Starbucks Gift Card, Reloadable

Recently I received a reloadable Starbucks Gift Card.

How?

Well the neighbours next door tore down their house and are rebuilding a new house. So it is rather noisy. I am not sure who did it - either the neighours or the construction company - but they left a Starbucks Gift Card in our mailbox as an apology for all of the noise.

Which, frankly, I barely noticed the noise over all the noise I make playing with my woodworking tools. Or the movies I watch. Or the episodes of The Woodwright's Shop I have been watching lately.

But whatever, the Starbucks Gift Card was a nice gesture. And what is also nice is that it is reloadable so I can use it again and again - and I go to Indigo a lot, and there is a Starbucks in every Indigo, so this just works well for me.

In totally unrelated news I am addicted to watching The Woodwright's Shop. It is a TV show that has been on the air since 1981 (33 years!!!) and is dedicated to traditional woodworking.

Now I admit, I like my power tools - especially my band saw - but as TV shows go The Woodwright's Shop has the trifecta of everything you want in a woodworking TV show. It is funny. It teaches you new things about woodworking and woodworking tools. And there is a healthy dose of history for the people who like historical examples of woodworking.

Just watch the 20th Anniversary episode of The Woodwright's Shop to see what I am talking about.

The Best Dentist in Toronto - Part One

Back in September I decided to go on a quest to find The Best Dentist in Toronto.

Now granted, Toronto has over 1000 dentists according to Yelp (or 800+ dentists according to Google) which means I could go to a new dentist every day for 2 to 3 years and still not try every dentist in Toronto. So trying each and every dentist in Toronto is impractical.

So instead what I have decided to do is to start at the top of the list.

When you Google 'toronto dentist' the first page comes up with a list of map locations of dentists, followed by 4 pages that are directories for dentists. The first dental practice listed is "Archer Dental".

(Plus my friend Robert recommended the place, so that is another reason.)

Archer Dental, according to my research, was listed as the Best Dentist in Toronto by NOW Magazine in 2013, so I think it is a good place to begin my series of dentist reviews. However let me backtrack a bit here and take us back to 2003 so I can review a different dental practice for comparison purposes.

In June 2003 I had was getting read to leave Canada and go overseas to South Korea. Since I didn't know what the dentists would be like in South Korea I opted to have a visit to the dentist before I left and hopefully I could forego visiting any dentists for the year I was in SK.

The dental office I went to was the dental office at York University's York Lanes, now known as York Lanes Dental Office.

I had already been to the York Lanes Dental Office several times before - without incident - but during that final trip I was given a deep cleaning by a new dental hygienist who - as best as I can tell was just fresh out of dental school or was still a student. What followed was the most painful experience of my entire life. It was absolute torture. It went on for what felt like hours.

When the dental hygienist was done I was missing part of my gums. They had literally torn my gums to pieces and one of the pieces was missing, completely cut out.

Thus began a very long period in my life in which I swore I would never go to another dentist again. Ever. Instead I embarked on a daily brushing / mouthwash ritual that sometimes included me taking a toothbrush with me to events so I could immediately brush my teeth after eating.

And believe me when I say I was paranoid about my teeth. I would brush too hard, I use mouthwash a lot (I have become a bit of an expert on mouthwashes and really should post a detailed review on them sometime), and I am a big fan of using sugarfree gum when I am outdoors so I clean my teeth using the gum.

It was 11 years and 3 months before I finally went to see another dentist, in September 2014.

When I finally made the decision to visit a dentist it was because I thought I had a chip in my tooth. But what I thought was a chip was actually a build up of 11 years worth of "calculus". It was not the tooth which had chipped, it was the calculus build up which had chipped. (Calculus chipping off is actually a good thing, but to my tongue it felt like a chip in my tooth.)

Despite all of my paranoid brushing time had still built up a layer of calculus on one small section of my teeth I wasn't brushing properly. My bad. Need to brush there more often.

So let us go back to the present.

I arrived at Archer Dental slightly early (about 9:50 or so AM, for a 10 AM appointment) on September 25th. I was given a very comprehensive form to fill out, covering everything from whether I was diabetic to what kind of medications I was on.

Once that was done I sat there and waited, playing with my phone because the choices of reading material available in the waiting room was limited to women's magazines and National Geographic. Oh what I would give for a Lee Valley catalogue for men to read... Seriously, they should add that to the pile of magazines on the shelf. Lee Valley catalogues are free and men LOVE reading anything that has tools or tech items in them. Add a Wired magazine subscription, plus a Lee Valley catalogue subscription and any man visiting their waiting room would be quite happy. I think I will bring along a Lee Valley catalogue during my next visit and surreptitiously leave it behind for other men to read. (I think the reason why it was mostly women's magazines because it is usually mothers who end up taking the kids to the dentist instead of fathers.)

