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Archive for August, 2007

A Reasonable Request

When you follow a link to Amazon from our site, we get a commission on everything you buy during that session, not just on the reasonable products featured here. So when you find an item on our site that you want, make a list of everything else you want from Amazon, and order it all at once. You’ll save on shipping, and we’ll continue to find the reasonable goods.

Linux Distribution: Ubuntu

Free for $104 star

Ubuntu is currently the most reasonable Linux distribution. I ran Slackware in 1997, then Redhat from 2001, then Debian from 2004, and they were all reasonable in their time; now Ubuntu carries the torch, and I wouldn’t install anything else until that momentum shifts considerably. Installation on reasonable hardware is remarkably straightforward, in some ways even better than Microsoft Windows (did you hear that Windows Genuine Advantage was out of service for 19 hours last weekend?). Package installation and upgrading is a snap with apt-get, and since it’s everyone’s current favorite, support in the form of internet forums is widely available. Even Dell is shipping a few computers with Linux pre-installed, and the distro they’re using? Ubuntu, of course.

You usually only need one Installation CD, which is pretty easy to download and burn yourself, if you can. If you don’t have a fast internet connection or a way to burn CDs, paying $10 for this complete DVD is very reasonable (assuming your computer has a DVD drive, and most computers made in the last few years do). Canonical, the benevolent semi-profit corporation that funds Ubuntu, will also send you a free CD, but they say it could take up to 10 weeks to deliver.

A reasonable introductory book for regular folks is Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks, and a reasonable desk reference for professionals is The Official Ubuntu Book.

Pet: Cat from Local Animal Shelter

$100 + $600/year

First, an Important Message

Regardless of the type of pet you want, you should always go to your local animal shelter first. They always have a nice selection of dogs, cats, and often other fun animals like rabbits and gerbils. The price will be very fair, they will provide instructions on proper care, and they can usually inform you of the animal’s temperament. As an added bonus, most shelters will spay or neuter the animal and administer many of its required shots for free.

If you have your heart set on a particular breed or color and are thinking about paying a lot of money to get what you want from a breeder, please reconsider. Mixed-breed animals are just as loveable as their pedigreed counterparts, and often exhibit superior temperaments and fewer physical ailments as the result of less in-breeding. Most every reasonable type of pet will turn up at a shelter or rescue center eventually, and there are always more animals needing good homes than there are available homes to take them in.

As Bob Barker used to sign off, “Help control the pet population; have your pets spayed or neutered.”

And now on to our feature article.

Reasonable Pet: Cat

cuddly ball of furA cat is a reasonable pet. Cats will happily live alone with you, or with other cats. They bathe themselves and are relatively clean, though some humans have allergies to cats, and some breeds shed significantly more than others. You’ll have to decide whether to keep your cat exclusively indoors, or whether to let it go outside (which might require a cat door).

Dog lovers will admit that dogs require more space and attention than is available in the average urban lifestyle. Dogs like parks! and frisbee! and running! playing fetch! chasing cars and cats and kids! With a dog, you need to be prepared for outdoor exercise every single day, rain and sleet and shine, for at least 10 years. Cats sleep most of the time and will exhaust themselves chasing after a laser pointer ($5).

Adopting a pet comes with certain responsibilities, some regular, some highly irregular, that will persist for the rest of its life (the average life expectancy of a cat is between 10 and 20 years). Be sure you can handle pet ownership financially, emotionally, and physically: it will be at various times tedious, expensive, smelly, and at the very end it will hurt an awful lot.


Reasonable Cat Supplies

For one cat, you’ll need a litterbox ($3), a litter scoop ($2), a scratching pad ($5), a pet carrier ($25), and two bowls for water and food. Ongoing cat food and litter will cost about $40/month. Don’t forget to budget for annual veterinary visits, about $100/year.


Scratching pad ($5)

While a scratching post (made of something other than carpet) is nice, this scratching pad does just fine. Most cats love to dig into its corrugated cardboard texture automatically, but catnip can be sprinkled on it to encourage the more reticent feline. Plan to replace it every year or so, and get a couple so that you can place them strategically to discourage unwanted scratching.


