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Shopping for Shoes – Intro
Before Sex in the City, it is accepted that women like fancy shoes, with high heels. Men are not any more practical. Men what boot to look and feel macho. Both are not necessarily the best approach to buying shoes. 21st century has taken over, even the shoe industry. I am sure many of you have see the TV commercial that suggests you don't have to go to the gym. All you have to do is wear this c...
Shopping for the Palm Pre
It has been over a year since Palm released the Palm Pre. At that time all the tech reviewers were joking that the Palm Pre was the pre-bankruptcy release for Palm. Well, Palm has not gone into bankruptcy. Three of the four major cell phone carriers offer the Palm Pre. In call seriousness the Palm cell phone is different than the Blackberry, or the many smart phones that use the Android operati...
Shopping for the Chevy Equinox
The Chevy Equinox is classified in what some people want to call "plus-sized crossover, small SUV". This basically means the Equinox is smaller than a full size SUV and larger than your standard crossover. The much advertised feature of the Chevy Equinox is the rear seating and rear storage.  60/40-split rear seat that could be slid almost 8 inches front and rear. In the rear cargo section t...
Money Management from the Mint
Way back in 1995, I remember when I helped a young pest control business get their first computer. We set up their books with a new software from Quicken. Over the years, Quicken has been the only real money management software for personal of business use. Since then there has been several of money management programs to come on the market and many of them leave. Then in 2005, Aaron Patzer sai...
Dean Koontz on Audible
One of the many author found at Audible.com is Dean Koontz. Do you realize you can get his Dean's book Breathless in an MP3, but it on your iPod, or other MP3 player and listen to it while driving to work, or even washing the car, or at the gym.   Breathless was #1 New York Times bestseller. Author Dean Koontz delivers a thrilling novel of suspense and adventure. The mystery unfolds high ...
Clear Expectation of Service
Several years ago, I worked briefly at this computer store. The owner would change the terms of service at least once a week, if not more. When I left there the Terms of Service was very fine print on the back of every receipt. The receipt was printed on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. This is nothing unusual. Every business has literature that states where their responsibly starts and where ...
32 Inch LCD Recon
I love sitting around coffee shops, and lounge area. What I over hear is so amazing. Just the other day this guy asked a friend, "Where was the best place to get a LCD TV?" The friend answered quick, "Fred Meyer, they have the best prices." I was so tempted to lean over and ask what empirical data he was making statement. Instead I bit my tongue. Without any ceremony, I got up and walked t...
Auto Recon: Honda Fit
The Honda Fit is another one of those little sub compact cars that came into being to easy the strain on our wallets because of high gas prices. The Fit is akin to the sportier Honda Jazz. Introduced at the time of high gas prices the Honda Fit is a subcompact four door hatchback. The first-generation Honda Fit was available for just two years: 2007 and 2008 model year. The base model came wi...
Mattress Recon – Intro
Next to marriage and underwear the mattress you sleep on is the next personal thing in your life. It has been my experience that what on individual sleeps well on is another individuals restless nights sleep. So when asked to help buy as mattress, I had to start with the basics. The number of different types of mattresses far exceeds the three Goldilocks came across in the three bears cottage. ...
Business Books from Audible
Anyone in business will tell you that knowledge and time management is a crucial factor to success. Traveling to an appointment, or waiting in a doctors office can be put to good use. An MP3 player containing an audio book can convert dead/wasted time into an enriched learning experience. Books like "How to Wind Friends & Influence People", "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" make great...

Paper Shredder Recon

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on August 12, 2010 in Appliances, Business, Home, Tech Stuff - Comments: 1 Comment »

I remember a time as a teenager we go through the neighbors trash just to see what we could find. This was at the local dump outside a small town, in northern California. People saw us and thought we were looking for old aluminium and copper to sell at our version of the recycling center, in 1968. In addition to the  aluminium and copper we found old love letters, adult magazines, and credit card numbers. Of course we only used what we found for our amusement.

Today, there are unethical people going though other people’s trash, before the garbage man comes to get information for identity theft. This could be a credit card offer, or a bill from a life insurance company, or even an electric bill. You see adding up these bits and pieces of information, along with the internet can yield enough information for identity theft.

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© 2009 – 2010 Cussins Enterprises

DVD Player Recon – Sony’s DVP-SR200P

Posted By: TSN Boise on May 22, 2010 in Appliances, Tech Stuff - Comments: 10 Comments »

Last week when I walked into the place where I get my haircut, I was greeted by the owner. In her hand was a plastic shopping bag that containing a DVD player. As she raised the bag to my chest level she said, “It doesn’t work, I need you to fix it.”

I took the DVD player and started to look at it. After about five minutes, I realized it was time to replace. the drive motor for spinning the DVD’s was burned out. What caused the DVD motor to burn out was the thin medal case pressed down on the drive assembly not letting it to spin.

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Microwave Recon – The Basics

Posted By: TSN Boise on April 10, 2010 in Appliances, Home, Tech Stuff - Comments: Comments Off

The microwave ovens has been around for only a very short time. At first they were big heavy and expensive. At one time if you had a microwave oven, you were living on the cutting edge of technology. Today, you are behind the times if you do not have a one.