Fortunately I did not have to wait that long. You know how most dentists make you wait FOREVER before you actually get to see them? Well my wait really was not that long. I was early after all, but I do believe my appointment actually started on schedule.

I was introduced to my dental hygienist for the day, Mary, who was extremely polite, considerate and willing to explain everything as we went along. I met Dr Archer later on, who likewise exemplified those values I find to be so important in a dentist. It was Mary however who ended up cleaning and also deep cleaning my teeth - and removing 11 years worth of calculus from my teeth, making me feel like I had a brand new set of teeth. And she did it while being as gentle and as understanding as possible. (That doesn't mean I wasn't in pain during the deep cleaning, that stuff is still painful - but at least she didn't rip my gums to pieces like that dental hygienist at York Dental.)

Afterwards I felt like I had been given a brand new lease on life. Like I was suddenly going to live long and have a fuller life. I was so happy with the results I promised to bring flowers the next time I visit, which will likely include a thank you note too.

When was the last time you went to a dentist and was so happy with the results you wanted to bring them flowers?

I am visiting Archer Dental again in a few weeks for a 2nd deep cleaning. After that I may end up becoming a regular visitor, but I also will be continuing my search for The Best Dentist in Toronto - which means I will need to explore and experiment with other dentists in Toronto and see how they stack up and compare with Archer Dental for their level of quality service.

Subscribe to Product Reviews Canada and read more reviews of dentists in Toronto in the future as I explore other dentists and try to determine which is the best. For now, the best dentist office in Toronto is Archer Dental.

iPhone 6 (and 6 Plus) Screens Breaking Too Easily

You may have heard recently in the news that the new iPhone 6 (+ 6 Plus) bends a bit over time when put in your pocket or when bowed under even small pressure... But have you also heard that this is causing the screens to break easier?

If you are familiar with iPhone screens breaking then you already know they break super easily. You drop the phone onto any hard surface (just a foot or two is enough) and the screen shatters instantly. Well now what happens is that the phone bends and the screen breaks when people try to bend it back into shape.

Design flaw?

I think not. Apple makes $100 every time a customer comes in with a broken screen ($150 for the 6 Plus).

This kind of defect would have been noticed during product testing. What Apple therefore must have done is shrugged greedily, knowing every time the screen breaks they make more money.

Defect? Pff. More like an opportunity to make waaaaaaay more money off of screens breaking.

Stuff My Neighbours Throw Out (Part 2)

To see more of this series of posts, see also:

Stuff My Neighbours Throw Out (Part 1)

or click SMNTO to see the list of posts on this topic.

On this week's episode, my neighbours threw out a mirror (minor scratches on the frame) and a rather well-made set of drawers for putting clothes in - which similarly had a few scratches on it. Both mirror and clothing drawers work fine. Unlike the previous episode however I did not do a "Yoink!" and grab the stuff for myself. This time I just snapped a photo for use as part 2 of this series of blog posts.

Super Glue Pen = Super Waste of Time!

OMG, as office supplies go this product was such a huge waste of time.

Okay so I purchased this "Super Glue Pen" because I figured it would save time. I would just need to press down on it like it was a pen and then glue would be dispensed slowly on the surface. I was expecting it to be slow.

What it was instead was a dot of glue.

So I tried again, pressing harder into the surface as I moved it along the surface.

Just a dot of glue at the start point.

Tried again, going more slowly this time. Same result.

I re-read the instructions on the packaging. Yup. Press hard, go slowly. Doing that. Why is it not working? ARGGGG!!!

So instead I finished the project I was working on by using dots - lots of dots. Like this:

Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot. Dot.

It says on the package it is "easy to use". That is BS. This product was a pain in the royal behind.

Portable USB Hard Drives

I just purchased a 1 TB portable hard drive at Best Buy. The brand and model is WB Absolutely's "My Passport Ultra".

The 1 TB blue version. Also available in red and grey. But not black or white. WTH. (You can get a black one, but only if it is the 500 GB version.)

I could have purchased different makes and models that are 500 GB, 2 TB, 3 TB or even 4 TB versions but I only needed 1 TB... So whatever.

What I found interesting (asides from the prices of the product and similar products) was the warranty... Which included a binding non-class action agreement in the warranty. Meaning if you ever lose your data and try to sue the company, then the company refuses to go to court on a class action basis and you can only sue the company on an individual basis.

Uhuh.

What this tells me is several things.

