Archive for the ‘household items/appliances’ Category

Manual Can Openers vs Electric Can Openers

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

There are four good reasons to choose a manual can opener over electric can openers:

  1. A manual can opener works when the power goes out.
  2. Manual can openers do not require a great deal of time or effort to open a can.
  3. Manual can openers easily fit in a kitchen drawer, thus saving valuable counter space.
  4. Manual can openers generally cost less than electric can openers.

Here’s a link to a manual can opener that leaves no sharp edges with good customer reviews available from Amazon.Com:

Programmable Thermostats: Unnecessary to Help Environment

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

Whether you believe in global warming or global cooling, I think conserving energy and natural resources is a sound idea when practical. However, I do not agree with Al Gore’s suggestion to buy a programmable thermostat.

Why buy a programmable thermostat when you can achieve the same savings by manually adjusting an old-fashioned thermostat? Simply turn up the temperature setting when you leave the house in the summer and set it back down when you return. You can also manually adjust the thermostat in winter to save on heating when you’re away; however, if you have a heat pump system, please note that it may be more efficient to simply leave the thermostat on a reasonable temperature. Check your specific manufacturer’s recommendations.

While Al Gore is asking Americans to send 100 million perfectly functional thermostats to landfills, The Low-Tech Times advises people to manually adjust their existing thermostats instead.