Powerful Guides Blog

Ease gallbladder attacks with Beano?

February 15th, 2010

This post is for information purposes only. I am not a doctor. I am just telling you a true story based on my real life experiences.

I recently had my gallbladder removed after several years of not being able to eat certain types of foods without severe pain. I was scheduled to have it removed about 1 year ago, but another health issue arose which caused me to have to postpone it until that issue was resolved.

I always had a lot of gas from eating no matter what it was or how much. This is fairly common with gallbladder problems. To combat the problem I tried Beano. I would take three before each meal. The amazing thing is that I quit having gallbladder attacks immediately. I continued to take them and did not have an attack for 1 full year while taking the beano. I could even eat some of the foods that caused me problems before with no problems while on the beano.

Toward the end of last year I decided to go ahead and have the gallbladder surgery again as the beano was not a cure for my problem, but only helped with some of the painful symptoms. I’m happy to report that I am now completely back to normal with my gallbladder removed and no longer take the beano.

A coworker was describing her fathers symptoms to me one day not long ago and I remarked how it sounded just like what I had going on prior to my surgery. She said that he would not go to the doctor because he did not have insurance. I told her about the Beano and how it had helped me make it through a whole year without any attacks. She said that she was going to get some for him and have him try it. I ran into her today and asked how he was doing. She said that he has not had one attack since he began taking the Beano. It has been about 6-8 weeks now. She did say that he takes 4 pills with each meal instead of the 3 that I took.

I was amazed to hear that her father had the same results that I did so I wanted to post them here in case it may help someone else. I am not advocating using beano in place of doing the surgery. If you think you have gallbladder problems you need to see a doctor and think about surgery. What I am trying to get across is that beano may make your life less miserable until you get the problem taken care of.

I hope this helps some of you out there. Please let me know if you have similar results or not. I would be curious to find out.

Zoysia Grass end of growing season update

February 10th, 2010

I took pictures of the area where I planted the grass to show what transpired since I planted it. The answer is, not much! I did not get much if any distribution this year, I am hoping it will spread out this spring.

Here are the pics so you can see for yourself. I really did not like the color of the grass when it started turning cold but if it looks good in the spring and summer and keeps the weeds out like they say then I guess I can deal with the color during the cold months.

You can see the three patches of Zoysia in this picture. The first is in the lower left corner and then the other two are located on each side of the tree in the middle of the section of grass.

Here is a close-up shot

These pictures were taken in late October I think. I will update again this spring.

Zoysia Farms Rep Comments about my planting methods

June 8th, 2009

Company representative comment on June 02, 2009:
On Jun 2, 2009 11:28 AM, Zoysia Farm Nurseries responded with:We always appreciate people taking the time to post their comments particularly when they can add to the knowledge about Zoysia grass. Everyone has their own situation, which might dictate something other then our standard recommendations.

Planting methods are completely up to the individual and their circumstances. Over the years we have heard numerous alternative methods to the one we recommend. Just about any of them will work as long as the basic planting principles are followed. The posting is certainly one of the alternatives we hear most commonly. In this case planting the complete piece of sod and in the future to use it to withdraw plugs for future plantings. It is the easiest, simplest and quickest way to get the grass in the ground and growing. This will work.

The down side is that it will spread the slowest under this method. Zoysia grass spreads tenaciously but slowly by sending out rhizomes (shoots beneath the soil) and stolon shoots that spread above ground across the soil. Planting complete pieces of 10 inch by 15 inch sod, the total outside linear area from which the stolons can spread is 50 inches (10+10+15+15). Planting 150 individual plugs one-inch square (4 linear inches each) the linear area is 600 inches. More work yes, but that’s a lot of additional spreading area.

In the first year Zoysia grass puts most of its energy into establishing itself in its new home and does not do much spreading. In the second growing season it will start to spread and fill in the adjacent areas and continue to do so until it is fully filled in.

