Reviews of web sites and products
PayPerPost Review
Submitted by tired_gardener on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 17:11.I signed up with a site called PayPerPost: get paid to blog. They are a site for bloggers who want to make a little extra cash. They coordinate with businesses that want bloggers to write reviews or other information and will pay us to do so. The pay is between $5.00 and at current $125.00. To make the big money you need to meet certain criteria, such as a lot of visitors to your site, high Google PageRank, low Alexa ranking, good ratings from advertisers for your previous posts, etc.
Some people really hate the idea of PayPerPost. They think that it is evil and selling your soul to the devil. They think that getting paid for a post on your blog is fundamentally wrong. How can we have credibility in the blogging world if people are shilling out their work like this? It will be the death of the blogging world. Really, they are building up PayPerPost and giving them more advertising.
There were some legal problems with PayPerPost a while back. This caused some "posties" to loose their page rank. The FTC was also cracking down because they did not require people to disclose that it was a paid post. That seems to be required now. Even if it was not, I'd disclose, because it is ethical. I see no mentiontion of it since early 2007. I'm not sure if it just died away, or if the changes to their policy fixed Googles "smack down". I know it got the FTC off their backs.
Television and radio have been doing this for years. Have you ever watch a show and seen them zoom in on the Ford Focus or the can of Coke-a-Cola? Did you know that your favorite DJ is paid to say that he likes that product he pushes? Some DJs will only say they like it if they do, but they still have to do sales pitches. It is their job. Many bloggers have no ethical problem with PayPerPost, but still don't use them. All these points have validity, but I personally see no ethical dilemma, as long as the makes it clear they have sponsored reviews and write honest reviews, even for the sponsored ones.
So, I signed up for them. I am blogging partly to make a few extra dollars to make ends meet. I also blog because I like it. I blog about things I like and care about. Sometimes I blog about things I don't like. Sometimes I'm indifferent and am just talking about something. But one thing for sure, I will always blog what I feel and I'll be honest. So, if I am blogging about something I'm paid to blog about, I will tell you. I am getting paid for this blog entry.
Since you might not know me from Jack the Ripper, you will have no way of knowing if I am being honest, so that is why I am telling you that I am getting paid for the entry. That way, you can take that into account when you read the review.
Oh, you know your favorite movie reviewer? (S)He gets paid to review those movies. They even get into the movies for free and probably get free popcorn. Most reviewers get paid. It is up to you to decide which ones you trust. It is time that bloggers also get paid for the reviews they make.
AeroGarden
Submitted by tired_gardener on Sat, 05/10/2008 - 09:43.
I've been contemplating getting an AeroGarden
. My big windows are all north facing and the south facing windows in the house are limited with no place to put plants. I want some greenery in the living room. Without the light, and my forgetting to water them, plants don't last long. The AeroGarden
has some very good options to help me.
The AeroGarden
uses aeroponics. Aeroponics, is a form of hydroponics, so uses no soil. The roots are sitting in a humid chamber with the nutrients in the water (humidity). It grows well with all the nutrients sitting there for them.
You buy the starting kits, with the plants. Put them in the tray, and with just a few minutes work every week, you will get some very nice plants. You can get various plants in the kit, including lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. They also meet AAPFCO (American Association of Plant Food Control Officials) standards for organic gardening.
The garden also uses only a little power. It uses less than a 60 watt bulb. And with the computer controls it has, that reminds you when it is time to add nutrients and water, people like me, that are a little forgetful, have a chance to grow. Not only that, but they guarentee it with a 30 day money back guarantee.
Now for the bad news. They are expensive. I love when they say "just 3 easy payments of $49.99" plus the $19.99 shipping and handling. That adds up to $170. A little more than I want to spend for it, but I'm cheap.
As is my way, once I see something I like, I like to see if I can find a way to make it cheaper or better myself. I did not find any plans in the countertop variety. In fact almost all the plans I found were dedicated to those that want to grow marijuana. That is not what I'm interested in.
I did find some large scale plans, such as this which will cost over $100 to setup, but will hold 30 plants, instead of the 6 the AeroGarden holds. I'm considering altering the plans for a countertop version. You also have to remember that these plans do not include a light source, and they do not include a computer that will tell you when to add water and nutrients. Of course, you could just use a calandar and mark when you add the nutrients and actually watch to know when to add water.
