So I'm sitting here reviewing some metrics for eNemesis via Google Analytics and a commercial comes on for this produce called "extenZe" which if you don't already know, is a penis enlargement "option."

I started wondering just how much of a sham this infomercial was so did a search to see if I could find any trash talk on the net about it.

I ended up finding the site in the "Source" link below. I have to say, I was damn surprised that someone went to the trouble to build this site.

Then the author added a section about what worked for him... Ha, wow.

Now that's nothing but trick nasty De'Rail!


-link

Labels: adventures in everett, jackassery, reviews, thoughts

I came across this article this morning on Windows Vista and the overall pros and cons of the new OS. Click the source link below for the full article, however I feel like this sums things up:

However, I wouldn't recommend it universally. After all, a C+ grade (or even a B-) means there are still substantial flaws, and Microsoft still has a lot of homework to make up. While I'm moving all the systems in the Basement to Vista over the next few weeks, I'm not upgrading my daughter's PCs quite yet. For them, and for most users, I'd probably wait for the first service pack.

This appears to be pretty sound advice if you ask me. I personally feel like I just want my computer to work rather than having to tinker around with stupid service issues or driver incompatibility problems.


-link

Labels: business is business, reviews, technology

So I bought a new razor yesterday, the Gillette Fusion. You can click the source link below if you want to go to their uber-brain wash website where they teach you why their razor is so great that you will think Jesus is a guy on the corner who sells flowers on holidays and window washes every other day of the week.

No shit...

So far I really like it, having used it once...

I found the 5 blades to be super smooth, and the single blade on the back was great for doing tight trims. I was very happy to see that they kept the "wash through" design of the blades in effect. It's nice to be able to run water along the back of the razor and have it push all of the hair out through the front.

This pack also came with a travel case in addition to the normal plastic tray that it sits in. I dig the travel case because I happen to be going to Portland, OR this weekend, but also because every time I travel and throw a bunch of bathroom crap in my toiletry bag, something wet like the soap container, or the razor after it is/was freshly used, causes everything to get wet.

There is just something about getting my razor wet in "unknown water" that creeps me out... I certainly don't want to run it against my face after that...

I think however, that I might want to go get the power version, which I guess they call the "Phantom." I had the M3 Power (green one) and I really liked that, so it makes me wonder what I'm missing by having the normal fusion razor... I'm positive that there has to be some capitalist elite feeling I will get from having a wet razor powered by a battery. I mean fuck, I can't let the Jones' catch up with me... because then I'll have to hand out punches to the neck, and that shit always gets so dirty...

If I find out anything else about the razor that I like/don't like, I'll be sure to let you know...


-link

Labels: adventures in everett, business is business, fresh to death, reviews, technology

That's right, I bought the Jawbone... and here's a real shocker (no not that kind), I love it!!

So far this headset has done everything the advertisements and "here say" said it would do. Yesterday, right after purchasing the headset, I was required to charge the unit for a mere two hours before use. No extended charging time of 18 hours, or even 5 hours before the first use... a good sign.

The unit comes with 5 different ear bud contouring shapes and 4 over the ear pieces. It is a tandem operation of over the ear hook and ear bud that keeps the device snugly attached to the side of your head.

Use of the device is super easy. The side of the device actually has two buttons. One is for the power/answer/voice dial functions, the other being for turning on/off the noise cancellation feature and manually adjusting the volume.

Oh snap, did I forget to mention that the volume is pretty much 100% self adjusting, with the exception of giving you the option to adjust it yourself if you don't like the setting that the Jawbone picked for you based on the ambient volume in the room/situation you are in.

So, now for the meat and potatoes of the review... yesterday evening, as I was driving to one friend's house and talking to another friend. The friend on the phone couldn't tell that I had my window rolled down... on the freeway!!! This has been a big problem in the past, and I'm super happy to say that it looks as though it's finally been resolved!!

I'll post more as I learn more, but I just wanted to get every one's mouth watering first...

...mission accomplished...

