Tag: Recommendations

Support Your Vets

Having had a recent pet emergency (lilies are toxic to kitties, as are many other plants and flowers, so get your fluffball urgent care, and keep flowers out of the house — out of reach is not enough, I learned), I thought I’d give a run-down on my experience with some of Ken the Katthe region’s veterinarians.

Our beloved feline is fine, thanks to the fine folks at VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center. We were referred to VCA from another VCA clinic (on Manzanita, south of Madison), and we were referred to them by the Banfield inside of Petsmart on Watt Avenue.

Here’s my take on some of the vet clinics I’ve encountered over the years:

Continue reading “Support Your Vets”

What Are We Doing This Weekend?

As a counterpoint to the lengthy calendar sections of the local media outlets, we here at the ‘Rag will not inundate you with events and happenings and cultural brouhahas that may not appeal to you.  We will, however, tell you what we, the writers of the Sac Rag, plan to do this weekend.  Please keep in mind that not only are we independently wealthy, but also attractive and tied in to the local scene tighter than a fat chick’s Wranglers.  So, here’s what we’re doing this weekend.  We don’t want to tell you what to do, but be aware, if you choose to join us in any of these outings, you will be a better person for it.

Continue reading “What Are We Doing This Weekend?”

Google’s free SMS service is for real

I’m always about 6 months to 18 years late to the technology game. As such I am just now getting my cellular phone hooked up with SMS (Short Messaging Service), or “texting” as the kids like to call it. And while I am still fumbling about with my opposable thumbs and my text messaging shorthand (AAMOF, I’m a total NUB…or something), I have come across a free service from Google that is quite handy.

Google SMS allows you to text a search query to 466453(“GOOGLE” on most devices) and your results will be sent back to you in a matter of seconds. It’s really quite nifty. The site offers up a cheat sheet of search terms you can use (Local weather, restaurants, flight updates, movie times, calculator, and even conversions) and the whole thing is free (you know, you have to have the text messaging service from your cellular provider, of course).

So the next time you are out and about and need some quick directions or a movie time close to you, give it a shot. Now, if they just made cell phones that could take pictures I’d be all set!

Best Towing: Totally the Best

So, my car went kaput on me yesterday in an underground parking lot downtown.  Normally I’d just call AAA, but I knew it would have to be towed to the dealership due to alarm malfunction, so I called my warranty company.  The process took a while to navigate, but eventually my warranty company said that a truck was on the way.  I was pretty pessimistic about the ability of a tow truck to navigate the narrow aisles of the garage and still be able to clear the 8′ ceilings, but hope springs eternal.

To the rescue came a bright red tow truck from Best Towing.  At the helm of the truck was Viktor, a stolid, competent man in his mid thirties.  While Viktor was hooking me up I learned that he was not just an employee but the owner of Best Towing.  A Ukrainian immigrant who had been Sacramento for 11 years, Viktor had started a security company years ago, but could never find a reliable towing company to tow cars from the properties that he was guarding, so he started his own.  If that ain’t the American way I don’t know what is.  He adroitly maneuvered the truck through the maze of the parking lot without once scraping his lightbar on the ceiling or clipping an SUV parked in a “Compact” spot.  Also, as we drove down Arden way, he pointed at Tex Wasabi’s and said, “Have you been there?  The sushi is horrible, but the pulled pork is pretty good.”

I liked Viktor a lot.

Best Towing– 916-339-2378

I Heart Armstrong & Getty

If your radio dial hasn’t quite made its way to 650 on the AM, do yourself a favor and move it there between 6am-10am Monday through Friday.

Once Shawn & Jeff left the airwaves, I quickly became a convert to the Armstrong & Getty morning drive program after hearing my friend Elizabeth start virtually every sentence with, “This morning on Armstrong & Getty they were talking about…” Continue reading “I Heart Armstrong & Getty”

Don’t go around in circles for PC repair

Last week I was in need of some specialized computer repair on an out-of-warranty laptop computer. I asked around for recommendations and nothing really turned up, so I took a chance on Circular Systems, also known as that weird little computer shop on 28th and T. I had a great overall experience. Turns out the problem with the laptop’s monitor was fixed by giving the insides a little tuneup, which didn’t cost me much at all. And even though the tech had mentioned the possibility of needing replacement parts and therefore could easily have milked me for those parts and additional labor, he was honest and speedy in telling me he had fixed the problem.

