Recent content by portendere

RiteAid vs CVS vs. Wallgreens... might as well be Kmart vs. Always preferred independent drugstores. Better service, people who actually appreciate your business, and no massive database of your medical history accessible from anywhere in the country. For the nostalgic sorts (none of those on...

Like it's 1999.... Eight years ago would be 1999. Suppose you're John Q. Public and you have an average 1999-vintage washer. Probably a direct-drive Kenmore/Whirlpool, or a Norgetag, since those have been the biggest sellers for a while now. Does anyone seriously consider that to be worth the...

What to call them.... If a Maytag-branded Amana was an Amanatag, that would make these..Maymanas? Nope. Don't like it. I propose "Amaneptune." Anyway, these washers growing on me. The more I think, the more they seem to represent good entry-level front loaders. (Why would Whirlpool keep the...

If this has already been addressed in another thread, I apologize, but I couldn't find anything. What's the story behind the Amana "Enlighten" FL currently in the limelight on Amana's home page? The rear controls and fold-over door make them look suspiciously like Maytag Neptunes, but I thought...

We don't have energy efficiency ratings for dryers in the US. (Washers, dishwashers, and refrigerators, yes, but not dryers or cooking appliances.) Naturally, all of our dryers work pretty much the same way, and probably use about the same amount of energy. So I'm curious as to how the...

Right to smoke... If you have a "right" to blow a hazardous, noxious irritant in my face on a public sidewalk, then I should have a "right" to do the same to you. Now where did I put my can of mace? ;)

GM and the EV-1 So GM invested a lot of money developing the EV-1. Billions of dollars down the drain, and a little mostly-plastic electric car to show for it. So how does GM go about recouping its billion-dollar investment? The EV-1 finally makes it onto the market, as a lease-only vehicle...

That's what mute buttons are for... one touch, and they provide instant relief from annoying commercials. For the headache, though, I'd suggest acetaminophen or ibuprofen, though. HeadOn has not been FDA approved for the treatment of headaches or anything else.

I think they realized that nobody ever reads the manuals, anyway. Sad, but true: people will drop $500-$1000 on something, but never bother to spend half an hour to make sure they use it properly. I'll bet if you asked ten people if they've ever read even a portion of a major appliance manual...

Nothing specific about the warranty, but the manual states: "To assure[sic] that your cleaner operates at peak performance, it is imperative that you use only genuine HOOVER throw away bags made by The Hoover Company. Hoover bags can be identified by these trademarks--" [Hoover logotype and...

$250 really isn't that much. $250 is about what a roughly comparable new machine would go for. It's more of a surprise to me that hundreds of people every day pay $200 for Bissells that won't last five years.

Probably because RCA ...well, the trademark, anyway...is currently owned by General Electric, one of Whirlpool's competitors. GE bought Radio Corporation of America in the '80s, and wasted no time spinning off the electronics business (and its own) to Thomson of France. My understanding is...

Hoover Quik-Broom with the power nozzle Do you mean the S2610, the one with the hose from a couple of years ago? If so, then the search (link) below turns up dozens of them.... Personally, my ideal find would be a new-in-box Hoover Concept One/Two. I'm willing to put my money where my mouth...

As the price goes up, so does the amount of tax that the gov In many states, yes. (Among them, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, and others...link) Florida, Pennsylvania, and Texas, among others, do not have a % sales tax on gasoline. They charge the same amount per gallon for $2 gas as...

Trade-ins and dirty tricks How does a trade-in affect the price of a new Kirby? Is there a company policy on this, or is it up to the dealer? Do all dealers accept trade-ins? I've also heard of deep price cuts offered to anyone who calls to cancel a sale (I think there's a three-day free...