6/26/2007

INFINITY RAZOR -- DO NOT BUY IT !!

I did it again. I saw the TV ad for the Infinity Razor. It said "The Infinity Razor is the last razor you will ever have to buy." Several key words here. Think about it - no one HAS to buy a new razor. Except me. I've bought every type razor invented and I think there is something deep inside me that makes me HAVE to buy new razors.

Let me give you my evaluation of the Infinity Razor. It's a cute looking thing. All of the positive comments stop here.

The first time I used it I compared the comfort level to that of one of my "Use once and throw away" razors when I was using it the second time. Not very comfortable and not very close but maybe that's the new look.

The second time I used it I could not make it through the whole shave. It was pulling hairs out rather than cutting them. Halfway through I switched to a disposable razor and it glided through the rest of the way.

I suppose some men take the offer to refund the purchase price (less shipping and handling $8.95) but to me it's not worth bothering with. However, I will take each opportunity I can to urge anyone to NOT BUY THE INFINITY RAZOR even if they offer a free carving knife, which apparently can cut though metal cans but for some mysterious reason has trouble with meat.

The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
June 26, 2007

6/22/2007

DOES ONE GET WISER WITH AGE?

This is interesting.

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is planning to cash in on the wind energy boom by building the world's largest wind farm in West Texas.

If things go as usual this proposed wind farm will be, as most things in Texas are, huge and will generate enough electricity to power a large percentage of the Texas homes. The problem will be getting the electricity to them.

Well, here’s an idea.

Most of us are familiar with high power electrical lines. These carry electricity long distances. Usually they are either on high towers or underground. Why not make short towers about 3 or 4 feet off the ground and string them along the border between Texas and Mexico?

It would seem like a better idea than those foolish fences we keep building and people keep climbing over. Not many people will climb over a high voltage wire fence.

Just a thought.

Here is some serious advice.

I saw a television commercial advertising the “Infinity Razor – the last razor you will ever buy.” It is supposedly made of special steel that will hold a sharp edge forever. They even show it shaving sandpaper and then a man’s face.

Of course I bought one. I don’t think there ever has been a decent razor ad I didn’t follow up on. In August of 2004 I even wrote a blog about this obsession I have. Click here if you're interested

So yesterday I tried it and I sort of agree with what they advertise. You might use this razor forever if you don’t mind shaving with a dull blade or if you want to shave sandpaper.

Now that I think of it, they never did day it was a great shave – just that it would be the last one you will ever buy. They must have meant you’ll never buy another one of these.

But I probably will buy the next gadget that comes along.

Oh yes, they also throw in a carving knife in a cardboard sheath. Printed on the outside is, “You never have to sharpen this knife.” That’s true. Think about it the next time you look at your carving knife. You don’t HAVE TO sharpen it. Only if you want to slice something.

The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
June 22, 2007

6/16/2007

HAPPY DOGS

I hardly seems possible that it's been well over a month since I last posted a blog here. This time I have a better excuse than "the dog ate my blog." It has been really busy around here and, of all things, the source of a great amount of it was our Shih Tzu dog named Jake.

Even though I seem to lack the genes needed to be a pet lover I do feel this guy, Jake, is a pretty special dog that somehow gets everyone to love him. In fact, recently, a Veterinary Nurse who was looking at him said, "He's so cute I could kiss him right on the lips." I thought that was going a bit farther than the stage I am at now but nonetheless it was kind of a cute thing to hear.

About a month ago Jake developed a slight limp in his right forepaw. Not much I thought but apparently enough that a visit to the vet was called for. This led to some medication and some advice to keep him quite for a while. There was not hint given as to how to keep him quiet and apparently it wasn't explained to Jake either. That night we were at the 24-Hour Emergency Veterinarian's Office, as he seemed to be in more pain. You didn't know there was a 24-Hour Emergency Veterinarian services? Oh yes, if you are willing to pay. From previous experiences we also were aware there are Animal Dermatologists and we learned there are also Animal Ophthalmologists. I wonder how they do that "Read the chart thing" and how do they do that "Is this one better or is this one better?" thing. It was at that office we saw a magazine as advising us of the availability of a "Pet Psychic." Hmmm.

However, it was that Emergency Veterinarian who did suggest the problem was actually in Jake's neck and suggested X-rays at our regular Veterinarian in the morning. Sure enough it was and several hundred dollars later we were on our way to a city about an hour's drive north of here where they have a special animal hospital that does surgery. After arriving there and meeting with that Veterinary Surgeon it was determined he did need spinal surgery and he should have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) only they didn't have the MRI equipment so we headed out for another hour's drive to get there just before they closed.

We left there and returned to the vet surgeon with a CD of the images. That was two images at $700 each but we probably could keep a copy of the CD to watch on evenings we wouldn't be able to afford to do anything else. Surgery was scheduled for the next day and we drove the last hour to home.

Of course we drove back the next day to be sure to greet Jake when he came out of surgery. That was a wasted trip except we did see he was still alive. The next day we did take him home but only for a day. The poor dog was in such distress we were unable to get his medications into him so we took him back and left him there as a hospital patient for the better part of a week.

He now is home but still not out of the woods. He sleeps a lot and when we tries to walk he has trouble. I describe his walk as looking like a drunk walking on slippery ice. He falls down quite a bit but each day seems to get better. Our trips back and forth to the hospital are finished for now and our bank account is severely bruised enough that we no longer dream of building a girls school in Africa like Oprah did.

Which finally brings me to the point of this blog. I was talking to my eldest daughter who has had a lot of experience with animals. She told me something that I thought was quite profound and was the main reason I wrote this thing. She urged us not to be too concerned over details and reminded us that things which seem important to us might not be important to Jake. Then she said, "A three-legged dog is just as happy as a four-legged dog." That phrase kept going over and over in my mind and I even thought it would make a great title for that book I'm going to write someday. "A three-legged dog is just as happy as a four-legged dog." I think we could all learn from that and if we could apply it to ourselves it's just possible we might just be as happy as Jake even if we can't do all the things we want to do.

The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
June 16, 2007