Laundry Saving Tips for Apartment Tenants

Emery

Most people will say there is no way to save money on laundry if you live in an apartment. There are actually a few ways to save money on laundry, no matter where you live. Trying these few simple ideas can cut your laundry costs down. This will also help you manage your purchase of a new condo launch in Singapore

  1. Laundry soap is the first place to start saving. Using either and off-brand or name-brand detergent will cost you between $4.00-$10.00 for a gallon jug. Manufacturers are kind enough to give us a dispense line on the bottle cap. However, you do not need use this much. Two tablespoons of soap will get the average load clean, and use a little more (another tablespoon) for extra soiled clothes. This alone will cut down how often you need to buy soap for the laundry.
  1. Using a laundry booster such as 20 Team Borax or Oxyclean will have your detergent working harder for you. The cost of 20 Team Borax is inexpensive where Oxyclean is a little more costly. Here again you do not use much and the savings will add up.
  1. Treat those stains as soon as possible. Some people swear by the stain removers. I have found that by purchasing a bar of Zote soap. Stains can be removed cheaply. A large bar of Zote will cost roughly 70 cents. You will get stains removed, covering your 70 cents and then some. If you are using Oxyclean or Borax you can also soak the stained clothes in a solution.
  1. Using liquid fabric softener will help keep your soft and can be done at a fraction of the cost. Use a Downy ball if you do not have a dispenser. All fabric

softener can be diluted with water down to last longer.

  1. Hang up your laundry. Whether you pay for the dryer or pay for the power it uses. The dryer is a huge energy hog. Face it, if you are putting $1.00 or more in a coin-operated machine to dry your clothes. It is costing a small fortune. Since coin-operated machines, rarely get your clothes dry in the time alloted. Wait don’t say you have no space. You have more space than you realize. Purchasing some good solid drying racks will reinforce the reason you don’t want to use the dryer. These are collapsible so you can store them when not in use. Doing a search for dryer racks will show you all the possible ideas out there to hang your clothes. I prefer the butterfly style rack. Now the price of the dryer rack may scare you, don’t let it. Some of these racks are expensive. Running $40.00 or more. When purchasing these racks figure out how many loads of clothes do you have to hang in order to have them paid for. It won’t seem that bad in the long run. You are going to wash clothes either way. Your shower rod in your bathroom is another great place to hang clothes. Invest in a second tension rod and you now have extra drying space. The dryer also cause a lot of wear and tear on your clothes. Hanging up your clothes will allow them to last longer.

These simple tips will cut down on the amount of money you spend doing laundry. You do not need to have a clothesline to save money on laundry. Living in an apartment does not mean that you have to spend a ton of money on cleaning your clothes.

Great Stocking Stuffer Gifts For Men

Emery

Every grown man is a kid at heart. So, nothing is more disappointing than a stocking stuffed with practical gifts like socks and underwear for Christmas. Many families provide a stocking for every family member at Christmas time. It would be a really exciting tradition if the stocking wasn’t stuffed with nose hair trimmers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, socks, a shoe shine kit, soap, and deodorant. If it’s the thought that counts, someone thinks you look like a bum, smell bad, have bad breath, and need to shine your shoes. There must be better stocking stuffer gifts for men! Here are six ideas for stocking stuffers for men:

  1. A Knife. You don’t have to go all psycho and get the Gordon 8-inch Survival Knife from Harbor Freight. But, a nice little pocket knife makes for a fun, manly, and slightly practical gift. Best of all, pocket knives fit well into a Christmas Stocking. Little pocket knifes like the Buck 425 MiniBuck and Case MiniBlackhorn are very inexpensive and Made in the USA. A Case Sodbuster Junior is a slight step up in price and very practical. If you have a little more to spend a Gerber Suspension Multi-Tool is a fun and practical gadget for lots of little jobs and the Kershaw 1550ST Blackout is a great knife for an outdoorsman. There are lots of great knives available in the stocking stuffer range of $10 to $50.
  2. A Wristwatch. A good bang around watch always makes a great stocking stuffer and there are plenty of attractive watches available for less than $50. For $12, you can get a funky M.Z. Berger Analog-Digital Watch from Walmart. While $20 at Target will get you a fashionably styled Mossimo Watch from Target. The Big Box discount stores also have lots of great watches like the futuristic Armitron Square Digital Sports Watch and the basic Armitron All-Sport Digital Watch. The outdoorsman on your list might like a basic Timex Expedition watch, while the computer technologist on your list might like the retro styling of the classic Casio Men’s Digital Watch. Wonderful watches aren’t all that expensive and make great stocking stuffers. Surely, with this watch, it will complement whatever type of men hair cut the recipient has. With its classy and elegant design, you will never go wrong with it.
  3. A Good Flashlight. If you want a truly macho gift, you might check out the American-made flashlights from Maglite. While a full-sized Maglite might not fit in a typical stocking, the Mini Maglite LED packs a lot of power into a small stocking stuffer sized package.
  4. Electric Shaver. There has always been something cool about the electric razor. While the purist may eschew electric shavers in favor of traditional blades, when you’ve got someplace to be an electric shaver comes in handy. Fortunately, basic entry level shavers like the Remington DA-307 Microscreen Shaver and the Norelco Micro Action Plus Rotary Shaver sell for less than $50. If you want a really cheap infomercial alternative, the MICROforce Wet/Dry Electric Shaver does the job on battery power and can be an essential item for a man’s desk.
  5. Cheap Sunglasses. If you are trying to stay infomercial cheap, a guy can never have too many pairs of cheap sunglasses. Sunglasses like BluBlocker Vipers or HD Vision WrapArounds are cheap and great to have in your car or around the house when you need them.
  6. Compact Binoculars. Finally sportsmen will enjoy having a decent pair of compact binoculars. At the low end, Tasco Essentials 8×21 binoculars are very affordable and they fit great into a man’s Christmas stocking.
  7. All of these men’s stocking stuffer gifts have one thing in common: they are better than socks, toothpaste, deodorant, or nose hair clippers.

