The coldest winter I ever spent
Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category.
Growing out front of Jessica’s house in the Berkeley hills are the best artichokes.
I’ve told people how it’s almost an artichoke tree and people don’t believe me. That highest artichoke in the picture is about 9 feet above the roots!
They taste fantastic. The tips of the leaves don’t have the barbs that normal artichokes do. I don’t have to be nearly as careful to not puncture my tongue as I normally do.
Yum!
I’m 5 lessons into a 400 lesson set from Video-Tutorials.net. And dang it if SolidWorks isn’t totally cool.
I like the lessons. It’s a woman speaking with a live screen capture of her driving SolidWorks 2007. The presenter has a nice voice, she’s mostly all about business but there are a few tiny flubs to prove that she’s human, it’s well edited and it’s of course nice that I can either do what she does or just watch what she’s doing and replay the video.
I bought the 3 CD tutorial on eBay or Amazon or someplace for $50.
I just got done with another Etherpad collaboration. Gosh darn, Etherpad works well.
Marnia and I were making a shopping list for some robots we are building this weekend. She’s in San Mateo, I’m in San Francisco. Over the phone (with headsets) and with Etherpad, we hacked out a list, exchanged links to websites we were considering shopping, and had a finished shopping list in a few minutes. Since we each had our own computer to work on, the collaboration may have taken a tiny bit LESS time than if we had done it in person. That’s weird.
Charlotte and I had a bad pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream a little while back. From my letter:
On about 4-15-09 my girlfriend and I bought a pint of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough at the convenience store at…
We found that it had less chocolate chips and cookie dough than we’ve had in the past. We weren’t very happy with it.
We know that you make a fine product and this was probably an anomaly but we thought you should know.
Thank you…
I included a photo of the ice cream we ate.
Last week I got back this letter.
…and Annie (from the letter) included 2 coupons a free pint of Ben and Jerry’s and a $0.55 coupon off any Ben and Jerry’s product.
This is a fabulous letter. Why? Because it turns a problem into an opportunity for them to make me into a customer for life.
Let me count the ways:
This is the kind of stuff I have read about in Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point”.
Ben and Jerry’s has great customer service. I should remind you, the reader that Ben and Jerry’s is owned by Unilever, a multi-national conglomerate with 174,000 employees. They are, by some accounts “a big evil corporation”. Well darn it if we don’t need more of them!
Hurray! One of my all-time favorite comedy-gore movies, Psychos in Love is out on DVD!
This 1987 masterpiece was released on DVD just last week and it’ll be on Netflix tomorrow!
Here’s a pretty good fan-made trailer!
A friend of mine introduced me to a new project he’s working on. As the website touts, Etherpad is really real-time collaboration. It lets multiple people work on the same document simultaneously.
I used it to great effect working on a recent document collaboration. I collaborated with 2 other people, making a proposal for the San Francisco Unified School District. Sometimes we worked in person on multiple laptop computers in a coffee shop. Sometimes we worked completely online, using the tools chat functionality. It worked well both ways.
And it is really a hoot watching someone type on their computer and have the each character appear on my screen in realtime, just 1 second delayed.
The product is very new but it accomplishes its core functionality flawlessly. Try Etherpad.
Zetaclear is a scam.
To start with, just look at the ingredients in ZetaClear Clear Nails Solution as mentioned on their website (in order of prevelance).
Undecylenic Acid - That’s a fancy word for “vinegar”. $1.50/gallon at the supermarket. Yes, vinegar helps remove keratin. Read more.
Tea Tree Oil - It’s a pretty good natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. It might help with your nail fungus but it costs $5 for 8 oz, not $30 for 0.5 oz plus shipping!
Clove Oil - smells nice. Kills fungus? Not so much.
Almond Oil - nice oil for back rubs…
Jojoba Oil - wha?
Vitamin E Oil - Good for lots of things. But not for fungus.
Lemongrass Oil - Smells nice on Thai food. Not so much help with fungus.
——————
Zetaclear Nail Fungus Relief Homeopathic Spray
Ok, then they have this ZetaClear Oral Homeopathic Spray. This is… Need I remind you that homeopathy is quackery? I’m not talking about herbal medicine here but homeopathy. If you still want to buy ZetaClear Homeopathic Spray… man, I’m not stopping you!
Ingredients in Zetaclear Nail Fungus Relief Homeopathic Spray from their web site
Antimonium Curdum 200C
Arsenicum Album 200C
Mancinella 30C
Nitricum Acidum 30C
Sulphur 12X
Thuja Occidentalis 200C (Arbor Vitæ)
Inactive Ingredients: Alcohol 20% v/v, Purified water.
