Recent comments

  • Yogurt: Should You Try Making Your Own?   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Greek yogurt is also easy to make. It's just strained. I used cheesecloth for a while to do it - set your timer for about 30 minutes to check the consistency. If you wait too long you will get more of a cream cheese than a yogurt. (Which is still nice to use on other foods.)

    I was given a yogurt strainer which is a little less messy than the cheesecloth and doubles for storing it. Very nice. And again - a lot cheaper than the greek yogurts (and healthier I think) in the store version.

    Plus - no more plastic containers that are difficult to recycle!

  • I Finally Canceled Comcast Cable…Before It Hurt More Than My Wallet   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Paul - Fair warning about DirecTV - you are signing a 24 month contract that if you try to cancel you'll get charged $20/month for.
    We signed up for DirecTV awhile ago and as an extra conscious consumer I read the TOS and all the fine print very carefully. I couldn't find anything committing to me to any length of time. Fast-forward 6 months when I called to cancel only to find out I couldn't without a penalty. So, just be warned!

  • Home Delivery: Local and Long Distance   16 years 6 weeks ago

    we get marvelous milk from a local dairy this way -- also eggs, yogurt, buttermilk, and cottage cheese. Love it!

  • How to Make Moonshine   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Warman,
    if you scroll back up a bit and check out the post by Zorcy just above one of yours, you'll see an address for the milehigh company. It's a clickable link; the hydrometer and stuff are on the first page of it; $12.99 , I think they were, for the whole lot.

  • I Finally Canceled Comcast Cable…Before It Hurt More Than My Wallet   16 years 6 weeks ago

    I got rid of all outside tv services and bought an antenna and picked up a tivo premiere. I could get a boxee now or wait for Google tv later this year but either way I'll get content from the internet and thats way more tv than I even need. And, the antenna was $40. The tivo was $299 but will last years. Compare that to a $100 per month.

  • I Finally Canceled Comcast Cable…Before It Hurt More Than My Wallet   16 years 6 weeks ago

    I'd go out with wire cutters and deal with it myself... before someone gets hurt.

    We had cable, we had dish, we had direct. Now we have an antenna that brings us PBS and local stations and a PS3/netflix disk combo where we can watch all kinds of movies and series on demand from our TV. I don't miss the extra channels one little bit and our bill is now zero (well, we pay for Netflix obviously, but we already were paying for that). And yeah, our antenna is HD. We have about 20 channels.

  • How to Make Moonshine   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Willie Boy,

    In my example, just before your comment:

    Yes 85 and 90% by volume. And yes, it's vodka. And yes, I do draw it down farther and save it to 'recook' with a new batch. Amazing how much 90% by vol you can draw with a few of these 'tails'.

  • I Finally Canceled Comcast Cable…Before It Hurt More Than My Wallet   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Comcast has a monopoly in my area (but not elsewhere in this city. This means the prices are higher here than a few streets over because they can be). Leaving them for dish was a great decision that I wish I made sooner. I get better customer service, lower prices, and I actually have fewer problems and outages which was what I was worried about.

  • Yogurt: Should You Try Making Your Own?   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Unfortunately West Bend seems to have stopped making their 1-quart yogurt makers. I've had mine for a couple of decades and it still works perfectly. I picked up a second one at a tag sale for $1. They are also great for incubating salt-rising bread culture if you're into that.

    Yogurt is so expensive to buy and so cheap to make. I once spent a summer at a nature reserve and my cabin had an old stove that had a "warm" setting. I bought unhomogenized milk at a local farm and made yogurt using that warm oven. It was the best yogurt I've ever had.

  • I Finally Canceled Comcast Cable…Before It Hurt More Than My Wallet   16 years 6 weeks ago

    Comcast isn't the only company that treats customers like parasites. Time-Warner Cable is the same way. Like Comcast, Time Warner Cable has a monopoly in our neighborhood. We were having outage issues, and a independent contractor with Time-Warner told us we needed new coax from the service main to the house. He couldn't lay down the new cable because that was somebody else's job. 2 days later, another contractor replaced the coax. But he decided to leave the cable running across my yard (approximately 1/2 acre). I wasn't able to mow or anything. Called TWC back and explained the situation. Another 2 or 3 days later, the cable was finally buried- only about 6" into the sod layer.

    These companies know they have a monopoly (thanks to FCC regulations) so they just don't care. I hope Google's wi-fi initiative is successful, because maybe that will finally bring some competition. We don't even have TWC cable service, just their internet service, so if municipal wi-fi becomes a reality, we can finally be rid of the pestilence that is known as Time Warner Cable.

