After years of putting off cleaning the dust out of our Micron/MPC computers that magically accumulates inside the computer, we did a web search for something that would fit the bill, something that would vacuum AND blow air out. Sure, we could buy (and keep buying) canned air to blow out our computers … but that's an ongoing expense for a finite amount of cleaning. And there are plenty of vacuum cleaners, but not so many that also blow air out. more »

The Water of Life

Yes! The Water of Life! And what do I mean? Have you ever had a drink of tap water and after a bit of time came up with "heart burn"? Have you ever taken a bath and looked at the water and noticed that the water is blue green in color? Well, water is clear looking in its natural state. If you don't think so, take a look at flowing water in a river or small stream — after the spring run off, of course. Its clear! When you drink it, it tastes good. Your body likes it too.

One reason for an upset stomach is because of all the chemicals that are added to the water. Some 100 different chemicals or more are added so that it can qualify as "pure". Chemicals such as fluoride, which might be good for teeth enamel but hell on the body in general. In fact it's poisonous! more »

It's interesting to watch the housing market here in Southern California as it travels the long and painful road back to sanity as far as property values are concerned. Home prices are finally coming down in Los Angeles.

We've lived in the Los Angeles area for nearly thirty years. But there was a time where my work took us across the country: we moved to Oklahoma City for a year and then all the way to Tampa, Florida for sixteen months. And guess what? We found ourselves moving back to Southern California. more »

I never used to frequent malls before. In fact, my idea when shopping is to target the designated store designated and swoop in there and attain what I need in as little time lost as possible — and then I'm outta there! more »

We have a situation here in the U.S. in which the financial sector is crashing.

In the good old days, one used to be able to save money at an acceptable interest rate that was paid by a commercial bank — oh, around 5%, if I recall correctly. One had trust that the bank wouldn't go under. You could go to a trustworthy bank and get a loan and that bank would service the loan and collect what was due, etc.

Now, you get a fraction of a percent. And the bank gets to gamble with your money for little exchange to you. more »

Continuing with our series of plain-English reviews, here's my HP Officejet Pro L7680 All-in-One Review. Enjoy!

It's a copier! It's a printer! It's a fax machine! And it can scan! One can even plug in memory cards/sticks with pictures (and other data) and print color photographs! more »

I was enjoined to participate in our criminal justice system recently. That is, I was called into jury duty at the San Fernando Court House of the County of Los Angeles California. And guess what? I was one of the first jurors to be seated. I was juror number 7.

I was told to report early at 8:15 AM, which didn't sit too well with me. But I did it. Fortunately, I kept the grousing to myself and I didn't splash my sour mood upon the clerks. The reason I was so dour, yes — ill-humored, is because I couldn't get the O. J. Simpson case out of my head. That case left me with a very bad opinion of our justice system and the police department appeared to me to be planting evidence. That's just my opinion. more »

In our ongoing effort to be able to partake of sweets without eating sugar, we've had an opportunity to try Lakanto over several months — and we've found that Lakanto is an excellent sugar substitute. In fact, can replace sugar quite adequately.

Now, of course we'd also been eating honey, but after a good friend referred to it as bee regurgitation, the taste for honey waned and our need for a sweet substitute grew. We turned then to organic agave, a low-glycemic index sweetener made from the agave cactus. Basically, "low glycemic" means it doesn't jack up your blood sugar. But, eventually, we could feel that tiny jacking up of the blood sugar even with the low glycemic index of agave. And so, at the urging of a friend, we turned to Lakanto. more »