Mace DIY CCTV 4-channel DVR with 500 GB & 4 Camera System Review

I recently purchased this DIY Camera System kit.  The price was too good to ignore.  B&H Photo also had a $100 discount, plus a $50 gift card!

Bottom Line:  You get what you pay for... and, yes, it WORKS!  Read more for all the details...

Best Buy - Bait and Switch

I admit it, I'm a techie person who buys techie things.  You would think Best Buy and I would be 'Best' of friends.  Truth is, I am a Rewards Zone Member...  I WANT to like Best Buy.  But, they are making it IMPOSSIBLE!

Here is what I want to like about Best Buy:  Good Selection, Good Prices, Knowledgeable Staff, Instant Gratification.

Here is what I actually like about Best Buy:  Good Selection... guess that's it.

I'd been singing "Lost That Loving Feeling" for a while now every time I walked into Best Buy, but just kept thinking it would get better.  Turns out, it just got MUCH worse.

E10 Gasoline vs 100% gasoline

It is pretty much an accepted fact that using E85 does not makes financial sense because your fuel economy is so poor, it takes away any benefit you might see at the pump in the terms of miles you can drive per gallon.  However, I'm not sure if E10 makes since over 100% pure gasoline.  As you know, E10 is gasoline blended with up to 10% ethonol.  As of 6/12/2011, the local price here is $3.41 per gallon for E10 and $3.79 for 100% fuel.  It seems like a no-brainer that you should buy the E10 and save the $0.38 per gallon.  However, you should see better fuel economy on 100% fuel.  But, is it good enough to offset the higher price?  Well, before I even see what I actually get, a bit of math indicates I need to see an improvement of 2.7 MPG on 100% gasoline to account for the higher cost.

Does it REALLY save Money to set Back your Thermostat during the Day?

Seems we have always been told that, if we want to save money, we should set our thermostat up when we aren't home to save money during the summer.  This concept also applies in the winter, but I'm focusing on summer for this discussion.

I was thinking about this.  If I keep the thermostat set, say 76F all day, the air conditioning cycles on and off all day, obviously using energy.  If I set it higher, like 80F while I'm gone, the AC stays off most the day as the house slowly warms up.  Problem is, when I get home, and set the air back to 76F, the AC runs, and runs, and runs; trying to cool the house while it is 100F outside.

My Data Backup Plan and how it (almost) Failed

Several years ago, I had a hard-drive crash and I lost about 5 years of photos.  Since then, I have realized that of all the digital content I have, the only files that really can't be recreated, are pictures and videos.  So, for the last couple of years, I have had a system in place to protect those digital pictures, all 25,000+ of them!

This article is intended to show you ONE way of backing up data to protect against the most common issues.

Is Diesel Worth it? Nope.

If you were trying to pick between a car that burns regular unleaded versus a car that burns diesel because it is more fuel efficient... keep your money in your pocket.

24 years... how long it will take to make back the higher purchase price from fuel savings.

DirecTV... you are fibbing a wee little bit.

Have you seen their latest commercial?  Shows a guy watching a crazy action packed movie, pausing it in one room, then watching the rest of the movie in another room.  Then they splash $29.99 on the screen.  They do say it is a temp offer (12 months).  But, there is more to it.  The commercial shows two TV's, both high definition flat screens.  So, that means the guy has two HD receivers, one of which is a DVR.  Also, he must have the "Whole-house" system to share content between receivers.  I went to the web site to see what it would cost, during the promo period, to have what they show on the commercial.

$29.99  Choice Programming package with 12 mo discounts
$10.00  HD Access (no HD programming without this little fee)
$7.00 for DVR service (I thought you wanted to pause your movie?)
$3.00 Whole House Service (share content between both receivers)
$6.00 Leased receiver fee (1st one is free!)
________
$55.99 per month.... tisk, tisk.
$90.99 after 12 month promo period (I did tell you it is a two year contract, right?)

PS....
$198 due at checkout to 'buy' your receivers (1 HD DVR and 1 HD)

Now you know... and knowing is half the battle.

DirecTv Versus Roku

One month ago, I fired DirecTv and hired Roku... and TiVo.  Below are the ten questions I had as I started on the conversion as well as the answers to those questions.

1.       Does it really work?

a.       Well, yes.  It does.  How well depends on your perspective.