Pet Carrier: Coleman ($25)


Suitable for one cat or two, or one small dog (holds 25lbs), this carrier can be used for trips to the vet or a friend’s house, and in its converted bed state to provide a safe, soft spot for your pet. Practical, functional, sturdy, relatively good-looking, and simple to use for under $25.


Cat Food: Iams

Iams is not the cheapest cat food. However, lower priced cat foods contain more fillers which can lead to urinary problems, in male cats especially. And since more food is actually absorbed and used by the animal, significantly less waste is produced, which in turn means less work cleaning out the litterbox, and less litter used overall. Also keep in mind that a regular sized adult cat should only be fed 1/3 cup of food a day to stay agile and fit–this bag of food should last quite a while.


Cat Litter: World’s Best Cat Litter


Any litter will work, but the World’s Best Cat Litter lives up to its name. In their words:

It’s the only all-natural, organic cat litter on the market that is made from whole-kernel corn which offers a unique microporous structure. The huge surface area created by this structure easily traps and absorbs ammonia and urine odors naturally, so there’s no need for cover-up perfumes.

Believe it. It is also clumping, flushable, and unbelievably effective in preventing the dreaded cat box aroma from ever being a part of your house. We have tried a whole host of different cat litter varieties, but they all lacked something–too smelly (either by virtue of intrinsic chemical perfume or cat pee), too quickly used up, too much of a pain to put in a baggie and throw out, etc. This is the only one that really does what it says. The large 34lb bag will last a long time because it never needs to be fully replaced–just flush the clumped portions and the litter-coated poop away and replenish with a scoop or two weekly.


Cat Toy: Da Bird ($5)

This ultrareasonable cat toy is simple–a couple of feathers on a string connected to a plastic rod–yet magically appealing. You swing it around, then revel in your cat’s athleticism as it jumps several feet in the air, repeatedly, to try and catch it. On an aesthetic level, Da Bird is also pleasing to the human eye and ear–it truly resembles a bird beating its wings furiously in the sky. Imitations of this product exist but are sorely disappointing. The only downfall to this great toy is that it cannot be left unsupervised–cats will almost immediately destroy the feathers by chewing through them. Inevitably, this happens over time anyhow, so get a replacement 3-pack of “da birds” ($10) and store in a cat-safe place.

Roasting Pan: Granite Ware

$204 star

Cook’s Illustrated recommends the Granite Ware for the occasional roaster. Note that their first choice is ten times the price:

Think you don’t need a roasting pan? Just wait until you host your first Thanksgiving dinner, and you find yourself at 8 A.M. on Thursday scrambling to find something in which to cook your 15-pound bird. Unlike many other tools that have satisfactory stand-ins, there just isn’t any substitution for a roasting pan. Saute pans and lasagna pans are too small, baking sheets are too low-sided, pots too high-sided.

We gathered eight brands of roasting pans and used them to roast turkeys, sear roasts, and make gravy. We also judged each pan’s design and ease of cleanup. Our favorite pan, the All-Clad Stainless Steel Roti, is quite an investment at $180, but its sturdy design, easy-to-use handles, and solid construction make it worth it for dedicated roasters. However, we also liked the Granite Ware Extra Large Capacity Covered Oval Roaster, which, at $17.99, may not have performed as well as the All-Clad but will do just fine for the occasional roaster.

The New Cooks’ Catalogue also chooses this roaster. From Cooking.com:

It’s a pretty safe bet that your mother - and your grandmother - owned a covered roasting pan like this one. The same U.S. company has been making these black porcelain-on-steel roasters, specked with white flecks, since 1871. This large roaster has a “tree” embossed pattern on the bottom, to partially lift food off the surface. To store the pan, just invert the lid. The Granite Ware roaster is a practical, economical, time-honored choice. No roasting rack included. Not safe for glass/ceramic/induction stoves.

Widely acclaimed and long held as very reasonable.

Note:Amazon currently sells this product through a vendor that charges an unreasonable price. I’ve never used A Best Kitchen, but they list the Granite Ware roaster for less than $15. I’d risk it.

