Tool and (?) recommendations, Experiences

[Gary O]

Magic Jack???
Starting to forage for budgetary impact.
Have this bundle....cable-internet-land line for $120/mo
Not unhappy with it all, but still, a bundle kinda ham strings ya, seems.
There's some individual deals out there, Magic Jack being one of them.

Anyone have it?
What's the down side?

[MountainDon]

Magic Jack lets you make phone calls IF you have an internet connection of some kind. It works pretty good from what I have heard.

Have a look on clarkhoward.com for reviews/opinions. Plus there are a couple of other ones he recommends on his radio show.

[Squirl]

It doesn't work with satellite internet.

[Sassy]

My brother has it, it even covers his cell phones.  He pays $50 a month & I've never had a problem getting a call through to him or hearing him when he talks...  Glenn says we get get it due to the setup w/the phone company we have to go through.

[Gary O]

Well, this is starting to become my white whale.
Clark Howard search was a bit fruitful

a poster in his forum;

"I've had and used Magic Jack for the past four years or so, and love it for its unlimited and inexpensive phone calling to numbers in the U.S. and Canada.

However, I wouldn't rely on it as my ONLY home phone service, and would always want to keep a cell phone or wired home phone line available as a backup, just in case.

Pay $20 a year for unlimited calling with Magic Jack. But keep one of the other options for those times when the electrical power goes out, you have an emergency, your computer breaks, your Internet service is down, etc etc..."

However, still gleaning from more sources......it'd be nice to get a member's experience..........

[Gary O]

Now, Very Agitating

Boy oh boy. Our Whirlpool washer quit agitating, thus no washing, and quit spinning, thus soppy clothes.
However, it would drain, so no clog.
Googled the mdl number.
Added 'Whirlpool' to my search after three pages of Lionel train sites.
Found AppliancePartsPros.com
Great site.

Clicked trouble shoot.
It's the 3 pc coupler 'tween the motor and pump.
Super 'how to' video.

Today I love the internet.

We have a great little appliance parts store nestled in the shadows of Home Dopey, here in tiny Oregon City....Oregon City Appliance Parts (catchy name).
Bob (the owner) says, yup, it's the coupler.
$23.95
Bob has plenty.
Bob always has plenty.
Bob has low overhead.
Bob does not advertise.
Bob doesn't have to.
I like Bob.
Everybody likes Bob.
Bob is a very busy, very happy guy these days.

Gary is pretty darn happy too.

[rick91351]

We had a place here sort of like that.  Ran by to old guys.  I noticed the other day they were no longer in business     Most likely retired......

[Gary O]

Yeah, sometimes little successful businesses retire with the owner. Long time owners carry around lots of lore and tribal knowledge.
All I have to do is get on the horn with Bob and he walks me thru it. He even steers me away from expensive options. He sleeps well at night.
With people tightening their belts these days, the Bobs of the world are finding as much business as they want.
Still, the internet sites are great back up.

[Gary O]

Lamps, LED vs Propane, or?

I've lived (and darn near died a couple times) by the standard propane lamps with mantles.
The red hurricane lanterns are neat lookin' IMO, and the oil lamps are pretty nice too, but neither put out the light that the propane lanterns do.
Winter stays at the cabin beget hours of evening reading, and I noticed we'd go thru a canister per night.
I've heard, and read (maybe on this site) that the LED lanterns (or lamps?) put out great light and are long on battery life.....and are of course safer.
Batteries are expensive, and rechargables (however long they last) are even more expensive, but so are propane canisters, and even propane, if you get one of those doodads that refill the canister....so, what's the best bang for the buck?

[rick91351]

Every try an Aladdin Lamp?  Will pm.