As Seen On TV: Does ANY of this crap work?

[Bastet]

I have a "bonus room" attached to my garage (which is detached from my house), which features a wood-burning fireplace and, next to that, but with its own chimney, a built-in grill.  (I love it, because having an indoor grill means even the relatively few days of "I don't want to stand outside in that" weather we have here are not off-limits for grilling.)  Yes, I smell whatever I'm grilling as I'm cooking it, but the smell doesn't linger any more than the smell of the wood I burn in any of my fireplaces -- there's a whiff in the immediate aftermath, but that's about it.  The barstools and pub table chairs are upholstered, there are bean bag chairs, etc. (so, not just hard surfaces, is my point) and none of them smell like meat, just as none of them smell like wood/smoke.

So, if the fireplace in which these people are grilling meat has a proper chimney and they're smart enough to place their grill in the right place, just as one must with a grate for logs, smell wouldn't be an issue thanks to proper ventilation. 

[peacheslatour]

Do you want a grease fire in your fireplace? Because that's how you get a grease fire in your fireplace.

[ennui]

If you Google "grilling in the fireplace," apparently it's fairly common. In the Dragnet episode, they had put their hibachi grill in the fireplace. 

[ennui]

On 11/1/2016 at 4:09 PM, ennui said:

Well, if you have neighbors close by, they might not want to be part of your shower. I'm hoping that none of my neighbors succumb to this fad. 

Wanted you to all know that my neighbors did indeed succumb to the Star Shower. Which sparkles on my window and on my bedroom ceiling. I have inconsiderate neighbors. 

They've never been ones to decorate outside, but this year, their yard looks like they're competing in the Christmas Light Fight. They even have this weird light-up collar on their dog. 

Edited December 15, 2016 by ennui
There, their, they're

[Moose135]

10 minutes ago, ennui said:

They even have this weird light-up collar on their dog. 

Do they have it tied in to one of those invisible fence things? So it lights up if he gets close to the edge of their yard?

[ennui]

2 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Do they have it tied in to one of those invisible fence things? So it lights up if he gets close to the edge of their yard?

No, but it looks comical at night when he's walking the dog. All you see is neon laser lights, trotting along.

[friendperidot]

I discovered neighbors about 1/2 a block away with the star shower motion, I wasn't terribly impressed, they're kind of blah. But in this neighborhood, the may not be legal. We are about a mile from the runways of the airport and in the direct landing path. Wish my nasty next door neighbors would install it, I'd be calling Airport Security the first night!

But to the commercial, that woman with the elf voice who talks about how amazing they are gets on my nerves.

[riley702]

16 hours ago, ennui said:

They even have this weird light-up collar on their dog. 

Those things are actually pretty neat. People walking their dog at night can have reflective strips on their clothing, so this is just the dog version of that.

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

So, if the fireplace in which these people are grilling meat has a proper chimney and they're smart enough to place their grill in the right place, just as one must with a grate for logs, smell wouldn't be an issue thanks to proper ventilation. 

Have y'all looked at any new homes lately? There's NO closing off the kitchen. It's completely open to everything. Your whole house can smell like broccoli.  As for grease in the chimney, that's why you periodically hire a chimney sweep.

My refund for the Spin Brush I didn't receive finally showed up in my credit card balance.  I did go to BB&B with my 20% coupon yesterday & bought a set there, so when I'm done with my housework this weekend, I'll let you know how it works.

[peacheslatour]

I just saw a commercial for the Micro Knife. It looks like a  really sharp, pointy box cutter. Yeah, I'm going to slice strawberries and lemons with a two inch box cutter instead of my kitchen knife with the six inch blade.

[ennui]

7 hours ago, riley702 said:

Those things are actually pretty neat. People walking their dog at night can have reflective strips on their clothing, so this is just the dog version of that.

No, these aren't reflective strips. I've seen glow in the dark collars, too, but these are definitely lights. Disco lights.

