Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

The monitor is very nice, the documentation is dreadful.  I went online to see if there was anything better and there was not.   None of the ports are explained.  There are cables included but not an HDMI which seems short sighted.  Why include a VGA cable when HDMI is far more common at this point.   The 10 point touch is nice and the way the screen is designed is much better than the TD2420.  You can come in on the side of Win8 with no problem on this monitor.   The stand on this monitor allows it to be put down flat.  This makes a drawing package much easier to use.   Note much easier, not easy.   The height is about 5 inches off of the desktop so unless you have a high stool or are willing to stand, it is awkward using the monitor as a tablet.   Somebody will at some point have a reasonably priced touch monitor that will snap out of it's stand and lay flat on the desktop.   I th...

I liked this toy.  An impending grandchild should like it too.  The colors are bright and the activities are within a early toddlers capability.  The giggle included is highly infectious. Seems durable. I recommend it.  $14.99 at Amazon If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Nike released Jordan 6 Carmine VI Retro Nike Air Jordan Carmine VI 6 today.   They obviously released a very limited number to create a demand situation.  Now you would think that $170 for a pair of sneakers is flat out ludicrous and you would be right.   But WAIT!  It gets worse, Nike claims to limit sales of the shoes to one pair per online user.   'Splain to me then how they are immediately up on EBay in quantity at a price that is at least $100.00 or more than retail.   You can't tell me that something isn't fishy about the whole scam.   Nike is supposedly a reputable company but this process certainly casts some serious doubts as to their veracity.   Picture the teenager who gets up early and patiently waits to beginning clicking buy on the Nike site and said teen has no chance to get a shoe at the ridiculously stupid retail price but then is driven to look at sites such as EBay to pay an even more rid...

Versatile, comes to mind with this little unit. It has AM/FM/Weather bands. It was a bit difficult trying to find a weather band but I finally was able to tune one in. The versatility is impressive, it comes with a hefty LI battery as well as a space for double AA batteries. I charged the Lithium battery with the included USB cable. I ran the flashlight on high output for 5 hours and still had one bar left on the battery. I used the hand crank and was able to recharge the battery. I also set the unit on the window sill and saw that the solar panel also works as advertised. I hope I never need the morse code signal. I may use the dog alert to annoy the neighbors dog when it is barking. LOL. This also incorporates a siren and flashing alert for bad weather that I have not yet and hope never to experience. It is a great item to have considering all the power outages the past winter.  Topping off the impressive features is another really nice feature is that you can charge y...

This is an excellent sound bar.  It set up easily.  It comes with an optical cable which seems like such a no-brainer but I have reviewed several which did not include any cables.   I turned on the power and it worked.  If you are satisfied with the sound, that's it, you are done.  Incredibly easy.   You can interface it with your remote which also shocked me with how easy it was compared to others I have reviewed.   The last sound bar I reviewed, I was never able to get the on/off to work with my Comcast remote.  Thus you had to use the sound bar remote to turn the sound bar off and on and then you could adjust the volume with your Comcast remote.  This sound bar all the basic functions programmed seamlessly.  Bluetooth setup was just as easy and I was impressed with the sound out put.  The bass is adjustable and surprisingly robust since there is no external or separate base.  Clear voice doe...

You wouldn't  think there would be a lot to say about a gas can.  I needed a one gallon can to mix oil and gas for a two cycle weed wacker.  (BTW I find that a pain in the butt.) I never had a gas can that needed directions before.  This can has a very interesting no-drip system that once I took the time to read the directions on the label, worked great.   It is a very nice feature.  My old cans with the flexible nozzle often spilled when I was filling a snow blower or mower.   This nozzle has a flange on the side that you must push down on the can to depress a spring which allows the gas to flow.   As soon as you pull back pressure, the flow stops.  Very clever.   Shop around, prices vary a lot on this can, $9.99 at Amazon, $10.99 at KMart and $14.99 at ACE Hardware.  If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

I haven't had a gas powered weed wacker for several years.   I still find the mixing of gas and oil a pain in the butt.   Since all my gas cans are in use and I didn't want to empty one to test this, I bought a new one gallon can.   The Remington includes a starter can of oil, 3.2oz which you mix with one gallon of gas.   I'm a direction reader so after reading them several times I began.  I installed the shield and repositioned the handle.   Pretty simple and wing nuts are not just goofy people, these wing nuts worked just fine.   It has a primer bulb which you depress ten times and then adjust the choke and pull away.   It is a very light pull and it started after the third sequence  of five pulls.   You leave it warm up and then you are ready to go.   The bump head that is supposed to release the cutting line works but not smoothly.  I was unable to get it to releas...

You tend to think tape is tape.  Sometimes that is true.  I put a piece of this tape on a glass and then ran water over it.  Then I immersed the glass for 15 minutes.  The tape was still on the glass!  I am postulating that it will hold well in conditions that are more intense than normal tape.  The cost is pretty high at $21.00 at Amazon but if you need something to adhere under stressful conditions, this may be the ticket. From the vendor:  Scotch® Color Coding Tape 690 is a UPVC backing with rubber resin adhesive. Multiple tape colors designed for differentiation, long aging, moisture and chemical resistant for packaging, color coding or temporary holding applications. Multiple colors for packaging applications. Adheres to wide variety of surfaces. Decorative colored film tape with durable Paklon(tm) backing and rubber resin adhesive. Moisture and chemical resistant. Used for various packaging applications such as color ...

I've used this before and I really like it.   My house seems to attract wasps and yellow jackets.   At this point in time, neither are visible.    I tested this spray and while I can't attest to a 29' spray, it easily reaches the shutters on the second floor.    As far as I am concerned, the further I can stand the better when getting rid of these pests.    Since they are not out yet, I am going to make a leap of faith and suggest that my past successful use of this will hold true as far as killing power.   Spraying power, I can attest is just fine.  $5.99 at ACE Hardware but you can usually catch it on sale and save a couple of bucks.  If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.