Dave Cortright: August 2008 Archives

I've had dogs as both a kid and an adult. I've tried a variety of dog collars and harnesses, and the Gentle Leader Easy Walk is my top pick.

The primary goal is to prevent the dog from pulling. A standard collar does little to dissuade the dog from pulling, and if he pulls to sharply, it can choke him. My dog used to get a bald band around his neck from pulling on his collar. Pinch collars are right out; it is simply animal cruelty.

A standard harness is pretty much optimized for pulling. It's better on the dog than a collar, but with a harness he can really get his weight behind it.

Gentle Leader also makes a device that rests on the top of dog's snout. While it works OK, I can't abide the look of it. It reminds me too much of a muzzle used for a dog who bites. Judging from the body language of passerby, others feel the same way.

The Easy Walk by Gentle Leader fits on much like a standard harness, but it has straps that compress across the dog's chest as he pulls. It's designed to be uncomfortable, but not physically hurt the dog.

Of course the best thing to do is to actually train your dog properly not to pull in the first place. One of these days...  

Get a Gentle Leader from Amazon

I've always disliked bottles in the shower. They are slippery, non-ergonomic, and nearly impossible to get the last 5% of the product out without resorting to aggressive human-on-bottle violence.

Life has been a lot better since I installed a shampoo/soap dispenser. I get just the right amount of product using only one hand. I don't have to pick up and put down (and drop, and pick up) a bottle. And I can drain the bottles dry by leaving them upside-down at the top of the dispenser.

I like the Aviva since it has transparent chambers, making it easy to tell when things are running low. It's also compact and a nice neutral color compared with other brands. I have the 3-chamber version, since I use soap, shampoo and conditioner. Although perhaps I should upgrade to the 4 chamber dispenser so I can have my rated best shaving oil in there too.

Get an Aviva Trio dispenser from Amazon

I've been a vegetarian for 9 years and a vegan for 2. Books like The Food Revolution and The China Study are quite convincing in linking animal protein (e.g. meat) to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and a myriad of other health problems. Luckily giving up meat doesn't mean giving up meat-based dishes.

Gardein is a new imitation meat made from wheat and soy protein, and it is really good. The flavor and texture are excellent. So much so that when Yahoo! cafeterias rolled it out last year, the head chef would consistently get two types of email: those praising the fake meat, and those lambasting him for "accidentally" serving real meat by mistake.

Morningstar Farms Meal Starters is Gardein with some additional seasonings marketed at consumers. The big advantage is in distribution. You can get Morningstar Farms' products at almost any major supermarket. If you want to pay a bit less, Trader Joe's also has their own TJ-branded Gardein product.

Meal Starters come in both chicken and steak versions. It definitely works best as a component to a  dish. My favorites: add the chicken to a mixed greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette; and combine the steak with grilled onions, peppers, and seasonings wrapped in a tortilla for fajitas.  

Get Morningstar Meal Starters at a store near you

I recently replaced our aging 5.8GHz cordless phone with this one. It garnered a "Best Buy" from Consumer Reports in their latest cordless phone test, and was rated best cordless phone with answering machine by Consumer Search.

Despite upgrading from 2.4Ghz to 5.8, we had horrible static/interference problems from day 1 with our old phone. In comparison, my new Panasonic is so quiet it sounds like a land line to me. (With DECT 6! Not that any consumer knows or cares what that means. And don't get me started on these consumer unfriendly product names. KX-TG1032S? C'mon.)

The only downside so far is that you can't see the number of messages left on the machine from across the room. All of the UI is done via the LCD display on the handset.

I bought the two-handset package. The base station supports up to six. If you need more handsets, consider the three or four handset packages.

Get a Panasonic KX-TG1032S from Amazon

There's little reason to use disposable batteries anymore. Rechargeable technology has gotten to the point where you can get almost as much power out of them as disposables. And it turns out that the charging process has a pretty big impact on the performance of the batteries.

Most chargers are dumb circuits that simply jam a current through the battery, no matter its current state of charge. This can ruin a perfectly good battery. Enter the BC-900. It not only monitors the charge on the battery, it can do a discharge + recharge cycle, or even a full refresh where the battery is discharged and recharged several times in a row. This can bring back a battery that was rendered unusable via a bad charger.

This unit also has selectable charge rates, so you can choose to charge more quickly at the cost of reducing the lifespan of the battery. It comes with 8 batteries (4 AA and 4 AAA) and 4 C and D cell adapters, so you get a nice start all in one package.

Get a La Crosse BC-900 from Amazon