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Jan 07 2010

Blender shopping

Published by Sushi Attack under shopping

After a long hiatus from blogging, I’ve decided to talk a little about the joys of shopping for a blender. My current black and decker blender has been with me for the past three years and I’ve used it to death. Lately I noticed that when I run the blade for extended periods of time I start to smell a burning plastic type of smell. Combining this new sign of death with the the loose nuts and bolts sound when I move the blender around, I’ve decided I need to get a new blender! When shopping for blenders there is so many models to choose from: Immersion, heavy duty, multi-purpose or small and cheap. I’m personally looking for something heavy duty but something less than jamba juice quality. I’ve a seen a few videos of youtube featuring an ultra heavy duty blender called Blendtec which rivals Vitamix (the blender of choice for Jamba Juice)

Check out these demo videos

Ultimately although those videos are awesome displays of power, I’ll probably get the Oster 4093 Classic Beehive Blender since its supposed to be pretty good despite being cheap.

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Feb 11 2009

Hacking the Kindle

Published by japadamus under shopping

Although I haven’t gotten my hands on a Kindle yet, but I’ve already investigated ways to hack the device. Obviously cracking the cover open would void the warranty and may possibly put you in violation of the license for the 3G connectivity. The site below has the lazy hackers way of impressing friends and family by using hidden functions.

The site Reversing Everything hacked into the operating system for the device (Linux based) and found some hidden functions and programs built-in. Personally some of them look pretty cool, my personal favorite is the built in GPS/map.

Here are some of the secret keyboard shortcuts:

Keyboard shortcuts

Global keys
Alt-Shift-R reboot Kindle
Alt-Shift-. restart GUI
Alt-Shift-G make screenshot
due to an implementation bug, screenshots can only be stored on SD card, not the main storage. A gif file is saved in the card root.
Shift-Sym start demo
Enabled only if allow_demo=true is passed on the Java commandline. Needs a special demo script present on the SD card.

Home

Alt-Shift-M Minesweeper
Alt-Z rescan picture directories
Alt-T show time

Reader

Alt-B toggle bookmark
Alt-T spell out time
Alt-0 enable/disable slideshow
Alt-1 start slideshow (if enabled)
Alt-2 stop slidehow
Alt-PageForward/PageBackward go to next/prev annotation or one “chunk” (1/20th of a book) forward or backward

Settings

411 show diagnostics data
511 run loopback call test
611 diagnostic data service call
c/e/s
126 Lab126 team members

Font List

J show/hide justification options

Picture viewer

Alt-Shift-0 set current picture as screensaver
F toggle fullscreen mode

Minesweeper

I,J,K,L up,left,down,right
M mark mine
R restart
Space open cell
Scroll move cursor up/down
Alt-Scroll move cursor left/right
H return to Home screen

Text input

Alt-Backspace clear all
Alt-H/Alt-J move cursor
(the following don’t work in search field for some reason)
Alt-6 ?
Alt-7 ,
Alt-8 :
Alt-9 ”
Alt-0 ‘

Browser

It seems there is a location capability (GPS?) in the CDMA module. I cannot check it as I’m not in USA but the following shortcuts are programmed inside the browser.
Alt-1 show current location in google maps
Alt-2 find gas station nearby
Alt-3 find restaurants nearby
Alt-4
Alt-5 find custom keyword nearby
Alt-D dump debug info to the log and toggle highlight default item
Alt-Z toggle zone drawing and show log

Audio Player

Alt-F next
Alt-P play/stop

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Jan 24 2009

Smoking evolved

Published by japadamus under shopping

Love smoking but are realizing that society is treating your addiction like a we treat lepers?

Well smokingeverywhere.com has a new strange device which is an electronic cigarette that you add cartridges which release smoking “vapor” that either deliver nicotine or just smoking flavor. Depending on what you are into.

