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