SageTV: The Other High Definition PVR

Emery

With great care we lifted the SageTV extender from its wrapping. Its plain black exterior belied its capabilities. With this device, the world of high definition television was now ours to command.

While there are several options for personal video recorders (PVRs), SageTV has several unique characteristics. SageTV began as a customizable program in 2002, enabling customers, for a nominal fee, to turn their PCs into PVRs. Such abilities appeal to those tired of the PVR receivers, and the associated fees, available from Dish Network and DirecTV. For those with some basic programming skills, SageTV offers a low-cost alternative which can be loads of fun. SageTV’s program is run from a PC which receives signals from z cable or satellite provider. It then routes this signal to your television, or to other PCs in remote locations which act as clients or “extenders.”

However, PCs have drawbacks as extenders. Even after considerable upgrading, we found they often lack the resources needed to keep up with the demands of being a PVR, and shows would lock up without warning at their most exciting points. Of course, DirecTV’s, and especially Dish Network’s, were prone to these problems as well. If you want to dissuade your children from watching television, perhaps such an arrangement is perfect for you. They will quickly tire of their heroes freezing in mid action. It was clear to us that our disgruntled children were ready to revolt, however. Rather than risk an uprising we invested in Hauppauge MVPs, which are compatible with SageTV’s programs. These handy black boxes take the place of the client PCs. The server PC then stores data, enabling playback and storage of shows. Our halting, apoplectic television watching was at an end. The use of number one low-code platform application through the wavemaker for development of the business will be beneficial. The appliances should be compatible for the growth of the business with safety measures. 

One challenge remained. The first generation of MVPs could not handle high definition television. The server would need to transcode any such transmission, which was technically not feasible. Luckily, in December of 2007, SageTV released a high definition extender: a nondescript black box about half the size of a VCR. The demand for this product was such that they sold out almost immediately. A slight problem with the first generation was that the black casing obscured a direct path to the extender’s infrared sensor. Thus in order to use a remote it needed to pointed with hair-like precision. A new cover plate was all that was necessary to retrofit these extenders. The newest generation, the HD-200, are less than half the size of the older ones. In addition to television, SageTV offers photographs, music, DVD library features.

SageTV does not come without its challenges. Primary among them is that it can become engrossing to the point of obsession. SageTV devotees chat in forums, swapping tips and techniques. They are continuously working to improve the SageTV experience with new plug-ins. Often the term “WAF” is bandied about. This acronym is short for “wife acceptance factor.” Wives often object to their husbands swapping out staid and commonplace DVRs for this new, edgy one. They should well consider the hours their husbands will devote to it before giving the okay. Many become devoted to the “Sage Community” and work hard to overcome problems that their fellow members are experiencing.

There are always ongoing issues under consideration. The parental controls allow for an access code to be required for shows above a certain rating. If a show is unlocked, the system locks back up after that particular show ends. So if you want your child to watch just one episode of Pokemon, and then do their homework, it can easily be arranged. However, it isn’t possible to block shows which aren’t rated at all. In addition, the digital rights management is lacking. However, the continuous improvement that is possible with this format is grounds to believe that such problems can be overcome. No doubt SageTV devotees are even now working on them, as evident by their copious postings.

The Reinvention Of ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ Into IMAX 3D: Does It Ruin The Shape Of A Great Work Of Art?

