping around. Well, before we had a chance to do that, we made it over to Baby Depot to look at high chairs so we decided to let her try out the jumperoos that were there.
SHE LOVED IT!!! Since her feet were just a bit off the ground, she couldn't jump on her own so I leaned over and bounced it for her and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Needless to say, I decided immediately that we would go ahead and get it.
Over the next couple days we priced it at several different stores and finally decided that it was cheapest to get it online from Amazon.com
. A few days later we got it, I put it together and you can see in the video below the results. A few weeks ago she sat in that thing for 30 minutes straight taking about a 30 second break every five minutes or so. How she had that much energy is beyond me.Labels: Makenna, product reviews
1 Comments - Leave one yourself7/24/08 - Exersaucer review
Not too long ago, many of the people from my office threw a baby shower for Makenna and since we had gotten pretty much everything we needed from previous showers, they all chipped in and got us a Exersaucer
. We had picked out one that was slightly different, but they decided to go with this one because it had several different stages that allowed the child to grow with it, basically from birth to several years old. Although I will not say that this is the absolute best product out there, Makenna loves hers. She is a little too short still to have her feet completely on the ground so we have to stack stuff under her so she can stand up. Once you put her in there though...she is content for easily 30 minutes. The crazy thing is that we haven't even put batteries in several of the things, so she doesn't get to push all the buttons.
The downsides that I see to this product is that it is extremely large. It does not fit through most doorways, so by putting it together in the living room, that is pretty much where it stays. On the same note, the amount of assembly was a little surprising to me. Nothing was put together at all and although I enjoy putting together puzzles, I could have spent the hour or so doing something else if it had already come put together. Also, it is much more difficult to collapse and then expand than I would have liked. It really takes at least 2 people to do it with no hassles.
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a perfect product, I would put this at a 7. It could have come with a few more pieces already assembled. Likewise, the size and difficult to collapse does not make it very portable at all. We like to use these types of things in the bedroom and the living room, but we have to pick one or the other with this item. As much as Makenna loves it, I would get it again if it came down to it.
Labels: product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself7/22/08 - The swing review
The correct name of the Baby Swing we purchased is actually Fisher-Price Papasan Cradle Swing. For the sake of not having to type that every time, it's called a baby swing. If it were not for this swing, I have no idea where Cristi and I would be. Since Makenna was about two weeks old, she has slept in her swing every night and for every nap she has taken. She is not a fan of sleeping at all, but the noises and motions of this swing put her to sleep within minutes of putting her down.
Some of the features include multiple positions of the cradle portion. You can increase or decrease the incline. You can also switch the direction of the swing from side to side to front to back. Makenna only likes the side to side, but it was good to know we had the option available.
It also has several audio options, Makenna prefers the rain forest sounds and the 6 levels of speed although helpful to some, has not been a benefit to us as we have only used the highest setting. This particular model is very portable, in that it collapses to a much size so technically if we ever needed to take it with us somewhere, we would be able to. It is still very tall which might be a problem for some, but it should still fit even in the trunk of the Accord.
Biggest drawback. The battery usage. It requires four D batteries to run, and as much as we have been using it, that lasts somewhere between one and two weeks. At a cost of $5 per four pack (cheaper when bought in bulk) that can start adding up over the long haul. We have recently invested in rechargeable batteries which has helped in that regard, but what would be really nice is to have some sort of ac adapter available for this model so we could just plug it into the wall and not have to worry about batteries at all.
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a perfect product, I think we would have to rate this product around an 8. Maybe slightly lower. It is fairly expensive as swings go, and although the different options are nice to have, they aren't really needed and therefore we haven't really gotten our money's worth of these features. usage wise, we have gotten our money and then some. The biggest negative is of course the use of batteries.
Labels: product reviews
1 Comments - Leave one yourself6/10/08 - Wendy's Hand-Spun Shakes
I was really excited about these when they came out. I loved the original Frosty. Then, they came out with the Vanilla Frosty which seemed even better than the original, especially in the form of a float (and I'm not much of a float kind of guy).These looked to be awesome. The strawberry is what really got me excited as I thought it would be an awesome combination...the sweet coldness of the frosty and the wonderful flavor that is the strawberry. Today, I decided to head to the local Wendy's and get me one.
I was out of cash, so I scrounged around and found 2 dollars in quarters thinking that would be plenty. This thought process was based on the fact that the last time I got a frosty, a small was only $.99. I figured they would charge an additional $.25 or even more for the flavor and then add tax...even with a bit more markup, no way could it be more than $2.
