Reviewing The Can Strainer

What Is A Can Strainer?

I am fairly certain that you know what a colander or strainer is in the kitchen. They are usually a bowl shaped tool that we use often in cooking. Straining the water off of pasta comes to mind. What in the devil is a can strainer, then? Well, it is a handy dandy little tool that I did not even know that I wanted until I got one as a gift. Now, I use it quite often! 

Many times in the cooking process we are using a canned ingredient in the recipe. It could be a can of crushed pineapple and the recipe says to separate the juice from the pineapple and set the juice aside. In the past, I partially opened the can and drained the juice into a bowl or measuring cup by applying pressure on the lid. That could get messy and for goodness sakes it is a real pain to then get that lid back up and out of the way. I would have to use a butter knife or something to pry it up. I found out the hard way that using your fingers is not a good idea! Those can lids are sharp!

Well, let me tell you, that is no longer a process that I have to deal with. I received a can strainer as a gift one year and now the process of draining liquid out of a can is easy peasy! Just remove the lid and place the strainer over the can and turn upside down. Voila! Drained with no muss or fuss!

Have a can that is larger around than the strainer? A can of tuna? It might look like you won't be able to use this little gadget, but think again. Flip the strainer the other way, flip the can upside down and apply pressure to the strainer, badda bing badda boom the liquid is drained out and you have dry tuna.

You Don't Have To Wait...

I was lucky enough to get my little can strainer as a gift but you do not have to wait for someone to give you one. You can purchase one for yourself. 

Progressive International Can Colander

You even have an option of getting a different color if the white doesn't appeal to you. I have seen them in a turquoise and even stainless steel. I just love my little can strainer and honestly do not know how I managed without one for all of those years. Well, I do but it was a pain. Now, I don't have to worry about cutting my fingers on the can lid and there is never any food that spills out of the can when I drain it.

I usually buy several at a time and hold them for when I have a bridal shower to go to or a housewarming gift to give. I just add them in with whatever else I am giving. One year, I placed one in the canned goods I was donating for the local food pantry drive.

The can strainer is one of those handy dandy little gadgets for your kitchen that you probably would never think of getting for yourself but once you have one, you find you use it all of the time. Clean-up is a breeze! It is dishwasher safe and once cleaned is ready for the next time you need to drain a can of ingredients. It does not take up much space to store, either. I keep mine in my little gadget drawer near the sink.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Review of Samantha Kincaid Legal Thrillers by Alafair Burke

Why I started Reading Alafair Burke's Books

One day at the library I was looking for enough books to get me through an unpleasant medical procedure.  A man who was browsing the new books next to me recommended I check out the first three Samantha Kincaid Legal Thrillers.  I'm glad I did. I had not read anything by Alafair Burke before, but I'd like to read more of her work.

Samantha (Sam) Kincaid is a Multnomah County deputy district attorney (DDA) in Portland, Oregon. Sam had been an Assisant U. S. Attorney in New York before her then husband Roger had gotten a job as in-house counsel with Nike in Portland, so she had moved with him. After they had moved, she discovered he was playing around and she divorced him. Her first DDA assignment was in the Drug and Vice Division (DVD).

Reviews of the Samantha Kincaid Legal Thrillers

Judgment Calls

In Book 1,  Judgment Calls, Sam's first case involved an almost dead thirteen-year-old prostitute, Kendra Martin, who had been dumped into the Columbia Gorge after being raped, beaten and left for dead. The case had been assigned first to the Major Crimes Team (MCT) when it had appeared Kendra was dead. When she wasn't, Tim O'Donnell, a senior DA in the major crimes unit, didn't want to prosecute the case as an attempted murder. Instead he wanted to kick the case down to the general felony unit, for crimes not considered serious, where everyone knew there wasn't enough motivated manpower to prosecute the case thoroughly. Prosecutors for general felonies tried to get rid of their cases quickly by pleading them out for reduced sentences.