So if you’re in the market for some more advanced PC repair and don’t have a nerdy friend or coworker who can do it for you and you don’t want to take it to Best Buy and can’t use a warranty, Circular Systems is your place.

Circular Systems
455-6888

‘Tis the Season…

for beer festivals! I will be keeping you up to date on all the beer happenings in the area this summer.

Beer festivals are always a good excuse to drink in the name of charity. Also, did you ever notice that almost all of the charities that these fests support are children’s charities? Do you know why we need so many children’s charities? They are too young to drink beer, so people feel sorry for them.

Raley Field Beerfest is being put on for the first time this year as the annual beer fest for the Northern California Brewer’s Guild, which is headed up by Rubicon owner Glynn Phillips. The event is tomorrow, Saturday the 12th. I have no idea what time this event starts as the organizers have done a “less-than-stellar” job at promoting it. Admission includes 10 complementary tastings, more can be purchased. One small suggestion to the NorCal Brewers… You have a web site. Maybe you would, oh, I don’t know, promote your event on your web site?!?!!?!? Promote it somewhere? One more note – No one in their right mind is going to pay almost $9 in Ticketmaster fees for a $25 ticket when we can buy one onsite for $30. Beer patrons, arrive early and anticipate a long line. Expect between 30 and 40 breweries from across Northern California.

The 8th Annual West Coast Brew Fest is the following Saturday, May 19th, from 1-5pm at Miller Park. Notice the handy link to a web site where you can get maps, information, and purchase a ticket with no service charge that is actually $5 cheaper than onsite the day of the event. No tokens, admission gives you unlimited tastes. Expect almost 50 breweries from across the West Coast and beyond.

Drink safely, my friends, and drink only the best.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BREWERIES
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BREW-FESTS

And, for the love of all that is holy, drink beer to save a child.

Recommended: Bonney Plumbing

It’s probably hard to live in Sacramento and not have heard of Bonney Plumbing, but there is simply no reason to call any other plumber. Today was the second time we’ve had to have Bonney out to the house, but only the first time we’ve had to pay…the first time, their man talked us out of paying him to do his work, and gave us some DIY tips instead. That’s insane. Their phone customer service is great — in the old school style — they are always on time and professional, and there is no catch to their “charge by the job” pricing structure. And as RonTopofIt reminded me, you gotta love the 70s glam shot of the owners.

But the question remains: Who will you vote for in their character contest? I was always partial to Larry Lethargic, the stoner one…

Overestimating the underestimate

MSNBC has just published a review of the “Top 10 underrated US cities” for travel destinations. Guess why I bring this up?

Sacramento came in as the number 10 top underrated city – which would mean that it’s the least underrated of the top 10 underrated cities. So, in effect Sacramento is the most overrated of the most underrated cities. So, like, is Sacramento really all that underrated then?

The review is provided by ShermansTravel.com (who dey newayz?). Here’s why they think Sacramento is underrated:

Continue reading “Overestimating the underestimate”

Spinning the lunch

There used to be a lunch time tradition in the early days of the Sac Rag. When we’d need a break from the snark and the hard hitting journalism, we would find ourselves at a loss in choosing where to go for lunch. To solve this problem, we came up with a way to spin a wheel that would give us a random number that would correspond to our own legend of restaurants and eateries to go to. One spin of the wheel would give us a number, and whatever restaurant we assigned to that number ahead of time was our lunch time destination.

Looking back at those days, it’s amazing that we didn’t starve to death.

Welcome to 2007, happy lunch go-ers. Someone has made picking a lunch spot in your neighborhood very easy.

Introducing the Wheel of Lunch!
Continue reading “Spinning the lunch”