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With the Remington ShortCut Clipper, Men can Cut Their Own Hair

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The last man I know who tried to cut his own hair, had his family laughing at his expense for weeks.  Luckily a quick visit to a stylist saved him from having to face the world with the botched look.  I’m wondering if he’d like to try this new clipper from Remington which claims it is easy to use, cuts evenly every time, and is “virtually impossible to mess up.”

The innovative curved blade technology and revolutionary ‘brush shaped’ design makes cutting your hair as easy as brushing it. The ShortCut Clipper’s extra wide curved blades cut back and forth to the shape of your head for an even cut in less passes than traditional straight clippers. The adjustable comb guide offers 5 length settings, cutting from 1/8″ to 1/2″ and the balding comb attachment gives the closest cut possible from an electric hair clipper. The ShortCut Clipper delivers the popular short to ultra-short hairstyle easily, evenly and error-free

Additional features of the ShortCut Clipper include self-sharpening blades that never need replacing and a pop-up trimmer to detail around the ears and neckline. The 40-minute run time and cordless capability are also standout features that add to the simplicity of the clipper and make it an ideal travel companion.

The ShortCut Clipper is available at retailers nationwide and on www.remingtonshortcut.com. Two models are available for a recommended price of $29.99 for the standard version or $39.99 for the high-end model in chrome.

Bissell’s Little Green

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Bissell introduces a handy little deep cleaner for use around the house. It’s portable and can be used in the car as well. It has a long power cord and since it can be hand-held, you can easily clean in hard to reach areas and on stairs. It can be used on pretty much all carpet types and requires minimal maintenance other than emptying and rinsing the dirty water tank. This new green cleaner has parts made from post consumer recycled material and the tanks and hose are PVC free. It retails for $74.99

Miele Unveils CombiSets- For Customized Cooking

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Miele will introduce an entirely new CombiSet assortment in Fall 2008. Miele CombiSets are unique units that stand alone or combine to fully customize any cooking surface, or even create multiple cooking stations.

All CombiSet™ modules are matched to one another in terms of their design and functional characteristics so consumers can mix and match to form their own personal cooking space. Every imaginable combination of individual elements is available from induction, gas or electric, to an indoor grill or teppanyaki. Integrating gas with electric or even induction offers opportunities that just aren’t available with standard cooktops.

Miele’s new CombiSets feature a new stainless design, with sleek steel knobs and an ergonomically inclined control panel. The new line boasts innovative new products including an induction unit and a Japanese teppanyaki. A slightly larger width dimension of 15” now offers small space chefs room for large pots.

The CombiSet is a solution for designers and homeowners who are seeking something completely unique and customized to their cooking style, space and needs,” concludes Schmidt.

NightMare Maytag Store Bites the Dust – Going out of Business

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Does customer service really matter? We like to think that it does. Have you ever had a really bad experience with a store, and silently (or not so silently) wished that they would just go out of business? Well sometimes, the customer gets lucky. Our own NightOwl reported a while back on a nightmare experience with a Maytag refrigerator and the store that refused to properly service it.

We weren’t necessarily surprised to see an advertisment in the recent Sunday paper announcing that the Maytag store with the attitude is going out of business and having a liquidation sale.

Electrolux Taps Kelly Ripa to Launch New Premium Kitchen Appliance Line in North America

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Electrolux, makers of premium appliances for fine homes and restaurants in Europe for over 70 years and Europe’s leading premium appliance brand, is introducing a new line of stylish, high-performance kitchen appliances exclusively for North America. Called Electrolux, the new line of premium kitchen appliances is designed to help today’s multi-tasking moms do what they need — and love — to do — better, faster and easier.

In order to penetrate — and connect with — the on-the-go, do-it-all target (women, ages 35 – 54 who are juggling career, family and volunteer responsibilities, along with a love of entertaining), the European-based company is tapping America’s poster child for successful multi-taskers — Kelly Ripa — to star in a new campaign that will launch its newest premium appliance brand in North America.