Review: Chili's Resteraunt: Vegetarian Burgers
Submitted by tired_gardener on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 10:56.Went to Chili's the other day for dinner. We had a coupon for $5.00 off the meal, so thought we'd try them. After looking at the menu I got a hankerin for a hamburger. A good spicy burger sounded good, but I'm not eating much meat, and trying to stay away from beef entirely. I kept looking at the menu. Returning to that burger several time.
After a while of this, I noticed the little note at the top "Black bean pattie available upon request." That does it, a burger it will be. I got me the Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger with their black bean pattie. Yes, I know, it has bacon on it, but I'm not completly eliminating meat, just limiting it.
I was a little worried that the black bean pattie would be a little odd, but I actually liked it better than real meat. Now I need to find a place I can buy them.... Done. Did a google search and found that Morningstar Farms makes one. I also found some recipes. I'll try them and post the recipe I like best once I have tried them and fiddled. Below are a couple of the ones I found. I can't recommend any, as I have not yet tried them.
- hash browns and black bean burgers
- food processor double feature (the second recipe)
- black bean burgers (this one claims to be like Chili's)
I'll put one on the menu for this weekend and let you know what I think. Each one is a little different. If you try them, please comment!
Site down... Hunting for a new host
Submitted by tired_gardener on Sat, 04/26/2008 - 19:41.So, I learned some interesting information today about how many web hosts operate. I have been with a company called host monster, who I have been including as an advert on the sidebar. Well, today I got an idea of their customer service and what their uptime "guarantee" is.
First. Their uptime guarantee. Apparently there are two types of uptime guarantees:
1. "Network guarantees". This is what hostmonster and a lot of the low fee hosts use. This means that they guarantee that their entire network will be up and running 99.9% of the time. So, if one server goes down (the one my site is on) then they are still in compliance as they have hundreds of servers. My site, and all the other domains on that server, could be down for 12 hours a day, every day, and they would be in compliance as long as it was that one server.
2. "Server Guarantees". This is used by the more expensive and more reputable services. This means that if your server is down, they are out of compliance. Even if every other server is working.
I will be changing services soon. I am looking for a site that offers a server guarantee. Preferably a 100% uptime guarantee. They also must have responsive customer service, and the tools I need: php, mysql, ssh, raw log files. Not much. If you know of such a host, let me know.
I'll do a lot more detail on this topic over at my shabamdevelopment.com site. I don't have a whole lot over there yet, but that is one of the things that is planned over there. I hope to work more on it this summer.
Pizzicato Review: Vegan Provencial
Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 04/24/2008 - 12:37.I'm writing this from the Pizzicato at Portland State University. As I've mentioned before, it is hard to find a place to eat vegetarian, so when I find one that is good, I need to write about it.
Pizzicato is a gourmet pizza house based in Oregon. They have a few stores in Washington and Northern California as well. They serve pizza, salad and panini which include some very interesting flavors. Their seven salads include the standards: Verde, Caeser, Spicaci (Spinach) as well as some other good varieties: Arugula, Chinese Chop, Greek and Mista (baby lettuce with walnuts and tomato). You can add chicken or shrimp to them for an added charge. With three salad sizes, they are ready for any appetite.
The pizza flavors varie by the day, with cheese, pepperoni and puttenesca always on the list. They also have a meat, veggie and vegan choice. Today the vegan option was Provincial. It included red and yellow peppers, garlic, mushrooms and red onion with an olive oil base. The crust is soft, with just a little crisp. It is a plain crust, with little flavor, but just the right texture to leave a nice pallet for building the rest of the pizza. The veggies are all roasted, giving them a nice mild, but flavorful medley.
This store in on the PSU campus, so I can tap into that wireless network. They do not seem to have their own, so if you don't have a PSU account, you may not be able to use wireless. The neo modern design gives a pleasant place to sit, without the overwhelming music and decor of some of their competitors.
The staff is friendly and energetic. They and are not afraid to assist when they need to. The prices are reasonable. I paid $3.50 for my slice. Not the best prices, but reasonable. Rating:
Food: A-
Atmosphere: A
Customer Service: B+
Variety: A
Overall: A-/A
Which lightbulb is best?
