Sunday, September 27, 2015
Maryland Lottery Wizard of Oz Game Review
For those who like or love the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) classic movie "Wizard of Oz," you might like the new $5 scratch off game the Maryland Lottery launched on September 21, 2015. The tickets show characters from the beloved movie and has that theme. The game offers six top prizes of $50,000. Other big prizes offered are $5,000 (12 of them) and $1,000 (50 of them). All the top prizes are up for grabs at the time of this post except for 1 of the $1,000 prizes.
The game is like a slot machine game in that you have 2 columns of 7 chances each in rows. You scratch off a row in the column and, you win the prize at the end of the row if you get 3 alike symbols or you win five times the prize shown if you hit a tornado symbol among the 3 symbols (I'm not sure if the 2 other symbols must be the same, the ticket I got isn't clear about that point).
Odds of winning OVERALL (you can do better and you can do worse, I have it had happen both ways for me personally) are 1 in 3.61.
The game does qualify for lottery rewards points and has the box in the lower right hand corner that you can scan at the ticket seller or on the new Maryland Lottery Rewards app that lets you scan scratch off tickets with your smart phone and see if you're a winner or enter them for reward points (it's a pretty handy app and it's FREE).
Overall, it's a decent game. If you like or love the movie, you might enjoy playing this game.
Disclaimer: I'm not associated in any way with the Maryland Lottery and all opinions expressed here are my own. All statistics stated here came either from the Maryland Lottery website (www.mdlottery.com) or from the ticket I got on my own. Please do remember to gamble responsibly and good luck to any of my readers!
Maryland Lottery Royal Gems Game Review
Six days ago, the Maryland Lottery launched its latest $1,000,000 prize scratch off game called Royal Gems. Like all $1,000,000 prize ($50,000 a year paid over 20 years, a lump sum is available but will be less than $1,000,000) games, the tickets cost $20 each.
The game offers an instant winner at the upper left of the corner under a gem studded throne. Scratch any amount under that and, you win it instantly.
In the main part of the ticket, you get 5 numbers where you can match between 1 and all 5. Here, they offer another instant win. If you scratch a 5X symbol, you win 5 times the prize shown below example: scratch a 5X symbol and have reveal a $100 prize, you actually win $500.
Top prizes offered are $1,000,000 (3 of them), $50,000 (5 of them), $10,000 (20 of them), $5,000 (25 of them) and $1,000 (283 of them of them). At the time of this post, only two $1,000 prizes had been won so, this game has LOTS of big prizes out there.
Odds of winning OVERALL (you can do better and you can do worse) in this game are 1 in 2.99.
The game does qualify for Maryland Lottery Reward points and has a box you can scan at the lower right corner if you want to find out if you won anything without scratching the whole ticket. Also, thanks to this box, you can scan the ticket with Maryland Lottery's new Rewards app for smart phones and save yourself having to enter the ticket the hard way i.e. having to enter both sets of numbers. I've used the new app. It is very good and, it's FREE.
Overall, the game is a decent game. If you like sparkly game tickets, you may be drawn to this game as it does sparkle.
Disclaimer: I don't have any association with the Maryland Lottery. All remarks are my own. Statistics for the game came from either the ticket I bought with MY own money or the Maryland Lottery website (www.mdlottery.com). Please do remember to gamble responsibly. Good luck!
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Tallinn Estonia Cruise Terminal WiFi
On August 1, 2015, I got to visit Tallinn, Estonia for the first time. I did a walking tour of the old city. It was awesome. At times, it felt like I was stepping back in time. At the end of the tour, I chose to return to the pier with the tour bus. At the pier, you can find a small building that is sort of a cruise ship terminal even though it isn't used to process people for cruises.
