Category: Product Reviews

Panic!

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I don’t know who designed the key for our Ford Escape but I’d love to have a word with them: the buttons are far too sensitive. Today, while I was pulling my car into the garage I must have accidentally hit the Escape’s panic button because it started honking like crazy, scaring the crap out of me. Then later when Joe was backing out of the garage (in my car), the same thing happened.

We’ve also both accidentally popped open the hatchback without knowing it until later and you have to hit the button twice in a row quickly for it to even work! Considering that in the 8 years I’ve owned my Jetta, we have never accidentally set off the panic button, it’s obvious there is a design issue here. I’m removing the key off my keychain because that is just too annoying. I don’t even drive the Escape! (Although I am “allowed”).

Cameras

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My new camera was delivered this afternoon only 45 minutes before I left work so I didn’t get a chance to charge the battery until I got home. It just finished a bit ago so I quickly configured the settings and took a few test shots.

Canon Powershot SD870 IS

I’ll post an in-depth review in about a week but here are my first impressions –

Small and light, just like I wanted.
The screen takes up much of the back of the camera, therefore I am getting fingerprints all over it! I see that I will need to buy a screen protector.
The door to the battery and SD card seems a little flimsy but then again so do they all and I’ve yet to break one (knock on wood).
Nice clear indoor shots with the image stabilization.

This baby will be going everywhere I go once I get a case for it.

And don’t hate me, but I ordered another camera today – the Canon EOS 40D. I got the kit with the 28-135mm IS lens from NewEgg for $1,130 (no tax or shipping, whee!). I’ve been tossing around the idea of upgrading for awhile now. I’m happy with my 20D but Joe isn’t happy with my old Nikon 5700 that he’s been using. Not only is it inferior to a digital SLR, the batteries – and we have several – are all shot and barely hold a charge so he’s constantly having to swap them. Instead of buying new batteries, we decided he’d get my 20D and we could pretend we’re serious photographers. I also ordered a 50mm lens so we’ll have a few to rotate between us.

I’m pretty excited because lately Joe hasn’t been too interested in going on any photo excursions and it’s not as fun if he’s standing around bored while I’m trying to get shots. He really enjoyed using my 20D last year when we were in Indianapolis so I know he’ll be more motivated with a new (to him) camera.

Now I have two cameras to sell – a Nikon 885 and a Nikon 5700. I wonder how much I can get on Craigslist for them. I might end up selling the 885 to my brother since he says my dad wants a digital camera. Otherwise he was going to buy him some suckass p.o.s. from Aldi’s. Please. Even my 7 year old camera is going to be better than that no-name junk.

Yummy in my tummy

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Move over Pot Of Gold, there’s some new chocolate in town

I don’t remember who in my family gave me these for Christmas, but they are best truffles I’ve ever had and there’s only one left! *Cry*

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No instant potatoes for me, thanks

We tried these mashed potatoes for dinner last night and I was really impressed. They are real potatoes with real butter, the serving is big, and they’re only $1.99. I’ll definitely be buying more because making mashed potatoes from scratch is a big pain in the butt and the kids love them.

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My new computer: initial impressions

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Merry Christmas everyone! I’ve been customizing my new computer since 10:30 pm last night. Well, I did get six hours of sleep in there too.

My computer was delivered yesterday before we left for my parents’ but I didn’t have time to turn it on until we got home. We unpacked the box and set everything up before leaving, however. I have to give Dell credit – everything is packed well and the software is extremely organized; they even mark the CDs to let you know what software is already pre-installed on the machine. It made setting everything up (hardware-wise, at least) effortless.

I have to say, the tower and matching monitor are very sleek looking; prettier than I was expecting. Everything runs fast on my new machine too. But you knew this entry was going to focus on the things I don’t like, right? Of course you did. This is in no particular order, just some annoyances I’ll either get used to eventually or rectify in some manner as I learn more about my new machine and Windows Vista in particular.

1) The CD-DVD RW drive isn’t really designed to be used vertically because I think Dell assumes people are going to set it up horizontally. I personally don’t like turning it on its side and putting the monitor on top because I don’t like looking up at my monitor. I keep mine low; probably lower than most, but that’s the way I like it.

2) The monitor height is not adjustable. I did know this beforehand, however, but figured I could manage. What’s more annoying to me is because the monitor is wide-screen, I lose vertical desktop space. Perhaps this is something that requires getting used to, but I find no reason for extra width since browsing typically requires vertical movement. I’m very tempted to go back to using my old LCD monitor which I love. It doesn’t match the tower, though, and I’m big on aesthetics, so I will have to think about it some more first since the tower is now on my desk in the back corner.

3) The fonts Vista uses are taking me time to adjust to. They don’t look as sharp as on my old machine even though I am running at the monitor’s native resolution and have tweaked all I can find to tweak. This is particularly noticeable in Firefox in the tab I’m currently working in because when the text is bold I see a purplish fringe around the letters unless I view them straight on by adjusting my position or the monitor angle. I know I’m super sensitive to stuff like this since many people, including my husband, don’t notice what I’m talking about. It still bugs the crap out of me, however.

4) I can’t use my Logitec wireless mouse and keyboard because the one connection is PS2 and my PC only accepts USB connections. Until I buy an adapter I’m forced to use the included keyboard and mouse which are very basic.

5) Windows Vista assumes you’ve never seen, let alone used, a computer before so they hide basic settings that most savvy users like to tweak. I had to visit forums and help sites just to figure out how to change some things I had no problem locating in Windows XP. I mean who needs their icons to take up so much space on their desktop? I am not blind for christ sakes. If I’m running in a super high resolution don’t keep my icons huge. That’s just retarded.

That all being said, I am really enjoying the speed of my new machine. Programs load quickly, as do websites. I can only imagine how much more awesome it’s going to be this weekend when I quadruple the RAM. And can I just say how sweet USB 2.0 is? Many of you have been enjoying its benefits for a long time but I was stuck in USB 1.0 land even though technically my old computer supported 2.0. I could just never get it to work. Transferring files to and from my iPod isn’t painful anymore.

Also, my computer came with Yahoo! Jukebox which rips CDs in the exact manner I want to. I couldn’t get iTunes or Winamp to extract songs in the format or file name I prefer but Yahoo! does it quickly and easily. Now I don’t have to download and install MusicMatch (my previous cd ripper of choice). Oh and it recognizes my iPod which for some reason Windows Media Player does not. I thought maybe on the new machine it would detect it, but nope. It tells me to connect a portable device even when it’s already connected.

The saga continues, and ends

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Soooo… we tried the Jenni-O turkey polish kielbasa the other day and while flavorful, it was ruined by the fact that the skin was really tough. So nay on the Jenni-O.

Last night I put together a list of local grocers and their phone numbers with the intention of calling each one today to see who carried the Butterball sausage. That plan was quickly derailed when I was informed by a girl at the first store I called that Butterball has discontinued making the polska kielbasa. Well isn’t that interesting? I do recall asking Butterball if it had been discontinued and not getting an answer to my question. Apparently it’s a huge secret. I shouldn’t be surprised considering it’s still listed on their website.

I am seriously considering writing a letter to their corporate office about this. No, not because it’s discontinued, although I am very sad and bewildered why the best tasting turkey sausage of the four I’ve tried apparently wasn’t selling well enough to remain in production. No, it’s because I’m sick of poor customer service from companies who expect us to buy their products regardless. I for one have added Butterball to my boycott list. Not that I’ll suffer much since that was the single product I really made a habit of purchasing. Sure, I like their Italian turkey breast in the deli from time to time, but no more. I’ll take my money elsewhere if they can’t be bothered to assist me in spending it on their products.