Reviews by edcarol

edcarol says "Good for joint pain but go generic" about Advil Advanced Medicine for Pain 200mg Tablets 24 Each

edcarol — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:48:46 GMT

I never could quite understand why some people insist on purchasing name-brand products when the formulas are identical. Why spend $7 for a bottle of Advil when you can get any number of generic varieties for less than half the price? I suppose it might have something to do with the placebo effect. Or maybe one time the brand name works and the generic doesn't. But just the opposite could have happened depending on the pain and the circumstances. With that aside, I have found ibuprofin particularly effective for pain other than headache. I have bad knees and Advil and the generic brands of ibuprofin are most effective in relieving pain, especially after a long day on my feet. If the pain is very bad, I'll usually take two. If the pain is moderate, one tablet usually is effective. This product will thin your blood and may cause stomach bleeding, so it's wise to use it judiciously. But let me repeat, purchase the generic brand from any reputable vendor.

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edcarol says "Next best thing to a dental hygienist" about Sonicare FlexCare RS930 with Sanitizer

edcarol — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:09:26 GMT

We've been using Sonicare toothbrushes for at least five years but recently had to replace the one we had because a long storage period while we were changing residences caused the battery to die. We replaced it with Sonicare's newest line of FlexCare brushes that come with a slimmer brush stem. This machine not only does a good job of cleaning your teeth and gums, but it massages the gums and let's you effortlessly brush your teeth and gums the way dentists instruct. What I don't like about this product is that it comes with one standard brush and one compact brush. Why not include two standard brushes so that at least two people can share the machine with a standard brush without having to purchase additional accessories. One nice thing about the FlexCare is that it includes an ultraviolet sanitizer that allows you to prevent "yuck" from growing on your brushes between uses. It also comes with a compact travel charger and case so that taking the machine along on vacations and business...

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edcarol says "When introduced, the best shaving machine ever" about Gillette Mach 3 Refillable and Disposable Razors

edcarol — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:58:49 GMT

I've been using this razor and blades for at least seven years and have always felt like it delivered a superior performance shave. Since it was introduced, both Gillette and Schick have come out with similar products, all of which work well and are comparable. But the Mach 3 got the ball rolling. I generally use blades until they start to nick and cut my face. Prior to the Mach 3, this used to happen after 10-15 shaves. The Mach 3 blades deliver 40-50 shaves before the blade needs to be replaced and there is virtually no decline in performance for the first 20 or so shaves. I've used the Turbo blades, which are a tad more expensive and haven't really noticed a difference in performance. If there's any downside to the Mach 3 system and the iterations that have come after, it's that the blades are very expensive. But when you consider the potential shaves per blade and the comfort of the shaves, it's money economically spent.

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edcarol says "A versatile cooking machine" about General Electric SCA1000HWW 900 Watts Microwave Oven

edcarol — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:48:36 GMT

Our family actually has two microwave ovens. We use a simple one for everyday items such as popcorn. We use the GE SCA1000 Advantium 1.4 Cu. Ft. Over the Range Microwave Oven for "cooking on steroids." The good news about this oven is that it does a lot of things really well. The bad news is that you will actually have to read the owner's manual to figure out how to cook with it. It does both conventional and microwave cooking. You have to train yourself to use the glass tray for microwave cooking and the metal tray for conventional cooking. The sensor in the oven seems to work well. We've put cups of coffee at several different temperatures into the oven for reheating. The coffee has always come out at the correct temperature. Once you read the instructions, the operation of the oven is actually quite simple. We look forward to giving the oven more tests and challenges and feel confident that the results will continue to be satisfactory.

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edcarol says "Good looking and functional refrigerator" about LG Refrigerator Model LFX21971ST

edcarol — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:35:35 GMT

We wanted a French door, bottom freezer refrigerator and had looked at several models offered by LG. This one fit the bill and came with the bonus of water and ice dispensers built into the door. We were also able to get a slightly (and I mean slightly) blemished model at Appliances Direct for roughly one-third of the usual selling price. And it came with a full factory warranty. We've had several refrigerators with built-in ice dispensing and none of them work as well as you would like. This one is no exception and you are forced to use cube ice to keep the dispensing fairly neat. The crushed ice wants to go everywhere. Also, it is difficult if not impossible to retrieve ice manually from the bin. On the other hand, we have found the separate button option for dispensing chilled water to be very convenient. My biggest complaint about this refrigerator are the LED interior lights. When they blow, they will cost in the neighborhood of $75 to replace each. What were they thinking? Of course...

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edcarol says "You might like this book better than O'Reilly" about Bill O'Reilly - A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity: A Memoir

edcarol — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:17:07 GMT

As an avid listener of books on tape, I've adopted several favorites when it comes to narrators. Sometimes the biggest mistake an author can make is when he or she decides to narrate their own work. Narrating books is a true art and books can lose or gain stars simply because of the ability of the narrator. That wasn't a problem with A Bold Fresh Piece of Reality. You wouldn't want to hear anyone but O'Reilly narrate this work. O'Reilly even sounds a little bit like George Carlin in this one. This is especially true in the chapter on things he doesn't understand. Having grown up in a similar time, place and circumstance to the bloviator, I was able to identify and chuckle at some of his exploits. My guess is that he has embellished some of his experiences but don't we all when telling stories about our upbringing. Getting to know O'Reilly a little better made him a little more likable for me. The book was better than expected.

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edcarol says "Lives up to the reviewers' hype" about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

edcarol — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:03:46 GMT

I've been listening to books on tape for more than three years now (through audible.com) and have become addicted. I'm currently on my 118th listen. When I read all the glowing reviews for this novel, I expected that it was a result of readers jumping on the bandwagon and praising a book only because others had. Then I listened to it and climbed aboard. I, like Mikael Blomkvist, had trouble keeping up with all the members of the Vanger family. I also had some difficulty recognizing and recalling names and places that were Swedish words and/or pronunciations. I got by those challenges and was throughly engrossed by Larsson's story. The characters were simply marvelous and Larsson had a way of making unusual events seem believable. The mystery itself is not that hard to figure it out. The fun is trying to determine how it will unravel. I am hopeful that Audible gets the sequels to this story very soon. The 16+ hours shot by. I wanted more. An excellent listen.

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edcarol says "For the money, this oven performs exceptionally well." about GE sensor microwave Model: JES1651SJ

edcarol — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:53:46 GMT

We already own a GE Advantium microwave oven but wanted one with less bells and whistles for everyday use. We wanted something more than a bottom-of-the-line oven and looks were important. While shopping at Lowe's we discovered this 1.6 cubic feet GE Sensor microwave oven. It was selling for $154. It has a stainless finish, which melded with our kitchen decor and was large enough to be functional but not too large to fit into the space we had available. The programming of the oven is quite simple, usually requiring you to input "time cook," the actual time, "power level" and then start. The one-touch programs are right on, especially the one for popcorn. The oven senses the size of the bag and we get perfect popcorn nearly every time. If I have one complaint about the microwave, it's that the power levels operate by turning full power on and off instead of reducing the power. So, for example, if you want to cook something at 50 percent power it gets zapped at full power for about 15 seconds...

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