Sheesh the summer of 2022 has been brutal with a capital B. Brutal. Luckily some rain and cooler weather are on the way. Which means it's time to get excited about waterproofing! Not just any waterproofing mind you, but Dallas Waterproofing. The eponymously named company is located in Plano and services North DFW with patio and deck coatings, epoxy and other fun stuff I know nothing about. I did, however, design their sweet logo for them, see below: Contact the waterproofing experts today before the rainy season gets here and get a free consultation directly from the owner. They did some work on my balcony and I was very impressed with the quality - hence the shout out. Check them out on Yelp too and YellowPages. Keep doing your thing guys!
There are a ton of doctor's offices in DFW and particularly along I-35 going north from Dallas. Carrollton Texas is no exception. I was recently contacted by the good folks at Highlands Medical and Wellness Primary Care and I can honestly say after visting their office that they are the best primary care Carrollton has to offer - for so many reasons:
1. Affordable prices 2. Extremely qualified local doctors who care 3. Copay that's affordable. 4. Virtual consultations 5. Hundreds of satisfied customers 6. Repeat business As with all new patients, just be sure to bring your ID for fastest check in. Services include:
and more. They are also fluent in Spanish and Vietnamese as well as English. Highly recommended primary care that will put your mind at ease as it did mine. Much like Griffith Barbee we are grateful to work with Highland Medical and Wellness Primary Care. Find them on ValPak, Brownbook and RateMDs I had never played (this is a review of golf clubs btw) with what you might call fancy golf clubs growing up. The notion of swinging a Big Bertha (this is a golf club that may or may not still be popular, not a person) seemed unattainable to me. But I recently decided to get some good clubs - I went with TaylorMade.
If you haven't played with never golf clubs lately, the technology on these things is so absurd. The Sim Max 2's in particular are just ridiculously good for bad golfers like me. A set will run you several hundred dollars but they are the last golf clubs you will ever need. A Sim Max driver will set you back $400 or so. From the company:
Speed Injected™ Improves ball speed across the face by calibrating each head to the threshold of the legal speed limit Twist Face® Uses corrective face angles designed to overcome inherent golfer tendencies on mis-hits and to produce straighter shots Multi-Material Construction Creates a head design where weight is positioned precisely in the head for ultra-low CG and high MOI Thru-Slot Speed Pocket™ Our breakthrough Thru-Slot Speed Pocket technology delivers enhanced sole flexibility to create additional ball speed as well as improved forgiveness on low-face mis-hits Inverted Cone Technology This face technology expands the C.O.R. zone of the clubface, resulting in a larger sweet spot and better performance on mis-hits I am not what you might call a "handyman" when it comes to fixing things around the house. Not even close. Luckily I found a handyman service over in the Bedford / HEB / mid cities area called Fixin' This N' That Handyman Service and they have not disappointed no matter what job I throw at them.
Phil and his team do expert work across DFW including.... well pretty much anything you can think of:
and more. It's wild what they can do and they quickly have become my go-to for all my home repair needs. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a local company that stands behind their work. From the owner: Family and locally owned handyman business with decades of skilled trades experience. We have been in and around all exchanges for all intents and purposes our entire lives. Our dedicated, proficient, and educated specialists are furnished with the legitimate abilities and tools to take care of business the correct way. I was recently put in touch with the fine folks over at Cedar Creek Jet Ski Rentals and wanted to share my experience. Cedar Creek is a good-sized lake about an hour southeast of Dallas and jet skis are, well, jet skis.
Cedar Creek Reservoir is a reservoir located in Henderson and Kaufman Counties, Texas, 50 miles southeast of Dallas. It is built on Cedar Creek, which flows into the Trinity River. Floodwaters are discharged through a gated spillway into a discharge channel that connects to the Trinity River, according to Wikipedia. I rented a Yamaha jet ski from Cedar Creek Jet Ski Rentals and had a blast. I also got sunburned in the process but that's par for the course AND TOTALLY WORTH IT. The day rate was very reasonable and they can accommodate large groups and events such as graduation parties. Booking of these water crafts should be done as early as possible as their availability fills up fast. If you are looking for an awesome jet ski rental service in the Cedar Creek lake area of Dallas and DFW, look no further. Their main service area includes the towns of Mabank, Kemp, Seven Points, Gun Barrel City, Roddy, Tool, Mankin, Ruth Springs, Enchanted Oaks and other fun little towns along the shoreline. Book a jet ski here and go have some fun before the lake water gets too cold. I bought a gently used pair of (deep breath) Nike ZoomX VaporFly Next% mens running shoes on eBay. No way I was paying the fully TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS for what is apparently the craziest and most advanced fancy-ass running shoe the people at Nike have ever created.