Just a homeopathic reminder, this product is 20% alcohol, 99.999999999999% water. All the rest is potent medicine! ;-)
Return Policy
Take a look and see that the company’s return policy charges $10 per bottle restocking fee and doesn’t include return shipping. The stuff doesn’t cost $10/bottle to make! So, when it turns out that it doesn’t work, even AFTER you return it and gotten your partial refund, they will have made money on the deal.
Here is the full text of their TERRIBLE return policy:
7. 90 Day Return Policy:
We take great pride in the superior quality of our products and want you to be pleased with your purchase. We believe in offering the very best value, quality and selection to our customers. You may return any unused and unopened item purchased from us for any reason within Ninety (90) days of your purchase. If you purchased your merchandise through a “Buy Three, Get Three Free” or similar offer, all items must be returned in order to receive a refund. If you return a partial amount of merchandise, you will forfeit the free product and receive a refund on the discount price per item based on the total purchase.
Your complete satisfaction is our ultimate goal. You may return any item shipped by HealthBuy.com or GSCM fulfillment, keeping the following in mind:
* You should return the item to us within 90 days of your purchase date.
* There is a $10.00 restocking fee for each unopened item ($5 if item was less than $20).
* We do not accept items back that have been opened or used. Opened Items are Non Refundable.
* Shipping and Handling Fees are Non Refundable.
Example: If you purchase 1 bottle for the price of $39.95, and returned one unused, or unopened, bottle you would receive a refund (less the restocking fee of $10) for a net refund of $29.95.
To request a refund you must obtain an RMA (Return Authorization). Requests must be made online and submitted with your order information and explanation of the why you wish to return the product. You will recieve your RMA via email once our customer service department has identified your eligibility for a return under our policy. Please do not call for an RMA. If you return your product without a RMA number you will not be refunded. Shipping and handling charges are non-refundable. For returns via mail, you must carefully package the product, you are responsible for the cost of return shipping, and we must physically receive the return within the 90 day period. Health Buy reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to reject any return that does not comply with these requirements. Once your return has been received, a refund check will be issued within 30 days and an e-mail confirmation will be sent.
You may know that I have a standing offer where I will split the referral fee I receive from Mozy with new customers like you. Check it out here.
Mozy recently increased the amount they pay for a referral. They used to pay me $19.05 for a 1 year membership and $29.95 for a 2 year membership (yeah, those are odd amounts, go figure). Now, they pay me $22 for a 1 year membership and $40 for a 2 year membership.
So I’ve gone and increased the amount I’ll pay you if you you use my referral code. Go to my Mozy signup page and see what I’m currently offering!
(I posted this to Yelp on 5-16-07)
Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600
It -the- place for deserts.
(I posted this to Yelp on 2-18-06)
Willy’s Barber Shop
3227 22nd St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 826-2344
If your a guy and want a buzz cut, this is your place for a fine $12 cut. If you ask for anything else… well, you’re getting a fine $12 buzz cut. Don’t be fooled by the men’s classic hair style charts on the wall to the left. Instead look at the photos to the right of the guys that have gotten crew cuts, cue balls and peach fuzz. That’s what you’re getting.
(I posted this to Yelp on 2-20-06)
Auto City Car Wash
505 S Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-6643
I got the $22 “Works” package. I wasn’t totally happy with it. They missed a few little spots… corners of the mirrors, the bugs on the grill and hood, some spots around the rear bumper.
There was a bit of a line. But hey, they cleaned my car, inside and out.
If you buy 10 washes up front ($220), you get what amounts to about a 15% discount.
(I posted this review to Yelp on 3-20-06)
Rainbow Grocery
1745 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-0621
Their cheese shop is quite formidable. I think I counted 4 wild-picked mushroom varieties and at least another 5 varieties present! Their spices and bulk food sections are exceptional. It is crunchy-granola heaven. And, they have a huge variety of exciting specialty foods.
But most important of all, they have a tap stuck out of a 55 gallon drum of Vermont Grade B Maple Syrup! And while my friend Charlotte gave me a tremendous gift by finding and bringing Trader Joes Maple Syrup all the way from Boston, this…. THIS is the stuff! The Coomb’s syrup is darker, thicker and has a richer smell. And the taste… now I’ll say that Trader Joe’s makes a fine syrup. It really is. In fact, it’s probably what more people would prefer. But this is maple syrup that tastes like driving past a sugar house in early spring with the billowing steam that you’d say looks dangerous until you roll your window down and then the smell encompasses you like a jet plane diving into a cloudbank. It’s like living in another, infinitely more delicate world for a million years in a second. It brings to mind the colors of the ground during mud season when the melting snow, recently uncovered grass and previously frozen dirt turn into a slippery, boot-sucking menace with deep scars where vehicles foolishly tried to cross from the driveway to the relative safety of black-top.