Our recommendations for the most economical and fastest fill in method, is to plant 1 square inch plugs. For faster fill in plant more plugs closer together.

Areas by roads can be very hot in the summer and get road salt in winter which makes for difficult growing for most grasses, but Zoysia is also very salt tolerant and we have heard from many customer who have had great success in similar locations to this.

One last thing, I enjoyed reading this blog. It is very nicely done.

Vinyl shutters are a cheap way to improve your home

May 31st, 2009

I’ve lived in my house for just over 7 years now. It is located in Central Ohio in one of the many subdivisions that surround Columbus, Ohio. It was built by one of the big home builders in this part of the country and over all is a nice house.

We spend a lot of time in the back yard and one thing that has always bothered me was that the back of the house looked bare compared to the front. The front has vinyl shutters on the windows and all the other nice things but the back has nothing. So I decided I wanted to put shutters on the back of the house so it would look as nice as the front.

The place I used to get my shutters online was http://www.architecturaldepot.com . They had a large selection and they offer a 105% guarantee that they will have the lowest price. They also charged no shipping on my order. I received the order within just a few days and that was it. The way online shopping should be.

The product I ordered was Builders Edge raised panel vinyl shutters. They were excellent in quality and easy to install the whole project only took me about 2.5 hours to complete at a cost of only $200. If you are looking for a cheap and easy way to improve your home I highly recommend putting vinyl shutters on the rear of your house to match those on the front.

I also highly recommend http://www.architecturaldepot.com as the place to get the shutters.

Here are the before and after photos of my project as well as a side view showing how your house will stand out against others that do not have them.

Hope you find this useful…good luck in your home improvement project.

Before

After

Comparison

My Zoysia Grass Adventure- Follow along

May 31st, 2009

I have had a problem lawn in the front of my home since we built it in 2002. It only seems to be getting worse as time goes on. A few months ago a saw an ad in a magazine for Zoysia grass and how it was the most wonderful thing to happen since sliced bread. I did some research on Zoysia grass and found out a few things that kind of bothered me, like the fact that it turns yellow after the first frost and does not come back until ground temps reach 50 degrees. It also will spread to other areas so if you don’t want your neighbors yard to get it then you need to put some sort of barrier up.

Even after all of this I decided to try it but I wanted to keep it in a small contained area that I could control. My thinking is that after this area is filled I can determine what to do from there. If I like it, I’ll just use plugs from this area to do the rest of my yard. If I do not like it then I can dig it up and plant grass seed with not to much work. So, if you have been thinking about planting Zoysia grass at your home you may want to follow along with my adventure.

I decided to buy my grass from Zoysia Farms out of Maryland. They are the folks whose ad I had seen in the magazine so I figured I would give them the business. I did some searching on the internet and found their website but also ran into some other sites that had many negative things to say about the company. So, I guess this will also be my review on how Zoysia Farms stacks up against their website and magazine ad claims.

The area I chose to plant in Zoysia grass is the area between my driveway and my neighbors driveway, and the street and the sidewalk in front of my house. (I did talk to my neighbor before doing this as part of this area is on his property. He agreed to go along with it.)

 

I had read online that many of the people complained about the plugs being hard to cut and plant so I decided to just plant the whole chunk and get it established and then if I wanted I would use the free plugger to spread it around after that.

I’m getting a ahead of myself a little. I ordered my plugs online through the Zoysia farms website. I had calculated that I was trying to cover about 180 sq ft. I used their online calculator and said I wanted two plugs per sqare ft and the calculator said I would need  2 basic packs + 1 free pack (300 plugs) plus 1 basic pack of 100 plugs. That would give me 400 total and I needed 360 to cover 2 per sq ft.

I decided to up the order to the 4 basic pack plus 2 free and they would throw in the step on plugger for free.  This was a total of 600 plugs. The total was $43.30 with shipping. I placed the order on May 14th and received a nice email saying that they shipped to Ohio on a regular basis and that my order would be filled the next time they shipped to Ohio. May 26th I received another email saying that they had shipped my order. I received my order on May 28th.

