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Yesterday after I returned home from work, I experienced the dreaded event that all home-owners eventually encounter. A backed up sewer line. Toilets were full and didn’t flush properly. Shower and bath had standing “water.” Just what you want to experience at 8 PM in the evening.

This was the first back-up we’ve experienced since moving to Pleasanton, so it was time to find a new rooter. A Google search resulted in an awful lot of Roto-Rooter listings, so I clicked on one, which brought me to the main website http://www.rotorooter.com/. Under “Request Service” I entered my zip code and selected “Contact Local Branch.” The brought up the following listing:

Roto-Rooter Independent Franchise
(925) 605-4311

Exactly where it was located, I have no idea, but the quote was for $204 per hour with a one hour miniumum. Ouch. I remember having roots ground out of my sewer drain being less expensive, but that was a few years ago, and in Hayward. Nobody would be available for another hour and a half, so I decided to move on.

Next up was Mr. Resuce, but their website http://www.mrrescue.net/hayward was too user-hostile, so I moved on quickly.

Here’s who I finally ended up using:

Mr. Rooter
182 Madelia Pl
San Ramon, CA 94583

(925) 416-0966‎
mrrooter.com

The operator answered immediately and said that she would contact a technician, who would be available immediately. Immediately was very important to me, with standing “water” in the shower and bath, and no rest rooms available. She wouldn’t quote an hourly rate and said they could only give an estimate after the technician had evaluated the situation.

The technician called about a half hour later, and after a bit of back and forth I was able to extricate from him that rooting the sewer line would cost $238. Still ouch, but I was dulled by fatigue, so it hurt less. Mr. Rooter charges per task, so it was the same charge no matter how long it took. To make a long story short, the technician, Steve, arrived between 9 and 9:30 and left at midnight, with the toilets flushing and the tub and shower drained. He did a good job of cleaning up after himself too. At that point I was glad I hadn’t gone with the hourly charge.

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It’s that time of every-other year again. Time to renew my automobile registration, and it came with the words “SMOG Certification Required at a Test Only or Gold Sheild station.” I’m not sure what a Gold Shield station is, but I’m all too familiar with Test Only stations. My catalytic converter went out before my last SMOG check and I spent a good amount of time at:

Epps Test Only Center
183 Wyoming St
Pleasanton,CA
(925) 931-0922

When I called this time, ‎ however, I let the phone ring about 15 times and no one picked up. I did  have a coupon for:

Clear Blue Test Only SMOG Station
3790 Hopyard Road
Pleasanton, CA 94588
(925) 462-7664

Time to price shop. Clear Blue’s normal price for my ‘98 Toyota Camry V6 was $89.95, plus $10 for the certificate. Without the coupon that would be pretty steep, but the coupon brought the price down to $44.95 plus $10, or $54.95 total.

The next two places I called were a little farther away, in Dublin, but still within my shopping range:

All Smogs Test Only Center
7034 Village Pkwy
Dublin, CA 
(925) 828-7277

The cost at All Smogs was $68.95, including certificate, plus you could get 5 dollars off by bringing in a canned food donation. An appointment was necessary.

‎Last on my list was:

Discount Smog Check Center
6055 Dougherty Rd
Dublin, CA‎ 
(925) 551-0400

The cost at Discount was $45.20 plus the cost of the certificate. Not enough of a savings for the extra driving, so I chose Clear Blue.

When I arrived the technician was standing out front waiting for a customer. That was me! He collected my paperwork, gave me some to fill out, and then directed me to the waiting area. By the time I got settled, and started my reading, he was backing my car up to where I sat. Fifteen minutes, if that, from start to finish.

If you need a SMOG check at a Test Only center in Pleasanton, California, I highly recommend Clear Blue. They are located on Hopyard Road and Las Positas, right next to the Shell station, and  near the DMV.

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The Super 8 Motel in Pasadena, California offers very well maintained, clean rooms. The location is just 2 miles from downtown Pasadena. Although the motel location is quite safe, you may not want to walk the 2 miles as it brings you through a questionable area. Downtown Pasadena is nice, clean and safe, with quaint restaurants and shops - as quaint as it gets in Southern California, that is.

The breakfast is bare-bones - but plenty of affordable places to eat in town. If you just need an affordable place to stay in Pasadena for a night or two, the Super 8 is it! AAA approved too!!!

Super 8 Motel Pasadena
2863 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107

admin motels hotel, los angeles, motel, pasadena, southern california, super 8

If you get in trouble with a DUI (driving under the influence) you need a good lawyer. There are plenty of DUI lawyers out there - just doing a Google search will tell you that. What it won’t tell you though, is that not all of these lawyers are created equal. O’Connor & Runckel LLP is a law firm with a difference. Both partners, Thomas O’Connor and Jason Runckel, are former Deputy District Attorneys who have prosecuted or negotiated thousands (that’s right, thousands) of DUI cases. Now, as DUI Defense Lawyers, they have thorough knowledge of both sides of the coin. In addition, their over 22 years of experience as Deputy D.A.s in the bay area has made them familiar with every law enforcement agency located here in the San Francisco bay area.

Do the comparison for yourself. It is unlikely that you will find lawyers with the courtroom experience of Thomas O’Connor and Jason Runckel, not only from the defense, but also from the prosecution side. If you have been arrested for a DUI, this is no time to play games. Get serious defense.

admin criminal defense lawyers criminal defense, dui defense

I needed two windows replaced in my house and decided to use Home Depot, because I have a Home Depot credit card that defers payment for 12 months. Ordering from Home Depot in Pleasanton required some waiting time, because they are generally understaffed and you are lucky to find someone in the department you are shopping in. We ordered the windows on a Sunday, and the installer, C.A.M. Construction of Livermore was over on Wednesday to take measurements.

Unfortunately, the Home Depot expediter was completely disorganized and dropped the ball a number of times. When the windows had not even been ordered after two weeks, we decided to take our business to Lowes. We worried that we had lost the deposit that covered the measurements, but luckily Lowes also used C.A.M. construction as an installer, and they were able to use the same measurements.

This time the installation sales department of Lowes dropped the ball, and although the windows had been at their facility for nearly two weeks, they did not inform the installer, C.A.M. Construction, despite multiple calls from me.

Luckily, the very next day after C.A.M. was informed the windows were in, they called to set up an installation appointment, for the upcoming weekend. They installed the windows quickly, and we are very happy with the result. Although I can’t recommend ordering windows from Lowes or Home Depot, I can highly recommend C.A.M. construction for installation.

admin Construction C.A.M. Construction, construction company, contractor, Home Depot, Lowes, windows installation

Compare 4 Consumers provides comparisons for the products and services you use every day.  Compare 4 Consumers blog provides individual product and service reviews based on first-hand testing and experience. Please visit often for reviews on the newest and upcoming products and services!!!

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