As Judgment Calls opens, Sergeant Tommy Garcia, who was in charge of the department's vice unit, is explaining the circumstances of the case to Sam. Garcia wants Sam to take the case as part of DVD because drugs and prostitution are involved and he knows Sam will put the energy needed into the prosecution. Tommy and the MCT believe the case is serious and they want  to catch the bad guys and prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Garcia arranges for Sam to meet with two MCT detectives in the cafeeria, Jack Walker and Raymond Johnson, about the case. It turns out that Sam's old on-again, off-again boyfriend, Chuck Forbes, is also in the MCT. His partner is Mike Calabrese.

By the time the meeting in the cafeteria was over, the way was paved to keep MCT working on the case with Sam in charge of the prosecution. Her relationship with Chuck is a subplot. So is Sam's relationship with her father and her best friend, Grace. These characters appear in all the books.

The other character that appears in every book is Lisa Lopez, an attorney often called in to defend indigent defendants. She is a naive “true believer” who is sure all her clients are innocent, whether they are or not. Naturally, she is called in to defend Frank Derringer, one of the two men Kendra said kidnapped, raped, and beat her. She had identified him from a picture, but she did not know who the second man was. Lisa is Sam's nemesis in all the books I've read so far.

I won't say any more about the details or outcome of this case. I will say there is lots of action and the reader will see a detailed account of how both the police and the prosecutors do their work and what a political atmosphere they work in. The author does a great job in developing the main characters and showing how difficult it is to convict a suspect when most evidence is circumstantial. The plots are complicated enough to keep one interested without confusing readers.

Missing Justice

By the second book in the series, Missing Justice, Sam has been promoted to the Major Crimes Unit after her performance in the previous book. This time she needs to prosecute the killer of a missing administrative judge who later turns up dead. Burke does an even better job with the plot and characters in this book than in the last one. My experience so far with Burke's books is that they are not simple cases of finding one culprit. They are more like complex webs that need to be unraveled, where characters rarely turn out to be as they appear to be, the crimes are committed by more than one person, and the victims may not be innocent themselves . The fun for the reader is in trying to identify those who ought to be suspects, following the threads of the investigations, and  trying to piece together what is found in the investigation before Sam does. There's also enough suspense to keep the reader holding her breath until the end.

Close Case

The last of the three books in the batch I read this week is Close Case, in which a black news reporter, Percy Crenshaw, is murdered in his car. A black woman has also been shot through her windshield by a white police officer who claims it was self-defense, even though the woman was unarmed. Later, there is a drive-by shooting that kills one black woman and badly injures another who is a well-known black activist. A major help in putting the pieces together to solve the crime was a wannabe reporter –a news staffer who had helped the police who were searching Percy's office after his death. This was my personal favorite of the books.

 Samantha Kincaid Mysteries (3 Book Series) Judgment Calls: A Mystery Missing Justice (Samantha Kincaid Mysteries) Close Case (Samantha Kincaid Mysteries)

& 

My Recommendation

I would recommend these novels to all who enjoy thrillers, and who can live with colorful language and main characters who have affairs or shack up. These books do not assume that all police and prosecutors are good guys. You will see a very seamy side of life, but that comes with the territory in detective novels and legal thrillers.

The author, Alafair Burke, is a former DDA in Portland who now teaches law and appears on television as a legal commentator. We can assume she has first-hand knowledge of her subject. I'm hoping to pick up another of her books soon. I was sorry to see the last one end.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Here's an Original Party Idea, Riddle T-Shirts!

Here's a Riddle T-Shirt!

Wear a Riddle & Stump the Crowd - Riddle T-shirts are Great for Parties, Fun Events, or Social Gatherings

If you're going to a party, put one on just to drive everyone nuts! More Riddle Shirts Here

With the riddle on your back, you could have a crowd competing to solve it. Although the answer is on the front of the shirt, you can cover it with the "Guess the Answer" sticker until someone figures it out!