Most people I talk to or observe have only three basic requirements when it comes to a microwave oven. One, that it fits in certain place in the kitchen. Two, there cooking dish fits inside. Three, that it works.

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Lawn Mower Recon – Gas Powered Push

Posted By: TSN Boise on April 2, 2010 in Appliances, Home, Outside - Comments: Comments Off

It has been quite a few years since I had to buy a lawn mower. After reading an article in Consumers Digest, I started thinking about my old Briggs and Straton 1.5 hp mower.

I can not remember when I had purchased it. It has been through 2 19″ blades and 3 spark plugs. I even replaced the gas tank, when it developed a leak. It has been faithful old machine. So it is time to start thinking about replacing it.

What I got from the Consumers Digest article was that the price of lawn mowers are going to be going up in the next couple years. The laws around increase emission standards for any gas powered engine will be getting tougher. This is mostly because of going away from the old carburetor to a fuel injection system. There is even talk of propane power lawn mowers.  

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Slow Cook Your Way into Savings

Posted By: TSN Boise on March 26, 2010 in Appliances, Dinner, Food, Home - Comments: Comments Off

The leading reason for people spending more money than they should on food is lack of energy. The family cook comes home in a tired from a long day at work. It is easier to make a quick run to Burger King or KFC, just because no one wants to cook dinner.

There are a few ways to save money and still get a quick and easy meal. The first is using what has come to be know as the cock pot aka the slow cooker. Yes it does take a little fore thought, but you can definitely save $2 to $5 or maybe even more person, as opposed to having Chinese food delivered.

The available recipes a limitless. About.com has a list of Southern Cockpot recipes that will get the family excited about dinner. Then there is Family Crock Pot Recipes and Crock Pot.com for hundreds of other quick and easy idea.

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We Are Salves to Batteries

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on March 13, 2010 in Appliances, Bargin Places, Computers, Home, Photography, Tech Stuff - Comments: Comments Off

Have you ever notice how many electronic gadgets we have that require a battery or batteries of some sort?

Well, I have. From just where I sit I see four items that depend on the use of batteries for its’ primary power source or as a back up power source. If we did not have batteries, we could not enjoy being as mobile as we are. In fact we are slaves to these batteries!

Next to the question of what size and shape a particular device uses, there is what type of battery is the best value. We do not have control as to what size and shape of battery is in a particular device, but we have control as to what type of battery we use. The different type of batteries have quite a range in length of use and price.

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A Computer is an Investment

Posted By: Ray Littrell on January 7, 2010 in Appliances, Business, Home, School, Tech Stuff - Comments: Comments Off

The other day, I was talking to a lady from the state of Georgia. She was telling me that she could not afford to buy a computer. She thought is was a luxury besides being a waste of time and money.

A couple of years ago, I doing cold sales calls on businesses in a rather large strip mall. I walked into this shoe store, and asked to speak with the manager or owner. A very well mannered elderly lady came out from the back room and introduced herself as the owner.

I asked what kind of software she was using to manage her inventory. At that point she harshly stated that they did not use any computer software for inventory management.  The only computer they had was the card reader for processing credit cards.

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LCD Me

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on November 6, 2009 in Appliances, Home, Tech Stuff - Comments: Comments Off

lcdFor centuries families have always gathered together at the end of the day to catch up on the day’s activities, current events along with some form of entertainment. The evening gathering place has evolved from a evening fire, to the dinner table. In the early 1900′s, the radio was a gather point for the family. Today, it is the television.

The past year was marked by the television reception going all digital. This improved the clarity of the picture and the number of channels we could watch. Going all digital now gives many households a very good reason for getting a new television for Christmas.

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© 2009 – 2010 Cussins Enterprises

TLC for Your Furnace

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on October 22, 2009 in Appliances, Home - Comments: Comments Off

Heating Maint

The Autumn leaves are turning their golds and reds. There is a biting chill in the morning air. The furnace kicks in for the first time in since late spring. The house is filled with that smell of burnt dust from the furnace heat.

The weather is getting cold. The air conditioning pump will not come on again until mid or late spring. For many, this year, the ole furnace has already turned its self on a couple of times or more.

No matter what type of fuel you use for heating this is a good time to do some preventive maintenance on the heating system. For the mechanically inclined, like myself, I can do much of it. All I have to do is follow a simple check list that I put together from over the years.

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AAA, and AA

Posted By: The Shopping Nazi on October 17, 2009 in Appliances, Bargin Places, Home - Comments: Comments Off

batteriesIt is Fall. Days are getting shorter. That means I will be riding my bike more at night. In the interest of safety encouraged me to get a head and tail light for my bike.  I found a good deal on a head and tail light for under $15.

Like most things they did not with batteries. Naturally, I thought that I had some AA batteries at home, from the last time I bought a pack of AA batteries. This was not the case when I got home.

I needed 2 AAA batteries for the tail light and 4 AA batteries for the head light. All I had in the battery storage bin was 3 AA batteries. Just 1 battery short for the headlight and no batteries for the taillight.

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© 2009 – 2010 Cussins Enterprises


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