Diana M.

Today I bought a Panasonic NN-SD65LS Microwave. I bought it for several reasons. First, I kept having the thin plastic covering of the controls of the other microwaves I bought scratch up with my nails. I didn't do it intentionally but it is ridiculous that manufacturers don't realize that this might happen. So, this is microwave number three in the last three months. This microwave has metal buttons and a metal dial. This will definitely not become scratched.

The second reason I bought it was because it is a Panasonic. I have sworn by Panasonic for over 40 years. I had a cassette recorder in the 70s that I dropped on the floor a few times. It didn't hurt it at all. Panasonics are so well made. I have, then, bought many Panasonic products through the years. They work well and really last.

Until a few days ago, I didn't know that Panasonic made microwaves. I'm really glad that I found this out.

I bought my microwave at Home Depot. If you search my model online, you will see that all of them are black and stainless. Mine is different. It has turquoise accents. For me, this is a pleasant surprise. My kitchen is an eclectic retro kitchen with blue walls to resemble the sky, some red retro small appliances to add color, and flowered curtains among other things. So, this matches perfectly. It gives it the retro look that I have been trying to achieve in my kitchen and this color is perfect to go along with the decor of my kitchen.

I don't usually like to write reviews right away because, when I do, things break and I can't take that back. In this case, I am very happy to make an exception because I want to tell people to buy a Panasonic microwave. These are the best microwaves that you can buy for under $500. Mine was $199. And it's a 1.3 cu ft for that price.

I did buy the service plan for $25 just in case but I will be thinking about whether I should cancel it because Panasonics don't break. I only bought the service plan because I have had so many problems with microwaves over the last several years. In total, I have probably bought six microwaves in two years. Some stopped working. Others became rusted. Some had that horrible plastic scratching on the controls. Microwaves have been bad luck for me before now.

This microwave does come with the standard owner's manual which I will have to read because I'm not sure how to use this type of microwave. It is a Genius microwave with very many features. I love that it has all of the features too. I don't think that they will let me post a link here. So, I have listed the features. There might be other ones that I don't know about yet.

Popcorn Button
Sensor Reheat Button
Sensor Cook Button
Power level Button
Auto Defrost Button
Keep Warm Button
Cooking Timer/Clock Button
More Button Increase the cooking time by 10% or 20%.
Less Button Decrease the cooking time by 10% or 20%.
Start, Weight/Time, and Sensor Menu Dial
You can set standing time, delayed start, or keep warm.
It even has a child safety lock. Moms and Dads, you really need to consider this one.

I'm thrilled to death that I found this microwave and I highly recommend buying a Panasonic microwave the next time you need to replace your microwave.

Fedex used to have a catch phrase "When it absolutely positively has to get there overnight". The ad campaign with this slogan ran from 1979 to 1983. Well, those days are over. These days, you are lucky if Fedex can get it there at all.

My problems with Fedex started in April. At this writing, it is August. In April, my laptop stopped working. I had to send it back to the company. They provided me with a shipping box and label. That took over a week. After they repaired it, it took over another week for it to be returned to me. I contacted Fedex several times. Each time, I received a different answer as to what the hold up was. At one point, the Fedex representative told me that it was on its way as scheduled. When I called again, it had been shipped to a wrong Fedex center and had to be retrieved then shipped on to me.

In early August, I bought a freezer online. Well, actually, I bought two freezers. I didn't need two freezers. I only needed one but the first one was delayed and I had food sitting on ice in the broken freezer that I had previously used. So, I bought a second freezer from a different company. I had decided that I would keep whichever freezer showed up first and refuse delivery on the one that showed up second. The first freezer was delayed at the point of origin but showed up quickly after it was shipped. It was shipped by UPS. The second freezer was also late because it was shipped via Fedex. The company shipped it right away but, as usual, it was delayed by Fedex. It showed up a day after the first freezer.

When the second freezer arrived via Fedex, I told the delivery driver that I refused delivery before he could even get it off the truck. Then, I asked him whether I needed to sign anything to state that I was refusing delivery. He told me "No, that's all you need to do. Just tell us that you want to refuse delivery."

That evening, I started to think about the fact that I needed to be able to track the return of the Fedex freezer. I checked Fedex online. It showed that it had been delivered to me. I called Fedex and was told that it would have to be relabeled when it was returned to the Fedex shipping center. I waited another day and checked the status again. It still showed that it had been delivered to me. I called Fedex again. I was told that it could take a few days for the shipment to be relabeled to show the status.

It has now been six days. It shows the freezer as delivered to me. I called twice today. Naturally, I received two different answers from two representatives. What else is new? It's Fedex. Did I really think that I would get a straight answer?

What was interesting was that the automated voice told me both times that there were two different shipments. That makes sense. It didn't tell me the new tracking number for the return shipment. Instead, it transferred me to a human representative. As I am sure you have figured out by now, the two different representatives gave me two different answers but at least I know that it wasn't stolen by the delivery driver. Neither rep could tell me the new tracking number for the return. They had no information about the second shipment even though the automated phone voice was fully aware that there were two shipments in reference to this item. I recorded the second conversation with Audacity.

Then, the different answers were that the Trace Department would contact me by phone up to 7:00 pm my time this day or the next day up to 7:00 pm. The first representative even promised to send me an email confirming our conversation and the ticket number that he created for me. He did give me the ticket number.

Forty minutes later, the promised email had not made it into my Inbox. So, I called Fedex for a second time. The new representative told me that she did not believe that she had the authority to send me a confirmation email. She did at least place me on hold to check with her supervisor, maybe. Then, she came back and told me that she could not send me an email. She also told me that it would take at least takes at least 24-48 hours to be processed and that the Trace Department would contact me within three business days.

Well, this is Monday. So, if I am extremely lucky, I will hear from the Trace Department by Thursday. I don't consider this a given. After all, the way Fedex runs things, I will be lucky if I hear from the Fedex Trace Department by the middle of next week.

My question is this. Why was it so difficult for Fedex to post the return tracking number on the same page as the original shipment? If there is some reason that this cannot be done, why is the new tracking number not available to the Customer Service reps? After all, as I stated, the Fedex voice machine is aware of the return shipment. That verified that it was in limbo supposedly being shipped.

So, my advice is that when you place an order, do everything that you can to ensure that the company selling you the item does not ship it via Fedex. If you have something to ship out, don't ship it via Fedex. Ship by UPS or even USPS.

Fedex. If you are really lucky, anything shipped to you or by you might actually get to its destination and you might be able to track it. That is, if you are extremely lucky. Otherwise, expect to be lied to or given various answers depending upon which rep you speak with.

I was going through my email when I came across one from one of my credit cards. It advised my to use Guardio to secure my browser. So, I clicked the link and added the extension to my browser. Then, Guardio told me to run a scan. I ran it.

At this point, Guardio said that I had visited harmful sites and had information leaks. So, of course, I clicked continue. Guardio said that I had 2 Harmful Sites, 1 Information Leak, High Risk Harmful Apps but no Unwanted Popups or System Health issues. Naturally, they had the High risk items in red.

So, of course, I expanded the high risk items. It listed two sites and the date of the 7th. There are a couple of problems with this. I use Bitdefender Total Security which I swear by. Bitdefender listed eight attacks on the 5th, none on the 7th. None of the attacks were these URLs. There were 5 attempts within seconds from one URL and two attempts from another but not the ones Guardio stated. Guardio was unaware of the genuine hacking attempts.

