A while back, I bought 3 or 4 cans of Progresso's Southwestern Style Corn With Potatoes and Peppers soup at the Jessup, Maryland Dollar Tree. For a $1 a can, the soup was worth trying in my opinion and, Progresso makes some very good and easy to prepare soups (see my previous review on Progresso soup).
As this soup is in the Southwestern United States of America (USA) style, I knew it was going to have some zing i.e. be a little hot. That's typical as far as I know of with foods from the Southwestern USA. This one does though I found it to be a good all vegetable soup. According to the can I opened, you'll get 1/2 a cup of vegetables per serving (2 servings per can). Calorie wise, each serving serves up 110 calories which isn't bad in my opinion. The soup doesn't have any Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and is low in fat (just 15 calories of fat in a serving per one of the cans I bought). Each serving has 680 milligrams of sodium for those who are watching their salt intake. 2 grams of sugar per serving are also included in each serving for those watching their sugar intake..
Like all Progresso soups, the soup is very each to prepare. You can place it in a covered dish in the microwave and heat it between 2 and 4 minutes or heat it up on a stove.
Each can comes with a 10 cent coupon for Box Tops for Education which you can give to whatever deserving school so, they can get needed school supplies. I sent a bunch of the coupons to St. Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota to help them out though you my reader are welcome to send them to whoever you like or throw them out with the can.
Overall, I was pleased with this soup and give it 2 thumbs up. I was particularly pleased with the price I paid at Dollar Tree for it though it can be hit and miss finding this soup there. I visited their store at Springfield, Virginia and didn't see a single can of any of their soups there. If you like a vegetable soup with a little zing in it, this could be the soup for you. Bon Appetit!
Note: the soup does contain milk and wheat ingredients in it for those concerned about such things (Source: one of the cans of the soup I bought).
Sunday, April 02, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Review of Maryland Lottery's Uno Scratch Off Game
Yesterday, while playing some Maryland Lottery scratch off games at a Citgo gas station in Laurel, Maryland, I saw they had a $3 game called Uno after the famous card game. I decided to play it.
The game features 21 hidden Uno cards in 3 rows of 7 with 4 bonus cards to the right for a total of 25 at the top of the ticket. Below the cards are 6 horizontal rows of cards with hidden prize amounts to the right. The rows come in 2 card sets of 5 cards, 6 cards and 7 cards. You scratch off hidden cards at the top and then see if you have a match in any of the horizontal rows. If you do, you scratch that card. When you've scratched all the cards in a horizontal row, you win the prize to the right. As far as I can tell, the prize amounts to the right are random i.e. you won't win a bigger prize for successfully scratching all the cards in a 7 card row vice a 5 card row (I scratched all the prize amounts on 1 ticket I bought to see if there was a difference).
Prizes run from $3 to the top prize of $30,000. There are 4 - $30,000 prizes, 25 - $1,000 prizes, 459 - $500 prizes and 5,029 remaining $100 prizes as of the time of this post (Source: the game's webpage at the Maryland Lottery website) with lesser amounts going down to $3. As the game had just come out yesterday, this is why all the top prizes are still available barring a few $100 prizes.
Overall odds in this game are 1 in 3.83 which isn't very good in my opinion though the cheaper scratch off games tend to have worse odds compared to the $20 games which usually run around 1 in 3. I guess they have to make up the money in the game by not having as many winners.
The game does qualify for Lottery Reward points.
Overall, this game will appeal to people who like the card game Uno or who like to scratch as there is a lot of scratching in this game. The game can be suspenseful in that on repeated tickets I played I had multiple lines where I got down to 1 missing card. So, I kept wondering each time I scratched if the needed missing card was going to show up. On my fourth go at this game, it did (won $3). I found it a nice game though I confess I like Maryland Lottery's Treasure Island $3 game better (see my earlier review on this game). Like the Treasure Island game, I'd recommend you double check your ticket to make sure it's a winner or loser as you might accidentally miss one of the cards in the rows in the lower part of the ticket that would make you a winner. Good luck to you all.
As a reminder, please do remember to play responsibly. The odds aren't in your favor of hitting it big at these scratch off games though they're better than the odds in either Megamillions or Powerball.
The game features 21 hidden Uno cards in 3 rows of 7 with 4 bonus cards to the right for a total of 25 at the top of the ticket. Below the cards are 6 horizontal rows of cards with hidden prize amounts to the right. The rows come in 2 card sets of 5 cards, 6 cards and 7 cards. You scratch off hidden cards at the top and then see if you have a match in any of the horizontal rows. If you do, you scratch that card. When you've scratched all the cards in a horizontal row, you win the prize to the right. As far as I can tell, the prize amounts to the right are random i.e. you won't win a bigger prize for successfully scratching all the cards in a 7 card row vice a 5 card row (I scratched all the prize amounts on 1 ticket I bought to see if there was a difference).
Prizes run from $3 to the top prize of $30,000. There are 4 - $30,000 prizes, 25 - $1,000 prizes, 459 - $500 prizes and 5,029 remaining $100 prizes as of the time of this post (Source: the game's webpage at the Maryland Lottery website) with lesser amounts going down to $3. As the game had just come out yesterday, this is why all the top prizes are still available barring a few $100 prizes.
Overall odds in this game are 1 in 3.83 which isn't very good in my opinion though the cheaper scratch off games tend to have worse odds compared to the $20 games which usually run around 1 in 3. I guess they have to make up the money in the game by not having as many winners.
The game does qualify for Lottery Reward points.
Overall, this game will appeal to people who like the card game Uno or who like to scratch as there is a lot of scratching in this game. The game can be suspenseful in that on repeated tickets I played I had multiple lines where I got down to 1 missing card. So, I kept wondering each time I scratched if the needed missing card was going to show up. On my fourth go at this game, it did (won $3). I found it a nice game though I confess I like Maryland Lottery's Treasure Island $3 game better (see my earlier review on this game). Like the Treasure Island game, I'd recommend you double check your ticket to make sure it's a winner or loser as you might accidentally miss one of the cards in the rows in the lower part of the ticket that would make you a winner. Good luck to you all.
As a reminder, please do remember to play responsibly. The odds aren't in your favor of hitting it big at these scratch off games though they're better than the odds in either Megamillions or Powerball.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Review of Maryland Lottery's Treasure Island Scratch Off Game
My apologies to my readers on this review. I've been meaning to write it for a while and, I didn't get around to it till today. Today, I guess I have a surprise urge to write stuff. Anyway, on to the review.
If you like to scratch a LOT on the scratch off games (I have a co-worker who does), you'll love this game because there is a LOT of scratching involved though not as bad as Maryland Lottery's Lucky Seven Game book they had a while back.
The Treasure Island game was launched by the Maryland Lottery on December 27, 2016 (Source: the Maryland Lottery webpage; http://www.mdlottery.com/games/scratchoffs/ then look for the Treasure Island game). According to the webpage, as of March 18, 2017, the game has five out of eight $30,000 prizes left, fifteen out of twenty-two $1,000 prizes left and seventy-two out of one hundred and four $500 prizes left. Those are the big prize amounts in this game. There are smaller amounts all the way down to $3 which is what the game costs to play.
How the game works: The game has 3 ships at the bottom of the ticket. You start scratching where each ship begins and, you go the direction each arrow points (either up, right or left). Along the way, you'll uncover symbols or prize amounts with arrows directing you which way to go. If you hit a skull & crossed bones with the words Game Over, the game is over for THAT ship. Remember, you have THREE ships paths to follow i.e. you have THREE chances to win a prize.
There are 3 ways you can win in this game:
1) make it all the way to one of the four prize areas - you win the prize you uncover.
2) uncover 3 identical symbols (either a gold bar or key) in all three ship paths, you win $25 for the key, $50 for the gold bar.
3) uncover 3 identical prize amounts in all three ship paths, you win that amount.
At times, even though these directions which I took from the game webpage should be clear enough, I've found I've had to check my ticket with a scanner at the place I bought the ticket or with the Maryland lottery app which will tell you if you have a winning ticket or not (though it won't tell you how much annoyingly). I had one case where I had three $3 winners in a row and didn't know it!
Overall odds of winning in this game are 1 in 3.85. You can do better or worse than that. I've had both happen.
One neat thing the Maryland Lottery did to promote the game is they created a page where you can get your pirate name! I tried this and ended up with the pirate name - Jolly Davy. I have no idea where it came up with this name as my real name is Ron. Guys AND Gals can get their pirate name at:
http://www.mdlottery.com/promotions/treasure-island/
Overall, I've found this a fun game to play vice playing for the $30,000 prize (though I wouldn't turn it down if I hit it to my surprise). I feel this is a cheap game (I usually play the $20 games) to play. It is eligible for Lottery Reward points so save your losing tickets so, you can claim the points on the reward webpage or by using the reward app.
Lastly, please be responsible while playing. The odds aren't in your favor of hitting it big so do play responsibly (i.e. don't play with money you can't afford to lose like your rent or electric bill money). Best of luck to you all!
Update May 7, 2017: I discovered you can use the Maryland Lottery Rewards application (app) to check tickets to see if you won. A big plus of this app vice their normal lottery app is not only will it tell you if you have a winner, it'll tell you how much! This is becoming my go to app when I'm playing Maryland Lottery scratch off games. Also, it may be obvious what you've won in other games unlike this game BUT, it doesn't hurt to have confirmation from the Maryland Lottery on your win.