I opened the box and found pieces of sod basically. 4 pieces total and 1 of them was almost broken in half.

I was a little confused as to how the 4 pieces equal the 4 basic packs plus 2 free packs that I paid for but after reviewing the website they say that each pack divides into 150 1X1 squares so 4 X150 is 600. I think it is just a little marketing going on here. I also received the free step on plugger and a nice set of instructions that were very detailed. Since I was not going to plant the grass right away I set it outside in a place that would not get direct sunlight and watered it down as the instructions directed.

The 2nd thing I noticed was that I did not or could not see any of the scoring they talked about on their website that makes it easier to seperate the pieces. To me it looked like they just cut 4 pieces of sod and mailed it to me. Here is a picture of the bottom side of a piece of sod.

The instructions did clearly say in large print at the top, IF YOUR GRASS ARRIVES BROWN, DO NOT BE ALARMED so all of the negative comments I had seen on websites that started off with this complaint went right out the window as far as I was concerned.

The instructions also said to think of planting your grass as once in a lifetime. So, I knew that I should take the time and put out the effort to do a good job. If I were doing my whole yard I knew I would be in for quite a bit of work.

As mentioned earlier I had decided NOT to cut the pieces up into smaller pieces right away but to just plant the whole piece and then plug it after it was established.

I laid the sod down in the area I wanted to plant it and used a flat shovel to cut the sod around it. I then removed the piece and finished digging out the area.

I noticed there was quite of bit of small rock in the soil probably left over from when the house was built. The instructions clearly said not to plant in rocky soil so I kept digging until they were all out. I filled the hole back up to the proper lever with a mixture of top soil and miracle grow potting soil that we had left over from the flower planting a couple of weekends before. I soaked it real good with water, placed the zoysia sod in place and packed around it with more of the fresh dirt mixture to fill in the cracks on all sides and stepped on it to make sure it had good contact with the dirt underneath.

I planted the other 2 pieces of sod on each side of the tree. I watered them all well and plan to do so everyday for the next 3 weeks as the instructions say. I tossed the torn up 4th piece as I thought I had plenty to do the job already and did not want to mess with it.

The whole process took me about 2 hours to complete. I will be updating this blog to keep those who are following along informed on how it is coming along.

I hope this may help someone else who is curious about Zoysia grass and Zoysia farms. Please come back in a few weeks to see how my new grass is doing.

Here are a few more pictures to show what the area looked like before the Zoysia grass takes over.

 

As you can see the area is thin and some areas don’t seem to grow at all.

Here here is a close up of one of the sod pieces after it has been installed completely. As you can tell I left a little area around it as described in the instructions to keep out the competition.

Hopefully things will work out and this area will fill in and turn out to look nice. It has been a battle over the years for me. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the experience so far as a 7.  Most of the rating obviously comes from my experience with Zoysia Farms since that is all I have had other than the planting of the grass itself. My biggest complaint would be the quality of the order. Since I basically paid close to $40 for 4 small pieces of sod I kind of expected the pieces to be in tip top shape. Since one was torn I have to ding them for that.  Only time will tell if the Zoysia grass will grow and if I have any problems how they will support me. Stay tuned….other than that, the order process and delivery process was fine.

If it works out the way I hope then I will have my own Zoysia grass to do the rest of my yard from this original order so will be getting off cheaper than I would have it I had ordered it all at once.

Please check back around mid June as I should have some growth by then hopefully and will have more pictures posted. Thanks for following along. Enjoy your summer.

XBOX 360 three red lights fix

January 27th, 2008

As you know I have been selling repair guides to all of the popular gaming consoles for a little over 5 years now. My PS2 Repair Guide is one of the most popular on the internet today.

Many customers have asked me if I have other guides covering some of the newer consoles, but unfortunately I have had to tell them no because I have not had time to write another extensive guide on these new consoles.

