Home and Garden Tips

Charcoal Companion Amazing Bug Zapper

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Keep the bugs away from your next barbecue without resorting to unsafe insect sprays. Designed on the premise of a flyswatter, this handheld bug zapper is shaped like a tennis racket and kills insects on contact via an electric current when they touch the surface of the "net." The zapper operates on two AA batteries and, for safety, activates when you simultaneously press the two buttons on its handle. The bug zapper is safe for either indoor or outdoor use; however, people should exercise caution when the zapper is activated as it will cause a shock. --Cristina Vaamonde
Customer Review: I bought 2 and will buy more
My wife hates bugs, and I bought this for her. But I liked it so much I ordered another one and will buy more for my parents. The best thing about Bug Zapper is that you don't have to deal with the 'bug juice' (if you swat them), and you don't need to wait for the bugs to land and wait for your swat. I even used it near a bee hive, and it was the best defense against them. A few cautions - 1) don't zap yourself, it's pretty painful, 2) don't hit metal objects, you'll see sparks flying (incl. some windows - "Low-E" windows have metallic coating), 3) you can't kill fruit flies with this zapper since it has horizontal bars that these small bugs pass through. However, you can find double or triple meshed version on ebay or sharper image if you have the urge to kill all sizes of bugs. 4) some big bugs need extended roasting - I've seen a few biggies come back to life after a brief coma. All in all, it's quite entertaining to use.

Weber 1647 18" Grill Brush

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Cleaning your grill is essential because anything left on the grate will cause uneven heat when you cook. But when you've finished grilling some savory steaks, burgers, chickens, and veggies, the last thing you want to do is clean up the mess. With Weber's grill brush/scraper, it's really not so bad. This 18-inch brush/scraper has hardwood handles and brass bristles, so you won't be left with rusty residue or stubborn leftover grime. When you're finished, hang the tool by its leather strap until your next outdoor feast. --Rhonda Langdon
Customer Review: Great product from a great company
Brush works well and is large enough to keep you from burning your hands. Metal attachment is perfect size for cleaning Weber grates. You can't go wrong with this product at the Amazon price.

Oregon Scientific BAR608HGA Hide-Away Weather Forecaster with Clock

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

The BAR608HGA Weather Station And Self-Setting Clock offers you news of the weather, wherever you go. This advanced weather station monitors the humidity of your environment. It also gives you the temperature and the precise time. Weather forecasts are also displayed with graphical icons. Moon phase indicator Automatically sets itself to the u.S. Atomic Clock
Customer Review: Adequate product: Lousy service
Owned for 10 months. Overall: Buy it if you are willing to treat it as a throw-a-way. Great when it works, fun and a good value BUT junk when it breaks. The "Atomic Time" feature has worked sporadically and worked for less than 2 months in the past 10 months. Other reviews suggest that this problem is typical of this and of other Oregon units. When it breaks: Oregon Scientific email support takes weeks to respond as noted in other reviews. Responses are less than helpful. Then, they make it as difficult as possible to get warranty service. For example, you must send them a copy of your orginal, clearly dated receipt before they will even respond to warranty inquiries. Then, after they verify the receipt, you go through an elaborate registration and approval process before you can return the product.

Alias

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Its muscular aura of international intrigue informed by smart characters, sharp writing, and a sleek cinematic sense, the episodes of the hit Alias often seem more like a chapters of a successful movie spy franchise than mere network television series. Key to achieving that masterful illusion is young composer Michael Giacchino, whose soundtracks range across a dizzying range of musical styles and dramatic undercurrents. This anthology of cues from the show's first season incorporates shrewd, techno-savvy club beats, sweeping orchestral sequences of pounding action, brooding suspense worthy of Bond, and inventive indigenous music of indeterminate nationality. Firmly grounded in rich Hollywood traditions, yet hip enough to keep an ear cocked to pulsing, contemporary styles, Giacchino's TV scores often outshine those of the pricier, big budget Hollywood boilerplate he's competing with. --Jerry McCulley
Customer Review: question
ok, as most reviews, said, it is amazing and fits the show perfectly! but... does anyone know which episodes/scenes go with each song? i've tried to watch and listen for them, but i get too into it!

From The Isles To The Courts

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Customer Review: A delicately imaginative journey
Touching on the Celtic, the Renaissance and the Baroque, these six women interweave them into sumptuous improvisations. Ensemble Galilei consists of Liz Knowles on fiddle, Deborah Nuse on bagpipes and fiddle, Sarah Weiner on oboe, recorders and whistle, Sue Richards on harp, Carolyn Ann Surrick on gamba, and Jan Hagiwara on percussion. Their sound ranges from musing to celebratory and airy to earthy, but is characterized always by the easy elegance of musicians who have mastered their instruments. The musicians have this to say about themselves: "We are committed to making music fiercely. We find music that speaks deeply to us, and we honor the traditions and dialects of each musical language... We find the place where our personal history intersects the melody, bass, harmony or chords. Revealed in these musical conversations are the essential parts of our own humanity." This recording showcases feminine creativity in all its rousing and subtle beauty! Ensemble Galilei has two other recordings that I know of so far: "Come, Gentle Night: Music of Shakespeare's World" on the TELARC label, and "The Mystic and the Muse: Celebrating 600 Years of Women in Music" from Dorian.