The small building has 2 or 3 souvenir shops including one that sells postcards and stamps. Just outside the building is a mailbox where you can mail the postcards. Throughout the building, the terminal offers free WiFi. At one end of the building is a small cafe that has tables and chairs both indoors and outdoors. The cafe offers various drinks including Estonian beer. I think the cafe also offers food though I don't remember what exactly they offered in that way. This part of the building was packed with people taking advantage of the free WiFi. I felt bad for the lady behind the cafe counter as so many of the people weren't buying anything from the cafe (it wasn't required) and yet using her tables and chairs. This was the main reason I decided to buy one of their drinks and settled on one the beers they had for sale as I thought it would be neat to try it. During my travels, I will try various foreign beers. Some can be very good like Carlsberg Dark I tried in a hotel in Arhus, Denmark and some can be basically piss water like one I had in a restaurant in Peru one time.
Overall, the WiFi at the terminal was very good. It had a good connection speed and, I liked that it was FREE. If you do a cruise into Tallinn (well worth doing), I'd recommend you take advantage of the free WiFi and maybe try one of the Estonian beers the cafe has. Happy Internet surfing all!
The small building has 2 or 3 souvenir shops including one that sells postcards and stamps. Just outside the building is a mailbox where you can mail the postcards. Throughout the building, the terminal offers free WiFi. At one end of the building is a small cafe that has tables and chairs both indoors and outdoors. The cafe offers various drinks including Estonian beer. I think the cafe also offers food though I don't remember what exactly they offered in that way. This part of the building was packed with people taking advantage of the free WiFi. I felt bad for the lady behind the cafe counter as so many of the people weren't buying anything from the cafe (it wasn't required) and yet using her tables and chairs. This was the main reason I decided to buy one of their drinks and settled on one the beers they had for sale as I thought it would be neat to try it. During my travels, I will try various foreign beers. Some can be very good like Carlsberg Dark I tried in a hotel in Arhus, Denmark and some can be basically piss water like one I had in a restaurant in Peru one time.
Overall, the WiFi at the terminal was very good. It had a good connection speed and, I liked that it was FREE. If you do a cruise into Tallinn (well worth doing), I'd recommend you take advantage of the free WiFi and maybe try one of the Estonian beers the cafe has. Happy Internet surfing all!
Neptune Internet Cafe St. Petersburg Russia
To my great surprise, as far as I can tell, there isn't any information on the Internet about the Neptune Internet Cafe located in Terminal 2 of the Marine Facade Complex (cruise ship and ferry complex) in St. Petersburg, Russia. This blog entry will give a little information on the cafe and the terminal. I personally visited this terminal during a port call at St. Petersburg, Russia from 29 to 31 July 2015 while cruising on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas.
The Marine Facade Complex is located 3 miles northwest of the city center (source: cruiseportwiki.com/StPetersburg) in an area of the city that is being developed by city authorities. I personally saw a number of new buildings close to the complex. The complex was finished in 2008 and comprises of 7 berths which serve 3 cruise ship terminals and 1 ferry terminal (terminal 3) (source: www.passengerport-mf.spb.ru/en/).
According to the Marine Facade Complex webpage (www.passengerport-mf.spb.ru/en/), all of the terminals have a cafe so, all of them may offer Internet service though I can only vouch for the cafe at terminal 2 which I personally used.
The Neptune Internet Cafe is located on the 2nd floor of terminal 2. It's a small cafe offering WiFi access for a fee and a selection of drinks (I didn't buy any so I can tell you how much they cost). I don't remember if they offered any food for sale. The cafe accepts U.S. dollars, Euros and Russian rubles (I didn't note what the charges were in Russian rubles). WiFi charges were:
$3/3 Euros for 1 hour
$5/5 Euros for 2 hours
$8/8 Euros for 24 hours continuous service
The cafe offered better WiFi prices than what were offered on Serenade of the Seas and had better connection speeds though I didn't have a meter to see just how fast the connection speeds were. I don't remember if they had terminals for use if you didn't have a WiFi capable device.
Concerning connecting to their WiFi, once you paid for how ever long you wanted to connect to their WiFi, they gave you a ticket with a username and password. The ticket told you how long you would be able to connect to the WiFi and the fee you'd paid. Lastly, there was a time limit in which you had to activate your account by. I don't know what would happen if you didn't activate it in time.