I haven’t personally tried this product but get looking at the website, It definitely looks interesting. I’m pretty sure they don’t have any real scientific studies that prove this device is any safer than actually smoking. Also, although the device really isn’t smoking, it looks like a cigarette and allows you exhale vapor and most likely people are going to tell you to take your fake cigarette outside. Just because you don’t have a technical cigarette, doesn’ mean that people won’t treat you like a jerk off.

Jose Canseco is promoting the device on Howard Stern.

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Oct 16 2008

Scooby-Scooby-Doo — the iRobot Scooba

Published by japadamus under tech, shopping, Bob Loblaw, review

Okay, so as Japa, El Jeffe, and Jak all know, I really wanted a goddamned Scooba to appear on woot.com. It was 6.5 months since it was last featured on the site, and I had only recently realized that I am indeed the perfect storm of tech geek and lazyass to covet a robot that mops floors. I hoped that it would be useful in keeping my apt. hardwood and lineolium floors cleaner since L.A.’s air is sagging with soot.

I tried it out tonight in my lineolium kitchen, which is approximately 24-28 square feet. Not too large, but it definitely needed mopping. I’m not trying to be gross, but when you have 2 cats, windows open to L.A. soot, and just random drops of dried liquid, you need to mop more often than you’d like. This is the best test for the Scooba. I didn’t vaccuum or sweep before using the Scooba.

The Scooba has a 4 part system — vaccuuming, washing, scrubbing and squeeging. Another great aspect is that it has separate chambers for the clean and dirty water, so it’s not just using dirty water all over the floor. The Scooba is about 6 inches larger in diameter than the Roomba and is much higher. It has a detachable water tank that fits into the electrical portion of the robot.

The Scooba manuevered remarkably well and was about as loud as the Roomba. Like the Roomba, it has the similar sort of seemingly random circular pattern of moving about the floor space. It left a very thin layer of water that quickly dried, and did a surprisingly good job of scrubbing the dried liquid stains off of the floor. The one thing I had concerns about while watching it operate was that it did not seem to do a good job of vaccuuming as I saw a fortune cookie paper fortune getting pushed around the floor. However, when I emptied the vaccuum bin, there was an astonishing amount of hair and bits of dust in it, so apparently it does a good job of vaccuuming smaller items. The dirty water chamber contained dark grey, opaque water. So, apparently it does its job.

The one big issue I had was the battery life. After about 20 minutes, the Scooba stopped and chimed the odd 4 tone noise without any additional beeps afterward, which wasn’t listed in the manual. I have this problem with my Roomba, too, and I figured out that it basically means the battery needs to be recharged or just taken out and put back in. I tried the latter and it didn’t work, so I just called it quits at that point as the Scooba had covered most of the kitchen floor. This was a big disappointment to me. Admittedly I didn’t charge it 16 hours that the manual suggested for a first time use, but the indicator light indicated after 4 hours that it was charged. Plus, the manual also says that the battery should be charged for 3 hours before each use, which requires a fair amount of forethought, which isn’t always my strength in househould cleaning.

El Jeffe says that I could do the same mopping with a mop and a bucket in a shorter amount of time and for much less money. Both of these points are true, but really, if you’re as lazy as me, you’re not going to be mopping the floors every week. Okay, hell, even every month. Maybe every 6 months. So presuming you use the Scooba more often than that, then I feel like you’re actually saving time. Plus, there’s the dirty water issue, and I dislike that about the usual mop and bucket water stuff.

Overall, I’d say the Scooba does its job and does it well. I’ll have to see how the Scooba holds up over the next few months. Amazon had a bunch of mixed reviews about the Scooba’s longevity. I got a $33 warranty through a 3rd party warranty provider precisely because of the problems with maintenance. Water + electronics = maintenance problems. Shocker.

But, getting back on point, I’m not sure if this review has done a good job of recommending the Scooba or if it’s made you decide to keep on your socks when you come to my apartment. If you can get a brand new Scooba for $180 (It normally retails between $300-400 new), I’d recommend getting one. And hopefully you won’t need to wear socks in your apartment after using the Scooba.