I, then, searched my history. Yes, those two sites were in my history. I clicked on them and they were blank. Maybe Bitdefender stopped them but I don't think so because Bitdefender always notifies me when it does so and it didn't notify me of these.

Next, I expanded High Risk Information leaks. There were a couple of problems with these as this well. It stated that Canva suffered a data breach 5/23/2019. First, how would Guardio know if I was involved in that breach. I don't keep my email addresses, passwords or any personal information in my browser. I learned that this was a bad idea when scammers stole my email address and passwords, sent themselves a lot of money from my credit union account and verified themselves through my email. Of course, this may not have been a browser issue because Google stores our passwords online when we save them in the browser. I have wondered if this came from my stored password on Google.

Then, Guardio did not list other security breaches. I have Mastercard ID Protection. It is free for anyone with any type of Mastercard, not just credit cards but debit cards including PayPal. I went to my Mastercard ID Protection and logged in. It showed me 14 breaches with different types of information including my name, address, email addresses and passwords. Canva was one of the breaches MC ID listed. But that means that Guardio missed 13 other breaches. So, they actually don't have a clue.

Finally, I went to the Harmful Apps that Guardio had check marked in red. This stated "No threats of this type were found during the checkup." So, that was just an attempt to cause me to fear for the safety of my laptop.

They don't even tell you after the checkup that they offer a free version. They only tell you that you can have a 7 day trial. If you go directly to their website, you will find that they do offer a free version.

To me, everything that they stated showed me that they had no idea but were going to try to influence me to buy their product even though it didn't do a thing. They are a scam.

Bitdefender Total Security is the real deal. I bought mine at Amazon for $20 and it covers everything. I even click questionable emails to find out if they are phishing attempts because Bitdefender stops me from going to the sites then notifies me.

Additionally, Guardio isn't a Russian or Chinese company. They are Israeli. But an Israeli company made an app with spyware in an attempt to hack smartphones "belonging to journalists, government officials and human rights activists around the world" in 2018 (Reuters). Companies don't care about information about these types of people. Governments do. Is this another attempt or just a startup company that lies to people to try to make a lot of money from unsuspecting consumers?

Something is wrong with Guardio. I advise everyone who has it to remove it and anyone who is thinking about adding this extension not to do so.

After months of submitting hundreds of dollars in receipts, I am done with Fetch Rewards. It isn't as if I am a newbie who has never used cashback, rebates, or reward apps before. I have done so for years. Fetch is the worst that I have ever seen. I have tried them all and any one of them is better than Fetch. IBotta helped me buy my Thanksgiving dinner. It was virtually free at Walmart. Coupon Cabin, Rakuten, eBates, RetailMeNot, Honey, and Offers.com are all good. I actually save money or get money back with these programs. Not Fetch. I get nothing from them. Maybe a few magazine subscriptions for magazines that I don't even like. The 5,614 points that I have after submitting many hundreds of dollars of receipts over several months and receiving around 25 points apiece will only get me these. I even got a whole 40 points once----once.

Let me give you the rundown on the point values with Fetch. With 3,000 points you can enter a $1,000 contest. 5,000 points lets you, enter the same contest or order year subscriptions of magazines that I would never read. 10,000 points gives you around 75 $10 gift cards, or about 25 donate $10 to charities, or the same magazines as with 5,000 points or the same $1,000 contest. To reach 10,000 points at 25 points per receipt, you would need to submit 400 receipts. How long would that take you? If you buy $100 dollars in groceries each week, one receipt would give you 25 points. That would receive 100 points per month. That would be 100 months or over 8 years to reach 10,000 points. I can't even imagine 25,000 points. The only reason that I have 5,000 points is that I buy everything I can on sale at several stores each week. I believe in saving. I don't save a thing with Fetch.

Maybe if I bought exactly what Fetch wants me to buy, I could reach 25,000 in under 5 years but I want to buy what I actually want to buy.

So, goodbye Fetch. I wish I could say that it has been fun but, to say that, I would have to lie.

I would not have written this review if Effy had not blatantly lied to me by email. I'm so sick of fraudulent jewelry companies--either manufacturers or sellers. I had contacted Effy by email. In fact, there were many emails back and forth between myself and Effy. After seeing that JC Penny was selling Effy lead glass filled rubies on JCP, I wanted to know which Effy jewelry I could trust. Evidently, none of it. In one email reply from Effy, the representative wrote to me "We typically use a range of diamonds, which is H/I Color and I1 Clarity. Depending on the item, we can have an item GIA certified for you. We only use heat on our rubies." This was definitely untrue. Maybe I should have bought a bad ruby then asked them to have it GIA certified. None of their jewelry is certified.

Although Effy is considered an upscale jewelry brand, if you go to the Effy website, you will not see any information about the quality of stones used in Effy jewelry. In fact, if you choose a particular piece of jewelry then choose product info, you will only be told what the piece is. For example, title "Effy 14K Two-Tone Gold Ruby and Diamond Ring, 2.50 TCW" will only tell you "Effy 14K Two-Tone Gold Ruby and Diamond Ring, 2.50 TCW" for the product information. You will not find information about the quality of the stone or any treatments used on the stones. There is a reason for this. Effy is passing off very low quality gemstones as fine jewelry.

This is very important information. I first discovered this at JC Penney while looking at jewelry. JCP had Effy Final Call jewelry which was listed under clearance jewelry. While I was looking through the Effy jewelry, I found that every piece of Effy ruby jewelry was described as lead glass filled. What?! So, of course, I researched lead glass filled rubies. According to many many sources including GIA, the Gemological Institute of America, the most respected certification organization for gemstones, "lead filled rubies and some pink sapphires is a method of using poor quality gemstones and filling them with leaded glass to improve their appearance. GIA states "the treatment is amazing, in that it transforms corundum that is opaque and nearly worthless into material that is transparent enough for use in jewelry." "It is interesting to note that one lead glass–filled ruby that was submitted to the GIA Laboratory showed evidence of oxidation of the filler at the surface, undoubtedly a consequence of the extreme lead content."

GIA "In the case of lead-glass filling in rubies, the intent is clearly to enhance the apparent clarity of the stone. The treatment is very effective in this regard. Stones that are almost opaque can be improved to the point of being semitransparent to transparent. This makes it possible to market a great deal of previously unusable material. Fortunately, this treatment is easily detected with magnification."

"DURABILITY TESTING No damage to the lead glass fillings was observed with standard steam cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning, setting, and even retipping of prongs, when these procedures were performed carefully on the limited number of stones tested, as described below. Some damage was seen with immersion in a pickling solution and exposure to other reagents."

GIA states that pickling solution which is used to clean jewelry metal repairs caused etching of the the lead glass filler. GIA also found that common household cleaners such as ammonia, bleach, and lemon juice also had this effect. Also in the GIA video "How to Classify a Lead Glass–Filled Ruby by GIA", they tell consumers that jewelry with lead glass filling cannot be repaired for this reason. The video states, too, that lead glass filling of rubies should not be called a treatment. It should be called a manufactured product. These are no longer considered rubies because of the lead glass filling.

Not only is this a problem with quality but it is also a problem with durability. GIA state "Glass, particularly high-lead-content glass, is significantly softer than corundum, which makes the polish noticeably inferior to the host." In fact, in 2011, Brandi Law Firm Consumer Fraud Attorneys filed suit against Macy's in in San Francisco Superior Court for fraudulently not informing customers about leaded glass filled rubies and treated diamonds.

