The Chronic Consumer

I usually don’t complain much in my posts because most of the products I buy turn out to be better than what I expected. But that wasn’t the case with this CampusOne Mizzou t-shirt that I bought a short time ago.

It’s a white t-shirt with black screen-printed lettering edged in gold. The shirt looks absolutely fantastic when it’s brand new because all the colors really pop. But after just a single trip through the dryer, the lettering faded so much that the shirt looked like it had aged a few years! I know the dryer can wreak havoc on screen-printing, so I try not to judge the effects too harshly. But in this case, the wear factor is just way too much.

I wouldn’t recommend buying this one!

My son has been getting into floor hockey and soccer at school, so I decided to buy him this Mylec All-Purpose Steel Goal to use in our basement during the winter and in the driveway during the summer. The goal can be used for hockey, soccer (obviously a LOT smaller than regulation, but better than nothing), lacrosse, handball, field hockey, etc. which is pretty cool.

After reading some product reviews, I decided to go with a steel goal rather than one made of plastic or PVC tubing. Those models, while definitely lighter and cheaper than the steel version, tend to break easily according to other customers. I figured I should just get the best product I could afford rather than getting something that would need to be replaced several times.

The Mylec goal was fairly easy to assemble. It comes with about 10 pieces of numbered steel tubing that snap together and lock into place. The net is quadruple stitched onto canvas sleeves that the tubes then slide into. The quadruple stitching ensures that the net will hold up even against the toughest slapshots — and so far, that has been the case. The goal is 52x43x28, which is actually pretty darn big. But that’s a good thing as long as you have the room for it.

Overall, I have to say that I think this was a great purchase. We’ve had the goal for a month now and my son has spent at least an hour a day taking shots at it in the basement. It has stood up to everything so far (granted, we’re just using a plastic floor hockey puck or plastic street hockey balls) and still looks like new. I have no regrets about spending $50 on this heavy-duty goal. I’m sure it will last for years and years, which is exactly what we want!

I don’t play many video games, but I do love the Mario Kart franchise, so when I heard that Mario Kart 7 was coming out for the 3DS, I not only went out and bought the game, but had to buy the handheld system as well. After a couple weeks of playing it, I’d say both of my purchases were well worth the money!

Mario Kart 7 brings fans the same great racing action that they’ve come to expect from the series, with a few added twists. For example, you can now customize your kart by choosing the frame, tires, and kite from various presets and unlockables. Yes, I said “kite” — there’s also some fun flying action in the game when your kart takes off from a particularly long jump! In addition, you can do tricks over each jump (this was introduced in the Mario Kart Wii version) for an extra little burst of speed upon landing.

The physics of the racing itself has remained pretty much the same, so if you’re a veteran of the Mario Kart series, it shouldn’t take you long to master this game. Also, out of the 32 available tracks, 16 are brand-new and 16 are old favorites from previous incarnations of the game. And some of the tracks are just a long, single-lap race instead of the standard 3-lap race that you might be used to. But those are still fun.

The unlockable characters aren’t all that great. You get the bee from Super Mario Galaxy, the big caterpillar from one of the Mario Kart tracks, the ghost (I don’t know the thing’s name, but it’s not King Boo), and something called Metal Mario that is basically a silver Mario that looks like it’s made of metal (and sounds like it’s talking from under water).

There are also the familiar mini-games/challenges, time attack mode, and balloon battle, as well as online gameplay.

Overall, Mario Kart 7 is a worthy entry into the series, and a fun game that Mario Kart enthusiasts simply must buy. I highly recommend this one!

I often think about doing a colon cleanse every once in a while in an effort to be a bit healthier and perhaps lose weight. But I’m always scared off by most commercial products, and end up buying all-natural stuff from Whole Foods. The latest product I tried was Psyllium Whole Husks by Yerba Prima.

Psyllium is supposed to be one of the most effective natural fiber supplements available. In whole husk form, it is meant to be mixed in drinks such as water, milk, juice, tea, etc. I’ve even heard of people putting a spoonful in yogurt or something similar to take the substance that way.

I tried psyllium whole husks twice daily for a few weeks, but didn’t notice any effect, either positive or negative. I wasn’t any more “regular” than without it, so the product felt like a waste of time and money. It didn’t taste bad, as far as these colon cleanse/fiber supplement products go, but if it’s not effective, then what’s the point? I won’t be buying this one again.