2 responses so far

Aug 31 2008

Pakedamus: Express for Men/Women Labor Day Sale

Published by japadamus under shopping, Pakedamus

Express is having a Labor Day Sale for men and women. Use the coupon code to get 25% off $75 or 15% off any purchase. Shipping is $6. They have sweaters starting at $29.50, tees $10 and up, tops 2 for $39.50, tanks 2 for $29.50 and more.
Express Clothing Coupon: 4750 - Expires: 9/1/2008

I just used the coupon above so I know it works!

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Aug 31 2008

Alton Brown fan?

Published by japadamus under shopping, food and dining, food

If you enjoy watching Good Eats as much as Japa does, you’ll be happy to see that sellout.woot Today is featuring a digital thermometer with alerts for doneness and time. This kitchen tool is a must for any true Brown fans.

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Dec 17 2007

I can’t fight it anymore

Published by japadamus under shopping

OK Its official! I want a Kindle. I’ve been looking at multiple videos online and it seems that books look great on it. I also love how the small size fits neatly in your hand with a nice little cover. It seems so neat to carry around a library of books with the ability to wirelessly get thousands more, anytime of day! I also think its super cool that you can browse the Internet for free and get daily newspapers delivered to your handset. The only stopping point is the high price tag. At 400 dollars the economics become a little blurry as to what am I truly gaining from having the Kindle versus its paper counterparts. I bet if I were you calculate the savings from (getting cheaper books and not paying shipping costs + wireless Internet) 400 would probably take me about 2-3 years to pay back.

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Dec 03 2007

Help Broke Hip Hop Stars

Published by japadamus under shopping, music

I’ve decided to start a charity. I’ve noticed how poor hip hop has been lately, so its inevitable that all these new “stars” are going to broke some day. What better time to start collecting for their retirement than while they are still popular. You like Soulja Boy’s Crank dat? then donate a dollar to his future.

No one wants to see a poor old man trying to super soak that hoe.

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Nov 14 2007

In the you knew it couldn’t get worst column

Published by japadamus under shopping

When you think fucked up Chinese hygeine and safety practices couldn’t get anymore loose. Check out this article on how chinese are recycling used condoms into hair ties. Great!

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Jul 28 2007

Loyalty card

Published by japadamus under rant, shopping

Allow me to stand on my soapbox for a second. One thing that particularly upsets me when shopping at grocery stores or drugstores are the use of customer loyalty cards. I’m so fucking sick of being asked if I have my Safeway/albertsons/CVS card in hand when I’m shopping. What is the purpose of this other than to lock you into shopping only at one store. If you want to do me a favor, just keep your prices low all the time and save me the charade of raising prices then lowering them when I present your particular card. I know I’m not really saving $5 on that box of Triscuits (don’t even get me started on how fucking weird is the name Triscuit, its the combination of biscuit and what? Tris? what the fuck is that!) I know that Albertson’s isn’t charging $7 for a box.

Seriously! who has the time to collect these fucking cards and carry them 24/7 just on the off chance of stopping somewhere to purchase something. Should I keep them in an baseball card holders and file them in three ring binders? Don’t even get me started on the follow up question when I explain I don’t have the card on me. “What’s your phone number?” Like its that simple, Hmm. Let me think, which number did I sign-up the card under? Could it be the home phone number for one of the 8 different places I’ve lived at in the past 8 years, or maybe the number for my cell phone, or work blackberry, or work phone number, or grand central number, or one of the two burner numbers I’ve used when my cell phone wasn’t working. Hold on, let me just manually try each of these 14 numbers (if I can remember them) just to get 1.50 off that laundry detergent.

Cut the bullshit already.

One response so far

Jul 28 2007

Japadamus looking to spend money

Published by japadamus under shopping

Anyone other than Japa looking to take the other side of a bet on how long it takes before Japadamus purchases The Washlet? I know he’s going to be all over it.