We had heavy rain yesterday and they covered the star shower with a plastic bag. Maybe it's not supposed to get wet? 

We have two star showers in our neighborhood, there's another down the street. I think they look better on tv.

[theatremouse]

I just saw one for the first time last night (also in the rain; it was running, so who knows, maybe your neighbor had abundance of caution?). It was super underwhelming. Reminded me of roller-rink lighting circa 1993. It's green and red lights pretending they're the reflection from a disco ball.

[peacheslatour]

I think that some of the pricier ones are rain-proof and some of the cheaper ones are not.

[Brattinella]

On 12/6/2016 at 6:02 PM, chessiegal said:

We have 2 Lasko Ceramic Tower Electric space heaters, 1 for the bedroom and 1 for the bath. I can use my hair dryer and heater in the bathroom and it never blows a circuit. They do a great job heating the rooms and our bedroom is huge.

My hubby bought me one of these for an early Christmas present, and I LOVE it!  It is quiet, and very efficient, and heats the bedroom completely. 

 

ETA: And it has a REMOTE!

Edited December 19, 2016 by Brattinella

[Lola16]

Not sure if this will display.

Bed Bath and Beyond has an "interesting" commercial for the Squatty Potty with a unicorn.

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBedBathAndBeyond%2Fvideos%2F1185412931490401%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

Edited December 20, 2016 by Lola16

[Jamoche]

2 hours ago, Lola16 said:

Not sure if this will display.

Bed Bath and Beyond has an "interesting" commercial for the Squatty Potty with a unicorn.

 

<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBedBathAndBeyond%2Fvideos%2F1185412931490401%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

Yeah, for a while it was Youtube's pre-video ad of choice. Getting a 2 minute ad before a 30 second cat video would've been enough to turn me off the product even without the ad contents. Bleah.

[tanyak]

On 11/11/2016 at 3:43 PM, ennui said:

If you Google "star shower theft," they are a popular item for thieves.

Yes, we bought one this year and for the first couple of weeks, Mr. Tanyak was adamant about bringing in in every night. Finally last week, I was like "F that." Apparently  they were stolen a lot last year because they were hard to find. This year, every store it seems has them, so nobody's going to be checking for ours. 

We ended up buying the Phillips version at target because it was cheaper than the Star Showers.  We aren't really huge fans of the motion ones, so we just got the still version.  I like it a lot. The last 10 or 12 years, we've hung white icicle lights along the entire front porch. The projector is definitely less intrusive to the neighbors, in my opinion.  It's just nice change, and so easy. I won't be yelling at my husband to take the lights down after the new year.  Lol I do wonder if it's really a trend  or if it has staying power. Because I'm happy to use it again next year. 

[Moose135]

48 minutes ago, tanyak said:

I won't be yelling at my husband to take the lights down after the new year.

You take your lights down after the holidays? Damn, my father left them up for years!

[LoneHaranguer]

On 12/16/2016 at 2:09 PM, ennui said:

We have two star showers in our neighborhood, there's another down the street. I think they look better on tv.

Last night I passed through a couple of neighborhoods where they were popular (unlike my own). One house looked really odd because it had quite a few places where the light was being blocked by protrusions. It looks best if the front of the house has a relatively flat facade (e.g. a Colonial) and the front yard is big enough so that the light can hit at a good angle.

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, Moose135 said:

You take your lights down after the holidays? Damn, my father left them up for years!

We never had Christmas lights on the house because my mother thought they were tacky. Just a natural pine wreath on the front door. :(

[friendperidot]

we never had lights on our house in the 50s & 60s, just wasn't done in our neighborhood and besides that the KC Country Club Plaza was just a hop, skip and a jump away.