Soothing Harp

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Customer Review: My FAVORITE of Many Relaxation CDs!
There is absolutely no vocals on this beautiful harp music CD, although if you don't like the sound of rain or a bit of nature behind some of the music, you may not agree with my admiration of this particular album. I LOVE IT! I have bought numerous "Soothing" music CDs that either throw in unappealing vocals that interrupt the flowing instrumentals or else inject a random fast-paced, spiced up, thundering piece that makes you jump right out of your skin! Not so here, that's why I LOVE IT! Just a nice "Soothing" CD & I wish I could find more like it.

Secret Garden

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Filmed before (and quite nicely) in 1949, Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story was remade for this admirable 1993 release, executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. Splendidly adapted by Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson, the film opens in India during the early 1900s, when young Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is orphaned and sent to England to live in Misselthwaite Manor, the gloomy estate of her brooding and melancholy uncle, Lord Craven (John Lynch). Because the uncle is almost always away on travels, struggling to forget the death of his beloved wife, Mary is left mostly alone to explore the estate. Eventually she befriends the young brother of a staff maid and Lord Craven's apparently crippled son, who has been needlessly bedridden for years. Together the three children restore a neglected garden on the estate grounds, and in doing so they set the stage for a moving reaffirmation of life and love. Filmed with graceful style and careful attention to the intelligence and cleverness of young children, The Secret Garden is that rarest breed of family film that transcends its own generic category, encouraging a sense of wonder and optimism to become a rewarding experience for viewers of any age. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Review: A Job Well Done is Worth Buying
I remember when I was younger and watched the 1987 Hallmark version, and was too young to understand the low quality acting portrayed in the movie. However I was enchanted with the story at that age. However now that I'm older and have seen it again, I do not think I like it that much. So I came to this version very skeptical. However I should've known that Warner Brothers would have pulled it off. They changed the story a bit, making it an earthquake instead of cholera that killed Mary's parents, however it's a minor detail that I think could afford to have been changed. Warner Brothers even kept the British Alchemical symbolism strong in it, which I'm quite pleased with. Over all the acting and setting blew me away and trust me, it's quite well worth buying. As I always say, a job well done is worth buying. You won't be sorry for buying this treasure to add to your cove.

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Readers of John Berendt's bestselling novel were bound to be at least somewhat disappointed by this big-screen adaptation, but despite mixed reaction from critics and audiences, there's still plenty to admire about director Clint Eastwood's take on the material. Readers will surely miss the rich atmosphere and societal detail that Berendt brought to his "Savannah story," and the movie can only scratch the surface of Georgian history, tradition, and wealthy decadence underlying Berendt's fact-based murder mystery. Still, Eastwood maintains an assured focus on the wonderful eccentrics of Savannah, most notably a gay Savannah antiques dealer (superbly played by Kevin Spacey), who may or may not have killed his friend and alleged lover (Jude Law). John Cusack plays the Town & Country journalist who arrives in Savannah to find much more than he bargained for--including the city's legendary drag queen Lady Chablis (playing "herself")--and John Lee Hancock's smoothly adapted screenplay succeeds in bringing Berendt's characters vividly to life with plenty of flavorful dialogue. In similar fashion to Warner's acclaimed DVD of L.A. Confidential, this classy DVD includes a behind-the-scenes documentary titled The Real People in the Garden and an interactive map tour of Savannah and its most celebrated (or notorious) citizens. The original theatrical trailer is also included. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Review: Not Bad... but Not Great
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was a good crime movie that kept me watching til the end, although it was way too long. John Kelso (John Cusack), a reporter from New York, is sent to Savannah to write a story about the Christmas Party given by Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). It all turns bad when Spacey's character kills somebody and he'll have to face trial for first degree murder. Just like in the novel, Eastwood tries to re-build the atmosphere and the life style from Savannah, the people living there and their habits. Still there are some things that go wrong. First there's the length of the movie - almost 3 hours. Then there's the plot: it's a normal crime-story, with a murder, then investigations (still this time they are not presented through the eyes of the police, almost absent throughout the whole movie, but through the eyes of the nosy reporter), and of course the trial. Plus a predictable ending. No twists and turns, no surprises. Just a plain old story. I don't see what's the point of Lady Chablis in the movie, she (he) is present in too many scenes, and also the relationship between Cusack and Alison Eastwood (Mandy in the film) kind of developes out of nothing. This isn't a movie that I'd rush out and rent but if you have time to kill or are really bored, then maybe pick up a copy to rent.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Widescreen Edition)

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

Toro 51598 Ultra Electric Blower/Vac

NWCW@nwcustomwebs.com — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:54:40 GMT

With 225 mph of maximum force, the Toro Ultra Blower is a three-in-one machine--blower, vacuum, and leaf shredder--that's ready to rip through leaf-covered lawns with the power of a small hurricane. Better yet, you'll likely find it to be not only one of the most powerful lawn tools in your garage, but one of the most versatile as well. To facilitate the different uses, the blower comes with a quick-release latch for easy conversion as well as infinitely variable air control. In addition, the metal impeller mulches leaves with fearsome efficiency, reducing 16 bags of leaves down to a single bag. For those looking for a blower that'll make quick work of acres of matted-down leaves, Toro's Ultra Blower is up to the task. --Rivers Janssen
Customer Review: very good price
Nice blower/vaccuum witha very good price. I have used it only a couple of tiems but has worked as I would have liked it to. I will be using the mulching /vaccuum function this week. Read some reviews about the reliability scare for this blower/vac, although I have not experienced any such problem, yet. It is light and easy to operate, and the blower speed is fast So, if you do not already have a blower go for this. -S