Submitted by tired_gardener on Wed, 04/23/2008 - 06:34.I was listening to KLOVE and Lisa Williams was talking about getting some of those "curly" light-bulbs in her house. It started me thinking about the different types of bulbs and the pros and cons of each. Lets introduce the contenders and get to know them a little better.
Incandescent Bulbs (what your used to):
Incandescent bulbs are what we have been using since Edison's time. These are the great old bulbs that he invented. There are some problems with them, though. The main problem is that they use more power than the other choices. They also burn out much quicker, leaving you in the dark and heading for the replacement bulbs. Their use produces a lot of energy in heat. If you are in a cold climate, this means that you need to heat your home less, but in warmer climates, this is a problem. On the positive side, they have a less expensive purchase cost and produce a nice warm light. There is also a new bit of legislation outlawing them. It is phasing out their use over the next few years.
Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs):
CFLs are very energy efficient. Lisa Williams mentioned that her bulbs take a moment to come on. This is a real problem CFLs, especially in cold weather. They also do not work well on dimmers and burn out quickly on motion sensors too. Disposing of them is a problem. Most people just toss them in their trash. They contain toxic mercury! This mercury leaches out of the landfills and directly into the streams, then out food and water. Many people complain that fluorescent lights give them headaches, and they have a depressing nature to them. Their cold light is not as nice and studies have shown that they are linked to high rates of depression. They also break easy and can't be used for theatre lighting.
The positives are also numerous. They are not much more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but last 10 times as long. They remain cooler when on, producing some heat, but not a lot. CFLs emit the same number of lumens for about 1/4 the wattage compared to incandescent. These plusses make them very popular bulbs. Also, many advances in the technology has let to better CFL bulbs. There are now bulbs that work better outdoors, and some called "instant on" that do not take a while to turn on. You can even get the equipment to make them work on a dimmer, but it is spendy.
Light Emitting Diods (LEDs):
LEDs are a third option, not often looked at. They are expensive to buy, costing as much as $40 for a bulb that can replace a 15 watt incandescent. They are also directed lighting, which is good for spotlights, but do not give the multi-directional light we are used to in incandescent and CFL bulbs. They also can have problems with dimmers and motion sensors that are not made for their use.
On the plus side, they are even more energy efficient than CFLs, and last 10 times longer than CFLs (100 times longer than incandescents). They also stay very cool, so you can touch them when they are turned on. They don't have the mercury in them, so tossing them in the trash when they die is not a worry. Some LED bulbs can change color, which makes for some cool lighting on stage shows. They are also very bright, not what most people think of LEDs doing. LEDs have replaced the lights in most street lights, traffic signals and many automobile lights. These lights are hard to replace, so putting in super long lasting bulbs makes since. The other issues are also being worked on. They now have multi-directional lights, but they are also more expensive.
Buying new bulbs:
When buying a replacement bulb, you need to be sure you know what your getting. I recently saw an LED bulb and thought about getting it. I looked at the packaging and saw that it was a 90 lumen bulb. I choked and put it away. A 75 watt incandescent emits between 1080 and 1200 lumens, depending on the bulb. That is a LOT more than that 90 lumen bulb! You need to make sure the bulb you get throws the amount of light you want.
If anyone knows of a good, reliable source for LEDs, please let us know. They must be able to replace my 75 watt incandescents.
Run your car on water - legit or scam?
Submitted by tired_gardener on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 08:15.I ran across this web site, Water 4 Gas. The first thing I thought was scam scam scam scamity scam. So, of course, I wanted more information. First, you have to remember that NET stands for Not Entirely True, so don't believe everything you read on the sites you get when you search for more information. Here are my findings:
Not much useful. Everything I found in my Google searches were from people selling the product. One page was from a blogger, like me, who wanted to know more. However, it looks like all he did was read the pages from the people selling the product and decide that it was a good thing. That is not what I was looking for. I was some solid research showing me that the thing works or doesn't. When I searched for "run car on water kits scam" I got mostly sellers trying to boost their sales by cashing in on the sceptics looking for real answers.
I also found several groups where someone would say "Is this a scam or not" and then they would discuss and a bunch of people would say that it is a scam and some would say "I don't know, it could be real." I am trying to remain objective and want real research.
I next turned to the trusty old library. Every library I've ever belonged to allows its members to search journals and databases as well as book. I searched the journals. These products run on something called Brown's Gas, so I searched for that. Google's Patent Search came up in the results with a patent related to the technology. A patent just says "we own this, you can't make it." There is no research that says that it actually works. That comes later.