[peacheslatour]

15 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

we never had lights on our house in the 50s & 60s, just wasn't done in our neighborhood and besides that the KC Country Club Plaza was just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Yeah, our neighborhood was the same way. It's in a small village on Lake Washington and all the houses are on very woody lots, surrounded by trees. But now I live in a more traditional neighborhood, I still want to try the "star shower" type lights, our across the street neighbors have them and they look really pretty. The thing is though, they have regular strings of lights too. I don't know if it would look as good with just the star shower alone.

[bad things are bad]

We had lights in the 60s but not many; apparently they were either expensive to buy or to power. 

[ennui]

11 hours ago, bad things are bad said:

We had lights in the 60s but not many; apparently they were either expensive to buy or to power. 

I think the technology has improved, too. Back then, if one light was out, the whole string was out. 

I'm sitting here thinking about the days when Santa brought the tree, as well as the gifts. What a lot of work for one night!

[LoneHaranguer]

29 minutes ago, ennui said:

I think the technology has improved, too. Back then, if one light was out, the whole string was out. 

It was just cheaper to make them that way. They improved because they had to for customers to keep buying them, not because of technology.

[Prevailing Wind]

We not only had strings of lights on the eaves, each bulb had an aluminum pot-pie plate behind it for a halo effect.  We ate a LOT of pot pies the year after my mom saw that in a magazine.

 

Update on the spin brush: It takes TWENTY hours to charge the first time you use it. They claim the charge lasts for about 60 minutes, but will only take EIGHT hours to recharge. Still haven't used it.

[pastafarian]

On 9/16/2016 at 8:58 PM, theatremouse said:

I can't recall the term I'm looking for at the moment, but there are companies that specialize in leaky basements that apply a similar thing, basically, it gets painted on and is a rubberized coating and no more leaks but also somehow to the extent that it needs to in order to function, the wall can still "breathe"? An expensive process but I wonder if flex-seal DIYing it saves money over hiring out big company to do it professionally. Assuming the products are indeed comparable and/or that flex seal is cheaper or similar in price to the commercial product (cuz otherwise you'd just buy the same stuff the pros use if it doesn't require special equipment to apply).

I wonder if its effectiveness varies significantly depending on the application... I mean obviously they advertise it for a shitload of applications, but I wonder if it's 'meh for some of their list and heck yeah for others.

 

Old post but...Flex Seal is what's known in the paint industry as an Elastomeric coating.  It's nothing that special and way more expensive than buying the 'generic' versions made by just about every paint manufacturer.  The big "innovation" was putting it in a spray bomb to be marketed to homeowners.  It's entirely possible that Flexseal itself is nothing more than a rebrand of a major paint manufacturers product.  As for it waterproofing anything, it's only as good as its bond to a surface and if you are doing little or no prep (as in grinding, scrapping, shot blasting and/or acid etching), it's not going to last long.  Waterproofing basements have way less to do with product than it does prep.  For slight weepage, you would be better off with Dryloc, Watertite or similar.  Without good prep, they won't last much longer than Flexseal but cost way less.

[friendperidot]

 just wanted to let you know I will no longer be cramming qtips half down my ear canal! While we were at Walmart this morning, my nephew made me buy a package of Safe Swabs - those twisty things you see on tv. Haven't even opened the package yet, but I know you will rest easier knowing I will not be destroying my ear drum!

Now I need to figure out how to cut paper with scissors and to hold a flashlight under my chin so I can eat spaghetti when the power goes out and how to cook without having to throw the pan away. I'm sure there are other things I need to learn to do in color instead of black and white too.

Couple of hours later: I've learned a couple of things, I think these very valuable items are packaged to keep any reasonably intelligent person from opening, it is a conspiracy. I would like to be able to open a package without stabbing myself with a box knife. Secondly, either they don't work, I can't follow directions or I don't have ear wax. Or I'm really stupid.

Edited December 28, 2016 by friendperidot

[AuntiePam]

3 hours ago, friendperidot said:

Couple of hours later: I've learned a couple of things, I think these very valuable items are packaged to keep any reasonably intelligent person from opening, it is a conspiracy. I would like to be able to open a package without stabbing myself with a box knife. Secondly, either they don't work, I can't follow directions or I don't have ear wax. Or I'm really stupid.

