Archive for the ‘gadgets’ Category

Jun 09 2009

Lapdawg x4 Laptop Stand

Posted by JacQ

Since we started full time RVing, I have been researching for a good work station for me that does not involve a desk. I can work pretty much anywhere with my laptop, in any position.

Then I came across this pretty well written review of the product called The Wizard Off-the-Lap Stand sold on Lapworks. The article also mentioned Lapdawg, another company that sells almost identical laptop stand. The only difference between them is the price really, Lapworks sold theirs for $99.95 and at the time I was looking Lapdawg was selling theirs for $130.00.

Beginning of this year, I finally went ahead and ordered the Lapdawg for myself. Why pay more for the same thing? Somehow I felt the guys at Lapdawg will offer a better customer support and better understanding of the product since that is the only product they are selling.

Though a few months after I have bought it, the price had dropped to $89.

Boy, I love using the Lapdawg… it is easy to set up and use. Most of the time, I use it to work in bed. Now, now… I know you are going to tell me, that is the worst place to work~ bad posture and such. But in fact, my back pain and arm pain went away for a while since I started using it.

Both legs has dials at four different joints for you to adjust and create any configuration you can imagine.

The most common configuration I use, is shown here by the lovely Lapdawg model. This position provides a good lower back support for me when my back hurts from working at our office desk area. Since we are limited by space and needed chairs that can be easily broken down and put away while traveling, we do not have the best office chairs for working. My neck also gets good support from pillows position behind me so I can have a relaxed back while working.

We use this to watch movies and TV shows on our laptop in bed too. It is light weight and fairly strong.

But, today… I broke the Lapdawg…

so sad... I lost my balance while I was trying to get out of bed and fell right on top of the Lapdwag. No, I was not hurt, but I pretty much smashed the laptop stand flat on its legs. One of the joints on both the left and the right legs is completely broken so it won’t hold the correct position for my needs. I only have my clumsy self to blame…

So, I went on their website, trying to see if I should order a new one, they actually have replacement legs for you to order. Well, I guess, this means I am not the only clumsy person out there that breaks things… hehehe….

Since we only have 1.5 weeks left to be here in Phoenix and the trip won’t allow us to really have anything shipped to us on a guaranteed time frame… we are going to wait till we are in Ohio this August to order replacement legs.

1 Comment » // topics: gadgets //

May 19 2009

Verizon Broadband Users can save money from the new Verizon rates

Posted by JacQ

I found out today from RV.Net about some changes Verizon Wireless are making with their Broadband Plans and how these changes can potentially save you money.

If you are full timers like us and use broadband plans from Verizon Wireless, you are in luck. They are lowering their $59.99/month plan with 5GB limit’s overage charges of 25 cents per megabyte to 5cents per megabyte. For those who have their $39.99/month plan with 250MB limit plan, the overage charges of 25 cents per megabyte is dropped to 10cents per megabyte.

I took the advise from the RV.Net article and called Verizon this morning and made sure the new rate is applied to our two Broadband plans. At the same time, I learned something I did not realize about one of our Broadband plans.

The first Mobile Broadband plan we signed up with the Verizon Wireless USB720 Modem back in 2007 has an unlimited MB allowance. That was a surprise to me, for some reason, I thought it was the 5GB limit plan.

The Verizon sales rep told me that, as long as I keep using the Verizon Wireless USB720 Modem and not upgrade it when I renew my plan, I can keep the Unlimited MB Allowance! I was so glad he told me that because, I would have upgraded it to one of the newer modems since this plan also has the New Every Two.®

But, I still made sure he confirmed that Jeremy’s Broadband plan with Verizon Wireless UM175 USB Modem is updated to the new rate for 5 cents per overage MB, since he has the 5GB allowance plan.

To save money, it is always good to call the company to ask and see if you are eligible for any promotion or discount they have currently.

I did that with our MyFax account when they lowered their lowest monthly rate from $12 to $10. After using the MyFax service for one year, I know that I only send/receive about average 20 faxes each month for Jacq Design. One day, I just decided to look at their website for no reason, and saw that their new lowest rate is $10/month instead of the $12/month for sending 100 and receive 200 free pages/month that I signed up for. I sent them a nice email and told them how happy I am with their service, but thought that I should be able to lower my monthly fee to their new rate. They happily lowered my rate for me and even sent me refund for part of the month that I emailed them. I now save $2 each month for that quick research and simple email.

The trick is, these companies do not inform existing customers about these kinds of discount or promotions, you have to be proactive. Check on their website every now and then for any changes or discount they might be offering and give them a call to see if they are able to apply the promotion or discount rate on your existing account. You will be surprised the money you can save from this simple and effective practice.

No Comments » // topics: gadgets, general, money saver, rv //

Oct 27 2008

Start of Teflon Free Cooking

Posted by JacQ

I have been reading and learning a lot about cooking with cast iron cookware. Finally I decided to look on Craigslist in Columbus while we are here for cheap cast iron skillets. Lucky me, I found one lady selling her 4 cast iron pans for $35 total. That was a good deal, considering she really took great care of the pans and they are well seasoned and used so I won’t have to do all the prep work before using them.

Now I am replacing my Teflon non-stick pans with one 12-inch cast iron skillet, two 10-inch cast iron, skillets, one 6-inch cast iron skillet and one 10-inch cast iron griddle.

I think of this as a start to healthy and environmentally friendly way of cooking. When well seasoned, it is almost non-stick, so you won’t have to add too much oil to cook your food.

This morning, I made some breakfast with it using local produce and it was awesome. I think it will take me a while to learn the new way of cleaning my new pans, but, I think it won’t take me too long~

Here’s a list of benefits I come up for using cast iron cookware: Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment » // topics: cooking, gadgets, lifestyle //