If you like to scratch a LOT on the scratch off games (I have a co-worker who does), you'll love this game because there is a LOT of scratching involved though not as bad as Maryland Lottery's Lucky Seven Game book they had a while back.
The Treasure Island game was launched by the Maryland Lottery on December 27, 2016 (Source: the Maryland Lottery webpage; http://www.mdlottery.com/games/scratchoffs/ then look for the Treasure Island game). According to the webpage, as of March 18, 2017, the game has five out of eight $30,000 prizes left, fifteen out of twenty-two $1,000 prizes left and seventy-two out of one hundred and four $500 prizes left. Those are the big prize amounts in this game. There are smaller amounts all the way down to $3 which is what the game costs to play.
How the game works: The game has 3 ships at the bottom of the ticket. You start scratching where each ship begins and, you go the direction each arrow points (either up, right or left). Along the way, you'll uncover symbols or prize amounts with arrows directing you which way to go. If you hit a skull & crossed bones with the words Game Over, the game is over for THAT ship. Remember, you have THREE ships paths to follow i.e. you have THREE chances to win a prize.
There are 3 ways you can win in this game:
1) make it all the way to one of the four prize areas - you win the prize you uncover.
2) uncover 3 identical symbols (either a gold bar or key) in all three ship paths, you win $25 for the key, $50 for the gold bar.
3) uncover 3 identical prize amounts in all three ship paths, you win that amount.
At times, even though these directions which I took from the game webpage should be clear enough, I've found I've had to check my ticket with a scanner at the place I bought the ticket or with the Maryland lottery app which will tell you if you have a winning ticket or not (though it won't tell you how much annoyingly). I had one case where I had three $3 winners in a row and didn't know it!
Overall odds of winning in this game are 1 in 3.85. You can do better or worse than that. I've had both happen.
One neat thing the Maryland Lottery did to promote the game is they created a page where you can get your pirate name! I tried this and ended up with the pirate name - Jolly Davy. I have no idea where it came up with this name as my real name is Ron. Guys AND Gals can get their pirate name at:
http://www.mdlottery.com/promotions/treasure-island/
Overall, I've found this a fun game to play vice playing for the $30,000 prize (though I wouldn't turn it down if I hit it to my surprise). I feel this is a cheap game (I usually play the $20 games) to play. It is eligible for Lottery Reward points so save your losing tickets so, you can claim the points on the reward webpage or by using the reward app.
Lastly, please be responsible while playing. The odds aren't in your favor of hitting it big so do play responsibly (i.e. don't play with money you can't afford to lose like your rent or electric bill money). Best of luck to you all!
Update May 7, 2017: I discovered you can use the Maryland Lottery Rewards application (app) to check tickets to see if you won. A big plus of this app vice their normal lottery app is not only will it tell you if you have a winner, it'll tell you how much! This is becoming my go to app when I'm playing Maryland Lottery scratch off games. Also, it may be obvious what you've won in other games unlike this game BUT, it doesn't hurt to have confirmation from the Maryland Lottery on your win.
Review of Old South Pickled Okra
I've been a fan of pickled okra for some time. I've tried various brands of it. My one complaint about the item is that it can be expensive. Talk O' Texas offers a very good okra pickle product but, it costs over $3 for a 16 ounce jar of the stuff. This is why I went in search of a good BUT cheaper pickled okra product. I believe I found one in Old South Pickled Okra. Their 64 ounce jars cost $5.69 on the Walmart website and, Walmart offers free in store pick up or free 2 day shipping on orders of $35 or more ($5.99 if the order is less than $35). As far as I know, Walmart doesn't offer this product in their stores (I don't remember seeing it there though I'll have to check the next time I visit one).
On the product itself, I found it to be pretty good pickled okra. It's crunchy which I like and, they put small or medium okra pods in the jars. One annoyance I've had with Jake & Amos's pickled okra is sometimes they put large pods in their jars. The large pods can be chewy and practically inedible (overall they make a very good product too). Another plus of this product is the price. $5.69 is a good price for 64 ounces of pickled okra as far as I know.
Overall, I've been very pleased with this product and plan to buy more of it from Walmart. I am going to see if they carry it in their stores (stay tuned for an update if they do) as that would save the hassle of having to order it online and then either picking it up at one of their stores or watching for it to arrive via whatever shipping company Walmart offers the free 2 day shipping with. I give this product a 2 thumbs up. Happy munching all!
On the product itself, I found it to be pretty good pickled okra. It's crunchy which I like and, they put small or medium okra pods in the jars. One annoyance I've had with Jake & Amos's pickled okra is sometimes they put large pods in their jars. The large pods can be chewy and practically inedible (overall they make a very good product too). Another plus of this product is the price. $5.69 is a good price for 64 ounces of pickled okra as far as I know.
Overall, I've been very pleased with this product and plan to buy more of it from Walmart. I am going to see if they carry it in their stores (stay tuned for an update if they do) as that would save the hassle of having to order it online and then either picking it up at one of their stores or watching for it to arrive via whatever shipping company Walmart offers the free 2 day shipping with. I give this product a 2 thumbs up. Happy munching all!
Review of Wegman's Loose Tea Selection
One of the things Wegmans supermarkets has really impressed me with is their loose tea selection. In some supermarket chains, you'll be lucky if you find any tins of loose tea. For tea aficionados, loose tea is the way to go even though it does create more of mess as you have to clean the diffuser or the tea pot out afterwards depending on how you have the tea steep i.e. does it float loosely like in my Teavana Teaperfect tea pot or does it steep in a diffuser where the tea floats in a holed container (many times of some kind of metal) of some sort. Loose tea supposedly brews a better cup of tea as you can get more of the ingredients in the tea vice ground up bits example: in the Wegman's Masala Chai Black tea blend I tried this morning, one the spices in it is cloves. When I spooned out the tea into tea kettle, I could see entire cloves in the mix.
Wegmans offers an incredible 51 tin selection of loose teas where customers can scoop out what blend they want into seal able bags which you then put on a scale, enter the product code, find out how much your quantity of the tea will cost and if it's agreeable with you, hit the print button to where it prints out a sticker with the name, amount, price per pound, price of the purchase and a bar code that you can scan at the register scanner.
Prices on the loose tea vary depending on how fancy a blend you're buying. Wegmans sells Brazilian roasted mate tea for $14.99 a pound. The chai I tried was $29.99 a pound. They have an organic Assam tea for $35.99 a pound and, I believe they have a Japanese green tea which sells for $99 a pound. Keep in mind a pound of tea will go a long way as you'll only be using one teaspoon or more per 8 ounce cup of tea.
The chai tea I tried this morning had a nice flavor though I did brew it longer than the recommended time as I like a pretty strong cup of tea. I plan to try other blends of theirs and see how they stack up.
I do have one complaint with them though the problem may be with just their Columbia, Maryland store. They can be bad about keeping the stock on the shelves. I visited their Columbia store to get some the mentioned Masala Chai tea and, they were out. A sales assistant told me they should get it back in within a week. They didn't. After repeated visits where they were still out, I went to another Wegmans (their Crofton, Maryland store) where I was finally able to buy some of the tea.
Overall, as I mentioned, I've been really impressed with Wegmans choice of loose teas. They also offer tins of Twinings loose tea which I like. Wegmans in my opinion is one chain that offers one of the best selections of tea among supermarket chains though I understand that folks in the United States of America aren't the biggest tea drinkers. Still, I give them a big 2 thumbs up on them for this. It's one thing I really like about their stores and will keep me coming back to them. Happy tea drinking all!
Wegmans offers an incredible 51 tin selection of loose teas where customers can scoop out what blend they want into seal able bags which you then put on a scale, enter the product code, find out how much your quantity of the tea will cost and if it's agreeable with you, hit the print button to where it prints out a sticker with the name, amount, price per pound, price of the purchase and a bar code that you can scan at the register scanner.
Prices on the loose tea vary depending on how fancy a blend you're buying. Wegmans sells Brazilian roasted mate tea for $14.99 a pound. The chai I tried was $29.99 a pound. They have an organic Assam tea for $35.99 a pound and, I believe they have a Japanese green tea which sells for $99 a pound. Keep in mind a pound of tea will go a long way as you'll only be using one teaspoon or more per 8 ounce cup of tea.
The chai tea I tried this morning had a nice flavor though I did brew it longer than the recommended time as I like a pretty strong cup of tea. I plan to try other blends of theirs and see how they stack up.
I do have one complaint with them though the problem may be with just their Columbia, Maryland store. They can be bad about keeping the stock on the shelves. I visited their Columbia store to get some the mentioned Masala Chai tea and, they were out. A sales assistant told me they should get it back in within a week. They didn't. After repeated visits where they were still out, I went to another Wegmans (their Crofton, Maryland store) where I was finally able to buy some of the tea.
Overall, as I mentioned, I've been really impressed with Wegmans choice of loose teas. They also offer tins of Twinings loose tea which I like. Wegmans in my opinion is one chain that offers one of the best selections of tea among supermarket chains though I understand that folks in the United States of America aren't the biggest tea drinkers. Still, I give them a big 2 thumbs up on them for this. It's one thing I really like about their stores and will keep me coming back to them. Happy tea drinking all!