Packaging!  It's a whole other category of anger-making.  I have yet to be able to take that seal off a carton of milk without using a knife. Life and peel, my ass. Bubble-packs all require scissors or a knife.  I hate when my husband brings home anything new, because he'll be cussing loud enough for the neighbors to hear as he tries to get the package open.

I blame the Tylenol poisoner.  Did they ever catch that person?

[Brattinella]

I absolutely blame the Tylenol poisoner.  And the Excedrin poisoner.  Rat-bastards.

[Maverick]

 No. It's the children!   We must protect the children!

[Prevailing Wind]

Child-proof, tamper-proof pharmaceutical packaging is the result of the Tylenol poisoner. *Everything* else in a blister pack is the result of shoplifters.

[ramble]

So I would be right to blame the child shoplifter who Tylenol poisoned on the side. Rat bastard. 

[pastafarian]

I would bet my bottom dollar that the 'blister pack' has way more to do with the plastic industries profits than it does loss protection.  Childproof caps are just there to insult the adults that can't get them open, usually asking their child for assistance. :D

[friendperidot]

I'm 66, have arthritis in my fingers, I hate those childproof caps, especially the ones where you have to line up the arrows. I have a prescribed non prescription medication that comes in bottles like that, last week I had to open a new one, didn't think I was going to be able to, finally ran ye olde box knife blade all around the teeny tiny opening between the bottle and the cap and then was able to open it, I had had the arrows lined up, the stupid lid was just sealed too tightly. This medication is most frequently for older adults but because it's over the counter, can't buy it with non childproof caps. You can buy prescriptions in non childproof caps, just have to ask pharmacist and have no children under age of whatever in the house.

Back to topic of thread, I am particularly annoyed with the Cash Net USA ads. I can ignore the chubby young man running around in tights and a cape, but not the conversation, "what up Joe?" Why is it "cool" to leave out the verb? Drives me nuts. 

And then, there's purchased debit card, Net Spend, this is run several times a day in my area and has been for months, but apparently they can't get 200 takers because they are still advertising that the first 200 callers get to pick their own card color or some such nonsense. And the one guy says he gets his pay check 2 days early. No, you don't, payroll is released on pay day, not 2 days early. For companies with large amounts of employees, the payroll account amount is transferred to the payroll account at midnight or whatever prearranged time, and the payroll deposit is in the amount to cover the paychecks. I have done payroll in days of transfers and in old days when I had to take a deposit to the bank on payday, small payroll, less than 30 employees and they knew paychecks couldn't be taken to the bank until the deposit had been made. Currently, I get SS retirement and have a debit card, I cannot use said card if there is not enough money in the account and after midnight on my pay date, I can use the debit card, so if I want something from Amazon, I have to wait until after midnight to order it. A few years ago, with the same bank, had an atm card and was working, payday was on Friday, I could not use atm card until after midnight on Saturday, I could go to the bank and write a check for cash during business hours on Friday, so they may be referring to something like that, but even though payday was Friday, couldn't use atm until Saturday, but never early, always later. 

And I guess that all the guaranteed life insurance companies think that old people don't watch much tv and have never heard of their amazing rip off service. Because it's always such a new and revolutionary idea to the poor old person in the ad. I think it's nice to have money set aside for a funeral or burial or cremation, but if you don't have much money, and your children are grown, they shouldn't expect a huge sum of money when you die. And at this moment, children are not responsible for the debts of their parents unless they choose to be so. That may change in the new year.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

I would like to be able to open a package without stabbing myself with a box knife.

My son gave me a set of steak knives for Christmas. It took me 10 minutes to cut through the plastic blister pack. I used 2 different knives and scissors. I finally went and got DH's hunting knife and got it open. No, open is the wrong word. I made a series of cuts big enough to get my fingers in to pull the knives out. I cut myself on the plastic and ruined my scissors. Oh, and the knives don't work on anything except butter.