What I have done in an effort to help those of you that are looking for a good XBOX 360 repair guide was to contact my my inner circle of video gaming repair friends. I asked them to please give me the name of the website that “in their opinion” was offering the best XBOX 360 Repair Guide for the money.

While I did get a few different answers, there was one site that stood out above all others by a margin of about 3 to 1. That site was

3redlightfix.com

After having such an overwhelming amount of my friends select this site as the #1 site for Xbox 360 repair I was satisfied that they were it. However, before I could make the recommendation to you I thought I should check them out for myself. Here is what I found.

• High Quality HD Video Tutorials that stream over the internet
• Comprehensive – Detailed Guide With High Res Pictures
• Real Customer Support
• And a “REAL” Fix For The Red Lights!

Now you really can fix your own Xbox 360, and you’ll do it within 2 hours, guaranteed. To help you on your way, you’ll also receive full customer support from real experts, plus comprehensive video tutorials, showing you the simple steps discovered by tech pros who know the inner workings of the Xbox 360 like the backs of their hands.

So, for those of you that know me and know the demand for high quality information that I require you can feel confident that this is the place to get your XBOX 360 repair information. I have no problem with strongly endorsing this site!

3redlightfix.com

Sincerely,
Mark Eastman
Powerful Guides

Making the choice between Ipod Shuffle, Ipod Nano or Ipod Video

December 6th, 2006

While I must admit that beauty and design alone are good reasons to buy an Ipod (especially when it comes to the Nano). Let’s take alook at the more logical reasons for selecting an Ipod. 

 • iPod (video) The largest iPod is Apple’s “video” iPod, although Apple refers to it as just the iPod. The battery life for video viewing is good — up to 3-1/2 hours of use from one battery charge. The excellent resolution (320 x 240) and brightness of the screen of the iPod make viewing videos a delight.

The latest iPod comes in two sizes — 30 GB and 80 GB — and, like all iPods (including the Shuffle), it can be used for storing data as well as audio files, photos and videos. Storing your complete iTunes library on the iPod is very easy. Just connect your iPod to your computer, set iTunes to copy your complete library to the iPod and iTunes will do the rest. Every time you update your iTunes library and then connect your iPod, your music and videos will also be updated on your iPod.

One of the advantages of the large storage capacity of the iPod is the ability to add podcasts to your music library. You can find a large variety of free podcasts through the iTunes Store (the easiest way to add podcasts) and iTunes lets you easily update the podcasts automatically or manually. You can also visit podcast websites (for example, Podcast Net or Podcast Alley) for more podcasts, including video podcasts.

The iPod is, naturally, larger and heavier than a Nano, but it’s still small enough and lightweight enough to carry in your pocket or purse. If you need the extra storage space and/or want video capabilities, the iPod (video) might be the right iPod for you.

• iPod Shuffle  The iPod Shuffle is the smallest and least expensive of the current iPod models. It’s also the newest model, officially shipping just days ago, although it was first announced and previewed by Steve Jobs in mid-September.

The Shuffle’s amazingly small size, virtual weightlessness and good battery life (Apple reports up to 12 hours of use from one battery charge) make it ideal for long trips or walks. The built-in clip makes wearing the Shuffle easy and secure and it eliminates the need for or cost of an extra case. Clip it anywhere and start walking or jogging.

The main disadvantage to a Shuffle is the limited storage space for music (1 GB). Some people complain that it lacks a screen, but I find a screen is unnecessary on a Shuffle since you can arrange music on it in the order you want to hear the songs using iTunes and changing the volume and moving back and forth through your songs requires no visual effort. For those who must have a screen on a lightweight MP3 player, Apple makes the iPod Nano.

• iPod Nano Like the Shuffle, the new Nano is almost weightless and, with the right case, it can be worn around your neck or on your arm. The battery life of a Nano for audio playback is extremely long (according to Apple, up to 24 hours of use from one battery charge), especially if you use the screen and backlight minimally.

