Second June Vine Offering

The "leftovers" Vine selections for June came out last Thursday, and I thought I'd give you the lowdown on my next Vine items. For the first time, they have offered an audio book, Martin Misunderstood. I haven't listened to a narrated book like this before, and the story sounded interesting. My other selection was a comedy DVD called The Grand. The preview on the product page looked pretty funny. We'll probably watch this over the weekend.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: Emerald Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews

My review of the Emerald Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews is now up on Amazon for your reading pleasure. As with the O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice, these turned out to be rather unique. If you had an ice cold beer to go with them, I could see it being very easy to eat the entire canister of these cashews.

In other news, the June Vine leftovers become available later this afternoon. I'll keep you posted as to what my next review items will be.

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice

My review of the O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice is hot off the press. It was an interesting drink, but I wasn't able to draw good conclusions based on one sample. I didn't hate it, but I'm not sure if it is something I would pay $2.40 a pop for either.

Until next time...
PH

June on the Vine

Thursday brought the first newsletter from Vine for the month of June. As always I never know quite what to expect. My initial list was limited this month so my selections are both in the grocery category. Be on the lookout for reviews of Emerald Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews and O.N.E. Coffee Berry Juice. I expect to have both of these reviewed by around the end of the week. This Thursday we'll see what additional items they are going to make available.

Until next time...
PH

Hypermiling

Is anyone else feeling the pain from almost $4 a gallon at the pump? It does make me cringe to think back to the summer of 1997 after I graduated from college. I was paying $0.94 per gallon at the Phillips station just up the road from my apartment. Ah, the good ol' days!

While few things can offset an increase by a factor of 4 in an essential commodity, every little bit helps. I recently read an article in the Star Telegram about hypermiling. There are some pretty lofty numbers thrown about, but some of these things made sense.

I've been doing a limited hypermiling test for two weeks now, and the results are not bad. I have made two adjustments. The first was the hardest, but it probably also had the bigger impact. I have cut my speed back to 60 mph on the highway. This has added less than five minutes to my commute each way - hardly noticeable. The second change that I've made is trying to coast as much as possible. The place that I can always do this is turning into my neighborhood. It is 0.3 of a mile from the neighborhood entrance to our house. After turning in I am able to coast the remainder of the way into the driveway with minimal breaking. The other place that lends itself well to this is highway exit ramps - especially the long ones. Coasting also has the side benefits of being easier on your breaks.

So the real question is this, is it worth it? My results are modest but real. I have increased my mpg from 27.5 to 30.5 over the last two weeks. At $3.88 per gallon traveling 750 miles in that span I've saved a little over $10. I could probably go even higher, but some of the recommendations seem more risky. Turning off the engine in a regular car seems like it would be hard on the starter. I'd love to hear from anyone who's been trying hypermiling.

Until next time...
PH

Free MP3 Songs

The "f" word (no, not that one) tends to get people's attention. I stumbled across some songs that were available for free on Amazon's MP3 Downloads section. The majority of them were from artists that I had not heard of. You can usually find one on the front page on the previous link. Once you find one, got to it's page where you can listen to a 30 second preview. I have to admit that some of the ones I found didn't get past the preview. That says something if a 30 second preview turns away people who would be getting the song for free!

The key to finding the second, third, and so on, is the " Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section. It turns out that people who "bought" one free song "bought" a lot of other free songs too.

Here's a rundown of what I downloaded a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, some of these are no longer free.

Recommended:

That's What Love Will Make You Do by Janiva Magness (Great female blues artist that I was already familiar with)
Asking For Flowers by Kathleen Edwards (Alt country singer/songwriter that I was already familiar with)
Hypnotized by Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater (Really good blues)

Still on my MP3 Player:

Paralyzed by Bob Mould (Rock singer, I'm on the fence on keeping this one)
Black Winged Bird by Nina Persson (Mellow alternative rock song)
Lay Back Down by Eric Lyndell (More blues, but a little more mellow)
To Be Loved by Joan As Police Woman (Kind of a sappy ballad, but I don't hate it)
Snow Day by Lisa Loeb (She's pretty well known)
You Cheated Me by Martha Wainwright (Pop song, probably on the way out...)
Alice by Torben Waldorff (Jazz instrumental piece)

Already deleted from my MP3 Player:

It Must Be Me by The Whitsundays (Stinky bad pop - what was I thinking?)
Soul On Fire by Spiritualized (Ditto)
Dead Sound by The Raveonettes (Bad punk rock)

Happy hunting!

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Review: American Myth

A couple of months ago, I was able to select the CD Giving Up The Ghost by Jackie Greene. Unlike many of the artists who participate in Vine, Greene had recorded previous CDs. I recently picked up his previous CD American Myth, and I've published my review. Jackie Greene has quickly become one of my favorite artists, and I'm hoping to catch him in concert if he ever makes his way through DFW. Enjoy!

