Reviews by caterpillar

caterpillar says "Why rake?" about Black & Decker Leaf Hog Blower - Vac Bv4000

caterpillar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:52:45 GMT

This product was recommended by a friend - and I couldn't believe they had invented a vacuum for your yard. They did!

I have tons of trees, and raking was one of the worst chores! You had to rake everything into a pile (which often included hidden dog poo), then figure out how to get all those leaves into about ten bags. Then I'd take the bags to the local green waste, and it didn't seem so "green" to use all that plastic!

This nice invention made life so much easer. I just BLOW all the leaves into a pile (it leaves the dog poo behind, thankfully), then suck the pile up with the vacuum. AND it MULCHES the leaves and bags them into the attached bag. Then I just unzip the bag and put all the leaves into a Rubbermaid garbage can, put on a lid and I'm off to the green waste center, no bags harmed in this process. Where I would have had ten bags, I have a small garbage can full of mulched leaves. You could also use it as mulch for your garden, or compost it.

The best $60 I ever spent...

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caterpillar says "The SAME as high end dog food . . . really" about Kirkland (Costco) Dog Food

caterpillar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:41:30 GMT

I was feeding my dog high end dog food, the kind you have to go to a special store to get *caugh* CANIDAE. Then I heard that KIrkland food was nearly the EXACT same thing. I didn't belive it, but then I kept hearing it. SO, I checked it out. IT WAS TRUE. SO I traded spending $40 something on a bag to a meager $18. I felt a little guilty spending so little on my dog, so I just got her a few more toys! We're both happy, and she's healthy. Who could ask for anything more!

My sister was feeding cheap food to her two dogs and when the BIG SCARE about dog food went down, I insisted on buying her a bag of Kirkland food. Within a month she noticed that her dogs were much healthier; shinier coats, less shedding, less arthritis in the older dog, you name it! I also got my mom hooked. Now, when I go to Costco I look like the crazy dog lady stocking up on 3 bags!
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caterpillar says "Ug . . . not ANOTHER teen knitting book" about Not Another Teen Knitting Book

caterpillar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:30:02 GMT

I like that the author of this book is really keeping knitting hip for younger people. HOWEVER, the patterns in this book are pretty bad. I leafed through it and there is NOTHING I'd like to knit. Some of the patterns looked horrible on the models, like they were knit by 5 year olds, not teenagers.

OKAY, I should admit that I am a person in my 20's, not a teenager. BUT I am pretty hip - and I thought I would get this book and still like some of the patterns in my old age. I guess not. I think the knitgrrl line of books is much better.
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caterpillar says "The best dog ever . . . . despite what you read in the papers" about Dog Breed American Pitt Bull Terrier

caterpillar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:23:02 GMT

Consider rescuing an American Pit Bull Terrier. I did, and it's the best thing I did. We went to the pound to look for another dog, pit bulls weren't even on our radar. And we fell for a sad little 6 month old pup that we were forced to walk by. She has turned out to be amazing; easily trainable, friendly to EVERYONE, loyal, cuddly, charming, fun, even tempered, lovable . . . . I could go on.

Some things to know about pit bulls:

The DO have a lot of energy - you must walk them and play with them regularly. This is a dog that must be a part of your life. To put ANY dog on a short chain in a backyard is not only MEAN, but is asking for trouble.

They get a bad rap - they do not snap and kill their owners. The news media just loves hysteria. Since owning a pit bull, I have read many stories about this - usually finding with a little research that the dog was not actually a pit bull. The dog that chewed off the face of the woman in France was a LAB, people!

They CAN be aggressive to other...

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caterpillar says "Iron like a professional . . . . ironer . . . " about Euro Pro Steamer - GI490 with Auto Shut-off

caterpillar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:05:42 GMT

In my teenage years I worked part-time at a dry cleaners. I am now 28 years old and I STILL have envy over those FABULOUS irons they had! You were able to shoot steam at the push of a button! No crazy wrinkle had a chance, not even those ones that you inadvertently make while ironing. I've had a number of cheapy $10 irons since then, but recently purchased this gem at Costco.

The best feature is the steam, just like at the dry cleaners, at the push of a button. You can iron and push it when you get to a pesky spot, push it constantly (like I do) when you just want to iron in a hurry, or steam delicate garments while hanging. It also has a button to spray water on a spot (eliminating the water pistol), but I rarely use that one.

Pouring water in the damn iron is always a mess. Especially if you choose to do it OVER the garment your trying to iron on the board. This iron is ingenious in that a) it made it so you pour it in while the iron is lying flat, rather than on the top of the...

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caterpillar says "Great camera for the novice shooter." about Sony - Cyber-shot DSC-H7 Digital Camera

caterpillar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:19:12 GMT

I am actually a college student majoring in photography and this camera really helped in my digital class. Lets face it, everything is going digital, so it helps to know. HOWEVER, it really didn't meet my needs when it comes to the "PRO" arena.

First, when I got the camera I really didn't like the shape of it. It sounds vain, but it really isn't. I guess I just feel that camera shapes have been basically the same for so long for a reason. I like the SLR look, even if it's digital. I guess sony feels they need it to look "modern" for people to take it seriously. It also hangs really poorly on your neck. The lens is so heavy that it points directly downward, twisting the strap all funky. The heavy lens barrel also makes me worry about dropping the camera (which I'll admit, I do often). What do you think is going to hit first?

Another problem I had was with the macro capabilities. The macro only works when the lens is at wide angle. This causes such distortion in the photo to the point of...

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