Show all posts by user

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - Yesterday

Hi everyone, I got the Car & Driver box a couple of days ago. Took all of a few seconds to install and it works as advertised. Got my phone connected to it in seconds. Currently, it's mounted in a temporary position and connected to my OEM head unit via its AUX-IN port. It's possible to the the C&D box via FM Transmitter or via my phone's bluetooth. Haven't tried either yet since AUX-I

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Bidets are big, but do you really need one? - 2 days ago

PeterB, I would hope you use a quality soap on that area at least once a day when you bathe. If you poop one or possibly twice a day, it'd be possibly another once or twice a day cleaning with a soap and water. That shouldn't result in any problems. If it does, then you have bigger issues taking place. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Bidets are big, but do you really need one? - 2 days ago

Peter, i've used them. There is a difference between rinsing and cleaning. A bidet may rinse and rinse astonishingly well but, without soap, it isn't actually cleaning. If I use soap and water on that area, it isn't just rinsed. It's cleaned. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Bidets are big, but do you really need one? - 2 days ago

Hi everyone, I keep thinking to myself. Use a bidet. Spray of water leaves my butt cleared of poop. But, really, how clean is the area? Definitely cleaner than just bath tissue alone but not as clean as if you washed your butt with soap and water. And, I'm still gonna have to dry my butt. So, use of a bidet still means using bath tissue and/or having another towel around just for drying my tuc

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: A market for "used" kids / children's books? - 3 days ago

Space, Maybe this will help you find a place to donate them: Our local library doesn't accept donated books. Rather, the library used to have regular book sales as a means of getting rid of books no longer needed by them. No doubt, covid has likely impacted whether or not they're still having book sales. We have tons of books from Little M. Some are favorites or special gifts that we

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: anyone with access to consumer reports? i'm kitchen appliance shopping. tanx ;-) - 3 days ago

Ombligo, Correction. Haier may own Fisher & Paykel but they aren't manufacturing their products for them. That's significantly different than owning the company and manufacturing the products. A friend purchased a F&P fridge about 10 months ago. Very happy with it. Pricey by his standards but he's happy with it nonetheless. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: How come we didn't need Pre-School? - 4 days ago

Deck, You can't go by what things were like a few years ago. Things have changed tremendously in that time. Sure, pre-K was available if parents were willing to pay for it back then. Now, pre-K is becoming available via school districts at no cost to the parents/caregivers. It's a different world. Robert

by Robert M - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: How come we didn't need Pre-School? - 4 days ago

Deckeda, Times have changed. Universal pre-K is becoming commonplace. As a kid, I remember kindergarten in our elementary schools. Now, basic public education in my area starts with pre-K and finishes with high school. Parents think of it as another grade now because it isn't just fun and games. Real learning takes place and it is an important step to ensure children are ready for kindergarten

by Robert M - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: How come we didn't need Pre-School? - 4 days ago

Vision, You missed a bunch. Preschool isn't just fun and games. I'll go as far to say preschool actually starts in daycare and the curriculum progresses just like an elementary school. In the earliest years for Little M, daycare was play, experiences and socialization. As Little M got older, daycare switched gears to preschool and life skills, academics and "school" skills. Robert

by Robert M - 'Friendly' Political Ranting

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 5 days ago

Cary, Based on what I saw on the site, I wouldn't go near any of the products. Definitely came across to me as a device of questionable quality from a company that will likely provide minimal support in the event of an issue. And, I'd still have to pay someone to install it. That doesn't work for me. If I went with something like the seicane, I may as well just replace the head unit entirely w

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Should I upgrade from an iPhone 7 Plus to a iPhone 13 Pro? - 5 days ago

Matt, Maybe consider moving from the 7 Plus to a newer but not necessarily most update model. Maybe instead of a 13 series, move to an 11 series. It'll still be a _huge_ upgrade from a 7 Plus but should cost less than a 12 or 13 series phone. I moved from a 6S to an 11 Pro and don't regret it at all. Great upgrade in nearly every way, especially battery life. Wireless charging by itself was

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 6 days ago

Mac, That's the thing. Addresses and locations don't change much. The actual physical route(s) to get from point A to point B is/are generally the same whether you use Apple Maps, a car's built-in navigation or even a plain ol' paper map from 15 to 20 years ago. In my experience using built-in navigation and Apple Maps (and similar systems), when it comes to actual routing, built-in navigat

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 6 days ago

Hi everyone, I decided to give the C&D device a try. I went back to Amazon and they had a deal for the wireless model for $50.00 off. So, for $349.99 plus tax, it's on its way to me. Got the wiring in place already. Bets case, I get th ebest of both worlds between the existing hardware _and_ car play. Worst case, if I don't like it, I return it and go back to my old system of the OEM head

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Seeking alternative to Dreamweaver - 6 days ago

Davester, Unlike VirtualBox and VMWare Fusion, Parallels found the installer for Mojave from the recovery partition of my existing system. It's what the other packages were supposed to do but were unable to do so. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 6 days ago

Space, I'd been test driving new cars just before the pandemic hit. The plan to replace the car got kaiboshed when the pandemic hit and my wife lost her job. Factor in the chip shortage and I don't see a new car in my future for quite a while. My wife obtaining a new job hasn't changed my plan. That's why I was looking at replacing the head unit or trying the C&D box. If I replace the h

