Archive for March, 2010

I got this machine after the very basic $90ish Bissell I had for 4 or 5 years starting stinking (Similar to this but older: Bissell PowerLifter PowerBrush Upright Steam Carpet Cleaner). It still worked, but it must have cleaned up one too many chocolate milk spills. We took it apart and cleaned as much as we could, but to no avail – those things are not designed to be cleaned, and we could not get the stink out.

I chose this Hoover model because it was so well reviewed and relatively inexpensive. I used my bissell probably every 2-4 weeks on my 14 year old offwhite carpet that we (husband, me, 4 year old twin boys and 2 cats ) eat and play on daily.

To compare the two just on the actual cleaning, to my eyes, they are equivocal. The Hoover was able to get the stuff out that the Bissell had been able to get out. The water from the Hoover was no dirtier than it had been in the Bissell. I will say that the cleaning solution they send with the Hovoer is not as good as the Woolite OxyDeep steam cleaning solution you can buy at Walmart. I used the Hoover stuff initially and was very disappointed, but the second time switched back to the Woolite cleaner with much better results.

The Hoover is, however, significantly better at extracting the cleaning solution. The waste water container filled up everytime before the solution tank was empty. With the Bissell, I would fill the tank with solution and only get about half of what I put on the carpet back up. This left the carpet very wet; I’d turn on the ceiling fan and place 3 box fans in our great room and 6 hours later the floor would be dry. With the Hoover, the carpets were slightly damp after cleaning, and were dry within an hour with celing fan and 1 box fan. In the end, this probably translates to cleaner carpets since more cleaning solution is being extracted.

The only major complaint I have with this machine is the noise it generates. It is ridiculously loud! I have used it twice and my ears rang and
HP Pavilion A4310F Desktop

I really enjoyed this easy read, it makes me want to read more about the circus during the 1930’s and 40’s. Great characters and descriptions. Enjoy
A O Onesie

The Heirs of Columbus Humoring the Patients: Gerald Vizenor, in The Heirs of Columbus, uses the image of humor in the blood in a pun that leads the reader through a series of historical medical associations. Vizenor’s combination of genetics and story in healing weds the rational and the non-rational in giving the future generations a chance for better survivance. But Vizenor uses the double pun of humor and manicure to reference the beginnings of science in the past mysticism of shamans. Medicine began, in most cultures, with laying on of hands and determining the basic elements of the body. Manicure, or manual cure, implies the laying on of hands and has a sort of mystical reference when the manicurist is an ex-priest: “Padrino de Torres…persuaded the captain and teh judge to sit for a manicure; the judge knew him as a priest and she was surprised that he had turned to hands” (177) The priest is healing through his hands and the Heirs heal through humor. Humor is a pun on the four humors of the body, which needed to be brought into balance in order to make the body healthy and the mind sound. When discovering neurosis, the heirs don’t promise to cure fear, but rather to “balance her fear of animals” (Vizenor 137). The connection between technology and myth exists more to show the inadequacy of modern techniques compared to ancient understanding: “Our computer memories and simulations are not yet powerful enough to support what shamans and hand talkers have inherited and understood for thousands of years” (136). The Heirs succeed where the government has failed; it is the stories in the blood rather than the “rationalists, empiricists and logical positivists” (150) which find the secret of creation and heal the abused.
The Heirs of Columbus

Although the book and the author have been lionized over the years, unfortunately the book does not bear up well under the pressure of years. The numerous apologetic tics of Holden, such as the use of “old” as a term of affection for anyone and everyone, wears and grates, eventually ruining this reader’s nostalgic memory of the book as read in an earlier time. The swearing gets in the way, too. No, the book should not be banned, but it would definitely have benefited from extensive editing. Holden is obviously a candidate for analysis.
Trolley Buses 1913 2001

I find the Garmin 305 to be a great running tool. It gives you instant feedback and lets you track your workouts. I just recently started increasing my running from about 5 miles a week to 15+ a week. Having a “toy” to play with and see how it works has helped my stay motivated to keep running and increase my distances. The work out feature is great and makes planning my weeks running easy (especially on those mornings when I feel like taking it easy but my watch tells me not to). I would like to see it get a satellite fix quicker but it isn’t too bad. Heart rate monitor works perfect.
LowePro Backpack kit which

I have not read the book but am very eager to as my therapist said it really helped change her life! But, the book was in great condition and arrived on time, no damage, and what you see in the picture is what you get!
ELK Lighting 140 1YW

A very dark film about a man’s love, greed, and moral dilemma. Gary Oldman plays a crooked cop named Jack Grimaldi who is cheating on his wife, stealing money from the FBI working for the mob giving up key witnesses for a payoff. His character still has emotion and morals in himself which he struggles with and yet is still likeable in a strange way. He gets in a jam when the key witness he supposed to catch he’s also supposed to kill. He comes up with a plan to have the russian sick Mona Demarkov fake her death by giving her a fake death certificate for money in return. But this plan back fires. The fight scene with him and Demarkov in the car is intense. By the end he is left to his own devices but makes it out okay in his own way. A story about one man’s struggle with greed vs moral. One of my favorite films.
Romeo Is Bleeding Region

I bought this pedometer for my mother who has since taken up walking long distances. This is an excellent pedometer but make sure you correctly measure your stride distance before putting it to use. I found that if your measurements are off – so is the pedometer’s way of counting your steps. I guess it’s good that it’s so sensitive and precise. The extra choice of clipping the pedometer to you is better than only having the option of placing it on your belt.
BTP 85A1 Laptop Battery

I was in need of a new bathroom scale so I came to Amazon.com. Here I can get all the information
about the product and what others think about it. I like my EATSMART DIGITAL BATHROOM SCALE.
I have no problem turning it on. Just a firm tap
(not hard) and it comes right on. Eye pleasing with the glass top and large numbers. You don’t have to hide it and take it out when needed.
It’s nice looking and will add to the beauty of
your bathroom or bedroom.
Violin Tailpiece with Fine

The nice thing about this book is that its full of humour and action, but not the standard knights in shining armor on a battlefield kind of action as it is with most fantasy books. While the latter is fun to read as well, it is nice to get a break from those epic type fantasies, and that is exactly what Artemis Fowl delivers, albiet in a more teen friendly way.

An interesting storyline combined with good humor and a very interesting main character makes this a great read for teens.
Helix Racing Products VENT