Good maple syrup makes me so happy. Thank you Charlotte. Thank you Rainbow Grocery. Thank you Coomb’s Family of Brattleboro Vermont!
(I posted this on Yelp on 5-2-06)
Cafe De La Presse
352 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 398-2680
I went with friends late in the evening after a meal for desert.
The place is dignified and very well kept, catering to the business set during the day. But late at night, it has a more cozy feel. The staff was pleasant and accommodating, each of the 4 deserts we ordered were beautifully prepared and delicious.
They have newspapers and magazines from 20 countries.
(I posted this to Yelp on 6-6-06)
Universal Cafe
2814 19th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 821-4608
Knock-your-socks off original, fresh, perfectly perfectly prepared American high cuisine. Lots of organic, free range and “sustainable” fare… no compromises made for flavor and appearance.
Trendy atmosphere, very attentive staff. And the head chef / owner demands that everything be perfect for her patrons.
I took my girlfriend. I took my parents. I took my 5 year old niece. We all loved it.
Reservations recommended Thurs-Sat because the place is hopping! Quiet dining on Sunday eve.
(I posted this to Yelp on 6-8-06)
Franciscan Crab Restaurant
Pier 43 1/2
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 362-7733
Dungeness crab was very good, though very expensive.
We had to ask about our appetizer twice before it arrived. My chowder arrived without a spoon (there are no spoons on the tables, it should have been pretty obvious I needed one). The crab arrived without a plate for my mom to eat it on. My dad’s regular fork was replaced by the waiter with a small fork even though he wasn’t eating crab. The waiter’s name was “Joseph” on Monday June 5th, 2006.
The place was cold and breezy. The view of Alcatraz at sunset was excellent. We asked the busboy to turn on the gas fireplace. 5 minutes later the waiter turned it off. We had to ask him to turn it back on twice.
the clam chowder was “ok”, though it wasn’t hot enough. We had to ask to get bread on the table. It was warm (not hot) on the inside and cold on the outside. The butter was hard and cold.
My crabcake was “ok”. For $15, it should have been terrific.
The seafood risotto was “pretty good”. For $30….
The waiter pushed aside my mom when she asked how we were supposed to eat the crab that he plopped on a raised centerpiece. He pushed her aside and pulled the shell off
Service 0 stars
Food 2 stars
decor 3 stars
Price $$$$
Not recommended
(I posted this to Yelp on 11-17-06)
Cheap Pete’s Frame Factory Outlet
4249 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 221-4720
Picture Frame Store
I found the nonstandard-ish 10″x10″ frames I was looking for for $13. Cheaper than anywhere else. Of course they have a full frame shop in the store where I could have bought a fancy frame for $150. And they also have pre-made fancy frames for about $20 apiece (plus glass, etc..) which is a very good price. Solidly recommended. :-)
(I posted this to Yelp on 1-27-07)
Big Nate’s Bar-B-Que
1665 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 861-4242
BBQ
I received 3 ribs on my plate. 2 of them were fatty and yucky. 1 of them was -excellent-. My girlfriend’s barbecue chicken was very good.
The atmosphere of the place is -very- low key.
(I posted this to Yelp on 2-22-07)
Zachary’s Chicago Pizza
5801 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 655-6385
This was recommended to me as “THE BEST PIZZA ANYWHERE!!”. Eh, it’s “pretty good”.
We ordered a Small Zachary’s Special. The chunky tomato sauce was nice if a little bland. The pie needed a smoother mouth feel – more fat of some sort would have worked.
Pizzaria Uno and others have a better Chicago Style pie.
(I posted this to Yelp on 2-22-07)
Johnson’s Barbeque
2646 San Bruno Ave
San Francisco, CA 94134
(415) 467-7655
BBQ
This is the real deal. Dinner was terrific. I’ll be back.
The neighborhood closes up a little early and the decor is -very- low key, but it’s clean and the food is what it’s ALL about. It was just a side benefit that we had (lip smacking) leftovers for 2 more meals, making the place a value too.
(I posted this to Yelp 2-28-07)
The Box Shop
951 Hudson Ave
San Francisco, CA 94124
(415) 642-7467
The Box Shop is an industrial arts space. It is the home of several art groups including the Flaming Lotus Girls (check em out http://flaminglotus.com). Containers are rented out to all manner of artists. In this shop has been built many crazy and beautiful projects.
PS. They never answer their phone.
PPS. The Yelp map is off by several blocks. Click on the “View Larger Map/Directions” icon under the map icon. The Google Map is correct.
