By John, on October 7th, 2011 |
 When Phyllis and I married we received a Braun juicer as a wedding gift. We used it a few times but eventually it found its way to the back of the appliance closet where it sat undisturbed for a decade and a half. This summer, during one of my cleaning jags, I re-discovered that dusty old juicer and put it out on the curb for someone to claim.
Fast forward six weeks. Phyllis and are watching Netflix and stumble upon the “documentary” Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. In it, our host and protagonist aussie Joe Cross, who is obese and suffering from an autoimmune skin disorder, travels across the U.S. on a 60-day juice fast, all the while evangelizing the benefits of juicing to anyone that will hear him. Along the way he meets an overweight trucker who suffers from the same skin disorder. Needless to say, Joe and the trucker bond, both lose gobs of weight and everything turns out hunky dory for everyone. …continue reading
By John, on January 13th, 2011 |
 Every once in a while you get lucky and hit a home run. That’s exactly what happened when I bought my 14 year old daughter Emma a Cuisinart ICE-21R ice cream maker for Christmas. Ironically, the home run I hit was with my wife!
If you are thinking about getting your first ice cream maker and are reading this review as part of your due diligence I will make it simple: buy this product now, you will not be disappointed. For those looking for more detail, keep reading.
The Cuisinart ICE-21R ice cream maker is a very simple device consisting of a motorized base with an on/off switch, a freezing bowl, a mixing paddle and a clear outer cover with a hole in the top. In a nutshell, freeze the bowl for 24 hours in 0° F freezer, place the frozen bowl on the motorized base, place the mixing paddle in the bowl, cover the bowl with the outer cover, pour your chilled ingredients into the bowl, turn it on and watch it slowly spin for 15 to 30 minutes depending upon what ingredients you’re mixing and how cold they were to start. …continue reading
By John, on November 19th, 2010 |
 I love cars, I love driving. I freely admit to watching NASCAR, Formula One and Indy Racing League when given the opportunity. I’ve been an uninterrupted subscriber to Car & Driver for the past 25 years and I’m a graduate of Skip Barber Racing School. I’m a car guy through and through and I have been for as long as I can remember, dating back to elementary school when I would lust after the latest split window Corvette.
But I have a confession, I hate owning cars and increasingly, I dislike driving them too. It’s really not the cars or the act of driving that I dislike so much, it is the context in which I use my car and the costs that car ownership exacts from me. My daily 15 mile commute across town to work takes nearly an hour during which time I am besieged by inattentive and poorly trained drivers, traffic delays, construction projects and pedestrians with a death wish. I arrive at work frustrated and stressed out and then get to do it all over again eight hours later. …continue reading
By John, on November 18th, 2010 |
 I recently noticed ads for SunRun Solar popping up on this web site. As a supporter of solar energy, naturally I was intrigued, particularly since they claim they can install a solar power system for as little as zero dollars. The last time I looked into the cost of installing a 5kw system for mediaOrganic the net cost after all rebates and incentives was going to be about $28,000. That was two years ago. Admittedly, prices may have come down since then but Sun Run’s promise seemed a bit radical. So I clicked over to their web site to learn more.
According to a 2009 article in Forbes Magazine, SunRun sells something called a power purchase agreement, in which the homeowner agrees to buy the solar power generated on their roof at a fixed rate (the rate may increase a bit over time). The idea is that as electricity costs charged by utilities rise (they tend to increase about 4% a year), the SunRun customer will be paying less and less than they would have otherwise.
…continue reading
By John, on September 12th, 2010 |
 While we dabble in canning and preserving at mediaOrganic we are not big consumers of canned preserved foods. Instead, we prefer to freeze our produce for later use whenever possible. In a post a few weeks back I mused that the purchase of a freezer chest might be in the cards here at mediaOrganic. Yesterday, we became the satisfied owners of a GE FCM5SUWW 5.0 cu. ft. chest freezer purchased from Home Depot. We selected this model based on several considerations including available space, our anticipated needs today and in the future, online reviews, initial cost and annual operating costs. …continue reading
|
|
|
When Phyllis and I married we received a Braun juicer as a wedding gift. We used it a few times but eventually it found its way to the back of the appliance closet where it sat undisturbed for a decade and a half. This summer, during one of my cleaning jags, I re-discovered that dusty old juicer and put it out on the curb for someone to claim. 
recent Comments