Next I ran across an article called "Investigating Brown's gas, a tiny TV generator, and more." by Don Lancaster (Electronics Now; Feb98, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p22). One section of the article was on Brown's Gas use in torches. In that article I learned that Brown's Gas does exist. It can be created by electrolosys and that, as they claim, you can breifly place your hand in front of the flame without burning yourself. He does caution against actually doing this though, and I second that caution.
The sellers of this technology claim that they can melt tungstun with it. This claim seems to be bogus. They also claim that it changes temperature based on the melting point of the product it touches. This seems to be based on bad science. I don't fully understand the science, so I will leave the discussion of this to others who do.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
are on their way. Many are asking for it. Bush signed the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative in 2003. You can buy the
Fuel Cell X7 Hydrogen Car Design Project Kit
and make your own model hydrogen car. This does not mean that the claims that you can add a simple tank of water to your car fuel system and get better milage are true. Many of their claims are faulty, so I say it is most likely a scam. If you want to give it a try and let me know what you find out, feel free.
I might waste my money on one just to see what it is. I'd first need someone who knows more about internal cumbustion engines than just "the gas goes here" type knowledge that I have. Living in Oregon, I don't even really have to know how to pump gas. I'm not allowed to pump my own.
HomeTown Buffet: Vegetarian dinner
Submitted by tired_gardener on Mon, 03/17/2008 - 10:18.I was 2 days into my vegetarian attempt and Elizabeth and I decided to go out to dinner. We headed over to Clackamas, as Elizabeth wanted to buy something for Emma's room. After we took care of her stuff, we headed to dinner. We found a buffet up the road called HomeTown Buffet. I thought that since they were a buffet, it would have some choices for everyone, so that is where we went.
I started with a salad. I was happy that they had a nice mixed greens, as well as the normal iceberg. The rest of the bar was lacking. They did have my favorite part: Mushrooms. But it was a short bar with little variety. They did not even have honey mustard dressing. I got blue cheese, which I enjoy as well. I did manage to make a good salad.
I wanted a little soup to go with it. Chicken Noodle and black bean. Black bean sounds good. Stir it up and up floats a piece of pork fat. Skip the soup I guess.
Next I headed for the main course. I had seen the taco bar. A bean burrito or taco sounded nice. Then I looked at the sign for the beans. "Pinto beans and pork." Pork and beans on a taco? Yuck. I don't really like pork and beans to begin with, but it really does not sound right on a taco. Looking around the main food bar I found some BBQ beans. Not really what I had in mind, but it would do.
That was not enough. What else can I get? A baked potato sounds good... they had bacon on them. Looking around I found starch and some veggies. When I saw the green beans, I expected them to have pork in them. They did not, but like most of the rest of the veggies they were over cooked. The mashed potatoes were acceptable.
Now on to desert. They had a great desert bar. I was really impressed by how much this restaurant caters to the typical American. Lots of meat, lots of fat, lots of sugar, a little veggies. I guess that is what people expect in an American restaurant, so that is what they have to serve. Quick, greasy, fattening slop. I will probably not eat there again.
RSS Hugger
Submitted by tired_gardener on Fri, 03/14/2008 - 08:38.I was reading a blog at Blog Carnivals and ran across a link to RSS Hugger. I thought it sounded interesting so I checked it out.
Basically, Colin is building a directory of RSS feeds that you can subscribe to. An RSS Feed is the most common format for subscribing to blog content. If you use one of the many Feed Readers out there, such as Google Reader or News Gator, or any of the many others, you are using an RSS Feed to get that.
I'm getting myself listed on the site, to see how I like it. From the little I know about it right now, it seems like a good thing. They manually check every blog to make sure they are legal and family friendly. They also check for spam. I checked several of the blogs listed and even the ones that had names that would lead me to think they were not family friendly (hotgirls4u.blogspot.com for instance, is about attractive female actresses and models, not porn as the name suggests).
In order to get the account, I have to write an honest review of RSS Hugger. That is what this is meant to be. As I've only been with them for 5 minutes, the only thing I can honestly say about them is what is listed on their site. It sounds interesting, but I'll let you know more over on my other blog at ShabamDevelopment.com. I'll probably also list that blog on RSS Hugger. (As of this posting, the other blog is in plan only, but will be up sometime in the next few days. More about it in another post.)
