Le Bien et le Mal

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all.


Some things you use fulfill their intended purpose quite well, even surprisingly so at times.  But the universe seeks balance, and other things, well, don't do much of anything at all.  So here a few things I've found in both the good and bad categories.

Le Bien

This will solve your sticky dishwashing problems like an oily wok or grill grate.  Just spray on, let it think about it for a minute, and rinse off.  Saves multiple trips through the dishwasher trying to get that grease off.

Speaking of grills, this grill guard by Outset (#QN71) is just the thing for grilling salmon or shrimp.  Marinate the shrimp, and you'll find millions of Australians aren't wrong about shrimp on the "barbie."

Spray N Forget (online or at Lowe's on a bottom shelf in the paint department) works too well to be nontoxic, but it is.  I had been removing that pesky green algae from the vinyl siding and the black whatever it is from the sidewalk with an electric pressure washer, which quit after a few years.  Plus, you get soaked from head to toe.  Spray this on either, and the unwanted plant life goes away.  So much easier.

 Zoup Bone Broth is a little expensive without a coupon, but it adds the flavor to soups and stews.  Available in beef, chicken and vegetable.  It looks like motor oil, but don't let that deter you.

 The trusty Honda CR-V (or most other Hondas or Toyotas and a few other makes).  Luxurious? Fast? Quiet? Eye-catching styling?  Well, no.  But they do exactly what they are supposed to do with no fuss, and are as reliable as an atomic clock.  You can go on a nice vacation for what the guy in the impressive car is spending to keep it going and insured.

 Le Mal

Pantech flip phone.  Sigh.  I don't want a smart phone (jeer if you must), and this is about as bad.  I replaced the battery, and it still loses charge even when not in use.  It only rings for a short while, and you can't get to it in time.  Entering contact information is like chiseling into stone -- it's that easy.  It's portable is the best thing you can say about it.

Hoover Dual Power Max Pet Carpet Cleaner, model FH51001.  Our old one had served us well, but it was very heavy.  This is designed perfectly:  light, smaller, lots of clear plastic to see what's going on and where to clean it out.  Two powered brushes.  But:  the brushes never work and break the belt over and over.  I got a better replacement brush, thinking the hub on the Hoover one was freezing up and causing the problem, and it worked about once before breaking the belt.  And worst of all, the upholstery cleaning attachment has never worked.  The dealer says it has to be primed, but how do you do that?  I have never seen a carpet cleaning machine which requires that anyway.  No help from the instruction manual, of course.  Check on YouTube to see how many others are as frustrated with this thing as we are.

Any Chinese-made fan, heater or combination.  The switches always break early on.  You're lucky if that happens before they catch on fire.


Pro-Form Treadmill sold by Sears (don't know the model number anymore).  About $850, which was a lot of money to us at the time.  Heavy as a cement truck, but I got it upstairs and going.  Plugged it into a surge suppressor as directed.  After a few months it stopped, and I figured out the voltage regular chip had failed when I unplugged it to move and clean around it.  OK, they're less than a dollar and I have a chip-pulling tool.  Guess what?  Schematics are absolutely non-existent, and being made in Asia, the chip was not labelled like it should be.  I talked to the Treadmill Doctor in Memphis by phone and he told me that yes, schematics are not available even to him, and no, he had no idea which voltage regular chip to use.  One of those "If only I had known" moments, because there are a lot of other treadmills out there.

Those are just a few examples.  How about hearing about those you've encountered?  Might as well laugh about them now (le mal) or share some good stuff for others (le bien).  Au revoir.