Product Review Ratings

In three years, I went from the failed Task Force Electric Pressure Washer to the Costco Simpson Pressure Washer with a Honda Engine. I've been without a pressure washer for two years thanks to the extremely poor quality of the Task Force. The Task Force worked good enough the first couple of times to make me realize how valuable it is to own a pressure washer. Just make sure you get one that lasts. The negative reviews on the Task Force speak for themselves. Don't get a Task Force Pressure Washer. So far, the difference is like night and day. It's important to note a couple of things: For one, the Honda Gas-Powered pressure washer you see at Costco has a Honda engine, but is not entirely made by Honda. While Honda has a great reputation for building quality products, we need to keep in mind that they cannot control everything that has their name on it. They build the engines for lawn mowers, power washers and other kinds of equipment. Before we get to the review, I need to answer the all important question that comes up with Electric Pressure Washers vs. Gas Powered Pressure Washers. Read the rest of this entry

Vodka made with potatoes tend to be my favorites.  There are two reasons I prefer them:

One: Since potatoes are a gluten-free starch, vodkas made from potatoes are healthier for those who have an intolerance or experience adverse reactions to gluten-based foods. If you like having a couple of martinis every day, this is an important consideration to make when choosing a brand of vodka.

Two: I've tried enough different brands to become convinced that I prefer the taste of vodka made from potatoes. Monopolowa vodka is no exception. It might not be quite as smooth as the Blue Ice, but it has other characteristics that have quickly endeared me to this brand. <!--more-->

Monopowola Vodka Described

Monopolowa vodka is a popular imported potato vodka from Austria. I've noticed over the years, that Monopolowa is often the recommended vodka choice for customers at my local, Apple Jacks liquor store. At $26.00 for a 1.75 Liter bottle, it is a reasonable alternative to those pricier, over-rated tier-1 brands like Grey Goose. For me, even $26.00 represents a rather, high-priced vodka, so I've held off trying it up until now. The sale for $19.99 made Monopolowa too good to resist trying so I picked up a bottle. I loved the last couple of vodka brands I've had that were made from potatoes, so I looked forward to taking it home and having Monopolowa martinis.

Monopolowa Vodka Taste Rating

- 3.7 Stars
Once again, it has been proven to me that vodka made from potatoes are my favorites and make especially good martinis. I poured the first sip, neat and at room temperature into my glass and took a quick shot. The Monopolowa is not quite as smooth as the Blue Ice, but has a little more character. I noted white pepper, vanilla, caramel; another spice that I couldn't quite identify, and even a hint of potato peel. Shaken and poured into a glass with a couple of olives, and lightly coated with trubuno vermouth, the Monopolowa makes an excellent martini.

The Oster Digital Toaster Oven pictured to the left is the third Toaster Oven appliance that I've owned in the past four years. My previous two toaster  (The Europro and Black & Decker) are in the trash because they were both lousy for mostly the same reasons: They burned toast, they were difficult to use and they were messy. In fact, the Black & Decker went out with the garbage simply because some butter got inside the burners on the bottom, causing it to wreak of smoke and horrible fumes every time it was used. It was truly a horrible design. The worst part of both of the above toasters is that their analog dials made it nearly impossible to consistently toast bread without burning it. The only way to truly toast bread at the same consistency every time would be to have a digital timer. So, if you want to toast bread exactly 3:00 to get it medium brown, that's exactly what you'll get every time.  From the appearance of the Oster Digital Toaster oven, it would at least solve two problems of the previous two losers: One, there is a digital timer. Two, there are no slotted holes places for butter, cheese and crumbs to fall into and burn. By appearance, the Oster Toaster oven seems to have solved my two main problems. But appearance can be deceiving - how well does it actually work?  Read the rest of this entry

If you never have owned a cordless impact driver then perhaps you are like me and don't know what you are missing. For years, I've tinkered around with inferior power tools. From my horribly under-powered cordless, Ryobi screwdriver to my cheesy, 12-volt Skil Power Drill. These tools have lasted long enough for me to spend plenty of years cussing at how meek and timid they are whenever I needed to get s simple job done around or outside of the house.  The screwdriver served its purpose for a while, but there are times when you just need a little more ump to drive some screws into places. The Skil 12-Volt drill seemed like a great deal. I paid about $50 for it at Home Depot and it came with two batteries and a keyless chuck. The Skil 12-Volt Drill, however, had three major problems:

• It is a pain to pull the battery in and out.
• It's big, clunky and no good for tight places
• The batteries wear down, even when you're not using them

It dawned on me, that I do more driving than drilling. I had never heard of an impact driver before until my brother-in-law showed me his cordless Dewalt driver and sold me on how useful it is. I'm not much of a handy-man like my brother-in-law, so I let him explain to me what it could do for me and why I might want one.
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If you haven't heard of Three Olives Vodka it's not due to a shortage of advertising. You may have seen the advertisement of a popular male actor in your newspaper or one of your magazines recently. Vodka companies are known for advertising sexy female models with their products, but Three Olives Vodka seems to be going after sophistication and class. Three Olives seems to be marketed as a high-end vodka with an affordable price tag. I purchased a 1.75 Liter bottle of Three Olives from Costco for a price of $20.00. Since this particular liquor store has extremely competitive priced, I would imagine the typical street price is around $23-$25.00 per 1.75 Liter.  Read the rest of this entry