Hate Cablevision, Love Optimum Online

STAR RATING:




I've been on the Internet a long time. Back when it was just bbs and a lot of college computers. No graphics to speak of, just green text scrolling on my monochrome monitor.

I've seen a lot come and go. I've also usually been dragged kicking and screaming into the latest innovations. Took me until 1996 to finally go over to Windows from DOS (and I'm still not a big fan).

But last year I had finally given up with the dial-up connections. Not only did downloads take forever, but I kept getting disconnected. I had seen Optimum Online at my PTA co-President's house, but I hate Cablevision, so I wasn't really interested.

Cablevision is the company that has supplied Cable-TV service to Long Island for more than two decades. I have had nothing but trouble with them. One time when they switched off my service after a check was lost in the mail (no, really) I told them to just forget it and cancel the account and I'd get a dish. It was only then that they somehow managed to get my service restored before the next day (*magic*)!

After my debacle with Verizon trying to get DSL for more than two months (see review Verizon Online DSL ) I got fed up one day and went over to my local Cablevision store. They have all the equipment to get online with the Optimum Online service.

In short order, I was given a free 3Com cable modem, a splitter switch, and a length of coaxial cable. Since there is also a Cablevision Customer Service Desk in the store, the order was put through there as well. Normally, the service is $39.95 per month. If you are a customer of the Cablevision Cable TV Service, you will get a $10 per month discount. In exchange, I am indentured to them for the next two years.

I was advised to put the splitter as the first one in the line rather than after one or more other splitters if we had more than one television hooked up. That meant a trip up to the attic. My husband took care of this later on, but when I got home, I merely hooked it up from the cable that went into my television. Since I already had installed a Network Card and had the wire from my unsuccessful attempt at DSL, I didn't have to do anything to my computer.

In just two short hours, the technician came out and removed a filter from the pole which enabled me to get online with Optimum Online.

There were also two software discs that installed the Instant Access software. Once done, I opened up my browsers and registered my email.

I am glad I got this before Napster was shut down. Trying to grab music files over a dial-up connection was way too slow. I get all my email and newsgroups updated in a flash. Web pages I do for people upload with speed I had never seen before in a dial-up connection. Even my software updates such as Internet Explorer and Netscape browsers download in a few minutes rather than two hours or more.

I love being able to watch video on my computer and the connection is great for that. Some people complain that a problem with Optimum Online, and cable modems in general, is that when many users are on they slow down. That may be true, but so far I have not seen it.

One thing that you need with Optimum Online is a good firewall since your computer is connected to the Internet as soon as you turn it on - even if you do not have a browser window opened. I use BlackIce Defender and haven't had any problems with hacking.

When there's no problems Optimum Online is great. Their customer service is still Cablevision's, so it stinks. At one point I was getting a lot of error messages, especially on my emails. It turned out they were going through a server upgrade, but instead of just telling me that, I had to spend more than an hour going through shutdowns and a whole host of other things over the telephone before I found out about the servers. To be fair, I don't know if the technician on the phone initially had this information to give me, but you'd think they would know since there would probably be quite a few calls about this.

One night all of Long Island was down for about 3 hours and all I would get is "the technicians are working on it". I know the routine when I call them and always unplug my modem and re-boot the computer before I call them since that's the first thing they always ask me to do.

When our Cable-TV goes out, I know my Internet will be out as well. So there's nothing to do!!! That's when I have to hit my bookcase again.

Unlike many dial-up ISP's, Optimum Online does not give you free web-site hosting. I had to move everything over to Geocities and Homestead.

When my two year contract is over, I will re-evaluate then and decide what I m going to do. In the meantime, I am very satisfied with Optimum Online.


Originally posted at Epinions.com

Woodall's Eastern Campground Directory: I Like the Website Better

STAR RATING:




Way back when I was a young girl, my parents rented an RV and we toured parts of the United States in it. It was thrilling! The only source we had for campground information at the time was a comprehensive campground directory. There was no Internet as a source of information, and if AAA had campground information than, we did not know since we weren't members.

