Reviews by kbrisky77

kbrisky77 says "Satisfied so far" about Toshiba satellite a305-s6825

kbrisky77 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:02:02 GMT

Not being a gamer, programmer, techie or other type of geek (used in the positive sense) I am satisfied with the performance I've gotten from this laptop.

I'll start with my only complaint, one night I left the top closed, my cat walked over it, and the screen cracked. I had to argue long and hard to get Best Buy to honor the extended "everything is covered, even accidental damage" warranty they had sold me only two months previous, but finally they fixed it. When I got it back, there is one single pixel which is bad, and they now refuse to fix. I understand this is mostly a complaint about Best Buy, but still, if the computer had been able to stand up to an eight pound cat to begin with, I wouldn't have had the trouble.

Pros are that everything still works (other than the one single pixel) nearly a year after purchase, it still runs fast, and still does everything I ask it to. The wireless is great, it was easy to set up and now I can use internet anywhere in my (admittedly small)...

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kbrisky77 says "I've been a fan for years" about Mary Kay Satin Hands Pampering Set

kbrisky77 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:46:41 GMT

I've been using Satin Hands through several different "formulas" now. Originally I had one that was unscented, and had four steps, the greasy night cream, shower gel, scrubby and hand lotion.

Then there was the Terme d Isola scent, which was the same except the shower gel and scrubby were scented.

Now they have removed the shower gel from the package and changed the scent. I have to admit that I prefer the new scent over the terme d isola one, but I do miss my original unscented formulas.

Removing the shower gel has not had any effect on how well it works, I think the scrubby gets me just as clean as the shower gel always did.

The first step of Extra Emollient Night cream always deeply moisturizes my dry, dry bookseller hands (its amazing how dry your hands can get handling books all day!). The scrubby step removes any trace of the greasiness from the first step and sloughs off all the dead skin left behind. Lastly, the hand cream seems to keep the moisture in pretty well,...

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kbrisky77 says "leaves me soft and smooth" about Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Set

kbrisky77 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:21:48 GMT

To be upfront, I am not into heavy duty, time consuming skin care. My face considers itself lucky to be rinsed off in the shower, and makeup is not part of my daily routine.

But, this means that when I do start to feel like my skin is getting too neglected, I want something good to put on it. Mary Kay has consistently been the best for me. Now I will cleanse using the Timewise cleanser then use the Microdermabrasion set to get down to clean, new, healthy skin underneath all the old buildup I've been letting go for a week or two.

After using the Microdermabrasion I really do feel that my skin is softer and just feels better than before I started. I can feel the first step sloughing off dead skin cells, and the second step really helps me feel refreshed.

Make sure that your skin is damp enough while using the first step, I have occasionally had to dampen my fingers again while rubbing it in, or else it feels TOO rough. But the second step always calms my face right down again....

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kbrisky77 says "I love my pizza stone!" about Pampered Chef Stoneware

kbrisky77 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:11:33 GMT

Despite the fact that I don't spend much time in the kitchen, I love baking anything on my Pampered Chef pizza stone. I have made pizzas, cookies, cinnamon rolls, even turnovers on my stone, and everything turns out great.

Turnovers have been a special challenge for me, I just get the frozen ones from the grocery store, and when I tried cooking them on a traditional cookie sheet the bottom nearly always got too dark if not burned outright. On the pizza stone I once accidentally left them in a few minutes too long and even though the tops got dark, the bottom contacting the pizza stone had been consistent enough temperature that it was still perfect in color and taste.

I do have to be more careful than I usually care to be about breaking it, my cat did break a pampered chef stoneware baking dish once, but I love the fact that cleanup is so easy. Just scrape off particles with one of the provided scrapers, and rinse with water. Remember not to use soap!

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kbrisky77 says "Great player for the Money." about Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-Ray Player

kbrisky77 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:02:07 GMT

The Samsung BD-1500 blu ray player has satisfied my basic wants in a blu ray player quite nicely. It was well within my price range, I paid $187 for the player and four discs, it loads blu ray discs quickly enough that I don't get frustrated, and the picture I get is utterly fantastic.