Whenever I get an acne breakout, which is becoming rarer these days, I rush to purchase a TON of different products to get my skin under control. I seriously have at least $1,000 worth of half-used treatments in my bathroom, and yet I still buy more and more and more.

Anyway, for my last breakout I decided to try some tea tree oil from Desert Essence. Tea tree oil is not made specifically for acne, but it is supposed to be good at treating a myriad of skin problems, such as cold sores, warts, athlete’s foot, burns, etc. and many people use it on breakouts.

Tea tree oil is very strong/harsh, so you’re not supposed to use it directly on your skin without diluting it first. So the way I applied it was by thoroughly wetting the end of a q-tip and then adding a drop of tea tree oil to that. Then I applied the resulting mixture on my breakout.

Although I could feel a slight burning sensation (not painful at all, more like what you feel with an astringent) that told me the oil was working, I didn’t notice any particularly positive results from this product. My breakout lasted just as long as it would have without the tea tree oil, so I don’t think it was effective at all. However, since it’s supposed to be such a versatile product, I guess I’ll keep it around in case I need to treat any of the other things listed above.

Anyway, if you’ve been thinking of using tea tree oil for acne, you might as well give it a try since the product is relatively cheap. But–don’t get your hopes up because this isn’t a miracle cure!

If you’re in your late 30s like I am, then your Saturday mornings were probably remarkably similar to mine. You likely woke up early to watch cartoons, and between cartoons, there would occasionally be more educational fare in the form of Schoolhouse Rock videos. I loved those videos, so when I saw this 30th anniversary DVD, I just had to have it.

The two DVDs in the box feature all the Schoolhouse Rock videos that were ever made, plus a couple of bonus songs (I’m Gonna Send Your Vote to College and The Weather Song). I honestly had no idea there were 46 songs because I only remembered a handful of the most famous ones (I’m Just a Bill, Conjunction Junction, Electricity, Get Your Adverbs Here, etc.), so it was GREAT to have all this music on the DVDs.

You can play the DVDs straight through, play a specific category (Grammar Rock, Science Rock, etc.) or shuffle the songs which was kinda nice. There’s also some hidden artwork and photos to look at.

Overall, I’m very pleased with this purchase. For $15, I was able to relive a significant part of my childhood and share these songs with my own son. Even though he doesn’t appreciate them nearly as much as I did/do, it was still fun to watch them together!

One of the great things about being a sports fan in the modern era is that we can buy the exact same stuff that players wear in the locker room, during practices, or during games. From authentic jerseys to practice tees, fans have access to it all.

Yes, some people might complain about the commercialization of sports, but come on. While I agree that prices for some merchandise is pretty outrageous, I like to at least have to option to buy or not.

That’s my long-winded way of saying that I recently purchased this Jonathan Toews name and number tee from the local big box sporting goods store. It’s made by Reebok, and I’ve seen players wearing this style while giving post-game or post-practice interviews in the locker room.

So far, I have no complaints about this shirt. The sizes run a little small, so I ended up having to go back and exchange my first purchase for a larger one, but other than that I like it. It’s comfortable, it looks cool, and the screenprinted logo and lettering have held up after being in the washer and dryer.

I found this DVD at Wal-Mart, and since I have a friend who likes Sarah Palin, I decided to buy it for her. I haven’t seen the movie myself, so this is a review of the product rather than the film.

The first thing I noticed as my friend opened it in front of me is how bare-bones the packaging is. It’s made of something called an “Eco-Box”, which basically means that it’s much flimsier than standard DVD cases. It’s recyclable, though, so I guess that’s the important point.

There were no liner notes included in the box.

Along with the documentary-style movie, there are three bonus features on the DVD: Palin’s 2011 speech in Madison, WI, footage of the 1982 high school girls’ Alaska state basketball championship game, and a “Special Thank You” from the director. The Thank You barely counts as a bonus because it’s basically just names scrolling down the screen end-credits style. The basketball footage was somewhat interesting because of its rarity, but Palin only has her name called a few times during the 23 minutes of game film. And the Madison speech can be found on YouTube, so that doesn’t really count, either.

Again, I’m not going to get into the film itself or politics or anything like that. Just strictly talking about the product, I felt that the $14.99 I paid was a bit on the high side considering the lack of nice packaging or good bonus features. Still, if there’s someone on your gift list who’s a Palin fan, they’ll probably like this.