When I pulled up to the drive-thru...I was very surprised. At $2.39, I was obviously way off on my estimate. My next thought was that the size for that dollar amount was quite a bit larger than the value meal frosty. Nope...same size...12oz. On top of that, I found out that they have raised the price of Frosty's to $1.19.
I was still excited about the thought of the frosty and strawberry goodness, so I scrounged around in the console to find more change. All together, it was $2.62 and I was able to get enough quarters, dimes and pennies to pay the tab. With Frosty in hand, I was ready to give me tastebuds a ride they would remember.
WOOOOOOOW!!!!....I was more disappointed by what I was presented with than basically the entire Indiana Jones movie....and that movie sucked. I'm not really sure where to start, but I'll give it a shot.
1) The price. If the flavor had been off the charts, the price wouldn't have been a big deal. It wasn't, therefore price gets on the list. I paid an extra $1.29+tax for a cherry, a blob of whipped cream, and probably about 2 cents worth of strawberry syrup. That is unacceptable, and if nothing else, the whipped cream and cherry adding NOTHING to the package.
2) Presentation. The pictures on the website, advertisments, commercials, etc all show what is obviously a vanilla frosty with swirls of strawberry flavoring. That is what I was looking for. I love the vanilla frosty flavor, and wanted just that extra flavor from the strawberry. What i recieved instead was a cup of vanilla frosty that had been thoroughly blended with an overpowering amount of strawberry syrup. It didn't even look good when I got it.
3) Flavor. As I mentioned just above, the strawberry was too strong. If they would have put about half as much flavoring, it would have been so much better. Along the same lines, if there were simple ribbons of flavor, instead of a fully blended item, it wouldn't have been a strong in each bite.
4) Options. After I ordered and really got to thinking about it, the choices they offer are pretty lame. If you order a Vanilla Bean Hand-spun frosty shake, you basically get a runny vanilla frosty. Get the chocolate shake, and you are presented with a runny original frosty. The strawberry of course is the only "new" item they put on the menu. That's pretty stupid. Once again, the ribbons would make a HUGE difference.
5) Hand Spun? There is no way what I got was hand spun. If by hand spun, they mean put under a commercial blender and someone hand pressed the button to start it up, then yeah...I guess it was hand spun.
At the end of the day, I'm glad I went and got one because it looks so good on TV and in ads. I would have been wanting one for all eternity if I never did go up and get it. However, I'm going to rate this thing a 3 on a scale of 1-10 with ten being the perfect dessert. I'm not against Frostys in general, because I would give a vanilla frosty a 8 on that same scale.
Labels: product reviews
2 Comments - Leave one yourself6/1/08 - Nursing Pad Review
When Makenna was first born I used the disposable nursing pads. I used Medela pads which I liked a lot. They hold a lot of milk and they don’t leak. After a while they started to irritate my skin and became scratchy. So a friend told me to try the washable nursing pads. There are many different kinds, but there are two that I especially like. I use Medela cotton washable nursing pads and Gerber washable pads. They have different features that work well for different things. The Medela pads are bigger and thicker and absorb a lot more milk. Since Makenna is sleeping through the night I tend to leak a LOT of milk at night. I use the Medela pads at night so that I don’t wake up covered in milk. However, they are not good for during the day because they are very visible through clothing. I use the Gerber pads during the day, especially if I’m going somewhere. They are thinner, smaller, and absorb less milk, but they don’t show through clothing as much. Since she is eating more frequently during the day, these pads seem to work fine. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a perfect product, I would have to rate the Medela washable pads a 9 because they are very absorbent and they don't leak, but they are visible through clothing. The Gerber pads I would give a 6 because although they are less visible through clothing, they don't absorb as much and they leak often.Labels: Cristi, guest post, product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself5/30/08 - Lanolin product review
Anyone who has ever breastfed knows that you get sore nipples. Now there is a product called lanolin that is safe to use. You don’t have to wash it off because it is safe for the baby. It works really well to soothe sore nipples and help them heal. There are several different brands but I like, Lasinoh is one of them. The hospital gave me a brand called Purelan 100 which I don’t like as much. It is very thick and dark yellow and it stains my nursing pads. I also don’t feel like it works as well. The Lansinoh brand lanolin looks a lot like vasoline and has the same consistency. It is very effective and I use it often. I would highly recommend it. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a perfect product, I would have to rate this item a 9.Labels: Cristi, guest post, product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself5/16/08 - Breast pump review
This is obviously another guest post from Cristi as she reviews the breast pump she has been using.Since I’m going back to work in a few weeks I have started using a breast pump to build up a supply of breast milk for when I go back to work. I use the Medela Pump In Style Advanced