First State Auctions, a major jewelry auction house in Australia, writing about lead glass filled rubies, states "Until this treatment was developed, these rubies had no commercial use. This treatment is not accepted by the jewelry trade. The value of Lead Glass Filled rubies are only a small fraction (less than 1%) of those of a heat treated ruby of similar appearance. It is not obligatory to declare this form of treatment, and sometimes it is hidden behind words like "enhanced ruby". This term could include acceptable treatments that do not alter the makeup of the ruby such as heat treatment. However, the First State Auctions gemological team carefully screens each ruby before coming to auction. We will not include Lead Glass Filled rubies in our auctions." So, your enhanced ruby might be only heat treated but it might be leaded glass. You have no way of knowing unless you buy it then take it to a reputable jeweler to have it examined. Do you really want to buy an Effy ruby?

In their report, GIA stated "All 30 of the samples that were analyzed qualitatively with EDXRF showed a significant lead content, as did the two measured semiquantitatively." You know, lead that is a health hazard.

Some Effy jewelry is certified but not many. That means that you don't know what the quality of their gemstones are. Filling materials are also used on diamonds and emeralds as well. So, do you really know what you are buying when you buy Effy jewelry? No, you don't.

Macy's sells Effy ruby jewelry. They state "All rubies are heat treated with residue". I suppose that puts a positive spin on it. Macy's does sell a few certified Effy pieces but you have to be careful with Macy's too. I searched "certified Effy" at Macy's. The second item that was shown was not certified. I even called to ask if it was certified. It was not. On the first page of 60 items, only 14 were certified. Macy's could ensure that all listings were Effy but not that all listings were certified even though I chose certified as the first word. Strange, don't you think? But Macy's will have a review on a different day.

Even Saks off 5th sells Effy ruby jewelry. They state that they are "Natural ruby" and that "All rubies are heat treated with residue. Almost all gemstones have been treated to enhance their beauty and require special care." There is that residue statement again. At this point, I would assume that the "with residue" part means glass filling. At least Kohl's doesn't sell lead glass filled rubies. In fact, they don't sell any Effy rubies. They do sell Effy and they do sell certified rubies but they don't sell Effy certified jewelry or Effy ruby jewelry. That should tell you something. Even Effy's diamonds at Kohl's per their "GEMSTONE TREATMENT & SPECIAL CARE GUIDE" diamonds information states "Occasionally laser-drilled or fracture filled to improve appearance. On rare occasions, diamonds may be surface-coated or heated with pressure to alter their color and/or clarity. Avoid recutting diamonds that have been fracture filled. For stones that have been surface-coated, avoid steam cleaning, ultrasonic cleaners, and alcohol. They may adversely affect the stones' color and appearance."

GIA states "As with any treatment, clarity enhancement by lead-glass filling must be disclosed at all levels of sale to protect consumer confidence." So, what is my confidence in Effy? Zero out of ten.

UPDATE: Zdnet just reported "Windows 11: Half of enterprise workstations don't meet the new system requirements, says survey"

Microsoft is pushing out Windows 11. So many people are excited. Windows 11 will be officially released on October 5,2021. It's the next version and it will be so much better than the previous versions. Well, maybe not. There are several problems with this rollout. Most importantly, many computers which are excellent in their processing speed, graphics, audio and storage don't make the cut. They can't run Windows 11. Users can download the Windows PC Health Check from Microsoft to find out if their computer will be able to run Windows 11. That should tell you something. Why would millions of people need to check to see if they can run Windows 11?

To remedy this situation Microsoft is pushing their "all new Surface family" of notebooks. They will be sold with Windows 11 installed. Yipee. I have received several emails lately from the Microsoft Store telling me about this fact. In fact, the last email I received had gigantic letters "10/05/21" screaming to readers on the Microsoft Store mailing list. It was speaking of Windows 11 but one of the forward slashes was a Surface notebook. What a subtle hint. Do you suppose that Microsoft could have programmed Windows 11 to run predominantly on Surface notebooks to sell a lot of laptops? I mean how many companies put out software that many, many computers can't use? That everyone has to check to see if their computer has the ability to run the software?

I don't see Windows 11 being something that everyone should jump on the bandwagon for. There are a few reasons. First, often I have tried to provide support to Windows users in the Windows Community but I have had my posts removed, had threads locked, and I even received a private email from a moderator telling me not to keep telling people to use Bitdefender and disk cleanups from other companies. They, actually, undeleted my post after I made a screenshot of that email and posted it to a user who said that his hard disk now worked after using Windows Disk cleanup. I can't explain all of that here but I will tell you that Windows Disk Cleanup cleans up 30 MB while the other cleaners I use remove over 1 GB of junk files. I do have to use several to clean over 1 GB but most clean between 150 to 250 MB each. These are reputable software companies which create great software. I clean my drives once every two or three days. Bitdefender stops attacks that Windows Defender doesn't stop. Have I explained enough yet? Oh, and I did find it ironic that a Windows MVP of ten years could advocate the use Macrium for disk partitioning and other software by non-Microsoft companies but I guess Microsoft doesn't mind him telling users this for some reason. I agree that Macrium is the best and it's free. Maybe some moderators at Microsoft are sexist. I have seen this over and over as a female who knows more than most men about computers. I would like to help Windows users but Microsoft wants to tie my hands.

But what do I really know about computers? Well, I have used computers for 35 years. I started with MS DOS and have had every version of Windows that Microsoft has put out. I was a professional database administrator. I have built and repaired my own computers. And, the most important thing, I love software. Downloading and trying freeware and open source software is one of my hobbies. I do buy excellent commercial software that is not overpriced but often I can find open source that does the same thing for free or a program from a European software company that does the same thing for only a few dollars. American software is way overpriced.

Windows 11 is free but...

I could tell you a long history of Microsoft bugs that the Microsoft advocates in the Community deny exist. For this reason, I call them cultists. You know, the Microsoft Cult. Yes, there is such a thing--people who think that Microsoft can do no wrong. I started saving emails about Windows and Outlook problems in March of 2019. And if you do a quick search online, you will find reputable and knowledgeable websites attesting to the fact that Windows 10 has had a lot of bugs. One site also has a how-to section for Microsoft products and tells you how to fix numerous problems with Windows 10 and Windows 11. Many bugs have already been found in Windows 11. Yes, I bookmarked this site. This site also tells of numerous bugs that have attacked Windows systems. As recently as August 23,2021 they posted an article entitled "Windows 11 Bug Breaks Windows Defender App". But I should not tell users to use Bitdefender Total Security, the best protection that there is.

Maybe I'm just crying over spilled milk because my laptop does not have the required Windows 11 specifications. No, actually, my laptop passed the test. It can run Windows 11 but I won't be using Windows 11 until I am absolutely forced to do so. I don't like Microsoft's tactics. No, I don't want to buy a Surface notebook so that I can use Windows 11. I don't think that computer users should be forced to do so especially if they have to buy them from Microsoft. My laptop will run Windows 11. I just don't want it.

Trustpilot doesn't have a US URL. They have microsoft.com as Denmark Microsoft which is actually microsoft.com/da-dk/. Anyway, go to Trustpilot and look at all of the reviews for Microsoft--microsoft.com, microsoft.uk, and Microsoft Support. All of them very bad--one star. Only Microsoft Office got 5 star reviews. I assure you that Microsoft is not a good company. I wish there was a way to get them for fraud.

Please check out everything that I have told you. I'm not lying but Microsoft is.