Fast-forward to last summer when we decided to take the plunge and invest our $600 bribe from the person in the White House in camping gear. One of the first purchases I made was Woodall's Eastern Campground Directory.

My first read through was wonderful. There is a section on the Biggest & Best which features things to see in each state of the union - as well as Canada. It was nice that even though this is the Eastern Directory, Woodall's put in information about much more than just that area. Each state featured in the directory also has its own travel section which goes more in-depth than the Biggest & Best section. I found all of this to be very helpful locating different events and sights to see. However, when I purchased the directory for this year, I found much of the information to be duplicated.

The main function of this book is a directory. Woodall's does a good job creating a comprehensive listing for each campground. I found that there was a great deal of good information.

The book covers campgrounds in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of COlumbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

It also covers the following areas of Eastern Canada: New Brusnwick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.

Woodall's rates the facilities (such as hookups, dump stations, laundry, groceries and firewood) and recreation (such as activities, swimming, rec hall, fishing and arcade) at each campground. There is an explanation of how they arrive at the ratings - 1 to 5 W's. Woodall's representatives make personal inspections of privately owned RV parks & campgrounds every year to be sure the information is accurate.

Next, there is an explanation for how to read the listing for each campground. All listings contains directions to the campground and a descriptive phrase to begin with. Each campground's facilities are rated first and there is usually a listing of what is available to campers. If tent, RV or cabin rentals are available at the campground, that information is given. The campground's recreational program is then rated with a listing given of what is available.

The rate information for each campground is listed as a range of rates - no specific breakdown is given as to what the various rates are for the sites. The low end could be a rustic site with no hookups, or a site with minimal hookups. There is also no telling what the rates in the middle of the range are for either. If the campground accepts credit cards, that too is listed.

Information about the acceptance of pets and handicapped accessibility is also given, as well as any restriction in the size of an RV. If the campground has an advertisement in the directory, that is referenced here.

I do like the directory and enjoy using it. In this case, I find the advertisements to be a plus. Many of them are in color and contain pictures so I have some idea of exactly what is available and what the place looks like. The ads usually contain website addresses for the campgrounds as well.

For RV'ers, there is information on places to have your RV serviced, as well as dealers. Woodall's also checks these places out to give some of the best information available. For RV'ers, this is a big plus to have a reliable place to get their RV serviced in unfamiliar territory.

Although I like the directory, I would not go out an purchase it anymore year after year. One time every three to four years would probably be enough. The www.woodalls.com website has a great deal of the same information. Since many of the campgrounds also have their own websites, that is also a good source of information. However, this book is a great place to start from and get an idea of where to look.





Originally posted at Epinions.com

New Baby Kids Playpen: Baby Jail

STAR RATING:




I didn't even realize these were still being sold! I purchased the New Baby Kids Playpen when my first daughter was born almost 11 years ago. We are still using it with our newest addition who is 1 year old.

The New Baby Kids Playpen is made up of six individual pieces. Each are made of heavy plastic. They join together in any order to form a hexagon or rectangle. Four of the panels have slats that look like bars on a jail cell - which is where we got our nickname for it.

The other two panels have two different types of activity centers. The white one has a phone, a variety of spinning objects, a spinning ball and a mirror. The yellow one has three cutouts on the top and three doors on the bottom. Three rubber items in the shape of a cat, a dog, and a penguin come with this side. As your baby gets older, he can fit the rubber shapes into the cutouts at the top. If he has the correct one, he can push it through and it will rock back and forth through a series of turns to the bottom. There, he can open the door and take it out. At 1 year old, Danny is still using the rubber shapes for chew-toys.

I probably hung onto this after giving away quite a bit of my baby stuff because of the ease with which it stores. The slatted section fit between the yellow and white sections and then all of it is secured into a bundle with 3 very long plastic screws. These screws store in the white section when the New Baby Kids Playpen is in use, so everything is kept together!

I love to use the New Baby Kids Playpen outside. I put a blanket on the grass and put the New Baby Kids Playpen on top. Danny positively loves it and will stay outside in the New Baby Kids Playpen for about two hours before he starts crying for something different. I usually will put other toys in there with him to keep busy, but the idea that he is confined outside and I don't have to worry about him venturing off the blanket is nice.