#1, Some purchasers in the past expected the device to work perfectly on a permanent basis. (I hold no such illusions. I fully expect this device to break eventually - likely sometime 5 years from now. By which time I will have transferred any important data to a different device.)

#2. That aforementioned purchasers not only sued for lost data as a class action lawsuit but evidently must have won their case against WB.

Which I find funny.

Below are photos of the various models and several different manufacturers.

Gear Books Series

Looking for a good series of books to give someone for xmas, birthdays, etc?

Well if the person you are giving the books to likes historical fiction then I recommend the series by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear.

I have been giving a family member for the books for years now and they LOVE them so much they keep asking for more. The book series has like 20 books in it.

The photo below is more for my record keeping so I can keep track of which books she already has.

Thrifty Wedding - Make your own cake decoration

We recently went to a wedding in which the bride and groom had done something amazingly cute and thrifty with their wedding cake. They made the decoration for the top of the cake themselves using large wooden clothes pins.

So yes, you could spend $50 - $300 on a very expensive decoration for the top of the cake.

Or you could just use some creativity and decorate it yourself.

People at the wedding thought it was so cute they were taking photos of it.

Stuff My Neighbours Throw Out (Part 1)

Honestly, I think my one set of neighbours have yet to hear of craigslist or kijiji.

Why? Because they throw out a lot of nice stuff.

Furniture. Paintings. Exercise / Sports Equipment. Appliances. Electronics (computers, laptops, tablets, phones). Bicycles / Skateboards.

Most of the time the things they throw out disappears pretty quickly - I am not the only one grabbing stuff they set on the curb. I almost wonder if they have a webcam set up to record people taking the stuff... And they put so much nice stuff out there that you have to wonder "Why are they throwing this out?"

So finally I have decided to dedicate some posts to just the things they throw out. (I was even tempted to start a whole new blog titled "Stuff My Neighbours Throw Out".)

Like these slightly used ice skates they threw out (see photo further below). Put on new laces and have them sharpened at Canadian Tire and they would be practically brand new. Total cost of sharpening + laces = less than ten dollars.

Earlier today I spotted a perfectly good (no damage whatsoever) large picnic basket they tossed out. Looks like it had been used once or twice before they threw it out. If it is still there when I get home I will snatch it and put it in the garage. I don't know when I will use a large picnic basket - I might end up using it for target practice for fun.

Now I can understand when people throw out a sofa. But what about when they throw out a leather couch with no damage on it. Maybe the dog peed on it. I don't know. Whatever. Even if there was a rip in it or a smell, hire someone to rip off the old leather and replace it with new. Silly to throw out a sofa like that.

Or the bicycle with the flat tire. Seriously. Inflate the tire. Patch the tire if it had a hole in it. Purchase a new tire if necessary.

People throw out really nice stuff sometimes. It boggles my mind.

Xmas Wish List - A ROBOT VACUUM

This year my xmas wish list is building upon several big ticket items designed to make life easier around the house.

#1. Roomba Robot Vacuum (see further photo below).

Honestly, for the $300+ for a robot vacuum, that is well worth the convenience of not having to vacuum with an old fashioned vacuum any more. The prices of robot vacuums have dropped a lot recently and they are now very economical.

#2. Countertop Dishwasher - because my kitchen is too small for a conventional dishwasher.

Note - In addition to taking up less space, countertop dishwashers are also more water and energy efficient and also work well in the cottage, RV, etc because they take up less space, and use significantly less power and water. Which means you can easily run one using solar / wind with battery system or diesel generator. And you don't need a plumber to install one. Size wise they are about the size of a microwave.

#3. Robot Dog that Fetches Shoes

Okay technically I made this up, but what the heck. This really should be a product on the market. The dog should come with some sticker tags, you attach the tags to different things you want the dog to fetch - and the dog is programmed via voice command of the owner(s) to fetch various items.

Rover, fetch my shoes.

Rover, fetch my laptop.

Rover, fetch the TV remote control.

I can even see military, police and security applications of such robot dogs. GuardRover, K9-Rover, MarineRover, etc. Hollywood would probably make a movie based off the concept of a robotic dog... Like the old Short Circuit movies, but canine-esque.

#4. Voice Command Remote Control

Honestly, why hasn't this already hit the market?

No more searching for the remote control. You just say commands for what you want the TV or whatever to do.

TV Pause
TV Rewind 30 Seconds
TV Skip Commercials
TV Record
TV On and TV Off
TV Lock Parental Controls (plus password)

The 3rd option alone would be a big money maker if you had programs recorded and you could auto skip the commercials.

My cellphone has voice command on it. Why not the TV?