Mylife just kept spamming me with "important info about your reputation". The first time I received one of their emails, I took a look. On their website, they stated on one page that my reputation was higher than the national average. On a different page, it was lower than the national average. Isn't it strange that it could be both.

When I continued to try to see what Mylife knew about me, first I had to go through many minutes of Mylife supposedly searching public records, until they finally brought me to a payment page. They weren't even telling me whether there was any issue. I know there wasn't. I have never been arrested for anything. I have an excellent credit score. I don't do anything against anyone else except write reviews about bad companies which is the case with MyLife.

I had been to Mylife before. So, I went to my dashboard. There they had my income very wrong and people I had never heard of as associates or relatives. They even improved my ex-husband's name. Unfortunately, that isn't his name. Only Mylife would incorrectly write it that way. Let me put it this way, Mylife had my ex-husband's name as a combination of his name and his brother's name.

Mylife claims that they can protect you by giving you the reputations of people on dating websites. Mylife didn't have my past names. I have been married twice. So, neither my maiden name or first marriage last name were given. They wouldn't know a criminal using an alias on a dating site. How are they going to protect me? To me, it is very dangerous for Mylife to make this claim.

When I checked "Where's my info", I was given the name of a woman in Minnesota. I live in New York State. She didn't even have the same middle initial. Could Mylife even give me information about the wrong person when I am conducting a background check on a potential date?

What I really want to say is that Mylife is a scam. Don't buy into it. If they can't tell you proper details about yourself, how can they tell you correct information about someone you might find on a dating website?

Mylife has a very low Reputation Score in my book.

Your tires are more important than you could imagine. Until recently I didn't know that this was the case. Let me explain.

I had an accident and my insurance company told me that I could lower my rate if I took a safe driving course. So, I did. In the course, I learned things like to make sure that you stay in your lane when you are rounding a curve, allow a distance behind other cars in case you need to brake suddenly, and watch ahead to ensure that you know what might happen if another driver suddenly pulls out into traffic in front of your car.

Although it was a very informative course, it didn't state one very important factor. That is to make sure that you have good tires on your car. Before my accident I had Douglas tires that I had purchased at Walmart. They were the worst tires that could ever be put on a vehicle. They caused my braking to take a lot of distance before the car would stop. They hydroplaned in the rain. My car would pull right into water on the side of the road. When turning left, I had to pull far to the right to ensure that my car didn't go into the left lane. And within a little over a year the tires were worn down so much that I needed to replace them before I could have my car inspected. Don't ever by Douglas tires!

This isn't about Douglas tires, though. This is about Hankook tires. I had decided to rid myself of the awful Douglas tires. So, I began looking for quality tires at a good price. There were quite a few good brands at decent prices online. So, it was hard to decide which to choose. I finally checked Walmart again just to see what they offered. As I was looking at tires on Walmart, I saw Hankook Kinergies. I had no idea what they were. I just thought that they were some cheap brand that I wouldn't want but I Googled them just to be sure. To my surprise, they were Car and Driver's top all-season tire as of June 2019. There were only four tires in my size left. So, I quickly ordered them. I was still unsure if they would be that good but...

The Hankook Kinergies have been on my car a little over a month now, time enough to know exactly how good they are. They aren't just good. They are great! They make driving a breeze. The Kinergies hug the road in all conditions. They brake immediately. I even tried them on gravel. My car stopped instantly. If I need to stop suddenly because a person or a car jumps out in front of me, they stop, period. Around curves, they don't drift. No hydroplaning on water. The Kinergies go right through water as if I'm driving on a dry street. On top of hugging the road, they are quiet and smooth, touring tire quiet and smooth. They are touring tires that really perform.

One more very important point. While I was searching for tires, I found that the Hankook Kinergies have a 90,000 mile warranty. In case you have no idea what that means, they are guaranteed not to wear until they reach 90,000 miles. The highest warranty that I have seen for other tires is 80,000 miles. These exceed every other tire. Even if you can't find them at the extremely low price that I found them, understand that you will not have to replace them for the life of your car. Think about that. You won't have to replace them next year or the year after or the year after that. They will still be road worthy and inspectable after a few years. Nobody could drive 90,000 miles in a year or even two or three years.

So, if you want the very best possible tires possible, buy Hankooks. My suggestion is the Kinergie all-seasons.

ThredUP has good deals. They offer up to 90% off retail. Yet, thredUP has some problems for both buyers and sellers. They tell consumers that they have a 12-point inspection. When I contacted thredUP support, they could not tell me what the 12-points were. Was the 12-points a fib? I did ask twice.
They do have good deals. So, I ordered three items. One of the items had a very large, obvious stain. They did allow me to return it and stated that once in a while something might be overlooked.

ThredUP touts their virtues. They reclaim clothing. On their Our Impact page, they state "Thrifting can help solve the fashion waste crises." "Buying one used item reduces its carbon, waste, and water footprints by 82%." This all sounds wonderful but there is a problem with their company. The problem is that they are reaping a huge profit at the expense of those who sell their used clothing to thredUP. So, thredUp is environmentally friendly but are they ethical?

Their payouts for sellers are low compared to Poshmark or even Ebay. I found this out when I was getting ready to send clothing that I no longer wanted to thredUP using their cleanout kit. It sounds so easy. You just order a cleanout kit, fill it up and send it to thredUP in the large shipping bag with the prepaid label that they send to you. Thredup sells the items for you. They take the pictures, write the description and post it on their website. After your item is sold, you receive your payout.

All well and good but I had to compare their payouts to other clothing thrift sites. What I found out was that they pay a very low amount for most items. Here is how it works. Anything under a resale price of $100 is paid much less by thredUP than Poshmark or even Ebay. Let me give you a couple of examples. Let's say that you have an item that sells for $50 on any of the three sites. ThredUP pays you $15. Poshmark pays you $40 and Ebay pays you $44 minus shipping of around $5. So, $39. Let's say that one of your items sells for $20. At threUP you will receive a payout of $3. With Poshmark, you will receive $16. With Ebay, you will receive $12.60 after shipping charges. So, let's say that you send in clothing with a resale value of $500 with an average resale value of $25 each. Your total payout for Poshmark would be $400. For Ebay it would also be $400. For thredUP it would be only $100. ThredUP has a good scheme going on.

This is not an innocent situation. They know what they are doing. They post on their Resale Report page "Secondhand Market Set to Hit $64B in the Next 5 Years" "thredUP Weathers Covid Storm Better Than Competition" "82% of America hasn't yet resold clothing, but most consumers are open to doing so. 67% of people who haven't are open to reselling their clothing."

Market Watch states that thredUP "listed revenue of $186 million in 2020, up 14% year-on-year. Net losses grew to $47.9 million in 2020 from $38.2 million in 2019, it said." I hope that the losses were because more people were recycling their clothing through thredUP. They will do this for free. Just mark that you don't want your items returned when you order your cleanout kit. If they really care about the environment, they won't mind.

Then go to Poshmark or Ebay to sell your gently used clothing.

Claire's offers free ear piercing with the purchase of earrings. So, I went to a Claire's to see what type of deal I could get. As I entered the store, I saw that Claire's had precious metal earrings for $9 with ear piercing. The young woman employee asked if she could help me. I told her that my granddaughter wanted a second ear piercing. The woman led me to the earrings that were offered for piercings. I asked her which earrings were the least expensive. She pointed to the 3mm Stainless Steel Ball earrings and told me that it would be $36.99. She quickly added "She can take it out in three weeks". If you go to 'Claire's Ear Piercing Kits' online, you will see them offered at this price. I then asked her "why is it so expensive for a little stainless steel ball?" She told me that she didn't know. I laughed and said that didn't sound like free piercing to me. She continued "The piercing is free. It's the metal that you pay for." As I started to leave, she said "It's expensive because of the solution that you get is $20 and you have to get it." I asked "You have to get it?" Her reply was "New York State law mandates that I have to give you a solution." Of course, I was recording our conversation which I have the legal right to do in New York State.