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 6 days ago

Rolando, Exactly. I saw it in a Mazda 3, a CX-3 and the CX-5. I prefer a design that is more integrated but, gotta say, what Mazda did works well enough. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 7 days ago

Filliam, Exactly. Trying to avoid messing with the head unit that is in the car. This would give me car play _and_ all the features of the OEM hardware. I live and travel in generally good areas. The risk for a smash and grab exists. No doubt about it. Then again, I've had a dash cam attached to my window for years. It's an attractive nuisance but nobody has smashed and grabbed it. I'm more co

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 7 days ago

Buzz, Not cost effective. The device, installation and accessories for making it work will come way too close to purchasing an aftermarket head unit which will offer more functionality for the dollar. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 7 days ago

Rolando, I have a dash mount for my phone. However, my phone, an 11 Pro, wouldn't offer the features fo carplay and the screen is _much_ smaller. The way the Car and Driver gizmo is configured, it actually looks much like the way Mazda and Tesla (in the Model 3) mount touchscreens these days. Mount it nicely and it probably wouldn't get a second glance. In the Mazdas, the touch screen is attac

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 7 days ago

Buzz, Thanks. Saw those. Neither are compatible with my Mazda. The Grom appears to be a replacement head unit, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Alternative to replacing the head unit to get carplay in my '09 Mazda CX-7? - 7 days ago

Hi everyone, As many of you know, I have a 2009 Mazda CX-7. It's the top of the line Grand Touring model with the tech package. It was the best you could get at the time. Backup camera, navigation bluetooth (for voice calls only), touchscreen to control everything. You name it. Obviously, what was modern for '09 has long since been eclipsed with the advent of Carplay and Android Auto. Curre

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Seeking alternative to Dreamweaver - 7 days ago

Todd's, Yups! Parallels can create virtual machines for Windows. Flavors of Linux and, most importantly for me, the Mac OS. Tried VirtualBox and VMWare Fusion and neither would allow me to install the Mac OS. There is some kind of workaround to make them work but it was too much trouble. They _can_ run the MacOS but you shouldn't have to go through hoops to get it working. Tried the curr

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Seeking alternative to Dreamweaver - 7 days ago

Todd's, Maybe create a basic virtual system that will allow you to run your existing version of Adobe CS 5.5. You can get Parallels Desktop as a one-time non-subscription purchase and you can use it to create a virtual system. The pro version of Parallels Desktop is subscription only. The regular can be had as a stand-alone. I'm doing this so I can move up to newer flavors of the OS but still

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: UPS Socks (not kidding) - 7 days ago

Free, $6.00 for plain ol basic cotton socks? Too much bucks. But, $6.00 a pair for even crappytacular wool socks would be a great price. Quality wool socks usually cost significantly more than $6.00. Heck, you're lucky to find them for under $10 to $15 a pair for wool socks from a quality brand. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Michelin CrossClimate tires - opinions? - 9 days ago

MrBig, People post to tirerack about how a specific tire performs on their vehicle. Use the filtering system to see which tires are the most recommended for your car. You can't go by brand or model. Brand X and model Y might be dandy on Z car but not so good on another make and model. Look at my post in this thread: <; Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Anyone ever heard of Tech Zebra? I like this stand... - 9 days ago

RAM, That actually looks like a decent travel stand. I always pack one of these in my suitcase when I traveL Works great for cables for phones (i.e .iphone 11 pro), tabelts (Kindle Fire 8, iPad Mini 5), various USB bluetooth headphones, charging case for airpods and even a UV-C box (that requires a USB cable and charger for power). I attach two cables to the USB ports, use the outlets

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Default Folder for half price - 9 days ago

Tuqqer, Thank you for the link. I can see a couple of these as useful. Betterzip and DaisyDisk immediately come to mind. Then again, I like Winzip, which competes with BetterZip. Both are more useful than the built-in archive utility. Both are on sale for Black Friday. Been eyeballing Winzip for a long time but didn't want to pay full price for it. Very tempting. Just got to decide which apps.

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Favorite methods of preventing and/or clearing nasal/sinus congestion? - 9 days ago

PeterB, Not a fan of neti pots, either. They rely on gravity for flushing and they never worked well for me ever. I use a squeeze bottle based system. That way, I can control the amount of pressure to put behind the rinse. Think something along these lines: Got to be careful, though. You can squeeze too hard and send some of the rinse into your ears. Very annoying. Still, decongestants

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Anyone have Transitions self darkening lenses? - 10 days ago

rgC, Transitions are a brand, not just a type of lens. There is a difference between the real Transitions and similar lenses produced by Zenni and other companies. The real thing are superior in my experience. Transitions are nice as general purpose glasses and nice to have on a bright, sunny day, when you know you'll need to be indoors and outdoors. For long-term outdoor time and/or driving,

by Robert M - Tips and Deals

Re: Human Rube Goldberg Machine? - 11 days ago

Rick, You mean, crazy obstacle course. And, it must have taken him a _very_ long time to perfect the skills necessary to complete it. Robert

by Robert M - Tips and Deals