Jaffa's Juicy Bits | Categorised Content

Jaffa's Juicy Bits | Categorised ContentA blog about gadgets, babies and green stuffhttp://www.jaffacake.net/en-usThu, 25 May 2006 16:05:31 +0100 Brabantia - Solar Powered Clothes DryingTue, 17 Aug 2010 16:52:52 +0100Brabantia will likely need no introduction to any homeowner - chances are you've got one of their waste bins somewhere in your home. In fact, the first bin I ever bought was a Brabantia - a little pedal bin for use in the bathroom in my first place after I left home.

After moving into a new home with a garden, it became clear that my green testing had become a little...how shall I put it? Ungreen! My original benchmark energy test involved washing and drying a set of towels from our weekly wash - but of course there is nothing at all eco-conscious about using a tumble dryer when the sun is shining!

Enter the Brabantia Lift-O-Matic rotary dryer.

]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/brabantia-solar-powered-clothes-dryingReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/brabantia-solar-powered-clothes-drying?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/brabantia-solar-powered-clothes-drying http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/brabantia-solar-powered-clothes-drying http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/brabantia-solar-powered-clothes-drying?opendocument&comments Honda CR-Z - Conscience without CompromiseSat, 5 Jun 2010 15:44:26 +0100 Image:Honda CR-Z - Conscience without Compromise

Image:Honda CR-Z - Conscience without Compromise

When Honda UK invited me to a press event for their new CR-Z hybrid vehicle, I didn't know what to expect. As you grow up, you tend to get exposed and influenced by the cars of friends & family. Despite probability claiming the opposite, I never actually knew anybody with a Honda.

Back in 2001, I once considered a Honda Accord Type R to replace my MX-5 but a divorce ruled family life off the agenda for a while so I bought a Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo instead. When I'd had enough of that, I considered an Integra or Civic Type R to replace it but ended up with a Golf R32 instead as I just didn't like that torque steer feel of a high power front-wheel drive car. The CR-Z would be the first Honda I had driven since that rainy Civic test drive in 2004.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/hondacrzReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/hondacrz?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/hondacrz http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/hondacrz http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/hondacrz?opendocument&comments Review - New Lexus GS-430Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:57:21 +0100

As you may have seen in my little "Spot The Difference" quiz, I got a new car this week.

Out went the MY05 Lexus GS-430 and in came the...MY05 Lexus GS-430. Yes, the same car, but in silver and with 14,500miles less on the clock...this one had just 12miles on the clock as it rolled off the trailer.

It's not every day you step out of a car and into a brand new identical one, which makes it easier to spot the subtle differences. Aside from the obvious raised bite point on the brake pedal due to new pads, stiffer switches/knobs and the tighter 3rd pedal parking brake there were some other changes I didn't expect.

The ride quality is much improved. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the old one, described by many as an armchair on wheels, but clearly the new one is all around smoother and more comfortable to drive. I put this purely down to tyres - the old ones had plenty of tread but clearly the reduction in rubber on the very low profile tyres makes a huge difference to shock absorbance.

The wiper units have changed. I didn't get time for a side by side comparison but clearly the passenger side unit is longer. This requires a slightly angled arm but means it sweeps higher across the windscreen.

The leather on both steering wheel and gearknob have changed significantly. The old was more coarse, almost dimpler...the newer smoother and softer to touch.

The electric windows don't open...
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-new-lexus-gs-430ReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-new-lexus-gs-430?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-new-lexus-gs-430 http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/review-new-lexus-gs-430 http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-new-lexus-gs-430?opendocument&comments Review - myFairTunes6 v0.5.5bSun, 17 Sep 2006 10:30:27 +0100myFairTunes6 claims to assist customer locked into Apple's DRM scheme with removing the copy protection from the music stuck in their iTunes library.

The end result, according to the documentation, is an Apple Lossless file that you can then leave as is, or convert to other file formats. The author made a good decision here, iTunes downloads are already less than CD quality and re-compressing them to another format like mp3 will further degrade the track so it makes sense to let the user decide the destination format. As you'll see from the screenshot, the 0.5.5b version recognises and supports the new iTunes 7 release. But does it work?

I never really got into the iTunes Music Store, thankfully realising early on that not only were they crippling my music but it was not CD quality either. If the downloads won't play on the Sonos system then it's not much used to me, but that wasn't a problem to Jo. All she wanted was some music to play on her iPod at the gym and that's what it allowed her to do quite conveniently without a trip to the music store.

There's a handful of DRM protected tracks in her iTunes library so I thought I would throw myFairTunes at it to see what happened. It did exactly what it claimed.
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-myfairtunes6-v0.5.5bReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-myfairtunes6-v0.5.5b?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-myfairtunes6-v0.5.5b http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/review-myfairtunes6-v0.5.5b http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-myfairtunes6-v0.5.5b?opendocument&comments Review - Tesco ’Italian’ LasagneSat, 16 Sep 2006 21:00:25 +0100photographing food.

Not because I'm a great photographer, but purely because I enjoy food and like to remember what I ate and when/where.

In the first of what will hopefully be a continual series of reviews, I take a look at Tesco's Italian Lasagne.

Found in the "convenience food" chiller cabinet of most store, Tesco's Italian Lasagne (Produced in the U.K.) is current part of their 3 for £4 scheme. This, to the man cooking dinner for one, represents excellent value - but how does it stack up?

Living in a one bedroom maisonette with a small kitchen for a decade, I ate a lot of convenience food and have learned to some extent how to sort the good from the bad. This Lasagne is certainly in the top 10% of pre-packed food. It can be cooked from the refrigerator or frozen on day of purchase and eaten within a month.

To cook, one simply removes the cardboard sleeve and film seal lid and puts it into a microwave of pre-heated oven. Instructions are given for cooking from frozen and this will take 35-40mins in an oven or 10mins in a high powered microwave.

There are some vital tips when buying pre-packed lasagne:
]]>http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-tesco-italian-lasagneReviewsBen Rosehttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-tesco-italian-lasagne?opendocument&commentshttp://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-tesco-italian-lasagne http://www.jaffacake.net/dxcomments/review-tesco-italian-lasagne http://www.jaffacake.net/dx/review-tesco-italian-lasagne?opendocument&comments