When I got home, I Googled New York State law ear piercing and was brought to the New York State Department of Health 'Body Art - Tattooing and Body Piercing' which made no mention of cleaning solution. It stated to ensure that the piercer Washes their hands before piercing and uses single-use gloves, Cleans the area to be pierced, Uses a single-use, disposable razor to shave the skin to be pierced, if needed, Uses sterile needles, clamps, receiving tubes and body jewelry, Provides aftercare information.My next step was to contact the New York State Department of Health at the phone number that they provided at the bottom of the page.

I saw nothing mandating ear piercers to give a solution. So, I contacted the New York State Department of Health by email. The reply that I received stated "NYS law does not mandate that an ear piercing business give you a "solution I cannot recommend what you use for aftercare, because I am not a licensed medical provider. There is no law stating that you must purchase ear care solution. You can lodge a complaint with the NYS Attorney General if you feel their practice is fraud". Yes, I will be lodging a complaint with the Attorney General. I would advise anyone else who goes to Claire's and is told the same thing to file a complaint with Attorney General. As was stated by the Health Department employee, who is a Sanitarian, this is fraud.

A little addtional information. If you go to the Claire's website, you can find 3 mm sterling silver earrings for $4.99. They will show you at the top of their page that you can purchase $9 precious metal earrings. Of course, this means that you are required to spend from $36.99 to $231.99. Depending which earrings your choose, to have your ears pierced at Claire's. On their website, Claire's shows that he solution is $20 for the 'Ear Piercing Rapid 3 Week After Care Cleanser' but they also carry 'Claire's Ear Care Solution' for $8.

I did some research on the Claire's website to compare what they offered for earrings in their ear piercing kits vs. what you can buy if you just want to buy earrings. Claire's corporate is pretty smart. They don't offer any stainless steel earrings except for with the ear piercing kits. They also don't offer any solid gold earrings except with the kits. They don't sell diamond earrings except with the kits. The kits have 24k gold plated earrings while the separate earrings are 18k gold plated. They have attempted ensure that customers can't compare the kit earring prices to the earrings offered without piercing. So, we are talking apples to oranges. They can get away with it, right? Well, no they can't. Did I happen to mention that I know a lot about jewelry. I have operated a jewelry website, created my own pieces, and I am a member of the Gemological Institute of America. I know gems and I know metals.

So, let's consider a few things. Sterling silver is a precious metal. Stainless steel is not. Stainless steel is less expensive than sterling silver. Easy to understand, right? So, if they can sell 3 mm sterling silver ball stud earrings for $4.99, they could sell stainless steel 3 mm ball stud earrings for less than $4.99. We are back to the question of why free ear piercing costs $36.99 for 3 mm stainless steel ball studs but sterling silver ball studs are $4.99. Hum. Yes, this is fraudulent. Their ear piercing is not free.

Also, I made a few other comparisons. Although Claires makes a major effort to sell different types of earrings in the kits than as separates to deceive consumers, there were a few things that I could find.

They did offer titanium earrings in the kits and separately at different prices. In fact, the kit earrings should be less expensive than the separate titanium earrings because the kit earrings are a choice of an unidentifiable composite material or a crystal stone. The separate titanium earrings are all cubic zirconia which is more expensive. Their kit staineless steel crystal earrings are more expensive than their separate sterling silver crystal earrings--I ensured that I chose tinted crystal so there is not confusion in the comparison.

Then, there are the 'Claire's Exclusives' earrings at the top of the ear piercing kits page. These are 'Unicorn With Stainless Steel Post' and 'Make a Wish Blue Glitter Star With Stainless Steel Post'. So, I studied their unicorn earrings and their glitter earrings not offered as kit items. I found several unicorn earrings ranging from $3.49 to $6.49. The $6.49 was for the sterling silver earrings. There were glitter earrings for as low as $2.49. The posts appear to be stainless steel but I can't be certain without careful analysis. Maybe I will buy a pair and bring them home to determine whether the posts are stainless steel.

Did I happen to mention that I know a lot about jewelry. I have operated a jewelry website, created my own pieces, and I am a member of the Gemological Institute of America. Do fraudulent companies like Claire's really believe that not one person will ever have the capability to see that they are fraudulent?

One last thing. Let's talk about Claire's and your health. According to People Magazine, a 7-year old girl had her ears pierced at Claire's. Then, her mother used the Rapid After Care Cleanser on her daughter's ears as she was instructed. Claire's states on their site "dermatologist- and pediatrician-tested." "After three weeks, the girl's piercings looked healed. So, the mother removed the earrings and changed to another pair of earrings. One week later, the daughter's ears were infected to the point that, on a nurse's advice, the mother took the girl to the hospital. The mother stated that a piercing is a wound which requires six weeks to heal. Claire's might try to state that the earrings that the mother replaced the Claire's earrings with caused the infection. There is just one problem with this. If the ear piercing could heal in 3 weeks, the healed ears would not become infected with a different pair of earrings.

When I told my daughter about this, she told me to go to Sally's where they have numerous types of self piercing guns which include the earrings. I bought mine for $7 and had my daughter pierce my ears. Then I used alcohol to care for my new piercings. I'm almost healed and it has only been five days. I did change to another pair of earrings but I will continue to use alcohol for six weeks to be sure that they are healed.

Anybody up for a class action lawsuit?

As a little girl, I would pick up a whole pile of my parents' National Geographic Magazines and thumb through them for hours. They were amazing. I could visit people all over the world. I could see art and culture, history and archaeology, not to mention advertisements for Cadillacs or was that Oldsmobiles? These magazines amazed me. They opened my eyes to many interesting things that I would not have otherwise known existed.

In my teenage years, I ordered Smithsonian Magazine and enjoyed all that it brought to me. It was similar to National Geographic yet a little more upscale, something that I wanted at that time. Smithsonian Magazine somehow seemed better. Although National Geographic Magazine had wonderful pictures, Smithsonian images seemed more artistic while still capturing the impact of any particular subject matter.

I have ordered both magazines on and off for many years. And so it was that I, EVIDENTLY, ordered National Geographic Magazine last year. I was unaware that I had done so until I received my renewal notice in my email. It was automatic. I'm really glad that I was notified. Otherwise, I would not have known that I was a subscriber. You see, my subscription was digital, something that I was completely unaware of. The renewal was also $19.99 per month which is $239.88 per year. And for that I didn't even get a paper copy, just digital.

Naturally, I called National Geographic Customer Service and told them that I had never received a paper magazine. Their answer was that I had only chosen the digital version and that the paper version would cost an additional $34. I took that to mean per month. They never offered to allow me to subscribe to the print magazine alone. At that time, I cancelled my subscription.

I went online to see how much National Geographic cost for an initial subscription. It appeared that I had to order the digital format then add the print edition on top of that. You can even see in the initial subscription offer that you can order digital but only one type, "National Geographic Magazine", "Nat Geo History", or "Nat Geo Kids". I can understand that the kids magazine is something that would be ordered separately. After you choose the magazine that you want, your choices are a monthly digital subscription, a yearly digital subscription, or a yearly digital and print edition. What happened to the old concept of just paper magazines? What if I didn't have a computer? Would I not be able to order National Geographic?

