Category Archives: technology

A proud moment

September 18, 2022Susan, technologysusanmanzke

The old TV was in poor shape. I had nursed it along for years. It was time for a change.

I’m so proud of all that I did today. My first problem was finding something to set the TV on. I found this bookshelf upstairs. Bringing it down was a challenge, but I managed.

Setting up the new set took some effort. After a lot of clicking, and button pushing, I got it hooked up to my wifi along with the antenna.

I’m happy to report that everything is working perfectly.

I’m very proud of myself.

Until next time, that’s all there is from Sunnybook Farm.

Car-E is interested in the popper

February 18, 2021Car-E, cats, review, technologysusanmanzke

I got my West Bend Stir Crazy electric popcorn popper out and attracted my cat’s attention. (Originally purchased a few years ago at Fleet Farm, Appleton, WI.)

I think Car-E would have liked it better if the top of the popper was off. If that happened he would have loved chasing the popped kernels.

I do love this popper but I don’t eat popcorn too much. Most of this batch went as a treat to my four hens.

Ten years and counting — corrected video

December 7, 2020Columns, review, technologysusanmanzke

I hope you came back to hear this archived column.

My computer had issues with sound, both coming in and going out. It is fixed now.

I have a membership with the Geek Squad. A tech in India fixed my sound and then cleaned up my system. I didn’t have to take my computer in to the repair shop. It was fixed right in my home.

I’ve used the Geek Squad before but it took time for me to remember how to connect.

Thank you Geek Squad and Sourav for getting my computer up and running again.

EZ-DUZ-IT can opener review

October 10, 2020review, technologysusanmanzke

I’ve been waiting for America’s Test Kitchen on PBS to review can openers. I finally saw a review the other day and instantly bought their winner an EZ-DUZ-IT can opener for myself.

I’ve been using an old electric opener and fighting it every day when I opened cat food. It was always hard to place the can in the proper position, usually taking me 3 or 4 tries before it would actually turn and cut the can.

Since I have arthritis in my hands I need a bit of help opening cans with a manual model. In the past, I tried one that cut the side of the can, but that didn’t last long before the cutting blade wore out.

Here’s a video of the first can I opened with my new opener. Sorry, I said mixer at the end instead of an opener, but I didn’t want to do a retake and open a can I didn’t need. I figure you’d get the message.

The large handle for the crank made it easy to turn.

I will now use this opener from now on.

Thanks, America’s Test Kitchen for trying out a bunch of openers for me. This one cost around $12 on Amazon. I’m counting on it to hold up for years to come.

Showing signs of life

April 27, 2020Odds and ends, technology, worksusanmanzke

Russell asked me if I had gotten the cart going. When he first asked, I hadn’t even tried turning the key to our maintenance golf cart. Well, yesterday I turned the key.

There was nothing. No buzz, no gage movement, not a flicker of light. The directional signal had been on all winter, sucking power.

The battery was drained. It was time for a charger.

I took my time connecting the charger to the terminals. First, I made sure which was positive and which was the ground. Once the positive and negative signs were visible it was easy to snap on the charger clamps.

After a couple of hours charging this old battery, the cart did buzz. After a few more hours, it almost acted like it wanted to start–that made me happy but not excited.

I’m still scratching my head, trying to get it to pop.

What I think is the best thing to do now is to get a new battery.

The new addition will come in the near future, but until then I’ll keep trying to encourage the cart to roll again.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person