Mothership [Vinyl] [Original Recording Remastered]

I believe any 16 year old boy who has appreciated rock music has one time or another listened to Led Zeppelin. In fact me and a friend played "Stairway to Heaven" for a talent show. So when I started to get back into vinyl records I decided to look through Amazon's top selling records. As soon as this popped up on my screen I knew I had to have it.

I have never bought a Led Zeppelin Album and I have only heard them from friend's cars, stereo's, or the radio. Why not a remastered vinyl of 24 of their greatest songs? It was a bit pricey but it is worth every penny. As you can see it comes with artistic sleeves as well as plastic square sleeves to protect your vinyl from dust and scratches (this causes pops and hisses during play back). The unboxing was part of the experience too. I was pleasantly surprised to find a booklet (about 12 pages) of information about the songs, the band, and a few pictures as well.

The vinyl is high quality 180 grams and has some of the nicest packaging I have ever seen. This would make an epic gift for a Led Zep fan who has a record player but at about $67 from Amazon (at the time of writing this) you might want to go 3 ways with this gift.

Keep on rocking guys!


How it was consumed: Technics Quartz sl-q300 record player.

Rating: 9/10 On my list of favorites.

The Crystal Gazers by Datahowler

After attending Indexfest 2012 I had the pleasure to have a beer with local artist Datahowler. He does experimental electronic music, though he said he perhaps hip hop in the interview video. About halfway through his show he informed us that "Now it is time for some weird stuff." It was quite entertaining and fun if you live in the DFW area you should check out his live show. If I recall correctly, it was a long day/night, both of his parents are musicians and at least one graduated from UNT and creates jazz music. Using these and other influences Datahowler creates unique pieces that is readily available online. He creates the art, records, produce, arranges, mixes, and masters his own music.

I find that Datahowler's style is perfect background music. Whether you are studying, driving late at night, relaxing or just cleaning the house on a rainy day, putting on Datahowler's music will just make your day better.

How it was consumed: The Crystal Gazers limited colored edition vinyl

Rating: 8/10 Great

Home furnising. Modern Leisure Patio Chair Cover and Portal 2 Coasters

Like I said I have used a lot of items since I have last posted at Taste of Zach. So here is a 2 product review post! Woot!

Modern Leisure Patio Chair Cover

I use this cover, sold by Amazon, for my Adirondack chairs. It works pretty well for my purposes. It has woven strings for you to tie the cover to the chair. I usually use only 2 of the strings and tie the opposite corners. This doesn't always work depending on how windy it is. All things considered for the price it works pretty well.

How it was consumed: Used on my wooden Adirondack chairs.

Rating: 8/10 Great

Portal 2 Warning Sign Coasters

I was lucky to find these on amazon for $17.00. Oddly enough a friend gave me nicer coasters a week later for a housewarming party. They are a cool way to show off your gamer side to visitors but the prints on them are a little smudged. These are not the highest quality product I have had but you will be putting you glass on top of them anyway so it isn't a deal breaker.


How it was consumed: In a swanky new bachelor pad.

Rating: 6/10 Above average

Juno the Soundtrack

They actually still sell this album on vinyl at Amazon. So if you don't remember the masterpiece, Juno, it is about a teenage girl who gets pregnant. For those who haven't seen it, it is better than you think. This isn't "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" or something lame like that. Juno was an indie classic and so is the soundtrack. Not only do you get 19 songs you get a cool see through orange vinyl. Well it is sort of cool but very thin and light, which makes me fear for it's life.

In short this is what a tomboy, rock guitar playing, 16 year-old would have listen to in 2007 if she new cool music. We have Buddy Holly, The Kinks, Kimya Dawson, Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground, Cat Power and more. Explore some different music and check it out on Spotify or some other free way.

How it was consumed: 2009 vinyl on my dad's Technics SL-Q300

Rating: 7/10 Good. I would give it an 8 but the physical quality of the record could be better.

OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Tongs with Silicone Heads and Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000

Here is another two part review, just for you. 


OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Tongs with Silicone Heads
I really like these tongs. I don't have to worry about them scratching my pans. The only downside is if you are cooking something that is thin and flat (thin sliced sweet potatoes for example), it is difficult to pick them up. I have not burned the silicon heads and the price is right. 

How it was consumed: used while cooking sweet potato fries and chicken.

Rating: 8/10 Great

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000

I got a deal on this via Woot.com. you can find a link to then at the top bar of my site. If you click on the links there I get 5% of every sale or something similar. They are a deal a day site so they change out products all the time. I paid $10.81 for 2 of them. All you have to do is plug in the included transmitter to a USB port and you are good to go. I use this for my laptop and my media computer I have connected to my TV. Without something in between the transmitter and the mouse I can get a good 8-10 feet. If you can find it for $11 and you don't want to use your trackpad, I would highly recommend it. I think it is running $16 on amazon which isn't bad if you are in the market for a new mouse. it is nothing fancy but it works.

How it was consumed: One on my laptop to replace the trackpad. Another is used as a wireless mouse for my TV. 

Rating: 7/10 Good

Dire Straits self-titled album

The Dire Straits released a self-titled album 7, October 1978. The band got their name due to their financial situation.

This album has gone double-platinum and isn't hard to tell why. It isn't revolutionary but it is easy listening. Dire Straits mixes rock, blues, and a tad of country. This was their first album with the hit song Sultans of Swing which held the number 4 spot on the billboards hot 100. Sultans of Swing is that 70's song you know but had no idea that you knew it. It was played in your dad's living room when you were young or in an old rock bar. In fact when you hear this song you feel like you have to get up and ramble on to explore the night.

This would have been a great band to see live when they toured in the late 70's early 80's but I guess this album will have to do.

How it was consumed: My father's old vinyl.

Rating: 7/10 Good

Welcome to 2013. Honeywell RTH221B Basic Programmable Thermostat

Hello everyone!

Thanks for coming back to Taste of Zach. One of my many new years resolutions is to get back into my weekly updates. I have enjoyed so many items since summer time and won't be able to review everything from memory but I am determined to get back into writing again. So to start off let me tell you about some a couple items I have bought off Amazon.

Honeywell RTH221B Basic Programmable Thermostat

I bought this product because of it's high review from Amazon and for it's price. It works fine during the summer time but after my 30 day guarantee AND now that it has gotten cold I have a problem. I programmed the thermostat to be a higher temperature in the morning. It turns out the device never tells my heater to stop running. Now this doesn't happen all the time but when it does I have to go to the circuit breaker to stop my heater from turning my house into an oven. This could be a faulty unit but Honeywell's customer service has been agonizing.

I contacted them at the beginning of November and in the last 3 weeks I have given them proof that I have purchased the item, I have told them I am past my 30 day return window and that I can't return it (that was Honeywell's first suggestion...), and recently they told me that I need to call the Technical Support office. I would be fine with this but they are only open during standard business hours(I think 9-4)... while I am working at a standard business. Also the customer support themselves haven't been helpful and my last email response was just rude.

Customer Service:  "I'm not certain how you expect this to go ... This type of thing generally requires the person seeking the information to invest in the process to some degree or extent... "
 -attn: Paul Arntzen

I have been trying to fix this problem for weeks. It is hard to ignore a problem when it changes your condo's temperature 30 degrees and wastes electricity.

What is the lesson to take away? Test all programmable settings/times (hot and cold) within 30 days and hope that, even though it worked during your testing (mine works 50% of the time), you do not have a faulty unit. Also Honeywell might as well have no customer service so don't depend on that. Look at alternatives like the Nest thermostat.

How it was consumed: via my condo built in the 80s

Rating: 3/10 not worth the time.