On top of that when you initially order a National Geographic Magazine, you will enter your billing details. Then you will see the subscribe button. The subscribe button is before the fine print that you would just think is the legal print and contacts. What you actually see is that the fine print for the annual subscription states "Annual Subscriptions Your subscription will automatically be renewed each year. Before the start of each renewal, you will be sent a reminder notice stating the current rate. If you do nothing, your credit card will automatically be charged for another membership year at the renewal rate then in effect." My renewal rate was $19.99 per month for the digital edition which was emailed to me. That was their "renewal rate in effect". You would have to be an academic researcher or really, really love National Geographic to pay $239.88 annually for a digital only magazine subscription. Of course, academics are given free access to academic journals and other publications. That just leaves people who really love National Geographic Magazine or maybe people who don't realize how much the renewal costs.

When I called back after cancelling, I asked how much for the print edition alone. The CS rep told me that I would need to start a new subscription. That was good because at least I could receive a better deal. She told me that the print edition would be $39 per year. I told her that it was less for the digital and print magazine together at National Geographic online. I pulled up the page with the "offer" and found that it was $24 per year for the digital and print editions together. So, she offered me the print edition for $24. I told her that both together were offered for $24. She asked if I wanted both. I said no I just wanted the print edition. She told that would be $24. I asked whether I could subscribe to the print edition for less than $24 since I only wanted the print edition. She told me no. I have done as I always do when dealing with a difficult company. I used Audacity to record the conversation. At least some things are still free in this world of greedy businesses. If anyone wants to hear it, just let me know.

So, the price for National Geographic Magazine is somewhat negotiable unless you simply renew. If I do subscribe to National Geographic in the future, I will ensure that I subscribe from Publisher's Clearing House or another inexpensive vendor. I always see magazine deals from these vendors. And I will ensure that it tells me that I will receive the print edition. That is where I went wrong the last time.

Meanwhile, I just subscribed to Smithsonian Magazine. They gave me an offer that I could not refuse. 11 issues for $8 or 22 issues for $16 for a senior discount membership. The online price for younger people is almost the same. 11 issues for $12. They tell you "Your first issue will arrive in six to eight weeks." So, you know that you are receiving an actual physical magazine just like the old days. And they don't mandate automatic renewal. They just send you the magazine. When it is time to renew there is a renewal tab to choose at the top of the account page. It might cost a little more next year but I bet it will cost less than National Geographic. Additionally, Smithsonian gives you many membership discounts while National Geographic tries to sell you books and other items.

Smithsonian Magazine also states "Ninety-nine percent of membership dues are allocated for Smithsonian magazine." I think that means that the money doesn't go into an executive's pocket. National Geographic doesn't say where their money goes. That could get into a whole kettle of fish though. National Geographic is considered a non-profit organization. They have had three different CEOs in the last three years. Their annual revenue was $5.5 billion as of 2020.

Save yourself some trouble and order Smithsonian Magazine instead of National Geographic.

Before now, I kind of took Dove for granted. Sure they have the advertisements that they help your skin but they never scream "ours is the best". They are subtle, and low key with their approach. So, I was surprised to see that Dove created the absolutely best skin creams.

Let me go back a little bit. I have tried almost every cream and lotion available, both the expensive ones and the less expensive ones with limited results. They only helped to heal my poor very chapped and rough winter hands a little. Some were greasy. Some were runny. I didn't like them but I had to do something. I had even read all of the ingredients on each lotion or cream. Some seemed as if they would be promising but...

Last year I saw Dove Body Care Rich Nourishment Cream at DT. Well, I had tried so many others that I thought why not add Dove to the list. I wouldn't be wasting much money, only a dollar. So, it was worth a shot. The thing was that, after all of the other lotions and creams, the Dove Body Care Rich Nourishment Cream actually healed my hands. Not just that but the case was a small, sturdy, screw top container that I could carry in my purse. This Dove Cream turned out to be extraordinary. It healed even my horrible skin quickly. It wasn't greasy like some emollients or runny like a lotion. It was a cream that would rub into my skin and begin healing immediately as well as providing a moisture barrier to protect my skin from further damage. It was perfect.

After a year, I still had a lot of the cream left but there it was again in DT. On top of that, it's sister, Dove Nourishing Body Care Beauty Cream had joined it on the store shelf. So, I picked up another of the one that I knew worked and one of the Beauty Creams. The Dove Beauty Cream turned out to be another superb product for skin care. It seemed to begin healing the moment that I rubbed it into my skin. It, too, was a cream, not a lotion. So, it was not runny and it was not greasy, just healing and protective.

I don't like to be insulting to the other brands but the Dove ingredients are the best combination of all of the healing and nourishing elements that you can find. I have included images of the ingredients so that you can see this for yourself.

I have now spent a whole three dollars on the best skin healers and protectors that I have ever used. Maybe I should throw all of the others out. I know that I will only use Dove from now on but I really hate to waste all of the money that I spent on the other brands.

If your hands or body need healing help, I would tell you to head to DT and pick one or two up. A dollar or two isn't much to risk and I know that you will agree with me that either one will be the best skin help that you will have ever used.

Nobody pays attention to Ajax. They are low key, really low key, too low key. I don't even remember seeing an Ajax commercial--ever. With all of the companies screaming "it cuts grease and it's used to clean oil off ducks" or "it's plant based, green" or "fresh scent", Ajax is easy to overlook. I used to think that way. Ajax couldn't be any good if it cost that little.

But then something happened that totally changed my mind. I ran out of the "cuts grease and gets oil off ducks". I had used it for years. So, while I was at DG, I tried to buy more. They were out of stock. Everybody wanted this brand. They do advertise.

What were my options? I could drive somewhere else to buy my usual dish detergent or I could buy what DG did have in stock. What they had in stock was Ajax at a really great price. Before I bought it, I tipped the bottle up and down. It wasn't runny like the cheap brands. It was just like the concentrated dish detergent. So, I bought one, took it home and started using it. I actually thought that I would just use it until I went to a store again and bought the "cuts grease" dish detergent.

But a funny thing happened. Ajax worked really well. It cut grease completely and it was long lasting. I didn't need to use much to wash a lot of dishes. Yes, Ajax was the real deal, the good stuff.

Don't get me wrong. I still like the "cuts grease". I even made a point of buying the Ultra Maximum Powerwash Spray with Fresh Scent in the fancy bottle. Yes, that worked but Ajax did just as well. It was even amusing that a friend who had come to my house asked me about my Ajax. "When did you get that?" I thought about explaining the situation to her but I just said "It works really well". Again, nobody takes Ajax seriously.

Now I swear by Ajax. I won't buy any other brand. I have nothing against the "cuts grease". It is a great product from a very ethical company but so is Ajax and Ajax costs less.

Try Ajax. You will be surprised. You can even buy a small bottle of Ajax dish detergent at DT for a dollar to try it out. You don't have to take my word for it but I do have to tell you that, by this point in time and after all of these years, I have probably hand washed a million dishes. I know the difference between something that works and a poor imitation. Ajax works.

Okay, Dollar Tree doesn't want you to know this but I will tell you. For many years, I have doubted the quality of Dollar Tree store brands. It turns out that I was right--for the second time.