The storage capacities for a Nano are 2 GB, 4 GB and 8 GB. If you have a small-to-medium size music collection, and you like the idea of carrying all your music with you in as small an MP3 player as possible, the Nano might be perfect for you. The addition of a screen lets you select just the songs you want to hear while still providing you with a lightweight option you can wear around your neck, carry in your pocket or wear on your arm. You can also store and view photos on a Nano but the storage space of the smaller Nano models might be limiting for a photo enthusiast.

The major disadvantage to the Nano is the cost of the 4 GB and 8 GB models. The 8 GB model is the same price as a 30 GB iPod (video) and the 4 GB model is only $50 less than the 30 GB iPod. Also, none of the models come with accessories except a cable to connect them to your computer or a charger, so you need to figure in the cost of at least a cover to protect the screen of a new Nano. But the Nano is small and lightweight and has a screen, and it may be the perfect iPod for users with smaller music collections.

As you can see, whether your needs are for a simple, no-frills, very small, easy-to-use music player (Shuffle), for a full-featured music and video player (iPod) or for something in-between (Nano), there is an iPod that is right for you. To help in making a choice, you can view a comparison chart of the three current iPod models at Apple’s website.

Preventing PS2 problems from developing

November 25th, 2006

Some things in life are taken for granted. We never know how important they are until it is too late, and they are gone. The Playstation 2 can be one of them…if you are not careful. It’s never too late to get started, and by following a few simple steps you can easily prevent ps2 problems from developing. 

USE AND HANDLING

• Be careful to not drop the console
• Do not set the console on unstable surfaces or surfaces that are subject to vibration
• Do not expose the console to high temperatures, or to areas with sudden temperature changes. If transporting in a car do not leave in the car with the windows rolled up.
• Keep the console out of dusty or smoky environments. Dusk or smoke residue can build up on the internal components and cause a malfunction.
• Do not place the console close to magnetic fields such as those caused by magnets, loudspeakers, or television sets.

CLEANING THE PLAYSTATION 2

• Over time dust will accumulate may accumulate in the font and rear vents of the console. Check them from time to time when cleaning the house and remove the dust using a low-powered vacuum.

DISC HANDLING

• Since discs are being inserted directly into the console it is extremely important to make sure they are clean before doing so. Wipe them with a soft cloth from the center outwards.
• Do not touch the disc surface when handling it. Hold it by the edges.
• Store your discs in their cases when not being used. Stacking them or standing them without their case may cause warping.
• Do not expose discs to a heat source, direct sunlight, or high humidity.

VENTILATION

• There are several opening used to properly ventilate the PS2 console while you are using it. Never cover the slots with any kind of material
• Be careful where you place the console so that the slots are not blocked as well. They can be blocked by setting the console on a rug, sofa, bed or other similar surface.
• Never place the console in a bookcase or other confined space unless you are sure there is proper ventilation

POSITIONING THE CONSOLE

• The console can be positioned either horizontally or vertically. Do not move the position of the console when the console is operating. Doing so may cause damage to the console.
• When placing the console vertically make sure that the disc tray is in the top position and the controller ports are on the bottom. Use the vertical stand to make sure that the console is secure.

As you can see, it is not really all that hard to take proper care of your playstation 2 consoles. You will make sure that you will be playing games on it for a long time to come by doing so. However, if and when that time comes and ps2 problems do come up, don’t rush right out and buy you a new one.

Just because the PS2 is not reading disc anymore or the CD tray will not open does not mean the console is doomed. There are many things that can be easily fixed by you and they are all covered in the Powerful Playstation 2 Repair Guide available for sale at the Powerful Guides website. For only $9.95 for the downloadable version or $19.95 for the softcover book version you can’t go wrong. There is a free trial version available to give you an idea on what you will find inside before you make a purchase. (www.powerfulguides.com/ps2)

Playstation 2 Repair on a Budget

November 24th, 2006

The Playstation 2 is the most popular gaming console in the world currently. With 25 million sold in the US and 100 million sold worldwide there is a pretty good chance your family has one. Hopefully you haven’t had to deal with a broken one yet, but if it does break what are you going to do? Your kids are yelling “Mom/Dad we need our PS2 repaired. We can’t play games anymore”. You love your kids and you know how much they love playing the PS2, plus it keeps them occupied and out of trouble, so it is very important to you to have a working Playstation 2 in your house.