[Brattinella]

19 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

My son gave me a set of steak knives for Christmas. It took me 10 minutes to cut through the plastic blister pack. I used 2 different knives and scissors. I finally went and got DH's hunting knife and got it open. No, open is the wrong word. I made a series of cuts big enough to get my fingers in to pull the knives out. I cut myself on the plastic and ruined my scissors. Oh, and the knives don't work on anything except butter.

Wow what a bummer!  For what it's worth, I have heard the best way to open hard plastic packaging is with a can opener.

[ennui]

18 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

I blame the Tylenol poisoner.  Did they ever catch that person?

No one was ever charged or convicted, but the police think they know who was responsible. There wasn't enough evidence to prosecute.

I've heard this for years; when there's a major crime, the police usually have a pretty good idea who did it. The problem is gathering the proof.

[friendperidot]

Quote

For what it's worth, I have heard the best way to open hard plastic packaging is with a can opener.

but some of the packaging has such a wide lip around it, you can't use a can opener. I think this is part of the conspiracy.

[ennui]

I bought some of those White Pine soap and hand lotion sets from Trader Joe's. Couldn't get it open. Tried for 10 minutes. Looked it up on the 'net. Others having same problem. Push down and turn, others advised. Took another 15 minutes, but I got it! Ran a victory lap, arms raised.  :)

[Cobalt Stargazer]

23 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Packaging!  It's a whole other category of anger-making.  I have yet to be able to take that seal off a carton of milk without using a knife. Life and peel, my ass. Bubble-packs all require scissors or a knife.  I hate when my husband brings home anything new, because he'll be cussing loud enough for the neighbors to hear as he tries to get the package open.

"'Open here.' What is that, sarcasm?"

[CarpeDiem54]

I once bought this giant tub of protein powder.  I couldn't get the top unscrewed to save my life.  I took it to work the next day to get a guy to open it.  No one could make it budge.  I finally took it back into the machine shop and they had to saw the top off which meant I had to store the contents in 286 Lock-n-Lock containers until I used it up.

[Moose135]

After you used all of that protein power, were you able to open the next tub?

[Jamoche]

Here's an "As Seen On TV" product that's supposed to make it easier to open plastic packaging.

Note the packaging it's in :D

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/open-it-package-opener/1014757910

[Brattinella]

THAT is hilarious!

[Bastet]

Quote

Here's an "As Seen On TV" product that's supposed to make it easier to open plastic packaging.

Note the packaging it's in

That's what pops into my mind and cracks me up every time I come across someone bemoaning how difficult it is to get their product out of its plastic packaging -- someone needlessly marketed a specialty tool to open such packaging, and promptly packaged it in the same way one supposedly needs said tool to penetrate.  I've mocked this so many times I try to restrain myself in most threads, but, yeah -- this shit cracks me up.

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, Jamoche said:

Here's an "As Seen On TV" product that's supposed to make it easier to open plastic packaging.

Note the packaging it's in :D

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/open-it-package-opener/1014757910

Now they are just toying with us.  Curse them.

[cynicat]

19 hours ago, pastafarian said:

I would bet my bottom dollar that the 'blister pack' has way more to do with the plastic industries profits than it does loss protection.  Childproof caps are just there to insult the adults that can't get them open, usually asking their child for assistance. :D

It's our government at work combined with a cultural lack of accountability.  

[janie jones]

I was taking packaging off a pair of scissors once, and the directions on the package showed a picture of someone using scissors to cut it open.  What if these are your only scissors?!

[friendperidot]

Quote

 What if these are your only scissors?!

or, God forbid, your fabric scissors? I sew, and it is death to anyone who dares to use my fabric scissors on anything but fabric. I have 85 pairs of cheap scissors all over the house to be used for everything else. But don't touch my Ginghers.