Razr Droid is a Big, Okay Phone

As I've said before, hubby decided to get our boy and me Droid Razr  for Christmas.  Though I had resigned myself to NO phone after my contract was up, instead I got a new phone.

A HUGE phone.



And what do I think?

Well, it sure is pretty.  Getting the screen protector on is a pure-D pain, though.  Little bubbles and flecks of enraging dust.

It's a big phone, that's for sure.  Which is what I wanted.  I've long thought a markedly larger screen (larger than my old LG Vortex, for sure) would help with my lousy eyes (we'll talk about my eyes sometime), but it turns out I was wrong.  This phone is still very rough for me, even with its 4+ inch screen.  Go figure.

This phone brags 4G-LTE, but I gotta say, I'm not terrifically impressed.  I find myself not getting updates, the phone lagging and locking up, mail not syncing, etc.  It's not as fast as I would have expected, and it's not as reliable, connection-wise.

The phone itself is pretty intuitive, operation-wise.  It does come utterly loaded with bloatware and crappy games that seem to defy removal.  But the app market is easy to use, and it only took a few minutes for me to customize.  It comes with 16 gig internal SIM (with up to an additional 32 gig via mini-SD), so it should take me a while to max the poor thing.

The camera is pretty okay, though the controls don't do the orientation flip I'm so fond of, and the zoom is pretty jerky, not at all smooth.

My biggest complaint about the Razr Droid?  That miserable battery life!  Wow, what a dog!  Never had a phone eat through battery like this one.  I understand why--it's got a zillion things going on and a really nice, sharp, large display.  But this phone is constantly plugged in.  When I'm home, it's charging, when I'm in the car, it's charging.  And when it's left on a table overnight?  It's practically dead by the next morning.  Yes, I could shut the 4G off (which I do at home, riding off WiFi), I could disable the mail sync, I could do all those things to extend life, but then the phone wouldn't have the very FEATURES meant to make it cooler than my last phone.

So I guess my verdict is "pretty okay."  Great if it's free through your carrier, very nice, large display, good enough camera with a decent built-in flash, but otherwise average, and a markedly worse-than-average battery life.  Or at least it sure seems that bad from where I'm sitting.  It's a decent phone, but man, if you're looking for a phone that'll last you through a day far from outlets and chargers, this probably isn't your phone.

I promised I would get back to you on the smaller candle supply site we hit after the Candlewic mess?  Well, the order came today.  We ordered on Friday, it shipped (from Montana) on Monday, it arrived today--Wednesday.  The order contained exactly what we'd asked for (and a tiny bit extra on the wax, according to our scale).  While we had chosen Fed Ex, the site does give the option for "cheapest shipping at the time of shipping," and, apparently, that turned out to be USPS or some combination of USPS and Fed Ex.  And that's just fine with us.

The name of the place?  Cierra Candles   And, while our order only consisted of glue dots, some soy wax, and a couple of fragrances, we're happy enough with them that our next order will go through them, too.  Sadly, they only have soy wax (which we'll use sometimes), so we'll have to go elsewhere for our palm.  But we're looking at checking into their soap making supplies, too!

Pouring those soy candles tonight.  Just a few, like with the others, trying to get a feel for different waxes and different scents.  This one's soy patchouli in a greenish.  Should be interesting!

Well, didn't mean for this to turn into a series of product and vendor reviews!  I guess, after writing for Epinions for 13+ years, it's just habit.

Boy, this was a text-heavy thing, wasn't it?  Let's find some really bad paneling!

Holy kitchen paneling, Batman!

Don't say "Anal"

Wow, lesson learned!  My blog takes "okay" hits.  A few comments here and there. Not a star (yet--share me!  Link folks up!).  I take respectable enough traffic, I suppose, but nothing spectacular, especially when it comes to folks leaving feedback.

With one notable exception.

Back in September of 2012, I wrote an entry titled "Anal Glands, Huh?"  About my dog's grooming experience.  That entry?  Has taken ten + times the hits most of my others have garnered, and has raked in dozens of spam messages.  Dozens.

So, I guess there's a lesson there.  Put the word "Anal" in my titles more often . . . and keep those comments moderated.  Laws, yes.

We watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Blu-Ray last night.  Not the first time, of course.  In the lead-in, there is an advert for a remastered version of the The Wizard of Oz.  Hubby, who hates that show, was completely captured because Toto looks SO much like Charlie.  So  now he wants to rent it.  LOL!

Well, our boy tested for his yellow belt in Hapkido last night.  The only one of the white belts to be invited to do so.  The others?  One is much newer, and the others have pretty abysmal attendance and participation records.  So it was just our boy for the yellows (others were testing for yellow-black (degree), red, and brown.

I haven't seen him at Hapkido in months.  I've avoided it because I felt I was making him nervous.  I wanted this to be his to do without any perceived pressure or self-consciousness.

Needless to say, I was floored by him.  So much he has committed to memory, so much he is daring to do.  He made no mistakes, he was wonderful.  And he even broke a couple of boards, one with a hand strike, one with a kick.

I am super-proud of him.  He managed to memorize his Korean, and did an all-around fantastic job.  Even the husband of the new red belt took a moment to tell us how very well he was doing for a first belt test.

Of course, it's not his first belt test.  It's just his first REAL one.  This was so much more involved and serious and demanding than the self defense martial arts he loved so much so many years ago.  This was real.  Absolutely.

I wrote a review of my amazing, magical, wondrous new keyboard of joy and perfection.  Here it is:

Logitech K800

Making more candles tonight.  Blue, this time, with a wonderful mahogany/sandalwood scent in palm wax.  Figuring out the amazing crystal formations you see with the palm.  I'll post some pics when they're done.

Updated to say "they're done."

Loving the crystalline gig with the blue ones (palm wax)

Speaking of candles. we ordered from a company called Candlewic, based in Doylestown, PA (very close to the town of Perkasie we were eyeing when first looking to move back east).  Found them online, only to later discover they're the same company as "Country Lane Candle Supplies," which stocks most of the mega-craft stores around here.  The shipping charges are steep (as they seem to be with most of the candle places we've looked at), so we made sure to order everything we wanted.  When the order came, the shipping receipt stated that the patchouli scent was on back-order.  Okay, fair enough.  But then, a day after delivery, I get an email telling me that the patchouli was out of stock, is NOT on back-order, and I won't be receiving it when it comes back in stock--I can reorder then.  Translation?

They want to nail me for another 12 bucks or so in shipping on a $2.75 product.

I responded to their email, told them that wasn't okay--I want the patchouli, my packing receipt states it's on back-order, and I want it shipped.  They ignored my email, did not respond, did not do as I asked, and refunded my card.

No more orders through Candlewic.  Way to blow it, kids.  Not that they likely care--they appear to be a very large company, and very large companies tend to let customer service take back seat to making a few extra bucks.

So our next order--some soy wax, a few scents (including the patchouli), and a few molds--went to a smaller company.  When the order comes, I'll let you know how it went.

I promised some amazing bad paneling, and fully intend to deliver tonight!  A HUGE thanks to Leif, who has kindly given permission for me to search his archive of awful in search of prime examples bad paneling!

Perfectly awful--blond paneling AND dead fish!

And a quick little note, just for a special guy in my world--don't argue Australian crime statistics with me in support of weakening gun control laws and then quote the NCPA to my BMJ.  Like the Kochs and Carl Rove are going to give me a fair, unbiased analysis.  Goodness, no wonder you can't think.