Inside, we use the New Baby Kids Playpen to confine Danny in our living room. Since our house is so open, we want to keep him from going past the couch, but there is nothing there to secure a gate to. I have 3 sections of the New Baby Kids Playpen wedged in between the couch and our entertainment center. Though he is beginning to figure out how to move it, I have managed to outsmart him so far.

The one major drawback I have found is that putting this thing together can be difficult. Though all the walls fit together, I often have trouble with other people besides myself knowing how to do it. Where the pieces join, one piece sort of has to be lifted up and pushed onto the other piece, then pushed down. This allows the New Baby Kids Playpen to bend at will without falling apart, but it can be difficult to make sure the unit is together securely.

After 11 years and three kids, the New Baby Kids Playpen is still holding up pretty well. The mirror on the white piece is starting to get brown spots on it, but the plastic all looks clean and doesn't look the least bit worn. The clear plastic on the spinning ball hasn't clouded up at all.

I wonder if I'll still have this for my grandkids???



Originally posted at Epinions.com

Verizon Online DSL: It Never Worked and I Still Don't Know Why

STAR RATING:




The time had come. I had been online in one form or another for about 15 years. My 56k modem - which seemed fast when I first got it - now wasn't good enough.

Since I have had problems with our local cable company, I decided to go the Verizon DSL route. On October 3rd I placed my order and was told I would get a free Ethernet card, a free DSL modem and the wiring needed to get me up and running. I was also given a date of October 24th as the day I would be online. Three weeks? Okay, a little long but I could wait. I'd waited this long already.

On October 21st I received a call that I would not be up and running on the 24th, but now on November 10th. I was not happy, but decided to wait it out. On November 8th, I called up to verify what time I would be ready to go. The customer service representative said that I was now showing a date of November 24th and she didn't know where I got the date of November 10th from.

So we were not off to a good start, but I was still hopeful that if I could wait out the installation nightmare, I would be happy. I had talked to people who had said they were also having these problems but once it was installed it was wonderful.

On November 21st, I received a message on my answering machine stating that the work had been done and I could get online. Great! I installed the ethernet card and hooked everything up. No signal. I called Verizon and the representative stated that the phone call had to be a mistake, they were not showing that the work was done yet.

Okay fine. Three more days, I kept whispering to myself through gritted teeth. All ready to go, I was disappointed on the morning of November 24th when there was still no signal. Another phone call. The representative stated that on the start-up days they were usually given a time of 6 PM so I shouldn't worry until after then.

6 PM came and went and guess what? No signal! I was on the phone with Verizon customer service for more than an hour while my family ate dinner. The final decision was to put in "a service ticket" and they would test the line over the weekend.

Monday afternoon (still no signal) I called back. After waiting for a half hour on hold, I finally got a human being. The answer was "It's Thanksgiving weekend and we're really behind on service." I called back every day that week. On Friday, December 1st, I was just about to cancel the account when the representative I talked to was real nice and said she'd push a high priority on my ticket. She told me that they knew there was a problem with the line on their end.

I called again on Monday, December 4th to check and all I was told was that their computers were down. I was not satisfied and they transferred me to a customer service supervisor who sounded like she couldn't care less about my account. She told me that the computers were down and there was nothing she could do now, but she'd call me back as soon as they were up. Since I was going to Florida on December 7th for 4 days, I decided to wait until after then to do anything. That gave them one more week.

When I came home, guess what? No signal! So on Monday, December 11th, I called up and told them either get me running by tomorrow or I was canceling the account.

On Tuesday, December 12th, there was still no signal. I went to our local cable company and signed up with them. I took 3 days to call Verizon back and tell them to cancel the account. Their return department is so backed up (wonder why???), they said I won't receive a return label for the equipment until after Christmas sometime. They're not getting the ethernet card back.


