Friends in Boxes

Psst. Want to know a secret? You're not brushing your teeth very well. That is, if you're using an 'old fashioned' toothbrush. In case you didn't know it, the debate between manual vs. electric toothbrushes is over . And it's long over. You can go over here and read all the studies you want to convince yourself that it's time to give up the manual and go electric. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune. There are several good electric toothbrushes that are under $20. I personally believe (and there are studies to back me up) that oscillating toothbrushes like the Braun Oral-B are the best electric toothbrushes out there. The Braun Vitality Precision Clean is about $18. I've been testing one out for about a year now and it's fine. I also have a more expensive Oral-B, (About $70 originally) but the only real difference you'll notice is battery life. If you travel, you might want to get the more expensive one (it has a NiMH batt

I have to admit, the first time I heard of a bagless vacuum cleaner I was very interested. Anyone who has ever gone to a Wal-Mart at 11pm in search of an elusive vacuum cleaner bag gets a warm feeling when thinking of the self-sufficiency of a bagless vacuum cleaner. Before buying my first bagless vacuum, I remember seeing TV adds for the super lightweight Orick with David Oreck making a huge mess while trying to clean out a competitor's bagless vacuum. "Look at the mess!" he would say. I remember thinking, "this poor old fool...trying to cling to the past with his 'bag' vacuum cleaner. . His days are SO numbered" Then one day, after purchasing my 2nd bagless, I caught onto the scam. It turns out, David Orick was right. What they don't tell you about bagless vacuum cleaners is that while it's true there are no bags, there are plenty of (more expensive) filters to wash, and you can only do that for so long. And it really is filthy. Tak

Well, it's been just over a year and a half that I've owned the 2006 Toyota Rav 4. In that time, I've learned that that Toyota is not immune from quality control problems. In the last year, my Rav 4 has spent 5 days in the shop. Here's a list of the repairs I have had to make: Windshield leak (Covered by a technical service bulletin) - The passenger floor board started to fill up with water every time it rained. - Fixed Engine control module re-flash (Covered by a technical service bulletin) - The Rav4, particularly when cold, would drive as if you started out in 2nd gear. Kind of like you were pulling a trailer of bricks. - Fixed Excessive sulfur smell (Covered by a technical service bulletin) - When the engine was cold, the exhaust would smell like rotten eggs. Whenever I came to a stop, the interior would smell the same way. The repair replaced the catalytic converter. Unresolved - This is still and issue even after the fix. My car still smells like