The new advertising also heralds the arrival of Electrolux, Europe’s leading premium appliance brand, as a total home brand in North America. Well known in the U.S. for its high-end floorcare products with legendary reliability, Electrolux also makes some of the best known, most revered professional appliances in the world, including the Molteni range used by four star chefs, such as Gray Kunz, and Electrolux ICON(TM), its premium appliance line designed for home chefs seeking the ultimate in design and professional performance.

In a fresh departure from traditional appliance brand advertising, the new Electrolux campaign focuses on Kelly Ripa in her real life and about the relationship she has with her appliances. At the heart of the campaign is the powerful brand idea that Electrolux appliances are designed to help women who are already doing amazing things in their lives to be even more amazing.

The new Electrolux line includes more than 130 high-performance, stylishly designed products including freestanding and built-in dual-fuel, gas and electric ranges, wall ovens, gas and electric cook tops, induction hybrid cook tops, built-in and over-the-range microwaves, counter depth and standard depth refrigerators and freezers, refrigerator drawers, wine cooler and wine tower, beverage center, dishwashers, icemaker and complete line of ventilation systems. Long on style and innovation, Electrolux appliances are the result of a consumer-centric approach to looks and functionality.

I sing the body electric – Linemen fly to keep your microwave humming

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I realize that every job probably gets routine after a while, but some jobs probably get the juices flowing more than others. Here’s one that that keeps the juice flowing to all of us.

So I did a bit of research, and hey its the real deal. YOU probably encounter faraday cages/faraday shields in your every day life too. They work on the principal that if you can get an electric current to flow over the surface of a sphere, the field at each point inside the sphere created by the current on the surface tends to cancel out creating an electrically quiescent area in the middle. Some interesting applications: Mobile phones, radios and wireless networks may have no reception inside elevators or buildings built using a virtual cage of rebar or plaster with metal lath.

Ever notice the light metal grid in the door of your microwave oven? Its part of a Faraday Cage enclosure that traps the microwaves inside with your food rather than out in the room cooking you.

According to WikiPedia, some United States national security buildings are contained in Faraday cages, intended to act as a TEMPEST shield, and possibly also as a mitigation against electromagnetic pulse.

Faraday Cage Underwear for the electrically adventurous
You can even buy underwear with a built in Faraday Cage, but I wouldn’t advise testing them by trying a highwire act on your local high voltage lines. (and if you do, you better get life insurance first.

How Much is That Old Fridge Costing You?

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My mother always bought meat on sale to store in the garage freezer for future use. The same with bread and ice cream. She was and is a frugal shopper. But today, with energy costs so high, it makes sense to calculate how much energy is being used to keep the food in storage.

If you are trying to save energy and lower your electric bill, and have a second refrigerator running, you might want to check out the government’s energy star site where you can use the “Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator” to see just how much that old fridge in your garage is costing you.

Analog TVs Being Tossed Out Next Year

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According to a survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), about 15 million televisions will be replaced by 2010 because over-the-air reception will no longer be available beginning next year.  The study also says that about 95% of those TVs will be sold, recycled or donated.  Forty-eight percent of households plan to keep their televisions and use a digital converter.

Consumers are far more likely to recycle, reuse, give away or sell analog TVs than throw them away,” says CEA’s Senior Director of Market Research Tim Herbert. “While some have speculated that millions of TVs would enter the waste stream, this new study suggests that is not the case.”

Recycling is an increasingly common way to dispose of unused TVs. In fact, according to the survey, consumers report recycling nearly 30 percent more TVs in 2007 than in 2005. That trend also extends to other CE categories. While only three percent more devices were removed from homes in 2007, twenty-seven percent more devices were recycled. At the same time, the number of CE products that end up in the trash is decreasing-down 7 percent from two years earlier.

“We see a very positive trend developing when it comes to consumer electronics (CE) afterlife,” notes Herbert. “A full 87 percent of consumers say it’s important to recycle their CE devices. Not only is traditional recycling an increasingly popular option for consumers, but the vast majority of consumers report that they give away or sell unused devices, which is also a form of recycling.”

Among those consumers that did report throwing away a TV in the last year, 42 percent reported that they weren’t aware of recycling programs for electronics.