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Jun 14 2007

American Kobe producer rolls out "asian style meat" products

Published by japadamus under shopping, food

Snake River Farms Kurobuta Pork

Kurobuta which means “black hog” in Japanese, is 100% pure all-natural Berkshire breed pork. It is celebrated the world over for its superior flavor and tenderness.
The origins of this delicious Kurobuta pork date back almost 300 years when it was discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s army in England. Fancied for its eating quality, the Berkshire breed was refined in the 1800’s and eventually given as diplomatic gifts, beginning the tradition of Kurobuta pork in the Far East.
Snake River Farms Kurobuta pork is now raised in the USA and has become the symbol of the highest quality pork available and the perfect essence of traditional Asian cuisine like Samgyopsal and Tonkatsu.

Kurobuta Pork - Samgyopsal for Korean BBQ
Fresh Pork Strips for Table Grilling
Thinly sliced Samgyopsal for Korean BBQ is a traditional and authentic Korean way to prepare this supreme quality pork.

Kurobuta Pork for Tonkatsu
Kurobuta Boneless Pork Chops for Breading and Deep Frying
Tonkatsu is a traditional and authentic Japanese way to prepare this supreme quality pork.

Snake River Farms American Style Kobe Beef

For hundreds of years, the people of Kobe, Japan have raised the most exquisite beef. This highly marbled Kobe beef has become world renowned for superior flavor and tenderness - beef fit for the emperors.
Snake River Farms brought the world famous Wagyu cattle (the Kobe beef breed) from Japan to the USA where they raise the cattle from start to finish in a time frame that runs considerably longer than traditional beef, insuring the same superior flavor and tenderness.
Snake River Farms American Style Kobe Beef has become the symbol of the highest quality beef available and the perfect essence of traditional Asian cuisine like Shabu-Shabu and Yakiniku.

American Style Kobe Beef for Shabu Shabu
Extrememly Thin Sliced Wagyu Beef
In Japanese, Shabu Shabu refers to a traditional cooking method of quickly swishing extremely thin sliced beef in a flavorful hot broth.

American Style Kobe Beef for Yakiniku
Bite Size Portions of Wagyu Beef for table Grilling
Enjoy in traditional Yakiniku or Korean Barbecue - family style grilling at the table.

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Jun 10 2007

Crock-P R.I.P.

Published by japadamus under shopping, food and dining, food, recipe

We are all defined by who we love, who loves us, and those loves that are lost. Tupac had Kato, Dre had Tyrie and I have Crock-P. We had a lot of good times together. Many a bowl was shared with her in low and slow style.

Sadly, after making a stupendous meal of Osso Bucco from a recipe carefully gleaned off of Slashfood.

While cleaning I noticed these:

and these:

I’ll just have the memories of good times to stay with me. I’ll miss you.

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May 29 2007

Chinese Food and Drug Manufacturers

Published by japadamus under rant, shopping, food, health

New York Times is reporting today that the former director of Chinese Food and Drug regulation has been sentenced to death following a series of scandals as a result of substandard drugs being sold abroad. In light of the recent pet food scandals it appears that industry in China is left to manufacture and sell products without any oversight. This poses a big problem globally as China emerges as a world power. In most cases it seems that a Chinese drug maker added a dangerous chemical to some product either to cut costs. The United States really should step in and begin testing these imports from China to issue safety before allowing these products on the market. I’m currently worried that purchasing a food or drug product in China might kill me down the road unless someone steps in to ensure its safety. Maybe this is a great idea for a private business?

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May 26 2007

Costco purchase?

Published by japadamus under shopping

The consumerist is reporting that Costco chose to recall the TKO punching bag sold in hundreds of stores across the country because the bags apparently were being filled with used underwear. I have no idea if this story is true, if it is TKO would have to be pretty dumb to think that’s an acceptable business practice.

Here’s a copy of the recall notice off the Costco web site.