Emery

There’s something about certain classic movies that stick in our minds as having a particular aesthetic. “The Wizard of Oz” has the unusual distinction of having a longer line of generations who saw it on TV than those who saw it in theaters. In fact, few still live who can remember seeing the film in a theater during its premiere year.

It’s the generations who grew up watching “The Wizard of Oz” annually on TV that remember it in a specific way not far removed from the original theatrical presentation. Considering the original 4:3 aspect ratio was standard in 1939, seeing it on TV didn’t take away any visual information. That’s a far contrast to those who grew up watching “2001: A Space Odyssey” scrunched onto local TV station screens in the 1970s and 80s, then seeing it later in its 70mm glory in a theater or Blu-ray.

The dividing line between the “Oz” TV generations is in those seeing it all in black and white (during the 1950s and ’60s) with those seeing the color segments intact from the 1970s to 1990s. Additional unique impressions of how the film was assimilated in childhood were created that way. And it might give concern when those aging viewers hear about how Warner Brothers is taking one of their most lucrative film classics to every possible digital frontier.

Mind you, when “Oz” came out on Blu-ray several years ago in a lavish 70th anniversary box set, it looked stunning. However, nobody would have entertained the thought that Warner would have the guts to release it in 3D to keep up with the Real D craze. Even more so, it’s nearly impossible to think a film from 1939 would look good in the IMAX format.

The film will be in IMAX 3D later this year as part of an emerging thought that viewing cherished art through new lenses creates new aesthetic experiences. But is it the equivalent of taking a Van Gogh painting and twisting its shape from what viewers remember? It ultimately depends on whether certain pieces of art shaped our souls or were just passive experiences. You can also play this movie on your device using kodi fire stick addons. Surely, you will enjoy watching this movie in a an amazing media player.

While paintings might be enhanced in 3D or enlarged format, “The Wizard of Oz” shaped generational thinking much more than society realizes. It still conjures certain feelings that kids had in the same way watching the old Peanuts TV specials still do. I’ve argued, though, that when the Peanuts specials moved to ABC in 2000, they lost a little of their aesthetic that was so familiar being on CBS.

Most of us want our childhood experiences to be preserved just as we remember them without nuanced disturbances. All those millions of people who grew up with “The Wizard of Oz” on TV likely include things that were going on in the periphery with their family as part of the remembered experience. Seeing the film in 3D or the enlarged IMAX format might feel more like a nightmare rather than a sense of discovery or fun.

Let’s also remember that film grain from 1939 is nearly impossible to remove digitally. Said grain may be more apparent in 3D as well as IMAX. Regardless, it likely won’t stop some fans from satiating their curiosity.

For others, “The Wizard of Oz” will likely always be a product of TV. There, it can now look pristine in 1080p as one half regret of not having that technology available 40 years ago in our living rooms.

Product Review: Roomba 500 Robotic Vacuuming Unit

Emery

In writing this review I must first admit that prior to buying and using a robotic vacuuming system I was very leery of the claims made by its’ manufacturer, iRobot Corporation that this small, self propelled, vacuuming system could provide a combination of powerful suction and brushing in one small mobile unit which could rival that of the most powerful manual vacuum.

My suspicion was based my experience with numerous vacuums I had purchased over the years. This ranged from small lightweight machines to huge, powerful monsters which in an effort to provide the most powerful suction resulted in a machine which weighed almost as much as I do (215 lbs.) and quickly exhausted the user. What is the Best In-Car Vacuum Cleaner for cleaning of the appliances. The efforts of the human will be less while cleaning the surface of the car. 

My previous experience with vacuums included purchases from relatively unknown manufacturers to the most established ones and included Hoover, Eureka, Bissel,Kirby, Electrolux, Shark, Dirt Devil and Orek….and included a wide range of models including canisters, bag and bagless and wind tunnel machines.

Based on that experience I concluded that regardless of claims most vacuums do little to distinguish themselves one from the other. Yes, some offer increased suction and others are bagless, but in general all vacuums apply the required suction and brushing action to pickup lint and small objects and deposit them on a filter for later removal.

And so when I read advertised claims by iRobot that the Roomba 500 offered a powerful vacuuming and brushing system which could automatically detect and adjust to any floor surface and match the cleaning performance of much larger systems I shrugged this off as just one more Madison Avenue promotion. There was, in my mind, no way this little circular dish, 14 inches in diameter, could house the power to propel the unit, drive brushes and power the vacuum necessary to do the job. I was not even convinced this little disc even provided enough room to hold the volume of litter it was designed to remove.

I was wrong. I have found this compact, powerful, little machine to be quite capable of living up to its’ billing and in many respects have found in to match or exceed the capability of its’ more powerful and much larger (and heavier) competitors.