  • Yogurt: Should You Try Making Your Own?   16 years 6 weeks ago

    I'm going to look into the crockpot method! I've made batches in my countertop toaster oven on the lowest setting with great results but an easier method is always worth trying!

  • Yogurt: Should You Try Making Your Own?   16 years 6 weeks ago

    I've been making mine in a crockpot ala the A Year of Slow Cooking blog.

  • 5 Ways Self Storage Units Are More Sad Museums Than Savvy Solutions   16 years 6 weeks ago

    I never knew the prices of those storage. this article definitely makes me take a deeper look into the stuff i want to hang on to. It might be economically sound to donate or sell my items.

  • Make Your DVD Player Region-Free in Seconds   16 years 7 weeks ago

    hi...
    i'm from india and recently bought sony dvp-sr650p dvd player. need to make it region free. pls help. thanks!

  • 5 Ways Self Storage Units Are More Sad Museums Than Savvy Solutions   16 years 7 weeks ago

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this matter. Very informative. Thanks a lot.

  • How to Make Moonshine   16 years 7 weeks ago

    Willeboy, Thank you for the information on this. Do you have a web address to the milehigh people?? I have made some shine in the past and It is pretty strong and the guys in my group likes it and say, "OOOOOHHH WWEEE!!!. Thats some good stuff." I want to try to make some others but the directions tell to adjust the hydrometer reading if needed. Tell me how this is done. Do I just add more water and or more sugar?? Will try the Apple Pie Brandy next. Black Beards Rum is the one that tells to adjust the hydrometer reading as needed. this is on my list after the Apple Pie Brandy.. Thanks for all you do. Warman

  • America Is the No Vacation Nation   16 years 7 weeks ago

    @Danielto - Thanks! I hope your list inspires you...

  • 10 Examples of Shockingly-Excellent Customer Service   16 years 7 weeks ago

    Personally I don't want to be talked to while on the bus but a smile and help with my luggage a little hi how are you? That's all that's needed for me. Sometimes I just want to stare off into the distance and not be talked to.

  • How to Use Up Remaining Balances on Prepaid Gift Cards   16 years 7 weeks ago

    One of the best pieces of advice I read about using up a prepaid credit card is to use it to purchase a store gift card that you frequent and will definitely visit. That has saved me headaches about keeping track of the balance etc. So with rebates where they give you a prepaid VISA or MC, I'll purchase a gift card, usually a Target one because it's nearby and I always shop there, for the total amount and I'm done.

  • What You Don't Know About Sushi   16 years 7 weeks ago

    I'll have to keep this article with me the next time I dig in with my hands... enlightening. Thanks!

  • Home Delivery: Local and Long Distance   16 years 7 weeks ago

    I was thinking something similar and trying to figure out if it would be worth it to have food sent to my college student daughter via the Amazon service. She doesn't have a car. And she doesn't have much time to bike to the store. Your post is making me think that it might be resource-effective if not absolutely the "cheapest" way. Food for thought.

  • Endurance Frugality: Staying The Course And Being A Winner   16 years 7 weeks ago

    Buildings are quite expensive and not every person is able to buy it. However, loans was created to aid people in such kind of situations.

  • Ask the Readers: To Garage Sale or Not? (Chance to win $20)   16 years 7 weeks ago

    Hi,
    I enjoy the attending somewhat more than holding a yard sale (but the extra cash is welcome). Where else could one find a key holder wall plaque with my husband's last name but at a yard sale. The sellers had no clue about the source of it, but husband's grandmother and grandfather lived in that neighborhood decades ago. I wrote on the topic at ginnymagers.wordpress.com. about ways to not drive away customers.
    Thanks,

  • Why you can't trust a real estate agent.   16 years 7 weeks ago

    The problem with this article is the writer thinks waiting around for the buyer is a good idea. He doesn't consider the FACT that traffic is greatest in the first 2-3 weeks and that is why its our goal as agents to get it sold at the right price during that time-frame. Once we have left the first three weeks its really challenging to get people to come through the properties. If the properties are not priced correctly they haven't a chance to sell. BTW the homeowner always has the last word on pricing. If they don't listen to experience, and the data the listing will sit... if they are not in a hurry, that's fine. don't expect magic though.

  • Ask the Readers: To Garage Sale or Not? (Chance to win $20)   16 years 7 weeks ago

    I've never been to a garage sale as a shopper, but I've hosted a few in my attempt to declutter my life! This past weekend I helped my twin sister with a garage sale that her HOA was hosting and we walked away with over $300!!! We sold one item for $5 (a set of glassware) and one for $10 (a wooden chest) and everything else was either $1 or $2. We couldn't believe how much money we made...it was definitely worth it. Plus, we made a lot of people happy because they got some amazing deals and at the end of the sale we donated everything we had leftover.