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: Vexille

Well folks, my review of the DVD Vexille is hot off the press. I found this to be a pleasant surprise as it is not just simply a cartoon. Actually it is anything but your typical cartoon. I wouldn't recommend it for younger viewers. June's newsletter comes out next Thursday so we'll see what the next items up for bid will be.

Until next time...
PH

Waiting...

Have you ever noticed how much of your life you spend waiting for something? I'm sitting in the lobby at 24 Hour Fitness waiting to sign up for a Pilates Reformer class. There are only 10 slots, and this is the only evening class all week. The sign up sheet goes out at 6:30, but you have to come early and get in line prior to that. It's a worthwhile class, so I don't mind doing it once a week.

However it made me think about waiting in general, and I've found that I do a lot of it. I wait - as many of you do - in traffic or at stop lights. I wait for meetings to start at work - they never start on time.

While patience is a virtue, most waiting seems wasteful. Do you ever encounter the "hurry up and wait"?

Until next time...
PH

Blogging on the Road

I'm trying blogging on the go this afternoon. I didn't bring any reading material to Starbucks this afternoon so I thought I'd give this a shot.

Yesterday I was at Target, and I saw something sad. Many people my age had a sock monkey stuffed animal that our mother or someone we knew made for us. While passing the toys, I saw a sock monkey. To me this ranks up there with premade rice krispy treats. Are we not able to do even the simplest things for ourselves anymore? As a kid these things were special because someone close to you made them for you. Perhaps I'm just being old fashioned. What do you think? What other common things are available for sale these days that used to be special because they were homemade?

Until next time...
PH

Scattershooting Sunday

Fasten your seat belts, folks. It's time for another whirlwind edition of "Scattershooting Sunday".

Last night we gathered with the Paslay clan at the Islamorada Fish Company in Mesquite to celebrate Dad's 66th Birthday. We had a nice meal and visit at a very leisurely pace. We were in a side room at one end of the giant fish tank, and we dined at our own pace allowing the conversation to drive the pace.

My Elbow CD from Vine came in last Tuesday, and my review is hot off the press. This won't be a CD for everyone, but I liked it for the most part. It's yet another one to add to the list of CDs that I never would have found on my own, but that's the thing I like the most about Vine. I love music, and I'm always game for giving a new artist a spin in the CD player (and moving them over to my MP3 player if they pass muster).

Speaking of music I discovered on Vine, William Wisely is gentleman and a scholar (or maybe it should be artist in this case). After finishing my review of his CD, I dropped him a note on his web page thinking him for participating in the Vine program and letting him know that I had enjoyed his CD. I also offered to put up a poster in my office to promote his CD. He agreed and asked for my address. I checked the mail when I got home Friday, and I found an envelope from him in the mailbox. Much to my surprise, he set two posters, a couple of stickers, and a copy of his EP "Between the X's and the O's" that he recorded on the side while recording his major release. It is a stripped down, mostly acoustic CD that has four songs from his CD and, according to his web site, "some brand new songs destined for future albums". It was refreshing to come across a very down-to-earth person in the entertainment industry. If he ever makes it big, I hope that it doesn't change him.

Is the price of gas giving anyone else the blues? We have started looking for a replacement for the Altima, and this has proved an interesting experience. I started with research through Consumer Reports and Vehix. I narrowed it down to three candidates: the Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic. This was the first time that I have gone into it with more than one car under serious consideration. Friday afternoon I hit a couple of dealers on the way home, and I drove a Sentra and a Corolla. The Corolla had plenty of legroom, but the center console sticks out to far into the driver's side, and it cut right across my right leg in an uncomfortable way. I was undecided on the Sentra.

Yesterday Christy and I went to a Honda dealership and a different Nissan location to drive the Civic and to revisit the Sentra. We went to Huggins Honda, and that was one of the most pleasant experiences I've had at a dealership when I wasn't buying. The salesman was very thorough, and he was understanding that we were comparing cars and not ready to make a decision yesterday. He never put on the classic "hard sell" that you expect. Don't worry. The two Nissan dealerships and Toyota dealership more than made up for his share. Even after telling the Toyota salesman that the Corolla was a nonstarter, he still made a hard sell including financing options. He also called and left a message on our answering machine later that same evening! Both Nissan places had similar unknowledgeable salesmen. The one on Saturday didn't even know that the Sentra came in an SL model, but that didn't stop him from making the hardest sales pitch in the history of ever. Two minutes into the test drive, he asked me if I was ready to buy it. It went downhill from there.

Since I had no intention of actually buying this weekend, the salesmen didn't impact my decision. I have to tell you that the Civic is a nice car. Honda seems to be where Nissan was about six or seven years ago, and they are actually trying to make their cars more visually appealing. Combine that with the best gas mileage, best maintenance schedule, and the best driving car of the three, it made for a pretty easy decision. Now it's just a matter of when the right time will be. Stay tuned for a future blog entry with an update after purchase.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to print along with some that probably isn't.

Until next time...
PH