At the urging of my wife we purchased a Roomba with the agreement that if it did not perform up to our (her) cleaning standards we would return it. The store in question agreed to this arrangement.

I was assigned the task of reading the instructions and preparing the Roomba for a test run.I was surprised to find that Roomba included a recorded voice demonstration which made the Roomba set-up quite easy. There was also a voice guided demonstration of Roomba features.

Our initial test in our home subjected the Roomba to a variety of floor surfaces. Our home has wall to wall carpeting in some rooms, bare hardwood floors in others and vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms. The Roomba was used on all of these surfaces and did in fact travel from other surface to the next without manual intervention or adjustments of any kind with no loss in cleaning efficiency.

Starting the Roomba in our largest carpeted room I watched as the small disc-shaped robot came to life, rotated 360 degrees, as if looking over the task at hand, and then began making successively wider concentric circles as it began vacuuming the room. It was soon obvious from the cleaning tracks left in the carpet that the little machine was applying a powerful brushing and suction action, but as a test I would periodically introduce a foreign object (small piece of thread, lint ball, small piece of newspaper, some bread crumbs, etc.) in its’ path and watched as Roomba passed over and removed them all.

After its’ initial circular path the Roomba was programmed to change over to a completely random path, crossing the room on a diagonal, then on meeting a wall hugging it until on meeting resistance (furniture, another wall, etc.) the machine would rotate and start out on a completely new path. While this sounds a little chaotic the randomness of Roomba’s route proves to very beneficial as in the course of covering an entire room it traverses and recrosses the same area of a room multiple times before it considers the job done.

I was impressed when the Roomba on approaching my planted deposits of pencil shavings (my test) stopped over the center of the shavings and rotated 360 degrees for some 30 seconds until it was sure the spot was clean and then continued on its’ original course.

When using the Roomba in our upstairs bedrooms I considered using one of the included “invisable walls” to prevent the Roomba from running up to and falling down the stairwell. Invisable walls are small portable devices (included with Roomba) which emit a transparent beam which the Roomba is programmed not to cross. These “walls” are used to keep the Roomba out of rooms or other areas which are considered off limits for the Roomba. However, recalling the orientation instructions I decided to test the feature of the Roomba designed to protect itself from falling down stairwells. I watched as the little machine hustled its’ way up the head of the stairwell. It never slowed until the instant the first 1/8 inch of the Roomba crossed the edge of the top step. At this point the Roomba stopped suddenly and completely and rotated 180 degrees and resumed cleaning.

As an aside, the Roomba offers a significant advantage over any conventional vacuum when it comes to vacuuming beneath beds. Here, in the land of “dust bunnies” the little robot excels as it traverses back and forth,stopping frequently to do a 360 rotation as it detects and removes heavier dust accumulations.

After two hours of continuous cleaning I stopped the Roomba and opened its’ dust collection bin. There was a striking assortment of lint, cat hair, small carpet fibers and all of the test objects I had introduced. I was totally impressed with quantity of debris the machine had found and vacuumed in rooms that had never gone more than a week between routine vacuuming. I would estimate that the uncompressed wad of lint and cat hair and other debris measured roughly 36-40 cubic inches. Roomba claims its’ collection filter also screens out invisable dander and allergens.

Emptying the dust bin is easy. One removable section of the Roomba gives access to the dust bin and allows this to be dumped into a trash collector or can. The filter is easily cleaned witha small brush or by blowing away collected lint.

While I have not used this feature the Roomba provides a capability to Prue-schedule cleaning up to seven different cleaning times at which time the Roomba will self start and clean for a programmed cleaning period, after which time it will return to its’ home base for recharging of its’ batteries.

I found only two features of Roomba which I feel could be improved…..I have difficulty effectively deploying the “invisable walls”. I use these to block Roomba from area which I do not want Roomba to enter. These may be rooms which are temporarily limits (such as a room in which I have spread out work papers on the floor) or permanently off limits. I have found that the invisable walls do not cast a definite straight line beam, but rather cast a broad beam which grows in width with distance from its’ origin point. This makes deploying the wall to block a very specific location difficult as the beam width is unknown. As a result one of two situations may occur, either the Roomba penetrates the beam or more likely the Roomba stops far short of the area intentionally blocked and leaves that area un-vacuumed.

The second, although minor problem, involves the Roomba getting stuck underneath a low piece of furniture or bed. This happens rarely, but even when it does the Roomba is programmed to shut down when this occurs rather than run down its’ battery or strain its’ motor.

In summary, the Roomba is a surprisingly effective and powerful tool for vacuuming virtually any floor service. I have compared dust and lint accumulations in the same room over the same period for the Roomba and my traditional stand up vacuum and found the Roomba removes a higher level of debris.

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