. I love it. It comes in a very stylish bag that is not too big or too small. The pump is inside the bag, but you never have to take it out to use it. The front of the bag has a zipper that you unzip and there is the pump, ready to use. The instructions were very simple and it is very easy to set up and use. It comes with a cooler and ice pack that fits the four 5oz bottles that come with the pump. It also comes with a pack of cotton washable nursing pads and a package of disposable nursing pads and some plastic storage bags for freezing milk. Although it is expensive I would highly recommend this product to everyone. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a perfect product, I would have to rate this item a 10, it really is that great of a product.Labels: Cristi, guest post, product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself5/7/08 - Nipple Shield product review
As you will probably quickly notice, this is another product review from Cristi. She has written several more posts that I will put up over the next several days.The first week that Makenna was born I had a problem with my nipples cracking. This is VERY painful and I didn’t know what to do. Someone told me to try a nipple shield. This product turned out to be a curse and a blessing. I use the Medela contact nipple shield
. When I first started using it I thought it was great because although it still hurt to breastfeed, it was much less painful and allowed my nipples to heal. I thought once I was healed I would go back to nursing as usual and get rid of the shield. I was wrong. What I didn’t know is that once you use the shield you are stuck with it. After a week of using the shield I tried to nurse without it and Makenna wouldn’t nurse. She is almost 7 weeks old and I have tried numerous times to get her to nurse without it and she just won’t do it. So, I guess we are stuck with it. At home it isn’t a big deal to use the shield, but in public it is just one more thing to mess with and makes nursing very difficult. The next time we have a baby I will not be using the shield unless absolutely necessary. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being a perfect product, I would have to rate this item a 7 because it's very effective for it's intended use but then the baby relies on it.Labels: Cristi, guest post, product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself4/25/08 - Boppy Review
This is the first post, of hopefully many that my wonderful wife will be contributing. I don't use the boppy for anything, but the occassional couch pillow, so she knows much better than I, how it works.There are things that I like and things that I don’t like about the Boppy
. I like that it has a removable cover that you can remove and wash. That comes in very handy. It is also popular so the covers are easy to find. I also like that it is very portable. However, there are things that I don’t like about it. You have to be sitting straight up on a couch or in a chair that has a straight back in order for it to work properly. If you are sitting in a rocking chair that has a curved back, then it doesn’t work so well. It also tends to slip forward off of your waist, leaving a gap between you and the pillow, which leaves no support for the babies head. When this happens, then you are left holding this heavy babies head for about 20 min or so and your hand gets very tired. The sides of the pillow also seem to fall when you are using the football hold to feed. While doing this hold, the baby is lying on the side of the pillow and the side seems to slide down which makes the baby slide down with it.
Overall I would give this product a rating of 6. I do like it and I’m glad that I have it because you have to have some kind of support pillow when you are breastfeeding. However, I would encourage people to look into other products before they choose the Boppy.
Labels: Cristi, guest post, product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself4/10/08 - Nail Clipper review
One of the products that I knew we were going to have to have was a set of nail clippers. Not just any nail clippers though, I knew we would need one of those tiny sets. One thing that I've run into when using nail clippers, even full sized, big boy clippers is that I have trouble getting a good grip to get a nice clean cut through the nail.Cristi and I both agree that we had one basic requirement: it had to be easy to grip. Luckily, advancements in science and technology have allowed companies to put a large mound of plastic on the back end of the clippers which makes for very easy handling. (I need to find these in big-boy clippers too).
These types of clippers can be found all over the place, Wal-Mart, Babies-R-Us, Amazon.com
, etc....but there was one that looked really promising. It comes with a magnifying glass on the end which is supposed to give the user a close up view of the nail being cut. That seemed like a great idea and would make our jobs much easier when cutting Makenna's nails. Here's the problem though. The lens is WAY too small to actually be used.If babies laid still and didn't move on command, that would be one thing, because I can imagine you could lay the baby down, get real close to the nail and use the magnifying lens without much problem. Unfortunately, (at least Makenna is this way), babies like to move around a lot and don't like it when you hold their arms, hands, etc still. They like to try to squirm out of your grip. This makes the cutting process even harder and quite frankly, the little lens just doesn't help. If anything, it makes things blurry.
