Recent content by retropia

I'm not tidy enough to live in a house like this, but I admire those that have the discipline to be extra tidy. I love the look. It is difficult to make older MCM homes like this energy efficient in cold parts of the country. The ceilings usually have little insulation, and it can be tricky...

I've had good luck with modest suds using All liquid in our front-loader. I've noticed they now have the label "HE safe for all washers," but so far, it still seems to be the best for low suds, in my experience. Wisk liquid (also "safe for all") has improved their low-sudsing performance...

Resistance is futile. Even though it seems ridiculous to throw away a perfectly good printer, I'm sure they do this on purpose. Why spend money to update a printer driver for your old printer, on which they make no money, when they can force you to buy a new one? Staples will accept old office...

Floor drains in garages are no longer permitted here in new build homes. I suppose the concrete is sort of sloped towards the garage door in new homes, which sounds messy. I love having a floor drain in my garage, attached to my 1959 house.

Eugene, I'm on my last box of phosphated Action Pacs, so I don't have a lot of experience with the new, non-phosphate formula. I did run a few test loads with current-version Cascade Complete and Cascade Platinum Action Pacs, and found them to be satisfactory. I didn't notice any problems with...

Thanks, Dustin, that is good to know. I will give these a try after I run through my supply of Cascade Complete Action Pacs.

Has anyone with hard water tried these yet?

If the engine, CVT and vehicle weight combination is designed appropriately, a CVT can be an acceptable transmission, although I've never heard anyone describe them as being exciting to drive. When the Ford Flemstar (or maybe it was called Freestyle) came out, it was paired with a 3.0 V6 and...

Looks good! I like the bi-level range, too.

In the winter, I always had problems with itchy skin. Moisturizing soaps, shower gel, glycerin soaps, nothing helped. Following a shower with a moisturizer helped, but I found that to be a bother. On a whim, I tried Trader Joe's tea tree oil soap. It eliminated the itching, and the need for a...

Depending on your cell carrier and phone, you can now get "wi-fi calling" on your cell phone. It is a feature added by your carrier to the phone. That ruled out the Nexus 5 for me, as that phone is pure Android with no carrier apps. My carrier is Sprint, and I have spotty cell service at home...

My old Nokia candy-bar style phones were great. They went forever in-between charges, the operating system was intuitive, and phone voice quality was really good. However, as others have mentioned, a smartphone is like a Swiss Army Knife. Recently I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S5 as my old...

Some eBay sellers were avoiding eBay fees by selling an item for a low price, but then inflating the shipping so that it covered at least part of the cost of the item. eBay retaliated by making shipping costs a separate part of the rating that a buyer could give a seller. So, a seller offering...

Would that be a brushed chrome, or a genuine stainless steel exterior? Either way, it looks nice and shiny.

On NBC news last night, they interviewed a woman who said that grandma gave one to the baby, thinking that it was a teething toy. Way to go, grandma! Perhaps they can reformulate these so they only contain white detergent powder, sort of like how some dishwasher pacs are being sold. Those don't...