However, the electric bill is due, the house payment is coming up, or you can think of a number of other things that make it easy for you to justify not spending $129.00 right now on a new PS2. Still the problem persists, no Playstation 2 in the house. What else can you do? You have to spend the money and buy a new one right?

Not anymore…

Now, you can send your console off for repair or you can try to repair it yourself. Both of these choices can save you a lot of money versus buying a new one. Let’s take a closer look at your options and see which one is best for you.

First of all, make sure your console is not covered under warranty. If it is then make sure to call Sony and they will tell you how to send it in for warranty repair. If it is not covered under warranty you may choose to send it to Sony for repair but there have been reports that they are charging $120 for repairs. You will need to check with them and get a quote on your repair before sending it in. The drawback here is that not only are the repair costs high, but the turnaround time is long. You probably won’t have your console back for a few weeks.

You can look for a local repair station. Ask the guy at the local video game exchange store if he knows where to get your playstation 2 repaired. If he does call and ask how much it will cost. These repair shops are usually much cheaper then Sony and you can get your console back a lot quicker too. The price range on these types of shops is in the $39-$59 dollar range plus parts. Turnaround time for these shops is usually about 3 business days. Reputation is one of the other issues to think about when dealing with a repair shop. Since part of the price for the repair is parts, and what parts you need for the repair won’t be determined until after they look at it, make sure you feel comfortable with the person or company you are dealing with. You will have to trust what they say about the parts that are needed to make the repair.

If you can’t find a repair shop locally you can search the internet for a repair shop. The cost is usually about the same as any other but you face the same obstacles of trust. Not only that, but you will have a little more cost and time involved because you will have to pay for postage both ways as well as wait for the console to be delivered to and returned from the repair shop. This can make the whole process take up to 2 weeks.

Last, but certainly not least is the option of doing it yourself. There are several guides online that can help you. You can usually find most of them by going to Google and searching for “ps2 repair”. Most Playstation 2 repairs can be fixed fairly easily even by someone with no technical knowledge or skills. The advantage of this method over the others mentioned is that most of the time you can have the Playstation 2 working again in a matter of hours. Not only that, but if something happens to it again you can fix it yourself without any additional expense. Here are some points to consider if you decide you would like to buy a repair guide and try the repair yourself.
1. Price- Most of these books fall in the price range of $9.99 to $14.95. Cheaper doesn’t always make it better. With a tight price range like this price should be the least of your worries.
2. See what is covered in the book- read the tables of contents or download a free trial if available
3. Look at the file size- Some books being offered sound nice because they have video and other fancy things, but they are huge in size. If you have a dial-up connection it could take hours to download.
4. Make sure the guide is compatible for your computer. If you have a Macintosh you might not be able to use the guide. See if you can buy a printed version.
5. Make sure that the content of the book can be printed. You will need to print the pages out to take with you while working on your console. If it is a huge file with video presentation then that might make it hard to work on your PS2 away from your PC.
6. Look for testimonials from previous customers. Contact them if there is an email address and see what they say about the book.

No matter which way you decide to go, there are ways to get the families Playstation 2 working again without breaking the family budget. You will have to decide which choice is best for you.

UPDATE:
As of 04-20-2006 the price for a new Playstation 2 console is $129.00. In my opinion this price makes the decision to send in for repair less attractive. This leaves you with only two options, buying a new one or trying to fix it yourself. Spending $10-$15 for getting a chance to get your playstation 2 repaired looks better all the time. Good Luck!