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest quality, I'd give this a 7. The magnifying glass, as I mentioned is a great concept, just not carried out very well. It does move out of the way and stores very nicely on the underside of the cilpper so I can't deny the fact that the large handle works great.
Labels: product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself4/9/08 - ClipX - a great little utility
This post will be slightly nerdy, it will contain computer terms and it is a review of a free piece of software that I have started using quite a bit.The name of the utility is called ClipX. In it's most simple form, it is a clipboard extender. Most everyone who uses the computer, uses the copy/cut/paste functionality quite often. The problem that I have run into is that the clipboard will only hold one item at a time. If you have three or four seperate items you need to copy, you have to make three or four seperate trips.
With ClipX, all you have to do is highlight and copy all the different items from the source document. Navigate to the destination document and where ever you want to paste one of the items, press Ctrl + Shift + V (that is the default Hot Key and the setting I still use). Upon doing this, you will be given a drop down menu of the last 25 items you have copied in chronological order of when they were last used.
Another awesome feature that I just recently came across is an add-in that you can download from the link I supplied at the top. The add-in simply provides a permanent list of oft used phrases or strings. I haven't had a reason to use this much, but in the past, I can recall times when it would have been helpful.
I don't make a dime from this and I am in no way associated with the company/individual who wrote the program. Along those same lines, I do make money any time you visit the Adsense links (ONLY THE ONES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU) and when you shop at Amazon using the link at the top right of the website or this link --> Amazon.com
Labels: product reviews
2 Comments - Leave one yourself4/1/08 - Stork's Choice Diaper Service Review
Cristi's mom, right after we announced that we were having a baby, offered to subscribe to a diaper service so that we would not have to worry about diapers, especially for the first year. We were EXTREMELY grateful as we knew this would save us the trouble of having to constantly head up to Wal-mart whenever we got low, and of course, it would save us the expense. The name of the service was Stork's Choice. We read up on the website, and it looked like the diapers they were going to be providing were very impressive. They almost made it sound like it was a special diaper that they were specially making. In fact, on their products page they give a description of the "Stork's Choice Premium Disposable Diapers".
The cost of this service is $49.95 per month. On their faq, they explain how many diapers you get, which seemed reasonable. They also offer to throw in "Stork's Choice Premium Pop-up Wipes" (also found at the bottom of their products page). The wipes are an extra $4.99 a month, and after reading through a bit more, you find that that only consists of 2 packs of 80 wipes each for a total of 160 wipes.
Here's where it gets really frustrating. First of all, the diapers are not "Premium", they aren't "Stork's Choice", the only thing they are is disposable diapers. You can buy the same brand at Wal-mart (Parent's Choice) for a little less than 6 dollars a pack. And although their faq states they send 8 bags of 26, they don't, they send 4 bags of 56. Still, close to the same amount, but the point is, the same diapers only cost a total of about 24 dollars at your local Wal-Mart. I don't think shipping costs 26 dollars, and even after they get a profit, that is way too high of a markup. Another thing to mention is that for the same amount of money, you can purchase the same number of Pampers Swaddlers at Wal-mart (or as you can see, even cheaper at Amazon.com)
It doesn't stop there. At first, we didn't realize it, but the wipes are a joke. First, they are not "Pop-up", they are not "Premium" and once again, they aren't even "Stork's Choice". We've gotten two different brands in the only two shipments we received. As far as quality, we could probably have gotten away with just wetting down a paper towel or some toilet paper, because these wipes were very thin. In comparison, on Amazon, you can buy 924 Luvs Wipes for $24.58. Find something else on Amazon.com for .42 cents and you get free shipping. Granted, this is about the same price, but the quality (I can only assume) is probably greater online. Besides that, a search for Baby Wipes returns several more options that are either cheaper and slightly better quality, or slightly more expensive and much higher quality.
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest quality, I'd give this a 2. The only reason for the 2 and not a 1, is because it is convenient. You would never have to leave the house assuming you use an average number of diapers (of course, wipes you'd have to buy). But at the same time, you can order diapers online for cheaper, so the service is not any more convenient than Amazon.com. The items are overpriced and too low of quality. Cristi's mom has changed her method of hooking us up with diapers, and we thank her for that. I stand by my stance though that Stork's Choice is a horrible deal and should not be used.