UPDATE 06/08/2007:

So I've been using the headset for a few days now, and I've noticed some really cool stuff, and some other things that I don't really like so much. I'll split them into two lists, the cool things and the not so cool things:

Cool things:

1. When my phone is out of bluetooth range, the headset gives me three quick beeps and then stops. My Motorola H800 continued beeping until it got back into range, something I found to be very annoying.
2. When I am on a call on my phone, and power the headset on, the call is instantly transferred to the headset. I mean INSTANTLY. My Motorola H800 would occasionally just not take the call over, and when it did... took forever to make it happen.
3. The noise reduction is by far the best I have seen. Yesterday I was in my car with the radio on, both windows open, my navigation unit spitting directions at me and coming down the freeway to boot... I was on the phone with my mom and she found it odd that I asked her if she could hear me. She found it odd because I was coming through CRYSTAL FUCKING CLEAR.. bitches...
4. The earpiece volume adjusts itself automatically, so I'm not constantly pressing up or down on the volume depending on the situation like I had to do with my H800.
5. The voice commands (a feature of the phone more than the headset) are picked up very well. I guess this basically means that the headset has an awesome microphone in it. Either way, I've never used my voice commands for anything before, simply because the phone never seems to recognize the command given after I have set it up. This could be due to a noisy environment, shitty software, whatever... the point is, I like it now.

Not so cool things:

1. There is a small rubber cover for the charging port that stays on as long as you don't bump it by accident. It's easy to bump it when adjusting the headset or pressing the button to turn off the noise cancellation or rotate through the volume settings. The rubber piece is so light, that unless you stop and look for it on the ground, you would have no idea that it even fell off. Bad design here.
2. The ear hooks come in two sizes, normal and large. Normal is too big for my ear so it leaves much of the "hold on for dear life" work to the rubber piece that goes into my ear canal. Not suitable for running or leaning forward to pick something up off of the ground. More bad design, or really just a lack of appropriate options. This could be solved by adding one more ear hook to the package that is smaller than the "normal" size.
3. While the self adjusting volume kicks ass, it doesn't always make the right choice on volume. This could be attributed to the headset not fitting snugly on my ear, and therefore being further away from my ear and thus requiring a louder volume to actually hear things. You have the option of "rotating" through 6 different volume settings by pressing and holding one of two buttons on the device. That's right, rotating... this means that you go from 1 to 6 and then back to 1 again. No reverse... no jumping to... just one direction rotation. It's this "pressing and holding" that inevitably causes me to dislodge the rubber cover on the rear of the device. Frustrating.
4. The ear hook for the device seems a bit fragile. I could be wrong here, but the connection for the ear hook seems like it might wear out as it's just a tension fit holding it in. Also, I am constantly worried about actually breaking the ear hook if I were to place the device in my pocket or were someone to step/sit on it as a result of me setting it somewhere while inside a house. This could be all me and my paranoid tendencies... either way I think the device would benefit from a more rubberized ear hook or a simple way to make the device more compact. I'm not sure how a folding ear hook would work, so probably making it out of a more malleable plastic/rubber as opposed to the current construction of metal and rubber would be sufficient.
5. There doesn't seem to be a mute button. Now I could be wrong, but I didn't see one in the documentation, nor have I found one accidentally during my use of the headset. The device only has two buttons, one on the rear of the device to control the noise reduction and the volume rotation. The other button is used to power on the device, answer calls, initiate the voice command prompt, end the call and power off the device. That's quite a few functions for one button if you think about it. If I had the choice, I don't think I would add another button to the configuration, but maybe employ a dual button press for the volume rotation thereby allowing room for a single press on the rear button for mute functionality during calls.

Anyhow, that's the remainder of my review. I hope this helps you make a decision. I opted to keep this headset so far, albeit the ear snugness issue for two reasons:

1. This headset received the best review on CNet, both from the writer of the review and from the users. It beat out the Plantronics Discovery 665 - 7.7 staff rating, 5.6 user review rating, and the Motorola H9 Miniblue - 7.7 staff rating, no user review ratings. The Aliph Jawbone (gray) received an 8.7 staff rating paired with a 7.6 user review rating. Pretty damn high to ignore.
2. The second reason is that this ear snugness issue is not permanent. Apparently some smart genius mother fucker found out that the Jabra ear gels will fit over the round rubber ear piece that comes with the Aliph Jawbone. I plan on getting a pack of those today, and I think this will allow me to possibly remove the ear hook if I wanted a super sleek look... we'll see. I mentioned that to a friend and the first thing he thought about was the device falling on the ground, and while the ear hook isn't snug, it does prevent that nasty result.

