Skip to content

Hulu Free Trial – One Year and One Month Trials – Deceptive!

I spent way too much time today dealing with customer support issues from a variety of companies – Hulu, Citibank, and AT&T.  I’m writing this particular article about my experience with Hulu, as I have some mixed feelings. Like many people, I’ve been in the process of transitioning from regular TV to streaming TV along with a variety of services.  About two months ago, I signed up for a Hulu… Read More »Hulu Free Trial – One Year and One Month Trials – Deceptive!

Avery Labels on Laser Printer Ghosting Printing Double Images

I was printing some labels on my Xerox Phaser 6022 printer and I noticed that some of the labels, especially near the bottom were having a double image.  I also noticed that if I printed a second page soon after the first page, it had a lot of the image ghosting – basically many of the lines of print were reprinted an inch or so below.  I’ve printed labels before… Read More »Avery Labels on Laser Printer Ghosting Printing Double Images

Bare grass in backyard

Improving lawn with multiple bare patches – Summer 2022 Project

My lawn always looks kind of crummy early in the season.  This year is no different.  I was thinking maybe it even looked worse than usual.  My front yard looks thin.  The backyard looks thin with many bare patches.  The backyard I’m thinking is worse because I’ve had so much clover growing back there, which may be crowding out the grass.  The other possibility is that we may have a… Read More »Improving lawn with multiple bare patches – Summer 2022 Project

Green Dragon Hybrid Cucumber

Growing Green Dragon Hybrid Cucumbers – 2022

I’ll update this thread throughout the summer – bookmark it and check back for updates! I’ve been growing cucumbers for a few years now.  My wife really hates seeds in her cucumbers, so we usually get English Cucumbers when we buy them.  I have a spot in our yard where I’ve grown cucumbers – it’s a small area near the house with full sun.  I didn’t have an actual trellis,… Read More »Growing Green Dragon Hybrid Cucumbers – 2022

Breville Barista Pro – Second Shot Slower Than First

Update 3/13/2021: I emailed Breville with my question.  Long story short, they told me to send it in for servicing.  They paid for UPS to package and ship the machine.  A few days later I get an email that a new machine is being sent to me.  I called and tried to find out what they found wrong but they had no information.  Rather than open the replacement, I decided… Read More »Breville Barista Pro – Second Shot Slower Than First

Breville Barista Pro

Breville Barista Pro vs Breville Barista Express – My Analysis

Early fall I was looking to get an espresso machine. At the end of September 2020, I wound up buying the Breville Barista Pro.  This post is meant to review my thought process in how I made that decision. At the time, I was pretty sure the Breville Barista Express was going to be the right choice for me, after doing a lot of reading and watching YouTube videos.  Bed… Read More »Breville Barista Pro vs Breville Barista Express – My Analysis

Illinois COVID-19 Trend Tracking – are case counts going up or down?

6/24/20 – The 7 day average was pretty flat this week, rather than trending down as it had been.  Also, today the case count was higher than would have been expected, which is a worrisome sign. I created the above graph because Illinois cases are tracked weirdly, with low cases recorded on the weekends and those extra cases reported during the week.  In order to get a better sense of… Read More »Illinois COVID-19 Trend Tracking – are case counts going up or down?

Illinois COVID-19 – did we peak yet??? (Tracking Deaths)

I created this page for my own use as Illinois has weekly trends that make it hard to tell the overall trend.  By doing a 7 day moving average, I think it is easier to see where we are. Update 6/24/20 – I’ve added a new post on tracking COVID cases in Illinois, as tracking deaths will not show us trends as quickly as tracking cases.  This was a good… Read More »Illinois COVID-19 – did we peak yet??? (Tracking Deaths)

COVID-19 Antibody Testing Experience with Quest

Every time I venture out where I encounter other people, I ask myself if it was worth it.  I don’t do it often, but I decided to do it to get a blood test for antibodies to COVID-19. Why did I bother?  I’m hoping and wonder like everyone else if that cold that I had in the last few months could have been a mild case of coronavirus.  And if… Read More »COVID-19 Antibody Testing Experience with Quest