One drawback to using the cafe were the tough Russian customs rules. If you were on a cruise ship, you could visit St. Petersburg (for no more than 72 hours) without a tourist visit ($100 U.S., good for 2 years) but, you had to show a tour ticket to the Russian customs officer at the terminal. Otherwise, you weren't allowed to pass through the terminal and, you had to get through customs to be able to get to the Neptune Internet Cafe.
Another drawback is there aren't any other alternatives to the Neptune Internet Cafe that are close to the terminal. The cruiseportwiki.com/StPetersburg webpage has a picture of the Marine Facade Complex which if you click on the view larger map offers some excellent pictures of the complex and the area close to it. You'll see from the pictures there isn't much close by.
According to the Marine Facade Complex (see previously mentioned webpage), authorities do run buses (bus number 158) to terminal 3. If you click on directions on that webpage, they give a bus schedule. The bus runs to the Primorskaya Metro Station. Also, according to the webpage, taxis run from all the terminals though I don't have any idea how much a taxi or the bus would cost you.
Overall, I was really pleased with the Neptune Internet Cafe. The people running it were very courteous, the connection speeds were very good and, their prices were better than what were offered on my cruise ship. I would definitely recommend it and, I give it a thumbs up. I hope to use it again when I visit St. Petersburg again some time in the future. Happy Internet surfing all!
The Marine Facade Complex is located 3 miles northwest of the city center (source: cruiseportwiki.com/StPetersburg) in an area of the city that is being developed by city authorities. I personally saw a number of new buildings close to the complex. The complex was finished in 2008 and comprises of 7 berths which serve 3 cruise ship terminals and 1 ferry terminal (terminal 3) (source: www.passengerport-mf.spb.ru/en/).
According to the Marine Facade Complex webpage (www.passengerport-mf.spb.ru/en/), all of the terminals have a cafe so, all of them may offer Internet service though I can only vouch for the cafe at terminal 2 which I personally used.
The Neptune Internet Cafe is located on the 2nd floor of terminal 2. It's a small cafe offering WiFi access for a fee and a selection of drinks (I didn't buy any so I can tell you how much they cost). I don't remember if they offered any food for sale. The cafe accepts U.S. dollars, Euros and Russian rubles (I didn't note what the charges were in Russian rubles). WiFi charges were:
$3/3 Euros for 1 hour
$5/5 Euros for 2 hours
$8/8 Euros for 24 hours continuous service
The cafe offered better WiFi prices than what were offered on Serenade of the Seas and had better connection speeds though I didn't have a meter to see just how fast the connection speeds were. I don't remember if they had terminals for use if you didn't have a WiFi capable device.
Concerning connecting to their WiFi, once you paid for how ever long you wanted to connect to their WiFi, they gave you a ticket with a username and password. The ticket told you how long you would be able to connect to the WiFi and the fee you'd paid. Lastly, there was a time limit in which you had to activate your account by. I don't know what would happen if you didn't activate it in time.
One drawback to using the cafe were the tough Russian customs rules. If you were on a cruise ship, you could visit St. Petersburg (for no more than 72 hours) without a tourist visit ($100 U.S., good for 2 years) but, you had to show a tour ticket to the Russian customs officer at the terminal. Otherwise, you weren't allowed to pass through the terminal and, you had to get through customs to be able to get to the Neptune Internet Cafe.
Another drawback is there aren't any other alternatives to the Neptune Internet Cafe that are close to the terminal. The cruiseportwiki.com/StPetersburg webpage has a picture of the Marine Facade Complex which if you click on the view larger map offers some excellent pictures of the complex and the area close to it. You'll see from the pictures there isn't much close by.
According to the Marine Facade Complex (see previously mentioned webpage), authorities do run buses (bus number 158) to terminal 3. If you click on directions on that webpage, they give a bus schedule. The bus runs to the Primorskaya Metro Station. Also, according to the webpage, taxis run from all the terminals though I don't have any idea how much a taxi or the bus would cost you.
Overall, I was really pleased with the Neptune Internet Cafe. The people running it were very courteous, the connection speeds were very good and, their prices were better than what were offered on my cruise ship. I would definitely recommend it and, I give it a thumbs up. I hope to use it again when I visit St. Petersburg again some time in the future. Happy Internet surfing all!