The cost of this service is $49.95 per month. On their faq, they explain how many diapers you get, which seemed reasonable. They also offer to throw in "Stork's Choice Premium Pop-up Wipes" (also found at the bottom of their products page). The wipes are an extra $4.99 a month, and after reading through a bit more, you find that that only consists of 2 packs of 80 wipes each for a total of 160 wipes.
Here's where it gets really frustrating. First of all, the diapers are not "Premium", they aren't "Stork's Choice", the only thing they are is disposable diapers. You can buy the same brand at Wal-mart (Parent's Choice) for a little less than 6 dollars a pack. And although their faq states they send 8 bags of 26, they don't, they send 4 bags of 56. Still, close to the same amount, but the point is, the same diapers only cost a total of about 24 dollars at your local Wal-Mart. I don't think shipping costs 26 dollars, and even after they get a profit, that is way too high of a markup. Another thing to mention is that for the same amount of money, you can purchase the same number of Pampers Swaddlers
at Wal-mart (or as you can see, even cheaper at Amazon.com)It doesn't stop there. At first, we didn't realize it, but the wipes are a joke. First, they are not "Pop-up", they are not "Premium" and once again, they aren't even "Stork's Choice". We've gotten two different brands in the only two shipments we received. As far as quality, we could probably have gotten away with just wetting down a paper towel or some toilet paper, because these wipes were very thin. In comparison, on Amazon, you can buy 924 Luvs Wipes
for $24.58. Find something else on Amazon.com for .42 cents and you get free shipping. Granted, this is about the same price, but the quality (I can only assume) is probably greater online. Besides that, a search for Baby Wipes returns several more options that are either cheaper and slightly better quality, or slightly more expensive and much higher quality.On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest quality, I'd give this a 2. The only reason for the 2 and not a 1, is because it is convenient. You would never have to leave the house assuming you use an average number of diapers (of course, wipes you'd have to buy). But at the same time, you can order diapers online for cheaper, so the service is not any more convenient than Amazon.com
. The items are overpriced and too low of quality. Cristi's mom has changed her method of hooking us up with diapers, and we thank her for that. I stand by my stance though that Stork's Choice is a horrible deal and should not be used.Labels: product reviews
1 Comments - Leave one yourself3/22/08 - Diaper Champ Review
The Diaper Champ (in blue and pink) has so far been the best purchase we have made as far as baby products go. We spent quite a bit of time researching the different products including the Diaper Genie II (We didn't even bother with the original Diaper Genie). We also glanced at the Diaper Dekor Plus. After all the research, we decided to go with the Diaper Champ for multiple reasons.1) The Diaper Champ
does not require refills. You can simply use regular trash bags which in the long run, can save you quite a bit of money.2) The actual cost between out two favorites was the same no matter where we looked. That price was $29.99. By then taking number 1 into consideration, it made sense to go with the Diaper Champ.
3) Our Sunday School class, many of whom have had children of their own, all recommended AGAINST the Diaper Genie for several different reasons. These reasons included difficulty of use and the simple fact that it didn't really keep the odors out very well.
4) From our own research, it appeared that the Diaper Champ would be both easy to use and would actually work. We received no input from others regarding this, but descriptions on the box, analyzing the diagrams on the box, and simple common sense led us to believe it would be the best choice.
Here is what we've learned about it so far. IT WORKS!!! Not only does it work, it is very easy to use. The only downside to this particular item is that there is a rubber ring around the top that can sometimes get caught. When this happens, you have to simply smooth out the area and it will work just fine. For us, this only happens on one side of the lid.
The trash bag we use holds about a weeks worth of diapers, and we could probably put more in, but we didn't want to push the ability of the Diaper Champ to hold in the odor. I found out very quickly that it really does work. I carried the entire thing to the garage to empty it out. As soon as I opened the lid, I was hit in the face with a horrid stench of baby pee and poop. If that smell had been hovering in our bedroom where we are currently keeping it, I would have been either sleeping on the couch or in my truck. Although the smell was bad, it was very easy to contain. Once I tied off the garbage bag, it was gone just as fast as it had arrived. I put in the new bag and back to the bedroom it went.
On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this item an 8, but only because of the problem we've had with the rubber seal getting stuck. I might could get this fixed with some crazy glue or something to make it stay in place better, but I feel the product should come original with this taken care of. Everything else about this item is wonderful and considering the poor reviews we got on all of the other options, I believe we made the right choice.
Labels: product reviews
0 Comments - Leave one yourself