You can go to RSS Hugger and see my feed there at http://www.rsshugger.com/tiredgarden.info
Blog Responses: The smell of dirt is.... death, Debating Christ, Eating healthy and Checking your time management
Submitted by tired_gardener on Wed, 03/12/2008 - 05:15.One of the best ways for me to make sure I understand something is to write about it. I felt like reading some blogs, and I want to make sure I'm getting the most from them. Besides, it gives a boost to the other bloggers when I respond to them and perhaps some will respond to my growing accounts here. Last night I set my alarm for 5:30. Got up this morning at 4:50, got some blended black cherry yogurt, sat down and started to read some blog entries others had written.
Came across this entry at This Garden is Illegal. Hannah was talking about how the smell of dirt is so attractive. I too love the smell of dirt. Isn't it wonderful? Apparently the smell is due to the bacteria in the soil dying, so we are smelling death! The soil cannot live in wet soil and its death is signal to us that water is near. Oh, the sweet, sweet smell of death!
The next blog I read was How Not to Attack Evolution over at Thinking Christian. I too have gotten into these conversations about creationism and started to theorize with people about it. I don't think there is a problem about speaking about what you don't know, as long as you inform your debate partners that you don't know. I don't know how creationism was done. I believe only God knows that. I don't know if Genesis is to be read literally, or if it is meant to be a more figurative explanation? I have my theories. I believe that God could have created Earth any way He felt. He could have created evolution along with it, if He so felt. I don't know, and I don't see any reason to hide that fact that I'm clueless on the topic when I debate it. But by debating it, I'm doing two things: one, I'm strengthening my own convictions. I need this, as I am only a weak human who can loose his way (and has). two: I get my "opponent" to think about the topic. They may then go on to read more on the topic and come to a far greater understanding than I could ever imagine. Or they may say "ah, he doesn't know anything" and move on. Either way, he thought about the subject, which was my goal. We do need, however, to make sure we respect each other when we debate. As Tom pointed out, if we take an attacking tone, our opponent is far less likely to listen. If we are respectful of their beliefs, we will be far more likely to make at least a little progress with them.
I was curious about a blog I ran across called Top five tips to healthy meal planning. I am trying to get healthy and I thought I might get some good tips from this. It was not what I expected, but the information is still good. Kavit's point is that if you plan your meals in advance, you will be less likely to eat junk instead of healthy. This is a good point. Elizabeth and I do plan our dinners, but we do not plan breakfast or lunch. I know that Elizabeth often skips meals during the day. Perhaps she would be more inclined to eat, if we had those meals planned as well. I also get up most mornings, prepare for my day, go to the fridge to get a lunch to take with me, see nothing I want and head out. Come lunch time, all I have is a little bag of instant oatmeal that has been sitting in my backpack for 3 months and a bag of instant hot chocolate I was given at Christmas. I then head over to one of the many fast food places around the university. I admit that I usually do eat healthy lunches. I will usually have a ham sandwich from Subway, or a Chicken Fajita Burrito with Black Beans from Chipotle. These are fairly healthy meals, but they can get expensive. The sub is not too bad, less than $5.00... less than $4.00 I think. The burrito is more than $5.00 though. If I could prepare my meals ahead of time, I'd save time and a couple bucks a day.
Last I want to talk about a site I've been reading a lot about lately. Steve Pavlina is a bit of an odd duck that has a lot of good things to say about personal development. He took about a year and a half to finish college and the time management techniques he learned during that very busy time he has helpfully posted for us to read. I've read it and am trying to improve my time management. The one thing I have to say though... if you have a partner, you MUST make sure that you are both on the same page. If Elizabeth does not understand what I'm doing, she will fight me on it. This undermines my efforts to get things done. One of the main reasons I lock myself away when I'm working is because I can concentrate and get it done faster. When Elizabeth comes into the room to talk to me, or just to put some scrap of paper into the recycling, it distracts me. I then have to get back into what I was working on, and this is time taken away from the family at the finish. On the other hand, I have to make sure that I actually do get done and have time to spend with the family. If I spend too much time in here, working on things that Elizabeth is not interested in, then I loose that important quality time with her and Emma. I don't want to miss out on my time with them either, so I have to check myself every once in a while and make sure that I'm on track.
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