Update: Amazon’s price on this roasting pan is now (as of April 2008) reasonable.

Rice Cooker: Panasonic SR-G06FG

$25

The Panasonic SR-G06FG won’t do anything fancy, but it will cook rice for 1-3 people. It’s got a non-stick interior and auto-shutoff. For a $25 rice cooker, there’s not much else to say. If you’re going to cook for more people, buy a larger one. Here’s the Amazon product description:

For up to 6.6 cups of cooked rice [3.3 cups uncooked] at the touch of a switch, this easy-to-use, fully automatic rice cooker/steamer takes the guesswork out of making great rice. The appliance features a tempered glass lid that allows for monitoring food while it’s cooking, and it shuts itself off automatically when the cooking is done. Stay-cool handles on either side and one on the lid provides safe, convenient handling.

Paper Shredder: Fellowes Powershred PC77Cs

$100

Fellowes makes a lot of different paper shredders, and they really seem to know what they’re doing. The PC77Cs is relatively large (7 gallon basket) and robust (shreds up to 12 sheets at a time, although half that is probably more reasonable) and can also process CDs, paper clips, staples, and credit cards. The shredding output is confetti (agreed upon to be worlds safer than simple strips) and the mechanics are quiet. There’s not much setup or maintenance to using it–the shredding blades turn themselves on when you stick paper in there, and turn themselves off when nothing’s happening. Amazingly, the blades will NOT activate when someone sticks their finger into the slot, with Fellowes’ “Safe Sense Technology”. Word has it that their customer service is top-notch too, and the cutting blades come with a 5 year warranty. If you barely need to shred anything ever, this is not the thing for you: it’s cheaper and easier to just taking a pair of scissors to whatever you’re worried about. But if you fear the identity thieves, this shredder will consume that huge stack of bank statements and tax returns from 6 years ago, and it might even be kind of fun. This is a lot of shredder for $100.

[Apologies for the lack of manufacturer links; Fellowes' website is effectively nonresponsive. --Saul]

Hi-Fi Micro Stereo: Philips MCM275

$100

The Philips MCM275 will play your audio and MP3 CDs, and allow you to listen to the radio with ease. The system doesn’t take up much space and can be wall-mounted as well. A line-in jack so you can play music from your iPod Shuffle or other MP3 device is standard (but requires an extra $3 cable). You can expect to hear full, rich sound from its builtin speakers as long as you’re in the same room as the system, making it ideal for a family room, bedroom, or kitchen–not so much for a dance party throughout your entire home. This model looks much cooler than just a stereo, and it has a remote so that you don’t have to get up from the sofa to adjust the volume, skip to the next track, or change the radio station.

A New Reasonable Rating System

Last week I developed a 5-star rating system based on the bell curve, but it just was just too much. So I boiled ratings down to their essence, and this new system turns out to be much simpler and somewhat intuitive.


All Items are Reasonable

All products listed on Reasonable Goods, with or without any “stars”, are reasonable; that’s the whole point. If you have reasonable expectations, you will not be disappointed with these items.


Silver Stars are Very Reasonable

These very reasonable products will surprise you, but there are competitors and you might be able to save a few bucks with a knock-off or get a great high-end clearance deal. We’ve tried some of the other items in this category, and we still think this one is the most reasonable, unless you know you want something else, in which case, go shopping!


Gold Stars are Ultrareasonable

These items are best-in-class or beyond, and probably have been for awhile now with no close competitors. Achieving ultrareasonable status requires a kind of consensus among shoppers, and no significant flaws. These products are the passion behind Reasonable Goods. If you find a gold star product unreasonable, I may have to find you unreasonable, and I’m sure others will agree.

Personal Massager: Hitachi Magic Wand

$405 star

The Hitachi Magic Wand is the ultrareasonable personal massager. The Wand plugs into the wall, so it delivers more power without consuming batteries. An old friend once described it as “the Cadillac of [massagers]“. Every woman loves the Wand for its incredible relaxation potential.