Do you know how else you can drive someone around the bend?

Standing in line at the grocery store with the shirt on! The person behind you may tap you on the shoulder for the answer... They would need the answer before they could leave. Otherwise, it could get stuck in their brain!

5 Ways You Could Save the World by Wearing a Riddle T-Shirt:

1. You'll cure boredom for everyone standing in line at the DMV
2. Line-ups at public bathrooms will become more interesting
3. When you get asked to step outside of your vehicle, turn around and play 'stump the officer' - he'll be busy trying to solve your riddle (just kidding!!! Don't do that)
4. For those who still end up in lines at the bank, life just got more enjoyable for them, thanks to you
5. People may actually look up from their Cell Phones to converse with others!!!! Oh my gawd, that's a biggy.

On the other hand...

5 Ways You Could Cause Havoc by Wearing a Riddle T-Shirt:

1. Someone waiting in line for the bathroom passes on the next available stall to solve your riddle instead and pees on their shoes, or worse, pees on yours
2. Customer Service Reps at the DMV get sidetracked with your Riddle T-Shirt and cause the lines to get longer, and then people start to hate you
3. The Police Officer couldn't solve your Riddle-T and gives you a bigger ticket
4. Everyone stops using bank machines to get in line to read and solve riddle T-shirts, and all Bank Machines begin to rust.
5. Everyone starts talking to each other, eye to eye, and start falling in love, cheating on their significant others; divorce court gets overcrowded...but on the upside, you could keep everyone in line at Divorce Court busy trying to guess your T-Shirt Riddle? Just don't piss off Judge Judy.

So, are you up for solving any more of my personally written riddles?? Don't do it! Don't try to solve these riddles, it'll only suck precious time out of your day, RESIST!!!! Ok, fine, you're weak, go here.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Hewlett-Packard Printer Review

HP Envy 5530 e-All-in-One Series Computer Printer

Available on Amazon

I recently upgraded the operating system on my home desktop computer.  As a result, my old printer could no longer 'talk' to my computer, so I needed to purchase a new printer.  I wasn't surprised, as my old printer was 8 years old and was made for operating systems 4 upgrades ago!

After getting my newly revised computer back, I went shopping for a compatible printer, first doing some research online.  I knew I wanted a printer that would do more than print, as I often need to make copies of documents and I do a lot of scanning.  The computer tech who upgraded my computer advised me to first look at the prices of ink cartridges and find a model that was inexpensive, since the ink is the biggest ongoing expense you will have with a printer.

HP Ink Cartridges

Easy Order on Amazon

The printer I purchased not only had reasonably priced ink cartridges, but also happened to be made by a company I've been pleased with in the past ~ Hewlett-Packard.  My very first computer printer back in the early 1990s was an HP and I liked it very much.  And, come to find out, not only are the ink cartridges for my new printer less expensive than the model I was using previously, but they print more than TWICE as many pages per cartridge (up to 190 pages) than the others did and the print is very crisp and sharp on the page.  

HP Envy Printer Model 5530

Needless to say, I am VERY pleased with my new HP Envy 5530 e-All-in-One (print-copy-scan) computer printer! It has a color control panel on the front you can activate with the touch of a finger (or use the printer controls from the computer).  The ink cartridges and paper are both easy to load.  You can print from your smartphone or your tablet, and from an Internet-connected PC. And it has wireless capabilities so it can be located anywhere you need it to be.

This HP Envy printer has so many more features than my old printer did.  For instance, it is able to do two-sided printing, and you can view and print photos from the color touchscreen and produce borderless, lab-quality photos.  And the best part, when I was ready to buy, I found that this HP printer was on Sale!

So now my home office is all set for awhile – a completely revamped desktop computer with a new OS and additional RAM…. And, a brand new spiffy-looking printer. 