My only complaint is one that may even apply to all players, I don't know, this is the first I've owned, and the complaint is that it takes longer than I would like to switch between menus and to get to the menu choice I've made. For example, if I choose Special Features, it spins for a bit, then the screen blanks for a few seconds, then it spins again, and the special features appear. Then when I choose which special feature I want to see, it spins for a bit, the screen goes blank for a few seconds, it spins again before starting the feature.

Overall I have greatly enjoyed watching movies on my player, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good basic player who didn't need lots of bells...

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kbrisky77 says "Definitely worth the few (very few) extra bucks over Caribbean" about Royal Caribbean - Enchantment of the Seas Cozumel & Key West

kbrisky77 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:59:45 GMT

I've been on two cruises now, one on Royal Caribbean (someone else was buying) and one on Carnival (I had to be budget conscious). When planning my third cruise, I looked at both lines again and once I realized the price difference between the two was minimal, I definitely narrowed my search within RC. The food was amazing without being too pretentious, the servers were the warmest, friendliest servers I have ever encountered anywhere, our room steward was very concientious in anticipating our needs (I slept with my head at what would normally be the foot of the bed, and by the second day he saw the way I left my bed messed and started making it the way I wanted it!). And there was always a cute little towel animal left for us when we got back from our day's adventures. At the end of the cruise, they made disembarkation as painless as possible, among the pros was that our bill was accurate regarding our onboard purchases. The staff there to help with shopping was knowledgeable......

kbrisky77 says "fascinating to see the clips that were taken out for syndication" about I Love Lucy The Complete Series

kbrisky77 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:46:21 GMT

I am only halfway through right now (it takes a lot of time to watch that much Lucy) but I always look forward to getting to see the extras at the end of the disc. I love watching for the flubs that they show you later, and I have actually caught a few on my own! Lucy's comedy is still funny today, and this set is great for a light-hearted afternoon of tv watching....

kbrisky77 says "The whole series is great" about The Outlaw Demon Wails

kbrisky77 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:43:25 GMT

Kim Harrison's series starting with "Every Which Way but Dead" is great. (Outlaw Demon Wails is the most recently published as of this review) The heroine is very believable, always having realistic reactions to danger (duck and get out) but overcomes her fears and pulls out what needs to get the job done. The character development for her friends and allies is also great. I love seeing a character who builds such strong friendships and fights to keep them even when it is a struggle....

kbrisky77 says "Smelly Good!" about Yankee Candle Jar Candles

kbrisky77 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:38:52 GMT

My only complaint about Yankee Candle is the price, but I sale shop there every chance I get! The Jar candles smell awesome, for the whole burning of the candle. The great accessories make me feel safe burning a candle in a house with a stupid cat. I just put the little lampshade on top of my jar candle, and he can't back is fluffy tail into the fire. The employees in stores have always been really nice to me, pointing out bargains, and they even let me know when my favorite scent was reintroduced for a limited time so I could stock up....

kbrisky77 says "inconsistency is their middle name" about Best Buy

kbrisky77 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:34:00 GMT

Regarding the customer service at Best Buy, until about two weeks ago I would have given them at least 4.5 stars. They are only getting three now because they still have the chance to redeem themselves, or else it would be a 1. It seems that with small things they will go out of their way to help, find you items, transfer between stores, but when someone messes up big time regarding a big ticket item, suddenly they become very good at finding different phrases that all mean "I can't (I read won't) help you with that." When buying a laptop about three months ago, I was told all about a great extended warranty that covers everything except water damage. "Even if you drop it and it breaks, its covered." When the screen cracked, I took it back to the geek squad with every confidence that they would get it fixed for me. I was wrong. After three trips in person and one phone call (when the rep I was talking to hung up on me when I was not swearing and not yelling at him) they told......