Update: November 9, 2020 I'd read on a different website that Wegmans was doing away with their loose leaf tea tins. The report was true as that is what has happened at their Columbia, Maryland store. In it's place, their offering various loose leaf teas in pre-weighed bags. Wegmans still has a good selection of teas in both forms: loose leaf and tea bag. So, I'd still recommend them to someone if they like tea. Still, it is a real bummer that they got rid of the tins.
Sunday, March 05, 2017
Jailbreak Infinity Amber Ale Review
When I visit the Total Wine store in Laurel, Maryland, I'll make it a point to try some beer or ale I haven't had before. Sometimes, it's in preparation for a future trip example: I tried Kingfisher Lager recently because it's sort of Indian. It's brewed in the United States under Indian (India) supervision. As I'll be touring India next year with Globus, I wanted to try some of their beer and see how it is.
In the case of Jailbreak Infinity Amber Ale, what makes this special to me is that it's brewed in Laurel, Maryland. I haven't visited the microbrewery where presumably they brew the stuff but, it is neat to me that it's brewed in the town I live in like National Bohemian is special to those in Baltimore even though that beer isn't brewed there any more.
Anyway, in the case of Jailbreak's amber ale, I found it to be a nice ale though I'll readily admit I'm not any kind of aficionado on ales. If I like it, I say so. If I don't, I say that too.
Total Wine sells Infinity Amber Ale in 12 ounce 6 pack cans for $10.99 which isn't cheap but not exorbitant in my book either. I suspect it's not a bad price for a microbrewery.
Overall, if you like ale, I think you'll like this one. I'll have to check and see if you can buy it at the brewery and if so, at what price. That would be neat to be able to take a 6 pack home with you after trying it at the place it's made. Happy Drinking All!
In the case of Jailbreak Infinity Amber Ale, what makes this special to me is that it's brewed in Laurel, Maryland. I haven't visited the microbrewery where presumably they brew the stuff but, it is neat to me that it's brewed in the town I live in like National Bohemian is special to those in Baltimore even though that beer isn't brewed there any more.
Anyway, in the case of Jailbreak's amber ale, I found it to be a nice ale though I'll readily admit I'm not any kind of aficionado on ales. If I like it, I say so. If I don't, I say that too.
Total Wine sells Infinity Amber Ale in 12 ounce 6 pack cans for $10.99 which isn't cheap but not exorbitant in my book either. I suspect it's not a bad price for a microbrewery.
Overall, if you like ale, I think you'll like this one. I'll have to check and see if you can buy it at the brewery and if so, at what price. That would be neat to be able to take a 6 pack home with you after trying it at the place it's made. Happy Drinking All!
Saturday, March 04, 2017
Review of Maryland Lottery's $2,000,000 Scratch Off Game
My apologies to any followers I might have. I didn't realize I didn't post anything for February 2017. I have lots of ideas for future posts and have even done some research for a few of them. I just haven't gotten around to making myself sit down and knock out some of them. Fortunately, here's one post I will get done in a timely fashion.
While visiting my friend Larry (retired city mail carrier) at his liquor store in Woodbine, Maryland, I decided to play Maryland Lottery's first ever (as far as I know) $2,000,000 scratch off game. According to the game webpage, the game was launched February 27, 2017. Tickets cost $30 vice $20 for the $1,000,000 prize games (seems like a better deal as you spend an extra $10 and could win twice as much money). It offers five $2,000,000 prizes, sixteen $50,000 prizes, sixteen $5,000 and numerous prizes of $500 to $30 (over 500,000 $30 prizes alone). At the time of this post, none of the big prizes had been claimed yet.
In regards to the game, one of the tickets I bought with MY own money (I don't get anything from Maryland Lottery for doing this and all opinions expressed here are my own and not in any way connected with the Maryland Lottery), states the games OVERALL odds of winning are 1 in 2.82. You can do better and, you can do worse like I did the first time I played this game (I hit a $30 on my 4th try). The ticket states on the front of it that Maryland Lottery is offering over $90,000,000 in total cash prizes. Each ticket offers 40 chances to win (again according to the ticket I bought). There are 6 numbers at the top of the ticket that you try to match and 8 rows of 5 numbers below your winning numbers. Make sure you scratch all 8 rows (I goofed on this and didn't for my first 4 plays on this game). There is an instant win symbol in the game which is a gold bar. You find a gold bar symbol and, you win instantly whatever prize is below it.
Concerning the $2,000,000 prize, the ticket I bought states that the $2,000,000 is paid over 20 years like Maryland Lottery does with its $1,000,000 games. There is a cash option which will be less than the $2,000,000 you would get through a 20 year annuity. According to my ticket, you have 60 days to decide which option you wish to take (20 year annuity or all the cash up front minus taxes).
For your information, the game does qualify for Lottery reward points with the player getting a minimum of 30 points for a ticket.
You must be 18 years old or older in order to play the game (lottery rules).
Overall, I thought this was a nice game with the only thing special about it being the $2,000,000 prize. As far as I know, this is the first scratch off game that the Maryland Lottery has offered with such a large prize. I know the Michigan Lottery has offered such large prizes in scratch offs as I remember seeing a $2,000,000 game and a $4,000,000 game there while visiting my Dad 2 years ago. Good luck to any players out there.
While visiting my friend Larry (retired city mail carrier) at his liquor store in Woodbine, Maryland, I decided to play Maryland Lottery's first ever (as far as I know) $2,000,000 scratch off game. According to the game webpage, the game was launched February 27, 2017. Tickets cost $30 vice $20 for the $1,000,000 prize games (seems like a better deal as you spend an extra $10 and could win twice as much money). It offers five $2,000,000 prizes, sixteen $50,000 prizes, sixteen $5,000 and numerous prizes of $500 to $30 (over 500,000 $30 prizes alone). At the time of this post, none of the big prizes had been claimed yet.
In regards to the game, one of the tickets I bought with MY own money (I don't get anything from Maryland Lottery for doing this and all opinions expressed here are my own and not in any way connected with the Maryland Lottery), states the games OVERALL odds of winning are 1 in 2.82. You can do better and, you can do worse like I did the first time I played this game (I hit a $30 on my 4th try). The ticket states on the front of it that Maryland Lottery is offering over $90,000,000 in total cash prizes. Each ticket offers 40 chances to win (again according to the ticket I bought). There are 6 numbers at the top of the ticket that you try to match and 8 rows of 5 numbers below your winning numbers. Make sure you scratch all 8 rows (I goofed on this and didn't for my first 4 plays on this game). There is an instant win symbol in the game which is a gold bar. You find a gold bar symbol and, you win instantly whatever prize is below it.
Concerning the $2,000,000 prize, the ticket I bought states that the $2,000,000 is paid over 20 years like Maryland Lottery does with its $1,000,000 games. There is a cash option which will be less than the $2,000,000 you would get through a 20 year annuity. According to my ticket, you have 60 days to decide which option you wish to take (20 year annuity or all the cash up front minus taxes).
For your information, the game does qualify for Lottery reward points with the player getting a minimum of 30 points for a ticket.
You must be 18 years old or older in order to play the game (lottery rules).
Overall, I thought this was a nice game with the only thing special about it being the $2,000,000 prize. As far as I know, this is the first scratch off game that the Maryland Lottery has offered with such a large prize. I know the Michigan Lottery has offered such large prizes in scratch offs as I remember seeing a $2,000,000 game and a $4,000,000 game there while visiting my Dad 2 years ago. Good luck to any players out there.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Review of Dollar Tree's Peruvian Hat
I believe this was a very lucky find on my part. I don't remember which Dollar Tree store I found the hat in. One annoying thing about the Dollar Tree chain is the inventory can vary from store to store. I remember this being true with a waiter's cork screw I searched for. You couldn't find one in the Laurel or Jessup, Maryland stores but, they had them at their South Lyon, Michigan store (I was visiting my Dad at the time).
The hat as far as I know, it does have a Peruvian design. A label on the hat says it's made in China. Annoyingly, I can't find a label saying what it's made out of. A true Peruvian (as far as I know) would be made out of baby alpaca or alpaca wool with baby alpaca being softer. I know this from when I did an absolutely awesome tour of the country years ago. I very much doubt the hat is made of alpaca wool though I can't prove that.
The hat does a good job of keeping my head warm and, it has flaps that come over my ears covering them as well. It had cords on the side that if need be, you could tie though you should't have to. The hat looks nice in my opinion.
Overall, I consider this hat to be a great find at whatever Dollar Tree I found it at. Sadly, I've been to 8 or 9 different Dollar Tree stores and, I only found this hat at 1 forgotten store. I wish this hat was more widely available as I think it's a really good deal for folks who want a good hat to keep their head warm during the winter. For a $1, it's an absolute steal. I give this product 2 big thumbs up! Stay warm all!
The hat as far as I know, it does have a Peruvian design. A label on the hat says it's made in China. Annoyingly, I can't find a label saying what it's made out of. A true Peruvian (as far as I know) would be made out of baby alpaca or alpaca wool with baby alpaca being softer. I know this from when I did an absolutely awesome tour of the country years ago. I very much doubt the hat is made of alpaca wool though I can't prove that.
The hat does a good job of keeping my head warm and, it has flaps that come over my ears covering them as well. It had cords on the side that if need be, you could tie though you should't have to. The hat looks nice in my opinion.