Seriously, someone set a marathon time world record in these things or some such. So do they live up to the hype? Yes and no. These are extremely well made running shoes with TONS of cushioning. The average distance runner might find it a little jarring at first. THE SOLE IS HUUUUGE. I cannot stress this enough, it's like walking in high heels or something. On the plus side, they do make you taller. There's also a crazy amount of bounce to these things. And an air bubble. When running in them, you definitely feel propelled forward in a way that no other shoe I've found can match. If you're a serious distance runner these are definitely worth a look. The bad? These shoes are very narrow. They are also somewhat awkward when moving side to side and were definitely made for the one sole (pun intended) purpose of running long distances in a straight line. They are quite comfy. Recommended but expensive and not for amateurs. Book review time? Book review time! I recently got suckered into buying a short novel called Gothic Violence by author Mike Ma. I initially assumed the last name "Ma" was asian but apparently it's not. Or it's a nom-de-plum (sp?) or some such.
Gothic Violence has been the subject of some kind of viral marketing campaign on various "anonymous online message forums" and features a decidedly-edgy cover, which I will not be posting here. Supposedly it's an even better novel than Ma's first book, Harassment Architecture. Ma certinaly deserves credit for interesting book titles and covers. But I digress. What is the plot of Gothic Violence, you ask? Not much. The tagline is something about "a gang of jihadist surfers (?) take down the power grid using insider trading profits (?) and capture the state of Florida amidst the panic." That sounds interesting, I suppose, until you read the book and realize the plot is secondary to a bunch of random, pseudo-self-improvement rants the author goes on chapter-by-chapter in lieu of a proper narrative. To me, Gothic Violence reads like a young novelist's attempt at some sort of Fight Club meets Glamorama style edgy thriller. Celebrities are name-dropped early and often. The surfer gang's mission is vaguely defined. And the middle of the novel is basically Ma ranting about stuff. Then the book ends around 200 pages or so. There's even a mention to deceased internet icon Zyzz along the way. Gothic Violence certainly isn't a bad novel but it's clearly written by someone in his 20s who is still developing as a writer. Thumbs decidedly in the middle for this one. I wish the plot was more fleshed-out. I was recently left with a busted up refrigerator and needed to find the best appliance repair Keller has to offer. Even though I don't live in Keller at the moment, just to clarify. Enter my buddy Ed over at his namesake company. I contacted Ed's Appliance because they were running a 20% off special for new customers. Sweet, right? Anyway, I explained the situation - that my refrigerator was not refrigerating things properly, for lack of a better description - and Ed sent over one of his technicians to diagnose the problem. Turns out I needed some coolant. Hey, it could have been worse.
I paid what I think was a pretty reasonable price to get my refrigerator repaired. I am certainly not an expert on appliance repair but these guys did a great job and as part of our business haggling they said they would greatly appreciate a shout out on this blog that no one reads. So here it is, fellas. If you need quality appliance repair in DFW look no further than Ed's over in Keller. They have branched out and created a separate company called Lucky 7 which also does quality work. Either way, you can't go wrong. These guys know their appliances and will give you a fair price on whatever you need. This includes ovens and other stuff in your kitchen that you don't want to work on yourself. Check them out. I picked up a pair of Seavees Hermosa Plimsoll shoes for summer because I was looking for a Vans-type shoe that wasn't actually a pair of Vans. Sadly my skateboarding skills ain't what they used to be and I'm old :( Anyway, since this is apparently turning into a shoe review blog, I felt compelled to write about these great minimalist old school style sneakers. I love these shoes. I want a second pair as a matter of fact. The thing I really appreciate about them is that they haven't given my feet any blisters despite wearing them barefoot in a variety of conditions. They are comfortable as hell from day 1 and only seem to get better with age. The material is some kind of canvas top, not unlike a pair of old Keds if I had to make a comparison. Sole is comfy and durable and I've already gotten some compliments that I think were sincere? So that's good. If you're looking for a quality pair of classic everyday walking shoes that won't break the bank, look no further. Highly recommended casual summer shoes that will always look good. Task lighting provides a direct beam of light to areas above kitchen sinks and to food preparation and cleanup centers. Lighting is equally important in a bathroom setting. Install the task fixtures in front of where you will be working to avoid shadows. Many types of fixtures, including recessed down lights, track lights, hanging pendent lights, and under-cabinet strip lights, provide excellent task lighting. It's best to have the lighting for each work center controlled by its own separate wall switch.
How much task lighting do you need during a kitchen or bathroom remodel? Each work center should be illuminated with either 100 to 150 watts of incandescent light or 40 to 50 watts of fluorescent light. What about under cabinet light? To light countertops that have cabinets overhead, strip lighting is needed. These fixtures have a thin profile and are almost hidden. As a general rule, a fluorescent tube should extend along approximately two-thirds of the counter it is illuminating and provide about 8 watts of power per foot of counter space. Natural lighting - Maximizing the available natural light is a critical element in most kitchen and bathroom design plans. Consider adding windows or French doors or perhaps a skylight. If you are the primary cook and spend many hours preparing meals, you might enjoy a large, cheery window above the sink. Windows also provide fresh air, which eliminate heat from the area. There are ways to increase natural lighting even if you don't have additional wall space to dedicate to windows. Consider replacing existing windows with taller units or add an additional fixed, arch-top window over an existing window. Remember though, that additional lighting can also mean more heat in summer, especially in Texas! |
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