Archive for September, 2010
I waited a while to give this review, because I was hesitant to slam a product. I wanted to like the 4 GB card, but I am afraid to use it other than a back-up.
I got a 4 GB transcend card a couple days before my trip to the Boundary Waters. I needed it quickly, so I paid for the 2 day shipping with the “frustration free packaging”
Right away when I put it in my camera I noticed something I thought not quite right. The counter on my Nikon gave an estimate of 538 pictures in fine Jpeg mode. My other 4 GB card, a Promaster, gives me an estimate of 555 pictures with the same setting as Jpeg fine.
I disregarded it thinking maybe different brands give different estimates.I also figured maybe the counter just gave this card a different reading and would get about the same as my other card.
After about 200 to 300 pictures saved on the card and suddenly while shooting a sunrise (with the setting at raw) my camera wouldn’t shoot. I got the dreaded error that my camera could not read my card and that the card may be damaged. I cried and panicked for a good hour or so, because these were photos taken from about two days on a trip and I wouldn’t be able to return to those spots. I feared the worst. Fortunately someone thought to put the card in her camera. It worked, but the thumbnails looked odd for a short time. Afterwards I put the card back in my camera and it works. I don’t know how long it will work and I question the reliability. I’m keeping mostly because the plastic case holds my 2GB Promaster card. Until I can get a card reader(in hopes that will read the card if it fails), I’m retiring the card and only using it when I am about to shoot experiments or something I don’t mind losing. I suspect some kind of defect, now that even after formatting, the counter is still lower than my other card.
Because of this,I am also worried about the “frustration free” packaging. I loved the concept, but I really hope I am not getting someone’s returned product.
Fodor s Travel Pack
This is an excellent grooming tool. I bought the medium size for our cat, and it works wonders. Her fur is so soft and silky now. It does seems a little over-priced, but I think it is well worth the money!
The Business Marketing Course
This 16 gig SDHC card worked flawlessly for about a year. Suddenly, it failed. I downloaded special software to save the pics (over 1,500). After saving the photos, I was unable to reformat the card so I could use it again. Tried camera, two different PCs, Windows formatting, special SD card formatting software, FAT 32, exFAT — nothing worked. It did it’s job for a year, but now it’s useless.
Neoprene Zip Skin Comfort
This digital scale is the best scale I have ever owned. It is exact, easy to use, and stylish. Excellent product.
Rich Diesslins Funny General
Maybe this story has simply become dated over the years because it didn’t have the impact on me that I expected. This certainly isn’t on the level of Huck Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird, Life of Pi, nor even The Tale Of Depereaux, but it is different than anything else I’ve read. Perhaps the appeal of this book is that it’s written from the perspective of a teenager, in stylized teenaged writing, about teenaged issues. This could be one of those books that appeals more to a specific audience of those going through puberty than it does to the general reader. Still, Holden Caulfield seems like more of a whiner than a cynical adolescent to me.
Reading this book is like being stuck in an elevator with a sixteen year old boy for the duration. It might make for a good psychological study of that particular insanity that teenagers go through as their brains develop in the presence of an overdose of hormones, but as a story it lacks a plot. This is about a kid wandering aimlessly through his life, such as it is, both literally and existentially. It could theoretically give aid and comfort to those teens in a similar situation, but I can’t imagine it helping me much when I was that age. The main character is supposed to be a young radical, smoking and drinking despite being underage, but it all seems much too tame in these modern times.
I suppose that the moral of the story is supposed to be that everyone undergoes these psychotic teenage episodes, even the preppies. However, this point is made in a monotonous, rather repetitious and boring manner as our young angster wanders about NYC looking to rutt, having just been kicked out of yet another fancy boarding school. If the rich kids have these same problems then maybe we should all stop feeling sorry for ourselves and think about poor Richard Cory. It’s all just a little too ham-handed for me and it really bothers those kids who really were cool and all to have to listen to those who just think they are. Sometim
DURAGADGET Water Resistance Laptop
I bought this and used it for about a year with a lightweight camera and lens and found nothing wrong with it. Then I bought a heavier lens (Nikon d80 camera plus Nikkor 70-200 VR weighs about 5 pounds.) The ball head is advertised as good for 17 pounds without a problem. I therefore assumed it would hold five pounds without slipping. I was wrong. Unless I tightened both the knobs to the maximum it would not even hold the lens when the lens was pointed more or less parallel to the ground. At any angle (except _exactly_ horizontal), no matter how tight the knobs were, it would not hold its position with a five pound camera and lens. By the time I discovered this, it was no longer a returnable item (understandably enough) but when I wrote to Giottos, explaining that they were either advertising an extremely light-duty ball head misleadingly, or I had been sold one with a manufacturing defect, they asked me to email them photographs of the ball head (I guess as proof I had one) and after I did they refused any futher email correspondence with me.
So it’s in my box of camera junk. I can’t in good conscience sell it, but I can in good conscience warn others not to buy it. I actually don’t know if it was an individually defective item, or if it is a light duty head sold with false advertising. Given Giottos response to my emails, there is no way to find out.
Caveat emptor.
Giottos MH1001 652 Medium
I love this pedometer! I tried another pedometer before purchasing this one and it only counted half of my steps. I was skeptical to try another, but this Omron doesn’t miss a step! I love how you can look at your history of steps for tracking purposes. It’s also great to see the miles walked and calories burned conversions.
KitchenAid Architect Series II
This is an excellent replacement for the windshield mount.
I do not see the GPS fallen on the floor of the car every morning in summer and Winter.
My suction cup would just not hold on any day with extreme weather.
I got the idea of buying this because my Avis rental had one of these.
And it is a good replacement. It fits right on my dashboard.
Mozart Smetana Dvorak Janacek
I just received the Garmin FR 305 device 2 weeks ago and I was really anxious to using it.
I love the running related features, it helps me a lot keep the pace, verify the distance, keep the timing so I remember to finally go home. I enjoyed it in the mountains as well, elevation measurements providing relatively accurate information.
One major dislike – the Heart Rate Monitor is not working at all, out of the box. I tried with a different battery, I forced the scan a couple of times. Absolutely no luck.
One “good” news is that the wrist watch detects the HRM from a friend, so I isolated the issue.
I hope Amazon/Garmin support will help me solve the issue.
Super Sensitive Octava Violin
I love my Kindle. I’m an avid reader and the ever-expanding collection, portability, and ease of use of my Kindle is an exceptional way for me to get my fix, especially because I travel so much. With the new software update, Kindle never ceases to amaze me! And the 3G network is a HUGE added bonus for checking emails and such if you don’t have an international phone that can do that.
60 Shaped Rubber Bandz