Overall, I consider this hat to be a great find at whatever Dollar Tree I found it at. Sadly, I've been to 8 or 9 different Dollar Tree stores and, I only found this hat at 1 forgotten store. I wish this hat was more widely available as I think it's a really good deal for folks who want a good hat to keep their head warm during the winter. For a $1, it's an absolute steal. I give this product 2 big thumbs up! Stay warm all!
Review of Dollar Tree's Battery Powered Tooth Brush
I saw one of these at Dollar Tree's Laurel, Maryland store and decided to try it. After all, it only costs a $1 so, if it turned out to be junk, no big deal.
I found out the tooth brush vibrates vice having the brush head swivel. I don't think that'll do as good a job cleaning your teeth vice if the brush head swiveled. I ran into a problem with the battery compartment. It kept coming out while I tried to brush my teeth with the brush causing it stop working. The last straw with this item was when bristles came out of the brush head while I was brushing. To me, this says the item is very poorly made.
Overall, I was very unimpressed with this item and definitely wouldn't recommend it. I give it 2 thumbs DOWN! The only consolation I can take is it cost me just a $1 which is very cheap in my opinion. In this case, I suspect I got what I paid for. Cheers all!
I found out the tooth brush vibrates vice having the brush head swivel. I don't think that'll do as good a job cleaning your teeth vice if the brush head swiveled. I ran into a problem with the battery compartment. It kept coming out while I tried to brush my teeth with the brush causing it stop working. The last straw with this item was when bristles came out of the brush head while I was brushing. To me, this says the item is very poorly made.
Overall, I was very unimpressed with this item and definitely wouldn't recommend it. I give it 2 thumbs DOWN! The only consolation I can take is it cost me just a $1 which is very cheap in my opinion. In this case, I suspect I got what I paid for. Cheers all!
Monday, January 02, 2017
Baltimore Washington International Airport Global Entry Interview Report
My apologies to my readers out there. I've been meaning to write this review for a while and just haven't gotten around to it till today. Hopefully, some of the information I'm going to post is still valid. It was October 2016 when I did the Global Entry interview with a U.S. Customs officer at Baltimore Washington International Airport. The main reason I'm posting this report on the interview is because when I was researching this, I found most of the posts on the interviews covered the New York City airports interviews. I don't remember seeing any for the Baltimore area so, I thought this would cover something that isn't as well known.
For those in the Baltimore, Maryland area, there are 2 airports you can fairly easily reach to do your Global Entry interview. They're Baltimore Washington International Airport and Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. Dulles from what I saw has more interview slots but, you have to travel farther to get to it. Also, you will have to pay for parking for your vehicle while doing the interview. I don't know how the parking rates stack up between the 2 airports.
Concerning how soon you can get in for your interview, from what I saw there is a considerable backlog of appointments. Back in October, Baltimore Washington International Airport was already scheduling interviews for February! You can check on the website for unexpected openings which happen sometimes or you can do a walk in like at other airports BUT, they warn you outside the interview office that walk ins are done on a case by case basis i.e. there's no guarantee they'll see you. In my case as well as another lady I met during this experience, we figured trying to do a walk in was worth the gamble. I had a November transatlantic cruise with Royal Caribbean and, I'd read I could use Global Entry at the cruise ship terminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida so, I wanted to get my application approved before I went on my cruise (see my blog post about the cruise itself). The lady I met had the bad luck of having her tour changed to where the day she was scheduled for her interview was the day she was going to return from her tour.
Office time for the interviews state Sundays 1 to 4 p.m. and Monday to Saturday 1 to 6 p.m. The sign on the door of the interview room said interviews started at 1:15 on all days and, the officers that did the interviews did arrive at 1:15 the day I did mine. To reach the office where the interviews are held, you go to the "E" terminal (International Arrivals), look for the door marked E1716 (I believe it had a Department of Homeland Security seal on it), go down to the first hallway on the right, go down that hallway and, it's the first door on the left. The door number is E1709 and, there's a sign by it stating the hours interviews are given.
The interview itself is very short - no more than 10 minutes. They ask you questions like where do you live, why are you applying for the program, do you have a criminal record - all things you would've informed them of in your application. The officers were very no nonsense. The lady I mentioned and I chatted a little bit in the room and, one of the officers didn't hesitate to tell us to shut up or take it outside the room. We promptly shut up as we wanted to do the interview and get approved. The officer will tell you if your application is approved on the spot. If it is, they take your finger prints and a picture. They let you know when you can expect to receive an email saying you were approved with your trusted traveler number and when you'll get your Global Entry card (I got mine within a week of the interview) and to not lose it.
Overall, I found the interview process pretty painless barring the fact there is a long backlog as far as appointments. If you won't need the Global Entry for a while, you can wait for your scheduled appointment otherwise, you might want to take a gamble on being a walk in like I did. I was delighted I was approved and, I did use it sort of during my cruise. When I went through TSA security for my Baltimore flight, the TSA pre-check section was closed. I mentioned I had Global Entry and, it showed on my airplane ticket (make sure you give the airline your trusted traveler number so they'll automatically give you TSA pre-check) so, I got to do a semi TSA pre-check i.e. I didn't have to take off my shoes or belt BUT, I did have to pull my laptop out and, they told me to take my mobile printer out next time. At the Fort Lauderdale cruise ship terminal I arrived at, they didn't have the kiosks for you to enter your Global Entry information however, the Customs line was so short, it didn't matter. Flying back from Miami, the TSA pre-check line was open which made security an absolute breeze. While I may not have gotten to use my Global Entry much so far, it is good for 5 years and, I'm certain I'll get to use it in the future (India November 2018). I do feel this program is worth it and would absolutely recommend it to any person in the United States of America who travels a good bit (at least 2 or 3 times a year). Happy travels all!
For those in the Baltimore, Maryland area, there are 2 airports you can fairly easily reach to do your Global Entry interview. They're Baltimore Washington International Airport and Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. Dulles from what I saw has more interview slots but, you have to travel farther to get to it. Also, you will have to pay for parking for your vehicle while doing the interview. I don't know how the parking rates stack up between the 2 airports.
Concerning how soon you can get in for your interview, from what I saw there is a considerable backlog of appointments. Back in October, Baltimore Washington International Airport was already scheduling interviews for February! You can check on the website for unexpected openings which happen sometimes or you can do a walk in like at other airports BUT, they warn you outside the interview office that walk ins are done on a case by case basis i.e. there's no guarantee they'll see you. In my case as well as another lady I met during this experience, we figured trying to do a walk in was worth the gamble. I had a November transatlantic cruise with Royal Caribbean and, I'd read I could use Global Entry at the cruise ship terminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida so, I wanted to get my application approved before I went on my cruise (see my blog post about the cruise itself). The lady I met had the bad luck of having her tour changed to where the day she was scheduled for her interview was the day she was going to return from her tour.
Office time for the interviews state Sundays 1 to 4 p.m. and Monday to Saturday 1 to 6 p.m. The sign on the door of the interview room said interviews started at 1:15 on all days and, the officers that did the interviews did arrive at 1:15 the day I did mine. To reach the office where the interviews are held, you go to the "E" terminal (International Arrivals), look for the door marked E1716 (I believe it had a Department of Homeland Security seal on it), go down to the first hallway on the right, go down that hallway and, it's the first door on the left. The door number is E1709 and, there's a sign by it stating the hours interviews are given.
The interview itself is very short - no more than 10 minutes. They ask you questions like where do you live, why are you applying for the program, do you have a criminal record - all things you would've informed them of in your application. The officers were very no nonsense. The lady I mentioned and I chatted a little bit in the room and, one of the officers didn't hesitate to tell us to shut up or take it outside the room. We promptly shut up as we wanted to do the interview and get approved. The officer will tell you if your application is approved on the spot. If it is, they take your finger prints and a picture. They let you know when you can expect to receive an email saying you were approved with your trusted traveler number and when you'll get your Global Entry card (I got mine within a week of the interview) and to not lose it.
Overall, I found the interview process pretty painless barring the fact there is a long backlog as far as appointments. If you won't need the Global Entry for a while, you can wait for your scheduled appointment otherwise, you might want to take a gamble on being a walk in like I did. I was delighted I was approved and, I did use it sort of during my cruise. When I went through TSA security for my Baltimore flight, the TSA pre-check section was closed. I mentioned I had Global Entry and, it showed on my airplane ticket (make sure you give the airline your trusted traveler number so they'll automatically give you TSA pre-check) so, I got to do a semi TSA pre-check i.e. I didn't have to take off my shoes or belt BUT, I did have to pull my laptop out and, they told me to take my mobile printer out next time. At the Fort Lauderdale cruise ship terminal I arrived at, they didn't have the kiosks for you to enter your Global Entry information however, the Customs line was so short, it didn't matter. Flying back from Miami, the TSA pre-check line was open which made security an absolute breeze. While I may not have gotten to use my Global Entry much so far, it is good for 5 years and, I'm certain I'll get to use it in the future (India November 2018). I do feel this program is worth it and would absolutely recommend it to any person in the United States of America who travels a good bit (at least 2 or 3 times a year). Happy travels all!
Dollar Tree Four Pack Paring Knife Set Review
One product that Dollar Tree sells that I've been very pleased with is their Four Pack Color Paring Knife Set which they sell for $1. The stainless steel 5.9 inch knives are made by Royal Norfolk Cutlery in China. The blade part of the knives is approximately 2 inches long with the rest being a plastic handle that you may find in black or blue (like the set I bought). Royal Norfolk puts a really good edge on these knives so, they do a fine job of cutting. Being stainless steel, I don't know if you'd be able to sharpen these knives if they get dull. The only thing I can knock about this product is the fact they come in sets of 4. How many paring knives do you think you're going to need? More so since from using the knives, these knives seem to hold up. I've been using one for over a year and, it's still going strong so, the other 3 sit in storage.
Overall, I give this product a thumbs up. These are good knives at a great price. The only problem any of my readers may encounter is that not all Dollar Tree stores may carry them. Each stores inventory can vary as I've seen from personal experience. Still, if you seen them, you might want to pick up a pack of them. For a $1, they're a great deal. Happy shopping all!
Overall, I give this product a thumbs up. These are good knives at a great price. The only problem any of my readers may encounter is that not all Dollar Tree stores may carry them. Each stores inventory can vary as I've seen from personal experience. Still, if you seen them, you might want to pick up a pack of them. For a $1, they're a great deal. Happy shopping all!
Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Maryland Lottery 100X The Cash Scratch Off Review
The Maryland Lottery has come out with a new scratch off game called 100X The Cash. The game was launched November 28, 2016. From what I can tell, the game has been offered in other states and, I wonder if that's where they got the idea from. It has to be challenging trying to come up with new games all the time to keep player's interest.
The game offers a $1,000,000 prize (paid over 20 years) and costs $20 (standard for $1,000,000 prize games). The game's overall odds of winning are 1 in 2.94 (Reference: the ticket I bought with my own money) which is normal for $1,000,000 prize games. Barring the instant win multipliers which I'll explain in this review further down, you try to match 1 or more of the 5 winning numbers at the top of the ticket (standard). Losing tickets do qualify for Maryland Lottery reward points (all the new games do as far as I know).
The game is noteworthy in 2 respects. First, it offers SIX $1,000,000 prizes vice the normal 3 though keep in mind there are going to be a lot more tickets for this game to make up for the increase in prizes. The game webpage (look for game 301 under $20 game scratch offs on the Maryland Lottery website: www.mdlottery.com) shows there are over 400,000 $20 prizes which proves this point.
The other noteworthy thing about this game is all the instant winners it offers. The game offers FIVE instant multiplier winners. The norm is 1 though sometimes you'll have 2. Also, ALL the instant winners are multipliers. What that means is that it multiplies the win amount example: you hit a 5X instant win multiplier and you have $20 underneath it, this means you've actually won $100 (5 times $20)! The instant win multiplier gets more impressive because this highest instant win multiplier is it's name sake i.e. 100X or 100 TIMES whatever the prize is. Looking at the prizes the game offers (ranges from $20 to $1,000,000), the minimum prize you'll win with the 100X symbol is $5,000 ($50 times 100) and, you could win $1,000,000 with this symbol ($10,000 times 100). The instant win multipliers are as follows:
5X (5 times the prize)
10X (10 times the prize)
20X (20 times the prize)
50X (50 times the prize)
100X (100 times the prize)
I bought 1 ticket with my own money so, I could write this review. I found the game nice (ok, whatever, I may becoming a bit jaded as I've played so many). I suspect the odds of hitting the $1,000,000 prize are in line with Maryland Lottery's other $1,000,000 games though I can't prove this as I haven't tried to compare the numbers. This game will run longer than their other games due to the increase in the top prizes (makes sense). For now, the game will be widely available due to the number of tickets out. I think those that like scratch off games (I do) will like this game as much as others. The numerous instant win multipliers does give little more excitement if you hit one because the prizes will be so much bigger (minimum $100 based on a $20 prize times 5). Please do remember to play responsibly and that the overall odds I stated (Reference: came from the ticket I bought) are the OVERALL odds. You can do better and you can do worse. Good luck!
Disclaimer: All opinions stated in this review are my own and are not in any way associated with the Maryland Lottery which I have no association with. The ticket I used as a reference for this review was bought with my OWN money. I haven't received any compensation from the Maryland Lottery for writing this review. I've tried to be factual in this review. If you discover an error in it, please leave a comment for me to review so, I can post a correction. My other source is the Maryland Lottery website: www.mdlottery.com.
The game offers a $1,000,000 prize (paid over 20 years) and costs $20 (standard for $1,000,000 prize games). The game's overall odds of winning are 1 in 2.94 (Reference: the ticket I bought with my own money) which is normal for $1,000,000 prize games. Barring the instant win multipliers which I'll explain in this review further down, you try to match 1 or more of the 5 winning numbers at the top of the ticket (standard). Losing tickets do qualify for Maryland Lottery reward points (all the new games do as far as I know).
The game is noteworthy in 2 respects. First, it offers SIX $1,000,000 prizes vice the normal 3 though keep in mind there are going to be a lot more tickets for this game to make up for the increase in prizes. The game webpage (look for game 301 under $20 game scratch offs on the Maryland Lottery website: www.mdlottery.com) shows there are over 400,000 $20 prizes which proves this point.
The other noteworthy thing about this game is all the instant winners it offers. The game offers FIVE instant multiplier winners. The norm is 1 though sometimes you'll have 2. Also, ALL the instant winners are multipliers. What that means is that it multiplies the win amount example: you hit a 5X instant win multiplier and you have $20 underneath it, this means you've actually won $100 (5 times $20)! The instant win multiplier gets more impressive because this highest instant win multiplier is it's name sake i.e. 100X or 100 TIMES whatever the prize is. Looking at the prizes the game offers (ranges from $20 to $1,000,000), the minimum prize you'll win with the 100X symbol is $5,000 ($50 times 100) and, you could win $1,000,000 with this symbol ($10,000 times 100). The instant win multipliers are as follows:
5X (5 times the prize)
10X (10 times the prize)
20X (20 times the prize)
50X (50 times the prize)
100X (100 times the prize)
I bought 1 ticket with my own money so, I could write this review. I found the game nice (ok, whatever, I may becoming a bit jaded as I've played so many). I suspect the odds of hitting the $1,000,000 prize are in line with Maryland Lottery's other $1,000,000 games though I can't prove this as I haven't tried to compare the numbers. This game will run longer than their other games due to the increase in the top prizes (makes sense). For now, the game will be widely available due to the number of tickets out. I think those that like scratch off games (I do) will like this game as much as others. The numerous instant win multipliers does give little more excitement if you hit one because the prizes will be so much bigger (minimum $100 based on a $20 prize times 5). Please do remember to play responsibly and that the overall odds I stated (Reference: came from the ticket I bought) are the OVERALL odds. You can do better and you can do worse. Good luck!
Disclaimer: All opinions stated in this review are my own and are not in any way associated with the Maryland Lottery which I have no association with. The ticket I used as a reference for this review was bought with my OWN money. I haven't received any compensation from the Maryland Lottery for writing this review. I've tried to be factual in this review. If you discover an error in it, please leave a comment for me to review so, I can post a correction. My other source is the Maryland Lottery website: www.mdlottery.com.
Thursday, November 24, 2016
November 2016 Independence of the Seas Cruise Review
I know I haven't been blogging much and, I tried to think of something I could do a nice quick blog entry about. The thing that comes to mind immediately is my recent cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas. The cruise was interesting in a number of ways. The cruise started in Southampton, England BUT, I joined the cruise at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. This was intentional i.e. I didn't miss the boat. If a cruise is open ended i.e. starts in one port and finishes in another, you can join the cruise at a later port as long as you get approval from Royal Caribbean's security at their headquarters. When the time comes, presumably, they'll notify the ship of your plans so, they know where to expect you. This was the second time I've done this. The first was on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The cruise started in San Diego, California, United States of America (U.S.A.) but, to make my then boss happy, I joined it at Cabo San Lucas to keep down the number of days off I needed.
Another interesting thing about the cruise was the itinerary. I know some people like days at sea. I don't even though I know the ship tries to have lots of things for people to do. In this case, once the ship set sail out of Southampton, it would sail non-stop for over 8 days to St. Maarten. Once it made St. Maarten, I felt it became an excellent cruise with additional stops at St. Kitts, St. Thomas, San Juan and Labadee, Haiti with 1 day at sea before pulling into Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.
For me, the main reason I did the cruise was for the cruise points though I did like the itinerary once the ship made port in St. Maarten. If you join a cruise late, you'll still get all the cruise points for the cruise you would've gotten otherwise. What that means for me is that I got 15 cruise points for it being a 15 night cruise even though I was only on the ship 6 nights AND, I got another 15 cruise points as I always cruise solo i.e. I always pay double for my cabin (I don't care for the solo cruiser cabins). This means, I can advance faster in Royal Caribbean's frequent cruiser program the Crown & Anchor. I'm Diamond Plus thanks to a Baltic cruise I did with them last summer and now, I'm shooting for the ultimate - Pinnacle. At it requires 700 nights, even with me getting double cruise points, it's going to take a while to reach it.
The cruise itself had a number of mishaps from beginning to end which took away from the experience for me. Royal Caribbean normally does a better job in my opinion. I don't know why there were so many mis-steps. The first was when I arrived at the Dr. Mathey Cruise Ship Terminal. As I previously mentioned, I'd had approval to join the ship in St. Maarten months before and, they should've known I was going to be arriving that day. Yet, when I checked in that the cruise ship terminal, I wasn't on the list to proceed to the ship. St. Maarten security had to send someone to the ship to confirm I was supposed to be admitted. I waited for at least 20 minutes wondering if I was going to get on a ship I had a paid reservation for.
When I got to the Independence of the Seas, Andrew Evans from Guest Relations met me, subsequently took me on board and did my in-processing. It should've been a normal cruise at that point but, it wasn't. I was supposed to get my 2nd crystal block but someone forgot to tell the Loyalty representative I was supposed to get one. I had to see her to get this straightened out. I was supposed to get a $200 shipboard credit but, I wasn't able to get this fixed until the very day I was supposed to leave the ship! The Voom WiFi Royal Caribbean raves about crashed though they did give me a refund for the days it was down. I was supposed to get luggage tags for my bags but, someone forgot to put me on the departure list so, I had to ask my cabin steward for them. People were sent to the Alhambra Theater to wait till their number was called to leave the ship but, the announcements didn't come over the theater speaker system. I was supposed to leave the ship at 7:15 but, they fell 30 minutes behind. They had 500 people going to Miami International Airport but, they were only able to board 3 buses at a time and got behind because of number of people in wheel chairs didn't tell them they were going to be in wheel chairs (that was the excuse they gave).
There were some good points to the cruise. I got to do the scenic train ride in St. Kitts which was pretty cool barring some unexplained technical difficulties which delayed the train. I did the jet boat ride in St. Thomas which was really fun, interesting and did wonders for cooling you off (you will get wet!). It was 103F when we made port at Crown Bay. I got to visit the only tropical rain forest in the U.S.A.'s National Park System, the El Yunque National Park. The La Coca falls were very pretty. Lastly, I got to do a scenic cruise out of Labadee where I learned more about Haiti and some some stunning scenery. Sadly, thanks to the first medical emergency I've ever heard happening on a cruise I've been on (someone supposedly had a heart attack and we had to turn around and return to San Juan to send them on their way to the hospital), we arrived late to Labadee though Captain Iv Vidos did his best to make up the lost time. Also, thanks to the loyalty representative, I was able to do 2 behind the scenes tours Diamond Plus and Pinnacle are allowed to do for free. I particularly enjoyed the bridge tour and have a neat picture of myself with an officer's hat in a command chair on the bridge presumably making sure the ship sailed smoothly and safely to Ft. Lauderdale.
I accomplished what I wanted to do on the cruise but, I wasn't very pleased with Royal Caribbean. I can't wait to give them feedback on it. Incredibly, I'll be doing the same cruise on the same ship at the same time next year. Hopefully, it'll go smoother next time. We'll see. Happy travels all!
Another interesting thing about the cruise was the itinerary. I know some people like days at sea. I don't even though I know the ship tries to have lots of things for people to do. In this case, once the ship set sail out of Southampton, it would sail non-stop for over 8 days to St. Maarten. Once it made St. Maarten, I felt it became an excellent cruise with additional stops at St. Kitts, St. Thomas, San Juan and Labadee, Haiti with 1 day at sea before pulling into Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.
For me, the main reason I did the cruise was for the cruise points though I did like the itinerary once the ship made port in St. Maarten. If you join a cruise late, you'll still get all the cruise points for the cruise you would've gotten otherwise. What that means for me is that I got 15 cruise points for it being a 15 night cruise even though I was only on the ship 6 nights AND, I got another 15 cruise points as I always cruise solo i.e. I always pay double for my cabin (I don't care for the solo cruiser cabins). This means, I can advance faster in Royal Caribbean's frequent cruiser program the Crown & Anchor. I'm Diamond Plus thanks to a Baltic cruise I did with them last summer and now, I'm shooting for the ultimate - Pinnacle. At it requires 700 nights, even with me getting double cruise points, it's going to take a while to reach it.
The cruise itself had a number of mishaps from beginning to end which took away from the experience for me. Royal Caribbean normally does a better job in my opinion. I don't know why there were so many mis-steps. The first was when I arrived at the Dr. Mathey Cruise Ship Terminal. As I previously mentioned, I'd had approval to join the ship in St. Maarten months before and, they should've known I was going to be arriving that day. Yet, when I checked in that the cruise ship terminal, I wasn't on the list to proceed to the ship. St. Maarten security had to send someone to the ship to confirm I was supposed to be admitted. I waited for at least 20 minutes wondering if I was going to get on a ship I had a paid reservation for.
When I got to the Independence of the Seas, Andrew Evans from Guest Relations met me, subsequently took me on board and did my in-processing. It should've been a normal cruise at that point but, it wasn't. I was supposed to get my 2nd crystal block but someone forgot to tell the Loyalty representative I was supposed to get one. I had to see her to get this straightened out. I was supposed to get a $200 shipboard credit but, I wasn't able to get this fixed until the very day I was supposed to leave the ship! The Voom WiFi Royal Caribbean raves about crashed though they did give me a refund for the days it was down. I was supposed to get luggage tags for my bags but, someone forgot to put me on the departure list so, I had to ask my cabin steward for them. People were sent to the Alhambra Theater to wait till their number was called to leave the ship but, the announcements didn't come over the theater speaker system. I was supposed to leave the ship at 7:15 but, they fell 30 minutes behind. They had 500 people going to Miami International Airport but, they were only able to board 3 buses at a time and got behind because of number of people in wheel chairs didn't tell them they were going to be in wheel chairs (that was the excuse they gave).
There were some good points to the cruise. I got to do the scenic train ride in St. Kitts which was pretty cool barring some unexplained technical difficulties which delayed the train. I did the jet boat ride in St. Thomas which was really fun, interesting and did wonders for cooling you off (you will get wet!). It was 103F when we made port at Crown Bay. I got to visit the only tropical rain forest in the U.S.A.'s National Park System, the El Yunque National Park. The La Coca falls were very pretty. Lastly, I got to do a scenic cruise out of Labadee where I learned more about Haiti and some some stunning scenery. Sadly, thanks to the first medical emergency I've ever heard happening on a cruise I've been on (someone supposedly had a heart attack and we had to turn around and return to San Juan to send them on their way to the hospital), we arrived late to Labadee though Captain Iv Vidos did his best to make up the lost time. Also, thanks to the loyalty representative, I was able to do 2 behind the scenes tours Diamond Plus and Pinnacle are allowed to do for free. I particularly enjoyed the bridge tour and have a neat picture of myself with an officer's hat in a command chair on the bridge presumably making sure the ship sailed smoothly and safely to Ft. Lauderdale.
I accomplished what I wanted to do on the cruise but, I wasn't very pleased with Royal Caribbean. I can't wait to give them feedback on it. Incredibly, I'll be doing the same cruise on the same ship at the same time next year. Hopefully, it'll go smoother next time. We'll see. Happy travels all!
Wednesday, October 05, 2016
Review of Maryland Lottery's $1,000,000 Platinum Play Scratch Off
The latest $1,000,000 prize scratch off lottery game that the Maryland Lottery has come out with is the $1,000,000 Platinum Play game. The game has been out since August 22, 2016. Surprisingly, none of the $1,000,000 or $50,000 prizes have been claimed as of the time of this post.
The game features prizes of $1,000,000, $50,000, $10,000, $5,000, $1,000 and lesser amounts down to $20. One difference in this game vice previous $1,000,000 game scratch offs is that the Maryland Lottery is offering four $1,000,000 vice the normal three such prizes. Also, there are nine $50,000 prizes though I don't know what the norm is for that. I suspect the Maryland Lottery will issue more tickets in this game to make up for the increased number of $1,000,000 prizes. I saw on the game's webpage that there will still over 250,000 $20 winners alone still out there.
Like all $1,000,000 scratch off games, the tickets cost $20. Overall odds of winning according the 2 tickets I bought with my own money are 1 in 2.94. Please remember those are the OVERALL odds i.e. you can do better and you can do worse.
Another noteworthy thing about the game is the Maryland Lottery doesn't mention on the FRONT of the ticket that the game has an instant win feature which is common enough with their scratch offs. If a star symbol pops up on the ticket, you win that prize automatically. Otherwise, you try to match 1 to 5 of the 5 numbers you get at the top of the ticket. The game states you have 30 chances to win though the number that really matters is the overall odds ration i.e. 1 in 2.94 which is normal for the $1,000,000 prize games.
Like all the recent games, losing tickets do qualify for Lottery Rewards points. There isn't any second chance drawing in this game for those who like that feature.
Overall, I found the $1,000,000 Platinum Play a decent enough game though I didn't find anything that makes it particularly noteworthy barring the fact the Maryland Lottery is offering four $1,000,000 prizes this time. I do wonder if this will be the new norm for all their $1,000,000 prize games. Time will tell. Best of luck to all players out there and please do remember to play responsibly.
One final comment: all opinions in this review are my own and aren't in any way reflective of the Maryland Lottery i.e. they didn't have anything to do with this game review. I bought the 2 tickets I played with my money i.e. I didn't receive any kind of compensation from the Maryland Lottery and, I never will. Any statistics that I stated for this game came either from the tickets I bought or from the game webpage on the Maryland Lottery website.
The game features prizes of $1,000,000, $50,000, $10,000, $5,000, $1,000 and lesser amounts down to $20. One difference in this game vice previous $1,000,000 game scratch offs is that the Maryland Lottery is offering four $1,000,000 vice the normal three such prizes. Also, there are nine $50,000 prizes though I don't know what the norm is for that. I suspect the Maryland Lottery will issue more tickets in this game to make up for the increased number of $1,000,000 prizes. I saw on the game's webpage that there will still over 250,000 $20 winners alone still out there.
Like all $1,000,000 scratch off games, the tickets cost $20. Overall odds of winning according the 2 tickets I bought with my own money are 1 in 2.94. Please remember those are the OVERALL odds i.e. you can do better and you can do worse.
Another noteworthy thing about the game is the Maryland Lottery doesn't mention on the FRONT of the ticket that the game has an instant win feature which is common enough with their scratch offs. If a star symbol pops up on the ticket, you win that prize automatically. Otherwise, you try to match 1 to 5 of the 5 numbers you get at the top of the ticket. The game states you have 30 chances to win though the number that really matters is the overall odds ration i.e. 1 in 2.94 which is normal for the $1,000,000 prize games.
Like all the recent games, losing tickets do qualify for Lottery Rewards points. There isn't any second chance drawing in this game for those who like that feature.
Overall, I found the $1,000,000 Platinum Play a decent enough game though I didn't find anything that makes it particularly noteworthy barring the fact the Maryland Lottery is offering four $1,000,000 prizes this time. I do wonder if this will be the new norm for all their $1,000,000 prize games. Time will tell. Best of luck to all players out there and please do remember to play responsibly.
One final comment: all opinions in this review are my own and aren't in any way reflective of the Maryland Lottery i.e. they didn't have anything to do with this game review. I bought the 2 tickets I played with my money i.e. I didn't receive any kind of compensation from the Maryland Lottery and, I never will. Any statistics that I stated for this game came either from the tickets I bought or from the game webpage on the Maryland Lottery website.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Jot Brush Pens Product Review
While checking out the Dollar Tree store at 2653 Annapolis Rd in Hanover, Maryland (not the one close to Arundel Mills Mall), I came upon some Jot Brush Pens. As I'd never heard of a "brush pen" before and, they're only a $1 like everything at Dollar Tree, I decided to buy a pack of them and try them out.
The pens come in 4 colors - blue, green, red and yellow. They do look something like a brush (from the long handle) though they have a long felt tip at the ink end (vice some brush bristles). The tip gives a very wide stroke which in my opinion causes this item to be misnamed. I think they should be called "Brush Markers" as you can't really write with these like you could with a pen except in very large script.
The "pens" would be good for use in making some kind of large signs but wouldn't be good for every day writing. As far as I know, the pens are available only in the 4 colors I found.
Overall, I wasn't really impressed with these so called pens though I'm not very disappointed as they only cost me a $1. If you want something to help make a large sign, you might find them useful. However, I give them a thumbs down as I'm not really impressed with them and feel they are misnamed. They really should be called "Brush Markers." Happy writing all!
The pens come in 4 colors - blue, green, red and yellow. They do look something like a brush (from the long handle) though they have a long felt tip at the ink end (vice some brush bristles). The tip gives a very wide stroke which in my opinion causes this item to be misnamed. I think they should be called "Brush Markers" as you can't really write with these like you could with a pen except in very large script.
The "pens" would be good for use in making some kind of large signs but wouldn't be good for every day writing. As far as I know, the pens are available only in the 4 colors I found.
Overall, I wasn't really impressed with these so called pens though I'm not very disappointed as they only cost me a $1. If you want something to help make a large sign, you might find them useful. However, I give them a thumbs down as I'm not really impressed with them and feel they are misnamed. They really should be called "Brush Markers." Happy writing all!
South Lyon Dollar Tree Store Review
This is the store that started me liking the Dollar Tree chain. My Filipino step-mother Geroncia (also known as Jane) loves this place. To help my Dad who doesn't like to drive for various reasons, I always offer to take Geroncia where ever she wants to go when I visit. This past Labor Day weekend was one such occasion. One of the places she always wants to go was the South Lyon, Michigan Dollar Tree store.
The store is located in the Glenwood Plaza at 21835 Pontiac Trail in South Lyon. It's open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays and 9 a.m to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is plenty of parking at this shopping center. As Pontiac Trail is the main drag/street in South Lyon, it's easy enough to get to.
The store is of good size, has a refrigerated section (a plus in my book), is well stocked and well kept up. The store's staff do an excellent job maintaining and running this store.
Overall, I've visited and shopped at a number of Dollar Tree stores since I first visited this store 3 or 4 years ago so, I tell if a store is a good one or a bad one. This one is a very good one for the reasons I've mentioned. If you like Dollar Tree in general, you'll like this store if you live in this area. I give it a 2 thumbs up. Happy shopping all!
The store is located in the Glenwood Plaza at 21835 Pontiac Trail in South Lyon. It's open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays and 9 a.m to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. There is plenty of parking at this shopping center. As Pontiac Trail is the main drag/street in South Lyon, it's easy enough to get to.
The store is of good size, has a refrigerated section (a plus in my book), is well stocked and well kept up. The store's staff do an excellent job maintaining and running this store.
Overall, I've visited and shopped at a number of Dollar Tree stores since I first visited this store 3 or 4 years ago so, I tell if a store is a good one or a bad one. This one is a very good one for the reasons I've mentioned. If you like Dollar Tree in general, you'll like this store if you live in this area. I give it a 2 thumbs up. Happy shopping all!
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Phileas Kultur Fountain Pen Review
According to Montgomery Pens (www.montgomerypens.com), this pen's name varies. Some call the Phileas pen while others call it the Kultur pen. The package my pen came in didn't have a name on it and merely called it translucent which is what it is (in this case translucent blue). Also, according to them, the pen was never offered for sale in the United States which is too bad as this is an excellent and very affordable fountain pen by Waterman. According to Pen Boutique in Columbia, Maryland this pen isn't for sale any more barring Ebay or maybe Amazon.
As far as I'm able to tell, the pen comes in 3 translucent colors - red, blue and purple. Also, it comes in a clear version. The pens I've seen offered on Ebay have all been fine point stainless steel nib pens which is what I prefer anyway. The pen can use the standard cartridge adapter so, you can use bottled ink and save money or you can use Waterman cartridges.
Prices on Ebay vary ($21 to $30) for the pen depending on what's included though usually the cartridge adapter isn't so, you'll have to shell out another $8 or $9 for that. Montgomery Pens have offered auctions on the clear pen (I lost one of those by 50 cents not that I cared much). Another pen seller called Pens N More on Ebay is offering a 3 pen set of these pens for $62.99 which I think is a really good price per pen as long as you don't mind getting 3 of them (and why I didn't care about losing the auction the Montgomery Pens pen I'd bid on).
Normally, I don't like stainless steel nibs with the rare exceptions like Pilot's Varsity disposable fountain pen. Also, this pen has a large nib. But, this pen writes really well for a stainless steel nib. Other steel nibs I've tried have scratched the paper when I've tried writing with them. This is why my preference is for 18 karat gold nibs which always glide across the paper. However, in the case of this pen, the nib does a good job on various papers and, the price is awesome for a Waterman fountain pen. In my opinion, Waterman is a really good maker of pens. I had 4 of theirs including 2 with 18 karat nibs (and if I had $220 lying around, I'd be getting another one) until I bought this one which I've been surprisingly pleased with.
Another plus of these pens is the fact their translucent or clear. This makes really easy to see how much ink you have left in the cartridge or cartridge adapter. I had a real problem with a Pilot retractable fountain pen I tried recently because of this. I didn't know if it was working when I tried to draw ink into the cartridge adapter via the nib. The only way to be certain with that pen was to pull the adapter out which can get messy and see.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this fountain pen and would recommend it. It writes well, is affordable and translucency (or clear) is an added plus with it. If you like fountain pens, you might want to check out the 2 sellers I mentioned or see what others are selling these fine pens for. I don't think you'll be disappointed with them. Happy writing all!
As far as I'm able to tell, the pen comes in 3 translucent colors - red, blue and purple. Also, it comes in a clear version. The pens I've seen offered on Ebay have all been fine point stainless steel nib pens which is what I prefer anyway. The pen can use the standard cartridge adapter so, you can use bottled ink and save money or you can use Waterman cartridges.
Prices on Ebay vary ($21 to $30) for the pen depending on what's included though usually the cartridge adapter isn't so, you'll have to shell out another $8 or $9 for that. Montgomery Pens have offered auctions on the clear pen (I lost one of those by 50 cents not that I cared much). Another pen seller called Pens N More on Ebay is offering a 3 pen set of these pens for $62.99 which I think is a really good price per pen as long as you don't mind getting 3 of them (and why I didn't care about losing the auction the Montgomery Pens pen I'd bid on).
Normally, I don't like stainless steel nibs with the rare exceptions like Pilot's Varsity disposable fountain pen. Also, this pen has a large nib. But, this pen writes really well for a stainless steel nib. Other steel nibs I've tried have scratched the paper when I've tried writing with them. This is why my preference is for 18 karat gold nibs which always glide across the paper. However, in the case of this pen, the nib does a good job on various papers and, the price is awesome for a Waterman fountain pen. In my opinion, Waterman is a really good maker of pens. I had 4 of theirs including 2 with 18 karat nibs (and if I had $220 lying around, I'd be getting another one) until I bought this one which I've been surprisingly pleased with.