Article by Wednesday Elf



*Written on 7/25/15. Updated 7/27/2018

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON:

Terminator Genisys Movie Review

Thirty years ago I was captivated by the original movie The Terminator.  It was one of the few science fiction action films that I really enjoyed.   I remember well being fascinated by Arnold Schwarzenegger even though he scared me half to death as the Terminator.   With his ability to maintain that stoic look on his face, he easily made you believe he was a cyborg bent on murder.

Ten years later when The Terminator II: Judgement Day came out in theaters and Arnold Schwarzenegger was allowed to be the "good" Terminator, I was truly spellbound.  It took me a bit to adjust to him being the good guy, especially since he maintained that stoic appearance, but I freely admit I much preferred him in that role.   I liked liking Arnold.

However, a few days ago I had the opportunity to see the latest sequel of The Terminator series and found it to be the best yet. Arnold Schwarzenegger is not only a protector in this latest film, but he has developed some human traits while living with humans even though he is still very much a cyborg.   He seems to have developed paternal feelings for Sarah Connor and his attempts to smile like a real human actually make you laugh.  I really like Arnold in this role.  How cool it is to look back across the last 3 decades and realize that I have gone from be scared witless by Arnold to loving his character in Terminator Genisys.

Terminator Genisys Synopsis

 Terminator Genisys (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD) [3D Blu-ray]Check Price As you would expect, there are some very obvious changes in the movies, but Arnold Schwarzenegger masterfully playing the part of a time traveling cyborg is consistent.

The plot is once again about individuals from the future traveling back in time to change the course of events.  This time, however, the mission is to stop Skynet before it ever starts there by eliminating the war between humans and artificial intelligence.  

Terminator Genisys has otherwise changed things quite a bit.  Sarah Connor is now a young, pretty, and competent warrior who was raised by "Pops", Arnold Schwarzenegger, since she was nine years old when her parents were killed.  The part of Sarah Connor, who was originally played by Linda Hamilton, is now cast with Emilia Clark, but the personality of Sarah Connor is different since her childhood is now different.  Surprisingly, it is not that confusing when you see the actual movie.

The human resistance leader, John Connor, still sends Kyle Reese, his father, back to protect and team up with his mother, Sarah Connor.  However, they really are more of a team this time instead of the hero who saves the defenseless woman by offering the ultimate sacrifice of his own life.  As a matter of fact, Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese and the Guardian aka the original Terminator, Arnold, make an awesome team trying to destroy Skynet before it ever starts.

There is a lot of action and blowing things up in this movie, just like it's predecessors, but the biggest difference for me is that the first few movies seemed more fantastical.   Where I was afraid of the Terminator in the original movie, with this movie I find myself more afraid of Skynet.  Perhaps that is mostly because I now believe the idea of artificial intelligence taking over the planet is not that hard to envision.  In fact, throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the Amazon Echo sitting on my table back home.  I felt a strong desire to unplug her and throw her away as soon as I got home.  As I write now, I am wondering if she is reading what I have written.   Yes, I am jesting, but it did cross my mind.

My Recommendation

I would definitely recommend seeing Terminator Genisys, even if you have not seen the previous movies.  Not only do I prefer the characters in this sequel, but I liked the clear shift of humans being smart and proactive enough to strike the origin of the problem instead of simply defending themselves. 

This movie could easily stand on it's own as a cautionary tale to all of us with a message to be careful of what we ask for and what we so easily embrace as the way of the future.  After all, we do want to preserve our human future over advanced technology.

One note:  There was another Terminator movie sequel, Terminator Salvation, that did not feature Arnold Schwarzenegger at all.  He was governor of California in real life and unable to work as an actor during his terms in office.  I do not personally consider that a viable Terminator movie because, as far as I am concerned, Arnold Schwarzenegger IS the terminator and without him, the movie is an empty shell.

 The Terminator Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Director's Cut Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Terminator Genisys

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON: