Orbit 12 station Easy-set Sprinkler timer model 27892

This unit replaces two now ancient (by sprinkler timer standards) 6 valve timers from different companies and eras. And that is one reason for the replacement. It is much easier to program one unit than to remember how two from different decades are programmed. And this is a good unit for easy programming. Basically, once it was wired, I programmed it without instructions.

Out of the box the Orbit easy set 12 station sprinkler timer is a hefty solidly built timer. Of course it has been a few years since I had to purchase a timer. The ones I have experience with are light weights compared to this. It comes designed to be mounted either outside or inside and has a lockable exterior door to keep others (hopefully) from gaining access to programs if that is something you need. I plan to leave mine unlocked, but it is nice to know I can lock it if I decide to.

The unit has a built in transformer with plug, but this also can be hard wired to existing 120 AC if desired. The transformer can be accessed through opening the swing out display panel. Once you open the door, you also have access to the wiring panel for up to 12 sprinklers, a pump start/master valve and optional (rain sensor purchased separately) rain sensor connection. The connections are by insertion of the wires directly, and they can be disconnected by easy insertion of a small screw driver on a plastic tab.

Program selections are seen on an easily visible LCD screen. Programming can include 3 separate programs of up to 12 sprinklers with up to 12 start times of up to 240 minutes run-time. Programming can be done with a large rotary dial to select individual functions and several “plus” and “minus” and “continue” buttons to advance to next station, or add to or decrease watering times or days, etc. Individual days of the week can be selected for each program selected, or you can select even or odd days, or every other day. Programming has so many variations, I am sure I never will utilize as many as are included. Like I said, I originally programmed mine without directions, but the directions are easy to use also, and include an easy start sheet to post near installation site for reference if anything goes wrong.

Unit also has an extra “Budget” program selection so you can add to, or decrease all watering times without resetting individual time entries. For example, if you have a time set for 60 minutes at default 100% entry and it is spring you can decrease the time to 30 minutes by entering 50% in budget selection. Range is 10% to 200% in increments of 10%.

Rain delays can be set for 12, 36, or 72 hours. If you need more time than that in rain delay, timer can be turned OFF. Or if you use the optional rain sensor, it would track all of that for you. All stations can be run manually, or you can choose any one station in any program to run manually. But, if you do this, remember to return unit to automatic running afterward. If not, it will stay on the last manual setting. This is one thing I would change. It would be nice if it returned to auto on its own after a manual run.

Unit has a battery back up to maintain program settings only. This is an easily obtainable (CR2032) lithium battery that has been used for years in many devices. You may have them already for watches or remote controls. They suggest replacement every year to avoid loss of programming. But, if unit loses program, it should return to a default setting of daily ten minute watering of each station until reprogramming is completed.

Warrantee is for six years from date of purchase

Note, I had trouble with my timer which may have been due to AC line surges. It has been replaced. See next entry.

Fan of generic drugs. . .

This technically is not a review as much as a comment on the cost of medications for those who need them to continue some part of a normal existence, such as your eye sight. Just one example that impacts me is Xalatan.

This is an eye drop to control ocular hypertension and glaucoma. Until now, I have been paying $93.00 for 2.5 ml, which barely lasts a month. In fact, it runs out in less than a month, but I am trying to convince myself it lasts a month just to feel better about the high cost.

When I picked up my prescription just now, I thought the pharmacist had the price wrong. It turns out that since I last filled the prescription, they had gotten in the generic version of this medication. Instead of Xalatan priced at nearly $100.00, it is now marketed as Lantanaprost and costs $12.00. That is a huge drop. An unbelievable drop. I get it that the folks who develope medications need to recover development costs of drugs, but I am not sure I get how they can justify the previous regulated cost of Xalatan.

ATT to buy out T-Mobile?

When I bought my first cell phone I decided that I would go with a known company at the time. This turned out to be AT&T. At that time I think they included the term “Wireless” in the name. Things went fine but I started to notice just how many services I had going on were with AT&T. I decided to trim what I could. I got out of ATT long distance. I had no choice for cable, which was also ATT for a while. But I could choose a different cell provider. I chose Cingular.

Cingular worked out just fine as long as they were in existence. They had flexible plans. They had what seemed to be better phones. And at the time, their service was better than ATT had been when I made the change. Then, I learned that Cingular was really owned by former Baby Bell Company, SBC. Well, that was OK for the time being. The service was still great for me. That was until the day that SBC bought the gutted remains of former giant ATT and decided to take on the name and logo of their former corporate owner. Yep. My cell phone now lighted up with that old familiar ATT sign on. Cingular via SBC ceased to exist.

So, is ATT really so bad that I would decide to switch carriers again just to be away from them? Maybe they are fine. But since I have been away I have been made aware I am a member of a number of class action lawsuits that deal with business practices that ATT were not up-front about in the time I was with them. I felt justified to make another switch at this point.

I chose T-Mobile at a time when ATT was fighting it out with Verizon as far as who had the better 3G coverage. The advertisements went on forever. I could not have cared less. I was happy with T-Mobile. I should have bet money thought that sooner or later, ATT would make a move on T-Mobile. Of course they would. It was as inevitable as the ATT service icon that on occasion sprung up on my Blackberry Bold. ATT and T-Mobile both use GSM, so they are roaming partners. It only makes sense that it would be a relatively simple merger of technology.

I just hope that T-Mobile subscribers do not lose anything in this merger if it goes on to be approved. I am running out of places to jump away from ATT.

Hampton Bay Antigua 56 Inch Ceiling Fan

This is a fan put out by Home Depot. Originally it was available in the brick and mortar stores in a variety of finishes. Currently it is only available at http://www.Homedepot.com in a brushed nickel or bronze finish. Both of these finishes at Homedepot.com come with matching light kit. I also found that there are still a few of the fans available in Flemish Brass through R.E. Williams Contracting (http://www.rewci.com). The Flemish Brass variety does not have a matching light as it must have been discontinued along with the fan when Home Depot stopped carrying it in the store or online.

This is a five blade fan with the individual wooden blades having a carved leaf appearance. The fan has the standard three speeds with reverse direction switch if you want to make the fan blow air against the ceiling in winter or downward to cool you in warmer months. The light kit has room for three 60 watt candelabra style bulbs and the bulbs are included in the versions that ship including the light kit. This was not the case back when the Flemish brass light kit was around. I am still looking for another one of those to match my second fan.

Here is a description of the bronze version from the website.

· 5 hand-carved featherwood blades with a medium cherry finish

· 56 in. fan blades for enhanced reach

· Hand-painted alabaster bowl light kit is included and is an optional installation

· 3-speed with reversible control for versatile use

· Oil-rubbed bronze finish complements many interior accents

· Designed for interior use

· Uses three 60-watt max Candelabra Bulbs (included)

· Ideal for large rooms up to 20 ft. x 20 ft.

· Standard mount for ease of installation

There is a limited lifetime warranty through Home Depot.

The fans themselves are fairly easy to install. Installation should be to only ceiling fan specified mounts. The included instruction book walks you through the installation process. I have seen some reviews of this fan out there that suggest the installation instructions are lacking in some way. I did not find this to be true, but if you have a problem, just read the steps again, or have someone else read them to you as you physically hold the pieces they describe in the book. It would be a help to make sure you are familiar with the terms the book uses to describe each part prior to the installation. Once you get the fan up is not the time to realize you missed a critical item.

The website suggests that this is a standard mount for ease of installation. I am not sure if that means that the version on Home Depot’s website will only work with the included short down rod or not. For the Flemish Brass version, you have a choice of using the down rod, or omitting the down rod making the fan a flush-mount to your ceiling. Either way, there is sufficient length of connection wires to drop the fan down on a longer rod of your choice. I cut off at least two feet of wire prior to mounting our fans.

All fan-internal connections were made simple by use of plastic wire connectors. Match a connector together, push it into place and the electrical connections are done, safe and secure.

One criticism may be that the light kit seems more for show than to provide actual light. If you put the light into a high ceiling room, the three 60 watt bulbs really do not provide much light. But, fan operation is smooth and noise free at any speed.

Homedics Paraspa Plus Paraffin Bath

The Homedics Paraspa Plus basically is a thermostatically controlled heated bath of melted wax. Treatments are intended for improving the skin, or for heat treatments for sore and achy hands or feet from arthritis or other common joint pain that benefit from heat. In use, once you have the paraffin melted, you do a series of dips into the wax which serves to coat your hand in multiple separate layers much as you would do in making candles. The hot wax forms a coating over your hand or foot, and seals in moist heat. After your treated extremity cools down, you simply peel the cool wax off and return it to the device to re-melt and use again later. My unit is the Paraspa Plus and it includes 4 pounds of wax, a safety grate to place over the heating element, and 30 liners. Note that the liners are not intended to place into the bath. They are an option to lengthen the treatment by slowing down the cooling of the wax once it is on your hand or foot. The bath area is also designated for elbows, but this has not been tried yet since our intended use is mainly for hands. The grate helps keep you from touching the heating element directly. You use at least three pounds but at the most four pounds of wax. One potential drawback here is the unit designed as a flat bath, so you have to place your hand or foot into a shallow tub. It can be difficult to cover the entire hand without dipping both sides. If the tub was vertically arranged, it might be easier to cover the hand all at once. The unit itself has a locking lid which helps the wax heat up more quickly, and also keeps the lid from accidently being opened by knocking it inadvertently. There is an on switch in the center of the exterior near the base. When first switched on, a light glows red to inform you that the unit is heating the wax. Heating of the wax can take up to two hours or slightly longer. Time to melting varies depending on the room temperature. Note here that I see some descriptions for this unit online that suggest that it has a variable heat selector, but the manual does not mention this, and if it does exist in the unit, I have not discovered it yet. Once the ready light shows as blue, you can push to unlock the lid and proceed to dip your hand, foot or elbow. If one of your intended uses actually is arthritis, you may need help in actually pressing the on-off switch and the lid-unlock button as they can require a bit of pressure. I do not mean to suggest that it is too much pressure, but for someone who has limited use of hands, you may need help. The unit manual suggests that it is designed to leave on all of the time. But, I would caution that you really have to set the unit up in a secure area for that to make much sense. My house is not designed for this type of device to be left on all the time I would never leave it on while away from the house. This means you have to do a bit of planning for a treatment. You need to allow it to heat for at least two hours before it is ready for use. And it needs a secure area that will not be bumped as the melted wax would be a real pain to have to clean off of countertops or rugs. It is also suggested that you wash the area to be treated prior to use. And if you have more than one person using it, to change the wax more frequently as it does get dirty over time. The unit does require periodic cleaning and I assume at that time you would want to start over with new wax.

DEWALT DWD115K 8 Amp 3/8-Inch VSR Mid-Handle Grip

For the last five years or so, I have used a 3/8 inch Black and Decker 2.2 Amp 0-1600 RPM variable speed drill with standard pistol grip and standard key chuck. This has been a pretty good drill for what it is, but it is starting to wear out a bit at this point. Hey, I am older now too. When I started to look around for a replacement I was rapidly overwhelmed by the numbers of possibilities. I decided on a corded model because I did not want to hassle recharging batteries in a project although I am sure batteries have improved since my last experience. I wanted to stick with 3/8 inch, but I wanted it to be heavy duty compared to my Black and Decker, but still easy to use. I wanted a quality name I recognized but still wanted affordability. The DeWalt DWD115K fit those needs. As luck had it, it was also the one drill my local Lowes was out of. So, at least it appears to be a popular choice. This is a 3/8" VSR mid-handle drill with keyless chuck. The weight of the drill is listed at 4 pounds. This is a bit heavier than my old drill, which was a concern of mine in my searching. But heavier duty drills I looked at felt heavy in my hand compared to my old 2.2 Amp Black and Decker. This was a concern for me because my hands are not what they were when I was younger, and the pistol grips on current day drills are hard for me to hold on to due to the heavier drill extending away from my hand grip. Although the DWD115 is heavier than my old drill, having the grip in the middle seems to help distribute the weight of the drill so I have no problem holding it in use. The DWD115 is listed at 8 Amps, so it really has a lot more potential power than my 2.2 Amp Black and Decker to do the heavier drilling I may run into in around the house jobs. And it also has higher maximum RPM at 2500 compared to the maximum 1600 for my old drill. The grip itself is comfortable enough, having a combination hard plastic and rubberized feel. The trigger is easy to use and variable speed is easy to control. In use, there are two bubble levels to help hold the drill horizontal or vertical as you drill. The keyless chuck is easy to figure out and I am sure it will be as asset once I can get to the point I stop looking for the key to change bits the old fashioned way. There is a hook of sorts on the top of the drill itself. I suppose this is to hang the drill off of a tool belt. I am not sure how handy that would be since I do not have a belt to hang it on and can see no other possible function for this hook. The one thing on this particular drill I wonder about is the forward-reverse switch. It is true it is located in an easy to access area just above the trigger. But it is a simple plastic switch that sticks out away from the trigger itself. On one side the drill goes forward. Click to the other side for reverse. But the problem I see down the road is that something could catch on this switch and break it off. The DWD115 comes in a plastic case that has a compartment that just fits one of my 4” by 5.25” box of drill bits. It also has space for my 2” by 2.5” box of driver bits. The case may seem a bit awkward to some since the hinge for the door is on the side as compared to the carry handle on top. This is a minor adjustment. The warrantee is 90 day money back guarantee, 1 year free service; 3 year limited warrantee- which seemed a bit better than most I looked at. My contractor working on my house at the time uses a similar DeWalt, so that was also a factor in my choice. Specifications Chuck Size 3/8" Keyless Chuck Yes Amps 8.0Amps No Load Speed 0-2,500rpm Max Watts Out 650W Capacity in Wood (Spade Bit) 1" Capacity in Wood (Hole Saw) 1-1/8" Capacity in Steel (Twist Bit) 3/8" Gear Reduction Single Handle Style Mid-handle grip Anti-Slip Grip Yes Anti-Lock Control No Tool Weight 4.1lbs Shipping Weight 6.4lbs