Originally posted at Epinions.com

Milleridge Inn at Christmas: Better than Before

STAR RATING:




Our traditional Christmas Eve dinner when we lived on Long Island had been at Milleridge Inn on Route 106 in Jerico. The last two years we were somewhat disappointed with the food, but kept going as a big part of the day was the wonderful atmosphere. This year they were not accepting reservations for early seatings, and we were not too sure how the day would work out.

The Inn is over 300 years old. Well, part of it is. It started out as a small building and gradually grew throughout the years with additions. This makes for lots of cozy rooms to sit in, rather than one large dining area. The original building is still a part of the restaurant today. It is beautifully decorated for Christmas with fireplaces in just about every room. Carolers wander throughout the restaurant and sing a few tunes a capella in each room.

Our party this year consisted of myself, my husband, my parents and our 3 children. Okay, Danny is only 6 months old so he wasn't really a factor here. The adults all started their meal with chopped chicken liver. The taste was very good, even if the consistency was a little soft. My oldest daughter had the fruit cup which was tasty and consisted of melon, pineapple, watermelon, and grapes. My 5 year old had the onion soup, and actually liked it. The gratinee version is available for an additional cost, but the cheese in the regular order suited her just fine.

My oldest ordered chicken fingers from the children's menu. it came with mashed potatoes and green beans/carrots. There were three very large pieces of chicken on her plate. She could only manage to eat only two of them. My younger one ordered a hamburger and this was a standard burger, though bigger than a fast-food burger, but it also came with mashed potatoes and the green beans/carrots. She loved the carrots.

My parents ordered the pot roast. It was so tender that you could break it apart with your fork. My mother couldn't finish all that was on her plate, so I tried it and it was very tasty.

My husband ordered the prime rib which was a decent cut and prepared the way he asked. I had the chateau briand. It consisted of 3 slices of filet mignon in a mushroom sauce. While tasty, I didn't think it was worth the money as I was still hungry (which was why I tasted my Mom's pot roast). I think I would choose either the pot roast or prime rib next time. I let Danny have some of my potatoes and he gobbled them down. They were delicious!

Other menu choices included filet of sole, chicken cordon bleu, and roast goose with bing cherry sauce.

For dessert the kids ordered ice cream. They had little sundaes and the ice cream was very good and obviously made on the premises. The adults all chose bavarian chocolate cream pie which was wonderful!

Our bill for the whole night, including drinks, was about $160 plus tip.


Originally posted at Epinions.com

Rumple Minze Peppermint Schnapps Warms You On Even The Coldest Days

STAR RATING:




I was introduced to Rumple Minze by a boyfriend in the late 80's. We used to go to a club and drink iced shots of it. It fast became my favorite drink.

Here I am more than 10 years later, married, mom of three, and I still love Rumple Minze. I actually introduced it to my husband when we were dating, and now we keep a bottle in the freezer at all times. It doesn't freeze since it is 100 proof, but keeping it that cold makes it very smooth and tasty.

The strong scent of peppermint greets you as soon as you open the bottle. I swear this clears my sinuses better than vapo-rub, though I wouldn't recommend spreading it on your kid's chest. As you pour it out, you'll notice that it is syrupy and thicker than many other liquors. It is crystal clear as well, and as it's sitting in the glass it gives the impression of looking through a flawless ice-cube.

The taste is very strong peppermint, which is why I like to drink it fast in a shot. If you have a cold, it will clear you sinuses!

Since the stuff is best as cold as you can get it, I do recommend that it be kept in a freezer. This saves from having to water it down by adding ice-cubes to it after it's poured, and yet it remains cold for quite some time. If you're like me and do shots, that probably won't matter. However, if you prefer to sip Rumple Minze, this is a way of keeping it cold for some time without diluting it.

The most wonderful thing in the world after a day out in the snow or cold is to come in and have a shot. I feel all warm inside - more than cocoa can ever hope to accomplish. It would also be good as a dessert liquor similar to sambuca.


Originally posted at Epinions.com

Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer: You Can Find Better Options for the Money

STAR RATING:




Since I have worked for a non-profit, the biggest factor when figuring out what to purchase is cost. So when one of our two laser printers quit about 18 months ago (the other went shortly thereafter), I browsed our office machine catalogs and found an inexpensive laser printer.

The Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer came in at just shy of $300. This was a good price, but what would it cost me per page? A toner cartridge retails for $28 and lasts for around 2,000 pages. The drum retails for about $175 and lasts about 20,000 pages. This means the average cost per page is about 2¢ - a great value!

The problem comes when the toner or drum doesn't last quite as long as you'd planned.

In the case of the Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer, the problem is with the drum and paper jams. We ended up having frequent paper jams in the machine. After we'd had the printer about two months, we had one jam so bad that it scratched the drum. This meant we were getting lines and marks across all of our pages.

It's a fluke - it can happen to anyone once, right? Well after about six months with a new drum, another bad paper jam caused that one to scratch. The drum that is currently in the machine has lasted without scratches, but the printer has been giving me the change drum message for quite some time now. I have basically ignored it, since I knew I was nowhere near the 20,000 pages that is promised and the printer is working well. Every now and then I get black blobs of toner in different spots on a page, but white-out is a lot cheaper than another new drum.

The printer will also take what I consider to be a long time to generate a page. I have this problem with graphics as well as spreadsheets. It seems like I am waiting a very long time for the output after I have sent the document to the queue. It's not a memory issue - often I bring up the printer folder and watch the progress as the document loads. It just seems to take a great deal of time. It claims 10 pages per minute, but I believe that is counting the time after it has warmed up again.

The printer boasts a 250-sheet paper tray, however I have found that if the tray is filled more than 3/4 full, the paper jams more frequently. The bypass tray works wonderfully and I have used this a lot for envelopes as well as feeding in pages for 2-sided printing or booklet printing. The largest size the paper tray can handle is 81/2x11 or 81/2x14 in the bypass tray.

There is a small screen to indicate problems or other issues, as well as for using the various menu functions. I have not had to use this that much, but have found it relatively easy to follow the on-screen instructions. This is a great way to know exactly what is going on and is the difference between the 10ex model and the 10e. The software provided allows you to choose to install on-screen instructions for step-by-step fault clearance and other problems as well. If you don't want that, you can also choose not to install it.

The quality of print is crisp at 600x1200 DPI. The printer comes with a standard 2 meg of memory and is upgradeable to 36 meg. I have had no problems using it with Windows 95 & 98. Like most printers, you will have to download support software and drivers from the Okidata site - www.okidata.com - if you are using this printer with Windows XP.

The printer is also very compact and easily fits on a desktop. Since the paper tray is located underneath the machine, that means that every time you have to add paper the tray slides out. I finally turned the printer so that the tray opening faced off the edge of my workstation. Too often, I would have to clean up my whole workstation just to add paper to the printer.

The printer is not the worst I have ever seen. However, its problems make it a lesser value for its cost. There are many better quality laser printers out there for the $299 price tag.

Pounce Hairball Treat Ment: Bill The Cat Should Have This!

STAR RATING:




Remember the cartoon Bloom County? If you said "no", then you're not a child of the 80's ;-) One of the characters, Bill the Cat, had an ongoing joke about him hacking up hairballs. Someone should've grabbed him to advertise this product.

Hairballs are about the most disgusting thing about owning a cat, I think. Ever been awakened in the middle of the night by a lovely hacking sound coming from your cat? Ever woken up to find a pile of hair and god-knows-what-else on your brand new white carpet? After a few months of this, our cat Juliette was about to lose her happy home.

Cats develop hairballs from grooming and up until now, the only way I had ever heard to get rid of them was to get the cat to eat vaseline. Ever put vaseline on a cat's paw and then have it run through the house? Lovely gobs of vaseline end up everywhere, and it wasn't too effective.

Then we discovered Pounce Hairball Treatment. Once or twice a week, we give the cat four of these "treats". Since we've been doing this, we haven't had a single hairball incident. The square treats are small and she eats them easily, even looking for them at times.

We had some trouble finding them in our local supermarkets, but they can be found in Pet Stores and in the online pets stores. I just ordered five jars from Pets.com. If your cat is driving you crazy with hairballs, this product is for you.





Originally posted at Epinions.com