Another plus of these pens is the fact their translucent or clear. This makes really easy to see how much ink you have left in the cartridge or cartridge adapter. I had a real problem with a Pilot retractable fountain pen I tried recently because of this. I didn't know if it was working when I tried to draw ink into the cartridge adapter via the nib. The only way to be certain with that pen was to pull the adapter out which can get messy and see.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this fountain pen and would recommend it. It writes well, is affordable and translucency (or clear) is an added plus with it. If you like fountain pens, you might want to check out the 2 sellers I mentioned or see what others are selling these fine pens for. I don't think you'll be disappointed with them. Happy writing all!
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Silver Spring Dollar Tree Store Review
Last Sunday, a friend at the Extended Stay where I live asked me to get him some hand sanitizer. Dollar Tree Stores are one of the best places I know to get cheap hand sanitizer lotion. They sell it in 8 ounce bottles or slightly smaller bottles if you want it with aloe vera or they have multi-pack 2 ounce bottles. Per the Dollar Tree name, they all cost $1. I've bought a number of bottles of the stuff myself there and, it's worked fine. I promised to get my friend some while my friend Kathryn and I did some shopping.
After we'd finished our shopping at the Kings Contrivance Harris Teeter supermarket, I remembered my promise and called up the various nearby Dollar Tree stores on my Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS). The closest Dollar Tree store was the one in Columbia, but as my readers know, I'm very unimpressed with that store. It doesn't have refrigerated or freezer sections and, it's very small which means it has a limited selection of merchandise. While it might've had hand sanitizer, I wanted to try some place else. I saw on the list of stores there was one in Silver Spring, Maryland that I'd never been to. I asked Kathryn if she'd mind checking that one out. She said she didn't so off we went. The store isn't far from Maryland Route 29 and, it's address is 13837 Outlet Drive (phone number 301-847-7865). It's located in the corner of what I'd call your standard strip mall. The only problem I had with its location is it is in the corner and, you have look for it to find it. Interestingly, there's a Family Dollar store within 40 feet or less of it. Kathryn and I thought initially the Dollar Tree might've been bought out by Family Dollar and so, we checked that store out first. We were UNIMPRESSED by Family Dollar and, we're delighted when a shopper there told there was a Dollar Tree store further down.
The Silver Spring, Maryland Dollar Tree store is large which means it has a lot of merchandise - give them 1 point for that. They score points for also having refrigerated and frozen sections. Lastly, they have decent parking. Kathryn and I found ourselves very pleased with this store vice some others I've been to.
Overall, I was really pleased with this store and would happily shop here again except for the fact that it's a bit far from where I live. However, for those who live in Silver Spring or close by, this is a Dollar Tree store worth checking out. I'd happily give this store 2 thumbs up! It's an excellent store with some very good Dollar Tree bargains (they had some cans of soup where I thought were particularly good price wise though I haven't tried them yet). Happy Shopping all!
After we'd finished our shopping at the Kings Contrivance Harris Teeter supermarket, I remembered my promise and called up the various nearby Dollar Tree stores on my Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS). The closest Dollar Tree store was the one in Columbia, but as my readers know, I'm very unimpressed with that store. It doesn't have refrigerated or freezer sections and, it's very small which means it has a limited selection of merchandise. While it might've had hand sanitizer, I wanted to try some place else. I saw on the list of stores there was one in Silver Spring, Maryland that I'd never been to. I asked Kathryn if she'd mind checking that one out. She said she didn't so off we went. The store isn't far from Maryland Route 29 and, it's address is 13837 Outlet Drive (phone number 301-847-7865). It's located in the corner of what I'd call your standard strip mall. The only problem I had with its location is it is in the corner and, you have look for it to find it. Interestingly, there's a Family Dollar store within 40 feet or less of it. Kathryn and I thought initially the Dollar Tree might've been bought out by Family Dollar and so, we checked that store out first. We were UNIMPRESSED by Family Dollar and, we're delighted when a shopper there told there was a Dollar Tree store further down.
The Silver Spring, Maryland Dollar Tree store is large which means it has a lot of merchandise - give them 1 point for that. They score points for also having refrigerated and frozen sections. Lastly, they have decent parking. Kathryn and I found ourselves very pleased with this store vice some others I've been to.
Overall, I was really pleased with this store and would happily shop here again except for the fact that it's a bit far from where I live. However, for those who live in Silver Spring or close by, this is a Dollar Tree store worth checking out. I'd happily give this store 2 thumbs up! It's an excellent store with some very good Dollar Tree bargains (they had some cans of soup where I thought were particularly good price wise though I haven't tried them yet). Happy Shopping all!
Monday, June 06, 2016
Birra Moretti Beer Review
While shopping for foreign (anything made out of United States of America (USA)) beers, I came upon some Birra Moretti beer. The beer is a lager with 4.6% alcohol and is brewed by Heineken Italia in Comun Nuovo, Italy. Total Wine & More in Laurel, Maryland sells a 6 pack of 11.2 fluid ounce bottles for $7.99.
One thing I liked about this lager is that it's a genuine Italian beer i.e. it's brewed IN Italy. I've seen a number of foreign beers that are actually brewed in the USA. To me, they're not legitimately foreign though they may have a different taste to what we're used to in the USA. This lager tasted like a standard lager. It wasn't harsh tasting like some German beers can be though it wasn't super smooth like some Hawaiian ale I've tried. Basically, it's a decent lager at a reasonable price for a genuinely foreign beer.
Tip: Total Wine & More has a frequent shopper club called Total Discovery where they'll send you coupons for their stores that'll save you money on beer or other spirits. In this case, thanks to the coupon, I saved a $1 off this 6 pack. If you drink a fair amount of beer or other spirits, it could be worth it to you to look into it.
Overall, I thought this was a nice beer. I very much liked that it's genuinely Italian. I do question the claim on the bottle about Italian passion for brewing. I think Italy is known more for its wine then its beer. Still, it was fun to try this brew. Happy responsible drinking all!
One thing I liked about this lager is that it's a genuine Italian beer i.e. it's brewed IN Italy. I've seen a number of foreign beers that are actually brewed in the USA. To me, they're not legitimately foreign though they may have a different taste to what we're used to in the USA. This lager tasted like a standard lager. It wasn't harsh tasting like some German beers can be though it wasn't super smooth like some Hawaiian ale I've tried. Basically, it's a decent lager at a reasonable price for a genuinely foreign beer.
Tip: Total Wine & More has a frequent shopper club called Total Discovery where they'll send you coupons for their stores that'll save you money on beer or other spirits. In this case, thanks to the coupon, I saved a $1 off this 6 pack. If you drink a fair amount of beer or other spirits, it could be worth it to you to look into it.
Overall, I thought this was a nice beer. I very much liked that it's genuinely Italian. I do question the claim on the bottle about Italian passion for brewing. I think Italy is known more for its wine then its beer. Still, it was fun to try this brew. Happy responsible drinking all!
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Trader Joe's Old World Rye Bread With Caraway Seeds Review
I like rye bread and, I like caraway seeds. To me, rye bread isn't rye bread without caraway seeds which add a nice flavor to the bread. So, I was delighted to see Trader Joe's had what looked like some very good rye bread for sale at its store in Elkridge, Maryland.
The bread comes sliced in 1 pound packages, 12 slices to the pound. It sells for $2.49. It has 80 calories per slice as well as 3 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of dietary fiber per slice (Source: the loaf I bought at the Elkridge Trader Joe's). Each slice does have 160 milligrams of sodium for those who have to watch their sodium intake.
The bread has an excellent texture and does well in a sandwich or as a flavorful toast. I found this to be an excellent all around bread with a really nice flavor.
Overall, I was really pleased with this bread, would buy it again and definitely recommend it. The bread does contain wheat, soy and possible traces of sesame seeds (according to the package) for those who have health issues with those. Barring that, if you like a hearty and solid rye bread, this bread is for you. Bon Appetit!
Before, I had to mention that at the time, I had a sister who worked for Trader Joe's even though it didn't influence my reviews of their products. My sister no longer works for them so, there isn't the slightest possibility of conflict with my reviews of their products. If I think the product sucks, I'll tell you so!
The bread comes sliced in 1 pound packages, 12 slices to the pound. It sells for $2.49. It has 80 calories per slice as well as 3 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of dietary fiber per slice (Source: the loaf I bought at the Elkridge Trader Joe's). Each slice does have 160 milligrams of sodium for those who have to watch their sodium intake.
The bread has an excellent texture and does well in a sandwich or as a flavorful toast. I found this to be an excellent all around bread with a really nice flavor.
Overall, I was really pleased with this bread, would buy it again and definitely recommend it. The bread does contain wheat, soy and possible traces of sesame seeds (according to the package) for those who have health issues with those. Barring that, if you like a hearty and solid rye bread, this bread is for you. Bon Appetit!
Before, I had to mention that at the time, I had a sister who worked for Trader Joe's even though it didn't influence my reviews of their products. My sister no longer works for them so, there isn't the slightest possibility of conflict with my reviews of their products. If I think the product sucks, I'll tell you so!
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