Now the review is really over... if this helps you, then awesome. If not.. then you should have stopped reading long before you got to this, the insult segment of the review. Only a moron would continue reading something useless to them, and then stay around to get ragged on... way to go prick face...

-link

Labels: a day in the life of, adventures in bothell, bitch killa, reviews, thoughts

Well, I ended up picking up that Magellan RoadMate 800 over the weekend for a stellar $155 out the door, thanks Brian!!

So far, I have absolutely no complaints! The device works great, the cradle/window mount is well designed and the software is very intuitive. Also, I noticed that it's great at re-calculating routes on the fly, doesn't take long at all.

I entered a couple of addresses that I already knew my way to right after I picked up the device, just so I could see how it worked. Later in the day I had the chance to enter an address that I actually had never been to and didn't really know the surrounding area of that well either.

This was a newer housing development, and much to my surprise, the device not only guided me right to the front of the house, but it also told me which way to turn my head as I was rolling down the street so that I could see the house. Effectively the device took me to the doorstep of my intended location.

Nothing but 5/5 rating for this device from me.

Oh I almost forgot, this thing is so fucking cool that I can literally type in "Starbucks" in the points of interest field, and it will give me a list of Starbucks within the radius that I specify and then I can just pick on and go. How fucking insane is that?


-link

Labels: bitch killa, car, gps, reviews

Cingular... fuck you. I paid my bill, then you shut me off 2 days later for non-pay, and here's where it gets really awesome, you take your online site down for the evening so I can't even pay my bill or review the balance to see why you think I need to be shut off.

Thanks, I will be cancelling my service as soon as I find a wireless company worth porting my number to. Oh yes, I WILL BE TAKING MY NUMBER YOU FAGGOT SHITHEAD COCK LICKERS.

Washington Mutual... fuck you too. I really think it's keen that you decided to stop sending me back my original cancelled checks... and decided to offer a service online where I can view them. Now if you could just actually fucking fix my online account, folks this thing has been broken for over 3 years with no resolution, then that might work out for me. Thanks for signing me up for your new service without asking, and without making sure that I actually have access to the Internet. I hope all of your banks catch fire and you go out of business. I will be closing my accounts very soon and moving over to BECU... because for some god forsaken reason it seems that airplane manufacturers treat their banking customers better than you, a bank, treats theirs... May you die of a perforated colon, caused by getting overly kinky with a homeless transvestite and a rusty metal pipe. Go to hell.


-link

Labels: adventures in everett, bitch killa, business is business, changes, reviews, stupid fuckers

I decided that I have to post about my extremely negative experience at Regal Cinemas Everett Mall Stadium 16.

I went to a movie last night, Alpha Dog, and while the movie itself was fair, the experience at the theater was definitely poor.

I will definitely take the blame for showing up late, and being forced to sit in the second row. I will even take the blame for allowing my eyes to be much larger than my stomach when I ordered the extra large tub of your super dry, almost stale, popcorn.

I had to stay on top of your 13 year old cashier when he attempted to fill my cup to the brim with ice. Look you little fuck, I don't even let bad ass bartenders get away with that queer shit. Try it again, I fucking dare you.. I'm just looking for an excuse to punch someone in the neck.

I will definitely have to admit, that above all else you really took the cake when you told my friend that she could re-enter when she asked if she could go to her car to get aspirin and then refused to let her back in when she returned. I really have to say, that takes balls. Even I don't have the nuts for that.

Now to all of my loyal readers, and anyone else who might stumble across this article when searching for reviews: Do NOT visit the Everett Mall Theater which is run by Regal Cinemas. The popcorn is dry and overpriced, the soda flat, and the service is by far the worst I have ever seen.


Thanks,

-link

Labels: adventures in everett, food, Regal Cinemas, reviews, thoughts