New Case Mate Leather Case Holster for BlackBerry

This review is of the Casemate Signature Combo cases. My particular application is for the Bold 9700. I have looked at least ten different case and holster combinations for my Blackberry. Each one of them had part of what I was looking for, but each one of them also had a deal breaker that lead to my returning the item for a refund. When I followed a link to Casemate my search ended. As may be said of a lot of case choices out there, this one claims to give the best of all possible worlds as far as versatility of use. It also has the comfortable feel of leather in a highly protective and snug fitting one piece case. It is important for me that my phone case offers a secure feeling when I reach for it, since I tend to be all thumbs as far as grabbing hold of my phone to use. This is true if it is in a regular case with a flap like the one included with Blackberries, or if it is simply sitting on a table. And Blackberries are not the cheapest phone out there if they are damaged in a “drop”. This is the one reason I have opted for a case for the phone with a separate holster. If a belt clip is part of the case, it is a deal breaker. If the case pops apart on impact, it is also a deal breaker. The Casemate Signature combo case consists of two main parts: a one piece wrap around case for the actual phone, and a holster to hold it via a belt clip. Both of these are covered in leather- not a cheaper leather appearing substance, as some cases I looked at on my way to Casemate, but a covering of real Napa leather. The case portion starts with a plastic wrap around cover that is then wrapped in leather so the exposed parts are leather. This is a single piece case, not a two section deal that might pop apart if dropped, or that may not fit completely snug when you snap it together or one that comes apart in everyday use. Many of the other cases I looked at were like that, and they felt as cheap as they looked. The Blackberry fits snuggly into the top of the Casemate case. It allows full function from keyboard to power/ charge cord to the camera. Note that the case would have to be removed to fit a base charger and would not fit over an adapted case back for other types of charging systems. Because the holster is totally separate, you do not have any clips directly attached to the case as I have seen in other cases I ruled out on the way to this choice. This means the case allows the phone to sit flat on a table and then easily be put into the holster for travel. Or, you can simply put it into a pocket. Clipped on and with the case/phone in, the clip allows the holster to swivel a full 360 degrees with very solid feeling “stops” so you can position the phone in a more comfortable position if seated in a car for example. Speaking of the holster, this unit does allow for the separate Blackberry “in holster” ringer options- at least in the Bold model. For the magnet controlled function to work, the phone has to be inserted into the holster with the keypad towards you. This is fine anyway because it also provides maximum protection to the phone. It is also possible to put the phone into the holster with the keyboard facing out, but in this configuration the “in holster” functions will not work. The holster, at least on my version, has the one thing about this that I dislike. Casemate recommends of course that the phone should be placed in the holster with the keyboard in. The fit into the holster in this configuration is not as good as it could be. The case/phone combination feels a bit loose, like it could be bumped out. I should qualify this with a couple of points. First, my phone has not fallen out of its case in the first couple of months of normal use so this may be a needless concern. And if my case/phone combo did fall out of the holster I would feel better about its chances with this case than others I have tried. And not all cases for Blackberries may fit their holsters the same way the Bold does. It is a bit odd though that if I turn the blackberry around so the keyboard faces out, the fit of the bottom of the case matches the bottom clip of the holster perfectly. All in all, this is the best case solution for my Blackberry that I have seen, and even with the loose feel of the case in the holster, I would recommend it. Casemate also includes a single display protector and a cleaning cloth.