Friday, September 11, 2015
Serenade of the Seas WiFi
To provide more information on Royal Caribbean's ships, here is my review on their Serenade of the Seas WiFi.
I sailed on this ship from July 26, 2015 to August 8, 2015 though I didn't use the ship's WiFi that entire time. The reason for that was it had problems. When I first tried to log in to see what discount I would get for being Diamond with their Crown & Anchor Society (frequent cruiser program), it couldn't give me the discount. It told me I could pre-pay the plan now and see about getting the money for the discount through guest relations later - no thanks. The second time I tried to pick a plan, it wouldn't even let me into the plans. The third time I tried, it finally would give me my Diamond discount AND let me pick a plan. So, I finally signed up though I still had issues with the ship's WiFi. I tried to connect to various websites at times and, the connection was sooooo SLOW that the connection would time out. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Still, there were pluses to the ship's WiFi.
First, they were now offering unlimited time on the plans for one flat price. You could get the unlimited WiFi plan for one device which cost $20 per day. Or, you could get the unlimited WiFi plan for two devices which cost $30 total per day. If you didn't like either of those plans, your final option was getting their daily plan which was 24 hours continuous for $39.95. I thought the first two plans were better though I didn't care to give them another $10 a day for a second device. If you had a family on the cruise, the second plan would probably be worth it.
Second, there is the convenience of using the ship's WiFi. I did use the free WiFi offered at various ports but, that meant I had to have my device on hand. Often I did as I was using my new smart phone which can connect to the Internet using WiFi. Still, it was nice not having to lug around whichever device I wanted to use while visiting various ports.
Third, using the ship's WiFi gave me something to do when we were at sea. I know the Royal Caribbean comes up with lots of things to do at sea but, I find I still get bored which why I hate days at sea. Being able to surf the web then gives me something I find entertaining to do.
Overall, I felt the ship's WiFi was worth it though I still looked for free WiFi spots while in port because I found they usually offered a faster connection. I've heard about Royal Caribbean's new VOOM system and, I can't wait to try it to see if it's equal to all the hype they're putting out about that. I don't know when I'll get to cruise one of their ships that has it. My next cruise will be on their Independence of the Seas November of next year. It'll be an interesting cruise for me because, I'll be doing the opposite of what I did on it the last time I sailed on that ship. The last time I sailed on her, I boarded at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and left the ship early at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This time, I'll board at Philipsburg, St. Maarten and depart at Ft. Lauderdale. Also, it'll be my first cruise as Diamond Plus. I'm curious to see what discounts you get at that level.
FYI, for Diamond members, the discount was $39.95 which would could be applied toward your bill if you got one of the first two plans or you could get one 24 hour continuous period for free.
I sailed on this ship from July 26, 2015 to August 8, 2015 though I didn't use the ship's WiFi that entire time. The reason for that was it had problems. When I first tried to log in to see what discount I would get for being Diamond with their Crown & Anchor Society (frequent cruiser program), it couldn't give me the discount. It told me I could pre-pay the plan now and see about getting the money for the discount through guest relations later - no thanks. The second time I tried to pick a plan, it wouldn't even let me into the plans. The third time I tried, it finally would give me my Diamond discount AND let me pick a plan. So, I finally signed up though I still had issues with the ship's WiFi. I tried to connect to various websites at times and, the connection was sooooo SLOW that the connection would time out. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Still, there were pluses to the ship's WiFi.
First, they were now offering unlimited time on the plans for one flat price. You could get the unlimited WiFi plan for one device which cost $20 per day. Or, you could get the unlimited WiFi plan for two devices which cost $30 total per day. If you didn't like either of those plans, your final option was getting their daily plan which was 24 hours continuous for $39.95. I thought the first two plans were better though I didn't care to give them another $10 a day for a second device. If you had a family on the cruise, the second plan would probably be worth it.
Second, there is the convenience of using the ship's WiFi. I did use the free WiFi offered at various ports but, that meant I had to have my device on hand. Often I did as I was using my new smart phone which can connect to the Internet using WiFi. Still, it was nice not having to lug around whichever device I wanted to use while visiting various ports.