“It’s terrific to see more consumers being more thoughtful and proactive about the responsible disposal of their electronics devices,” added Herbert. “However, there is still much to be done in terms of educating consumers about the options for electronics recycling.”

CEA’s consumer website, www.myGreenElectronics.org educates consumers about the responsible use, reuse and recycling of electronics and also includes a zip-code searchable database of electronics recyclers.

Consumer electronics recycling will be a point of discussion at CEA’s upcoming Washington Forum, to be held April 2-3, 2008 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C. In the Thursday 2-3 p.m. session Analog Sets and Recycling, a panel of experts will discuss consumer behavior and what the CE industry is doing to educate consumers about the importance of recycling TVs. For registration information, please visit www.ce.org/Events/default.asp.

Convert Your Mom to Digital TV

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With the biggest change in over-the-air television since the 1930’s coming in February 2009, some seniors may need to take steps to continue watching their favorite programs once the digital television transition is complete. To encourage baby boomers to help their elderly parents, relatives, and neighbors get ready, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® enlisted actress Florence Henderson, best known for her role as Carol Brady on TV’s “The Brady Bunch,” to launch the Convert Your Mom public awareness campaign.”CEA’s member companies have filled retail stores with a wide assortment of affordable digital TV products, from low-cost digital televisions to converter boxes and antennas that are easy to hook up to existing analog TV sets,” said Gary Shapiro, CEA’s president and CEO. “We know that one of the best ways to reach seniors is through their families. With Convert Your Mom we’re asking baby boomers to help make sure everyone is ready well in advance.”

Beginning with a satellite media tour hosted by Ms. Henderson in early May, the Convert Your Mom campaign will feature a special downloadable guide and tips for getting ready for the digital TV transition, among other elements.

The campaign will remind viewers who rely on an antenna and an analog TV set for reception, that they have choices to continue enjoying free over-the-air television.

  1. Buy a new TV with built-in digital tuner
  2. Subscribe to a pay-TV service like cable or satellite TV
  3. Purchase an affordable Digital TV Converter Box to receive over-the-air digital TV signals and convert them for analog viewing.

Dozens of affordable converter boxes are now certified by the U.S. government as eligible for $40 discount coupons that are being distributed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and digital TV sets are also now widely available for under $200.

More information about CEA’s ongoing digital television public education efforts can be found online at www.digitaltips.org.

How to Pick an Energy Efficient Appliance

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If you are confused by the different claims of energy efficiency by appliance manufacturers, JamesDulley of the Detroit Free Press has some helpful advice.

Depending upon the type of product and the fuel it uses, efficiency ratings can mean different things. Also, some manufacturers and/or salespeople play fast and loose with the accuracy of efficiency claims.

A basic definition of efficiency for any energy-consuming product is the amount of usable energy (heat, light, sound, etc.) output divided by the energy input. The energy input is usually an electric plug in the wall or a gas or propane line coming into your house. Electricity input is usually measured as wattage and gas or propane input as Btuh (Btu per hour).

Most plug-in electric heating devices and heaters, from the cheapest to the heavily advertised ones for $400, are nearly 100% efficient. All of the electricity consumed ends up as heat inside your house. The actual differences in operating costs depend upon how you use one and if the design is the proper one for your needs.

Always read efficiency claims thoroughly when comparing products. For example, some lower-quality gas space heaters may claim a very high 90% combustion efficiency. Combustion efficiency refers to how efficient the gas burns, not how efficiently the heat is transferred into your house. Its actual heating efficiency may be only 70%.

For electrical appliances, such as window air conditioners, you can calculate the efficiency by dividing the Btuh cooling output by the electric wattage shown on the nameplate.

For other major appliances, such as washers and refrigerators, rely on the yellow energy label. Your usage habits often have more impact on the overall efficiency than the appliance design itself.

For central heating and cooling equipment, the manufacturer’s efficiency ratings should be accurate.

They are AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency for furnaces), SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio for air conditioners) and HSPF (heating seasonal performance factor for heat pumps).