It is good to know that Dollar Tree has been in the news lately because of their growth and revenues. Dollar Tree is doing very well. Https_//www_fool_com/investing/2020/11/24/dollar-tree-to-expand-higher-price-points-concept/ Motley Fool "Dollar Tree to Expand Higher Price Points Concept After Solid Q3 Results" and https_//www_supermarketnews_com/retail-financial/dollar-general-dollar-tree-stay-expansion-track "Dollar General, Dollar Tree stay on expansion track". Unfortunately, they are doing well at the expense of their customers.

Let me give you a little background. In November of 2019 the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) issued a warning letter to Greenbrier International, Inc., their parent company, for tainted over-the-counter (OTC) medications which were being sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores. These stores had to pull many foreign OTC medications due to the fact that they were tainted. Yes, tainted. According to the FDA, the warning letter was issued "for receiving over-the-counter (OTC) drugs produced by foreign manufacturers found to have serious violations of federal law. The warning letter outlines multiple violations of current good manufacturing practices (GMP) at contract manufacturers used to produce Dollar Tree's Assured Brand OTC drugs as well as other drug products sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores." The customers who bought these medications were risking their lives but, as Dollar Tree operates, the customers were never warned. Https_//www_fda_gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-warning-letter-dollar-tree-stores-receiving-potentially-unsafe-drugs "FDA issues warning letter to Dollar Tree stores for receiving potentially unsafe drugs".

Right now they are selling unusable products and not warning customers, again. They haven't pulled these products and there is no recall. I checked their recall page. They are just leaving them in their store for unsuspecting customers to buy. Other companies have recalls. Not Dollar Tree. They don't want to remove these because that is $1,875,000 that they would lose. So, they just pawn them off on unsuspecting customers. Let me explain.

I have had three children and I'm older. So, I sometimes need bladder pads. For those who don't know, they're like panty pads but for bladder leaks. Dollar Tree had some for only one dollar. So, I thought I would try them. The very first one I used leaked through. I was shocked. How could that have happened? I opened a fresh one. There was no plastic liner, just padding. Without plastic liners to stop leaks, you have a real problem.

The next time I was in Dollar Tree, I looked at the panty pads. Someone had opened one of the packs. There was one laying on top of the packages. I picked it up and looked it. It didn't have a liner either. I do like that some people are smart enough to open a package and check to find out if they are usable. I bought a third type just to examine it. No, no liner.

I contacted Dollar Tree Customer Service but I was transferred to a voicemail twice. I called back to ask to speak to a real person. A woman with a hostile voice told me that transferring me to the voicemail was all that she could do.

So, I checked how many Dollar Tree stores there are. Dollar Tree states on their about page that there are 15,000 Dollar Tree Stores. The store I was in had about 125 total packages, 25 of five items. If you multiply the number of packages of these items by 15,000 stores, you find that Dollar Tree is selling a total of 1,875,000 packages of bad merchandise. So, they have $1,875,000 worth of merchandise to get rid of. Guess what? They are getting rid of them by selling them to you without telling you that they are defective.

I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). I will keep shopping at Dollar Tree but I will stick to buying less costly known brands at Dollar Tree, never their brands. Dollar Tree store brands really can't be trusted. Buyer beware.

I used to love Google and swear by them. But not anymore. I have learned too much about the problems with using Google services.

My Robinhood account was hacked. I received an email notice that I had logged in to Robinhood. I had not! Luckily, I had taken the money out. The hackers got nothing. But my credit union account was also hacked. They took out thousands of dollars. They did this by using my email username and password to verify that "I" was authorizing an ACH transfer to their account. Then, they deleted the email. I had to go into my deleted emails and restore the ones that they had used to determine that had actually happened. I did verify that this occurred. So, they hacked at least three of my accounts. Luckily, I constantly work against hackers and scammers. I knew how to handle it. So, I did get my money back. But what if this was all of the money that I had in the world and I needed it to live on? What if I did not know how to handle fraudulent situations? Did Google care at all? No. As long as they are making money, they are happy. Watch "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix.

So, let me explain a few things. Google will try to refute my claims. Before they do, I want to tell you how secure my laptop is. Then I will tell you how they hacked my usernames and passwords. I have a boot partition security program to protect my boot from viruses that hackers might want to deploy. I have a ransomware protection program. I also have the usual firewall and Windows Defender. Then, I have a web defender from a reputable virus protection company as well as unhackme which I run once a day. I have a keystroke logger protection program and a few others. My wiFi is secured and I change my username and password frequently. I even disconnect from the internet when I'm not using it and turn my computer off when I am doing something else. What I am trying to say is that they could not have gotten my usernames and passwords from my laptop. They had to have come from somewhere else. That somewhere else is at Google passwords online, https://passwords.google.com/. You may not know it but Google offers a free service where they keep a backup copy of your usernames and passwords when you save them in Google Chrome. That way, if you ever lose them, you can go to passwords.google.com to find them. The problem is that, obviously, this can be hacked. Mine were. So, I suggest removing all of your passwords from passwords.google.com and from Google Chrome Browser then change all of your passwords. Never ever save them in Google Chrome. I even recommend not using the Google Chrome Browser at all. Use Avast Browser or AVG Browser. They are free and genuinely secure. Choose DuckDuckGo as your search engine. It does give you excellent search results. Do not, under any circumstances, use Epic Browser. They claim to be secure but their search results are almost all ads. If Epic is only out for the advertising dollar, they are probably not as secure as they claim. I don't know, yet, about MS Edge and Bing. Honestly, I haven't researched them yet. I will then I will write a review about them.

Now, let's move on to Google Maps. I was using Google Maps on my phone as my GPS. I didn't like my actual GPS because it took me to a wrong place ONCE. So, I thought that Google would have the latest and greatest GPS system. Oh was I wrong. First of all, I travel a lot. I go to cities that I don't know. So, I depend on a GPS to get me from point A to point Z. Sometimes I pull in somewhere for a cup of coffee or to fill up my tank. I've noticed on cloudy days that when I'm leaving wherever, Google Maps will say "go south on Main Street" or something similar. The problem is that on a cloudy day, I don't know which way is south when I am in unfamiliar territory. So, I just turn right or left. Then, if I am going in the wrong direction, Google will tell me "make a u-turn". The problem with this is that I might be in heavy traffic. I can't just make a u-turn. I have to find a place where I can turn around. Then, on a few of my trips, Google Maps would take me the long way around. I could get into details to explain this but let me just say that it would take me around a beltway when I could simply go down a city street with a much shorter distance. It also took me many miles south when I was trying to go north. It wanted me to take the four lane highway instead of the shortest route. I even tried to change my destination to a place that was due north. It still took me east for a long distance before giving me a route to the north. I went many, many miles out of my way.

Suffice it to say, that, as a long time Google user, even understanding that Google is the top search engine, I will never use Google anything again. I advise you to not use Google either.

I would never spend the high prices that the major American software companies charge for photo editing programs. I'm not a professional photographer. I do love photography as a hobby, though. While I was searching for free alternative photography software, I stumbled on Giveaway sites where you can download legal, commercial software given away by various software companies. One company that often offered this software was Franzis.

Franzis is a company in Germany. They are well known in Europe. After trying out some of their free software, I could see why. All of their software is above and beyond in its technical capabilities and their prices are amazingly low.

They offer anything that you could want for photography including HDR, raw, denoise, sharpen, focus, remove objects, black and white, color, hip and retro looks, enlarging, drawing styles, nature, retouch, presets, stock photos, mockups, and backgrounds, and more.

You can even buy Franzis bundles for a much lower price than buying each program separately. They also sell their previous versions for between $20 to $40. The older versions work great. They are the last version before the latest version. They just don't have all of the new features that the latest versions do.