Third, using the ship's WiFi gave me something to do when we were at sea. I know the Royal Caribbean comes up with lots of things to do at sea but, I find I still get bored which why I hate days at sea. Being able to surf the web then gives me something I find entertaining to do.
Overall, I felt the ship's WiFi was worth it though I still looked for free WiFi spots while in port because I found they usually offered a faster connection. I've heard about Royal Caribbean's new VOOM system and, I can't wait to try it to see if it's equal to all the hype they're putting out about that. I don't know when I'll get to cruise one of their ships that has it. My next cruise will be on their Independence of the Seas November of next year. It'll be an interesting cruise for me because, I'll be doing the opposite of what I did on it the last time I sailed on that ship. The last time I sailed on her, I boarded at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and left the ship early at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This time, I'll board at Philipsburg, St. Maarten and depart at Ft. Lauderdale. Also, it'll be my first cruise as Diamond Plus. I'm curious to see what discounts you get at that level.
FYI, for Diamond members, the discount was $39.95 which would could be applied toward your bill if you got one of the first two plans or you could get one 24 hour continuous period for free.
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mint Creams Review
A month ago (I think), while visiting the Pikesville, Maryland Trader Joe's, I noticed and decided to try their Dark Chocolate Mint Creams. The creams come in 10 ounce plastic containers and sell for $3.99. They're shaped like the Tootsie Roll Junior Mint candy only bigger.
Taste wise, the creams have a wonderful creamy mint center that is deliciously minty. The dark chocolate that covers them gives a nice contrast to the creamy center.
Calorie wise, 6 of the cremes have 170 calories (normal serving size) with 40 fat calories and zero trans fats.
Overall, I think this is an excellent product and, people who like mint candy will like Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mint Creams. I give them a big thumbs up!
Taste wise, the creams have a wonderful creamy mint center that is deliciously minty. The dark chocolate that covers them gives a nice contrast to the creamy center.
Calorie wise, 6 of the cremes have 170 calories (normal serving size) with 40 fat calories and zero trans fats.
Overall, I think this is an excellent product and, people who like mint candy will like Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mint Creams. I give them a big thumbs up!
White Cheddar Popcorners Review
I like Popcorners (snacking chips made out of popcorn) a lot so, I was looking forward to trying this flavor of this snack. The Laurel, Maryland Dollar Tree store had 3 ounce bags of the white cheddar flavor for a $1.
I found I wasn't impressed with the flavor. I don't know if it just doesn't go well with the popcorners themselves but, it just wasn't very good in my opinion. I plan to try other flavors of popcorners ( barring Kettle which I think I reviewed and gave a thumbs up) and see if they're any better.
Overall, I give this flavor a thumbs down though I still very much Popcorners overall. Bon Appetit all!
Addition Date 9/10/2015: I forgot to put in the calorie information for the flavor of Popcorners. It's 130 calories for each 1 ounce serving (source: nutrition information on the bag). Apparently, the flavoring adds an additional 10 calories per serving compared to the kettle flavor which has 120 calories per serving.
Also, yesterday, I visited the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store and, they carry all the flavors of Popcorners except butter. I'll be writing reviews later on the sweet chili, caramel, cheesy jalapeno and sea salt flavors.
I found I wasn't impressed with the flavor. I don't know if it just doesn't go well with the popcorners themselves but, it just wasn't very good in my opinion. I plan to try other flavors of popcorners ( barring Kettle which I think I reviewed and gave a thumbs up) and see if they're any better.
Overall, I give this flavor a thumbs down though I still very much Popcorners overall. Bon Appetit all!
Addition Date 9/10/2015: I forgot to put in the calorie information for the flavor of Popcorners. It's 130 calories for each 1 ounce serving (source: nutrition information on the bag). Apparently, the flavoring adds an additional 10 calories per serving compared to the kettle flavor which has 120 calories per serving.
Also, yesterday, I visited the Columbia, Maryland Wegmans store and, they carry all the flavors of Popcorners except butter. I'll be writing reviews later on the sweet chili, caramel, cheesy jalapeno and sea salt flavors.
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