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Is the Dyson Fan a Scam?

August 13th, 2011

Like everyone else I’ve seen the television ads for the Dyson fan and wondered how the thing works without fan blades. My cousin and I were recently discussing this very thing when we decided to do a little research on the topic. 

After visiting a few customer reviews we discovered that there are in fact blades contained in the fan’s base. The air is simply channeled up through the round “air foil.” A couple of days later I examined a display model at my local Home Depot. The commercials have often described the noise generated by a conventional fan as unsettling. “The blades buffet the air creating a pulse, but the Dyson fan creates a constant stream of air…” or something along those lines. Sorry to say the noise level (if that bothers you), is about the same as a conventional, less sexy, general market fan. The air put out by the Dyson fan is not too bad, also about the same as her more average cousins. The Dyson fan is not a scam. For the most part it does what the manufacturer says it does. But nor is it, in my opinion, as cool as they imply either. There’s really no new method of moving air, as the design would seem to suggest.  So what’s the draw? Well obviously its aesthetics. The Dyson fan looks like something you’d see sitting on Captain Picard’s desk, particularly the mat grey model with the blue air foil.  But good looks are costly. The price on most models has come down to around three hundred dollars… yes down. So you’re looking at paying more than ten times the price of a more plain Jane Wal-Mart fan. 

At the end of the day the Dyson fan is a cool product, however how much is your average consumer willing to pay for cool? As for me I’ll stick to my old school oscillating fan that I paid about twenty dollars for, even if it is unsettling.            

Memories of Brookshires Grocery Store in Tyler Texas

December 7th, 2010
Downtown Tyler TX Brooksires Grocery Store

Brookshires Grocery in the 1920's

As a  child in the 1950’s, we used to spend the whole Summer with my Grandparents in Tyler.  My Mom grew up there.  I have wonderful memories of Tyler, but part of it is when my Grandparents or Parents would take me and my cousins to shop at Brookshire’s!

Having no air conditioning at their house, we LOVED the cold air and floors there!  Back then we used to go  barefooted, and the cold floor felt WONDERful!  (I don’t know if kids do that now)   Our special treat was to each be able to pick out a comic book if we were good, and my Grandma taught us to each pick out a DIFFERENT one so we could trade and read 3 different ones!

Even though I lived in Brooklyn, NY, and my cousins lived in LA, California, we loved that time of year when we would live as one Family together in my Grandparents’ house on the State Park Highway, and play with our Texas cousins for the whole Summer!!!  What a wonderful world it was for me…to this day, I feel that it was “therapeutic” as I was growing up, and I hope to go back one day.  Cheryl

Brookshires Grocery Store Olden Days

Brookshire's Tyler Texas 1940

Currents in Tyler TX

March 25th, 2010

Currents is a small restaurant hidden away next to Tyler Junior College. I wanted to throw a small private party, but I wanted it to be elegant and something different. We called the restaurant for information of how they serve their guests and what they do for parties. I was extremely impressed with the options that the owner laid out for me. Although I could not afford some of the options that he gave me he was still extremely generous. He allowed me to meet with him about having a specialty menu that I got to pick out.

I went to the small Tyler restaurant and he showed me around. Up stairs the dinning rooms are very formal with a nice deck and out side seating. Down stairs is another dinning area, which is not as nice and had very dim lighting. I was kind of disappointed in the set up of the place, because it was not very welcoming. The down stairs dinning area was reserved for my party and fit about twenty people in it. The service was extremely personal and private. I ordered the veal to start which was perfectly tender and amazingly tasteful. Although I had to live through the gasps of my young cousins when they heard I was eating a “baby cow”, it was very good.

They were kind enough to serve three dishes that I had asked for as a special menu, and everyone seemed like they enjoyed the food. We were read the amazing different desserts that all sounded great and were dipped in chocolate and drizzled in raspberry sauce. I tried the chocolate moose cake with raspberry sauce. It was a revelation. The rich taste danced in every bite. I am usually not a big fan of dark chocolate but this creamy cake that melted in my mouth was amazing. Everything was perfect but the check was rather large. But that is coming from a person who’s view of eating out is Chili’s or Chick-fil-a. I had an amazing time and both the food and service were definitely excellent. I will keep going to Currents, but I will just have to wait for that pay check to come in.

Elder Care and How To Keep Contributions Remembered

February 26th, 2010

[ad#Wall and Madison]

In our last article, we talked about ways to help our elderly loved ones restore their voice in society through simple volunteer opportunities. Today, we want to offer some simple ensure that their contributions to our families and communities are not lost after they are gone.

Give seniors a platform in our schools.

A shocking number of children have never been to a good old-fashioned farm, and don’t even know they still exist. Meeting Old MacDonald’s real-live, hard-working counterpart could give them some new ideas on work ethic. And who better to share our world and country history than one who’s lived it? Grandma’s story about the Great Depression was far more memorable than the one in my textbook. Who, after meeting a Nazi-prison camp survivor, has been able to forget it? Could we ever erase 9-11 images from our own minds? Our world has changed so much in the past century, our children need to know the value of their own ease and convenience.

Honor our veterans.

These are the people to whom we owe our freedom. Make every effort to attend and bring veterans to local celebrations where they will be recognized and honored for their service.

Encourage seniors to write letters to our troops.

So many young men and women serving our country and experiencing long absences from home eagerly anticipate mail time. These physical reminders of home and assurances of support go a long way to sustain and encourage them during their service.

Record your family history

Our elderly loved ones are a living record of our family’s history. After my aunt retired, she remained active in her community senior center, and started a financial investments group for senior women. She also had an urge to research and record our family’s history and lineage. Her research led her to travel to Europe to visit cousins and other relatives of whom I was completely unaware. Her report and connections gave us a treasured record of our heritage.

So record Grandma’s stories. Ask for her perspective on world events that occurred during her lifetime. I had read about people moving west in covered wagons, but until I met, Hazel, a warm, 98-year old woman, who had moved with her family from Chicago to St. Paul by wagon, it seemed like a fairy tale. Our most intimate portrait of my own father’s childhood was painted one afternoon when the camera was rolling. So sit down, and start asking questions.

We’ve got to do it. Take the time, unearth these treasures, listen to their wisdom, and allow our elderly citizens to contribute in ways they are able. If we do this, our lives and our country will never be the same. We will work harder, smarter, and more diligently knowing what has been built and given on our behalf.