They also have two giveaways on their site. You can try these for yourself to see the quality of their software. They are "PhotoBuzzer - One-Click image editing with WOW-Factor" and "HDR projects 4 Pro - The perfect engine to create awesome HDR-Images from single images and exposure series".

Whether you are a professional photographer, a person who takes your photography seriously, or you just love editing your personal photos to perfection, you need to check out this site.

I bought my Hisense freezer in December of 2020. I picked it up on December 4,2020. Stupid me, I thought that it would last more than a year and half. So, I didn't buy the protection plan. After all, it didn't cost much but you do get what you pay for. Last Friday, on August 5,2022, it stopped working completely. So, I called Hisense. I know how to repair appliances. Well, they considered it old and couldn't find the parts list. Old at a year and a half? They still sell this at Lowe's. So, I couldn't repair it. They were supposedly looking for the parts list but I checked back today, one week later, and they had closed my ticket. Wow! They really don't care do they?

Then, it is not tight at all. It leaked all over my floor everyday for a week. And I kept putting lots of ice in it but it would melt in a day. No insulation. Why would you want insulation in a freezer?

So, I advise you not to buy a Hisense freezer. Instead, find a nice Frigidaire. That's what I am replacing mine with. They state that if their freezers fail, the food will stay frozen for 48 hours. What a concept, huh? An actual airtight freezer. I will bet that they even have insulation inside of them. And it didn't even cost me much more. Live and learn. Go Frigidaire. Stay away from Hisense.

Trying to deal with Square Trade was very difficult. I was back and forth with them many times before I could get them to let me file a claim. I had purchased a refurbished TV on Ebay. It was not under a manufacturer's warranty and the Square Trade coverage was only for one year. So, if it had a problem after one year, it would not be covered. One day, after seven months of use, it suddenly had a white line from top to bottom on the screen. I tried to file a claim but the Square Trade website claim area said that I needed to contact Philips to verify that my TV was not under the manufacturer's warranty before I could file a claim with Square Trade. Since Square Trade had given me a protection plan until November 5,2020, they were aware that it was not covered by a manufacturer's warranty. If there had been a manufacturer's warranty that covered one year, their protection plan should have been from November 5,2020 until November 5,2021. I did verify with Philips anyway. After I had done so, I went back to Square Trade and found the same statement in my claim area. So, I chatted at Square Trade. I was told that I needed to upload my receipt. I did so. Then I saw the same message again a few days later. I chatted for a second time. I was told that my receipt had not been uploaded. I uploaded again with the chat agent online with me then told him that I had made screen shots of the upload. He even stated that it would be difficult to do the upload. I told him that I am a geek and I did it very quickly. I wonder what would have happened if someone who is not as adept at computers had tried to do so. Then he told me that I would receive an email in two days. After over a week, I had still not heard from Square Trade. At that time, I chatted for the third time and was told that I would need to call a Square Trade claim specialist. The Square Trade claim specialist asked if the damage was accidental which was not covered. I said "No, the TV was not moved at all from the time I purchased it and placed it on my entertainment center." Then I was passed to a TV technician. At this point, I told him that I was recording the conversation. First, he told me that I could not do that. I told him that I could because Square Trade stated that they could record the conversation. He put me on hold for several minutes then came back to speak with me. He, again, asked me if the TV had been moved at all. I took this to be an attempt to negate my service plan by trying to consider the problem accidental damage. I told him that I had not moved it at all since placing it on my entertainment center. He had me do several tests with the TV. Then he asked me to upload various pictures of the problem with the TV along with the model and serial number. Over a week later, I had still not heard from Square Trade again. I called the Square Trade claim specialist number again and told them so. They had me speak with another TV technician. Finally, I reached a reputable person at Square Trade. He looked at the record of my prior conversation and stated that he could see that I had already tested the TV with a Square Trade TV technician. Then he told me that the TV could not be repaired because the parts would cost more than the value of the TV and that a check would be mailed out for about $25 less than I paid for the TV. He based the payment on what the TV would be worth right now, not what I had paid for it. Square Trade does state this when you purchase a protection plant. I did receive my check a few days later. I wish that a better company would offer service plans. Square Trade is pretty much a scam even though I like other Allstate insurance. I have it for my home and car. Check my screen shots as proof.

My tire ran over a screw. I didn't want to call roadside assistance to put my donut on because it was the third tire in a little over a month. So, I bought a can of Fix a Flat. I have used Fix a Flat for over 20 years. It always works. I asked my son to remove the screw before I used the Fix a Flat. He said "It won't work". "All of the air will leak out of the tire". But, as usual, it did. It put enough pressure in the tire for me to drive to a convenience store to finish adding air with their air compressor.

When I got my car to the tire repair shop, the repair man took the tire off the car and began to check it. After about fifteen minutes, he came to me to tell me that it was fine. In fact, he acted as if I was crazy. He had placed the tire in water to look for air bubbles (the air coming out of the tire) and didn't see any. He had put soap on it to look for air leaks. He said that he had even put 50 psi pressure in the tire that is supposed to have 32 psi and it didn't blow. I told him that I knew that there was a puncture. I turned the tire around and around, looking for the puncture but I couldn't see it either while it was wet. He put the tire back on my car and parked it outside. A few minutes later, I could see the puncture because the tire was dry. At that point, I left. I have been riding on it for about a month now. It has not lost any pressure.

Tire repair shops hate Fix a Flat because it leaves some of the Fix a Flat goo inside the tire. It is messy for them, but it works. I need my tire to be inflated even if it is hard on the tire people. I always warn them that I used Fix a Flat before they do a repair. One mechanic told me to try another type of tire repair in a can. I won't because I won't mess with a good thing. I know that Fix a Flat will work. It won't fix a gaping hole but it will fix a good size puncture if you run over something. You can trust Fix a Flat. You can see that I really had a screw hole in my tire in the images. I have proof. And it is so easy to use. You just unscrew your valve stem cap, screw the Fix a Flat tube onto your valve, fill your tire, then drive it for a few miles so that it can coat the inside of your tire. After that, fill it to the proper pressure and you will be good to go.

I clean my face with facial cleansing wipes on hot days so that I don't have to take an extra shower. I had run out of facial wipes. So, I started looking for more. I found the perfect wipes at, of all places, Dollar Tree. When I buy anything, I look for price but I really look for quality. I was amazed to see the quality of Global Beauty facial wipes. The ingredients were exceptional. I know from past experience that many expensive, major brands use ingredients that are not good for our skin or hair. All of the ingredients in Global Beauty facial wipes are safe and effective. For instance, the Cocoa Butter cleansing wipes have water as the first ingredient (they have to be wet). Then, glycerin, cocoa seed butter, argan oil. It is important to note that the higher an ingredient is listed, the more of the substance it contains. So, the prime ingredients are glycerin, cocoa seed butter, and argan oil. Then glyceryl stearate (a glycerin and stearic acid compound) which has a has a rating of 0 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database which means it is absolutely safe. These wipes also have many vitamins which are good for our skin. And they are PH balanced, hypo-allergenic, not tested on animals, and can be used for all skin types. There are even many types of wipes, aloe vera, retinol, collagen and more.

Global Beauty facial wipes are amazing. They should cost much more. Go away Estee Lauder. There are even 30 per package, more than many of the others.

Check out their website. It is a few more dollars to buy their products at their website but not much and they have 60 or more facial wipes instead of the 30 wipes along with many high quality beauty care products.