Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

After hurricane Sandy, I decided to upgrade my home generator.   Not being independently wealthy I had to forgo the whole house automatic turn on generator.    I want to power my sump pump, my fridge and my freezer.    Anything else is a bonus.   I researched generators thoroughly. (or ad nauseum according to my bride.) My old Coleman generator worked just fine but the gas tank gave me one hour and 15 minutes of run time.    Annoying during the day and highly annoying at night, I found my self looking for a generator that had a larger gas tank and a longer run time.    This Wen has a 4 gallon tank that claims 11 hours on half load.    It seems like a quality build. The generator comes with a wheel kit which is an added expense in many of the generators in its price range.    Assembly was relatively painless.   The oil tank is a bit tricky to fill.   I spent $2.49 at Kmart to get a flexible spout funnel.    I also spent the money to get the synthe

I recently got notified that my data use was excessive on my cell plan.    To the best of my recollection I was unaware of any changes in my habits so I was a bit perplexed as to why there would be an increased use.   My phone does not have the ability to determine how much data is being sucked by a specific app.   Apparently there are some phones newer than my Droid X that can tell you that information.    The Verizon rep suggested I turn off cellular data which can be found under settings and then battery and data management.   While there I discovered Data Saver.   Turning on Data Saver restricts your application updating to when you are on WIFI therefore cutting your cellular data use.    I turned that on and now I will wait to see what happens.    Another thing that will help is to make sure your applications DO NOT have automatic updating turned on.    That seems to stress out the data plan as well.   The more you can avoid unnecessary c

  This is for ACER ICONIA TAB A510 / A700 Black - HardBack-ACERICONIATABA510-Black. This case is inexpensive but you would never know it.   I particularly like the hand grip on the back that allows more secure one hand holding.   The pressure insert surprised me and I initially distrusted how well it would work but after a week, it is working fine.   This is a nice protective case for the money.   $16.95   If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

This is a very simple product.   It adds an on/off switch to your outlet.   This is particularly important if you are dealing with anyone who is paranoid about appliance fires.    This could also fall under adaptive equipment.   This was purchased for a blind person who can’t see to plug in the toaster oven and will not leave it plugged in due to a prior toaster oven fire.   This solved the problem because they were able to find the outlet by following the toaster oven cord which was plugged into the Belkin unit.    They don’t need to try and plug it in because it is already plugged in and they just need to flip a switch.    Now the toaster oven is a two step on and off but the Belkin provides peace of mind which is easily as important as it’s purported purpose of saving electricity.  If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

  This was for Acer Iconia A510, A700 10.1" Inch Touchscreen Tablet - aceicoa70-gua3xhd-ant.   This installed in the typical manner.   I was unable to get all the bubbles out.    I have put on quite a few of these over the years and I was not able to get out all the bubbles.   It did decrease my screen’s responsiveness in a dramatic manner.   I literally flattened the tip of my stylus trying to get commands in on Scramble.   I pulled off the screen protector and played the same game and it worked fine.   I have to wonder how important the screen protector is in these days of Gorilla Glass.   This one did not do the job for me.   It was priced aggressively at $3.95 for three but that just means I have two more to throw away.      If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

This remote has more features than you can shake a stick at.   It took me over an hour to get it programmed for my TV, DVR, Cable Box and DVD player.    I was never able to get it to get my gen2 Tivo to do more than turn off and on.    In all fairness it may be my large fingers and the small keys that played into the difficulty programming the unit.    My Tivo is old and that may be why I couldn’t get it to work.    The number of features on the unit precludes having larger buttons without upsizing the format of the remote.    I would rather have a larger remote with larger buttons.    I also think it is interesting that programming remotes hasn’t improved in ten years.   That is a ball park figure but I know I have not seen any progress in remote programming.   Hold this key while you wait for the power key to light, then strangle a free range chicken with the toes of your left foot while simultaneously pressing the power key, feature key and donkey.    Ok, I do t

I got this at Amazon for $1.34.   It is decent quality. This is the perfect size for a key chain flashlight.    The price was unbelievably low.   It did not get 5 stars since it isn't as bright as the other two very similar key chain lights I have and it took weeks for it to arrive.   If you are in no hurry you can't beat the price and the light is more than adequate especially for the size. If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Source: freeyork.org via Chris on Pinterest If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

I've never tried one of this type stylus before so I'm a bit bemused as to how to determine it's viability.    The price is competitive.   I tried it on a Kindle Fire and a Droid X.   It worked fine on both.   It is definitely more precise than my finger on the Droid.   The Fire is just as precise but due to the larger size, my fingers aren't quite so clumsy.    With the minimal experience I have had with styluses in general, this seems just fine.    If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Frankly I was skeptical when I got this product for review.   How much better could it be than the three pack I got of a competitor when I got my Kindle Fire.    The three pack was $9.95 and this screen protector is $19.95.     It seemed like an insurmountable price differential.    Well, I will have to come back later to attest to durability.   However out of the box or sleeve it installed very easy.    It has a black bezel that matches up with the Fire black bezel.   You line it up and press the edges and you get NO bubbles.   They claimed no bubbles and there were none!   I had a bear of a time getting the bubbles out of the previous protector.    I’m not sure ease of installation is worth the price differential but it has to be considered.    I used it immediately and did not seem any contact difference.   It didn’t seem any better or worse as far as transmitting my commands via dragging my finger.   I will report back and let you know if it really is an